Art & Inspiration END OF SUMMER, ENTER THE "BER" MONTHS

Make no mistake, I love summer and this year's seems to have p***ed all too soon. School buses clog the streets and leaves soon will do the same to the drains. Remember one of the first themes we were ***igned after returning to school in September was "What I did on my summer vacation"? Well, that is the ***ignment, but unlike school, you will not be graded on penmanship, punctuation, spelling or the proper use of margins. I would like to see pictures though. Something we can look back on during the 'ber months that we just entered.

I didn't get to do much this summer. My driving is limited still but I managed to attend a few local shows. One of them was an evening event last week and my wife took a photo of me pulling back into the garage. It is what got me thinking about the end of the long days and warm evenings.

So, how did you spend your summer vacation? And please, show your work.

 

I spent quite a few weekends in the woods of the Upper Peninsula camping. I'm not the ppl person I used to be so I choose to disappear deep into the forest. It's like practicing to be homeless. Turns out I'd prolly make a good homeless person. Didn't do a single car show or cruise this year.

 

Finished up the dual quad conversion in May. Lots of miles, a few shows, a few trophies. Favorite trophy definitely the Big Shindig trophy for best in show Mexican made out of car parts, he rode shotgun for a couple hundred miles on the way home. Big poker runs tomorrow and next weekend, big show this Sunday.

 

I wish the homeless were in the woods instead of pooping on the windows downtown. Sounds like a nice summer. I like camping. I have tinnitus very bad in my deaf ear and have for over 20 years; I used to really enjoy quiet. I can't any longer. People should. It is a gift.

Mrs. BB saw that trophy and fell in love with it! Someone was an artiste! Love the color of your ride! Deserving trophy. Dual quads on a nail, has to be! I had a 71 ragtop M*****g ragtop that I did the whole Mach 1 thing to. Hood, spoilers, stripes, fuel filler, honeycomb tail panel, magnum 500s, valance exhaust off a 68, clock on the right, 4 gear, Mach 1 interior...It was *****in. Your picture took me back.

 

I spent some time in San Diego with my brother and his family in late August. Did the zoo, SeaWorld and took in baseball game. Here’s the view I had at the game.

 

I've been to 3 shows this summer. Might be 2 more before the season is over. I resurrected an off topic pickup for a run around. That took a lot of hours. Way slower than I used to be.

 

Good spot to go - except for the Mosquitos. I only remember it from the late 50s and early 60s when we went to see my mom's uncle. He worked for the SOO Railroad as a Cooper & Boilermaker.

Here is SoCal there are a few formal car shows. The Cars & Coffee seem to be preferred. People seem to rather do a couple hours than all day. The Wife likes the Steve McQueen show so we took the A. I took the T to the LA Roadster Show but spent most of the time in the swap meet. Tomorrow Cars & Coffee in the morning and dinner at Legends. There is always too much to do - http://www.socalcarculture.com/events.html

Hopefully the Canadians will find the export tariffs on winter too high and decide to keep it there.........

 

Did you get a nosebleed? Asking for a friend.

Aren't we all? Slow is acceptable, stagnant is not.

I have never seen or been bitten by a mosquito locally. My wife on the other paw...they eat her alive! She doesn't drink Bourbon. Connection?

 

My wife and I are spending summer vacation on a 6 month camping road trip in Utah, Nevada all up the western coast from SanFran to the Canadian boarder, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and then back home to Colorado. We hit all the national parks and quite the number of state parks. We left in early April and will be home in October, so I guess thats more than summer. I hit as many old vehicle related stops as I could. Im not much of a picture taker so I've got nothing to show. 15,000 miles on the tow vehicle and as many memories as my tiny brain can hold. This may not be HAMB friendly but its all I got....Mitch

 

Very nice Merc and congrats on the trophies!!

 

Screw HAMB friendly, that is a summer vacation! You must have rolled right past me on your way North. We live in a beautiful, fantastic county! Much to see and take in, I am embarr***ed to say I have seen enough of it. Park the cars and feed your brain with memories before time tries to take them. The cars will be there when you get home. Travel safe!

 

No, I did not get nosebleed.

 

Uh....spring, summer and fall. Hopefully not winter. Tired of it. Ready for some car time.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/dust-bowl-speed-shop-world-headquarters.1306720/

 

No events outside of a few low-key local get-togethers. Good share of my summer was spent in the garage cursing, throwing wrenches and fighting mechanical gremlins in both the occupants thereof.
Added a new ride, a '63 Galaxie 500XL convertible but it hadn't been driven much over the last decade or so. Thus, wear and tear from sitting - things like a leaky radiator, gauges not working, electrical issues. Still not done with all that. But it's a cool old car and I've driven it enough locally between maladies and fixes that I've had fun with it.


The big thing was getting my Chevy II back on the road. Way overdue. Lots more work still needed but the serious garage time and extra cash thrown at it wound up getting it over the hump. It runs, steers, stops. All good.





So my summer vacation pictures aren't too exciting but all in all it was a good summer. And it's not over yet, there's still time left to enjoy 'em. Autumn is a good driving season around here.

 

Hey thanks guys....a friend of mine actually made it, and he lights up. All custom made trophies from different fabricators for the show, some really cool pieces. My buddy says "Man how cool would it be if you won my trophy?" There was some killer rides there and I thought I had no chance then they called my name....Billy, had the "OT" ride since I was 12, bought with my own money, dad and I drove down to LA during the Rodney King riots in a rental Lumina and drove it back sight unseen out of a Deals on Wheels mag......here's some other trophy pics, if you look close you can see a 12 year old 2devilles and a 17 year old senior pic with said OT car...I'll share some more pics from the next poker run and show after they happen....

 

Oh, it's even better than I imagined! It's not just a trophy...

 

End of summer blues,
The OPs first post reminded me of the first weekend after Labor Day in 1984 when we took our four year old out for a vacation in northern Minnesota to Itasca state park home of Paul Bunyan and the beginning of the Mississippi river. Anyway we left early Saturday morning and it was already 80 degrees outside and at one time I had thought about bring extra blankets and warm clothing and a coat along with hats and gloves for everyone but didn’t. The first night we were there it was 24 degrees and we were tent camping. Burrrr

 

Not so great a summer here. Sweated in the shop (AC broken) on bodywork/paint on some muscle cars. Only saving grace was going to the Leadsled Spectacualr in KS. Probably going to Deadman's Curve today. No ride, though, 61 Dodge's trans went on me.

 

Just Driving Billy And That Is Why The Tires Are Round...

 

Ahh tinnitus!! Isn't that fun!? You never feel like you are completely alone. I too have had it for years. Constant companion.

 

Ha - you figured out my M.O.! Although I wouldn't call myself a mechanic I do seem to spend way more time in the garage than on the road. Must be my 'happy place'. But on the other side of the coin, when I do get 'em on the road I tend to keep them there; not taking the steps of finish and detail that you do. When we sold our '39 Ford sedan after ten years on the road the hood, side panels and trunk lid were still in epoxy primer. But it ran fine so I guess it worked for me. And it gave the new owner something to do!

 

Great photo and post idea @Bandit Billy

we are headed into a second week of highs in the triple digits so as soon as I look out at the patio thermometer and don’t see 104 I will comment on the end of “summer”

 

The sudden change from summer to fall this week has me down in the dumps. I always get sad when the weather suddenly changes and I know all the days of enjoying our hotrods will be limited severely by bad weather.
I didn't make as many car shows as I have in previous years, but did put a lot of miles on both of my hotrods. Fought a bad transmission leak in my '39 for almost a month before I finally found the culprit; a hydraulic pressure switch that had blown it's seal. So my old Austin g***er saw more use this summer than it has in quite some time. The '39 is great again, but I'm still nursing burns on both arms from trying to mop up trans fluid around hot exhaust pipes! That's what I get for trying to do it too quickly and not stopping to put on a long sleeve shirt!

 

On a positive note, shellfish (read big old shrimp) are legal to catch again. Only in months ending in R. Shrimp gumbo, shrimp on the barby, shrimp and grits, every shrimp recipe I know starts out with one pound of ****er. YUM!! Road trip to the Gulf Coast.

 

I built this:

 

Shouldn't that be 'Brrr' rather than 'Ber'? LOL...

My last two summers have been disasters. I've always had sinus allergies, but they mostly faded in my mid 20s (well, except for my food allergies which took their place, but that's another story), but two years ago they returned on steroids. I've basically been trapped in the house, you can't get anything done when you have sneezing fits almost every time you go outside. But after numerous doc visits, I have finally found some relief with some new medications that don't have nasty side effects so I'm looking forward to next summer. Getting old can really **** sometimes...

 

The "ber" months here for quite a while have been the target ones for car shows, gatherings, and organizational events such as shrimp feasts and the like. It has finally cooled down enough to enjoy outside. The "ary" months now are when the toys get to slumber.

 

That is what prompted the post. It was raining hard the other day and my wife showed me that picture she took, and it kinda felt like the end of the season. It seems once it starts raining here, it doesn't stop until June.

I do love me some sea food. I'm headed to the beach next week for Rod Run, I'll be looking for some eats.

Well there's nothing like a well-built well.

Don't get me started on allergies, they were horrid this year. My doc had me doubling up, taking an allergy pill and using Flonaz It heled.

Hopefully the rain will give us a reprieve and let us enjoy an Indian summer (can we still say that?). I guess I already did.

 

My last solo camping trip UP Nort I built an axe for a friend. Fun to do. Hand tools only. *****ers didn’t seem to be too horrible this year. Can’t wait for winter camping. No bugs at all!