Sacramento Autorama 2012

For a while I had planned on making sure I didn't miss this years event. I figured I wasn't going to make it to Pomona for the AMBR Show, so I really just could not miss this show. So, I did what I normally do. I called some friends to see who was willing to go with me. And, as usual, my buddy Alfredo was the only one that made the time to go with me. He had been with me to several other shows, and knowing how I can be at shows, he still decided to come. So when the day came, I had my wife drop me off at a Denny's to meet up with Alf, have some breakfast, and head up to Sacramento for the day.

BRE "BATT KRUISER"

We got up to Cal Expo a little after 10:00 am and went right in. We started off by heading into the building with the Bike-O-Rama. As we headed in the door I was just amazed. There were several stock bikes that I always love to see, when I see them. Then there was the custom bikes. Along with a few other treats. The custom pedal cars, a tractor, and a really cool wagon. I was in awe at the talent and quality that had been used to do some of the work on these bad pieces. So I did my usual photo and video work and then we moved on to the next few buildings.In the other buildings were some sweet clean rides. I'm not a fan of low riders, but then their the craftsmanship and details that blow my mind. I have to check out all the details. We skipped over the boat building, not sure why, but we did. Then we hit the building with a few vintage or custom dragsters. Always love to see dragsters.
Then there was the sweet Flat Black Kustom Cadillac out in the quad area. This Caddy was awesome! I just couldn't pass up the chance to shoot some photos. Then I figured out what I wanted to do and I took my time so I could  of it to use in my video of the the car. I placed myself in various places that surrounded the car. But not at ground level. I used the upper area as my starting point, then worked my way around to the car at ground level. The segment turned okay. I also met a few gentleman that were there waiting to do a pin up model shoot with the car. The main photographer, Nick Koljian, was doing some work for MyRideIsMe.com, and so we all sat for a bit and chatted while he was waiting. Then the model showed up. He took his photos, and then we all saw that the car now had some interesting sun tan oil placed on the car. This model must have buttered herself up big time. anywhere she leaned or touched on the car now had her mark on the car. It was actually funny! Anyways, once all was done, we moved on.

We moved on to the next building and on the top floor of the one side were some beautiful examples. One builder, Rick Dore, had 3 customs. One of which was "Voodoo Priest" A beautiful custom 1937 Lincoln Zephr built for James Hetfield of Metallica. The other was the 1953 Buick Skylark. I have to say, I am very jealous! These cars are so beautiful that I wish I could get a job in a shop of this caliber. Someday! Also on display was another James Hetfield Custom. "Iron Fist", a 1936 Ford Custom built by Blue Collar Customs out of Sacramento. This was their home turf, and they brought out a nice ride. They have also built another ride for Mr. Hetfield. I saw the Ford Custom pickup a few years back at a Goodguys show I had attended. Man oh man! Another great builder! This show however is what I am here to finish discussing. So, also in the building on the top floor on the opposite side, was several sweet cars. The stunning Pink Cadillac owned by Pinup Model, Darling Danika. I was checking it out and happened to meet her husband, Jay. He's a cool car guy! Well obviously! Anyways! He took me over to meet Danika, who had just had some surgery and was not feeling to good. So I kept it very brief and went on my way.

When I got downstairs, I saw more beautiful examples. I was really amazed by what I saw. John D'Ogostino had another amazing ride this year. He brought out "The Carribean". I took several shots of it too. Since I still don't have a wide angle lens, I did my usual shots from the upstairs area. Then I ran into John. Spent some time talking with him and got some photos with him. Then off to the next ride. The Purple Kustom "Wild Cad" brought up by Mario, a Koolsville Beatnik Car Club member from Australia. He was great! I got a few shots with him and had him sign my program since his car was on the cover. I took some shots of the Caddy as well. And of course I had to go back upstairs just to get my shots. But it made for some good shots from up there.

A little later after walking around, I came to Gene Winfield at his booth. So I spoke with him for a few minutes asking about when his next Metal Working Class was to be as well as the "Winfield and Watson" show. Then I decided to do something a little different. I asked Gene if he would be willing to let me do a short interview. He was all for it, so I asked Alfredo to hold the video camera and away we went. I just went on the fly and just asked a few questions that popped into my head. It turned out pretty good for not being something that wasn't planned. Once we were done I got a couple shots with Gene, as well as having him sign my vintage track jacket. So, since he signed the jacket, I wasn't sure if I should wear it anymore and then Gene showed me a patch to go with it. His shop logo patch. It looks great on the jacket too now.

Once I was done having fun with Gene, we moved on and saw more great kustoms, classics, muscle cars, trucks, and hot rods. I ran into Herb Martinez at the Sacramento So-Cal Speed Shop booth and chatted with him for a bit. then he asked me to watch the booth for a minute while he ran to take care of some much needed business. Then Alfredo and I finished up our tour of the show and headed home. All in all, the show was as fantastic as it should be. There was nothing to disappoint the enthusiast. Now to look forward to attending next year and enjoy another great day. Or should I just pull the trigger and go for two day and make the best of a great weekend and get even more photos and video of more great cars and trucks. Until then! Check back for more of my experiences at other shows and racing events.

To see all of the photos I did actually take at the event, please visit - http://razzi.me/a/10461

Road Trip to Arizona - Day 1 - The Drive

As the plans had changed for what the weekend was to be, I was a little excited that my wife and I had decided to get out of town and go somewhere we had not yet been. When she decided to go to the Grand Canyon, I was more than happy to jump at the chance to go. So we made our plans sort of last minute and decided to stay in Laughlin, Nevada. I figured since we had not yet been there either, it would be a good middle point, and very inexpensive place to stay. So we hit Hotels.com and made our reservation. Where really wasn't a main part of the trip, and since we don't gamble, she decided in which hotel to stay at, and the reservations were set.

Southbound 99 - North Madera, CA.

On Wednesday evening, we got to bed at a decent time so we could leave town early Thursday morning. We got up, got ready, ate some breakfast, A cup of coffee, as well as plenty for the road. We left the driveway around 5:30am, and in about 5 minutes later, we hit the 99 freeway and headed South. As I was trying to keep from being bored, I decided to grab the cell, put on some tunes, as well as take some pics so I would have something to add to this blog entry. I was doing okay, my wife was sleeping, and I made it as far as Visalia before having to stop. So we exited the freeway and changed seats so I could take a short 30 minute snooze.

Southbound 99 - North Fresno, CA

After the 30 minute morning nap, I woke up and we were somewhere North of MacFarland, so I pulled out the cell phone to get some roadside pictures from the passenger seat to post on my Facebook status. Eventually we got to Bakersfield, then headed East on 58. We exited the first exit to fuel up so we didn't have to until after getting to Laughlin. We stopped at an Arco-AM/PM station, and for some reason I decided to go inside to use my card. What a mistake that turned out to be. The counter clerk was such an idiot about me using my card inside, He asked me a question that pissed me off. The funny thing is I do the same thing at the AM/PM at home. I was pissed that the guy couldn't figure out how to do such a simple task that I walked out and used my card at the pump.

Eastbound 58 - East Bakersfield, CA

After that, we hit the road for about 10 miles or so and exited again as my wife wanted to stop at the Murray Family Farms for some fruit. As we pulled into the lot I noticed a cool old Chevy truck. They had made it into a nice display with the business logo on the doors and some oranges on display. My wife went inside and, of course, I just had to walk over and get a photo of the truck. I then went inside and we spent about 20 minutes inside and bought what we wanted and hit 58 again. After seeing how nice the scenery was, I decided to exit again and grab a couple more pics with my cell. I grabbed my shots, and back on 58 in a matter of about 5 minutes. As we were driving, my wife had no idea as to what I was wanting to do next. HMMMMM! Once we got to the 14 Freeway in Mojave, I headed South again. I drove about 10 miles and exited the freeway, turned left, drove another 1/2 mile and made a right turn and drove about another 1/2 mile or so and made a U-turn then parked the car. I had decided to make a pit stop to check out Gene Winfield's place as I had never been there before. So since I was going to be withing 10 miles of the place, I figured this was my chance to check it out. Why? So I could come back and attend the "Winfield & Watson Car Show" or one of Gene's Metal Working classes. I had talked to Gene at the "Sacramento Autorama" event about wanting to come, so this gave me an idea to check it out before returning for another adventure. So, as it turned out, I could only check the place out from the outside of the fence. No Problem! I just pulled out the Canon 40D and took a few shots. After 10 minutes I was back in the car again.

Murray Family Farms

Murray Family Farms

We hit the 14 Northbound and then back onto 58 East to cross more of the desert. We got to Kramer Junction and I had another side plan in mind that the wife didn't know about yet. I made a quick left onto Highway 395 and stopped at an antique store that I had know about for quite a long time, but forgot about. Then one day while watching "American Restoration", they had gone to this place and bought an old gas pump. After watching the episode, I knew I needed to stop in when in the area. Well this was the chance of being less that 100 yards from it, and I stopped on in. The name - "Kramer Antiques". The bad part, I didn't have much time since we wanted to get to Laughlin at a reasonable hour. So we kind of hurried our way around the store, and if I had had more time, and money, I'm sure I would have found something to bring home. I also didn't get a chance to go through the warehouse. The place was pretty cool. I would definitely stop in again when I have more time to really look around. I asked a few questions about what I was looking for, but no item related in the place except for a neck tie. Then back on the road again. We didn't stop until we got to the hotel after this, so there really isn't much else to say. I checked in, we parked, got our stuff up to the room, then relaxed until it was time to go back down for dinner.

Gene Winfield's Place

Kramer Antiques - Kramer Juction

WAIT! I do have more to talk about. On the way through from Kramer Junction, we got to Barstow (BARFSTOW), and my eyes kept bouncing across both sides of Interstate 40. I was just wondering what it was like back in the day when old Route 66 was the road to be on while driving through here. I knew for years that this is where it had travelled through, as I had grown up in So-Cal about an hour South of here. I even installed a fiberglass pool in Barstow when I was about 16 or 17. I had been through Barstow several times. But back then, Route 66 wasn't really a big deal. Not sure why either. I have been on several sections from Santa Monica, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, Colton, Rialto, San Bernardino, up through The Cajon Pass, Victorville and of course Barstow. I even remember the Wigwam Motel in Rialto when I was a little kid. I thought it was odd back then, but in a oddly cool kind of sense. So where am I going with this? Well, while looking off to the south of Interstate 40 I was a looking for anything that was still around that was part of the history of Route 66. I saw several places. Now I have it my head for another great BUCKET LIST Adventure. Someday I want to drive whats left of Route 66.

One more thing! I did end up finally getting off the freeway before reaching Needles and asked my wife to get a shot of me with a road sign pointing out Route 66. But that happens tomorrow. THE ADVENTURE DOES CONTINUE!

Video: Sacramento Autorama #2 - Bike-O-Rama

Here is my latest. This is the stuff I liked that was in the Bike-O-Rama building at the show. Check it out and tell me what you think.

Video: Sacramento Autorama #1 - My Interview with Gene Winfield

So I went to the Sacramento Autorama on Saturday with a good friend of mine. While wondering a round the show I wandered over to Gene Winfields' booth to talk about when his next Metal Working workshop was going to be. Well after chatting briefly I asked if he would sign my vintage track jacket. Then he got me to buy a patch to put on the other side of my jacket. He gladly did so and then I decided to do something I have been wanting to do since I bought my video camera. I asked if I could do a quick interview. Thanks to my buddy Alfredo, I had a cameraman. So we got ourselves ready and did the interview. It was a fun experience! We both just went through it without any idea of what to do and here is what it turned out to be -

Tell me what you think of the interview!

Me with Mr Winfield

Getting Signed