On Saturday morning we thought that we’d take a break from our usual “You watch the kids while I get some work done/I’ll watch the kids while you get some work done” routine. There was a “Show & Shine” happening and we thought it would be a neat thing to take the kids to as a family. There seems to be one of these events around here almost every week in the summer, but this is the Big One.
We made a fatal error in planning our day, however: we told the kids about it in advance. From Friday afternoon until we walked out the door on Saturday morning, we heard the following approximately every five minutes or so:
“We’re going to the car show! We’re going to the CAR SHOW. WE’RE GOING TO THE CAAAAAAAR SHOOOOOOOOWWWWWW!!!”
As annoying as that was, it was also nice to have the upper hand. “You don’t want to eat your dinner/clean up your toys/go to bed? NO CAR SHOW FOR YOU.” Not that we use that tactic very often. Ahem.
FINALLY, it was time to leave. We were meeting Matthew’s brother and his family and planned to meet them at the S.S. Sicamous.
They got sidetracked by Starbucks (happens to the best of us) and so we wandered along the beach for a bit.
Before we knew it, they had arrived. The City of Penticton shuts down one side of the road that runs along the lake and it is jam packed with the coolest array of vintage cars that you e’er did see. Right at the start of our walk we saw Matthew’s dream car and he asked me to take a photo:
I should know what it is, but I don’t. It sure is pretty though.
Graham, lover of the color red, was in his glory. A good chunk of the cars were red, and upon seeing each one he would exclaim, “It’s a red car! I love red! RED IS MY FAVORITE COLOR!!!”
Dude. You’ve said that fifty times already. WE KNOW.
He found his “favorite” car and wanted his photo taken with it.
It was red. Obviously.
Emily was hoping to see some pink cars. There probably were some pink cars somewhere, but all we ran across was a purple truck.
Good enough for her.
Nathan’s favorite color is green. He loves all things green (except vegetables) and was duly impressed with the few green vehicles that we saw.
Imagine my surprise when he decided that his favorite car was not a green one, but a red one.
He is our Sporto, though, so I guess I’m not that surprised.
I thought I’d take a self-portrait, what with all of the SHINY REFLECTIVENESS going on everywhere.
I didn’t intend for this next one to be a self-portrait, but look! There I am!
Super Deluxe. That’s me. Ha!
Here is the point in the post where I thought I’d spare everyone scrolling through the rest of the photos I took. I’d use the “gallery function” in WordPress and make a pretty mosaic! And people would have the option to view the larger photos only if they wanted to! But the stupid gallery function posts ALL of the photos you had uploaded (including the above). There’s not option to pick a selection of what you uploaded.
So then I had a brainwave. There must be a plug-in. I did a Google search and lo! Photo gallery plug-ins galore! About FIVE HUNDRED OF THEM. I don’t have time for this. (Also, I need Matthew to become a web designer. Considering the dude avoids all things Internet-relayed, it’s not likely to happen.
OK. Enough griping. Here are the other shots I took. While the cars themselves are amazing, I was intrigued by the little details.
I could have shot photos all day, but we had those three little people along with us. Considering that it was blazing hot, the streets were crammed with people (who generally don’t notice those under four feet) and that this wasn’t a kid-themed event, they did great. After about an hour they were DONE. The cries of I’m hungry/tired/hot were listened to and we left before making it all the way down the strip. I told Honey to head back with his guy friends but it was shutting down late afternoon; it wasn’t going to happen.
On the drive home we decided for certain that trips to places like Disneyland are still a few years off. We have always said that we would wait until Emily was at least five, but a bunch of Graham’s friend have gone lately. He’s been telling us this past week that he wants to “move to the United States” when he grows up and is married so that he can “go to Disneyland.” We had started to wonder if we should possibly take the kids this winter.
While the boys fared pretty well on Saturday, it was a little too much for Miss Emily. She wanted to be carried, she was bored long before the others were, her Whine Factor was at ONE HUNDRED PERCENT. While Disneyland is kid-themed, there really is only so much a not-quite-three-year-old can endure. No need to make us all miserable.
In the meantime, we are looking foward to taking in more local events as a family. There is a lot to partake in around here. We can head out for a few hours, do something different, then when the meltdows occur (AND YOU KNOW THEY WILL) we can head home. Extended vacations can wait for a few (or ten) years.
Looks like fun! We didn’t go but my Dad bought a car there on Saturday (a 1931 Ford Model A Roadster).
So are you done work and ready to hit the beach?
[Reply]
angella Reply:
June 28th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Let me get through these nest two days and I AM SO THERE.
[Reply]
Looks like something my dad would like. I think my FIL did a show and shine thing too – at his church.
Jen’s last blog post..Liliana’s Got Talent*
[Reply]
Oh pretty! I love old cars, at least when someone else does all the work to make them all pretty.
We are waiting another year or two for Disneyworld, Kamden would not make it yet and there isn’t enough wine for all the whine
Kami’s Khlopchyk’s last blog post..Wits and Whats*
[Reply]
angella Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 8:32 am
EXACTLY.
*wink*
[Reply]
Car shows are so cool! I haven’t been to one in years, but I keep meaning to check out the one in my city, but never get around to it. Maybe I will this year!
Sharon’s last blog post..On best friends and brides
[Reply]
Very fun. I love your photos. The detail intrigue me, too.
Elizabeth’s last blog post..Showered
[Reply]
I see you’re practicing your self-portrait skills for 7 Days, which starts on Saturday July 11th.
Also, you do know about the mosaic feature of Big Huge Labs, right? You can use it to make mosaics from flickr photos, and it’s fairly easy to use.
http://bighugelabs.com/mosaic.php
bethany actually’s last blog post..Omaha June 2009 Photo Mosaic
[Reply]
angella Reply:
June 29th, 2009 at 8:35 am
I knew about the mosaic feature, I just wanted a gallery that you could click on photos to enlarge them
July 11th for 7 Days? Count me in!
[Reply]
Full family BIG vacation are a long way off for us what with Miss Eliza only being 18 months.
But I am looking forward to the day, because if nothing else, it means that everyone is now able to buckle themselves and pee on the toilet and cut up their own food….
-Andrea
Andrea’s last blog post..What a great idea…!
[Reply]
I have yet to find a decent, reliable wordpress photo gallery that doesn’t suck arse. good luck and let us (me!) know if you find a good one!
ciao!
[Reply]
GREAT photos! I just love how you captured all those shiny details. Sounds like a really fun family outing.
Hannah’s last blog post..Time to Fly
[Reply]
Oh, and I’ve used Big Huge Labs with good success to make photo mosaics. The mosaic feature in Picasa is okay, but like the WordPress one, it uses all the photos in the folder to make it. You have to make a NEW folder with the pics you want. Kind of annoying.
Hannah’s last blog post..Time to Fly
[Reply]
Shawn is sitting right beside me and he says that Matthew’s favourite car is a 1969 Charger. But he’s not 100% sure about the year. Aaannnnd he’s still talking about it while I try to tune him out.
Great photos!
hillary’s last blog post..I Remember We Were Walking Up To Strawberry Swing
[Reply]
hate that about the gallery…
looks like fun! I’m missing the hot/sunny weather. Even though winter in NZ is nothing compared to Canada…I’m still COLD!
Dayna’s last blog post..Sydney
[Reply]
I bribe my children on a daily basis. It’s the only way to get them to cooperate half the time. This is why Tootsie Pops were invented.
[Reply]
My husband always gets on me because I know absolutely nothing about cars. All I can usually say is “That shiny [color] one..” So in that respect, that shiny red one up there is nice.
Crystal’s last blog post..How We Say I Love You
[Reply]
My Dad’s Model “A” Ford was in that show
[Reply]
I love old car shows. I have no idea what I am going to do w/ all the old car photos I have.
Heather @ Domestic Extraordinaire’s last blog post..Wordless Wednesday: The Flying Edition
[Reply]
I really love that Foose rim photo! So neat!
Shelly’s last blog post..The Perfect Man
[Reply]
What great close-ups – these photos are all wonderful. But what’s new? ; ) Glad you had fun!
Elaine’s last blog post..Saying Goodbye to Our First House
[Reply]
I love that “Stop” light thing-a-ma-jig picture. (Obviously I know a lot about cars). I think your photos from the show would be so perfect for a man room though!
La Petite Chic’s last blog post..Jimmy Buffett Summerzcool Tour – Camden, NJ Edition
[Reply]
Pretttttttttty. Can you come to Texas and take pictures of my face that look this good? Please? Love Emily’s purple car.
Jennifer W.’s last blog post..Silenced by shoes
[Reply]
Pingback: Ramblings of an Empty Mind » Next Stop Atlanta