"Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal"

Late last week, Soren stopped by on his way across the country.  He took to the road in his 65 sunroof Variant S a couple of months ago and on his way back toward the left coast, he stopped at our house.  I was hoping to have the house a little more 'finished' by the time he arrived but we are about two weeks behind schedule so the place wasn't as 'together' as I'd hoped.

Friday night, Craig came by and we grilled burgers and brats, sat around the fire and talked about miscellaneous topics...it was a good way to unwind and welcome the weekend.

On Saturday, we made our way down to the Effingham show, taking a chance on the weather holding (it had been raining quite a lot the previous two days) and it turned out to be good timing.  The weather was decent for the few hours we were there.  The show population was light (due to the weather) as was the swap space area-although there were more people there than I expected.  Soren got to meet Lou.  It's an experience that cannot be described...the man is a living legend in his own right.  We had a great time shooting the shit, talking about cars and the people who own them.  I'll have to post up a picture of an art piece that Lou talked Soren into buying to give to my wife...


I didn't take many photos but I did manage to capture some of the more 'interesting' vehicles in attendance:

This is a craze (the tiny wheels/tires) I just don't understand.

The show was (as it usually is) full of cars that were headed in the direction of 'original' but took a hard left toward 'half assed' and that's where they stayed.

Unfortunate, really...so many cars there could have been nicer if their owners had taken the time to do it right.

 A late model beetle on a Ford truck frame.

Really?

Why?

The beauty here is that the fender extensions on the rear are 4"x6" pieces of metal stitched together to form the extension.  It's real jagged and while I realize they likely weren't going for 'perfect', one piece of metal shaped to fit would have been easier and cheaper.

 A bay window with Type 3 side markers?

Interesting idea but it doesn't really look like it belongs there.

Not a horrible idea, I suppose, but knowing where they belong keeps me from really liking this result.

I didn't catch this until it was pointed out...even though I was standing right next to it.










We went out for deep dish pizza on Monday night-it was a 'must have' for an out of town guest.  And then we spent a few hours and digging around a bit more in the garage.  I gave up some parts that I knew I'd probably never use, sold a couple more, and wound up throwing away a few broken parts I haven't been able to part with in the past.  We cut open one of my seat backs to check out the horsehair seat pad against what he purchased from another Samba member in New York and I discovered that the seat back was broken.  It was 'win-win'.

It's amazing how motivating it is to have someone else around who's into the same thing.

Today, things are back to 'normal'...Soren's out there on the road and I get to stare at the internet for 7 hours while I wait for my next projects to get approved.

There's something fascinating about hearing the stories of traveling across the country...you meet all sorts of people in circumstances that wouldn't otherwise happen.  Cross-country travel is something I've always wanted to do but never really got around to doing it.  I traveled half way (from LA to Chicago) via the old Route 66 and it was a great time.  I always wondered what the other half would be like...especially without everything I own crammed into the car.  I imagine it's quite different in a 40 year old car, carrying around various spare parts and trying to keep from getting run over by bigger, faster vehicles on the road.  Some day, I've got to do it...maybe when I finish this car and head out for the Invasion, I will experience some of what I missed when I stopped in Chicago.

I'm glad he stopped here for a few days.