Classic Car Show

Every Tuesday, at the Raley's Shopping Center in Elk Grove, the owners of classic, custom and other unique automobiles file into the Raley's parking lot to display their pride and joy well preserved vehicles. Although there are numerous cars that appear on a regular basis, the likelihood of seeing a "new" classic, for the first time, is also very possible. The drivers have dinner at Mike's Diner and afterwards sit around their prize possession, in lawn chairs or some other form of patio furniture, and listen to a band playing old-school music. It's also a great time to reminisce about the "good-old-days" and share insider information about your favorite brand of car. I've posted a couple of pics from this week's show. Both photos were taken with my Apple iPhone 4. The iPhone 4 has a five mega pixel camera.

The below link will take you to the video that I took of tonight's event. The cars being shown are rather sparse, but that is only because the hour was still early. By twilight the lot is usually full of vehicles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMNyrqj7D-w

Dancing at the Marriott in Monterey, California

Check out the Flip video posted to You Tube, showing Nancy, Kelly, Gloria and Robert dancing to the Village People and the song "YMCA".


http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_edit

Shi Ra Soni Japanese Restaurant - Stockton, California

Tonight, my friend Dave Beales and I had a delicious meal at the Shi Ra Soni Japanese Restaurant in Stockton. Watch Chef Phillip prepare our meal, "Bennie" style. Delicious!!!

Video shot using iPhone 4 -



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkY_Odtr9-M

California State Fair

They changed the dates for the fair this year, in order to mesh better with the kids back to school schedules, and to hopefully make for cooler fair going days - well, there were plenty of children at the fair, but it was as hot as ever. Still, I had a good time and I ate a lot of fair type food. You know, pulled pork sandwich, pizza, hamburger, ice cream - no corn dog, though. I took several pictures and some videos. Some of the pics are already on the blog site and I'll post more later in the week.

Monterey - Lover's Point Beach

Click on the link to see the video of Lover's Point Beach. This clip was made using my iPhone 4G.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdbzfvzw6cA

Pics and Video From Wedding in Monterey, California

Be sure to scroll down further to see some more pictures from our trip to Monterey. The below link will send you to a video taken at the wedding reception. We had a great meal with lots of socializing with relatives. Oh, and lets not forget... the dance contest! Check it out!

http://s178.photobucket.com/albums/w275/jimdaviselkgrove/?action=view&current=MVI_1151.mp4

Another View of the Lexus LS460

Well, you're not going to be able to please everyone when you design a vehicle. Makes you just want to run out and buy a Merc S550. Right! Check out the below link -


http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/lexus-ls-460/

New Wheels

I wanted a car with a lot of tech and a comfortable ride. The LS460 meets that requirement exceptionally well. It's taken about six months to find a used one that met my criteria for purchasing and the Smokey Gray Mica 2007 LS460 L that you see in the driveway is the outcome of all my research. It is loaded!

The laundry list of features is too lengthy to list, so here are a few highlights: self parking package (I don't need it yet, but you never know), laser cruise control, adjustable air suspension including height adjustment, rear comfort package which includes reclining seats and a separate air conditioning unit with separate controls for rear passengers, blue tooth, heated steering wheel, an eight gig hard drive, power open and close trunk button and power door closure for all doors, XM with Nav traffic updates, push button start, adaptive swivel headlamps, Lexus Link, Mark Levinson surround sound, rear view camera, DVD player, chrome rims with new tires, etc, etc.. This car is a certified Lexus with a three year hundred thousand mile bumper to bumper warranty (you need that with all the tech stuff).

A non smoking lawyer leased this vehicle for three years and bought another one just like it a few days ago. His new 2010 is the same as his 2007 except with seats that massage the back. This is the third leased Lexus that the sales consultant has sold to this customer, so he knew every nuance regarding the particulars of the vehicle. Compared with many other ones that I looked at, this one was the best - by far.

Lexus has some damage control to deal with in regards to recent recalls on the LS460, so dealers are dealing on this model, especially before the media does an Apple 4G like media blitz on their luxury car. However, the cloud over the 460, as to quality issues, did help on the price. Lexus will probably get bashed by Consumer Reports for these quality control issues in the near future. Since I'm a die hard Lexus, (and Apple) fan - I'm not really affected as to how I feel about the brand and the recent news. The recall info has been on the Lexus forums and blogs for weeks now, but it hasn't had much affect on sales. My last one (Lexus LS430) was the best vehicle that I've ever owned and the best dealership experience that I've yet to encounter.

I kept my last Lexus for six plus years and I may keep this one longer, if the tech stuff holds up that long. Tech-wise it's already dated somewhat, since it is an 07 model. I really get a kick our of playing with the tech stuff. Having just turned sixty-five, what else is there to get excited about? Incidentally, my Apple 4G paired perfectly with the car, via blue tooth, the first time around and with no glitches. Hallelujah! I wasn't expecting that to happen!

We're headed to Monterey this weekend for our first road trip in the new Lexus and I'm anxious to see how it does. I'll fill you in after we return.

Blogger Update

The Blogger web site has recently been having problems with the posting of pictures to their blogs. Hopefully, this has now been fixed. I plan to add some new photos soon. So stayed tuned, as I'll have some pics of the LS460 in a few days.