Sacramento's Annual International Auto Show

As is my habit at this time each year, I attended our city's display of new vehicles, spending roughly six hours time taking in the nuances of all things mobile - from Segway Human Transporters to sophisticated gasoline/electric hybrids that are postured to radically change the whole mix of what will be offered to consumers over the coming years. To say the least, it was one of the more interesting shows that I have attended.

You will see from my show pictures that there was not only the new 2010 models on display, but some rather interesting older cars as well. I found myself checking out several cars from a half century ago and comparing them to today's vastly different autos. I've got to say that the simplicity of a '57' T-Bird with an AM radio and roll up windows is quite a contrast when compared to today's all electric 'Volt", but they both have their own appeal to the many people who still love cars and appreciate their impact on our culture and our economy.

My first auto show was in 1957, the year Ford introduced the Edsel. I was only twelve years old, but I was hooked on cars after attending that show and my interest has grown over the years. I probably spend as much time checking out a Versa as I do a Rolls, even though a couple hundred grand or more separates them in price. I just get a kick out of learning what I can about cars.

As to my favorites this year, below is my top five (in no particular order):

Acura TL - love it or hate it exterior, very high tech interior

Mazda 3 - high tech vehicle with a low tech price, grill that resembles a blow fish (it grows on you)

Honda Accord Crosstour - if you like hatchbacks, this one has great lines and doesn't resemble every other car on the road

Honda Element (Dog Friendly Model) - the badging alone makes it worth the additional money over a standard version

Hyundai Genesis - give Hyundai a little more time and they really will build a Lexus for half the price

There are others that I could easily add to the list, such as the Taurus SHO which I got to test drive while attending the auto show, but the one thing that you discover when you look at so may vehicles in one sitting is that there are some cars that appear as better values than others, when it comes down to the bottom line, but there probably isn't a terribly bad car in the entire show. It basically boils down to one's preference and whatever stirs the consumer's emotional buttons. I'd like to have a really big garage full of them myself (not likely). Enjoy the pics.

Happy Halloween

Halloween "09" was a lot of fun. Nancy bagged candy and did the indoor decorations, while Dave and I decorated the exterior of the house. The weather was great and because Halloween fell on a Saturday this year, we had a record number of trick or treaters - three hundred and eleven to be exact. How do we know, you might ask? Well, we count the bags that we give to the kids. Of course, there may have been a couple of kids who came back twice, but I'm sure that the total number is still over three hundred. That's a lot of trick or treaters! It kept the three of us going for about three and a half hours.

Dave and I managed to watch a little of the USC vs Oregon game while all of this was going on. The Mighty Ducks prevailed. Go Quackers!!!

Oh! - and I have to mention that Nancy prepared a delicious meat loaf for our dinner meal tonight. Superb meat loaf - the best around. Just ask Dave, he ate half of it! Afterwards, we had coconut cream pie for dessert. Yep, a good time was had by all. Check out the pictures to the right and at the bottom of the blog page.

Coming Events

Over the next few weeks I will update my blog site with some pictures and narrative on Friday Night at the Movies, Halloween Trick or Treaters and the annual Sacramento International Auto Show. There will be lots of fodder for picture taking during the next month. As you may recall, our Friday Night at the Movies gatherings have been a monthly (or thereabouts) gathering for several years. Also, Halloween, for residents of Camden Park (our subdivision), always draws a huge number of Trick or Treaters (we stuff at least two hundred and fifty bags each year) as the neighborhood is ideally situated for such an event. In addition to the aforementioned events I will, as usual, be attending our annual auto show where I will take loads of pictures and collect pertinent information on all the new cars for 2010. Stay tuned!

California State Fair

I took lots of pictures while visiting the California State Fair last week. The exhibits were especially good this year and the paintings really caught my interest as several were unique in both composition and subject matter. You can see my State Fair photos to the right and at the bottom of the web page. Additionally, I have posted a few shots of the Eldorado Hotel Suite (Reno), where we recently stayed. We reserved a show and meal package to accompany the deal for our suite - an excellent value for the rate of only ninety four dollars. The trip was not only entertaining, but very affordable as well (my kind of trip). We may make a return visit to Reno, before the change of seasons, if there is another offer of this type.

Evan's Kitchen

Nancy and I have been enjoying our mid-week breakfast outings for some time now. We usually take the Crossfire so that we can enjoy the open air feel of driving with the top down (of course, given our respective ages, we keep the air conditioner on and make sure we are wearing plenty of sunscreen before leaving the house - that's a rather different approach than the one I used back-in-the-day - when I owned a 65 Mustang convertible).

On a recent outing we visited Evan's Kitchen for breakfast. Evan's is known for having the best chicken fried steak in town. Since I had never eaten there, I wanted to see if that was true. I can now attest to the fact that if the chicken fried steak is not actually the best in Sacramento, it certainly must rank right up there with the top two or three. You can see a picture of the breakfast we ordered at Evan's Kitchen to the right and at the bottom of the blog page.

Wedding Entrance

As you will see, while watching the attached You Tube video - Jill and Kevin really know how to kick off a wedding ceremony. Who knows, it could start a whole new way of thinking when it comes to planning a wedding? What do you think?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0

Imperial Coffee Shop

A couple of times, during conversations with friends, I've mentioned that I was raised not only in a typical neighborhood setting (the West End of Louisville, Kentucky), but in an atypical setting as well - a restaurant located at 7th and Jefferson in downtown Louisville. While rummaging through some old photos the other day I happened upon a picture of my Dad's restaurant (the Imperial Coffee Shop), the place where I spent about as much time as I did in my West End neighborhood.

As I reflected on the picture of the restaurant, I came to realize just how influential the Imperial Coffee Shop was on my upbringing. The key lesson that it taught me about life was in regards to just how important it is to know from an early age not only what you might want to do vocationally as a career choice, but to also know what you don't want to do career wise, based on what your work experiences were during those early years.

Although I have fond memories of "growing up" in a restaurant that was opened seven days a week for fourteen hours a day, by the time I was a teenager, I knew for sure that I never wanted to make owning a restaurant my life's work. Work-wise I didn't want to follow in my father's footsteps, although it could have been a logical choice, I suppose.

Funny how pictures can trigger emotions regarding a person's progression to wherever they might be at a particular point in their life. Old pictures help to make some since of it all. The accompanying picture of the Imperial Coffee Shop is over fifty years old. I've posted it to the left and at the bottom of the blog page.