New England Shake-Up!!!!!

Yew, I'm alive!!! Sorry for being such a crappy blogger. I'll have more posts soon. In the meantime, I hope to see some of you at The New England Shake-Up, this weekend. I'll be there all weekend & selling at the car show on Saturday.
See you there!
Rick

Merry Kitschmas

Return To SoCal...Day 1: Long Beach

A little trim at Hawleywood's

 

Some vintage shopping on Retro Row

Mixing Tiki Tastiness

Mad Scientist or Master Mixologist? You decide!

Return To Milltown

Set up shop this weekend at the Return To Milltown Hot Rod show in Sturbridge, Mass. Made decent money, saw some friends & took pics of some pretty nice cars. This show has come a long way, but I really wish those freakin', nasty rat rods would just go away! Just because you can drag a piece of crap '29 Dodge sedan out of the woods, drop a piece of crap F350 diesel motor in it & drop it on a piece of crap Jeep frame doesn't mean you should!!! All you've got when you're done is a steaming pile of crap, NOT a Hot Rod. Ahh! I feel better, now. Here's the pics.

SEMA & SoCal & The Golden Steer

Tuesday, November 1:
   Woke up early & headed for SEMA at the convention center. Stopped in to see my suppliers & got a couple leads on some chrome stuff & a cool line of Rat Fink-abilia. Not a whole lot of traditional Rod & Kustom stuff happening. I think I'll limit SEMA to one day from now on. I did take a few pictures, though.

This is my kinda grocery getter!

   Left the show early enough to go visit my buddy, Lenny, over at the SoCal Speed Shop here in Vegas. Lenny & his dad are true traditional Rod & Kustom guys & it's always cool to visit with them & see what they've been up to. A couple roadster bodies arrived when we were there & Dave & I helped the guys unload them. As a thanks, for our help, Lenny gave us a coupla SoCal t-shirts. Whatta guy! SoCal is another must-see for any Hot Rod/Kustom/Rockabilly/Vintage guy or gal visiting Sin City.

   Next, it was back to The Orleans to snazz myself up a bit for dinner at The Golden Steer. The Golden Steer is a Rat Pack era steakhouse that has remained virtually untouched since the days when Frank, Dino, Sammy, et al, hung out there. The prices aren't cheap, but the food is excellent & the place just drips classic Vegas cool. There aren't many of these places left, so I encourage you to enjoy & support them each & every time you visit Vegas.

Car Club Christmas Party

I know, I know, this blog is a chronological mess. Well, it's going to continue to be 'til I get caught up. I promise to be on real time by the end of the summer. Now, about this post.

 Me & Karan

 Bernie & Paula

 Pete & Francine

 Mauna Kai Lounge

 Galaxy Diner

On Saturday night, December 17, I hosted our car club's First Annual Christmas party. Usually, when we get together, it's strictly us guys, (the dames just get in the way), but seeing as I was in a holiday mood, I included them in this gala event. I decorated the Galaxy Diner & Mauna Kai Lounge in vintage festiveness, re-stocked the bar & planned the food for the evening. When the night arrived we chowed on calzones from DiPetrillo's Bakery, as well as, a smorgasbord of dips, cheeses, etc. You know, the usual holiday party fare. When it came to beverages, it wasn't the usual spiked punch. No, no, not for us Tiki-Loving guys. We partook of flaming volcano Scorpion Bowls. We had a great time & I was sorry when it was time for everyone to go. this really was the highlight of my holiday season & I'm looking forward to a bigger & better 2nd Annual bash.