License Plates

I've added a new page to the Everything Else section about my license plate collection.

Snow

A winter storm came through here last night and since then we've accumulated almost nine inches of snow at my house and even more in other areas of Richmond. Every time this happens it makes me very glad that both Bugs are sleeping in the garage and out of the weather. I went out there earlier today to check on them and despite the nastiness outside it was dry and slightly warmer in there. I just wish I had space for my GTI too. Digging it out of the driveway will not be fun tomorrow.

Even at a young age he knows his 'Dubs

My almost four year old son came out with me to the garage this evening when I went to retrieve an extension cord. Upon opening the door he pointed at my Bug at said, "That's daddy's Beetle!"

And one day it shall be his.

Bug Out 65

My wife, son, and I made the trip up I-95 to Bug Out 65 in Manassas, Virginia this morning. This used to be billed as the "largest Volkswagen show on the East Coast" but now simply carries the tagline, "East Coast's Premier VW Volkswagen Show." (And truth be told I think that's a bit of a stretch.) Since I started going in 1998 I've only missed one Memorial Day show but I think unless something changes this may very well be the last one I attend.

There were some very nice show cars on display and a few that really stood out. Aside from that however it was pretty much the same thing I've seen every year. Although I guess after a while it's hard to really be unique or creative when pretty much everything has been done it seems.

In years past there would be numerous show cars along with a large number of vendors with both new and used parts. While I always enjoy looking at the cars entered in the show I usually spent more time walking among the various venders and swappers looking for this, that, and the other. It was rare in previous years that I didn't come home with some coveted treasure. This year however the new vendors were almost non-existant and the swap meet area was considerably smaller than in the past. My wife had hoped to find a t-shirt or two for my son but there were only two apparel vendors and neither one of them carried anything child-sized.

Overall it was a disappointment and wasn't really worth the drive up there. I hope things turn around and the show is able to grow larger again.

Update

It's been six months since I did much of anything with the website. I stay pretty busy during the school year and don't have a whole lot of time for much else. This year has been especially packed. Since my last blog entry on here I've managed to:

-Get married and go on a much needed vacation to Florida
-Almost complete yet another year of teaching (One more month to go!)
-Graduate from college for the third time

With summer vacation almost here I'm making plans to actually get work accomplished on the Bug. To this end I've done the following:

-Cleaned out and rearranged the garage to make more room to work. With the exception of my riding lawnmower (which I simply can't fit in my shed or anywhere else) the garage is now Volkswagen only. (And open to my wife's Corolla for maintenance work once in a while.)

-Added several much needed tools to my collection as well as several things like retractable power cords and lights to make it easier to get things done.

-Borrowing a portable air conditioner to use over the summer. More on this next week.