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.

Bored on Saturday night

My fiancé is out at a party with her friends and my son is already asleep so I’m taking some time to work on the site. I’ve spent some time the last few weekends doing a thorough cleaning out of the garage and organizing everything. I’ve crammed as much stuff as I possibly can into the shed. It’s amazing how much space is freed up when the riding lawnmower is no longer stored in the garage. I still haven’t had a chance to rebuild the cart the body sits on but it’s coming soon. I’m finally getting some free time that I can devote to the project and despite it getting cold I’m determined to get out there and make some progress.

Veteran's Day

My dad served in the United States Air Force from 1960-1965 serving all over the Pacific as well as a tour of duty in Vietnam. Dad was always proud of his service and some years back for his birthday I got him Vietnam Veteran plates for his truck. (Despite his signature being required on the DMV form to get them I was able to keep it a surprise but I’m not about to admit how on a public blog. :) ) Dad eventually went back to DMV later and got them personalized with “GIDONK” which he said was the name of a favorite bar on one of the bases he was at while he was in the service.

Last night my mom came over and brought those plates to me. She recently finally took my dad’s name off the registration and got new plates for the truck. This afternoon I went out to the garage and hung them on the back wall. This site and the restoration is dedicated to his memory and having those plates hanging overlooking the restoration is a way to have him there when I’m working on the Bug.

Been a while

It’s been a while since I did anything with the site or the Bug. Today I corrected a few typos on several pages within the site. I also cleaned out the garage as I’m hoping to get out there and at least do a little work on the Bug soon. Later thi s week I’m going to get new lumber to rebuild the dolly that the Beetle’s body sits on. It’s become a bit unstable and I’ve drawn up new plans to make it much stronger. As soon as it’s rebuilt I’ll be posting detailed plans as well as a supply list of the materials needed to build one. Until then email me if you want the measurements.

Google Adsense

I added Google AdSense under the sidebar and on the bottom of some of the pages. Not sure if I’m going to keep it or not. It takes away from the look of the site . I guess it will depend on whether or not it makes me any money. Webhosting isn’t free.