SIMC: Automania 2016

Automania is one of my favorite free local summer events. For a number of years it was held in Down Town Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Each year it got bigger with more autos, entertainment, concession stands and of course more people. By 2007 the show was spread out over a 20 block area and featured more than 600 cars, trucks and motorcycles.  By 2013 it had grown too large to be held in it's original location and was moved to the nearby town of Brandon. That first year in Brandon the event saw more than 70,000 people in attendance.

Having been away from the area for the last four years this was my time attending the car show at its' new location. At first it seemed smaller, then I was reminded that instead of being cramped into a 20 block radius the show now spanned over a mile long on a single road. I have sent a request to the organizers of the car show for an estimate of how many attended this year and how many vehicles were registered. I hope to get those numbers soon and update this post. For now here are some of my favorite photos from this year.

In addition to all the really awesome cars each year the show attracts at least a few famous cars and celebrities. Like this one you may recognize.

 Or maybe you will recognize this  95 Mitsubishi Eclipse. It is the car driven by Paul Walker in the 1st/3rd The Fast and The Furious movies.

 

In addition to cool cars, yummy food and live music there was even a gun booth.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing my favorite cars from this years Automania. Over the next few weeks I will be sharing a few of the many fun events held in and around my city during the summer. This event is held toward the end of June every year so if you want to experience it for yourself June is the month to visit Sioux Falls,SD.

For more virtual travel check out Unknown Mami's Sunday In My City blog hop.

Brought to you by the Letter K

Let's see if my muddled overwhelmed brain can put together a few coherent fragments. Over the last few months I have been trying to sort things out and figure out which way is up and which way is down. Needless to say I believe what I have accomplished the most is becoming lost. So today in an attempt to get back into some sense of normalcy. I am going back to preschool. 

This blog post is brought to you 

by the letter K

otherwise known as my eldest son, Mr. K

Source

During one of my late night chit chats with Mr. K, (he calls me on his drive home from work between 11pm and Midnight) he was telling me all about how the Tesla was good but there were some much better environmentally friendly cars on the way. He was telling me all about this car that runs on Hydrogen. It all sounded  like something from Back to the Future or maybe even the Jetson's but either way it sounded pretty cool. Then in the on Yahoo yesterday I saw this bit about the new BMW, and all I could think was how right now I feel like a discarded Vespa, so even though it is a hybrid and not a fancy new hydrogen car I could settle to be that BMW. Just why I am thinking of becoming a car of any kind I have no clue. That's normal isn't it? Or, maybe not.

Speaking of Mr. K, he obviously loves cars and one of his very favorites is the original VW's both the beetles and the buses. So when I saw this cute little bug I had to snap a few shots with my cell phone. 

While walking through Wal-Mart I came across this huge greeting card, with Mr. K's favorite Sesame Street character, of course I just had to snap a photo.

While I am on the subject of Mr. K, tomorrow is his 32nd birthday. Since I can't travel the 300 miles to cook him his birthday dinner I made him this little birthday greeting. 

So there you have it, my bits and pieces for the week. If you have some you would like to share don't be shy, head over to Mrs 4444's and join in with the Friday Fragments by clicking the her name above or the button below.

Oh yes, if you would be so kind as to send good vibes and well wishes my way they will be greatly appreciated, and if you have a spare miracle in your pocket that wouldn't hurt either. 

Have a great weekend!

Indoor Racetrack

When my boys were little they loved their Hot Wheels, but no way near as much as my grandson. It would not surprise me if he had at least two if not three of every current hot wheel made.  When he plays with them he generally gathers up a Tonka Truck load and drives it to one of the doorways in their home. Once at the door way he empties the cars and lines them up before choosing which ones he will drive. At any given time there may be cars lined up from wall to wall across every door jam.

Most often the kitchen becomes the race track, probably because the cars roll faster on the linoleum. The hall way is generally where he lines up the cars that don't fit across the door ways. The hallway is also where he builds his car wash and gas station out of Jenga blocks. The living room serves as the main part of town with his house in one corner and play rugs in the center. You know those rugs that look like streets, with parking lots and buildings. He will spend hours playing in his City, driving from room to room.

I will be totally shocked if when he grows up he does work with vehicles in some way. His father also loves cars, so a few years ago when I was putting together a memory album of our visit with his family I decided to use automobiles as the theme for one of the pages.

I like the idea of incorporate things that each person likes into the photos for our memory photo albums. It is one way of not only preserving the actual photos but also showing a little more about the individuals.

Car Shows & Summer Fun

When my children were still youngsters and in school so many of the other mothers thought I was crazy because I lived for summertime. I was almost as anxious for school to let out as the children.

Pick Nick on the river with two of my kids and some of my siblings

Sure there was always memorable things happening during the school year but for me it was all the adventures we would have when the kids were not in school that I enjoyed the most. Often as in both of these first two photos, I would pack the pick-nick basket with lunch and with no particular destination in mind we would hop in the car in search of a great place to eat our pick nick.

Son and Daughter at Crater Lake

My excitement for summer break hasn't changed much, only now it is adventures with the grandchildren that I look forward too. Of course with the high cost of gasoline hoping in the car with no particular destination doesn't happen very often anymore.

Fortunately our city is buzzing with lots of fun activities throughout the summer months. Although I don't make it to as many as I would like I do try to experience as many as possible.

Last night was the annual Automania car show. Luckily for me all of my grand kids love going to car shows as much as I do.

Automania is a great show for car enthusiasts. There are classics, hot rods, muscle cars, imports, motor cycles and even a few like this that I really don't know what you want to call it.

Overall we had a terrific time and I am sure that in years to come we will often reflect on the fun we have shared going to car shows.  Speaking of reflecting, if you like reflection photos pop over here to see two really nice reflections of the kids I got at the car show.