Christmas Eve 2009

Cameron preparing cookies for Santa and carrots for his reindeer. Listen carefully when Cam puts the cookies on the Santa plate.

Family Christmas Photo - 2009

It was such a challenge to get both Cameron and Cooper (the dog) to hold still for last year's family Christmas photo, that we didn't even bother to include Cooper this year. Sorry buddy! Turned out to still be very difficult to get Cameron to cooperate, but this is eventually what we were able to capture...

Cam's First Trip to Disney's California Adventure!

Well, we bought season passes to Disneyland after our visit in October and we plan to get our money's worth. During our first trip back we took Cam to Disney's California Adventure. He loved the life-sized version of Mater... I did too!



Unfortunately Britt had taken only the essentials from her purse and for some reason our little camera was not included. We had to use my iPhone instead and this was the best it could do...

Jason Playing Baseball

Took some pictures today of my brother Jason playing baseball with his adult league. Cam had fun at the ballpark, but I think baseball is still a little to long for a two-year-old.

Cam's First Trip to Disneyland!

We all took the day off and went to Disneyland today. It was Jason’s birthday (so he got in free), and Cam’s first trip to see Mickey Mouse. We had a great time and Cameron loved it.

Monterey Sports Car Championships 2009

Went to Monterey to catch the ALMS season finale at Laguna Seca. Great race, and I think I captured some great images.



Race Recap:



Final Lap:

Wilshire's Mitsubihsi Room

Took some pictures today of Wilshire's Mitsubishi Room. The lighting in the room is fantastic. I was able to capture these shots without the use of a flash. I bracketed my shots and then carefully fused the three exposures in Photomatix. I then took the time to insert screen shots on the television screens in a few of the images.

Summertime Ice Cream Treat

Cam ran out and bought ice cream from the ice cream man today. As you can tell from the pictures, he really enjoyed it. We had to give him a bath afterward. Can you believe that that little push-up pop was $1.25? Everything is getting so expensive.



More pics of Cameron enjoying his ice cream treat here…

Camarillo Air Show 2009

Took Cameron to his first airshow today. Since he's just like his Dad and Grandpa, he loves all things with wheels and wings. It was a great show, but I've still got lots of pics to go through. Here a are a few...

Monterey Day 2: BMWCCA West Coast Summer Concours

After another stop and Katy's Place on Friday morning, Dave, Erik and I headed back to Carmel Valley for the 1st BMWCCA West Coast Summer Concours held at the Rancho Canada Golf Club.




The concours was a nice event with a great selection of BMWs. Our MINIs were the only ones parked in the corral. They seemed to get a decent amount of attention. Enjoy the slideshow...

Monterey Day 1: RM Auction & Preview

After spending the day in Carmel watching the Pebble Beach Tour d'Elegance, Dave, Erik and I headed to Monterey to catch a little bidding action at the RM Auction.




Thursday night's auction was dedicated to the Nick Alexander Woody Collection. Over 50 classic Woodies were auctioned off for a total of $7 Million. On display and parked on the back lot were the cars that would be auctioned off on Friday and Saturday night. We made sure we stopped by again on Friday to witness an Aston Martin go for over $300,000 in a phone bidding war. Enjoy the pics...

Monterey Day 1: Pebble Beach Tour d'Elegance

This year we headed up the coast to Monterey to enjoy car week with our friends, Dave & Judy, their son Calvin, and Erik. We drove up on Wednesday and rented a house together in Aptos, CA.

After a great breakfast at Katy's Place in Carmel, our first event of the week was the Pebble Beach Tour d'Elegance.




We viewed the cars on Ocean Ave in Carmel, and despite the crowds, we really enjoyed admiring this impressive collection of fine automobiles.




Later, we gathered on the side of the road to watch them all drive away. Enjoy the photos...

Wilshire Project Profile: Multi-National Company

Today I photographed a commercial project for Wilshire Home Entertainment, the company I work for. This project required multiple conference rooms and a main assembly room for company functions. Wilshire's goal was to balance modern technology with the modern design of the facility.



Wilshire utilized some of the finest equipment available from top manufacturers including Crestron, Extron, Lutron, QSC, Shure, Sony, URC, Stewart, Mid-Atlantic and Tandberg. Upon completion, the project was presented to the multi-national company and their staff, who were dazzled by the end result.

The MINI Was Towed Today.

For the first time ever, Linus left me stranded. A problem with the wiring harness adapter for the fuel injectors caused injector #2 to get stuck open. It flooded the cylinder with fuel, the car went into limp mode, and I sputtered to a stop. After shutting the car off it wouldn't start again because the spark plug was soaked in fuel.



The car was towed to MINICorsa and Danny was able to get me running again in minutes. Hubie at ABF Performance sent me some new adapters and the problem is now fixed.

That's My Boy!

Cameron decided to help me wash the BMW (Lucy) today. He especially wanted to wash Lucy's "Nose". At two years old he already recognizes the personality in a car. He also knows that the best way to wash a car is nearly nude, he calls it "Diaper Naked". In return, I helped him wash his MINI pedal car, but I left my clothes on!

World Class Motoring - Paramount Ranch Road Races

Went to World Class Motoring today to learn about the motorsport history at Paramount Ranch and watch an old racing movie that was filmed there in the 50's, The Devil's Hairpin. Bet you didn't know there was a great racetrack hidden in the hills near Agoura? Well, it turned out to be a very deadly racetrack so racing ceased after just three years. However, today you can stil visit Paramount Ranch and see the remains of the old track.

Cameron's 2nd Birthday Party

Photos by Dave Read: http://www.flickr.com/photos/am0eba/sets/72157620537732161/

New (used) BMW 330i ZHP

Picked up this 2003 BMW 330i ZHP to help relieve the MINI of its daily driving duties. The BMW has 53K miles, a six-speed manual transmission, and a handful of "M" parts as part of the ZHP package. Oh, and the color is Imola Red, available only on the M3 and cars with the ZHP package.

SCMM All MINI Car Show

2009 Long Beach Grand Prix - ALMS

Went to the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) race at the Long Beach Grand Prix today. The American Le Mans Series is by far the premier racing series in the country. I just love going to these races and following the series. Here are some paddock shots from just before the race...

Dyson Racing Mazda Lola


Rahal-Letterman BMW M3 GTR

A Few Easter Pics

A MINI Vacation in Vegas (AMVIV) 2009 - Day 3

Here are a some photos from a A MINI Vacation in Vegas.  Lex, Erik, and I went on a run to the Valley of Fire.  It was a great drive!

A MINI Vacation in Vegas (AMVIV) 2009 - Day 2

While on a run during AMVIV, we stopped at Hoover Dam to check out the progress on the new bridge.

Calvin's Birthday Party

Calvin Read's birthday party in Palos Verdes.

SCCA @ California Speedway

Went to an SCCA race and track day event at California Speedway with SCMM (SoCal MINI Maniacs) today. We were there to support Brecht MINI's participation in the event and get in a few "high-speed" parade laps. Cameron slept through the parade laps even though we got to push the MINI pretty good.