August 2010 Blog Updates: What You May Have Missed

Getting caught up on the blog, here's an overview of post from the past that were added this month:

• 2009 ALMS Long Beach Grand Prix

• Paramount Ranch

• Wilshire Project Profile

• Camarillo Air Show

• Wilshire's Mitsubishi Room

• Cam's First Trip to Disneyland

• Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts

Here's an overview of the new posts from August 2010:

• Point Mugu Airshow

• Junkyard Cafe

• Cameron's Surgery

• Cougar Photos

• Goodbye Mazda!

• Project: New Patio

• Garage Makeover - Part 1

Project: Garage Makeover

So, over a year ago I began my garage makeover. It's been hard to find time to work on it, but Britt and my Mom are helping me get it painted. I hate painting, so this will really help me be able to move forward.



My goal is to create a "Man Cave". My inspiration is for the space is the Gulf Oil colors from Aston Martin Racing...









When finished, I hope to have something very similar to this...



Of course, I will have a bit more stuff to share the space with the cars. Once painted, I will install a black and white checkered floor and build various shelving units. I plan to build doors for each shelving unit and hope to paint those in various liveries from the past: Martini, Brumos, BMW Motorsport, and of course Herbie.

Project: New Patio

Spent all weekend on my hands and knees installing the cobblestone pavers under our new patio. I built the patio back in June, but it's taking a while to finish since finding time to work on it is tough.



Still need to create a permanent pathway to it, run electrical, do some landscaping and install a ceiling fan, speakers and sprinklers.

Goodbye Mazda!

We said goodbye to our Mazda CX-7 today. No, it's not getting repossessed, it broke down today and with only 10 days left on the lease we decided to turn it in early.



Some type of valve broke, which caused all the coolant to dump on the ground. It was just six weeks ago that the A/C Compressor kicked the bucket while we were on our way to New Mexico. Other than these two issues, it's been a trouble free car. Guess 25K miles was little too much for it.



We'll miss having a utility vehicle as Brittney is going to drive the BMW daily and I will go back to driving my MINI daily. Great cars for sure, but hopefully we'll get something more useful in the next year or so.

Cougar Photos Used on Diecast Model Packaging

So, a couple of years ago I received an email from someone who found pictures on Flickr I took of Dan Gurney's 1967 Mercury Cougar race car at the 2006 Monterey Historics. He explained that he would like to use them for the packaging of a diecast model. I gave him permission and never asked for compensation. I know, maybe I should have, but I was thrilled that someone wanted to use my photos.

I recently decided to purchase a model of that car without evening thinking about the email conversation from years ago. When the model arrived, I was surprised to see my photos on the box. How cool is that?! Anyway, I'm totally thrilled about this.

Click HERE to see the model on the manufacturers site.

Here are the photos used:

Cameron's Surgery - Tonsils & Adenoids

Today we all got up early for a 6:30 AM surgery appointment at Kaiser, Woodland Hills. Cameron was scheduled to have his Tonsils and Adenoids removed.



He was recently diagnosed with Sleep Apnea, which was caused by his enlarge Tonsils and Adenoids, so we opted to have them removed. He should be able to breath much better, which will help him sleep better, which in return should improve his behavior and be better for his heart.



Cameron was the perfect patient. He didn't cry or fuss one bit before the surgery. He displayed a great attitude and bravery. After the procedure was a different story, but that was to be expected. He was tired, cranky, and in a bit of pain.



In all, we were at the hospital for only three hours. The staff at Kaiser was fantastic and took great care of our precious little boy.

Dinner @ The Junkyard Cafe

Today was my birthday, so Britt, Cameron, and Jason surprised me with a trip to The Junkyard Cafe in Simi Valley. Fun place with good food. The restaurant is decorated will all sorts of junk and there are bizarre quotes everywhere you look. Even the mismatched utensils come wrapped in a red shop rag that's been washed so many times it's now pink!

Point Mugu Air Show

The Point Mugu Air Show was back this year for the first time in a while. Cameron has been to a smaller air show before (no jets), but since he loves his toy jet airplanes, we thought that he would get a kick out of going to see military jets.


Cameron & Grandpa

He was doing fine until the F18 took to the air. It was very loud and freaked him out pretty good. However, after a quick nap he warmed up to the jets. He did real well when the Air Force Thunderbirds put on their show.


Brittney & Cameron

Dirty Cameron

This is what Dirty Harry probably looked like as a three year old before he traded his bubble maker in for a .44!