March 1, 2009

March 1, 2009

Well, as birthdays go, this was a memorable one. I drove over to my parents house in Citrus County with my girlfriend to spend the weekend there. I was excited that she had agreed to come with us to the Webster Auto Swap, which was being held that Sunday. My roommate, who rarely gets to come to one of these events, drove over and met us Sunday morning, and after breakfast we piled into his big red Silverado and headed toward Webster. The forcast was that there was to be a cold front passing through the area that morning, and wouldn't you know it, the forecasters were right. We got there in the middle of it. The rain wasn't really that bad- we had been provided warm clothes and umbrellas by my parents- it was the stiff and gusty wind that drove the rain into our allegedly waterproof jackets that made the cold. They still charged us admission. The show itself was in the pasture north of its usual location, due to the concurrent Sumter County Fair. It was also half the size of the Winter Extravaganza two weeks prior, or at least it would have been had the weather not been driving off all but the most hard-core of vendors. The three of us walked around the show, looking at the stuff that vendors had not packed away or thrown tarps over, usually not lingering too long at any one spot. We did stop at a hot dog stand under a canopy for a few minutes, though. I knocked on a few windows and walked into a few trailers to ask some questions, but I didn't find any truck or Camaro parts. I figured, though, that if these guys were committed enough to be out there in that infernal cold, I would at least look at what they had to offer. Toward the end of our time there, it had pretty much stopped raining, but the wind was still howling at a good clip. By that point, however my girlfriend decided that she's rather wait in the Silverado out of the weather. And, as she has little interest in old car parts, I don't blame her.