Mecum Kissimmee 2023 Report

Mecum Kissimmee 2023 Report

 

This one will be short - because for some reason I didn't take a lot of pictures and I didn't grab any from Branelle's phone. Regardless, once again we made the kids truant and headed to Florida in early January for cars and fun! We followed our usual MO - we hit the auction for a full day so I can inspect the thousands of cars on the Osceola County Fairgrounds, and then spend the rest of the week doing fun things with the kids while I bid on anything I might want via the Mecum App - returning to the auction occasionally for follow ups. 

Things we didn't buy:

 

1988 Bentley Eight Sedan

I liked this car. I've never owned a Bentley - a few Rolls Royce's that were basically the same car, but never a Bentley. The red color was certainly part of it, but I find these 80's sedans to be just fun cars. They never work right, and everything is expensive to fix, but still... It's probably for the best that I passed on this one. I was good up to $20K, but it sold for about $28K.

1988 Jaguar XJ6 Sport Wagon

Speaking of odd British cars - I would have loved to take this 'estate' version of an old XJ6 home. I had no idea what it was worth or what I would pay for it, but I watched it go through with great anticipation. Nel was terrified I'd actually buy it. She was safe, as it crossed the block at $55K! 

1965 Century 21' Coronado

I was absolutely planning to buy this boat. It was going up to Minnesota to be our restaurant runner in the summer. It was in great shape, and it sold for a mere $23K. The problem was, I missed it. The downside to buying on the app while enjoying Disney, etc, is that you can't stare at your phone all day. I thought I had this one timed right, but logged on to find I'd just missed it. Gutted.

Something with a wing!

I still want one of these old Mopar wing cars badly. I prefer the Plymouth Superbird version to the Daytona, but could go either way. They're pricey, but if I decide to invest in some classic muscle, this will be on the short list. 

Things we DID buy:

2001 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Volante

I kind of talked myself into this one as the car was heading up on the block. We were at the auction, and this one showed less than 10K miles on the odometer. It seemed to be perfect, so I kept raising my hand until it was mine. I'm still sorting this one out. It's been in storage for the most part, and has some odd issues that need to be addressed, but it's beautiful and when it's running right I love it. The Vantage indicates the 12-cylinder version, and the Volante just means the top comes down. I really like this car and plan to keep it for a long time. I'd like to drive it more than I do, but I'll pull it out of storage and sort it out soon.

1979 Lincoln Town Car

I can't tell you how excited I am about this one. I had been wanting one of these land yachts for years, and have come so close on many occasion to buying one. I snagged this nearly perfect barge while we were boarding the plane to come home. It's become one of my kids favorites - they call it the "luxury car" for some reason. I think it's the giant red velour seats in the back and they way it just floats. Everything works great and I do drive this one from time to time. 

The first thing we did when we got it home was see how many bodies you could put in the trunk. Turns out, the whole family...plus room for some neighbors. 

1989 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z

Yes, this was very cool to high school Scott. My first car was almost an IROC-Z - probably should have been. This one is in great shape and has about 50K miles on it. I can't say white would be my first choice of colors for an IROC, but I'll take it. Nel doesn't get this one at all. She's too young to remember when these were cool.

That was it - three additions this time around and I'm fairly happy with them all. The IROC and the Town Car have become regulars in my rotation. The DB7 might be the best one, but for now it remains sidelined for the most part. 

Delivery day is always fun. Mecum makes it way to easy to buy cars. I have a line of credit with them, so I just bid and ship home - it's like ordering a pizza. 

The rest of the time we were there, which was over a week this time around, we had a blast with the kids doing the usual Orlando stuff. I was sure we'd do this trip every January, but Nel had other ideas in 2024 so we missed out. 

1980 Fiat 124 Spyder 2000

 1980 Fiat 124 Spyder 2000

I found this little Fiat on Craigslist one day, and it was actually on the same side of town as I am – that’s hardly ever the case. It belonged to an older gentleman who had a modest collection of cars he could no longer enjoy. It had extensive records and seemed to be in decent condition, so I paid the man and drove it home.

It was pretty and also fun to drive, but a bit frustrating for me if I’m being honest. It needed some things, which I tried to address, but it never was going to be as nice as I wanted it to be. I kept this one for a couple of years and then sold it on to another local guy. 

The paint was excellent, and when you have a car with really good paint it can make the rest of the car seem a lot cleaner than it really is. This little Fiat was a good driver but would have taken a full restoration to be collector quality. The interior was a little bit tired, and the undercarriage showed like a 40-year old car.

Despite its shortcomings, I really should have kept this one. It was cheap and fun when it worked, and with the paint and new top, along with clean brightwork, it was presentable as-is. These Spyder's will be collectable some day for sure. They’re Italian, cute, easy(ish) to work on, and very fun to pop around in. Mine left because I just lacked the space to keep everything. I should have bought another building and stashed this one away in it.

Alaska 2023: Seattle

 Alaska 2023

Seattle

The reason you're seeing a picture of me in a suit leading off this post for a family trip to Alaska is that it started with me in Seattle for a week ahead for work. I had to attend a conference and we decided to take an Alaskan cruise out of Seattle on the back end of it, so the wife and kids, and Nana, flew up to join me at the end of my week.

I was in a high rise hotel in downtown, and the kids really loved the views. There was an airshow happening on the weekend they arrived and our windows were about the best seat in the house! We spent a couple of days doing the standard Seattle touristy things, including our usual of finding interesting places to eat and weird things to do.

Gum wall.......for some reason.

We found some place called the "Selfie Museum", which was mildly entertaining, but way overpriced.

Nel is my little pack mule on these vacations!

Seattle was cool. We had great weather, which certainly helped. It was an interesting few days before getting on the ship and heading north.

1978 Jeep Cherokee

1978 Jeep Cherokee

I bought this truck in Wichita Falls from an individual in 1990 while I was in high school, and before I started taking a lot of pictures of my cars....and before I had a lot of cars for that matter. I had owned a 1980 model that was very similar a couple years prior and missed having it around. This thing was big and mean. It had a 360 and was full-time 4x4 with the Quadra-Trac system. It was a two door with a removable back seat, and was automatic with AC.

The truck had a huge grill guard on the front that housed a remote controlled 10,000 lb winch. For fun, my friends and I used to take it out to the country and try to get it stuck. We knew we could just hook the winch cable onto something and pull right out, but we never had to. People would call me on occasion in the middle of the night because they were out mudding, had gotten stuck, and needed a pull. I once pulled a Jeep up a 10-foot ravine it had slipped into the night before.

This thing was a lot of fun and pretty reliable. I never had a problem with it that I couldn't fix myself. It was in pretty good shape too. It had been painted just before I got it and the interior was clean. It was loud and rough on the road but I never had to go too far in it. I kept this vehicle for a couple of years, but got rid of it before heading to law school in Houston.

2004 Hummer H2 (#2)

2004 Hummer H2 (#2)

As the title suggests, this was my second 2004 H2, and third overall....and the worst of the three. It looked good, but unfortunately didn't drive as well as it looked. A friend of mine named Dave fixed the front end and rear hubs which helped, but it had some other issues so I didn't keep it long. It had over 90K miles on it when I bought it, so maybe it was just abused. 

It had 20" Weld's, which looked good, but made it ride a little worse than the factory package. 

It had a huge 13" screen that never got used. Screens were a big thing back in the day, but with smart phones and iPads today, you really don't need them. One thing that was nice about this H2 was that it had the spare mounted on the outside which opens up some valuable room in the back of the truck. However, this one also had the third row seat, which takes it away again. My biggest issue with these things was that they were compromised for rear cargo space for such a large vehicle. 

 

1998 Audi A4 1.8 Turbo Quattro

1998 Audi A4 1.8 Turbo Quattro

This A4 was different from the previous one I had owned at the time I bought it in that it had the 1.8-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder instead of the V6 and it was a manual. I preferred the smooth power delivery of the V6, but I have to admit that the stick was fun to drive in this car. It had about 78K miles on it, but you couldn't tell.

The car was in great shape but wasn't around too long. I don't remember driving it much to be honest, and can't remember who I sold it to. These are simple cars that make great transportation options for folks that like driving. Knocked another one off my list with a super-short post!

Ecuador 2022: Galapagos - Part 2

Ecuador 2022:

Galapagos - Part 2

The last few days of our Galapagos visit was spent in San Cristobal, which meant a couple hour ferry ride that tested more than a few people's seasick tolerance level. I thought it was fun, but I don't get motion sickness and never have. Everyone made it though, and we checked into our interesting hotel near the water.

San Cristobal is really cool.....and overrun by sea lions. They're adorable to watch, but they get cranky with each other and they smell!

We took it easy here, and just enjoyed some island time. I thought the town was a little nicer than Santa Cruz, and the beaches were a little nicer as well, aside from the local residents who didn't sweat you at all if you were in their way.

One thing we did decide to do was go deep sea fishing. Nel and I chartered a boat, and one of our tour mates joined us. We trolled around and caught some tuna, which local restaurants would prepare for you if you wanted, but we decided to just give them to the crew.

I'll say this about the Galapagos as well: If you're expecting limited accommodations or dining options, think again. There are many fine dining establishments that serve fantastic food, especially if you like seafood. 

After a couple of days in San Cristobal, we bid farewell to the Galapagos and headed back to mainland Ecuador to finish our tour. If you like nature or you're an avid diver, I think the Galapagos have to be on your list.

 

To put a bow on our Ecuador trip, we spent a day or two back in Quito before flying back to Houston. We stayed pretty low-key, but Mike and I did do a little work with some of our friends from Airbus, etc. Ecuador was a very interesting and diverse place. It's poor, and I wouldn't think driving around on your own would be a great idea, but I enjoyed our tour and it made me want to visit more of South America. 

Pretending to work - even though our company didn't really want us to. It turned out to be very fortuitous that we were down there.

We decided to eat at a Mexican restaurant (for some reason). They didn't short us on the cheese!

Peace out, Ecuador!