Fedoras afield

[dh66]

I think my dad called that ship an LST(landing ship tank) in WWII>

Yes, that sounds right. It just happened to be there when we were. Apparently it is on a tour of ports throughout the country. The line of folks waiting to go on board and see it must've been a mile long.
I figured there's enough WW2 buffs around here that I could at least share the pic.

 

[mikespens]

Great fun Charlie and Perry, like to see Loungers meeting up to share the sickness.

Good looking family Harv.

 

[GregNYC]

Wonderful pictures everyone! We ought to be able to get a NYC-area meetup going one of these days!


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[Zombie_61]

...And for Mike, Harv, and Lando

C'mon Dale, don't be...koi.

 

[dh66]

 

[Joao Encarnado]

Nice pictures.

 

[mikespens]

Your kids must think they're in heaven Dale

 

[GregNYC]

What a great thread! Thanks for posting, Dale!


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[dh66]

Thanks guys. It's been a busy summer and I was sure glad to get a few days to do something with the kids. Back to the grind today though.

 

[dh66]

1950s Stetson for a very moving history lesson for my kids

16th Street Baptist Church

Monument to the four little girls killed there in the Sept. 15, 1963 bombing.

Statue of a policeman turning a dog loose on a child during the 1963 civil rights protests in Birmingham.

Sometimes the "good old days" weren't all that good.

 

[Hothir]

I went on a hike last weekend with some friends and one of them captured this image.

 

[g.durand]

Sometimes the "good old days" weren't all that good.[/QUOTE]

Dale, thanks for taking us back to that dark era in our history. As much as we lament the loss of fashion style and hat wearing, it's good that a lot of things from the "old days" are gone. I was in Birmingham just a couple of years after those events and I remember the tension that was still there.

But back to hats, the Stetson looks great.

 

[dh66]

.........But back to hats, the Stetson looks great.

Thanks Michael. The hat carries the store stamp on the sweatband of a dept. store in Birmingham that was around in that era, so it was the obvious choice for the trip.

Hothir that is an amazing photo. Very cool effect!

 

[bowlerman]

Hothir, Dale, great pics!

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[dh66]

Thanks B-man.

 

[Alive'n'Amplified]

Truly Alive and Amplified

So last week my wife pulled the surprise birthday gift on me. According to her, it was a birthday / Xmas gift. Hmmm... for the life of me, I couldn't guess what it was, but I knew it had to be big. We drove for a good hour and a half from our home to the low mountains of north Georgia. It seemed like we were driving to the middle of nowhere with spine tingling scenes from Deliverance.

We finally got to our destination with a large and fenced gated entrance. Once I saw the sign, I knew what I was in for. She took me to the Atlanta Motorsports Park!! Like most men, I am a fan of hot cars and fast women. Wait, maybe it's the other way around. AMP is a motor sports country club, complete with private sports car garages for the ultra-rich or auto enthusiasts. The track has 16 turns and almost 100 feet of elevation change. It's a 100-mph engagement between man and machine. Of course, women are welcome, too. :yo:

The gift was a 5-lap driving experience around the track in a super car. A group called, Velocity Motorsports, parks 6 cars at the track that can be rented for a hefty (but worth every penny) fee. Tier 1 is a Porsche 911 Turbo and a Nissan GT-R. Tier 2 is a Ferrari F430 and a Lamborghini Gallardo. The exclusive Tier 3 hosts a Ferrari F430 Scuderia and the McLaren MP4-12c. All cars are tuned from stock, so they are ready for fast straights and hard corners.

Being the ultra-cool wife that she is, my wife chose the sickest thing on the track, the McLaren MP4-12c. She had no idea what it was, but she asked, "Did I go good?" Maybe it's not as nasty as the 650S or the P1, but at 616HP, 3.8L twin turbo V8, a screaming 370 ft lbs of torque, and an incredibly tight suspension... Ahem. Uhhhh, YES.

Hatless... but not for long...

I haven't experienced "adventure sports" like skydiving, base jumping, snowboarding, or even water skiiing. But I HAVE driven a $365,000 sports car. Thank you very much. I walked over to the lineup of cars that I'll never be able to own with jaw dropping awe. There were thousands of horses under all those bonnets and boots. My blood was beginning to speed up. The instructors had started each vehicle just moments before to warm them up. Each rev of the engines were like roars of sinister beasts. I was in for the drive of my life...


No fedoras on this track, but I did have a suitable lid...

Next up, exiting the pit lane...

 

[1mach1]

Awesome, AnA! Your wife sounds like a keeper for sure! :eusa_clap

 

[Alive'n'Amplified]

Truly Alive and Amplified, Part II

There are a lot of turns, so you're not going 100 mph the whole time. Coming out of the pit exit, I was [very] quickly up to 80 mph for the first series of short turns in to an uphill apex that turns you around. Turn 4 and Turn 5 brought me downhill through to a very sharp Turn 6.

I had to really lay in to the brakes going downhill just before Turn 6 in to a light uphill straight through to Turn 7, 8, and 9. Turn 10 was a sharp left-hander that led me downhill again to a sharp right-hander. I really hugged the curbing as this took me uphill again for a blind right-hand Turn 12 and another quick left to Turn 13.

I built up speed around Turn 14 and 15, passed the Ferrari at almost 100 mph, and led in to the straightaway, which came to a SCREAMING halt, with the help of the massive 6-piston ventilated disc brakes and air-brake spoiler, back to a blind left-handed Turn 1.

The last lap came all too quickly and I was back in the pit again, coming in to my final stop.

Last pics...

 

[Alive'n'Amplified]

Truly Alive and Amplified, Part III

So, needless to say, I was a VERY happy camper...

HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE RIDE!!! :thumb:

 

[1mach1]

Great pics, man. Thanks for sharing!!