In the early years “From the Swamp” would pen an annual column entitled “How I spent my summer vacation.” It chronicled the hoop exploits of yours truly during our annual family trek to Stone Harbor, NJ. The columns included appearances by notables such as WNBA All-Star Elena DelleDonne; 6’10” 410 lb. Charlie Naddaff; new Charlotte Hornets Head Coach Charles Lee; 6’10” Kyle Goldcamp who played at Gannon and with the Erie Bayhawks in the NBA G League; UDPride MB poster Bob McHale, rocker Dave Matthews and Frank from Baltimore, who suffered a heart attack on the court and was immediately attended to by a cardiologist who happened to be on the other team.

Thanks to Chris reanimating some old “FTS” content, here is the one from 2002 that features Charlie and Kyle:

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

This is the 2003 edition, with more Charlie and Kyle:

That Was The Week That Was

And the 2009 end-of-the-line obituary for vacation beach hoops:

Summertime Blues

La Famille Swampy went to Stone Harbor last year for our 50th anniversary, but there were still no oceanside pickup hoops to be had. This time around we decided to switch it up and try something new and booked a week at a really nice house in Folly Beach, SC that sleeps 10 and has a pool, hot tub and a dock for fishing on the Folly River. Here is what it looks like:

We did all of this knowing full well that:

– August in SC can get oppressively hot and humid

– It’s the beginning of hurricane season

The good news is that it never really got all that hot; the bad news is that we all became intimately familiar with the wonderfulness that was Hurricane Debby. By Tuesday morning the forecasts were particularly grim, and our full-time neighbors advised us that if we were thinking of leaving flood-prone Folly Beach, we better do it then. After considering the alternatives, the adults decided “screw it, we’re staying.”

Which turned out to be the absolutely correct call. The grandkids never really noticed the difference, as they were perfectly happy swimming in the pool or hot tub and fishing on the dock in the rain. By Thursday afternoon, Debby was terrorizing New York and we were able to hit the beach for a couple of days.

The rest of my summer has been spent playing golf Mondays and Thursdays and pickup hoops at the Birmingham YMCA on Tuesdays and Fridays. We’ve also traveled to Minnesota, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh to see family.

The other annual highlight of each summer around here is the week-long autopalooza known as the Woodward Dream Cruise, when a million people and thousands of cool rides descend upon the Motor City. Every year I try to fill out my bingo card of cars that my Dad owned when I was growing up..

‘47 Chevy? Check.
‘55 Chevy? Yup.
‘57 Chevy? Si.
‘61 Pontiac? Yeah.
‘64 Riviera? Affirmative.
‘’67 Riviera? You betcha.

Every year at the Dream Cruise, there is one car that makes you say “WTF is that???” This year’s nominee:

Turns out it is a 1 of 1 built by Steve Pasteiner, the owner of Advanced Automotive Technologies, the company that also produced these cool retro-Vettes:

My friend Jeff was responsible for the NCRS Corvette display on Old Woodward in downtown Birmingham, which came off looking great and without a hitch:

My BIL Randy races Austin Mini Coopers, so I had to text him this pic:

In 1972 I had $300 in my savings account and had a decision to make: buy an engagement ring or a Packard like this one:

As the ancient knight in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade observed:

“He chose…wisely.”

I’m always on the lookout for my favorite American made marque, Hudson. Here is one I caught in the wild:

Speaking of Hudson, a couple of advertisements on Craigslist recently caught my eye. This one for a 1954 Hudson Hornet convertible:

https://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/cto/d/coloma-1954-hudson-hornet/7768104865.html

The asking price of $29,000 is way, way under market. The map shows the car is in Michigan, but it is listed in Chicago and the phone number is in Florida. Other than that, it seems totally legit!

This one is for a Hudson Italia:

https://monterey.craigslist.org/cto/d/thousand-oaks-1954-hudson-italia/7776053089.html

This car is basically “unobtanium.” They only made 26 and a mere 21 survive. It needs a total restoration which will cost several hundred thousand buckaroos. Here is what it should like when it is finished:

A car guy can always dream, right?