Dope Vid. #156

Video courtesy of GearsAndGasoline.

Dope Vid. #107

Video courtesy of ILoveBass.

Almost Event Recap: H2o International 2012 (VagScene)

Uh yea...we didn't go. Here's a video from the weekend though!


H2Oi presented by C2 Motorsport & NGP Racing from VAG Scene on Vimeo.

Upcoming show: H2o International 2012

We're late as weren't going to make this post, but decided to help out whoever may be trying to make this years H2oi. To be clear, we think H2oi's management leaves a lot to be desired, but wish the show well and hope it continues to succeed. As explained previously, I've personally missed two years of H2oi since its inception. I've seen it grow, prosper, get huge and lose a little of the magic as of late. The timing of this show in the calendar year is just about perfect and you don't need the show itself to have a good time. Hopefully this years events are run better than last year, and more importantly visitor behavior around town needs to be seen more positively by the locals. A note to all the squirrels reading this that don't know better already; keep your jackass friends in check, yourself included.

Stepping off our collective soapbox, here's the skinny for the 15th annual H2O International. The new location for both days is Fort Whaley Campgrounds, located right off of Rt.50. Here's a quick map-google from downtown OC:

What the location is like and how it'll be arranged for vendors/showcars/visitors, will be a surprise for most, but who doesn't like surprises. Important details:

• Saturday September 29th - Big Ass BBQ / Pre-show gathering (12pm-5pm) 
• Sunday September 30th - H2oi Show (9am-5pm) $30 (pre-registration is now over) 
• Aircooled, Watercooled, Audi & VW classes 
• Fort Whaley 11224 Dale Road Whaleyville, MD 21872

For additional info visit --> H2OInternational.com. Here are some highlights from last year:

Event Recap: H2o International 2011

This years H2o International was one I won't forget too soon, but not for the reasons you might think. I spent more time hanging out with friends this year than I ever have, stayed in a less than fantastic motel on an air mattress, drove my grey car down to the beach for the first time in two years and was under a seemingly constant rain cloud that never ran out of water...and that was just Friday. Outside of the annual socializing, I wasn't sure what to expect from the show this year. The showgrounds were set upon a Catholic School I never heard of and the confirmation of H2oi 2011 taking place wasn't set in stone until pretty late in the Summer. Reflecting on this years VAG weekend in OC, now that a week or so has passed, a few things have become glaringly clear. One, this years show was pulled off as expected and proved again to be the undisputed king of east-coast shows in turnout. Two, this show isn't what it used to be and I don't think it'll ever be as good an overall event as it was before 2010.

In the case you think I'm blaming my lackluster H2oi's experience on the oppressive weather this year, let me elaborate. What has made H2oi so good over the past fourteen years is a number of things (in no particular order); a great and familiar location, familiar staff, an organized show field, cool cars, parking with other cars like your own, judging by peers who intimately know the cars on their docket, laid back environment, ease of parking, seeing slick daily drivers/personal cars on the way out and show regulars. This years show had a sprinkling of what the previous shows brought to the table, but fell short in the majority of other departments. First off, the location was a train wreck; not because it was at a private school, but because public parking and the event/show parking were on two sides of a major road; Racetrack Road (Rt.589). In order to make this work, organizers had Maryland State Troopers and show staff in the middle of said major road, working it as a gate to let people in and out of both event and general parking sides. This directly lead to ~2 miles of backed up traffic coming from Rt.50, due to this major thru-way being clogged up. It took an hour to travel a mile and a half, at 3pm, the Saturday (Big Ass BBQ) before the show. In order to rectify the situation on Sunday, when the patron count would be quadrupled, the local police/signs told people to take Rt.113 and come to the show grounds from the other side of Rt.589. This was a band-aid solution at best.

Back from the dead!

1552's custom shoes for Alexi's Golf

The Quebec based Unix line-up was a good reason to attend.

Learning a lesson from the shenanigans on Saturday we left early enough to arrive around 9am Sunday morning. The car line was short, thankfully, and we all were directed to follow some of the show staff to be parked. Much to my surprise, there were no set rows or sections matching the details on the dash cards that showing participants received through registration, and the staff was just trying to jam cars in wherever there was room. There were lines of cars coming from all directions from within the showgrounds; I was later informed this was because the plan for arranging cars was different depending on the staff you spoke to at any given time. And to add insult to injury, we had some teenage kid that didn't know what the fck he was doing telling us to rearrange our cars every few minutes to squeeze more into a space that didn't exist. Not long afterwards we were notified judges would be working sections of the showfield, instead of the classes they were supposed to judge, since all the sscattered makes would be too hard to track down. Now I'm not a stickler for judging and enjoy a good parking spot more than anything else, but this is a judged carshow and for all those spending countless months building cars to showcase and compete, why would you want someone who knew nothing about your car (or cars in general in some instances) having anything to do with judging it? And don't get me started on the dubstep tent.

My soapbox back in storage now, let me tell you what was good about this years show. For one, it happened. This was a question mark for many regular attendees and vendors, some of which didn't make it in person due to the short-notice planning. Second, there were some cool cars worth showing up for, but you had to search for those that didn't find their way onto Top Dog row or Vendor alley. The Top Dog section was chock full of well built cars including Bynum toys and Alexi's mk3 golf. Alexi's golf, which was fantastic to see finally running after a stint at EuroAutoSource, was crisp-n-clean with some of his family present and dressed to impress. Third, the show turnout as big as last year if not bigger; this was hard to tell by sight given the layout was more compressed than years past. There were a ton of new faces in addition to the several hundred people you see at this event every year. Going forward I think the show needs a bigger and more purpose-built venue; after seeing what happened to traffic and the grass of Most Blessed Sacrament School, I wouldn't be surprised if this won't be a repeat location. Odd as this may sound to some, I think the show needs to slow it's growth. H2oi may have finally gotten too big for its own good. Think Waterfest. VWoA was there with the corporate paddy wagon and I'm sure vendor sales were up all around. But at what cost? H2o International is supposed to be the chill show with cool cars that isn't a hassle to attend; it is now.

Album.

Upcoming Show: H2o International 2011

It's that time of year again. The summer is coming to a close, the fall equinox is in the near distance and there's one last show to run through before taking dem show wheels off. It is time for H2o International 2011. If you remember the recap from last years festivities, or better yet were there yourself, you'll know that slot machines are now in, and H2oi is now out of the old location at Ocean Downs racetrack. Thankfully Jay Shoup worked his off-season magic and albeit late in the timeline, has found new digs for the event to take place this year; Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic School (!) 2.5 miles north of Ocean Downs. This is the first major change of location for H2oi since about 2000. There have been many fond memories, mammaries and pictures taken over the last decade-plus at Ocean Downs. I look forward to everyone starting this tradition anew in this fresh location. From the pics I've seen, it's a pretty large venue and it will NEED to be. That said, who's up for a game of Racetrack Rd. Frogger?

This years event breakdown is as follows:

• Saturday September 24th - Big Ass BBQ / Pre-show gathering (12pm-5pm)
• Sunday September 25th - H2oi Show (9am-5pm)
• $25 Pre-registration for show/club cars; must be done online by Sept 18th @ 5pm
• Aircooled, Watercooled, Audi & VW classes
• 11242 Racetrack Road Berlin, MD 21811

As usual there will be a ton of gtgs for every cool to squirrely grouping of enthusiasts you can think of; have fun picking out what you will do with your time. As usual the main event is on Saturday night at 37th and Philadelphia Ave. Flashback...

Get up and out of the house, drive to Ocean Shtty, book a room and enjoy.

Event Recap: H2o International 2010

For everyone who knows the grind of H2oi weekend, here in my home state of Maryland (Ocean City), you understand what it is; light on sleep, heavy on socializing & meeting people, seeing old friends & out of state associates, eating out, a six pack or three and excessive car cleaning...well maybe that was just me (ahem). To address the show(s), Saturday's Big Ass BBQ was a hint of what was to come on Sunday; cars as far as the eyes could see, a new arrangement on the show grounds for vendors, showcars and patrons, as well as a dusty landscape. The good news was this past weekend was like summer all over again. Friday was hot and in the low 90s, Saturday was in the high 80s with a nice breeze, sunny as all hell, and Sunday was intermittent rain showers and people running to their cars for shelter.

I wasn't sure what this years H2oi show was going to bring, given the new construction of the Ocean Downs 'races and slots' facility as I mentioned in previous posts. Since the vendors couldn't be on the parking lot of the facility, they moved all of them to the main drag into the showgrounds, much like Dubs on the Beach (2010) this past May (if you attended). The difference between DOTB and H2oi this year was about 1000+ cars and about 2000+ people. It was a sight to behold looking back to where this show came from in 1999 or so. It's probably odd for me to say it, but I think there were actually too many cars. I made the effort to walk around plenty to see all of the show field Sunday, over 4hrs, and still missed plenty. The good news was many others' online pictures filled in the gaps of cars I didn't see, but of course I always enjoy capturing a cool car with my own lens.

Nighttime out was great as usual. I forgot how much I missed seeing OC loaded for bear with modified German Cars as far as the eye could see. Some interesting imports popped up as well. There were CCW and Rota Grids as far as the eye could see too, but that's another story all together. Some good friends didn't make it down to the show this year, but there's always next time and for those that did, hell yea.

I took too many shots to put into one place, so I'll be posting them and non-show content randomly over the next several days. In the meantime, you can see all of my showground shots from Saturday and Sunday here (click on saturday or sunday on the left). I even followed up on my previous notion and got a small HD digital video camera...that was a bit of a learning experience since I was without a steadicam. I'll make a post once I whip up a short video, but that will take much longer than picture editing, especially since I haven't even installed the editing software yet ha.

As usual, share my albums with your friends and use my pics of your cars in your threads on forums around the web; just use my links so I can track the stats. Watermarks will be a 2011 thing me thinks.

Upcoming Show - H2o International 2010

What sucks most about the show season (and life if you want to get technical about it) is that time flies. You wait and wait for Spring, it arrives, then before ya know it Thanksgiving is knocking at your door. It's almost about that time of year for one of the last fun automotive gatherings before it gets cold; H2o International (H2oi) 2010 in Ocean City (OC), Maryland. H2oi has been a staple of the VW-enthusiast diet since 1998; evolving and growing to become one of the shows, world-wide, that isn't missed. The whole city is dominated by VWs and Audi's for about 96 hours straight; it's definitely something every euro-enthusiast should see at least once in their lifetimes. I've had plenty of great memories from H2oi weekend over the past ten years and hope this one will be a better time than the last. The show field arrangement this year will be the biggest question mark, as with the coming of slot machines to the Ocean Downs race complex, the existing facilities have been torn down for the new building to replace it.

For all of you H2oi virgins reading this post, let me give you the breakdown of this years event:

• Saturday September 25th - Big Ass BBQ / Pre-show gathering (12pm-5pm)
• Sunday September 26th - H2oi Show (9am-5pm)
• $25 Pre-registration for show/club cars; must be done online by Sept 18th @ 5pm
• Aircooled, Watercooled, Audi & VW classes

There are plenty of mark/model specific get-togethers all over OC so if you're on a forum look for one to check out. I'll be at the CBS Ice Cream Social Saturday evening, which will be awesome as usual. Drive around town and see what's going on in a parking lot near you; just be wary of the cops foo.

The turnout will probably keep breaking previous years' records, but hopefully the relaxed atmosphere remains. Here are some pics from H2oi weekends of years past:

06'

07'

07'

07'

08'

08'

09'

09'

H2oi 2010 should be a great time, hope to see some of you all there in twelve days. Shame on you for not booking your hotel already.