I was off to Austin to check out the 2012 Lone Star Round Up last weekend. I had not been to the Round Up before, but it definitely exceeded my expectations. Austin is a great town to visit, so some friends and I took in the sites for weekend. I had some clients and customers to see while I was in town. Friday and Saturday night during the Round Up there are cruise nights up and down S. Congress.
South Congress is a great spot for cruising and for hanging out. There were plenty of bands performing at the local bars and venues, plus quite a few places to eat. I met up with my friend Kevin. Kevin is the owner of Austin Creatives. It is a web media company out of Austin that assists California Car Cover with our online branding. He suggested that we eat dinner at the Home Slice for some great pizza. It was a good call.
Nice 1957 Chevy. The street was packed with cars all night long. It was a cool experience that you do not get at most car shows. I come to Austin every few years for the Austin City Limits music festival, so it was cool to see a lot of more city during the Round Up.
Cadillac on Congress.
Drive-in burger joint on Congress. After checking out some classic cars and local hot spots, we called it a night so we were ready for the show in the morning.
In the morning it was off to the Expo Center. The place was packed with traditional rods and tons of people. It seemed that the most popular booth at the show belonged to Austin Speed Shop.
There was a good size swap meet held at the expo center as well. I cruised the aisles looking for cool stuff for my garage, but unfortunately did not find anything that I could fit into my suitcase.
This is actually the side of an old Chevy Suburban. A local license plate seller covered his old SUV in registration tags.
Austin Speed Shop Chevy
The weather wasn't the greatest, but there were still plenty of people and classic cars.
This Hi-Boy Coupe is prepared for anything.
Like most traditional rod shows there were a lot of 50's Customs and '32 Fords, but it was great to see a lot of cars from Texas that I hadn't seen before at any West Coast events.
Classic Chevys.
This pickup has its own parking meter and a pair of metal armadillos.
There was a stage outside that featured popular rock n' roll groups throughout the day.
Nostalgia dragsters
This show doesn't just attract hot rods with primer paint or rust. There were plenty of colorful and unique paint jobs on display.
Check out this custom interior. The white leather interior looks great, but the custom baby seat in the back to match was too cool.
A highlight of Saturday was the afternoon mini bike races. Brave local mini biker riders took to the dirt to show just how fast (or slow) they could make it around the track.
There were plenty of cool cars with wide white wall tires and original paint on hand.
This is one way to get around Austin.
Saturday night we headed down to Sixth St. to see what was going on and to do some people watching. It is definitely not the place to go if you are looking for a quite night with your friends, but worth checking out once in a while.What's next? I will be out at the Mopar Spring Fling this coming weekend so stop by and say hello. You can get a complete list of events that California Car Cover will be attending on our website. If you live in the Los Angeles area, I will also be on air with "The Motorman" Leon Kaplan this coming Sunday morning on KABC radio.
Spring break and summer road trips are just around the corner and here are a few items from California Car Cover to help you on the road. These products will make life easier when traveling, plus are conveniently sized for limited cargo space. 
The Quik Shade Backpack Canopy is the perfect shade provider at the beach or next camping trip. It folds down into a handy backpack storage tote and steps up in minutes. The canopy provides 36 square feet of shade and has a unique side shade to keep everyone comfortable. 
The sturdy, yet compact steel and aluminum frame weighs less than 15 lbs so one person can carry it out to the beach with ease. Our video below shows the step to setting it up. More details are on our 
The compact Pico Director's Chair folds into a messenger bag for easy transport. It is popular with classic car owners because old cars often do not have the trunk space for larger chairs. 
This chair sets up easily and is very comfortable. The chair weighs only 9 lbs, but can support up to a 250 lb person. 
You can watch a video of the chair being set up on our 
Going to the farmer's market or taking the kids to the beach? Don't have room for a full size Radio Flyer wagon in our trunk? This folding wagon is a great way to haul stuff (or kids) around the street or boardwalk. 
It sets up easily and is ready to go in seconds. The steel frame features a durable polyester cover that is rugged but comfortable enough for the kids or pets. 
For information on the wagon can be found on the 
This item is not necessarily a compact travel accessory, but it will definitely be useful on summer road trips. The InCarBite iPad 2 Case and Headrest Mount lets your passengers easily access and view iPad 2 content while on the road. The case includes a power adaptor so your passengers can still watch downloaded videos or play games while the iPad 2 is charging. 