Austin, Texas Lonestar Round-Up

On April 6th and 7th, 2017 the grounds of the Travis County Expo center were slammed with a colorful array of hot rods, pin-up babes, greasers, and cool cats running wild at the 17th annual Lonestar Round-Up. Chop tops, Deuces, and customs ignited my senses as the smell of gasoline and burned rubber filled the air. Jumping sporadically by the occasional engine revving and tire peel-out, I realized I was in hot rod heaven. The originality and creative power that these cars possess were pure works of art with exceptional detail. I could hardly put my camera down as I sifted through the rows of cars, fascinated and excited by the next. Being the music junkie that I am, I took a break from the cars and I went to check out the band. I managed to push through the crowd to the stage for some old school 60s-style, rock-and-roll by the Woggles. I was moved by the seasoned feel behind their whole style and look. These guys nailed the sound of an era. I loved it.

Moving along to the expo center, I had to gaze over and control my wallet by the numerous vendors selling everything from hats, jewelry, vintage car parts, cool T-shirts, vintage dresses, and leather goods. I also loved the local vendor’s custom gear shift knobs with everything from skulls to rat heads. It made me miss the days having a manual transmission, but I’m sure most of these gear shifts would have reached the ceiling of my Toyota Corolla back in the day, but oh well, at least I would have looked ridiculously cool shifting. Closing out towards the end of the day, I made my rounds and snapped a few more pictures to chronicle the memory of another awesome year at the Lonestar Roundup. I will be back again next year, admiring the next round of vintage cars, still wishing I was a hot rod Betty cruising the streets in my black and red Bel Air with my daddy-o by my side.

~ Stephanie Ford ❤

April 7th, 2017