Dmitry and I were running through car after car trying to capture as much as we could. Then, over the radio we heard, “Fifteen minutes, guys.” I went into overdrive and started shooting everything I could. The heat was brutal at this point. My vision started blurring, so I was pretty much shooting blind at this point.
The last two shots I got in were as I was walking towards what I could only see as a blurry beige building. I heard this ridiculous cammed tiny vehicle heading towards me. I aimed my camera and hoped the auto focus would do the rest. When I got my vision back in the van on our ride back to Daytona, I reviewed the pics: 1948 Ford Anglia. That car was so small, yet this guy crammed in some unholy amount of power. Take a look at the rear wheels! It’s got to be good for a wheelie or two.
Luckily, we were able to sleep in the van on the ride back. A nap was great after that long day. When we arrived at the hotel, the sun was setting, so we figured we’d see what we could get since sunsets were on the shot list. We went straight through the hotel to the beach. We were in luck! There were a few Jeeps parked on the sand!
One of the Jeeps stuck out like a monster truck compared to the other two. As I walked down the stairs to the beach, I couldn’t help but notice the vintage aircraft exterior. It looked like an old B-52 with giant tires! A little internet research revealed that this was another turnkey builder called Haük Designs, creators of the the beastly River Raider edition you see before you.
To stay with the old war plane look, I went up on my toes to take a peek at the interior. Sure enough, it did not disappoint. Old timey radar, check. Various gauges and switches, check. Airplane style steering wheels, check. It even had an “Airplane Fuel Only” gas tank and radio headphones!
Shortly after taking some detail shots, the beach patrol showed up. Next thing I know, I see people running down the stairs to move their Jeeps. It was a mad dash to escape tickets, I suppose. I mean, really, were they gonna tow these giant Jeeps? I highly doubt a boot would do much to them either! I caught a shot of the River Raider leaving, and then it was just Dmitry and I on the beach. We ran into Sung who was also trying to catch the sunset, so now that the actual sun was gone, it was time to eat.
There was a party going on with free food, but unfortunately, we were too late. So, off into the night we went! We wound up at The Oyster Pub where there were TVs everywhere you looked. I’m not kidding. There was even a TV on our table! We ordered nachos. (This was the one and only time we had nachos, mind you. I wasn’t about to have a nachopalooza again like Supras in Vegas.) We destroyed them immediately. The food was rather good. I’d highly suggest checking it out if you’re in the area.
We made it back to the hotel in time to dump our footage and make a few edits. I needed rest. The next two days were shaping up to be long ones. Jeep Beach officially begins tomorrow, so at least four hours of sleep would be great!
Steve
Stay tuned for Part 3 of our BFGoodrich adventure! Assignment : BFGoodrich – Jeep Beach 2015 – Day 3 & 4
In case you missed Part 1 of of our BFGoodrich adventure check it out here : Jeep Beach 2015 : The BFGoodrich Special