international motorcycle show...

took the opportunity to attend the international motorcycle show in washington this weekend... we usually attend the show in charlotte but they're not having it there this year. so, i dragged the family up to dc for the show.

with the parking situation in dc and the rain, we decided to take metro to the convention center. of course this thrilled my son because he likes train rides. he's been on the metro before but he was so young he doesn't remember. he was really looking forward to the transition from above ground to underground.

when we boarded the metro, i'd say at least seventy five percent of the passengers were heading to the motorcycle show. not hard to tell the ones heading to the show, wearing all sorts of motorcycle clothing, from hats, to shirts, to coats. if you didn't know where the convention center was, all you needed to do was follow the crowd. while on the ride to the convention center, we met a new friend who happens to be from our home town. we talked the whole ride and hung out together for a majority of the morning. looking forward to catching up with him again.

we tried to get to the show early, although we weren't trying to get there before the doors opened. when we did get there, the place was already packed.

as soon as we walked in progressive had a huge display and a slot car track. well, we couldn't pass up the chance to race before getting into the show...

then it was on to the show... seeing the bikes and talking to the people. first stop was the bike collection ad talking to someone from the vintage japanese motorcycle club... one guy had this beautiful restored honda. i spoke to him a while about the restoration and how i was hoping to one day be able to bring one or two back to life...

of course there were a couple vintage english bikes...

the highlight of the show was probably seeing the guys from the xdl championship series. we saw them last year at the show in charlotte and really enjoyed it. my son got a t-shirt and had the riders sign it. when we found out they were going to be at this show, he grabbed his shirt and brought it along. when the guys began their show, he held up the shirt and got a shout out from them. he was so thrilled.

after the show my son got some autographs for his shirt and also got an invitation to sit in the vip section for the next show.

and finally some bikes and other sites from the show...

that's about it. it was a great day and a great way to spend time with my wife and son...