A beautiful classic car spotted while visiting my dad in Winnipeg. It was parked in the lot of a shopping mall. One of my favorites, a 1957 Chevy Bel-Air. Obviously lovingly maintained. I didn’t get to talk to the owner, but I think the photos tell their own story.
Jonathan L takes in some history and fine art in the city of Valletta, Malta
Jonathan L learns about historical and modern fortitude at the monument to the Great Siege of 1565
A small selection of signs, some witty, some weird and some just worth a nod
This is all the clue there is: Is it enough for you to name the scene of a future TravelGumbo blog? Email answers by Monday midnight to [email protected].
A visit to a newer temple in Bangkok, home to a massive solid gold statue of the Buddah weighing 12,000 pounds — making it the most valuable religious artifact in the world
Generally you don’t need to plug in the car (block heater) unless the temperature is below 0 F. But when it gets really cold you’ll be glad you did.
I saw something like this in Beijing a few months ago, but i couldn’t get a photo because of the traffic.
I lived in Canada for a couple of years and soon learned about the value of having a parking space equipped to plug in a block heater. Is there any reason why they can’t also be used to charge an electric car? If not, very handy indeed.
As you can see from the above photos, each parking spot has its own electric outlet because of the need to use a block heater in the coldest winter months.
This little buggy plugs into a standard outlet. No special adapter or anything needed.
Does that mean more “serious” electric cars need special outlets?
Yes, for the charging of most serious electric cars a special outlet needs to be created (220V I believe, with special plug in shape). It has the advantage of allowing a quicker charge of the batteries.
When i lived in Canmore Alberta for a year, it didn’t pay to install a block heater on my car. The house we were living in had a heated garage, and The car was never going to be out in the cold for that many hours. BUT it change one aspect – making hotel reservations. Out first question throughout the winter was- “Do you have indoor parking?”
One of the things I loved about mid-50s Chevy cars (and I only REALLY loved the 1953) was the hidden gas filler. On the ’57, the middle section of the right tailfin swung out to reveal the cap; on the 56, there was a small round reflector that you pushed to pop open the compartment…don’t remember what activated the 57…