I guess the true validation that I'm getting on in years is that I'll be receiving my AARP card in a few months. But for me, the realization of advancing age is most evident in that I'm not as big a fan of late fall and winter as I used to be. I simply deplore cold weather.

    For someone who's grown up in the "frozen tundra," as central Wisconsin is often humorously referred as, to not embrace those bone-chilling temperatures with glee after stepping out of a warm building or car is on par with falsely claiming to be lactose intolerant so as not to have to consume our dairy state's famed milk and cheese. I love my dairy products, but I'd rather be consuming them at a sun-soaked outdoor cafe in 60-70 degree weather.

    As do many northerners when fall arrives, the trek south to live out the cold weather months in Florida or Arizona as a "snow bird" just isn't feasible right now, so I found a compromise of sorts. Since I had quite a bit of unused vacation time to use or lose before the end of 2007, I'm going to take a week and head to the deep south. I'll be in search of salvage yards to tour and photograph as well as just about anything automotive related (museums, former dealerships and service stations, cars in fields, etc.), but more importantly, I'll be hoping to escape the chilly northern climate and possibly work on my tan down south.

    Of course, you'll read about this wayward adventure in an upcoming issue of Old Cars Weekly. Unless, that is, I enjoy the southern hospitality and outdoor cafe scene a bit too much and decide to remain a snow bird....