Unofficial H2OI 2019
Author: Tj Sanethong Photos: Tj Sanethong
History:
I’m sure most of you reading this know about this event and the reputation it carries. H2oi wasn’t always this wild, in fact it had some pretty humble beginnings. The extent of my research was simply googling back dates to see how far it went. According to VwVortex, circa 2005 is when it first began to show its presence. It was ( and still is) a two day VW/Audi rally that used to fill ocean city’s coastal highway annually. Well this was up until they moved its show to Atlantic city in 2018. The reason for this? Im not entirely sure but if i were to guess it probably had something to do with separating themselves from the wild activities that happen outside of the show.
Since 2018, the unofficial H2oi meeting has continued to grow stronger regardless of the show being in a different city. To the enthusiast flooding the city, it was a vacation. This is tradition for them to see old friends, meet new friends, and create memories that no other event can provide. Yeah it may get rowdy but at the end of the day they’re simply trying to enjoy themselves and the company of others.
After a grueling 8 hours, we finally made it to our hotel. Unfortunately our spot was a half hour outside of the coastal highway due to all the spots being taken. That should put into perspective on how many people were in attendance for this weekend. Normal people usually sleep after a trip like this, not us. We got word from our friend Chas Millen that the strip was still full of live at 2:30 in the morning. Without hesitation, we dropped off our stuff and headed right back on the road to the infamous coastal highway.
After driving up and down the coastal highway we hit a wawa gas station off of 121st street where a few people gathered. People were either just rolling into town like us, looking for food, or just looking for a spot to hang in the middle of the night. We eventually called it a night at around 5:30.
Day 1:
We found our way back at Wawa on 121st street that morning since it seemed to be a mutual meeting spot for everyone. It was around 11am, it was a little early for everyone that partied hard while we were on the road so it was a little slow on the streets.
I spotted this Is300 sport cross throughout the strip. He was definitely getting his miles in on that car. Its moderately lowered with a mixture of what looks like a BN-Sports style side skirts/bumper and an unknown rear lip.
Lots of people would stop here and hang out for hours. It had cheap supplies for you to stock up on while you post up on the sidewalk watching cars drive by. It was like a rolling car show catering to you.
If you look hard enough you may find some gems parked on side streets, or in this case behind some bushes.
I believe this a volkswagen caddy. (Sorry if I got this completely wrong, google told me) The minty paint job mixed with the rusty trunk gave it that cool resto-mod look with lots of character.
Hard parking in front of the caddy (still not sure if its right) was this beautifully dumped BMW 535i. Probably bagged, either way it looked amazing.
Two more shots of these randoms while waiting for a friend to meet us at Wawa.
Kevin finally showed up! Kevin’s a long time friend of shellys and an internet friend of mine. It was my first time meeting him, and what better place to do so than Ocean City.
He drove his IAG equipped Wrx down from Pennsylvania to enjoy the festivities. His original motor crapped out on him not too long ago, so he contacted IAG performance and got a built short block to replace the old broken motor. He was still breaking the motor in while he was down there so he wasn’t able to let his inner speed demon loose.
It was time to hit the strip and find lunch. As you can see there was no shortage of photographers/videographers both professional and amateur on the strip. Everyone was looking to document everything.
Spotted more cool cars along the strip including Tony Mirandas (Koukitony7 on IG) gorgeous JZ powered R34 Skyline. We eventually found lunch at a popular bar/restaurant named Seacrets which I didn’t document. Nothing to see anyway.
The strip started to live up to its reputation as we approached mid to late afternoon. Everyone was headed up towards 100th street ( maybe further I wasn’t sure) for the Canibeat meet. We missed the meet unfortunately.
We bumped into Tanner on our travels up the coastal highway. He informed us that he was headed up to a RHD meet that was happening. After a brief hello we got in the trusty STI and followed him up to the meet.
We finally arrived at the RHD meet which was only a few blocks away from the Wawa we were at earlier.
Remember when I bumped into this car a while back at the beast coast meet? I knew very little about it, but I have returned with a bit more information. This gem belongs to John Ludwick, a local to us ( New Hampshire). He brought his BMW 700 down with a few minor changes. One being the black centers on his wheels and the other ( which you’ll never notice) is that he switched from an analog air setup to the Air Lift 3p setup. The only way you would know is if you spoke to him or if you watched his latest episode on youtube. ( I cheated and watched youtube)
You can’t have a RHD meet without having at least one skyline show up. We were fortunate enough to see a few.
One of the coolest cars at the meet was this JZX100. With the rise of Japanese importers in the states, these cars are becoming more and more available.
Travis brought his JZ powered skyline to mob the streets as well. He just recently finished the setup, and judging by his driving videos he’s been enjoying every second of it.
One of the many reasons I enjoyed Ocean City are spots like this. It was almost a game to find cool spots to shoot cars in. It got me out of my comfort zone and made me a better photographer in a way.
We got all the shots we wanted and hit the road. We had received word from Chas that 30th (where Seacrets was located) was starting to get live. We mobbed down with more rad cars and bikes alike. The enthusiast driving shared a common theme. They were genuinely happy to roll the strip and show everyone where their money went. It was a dope vibe.
After some time we made it to the spot and here’s what we saw.
Chas doing his thing on the streets. His new setup is literally insane, Check out his work @Millen.Media on instagram. One of my favorite local photographers for sure.
Hands down the best co-driver anyone could have.
As the sun was setting, more and more cars started to flood the streets. Anti-lag, 2 steps were ringing throughout the strip and burnouts filled the air. While walking the strip i bumped into a few surprises.
One of them being this accident. I didn’t hear or see what happened, but it looked like someone rear ended him and left the scene. The owner obviously wasn’t thrilled about the situation.
A few months ago (i’d say late last year) a friend of mine Kris Osgood told me about a group of videographers in japan named Unripe. They shot really high quality videos ( automotive related of course) in their area. I had gotten word that Unripe was coming to the states to join Tough Club and Canibeat for their meet earlier in the day (The meet we missed). I figured that was my time to meet them but that obviously didn’t happen. By chance I was able to bump into them on the street, this is one of the two members of Unripe. I didn’t get his name but he was very kind and was shocked that I’ve seen their work. It was a pleasure meeting them and definitely one of my favorite moments of the weekend. I’ll link their channel here, they have some rad videos. Unripe
We eventually got back attempting to get to the under glow meet on 130th but that was quickly shut down by the cops which led us to sit in traffic. I was growing impatient as I somehow got a cold the weekend of. Great timing right? I was fighting it all day but evidently had enough and needed to rest so we called it a night real early. Right before the banana invasion (If you know you know)
Departure:
The next morning was awful for me. I never been more congested and irritated more than the moment I was at the hotel. After checking out we made our way to Walmart, I stocked up on essentials and drugs to help me power through the 8 hour trek home. We had some people meeting up that live in the same area as us. Figured we’d drive home together. While we waited I took a nap, which was enough to give me energy to wrap the car and drive all the way back to mass.
Driving home with friends made it so much easier and almost faster.
Was H2oi worth the last minute drive down? I would say so, i’d do it differently for sure. Expect to see us back down there next year regardless of what the headlines say ( They don’t want us back there). It was a different experience and I totally get why people love going down there. The people, the memories, the location, its all great. Its basically the spring break of car culture.
