Vol 18 No. 4 - 29 June, 2014

Saturday, 31 May we parked at the truckstop in North Canton, Ohio and unloaded the motorbike.

Took a scenic route north to Akron to the Hoppin’ Frog Brewery and met Dave and Kathy Blake there.

The Hoppin’ Frog Brewery began brewing beer 8 years ago, and opened the Tasting Room in 2013.

Website: Hoppin' Frog was established in 2006, and now distributes beer in 19 states and 15 foreign countries.  Rated 17^th Best Brewer in the World for 2013!

We had a lovely lunch and some great beer, with names like: B.O.R.I.S. the Crusher, D.O.R.I.S. the Destroyer, Outta Kilter, Hoppin’ to Heaven.  I got a kick out of the beer taps:

We had a brief visit to Maize Valley Winery, we were wandering around their market and store when Dave got a message that their daughter and her family were able to meet up, and they were headed to Marks Landing.

Jim and I definitely wanted to see them, so we all cruised over there.

Parking lot of Winery.

Dave was riding his moto guzzi and side car, Kathy on her 1998 Ural and side car.  They were awesome leaders on the winding northeast Ohio roads to Marks Landing.

Kathy and Dave - and their side car rigs.

We have been to Marks Landing before with the Blakes' – it is a lovely place beside a lake.  The restaurant has been there for more than 50 years.

The side cars, the lemans, boats and a lake.

At the Restaurant, Marks Landing, OH: Jim, Lesley, Andrea, Cammie, Chad, and Dave - Kathy's photo!

 Chad had picked up his new motorcycle, an Indian Chief, and oh, what a beauty!  It had 35 miles on it!

Cammie and the Indian Chief.

A few beers, a snack and a couple of hours of swapping stories was the plan and well executed!

Jim and I headed back to the truck by a scenic route mostly on US 30 Lincoln Highway. US 30 is a major east-west route that runs across the north part of the USA. from Atlantic City, New Jersey in the east to Astoria, Oregon in the west.. A lot of the highway has been upgraded to two and four lanes, but parts of the single lane original highway criss-cross the new one and can be driven on.

Internet:  One of the most interesting sections of the old Lincoln Highway is the section between Minerva and East Canton in Ohio. Most of the road travelled today was not part of the original Lincoln Highway.  The original route in this section was a narrow twisting road built on farm lanes and sometimes through woods.  Parts of the 1913 dirt alignment, and the 1919 brick improvement can be found today.

We took a few of the old dirt sections, they were very short, but we took the brick part for a mile or so and turned around.  It was late evening, but interesting photos.

The next morning we rode south to Bolivar to see where we had to deliver.  Bolivar is an interesting village – places of interest:  Fort Laurens, and the Erie – Ohio Canal and Towpath.

Internet research:  Fort Laurens is the only American Revolutionary War-era fort in what is now Ohio.  Fort Laurens was built in November 1778, on the west bank of the Tuscawarawas River near what is now Bolivar, Ohio, as part of an ill-fated campaign to neutralize the Indian threat and establish a western supply post for an attack on British Detroit.

The wooden stockade was approximately one acre in size, it was quadrangular-shaped with four bastions.  Barracks and storehouse building were located inside the walls. 176 men and 5 women were left there to face the winter - food and provisions were scarce.  Fort Laurens remained an active military post from November 1778 through early August of 1779.  During this time, the fort was clearly perceived by the British and their native allies as a very serious threat, evident from the numerous attacks on the fort..  These attacks resulted in the death of more than 20 American soldiers who were buried nearby.

The fort was disassembled and became farmland.  In 1917 the area became a state memorial and a museum was completed in 1971.  Excavation of the site started in 1972 and the presumed location of the fort was incorrect.  The location of the fort is outlined in bark and in this photo you can see where the corner of the museum overlaps the old fort.

Bark outline of old fort, corner of Museum building.

The museum was closed while we were there.  The area is a park and has old style fences.  

Bolivar is a lovely little village originally built alongside of the canal.

Internet: The Ohio and Erie Canal was constructed in the early 1820’s, it connected with the Cuyahoga River near its mouth on Lake Erie in Cleveland, and with the Ohio River near Portsmouth, Ohio, and then to other canal systems in Pennsylvania and Ohio.  The canal carried freight traffic from 1827 to 1861 when the arrival of railroads killed the market.  In 1913 much of the canal system was abandoned after important parts were severely flooded.

Parts of the canal and towpath are a “canal trail” (towpaths are where the mule teams pulled the barges along the canals) and now used for hiking and bicycling.

Next area of fascination was the village of Zoar and Zoar Garden.

Internet:  Zoar was founded by German religious dessenters called the Society of Separatists of Zoar in 1817.  It was a communal society, with many German-style structures that have been restored and are part of the Zoar Village State Memorial.

A central flower garden in Zoar is based on the Book of Revelation with a towering tree in the middle representing Christ and other elements surrounding it representing other allegorical elements.

Had a break in the village of Scio, not much going on.

Then to New Rumley to check out the Custer Memorial, George Armstrong Custer was born in this town and there is a very informative Memorial.

The memorial, consisting of a statue and an exhibit pavilion with information about Custer's life, is located at the site of his birthplace, of which only the foundations remain.

Internet: 1839 – 1876.  Flamboyant in life, George Armstrong Custer has remained one of the best-known figures in American history and popular mythology long after his death at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Custer had a very interesting man and seemed to be in trouble of some sort in all areas of his life.  Too much for me to put here – close to expulsion in each of his three years at West Point Military College, and last in his class. He was court martialed, but was retained with the outbreak of the Civil War.  He was promoted during the Civil War to brigadier general at age 23.  He participated in and led many campaigns and battles - reconstruction of Texas, then the Indian wars.

His fearless aggression in battle earned him the respect of his commanding generals and increasingly put him in the public eye.

Custers' blunders cost him his life but gained him everlasting fame.  His defeat at the Little Bighorn made the life of what would have been an obscure 19^th century military figure into the subject of countless songs, books and paintings.

The Battle of the Little Bighorn, 25-26 June, 1876, commonly referred to as Custer’s Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes, against the 7^th Cavalry Regiment of the US Army. The battle near the Little Bighorn River in Montana Territory was an overwhelming victory for the natives.  The 7^th Cavalry, a force of 700 men led by Custer suffered a severe defeat, 268 dead and 55 injured.  Custer was killed, as were two of his brothers, a nephew and a brother-in-law.

We travelled through some very interesting towns with public squares, beautiful architecture.  Finished the day by riding through downtown Canton which has very impressive old architecture.

Lincoln Highway marker in downtown Canton, Ohio.

Delivered the tank in Bolivar on Monday morning, 2 June, then over to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and loaded one forklift.

Pittsburgh, PA to Batavia, NY.

Delivered that in Batavia, New York on Tuesday.  Headed over to Joe and Michele’s preparing for the Western New York Moto Guzzi rally on the weekend.

Jim and I travelled down to Westfield Friday morning, stopped for lunch at the Dunkirk Pier and got to the rally site mid-afternoon.  The Rally in the Vineyard!

Friday evening sunset at the campground.

A great reunion with guzzi friends, and many stories swapped over dinner and around the campfire.

Saturday we had two places we wanted to go.  Jim had found a town called Little Hope on the map of Pennsylvania, and we decided to check it out - in Erie County, Pennsylvania.

We missed it on the first attempt, the map showed that it was on the road we were on, but after asking directions – there were no signs, and it was “turn at the red barn”.  It was a very small town and the road turned to dirt, so I took a photo and noticed a basket makers and tool and die makers and a few houses.  I didn’t find out why it was named “Little Hope”, but other states have towns called “Little Hope”, so apparently that feeling was not unusual way back then – they are in Alabama, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Texas, Georgia,

Stopped for another visit at Southern Tier Brewery – this summer they have added a stage and lots of outdoor seating.

Jim and Art watching the beer brewing.

Southern Tier Brewery outside area.

Back to the Rally for more socializing.

Jimmy, Chad and Andrea with Andrea's Ural side car rig.

Dave, Galen, Jimmy and Todd.

Joe takes his pick up and trailer with all the rally supplies, a bit of fun regarding vehicles at motorcycle rallies!

Saturday evening is chicken barbeque and the awards.  A smaller attendance than previous years - 94 adults and 6 children. Oldest moto guzzi rider was Randy Petersen, age 75 and youngest was Dave Smith, age 37. Plenty of lovely door prizes and awards – everyone had fun.  

A group always go to the edge of Lake Erie for the sunset - always spectacular.  It appears that there will be rock skipping competitions from now on.  Baillie was impressive with about fifteen skips across the water!

Sunset over Lake Erie.

The weekend weather was perfect even while we packed up on Sunday morning, BUT downpours the last part back to Buffalo.
We did some visiting in the area, Jim replaced the alternator on the truck.

On Tuesday morning we loaded in Rochester, one drive shaft and delivered it in New Jersey the next morning at a warehouse where it will be put in a container and shipped to Singapore.

Rochester, NY to Linden, NJ - had to tarp it.

Then  over to Coatesville, Pennsylvania and loaded two steel plates that were over width and required tarping, then signs, flags, and permits.

Coatesville, PA to Lakeland, FL.

Saturday morning, Jimmy caught up with us in South Carolina and we travelled to Daytona Beach in the wake of the USS Nickel & Dime.

Ron and Gina were in South Daytona, so we met them for an early dinner.  Saturday evening we walked to the Bandshell for a show - U2 Tribute Band called U2 by UV. 

Website:  UV is an incredible authentic U2 show with a singer whose resemblance to Bono physically, vocally, and passion and connection with the audience leaves the crowd breathless.  He is the closest thing to the real thing in the U2 scene.

They were very good, and people were dancing and rocking.  Crowds were light because it was intermittent rain.  We strolled along the Ocean Walk along the Boardwalk, the ocean was looking eerie from the red reflection from the sunset.

Boardwalk amusements, Daytona Beach.

Sunday we did stuff around the house, out for pizza for dinner and a few beers with Jimmy in the evening.

Delivered in Lakeland, Florida on Monday morning, 16 June – always good to get an oversize load off the truck!  Back to Daytona Beach.

Davenport FL to Savannah, GA.

On Wednesday, we loaded crane parts in Davenport, Florida and delivered them that afternoon in Savannah, Georgia.

Thursday, 19 June we loaded in Waycross, Georgia – at Universal Trailers - a trailer load of loose metals and trailer parts.  Ugh! Then tarp it and hope the tarps don't get torn too badly.

Sunset at a truckstop.

Easy drive north and Saturday mid day, we settled into a truckstop in Goshen, Indiana – 50 miles from our Monday morning delivery.

This area is known as Michiana to encompass northern Indiana and southern Michigan, we had not explored the area before, we got the bike off and headed south along country roads, a bit of dirt road, past Amish homes and farms.  
We travelled parts of the Heritage Trail and I took a few photos as we went past some quilt murals on the sides of buildings.

Quilt Gardens are free exhibits along the Heritage Trail, they can be enjoyed from 30 May to 1 October.  There are 22 Quilt Gardens, and 22 hand-painted quilt themed murals in seven communities in Northern Indiana. For more information and better photos:  www.quiltgardens.com  (click Photo Gallery)

The quilt garden in Nappanee depicts an old school house.  The Welcome Centre had a museum with many quilts, we spent an hour there.  Very interesting.  

The town of Nappanee also hosts an Apple Festival, and many decorated half apples all around the town.

Lunch at the Evil Czech Brewery in Culver, Indiana.  We had shrimp tacos – very nice and spicy.  Culver is  nice town beside a small lake.

Old grain storage silos.

The roads are mostly flat and straight around the farmland.  We headed east then around some lakes and found Mad Anthony’s Brewery in Warsaw.  That was fun and Warsaw is a beautiful town.  

I was intrigued by the statues along the streets, and a beautiful Court House building in the centre square.  There are 16 life-sized bronze statues by American sculptor Seward Johnson.  

Johnson’s early artistic efforts focused on painting, after which he turned into sculpture in 1968.

The fiddle player was outside Mad Anthony’s.  Not sure if these are permanent displays or just for this summer.

Headed back to Goshen and last stop at Back Alley Brewery for dinner in the historic downtown.  These are lovely towns – well preserved, interesting architecture, nice people.

This is Amish Country, but it seems odd to see a horse and buggy in the truckstop amongst the trucks! Obviously they didn't get fuel!

Motorcycles in truckstops are unusual as well!  lol

Sunday our destination was Michigan City on the south - eastern shore of Lake Michigan.  

First stop was the Quilt Garden in Goshen,  This one at the Court House in the centre of the town.

Court House in Goshen, Indiana.

 

We went north to Bristol to check out where our delivery was for Monday, then north into Michigan and west to Lake Michigan.  The plan was to have a look at the Indiana Dunes State Park, but there was a thick fog along the lakeshore and visibility was very limited.  This is fog around the cooling tower for the power plant.  The Michigan City Generating Station is a coal and natural gas-fired power plant located on the shore of Lake Michigan,

Foggy day beside Lake Michigan.

We stopped at the Welcome Centre for some education on the Dunes, then back to Michigan City for lunch at Shoreline Brewery – for ‘North Indiana’s Best Burger’.  Had a lovely lunch, there.

I love the old converted warehouses - Shoreline Brewery, Michigan City, Indiana.

Then wandered east again through South Bend to Elkhart.  We have worked in these areas, but never seen the downtowns.  Known for manufacturing Recreational Vehicles and trailers and some automobiles.  Stopped at Iechyd Da Brewery (Pronounced Yay key dah).

Website: Yeah, we know the name looks like something you’d need a skilled translator to pronounce, but trust us … after a short lesson and a pint or two, you’ll be on the inner circle of good times!

Iechyd da is a Welsh toast which literally means “Good Health”.  It’s like saying cheers, Salute, na zdrowie or Prost!  See. Beer is fun AND educational!

Back to the truckshop in Goshen late afternoon and loaded the bike.

Delivered at Universal Trailer division of Haulmark Trailers early on Monday morning, then 60 miles south loaded cell tower sections in Plymouth, Indiana.

Plymouth, Indiana to Ridgeland, South Carolina.

Delivered them near Ridgeland, South Carolina on Wednesday morning.

Reloaded at the Brunswick - Georgia Port Authority – a small milling machine, a Wirtgen, imported from Germany.

It was heavy and once loaded our gross weight was very close to the maximum legal limit.  Jim had the calculator out before getting fuel because more than quarter full tanks would make us overweight – one gallon of diesel fuel weighs 7 lbs.

WIRTGEN W 120 Fi – This versatile, small cold-milling machine is track driven and used for small areas for partial rehabilitation of pavements, milling around manhole covers, and placing and removing road markings.  With mechanically driven milling drum of up to 48 inches wide, and cutting depth of 13 inches, the machine is equipped with permanent all-wheel drive as a standard feature.

Nick named: road munchers or asphalt eaters.  Crossed several scales, but had no problems going north into Ontario, Canada.  On Friday, 27 June we delivered to a road works company in Orangeville about mid-day.

It was an interesting delivery as there was no dock or ramp.  Easy solution to that - they parked another step deck with ramps beside us and maneuvered the machine across to it and down the ramps.

We didn't look for a load out of Ontario – instead took the truck to the garage in Buffalo late Friday afternoon.  There has been a coolant issue for a week and time to get it checked out before we do damage or break down. The ‘low coolant’ light comes on, and Jim tops it up - same thing each morning.  There is nothing visible running out and it is not going into the oil pan, and the truck is running as normal. Appears to be a head gasket.

We parked at the garage and took the motorbike off the truck and did a trip around the north side of Buffalo – checked out the Flying Bison Brewery, the Community Brew Pub.  Stopped at the Connecticut Street Armory – very impressive!

Connecticut Street Armory, Buffalo, NY.

Internet:  Connecticut Street Armory, also known as the 74^th Regimental Armory, is a historic National Guard Armory sited at Columbus Park, Buffalo.  It is a massive castle-like structure build in 1899 of Medina sandstone.  It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Dinner at Mooney Sports Bar and Grill.  Spent a little time enjoying the sunset over the Niagara River.

Sunset at Niagara River.

Internet:  The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.  It forms part of the border between Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States.

The river is about 56 kilometres (35 miles) long and includes Niagara Falls in its course.  The Niagara River also features two large islands and numerous smaller islands.  Grand Island and Navy Island are the two largest.

In the photo, Grand Island is the land on the left and the Falls are about where the sun is setting.

Spent the weekend visiting around Buffalo area, Saturday was nephew, Liam's 5th birthday party - that was a fun family gathering!

We had a relaxing weekend and the weather was nice too. (A heat wave for Buffalonians!)