Vol 21 No. 8 - 31 October, 2017

1 October was the Buffalo Bills football game against the Atlanta Falcons.  Tim White, Michi and Patrick met us at the truckstop near Baytown, east of Houston, Texas and we went to nearby Iguana Joe’s Mexican Restaurant for lunch and to watch the game.  There were 11 televisions and all tuned to the Houston Texans game.  We did enjoy a great lunch and catch up, with the Buffalo Bills game scores being updated along the bottom of the screen.  Spent a few hours there, then back to the truck.

Early start for Monday – light rain and traffic!  

Delivered the three PODS in Beaumont.  Easy delivery, then to Houston to load two separators at Exterran, in the afternoon.

Website:  Exterran Corporation is a worldwide market leader in oil and gas production equipment, natural gas compression, produced water treatment solutions, and gas processing and treating.

Houston, Texas to Keatchie, Louisiana.

A short trip north to deliver the next morning near Keatchie, Louisiana – to a large pipeline worksite.  Along a winding, gravel road to a farm and worksite.

Loaded in the afternoon Tuesday at General Cable in Scottsville, Texas - 12 reels of cable.  There was space on the trailer, so found an LTL.  Loaded an antique International Farmall tractor the next morning in Forest, Mississippi.

Hollingsworth Auctions – website:  We conduct three or more two-day auctions annually at our own auction facility in Forest, Mississippi.  We provide a wide variety of new and used equipment for sale or rental.  We bring more than 30 years of experience to the business. We have three certified appraisers and licensed auctioneers on staff and can appraise auction items.

There is personal and on-line bidding.  After a recent auction - there was still some interesting equipment there. 

Two LTL's for Pennsylvania.

Interesting tyre fix!

On Thursday, 5 October, delivered the tractor first to a farm near Carlisle, Pennsylvania. A young Amish farmer bought it.  He restores old tractors for resale as a hobby.

Then south 50 kms (30 miles) to Chambersburg to deliver the reels of cable, then reload two JLG lifts, three miles from where we delivered.  Not much deadhead for that one!

Chambersburg, Pennsylvania to Buffalo, New York.

To Buffalo - leaves changing to autumn colours.

Delivered the JLG lifts to Skyworks rental company on Friday.

Friday evening, Jim's high school friends, Bob and Barb picked us up from the truckstop.  During 2017 - most of his class celebrated their 70th birthday - so they had a combined party/reunion at Kiebzak's Restaurant.

Jim, Bob and Barb at Kiebzak's.

It was a small gathering, but everyone had an enjoyable time. 

Saturday morning, Jim and I stopped at Cabela's, which is near the truckstop.
Website: Cabela's is your home for quality hunting, fishing, camping, recreational shooting and outdoor gear at competitive prices.  It is entertaining.

A buffalo at the entrance to the Buffalo NY Cabela's.

A small part of the huge fishing section at Cabela's!

Saturday afternoon, at Joe and Michele's we prepared the camper for winter. Earlier in the year we had the shelter put up, and we added the tarp front and back to keep snow from blowing in.

For early October in Western New York, the weather was warm.  There were rain storms - the remnants of Hurricane Nate, but we were out and about on the motorbike.

O'Lacy's Irish Bar in Batavia, NY.

Monday, 9 October was the Columbus Day holiday, but most businesses are open.  We took the truck to Empire Truck & Trailer Service to have the fan clutch replaced - it was replaced in May this year, but the part had failed.  Art and Ann Marie picked us up and we had a nice catch up and breakfast.  We left early Tuesday morning to load in Jamestown, New York.

The load was at an asphalt plant, some equipment had been sold.  Our load was listed as 'legal', but it was actually 2 inches over legal width.  That piece of information had not been disclosed until Jim measured.  They did not want it to go as oversize - with extra paperwork, permits and time involved, they cost more for transportation.  Bit of a hassle as the shipper though we should "just run it" with out permits because it was just "a little bit over".  In hindsight, we should have left it and found another load.
The day before was a public holiday and the issuing of permits were at least a day wait.  We got loaded and put flags and banners on the trailer, but could not leave the premises without permits.  New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin states were required.

Jamestown, New York to Middleton, Wisconsin.

We dropped the trailer and bobtailed into Jamestown and spent a couple of hours at the Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Museum.

Website:  Dedicated to the lives and careers, the museum opened in 1996 “to preserve and celebrate the legacy of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and enrich the world through the healing powers of love and laughter”.  Lucille Ball was born in Jamestown on August 6, 1911. Housing artifacts and memorabilia of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz ; the Desilu Studios museum, containing both replica and original “I Love Lucy” TV sets and props, as well as other artifacts related to the show.

The Comedy Centre established the annual Lucille Ball Comedy Festival held every August.

32 covers of TV Magazine - the most of any TV personality.

Jamestown artist, Gary Peters Jr. painted scenes from I Love Lucy on the sides of five downtown buildings in Jamestown.  The only one I saw was way down the street from where we parked. 

St Luke's Episcopal Church -1894.

We had to spend the night in the truck at the asphalt plant where we loaded.  There was a bar within walking distance, so we went to The Swamp for something to eat.

Both sides of the road were swamp and behind the bar was a creek.  Inside there were obvious signs that water had been a couple of feet deep.

Waited until mid-morning the next day for the New York oversize permit, so we could move.  Got as far as the Ohio / Indiana state line and had to shut down and wait for the Indiana permit.  It was received at 11am the next day, along with the rest to destination.

Wisconsin stuff!

A small Wisconsin town - rainy day.

Even though Jim called the delivery, two days ahead, then 24 hours ahead, to make sure they had a crane to unload us Friday morning.  Was assured they had equipment to unload - turned out they didn't and we stayed 6 hours in their yard waiting for a hired crane to come off another job.
That 650 miles (1000 km) run that took four days!
We had scheduled to load in Oshkosh that afternoon, so we could work the weekend.  Oshkosh was two hours drive, but they closed at 3pm.  Not going to make that.  One of their workers agreed to come in and load us Saturday morning, for a fee.  At least we could work the weekend.

Stopped at a truck stop in Addison Station, near Hartford, Wisconsin Friday evening and Chris and Judi, met us there and took us to an interesting restaurant just down the street - M.J. Stevens Pub and Restaurant.
Website:  MJ Stevens Pub ‘N’ Restaurant is a traditional pub-style restaurant with an old-world traditional flavor and style.  Dine in old world ambience – European style décor.
It was packed with guests!  Obviously a popular restaurant.  Had a nice catch up with Chris and Judi, a couple of beers and food, and back to the truck.

Loaded early Saturday at Barr Inc. in Oshkosh, some refrigeration parts, had to tarp some doors in cardboard cartons.

Oshkosh, Wisconsin to Franklin, Pennsylvania.

Sunrise - eastbound.

Got to Hubbard, Ohio Truckstop on Sunday afternoon.  Guzzi friends, Dave and Kathy Blake live about a 40 minute drive from there.  They picked us up and took us to Sharon, Pennsylvania to the original Quaker Steak and Lube Restaurant.

Website: A casual dining restaurant chain based in Sharon, Pennsylvania.  The original restaurant opened in 1974 in an abandoned gas station in downtown Sharon, and decorated with license plates, old automobiles and motorcycles.

History: Gas stations were closing in the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis.  George “Jig” Warren and Gary “Moe” Meszaros came up with the idea of preserving the culture of old gas stations and muscle cars.  They opened Quaker Steak & Lube.  Initially it was a ‘cook your own steak’.

Note for non-motorheads:  A Quaker State Motor Oil is an oil brand from Pennsylvania – “Quaker State” is derived from the nickname for Pennsylvania, the state founded by William Penn, a man of the Quaker religion.  A spoof - the ‘state’ was switched to ‘steak’ when the old gas station converted to a restaurant. 

Dave, Kathy and Jim at Quaker Steak & Lube.

There are a lot of Quaker Steak & Lube restaurants across the country.  Popular for their ‘bike nights’, where hundreds of motorcycles gather once a week.

Some steep roads and mountains approaching Franklin from the south.

 Delivered to KB Pizza Crust Company in Franklin, PA on Monday 16 October.

Website:  Benvenuti’s KB Pizza prides itself on over 20 years of quality and excellence.  Our product capabilities range from raw pizza dough, to self-rising par-baked, and the new open-cell panbake deep dish crust.

They ship approximately 250,000 pie crusts per week!  WoW! A big factory.

We seemed to have missed the height of 'Fall' colours.  Some colour, but not the vibrant yellow, reds, oranges.

 North to Cleveland, Ohio to load at Garland - rolled roofing for Orlando, Florida.

Cleveland, Ohio to Orlando, Florida.

Cooler temperatures and fog in the mountains going south - 34 F (2 C) in Virginia.

We spent Wednesday night at the house, Jimmy was in town - and recently moved into a new house in Holly Hill, actually across the street from the 'pink hacienda'.
Jim and I delivered the rolled roofing to Willoughby Roofing in Orlando the next morning and back to the house.

A new restaurant in South Daytona - across from where we part the truck when we are at the house.  Was not there three weeks ago - G'day Cafe.  Caught my eye!

We stopped for breakfast, and to say 'g'day'.  Charles and Colin are from Brisbane, and been in the USA for 10 years.  They had a motel in Niagara Falls, New York, sold it and this is a new venture for them.  There have been several restaurants previously in that building.  It is on a busy road, but mostly workers in the area.  They are open for breakfast and lunch only.  Hope it goes well for them - fun talking to them, we stopped in twice while at the house for Biketoberfest.
Their menu is mostly for Americans, considering there are very few Aussies in the area, but they have vegemite on toast, meat pies and lamingtons!

The 25th Anniversary of Biketoberfest, the Chrome anniversary.  I went for a wander to Main Street with Diane.  Great weather for the most part for the four days, with a few scattered rain showers.

Friday evening was a Moto Guzzi gathering at Pantheon Pizza, a catch up with local guzzi friends and a few in town for the event.  Jim chose to ride the 1970 Ambassador in forefront of photo below.

Saturday we took a slow run to New Smyrna Beach for vintage motorcycle races.  We were early, so stopped in town at a market for lunch.  The market was in Old Fort Park next to the historic ruins.

From Huffington Post:  The ruins measure around 40 by 80 foot, and look almost like a Spanish Fort.  While some historians have attributed the long-unfinished creation to English settlers hoping to establish a colony in 1768, it’s the choice of building material, coquina, that leads others to believe the structure is much older.  Coquina, a material consisting of sedimentary rock mixed with shells, was a primary building material used by Spanish explorers in the late 1600s.

Regardless of who built it, the ruins were once home to another structure that made use of the existing supports.  The Sheldon House, a 40-room hotel built in 1854, was one of the most popular hotels in the area until it was destroyed during the Civil War.

Today, the mysterious Turnbull Ruins are one of the largest attractions in Old Fort Park.  The strange location sees more ghost hunters than tourists … because of its rumoured hauntings.

Saturday afternoon, we met friends at the New Smyrna Beach Speedway.

A couple of parking lot items of interest.

Internet:  Sons of Speed is a vintage motorcycle race inspired by early 20th century board-track racing.  Featuring stripped down bikes with pre-1925 American V-Twin engines.  Sons of Speed hearkens back to a wide-open, full throttle, thrilling style of motorcycle racing.
New Smyrna Beach Speedway is a half-mile, paved, banked racetrack.  Our first time there.

That was an interesting afternoon of racing.  Spectators were allowed in the pits after the races finished.

An Australian bought his old Harley Davidson over and raced it.

After the races a group of us stopped at Sopotnick’s Cabbage Patch Bar.  So much going on there, it is always packed with bikes and people.  Venders and parking overflows into Cackleberry Campgrounds across the street.

We missed the coleslaw wrestling – it has been in the ‘pool’ for a few days in the sun and not at all pleasant!

Sunday morning was spent at the truck, unloading the Le Mans off, and getting ready for the next road trip.  Beach Street was eerily quiet prior to the last day of Biketoberfest.  A few scattered storms forecast.

This is 'downtown' Daytona Beach - mostly restaurants and specialty stores.

Early morning for us on Monday, 23 October.

The 'Thank You for Visiting Florida" sign.

Loaded in Savannah, Georgia - a JCB Loadall that came off a ship from England, going as an LTL.  Then north of Atlanta to load two pallets of mesh rolls.
A quick trip north to unload the pallets at LeMar Industries in Des Moines, Iowa on Wednesday morning, then over to Omaha, Nebraska to deliver the JCB Loadall to a Sunbelt Rentals.

Two LTL's from Georgia for Iowa and Nebraska.

Website:  For weary travellers and truckers, it is a welcome beacon of familiarity - the original Sapp Bros. coffee pot water tower.  The first Sapp Bros. Truck Plaza opened in Omaha in 1971.  Before then the 'coffeepot' had been a regular water tower supplying water to nearby homes and businesses.  The spout and handle were added to the refurbished tower to turn it into the company's enormous mascot.  Today Sapp Bros. owns 16 locations across the Midwest and the huge coffee pot at each of them is a well-known sight for travellers.

Drive back to Iowa, to Pella, south of Des Moines to load Thursday morning at Vermeer Corporation.
Sunset and sunrise in Pella, Iowa.

A Casey's Convenience Store.

Early start at Vermeer to load.

Website:  Vermeer Corporation is a manufacturer of industrial and agricultural equipment.  The privately held company distributes more than 120 products globally from seven production facilities and offices in Pella, Iowa, and multiple locations worldwide.
Our load was four stops for Vermeer locations in Florida.

Pella, Iowa  to Florida.

Three Vermeer chippers and some accessories.  The first Florida delivery was for Pensacola, but we could not get there in time to deliver on Friday - we had a bit of time to fill in.  Weather was much cooler, so we decided on a detour via Nashville, Tennessee - only 100 kms or so out of route.  Got there just after noon on Friday.
Took a taxi to the Johnny Cash Museum, we had not been there before.
Website:  This red-brick museum displays pictures and memorabilia from the life of music icon Johnny Cash.
It is a great museum, though a lot of people and lines when we were there (a Friday afternoon).  We stayed over an hour and didn't stop at all the exhibits, both of us would go back for another look.

It had been a year since we had been to downtown Nashville, found the Goo Goo Shop!!

Website:  Located in the SoBro area of downtown Nashville, the Goo Goo Shop and Dessert Bar is no ordinary retail store. In addition to Goo Goo Clusters, branded merchandise, bulk retro candies and Nashville themed gift items, visitors have the opportunity to take a walk through history as they peruse a 100+ year timeline complete with artifacts from the Goo Goo archives and feast their eyes upon Premium Goo Goos being made by hand in a glass encased confectionery kitchen.

History: In 1912, in a copper kettle at the Standard Candy Company in Nashville, the world’s first combination candy bar was invented.  A roundish mound of caramel, marshmallow nougat, fresh roasted peanuts and real milk chocolate.  The Goo Goo Cluster represented the first time multiple elements were in one candy.

Today, the process of making Goo Goos is so streamlined that Standard Candy in Nashville can produce 20,000 Goo Goo Clusters an hour.

Out and about on Broadway.

An early dinner at Broadway Brewhouse.

Rock Bottom Brewery is new - used to be Big River Brewery - on lower Broadway. 

Stopped at our favourite bar and listened to the excellent music at Robert's Western World - The Don Kelley Band was rocking the rafters.  Jim and I grabbed a seat at the bar, as the place was filling up for the dinner crowd.  The couple next to me were Australian tourists from Echuca, Victoria.  They lucked out with some good knowledgeable people for 'tour tips'!  They were nice and it was interesting hearing of their travels and experiences.
We left Roberts about 8pm and it was a torrential downpour outside!  We got a taxi back to the truck.

Left mid morning Saturday and got to Pensacola, Florida early Sunday afternoon and parked in the driveway of Vermeer.  Across the street was a strip plaza with a small Walmart and Southpaw Bar and Grill for Jim to watch football games and have a beer and something to eat.

Delivered one chipper to the Pensacola Vermeer, Monday morning, around the Gulf of Mexico coast to Clearwater, Florida to deliver another chipper Tuesday morning. 
The Bay looking beautiful and flat on an Autumn day.

Four skids to Vermeer in Fort Myers late morning, and the rest to Vermeer in Boynton Beach on the east coast of Florida after lunch.  Empty, deadheaded to the house in Daytona Beach.