Wikipedia: Laredo, Texas: located on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
Laraedo’s economy is based on international trade with Mexico. Most major transportation companies have a facility in Laredo.
Founded in 1755, Laredo grew from a villa to the capital of the brief Republic of the Rio Grande to the largest inland port on the United States - Mexican border. Today, it has four international bridges and one railway bridge. Laredo's weather is semi-arid during the summer and mild during the winter.
Monday afternoon we loaded at Johnson Controls in San Antonio - a huge refrigeration unit and delivered it to a rigging company in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Wednesday afternoon.
Thursday morning we loaded at the Caterpillar factory in Lafayette, Indiana - a 3516 CAT generator and a radiator destined for St Augustine, Florida (photo).
Just a little out of route, we spent the weekend in Florence, South Carolina with the ‘new’ Casey’s.
Uncle Pat and Aunt Belinda hosted a party for Casey cousins. Jim was the only one there from the New York Casey’s, but he got to meet three more first cousins (and their families) from his grandfather’s second family. Pat picked Jim and I up at the truckstop and we spent all day partying with them, eating, drinking and floating in their pool and on the water slide.
It was hot and humid!
We met Pat and Belinda’s children, Corinna and Brian last year. Andy and Carmyn are Uncle Jerry’s children; and Todd is Aunt Cathy’s son.
Todd’s brother and sister, Robin and Casey were busy with children’s activities and didn’t attend. All live in South Carolina. It was quite an event! It was huge fun!
Jim helped Pat with the ‘southern’ boiled green peanuts - that was fun!
In photo: Jim, Andy, Brian and Pat.
We stayed the night and the next morning with Pat and Belinda. Left at 1pm and headed to Florida. Delivered to a Cat dealer and rental in St Augustine early Monday morning and were at the house in Daytona Beach by noon.
Jim did some maintenance around the house - a water leak in the kitchen sink, and reseal the garage roof. We took the motorbike off the truck and Jim replaced a gasket seal and oil.
Jim had been running around town on Wednesday afternoon and came back and asked me if I had heard of “Brad Paisley”. “Yes, he is a country music singer“. He was in concert at the Ocean Centre on Thursday evening, Jim had seen a poster. I went online and got two tickets! I would not have considered myself a ‘fan’ (don't have any CD's), but I liked his music, he has many hits, and fun songs, and the concert was only one block away!!!
Website: Grammy award-winning country music artist Brad Paisley is bringing his “H2O World Tour” to the Volusia County Ocean Center at 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 12. Special guests will be Darius Rucker and Justin Moore. “H2O World Tour” will hit more than 75 cities in the United States, Canada and Europe over the next 12 months.
Country music superstar Brad Paisley is a consummate singer, songwriter, guitarist and entertainer, who has earned three Grammys, 12 Academy of Country Music Awards and 13 Country Music Association Awards. Paisley has released eight critically acclaimed studio albums and has accumulated sales of over 10 million units. His most recent album, “American Saturday Night”, was ranked as TIME magazine’s 2009 No. 1 album of the year in any genre of music. Paisley’s most recent No.1 single, “American Saturday Night,” was his 16th No.1 - the last 12 consecutive. Paisley’s innovative and entertaining tours have consistently placed in the Top 5 in Pollstar for attendance. His 2009 “American Saturday Night” tour played to nearly 1.2 million fans in 8 months.
Turned out to be an awesome concert, maybe the best I have ever been to!
“H2O World Tour” will include a “Water World Plaza,” and will turn every city into a water festival. Focal point in the Plaza area will be the “Water World Plaza Stage” featuring emerging new stars Easton Corbin, Steel Magnolia and Josh Thompson. The tour extravaganza will open each day at 4 p.m. with music starting at 5 p.m. In addition to the music stage, there will be multiple water-themed activities including a Chevy H2O FLW fishing simulator, dunking booth, Hope Through Healing Hands’ campaign booth, and more.
The parking lot concerts and activities were all free. At 5pm, we watched the first performer, Josh Thompson on the Water World Plaza Stage - fun and lively. But, it was about 1000 degrees in that parking lot, so we went back to the house to cool off - we could still hear the music from the house!!
Columbia Nashville recording artist Josh Thompson burst into the country music scene this
year with his debut hit, “Beer On The Table,” a down-to-earth anthem about working hard to party hard.
Newcomer Easton Corbin holds the title for the highest-charting male debut single for 2009 and 2010. Recognized for the current number one hit “A Little More Country Than That”.
Steel Magnolia’s Meghan and Joshua’s debut single, “Keep On Lovin’ You,” skyrocketed into the top 15 on the Billboard Country Songs Chart and landed on the “Valentine’s Day Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.”
The inside show started at 7.30pm with Justin Moore:
Lauded as Billboard’s “New Country Artist of 2009,” Moore was the only new country artist last year to earn number one single status (for his hometown anthem “Small Town USA”).
Then - Darius Rucker: signed with Capitol Records Nashville in 2007 and since has been embraced by the country music community with his chart-topping 2008 debut, “Learn to Live”, an album that has produced three consecutive number one singles and latest top five
smash, “History In The Making.”
I was impressed by the “value” of the concert ticket. Three free acts featuring upcoming stars, and the outside activities were a bonus.
Our seats were down the back, but we had a great view of the stage and the video screens, and other than the 15 minutes between acts, it was continuous music and entertainment from 7.30pm to 11pm.
"Brad has always considered the fans first and foremost when planning a tour, and the H2O Tour is no exception," said Brian O'Connell, President, Nashville Touring, for Live Nation. "Brad's vision was to have a full day of activity at each of the shows, and also provide a great value for the fan's dollar. Brad's commitment to bring the hottest acts in Country Music to enhance his spectacular show, and deliver value to the fans each and every night.
Awesome laser light show - video background and crowd interaction were phenomenal! Twice Brad walked around the perimeter of the ground floor seating, shaking hands and signing autographs while singing! Later he made his way to a 3 metre round ’stage’ towards the back wall, he sat on a ‘diving board’ with his acoustic guitar and a microphone and sang two songs while his band took a break. He said that when he attended concerts, he always ended up down the back in the “cheap seats”, so he played directly to the people at the back!! He was about 30 metres from us! A really, really cool thing to do!
Brad did not take a break in the two hours of his performance! He really impressed me over and above his talent!
We had planned to load and run over the weekend - we had one load assigned, but it would not fit on our trailer, and the next one cancelled at the last minute. We were about to start looking for a Monday load when at 3pm one listed to load in Orlando that afternoon. Jim left the house right away and with the half hour drive to the truck and the traffic congestion, he didn’t get to the company until 5.15pm. Luckily the shipment was urgent, so he got loaded.
On Saturday, there was a ’beach bash’ lunch with the Florida Chapter of the Moto Guzzi National Owners Group. We met with the Hewitt’s in New Smyrna Beach on Saturday and seven bikes ran together for the two hour ride south.
Destination was Sebastian Beach Inn restaurant at Melbourne Beach - it was a really hot day! About 30 moto guzzies were there, all wandering around checking out bikes and swapping stories. Many bought swimsuits and walked down the steps off the restaurant deck onto the beach and into the Atlantic Ocean! Something special was when the half dozen swimmers were joined by a manatee! It swam and played with them, many people touched it (even though that is ‘illegal’!), it appeared that he liked it! Swimsuits were allowed in the bar/restaurant as well. A very casual place, great food, and live bands most weekends.
Had a nice time with Florida guzzi friends, and it was a good attendance for a hot summer day!
We took a more leisurely ride back, with several stops for re-hydration! Experienced a couple of heavy downpours, which was refreshing. It was an enjoyable day.
Jim and I left Daytona Beach Sunday afternoon, it was a 375 mile (600 km) run to Eufaula, Alabama.
Delivered the ‘moisture control’ machine to a turkey processing plant Monday morning. (There had been record heat and humidity and the turkey’s were ‘cooking’ ahead of schedule.) Then down to Mobile Ports and loaded aluminum ‘logs’. Delivered them in Mississauga, Ontario on Wednesday afternoon. Stayed overnight and loaded in Oakville, Ontario the next morning. We had loaded there in June - CANFAS, part of a shooting range. Delivery of this one was not required until Tuesday, 24 August which gave us two extra days to get there, so we parked the rig near Buffalo and got the bike off, loaded as much gear as we could on the le mans (not much) and headed to the Roadrunners Rally near Watkins Glen, NY. On Wednesday we had met Joe for coffee at the truckstop in Buffalo and gave him our tent and two sleeping bags as he was taking his motorbike trailer to the rally and had space. We hadn’t been to a Roadrunners Rally since 2006!
Jim and I headed east on Friday morning to the Finger Lakes Region of New York. Approx 100 miles (160 kms) all two lane roads and small towns. We caught up with Joe and Michele, Frank and Penny, Tim and Helena (Florida) and a bunch of others in Hammondsport at the southern point of Keuka Lake.
Internet: The Finger Lakes are a chain of lakes in the west-central section of Upstate New York and are a popular tourist destination. The lakes are linear in shape, each lake oriented on a north-south axis. The two longest, Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake are close to 40 miles (64 km) from end to end, and never more than 3.5 miles (5.6 km) wide. Cayuga is the longest (38.1 miles, 61 km) and Seneca the largest in total area. Seneca is the deepest (618 feet, 188 m), followed by Cayuga (435 feet, 133 m), with their bottoms well below sea level. These largest lakes resemble the others in shape, which collectively reminded early map-makers of the fingers of a hand.
The Finger Lakes area is New York's largest wine producing region. Over 100 wineries and vineyards are centered around Seneca, Cayuga, Canandaigua, Keuka, Conesus and Hemlock lakes. Retaining residual summer warmth in the winter, and winter's cold in the spring, the grapes are protected from disastrous spring frost during shoot growth, and early frost before the harvest. With the passage of the Farm Winery Act in 1976, numerous wineries have opened their doors to visitors from all over the world. Wineries are a major growth industry of the region, not merely contributing to the economy through production, but increasingly because they attract large numbers of visitors who support other components of tourism.
A group of us went to Dr Konstantin Frank’s Winery, and did wine tasting, which was nice.
Website: Dr. Konstantin Frank ignited the “Vinifera Revolution” a movement that forever changed the course of wine growing in the Finger Lakes and the United States. Dr. Frank’s vision, knowledge and determination are credited with elevating the New York wine industry from a state of happy mediocrity to a level that today commands world attention.
Then on to Bully Hill Vineyards - our first time there and we loved it!
Bully Hill Vineyards was the first small estate winery on Keuka Lake region area since Prohibition.
Growing from a small winery with a limited number of employees, Bully Hill Vineyards now produces over 200,000 cases of wine each year. Bully Hill features an on-site restaurant, wine shop, two gift shops and a museum. Bully Hill wine is distributed in some 30 states. The most fun wine tasting experience in the Finger Lakes.
Photo: Roadrunners: L to R rear - Frank, Penny, Bill, Lesley, Jim, Joe, Michele, and Tim.
Crouched in front - L to R Jo, Galen and Ralph. (Ralph's camera, taken by Linda! Thank you.)
After stopping in Watkins Glen for dinner, it was almost dark when we started setting up our tent at Paradise Park Campgrounds.
Roadrunners is an all-brands motorcycle rally, but many moto guzzi friends are members. Tim and Helena Hewitt from New Smyrna Beach, Florida were there. We spent the previous Saturday with them in Florida! Many people we had seen already at Bike Week or the Western NY rally, but a few people we had not seen for a few years were there as well.
Saturday morning, after breakfast in Watkins Glen, we stopped at Pompous Ass Winery. It opened in 2008 just north of the campgrounds on the west side of Seneca Lake, and we had to check it out. Lots of fun, and we had to buy t-shirts, stickers, etc.!
Roadrunners had a tasting appointment at 12.15pm at Hazlitt 1852 Winery. 2010 is their silver anniversary - 25 years of wine making in the Finger Lakes Region. Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards has evolved into one of the most popular destinations in the region. Hazlitt Winery is rated one of America’s Top 25 Tasting Rooms by Wine Enthusiast magazine and is home to the ever-popular “Red Cat“.
46 Roadrunners were there and that is a focal point of the rally! There is a Tiki Bar tent outside for relaxing and socializing. Something new for me were Red Cat Slushies (frozen “Red Cat” wine), and really good! We spent some time in the Tiki Bar, had fun with grape necklaces that Penny made for all the ladies, and some have started a ‘novelty glasses’ group.
Photo of Helena and Michele with their Red Cat Slushies!!
Also, another photo of a dunny (I hope this isn’t going to be a trend for Casey Capers…!!) The 'Red Cat' inspired outhouse!
Then on to Rasta Ranch Winery, which is ‘alternative’, and lots of fun. Alot of the wine names were songs “Piece of My Heart’, Purple Haze”, “Whiter Shade Of Pale”,
Rasta Ranch: Decor is reminiscent of Woodstock. Posters of Janis, Jimi, and Bob, to name a few adorn the walls. With tie dye accents abound. The atmosphere at Rasta Ranch is lay back, friendly and very social.
Then on to Wagner Valley Brewing Company & Winery.
Wagner Valley Brewing Company opened in 1997 and produces several brews and has won numerous top awards including G.A.B.F., World Beer Cup and Tap New York medals.
Photo of Wagners Brewery and Winery and Seneca Lake in background, Frank & Penny's Ambassador in foreground! (Penny's photo! Thanks)
88 people attended the Rally and lots of new members! The rain started about 1am Sunday morning - a down pour combined with winds. We were nervous about our tent because it is old and rarely used and had not been in rain for 20 years… Surprisingly we fared quite well! Jim and I packed up and left early as we had to be in the truck and rolling that afternoon. We left most of our gear for Joe to take back to his place and we will pick up next time there.
Delivered at Maxwell Air Force Base near Montgomery, Alabama on Tuesday morning. Constructing an indoor shooting range. Then up to Tuscaloosa Nucor Steel and loaded and tarped flat steel.
Delivered that to a steel company near Minneapolis on Thursday morning.
Notice at truckstop fuel pumps this week - diesel now contains 11% biodiesel. Wondering if that will affect our twelve year old truck engine. (It clocked over 800,000 miles / 1,287,200 kms the last week of August.)
Wikepedia: Biodiesel has different solvent properties than petrodiesel, and will degrade natural rubber gaskets and hoses in vehicles. Biodiesel has been known to break down deposits of residue in the fuel lines where petrodiesel has been used. As a result, fuel filters may become clogged with particulates if a quick transition to pure biodiesel is made. 11% should not create problems for us.
The pluses: Biodiesel (mono alkyl esters) is a cleaner-burning diesel fuel made from natural, renewable sources such as vegetable oils. Biodiesel contains no petroleum, but it can be blended at any level with petroleum diesel to create a biodiesel blend. Biodiesel is biodegradable, nontoxic, and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics.
Biodiesel has better lubricating properties and much higher cetane ratings than lower sulfur diesel fuels. Biodiesel addition reduces fuel system wear, and in low levels in high pressure systems increases the life of the fuel injection equipment that relies on the fuel for its lubrication. It is immiscible with water, has a high boiling point and low vapour pressure.
Thursday afternoon, 26 August we loaded in Manchester, Iowa. 250 miles/400 kms was more deadhead than we like to do, but the load went to Watertown, New York and it meant we could spend a day in Buffalo and pick up the gear that was left at Joe and Michele’s last weekend.
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Henderson Manufacturing - products include a wide range of dump bodies, snow plows, sand & salt spreaders, anti-icing systems, & special purpose truck bodies for both heavy & medium duty trucks.
We loaded three dump truck bodies for snow/ice control. A bin with a conveyor belt underneath going to a spreader out the back and two large tanks on each side for anti-icing solution.
We got to Joe and Michele’s Friday evening. We had not scheduled visits or events, just stuff to do around the truck, RV and motorbikes there.
Breakfast Sunday morning at August 25 Restaurant with Joe, Michele and Baillie, then a short motorcycle ride before loading up the motorbike and we left at 2pm for Watertown. Weather was excellent.
30 August - Monday morning we delivered at Henderson Manufacturing in Watertown. This facility puts the dump truck bodies onto the truck chassis used by the New York Department of Transport.
The exciting part of the morning - they are located across the street from Little Trees!!! How cool is that??
Little Trees (US) are disposable air fresheners in the shape of an abstract evergreen tree, marketed for use in cars. They are made of a material very similar to beer coasters and are produced in a variety of colours and scents. These air fresheners were invented in 1952 in Watertown, New York. They are manufactured in the USA by the Car-Freshener corporation, still headquartered in Watertown. Again - how cool is THAT???
Got unloaded early, then headed south to Rome, NY and loaded at the former Griffiss Air Force Base.
Wikipedia: Griffiss AFB was realigned for civilian and non-combat purposes in the early 1990s. The facility is now home to the Griffiss Business and Technology Park, and it is still home to the Rome Research Site of the Air Force Research Lab.
Trivia: Griffiss was the site of the Woodstock 1999 concert festival. The base was chosen for its defensibility. (The Woodstock of 1969 was held around 200 (300km) miles from Rome.)
We loaded and tarped two large crates and a fiberglass dome - some sort of electronics equipment. We delivered that the next morning to Wright Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. Then to Cincinnati, Ohio and loaded an ‘oversize’ building going to Florida.
Brad Paisley's "He Didn't Have To Be" is such a beautiful song. Lyrics are perfect and so is the video. My kids dedicated it to Tom, many years ago.
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