Friday morning, 1 April we left Nashville and headed up to Louisville, Kentucky for the Mid America Trucking Show - the 40th Anniversary.
Website: MATS 2011 - 40 Years of the largest heavy-duty trucking event in the world. The Mid-America Trucking Show is more than a tradeshow. It is the annual forum for the heavy-duty trucking industry, providing face to face interaction between industry representatives and trucking professionals. Attendees are driven to MATS because they can efficiently research the latest products and services to provide their business with a competitive edge. Exhibitors participate in MATS to effectively introduce new offerings, increase brand awareness, promote products and connect with suppliers, customers and prospects.
There are thousands of exhibitors and fill four large convention halls and several parking lots.
Photo is of the new style of International trucks - very futuristic!
We spent all Friday afternoon walking around the exhibits, then returned later for the free concert: Halfway to Hazard, Keith Anderson and Randy Houser courtesy of Mobil Delvac.
We went back to the truck show on Saturday morning to buy new straps, and a dash camcorder - both we needed or wanted and the companies had special show prices.
Got rolling late Saturday morning for New Jersey and delivered Monday morning at Fort Dix. Reloaded right away in Rancocas, New Jersey and delivered Tuesday afternoon at Koyo Bearings in Dahlonega, Georgia on Tuesday. Dahlonega is in north Georgia and a beautiful area.
Internet: In 1828 Dahlonega was the site of the first major gold rush in the United States. The Dahlonega Gold Museum Historic Site sits in the middle of the town square, housed in the old Lumpkin County Courthouse built in 1836. From its steps in 1849, the Dahlonega Mint assayor tried to persuade miners to stay in Dahlonega instead of joining the California Gold Rush, saying, “ There’s gold in them thar hills.”
(I had thought that phrase was about the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California - so learned something!)
We loaded one CAT roller at Ritchie Bros Auction in Newnan, Georgia that afternoon and headed to Florida. Delivered Wednesday afternoon at Ring Power in St Augustine then to the house.
Late Friday morning we left Daytona Beach and had a leisurely three hour bike ride to Withlacoochee RV Park for the Central Florida Moto Guzzi Rally weekend of 8, 9, and 10 April.
We had arranged for friends, Derek and Cindy to take our tent, sleeping bags and chairs over before hand. We set up our tent near the Withlacoochee River.
Website: Withlacoochee River encourages you to explore and enjoy paddling through Old Florida’s pristine scenic river filled with plenty of wildlife and mother nature at her best.
Tour the most unique tea coloured river flowing north through cypress swamps and hardwood timberlands of the Green Swamp to the sandy beaches that empty into the Gulf of Mexico.
Although residential and commercial development in the region is increasing, the watershed as a whole remains largely undeveloped.
There were thousands of hairy caterpillars in the campgrounds - on the picnic benches and chairs, on tents, cars and motorbikes - everywhere!
I did some research are found out they were tussock moth caterpillars - and I had an allergic reaction to them…
Internet: Each spring tussock moth caterpillars are abundant in north central Florida. Caterpillars of this species have a red head, two black "hair pencils" projecting forward like antennae, four dense tufts of hair on the back, and a single hair pencil projecting to the rear like a tail. Unique to this species are the orange-colored spots along the back and sides.
(Also noted) caterpillar hairs my irritate the skin. I was covered in little itchy blisters for a week!
Photo of tussock caterpillars I stole off a University of Florida website.
Jimmy and Derek had kayaks and there were canoe rentals available. The river was high and fast flowing after several days of rain early in the week. Friday afternoon Jim went for a kayak trip with Derek and he ended up in the river! Luckily the alligators were not looking for an afternoon meal! After falling out, Jim was bitten by ‘something‘. After dragging himself and the kayak to the bank, he checked his big toe - it had a fishing hook stuck in it, complete with line and sinker!!
Saturday Jim and I went for a bike ride to Floral City and Sleepy Hollow - had lunch and took some nice roads on the way back.
It was a nice gathering of guzzi friends - 65 people were there by Saturday evening.
Great weather - hot and sunny. Jimmy’s lady friend, Cindy attended her first moto guzzi rally and settled in and had a good time.
Photo: Rear L to R: Roy with nephew, Jamie, Derek, Lamont, Jeffrey, Tim, Jim. Front L to R: Jan, Cindy, Mary Lynn, Helena, Lesley and Jimmy. (Jimmy's Cindy took the photo.)
Arrived back in Daytona Beach Sunday afternoon. Spent Monday working on the truck and catching up on business.
Tuesday we loaded in Gainesville, Florida - one Genie boom lift and delivered it in Baton Rouge, Louisiana the next morning. Loaded a CAT roller near New Orleans late morning and delivered Friday morning in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
After delivering to an equipment rental business, we had to wait until 2pm to reload north of Baltimore, Maryland. Loaded at AAI Corporation - a ‘humvee shelter‘. Only put one on us - a light load and lots of room left on the trailer.
Website: AAI Corporation was founded 1950. Today, we are a global corporation providing a vast array of innovative aerospace and defense technologies. Our products and services include unmanned aircraft and ground control technologies; high-fidelity training and simulation systems; automated aerospace test and maintenance equipment; armament systems; and logistical, engineering, supply chain and operational support services.
Delivered it to Redstone Arsenal near Huntsville, Alabama. It was full of computer and electronics and attaches to the tray back of a military humvee.
Internet: Redstone Arsenal: Originally a chemical weapons manufacturing facility for World War II, the arsenal became the focal point of the Army’s rocket and space projects, including development of the first US ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles in the 1950’s.
Redstone Arsenal remains the centre of testing, development, and doctrine for the Army’s missile programs. Besides the US Army Material Command and the US Army Aviation and Missile Life Cycle Management Command, Redstone houses the Tactical UAV Project Office, Ordnance Munitions and electronic Maintenance School, Redstone Test Centre, and other operations.
Redstone Arsenal also hosts the Marshall Space Flight Centre, NASA’s field centre for propulsion analysis and development, which developed the Saturn rocket family in the 1960’s and propulsion systems for the Space Shuttle in the 1970’s and 80’s.
An interesting place: rockets and rocket engines, military helicopters and small aircraft on display in front of buildings.
Took some back roads and loaded in Rome, Georgia at RSC Rental in the afternoon. Loaded four new Club Cars and delivered them the next morning to another RSC Rental in Tampa, Florida. Club Car makes golf carts and utility vehicles, the ones we had were 4 x 4.
Late morning we went to Anna Maria Island, south of Tampa. Parked the truck in the car park at Coquina Beach. The project was a ‘renourishment’ because the beach had experienced severe erosion.
Internet: A barge docked off the northern end of the island dredges sand - a submerged pipe
up to five miles long brings dredged sand from the barge to the north end of Coquina Beach and a bulldozer and front-end loader spreads sand on the beach. The project restocks island beaches with their trademark white sand. (Cost was almost $6 million.) The sand was dredged from Tampa Bay.
We loaded pipe sections and the large joins with valves. We arrived at the house that evening and Jim delivered in Green Cove Springs the next morning.
The purpose of the return trip to Daytona Beach after only a week was to load up the moto guzzi le mans on the truck for the summer here. But it would not run well. I looked for loads on a day to day basis, eventually set one up for Monday and hoped the bike would be sorted out. Friday evening we went to New Smyrna Beach to Peanuts with the Hewitts, Sunday we spent a few hours with Jimmy and Cindy, and had Easter dinner at Lis and Harvey’s in De Leon Springs.
Jim fiddled with the le mans for four days - just wasn’t meant to be. Seemed to be a gasoline problem, and he had it running good on Sunday, but not sure enough to load it up. Not fun working on it while away from the garage. Also, the new front tyre would not hold air for more than 24 hours.
Back in the truck on Monday morning, 25 April. Set up the new dash cam. It records 15 minute segments and put into folders. The 8 GB SD cards holds two and a half hours of recording, and it re-writes the earlier files. If I want to keep any of the videos, I download them into the computer.
Loaded in Rockledge, Florida at Liberty Tire Recycling.
Website: Liberty Tire Recycling is the premier provider of tyre recycling services. By reclaiming more than 33 percent of the nation’s discarded tyres, Liberty Tire annually transforms more than 110 million tyres into raw materials for smart, sustainable products that improve people’s lives. Much of the recycled rubber produced is used as crumb rubber or as rubber mulch in landscaping and playground applications. Scrap tyres are shredded and ground in to various sizes of powders, crumbs and nuggets.
Very interesting, there were large piles of old tyres and rubber mulch and bagged and palletized product. We loaded a crumbing plant - hoppers and conveyor belt. The company is expanding into Ontario, Canada and excess equipment is being used in the start up. Really awful tarp job though - sharp edges, loose lids, motors and parts - all odd sizes. Tarps flapped all the way and it rained.
Delivered in Tilbury, Ontario around lunch time on Wednesday, 27 April.
We loaded the next morning in Mason, Michigan, large steel plates and two skids going to Orlando, Florida.
Arrived in Daytona Beach 6.30pm on Friday afternoon, will deliver in Orlando on Monday.
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