Monday morning 1 August we loaded at Pop’s Painting in Lakeland, Florida. Large painted metal panels. The panels were in racks outside and standing on edge when they were painted. They have a thick coating, I found a dragonfly that had obviously flown into the wet paint and stuck. The painted panel was horizontal on the trailer and the dragonfly was still stuck to it.Pop’s Painting website: We offer industrial sandblasting and painting, powder coating, fusion bonded epoxy, Teflon coating, specialty liners and coatings with specialty equipment and applicators.
Delivered the metal panels to a construction site in Lenoir, North Carolina on Tuesday. The panels are welded together and form part of large steel tanks.
There were a lot of loads in the area, but we found a really good paying one loading on Friday so decided to wait on it.
Record breaking heat was forecast, so we opted not to get on the motorbike. We got a motel Wednesday near Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and took a city bus into downtown for the afternoon. We had loads in and out and been through the area many times - but first opportunity to go downtown and do some tourist-ing. I was surprised when I researched the city history.
Internet: On behalf of the Moravian Church and funded by a Church benefactor a settlement was selected at the three forks of Muddy Creek. In 1753 the first settlers arrived at what would later become the town of Bethabara. Some residents expanded to a nearby settlement called Bethania in 1757.
In 1766 the town established on the original site was given the name of Salem (from the Hebrew word Shalom for ‘peace’) Salem was a typical Moravian settlement with the public buildings of the congregation grouped around a central square. For many years only members of the Moravian Church were permitted to live in the settlement. That practice had ended by the American Civil War. Many of the original buildings in the settlement have been restored or rebuilt and are now part of Old Salem.
In 1849 the town of Winston was founded, named after a local hero of the Revolutionary War, Joseph Winston. Shortly thereafter, both Winston and Salem were incorporated in the newly formed Forsyth County. It thrived as an industrial town, producing tobacco products, furniture and textiles.
In 1889 the United States Post Office combined the mail offices of the two towns. And the two towns were officially joined with a hyphen in 1913.
I had to research the Moravian Church. Wikipedia: The Moravian Church, also known as the Bohemian Brethren is an evangelical Protestant denomination. Its religious heritage began in 1457 in Kunvald, Bohemia, Czech lands. It places a high premium on Christian unity, personal piety, missions and music. In North America, the Moravian Church has congregations in 16 states, DC and in two Provinces of Canada.
A 25 minute bus trip from the motel into Winston-Salem - first stop was The Foothills Brewery on Fourth Street. We were hungry and thirsty! Jim and I shared the sampler set of their own brewed beer. Mostly IPA’s and Pale Ales, not my taste, I liked the seasonal Hurricane Hefeweizen and the Porter. We had a lovely appetizer of pub fries - French fries covered in two cheeses, bacon and green onions - yum. We also ordered burgers! The fries had filled us up!
We walked to Old Salem, it was about seven blocks south and five blocks east - very interesting walk, but too hot to pay a whole lot of attention! We stopped at the Visitors Centre which is located in an old cotton mill - very interesting and restored (and Moravian cookies!).
Also on the way: The Mickey Coffee Pot - built in 1858 by the brothers Samuel and Julius Mickey, Moravian descendants of the founders of Salem, this landmark originally stood as a sign in front of their tin shop at the corner of South Main and Belews Street in Salem. It was s commonly believed that the coffee pot, when it stood in its original location, marked the boundary between Salem and Winston. (16 feet in circumference and more than 12 feet in height.)
Old Salem has beautifully restored and preserved buildings and people walking around in colonial dress. It is a walking tour and on the day we visited it was very quiet because of the heat. A few stores were open. Reminded me of the Amish/Mennonites with quilts, crafts and useful tools.
Downtown is the R J Reynolds building.
Wikipedia: The Reynolds family and R J Reynolds Tobacco Company played a large role in the history and public life of Winston-Salem. The Reynolds company imported so much French cigarette paper and Turkish tobacco for Camel cigarettes that Winston-Salem was designated by the United States federal government as an official port of entry for the United States, despite being 200 miles (320kms) inland. “Camel City” is an historic reference to the city’s involvement in the tobacco industry.
R J Reynolds also has ‘Winston’ brand cigarettes and ‘Salem’ brand cigarettes.
Other notable business that started in Winston-Salem that I have personal experience of:
In 1901, J. Wesley Hanes Shamrock Hosiery Mills began making men’s socks. This foundational firm ultimately became Hanesbrands, Inc. Famous for socks, underwear, t-shirts, and shorts;
In 1928, teenager Thad Garner used $600 he had saved driving the high school bus to buy a barbecue stand. Soon after, the Garners began selling a spicy barbecue sauce that Thad's mother was making in her kitchen. 'Texas Pete', now one of the best selling hot sauces in the Southeast USA;
In 1937 Krispy Kreme opened its first doughnut shop in a rented building on South Main Street. The shop sold directly to customers in the historic district. While selling assorted types of doughnuts, Krispy Kreme’s signature item is a glazed doughnut that is traditionally served warm. Along with their own Krispy Kreme brand store locations, their products are sold in supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, gas stations Wal-Mart and Target stores in the United States and are now found in 21 countries. (!?!!!!)
The present: Although traditionally associated with the textile, furniture, and tobacco industries, Winston-Salem is transforming itself to be a leader in the nanotech, high-tech and bio-tech fields.
There was a chance we could load on Thursday so we didn’t plan anything. We did take the bus to the shopping centre, but stayed most of the day in the cool of the motel.
We left the motel early Friday morning, 5 August to load at Corning Cable Systems. Website: is a leading manufacturer of fibre optic communications system solutions for voice, data and video network applications worldwide. We offer the broadest range of end to end fibre-optic and copper product solutions for customers’ telecommunications networks. We put companies at the forefront of network innovation, pioneering many of the global products and solutions commonly used in state-of-the-art cabling systems.
Loaded 17 rolls of cable for three deliveries in Western New York.
Note: We loaded next to the Krispy Kreme University!! Just a bit exciting!
After loading we had to make a decision - the North Carolina Guzzi’s In The Blue Ridge Campout was that weekend.
It would be about 300 miles (480 kms) out of route, there was 60% chance of storms on Saturday, we could not stay at the campgrounds with the truck - it was motorcycles only. We had not had the opportunity to attend this rally before, we decided to go!
We parked the truck at a truckstop on Interstate 40, 20 miles (32 km) from the campground and took the bike off and rode to the campgrounds late Friday afternoon.
Website: Blue Ridge Motorcycle Campgrounds, Cruso, NC. Geographic facts motorcyclists need to know about us: We are located at an elevation well above 3,100 feet, in Haywood County. Haywood has 18 mountains with elevations over 6,000 feet and encompasses the Blue Ridge Parkway, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Pisgah National Forest, and the famed Cold Mountain.
Trivia: Despite the international success of the book and movie “Cold Mountain”, few people realize that Cold Mountain is a real place that looms well above the horizon. (near Cruso, North Carolina!)
Blue Ridge Motorcycle Campground has several cabins for rent, many trees and grass area (bikes allowed on the grass!), several ponds, gardens, meditation areas with gazebos, swing chairs, fire rings. There is a small parking lot in front before the bridge for cars, but only motorcycles are allowed into the campgrounds. The campgrounds operates the restaurant, and breakfast and dinners are available for individual purchase. A very easy campout for attendees and the organisers.
Great to see Mark and Barb, the North Carolina Reps. Friday evening we stayed for dinner at the campgrounds, caught up with lots of people then back to the truck to sleep.
Note: the town of Canton was having their Annual Tomato Festival - Mountain ‘Mater Fest’ this same weekend! This town was between the truckstop and the campgrounds! We would have liked to have checked it out! There were many tomato farms and a couple of packaging/shipping companies on the way to Cruso.
Up early Saturday and headed to the campgrounds for breakfast.
Jim and I went for a bike ride - other people ride long distances to the rally and don’t ride much when they get there. We went north along the eastern side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Hot Springs, North Carolina. Stopped for a coffee break there.
Tried to avoid the city of Asheville traffic, so took several different roads. We had the road atlas map of North Carolina, not a detailed local map so not all roads were marked.
Riding on awesome roads through picturesque, historic towns and farmland - we found that the roads ended either at someone’s ’ranch’ or house, or a washed out gravel track, or just a dead end. Lots of old barns, store fronts, houses covered in vines and shrubs.
We enjoyed the scenery and roads, they just didn’t go anywhere! Then the rain started! After two hours we got back on the ’big’ road around the west side of Asheville onto the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Stopped in the town of Brevard for a break, then back to the campgrounds for Italian dinner and the awards. 100 people in attendance Saturday evening. At 9pm we headed back to the truck. Sunday morning we loaded the bike, spread out all the wet gear - helmets, saddle bags, rain gear, jackets, jeans, boots, etc. in the truck cab to dry.
Delivered coils of fibre optic cable in Dansville, New York on Monday - ION television project, Times Warner in Rochester, NY in the afternoon. Got to Buffalo mid-afternoon and spent some time with Michele and Baillie. Did some visiting and out to dinner.
Delivered the last of the fibre optic cable at Times Warner in West Seneca (near Buffalo) on Tuesday morning.
Headed down to Ashtabula, Ohio and loaded structure steel for Florida. We stayed at the house in Daytona Beach on Thursday night and Jim delivered to the Cape Canaveral Power Project on Friday morning. A new plant is being built replacing the old one. Then he went up to Jacksonville to load again.
I caught up on the mail, business and laundry at the house.
(First photo of the structural steel Ohio to Florida, second one is the Jacksonville pick up.)
Saturday was the moto guzzi ride to the Sebastian Inn Beach Bash at Melbourne Beach, Florida. (We attended last year.) Jim and I caught up with Tim, Helena, Lemont and Mary Lynn along the way and arrived at 12 noon. About 30 bikes there and a bunch of guzzi people from all parts of Florida. It was very hot and humid, many went for a swim in the Atlantic Ocean. Had lunch there and socialized. Jimmy got there for the last part. We headed north and required many hydration stops along the way. Ran through some light and heavy rain showers, but very refreshing.
One place Jim and I had not been to before - the All American Club. A large Harley Davidson logo on the front. There were two Harley Davidson’s in the motorcycle parking lot and … six moto guzzi’s; and a bunch of cars. (It had been raining!) The sign in front said ‘Members Only and their Guests‘. I wondered out loud if I was allowed in because I wasn’t American…??? Tim - “No problem“. It was a very nice bar, I commented on the large ’L’ shaped lounge, pool table - a very friendly place, though we got a few looks when we entered. After a while I noticed that everyone (except the guzzi crew) had on motorcycle club ‘colours‘: BoozeFighter Motorcycle Club. I had not heard of them.
A man came over to me and introduced himself as “Tank” and shook my hand. I’m thinking “Great, he heard my accent and was going to ask me to leave!”
He was very friendly, introduced himself and shook everyone’s hand and welcomed us to the Clubhouse. Later when we started to leave, and as we headed towards the door - the Club members called out ‘goodbye’ and invited us back! Really interesting place!
From their Website: The Boozefighter Motorcycle Club (BFMC) was formed by a bunch of guys fresh out of World War II. They were at the infamous Hollister, California event of July 4, 1947 which has been immortalized by the movie “The Wild One” starring Marlon Brando and Lee Marvin.
The term “Boozefighter” does not mean we are against responsible use of alcohol. However, we do forbid the use of non-prescription drugs, or any form of illegal activity.
The Boozefighters have never been “one percenters” or an Outlaw Club. We believe in respecting the rights of all motorcycle clubs in a peaceful, co-existent manner, and of all members of the community. We believe in freedom of choice and freedom of the road.
The BFMC is one of the oldest active motorcycle clubs in existence. (Est. 1946) There are chapters across the US and abroad. It is this rich history that is being preserved in the spirit of fellowship and good fun.
Wikipedia: Their motto’s are, “The Original Wild Ones” and “A drinking club with a motorcycle problem”. The current president describes the club as “a nonprofit organization that raises money to help vets, children and the poor”. (Logo taken from their website.) That was interesting! I enjoyed it.
Got up early and into the truck on Sunday morning and drove to Lenoir, North Carolina. Delivered to the same place as two weeks ago, so we knew the procedure, delivered at the same spot, next to the big tanks. Easy unload, the three large pipes picked up in Jacksonville.
Up to Abingdon, Virginia to load in the afternoon. The road we took would have been more enjoyable on the motorbike - good thing we were empty! The trailer wheels were off the road many times in the corners. Through the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee and part of the Daniel Boone Wilderness Trail.
Loaded four steel tanks at Steel Fab in Abingdon, Virginia in the afternoon.
Steel Fab Website: From our beginnings as a small handrail fabrication shop to our position today as one of the nation’s largest suppliers of fabricated structural steel, with over 600 employees in 13 locations across the Southeast.
We drove via Buffalo and met Joe at Mighty Taco for lunch. Photo of Joe's truck and ours beside Mighty Taco! Jim and I continued over the Canadian border and delivered the tanks that afternoon in Brantford, Ontario.
Website: Brant Corrosion Control was established with the goal of becoming the premier lining and coating facility in North America. Brant offers two specialized divisions which service many specific industries.
The Protective Linings and Coatings Division specializes in the application of rubber linings and PVC sheet and spray applied coatings systems designed for immersion service in chemical or abrasive environments as well as spray applied liquid and powder coating systems that offer long term preservation of equipment which will be used in either indoor or outdoor conditions.
The Engineered Polymer Division supplies rubber covered rolls for the pulp and paper and steel processing industries. This division added polyurethane to the line of materials it supplies and became one of the few industrial roll shops supplying both rubber and urethane coverings.
We loaded Wednesday morning in Mississauga, a conveyor system that had to be tarped. There was a second pick up near Windsor, Ontario. Had several phone calls to find it, then it wasn’t ready to ship. Waited until 4pm for that. Then a problem with customs paperwork - different brokers were handling each part separately, and the first part of the shipment was put ‘in-bond’. The shipments were destined for Mexico. We didn’t get across the border at Detroit until 8pm.
A leisurely drive to Laredo, Texas - 1800 miles (approx. 2900 kms) and four days to do it.
There was still floodwater in the paddocks along the Mississippi River in Illinois. An interstate highway bridge over the river had been closed for three days for repairs, we had to detour around it. Extreme heat forecast for the next week or so. We stopped at Greenwood, Louisiana and got a motel on Friday evening. Discovered it is a ‘dry’ town and on such a hot day, we had to find beer for Jim.
A little out of the way, and off the highway was as a small casino we could get the rig into, The Relay Station had beer! While we were parked we decided to have dinner at Sam’s Southern Eatery which was attached to the Casino. That was very interesting - I enjoyed the décor - the walls were covered with hunting trophies - bear skins, deer heads, a buffalo head, raccoons, foxes, old signs. I liked “This is a Class Place - Chewers Please Use Spittoons”. Jim was seated under a raccoons rear end mounted on the wall!
The recipe for Son Of A Bitch Stew: I did a little research on that!
Wikipedia: Sonofabitch was a cowboy dish of the American West. A beef stew, various recipes exist, and some sources say its ingredients may vary according to whatever is on hand. Most recipes involve meat and offal from a calf. Making Sonofabitch stew something of a luxury item on the trail. Alan Davidson’s Oxford Companion to Food specifies meats and organs from a freshly killed un-weaned calf, including the brain, heart, liver, sweetbreads, tongue, pieces of tenderloin, and an item called the “marrow gut”, and lots of Louisiana Hot Sauce.
The last ingredient the “marrow gut” was s key ingredient. - this is a tube between the calf’s stomachs, filled with a substance resembling marrow, deemed edible only while the calf is young and still feeding on milk. This marrow-like substance was included in the stew and was what gave the stew such a delicious flavour. Hmmmm, I wonder…!!?
The weather forecast was HOT - over 40 C (106 F), we decided against going motorcycling. Had a leisurely time and went to a flea market next to the motel on Saturday morning. Interesting, but mostly antiques and ‘junque‘.
In the afternoon we drove to San Antonio, Texas and got another motel room, with a very good Mexican restaurant next door, we had a great meal and discovered new Mexican desserts.
We bought Pumpkin Candy and Sweet Potato Candy. I found how to make Pumpkin Candy on the Internet, and I am thinking Sweet Potato Candy would be made the same. Very interesting and yummy, a tasty way of eating vegetables! But not great for your teeth or diet! (I liked the sweet potato candy the best.)
Ingredients: fresh pumpkin, water, brown or maple sugar, granulated maple or raw sugar. Boil water, then simmer the pumpkin until tender, remove pumpkin, add sugars to water and dissolve, add pumpkin and simmer 15 minutes. Let the pumpkin stand in the sugar syrup overnight. Next day, remove pumpkin - place in warm oven (140 F) for 3-4 hours to dry pumpkin out. Roll each piece in raw or granulated sugar and wrap individually in plastic.
We arrived in Laredo late Sunday afternoon and stayed at the truckstop with IdleAir. We used IdleAire (with an 'e') several years ago, then it went broke, but it is making a comeback under new management, with out the second 'e'.
Website: IdleAir provides America’s hard-working long haul truck drivers an alternative to idling their engines during rest periods. IdleAir service allows truck drivers to turn off their diesel engines and APU’s and still enjoy heating, cooling, standard electric inside and outside the cab, Satellite TV, internet and many other comforts. Getting better sleep without noise, vibration, and exhaust fumes from idling.
IdleAir provides these services through a Service Module, which includes a colour touch-screen control, heating/cooling vent, electrical outlets, and telecommunication ports. The Service Module fits into the cab window with the use of a window adapter.
It was still over 40 C and only down to a low of 27 C overnight. With tax, IdleAir costs $2.15 an hour for air conditioning into the truck and we use the electrical outlets for the computer and fridge. Costs about the same as idling the truck, but without the engine wear. We rarely idle the truck for any length of time - some drivers rarely turn their trucks OFF!
Part of our shipment was ‘in-bond’, so we did the trip to customs and ‘almost’ across the bridge into Mexico, then delivered at Super Transport International in Laredo, the shipment is bound for Mexico. No loads going where we wanted to go, so we waited at the truckstop until the next morning (in the comfort of IdleAir again!).
Tuesday morning we loaded at an import yard in Laredo - three large crates of transformer accessories (radiators). Had a bit of an overhang - 3 foot 6 inches (1 metre). A 4 foot (1.2m) overhang is the maximum legal in Texas. Delivered them to the Port of Houston on Wednesday morning, 24 August. Final destination for them is Maracaibo, Venezuela.
Our next load was for Thursday morning at Fort Polk, Louisiana. We found a motel with truck parking in nearby DeRidder, it was still very hot and humid. A huge storm late that afternoon.
About twenty trucks were at Fort Polk to load, all going to Fort Drum, New York. We loaded three small trailers with generators.
Wikipedia: Fort Polk is the only Combat Training Centre that trains and deploys combat units.
Construction of Camp Polk began in 1941. Thousands of wooden barracks sprang up quickly to support an Army preparing to do battle on the North African, European and Pacific fronts.
From the end of World War II until the early 1960’s, the post was closed and reopened numerous times. Soldiers were stationed there temporarily during the Korean War and Berlin Crisis.
In 1962, Fort Polk began converting to an infantry training centre. A small portion of Fort Polk is filled with dense, jungle-like vegetation, and this helped commanders prepare their units for battle in Southeast Asia. This training area became known as “Tigerland“. For the next 12 years, more soldiers were shipped to Vietnam from Fort Polk than from any other American training base.
Friday afternoon, we met up with Joe north of Columbus, Ohio and travelled with him to his place in Attica, New York. Got there late Saturday morning.
Had intended to leave Sunday noon, but the starter sparked and burned out. It was the original starter, it was 12 years old with 870,000 miles (1,400,000 kms) on it. That is a lot of starts, so it was well and truly due to be replaced.
Got a new one the next morning in Buffalo, Jim installed it and we were rolling mid-Monday afternoon.
Delivered the trailers and generators to Fort Drum, NY on Tuesday morning and reloaded in East Syracuse, NY late morning - one JLG lift at United Rentals.
Took the short cut through Ontario and delivered Wednesday, 31 August at another United Rentals in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Then over to Romeoville, Illinois to load one piece of pipe. It was required urgently in Florida, so that is all we had on the trailer. A nice light load with no wind resistance! Could not see the load in the mirrors.
The pipe is for Sandvic. Website: Sandvic is an engineering group in tooling materials, mining and construction.
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