Vol 17 No 8 – 21 October, 2013

On 1 October Jim and I left Joe and Michele’s before lunch and stopped in Buffalo to have two new tyres put on the trailer.  Then headed towards Indianapolis.

On 3 October, we delivered at a new construction at Leach & Roche, early in the morning to beat the employees filling up the car park, it was dark and raining.  Just a few miles to load a used CAT excavator at MacAllister Machinery.  Delivered it on Friday 4 October at American Equipment near Rochester, New York.  

Indianapolis IN to Rochester, NY

Loaded in Buffalo that afternoon at the Ford Plant – picked up empty automotive racks for Monroe, Michigan.

After leaving Buffalo, our truck clicked over one million miles (1,609,000 kms).  A 1999 International 9400 Eagle, we have had it since May 2000, and bought it with 30,000 miles on it.

Started on the next million miles on the truck.

Had the weekend off and stopped near Cleveland, Ohio to visit Jim’s cousin Mary.  Dennis and Mary picked us up at the truck stop mid-afternoon on Saturday and we went to Mulligans Bar & Grill for dinner and catch up, we had not seen them for 6 years and we go through Cleveland often, just no opportunity to visit.  

Jim and I, Dennis and Mary in Cleveland.

Sunday we took the motorbike off the truck and went into Cleveland.

Wikipedia:  Cleveland is located on the southern shore of Lake Erie.  It was founded in 1796 near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, and became a manufacturing centre owing to its location on the lake shore as well as being connected to numerous canals and railroad lines.

Our destination was the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  Been wanting to go there since it opened! (The museum dedicated on September 1, 1995.) 

Website: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.  It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best known and most influential artists, producers and others who have in some major way, influenced the music industry through the genre of rock music.  To collect, preserve and interpret the impact that Rock and Roll has made on our world.

There are seven levels in the building.

We looked inside Johnny Cash’s tour bus which was parked in front of the Museum.

Internet:  Internet:  Cash used this touring bus, the JC Unit One, for the last two decades of his career.  Cash bought the bus in 1980 and used it until 2003.  He sold the bus just three months before his death.  It was sold again and then auctioned on Ebay in 2005, and the buyer donated it to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum – now its permanent home.

The bus was used for the 1991 Highwayman Tour which transported Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson.

The first exhibit floor’s focus is on the beginning of rock music: gospel, blues, rhythm and blues, country and bluegrass. The areas that had a major impact: Detroit, Memphis, Los Angeles, Seattle, London and Liverpool.  Many interactive kiosks, films, a half hour film on Dick Clark and American Bandstand.  

The King of Rock and Roll!

Michael Jackson.

Stevie Nicks.

David Bowie.

Walking up to the Rolling Stones displays.

A Mick Jagger outfit.

Lots to read, look at and listen to, we spent three hours there and could easily spend two days.  It was pretty awesome!

Back in the truck and rolling Sunday afternoon to Detroit.  Delivered the empty auto racks Monday morning and up to River Rouge, south of Detroit to load at a shipping terminal and dock.

Nicholson Terminal was on a wharf and two old steam passenger ferries were in the dock area.  They were very neglected and tattered and strangely eerie – I was fascinated by them.

Steam passenger ferries: Columbia and Ste Claire at River Rouge.

Internet:  One of the oldest remaining steam passenger vessel in the country, the Columbia was built in 1902.   (The one on the left.) The Columbia and its sister ship, the Ste. Claire (built in 1910) were last used as Boblo boats in 1991. The steel and wood ships crisscrossed the Detroit River to ferry passengers back and forth to Boblo Island Amusement Park in the lower Detroit River.

Columbia and Ste. Claire represent the typical propeller-driven excursion steamer of the turn of the century.  Excursion steamers are steamships built primarily for passengers for day trips.  Columbia and St. Claire represent the “ocean-going” type of excursion vessel although they were used on the Great Lakes.

The SS Columbia Project is trying to restore the ship so it can be used as a heritage tour boat on the Hudson River (NY City).  They bought it for a dollar, but it is going to cost $13 million to bring back its charm.  More information here:   http://www.boblosteamers.com/

Restoration looks to be a fair way off!

We loaded and tarped batteries from wind turbines for GE Wind. 

Internet:  The battery technology enables short-term energy storage as part of the complete turbine system.  Integrating the battery into the wind turbine allows wind farm operators to benefit from wind energy storage without the high costs of farm-level battery storage installation.

Delivered Wednesday morning at GE Wind in Pensacola, Florida, a huge complex.  

Near where we delivered in Pensacola, FL

Then to Mobile, Alabama to load in the afternoon.  Loaded and tarped refractory material and delivered it the next morning in Jackson, Mississippi at Nucor Steel.  Then took a slow drive up to Newport, Arkansas.  The company where we were loading stopped shipping at 2pm and we could not make it before then, so scheduled loading for Friday morning.

Got to Newport mid afternoon and parked at a small truckstop on the outskirts of the town.  Walked about three miles to town and found a little bar, Skeeterz.  Thought we would get a taxi back to the truck. BUT no taxi in the town!  The bar tender at Skeeterz was getting off work and gave us a lift back!  Really nice people there, the owner gave us his business card and said that next time we come to town, give him a call and he will come and get us.  :-)

Website:  Newport was first incorporated in the 1870’s, but it originated many years before the Civil War.  The White River bought people to Newport in the beginning.  As steamboats came through it was the natural place to settle a town.  Railroads were soon added and soon it became home to various general stores, hotels, banks, saloons, and even an opera house.  With its location at the White River, Newport blossomed as the leading distributor of fresh earls.  People from around the country ordered pearl buttons from Newport.  The city experienced continued growth in the early twentieth century and one of the wealthiest cities in the country.  With such wealth in one location, Sam Walton moved to Newport to open his first retail store which he called “Ben Franklin Five-and-Dime”.  Sam Walton later became the founder of Wal-Mart.

This part of Arkansas is quite flat and rice and cotton are the main crops.

Arkansas ranks first among the six major rice-producing state, accounting for approximately 48 percent of the US rice production.

Fog over the rice field - the water and ground was warmer than the morning air.

Friday morning we loaded at Arkansas Steel – 16 skids of railway tie plates (the steel plates that go on railway sleepers that the track goes on).

Arkansas Steel manufactures a wide variety of tie plate sections, grader blades, wide flats and semi-finished products to meet the growing needs of the railroad industry.

Newport, Arkansas to Sanford, Florida.

We had space on the trailer and were not loaded to maximum weight and we were going to Florida.  Florida friends, Ron, Gina and Tim have the carburettor business, they rebuild and recondition them and stay very busy keeping old cars and equipment in operating condition and have customers all over the world for this specialized work.  A couple of years ago they were offered 70+ old carburettors, just had to be picked up in Stuttgart, Arkansas.  Stuttgart is 120 miles south from Newport, so we had the opportunity to pick them up for them.

Stuttgart, Arkansas – the Rice and Duck Capital of the World!  

Our contact in Stuttgart was Dean Oliver and rather than Jim trying to get the rig to his house in a residential neighbourhood, Dean took the carburettors to his work at the Rice Research and Technology Center.  We met him there and loaded a skid.  These are some of the rice storage silos near Stuttgart.

Got as far as Birmingham, Alabama that night.  Stayed in a small truckstop and Jim picked me a bouquet of wildflowers.

Arrived in Daytona Beach late Saturday evening 12 October.

Autoracks - photo stolen from Wikipedia, because I didn't have the camera ready.

Delivered the railway plates on Tuesday morning in Sanford, Florida about 40 miles from Daytona Beach.

Website:  Sanford is a railroad terminal in central Florida and the southern terminus for Amtrak’s Auto Train which runs between Sanford, Florida and Lorton, Virginia (a half hour drive south of Washington DC). 

Auto Train is an 855 miles long (1,376 km) scheduled train service for passengers and their automobiles.  

Although there are similar services around the world, the Auto Train is the only one of its kind in the United States. Passengers ride either in coach seats or private sleeping car rooms while their vehicles (car, van, sport utility vehicle, motorcycle, small trailer, or jet-ski) are carried in enclosed automobile-carrying freight cars, called autoracks.  The Auto Train service allows its passengers to avoid driving Interstate 95 in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, while bring their own vehicle with them.

We swung by New Smyrna Beach and dropped off the skid of carburettors to Hewitts.  Had a quick catch up and Ron mentioned that Dean Oliver (where we picked up the carbies) is a National Drag Racing Champion - cool, and I talked to him about rice.  ??

Wikipedia: The National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) is a drag racing governing body which sets rules in drag racing and host events all over the United States and Canada.  With over 80,000 drivers in its rosters, the NHRA is one of the largest motorsports sanctioning bodies in the world.

We had a week off before we leave for Australia.  Had a lovely dinner with Lis and Harvey and this is a photo of their street in DeLeon Springs - I enjoy the big Live Oak trees with the moss hanging.

DeLeon Springs, Florida.

Biketober Fest was from Thursday to Sunday - 16 to 20 October.  Joe and Jimmy were in town and friends from around Florida and other places.  Joe chose to ride Jim's 1974 Moto Guzzi Eldorado - always an attention getter!

Joe on the Eldorado at Oleander Avenue.

At Daytona Taproom, dinner and fancy beers - Joe and Kevin, Jimmy, Jim and Lesley.

On Friday afternoon Jim went with a group of guzzi friends to the vintage races and watched from the infield of Daytona International Speedway, then I caught up with them at Pantheon Pizza afterwards.  Weather was very hot, sunny and humid.

Jim and I got up early Saturday morning for a quiet stroll along Main Street to the Pier.

Main Street, Daytona Beach, Florida.

Hamburger Harry's dedication to all things hamburger. 

Main Street Pier with sunrise.

Looking north along Boardwalk with amusements and Atlantic Ocean (our neighbourhood).

Saturday lunch time we met Ron and Regina at the (World Famous) Ironhorse Saloon and Joe, Jimmy and Kevin found us there.

We have some interesting family portraits!!

Saturday afternoon, Jim and I headed to New Smyrna Beach and met up with Derek, John and Linda for the Breast Cancer Fund Raiser which was a Craft Beer Walk and Chili Cook-Off.

For $10 participants get 20 tickets to sample craft beers at the bars on Flagler Avenue.
A small mug (about 5 ounces at a guess) is provided for the samples and they 'cost' 1 to 3 tickets per beer sample.

On the Craft Beer Passport - there were 13 bars to visit and a choice of over 50 different beers to sample! (I counted 87 beers on the Passport!).

For the Chili Competition we were given a spoon and a list of the restaurants participating: 18 Restaurants had their own recipe Chili to sample - same operation as the beer using tickets to get samples.  Sample cups of their chili were given for one ticket.  We got there late and about half way through the afternoon, so did not get to all the bars and restaurants (probably a good thing!!)  Some of the Chili names: Ch Ch Ch Chili, Pan Head Pizza's Weapon of Mass Destruction Chili, Heart Attack Chili, White Shrimp Creole Chili (yum), Pumpkin Chili (ok), Barracuda's Pulled Pork Chili (was our favourite).

The Chili Competition required each participant to complete a ballot with their choices for the best chili.

It was a fun afternoon and for a good cause, and much quieter than Biketober Fest going on in Daytona Beach.  Was very hot and humid though.

Peanuts Bar - selection of craft beers.

A couple of chili's to sample.

The sample beer 'mugs'.  They had chords so they could be hung around the neck.

Sunday, Jim and I got up early and started the storage process for the truck and trailer.  We have to take off the licence place, get all the permits, transponders, all door signs, etc and return them to Landstar to cancel the contract.  This year Jim had to disconnect the Qualcomm Electronic On Board Recorder - that was a bit scary because it is hooked into the dash and the trucks computer.  After Jim took it out, the truck started, so that was good!  The trailer stays at the storage place we usually park the whole rig at during the year, but we take the prime mover (tractor) and park it at Ron and Gina's shop in a locked yard in New Smyrna Beach.  It is more secure there.

We fly out of Orlando, Florida Tuesday evening to arrive in Brisbane on Thursday.  :-)

Vol 17 No 7 – 30 September, 2013

Late Friday afternoon, 30 August we pulled into the Friendly Hills Campground located seven miles north of Zanesville, Ohio for the Plain & Casual Moto Guzzi Rally.  It is held the Labor Day long weekend each year.There was not much level ground, so we dropped our trailer at a nearby gravel pit and parked the bobtail near the rally site.  Joe came in on Saturday and he backed  his whole rig in near us.

Friday evening was pulled pork sandwiches for dinner and catching up around the campfire.  A group went looking for glow worms.  I had not seen glow worms before, so I enjoyed the excursion.

Wikipedia:  Glowworm is the common name for various groups of insect larvae that glow through bioluminescence.  They may sometimes resemble worms, but all are insects.

We found quite a few, and it was interesting.  The 'chatter' likely scared them underground!

Saturday, Jim and I and Jerry went for a ride around the area.  Great winding roads over rolling hills – lots of fun.  Stopped at The Banana Peel for coffee and a big loop back to Zanesville.

Ohio roads.

Back to Zanesville and parked the bikes and went for a walk near the river and historic downtown area.

Tourist Brochure:  In the 1890s a settlement was established at the confluence of the Licking and Muskingum Rivers by Colonel Ebeneezer Zane.  He and his son-in-law blazed Zane’s Trace, the original Pioneer Trail into the Northwest Territory.  Trails and ferry crossings were established at three major rivers.  Transportation continued to play a major role in the development and history of the community.  Zane’s Trace later became the National Road, the first federally-funded highway in America.  For several decades was America’s busiest land artery to the West, the "Main Street of America". (US Route 40.)

In 1814, the city's well-known Y-shaped bridge was initially constructed to cross the junction of the Licking and Muskingum rivers in the centre of Zanesville.  (Ripley’s Believe It Or Not featured Zanesville’s Y Bridge as “the only bridge in the world which you can cross and still be on the same side of the river”.

The current bridge is the fifth structure at this site.

This photo is of the tourist sign - an aerial view of the Y Bridge.

This photo I took from Putnam Park overlook of the Y Bridge.

Intersection on the Y Bridge.

Sand, clay and iron made Zanesville and Muskingum County ideal for the manufacturing of steel, glass and pottery.  Zanesville was once known as the “Pottery Capital of the World”.

I noticed many large pottery vases around the area – the local icon decorated and painted. A grouping of them on the western side of the Y Bridge.

Another landmark is the Muskingum River Canal and Locks – a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

Internet:  Southeastern Ohio’s Muskingum River and its navigation system of 10 hand-operated locks dates from 1837 when area pioneers recognized the potential of the river as a shipping route for steam-powered vessels.  The system of locks and dams permitted navigation upriver as far as the Ohio and Erie Canal.

Trivia: Famous Western novelist Zane Grey, a descendant of the Zane family was born in the city.

Stopped at two bars beside the Muskingum River – Muddy Misers Lock 10 Tavern and Weasel Boy Brewing.

Lesley, Jerry, Joe and Moses at Weasel Boy Brewing.

The sample platter of Weasel Boy beers.

Weasel Boy was fun - the bar attendant, Jackie was informative and looked after our group.

Joe didn't have a bike there, so he rode with Moses and yes, that is a pink helmet.  Heading back to the campground we met Chad at the stop sign. Taking one of the new moto guzzis for a test ride.

Saturday evening dinner was catered by the campground people and was excellent - then awards, door prizes and more campfire fun.  Weather was great – very warm days.  There was a big thunder, lightning and downpour early Saturday morning but didn’t worry anyone too much.

Friendly Hills Campground.

Load from Wisconsin to North Carolina.

Joe, Jim and I left around 11am Sunday morning.  Joe was going to New York City and we ran with him for a while.

In North Carolina we stopped late Sunday afternoon at a truck stop.  Monday was the holiday – time for another day on the motorbike in Mocksville, Davie County.  We did a drive by where we had to deliver on Tuesday, a look around the downtown area and stopped at Joppa Cemetery to see Mocksville’s main tourist attraction – the gravestones of Daniel Boone’s parents, Squire and Sarah Boone.

Internet: Squire Boone (1696 – 1765) and Sarah Morgan Boone (1701 – 1777).  In 1750 Squire and Sarah joined the growing southward movement of Pennsylvanians, and concluded their long trek in the Yadkin Valley of North Carolina.  Daniel was their sixth of eleven children. Daniel Boone (1734 – 1820) was an American pioneer, explorer, and frontiersman whose exploits made him one of the first folk heroes of the US.  Boone is most famous for his exploration and settlement of what is now Kentucky.

Stopped for breakfast at Chip’s Cafe in the small town of Union Grove, and had great French Toast.  Both of us opted to not experience the ‘livermush’, apparently a local favourite as it was on the breakfast menu three times.

Internet:  Livermush is a Southern US food product composed of pig liver, head parts, and cornmeal.  It is commonly spiced with pepper and sage.

We had most of the day on the motorbike.  Took some back roads and got onto the Blue Ridge Parkway and rode north.  Stopped at an overlook and hiking trail entrance Jumpinoff Rocks.  Internet:  the half-mile trail leads up to a rock outcropping that, legend holds, may prompt you to jump off into the deep blue mountains beyond!

I did the hike, Jim opted to stay in the parking lot talking to several bikers there.  They said to let them know if it was worth the hike.  It was a fairly easy hike with ascents and descents and cool and damp temperatures in the tall shady trees, which was nice as I was wearing leather jacket, jeans, boots, etc.  The jumping off rock was enclosed with a stone fence making a viewing platform.

I was warm by the time I got back, but it was a nice bit of exercise, and I did let the bikers know that the view was beautiful, but it was the same view as they could see at the overlook without doing the hike.

We stopped for lunch in Elkin, North Carolina and found Fiddles Pub.  Very interesting place; there were fiddles along the walls and fiddle décor.  Lunch was delicious and sampled a couple of local beers.

Fiddles Pub in Elkin, NC

Back to the truckstop and loaded the bike.  Tuesday morning, 3 September we delivered the heat exchangers to Ingersoll Rand in Mocksville.  Then over to Randleman, NC to load more heat exchangers and delivered them Thursday morning near Tampa, Florida at a hospital under construction.

Then to the house in Daytona Beach for a few days. Jim worked on the truck for a couple of days, spent a bit of time with Jimmy.  A couple of evenings we walked to the boardwalk to relax a bit and enjoy the beach and boardwalk. 

Daytona Beach amusements at The Boardwalk.

Daytona Beach.

Sunday afternoon was the first Buffalo Bills football game of the season.  The Bills lost narrowly to the New England Patriots, but Jim is excited about the season, hoping they will have many more wins.

On Tuesday we left the house and went to Savannah, Georgia to be ready to load the next morning at the Georgia Port Authority docks.

Georgia Port Authority at Savannah, GA.

Georgia to Alabama.

Loaded six crates of Siemens and delivered them the next morning in Deatsville, Alabama to a power plant.  North to Birmingham and loaded at Birmingham Rail & Locomotive.

Alabama to Kentucky load.

Had some light gauge railway line and parts and we delivered them to a power station construction in Ghent, Kentucky on the Ohio River.  There was ammonia warnings and high safety and emergency procedures.  The first time we have had to run the truck through a wash on the way out of a plant. Over a grid that had high pressure water spraying upwards and under the truck.

Driving onto the truck wash.

Getting the underneath of the truck washed before leaving the site.

Friday afternoon over to Cincinnati, Ohio to a Siemens plant and loaded a 2000hp electric motor, a big machine and a full tarp.

We had an afternoon in Buffalo on the way to Albany, New York.  Got in about noon on Saturday, did a little visiting and left Sunday morning.  Jim wanted to get to Albany in time to watch the Buffalo Bills football game against Carolina Panthers.

There is a truckstop in Fultonville and Jim felt sure there would be a sports bar close where he could watch the Buffalo Bills game. Wrong – we walked all over that town and the only bar was closed on a Sunday.  Good thing he has the satellite radio, so he got to listen to the Bills win!

Internet:  The Village of Fultonville is on the south bank of the Mohawk River.  The Mohawk River is part of the Erie Canal at this location.

I enjoyed the walk around the small river town, though very depressed and many structures are crumbling.

Old Fultonville warehouse.

This beautiful County building stood out.

The Town of Mohawk is on the north side of the river.

Barge Canal and Mohawk River - Internet: The Mohawk River is a 149 mile long (240 km) river and the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy.  It is a major waterway in north-central New York State.  Barge Canal, part of the Erie Canal which connects the Hudson River and Port of New York with the Great Lakes at Buffalo.

Monday morning 16 Sept, we delivered the big electric motor in Voorheesville, New York on Monday morning and over to North Syracuse to load at G A Braun – website:  Braun laundry equipment is used worldwide; in hospitals, hotels, cruise ships, commercial and industrial laundries, and in government and correctional facilities.

Three washers and three dryers - New York to North Carolina.

We had three washers and three dryers on the trailer and we delivered them to Quality Textile Services in Raleigh, North Carolina.  They are industrial launderers and dry cleaners – a huge concern.

Over to the coast to Jacksonville, North Carolina and loaded large crane parts at the Marine Corps Air Base New River - a new airplane hanger had been built there and several trucks loaded the crane sections.  The weights were heavy, but the crane section allowed no wind resistance, a nice load.

North Carolina to Florida.

A new hospital high rise building is being added to Orlando Regional Medical Center in Orlando and the crane was needed there.  We delivered Thursday morning in Orlando and went to the house for the afternoon and caught up with Lis and Harvey for dinner. Stayed the night at the house and left the next morning and loaded in Mims, Florida, just 70 kms south of Daytona Beach.

Florida to Illinois AVGAS fuel tank..

Loaded a bulk AVGAS fuel storage tank at Fuel Tech Inc.  Two Landstar step decks there to load two tanks.  We could have gone back to the house for the night, but instead continued north to meet with Jimmy and have a night on the town in Nashville!  He beat us there by half a day, also we met with Daytona Beach trucker friend, Chuck at the truckstop.  Chuck drives for Upstaging and for the past seven months has been on Taylor Swift’s tour.  She was at the Nashville Convention Centre that night. Had a quick catch up with him, but he had to start work at midnight, so opted not to go to town with us.

Got to lower Broadway Street about 5pm, checked out Roberts Western World first, we always enjoy them, but we had all seen the featured band previously this year, so decided to check out some of the other bands and bars, plus we were hungry!  First time we have seen a 'short' line at Jack's Barbeque which is next to Roberts.  

The line was only out the door and past the next building (usually it is past about five buildings!).  We got in line and probably only had a half hour (?) wait.  Oh, yes, it is great barbeque!  Jimmy had pulled pork, Jim had brisket and I had ribs – ALL were delicious.
This restaurant is one that does NOT have live music – but we could actually converse over dinner.

With full bellies we went bar hopping.  Visited a couple of new ones – Whiskey Bent Saloon and Swinging Doors Saloon.

All the bands were great, but it got very crowded.  The Taylor Swift concert and also the Tennessee Titans football team was playing San Diego Chargers on Sunday in Nashville, so there were lots of football fans out and about as well.  After midnight we decided to head back to the trucks – it was a fun time.

Lower Broadway St - the Nashville Convention Centre, and the line of Taylor Swift trucks.

Jimmy, Jim and I at the Nashville Hard Rock Cafe.

Nashville Hard Rock Cafe guitar.

Breakfast with Jimmy Sunday morning and we headed north about 11am.

Stopped the truck at a small truckstop a few miles from where we had to deliver in Illinois near the Illinois and Indiana state line.  There were two sports bars, so Jim was looking forward to watching the Buffalo Bills – but two New York teams were not of great interest to Illinois/Indiana, so neither had the channel to watch it. 

Watched the Indianapolis game and saw some score updates from time to time on the ticker tape.  Back to the truck and the satellite radio again.  The game was tied and the Indianapolis game had finished, so the last 10 minutes of the Buffalo Bills/NY Jets game was on the local channel.  The NY Jets scored and the Bills are now 2 losses and 1 win.

Delivered at the Carmi Airport on Monday morning.  A small town in Illinois near the Little Wabash River which is the border to Indiana.  Took a few hours to unload both truck, that afternoon we loaded at Westech Building Products near Mount Vernon, Indiana.

I saw signs for Port of Indiana:

Internet:  The State of Indiana annually ships over 70 million tons of cargo by water, which ranks 14^th among all US States.  More than half of Indiana’s border is water, which includes 400 miles of direct access to two major freight transportation arteries: the Great Lakes/St Lawrence Seaway (via Lake Michigan) and the Inland Waterway System (via the Ohio River).

The Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon handles about 4 million tons of grain, grain products, coal, fertilizer, cement and minerals annually.  It is located in Mount Vernon, Indiana on the Ohio River, 15 miles west of Evansville.

At Westech Building Products we loaded skids of the plastic fence posts and took them to Carp Building Exteriors in Carp, Ontario near Ottawa. Crossed the border at Thousand Islands area of New York on Tuesday evening. 

It definitely is not summer anymore – 4 degrees C (37 F) on Wednesday morning!!

Delivered in Carp on Wednesday morning and loaded four large air handlers in Kingston, Ontario in the afternoon.

Internet:  A 'air handler' is a large metal box containing a blower, heating or cooling elements, filter racks, sound attenuators and dampers.  They usually connect to a duct work ventilation system that distributes the conditioned air through a building.

Kingston, Ontario to Indianapolis, IN - air handlers.

It was the last part of the month and the manufacturers wanted the freight moved, but the destination delivery did not want them until 3 October, so they paid extra to keep them on the truck for a week.  It worked out nicely for us, Jim wanted to spend a few days in Buffalo and that was on the way.

I took some photos coming back into the USA from Canada at the Thousand Islands border crossing.

The Thousand Islands area.

We arrived at Joe and Michelle's Thursday afternoon.  It was cooler temperatures, but weather during the day was very nice.

Friday Jim and I went for a bike ride to the town of Le Roy about 25 miles (40 kms) from Attica.  I wanted to visit a museum there.

Le Roy is the birthplace of Jell-O gelatin dessert.  Jim and I did the Jell-O tour and the lady who greets us had me sing the Aeroplane Jelly song with her!  A previous Australian visitor had taught it to her.

Website:  In 1897, Pearle Wait, a carpenter in Le Roy experimented with gelatin and came up with a flavoured dessert which his wife, Mary named "Jell-O".  He tried to market his product but he lacked the capital and the experience.   In 1899 he sold his formula to a fellow townsman for $450.

Trivia:  Bill Cosby was the spokesperson for Jello-O for 30 years from 1974.  There is a Bill Cosby display and a video running of all the Jell-O commercials with Gomer Pyle, Lucille Ball, Andy Griffiths, and many more.

All the flavours.

Several displays of Jell-o molds.

Today Jell-O is made by Kraft/General Foods in Dover, Delaware.

The small museum was fun, there are 18 flavours of Jell-O here and I have been taking the grape, watermelon and other varieties back to Australia with me for years.

Below the Jell-O Museum is a Transportation Exhibit which was fascinating for us.  The horse drawn sleighs were something I had not seen before.  This exhibit was included in the $4.50 entry for the Jell-O Museum. Very, very interesting - we loved this part.

A 1908 Cadillac.

A sleigh, looks like the jingle bell collar nearby!

Also, in front of the Museum is Le Roy House.  The town is named after one of the original land owners, Herman Le Roy and this was the family home.  It was open to visitors and a very informative local couple showed us around and answered questions.  Built in 1820, it has a vault, wine cellar, open-hearth kitchen, children's room (mid 1800's furniture and toys), and a rare collection of pottery.  One room was the original Lands Office.

The beautiful house and gardens had many uses until 1930 when it was preserved by the Historical Society.  During the 100 odd years it was used as a family home and then a dormitory for the university.  Beautiful antique furniture, painting, etc. Le Roy House was included in the $4.50 entrance fee as well - excellent value for an afternoon of Western New York history!

Le Roy House.

Saturday morning Michele and I went to Baillie's soccer game at Attica High Schoolm, "Blue Devils".  She is playing Junior Varsity, she is Grade 9 now.  That was fun, exciting with 0 score at all.

Visited Jim's sister and family on Saturday afternoon - they had been making apple cider.  They have many apple trees on their property and were loaded with fruit this year.  An apple grinder and press is required to make apple juice.  Larry and Pat had been hard at it all day and pressed 17 gallons of juice.  It is delicious - sweet cider!

Larry and Pat making apple cider.

The apples are tossed into the grinder and the large wheel turned to break them up, and the pieces go into the barrel tub which has a mesh bag to catch the skin, seeds, stalk and mush so they don't go into the juice. 

When the tub is full, the bag is folded over and a wooden disk covers it, then wind down the press slowly and the apple juice is collected at the bottom.  Many different techniques to get the clearest cider.  We were drinking very fresh apple juice!  Quite labour intensive though!  The bottles have to be clean and sterilized before filling and all the equipment cleaned thoroughly so no bacteria develops.

Usually OK to store the fresh juice in a cool place for 2-3 weeks.  After that - natural yeast makes it fizzy and it becomes alcohol.  Pat adds yeast prior to that and makes "hard cider".

I had a go at grinding the apples.

11 month old Kathryn helped herself to the apples! Cute!

We  caught up with other people: Jim's Mom each day, nieces and nephews, Jim's cousin, Art and Anne Marie for dinner.

Joe and Michele had a big project - widening their driveway entrance so two trucks could park there!  It had to be done last weekend to take advantage of some free dirt and dirt moving equipment.  Joe had already cut trees down.

The county had to replace pipes under the road.  A lot of gravel and soil had to be removed and rather than travel to another location to dump it - they only had to go 50 feet to dump it in Joe's driveway.  A neighbour was taking out a hill for more pasture so he bought fill for two days and raised the area about 8 feet (a lot of dirt!).  They spent the weekend spreading it and compacting it.  Monday morning the county started digging and spread a hard top layer.  Worked out nice for Joe. Got the job done!

The weather stayed nice the whole time we were there and we had 'Stella' the moto guzzi to ride.  We put a new tarp over the roof of the motor home in preparation for winter.

Leaves changing colours and falling - time for us to head south! 

Looking through the windscreen.