Casey Capers - USA: Vol. 19. No. 8

A continuation of our adventure with Dave and Linda staying with us.

On 30 September we left Daytona Beach and headed south in the car. We took the Interstate highway all the way to Miami to speed up the travelling time.

It is about 420 miles (675 km) from Daytona Beach to Key West – (Miami traffic is very congested), we chose to take two days going south, then one day going back.

Stopped south of Miami at the Everglades Visitors Center near Homestead. Had a quick look at the information and displays until the mosquitos found us!

Website: The establishment of Royal Palm State Park began the greater conservation efforts that would lead to the designation of the Everglades as a National Park. The towering live oaks and royal palms in the middle of the endless prairie enclosed a number of ferns, orchids and scores of other plants.

The Everglades are unique and spectacular! These photos of the Visitors Centre displays.

The Everglades is home to the Florida Panther.

The Florida panther is an endangered subspecies of cougar that lives in forests and swamps of southern Florida. The subspecies is sometimes referred to as cougar, mountain lion, puma, and catamount, but in the southeastern US, and particularly Florida, it is exclusively known as the panther. Florida panthers are spotted at birth and typically have blue eyes. As the panther grows the spots fade and the coat becomes completely tan while the eyes take on a yellow hue. The underbelly is a creamy white, with black tips on the tail and ears. Males can weigh up to 160 pounds (73 kg). Florida panthers lack the ability to roar, and instead make distinct sounds that include whistles, chirps, growls, hisses, and purrs.

The Florida panther has been protected from hunting since 1958; it was added to the state’s endangered species list in 1973.

In 1982, the Florida panther was chosen as the Florida state animal.

Florida Panther.

The Florida Everglades at Vistors Centre.

Heading back to we saw a sign for Miami Brewing Company, so took a short detour. It was a winery and brewery combined; Schnebly is a winery, but they added craft brewing to give their customers the choice of wine or beer.

Schnebly Winery and Miami Brewery, Homestead, Florida.

The beer names are related to south Florida, and combinations of fruits, herbs, spices to make very original tastes. We had sampled one beer - Jim had a Shark Bait Mango Wheat, I had Big Rod Coconut Ale.

Miami Brewing Company.

Stayed Wednesday night in a motel in Florida City, then on the road Thursday morning.

Sunrise from the balcony of Fairway Inn, Florida City.

From Florida City - 120 miles (200 km) to Key West.

It is a slow drive along the chain of islands and towns from Key Largo to Key West along the ‘Overseas Highway’. (It is also the first part of US 1 and mile marker 1 is in Key West, US 1 ends in Fort Kent in Maine.)

Wikipedia: The Florida Keys are a string of tropical islands stretching off the southern tip of Florida between the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. They are known for their laid-back vibe and as a destination for fishing, boating and scuba diving. “Key” is derived from the Spanish Cayo, meaning ‘small island’.

We stopped for lunch at Sunset Grille on Knight’s Key, just before the Seven Mile Bridge.

Our view was nice!

Sunset Grille, Knights Key.

Wikipedia: Seven Mile Bridge is a box-girder structure built from precast, prestressed concrete sections, comprising of 440 spans. Near the centre, the bridge rises in an arc to provide 65 foot (20m) high clearance for boat passage. The remainder of the bridge is considerable close to the water surface. The total length is actually 6.79 miles (10.93 km).

We had rooms booked at Authors Key West Guesthouse, which was within walking distance to Duval Street and the main area of Old Town Key West. It was a lovely place.

Website: Authors Key West Guesthouse was conceived to honor the literary masters who lived and worked in quaint, colourful Key West. Born from this idea is our enchanting bed and breakfast, a compound of historic Conch-style house, suites, and rooms – hidden beneath trees and tropical foliage surrounding our inviting Pool Spa.

The Pool Spa.

Jim's and my room - the Harry S. Truman.

This is where breakfast was served each morning.

One of the resident cats - Key West laid back!

Author’s of Key West: Key West’s most famous celebrity would be Ernest Hemingway who lived on the island from 1928 to 1939. “For Whom The Bell Tolls” is his most popular work penned while living in his famous compound off Duval Street. He also spent his time fishing, and drinking at Sloppy Joe’s Bar.

Tennessee Williams, playwright of both wellknown work, “A Streetcar Named Desire”, and “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof” was often seen with poet Robert Frost.

US President Harry S. Truman spent his winters in Key West during his presidency, his home there was unofficially dubbed the “Southernmost White House”. Several other Presidents and politicians have stayed there.

Jimmy Buffet, the laid back beach bum musician established this attitude after being introduced to Key West where he moved during the early 1970s. In 1985, the singer/songwriter/film producer/author also opened the first of his popular Margaritaville restaurants on Duval Street where it remains a popular spot for locals and tourists alike.

After settling into the rooms, we walked to Duval Street, and wandered around, then found happy hour and had a meal at Two Friends Bar.

Two Friends Bar, Key West.

Key West is famous for Duval Street’s many bars, Mallory Square’s nightly Sunset Celebration and the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, the southern-most point in the United States and just 90 miles from Cuba.

We got to Sunset Pier early and found a good spot to sit and wait for the sunset. There were some rain showers close, but we didn't get wet.

Some people had better spots to watch the sunset!

Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square.

Markets at Mallory Square.

On Friday morning we walked back towards town and got tickets on the Old Train Trolley. It is a hop on/hop off sightseeing tour of Key West.

Website: Key West is known for its clear blue waters, sun-filled skies, and laid-back attitude. In addition to being a great vacation spot, the city has also served as an artistic refuge, a presidential retreat, a military post, and an important port (cruise ships stop there). For over 30 years Old Town Trolley Tours has been providing sightseeing tours highlighting the best of Key West. Hop aboard one of our trolleys and you’ll experience Transportainment, a delightful combination of transport and entertainment. Old Town Trolley Tours is the best way to see the city, highlighting the best Key West attractions, with 13 stops and more than 100 points of interest.

Waiting for the Trolley at Stop 2.

Dave and Jim waiting while Linda and I looked through the souvenir store.

Dave and Linda and Jim and I had been to Key West before. Already had photos taken at the major attractions, and there were huge lines waiting to get photos taken. We stayed on the Trolley and just enjoyed the commentary and sights.

The Southernmost Point.

Mile Marker 0 of US Highway 1.

We got off the Trolley and had lunch at Conch Republic Restaurant.

View of the marina.

Some interesting sights in Key West:

Roosters and chickens run loose on the streets and yards, called "gypsy chickens".

Internet: Free-roaming chickens have been a part of life in Key West for nearly 200 years – the wild “gypsy” chicken, a hybrid descendant of native chickens and those the Cubans brought to the area.

Small vehicles and bicycles are the preferred mode of transportation.

Duval Street.

Hard Rock Cafe, Key West.

Memorial Sculpture Garden: The sculpture garden opened on Sept 27, 1997. It originally featured 36 bronze busts of the men and women who have had the greatest impact on Key West. The garden had room to expand throughout the years to seventy-two.

Went for a walk along the waterfront.

And found the Waterfront Brewing Company.

The Waterfront Brewery.

We had a busy day, so ended up going back to the Guesthouse and relaxed in the spa pool for a while (sign says maximum water temperature could be 104 F / 40 C), then found a lovely Caribbean/Latino restaurant called Bien which was close by. It was a pleasant outing – great food and outdoor setting.

We left after breakfast on Saturday, we planned to drive to Daytona Beach in the one day. Only had one tourist stop planned - The Coral Castle on the south side of Miami.

The Coral Castle.

From Brochure: You are about to see an engineering marvel that has been compared with Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Egypt. In 1984, The Coral Castle was placed in the National Register of Historical Places.

The Coral Castle, originally called “Rock Gate Park”, is the story of Ed Leedskalnin, a 5 foot tall, 100 pound Latvian immigrant who, spurned by the love of his life, without any help, using only simple tools, many of them homemade, excavated, carved and moved tons of coral rock. Ed's ways were mysterious – in the twenty years he spend building in Florida City and Homestead, not a single person has reported seeing him work – to this date many of his building secrets are still unknown.

Edward Leedskalnin was born in Latvia in 1887 and in 1913 he was engaged to marry Agnes Scuffs. Ten years younger than her fiancé, Agnes was always Sweet Sixteen to Ed. On the day before the wedding she told Ed she did not want to marry him.

Broken hearted, Ed left Latvia and wandered for several years. About 1920 he bought an acre of land in South Florida. There, for reasons known only to himself, he chose to carve a castle of local coral in dedication to Sweet Sixteen.

A table in the shape of Florida, even has Lake Okeechobee, could be used as a finger bowl, bird bath or punch bowl.

Planets on east wall - Mars, Saturn, and moon crescent. In front is the Throne Room - rocking chairs.

This 5,000 pound table is perfectly heart-shaped, with a heart-shaped centrepiece. This original plant is over 70 years old. A wedding is held here every Valentine's Day.

The Tower at back, tool room downstairs, and Ed's living quarters upstairs. Forefront is the Grotto of the Three Bears.

The Castle has many references to Sweet Sixteen: chairs for her, and play areas for the children they could have had, sixteen steps to his quarters, There is a well with spring water, bbq cooker, bathroom, sun dial, camera stand (for the old box cameras), Polaris telescope, moon fountain, bedroom (with twin beds for himself and Sweet Sixteen and beds for two children), chairs for reading and a 'sun' couch. A 3-ton gate and a 9-ton gate that can be opened or closed by one finger push.
A very interesting and unique place.
Trivia: Billy Idol visited in 1987 and wrote and recorded the song "Sweet Sixteen".

Also some wildlife! This chameleon was about 35 cms long (14 ins).

One more meal stop before Daytona Beach at Dixie Crossroads Restaurant in Titusville.

Website: Dixie Crossroads is a landmark restaurant where southern hospitality meets great food in a casual environment. Famous for serving Florida Shrimp. (Rock and Royal Red caught in deep water ) Kids (and adults) enjoy feeding the fish and turtles from the bridge over the outside pond.

On the Sunday, 6 October, Jim and Dave rode the moto guzzis to New Smyrna Beach, Linda and I drove. Met with Ron Hewitt for breakfast at Pappas Restaurant.

Then we went to the RV Show at the Daytona Speedway. Spent several hours there checking them out.

The couple of days before Dave and Linda left Daytona Beach we shopped, ate at favourite restaurants: Tia Cori's Mexican on Monday night with Jimmy. and back to Flagler Beach to the Funky Pelican on Tuesday morning for breakfast - Jim and Dave on the motorbikes and rode "The Loop" back to Daytona Beach.
Joe arrived Tuesday mid-day and we all had dinner at Don Pepper's Mexican Restaurant that night for Dave and Linda's last night with us.

Don Pepper's Restaurant: Linda, Dave, Jimmy, Joe, Lesley and Jim. (Linda's photo)

It was a fun night - lots of laughs. Dave and Linda left early Wednesday 7 October for their flight to Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas - they had five nights there before flying back to Queensland on 12 October. They had a great trip and Jim and I loved the time spent with them in 'our' part of the USA.

Back to work for us, on Friday 9 October we loaded in Jacksonville, Florida at the Crowley Liner container port. Drilling and trenching equipment came in from a job in Puerta Rico. Two truckloads - we loaded the buckets, track and scoop.

Jacksonville, Florida to Pflugerville, Texas.

An easy trip over the weekend to Pflugerville, Texas (a northern suburb of Austin).

Delivered in a field where they are stockpiling the equipment for a drain job. The other load from Jacksonville came in, and two loads of large pipe.

Seen through the windscreen.

In Pflugerville, Texas. I saw signs advertising the ‘Pfall Pfestival’, and a ‘Chili Pfest’, messing with the silent ‘P’ in Pflugerville! Had a chuckle! The newspaper is the “Pflugerville Pflag”.

The next load was to be picked up in Laredo, Texas – a 250 mile deadhead, but it was the best paying load going back to Florida. We ended up on a new toll road, SH 130 that went from north of Austin to the eastern side of San Antonio.

Website: Texas SH 130 Tollway is the fastest legal highway in America, 85 mph (137 kmh). This is a nice drive and will help you circumvent all of the increasingly congested IH (Interstate Highway) 35 near Austin, Texas.

Fastest legal speed limit posted in the USA.

Not much traffic on it, and it was definitely less stressful than I 35, but we do not have a TxTag toll transponder, and there are no toll takers. Will be waiting for the toll charge in the mail!

Arrived at the shipper’s at 4.30 pm and got in line to load two Dodge Ram 2500 Sprinter Vans going to Florida. A lot of trucks ahead of us so it took a while to get to the loading dock, but they loaded quickly and they are quick and easy to strap to the trailer. Left there at sunset. Temperatures were unseasonably HOT, almost 100 degrees F (37.7 Celsius).

Laredo, Texas to Fruitland Park and Bradenton, Florida.

The top-deck of the trailer was empty, we were lucky to find an LTL/partial shipment south of Houston in Le Marque, Texas going to Ormond Beach, Florida. Tuesday afternoon we loaded two dehumidifier units, one skid and one carton at DRYCO Dehumidifier and Generator Rentals.

LTL from Le Marque, Texas to Ormond Beach, Florida.

Crossing the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Thursday morning, delivered one of the Dodge Ram Vans to a Chrysler Dealer in Fruitland Park, Florida. Because the vans are too high to go on a car hauler, to unload them from our trailer, Jim lined up a flatbed wrecker truck to take each of them off at the dealers.

Delivered the second Dodge Ram Van to a dealer in Bradenton, Florida in the afternoon. Jim found a nail in a drive tyre, we had to get it replaced before leaving there. Made us too late to deliver the LTL in Ormond Beach that afternoon, so we spent Thursday night at the house and delivered it the next morning to DRYCO.

Biketoberfest in Daytona Beach that weekend, October 16-18. Joe and Jimmy were in town, and Chris Collins from Wisconsin as well. Jim went to the AHRMA Races – heats on Friday afternoon at Daytona International Speedway. The vintage motorcycle races.

Website: The American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association Ltd., is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to restoring and competing on classic motorcycles.

Afterwards, moto guzzi crowd met at Pantheon Pizza for dinner and socializing.

Saturday morning we met friends, Dave and Debbie at The Cracked Egg in South Daytona for breakfast.

The Cracked Egg was busy - Dave's Triumph in the foreground.

Then we left the biker crowd at Daytona Beach and headed to New Smyrna Beach for the 7^th Annual Craft Beer Walk and Chilli Cook-off held on Flagler Avenue, a fundraiser for Breast Cancer Research. We attended last year, and enjoyed it.

This year we only did the beer tastings and had snacks at Tayton O’Briens, instead of all the different chilli's. Our group was Tim and Helena, Mary Lynn and Lemont, Joe, Jimmy, Chris, Jim and I. Participants are given a 4oz mug and 20 tickets. A taste is half a mug (2 oz), though some ‘cost’ two or three tickets, depending on the price of the beer. Five to seven choices at participating bars. The event is from noon to 5pm and we got there after 1pm. We got to seven of the fourteen bars on Flagler Avenue. Was lots of fun.

Joe & Toni's Bar at New Smyrna Beach.

Trader's Bar in New Smyrna Beach - Helena, Mary Lynn, Chris and Joe (and Santa).

Afterwards to the New Smyrna Beach Brewery.

Sunday morning we unloaded the le mans off the truck and left in at the house - the first snow had fallen in the north.

In the afternoon, we met at The Oasis Tiki Bar to watch the football game. (Buffalo Bills lost that one.) Weather was mostly overcast and extremely windy.

Parking lot at Oasis Tiki Bar, overcast and windy.

Had to take the moto guzzi’s for a lap of Main Street, then stopped and took the last day of Biketoberfest – a good crowd of last minute party people. We wandered and I took some photos.

Froggies on Main Street.

Found the Eldorado in amongst the bikes outside the Boot Hill Saloon / Main Street Station and found the rest of the crew there.

Jim had to front up for jury duty at the Daytona Beach Court House on Monday, 19^th – he was not selected.

Loaded an LTL/partial shipment at Titan America in Edgewater Tuesday morning, 7 empty paint totes that took up almost half the trailer.

Titan America have aggregates, ready-mixed concrete, cement, and make blocks. Specialized paint is mixed in to make the coloured products.

Empty paint totes - LTL Edgewater, Florida to Springfield, Illinois.

Waiting at Titan America plant, Edgewater, Florida.

About noon we got to White Oak, Georgia to load another half trailer – 5 generators. It was an interesting place – a telephone company has someone pick up unused generators and they were stockpiled on a farm. Jim was a little nervous about taking the rig in there without walking it first. It was tight, and took a bit of time, but he got to where we had to be to load.

Loading at a farm at White Oak, Georgia.

LTL - White Oak, Georgia to Springfield, Illinois.

Under a lemon tree on the farm in White Oak.

The animals came over to say 'hello' - a Longhorn.

Temperatures got cooler and leaves on the trees started changing as we drove north.

Tennessee.

A backroad in Illinois.

Arrived at our first delivery in Springfield Thursday morning and the consignee realized his forklift would not pick up the largest generator, we diverted to a CAT dealership on the south side of the city; then to the north-west side to deliver the paint totes to Solomon Colors.

North 70 miles to Lewistown, Illinois for the next load. Used machinery and equipment from an auction for an out of business machine shop. The machines were very dirty, oily, and greasy. Took almost five hours to get loaded and secure all the bits and parts – and then we were very dirty, oily and greasy!

Lewistown, Illinois to Grand Rapids, Michigan.

This is what we refer to as an 'ugly' load!

Only drove 200 yards when we noticed a small door had swung open and had to stop and bungie it. Happened twice more during our trip, we had not realized they were moving parts.

Delivered all that mess to a machinery warehouse in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We were relieved to get it off the trailer, and happy that no major incident happened en route. The trailer was covered with oil and grease.

South to Hopkins, Michigan and loaded a new waste handling compactor system at SP Industries, going to Plattsburgh, New York and delivery was scheduled for Tuesday morning.

Hopkins, Michigan to Plattsburgh, New York.

It was convenient to stop for the weekend in Buffalo area - we got there about 10 am on Saturday, 24th, in time to help with getting firewood into the basement, preparation for the coming winter. Most of the leaves had dropped in the yard and it was much cooler temperatures.

Doing firewood at Joe and Michele's - Baillie, and Jim and the neighbors 1940's tractor.

Leaves changing at Joe and Michele's.

We caught up with Bob Walter's for beers and wings. Visited a new restaurant bar in Lancaster called The Yelling Goat. They had great wings! It was a nice spot.

The Yelling Goat restaurant and bar in Lancaster, New York.

Big excitement for the weekend – Friday night Baillie shot her first deer for the season – an eight point buck. With her bow! Very impressive! It was not a kill shot, the deer ran and recruitments were called in to help her track it. Found it after a couple of hours, and it was skinned and butchered. Her arrow had penetrated the lungs. She is getting it mounted. It is a big deal – getting her first eight pointer at 16 years old with a bow and arrow! She has bragging rights for the rest of her life!

Baillie with the buck she shot with her crossbow (photo from Baillie's Facebook page).

Sunday morning we prepared our camper for the winter – and took it to a nearby a barn where it will be stored ($100 a month). The winters wrecked our last one - water gets into the seams, then it freezes, then melts and freezes again and the seams start to separate and let water in. We had put new tarps on it each winter, but moisture still got in. Next summer we plan on building a shed for it at Joe and Michele’s - we would like this camper to last a bit longer.

Snowblowers on sale at Tractor Supply!

Jim and I left in the truck Monday morning and got to Plattsburgh, New York - about the freezing point for temperature, there was a big frost.

Frost in the field across from Joe & Michele's, near Attica, NY.

Got to Plattsburgh, late afternoon, and delivered to a new construction the next morning, Tuesday.
After that, we loaded at Potter’s Industries north of Pottsdam, NY – pallets of glass beads. A heavy load, and we had to tarp it.

Pottsdam, New York to Glassboro, New Jersey.

Travelled south to Glassboro in southern New Jersey. The rain depression that was Hurricane Patricia was working its way to the east coast. Lots of rain and wind to deal with for a few days.

The glass beads delivered Wednesday morning to Zone Striping, the glass is mixed with the paint that marks the lanes, gutters, etc. to make it reflective. A big business, they put three forklifts on us and got us unloaded very quickly, it was still dark!

We did not have a reload, so spent a couple of hours on the side of the road, checking load boards on the internet. This is on the street outside Zone Stripping – pretty with the fall foliage.

Empty in New Jersey.

South to Baltimore and loaded equipment that had been auctioned at Alban CAT. We both hit our heads on the boom on the 307D while strapping the smaller parts!

Baltimore, Maryland to Farmington, New York.

Made of CAT parts - at ALBAN CAT, Baltimore, MD.

The sunrise from the west side of Canadaigua Lake, NY.

Delivered the next day (Thursday, 29th) to American Equipment in Farmington, New York. Weather turned cold and wet very quickly! We both got soaked.

Loaded a 7 foot PODS container in Liverpool, New York, near Syracuse, then rain and high winds to Buffalo and loaded a 16 foot PODS container. (Portable On Demand Storage.)

Spent that night at Joe and Michele’s, we had said our ‘good-byes’ a few days before, but had the opportunity to see them again! We all went to Santora’s for pizza, and Anderson’s for ice-cream. It was a fun evening.

Jim and I left about 6.30am Friday morning to be in Leetsdale, Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh by 12 noon to load another 16 foot PODS container.