Saturday, 1 October we were in Daytona Beach, and caught
up on the few jobs we had to do around the house. Jim wanted to take the moto guzzi Jackal for
a run, there was a Bacon and Brew
Festival on in DeLand, so that was something different to do for the afternoon.
That was interesting!
Proceeds go to local charities.
Website: Imagine bacon, craft beer, wineries, and
lots of vendors with their products that have BACON in them.
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| Maple sausage and bacon. |
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| Cheesecake dipped in chocolate coated with crumbled bacon, and bacon popcorn. |
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| Bacon Soda |
A quick stop at Daytona
Beach Brewing Company on the way back to the house and met truck driver
friend, Chuck there.
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| Sunset and storm clouds across the street from the house in Daytona Beach. |
Jim and I left Daytona Beach Sunday morning, and deadheaded 400 miles (640 kms) to
Darlington, South Carolina to load Monday morning at Sam Carbis Solutions Group (exclusively
dedicated to designing and building safe access and fall prevention structures
for workers…).
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| Darlington, South Carolina to Cornwall, Ontario. |
Heading north, the temperature cooled and we noticed the
leaves starting to change to Fall colours.
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| Thousand Islands area, NewYork and Canadian border. |
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| St Lawrence River and islands. |
Our load delivered to BASF
Chemical Company in Cornwall, Ontario Canada on Wednesday morning.
Crossed back into New York at Akwesasne Indian
Reservation where Ontario, Quebec and New York meet at the St Lawrence River –
the USA/Canadian border, is a Mohawk Nation. Temperature and dropped but the river was warmer, made for dense fog!
Loaded at Alcoa
Plant in Massena, NY – aluminum ingots.
Website: Alcoa’s Massena Operations is the longest
continually operating aluminum facility in the world, serving customers in the
automotive, transportation, aerospace and industrial distribution markers. Currently employing approx. 700 people,
Massena Operations contributes $340 million annually to the local economy. At its Massena facility, Alcoa operates an
integrated aluminum smelting/fabricating facility. The smelter produces 130,000 metric tons of
molten aluminum per year.
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| Massena, New York to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. |
Delivered at another Alcoa
Plant in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on Thursday morning.
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| Truck parking at a 1950's style Diner near Lancaster, PA. |
Watching Hurricane Matthew working its way
towards the east coast of Florida. We
found a load going to Florida to deliver Monday morning. We loaded late that afternoon at Ashley Machine and Tool in Wyoming, Pennsylvania – just one small
crate and had to tarp it. Exclusive use of the
trailer to deliver in St Augustine, Florida on Monday morning.
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| Wyoming, Pennsylvania to St Augustine, Florida. |
It was a slow trip to Florida because we were headed
directly towards Hurricane Matthew.
As
we drove south on Friday, 7th , Daytona Beach was being battered by
the hurricane. Our tenants, Sherryl and Vic prepared the
house for the storm. Jimmy stopped by to
put the 1970 Moto Guzzi Ambassador on the stand so it was a couple of feet off the
floor. The other three guzzis in the garage did not have sentimental value. Sherryl and Vic stayed in the
upper apartment during the storm. By early Friday afternoon the worst of the
wind and rain was subsiding.
We waited Saturday in North Carolina; stayed as far
inland as we could on Interstate 95, at a truckstop in Kenly - before the
highway went towards the coast.
Starting Saturday morning, upwards of 15 inches
of rain and 90+ mph winds hit eastern North Carolina. Interstate highway 95 was closed by
mid-day. The most damage was from
flooding.
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| We spent all day in the truck watching the rain. |
Electricity went off Saturday afternoon and the truckstop and all businesses closed.
Sunday morning we started heading south. There were several detours past flooded roads.
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| A slow trip south on Interstate 95 in North Carolina. |
The Lumber River was overflowing and the highway closed, traffic was
diverted through the town of Lumberton.
Traffic was being returned northbound to the next exit and then south on
another road through Lumberton. By the
time, we got there – no one was diverting traffic north, and I had the map,
so we decided to go through the town of Lumberton. Another truck was ahead of us, so we followed
it through the “no trucks” signed streets.
Our load was very light, so that helped.
The fact that huge trees had fallen across the roads had not been taken into consideration!
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| Lots of huge trees toppled in Lumberton. |
We zigzagged – thankfully other traffic gave us the whole
road to make turns. It was slow moving
and the water was rising. We found the
street that put us on the other side of Lumber River and back on Interstate 95.
The flooding was only just beginning.
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| Water getting deeper in Lumberton, NC. |
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| Too deep and fast flowing for a scooter! |
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| This car decided to do a u-turn. |
The
whole next week the town of Lumberton was under water – all roads closed. The
Lumber River crested at near record levels on the Thursday. People had to be rescued from floodwater over
a wide area of river and water systems. During the next week there were 26 deaths just in North Carolina.
We made the delivery at Northrop Grumman Aeronautical Systems on Monday morning, then
headed to Daytona Beach.
We had experienced hurricanes
before in Daytona Beach, this time our house lost
a lot of roof shingles, but no other damage.
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| The east side of the house. |
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| The western side received the most damage to the roof. |
The insurance assessor came out on Friday and was up on the
roof. There was daylight visible from
the attic. A week after we went back on the road, the roof was covered in plastic and we have to schedule a new roof.
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| Temporary fix - roof covered with plastic (photo provided by Sherryl - thank you!) |
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| Debris on Oleander Ave. |
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| Debris on Ora Street. |
There was plenty to keep us busy for a few days at the
house.
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| The Oasis Tiki Bar fared well. |
Loaded in Orlando on Friday
afternoon at an off-site parking lot at the Orlando airport. It was a staging area for emergency response
and FEMA. Hundreds of forklifts,
industrial fans, pallet jacks, generators, pumps, light trailers, etc. Also a lot of trucks to load. We were there four hours, mostly waiting in
line. The Florida National Guard was in
charge.
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| Orlando, Florida to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. |
Loaded one forklift and two light trailers, then back to
Daytona.
It was the BiketoberFest weekend – a smaller version of Bike Week, held over four
days.
Saturday morning, we met with a Sales Manager from Admiral Merchants, Rusty. He was helping a friend with vendor tent at
the Beaver Bar in Ormond Beach.
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| Catch up with Rusty at Beaver Bar (Rusty's photo - thanks!). |
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| At Beaver Bar, Ormond Beach. |
There were a couple of heavy rain storms, then we headed
south, bar hopping to avoid the storms! South Turn, the Moose Club, then we saw that the distillery was open. Twelve months ago it was in the newspaper
that a rum distillery was planned and hoped to be open by Bike Week (March)
this year. It wasn’t. It is located between Jimmy’s house and ours,
so we had been watching it, and waiting for it to open.
Copper
Bottom Craft Distillery opened in time for Hurricane Matthew! The building was a laundromat I often used, it
was a bit strange seeing it as a distillery.
From the Daytona Beach News Journal: East
Volusia County has a spirited history with rum and the Craig family want to add
to it. East Volusia County’s rum history dates back to the 1750s. A historical marker at 715 W Granada Blvd.
says the Ormond Beach site of the Three Chimneys was home to the oldest British
sugar plantation, sugar mill and rum distillery in the United States.
In
the early days of Prohibition that ran from 1920 to 1933, Bill McCoy used a
Holly Hill boatyard as a base for his ships that ran rum and other spirits from
the Bahamas up the US east coast.
According to NY Times articles, he was arrested in late 1923, pleaded
guilty and served nine months in jail.
On the walls of the distillery are historical displays
including reproductions of old newspapers and equipment. The Distillery is already distributing to
restaurants and hope to include retailers in the near future. It does small batches and each bottle is
filled by hand, the labels put on by hand, etc.
One other couple and Jim and I were there – we had a tour
and explanation of the distillery and liquor making. The
owners/distiller/marketers, Jeremy and Jenni Craig gave us a taste of their
white rum and spent time talking with us. We
bought of bottle of Batch Number 1. We
enjoyed our visit!
Jim and I wandered Main Street. Not much changes there! Had a drink at the Boot Hill Saloon and
listened to a band.
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| Main Street, Daytona Beach. |
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| A stall selling patches! |
The 1974 moto guzzi Eldorado needed a run, so we took it to
The Taproom.
Sunday morning, back in the truck - driving all day to deliver in
Winston-Salem, North Carolina Monday.
No loads that paid anything! Spent all Monday afternoon and Tuesday
morning watching load boards on the internet.
Found a load 80 miles south at Mount Airy, NC. T.P.
Supply Co. have used warehouse and storage fixtures and refurbish them for
resale. Our load was shelving.
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| Mt Airy, North Carolina to Marathon, New York. |
North to Marathon, New York – temperatures dropping as we
drove north. Nice to see the Fall and
leaves changing.
Delivered Wednesday, 19 October to Marathon, NY, then
west to Elmira, NY to load and tarp two crates for Tonawanda, NY (north of
Buffalo.)
Stopped the night near Rochester where Teri and Steve picked us up and we went to dinner at D & R Depot Restaurant, in LeRoy. It is a restored and converted train station. History, good food, and great conversation (and laughs)!
Thursday morning we delivered the Tonawanda shipment.
In the afternoon - some visiting around Buffalo, our last time there until
the Spring. Also, made sure the camper was
ready for winter.
We loaded and tarped in the rain at Graham Manufacturing in Batavia on Friday morning. Spent Friday
afternoon and most of Saturday in Buffalo and left mid-afternoon to Louisiana.
Baillie and Joe went hunting early Saturday morning –
Baillie shot (with a bow and arrow) her first deer of the season. An eight point buck. They process all deer shot, and the meat consumed by them.
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| Baillie and her first buck of hunting season - shot with her bow (Joe's photo - thank you). |
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| High visibility beer containers - for hunting season. |
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| A lot of the leaves have fallen at Joe and Michele's. |
Driving through Ohio Saturday evening – into a lovely sunset.
Through the Louisiana bayous.
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| Southern Louisiana. |
Delivered Monday afternoon at the Occidental Chemical Plant in Geismar, Louisiana, they are expanding
their plant.
Website Occidental Chemical Corp plans a $145
million expansion. The project includes
adding equipment for producing a new raw material to be used in making next-generation,
climate friendly refrigerants.
Interesting place - I didn't know Oxy made so many products.
We had one piece of pipe – it was obviously an important piece of pipe, in a crate and tarped.
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| Batavia, New York to Geismar, Louisiana. |
Had a load scheduled for the next day near there, so stayed at the closest
truckstop, which was next to a Bass Pro
Shop.
Internet Bass Pro Shops is a privately held retailer
of hunting, fishing, camping and related outdoor recreation merchandise, known
for stocking a wide selection of gear.
There are 94 Bass Pro Shops in the USA and Canada, and
seven more under construction (one being Daytona Beach, Florida scheduled to open in
Spring 2017).
(Bass Pro Shops recently bought its competitor, Cabela’s.)
This one in Denham Springs, Louisiana has a Louisiana theme and decor.
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| Alligator Gar - this one is taxidermied, but there were live ones in tanks. |
Alligator Gar, common name, was derived from
their resemblance to American alligators, with their broad snout and long sharp
teeth. They are the largest species in
the gar family, and among the largest freshwater fishes in North America. Gars are often referred to as “primitive” or “living
fossils”. They can breathe in both air
and water. The largest alligator gar
caught was officially recorded at 8’5” (2.572 m) long and weighed 327 lb (148
kg).
Tuesday, 25 October we loaded at National Trench Safety in Gonzales, Louisiana.
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| Gonzales, Louisiana to Charlotte, North Carolina. |
Delivered it the next day in Charlotte, North
Carolina at another National Trench
Safety depot, an inter-company exchange of equipment.
Loaded Thursday in Richburg, South Carolina
at Outokumpu , they make stainless
steel – wire, reels, rods, and sheet.
Our load was stainless steel rods, going to three deliveries in the
Chicago area on Monday.
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| Rods of stainless steel, had to be tarped. |
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| Richburg, South Carolina to Chicago, Illinois. |
The weekend was unseasonably warm weather, so we stopped
at a truckstop in DeMotte in north-west Indiana. The moto guzzi le mans had not been off the truck
for two months! It needed a run, though
mostly straight and flat roads where we were.
Friday evening, we went to the next town north, Lowell to visit a small
brewery there – Route 2 Brews. It was nice, and we shared a ‘flight’ of
their beers.
It was getting dark, so we didn’t stay long – back into the town
of DeMotte and had dinner at a local restaurant.
Saturday, we started mid-morning and wandered a bit. South to Rensselaer, the county seat Jasper County. Found a nice restaurant for a late breakfast.
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| Jasper County Courthouse in Renssalaer, Indiana. |
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| A beautiful old building. |
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| Flat, straight roads in Indiana! |
Further south is the lovely town of Montecello, between
two lakes. Geared mostly for summer
tourism, boating and fishing – and the amusement park Indiana Beach is there. Saw
a billboard for Fruitshine Winery.
Website: We decided to open our winery to share our
family tradition with everyone. We use
only local, hand-picked, tree ripened fruit in the production of our
hand-crafter, artisan created, small batch wines. No concentrates used here, just honest
seasonal fruit. There is 1.5 pound of fruit in every jar we craft.
Ingredients
– tree-ripened fruit, water, cane sugar and yeast. NO sorbates and NO Sulphites.
What a find! We
had samples, then shared a glass, and bought a bottle of Nectarine wine.
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| Relaxing on the deck. |
After I took the photo of the barn and
tasting room, that is the owner out front.
He talked with us for half an hour, about the property, and wine making – the house was
built in 1890 and the oak barn in 1910, there are no pesticides used anywhere.
Found a local Moose Club, then dinner and back to the
truck before dark this time.
It was raining and much cooler Sunday morning, so loaded
the bike and headed closer to Chicago.
Stayed at a truckstop in Bolingbrook, on the south side. A sports bar across the street so Jim
could watch the Buffalo Bills football game.
Monday, 31 October, the stainless steel shipment we had
on went to three different businesses in three different towns on the west side of Chicago and we had them
delivered by lunch time.
Watched the traditional Greek dancing and the sun setting over the Halifax.
