Both Joe and Jimmy were in Daytona Beach when we got there.
Jim got to
the truck early and checked it out, not much needed to be done to get the truck and trailer ready for the year. During the week, Jim replaced a board on the trailer because it had a hole in it. All four strips the length of the trailer need replacing soon because they have rotted. Will do that when we take time off in June.
On Friday, 4 March, Jim and a
few others rode to Savannah, Georgia to watch the Flat Track races there, Cody
Johncox was racing there – on his way to Daytona Beach. It was a cold trip – pleased I chose not to
travel up on the motorbike!
Michele flew in to Daytona Beach airport from Buffalo and arrived mid-Saturday morning.
Did a few
trips to Main Street to see if there was anything new. The previous year there were only a few of
the chopper, big front wheel style bikes – this year there were hundreds of
them!
Attended the usual moto guzzi gathering on the first Monday of Bike Week at Pentheon Pizza to catch up with guzzi friends.
A half day fishing charter on the Critter Fleet out of Ponce Inlet harbour. Jimmy, Barry, Joe and Michele and Jim went out on the Critter Fleet. They had a good time and caught fish. I met them at the inlet and we went next door to Hidden Treasures Restaurant and the chef turned the catch into fish wraps and fish bites.
A half day fishing charter on the Critter Fleet out of Ponce Inlet harbour. Jimmy, Barry, Joe and Michele and Jim went out on the Critter Fleet. They had a good time and caught fish. I met them at the inlet and we went next door to Hidden Treasures Restaurant and the chef turned the catch into fish wraps and fish bites.
At Hidden Treasures Restaurant. |
Good eating at the Ormond Crab Shack beside the Tomoka River - a popular Bike Week spot.
Flat track
races at the Daytona International Speedway on Thursday night (10th)
to watch Cody race. The tract was in
rough shape – several tranches developed in it, mostly at the corner we were
sitting at! Jimmy, Shayne, Jim and I sat at turn 2 and got covered in dirt and
rocks! Cody raced well, but didn’t make
it to the Main (final) for that night..
A huge crowd the last weekend of Bike Week.
A huge crowd the last weekend of Bike Week.
Corsets were popular this year! |
Lis cooked a
very tasty (early) St. Patrick’s Day dinner for us on Sunday 13 March – corn
beef, cabbage and vegetables, and pie and ice cream. Enjoyed our catch up with them.
Monday
morning, 14 March a partial load was on the load board. We wanted something to get us out of Florida
and rolling again.
Quickly
loaded the truck with our personal gear and loaded in Lake City, Florida early
afternoon. Two construction signs on
trailers. A light one to get us going.
Delivered them the next day at a safety company in Montgomery, Alabama.
Lake City, Florida to Montgomery, Alabama. |
A quick trip
back to Panama City, Florida and loaded TRANE air conditioners in the
afternoon.
A steady
drive to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to deliver them on Thursday, 17 March. Weather got a bit cooler and there were
damaging storms in Texas, south of us.
We missed it, though.
Friday
morning we loaded at TEREX in Oklahoma City, then drove the weekend to deliver in Miami,
Florida on Monday morning.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Miami, Florida. |
After delivering to Armstrong Equipment, deadheaded back to
Daytona Beach for two nights, then loaded close by in Oak Hill, Florida. The shipper refurbished airport equipment – we had a generator, a baggage cart, a lavatory cart, and an air conditioner.
Delivered
them on Friday morning to the Fort Walton Beach Airport / Eglin Air Force Base.
Loaded in
the afternoon in Mobile, Alabama at UMS
Metal Fabricators – they make steel buoys. Eight were loaded on our trailer
for the US Coast Guard near Boston, Massachusetts.
Buoys - Mobile, Alabama to South Weymouth, Massachusetts. |
A little out
of the way, but we planned to spend a day and a half in Buffalo area to catch up
with Jim’s family over the Easter weekend.
Heading
north, we spent Friday night at a truckstop in Geneva, Ohio and Joe arrived
there an hour later, and we ran with him Saturday morning to the Pennsylvania /
New York state line and Jimmy was waiting for us there. So we all ran together to Joe’s place.
Our truck, Jimmy's and Joe' at New York/Pennsylvania state line. |
Saturday
afternoon, Art came out and visited.
Joe carted
stainless steel barrels from Ohio for the Sugar Shanty where Baillie
works. These are used to ship the maple
syrup. Delivered them Saturday evening,
and enjoyed the maple sap boiling.
A big fire to boil the sap for hours – so very warm in there! It was a cold night.
The Sugar Shanty at Meyers Farm. |
Sunday
morning Baillie did a quick boiled egg dying – had planned to do it Saturday,
but other things happened!
Dyed hard boiled eggs for Easter. |
Sunday
Easter brunch at Jim’s sister and brother-in-law’s near Alden. Great to see family there that we haven’t
seen for a while.
Sunday
evening, Michele prepared a scrumptious meal – Polish sausages, pierogies,
casserole’s, etc. A Western New York
‘thing’ is the lamb shaped butter for Easter.
This photo taken after dinner, so the 'lamb' is looking a bit odd!
Butter Lamb for Easter tradition. |
Wikipedia: The
Butter Lamb is a traditional butter sculpture accompanying the Easter meal for
many Russian, Slovenian, Polish Catholics.
Butter is shaped into a lamb either by hand or in a lamb-shaped
mould. It is sold at delis, Polish
specialty markets, and some general grocery stores at Easter time.
The butter lamb is a particular tradition in
Buffalo, New York’s Broadway Market, in which the annual introduction of the
butter lamb is a symbol of spring.
Frequently the eyes are represented by
peppercorns and the white banner with a red cross on a toothpick is placed on
its back.
On Monday
morning we left Joe and Michele's and headed to Boston, Massachusetts area. On the way we stopped at a diner in Bergen,
NY.
I am on a
Facebook group for Australians in America.
Stephen posted to see if there were any Australians in the Western New
York area. I answered to say I get
through there several times a year to see my husband’s family.
We have kept
in contact, and this was our first chance to meet.
Stephen and his
American wife, Teri live in the Rochester area, Stephen is from Adelaide, South
Australia and has been here three years.
We had a fun
breakfast – lots to talk about. Stephen
liked the Aussie representation on our truck - the VB emblem on the front, the "G'day Mate" licence plate and the kangaroo sticker on each side.
Teri and Stephen, Jim and I at Bergen, New York. |
We delivered
the buoys to the US Coast Guard yard in South Weymouth, Massachusetts on
Tuesday morning, then to Cumberland, Rhode Island to load reels of copper wire at Okonite for Kansas
City, Kansas.
There were
two parts to the shipment. Wednesday we
delivered the last reel on the trailer, to Okonite west of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Cumberland, Rhode Island to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Kansas City, Kansas. |
The remainder of the shipment was not time sensitive, so we took a detour to Louisville, Kentucky to attend
the 45th Annual Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) at Kentucky Expo
Centre in Louisville, Kentucky. We had three days there, so will keep that for April's Casey Capers.
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