Vol 15 No 2 April 30, 2011

Friday morning, 1 April we left Nashville and headed up to Louisville, Kentucky for the Mid America Trucking Show - the 40th Anniversary.

Website: MATS 2011 - 40 Years of the largest heavy-duty trucking event in the world. The Mid-America Trucking Show is more than a tradeshow. It is the annual forum for the heavy-duty trucking industry, providing face to face interaction between industry representatives and trucking professionals. Attendees are driven to MATS because they can efficiently research the latest products and services to provide their business with a competitive edge. Exhibitors participate in MATS to effectively introduce new offerings, increase brand awareness, promote products and connect with suppliers, customers and prospects.

There are thousands of exhibitors and fill four large convention halls and several parking lots.

Photo is of the new style of International trucks - very futuristic!

We spent all Friday afternoon walking around the exhibits, then returned later for the free concert: Halfway to Hazard, Keith Anderson and Randy Houser courtesy of Mobil Delvac.

We went back to the truck show on Saturday morning to buy new straps, and a dash camcorder - both we needed or wanted and the companies had special show prices.

Got rolling late Saturday morning for New Jersey and delivered Monday morning at Fort Dix. Reloaded right away in Rancocas, New Jersey and delivered Tuesday afternoon at Koyo Bearings in Dahlonega, Georgia on Tuesday. Dahlonega is in north Georgia and a beautiful area.

Internet: In 1828 Dahlonega was the site of the first major gold rush in the United States. The Dahlonega Gold Museum Historic Site sits in the middle of the town square, housed in the old Lumpkin County Courthouse built in 1836. From its steps in 1849, the Dahlonega Mint assayor tried to persuade miners to stay in Dahlonega instead of joining the California Gold Rush, saying, “ There’s gold in them thar hills.”

(I had thought that phrase was about the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California - so learned something!)

We loaded one CAT roller at Ritchie Bros Auction in Newnan, Georgia that afternoon and headed to Florida. Delivered Wednesday afternoon at Ring Power in St Augustine then to the house.

Late Friday morning we left Daytona Beach and had a leisurely three hour bike ride to Withlacoochee RV Park for the Central Florida Moto Guzzi Rally weekend of 8, 9, and 10 April.

We had arranged for friends, Derek and Cindy to take our tent, sleeping bags and chairs over before hand. We set up our tent near the Withlacoochee River.

Website: Withlacoochee River encourages you to explore and enjoy paddling through Old Florida’s pristine scenic river filled with plenty of wildlife and mother nature at her best.

Tour the most unique tea coloured river flowing north through cypress swamps and hardwood timberlands of the Green Swamp to the sandy beaches that empty into the Gulf of Mexico.

Although residential and commercial development in the region is increasing, the watershed as a whole remains largely undeveloped.

There were thousands of hairy caterpillars in the campgrounds - on the picnic benches and chairs, on tents, cars and motorbikes - everywhere!

I did some research are found out they were tussock moth caterpillars - and I had an allergic reaction to them…

Internet: Each spring tussock moth caterpillars are abundant in north central Florida. Caterpillars of this species have a red head, two black "hair pencils" projecting forward like antennae, four dense tufts of hair on the back, and a single hair pencil projecting to the rear like a tail. Unique to this species are the orange-colored spots along the back and sides.

(Also noted) caterpillar hairs my irritate the skin. I was covered in little itchy blisters for a week!

Photo of tussock caterpillars I stole off a University of Florida website.

Jimmy and Derek had kayaks and there were canoe rentals available. The river was high and fast flowing after several days of rain early in the week. Friday afternoon Jim went for a kayak trip with Derek and he ended up in the river! Luckily the alligators were not looking for an afternoon meal! After falling out, Jim was bitten by ‘something‘. After dragging himself and the kayak to the bank, he checked his big toe - it had a fishing hook stuck in it, complete with line and sinker!!

The “tea coloured water” and “black water” describes a lot of Florida and south Georgia lakes and rivers stained by a tannin blend of dissolved organic substances mostly from the cypress tree roots and swamp vegetation.

Saturday Jim and I went for a bike ride to Floral City and Sleepy Hollow - had lunch and took some nice roads on the way back.

It was a nice gathering of guzzi friends - 65 people were there by Saturday evening.

Great weather - hot and sunny. Jimmy’s lady friend, Cindy attended her first moto guzzi rally and settled in and had a good time.

Photo: Rear L to R: Roy with nephew, Jamie, Derek, Lamont, Jeffrey, Tim, Jim. Front L to R: Jan, Cindy, Mary Lynn, Helena, Lesley and Jimmy. (Jimmy's Cindy took the photo.)

Arrived back in Daytona Beach Sunday afternoon. Spent Monday working on the truck and catching up on business.

Tuesday we loaded in Gainesville, Florida - one Genie boom lift and delivered it in Baton Rouge, Louisiana the next morning. Loaded a CAT roller near New Orleans late morning and delivered Friday morning in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

After delivering to an equipment rental business, we had to wait until 2pm to reload north of Baltimore, Maryland. Loaded at AAI Corporation - a ‘humvee shelter‘. Only put one on us - a light load and lots of room left on the trailer.

Website: AAI Corporation was founded 1950. Today, we are a global corporation providing a vast array of innovative aerospace and defense technologies. Our products and services include unmanned aircraft and ground control technologies; high-fidelity training and simulation systems; automated aerospace test and maintenance equipment; armament systems; and logistical, engineering, supply chain and operational support services.

Delivered it to Redstone Arsenal near Huntsville, Alabama. It was full of computer and electronics and attaches to the tray back of a military humvee.

Internet: Redstone Arsenal: Originally a chemical weapons manufacturing facility for World War II, the arsenal became the focal point of the Army’s rocket and space projects, including development of the first US ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles in the 1950’s.

Redstone Arsenal remains the centre of testing, development, and doctrine for the Army’s missile programs. Besides the US Army Material Command and the US Army Aviation and Missile Life Cycle Management Command, Redstone houses the Tactical UAV Project Office, Ordnance Munitions and electronic Maintenance School, Redstone Test Centre, and other operations.

Redstone Arsenal also hosts the Marshall Space Flight Centre, NASA’s field centre for propulsion analysis and development, which developed the Saturn rocket family in the 1960’s and propulsion systems for the Space Shuttle in the 1970’s and 80’s.

An interesting place: rockets and rocket engines, military helicopters and small aircraft on display in front of buildings.

Took some back roads and loaded in Rome, Georgia at RSC Rental in the afternoon. Loaded four new Club Cars and delivered them the next morning to another RSC Rental in Tampa, Florida. Club Car makes golf carts and utility vehicles, the ones we had were 4 x 4.

Late morning we went to Anna Maria Island, south of Tampa. Parked the truck in the car park at Coquina Beach. The project was a ‘renourishment’ because the beach had experienced severe erosion.

Internet: A barge docked off the northern end of the island dredges sand - a submerged pipe

up to five miles long brings dredged sand from the barge to the north end of Coquina Beach and a bulldozer and front-end loader spreads sand on the beach. The project restocks island beaches with their trademark white sand. (Cost was almost $6 million.) The sand was dredged from Tampa Bay.

We loaded pipe sections and the large joins with valves. We arrived at the house that evening and Jim delivered in Green Cove Springs the next morning.

The purpose of the return trip to Daytona Beach after only a week was to load up the moto guzzi le mans on the truck for the summer here. But it would not run well. I looked for loads on a day to day basis, eventually set one up for Monday and hoped the bike would be sorted out. Friday evening we went to New Smyrna Beach to Peanuts with the Hewitts, Sunday we spent a few hours with Jimmy and Cindy, and had Easter dinner at Lis and Harvey’s in De Leon Springs.

Jim fiddled with the le mans for four days - just wasn’t meant to be. Seemed to be a gasoline problem, and he had it running good on Sunday, but not sure enough to load it up. Not fun working on it while away from the garage. Also, the new front tyre would not hold air for more than 24 hours.

Back in the truck on Monday morning, 25 April. Set up the new dash cam. It records 15 minute segments and put into folders. The 8 GB SD cards holds two and a half hours of recording, and it re-writes the earlier files. If I want to keep any of the videos, I download them into the computer.

Loaded in Rockledge, Florida at Liberty Tire Recycling.

Website: Liberty Tire Recycling is the premier provider of tyre recycling services. By reclaiming more than 33 percent of the nation’s discarded tyres, Liberty Tire annually transforms more than 110 million tyres into raw materials for smart, sustainable products that improve people’s lives. Much of the recycled rubber produced is used as crumb rubber or as rubber mulch in landscaping and playground applications. Scrap tyres are shredded and ground in to various sizes of powders, crumbs and nuggets.

Very interesting, there were large piles of old tyres and rubber mulch and bagged and palletized product. We loaded a crumbing plant - hoppers and conveyor belt. The company is expanding into Ontario, Canada and excess equipment is being used in the start up. Really awful tarp job though - sharp edges, loose lids, motors and parts - all odd sizes. Tarps flapped all the way and it rained.

Delivered in Tilbury, Ontario around lunch time on Wednesday, 27 April.

We loaded the next morning in Mason, Michigan, large steel plates and two skids going to Orlando, Florida.

Arrived in Daytona Beach 6.30pm on Friday afternoon, will deliver in Orlando on Monday.

Vol 15 No. 1 March 31, 2011

Flights back to the USA were OK, 25 hours from Brisbane to Orlando - arrived in the early morning of 1 March, Florida time.

Jim had to get re-qualified with Landstar. Physical and Drug Test, get the truck and trailer inspected and attend one day of orientation. We cancel the contract each year because it costs over $500 a month for insurances, registration, permits, transponders and Jim has to be available for random drug tests if under contract.

On Friday, 4 March Jim and I headed to Plant City, Florida for the Strawberry Festival. On the way we stopped at Camp Carlo where moto guzzi friends camp during Bike Week. We shook Wisconsin friend, Chris Collins out of his tent and went for breakfast with him. Jim and I continued to Plant City (about a 3 hour ride west from Daytona Beach) and got there at 1pm.

The Plant City Strawberry Festival is on each year in March and we have not attended before because it is usually the same time as Bike Week, this year Bike Week was later and we had no visitors at our house.

Florida ranks second in the U.S. in the production of strawberries (California is first). Florida produces 15 percent of the total U.S. crop, and 100 percent of the domestically produced winter crop.

Website: More than 8,000 acres of strawberries are planted annually in the Plant City area. This county is now one of the largest agricultural counties in the nation. The diverse farm production includes strawberries, citrus, tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant, squash, okra, peppers, beans, dairy products, eggs, ornamental horticulture, tropical fish, beef cattle, swine and other related products.

The Festival slogan is “Taste The Flavor of Fun”.

Apart from the fact that we both like strawberries, I wanted to compare it to the Chinchilla Watermelon Festival. Firstly it was held at the fairgrounds / showgrounds and cost $10 per adult admission and $5 to park the motorcycle. To me it was more like a District Show with agriculture, horticultural and livestock competitions, swine and rabbit show and a large sideshow alley. Some people wore strawberry patterned clothes and t-shirts. Souvenir t-shirts, hats, etc were available. Many strawberry items and food for sale.

You simply must try one of their famous strawberry shortcakes. Most locations serve it pre-made with your choice of biscuit (scone) or cake. But the most popular spot is usually the create-your-own strawberry shortcake. There is fair food throughout the place, including deep-fried everything and various foods on a stick. There's also strawberry cookies, strawberry sweet tea, strawberry syrup, strawberry funnel cake, chocolate covered strawberries, strawberries on a stick and fresh strawberries sold by the bushel.

We both lined up twice for strawberry shortcake!

Some strawberry fun competitions were advertised, but we didn’t see any of them. ‘Strawberry stemming’ sounded like fun…??

The festival is on for 10 days to include two weekends.

Several live bands played in arenas and John Conley was playing in the main arena when we left just after 3pm.

Several showers of rain and a cool ride back, we met friends at Peanuts in New Smyrna Beach for dinner and drinks.

Jim stayed busy during the week getting the truck and trailer ready for the work year. We went to the moto guzzi club pizza night and Jim went to the AMA Flat Track races.

We spent a day during Bike Week with Dave and Debbie from Tampa. Jim met Dave in Tara in 2008 and they have stayed in contact. Dave has a Harley Davidson and Debbie has a Can-Am Spyder. This is the first time we've had a Spyder in front of our house.

We loaded at Ritchie Bros Auction on Monday, 14 March - a truck cab and chassis and a small roller. Delivered on Wednesday to Caledonia, New York and over to Buffalo so Jim could see his mother. Also saw Joe, Michele, Tyler and Baillie. A quick visit then back in the truck and over to Mississauga, Ontario to load crates the next morning.

To Houston, Texas and delivered the crates on Monday at the Port of Houston for export to Argentina. Up to Lufkin, Texas in the afternoon and loaded one turbine. It was a ‘hot’ load, one skid at 6,000 pounds. We couldn’t even see it on the trailer when looking in the mirrors! That is all we had on.

A quick trip to San Diego, California and delivered Wednesday afternoon to Solar Turbines.

We waited 48 hours in Los Angeles for a reload. As of this year, California Ports will only allow 2004 model trucks and newer that have a ‘clean air’ sticker. Ours is a 1999, so we can’t go into the California Ports. Two container ships were unloaded on Friday - Cal Cartage pick up shipping containers from the Port and empty them at their cross docks and load trucks from there. Worked out good for us. We loaded and tarped 12 crates of converters for GE Wind Energy in Olive Branch, Mississippi (30 km south of Memphis).

Was cool temperatures going across country on Interstate 40. Fresh snowfalls in the mountains around Los Angeles and through Arizona. Raining, windy and cold in north Texas.

We arrived in Olive Branch mid morning on Monday, 28 March and started taking the tarps off. Three quarters into doing that, we were asked to leave them tarped because the crates were not for the Olive Branch facility. We sat for a couple of hours, while the correct destination was figured out - Sweetwater, Texas. 1100 kms back west, and definitely NOT a place to be looking for a load out of! After negotiations, we were paid per mile from Olive Branch to Sweetwater and 300kms back to Dallas where there were loads.

I have read about the Sweetwater Texas Rattlesnake Round-Up and we missed it by two weeks!!

Internet: Since 1985, the World’s Largest Rattlesnake Round-Up has been held in Sweetwater, Texas.

Sweetwater is the centre of the Western Hemisphere’s leading wind power generation region. It is sometimes called the “Wind Turbine Capital of Texas”.

Trivia: Movie “Red Headed Stranger” starring Willie Nelson was filmed in Sweetwater, Texas.

We delivered Tuesday afternoon at GE Wind Energy in Sweetwater. It was raining, windy and cold! We headed back towards Dallas/Fort Worth after delivering.

Wednesday morning we loaded two generators at the Naval Air Station in Fort Worth. Only took up half a trailer and was light. Jim didn’t have enough hours left on his log book to deliver in New Jersey by Friday, so we scheduled delivery for Monday, 4 April. Had five days to go 2400 kms.

We got to Nashville, Tennessee Thursday mid-morning. Left the truck at the truckstop and walked across the bridge to Lower Broadway, the entertainment area of Nashville.

We went to the Country Music Hall of Fame - it had been 20 years since we had been there in the old building, first time visiting the new building - very spectacular resembling a piano keyboard.

Internet: The original Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum opened on Music Row on 1 April, 1967 and was closed 31 December, 2000. The grand opening of this new $37,000,000 facility was in May, 2001.

Website: The new building’s exterior is laced with symbolic images of music. The most obvious are the windows that mirror the configuration of piano keys. More conspicuous images include the diamond shaped radio mast, which is a miniaturized replica of the WSM tower. The round discs surrounding the tower symbolize the different size of records and CDs used to record country music. When viewed from the air, the building is in the shape of a bass clef. The northwest corner of the building juts out like the tail fin of a 1950’s Cadillac.

Website: The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s core, permanent exhibit tells the story of country music from its pre-commercial roots in the nineteenth century through its vibrant life today. This exciting multi-layered experience includes artifacts, photographs, original recordings, archival video, newly produced films, touch screen interactive media and beautifully rendered text panels. The exhibit immerses the visitor in the history and sounds of country music, its meanings, and the lives and voices of its honoured personalities.

The Museum had three featured exhibits: “Family Tradition: The Williams Family Legacy“ Examines the personal lives of Hank Williams, and Hank Williams Jr, and explores the dynamics that inspired the most influential country music ever recorded.

“Tammy Wynette: First Lady of Country Music” The exhibit tells the powerful story of the ladylike but tough woman whose talent and determination took her from the cotton fields of Mississippi to the heights of stardom.

“American Letterpress: The Art of Hatch Show Print” celebrates the grand tradition of letterpress printing. (All those show posters!)

The usual museum artifacts - lots to read, look at, and watch: over 800 stage costumes, over 600 instruments, and hundreds of other objects from microphones to automobiles - documenting the history of country music.

Webb Pierce’s car has silver horses on both sides of the rear bumper, a chrome rifle on the boot, huge set of longhorns in front of the grill and a rearing horse and a six-shooter as the hood ornaments. The interior has a horse saddle as the centre consol, six-shooter door handles and decorated with silver dollars.

Elvis’s gold Cadillac: 24 karat gold plated headlights, forty painted coats of a translucent mixture of crushed diamonds and fish scales called “diamond dust pearl”. The interior included such touches as gold plated television and a record player with automatic changer.

Also, on display is Elvis's gold plated piano.

One film clip I watched over and over was Wanda Jackson singing “Hard Headed Woman” in 1958. She toured with Elvis in 1955 and covered several of his hits. She was called “The Queen of Rockabilly“, and “The Queen of Rock”.

In January 2011 Wanda Jackson released a new album “The Party Ain’t Over” at age 73 and is touring this year. Awesome lady. This is the film clip fascinated me, Wanda Jackson singing “Hard Headed Woman“:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzJ3hiqsi0U

She also performs: “Riot In Cell Block No 9”, “Long Tall Sally“, “There’s A Party Going On”, “Let’s Have A Party”, “Whole Lot of Shakin’ Goin’ On”, “Heartbreak Hotel”, “Right Or Wrong”.

We stopped at a few honky tonks on Broadway, but knew we would settle into Robert’s Western World - we always do.

Yep - at 3pm they were hopping to the very talented band, “The Sliver Threads”. They did some traditional music and some of their own songs. The female singer Eileen, performed “Hard Headed Woman” like Wanda Jackson. The band finished their set at 6pm, so Jim and I left soon afterwards and stopped at a couple more bars on the way back to the truck.

Photo shows Tootsie's Orchid Lounge the purple building. Robert's Western World is the third building to the right with the red cowboy boot above the sign.

Vol 14 No 8 October/November, 2010

We delivered at the Naval Base in Kittery, Maine on 29 September and didn’t have a load lined up.

Twenty-four hours later we were assigned one loading in Rome, New York, a 340 mile deadhead (550km) on toll roads. We were more than half way there when we found out it cancelled!

(Usually means another company would do it for a cheaper price!).

Frustrating and expensive for us because it was not a good area to get another load!

After a few phone calls Jim found one loading Saturday morning in Seneca Falls, New York another 80 miles past Rome. We ended up losing 2 ½ days between loads which is not good. In hindsight, we should have dead headed 300 miles to New Jersey after we delivered in Maine. Loads there, but we were optimistic (and didn’t want to dead head) and hoped for one closer to where we unloaded.

Hunting season must have started in Maine, we saw a dead moose in a trailer going down the interstate highway.

Maine Inland Fisheries and Wildlife: According to state wildlife biologists, Maine's moose population is estimated at 29,000. For the 2009 season, the success rate for hunters was 78 percent. Hunters killed 2,348 moose out of a possible 3,015 permits issued.

Every year, several moose exceed 1,000 lbs. dressed weight. Trophy racks are not uncommon.

Only holders of a valid moose hunting permit and their sub permittee may hunt moose.

Moose may be hunted with rifle, shotgun, handgun, muzzleloader, or bow and arrow. Shotguns using shot loads and .22 caliber rimfire firearms are prohibited.

Saturday, 2 October we loaded pumps at Gould Pump in Seneca Falls, NY and tarped them. Delivered these to a new project for P.F. Moon and Company’s water management project in Glen, Mississippi. The large circular concrete tanks and pumping station construction.

Website: P.F. Moon and Company's project management and construction teams have been improving water supply, wastewater treatment and industrial waste pretreatment facilities since 1978. Whether constructing a raw water intake facility, a regional wastewater treatment plant or an environmentally sensitive pretreatment system that successfully treats large scale industrial waste, P.F. Moon and Company has earned the confidence and trust of industrial clients and municipalities of all sizes by providing innovative and cost effective construction solutions.

That afternoon we loaded at a Thomas & Betts warehouse in Byhalia, Mississippi.

Website: Thomas & Betts is committed to being a leader in the industry that supplies components for managing electricity.

From transmission lines that crisscross North America to local networks, our products help control the constant flow of power.

There was a bit of a problem with our load - the company added two more small shipments and wanted us to stop in Georgia and Maryland as well as New Jersey. Pays very little more and takes up another day as well as messing with the tarps at each stop. Jim said, “no, that wasn‘t the load he accepted.” We started looking for another load. Half an hour later, Landstar called and said that the two extra stops had been removed and it was back to the original load. We loaded and tarped a very small shipment! About one metre wide, two and a half metres long and 10 cm high and weighed less than 680kg! We could not see it on the trailer in the mirrors!

Met truck driver friend, Art in Tennessee for breakfast on Tuesday morning. We delivered Wednesday 6 October at a Home Depot warehouse in Dayton, New Jersey. Then loaded in Kenilworth, New Jersey at CAT Entertainment Services. Entertainment Services is a worldwide provider of temporary power generation and temperature control equipment for all your entertainment needs - we can provide electric power to a single tent or an entire stadium.

We had a Ford F550 truck, a large generator and 16 transformers and heaps of cable. All went to another CAT Entertainment Services in Orlando, Florida.

We spent Thursday night at the house and Jim delivered on Friday. Our next two loads were set up and Jim went to Ocala (130 kms north of Orlando) to load. After waiting several hours it was realized that the machine was too tall to go on our trailer as a legal load, a much lower trailer should have been ordered. Wasted fuel and time, Jim got back to the house late afternoon.

Saturday was spent working around the truck and house. Saturday was an awesome air show along the beach. We had a free view from the front of the house. Our neighbours, Charles and Diane came over and their granddaughter and daughter in law - an enjoyable few hours. The show was sponsored by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical College of Daytona Beach.

First time we had seen skytypers. Six planes together each leaving a ‘dot‘ of vapour to form letters (like the old dot matrix printers) making giant billboards in the sky.

Website: The World Famous GEICO Skytypers Airshow Team is a flight squadron of six vintage WWII airplanes performing precision flight maneuvers. The diverse flying expertise of the team members aligns perfectly with the unique components of their overall performance.

F18 Hornet demonstrations, F16 Viper, Mustangs. Raptors, Heritage Aircraft, Parachuting, the US Coast Guard Demonstrations - SPECTACULAR! My favourite was the Canadian Snowbirds Jet demonstration.

From Daytona Beach News Journal: This weekend, the Wings and Waves Air Show will invade the shores of Daytona Beach, giving visitors a high-flying, action-packed look at some of the coolest steel birds in the sky.

The event will showcase aerial demonstrations using some of the world's top military aircraft from several teams featuring "world class civilian aerobatic pilots." Though the real stars of the show will be the planes themselves.

Aircraft like the US Air Force's newest fighter jet, the F-22 Raptor flown by the Air Combat Command F-22 Demonstration Team who will show off the plane's unique capabilities of stealth and precision.

The was awesome (and loud!) and was held both Saturday and Sunday.

Our next load was already set, and was to follow the load that we couldn’t pick up on Friday - so we deadheaded almost 400 miles (640 kms) to Florence, South Carolina on Sunday to load Monday morning. We picked up three metal walkways - a light load and delivered it the next day in Sarnia, Ontario.

The next morning, south of Detroit, Michigan we loaded bags of ’snow melt’ on pallets - a heavy load! It was for Buffalo, The first time we have done an ‘in transit’ through Canada with Landstar, but it worked out to be hassle free and we saved some miles. A shortcut though Canada instead of going around Lake Erie.

The snow melt pellets went to a hardware store in Cheektowaga. The company has contracts for snow removal in many schools, churches and shopping centre parking lots. The snow is pushed with a blade (ploughed) into piles and the pellets are spread to reduce further snow and ice. Also used to sprinkle on steps, footpaths driveways, etc.

Ice and snow melt pellets are non-corrosive, leave no residue and will not harm grass when used properly. They react with the moisture and generate large amounts of heat to quickly power through thick deposits.

It melts snow and ice up to about 3 inches (10 cm), more than that will require ploughing or shovelling.

We spent the rest of the day with the truck in the garage. We have had a lot of truck work done at Empire Truck and Trailer Services in Buffalo, and the owners are lovely people - hugs all round whenever we go there!

We needed brake shoes on both drive axles. The job took a several hours, so Jim and I hung out there and went to lunch down the street.

Got to Joe and Michele’s that afternoon. Joe was in Alabama so he wasn’t around all weekend. We had a fun time with Michele and the kids. Weather started out cold, windy and wet but the weekend was crisp and sunny. Most of the Autumn foliage had turned and fallen, but still some colour around. Photo is of Joe and Michele's house - lots of leaves on the ground!

Michele, Baillie and Tyler carted firewood and stacked it in the basement, and racked leaves for hours! There were still more leaves to fall, so it would require doing several more times before the snow starts.

Jim put a new tarp over the RV for the winter to protect it a little bit.

Jim and I spent a bit of time visiting Jim’s mother, sister and family, and his cousin. Also some friends - this will be the last time in the area before we go to Australia. Did our usual favourite Buffalo food.

Saturday was the start of bow hunting season in Western New York. Friends of Michele’s started early Sunday morning and hunted on Joe’s property for deer. They shot a doe and bought it back to the house to be cleaned. Baillie has a four wheeler that she carts wood with and has fun on. She wears a high visibility vest so she won’t be mistaken for a deer! She is very safety conscious and wears her helmet! (I asked her to pose for this photo, she isn’t riding.)

We loaded in Buffalo on Monday morning at an equipment rental company - one used aerial lift. We met Joe after lunch at a truckstop and had a quick catch up with him. He had delivered in Baltimore and we were going to Baltimore, so we were on the same highway.

We delivered on Tuesday morning and deadheaded to Shippensburg, Pennsylvania and loaded a new aerial lift from the manufacturersJLG - the same model as the one we just delivered.

We met Joe again on Wednesday morning near Buffalo, he was going into Ontario as well, so we ran together across the border. Our shipment went to an equipment rental company in Stoney Creek, Ontario.

Loaded in East Syracuse, New York on Thursday morning - used machines and miscellaneous workshop equipment. Ugly stuff to tarp - leaking hydraulic fluid, side panels hanging off, sharp edges that had to be covered to protect our tarps. Windy, raining and cold, too! Yuck.

Delivered that to a company in Anderson, Indiana on Friday morning.

Saturday morning we loaded and tarped steel poles in Fort Wayne, Indiana going to Houston, Texas and warmer weather!

Delivered the steel and reloaded in Houston on Monday morning - two Ford F350 pick up trucks. An in-company equipment transfer. Delivered them in Goodman, Mississippi on Tuesday morning, then reloaded at West Point, Mississippi

We loaded a new International Army truck and took it to Jacksonville Ports for shipping overseas. Then to Daytona Beach Wednesday evening.

It was the North Florida Moto Guzzi Rally the weekend 30-31 October at Scott‘s Ferry, in the ‘panhandle’ area of Florida. Jim and I last attended this rally in 2002.

Joe arrived in Daytona on Thursday evening. Tim and Helena loaned Joe one of their bikes for the weekend. Jim and I went on the bassa because it could hold more camping gear.

Joe, Jim and I left Friday morning and took a leisurely 300 mile (480km) ride to Scott’s Ferry in the 'panhandle' of Florida.

We stopped at Frog's BarBQ Pad for lunch, then for a drink at Outz's Too Bar for a refreshment. It is a biker bar and the outside area has a large fire pit and a 'toilet garden'. Lots of old toilets used as planters - funny!

There were about 30 people camping Friday night and it was quite cold! Jimmy left Orlando after work and arrived about 1am.

Scott’s Ferry is a campground on the Chipola River. The Chipola River is a tributary of the Apalachicola River. It is 89 miles long.

Internet: Scotts Ferry memorializes the name of Lieutenant G. W. Scott, whose party was massacred by Indians in 1816 during the unruly and violent period before Florida became a United States territory.

Early morning I wandered along the Chipola River, the water was much warmer than the air, so there was a lot of fog drifting. With the leaves changing colours - it was very photogenic! I took many photos.

The Campground is lovely, there are several cabins that are on stilts because the river floods regularly. A large pavillion, lots of campfire pits.

Saturday a group went on a ride. First stop after breakfast, was historic Gregory House in Torreya National Park.

Constructed during the antebellum years by Jason Gregory, the home was the centerpiece of one of Calhoun County's largest plantations. A prosperous community and important cotton shipping point.

Not long after the Civilian Conservation corps was established in 1933, they started work to

create the park. Part of the project in 1935 was disassembling the old Gregory House, moving it across the river and reconstructing in the park, where it stands today, located on the high bluff overlooking the Apalachicola River at Torreya State Park.

Torreya State Park was named for a rare species of Torreya tree which only grows on the river bluffs.

With river swamps and high pinelands, extensive ravines and high bluffs along the river, the park has one of the most variable terrains of any in Florida. The park protects several endangered plant species and provides the best view of fall colors in the state of Florida.

Then rode to Chattahoochie, Florida where the Chattahoochie and Flint Rivers meet and form Lake Seminole.

Lake Seminole is a large lake covering over 37 thousand acres. It borders both Georgia and Florida States. The landscape around it has rugged ravines, cypress ponds, lime sinks and varieties of trees such as hardwood and pine forests. The Lake Seminole project supplies hydroelectric power to the region by an arrangement of turbines. It was the first of three locks and dams constructed for navigation, hydro-power, recreation and other purposes on the Apalachicola, Chattahoochee, and Flint River systems.

Photo of the bikes below the dam - lock and turbines and the Apalachicola River.

Jim found the town of Two Egg on the map, so he and I took a detour north to check it out!

Internet: The town was originally named Allison, and the name might have lasted had it not been for the economic disaster of the Great Depression.

By 1930, many local families were living on little more than pride. Unable to pay for items they needed in hard cash, they began to barter and trade with the storekeepers in Allison.

Two young boys came into the business so often on errands from their mother to trade two eggs for other staples that regulars jokingly began calling the establishment a "two egg store." The name caught on and was picked up by traveling salesmen and others who spread it to nearby towns.

Times eventually did begin to improve and people soon began to use money again instead of eggs, but the name "Two Egg" stuck. It appeared on the official highway map of the State of Florida in 1940 and has remained there ever since.

Back to the Campgrounds for awhile, then a group rode to Port St Joe for dinner, then the rest of the evening around the campfire. Still quite cold that night as well. I didn’t hear the total attendance, but around 50...

Sunday morning the Central and South Florida guzzi group rode back together with several stops for food and drinks.

Photo: L to R rear: Frank, Jim, Tim, Helena, Joe, Roy. L to r front: Lesley, Jimmy, Walt.

Joe, Jimmy, Jim and I got back to Daytona just on dark.

Jim and I spent the week cancelling our trucking contract, de-registering the truck and storing it at Hewitt’s business property in New Smyrna Beach. Unload the le mans off the truck, sorting out paperwork, etc. And pack for Australia!!