There is something very green lurking in my carport! Finally!!!!
Yes, Kermit has finally made home, albeit temporarily. Off to Acme in Pukekohe next week for the necessary pre-compliance work, followed hopefully by a painless compliance & rego exercise at the Petrolhead staffed VTNZ office down there.
Wish me luck - hopefully nothing more required than a change of headlights (so they dip to the left), and a high mount brake light. Add to that fitting of the sexy new bumper covers, which probably won't be needed for compliance, but are going to improve the cosmetics majorly, and we should be all go.
Wish me luck! We passed MAF & Customs with no nasty surprises, so here's hoping the good fortune continues.
Big thanks to Chuck & Judy for all their help, friendship, and the loan of the dealer plate.
If you own a Chev here in UnZud, you need to know these people. Professional, friendly, and passionate about what they do!
Oh, and by the way, Chuck reckons I bought Kermit a good price - he would know better than I. Big cheesies all around. He is going to do the insurance valuation for me post rego, so watch this space. I'm banking on cost plus ten, but at the end of the day its all about the giggle.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
The Convention in Focus
August 29
Given that attending the 27th National Narrow Gauge Convention was the original reason behind this trip, its way past time for a report on this aspect of my visit to the USA.
I last talked about my time in Maine (see The End of the Line) left me having arrived back in Portland after a few magic days exploring some of the old 2 foot lines to the north.
My plans for Wednesday had a bit of a different flavour, with a visit to Art Fahie and Bar Mills Models in western Portland as the first order of business. I had first come across Art, and his beautifully detailed N scale 'Niagara & Pearl Creek' layout in N Scale magazine in the mid '90s, and had always admired his work - the N&PC would have to be one of the most complete layouts I've seen, with lots of little detail scenes really bringing the whole layout to life.
In more recent years, Art has risen in prominence through his structure company, now located in a wonderful replica the Sandy River station at Strong, holding pride of place in his front garden.
As Charlie Getz satirised in his convention-closing address, the show Art put on for us almost approached the flavour of an evangelical religious revival. This was perhaps only a little bit over the top, but what it was in fact was very well organised, and focussed on giving 900 (?) odd visiting modelers a good look at the whole operation in as streamlined a fashion as possible over 3 days. Full marks to Art for pulling it off in an entertaining and educational way, whilst maintaining a sense of humour, and being a most gracious host.
First up was a look at his new Sn2 Maine 2 foot layout 'Wharf Street'. Like the N&PC, beautifully detailed and lit, with enough going on to keep one busy for an hour or two checking out all the details. Definitely something to aspire to in my own work - I wish!
Next was a look behind the scenes at the manufacturing processes core to the business - centrifugal pewter casting, and laser cutting, as well as the whole distribution process. I was very impressed with how streamlined the whole process is, and the volume and variety of kits coming coming out of a very modest space.
Next we retired to Art's house, and a look at a very nicely done Gn15 mini layout 'Spoof of Narragansett Pier RR', built by Tom Staton, a friend of Art's, and which later placed 2nd in the diorama section of the convention contest. This was followed by a very funny short movie from the '50s about the trials of being a model railroader's wife. We do need to laugh at ourselves from time to time.
After that, it was deeper into the bowels of Art's basement to finally see the Niagara and Pearl Creek in the flesh - yet another highlight for me. I even found a scene I remember from an article in which Art describing how and why he built it, from the first issue of N Scale magazine I had come across way back in 1995.
After a magic 15 minutes looking over the N&PC, we repaired to an outdoor pergola, for a chance to relax, rehydrate, and chat with other visitors and members of the Bar Mills crew. Mike Tylick was giving a rolling, interactive clinic on kit building and weathering techniques, and I also enjoyed having the opportunity to meet with Earl Smallshaw, in amongst a generous handful of Art's crew. New England seems to be home to a well known cohort of fine modelers, and I get the sense that Bar Mills is a bit of social hub for the guys in the area.
This part of the visit also provided us visitors with the chance to add to Bar Mills coffers, and I walked away with three kits earmarked for the K&DR at a very fair price.
By the time I got back to my digs, that was the afternoon done for, so next on the agenda was to find Convention Hotel in Central Portland, pick up my registration pack and get into the thick of things.
A wee bit of an aside - you will see a few of my convention photos here, but if you want more, spend some time checking out Mario Rapinett's site. Mario's work leaves mine for dead - well worth spending some time browsing through. Enjoy!
At the registration desk I had the pleasure of at last meeting Martha Sharp, Convention Registrar, and purveyor of fine jewelry as mentioned in my last post. Duty done, badge attached and paperwork and Convention T-Shirt in order, I turn around and who do I see but Tony Koester, for whom I did a bit of writing for his 2000 MRP magazine, and then later in the year, had the pleasure of meeting, along with wife Judy, when they visited NZ for the National Model Railroad Convention.
Tony & I had a quick chat, and then with the promise of a catch up later, it was off to the hotel lounge bar for a bit of dinner, a Shipyard Ale or two, a chat to fellow barflies, and a study of the convention timetable. The bar was humming with conventioneers, which meant a late arrival of dinner, and sadly missing the start of the first round of clinics.
Plenty of other things to do, with two floors of trade stands and layouts of various descriptions to explore, plus the competition room upstairs, with some outstanding work on display, and still more notable people from within the hobby all over the show.
Whilst checking out the photographic section of the competition room, I got chatting to a very pleasant older gentlemen of obvious railfan photography expertise, from the look of the prints he was hanging. He introduced himself to me as Mal Ferrell , and I realised I was chatting to well known author and photographer, Mallory Hope Ferrell! It felt a bit like you accidentally finding yourself buying a beer for Sir Edmund Hillary at the local pub without twigging to who he was until you were on to the second pint. Nice guy too - Mal, I mean!
Cruising around the trade stalls just made my eyes bulge. I was glad I had set a budgetary limit, and that my interests are closely directed, otherwise I could very easily have gone quite silly. Even the selection of books, new and old, were varied enough to make one salivate, and the array of kits in all scales and gauges (though mostly narrow gauge to be sure), was just amazing.
I had my one big ticket item already reserved, and hopefully waiting for me somewhere amongst all this array of interesting avenues and culs de sac. After a good hour of happy window shopping, I found Matt Sharp at the Train and Trooper stand, and he dug out this for me:
T&T HOn30 SR&RL 2-6-2, #24
Matt & Martha had a run of these commissioned, and I had reserved one a couple of months earlier. Arranging to collect it in Portland did cost me some sales tax, but the savings in postage and GST more than made up for that. On top of that, I also had the pleasure of meeting Matt, who went through the all examples he had on hand to ensure I ended up with an one which had test run particularly well. With that in hand, as well as a couple of books on my 'must get' list, it was back to South Portland for some zzzzzs.
Given that attending the 27th National Narrow Gauge Convention was the original reason behind this trip, its way past time for a report on this aspect of my visit to the USA.
I last talked about my time in Maine (see The End of the Line) left me having arrived back in Portland after a few magic days exploring some of the old 2 foot lines to the north.
My plans for Wednesday had a bit of a different flavour, with a visit to Art Fahie and Bar Mills Models in western Portland as the first order of business. I had first come across Art, and his beautifully detailed N scale 'Niagara & Pearl Creek' layout in N Scale magazine in the mid '90s, and had always admired his work - the N&PC would have to be one of the most complete layouts I've seen, with lots of little detail scenes really bringing the whole layout to life.
In more recent years, Art has risen in prominence through his structure company, now located in a wonderful replica the Sandy River station at Strong, holding pride of place in his front garden.
As Charlie Getz satirised in his convention-closing address, the show Art put on for us almost approached the flavour of an evangelical religious revival. This was perhaps only a little bit over the top, but what it was in fact was very well organised, and focussed on giving 900 (?) odd visiting modelers a good look at the whole operation in as streamlined a fashion as possible over 3 days. Full marks to Art for pulling it off in an entertaining and educational way, whilst maintaining a sense of humour, and being a most gracious host.
First up was a look at his new Sn2 Maine 2 foot layout 'Wharf Street'. Like the N&PC, beautifully detailed and lit, with enough going on to keep one busy for an hour or two checking out all the details. Definitely something to aspire to in my own work - I wish!
Next was a look behind the scenes at the manufacturing processes core to the business - centrifugal pewter casting, and laser cutting, as well as the whole distribution process. I was very impressed with how streamlined the whole process is, and the volume and variety of kits coming coming out of a very modest space.
Next we retired to Art's house, and a look at a very nicely done Gn15 mini layout 'Spoof of Narragansett Pier RR', built by Tom Staton, a friend of Art's, and which later placed 2nd in the diorama section of the convention contest. This was followed by a very funny short movie from the '50s about the trials of being a model railroader's wife. We do need to laugh at ourselves from time to time.
After that, it was deeper into the bowels of Art's basement to finally see the Niagara and Pearl Creek in the flesh - yet another highlight for me. I even found a scene I remember from an article in which Art describing how and why he built it, from the first issue of N Scale magazine I had come across way back in 1995.
After a magic 15 minutes looking over the N&PC, we repaired to an outdoor pergola, for a chance to relax, rehydrate, and chat with other visitors and members of the Bar Mills crew. Mike Tylick was giving a rolling, interactive clinic on kit building and weathering techniques, and I also enjoyed having the opportunity to meet with Earl Smallshaw, in amongst a generous handful of Art's crew. New England seems to be home to a well known cohort of fine modelers, and I get the sense that Bar Mills is a bit of social hub for the guys in the area.
This part of the visit also provided us visitors with the chance to add to Bar Mills coffers, and I walked away with three kits earmarked for the K&DR at a very fair price.
By the time I got back to my digs, that was the afternoon done for, so next on the agenda was to find Convention Hotel in Central Portland, pick up my registration pack and get into the thick of things.
A wee bit of an aside - you will see a few of my convention photos here, but if you want more, spend some time checking out Mario Rapinett's site. Mario's work leaves mine for dead - well worth spending some time browsing through. Enjoy!
At the registration desk I had the pleasure of at last meeting Martha Sharp, Convention Registrar, and purveyor of fine jewelry as mentioned in my last post. Duty done, badge attached and paperwork and Convention T-Shirt in order, I turn around and who do I see but Tony Koester, for whom I did a bit of writing for his 2000 MRP magazine, and then later in the year, had the pleasure of meeting, along with wife Judy, when they visited NZ for the National Model Railroad Convention.
Tony & I had a quick chat, and then with the promise of a catch up later, it was off to the hotel lounge bar for a bit of dinner, a Shipyard Ale or two, a chat to fellow barflies, and a study of the convention timetable. The bar was humming with conventioneers, which meant a late arrival of dinner, and sadly missing the start of the first round of clinics.
Plenty of other things to do, with two floors of trade stands and layouts of various descriptions to explore, plus the competition room upstairs, with some outstanding work on display, and still more notable people from within the hobby all over the show.
Whilst checking out the photographic section of the competition room, I got chatting to a very pleasant older gentlemen of obvious railfan photography expertise, from the look of the prints he was hanging. He introduced himself to me as Mal Ferrell , and I realised I was chatting to well known author and photographer, Mallory Hope Ferrell! It felt a bit like you accidentally finding yourself buying a beer for Sir Edmund Hillary at the local pub without twigging to who he was until you were on to the second pint. Nice guy too - Mal, I mean!
Cruising around the trade stalls just made my eyes bulge. I was glad I had set a budgetary limit, and that my interests are closely directed, otherwise I could very easily have gone quite silly. Even the selection of books, new and old, were varied enough to make one salivate, and the array of kits in all scales and gauges (though mostly narrow gauge to be sure), was just amazing.
I had my one big ticket item already reserved, and hopefully waiting for me somewhere amongst all this array of interesting avenues and culs de sac. After a good hour of happy window shopping, I found Matt Sharp at the Train and Trooper stand, and he dug out this for me:
T&T HOn30 SR&RL 2-6-2, #24Matt & Martha had a run of these commissioned, and I had reserved one a couple of months earlier. Arranging to collect it in Portland did cost me some sales tax, but the savings in postage and GST more than made up for that. On top of that, I also had the pleasure of meeting Matt, who went through the all examples he had on hand to ensure I ended up with an one which had test run particularly well. With that in hand, as well as a couple of books on my 'must get' list, it was back to South Portland for some zzzzzs.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
The Wanderer Returns
Well, its been a long haul, but I'm safely back home in Riverhead once again. It has been an absolutely fabulous trip, and ranks right up there in my personal top ten.
I still have a lot of gaps to fill in, to completely document the trip, and I will do that over the next week or two. I have also had a few requests for a hard copy version, so once this blog is complete, I intend to re-edit it into chronological order, and make it available to anyone who feels the need to put themselves through all this a second time. I'll most likely do it in PDF format, and / or printed out for those tree wastrels out there. If you would like a copy, let me know and I'll put you on my Christmas list. Thoughts on alternative electronic formats will also be entertained - I'm not a huge PDF fan, but it does seem to be the closest thing we have to a universally portable file format.
To bring things to a bit of a close for now, it's worth reflecting of the last couple of days. We pick up the story on my final morning in Los Angeles.
It wasn't a brilliant start to the day, as the cumulative effects of the last couple of weeks had definitely caught up on me, and I was feeling decidedly seedy and SOB. My last EconoLodge was also a bit of a disappointment - not only could I not get any Wi-Fi connectivity, but for the first time, I had not managed to secure a ground floor room with parking outside the front door, and for the first time in two weeks, I had to completely unload the car, and repack everything in preparation for the evening's flight - aaarrrrgggghhhhhh. Having said that, it was the biggest, and most nicely appointed room I had experienced at this chain, and also the cheapest - go figure!
Anyway, I had repacked over the course of the previous evening, and come checkout time, swallowed my pride and asked for help getting my bags down to the car. Most obliging they were too, and I happily tipped the petite young lady a fiver, whilst feeling slightly silly that she was able to sling my bags around with such apparent ease.
Then it was off to the nearest Starbucks for a decent coffee, and a bite and more importantly, a decent Wi-Fi connection to allow me to take care of business. Following that, Kermit and I cruised the last couple of miles to our shipping agent John, at Performance Imports in Orange.
I caught up with John no problem, and we had a chat about the logistics of shipping Kermit, my Blue Sky Design Electric Trike kit, and Kermit's new bumper covers back to New Zealand. The only other issue was that of making sure Kermit was in a good enough condition to pass the MAF inspection expected on arrival back home. John suggested a nearby wash'n'detail place close by, so off we went and despite running into a few challenges in translating 'clean the wheel wells' into Spanish when my Spanish is non-existent, I ended up with a hopefully acceptable result.
Then it was back to see John, take care of a bit of paperwork, hand over the keys, and wave good bye to the Green Machine.
I had initially envisaged catching a train from nearby Anaheim station into central LA, then catching a shuttle bus to LAX airport. I had more than ample time to do this, but the way I was feeling, a cab seemed like a sensible, if extravagant option. And so it proved - very sensible, but $113.50 extrvagant. Hell, its only money, right? And it got me there in good shape to deal with the nuttiness that is Transport Security in the 21st Century.
Even though I was some five hours ahead of my expected check-in time, there was no problem in getting checked in with Air New Zealand, and there was no queue to deal with at all. Being plugged into an O2 concentrator makes life interesting in this context, and I had staff on hand eager to help me manhandle my baggage through to the screening area, and the TSA (Transport Security Agency) guys didn't feel the need to open my bags after X-Raying them, so it was then through to the next step in the process.
Being not totally sure as to where to go next, I asked a loitering TSA chap for directions. He kindly escorted me through to the screening area, and deftly inserted me near the front of the priority queue normally reserved for Aircrew and Business Class passengers. Score one more for being 'visibly impaired'! Ha!
The next step involved the removal of one's outer garments, viz: coats & shoes, emptying ones pockets into a bin, and ensuring ones LAGs (liquids, Aerosols and Gels) were properly packaged and on display in the regulation one litre, resealable, clear plastic bag.
All this stuff, and all carry on baggage was then X-Rayed, and the great unwashed went through a metal dectector. I got more of the special treatment though because my O2 concentrator would have sent the metal detector berserk, so I got sidelined for a personal pat-down. It was actually quite a giggle, as the guy doing the job was quite apologetic, and talked through the whole process, including emphasising that he would only use the backs of his hands on any 'sensitive places'. Honestly, I could have had half a pound of Semtex wedged in my butt crack, and he wouldn't have found it, so I have to wonder about the effectiveness of the process. Mind you, he was probably well trained to monitor the disposition of his 'client', and I was totally relaxed about it. He even offered to put a screen up so no-one could see what was going on, but I told him not to bother - it was just one of those things that had to be done, and was no big deal.
He then took a special square of cloth, and went right over the O2 concentrator with it. In response to my query, he told me it would react to the presence of any explosives. No issues there, so it was off to reclaim my bits and pieces, and off into the relative freedom of the departure area.
At this stage I still had a good four and a half hours before my boarding call, so I had plenty of time to grab another cuppa and a late lunch at Starbucks, check my email again, and confirm the arrangements for my eventual collection in Auckland.
Hmmmmmm, still four hours to kill! I had a wander around the Duty Free shops, just browsing, as I had done all the shopping I intended to do, and didn't need any more stuff to lug along with me anyway. The next logical stop then, was the Route 66 cafe, a couple of protracted glasses of vino, some chicken nibbles, and a chance to read some more of the most interesting book on Oregon history presented to me by Bill Bates way back in Eugene.
I also got chatting to some fellow inmates. First up was a couple from Hawkes Bay, who were also heading home on NZ5. They picked up on my accent when I was trying to translate 'Cabernet Sauvignon' into Californian Spanglish. They were just on their way out, so that was a brief encounter, but I later had a really nice time talking to Chris & Kelly, a young couple from Chicago who were en route to Fiji to enjoy their honeymoon. So cute! I managed to scare the crap outa them by telling them about Fiji's coup culture, and was mildly surprised to hear their travel agent hadn't mentioned the latest goings on, and that these had obviously not made the news in the U.S. at all. I did reassure them that as they were going to Nadi, and outlying islands to the west, they would be about as far away from any potential action as they could be, and I do hope I didn't bum them out at all. They were both really nice, and I hope it all goes well for them.
Back on the Route 66 kick, I was having a quiet giggle to myself in the cafe, as I was wearing the Route 66 T shirt I had bought in Barstow, CA the day before. The place was covered in Route 66 memorabilia, including a bunch of maps, and I was quite chuffed that I had pretty much followed it through the westernmost five of the eight states it used to traverse. And in a Corvette! Cliched, maybe,? Fun, absolutely! Want to know more? Go here!
Eventually, it was time to board, and with a sense of Deja Vu, I found myself on what could well have been the same 777 as on the outbound leg, and in the same seat - 64C. I shut down my machine, plugged myself into Air NZ's concentrator and settled down for the next 12 (or was it 31?) hours.
Yes, the flight was scheduled for 12 hours odd, but with the time zone changes I lost the 19 hours gained on the way over, and in retribution for enjoying August 14th twice, I missed out on September 25th completely. Just as well I wasn't hanging out for the release of Halo 3, eh?
Another flight, another movie - this time Oceans 13, which was OK, but really signaled that stopping after 12 would have been a smart move. Supper was a very nice ham and cheese focaccia toastie accompanied by an equally nice Pinot Noir.
The next few hours were spent dozing on and off - in a surreal state of almost suspended animation - before being roused at 04:00 (or was it 09:00 yesterday) for breakfast.
We landed in Auckland quarter of an hour ahead of time, at 06:15 local time, after a very smooth flight. To my chagrin, I found myself pretty much seized up after the flight, and at the virtual insistence of the cabin crew, ended up being decanted into a wheelchair, and whisked through customs and immigration at an indecently fast rate. I had dutifully declared I was way over my duty free limit, but found myself a free man before I even had the chance to register that this hadn't been challenged, and consequently saved myself the $100 GST due on my new brass model of SR&RL locomotive #24. You ladies can keep your gold and diamonds - this is my idea of fine jewelry.
Here are a couple of stock photos, courtesy of Matt & Martha Sharp - half of the convention committee, really nice people - and proprietors of Train and Trooper, purveyors of all good things Maine 2 foot model related.
The model, and...
...the prototype.
I still have a lot of gaps to fill in, to completely document the trip, and I will do that over the next week or two. I have also had a few requests for a hard copy version, so once this blog is complete, I intend to re-edit it into chronological order, and make it available to anyone who feels the need to put themselves through all this a second time. I'll most likely do it in PDF format, and / or printed out for those tree wastrels out there. If you would like a copy, let me know and I'll put you on my Christmas list. Thoughts on alternative electronic formats will also be entertained - I'm not a huge PDF fan, but it does seem to be the closest thing we have to a universally portable file format.
To bring things to a bit of a close for now, it's worth reflecting of the last couple of days. We pick up the story on my final morning in Los Angeles.
It wasn't a brilliant start to the day, as the cumulative effects of the last couple of weeks had definitely caught up on me, and I was feeling decidedly seedy and SOB. My last EconoLodge was also a bit of a disappointment - not only could I not get any Wi-Fi connectivity, but for the first time, I had not managed to secure a ground floor room with parking outside the front door, and for the first time in two weeks, I had to completely unload the car, and repack everything in preparation for the evening's flight - aaarrrrgggghhhhhh. Having said that, it was the biggest, and most nicely appointed room I had experienced at this chain, and also the cheapest - go figure!
Anyway, I had repacked over the course of the previous evening, and come checkout time, swallowed my pride and asked for help getting my bags down to the car. Most obliging they were too, and I happily tipped the petite young lady a fiver, whilst feeling slightly silly that she was able to sling my bags around with such apparent ease.
Then it was off to the nearest Starbucks for a decent coffee, and a bite and more importantly, a decent Wi-Fi connection to allow me to take care of business. Following that, Kermit and I cruised the last couple of miles to our shipping agent John, at Performance Imports in Orange.
I caught up with John no problem, and we had a chat about the logistics of shipping Kermit, my Blue Sky Design Electric Trike kit, and Kermit's new bumper covers back to New Zealand. The only other issue was that of making sure Kermit was in a good enough condition to pass the MAF inspection expected on arrival back home. John suggested a nearby wash'n'detail place close by, so off we went and despite running into a few challenges in translating 'clean the wheel wells' into Spanish when my Spanish is non-existent, I ended up with a hopefully acceptable result.
Then it was back to see John, take care of a bit of paperwork, hand over the keys, and wave good bye to the Green Machine.
I had initially envisaged catching a train from nearby Anaheim station into central LA, then catching a shuttle bus to LAX airport. I had more than ample time to do this, but the way I was feeling, a cab seemed like a sensible, if extravagant option. And so it proved - very sensible, but $113.50 extrvagant. Hell, its only money, right? And it got me there in good shape to deal with the nuttiness that is Transport Security in the 21st Century.
Even though I was some five hours ahead of my expected check-in time, there was no problem in getting checked in with Air New Zealand, and there was no queue to deal with at all. Being plugged into an O2 concentrator makes life interesting in this context, and I had staff on hand eager to help me manhandle my baggage through to the screening area, and the TSA (Transport Security Agency) guys didn't feel the need to open my bags after X-Raying them, so it was then through to the next step in the process.
Being not totally sure as to where to go next, I asked a loitering TSA chap for directions. He kindly escorted me through to the screening area, and deftly inserted me near the front of the priority queue normally reserved for Aircrew and Business Class passengers. Score one more for being 'visibly impaired'! Ha!
The next step involved the removal of one's outer garments, viz: coats & shoes, emptying ones pockets into a bin, and ensuring ones LAGs (liquids, Aerosols and Gels) were properly packaged and on display in the regulation one litre, resealable, clear plastic bag.
All this stuff, and all carry on baggage was then X-Rayed, and the great unwashed went through a metal dectector. I got more of the special treatment though because my O2 concentrator would have sent the metal detector berserk, so I got sidelined for a personal pat-down. It was actually quite a giggle, as the guy doing the job was quite apologetic, and talked through the whole process, including emphasising that he would only use the backs of his hands on any 'sensitive places'. Honestly, I could have had half a pound of Semtex wedged in my butt crack, and he wouldn't have found it, so I have to wonder about the effectiveness of the process. Mind you, he was probably well trained to monitor the disposition of his 'client', and I was totally relaxed about it. He even offered to put a screen up so no-one could see what was going on, but I told him not to bother - it was just one of those things that had to be done, and was no big deal.
He then took a special square of cloth, and went right over the O2 concentrator with it. In response to my query, he told me it would react to the presence of any explosives. No issues there, so it was off to reclaim my bits and pieces, and off into the relative freedom of the departure area.
At this stage I still had a good four and a half hours before my boarding call, so I had plenty of time to grab another cuppa and a late lunch at Starbucks, check my email again, and confirm the arrangements for my eventual collection in Auckland.
Hmmmmmm, still four hours to kill! I had a wander around the Duty Free shops, just browsing, as I had done all the shopping I intended to do, and didn't need any more stuff to lug along with me anyway. The next logical stop then, was the Route 66 cafe, a couple of protracted glasses of vino, some chicken nibbles, and a chance to read some more of the most interesting book on Oregon history presented to me by Bill Bates way back in Eugene.
I also got chatting to some fellow inmates. First up was a couple from Hawkes Bay, who were also heading home on NZ5. They picked up on my accent when I was trying to translate 'Cabernet Sauvignon' into Californian Spanglish. They were just on their way out, so that was a brief encounter, but I later had a really nice time talking to Chris & Kelly, a young couple from Chicago who were en route to Fiji to enjoy their honeymoon. So cute! I managed to scare the crap outa them by telling them about Fiji's coup culture, and was mildly surprised to hear their travel agent hadn't mentioned the latest goings on, and that these had obviously not made the news in the U.S. at all. I did reassure them that as they were going to Nadi, and outlying islands to the west, they would be about as far away from any potential action as they could be, and I do hope I didn't bum them out at all. They were both really nice, and I hope it all goes well for them.
Back on the Route 66 kick, I was having a quiet giggle to myself in the cafe, as I was wearing the Route 66 T shirt I had bought in Barstow, CA the day before. The place was covered in Route 66 memorabilia, including a bunch of maps, and I was quite chuffed that I had pretty much followed it through the westernmost five of the eight states it used to traverse. And in a Corvette! Cliched, maybe,? Fun, absolutely! Want to know more? Go here!
Eventually, it was time to board, and with a sense of Deja Vu, I found myself on what could well have been the same 777 as on the outbound leg, and in the same seat - 64C. I shut down my machine, plugged myself into Air NZ's concentrator and settled down for the next 12 (or was it 31?) hours.
Yes, the flight was scheduled for 12 hours odd, but with the time zone changes I lost the 19 hours gained on the way over, and in retribution for enjoying August 14th twice, I missed out on September 25th completely. Just as well I wasn't hanging out for the release of Halo 3, eh?
Another flight, another movie - this time Oceans 13, which was OK, but really signaled that stopping after 12 would have been a smart move. Supper was a very nice ham and cheese focaccia toastie accompanied by an equally nice Pinot Noir.
The next few hours were spent dozing on and off - in a surreal state of almost suspended animation - before being roused at 04:00 (or was it 09:00 yesterday) for breakfast.
We landed in Auckland quarter of an hour ahead of time, at 06:15 local time, after a very smooth flight. To my chagrin, I found myself pretty much seized up after the flight, and at the virtual insistence of the cabin crew, ended up being decanted into a wheelchair, and whisked through customs and immigration at an indecently fast rate. I had dutifully declared I was way over my duty free limit, but found myself a free man before I even had the chance to register that this hadn't been challenged, and consequently saved myself the $100 GST due on my new brass model of SR&RL locomotive #24. You ladies can keep your gold and diamonds - this is my idea of fine jewelry.
Here are a couple of stock photos, courtesy of Matt & Martha Sharp - half of the convention committee, really nice people - and proprietors of Train and Trooper, purveyors of all good things Maine 2 foot model related.
The model, and...
...the prototype.So anyway, I'm back in Auckalofa, free and clear, and a good hour ahead of schedule. Fortunately, Ted and Jenny (my parents, who had left home at 04:00 to meet me - thank you!) were running ahead of time, and in due course they found me sitting waiting patiently in the arrival hall, reading granny Herald (our local, somewhat conservative daily newspaper).
After a heartfelt catch-up, we headed toward home, and had a good run through to Blossoms, a cafe just a few km from my home, and our rendezvous with Michelle, Dylan & Kieran. It sure was nice to see the rest of my immediate family, and this is also a good point to say a big 'Thank You' to Michelle for helping make this trip possible by supporting me, and being very willing to look after our boys the whole time I was away. Sounds kinda weird, but she would have to be the best ex-wife, yet still very good friend, a bloke could ask for.
We all enjoyed a very convivial brunch, complete with celebratory Lindy-Lou for Michelle and me (old habits die hard :-), and then had the traditional 'opening of the bags', with pressies all round. Everyone seemed pretty happy with my choices, which made me equally happy.
The boys are on holidays at the moment, and will be joining me for a week on Friday afternoon, but in the meantime they headed off with Michelle to give me a couple of days to recover, and Mum, Dad & I headed off to my home just down the road in Riverhead.
After a very quiet afternoon, and Chinese takeways for dinner, it was time for an early night, and the most blissful 12 hours of sleep I've enjoyed in a very long time. Nice to be back in my own bed, for sure.
This morning, we went off grocery shopping to stock up the larder for the coming onslaught, and then after a nice lunch of Salmon & Cream Cheese Bagels accompanied by Corona and Lime (so what if you've never met a Jewish Mexican, they do go well together :-), Mum and Dad went on their merry way back to Whitianga, leaving me to finish unpacking, start to catch up on the laundry, and then ... why of course, continue blogging, accompanied by Pink Floyd and Metallica played loud on my home brew HTPC - as I said awesome trip, but it sure is nice to be home!
Keep tuned in - the trip may be over, but there are plenty more gaps to fill in and stories to tell. If you have enjoyed riding along with me half as much as I've enjoyed telling you about it, well, I've probably enjoyed it twice as much as you!
After a heartfelt catch-up, we headed toward home, and had a good run through to Blossoms, a cafe just a few km from my home, and our rendezvous with Michelle, Dylan & Kieran. It sure was nice to see the rest of my immediate family, and this is also a good point to say a big 'Thank You' to Michelle for helping make this trip possible by supporting me, and being very willing to look after our boys the whole time I was away. Sounds kinda weird, but she would have to be the best ex-wife, yet still very good friend, a bloke could ask for.
We all enjoyed a very convivial brunch, complete with celebratory Lindy-Lou for Michelle and me (old habits die hard :-), and then had the traditional 'opening of the bags', with pressies all round. Everyone seemed pretty happy with my choices, which made me equally happy.
The boys are on holidays at the moment, and will be joining me for a week on Friday afternoon, but in the meantime they headed off with Michelle to give me a couple of days to recover, and Mum, Dad & I headed off to my home just down the road in Riverhead.
After a very quiet afternoon, and Chinese takeways for dinner, it was time for an early night, and the most blissful 12 hours of sleep I've enjoyed in a very long time. Nice to be back in my own bed, for sure.
This morning, we went off grocery shopping to stock up the larder for the coming onslaught, and then after a nice lunch of Salmon & Cream Cheese Bagels accompanied by Corona and Lime (so what if you've never met a Jewish Mexican, they do go well together :-), Mum and Dad went on their merry way back to Whitianga, leaving me to finish unpacking, start to catch up on the laundry, and then ... why of course, continue blogging, accompanied by Pink Floyd and Metallica played loud on my home brew HTPC - as I said awesome trip, but it sure is nice to be home!
Keep tuned in - the trip may be over, but there are plenty more gaps to fill in and stories to tell. If you have enjoyed riding along with me half as much as I've enjoyed telling you about it, well, I've probably enjoyed it twice as much as you!
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Gettin' my kicks on Route 66
Well, almost. I picked up the old Route 66 at Oklahoma City on Tuesday, but have been mostly driving Interstate 40, which parallels 66 from that point. Its starting to feel a bit like Groundhog Day here at the moment. Another four days on the road, another five states traversed, a sunburnt left arm, and slightly fried eye balls. Did I mention the heat? It is hot! High 80's (low 30's in Celsius) in the afternoons, and clear skies. Today (Thursday) was a bit of a change from that, moving from New Mexico into Arizona, with blessedly cloudy skies, and much more tolerable temperatures.
I seem to remember saying I might rue my lack of air conditioning in Kermit, and I kind of am a bit. Having said that, I cheerfully rationalise my decision on the basis that only in about 10% of cases of old 'vettes advertised as being fitted with A/C, does it actually work, so I'm better off by virtue of having one less system to go wrong. Or so I keep telling myself :-).
Monday morning saw me leaving Jackson, TN [1] at the usual 11:00, and straight on to I 40. And so it went for the next three days - green, scrubby, flat and hot. It wasn't really until western New Mexico that there was much variation in the scenery. I've been making good progress though, and that is the name of the game at this point, so I can then enjoy the last few days without too much time pressure. I've averaged 330 miles per day over the last four days, and it has worked out pretty well - six hours per day average travel time, with about an hour of rest/gas/food stops mixed in.
Monday night was spent at the Super 8 Motel in Clarksville, Arkansas [2], with dinner at the adjacent Pizza Hut - too tired to be bothered looking for anything more exotic.
Tuesday was Goodbye Arkansas, Hello Oklahoma, with the night spent at yet another Super 8, this time in Clinton, OK [3].
Wednesday saw the end of Oklahoma, and a brief interlude in Texas, including a random stop in Groom, TX for lunch at the Route 66 Steakhouse. As I got out of the car, I was accosted by a couple of very sharp looking Texas State Troopers. I dunno how they manage it - it was 90 degrees, and their uniforms still had razor sharp creases, their hats were perky, and there was not a sweat stain to be seen. They sported matching sunnies and sidearms, and looked very much like you wouldn't want to mess with them! All they were interested in, predictably, was Kermit. Phew! They also confirmed that the Steakhouse was a good spot for lunch, and so it proved.
A slight digression: Since leaving Kentucky, it wasn't until reaching Arizona this afternoon, that I managed to find any sort of eating establishment with a liquor license. Not even for beer! Not altogether a bad thing at lunchtime, but a bit sad that you can't enjoy a beer or glass of wine with dinner. You'll never guess what I've been substituting (thanks to the influence of Judy Koester): Iced Tea, with lemon. Its really nice!!!! And refreshing. And this from a confirmed tea hater of many years standing. Will wonders never cease?
Anyway, back on I40 / Route 66. I continued westward through Texas, skirting Amarillo, and then popped into New Mexico. I had a quick detour off I40 onto Route 66 through Tucumcari, then back onto the interstate for the run through to Santa Rosa [4], ending up at yet another Super 8 for the night. This one not so super, as the advertised WiFi connectivity was not up to par in my room.
I went across the road for dinner, to a restaurant recommended in the motel guide. Well, if you are ever in Santa Rosa, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES patronise the Sun ' n ' Sand Restaurant. Of all the eating experiences I have enjoyed in the States (cheese aside), this was without doubt the worst, both in terms of food and service. The only thing half decent was the salsa, and I bet that was out of a bottle!
The other 'interesting' thing about New Mexico, and also this afternoon in Arizona, has been the altitude. Santa Rosa is at 4616 feet. The continental divide, passed late this afternoon, just before entering Arizona, is at 7275 feet, and a considerable part of the day was spent at elevations over 6000 feet. Tonight's stop, at Holbrook is at 5083 feet, darn near as high as good old Marias Pass in way back in Montana. All I can say is thank goodness for the oxygen concentrator. I would not have coped without it. It certainly vindicated my decision to get it, that's for sure!
Today has been considerably more interesting and pleasant than the previous three. For starters, the scenery in western New Mexico was more varied than I had seen for a while, with rocky red dirt, and flat topped mesas breaking up the landscape. Also, as mentioned, a good cloud cover, coupled with higher elevations dropped the temperatures from too damn hot to very comfortable. Nice!
Today's lunch stop was at another 'Truck Stops of America' or 'TA' service centre. Grant, a good friend of mine from Glenfield, had spend a year in the states driving an 18 wheeler all over the show. Once piece of good advice amongst many he gave me, was to check out at least one of these Truck Stops. Well I've been to a few now, and they are awesome. As well as an opportunity to check out some of the rigs up close, you get restaurants, convenience stores (think of a dairy, a hardware store, a pharmacy and an auto parts store all rolled into one) and restrooms, showers and laundry facilities. Not to mention full truck servicing facilities and a gas station. All you could possibly need to keep you going on your road trip. Good cheap food too. Today was chicken and chips, and two cups of coffee for $8.62 including tax. Plus a $2 tip for the waitress, and she deserved it.
Speaking of tipping, I have to say I initially thought it was going to be a right pain, not to mention a bit of a rort. From what I gather, wait staff don't get paid well in terms of their base wage, and they do rely on tips to make a half decent living. The result of this is that generally (Santa Rosa aside), you do get a much better standard of service than we are used to in NZ. It is as much about attitude as anything, and I've really enjoyed tipping generously when I think it is deserved, which is more often than not. You get to enjoy a friendly manner, prompt service with a smile, and occasionally a good chat. And it actually feels quite genuine in most cases. Not at all what I was expecting, and given the cheapness of the menu prices, no financial hardship at all.
Anyway, onto I40 yet again, and onward into Arizona. Tonight's stop is in Holbrook, AZ [5], another small town in the middle of nowhere much. After settling into the Econolodge, and recharging my, and the O2 machine's batteries, I went off in search of dinner, and found another little treasure: Mr. Maestas - Another Route 66 icon, full of period memorabilia (Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Native Amercian Curios), and nice food, and .... red wine! At last, a civilised State! The place was run by a Navajo family, and I got chatting to the head lady. She was a hard case, but really sweet. John would like her, as she is a rabid Ford Fan, but she had to concede my Chev was pretty damn nice too.
One wee challenge I've had on this trip, is finding the right presents to bring home for the whanau. The guys have been no problem, the ladies, a bit more challenging. I think I've cracked it at last though - I hope y'all like turquoise & silver jewelery, 'cos that's some of the nicest Native American stuff I've seen. The trick is finding the right piece for the right person, but my Navajo lady this evening solved another little piece of that puzzle for me... Patience, possums! Only a few more days to go.
Right, It's midnight, and time for some zzzzs. Tomorrow - the Grand Canyon!
P.S. I've just discovered - if you click on the map, it links through to a larger, more legible version - enjoy! I assume the same applies to the photos &c.
I seem to remember saying I might rue my lack of air conditioning in Kermit, and I kind of am a bit. Having said that, I cheerfully rationalise my decision on the basis that only in about 10% of cases of old 'vettes advertised as being fitted with A/C, does it actually work, so I'm better off by virtue of having one less system to go wrong. Or so I keep telling myself :-).
Monday morning saw me leaving Jackson, TN [1] at the usual 11:00, and straight on to I 40. And so it went for the next three days - green, scrubby, flat and hot. It wasn't really until western New Mexico that there was much variation in the scenery. I've been making good progress though, and that is the name of the game at this point, so I can then enjoy the last few days without too much time pressure. I've averaged 330 miles per day over the last four days, and it has worked out pretty well - six hours per day average travel time, with about an hour of rest/gas/food stops mixed in.
Monday night was spent at the Super 8 Motel in Clarksville, Arkansas [2], with dinner at the adjacent Pizza Hut - too tired to be bothered looking for anything more exotic.
Tuesday was Goodbye Arkansas, Hello Oklahoma, with the night spent at yet another Super 8, this time in Clinton, OK [3].
Wednesday saw the end of Oklahoma, and a brief interlude in Texas, including a random stop in Groom, TX for lunch at the Route 66 Steakhouse. As I got out of the car, I was accosted by a couple of very sharp looking Texas State Troopers. I dunno how they manage it - it was 90 degrees, and their uniforms still had razor sharp creases, their hats were perky, and there was not a sweat stain to be seen. They sported matching sunnies and sidearms, and looked very much like you wouldn't want to mess with them! All they were interested in, predictably, was Kermit. Phew! They also confirmed that the Steakhouse was a good spot for lunch, and so it proved.
A slight digression: Since leaving Kentucky, it wasn't until reaching Arizona this afternoon, that I managed to find any sort of eating establishment with a liquor license. Not even for beer! Not altogether a bad thing at lunchtime, but a bit sad that you can't enjoy a beer or glass of wine with dinner. You'll never guess what I've been substituting (thanks to the influence of Judy Koester): Iced Tea, with lemon. Its really nice!!!! And refreshing. And this from a confirmed tea hater of many years standing. Will wonders never cease?
Anyway, back on I40 / Route 66. I continued westward through Texas, skirting Amarillo, and then popped into New Mexico. I had a quick detour off I40 onto Route 66 through Tucumcari, then back onto the interstate for the run through to Santa Rosa [4], ending up at yet another Super 8 for the night. This one not so super, as the advertised WiFi connectivity was not up to par in my room.
I went across the road for dinner, to a restaurant recommended in the motel guide. Well, if you are ever in Santa Rosa, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES patronise the Sun ' n ' Sand Restaurant. Of all the eating experiences I have enjoyed in the States (cheese aside), this was without doubt the worst, both in terms of food and service. The only thing half decent was the salsa, and I bet that was out of a bottle!
The other 'interesting' thing about New Mexico, and also this afternoon in Arizona, has been the altitude. Santa Rosa is at 4616 feet. The continental divide, passed late this afternoon, just before entering Arizona, is at 7275 feet, and a considerable part of the day was spent at elevations over 6000 feet. Tonight's stop, at Holbrook is at 5083 feet, darn near as high as good old Marias Pass in way back in Montana. All I can say is thank goodness for the oxygen concentrator. I would not have coped without it. It certainly vindicated my decision to get it, that's for sure!
Today has been considerably more interesting and pleasant than the previous three. For starters, the scenery in western New Mexico was more varied than I had seen for a while, with rocky red dirt, and flat topped mesas breaking up the landscape. Also, as mentioned, a good cloud cover, coupled with higher elevations dropped the temperatures from too damn hot to very comfortable. Nice!
Today's lunch stop was at another 'Truck Stops of America' or 'TA' service centre. Grant, a good friend of mine from Glenfield, had spend a year in the states driving an 18 wheeler all over the show. Once piece of good advice amongst many he gave me, was to check out at least one of these Truck Stops. Well I've been to a few now, and they are awesome. As well as an opportunity to check out some of the rigs up close, you get restaurants, convenience stores (think of a dairy, a hardware store, a pharmacy and an auto parts store all rolled into one) and restrooms, showers and laundry facilities. Not to mention full truck servicing facilities and a gas station. All you could possibly need to keep you going on your road trip. Good cheap food too. Today was chicken and chips, and two cups of coffee for $8.62 including tax. Plus a $2 tip for the waitress, and she deserved it.
Speaking of tipping, I have to say I initially thought it was going to be a right pain, not to mention a bit of a rort. From what I gather, wait staff don't get paid well in terms of their base wage, and they do rely on tips to make a half decent living. The result of this is that generally (Santa Rosa aside), you do get a much better standard of service than we are used to in NZ. It is as much about attitude as anything, and I've really enjoyed tipping generously when I think it is deserved, which is more often than not. You get to enjoy a friendly manner, prompt service with a smile, and occasionally a good chat. And it actually feels quite genuine in most cases. Not at all what I was expecting, and given the cheapness of the menu prices, no financial hardship at all.
Anyway, onto I40 yet again, and onward into Arizona. Tonight's stop is in Holbrook, AZ [5], another small town in the middle of nowhere much. After settling into the Econolodge, and recharging my, and the O2 machine's batteries, I went off in search of dinner, and found another little treasure: Mr. Maestas - Another Route 66 icon, full of period memorabilia (Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Native Amercian Curios), and nice food, and .... red wine! At last, a civilised State! The place was run by a Navajo family, and I got chatting to the head lady. She was a hard case, but really sweet. John would like her, as she is a rabid Ford Fan, but she had to concede my Chev was pretty damn nice too.
One wee challenge I've had on this trip, is finding the right presents to bring home for the whanau. The guys have been no problem, the ladies, a bit more challenging. I think I've cracked it at last though - I hope y'all like turquoise & silver jewelery, 'cos that's some of the nicest Native American stuff I've seen. The trick is finding the right piece for the right person, but my Navajo lady this evening solved another little piece of that puzzle for me... Patience, possums! Only a few more days to go.
Right, It's midnight, and time for some zzzzs. Tomorrow - the Grand Canyon!
P.S. I've just discovered - if you click on the map, it links through to a larger, more legible version - enjoy! I assume the same applies to the photos &c.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Go West Young (?) Man
Saturday indeed dawned another beautiful day. Amazing contrast to the day before, so I did slip back across the border into West Virginia, before continuing on my way westward.
Near the west end of Williamson yard - this goes on for about a couple of kilometres
And here's the other end - Norfolk Southern moves some serious tonnage east to the coast from here
Near the west end of Williamson yard - this goes on for about a couple of kilometres
And here's the other end - Norfolk Southern moves some serious tonnage east to the coast from hereFrom Williamson, I headed back into Kentucky, and on my way westward towards Bowling Green, my destination for the night, and home of the National Corvette Museum. This leg was pretty much Interstate all the way. The Americans do take their roads seriously. When building a four lane highway, there is none of this mucking around following the contours of the hills - just plough straight through, and if the grade gets too steep, just add another slow lane for the trucks. Like so much over here, just the sheer scale of things continues to impress.
The first 150 miles or so was through the western end of the Appalachian Mountains, which run for maybe a thousand miles north to south, and were probably a good 300 + miles wide through West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky.
One of the many cuts made to allow the Interstate to blast its way across the Appalachians
The first 150 miles or so was through the western end of the Appalachian Mountains, which run for maybe a thousand miles north to south, and were probably a good 300 + miles wide through West Virginia and Eastern Kentucky.
One of the many cuts made to allow the Interstate to blast its way across the AppalachiansAfter a lunch stop at Hazard, I continued on and quite abruptly the mountains ended, and the countryside opened up into lush farmland spread over gently rolling hills. I got off the interstate briefly to visit Nancy (the village, not the girl), as my gas tank was getting low. Kermit sure makes a good talking point, and the gas station owner, Larry, was an old 'vette fan from way back, so we had a good old chat. These southerners do have problems with my Kiwi accent though!
Back on the road again, finally making Bowling Green about 5:30 - then realised I had crossed another time zone, and it was really only 4:30, which gave me time to get Kermit washed (it got really filthy in the rain in WV) in preparation for our visit to the museum on the morrow.
Another night, another Econo Lodge. I was reminded yet again of the old joke about 'Why are Indians no good at Soccer? 'Cos every time the get a penalty corner, they put a dairy on it'. The same could be said of motels over here, as every Super 8 or Econo Lodge seems to be owned by an Indian family. Mostly very nice ('So Mr Simon, Do you know Richard Hadlee?' - I'm not kidding - that was a actual conversation!!!!).
It does give one a somewhat distorted view of American culture though, so its just as well I'm balancing it out with visits to local Bar & Grills, and Restaurants. Saturday night at the Motor City Bar & Grill, conveniently next door to the Motel, was a good case in point. The local NFL team were playing on the TV, and the place was a riot until the game finished. There were some really odd people about too. I hate to reinforce stereotypes, but I reckon some of them might well have had parents whose genes were swimming in the same pool, if you follow my drift.
A good night's sleep was followed by a trip to the Laundromat for a quick drop off, then off to the Corvette Museum. The first cool thing about the museum, is that the best car parks are reserved for Corvettes only, so I took great pleasure in parking next to a very tasty 2006 C6 coupe. The museum itself is pretty neat, with 80 odd 'vettes ranging from one of the original batch of 300 from 1953, right up to a brand new 2008 model, awaiting delivery to its new owner. A lot of the interpretive displays weren't that well lit, which made photography a challenge, but there was one big open area called gasoline alley, where I did get some good photos.
Tasty '64 roadster
2005 coupe, after its return from a Sunday drive through Alaska to the Arctic Ocean
A representative from each Corvette generation - C1 in foreground through to the current C6 - 55 years, and close to 1.5 million cars!
Back on the road again, finally making Bowling Green about 5:30 - then realised I had crossed another time zone, and it was really only 4:30, which gave me time to get Kermit washed (it got really filthy in the rain in WV) in preparation for our visit to the museum on the morrow.
Another night, another Econo Lodge. I was reminded yet again of the old joke about 'Why are Indians no good at Soccer? 'Cos every time the get a penalty corner, they put a dairy on it'. The same could be said of motels over here, as every Super 8 or Econo Lodge seems to be owned by an Indian family. Mostly very nice ('So Mr Simon, Do you know Richard Hadlee?' - I'm not kidding - that was a actual conversation!!!!).
It does give one a somewhat distorted view of American culture though, so its just as well I'm balancing it out with visits to local Bar & Grills, and Restaurants. Saturday night at the Motor City Bar & Grill, conveniently next door to the Motel, was a good case in point. The local NFL team were playing on the TV, and the place was a riot until the game finished. There were some really odd people about too. I hate to reinforce stereotypes, but I reckon some of them might well have had parents whose genes were swimming in the same pool, if you follow my drift.
A good night's sleep was followed by a trip to the Laundromat for a quick drop off, then off to the Corvette Museum. The first cool thing about the museum, is that the best car parks are reserved for Corvettes only, so I took great pleasure in parking next to a very tasty 2006 C6 coupe. The museum itself is pretty neat, with 80 odd 'vettes ranging from one of the original batch of 300 from 1953, right up to a brand new 2008 model, awaiting delivery to its new owner. A lot of the interpretive displays weren't that well lit, which made photography a challenge, but there was one big open area called gasoline alley, where I did get some good photos.
Tasty '64 roadster
2005 coupe, after its return from a Sunday drive through Alaska to the Arctic Ocean
A representative from each Corvette generation - C1 in foreground through to the current C6 - 55 years, and close to 1.5 million cars!After a quick visit to the giftshop, which one has to pass through on the way out - no escaping it - it was time for a quick bite (a damn fine cheeseburger from a local chain called Hardees, and about 5 x nicer food the Mickey D's), it was off to collect the laundry and back onto the interstate for a quick 200 mile sprint to Jackson, Tennessee. I do mean sprint too. The speed limit on the Interstates in western KY, and TN is 70 mph, which means to keep up with the traffic flow, a lot of the time you are either doing close to 80, or getting blasted past by 18 wheelers! I did the 200 miles in 160 minutes, and that included a quick stop for gas. I'll let you do the maths! The interstates sure are an efficient way of getting from A to B, but not much chop for sightseeing. Oh well, my schedule is a bit tighter than is ideal, so I may as well make the most of the opportunities to cover some ground eficiently.
Speaking of which, time for a couple of maps:
My travels over this past weekend, from South Williamson, KY [1] to Bowling Green, KY [2] to Jackson, TN [3]
My proposed route from Jackson, TN [1] to Los Angeles [6] via Clarksville, AR [2] (tonight's stop), Grand Canyon, AZ [3], & Las Vegas, NV [4].
Speaking of which, time for a couple of maps:
My travels over this past weekend, from South Williamson, KY [1] to Bowling Green, KY [2] to Jackson, TN [3]
My proposed route from Jackson, TN [1] to Los Angeles [6] via Clarksville, AR [2] (tonight's stop), Grand Canyon, AZ [3], & Las Vegas, NV [4].I generally only plan my overnight stops a day or so in advance, so the blue moon icons represent where my GPS software thinks I should stay, based on what I've told it about preferred driving times, planned stops and average speeds.
This route is a fair bit further north than I had originally anticipated, but time precludes other options. I had really hoped to get to San Diego, to meet up with Gregg Blundell, whom I had been introduced to through a mutual friend. Oh well, I will hold off making a final decision about that until I get to Nevada. If the next few days go well, I might just be able to pick up a bit of time, but I do need to be careful about not pushing myself (and Kermit) too hard!
Well, time to get packed up and hit the road - Arkansas here we come.
This route is a fair bit further north than I had originally anticipated, but time precludes other options. I had really hoped to get to San Diego, to meet up with Gregg Blundell, whom I had been introduced to through a mutual friend. Oh well, I will hold off making a final decision about that until I get to Nevada. If the next few days go well, I might just be able to pick up a bit of time, but I do need to be careful about not pushing myself (and Kermit) too hard!
Well, time to get packed up and hit the road - Arkansas here we come.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Listen to them Banjos
Yes folks, I'm in Hillbilly Country! South Williamson, Kentucky to be precise. Went out to a Chinese Buffet for dinner at the local mall just before, and sure enough it was the regular Friday night Bluegrass concert, so I'm not kidding about the Banjos.
Yesterday, I did get to Horseshoe Curve - most disappointing, as everything including the funicular which takes you up to where you can actually see the darn thing, was shut (It WAS meant to be open). The idea of climbing 194 steps to get to the top didn't appeal funnily enough.
Then it was off southwestwards, through southern Pennsylvania, Maryland (for about 2 minutes), West Virginia (for about 15 minutes), and then Virginia proper, all the way to Salem, just outside Roanoke. A map will follow!
Today was hard work, as it was cats and dogs all day. Ironic really, as its the first rain here in weeks, and the forecast for tomorrow is fine - aaarrrrggggghhhhhhh.
I did get to go through the places I wanted to see on the old Norfolk & Western Railway, including the area my last layout was based on, but not a good day for sightseeing or photos.
I'll pop back across the border to WV tomorrow, and see if I can get some good shots of Williamson yard. It's a pretty impressive place if you like coal hoppers! Then off in search of the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY - another 300 mile day! Hopefully easier going than today.
I feel about as lively as the canonical Dead Parrot at the moment, so its off to beddie byes once again.....
Yesterday, I did get to Horseshoe Curve - most disappointing, as everything including the funicular which takes you up to where you can actually see the darn thing, was shut (It WAS meant to be open). The idea of climbing 194 steps to get to the top didn't appeal funnily enough.
Then it was off southwestwards, through southern Pennsylvania, Maryland (for about 2 minutes), West Virginia (for about 15 minutes), and then Virginia proper, all the way to Salem, just outside Roanoke. A map will follow!
Today was hard work, as it was cats and dogs all day. Ironic really, as its the first rain here in weeks, and the forecast for tomorrow is fine - aaarrrrggggghhhhhhh.
I did get to go through the places I wanted to see on the old Norfolk & Western Railway, including the area my last layout was based on, but not a good day for sightseeing or photos.
I'll pop back across the border to WV tomorrow, and see if I can get some good shots of Williamson yard. It's a pretty impressive place if you like coal hoppers! Then off in search of the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY - another 300 mile day! Hopefully easier going than today.
I feel about as lively as the canonical Dead Parrot at the moment, so its off to beddie byes once again.....
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Yes, I am still here!
Just a quick update; its been a busy few days, and not too much time (or indeed the creative spark) to keep you all up to date.
A very quick rundown on the last few days:
After the convention, I headed south for Boston, and traded one rental car for another (playing the price game), followed by an overnight stopover in a western Boston suburb. Next day I headed down through Connecticut, with a stop a Mystic Seaport - which merits its own post, checked out a 'vette which was a POS and ended in Stamford CT. for the night.
Next day, headed to Long Island, NY, to check out another couple of 'vettes, which is where Kermit came into the picture. Nothing is straight-forward in New York (especially when it comes to dealing with the Department of Motor Vehicles), and it was Tuesday afternoon before I managed to escape.
Went into Manhattan on 9/11. Hated it. Being lost, and caught in a hellacious thunderstorm didn't exactly help.
Caught up with some old friends in New Jersey yesterday afternoon, and enjoyed an all too brief catch up, follwed by an early dinner with them, before being pointed in the direction of eastern Pennsylvania.
Today was a wee detour up to Scranton PA, and the DL&W 'Steamtown' museum, then on to Altoona PA for the night. I'm becoming a big fan of the Econolodge chain - they are getting cheaper the further I get from the Atlantic coast, and have free Wi-Fi on tap.
Tomorrow, after a quick look at PRR's 'Horseshoe Curve' on the way out of town, I'll be heading for Pocohontas / N&W country via Cumberland MD.
Kermit the Green Machine is going really well, and is surprisingly comfortable to drive. I know the yanks think of 'vettes as sports cars, but I'm starting to thing of Kermit more as a Grand Turismo than a 'real' sports car. Not a bad thing with another 3,000 miles to go over the next 12 days!
I have a feeling I won't be finishing this blog until well after I get home. Lots to tell, and the remainder of the trip is going to involve more time on the road than I had originally envisaged, as the whole car buying process took twice as long as I had hoped. I will keep you posted though. I'll just have a bunch of things to expand on, and stories to tell to fill in some of the blanks.
The bottom line is: it's not all been beer and skittles, but no major dramas, and I'm definitely having fun!
A very quick rundown on the last few days:
After the convention, I headed south for Boston, and traded one rental car for another (playing the price game), followed by an overnight stopover in a western Boston suburb. Next day I headed down through Connecticut, with a stop a Mystic Seaport - which merits its own post, checked out a 'vette which was a POS and ended in Stamford CT. for the night.
Next day, headed to Long Island, NY, to check out another couple of 'vettes, which is where Kermit came into the picture. Nothing is straight-forward in New York (especially when it comes to dealing with the Department of Motor Vehicles), and it was Tuesday afternoon before I managed to escape.
Went into Manhattan on 9/11. Hated it. Being lost, and caught in a hellacious thunderstorm didn't exactly help.
Caught up with some old friends in New Jersey yesterday afternoon, and enjoyed an all too brief catch up, follwed by an early dinner with them, before being pointed in the direction of eastern Pennsylvania.
Today was a wee detour up to Scranton PA, and the DL&W 'Steamtown' museum, then on to Altoona PA for the night. I'm becoming a big fan of the Econolodge chain - they are getting cheaper the further I get from the Atlantic coast, and have free Wi-Fi on tap.
Tomorrow, after a quick look at PRR's 'Horseshoe Curve' on the way out of town, I'll be heading for Pocohontas / N&W country via Cumberland MD.
Kermit the Green Machine is going really well, and is surprisingly comfortable to drive. I know the yanks think of 'vettes as sports cars, but I'm starting to thing of Kermit more as a Grand Turismo than a 'real' sports car. Not a bad thing with another 3,000 miles to go over the next 12 days!
I have a feeling I won't be finishing this blog until well after I get home. Lots to tell, and the remainder of the trip is going to involve more time on the road than I had originally envisaged, as the whole car buying process took twice as long as I had hoped. I will keep you posted though. I'll just have a bunch of things to expand on, and stories to tell to fill in some of the blanks.
The bottom line is: it's not all been beer and skittles, but no major dramas, and I'm definitely having fun!
Monday, September 10, 2007
The End of the Line
Tuesday 28th August
As I mentioned in my last post, a visit to the old Franklin and Megantic was high on my list of priorities. A little bit more history is in order here, as one of the interesting things about the two footers is in the machinations of getting them built in the first place.
The original Sandy River Railroad was completed in 1879, and ran from Farmington to Phillips, via Strong. Some five years later, the Franklin & Megantic was chartered. Shortly afterwards, construction began from a junction with the Sandy River at Strong, up to Kingfield, some 15 miles to the northeast, and through some fairly challenging terrain, including one section where the grade was 5%!
By 1894, the owners of the F and M had built an extension from Kingfield [1] to Bigelow [2], via Carrabasset [3], a further 15 miles or so north and then west. This extension was built under a separate charter, and was officially known as the Kingfield and Dead River Railroad. This despite being owned and operated by the F and M, and never having any of its own equipment. A lot of interesting financial murkiness lay behind these smaller lines, which is very well documented in Jones' 'Two Feet Between the Rails' - a hefty and very comprehensive history of the entire Sandy River system.
the Kingfield and Dead River RRMeanwhile, back to the 21st Century. After breakfasting at a funky little cafe on the outskirts of Kingfield, and armed with two sets of fresh camera batteries, I headed toward Bigelow.
One objective of today's mission was to get some good panoramic photos of the area, for future use in a backdrop for the layout. How's that for authenticity? So, a gentle cruise was in order, earmarking potential sites for capture on the way back, when the light would be better.
An easy 20 minutes, mostly following the Carrabasset River, brought me to Bigelow Station Rd, which occupies the original right of way, and right next to it, Bigelow station itself - not much altered from when this part of the line was abandoned in 1923.
Bigelow Station - now a holiday home. The road out front is on the old ROW.A few metres further down the road I came across the remains of the old Section House, which the track maintenance crew used as their base for looking after this section of the line. Plans for this building were published in a recent issue of Maine Two Foot Quarterly. The plans had me scratching my head a bit, as the arrangement of a lean-to attached to the back of the building was not totally clear, but seeing it in flesh cleared that up nicely.
Bigelow Section House
Bigelow Section HouseAnother useful acquisition at the convention provided me with some more period photos of this structure, and the general area, so I've got plenty of good reference material to help with my modeling endeavours. In fact if you scroll down to the bottom of the linked page, you can see the very photos to which I refer.
As a bit of a sidebar, I had the pleasure of meeting both book author Peter Barney and publisher Tim Mulina at the convention. I'm just going to have to do some more name dropping as I go along here, because in the rarified world of 2 foot modeling, all the 'Rock Stars' were there. And one didn't have to act like a groupie to enjoy a chat with them, either - all thoroughly nice people.
After finishing exploring Bigelow, it was back on the road, with frequent stops for those background photo ops.
Quite by chance, I found Huston Brook, and what I assume was the original RR bridge on what is now another snowmobile trail.
Huston Brook Bridge
As a bit of a sidebar, I had the pleasure of meeting both book author Peter Barney and publisher Tim Mulina at the convention. I'm just going to have to do some more name dropping as I go along here, because in the rarified world of 2 foot modeling, all the 'Rock Stars' were there. And one didn't have to act like a groupie to enjoy a chat with them, either - all thoroughly nice people.
After finishing exploring Bigelow, it was back on the road, with frequent stops for those background photo ops.
Quite by chance, I found Huston Brook, and what I assume was the original RR bridge on what is now another snowmobile trail.
Huston Brook BridgeNext stop was Carrabasset, which was pretty much silent as to it's RR past, but very pretty nonetheless.
Looking north up the Carrabasset River. I believe that's Mt Bigelow in the background.
Looking north up the Carrabasset River. I believe that's Mt Bigelow in the background.As you can see from the photos, I have been very lucky with the weather in Maine, and apart from that one very welcome evening thunderstorm, have been blessed with blue skies and warm weather.
Back to Portland
Heading south again, I passed through Kingfield one last time, and after a fruitless attempt to locate the old Car Shed, the only RR building remaining there, I headed for Portland. I took a somewhat more direct route than on the way up, and arrived back mid afternoon, in time to check back into my old digs at the South Portland Econolodge, and then went off to the Maine Mall in search of a haircut - I really needed to lose my NZ 'winter coat'.
I was pretty shagged out by this point, so I got some takeaways from 'The Scottish Restaurant', and headed back to the hotel for a bit of vegeing in front of TV (66 channels of sh!t to choose from). Then, another early night - tomorrow being the official start of the convention!
Back to PortlandHeading south again, I passed through Kingfield one last time, and after a fruitless attempt to locate the old Car Shed, the only RR building remaining there, I headed for Portland. I took a somewhat more direct route than on the way up, and arrived back mid afternoon, in time to check back into my old digs at the South Portland Econolodge, and then went off to the Maine Mall in search of a haircut - I really needed to lose my NZ 'winter coat'.
I was pretty shagged out by this point, so I got some takeaways from 'The Scottish Restaurant', and headed back to the hotel for a bit of vegeing in front of TV (66 channels of sh!t to choose from). Then, another early night - tomorrow being the official start of the convention!
Saturday, September 8, 2007
5 Star Whistle Stop Bus Tour of the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes RR
Monday 27th August
An early start from Kingfield [7], and a leisurely drive the 20 odd miles to Farmington [1] led me to the parking lot of the 'Narrow Gauge Theater' on the very spot where the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes RR interchanged with the standard gauge Maine Central. Not much evidence of what disappeared in the '30s remains, but was there was a bus, a bunch of other narrow minded railfans, and Gary Kohler - author, publisher, and researcher of 2 foot history - the man behind today's edutainment.
Today's map will attempt to show the route of the Sandy River, as best as I can with a road oriented mapping program - it should give you an idea of the ground we covered, as well as the bits we didn't have time to see (Strong & Phillips ended up with two ID numbers, to make the route came out more or less right).
Simplfied Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes RR System MapWe left Farmington [1] bound for Strong [2,6], with a brief stop at South Strong on the way, all the while accompanied by a commentary from Gary as to what used to be where. It's all rather confusing, and road realignments and changes of ground levels over the years make it a bit of a challenge to relate to.
There are 3 original RR related buildings still at Strong, the largest of which is a toothpick factory. Imagine how many toothpicks you could fit into a boxcar - even a wee narrow gauge one! With a squint, and a bit of imagination, I could figure out where the tracks must have been, but in all honesty it didn't bear much resemblance to the many period photos I have of the place.
Next stop was the main yard at Phillips [3,5], where the old depot and car shop remain, and for the really keen, the remains of the old turntable pit, buried in the weeds down from the depot.
Phillips Depot, HQ of the SRRL.
There are 3 original RR related buildings still at Strong, the largest of which is a toothpick factory. Imagine how many toothpicks you could fit into a boxcar - even a wee narrow gauge one! With a squint, and a bit of imagination, I could figure out where the tracks must have been, but in all honesty it didn't bear much resemblance to the many period photos I have of the place.
Next stop was the main yard at Phillips [3,5], where the old depot and car shop remain, and for the really keen, the remains of the old turntable pit, buried in the weeds down from the depot.
Phillips Depot, HQ of the SRRL.Next stop was the old Phillips upper yard, just across the river, and originally the base of the Phillips and Rangeley, another of the original pre-merger lines. It is currently the site of the 'modern' SRRL, and the historical society had a treat waiting for us!
Our train awaits - the engineer is a real Sandy River man - great(?) grandson of Master Mechanic Stinchfield from back in the line's heyday.
Waiting at the station in full steam was Monson #3, on lease to the SR&RL, with a 19th century passenger car and caboose waiting to take us up the line to the 'old stone fort', now the site of a wonderful restoration effort. The crew put on a grand show for us, switching a freight train and doing a few run-bys.
Making up our freight train
The new 'old stone fort' - built on the foundations of the original structure
Freight train run-by in the meadow
Our train awaits - the engineer is a real Sandy River man - great(?) grandson of Master Mechanic Stinchfield from back in the line's heyday.Waiting at the station in full steam was Monson #3, on lease to the SR&RL, with a 19th century passenger car and caboose waiting to take us up the line to the 'old stone fort', now the site of a wonderful restoration effort. The crew put on a grand show for us, switching a freight train and doing a few run-bys.
Making up our freight train
The new 'old stone fort' - built on the foundations of the original structure
Freight train run-by in the meadowAfter an all too quick hour or so had passed, Gary was starting to get a bit agitated. We were having fun, but were running well late for our lunch at Saddleback ski resort, just east of Rangeley. So, back on the bus, and off we went. By this time my camera batteries had unceremoniously given up the ghost, so you will be spared any more photos of the day's activities.
Late or not, the buffet lunch was very nice, and I got chatting to a bunch of guys from Washington DC, who model Colorado 3' narrow gauge in Nn3 - that's N scale (1:160), on 6.5mm track gauge. They had a modular layout on display at the convention, which was spectacular, not least because of the tiny size of the models! It ran pretty well too - having modeled in N scale standard gauge, I'm well aware of the challenges inherent in getting reliable operation with these small models. Physics, and the inverse cube law work agin us here.
After lunch it was down to the site of Rangeley station [4]. Once again, not a lot left, but we did enjoy a hilarious few minutes when our bus snagged some low hanging phone lines,trying to negotiate a goat track we really had no right to be on. Never mind - we extricated ourselves without harm to bus or wires, and our driver deserved a big round of applause for boldly going where no bus had gone before.
Next, it was off to Marbles station, right at the end of the line. In days gone by, it served the Rangeley Lake House - a huge hotel, where rich Bostonians would ship themselves and their families off to for the summer. The station itself, now a private residence, is a cute little stone building with a turret. I didn't get any photos, but you can see some here
The lakes area really is spectacularly beautiful, and I can see why the 'rusticators' would have thought it worthwhile to make what must have been a fairly arduous trip a century ago.
Next we headed back south towards Phillips, and a stop off at Toothaker Pond, and Madrid Junction. The Madrid RR was another of the predecessor lines incorporated in the big '08 consolidation, and existed like a lot of the branches, only as long as there was timber to be hauled out of the woods. The junction was the site of a huge sawmill for a number of years, with the pond itself used as a log pond to facilitate getting the fresh cut timber from the RR log dumps up into the mill.
By now, the afternoon was getting on, so sadly we bypassed the old F&M, from Strong to Kingfield and beyond to Bigelow, and headed back to Farmington. This was a bit of a disappointment to me, as the F&M is the bit I'm modeling, but I remedied that oversight next day, under my own steam (metaphorically speaking :-).
At Farmington, it was time to bid adieu to my traveling companions. Many of them I would see again later in the week, back at Portland, but for this tired little pixie, it was back to the Herbert, dinner and beddie-byes.
Late or not, the buffet lunch was very nice, and I got chatting to a bunch of guys from Washington DC, who model Colorado 3' narrow gauge in Nn3 - that's N scale (1:160), on 6.5mm track gauge. They had a modular layout on display at the convention, which was spectacular, not least because of the tiny size of the models! It ran pretty well too - having modeled in N scale standard gauge, I'm well aware of the challenges inherent in getting reliable operation with these small models. Physics, and the inverse cube law work agin us here.
After lunch it was down to the site of Rangeley station [4]. Once again, not a lot left, but we did enjoy a hilarious few minutes when our bus snagged some low hanging phone lines,trying to negotiate a goat track we really had no right to be on. Never mind - we extricated ourselves without harm to bus or wires, and our driver deserved a big round of applause for boldly going where no bus had gone before.
Next, it was off to Marbles station, right at the end of the line. In days gone by, it served the Rangeley Lake House - a huge hotel, where rich Bostonians would ship themselves and their families off to for the summer. The station itself, now a private residence, is a cute little stone building with a turret. I didn't get any photos, but you can see some here
The lakes area really is spectacularly beautiful, and I can see why the 'rusticators' would have thought it worthwhile to make what must have been a fairly arduous trip a century ago.
Next we headed back south towards Phillips, and a stop off at Toothaker Pond, and Madrid Junction. The Madrid RR was another of the predecessor lines incorporated in the big '08 consolidation, and existed like a lot of the branches, only as long as there was timber to be hauled out of the woods. The junction was the site of a huge sawmill for a number of years, with the pond itself used as a log pond to facilitate getting the fresh cut timber from the RR log dumps up into the mill.
By now, the afternoon was getting on, so sadly we bypassed the old F&M, from Strong to Kingfield and beyond to Bigelow, and headed back to Farmington. This was a bit of a disappointment to me, as the F&M is the bit I'm modeling, but I remedied that oversight next day, under my own steam (metaphorically speaking :-).
At Farmington, it was time to bid adieu to my traveling companions. Many of them I would see again later in the week, back at Portland, but for this tired little pixie, it was back to the Herbert, dinner and beddie-byes.
Kermit goes Skyward
I had the corvette checked out by a local mechanic today, and had a good look at the undercarriage when it was up on the hoist. The news is all good!!
No structural rust - a bit of surface rust, but that's to be expected in a 32 year old car.
New brake-lines & calipers, New fuel pump & radiator, New shocks, and plenty of evidence of regular maintenance. All very reassuring. The emissions test indicates the motor is is good nick, and my test drive left me more impressed than I expected to be, and with a big grin on my face.
The VIN checks out as a genuine L82 (205 hp vs. 165 hp for the standard L48 motor), and as the hi comp motor represented less than 7% of that year's production, it is definitely more desirable from a collector's perspective.
Even better, it is remarkably original in almost every respect - or unmolested, as the collector fraternity would say. Not that originality is hugely important to me per se, but from a future resale perspective, I'm very comfortable that it will be a good investment, and the purchase price is very fair.
So, deposit paid, insurance sorted out, and now I must patiently wait for the wire transfer to come through from home to Brendan's account. It's gonna be a long weekend!
No structural rust - a bit of surface rust, but that's to be expected in a 32 year old car.
New brake-lines & calipers, New fuel pump & radiator, New shocks, and plenty of evidence of regular maintenance. All very reassuring. The emissions test indicates the motor is is good nick, and my test drive left me more impressed than I expected to be, and with a big grin on my face.
The VIN checks out as a genuine L82 (205 hp vs. 165 hp for the standard L48 motor), and as the hi comp motor represented less than 7% of that year's production, it is definitely more desirable from a collector's perspective.
Even better, it is remarkably original in almost every respect - or unmolested, as the collector fraternity would say. Not that originality is hugely important to me per se, but from a future resale perspective, I'm very comfortable that it will be a good investment, and the purchase price is very fair.
So, deposit paid, insurance sorted out, and now I must patiently wait for the wire transfer to come through from home to Brendan's account. It's gonna be a long weekend!
Friday, September 7, 2007
Slate Hauling, and a Grand Old Lady
Sunday, 26th August
After an agreeable breakfast at 'Moosehead Lake Lodge' [1] and a pleasant chat with Jack (I was his only guest the previous night), it was time to wend my way just a little further north, and see what I could find of the Monson Railroad, or the 'Two by Six' as it was known - two feet wide, and six miles long. It was the only one of the two footers to last into the 1940s, and it's raison d'etre for the entire history of the line, was to haul high quality slate from the many quarries on line, down to the the interchange with the 'broad gauge' (standard 4' 8.5" gauge in reality) Bangor and Aroostook at Monson Junction.
Monson depot [2] was easy enough to find, thanks again to Moody, and it is in pretty good shape. I was lucky enough to meet the owner of the property, who was was helping his long suffering wife pull weeds from the slate ballast on the wee bit of line they have adjacent to the depot. Once again, I received a guided tour, and a history lesson. Its neat to see these preservation activities underway, and in particular when it is the work of just a small number of folk with a personal interest in helping save part of their history. It kind of makes me think the human race aint too bad sometimes.
I wish I could remember the gentleman's name, as he was very friendly, and showed me where to find other signs of past activity, including a couple of the quarries, and spots where one can still see the old ROW. I even filched a genuine piece of slate ballast from up the line, as a souvenir
Monson Depot - my northern-most stop!
After leaving the depot, I spent a pleasant hour or so stooging around the quarries (amazing the places rental cars will go without complaint :-), and then headed off in search of the elusive Monson Junction, and the BAR interchange.
One of the old slate quarries serviced by the MRR, long since flooded
Monson Junction was always going to be a challenge to find. I thought I had located it on a 21st century map, extrapolating from period documents, but it is in the middle of nowhere today, with little to refer it to the present day topology. After my GPS optimistically attempted to send me down a 'road' which was actually part of the old right-of-way, and is now a snowmobile trail at best, I finally got lucky when I spotted a minor, minor side road, which the GPS map was silent on, name of Monson Junction Lane. Luckily there was nobody behind me, and after the smell of burnt rubber had dissipated, I nosed my way into the bushes, and voila! Confusion! Well, this must be the right place - that there building looks like an old depot, but it seems to be facing 90 degrees from what I expected. Oh well, snap a few photos, water the ballast, and hope I've got it right!
Monson Junction Station??? Note the flashing on the chimney - the whole building has settled a foot or so, as the foundations have disintegrated over the years.
Monson Junction Station??? Note the flashing on the chimney - the whole building has settled a foot or so, as the foundations have disintegrated over the years.I need to jump ahead a few days here, as my mystery did get solved, and I WAS in the right place. See the photo below, of part of one of the (prototypically accurate) layouts on display at the convention. The Station IS oriented at right angles to the BAR tracks, not parallel to, as one might expect.
Crap photo (I need a new camera), but it shows the station at right angles to the standard gauge BAR tracks. My 'real' photo was taken from just beyond where the end of the brown boxcar is located top right of the model photo.
By this time, my tummy was rumbling, so it was time to head off towards Kingfield in Sandy River country, with the hope of a good feed somewhere along the way.
Time for a map, eh?
Kingfield was an easy hour and a half drive from Monson country through very picturesque countryside, and was punctuated by lunch at the 'Antlers Inn' at a tiny village called Bingham. The food was nice, but the Inn should have been 'Antler' without the 'S', as the life-size Moose model replica outside was missing one of his. Looked most odd with one antler, and one piece of rebar, where the missing one had been :-). But hey, I finally saw a moose - well, almost.
And so, onward to Kingfield [4], and the Herbert Grand Hotel. Kingfield was an important town on the Franklin and Megantic RR, which was merged into the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes RR with the other five Franklin County lines in 1908. The Herbert likewise played a significant role in the history of the town, so it was quite a thrill to be able to spend a couple of nights there. Do check out their website - I didn't get any decent shots of the hotel myself, and it's worth looking up the Grand Old Lady's skirts, so to speak.
After checking in, I just had time for a nana-nap before dinner - all this touristy business is hard work - then it was across the road for yet another nice dinner at a local restaurant. I think I might be putting on an extra kilo or two - no harm there.
Another early night was on order, in preparation for the legendary 'Gary Kohler 5 Star Whistle Stop Bus Tour of the SR and RL' on the morrow!
P.S. Why the h%$$ won't this blog let me use ampersands?
Crap photo (I need a new camera), but it shows the station at right angles to the standard gauge BAR tracks. My 'real' photo was taken from just beyond where the end of the brown boxcar is located top right of the model photo.By this time, my tummy was rumbling, so it was time to head off towards Kingfield in Sandy River country, with the hope of a good feed somewhere along the way.
Time for a map, eh?
Kingfield was an easy hour and a half drive from Monson country through very picturesque countryside, and was punctuated by lunch at the 'Antlers Inn' at a tiny village called Bingham. The food was nice, but the Inn should have been 'Antler' without the 'S', as the life-size Moose model replica outside was missing one of his. Looked most odd with one antler, and one piece of rebar, where the missing one had been :-). But hey, I finally saw a moose - well, almost.And so, onward to Kingfield [4], and the Herbert Grand Hotel. Kingfield was an important town on the Franklin and Megantic RR, which was merged into the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes RR with the other five Franklin County lines in 1908. The Herbert likewise played a significant role in the history of the town, so it was quite a thrill to be able to spend a couple of nights there. Do check out their website - I didn't get any decent shots of the hotel myself, and it's worth looking up the Grand Old Lady's skirts, so to speak.
After checking in, I just had time for a nana-nap before dinner - all this touristy business is hard work - then it was across the road for yet another nice dinner at a local restaurant. I think I might be putting on an extra kilo or two - no harm there.
Another early night was on order, in preparation for the legendary 'Gary Kohler 5 Star Whistle Stop Bus Tour of the SR and RL' on the morrow!
P.S. Why the h%$$ won't this blog let me use ampersands?
Foreign Exchange Wiz - or just lucky???? Plus, where did the $$ go?
If you ever need to do any foreign exchange transactions, or even heaven forbid, wish to speculate on the forex futures market, then do check out Eldridge-Lynch (www.fx.co.nz).
I bought a bunch of USD a month or so ago, at $0.76, and converted some of my leftovers back to NZD today at $0.695 odd. I can't really claim any great insight into the market, so the 9% odd profit is more by good luck than good management. The transaction fees are very reasonable in comparison with doing a wire transfer through any of our trading banks, and it's all done very painlessly over the web. Brilliant! Good customer service too. Big 'ups' for these guys, and they are 100% Kiwi owned to boot.
That leaves more than enough on a/c to pay for Kermit the Vette - here's hoping I don't find any nasties at the mechanic tomorrow morning.
I've also managed to sort out the mire of registration and insurance requirements needed for me to get an in-transit registration, and drive to LA, legally and comprehensively insured.
My other new 'toy' arrived this morning - the one I just blew $4.5k on. It's a portable oxygen concentrator. Say what???????
The majority of you know I've been battling Alpha-1 Anti-trypsin deficiency (a.k.a. Genetic Emphysema) for the last few years, and slowly losing. The timing of this trip has been interesting to say the least, as I've been right on the cusp of needing supplementary oxygen on a day to day basis for a while now.
I headed off from NZ knowing full well that things could turn pear shaped, but also with the attitude that life is for living, and I'm damned if I'm going to let a minor problem like not being able to breathe stop me from enjoying life to the full, and in particular, living this dream.
Well, as you may have picked up from an earlier post, I picked up a nasty chest infection on the plane on the way out, and it really laid me on my ass for a bit - right in the middle of the convention too. This prompted me to look into these devices in more detail (drawing on information from my wonderful support group on the ANZ Alpha-1 Yahoo email list), and with the support of Sheryl, my extraordinary GP, I elected to purchase an Inogen-1 concentrator, which should help enhance my quality of life quite significantly over the next few years.
I don't really want to say too much more on this subject - it is not what this blog is all about, but sometimes real life gets in the way. Suffice to say, challenges aside, I'm enjoying life immensely right now, and nose hose aside, I don't see myself as a victim here, and if any of you lot try to say different, well, just you watch out, OK? Nuff said!
Right, now give a few minutes to edit my post with the trial map, then scroll back down a coupla days, and I'll tell you what I got up to last Saturday.
I bought a bunch of USD a month or so ago, at $0.76, and converted some of my leftovers back to NZD today at $0.695 odd. I can't really claim any great insight into the market, so the 9% odd profit is more by good luck than good management. The transaction fees are very reasonable in comparison with doing a wire transfer through any of our trading banks, and it's all done very painlessly over the web. Brilliant! Good customer service too. Big 'ups' for these guys, and they are 100% Kiwi owned to boot.
That leaves more than enough on a/c to pay for Kermit the Vette - here's hoping I don't find any nasties at the mechanic tomorrow morning.
I've also managed to sort out the mire of registration and insurance requirements needed for me to get an in-transit registration, and drive to LA, legally and comprehensively insured.
My other new 'toy' arrived this morning - the one I just blew $4.5k on. It's a portable oxygen concentrator. Say what???????
The majority of you know I've been battling Alpha-1 Anti-trypsin deficiency (a.k.a. Genetic Emphysema) for the last few years, and slowly losing. The timing of this trip has been interesting to say the least, as I've been right on the cusp of needing supplementary oxygen on a day to day basis for a while now.
I headed off from NZ knowing full well that things could turn pear shaped, but also with the attitude that life is for living, and I'm damned if I'm going to let a minor problem like not being able to breathe stop me from enjoying life to the full, and in particular, living this dream.
Well, as you may have picked up from an earlier post, I picked up a nasty chest infection on the plane on the way out, and it really laid me on my ass for a bit - right in the middle of the convention too. This prompted me to look into these devices in more detail (drawing on information from my wonderful support group on the ANZ Alpha-1 Yahoo email list), and with the support of Sheryl, my extraordinary GP, I elected to purchase an Inogen-1 concentrator, which should help enhance my quality of life quite significantly over the next few years.
I don't really want to say too much more on this subject - it is not what this blog is all about, but sometimes real life gets in the way. Suffice to say, challenges aside, I'm enjoying life immensely right now, and nose hose aside, I don't see myself as a victim here, and if any of you lot try to say different, well, just you watch out, OK? Nuff said!
Right, now give a few minutes to edit my post with the trial map, then scroll back down a coupla days, and I'll tell you what I got up to last Saturday.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Stop the Presses - 'Vette Found !!! ???
Well, I think I might have found the right car! Not perfect, but close enough.It's a well maintained, very original 1975 L82 (the 'high' performance motor), 4 speed in a particularly lurid (but allegedly correct for the year) metallic green (yes, Ian, GREEN!!!).
It's a later model than I really wanted, and it doesn't have A/C, which I might regret, but in all other respects stacks up really well. And it's well under budget, which considering I just blew US$4,500 on an unanticipated but necessary purchase (more on this later), is a welcome bonus.
It is currently owned by a NY Firefighter, called Brendan, who seems a really nice guy, and has owned his 'baby' for 15 years. He's only selling it due to a second child having just arrived, and I got a good vibe from him - unlike a couple of other sellers I've met just recently.Next step is a Friday morning trip to the mechanic for a lift on the hoist to check the chassis &c. for rust, and to do a compression check. If it passes that test, and another test drive, I think we have a have a deal. Fingers crossed!!!!!
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Into the North Woods - (was playing around with Maps)
Saturday, 25 August
I had planned a fairly ambitious itinerary for this particular Saturday, perhaps a little too ambitious in the circumstances, but hey, the weather was great (high 20's, sunny, if a bit on the humid side), & I had 4 litres of Chrysler grunt under the bonnet.
After my usual leisurely start to the day, I left my hotel in South Portland [1], and crusied up I295 to the very pretty little village of Wiscasset [2], on the Sheepscot River. Back in the day, Wiscasset was the southern terminus of the Wiscasset and Quebec RR (Later Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Ry), the first of the Maine 2 foot gauge lines to be chartered. Second in size only to the Sandy River and Rangeley Lakes RR in size, it lasted into the 1930s before, like it's compatriots, it succumbed to progress, and the encroachment of the automobile.
More on the WWandF later, when I report on my visit to the museum at Sheepscot - a real highlight of the trip so far.
Wiscasset today remains a picturesque village, making a living from selling antiques to 'rusticators' from 'away', as tourists are known hereabouts.
I enjoyed a crab roll, (my first, and mighty fine it was too) and a local Shipyard ale for lunch, at a restaurant which used to be the local garage.
Looking north towards the WWandF upper yard - old right of way on trestle-work on the rightMy view overlooking the river corresponded very closely to a couple of photos in my trusty copy of Linwood W. Moody's The Maine Two Footers' which I had brought over with me for reference. It was a bit of a thrill (sad, eh?), to actually be on the spot which I'd read about, and to still see remnants of the trestlework, which carried the narrow gauge along the shore-front all those years ago.
Next stop was an hour or so north, to see if anything remained of the Kennebec Central RR. This titan of the two footers ran for all of five miles, between Randolph [3], and Togus [4], bringing coal from the deep river port of Randolph, on the Kennebec River to the Old Soldiers Home in Togus, as well as shuttling the old soldiers themselves between the two points, so they could sample the fobidden delights of Randolph, and Gardiner on t'other side of the river.
Looking across the Kennebec River to the location of Randolph yard - old yard retaining wall just visible above speedboat.
Apparently, the RR crews were known to help smuggle drunken old soldiers back home on occasion, when they were attempting to return home after lights out. I'm sure Matron would have disapproved!
There wasn't a lot to see here, RR-wise, but it's a lovely spot, and if I were an old soldier 90 odd years ago, I reckon it would have been an agreeable spot to wait for God. Mind you, I've not seen it in wintertime!
One of the many picturesque buildings remaining at Togus
Next up was back on the trail of the WWandF, this time, with a side trip to Albion [5], to check out what remained of the northern terminus of the line.
It was a bit of a challenge to find, not being on any modern maps, but I did get lucky, finally chancing on the right spot late afternoon.
I braved the 32 degree heat, and met all the members of the Albion Historical Society, who were busy working on building a new blacksmith shop adjacent to the old depot, which is undergoing restoration.
All three members gave me a guided tour, and I think they were quite chuffed that a Kiwi had come all this way to check them out - this novelty factor has opened a lot of doors for me here in the U.S., and you can bet I'm making the most of it :-).
I was starting to wilt in the heat by this time, so was happy to continue heading north through Waterville [6] towards my overnight stay at 'Moosehead Lake Lodge' [8].
Albion Station, and the remnants of the 2' line.
After dinner at the picturesque village of Dover-Foxcroft [7], I finally found my way through the boonies, to meet mine hosts, Jack and Joyce, at their very agreeable BnB, buried in the woods. Still no moose, but Jack did show me some nice photos of some wandering around the back yard. That, and two metre high snowdrifts in the front yard in February!
Well, by dusk I was absolutely shattered, and enjoyed an early night. Just after lights out, a front passed over, with a spectacular thunderstorm ahead of it. Sure killed the humidity, and set the scene for a perfect week to come, with blue skies, and balmy mid 20's temps. Absolutely Perfick!
The 'vette hunt, plus new photos
A few of the faithful have been asking how the 'vette hunt is going. The short answer is nowhere fast just yet. Today is Saturday morning, the first day of fall, and I have a weekend full of convention related activities to keep me busy.
Come Monday however, the hunt starts in earnest. I am keeping a watchful eye on e-bay, as usual, and there are a few likely suspects on my watchlist; plenty of options out there for sure.
The other heads up, just to keep you guys on your toes, is that I'm starting to add photos to some of my earlier posts - I'm currently about a week behind reality with the detailed travelogue, and another week or so behind that with the photos, so please bear with me - this is after all about living the trip, and not spending too much time behind the keyboard :-).
Come Monday however, the hunt starts in earnest. I am keeping a watchful eye on e-bay, as usual, and there are a few likely suspects on my watchlist; plenty of options out there for sure.
The other heads up, just to keep you guys on your toes, is that I'm starting to add photos to some of my earlier posts - I'm currently about a week behind reality with the detailed travelogue, and another week or so behind that with the photos, so please bear with me - this is after all about living the trip, and not spending too much time behind the keyboard :-).
Saturday, September 1, 2007
Heading 'Down East'
You would think it a trivial matter, to collect a rental car, to pick up a suitcase last seen in Oregon, to undertake a leisurely drive to a neighbouring city. Yeah, right!
The first step was straight forward enough. After a gentle start to the day, I checked out of the hotel (first time I've ever rented a room by the hour - cheeky buggers charged me an extra $10 to put checkout time back an hour to noon, but hey, the extra hour's sleep was well worth it), and hailed a cab from the front door.
One ten minute ride later, I was at the Hertz office closest to Boston South Station, where my big ol' suitcase was hopefully waiting. Another free upgrade; this time from the expected Ford Focus hatchback to a 4.0l Chrysler Pacifica SUV. Oh well, if I screw up, at least I'm likely to come out on top.
The nice lady at Hertz gave me a map, and showed me the route to the station - left, then left, then left, then straight for a couple of miles, and bingo; another Tui moment! I'm sure she threw an extra left in there just to confuse me, as I very soon found myself on the freeway headed for heaven only knows where. Off again at the first exit, and time to fire up the GPS. I finally found my way to back to Boston South, and circled the station like a hungry Hyena looking for a feed. After the third time, and no legal carparks in sight, I resigned myself to a bit of a walk in the 30 degree heat, and extended my search spiral. Voila - a sign! Station Car Park, quoth it in large friendly letters. Oh goody, thinks I.
Yeah right! It was the @#$% bus station car park! Fortunately after 2 elevators, an escalator, a ramp, and a 10 minute walk in the sun, I was back to where I had gotten off the train some 15 hours earlier. And no, before you ask, the checked luggage place wasn't open when the train arrived late the previous evening. It shuts at 10:00, and we got in about 10:05.
Still, at least my suitcase WAS there, patiently waiting. At least one thing is going right today! Time for a bite to recharge the old batteries, then reverse my route back to the car with suitcase in tow.
With my trusty GPS back on the job properly (the windscreen mount had been in the big suitcase), it was onto the interstate just in time to join the rush hour traffic heading north. To cut a very long story short, after only confusing my lefts and rights a couple of times (those cloverleaves sure are confusing when you have to do them inside out), I arrived at my digs in South Portland just in time for dinner. A quick unpack, and the across the road to a wicked Tex-Mex restaurant for a very welcome feed of spicy stuff, washed down by a 'Negro Modela' Cerveza. I would never have thought to put lime with a dark beer, but that's the way they drink it here in Mexico, err sorry, Maine. Mighty fine it was too.
Well, that was One Hot Friday, and bed was calling. I had some fairly ambitious plans for Saturday too...
The first step was straight forward enough. After a gentle start to the day, I checked out of the hotel (first time I've ever rented a room by the hour - cheeky buggers charged me an extra $10 to put checkout time back an hour to noon, but hey, the extra hour's sleep was well worth it), and hailed a cab from the front door.
One ten minute ride later, I was at the Hertz office closest to Boston South Station, where my big ol' suitcase was hopefully waiting. Another free upgrade; this time from the expected Ford Focus hatchback to a 4.0l Chrysler Pacifica SUV. Oh well, if I screw up, at least I'm likely to come out on top.
The nice lady at Hertz gave me a map, and showed me the route to the station - left, then left, then left, then straight for a couple of miles, and bingo; another Tui moment! I'm sure she threw an extra left in there just to confuse me, as I very soon found myself on the freeway headed for heaven only knows where. Off again at the first exit, and time to fire up the GPS. I finally found my way to back to Boston South, and circled the station like a hungry Hyena looking for a feed. After the third time, and no legal carparks in sight, I resigned myself to a bit of a walk in the 30 degree heat, and extended my search spiral. Voila - a sign! Station Car Park, quoth it in large friendly letters. Oh goody, thinks I.
Yeah right! It was the @#$% bus station car park! Fortunately after 2 elevators, an escalator, a ramp, and a 10 minute walk in the sun, I was back to where I had gotten off the train some 15 hours earlier. And no, before you ask, the checked luggage place wasn't open when the train arrived late the previous evening. It shuts at 10:00, and we got in about 10:05.
Still, at least my suitcase WAS there, patiently waiting. At least one thing is going right today! Time for a bite to recharge the old batteries, then reverse my route back to the car with suitcase in tow.
With my trusty GPS back on the job properly (the windscreen mount had been in the big suitcase), it was onto the interstate just in time to join the rush hour traffic heading north. To cut a very long story short, after only confusing my lefts and rights a couple of times (those cloverleaves sure are confusing when you have to do them inside out), I arrived at my digs in South Portland just in time for dinner. A quick unpack, and the across the road to a wicked Tex-Mex restaurant for a very welcome feed of spicy stuff, washed down by a 'Negro Modela' Cerveza. I would never have thought to put lime with a dark beer, but that's the way they drink it here in Mexico, err sorry, Maine. Mighty fine it was too.
Well, that was One Hot Friday, and bed was calling. I had some fairly ambitious plans for Saturday too...
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