Well, A lot has gone on since my return home from the Alabama road trip. Things are a bit fuzzy, but here we go.
When we left on the trip. I had the only working CB for communication between the bunch. I brought a second radio for the U-Haul van that Sweet was driving. Turns out both my radio that Sweet had and John's radio in his van both had bad microphones.
At the first of many, many, many fuel stops, I remedied the microphone issues quickly with brand new microphones.
We got back on the road with better communications. Until several hours later when we traveled through Chattanooga TN. Holy crap!!!! That stretch of road sucks! Big time!! I've only been on one other interstate that is almost as bad as that one. Pennsylvania Interstate 83 northbound and southbound.
Anyway, Chattanooga bounced my General Lee so badly, it left that chat and only sporadically worked after that. Gonna have to go to the radio shop in Doswell VA sometime this winter.
About Alabama. At Johns new house, we were able to get his John Deere zero turn off the U-Haul. We stowed his trailer behind the barn after I cut the 2-foot grass, so it had place to be unhooked.
Well, once I get mowing, it's hard for me to stop............Until. I was mowing the fence line and the mower shut down due to too much chaff clogging the radiator -- after only half an hour. Good thing -- smoke was coming out from under the hood.
The cover holding the air filter in was incorrectly installed and decided to fall onto the hot manifold and melt. This prompted John and Chris to come over in the van and find out what happened.
"Well, I guess you get to find and meet your local Deere dealer, John. " Your welcome."
I got blamed, but, asking me to add to the move collaboration, has given me a chance to clear my good name and blame the real, less mechanical culprit. Did I say less mechanical? Sure did, stand by.
The pies! Chris and John decided that the last night Chris and I were in town we were going to go to downtown for a cruise. Mind you, the roads in John's area are back roads with highway speed limits that are only suggestions at best.
John jumps in Charlie and Chris and I jump in John's newly acquired International Harvester dump truck (Hobbs) with me at the wheel. We took off for town with John in the lead.
Yes, John lives on the top of a mountain! We are running somewhere just above the speed limit. That little International will roll along nicely...... until John comes to a dead stop for a school bus just over the peak of the 4-mile downgrade. I go for the brakes and there's nothing but hopes and prayers.
Chris, not immediately aware of what was transpiring, was asking why I was cursing and hollering to hang on. I was looking for a landing spot in a ditch or woods to keep from wiping John and Charlie off the mountain.
John takes off and I'm able to gather up the control of truck. I found a nice low gear and carried Chris and I slowly to the bottom of the mountain to the traffic light at the bottom.
We travel down about a mile and a half to a little Mom and Pop gas station\snack joint. I got out of the truck and swore I won't be moving it one inch. John and Chris are still not believing my story to this day, I guess. I raised the hood and checked for brake fluid. There was nothing but rusty mud at the bottom of the master cylinder. Might have found some other mud a bit later after we arrived home.
Chris went into this little fuel place and came out with the brake fluid and said that I needed to go inside. I was still kind of trying to get myself together after our near-death experience.
"Inside!?!? Dude! I just want to go back!!"
Chris said not till you look inside.
"Ok, I will." I walked inside and there was a little lady running the place and there was one of those old, refrigerated display cases filled with probably 40 or 50 genuine, homemade, southern Pecan Pies!!!! Jackpot Baby!!! What truck? What near death experience.
"Are those pies for sale? Are they homemade? I'll take 2!"
A mere $30 and Chris, me and my pies got in Charlie and wished John good luck in the Dump Truck. We had a nice snack in town while I watched over my pies in Charlie.
Chris and I left Alabama in the morning, and I had pecan pie for dessert that night at home. John is not allowed back in Maryland or any gathering where we meet without no less than 2 pies.
How's that for a wrap up, John?
