I left Christmas at 9:00am and arrived at Land Yacht Harbor Airstream Park in Melbourne at 9:00pm. The problems started before I left Christmas when I found a flat tire on the trailer due to a 2" long machine screw. I drove from the park to the Firestone dealer who said they could make me an appointment for Wed but they couldn't possibly help me today because they were so backed up. I asked if they could fix the tire if I brought it to them. And they said yes, if they didn't have to remove and replace it on the trailer they could "fit it in easily". So I took it off and rolled it into their shop. 4 hours later they returned it and I went to put it back on the trailer. Lessons learned many years ago and forgotten - a partially deflated tire will come out of a place that a fully inflated one will not fit. So an hour later, after getting the trailer up on higher blocks and putting the tire on, I was back on the road.
Exactly 6 miles down I95 I threw a tread on the right rear truck tire. It got real exciting for a few seconds and then I was able to pull off the road. AAA finally came but it turns out my spare was in very bad shape. Too many years of sitting in the back of a hot truck, I guess. The AAA guy said, "I'll put it on. But if I were you, I'd unhitch the trailer, and drive very slowly back to Wal-Mart. So I did. My first thought was, "I'm gonna die" because I didn't want to go over 40 and the speed limit is 70. So everybody except me is going 85. But he was kind enough to follow me the whole way with ALL the flashers on his truck going. 3 hrs later I left Wal-Mart, found the trailer right where I'd left it and had an uneventful trip to Melbourne.
I parked in a car parking lot overnight because I got there too late to find my spot. BUT no one was hurt, minor damage to the truck from the tread, almost NO damage to the trailer and when I got up Wed morning, this is the sunrise that greeted me. To quote Mary Ann, "There IS a God. And She has a great sense of humor."
Someone helped me park in my spot around 9:00. The guy next door immediately came over to say, "Hi.Where in VA are you from?" He and his wife are from Floyd but last fall they bought a condo in Roanoke. When he saw the bike he said, "A group goes riding every Tuesday, but they got rained out yesterday so they're leaving at 10:00 today." I plugged in the electric, got the bike off the truck and took a 125 mile ride to Disneyland for lunch at the Coronado and then over to theAnimal Kingdom hotel to walk around the grounds and see bunches of animals. And YES, I left in such a hurry that I forgot my camera AGAIN. One of the wives promised me pictures, but I don't have them yet.
I DO, however, FINALLY have some good pictures from the Sarasota Rally. Dennis Ober, the guy that took them, is a GREAT guy. He conned security into letting him climb up on top of one of the Fairgrounds buildings to get these pictures. He was a little slow in getting them to me, but he's a real clown anyway.
No, REALLY. He's a clown. SEE !
The blue lettering on his trailer's back window says "Airstream Hobo."
Here are two of his pictures of some of the Airstreams gathered in Sarasota.
And for those who haven't seen my home and toys, here are pictures of my Airstream and the truck with the Honda that "Obie" also took at Sarasota.
Yesterday I rode the bike 15 miles down A1A to my cousin Elsie and her husband Tony's house. Map I had dinner with them and another cousin, her brother Leo and his wife June who live in PA. I hadn't seen Elsie and Jay since her Dad's funeral over 20 years ago. We had a great time and I'm going back Sunday for a family gathering.
I WILL remember the camera !
