Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving. Oceana and I loaded up and headed on a road trip up to visit my family just north of Pittsburgh. We had planned on taking the campervan, as that’s our home away from home. However, it was in the shop and the mechanics didn’t get finished in time. So, I unloaded the tools from my work van, we threw in a queen size mattress and the animals (Teak and Lacey), hooked the flat bed trailer, and off we went.
Orlando traffic
We didn’t get out until 4pm on Wednesday, the day before thanksgiving, which means rush hour traffic around Orlando. We took some back roads to skirt Orlando and then finally caught the interstate in north Florida. We stayed the night at a rest stop in South Carolina. Since we’re in my work van, which isn’t insulated, it was quite cold inside. When we woke up, it was 39 degrees inside! We were back on the road at 5am but still ended up missing Thanksgiving dinner with the family by a few hours. Bummer.
The molding machine
Friday morning my Dad and I made a run to central Ohio to pick up a piece of equipment. I’ve been considering a molding machine for quite a while, and I found a deal on a machine that was too good to pass up. So we drove out and picked it up. It’s a big piece of equipment! It weighs as much as a car and is about 11′ long. This machine is used to make moldings – think baseboard, door casing, crown molding, etc. With my work I’ve ran 50,000 linear feet of molding in the last three months (using basic entry level machines that work ok, not great), so this should be a game changer for me. We got it loaded up and headed back to my parents house.
Visiting family
Over the next few days we got to visit with quite a few of our family who we hadn’t seen in way too long. It was nice to see everyone again.
One of the fun and interesting things we did while in PA was to visit with the Amish. My family has connections with the Amish community and because of that, we were able to check out an Amish sawmill as well as visit with an Amish family in their home.
One more tool
Monday morning we headed for home, but not before stopping off in Akron to pick up a drill press. The price was right and it is an old model that has features that I haven’t been able to find locally in Florida so we loaded it up and then headed south. With the weight of the machines on the trailer, I opted to head home via I75 which takes you through Kentucky and Tennessee with less hills then going through West Virginia.
Lots of driving
The trip was uneventful and we made it home Tuesday afternoon. After unwinding for a bit, Oceana gave me a hand getting the molding machine unloaded from the trailer. We used an engine hoist and an overhead chain hoist to lift the machine and then we drove the trailer out from under it. We lowered it down on blocks where it’ll sit until I can get a mobile base welded up for it.
Teak update
Teak and Lacey did well on the trip. Teak really liked the snow. He would run around and scoop the snow up in his mouth. I think he likes the cold. Sorry bud, you live in Florida! He keeps growing. We weighed him after we got back and he’s up to 28lbs.
That’s all for this week. I’m looking forward to getting back on the house and tearing out the living room ceiling! Thanks for following along.
It was great to see you over Thanksgiving!!Glad you were able to make it home.
I’m glad Teak and Lacey did well on the trip, didn’t know you had Amish roots! ha ha
Yes we we’re glad the pets travel so well! No Amish roots in Jake’s family, just friends of the family.
We are so glad you made it home for Thanksgiving and some snow. It was a wonderful visit which included a trip to the Amish community. Family members were so happy to see you, Oceana, Teak and Lacey. Now you need to get that molder up and running… Love, Mom