A photo I forgot to upload from hearted days posting, one more item that caught my eye in the Harley Museum at Miami in Oklahoma.
Next morning we were all up early. It was now Friday, which meant we had passed the halfway mark of the trip.
Kieths wife it seems is an early riser and had left by 06.00 for work. Remember what I said about people working hard in the U.S. ?? She could long since have retired, but continued to work in a job she obviously enjoys.
We all showered, had breakfast, coffee etc and then set off for Fayetteville, back to Arkansas to send a bit more time with Clem, Kim and their four cats.
I still had to collect the new side trim that I had bought months before, as well as the unpolished Stainless steel bed strips. These had been bought on Clem's shop account and delivered to him on my behalf, so I paid him back when we got there. Remember the Ski bag I had bought early in the year for £20.00 or $30.00 ......? This was to be my "sports equipment" on the return trip, and I had already paid the £65.00 or $100.00 for excess baggage up to 23kg or 50lbs Of course there was still the worry about whether they would let me take a 2.1meter or 7" long bag onboard that was ultimately to weigh in at 23kg. Subsequent to all the good planning, I still needed to buy another bag allocation for £140.00 or $215.00 to bring back the rest of the spares and stuff I had accumulated. Just beware if you travel like we did, stuff soon accumulates.
Once again we chose back roads and it delivered to us in spades......
There is so much more to see.
Scrap yards, cars, trucks etc parked out front, and out back of properties. Sometimes a glimpse made us pull over, turn around and go look again.
I had not taken very many photos on this day as the scenery was way too interesting.
At one point we saw what looked like a breakers yard.... Closed when we tried the doors, but as we had turned around to investigate and I was still looking for an original auto column shift steering column to buy, and any yard was open game we went to another business nearby.
Martin waited in the car while I went to ask about the yard.
Inside I met Meri (her parents' fault for naming her) and Paulawho worked the front office and desk.
At first they thought I was a mad Englishman, but soon warmed and started asking questions.
Within minutes, Martin had come to see why I took so long..... He is impatient like that.
Suddenly our quick stop and seeking directions and info about a breakers yard had turned into an hour or more in chat and cultural exchange.
I suspect the girls were massively amused by the way Martin and I play off each other, constantly hitting back and forth at each other.
British humour is different to the American version.
So there in Welston in Lincoln County in Oklahoma, a random stop for directions ended up in Facebook friend requests and well wishes plus a selfie for Paula's Facebook page.
Small world, generous people.
Terrible photo, but perfectly represents the randomness........
Paula to the front, Meri at the rear.
We made it back to Clem's in the afternoon...... Had a few beers down at the shop.
I also had a rather spectacular Mojito that Clem made up for me..... My first.
While packing my side trims and bed strips, Clem asked if there was anything I was still looking for for my truck.
We had mentioned to him that the trip had not delivered on a steering column to replace the one in my truck, but that we were both hampered by sheer volume of stuff. My ultimate weigh in was at 84kg or184lbs not including my back pack.
So he asked again if I would be interested in one if he had one, of course I would be and I said to him, only if I could pay for it.
So we went around to one of his stores, rummaged through the approximately eight he had in stock, all wrong....... He said he was sure that he had one. Until I saw it placed wheel on the floor, further back in the store. EUREKA !!!
We unpacked and dragged it out back to the front workshop and set about stripping it. I did not need the wheel, and my existing steering column had a shaft, so it really was just the rest of the column I needed.
The switch gear on it was brittle and falling apart as we disassembled it, and Clem suggested I order in an OEM part to rebuild it with. At 4.30 on a Fridaywe managed to get one ordered for delivery to Bret's mother in laws home in Austin Texas...... As we would be long gone from Fayetteville by the time it got delivered.
Cost, including overnight delivery was $99.95 which was a lot to pay, but at least one can now rebuild it and have working switchgear.
Clem also agreed to sell the column to me for an incredibly fair price.
I did help too, but here is Clem and Martin fitting a puller to the wheel.
Eventually we decamped back up to the house.
Beer fridge around the corner, bottle caps this side please. I love the way in which Clem manages to make everyday items look just right and in place.
Back at the house I was greeted enthusiastically by all the cats, including Minnie who gave me all of her attention.
My kinda welcome.
Back in "my bedroom" I found this car on the pillow, and a box full of vintage jewelry, clothing, handbags and hats for Nicola, a very thoughtful gift from Kim, who had clearly connected with Nicola through my stories and photos of her. Technology to the ready, I texted Nicola a few iPhone pics....... Response was as could be expected. Pleased.
Coffee, tea, chats and cats took a while, then we were joined by Pete and his wife as well as Jeff from the shop and we all went out to dinner at a local pub and pizza house a few streets and short walk away for another celebration of Martin's 50th Birthday.
The jugs of beer kept coming, we kept on drinking. We met up with more of the locals who had been to Clem's party the previous weekend, and it was great seeing them all again. Even better was the fact that we were greeted like long lost family.
Eventually a load of pizzas came along as well and we all ate ourselves silly. It was an awesome night.
I managed to get the whole restaurant to sin "Happy Birthday" to Martin as well and it ended in a rapturous applause.
Did I mention this trip just kept on giving?
Eventually the seven of us left the restaurant and headed home for more Pool, Baccadri bopper ice, red skin peanuts and a generally good time till who knows what time of the night.
I think I ended up with two cats in my bed that night, again, not everyone's cuppa tea, but as I love animals and they seem to take to me, it was a perfect finish to the day.
Next morning we were all up early. It was now Friday, which meant we had passed the halfway mark of the trip.
Kieths wife it seems is an early riser and had left by 06.00 for work. Remember what I said about people working hard in the U.S. ?? She could long since have retired, but continued to work in a job she obviously enjoys.
We all showered, had breakfast, coffee etc and then set off for Fayetteville, back to Arkansas to send a bit more time with Clem, Kim and their four cats.
I still had to collect the new side trim that I had bought months before, as well as the unpolished Stainless steel bed strips. These had been bought on Clem's shop account and delivered to him on my behalf, so I paid him back when we got there. Remember the Ski bag I had bought early in the year for £20.00 or $30.00 ......? This was to be my "sports equipment" on the return trip, and I had already paid the £65.00 or $100.00 for excess baggage up to 23kg or 50lbs Of course there was still the worry about whether they would let me take a 2.1meter or 7" long bag onboard that was ultimately to weigh in at 23kg. Subsequent to all the good planning, I still needed to buy another bag allocation for £140.00 or $215.00 to bring back the rest of the spares and stuff I had accumulated. Just beware if you travel like we did, stuff soon accumulates.
Once again we chose back roads and it delivered to us in spades......
There is so much more to see.
Scrap yards, cars, trucks etc parked out front, and out back of properties. Sometimes a glimpse made us pull over, turn around and go look again.
I had not taken very many photos on this day as the scenery was way too interesting.
At one point we saw what looked like a breakers yard.... Closed when we tried the doors, but as we had turned around to investigate and I was still looking for an original auto column shift steering column to buy, and any yard was open game we went to another business nearby.
Martin waited in the car while I went to ask about the yard.
Inside I met Meri (her parents' fault for naming her) and Paulawho worked the front office and desk.
At first they thought I was a mad Englishman, but soon warmed and started asking questions.
Within minutes, Martin had come to see why I took so long..... He is impatient like that.
Suddenly our quick stop and seeking directions and info about a breakers yard had turned into an hour or more in chat and cultural exchange.
I suspect the girls were massively amused by the way Martin and I play off each other, constantly hitting back and forth at each other.
British humour is different to the American version.
So there in Welston in Lincoln County in Oklahoma, a random stop for directions ended up in Facebook friend requests and well wishes plus a selfie for Paula's Facebook page.
Small world, generous people.
Terrible photo, but perfectly represents the randomness........
Paula to the front, Meri at the rear.
We made it back to Clem's in the afternoon...... Had a few beers down at the shop.
I also had a rather spectacular Mojito that Clem made up for me..... My first.
While packing my side trims and bed strips, Clem asked if there was anything I was still looking for for my truck.
We had mentioned to him that the trip had not delivered on a steering column to replace the one in my truck, but that we were both hampered by sheer volume of stuff. My ultimate weigh in was at 84kg or184lbs not including my back pack.
So he asked again if I would be interested in one if he had one, of course I would be and I said to him, only if I could pay for it.
So we went around to one of his stores, rummaged through the approximately eight he had in stock, all wrong....... He said he was sure that he had one. Until I saw it placed wheel on the floor, further back in the store. EUREKA !!!
We unpacked and dragged it out back to the front workshop and set about stripping it. I did not need the wheel, and my existing steering column had a shaft, so it really was just the rest of the column I needed.
The switch gear on it was brittle and falling apart as we disassembled it, and Clem suggested I order in an OEM part to rebuild it with. At 4.30 on a Fridaywe managed to get one ordered for delivery to Bret's mother in laws home in Austin Texas...... As we would be long gone from Fayetteville by the time it got delivered.
Cost, including overnight delivery was $99.95 which was a lot to pay, but at least one can now rebuild it and have working switchgear.
Clem also agreed to sell the column to me for an incredibly fair price.
I did help too, but here is Clem and Martin fitting a puller to the wheel.
Eventually we decamped back up to the house.
Beer fridge around the corner, bottle caps this side please. I love the way in which Clem manages to make everyday items look just right and in place.
Back at the house I was greeted enthusiastically by all the cats, including Minnie who gave me all of her attention.
My kinda welcome.
Back in "my bedroom" I found this car on the pillow, and a box full of vintage jewelry, clothing, handbags and hats for Nicola, a very thoughtful gift from Kim, who had clearly connected with Nicola through my stories and photos of her. Technology to the ready, I texted Nicola a few iPhone pics....... Response was as could be expected. Pleased.
Coffee, tea, chats and cats took a while, then we were joined by Pete and his wife as well as Jeff from the shop and we all went out to dinner at a local pub and pizza house a few streets and short walk away for another celebration of Martin's 50th Birthday.
The jugs of beer kept coming, we kept on drinking. We met up with more of the locals who had been to Clem's party the previous weekend, and it was great seeing them all again. Even better was the fact that we were greeted like long lost family.
Eventually a load of pizzas came along as well and we all ate ourselves silly. It was an awesome night.
I managed to get the whole restaurant to sin "Happy Birthday" to Martin as well and it ended in a rapturous applause.
Did I mention this trip just kept on giving?
Eventually the seven of us left the restaurant and headed home for more Pool, Baccadri bopper ice, red skin peanuts and a generally good time till who knows what time of the night.
I think I ended up with two cats in my bed that night, again, not everyone's cuppa tea, but as I love animals and they seem to take to me, it was a perfect finish to the day.