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WAITING FOR INSTANT RESULTS (cont.) Work didn’t stop for me upon arriving home, as I had to unload the R/T and get it ready to head to Chrysler Headquarters in Detroit on Wednesday. With the race trucks needing a lot of attention before heading to HQ, I knew that the R/T needed to be done and out of the way as soon as possible, so I worked until about a quarter to midnight washing, detailing, and servicing the truck. Thankfully, my efforts helped ease the workload a bit on Monday and Tuesday, especially considering the surprise problems we found in some of the trucks, like a broken rear-end in Geremie’s truck.
Rammunition and Raminator @ Chrysler HQ.
For the first time ever, more than one of our trucks was able to attend the annual “Wild Wheels @ Work” company car show at Chrysler headquarters in Auburn Hills, a northern suburb of Detroit. By way of intensive detailing, Mark and Geremie’s trucks looked like brand-new show trucks while on display at the base of the Chrysler office tower. Meanwhile, I treated employees to rides around the circle drive on their lunch break. Auburn Hills really feels like a second home when I’m with the trucks, and rightfully so. Everyone there is “on your side” and is interested in how the trucks are doing, where we are going next, and so on and so forth. While in Auburn Hills, our program manager from Dodge was kind enough to take us out to dinner, which is always a fun occasion. Not just because he himself is funny, but because Geremie and I enjoy picking on him too.
Wide-load in progress from Canandaigua Motors to the Big Truck & Equipment show.
As soon as the trucks were
loaded up at he conclusion of WW@W, Geremie, Mat, and I began our trek to
Canandaigua, NY (just outside Rochester), for our yearly appearance at the Third
Annual Big Truck & Equipment show, to benefit the local Rotary Club’s charity
efforts. I stopped for the night in Erie, PA in lieu of the fact that I didn’t
actually need to be set up in Canandaigua until Saturday morning, but Geremie
and Mat needed to be set up Friday morning, so they pressed on a good deal
further than I. While they got set up on display the following morning, I
finished off the last few hours of my drive, and headed directly to the site of
the truck show, a parking lot for the local water park. Under the oppressive
mid-day sun (coupled with a very high humidity factor), I went ahead and got the
ride truck set up early so that I wouldn’t have to fuss with it early in the
morning Saturday. Again, a prime example of me and my obsession with being
early. That evening after G and Mat’s display was over, we enjoyed a fine dinner
at a local Italian restaurant located on the north shore of Canandaigua Lake.
This, however, would not be our only dining experience on the north shore of the
lake while we were in town.
G flying high in Canandaigua.
At the conclusion of the first day’s festivities (rides and car crush in addition to the big trucks and equipment on display), the owner of Canandaigua Motors (and organizer of the truck show event), Scott Kesel, took the three of us out to dinner in appreciation of our hard work. “The Steamboat Inn” would be our dining destination, a high-end restaurant/outdoor café also located on the north shore of the lake. We chose to eat outdoors in consideration of the fine weather, and (at least in my opinion) it was cool to eat near the Canandaigua Lady, the lake’s very own steam-powered paddle boat. Perhaps this is where the restaurant earned its namesake? Regardless…
Canandaigua Lake.
The boat houses @ Canandaigua
Lake are one of the most photographed locales in the area.
The Steamboat Inn.
The Canandaigua Lady @ the
Steamboat Inn
Another shot of the Lady. The Steamboat Inn takes the award for “The Best Seafood I’ve Ever Had” and gets an A+ for its presentation. I enjoyed their fresh jumbo shrimp, which was served in a garlic-butter sauce, with crumbled croutons sprinkled on top. The shrimp were spread in a circle, with a sizeable portion of fresh creamed spinach placed in the middle. Around all that were some seasoned asparagus, and the whole meal was capped off with an outstanding variety of freshly baked breads and homemade butter. I mentioned to Geremie as we were dining that “I’m going to cry the next time I have to sit down at a truck stop for dinner.” Umm…yeah.
Modified action at Canandaigua
Speedway.
The Canandaigua Motors pace truck.
Not all of the racing was
serious…some of it was quite funny. Our plan for the evening was to head out to the local dirt track, Canandaigua Motor Speedway, for another night of exciting dirt track racing action. This has also become a yearly tradition for us, but we had about an hour to kill before the show kicked off at the track, so I suggested that we walk around the lake front some. This would give me a chance to catch up on some travel photography, which I had been falling behind in recently. The lake, which is part of the Finger Lakes region, was shimmering beautifully under the early evening sun, the mid-day haze now reduced to a memory. The local water foul were enjoying themselves in the surprisingly clear water, and it was not a big shock to see that all manner of watercraft were in use this fine evening. Mark Canandaigua down as one of my “Top-5 Places to Live”. Walking down to the lake front after a delicious dinner? Instant rewards at the tip of a finger. Well, finger lake, that is.
Pacing the field as the sun sets.
Our visit to the speedway was our most fun and interesting one yet, as we spent the second half of the night riding in the Canandaigua Motors Dodge Ram pace truck, sliding around the dirt track and galloping wildly through the uneven grass infield. That was the place to bee to enjoy the final races of the night; to see 20+ big block modifieds come screaming out of turn 4, left front tires a foot in the air was a pretty awesome experience.
Cleveland at night, from back
in January.
That pure, unchained example
of rock ‘n’ roll at its finest was a fitting companion to the sights I was
taking in as we passed through a city that can rightfully claim its place as one
of the most important places in rock history, along with cities like London,
Detroit, and L.A. Cleveland might be a tough place to race at for me and my
team, but it is one of the coolest places I’ve ever visited, if for no other
reason than the rock ‘n’ roll heritage and tributes it possesses. That night,
alone in my semi, driving on I-90 WB, I got to enjoy another one of those
instant (but brief) rewards.
The R/T hauler en route to
Ringgold. The following morning, I tired up the truck early in the morning, the heat and humidity already beginning to bear down on me. Amanda and I got cleaned up, and after a quick breakfast from the Sonic down the street, we began our ride-giving duties. Our appearance was in conjunction with a special “Jeep Jam & Ride” event the dealership was hosting in cooperation with the local 4WD shop across the street. I would say that over 50 jeeps and off road vehicles of various incarnations showed up for the event, as well as a live band playing “car show” covers, some free food, and stuff of that nature. We gave rides in the 100+ degree heat until the show wrapped up around 4pm, and then began the heated (temperature-wise, that is) tear down process. After getting everything packed away and taking a live-saving shower (oh, sweet cold water!), we borrowed a Ram and hit up the local Sonic one more time, and I ordered the greatest drink known to man: a Sonic 44oz Cherry Limeade. I only had to wait a couple of minutes for that slice of utopia served in a decorated Styrofoam cup, so I guess that’s pretty close to being an instant reward too. However, it didn’t last much more than an instant.
The Hard Rock Nashville @
dusk.
Gotta get the guitar shot. Having signed up for an hour’s worth of internet service to check our email, I logically determined that if the football stadium was nearby, that would mean that there had to be some other kind of attractions as well. Turns out I was right. A quick glance at an area map revealed that 2nd street was the hot ticket, just across the bridge from the truckstop. Despite being tired, we decided that a short walk wouldn’t kill us. Besides, Amanda rarely gets to enjoy any of the exploratory adventures that I’ve become known for, so off we went with camera and tripod in hand. A short walk across the bridge brought us to the city square, a beautiful lawn with fountains and small memorials and other municipal odds and sods. Less than a mile’s walk down 2nd street took us past the Wild Horse Saloon (which I’m told is a famous joint), which was hosting an autograph session in support of the night’s PBR rodeo event. Pass on that, thank you. We continued down about a half a block, to the intersection of 2nd and Broadway, and I found what I’d been looking for (and what had initially motivated me to go ahead and walk across the bridge), the Hard Rock Café of Nashville. Bingo.
Once darkness settled in, the
photos got better…at least in my book.
Joe’s in Nashville. I treated Amanda and myself to a nice cold drink (Mt. Dew for her, vanilla shake for me) as we relaxed inside the café for a good while, letting our feet rest after a long day. The inside of the café was fairly small and somewhat crowded, but that is pretty typical of many downtown Hard Rocks. I didn’t see any memorabilia that jumped right out at me, but to be honest it was so busy on a Saturday night that we opted not to walk around disturbing people. There was, as you would expect, a bit more country memorabilia at the Nashville HRC than, say, the Cleveland or Chicago ones. Understandable, but c’mon man, we’re supposed to be hard rock here!
The Wild Horse.
The City Fountains. Once the sun had fully set, it was cool enough outside to make for pleasant photography weather, so I shot all manner of nighttime shots, at least as far as my already depleted energy level would let me. Before long, we grew tired and decided to head back up 2nd street towards the bridge, and make our way back to the semi to call it a night. I think it is pretty cool that we were able to put in less than half an hour’s worth of walking time (to and fro) to get to the happening sector of Nashville on a beautiful Saturday night. It was a pretty unexpected reward, and it didn’t end up taking all that much work. Anyone who knows me well can tell you that music and nighttime photography are two of the quickest ways to make me happy. Heck, anyone who reads this article can tell you that.
Back on the road the next morning, we wisely adhered to the posted Illinois truck speed limit of 55mph, as law enforcement officers seemed to be everywhere on I-57, setting up speed traps and causing traffic to slow in construction areas. With an enjoyable night behind us and the prospect of getting home at a reasonable hour ahead of us, I reached over to the CD player and put in one of my favorite discs, and hit play. No waiting there, just instant rewards.
- KD Email KD and let him know what you thought!!
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