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It is now after April 01, 2009 but, spring sure isn't here yet. Last evening was our annual Perry Fire Department Election Of Officers and Herbert "Joe" Funk was elected as our new Fire Chief for a 3 - year term. Then this Saturday evening is our Annual Banquet at our Perry Firemen's Recreation Building starting at 5:30 PM with a very nice buffett dinner and the passing out of the yearly awards and certificates. I took about 120 pictures of the evenings events. Coming up on April 18th is the ESATA truck club's bus trip to Cooperstown, NY to visit the National Baseball Hall Of Fame and the Farmer's Museum. I hope the weather is good. Carol & I will both be going.
EVENTS IN 2009
Becoming a new member of the Empire State Antique Truck Association, has been very interesting we have monthly meetings at different locations through out the summer months and during the winter months we will be meeting at the Kwikfill Restaurant on Route 354 in Marilla, NY. On April 18, we had our Spring Saturday Bus Trip to Cooperstown, NY. Both Carol & I went along to visit the Baseball Hall Of Fame along with walking around the town and taking pictures at the Lighthouse on Otsego Lake and the Cooperstown Train Depot. Had lunch at the Cooperstown Diner on Main Street before boarding the bus to go to the Farmers Museum just outside of the village. We spent about 3 hours here going through all the old buildings and riding the Merry Go Round. Was a cloudy but, nice day for this. Leaving Cooperstown around 4:00PM our next stop was the Ponderosa Restaurant in Herkimer, NY. After having dinner it was 6:00PM and time to head back home. It was about a 3 hour trip on Route 90 to exit 48 in Batavia, NY. It was just before 9:00 when we pulled into Kmart Plaza. Took 550 Pictures today while on the trip. Very nice day for a trip. On Tuesday Evening April 21, 2009 I went to the 23rd Anniversary Party For the Empire State Antique Truck Club at Perkins on Transit Road in Amherst, NY. Had a good turnout of members, some I have never met. There was a beautiful cake made for the event. Had a good time here tonight talking to different people and I took one of my albums of pictures from when I started taking pictures at my first truck show at the Kmart Plaza on Walden Avenue across the street from the Galliera Mall in Cheektowaga, NY back in 1995. Party lasted about 3 hours. On Saturday April 25, 2009 Carol & I took a trip to Salamaca, NY to visit the old Erie & BR&P Railroad Depots and Museum in the downtown city district. The museum here was open and it was filled with railroad archives through out the whole depot and the person on duty here said that the freight house out back was filled with more archives. It was a sunny blue sky day but, Carol yesterday at work, hurt her back lifting and really didn't feeling like walking a whole lot, so, we didn't. We used my 7D and A720 cameras and took 184 photos today and spent about 3 hours here taking pictures and visiting with the museum host on duty. At about 4:00 we then left for home. We will come back again when Carol feels better. We got back home and and went to Top's Market in Warsaw and got 2 sirloin steaks and a can of beans to cook out on the grill. On May 05th was my birthday and Carol had to work so, I took my Mother to Hornell to visit her sister who is in the Hornell Gardens. The three of us went to Pizza Hut there in Hornell for pizza. My Aunt has been here for 2 years now and she has sent me a birthday card every year since I was born except for the past two years. We go to see her about once a month but, she can no longer leave the Nursing Home due to her health declining. On May 19, Steve & I went to the Springdale Farms on Colby Road in Brockport, NY. We had our meeting in the Recreation Hall along with having hot dogs and a pop and a brownie. Any member that wanted to could bring their truck for show. Had about 7 different trucks there to look at. Had a person give a speech on restoration of an antique truck. Back home around 10:00 PM. It was on Wednesday May 20, 2009 I left with the camper heading for Almond Lake in Hornell. Takes about 1 hour pulling a camper but, had no problems. We will be spending 5 days here for the Memorial Day Weekend. Carol will come around noon on Friday. Got all setup in about 20 minutes. It gets easier each time I do it. One of the first places I went to after getting settled was the Erie Railroad Depot Museum to see what was new since the last time I visited here. I took 50 pictures today with my Canon A720 camera. Then I went to the Hornell Gardens to see my Aunt Gladys who is a resident there. I came back to the campsite and fixed some hot dogs on the grill. I sat in the sun to long and got a sunburn rash on my hands and arms. Put lots of lotion on them to get rid of the rash. It took a long time. It is not sore but, can see the rash clearly. On Friday Carol came and we had good meals all the rest of the weekend. I setup our Coleman Blue Road Trip Grill for cooking this weekend along with using the fireplace. On Memorial Day we checked out around 2:00 PM and headed back home. On Tuesday June 02, It was our monthly fire meeting. It was told to everyone there by the chief that nobody can no longer take any pictures at any alarms and put on to any website or on the Flickr or Webshots Website as I do. This is a Wyoming County rule starting today. Time to find other places to go to get great pictures. Maybe more Truck & Car Shows. On Saturday June 06, Carol & I went see the car show at the Delevan Drive-In in Delevan, NY. It was a nice sunny day for the about 50 car display. I got a couple shot's of each car that was entered in todays show. Spent a couple of hours here today and then headed for Springville for the Dairy Fest. Members of our truck club had brought some of there own trucks and tractors for display and a table to have a membership drive. More pictures were taken here along with some of the carnival held in the parking lot off Main Street. I took 273 photos today. Carol & I left Springville and decided to go to Buffalo RV at 1200 SouthWestern Blvd. in West Seneca and look at campers. Always looking for something better. She, had sold her's a month ago due to the 5 more years of payments. Looking for something between $500 and $1,000 that will not result in big payments. They had a 1992 Coleman Pioneer Popup Camper and was just taken in this past week. New canvas but, had no fridge, or heater. I have both of these to install so, I got a price and decided to buy it. It fit in my budget and will be paid off in less than a year and not 7 years. They will call me when its ready to pickup. Can't wait. On June 21, Carol & I went to the Father's Day Car Show at Almond Lake in Kanakadea Park in Hornell, NY. No camping this weekend here for us. Haven't got my camper yet. There was 150 cars here today and I took a shot or two of each car entered. Total of 782 photos today.On Friday July 10th I had to go to Buffalo RV and pick up my camper. They had to put a Brake Control Switch in my Dakota and wire the camper and the new seven pin wiring harness for the lights and signals. It took about 3 hours doing this then they showed me how everything worked. We did not plug the camper into the electric which we should have done, cause the power box is dead!! Nothing works when plug inside the outlets inside the camper. Will need to replace the power inverter unit which won't be an easy task. This unit isn't even manufactured any longer. Tried many places for a new one but, so far no luck. For now I will use a couple 25' orange outside extension cords. Carol made all new curtains for the inside and I installed all new curtain rods over the side windows where the curtains will be hung. Had 2 small cuts in the new canvas over the front bunk unit. I repaired them with some tent canvas material. I then got 6 - spray cans of Thompson's canvas sealer that I sprayed on all of the canvas with 4 coats and that worked out to be very successful and didn't drip during any rain storms this week. I found this sealer at Valu Hardware in Warsaw. I will get somemore next spring and redo the whole canvas area again. I have done a lot to this within a week's time. I want to use it at our truck show on August 02, 2009. Last summer I purchased a Honda E2000i Generator to use when electricity is not available. This can be used at a lot of campsites if I need power. On July 22, our truck had their monthly meeting at the Genesee County Fair helping parking cars for there Wednesday evening car show. Again, I got a shot of all the cars along with some carnival shots through out the evening. Had close to 60 cars here tonight and I took 179 pictures tonight. On Saturday August 01, was our annual steak roast on the night before the big annual Empire State Antique Truck Association, Inc, Truck Show held at the Genesee County Fairgrounds in Batavia, NY. Everyone tonight was to bring a dish to pass for the dinner. I set up my camper tonight to stay here and get ready early to setup in the morning of August 02, for the photo shoot of each entry coming through the gate. It sure did rain during the night and at 8:00 am it was still pouring so, we got the canopy set up in the morning. We went to the Town / Country Restaurant across the street from the fairgrounds for breakfast before starting the truck show photo session it rained all morning long and trying to get some good pictures , well, It wasn't a morning for pictures. Then around noon the rain had quit and started to clear up and it turned out to be a half way decent kind of day. The ground was kind of soggy and wet and hopefully, it won't create a problem of anyone getting stuck. I did take 583 pictures today including some from 100' high off the top of a 1986 Pierce Platform Ladder truck which belongs to one of our members. At 2:00 there was a truck parade of about 20 trucks and the owners tell a little history about his truck or tractor. I got a photo or two of each and every truck that went through the registration process. At 4pm the awards were given out for 7 different categories with a nice trophy presented to the owner of the truck. Next year's show date is Sunday August 01, 2010. Congratulations to all of the winners in todays event. On Friday August 07, The Batava Holiday Inn was host to the Eastern Nash National Convention. This was a 5 day event that started on Monday and run to Saturday August 08, I went over on Friday due to the call for rain on Saturday. I met David Kloser who is the owner of a Metropoliton and I use to work with David at Lowes in Henrietta. He took this week off to come to the convention. I took 322 Pictures today being a nice sunny day. Tomorrow could bring as many as 140 cars to view but, with the rain coming I won't take my good camera out in the rain. Next week on August 12, The Austin / Bantam Truck Show comes to the Batavia Holiday Inn. I went over to Batavia to get some pictures. It was a sunny day and there were 20 trucks there on display. I took 220 pictures today of all these beautiful trucks. Its not everyday that you can see a show like this in this area. Later that evening the truck club had there monthly meeting at the John Schroder residence along with the 2 cylinder club we view about 100 tractors that John has in his collection. John lives on Route 354 just outside of Cowlesville, NY. I took 114 pictures here tonight using my A720 camera. On Saturday August 15, Carol & I went to Erie County Fair in Hamburg, NY. They had a great display of different kinds of tractors from Steam powered to mixed fuel to gas models. There was an old Case type Steam tractor that runs using wood to create the steam to power the tractor. I took 248 pictures using my 7D and A720 and S3 camera's. It's now Thursday the 3rd of September and what time is it !!!! Its White Truck Bash Time in Batavia at the Holiday Inn. These White Bash Truckers come from all over the USA to have a good time and see a lot of Western New York that only the Bash could bring. We start out by everyone meeting around noon at the Miss Batavia Diner on Route 5 for lunch. President Steve Slocum welcomed everyone here for a 3 day event. After finishing our lunch we all went to Demo's Auto Restoration on Route 33 in Bergen, NY just up the road about 10 miles on the left. Spending a couple hours going through there 100 acres of old cars, trucks and a whole lot of parts. After getting ther George Pursel who is the President of our Empire State Antique Truck Association, Inc. was there to show us around and through the auto parts maize. After we left here at Demo's we headed for Gulf Road in Leroy to show everyone the huge Marion Steam Shovel in an abandon gravel pit across from the Dolimite Plant on Gulf Road. This was a big treat to a lot of these guys that have never seen anything this huge. There have been many pictures taken of this shovel and I got a group shot of everyone today again, shooting into the sun which isn't my favorite thing to be doing. After spending a half hour here we then headed to the Consolidated Freight Terminal on Route 5 in Leroy, NY. There was a nice display of old trucks here for everyone to check out. There was some trucks on flatbeds along with engines that need some TLC. From here it is time to head back to the Holiday Inn in Batavia to eat and get ready to go with some of the members that have never seen Niagara Falls. This would take about 60 minutes using route 90 from Batavia to Williamsville then 290 to 190 over the Grand Island Bridge to Niagara Falls. We left Batavia at 6:00 PM. I haven't been here since 1998 when I went with a friend for the weekend for my birthday. Lot of changes now. Now nobody can leave the country without a passport or an New York State enhanced drivers license. A lot of changes costing any NY license holder an additional $40.00 for an 8 year license or spend $100.00 for a passport. Corky & Pat Shaw were our tour guides tonight. I loved taking pictures of the sunset skies with Niagara Falls, Ontario front and center. Got a lot of nice pictures here tonight. We left here and was back in Batavia about 10:30 PM. On Friday morning we all met at the Holiday Inn and President Steve Slocum brought his school bus that he uses during the school year which by the way starts next Wednesday, and we are going to explore some different places today and be back here at the Holiday Inn around 5:00 to get ready for tonights dinner. We started by going to Corky & Pat Shaw's Farm on Route 262 in Byron, NY to see their truck and tractor collection. Corky has quite the collection of different trucks from Army Tow Trucks to Fire Engines with a lot in between. Had coffee and cookies there before we left. To bad we didn't have more time to get a closer look at every piece here. Leaving here we headed for Gregsville and stopped at Rose's Enterprise where he has a lot of construction equipment and antique trucks here on his lot. It being a nice warm sunny day there was a lot here to look at but, the clock was ticking and we had to move on to the Mount Morris Dam Site just off of Route 408 in Mount Morris, NY. Before having our tour Steve's wife Kathy and their Daughter - In - Law Patty Slocum had met us there with a bagged lunch with ham or turkey sandwich, a large cookie and a pop to tie everyone over till tonights dinner at 7:00 PM. Only having about 30 minutes before our 1:00 tour we ate with time to spare. This would be a guided tour by the US Army Corp. of Engineers stationed here at the dam site. Our tour guides name was Harmony and was very informative about how and why the dam is here and how long it took to build this project. Harmony took any questions that anyone had and gave answers to all of the questions asked. We all went down to ground level in an elevator and under the Genesee River. This was so neat but, I wasn't allowed to take any pictures once we entered the building up on top. Goverment Rules. A construction crew was using dosers and dump trucks to clean out all of the downed timbers in the river. This was done only on the Portageville side. After spending about an hour and a half here we left and took a ride through Letchworth Park with another tour guide and she told us all about all the different animals that are in the park along with the different trees that these animals feed off of. We stopped at most every check point through out the whole park. Stopped at Wolf Creek area so everyone can get a good look at the gorge. For some of the members this was the first time visiting Letchworth State Park. Went up to the Council Grounds to where the Mary Jemison Statute and 2 of the log cabins used back in the 1800's and are restored every so often. Then we went down to the museum and checked it out along with the middle and high falls area. I was hoping that a train would be crossing the bridge while we were there. I got a group shot while here at the high falls area. Had 20 or so members in the photo. Well, its about 4:15 PM and time to start heading back to the Holiday Inn for tonights awards banquet and silent auction. This starts at 7:00 PM for all members is the last harrah before the truck show in the morning. We had a grand time and meal tonight. Dan King who is a member of our Empire State Antique Truck Association is Tonights speaker on the White Manufacturing Company History. This was a very good program that Dan put together for this banquet. President Steve Slocum took to the potium and awarded past president Roland Smith a model to scale of his own original truck that he owned and drove every day. Roland was very pleased with this award. It was time for the silent auction to get underway. All winners will stake there claim on what they bid on. There was a lot of very nice archives that now have a happy home. It was just about 10:00 PM and time to get packed up and get ready for the big shoooow tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM at the Genesee County Fairgrounds. The evening sure did go quick and met a lot of new friends in the white bash group. Now! it's show time here at the fairgrounds just after 9:00 AM and the trucks are pulling in for the show. Members were on hand checking out the trucks as they come in. A friend of Steve & Myself brought his antique hose cart and chemical extinglusher for todays display. It may not be a White but, he sure got a lot of notice from a lot of people. Even got the owner Robert F. Poydock of Perry, NY to join our Empire State Antique Truck Association and be able to come to our meetings and monthly events that goes on through out the year. I was thankful that Steve had asked me to take pictures for this great 3 day event. I really had a grand time and met a lot of new friends and will have a lot of great memories to have forever. I took 1128 pictures in the past 3 days from start to finish. Steve was elected President for another year. I couldn't have asked for a nicer bunch of people that were here this weekend for the 13th Annual White Truck Bash. Next years show will be in Kansas City, KS but, I know I won't be able to go due to the cost of being that far away. I did purchase a nice red Polo Shirt and hat today. I got a lot of nice letters from the members that wanted a CD that I put together for everyone that requested one. On the following day Sunday September 06, was the New York State Festival Of Balloons and Car Show at the Dansville, NY Airport. Carol and I got there a little late cause Carol had got called into work for a few hours. She is on call all weekend till Tuesday Morning. We got there about 2:30 PM about enough time to get a shot of every car there at the show. There were more cars this year than usual. Around 4:00 PM the cars started leaving the grounds to get ready for the balloon launch at 6:00. Carol & I walked around the carnival grounds looking for something to eat. We both found Beef on Weck and fries which we both had. Got a can of Pepsi to boot. Being close to the time for the balloon launch we headed down toward the end of the fence line looking north so, the sun isn't shining in my eyes and into the camera lens. There are probably 50 balloons tonight and I will be using both my 7D and A720 camera's and Carol will be using her SX100. I took 752 pictures today for both the Car Show and Balloon Show. It was a beautiful day for cars and balloons. To see all of the pictures from all the events since April go to my flickr site at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jimduellcollection website and check them out. Still have 4 months left of 2009 to get some great pictures that will end up on this page by year's end.
A WEEK IN THE ADIRONDACKS 2009
On Monday September 21, 2009 at 8:45 am Carol & I left Perry, NY for a nice week at Tupper Lake, NY and all points surrounding the mountain region. It took a little over 6 hours to get there where then we checked into the Sunset Park Motel on Demars Avenue in Tupper Lake. It was 269 miles from Perry. It was a beautiful blue sky day for traveling. Each day we went to a different place to visit that I had not been to at all or in a 30 year period. I took all my camera equipment with me to get some great Adirondack Sunsets from our motel right on the lake and tonight was the first night here and got some nice sunset photos. Carol and I took a walk along Raquette Pond in the Tupper Lake Municipal Park. It was around 5PM and time for something to eat. Found Guido's Pizzeria on Park Street and we went into the restaurant and got a medium cheese pizza and a pop and ate it their. Finished walking in the park and went back to the motel and about 8PM it was sunset time. I took over 50 sunset pictures about every 2 minutes till it was totally dark. Lot of great shots tonight. Now after 9PM time to watch a little TV. On Tuesday morning it was raining so, before leaving town we stopped at Dunkin Donuts for coffee and a donut to tie us over till lunch time. It had finally stopped raining before we got to Saranac Lake to check out the community park at the lakes edge and got lots of shots and Carol wanted a picture of me and the 2 granite bears here in the park. I got some pictures of the waterfalls and walkway behind the village offices and police station. They had a lot of new police cars and electric carts. Across the big intersection was the Harrietstown Town Hall which is a super looking building especially with the clock tower on its roof. Now it was time to find the Adirondack Railroad Depot up on Depot Street. We just followed the signs leading us there. What a beautiful site this depot was. Made of stone blocks and built to last forever. Its to bad that the train wasn't running today because we would be the first to board. It was still very cloudy and dark colored skies which makes rotten looking pictures but, I just couldn't pass up the challenge of photographing this Train Depot. After taking about 50 shots of every angle. After spending about 2 hours it was then time we went to Lake Placid which is 10 miles up Route 86 and checked out all of the shops especially the shop that sold about 50 types of clocks. We spend over an hour here listening to all the different chimes on each clock. This is my kind of clock shop. Then we walked down to the park with a tobaggon slide that goes into the lake during the winter olympics on the lakefront of Mirror Lake. Then we went up to the Adirondack Railroad Depot here. This was another super looking depot used by the Adirondack Railroad. Another stone structure with timber post and beam construction. Both depots were like they were built yesterday. Just Magnificent. Took another 50 or so pictures here. Weather was still cloudy but, better than it was in Saranac Lake. Here the train only runs on Wednesdays and Sundays during the fall season. Now its time we found a good place to eat. After checking some and they had $50.00 meals we found our favorite place back in Saranac Lake which was Pizza Hut. We are 22 miles from our motel in Tupper Lake. This sure wasn't a good night for sunset photos on the lake. It was starting to get foggy coming back to Tupper Lake and it took us about 45 minutes to get there. On Wednesday we went to the Lumber Jack Restaurant for breakfast having my usual 2 – pancakes and a slice of ham. Carol had the same without the ham. She had a bagel instead.Weather was still cloudy but, no rain as of yet. We headed in a Southwestern direction for about 50 miles to Old Forge which I haven't been to since February of 1979 when we spent 10 days there snowmobiling. On the way we stopped at the lake front in Long Lake. Here there was 3 sea planes that were used to give patrons rides down the lake for a $30.00 fee. Across the street was the Adirondack Motel & Inn that was very busy serving dinners to guest stopping in. Took a couple dozen pictures here then headed out on Route 30 to Route 28 into Old Forge. When we arrived there I parked across the street from the Old Forge Fire Department. We then got out and walked down to the lake front of the Fulton Chain Of Locks. On both the left and right was the Forge Motel where we stayed when we came each year snowmobiling. It got pretty big in the past 30 years. After walking for about an hour it started to rain so, we got under the covered bridge and waited a few minutes till it let up enough to head back to the truck a couple blocks away. By the time we got back to the truck it had stopped. We then went up Main Street looking for the depot just off the main drag on Route 28. It wasn't hard to find being in sight as we went up and followed the tracks. This was crowed with a lot of cars that was at the Inn across the street. We took a lot of pictures here and then went inside the depot to a small store. I purchased a Adirondack Railroad Pin for $4.00. It was getting to be around 4PM and about time to start heading back to the motel and find something to eat on the way. We come across Drakes Restaurant on Route 28 in Inlet and went in and we both had a hot dog & fries and pop. Being still cloudy there will be no sunset pictures tonight. Thursday we started out with a trip to Dunkin Donuts having some coffee and a donut to go. Then we decided to head north to Malone on Route 30 North. Carol or I have never been here before and it was a beautiful Blue Sky Day. It was about 60 miles from Tupper Lake and we should have stoped and got gas before we left. About half way there the ole gas lite came on and I know I have at least 40 miles worth of gas left and should be able to make it OK. Luckly, we did and found a Mobil Station on Route 37 in Malone. I then filled the truck with $60.00 worth of special grade. Just up the street from the gas station was a Super Walmart. We went in and checked out the material to see if there was any that matched the curtains in my camper. Not that lucky. It was all gone. So, we walked around for a while after riding for a couple hours. We then left Walmart and took a ride up the Main Street till we came to an Antique Shop on the right which we had to stop and check it out. Had a lot of nice items but, to expensive for me. We then headed back toward town and seen a Restaurant called Hosler's and was right across the street from the Franklin County Fairgrounds. Stopped in and we both had Pasta and Sauce. It was very good but a little spicy. Hopefully we will make it back to Tupper Lake on a single Rolaid ! It was 4:10 PM and time to start heading back to Tupper Lake. It looked good for getting some sunset pictures tonight over Raquette Pond and Tupper Lake. We got to the motel at 5:30PM and we took a walk around the park and lakefront. I started taking some pictures at 6:30 PM about one or two every 5 minutes until the sun was completely set over the lake. Spent the rest of the evening downloading all of today's pictures from 3 different camera's. On Friday we decided to go to our favorite place which is Lake George, NY. After having breakfast at the Lumber Jack Restaurant in Tupper Lake I took a few Blue Sky Pictures of the Tupper Lake Depot that is out behind the Lumber Jack. Its about 90 minutes from Tupper Lake to Lake George. This is the first time in ten years that we didn't stay in Lake George due to extremely high priced motel rates. We will surly be back there again next year. It was a really rough weekend for balloons this weekend due to high winds and rain. We only missed Thursday Night Opening Ceremonies at Crandall Park in Glens Falls, NY and Friday night Launch. The Saturday night and both Sunday morning and evening launches were cancelled. Spent a couple hours today at the North Creek Railroad Depot getting lots of pictures of the depot and the engine and cars of the Upper Hudson River Railroad here in North Creek, NY. Carol took a picture of me and the Conductor Bill Thompson who is also a Town Councilman here in the Town of Johnsburg and a weekend volunteer for the Upper Hudson River Railroad. The Upper Hudson River Railroad uses the Adirondack Railway line built by Thomas C. Durant in 1871 to North Creek. North Creek Station is where Theodore Roosevelt learned he was to become president of the United States of America after President William McKinley died due to a gun shot wound. President McKinley's last words “ It Is God's Way ; His Will Be Done, Not Ours, “ The shooter Leon Czolgosz was tried and found guilty of murder and executed at Auburn Prison by Electric Chair on October 29, 1901. William McKinley's Portrait is on the US $500.00 Bill. Well, I guess its after 2PM and time to leave North Creek and go to Lake George, NY about a half hour away for the rest of the day. Got there and the traffic was at its normal pace using both lanes through town. We parked in front of Bob's Ice Cream Parlor and walked the rest of the way. I had to make a special trip up to see their new Fire Station that was built within the past year. It was a nice looking structure and a job done well by all. As we walked down Ottawa Street we come to S & J's Motel and I went in and rang the bell and the owner came down from upstairs and we asked her about room avability and cost for a 7 day stay during the 2010 Adirondack Balloon Festival. She took us and showed us one of the rooms which was very nice. Had a fridge, shower, big dresser. That is enough for us. She gave me a price of $55.00 for a 7 day stay. She don't take reservations till next September 01, or after. Nothing before. That is ok with me and she gave me her card and put the price on the back of the card. We left here thanking her for answering her door. We will come here from now on. Leaving the motel here we walked down Beach Avenue to the Lake George Steamboat Company to check out their store that was opened today. Usually its only open on the weekends. Went in and got a pin of each of the 3 steamboats they have. It was a beautiful Blue Sky Day but, quite windy. Balloons probably won't lift off tonight unless it calms down. We walked the pier and got to 4:30PM and time to find something to eat. Its been a couple of years since we have been in the Boardwalk Restaurant so, Thats where we ate. We both had Prime Rib and Salad Bar and Coffee. It was almost 6:00 PM when we left the Restaurant and did some more walking around the beach area and through Shepard Park and now being 90 minutes from our motel in Tupper Lake we decided that we better start heading back. It will be dark tonight when we get back but, when I am driving in deer and moose country I want to be back before dark. The sun had already set by the time we did get to the motel at 8:30PM. It was to cool to sit out on the lawn swing so, I downloaded all of todays pictures from again all 3 camera's. Looks like Saturday is going to be another Blue Sky Day so, after having our breakfast again at the Lumber Jack Restaurant we went northeast on Route 3 to Plattsburgh, NY and Route 3 took us right in front of the City Of Plattsburgh Courthouse on Bridge Street. Here is where we parked for a couple hours. We walked across the street and got some pictures of the Courthouse and the huge monument in the small park on Bridge Street. We walked down by the river that goes through town and the railroad bridge for the Amtrak Adirondack Line that comes a couple times a day. Then we walked up the steps to a busseling busy street and down on the left was what looked to be a Depot, but, not sure. We had to walk down and find out what it is. On the way down we came across a Salvation Army Store, it was kind of small but we went inside to see what the had today for deals. You had to walk down the iles kind of sideways cause they were not very big. There was a lot of glass and dishes for maybe some just starting out buying for an apartment. I just want to see what that big castle was down the street. We finally got there and it was a depot and offices in the front and Amtrak Station in the lower back next to the tracks. What a monster of a building. Its huge and magnificent and does look like a castle. We went down back to the Amtrak and asked the lady in charge when the next train was due in and she said about 15 minutes so, we waited for it to happen. Suddenly the horn blew and the gates started coming down and their it was. I started shooting when the train whistle blew and it came around the bend. Lot of good pictures here. It was less than 10 minutes then away it went. What a thrill it was to finally be someplace as an Amtrak Train pulled into a depot and unloaded and loaded and was on its way so quick. I used 2 different camera's and Carol used her camera and got a lot of great pictures. Now she wants to take a weekend trip somewhere by Amtrak. I have wanted to do this for years but, never have. Leaving the station we walked down to the shoreline of Lake Champlain. It was quite breezy today and the lake was pretty rough. All of the Restaurants here on the pier were closed for the season. We started walking back cause I didn't need to get sick being this far from home. As we walked up near the depot I took some more shots of this Amtrak Depot. We got back to the truck shooting pictures all the way back. We got back to the truck and headed out back up US Route 3 South. On our way here we spotted a place called Big Daddy's and there special today was Baked Ziti and after a while we came into Clayburg, NY and we stopped at Big Daddy's that was on Route 3 for our baked ziti dinner. These portions were huge and we both cleaned our plates. We are 49 miles from our motel from Big Daddy's. On our was back to Tupper Lake we stopped at the Adirondack Railroad Depot in Saranac Lake for some better pictures with a Blue Sky instead of Gray Clouds. We are 22 miles from Tupper Lake and more sunset pictures. After finishing up with the sunset photos I downloaded every picture that I took today. I had a lot from the Depot in Plattsburgh. It was now Sunday morning and again we ate at the Lumber Jack Restaurant in Tupper Lake then headed back to Lake Placid. It is a little better kind of day today than it was last Tuesday. We Spent about 3 hours here today walking through the shops and then at 4:30 we went and got a tank full of gas which is enough to get us back home tomorrow. After leaving Lake Placid we stopped on Route 86 in Ray Brook, NY at The Tail O' Pup Barbeque and we both had a Pulled Pork dinner with salad, beans, Pop, Pulled Pork Sandwich. It was great. Its been a month since I have had any barbeque. It was now 5:45PM and we started to head back to Tupper Lake. We had to start packing our bags cause we are leaving for home in the morning. It was a quick 7 days but, all good things must come to an end sometime. Next year we will be back in Lake George at S & J's Motel. Well! Its Monday morning and and its time to go home. We left The Sunset Park Motel and stopped at Dunkin Donuts for our morning coffee to go and left town. Couldn't believe that we were 2-1/2 hours and 99 miles from Watertown on Route 3. We stopped at Arby's in Watertown for a half hour and our next stop was home and 5 hours later. Hit a couple of downpours along Lake Ontario and just before we got to Oswego on Route 104West. Then it was clear sailing the rest of the was. Got back into Perry at 6:30PM and traveled a total of 1302.7 miles for the whole week.
After returning home from our week in the Adirondack Mountain Region and on Sunday October 04, 2009 I went on the Drive Around with the Empire State Antique Truck Association through Letchworth State Park starting at the Mount Morris Entrance. There was around 20 different old trucks in our little parade stopping at different points of interest along the way. Every spot there was that 20 trucks would fit into we pulled into for some pictures. We did a photo shoot of all the trucks and owners with the fall colors in the background to make a good shot. I used a ladder to stand on to get some good shots using my Konica Minolta 7D camera and my Canon A720 camera. Photos come out good being a cloudy day. After a few hours at 20 miles per hour we exited the park at the Portageville exit and headed for Perry to the Charcoal Corral where there was a buffett waiting for us at 4:00 PM. We got there and our newest member Robert Poydock had brought up one of Perry's old pieces of fire equipment for everyone to check out. It is a 1937 American LaFrance Pumper called Ole Goldie In service it was Perry 1. Can out pump any new truck around and has done it. We had a great dinner here tonight with Pulled Pork as our meat and salads, beans, rolls, golush, pop, coffee. Quite the spread. It was about 6:00 PM and everyone was heading out for the day. It was a good time and I ended up taking 370 pictures today.
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ATTICA & ARCADE RAILROAD IN CURRERS, NY
On Sunday October 18, 2009 It being a nice blue sky day I took a ride up to the Curriers Depot in Curriers, NY. Here was this beautiful orange with black trimmed depot with an old steam engine sitting to the left of the depot. This was a magnificant site to see. In a few minutes people were comming in cause there was a train comming with about 350 people on it and they cook hot dogs to sell and a pop. Within a half hour I heard the whistle blow and the train was comming around the bend. I ran out of the depot and started shooting. Hate shooting into the sun but, pictures turned out better than I thought they would. This was a great day for pictures had a great crowd that can in while the engine got turned around and a lot of hot dogs were sold. In about 25 minutes all the people boarded the train and headed back to Arcade. Within a minute it was as quiet as it was 30 minutes ago. I took 282 photos today using my 7D and my A720 digital camera's.
On Tuesday October 20, 2009 The Empire State Antique Truck Association made a trip to the Pierce Arrow Museum on Seneca Street in Downtown Buffalo, NY. Robin Poydock rode with me and this was a very nice museum. This was a place that dedicated the woman in the transportation and at all the displays stood a woman manaquane fixing a car, changing a tire, chaffier, and many more positions that woman did back in the 20's and 30's. Using my Canon A720 camera I took 132 pictures tonight. We all left here and stopped at Alton's Restaurant on Walden Avenue in Cheektowaga for supper. I had Beef on Weck & Fries again tonight. Left here and was back home around 10:00 PM.
On November 12, 2009 I took a ride to Warsaw, NY to get some pictures of the Former Erie Railroad Depot on Main Street next to the used car lot and garage. It was a nice sunny day at about 50 degrees outside. Took about 6 pictures here then went to Attica, NY and got about 50 pictures of the former Erie Railroad Depot on Exchange Street. I love doing train depot pictures all across New York State. On Tuesday December 15, was our truck club Christmas Party at the Kwikfill in Marilla, NY. Carol & I both was there. We had Beef on Weck and baked beans. There was a lot of cookies and candy and fudge and donut holes to snack on. I took my DVD Player and played a DVD of all the functions that were held in 2009. There was a great turnout tonight for the party. I took along a photo album of truck show pictures from the past years starting back in 1995 which was my first time taking pictures at a truck show at the Kmart Plaza in Cheektowaga, NY which is across the street from the Galleria Mall. Been to all the shows every year since then. Now a member of the Empire State Antique Truck Club Association. On December 18, 2009 Jim's 10 year old Gateway ME Computer seen its last blue screen! Its finished. There hasen't been any support from Gateway in a few years. Time for a new one. On December 22, 2009 Jim went to Staples in Henrietta and purchased a new HP Pavilion Windows 7 Home Premium Desktop with a 21" LCD Full Wide Screen HD Monitor. He alsp purchased a 36 month extended warranty. Going to take some time getting use to Windows 7 fetures over his old ME program. Got his HP C7180 All - In - One Printer to print wireless with no cords attached using his Toshiba XP Laptop. Great improvement over running a cord from computer to printer. Now just a click of a button and its printing. Now !! If I could get my new Windows 7 Desktop to work the same way. Will still keep working at it until I get success. Now 2010 is here and planning out the summer for activities like car shows and ESATA Events that will be happening. Sadly, on January 23, 2010 we lost our dear friend Kathie Slocum. She and her Husband Steve have been part of the ESATA Truck Club and White Bash Truck Club and the Perry Fire Department for many years. She will be surly missed by all of us along with her family, Truck Club Members & Fire Department and Auxilary Members and especially her husband Steve. On February 10, 2010 ESATA Truck Club Member and Collector John Schroder passed away. We will all miss John and his wife says she wants to keep showing off all his tractors that him and his boys have collected through out the years. There was over 100 pieces on display last August 12, 2009 and will continue again this next 2010 summer season. I got a picture of each tractor in his collection. It's now March 01, 2010 and we had about 12" of snow in the past couple days and hopefully, the lion is come and quickly leaving Western New York and ready for the lamb to settle in and finish the cold and snowy spell out with the tempertures start rising into the 60's and 70's and soon to be in the 80's. The ESATA Truck Club has planned a Spring bus trip covering Central New York area covering Seneca Falls, Waterloo, Auburn which will be on either Saturday April 17th or the 24th, what ever date the bus is available. Hopefully, it will be on the 24th for a little warmer weather. Should know for sure at the March 16th ESATA meeting.
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