Travel Day – We Deliver II



I haven't had internet access for the past 6 days so I will be playing catch up with my blogs for a while - Here is my Aug 31 installment.


I loaded C&C’s furniture on the trailer yesterday and per my normal mode of operation took a short test drive to see how well the furniture rides and where the weak points in the cover are. I drove up to the Air Force Museum, looked at the aircraft checked the trailer and drove back. That was enough to show where the cover caught the wind and flapped. After reinforcing the cover the trailer was ready.


We packed our stuff, loaded up the CRV and got off around 9:30 AM. The plan for the weekend was to deliver furniture to C&C, go to Sophia's christening, and then go back to C&C's to cover a couple of chairs before returning home. Being Labor Day weekend I expected more than normal traffic. Traffic was heavy at times but the trip to High Springs was uneventful. There were lots and lots of State Police all along the way. We did hit heavy rain and some of it came when I had to stop at the weigh stations and agricultural inspection (We found out on the trip home we didn't have to stop for inspections if we were hauling personal items).

I had the tarp wrapped around the furniture so that the airflow would keep most rain away from the furniture but stopping gave it another way to get through the seams.

Arrival at C&C's

When we uncovered the furniture we did find water had crept into some areas. The armoire had some significant water spots on it. All of it can be lightly sanded and repaired OK. After unloading the trailer we stashed the trailer beside C&C’s garage. We will pick it up on the way home.


The real surprise came when we found that the lock on the armoire had engaged because of the vibration in the trailer. We did not have a key and, wouldn’t you know it, the lock was very secure. I tried out my lock picking techniques, which are nil. It was worth a shot since this was an antique lock and had relatively simple mechanism. No luck.


We then went to a local antiques shop and borrowed a couple of keys from them; left Penny at the shop for collateral, and I went back to the house to try the keys. At first, both keys didn’t do anything. I tried one, then the other and then the first again. I was about to give up. I knew the keys were my best chance so I decided to lay the armoire on its side so that gravity would be working with me to release the lock. Since it vibrated into the locked position I figured gravity might help me unlock it. At first the keys didn’t do anything. I jiggled and shook them and finally I felt a little springy action with one of them. I continued to play with it and suddenly, just like in the movies, I heard a small “click”. It was open! I quickly put a small piece of tape on the tab to keep it from locking again. Penny thinks we have a key for it at home. After setting the armoire upright again I headed back to the antique shop to ransom Penny.


From there it was off to our hotel in Orange Park. Driving East on I-10 we headed from bright sunshine into some heavy rain. Since the Sun was low in the West it was the perfect setup for a full arch rainbow. This gorgeous rainbow arched symmetrically over the road as if it were covering Jacksonville up ahead. I saw it as a sign that the weekend would be a good one – then we hit the heavy rain and I began to wonder.


Check-in at the hotel was pleasant. Since I am a member of the hotel’s rewards program we got our room upgraded for free from a queen-sized bed to a king. The clerk even got us cookies before we went up to our room. For dinner we went to Buffalo’s Southwest Café. Again we were pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t just a wings place, although wings were their specialty. It had a nice selection of southwest food and burgers.


Back at the hotel we got coffee and ate our cookies. A relaxing end to a long day.