Months ago Cheryl and I started planing our trip to the Flight 401 Memorial.I felt that I should be there in attendance to show my respect to Bud and the survivors,get a chance to veiw some of the surounding countryside of my birth place Miama, maybe get some froggin in I had recently heard through a couple of airboaters that the froggin was real decent and maybe get a chance to spend some time on Lake Kissimee on the back home trip.
I took a few days off from work to prepare for the trip loading the camper and such and since my boat was skattered about the yard awaiting a new hull from Alumitech cntry oblidge to offer me one of his which I readily accepted .I aired the tires and shot a little grease to the lubriaxles .Cheryl loaded it down with half of whate she owns and by 8 am friday the 28 we were off to the Glades.
We wanted to arrive at theAAF cub site by maybe 3pm to meet davie and others so that we could set up before dark.Cntry was runnin behind leavin Bradenton which he lives closer anyway.All was going well till we got just passed the Palm Bay exit on 95 when the trailor hit the asphalt.Cheryl ask whate was that I told her I reckon we got us a flat on the trailer.We got off the highway alright and after smokin over the situation which wasn't good,I called cntry.
He got a hold of cchardt and Dakota and got me directions to there place and I arrainged for lukes tow service to get the boat and trailer there.I couldn't beleive that we were less than 3 miles from there front door.By the time the boat was off the rollback cntry was on his way to reddick to B&S tailer just north of Ocala for a new 5200 pound axle and wheels and tires.the old axle was a 3000 lb axle totin a 3500 lb boat.While I awaited cntry I took the oppertuinity to strip the trailer of it's axle with tools from chris's boat authorized by Dakota .
cntry arrived around dark thirty and after another 3 hours the trailer was back on new legs and feet
I can't thank Dakota ,Chris and cntry enough for there help.It was a kinda strange , I felt that it was met to be breakin down when and where we did.
We pluged our truck camper into dakota's christmas yard lights and spent the night while cntry slept in the house with Hot wheels .Also I might mention that Dakotas yard decorations made the local news.
We had all agreed that night that we would leave out by 4 am with Chris and Dakota in the lead for the glades.Wouldn't ya know it cheryl and I awoke by 3 am hooked the truck up to the boat and thought whate the heck we need fuel for the truck and gas for the boat and it would probly be alright to go down and fuel up WRONG.
I gota call from cntry and after conversing about our previuos agreement that I had broken lets just say that our relationship was a little stressed well maybe more than a little.I can tell you this 100 miles and breakfast didn't make me feel any better.However when it came time to drop the boats in the water and do our part for the Survivors and Bud cntry and I shook hands and it was like nothing ever happened.We went on to participate in the memorial services at the site,cooked maybe a 100 lbs of frog legs at the AAF site.And meet some very fine people that day.Some one mentioned that there was 103 boats maybe representing the 103 that passed .I don't know, but for some unexplainable reason I was surely drawn to be there that day.
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I took a few days off from work to prepare for the trip loading the camper and such and since my boat was skattered about the yard awaiting a new hull from Alumitech cntry oblidge to offer me one of his which I readily accepted .I aired the tires and shot a little grease to the lubriaxles .Cheryl loaded it down with half of whate she owns and by 8 am friday the 28 we were off to the Glades.
We wanted to arrive at theAAF cub site by maybe 3pm to meet davie and others so that we could set up before dark.Cntry was runnin behind leavin Bradenton which he lives closer anyway.All was going well till we got just passed the Palm Bay exit on 95 when the trailor hit the asphalt.Cheryl ask whate was that I told her I reckon we got us a flat on the trailer.We got off the highway alright and after smokin over the situation which wasn't good,I called cntry.
He got a hold of cchardt and Dakota and got me directions to there place and I arrainged for lukes tow service to get the boat and trailer there.I couldn't beleive that we were less than 3 miles from there front door.By the time the boat was off the rollback cntry was on his way to reddick to B&S tailer just north of Ocala for a new 5200 pound axle and wheels and tires.the old axle was a 3000 lb axle totin a 3500 lb boat.While I awaited cntry I took the oppertuinity to strip the trailer of it's axle with tools from chris's boat authorized by Dakota .
cntry arrived around dark thirty and after another 3 hours the trailer was back on new legs and feet
I can't thank Dakota ,Chris and cntry enough for there help.It was a kinda strange , I felt that it was met to be breakin down when and where we did.
We pluged our truck camper into dakota's christmas yard lights and spent the night while cntry slept in the house with Hot wheels .Also I might mention that Dakotas yard decorations made the local news.
We had all agreed that night that we would leave out by 4 am with Chris and Dakota in the lead for the glades.Wouldn't ya know it cheryl and I awoke by 3 am hooked the truck up to the boat and thought whate the heck we need fuel for the truck and gas for the boat and it would probly be alright to go down and fuel up WRONG.
I gota call from cntry and after conversing about our previuos agreement that I had broken lets just say that our relationship was a little stressed well maybe more than a little.I can tell you this 100 miles and breakfast didn't make me feel any better.However when it came time to drop the boats in the water and do our part for the Survivors and Bud cntry and I shook hands and it was like nothing ever happened.We went on to participate in the memorial services at the site,cooked maybe a 100 lbs of frog legs at the AAF site.And meet some very fine people that day.Some one mentioned that there was 103 boats maybe representing the 103 that passed .I don't know, but for some unexplainable reason I was surely drawn to be there that day.
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