After
we
were finished in Marshall, we broke camp and headed into Washington,
DC to meet a cousins of Kathleen's in the Tyson's Corner area.
Big mistake. We encountered heavy, heavy traffic and it took
about 1/2 hour to find a place to park the mog. We finally
settled for parking near the meeting restaurant, but due to height
restriction barriers, we ended up driving over a few curbs to gain
access to parking. When we completed our lunch meeting, we left
WDC for points east.
The photos below are what we saw.
In addition to raising llamas, our friends in Marshall also raised Muscovy ducks. The ducks are used on the farm for insect control, but normally they are used as source of meat. Note the crest on the top of the bill. From Marshall, we headed into Tyson's Corner to hook up with Kathleen's cousin for lunch.
We
had to perform unnatural acts to find a parking place in the
mall. We found an acceptable site with sufficient overhead
clearance. Above Kathleen's cousin Frank checks out the
mog. Clearly, it was not what he expected.
We
got hammered with traffic on the WDC beltway despite the fact that we
were leaving town at 1430 in the afternoon. In Washington, rush
hour is an all-day affair. Our objective was an island in the
Chesapeake to the east of Annapolis and to get there, we had a huge
bridge that we would have to pass.
Our
destination is at the far end of these twin bridges. When we
arrived, we determined that our guide book was a tad old, and we could
not stay in the park we intended. We did a quick area search and
determined that the location was fruitless, so we continued east as
part of "plan B".
Our
new objective was a state park at Cape Henlopen in Delaware. The
drive was long, but uneventful. We arrived at the park late but
since it was a Thursday, there were plenty of sites available.
The park was in a coastal pine grove with sandy soil. Our plan
was to stay one night in the park, then catch the ferry north to the
Jersey shore.
Our
ride, the MV Cape Henlopen, was the namesake of the area and took us
across Delaware Bay. Since it was not yet the weekend, we did not
have trouble getting space. The crossing was several hours, but
the water was calm. The wind, however, was not calm. These
folks were enjoying the sun on the lee side of the ship.
Delaware
Bay
is big and the crossing took several hours. Once we landed in
Jersey, we headed north to spend several days with a childhood friend
of Kathleen's who lives in Jamesburg. From there, we continued
north to meet some ex-San Diego friends, Terry and Eileen for
lunch.
We
met Terry and Eileen at a nice restaurant in Watchung and had an
awesome lunch on the patio. Terry and I worked together when we
were at Musicmatch. From Watchung, it was a short drive to
Mountainside, NJ where we hooked up with a fellow unimogger Scott
and Debra.
Scott
and
Deb's place had beautiful landscaping.
Scott
had
recently completed a greenhouse addition to his shop/garage
out-building. The whole affair was expertly done and visually
appealing.
Scott
showed
us his super-clean 406 soft top Unimog. He restored this
rig and gave it the "full treatment". Note the rust-free body and
the bright colored winch.
On
the rear, Scott had mounted a hydraulic crane. The crane assembly
is detachable, and is connected via the implement pins.
Scott's
shop
was the best and most comprehensive I have seen. He had
everything: welders, lathes, CNC mills, saws, drills, shears, brakes,
sand blasters, etc. Above, you see the industrial quality TIG
welder and air compressor.
One
of the CNC lathes.
Another
view
of one of the CNC lathes.
A multi-axis CNC mill.
In
addition to his 406, Scott is restoring a long wheelbase 411. The
411 was "getting the treatment" when we were there, and consequently
partially dissembled.
We
have a 411 as well, but our truck "has issues". Many
issues. This one looks better than new and had been stripped down
to the frame for restoration.
The air tank is at the rear-center of the photo above. Also visible are the PTO shaft and the chain drive. The chain drive was used to power an outboard generator mounted in the bed of the truck.
When
Scott got the rig, it had mismatched wheels. 2 of the set were
wheels with holes, the other were "pizza" wheels without holes.
So, he used the EDM equipment at his shop to cut holes so the wheels
would match. Then they were painted the stock color, red.
Scott
had
also obtained a detachable backhoe that connects to the rear
mounting pins on the 406. This assembly is fully functional.
In
addition to the backhoe, Scott also has a "dirt blade" for the front of
the 406.
Some
brackets Scott machined in his shop at home.
Another
example
of fine workmanship. Note the TIG weld and chamfered
corners on this bracket.
From
Mountainside, NJ, we slugged it out in traffic again. Kathleen's
GPS routed us through the very center Elizabeth, NJ (next to Newark
airport). The traffic was off the chart since we arrived at
noon. The portion we saw reminded me of a cross between Tijuana
and a bad neighborhood in Brooklyn. The demographics of Tijuana
and the "ambiance" of Brooklyn. We made the transit without
incident, then headed over the bridge to Staten Island and then to Long
Island.
The
Verrazano Narrows Bridge is an imposing structure and heavily traveled
at all hours of the day.
The
traffic got much heavier as we actually hit Brooklyn. It is such
a PLEASURE to drive in thick traffic in the mog at 2 mph for miles and
miles and miles.
From
the elevated highway, we could see the Manhattan skyline.
NYC
is all about big infrastructure: bridges, tunnels, railways.
We
could see tour boats and water taxis on the East River.
The
higher portion of the roadway allowed us to see the Staten Island Ferry
and it's terminal on the south end of Manhattan.
The
Brooklyn Bridge.
The
Brooklyn Bridge is made of stone and steel and was quite a wonder when
it was built. Come to think of it, it is still a wonder.
I
had forgotten about graffiti on the buildings. This one was more
colorful than most of what we saw.
Many thanks to
those who hosted us. We greatly appreciate the kindness and
hospitality that we were shown. Mi casa es su casa should you
make it to the San Diego area.
Our plan is to do
"family things" on Long Island for a few days and catch up on truck
maintenance items. From Long Island, the plan is to cross Long
Island sound via ferry to Connecticut.
Previous Adventure | ||
Trip Home Page |
Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2010, all rights
reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.