Road Trip With PF--

"Just a short little road trip of 1200 miles or so"

I needed a new engine for my "Limo" to get ready for some parades this summer. It is the most fun car in the world on 2 wheels but sadly the engine is tired and needs a transplant and luckily my buddy Larry came to the rescue with a good replacement. So I called my trusty sidekick "Deke" and asked him to go with me on "a short little road trip of 1200 miles or so".

As always he was ready to go.........in fact, he was BORN ready...and I like that. Here he is at midnight 12 am in front of his home on Saturday. We got on the road and headed for northern Illinois and I had planned our trip to arrive at my favorite Iowa Machine Shed restaurant in the Des Moines area when they opened at 6 am and that is when we got there.
We had a nice breakfast and hot coffee that gave us the "strength to keep going" and it sure was good....YUM...they even gave us 3 eggs each even though we ordered 2 and I like that...

Upon leaving this great place where the waitresses wear overalls and ball caps (like real farm girls), I took a photo of this Hampshire hog as it somehow reminded me of my personal bodyguard and sometimes sidekick Gasserlouie...

Back on the road with the hammer down and headed East we later got sleepy and I was looking for a caffeine drink when I pulled off the four lane road and as I got on the exit ramp what did I see but a nice bunch of old parts cars in an industrial storage area. 

That was a fun diversion from the long road but we had to keep pushing on....and a few hours later we had arrived at the scenic farmstead of my pal Larry and his lovely wife Mary.

they have a pretty view with a nice pond but it is kinda low on water right now after an easy winter with not as much snow melt...

Larry showed me the new Ford Model A engine that he was selling me and I got to hear it run...sounded great too!

and then we looked over some of his motorcycles and I sadly learned he had just sold my favorite Indian bike to Japan recently. But the others were nice too...

the backside of his beautiful big red barn show the bank style or basement where the dairy cows once lived in the winter...

I never tire of visiting here where I have bought a few hot rods, jalopies, and motorized bikes over the years. We looked at Mary's clean low mileage Corvette in the drive. It must be a time machine as she looked great standing beside it.....

and here are our hosts standing in the doorway of the big red barn:

And about this time Mary called us inside for some hot from the oven coffee cake type muffins and coffee. Heaven is the key word here as we ate heartily and talked like old friends do...

And I had a devil of a time getting their elderly dog "Friday" to pose for my photo and finally settled for this shot...

The we went back outside their nice country home and towards the barn again to look inside and I took a photo of Deke and Larry:

and even posed with Larry myself...

The barn holds some nice treasures and is a fun place to go----like a kid's dream come true....

Not only does he have alot of old grille shells, he also has a few old winter front shutter style covers to keep northern radiators warmer in the old days before anti-freeze....very cool

The barn holds an assortment of old car parts but Model A Fords and old Chevy trucks are his favorite as are mine...

And the barn itself is so well built and preserved with it's high roof for hay storage and wood floor worn smooth to a nice look. 
This is what paradise looks like for old car guys and people who like antiques...

and this is the view from the inside looking out ...

I have always found it difficult to take good photos inside the dark barn with no lights but I still try my best and here are a few of his cars and trucks...

and how about a very rare early 28 Ford "AR" chassis?

and another old Model T hot rod roadster in the corner....

and a heck of a nice 30-31 Model A coupe body here in the other corner...

Or how about an ultra rare 1928 Ford Model AR roadster body in nice shape to go on that rare chassis? No problem...he has one of those too...

and then I looked at my personal favorite car in the barn which is yet another Model A roadster and this one is a stripped down hot rod....love this car...

We were having a great time visiting for a couple of hours or so but I told the boys we needed to load my new engine and so we did....right on the back of my little hitch carrier which handled the small engine just fine all the way home...

And then sadly it was time to begin the return trip home and here was the view from my rear view mirror....

So long for now and thank you to our great hosts Larry and Mary....it was alot of fun. 
We got back on the road and made some fun stops in Iowa which I will blog about later. After spending the night in Newton, Iowa we drove home on Sunday only stopping for fuel and a terrific lunch of hamburgers and homemade onion rings at my favorite place "Puffy's Steak and Icehouse" in small town Maple Hill, KS. 
Now home again with the new engine tucked away in the shed and ready for a nice evening of rest.
Thank you once again for riding along on the never ending adventures of PF where the search for life's simple pleasures will continue until further notice.