Current location:	my office (with caramel latte)
Current mood:	content
Current music:	107.5 on the radio

What a week (or two)!
Wow, it has been amazingly busy lately. I think I just got caught up on sleep and I am pretty sure that I am back in my original timezone.

I went back to Indiana for my usual inspection of the troops on July 19th. Did the annual employee reviews on Thursday. All went well and everyone seems happy with the raises this year. They've certainly earned it. One year of working remotely and no big problems (that we couldn't work out) or burning down of the facilities as Levi likes to point out.

Three weeks before this trip my friend and soon to be business partner, Kris, found a fantastic deal on an entire brew on premises shop that had gone out of business and was liquidating the entire contents. So, we hoped we got a great deal for pennies on the dollar, although sight unseen for the most part. The only catch being that it was in Florida. Kris thought it was somewhere near Orlando. No problem. I happen to have a big box truck that we could use to go and pick up this merchandise.

So...Friday morning, which has a humidity level somewhere around 112% as it is beading up on the windshield already, I hop into the box truck and am alarmed to find that the AC is not working. Nothing, nada, just blowing outside temp air. Uh oh, but "oh well, we have to make this run." Kris and I figure we can tough it out since we have towels to sit on and clear our sweating brows. Also, I am either sick or allergies are killing me as I can barely speak (or breathe) for the next three days. Oh, I wish I had remembered to bring my asthma medication disk, breathing and talking seem critical for the next few days. We load the cooler between the seats and by 7:30 am we are on our way south.

The next surprise is when Kris tells me that our destination is not Orlando, but Davie, Florida. Davie! That is in Miami! Oh, and we have to go to Davie, then back to Fort Myers (Punta Gorda) actually to pick op some of the remaining items, then to the guy's house for the last bit. Well we've only got until Monday as I have to be back in Indiana on Tuesday for work and then back on a plane on Wednesday.

We make pretty good time as the sun and temperature both climb. By Nashville, TN we've about had it. We pull over in Murfreesboro and take the truck to a Goodyear shop. It is currently 96 degrees. Yes, the do AC work, and yeah, they can get us in the bay in an hour. Turns out all it needed was a recharge. One hundred and forty-nine dollars, a cold beer for Kris and I, and two hours after pulling off the interstate we are back on the road.

Finally we make it to Florida and we are oh so very tired. We're trying everything to stay alert. So we switch to singing bad 80's tunes that are on the radio in very bad fashion while bobbing back and forth like Stevie Wonder. All of a sudden we both exclaim, "there are flashing lights>" Uh oh, the heat is after us at 1:30 am, not much chance of out running them in a box truck, so we pull to the side of the road.

The cop asks for the license and registration which Kris hands over. "Uh, is something wrong, 'cause I don't think we were speeding?" He informs us very politely that we just blew past an agricultural inspection point. I didn't think we had to stop at those since we are under 10,000 pounds gross. Turns out ALL trucks (including pickups) must stop. "But we're not hauling agriculture" I proclaim. Turns out they verify this by having you pull over. Oh well, no harm no foul, and he just gives us a written warning. A ticket would have been $167. We pull back onto the interstate laughing our asses off. A half hour later we call it a day by stopping in Gainesville.

On Saturday afternoon we finally make it to Davie to the brew on premises shop of the merchandise owner's friend. He gives us the grand tour and answers our volley of questions. Then we're off to Punta Gorda for more of the supplies. Along Alligator Alley we see many reasons for the name. I must have seen at least a dozen gators on the drive back across Florida. We load the supplies onto the box truck and dripping with sweat, head to his house to pick up the two pieces that were the main reason for this entire journey. The Sabco brewing system and the 12 tap keg cooler are in far better shape than we had even imagined. All of a sudden the entire trip was worth it.

We stop in Ocala to catch some sleep and Sunday we are on the route home. Georgia is a bit boring and smells kinda funny, but we just keep on truckin' and make it to Chattanooga for the evening. Having just spent the past three days cooped up in a box truck we decided to call it an early day and stop for a good dinner and rest. We found a good hotel in downtown Chattanooga and headed out for some dinner. Ate a wonderful meal at Easy's Seafood, hit a brewpub for a beer, then off to a local watering hole for a couple more beers. Oh, what a great stop. I almost wish I had more time to check out the downtown, the aquarium, and the duck boats. Maybe next time.

Monday is a seemingly long and tedious drive the remaining distance to Bloomington. We drop off the few big pieces of cargo at Kris' house and I take the box truck back to Gosport. We decided we would unload the next day as we were just beat by the time we pulled in to Bloomington. All that way and even with our hodgepodge method of packing without any packing pads or blankets we didn't break a single thing, including the 24 glass carboys we had been hauling.

Wednesday I get an amazing behind the scenes tour of the Indianapolis Museum of Art from Angela, then off to the airport for the ride back to Oregon. The next day Amy and I run back to Portland to pick up our friends, Glenn & Kalpana who will be visiting for a week. By now, Amy is sick and has allergy, sinus, or coughing issues for the next five days.

We spend the next week running them around Oregon and spending some fine time at the coast. What a blast. I love showing friends the Oregon we have come to know and love. I am sad that they returned to Indiana yesterday, but am so happy to have the chance to catch up on sleep and work now. It has been two weeks of non stop running and I am looking forward to a break. Oh so much work to catch up on, but that can wait.