The following occurred during the club's regular business meeting, which was held on Thursday, March 15th, 6 PM, at the PD:
- "Cash" reported that the club has approximately $1200 in its bank account.
- "Ace" made a motion to make a $200 donation to the East Hillsborough Law Enforcement Appreciation Association in support of that organization's banquet honoring law enforcement officers in the east Hillsborough area. Motion seconded by "Preacher". Discussion ensued with the consensus being that this was a worthy effort and that the club should support it. Motion passed unanimously.
- "Ace" reminded all about the club's Web site (this page) and the need to check it often for updates. "Ace" also asked members to leave comments so that he can track site usage as a means of determining the justification to contract for a full-fledged domain for the club.
- "Ace" discussed the 2007 Fall Colors trip that is scheduled for this coming October. "Ace" asked for input regarding the dates and interest in participating on the ride. It is not too early to get the planning process underway as "Ace" has to get hotel rooms and arrange other logistics that are dependent upon the number of people who will be participating.
- "Ace" told the club about a potential new member.
- Dinner at Snellgrove's followed the business meeting.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
Club Ride - March 10, 2007 - Parrish, FL
On Saturday, March 10th, club members rode down to Parrish, FL, to visit the Florida Railroad Museum. The museum is an operating train and rolling stock that takes visitors on a 12-mile ride through some of the remaining wilderness of west central Florida. The ride takes about an hour and a half to complete and costs $10 per adult. Let me say right off that the experience is well-worth the ten bucks. The museum staff are all volunteers who have an obvious love of railroading.
Along for the ride were President Ace, Big Ed, Preacher, and Gunny. After the train museum, these members rode north to Ruskin where they ate lunch in an open-air roadside restaurant called "The Fish Hut". The food was outstanding. Of course it would be simply because this was one of Big Ed's little secret food places that he so often springs on us while traveling.
The pictures tell the rest of the story about the train ride. Be forewarned, though, there were some unexpected developments as the museum experience progressed!
Here are the member's bikes parked in the museum's parking area. From left to right it's Preacher's Harley-Davidson Road King (interestingly, the same bike he rode as a motor officer before retiring), Ace's Honda ST1300 (the most awesome bike ever built!), Big Ed's GoldWing, and Gunny's GoldWing.
This is some of the rolling stock used by the museum to carry passengers along the route.
The conductor and another museum volunteer. These guys were very friendly and didn't mind posing for pictures, answering questions, and generally making your visit enjoyable.
Here you see the conductor guiding the engine into place to couple to the rolling stock.
The engine is now coupled to the passenger cars and things are gearing up for departure from the main museum station.
Here's Gunny and Ace hanging out in the Kentucky Club Car before departure.
And here's Preacher hanging out in the Kentucky Club Car. This was Preacher's first club ride in while and it was good to have him along on this adventure.
Okay. Now things get really interesting. You see, Big Ed and Ace managed to get their ride upgraded so that they were allowed to ride in the cab of the engine. How cool is that!?! Ace has always wanted to ride in an engine and it finally happened for him. Ace reports that this was a lot of fun, not to mention a great learning experience. Here is the engineer, Steve Wonderly. He proved to be a very nice guy and was very generous with his time and knowledge. Big Ed and Ace say they had a great time riding up front and talking with Steve during the trip.
Here is a shot of Glenn sitting in the Club Car during the switching process at the turn around point. You can just see the look of envy in his eyes as Ace rolls past him on the walkway of the engine.
Here's Big Ed riding in the engine cab.
Big Ed really liked standing out on the front of the engine as it rolled northward toward the switching point. He spent quite a bit of the first leg of the trip standing out front enjoying the scenery.
Speaking of the scenery, here is a sampling of what the views are like along the train's route. You also see a lot of agriculture, oak hammocks, and other assorted views of wild Florida.
Now, for something really cool and totally unexpected... Steve let Eddie and Ace DRIVE the train!!! Here are shots of them at the controls. And, yes, the train is moving. And, yes, Big Ed and Ace are in total control of the entire train at this point.
Wrap-up: This was a great day and a totally enjoyable experience. And it would have been so even without the cab ride and driving the train. Ace highly recommends a visit to the Florida Railroad Museum. In addition to the normal weekend rides, the museum also does specialty rides at Easter and Halloween. They also do three battle re-enactments with the train: a Wild West version, a Civil War version, and a WWII version that Steve said is simply incredible. You can get more info about the museum, their schedules, and their activities from their Web site at the following address: http://www.frrm.org/about.shtml
Along for the ride were President Ace, Big Ed, Preacher, and Gunny. After the train museum, these members rode north to Ruskin where they ate lunch in an open-air roadside restaurant called "The Fish Hut". The food was outstanding. Of course it would be simply because this was one of Big Ed's little secret food places that he so often springs on us while traveling.
The pictures tell the rest of the story about the train ride. Be forewarned, though, there were some unexpected developments as the museum experience progressed!
Here are the member's bikes parked in the museum's parking area. From left to right it's Preacher's Harley-Davidson Road King (interestingly, the same bike he rode as a motor officer before retiring), Ace's Honda ST1300 (the most awesome bike ever built!), Big Ed's GoldWing, and Gunny's GoldWing.
This is some of the rolling stock used by the museum to carry passengers along the route.
The conductor and another museum volunteer. These guys were very friendly and didn't mind posing for pictures, answering questions, and generally making your visit enjoyable.
Here you see the conductor guiding the engine into place to couple to the rolling stock.
The engine is now coupled to the passenger cars and things are gearing up for departure from the main museum station.
Here's Gunny and Ace hanging out in the Kentucky Club Car before departure.
And here's Preacher hanging out in the Kentucky Club Car. This was Preacher's first club ride in while and it was good to have him along on this adventure.
Okay. Now things get really interesting. You see, Big Ed and Ace managed to get their ride upgraded so that they were allowed to ride in the cab of the engine. How cool is that!?! Ace has always wanted to ride in an engine and it finally happened for him. Ace reports that this was a lot of fun, not to mention a great learning experience. Here is the engineer, Steve Wonderly. He proved to be a very nice guy and was very generous with his time and knowledge. Big Ed and Ace say they had a great time riding up front and talking with Steve during the trip.
Here is a shot of Glenn sitting in the Club Car during the switching process at the turn around point. You can just see the look of envy in his eyes as Ace rolls past him on the walkway of the engine.
Here's Big Ed riding in the engine cab.
Big Ed really liked standing out on the front of the engine as it rolled northward toward the switching point. He spent quite a bit of the first leg of the trip standing out front enjoying the scenery.Speaking of the scenery, here is a sampling of what the views are like along the train's route. You also see a lot of agriculture, oak hammocks, and other assorted views of wild Florida.
Now, for something really cool and totally unexpected... Steve let Eddie and Ace DRIVE the train!!! Here are shots of them at the controls. And, yes, the train is moving. And, yes, Big Ed and Ace are in total control of the entire train at this point.
Wrap-up: This was a great day and a totally enjoyable experience. And it would have been so even without the cab ride and driving the train. Ace highly recommends a visit to the Florida Railroad Museum. In addition to the normal weekend rides, the museum also does specialty rides at Easter and Halloween. They also do three battle re-enactments with the train: a Wild West version, a Civil War version, and a WWII version that Steve said is simply incredible. You can get more info about the museum, their schedules, and their activities from their Web site at the following address: http://www.frrm.org/about.shtml
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