We did a bunch of moochdocking in Chicago, Layne got around the dinner table with her cousins and I got to have lunch with Webb and we saw Ernie and Graciela, who moved from California, for the first time in years and all that stuff that nomads get to do on the road from time to time. So we took a drive and an overnight stop on the Ohio Turnpike, a splendid toll road with comfortable rest areas on our way to the Promasters Only mechanic’s shop.
A haul out in the life of a boat is when it gets pulled up in the boatyard to get the normally underwater parts cleaned and maintained, which can be a stressful time in a sailor’s life. So it was in Barberton watching GANNET2 come apart at the seams.
The crazy thing here is our Sunpass Pro works on toll roads just like it does in Florida - Illinois, Michigan, Ohio- and all points east in something like 18 states we just drive through like we do at home. Fantastic.
Some of the rest areas on the Ohio Turnpike have special RV areas with electrical hookups, dump stations and water for twenty dollars a night. But all the rest areas have free showers which I find really enjoyable after a day driving.
Barberton was founded at the end of the 19th century by an industrialist called Barber who as was usual in those days had all sorts of modern and personal ideas about how to run industries, and manage housing and workers lives in a planned city. They manufactured matches of all things and hired migrants from Eastern Europe passing through Ellis Island. Barberton grew so fast they called it Magic City.
There are 25,000 residents in the city today and I was only slightly surprised all of them weren’t lined up at the bakery.
I settled for a cherry Danish but there were all sorts of old world foods on offer.
I feel pretty lucky to get GANNET2 checked out by Kip Amore. He has a reputation as a Promaster guru among van owners and I made my appointment months ago to show up here on Monday.
With 84,000 miles under her belt the van needed a few worn parts replaced, the front brakes, the spark plugs and the various fluids.
Kip checked the van with a computer code reader and everything came up green which cheered me up. The transmission fluid showed no wear in the gearbox, the brake rotors were like new and only the front brakes needed new pads.
An ultra violet light showed no coolant leaks except for one loose clamp, easily fixed. A known weak point is the plastic expansion chamber above the radiator and mine showed signs of cracking do we got a new one!
Paul, Kips assistant, installed a new starter battery for us. Most people Kip told me, wait for the battery to go bad but ours was almost four years old and I wanted to start our South American journey with no obvious weak points. We might be gone two years and forty thousand miles so I’m hoping to anticipate possible failures.
We spent the day waiting which is a strangely tiring pastime. Kip offered us the use of his car but there wasn’t really anywhere to go in this Akron suburb. Then we got the test drive and all is well. A few more details to check this Tuesday morning in a return visit and we’ll be done.
We caught Barberton in a good month, cool bright sunny days and crisp cold nights. There’s lots of greenery and summer feels like it’s in full swing but before long it’ll be winter.
It’s the industrial part of the country known as the rust belt but for me it has a certain romantic charm. You see movies set in these quiet brick cities, and as I’ve never had any experience of living here so I don’t have bad memories. I don’t have any reality to match to my imaginative view of these places.
Walking Rusty I looked around.
And so back to the Turnpike for a shower and a rest. Ohio works me.
