Potomac Edison Does a Great Job!

Boom and out goes the lights! Grumble, grumble, call the power company.  This is how our Friday night started. Less than 30 minutes after Peg made the call, our whole front yard was lit up by floodlights and the sound of chainsaws was echoing up the mountain.  What we thought was a transformer blowing-up was actually a tree falling right next to our house.

The tree barely missed hitting our house; it fell between the side driveway and the heat pump. But, when it fell it took out the power lines. After some struggling to pull new lines through all the trees, the Potomac Edison crew had the lights back on. The total outage was less than 1 hour.  I was really impressed with how quick they worked as a team to restore power. Good job guys!

As soon as it was light enough to see in the morning, I surveyed the damage. The power crew had cut the main trunk into manageable size logs but there was still a lot of big branches to deal with. So how do you cut up logs at 6am without waking your neighbors? You whip out your cordless electric chainsaw of course! Oregon makes a great 40V chainsaw called the PowerNow. About all you hear when this puppy is running is the sound of the chain scraping across the bar. It has enough power to get through a 6-8 inch log just fine making it great for yard cleanup projects. I have had mine for a little over a year and I am extremely happy with it.

Hot Rods Invade Charles Town!

The streets of downtown Charles Town, WV were packed with more 250 Hot Rods and Classics for the 4th Annual Charles Town Car Show.  We had planned on bringing out the mini-truck for this show but lack of free time had us settling for a quick run up and down the streets to snap a few photos and chat with friends. Still, the show was very enjoyable if you stayed on the shady side of the street.

There was a very good collection of cars and trucks lining the main drag. Early morning showers probably kept the numbers a little low but what was there was spectacular. I always love to see customs on the street rather than in parking lots. For some reason, they just look better that way.

Historic Charles Town provided a great backdrop for all these cool rides. Maybe next year I will see you there with your hot rod as well! You can find a few more photos over in our photo gallery. Http://photos.bgcustoms.biz

After-hours Access to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center

“Discover Novetta” was the theme for the evening as Novetta Solutions hosted a gathering for its employees. For 4 hours, the entire National Air and Space Museum Annex near Dulles Airport was open for browsing without the large crowds. It was a little spooky at times when you found yourself all alone in the large facility.

One of the museum’s newest displays is the Space Shuttle Discovery. Catwalks allowed for different vantage points and the lack of people made photographing the shuttle easy.

Of course the area with vintage warbirds is where I spent most of my time. The restoration area is just a little bigger than Bubba’s Garage. Just a little…

You can find more photos from the night on our photo website http://photos.bgcustoms.biz

You collect glass insulators?

The 12th annual Shenandoah Valley Insulator Show in Martinsburg, West Virginia was proof that you can collect just about anything. Held by the Chesapeake Bay Insulator Club, the show brought collectors, sellers, and a few curious outsiders (like myself) together in the meeting room of the Calvary United Methodist Church.

So what’s the story about these insulators? From the Glass Insulators Reference Website:

Glass insulators were first produced in the 1850's for use with telegraph lines. As technology developed insulators were needed for telephone lines, electric power lines, and other applications. In the mid 1960's a few people began collecting these antique glass insulators. Today there are over 3,000 insulator collectors. Insulator clubs, local and national shows, and good reference books are available.

Peg has picked up a few of these glass insulators over the years. I guess it is my fault that she has since I was the one to point them out sitting atop some old power poles that ran next to the tracks of the Durbin Rocket. When she found out that they came in other colors besides the common clear and blue green, the hunt was on. That’s the way she prefers to collect them; by color.  She happily plunked down some cash to bring her treasures home. Guess I will be building some shelves in the near future. Guess we will be back next year!