Friends of Auburn Heights Preserve
Ormond Beach Florida

Replica of The Rocket on Ormond Daytona Beach Florida

Travel Diary of Our Trip to Ormond Beach Florida - January 2006

Attending: Bill Schwoebel, Butch Cannard, Bill Rule, Tom Marshall, Ruth Marshall
Equipment: 2003 Dodge Ram, U.S. Cargo Trailer
Cars Exhibited: 1908 Stanley Model K, 1910 Stanley Model 71, Thomas C. Marshall Jr., Owner

January 22, 2006

Departed Havertown, PA for Yorklyn, DE 7:30 a.m. Arrived Yorklyn, DE 8:20 am.  Hooked up trailer with 71 which was loaded day before.  Tom's Suburban and trailer were loaded with the Model K Stanley.  The group included Butch Cannard, Bill Rule, Tom Marshall, Ruth Marshall and Bill Schwoebel.  Joined enroute by Walter O'Rourke, also a member of Friends of Auburn Heights who followed both vehicles in his Honda.  Departed Yorklyn at 9 am sharp.  Drove south to Newark, 896 to Middletown, DE, to Route 301 South, Rte 50 to the Bay Bridge, 301 again.  Stopped for lunch next to Fort A.P. Hill at "New Yorker Restaurant" around2 pm in the town of Bowling Green, Virginia.  On the road again by 3 pm. Stopped around 6 pm at Rocky Mount, NC at a Comfort Inn.  Dinner at Outback Steak House.

January 23, 2006

Morning was dreary and drizzling, about 40 degrees.  Departed at 9 am. South on I95 all morning and had lunch in Florence, SC at the "Flat Iron Skillet", a restaurant visited in January 2005 on the way to Ormond Beach.  Stopped for the night in Brunswick, GA at a Comfort Inn.  Total of 350 miles for the day, drove through rain and thunderstorms.  About 70 degrees. New tires on the trailer are working fine.

January 24, 2006

Ah...FloridaMorning was damp and drizzling on departure around 9:30 am. South on I95 again.  Reached the Florida state line in 41 miles. Temperature was around 80 degrees.  Had lunch at "Julians" in Ormond Beach before checking in with the Stanley Museum for registration, then checked into the Bermuda House Hotel in Daytona Beach.  Trailers were parked right next to the hotel on a paved lot.  Hotel was on the beach.  Checked out the cars in the trailers, some insulating material worked loose on the K and Model 71, these were re-mudded and brass was polished.  Many other people were driving around in their Stanleys.

January 25, 2006

Model KColder than before and breakfast was not available until 7 am.  Fired up the cars and left for the 30 mile "Loop" tour around 9:30 am.  Butch drove the model 71 and Tom drove the Model K with Bill Schwoebel up front and Walter O'Rorke in the Mother-in-law seat.  Seemed like the pilot went out every other mile.  Stopped for water about half way through the tour and for fuel for the K, near the "Casements" house.  Both cars made the tour without any other problems.  A special meeting was planned at the "Casements" that night, a special car display for the Town of Ormond.  Bill Schwoebel drove the K with Walter O'Rorke as passenger and Bill Rule and Butch took the 71.  Very impressive display.  Lost fuel pressure and had to bleed the fuel system twice before driving home in the Model K.  Lit the side, tail, and dash kerosene lamps and drove back to the hotel in the dark!  Filled up with water and blew both cars down.

January 26, 2006

The Rocket100th anniversary of setting the land speed record by Fred Marriott in a special Stanley Steam Car is today.  Car was called "The Rocket".  Very windy today, from the east across the beach.  Got up early to fire up for festivities beginning at 9 am. Wind blew the torch out several times, departed around 9:15 am.  Tom Marshall drove the Model K and Butch drove the Model 71. Tom and Ruth's friends, Lindsey and Marge Greenplate arrived and rode with the group today.  47 steam cars are in attendance this week.  Arrived at the beach and waited for the replica of the Rocket to make its arrival.  Brent Campbell worked hard to get this special car to run, it is normally on display at the Daytona Beach Speedway.  The car will be run on the beach today by the attending descendents of the Stanley and Marriott families.  At 10:30 am the Star Spangled Banner was played and vintage aircraft flew over, then Brent Campbell drove up in "The Rocket".  After the Rocket made its runs down the beach, the other attending Stanleys took their turns.  Both the Model K and Model 71 successfully made their run down the beach.  Next was a drive to the Birthplace of Speed ceremony around 1 pm.

Memorial Marker A new memorial marker of granite was unveiled.  Many photos were taken of the Stanley and Marriott families and other steam car attendees and then onto the Casements to see the museum and to be interviewed by Sue Davis' film crew.  Tom Marshall and the Steam Team were filmed.  Left for the hotel around 5 pm. Washed off the wheels and undercarriages of the K and 71 and got ready for the awards dinner at 7 pm.  It was a very tasty meal and nice surroundings at the Ocean Side Country Club founded in 1904. The tour tomorrow is 110 miles to St. Augustine, Florida. Hopefully there won't be so much wind.

January 27, 2006

The weather forecasters were wrong!  Today is even windier than yesterday.  After breakfast the cars were fired up. Bill Schwoebel took extra time to lubricate the engine of the Model K, dry engine cars need to be oiled every 50 miles.  Tom and Ruth Marshall drove their Suburban on the tour.  Butch drove the Model 71 with Walter O'Rourke as a passenger, and the two Bills rode in the Model K, stopping for fuel before they started.  They had some trouble with the hand fuel pump and returned back to the hotel as Butch was having problems with the Model 71 and the water pumps.  After working on the cars for 2 ½ hours it was too late to drive the entire tour, so they drove to the first water stop, had lunch at a pier on the ocean in the town of Palm Coast and returned to the hotel to work on a few other minor problems on each car.  Dinner was a cook out on the mainland for all steam car people and it was very good.  The tour for the next day is to Ponce Inlet which is south of the Daytona Beach raceway.

January 28, 2006

Early morning was cloudy but after breakfast the sky cleared.  The tour was 45 miles total.  Butch fired up the Model 71, Bill oiled the engine on the Model K and then fired it up.  Tom Marshall drove the Model 71, Bill Schwoebel the K and Butch drove the Suburban.  Just after starting out, the group was asked to be videotaped as they drove over the causeway.  A 1907 Model HK Stanley Ponce deLeon Lighthouse owned by Chris Greaves joined the group and made an impressive sight.  The pilot on the K went out and Bill could not pull off on the causeway to relight it, he had to wait until they pulled into a gas station to get fuel.

The first stop was Raabe Inc., which builds, restores, and races automobiles.  It was a huge complex. Went on a guided tour and saw the racing shop, trailer with shop, and Peterbilt Tractor.  After cookies, restrooms and water for the cars, the group left for Ponce Island.  Drove past Daytona Beach Raceway where Rolex 500 was going on.  Pilot went out again on the Model K, Tom and Chris drove on.  The two Bills relit the pilot, after ½ mile stopped again to poke the center nozzle.  The center nozzle on the Model K is used the most on this 3 burner car so it chokes up first.  Stopped at the light house and caught up to Tom and Chris. We ate lunch along the Intercoastal Waterway.  The return trip to the hotel was about 9 miles but through downtown Daytona and race day traffic.  Upon return, both cars were washed to remove all of the salt, the brass was polished and the tanks filled with water.  The brass was white from all of the salt in the air and from the beach.  The blow down banquet began at 6 pm.

January 29, 2006

Woke at the usual time of 6 am, had breakfast and trailered the cars to their temporary place in Ormond Beach until they are shown in March at the Amelia Island Concours de Elegance Show.  The trailers were parked in the private, fenced, locked location and then Bill Rule, Bill Schwoebel, and Butch Cannard drove to Orlando to visit an old high school friend for the day and night.  His home was surrounded by Sand Hill Cranes, and wild turkeys.  No actual alligators were spotted, but their paths were seen in the surrounding marshes.  Also saw fire ant hills.  The Marshalls stayed to visit Friends.

January 30, 2006

Departed for home at 9 am.   Stopped for lunch around midday at a Cracker Barrel in Brunswick, Georgia.  Were joined by Sarah Stanley and her husband Don Davidson and talked to her about driving the "Rocket Racer" and the steam pressure troubles she had when driving it on the beach, and how much the event meant to her and her family.  Stopped for the night in Rocky Mount, NC, about 650 miles from Orlando.

January 31, 2006

Awoke to rain and 45 degrees. Arrived in Yorklyn around 3:30 pm, back in Havertown by 4:40 pm.

-WOS Jr.


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