Gone to Paris . . .

 . . . Paris Hill that is,

 . . . as in Paris Maine.

To look at some fancy cars that are part of Bob Bahre's private collection . Mr Bahre made his fortune as the builder and proprietor of the Oxford Plains Speedway here in Maine , as well as the Loudon Speedway in New-Hampshire . Every year on Paris Hill Founders Day , the third week in July , he opens the doors for the public to view his exquisite collection of vehicles . All proceeds go to fund . .

. . .  the Hamlin Library on the grounds next to . . .

. . . his private estate on Paris Hill , which just happens to be the birthplace of Hannibal Hamlin , who served as vice president under Abraham Lincoln .

The first automobile you see in the driveway is a nicely restored Ford model A

The grounds are quite spectacular as well

The view from the top of the hill

Looking down at the building that houses the main part of the collection . The upper building just to our left as we enter the gates of the estate houses some of the earlier specimens .

The 1810 Victoria carriage that belonged to Martin Van Buren which he used while he campaigned to become the 8th President of the United States .

The 1835 Victoria Studebaker carriage used in the filming of Gone With The Wind . Yes , Clark Gable's derriere sat in that one .

A 1903 Oldsmobile

A 1914 Baker

Powered by a 48 volt General Electric motor . Got the Tesla beat by a hundred years .

A 1916 Ford Model T recent Barn Find

And just to the left of the Model T a Thomas Flyer from 1910

And to the right a Panhard Levasor also from 1910

The plaque

A Stutz Bearcat from 1914

As we make our way down the long drive to the larger building there are some cars on display outside on the outer apron .

A magnificent old bus , a 1915 Lippard-Stewart .

A Duesenberg racer

From 1931

And just next to that my favorite a  . . .

. . . 1933 Auburn Boat tail roadster . . .

The ultimate gangster car

And a 1932 Stutz

Across from it a 1929 Issota Fraschini

And skipping a couple generations a 1957 DKW

And a 1951 Studebaker

As we enter the building on the right a 1940 Mercedes Benz . . .

Once owned by the King of Norway seen here transporting Mr and Mrs Winston Churchill and the King.

And a 1940 Duesenberg , the last Dusenberg ever produced .

A 1933 Rolls-Royce

 Henley Roadster . .

a 1931 Packard

And another Packard of similar vintage

And a 1941 Packard

And another Packard from 1934

That was designed for Clark Gable

Another 1934 Packard

With in flight entertainment and libations for the passengers

And another 34 Packard Coupe

A 32 Packard

And another one from 1932

And yet another one

And another Packard

And another one . . . Packard was definitely flavor of the month

OK , finally something different , an Alfa-Romeo from 1938

The other side of the Alfa

Next to the Alfa was the 1948 Tucker engine display

a 1931 . .

Mercedes-Benz racer

And a Duesenberg Lycoming engine

Three of them actually

and a 1951 Ewing racer

and to the left of the Duesenberg engines a  . . .

1947 Delahaye

The front office on the Delahaye

Reportedly the most valuable vehicle of the collection purchased for three million dollars .

Makes the green 1934 Hispano-Suiza look pedestrian

And a 1934 Cadillac

The original Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang Mercedes . . .

One of three from 1921

 the 1915 Mercedes-Benz 230 hp inline six Aero-Engine

This is the car that inspired Ian Fleming , yes the same guy that wrote James Bond , to pen the original Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang book .

A pair of Duesenbergs the tan one a 1929 and the one on the right a 1939

A 1934 SJ Duesenberg

The interior of the 34

A 37 Duesy

The tan 32

and I'll leave you with the 1949 Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle .

I think I got most of them before the battery on my camera died . The collection is far bigger than what is seen here . Many more cars were in the restoration shop one level below the display area as well as off site , though that was not open for public viewing .

Post Script:

There were a few cars brought by visitors on display on the grounds outside the estate that I photographed as we first arrived .

A bright 1930s Packard

A nicely restored Triumph TR3

A trio of convertibles stars with the white MGA

A 64 (I think) Austin Heally 3000

A 1962 Austin Heally 3000 that once had a tree growing though it restored by Jim Begin

With a dragon wrenching on the engine.

And a slick looking BMW coupe.
OK that's it for now . . .

Adding a receiver hitch to the skidder post

Found a twelve dollar receiver for a tow hitch at Mardens Discount a couple weeks ago, so I figured it might come in handy for the SKIDDER POST I built for the tractor in May .

So I brought the post back home and went at it with the angle grinder .

Cut out a two and a half inch section out of the bottom of the post .

And welded in the receiver .

My welds are nothing to write home about , but all in all not half bad for a hack .

Hit it with some rust converter and a can of orange spray paint I had on hand .

Ran it back up to Mom's and bolted it back on the three point hitch on the old Ford yesterday.

Looks spiffy , but beyond that , it will allow me to . . .

. . . build something like this next .

So that I can back right up to a log and lift it and chain it up without having to go through the trouble of digging under the log .

We are carnivores . . .

. . . and we need to satisfy the primal urge .

The ingredients . . . the cut is inch and a quarter thick "chuck eye" with good marbling , far superior and more flavorful than any other . Dust it with Adobo.

The tool . . .  accept no substitute other than cast iron . A #10 Griswold at rip roaring full-tilt-boogie flame . Get your oven hot and broiler ready with the rack on its highest setting . Extractor hood on max setting .

Three to four minutes on one side , and then flip for another minute or two on the second side . Then in to the broiler for about five minutes .

That's what it looks like when it comes out

Remove steak and let rest for a couple minutes , meanwhile . . .

Throw a big chunk of butter in the pan

And a half cup of red wine . . .  de-glaze and reduce .

Pour over steak and serve with baked potato and salad .

Time-warp

We went to a wedding yesterday .

 

Maria , my wife's niece , and Dominic , her long time sweetheart , were married .

Mia and her dad Gilles "walk down the isle", even I was a little overcome

Trouble is that when I think of Mia , it's that little nine year old girl with the long brown hair in this photo taken sixteen years ago at my wedding that comes to mind .

And these two pretty ladies . . .

 . . . are these two children  . . .  Mia's sister Abby , and cousin Kaylee . . . and for a jaded old cuss like me it's difficult to wrap my brain around this time-warp .

OK that's about as much soupiness as I can handle . .  Here is a photo of the background scenery . Tall ship booze cruises on Casco Bay . The center console powerboat that drove past just before the vows with the beer swilling crew hollering "RUN AWAY", made for some good laughs .

As this was one of the rare occasions when we are all together we did manage a family photo, though Gilles is missing as he went to find Abby for the official family portrait . The young fellow on the far left was not even born when we were married .The young man second from the right . . .

 is the little boy in the photo of the children at our wedding .

. . .  there that looks better without the riffraff  obstructing the view .

And our gift to the couple was some needle-point Annie had made .