Crepe Pegette: On The Road Again

I understand that Peggy and my sister, Jean, have joined together and are looking for a hit man to put a contract on my head.  It seems in my down time due to the weather today, I managed to book three huge shows at the New Jersey Convention Center.  That’s right, folks, New Jersey.

That should make my February quite interesting.

What is even more interesting is that this could lead to a bunch of other shows all over the East Coast.  So, Big Red will get a little down time as these are all indoor shows with crepes and lemonade.  Just what I was looking for, even if in New Jersey.

I told Peggy to step up her training schedule as she was going to have to put out a ton of crepes.

I have to thank Kim from Kansas for the new moniker.  I like it.  And, of course, Willie for my new favorite song, On The Road Again….

I’m sure some reports will follow.

One of the problems a lowly funnel cake vendor like myself has during the winter months is finding venues that either have stands with an exhaust system or allow you to set up outside for cooking and use runners to get the products inside.  The arenas that I’ve talked to have all concession stands taken or don’t allow the running thing.

So, to overcome that problem, I’ve decided to add a new product line which I hope to debute in the next couple of weeks.  We’re going to start doing crepes, much in the same style as the street vendors in most European cities.  Since it is greaseless cooking, I can cook them indoors without the complications of a fryer that is needed to do funnel cakes.

I may be too late for any of the big arenas for this year, but hopefully it will have me in a position to land one for next winter.  Crepes will also make an interesting addition to Big Red at many of its venues throughout the year.  If all goes well, we’ll be offering them at the Fishing Expo at Richmond Raceway later this month along with our full menu.

With that in mind, I’ve put Peggy under a training regimen that would make a Marine Drill Sargent proud.  If you click on the link below, you can get an idea of what Peggy will be doing in the very near future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd2BlscJd6Q

I, of course, will be sitting back watching.

The year started off a bit on the slow side.  The auction Friday was quite slow.  Saturday and Sunday, I played street vendor in Harrisonburg and did OK but not great.  While at Peggy’s, Kagen, who is hell on my cell phone, managed to place a call to Paris. . .France that is.  Maybe he was trying to find a crepe vendor so his grandma wouldn’t have to.

Any comments or thoughts will be appreciated.

I’d like to wish all of my family, extended family, friends and loyal readers a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.  I spent Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning at Peggy’s with Kagen, Todd and Allison, then drove back to the farm where we’re having dinner for mom and our Christmas.

My business year has come to an end.  We got a nice bonus in that JMU had three home playoff games. And we’ve moved inside and taken over the cafeteria at the Richmond Auto Auction.  I’m not sure if that will be a benefit or not as the two weeks we’ve done it were close to the holidays and expectedly slow.

For the year, my sales were up about 18%.  Considering the economy and my loss of Liberty, the Fredericksburg Auction and Richmond Raceway for most of the year, plus the changes in policy at my Walmarts,  I guess that is pretty good.  Of course, JMU and Belvedere were up a bunch which helped those figures alot.

And, of course, we got Big Red and a vehicle to pull it so I could put my big truck with 550,000 miles on it out to pasture.

Unfortunately, my expenses were up over 30% so my bottom line went in the wrong direction.  That can be corrected especially with the recent drop in gas prices.

Things are looking very positive for 2009.  Several of my Walmarts are coming back on line and it looks like Richmond Raceway will be a regular stop for Big Red.  I’m a little worried about the first couple of months of the year but we’ll see how it goes.  My first really big weekend will be the middle of January with the Fishing Expo that was huge for us last  year.  It also looks like we’re getting the races at Richmond which should really boost my sales figures.  I’ve also had feelers from Dover Downs but that is still up in the air.  And who knows where else we’ll end up.

For now, we’ll just plug along and hope for an early spring and warm weather.

Again, Happy Holidays.

Since I’ve been gone again for ten days, I’ve got some bringing up to date to do.  It all started the Friday before Thanksgiving.  Keep in mind, I’ve been fighting this stupid bug my sister gave me.

I decided to drive to Richmond Friday morning early, rather than go up Thursday night like I normally do and stay in a motel.  The auction was cold and rainy, and very slow.  I packed up and drove Big Red to Peggy’s.

On Saturday, we did the VMI game, our last regular season game for the season.  We just about froze to death as the high for the day didn’t make it out of the 20’s.  Considering the cold, we still had a decent game but I clearly found a weakness in Big Red.  The exhaust system is so strong it pulls in gale force winds.  When it is below freezing, that cold air hits Peggy working the service window.  She got so cold that she took rubber gloves and put them on her feet over her socks to try to keep circulation in her feet.   Every few minutes, I’d turn off the fan so she could warm up some but within five minutes or so, I’d get dizzy from the fumes coming off the fryers and grill.  So, I had to put the fan back on which increased Peggy’s frostbite.  It was one tough game.

Sunday morning, I got up early and left for a breakneck trip to New Bedford, Massachusetts where I picked up a fire suppression system for Big Red.  Monday I drove back to Harrisonburg.  Why, you ask?  It saved me over $2,000 and Big Red now will be able to meet those stupid fire Marshall regulations in Richmond, Chesterfield County and wherever else they have them.

This is my tenth Thanksgiving with Peggy and on nine of the ten years, we’ve done turkey day for both her family and mine.  We knew the numbers would be down this year.  Mom obviously can’t make that kind of trip anymore.  Amanda, my niece, caught the bug from her mother (or me) plus had a bunch a pet sitting jobs come up at the last minute.  So, Jean opted for staying home with her and they had dinner with mom at Heritage Green.  In addition, Peggy’s brother from Suffolk couldn’t make it and we never know about various nieces and nephews.  Peggy’s ex also planned to go to his brother’s this year for a change plus her son, Daniel and his crew are too far away in Kansas for a trip for just one meal. 

Peggy still cooked for 40.

On Thursday, she got up at 4:00 am to put the bird in the oven.  I, of course, stayed in bed.

At 6:00, she got up again to baste the little fellow–something like 24 pounds–and start the homemade rolls while I snoozed on.

Then, by 8 am, she got started on the cranberry salad, dressing and green bean casserole.  I got up and got a cup of coffee.

At nine, she’d done a round of dishes and was working on some kind of concoction with turnips and squash.  I gagged at the thought and took a shower.

By 10, she’d done some more dishes, made the deviled eggs and checked the fourteen desserts she’d made the past few days.  I turned on the parade and had another cup of coffee.

By 11, the potatoes were peeled, more dishes were washed, the liter boxes and bathrooms cleaned, the vacuum run  and the oven loaded.  I took a nap.

By noon, the family started rolling in, the bird carved and the feast was served at 1:00 pm.  Somebody woke me up about a quarter till.

I, of course, took full credit for the meal and all of the work.

By Saturday, Peggy still wasn’t talking to me, but we worked the JMU playoff game with Wofford which they won.  Another good outing, but I ran out of corn dogs of all things and almost ran out of powdered sugar.  That would have been a disaster.  I’ll have plenty more for this week’s quarterfinal game against Villanova.

Maybe by then, Peggy will be speaking to me.

Dear Santa:  All I want for Christmas is for all rainy days to fall on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday.  I guess I should have sent that message before this past weekend.

I worked the auction on Friday and it rained the whole time.  Sales were about half of what they’ve been the past few weeks.

Saturday, was the JMU-William & Mary game and it poured all morning during setup and rained off and on during the game.  Eventhough the game was extremely important for JMU, there were quite a few empty seats and our sales were off about 35%.  By the way, JMU won and wrapped up the Colonial Athletic Conference title and with a win next Saturday at Towson should have home field advantage for the playoffs.  That would give Big Red as many as three extra games.

Peggy was missing in action Saturday as she is recovering from some minor surgery on Wednesday so I had Chuck help again.  And again, he did a fabulous job.  I will definetly find ways to us him more in the future.

I’m still trying to get over the crud my sister gave me.  Of course, two days in the rain and cold didn’t help matters any and I put off my planned trip again.  I’m still afraid of taking these stupid germs into Jason’s household.  So my visit with the grandchildren will have to wait.

I stayed at Peggy’s for the weekend and enjoyed her grandson, Kagen.  In the past three days, he has managed to:  1. erase and retape his own greeting message on the phone; 2. open Microsoft Works on the computer and save a file; and 3.  climb up on the kitchen counter and fill the coffee cannister with coffee without spilling one single ground.  The attached picture is not the best quality because I had to snap it from my phone, but I thought you had to see it to believe it.

Last night, Allison (Peggy’s daughter) fixed lasagna and one of the cats jumped up on the coffee table and began licking Ranch dressing from Peggy’s salad.  Kagen came running over shaking his finger at the cat saying, “No.  Don’t do that.”    Not bad for a kid that up until them had only said, “Good job” (everytime he does something whether good or bad), and “Kit Cat” for any of the six cats he’s around.

What’s going to happen when he reaches the terrible twos?  That’s still six months or so away.

I’m not sure what is going to happen for the winter.  I lost out on my bid for UVA’s John Paul Jones Arena which would have been great.  And I’m not sure what the future will bring for my Walmart’s with their recent change in policy.  Does head south for the winter have an interesting ring?

I’ll let you know.

After a two year hiatus, Big Red returned to VMI today for a football game with Liberty.  Peggy and I were slammed the entire game and unfortunately had a line of up to 100 people for the whole game.  It was awesome and continues our run of terrific sales from last month.

I plan to talk with VMI’s Aramark folks and see what I can do to improve our service to cut down the lines at our next game there in two weeks.  Peggy suggested I pull the grill out of Big Red and add another fryer.  I thought I might add two fryers outside giving us four, but there is a space problem and not enough room for a tent behind the trailer.  I’m not sure what I’ll do but I really want to improve things.  Whatever I decide to try will be used for the next few weeks as this is a football crazy month for us.  Next weekend, we have a JMU game against William & Mary after a high school playoff game on Friday night.  Then back to VMI on the 22nd and in all likelihood, a JMU playoff game on the 29th.

At one point today, Peggy noticed a little boy in line about 8 years old.  At first, she thought he was with someone.  But, by the time he got to the window, (by the way, he wasn’t even tall enough to see in the trailer), he asked Peggy, “How many funnel cakes can I get for this.”  He handed her a $20.

“Four,”  she answered.  “Are you sure you want that many?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied.  ”There are five of us, but I can share.”

That’s the kind of day we had.

We heard rumors that the Vice President was there, but either he didn’t want a funnel cake or he was in disguise or something.

The week started off with all the markings of a complete disaster.  I picked up the bug Jean had last weekend at Richmond and felt like crap.  Instead of driving up to Richmond for the auction on Thursday night like I usually do, I decided to stay the night at the farm and get up and drive at 4:00am Friday.  I got out in the middle of Appomattox county and the alternator on Sweet Pea died leaving me and Big Red stuck waiting for a service station to open.  That caused me to cancel the auction at the last minute–something I hated to do but had no choice.  I got the girls to put up a sign for me explaining what happened to the auction guys.  I guess I’ll eat some humble crow next week.

Then, since I was a bit under the weather, I had to postpone a trip to Pittsburgh to take care of some old business and then I was going to spend a couple of days with Jason, Nancy, Grant and Katie.  My grandchildren just haven’t had any good spoiling for quite awhile.  But I don’t want to give them whatever my sister gave me.

Hopefully, I’ll make that trip next week after the JMU game.  I’m sure I’ll have a picture or two to post next week. 

Last night, I finally got to sleep in my own bed for the first time in over a month.  I’ve been gone since September 25 and it was great to get back to the farm again.

But, what a fabulous month it has been.  I’ve added some pictures to the Belvedere set so you might want to click on the Flickr button the the right and scan them.

Belvedere Plantation was awesome and featured such things as my biggest day ever, my biggest week ever and my biggest month ever.  Not bad, huh?   Plus, I met the head of the Maryland Stadium Authority while in Fredericksburg.  Certainly, a nice contact to have.

The weekends were all that we could handle except Saturday, the 25th which was rainy.  During the week, there were school groups every day.  I worked them by myself and actually only needed to cover my basic expenses–like dinner and my motel cost.  Most days, I did that and a little more.  So, it was good to be able to support Donnie and his crew by being there.  I got more than enough on the weekends to offset those few bad days.  And what a help Steve and Noah’s crew from TJ’s was to us.  I’d run out of something and it would magically appear.  All in all, a most successful month.  I’m only sorry that I missed the last weekend which was after Halloween but. . .

We got an unexpected bonus as Todd from Americrown contacted me to work the Equine Extravaganza at Richmond Raceway.  Since I had a JMU football game, I got Tank to come up on Thursday night to meet me after I finished up at Belvedere and set up our tent program and equipment.  He opened on Friday while I did the auction with Big Red and I came over and worked with him Friday afternoon and evening.  I left for Harrisonburg with Big Red at 6:00 am on Saturday while Peggy and my sister, Jean both drove to Richmond to work with Tank.  Todd’s friend Chuck Sturgis helped me at JMU and did a great job for his first effort with us.  While it wasn’t a record breaking game, we were only about $50 short of it.  Saturday night after the game, I drove back to Richmond to work Sunday and close out the show.  It was the best show we’ve ever done at RIR and almost 40% more than the last time we did the Extravaganza.  Jean, who was sick, Peggy and Tank did a great job and just about killed themselves.

Today, I’ve spent the entire day catching up on a month’s worth of bookkeeping, laundry and dishes.  Tomorrow is cleaning day for Big Red and all of our equipment from Richmond.  Then, its back on the road again.

A report to follow. 

This will be a brief report as I’m only at the farm for a couple of hours to do some laundry, a little bookeeping and to set Tank up for a Jefferson Forest High School football game on Friday night.  I’m pretty much permanetly attached to Belvedere Plantation for the next week or two.

Last Friday, Peggy and I had a huge day at the auction and still got out of there by 2:30 pm and headed for Fredericksburg.  Friday night at Belvedere was a little on the slow side.  Saturday sure wasn’t as we got slammed.  Actually, it was almost too much for just the two of us.  I sure wish that I’d had Tank along as he had a lousy day at Amelia.  Sunday was equally as busy only it was a shorter day plus Anthony helped for a couple of hours during the afternoon.  Monday was somewhat disappointing as I expected another day like Saturday and Sunday, but it wasn’t bad.  This year, I’m doing some mid-week days as well for school groups.  Tuesday, I worked by myself and it was pretty slow.  At least I got my motel bill and dinner out of the deal which was OK.  Wednesday was supposed to be a big day but turned out a little weak.  I had Anthony and JJ to help and really only needed one of them.  Today, I worked again by myself only I got hit  pretty hard doing almost as much as I’d done yesterday with two helpers.

Tonight I head back for another daytimer tomorrow and what should be a big Friday night.  This weekend should be bigger than last only I have some more help scheduled.  Then it looks like I’ll be there all next week as well.

With all of the problems in the economy and the awful price of gasoline, I would have been pleased if we’d hit last years numbers.  Unbelievably, we’re running something like 70% ahead.  How do you figure that?

After this weekend, I can’t say anything bad about Peggy or my sister Jean forever.  Or at least a week or two.  Let me relate why.

Peggy and I worked the auction on Friday–a little slow–and then tore down and moved Big Red to Belvedere Plantation.  Friday night was disappointing.  JJ, Laura’s son, helped but mainly we stood around looking at each other.

I got up Saturday morning at 5:00am and drove Big Red to Harrisonburg for the JMU game with Hofstra.  Peggy worked Belvedere from the tent and had Anthony during the day and JJ Saturday night.  They got slammed.    Second biggest day we’ve had at Belvedere in the two years we’ve been going there.

Keep in mind, Peggy has primarily been the front person and handles most of the prep work.  While she’s cooked at few funnel cakes here and there, she’s never handled cooking in a high volume situation.  Saturday was just that and from all reports, did beautifully.

In the meantime, I was working the JMU game with Jean.  While she’s been around some high volume events, like the VDKA races, she was primarily a fill in person and as such, wasn’t under the gun.  She was equally as awesome as Peggy and we ended up with our second largest ever football game.

See why I love the women around me?

They really saved my butt this weekend.

After the JMU game, I hauled  my ass back to Fredericksburg to give Peggy a break.  We finally got in bed at 1:00 am after I finished the money counting and bookkeeping.

Sunday at Belvedere was almost as busy as Saturday but a much shorter day, ending at 5:00 pm.  We were so tired after a leisurely dinner, that we decided neither of us should drive, so we crashed for the night at our trusty Days Inn and came home Monday morning.

An interesting note: after I got to Harrisonburg and dropped off Big Red, I went by Peggy’s and her grandson had just finished his breakfast.  He immediately pulled out the vacuum cleaner and a broom and began cleaning up the kitchen.  I think Peggy has trained him well.

When I left, he was sitting at the dinning room table working on writing his name.

Not bad for 18 months.

This week continues our incredible October schedule.  We have the Big Equipment Auction on Friday and Belvedere Friday night.  Tank is supposed to work Amelia on Saturday while Peggy and I do Belvedere Saturday and Sunday.  This week is a Tractor Pull and Lawn Mower races, whatever that is.  I heard they had presold 6,000 tickets so it should be nuts again.

I stay in Fredericksburg for Monday, Columbus Day, which is a special day for all of the Armed Forces bases in Virginia.  Last year, that day was huge.  Then on Wednesday, there is a big Catholic school that rents the whole place for the day.  Steve tells me that might be our biggest day of the year.

I’ll report again when I get back to the farm, whenever that is.

Belvedere Plantation’s annual Pumpkin Harvest Festival opened Saturday morning to gloomy skies and rain in the forecast.  For once, the weatherman was right.  Despite the warnings, Big Red was set up and ready to go.

We actually saw a little blue sky about noon and for a couple of hours, it was nice and a few people started coming in.  Then the skies opened about 4:00 and washed out all of Saturday night’s activities.  Sunday was much the same only it started about 3:00 pm.  Over two inches of rain fell during the two days turning the plantation into a muddy mess.

For my new readers, Belvedere Plantation is a 645 acre organic farm on the Rappahannock River near Fredericksburg and one of my favorite venues.  Big Red will be there the whole month of October.  Belvedere has a strawberry festival in May and pumpkins in October.  For the fall festival, there are all sorts of activities and fun for all ages. It was great to see Donnie and his family again, plus some of the kids that worked there last year.  Steve, Linda, Billy and TJ’s Catering crew are also there and since they’re almost like family to Peggy and me, it  was great to be back with them.

Since the rain kept down the crowds this weekend, I had the chance to take a few pictures.  I probably won’t have the chance later in the season as it gets so busy, we don’t stop for hours at a time.  To give you a good look at Belvedere, click on the Flickr thing on the right side and when that comes up, click on the Belvedere Plantation set.  Then just set your mouse on the small right picture and click.  That will bring up the picture and its comment.  Click on the next small one, and that will show you the next picture.  And so on.

Big Red is in a different location this year.  Last year we were right near the entrance to the hayrides but our long lines caused a traffic jam during peak periods.  This year, we’re down in the bottom across from the Fun Barn between the Pumpkin Mountain Slide and an inflatable thingy where kids get up on stands and beat the crap out of each other with sticks. (See pictures)  We’re also closer to the Pig Races, the entrance to the Maize Maze, the track,  all of the animals, the Scarecrow Workshop and the entertainment.  The Pumpkin Mountain Slide is kind of like the slide I did in Jamaica a couple of years ago where you crawl in at the top, fly down a tube for over three stories, and it throws you out into the middle of the Caribbean.  This weekend. Belvedere’s threw the kids into a mud puddle.  But that was OK for them.

Other than the rain, there were a couple of problems.  Peggy kept trying to milk a calf so she could have fresh cream for her coffee.  I finally had to point out to her that, “He is only two weeks old. . . with an emphasis on HE!”  I think she finally got it.

Then there was the Escapee and the John Deere.  Escapees are those little ones between 18 months and about three years old who, probably on a farm for the first time, take off running excitidly leaving parents behind.  One of those tried to take off with a John Deere.  I was cheering him on, of course.  (See picture)

I also caught one of the pig races.  I picked  the red guy but he turned around and ran in the wrong direction.  A flashback to my betting days with much the same outcome.

The Fun Barn has swinging ropes and piles of hay and stacks of bales.  A great place for the kids to romp in the hay.  I asked Peggy if she wanted to slip into the barn for a romp in the hay and she looked at me and sighed, “At your age (60), you’re way to old for that.”  She promply arranged a hot date for Friday night.  (See pics)

If you’ve never been to Belvedere Plantation, plan a trip this year.  It is a wonderful place and great fun for all ages.  You can get more information on their website, Belvedereplantation.com.

Other than Belvedere, Peggy and I had a pretty good day at the auction on Friday but Tank was rained out at Amelia on Saturday.  This week is tough.  Tank and the boys are gone for paintballing so aren’t available.  Peggy and I will work the auction on Friday, then she and Laura will work Belvedere from the tent on Friday night and Saturday.  Big Red and I will be at JMU for a game Saturday afternoon.  Jean will be coming up to help.  Then I go back  to Fredericksburg and set up Big Red for Sunday.  I was supposed to do the Jefferson Forest homecoming Friday night but that got moved to Saturday because last week’s game was moved to Monday due to the rain, and there is no way. I haven’t figured out how to be in three places at the same time.

See you at Belvedere.