Americade in Hartford has come and gone this past week. Hartford took part in Americade’s Scavenger Hunt where bikers would come into town, go to one of the three businesses taking part and get their card stamped.
Of the 3 businesses I approached in February to take part in the Americade Scavenger Hunt, only Lulu’s Diner saw a significant increase in revenue. That stands to reason as bikers can be a hungry lot. On Weds I noticed a bunch of bikes at the diner so decided to pull in for a cup of coffee and gloat at their success. Holly was waiting on tables and was not too happy to see me. She was flat out running back and forth trying to promptly serve the tables when she saw me. She pointed her finger at me saying “this is all your fault!”. I had the distinct feeling that she was deadly serious.
The other two businesses, Pole Valley Golf Course and Dave Hicks’ Sporting/Hunting Goods both estimated they had about 100 visitors seeking to get their cards stamped but made very little in sales.
Steve Forbes at Pole Valley told me they made a total of $3 on the bikers because a couple bought two Hot Dogs.
Daryl Duval, who dug my pond told me yesterday that Dave Hicks was looking for me. I went to Dave’s shop this afternoon and was a little nervous getting out of my truck. I had heard that the bikers were entering his shop, getting stamped and then leaving without buying anything or even looking around. How could you not look around? Dave’s shop is fascinating and reminds me of what a Cabela’s in Maine might have looked like in the 1930’s.
When I heard Dave was looking for me I had this fleeting image in my mind that he might be looking through a rifle scope. He had about 5 bikers from NJ and PA in his shop when I went inside so I felt safe. Dave seemed to be in a good mood because when I entered, he held up a pint jar in front of the NJ group and asked them if they could guess what it was. To me it looked like just like a jar of Pickled Herring in red vinegar sauce. The same kind I used to seek out when ever I would go to Gdansk, Poland on the Merchant Ship that I was Captain of. I thought I would win the contest when the bikers were stumped but then Dave oddly unscrewed the cap and asked a lady if she liked musk cologne. She said yes and Dave said “take a little whiff”. Well, she did and then quickly recoiled her head exclaiming “Oh my God!”. Dave did a little smile and said “these are Muskrat musk scent glands”. Dave treated that little jar like it contained gold and said that it was used as a scent lure during trapping season. I asked Dave where he got the glands and with a straight face he said “from between their legs”. The lady then did her best Jeff Foxworthy saying “I think I just became a Red Neck”.
Let’s hope that next year will be just as much fun…
Dana