A bath tub? Seriously?

The Florida Flywheelers is an antique tractor club located in central Florida.  Twice a year, in January and February, the Flywheelers have huge five  day tractor shows coupled with flea markets and swap meets on the over 200 acre facility.

Yes, this is a motorized bath tub.

The grounds are so large that most people drive around the site. While golf carts are the most prevalent transportation, other “custom” means of travel are also seen. There is a nearly constant parade of vehicles driving down the aisles where vendors and tractor exhibitors are set up. You never know what you’ll see driving around!

Dogs that love to ride

Lots of folks bring their dog(s) with them to the Flywheelers show in central Florida. With all the different kinds of transportation being used, you see different ways that the dogs ride as well.

A couple of brothers have their own bed to enjoy

A couple of brothers have their own bed to enjoy

One way to stay warm!

One way to stay warm!

The back of a golf cart is a nice perch

The back of a golf cart is a nice perch

Got a blanket to lay on!

Got a blanket to lay on!

"I've got my own basket!"

“I’ve got my own basket!”

This pooch was a ham for the camera.

This pooch was a ham for the camera.

Saw a lot of antique John Deere tractors today

Today Sher and I finished setting up for the Flywheelers show that starts Wednesday. Final cleaning of some of the glassware and a couple of cabinets was needed. Then we finished putting the price tags on anything not already priced.

Later in the day friends of ours kindly let us borrow their golf cart. We took it for a tour of the grounds looking at lots of the other vendors and their displays.

On our route we passed a couple of areas that were filled with antique John Deere tractors. This show is featuring John Deere. I’m not really sure what that means, but there are a ton of the old green and yellow tractors on display. There are other different makes of antique macinery here, but the John Deere machines are everywhere.

An impressive line up of antique John Deere tractors

An impressive line up of antique John Deere tractors

An old Case threshing machine

An old Case threshing machine

CAM00244_resizedWe also drove through the Flywheeler’s Village. It will be very busy during the show, but today we could see all of the old fashioned looking buildings. There were many, many of these.

 

 

 

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Got propane, warmed up and then settled in for the week

Going to see a lot of John Deere vintage tractors this week

Going to see a lot of John Deere vintage tractors this week

Today we went out to dump the black and grey water and get our propane tank filled at a Pilot Travel Center up the road. The cold weather around here means more RV’s using their furnaces. The tech at Pilot told me he has had their bulk propane tank filled three times in the past 48 hours.

This Forida weather is really strange. This morning it was very chilly: we had to fire up the space heater. This afternoon it felt hot, even though the temperature was only a bit above 70: we got the fans out.

Saw this cute little bird near our RV today

Saw this cute little bird near our RV today

We will now stay here until the show is over next Saturday. We are at the Florida Flywheelers Antique Engine  and Tractor show at Ft. Meade in central Florida. We were here for the show in January and decided to return for the February show. This show is featuring John Deere tractors. We have already seen John Deere green and yellow on everything, including the old John Deere tractors, of course.

Over 1700 vendors and exhibitors are expected by the start of the show Wednesday. This place has over 240 acres and is turning into a little city. Vendors and tractor exhibitors have been coming in all day.

 

Beautiful sunset to end the day

Beautiful sunset to end the day

Is that sign for real?

Today was an uneventful and quiet day. It started out cold, though. The overnite low was 36, and it was chilly this morning. A jacket was the required article of clothing until about mid-morning. We just talked with our fellow vendors throughout the day.

Warning! Or a joke?

Warning! Or a joke?

The sign next to a nearby pond is rather ominous. The pond is about 20 yards from our spot. One of the vendors here told me that if there are no birds on a pond it is a good sign there will be ‘gators in the pond. I guess ‘gators like to eat birds that land on the surface. Hmmmm. We have seen no birds land on the pond or the banks of the pond…

Happy Valentines Day!

Afternoon shopping, an evening of music and a cold night coming

Buddy and Diane

Buddy and Diane

Today was kind of a mixed bag. We are at the Florida Flywheelers grounds in preparation for the big show that starts next Wednesday. We set up our tables yesterday, and today we needed to make a run to town to get some food and some table cloths for our display tables.

We went through Avon Park and on down US 27 to Sebring. There we did our shopping. We stayed in the WinnDixie parking lot and had a light lunch. By the time we were ready to leave it was getting on into the afternoon.

We drove back to the Orange Box Cafe in Frostproof and had supper. The seafood buffet was quite tasty. After we got done with supper we decided to stick around and listen to the local entertainer Buddy. (See our post on his show here.) Tonight he had his singing partner Diane Pari, with him. Diane is a mother of 5, grandmother of one, and an accomplished singer/songwriter. We heard a couple of her songs that she wrote. She is a great singer and she and Buddy were great singing duets.

Diane Pari, singer/songwriter

Diane Pari, singer/songwriter

Then it was back to our spot at the Flywheelers grounds. We had to get by the deputy at the gate by showing our parking sticker and armbands to get in the grounds. Thus today came to a close, with an overnight low of 36 expected. Seriously? Is this really Florida in February?

 

Today we began to set up for the show

Today we decided to set up all of our new tables and to begin to get our goods ready for the Florida Flywheelers

Getting the goods out and priced.

Getting the goods out and priced.

show that starts next week. This is the first time that we have set up the new to us frames and boards instead of our usual long and heavy tables. You can see the frames and boards in the photo clearly.

Part of the day’s work was to arrange the ‘tables’ the way we thought would provide the best trffic flow for our customers. Also we decided what things to put where. We are going to have the old tools on the tables next to the road. This will attract more attention from the men and get them to turn down our aisle in their golf carts or ATV’s or whatever they are driving. Then when they stop the ladies will see the necklaces on a seperate table. Beyond that will be the “Antique” type things including the old leather elephants, the brass vases from Senegal and the wooden round end table from Spain. We also have a lot of nice glassware for sale.

Anyway, we also put price tags on all the things we had bought at the auctions. It is always better if you have everything priced because a lot of people just won’t ask what your asking price is for something. How do we price our things? Well, often we know what things are going for, and if not, google is your friend. (So is eBay if you look at the sold listings.) We did pick up a nice wood carving at a recent auction. We didn’t really plan on getting it but it was put in a lot with an item we did want. Turns out the carving is by a very well known artist whose similar carvings have sold for as high as $450! Maybe this will be one of those great (and lucky) finds.

A long, busy but productive day. We even made our first sale of the show, before the show started. The porcelain enamel street sign from New Bridgeport, Mass. is gone from our inventory.