Road Trip!! ~ My Grails of Grails (if that’s even possible)

MonsterBash

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Road Trip!! ~ My Grails of Grails (if that's even possible)

After getting screwed numerous times by a shipping agent (which was NOT NAVL!), I decided to make an impromptu road trip. I had about 24 hours to from the time I decided to tell the shipping company to go F themselves, to the time I left. Not much in the way of a plan..but it worked out just fine

Mission: Get from Buffalo NY to Alexandria MN and back 'before' the storm
Departure Buffalo: 12.9 ~ 4PM
Arrival Buffalo: 12.11 ~ 5:30PM
Miles Driven: 2218
Time on the Road: 49.5 hours
Time Without Sleep: 42 hours (left after work)
Time unloading into the basement immediately after getting home: 3.25 hours
Tolls : $132.85
Gallon of Fuel: 209
Cost of Fuel: $637.22
Hotel: $63.50
Trailer Rental $59.90 (for some reason Uhaul only charged me 2 days…I returned it on 12.12)

Other:
Got pulled over once at about 2:30 in the morning somewhere in Wisconsin on the way out there . The trailer light plug popped out of the harness…was let go with a warning.

Complete whiteout in the Chicago area about 12 midnight Thursday night on the way out . Probably wasn't going more than 30 for about 20-30 miles. In hindsight I probably should have pulled over and waited it out considering I was towing an enclosed trailer

The only reason I did the trip in 49 hours was because of the weather forecast. I decided to drive through Thursday night and get in Friday at noon to stay a head of the storm. That was the same storm that took down the Metrodome in Minneapolis MN. At best guess I would say I was about 5 hours a head of the storm on the way home.


Tis what I consider the Holy Grail of Grails…I've never seen one in person and only played its sister machine twice.


The first pic is at the seller's house when I picked it up. The last 2 pics is assembled at my house but I haven't had time to do the wiring yet. I'm finishing the other side of the basement were this with eventually end up.

Why you ask… (and even if you didn't)

Cuz of this...






Ain't she a beauty!
 

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4.5" balls, the same size as candle pin bowling popular in Canada...if ya look close you can see the ball return on the right hand side

Note the pin are actually on the deck..thus a 'contact bowler' VS the balls rolling underneath the pins and hit wired switches.

I started looking for one of these in 1997 and all though I never gave up...it was looking like an impossible find and of course room would always be an issue.

Then the planets aligned last week and an with the help of an incredible seller...she's in my basement
 
Holy cow! Kudos to you! Those whiteout conditions in northern Indiana were brutal! I know at some points they closed down freeway cuz of the conditions by the lake....
 
You are truly a road warrior for that pickup. I have checked a few of these out over the last couple of years up here in the mitten. The ball bowlers are not easy to find and they usually fetch at least 2K in good shape. Nice score!
 
Wow, there actually is someone more insane than me. I have to print this out for my wife as proof!! :D :D :D

Congrats on the trip and the score.
 
That thing is badass! And that was one helluva road trip.

I feel like such a wuss for being a bit scared of a few drops of rain and 40 degree weather on my recent road trip. No trailer either.

I also did a turnaround trip right after work but not nearly as long and most definately not in those conditions.

You're the man!

Hector
 
Very beautiful. I remember a puck bowler when I was a kid, don't know who made it. I never saw a bowler that used a ball and actual pins like that, though. Very very sweet.
 
To bad I didn't know you were going to Alexandria, I drove through Monday on my way to Mclean, Il (Vectormans) to pick up my grails. We could have hooked up in Rockford. You kicked my butt as for mileage, I had an 18 hour drive 1 way.
 
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