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Don’t You Just Hate It When That Happens!
Recently, it seems that a newbie RV’er managed to empty his black tank into the diesel fuel tank at a Maverik station out in Colorado. The station has a dump station. He just picked the wrong hole.
Below, the left photo is the dump station, and the right one is the diesel tank inlet.
i guess if you’re a newbie, you might make a mistake.
I did find some of the comments kind of funny, though
A lot of Autopian readers aren’t RV owners, so I’ll just start with the rather disgusting process of dumping RV tanks. When I perform a tank release, I roll up to a dump station, then don some gloves and a mask. Then, I yank out the waste hose, assemble it onto the end of the tank valve, and put the other end into the dump station.
I never, ever wore a mask and gloves while dumping.
Bill Sniffin, an avid RV enthusiast and Cowboy State Daily columnist, said emptying an RV’s waste tank is “a necessary evil of RVing.”
“Let me tell you, it’s not fun,” he said. “It’s usually a two-person operation, and it’s pretty darn rank.”
In over 17 years of RV’ing, I never had anyone help me dump, nor did I ever need help.
Even worse, this happened before, back in 2020, up in Canada.
* * * * * * *
Lunch today was at Saltgrass Steakhouse as scheduled, but the prior haircuts didn’t happen, due to Lesley, our haircutter, being sick.
While Jan got her usual 9 oz Filet,
I went a little off the path with the Steak Wedge Salad.
Pretty much a Wedge Salad with 6 oz of Center Cut Sirloin on top.
Really good. As in ‘Have Again Good.”
Right now, our haircuts are rescheduled for Saturday afternoon, depending on how Lesley is feeling.
* * * * * * *
Tomorrow I’m going over to Pasadena to check out a problem from a long-time friend/client who called a few days ago. Sounds like a router problem, just like the last time I saw them 8 years ago.
Thought For The Day:
You ever get the feeling that with our federal bureaucracy, the soup isn’t done until they’ve had a chance to pee in it?
Your Retro-Preview Highlights –
2010 – The American Coach Rally Day 2
2012 – Building A New Drill Rig On The Gate
2013 – Riding The Virginia & Truckee Railroad
And Now On To Today’s Retro-Blogs.™
May 28, 2009
On to Titusville…
We headed out of the RV park in West Palm Beach this morning, about 10:30 am, with our first stop about 8 miles away in Jupiter, FL.
I wanted to go ahead and fill up with Diesel at a Shell station we had scouted out a few days earlier. We do it this way because it’s easier for us.
We try not to wait to fill up while we’re on the road. When we have our toad (i.e., pickup truck) hitched behind us, we’re 63 ft. long, longer than some tractor-trailer rigs, and we’re pretty much restricted to fueling up at truck stops. But the truck stops are usually crowded, and you often have to wait in line at the pumps. Plus, the truckers seem to resent us getting in their way while they’re trying to make a living. And I guess I don’t really blame them.
We don’t have to fill up very often. We have a 150-gallon tank that will take us over 1200 miles between fill-ups. The last time we took on diesel was April 7th, when we left Old Town, FL.
So what we do is when we’re parked somewhere, and it’s about time to fill up, we start looking for gas stations that will work for us.
Of course, the first requirement is that the station carry diesel. We also want a station that looks like it sells a lot of diesel. If diesel sits too long in the tank, it starts to grow algae and pick up moisture. Both of these are very bad for your engine.
Next, we look for a place that we can get in and out of without too much trouble. This is made easier by the fact that we won’t yet have our toad hooked up. We don’t want a place that we have to back out of or can’t turn around in.
Lastly, we try to find a place nearby where we can park long enough to hook up our toad. This normally takes between 5 and 10 minutes.
The Shell station in Jupiter fit all of our criteria, and $297.00 later (118 gallons at $2.499 per gallon), we were on our way to Titusville.
Since we had traveled this way before, sightseeing along US 1, we took I-95 north to save some time.
About 50 miles out of Titusville, we started running into heavy rain, just what I really love when we park and it’s time to start hooking up our utilities.
Luckily, the rain had almost completely stopped by the time we pulled into Manatee Hammock Campground in Titusville.
We had noticed this park several weeks ago when we drove up for the Shuttle launch and were happy to learn that it was a Passport America park, which means we can stay here for 1/2 price, I.e. $15.00 per night.
We pulled in about 2:30 pm and got set up. This is a really pretty park.
I had seen the word ‘hammock’ used a lot in Florida, and they didn’t seem to be talking about the one that hangs between two trees, and you nap in.
It turns out that the word refers to the overhanging canopy of trees in an area. Which, I guess it is kind of like the other hammock, too.
May 28, 2010
ACA Rally – Day 2…
Today started off with a very nice breakfast buffet at the Energy Hall. We’ve really been surprised by the quality of the food we’ve been served here. It’s been great!
After breakfast, we came back to the rig for a couple of hours. Because the ground where we’re parked is soft, I wasn’t able to level our coach when we parked because the leveler pads just sank into the ground instead of raising the coach. This left our coach with a distinct downhill tilt.
So I wanted to raise the levelers and then put some boards or pads underneath, and then try to relevel.
To do this, I had to start the engine. What was funny was that Emma heard the engine start and immediately ran to Jan’s chair and assumed her travel position. She looked disappointed that we didn’t go anywhere.
Now that we’re level again, going to the back of the coach isn’t like walking uphill.
Anyway, about 11:15, we headed back over to the Energy Hall for the men’s and ladies’ luncheons.
The ladies’ luncheon was held at the Prime Rib Restaurant, which has also been catering our meals here at our Rally. They were taken to the restaurant by bus. And after lunch, the women’s group had a fashion show.
The men’s lunch was burgers and brats, both good, and afterward we had a talk by a county commissioner talking about the mineral wealth of the Campbell County area. Besides being one of the largest coal-producing areas in the country, they also have immense oil and gas deposits, and if that’s not enough, they are a large producer of uranium. Talk about your energy monopoly.
Then at 1:00, we had a seminar panel with a representative from Spartan Chassis talking with us about maintenance, troubleshooting, and repair of our chassis and chassis systems.
After that, I walked over to the new American Coaches that they have on display in the hall.
Jan and I both agreed that out of the 3 coaches, we like the new Eagle the best. These have 4 slides and are 42 to 45 feet long, as compared to our Beauty’s 40 feet.
And the inside shows it.
These units are really beautiful, and it would be nice to have one. But the list price on this unit is $564,000, so we’ll probably have to wait for our Powerball/MegaMillions win before we get one.
On 2nd thought, that price makes us really happy with our paid-for Eagle.
BTW, the word is that someone bought this new Eagle yesterday.
About 2:30, we headed back to the coach to wait and hear from a friend of ours who was passing through Gillette on her way back to Billings.
Linda and her son, Aaron, showed up about 3:15, and we had a good visit with them. We hadn’t seen Linda since we were in Billings two years ago on our way back from Alaska.
Later in the afternoon, the partying started. And believe me, these people are serious about their partying. Several of them travel with their own Margarita machines!
Tonight was an open night, so about 6 pm we drove into Gillette for dinner at Las Margaritas Mexican Restaurant. And it was very good, especially for northeastern Wyoming!
Tomorrow night, we have a BBQ dinner, and then on Sunday, we have a Prime Rib dinner.
MMMM MMMM Good!
May 28, 2011
Bring on the Steak . . .
Our daughter Brandi emailed us a picture of Landon she took this morning, showing he woke up sporting two new teeth, his first.
Bring on the steak.
We started out with coffee and the last of the Lemon Braid Bread. Sniff!
Then, about 4, we headed into Oakhurst to have dinner at the Pizza Factory.
We had a very bad experience at the Pizza Factory in Show Low, AZ, about a month ago, and along with our recent so-so experience at Di Cicco’s, we were reluctant to try it. But several people told us it was really good, and the best in the area. We also found out that the Oakhurst location is the original restaurant in the chain of over 120 units.
And boy was everyone right. It was delicious, as good as Da Boyz in Yuma and Crusty’s in Camp Verde. We all said we wished we had tried it earlier, so we would have had a chance to eat here more than once. But since we are leaving here on Tuesday morning, we probably won’t get another chance.
Coming home, we stopped off at Von’s for some groceries and the Taste of China restaurant to be sure they’re open tomorrow since we plan to eat there.
And of course, how else can we end the day, but with a cappuccino?
May 28, 2012
But there’s always Plenty of Hot Water . . .
The guy who decided to make large water tanks black has never been in south Texas in the summertime and tried to take a cool shower.
It’s just all hot, all the time.
I now see why some gate guards have a tarp tented over their tanks. Right now, the water in the shower is warm but comfortable. But as the days get hotter, I may have to look into the tarp thing, too. We’ll see.
Here’s a series of photos I took over a couple of days as they built our rig.
The thing goes together like a giant Erector Set. But I guess that dates me.
Maybe I should say Legos instead.
I went back by Tita’s Taco Stand the other day for some more of their great tacos. Their green sauce is some of the best I’ve ever eaten. Good food and nice people.
I just wish they served their breakfast tacos all day long, instead of stopping at 11 am.
Heck, I wish McDonald’s sold Egg McMuffins all day long, too.
Under the heading, “They Grow Them Big Here in Texas,” I took this shot of a large green grasshopper who has taken up residence under our canopy.
It’s hard to tell from the photo, but his body alone is about 4 inches long. So far, he’s ignoring us, and we’re ignoring him.
Let’s hope we keep it that way.
That’s about it for today. Wednesday afternoon, we’ll head to Houston for a couple of days for our granddaughter Piper’s graduation, and we should be back early Friday evening. Gate Guard Services is sending someone over to work our gate while we’re gone.
I will try to post a blog from Houston, but I don’t know if I will have time.
May 28, 2013
Snap, Crackle, and Pop . . .
Apparently, neither the US Postal Service nor UPS likes me anymore.
This past Saturday, our daughter Brandi sent us our mail via a USPS Priority Mail package. According to their tracking website, the package should have been delivered today. However, it’s presently sitting up in Kent, WA, for some reason
Brandi put it in the mail on Saturday, it left Houston on Sunday, and went straight to . . . Federal Way, WA.
HUH?
I’m in California. The capital, Sacramento, is only 80 miles away. Why send it to Federal Way, WA, which is over 600 miles from here? But to compound the problem, the next day, today, instead of being delivered here in South Lake Tahoe, CA, my package moved a whole 5 miles to Kent, WA.
Where it now sits. I even went back and double-checked the address that it’s being sent to, and it’s correct.
Bummer!
As far as UPS, last Thursday I ordered a replacement lower mirror for our rig’s outside passenger-side mirror from RamCo in Elkhart, IN. It shipped out Friday, the 24th, from Elkhart and moved to Hodgkins, IL.
Where it still sits 4 days later. After initially saying it would be delivered today, the tracking now says that it will be delivered here on Friday, the 31st.
The problem with these new delivery dates is that we’re not going to be here on Friday, the 31st. We’re leaving here on Thursday, the 30th, and will be at the Bend, OR Thousand Trails on Friday. I’m going to try to call UPS tomorrow to see if I can get that package rerouted to Bend. I’ll have to see if that’s going to work.
My fallback plan is to leave some money with the park office and hope they will forward everything.
As far as today, Jan and I headed out about 9:30 for our trip back to Virginia City, but our first stop was at the IHOP a few miles down the road. A really good breakfast and a really excellent waitress, Stacey.
Leaving from there about 10:30, we headed out on a new route to Virginia City. Rather than take the normal US 50 over the mountain to Carson City, we took SR 207 out of Stateline, NV, over the mountain near the ski resorts and down through Minden to hook up with US 395, which took us up to Carson City.
Heading off of US50 and up SR341, we traveled up that 15% grade that we’d seen on our visit to Virginia City last week. Coming into town, we saw the main reason for our return visit passing by, the train ride on the Virginia & Truckee Railroad.
I had been hoping to ride behind their steam engine, but they were only running their 1950 GE 80-ton yard switcher this week.
They were only running two cars today. The open-air gondola, built in 1925, was originally a cattle car, but was cut down and seats added for passengers. The rear car, originally a box car built in 1916, was remodeled to look like a caboose.
The 35-minute round-trip ride took us down to Gold Hill, where gold and silver were first discovered in the area.
A lot of the mine equipment is still standing in the area.
This is one of the old railroad tunnels from the 1870’s. It got so unstable that it had to be shored up between trains. When a train needed to go through the tunnel, it stopped at the entrance, and some of the crew would get off and remove the shoring timbers. Then the train would go through the tunnel as quickly as it could, and the crew would then replace the timbers until the next train.
What could possibly go wrong here?
They finally built a new tunnel around 1880.
Getting into Gold Hill, we came across several historic buildings. This is the 1869 train station.
And this is the 1866 Bank of California building, the oldest one in town.
And of course, a lot of pretty vistas along the way.
The other thing I wanted to see on our revisit here was two train museums that were not open when we were here last time. But as it turned out, I struck out on both counts.
One of them was never open. It’s actually the storage/work yard of the Virginia & Truckee, and they don’t allow visitors. The other one, the Virginia City Historical Museum, is still only open on weekends. Bummer again!
But I did get a shot of this beautifully restored Central Pacific 1873 American 4-4-0 locomotive through the window. This was used to haul gold and silver ore from Virginia City up to Lakes Crossing, where the Virginia & Truckee connected with the Transcontinental Railroad. Lakes Crossing is now known as Reno.
At the peak, 40 trains a day hauled ore out of here. Four partners of one big mine were making $300,000 a month . . . EACH!
Everywhere you look there are old cars,
old equipment, and other mine junk. The American Pickers would have a field day here.
Finally leaving town and heading back toward Carson City, we got a look at what’s called the ‘100 Mile View’. It’s called that because the farthest line of mountains is 100 miles away.
Getting back into Carson City, and after driving around through the old part of town, we made a Wal-Mart stop and a Bed, Bath & Beyond stop before having dinner at Five Guys Burgers and Fries, one of our favorites, before heading home.
One of the things we find funny here is when, as I’ve mentioned before, we buy a bag of chips in Carson City at 4500 feet and then take them up to 7300 feet and over the mountain to South Lake Tahoe. There’s just this constant snap, crackle, pop from the backseat as the bag puffs up like a marshmallow.
Tomorrow, our last day here, is an official goof-off / get-ready-to-travel day before we leave on Thursday.
May 28, 2014
Fat and Happy . . .
As usual, we started out with coffee this morning, but didn’t sit outside since it had rained last night, so all our chairs were wet.
We pretty much goofed off all morning until about noon. I tried out our new Toaster Oven by making Jan some cheese toast for lunch. So far, so good.
At least as far as cheese toast goes.
About 1 pm, Jan and I headed over to the Shipshewana area and the Flea Market there.
We spent several hours walking up and down the myriad of rows, and only covered a small part of it. Jan bought some specialty breads and some Skin So Soft. And I found a couple of tools, and Mister got a new engraved collar tag.
After the Flea Market, we stopped off at E & S Sales, a local Amish bulk food market, where Jan found a few things.
Then it was back to Elkhart/Goshen for dinner at Mancino’s Pizza. We had eaten here a few days ago with Dave and Lyn Cross, and it was just as good the second time. And again, we have leftovers.
As we left the restaurant, we noticed this large groundhog about 100 yards away in a big field across the street. I think fat and happy about covers it.
We got home about 7 pm after a really nice day.
Many of you know about the Big Texan Steakhouse in Amarillo, and their 72 oz. Steak Challenge.
If you can eat a 72 oz. steak, as well as a Shrimp Cocktail, a Baked Potato, and Salad, and a Roll and Butter, and if you can eat it all within one hour, then your $72 cost is refunded. And yes, you have to pay up front.
Well, this is Molly Schuyler. She’s 5′ 7″ tall and weighs 125 lbs.
Recently, she set not one, but two new Big Texan records.
She ate the first meal in 4 minutes 58 seconds, a new Big Texan record.
Then, apparently still feeling a bit peckish, she ate a second meal, but this time taking a whole 9 minutes 59 seconds. Thus, establishing a new record for eating two complete meals in less than an hour.
You can follow our visit to the Big Texan in June of 2010 here. Check it out.
Tomorrow looks to be a goof-off day. Looking forward to it.
May 28, 2015
Who Knew ??
After a really nice night at this Comfort Inn, we checked out their breakfast and enjoyed it sitting out on the patio. This is a beautiful motel built back in the hills south of Prescott. You can smell the pines in the air.
So much different from our room in Amarillo the other night.
About 10 am, I drove over to the rig to see how things were going, and didn’t learn much because everyone was in a meeting. I did see the rig in the bay with the front end up on jacks, presumably to install the new fuel tank.
After making a Fry’s stop across the street, I headed back to the motel to let them know we’d be spending another night. With checkout at 11, I didn’t have a lot of leeway.
Of course, about 2 pm, they called and said they would have the coach out of the bay about 5 and ready for us to move back in. So I told them to take their time and that we’d be over tomorrow morning.
Also, it now looks like the rear airbag on the passenger side may have also been damaged in the blowout. The mudflap that hung down right behind the tire is ripped out and completely gone, along with the big piece of angle iron that was fastened to it. This is what it looks like on the driver’s side.
And this is what’s left on the passenger side.
So maybe that’s the culprit. I guess we’ll know more tomorrow.
After a nice afternoon of goofing off, reading, and napping, really nice after the go-go-go of the last week or so, about 3:30, we headed over to the Cracker Barrel. This being Thursday, it was Turkey and Dressing Day, Jan’s favorite Cracker Barrel day.
I wasn’t sure what I was going to have. At first, I thought about breakfast, but looking over the menu, this caught my eye.
Who knew Cracker Barrel had great burgers? This is a half-pound bacon cheeseburger with the meat’s crispy burnt edges on the outside and moist and juicy on the inside. The bacon was very crisp, and the cheese was a thick chunk, not just a slice, and the Cole slaw and fries were good too. Just about a perfect good-old burger.
The side dish at the upper left is their Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole, one of my favorites, so I always get it when it’s available, no matter what else I’m getting.
Hopefully, by this time tomorrow, we’ll know more about our timeline for the rest of this year and can decide what we’ll be doing
May 28, 2016
On The Road Again . . . Again
Today was supposed to be a nice, quiet at-home day, after our 8-hour road trip yesterday, and that’s how it started out. But that changed when Jan saw the Facebook post from Bonnie Horner’s family mentioning that they were hoping friends would drop by to visit.
As I mentioned a couple of days ago, Bonnie’s husband Richard passed away on Wednesday, so Jan and I had decided to wait a bit before we got in touch. But once we saw the Facebook post, we got dressed and hit the road for Pearland.
Lucky for us, today’s trip was the complete opposite of yesterday’s, with the sun shining and just a few clouds, compared with pouring down rain yesterday. So with no weather or traffic slowdowns, we were there a little after 3 pm.
Jan worked with Bonnie a good while back, and we’ve always gotten together over the years, and we were planning to set up a get-together for this year, too, when we got the news about Richard.
It was really good catching up with Bonnie and her children, Jeanne, Susie, and Bob. Bonnie has several cats, so we all had a lot of cat stories to tell, talking about our pets.
After telling Bonnie we’d get back together for dinner soon, Jan and I headed out a little after 5. Since we were close, we decided to have dinner at one of our favorites, Floyd’s Cajun Seafood and Steakhouse, right down the road in Friendswood.
We have eaten at this location a number of times, though not nearly as many as the Floyd’s Cajun Seafood in Webster. But it’s all good, no matter which one you visit.
I think I’ve mentioned before that the ‘Floyd’ in the name is Floyd Landry, the originator of the Landry’s seafood chain, before he sold it to Tilman Fertitta.
Jan loves the Chicken Fried Chicken here, especially the gravy that she always gets on the side. After the meal, when she was telling our waiter how much she loved the gravy, he said she wasn’t alone. And that they had changed the recipe once, thinking they would make it better. But they were immediately flooded with complaints, and quickly went back to the old recipe.
Don’t mess with success. Remember New Coke.
I had my usual Seafood Gumbo, as you can see is just loaded with shrimp,
and then a Shrimp & Oyster Po-Boy.
Big portions, and the only reason I was able to finish it was that I had not had breakfast or lunch today. So I had plenty of room. But I was still stuffed afterward.
Heading back on the way home, we made a Wal-Mart stop for a few things. Pearland has grown so much in the last few years that they now have three Wal-Mart’s. We don’t even recognize it anymore.
Finally heading for Columbus, we decided to take a detour around Brookshire on I-10. Since the heavy rains the other day, part of US90 just west of Brookshire is flooded out, forcing all of US90’s traffic onto I-10, causing a 6-mile backup on I-10 through Brookshire and almost into Katy.
So, leaving Pearland, we headed down US59 for a bit and then cut west through Rosenberg and then onto SR36, which brought us back onto I-10 at Sealy, bypassing all the mess.
So, with a potty stop at the TA Oasis Truck Stop, we were home by 9:30. And after two long days in a row, we are definitely staying home tomorrow and Monday.
And maybe Tuesday, too.
May 28, 2017
Some Random Stuff . . .
The last time we were in Billings, MT, a number of years ago, there were a small number of casinos/bars/restaurants around the town, but nothing of any size.
But this recent visit, they were everywhere, and bigger and fancier. And almost all of them are out of business. So I don’t know if they overbuilt too fast, or just had more casinos than they had people who wanted to gamble. But it’s strange.
A few days ago, after our Buffalo Wild Wings visit, we got our truck washed at the Parkway Car Wash just off downtown RC. They did a great job of pre-spraying the front of the vehicle to get the fine spray of diesel oil off. We always get this blowby when we’re traveling in the mountains and using our PacBrake a lot. But hopefully, we’re pretty much out of the mountains for this year.
BTW, I’ve found in talking to a number of people that they don’t think their PacBrake does much, or even works at all. And, if they aren’t using it very often, and/or not performing the lubrication maintenance on the system, it’s very possible it has jammed up, and it isn’t working. But there is a very easy way to check your PacBrake.
In most cases, when your PacBrake is turned on and you let off the gas, the system downshifts into 4th gear and then engages the PacBrake. So it can be hard to tell what part of the resulting slowdown is caused by the downshifting and what part is caused by the PacBrake.
So on a hill of decent size, go ahead and downshift into 4th on your own. Then, about 10 seconds later, turn on your PacBrake and let off the gas. If you feel an additional slowdown, then your PacBrake is working. If you feel nothing extra, then it’s probably not, and you need to have it checked out.
A few days ago, I got an email hack I wanted to warn you about. It was supposedly from ‘USAA Bank alerts’ with the Subject ‘New banking autnification system’ And yes, that’s the way it was spelled. Bad grammar and typos are always a good clue that an email is not authentic.
Note that the real From: address is ‘host@mianetl.net’ and has nothing to do with USAA. And if you put your mouse on the ‘Click here to get started’ button or the ‘usaa.com/contact-us’ link at the bottom of the text, it takes you to here:
www.birosagsec.webgrafika.hu/profiles/success/usaa-alerts
With a .hu country code for Hungary, it’s probably not from USAA.
So let’s be careful out there!
Wrapping up with the Jetpack MiFi data problem I mentioned a few weeks ago, I’ve got more info on the amount of data I’m supposedly using.
In the past, on my 3G AirCard, I’ve consistently used 20 to 25 GB a month, very seldom varying more than a couple of GB’s. But the past two months since I got the MiFi, I used up 10GB in the first 7 seven days, and then was throttled back to 3G speeds.
So at that point, both last month and this, I switched over to hotspotting from my new Galaxy S8+. And in a little over two weeks, I still haven’t quite used 10GB of 4G yet.
So, explain to me why I use data more than twice as fast on my MiFi as I do on my S8+? For the same stuff.
Seems kind of suspicious to me.
And of course, there’s the problem of the fact that the 3G speeds I get throttled back to when I’ve used up my 10GB of 4G, is slower than the 3G I can get on my AirCard that I still have, 660 kbps vs. 1.1Mbps. And this is at the very same time from the same location.
I smell a rat!
May 28, 2018
Just Like His Uncle Chris . . .
First off, on this Memorial Day, Jan and I want to thank all the veterans for their service to our country.
I spent most of the day slogging away on the knife website. We have over 50 new knives, and each photo has to be cropped to two different sizes, one for the regular display, and a larger size for the ‘Click To Enlarge” function. Then they have to be enhanced, sharpened, and in some cases, retouched.
Then each product block has to be assembled from six different pieces, and placed in position on the page. And it all has to line up.
Then the last thing I will do is go into PayPal and create each ‘Add To Cart’ button, and then each button’s code has to be inserted into the product block.
Whew!
It’s not hard, just time-consuming. And after a while, my eyes get tired, and I have to take a break.
Brandi, Lowell, and Landon are up in Oklahoma visiting Lowell’s parents there. Sonja, Landon’s other grandmother, posted this photo of Landon showing off his latest artwork, the cover of a book of student poetry. He’s now a published artist.
And here’s a closer view.
And apparently, this runs in the family. Landon’s Uncle Chris is also an excellent artist, and when he was in elementary school, his sketch of the school building was selected to be on the cover of the school handbook. I guess it’s Like Uncle, Like Nephew.
As always seems to happen this time of year, some of our favorite TV shows start falling by the wayside, as in CANCELLED.
One long-time favorite of ours, Lucifer, which just wrapped up its 3rd season, was canceled abruptly after being told they had been renewed. Because of this, they had actually already filmed the first two episodes of Season 4.
There’s been a big outpouring of fan support hoping for another network to pick it up, as just happened with Tim Allen’s Last Man Standing. So we can always hope, I guess.
But at least we’re going to get to see those two Season 4 episodes, which were shown tonight back to back. We DVR’d them and will watch them tomorrow.
The other show we lost was a new one, Deception, about a disgraced master magician and his identical twin brother, who help the FBI solve cases using magic tricks and illusions.
Although we haven’t watched the 2-hour finale yet, it’s said that it ends in a cliffhanger that changes everything we thought we knew about what was happening on the show.
@#$@& I hate it when that happens.
May 28, 2020
We Couldn’t Get Plucked . . .
So we got Hooted instead.
Jan had her pedi-appointment this afternoon at 3, so we headed out about 1 pm to first have lunch at Pluckers, a chicken wing chain. But there was an accident on the feeder that slowed us down, and then when we got there, we were told that there would be a 20-minute wait. Since this would leave us kind of tight on getting to Jan’s appointment, we swung around to the other side of the Interstate to have wings at Hooters. Happy to see that they’ve added some more sauces.
After Jan had much prettier cherry pink nails, we headed home with a stop at Costco for gas at $1.33/gallon, not quite as good as the $1.20 we got at Sam’s Club a couple of weeks ago, but still nice.
After Jan’s recent heart-attack scare due to her pneumonia shot, I decided to order a KardiaMobile for our medicine chest. I did use my pulse-oximeter to quickly eliminate her myocardial infarction possibility, but it would have been nice to also look at her actual EKG pattern. They’ve been marked down to $89 right now, so it seemed like a good time to stock up.
Tired of the seemingly never-ending increases, I’m thinking about switching from Verizon to Total Wireless. Since TW uses Verizon’s tower system, I don’t expect to see any coverage differences.
We’ve been with Verizon since 1992, starting out with one of those Motorola bag phones, the ones that look like a big black purse with a coiled handset attached. Right now we’ve got Jan’s S5, my S8+, and a MiFi for the rig, so not a lot.
Based on what I see online, it looks like I should be able to cut my bill by more than half. Since Wal-Mart sells TW, I’ll check them out.
But I’m curious if any of our readers use TW and what your thoughts are.
May 28, 2021
Count’em! 5!
Today was a fun day at work, with most of my time spent repairing a number of customers’ machines that had been sent in with problems for me to look at. And since I don’t usually have any kind of technical specs or schematics, it means that I had to dig out some of my old troubleshooting skills.
I made an appointment yesterday afternoon for 4 pm to have the local Verizon store finish the initialization of my new phone and then switch the numbers. I figured that I would hold off doing anything else besides charging it up and being sure it turned on, since I figured a SIM card changeout might be necessary, and I was right. In fact, both my old and new phones needed a SIM change.
I told the young lady that I would transfer all the data between the phones, and that all I needed was for her to do the new phone setup, and then transfer the phone number from my old S8+ to my new S21, and Jan’s number from her old S5 to her new-to-her S8+. All this took her about 20 minutes, and I was on my way home.
I’ve got the data transfer going right now, and it looks like it’s going to take about 4 hours, doing it by Direct Connect phone to phone. Looks like it copies everything: Contacts, Apps, Videos, Photos, etc.
In the meantime, I’ve been slogging through the 187-page manual that I downloaded yesterday, trying to catch up on all the new stuff on the phone, especially the 5 different cameras.
Count’em! 5!
So far, I like the Jeep’s new tires. They’re a slightly firmer ride, and the handling seems crisper. And the braking is definitely better. Happy so far.
Jan got a new addition to her Flamingo Flamboyance, a glass Flamingo Birdbath. We have a number of Cardinals and Blue Jays flitting around the yard, so Jan wanted to put something out for them.
Looking forward to a nice long weekend plus, since with the Monday Memorial Day holiday, I don’t go back to the office until next Wednesday.
May 28, 2022
Once Removed . . .
The weather here is a big change from the Houston area, with lows in the mid-50’s and highs in the mid-70’s, though they say it might hit 80 tomorrow. Maybe,
Nice.
Coming into Athens yesterday, we passed by the new Buc-ee’s that’s under construction just south of town on I-65. Should be open early next year.
That will make 4 in Alabama, with others in Auburn, Birmingham, and Robertsdale.
About 11:30, we drove over to my cousin Marjorie’s house (First Cousin, Once Removed) to pick her up for lunch. We headed down to our usual spot, Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ down in Decatur.
Jan and Marjorie both had Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Fries,
while I had the Combo Platter.
And of course, we had to finish up with slices of their homemade pies.
After lunch, we spent some time driving around Athens, checking out old haunts, including the house my parents bought here when we came back from Colombia, S.A. in 1963.
They bought it new, and it still looks really good for a 50+ year old house. Looks like the new owners have repainted since we were here two years ago.
Finally, about 3:30, we said our goodbyes, leaving with an assortment of her home-baked muffins.
Tomorrow, breakfast with more family.
May 28, 2023
VaCay ReCap . . .
I mentioned yesterday that we’ve crossed Sleep Inn off our list, but we’ve added a new one.
Key West Inn
We stayed at one for 5 nights in Fairhope, and it was the nicest one on the trip.
Very nice room, friendly staff, and a great breakfast. But unfortunately, there are only about 20 of them around the country, mostly in the Southeast.
But strangely enough, there’s no Key West Inn in Key West, FL.
When I was packing the Jeep the morning we left for Alabama, one of the gas struts that hold up the rear lift gate window broke off at the mount.
So as soon as we got back yesterday, I ordered a new set, figuring I would replace both struts, since if one goes, the other one is probably not far behind. And from the part numbers, they’ve already been replaced at least once.
And even better, rather than the $75 EACH the Jeep dealer quoted me, the pair was only $14 on Amazon.
For our first full day back home, we left the rig to have lunch at Denny’s once again, the first really good breakfast we’ve had since we left for Alabama.
Then, after a quick HEB stop, we stopped off at Jennifer’s house to pick up Karma. Guess she was glad to see us. But with her, it’s hard to tell.
Both Jan and I really enjoyed being back in our own bed and our own shower. Only our Days Inn in Athens and the Key West Inn in Fairhope were any good. The others either had lukewarm water or no real water pressure. Or both.
And the Key West Inn didn’t give you those little tiny bars of soap either. Instead, in the shower, they had dispensers of soap and shampoo,
and Jan’s favorite Beekman products on the counter.
Very nice.
Finishing up, Sonja, Landon’s other grandmother, posted this photo of her and Landon.
He’s as tall as she is now.
May 28, 2025
More Than One . . .
In the last 2 days, we’ve had over 4″ of rain with more to come, if the forecasts hold. But we really need it.
* * * * * * *
Our Wasp traps have not caught any wasps/hornets yet, but I do think I found their nest.
When I got something out of our truck, I looked down and saw this in the door jam.
I sprayed the nest with Wasp/Hornet Spray, but I don’t think I got them all, so I’ll try again tomorrow for another shot. But at least I know where the nest is now.
* * * * * * *`
Since every other Thursday has become a hot dog day, with Doggone Crazy over in Bacliff, we thought we’d fill in tomorrow with more hot dogs. And corn dogs, too.
Before Doggone Crazy, Sonic was our go-to place for hot dogs, i.e., foot-long chili cheese dogs, corn dogs, and Ched ‘R’ Peppers. Oh, and a Strawberry Limeade too.
YUM!
