Daily Archives: August 5, 2016
Flying Squirrels and Embalming Fluid . . .
I was looking over our rig’s Silverleaf computer interface readings from our trip from the Colorado River TT to the Gulf State Park here in Gulf Shores.
Turns out we used 72.6 gallons of diesel, out of 150 gallons, and we traveled 610.9 miles, giving us an average of a little over 8.4 mpg. Not bad at all.
Especially since due to the fact that I bumped my normal 55mph up to 61- 62 due to not wanting to slow down surrounding traffic too much. The traffic is so heavy on I-10 east of Houston that even on a 4 lane traffic builds up behinds us. I wouldn’t mind pulling off occasionally, but then it’s almost impossible to get back on the road – due to all the traffic. So I try to pick it up a bit.
Of course we actually used more diesel than that, since we ran the generator for the AC’s the entire way.
A couple of things I forgot to mention yesterday.
In talking with Jeff, our Lambert;’s waiter, it turns out I knew his grandparents. They owned the Kastrup’s Motel just a mile or so south of Lambert’s. It’s no longer there, but they also had a restaurant there called the Koffee Kup. They had great food, and we always stopped there for Sunday dinner coming back from church in Foley.
Years later, when my mother, Jan and I came down from Birmingham, we stayed there.
And later, driving around Foley, we drove past my grandmother’s house on Rose Ave. Althought it looks small, it actually had 3 bedrooms and 2 baths.
She lived here from around 1957 to 1960 until she had a stroke. We ended up moving up there from our house on the Bon Secour River to take care of her. Unfortunately after about another year, her health deteriorated to the point she had to be put in a nursing home.
But two unusual things stand out for me while we lived there. One was that I had a pet flying squirrel who live on that screen-in front porch. His name was . . . wait for it . . . Rocky!
I got him as a baby, and whenever he would see me, he would come flying over and land on my shoulder, and I would feed him pecans and peanuts.
The other unusual thing was that on the other side of the alley behind the house was a home where a girl my age (12) lived. And we use to pal around a lot. But the unusual part was that her home was a funeral home. And when we went in and out the back door, we walked right through the embalming room . . . with the bodies laid out on the tables. But since she wasn’t grossed out by them, neither was I.
No way a 12 year old boy would let himself be grossed out by something that didn’t bother a GIRL.
And after a while I didn’t pay any attention to them anymore.
Or at least until one day I walked by a table that held someone I knew.
Around 6pm it started raining pretty heavily and went for almost half a hour, all the while the sun was still shining brightly. Strange.
For dinner tonight, Jan heated up our Lambert’s leftovers, and like I said in yesterday’s blog we had more food tonight than we ate last night. A very good meal. Again.
Thought for the Day:
Jan is 90% of the reason I get up every morning. The other 10% is because I have to pee.
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