Our RV Adventures

Today is my Sweetie’s Birthday, and she wants to thank everyone for all the many Birthday Wishes.

One of her presents she won’t get until we’re down in Clear Lake tomorrow and we pick it up at my client’s.

But this was today’s gift.

We’ve been wanting to see TSO for a good while, but we’re usually gate-guarding that time of the year, so this year’s our chance.

About 1:30 I went outside to take care of a few travel chores, with the first being to check the rig tire pressures. One thing I really like about these Hercules Ironman tires is that they just don’t leak down. Seems like I only have to adjust the pressure twice a year or so, just for the change in temps.

When I replaced our Sumitomo’s a couple of years ago, I chose the Ironman’s due to the fact that I saw so many sets on the trucks coming into our gates.  And so far they’ve been great for us.

Next up was to rewire the taillight cable on the rig, I had done the truck end about a month ago, and since we’re going to be towing tomorrow I couldn’t put it off any longer. For some reason I couldn’t convince Jan to made the 80 mile drive down through downtown Houston following the rig.

This time I did remember to stagger the crimp splices so the flex conduit doesn’t look like an anaconda after a big meal.

Finishing up I added water to the rig batteries to top them off.

Done.

About 4:15 Jan and I drove into Conroe to meet up with a bunch of other couples. We were eating at Joe’s Italian Restaurant, a place where Debi and Ed Hurlburt have been eating for years. And it turned out to be really good.

We both had salads with Ranch.]

Jan had the Chicken Alfredo,

while I had the Spaghetti Carbonara.

Both delicious and enough to take home.

Then they brought out a piece of cheesecake birthday cake for Jan,

and we all sang Happy Birthday to my Sweetie. Thanks for settng that up, Debi.

We had a large group which ended up spreading out to an adjacent booth.

Finally we headed home with a quick stop at the Wal-Mart for a prescription, getting home about 7:30.

Tomorrow we’ll head down to the Petticoat Junction RV Park in Santa Fe, where we’ll stay for the next couple of months at least.

The Word of the Day is: Salubrious 

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I Know It Doesn’t LOOK Good, But . . .About 2:30 Jan and I headed into Conroe to first have lunch, well, breakfast anyway, and then do some shopping.

Jan has been seeing the Denny’s ads on TV  showing their Holiday pancakes, Pumpkin Cream and Cranberry Orange. So she decided we were having breakfast for lunch.

She got the Pumpkin Pancakes with the Cinnamon Cream topping, as well as eggs, bacon, and hash browns.

I went with the Cranberry Orange Pancakes with the Orange Glaze Cream sauce, also with eggs, bacon, and hash browns.

I know in the photo that it doesn’t look that good, but the Orange Glaze Cream Cheese topping has bits of orange in it was delicious.

Next up was a stop at Sam’s for a couple of prescriptions, and then Wal-Mart for some groceries before heading home. While I got all the groceries in, Jan walked next door to spend some time with the Evanses, et. al. while I tried to fix some client stuff that just broke.

One of our blog readers, Snowbird, commented, reminding me of some info about Sears that I forgot to pass on yesterday. People talk about how Sears could have been Amazon by moving their catalog online if they hadn’t dropped the ball. But Sears actually had already dropped the catalog in 1993, just as the Internet was getting started.

Amazon got its start the next year, 1994, selling books out of Jeff Bezo’s garage. And it actually might have been very difficult for Sears to put their catalog online. The necessary net infrastructure just didn’t exist.

But anyway, corporate infighting had already doomed the Sear’s catalog sales model. The problem was that the stores and the catalog operation were too separate corporate entities competing with each other under the Sear’s umbrella, and they hated each other with a passion.

The store side of things saw every catalog sale as one the store was losing, and the catalog group accused the stores of sabotaging the in-store catalog sales pickup. This was because although the stores got nothing from a catalog sale in-store pickup, they still had to supply the manpower to staff the in-store catalog operation.

Finally in 1993, the store side of things managed to kill off the catalog, even though it was still profitable, by saying that the money would be better spent using it to expand and upgrade the stores.

Now Sears seems to only exist as a real estate and product liquidation company. They’ve been selling off stores and real estate in a frenzy and sold off their fabled Craftsman tool brand to Stanley Black & Decker this past March, so can Kenmore be far behind? And today it was announced they’ve severed their 100 year old relationship with Whirlpool.

So it looks like eventually it will all go down the tubes. Sad to see.

The Word of the Day is:  Farceur

Thought for the Day:

High Flight — With FAA Supplements

“High Flight” is a famous poem by John Gillespie Magee Jr (1922-1941). A Royal Canadian Air Force pilot, he died at age 19 …in a mid-air collision during World War II.

Here’s his brief poem — with a few notes now required by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth (1),

And danced (2) the skies on laughter silvered wings;

Sunward I’ve climbed (3) and joined the tumbling mirth (4)

… Of sun-split clouds (5) — and done a hundred things (6)

You have not dreamed of — wheeled and soared and swung (7)

High in the sunlit silence (8). Hov’ring there (9),

I’ve chased the shouting wind (10) along, and flung (11)

My eager craft through footless halls of air….

Up, up the long, delirious (12), burning blue

I’ve topped the wind-swept heights (13) with easy grace.

Where never lark, or even eagle (14) flew —

And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod

The high untrespassed sanctity of space (15),

Put out my hand (16), and touched the face of God.

Notes:

1. Pilots must insure that all surly bonds have been slipped entirely before aircraft taxi or flight is attempted.

2. During periods of severe sky dancing, crew and passengers must keep seatbelts fastened. Crew should also wear shoulder belts as provided.

3. Sunward climbs must not exceed the maximum permitted aircraft ceiling.

4. Passenger aircraft are prohibited from joining the tumbling mirth.

5. Pilots flying through sun-split clouds under VFR conditions must comply with all applicable minimum clearances.

6. Do not perform these hundred things in front of Federal Aviation Administration inspectors.

7. Wheeling, soaring, and swinging will not be attempted except in aircraft rated for such activities and within utility class weight limits.

8. Be advised that sunlit silence will occur only when a major engine malfunction has occurred.

9. “Hov’ring there” constitutes a highly reliable signal that a flight emergency is imminent.

10. Forecasts of shouting winds are available from the local FSS. Encounters with unexpected shouting winds should be reported by pilots.

11. Pilots flinging eager craft through footless halls of air are reminded that they alone are responsible for maintaining separation from other eager craft.

12. Should any crewmember or passenger experience delirium while in the burning blue, submit an irregularity report immediately upon flight termination.

13. Windswept heights will be topped by a minimum of 1,000 feet to maintain VFR minimum separations.

14. Aircraft engine ingestion of, or impact with, larks or eagles should be reported to the FAA and the appropriate aircraft maintenance facility.

15. Aircraft operating in the high untresspassed sanctity of space must remain in IFR flight regardless of meteorological conditions and visibility.

16. Pilots and passengers are reminded that opening doors or windows in order to touch the face of God may result in loss of cabin pressure. Military pilots shall avoid touching face of God to maintain separation of church and state as required by law.

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