Monthly Archives: August 2020
Turkey Hats and Surprised Chickens . . .
One thing nice about Petticoat Junction RV Park where we’ve been for almost 3 years is that the owner, Rob, is always making improvements.
As sites go empty, he’s been expanding them to a full concrete pad. Not just a gravel pad and a concrete patio.
And now we’re getting locking mailboxes in the few weeks.
It will be nice to have a real address here.
Here in 2009 we were in Plymouth, MA working our way out to Newfoundland.
August 13, 2009
America’s Hometown…
Today was our day to tour Plymouth, which calls itself “America’s Hometown”, which I guess is true since it was America’s first town.
After making the 40 mile trip, we first decided to have breakfast at the All American Diner in downtown Plymouth, and it was excellent!
Leaving the diner we drove down and parked along the waterfront.
The first thing we came upon was the Plymouth Rock monument.
It’s amazing to stand over the Rock and imagine almost 400 years ago the Pilgrims landing here.
Next we walked a few blocks away to the where the Mayflower II is docked. Built in England in 1956 from the original plans, it made the voyage to America in 1957 and was given to the Plimouth Plantation group for display here.
And then of course we had to hit the gift shops. Here’s Jan modeling the latest in holiday attire.
Heading home we stopped off at Target for more ‘stuff’ and then made the drive home.
The park we’re staying in is really nice, probably the nicest one we’ve ever stayed in.
And the landscaping and flowers are really something.
Today is our last full day in Massachusetts. Tomorrow we head north to Saint Johnsburg, VT for a few days at Moose River Lodge.
As it stands now we should be in Nova Scotia within the next two weeks. We’ll see.
Thought For The Day: Courtesy of our friend Butch Williams
Only The Strong Survive . . . Recess
I had seen this photo posted online before, but until it was circled, I never noticed the kid on the left plummeting to the ground.
OUCH!
And in 2011 we were still up in Vandalia IL for a family reunion.
August 13, 2011
Pistols and Potato Salad . . .
Breakfast again started out at Robbi’s Restaurant about 9 and once again ended up with trips to Rural King and Wal-Mart before headed down to Debbie’s for the day.
We mostly just took it easy enjoying the great company and talking, talking, talking.
Gwen, Tana’s daughter spent the day again, and was really good helping out and keeping tabs on Landon.
She’s cute as a button and smart as a whip, a deadly combination when the boys start hanging around in a few years.
Later in the afternoon Lowell, Brandi, Tina, Tana, Jim, and I went down to his target practice area and fired a couple of his pistols for a while. We punched a lot of holes in the targets and everyone had a good time.
Around 6 pm we headed out to the fire pit to roast hot dogs over the flames, to have along with a big batch of Debbie’s potato salad.
Landon made himself right at home,
even kicking back and taking it easy.
In fact everyone did.
We had planned to roast marshmallows, but by the time we were finished with the hot dogs, the thunder, lightning, and then rain moved in, so we all moved inside.
After a long, fun day, Jan and I headed back to the rig about 8, ready to do it all again tomorrow.
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Thought for the Day:
“Biologically speaking, if something bites you, it is more likely to be female.” – Desmond Morris
Finally in 2014 we were still down in Gulf Shores, AL on our way back to Houston.
August 13, 2014
Like, WOW!
After coffee and cinnamon toast this morning, I finished mounting a voltmeter to keep better track of my house battery voltage, since I’ve already got one up front that monitors my engine batteries. I was able to just tap into the power bus of the lights overhead so it was pretty easy.
After doing pretty much nothing the rest of the afternoon, we headed out a little after 4pm for dinner at Lulu’s at Homeport. But we first made a detour to stop at Tallulah’s Treasures, one of Jan’s favorite gift shops in this area.
We’ve been coming here for a lot of years and Jan always finds something there, and today was no exception with a new addition to her octopus collection.
Then it was on up to Lulu’s on the Intracoastal Waterway. The ‘Lulu’ in question, is actually Lucy, as in Lucy Buffett, Jimmy’s Buffett’s older sister. She’s had a restaurant in this area for quite a few years, first on Weeks Bay, and then in its present location since 2004. It’s one of our never-miss places when we visit Gulf Shores.
We got there a little before 5pm so we were able to get a table right on the water without a wait. Which wouldn’t have been possible 15 minutes later. The place filled up fast.
Jan tried something different this time, the Blackened Shrimp Tacos.
One bite and Jan said, “Like, WOW!”. She said it was the best seafood taco she’d ever had, shrimp, fish, or otherwise.
I started out with a cup of Seafood Gumbo, and then went with my tried and true Half and Half Loaf, which is Lulu’s version of the a half shrimp, half oyster Po Boy.
But we were careful to save room so we could split an order of their Bread Pudding made from Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.
Can’t miss that.
As we were leaving, I saw something I wish we could have for Gate Guarding.
It’s a high capacity misting fan, one that would really keep us cool on the gate. Bet it works a lot better than the one we have.
Leaving Lulu’s we spent some time just driving around the area, checking out all the places that have changed, and the occasional place that’s still the same since I lived here 50 years ago. Finally, after a Wal-Mart stop, we were back at the rig by 7:30.
Tomorrow is our last full day here in Gulf Shores, and the week has sure gone fast. We’ll leave here Friday morning, taking two days to make the 600 mile trip back to Houston for Jan’s checkup visits and Landon’s 4th birthday.
Speaking of Landon, Brandi send this over.
Cute, or what?__________________________________________________________________
Thought for the Day:
I bought a free-range chicken, you know the kind that runs free and gets pampered like a family pet, right up until the day they kill it.
It tasted . . . Surprised.
Hydrogen Peroxide . . .
Why Is Desperately Poor India Beating New York’s COVID-19 Response?
With a population density of over 75,000 people per square mile in Mumbai, for example, it triples the density of Manhattan, New York.
In addition, while New York has over 375 doctors per 100,000 population, India has only 0.9 doctors per 100,000 population, and it spends only $69.29 per capita on healthcare.
Yet, India’s deaths per million population is an astonishing 33 compared to New York’s 1,688,
Yes, New York’s CoVid death rate is over 50 times higher than India’s.
Why you might ask?
Well, In July, the Indian Express credited the widespread early intervention with hydroxychloroquine for reducing COVID-19 mortality by half. The authors wrote, “HCQ is obviously not a panacea for severe cases of Covid-19.
Given early, it helps reduce mortality by about half, compared to those not given HCQ. In India the drug is widely available and not expensive. A number of Indian states have already incorporated a short course of HCQ in their Covid-19 treatment protocol, and states that have not done so will do well to implement this quickly.”
Here in 2011 we were having a family reunion get-together at Jan’s sister Debbie’s in Vandalia, IL
August 12, 2011
Rural King and iCarly . . .
This morning started just like yesterday, with all of us meeting at Robbi’s Restaurant in Vandalia for breakfast about 9. Part of the Day’s Inn Hotel, it’s the local’s hangout for breakfast, where everyone knows everyone, and their business.
After a good breakfast, we split up. Brandi and Lowell headed over to St. Louis to visit the Gateway Arch. and maybe get in a little gambling, while Jan and I (well, Jan, really) took care of Landon for the day.
The rest of us first stopped off at Rural King, kind of a combination of a Tractor Supply Store and Menard’s, and then headed over to, where else, Wal-Mart.
Driving back to Debbie’s, we passed the towing yard and saw the results of a tour bus/semi trailer collision about 10 miles east of Vandalia yesterday.
The tour bus was carrying Miranda Cosgrove, actress, singer, and star of “iCarly”, and her family. “iCarly” is in its 4th season on Nickelodeon, and apparently a big hit.
The news reports say that the semi trailer jackknifed and overturned on I-70 W. Miranda’s tour bus then plowed into the empty trailer.
Miranda ended up with a broken ankle, and luckily, no one was killed.
But the results look like this.
No mentioned of what caused the trailer to jackknife.
Getting back to Debbie’s and getting things unloaded, I headed back to the rig to take some ‘Momentum’ and lay down. I pulled a muscle in my back yesterday and it had really started to bother me.
But Jan lost no time snapping some more photos of Landon.
Here he’s discovered a whole basket of Beanie Babies, with his cousin Laura and her daughter Ella.
And here, Landon wishes PaPa (me) would stop taking flash pictures of him.
We had a great dinner of homemade tacos and burritos with all the fixin’s, courtesy of Debbie, Jan, Christina, Tana, and Laura.
Brandi and Lowell showed up about 7:30 pm, and then Jan and I headed back to the rig about 8:30 after a long day of Landon-wrangling.
And we’re going back for more tomorrow.
Thought for the Day:
Just accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue.
And here in 2012 we were winding down our last few days of Gate Guarding.
August 12, 2012
An Abundance of Riches . . .
I mentioned in the last blog that we heard there was another catered meal on the way, and it showed up. The very next day,
This one was a little different, but very, very good.
It was really a buffet, with fried shrimp, fried chicken nuggets, fried catfish, fried mushrooms, French fries, hushpuppies, baked beans, turnip greens, mac ‘n cheese, green beans, and homemade banana pudding for dessert.
A guy could really hurt himself. And I think I did.
And once again we hear there’s another meal in the pipeline. I hope my stomach can take it.
We’ve been back in the high temps the last week or so. It was officially 106 degrees here yesterday (Friday), but our thermometer showed 113. Today it was 102 and 110.
A cool spell.
Now up in Ohio where we’ll be in two weeks, it’s in the low 80’s in the daytime and the mid 50’s at night. A guy could get use to that.
Luckily our water misting system is still doing its job keeping us pretty comfortable. Sometimes I’ll turn it off for a few minutes to do some paperwork, or something I don’t want to get damp, and it’s amazing how fast it gets just downright HOT and sweaty.
Our daughter Brandi passed on the latest bit of Landon-lore, about Landon, Kitty, and The War of the Toys.
Kitty (I don’t know. Don’t ask.) is their 125# Black Lab who adores Landon and is very protective of him. When Landon was just a baby, Kitty wouldn’t let anyone near Landon that she didn’t know, until Brandi or Lowell told Kitty it was OK.
But like siblings, they sometimes fight, usually over toys.
Brandi said the other day she and Lowell heard Landon yelling “Mommy, Daddy, Mommy, Daddy”. Looking up they saw Landon and Kitty in a tug-of-war over a toy. Brandi said they told Landon he was going to have to take care of himself.
Looking around, Landon saw another toy that Kitty liked. Letting go of the contested toy, Landon picked up the other one, showed it to Kitty, and threw it across the room. Kitty dropped the toy in her mouth and took off after the new toy. Landon then scooped up his prize and headed off in the other direction. Mission accomplished.
Smart Kid!
My small computer fan that had been in orbit over Texas for the last several days (see the last blog post) finally came to earth.
Although it is really a computer fan, it’s for my Black & Decker Battery Charger. The fan died a while back, and because of that, while the charger works fine in 2 amp and 10 amp modes, it shuts down due to overheating running in 25 amp mode. The charger is still under warranty, but Black & Decker has sold off their battery charger line and others to a company called Baccus Global. And their ‘warranty’ support leaves a lot to be desired. With having to pay postage both ways, along with a $15 ‘evaluation fee’, I was fast approaching the cost of a new charger.
So I decided to take the charger apart and see what was what. Turns out that the fan itself has just died, so a quick check on eBay found a replacement. I’ll get it installed and checked out in the next couple of days.
Thought for the Day:
If more guns did cause more crime, no one would ever leave a gun show alive.
And in 2013 it was more family fun with my side of the family in Athens, AL
August 12, 2013
Last Day of Relative Fun . . .
Today is our last day here in Athens, and our last chance to get together with my Aunt Virginia and Uncle Theo, or Ninny and Buddy as I’ve always called them. So Jan and I headed over to their house about 11:15 to meet Ninny.
After catching for a while, we headed out for lunch at Rosie’s Mexican Cantina over in Huntsville before visiting Buddy at the Floyd Fann State Veteran’s Home.
We always try to eat at Rosie’s every time we visit here since it’s the best place we’ve found in the area for Mexican. So after a great lunch and more catching up, we drove over to see my Uncle Buddy.
He has been at the Veteran’s Home for the last several months getting physical therapy and rehabilitation to help his walking ability.
My Uncle Theo (Buddy). who will be 91 next month, is here as a WW2 combat veteran. He fought in the North African Campaign, landed at Normandy on D-Day, and then as a Staff Sergeant, started out with Patton’s Third Army when it became operational in August 1944. Staying with the 3rd all the way to the end of the war, he was awarded the Bronze Star, Two Purple Hearts, and was one of a select few to receive the French Legion of Honor medal, awarded by France for conspicuous honor fighting during that campaign.
We spent about an hour catching up since last year. He’s so animated and cheerful, it’s hard to believe he’s almost 91.
Getting back to their house, we talked with Ninny a while longer before heading back to the rig about 5pm, leaving with a homemade peach pie and some of her wonderful Banana Nut Bread. You can’t beat that.
On the way home we made a couple of side trips to CVS and Wal-Mart. Coming out of Wal-Mart, it was pouring down rain and I got soaked getting back to the truck. I was afraid it would be raining when we got back to the rig since the storm was headed that way, but we got back just ahead of it.
Tomorrow, we’ve got a 230 mile trip down to Meridian, MS for the night. Then it’s Breaux Bridge, LA on Wednesday night, and into Houston on Thursday.
Thought for the Day:
Two chemists walk into a bar. The first orders H2O. The second orders H2O too. The second one dies.
