Old and New Friends . . .
Jan and I were on the road about 10 am, heading down to Galveston, in the pouring rain. We were meeting up with Jim and Peri Dean and a couple of their RV friends, all over from San Antonio for the week, staying at the Galveston Island State Park.
They said they wanted Breakfast/Brunch so our first (and only suggestion) was the Sunflower Café and Bakery on 14 St.
Crossing on to the Island was ‘interesting’ to say the least. There was so much wind that the bay was just one big whitecap, and a couple of times I almost changed lanes without turning the steering wheel.
Fun!
Being a Wednesday we got seated immediately and a few minutes later Jim and Peri showed up, along with new friends Bob and Susan.
We had a great time getting to know them, comparing places we’d all been to, and places we still wanted to go to. Apparently Susan has a very long Bucket List.
Jan, Peri, and Susan all went with the Pumpkin Belgian Waffle,
while I got the Sausage and Grits. Good, but not quite as good as the Shrimp and Grits at Snooze. The Snooze version is much more flavorful.
Bob got a Fried Flounder Sandwich, and I lost track of what Jim had, but we all agreed that everything was delicious.
And of course, Jan, Peri, and Susan all had to visit the Bakery for some take-home goodies.
And as usual when RV’ers get together, we were there just talking for several hours, almost 3, actually, until Bob and Susan finally had to leave for a business call.
We had a great time seeing Jim and Peri again, as well as getting to know Bob and Susan. All nice people, and hopefully we’ll see them again soon.
I had been wanting to get a service manual for our new (to us) 2003 Jeep Liberty Sport. Of course I thought about the standard ones, the Haynes and Chilton ones, but I’ve never really been happy with these.
They always seem to tell me a lot about things I already know about, and very little about things I want or need to know. But I was resigned to getting one or the other (or both) but then I came across this one on Amazon.
It’s an original factory service manual, and it was only about $10 more than the Haynes version.
I remember back in the 70’s and 80’s when you bought a new car there was always a coupon in the back of the owner’s manual so you could order a copy of the factory manual, but that went away sometime in the 90’s. And anyway I imagine that the manuals are all on DVD’s by now.
But I really lucked out finding this one.
Thought for the Day:
When a man steals your wife, there is no better revenge than to let him keep her. – King David
December 2, 2010
Great Steaks on the Guadalupe . . .
This morning started out with some of Gina’s great coffee and more catching up on things. Then about 10:15 Gina and Jan took two of the cats, Jonesy and Beau Kitty, down to the vet in nearby Sattler for some shots and micro-chipping.
Then after they got back we drove over to Milagro’s, our favorite local Mexican place. Their chips and salsa are top of the line and everything is seasoned perfectly. I had a taco salad and a bowl of chicken tortilla soup, while Jan and Gina split an order of bean and cheese nachos and a taco salad. They have a fantastic Blackberry Habanero Vinaigrette salad dressing that I have to get every time we go.
Getting back to the ranch after lunch, Gina decided it was a good time for a nap, while Jan and I drove back down to Sattler. I wanted to stop by the Wells Fargo to get a new debit card, and then go across the street to the Ace Hardware to get some supplies to complete Gina’s Honey-Do list.
After we got back from Sattler, Jan also thought it was a good time for a nap, while I worked some on the Honey-Do list.
Then about 5:30 we all drove over to Gruene (pronounced ‘Green”) to eat dinner at the Gruene River Grill, a steak place Gina had been to once before.
And boy was it good. Gina and I both had the Balsamic Ribeyes, and Jan had the Grilled Sirloin with mushrooms. All came with roasted new potatoes and very al dente green beans. These were great pieces of meat.
Although it was hard to tell at night, the restaurant overlooks the beautiful Guadalupe River that winds all though this area, and they have a lot of decks and tables for outside dining.
This is a place we’ll have to go back to.
We got home a little after 8, and then while Jan and Gina watched TV, I finished up the Honey-Do list, and cleaned all the ‘Gunk’ out of her computer.
That was about it for today. Tomorrow Jan and I head about 65 miles up the road to Burnet to meet the kids for a long weekend on Inks Lake. Should be fun.
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Thought for the Day:
The average woman would rather have beauty than brains, because the average man can see better than he can think.
December 2, 2014
DUMBO Pizza . . .
As I figured yesterday, our stay-at-home day today, became a going out shopping and eating day.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
But before we left I talked to Galveston Bay RV Resort to see how things were coming along with getting their new sites open, and it’s looking good. Turns out they’re now hoping to have them up and running by Dec. 15th. Here’s hoping.
We left the rig about 1pm, heading for the Fry’s Electronics down in North Houston. I came up with a couple of more projects based on the Fry’s Christmas Sales email alerts that I’ve been getting, and we won’t be back down to the Fry’s in Webster until this weekend.
It’s been 10 years or more since I’ve shopped at this Fry’s, but since the layout is pretty much the same as the one in Webster, I found everything I was looking for, and of course as usual, I found several things I didn’t know I was looking for, but apparently really needed. Or at least it seemed that way at the time.
The other advantage to this Fry’s is that coming back home, we pass right by the Grimaldi’s Pizzeria located in the Woodlands. Grimaldi’s has been our favorite pizza place since we first ate at one with Brandi and Piper when they visited us up in New York in 2009. We ate at the original Grimaldi’s located in the DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) area of Brooklyn. It was the best pizza we’d every eaten, so we were really happy when a couple of years ago our friend Lyn Cross alerted us to the fact that they had started opening Grimaldi’s around the country.
Since then we eaten at Grimaldi’s all over, including two in Houston, two in San Antonio, one in Tucson, and one in Gilbert, AZ. And probably a couple of more we’ve forgotten about.
As usual, we started out with the Small Salad, which despite the name, is large enough for both of us to have two servings.
Then it was on to the large 18” pizza, with Pepperoni, Mushrooms, Italian Sausage, Meatballs, and Jalapenos. Besides the crust made with New York water and cooked in a coal-fired brick oven, another thing that makes this pizza unique is that the mozzarella cheese is laid on in slices, and not shredded cheese just sprinkled on.
We always get the large so we’ll have plenty of leftovers, as this pizza heats up great.
Heading toward home, I made a quick stop at the nearby Barnes & Noble for me, and a drive-by checkout of the location of the The Container Store for a later visit for Jan.
Lowell sent over Landon’s school pictures that just came back.
This kid should be a model.
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Thought for the Day:
“There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened.” – Douglas Adams.
December 2, 2017
Running In OverDrive . . .
As far as the Direct TV problem I’m having with the video/audio blanking for 3 or 4 seconds intermittently, it’s still kind of up in the air.
A number of blog readers commented that they’re having the same problem with Direct TV, and even Dish. But I’m now looking in a different direction.
Last night I was watching a news show and during the last five minutes, the video/audio flash 3 or 4 times. But when I went back and looked at the recording, the flashing wasn’t there. Now because of the way a DVR works, it looks like the problem is actually probably with my TV.
On a DVR the satellite signal comes into the DVR and is fed through the HD and then out to the TV. This is why you can be watching a TV show for ah hour, click the Record button in the last 5 minutes, and have the entire hour recorded on the HD.
So if the video/audio glitching was coming in from Direct TV, then it should also be on the recording. But in 3 different tests, the problem has never shown up on the recordings.
I’ve got another test I’m going to try tomorrow that hopefully will narrow it down more. I’ll keep you updated.
Jan and I headed out about 2:15, first heading over to the Kemah area on TX-146 to have lunch at Stomp’s Burger Joint once again.
As much as we like Whataburger and Five Guys, Stomp’s is at a whole ‘nother level.
Where else can you get two 8 oz. 100% Angus Beef hand-formed patties.
And in my burger’s case, the Hog Wild, bacon is also ground into the meat.
It really doesn’t get much better.
Leaving Stomp’s we drove up through Kemah and Seabrook to check out all the new stuff being built in the area. Then it was on into Webster so Jan could get a question answered about the OverDrive app that she uses to check out books from the Harris County Public Library on her Kindle Fire.
She used to be able to suggest e-books for the library to obtain for readers to check out from within OverDrive, but somewhere along the line that menu item disappeared. Turns out that you now have to go to the website to ask for new books.
With that taken care of, we took the long way home by heading down to La Marque to the Buc-ee’s to pick up some Cranberry and Blueberry Muffins for upcoming breakfasts.
Tomorrow afternoon we’re driving up to the FM1960 area to meet Janice and Dave Evans at the Potatoe (yes, that’s the way they spell it) Patch Restaurant. I’ll be good to see them again.
Thought for the Day:
The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.
December 2, 2018
It Gets Crowded In The Bathroom . . .
At least that’s what Jan said to me this morning, concerning her ongoing Adventures In Pet-Sitting up at Brandi’s.
Apparently the two large dogs, a 100+ Black Lab, a slightly smaller Black Lab/Akita? Mix, and Mooshe the cat, follow her everywhere she goes, even to the bathroom. And they get very upset if she tries to lock them out.
I told her that they’re probably following her around trying to figure out what she did with their ‘real’ family.
And speaking of the ‘real’ family, they’re expected home from Disney World around midnight tonight, and then I’ll pick up Jan tomorrow afternoon, and bring my baby back home.
I headed up to the Clear Lake area about 2:30 for a couple of errands. My first stop was at my client’s office to take a look at a problem with the Shipping computer. It’s the only one that uses a WiFi connection rather than a CAT 5 Ethernet cable, but for some reason it had fallen off the network.
The Office Manager called me late Friday afternoon to let me know about the problem. She had already checked out the usual suspects, like unplugging and re-plugging the WiFi USB dongle, trying a different USB port, and rebooting. All with no luck.
I keep a couple of spare WiFi dongles just for this reason, but a new one didn’t fix the problem. So I clicked the ‘Network Troubleshooter’ and let it go to work.
First up, it told that the Ethernet connection wasn’t plugged in.
Well, duh!
But then after a few seconds, it also told me that the WiFi adapter was disabled, and ask did I want to repair it?
Well, duh!
I’m assuming the problem was really with the USB WiFi interface and not the hardware dongle itself, since a new one didn’t help. but in a few seconds it said it was fixed, and it was.
The ‘why’ is the part I don’t understand, since it was working and then it wasn’t. So I’ll have to keep an eye on it in case it reoccurs.
With that taken care of, my next stop was over at the WalMart for some groceries, and then next door to Sam’s to pick up a prescription, only to find that the Sam’s Pharmacy is now closed on Sundays. Bummer!
I got home about 4:45 to find Karma waiting semi-impatiently to be fed. She knows her normal feeding time is 4pm, and she can apparently tell time really well, Or at least her stomach can.
She will be sound asleep in the front windshield, and then about 5 minutes to 4, she’ll jump down, and then walk over to where one of us is sitting. She’ll then sit down and just stare at us, never blinking, never looking away.
Spooky!
I was wrong. And certainly not for the first time or the last. But this was a simple math mistake, so jeez! But then none of you caught either, so I feel a little better.
In last night’s blog, talking about the oil capacity of our rig’s Cummins 350 ISC engine, I said this.
My engine holds 26 quarts of oil, or 4½ gallons.
And of course, it’s 6½ gallons, not 4½.
Wrapping up, I have no idea why all the paragraphs were triple-spaced in last night’s blog. So we’ll see how tonight goes.
Thought for the Day:
“God gave men both a penis and a brain, but unfortunately not enough blood supply to run both at the same time.” – Robin Williams
I only got to post this one because Jan’s was not here to ‘supervise’.
