More Reminiscing . . .
A Close Shave
May 5, 2014
Missed It By That Much!
After pulling out of our site here at the Colorado River Thousand Trails a little after 9:30,
we stopped off and got the toad connected at the park hitch-up spot and were headed out a little before 10am.
Our first stop was about 45 miles down the road at the Flying J in Brookshire, the first time we taken on diesel since November 24, 2013. What can I say, it’s been a slow year so far.
We had already scouted out the RV lanes here on one of our trips past here in the truck, but that didn’t prepare us for the problems.
Coming off the Interstate and coming down the side road, you have to make a left turn into the Flying J, and then immediately, another left turn. And before you’re even clear of the entrance you had to make a 90 degree right into the pumps. You can’t really stop because otherwise you’re completely blocking the main entrance to the place.
The first complication came because there was a big delivery truck parked right along the front edge of the lot. For reference, it was right behind where you see my truck in the photo.
Of course this meant that I couldn’t swing left as far as I wanted before I made the right turn into the pumps. Which meant I had to come in at more of an angle than I wanted. Of course as soon as I was parked at the pumps, the guy came out and left in the truck. Of course he did.
While I taking on 96 gallons of diesel, I dumped a bottle of Diesel Kleene in the tank too.
I never thought too much about using fuel additives, until I talked to a lot of the truckers in the oil patch when we were gate guarding. They said their companies had done comparisons between groups of trucks with and without Diesel Kleene, and they definitely saw a difference.
So now it was time to try and get out of here. I put Jan out back by the toad and turned up the volume on the backup camera mic so I could hear her. Then, keeping to the left as much as possible, I started to slowly pull forward, listening for Jan to scream. One problem was the fact that I had the same big concrete pillar on the driver’s side, only a few inches from that side too.
Jan said that the rig came so close to the pillar that she couldn’t have gotten a finger between it and the rig. Then as soon as the rig was clear I had to move more to the left so I didn’t drag the toad across the pillar. Jan said on this one she could have gotten her finger between them, but wouldn’t have wanted to.
Finally , to the amazement of onlookers, and even ourselves, we inched out of the space and got back on the road.
About 12:45 we pulled into the Lake Conroe Thousand Trails, found a 50 amp site, and got set up. We seem to be creating a pattern here. The first time we were here, we were in site E60, next time it was E59, and now we’re in E58.
And this time we’ve got a tree.
One thing I was happy to see was that my shear pin repair was successful. At least so far.
Or, at least twice so far.
It came in with no problems when we were ready to leave Colorado River, and then went out just fine here at Lake Conroe.
Just hope it continues that way.
More On Our BlowOut Adventures
May 5, 2015
Nothing New Yet . . .
Nothing much happen today on the rig repair front. I did talk to my National General Claims Agent, Kerry, and got things going with her. Now it’s just hurry up and wait.
Stan, the Service Manager here at Affinity, says he’s just waiting to hear back from Fleetwood on the price of the parts needed to make the repairs. Then the repair plan has to be run by the National General Claims Adjuster for his approval. Then at that point the repairs can get started.
Jan commented that we’ve got a really nice site here, better than a lot of RV parks. No loud neighbors, no noisy parties, and no barking dogs. If only there was a little patch of grass for Mister to roll around in, rather the concrete parking lot, it would be perfect.
As it was, we had a nice quiet day with the only downside that Jan woke up with one of her migraines. But one of her magic pills took care of it within a couple of hours. But if her headache follows the usual course, she’ll have two more over the next couple of days, each one less intense.
Lowell sent over these photos from Landon’s graduation from Day School.
Jan remarked how much he’s grown and it’s only been two months since we’ve seen him. Brandi says he just eats and grows.
Brandi also said that she apparently inherited a lot of my ‘repair stuff’ genes. Landon has one of those Leapfrog tablets for kids that he uses.
And he apparently sometimes uses it in the bathtub.
And of course, at some point he dropped it in the drink, but didn’t tell Brandi for a while. So when she found out, she decided to see if she could fix it ‘dad’s way.’
So she started taking it apart, photographing as she went, until she had it down to the bare motherboard. She then let it dry out for a few days, put it back together, and it worked.
Glad she got her mother’s looks and my repair skills, and not the other way around.
But then Brandi also said after our recent unpleasantness, that she wanted us to stop roaming around the country and just settle down like normal retired parents.
I asked her why we should start being ‘normal’ now?
Snowing In Bend, OR
May 5, 2017
It’s Snowing . . .
Last night it went down to 45° here in Sunriver,, peaked at 58° about noon, and then started falling, heading for 31° tonight. And then 24 to 28° tomorrow night. Brrrr!
On the other hand it was 107° today in Apache Junction. So our temps here don’t sound so bad now.
It’s easier to be cold and get warm, than it is to be hot and get cool.
About 3pm I decide to use the jacks to level the coach. We were pretty level when we parked yesterday, but the ground was soggy, and with more rain last night, the coach has settled somewhat.
So first I cranked up the rig and then lowered the jacks enough to make a depression in the soft ground, making it easier to position the pads. Next, after getting the pads in place, I lowered the jacks again and got us level. It’s nice to not be walking with a tilt again.
Finished with that, I dropped off some garbage at the nearby dumpster and then walked next door to see if our neighbor wanted to go brunch with us tomorrow.
Blog reader Mary Burge told us about Sparrow, a restaurant/bakery in Bend, and after checking on Yelp, decided it was a place we wanted to go.
About 1pm Jan started a big batch of Bean with Bacon Soup in the slow cooker after soaking the Northern Beans overnight. I cooked up some bacon in the microwave while Jan chopped up the onions. Then she spread out the onions and some sliced carrots on the same pan that I did the bacon in. This utilized some of the bacon grease for extra flavor
With the bacon chopped and in with the beans and the cooker on High, we started the pan of veggies in the convection oven for about 30 minutes before we added them to the pot. Based on previous batches we thought the soup would be ready to eat for supper about 6pm.
But for some reason they were still pretty crunchy, although very tasty.
So it was quickly out the door and on our way into Bend to have dinner at Red Robin, one of our favorite burger places.
Jan has been jonsin’ for some claw chowder so she was happy to find it on the menu.
I decided to try their chili,
which turned out that, although it was Oregon chili, and not Texas chili, it was pretty good.
Jan got the Shroom Burger with mushrooms and Cheddar cheese,
while I got the Burnin’ Love Burger with fried jalapeño coins, salsa, Pepper-Jack, lettuce, tomatoes and chipotle aioli on a jalapeño-cornmeal Kaiser roll. That’s a grilled jalapeno on top.
And of course, both with Endless Fries.
Really good.
Coming home a little after dark, I thought I saw something fluttering in the air, but when we gat back to the rig, it was definite.
It was snowing!
Not a lot, and not sleet, but real, actual snow.
Cruising Through Germany
May 5, 2019
Regensburg . . .
As with other towns/excursions along our river cruise, when we woke up we were docked out in the middle of nowhere. Just a dock, some mooring capstans, and a gangplank to the shore.
What happens is that they would dock a ways out from town, let off the people who were going to take the excursion, and then the ship would proceed on into the dock in town where it would be waiting for us at the end of the day.
So today we had a 40 minute bus ride into Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany. Founded in the mid-1200’s, it’s known for having a higher concentration of bars than any other German city.
Coming into town we passed field after field of what turned out to be mustard plants
Which turn out to figure in our lunch.
We met our local guide at the bus park and started our walking tour into town, taking in the many sights.
Though the town itself was established in 1245, it had been a Roman settlement since around 100 A.D. It fact this stone arch was part of a wall that was commissioned in 179 A.D.
Everything over here is just OLD.
Coming into the main part of town we crossed the Old Stone Bridge.
Built around 1135, it was the only bridge across the river until the 1930’s. Originally a toll bridge, two different Crusades to the Holy Land passed over it along the way.
Next up was St. Peter’s Cathedral.
Built in 1280 to replace on that was built in 700 A.D. and burned down in 1273 A.D.
Did I mentioned that everything over here is just OLD.
After we finished touring the town museum, we came outside to find that the temp had dropped into the low 40’s and it was sprinkling.
But we had planned to have lunch at the historic Regensburg Sausage Kitchen.
And by historic, I mean the 900 year old Regensburg Sausage Kitchen
Did I mentioned that everything over here is just OLD.
It is said the Sausage Kitchen fed the workers who were building the Stone Bridge right next door.
When we came out, the umbrellas were up, holding off some of the rain, so we ordered “Sechs und Kraut”. Or Six and Kraut in English.
Which means six of their famous sausages, kraut, and rolls (Brötchen), the same thing that they have been serving all these years.
And it was delicious.Even though by the time our order came, it was 37 degrees and sleeting.
Where did this come from?
But the real standout of the meal was their Sweet Spicy Mustard, made from the same recipe all these years. So good that after the meal, I stood in line in the sleeting rain for 10 minutes to buy a bottle to take home.
Unfortunately as we were packing our suitcases in London before we came home, and swapping things back and forth trying to meet the weight limits, the bottle accidently ended up in one of our carry-on bags, and is now being enjoyed by a TSA guy in London.
But I discovered that I could order some online from a US company, so two jars are now sitting in our kitchen.
By now it was time for us to meet our ship, and we were told it was waiting for us about a half mile down the river at dock 2. So a bunch of us headed out, only to find that the Skirnir had not yet arrived. So there we all stood in the freezing rain.
But the captain of the Viking ship Tor took pity on us and let us come onboard to wait until our ship arrived.
After getting back on board, dry and warmed up, and a nap, we met up with our usual crowd for another great meal.
Jan and I started with the Sweet Potato Soup,
the Veal Scaloppini.
along with Carrot Cake for me,
and Tiramisu for Jan for dessert.
Later, we were given a talk about the many locks and low bridges that we would be encountering in the coming days. And because of this we were told that the Sundeck would be closed for the next week or so.
Everything is folded down, including the railings, to allow the ship under the many low bridges. And since it takes over 2 hours to complete the procedure, either way, they just leave them down until they’re through the worse of it.
Next up: Nuremburg
Thought For The Day:
Madness does not always howl.
Sometimes, it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “Hey, is there room in your head for one more?”
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