Monthly Archives: July 2022
Sister . . . Wives?
Rob, a regular blog reader, saw yesterday’s blog title, Recent Acquisitions, and then this picture of Jan and her sister Debbie.
And the first thing that came to his admittedly whacked mind was –
Wow, I thought, this guy is brave… There is no way I could deal with a second wife!
Guess that gives a whole new meaning to Sister Wives.
On another funny note, my client asked me to order him a new hedge trimmer from Amazon. Since I knew he hadn’t had his old one for very long, I asked him why he needed a new one.
He said someone had stole his old one from the back seat of his car while it was parked out in front of his house. And the new one came in to the office this past Monday, but he hadn’t taken it home yet.
Then this morning he asked me to send the new one back to Amazon. And when I asked why, he said his old one had been returned to him, and left on his front porch overnight.
“So they just borrowed it?”
He said there was no battery in it when they took it, that it was inside the house on the charger. So when they couldn’t use it they just brought it back.
Nice Thief, I guess.
Our DIL Linda sent over this photo of a doe and her two fawns in the backyard.
Must be nice. All we get around here are rabbits.
I mentioned a while back about the upgrading going on here at the park.
This is going to be the location of Rob’s new garage/shop. It will save him a lot of time moving mowers and other equipment back and forth between the park and his home where they’re stored now.
And it looks like he’s starting to lay out the locations of the new sites.
And if things aren’t bad enough, Hershey says there will be a candy shortage for Halloween this year. So stock up now.
And we have a funny story about our first Halloween together. We’d only been married a little over a month and were living in a small duplex apartment in Tuscaloosa, AL.
Halloween had kind of slipped up on us, so when kids started coming to the door, Jan began handing out the only thing she could think of, those small little boxes of cereal that came in a variety pack. Finally getting down to the last two boxes, she gave one to each of the last two kids.
One little boy was happy and said, “I got Sugar Pops. What did you get?”
The other little boy looked up sadly and said pitifully, “CORN FLAKES!
At that point Jan closed the door, shut the curtains, and turned off the porch light.
And that was it for our first Halloween.
_________________________________________________________
Thought for the Day:
“The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which one to burn.” – David Russell.
July 29, 2011
Hair Cuts and Bear Spray . . .
After coffee about 9:30 and a lunch of leftover BBQ and Nachos around 12, we goofed off until about 2 pm when we headed out for the afternoon.
Our first stop was the Cody Mural, a panoramic painting covering a dome 18 feet high and 36 feet in diameter. The mural depicts the Mormon pioneers settling the West, and especially the Big Horn Basin here in Wyoming.
It was interesting to discover that states and territories encouraged Mormon settlers to come to their areas because they were hard-working and industrious. Buffalo Bill even tried to get them to come to Cody, but they ultimately ended up further to the northeast in the Lovell, WY area.
Leaving the Mural, we drove by the local Walgreen’s and I got this shot of their sign.
If Walgreen’s is selling Bear Spray, maybe bears are a bigger problem then I thought.
Right down the street we came across this very unusual RV parked in a liquor store parking lot.
I might have to be drunk to drive this too. Note the chimney for a wood stove.
I like the AC unit right above the steer horns.
And the back porch is a nice touch, too.
I’d been thinking about getting my hair cut (no snide remarks, please) and saw the Cowboy Cuts Barber Shop and decided to give it a try.
The owner/barber, Coral, was really good, but she was not too complementary of my old haircut. The first thing she said was, “Where’d you get this cut, Wal-Mart”? I had to sheepishly say “Yes, a while back in Las Vegas”
She said, “Well, I hope you did better at the slots than you did with this haircut.” Ouch!
She then proceeded to give me a layered cut, and also trimmed my beard. When she finished and I ask, “How much?” She said, “Eight dollars” “Why so cheap”, I ask. She just smiled and said, “You didn’t give me a lot to do.”
Ouch, again. But I did give her a $5 tip.
Our next stop was Wal-Mart for a few things before we met our friends Al and Adrienne at Bubba’s BBQ. And if you’re counting, that does make it 6 meals in a row at a Bubba’s.
After another great meal of BBQ, Al and Adrienne headed home, while Jan drove down the road a ways to Tecumseh’s Trading Post to check out their 7000 square foot Western diorama.
Highly detailed it shows many scenes from the settling of the West, Custer’s Last Stand, the coming of the railroads, and more, along with voice narration.
Really nice, very well done, and even better, it was free.
Tomorrow, at the suggestion of several of our blog readers, including our friend, Dave Cross, we’re going to drive the Beartooth Highway up north from here. It’s a loop of about 180 miles and is supposed to be really spectacular.
July 29, 2012
Counting Down the Days . . .
Tomorrow (Monday) we’ll be starting our final 3 weeks of gate guarding, and Jan’s counting down the days.
Me, I’m counting down the fact we’ve only got 3 more paychecks. Bummer!
First off, to get the important stuff out of the way. Here’s Landon talking about how old he is. He’ll be 2 on August 20th.
Landon and Daddy,
It’s been a pretty slow week so far, but things are picking up.
We’ve heard that they will be sliding the drill rig over to the new hole sometime later this week. We’ve also heard that it will take several days, rather than the 12 – 15 hours I was told originally. That makes more sense to me, since it’s not just a matter of moving the derrick, but all the surrounding stuff has to be moved out of the way first and then hooked back up.
On Wednesday we had another catered meal, this time from Stellar, the company that furnishes and support all the office and residence trailers on site. Nothing fancy, but a delicious pork loin cutlet, with green beans, cheesy baked potatoes, and fruit salad for dessert. The really great thing about all these catered meals is how well they’re seasoned. Just perfect.
And they’re free.
OK, the really great thing about these meals is that they’re free, AND perfectly seasoned. I’ve got my priorities after all.
On Tuesday of course, it was Galindo’s Chile Rellenos Day.
Another great meal from a little hole-in-the-wall place
Once again, not real fancy-looking, but really delicious!
For several weeks our temps here pretty much stayed in the low 90’s, but this past week it’s been back in the high 90’s every day, and looks to stay that way for the next several weeks.
Oh well, it’s summer in south Texas after all.
A few days ago I was talking with one of the drivers for Macro Trucking, one of the big haulers in this area for the rigs. They have over 600 semi’s, and we get 3 or 4 a day in here.
The driver told me about Power Service Diesel Kleen with Cetane Boost.
He said the company had started using it in all their trucks about 9 months ago, after doing a six month trial run on about 50 of them. He said they were getting a solid 5-6% increase in mileage, along with cleaner injectors.
I had actually heard of this awhile back on RV.net so I decided to give a try. Amazon carries it at the link above for about $14 for a 32oz bottle. I’ll let you know how it does once we get back on the road.
Wrapping up, Joseph, one of the Gate Guard Services’ techs came out today to top us off with water and diesel, and change the oil in our generator. This guy can do an oil and filter change in 8 minutes! Great when you don’t want to be without your rig AC for very long.
Finally, I want to highly recommend two Kindle books, both 99 cents, and well worth the money and more.
The first one is Mars the Avenger, a murder mystery set in ancient Rome, about 135 A.D. Besides the interesting mystery, the details of Rome life in that period make it even a better read. Check it out.
The second one is Methuselah’s Daughter, about a 3500 year old woman. The story starts in the present (2004, actually) and jumps between 1100 B.C. (when she’s already 400 years old) and around 135 B.C. in the Roman Republic.
Effectively immortal, (she grows back an arm and a leg after a bad traffic accident) the story really centers on how she views the rest of mankind and what she has to go through to hide her condition, a growing problem in today’s computerized society.
Don’t take this as a science fiction or fantasy book. It’s really not. It’s the story of a woman who has lived 50 lifetimes, coping with the loneliness, and watching anyone she becomes close to, grow old and die, while she stays young. At one point, she pretty much has no human contact for almost 400 years! because of this.
And just like Mars the Avenger, the details of the societies she lives in make the book even more interesting.
Both well recommend. You won’t be disappointed.
Elkhart, IN
July 29, 2013
Gluttons for Punishment . . .
It was really nice to sleep late this morning with nothing to see, or nowhere to go. Just do nothing.
Looks like we’re in for a nice spate of weather for the rest of our time here. It’s supposed to make it to 80 only one day with the rest in the mid 70’s, with pretty low chances of rain. Hope the forecast holds up. We’ve been lied to before.
About noon I went up to the park office to get the WiFi password for the park from Gita.
In past years the Verizon 3G was good, but this year it’s pretty crappy. On the other hand the 4G on my phone is really good. This kind of supports something I heard that all the carriers are trying get everyone off 3G and their unlimited data plans, like my aircard, and onto their 4G metered plans.
They want to do away with the whole 3G system anyway, since it runs on a completely separate hardware system from 4G and it’s just an added expense.
About 3 Jan and I headed out for errands and dinner, with our first stop at the Great Clips for a hair trim for Jan. Then it was next door to Wal-Mart for a few things. Our last stop was the Ryan’s across the street for dinner. This is a great Ryan’s here and we always get a good meal.
Getting back to the rig after a big meal, Jan and I both ended up dozing off for a little while. Mister took this opportunity to knock the screen door open and go for a walkabout around the park. When I realized he was on the lam, I went outside and called him. I then checked on both sides of the rig looking for him. When I came back around the front, there he was, walking down the middle of the roadway, tail waving in the air, looking like he owned the place.
As I was herding him back to the rig, Glen and Gayla Hickey pedaled by and said “Hi”. They’re blog readers and were up in the Soo a few days behind us. It’s always good to run into friends on the road, one of the really great things about RVing.
As far as being “Gluttons for Punishment”, Jan and I have decided to do the gate guarding thing again this year, but on a slightly different schedule. Last year we did it from the middle of April to the middle of August, getting the hottest part of the year. This time it will be from the middle of August until the Sunday before Thanksgiving, so things will start cooling off fairly quickly.
I did put in a call to Jamie, our supervisor last year, who still had our number on his phone and recognized my call. He said he wouldn’t have a problem finding us a gate, so I guess we’re good to go.
Cincinnati, OH
July 29, 2014
Two Sets of New Friends . . .
We headed out about 10:15 to meet Davy Boggs, his wife Kelly, and their daughter Odie (Andrea) for lunch at 11am at the Acapulco Mexican Restaurant down in Lebanon.
Davy and his family are traveling evangelists – The Boggs Family Ministries – who use a Prevost RV to travel around the country. In addition, they’re also readers of our blog, and finding us all in the same area, wanted to get together for lunch.
It was interesting hearing all the stories of their travels around the country, and the places they’ve been. They’re going to be in the New York City area in the near future and we were trying to give them some tips on how to get around New York and places to see.
They spend a lot of time in the Lebanon area, and Acapulco is one of their favorite places to eat, and it was easy to see why. Everything was delicious.
I had the Carnitas Acapulco, chunks of re-fried pork cooked up with onions and jalapenos, and then smothered in Queso.
Really, really good.
After a great couple of hours getting to know the Boggs family, we said our goodbyes and headed into Cincinnati proper to visit the boyhood home of William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the Unite States, serving from 1909 to 1913.
Built in the 1830’s the house was bought by William’s father, Alphonse Taft, for $10,000.
William Howard Taft not only was President, but the only person to also serve as the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Appointed in 1921, he served on the Court until shortly before he died in 1930.
Leaving the Taft home, and moving on, we came back through Covington, KY to check out the many old neighborhoods in the area.
After that it was time to start heading back toward Wilmington. We did make a stop at the Sam’s Club in Loveland to pick up the prescriptions I called in this morning. I was surprised at the price of the Tamoxifen that Jan takes for her recent breast cancer. It was $63.00, a big jump from the $24 we paid back in Houston for the first 3 month supply. The pharmacy tech did some checking and discovered that the computer had glitched (her word) and although it said the price was discounted, it wasn’t.
So a little checking saved us $39. Nice.
Before leaving Sam’s, we stopped and got gas – for $3.15 a gallon! That’s almost a dollar a gallon cheaper than we were paying up in Elkhart earlier this year. Nice again.
Also while we were at Sam’s, we got a text from Carol Burt and husband Ray. They were traveling through the area towing their Airstream, and wanted to hook up with us.
We ended up in a Wal-Mart parking lot near Mason, OH for a meet and greet. After talking for a while, getting to know one another, everyone was getting hungry, so it was off across the parking lot to a nearby Red Robin. Here we spent the next several hours talking, laughing, and telling stories.
And by the time we again said our goodbyes to new friends, it was going on 8pm.
Two sets of new friends in one day. Just another reason we love the RV life.
Cherokee Landing Thousand Trails
July 29, 2015
Alone Again . . .
Well, our next door neighbors left early this morning so hopefully we won’t have anyone park nearby before we leave on Sunday. I know they were having trouble keeping their AC’s running in their 5’er since they only had 30 amps. They were interested in my AC breakout wire, and said they were going to try it on their rig.
A little after 1pm, I went down to the office to pick up my Amazon package. I had ordered this120 VAC digital meter so that I can monitor my genset output while we’re on the road.
Digital LED Panel AC 110/220V Meter
Although I can see whether or not my genset is running from the dashboard when I driving, I can’t actually tell if the Transfer Switch is letting genset power into the coach. And with the recent problems I’ve been having with my Transfer Switch, I want to know this before we realize that the coach has gotten up to 85 degrees behind us.
So I’m going to mount this meter on the cabinet over my head and plug it into the outlet in that cabinet. That should take care of that problem.
Later in the afternoon, I got out our Karcher pressure washer for some cleaning chores. I had planned on cleaning off the grilles and grease tray from our toaster oven, and I also wanted to spray clean some of the blowby oil off the plastic front bumper of the truck.
But when I perused the 11 page rulebook we were given when we checked in here, it said ‘No Washing of Vehicles or Rigs’. But there was nothing in the rules about not washing kitchen appliances, so I just hung the grilles on the front bumper of the truck and went at it.
I can’t help it if the bumper got clean too. After all, I had to hang them somewhere.
I’ve found that my pressure washer comes in handy for washing and waxing the rig, where it’s allowed, and does a really good job.
Tomorrow we’re going to make one last trip into Memphis to have linner at Charles Vergos’ Rendezvous, the recent winner of my Best Ribs in Memphis contest. Looking forward to it.
Colorado River Thousand Trails
July 29, 2016
Wax On–Wax Off
Since I got rained out yesterday, about 1pm today I went outside with my Karcher Pressure Washer to wash and wax the rig. It’s been awhile since I’ve have had a chance to do this. In fact checking back in the blog, it’s been exactly a year as a matter of fact, so it was about time I guess.
I really like this unit. It’s easy to put together and get back in the box, and it’s got a lot of power. It comes with two separate wands, one high power, and another one with variable power, and a method of adding wash/wax to the spray.
The only problem with this is that tank that comes with the system is too small. Although its probably large enough to do a car or a pickup, I have to refill it 3 or 4 times to do the rig.
So I came up with a better idea. The hose that goes into the tank from the washer is long enough to reach a separate larger container, so I used a half gallon pitcher to hold the wash/wax solution.
You can see the difference in size, and how it works above.
I first use the high power wand to wash down half of one side of the rig, sometimes stopping to scrub down a particular tough spot with a brush. I’ve found that the power of the spray is enough to clean the dirt off without using any type of detergent.
I go back and forth getting it as clean as possible. Next I swap to the waxing wand and using a mixture of Zip car wax, I hose down that area of the rig. And then I just let it dry. Zip Wax dries without streaking so this works out fine.
I just work way around the rig, doing each side in two halves, and the front and the rear caps.
It took me about 90 minutes with a couple of breaks in there. It was in the 90’s by then, so I occasionally would hose myself to keep cool. Well, one time I forgot which wand I was using, so I waxed myself instead.
But on another note, my head is especially shiny now.
Besides the usually nicks and chips, the rig’s 17 year old paint job still looks pretty good. The only visible problem are some patches where the clear coat is flaking off. It almost looks like it’s a patch of sunburnt skin peeling off.
I’m going to check and see if it’s possible to lightly sand the edges of the peeling and then overspray with new clear coat to seal it and stop it from spreading
About 4pm Jan and I headed into Katy to meet up with Brandi, Lowell, and Landon for dinner.
And of course this was the perfect time for my AC fan problem to rear its head again. I thought I had it fixed, but now I guess I’ll have to take it completely apart this time. The drive into Katy without AC wasn’t bad at all, just very noisy doing 70 with all the windows down.
We were meeting up at one of our favorite places, Torchy’s Tacos. A couple of their friends, Shantal and Eric and their son, joined us also. And we had a great time with everyone, not leaving for over 2 hours.
On our way home we stopped off at the Sealy Wal-Mart for a few things, and to pick up the prescriptions we called in yesterday. Then coming through Columbus, I checked out the Brookshire Bros. gas station to see the best way to get in and out Sunday morning for diesel. Shouldn’t be a problem, and we’ll hook up the toad when we’re done.
Tomorrow I’ll go down to the office and settle up on our electric bill before we leave early Sunday morning.
Montgomery AL
July 29, 2017
Somewhat The Worse For Wear . . .
After coffee and some of the delicious pound cake that our friend Susan Springall sent us home with last night, we headed out about 1:30 for some errands.
Jan’s been wanting to get her hair cut, so using the Supercut’s phone app, we found the closest one and booked her in there. So instead of the 20 minute wait she would have had when she got there, she got taken right in. Kind of like the Call-Ahead Seating at Texas Roadhouse. Great Clips has a similar app, but there are no Great Clips in the Montgomery area.
While Jan was getting clipped, I got gas, and a car wash to get the hydraulic fluid off the truck.
Afterwards, we drove around for a while, checking out places where we lived while we were here from January 1974 until December 1978.
For the first year, we lived at Eastdale Apartments, in the front unit to the left of the breezeway.
Then we moved into this small house south of town.
Still looks pretty good. We lived here for about a year until we bought this one, the very first home that we owned.
On the other hand, this one looks somewhat the worse for wear. Kind of sad because it was a very nice house in the day.
By now it was time to head north on I-65 up to Prattville to meet long-time friends Kathy and Whalen Wilkes at the Longhorn Steakhouse there.
Jan worked with Kathy when they both were at Jackson Hospital so they spent a lot of time talking over old times and people. One thing both sad AND funny, was that as they were naming off people they knew and worked with, it was So N So, Dead, So N Do, Dead, So N So, Dead. And on and on.
For dinner we had the usual delicious steaks we’ve come to expect from Longhorn.
Jan got the New York Strip, her favorite steak, along with a Baked Potato.
I got the 18oz. Outlaw Ribeye, with upgraded Black Peppercorn encrusting, as well as the Fire-Grilled Mexican Corn. And the Corn was really, really good.
All really great, and mine was so big I had half to take home.
We really had a good time catching up with Kathy and Whalen, and we’ll try not to wait so long next time.
Tomorrow we’ve got a 190 mile day up to Athens, AL for 5 days to visit with relatives and friends. Looking forward to it.
July 29, 2018
Landon-Sitting . . .
We didn’t do anything today. Just stayed at the rig, goofed off, read, computed, and napped.
Really, really nice.
Getting back to yesterday, we met one of our prospective buyers, along with his contractor. He wanted to get an estimate on what it would take to really trick the place out before he makes us an offer.
The last house like ours that was tricked out like this listed for $179,900 and sold for $187,000 after only two weeks. And that was a year ago. This year we hear that would be $195,000 to $200,000. So we’ll see.
Next up was breakfast at The Egg and I, only about 10 minutes from the house. Jan got what she said was her new favorite, the Tuscan Scramble.
I got my usual Two Egg Breakfast, but this time I added a cup of grits.
We were meeting Brandi, Lowell, and Landon up in Katy for a tour of their new house at 4:30, so when we were finished with breakfast by 1pm, we figured we had time for WalMart, so we got our shopping out of the way, took it all back to the rig, and then were on our way up to Katy by 3pm.
The new house looks even better in person than in the photos, and we were really impressed. We also got to meet up with long-time friends, Shawna and Jason, and meet Brandi’s coworker, Rebecca, who lives nearby.
Then while Brandi and Lowell headed out to dinner, we took Landon with us, made a dinner stop at Chick-fil-A, and then brought Landon back to his house to Landon-sit until Brandi and Lowell came home.
A really nice day.
July 29, 2019
Let There Be Light . . .
Last Wednesday I sent my Panasonic Lumix Digital Camera back to the Service Center in McAllen, TX to have it repaired under warranty. According to the USPS tracking they received it on Friday, and this afternoon I got an email from them saying my camera was under repair and should be on its way back to me soon.
Great Service.
My new LED light strips came in today so this evening it only took about 10 minutes to put them in place and pop the covers back on.
If you want a little more info on the conversion, you can read about here from 2015.
You can even replace the bigger tubes like the ones in our living room by using a total of 6 lights, 3 on each side. Works great for that too.
Tomorrow’s agenda is kind of up in the air, as in whether or not rain will fall out of it. There’s a 60% chance, so I don’t really want to get half way through the rear brake job and have the bottom drop out. So I’ll see how it looks in the morning.
I do have inside stuff I can work on just in case.
Every time I think of the title of tonight’s blog, a reference of course to repairing the lights in the bedroom, I always think of a short story written by Isaac Asimov back in 1956. A story that when I first read it in about 1958, started my love of science fiction that continues to this day.
In a back room of the tiny Foley, AL public library, I discovered an entire room of science fiction magazines, like Astounding Stories, Amazing Stories, and Future Fiction.
Somebody had donated their entire collection, and not knowing what to do with them, they just stuck them in a room in the back.
Magazines covers with robots, spaceships, alien monsters and more.
At that time I was about 10, so the covers with scantily-clad buxom blondes being menaced by the hideous space creatures didn’t catch my attention until a couple of years later.
But catch my attention they did.
But this story, The Last Question, is what cemented my love of the genre, stories that could make you think, wonder, and imagine. Stories that hold you until the very last two sentences.
Check it out. You won’t be disappointed.
July 29, 2021
If It’s Thursday, It Must Be . . .
Twin Peaks, of course.
Jan had an appointment to get her toesies done this afternoon, and Twin Peaks was once again her lunch of choice.
Jan went with her favorite Spicy Chipotle Chicken with potatoes and broccoli, and a cup of their Tomato Basil soup.
while I got the Soup and Half Sandwich Lunch Special, with a BLT and a bowl of Green Chile Chicken soup.
I didn’t get a photo of Millie, our server, who was very good BTW, because she looked to be between 4 and 5 months pregnant, and I thought it would be kind of tacky.
Later, after I dropped Jan off at Crystal Nails, I headed over to the office to pick up an Amazon order and look at a phone system problem.
I’ve been wondered about 4K video and how it would look on our TV system. Several of our streaming services offer 4K service for an extra cost. But I wasn’t sure that I would really be able to see the difference on our TV, and none of them offered a trial period.
So I’ve been looking for some way to see 4K and HD side by side. Well, I finally came across a YouTube video that allows me to view it in both 2160p 4K and 1440p HD.
The video details a bipedal robot that successfully ran a 5K run. Kind of interesting on its own.
But the video allowed me to switch between 1080p HD, 1440p HD, and 2160 4K. And the first thing I discovered was that our WiFi can’t handle streaming 4K. It will run for a few seconds, and then freeze and buffer, and then start up again.
But I could stream HD at 1440p, higher than the usual 1080p we stream. And although it was hard to get a good feel for 4K, it was easy to see the difference when I did a freeze-frame side-by-side comparison.
It’s pretty obvious how much sharper the 4K on the left is vs the right side’s HD version. But it looks like I’ll have to wait for our Starlink system to show to have enough bandwidth for 4K.
Thought For The Day:
The true path to inner peace begins with three words: NOT MY PROBLEM!
Recent Acquisitions . . .
First off, Jan and I want to wish her sister, Debbie, a Very, Very Happy Birthday!]
Jan and I were in a BBQ mode so we headed over to the nearby Spring Creek BBQ.
As I’ve said before, I like Rudy’s BBQ a little better, especially their Creamed Corn. However Jan likes Spring Creek better.
So we compromise by going to Spring Creek. Hey, I know how it works.
Jan had her usual Baby Back Ribs with Beans and Beans.
And I went with my usual BB Ribs and Hot Pepper Sausage, also with Beans and Beans.
Delicious as always.
Then it was on up to the Kroger in Webster to pick up a prescription for Metformin. And because we used the Kroger Rx Savings Plan, the Metformin was FREE, as are a number of other common ones.
Then it was on back down to our local WalMart for a few things for the week, before heading home for the day.
Thought I’d give y’all an update on some of our recent acquisitions.
So far I’m very happy with my new elastic lock boot laces.
I was worried that they wouldn’t hold up being stretched very tight every time I put my boots on, but so far they’re doing great. They really keep my boots tight on my feet.
We’re both really happy with our VivoHome Ice Maker.
Jan was kind of skeptical at first about whether we really needed it. But now she wouldn’t want to be without it. In our case, three .5 liter bottles of water every other day makes a gallon zipper bag stuffed full of ice.
My only problem with it is that it needs a beeper of some sort to let us know when the ice bin is full, or that the unit is out of water. Since it doesn’t have refrigeration for the ice storage bin, you want to get it into the freezer as soon as possible.
But sitting off to the side, it’s easy to not see the little red light.
Sounds like something in need of a kludge solution.
There’s been a lot of talk about the heat wave in Europe, but it’s amazing what five years can do.
Here’s a weather report on a German TV from about a month ago, showing the high temps for that day.
Note that map is all red, indicating the heat wave over Europe.
The high shown on the map, 32°C, is about 90°F, so a mild summer day in Texas.
But here’s the same map on the same TV station on the same day five years ago in 2017.
Note the map is green, you know, just an average June day in Germany.
And also note that almost every temp on the 2017 map is higher than the ones in 2022.
In fact, the high of 37°C is about 99°F.
So what’s different about the temps then and now?
Well, because now it’s caused by Climate Change and we’re all gonna die.
Thought For The Day:
July 28, 2009
Up, Up, and Not Away!
Today was to be our last day here in Florida, NY, but we decided to stay an extra day, so we won’t be leaving until Thursday now.
In the morning, I installed the latest board that my Electrical Management System company sent me, and this one seems to have fixed the problem. We’ll see.
After having lunch at Chumley’s, a local BBQ restaurant, we drove about 40 miles over to West Nyack, NY to see the animated movie ‘UP’. We drove that far because it was the only theater in the area still showing it.
We both really enjoyed ‘UP’. It was very well done, and not predictable. And it will bring a tear to your eye.
The mall where we went to the movie is called Palisades Center, and is the 10th largest mall in the US. I think it’s the largest mall we’ve seen.
It’s 4 stories tall, 5 if you include the underground parking garage, and contains a lot of stores you don’t see in an enclosed mall, but usually only in standalone buildings, like Best Buy, Burlington Coat Factory, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Home Depot.
It also has a 21 theater cinema, an IMAX theater, an ice skating rink, a Ferris Wheel, and a double-decker carousel.
We got back home about 5 pm, only to have the park power go off about 30 minutes later. Apparently a car hit a power pole down the road.
The power was off for about 45 minutes, and even when it came back on, the voltage was only about 105 volts.
Hopefully it will be better tomorrow morning. This low voltage can be hard on the AC’s.
From Jackson Hole to Cody, WY
July 28, 2011
Five in a Row . . .
We left our very nice Motel 6 room about 9:15 and headed right down the street for breakfast, and yes, once again at Bubba’s BBQ.
And that officially makes it four in a row.
After another great breakfast we were back on the road to Cody about 177 miles away by 10:30.
Unlike the last last few days, our trip today was pretty much wildlife-free, except for one pronghorn antelope and a lone bison. We did check out our moose-sighting sites from yesterday but found nothing.
I don’t know where everyone was going today, but the traffic through both parks was much heavier than our other trips through here over the last week.
Except for a couple of rest area stops, we drove straight through to Cody. arriving home about 2:30 pm.
But coming into Cody, we saw something we hadn’t noticed before.
There’s a Bubba’s BBQ here in Cody. We instantly made the decision to have dinner here tonight.
Getting back to the RV park, Jan was happy to find the cats and the rig doing OK. And after getting the truck unloaded and things put away, a nap was in order.
About 5:30 we headed out to Bubba’s BBQ to make it Five in a Row. Yes, when we find something good, we just run it into the ground.
Leaving the park I saw this Royal Classic Class C RV with a rear slide, something I’d never seen before. Don’t know what year this one is, but Google tells me that models as early as 1993 had them.
Neat!
The Bubba’s here in Cody was almost, but not quite identical, to the one in Jackson. The biggest difference is that they don’t have breakfast at this one. Our waitress said they dropped it a couple of years ago because they weren’t making money on it.
Apparently, although they use mostly the same recipes, they have two different owners, but are not a franchise, either. I did think the BBQ Beans are better here in Cody, and they have bigger iced tea glasses, too.
Coming home, we took a detour to check out a Maverik gas station where we can fuel up the rig on our way out of town on Sunday. If I can I always like to plot out how to get in and out of the station, and where we can hook up when we’re done.
And of course, as usually happens, when I’m about ready to buy diesel, the price starts going up.
Tomorrow we’ve got some errands, and then dinner with Al and Adrienne. And supposedly there is a balloon festival here this weekend, but other places says it’s next weekend.
We’ll see.
July 28, 2013
Home at our Second Home . . .
The AM Clouds / PM Sun that was forecast for today must have been for somewhere else, because we had moderate to heavy rain for all but the last 50 miles of our trip down to Elkhart, IN.
After we were ready to travel this morning, all except for disconnecting shore power, we called the shuttle for a ride to the casino for the breakfast buffet. And of course afterwards, Jan had to check out the gift shop, and lo and behold, she found a shirt she just had to have. Who would have thunk it?
Getting back to the rig, we cranked up, brought the levelers up, unhooked shore power, pulled in the slide, and pulled out about 10am. And just as we got back on US-31, the light misting we had been getting turned into a heavy rain.
As I said the other day, traveling on US-31 the last couple of days means a lot to me, since further south it runs right through my family’s farm in North Alabama, and then all the way down to Mobile. Before I-65 was built, we traveled US-31 back and forth many times to visit relatives. So now, along with US-1, we can say we’ve been to both ends, the start just south of the Mackinac Bridge, and the end, of course, just outside Mobile, AL.
As far as US-1, we visited both ends in 2009 while traveling up the East Coast. The southern end is located in Key West, FL,
and the northern end, 2369 miles away in Fort Kent, MA.
Fort Kent is where we crossed back into Canada as we traveled west across the southern border through Quebec, Montreal, and Ottawa, before coming back into US and visiting Buffalo NY and Niagara Falls.
Toward the end of our trip today, we passed through Benton Harbor. 30 or 40 years I would have tried to spend a week here. Benton Harbor was, at that time, the home of Heathkit.
Heathkit actually started in 1912 selling kit AIRPLANES. After several iterations, the new owner started selling electronic kits using WWII surplus radio parts. The company grew rapidly, selling amateur radio equipment, test gear, audio amps, and even color TV kits. During the 1970’s I actually built two of their 25” color TV’s, and they worked great.
Back in those days, when electronics equipment was being mostly assembled by hand, you could save a lot of money by building it yourself. But as the 80’s and 90’s progressed, and more and more electronics was built by automated equipment, the price savings disappeared and Heathkit gradually ground to a halt.
From the 60’s to the 80’s I probably built close to a hundred of their kits, from simple test meters and ham radio gear, to audio amps and the above-mentioned color TV’s. Steve Jobs cut his teeth on Heathkits, and is quoted as saying “It gave a tremendous level of self-confidence, that through exploration and learning one could understand seemingly very complex things in one’s environment”.
They will be missed.
We got into what Jan considers our second home, Elkhart Campground, about 3pm and was warmly greeted by Gita, the owner. We were surprised to see how full they were, busier than we’ve ever seen them before. We got parked and set up in a nice, long pull-thru site. Later we headed over to one of our favorite places here in Elkhart, El Maguey Mexican Restaurant.
Tomorrow, pretty much nothing, I hope.
July 28, 2014
You Know You’re Having A Bad Day . . .
When This Happens.
Maybe that’s why fire-engine ladder trucks have a guy back there steering.
I sent Brandi this photo the other day with the suggestion that this might be a good bed for Landon.
And I was basically told to mind my own business and don’t give him any ideas.
I was just trying to help!
About 5:15 we headed out for dinner. We had planned to try Rod’s Capricorn Inn on nearby Lake Cowan, but being Monday, Jan suggested I call to be sure they were open. Good thing too, because the phone just rang and rang.
So,instead, we decided to check out Mac D’s Pub, another place with good ratings on Yelp, and it turned out to be really good.
Jan said her chicken salad sandwich was the best she’d had, and my Mac D’s Pub Burger was out of this world.
Yes, that’s a 1” thick 12 oz. patty with pepper jack cheese, tomato, pickles, onions, and very crispy bacon, all on a toasted bun. I asked for it medium, and it was done perfectly. So, the food was great, and the service was great. It would have been just perfect . . . except for the rowdy librarians.
We hadn’t been there very long when the big table right behind us, set for 20 or more, started to fill up. At first we weren’t worried. They were all wearing bright green shirts that said, “OHIO STATE LIBRARY SUPPORT STAFF”.
So we thought Great!, they’re librarians. How loud could they be? They go around ‘shushing’ people all day, don’t they?
Well, apparently Mac D’s Pub is where they go to let out all their frustrations, and make up for lost time, volume, noise, whatever. And probably the numerous bottles of wine didn’t hurt either.
After our great dinner we made a Kroger’s stop for a few things before heading back to the park. Tomorrow we’re meeting a friend for lunch in Lebanon, before touring President Taft’s home in Cincinnati. Then, on the way back we plan on making a Sam’s Club stop for our prescriptions.
July 28, 2015
Now it’s Jan’s turn . . .
In yesterday’s blog, I ranked the 3 top-rated BBQ that we tried here in Memphis. The three were:
I ranked them on 4 different dishes.
Ribs
Pulled Pork
Beans
Cole Slaw
I ranked them this way:
Ribs:
1. Rendezvous
2. Jim and Nick’s
3. The Bar-B-Q Shop
Pulled Pork:
1. Jim and Nick’s
2. Rendezvous
3. The Bar-B-Q Shop
Beans:
1. Rendezvous
2. Jim and Nick’s
3. The Bar-B-Q Shop
Slaw:
1. Jim and Nick’s
2. The Bar-B-Q Shop
3. Rendezvous
* * * * *
Jan’s BBQ list went like this.
Ribs
1. The Bar-B-Q Shop
2. Rendezvous
3. Jan didn’t have the ribs at Jim and Nick’s
Pulled Pork
1. Jim and Nick’s
2. Jan only had the Pulled Pork at Jim and Nick’s
3.
Beans:
1. Rendezvous
2. The Bar-B-Q Shop
3. Jan didn’t have the ribs at Jim and Nick’s
Slaw:
1. Jim and Nick’s
2. The Bar-B-Q Shop
3. Rendezvous
So Jan and I completely disagree on the Ribs, mostly agree on the Pulled Pork, mostly agree on the Beans, and completely agree on the Slaw.
Not bad. More agreement than we have on a lot of things.
And just to top it off, we’re going back to Rendezvous one last time on Thursday.
* * * * *
Despite telling me they were going to take the site next to us out of service since our front AC was plugged into that pedestal, the park put somebody there last night.
This morning when I got up I noticed that the front AC, the one on my breakout connection, didn’t seem to be operating. So I headed outside to check the breaker on the 30 amp pedestal behind our next door neighbors who were gone for the day.
As I suspected, the breaker was popped, and with this serial breaker hookup, not only was our front AC off, but their rig had lost all power. To forestall this happening again, I unplugged my extension cord, flipped the breaker back on, and then dragged my cord over to the unoccupied pedestal on the other side of us. At least I hope it stays unoccupied until we leave Sunday morning.
Though, actually I think I can reach the pedestal one more site over. I hope.
For dinner tonight, Jan whipped up another version of her Taco Salad, but this time used a can of Gold Star Cincinnati Chili, instead of taco meat. Really good, and a nice variation.
Plus, it used up the last of the salad greens.
July 28, 2016
Not Again . . .
For the 4th time since we started full-timing in 2008, and became South Dakota residents, Harris County, Texas has sent me a jury summons.
So I guess for the 4th time, I’ll have to contact the Court and explain to them once again, that although we still own a house in Harris County, we haven’t lived here in 8 years.
Now in the past, I’ve never tried to get out of jury duty, well except the time it come up in the middle of a Shuttle mission, and in fact over the years I think I’ve ended up on 4 or 5 juries out of maybe 8 to 10 times I’ve been called.
In Harris County, unlike a lot of places, they just get one shot at you. You’ll called in on a certain date, and if you don’t get picked for a jury, you’re done.
You’re called in for either the morning session (8am) or the afternoon session (1pm). Afternoons are better because to get there by 8am,you need to leave the Clear Lake area by about 5:30 if you want to find a parking space anywhere near the Courthouse. And as you all know, I’m not really a happy early riser.
But I have been on some interesting cases – a crack house murder (12 – 0 guilty), a cocaine possession (11 –1 innocent/mistrial), and a civil suit against an apartment complex whose hot water was supposedly so hot, it burned a baby being bathed in a bathroom lavatory.
This was a interesting case due to the particulars. A family was suing because they said a 6 month old baby received 2nd degree burns when the hot water was turned on in the lavatory where he was being bathed, and instantly scalded.
The defense produced pages of complaints from people about lukewarm hot water in this apartment building because it was at the far end from the central water heater system.
And as far as the burns, the baby had burns on his lower back, bottom, and the back of his thighs. Not on his stomach, crotch, or upper thighs like if he were burned from the faucet being turned on while he was in the lavatory.
During the course of the trial, it was discovered that the baby’s 12 year old cousin who was bathing him with no adults in the home, had just put water in the lavatory and set the baby in. Then she went off to watch TV for 30 to 45 minutes. The cousin said the baby was crying, but he always cried, so she didn’t pay any attention.
As it turns out a baby can get 2nd degree burns after 30 minutes in 105° water, cooler than most people would find comfortable. Another thing that was really telling was the fact that if you folded the baby up like you were sitting him in a small lavatory, the burn mark was a straight line across his body, following the water level in the sink.
I was the foreman on this trial, as I have been on several others. And what I normally do, if everyone is agreeable, is to ask for a show of hands, guilty or not guilty. Then if we don’t have a consensus, we start talking it over, going around the table, letting each juror have their say, hashing it out back and forth until we all agree, or don’t as the case may be.
And in this case, like the crack house murder, we all agreed on the first vote. (12 – 0 for the defendant).
And as with the murder, it took us longer to fill out all the paperwork and for everyone to sign off on it, than it did to decide the case.
Tomorrow we’re going to Katy to have dinner with Brandi, et. al. and pick up our Amazon stuff. Then on our way home we’ll stop at the Wal-Mart in Sealy for our prescriptions we called in today, and a few other things.
July 28, 2017
Our Montgomery Home . . .
We only had about 190 miles to go this morning so we took our time and didn’t leave the park until about 10am.
Out on I-10 in just a few minutes, we turned north on I-65 a few minutes later. Then it was pretty much just a straight run until we got off a little north of downtown Montgomery, and pulled into the Capitol City RV Park about 2pm.
We stayed here during our last visit in 2010, and it ‘s a nice park to come back to.
This was a very nice trip, very smooth, with no problems, traffic or rig. The generator and the AC’s kept us nice and cool again, so I think my AC airflow problem is solved.
A little before 4pm we headed over to the home of our long-time friends Fred and Susan Springall. Fred and I worked together in the mid-70’s when we were both with Storer Cable, which later became TCI, which later became 3 or 4 other companies along the way.
Susan fixed us a delicious dinner of lasagna, and salad, and home-made pound cake with fresh strawberries and ice cream. Really good.
The last time we visited with Fred and Susan was in 2010, and as Jan remarked on on the way home, it was like we had just seen them last week. We all just sat down and started talking, seeming to pick up right where we left off last time.
We lived here in Montgomery for about 4 years before we moved to Houston, buying our first home while we were here. So tomorrow we want to drive around a bit, and check out some old haunts.
Then tomorrow afternoon we meeting up with one of Jan’s former hospital coworkers who lives up in Prattville, a little north of Montgomery.
Looking forward to it.
July 28, 2019
It’s Drying Time Again . . .
After I got coffeenated this morning, I pulled the washer back out and popped the top lid. I had figured it would be a quick and easy replacement/fix, but it turned out to be a little more involved. Much like most repairs.
I inserted the motor/squirrel cage fan assembly down into the housing and tightened it down using the 3 screws. Then turning on the power, I started the dryer.
And nothing.
Well, the drum started turning, but the fan motor didn’t. And when I tried to turn it by hand, it wouldn’t budge.
Well, it was working when I installed it.
So I loosen the mounting screws and tried it again. And it would now turn, but it was scraping inside. A couple of more turns and it was spinning free.
So I removed the assembly and compared it with the old one. And despite having the same part #, the new one was slightly deeper than the old one, so the fan was rubbing against the inside of the housing.
But a couple of shims took care that problem.
Cranking it up again and letting it marinate for a few minutes, I felt the washer door and it was hot. But before I buttoned it up, I went ahead and replaced the Thermal Overheat Fuse since they usually only last a couple of years.
Ten minutes later it was all back together, back in the cabinet, and doing a load.
It’s Drying Time Again.
Jan will be happy.
Lowell has been sending over some photos of the great time they’re having down in Costa Rica.
Looks like Landon has the right idea.
Looks like fun!
July 28, 2020
Cutting The Cord, Almost . . .
Probably in the next couple of days, after Jan gets home from Brandi’s, we’re going to shut down, or at least, suspend our DirecTV account. It will be the first time since sometime in 1997 that we won’t be using DirecTV’s service.
But DTV keeps raising their cost, now up to a little over $190 a month. And we don’t have any premium movie or sports channels.
But we’ve found that YouTubeTV is a very suitable replacement, at $65, it’s 1/3 the price. We have added about $25 of other services, like CuriosityStream, CBSAllAccess, and Acorn to round out our menu.
Even better, we’re getting everything in HD, which we didn’t on DTV since our Winegard Dome wouldn’t support it.
Today I went to pull up something from our Saved area in Facebook, but couldn’t find it. There was no listing for Saved under the menu area. So I did a little Googling and nothing directly related popped up, but I did find that your Facebook Saved area is located at Facebook.com/Saved so I typed that in and WAHLA, all our Saved stuff came up. And when I then went back to the menu area, Saved was once again in the list.
Thought for the Day:
I Saw That – Karma
(That fate thing. Not our cat.)
