Monthly Archives: September 2022
Gone Again . . .
Our lunch stop today was our Pho Barr down here in our area.
And this time, while we started out with our usual Grilled Pork Spring Rolls,
Jan got an order of their Fish Sauce Chicken Wings.
She said they were delicious, almost as good as the Garlic Honey Glazed ones from King Food.
I stayed with my usual Pho Ga, which is basically Pho with Chicken.
Also delicious as always
Then it was on up to Webster to check out a new place.
Called Ollie’s, it’s a combination of Big Lots, Dollar General, and Half-Price Books, but bigger.
We had never heard of Ollie’s before we saw it had taken over the old Babies R Us location across from the WalMart on El Dorado in Webster. But as it turns out, they have almost 450 locations in 29 states and are expanding rapidly.
Here’s a copy of their Grand Opening flyer for this store. And here’s the Weekly Flyer from the other locations.
I mean where else can you find a LED Lighted Toilet Paper Holder.
A neat store. We’ll be back to check it out again.
Last night, getting home from the Alvin Opry, we had a great full moon. So I decided to check out the 30x and 100x modes on my Galaxy S21 Ultra phone. The 3x and 10x are optical, but everything above that is digital.
And I was happily surprised at how good the photos looked.
Here’s the moon at 30x,
And here it is at 100x
Really neat.
She’s gone again.
Tomorrow I’m taking Jan back up to Brandi’s so she can Landon-sit while Brandi is at a business conference out in San Diego. Really though, the whole Landon-sitting thing pretty much consist of getting him up and off to school each morning.
Lowell leaves around 5:30-6:00 each morning and doesn’t get home until around 5, but overall Landon pretty much takes care of himself, so it’s not really a tough gig.
I’ll get here back on Thursday.
Thought for the Day:
September 10, 2009
Still No Moose…
After a late night arrival from our debacle of a ferry ride, we needed to get an early start this morning for our long 300 mile day.
But we had a problem. We had called the park from Newfoundland to extend our stay an extra day when we decided to stay over. But we had not paid for that day yet.
I had planned to pay yesterday afternoon when we got back, but since our ferry was 5 hours late, the park office was closed when we got home last night. So I had to wait for the office to open this morning. There was no office hours listed on the door, but I was hoping they opened at 8 am, but no luck.
So a little after 8, Jan and I decided to go to breakfast while we waited. We got back about 9 and still no luck. Finally, about 9:30 the lady showed up and we paid.
Because of this, it was 10 am before we finally pulled out.
Because we were getting a late start and had a long trip, we decided not to stop for lunch as we had planned, but just eat on the road. So a little after noon, we pulled over at the side of the road and Jan fixed peanut butter crackers. Ten minutes later we were on our way.
About 5 pm we arrived at Wayside RV Park in Glen Margaret, Nova Scotia, which is just southwest of Halifax.
After getting set up, we went out to admire the view out our front window.
And then a little while later, a great sunset.
At the RV park’s recommendation, we visited the Finer Diner for supper. Jan had the Seafood Platter and I had Lasagna. Both very good.
And for dessert, Jan had Coconut Cream pie, and I had the Rhubarb Caramel pie.
MMMMM!
Getting back home I got the satellite dish up and going and then we settled in.
Tomorrow, we plan on touring the area and especially visiting the Titanic museum and memorial here.
Then on Saturday, we’ll head back to Moncton for a couple of days to visit the Bay of Fundy area.
So by Monday evening we should be back in Houlton, ME.
Good old USA!
Memphis And BBQ
September 10, 2010
Ducks and Tri-Motors . . .
This morning started off about 10:30 with coffee, and pumpkin bread from Bob Evans.
Mister started out with a nap in a handy sunbeam. The only problem was his sunbeam kept moving. He’d wake up, look around, realize his sunbeam had moved, and then move over to the new spot.
He didn’t like it when it disappeared completely.
After a morning of pleasantly doing nothing, we headed out about 2:45 pm to eat Memphis BBQ.
We had originally planned to eat at Neely’s BBQ. This couple has a show on the Food Network called Down Home with the Neely’s. We enjoy the show and hoped to enjoy their BBQ, but the online reviews changed our minds.
Inside we headed for The BBQ Shop, a place that showed up on pretty much every “Best BBQ in Memphis” list I found.
And they were right !
Like most good BBQ places, it looks pretty nondescript on the outside, but the food inside was another story.
Jan had pulled pork sandwich piled high with meat and coleslaw. Once again, I had the Combo Platter with ribs and pulled pork. It was smaller than the one last night, but not by much. At least it only had two sides instead of tour.
The ribs are what they refer to as “half & half”. Memphis BBQ is usually cooked with just a dry rub, and not with sauce. You can add the sauce later if you want.
The BBQ was delicious, but what really set it apart was their sauce, or at least their hot sauce. We never even tried the regular one.
Their hot sauce was very, very, hot. But along with being very, very hot, it was very tasty and flavorful, maybe one of the best sauces I’ve ever had.
All in all, it was a great meal !
Then leaving The BBQ Shop we drove back toward downtown and The Peabody Hotel. The Peabody is/was the ritziest hotel in Memphis and I stayed here several times between 1964 and 1966 when I went to CMA (Columbia Military Academy). I was in the band, and we marched in several parades here, including the Cotton Carnival.
The other thing the Peabody is known for is their Duck March. Their ducks live in a rooftop enclosure, and every morning five ducks ride the elevator down to the lobby and then march out to the pond/fountain in the middle of the lobby to the sounds of the King Cotton March. And then every night they march back to the roof. They’ve been doing this since 1932, though I assume it’s not the same five ducks. Hundreds of people show up to watch the parade.
We also used to drop water balloons from our rooms and the roof.
Did you know that if you manage to hit one of the ventilation fans on a city bus roof, you can soak everyone inside?
Good times !
Next we drove along the Mississippi River on Riverside Dr.
While taking these pictures of the Mississippi, I saw a familiar-looking plane flying over the river.
I could have sworn it was a Ford Tri-Motor. I quickly took a photo using my camera’s telephoto lens, and I was right.
So the next question was, what in the world was 1930’s Ford Tri-Motor doing flying over Memphis?
A little Googling gave me the answer. The EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) has a Tri-Motor touring the country selling rides. They also have a B-17 Flying Fortress that we saw in Elkhart, IN last month doing the same thing. This is their plane below.
I got to fly a Tri-Motor a number of times when we lived in Colombia, South America in the early 60’s. It was either take a 6 hour plane ride over the Andes, or a 27 hour car ride. And strangely enough I helped deliver a baby on one of these flights. I was fourteen at the time. But that’s another story.
And here’s a Tri-Motor we saw last year at the Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Ford Tri-Motors were built from 1929 to 1933. 199 were built, and at the time the Ford Aircraft Division was considered the largest commercial aircraft builder in the world.
As of 2008, there were 18 still known in existence.
And yes, it was part of Ford Motor Company.
And of course, what’s Memphis without the obligatory Graceland drive-by.
Crossing the Mississippi, and getting back to West Memphis, we stopped by Ray’s BBQ where we ate last night. He had mentioned that he was on the Web, but I couldn’t find his website. A little investigation told me that his domain name, RaysBBQWorld.com had expired back in June and had not been renewed, so his website was no longer on the Web. I told him he needed to contact the person who did his site to get it fixed.
Leaving Ray’s we stopped off and got some vanilla ice cream to have with the wonderful chocolate cake Jan’s sister Debbie made for us.
We got back about 5:30 and just enjoyed the view of the Mississippi out the front of the coach.
Tomorrow we’ll head south to Jackson MS to spend the night at the Moose Lodge.
September 10, 2012
On to Indiana . . .
Our last morning in Celina started out with breakfast at The Fountain, our favorite local breakfast place. Jan and I spent the morning talking, joking, and laughing the entire time. In fact we were having so much fun that time sort of slipped away from us.
We had planned to leave Celina between 10 and 11am. However, at 11am, we were all still sitting in The Fountain. But after wrapping things up, we finally got on the road a little before 1pm, heading down US 27 to the Indian Lakes Thousand Trails Preserve at Batesville, IN about 120 miles away.
We pulled into the park a little before 4pm, found a site in the full hookup area, and got parked and set up.
We stayed here in late October, early November last year and were impressed how beautiful the area was.
About 5:30 we headed over to Greensburg for dinner. and after asking some locals, ended up at Storie’s Restaurant, which as per the recommendation, was really good.
One neat thing about Storie’s is that it is right across the street from the famous Tower Tree. As seen in these Internet pics, yes, there really is a tree growing out of the courthouse tower, and it’s been there since 1870.
The tree, recently confirmed as a Mulberry tree, is regularly trimmed to keep it from causing too much damage to the building.
Getting back to our rig just about dark, we decided to sleep in and just take it easy tomorrow.
Gate Guarding On A Pipeline Gate
September 10, 2013
More Food . . .
Another pretty quiet day. Once again it only made to 87 with some rain, but not like the other day. All in all, nice.
The Hell Fighters’ Kitchen guys dropped off another couple of meals for us and said they’d be back Thursday. Seems like they come every other day or so, and since we usually get two meals out of each serving, Jan may not have to cook again if this keeps up.
Gate Guarding in East Texas
September 10, 2014
Slower, but still Steady . . .
We had a very nice slowdown today, with only 148 vehicles through the gate, compared to yesterday’s 233. As I said, very nice.
Our rig still hasn’t ‘spudded in’ yet. Don’t know what the problem is, or if there really is a problem. They’ve got drill pipe hanging in the derrick, so that parts ready, but still no drilling.
I made our first supply run over to the Wal-Mart in Bryan this morning, and all I can say is, “I hate breaking in a new Wal-Mart.” Not only are the different departments in different places in the store, but, especially in the Grocery department, different items are in different areas. For instance, some Wal-Marts stock the vinegar in the Baking section, others put it in the can goods aisle. Some put the drinking water with the soft drinks, while others put it in the booze area. You never know.
But it took a while to find everything on Jan’s long list, long because this is the first time in two weeks since we stocked up on stuff.
On the way home I stopped off at Rudy’s BBQ to stock up on this too. A jumbo baked potato with lean brisket and a 1/2 pound of lean brisket for Jan, and a jalapeno sausage link and a 1/2 pound of moist brisket for me, and a quart of creamed corn for both of us. We’ll get several meals out of this.
Jan doesn’t normally like corn, but she likes Rudy’s. Now if they would just crumble bacon in it as they made it, it would be just like my grandmother’s, cooked up in her big cast-iron skillet. MMMMM, good.
Looks like Fall and cooler weather are right around the corner. Friday night’s low is supposed to be in the high 60’s with Saturday’s high in the 70’s. Then it’s in the 80’s as far as the eye can see, or at least, as far Weather.com can forecast.
We’ll see.
September 10, 2015
It’s Frack Eve . . .
Or so we’re told.
They said they’ll start tomorrow, but we’ll see. They’ve already prepositioned 20 loads of sand, so when the next sand trucks start coming in, we’ll know they’re off and running.
And on a good note, we’ve been told that they will only be bringing in 20 sand trucks a day, ten at a time. Last year it was not unusual to get 20 an HOUR. And not for just one hour either. But hour after hour. So this is really good news.
From yesterday’s 64 vehicles coming in, today it jumped to 135. But a lot of that was fracking equipment coming in to stay, so it may settle down a bit once they actually get started. One of the things that will tend to keep the count up is that there’s no housing here, so the crews all come and go at the shift changes.
We saw a familiar face today when our Gate Guard Services guy came by to top us off with diesel and change the oil and filter in the generator. It was Todd, who’s just come back to work with GGS a few days ago. Todd has been one of our services guys several times over the last few years, and in fact he was the one that brought in our replacements when we left our gate in North Zulch last November.
Good to have him back.
This is what I have on the thermostat back in the bedroom.
The switch I added let’s me manually change the fan speed from high to low. Normally this is down automatically, with the fan running on high on AC, and low when you’re set to heat.
But right after we bought the coach, I replaced the old round analog thermostats with these digital ones, which have worked great for the last 8 years. I put in the switch because Jan was worried about how loud the AC fan would be since it was located right over our bed. But as it turns out, it wasn’t a problem, and it just stays on high.
But I now want to add the same mod to the front thermostat. Our new Coleman 15K AC unit has a much stronger (and louder) fan so I would like decrease the noise a bit when we’re both watching TV. Plus with the increased BTU’s of the new unit, coupled with the better fan, the unit really doesn’t run as long as it should.
You’ve probably heard that having too big an AC unit in a house not a good idea. The reason for this is that in high humidity areas, like Texas, cooling is only part of what makes you comfortable. You also need to remove the moisture from the air. This is why you see water running down the side of your rig in humid areas.
Earlier this summer when we were in Prescott, AZ, the AC would run, but there was no water coming off the roof, because we only had about 10% humidity. But in Texas it’s a different story.
So when your AC system is too big, it cools down the air so fast, that it doesn’t run long enough to take the necessary moisture out. This means that you can end up with that cold. clammy feeling. So by being able to manually adjust the fan speed, I can reduce the cooling and increase the moisture removal.
Tomorrow’s grocery day for me, and then Jan’s once again talking about going into Carthage to get her hair done. But we’ll see.
September 10, 2016
Blue Moon’s and Sunsets . . .
Today, with a high of 85, tonight’s forecasted low of 67, and Blue Moon BBQ for lunch, just couldn’t get much better. At least for a gate day, anyway. And the fact that the vehicle count was only 33, just made it even better.
The original forecast called for ‘Scattered Thunderstorms’, and lucky for us, that’s what they did. Just scattered all around us, but never over us, so that was nice too.
Back on the subject of mail delivery, our carrier showed up about 12:30 today with our Jet.com package, so I guess that’s all worked out now. At least I hope it is.
I spent some more time this afternoon looking at my Wilson Cell Phone Booster problem. First thing, because it was the quickest and easiest, was to check the cables running from the outside directional antenna to the amplifier box, and the cables running from the amplifier to the ‘inside’ (even though it’s outside too) antenna,
After cleaning the connections and checking them for continuity and no shorts, I then tried the next thing that Patrick, the Wilson Tech Support guy, suggested – bringing the two antennas closer together to see if the amplifier is actually amplifying. If it is, then the lights on the amplifier should turn from green to red. This shows that the amplifier is going into shutdown mode due to the feedback between the two antennas.
This is the same as when you get a microphone too close to the speakers and get that high, piercing shriek, only with radio waves instead of sound waves.
And I was showing an overload condition on the amp, so that meant it was actually ‘amplifying’.
So why isn’t it working. . . at least somewhat?
One thing that was kind of funny is that while I was using the Open Signal app on my phone to find the direction of the nearest tower, I was also watching the signal strength of the signal, shown as -110 dBm, which is pretty weak. But then suddenly it jumped up to about -95 dBm, which is a decent signal.
What the heck?
But then I noticed that my phone had dropped back to 3G instead of 4G. Then after a couple of minutes it popped back into 4G mode. And my signal strength dropped back down to -110 dBm again.
What the heck?
So I guess Monday morning I’ll be back on the phone with Wilson again.
As I mentioned yesterday, today was a ‘Blue Moon BBQ for lunch’ day. So about 11:30 I headed over there to pick it up.
Jan did a changeup today and went with the Blue Moon Nachos, which several workers had recommended.
And she was really happy too. Blue Moon’s version is a little different, with multiple layers of chips, chopped beef, beans, and cheese, stacked about 2 inches deep in the container, and coming with sour cream and a Chipotle Jalapeno Dip.
She got the large version, to have leftovers for another meal, as well as an obligatory ‘Only Available on Saturday’ HotShot, a fresh jalapeno stuffed with 3 cheeses and chopped beef, then wrapped in bacon and tossed on the pit.
She said it was all delicious, and she’s found her new favorite dish.
I got the 3 meat plate, choosing Sliced Brisket, PepperJack Sausage, and Ribs, along with Potato Salad, Beans, and of course, a HotShot.
And, even better, we both had plenty leftover for dinner tomorrow.
Wrapping up for today, Jan got some really good shots of the rig at sundown today.
This is a first for me, since I’ve never seen the rig at sundown.
I’m already asleep by then.
September 10, 2017
Drop Off and Pick Up . . .
Today was another drop-off day for me, taking Jan back down to our daughter Brandi’s in Katy so she can drop off and pick up our grandson Landon at school until Wednesday when I’ll pick her up on my way back from Clear Lake.
Brandi is at a work conference in San Diego (notice how these ‘work conferences’ are never in Des Moines or Little Rock, but in Miami, Las Vegas or San Diego) and our son-in-law Lowell’s working late at the office this week, so Jan is once again Landon-sitting. Kind of like throwing Brer Rabbit in the Briar Patch.
Leaving about 2pm, our first stop was the Kroger’s over in Willis for gas. No problems and I only had to wait for one car. Unleaded was $2.39 a gallon.
Our next stop was the IHOP about 10 miles south for brunch. before heading on to Katy. Jan got her favorite omelet, cheddar and mushroom, and said it was just stuffed full inside.
I decided to try their new Stuffed Donut French Toast, topped with Bacon and Maple Syrup.
It’s a donut filled with Bavarian cream, dipped in vanilla French toast batter, grilled, and then topped with crispy bacon pieces and maple glaze. Artery-clogging good.
Jan and I both ordered a side of bacon with our entrees. Unfortunately I got Jan’s bacon.
Well, not Jan’s exactly. It’s just that mine was prepared exactly like Jan’s.
Jan basically likes her bacon ‘burnt’, or as a waitress put it one time, ‘Glass Bacon’. You know, where you just touch it and it shatters into small pieces.
I like mine regular crispy, but more often than not, mine shows burnt just like Jan’s. And today was one of those days.
Taking the 99 Grand Parkway, the trip down to Katy was smooth with little traffic, so nice. But we had a couple of more stops before getting to Brandi’s. First up was the new Buc-ee’s that pretty much opened in the middle of hurricane Harvey.
We wanted to get some kolaches and muffins, but also wanted to check out their new car wash. At 255 feet long, it’s one of the longest ones in the world. Only one in Germany is possibly longer. They also have 120 gas pumps here, and it you choose the $16 wash, you get 20 cents a gallon off.
The cost is $9, $12, or $16. Don’t know what you get extra the $16 one, because the $12 version was great.
It got off the residual hydraulic fluid leftover from our recent rig unpleasantness in Louisiana, cleaned the wheels, and left the truck shiny white. Couldn’t have been much better.
After making our pastry stop inside, we drove another exit down to check out the Hamilton Metals rig count sign, which showed 949 rigs, down 5 since last week.
This pretty much reinforces what I’ve seen in the gate guarding field, since the last rig count we saw the middle of July was 952. So things are pretty stagnant.
Our next stop was the nearby Kroger’s for a few things for Jan and a few things for me to bring home. And while we were there we ran into Lowell and Landon doing their shopping too.
Finally heading toward Brandi’s, we made a quick drive-by of Landon’s school to be sure that she knew where it was. And then later this afternoon Lowell going to give her an in-service on Brandi’s Lexus, which is what Jan will be chauffeuring Landon in.
After dropping Jan off, I reversed course back to Conroe, getting home a little before 7pm. Coming back into the park, I noticed that sometime today they reinstalled the entrance gates that they took down for the repaving.
It was nice to be able to just drive through for a while.
September 10, 2018
So Good She Had Two Bowls . . .
I left work a little early today, about 3pm, to get a jump on the traffic and the weather on the way up to Brandi’s in Katy to pick up my missing wife.
It had been pouring down up in that area all morning so I was wary of what the drive was going to be like. But by the time I got up there it had all passed through and all I got was few light sprinkles along the way.
I had gone over to the storage room yesterday afternoon and picked up the stuff we had saved from our house for Brandi, but didn’t want to take it up there until they had moved into their new house. No need to move it twice.
Coming home, with the coolish, dreary weather, we decided that a big bowl of King Food’s Hot & Sour Soup, and maybe an order of their Crispy Garlic Honey Crusted Chicken Wings.
Jan got the small bowl, the same one that comes with their meals,
while I usually get the big bowl since it’s sometimes all I get.
But this time, the soup was so good, that Jan ordered a second bowl while we waited for our wings.
But as usual, they were worth waiting for.
Brandi and Lowell turned us on to these wings a while back, and we’re amazed that we ate there for so long and never got them ourselves.
We had thought about stopping off at WalMart for a few things, but decided to put it off until tomorrow, since Jan just wanted to get back home.
I finally got our new South Dakota address from Dakota Post today. We had lost our original one, from MyDakotaAddress that we’ve had since 2007, when they suddenly went out of business with no notice. In fact, when they publicly announced the closure, they also said that they had started to reject our mail the week before.
I guess Dakota Post got swamped with new customers because it took a good while to finally get my box number. Something that I really needed since I need to get our Driver’s License renewals in, especially mine, which expires Oct 5th. We have a little more time with Jan’s since hers doesn’t expire until the 25th. It does make it easier though with both our birthdays in the same month.
Tomorrow I’m going to try to get back on the generator repair, but that may end up called on a rain delay . . . again. Plus it doesn’t look much better for the rest of the week. Or much of next week either, for that matter. If so, I’ll get back on the phone to Onan and pick some more brains on possible solution to the problem.
One positive for all the rain though, is it’s keeping the daytime temps down, with tomorrow’s high forecast for 80°, and staying in the low 80’s for the rest of the week.
Nice!
September 10, 2019
Best $4.99 I Ever Spent . . .
After a coffee-laced morning, Jan and I headed out about 1pm for lunch at Snooze up in Webster
Now usually I get the 3 Egg Classic breakfast like this.
But now that we’re doing the Keto thing, mine now looks like this.
All Bacon, All The Time.
While we were there, our waiter noticed my jar of Carolina Reaper Powder sitting on the table, and said, “Good stuff!”.
And then asked if I had tried the hot sauce they had there. When I said no, and that I didn’t normally like most hot sauces because all I taste is vinegar. And then he handed me this.
And it was delicious! Probably because vinegar is the 5th ingredient rather than the 1st.
And as soon as Jan tasted it, she said, “We have to buy some.” A little Googling said that our local HEB carried it. So it was on our shopping list for today.
Leaving Snooze, we drove over to the local Wal-Mart for a few things. Then it was back over to my client’s to pick up an Amazon order that came in this morning. And then right next door to HEB for some Lola Savannah coffee, that they were out of, and of course, the YellowBird Serrano Sauce, which they did have.
After that we headed over to the Seabrook area so Jan could find some earrings at Burke’s Outlet. And it was while I was waiting there that I discovered a problem.
I had lost my phone.
So we back-tracked. The last time I remembered actually using it was at the Wal-Mart, so we headed back that way, with a quick stop at my client’s to see if I left it there.
With no luck, it was on over to Wal-Mart. But no luck at the Customer Service desk.
Unfortunately Jan didn’t have her phone with her, so I couldn’t check my account on WheresMyDroid.com. So we headed back to the rig and as soon as I went online with the app I was shown this.
It was still out in the Wal-Mart parking lot.
So the first thing I did was to lock the phone and take a photo with the front camera, and got this.
So it was lying face up in the parking lot. If that photo had come back showing only black, I could have then take a photo with the rear phone.
If the phone had gotten away, I could have also completely wiped, or even ‘bricked’ the phone. And it wouldn’t have made any difference if they had turned it off or removed the battery. As soon as it was powered up any time later, the lock/wipe/brick would have taken place immediately.
So Jan and I headed back up to the Wal-Mart to scour the parking lot. I know it was near a light pole since it showed up in the photo. And after a few minutes of walking around, I found this. Based on where I found it, I suspect I just didn’t clip it into my belt clip. The Otterbox case I used sometimes keeps it from locking in firmly.
Best $4.99 I Ever Spent . . .
Since we always have decaf coffee in the evening, I had set it up in the Mr. Coffee before we left for lunch. So coming home, as we got off I-45 I used the Switchbot remote to start it brewing, and just as we walked in the door, the pot beeped that it was done. And it smelled great as we came in the rig.
I love it when a plan comes together.
September 10, 2020
Lighting Up . . .
Jan and I had a busy afternoon, first with lunch at the Cheddar’s up in Webster, and then by the office to pick up my Amazon order that had come in while we were having lunch.
Then it was on to the nearby Wal-Mart, and then the Sam’s right next door for some more ‘stuff’. Apparently we can never have enough stuff.
Then on the way home, we made an HEB stop for some of their stuff that Jan likes better than Wal-Mart and Sam’s stuff.
After all the new ‘stuff’ was put away back at the rig, I went outside to install the new taillight/brake light LED bulbs that came in from Amazon today.
Although they look white, they glow bright red, and the brake light function flashes like the newer cars do. But they don’t flash on the rig.
The taillights work fine, but the brake lights don’t. So far.
Part of the problem is that I don’t know if the brake lights will work without the engine running and the air up to pressure for the air brakes.
I did turn the key on and had Jan pump the brake pedal while I checked outside, but no brake lights.
So I’ll call Spartan/Fleetwood tomorrow to see if I really have a problem or not. And then I’ll get back on the turn signals.
Jan and I really hope everyone is enjoying our RV travel retrospectives that we’ve been reposting every day. It’s neat to relive all these memories, and watch our grandkid’s Piper and Landon grow up over the last 13 years.
Thought For The Day:
“It is not MY fault that I never learned to accept responsibility.”
It’s Alvin Opry Night . . .
Tonight was Alvin Opry, so we didn’t get home until after 11pm.
More Blog tomorrow.
Thought for the Day:
Is this any way to handle a secret identity?
September 9, 2009
Ferry, Ferry Bad…
Today is our day to catch the ferry back to North Sydney, NS, and the 30 mile drive back to our coach & cats in Louisbourg.
And we had another great view out our hotel window.
We’re supposed to be at the ferry by 10 am for a 11:30 departure so we head down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast about 8:30. While we were eating we overheard someone saying the ferry was running late, about 6 hours late.
It should have been here at 7:00 am to get unloaded and ready for us to start loading at 10 and sailing at 11:30. But it wouldn’t be here until 1 pm with our departure scheduled for 3:30 pm.
We’ll see.
Since it was bright and sunny today, we decided to kill time by taking the 30 mile drive out to Rose Blanche Lighthouse a ways down the coast. We didn’t do it yesterday afternoon because it was so foggy.
The drive was really something.
After driving out to the lighthouse, we didn’t actually SEE the lighthouse. Jan didn’t want to make the long walk up the hill, and I didn’t want to pay the $5 admission to make the long walk up the hill to SEE the lighthouse.
But the drive was worth the trip, and it didn’t cost me $5.
We got back to the hotel and checked out about 11:30, and after waiting about an hour we saw our ship, the Atlantic Vision, come steaming in. She maneuvered into the harbor and then turn around and backed in, smooth as can be. Bow thrusters are amazing.
So now our truck is parked in the boarding line and Jan and I are sitting in the terminal lounge waiting to board…and waiting and waiting…
FLASH… We just heard over the PA that boarding will now start at 3:30 pm and the ship will depart as soon as it’s loaded. This will probably take at least an hour. It’s now 2:45 pm. We’ll see.
Well, they called us to our vehicles about 3:30 and we started actually boarding about 3:45 pm. By 4:00 pm we were setting in the lounge aboard ship. And about 4:20 we finally left the dock. This ship is very nicely decorated, almost like a cruise ship. Which I guess it really is, only for shorter cruises.
The Captain came on the PA and said we would be traveling at full speed (27 knots) to try and make up some of the lost time. Yeah, like the extra 5 knots is going to make up for the fact that we are running 5 hours behind schedule.
Well, Bummer! I’ve just found out that I’m Internetless and CellPhoneless.
Although this ship is 15 years newer than the one we came over on, and has electrical plugs everywhere, it has no Internet access or cell phone service. It has been down all summer since the satellite uplink/downlink is broken.
This trip just keeps getting better. A little before 6:30 pm Jan and I went down to the restaurant to try out the great buffet we had heard about. Where we discovered that they were closing because they had run out of food!
I guess it was really great…for some people.
So it’s off to the snack bar for cold sandwiches. Oh boy!
It’s now about 7:15 pm. The Captain just came on the PA and said we will be docking in about an hour. Let’s hope so.
8:15 pm. Well, we’re kind of here. But it seems like they’re having trouble getting docked. They keep starting and stopping and moving around.
9:00 pm. They just called us to our vehicles so there’s a mad rush for the stairs and elevators.
And at 9:15 pm we finally moved off the ship. At least the truck started this time!
Got home a little after 10 pm. Cats were OK. Everything is OK.
Tomorrow we have a long 300 mile trip to Halifax, NS
Long day. Going to bed.
September 9, 2010
A Trifecta of Threes . . .
We left the Vandalia IL Walmart about 9 am
and headed a whole 2 miles down the road to McDonald’s for an Egg McMuffin.
We don’t usually eat breakfast on travel days, but since we wanted to eat some good Memphis BBQ, we figured we’d have breakfast, skip lunch, and have plenty of room for BBQ at dinner.
But it didn’t quite work out like that.
After breakfast it was on down the road toward West Memphis, AR 310 miles away.
About noon we started seeing signs for Sikeston, MO.
Now Sikeston has a claim to fame for us. It is the location of the only one of the three Lambert’s Throwed Rolls that we haven’t eaten at.
Strangely enough we were just talking about this last night at my sister-in-law Debbie’s. The mug she served my ice tea in was from Lambert’s and we commented we had never eaten at the one in Sikeston.
So now we had a dilemma. Do we stop at Lambert’s in Sikeston and risk being too full for BBQ? Or do we blow this chance to complete our complete set of Lambert’s?
Of course, anyone that knows us knows we stopped !
They have Bus and RV Parking so we had no problem getting in there. And as usual, the food was great.
If you’ve never been to one, they really do throw the rolls, across the room if you can catch one. All you have to do is call out and hold your hands, and here comes a hot roll sailing over the crowd. And if you miss it, heads up, cause a replacement will be right behind it.
We both had the fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, and of course, the ‘passarounds’ like black-eyed peas, fried okra, and fried potatoes and onions. All delicious!
Leaving Lambert’s, the light sprinkling of rain we had encountered became a much heavier drizzle, but it never got too bad. And by the time we got to West Memphis it had cleared up nicely.
We pulled into the Tom Sawyer RV Park about 4:45 and got set up.
Tom Sawyer is a beautiful RV park right on the Mississippi River across from Memphis, TN.
And this is the view out our front window.
Barges go back and forth all day and all night. Sometimes they’re small, like this one, and sometimes they’re much bigger.
About 6 pm we headed out to a BBQ place we heard about near here, Ray’s World Famous BBQ. It’s a small place, only about 6 tables. But they have 4 delivery guys on the go constantly, so it’s certainly popular.
Jan got a pork sandwich with two sides. I got the rib and pork combo plate, but I wasn’t expecting this!
No, this is not TWO orders. This is just one dinner.
Two meats and four sides, potato salad, BBQ beans, coleslaw, and BBQ spaghetti.
OMG!!
On checking the menu again, I found it also called “The Trucker’s Special”. Maybe I need to read a little closer next time!
And here’ the big man himself, Ray of Ray’s World Famous BBQ.
We got back to the rig a little after 7 pm, and thus completed our ‘Trifecta of Threes’
3 meals today
3 states today (IL, MO, AR)
and our complete set of 3 Lambert’s Throwed Rolls.
Ok, it’s a stretch. But you try coming up with a clever title every day.
September 9, 2014
Spudding . . .
Well, another bump up in the vehicle count today, with a total of 233. I think a lot of the increase was due to the ‘Spud’ meeting at the new rig across from us. And no, it didn’t have any thing to do with potatoes.
‘Spud In’ or ‘Spudding’ is the term for when the drill bit first touches the ground and they start drilling. So I guess they’re getting close, though as of 1am Wednesday morning, they still haven’t started yet.
This is what we have now.
We did have an interesting situation with the cattle guard gate that we guard. The big, heavy rigs coming over it, broke it. And I mean just about in half.
A couple of days ago, as a rig was crossing it, I heard a loud crack. And after the rig was gone, I checked it out. This is what I found.
It was just about cracked in half, with only the support beams holding it together.
I tried to warn them, but they didn’t listen.
Then last night a rig came through and dropped about 6 inches as it crossed the cattle guard. I told the driver he might want to say something to them about it. So this morning someone finally came out to look at it, and it was an ‘Oh Crap’ moment.
And after a lot of hemming and hawing about how long the gate would have to be shut down, 3 hours, 30 minutes, 2 hours, etc., they shut it down at a few minutes after 2pm and really went to work.
They first ripped the old guard out of the ground and set it aside.
Next came the wooden support beams.
Then after digging it out, they laid in new concrete beams.
And then the new, larger, stronger cattle guard.
And they had the gate back open in less than an hour. Fast work.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) I’ll make our first grocery run over to the Wal-Mart/Sam’s in Bryan/College Station. about 18 miles away. The Wal-Mart in Madisonville is 3 miles closer, but it’s not a Supercenter. And there’s not a Sam’s there either.
But there is a Buc-ee’s. Decisions, decisions.
September 9, 2015
The Perfect Rain . . .
I headed into Carthage a little after 11am to pick up one of Jan’s prescriptions that wasn’t ready last week, and once again I had problems with the Wal-Mart pharmacy.
Last time they gave me a problem getting my GoodRx discount applied to a couple of our prescriptions. This time they suddenly decided that Jan’s thyroid medicine, which is on Wal-Mart’s $4/$10 prescription list, was going to be $52 this time, instead of the normal $10.
When I asked why, I was told that this was from a new manufacturer, and cost more. Seeing a stack of $4/$10 prescription lists at the end of the counter, I showed them the $10 price, and said that there was no mention of different manufacturers.
Next they said that the lists were printed up sometime ago and were just out of date. So pulling out my phone, I pulled up the list on Wal-Mart’s website and showed them the same price.
Then we were back to the ‘different manufacturer’ meme. Only when I mentioned that this might be a good time to call the store manager, did they finally give up and give me the ‘$10 for 90 days’ price.
I really hope this doesn’t become the norm, but since it’s happened here and only here, twice, maybe it’s just this pharmacy.
I hope.
Before leaving Wal-Mart, I stopped off to get gas. But I had mixed emotions about the price. At $2.02 it was down another 3 cents from last week, and about 15 cents since we got here. As far as the ‘mixed emotions’ go, remember the old joke about mixed emotions being watching your mother-in-law drive over a cliff in your new Cadillac.
Well, that’s how I feel about falling gas prices. Yeah, it’s nice when you’re at the pump, but not so nice when you and other guards are looking for gates amid the falling oil prices.
Maybe there’s a happy medium somewhere in there.
Around 2pm the clouds rolled in and brought about 20 minutes of the perfect rain. At least for us.
It was light, but steady, with no wind blowing it under the canopy. But the best thing about it was that it was just the perfect amount to settle all the dust that’s being kicked up by the big trucks coming in.
One thing nice about the roads up here is that they’re gravel/dirt and not caliche like in south Texas, so they don’t go from rock hard to ‘slicker ‘n snot’ at the first few rain drops.
As far as the frack here, it looks like more prep work tomorrow, with the frack starting on Friday, and lasting about a month. But we’ll see. It seems like they always run long, which is great for us.
September 9, 2016
Sometimes You Just Have to Talk to the Boss!
After a very busy (for this gate, anyway) day yesterday, with 68 vehicles coming in, today was a very nice slowdown with only 38 through the gate. Don’t know why since Friday’s are normally pretty busy with salesman trying to get in their calls for the week, etc.
Last night I set up my Wilson DB Pro Cellphone Amplifier system, having given up on using the pad’s Wi-Fi connection. Or at least one of them.
There are 7 Wi-Fi signals here on site, but I’ve only been able to find the owner of one of them, the one from the oil company in the Company Man’s office. And if I could stay connected, it would be fine, a real improvement. With 2.5 Mbps download and 1.0 up, it would be very usable for us. But the signal strength is borderline and I frequently lose the connection.
But there is another one, a much stronger one. COMLINK_DIST is a solid 5 bars here at the rig, but I haven’t been able to find out who owns it to see if I can get a password. I’ve ask a number of the workers coming in, but no luck so far.
Anyway, I bought this Wilson amplifier system in 2012, our first year gate guarding . . . and on our first gate.
It was the best one they made at the time, and if I remember correctly, it was about $400. But it was worth it.
My Wilson model has now been replaced by this one, and it’s a little cheaper too.
Wilson WeBoost Home 4G Cell Phone Signal Booster
We were parked out in the middle of a big ranch near Fowlerton (pop. 62!) in south Texas with absolutely no Verizon signal whatsoever. Zero, Zip, Nada. I was told that you could kind of get a AT&T signal if you were lucky, but that didn’t help us.
So my first trip in to Pleasanton (50 miles away) for groceries, I checked Amazon, found the Wilson amplifier and ordered it overnight, having it delivered to the Gate Guard Services office near Whitsett. Picking it up the next day, I detoured back through Pleasanton, to the Radio Shack and got 4 – 5 foot antenna pole sections. Getting back to the rig, I had it set up and working in about a hour, and for the first time in 10 days we had cell phone and internet service. And of course we immediately checked in with the kids to let them know we were still alive. An hour later we got our first incoming call.
It was from Gate Guard Services telling us to pack up and get ready to move, because they were sending us to a new gate to follow a Marathon/H&P drill rig, which we did for the next 3-1/2 months.
At our first gate with Marathon, we didn’t need the Wilson amp system since we were only about 5 miles off I-37, actually right down the road from the GGS Whitsett office.
But our second gate was another story. We were in the middle of a game ranch about 20 miles south of Charlotte, again with no service at all. Not even AT&T this time. And once again the Wilson system did the trick.
I was able to pull in a Verizon tower an amazing 19.5 miles away with 3/4 bars of signal. I had the ‘indoor’ antenna outside under our canopy and rig workers would come by to make phone calls through it.
The strange thing was that although I had cell and data service, my data was only 1x, not the 3G/4G I would have expected. This didn’t make sense because the type of service is not really dependent on signal strength.You may be so far from a tower you have a crappy signal, but it will still be 3G or 4G. It won’t drop back to 1x
But a week later I was driving by that tower on I-37 and noticed my phone drop back to 1x as I passed it. But I guess as they say, “They’re Working On It”, because suddenly about a week later, I now had 3G service at our rig.
But as it turned out, that was actually the last time we’ve needed the Wilson amp in 5 years. It’s been packed away since then, only brought out to display at a couple of my Escapade rally seminars, “Gate Guarding for Fun? and Profit.
So I was expecting big things last night as I set up my system. I used 15 feet of antenna pole and mounted it off to the rear of our sewer trailer like this.
Hooking up, and powering up the Wilson amp, I was happy to see the 2 flashing green lights on the amplifier just as I was expecting. But I was not seeing any better signal on my phone. But of course I hadn’t really aimed the antenna yet.
So the first thing I did was to use the Open Signal app on my phone to find the nearest tower and aim the antenna in that direction.
And again, no luck.
Next I rotated the antenna through the 8 compass points, checking the signal level after each adjustment.
And again, no luck.
Bummer!
One thing I noticed is that adjusting the gains on the amp makes no difference in the lights. They just stay green.
After rechecking my connections this morning, with no luck, I put in a call to Wilson Tech Support and talked to Patrick, who gave me some good ideas about things to check out. So that’s up next.
I’ll let you know.
On a good note I think I may have our package delivery problem solved. And all it took was talking to the boss.
Checking my phone this morning, I noticed that my Jet.com order was Out for Delivery by the USPS this morning, and figuring it would come back as Undeliverable like my Amazon order the other day, I put in a call to the Post Office to ask them to hold it as before and I would be by to pick it up.
The guy who answered turned out to be the Postmaster, so I told him my problem, and ask about putting up a mailbox at our site, explaining that there was no way to put one on the side of the roadway, and could I put on the fence?
He said that by the rules there is supposed to be a ‘permanent structure’ at the location to receive mail at a mailbox. Apparently a 120 ton oil rig doesn’t not constitute a ‘permanent structure. Nor does the fact that there are people living in trailers here.
Although I didn’t ask him, my question is then why is a house trailer on a lot considered a ‘permanent structure’?
I had told him physically where we were located, and he then said he would call our carrier and see if they could work something out. And about 20 minutes later, while I was now on the phone with Wilson, our carrier showed up here at the rig.
Turned out to be a very nice young lady who said she actually hadn’t brought our package today, since they told her I was going to pick it up at the post office.
Since she now knew where we were, she said she would delivery it tomorrow. And that she would be looking out for any more of our packages and get them to us. Sometimes the Government works after all.
So hopefully that fixes that problem. At least until we move again.
Tomorrow is Blue Moon BBQ. YUMMM!
September 9, 2017
What To Do, What To Do?
It was really great to have Jan home again, at least for a couple of days. I got tired of just talking to the cat. And I think she’s tired of listening to me.
Jan and I may be rethinking our winter stays here as we bounce back and forth between Lake Conroe and Colorado River. If I run the numbers (and I do like to run the numbers, especially when $$ are concerned), it looks like it would be cheaper to spend our out-week from Lake Conroe at the Hillcrest RV Park over in New Waverley about 20 miles away.
I talked about this a couple of days ago in relation to us going over to Medina Lake vs. staying here, while Colorado River is offline. But here’s how it works for Colorado River.
The round-trip over to Colorado River is 240 miles, so figuring 8mpg, that’s 30 gallons of diesel. At $2.50 a gallon, that’s $75.
Since we’re out of our 50 TT free days, we pay $5 per day, plus $3 a day for 50 amp, so that’s $112, and $187 total w/diesel for our stay.
Now for a stay here at Hillcrest, it’s
$14.50 a day x 7 = $102 + 40 miles / 8 = 5 x $2.50 = $12.50
So that’s $102 + 12.50 = $114.50 for our out-week.
That means a savings of $72.00, plus the wear and tear savings on the rig.
So now it kind of depends on how we like Hillcrest. I guess we’ll see.
And now I have another decision to make. The black ink cartridge in my HP 2542 printer is skipping and the color cartridge is running low as well. So I have a choice to make.
I can buy a set of of Black and Color XL cartridges from Amazon for $62, Or I can replace my 3-1/2 year old HP 2542 printer
with a brand-new HP 4650 . . . for only $70.
So $8 more gets me a new printer.
A new printer that’s faster, has automatic two-sided printing, a document feeder, a touchscreen, and does borderless printing.
Not bad for $8.
Of course I could try a set of these remanufactured LxTek cartridges that are guaranteed to work and not hurt the printer.
Only $20.
What to Do, What to Do?
Tomorrow afternoon I’m going to take Jan back down to Brandi’s where she’ll stay until Wednesday, when I’ll pick up on my way back from Clear Lake.
September 9, 2018
Nary A Drop . . .
With Jan up at Brandi’s in Katy so she can attend Landon’s school’s Grandparent’s Day tomorrow morning, today was a chore day around the rig.
Unfortunately the afternoon rains kept me from getting a chance to get back on the generator, but there’s always Tuesday.
First up though, I wanted to double-check that my oil leak had been fixed by changing out the filter, so after crawling under the rig to get a ‘before’ photo of the oil filter and positioning one of my mats underneath to catch any drips,
Before:
I cranked up the rig and let it run at low-idle for an hour.
I did check the mat after about 30 minutes and found no oil . . . yet. But I let it run for another 30 minutes just to be sure.
When the time was up I checked again, and again found nothing. No leaks, drips, or drops. Nary a drop.
Just this.
After:
We’ll probably do a test drive for an hour or so in the next couple of weeks for a final check, but for right now I’m calling it FIXED.
As to what the problem really was, I don’t know. It was obviously the filter, or at least something to do with the filter. But it wasn’t loose, and the filter and the gasket all looked fine, even upon closer inspection.
I’ve had the same thing happen in both computer and mechanical repairs. You have a component that tests fine and may even work in another unit, but replacing it fixes the problem anyway.
I had mentioned before that I was thinking about replacing the house batteries in the rig with two of these Deka Farm Equipment batteries.
Though they’re not deep-cycle units, at 1005 Amp Hours each, two of these should handle any short periods of battery usage. We don’t boondock so it shouldn’t be a problem.
But when I double-check the measurements this afternoon I found that two of them would be a little too wide for the tray they sit in. But then I noticed this one.
Not only is it smaller, but at $124, it’s also $25 cheaper, and at 1140 amp hours, it’s a bigger capacity. And another plus is that all these batteries are maintenance-free, so little or no terminal corrosion problems.
They’re available at Lowe’s and should be in in a couple of weeks, maybe sooner.
Tomorrow after work, I’ll head up to Katy to bring my beautiful bride back home. A good thing since Karma and I are really lonely.
September 9, 2020
One Down . . .
And Two (or Three?) to Go.
My taillights now work.
Or at least they will when I get new bulbs tomorrow. I’ve got some LED 1157 bulbs coming in from Amazon. These are the fancy ones that the brake light part flashes on and off when the brakes are applied.
When I got home this afternoon I turned on the rig’s headlights and went outside to check. And I did find 12v on both sockets.
Tomorrow I’ll try to check the brake lights, but I’m not sure if the brake lights will function without the engine running and the brakes aired up. But I’ll try it and see,.
As far as the turn signals, I know they work from the rear PDC, so I’ll start up front by replacing the flasher and then swapping out the relay. Then I’ll go from there.
Stay tuned.
Our son Chris sent over a couple of photos of his and Linda’s birthday present to Miss Piper. Not only is Chris an ace mechanic, but he’s also an excellent woodworker. So he made Piper a new bed.
Really Gorgeous!
September 9, 2021
Well, It Started Off Nice . . .
Though not quite as nice as yesterday morning’s 72°, this morning’s 80, with a cool breeze, was still really comfortable to sit outside with our coffee.
Later, back inside, Jan and I started looking at other shows we want to see in Branson this December. I set up a spreadsheet laid out by day and time, putting in things that we’ve already have scheduled, which showed us where openings were.
Then we went through a list of shows on our December dates, noting ones we wanted to see. Next, checking those shows/times against openings in our schedule, we came up with 9 additional shows/attractions that we wanted to see and that fit into our schedule.
Everything in BOLD is already scheduled/booked, and the non-bold are the ones we added this morning. Now I’ll started booking them, BOLDing each one as I go.
Note we’ve still got a lot of open times for the important things like goofing off and shopping.
About 1pm we headed up toward Webster to have lunch once again at Jan’s favorite, Twin Peaks. Then it was over to the other side of I-45 to Costco.
Our first stop was to get gas there before doing some shopping, but it didn’t quite work out that way. When I tried to start the Jeep, all I got was a ‘click.’
My first thought of course, was the battery, so I got out my Tacklife Jump Starter to give it a jump.
I was happy to see that it was still holding 100% charge since I last used it about 8 months ago. But it didn’t do anything. In fact it didn’t show that the starter was pulling any current from the battery at all. And checking that with my voltmeter, it showed 12.6VDC on the battery, and no drop at all when I tried to start it.
So now I’m thinking solenoid/starter. Which means I’m on the phone to Good Sam Roadside Assistance for a tow. And Rick, the tow truck driver, showed up about 30 minutes later. Not bad.
Agreeing with my starter/solenoid diagnosis, he crawled under the Jeep and banged on the starter while I tried to start it. Again no luck.
So while he was winching the Jeep up on his flatbed,
I got on the phone to my mechanic to let him know that my Jeep was on the way, since they would be closed by the time the Jeep showed up.
And since the tow truck could only hold one of us, we decide to let Rick drop off the Jeep by himself and take an Uber home.
So as we waved goodbye to our Jeep,
Jan and I walked across the parking to do our Costco shopping. I mean, we were already there, right? Then once we were done I used the Uber app on my phone, and 8 minutes later, our driver, Samir, showed up and we were on our way home.
I think this is the first time we’ve used Uber since our Christmas visit to NYC in 2019. And before that, we Ubered all over Europe, Austria, Germany, Amsterdam, Paris, and London. Everywhere except Budapest, Hungry.
Uber/Lyft are not allowed there. We were told that the Mob controls the taxi business there, and in fact, we’re were warned about getting taxis from certain areas due to the possibility of being held hostage until you paid them exorbitant sums for your ride.
As soon as we were back at the rig, Jan and I got in our Dodge Dakota truck to go down to the mechanics to pick up some stuff from the Jeep and leave Joe a note about the problem.
Hopefully, Joe will be able to get it fixed tomorrow, but if not we’ve still got Smokey the Truck as a backup ride.
Well, it started out nice.
