Our RV Adventures

Jan and I were on the road this morning about 9:45, heading up to Conroe to meet up with Debi and Ed Hurlburt, and also, long-time-no-see, Janice and Dave Evans.

After making our usual bathroom break at the Flying J along the way, we got to La Pizca (The Pinch) Grill & Cantina right at 11:30, with Janice and Dave showing up a couple of minutes later, and Debi and Ed a few minutes after that.

Ed said this place had only been open about six weeks, and before that had been a bad BBQ place. Our server, Rob, was so attentive and informative that we all assume he was a manager/owner type. But it turned out he was the bartender who just took some tables when he wasn’t busy.

Really good server.

And the food was really good too.

Dave had the Pork Tamales with Charro Beans,

while Ed had the Steak Burrito.

Jan got the Pollo Ranchero covered in Verde Sauce with a side of Grilled Veggies.

I got a bowl of their Chicken Tortilla Soup,

that was just full of chicken.

And a side of their Grilled Veggies too.

The service was great, and the food was even better. So good in fact that we’re coming back next month.

We had a great time, and we’re already looking forward to next month.

After saying our good-byes, we headed back down to Santa Fe, with a quick stop at our local HEB, finally getting home about 4pm.

Really, really nice day.

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Thought For The Day:

Sometimes, the amount of self-control it takes to not say what’s on my mind is so immense, I need a nap afterwards.

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March 18, 2009

Settling in at the Gulf Shores State Park . . .

First off, check out the new tab at the top of the page  ‘Tour Our Beauty’.  It will give you a pictorial tour of our home.  Check it out!

Jan and I spent today settling in to our new site. You know, the usual stuff, putting out the flamingo and the brass moose, hanging the windchimes, as I said, the usual…

As I mentioned yesterday, we’re now on a quiet cul-de-sac at the end of the park.

Our new Cul-de-sac home

Nice wide spaces

Apparently the group of RV’ers here have regular get-togethers.  They were having a weenie-roast lunch when we got here yesterday, and today we were invited to a potluck dinner on Sunday evening.  We’re looking forward to it.

The guy next to us is from Canada and spent some time telling us all the must-see places in Newfoundland / Nova Scotia when we get up there later this summer.

For dinner today we tried a new place for us, Firehouse Subs.  We both liked the Italian sub we had.  We’ll go back, I’m sure.

More news from Paradise tomorrow…

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March 18, 2010

Da Boyz and Hooters…

Jan and I slept late this morning. It was the first time in about a week or so that we didn’t have something to do early in the morning.

I fixed coffee and we set around and just enjoyed life. Then about 11 Jan heated up the last of the Da Boyz pizza leftover from Yuma. I think it was even better than it was originally.

After cleaning up a bit, we drove over to check out the Las Vegas Hooters. It turns out that this Hooters was actually in a casino. I don’t know if that affected their menu, but it was certainly different from the ones in Texas we frequent. They had no wings hotter than 911, and did not have the Honey BBQ, Cajun Spice, or Garlic Flavored like we have found in other Hooters. But what we had was pretty good so all was not lost.

Leaving Hooters, we stopped off at an AutoZone to pick up some fuses and fuse holders to wire up a new charge line for the toad.

After that, we decided to call it a day and head home, as we have a full day planned tomorrow.

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March 18, 2011

Lorikeets and Ostrich Fishing . . .

First off, I forgot to post this St. Patrick’s Day photo of Landon yesterday, and was chastised by our daughter Brandi.

Mea Culpa.

This morning was an early start, with absolutely no coffee to help.

About 10am  Jan and I headed north on I-10 about 55 miles to revisit the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch, located near Picacho Peak.

Here’s a better photo of Picacho Peak from the Web.

We got there about 11:15 and waited a few minutes for our friend Jeanne Sparks to arrive from Casa Grande to visit with us.

We were last here in February 2008 on our way to Alaska.

After collecting our animal feed cups and lorikeet nectar, we entered the animal enclosure to first encounter the Fallow Deer area.

Jan was very popular, and it was funny to watch try to feed each one separately and be sure that everyone got their share.

Then it was on to the ostrich area to try and feed these hungry birds while retaining all our fingers. And it wasn’t easy, believe me. Sometimes it was like feeding a nest of snakes.

Is this a kind and gentle face, or what?

They had a photo of what a baby one looks like. They sell all their fertilized eggs overseas so they don’t have any babies at the ranch.

One treat was getting to meet Rooster himself.

Next it was on to the goats. Known as the Hole In The Wall Gang, the goats are a lot more fun (and safe) to feed than the ostriches.

The Sicilian Donkeys weren’t really hungry, but they did like to be petted, and were a big hit with the little kids.

Then finally, it was Jan’s favorite, the Lorikeets.

They give you little cups of nectar which the Lorikeets love, and will swarm all over you to get it.

Our friend Jeanne certainly has her hands full.

These are really beautiful, colorful birds, and much friendlier than the ostriches.

It was funny to watch them dive under the water in their bathing pond, then fluff up their feathers and fly up to the top of the cage in the sun to dry off.

All together now. “Awwwww”

Our next treat was the Monster Truck Tour around the ranch, something we had not done last time. The Tour is a combination of sightseeing and motocross jumping.

The 50 minute ride took us around the feeding and breeding areas of the ranch, interspersed with wild bumps and jumps across and over ditches and ravines.

We also got to see an ostrich nest in the wild, although they usually take the eggs from the next and incubate them as soon as possible because of local predators like javelinas and bobcats.

Our next adventure was Ostrich Fishing.

There is a bolt on the end of the string, and you stick it in quarter section of grapefruit, and let the fun began.

They said if you could land one on the platform, you could have it. I wanted to ask if I could just shoot one and reel it in, but Jan wouldn’t let me.

Bummer!

They’re supposed to be real tasty.

We had a great time here, and it’s well worth your time if you’re in the area.

We left Rooster’s about 1pm and headed across the Interstate to the Bowlin’s gift shop, one of Jan’s favorites. She loves their earring selection, and found another pair she really likes.

Then we drove back into Tucson to have lunch at the Lucky Wishbone.

It’s kind of a fast food place, but serves things like steak fingers, and chicken livers and gizzards, along with chicken strips, shrimp, fish, and fried chicken.

Really good.

We got home about 5:30, and it seemed like a good time for a short nap.

And of course, about 7:30 we drove over to the DQ in Vail.

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March 18, 2012

A Nice, Cold, Dreary, Rainy Day . . .

And windy, very windy.

I finally got up about 6:30am to let in our bedroom window awnings, not because of possible wind damage, but just because they were so noisy that it was hard to sleep.

And then later in the morning the rain part of the incoming cold front came thru. Never really hard, but pretty steady for long periods. And as far as the cold part, it never got out the 40’s all day.

But it was a perfect day to stay bundled up at home, cuddled up with hot coffee warming our insides and the floor heaters keeping us warm outside. The perfect day to just curl up with a good book.

I did gather up enough energy to install Jan’s new LED reading lamp over the sofa. The old one used an incandescent blub that Jan said was too hot sometimes.

I had looked for a CFL or LED bulb to fit the old lamp, but since it used a non-standard ‘intermediate’ base, I was never able to find one that would fit.

But while we were at Lowe’s yesterday I came across the one pictured above. It’s LED so it stays cool and is a little brighter than her old one, so she really likes the new one.

For lunch Jan fixed sandwiches and chips with muffins for dessert while we listened to the rain hitting the top of the coach. And the steady rain coming down made it a good afternoon for a nap. (Really, is there a bad afternoon?)

Jan fixed us dinner about 6pm, warming up our leftovers from Luckie’s Thai a few nights ago, and if anything, it was even better than originally.

And that pretty much rounded out what turned out to be a very nice day.

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March 18, 2013

Delorme and Silverleaf . . .

After Jan and I had a nice, quiet morning here at the Pima County Fairgrounds RV Park, we headed out a little after 1pm for a couple of errands, the main one being Sam’s Club to pick up one of Jan’s prescriptions, and a couple of other things. Coming back in the direction of the park we drove down Campbell Ave to check out the location of the new Grimaldi’s Pizzeria here in Tucson. After our visit to the one in San Antonio a week or so ago, we certainly want to eat here before we leave.

Chris Yust, our GMAC Insurance rep had called earlier in the day to say they were heading this way and wanting directions to the park here. They were coming in from Yuma to a rally that starts here on Wednesday.

Later in the afternoon I stowed away the Acer laptop that I used to display my Delorme Street Atlas GPS mapping program and my Silverleaf engine computer display.

In checking the display before I shut it down, I was surprised to find that, even with the heavy headwinds we encountered coming to Tucson from Las Cruces, I used 31.2 gallons of diesel for a total of 259.1 miles traveled. This makes it 8.3 mpg, not bad for the trip at 55-60 mph.

I also finished mapping out all the RV parks we’ve stayed at in the last 5+ years. That’s 267 parks ranging from Key West, FL to Fairbanks, AK, and from San Diego to Nova Scotia, Canada.

We’ve actually been all the way out to Newfoundland, but we left the RV in Louisbourg, NS and just took the truck over on the ferry, staying in B & B’s as we traveled down the 500 mile length of the island.

Of course in 5 years we’ve spend more than 267 nights on the road, but we’ve stayed at many of these parks multiple times. For example, we’ve stayed here at Pima County Fairgrounds RV Park 4 times, and other parks as many as 5 times. When you find a good park in an area, you tend to stick with it.

Later, after Chris and Charles Yust had arrived and got parked and set up, we all headed out to Luckie’s Thai, our favorite local Chinese place. And yes, I know it’s says Thai, but they have a full Chinese menu too. We’ll go back again.

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March 18, 2014

An Asian Two’fer . . .

Well, the bin situation is finally coming together. I rearranged my categories, combining some and expanding others and also ended up using a combination of the 64 Qt. bins and the file boxes to fill in some odd spaces in the bays. I’ve still got a couple of bins left over filled with miscellaneous stuff that doesn’t really fit into any of my categories. So I’ll have to come up with something else.

While I was outside working, Don Couvillion came over and we set up plans for getting together Thursday night, before they leave on Friday. We’re looking forward to it.

About 4 I headed out on a few errands, dropping off garbage, and then down the road to the convenience store to pick up Powerball & MegaMillions tickets for tonight and tomorrow night. Then coming back, I stopped off at a rock pile behind the Activity Center. I had brought a couple of empty kitty litter buckets with me, along with my entrenching tool. I wanted to get a couple of buckets of rocks and dirt to help fill in the water-filled ruts at the front of the rig. If we get much more rain before we leave here on Monday, I might have some problems getting out of this site. I figure it will take 8 or 10 bucket loads to fill it all in.

For dinner Jan fixed us a salad and then heated up the left-over pizza from our  Grimaldi’s Pizzeria visit yesterday afternoon. When you reheat it in the convection oven, it’s just about as good as it was originally. And I’ve found a new favorite salad dressing – Hidden Valley Bacon Ranch. I had a Bacon Ranch dressing when we ate at Applebee’s last week, so I decided to pick some up for home. Really good.

Tomorrow Jan and I are heading down to the Clear Lake area for a doctor’s appointment. We’ll go down a little early so we can have lunch at King Food one more time before we leave the area. I’m also going to drop off some more stuff at our storeroom, and pick up our prescriptions from Sam’s Club.

Then we’ll come home by  way of our daughter Brandi’s in Katy to pick up our mail and packages. We’ve got some stuff from Amazon, as well as our new Fantastic Vent fan motor that should be here. And hopefully the replacement shear pins for the slide will be there too.  And we also want another chance to eat dinner at Little V’s Vietnam Restaurant  near their house. So our day will be an Asian Two’fer.

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March 18, 2015

On to AJ . . .

After coffee and Munchkins this morning, I started packing away some stuff to get ready to move up to Apache Junction tomorrow morning.  Then with Jan grabbing the magnets inside, I took down the solar screens and stored them away in the truck. Hopefully I’ll some more time to work on them up in Apache Junction.

‎Later, about 4:30pm Jan and I headed up Kolb Rd. to Dry River Company Pizza. It’s a order it at the counter, they bring it to the table kind of a place with a nice atmosphere and a friendly staff.

It does have couple of quirks, however. They only have one size of pizza, 13-14”, and they only have 12 different kinds of pizza, with no additional items listed. It may be that you can order different ingredients, but they aren’t on the menu and we didn’t ask.

Instead we ordered the Traditional, with Tomato Sauce, Sausage, Pepperoni, Banana Peppers, and Mozzarella. And even better, this pizza is normally $11, but since we were there during Happy Hour, I.e., before 5:30, the pizza was only $8. Nice.

The pizza is thin crust, cooked in a wood-fired (with pecan) brick oven. And pretty much everything is fresh. As in the pizza dough is made daily, all the sauces are made in house, as well as, believe it or not, the mozzarella cheese.

They also make all their salad dressings (except Ranch) and the bread for their sandwiches and garlic bread is baked daily around the corner at  La Baguette Bakery.

You can’t get much fresher than that.

And it showed in the food. We all agreed it was some of the best pizza we’ve had in a good while. As far as I’m concerned, it’s not quite up to Grimaldi’s Pizzeria, but darn close. Grimaldi’s coal-fired oven may be a little hotter, because their crust is lightly charred on the bottom and the edges, really adding to the favor.

They also have a wide variety of salads, pastas, and sandwiches if you’re not in the mood for pizza. (How can anyone not be in the mood for pizza, he asks?)

Sure wish we hadn’t discovered this place on our last night in Tucson.

Later, finally heading back to Voyager RV Resort, we made a detour a couple of miles up I-10 to the Pilot/Flying J to get gas in the truck. Yesterday unleaded was $2.19, but today it was $2.17. And even better, with our Good Sam’s RV Plus card discount, it was only $2.12 a gallon. Nice.

Tomorrow we’ll be stopping again the Pilot/Flying J to get diesel for the rig. And unless it goes down again overnight, it should be about $2.61 with our Plus card discount.

Getting home I went ahead and disconnected our water and sewer. One less thing to do tomorrow morning, especially since we’re meeting Al and Adrienne at the RV Park Café for breakfast at 8am, before we head out about 10.

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March 18, 2016

Another One Bites The Dust . . .

We were heading down to Brandi’s this morning, so I got up a little early to see if I could kludge up something to get the truck AC going.

The AC is not working because of the problem with the condenser fan that supplies extra cooling for the radiator when the AC is on. But in most cases, it’s really only needed when you’re driving slow or idling. Otherwise at highway speeds there is enough airflow to keep things cool.

So my idea is to temporarily hard-wire 12 volts directly to the AC compressor coil, bypassing the problem with the fan that is shutting down the AC. But by the time I  figured out how I was going to wire it up, and found some wire that was heavy enough, it was time to get ready to drive down to Katy.

But luckily for us, it stayed pretty overcast the whole trip, so we were pretty comfortable the entire time. But the noise of the windows down at 70mph gets kind of tiring.

We headed out about 11:30, and after a smooth, fast trip, got to Brandi’s in Katy about 1:00pm. Then after looking over movie times, I went online and bought us all tickets for the 2:45 showing of Zootopia, the latest Disney offering. So we had some time to kill until we needed to be at Katy Mills Mall.

The first thing Landon had to show us was his new missing tooth, but this time it wasn’t Miss Kitty’s fault. Back last November, Landon and Miss Kitty, their 120# Black Lab, bumped heads and Landon lost two teeth.

Well, this time Landon hit his mouth on his daddy’s knee and another tooth hit the floor. So this is what he looks like now, showing off with Grammy Sonja.

Looks like corn on the cob is off the menu now.

Later Landon was showing off on his new trampoline out in the backyard.

Looks like it could be another lost tooth situation.

About 2pm we all drove over to Katy Mills Mall to see Zootopia. I was afraid that the theater would be really crowded due to Spring Break, but we had no problems getting prime seats.

As far as the movie goes, it was really good and everyone enjoyed it. Like the best movies, it’s written on several different levels, and had something for everyone, including enough action  so that no one fell asleep, unlike when Jan, Landon, and I went to see SpongeBob Square Pants, and we ALL fell asleep.

A really good movie, and well recommended.

Getting back to the house about 5, we found Brandi and Lowell already home, and with everyone hungry, we did a quick turnaround and were off to Little V’s Vietnamese Bistro right down the road.

We try to eat here as often as possible, just because it’s so darn good. And Tuygen, the owner knows us all by name, and always takes really good care of us.

From left to right, Lindel and Sonja, Lowell’s parents, my Jan, Sherry, Lowell’s sister, and Brandi and Lowell. Master Landon is on the floor under the table, using the chair bottom as a stand for playing games on his iPad. He says we’re too noisy and he can’t concentrate.

Finally a little before 7, after getting our hugs, Jan and I headed back to Conroe, making a “too much iced tea with dinner” stop at the Flying J in north Houston, before we arrived home about 8:15.

Tomorrow if the weather holds, I’ll take a closer look at my truck condenser fan problem. Besides hotwiring the AC itself, I’ll start doing some troubleshooting on the problem, with the first thing I check being the fan itself.

I’ll disconnect power going to it from the truck and then put 12 volts to it directly. This will tell me whether the problem is with the fan, which I suspect it is, or somewhere in the control circuitry.

But since the fan was making a lot of racket before it quit completely, that’s the best way to start.

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March 18, 2017

Voyager Bound . . .

Since we only had a 33 mile trip this morning, we didn’t get up until a little after 7:30 and then took our time getting ready to roll.

But after calling Voyager RV Resort and being told we couldn’t come in until after 11am, we decided we had time for breakfast. And remembering the extensive breakfast menu at the Horseshoe Café & Bakery from our visit last Thursday, we headed into Benson to give it a try.

And we weren’t the only ones, with a 20 minute wait before we got seated. But the service was fast, and the coffee was great.

Jan got her favorite Mushroom and Cheese Omelet with Country Potatoes, Bacon, and a Biscuit.

I  went with the Wagon Wheel Breakfast, with Eggs, Bacon, Sausage Links, and a Belgian Waffle.

Really, really good, and we both had plenty of leftovers, too.

Back at the rig a little after 10, we finished packing everything away and cranked up the rig a little after 10:30, planning to leave in about 10 minutes. But first we had to get the slide in.

Although we had no problem bring it in when we left Las Cruces last Tuesday, putting it out when we got here at Cochise Terrace in Benson was a different story, with a lot of jerking and groaning.

And this morning didn’t get any better. The right side only went out about 3 inches and  then stopped, while the left side kept going. So it was outside and into the bay under the slide to check out the problem.

At first everything looked fine as I had Jan move the slide in and out a bit. But finally looking down on the floor of the bay, I found a sheared-off bolt, and nearby, the broken nut end.

This led me to pull back the square shaft from the inside round shaft, so now it was obvious where the bolt came from. But why did the bolt shear off and the shear pin right behind it was fine. A little further investigation told me the reason.

The shear pin on the manual drive shaft to the left was sticking out a little too far and was jamming against the round base on the other shaft and maybe occasionally hitting the other shear pin too.

So now it was off to the Ace Hardware in Benson for a new bolt. Actually four new bolts. One for the repair and three for spares. You know me.

The guy at the hardware store confirmed what I thought I remembered, that the six lines on the bolt head indicated that the old bolt was a Grade 8, the hardest and strongest of standard bolts. So I was careful to get replacements of the same grade.

Getting back to the rig, I knocked the offending shear pin back out of the way a little and then jogged the manual drive to line up the two shaft holes, installed the bolt, and I was done.

I hoped.

And after cranking up, the slide came in smooth as silk.

So a few minutes later we were on our way, with Jan following me in the truck. No need to hitch up for a 30+ mile run.

We were checked in at Voyager and waiting to be parked by about 1:15pm. Unfortunately the lady who guided me to our site thought she also knew how to park me.

Now Jan and I have been doing this for over nine years and we’ve got it down to a science. I tried to tell the lady that Jan and I could park just fine by ourselves without her ‘help’. But she was insistent that it was going to be done her way.

Jan said later she wondered why I kept jogging back and forth and ‘didn’t just pull in and park like we normally do”. I said it was because you weren’t guiding me, she was, and she didn’t know what she was doing.

But we did end up parked right next to our friend’s Chris and Charles Yust, so it all worked out for the best.

After we got parked, and after just plugging in power for the AC’s, we headed down the the Pima County Fairgrounds to get registered for the Escapade. Then it was off to the nearby Wal-Mart for a few things. The last time Jan had been to a Wal-Mart was about two weeks ago and she was starting to have withdrawal pains.

Later, we headed out with Chris and Charles to have dinner with some friends at a favorite place of theirs, Rigo’s, off 1-10 West, just south of the Silver Saddle Steakhouse.

And with a delicious Mexican buffet, Rigo’s is now a favorite of ours. Though Jan stuck with her Chile Rellenos, I did try the buffet, and it was great. And it was 2 for 1 Beer Night!

Caldo (Beef and Vegetable) Soup, Cheese and Potato Soup, Beef Fajitas, Shrimp Fajitas, Tacos with all the fixin’s, and a lot more. Plus Sopapillas and Rice Pudding for dessert.

And they also have a Breakfast and Lunch Buffet.

I did manage to get a picture of the whole motley crew. Well, almost the ‘whole’ crew.

Somehow I manage to leave Charles out of the photo on the front right. My excuse?

I had two beers. But then I wasn’t driving.

On the left, we have Jan, Bob, and Sandy. And on the right, there’s a small part of Charles, Chris, Mickey, and Lynn.

We had a great time, and what’s more amazing, we weren’t the loudest group there. Very unusual, believe me.

Tomorrow is first day of the Escapade, although the seminars don’t start until Monday. so Jan and I will get to spend some time roaming the Vendor area, buying stuff we want, but probably don’t need. Sounds like fun.

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March 18, 2018

Last One . . .

Catching Up on Catching Up.

Jan and I headed out yesterday afternoon a little before 3pm to meet everyone over at our son Chris’ in Heritage Park. Brandi, Lowell, and Landon were coming down from Katy and we were all going out for dinner at the Birraporetti’s over in Friendswood. And even better Miss Piper and her boyfriend Connor were meeting us there.

But on our way we made a detour by the Taco Cabana to see if I could perhaps recover my lost driveshaft. Since my mechanic was having to order me a new one, I thought I would check around to see if I could find the old one and maybe reuse it, hopefully saving me some money. But no luck. I guess some found it and threw it in the trash. Oh well.

We all spent a couple of hours just talking and laughing. We even got to FaceTime with Jan’s sister Debbie and her family up in Illinois. We talked about our upcoming family reunion there the end of June, and also about some furniture that we’re taking up there when we go.

We left for Birraporetti’s a little after 5:30 for our 6pm reservation. And we were glad we had one because the place was jam-packed. Literally wall-to-wall, so much that it was hard to get to the restrooms in the rear of the place.

This was our first time to meet Connor, seated at the other end of the table. Jan later told Piper that he was a ‘hunk’. Seems like a really nice guy.

It was so noisy that I had no idea what anyone else had, but Jan had the Chicken Alfredo with Mushrooms Sandwich with a Side Salad.

She had asked for Pesto instead of Alfredo sauce. But they forgot it and had to bring the Pesto out separately. But she said it was delicious.

I had a really good bowl of Tuscan Bean Soup with pasta.

The soup already had cut up Italian Sausage in it, but I got the two extra pieces from Miss Piper who didn’t want the serving that came with her meal.

With everyone’s varying schedules it’s always good when we can get the entire family together now and then, and we really had a great time.

Today:

The only thing significant that happened today is that I finally got to install the last window awning of our new set. Jan came outside and supervised while I went up and down the ladder.

I asked her if she was going to catch me if I fell off and she said, ‘NO”. But she would call 911 for me.

That’s my Sweetie!

Tomorrow starting at 8am, Jan and I have our yearly GP checkups and prescription renewals. Then that finishes me up, though Jan has one last appointment with her oncologist for a follow-up on her mammogram last week. But since that came back clean, there should be no problems with that either.

Then we’re done until next year. YAY!

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March 18, 2019

Puddles Was Great!

Got Home Late!

Will Catch Up Tomorrow!

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March 18, 2020

Rest In Peace, Charles . . .

Jan and I were deeply saddened to receive the news this afternoon that our long-time friend, Charles Yust, had passed away.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Chris. It’s hard to believe that all this happened so quickly, and how quickly our lives can change.

Rest in Peace, Charles.

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March 18, 2021

Homeward Bound . . .

Both Brandi and her family, and my Jan are all homeward bound. And even better, a day early. They left Colorado this morning and are spending the night in Amarillo, before coming on back tomorrow afternoon.

So I’ll be able to pick Jan up tomorrow afternoon, instead of Saturday.

YEA!

And of course you shouldn’t pass though Amarillo without eating at the Big Texan Steak Ranch at least once

Don’t know if he did the 72oz. Challenge or not.

I stopped off at HEB this afternoon after picking up some Amazon orders, and finally found out why I can’t find Coke Zero Vanilla anymore, and Coke Zero Cherry almost never. It seems there’s an aluminum can shortage.

But Googling didn’t really clear up the cause. Some sites said it was due to the pandemic of course, while other sites said it was the Chinese Trade Embargo. ???

While I was in line to check out, the lady in front of me reach over and place the divider thingie behind her stuff. When I thanked her, she smiled, nodded, and then I said, “You must be having a sleepover this weekend”.

She looked at me in amazement, and I think a little concern, and said, “How do you know that?”

“Well, you’ve got your cart piled high with bags of candy bars, chips, Goldfish, PopTarts, soft drinks, and juice boxes. Probably not stuff you would usually buy for YOUR kids. But anything to keep them quiet, right.”

“And then for you, you’ve got those two REALLY big bottles of wine.”

She looked at me and started laughing, along with the checkout clerk, and said, “I only hope I’ve got enough wine! There’s 10 of them.”

For her sake, I hope she does too.

Crossing our fingers, I sure looks like they’ve started resurrecting the Monterey’s Mexican Kitchen over on I-45 and FM-517. I noticed both yesterday and today that there was a dumpster out front and a half dozen work trucks.

The place was flooded during Hurricane Harvey in August 2017, and we kept hearing that they were going to rebuild it SOON. But SOON has stretched out to 3-1/2 years now.

Here’s hoping.

Wrapping up, here’s something kind of creepy for you.

Yikes!

But why?