Fun And Old Friends . . .
We had a great time getting together with Bill and Carol on our daytrip down to Birmingham today.
But we didn’t get back until almost 10, and we’ve got to get up early tomorrow. So I’ll catch up tomorrow night.
Tomorrow we’re moving down to Prattville for a couple of days, getting together with some more old friends.
Thought for the Day:
Guns to use to have an honored place in American schools. Gun safety was taught in schools, schools had rifle teams, schools had rifle ranges, students built guns in shop class. Students brought guns to school to be used for hunting after class. Then the Federal government passed the Gun Free School Act in 1994.
Since the passage of that act, the number of school shootings has skyrocketed. From 1900 to 1994, there were no mass shootings in schools (there were a couple outside of schools). From 1994 to 2014, there were 13 mass shootings inside of schools.
What changed?
May 18, 2009
Rainy Days and Great Food…
After bidding our friends goodbye yesterday afternoon, we had a somewhat quieter day today.
We headed back down to Key West to try out a little Mexican place on Duval St. that we had heard about called Old Town Mexican Cafe.
This was probably the best Mexican food we’ve had since we left Houston. We’re going to try to go back before we leave.
On the way back to our RV we mailed some postcards and stopped by a Winn-Dixie for some Valencia oranges and fresh strawberries to have for supper.
Tomorrow I think we’ll drive back the Keys toward Homestead and do some sightseeing.
May 18, 2010
Sea Lions and Sea Food…
Just what I wanted to see when I got up this morning – Rain.
Few things are more fun than trying to get ready to roll while you’re getting soaking wet.
But I guess it’s about time we saw some actual northwestern rainy weather. We’ve actually have very little rain since we hit the west coast.
Into every life, and all that.
We left Midway RV Park about 8 am, earlier than normal, because we wanted to stop and see the Sea Lion Cave just north of Florence, OR.
We got there about 10 am and found easy parking for our rig. But then we had a mad dash across the street to the entrance, trying to dodge cars zooming by on US101.
But it was all worth the trip. The cave was really great!
The Sea Lion Cave was discovered in 1880 and opened as a tourist attraction in 1932 when 101 was still only a gravel road.
And by the mid 50’s it was still going strong. Don’t you just love those car colors.
This pic, from the observation deck shows you the kind of weather we had today.
We had about a 100 yard walk along the trail leading to the elevator.
We took the 200 foot elevator down to the sea lion cave and looked out into what is billed as the largest sea cave in the world.
And there were sea lions everywhere. Along the walls, on the rocks, in the water, all over.
The other end of the cave looks out over the cormorant rookery, and what is called “The Most Photographed Lighthouse in the World”, the Heceta Lighthouse.
Back on the surface we looked out over the other side of the cave.
We arrived at Circle Creek RV Park just south of Seaside OR about 2:15 pm.
Around 3:30, after we got set up, we headed back down the road about 7 miles to eat at Mo’s Seafood, a place that was recommended.
And the recommendation was dead on. It was great. Jan had a Seafood Platter with Clam Chowder, and I had a bowl of Oyster Stew and a Blackened Cod Fish Sandwich. Hmmm, Hmmm, Good.
Tomorrow, we only have a 105 mile run to Westport, WA, so we’ll probably go out to breakfast and drive around a little before we leave.
We’ll be in Westport for 3 nights catching up with our friends, Al and Adrianne Cox, who we first met in Fairbanks, AK in 2008.
May 18, 2011
Just Another Dreary Day In Paradise . . .
Another cold, wet day greeted me when I got up about 10:15, but we fought back with a pot of hot snickernut/pecan coffee and the last of the blueberry muffins. But we still have a loaf of homemade bread left, so all is not lost.
The rest of the morning I spent working on client-internet stuff, and then about noon Jan heated up our left-over Italian from last night. It tasted SO much better after Jan added basil, oregano, and a little garlic salt.
A little before 5 we headed out to Oakhurst for dinner. We decided to check out Todd’s Cookhouse BBQ which turned out to be delicious. It’s the best meal we’ve had since we ate at the Chukchansi Casino last Sunday night after we got here.
It turns out that Todd Leaf, the owner, won a Kraft Food’s National BBQ Sauce contest in 1999 and Kraft bottled and sold millions of bottles of his sauce. In fact it was the fastest selling sauce in Kraft history.
I had a great bowl of chicken & sausage gumbo along with a rib basket, while Jan had a BBQ sandwich. All great.
Coming home we once again stopped for a cappuccino, this time at a new place that Jan was happy to find had the Pumpkin Spice flavor.
Tomorrow the weather is supposed to clear so we plan on driving up to Yosemite National Park, about 20 miles north of here.
Last year when Jan and I drove through, it looked like this.
We don’t expect to see this much, if any snow tomorrow, but we’ll see.
May 18, 2013
A Bear for All Seasons . . .
After coffee drinking, Kindle reading, and Internet playing, Jan and I headed out for some sightseeing, dinner, and shopping.
We drove around for about an hour, crossing back into Nevada, past all the casinos that suddenly appear at the state line.
Driving further out along the road we came in on, we got a good view of the surrounding snow-capped mountains.
Coming back through town we drove out on the other side for a while just to see what’s around.
Along the way, we came across The Bear’s Den.
This place has pretty much any type of carved bears you could want.
Big ones,
little ones,
and more.
By this time our tummies were rumbling, so we decided to try Passaretti’s Italian Restaurant, located right outside the park entrance. We’d noticed the last couple of days that the place was always busy every time we drove by. And we’ve found that a busy place is usually a good place to eat.
It was interesting to find this great hot rod sitting in the parking lot. I’d seen a sign about a car show while we were driving around, but this was the only car I’d seen that might be part of it. Turns out, it wasn’t.
I did notice that the right front tire was going flat, though.
As it turned out our meal was delicious. Jan found her favorite meat-filled ravioli on the menu, and I had my usual spaghetti marinara with meatballs.
We both started out with salads with their really great homemade dressings. We also had an order of their garlic bread with melted mozzarella on top, again really good.
And after our entrees, we had to top it off by sharing a piece of their homemade carrot cake.since we’d seen it recommended online. It was delicious, but so big, that along with our meal, we could only eat half of it. So we’ll have the rest of it with coffee tomorrow. And we’ll definitely be coming back here again before we leave.
One other thing, when we got to Passaretti’s we found that there was a wedding dinner going on in the back of the restaurant. And as it turned out, the hot rod out front was what the bride and groom drove from the church to the restaurant. Unfortunately, the honeymoon had to be delayed for a while when they came back out and found the flat tire. The delay however, probably wasn’t a big disappointment, since the bride was already noticeably pregnant.
Leaving the restaurant, we stopped off at Raley’s for some groceries. On the way, I wanted to check out this service station that had been converted into an auto parts store and antique car lot.
Or so I thought.
Old Studebakers, old Oldsmobile’s,
And for some reason, a bunch of old Volvos.
You’ve really got to like old cars to like old Volvos, don’t you.
A little research told me the real story about this place.
It’s not an antique car lot. The cars are not for sale. They are parked there to be an deliberate eyesore.
The owner of the lot, apparently very rich, has, since 2007, been refusing to sell his auto parts place to the city. They want to build something else there, but he wants no part of it.
The city supposedly keeps trying to find any kind of violation to get him out. So in retaliation, he bought all these old, ugly cars and parked them on his lot, right along the main street through South Lake Tahoe.
Sounds like my kind of guy.
May 18, 2014
Burgers to Donuts . . .
It was really nice to sleep late this morning, for the first time since we left Houston a week ago. We didn’t really have anything on the agenda today, which is just the way we wanted it.
A while later we headed out to the Culver’s over by the Wal-Mart for a delicious lunch. Jan and I have decided that Culver’s is pretty much our favorite chain hamburger place, and the fries are really great too. Our other favorite chain is Five Guys. I like them a little better because of all the fixings you can add on.
But on the burger front, and combining the best of both worlds, here’s the latest fad.
Yes, that’s a Krispy Kreme Bacon Cheeseburger. It’s apparently the latest in ‘Fair’ food. You know, the Deep Fried Twinkies and Snickers.
Of course, we’ve had other Krispy Kreme dishes. This is Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding from Lulu’s in Gulf Shores, AL.
Lulu is Jimmy Buffett’s sister, and has one of the best restaurants in that area.
Later that evening, after a nice nap, Jan put together a supper from our leftover Central BBQ using Lambert’s Throwed Rolls
May 18, 2015
We Checked First . . .
Well, we were up and ready to get ready to move this morning, but the call never came. Finally, a little after noon, I checked in with the service department and found out it wasn’t going to happen today. The body shop guy said he wanted to finish up a couple of small jobs so he would have room to move us over.
So hopefully tomorrow morning, at least tomorrow at all, since we’re going to leave for Illinois early (as in 6am) Wednesday morning.
Around 2pm we headed out for a late lunch and some shopping. Since we we hadn’t had wings in a while, we drove over to the Buffalo Wild Wings in Prescott Valley. Getting to the parking lot however, we did check it over carefully for any biker gangs or bikes. You can’t be too careful these days, after all.
Jan ordered her wings with their Hot sauce, while I got my usual Mango Habanero. Mango Habanero used to be their 2nd hottest sauce, right behind Blazin’, with Jan’s Hot coming in 3rd.
But they’ve added a new sauce called Wild right after Blazin’, so now Mango Habanero is 3rd in heat, with Hot 4th. But I like my heat with a little sweet, so I stayed with the Mango.
The food was great, and we had plenty to bring home for dinner tomorrow.
Leaving Buffalo Wild Wings, we headed over to a nearby Wal-Mart to pick up some things, and also to get a new tire before our upcoming 3000 mile roundtrip. But as it turned out, this was the only Wal-Mart SuperCentert that we’ve encountered that didn’t have an auto service department. So no new tire.
I’ll have to try again tomorrow at another place.
Getting back to our area, we stopped off at the Fry’s for a couple of things that we couldn’t find at Wal-Mart.
Tomorrow we’ll start packing stuff to get ready to travel.
May 18, 2016
Oh, You Doubters . . .
While Jan enjoyed her Kindling, I spent most of the afternoon fighting my way through PayPal’s convoluted Business Account setup for a client. Just as you think you’ve covered everything, they pop up with something else they want. They’ve added a lot of requirements since I set up my Business Account.
Then when I finally finished with the setup, I had to design the default templates for the invoices that they will use to bill their clients through PayPal. That went much smoother, and now we just have to wait for PayPal to make the small deposits into the bank account that links to the PayPal account.
PayPal makes a couple of small deposits into your account, like $0.12 & $0.17. Then you have to tell them the date and amount of the deposits. This confirms to them that they are linked to correct account, and that you really have access to it.
They used to just leave the few cents in your account, but I guess those dimes started to add up. So now after they’re done, they pull the deposits back.
For you doubters out there who were snickering at yesterday’s blog where I mentioned that I was skinny and had hair when Jan and I met in 1967, here’s the proof.
This is me at Columbia Military Academy in 1965.
And this one was actually taken by Jan in Titusville.
She carried it in her billfold for years which is why it’s kind of chewed up.
See, I told you.
And this is the beautiful long-legged redhead that I fell in love with.
****** SPOILER ALERT ******
In case you recorded the Castle finale and haven’t watched it yet, skip this.
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Jan and I have been Castle fans since the first episode in 2009, and were disappointed to see it go off the air. And we’re still not sure how we feel about the final episode. We both kind of thought it had been cobbled together at the last minute, and it turns out we were right.
Stana Katic (Beckett) was already leaving, as was Tamala Jones (Lani), but it was hoped that the show would continue on with Castle, Alexis, Hayley, and Martha running the PI agency, as well as Ryan and Esposito helping out.
Thus the ante-penultimate scene of Castle and Beckett crawling to each other after they were shot. Then next season, Castle would wake up and find out that Beckett had died, and the series would proceed from there.
Apparently the word on the street in Hollywood was that the series was going to be renewed. The ratings were still decent, and the writers were already outlining new scripts. But the producers filmed a short wrap-up scene just in cast.
And it’s good they did, because last Thursday night, before the finale this past Monday, the network abruptly canceled the series with no warning. So it was a mad scramble to re-edit the show in time for the last episode.
We’re sorry to see it go.
May 18, 2017
Three States in Four Hours . . .
Finishing up on yesterday’s trip from Bend/Sunriver to Hermiston.
One reader asked why we were traveling with full waste tanks, and what we would do if we had to boondock along the way if our tanks were full. Well, there were several reasons for doing that.
1. Due to all the wet/snowy weather recently at the Bend/Sunriver TT, there was only one dump station available for use for the entire park, and people were complaining of 30-60 minutes waits to dump when everyone was leaving in the morning.
2. I wasn’t feeling very good and we were already running late anyway.
3. I use times like this as an excuse to clean my black tank. Before we headed out I dumped two big scoops of cheap, powdered laundry soap, a capful of Calgon water softener to help cut the grease, and several big squirts of Dawn in the toilet and flush it down.
Then all this sloshes around during the trip, breaking everything loose. And no, I don’t put a bag of ice in the tank. A 10# bag of ice in 40 gallons of room-temp liquid will be gone in just a few minutes.
Then when we get to the next park, I hook up to the sewer and dump the black tank. When it’s about finished, I connect the shore water hose to our rig’s built-in flush system and turn it on full blast. I have a clear 90° elbow in my system and I’m always amazed at how much more ‘stuff’ comes out as I’m doing this that didn’t come out by dumping alone. I do this once a month or so.
4. Although I said the tanks were full, and effectively they were, we still could have gone another day or so boondocking if necessary with no problems.
Despite my not feeling well, it actually was a very nice trip with a lot of great scenery along the way. The only downsides were a couple of really long climbs and the very gusty high winds swirling around through the canyons. You never knew which direction the next gust was going to come from.
I guess the high winds explains the miles of wind generators we saw along the way, all flailing around like pinwheels.
But finally at Biggs, OR, US97 dumped us down into the Columbia River Gorge and I-84E. And there we encountered one of those rarest of rarities. Something that some RV’ers brag about, like the size of the fish they caught, and none of their friends believe them.
It was a genuine tailwind.
I first noticed it when I looked at my Silverleaf display and saw I was getting over 30mpg, and we were running level at 60mph. Then a few minutes later I pulled over to take some photos and when I opened the door the wind pulled me out so hard it almost dumped me on my face in the dirt.
But we did have some spectacular views.
We never did figure out why this is planted this way. No sign of a house or anything else.
We pulled into the Pioneer RV Park in Hermiston about 3:30 and I got us set up in a nice long pull-thru so we didn’t have to unhitch. Then after we had our left-over Baldy’s BBQ for supper, I took some aspirin and went to bed for a few hours.
When I woke up about 8:30 I was feeling a lot better, but just washed out. Don’t know if I had some stomach bug, or what, but Jan was just fine.
I did feel OK this morning, so I guess it’s passed, whatever it was.
After a nice night, we pulled out of the Pioneer RV Park in Hermiston a little after 10am and were quickly out on I-82 and heading north toward Coeur d’Alene about 205 miles away.
As several people had told us, Pioneer is a very nice park, $20 per night Passport American with 50amp full hookup pull-thrus, long enough that we didn’t have to unhitch the toad. Since we didn’t plan on going out for dinner, that worked fine.
And be sure to call ahead to let them know you’re coming. They’re either full, as they were last night, or almost full, every night.
Our trip today turned out to be a very smooth, very scenic trip with good roads the entire way, passing through 3 states, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho along the way.
I’m still kind of confused by this dump station located at one of the rest areas we stopped at along the way.
Guess you need a really long hose and a good pump.
We pulled into the Coeur d’Alene Elk’s Lodge about 2:30 and were quickly greeted by the on-site host and led to a nice grass-covered site, a pull-thru with 50amps and water, but no sewer.
But since we dumped last night at Pioneer, that won’t be a problem.
We plan on staying here two nights before heading on to Garrison, MT for a night, and then on to Billings, MT.
On our way here we had planned to have dinner at The Cedars, a high-end steakhouse that floats on the Spokane River. We last ate here in 2010 and it was really, really good. Well worth the high price.
But when I went on Yelp this afternoon to check their times, I was struck by all the bad reviews, leading to only a 3-1/2 star rating. Reading further, I found that they were now under new ownership, and things had gone downhill quickly after that – bad food, cold food, bad service, being seated an hour later after getting there 15 minutes early, and a 9” hair in the salad bar.
Considering that their Ribeye is almost $40, we quickly had second thoughts. Scrolling down the Yelp listings, I came across the Texas Roadhouse listing. Besides being only about 2 miles away, it had a higher rating than the Cedar’s.
So Texas Roadhouse it is.
We’ve never had a bad steak, or a bad meal, at Texas Roadhouse, and tonight was no exception.
Jan got her standard 12 oz. New York Strip while I got my go-to 16 oz. Ribeye.
Great salads to, as well as great service. And Jan’s and my steak together were the same price as my Ribeye alone would have been at the Cedar’s.
A great choice. And a lot cheaper.
Coming home we got maybe the best car wash we’ve ever had, getting a lot of built-up dirt off.
Tomorrow we may head up to Sandpoint and drive around the area some. Plus Jan wants eat at Tomato Street Italian Restaurant once again.
May 18, 2018
The Big Five Oh . . . Almost!
I put up the second solar-powered light at the office this afternoon, so I got to use my new ladder again
And the more I use it, the more I like it. It’s light enough that even extended to its 12 foot height, I can pick it up and move it around with no problems. And it only takes a couple of minutes to set it op and break it down.
Check it out here: OxGord Folding 11.5 foot Extension Ladder
A great deal for only $80.
About 4:45 Jan and I headed up to the Webster area to have dinner at the Outback Steakhouse at Baybrook Mall. We were meeting our son Chris, his wife Linda, our granddaughter Miss Piper and her boyfriend Conner. We were celebrating Chris’ Big Five Oh Birthday, but a day early since Chris has to work tomorrow.
Jan started out with Outback’s version of the Bleu Cheese Wedge Salad,
while I got the House Salad with their Tangy Tomato Dressing.
For the entrée Jan followed her usual pattern by ordering seafood, Grilled Tilapia with Lump Crab Topping, at a steakhouse.
For my part I did stick with their strong suite and actually ordered a steak, an 11oz Center Cut Sirloin, along with the Grilled Asparagus.
It’s been over a year since we’ve eaten at an Outback, actually last April in Palmdale, CA, where we were staying at the Soledad Canyon Thousand Trails Park north of Los Angeles for a week.
For many years Outback was our go-to place for steaks, but over the years it’s been somewhat displaced by Longhorn, Saltgrass, and to a lesser extend, Texas Roadhouse. But Outback is always good.
I’m mentioned before that Jan and I met the summer of 1967 when we were both working at Florida Wonderland, an amusement park in Titusville, FL.
While Jan was one of the saloon girls at the Miss Kitty’s Soft Drink Saloon,
I was doing the animal acts at the Marine Life attraction across the street. I took care of all the animals and gave the tours to the visitors.
I discovered recently that there is a Facebook group about Florida Wonderland. And browsing through there last week I came across this photo.
That’s Lori on the left and Thor, the bigger one on the right, the two porpoises we had there. What’s unusual about this photo is that we didn’t put them together too often because Thor, the male, just would not leave Lori alone. And then when we did put them together it was hard to get them back in their own enclosures.
Lori was the most teachable and I spent a lot of time swimming in her pool teaching her new tricks. And seeing that photo really brings back memories.
May 18, 2020
A Bad Reaction . . .
Yesterday while we were at WalMart, Jan decided to get the second shot in the two shot pneumonia series. Bad Move.
Though she didn’t have any problems with the first shot a year ago, about 7:30 lst night she fell asleep on the sofa and then about 8:30 woke up with a terrible pain in her left arm, so bad that she said it was numb and she couldn’t move it.
Heart Attack, right!
Well, I immediately gave her 4 baby aspirin and then started checking her for symptoms. But she didn’t really have any.
No sweating, no chills, no nausea, no heartburn. I thought about getting out my blood pressure cuff and checking each arm, but then remembered my new Pulse Oximeter.
Putting it on the right hand, I got 70 bpm and 98% Oxygen. So no rapid heart rate. Then putting it on her left arm, I got 70 bpm and 97%.
OK, so no real heart attack symptoms. Sigh of relief.
Then about this time Jan mentioned that this was the site of her pneumonia shot, and that it was hot and swollen. And going online, this problem is one of many side effects of the pneumonia shot.
She had a rough night on the sofa, but felt a little better this morning. But to help things along, I dug out some Tramadol tablets that I took last year for my sciatica and gave her one. And about 30 minutes later she was feeling much better. She took one more about 2:30, and didn’t need another one.
Just another reason I don’t like/get shots like this.
But she’s just about back to normal now.
Dodged a bullet.
Tomorrow I think we’re going to have dinner at Saltgrass for steak once again. Really looking forward to it.
May 18, 2021
No Sun, or Sunflowers . . .
After it rained heavily all morning, it was finally clear when we left the rig a little after noon, heading for Galveston and the Sunflower Café. We were meeting up with long-time friends, Peri and Jim Dean to have lunch there again.
We’ve known Jim and Peri since we first met them in Las Vegas in, I think, 2013, and we always get together whenever we’re close. And the last time was back around the first part of last December, also at Sunflower Café.
But Sunflower Café wasn’t in the cards for us today, as when we got there about 12:45 this afternoon, they were locked up tight, with no notice or announcement. So we decided to adjourn to the Mosquito Café right up the block, so I put in a call to Jim to give him the change of plans.
We’ve wanted to eat there for a while and this seemed like a good chance, but this wasn’t to be either. They were very crowded, probably because Sunflower was closed, and there seemed to be a long wait for tables. So changing plans again, we moved the whole operation a couple of blocks up the street to the Original Mexican Café, where we were seated immediately.
The Original Mexican Café is the longest continually operating restaurant on Galveston Island still at its original location, and that’s since 1916.
And although we’ve eaten here a lot over the years, the last time was in December 2017, when Jan was very unhappy with her meal. So we haven’t been back.
Needless to say, Jan can hold a grudge.
And it looks like they’ve redeemed themselves in Jan’s eyes, since she said that her Chile Relleno was very good.
So I guess they’re back on her Nice list again.
Jim and I both had the Original Platter with a little bit of everything on two plates.
Apparently Jim and I both thought it was really good since we pretty much cleaned our plates.
I don’t remember what Peri had, but I assume she liked it as well, since I didn’t hear any complaints.
And as usual when we get together, we sat and talked for almost 4 hours before we headed home, and Jim and Peri went back to their rig at the State Park.
We had a great time and hopefully we’ll be able to do this again soon.
And Thursday we get to do the whole friends-get-together thing again, with Ed and Debi Hurlburt, and Janice and Dave Evans, this time up in Huntsville at the Farmhouse Café there.
Supposed to be really good, so we’re looking forward to it.
May 18, 2022
Saltgrass Again . . .
I spent most of today at work finishing up a few small problems with the new Shipping computer, mostly things that weren’t where they were supposed to be. Looks like all I’ve got to do now is the get the UPS remote station working right.
Tomorrow we’ve got another Saltgrass/Alvin Opry get-together. We just ate there two months ago, but it was so good that everyone wanted to go back.
