First up, we’ve had a number of questions recently about two different things.
1. Are we still traveling in the RV?
and
2. Did I ever get the oil leak fixed?
Well, actually these two are related.
Here’s how I recently answered these questions for long-time friend, Leroy Willis.
Our last full travel year was 2017, and the last time we traveled at all in the coach was 2020. I had finally decided that the only way to fix the leak was to have the entire oil cooler assembly replaced. Not something I could do, since the rig needs to be on a lift for that, which figured to run about $3K. At the same time, it was also, age-wise, time to replace the tires, which would run about another $3-4K.
But then while I was getting all this set up to do, getting the rig towed, looking at tires, etc., Jan revealed that she really wasn’t comfortable traveling in the rig anymore, and hadn’t been since our big blowout in 2015.
So between that, and the fact that the rig was now 20+ years old, we decided to hang up the keys, and just consider the rig a Park(ed) Model.
So we still live in it, and will for the foreseeable future. Now we just travel by plane, car, and maybe another cruise in the future.
So if you have any more questions, let us know.
By now probably most of you have seen the myriad of ads/commercials for Temu, showing all the cheap stuff they have.
I didn’t install the app just on general principles, like it’s pretty much owned by the Communist Chinese government.
And it seems to be a big security risk as well.
Check out what Tech Guru Kim Komando has to say about it.
From the article:
What you need to know before using Temu
First, you’re buying goods directly from manufacturers in China and other parts of the world. That’s why shipping times are often much longer than on sites like Amazon. You might get your stuff in a week, but it could be more like 12 days.
For the most part, the prices are low because the goods are cheap. The pictures of what you see advertised may not be what you actually get.
Temu collects, among other things:
- The info you provide, like your name, address, and phone number.
- Details you enter, like your birthday, photo, and social media profiles.
- Your phone or computer’s operating system and version, IP address, GPS location (if you allowed it), and browsing data.
They also gather more about you from third party sources, including Temu sellers, public records, social media, data brokers, credit bureaus, and marketing partners.
Let’s be safe out there.
Today was our monthly get-together with our Alvin Opry group of friends, this time at the Texas Roadhouse up in Webster.
They were really busy, but we were seated as soon as all seven us arrived. And our orders came out really quickly too.
Starting with a really good salad,
and then moving on to Jan’s Sirloin and Grilled Veggies.
And of course, my usual Ribeye, along with the Green Beans.
All really good. And though my Ribeye wasn’t as tender as the ones I get from Saltgrass, it was noticeably cheaper, and even better, it tasted delicious.
Because of the long table we were at, I had to get two photos to get everyone in.
First up, Bob and Maria
We’ve known them since the mid-80’s.
And here’s the rest of the group.
From left to right: Jan, Connie, Harry, and Sadye. We’ve known all of them since the late 90’s. And Harry and Sadye are celebrating their 67th Anniversary this coming August.
WOW!
With Jan and I coming up on 56 in September, we’re lagging behind.
Thought For The Day:
You ever notice how quickly things can go to hell, and you haven’t even got the first duck lined up in your row?
And Now On To Today’s Retro-Blogs.™
June 15, 2009
The Lady & Sons…
Today we made a pilgrimage to Savannah’s holiest of holies, Paula Deen’s “The Lady and Sons” restaurant.
But it’s a two-part pilgrimage.
You can’t just show up and expect to get a table. And you can’t make a phone reservation unless you have a party of ten or more.
So, starting at 9:30 am you show up at the restaurant and get your name on the list. If you’re lucky.
Lunch is from 11 am to 3 pm. Dinner is from 5 pm to 10 pm.
We got there a little after 10 am and were not able to get a lunch time until 2:30 pm. If we wanted dinner, it would not be until 7:30 pm.
We picked lunch at 2:30. Since lunch was only served until 3 we were lucky we didn’t get there a few minutes later. And when we came back at 2:30 the earliest dinner opening was 9:30 pm.
Since we had about 4 hours to kill before returning for lunch, we headed over to a Babies R Us to pick up some baby gifts for our new great-niece and the soon-to-arrive baby of a friend.
After that it was to WalMart for our weekly ‘stuff’ acquisition trip. Then we drove around thru some of the neighborhoods before heading down the Interstate to the local Camping World.
By now it was time to head back to downtown Savannah and Paula’s. Her restaurant is a 3 story building that once housed the old White Hardware Company. It’s located about two blocks from the Savannah waterfront.
The Lady and Sons Dining Room
At lunch, you have your choice of ordering off the menu, or partaking of the lunch buffet.
Needless to say, we picked the buffet. And it was a great choice.
Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, rice, cheese grits, sweet potatoes, collard greens, etc.
And great desserts.
It was all we could do to still walk when it was time to leave, but of course we had to leave thru the Paula Deen Gift Show.
And after that meal it was back to the coach for a nap.
June 15, 2011
Croissants and BBQ . . .
This morning started with our usual coffee and a good surprise.
Jan found another package of the Williams-Sonoma Croissants in the back of the freezer.
This is my blog post from December:
And to go with it, we had one of the gifts we got from Brandi and Lowell, a box of Williams-Sonoma Croissants.
These croissants are fantastic, so good, in fact, that they’re on the list of Oprah’s Favorites.
They come out looking like this, but they start as little frozen logs. There were two types in our box, plain and chocolate-filled. And both are delicious.
They’re shipped overnight, frozen in a Styrofoam container. You let them thaw out and rise for 9 hours and then pop them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, or 13 minutes in our convection oven.
They come out crispy, flakey, and fantastic.
MMM! MMM! Good!
About 1:30 pm we heading out up to Bend for lunch and some shopping. On the way we dropped a package in the mail to our grandson Landon, and then it was on to Baldy’s BBQ. It was highly recommended by both locals and online, and we had to give it a try.
I mean, you’ve got to love a BBQ place that uses this logo,
and is owned by guy with my hairline. What more can I say?
I had a Combo plate with Pulled Pork, BBQ Chicken, and Beef Brisket with a delicious salad. I order the beans extra because I’d heard how good they were. This is a lot of food for $10.50.
Jan had the full rack of ribs with Cole slaw, beans, spicy potato salad, and honey-jalapeno cornbread.
This was really good BBQ, with the sides to match. We’ll definitely go back again before we leave.
Leaving Baldy’s we headed over to Lowe’s to pick up some cleaning stuff, and then it was on to Fred Meyer’s for some groceries.
Leaving Fred’s we stopped for a Cinnamon Dolce Latte at the Starbuck’s next door before heading home.
And on the way home we made a happy discovery, a Boston’s Pizza, our favorite pizza chain. We’ve eaten at Boston’s from Fairbanks, AK, to Jacksonville, FL, to Rapid City, SD, to Moncton, NB, Canada, and it’s always been great.
We’re thinking about doing a movie tomorrow, and hopefully we’ll eat at Boston’s afterwards.
Coming home I stopped at the park store and signed up for the honey wagon to come by tomorrow morning and dump our tanks. We could make it till Tuesday when we leave, but Jan really wants to do some laundry, so this will take care of that.
June 15, 2013
Cows and Goats . . .
Since we wanted to have breakfast this morning before we left for Nampa, we got all ready to go, and then about 8:55 walked over to the restaurant.
And the breakfast turned out to be as good as last night’s dinner. This is the #1 Combo that I had. Not a bad deal for $6.95. And all really good.
We had the same waitress as we had last night and were talking to her about her cow encounter. She said there was even more to the story.
After she hit the 6 cows, she called 911 and reported the accident. When the 911 operator asked if she needed an ambulance, she said ‘No”. But they sent one away. And the 911 operator forgot to tell the ambulance driver about the cows.
Oops!
The ambulance took out 3 more cows. If you keeping score, we’re up to 9 dead cows now.
Then the police showed up at the scene of the accident.
Oops. They weren’t told about the cows either.
So now we’re up to 11 dead cows. About this time our waitress was picked up by her husband and left the scene. But she said more cows were hit during the night. Apparently the herd of over 200 wandered back and forth over the highway all night.
The next morning they were using forklifts to clean up the highway. Yuck!
“This is Oregon?”
We headed out from The Narrows RV Park about 9:50, but we considered it as 10:50 because about 70 miles down the road we’ll enter the Mountain Time Zone, so it’s easier to just think that way from the start.
About 25 miles after we left the park, we hooked back up with US20 and headed east for Nampa, ID about 170 miles away. But we quickly began to wonder if we were still in Oregon.
It looked more like what we’ve seen in Wyoming or Montana. Long sweeping vistas with wide valleys, steep climbs, and curvy roads following the Malheur River that runs along side the highway.
And it made for some really nice photos.
A really beautiful trip. And even better, considering all the curves, no cat barf.
About 40 miles out of Nampa, we got on I-84E, and by about 3pm we were parked and getting set up.
A little after 4pm we were out driving around, thinking about what we wanted for dinner. Then we passed a Texas Roadhouse, and that made the decision for us. Texas Roadhouse it was.
Jan had the 12 oz. Sirloin Strip and I had my usual 16 oz. Ribeye. And both really good.
Getting home about 5:30 we found we had some new neighbors right next door. We seen RV’ers traveling with cats, dogs, turtles, lizards, parrots, cockatoos, and even ferrets and monkeys.
But goats?
Meet (from left to right, Bonnie, Goldie, and hiding out in back, Clyde.
Their owner says that they’re Nubian goats.
And to Jan’s relief, they’re dairy goats, and pets, and not pre-cabrito.
Tomorrow we got a trip of about 180 miles to Declo, ID and the Village of Trees RV Resort.
Hopefully we’ll have as nice a trip as we did today.
June 15, 2014
Skyping and Cookies . . .
On what might be our last nice morning for a few days before the rainy weather sets in, we sat outside with our coffee, muffins, and Mister for a while.
Brandi called about 11 to wish me a Happy Father’s Day, and set up a time for us to Skype, so after a nice lazy afternoon, we Skyped with Landon, Brandi, and Lowell for a while about 4:30. Landon was mostly occupied with playing in the backyard,
especially on his water slide.
He’s growing so big so fast that we can’t wait to see him in August for his 4th birthday. Really looking forward to it.
About 1pm our son Chris called with Father’s Day greetings and broke the news that he’s got a new toy.
He said all he needs now is a bandana and a pony tail. Not sure what make bike it is because the photo’s not that clear, but it kind of looks like a Yamaha logo.
For dinner tonight, we combined leftovers from Famous Dave’s BBQ, Wings Etc., South Side Soda Shop, and Mancino’s Pizza. A real feast, and we’ve still got some Mancino’s pizza and cheesy bread for tomorrow night.
Then we’ll have to start eating out again so we can stock up on more leftovers.
MMMM MMMM GOOD!
June 15, 2016
A Well-Fed Anaconda . . .
About 2pm, Jan and I headed back down to the Asian BBQ & Grill for lunch, but more of a business lunch. I mean we still had their delicious Vermicelli Bowls, Jan’s with Lemon Grass Chicken and mine with Grilled Pork and Shrimp,
but I’ve been talking to the owner about setting him up a website for his restaurant. I showed him how his two nearby direct competitors, China Delight and East Buffet, both have websites, and how the other restaurants in his area also had websites.
Then I showed him samples of some of the other websites I’d done for clients, which he liked. He does seem interested, but wants to talk with his wife when she gets back to town next week.
I told him we’ll be moving back to Columbus on Sunday and then would be back here in two weeks, but to give me a call in the meantime. He knows we’re RV’ers and are moving back and forth so that’s not a problem.
After we got home, I put the last panels and screws back in the microwave and then Jan finally got to finish cooking her Sopapilla Cheesecake in the convection oven that she’d prepared last week and then never got to cook.
It smelled great as it as cooking, and later tasted even better when it cooled. And, even better, the oven worked perfectly.
Sometime before we leave on Sunday I’m going to have to get back up on the roof and finish the AC evaporator coil cleaning. But with the forecast temps in the 97-98 degree range for the rest of the week, I’m not too enthusiastic about the whole thing. But I do at least need to get back up there and fasten the shroud down, because I don’t want to lose another one.
In 2008, a few weeks after we hit the road for the first time, we were traveling through the dunes between Yuma and San Diego, and a passing truck driver kept pointing to our roof. So I pulled over and took a look.
Even without getting up on the roof, I could see the the rear AC shroud was completely gone. Figuring there was no use in going back to look for pieces, and hoping it hadn’t hit anyone, and since not one was chasing me, we kept on going.
It was about a week later we were parked at the Moose Lodge in Escondido CA and I finally found a Camping World that had two in stock.
I needed two because when I got up on the roof, it was easy to see what happened. The fiberglass/plastic? of the shroud was so deteriorated by the sun that it was brittle and cracking all over. In fact the shroud had just broken away from the screws leaving small pieces of the plastic underneath the heads. And the front shroud wasn’t far behind. So they both got replaced.
At the time they were replaced, the old ones were 9 years old, so the new ones are now 8 years old. But happily they show no signs of deterioration at all.
So it looks like they’re good for a while longer.
My new Zero G hose is still working fine. Of course it’s only been one day, so it’s not much of a test. I noticed my shower last night had a kind of ‘new plastic’ smell, but it seems to have been gone today.
At least I shouldn’t get any more kinks that start swelling up like balloons.
There were 3 kinks like this, and if the water pressure was high, the hose looked kinda like a well-fed anaconda.
June 15, 2017
. . . We’re Not In Kansas Anymore . . .
After an easy morning, we pulled out of the I-80 Lakeside RV about 10:15, leaving our lake view site behind.
In about 10 minutes we were back out on I-135 south heading for Bartlesville, OK, about 230 miles away. 80 miles later, just south of Wichita, we got on the I-35 Kansas Turnpike for the last 40 miles before the Oklahoma border.
40 miles for $4.75. Not bad.
And 20 miles later we got off I-35 and onto US60 east for the next 80 miles or so. Then about 10 miles out of Pawhuska we passed the entrance gate to the Drummond Ranch.
Doing a little reading later, I was amazed how large the ranch actually is. At 433,000 acres, the Drummonds are the 17th largest landowners in the US.
WOW! That’s Texas big.
In fact, the Drummond Ranch and The Mercantile, home to Ree Drummond, the Pioneer Woman, is the reason we’re here in the first place. This has been on Jan’s bucket list for a while
Coming though Pawhuska a little after 2pm, we passed the place, and as we had been told, saw the line around the block waiting to get in. According to the web, they serve about 6,000 customers a day, with peaks up to 15,000. All this in a town of only 3,500 people.
We pulled into the Lakeside Recreation Park a little after 3pm and were led to our pull-thru site and got set up.
We had planned to go back to Pawhuska for dinner at The Mercantile, but then decided we wanted something closer and quicker, so we headed right down the road to have dinner at Montana Mike’s Steakhouse. And it turned out to be a really good choice. Great steaks, homemade salad dressings and rolls, and excellent service.
As we were pulling into the restaurant parking lot, we were surprised to see this sign on a restaurant right next door.
Monterey’s Little Mexico is one of our favorite places in the Houston area, and we always thought of it as a Houston chain. And it is, except for 3 locations in OK, 2 in Tulsa, and this one in Bartlesville. Don’t know if we’ll get to eat there while we’re here.
The only downside to this park, is that just like last night’s park, I can’t get a satellite signal. But they have a good cable TV lineup, so I’m hooked up to that.
I think I may have set a new record. Somehow I managed to use 1GB of data on my MiFi . . . without being online.
I received an email from Verizon at 6:26am yesterday morning saying that I had 1GB left on my MiFi account. And then at 4:29pm, I received another email from them saying that I had now used all my 10GB of data . . . so 1GB in only 10 hours.
The real mystery is that I wasn’t online during this time, or at least, hardly any of it. We were on the road almost all day, traveling the 330 miles from North Platte, NE to Assaria, KS.
So who was using all my data?
June 15, 2018
Guess We’ll Have To Get Netflix Now . . .
I spent the morning at work mostly doing hardware stuff for a change. Wish I got to do more of it.
A customer had sent her Proteus Machine in to have the probe output connectors from the old pin type to BNC connectors, since pretty much all the probes are now fitted with BNC’s.
I’ve done one of these before, and it’s a pain in the rear, but it’s fun because it’s a challenge.
Getting the old coaxes unsoldered and the connecters out is not really the problem.
And neither was drilling out the holes so the larger BNC’s will fit. Any time I drill in a populated chassis like this, I back up the hole with a wad of wet paper towel to catch any metal chips that might cause problems later.
No, the real problem is getting my hand holding the solder, my hand holding the hot soldering iron, and my hand holding the flashlight all into the tight confines of the case.
Oh, wait. I think I see the problem.
Because of the bends in this one piece sheet metal cabinet there is just not a lot of room, even after I pull out the circuit board from its socket. But after a lot of tries I finally got it done, put back together, and tested to be sure it was OK. It’ll go out on Monday.
Later heading home, I called ahead to tell Jan to get ready and we’d go out for breakfast at Denny’s. After that we made a quick WalMart stop to pick up another storage bin for our storage room project, and then it was home.
Back home I went back outside for a few more chores. First up was to crawl under the rig and spray my Power Gear levelers with silicone oil.
I do this once or twice a year and so far I’ve never had a problem. Knock on wood.
Next up I took down my La Crosse Weather Station’s anemometer that ‘s mounted on a pole at the rear of the coach. Then the last thing was to dump our black and gray tanks.
Tomorrow were going over to our son Chris’ to unload the pickup bed and then load up the furniture we’re taking to Illinois next week. And hopefully lunch will be scheduled in here somewhere.
I just read this evening that one of our favorite shows, the recently-cancelled Lucifer, has been picked up by Netflix Streaming today, and apparently at the last moment. After today, the options for the actors and actresses would have expired and all contracts would have had to be renegotiated. Which probably would have killed any deal.
So I guess we’ll have to get Netflix now.
June 15, 2019
I’m Pooped, But It’s Done . . .
After leisurely coffee, I went outside about 11:30 to tackle my Dodge Dakota’s front brake pad replacement.
Like most projects, prep work is key, and sometimes takes longer than the actual project.
I knew my floor jack wasn’t going to go high enough to lift the truck so I borrowed a concrete block from the trash pile across from the dumpster to lift things up a bit.
Then after putting the jack stand in place to hold things up in case the floor jack failed, and with the tire off, I was able to get to the caliper/pad assembly.
And removing two bolts and a little prying with a big screwdriver to push the calipers back in a little, I was able to slide the assembly off and lay it up on top of the housing. You don’t want to let it hang loose.
Then the pads themselves just pop right out. I then took a close look at the rotor surface and it looked fine. No grooves, scratches, or raised edges.
I normally replace the rotors every other time I replace the pads, and they were changed out last time so I was expecting them to still be in good shape.
Next up I used one of the old pads and a caliper spreader to push them back in completely flush with the housing so they will fit over the new, now thicker, pads.
Normally I would just use a big C clamp, but I couldn’t find mine, and when I went to buy a new one, I found the spreader was actually cheaper than a big clamp.
I then replaced the silver pad retaining clips with the new ones that came with the pads.
And here’s what it looked like with the pads in place on the clips.
Finally I put Anti-Seize lube on everything that isn’t suppose to seize, and then it was just a matter of sliding the caliper assembly back on the rotor, installing the two bolts, and tightening them down.
And I was done.
With the easy part.
Next comes the hardest part, at least for me. And that’s to lift the 80# wheel/tire combo and get it up on the lugs.
But with a lot of fussing, cussing, and tussling, I got it in place, and tightened down. Then after removing the jack stand, and lowering the truck, I did a final tightening of the lug nuts.
And I was done.
With the driver’s side.
And since it was getting hot now, I decided to wait until about 5pm to do the passenger side since it would be in the shade by them.
Then by around 6:30, I was done, had done a test drive, and was in a hot shower, after taking some Advil.
So that’s how I spent my Saturday.
How did you spend yours?
June 15, 2021
Cousin Margie and Big Bob . . .
This morning, our second here in Athens, started with a visit to the WalMart right down the street. Then we spent the next several hours just driving around Athens checking out all the changes, and the places we lived.
This is the house my parents bought after we moved back from Colombia, SA in 1963. It was brand-new when they bought it and still looked good when we took this photo in July 2018. Looked really good for a 55+ year old house.
However when we drove by today, though it still looked good, there was a construction dumpster in the driveway, and all the shrubbery and trees had been taken down and were laying in the yard.
There was a woman walking across the yard and I stopped and asked her about it, telling her my parents used to own it. She said that she and her husband had just bought it about 3 weeks ago and were completely redoing it.
Besides the landscaping, she said it was gutted down to the studs inside. Glad to see it being treated right.
Next up was the duplex Jan and I rented back in 1969 before I went to work as a DOD contractor, and we started traveling around the country to different military bases.
Also still looks good, though the tree wasn’t there when we were.
As we drove around some more, I was looking for all the places around town that I helped build. I spent two summers working for a heating, AC, and plumbing company, including a big shopping center. But the only one that I can find that’s still around is now called Ro’s Grille.
Still in business, still busy, and looking good.
While we were out and about, we also drove by what is probably the most famous house in Athens, AL.
Needless to say we always called it The Parthenon House.
Designed by famous architect Paul Rudolph, it was on the cover of Life magazine, and featured in a number of other magazines. And I dated the girl who lived here for a while before I went off to college.
It was nice to see that a lot of the shrubs that were obstructing the view of the house have been cleared away since the last time we were here.
About 12:30 we showed up at my cousin Margie’s house to take her to lunch. Margie is my mother’s first cousin, making her my first cousin, once removed. At least that’s what the Internet says.
Margie is a very spry 92 and still going strong.
Our lunch destination was Big Bob Gibson’s BBQ down in Decatur. Listed on pretty much everyone’s Top Ten BBQ restaurants in the country, one entire wall inside is covered with trophies, medals, and blue ribbons highlighting their contest wins.
And it’s always on our menu when we’re in the area, too.
While Jan and Margie got sandwiches and fries, I got the Little Bob Sampler Platter with Pulled Pork and Sliced Brisket.
Makes you wonder how big the Big Bob Platter would be.
Really, really, really good.
Besides their BBQ, Gibson’s is also very well known for their great homemade pies. While Jan and Margie split a piece of their Chocolate Meringue Pie, I got my usual Peanut Butter Pie.
Really, really, really, really good.
We spent a good while just sitting and talking after we finishing eating, so long that our waitress asked me if I would mind going ahead and paying the check since she was going off-shift and wanted to cash out. No problem, and we talked for a while longer before taking Margie back to her house.
Where we talked for a while longer. Hey, it’s been awhile since we’ve seen her and we had a lot of catching up to do.
It seems Jan can collect new flamingos for her flamboyance even while we’re traveling. She found these two on Facebook, and they may be waiting for her when we get home.
The tall is 32” high, so they’re not small.
Tomorrow we’re heading down to Birmingham for one night to catch up with old friends Bill and Carol Alverson. Bill and I worked together at TV and radio stations in Birmingham in the mid 70’s.
It will be good to see them again.
June 15, 2022
Back To Texas . . .
The biggest Buc-ee’s is coming back to Texas. Where it belongs.
Up until recently, at 68,000 sq. ft., the biggest Buc-ee’s in the world, was the one in New Braunfels, TX. But then the new one in Sevierville, TN surpassed it by about 6,000 sq. ft.
But now that honor is coming back home.
To Luling, TX.
But wait. There’s already a big Buc-ee’s in Luling, right?
Well, yeah. But now there’s going to be two. At least for a while.
Rather than close down the existing one to build the new one, or even try to remodel the old one while staying open, they’re actually going to build a completely new, bigger one right next door to the old one, and then just switch over.
Then I guess they’re just going to tear down the old one. But they don’t say.
But as busy as all of them are, maybe they’ll just keep both of them open.
Jan and I really enjoyed having the two ice makers in the condo, so we decided to break down and order one of those tabletop models, in this case, one that came highly recommended by our friend, Debi Hurlburt.
Should be here Friday.
And speaking of Debi, tomorrow Jan and I are heading up to The Woodland area to meet up with Debi and Ed for our monthly lunch get-together at the Pappasito’s there.
Can’t Wait.
