Daily Archives: March 16, 2024
Bob, the bobbed Cat . . .
Since it was another long day with the family, just a couple of teaser photos until we get home and I can catch up with all our goings-on.
Linda didn’t like the bare ground area where the pool was before they took it down for the winter, so Chris made her a golf course hole.
He says it’s a Par 3, but it looks more like a Par 4 to me. But then what do I know, since I don’t play golf.
This is Bob the Cat.
Bob, called that because some thing or someone chewed off most of his tail, likes to think of himself as a free-spirit, living outside and roaming the area around the house. But gradually over the years, he’s discovered the warmth of the inside in cold weather, and more importantly, the comfy chair.
His needs have changed. But he’ll still try to tell you he’s a free-spirit.
Normally we’d finish up our last day together tomorrow with breakfast before everyone headed home. But due to a family emergency, Chris and Linda are leaving early tomorrow morning for New Mexico.
So it will just be Jan and I, and Brandi, Lowell, and Landon having breakfast here in Marble Falls at the famed Bluebonnet Café before we head out.
Thought For The Day:
YUM!
And Now On To Today’s Retro-Blogs.™
March 16, 2009
Rainy Day Monday, too…
Rain and more rain. But supposedly much better tomorrow.
We’ll see.
Jan and I didn’t do much of anything today. Just sat around the coach, watch the rain, read, watched the rain, watched satellite TV, watched the rain screw up the satellite TV, and so on, and so on…
We decided to go back to Lulu’s for supper again, since we may have to move on tomorrow if there are no vacancies here.
Tomorrow night we may be somewhere around Port St. Joe, FL. We’ll see.
Anyway, back to Lulu’s. Jan had the Shrimp & Oyster Basket that I had last time. I just had a sandwich because I was trying to save room for a piece of their Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding with Vanilla Pecan Sauce.
I wish I had just had the Bread Pudding because I was already pretty full when it came. This meant I was too full to eat it all by myself, so I had to ‘force’ Jan to eat more than the one spoonful she had asked for.
Maybe ‘forced’ isn’t quite the right word. It was more like ‘dueling spoons’ there for a while.
I asked Jan if she thought anyone would mind if I licked the plate? She just gave me “The Look”. All you married guys know what “The Look” is, right?
BTW, I have a bone to pick… or rather a nut to pick with Paula Deen. About nuts. Pecans actually.
On her show today, she and some other lady were making cinnamon rolls with pecans. She was saying “P-Cans”.
She asked the other lady how she said it, and that lady also said it ‘P-Cans”.
Then Paula uttered blasphemy.
She said “If you say ‘P-cahns’ instead of “P-Cans”, you’re just not from the South.
Well excuuuussssseee meee!
I was born and raised in Alabama and we said “P-cahns”. ‘P-Cans’ was what those damned yankees, damned carpetbaggers, damned people from up north said.
So here’s a poll. How do you pronounce it?
How do you say ‘Pecans’
More tomorrow, depending on where we are…
and who votes my way in the poll…
March 16, 2010
London Bridge and cat barf…
We left Yuma about 9:30am heading on a two day trip to Las Vegas.
One place we were interested in seeing was Quartzsite, AZ, a place we’d heard about for years. Quartzsite is kind of a mecca for RV’ers who like to dry camp out in the desert. The area is surrounded by BLM land where people can park for free. Every January Quartzsite is flooded with RV’s as the place becomes one big RV flea market.
We took the scenic route which gave us some amazing views, but the many roller coaster dips as we drove over the washes made Jan’s cat, Emma, carsick. Emma proceeded to barf all over the carpet.
A little after noon we arrived in Lake Havasu City, home of the London Bridge.
We parked our rig at a local Elks club, unhitched our truck, and drove over to see the Bridge.
Robert McCulloch, of McCulloch Chain Saw fame bought the bridge from the City of London in 1967 as a tourist attraction for the retirement community he was building in the area.
Originally built in 1831, the bridge, out-dated for modern traffic, was dismantled, numbered, and shipped to America. It was then reassembled around a stronger concrete core, and opened in 1971.
It was actually built on dry land and then the channel was dredged out under it, making the river.
Remains of the numbers can still be seen today.
Now a large marina lies next to the bridge.
After stopping off for ice cream at Dairy Queen, we hitched up and hit the road again.
We pulled into Laughlin NV around 5pm and got parked in the River Palms Casino RV Park that overlooks the city and the casinos. It’s quite a view at night.
Later we headed over to the River Palms Casino to partake of the 2 for 1 Prime Rib Buffet. That’s $5.40 per person, and it was really good!
Of course, Jan immediately lost $20 in the slots, so they made their money back, which I think was the idea.
Tomorrow we head to Las Vegas.
March 16, 2011
I Like Naps . . .
I got up about 9:30 just in time to move over to a new site. We had already arranged it with the office that we would move into that 50amp site as soon as they left, but they said to move into it or block it off as soon as it was empty since sometimes regulars park first before coming to the office to register. So as soon as the 5’er pulled out I pulled my truck into the site.
After having coffee and taking our time, we finally moved the rig about 12 noon. ending up 3 spaces away in site 404. I then went down to the office to get my parking sheet changed to my new site number, and let them know my old site was available
After I got parked and set up, I pulled my extension ladder from the truck and used it to move my solar screens to the outside of the windshield from the inside. The front of the rig points directly west into the afternoon sun and the A/C is hard-pressed to keep up with the load.
After moving the screens, it’s quickly obvious that this has made a big difference in the heat coming into the rig. It also helps that we can run both A/C’s on 50amps.
After all that work, it seemed like a good time for a short nap.
I like naps.
A little after 5 we headed over to Voyager RV Resort to have dinner with our good friends, Al & Adrienne. We first met them in 2008 while we were in Fairbanks, Alaska. They were working for the cruise line, Holland America, and Jan and I were workkamping at Chena Marina RV Park.
We quickly became fast friends and get together whenever we can. Last year we saw them twice, once in February 2010 here in Tucson when we came thru, and then again in May in Westport, WA where they were workkamping for the summer.
When we came thru Tucson a few weeks ago, they were on a RV caravan trip down thru Baja, Mexico, so we were happy that our travels brought us back this way. And hopefully we’ll be able to see them again this summer in Cody, WY when we’re up that way.
After a delicious steak dinner prepared by Al & Adrienne, and a lot of great conversation and reminiscing, we headed home a little before 9, after a busy day. We agreed that we’ll plan on getting together a couple of more times before we leave.
March 16, 2012
Croissants and Checklists . . .
This morning started out on a good note. I woke up with no foot pain. I don’t know if it had anything to do with the fact that I used
my Dr. Scholl’s Heated Foot Spa twice yesterday or not, but something worked.
And even after the foot baths, my foot was still very tender when I went to bed last night, so I was surprised to find the pain completely gone this morning.
But hey, I’m not going to argue about it.
And our day just continued to get better. Jan had set out a bunch of the Galaxy Gourmet Croissants to rise last night. Our daughter Brandi gave us a box of these for Christmas and they’re delicious.
They come as frozen solid little bricks about the size of a pack of cigarettes. but after rising overnight and popped in the oven for about 20 minutes, they come out hot, buttery, flakey and fantastic. And they come in two types, plain and chocolate-filled.
Along with coffee and croissants, we watched a number of episodes of The Big Bang Theory that we had on our DVR.
After a very enjoyable couple of hours, I worked outside, catching up on some of the chores I’d been putting off due to my foot problems.
Our friends Al and Adrienne called about 3pm to set up dinner for tomorrow night, and we’re really looking forward to seeing them again. Afterward, it was starting to get hot outside in the sun, so I came in and took a nap.
About 5pm we all headed out for dinner. On the way, our daughter Brandi called to pass on Landon’s latest feat of brilliance. She said he was eating something in a plastic bowl, and when he finished, she saw him pick up the bowl and head into the kitchen. Hearing a ‘clank’, she went into the kitchen and found that he had tossed the bowl up over his head and into the sink. She figured he had watched her put dishes in the sink and he was just helping out.
He’s about 18 months old. Better not give him anything made of glass, though.
Our first stop was Bookman’s, a great used book store. But not just books, they also have used musical instruments, used video games, and more. It’s a great place to browse.
Leaving Bookman’s, our next stop was Poco & Mom’s, our favorite local Mexican place. They do a great job with the New Mexico Hatch Green Chilies on their enchiladas, and a really good Chile Relleno. We always make sure we eat here several times when we’re in Tucson.
On our way home we stopped off at a Quik Mart, and I bought some MegaMillions lottery tickets. There’s a drawing for over $200 million tonight, and although I’m probably not going to win, I certainly won’t win without a ticket.
Wrapping things up tonight I want to pass on a neat new free Android app called RV Checklist.
Done by the people at RV Adventure Treks, it comes with several different sample checklists.
You just touch each red square and it checks it off for you. When all items are checked off, the app tells you you’re done.
But the really neat part is that you can modify their checklists, or even better, upload your own lists.
And did I mention it’s free?
March 16, 2013
Chachi’s!
Today started out for me with some last-minute errands, one of which was still trying to find some tire valve extensions. But everywhere I checked either didn’t have any, or else only had the 15” ones, way too long for what I need. So when I got home, I ordered some from Amazon and had them delivered to our next park in Tucson. Tomorrow morning Jan and I are heading for Tucson for a week or so.
About 4:30 we headed over to Chachi’s, the same place we ate last night. It was that good.
I both the 10oz Sirloin smothered in Queso, while Jan had the combination plate. All delicious.
After dinner, since we need to fill up on diesel tomorrow as we leave Las Cruces, we checked out a couple of truck stops near the park for accessibility.
We’ll see how it goes.
March 16, 2014
If I hear one more sound,
we’re turning around and going home right now!
Early Friday afternoon, a couple with two kids parked their new camper right next door to us. They had two boys, one about 5 and the other one around 9. While the parents were setting up, the kids, yelling and screaming, headed off to the playground.
Gregg McHenry and I helped the guy with his shore power hookup and found out they had only owned the camper since Oct. and this was their first chance to really take it out and spend a few days enjoying Lake Conroe.
But it looks like the weather and close quarters brought that to a screeching halt. It rained Friday night and then pretty much all day Saturday. Later in the afternoon, I went outside to get something out of the truck, and I heard a lot of kid-yelling coming from inside the camper. Then sometime after dark, they suddenly packed up and left.
Sometimes family togetherness is a little too much, especially locked in a 30 foot camper with two kids in the pouring rain.
As far as this morning we headed out for breakfast about 10am, back to the Cracker Barrel right down the Interstate. Although they were very busy, we only had a 10-minute wait. Not too bad.
Jan had her favorite Maine Wild Blueberry Pancakes with a side of ‘glass’ bacon. ‘Glass’ bacon is bacon that’s so well done that if you touch it, it shatters.
I call it ‘burnt’.
I had their Apple & Cinnamon Steel Cut Oatmeal with apples, pecans, raisins, and cranberries. I’ll have it again.
Leaving the CB, we drove over to the Kroger’s Marketplace in Willis to pick up a few things. The ‘Marketplace’ concept is apparently new for this area, but one we’ve seen before. It’s a Fred Meyer’s.
Fred Meyer’s is a grocery store chain located mostly out west and owned by Kroger’s. Jan and I first encountered one in 2008 when we spent 5 months in Fairbanks, AK. We also found them all up and down the west coast.
Besides an extra-large selection of groceries and other items, they also carry furniture, housewares, and even a jewelry department. It’s kind of like a mini-Wal-Mart. A very nice store. Hopefully they’ll open more like it around here.
March 16, 2015
Google Gone . . .
First up, I don’t know if anyone else has had a problem with Google Search, or Google Voice Search on their Android phone or tablet, but a couple of days ago mine quit working. If I did a Voice Search, it would recognize my question, and then display it. It then would beep as normal, but when it came to the point where it should display, or speak the answer, nothing happened. The screen stayed blank. And typing in my search didn’t work either.
I thought it may have been due to the fact that I was half way through the two part upgrade to the new Android OS ‘Lollipop’ or 5.0 on my phone. But I discovered that my Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 tablet, which I had not upgraded, had exactly the same problem. Google Search would just not work.
I did remember that Google had updated on my devices a couple of days ago, and I wondered that might be the problem. So I went into the applications manager on my phone and selecting the Google App Info, clicked on ‘Uninstall Updates’ button. Then I rebooted the phone. This fixed the problem.
Repeating the fix on my tablet also took care of the problem there.
Today I noticed another update from Google, which might have fixed the problem anyway. At least it didn’t cause another one.
* * * * *
After finishing up a couple of other things this morning, I got back on my magnetic shade project. I really liked the idea of the Magne Shade windshield shades, but I didn’t like the $500+ price.
I have a set of the RV Quick Shades that I purchased at a rally a number of years ago, so I wanted to see if I could convert these. The Quick Shades mount inside the windshield and are held in place by suction cups. They work pretty well, but are a pain in the rear to install, especially on the driver’s side. Also, since they’re on the inside, they still let more heat into the coach than if they were on the outside.
Back before we left Houston I ordered a couple of sets of these very strong magnets.
10 Neodymium Magnets 1/2 x 1/4 inch Disc
Today I wanted to do a test run and try adding magnets to one of my Quick Shades They have a fold-over at the top of the shade just the right size to hold the magnets. So I removed the 4 suction cups, and using a long rod, shoved the magnets down inside the fabric, placing them at the position of the removed suction cups.
Then I stood on a step ladder and held the shade against the windshield outside while Jan placed other magnets into position on the inside. Using the step ladder I was only able to reach about halfway up the windshield, but I wanted to see if the shade would hold itself in place. And it did. Later in the afternoon I got my big ladder out of the truck and moved the shade all the way to the top of the windshield.
After it had stayed in place for several hours in the gusty winds, I started converting the other shade (my shades are in two pieces). After pushing the magnets in place, I used Liquid Nails to hold the magnets in position in the tube.
I’ll let it set overnight and see how it works.
* * * * *
A little after 5pm, Jan and I headed over to the Golden Corral on 22nd St for dinner.
And that was about it for today.
March 16, 2017
It’s Awesome . . .
I was up early this morning (well, early for me, anyway) because I wanted to take another shot at washing the rig, after my somewhat failed attempt at Lake Conroe Thousand Trails a couple of weeks ago.
But this time rather than use my pressure washer, I was going to it the old-fashioned way – by hand, with a bucket and a brush.
It was raining when I used the pressure washer, so it wasn’t until the rain stopped and the coach dried that I saw how many areas hadn’t come clean.
The fact that the pressure washer didn’t do a very good job cutting through the grime and gunk just reinforced my dislike of those ‘touchless’ car washes that use only water pressure. They never seem to get the truck as clean as a car wash that uses brushes.
So after I gathered all my brushes and my bucket, I headed over to the office to pay for my $5 Rig Washing Pass. And while I was there, I asked about my charges for our stay here.
We were supposed to get the Escapees ‘Special’ Rate, but after I talked to Sharon del Rosario I figured out that I didn’t get it. Instead of the $20 per night rate I paid the $26 per night Passport America rate.
But happily, when I pointed out the problem, they promptly refunded me the $30.52 difference. Nice!
I started washing the rig by wetting down large areas with the spray nozzle, and then spraying the surface with undiluted Awesome. After letting it soak for a few minutes, I used my long-reach brush and a bucket filled with a water/Awesome mix to scrub down the area until it was shiny clean and then rinse it all off.
After that it was ‘Lather, Rinse, Repeat’ as I worked my way around the rig. I was rewarding to see how much dirt came off the rig as I scrubbed it down.
Awesome is awesome.
And tomorrow I’m going to do it all over again. Although the rig now looks pretty good, tomorrow I’ll use Zip Wash N Wax to give it some more shine.
About 2:30 Jan and I drove to the other side of the park to visit Don and Sharon del Rosario at their lot here at Cochise Terrace. They have their Tiffin Phaeton parked there as well as a nice casita on the lot. A very nice setup.
While we were visiting Don and Sharon, we mentioned that we were going to have dinner at Wild Dogs, a local hot dog place that came well recommended. So we were disappointed to find out from Sharon that it was closed today for some kind of special occasion.
They mentioned Adolfo’s, another local Mexican place, but we decided to try another recommended place, the Horseshoe Café and Bakery. The only caveat was to get there early.
So we got there a little before 4pm and it’s good we did, since by 4:30 the place had started to fill up.
Looking over the large menu we both focused on their hot dog selection. Looks like we were going to get our hot dog fix after all.
As my side, I started off with a cup of their very good Chipotle Ham and Potato Soup.
Just chocked full of ham and potatoes with a great smoky taste.
For my dog, I got The Big Dog. What I didn’t realize was exactly how ‘Big’ the Big Dog actually was.
Not just a footlong, this one was over 14” and almost 1-1/2 inches in diameter. Mine was wrapped in crispy bacon with onions, cheese, and jalapenos. Just delicious.
I first cut off the ends to try the dog by itself, and it was very good, with a crisp skin and a moist, meaty filling with a great taste.
Jan got the Chili Cheese Dog, with Chili, Cheese, and Onions. And just as big as mine.
Digging in, we both decided that if we had known how big these were going to be, we would have shared one. Especially when saw them bringing out the ‘hot from the oven’ homemade pies and setting them on the counter before putting them in the display case.
But even as full as we were, we couldn’t resist getting a couple of slices to go, with Jan getting the Chocolate Swirl and me getting the Blueberry Raspberry.
Sometime tomorrow we’ll drive into Tucson to meet our friends Sherry and Clark for dinner. Really looking forward to it.
March 16, 2018
A Really Great Meal . . .
And Even Better Friends.
But since we had such a good time we didn’t get home until after 1am, so no real blog tonight.
March 16, 2019
Assuming The Weather Holds . . .
We had originally planned to have lunch today at our local Floyd’s Cajun Seafood, but then realized that we were also planning to have dinner at the one up in Sugarland Monday evening before our Puddles Pity Party concert. So it was off to SnoozeAm for breakfast.
We got there about 1:30pm and since the place was really busy, I dropped Jan off to get us checked in while I parked. When I caught up with her, she said there was a 45 minute wait.
Yikes!
That means we would get in about 2:25pm, 5 minutes before they were supposed to close at 2:30pm. Now we had noticed in past visits that they let people in right up until they closed, but we weren’t crazy about the wait.
So we decided to sojourn right down Bay Area Blvd to our used-to-be favorite The Egg and I. And it quickly became obvious that it was a lot of people’s ‘used-to-be favorite. There was no wait, and, actually, it was almost half empty.
Quite a difference from before Snooze opened a few months ago.
We had stopped going to the Egg a month or so ago due to sloppy, slow service, and it hadn’t gotten any better by today’s visit.
Snooze is owned by First Watch, and we’d heard that they were converting under-performing Egg and I’s over to First Watch locations. Something we weren’t happy to hear, since our two visits to the one in League City were underwhelming, to say the least.
The last time we were at the Egg, they didn’t know if they were going to be converted, but today they confirmed that they were.
Very possibly because they’re now an ‘under-performing’ store?
We’ve been keeping an eye on all the Yellow Vest protests in Paris, since in many cases they’re taking place in prime tourist areas.
The Arc de Triomphe on the Champs-Élysées, right next to the Louvre, both places we’re supposed to visit.
And then there’s our scheduled lunch at the Eiffel Tower.
Hopefully things will be a little quieter when we’re there.
March 16, 2021
An Honest Mechanic . . .
While I was out and about this afternoon, I stopped off at Joe’s Hwy 6 Automotive to talk with Joe about getting new struts and shocks for our 2003 Jeep. Although it drives and handles great, we noticed very quickly that it seemed like the suspension was bottoming out on anything larger than a mild bump.
And when I drove into the parking lot, Joe walked out and asked what he could do for me. When I told him I wanted to get a price on new struts and shocks, he said, “Let me check it out.” And after bouncing each corner of the Jeep several times, he told me that my shocks and struts were fine.
I said that that made sense since the previous owners, our friends Debi and Ed Hurlburt, said that they had had the front end completely rebuilt not too long ago, and that included shocks and struts.
But then why did it seem to bottom out like it would if the shocks/struts were bad? So he climbed up under the car to take a look, on both sides. Getting up, he said, yeah, everything looks new under there, but the problem is that your suspension just doesn’t have that much play to start with. There’s only about 3” between the bottom and the rubber bumper at the top. So it doesn’t take much travel to make it hit the top bumper.
I told him that I appreciated his honesty, and that he probably could have sold me new shocks and struts. He said yeah, but the ride wouldn’t have been any better when you left here, and then I would have lost you as a customer.
Nice guy!
In a few days we’re coming up on the 1 year anniversary of our Rubbermaid Storage Shed that Jan and I assembled on our RV site.
It still looks brand-new, with no fading or warping from the sun. And even with all the rain we’ve had, it’s never leaked a drop.
An excellent product.
Believe it or not, this is a real live bird.
It’s the rare Great Potoo, also known as the Ghost Bird. It’s found in the southern Hemisphere, with this one seen in Colombia, S.A, my old stomping ground.
Check out the video in the article. The bird’s mouth is enormous.
March 16, 2022
Not Our Rig . . .
Yesterday was nice and easy, starting with lunch at Denny’s for our favorite Ultimate Omelets. Then it was back over to the other side of the Interstate to the UPS Store to drop off an Amazon return. And by the time we got to HEB next door, I had email confirmation that my account had been credited for the return.
But at almost the same time that Amazon was doing good with the return, they were screwing up on a delivery of ours.
While we were eating at Denny’s, I got an email from them saying that they had made a delivery to our rig, and including a photo of the package.
The only problem is . . . that’s not our rig.
So I figured when we got back to the park we’d drive down the row until we found the 5th wheel with a blue table and pick up our package.
But when we got back to the rig, whoever had received our package, had delivered it to our rig.
Nice Neighbor.
After our UPS stop, we made quick in and out at the HEB right next door. And again the recent price increases hit home.
Starting with our Denny’s Ultimate Omelets, that last Tuesday were $12.99, this Tuesday were $16.50!
And at HEB, the Dole Garden Salad Mix that last week was $0.98, yesterday was $1.38. Yikes! That’s an almost 40% increase.
And then this afternoon when I stopped at Costco on the way home, I found that since last week, regular gas had jumped 20 cents, from $3.49 to $3.69. And to think, on November 1st, 2020, I paid $1.42 at the same Costco.
Another 47 cents and the price will have tripled.
Jan wants to have lunch at Twin Peaks again tomorrow. Sounds great to me.
And now it seems like TP might be getting some competition. Looks like a place called Boomerjack’s is going to open up, almost right next door.
Previously only in the DFW area, this Webster location is their first outside that area.
Jan likes their menu so we’ll probably be checking it out someday.
March 16, 2023
It Was A Two’fer . . .
Jan and I headed up to Webster about 12:45 to have lunch at Twin Peaks once again. And for the first time we sat out in the new patio area. Today they had the doors closed so it was nice inside.
Of course the real reason we were sitting out here was that this was Sylvia’s area.
Jan got her usual Chipotle Chicken with an extra Broccoli instead of the Mashed Potatoes.
I got the Soup & Salad with a bowl of the Green Chile Chicken Soup.
Both the Soup and the Salad are really good, and the Ranch Dressing is made-in-house.
Delicious.
Today all the servers were dressed for their St. Patrick’s Day theme, so I had to get a photo of Sylvia’s outfit, and as a bonus we also got Victoria, her BFF.
It was a Two’fer.
Getting our Sylvia hugs and leaving TP we headed down Hwy 3 and swung by the new Gordon’s Food Service that I talked about yesterday to look it over.
It was really busy, with a lot of cars in the lot.
We’ll probably check it out a little closer this coming Tuesday.
One thing I’m looking forward to checking out is their 15 favors of gourmet popcorn, made in-house.
I mentioned in yesterday’s blog about how much I hate updates, especially Microsoft updates. And here’s just another reason.
Known Microsoft Windows 11 Issue Decreases SSD Speeds Amongst Other Issues
Users report that read speeds from SSD have dramatically reduced after the newest Windows 11 update (Windows 11 Version 22H2 – KB5023706). While the few reported events were thought to be localized to the ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1 TB SSD, the issue is found to plague other manufacturers and can be fixed after uninstalling the update.
HATE!, HATE!, HATE!
