First up is a big Happy Birthday to our daughter-in-law Linda. Hope to see you soon.
Lunch today was at our favorite Yummy Yummy Chinese buffet down in Texas City, the first time we’ve been back since before our Alabama trip back in May. And it was just as delicious as always.
Then after a quick stop at our storeroom to drop off a chair, it was on over to Wal-Mart for our weekly stuff acquisition. And then home.
Nice.
Tomorrow we’re having a late lunch (early dinner?) around 5pm so we can catch up with Juana, our fav ex-Texas Huddle server, who’s working at BoomerJack’s now.
Since we had heard that Texas Huddle will be reopening under a new owner around the middle of July, we asked Juana if she was planning on going back and she said she’s going to try and work both places. She’s a real go-getter.
Then it will be HEB for some more food stuff, and then gas and home.
I’ve mentioned before about the virtual credit cards available through Privacy.com. They allow you to create VISA cards that can be restricted by the amount of charges per month, or how many times it can be charged. And once you use a charge to pay a bill, the card will only accept charges from that same company. You can also just use a card once and then make it disappear.
I use these cards in several different ways. First, all of the add-on streaming networks that we add to our YouTubeTV, like Discovery+. Paramount+, Netflix, etc., are paid through these cards. I set them for the exact amount, and one charge a month. This way if they try to sneak a rate increase by me, I will know immediately because the charge will be declined if it’s over the limit I set.
Secondly, I will also use a virtual card to order something online from a place I maybe haven’t dealt with before. This way I can just wait for the charge to come through and then kill the card, so no more charges can be made to it.
Well, you can also create temporary email addresses.
Ever find something online that offers a free book or pamphlet? And you only have to give them your email address? Of course, you know you’re going to get a lot of junk emails in return.
But using a temporary, disposable email address, you can reply to the verification email, download the item, and then with one click, poof! the address just disappears.
You can learn more here, along with a list of 10 different sites that offer this service.
How To Create a Temporary Email Address?
Check it out.
Thought For The Day:
You ever get the feeling that there’s a lot of people who should be praying there is no Hell?
Your Retro-Preview Highlights –
2011 – Lewis, Clark, and More
2017 – The Gang’s All Here . . .
2018 – Guns, Guns, And Family Photos
2019 – Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Table and the Silos.
And Now On To Today’s Retro-Blogs.™
June 29, 2009
Williamsburg and Jamestown…
Today we moved about 100 miles northwest to Williamsburg, VA for a few days.
We want to visit Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown Settlement, and Yorktown Battlefield.
We’re at an RV park called Anvil Campground. It’s only about 5 miles from Colonial Williamsburg, but it’s not near as nice as our last park on the lake in NC.
It’s OK, but I guess we got spoiled at the last few parks. Our coach backs up to the highway with no fence separating us, so we have to keep a close eye on Mister when he’s out, and although we have no neighbors right now, the sites are close together.
And there is a railroad track about 200 yards through the trees out in front of us. We can’t really see the trains, or hear them, but strangely enough, we can feel them. The whole coach vibrates as the ground rumbles.
After getting set up and goofing off for a while, we headed out to a local Hooters for our hot wing fix. This was the first time we’ve been back to Hooters since we left Gulf Shores in March so we were starting to go into wing withdrawal.
In the latest news from the RV repair front, both my recent problems, the leaky water heater and the leveler jacks that wouldn’t go down, have mysteriously fixed themselves.
The water heater T&P valve stopped leaking the day before we left NC, and after not working when we got to the park in NC, the levelers worked fine here with no problems. Who knows.
June 29, 2010
More Rain and Cooler Weather…Nice!
Today started out with a trip to a nearby bank to get some papers notarized and then back over to Gina’s for the afternoon to work on her deck project.
I also talked to Doran this morning about the status of my tire pressure monitor receiver. They said they weren’t going to try and repair it, but were just going to send me a brand new one. And this is for a unit that is two years old. Kudos to Doran for great service!
About 3 pm the dark clouds moved in and rain started coming down, along with the temperature. Yeah! Luckily it was not windy so I could still work on the covered deck.
Then about 4:00 we decided to head out for dinner since I needed a different type of electrical box and wanted to go by Lowe’s again.
Since it was close by, we decided to have supper at one of our favorite BBQ places, Rudy’s BBQ. We had ribs, pulled pork, and jalapeno sausage, along with potato salad, Cole slaw, and their great creamed corn. Jan doesn’t really like corn, but she loves Rudy’s version.
Leaving Rudy’s we drove over to the nearby Lowe’s to pick up the new box. On the way back home we stopped off at Freddy’s Frozen Custard to get ice cream cones, and then it was back to Gina’s for a little more work.
About 7 pm we headed back to the rig for the night.
Another nice day in the Texas Hill County.
June 29, 2011
Lewis, Clark, and More . . .
Today was our last ‘tourist’ day here in Long Beach, so about 11 am we headed out down to Warrenton, OR, and the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park.
Unlike most National Parks, Lewis and Clark National Park is spread out over several locations in this area, both in Oregon and Washington. In this case, we were visiting Fort Clatsop, where the Lewis and Clark Expedition wintered over in 1805-1806. In fact this was their last encampment in this area before heading back to St. Louis in March of 1806.
After watching a couple of videos on the “Corp of Discovery”, as the expedition was actually called, and getting our National Park Passport’s stamped, we walked out to the replica of the fort.
Built in 2006 to replace one built in 1955, that burned down in 2005, it’s based on plans drawn by William Clark. The fort was named for the Clatsop Indians who lived in the area and traded with the expedition.
This drawing will give you an idea of the size and shape of the fort.
Probably the best part of our visit was Ranger ‘Tom’ in period costume telling us about life at the fort.
It was easy to tell he really enjoys his job. Most of this presentation concerned the weapons and ammo used, In this case, muzzle-loading flintlock rifles, horse pistols, and an air rifle. Yes, a .51 caliber air rifle, just like your Crossman pellet rifle, only a lot bigger. This photo show both rifles, the smaller one being the air rifle.
The ranger also showed us a waterproof lead gunpowder container, developed by Meriwether Lewis, probably with the help of his close friend, then-President Thomas Jefferson.
What is unique about it was its usability. After the powder was emptied out, the lead container could then be melted down to make bullets.
Neat!
Here he’s holding the Girandoni Air Rifle, or “Assault Rifle’ as it was also known.
The air was compressed with a hand pump and stored in the buttstock. Fully loaded, it could hold 22 rounds and could fire them as fast as you could pull the trigger.
Definitely the ‘Assault’ rifle of the era.
A little further research revealed some interesting facts about the Girandoni. In fact it has only been recently confirmed that it was a Girandoni at all. There seems to have been a big debate about this over the years due to incomplete information in some cases, and incorrect info in others. There was another air rifle of the period called a Lukens that most scholars seemed to think was the one carried by Lewis, But recent new facts have come to light within the last 5 – 7 years that led to the confirmation of the Girandoni, and even more importantly, the rediscovery of the actual rifle itself, which had been sitting in a private collection since the 1970’s.
The rifle’s identity was confirmed by matching details of the rifle’s damage, repair, and markings, as told in Lewis’ journals, with the actual rifle itself.
Next Tom gave us a demo of loading and firing the flintlock rifle.
After confirming that the barrel was empty with the ramrod, he poured in the coarse gunpowder, and then rammed a moistened cloth patch and a paper spitwad down the barrel. (Apparently, they aren’t allowed to use a real lead bullet.)
Then as shown below, he primes the flashpan with fine powder after moving the cock to the half-cock position. Hence the phrase, ‘Don’t go off half-cocked.’ Because your rifle won’t fire that way. It’s like a safety.
Then after pulling the cock back to the full-cock position, the rifle is ready to fire.
I took this photo just as Tom fired the rifle. And when you fire a flintlock, you really get fire.
Zooming in on the photo shows the burst of flame igniting the powder in the pan and the first puff of smoke. I really lucked out on this shot.
A second later, Tom was enveloped in smoke as the rifle fired.
After that we headed back to the Visitor’s Center, leaving Tom, ever vigilant, guarding the fort.
Leaving Fort Clatsop, we drove a few miles up the road to Fort Stevens State Park.
We wanted to see the shipwreck that can still be found on the beach there. The Peter Iredale, a four-masted steel-hulled barque, ran aground on October 25, 1906, while on a voyage from Salina Cruz, Mexico to Portland, OR. (BTW a barque, or bark, is just a name for a ship that has three or more masts.)
The ship was trying to enter the Columbia River when a sudden squall blew it onto the beach here, and the high winds and rising tide further grounded it.
Seen in this photo, taken the day it grounded, the Peter Iredale, although not badly damaged, was unable to be salvaged, because during the several-weeks wait for favorable weather, the ship so embedded itself in the sand it could not be moved. Most of it was sold for scrap, leaving only the partial bow to mark its gravesite.
While we were at the beach, Jan decided to feed this one seagull that was flying overhead. But he couldn’t keep quiet about it, so in a few seconds it was like we were under attack,
from both the air,
and the ground. Like being in a Hitchcock movie.
Leaving the beach, we drove over to Fort Stevens itself, so we could take some photos of the artillery. At the time we remarked about the Battery, one of the fortifications there.
What we didn’t know until I was doing research for this blog, was that the Battery, and to a lesser extent, the Peter Iredale, are famous for another reason.
Fort Stevens was the location of the only attack on a U.S. mainland military installation during WWII. On the night of June 21, 1942, a Japanese sub, the I-25, surfaced off the coast of Oregon and fired a number of shells from its deck gun into the fort, causing only slight damage and no casualties.
One of the shells, arcing over the remains of the Ireland, landed near the Battery and left this crater. Who knew?
Coming home, we did see this garage decorated with a very colorful fishing net float collection. And when we drove by, the guy was out there adding a new one. Now that’s a hobby.
Arriving back in Astoria, we made a run by our bank, and then it was on to the Golden Luck Chinese Restaurant for the second time. And if anything, it was even better than last time. Really, really good food.
Getting back to the park area, we stopped in a the Shell station for the obligatory cappuccino, then after a stop by the park office to see if my package was in, (It was, but it was locked in the Manager’s office), we were home for the night.
Tomorrow will be a rest up and get ready to travel day, since we leave for Bremerton, WA on Friday morning.
June 29, 2013
Home at the Cam-Plex . . .
Since we wanted to be sure to be at the Gillette Cam-Plex by 2pm, I was up at 6am to start getting us ready to roll by 8am. If we get there after 2 then we won’t get parked until Sunday morning.
I woke up Sleeping Beauty at 6:30, and after coffee and breakfast sandwiches, we were ready to pull out a little before 8, but then had a problem. The slide did not want to pull in. It would start up, move in two or third inches, and then stall. We then tried going out and in several times while I was pulling on it at the same time with no luck.
Then, although I done it a few months ago, I once again sprayed the slide rails with silicone lube, and while Jan hit the ‘In’ button, I pushed from the outside. The slide once again moved in a couple of inches, and when it stopped, I gave a big shove. The slide hesitated a bit and then started moving in with no problems. It seemed like something may have been on the track, and once it was cleared, it was all OK.
We pulled out of the park a couple of minutes after 8am with Jan following in the truck, and first headed down to the Sam’s Club to top off the diesel tank. A couple of days ago diesel there was $3.71. Today, just my luck, it was up to $3.75. Bummer. Of course, at 71 gallons, it’s only $2.84.
But it’s the principle of the thing.
While I was topping off, I added a quart of Diesel Kleen, something that was recommended to me by several truck drivers while we were gate guarding.
After fueling up, I pulled over to the side and Jan parked behind me so I could hook up the toad. I was happy to see that my somewhat-temporary solution to my towing lights problem seemed to be working fine.
I ended up wiring the taillights and the turn signals straight through, without any taillight converter, and they worked fine that way. As far as the brake lights, I just upped the sensitivity on my Brake Buddy and let it provide the brake light function.
This should hold things until I can design and build my own converter.
We pulled out of the Sam’s parking lot and hit the road about 8:45 for 240 mile trip to Gillette, WY. The trip was smooth, with the only problem being a total of about 50 miles of one-lane construction zones. But with the very light traffic, and the fact that, though reduced, the speed limit stayed high enough that we weren’t slowed down all that much.
We pulled into the Cam-Plex about 1:30 and were quickly directed to our parking area. In fact we’re parked right across the row from where we were parked in June 2010 when were were here for the American Coach Rally.
Life is good.
About 4:30 we headed out for dinner at Old Chicago Pizza which turned out to be very, very good. Jan and I had salads and personal pizzas. Hopefully, we’ll have a chance to go back before we leave.
Getting back to the rigs, we put our chairs outside and along with Mister to protect us from marauding dogs, sat around for a while catching up with things since we were last here.
Tomorrow the vendor area opens at 9am and Jan wants to sign up for some of the craft classes so we’ll be there early.
June 29, 2014
Cabin Fever . . .
Jan and I headed out to breakfast at Bob Evans this morning about 10:30. It was either that, or take her down with a tranquilizer dart. And Mister too.
Both of them are getting severe cabin fever stuck here in this EconoLodge motel room. As far as me, I have my laptop, my Kindle, and my phone, so I’m fine.
But our breakfast was good. In fact we’ve never had a bad meal at Bob Evans.
About the time Jan was bouncing off the walls again, a little after 2, we headed over to Mishawaka for some shopping, finally ending up at Golden Corral for dinner about 5pm.
This is our third visit there and every one has been great. We’re going to miss it when we leave the area.
On the Landon front, he has his own version of the shish kabob. His is made from marshmallows and strawberries. Actually it looks pretty good.
Chris sent over a better photo of his new Yamaha 1900 bike. He and a bunch of other retired firefighters are planning a trip out west later this year, and he’s really looking forward to it.
Tomorrow morning we’ll have the continental breakfast here at the motel, then I’ll head down to Coach Supply around 8am to see how things are going to work out with our windshield gasket. I’m also going to call American Coach down in Decatur, IN to confirm that they do have a gasket in stock and how much it is.
I want something decided by 11 or so, in case we need a gasket from American Coach. Either way, I’m afraid we’re probably looking at another night here in Cabin Fever Hell.
June 29, 2015
Trains and Cranes . . .
First off, we want to wish our daughter-in-law Linda a very Happy Birthday, Looking forward to seeing y’all in a couple of months.
About 1pm I drove over to the park office and extended our stay until Monday, the 6th so we won’t be traveling on the 4th of July weekend. And by the time we leave here Monday morning, the high is supposed to only be in the double digits, the very high double digits, but double digits, nevertheless,
One thing we learned to do here, or at least Jan has learned, is to unlock the rig door before the sun starts hitting it in the early afternoon. Otherwise, the door expands, and it’s very, very hard to get it unlocked and open.
About 3pm I called the Wyoming Division Model Railroad over in Cornville, AZ to schedule a visit for tomorrow afternoon.
Modeling the entire Union Pacific route from Cheyenne, WY to Ogden, UT, it has over 45,000 feet of HO gauge track. That’s almost 9 miles.
You can read a newspaper article about it here.
http://srr.stparchive.com/Archive/SRR/SRR08152012p05.php
Afterwards, we may drive on over to Sedona for a look around. We visited here several years ago, but it’ll be nice to see it again.
About 4pm we drove into Cottonwood to have dinner at Hog Wild BBQ, a great favorite local place of ours, with really good ribs and pulled pork.
As usual, I got the big Sampler Platter, of which I only end up eating about a third.
Then the rest of it comes home as a later meal(s) for both of us.
And all you have to do is park in the lot,
and the great smells from the smoker just overwhelm you.
I’m kind of tempted to just hitch it up to the truck and take it home.
* * * *
Ever try to win a prize for a child or grandchild on one of those crane or claw machines and wondered why it’s so dang hard to win something.
That’s because it’s programmed that way, and and in more ways than you think.
Ever grab a prize and start moving it to the opening, and then have the claw open slightly and drop the prize? That’s because it’s set to do that.
Actually the machine can be programmed directly for a wanted profit level. For example, if it’s set for 50% profit level, the machine will only operate at full strength and work correctly 1 out of every 23 times
Or you can just let your grandchild climb inside and get his own prize like this.
I’m sure Landon would give it a try.
June 29, 2016
A Close Call . . .
Or Thank Goodness For Whipping Cream.
Around 4pm Jan and I headed out for Sealy, about 30 miles back east on I-10. We wanted to get some stuff at Wal-Mart, and the one in Sealy is a full SuperCenter, and not a mini SuperCenter like the one in La Grange. And the one in Sealy is only about 4 miles further away.
But first, we had planned on eating at the Whataburger, but ended up at the Hinze’s BBQ right next door.
We haven’t eaten at a Hinze’s in years, and never at this one. But we used to eat at one near Katy when we would visit Brandi the first time she lived in the Katy area. But then it closed, so that was it.
Jan had a Sliced Brisket Sandwich with Fried Okra and French Fries, while I had the 2 Meat Plate with Sliced Brisket and Ribs, and Bacon & Onion Potatoes, and Green Beans.
Everything was good, especially the Potatoes and Green Beans. The BBQ was pretty good, but not Rudy’s or Peter’s good. But good.
Leaving Hinze’s, we headed right across the street to the Wal-Mart for a few things, before gassing up and heading back home to the rig. Then getting back home and unloading the groceries, it happened.
As I was bringing in a couple of bags, Miss Karma got loose by jumping out the little sliding window in the screen door. She hit the ground and then froze, looking around with eyes the size of quarters. But before I could get to her, she turned and ran under the rig.
I called to her a couple of times, and she would stick her head out for a minute and then retreat. And the next time I looked under the rig, she had disappeared. But as I figured she had just jumped up on the front axle to hide.
So I asked Jan to hand out the secret weapon from the fridge.
Karma has been crazy for Whipping Cream since the first time she tasted some. In fact, I can even make the “squaawk!” sound with my mouth and she will come running. So I got down at the front of the rig and squirted some out on the gravel.
But as Karma started to creep forward to the cream, a guy came by walking two small, loudly barking dogs. Karma immediately freaked and ran back under the rig.
So I started all over again, coaxing her out again. But just about then the guy came back by with the #%#$ dogs.
But finally, after about 15 minutes I lured her out far enough to grab her and get her back inside the rig.
Glad that’s over.
Brandi and Lowell have introduced us to a new drink. It’s called Jin+Ja and it’s delicious. And very spicy.
It’s made from Fresh Ginger, Cayenne Pepper, Green Tea, Lemon & Mint. It’s supposed to be good for your digestion and metabolism. We haven’t been taking it for that long, so we can’t answer as to how good it is for you, but it is tasty.
And with the fresh ginger, and the cayenne pepper, especially the cayenne, it packs a real kick. But it’s very refreshing at the same time.
It’s available online, and in some stores. Check it out.
June 29, 2017
The Gang’s All Here . . .
Jan and I headed into Katy once again this afternoon, about 12:15, but with a first stop at the Park Office.
I realized this morning that since we hadn’t left the park after we got here on Sunday, I hadn’t paid my $3/day 50amp fee yet, so I stopped off to take care of that.
We got Brandi’s just as Lowell arrived with Curtis, Tana, and Gwen, after picking them up at the airport. They had flown in this morning from Orlando after doing the theme park thing there. So we finally had the whole crew in one place.
Early in the afternoon, we surprised our daughter-in-law Linda with a birthday cake.
Then everyone ended up in small groups scattered around.
It was really funny listening to Jan, who did medical records coding for 35+ years, Miss Piper, who’s now doing psych facility coding, and Curtis, who’s also in the medical field, throwing medical codes back and forth.
Chris brought all his gumbo paraphernalia with him today and started working on a big batch of Seafood and Andouille Sausage Gumbo for dinner. Really made the house smell good, and the gumbo was even better.
Jan and Brandi made up garlic bread to go with, the perfect addition.
Then it was cleanup time with a lot of helping hands.
Later in the afternoon, I was finally able to get everyone (except me and Jim who were both taking the photos) somewhat lined up so I could get a group shot for posterity.
top left to right: Our son Chris, his wife Linda, Jan, our son-in-law Lowell, our daughter Brandi, Jan’s sister Debbie, Debbie’s daughter-in-law Laura, Laura’s husband Jason, Debbie’s daughter Tana, and her fiancé Curtis.
bottom left to right: Tana’s daughter Gwen, Laura’s daughter Avery Jane, Miss Piper, Landon, Laura’s daughter Ella, Debbie’s daughter Christina, and Laura’s daughter Annisten. And of course, Baxter the dog. I think I got them all.
That’s a motley crew if I ever saw one.
Jan and I finally headed back to the rig about 7:30, and after a quick stop at the Brookshire Bros. in Columbus, we were back at the rig by 8:45 after another fun day.
Tomorrow we get a day off, since most of the bunch are going over to San Antonio for the day. As far as Jan and I, Been There, Done That. Several Times.
But Saturday it all starts back up again with a cookout. Then Sunday we’re going down to Sugarland to watch Landon play Ice Hockey.
Wrapping up, I had been worried about the status of my Arizona CCW permit. I mailed it off from Apache Junction April 12th to an address right down the road in Phoenix. So now at the 2-1/2 month mark, I was starting to get antsy.
Every time we would talk to Brandi I’d ask if they’d gotten anything for me from Arizona. And always, NOPE.
And I was sure that I had asked for my CCW permit to be sent to Brandi’s, but I was wrong. This evening, when I went through our mail that had come to our son Chris’ I found the letter with my permit enclosed. And it was dated May 2nd. That means it got sent back out one day less than 3 weeks after I sent it in. I take back everything I said. Or thought.
Fast service.
June 29, 2018
A Photo Finish . . .
I was up early this morning and back on the phone with Onan Tech Support. I guess they only have one guy because I talk with the same person every time.
But I finally got through to him and gave him the results of the fuel flow test. He then asked If I had checked the governor actuator connections. He said it was the next most likely cause of my problem.
So since our schedule today was pretty full with family stuff, tomorrow morning I’ll take the top panel off and hopefully discover a loose connection or two on the controller box. If not, we’ll just have to tough it out during our 400 mile trip to Athens, AL on Sunday. Then I can get back on it on Monday.
One thing fun about visiting up here is that there’s always some shooting going on. Jim and Debbie have 15 acres with plenty of room for a shooting range.
Lowell got to try out his new XDS .45 for the first time.
He said he really liked the way it felt.
Curtis brought several of his guns, including this AK-47 semi-auto.
I’ve been so busy working on the genset that I forgot to bring anything except my Ruger LCP .380 semi-auto that I carry. Curtis gave me some .380 target ammo so I didn’t have to shoot my expensive Cor-Bon’s, so I ran about 3 mags of his cheaper stuff through it.
25 yards is kind of long for this small pistol, but after I got the range I did OK. My biggest problem was my eyes, or at least my glasses. I wear glasses for my distance vision, and then take them off for close-up work, I.e. reading, computer, etc.
So if I wore my glasses, the target was clear, but the sights, such as they are, were pretty useless. And with my glasses off, the sights were sharp and clear, but the target was fuzzy.
But after some trial and error (some of the wild shots) I decided that I did better with my glasses off, looking through sharply focused sights at a big fuzzy orange ball. And once I got the sight picture locked in – sights over here, big orange fuzzy ball over there.- I did pretty good.
Note this is at 25 yards with a pistol that will fit in the palm of your hand.
We’re shooting again tomorrow so I’ll bring some bigger stuff.
After a delicious dinner of Crock Pot Pizza Casserole, Lasagna, and Salad, we all dressed up and headed outside for the picture taking, They had hired a professional photographer to come out and do a group photo and then individual family photos.
Here’s Brandi, Lowell, and Landon.
And here’s Jan’s sister Debbie and her family.
Tomorrow I’ll take another shot at fixing the generator, and then about noon, we’ll head over to Debbie’s once again for a big BBQ feast with even more family.
And more guns, too.
June 29, 2019
Magnolia Table and More . . .
Catching Up On Friday.
After our great time getting together with our long-time friends Bill and Carol Alverson, and meeting Bill’s cousin June for the first time, on Thursday, Friday was our day to check out Waco’s other big attraction, Chip and Joanna Gaines’ Magnolia Table and the Silos.
We had decided to go ahead and brave the long lines that everyone had warned us about, and have breakfast at the Magnolia Table, which as it turned out was right across the street from the Comfort Inn where we spent the night.
We had been warned by a number of people that we might have to wait for as long as 2 hours to get a table, but we figured we get there about 9 and wait it out.
So we figured that we must be living right when we were told it would only be about a 45-minute wait. So we were really surprised, and happy, when we got called for our table before we hardly had time to sit down in the waiting area.
It was a whole 12 minutes! And the food was so good it would have been worth the 2-hour wait anyway.
When we signed we had said we were fine sitting at one of the communal tables, but ended up with a two-top all to ourselves.
We started off trying some of the things friends had recommended, like the Lemon Lavender Donut Holes,
and the Biscuits with Strawberry Butter.
Both really delicious!
Then Jan got her fave, Avocado Toast,
while I got a favorite of mine, a BLT, made with thick-sliced Maple Sugar Smoked Bacon.
One of the best BLT’s I’ve ever had.
And here’s my sweetie, showing off her new You Are My Sunshine cat shirt.
Then since I didn’t feel like braving the crowds, I dropped Jan off at the Silos, the other part of the Gaines empire, while I made a WalMart run. And once again the long lines we’d been warned against didn’t materialize.
Jan said there was about a 20 wait to get into the bakery, but it moved fast and Jan came out with some delicious goodies.
At this point, after connecting up with our son, Chris, we headed down toward Kingsland, with plans to meet Chris, Linda, and Piper, in Kempner at the Brick Oven, a really good German place.
And like last time Jan got her favorite Jaeger Schnitzel,
while I also repeated with my usual Sausage Plate.
We also had a nice time talking with the owner, Hanzi, who is from Germany, about her recipes.
Finishing up, Chris, et. al, headed back home in Kingsland, while Jan and I drove on into Marble Falls to check in to our room at the Motel 6, before we joined them for a while.
Tomorrow I’ll catch up with the rest of our trip, and work on the next installment of our recent trip, Cologne, Germany.
June 29, 2021
Maybe Tomorrow . . .
With on and off drizzling, we decided not to sit outside with our coffee. Maybe tomorrow.
And it was still drizzling when we headed out about 1pm for lunch once again at Gator’s Bar & Grill.
Jan wanted to get the Redfish once again, but they were out. So she went with the Grilled Chicken Breast once again, while I got my favorite Blackened Chicken Breast Sandwich with Bacon and Texas Toothpicks.
It’s obvious why Gator’s has become our new favorite place.
After that, we made a stop up at the office in Clear Lake to pick up a bunch of Amazon stuff that had come in, and then it was on over to WalMart for a few things, including some baby back ribs.
Rather than Ribeye Steaks, we decided that the inaugural use of our Inkbird Immersion Cooker will be Baby Back Ribs for the 4th of July weekend, probably Monday, since most of the recipes call for a 24-hour cooking time.
Based on online recommendations we’ll be doing the cooking in a Styrofoam cooler with a lid which should help hold the heat in and reduce the need to add water along the way.
So, expecting a run on Ribs for this weekend, I decided to pick some up today at WalMart while we were there. And I’m glad I did.
The long cooler advertising Ribs was empty except for a brand-new stock of Smithfield Extra Meaty Baby Back Ribs and already vacuum sealed. So two slabs went home with us. But I may open them and use a dry rub depending on which online recipe I used.
Though it’s been overcast and raining the last couple of days, when the sun is shining I’ve been impressed by how well the solar-powered fountain in Jan’s Flamingo Birdbath works.
You just drop it in any container of water and off it goes.
June 29, 2022
Happy Birthday To Our Daughter-in-Law Linda
First off, Jan and I want to wish our daughter-in-law Linda a very happy birthday. Hope to see you and Chris soon.
I checked in on our Jeep repair this afternoon and found the needed torque converter bolts failed to materialize. They were ordered from the local Chrysler dealer who said they were in stock and they would be here Monday, but they didn’t show up. When my repair place checked back they were told that they were not in stock, and were on back-order. So now they’re looking elsewhere.
We finally got almost an inch of rain last night, enough to cool things off a little, at least. And though it’s been hot so far this summer, it’s never been as hot as it was right after we moved here in December 1978.
During our first summer in July 1979, we had 13 straight days with the temps above 100°.
A great welcome to Texas!
This morning tickets went on sale for the 2022 Wings Over Houston AirShow this coming October. And this year the Navy’s Blue Angel will be performing, so it’s certain to be a great show.
And because I bought the tickets so early, they were half price. So I splurged and got us tickets in the Family Chalet seating area. This area has large shade covers, and even better, free food and drinks.
FWIW One of my favorite memories of my time as a DOD contractor, besides, of course, getting to work on an SR-71, was getting to fix a problem with one of the Blue Angel’s F-4J’s. They had just transitioned to the F-4’s from the Grumman F11F-1 Tigers, so they were still getting acclimated to them.
They came through the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, SC, next to Parris Island where I was working and I got the call about a problem on one. Turned out to be just a bad relay, but I got to sit in the pilot’s seat while I was replacing it.
Neat!
I mentioned in a blog the other day about seeing Immersive Monet & The Impressionists exhibit up in Houston tomorrow, at the same location where we saw one of the Immersive Van Gogh exhibits last year. But our first one was actually in Paris when we visited there in 2019. It was called the Atelier des Lumières, and featured Van Gogh, but it seems that later this fall, it’s moving to New York.
Now called the Hall of Lumières, it will start off showing the works of Gustav Klimt: Gold In Motion.
Will definitely check it out if we ever get back to NYC.
June 29, 2023
Or Not . . .
First off, Happy Birthday to our favorite daughter-in-law Linda. Hope you had a great time!
Chris seems to be celebrating it by lounging in the pool, eating a shrimp cocktail.
Love the hat, Chris!
Our Galveston trip today did become an ‘Or Not’ day, since Jan’s feeling better, but not quite up to snuff. So we just did lunch at our local Jason’s Deli.
Jan got a Turkey Muffuletta with a cup of Tomato Basil Soup, while I got a bowl of their White Chicken Chili and the Salad Bar.
Really good. And we both had some to bring home
And then it was back to the rig.
Our long-time friend Rudy Legett let me know this morning that they lost their coach to a fire this past Sunday. He said that he and Caroline got out OK, but the coach is a total loss.
When I asked how it started, he said that he found flames coming from behind the generator and was able to knock it back with a fire extinguisher, but couldn’t stop it.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Rudy and Caroline.
This is what happens when your multi-million dollar, 14,000 panel solar farm encounters a Nebraska hailstorm.
The white-looking panels are the ones that were damaged. Considering that the destroyed panels are not individually replaceable, the whole thing is probably totaled.
It’s not nice to mess with Mother Nature, especially when she’s packing baseball-sized hail.
Elsewhere on the Climatology (Climastrology)? front, Sweden just came to its senses and has dropped out of the whole green energy utopia, and is going back to nuclear power.
Sweden just dealt a severe blow to the globalist climate agenda by scraping its green energy targets. In a statement announcing the new policy in the Swedish Parliament, Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson warned that the Scandinavian nation needs “a stable energy system.”
Svantesson said wind and solar power are too “unstable” to meet the nation’s energy requirements. Instead, she said, the Swedish government is shifting back to nuclear power and has scrapped its goal of a “100 percent renewable energy” supply to meet the nation’s energy requirement.
And in the same vein, last year France, which already gets over 70% of its electricity using nuclear power, announced they were building 15 more nuclear plants to generate more electricity.
Greta is greatly saddened.
