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We got to Brandi’s this afternoon a little before 12:30 to find lunch waiting for us.
Lowell had just gotten back from picking it up from Pollo Bravo, so it was hot and fresh.
Jan and I both got the 1/2 Chicken, All White, with Mexican Rice and Sweet Plantains for me, and the Avocado Salad and Pinto Beans for her.
Really, really good, and we had half to bring home.
Landon’s in the 10th grade this year, and school starts this Wednesday, the 13th.
And his 15th birthday shows up a week later, on the 20th.
And here’s his schedule for this year.
1. Spanish 3 KAP
2. AP World History GT
3. Lunch
4. English 2 KAP/GT
5. Chemistry KAP/GT
6. Algebra 2
7. Study Hall
8. Digital Art and Animation
The KAP stands for Katy (his school district) Advanced Placement and GT stands for Gifted And Talented.
Way to Go, Landon!
* * * * * * *
One funny thing is that Brandi asked Landon why he never responds to the videos she sends him. He sighed and said, “They’re all cat videos. All of themâ€.
Then Jan asked him if he ever reads our blog, since there’s almost always something about him in it. He sighed again, and said, “No, but all my friends do.†When we asked further about this, he said, “When you Google ‘Landon Morrison Katy’, your blog comes up. Every time.â€
LOL!
* * * * * * *
We had a great time getting to know the new kittens, Bella and Tommy. So Cute!
I had to search Jan before we headed home.
* * * * * * *
Regular readers will remember that coming back from Galveston a week or so ago, the output temperature from the Jeep’s A/C started to climb, going from the normal 55° up to about 70 while we were coming up the Interstate. But then it dropped back down into the 60’s after we got off on the city streets.
When I checked it out a few days later, the only problem I found was that the Freon was a little below 1/2 full, so I topped it off, though it shouldn’t have made any difference.
But I couldn’t really check it out until our trip up to Brandi’s today. And the A/C worked fine the whole trip, going and coming. So I think it’s fixed.
For now.
* * * * * * *
On tap for next week, is Wal-Mart and Doggone Crazy Hot Dogs on Tuesday, and then El Palenque Mexican up in Spring with Debi and Ed Hurlburt.
A very nice week coming up.
Thought For The Day:
Never mistake my silence for weakness. I mean, why would I plan a murder out loud?
Your Retro-Preview Highlights –
2009– Best Friends and Bears
2010 – Sex and RunPee
2011 – It’s Almost Landon Time
2013– More Family Fun
2015 – Not As Good
2016 – Shoney’s and Showers
2021 – Nothing New Under The Sun
2023 – Jan’s Other Heartthrob
And Now On To today’s Retro-Blogs.™
August 10, 2009
Best Friends and Bears…
Today is our last full day here, so we wanted to make the most of it.
After picking up a bolt at the hardware store, we headed back over to Joan’s about 3 pm.
Jan and Joan have had a great time recalling stories about each other. Here are the two troublemakers themselves.
Joan had said Charlie, a friend of hers, was coming by to take us on the base at Westover.
Jan had a great time finding her way around the base. Some buildings she remembered were still there, but many had been torn down.
After stopping by Walmart again to pick up my prescription, the four of us drove over to Tavern on the Hill for dinner. This restaurant is built on the peak of Mt. Tom in Easthampton, MA, and the view is fantastic.
And so was the food!
After saying our goodbyes to Joan and Charlie, we headed back home.
On our way, I took some pics of the bear mascot statues in Easthampton.
During our travels, we’ve seen pelicans in Seabrook, TX, mermaids in Beaufort, SC, moose in Coeur d’Alene, ID, and horses in Kentucky.
Here it’s bears.
And even a Wanted Poster for a bear that’s been ‘Bear-nappedâ€.
We had a great time catching up with Joan and hope to see her again in a month or so when we come back through here on our way back from Newfoundland.
Tomorrow morning, we head east to Boston.
August 10, 2010
Sex and RunPee…
*** The link for RunPee has been fixed ***
After a lunch of sandwiches and chips here in the rig, we decided to have another try at seeing Sex and the City 2 over in Mishawaka at the same theater we saw Iron Man 2 the other day.
We left about noon, but first stopped off at CVS Drugs to purchase an I-Zoom toll road pass to use while we’re here in Elkhart. Not only is it faster, but the toll to Mishawaka is $.40 instead of $.50.
Since Sex and the City 2 is a long movie at 2 hrs. and 30 minutes, Jan used RunPee, a website that lets you enter the movie title and then it gives you the time into the movie and how long you have to…wait for it…Run Pee.
And it worked great. At 74 minutes into the movie, Jan made a break for the restroom and was back before the end of a scene where nothing really happened.
After the movie, we stopped off at a nearby Michael’s and then a Sam’s Club right down the street.
Getting back to the park about 4:30, weheaded out to supper at North Garden Chinese Buffet about 5:30 pm.
Al Hesselbart also joined us for dinner. Al is the historian at the nearby RV/MH Hall of Fame and recently returned from a trip to China as a guest of the Chinese government.to discuss RV’ing and the budding RV industry in China.
We had a great time at dinner listening to Al as he regaled us with the tales of his travels. We had a great dinner and a lot of fun.
We got back to the coach a little after 7, after a nice dinner.
We did get some more photos of our daughter’s bridal shower, wedding, and baby shower, and some more granddaughter Piper pics.
Here’s a photo of our beautiful daughter Brandi at her bridal shower.
Brandi, Brandi, and Shawna at Brandi’s baby shower.
And here’s our daughter-in-law Linda, our granddaughter Piper, and our son Chris at Brandi’s wedding.
And here’s Piper in Times Square in July of last year.
And here’s Piper at F.A.O. Schwartz Toy Store in New York City, also last year.
August 10, 2011
It’s Almost Landon Time . . .
We really enjoyed our stay here at Kamp Komfort. It’s a real gem, especially when it’s only $14 a night for 30-amp full hookups with Passport America. Nice.
We pulled out about 11 am, heading for Mulberry Grove, about 140 miles away. We’ll be spending a week there visiting Jan’s sister, Debbie, her family, kids, and grandkids, and of course, Brandi, Lowell, and Landon coming in tomorrow afternoon..
We got into the Timber Tails Campground about 2:30 and got set up. We stayed here last year, and it’s nice to be back.
The park even has some of Jan’s favorite fauna.
A little after 4 pm, we headed over to Debbie’s, about 25 miles away. After everyone showed up, we all headed back into town to have dinner at the Pizza Hut in Vandalia, the nearest big town. Surprisingly, the pizza was really good, especially the Stuffed Crust.
Jan got this shot of these three beautiful young ladies. That’s Gwen on the left. She’s Tana’s daughter, and our grand-niece. Next is Christina, our niece, and then Avery Jane, Jason and Laura’s daughter, and also our grand-niece. Missing from the picture is our other grand-niece, Ella.
To try and keep things straight without a scorecard, Debbie and Jim, Jan’s sister and brother-in-law, have three children. They are Jason, Tana, and Christina.
Jason and his wife, Laura, have Avery Jane and Ella, and Tana has Gwen.
Glad we’ve got that straight now.
After a fun dinner, Jan and I headed back to the rig for the night. We’re all getting together at breakfast tomorrow, and hopefully we’ll get to see everyone else.
Answer of the Day:
Although there were several guesses, no one got the right answer to last week’s question, “What was Starbuck’s called before it was called Starbucks?â€
The name of the coffee chain was originally going to be ‘Pequod’s’, after the sailing ship in ‘Moby Dick’. However, one of the founders didn’t like it, said it sounded like they served ‘Pee’. So they called it ‘Starbuck’s’, after the First Mate in the book.
I think they made the right choice. But I’m surprised they didn’t call it ‘Ishmael’s’.
August 10, 2013
Family Fun . . .
Today started out slow and easy, but quickly got busy.
While Jan was in the shower and I was still asleep, Sonja Morrison called and left a message for Jan. Sonja is Lowell’s mother and Landon’s other grandmother. Jan called her back so that they could talk about Landon’s birthday party on Saturday, August 17th, a couple of days after we get back to Houston. Sonja and Lendell, her husband, will be in Houston for the party, and she wanted to coordinate with Jan about some things.
We’re really looking forward to getting back and seeing everyone next Thursday.
Around noon, my aunt Janis called and invited us next door for homemade fresh peach pie and ice cream. But even better, my Uncle Tom and Aunt Lenette were over there too. Due to their busy schedule, we hadn’t been able to get together during our last two visits here, so we were really glad to see them this year.
My Uncle is probably the only person I know, and certainly the only family member I know, who has his own Wikipedia page here at Tom Calvin, and is also listed on several other pages, like here – Oldest Living Pro Football Players, and here – Alabama Football Coaches
Tom was a star fullback for the University of Alabama from 1948 – 1950. and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the ‘51 NFL draft. However, he turned them down because he didn’t like the contract he was offered, and so he took over the Head Coach position at a south Alabama high school, taking them to their first winning season in years.
Here he is at Alabama in 1949.
He even had his own football card.
Months later, he received a personal call from Art Rooney, the famous owner of the Steelers, offering him a better contract. This led to him playing 4 years for the Steelers, from ‘52 to ‘55, as a star fullback and kick returner.
Finally, after 4 years of hating the bitter cold Pittsburgh winters, he returned to Alabama and began a 33-year high school coaching career ending with a 201-130-11 record, making him the winningest high school coach in Alabama history. During that time, he took 3 losing school football programs to Championship status.
And his wife Lenette is no slouch in the sports world either. She’s a well-known gymnastics coach who’s worked with world-famous coach Béla Károlyi at his Houston facility, and has taken teams to several Olympics herself.
Hopefully, it won’t be another two years before we see them again.
While we were over there, I finally got the kids to sit still for some photos. My Uncle Ed and Aunt Janis are their grandparents, which makes them my 2nd cousins.
This beautiful young lady is Stahlie. She’s a wonderful artist and a budding filmmaker who’s had several films win prizes in local contests.
And this also-beautiful young lady is Darby. Darby is the family dancer, from Ballet to Swing and Ballroom.
And this handsome young man, who just turned 13, is Luke.
They are all homeschooled, and are smart as whips. Their father, Wes Calvin, owns the RV park here where we’re staying.
After getting in all our hugs and hellos, Janis served us her delicious warm homemade peach pie along with ice cream, which cut down on the conversation for a while until everyone got their fill. Hmm, good.
Finally, after several hours of catching up, we all headed home, giving Ed and Janis some peace and quiet.
Later, after some nap time, Jan and I headed out to 306 BBQ, a couple of miles east of town on US 72. We always eat here every visit just for their wonderful pulled pork BBQ.
Tomorrow afternoon we’re getting together with a couple of my cousins (my grandmother’s sister’s daughters. Not sure what that makes them) for a while to catch up with them.
August 10, 2015
Not As Good . . .
Once again, I spent some time trying to remove the bottom access panel so I could get to the back of my water heater. Despite the label saying to remove the panel to access the unit, it sure doesn’t look like it’s supposed to come out. But I’ll get it off eventually. We’re still doing OK on LP so it’s not an urgent problem.
About 4:00 pm, Jan and I headed out for another of those something old/new’ things. We were going to have dinner at Tacky Jack’s, but not the one in Orange Beach that we’ve eaten at for years. but the newer one on the south side of the Intercoastal Waterway, diagonally across the canal from Lulu’s At Homeport.
I started out with a cup of Seafood Gumbo, which didn’t measure up to what I had at Lulu’s the other night. It wasn’t nearly as flavorful, and it was even thicker. It didn’t have any okra in it, which I know is normally added for thickening, but it does add flavor. Ironically, although I like the taste of okra in gumbo, I don’t really like it thick, as in gravy-thick. I prefer the thinner, almost broth-like gumbo. But I’ll have to wait till we get to Breaux Bridge this Thursday for that kind.
Jan got their Grilled Shrimp Tacos, which, like my Gumbo, did not measure up to the ones she had at Lulu’s the other night. Lack of flavor was also a problem with these, too.
I’m starting to see a pattern here.
But I must say, however, I really enjoyed my Blackened Shrimp Po-Boy.
I think this is where all the flavor from the other dishes went. Very good. I’d have it again. But maybe we ought to go back to our old reliable one in Orange Beach next time.
Finally heading back to the rig, we made a quickie Wal-Mart stop to pick up a prescription on the way.
Then, later, about 7, we headed back out to the Boardwalk area in Gulf Shores, just to sit out on the beach, and watch the ocean and the sunset.
There must be some dust in the air to the west of us, because I was surprised at how bright the sunset was. But it only lasted a few minutes before it faded away.
Before heading back to the park, we made a stop at Scoop’s Olde Fashion Ice Cream, a place we have been going to for years, and it’s still good.
All in all, a very nice day.
August 10, 2016
Shoney’s and Showers . . .
First up, for those of you with Yahoo email addresses, change your password.
A hacker recently put what he claims are 200 million Yahoo email usernames, hashed passwords, and birth dates on sale on the Dark Net, asking about $1,800 for the entire data dump.
Even if it’s not true, it never hurts to change your password. Here’s more about it.
http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/08/yahoo-email-data-breach-dump/
I spent the morning working on website stuff, while Jan read her Kindles. Yes, Kindles. She had 3 – a Fire, a PaperWhite, and a second PaperWhite, which is mine. She trades between them, with one or two of them charging while she’s reading the other one.
I don’t use my PaperWhite anymore, doing all my Kindling on my Galaxy Tab 4.
A little later, Helen, my cousin Wes’ wife came by to say Hi and catch us up on all the family news. Between her kids, Stahlie, Darby, Luke, and Harlan, she’s got a lot to keep up with.
About 5 pm, Jan and I went next door to check in with my Aunt Jan and Uncle Ed, whose home is right behind the RV park. And although they may not realize it, Jan and Ed have a lot to do with Jan and me being together.
In June of 1967, I left Athens and drove down to Florida to bum around for the summer. I ended up in Sanford, FL, where my Uncle Ed had a veterinary practice. I stayed with them for a few days while I looked around for something to do.
Checking out the Florida Today paper, I saw a want ad for someone to do the shows and to take care of the animals at the Marine Life area of Florida Wonderland, an amusement park in Titusville, FL.
Yes, that’s me with hair.
A couple of days later, on July 5th, I started working there, and that afternoon I met Jan, who was working as a Saloon Girl in Miss Kitty’s Pleasure Palace, the western town’s soft drink saloon.
It took me a while to get her to go out with me. She said later she thought I was just a stuck-up college kid with a red sports car.
And this coming September, we will have been married 49 years.
Leaving Ed and Jan’s, my Jan and I headed out for dinner. Jan had seen an ad for Hot Fudge Cake, and I wanted a big juicy hamburger. And we were able to get both at the local Shoney’s.
Although they weren’t really busy, it took almost 30 minutes to get our food. But it was hot and delicious anyway.
Jan got a Mushroom-Cheddar Burger while I went with a Double-Decker Burger.
Really, really good, hot and juicy, just like I wanted.
For dessert, Jan got her Hot Fudge Cake,
while I got the Hot Apple Crisp.
Well worth the wait.
Wrapping up, tomorrow night is the big night for the yearly Perseid Meteor Shower. And it’s supposed to be a doozy.
Where you would typically see 80 to 100 showers per hour, tomorrow night should be 160 to 200 per hour.
The Perseids are actually remnants from the comet Swift-Tuttle that orbits the Sun every 133 years. As it rounds the Sun, it is constantly shedding small particles in its wake. And once a year, the Earth sweeps through that trail, giving us a spectacular show in the sky.
Hopefully, our skies will be clear enough here to give us a chance to see the show.
Check it out where you are.
August 10, 2017
No News Is . . .
well, no news, I guess. Which is what we heard about our RV repairs today. But I wasn’t really expecting anything until later this week anyway.
I like to drive fast.
Jan can attest to that. But not in the RV, of course. That’s 55 – 60 mph all the way. But on the track, and on west Texas roads, it’s another matter.
Back in the day, I raced SCCA in my very souped-up ‘65 Triumph Spitfire and hit a little over 130 mph on the track. Above that, the front end got a little squirrely. But I did have the pleasure of beating a couple of Vettes when I was running in the Unlimited Class.
And when we were dating, I did ‘test drive’ Jan once, hitting over 120 on a long deserted stretch of Florida four-lane highway. When she didn’t scream or faint, I decided she was a definite possibility.
And actually I’ve been faster than that. In 1966 and 1967, I took both the Basic Road Racing and the Advanced Road Racing Classes at Bob Bondurant’s Racing School, when it used to be at the Atlanta Raceway in Georgia get my SCCA Racing License.
But part of the fun was the final exam, where we got to take a Porsche (or Porsche ‘Ah’ as Alan says) out on the road track and had to match or beat a specific time during one of three tries. I passed the second time, and was clocked at over 160 on the straights. But with all this background in speed, and still feeling the ‘need’ now and then, I’m often amazed, and sometimes ‘scared’ by Houston drivers.
Coming home from Louisiana this past Monday night about 11 pm, I’m on I-10 passing through downtown Houston, and doing about 70. Of course the speed limit is 60 mph, and it’s been raining, but no one else seems to care. And even driving 70, I’m the slowpoke of the bunch, with people passing me on both sides, sometimes flashing their lights, apparently because I’m in the way and slowing them down. Most were doing 80-85, but I swear that some were bumping up against 100 mph.
Makes me think the Texas State Motto shouldn’t be ‘Friendship’, but maybe should be ‘Punch it, Margaret’.
And on that note, how in the heck is one word a ‘motto’? That should be the Texas State Word, if anything. I contend that it takes at least two words to make a motto.
‘Be Prepared!’ Now that’s a motto.
August 10, 2018
My Sweetie’s Back!
Yay!
I spent most of the day at work trying different ideas on how to move the company website from our old in-house Linux server up to a dedicated GoDaddy server.
One of the problems I’ve been having is that the previous IT guy had not updated the Zen Cart shopping cart software since it was installed in 2013. So we’re 18 updates behind, ones that came down when he was still working there. And now I’m kind of stuck. Everyone warns me that trying to update now might be fatal to the shopping cart.
I’ve set up a test area on GoDaddy using the latest version of WordPress and Zen Cart installs they use. But the shopping cart doesn’t work correctly when I move the databases from the old cart to the new one. And I now think that the problem is caused by the different versions.
But now I may have a solution. Burrowing into the Zen Cart site, I found that old versions of the program are available, including my 6-year-old version. So my idea now is to manually install the old version of Zen Cart on the GoDaddy server. Then I’ll try to move the database files over and see how it works.
Then if it does, I’ll start trying to update the version until I get it to work. At least I hope that’s the way it will work. We’ll see.
Looks like we’re going to the Texas Renaissance Festival again this year. This will be our 3rd year in a row. Kind of unusual since we’re normally either traveling or gate guarding that time of the year. But it just worked out.
I got an email last week announcing a half-price sale on tickets this past Wednesday, starting at 2 pm, with only 20,000 going on sale. They were only for the first 3 weekends but that was fine with us.
I figured the tickets would sell out fast, so I was all ready to go right at 2 pm. But the half-price tickets didn’t show up on the website until about 3 minutes after. And I immediately ran into a problem.
The website asked for a password before it would let me buy the tickets. Thinking I may have missed something about this in the email, I checked it out. But nothing about a password.
So I first tried no password, hitting Return. No luck. Then I tried ‘password’, but that didn’t work either. Then I went with Texas Renaissance Festival. Again, No.
Then, one at a time, I tried Texas, Renaissance, and Festival. Nada. So then I tried ‘renfest’, the abbreviated nickname for the event.
And it worked!
So I got 5 tickets and a Preferred Parking Pass, and I was done. Later in the afternoon, at home, I checked the website again, and they still had tickets, and still had the password request. I would have expected the tickets to go pretty fast, but I guess the password thing slowed people down. But I still don’t understand what the purpose of it was.
Tomorrow, Jan and I will make some more trips to bring stuff from the house to the storage unit because it’s now possible that we’ll close as soon as this coming Thursday, over a week earlier than expected. So tomorrow and Sunday look to be busy.
August 10, 2019
Getting The Boot . . .
Landon’s starting off school this year with a bang. Or at least a boot.
A month or so ago, he was at a trampoline park and said he hurt his foot. But then didn’t say much more about it. Then the other day it was hurting again, so Brandi took him to the doctor. And X-raying showed a stress fracture.
So now he has to wear the boot for a couple of months, though he can take it off to swim and bathe. I predict that as soon as he gets back to school, it’s going to be covered in girls’ autographs.
Brandi did have this to say later.
“We had barely left the parking lot, and he asked if I could buy him a bell so he can ring me when he needs something. I was a nice mommy and did not tell him what he could do with his bell.â€
I went through the OTA TV signals from our new antenna this morning, logging all the channels we’ll be interested in. Here’s what I got.
2-1 Channel 2 — NBC Network
2-2 MeTV — Old TV Shows
2-3 H&I TV — Old TV Shows
2-4 Start TV — Old TV Shows
8-1 Channel 8 — PBS Network
8-2 Create TV — PBS Specials
11-1 Channel 11 — CBS Network
11-2 Bounce TV — Movies
11-3 Justice TV — Crime Shows
11-4 Quest TV — Various
13-1 Channel 13 — ABC Network
13-2 LivWell — Health & Food Shows
13-3 Laff TV — Movies
20-1 Channel 20 — My TV Network
20-2 Movie TV — Movies
20-3 Decades TV — Old TV Shows
20-4 Buzzr TV — Old Game Shows
26-1 Channel 26 — FOX Network
26-2 Light TV — Old TV Shows & Movies
39-1 Channel 39 — CW Network
39-2 Ant TV — Old TV Shows
39-3 Comet TV — Old Movies
39.4 TBI TV — FailFactory
45-3 Escape TV — Crime Shows
46-3 Nudu TV — Old TV Shows & Paid Prgms
46-4 Heartland — Country and Cooking Shows
46-6 TCN TV — The Country Network
46-7 NewsNet TV — 24 Hour News
49-1 ION TV — Old TV Shows
49-3 ION Plus — Old TV Shows
57-1 KUBE TV — Old TV Shows
57-4 COZI TV — Old TV Shows
57-7 This TV — Old Movies
67-2 Get TV — Old TV Shows
67-3 Grit TV — Old Movies
One of the unusual ones is on 39.4. Called the FailFactory, it seems to be a channel that just shows Funniest Home Video-type clips 24 hours a day.
The gasket that I hope will fix my rig’s oil leak problem will be here on Monday, so I went ahead and ordered a new oil filter from Amazon that also should be here Monday. I was thinking about reusing the old filter since it only has about 500 miles on it, but I’m not sure about reusing the rubber gasket on it. But I decided not to take a chance.
I did tell Jan that once I do get it all changed out, I’m not going to worry about doing a test drive, since the problem has never occurred on a test drive, just on a real trip. I will let it run at high idle for 30 minutes or so to check for regular leaks.
This afternoon, we headed out about 4 for dinner at Los Ramirez Mexican Restaurant once again. Then we stopped at the tire store and made an appointment to come by at 12:30 tomorrow afternoon for them to take care of my stuck lug nut problem. Then, after a Wal-Mart stop, we headed home.
August 10, 2020
Chip Off The Old Block???
First up, a couple of interesting videos.
This one is a video of SpaceX’s recent 500-foot test hop of their Starship SN5.
And, yes, it does look like a grain silo. But that’s because it’s the top of a future 400-foot rocket, minus the nose cone. It will sit atop a Super Heavy Booster and will take 100 people or 120 tons of supplies to the moon or Mars.
This is what it will look like when it’s all put together.
Now that’s the way a Starship is supposed to look.
The next flight is supposed to be about 20km or 12 miles up. Soon.
Next up is a really interesting 4K video of the recent explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. The first part is in real-time, the second part is in slow-motion, and the third part is in super slow-motion.
Unfortunately, the video wouldn’t allow me to embed it into the blog, so you’ll have to click on the link itself.
The resulting shockwave in slo-mo is devastating. Be sure and read the accompanying text from the guy who shot the video from his apartment balcony.
I mentioned in yesterday’s blog how I had started computer programming at the age of 10, albeit one made out of Masonite. And as it turns out, Landon’s doing pretty much the same.
His 10th birthday is in 10 days, and for his big present, he asked for this one-on-one Roblox online computer programming class. In case you’re wondering, Roblox is an online gaming platform that lets you create and market your own games.
The course will not only teach him how to create and program his own games, but also how to market them.
A Chip Off The Old Block???
August 10, 2021
Nothing New Under The Sun . . .
Jan and I were on our way into Houston by 9:45 this morning, meeting Brandi, Landon, and Sophie at Cleburne Cafeteria. We got there a little before they opened at 11 to be sure that we didn’t have to wait in line.
Cleburne’s is fabled in the Houston area, having been around for over 80 years and surviving two fires during that time.
This place is not your Luby’s or Piccadilly’s, but a high-end restaurant that’s also a cafeteria. You can even order a custom-cooked Ribeye or Prime Rib. All of their veggies and fruits are fresh, never frozen, and all the sauces and salad dressings are made from scratch. And they’re known city-wide for their desserts, with all the pies, cakes, and puddings made daily.
We did park Landon and Sophie in their own booth, just so we could have an actual conversation.
Getting to the Houston Museum of Natural Science, we parked in the parking garage (worth the $20) and headed inside. For some reason, when I bought the tickets online, I was only able to select Will Call and not Digital Tickets.
But there was no obvious Will Call booth, just a long line of people buying tickets. I thought that’s why I got my tickets online ahead of time. I even asked an employee, and was told that this was the line for Will Call.
Of course, 20 minutes later, as we all walked down the long hallway to the actual entrance to the museum area, what do I see but this.
Well, isn’t that special!
Inside, we came across Victoria the T-Rex from the ads.
and also a T-Rex skull.
Finally, in the Pompeii exhibit area, we found a lot of neat items, many demonstrating that there’s nothing new under the sun.
These are Roman keys from there.
And some of glassware looked like something you could buy at Wal-Mart. Especially when you consider that the art of glassblowing had only been introduced to Roman culture in the last 50 years before.
The horn-shaped piece on the left is a wine glass.
But the cooking utensils were even more amazing.
The iron skillet looks like it could have been my grandmother’s.
And the two ladle-looking pieces are actually colanders.
I’m gonna wrap up tonight’s blog with Landon and Sophie watching the movie about the 79 A.D. eruption of Mount Vesuvius that destroyed Pompeii, on August 24-24. So an anniversary coming up.
It also destroyed nearby Herculaneum, but Pompeii gets all the press. Probably had a better agent.
I’ll finish up our fun day in tomorrow’s blog.
August 10, 2022
Tracking? What’s That?
Except for Amazon, I’m not sure tracking a package with UPS or USPS really does much good.
I recently reposted this from 2012 about a package shipped through USPS, and after getting from CA to TX in one day, it then proceeded to orbit around Texas for 5 more days before it finally got delivered to me here in Houston.
Processed through USPS Sort Facility
2012-08-08, 00:07:00, SAN ANTONIO, TX 78284
Processed through USPS Sort Facility
2012-08-07, 13:28:00, DALLAS, TX 75398
Depart USPS Sort Facility
2012-08-07, 00:00:00, DALLAS, TX 75398
Processed through USPS Sort Facility
2012-08-06, 16:04:00, MCALLEN, TX 78501
Depart USPS Sort Facility
2012-08-06, 00:00:00, SAN ANTONIO, TX 78284
Depart USPS Sort Facility
2012-08-06, 00:00:00, MCALLEN, TX 78501
Processed through USPS Sort Facility
2012-08-05, 21:58:00, SAN ANTONIO, TX 78284
Processed through USPS Sort Facility
2012-08-04, 21:20:00, SAN BERNARDINO, CA 92403
Dispatched to Sort Facility
2012-08-04, 14:37:00, MURRIETA, CA 92563
Acceptance
2012-08-04, 13:39:00, MURRIETA, CA 92562
And more recently, I ordered something from eBay on August 5th, and it was shown as being picked up the next day by UPS.
And that’s it.
There has been no more tracking info, so I have no idea where it is.
And even calling UPS didn’t help.
So I guess I wait.
For dinner tonight, I stopped off at Whataburger on the way home to pick up a free Bacon Bleu Cheeseburger. Well, it was free with a coupon if I bought a medium fry and a medium Coke.
Since the drive-thru line was pretty long, I just went in and ordered to-go at the counter. And had my order in less than 5 minutes.
Much faster than going through the long line of about 10 cars.
But the funny thing was that right before I got my order, a guy walked me to throw his trash away, and I noticed he was wearing a Five Guys employee badge and T-shirt. And it’s not like he was far away from work.
The Five Guys is only 1/2 mile away. Guess he knows who has the best burgers.
August 10, 2023
Jan’s Other Heartthrob . . .
For some reason, last night’s blog, Bring Your Own Chainsaw, didn’t post correctly. But it’s up there now. Or you can just click the link.
You never know when you might need a chainsaw.
I was out the door by 9 am this morning for a two-part trip. First up was to pick up Jan at our daughter Brandi’s up in Katy. Then it was on up to The Woodlands area to meet up with long-time friends Debi and Ed Hurlburt for our monthly get-together, this time at the Twin Peaks there. Jan and I have eaten there a couple of times in the past when we were staying up at the Lake Conroe Thousand Trails.
And after reading our blog posts about the good food at Twin Peaks, Debi and Ed decided they wanted to check it out.
Now, when you take friends to a place you’ve recommended, you’re always worried that they won’t like it. But based on the empty plates at the end of the meal, everyone liked it a lot.
Ed got the Philly Cheesesteak with fries,
while Jan got her usual Chipotle Chicken with Double Broccoli.
Debi got the Fish and Chips, which I didn’t get a shot of, while I got my usual Soup and Sandwich.
Jan and I both agreed that what we had was better than the same versions we had at our Webster location last week.
Jan and I were on our way home by about 2 pm, and after a smooth trip for a change, got back to the rig about 3:15.
Next month we’re set for the Katz’s Deli up there in The Woodlands. Though we’ve eaten at the Montrose locations a number of times over the years, this will be our first time at this location.
Already looking forward to it.
Jan’s all excited about tomorrow night’s Alvin Opry, because her other Heartthrob’s going to be there. And he would be John Mark Davis
John Mark is the full-blooded son of the Chief of the Adai Caddo Indians of Louisiana, and has performed all over the country. He has opened for Mark Chestnutt and Tracy Byrd, and was offered a slot opening for Dwight Yoakum, but due to a prior obligation, was unable to accept.
He was also twice an award winner in the Nashville’s Music City Song Fest, and really knows how to work a crowd and keep you entertained. He’s also known for his hilarious versions of Kaw-Liga, Running Bear, and Please Mr. Custer.
Here’s him doing Running Bear.
Jan relates how the last time we saw John Mark at the Opry, she almost knocked down his wife to get a hug from him.
And even better, tomorrow night John Mark is the Pre-Show feature, which means that rather than 5 or 6 songs over two sets, he’ll be singing from 6:10 to 6:50, so 40 straight minutes of John Mark for Jan’s giddy pleasure.
Luckily for meI’m confident in my masculinity.
August 10, 2024
Full Circle . . .
We saw a week or so that Marjorie Morgan, our long-time friend and owner of Gator’s Bar & Grillhad recently bought the nearby Monterey’s Little Mexico just a block or so away from Gator’s, with her Facebook saying that she was going to get the place squared away. And the place really needs ‘squaring away.’
The location was flooded out during Hurricane Harvey in August 2017, and then didn’t reopen until a year or so ago. And it was never as good as it was before. And we had something to compare it to, pretty much every month.
When we make our monthly Alvin Opry visit, we always eat at the Monterey’s in that area. And the difference is noticeable. Hopefully, she’ll be able to set this location on the right path.
And this is full circle for Marjorie. We first met her back in the 1990’s when she was the manager of this location. Later, she worked for corporate, traveling around helping to open new locations. After that, she headed up catering for one of the big casinos in Las Vegas. Then somewhere in here, she and her husband opened Gator’s.
Looking forward to the improvements.
So today we decided to check it out. And it was definitely better already.
Jan got her favorite Large Beef Fajita Nachos, which we share,
while I got my Large Chicken Tortilla Soup, my favorite also.
Looking forward to going back.
Apparently, when you walk the beach after a hurricane, you can find more than just a lot of pretty shells.
This is the first low tide on Fernandina Beach, FL, after Hurricane Matthew in 2016.
But Hurricane Debby’s recent pass through Florida left something a little more lucrative.
Hurricane Debby blows $1 million worth of cocaine onto Florida beach
More than $1 million worth of cocaine washed up on a beach in the Florida Keys after Hurricane Debby battered the Gulf Coast’s Big Bend Monday morning, officials said.
Debby, which made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early in the morning, carried more than two dozen 70-pound packages of cocaine ashore as winds topped 80 miles per hour, the US Border Patrol said.
“Hurricane Debby blew 25 packages of cocaine (70 lbs.) onto a beach in the Florida Keys,†US Border Patrol acting chief patrol agent Samuel Briggs II said in a social media post.
A beachgoer discovered the drugs — wrapped inside a trash bag — among seaweed, leaves, and other debris that washed up on the beach, according to photos posted in reply to Briggs’ post.
Who knewthe drug cartels have their own product logos?
