Our RV Adventures

I have been corrected.

When I related Brandi and Landon’s story in yesterday’s blog about a strange dog showing up in their living room, I said that they had noticed the visitor. But actually they didn’t.

When Lowell came home from work, he’s the one that found the doggie intruder roaming the house with her new compadres, and not Brandi or Landon.

So now you know.

* * * * *

So why is SpaceX torturing seals?

Well, the government is making them.

Remember, to access our blog links. Right-Click on Link and Select ‘Open in New Tab’

It seems that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is worried about the effect that SpaceX Starship ship launches and landings will have on Pacific Ocean wildlife when they launch from California.

Musk also described a bizarre scenario where SpaceX was compelled to “kidnap a seal, strap it to a board, put headphones on the seal, and play sonic boom sounds to it” to assess the potential impact of rocket launches on local seal populations.

And they had to do this TWICE, with two different seals, just to be sure.

Apparently annoying one seal just wasn’t enough.

Now I would think that if I were a seal, I would be much more traumatized by being kidnapped, strapped down, and forced to listen to loud noises through headphones, than I would be hearing loud noises that sound a lot like just thunder.

And it’s not just seals they’re worried about, but sharks and whales too.

SpaceX was required to spend a lot of time and money to try and categorize the odds that a falling Starship might hit a shark or a whale somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Now the Pacific Ocean covers 30% of the Earth’s surface, or 63.8 million square miles, larger than the landmass of all the continents combined.

So what do YOU think the odds are that an errant falling Starship is going to nail a shark or whale somewhere in the middle of the Pacific?

* * * * *

Jan and I spent several hours this afternoon locking down the excursions on our upcoming 9 Day RCL Western Caribbean Cruise that starts Dec 7.

Here’s what we have.

Progresso

Xcambo Mayan Ruins & Merida City with Lunch

Cozumel

Chichen Itza Ruins: Augmented & Virtual Reality  This one is for me

Island Roots, Honey and Chocolate Traditions   This one is the one Jan wants to do instead.

Roatan, Honduras

Easy Roatan Monkey, Sloth and Iguana Interaction

Belize City, Belize

Scenic Wildlife River Safari

Costa Maya

Kohunlich Mayan Ruins

A couple of these are only 2 or 4 hours, so hopefully we can schedule another excursion before or after, based on finding something locally.

* * * * *

With Fall comes the debut of the Fall TV Shows, and this is our lineup so far.

Ghosts

Georgie and Mandy

Happy’s Place

Only Murders In The Building

Elsbeth

High Potential

The Irrational

Matlock

Anyone out there have any other suggestions?

* * * * *

Tomorrow, after early voting, and a quick stop by the office, Jan and I plan on lunch at Viola & Agnes, a Creole Neo Soul Food place over on NASA Rd 1 in El Lago. The Facebook reviews are over the top, so we’re really looking forward to it.

Thought for the Day:

Why be only difficult, when with just a little more work, you can be absolutely impossible.

Stay tuned here for more lifestyle tips.

And Now On To Today’s Retro-Blogs.™

October 21, 2009

Yellow Trees and Red Bushes…

Today was another road trip day.

Once again we headed up into Michigan, or really Michiana, as it’s called around here.

We headed off in a different direction than last time, toward Niles, MI.  We were looking for a place to have breakfast/lunch and then take a drive through the country, checking out the fall foliage.

Coming in to Niles, we saw the Blueberry Hill House of Pancakes and decided to stop. It’s a breakfast and lunch only type of place and was really good.

Jan had the blueberry pancakes, and I had something I’ve never had before, a Hawaiian Omelet.  It had pineapple, bananas, and pecans drizzled with honey inside, and topped with strawberry topping.  And, strange as it sounds, it was really good.

After breakfast, we came across a Tractor Supply Store and stopped in.  Jan was looking for a magazine that she only finds there, and I needed to restock on some glues that had leaked and I had thrown away.

Leaving there, we headed out into the countryside and saw some great foliage displays with red, orange, and yellow trees…

And these beautiful red bushes.

Coming back home, I did some outside cleaning and repair work, while Jan sat out and kept an eye on Mister as he wandered around, checking out the park.

About 5:30 Jan, and I went out to dinner at our favorite Mexican place, El Maguey.

We had so much fun talking, we didn’t get back until almost 8 pm.

Great times…

October 21, 2010

BBQ and More . . .

We left the rig about 9:30 this morning heading up to Brandi’s so Jan could go with her downtown for Landon’s two month checkup.

While they were gone, I hit the bank, Starbucks, the storage rooms, several clients, and then ended up at Home Depot.

I’m trying to repair the knob on our shower. It broke while we were in Elkhart a couple of months ago. It’s a Moen faucet and I figured I wouldn’t have any problems finding a replacement. I checked with Home Depot and Lowe’s, but they didn’t have one that would fit. Finally a guy working there, who used to work for one of the RV manufacturers there in Elkhart told me that for some reason the RV faucets were not the same size as the home models.

I figured that with all the RV surplus places in the Elkhart area I wouldn’t have any problem finding one. But I bombed out there too.

I then called American Coach, who referred me to Moen. Moen told me they don’t have any parts left for that model.

So I figured we might be stuck with the small pair of Vice-Grips that are presently performing the knob replacement function.

But when I was looking at the zip lock bag of parts last night, I suddenly got an idea on how to possibly repair the broken one, hence my trip to Home Depot to find a small piece of brass pipe to act as a reinforcement sleeve for the knob. I found something that I think will work. I’ll try it out this weekend and see.

About 5:30 I met Jan, Brandi, Lowell, Landon, and Chris at the new Spring Creek BBQ on I-45 in the League City / Victory Oaks area. This one just opened this past Monday, so it was our first time here, but we’ve eaten at the one in Pearland several times last year. And as before, it was great. The ribs were really meaty, and the sides, Jan and I had the green beans and the pinto beans, were all great too. Brandi really likes the Mac N Cheese. We finally headed home about 6:45 pm.

We missed having Linda and Piper there with us, but unfortunately they both had to work. Hopefully we’ll get together with them next time.

October 21, 2011

Doves and Deeres . . .

Well it looks like the doves have come back with the olive branch and the sun is trying to peek through the clouds. It’s actually supposed to be pretty nice until Tuesday. Hopefully things will be able to dry out by them.

After the usual coffee and lunch I headed over once again to the RV/MH Hall of Fame. I’m hoping to finish up tomorrow, or Monday at the latest. But then I’ve said that before.

I got back to the rig about 5:15, and about 15 minutes later Jan and I headed over to El Maguey for our Mexican fix. Dave and Jean Damon, vendors of Aerospace 303, who are also staying here at the park, followed us over, where we all met up with Al Hesselbart for some great Mexican food.

Brandi, Lowell, and Landon are visiting Lowell’s parents in Oklahoma, and they sent us these photos.

Here’s Landon and his daddy.

And Landon with his other Grannie and Papa.

And here’s Landon showing off his John Deere cowboy boots.

And now for another installment of . . .

Things Every RV’er should have:

Today’s topic is Aerospace 303 Protectant. As I mentioned above, our friends at dinner with us tonight, Dave and Jean Damon, are vendors for 303, and they turned me on to this stuff a couple of years ago. It’s been used in the aircraft and marine industry for years, but has only recently become widely known in the RV world.

303 is a UV protectant for any type of canvas, rubber, vinyl, latex, leather, fiberglass, or Neoprene. It is especially good on tires to help prevent the cracking and deterioration that shortens the life of your RV tires.

And applied to your awnings, it will increase their life and water repellency, while greatly reducing the fading.

If you can’t catch up with Dave and Jean at a rally, you can get it here on Amazon for Aerospace 303.

October 21, 2012

South of the Border . . .

Jan and I pulled out of our site at Harbor View Outdoor World Resort about 9am, earlier than normal because we had a long day ahead, since it was about 340 miles to our RV park in Dillon, SC.

We pulled down to the office parking lot to hook up our toad and then hit the road. Our first goal was about 40 miles away at I-95 South.

We took I-95 down to just north of Richmond where we got the east I-295 loop around the city and then hooked back up with I-95 again. Then it was I-95 all the the way to Dillon. Despite rumors to the contrary, the road was in good shape, the traffic wasn’t too heavy, and there was no construction sites.

Sometimes you can’t ask for more.

We made a couple of quick stops, one at a closed weigh station and another at a rest area.

We pulled into the Bass Lake RV Park in Dillon about 3:30 and I went into the office to get checked in. Surprisingly we found a very nice British couple who owned the park.

In addition, we found a very nice park, especially for only $16 per night with Passport America for 50 amp full hookups. Bass Lake is nicely laid out with a lot of trees, but still open enough for good satellite access. Well recommended.

About 100 miles from the NC/SC border we started seeing signs for South of the Border.

And about 5 miles before we reached our park turnoff we came across Pedro.

At least he’s supposed to be a ‘Pedro’. He looks more Chinese to me.

The place seems to have a little of everything: a Ferris wheel and other carnival rides, a reptile zoo, a lot of shops, 2-18 hole miniature golf courses, a 200 foot high observation tower with a glass elevator to the top, and six restaurants.

And after we got set up at Bass Lake, we all headed back up the Interstate to have dinner at one of them – The Peddler Steak House.

The online reviews said that despite its location in a tourist attraction, this was a great place for “dead cow meat” (a direct quote). And according to Jan, a great place for mahi mahi too.

And it wasn’t just the steaks, the salad bar and the dressings were exceptional too.

Be aware, the place is NOT cheap, but it sure is good.

Tomorrow we’ve got an easy 200 mile run further south down I-95 to Hardeeville, SC, just north of Savannah, GA, where we’ll spend a week or so.

October 21, 2014

Sometimes you shake the Jell-O,

And sometimes the Jell-O shakes you.

As of 6pm this afternoon we are off the gate and parked in the Gate Guard Services yard near Buffalo, TX.

Chelsie, our Gate Guard Services sales rep, showed about noon today with some new clothes for us. We had been expecting her to show up with our new GGS shirts that we would be wearing along with the new work pants we recently brought. But what we got was something completely different.

As it turns out, MD America, the oil company we were working for, has decided that all workers must wear the complete FRC outfit, including coveralls, steel-toed boots, and hard hats.

Including us.

And not just us, who work right across the road from the rig, but the gate guards up the road from us, almost a mile away, also have to wear the outfit.

So at about 1:30pm I called Jamie and told him this wouldn’t work for us. He said he understood, and there was a couple here at the yard that would take over for us. So Jan and I started tearing down, And about 4:30, after briefing the new guards, Jan and I headed out for Buffalo, TX, about 55 miles away. By 6pm we were parked, hooked up, and settled in.

After the busy afternoon, we were too tired to go anywhere for dinner, so we had one of Frack Food meals, Chicken and Beef Fajitas. Very good, especially considering there’s no more where that came from.

Tomorrow we’ll probably do our shopping trip that we had planned for this Saturday, just a few days early. It’s about the same distance to Waco or Bryan/College Station, so I imagine we’ll go back to B/CS since we kind of know the place.

But that remains to be seen.

You know, Jell-O, and all that.

October 21, 2015

In For The Long Haul . . .

Jan talked to one of the Company Men this morning, and right now it looks like we’ll be here until our optimum leave date of November 22nd. Rather than the workover rig up next as we’d been told before, flowback is coming in the next day or so, with the workover scheduled for a couple of weeks from now.

And we’re back on the gate starting tomorrow morning at 7am, so our brief respite is officially over. But in one last gasp of fun, we decided on another dinner out tonight.

After our morning coffee I started in on replacing the charger port on my ASUS laptop. As I figured it took me a little over an hour to get down to the base circuit board where the port was located. Here’s a pretty good video of the procedure if you’re interested.

Next up was to get the old port unsoldered from the board, and that proved to be much easier said than done.

The tip of my soldering iron is only 1/32” in width, but I still had trouble getting the tip and the solder wick in between the port and the parts on either side. I finally ended up using a pair of sharp cutters to clip the legs off so I could get the port case out of the way and get to the circuit board traces to clean off the old solder.

This should have been easy, but it seems they used some sort of high-temp solder on this board because my 100-watt iron had a hard time melting the solder joints to clean out the holes. My iron had no problem melting the rosin core solder I was using, so I know it was working OK.

By melting my solder on top of the circuit board joints, I was able to gradually dilute the high-temp stuff and get it off and the holes cleaned out so I could mount the new port. But because I had to take my time with this so I didn’t overheat the board, it took me several hours to finish this up.

By now it was getting close to dinner time, and finding I didn’t have rubbing alcohol to clean the sticky rosin gunk off the board, I put it aside until after supper.

And as far as dinner, where else but the Longhorn Grill for another great steak? And afterward we were going to split a piece of their delicious Strawberry Cheesecake, but apparently it was so delicious that they were sold out. So instead we split an order of their Hot Peach Cobbler with Ice Cream. Also very good.

Coming home we made a quick stop at the HEB for a few things, including rubbing alcohol. Back at the rig I got back on the laptop project, cleaning off the rosin with the alcohol and preparing the board for the new part. Then the real problem started.

Although the Amazon listing said this port was OEM for the X53E (and several other similar models), it did not fit my board. The lead spacing was slightly wrong, and the leads themselves were too big for the holes in the board.

So for right now, I’m stuck with my laptop in pieces until I can come up with a solution. I could try another Amazon listing from a different vendor, or I might be able to come up with a kluge using pieces of wire to make new legs, or maybe using sharp cutters to trim the leads down to fit the circuit board holes

But I’ll have to think on it overnight.

October 21, 2016

Sunday Night?

After coffee and our Buc-ee’s Cranberry Nut muffins from our Wednesday trip down here, we were out the door to the Karnes County National Bank to get our business checking account under our DBA name.

Our first stop was the branch (1 of 2) here in Kenedy, but we found that the one person who could open this type of account had left for an early lunch. So we were off to the remaining branch over in Karnes City.

With this lost time we were starting to worry about being done before we needed to be at the Marathon Orientation Class about 10 miles away. But when we finally finished up al the paperwork almost two hours later, we made it to the class with 15 minutes to spare.

This was good because they lock the doors right at 1pm and won’t let anyone in. Then we’d have to wait until next Friday.

The class lasted for about two hours, and was actually pretty entertaining due to the skill of the instructors. Todd had told us to text him when we were done, and when we did, he said to meet him at the same McDonald’s where we met yesterday. Lucky for us it was only about 5 minutes away.

Todd was already waiting for us, and we quickly got right down to business. We went over all our paperwork, double-checking everything we’d done so far, and listing what we still needed to do. And now we have two new events on our calendar

We’re supposed to meet Todd and his wife Tam at a gate Tam is working just north of Kenedy on the way to Karnes City. We’ll spend a couple of hours going over the operation of the gate, working with the iPad and logging in some vehicles.

We’ll also get to check out the guard shack and how it operates, which Jan is really looking forward to.

And even better, we have our first gate scheduled. It’s a new gate, and Jan and I will work the 6pm to 6am shift together, and then we’ll see where we go from there.

Jan and I both think this is kind of a test gate by Todd to see how we’ll do, and if we’ll even show up. He’s been burned a lot of times, including today. For example, he was supposed to have about 8 potential guards at the class today, but it was only us and one other lady. And she didn’t text after the class like she was supposed to do.

It’s easy to see that Todd doesn’t like people who can’t follow directions.

Since this might be our last chance for a night out in San Antonio, Jan and I headed back to the rig so could feed Miss Karma, and then headed into town to have dinner at one of our favorites, La Fonda on Main

We’ve eaten here a number of times and it’s one of our ‘go-to’ place here in San Antonio is La Fonda on Main. Opened by two sisters in 1930, it has grown (moved across the street in 1934) to one of the best Mexican restaurants in San Antonio.

Here’s what their website says about their history.

It is fascinating to hear how popular La Fonda has been as a dining spot of history’s most celebrated people. Every famous officer in World War II seems to have eaten here, including Generals Eisenhower, MacArthur and Hill. Even American presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson enjoyed La Fonda’s fare. Gary Cooper, John Wayne, Yul Brenner, Veronica Lake, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, along with many other stars, visited this historic restaurant.

Today to celebrate, we started out with a Margarita, or half a Margarita, anyway. We split a Sangria Swirl ‘Rita, and unlike the one we had recently at Saltgrass, this one actually had some alcohol in it. Very good.

Jan’s favorite dish here is their Chile Relleno platter.

The egg-battered poblano Chile is stuffed with beef tenderloin, salsa and pecans, and an enchilada Verde de queso.

I tried something completely different this time with their Filete Regio, which is an Allen Bros. Oak-grilled choice beef tenderloin, papas rancheras, Oaxaca cheese, on a crisp chalupa, topped with Ajillo Gulf shrimp, peppers, and avocado slices.

Very spicy and very good.

Both our portions were big enough that we were able to bring half of it home for later, and that also gave us enough room to split a piece of their delicious Tres Leches cake.

Really good.

Looks like it’s back to work in the next couple of days. We’re actually looking forward to it.

October 21, 2017

Running and Spiffing . . .

Although still not quite up to snuff, Jan was getting rig fever, so about 5pm she and I headed out to have dinner at Jason’s Deli right down in Conroe.

Jan just wanted soup and a sandwich, in this case, a cup of Broccoli Cheese and a quarter Turkey Muffuletta.

I got my usual, a bowl of Southwest Chicken Chili and a small Reuben sandwich.

For a non-beef chili, this one is pretty much the best.

Coming home I stopped off at the Kroger’s for a Powerball lottery ticket. It’s up to $173 million, so I’ll spend a few bucks. I don’t smoke or drink, so I’ve got to waste my money on something. And there’s not a chance that smoking or drinking will make me a millionaire.

Unfortunately, I always have to stand in line at the service desk because the machines don’t offer you a choice of a cash payout or annual payments, just a cash payout.

So if I want annual payments, and I do, I have to get it at the desk. And the reason I want annual payments is that with a cash payout I’m giving up $64 million. That’s the difference between the annual payment total of $173 million and the cash payout of $109 million.

And it gets worse as the jackpot rises. In January 2016 there was a Powerball Jackpot of $1.6 BILLION. If you took the cash payout you would only get about $1 billion, giving up 600 million just to get the cash up front.

In the case of tonight’s jackpot, if you won in Texas (no state income tax) and took the 30 annual payments, you would get almost $3.5 million a year after taxes.

While if you took the cash, you would get a one-time payout of a little over $65 million after taxes. Now honestly, what can I really do with $65 million that I can’t do with the $3.5 million. Yeah, I could invest it, but then I’d have to worry about it. And more than likely I’d be investing a large part of the 3.5 anyway. I mean, what can I actually spend it on, anyway? Jan and I’ve already said we wouldn’t get a new rig, but just get Beauty a new paint job and spiff her up a bit. Including those new blue window awnings.

On the Mega-Millions front, it looks like they’re finally increasing the cost of a ticket to $2 to keep up with Powerball’s pot sizes. Powerball went to $2 in Oct. 2015 which, along with decreasing the odds of winning, greatly increased pot sizes, leading to the $1.6 billion one I mentioned earlier.

As I always say, “Let’s run the numbers”.

October 21, 2018

Not Much Happened Today . . .

So Not Much Blog.

I had a headache a good part of the day so a short blog tonight.

We left the Riverside RV Park in Robertsdale, AL about 10am, and except for some unusually heavy Sunday traffic through Baton Rouge, it was smooth sailing all the way.

And not only was it smooth, it was also cool …almost cold, actually. The temps just barely made it into the 70’s, and we never even turned on the dash fans. In fact, we hadn’t been on the road very long when Jan went back to get a long sleeve shirt.

We got into Poche’s RV Park here in Breaux Bridge about 2:30, and parked in our usual pull-thru site.

Later we had dinner at Crazy ‘Bout Crawfish and then made a WalMart stop.

Tomorrow we’ve got a 245-mile run back to our site at the Petticoat Junction RV Park in Santa Fe, TX.

Looking forward to getting home.

October 21, 2019

Extra Perks . . .

I want to thank everyone for the many congratulations on my 4-month quest to get our rig’s oil filter adapter off. I think I got more congrats than I got on my recent birthday. Which is fine since getting the adapter off actually means more to me than turning a year older.

I did talk to Cummins today about what kind of gasket sealer, if any, I should use and was told that I could use any that was oil-resistant.

So if the weather holds, I’ll be back under the rig to hopefully wrap this up.

This weekend we booked our 13-day Alaskan cruise for next September 1 – 13. I also separately booked our 7 day pre-cruise stay that Best Western – Pioneer Park for about half of what we would have paid if we had stayed at the Holland America Westmark Hotel. In fact, what we saved between the two hotels was enough to cover our airfare up and back.

Normally I probably wouldn’t booked this early, 10 months out, but the cruise on our same ship, right before ours, is already completely sold out. So we didn’t want to lose out. Plus by booking this early we get a bunch of extra perks like $600 ship credit that can be used for extra excursions, gift shop, etc.

We’re still looking at our air flights, trying to figure out the best deals. Kind of surprised that HL doesn’t have something in place, but apparently not.

When we did our Alaskan cruise in 1998, our first night in Alaska, we stayed at the Alyeska Resort down in Girdwood about 30 miles from Anchorage.

Early in the morning, we took the ski lift up to the top of the mountain to check it out, and also make reservations for the 4 Star restaurant at the top. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day, and the workers were putting out tables, chairs, and umbrellas for the guests.

I guess no one thought to check the weather, since when we came back up about 6 hours later, it looked like this.

And this was the middle of May.

October 21, 2020

If You Think You’re Tired Of Reading . . .

about the Trials & Tribulations on our rig’s Oil Leak Repair, think how it looks from my side of the equation.

When I come up against a stubborn problem, my first inclination is to out-stubborn it. Sometimes to my detriment.

But “It’s in my nature”, as the scorpion said to the frog, while they both were drowning.

Tomorrow I’m going to drop the filter again and see what I can see. Yesterday I could see that the oil drip was running down the side of the filter, pooling on the bottom, and then dripping down from there.

Then what I will probably do is to loosen the 4 oil adapter head bolts and then retorque them down a little tighter, maybe up to 25#.

And then another high-idle test.

October 21, 2021

Trading At Joe’s . . .

Jan and I were out the door and on our way up to the Spring area to meet up with long-time friends Debi and Ed Hurlburt at El Palenque Mexican Restaurant.

We were having so much fun talking that I forgot to get photos of the delicious food, so you’ll have to wait until next month when we’re meeting at El Palenque again.

Coming home we again made a detour by the Trader Joe’s so Jan could pick up a few things.

Located in the old Alabama Theater on Shepherd, we used to go to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show here back in the day.

We finally got home about 4:15 after deciding we were still too full for Cowboy Coffee.

October 21, 2022

Road Trip Plus . . .

Tomorrow begins our 2nd busy weekend starting with the Three Acre Food Truck Pumpkin Spice Market about 10am, a birthday party about noon, and then a 2 hour trip up to Trinity for a weekend with our friends Debi & Ed Hurlburt and Janice & Dave Evans.

And then it continues during the next week with Jan’s birthday on Tuesday, a SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch on Friday (that one’s for me) and then the Wings Over Houston Airshow on Saturday.

Unlike last year, this year we sprung for the Family Chalet tickets, which comes with both covered

and uncovered table seating,

and even better, free food and drinks. That includes breakfast with fruit, pastries, and kolaches, and hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch, as well as soda, juice, and water.

Looking forward to it all.

October 21, 2023

It’s Awesome . . .

Jan and I were out the door about 12:30 this after with our first stop Galaxy Nails out FM646 so Jan could get her toesies done. And rather than sit in the car and read like I did last time, I decided to just wait inside King’s Bierhaus right next door.  Perfect since we planned on having lunch there after Jan was finished.

Jan was a little upset because, though she had an appointment for 1pm, she didn’t get called in until about 1:30pm. But we were ordering lunch by 2:15 or so.

We started off by splitting an order of their Gourmet Deviled Eggs,

made with a chunk of Chicken Schnitzel, and topped with a dab of Bourbon-Bacon Jam.

Really good.

Then Jan got the Keto version (no bun) of their Texan Dog, made with a 100% Wagyu Beef Dog,

along with Street Corn and Cotija Cheese, as well as a Cucumber Salad.

I got my usual Sausage Sampler, along with a cup of their Goulash.

I made the mistake one time of ordering the bowl of Goulash, rather than the cup.

Big mistake.

But very good Goulash, and very spicy.

And I had sausage to take home with me.

Next up was T.J. Maxx, where Jan was trying to get a jump on her Christmas card buying, but she was a little too early since they didn’t have any yet.

Then finishing up, we made our weekly WalMart stop, and then home.

Tomorrow Jan and I are heading up to Katy for a Brandi, Lowell, Landon get-together for lunch, and also to check out Landon’s new 3D printer. He says it’s AWESOME!

Can’t wait.

A little before noon, Jan and I were on our way up to Katy to meet up with Brandi, Lowell, and Landon at Ray’s Mexican, a local favorite of ours.

Lowell and I always get the same thing, the Tampiqueña, with a really delicious fajita steak.

Landon had the Street Tacos,

while everyone else was too far away for me to get a photo.

But it was all good.

After a great time catching up, we got our goodbye hugs, even from Landon, and headed home. Well, headed home after a quick stopover at the nearby Trader Joe’s so Jan could stock up on some things.

Then it was by about 4:30.

A really nice day.

While we were eating, Brandi and Landon related a really funny story about their doggies. Seems like one day last week Brandi and Landon were both in the office working at their respective computers when Landon noticed that, along with their 3 doggies, Baxter, Jack, and Max,

there was a 4th dog standing in the hallway with them. A small dog, wearing a bandana, he seemed right at home with his much bigger companions. So the question was, how did he get in the house?

Of course, the obvious answer is their doggie-door into the backyard.

So how did the dog get into the backyard? Well, as small as he was, it seems he was able to crawl under the wrought-iron fence and follow his new friends in through the doggie-door.

Finding a tag on his collar, Brandi called and got him back to his owner. But what she wants to know is why her 3 big ‘guard’ dogs didn’t let her know that a strange dog was in the house?

No, instead, they just welcomed him into the pack and let him make himself right at home.

I have a feeling he’ll be showing up again and will be welcomed back with open arms, er, paws.

I’ll let you know.

Finishing up, our daughter-in-law Linda sent over this photo of all the wildflowers covering her backyard.

Beautiful!

Thought for the Day:

Everyone seems normal until you get to know them. Especially Me.

And Now On To Today’s Retro-Blogs.™

October 20, 2009

Easy does it…

Today was an easy day.

Jan woke up with a migraine, but by lunchtime it was gone.  However, after the migraine is over, she always feels ‘kind of wiped out’ as she describes it.

So we just went out to lunch at the North Garden China Buffet and came back to the rig.

While she recuperated on the couch, I continued to sort through stuff trying to get rid of whatever I can.  I’m making slow, but sure, progress.

For supper, Jan combined my leftover Chicken Parmigiana and her grilled chicken breast for a great meal.

Like I said, an easy day.

October 20, 2010

Landon’s Jammies . . .

Brandi sent over some more Landon pics. Here he is trying his new sit-up chair.

And here he is trying out his first Halloween jammies.

Jan went out about 11 this morning to get a pedicure, and then we left the rig about 3:15 to head up to Pasadena to meet a friend at Office Depot. She’s been having trouble with a Toshiba laptop ever since she bought it in July, and she’s trying to get them it either fix it or replace it.

They keep saying it’s a malware problem, but I think it’s a hardware problem. We really didn’t get anything settled this time. We’ll have to check it out further.

Leaving Office Depot we drove back to Barbara’s house, and then she drove us over to Border Grill & Cantina on Spencer in Pasadena. It was our first time there, and it was so good that Jan ask during the meal if we could come back there for her birthday next week. I had the Chicken Tortilla Soup, and again, really good.

After dinner, we went back by Barbara’s to talk for a while. We finally headed home about 8:30 after having a great evening.

October 20, 2011

Pizza and Droids . . .

Got up early this morning, a little before 9. Last night we developed a leak in our slide coming out from underneath the sofa. Luckily it’s not hurting the floor since right now it’s still just plywood until I get the new flooring installed. See, sometimes procrastination pays off.

About noon I headed back over to the RV/MH Hall of Fame. I think I might as well put a cot over there and just stay. Every time I think I’m getting close to wrapping things up, they spring something new on me.

I got back to the rig a little after 5, so pretty quickly we headed over to Mancino’s Pizza for our weekly pizza fix. Love their garlic cheese breadsticks!

Then leaving Mancino’s we drove over to the Verizon Store. Both Jan and I are looking for new phones, so we thought we’d check things out. I really like the new Droid Charge and will probably get one before we leave Elkhart next week.

Then we walked next door to Martin’s to pick up a few things before we headed home.

On the weather front, it’s supposed to rain through tomorrow evening, then go down into the low 30’s tomorrow night before kind of clearing up to cloudy on Saturday. And then, of course, more rain on Sunday. Don’t you just love it?

October 20, 2012

Last Day in Virginia . . .

Unlike yesterday it was bright and sunny when we got up this morning, so our day trip down south was still on.

But first there was time for Hazelnut Crème coffee and some Pumpkin-Cinnamon bread.

What a way to start the day.

While I was outside getting things in the truck ready to go, I met Doug and Patti Doty who were parked across from us. Charlie Kitchens, down the row from us, told them I blogged and they wanted the URL to follow us. They hope to be full-timing in a few years, so maybe we’ll meet up down the road someday.

Our first stop after we got underway was about 70 miles down the road at Chesapeake Bay Thousand Trails. And we wanted to check it out.

Turns out it’s a really nice park with almost 500 sites,

riverfront access for some sites,

and a number of nice lakes.

And the lakes have a lot of turtles.

This is a park we would like to come back to.

Next up on the menu was Gloucester Court House, which is actually a town. It gets kind of confusing because it’s all called just Gloucester. And to make things worse it’s in Gloucester County.

It’s a quaint little town with a lot of neat buildings and shops. and what seems to be a historical marker on every block. In fact, there seems to be a marker on pretty much every corner in the whole state.

Further down the road we were in an area where Jan and I spent some time in 2009. First up was Yorktown, the location of the final major land battle of the Revolutionary War. In October 1781, General Washington and the Continental Army, along with French troops, defeated British General Cornwallis. With the surrender of over 7000 troops to Washington, Great Britain opened negotiations that dragged on for almost two more years before the war ended officially.

Next up was a real disappointment.

We checked out the Williamsburg Outdoor World Resort and found it a real mess. Narrow, rough, hilly access roads, and very unlevel sites. Not a place we would want to stay.

Two thumbs down.

Our next stop was the Dunkin’ Donuts in Williamsburg. Jan wanted some more of their Pumpkin Spice Coffee Beans and we also picked up some Pumpkin Munchkins and muffins for tomorrow.

Leaving there we drove through the nearby Anvil Campground where Jan and I stayed when we were here in 2009. Still looks pretty much the same, convenient location, but tight sites.

By this time, since we didn’t have lunch, we were getting hungry so it was time for an early dinner. So we decided to check out Ginny’s Place.

It was recommended by Rueben Bristow, who lives in the area, and visited us the other day here at the park. And it was really good. A really good buffet. And for only $6.99, since we got there before the dinner pricing started.

We finally got home about 6:30 after a long, fun day. And the last day here.

Tomorrow we’ll head out about 9am for Dillon, SC, a one-night stopover on our way to Savannah, GA.

October 20, 2013

Nice Days, Cold Nights

or They’re Working On It.

The weather here has been really nice for the last several days, sunny with daytime times in the high 70’s/low 80’s, and nighttime temps in the low 60’s, although last night it got down to a nippy 47 degrees. And weather.com says those ranges should hold for the next week or so. Nice.

As of yesterday (Saturday) we have five weeks left here on the gate, and Jan’s just giddy. But not only because of that, but because this coming Tuesday is our 2nd (and last) day off the gate. Last time it was for our anniversary, but this time it’s a combined birthday celebration. Mine’s on the 5th and hers is the 25th, and right now we’re in that 20 day period when we’re the same age every year.

Last time we had steak at Magic Time Machine, but now we’re jonesin’ for some good Mexican, and our ‘go to’ place here in San Antonio is La Fonda on Main. Opened by two sisters in 1930, it has grown (moved across the street in 1934) to one of the best Mexican restaurants in San Antonio.

Here’s what their website says about their history.

It is fascinating to hear how popular La Fonda has been as a dining spot of history’s most celebrated people. Every famous officer in World War II seems to have eaten here, including Generals Eisenhower, MacArthur and Hill. Even American presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson enjoyed La Fonda’s fare. Gary Cooper, John Wayne, Yul Brenner, Veronica Lake, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, along with many other stars, visited this historic restaurant.

Between the history and the delicious food, it reminds us a lot of La Posta in Las Cruces, NM, and we’re really looking forward to it.

The other thing we’re looking forward to is seeing ‘Gravity’ in IMAX 3D. Like our last day off, we’ll see the movie first in the afternoon, then dinner, and then Wal-Mart, Sam’s, whatever, finishing off with coffee/cappuccino/scones on the way home (at a Pilot/Flying J, of course).

On the Halloween front, Brandi and Landon are in the thick of it. Landon had his Halloween party at his daycare, and this year he’s a Power Ranger.

Look at those muscles. Guess he’s been working out.

In past years he’s been a dragon and a giraffe.

Brandi’s been doing pumpkin carvin’ thing and it came out really good, I think. She said it’s the first time she’s done one like this.

The other day I mentioned a problem solved (using vinegar to get the caliche crust off our glasses) and a problem found. But I forgot to say what the ‘problem found’ was.

Our PowerGear doorstep has stopped working. Well, it’s kind of working, I can hear the motor running, but the step doesn’t move. In fact you can push the step in and out by hand, so I guess the linkage has come loose. The strange thing is that it did it since we’ve been parked here on the gate. Seems like I remember a cotter pin on the linkage that may have broken off.

I know some people disable their step so it just stays out when they’re parked for a while, and I did this early on. But I found that after not being used for 2 or 3 months it didn’t want to work right anyway. You just can’t win.

I don’t think I’ll be able to look at it until we at least get back to the yard, and maybe not until we’re back in Houston. Because I had to use the levelers to compensate for the uneven ground here, the door side of the coach is really close to the ground and there’s not much room to get under it.

Under the heading of “They’re working on it”, this is what I always say about problems with Verizon’s cell/data service. Because that’s what we’re always told when we complain to them. But this time it’s a good thing.

When we got here at the gate, we had two bars of 3G service, with about 500 Kbps data rate. Not great, but not bad, considering. Then about two weeks ago, the data signal would just be off all night. Nothing, and then it would come back on about 5am.

Made it really hard to get a blog posted. But then last week I noticed on my phone that I was getting a consistent 3 bars of signal and Speedtest.net says I am now getting between 1.1 and 1.2 Mbps, more than double. YAY!

This is the same tower I was hitting last year on one of our gates using our Wilson Cell Phone booster, from 19 miles away! When I first set it up, I was disappointed to only be getting 1X speed, but figured it was due to the distance. But a few days later I was driving right by the tower on the Interstate and discovered it really was only 1X.

Then about two weeks into our stay at that gate, suddenly it went to 3G. So I guess they really are ‘working on it” sometimes. Come on 4G!

On a final note, we apparently have a new neighbor in the area, a bobcat. One of truck drivers saw it loping along the shoulder of the highway (US281), passing in front of the gate. At first he thought it was a coyote, but with a better look he said it was a small bobcat. By small, he said it was smaller than Mister.

When Mister is outside with us, he’s on a leash and we never leave him alone, but as people say, the bobcat kills for a living, so we’ll have to be a little more cautious.

October 20, 2014

The Operation Was a Success,

but the Patient’s Still Dead.

Today’s vehicle count was in the mid-180’s, almost identical to the previous two. But that will probably change in the next couple of days as our last remaining frack job is supposed to finish up.

And we’ve been told that we’ve got another couple of weeks to go with our drill rig here before they started fracking it immediately afterward. Hopefully it will all work out where we can stay here until we head back to Houston toward the end of November. But you never know.

The operation mentioned above was on Jan’s Kindle Paperwhite. Last night she was starting up a Mahjong game she plays when the screen froze and it locked up. So she put it aside until I could look at it.

Now normally, when the Paperwhite locks up, you hold down the power button for 30 seconds and then it will reboot. But not this time. It stayed stuck on the Mahjong startup screen. A little Googling to me to try holding down the power button for 60 seconds, release it, and then press it again. Well, this didn’t work either.

At this point, I was supposed to call Amazon Tech Support, and since Jan’s Paperwhite was six weeks out of warranty, they would sell me a refurbished one at a slight ($10) discount off a new one. Bummer!

But another post mentioned taking the Kindle apart and removing the battery for a while, before putting it all back together. Several people said this worked for them. So never able to resist tearing into a piece of hardware, I had at it.

Disassembly instructions are on the Internet and it’s really pretty easy. First you insert a small screwdriver (I used one for eyeglasses) in the corner of the front bezel and carefully pry it up enough to get a spudger inserted. A spudger is a small flat piece of plastic or wood similar to a popsicle stick but thinner.

In this photo, the screwdriver is at the top and the white plastic spudger is at the bottom.

Then you run the spudger around the edge of the bezel, breaking the glue seal that holds it on. This is very similar to how you break the bead between a tire and the wheel when changing a car tire. After carefully peeling off the bezel you have this

Next up, you remove the 11 screws holding the mainboard in the case. Again, I used a Phillips eyeglass screwdriver. After gently prying out the board, you are here.

When you turn the board over, you find the big blue battery held in by another 3 screws.

Removing those screws gets you here.

I left the battery out for about 30 minutes, and then put it all back together in the reverse order.

But when I tried the reset procedure again, it was still frozen with the Mahjong startup screen. Bummer again!

Well, I’ve still got several more things to try before I give up. I’ll let you know how it goes.

October 20, 2015

Why Did I Put It In There?

They just won’t quit. Over the last three days there have been over 300 attempts to hack into my blog, one every 10 or 15 minutes or so.

Give it up already.

Striking out looking inside for my soldering iron, I finally started going through the bins in the basement outside. And after checking out all the obvious ones, Tools, Electronics, etc., I finally found them, my primary one and my backup one, in the bin labeled Air Tools & Compressor Parts.

Why the hell did I put them in that bin?

This is my main soldering iron.

A Weller Soldering Station with adjustable temperature control, the soldering iron itself can be unplugged from the station and plugged directly into the wall socket.

My backup one is this Radio Shack one that I got for $5 at a Store Closing Sale.

Although it‘s only dual heat, it’s better than nothing when you need one.

But even more importantly for the upcoming job of replacing the power jack on my laptop, I found my ziplock bag of solder wick.

It’s used to remove the old solder out of the connections so I can get the bad jack out and leave the holes open so I can solder the new jack in.

But by the time I found all this it was too late to start on the laptop today, so that’s on the slate for tomorrow.

I mentioned a few weeks ago about mounting a power jack on my heavy-duty 12v power supply,

and that I would solder it in later.

Well, today was that ‘later’, so I got out my Weller soldering gun (I knew where it was all the time) and took care of that chore. I took the cover off, and ran the wires through vent holes in the top and then soldered them to the binding posts on the inside.

Then, routing the wires out of the way, I put the cover back on and fastened it down.

And yes, I know that just running the wires through the holes like this is not ‘good practices’, but the holes are smooth, the wire insulation is thick, and there’s going to be no movement or stress on them, and the worse it could do is blow a fuse.

But mainly I didn’t want to have to dig out my drill to make a bigger hole and then find a grommet.

Taking advantage of the continuing lull, about 4:45pm we headed out for dinner once again, this time to track down the almost-mythical KJ’s Whistle Stop.

We had tried to find this place once before, back before our frack started, and discovered the restaurant had moved and apparently left no forwarding address. No, really.

Everything on the Internet, both address and phone number, all pointed only to their old address. And when I called 411 for their new number, they didn’t have one.

WTH!

But our landowner here at the frack told us where it was really located, and said it was his favorite local place. But when we finally tried it a few days later, it was a Saturday. And as it turned out, they’re closed on Saturday and Sunday.

WTH!

But tonight we thought we’d try again. And it turned out to be a good choice.

We’d heard about their Friday night Seafood Buffet, and their lunch buffet, but we didn’t know that they had a regular dinner buffet. So that’s what we had.

After a nice salad bar, we had Chicken Fried Steak, Chicken Spaghetti, Baked Potatoes, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Field Peas, Corn, Green Beans, Rolls, and Hot Water Cornbread. All delicious.

Our landowner has good taste.

I had heard of Hot Water Cornbread before, but had never actually had it until the night we stayed in Henderson before we started on the gate the next morning back in August.

We really liked it then, so we were happy to find it here tonight. The texture reminds me of a cornbread stick, with a slightly tough skin, and a moist center. Again, really good.

Coming back, although we’d locked the gate when we left, it was open when we came back. I told Jan I guess the guy who came through had never lived on a farm, because the rule is that if you pass through a closed (or locked) gate, you leave it closed (or locked) behind you, and if it’s open, you leave it open.

Whoever it was, opened the same lock we used, so it was probably one of the frack water guys since they had a key too.

Before we parked, I went down to check out the new Mighty Mule Alarm that I replaced last week. I noticed yesterday that it had stopped working, so I wanted to check it out. What I found was that someone had driven so far off the road that they’d run over the cord that runs from the sensor at the edge of the road over to the transmitter. This was enough to pull the USB connector out of the bottom of the transmitter. So plugging it back in, I reburied the cable and sensor, hoping the trucks would do a better job of staying on the road from now on.

But this is the second time this has happened, so I wouldn’t count on it.

October 20, 2016

The Best Burgers . . .

After our coffee this morning, we met Todd at the nearby McDonald’s at 11am to go over the job and the requirements. It was also kind of a ‘get to know each other’ for all of us. After about 90 minutes, we parted ways, taking our employment packets with us.

Our first stop was a nearby carwash to try and get some of the mud off the truck. It was a so-so job and got about 90% of it off, but I’ll probably need to redo it with my pressure washer to finish up.

Todd had recommended RJ’s Burgers in downtown Kenedy. It’s often said that the best burgers are found in dumpy-looking places.

For example, here is Stomp’s down in Kemah, TX, with our favorite burgers in the Clear Lake area.

And then there’s Coyote Bluff in Amarillo, also at the top of our Best Burgers List.

And now there’s a new entry on our list – RJ’s Burgers in Kenedy, TX.

Here’s Jan’s Cheddar Mushroom Burger.

These are large burgers on 5” buns, with hand-formed 8 oz burgers and hand-cut fries. And the scary part is that according to their menu, you can get this as a double, or even a TRIPLE!  That’s a pound and a half of burger meat. WOW!

You’re getting into Heart Attack Grill territory with that one.

I got the Grilled Ribeye Sandwich, with an 8 oz Ribeye, charred around the edges and medium-rare inside. And like the fries, their onion rings are hand-sliced and battered.

And for a small place, they’ve got a pretty extensive menu.

If there’s a downside to the place, it’s that they’re only open from 10am to 3pm, Monday through Friday. Bummer!

Finishing up we headed over to the Karnes County Courthouse in Karnes City to get our DBA from the County Clerk’s office. But as it turns out, the courthouse is shut down for a complete rebuilding/remodeling and the courthouse offices are scattered all over town. We had to make 4 stops to complete the paperwork.

Finally finishing up and heading toward home, we took a detour out on FM-2102 to check out the location of the Marathon Oil Company facility in this area.

We have to take their Orientation class tomorrow, or wait until next Friday when it’s given again. Everyone has to take the class now before you can work at a Marathon site, another thing that’s changed since we last worked for them in 2012.

Getting back to the rig, I spent the rest of the evening fighting my way through the online Security Guard license stuff. Looks like we won’t have to redo the fingerprints again, so that’s good.

Tomorrow we’ll try to wrap the bank account stuff before we do the Marathon class.

Then it’s just wait and see.

October 20, 2017

Moving On Down . . .

I decided not to make the Clear Lake trip this morning for a couple of reasons. One, I just didn’t feel like it. And two, we were going to meet up with some friends at the Fish Pond Restaurant about 4, which would have meant that I would have had to head back toward Conroe by 2pm, not leaving me a lot of time down there anyway.

And now it looks like I won’t have to worry about the long trips much longer, since, at the recommendation of some friends, we found an opening at the Petticoat Junction RV Park down in the Santa Fe area, and we’ll be moving down that way this coming Thursday.

This means that I will only have a 15 mile drive to work instead of a 70 mile one way. Very Nice!

And a lot less wear and tear on the truck. It already has 266K+ miles on it, and another 83,000 miles being drug around the RV.

By the time 3pm rolled around, Jan decided she just didn’t feel like getting out and about, so I contacted Debi Hurlburt to let her know we weren’t going to make it.

Then about 5pm I drove over to Raising Cane’s in Conroe to pick up some dinner. We each got the 6 piece Caniac Combo, which will give us two meals each. Really good.

A number of you commented that you took advantage of the La Crosse Technology Weather Station sale I mentioned yesterday. Glad it worked out for you.

October 20, 2018

Hauling Shell . . .

With only 188 miles to go this morning, we pulled out of our site at the crack of 10am, heading for the Riverside RV Park in Robertsdale, AL.

Much better than yesterday’s 7:27am sunrise, let me tell you.

I had planned to get diesel at the park’s Marathon station like I did last time, but the place was a madhouse, with trucks parked every which way. At the pumps, in front of the pumps, on the shoulder, etc. And when I did find a pump that looked like I could get in and out of, it was bagged for diesel. But as it turned out, that saved me over $37.

Driving along, we quickly realized that the downed trees we saw yesterday was just a start. It was obvious that we were coming into the worst-hit areas, with solid lines of trees down along the roadsides for miles.

Then you’d come over a hill and there would be a whole forest of what looked like bare telephone poles. But a closer look showed acres of pine trees with the tops and the limbs just gone.

The first three Rest Areas we passed were closed due to the hurricane, but when we did stop and I did a walk-around, I found this sticking out from the passenger side of our rig.

Don’t know how it got there, and don’t remember hitting or running over anything. It was just kind of wedged in between the bay doors with no damage.

Coming up on the Crestview, FL exit, I saw the sign for a BP station that said it had RV access so we turned off. We got 93 gallons at $3.19 vs. the $3.59 at the Marathon this morning, So a $37 savings.

Our Silverleaf Computer Display said we had 58 gallons left on our 150 gallon tank. So 58 gallons + 93 gallons gives us 151 gallons. A 1 gallon difference, so close enough.

Since this system actually counts the fuel injector pulses, it really is that accurate. Thus our MPG readings are also very accurate.

Since we gained an hour getting back into the Central Time Zone, we pulled into the Riverside RV Park a little before 1pm. Since we were given our site number when I called in yesterday, we went straight to our pull-thru and got set up.

Later in the afternoon, we drove over to Big Daddy’s Grill on the Fish River to have an early dinner.

Not having anything else today except coffee, we were hungry, so we started off with an order of their Fried Okra. Really good and crispy.

I also had a cup of the Seafood Gumbo,

then we both got the Shrimp & Oyster Basket with Sweet Potato Fries, with Jan’s shrimp grilled and mine blackened. The oysters were just huge.

Just as delicious as last time, and well worth a visit if you’re in the area.

Catching up on a few things.

When stopped off at a Shell station to get gas this past Thursday, I saw this Gopher Tortoise hauling shell across the large parking area near the pumps.

Since he had a long way to go and a two-lane road to cross in the direction he was heading, I decided to help him out. Though he was moving along at a pretty good clip, he tucked in as soon as I got near and froze.

When I picked him up I was kind of surprised how heavy he was, probably around 15#. I hadn’t walked more than a few steps before his head and feet came out and he started ‘dog-paddling’ in the air, I guess trying to help me out.

I carried him across the parking lot and then across the road, putting him down in the tall grass over there. Without a thank you, or even a look back, he immediately headed out, aiming toward the trees in the background. Hope he stays off the roads now.

While we we passing through Titusville the other day, we turned into the Titusville High School parking lot.

Jan never went here since she had already graduated in Massachusetts before her father retired to Florida, but both of her sisters went here.

Although the place looked really nice, I was wondering if it was still in use, since it was a weekday and the parking lot was mostly empty. But when we asked someone, she said it was an ‘in-service’ day, so just the teachers were there.

October 20, 2019

Sometimes You Just Need To Get A Bigger Hammer . . .

And Hit It Harder!

Last week when we were at WalMart I bought a bigger hammer, at least a bigger, better rubber hammer. I was determined that I was going to get the oil filter adapter off, even if I had to break it off.

This one has a harder black end and a slightly softer white side. As heavy as this thing is, I’m pretty sure it has a weighted head inside

Previously when I was beating on it, I was using a lighter, solid plastic one like this,

except mine is white. I think it was originally supposed to be used to hammer tent stakes into the ground. But I’ve always used it to just beat on things.

So I got under the rig about 2pm and whaled away at the bottom of the old filter with the soft side. When, after about a dozen whacks, nothing budged, I switched to the harder side. And after another dozen or so smacks, I heard a pop and the filter base seemed to move a little.

So the next time I really slammed into it. Luckily I had enough foresight to move out from under the filter because with the last hit the filter/adapter combo fell to the ground right next to my head.

But even if it had hit me in the head, I still would have been happy. The damn thing was finally OFF!

And even better, the gasket came off on the adapter piece so it will be easier to clean off the filter base still on the rig. Looks like a good scrubbing with a brass brush should take care of that.

Plus the gasket itself is dry, cooked and flakey, making me more confident that this is what the problem is.

I’m going to call Cummins tomorrow to see if/what they recommend using as a sealer on the gasket.

So now it looks like I know what I’m going to be doing on Thursday.

After cleaning up, Jan and I headed out about 3:30 to have dinner at our local favorite, Los Ramirez Mexican. And as usual, we both got our usuals.

Jan’s was the Pechuga Rellena, with a large Grilled Chicken Breast covered in Cheese, and resting on a bed of Grilled Shrimp and Broccoli along with a side of Avocado.

She also gets the Guacamole that comes with my Beef Fajita Taco Salad.

The prices on all this are really amazing, with Jan’s only $7.99 and mine only $5.59. And it’s just full of Beef. Great!

Then after a stop at HEB and the Post Office we got home about 5:30, with a lot accomplished.

October 20, 2020

Drip, Drip, Drip . . .

But At Least The Brake Lights Work.

First up, I put in a call this morning to the Minnehaha County Auditor in Sioux Falls, SD this morning to arrange to have new Absentee Ballots sent out. The lady I talked to on the phone didn’t seem really surprised that we hadn’t yet received ours, and said new ballots would go out today.

So maybe we’re not the only ones that had a problem.

Next I was on the phone to Cummins to double-check the part number of the coolant filter for our rig’s 350 ISC diesel engine.

I guess that means I’m really confident that I’m going to get my oil leak fixed, since my next job will be to drain my old green antifreeze, flush out the system with distilled water, replace the coolant filter, and then refill with the newer red coolant.

And as I figured, the part number of the filter had changed, from WF2123 to WF2074. This also happened with my oil filter which went from LF3000 to LF9009. I guess things change in 21 years.

Going outside about 1pm, I dumped the oil out of the filter into a jug, and when I got under the rig and tried to install it, it went on with no problem in about 30 seconds.

WTH!

So refilling the filter with oil, I tried it again, and once again it went right on with absolutely no problem.

Again, WTH!

Why did I have so much problem yesterday? I didn’t do anything different.

But, not to look a gift horse in the mouth, I hand-tightened the filter and then used my strap wrench to tighten it down another 3/4 turn.

So our high-idle 60 minute test run was next, but since it was about 2pm, I decided that we’d do lunch first, so after I cleaned up, we headed over to Dickinson to once again to eat at Dickinson Seafood.

We each had the Blackened Catfish and Shrimp with Grilled Veggies.

Delicious, and at only $8.59 on the lunch menu, a really great deal.

Back at the rig about 4pm, I was out underneath the rig on the phone with Jan while she cranked up the rig. I was very happy to hear that it only turn over for about a second before it caught and started idling.

I was underneath the rig in case something back went wrong and I could yell at Jan to shut it down. But a few drops of oil came down, it all seemed to be good.

So I then told Jan to hit the brakes to check the rear lights and they work perfectly. So that means that the lights don’t work unless the engine is running.]

Since things were looking good, I told Jan to bump it up to high-idle (about 1050 rpm) by pressing the speed control toggle switch. Then I sat outside to keep an eye on things.

And then checking underneath about 30 minutes later, I found a slow drip of oil, about 1 drop every 5 seconds or so, coming off the filter.

Not a lot, but there should be none.

So Thursday, I’ll pull the filter off and try to figure out what’s leaking and where.

%$^&^%$#!

October 20, 2022

Now They’ve Gone Too Far. . .

Today was another errand/lunch run, with a first stop at the Dollar General out of FM646 for a  few things before heading on up to Webster for lunch at Torchy’s once again.

Jan got her new favorite, two Chicken Fajita Tacos,

while I once again got two Republicans, with Jalapeno Cheese Sausages and great toppings.

Really glad they opened a location down in our area.

Next up we drove up to the Ellington Field area to check out an RV park near there for some blog friends who are coming down from Canada and looking for a nice park to stay.

We already have one in mind but wanted to check out another one to give them a choice.

Then it was on back down Hwy 3 to make our weekly WalMart stop at the League City location. After that we made a PO stop and a park mailbox stop. And that was it for today.

Saturday morning we start off our second whirlwind weekend in a row with a visit to the Three Acres Truck Part in the morning for their Pumpkin Spice Market. Then about noon it’s on over to Runge Park in Santa Fe for a friend’s birthday party.

Finally about 1pm we’ll be on the road up to the Trinity/Huntsville area to meet up with friends Debi & Ed Hurlburt and Janice and Dave Evans for a wild weekend of Fun and Frolic.

Well, maybe just Fun. I don’t Frolic as well as I used to.

And it really doesn’t slow down next week either. We got Jan’s birthday on Tuesday and then the Wings Over Houston Airshow on Saturday.

Busy, busy, busy!

One thing that came in the mail today was a birthday card from Chris and Linda. Now my birthday was two weeks ago, but better late than never, right?

Then noticed that it was postmarked Sept. 29th, plenty of time to get here by Oct. 5th.

So I sent this message out on our family texting group.

Linda & Chris, in case you were wondering why I didn’t thank you for my birthday card that you mailed on Sept. 29th, it just showed up today. Thank you USPS.

Then Chris answered with this.

Same thing happened  to Brandi’s birthday card except it was in a plastic bag and wet

Well, I guess since mine was dry, I got lucky.

October 20, 2023

I Want My Winter Back . . .

After almost two weeks of nice wintery weather, with days in the 70’s and nights in the 50’s, summer has clawed its way back into our area with a 93 today, and high 80’s as far as the eye can see. Or at least as far as the Weather Channel can forecast.

I want my winter back.

Now!

Our regular readers will know my propensity for hot stuff. I mean, look at Jan.

But a number of you, including long-time friend Chris LaClaire, sent me an article about The Guinness Book of World Records declaring Pepper X the hottest pepper in the world.

At 2.69 million Scoville Units, it surpasses the previous record holder Carolina Reaper’s 1.64 million units, pepper spray’s 1.6 million units, and bear spray’s 2.2 million units.

But Pepper X has been around since at least 2017, when I wrote about it here.

The King Is Dead

Ed Currie, the developer of Pepper X, and owner of the aptly named Puckerbutt Pepper Company, also developed the Carolina Reaper pepper.

But there’s another challenger lurking in the wings called Dragon’s Breath. At 2.48 million Scoville units it’s only slightly behind Pepper X. And strangely enough, Dragon’s Breath was actually developed as a skin anesthetic for people that can’t tolerate other anesthetics.

Tomorrow Jan’s going to get her toeies done and then it’s right next door to King’s Bierhaus for a German lunch. Then Jan wants to check out T.J. Maxx for some Christmas cards, and finish up with our weekly WalMart stop.