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We were on our way up to Spring this morning, to meet up with Debi & Ed Hurlburt at El Palenque Mexican once again. It was so good last month, we had to do it again.
And once again, we got the same thing, the Garden Fajitas, with Beef, Chicken, and Shrimp, along with Broccoli, Cauliflower, and Onions.
And we had half to bring home.
It’s amazing how we can talkfor 2-1/2 hours, and I still have to pry Jan and Debi apart so we can get on the road back to Santa Fe earlier enough to miss the going-home traffic.
And we’re already scheduled for next month at Joe’s Italian up in Conroe, where we last ate on Jan’s Birthday in 2017.
* * * * * * *
One of our favorite steak places is back in the news. The Big Texan Steak Ranch.
We first ate in June 2010 while we were passing through Abilene.
You can read about it here.
Then again, in July 2015.
Here are the rules
The 72oz Steak Rules
Meal consists of: Shrimp Cocktail, Baked Potato, Salad, with Roll, Butter, and of course the 72 oz. Steak
- Entire meal must be completed in one hour. If any of the meal is not consumed (swallowed)…YOU LOSE!
- Before the time starts, you will be allowed to cut into the steak, and take one bite. If the steak tastes good and is cooked to your satisfaction, we will start the time upon your acceptable approval. The time will not stop, and the contest is on, so make SURE before you say “yes.â€
- Once you have started you are not allowed to stand up, leave your table, or have anyone else TOUCH the meal.
- You will be disqualified if anyone assists you in cutting, preparing or eating of your meal. This is YOUR contest.
- You don’t have to eat the fat, but we will judge this.
- Should you become ill, the contest is over… YOU LOSE! (Please use the container provided as necessary.)
- You are required to pay the full amount up front; if you win we will refund 100%.
- You must sit at a table that we assign.
- If you do not win the steak challenge, you are welcome to take the leftovers with you.
- No consumption or sharing of the leftovers is allowed in the restaurant once the contest is over.
- If you fail to complete the challenge, you must pay the full $72 dollars.
- The table you sit at for the challenge is up on a raised stage and looks like this.
Two guys were about 30 minutes into a challenge when we got there, and I was able to hook my Galaxy Tab into their WiFi and watch it from across the room. Unfortunately, they need a better camera.
As it turned out, one of the guys won and got his name up on the board and his meal free. The second guy finished, but not before the one hour was up.
Even Landon got in on it.
But I don’t think he tried the Challenge.
And now there’s a new winner.
Notorious Texas steakhouse challenge defeated by high-profile influencer
A man is going viral on social media for his “Texas-sized” appetite after devouring three 72-ounce steaks in one single day — and then some. Video creator Mohamed Mbengue, known online as MoMotion, became the first man to accomplish the challenge three times in one day at an iconic Texas steakhouse, the business announced on Thursday, August 7.
Note that they said ‘man’.
Yet, the record still remains with Molly Schuyler, who who ate three of the steaks in just 20 minutes back in 2015.
She’s 5’2†and weighs 127 pounds.
Where does she put it all?
* * * * * * *
I was wondering why potential storms in the Gulf are called ‘Invest’, as in Invest 98L that’s in the Gulf right now. Turns out that it’s shorthand for ‘Investigative Area’.
Why don’t they just call it ‘Storm’, as in Storm 98L?
* * * * * * *
Tomorrow looks to be a stay-at-home day, just to relax.
Nice!
Thought For The Day:
Fifty Shades of Grey is only considered romantic because the guy’s a billionaire.
If he lived in a trailer park, drove an old rusty pickup, and his name was Cleetus, it would be a Criminal Minds episode.
Your Retro-Preview Highlights –
2010 – Tommy Guns and Wingmen
2011– Fish and Boots
2012 – Basketball and Buckyballs
2015 – 70,000 . . . So Far
2016 – Worth the Rush
2018 – And One To Go
2021 – Toads and Hummingbirds . . .
And Now On To today’s Retro-Blogs.™
August 14, 2009
Moose River Campground…but no moose!
We headed out from Normandy Farms Campground in Foxboro, MA about 11:30 am, on our way to Moose River Campground in St. Johnsbury, VT.
We thought the 200-mile trip would take us about 4 hours, but two things intervened to make it a 6-hour trip.
First, we hit a lot of traffic on the Interstates. We’ve run into this problem ever since we left NY and headed up into New England. There seems to be just too much traffic for too few lanes.
And, unlike Texas, where they will build a toll road specifically to BE a toll road, up here it seems like they just take an Interstate, give it a name like ‘Mass Turnpike’, and Shazam!, it’s now a toll road. What’s up with that?
But more importantly, the thing that really slowed us down is that we have an engine problem. About 100 miles into our trip, the engine started losing power on the hills and giving a “Check Engine†light. My computer engine interface says that this is caused by a “Fuel Delivery Pressure†problem.
I’m showing no other problems. It’s been a couple of weeks since I filled up with diesel, so I don’t think it’s bad fuel.
Everything I can find online says the first thing I should do is to change the fuel filter(s), which may be clogged. So that’s what I’ll try tomorrow.
August 14, 2010
Tommy Guns and Wingmen –
We both headed out this morning, about 10:15 am, me to a gun show in Shipshewana, and Jan to the American Countryside Farmer’s Market.
We checked this place out last year, and it’s really something. It’s three stories high and totals over 51,000 sq ft. inside.
And the really amazing thing is that, built by Amish craftsmen, there’s not a single nail in the entire place!
It’s all pegged together.
Here’s a shot from the construction in 2006. It’s all mortise and tenon and pegs.
In the meantime,I drove over to Shipshewana to a weekend gun show.I spent about 90 minutes walking the aisles and drooling over all the neat toys. I was tempted to buy Jan a Tommy Gun of her very own, but I couldn’t get the guy below $1000.
Here she is in Las Vegas earlier this year, taking out her anger on Osama bin Laden.
It’s hard to tell from this photo, but the target is pretty chewed up.
I did buy a new magazine for my Bauer “Baby Browning†25 cal. semi-auto pistol, though, so the trip accomplished something.
About 1 pm, we met up for lunch at El Maguey, our favorite local Mexican place. And, as usual, we sat around talking for a good while after we finished.
Getting back to the rig about 2:30, Jan headed out to Wal-Mart, and I headed off to a nap.
It’s the strangest thing. I didn’t start out to take a nap. It just snuck up on me. What can I say?
Jan got back about 4:30, and then about 5 pm, I got the ladder out of the truck and climbed up on the roof of the rig. I wanted to remove a branch that was stuck in our rear “wing†and also install our Winegard Wingman TV antenna upgrade.
The Wingman fastens to the bottom of the head of the RV’s crank-up TV antenna seen below, and gives us a better signal on the new Digital TV stations.
I also spent some time catching up on some other small maintenance items around the coach.
About 7 pm, we drove over to a nearby Dairy Queen for a cold treat, and then got back about 9:30.
All in all, a long but fun day.
August 14, 2011
Fish and Boots . . .
First off, I want to show off Landon’s first pair of John Deere boots Brandi got him at Rural King.
He’s all ready for the farm life now.
As usual, we met at Robbi’s for breakfast this morning, but with a slightly smaller group this time. Just Brandi, Lowell, Landon, Debbie, Jan, and me. Jim was a little under the weather, and everyone else was off doing other things.
Leaving Robbi’s, Debbie showed Brandi, Lowell, and Landon some of the sights around town while Jan and I went back by Rural King so I could get some new bootlaces
Later, Landon showed off his new guayabera shirt, and then just showed off in general.
A little after noon, everyone started setting up for the Fish Fry. This time, we had everyone there for all the food and fun.
Jim had fried up a bunch of catfish he’d caught, and along with potato salad, corn casserole, pasta salad, and baked beans, we were in hog heaven. Emphasize the ‘hog’ part.
Afterward, too stuffed to move, we all sat around and watched the kids play.
Later, Jan told me to go fly a kite, so I did. But the wind wasn’t very cooperative. About the time I would get the kite up about 20 or 30 feet, the wind would just quit, and down it would come.
Bummer!
And unlike yesterday, the weather cooperated, and we didn’t have to move inside. So Landon just sat out and enjoyed the fun.
All in all, it was an almost perfect day. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if our son Chris and his family, Linda and Piper, could have been here too.
Brandi, Lowell, and Landon leave tomorrow, and since they have to drive back to St. Louis to catch their plane, we’ll be having breakfast tomorrow at 8 am instead of 9.
We’re staying until Wednesday, when we head over to the Horseshoe Lakes Thousand Trails Resort north of Terre Haute, IN, for two weeks.
August 14, 2012
Basketball and Buckyballs . . .
Landon’s 2nd birthday is coming up next Monday and we ordered this expandable basketball goal for him.
It looks like a neat toy, and we’re sure he’s going to love it. And it can grow as he does.
Note that according to the description, it’s designed for ages 1-1/2 to 5 years.
However, a little further down the page is this required legal notice.
HUH?
So exactly what are the “small parts†Landon is supposed to swallow? The ball that’s almost as big as his head? The hoop that’s even bigger?
What?
On a similar note, I’ve made my donation to the Save Our Balls campaign. How about you? (Get your mind out of the gutter.)
Buckyballs are adult toys made from powerful, rare-earth magnets and are a little larger than a BB. Their popularity has taken the company from two guys in a garage to a $50 million company in three years.
Their sales and marketing plan was approved by the CPSC (Consumer Products Safety Commission) over two years ago. Now, with over half a billion magnets sold, and less than two dozen “incidents†with children, the CPSC has changed its mind and told the company to recall all of its products sold, refund all the money, and go out of business.
The danger with magnets is the fact that if a child swallows more than one, the magnets can stick together through the walls of the intestine and cause damage and infections.
This, of course, ignores the thousands of “incidents†of kids swallowing other small objects. In fact there have been over 30,000 hospitalizations from children swallowing money.,
They also sell Buckyballs in cubes, rods, and even Big Balls. (Again, out of the gutter.)
So after reading the story, I immediately ordered 2 sets, and they are really a lot of fun to fool around with. And of course, they will be nowhere around when Landon is.
Well, one week from today (Tuesday), we will be on our way north to Celina, OH. Where the high temp today, 74, was lower than the low here today, 76.
And we’re really looking forward to some cooler weather.
August 14, 2013
Landon Bound . . .
Just in time for me to start getting things ready to travel this morning, it started pouring down once again. Luckily, I had hooked up the truck last night, so that didn’t need to be done. I ended up doing everything else outside in my shorts, T-shirt, and Crocs before finishing up inside and changing out of my wet clothes.
We pulled out of the Benchmark RV Park about 9 am, heading for Poche’s Fish N Camp and RV Park in Breaux Bridge, LA. Since rain was forecast all along our route, and we had a little over 300 miles to travel, we got a little earlier start than normal.
We did have rain pretty much all the way, but nothing like the gully washer we had yesterday. Jan took over a little before 11 and drove until we got into Louisiana. Of course, it rained even harder after that, but she handled it just fine.
But things ground to a halt coming into Baton Rouge, literally. Because of the heavy traffic merging from I-10 and I-12, and a jackknifed semi on the I-10 approach to the Mississippi River Bridge, it took us over 45 minutes to go the 4 miles, but finally we were across the bridge and pulling into Poche’s a little before 4 pm.
Poche’s is another very nice Passport America park at $18 for 50 FHU.
All the sites here border around one of the several fishing lakes with a nice view in every direction.
Getting set up and the truck unhitched, we headed out for dinner at Pont Breaux (nee Mulate’s). We’ve really been looking forward to a big bowl of Seafood Gumbo all day. And of course, Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce for dessert. We’ve been eating there for over 20 years, and although Jan sometimes orders something different, I’ve never had anything else but Gumbo. It’s that good.
Tomorrow we’ve got a 240-mile trip back to Landon. And the rest of the family, of course.
But we ARE talking Landon here.
August 14, 2014
Last Day in Gulf Shores . . .
I was up about 8:45, earlier than I really wanted, but it was for a good cause. We were havingbreakfast at Hazel’s Seafood Restaurant, another one of our must-eat places here in Gulf Shores, and another place we’ve eaten at for years.
They have a great breakfast buffet, and normally we eat here the morning we leave. But since we’ve got a little longer trip tomorrow, and also have to stop for diesel, I figured it would be best to do it today.
Besides the great breakfast, we got to talking with the manager, Julie, who’s lived in Gulf Shores a long time, and remembers the old days like I do. She even remembered ‘White’s By The Sea’, my parents’ motel here. So we spent a very nice half hour or so talking over old times.
Next, up the road a ways, we checked out the Wal-Mart gas station for big rig access to diesel up there tomorrow morning. Looks to be very doable, and a lot closer than doing it at Dodge’s in Foley with Jan having to follow me all that way. Plus, we’ve got a better place to hitch up in the parking lot there.
Getting back to the rig, I spent some time re-soldering the connectors on my Brake Buddy Alert Transmitter cable.
This extension cable gets the transmitter up high enough, hanging from the rearview mirror, so that the receiver in the coach gets a better signal.
About 4 pm, we headed for our final meal here in Gulf Shores. Well, in Pensacola, anyway. We decided to go back to Sonny’s BBQ for their great ribs and pulled pork, but especially their sliced pork, which is something that’s hard to find in Texas. And by both of us getting the Pork Three Ways Platter, we had plenty to bring home and freeze for Gate meals.
Actually, we’re kinda glad to be leaving here tomorrow because of the upcoming Flora-Bama Concert this weekend. Kenny Chesney is giving his one and only concert performance for this year at the Flora-Bama. And they’re expecting 10’s of thousands of people.
They’re even shutting down the beach road, and people have to take trolleys in and out. So it will certainly be a mess.
August 14, 2015
70,000 . . . So Far
We were out of our site here at Poche’s RV Park and on the road by 9 am this morning, on our way back to Texas for the first time in about six months.
We’ve never stayed more than one night here, always on our way back to Texas. But it’s a nice park, and we always enjoy our stay.
The park is built around a number of stocked fishing ponds, and is popular with the locals, as well as RV’ers.
And the scenery is pretty great too. Note the heron on the sandbar.
Besides being back in Texas today, we also hit another milestone. Since we picked up our coach on January 6, 2008, we’ve put 70,000 miles on it, for a total so far of 134,511 miles.
She’s just getting broken in.
Overall, our trip was pretty smooth, except for the fact that I-10 becomes a pothole-pocked mess going through every town. Lafayette, Lake Charles, Beaumont, and of course Houston, are all a teeth-jarring mess.
We went through Houston around 2 pm, so there wasn’t a lot of traffic, at least to me. I know some people don’t like to drive through Houston, but I guess I’m kind of used to it, having lived here since 1978.
I just find my lane and go. I was able to hold 50-60 mph most of the way with few slowdowns, but doing it at 5 pm would have been a whole ‘nother story.
We got checked in at the Colorado River Thousand Trails about 3:30 and were able to get our favorite A2 site at the top of the hill.
We plan to goof off and rest up tomorrow, then on Sunday we’ll drive down to our son Chris’ and he and I will replace the leaky radiator on our truck, and get together for dinner.
For dinner tonight, and being Friday, of course, it was the BBQ Buffet up the road at Peter’s BBQ. All the Brisket, Ribs, Sausage, Catfish, Shrimp, Fried Chicken, as well as sides and dessert, you can eat, and all for only $11.50. You can’t beat a deal like that.
It’s good to be back in Texas.
August 14, 2016
Worth the Rush . . .
We had planned to be up at 6 and on the road by 7:30. Instead, we were up at 6:30 and on the road by 8.
We only had a 240-mile trip to Meridian, so normally we wouldn’t be on the road until around 10, but today we had kind of a time crunch.
Since we were overnighting in Meridian, we definitely wanted to eat at Weidmann’s Restaurant. But there was a problem. On Sunday, Weidmann’s is only open from 11 am to 2 pm for their Sunday Jazz Brunch.
So we wanted to get to Meridian by 1 pm or so, to have time to get to the restaurant before they closed.
But besides our late start, there was another problem. We needed to get diesel before we got on I-65 S. And of course, this was the ‘perfect’ morning for a really slow diesel pump.
So $300 and almost an hour later, we were hitched up and on the road by 9 am. Later than we had planned, but with luck, we might still make it.
We took I-65 south to Birmingham, where we then took I-20/I-59 south by Tuscaloosa and on toward Meridian. We did run through another of those strange, brief heavy rains under bright sunshine.
Then on the west side of Tuscaloosa, we ran into another slowdown. There were signs for a construction zone ahead, and then traffic slowed to a 5-10 mph crawl. Finally, after about 20 minutes of this, passing construction equipment with no one around, we finally came to the traffic obstacle, the thing blocking the left lane, and forcing all the vehicles down to one lane. It was an SUV with flashing blue lights just sitting in the left lane with no one around. In fact we didn’t see a single worker. And then once we were all past that, it was back to full speed again.
We got to the Benchmark RV Park about 1:15 and got parked and just plugged in shore power. We didn’t even put out the slide yet. And as soon as I had the truck unhitched, we were on our way by 1:35.
We were only about 10 minutes away, so I was hoping that we could still get in for the brunch. And as it turns out, Weidmann’s is one of those places where if you make it in the door before 2 pm, you’re good to go.
Weidmann’s is the oldest restaurant in Mississippi, in operation since 1870, and a quick look at just their Brunch menu will show you why they’ve lasted this long.
Jan of course, went for the Crab Cakes, homemade with lump crabmeat, special seasonings and served on fried green tomatoes with a white wine sauce and served with fresh fruit.
Jan has a new favorite dish, I think.
I decided on the Prime Rib Po’boy, an 8-ounce prime rib served on a Po’boy bun with their spicy horseradish sauce and topped with flash-fried onion rings and served with homemade potato chips.
And mine too was delicious, and so big that I could only eat half of it. And what’s even better here are the prices.
My 8 oz. Prime Rib Potboy was only $13.95, and Jan’s Crab Cake were only $15.95. Really great prices. And our waitress, Londa, was great too. (she insisted I tell you that)
Getting back to the rig, we put out the slide and I set up the Satellite dome. We don’t normally hook up water and sewer on these one-night stops, so after I let out the awnings, I was done.
Well, almost.
I had noticed this morning that, as I was pulling out of the park that I was hearing a little groaning from my power steering. But it was fine once things warmed up. So I figured that I was a little low on hydraulic fluid and would add some when we got to Meridian.
I did keep an eye on my engine temp just in case, since strangely enough, the same hydraulic system that runs the power steering also runs the radiator cooling fan. But the temp stayed in its normal 175-180 degree range the whole trip.
So after I finished setting things up, I looked for my gallon jug of AW32 hydraulic fluid, and I couldn’t find it. It should have been in the back of the battery bay, but it wasn’t. And I checked a couple of other likely bays with no luck.
So it was off to a nearby O’Reilly’s for another gallon to take care of the problem.
Tomorrow we’ve got a 300-mile run to Miss Ellie’s RV Park, a little west of Shreveport. As I mentioned yesterday, due to all the flooding and the road closures along 1-10 / I-12, we’re taking the northern route home.
In fact the flooding is so bad down there, that they are helicoptering in supplies to the motorists who have been stranded on the Interstate for more than 24 hours.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected.
August 14, 2017
Still No News . . .
Last week, we were told that the rig would be ready Saturday at the earliest and Monday at the latest.
Well, it’s late now.
When I hadn’t heard from Big Wheel RV by 2 pm, I put in a call to them and asked to speak to Gary, the service manager. I was told he was busy out in the yard and would call me back, but that he normally didn’t do callbacks until about 5 pm.
Well, here it is, going on 9 pm, and still no Gary. I get the feeling ole Gary ain’t going to be calling tonight.
Of course, we’re certainly not uncomfortable here at Brandi’s beautiful home. How could anyone be uncomfortable here?
Even better with this meal she and Jan fixed tonight with a roasted pork loin, roasted carrots, potatoes, onions, and zucchini pasta. Really, really good.
But as Jan says, ‘We just want back in our home’.
Plus, I’m kind of worried about the refrigerator. We’ve been running it on gas since last Saturday, the 5th, so I’m not sure how much longer it will run, or that maybe it’s already run out. We had slightly under half a tank at that time, and I don’t have any idea how much gas it actually uses over a period of time. Hopefully, we’ll know one way or the other pretty soon.
I made some more headway at the client’s today, finally getting control of the GoDaddy account that holds all the company domain names, so now I can proceed with moving the website up to GoDaddy’s servers, instead of the client’s backroom closet.
And on that note, the client got a good reason to regret having the webserver in-house when the Comcast internet was down for about an hour, and calls started coming in from customers wondering what happened to the website.
I’ve also been going through everything, changing passwords and looking for any possible ‘backdoors’ left in the system. And I’ve been changing all the ‘notification’ emails from the old IT guy’s address to mine.
Busy, busy, busy.
August 14, 2018
And One To Go . . .
Today was our penultimate visit to the house, trying to wrap up clearing out the last of our stuff.
Actually, though it was 3 separate visits today, with the first one to pick up a lot of leftover packing materials and a bunch of stuff for the Salvation Army.
We left the rig about 11 and, after picking up the stuff at the house, dropped off the packing stuff at my client’s since he ships so much stuff. Then, after a delicious lunch at our favorite East Star Chinese Buffet, we dropped off the stuff for the Salvation Army.
Then it was back over to the house to get a load to take back down to the store room. And after that, it was back up to the house for a load of things that we’re keeping at the rig until Brandi, Lowell, and Landon have moved into their new house. No use taking it up now, so they just have to move it. So we finally got back to the rig about 4 pm.
Then tomorrow I’ll go by the house one last time to load all of our normal stuff, air compressor, battery charger, antenna poles, spare parts, solar screen panels, etc., back into the truck. Then we should be done.
As far as we know, we’re still closing on Thursday, but no time or place yet. And it turns out that Brandi’s closing has also been moved up a week, to Friday, August 24th. The sooner the better for all of us.
As we’ve been moving a lot of boxes of old family photos and letters, we keep coming across some interesting things, including this old photo of one of my parent’s beach houses at Orange Beach, AL, near Gulf Shores.
In 1957, my parents bought 300 feet (six 50-foot lots) of beachfront land at Orange Beach. Then, in the mid-60’s they traded 4 of the lots to a builder to build two houses, the Sea Fever and the Sandpiper, of my father’s design on the remaining lots. You can see the other one just to the left in the photo. When they’re not being rented, the plywood protects the big sliding glass doors.
They rented them out over the next 30 years, and Jan and I stayed in one anumber of times. Then in the mid-90’s, after my father died, my mother sold off one and then the other.
One of the buyers tore down the Sea Fever and built a nice three-story brick house. The second buyer actually moved the Sandpiper to the other side of the street.
There were also nice brick homes built on the other four lots to the west. Then, in 2004, came Hurricane Ivan.
Now my father had been building on the beach since the early 50’s, and he knew how to build things that would survive hurricanes. And that was the case with Ivan.
All the homes along the 300 feet just disappeared, with no trace left. And all the homes on either side of my parent’s remaining house were also gone. Only the Sandpiper survived. And it’s still there today.
And note that nothing has been built on the other lots in the last 14 years.
August 14, 2019
The Culprit . . .
Brandi sent over this photo of Landon, all booted up and ready to go for his first day of school as a 4th grader. Brandi said he told her he was too old to be walked to school. Brandi wants to know where her baby went.
And he’ll be 9 years old next Tuesday, the 20th. But for scheduling purposes, his party won’t be until Sept. 7th. Which also happens to be Miss Piper’s 26th birthday.
Speaking of Miss Piper, I mentioned last month that she had taken a job as a C.C.J.A.P. (Certified Criminal Justice Addiction Professional) at a minimum security women’s prison in the Burnet area, one that houses only substance abuse inmates. She’s counseling individuals who are incarcerated and/or receiving court-ordered substance abuse treatment services.
And even though it’s a minimum security facility, she still had to take a self-defense course before she started.
When we heard from her a week or so ago, she said that there were a lot of interesting stories and that it puts life in a different perspective.
I told Jan that it may be as eye-opening to Piper as it was to her when we first met. As I’ve mentioned before, we met when we were both working at a slightly seedy amusement park in Titusville, FL
Besides a few college kids like Jan and me, the other workers were a wide swath of ex-prison guards, cowboys, carnies, and even a couple of Hell’s Angels. And believe me, all of this was a real eye-opener to a good little Mormon girl like Jan.
Luckily for me, she didn’t realize that I was the one she really had to worry about.
My new oil filter gasket finally showed up today, and since my new oil filter came in yesterday, I’m all ready to do the changeout.
This is what the culprit looks like.
But between a family get-together up at Brandi’s this weekend and needing to get my brakes done first, the filter thing will have to wait a while.
Since my Mr. Coffee has been doing a lot of Snap, Crackle, and Popping lately, which means that I need to run a few pots of vinegar through it. That will get rid of all the calcium buildup.
While I was doing that, I was trying to decide if I wanted to tear into it. We have enough momentary power glitches here that I’m getting tired of having to reset the clock and delayed start times. So I’m thinking about adding a small battery inside to keep the clock chip running while the power is off. Kind of an internal UPS, I guess.
I actually found a schematic of the unit online, and it looks like a couple of diodes and a 9-volt battery should do the job, and would last a long time.
Just something else for the list, I guess.
August 14, 2020
Our Happy Little Buddha . . .
I spent a lot of time on the phone today talking with both Fleetwood and Spartan about my wiring/lighting problems, and I may have a new insight on the problem
As before, Fleetwood/American Coach was no help, but when I was talking with the guy at Spartan Chassis about how this almost had to be something common to all 4 light systems, taillights, turn signals, brake lights, and backup lights, and not 4 separate problems.
And then he said, “Have you checked the point where American’s coach wiring splices into our chassis wiring?†Well, that sounds interesting. And when I asked where that was, he said that it was back in the engine compartment, and to just open the doors and look down.
And this is what I saw.
This is also where the wiring that feeds the toad lights is spliced in. And it’s always looked like this.
Well, not all oily. That’s from my leak, but all tie-wrapped together in a big bundle. It came that way with the rig, and since it always worked, I left it alone. Until now, I guess.
But first, I’ll have to degrease the area and then start tracing things out. More later on that.
Also looks like I’ll have to get up on the rig roof again tomorrow. The front A/C is dripping in the rig, which means that the outside drain holes are stopped up again. This time I’m going to drill the holes out much larger and even maybe add some more.
We’ll see. But it’s going to be a busy weekend.
Our daughter Brandi got some good news from her work a couple of days ago. They won’t be going back into the office before the end of January 2021.
She said she gets more done without the daily commute time, toll roads, gasoline, lunches, and business clothes. And think she’d be happy if it stayed that way.
And I think a lot of other people feel the same way about their jobs, too.
August 14, 2021
Toads and Hummingbirds . . .
Well, it looks like the hummingbird we thought we saw zip by while we were out on the patio was not just our imagination. While I was sitting out Friday morning before going into work, I saw one hovering by one of the day-old, closed-up hibiscus blossoms.
Just saw him for a couple of seconds before he flitted away, but he wasn’t very colorful, just kind of grayish. Too quick for me to get a photo, but hope he’ll be back.
A couple of days ago, I mentioned our ‘frog pond’, basically a plate that catches the A/C drip from the rig roof to be sure that the family of frogs we have living around the patio always has water.
Turns out that Chris and Linda have a resident frog in this water fountain.
Made from an old fireplug, it’s a neat feature for their backyard. But it seems like they’ve got a frog who visits regularly for a swim.
Named Toad The Wet Sprocket, (Believe it or not, they’re still touring), Linda says he shows up every 3 or 4 days for a dip. She said Chris built a ramp to make it easier for him to get in and out.
This past Friday, tickets went on sale for this year’s Nutcracker Market, so I got us tickets for the first day, Thursday, November 11. So our busy November social calendar is filling up fast, with the Nutcracker Market on the 11th, the first Immersive Van Gogh on the 16th, the 2nd one on the 21st, and of course, Thanksgiving on the 25th.
And then that all segues into our Branson trip starting on the 5th of December. And with the Branson timeframe nailed down, we’re now talking about our next trip and our next, next trip.
For our next trip, having had two Alaskan Cruises canceled out from under us, and all the uncertainty re: cruises, vaccinations, and people still getting the WuFlu anyway, we’re thinking seriously about just flying to Fairbanks next May, renting a car, and spending a couple of weeks checking out all the places around the state we liked when we spent 5 months up there in 2008.
And then for the next, next trip, Jan has always wanted to do a New England Fall Foliage tour, so we’re thinking about flying up there for a week or so in late September – early October next year. So a lot in the works.
I’ll be heading up to Katy about noon tomorrow to bring Jan back home from her weekend dog-sitting caper. Probably eat lunch at Astor Farm to Table again before we head back down this way.
Can’t wait.
August 14, 2022
I Think I Broke It . . .
Or – The Saga Continues.
Jan and I drove over to Gator’s this afternoon for what seems to have become our usual Sunday lunch. Saturday at Texas Huddle and Sunday at Gator’s.
But we both went in a different direction today, both getting something different, new for Jan and an oldie for me.
Jan’s been getting the Mushroom Cheddar Burger at Texas Huddle, and today she saw they now have one at Gator’s. Of course, we’re really talking about a Mushroom Swiss Burger, but Jan’s version is always with Cheddar.
And of course, the Sweet Potato Fries with some Ranch Dressing for dipping.
I went back with something I probably haven’t had for at least a year, the Blackened Chicken Breast Sandwich with Bacon and a side of Texas Toothpicks, which are battered and fried onion strips and jalapenos.
And of course, Sweet Potato Fries, with Ranch.
Always great.
This morning, I tried to download a new album from Amazon, and I think I broke it. It started to download, and then stopped and died. Then, when I tried it again, and then the rest of the day, it told me to try it again in 15 minutes.
Rinse, lather, repeat.
If it’s still not working tomorrow, I’ll get in touch with them.
And it looks like my UPS shipment is in orbit somewhere over Florida, moving from Riviera Beach to Hialeah to Orlando, and then to Jacksonville, before looping back around to Riviera Beach. Then it starts back over again.
Rinse, lather, repeat.
I mentioned in yesterday’s blog about Jan’s Opry crush, John Mark Davis, being a full-blooded Adai Caddo Indian.
And here’s the proof.
August 14, 2023
Guess What’s In The Big Box?
Looks like they’re making good headway on the utilities for the new sites here at the park.
They’ve got the water and sewer stubbed out and the trench filled in. I would guess electric is next.
Tomorrow, Jan’s got an 11 am follow-up appointment with Dr. Woo, our optometrist, once again. Jan’s very unhappy with the results of the right lens on her new glasses, so she wants to be sure that the prescription was filled correctly.
Then, after lunch at Snooze, we’re heading up to Brandi’s so Jan can Landon/Dog-sit while Brandi’s out in San Francisco on a Spa Week/Get-Acquainted get-together with her new company.
Then I’ll go back up on Friday afternoon to bring her back home again.
Finally, this is a prototype of an EV Charger Station that the government plans to place in areas without power available to feed the charger. All those miles of desolate Interstates out west will have one every 50 miles. So probably 1000’s of them.
Now, care to guess what’s inside the big box?
If you suspect it runs on diesel, you would be correct.
So much for weaning ourselves off fossil fuels with EV’s.
August 14, 2024
Clean Bill Of Health . . .
Jan and I were on our way by about 10:45 this morning, on our way up to the Houston Medical Center. But we detoured a little further north to the Montrose area to have lunch at Katz’s Deli once again. And our server this time was Amanda, the same one we had the last time we were here for Jan’s first appointment.
As we often do here, we both started out with a cup of their Rustic Tomato Basil soup.
Really thick, and really good.
Every time we come to Katz’s, Jan says she’s going to get something different, but somehow she always ends up getting the Tuna Melt. And this time it wasn’t any different.
However, I did get something different, with the Breakfast Brisket Tacos.
Really, really good. Maybe even have-again-good.
Getting to the Smith Tower at Houston Methodist Hospitals, Jan was in and out with her doctor in about 20 minutes, getting a clean bill of health. He pulled the tape off and said it looked very good.
To her relief, he told her that she was done with any restrictions, so that she can now put Vitamin E on the scar, and how much she can lift, etc. We also found out it was the top left parathyroid gland that was removed.
The doctor did send her down to the lab for one final blood draw to double-check her levels, and then we were on our way back to the rig, with a quick stop at Cowboy Coffee for Sugar-Free Hazelnut Lattes, since we didn’t have coffee at home this morning.
When we got home this afternoon, I had an Amazon order waiting for me, and Karma immediately commandeered the box. She tried and tried, but she was never able to quite fit.
Maybe the next box.
* * * * * * *
It’s 10 o’clock. Do you know where your children are?
