1,000 Foot Ore Freighter, Soo Locks, MI

1,000 Foot Ore Freighter, Soo Locks, MI

Near Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia

Near Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia

Colorful Truck Sales, Weed, CA

Colorful Truck Sales, Weed, CA

Hollywood Sign

Hollywood Sign

Mackinac Bridge, MI

Mackinac Bridge, MI

Pelicans, Grays Harbor, WA

Pelicans, Grays Harbor, WA

Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park

Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park

Try It Again . . .

Just a typical Monday back at work today. A lot of orders and problems left over from the weekend. So pretty much just the Retro-Blogs today.

A number of you had problems with SpaceX Booster Landing video. Not sure what the problem with it is.

It works for some people, but not for others.

So try it this way.

Right-Click on the link below and then select Open Link In New Tab at the top of the pop-up.

SpaceX Booster Landing

Let me know how it works.

Tomorrow looks to be haircuts and hamburgers.


Thought For The Day:

Some people claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views.


Your Retro-Preview Highlights –

2011 – Lavender Fields

2013 – Pilot Butte In Bend, OR

2015 – Gunfire And Family Fun

2016 – RV Water Pump Install

2017 – Wall Drugs

2021 – City Museum In St. Louis

And Now On To Today’s Retro-Blogs.™


June 10, 2010

Great Steaks…

I started out this morning working on our trip route when we leave here this coming Sunday.

I also called some of the parks we’ll be staying at in the next few weeks, and looking at where we’re going after the 4th of July when we leave New Braunfels, TX.

A few people have asked about the computer display I have on the dash that shows engine readouts and my GPS mapping program. So here’s what the display looks like.

vmspc2

Across the top, it tells me the transmission is set for 6th, but is presently in 5th. Next, the tachometer is showing 1614 rpm, the turbocharger is showing almost no boost pressure, and the MPG is 272.6 MPG. This is because we are coasting downhill. If the cruise control was engaged, the yellow ball in the center would be green.

On the 2nd row, the CPSD is the speed that the speed control is set for, and SPEED shows the present speed.

Down the right side, it shows the time, the battery voltage, and the FUEL RATE AND HORSEPOWER. These are both zero since we’re coasting.

To the left of the yellow ball is a box that shows the remaining miles on this tank of diesel, the amount of fuel left in the tank (102.1 out of 150), and the rolling average MPG (7.8).

Across the bottom of the white area, it shows the miles traveled so far today and the miles traveled on this tank of diesel,

The tan area across the bottom of the picture is my GPS display. It shows the road I’m on and the distance to the next stop. The box on the far right shows how far it is to our destination for the day.

At 2 pm Jan and I headed out for a Walmart run, then about 4:30 we headed out for supper at the Chuckwagon Steakhouse over in Pinetop for a meal of really great steaks.

Then around 7:30 we headed out to Dairy Queen for a late-night snack.

Another great day!


June 10, 2011

Cha . . . Cha . . . Cha . . . Changes . . .

Today is our last full day in the Mt. Shasta area. Tomorrow we’ll head about 190 miles north to the Bend / Sunriver Thousand Trails Park about 20 miles south of Bend, OR.

As far as the changes, originally we were going to stay here in Weed for three nights, Bend, OR for seven nights, and then La Pine, OR for seven nights. Then it was Weed for seven nights, Bend for seven nights, and La Pine for three nights.

And now it’s going to be Bend for ten nights, period.

About 1 we headed out on a roundabout trip to the Wal-Mart in Yreka by way of the Mt. Shasta Lavender Farm about 20 miles out in the country.

Sue, a camp host here at the Friendly RV Park told us about the Lavender Festival that starts tomorrow. But since we won’t be here, we decided to detour out that way anyway just to see what we could see.

We turned off the main road,

Lavender Farm

on to this dirt/rock road and started a slow three-mile, 600-foot-high climb up the side of the hill.

Lavender Farm Road

If it hadn’t been for the sign at the road we’d have wondered if we were going the right way. Even the lizard seemed lost.

Lavender Lizard

When we finally got there, we found . . . no lavender. Or, we found lavender plants and a beautiful view, but it was more green in color than lavender.

It looked like this today.

Lavender not in Bloom

This photo from their website shows how it should have looked. After talking to one of the owners we found out that due to this year’s cold, wet weather, the season is running about a month behind.

Lavender in Bloom

This is what blooming lavender looks like.

Lavender in Bloom 2

Lavender in Bloom 3

This is what our lavender looked like.

Lavender Plant

Bummer!

We didn’t get to see the lavender in bloom, but it was a fun trip with a beautiful view, so it was worth it.

This is a better view of what the farm looks like from the road about 4 miles away.

Lavender Farm from Road

Leaving the lavender we headed on up to Yreka and the Wal-Mart to pick up our prescriptions and a few other things. Our daughter Brandi called to check in while we were there and it’s always good to talk and get the latest Landon update.

Coming home we saw this Adopt-A-Highway sign listing ‘Just Bill’ as the adopter. Now, is ‘Just Bill’ really his name, or is he just very shy?

Just Bill

By the time we got back to Weed, it was time for dinner so we decided to have one last hurrah at Dos Amigos.

This time I had the Tres Amigos, a combination of Chile Verde, Chile Colorado, and a Chile Relleno. Very good.

Dos Amigos 3 Amigos

Jan once again had what she says is the best Shrimp Enchilada she’s ever had. Just look at the size of those shrimp.

Dos Amigos Shrimp

Getting back to the rig after a great meal, I took care of some jobs outside. I put a new charge wire connector on both the rig and the toad because the old ones were getting worn out. Then I tried to do everything I could to prepare for our departure tomorrow.

See you tomorrow in Bend.


June 10, 2013

Reddd Robinnn . . .

YUMMM!

First up, check out these Five 3D-Printed Objects That Will Blow Your Mind, including 3-D printed pizza.

About noon I went outside and finished up the last part of my water works by replacing my Water Inlet Check Valve with one that has an actual working check valve.

Water Inlet Check Valve - New

About that time the park maintenance guy showed up to replace the vacuum breaker on our shore water hose bib.

Hose Vacuum Breaker

A couple of days ago it started leaking slightly and has gotten worse every day, so I called them this morning to replace it.

Hopefully, this takes care of all my remaining water-related problems.

Later, a little after 2pm, Jan and I headed into Bend for some sightseeing and dinner. We wanted to make the drive up to the summit of Pilot Butte, another lava cone like our Lava Butte visit that I reposted a couple of days ago.

Pilot Butte Pic from the Web

Pilot Butte Pic from the Web2

At 500 ft., and just about a mile from downtown Bend, it’s the highest point in town. But our drive to the top was not to be.

Pilot Butte Gate

The road to the top was closed, with no reason given. So we headed a little further down the road to the location of the Pilot Butte Trailhead, the starting point for those who want to make the 1 mile walk to the top.

What we found was Pilot Butte State Park, a very nice park,

Pilot Butte State Park 1

Pilot Butte State Park 2

But what was unusual is that this State Park has Bob and Sue, the Park Hosts.

Pilot Butte State Park 3

Unfortunately, they were ‘Off Duty’, so we weren’t able to find out if they knew why the road was closed. But we asked a couple who were just starting their walk to the top and they had no idea.

So giving up on our drive to the top, we headed over to the Old Mill District to have dinner at Red Robin in a beautiful location right along the Deschutes River.

Bend Red Robin 1

Bend Red Robin 3

Bend Red Robin 2

Bend Red Robin 4

After really good burgers and fries, we headed over to Fred Meyer for a few groceries, and then a little further down the highway to a produce stand for some of the delicious fresh cherries that are in season here right now. And this was what was parked nearby.

Bend Boat-RV

I’m not sure what this guy was trying to accomplish here. And I’m not sure if it’s even drivable or floatable.

Not sure right now what’s on the schedule for tomorrow. Maybe nothing.


June 10, 2014

Bread and Buckle, and Cookies . . .

With our coffee this morning we finished off the last of the delicious Snickerdoodle Bread that Phyllis Schell had dropped off the other day. MMM MMM Good!

Around 12:30 I called a nearby vet clinic to make an appointment for Mister. He’s had a persistent ear infection in his left ear for the last few weeks. He doesn’t scratch at it that much, but there is a strong odor from it. And his right ear is fine.

I got some Zymox a couple of weeks ago and started treating him with it. The smell will go away as long as I’m dosing him with it, but as soon as I stop, the smell returns in 2 or 3 days.

So off to the vet, it is. And luckily this vet clinic has separate dog and cat entrances. Lucky for the dogs, that is.

We had planned to head over to Mishawaka this afternoon, but it just didn’t work out with Jan. She’s been in one of her three-day migraine cycles, and although she got dressed and ready, at the last minute she just didn’t feel like going. So we’ll try it again tomorrow, post-vet visit.

A little later, I went over to Menard’s for a few things. I was looking for a Circle Retaining Clip

Circle Clip

like this.

While fixing a problem, I had pulled one off the Chair Rotate Release cable from the passenger chair and lost it.

A little later, I guess sensing that we had finished off the last of her Snickerdoodle Bread this morning, Phyllis Schell sent husband Dick over to make a cookie delivery. MMM MMM Good, again.

Late this afternoon the guy finally came by to pick up what’s left of the old Splendide washer/dryer after I parted it out. If it was still here tomorrow, I was going to plant flowers in it.

Wayward Washer

Then for dessert tonight, we finished off the last of the Blueberry Buckle. It’s just been an embarrassment of riches today.

And why, I don’t know, but here’s a picture of Landon in a dirty shirt and a Darth Vader mask.

Landon as Darth Vader


June 10, 2015

Pull !

Since absolutely nothing happened today, and we never even left the rig, I thought I’d finish up with one of our last two days on our Illinois trip.

Recapping Sunday, May 24th.

For the first time in what seems like months, we got to sleep in here at the motel. Really nice for a change. Then a little after 11, we had lunch at the Arby’s across the street. We always enjoy eating at Arby’s, so I don’t know why we don’t do it more often.

About 1pm we drove over to a nearby park to celebrate our great-niece Gwen’s 12th birthday.

Gwen's 12th

She’s a real cutie, and smart as a whip.

Gwen's 12th 2

Wrapping up the party, we zoned out at the motel for a while. Then Jan and I made a Wal-Mart stop before heading down to her sister Debbie’s for the afternoon for a big family get-together .

A bunch of us went up to the top of the hill where Debbie’s husband Jim had a shooting range laid out.

Jim Shooting 1

Set up for pistol, rifle, and skeet, we shot a little of everything.

Jim Shooting 2a

Even Gwen, the birthday girl, put some rounds through the .22 rifle

Jim Shooting 3

The only thing I had with me was my Ruger LCP .380, but I did run a couple of magazines through it. Every time I shoot my LCP, I kick myself for not ordering the Sweet Pea III trigger upgrade for both of ours. (Jan has one too.)  The trigger pull on these is just too long to be comfortable. You really have to concentrate to resist jerking the trigger too fast because of the long pull.

But even with this problem, the LCP is still a nice shooting little gun, and pretty accurate. I was able to keep all my shots on the paper at 25 yards (well, a couple were just barely on), which is really outside what you would normally call the useful range of this gun. But still fun.

Later in the afternoon, we all gather for an old-fashioned hot dog cookout.

Cookout 1

It was good to be able to get everyone all in one place (Except for Chris, Linda, and Piper. They weren’t able to make the trip up from Houston)

Cookout 2

Afterwards, the kids went down to the pond to feed the fish.

Cookout 3

Finally about dark Jan and I made our way back to the motel to rest up for another busy day tomorrow (Memorial Day).

Well, this wraps up our second to the last day on our Illinois trip. Next up, how we spent Memorial Day lazing on the Mississippi River.


June 10, 2016

Pump It Up!

After our water outage the other day, I decided it was time to install the new water pump that I ordered from Amazon recently.

Shurflo RV Water Pump

Shurflo 3.0 GPM  RV Water Pump

After opening up the panel and removing the screws holding the pump to the top of the compartment, I unplugged the connector that I had installed when I last replaced the pump back in 2008.

Water Puimp Repair 1

Then I unscrewed the In and Out connections and pulled the pump out. I immediately noticed that water was leaking out of the back of the pump, which probably had something to do with it dying. Next up was to unscrew and clean out the strainer/filter.

Water Puimp Repair 2

The filter was actually pretty clear, with only a little bit of the carbon granules from the water filter. All in all, pretty good.

I noticed that the directions with this pump that they say not to use Teflon tape or anything similar on the connections, so I cleaned any residue off the threads.

The instructions also said to use a 15amp inline fuse, but unlike last time they didn’t include a fuse with this one.so I cut the power leads so I could use the old one.

Water Puimp Repair 3

I used wire nuts to connect the leads and then I put a squirt of urethane sealer into each one to seal them off. One thing I noticed is that the entire black mounting base is made from heavy rubber, which should make it a lot quieter.

Then I put the pump back in place, connected the water lines, and plugged the electrical connectors together.

Water Puimp Repair 4

Since the shore water was still turned off, I hit the pump switch and listened to the pump start up and run until the system was pressurized. But I had to listen carefully, because as one reader mentioned, this pump is really quiet.

I’ll wait a while before I button things back up to be sure everything is OK.

Since I was in the water bay, I decided to change out the filter in my EVQ canister. After always struggling to get the top off, I came up with a way to get it loose.

I have the wrench to hold the bottom, but it was always hard to hold the top to break it loose.

Water Filter Holder 1

Then I noticed that the unused prongs on our Blue Ox baseplate were perfect for holding the top while I turned the bottom. Easy Peazy.

Water Filter Holder 2

And this is what the old filter looks like after 5 months of use. Yuck!

Water Filter Old and New

Finishing up with water stuff, I went back up on the rig roof to check out how I’m going to clean my evaporator coil.

AC Opening

As you can see here, anything sprayed on the coil drips off and falls right through the filter and into the bedroom. Not a good thing.

So my idea now is to get a piece of sheet metal big enough to cover the opening. That way I can wash and rinse the coil without any dripping.

After cleaning up, Jan and I drove over to the ‘F’ section to meet up with our friend Randy so he could follow us to the Asian BBQ & Grill for dinner. He had read about how much we liked it and wanted to try it for himself.

We all got the Vermicelli Bowls, Jan’s with Lemon Grass Chicken, and mine and Randy’s with the Grilled Pork and Shrimp.

Asian BBQ Grilled Pork and Shrimp Bowl

As always before, it was all delicious, and they have a new customer in Randy.

Not sure yet what’s on tap for tomorrow, so we’ll just have to see.


June 10, 2017

A Nice, Short, Cool Day . . .

Since we had a short travel day on tap we didn’t get up as early as usual, taking our time, and not leaving until a little after 10.

While Jan waited off to the side in the truck, I pulled out of the site and then parked for a few minutes. I wanted to walk the site and check the high grass under the rig to see if I had left any tools behind. We rendezvoused at the Mobil station out on the Interstate where I filled up with diesel. Or at least tried to.

Normally I can use each credit card twice at the pump, but this time after the pump stopped at $90 the first time, I slid the card again and was told, “You can not use this card again right now”. Never saw that before.

So I used a second card, and after a second $90 worth, I got the same message a second time. Oh well.

After not quite filling up, we were hitched up and on the road a little before 11am. Right before we pulled out, I started up the generator using my new starter bypass system. And about 30 seconds later we had power and air conditioning. Nice.

Our first stop was at Wall Drugs about 65 miles away, pretty much just for lunch.

Wall Drug's

When we came through here in 2008 we spent more time roaming around the block-sized place, but not today.

The last time we were here it was October and we were the only RV in the football-field-sized parking lot. Today it was a madhouse, with rigs parked every which direction, blocking each other in.

We left the generator/AC’s running for Karma while we made the block walk to the store. I got in line at at the burger window and ordered a Beef Hot Dog and Fries for Jan, and a Buffalo Hot Dog and Fries for me.

Wall Drug's Buffalo Dog

After a nice lunch, we made a quick lap around the gift shop before heading back out to the rig. I thought we were blocked in because someone had decided to park their ginormous 5th wheel in the access road on the side of the lot blocking it for everyone. But luckily the rig right in front of us pulled out and we were right after them.

We pulled into the Belvidere KOA about 2:30 and were quickly led to our long pull-thru site, with 50amp Electric/Water. Nice that we didn’t have to unhitch the truck.

Later when I went out to the truck for something and found this guy crawling across our site.

KOA Turtle

Although this guy is a Western Painted Turtle, he looks a lot like the Red-eared Sliders I used to have. He just doesn’t have the red stripe on the side of his head.

And then there’s this distant ancestor that we saw last week at the Reptile Gardens.

Reptile Gardens Giant Turtle

The largest turtle that ever existed, he weighed about 4500 pounds, was 15 feet long, and 16.5 feet across the front flippers. Found near Hermosa, SD, he was about 100 years old when he died, and lived at the time of T-Rex, about 65 million years ago.

Tomorrow, we’ve got about 230 miles to North Platte, NE where we’ll stay for a few days taking in all the train stuff that’s there.

And about 5 miles after we leave the park we’ll be back in the Central Time Zone for the first time since March.


June 10, 2018

Awesome is awesome . . .

I was outside working on cleaning the rig by about 11:30 this morning, but it took longer than I had figured, due to the fact that it took longer to get all the encrusted oily grime off the rear of the rig than I thought.

But Awesome is awesome for cutting through heavy grease and grime.

So I went from this

Rig Rear Before

to this.

Rig Rear After

And it’s shiny too. It just took a while.

And by 2:30 I had done the rear and the passenger side of the rig, using Black Magic Wash/Wax. Turned out to look pretty good.

Beyond the nicks and scrapes, the big problem with the rig’s 19-year-old paint job is the fact that the Clear Coat finish is slowly peeling off in spots, making the area look like it’s sunburned and peeling. The pressure washer will clean off these spots, but it will continue to peel back from there.

My research says that there is no way to remove the clear coat without removing the paint underneath. And I’m just not sure I want to spend $10,000 to $20,000 on a new paint job for an almost 20-year-old coach. But I’m thinking about it.

But by 2:30 I was pooped. I plan on finishing up with the front and driver’s side tomorrow afternoon after I get home from work. But, as usual, we’ll see how it goes.

After 3 hours out in the hot sun, I decided that I deserved a steak, so about 3pm Jan and I headed up to Webster to eat at Saltgrass Steakhouse. On the way, we were debating, Longhorn or Saltgrass? But Saltgrass won out due to their fantastic Wedge Salad.

Saltgrass Wedge Salad

Really good.

Jan had the New York Strip with Steamed and Grilled Broccoli,

Saltgrass New York Strip

while I got my usual Pat’s Ribeye, also with the Broccoli.

Saltgrass Pat's Ribeye 12oz

Well worth 3 hours in the hot sun.

We’ve always been impressed by the quality of the steaks we get at Saltgrass, and a couple of years ago we found out why.

We were eating at one of the Claimjumper restaurants out in Las Vegas and I complimented our waiter about how good the steak was, and he told us what the secret was.

Claimjumpers is one of the 40+ restaurant chains owned by Tilman Fertitia and Landry’s. Among others are Morton’s, McCormick & Schmick’s, and a couple of other high-end steakhouse chains. But all the Landry’s restaurants get the same quality meat from the same suppliers. It’s apparently cheaper to do it that way rather than have the different restaurants getting different meat from different suppliers.

Make sense, and good eating for us.

Coming home we stopped off at the new Dollar General on FM646 to pick up more Awesome since we were running low.

Several of our readers have ordered the SoundBar that we recently installed, and are just as happy with theirs as we are with ours.

SoundBar

So if you’re having problems with the sound levels on your TV, check it out.


June 10, 2019

They’re All Mine . . .

Before I left for work this morning, I put in a call to Kenny at Snider’s Transmission to find out the best place to take my truck to get the water pump checked out/replaced. He recommended Mike’s Auto Repair right down the road here in Santa Fe, so I checked Google and put in a call. And got no answer.

I’d try again later at work.

At work, I got back on the website problem, and finally started to make some headway. It was up and running, and processing orders, but for some reason, it wasn’t sending out confirmation emails to the customer, and it wasn’t detailing the shipping options correctly.

But I kept at it and finally got it set up and working. So now I started in on prettying up the site, changing the colors and fonts to match our logo.

I’ve still got a few things to finish up, but I hope I’ll have it back online in the next day or so.

I had called Mike’s Auto Repair several times during the day, still with no luck. Maybe they’re closed on Monday?

So on my way home, I first headed up Hwy 6 to check out Mike’s, and found them open for business.

And after talking to the receptionist, I’m going to bring my truck up there tomorrow, though they may not get to look at it until Wednesday.

Turns out the problem with the phone number is that it’s wrong on Google and they haven’t been able to get it corrected.

They’re only about 3 miles away so hopefully I’ll be able to get it up there before it overheats, but I’ll carry extra water with me anyway.

This past Friday, when we were going out to eat with Chris and Charles Yust up in  Conroe, we ended up behind this extended Nissan passenger van.

They're All Mine 1

And looking a little closer, we read what was on the back window.

They're All Mine 2

In case it’s a little fuzzy, it says –

They’re all mine.
I know what causes it.
My hands are full.
I’m glad it’s me and not you, also.

We’re not Catholic (or Mormon).
We are not on welfare.
It’s not a daycare.
We are not done.

And on the other side of the rear doors was this –

They're All Mine 3

Looks like they might be angling for a TV show. But they’ve got a ways to go to catch the Duggar’s


June 10, 2020

Just One Copy . . .

Last Saturday I signed us up for the two-week trial of YouTube TV, and it didn’t take long to get our recordings set up on the DVR software. Though we can set all this up on the TV, it’s quicker and easier to do it on the computer.

A couple of odd quirks, however. You cannot record just a single episode of a TV show, it will only record every episode. And if you stop the recording a series, you lose all the episodes that you’ve recorded so far. Strange, but not hard to work around. Otherwise, as I said before, all recordings are saved for 9 months, and you can record and save an unlimited number of shows.

In the back of my mind, I was wondering what kind of server capacity they must have to record and save all these shows for their 2 million subscribers. But I think I’ve figured it out.

They only record ONE copy of every show on every channel, not 2 million copies. Then your account info just holds pointers and bookmarks linking to each show you’ve set to record and how much you’ve watched of it for the Resume function.

That’s about 1680 hours of video per day, so not that bad.

And we are really enjoying the fact that all the shows are in HD, rather than the SD video we have with DirecTV. Looks like YouTube TV will be our new streaming service.


June 10, 2021

City Museum Of St. Louis . . .

About 9am a whole bunch of us headed over to St. Louis to visit the City Museum of St. Louis. And by ‘whole bunch’, I mean 18 of us in 3 different vehicles. We’d bought our tickets online a month or so ago, since you have to buy them for a certain entrance time, in our case 11am.

The word ‘Museum’ in the name is kind of a misnomer. Rather than a museum in the conventional sense, it’s more of an eclectic collection of random items, ranging from firetrucks, Ferris Wheels, a 24-foot metal praying mantis, two Sabreliner 40 jets, a school bus that hangs over the side of the building, all connected together by caves, tunnels, aerial walkways, giant crawl-through Slinkies, ladders, and pretty much anything you can imagine. And 3 or 4 different slides, including one 10-story one going from the top floor to the basement.

Oh, and a log cabin that belonged to the son of Daniel Boone.

City Museum View

And right in the middle, on the 5th floor, are condos selling for over $600,000.

City Museum Front 2

One of the things you notice immediately when you enter the building, are all the beautiful mosaic floors, all with animal themes.

City Museum Floor 1

City Museum Floor 2

And they seamlessly ‘flow’ from one room to the next.

In fact animals are a main feature of the place, from elephants on the roof,

City Museum Rooftop Elephant

to their distant Mammoth cousins.

City Museum Mammoth

That’s about it for today. It’s late and I’m tired, but there’s a lot more, so I’ll pick up where I left off tomorrow.

But a final shot of all the kids with us today.

City Museum Kids Group Final

And yes, I did have to swap some heads.


June 10, 2022

Packing Up In Paradise . . .

Since we have to be gone from the condo by 10am tomorrow, everyone started doing some packing today, but of course, interspersed with beach stuff, including feeding the seagulls the last of the bread stuff leftovers.

We had some high winds and rough water this morning, but that didn’t stop the kids from taking advantage of it with their Boogie boards. With the onshore wind, the waves start building further out so they’re bigger when they get closer to shore.

The wind got stronger and stronger as the afternoon went on, pretty much stripping the beach of umbrellas, canopies, and chairs. At least the ones that didn’t already get taken down first.

Jan did get a couple of pelican sightings today, as the rough water brings a lot of fish closer to the surface, just perfect for a pelican snack.

Meals today were pretty much just trying to finish off any leftovers. And between Spaghetti, Lasagna, Queso, Egg, and Sausage Casserole, it was all delicious.

Besides generally cleaning up the kitchen, we had to wash and put away all the towels and washcloths we used, so everyone washed their own during the day.

Jan and I are going to try to be on the way by about 9am, with our first tentative stop at the Buc-ee’s up in Robertsdale right off I-10. We tried to stop there last Saturday as we arrived in the area, but the line to get into the place stretched back down the exit feeder and along the shoulder of the Interstate. But we’re hoping that earlier in the morning it won’t be as busy. But we’ll see, I guess.

We all had a great time, and we’re already planning our next get-together, this time down in Texas.

Tomorrow we’ve got a 260-mile trip to Baton Rouge where we’ll spend the night before doing the last 300 miles on Sunday. In addition, we’ll finish up our BBQ Trifecta by having supper at the Sonny’s BBQ before checking into our nearby Sleep Inn Hotel.

Sonny’s, along with Big Bob Gibson’s in Decatur, and Golden Rule BBQ in Birmingham, make up 3 of our 4 favorite BBQ places. The 4th being Famous Dave’s BBQ, but unfortunately, I think the nearest one is in Nashville.

Maybe next trip.


June 10, 2023

They Never Look Like The Photos . . .

After getting thoroughly coffeinated this morning, I went back out to the Jeep to take a further look at my cooling fan problem

I mentioned yesterday that there are no bolts holding my radiator in place. You can see here where they’re supposed to be. I ended up using it to temporarily tywrap the wire harness in place.

There should be a 10mm bolt here. And there’s not one on the other side either. So I’m sure what’s holding it in, but it doesn’t seem to be loose.

The first thing I did was to remove the wirenut that I’d installed the other day and put 12 volts on the fan wire. And the fan started whirring. Then I started the engine and checked for 12 volts coming from the car.

No 12 volts.

Next up I checked the 40 Amp fuse and found it was good. So now I have to figure out why there’s no voltage coming to the fan. There’s supposed to be a fan relay somewhere, and on some models, it’s in the same area as the fuse. But not on mine.

Going inside I dug out my factory service manual. It’s about 3” thick, but it wasn’t much help locating the relay location. And so far Google hasn’t been much help either.

But since the fan is working, I’ll be able to hot-wire it to make it work manually until I can fix the problem right. I had to do this on our Dodge Dakota a few years back and it worked great.

More tomorrow.

About 1pm we drove over to the Dickinson Wendy’s to try out their new Ghost Pepper Ranch Chicken Sandwich.

The first thing you notice is that they never look like the ads.

Here’s the ad one.

Here’s mine.

And here’s the Ghost Pepper Fries to go along with it.

And now for the review.

I thought the Fries were actually a little hotter than the sandwich. And they were really good.

And though the sandwich was hot, it was not as hot as Arby’s Diablo Dare from last year. But it was hotter than anyone else’s ‘Spicy’ version.

However, it was a very tasty sandwich, and worth the trip there.

But one of these days someone’s going to make a really HOT sandwich.

Jan got the Strawberry Salad with Grilled Chicken which she said was really good.

And we finished it off by sharing a small Strawberry Frosty for dessert.

Also very good.

Finishing up, our next stop was Wal-Mart for our weekly stuff, and then home.

Another nice, tasty day.

 

 

Tied Down . . .

After this morning’s drizzle slacked off, Jan and I went outside to do some cleanup work around the site. First up was to rearrange and tie our windshield’s solar screens back down.

The high winds we had last week (60+ mph) had pulled them loose and also flipped up the sheet of Reflectix that’s underneath.

After Jan helped me get it all straightened out, and I was tying it back in place with new bungee cords, Jan spent some time de-weeding the Flamingo Flamboyance.

Later, about 1pm we drove over to the Denny’s to have our favorite Ultimate Omelets and check in with Angie, our favorite server.

When we got to thinking about it, due to our Alabama trip and Jan’s week up at Brandi’s in Katy, it’s been over a month since we’ve been here.

Too long.

Finishing up, it was HEB for a few groceries, and then gas at $2.77/gal., the cheapest we’ve found around here in a long time.

Turns out that when the SpaceX booster came back to Earth and made a soft landing in the ocean, it was close enough to the predicted position that there was a camera watching it come down.

Check out this video.

SpaceX Booster Landing

Finishing up, Lowell posted this photo of two of their dogs having some pool time.

Summer is here.


Thought For The Day:

Welcome to my mind . . .
Please fasten your seatbelts, and place your tray tables in the upright and locked position. Keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times. Don’t feed the animals, drink the water, or talk to the voices.
Enjoy the ride!


Your Retro-Preview Highlights –

2011 – Mt. Shasta, Fish, And Firetrucks

2015 – Make Up Your Mind

2017 – Reptile Gardens In Rapid City

2021 – Family Traditions

2022 – Model Trains

And Now On To Today’s Retro-Blogs.™


June 9, 2009

Road Trip to Daytona Beach…

Today Jan and I took a road trip about 50 miles south to Daytona Beach.

Jan had seen some yard flamingos at a store in Ormand Beach when we came thru there last week in our RV.  When you’re 63 feet long it’s hard to find a place to pull over on the spur of the moment, so back we went today.

Here is what Jan bought:

Yard Flamingos

Yard Flamingos

This is actually only a small part of her yard flamingo collection.

I mean, what’s an RV without flamingos in the front yard?

And Jan also has a yard moose collection, believe it or not.

We also wanted to drive around Daytona Beach where we spent time when we first met in Titusville 42 years ago.

After buying 3 more flamingos, we headed down the road to try out a BBQ place we had seen called Daytona Pig Stand.

These people take BBQ seriously.  Even their street sign smokes!

Pig Stand Sign

And I’m sure you’ve seen those people who compete in the BBQ cookoffs and contests where they have the smoker/grill on a customized trailer that they pull behind their truck.

Well, here is what the Pig Stand people have…

Pig Stand Smoker

These people are serious about BBQ!!

After driving the length of A1A on Daytona Beach we headed back north to St. Augustine, stopping off at Walmart for some prescriptions that weren’t ready yesterday, and Tractor Supply Store for a magazine that Jan wanted.

And then after stopping at an auto parts store for more tail light parts, we ended up at Barnes and Noble for books and a Starbucks coffee.

And then back home to the coach.


June 9, 2010

Red Devil and Greer…

Today started out with sleeping late and just got better all day long.

I got up about 10 am and, after doing some computer stuff, Mister and I went outside to do some things around the coach.

Mister decided to help out by taking a long nap in Jan’s chair. At least he was out of the way.

Mister At Rest

Mister At Rest 2

I got the ladder out of the back of the truck and started cleaning all the bugs off the front of the RV. I did the hard part first, which was to get the painted part of the rig clean. Tomorrow I’ll finish up the windshield itself.

This Elks Lodge RV park is nice, with full hookups and 50 amp electric, and the surroundings aren’t too shabby either. We’re in the middle of a pine forest, but not too thick, so satellite reception is still good.

And this is the view out our front window.

ElksWoods

A little while later we headed back over to Pinetop, first for some errand stops, and then a late lunch at the Red Devil Italian Restaurant.

Jan and I had a cup of Potato Bacon Soup and then a really good pizza with pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, onions, and jalapenos. I think the crust was maybe the best we’ve had since New York City last year.

After lunch we took a sightseeing trip about 40 miles out in the country, through the Apache Indian Reservation, and ending up in Greer, AZ, a resort area in the middle of the Apache National Forest in the White Mountains.

You really have to want to go here to get here, because the road ends here. Then you turn around and go back home.

Which we did.

But after leaving Greer and getting back on the main road, we decided to come home a different route, making a big circle through Eagar and Springville on the way.

In Springville, we stopped off at the Western Drug and General Store. Right next door is one of the Madonna of the Trail monuments. The 12 monuments, erected in 1928 and 1929, are in 12 different states, from Maryland to California, and are placed along the National Old Trails Highway, much of which later became US 40 and US 66.

MadonnaOfArizona

Our road trip today was great fun, and we finished it up by returning to our coach about 9 pm.

I think we’ve about got our route back to Austin planned out for when we leave here. Now we just need to figure out when we’re going to leave.


June 9, 2011

Fish and Firetrucks . . .

Today was a road trip day so no coffee at home since we were going to eat breakfast again at the Hi-Lo Diner before hitting the road.

This time I tried something different and it was really good. A Pork Carnitas Burrito.

Made with Scrambled Eggs, Shredded Pork, Green Chiles, and Onions inside a burrito, it was very tasty. And the Country Fries and Homemade Salsa just topped it off.

Pork Carnitas Burrito

Jan had a Strawberry Waffle with a side of Bacon. Apparently it was so good she didn’t even let me get a picture before she dove in.

Strawberry Waffle

After a great meal, we headed out to drive the Old Stage Rd down to the town of Mt. Shasta. Our destination was the Sisson Museum and the adjacent Mt. Shasta Fish Hatchery.

The Sisson Museum, named after Mt. Shasta City’s name until 1924, opened in 1983 and gives you a great overview of the Mt. Shasta area.

Sisson Museum

One thing I found interesting were some of the old photos taken at the top of Mt. Shasta. I wondered about the purpose of this pylon at the summit.

Checking another exhibit gave me the answer. It was a Geodetic Survey marker. Installed on the top of Mt. Shasta in 1875 to aid in drawing survey lines in the newly-opened West.

Mt Shasta Reflector

The highly-polished shape of the ‘conoidal’ cone on top reflected the sunlight in all directions making it a brightly-lit beacon on the mountaintop, visible from more than 200 miles away.

Falling into disuse after the surveys were completed, it stood until sometime between August and October 1903, when it was apparently struck by lightning and blown off the mountaintop, landing several thousand feet below.

It was not seen again until 1912, and the top was not recovered until 1949, when three men brought it down. It was stored until it was donated to the museum in 1984.

Mt Shasta Reflector 2

Another thing I found interesting is that on the display telling many of the highlights of the mountain, the number of fatalities is changeable.

Mt Shasta Deaths

Sounds like a good enough reason to just admire the mountain from afar.

This is a 1915 Ford Fire Truck, one of only 6 made, and the only one to survive.

1915 Ford Fire Truck

It contained a 20 gallon tank of a water/baking soda solution, so to activate it, a ladle of concentrated sulfuric was dumped into the tank and stirred. When the lid was clamped down it developed as much as 150 psi, spraying the solution on the fire. Of course, the tanks sometimes blew up from too much pressure, so maybe that’s why they only made six.

Leaving the museum, we walked next door to the Mt. Shasta Fish Hatchery. Built in 1906, it is the oldest hatchery still operating west of the Mississippi. At first, it handled salmon, then salmon and trout. Now it supplies four different species of trout, including Rainbow and Brown Trout.

The first thing you see are the outside growing ponds, fed by the icy cold waters of a nearby creek. Note the netting overhead to keep out hungry hawks.

Fish Hatchery 1

Fish Hatchery 2

But everything starts here in the Incubator Building where the spawn are hatched and fed.

Fish Incubator 1

There are as many as 20,000 minnows in each of these tanks, and there are several dozen tanks.

Fish Incubator 2

When they’re large enough they’re moved outside through a progression of ponds as they grow in size. At this size, as fingerlings, they may be airdropped into rivers and streams.

Fish Hatchery 3

These look almost ‘eating size’ and will be deposited into rivers from large truck tanks.

Fish Hatchery 4

We also saw three hawks regularly floating overhead, so that explains the netting.

Hatchery Hawk

Leaving the museum and hatchery, we drove back into Mt. Shasta City and got another great view of the mountain.

Mt Shasta from Mt Shasta 1

Mt Shasta from Mt Shasta 2

Getting back on I-5 we headed south about 60 miles to Redding. We wanted to see the area and also stop off at a Tractor Supply Store.

We had also seen signs for the Sundial Bridge near the Turtle Bay Museum, and wanted to check it out also.

It turned out to be a pedestrian/bicycle bridge crossing the Sacramento River that also functions as a giant sundial. Built in 2004 it is a cantilever spar cable-stayed bridge (you really wanted to know that, didn’t you.) that stands 266 feet high and is 700 feet long.

Sundial Bridge

These photos from the Internet give another view.

800px-Sundial_Bridge_at_Turtle_Bay

The bridge deck is made of structural glass and is illuminated at night for a spectacular effect.

Sundialbridge2

Leaving the bridge we drove around Redding for a while before deciding to have a late lunch at a nearby Marie Callender’s.

On the way I saw gas for $3.82 so I decided to fill up, as it’s $3.99 back in Weed.

After a good meal, and pie to go, we headed back to the RV, taking in more great views along the way.

This is Mt. Shasta, seen from Redding. According to the map, it’s 58 miles away.

Mt Shasta from Redding

What stuck both Jan and I is how visible Mt. Shasta is from so far away, and yet it was so overcast last Saturday when we drove here in the RV that we never saw the mountain until we were in Weed, and even then it was covered in clouds.

Another shot from about 15 miles away.

Mt Shasta from 15 Miles

Getting back to Weed, we stopped in at the Pilot right next door to the RV park so I could get a cappuccino.


June 9, 2013

Finally . . .

I’m really getting pretty sick of this water filter/drinking fountain upgrade, I got the new compression ferrules last night and then this morning I redid the connections, turned the water back on, and both were leak-free.

But I just had to take it one step further. As long as we’d had the coach there has always been a very slight leak underneath the cabinet. Not enough to make it wet there, but just a little damp. I watched things for a few minutes but saw no leaks, so I put down some newspapers to show up any leaks. And checking back in a couple of hours showed me one drop had fallen, and based on its position, it was coming off one of the original quick-disconnects that was used by the old inline water filter.

So after checking the connector about every 15 minutes for about an hour I finally saw a drop forming at the threads where the plastic disconnect screws into the brass 1/4” tubing compression fitting. So I decided that just tightening the connector a little bit would probably fix the problem.

SNAP!

Well, at least I now knew why the joint was leaking. The plastic threaded part of was already cracked and leaking and snapped off when I tried to tighten it. In the photo below, the center connector was threaded into the brass connector on the left and that’s what snapped off.

Broken Water Connectors

So about 1:30 I headed back down to the hardware store (I now seem to be on a first-name basis with everyone there.), but they didn’t have what I needed. So it was off to the Home Depot up in Bend. And there I found that these quick disconnects aren’t stocked anymore, but they could order me some. Bummer!

But then I realized I didn’t really need the quick disconnects anymore because the cartridge system itself is a self-sealing quick-disconnect type.

3M Filtrete 3US-PS01

So I just got a 3/8” to 1/4” quick connect and headed home.

Getting back home, it only took me about 5 minutes to install the quick connect and wrap up the project,

Finally!

For supper, we had another heaping helping of Jan’s great chili, with corn tortillas, cheese, and crunchy tortilla strips. Mmm, mmm, good!

Grace Nadeau, our son-in-law Lowell’s niece, posted this photo of her daughter Zoe, Landon’s 2nd cousin.

Zoe Nadeau 4

Is she a cutie, or what?


June 9, 2014

Bullet Dodging . . .

We had our coffee this morning along with some of the Snickerdoodle Bread that Phyllis Schell brought over yesterday. Per her suggestion, we buttered it and toasted it in our toaster oven. Delicious!

About 3pm Jan and I made a Wal-Mart run for a few things. One of the things I wanted to look at while there was the size of their small 5000 BTU Air Conditioners. I plan on getting one for our gate-guarding this year. It looks like it will fit just fine in the driver’s seat window and will help take some of the load off the rig roof A/C’s.

A little after 6pm Jan and I, along with Jim and Chris Guld, of Geeks on Tour fame, all headed over to have dinner at Mancino’s Pizza. We tried to eat there last night, but found them closed. So tonight we tried it again, with better results.

As usual, the pizza and Sammy bread were delicious. One of our favorite places in this area.


June 9, 2015

Make Up Your Mind . . .

Well, as I figured it will be the first part of next week before the new windshield will be in and they will be ready to install it. But apparently my finding the windshield part number for them did speed things up.

Of course, they’ve also still got the airbag to install at the same time, as well as a few other small things. Then when everything else is done, we’ll drive over and get the new tires put on.

The tire guy says that he could put them on here, but if I want to get them computer-balanced, that has to be done at the shop. Of course, I could have them all put on here, then drive over to the shop and have them all taken back off, balanced, and then put back on. But that would cost $25 per tire for the extra labor. So No to spending an extra $150.

About 2pm, Jan and I headed out to have linner at the In N Out Burger here. Unlike our last In-N-Out visit in Las Vegas, neither of us added ‘secret menu’ things. The only variation on our Double-Double’s was that Jan got grilled onions on hers, and I added a slice of raw onion to mine.

InNOutBurger - Prescott

In-N-Out is fast becoming one of our favorite burger places. Nothing fancy, just a really good burger.

Then it was right across the parking to a nearby Wal-Mart for a few things. It didn’t take us long to decide that this is now our favorite Wal-Mart here in Prescott. It’s very clean, with wide brightly lit aisles. Jan said there was even artwork in the ladies room, as well as green plants. Very nice store.

* * * * *

On another note, can’t they just make up their minds?

First, they tell us that being obese, or ‘extra fluffy’, as Jan calls it, is bad for your heart.

Obesity Bad For Your Heart

Then a few years later it all changes.

Obesity Now Good For Your Heart

And of course, previously, they told us saturated fats were bad for us. So everyone started using trans fats. Then they decided trans fats were bad, and we started using polyunsaturated fats. And now we’ve circled all the way back around to ‘saturated fats are good for you’.

Who can keep up?

And anyone remember how we ended up with airbags?

First, we got seatbelts, but they decided people weren’t using them enough. So in 1974, they put switches in the seatbelts so that your vehicle wouldn’t start if your seatbelt wasn’t fastened. Of course, this resulted in a lot of people sitting on fastened seatbelts, just out of spite.

Finally, after a lot of complaints, the seatbelt switch law was repealed and we were back to the buzzer-light thing. For a while.

Then in 1998, since a lot of people still weren’t using their seatbelts, they started requiring front seat airbags in all vehicles to replace seatbelts. In fact, some early airbag-equipped vehicles didn’t even have front seatbelts.

But in another one of those OOPS moments, they found that a lot of people were being injured, killed, or even decapitated by the airbags going off in a crash.

I mean, who knew that a small bomb going off in your face might be a problem?

So to save people from the dangerous airbags, they started requiring seatbelts again to protect people from the airbags.

And now 30 million vehicles in the US have been recalled due to defective airbag inflators, the explosive part that inflates the airbag. Apparently sometimes these go off on their own, with or without a crash. And when they do go off, they can send metal shrapnel spraying throughout the passenger compartment,, injuring or killing the occupants.

Don’t you feel safer now?


June 9, 2016

Whew, That Was Close . . .

When I got up about 11 this morning, the park water was off. And of course, since the AC leak and microwave problem had jumped to the head of the repair list line, I have not yet installed the new water pump that came in last week.

Luckily we had enough water in a jug to still make coffee this morning. Otherwise, things could have gone downhill very quickly. So, up next, the water pump install.

I know most RV’ers have a love-hate relationship with their water hose. I know I do. How can something labeled “Non-Kink”, or “No-Kink” find so many different ways to kink, twist, or knot up while it’s just lying on the ground?

And I’m sure, like me, you’ve looked longingly at those expandable Pocket hoses that you can wad up in a ball, and thought, maybe it wouldn’t give me cancer if I drank from one all the time.

Zero G RV Hose

Well, someone has finally come up with an RV version. Called the Zero G RV and Marine Hose, it’s available for about $32 for a 25ft length.

About 4pm Jan and I drove down to the Cracker Barrel for dinner. Thursday being Turkey and Dressing Day, it’s Jan’s favorite day to eat there. But after looking over the menu, I was having trouble choosing between two items, both new on the menu – the Strawberry Chicken Spinach Salad and the Beef Campfire Grill. So I got both.

Or rather I got the Campfire Grill and Jan and I split the salad.

CB Strawberry-Spinach Salad

The salad was really great, with Strawberries, Blueberries, Spinach, Grilled Chicken, Bacon, Feta Cheese, Pecans, and Red Onions, with a Strawberry Vinaigrette. Probably the best salad of this type we’ve ever had.

With Jan going for her Turkey and Dressing, and us splitting the salad, I got to have the Beef Campfire Grill, with Beef Roast, Carrots, Red Potatoes, Onions, and Corn on the Cob. Kind of like a Louisiana or Low Country Boil, but with beef (or chicken) rather than shrimp or crawfish.

it comes like this,

CB Beef Carmpfire Grill

and opens to this.

CB Beef Carmpfire Grill 2

Everything was tender and delicious, especially the beef roast, very flavorful and perfectly spiced. Try it.

Landon’s out of school for the summer, all ready to be a 1st Grader this fall. So he gets to spend some time with his father, Lowell, hanging out at the new Starbucks near their house.

Landon At Starbucks

Looks like his recent treadmill faceplant has healed up.


June 9, 2017

Wrapping Up in Rapid City . . .

Today was a stay-at-home day, so I could finish up with the generator. I needed to finish wiring up the new remote switch and then put all the covers back on.

Then I checked all the rig’s fluids, adding some oil and some coolant. Tomorrow I’ll check the tire pressures, since the last time I checked them in Bend, OR it was in the 40’s.

Since we’re wrapping here, I thought I’d finish up with one of our touristy things that we did last Thursday, the 1st, when we did the Reptile Gardens.

Reptile Gardens

We got there a little before 1pm, just in time to take in the Snake Show, with these Albino Python as an example. Unfortunately due to the glass surrounding the stage I didn’t get many good photos.

Reptile Gardens Snake Show 1

Right next door was one of Jan’s favorites, the Prairie Dog Habitat. They also have a prairie dog on sentry duty.

Jan has been known to ignore signs like the one below, but not this time. Too many witnesses.

Reptile Gardens Prarie Dog 1

In addition, there were a lot of babies running around, some even smaller than this one.

Reptile Gardens Prarie Dog 2

This is Derek . . . the guy, not the gator. Derek showed us how to catch and restrain one.

Reptile Gardens Alligator Show 1

Reptile Gardens Alligator Show 2

Gators can bite down with over 2,000 psi of force, but the saltwater crocodile can chomp down at over 3,700 psi. Ouch!

In contrast, lions and tigers top out at about 1,000 psi, while you can tear into a steak with 100 to 200 psi.

But as strong as they are biting down, the muscles that open their jaws are pretty weak. In fact almost anyone, even a child, can hold their mouths shut.

One thing kind of funny was that as Derek was doing this, all the other 20 odd gators and crocs came out and were lined up along the bank, just watching.

Reptile Gardens Alligator Show 3

Next up was the Bird Show.

Reptile Gardens Bird Show

Reptile Gardens Bird Show 1

Then it was into the dome to check out all the snakes, bugs, and critters, including Jan’s favorite Tarantulas.

Reptile Gardens Tarantula 1

Some of them are actually kind of pretty.

Reptile Gardens Tarantula 2

This one will fling its stinging hairs at you.

Reptile Gardens Tarantula 3

Waxy Monkey Frogs

Reptile Gardens Frogs

A Gold Poison Frog, supposedly the most poisonous of the bunch. Even the natives are very careful with it.

Reptile Gardens Gold Poison Frog

The Blue Poison Frog.

Reptile Gardens Blue Poison Frog

This is a Chameleon. Note the pattern on his side. He’s recreated the green leaves, the black background, and even the vertical branches. Amazing.

Reptile Gardens Cameleon

An Iguana

Reptile Gardens Iguanda

Here’s Jan with a slightly larger one when we were in Puerto Vallarta in 1997.

JanAndIguana

A Desert Horned Viper

Reptile Gardens Snake 1

And one from my neck of the woods, a Copperhead.

Reptile Gardens Snake 2

The Fierce Snake, or Inland Taipan, is reputed to be the most poisonous snake in the world, although I’ve seen other snakes listed that way.

Reptile Gardens Fierce Snake

The Fierce Snake

Reptile Gardens Snake 3

The centerpiece of the entire place is the dome, with birds, insects and other animals roaming free, and populated with many exotic plants and flowers.

Reptile Gardens Dome 1

Reptile Gardens Dome 2

Reptile Gardens Dome 3

Reptile Gardens Dome 4

Reptile Gardens Dome 5

Reptile Gardens Flowers

We both really enjoyed Reptile Gardens, one of our favorite places here. A Must See if you’re in the area.

Tomorrow morning we’ll head out about 10am, with our first stop at the Mobil station right by our I-90 entrance to get diesel. At $2.43 a gallon it’s the cheapest place around, especially compared to the Pilot a few miles down the road where it’s $2.85. So that would be a $42 difference on a 100 gallons. Yikes!

Our first real stop will be Wall Drugs about 65 miles along I-90E where we’ll have lunch before going another 60 miles, stopping at the Belvidere KOA for the night.

A nice short day.


June 9, 2018

And Of Course, For the First Time in a Month …

It rained.

I tried. I really did. Right after I finished my coffee I headed outside to get started, only to be greeted by the loud rumble of thunder, a gray solid overcast sky, and heavy raindrops.

Where did that come from?

We haven’t had any rain in over a month, at least that’s what La Crosse Weather Station says. And none was scheduled for today. So why rain on my parade?

One thing I did do was to top off our fresh water tank for our upcoming jaunt. We were below 1/4 tank, and we don’t expect to need it, but it’s best to be prepared.

Since I decided to put off the power washing until this afternoon, weather permitting, we headed out up to Webster about 1pm. Our first stop was for breakfast, again. Like I said, it’s our favorite meal.

But this time it was to another local favorite Breakfast/Bunch/Lunch place of ours, The Egg and I. We’ve been eating here for years, even before we started RV’ing in 2008 and it’s always been great.

Ironically, one of our favorite things there is not just the food, but their Hazelnut Coffee. Don’t know what brand it is, or where they get it, but it’s literally the best-tasting coffee we’ve ever had. Much better than any of the Hazelnut coffees we buy at the store. And we’ve tried a lot of different brands.

As far as breakfast itself, Jan had an Omelet with Mushrooms, Onions, and Avocado with Fruit and an English Muffin.

Egg and I Avocado Omelet

I stuck with my usual Two Eggs Over Easy, with very crispy Bacon, Fruit, and an English Muffin.

Egg and I Two Egg Breakfast

A great breakfast. Just wish it was a little closer.

Then it was a quick stop by my clients to see if my Wyze Pan Cam had come in as promised.

Wyze Pan Cam

Well, it may have been promised but it was not kept. It seems like every time a package doesn’t show up on time, it’s in the hands of the Post Office. In this case, according to the tracking, UPS delivered it to the Houston PO on Wednesday. And there’s been no change in the tracking info since then. It’s just sitting around out there somewhere.

Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night, my rear end.

Our last stop was at the El Dorado WalMart to pick up Jan’s prescription that we dropped off a couple of days ago, and once again GoodRx saved us a bunch of money.

I’ve mentioned this app before, but if you don’t use it, get it. The first thing is that it shows you the cheapest places for any drug in your area. Pretty useful by itself. But it gets better.

In many cases, GoodRx also gives you additional discounts, either by a coupon you print out and give to your pharmacy, or just a code number that you show to the clerk when you check.

In today’s case, the initial cost for Jan’s prescription was $41.58, but after I showed them the GoodRx code on my phone, it dropped to $21.20, almost a 50% discount. Nice!

Tomorrow it’s once more unto the breach, and another try at washing the rig. But we’ll see.


June 9, 2019

Gonna Need A Bigger Barn . . .

Or A Hidden Gem

I spent the morning working on the website credit card problem, Friday I finally figured out what the real problem was. The credit card program that we were using is no longer supported, and is not supposed to be used.

So it’s just something else I have to change out and update.

About 3pm Jan and I headed out to have lunch at a new-to-us place. It’s only a few miles from here, and we pass it almost every day. but they don’t have much in the way of signage. But I’m not sure if it’s really needed, since word-of-mouth seems to be doing a good job. They do a big takeout and delivery business.

Boudin Barn2

It’s called The Boudin Barn and it‘s really, really good. And really, really small.

Boudin Barn Inside

Like I said, they’re gonna need a bigger barn.

Jan had the Catfish and Shrimp Combo. She said it was really good.

Boudin Barn Catfish & Shrimp Combo

I had the Cheeseburger Combo.

Boudin Barn Cheeseburger and Fries

It’s a 1/2 pound of Angus Beef with Bacon mixed in, and served on a Brioche bun with all the fixings. Really good, and the fries are seasoned too.

Jan also got the Boudin Stuffed Mushrooms as an appetizer,

Boudin Barn Boudin Stuffed Mushrooms

while I thought I was getting a Boudin link and Boudin Balls appetizer too.

Boudin Barn Boudin Link and Balls with Fries

But it turned out to actually be a combo meal with fries and a drink, so I had plenty left over for dinner tomorrow night. YUM!

They also regularly do weekend specials, like Boudin-Stuffed Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Breast, or Boudin-Stuffed Bacon-Wrapped Tenderloins. Apparently these are so popular that they sell out fast, So fast that they suggest you call and make a reservation.

Now that’s popular. We’ll definitely go back.

Finishing up at the Boudin Barn, we headed up to the League City WalMart to pick up a couple of things that the Texas City version was out of. Along the way, we were happy to see that they had reopened the southbound side of I-45 at FM 646. They had closed it down Friday night at 9pm, and it wasn’t supposed to reopen until 5am tomorrow morning. So ahead of time is nice.


June 9, 2020

Daisies and Time-Traveling Dinosaurs . . .

For the last week or so Jan and I have been binge-streaming 4 old TV show series, all in the sci-fi/fantasy genre, and all on the CWSeed streaming app.

Forever is a show about a New York Medical Examiner who is also a 200+ year old immortal. And he doesn’t know why. He was killed onboard a ship in the early 1800’s and thrown overboard. And then he woke up.

Moonlight is about a vampire who works as a P.I. in Los Angeles. He’s 85 years old but looks 30, and uses his vampire powers to solve crimes. There’s a girl TV reporter who knows his secret, and no, he can’t fly or turn into a bat.

Both of these only lasted one season, as it seems like a lot of shows we like. They don’t last long.

Next up is a two-season series, Pushing Daises, a quirky show about a pie maker who can touch something dead and it will come back to life. But if he ever touches it again, it will die again, permanently. Which creates a problem when he brings his dead girlfriend back to life. And then can never touch her again. Bummer!

Last up is a British series that went 5 seasons. Primeval has a group of scientists battling dinosaurs that escape into the present through ‘Anomalies’, basically holes in time that appear at random around Britain. The dinosaur effects are really good, and were done by the Walking with Dinosaurs people who did all the Science Channel shows. At least we’ve got a bunch of episodes to watch.


June 9, 2021

Family Traditions . . .

I’ll catch up on yesterday’s long, rainy trip later, but I don’t want to fall behind keeping up with what’s going on now.

We all headed out for breakfast about 9am to the local Denny’s in Vandalia, IL, which is actually part of the Pilot Truck Stop here.

“We all” consisted of Jan and I, Jan’s sister Debbie and her husband Jim,

Denny's Debbie and Jim

and Tana and Gwen, Debbie’s daughter and granddaughter.

Denny's Gwen and Tana

Gwen just graduated from high school a few months ago, and is already in college, majoring in psychology, taking after her 2nd cousin, Miss Piper.

Then it was on over to Rural King and WalMart for some shopping. Rural King is kind of a cross between Tractor Supply, WalMart, and a local feed store, and sells pretty much anything farm-related, from farm equipment to bales of hay, to baby chicks and rabbits. And of course, boots, overalls, and hats.

And a lot of fun to wander through.

Then it was on over to WalMart to stock up on food and supplies for the total of 15 people that will be descending on here this afternoon, including Brandi, Lowell, and Landon, who will be arriving later this afternoon,

Debbie and Jim have about 10 acres out here in the country south of Vandalia, and Debbie’s green thumb is evident everywhere you look.

Debbie's Backyard

Off to the right is a large pond with fish and turtles for the kids to feed.

This is Trudy’s Garden.

Debbie's Trudy's Garden

It’s dedicated to Trudy Underwood, Debbie and Jan’s mother.

And these are two shots of the front of the house.

Debbie's Front of House

Debbie's Front of House 2

I once told Jan that the reason she doesn’t have a green thumb, and has been known to even kill plastic plants, is that Debbie ended up with both her share AND Jan’s.

And it shows.

Later, after a great dinner, all the kids and grandkids played games at the table.Debbie's Group of Girls

Mister Landon, being outnumbered by the girls 7 to 1, wisely observed from the side. At least at first, But was soon in the middle of things.

More tomorrow from the City Museum in St Louis.


June 9, 2022

Very Relaxed . . .

Jan and I headed out on our own this morning, first for lunch at Desoto’s Seafood Kitchen over near the main intersection in Gulf Shores. We’ve been eating here for probably close to 15 years and it’s always delicious!

And this time, unusual for us, we started out with a drink. A Relaxer. And boy, did it.

Made with Vodka, Peach Schnapps, Rum, and Pineapple and Cranberry Juice, it was very good.

Jan and I both got the same thing, the Fried Seafood Platter, hers with Fried Green Tomatoes and Sweet Potato Casserole, and mine with Fried Okra and Sweet Potato Casserole.

One thing to note about Desoto’s and other smaller places at Gulf Shores, the locals eat here for lunch. You can tell by the way they’re joking with the waitresses and stopping to talk with people at other tables. So the lunchtime prices are very reasonable.

But come dinnertime the prices make a big jump for the tourists and the locals stay home.

Next up, after our great meal, Jan and I drove up to Foley to check out the large ‘O’ gauge model railroad layout that’s part of the Foley Railroad Museum, right in the center of town.

At 60’ x 20’, it has a quarter-mile of track and over two miles of wiring.

And everything from a circus,

to a drive-in movie, complete with a small monitor for the screen,

And then there’s the Fireworks company building on fire with fire trucks out front.

There are a lot of animated scenes, complete with a nighttime mode.

After spending almost an hour there, we spent some time driving around Foley checking out my old haunts. I went to school here from the 2nd grade to the 8th, so I have a lot of memories.

Getting back down to Gulf Shores, we made a WalMart stop for a few things plus gas before heading back down Fort Morgan Rd, to the condo. We did make a quick detour down to the end of the peninsula where the actual fort is located to look around, but they had already shut down the gate.

However, I did get this shot of a stork sitting on top of a chimney there.

Guess he’d just dropped a baby off.

Later after it got dark, I guess the shrimp were running, because we saw several shrimp boats out there trawling.

The fact that the booms are out and widespread means that the nets are out and they’re catching shrimp.

Tomorrow will be a stay-at-home day for Jan and me, getting some pre-packing down before we leave here early Saturday morning.


June 9, 2023

We’re Worried About Them . . .

Tomorrow I’ll be back out looking at the radiator fan problem on our Jeep, first to see if I’ve got 12 volts coming to the fan. Then if not, I’ll look at the fan relay and fuse to see if they’re the problem. If I do have 12 volts, then I’m back to a problem with the fan.

But that’s about all I can do until I know more.

One of our favorite places up in Webster is the Texas Huddle Grille and we go there usually every week or two.

But last Friday they closed down, saying on Facebook that they were having A/C problems and would reopen as soon as the problem was fixed. But now, a week later, they still haven’t reopened.

And even more disturbing, there’s been no further updates on FB since that initial post. There have been a lot of comments and questions posted, and you would think that they would be doing daily updates on the progress on reopening. But it’s just been

‘CRICKETS’

This would not be the first time we’ve had a restaurant we liked close for remodeling, or repairs, and then never reopen.

And it doesn’t help that this location seems to be kind of cursed. While the IHOP directly across on the other side of the strip center has been open since the 80’s, this spot has probably 8-10 different places in the same time period.

So, keeping our fingers crossed.

Another Day, Another Dare.

Tomorrow we’re having lunch over at the Wendy’s in Dickinson. At least we hope so. It seems that not all locations carry the sandwich.

I want to check out their new Ghost Pepper Ranch Chicken Sandwich. Tricked out with Ghost Pepper-infused American cheese, Ghost Pepper and ranch seasoned crispy onions, lettuce, tomato, and a creamy Ghost Pepper ranch sauce, made with fresh herbs, it’s the latest entry in the ‘hot’ sandwich wars.

The reviews on the ‘hotness’ of it are all over the map, with everything from ‘Blah’ to ‘WOW’. So I guess I’ll see.

Right now the hottest sandwich I’ve had was Arby’s Diablo Dare Roast Beef Sandwich that Jan and I had back in January 2022. You can read about that here. Arby’s Diablo Dare.

The hottest overall I’ve had are the Chicken Tenders at The Cookshack up in Webster. Their AMF1 & 2 levels are pretty much the ‘hottest’ anything I’ve ever had.

And of course, I’ll have to have an order of Wendy’s Ghost Pepper Fries to go with my sandwich.