Day 203

This was another road day.  We went from under 6,000 feet to 7,000 feet.  Of course there was a lot of up and down between there.  Through it all we got over 12.5 mpg.  I'm happy with that.

We drove by Winslow, AZ.  From an article I read I thought it was a small decaying place that was bypassed by I40.  Not so.  It's a pretty large town.  I just have no idea why it's there.  There doesn't seem to be any reason for it.

All the way along I40 past the AZ border are store advertising Indian oriented stuff.  I guess that's about the only thing besides casinos that the Indians have to acquire money.  There were a lot of casinos also.

Because Arizona doesn't believe in daylight savings time we gained another hour.  That put us in at about 1:30 local.  So after setting up we went back to Flagstaff so the dog could go to the dog park.  We also got fuel.  The dog socialized some, but wouldn't do retrieves.

We also explored the little town we're in.  There are two gas stations, a pizza place, a restaurant, a post office, and a real estate office.  There's also a golf course.  There's a lot of houses here.  They look like houses at Sunriver.

Before we left Flagstaff we had dinner - bacon pizza, cheese bread, and ice cream, the cardiologist special.

When we got back we walked around a little just to get some exercise.  Then it was surfing and an early bed.  I'm tired.

Day 202

Today's travel was a lot better than yesterday's.  Because we were only 5 miles from the time zone border we didn't get up until 8.  We were on the road by 8:45.

We got fantastic gas mileage.  On the first 150 miles past El Paso we got 14.1 mpg.  We got 12.5 on the other two fill ups.  That includes climbing up to over 5,000 feet.  We even lucked out at one gas stop.  The exit wouldn't let us back on northbound, so we had to drive through town.  That allowed us to find the cheapest fuel in town, 10 cents cheaper than anywhere else.

We made great time, too.  The trip was just at 400 miles and we did it in just a little over 6 hours.  The traffic in El Paso was as light as I've ever seen it (it was still stressful).

We drove up from Las Cruces on I25, a road we've never been before.  It basically goes through the same god forsaken country as the rest of New Mexico.  I did get to go through Truth or Consequences N.M.  I've always wanted to go there.  It's just a small town in the middle of country that I don't know why anyone would live in.

We've got a really nice place to stay tonight.  It's just off the freeway, but quiet.  The sights are nice, with lawns and manicured bushes.  The place is crawling with rabbits.

Finally, the weather here is really good.  It was in the mid 70's when we got here, and is cooling off nicely for tonight.

All in all this has to rank as one of the best long travel days we've ever had.

Day 201

We drove 430 miles across west Texas today.  It started out bad.  We left at 8.  1604 was a parking lot from a little past Culebra to I10.  It took us 45 minutes to go 15 miles.  We got less than 8 miles to the gallon.

When we got to I10 a strong headwind came up.  We had a headwind for most of the day.  All in all we averaged about 10 mpg.

The crummy mileage meant we needed to make a extra fuel stop.  It ended up taking 8 hours to make the trip - a whopping 53 mph average.

As usual we stopped to fuel up in Van Horn before going to the rv park.  The diesel pump at the station we usually go to was broken.  The Love's next door is closed.  We drove down the street to an Exxon.  It's pump had a broken keypad, so I couldn't use the credit card.  Luckily the proprietor let me pump gas and pay for it inside.  He didn't even ask for a card.

For all of that it was a good day.  Nothing really bad happened.

Once we set up I surfed and watched TV for the rest of the day.

Day 200

The day started off a little bad.  I realized that I'd left my Perazzi hat at the club on Saturday.  I figured I go ask about it after we'd done some chores.

Ellen did the wash while I drained the tanks.  After that I finished with the tanks I put screws in the bumper ends.  I was tired of booting them back in every time we were about to leave.

After the wash we went to the club.  Unfortunately no one was at the club.  So I didn't get it back.  Oh well.

After the club we stopped at Domino's for sandwiches.  They're expensive and take a long time to cook.  That's mainly because the phone orders for pizza take precedence.  We won't be going back.

I had looked up a couple of gun stores to go to.  The GPS said it was 13 miles to one.  It was actually closer to 20.  It was worth it though.  The place was fantastic.  It has several rooms lined with gun cabinets and crowded with shooting stuff.  To top it off the prices were great.  I wish I'd had more time to go to it. 

The next time I'm in San Antonio I'm going to make sure I set aside time to go back.

The good thing about driving so far was that we were relatively near "Lucy's dog wash".  Of course we went there to wash off the mud she collected while we were shooting.  It was a great place.  Lucy is now clean, soft, and sweet smelling.

On the way home we stopped at Rudy's and bought 2 lbs of BBQ for the road.

Day 199

We shot at 11:30 today.  So we got up fairly early and went to pick up Ellen's gun.  She said he did a good job of fixing it.  We went down vendor's row and Ellen demo'd the Caesar Guerini 20 ga.  I think she's going to order a two barrel set.

We shot practice 5-stand before we shot.  I didn't do really well.

It wasn't super hot when we shot, but it was warm.  Ellen did OK.  I sucked.  I think I scored one more bird than she did.  I kept missing birds that there's no way I should have missed.  I was disappointed and frustrated.  I'm beginning to think I can't shoot anymore.

After we shot we went home.  We were going to take the dog to a dog wash, but there's none in the area.  So we just sat in the trailer and surfed. 

We were going to go to dinner with Gretchen and Jason.  They called about 8 and said they couldn't go because a friend of their's had died.  So we went to In & Out instead.  I got a really cool t-shirt.

We did a little grocery shopping and then came home.  It was 9 by the time we got back.

Day 198

Today started earlier than yesterday.  About 3:30 the worst thunderstorm we've ever been in hit.  It started with a nasty hailstorm.  The hail was up to quarter size.  That was followed by a really heavy rainstorm.  Not only did the TV antenna leak again, but so did the housing around the bedroom fan.  Obviously the dealer guys didn't do a good job of installing it.

I went out after the storm.  Luckily the truck was not damaged.  After I got back in a second storm hit.  It had no hail, but it did have a lot of rain.

The two storms totally freaked out the cats and dog.  The cats were hunkered down next to us and the dog was hiding under her bed.

In the morning there were tree leaves all over.  I got out the ladder and brushed them off the trailer and truck.  Luckily we didn't shoot until 2:30, so there was plenty of time to do everything.  It was hot and sweaty work though.  Ellen had to help hold the ladder while I was cleaning off the slide tops and the gutters.

We went to the range a couple of hours early.  We got Ellen a choke tube wrench and then I went to Paxton's to demo the Blazer 20 ga.  I shot it really well, and it felt good.  The only problem is that it's a really plain gun.  We just had time to shoot the practice 5-stand before it was time to shoot.

It was sunny, hot, and humid when we shot.  I started off pretty good.  Then after the 4th station or so one of the trigger springs broke.  I had to finish with Ellen's gun.  I did pretty well with it except for crossers and droppers.  I just couldn't hit those.  I finished with a poor score, but I felt really good because I scored pretty good considering I didn't have a gun that fit.

After the shooting we went back to the club house for an open bar and dinner.  I stopped at one of the vendors and got both springs replaced.  Of course Lucy got quite a bit of people food, too.  After dinner they had some gun raffles and a pro-am shoot.  We missed winning a gun by one number.  Oh well.

Before we left we left Ellen's gun off at the same vendor that fixed my gun.  Her gun's ejectors don't work.  He said he'll fix it tonight.

We got home about 8:00.  The evening was surfing.

Day 197

Today started really early, about 4:40.  That's when a very big thunderstorm happened.  It lasted about 45 minutes.  The lightning, thunder, and heavy rain made it impossible to sleep.  We had a little water leak in by the TV antenna.  Of course the cats and dog were not happy at all.

This was the first day of shooting.  Ellen shot the prelim at 11:30 and I shot 28 gauge at 2:30.  I wanted to do a 5-stand practice before shooting, but it was not to be.  The prelim didn't end until 2:00.  The prelim was pretty easy, but Ellen didn't do so good.  The 28 gauge was pretty easy, too.  I sucked.

The first station was two easy outgoers from traps right in front of the cage.  I missed 4.  I really needed that practice that I didn't get.  After the first couple of stations I shot everything high gun.  I just didn't have time to groove the gun mount.  By the end I was doing OK, except for an attack of the 7's.

One thing was really bothersome.  Three times my eyes went funny on me.  They started going in and out of focus really quickly.  Of course I missed all three of those birds.  They were easy ones, too.

We didn't finish up until 4:30.  We immediately took the dog home, unloaded the stuff, and returned to the club for the Hall of Fame dinner.  It was pretty good - steak, potatoes, asparagus, and rolls.  For dessert they had a build it yourself sundae bar.  They also had two open wine and beer bars (if you can call Bud Light beer).

The dinner was over by 8.  When we got home I immediately took a shower.  The whole day was hot (80's) and humid.  I was sticky with sweat.  By the time I was done a thunderstorm was starting up.  We'll have to see how that goes.

I think I'm going to bed now and surf until I decide to go to sleep.

Day 196

Gretchen is going to have to go to the hall of fame dinner, so we went back to the club in the morning to get some tickets.  Hopefully we'll be able to eat with her.

After buying the tickets we ran the dog.  She was really happy.  The problem was that everything was really muddy.  So we went up the hill behind registration until we found an area that was more grass than mud.  Lucy did a whole lot of long retrieves.

After that we went down vendors row.  We got some cheap shirts and this neat flashlight shaped like a Winchester shotshell ($3).  I talked to the Caesar Guerini booth and Ellen test shot a Syrene gun.  She really liked it.  I found out that they have another gun with metal on the gunstock.  I might order it instead of the Apex.

We talked to Lonesome Charlie and his daughter.  She seems to be surviving her cancer.  That's really good.

We did a little more walking, but not much.  It was a San Antonio steam hath day and getting hotter as the day went on.  I wanted to get a light raincoat in case it rained while we were shooting.  So we went over to the shopping center at Culebra and 1604.

I went to Ross and Marshall's.  I shouldn't have bothered.  They are almost exclusively women's stores.  Then I went to Dick's.  They had a Columbia rain jacket for $40 and a breathable one for $60.  I know if I'm out there with the rain jacket I'll be more than willing to pay $60 for the breathable version.  I actually think it's really close to the jacket I bought in Houston at Bass Pro Shop for the same price.

After that we took the dog home.  It was way too hot for her to be in the car.  Then we went to HEB to pick up a few things.  After that we went back to the trailer and spent the rest of the day and evening in the trailer hiding out from the heat and humidity.

It's supposed to be cooler tomorrow.  I hope that's true. 

Day 195

On the road again.  We got up at 8, but didn't leave until 10:30.  A couple of things conspired to delay us, plus I wasn't hurrying all that much.  We made good time to San Antonio though.  Two hours and 5 minutes after we left we were parked and set up at the RV park.  The only bad thing was that the damn truck started to regen just as we pulled into the park.

After lunch we went over to the club and registered.  We talked with Lois and Gretchen for awhile and bought t-shirts.  Then we walked down vendor's row.  Most places weren't open yet, but a few were.  We stopped at the Ranger place.  He had just opened his door.  Ellen wanted some new glasses and bought a set from him.

As we were buying the glasses a thunderstorm started.  Later Ellen said it was a red one.  The sidewalk in front of vendors row had a couple of inches of water on it.  We walked back to the car in the heavy rain.  By the time we got back we were just about as wet as if we'd jumped into a swimming pool.

One the way home all of the gutters were flooded.  You had to drive down the middle of a two lane road.  Something happened on the entrance to 1604.  Cars were backed up onto the parkway.  So we turned around and went back the way we use to get there (remember we go one way to get there and another to return).  It was soggy but clear.

The storm was pretty much over by the time we got back.  Then it was San Antonio steam bath time.  The temperature was in the low 70's, but the humidity was almost 100%.  It felt ugly.  It was that way all night.  We were thankful for the fan in the bedroom when we went to sleep.

The evening was TV and surfing.  The internet here isn't bad.

Day 195

We spent the whole day packing and cleaning.  I moved a whole lot of stuff to the trailer while Ellen vacuumed the house.  We pretty much moved everything necessary to the trailer. 

After lunch we went to the post office.  Then we stopped by the watch repair place and had them put another battery in her watch.  I'd forgotten how good it looked.

We stopped by Fireman's on the way home to get some sandwiches to take home for dinner.  We also went to the pet place next door and gave Lucy a bath.  It's a really nice dog wash.  Lucy couldn't believe it was happening to her.  Of course she got a treat afterwards.

The last stop was the gas station to fuel up the truck.  It was bio diesel, and the pump said I pumped 1.3 gallons more than the truck said I burned.  Ripoff.  In addition it was one of the slowest pumps I've ever seen.

When we got home it was time to clean out the refrigerator.  It was already pretty much empty.  It was kind of a job to clean out because months ago Ellen spilled something sticky all over the bottom.  It's squeaky clean now though.

That was pretty much it for the preparation.  I'm going to take a couple of more things out and call it a day.

Day 194

We got up today because we had things to do.  The weather cooperated for outdoor work.  It was cloudy and 70 with a reasonable humidity.  We started out by washing the car.  We had to dry it off as soon as it was rinsed to take off the soap scum.  Then Ellen waxed it while I did some other stuff.

The patch to the pipe just didn't work.  I'll probably have someone replace it in the fall.  I rewrapped the pipes and put away the tools that were in the well house.  Then I cleaned up the garage and got it ready to park the car.  Finally I trimmed the tree in the driveway so that the trailer can get through.

After Ellen finished we put the car in the garage.  That's it for the car.  We put 6,000 miles on it since we bought it.

After that we went to the post office and lunch.  Just before we left I shot a squirrel.  After I did it I realized that there wasn't really any point in doing it.  I kind of felt bad, and I won't shoot any more.

We ran the dog at Circle C first.  We went the short way and had her do 20 water retrieves.  Weirdly the water in the creek was still lower than you'd expect after yesterday's downpour.  We ate at the brew house.  I really like their IPA.  It was nice eating outside and Lucy was super cute.  I'm going to miss the weather here.  We had dessert at the yogurt in the same strip mall.  It was really good.

We didn't get home until after 4.  I was going to clean up the house, but that's going to have to wait until tomorrow.

The evening was TV and surfing.

Day 193

This was another wake up early, but stay in bed awhile day.  Unlike yesterday it was sunny and warm.  Actually hot and humid.  After breakfast we continued moving stuff into the trailer, mainly clothes and food.  I also rearranged everything in the basement so I could get the dog food bags in.

We spent about two hours doing that.  It was 85 degrees in the trailer and it wasn't even noon.  We ran out of things to move.  That was good, because it was hot and miserable.  We hung out inside for the rest of the day.

I shot a squirrel in the afternoon, but I didn't do a good job of it.  I knocked it off the bird feeder, but it crawled away before I could reload.  Lucy and I looked for it, but didn't find it.  Crap.

Ellen went to archery in the evening.  When she went to leave, she discovered that she'd lost her car key.  Crap.  That will be $500 or so.

I watched TV and surfed in the evening.

Day 192

I woke up a little before 8 today.  I surfed for a little and Lucy came up to sleep with us.  After awhile Taiko laid down beside her.  Fletcher was laying on my shoulder, so everyone was on the bed at once.

We got up in a little while and had breakfast.  Then we went to the show in Dripping Springs.  It was $5 worth of entertainment for sure.  The price of .22 was amazing.  $19 or $20 for a box of 100 CCI's.  Screw them.

After that we took Lucy over to the sports center again.  The wind was blowing, so she did a fair number of long retrieves.  I quit when she came back and her legs were shaking.  She still wanted to go.

On the way back we stopped to eat at a BBQ place on 290 that I noticed yesterday.  Unfortunately we walked in just after a group of 40 or so girl Lacrosse players.  So we went to Nutty Brown Cafe instead.  After lunch it was the post office and home.

When we got home I put some Stabil in the car and started moving stuff to the trailer.  I moved a bunch of food, some electronics, and a few other things.  It's a start.

I quit when it got too hot to stay in the trailer.  We decided that one of Ellen's cameras wasn't necessary any more.  So I copied the photos off of it.  They're all from 2007 and include cat, dog, travel, and some family shots.

The evening was TV and a little surfing.  I tried to call mother, but she didn't answer.  There's a thunderstorm coming right now - Lucy is not happy.

Day 191

We got out of bed at 8:30 this morning to go estate saleing.  I had four good prospects.  The first wasn't really and estate sale.  It was a moving sale where the people were getting rid of a lot of their furniture.  They had some really nice things including a very nice secretary desk.  Unfortunately the people they hired had an antique shop.  So they priced all of the nice pieces at way over retail.  Of course they'll buy them from the owners at the end of the sale for a song "because they didn't sell".

They second place was much better.  It had a lot of stuff at really good prices.  I picked up a few tools.  The third place was good also.  Ellen got a food sealer.  The last place didn't have a lot of stuff, but it was at a good price.  I got a really nice, almost new, level for $5.  I also got a heavy sweatshirt and two shirts for $7.  It's the first time I've ever bought any clothes.

We stopped at Trudy's next to have lunch.  It was great as usual.  Then we went to Dripping Springs to run the dog.  She had been really wanting to do something all day.  We timed it right, as the rain started just after we were done.  We stopped at Twin Liquors and HEB for mojito supplies and then went home.

It rained the rest of the afternoon and evening.  I went out to look at the well house pipe.  It's still leaking.  So I coated the new wrap with glue.  If that doesn't work I don't know what to do.  I also made up another box of 50 loads for the Solo.

That was it.  The reast of the day/evening was surfing TV, and watching the rain.  It rained hard for hours.

Day 190

I had three things to do today, and I got them all done.  I woke up at 8, but didn't get out of bed until almost 10.  I had things to do, but I really didn't want to.

Task 1 was to clean the inside of the car.  It took two hour, primarily because the shop vac wouldn't work.  It sucked, but not enough to pick up sand.  I took it all apart and couldn't find anything wrong.  So I got the vacuum from the house.  It worked great.

I swear that Texas was blowing dirt into the car as I was cleaning it.  The weather was mainly cloudy, low 80's, and really humid.  I was soaked in sweat by the time I was finished.  The car looks really good inside, almost new.  The Meguire's cleaner I used did a really good job, even on the coffee stain in the back seat.

Task 2 was to put another wrap on the well house pipe.  I won't know if it worked until tomorrow.  I hope it does, there's no room for any more.

Task 3 was to load the garage stuff into the truck.  It pretty much fills up the area behind the cab.  It's all ready to go now.

After a late lunch I decided to take the old shop vac to Goodwill and get a new one.  We stopped at the post office along the way.  I lucked out.  I stopped at Home Depot because the one that failed was from Lowe's .  They were having a sale, so I got a $60 shop vac for $50.  We also stopped at the roach coach place by Home Depot.  It was a bust.  Nothing was open.

The last stop was Circle C.  I did retrieves for Lucy in the high grass.  It's higher and thicker than I've ever seen it.  Lucy had some trouble finding some of the retrieves.  One had her running around the whole area for quite awhile.

We finished up just as it started to rain.  There's supposed to be heavy thunderstorms until 10.  There's a good one going on right now.

When I got home I took an early shower.  I plan on reading, surfing, and TV tonight (imagine that).

Day 189

We did not wake up early today.  It was at least 8:30.  We didn't stay in bed long though.  I wanted to go to Capital for some practice.  It was still 11 before we left and 12 until we got there.

Unfortunately they had the whole place set up for a corporate event on Friday.  There were several stations that were still the same as the last tournament.  They were a lot easier without the wind.  It was hot though, without a cloud in the sky.  I didn't throw the bumper for Lucy because she was hot.  She had a lot of unstructured time though.

I shot OK.  Not wonderful, but a lot better than I have been doing.

After that we stopped by the post office.  It was busy, but surprisingly it wasn't as crowded as yesterday.  The last stop was Sonic for a chili dog.

I had checked the well house pipe before I left.  It's leaking very slightly.  I'll wrap it tomorrow.  I just didn't feel like doing it when I get back.  I did find a couple of flat stones to put by the trailer steps.  They will make getting in and out of the trailer easier when we're loading it.

That was it.  The rest of the day was surfing and TV.

Day 188

We woke up at a reasonable time, but we stayed in bed for quite awhile.  It just didn't seem to be necessary to get up.  After breakfast the first thing I did was go look at the well house pipe.  There's water on the floor, but the patch seems to be dry.  I'm going to look again tomorrow.

I wanted to mow the lawn, but the battery was dead.  It lost 75% of its charge in less than two weeks.  So I put it on the fast charger.  It took 45 minutes, but then it was charged enough to use.

I mowed the whole place.  I didn't try to do a real neat job, but I did knock down all of the high stuff.  When I finished the front yard and moved to the back the blades stopped turning.  Crap.  I drove back to the garage and put the mower up on the ramps to look under it.  The belt had slipped off a pulley.  I had Ellen come out to help me figure out how to fix it.  Fortunately it wasn't very hard to do once I figured it out.  It cost time in the hot sun though.

While I was doing this I got a look at the blades.  They are truly trashed.  The end of one is bent up like a potato chip.

I finished the yard and then went in for a shower.  I was covered with sweat, dust, and a couple of bugs.

After the shower we went to the post office.  It was packed.  There weren't any empty spots in the parking lot.  After that we stopped at Randell's for some limes (mojitos) and Costco for some water.  Then it was home.

The rest of the day was surfing, reading, and TV.

Day 187

We woke up about 8:30 and didn't stay in bed long.  It rained last night, but it didn't rain today.

I decided to take the Solo and the Sig to Red's.  The Solo still fucked up on my heavy loads (they didn't seem that heavy), but it was getting better.  The Sig was nice.  It was easy to operate and accurate.

After that I went to the post office.  I also stopped at Academy to see if they had some MP25.  They didn't.  In fact, they didn't have much of anything.  The next stop was Home Depot where I got some pipe cement.  The last stop was HEB where I got some milk and bread.

When I got home  had lunch and then went out to use the pipe cement on the well house pipe.  I'll look tomorrow to see if it did any good.  By the time I was finished it was sunny and 85.  Ellen had the tax stuff ready, so we went back to the post office.  It was surprisingly empty.  After that we went to get the truck's oil changed.  It was way past time to get the brake fluid changed, so I had that done, too.

The last stop was Circle C.  The grass there was a foot high and thick.  I've never seen it like that before.  I only ran Lucy at the parking lot because Ellen medicated her yesterday.  She still did quite a few retrieves, especially given the heat.

When we got home Ellen fixed me a mojito.  It was great.  I did a little surfing and then watched an HBO movie that I'd taped.  After that I watched a couple of other shows and then turned it off because there wasn't really anything on.

Day 186

We woke up at 8:30 today, but decided to stay in bed and surf.  It was raining again, so we weren't going to do much anyway.

When we did get up I decided to go out to the garage.  I was going to coat the wellhouse pope patch with pipe cement, but all of the stuff I had was dried up.  So I decided to clean the Sig.

The first step was clean off the workbench with the shop vac.  It didn't suck.  I determined that the problem was a 6 inch long plug in the middle of the hose.  It was mad up of sawdust, metal shavings, plastic shavings, and miscellaneous dirt.  I had to dig it out a little at a time with my parts grabber.  When I was finshed the shop vac worked great when I cleaned the work bench.

The Sig comes apart and goes back together a lot easier than Ellen's Kimber.  No bushing wrench required.  I cleaned it, lubed it, and coated it with protectorent.

That was about all I accomplished.  I was going to go get some more pipe cement, but Ellen was deep into the files doing a frustrating search for tax info.  I didn't want to interrupt.

The rest of the day was surfing, and the night was a couple of movies I taped off of HBO's "free weekend".

Day 185

We had a good day today, but it didn't start out all that good.  We got up a little before 8 and ate breakfast.  Then we put the cats in the catroom and the dog in the car.  The first stop was Dripping Springs.  Unfortunately I misread the dates and the show isn't until next week.  So then it was a drive to New Braunfels.  Of course RR 12 is a pain in the ass because there's no place to pass, but it wasn't too bad.

When we got to the train show we had to park more than 3 blocks away.  Fortunately that was the end of the bad luck.

I scored several goo things at the show.  I got oil pump and and ice house kits that I've been looking for for awhile.  The prices were well below retail.  I also scored two Chessie cars that I've been looking for at reasonable prices.  I got another for $3 which turns out to be one I didn't have.  The final purchase was a really cool power pack.  It cost $90, but it's brand new and you just can't get ones like that any more.

After that we went to lunch at Rudy's we took the dog to the park so she could swim.  She did an amazing job.  She did 30 long water retrieves and 20 long land retrieves.  At the end she wasn't tired out and could have done more.

We stopped at Cabela's on the way home.  I got $20 off on some B&P and also bought a Sig .45.  It looks a lot nicer than the Eclipse.

We ate a Dan's hamburgers and then went home.  We didn't get home until after 7.

Day 184

We got up at 8 this morning.  I'm going to try to keep that the norm.  It was raining really hard when we got up and kept raining until a little after noon.

I forgot to mention that on Wednesday one of the shelves in the refrigerator broke just before we left.  All Ellen did was close the door.  Of course we had no time to fix it.  So I fixed it today.  I glued the two pieces together, and then glued plastic sheets over the break.  I hope that will do it.

I went out and looked at the well house.  It's still leaking through the patch I installed.  Crap.

We went estate saleing.  We stopped at two places.  One had a couple of tools I wanted.  The other was a bust.  We stopped by the hobby shop on the way to the post office.  We had a great (and long) conversation with the guy working there.  He's going to move to Portland and wanted us to tell him all about it.  So we did.

After that it was almost time to take Lucy to the vet.  So we ate a late lunch at the Arby's next to the vet.  After the vet we did some grocery shopping at the yuppie grocery store.

When we got home there was a squirrel in the back yard.  I opened the back door and shot it.  While I was doing that Ellen made me a double mojito.  It was really good.

Then I spent the rest of the evening reading and watching TV.

Day 183

Just as a note: we've been gone for half a year.

We got up at 6:20 so that we could be at the club at 7.  Then Mark didn't show up until almost 7:30.

Dave went out and turned on the course.  I loaded up a Yamaha side by side with ammo (30 flats) and took them out to the course.  Three flats per station.  After that I met up with Dave and we set up the flurry machines.  I loaded them and then went back for the rest of the flurry stuff.

After that it was about an hour or more of sitting around until it was time to start.  Breakfast was some left over donuts.  When I went to get the tickets, they also gave me all of the receipts.  That's right, all of the entry money and ticket money to that point.  Don't ask me why.

I worked with a guy named Bobby at the flurry all day.  He did the instruction and the break counting.  I took the money and threw the birds.  We made $500 (I came out correct).  At one point Dave stopped by and one of the squads hired him as a ringer.  That worked out for them as one of the tickets he won won the big prize in the drawing.

After we were done I put everything in the car and started turning off the course.  That was a mistake.  Apparently I was supposed to bring everything back to the clubhouse.  I guess Mark got kind of frazzled.  Eventually someone told me and I rushed everything up there.  I think the only casualty was Mark's nerves.

I did manage to get a lunch.  It was some really good brisket.

After lunch we helped clean everything up and put it away.  Then we drove home.  Over the 300 mile trip - to/from airport, to/from Kerrville, and a couple of trips through Kerrville, we got 30.9 mpg.  I think that was great, especially since a lot of it was at speeds above 70 with the AC on.

As soon as we got home we turned around and went to Z Pizza (because we had a coupon).  Their pizza was a lot better than the last time we were there.

When we got back I immediately took a shower.  I'll be going to bed early.

Day 182

We got up this morning and drove to Kerrville.  We were there about 9:45.  The rest of the people were there and just starting to get things set up.  Everyone was moving pretty slow, so at first not much was happening.  I think the weather played a part.  It was cool and a little rainy all day.

We unpacked all of the prizes and goodies that had been shipped.  We used the goodies to make up the goody bags.  They included some really nice leather shooting bags.  When we unpacked the pictures for the auction there were two with broken glass.  One was 1.5 ft by 3 feet and the other was three feet square.  I volunteered to get them fixed.

I called a framing place in Kerrville and they agreed to fix them right away.  When I got there I told them it was for a charity event.  They replaced both pieces of glass in half an hour and only charged me $50 with tax.

When I got back it was time to set up the course.  Dave and I went over and set up all of the machines (10 stations) and tested them.  The machines were in terrible shape.  They were all rusty from the bio targets and looked like they hadn't had maintenance in years.  We mainly changed machine settings as we really didn't have a vehicle for hauling them around.

When we finished it was time for dinner.  We checked into the hotel and showered first.  I wasn't really very impressed with the hotel.  It was a so-so room at a pretty high price.  Lucy liked sleeping on the bed with us though.  They didn't have breakfast though, which pissed me off.  I like waffle machines.

We went to dinner at the Mexican place.  I had shrimp enchiladas.  They were great.  After that it was go to bed because we had to get up early the next day.

Day 181

I'm going to quit mentioning that I get up about 8 every morning.  That seems to be the new norm.  I like it.

I did the wash today.  There wasn't a whole lot to do, but it still took until noon to do it.  The machines are slow.  I went out and looked at the well house pipe.  I don't think that it's leaking anymore, but the floor is still wet.  Maybe it just hasn't had time to dry out yet.

I had to go to Wally World for drugs today.  So I left at 12.  The wash wasn't quite done, but I couldn't wait any longer because they close for lunch at 1.  I also picked up the mail and gassed up the car.  The next stop was Circle C.  I didn't want Lucy to swim, because I didn't want to get muddy.  So we just walked around and I threw the bumper for her.  I wetted her down at the bathrooms, but she was still really hot.  It was about 85 and sunny.

The last stop was the Italian place for lunch.  It was nice sitting out there with the dog and having a nice lunch.

I only had about an hour when I got back home before I had to leave to pick up Ellen.  I finished the wash and made the bed.  Then a little surfing.

I was actually a little late getting to the airport.  That was OK because it was half an hour after landing before she was ready to be picked up.  It was hot in that unshaded lot.

We got home and packed up for tomorrow.  Then TV and surfing.

Day 180

I woke up before 8 again today.  I guess I'm just living on less sleep.  I surfed for a short while and then got up.  After breakfast I went out to look at the well house pipe.  Bad news.  It was still leaking.  That meant another trip to Lowe's.

I took the dog to Circle C first.  We walked the short way and Lucy did 25 water retrieves.  She would have done more except some dog showed up and stole her bumper.  The owner got it back, but I didn't feel like doing any more with other dogs there. 

We crossed the creek (I was wearing sandals) and walked past the soccer fields down to the end of the frisbee course.  Then we walked back.  Lucy did retrieves all the way.  She was a tired doggy.

After that we went to Lowes, Fireman's (for lunch), the pet store (for a treat), and the post office.  Then it was home to try the new patch kit.  I put it on, but I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see if it worked.

It was warm with a breeze, so I spent the afternoon reading on the deck.  It was quite pleasant.  Lucy stayed sacked out on the couch.

When it was time for the mail Lucy wanted to go outside, but she didn't want to walk to the mailbox.  She was tired.  I got her to go, though.

The evening was surfing and TV.

Day 179

I woke up a little before 8 and did a little surfing before getting up.

I've been obsessing about patching that pipe since I bought the patch kit.  The instructions make it sound a little complicated and maybe a little difficult.  I really didn't feel like doing anything, but I just didn't want to spend any more energy thinking about the patch.

So I collected the stuff I needed to fix the pipe and went out to do it.  The good news is that I definitely found the problem.  It was what I thought.  The heater warped the plastic pipe.  The leak is maybe a drop every 5 seconds or so.  I removed the insulation, cleaned everything up, and applied the patch.  I'll go out tomorrow to see if it worked.  If it did, I'll have to reinstall the insulation and things will be OK.  I hope so.

After lunch I decided to go get the mail that I didn't pick up yesterday.  I spent some time talking to Jeff and Dola when I did.  They want Ellen to teach Lola how to shoot.  I told them that we could probably do it in about 10 days.  Jeff also mentioned that he could use a BB gun for the squirrels.  So I gave him the old one I had.

After that I didn't do anything except reading and a little TV.  The evening was the same thing.

Day 178

It was windy and a little cold today.  It didn't get to 70 all day.  I got up at 8, but surfed for awhile before getting out of bed.

I ate breakfast and surfed some more.  Then I decided to go to Lowe's and get some type of thing to fix the leaking pipe in the well house.  I got something that I think will work.  The downside is that it's a little complicated to apply.

Before Lowe's the dog and I walked around Circle C.  She had a good time swimming and retrieving.  The cool weather made it especially good for her.

I went over to the yuppie grocery store to get some bananas and some sort of pastry for Easter.  The bananas were too ripe, and the pastries were too expensive.  So I settled for a little candy (on sale) and some rolls.

The last stop was the post office.  The late nights/early mornings finally caught up with me and I took a nap in the afternoon.  The rest of the day was surfing, reading, and TV.

Day 177

Even though I was up before 8, I didn't do a whole lot today.  I just didn't feel like it.

I did go out and work on the layout a little.  I was going to develop a method to smooth out the junctions in the track.  I was going to start with one on one of the high sections.  The only problem was that both high sections had only smooth junctions.  I didn't want to mess with the bottom section, so I added track nails to both high sections instead.  After that I quit accomplishing anything for the day.

I did a lot of surfing and a little reading.  About mid afternoon a squirrel showed up.  He wasn't very bright.  I didn't even bother going around the house.  I just opened the back door.  He ran to the fence and looked at me.  I shot him, but it wasn't a good hit and he limped away.  He went a short way into the trees and climbed one.  It was difficult to get a clear shot through the branches, but after a couple of tries I shot him in the heart.

I wish the kill had been a little cleaner.

I didn't run the dog today.  I just didn't feel like going anywhere.

I talked to Lee for awhile when we went for the mail.  It might be possible for us to go shooting in a couple of Sundays.

Day 176

I woke up before 8 again today.  I surfed for awhile before getting up, though.

After breakfast I went out to the garage to set up the Dillon.  It was relatively painless.  Then I set out to load some heavy rounds for the Solo.  That wasn't.  The damn primer feed wouldn't work.  I had to manually feed almost every primer.  I also spent a lot of time trying to adjust it.  I finally gave up and finished the box.

I didn't want to admit defeat though.  So I took it apart one last time.  I think I finally managed to get it adjusted, but I just didn't feel like doing any more.  Besides it was well after lunch.

So I went inside and had lunch.  The I packed up the dog and went to the post office and Circle C.  It had been cool in the morning.  However, by that time the clouds had burned off and it was hot and muggy.  So I took Lucy the short way.  She did 30 water retrieves and at least 20 land retrieves.  She wanted to do more, but I called a halt.  She was way too stoved up 2 days ago.

When I got home I read and surfed.  It was just too hot and muggy to go outside.  Then I watched some TV and a movie in the evening.

Day 175

I woke up at 7:30, but decided to go back to sleep for about an hour.  After breakfast I went out to finish the change I made to the layout.  It was really successful.  The engine now goes up the grade really easily.  That's the good news.  The bad news is that many of the track junctions that have wire connections aren't smooth.  I'm going to have to rework each of them.  I really didn't feel like that.  So I quit work on the layout.

Instead I went to the garage to set up making some +P 9mm.  The dies are in the Dillon, so I needed to mount it.  I'd read about a neat idea that involved building a mount out of plywood that is clamped into a WorkMate.  So I went to Home Depot and got some plywood.

It was a little after noon.  I was going to go to the Taco Time at Brodie and William Cannon.  When I drove in I noticed a Chinese restaurant next door.  So I went there instead.  It was nothing special, but it was better than Happy Panda at about the same price.

I didn't take the dog to Circle C.  She was pretty stove up last night and I want her to have a day off.

When I got home I built the base and sorted out the brass that I'd put in the cleaner.  After that I didn't feel like doing anything else.  I went inside and cleaned up the dirty pans and sink that have been sitting since before Ellen left.  I finally got tired enough of them to clean them.  Then I got a Mike's and sat out on the porch and surfed.

The evening was surfing and TV.