We got up at 8, did pet stuff and had breakfast. I surfed until about 9:30 and then called the dealership. they had the parts and said they would call when they were installed.
As an aside: late last evening Isaac called. The alarm light on the apartment septic tank is on. I told him to take a long shower tonight and call me in the morning if it was still on. He called this morning and said it was. So I called the septic people. They said they would be out tomorrow.
I was bored, so I went to the club and asked Dave if he would like me to set up the second 5-stand. He did, so I went out and started on it. It was a little pain in the ass because I only had 5 receivers. Also, you can't shoot to the left side of the layout. I got a few things done and then the dealership called.
I quit setting machines and we went to Beaverton. We picked up the car and then started right back home. We stopped at Wilsonville for lunch. We went to the Freddies there. They were supposed to have the box dinners, but they didn't. We also stopped at Walgreen's on the way home to get Ellen's drugs.
When we got home I finished up setting the 5-stand. It took longer than it should because I'm out of practice. I mistook a battery problem for a wiring problem. I set a machine with a target that would get another machine shot. So I had to totally change it's location. I did get everything set up eventually.
Ellen fixed pork chops and scalloped potatoes for dinner. It was good. After dinner it was TV (gun shows) and reading.
Thursday, May 31, 2018
Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Day 938
We got up at 8, did the pet stuff, and had breakfast. Then we did a little surfing before going to Beaverton to get the car worked on.
The drive up was fine, and we made good time. We left the car and they gave us a Q5. We took it to Costco and bought a bunch of stuff that we needed, and some stuff we didn't.
We met Hooch at Laurel Park at 11. We went through their memory care unit. It's OK, but the rooms are small and the place seems a little dark. It's basically a small house up against the big building. It did have a nice outdoor area though.
We had some time before the next appointment, so we went upstairs to see Mom. She was still in bed. Hooch got her going and assembled some furniture for her. Her computer was posting errors, so I tried to fix it. Basically I think it needs a new keyboard. Mother took forever getting up and dressed. We ended up spending over an hour there with her mainly in the bathroom. This doesn't bode well for when we come up when Hooch is gone.
We just made the second 1:00 appointment. The place is amazing. They are still building it and it's all first class. However, the rooms have half doors that are left open. There's not much privacy in most of the rooms. It's expensive, too. We plan on taking Mom to see it.
After that we went back to the dealership. It was after 3. They hadn't put on the mudflaps because they didn't have them - even though they said they did. They MAY have the flaps tomorrow. They still hadin't applied the protectorant. So we ended up keeping the Q5.
We went to Hooch's for a little while. The we took Martha and Sophia to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. We met Hooch and Alicia there.
It was 7 when we finished. We went home to take care of the pets. Then it was surfing and TV for the rest of the evening.
The drive up was fine, and we made good time. We left the car and they gave us a Q5. We took it to Costco and bought a bunch of stuff that we needed, and some stuff we didn't.
We met Hooch at Laurel Park at 11. We went through their memory care unit. It's OK, but the rooms are small and the place seems a little dark. It's basically a small house up against the big building. It did have a nice outdoor area though.
We had some time before the next appointment, so we went upstairs to see Mom. She was still in bed. Hooch got her going and assembled some furniture for her. Her computer was posting errors, so I tried to fix it. Basically I think it needs a new keyboard. Mother took forever getting up and dressed. We ended up spending over an hour there with her mainly in the bathroom. This doesn't bode well for when we come up when Hooch is gone.
We just made the second 1:00 appointment. The place is amazing. They are still building it and it's all first class. However, the rooms have half doors that are left open. There's not much privacy in most of the rooms. It's expensive, too. We plan on taking Mom to see it.
After that we went back to the dealership. It was after 3. They hadn't put on the mudflaps because they didn't have them - even though they said they did. They MAY have the flaps tomorrow. They still hadin't applied the protectorant. So we ended up keeping the Q5.
We went to Hooch's for a little while. The we took Martha and Sophia to a Chinese restaurant for dinner. We met Hooch and Alicia there.
It was 7 when we finished. We went home to take care of the pets. Then it was surfing and TV for the rest of the evening.
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Day 937
We got up at 8:30 today. I'm not quite sure why we got up so late. We did the pet stuff and had breakfast. Then we went to Woodburn to do the laundry. While Ellen stayed there I went to the hardware store and picked up some longer metric bolts for the UGB stock.
When we finished the wash we went to Walgreen's. We still couldn't get Ellen's drugs, they won't be ready until tomorrow. I did get to talk to Hooch on the phone. I also called Tony and told him to mail the disabled plaque to me. He said he would, we'll see.
When we got home we had lunch. I found out that the stock bolts I bought didn't fit. I don't understand why, they fit fine on the examples at the hardware store. I'll just have to try something else.
I did a few small tasks during the afternoon. That included finishing up moving stuff out of the small trailer. I'm ready to close it up. The rest of the afternoon was reading and a nap. I'm not sure why I was sleepy.
Lucy woke me up at 5 and we went for a walk around the club. I've been doing that every night for awhile. I do need to start doing my exercises again.
Ellen fixed pancakes and sausage for dinner. It was good. After dinner it was reading, watching TV, and a little surfing.
When we finished the wash we went to Walgreen's. We still couldn't get Ellen's drugs, they won't be ready until tomorrow. I did get to talk to Hooch on the phone. I also called Tony and told him to mail the disabled plaque to me. He said he would, we'll see.
When we got home we had lunch. I found out that the stock bolts I bought didn't fit. I don't understand why, they fit fine on the examples at the hardware store. I'll just have to try something else.
I did a few small tasks during the afternoon. That included finishing up moving stuff out of the small trailer. I'm ready to close it up. The rest of the afternoon was reading and a nap. I'm not sure why I was sleepy.
Lucy woke me up at 5 and we went for a walk around the club. I've been doing that every night for awhile. I do need to start doing my exercises again.
Ellen fixed pancakes and sausage for dinner. It was good. After dinner it was reading, watching TV, and a little surfing.
Monday, May 28, 2018
Day 936
A damn bird tapping on the roof woke us up at 5:30 today. It did the same thing yesterday. I went outside and scared it off. Then we went back to sleep until 8:30. When we got up it was pet stuff and breakfast.
When breakfast was over I went up on the roof to see if the bird had been doing any damage. I couldn't see any. Water has leaked by one roof fixture and the roof around it is really soft. I can't see any way to fix it though. After that it was off to Walgreens for Ellen's drugs and Wally World for a bunch of stuff.
I bought a bunch of stuff at Wally World to clean the trailer roof. I also got some caulk to recaulk some areas. We also bought groceries for a few days.
When we got home we had lunch and then gave the dog a much needed dogicure. I did a short tasks and then we went to the club to retrieve the robogun. It took awhile to get the old stock off. That's when I discovered that there was a piece missing from the old stock. We searched the old cases for a replacement, but couldn't find one. We did find one for a 391 that almost fit. I spent about an hour grinding it to fit. I couldn't attach the stock because the one for Ellen's gun is too short. I'll have to buy one tomorrow.
We went back home and Ellen fixed rice and beef for dinner. The microwave developed a fault. The fan wouldn't turn off. The web said to take the control board out and tap on the relays. So that's what I did. The fan was off when I put it back together, but I'm too chicken to test it by microwaving something.
The microwave trim piece was broken when I removed it. It might have been broken since the trailer was new. I glued it back together. We'll see if it holds tomorrow.
The evening was reading and surfing.
When breakfast was over I went up on the roof to see if the bird had been doing any damage. I couldn't see any. Water has leaked by one roof fixture and the roof around it is really soft. I can't see any way to fix it though. After that it was off to Walgreens for Ellen's drugs and Wally World for a bunch of stuff.
I bought a bunch of stuff at Wally World to clean the trailer roof. I also got some caulk to recaulk some areas. We also bought groceries for a few days.
When we got home we had lunch and then gave the dog a much needed dogicure. I did a short tasks and then we went to the club to retrieve the robogun. It took awhile to get the old stock off. That's when I discovered that there was a piece missing from the old stock. We searched the old cases for a replacement, but couldn't find one. We did find one for a 391 that almost fit. I spent about an hour grinding it to fit. I couldn't attach the stock because the one for Ellen's gun is too short. I'll have to buy one tomorrow.
We went back home and Ellen fixed rice and beef for dinner. The microwave developed a fault. The fan wouldn't turn off. The web said to take the control board out and tap on the relays. So that's what I did. The fan was off when I put it back together, but I'm too chicken to test it by microwaving something.
The microwave trim piece was broken when I removed it. It might have been broken since the trailer was new. I glued it back together. We'll see if it holds tomorrow.
The evening was reading and surfing.
Sunday, May 27, 2018
Day 935
We woke up about 7 and did some surfing before getting up to do the pet stuff. We didn't have breakfast because Patty wanted to fix it. Instead we surfed until a little after 9 when it was time to leave. There wasn't much traffic on the road and everyone was going 75 all the way to Wilsonville. After that they slowed down to 70. We made good time.
We got to their place just at 10. We talked for awhile. Lucy and their dog got reacquainted. Lucy really didn't want much to do with a puppy. Then we had breakfast - pancakes and sausage. After that we talked until about 12:30.
I called Audi and the saleswoman was working. So I took John to Adi to pick up the stuff we'd left in the Mazda. After we got it we drove out TV highway so John could show me all of the changes. There are lots. They are going to build a massive amount of homes on the back road that I used to use to get to Intel. Of course they are not going to upgrade the road.
When we got back we talked a lot more and had some beers. We all looked on our phones for interesting things to talk about.
For dinner Patty fixed meatloaf and mashed potatoes. It was really good. After that we talked until about 8:30 when we went home.
When we got home we fed the cat, did a little surfing, and went to bed.
We got to their place just at 10. We talked for awhile. Lucy and their dog got reacquainted. Lucy really didn't want much to do with a puppy. Then we had breakfast - pancakes and sausage. After that we talked until about 12:30.
I called Audi and the saleswoman was working. So I took John to Adi to pick up the stuff we'd left in the Mazda. After we got it we drove out TV highway so John could show me all of the changes. There are lots. They are going to build a massive amount of homes on the back road that I used to use to get to Intel. Of course they are not going to upgrade the road.
When we got back we talked a lot more and had some beers. We all looked on our phones for interesting things to talk about.
For dinner Patty fixed meatloaf and mashed potatoes. It was really good. After that we talked until about 8:30 when we went home.
When we got home we fed the cat, did a little surfing, and went to bed.
Saturday, May 26, 2018
Day 934
We didn't wake up until 8:15 today. I'm not sure why we slept in. We got up, did pet stuff and had breakfast. I checked the tanks and it was time to drain the black tank. So I went out and got the process started. It took four flushes to get it clean. I filled the fresh water tank when I was done. The whole process probably took an hour.
While I was doing that Ellen went to the club to help Vandy with the computer. She got back just as I finished. We closed up and went to the Silverton farmer's market.
The only thing we bought at the market was some strawberries to give to John and Patty tomorrow. Then we walked around Silverton. I didn't feel like looking at antiques, so we didn't go into any of the stores. We did go into the chocolate store.
We ate lunch at the coffee shop and then came home. We stopped at Baumann's on the way, but didn't get anything.
When we got home I started cleaning up all of the small tasks that remained from getting here. I put away the rest of the stuff we brought from Texas. I also cleaned up all the stuff I'd scattered around the shed. I even dug a few weeds.
We went over to the club before dinner just to visit. We talked for awhile. Then Ellen worked on the computer and I took a nap. Then we went home - leftover stir fry.
The evening was TV and reading with a little surfing.
While I was doing that Ellen went to the club to help Vandy with the computer. She got back just as I finished. We closed up and went to the Silverton farmer's market.
The only thing we bought at the market was some strawberries to give to John and Patty tomorrow. Then we walked around Silverton. I didn't feel like looking at antiques, so we didn't go into any of the stores. We did go into the chocolate store.
We ate lunch at the coffee shop and then came home. We stopped at Baumann's on the way, but didn't get anything.
When we got home I started cleaning up all of the small tasks that remained from getting here. I put away the rest of the stuff we brought from Texas. I also cleaned up all the stuff I'd scattered around the shed. I even dug a few weeds.
We went over to the club before dinner just to visit. We talked for awhile. Then Ellen worked on the computer and I took a nap. Then we went home - leftover stir fry.
The evening was TV and reading with a little surfing.
Friday, May 25, 2018
Day 933
We got up at 6:40 today. We just got up and decided to surf instead of going back to sleep. We got up after 7, did the pet stuff and had breakfast. Then I did a little surfing while Ellen looked at a credit card bill.
About 9:30 we went out to do errands. There's a SportClips in Salem and we went there so I could get a haircut. I suppose the result is OK. At least I don't have hair over my ears anymore.
The next stop was Fred Meyer's to do grocery shopping. We needed several things. Unfortunately they didn't have the dinner in a box things that the Sandy store had.
The final stop was Harbor Freight. I bought C-clamps to hold up cardboard over the living room window. It's hard to watch TV in the evening with the sun shining in. I also got some saw blades for my saws-all.
We stopped at the new restaurant in Keizer for lunch. It's a real winner. The food is good and so are the drinks. I had a long island ice tea and a beer. That made me way too drunk to drive home. So Ellen did.
I took a 3 hour nap when we got home. I was inebriated. When I woke up we went shooting. We shot almost 250 rounds and had a lot of fun.
Ellen fixed stir fry for dinner. It was really good.
The evening was TV and reading. It's cold tonight - down to 54.
About 9:30 we went out to do errands. There's a SportClips in Salem and we went there so I could get a haircut. I suppose the result is OK. At least I don't have hair over my ears anymore.
The next stop was Fred Meyer's to do grocery shopping. We needed several things. Unfortunately they didn't have the dinner in a box things that the Sandy store had.
The final stop was Harbor Freight. I bought C-clamps to hold up cardboard over the living room window. It's hard to watch TV in the evening with the sun shining in. I also got some saw blades for my saws-all.
We stopped at the new restaurant in Keizer for lunch. It's a real winner. The food is good and so are the drinks. I had a long island ice tea and a beer. That made me way too drunk to drive home. So Ellen did.
I took a 3 hour nap when we got home. I was inebriated. When I woke up we went shooting. We shot almost 250 rounds and had a lot of fun.
Ellen fixed stir fry for dinner. It was really good.
The evening was TV and reading. It's cold tonight - down to 54.
Thursday, May 24, 2018
Day 932
We woke up at 7:10 and did some surfing. Then we did the pet stuff and had breakfast. About 9 I decided to try to put the stand on the old trailer TV. It didn't work - wrong stand. I saw Vandy in the garage and asked if she wanted it. She did, so I gave it to her.
After that we went to Portland to see Tom. He's closing his store in a week. It was pretty picked over, but we did find some earrings and a couple of pendants - $4K worth of stuff. We had a good talk. He may start up a small studio in his home. We told him to get in touch with us if he wants to do something for us.
We had parked close to the pet store. Of course Lucy wanted to go in, so we did. We ended up buying a cool enclosed cat box that I think will come in useful when we get the kitten. We also got some doggy treats.
After that we went to McMinnville for their farmer's market. The drive through Tigard, Sherwood, and Newberg was a real pain in the ass. I knew it would be though.
The market itself was fun. We bought the components of lunch from three places - gyros, lemonade, and pastries. We also bought three pints of Oregon strawberries. After that we walked around downtown. We didn't buy anything, but we did stop at a bar for a beer and a root beer (we sat outside).
We went home about 3. We took the ferry on the way back. I like that thing.
When we got home we went over to the club for some conversation. Then it was home for dinner. Ellen fixed another dinner in a box. Then she went to Woodburn for a board meeting. Apparently the board isn't happy with Dave and Vandy.
I took a walk and took care of the pets. The rest of the evening was reading and TV.
After that we went to Portland to see Tom. He's closing his store in a week. It was pretty picked over, but we did find some earrings and a couple of pendants - $4K worth of stuff. We had a good talk. He may start up a small studio in his home. We told him to get in touch with us if he wants to do something for us.
We had parked close to the pet store. Of course Lucy wanted to go in, so we did. We ended up buying a cool enclosed cat box that I think will come in useful when we get the kitten. We also got some doggy treats.
After that we went to McMinnville for their farmer's market. The drive through Tigard, Sherwood, and Newberg was a real pain in the ass. I knew it would be though.
The market itself was fun. We bought the components of lunch from three places - gyros, lemonade, and pastries. We also bought three pints of Oregon strawberries. After that we walked around downtown. We didn't buy anything, but we did stop at a bar for a beer and a root beer (we sat outside).
We went home about 3. We took the ferry on the way back. I like that thing.
When we got home we went over to the club for some conversation. Then it was home for dinner. Ellen fixed another dinner in a box. Then she went to Woodburn for a board meeting. Apparently the board isn't happy with Dave and Vandy.
I took a walk and took care of the pets. The rest of the evening was reading and TV.
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Day 931
We got up about 7 today and surfed in bed for awhile. Then we got up and had breakfast followed by a little more surfing. We left to go to Portland a little before 9.
We stopped at the safe deposit box to get the title to the Mazda. The Audi saleswoman called as we were leaving the bank. I told her we were on our way. As we were driving up the Mazda guy called. I told him that I was going to Audi to buy a car. He said he had a line on a blue Mazda and to give him a couple of hours.
We had to drive the back way past Tri-county to get to the dealership because some dumbshit had piled it up on 217. That took some time and we didn't get to the dealership until about 10:30. We test drove the car, it was just what we wanted.
When we started to do the deal there was a little hangup because we needed some proof that we lived in Oregon. That's hard, because we don't pay utilities. We do pay for propane though, and that bill has the street address. Ellen called and had the propane company fax a copy of the last bill. That did the trick. We had no trouble with proving we owned an Audi, the insurance card was enough.
Setting the price was easy. They gave us a low, but fair, price for the tradein. They took 6% off the MSRP, and they gave us $3,000 in rebates. All this without us negotiating at all. That made the car price $10K more than the Mazda. It's worth $10K more.
I was really happy with the deal. Last night I'd realized what a shitty deal Mazda offered us. They wanted to give us $1,200 less than low book for a car with half the normal mileage that was in good shape. They also wanted full MSRP for the car. Finally, there was only $1,500 in rebates. I had no problem telling the Mazda guy that I was in the process of signing the papers on an Audi when he called back about noon.
Buying a car always seems to be a long process. We didn't get out until 2:30. We hadn't had lunch. I drove the back way to Wilsonville to avoid the traffic on the freeways.
When we got home we put the stuff from the Mazda in the Audi. We were going to got to Keizer for an early dinner, but Ellen's asshole started acting up. I ended up with a TV dinner.
After dinner it was TV and reading.
We stopped at the safe deposit box to get the title to the Mazda. The Audi saleswoman called as we were leaving the bank. I told her we were on our way. As we were driving up the Mazda guy called. I told him that I was going to Audi to buy a car. He said he had a line on a blue Mazda and to give him a couple of hours.
We had to drive the back way past Tri-county to get to the dealership because some dumbshit had piled it up on 217. That took some time and we didn't get to the dealership until about 10:30. We test drove the car, it was just what we wanted.
When we started to do the deal there was a little hangup because we needed some proof that we lived in Oregon. That's hard, because we don't pay utilities. We do pay for propane though, and that bill has the street address. Ellen called and had the propane company fax a copy of the last bill. That did the trick. We had no trouble with proving we owned an Audi, the insurance card was enough.
Setting the price was easy. They gave us a low, but fair, price for the tradein. They took 6% off the MSRP, and they gave us $3,000 in rebates. All this without us negotiating at all. That made the car price $10K more than the Mazda. It's worth $10K more.
I was really happy with the deal. Last night I'd realized what a shitty deal Mazda offered us. They wanted to give us $1,200 less than low book for a car with half the normal mileage that was in good shape. They also wanted full MSRP for the car. Finally, there was only $1,500 in rebates. I had no problem telling the Mazda guy that I was in the process of signing the papers on an Audi when he called back about noon.
Buying a car always seems to be a long process. We didn't get out until 2:30. We hadn't had lunch. I drove the back way to Wilsonville to avoid the traffic on the freeways.
When we got home we put the stuff from the Mazda in the Audi. We were going to got to Keizer for an early dinner, but Ellen's asshole started acting up. I ended up with a TV dinner.
After dinner it was TV and reading.
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Day 930
We got up at 6:30 today, did the pet stuff and had breakfast. Then we left to do the wash. We would have been done fairly early, but Ellen forgot to wash one sheet. She didn't determine that until the wash was done. That cost us 45 minutes.
When we finally got done we went to Cabela's. We got Ellen her new fishing pole. We walked around, but didn't buy anything else. There just isn't anything there I want right now.
We went back home and had lunch. Then we left for Lowe's and Power Mazda. I returned the saw I bought at Lowe's. Then it was on to Mazda.
Of course they hadn't found a car in the color we wanted. We took a test drive in the one they had. It's a nice car, but I really like the Audi more. We went through the whole car negotiation process. They didn't give us a very good price - it was about $2K more than it should have been. We told them they had to find the right color. Neither of us wanted to over pay for a car that we'd compromised on.
We were there for almost 3 hours. We left with them trying to contact the last place that might have one. What the whole experience taught me was that I really wanted the Audi even though it was $16K more. I called and they still have it. I was happy when Power called and said the last place had sold their car.
Tomorrow we'll go see Tom for the last time. Then we'll go to Audi and see if we can buy there car. The only sticking point will be how much they give us for the trade in.
Ellen fixed one of the Fred Meyer dinners in a box for dinner. It was meat loaf and was pretty good. After dinner I watched the Dodgers. They won.
When we finally got done we went to Cabela's. We got Ellen her new fishing pole. We walked around, but didn't buy anything else. There just isn't anything there I want right now.
We went back home and had lunch. Then we left for Lowe's and Power Mazda. I returned the saw I bought at Lowe's. Then it was on to Mazda.
Of course they hadn't found a car in the color we wanted. We took a test drive in the one they had. It's a nice car, but I really like the Audi more. We went through the whole car negotiation process. They didn't give us a very good price - it was about $2K more than it should have been. We told them they had to find the right color. Neither of us wanted to over pay for a car that we'd compromised on.
We were there for almost 3 hours. We left with them trying to contact the last place that might have one. What the whole experience taught me was that I really wanted the Audi even though it was $16K more. I called and they still have it. I was happy when Power called and said the last place had sold their car.
Tomorrow we'll go see Tom for the last time. Then we'll go to Audi and see if we can buy there car. The only sticking point will be how much they give us for the trade in.
Ellen fixed one of the Fred Meyer dinners in a box for dinner. It was meat loaf and was pretty good. After dinner I watched the Dodgers. They won.
Monday, May 21, 2018
Day 929
We woke up at 7, but stayed in bed to surf for awhile. Then we did pet stuff and breakfast. We did a little more surfing and then contacted the cat breeder. She wasn't available until 11, so I spent about half an hour working on mounting the TV. I got everything measured out and cut the backer board. Then it was time to leave.
We stopped at the post office for a short time to give them candy. Then we took a back way to Sandy. It was fun. The road was scenic and there wasn't much traffic. We actually got there a little early and had to wait outside the house.
The kitten is very small - only a few weeks old. It only has faint markings because it's so young. It's parents look great though. It spent all of the time crying, it wanted to be back with Mommy. We decided to put a deposit on it.
There was a really nice Fred Meyer near by. We stopped for gas, the cheapest we saw anywhere. Then we went inside and did some grocery shopping. They were out of milk though, and we've run out.
I had the GPS route us home the "fast" way. We should have gone back the way we came. It would have been much faster. The GPS route involved a lot of reduced speed zones and stoplights. The back way had almost none. We ended up at Wilsonville. We stopped at McMinamen's for lunch. Then we went to Fry's to look around. Finally we got milk at the Safeway that replaced the IGA.
When we got home I spent about 3 hours finishing the TV install. Most of the time was spent being very careful to make sure nothing went wrong. The result was just about perfect. I was sure glad to get that job done.
I put everything away and Ellen fixed tacos for dinner. Afterwards I surfed, read and chilled. I'm tired. Ellen is busy trying to get the new TV integrated with our programmable controller. Apparently the two don't really like each other.
We stopped at the post office for a short time to give them candy. Then we took a back way to Sandy. It was fun. The road was scenic and there wasn't much traffic. We actually got there a little early and had to wait outside the house.
The kitten is very small - only a few weeks old. It only has faint markings because it's so young. It's parents look great though. It spent all of the time crying, it wanted to be back with Mommy. We decided to put a deposit on it.
There was a really nice Fred Meyer near by. We stopped for gas, the cheapest we saw anywhere. Then we went inside and did some grocery shopping. They were out of milk though, and we've run out.
I had the GPS route us home the "fast" way. We should have gone back the way we came. It would have been much faster. The GPS route involved a lot of reduced speed zones and stoplights. The back way had almost none. We ended up at Wilsonville. We stopped at McMinamen's for lunch. Then we went to Fry's to look around. Finally we got milk at the Safeway that replaced the IGA.
When we got home I spent about 3 hours finishing the TV install. Most of the time was spent being very careful to make sure nothing went wrong. The result was just about perfect. I was sure glad to get that job done.
I put everything away and Ellen fixed tacos for dinner. Afterwards I surfed, read and chilled. I'm tired. Ellen is busy trying to get the new TV integrated with our programmable controller. Apparently the two don't really like each other.
Sunday, May 20, 2018
Day 928
We got up at 7 today. After pet stuff and breakfast it was surfing until about 9 when we went to the club for the shoot. We had fun talking to the people we hadn't seen in six months.
The course was really easy - a Dan Mitchell course. Ellen didn't do well. I shot OK, but nothing spectacular. I came in second and got a punch though. I was shooting some competition shells Dan gave us. My shoulder was pretty sore by the time we were done.
We ate lunch there so that we could talk to people. We didn't shoot in the afternoon though. We were too tired.
After lunch I decided to try to install the new TV. I figured the job would be a bad one, and it was. I spent quite a bit of time trying to get the new TV to fit the old mount. No dice. That included two trips to the Woodburn hardware store to buy bolts.
I finally decided we needed a new mount. It was 5 on Sunday though. I went to Wally World. They were supposed to have them, but we couldn't find them. We couldn't find anyone to help us either. So we went to Lowe's.
Lowe's had a nice mount, but it was a little expensive. No matter, we're rich. I also bought some more bolts that I thought I would need. On a whim I went to look at Dewalt stuff to see if anything was on sale. They had a promotion that gave you a battery and charger if you bought a saws-all. It was on when I bought mine last week, but nobody told me about it.
So I bought another saws-all. I got the next to last battery that they had in the promotion. I'll take the other one I bought back, probably tomorrow. The battery and charger cost as much as the saws-all.
When I got home I continued with the TV. The mount kit contained all of the hardware I needed, so I'll take the bolts back with the saws-all. I did have to take the mount apart and reverse one of the arms. That turned out to be a pain in the ass.
I got sidetracked cutting the shelf I bought for the dog toy cabinet, so I didn't get finished attaching the mount to the wall. There's always tomorrow.
The rest of the evening was a little surfing and then another early bedtime.
The course was really easy - a Dan Mitchell course. Ellen didn't do well. I shot OK, but nothing spectacular. I came in second and got a punch though. I was shooting some competition shells Dan gave us. My shoulder was pretty sore by the time we were done.
We ate lunch there so that we could talk to people. We didn't shoot in the afternoon though. We were too tired.
After lunch I decided to try to install the new TV. I figured the job would be a bad one, and it was. I spent quite a bit of time trying to get the new TV to fit the old mount. No dice. That included two trips to the Woodburn hardware store to buy bolts.
I finally decided we needed a new mount. It was 5 on Sunday though. I went to Wally World. They were supposed to have them, but we couldn't find them. We couldn't find anyone to help us either. So we went to Lowe's.
Lowe's had a nice mount, but it was a little expensive. No matter, we're rich. I also bought some more bolts that I thought I would need. On a whim I went to look at Dewalt stuff to see if anything was on sale. They had a promotion that gave you a battery and charger if you bought a saws-all. It was on when I bought mine last week, but nobody told me about it.
So I bought another saws-all. I got the next to last battery that they had in the promotion. I'll take the other one I bought back, probably tomorrow. The battery and charger cost as much as the saws-all.
When I got home I continued with the TV. The mount kit contained all of the hardware I needed, so I'll take the bolts back with the saws-all. I did have to take the mount apart and reverse one of the arms. That turned out to be a pain in the ass.
I got sidetracked cutting the shelf I bought for the dog toy cabinet, so I didn't get finished attaching the mount to the wall. There's always tomorrow.
The rest of the evening was a little surfing and then another early bedtime.
Day 927
We didn't get up until 9 today. We were both tired. After pet stuff and breakfast I loaded all of the presents for Hooch and family into the car and we left for Portland.
We stopped at Sunset for a while and looked at an A4. I was ready to buy it, but Ellen wants to see if we can get a Mazda. I'm pretty sure we can't. Then we went to Hooch's place.
We handed out the gifts and then talked with Hooch for awhile while he was cleaning up. Then Hooch and I went over to get Mom.
Mom was all upset because she couldn't find her keys. Hooch called the faggot and found out that he had taken them to Seattle along with Mom's handicap placard. Faggot claimed he had overnighted them Monday, but they weren't there. He says he'll mail the placard later. He's definitely a piece of shit.
It took us an hour to get Mom ready. She needed to change clothes and put on her hearing aids. Hooch did that, but she kept pulling them out. We also couldn't get her to remember that Three Dollar Bill had her keys. She was really upset about not being able to find them.
We stopped at Walgreen's on the way back. Mom needed socks - apparently she throws them in the garbage instead of the laundry. She also needed toothpaste and beauty cream. We bought her four tubes of toothpaste and 3 jars of cream.
We also stopped at Thriftway for the makings of a hamburger meal. I bought the kids a cake. Mom stayed in the car. She was tired, but wouldn't admit it.
When we got back the kids were fighting about doing their homework. That seems to be a regular thing. Hooch cooked dinner. Martha stayed upstairs and didn't do anything until it was time to come down for dinner. She did help clean up a little afterwards.
We talked until about 8:30, then I took Mom home. We left early because I had to put all of the stuff we'd bought away. We made it home by 10. We went to bed immediately, we're still tired.
We stopped at Sunset for a while and looked at an A4. I was ready to buy it, but Ellen wants to see if we can get a Mazda. I'm pretty sure we can't. Then we went to Hooch's place.
We handed out the gifts and then talked with Hooch for awhile while he was cleaning up. Then Hooch and I went over to get Mom.
Mom was all upset because she couldn't find her keys. Hooch called the faggot and found out that he had taken them to Seattle along with Mom's handicap placard. Faggot claimed he had overnighted them Monday, but they weren't there. He says he'll mail the placard later. He's definitely a piece of shit.
It took us an hour to get Mom ready. She needed to change clothes and put on her hearing aids. Hooch did that, but she kept pulling them out. We also couldn't get her to remember that Three Dollar Bill had her keys. She was really upset about not being able to find them.
We stopped at Walgreen's on the way back. Mom needed socks - apparently she throws them in the garbage instead of the laundry. She also needed toothpaste and beauty cream. We bought her four tubes of toothpaste and 3 jars of cream.
We also stopped at Thriftway for the makings of a hamburger meal. I bought the kids a cake. Mom stayed in the car. She was tired, but wouldn't admit it.
When we got back the kids were fighting about doing their homework. That seems to be a regular thing. Hooch cooked dinner. Martha stayed upstairs and didn't do anything until it was time to come down for dinner. She did help clean up a little afterwards.
We talked until about 8:30, then I took Mom home. We left early because I had to put all of the stuff we'd bought away. We made it home by 10. We went to bed immediately, we're still tired.
Day 926
We got up at 6:45 and were at the club by 7:15. I listened to Dave give the kids their marching orders and then I went out to check the two flurry stands. The outgoing one was fine, but the incoming one had a dead machine. I went out and figured out that the controller wire was loose. So I fixed it.
By that time it was time to start. Dave had 4 kids working, so he didn't need any more field help. We were short trappers, so I ended up being a trapper all day. It wasn't much fun. There was no chair, so I stood for both rotations. I also had no Mojo stick, so I had to pick up all of the hulls by hand. By then end of the day my back, which hurt from yesterday, was killing me. At least the weather was cloudy and pleasant.
I did manage to get lunch and dinner, so the shoot was a success from that point of view. When it was over Ellen and I went home. I wasn't part of the field crew, so I didn't feel the need to be part of the cleanup/take down.
The evening was surfing followed by an early bedtime. We were both tired.
By that time it was time to start. Dave had 4 kids working, so he didn't need any more field help. We were short trappers, so I ended up being a trapper all day. It wasn't much fun. There was no chair, so I stood for both rotations. I also had no Mojo stick, so I had to pick up all of the hulls by hand. By then end of the day my back, which hurt from yesterday, was killing me. At least the weather was cloudy and pleasant.
I did manage to get lunch and dinner, so the shoot was a success from that point of view. When it was over Ellen and I went home. I wasn't part of the field crew, so I didn't feel the need to be part of the cleanup/take down.
The evening was surfing followed by an early bedtime. We were both tired.
Thursday, May 17, 2018
Day 925
We got up about 7. I really wanted to sleep in,but got up anyway. After pet stuff and breakfast I went out to install the battery in the Polaris. Once I did it started and ran fine. Then I put everything away and cleaned up the carport a little. It was full of leaves.
We went to the club at 9:30. The battery in the 5-stand controller was dead, so Dave asked us to go to Battery Plus to get a replacement. They didn't have one, but looked hard for one. I stopped at Mazda on the way hoe and told a salesman to find me a car.
When we got back I used an old USB charger to try to charge the 5-stand battery. While that was working I searched for the rest of the station signs. I finally found them and put them out. Then I gave it to then new guy to try out.
The new guy showed me how to set the receiver address. Then I went out and set the receivers on the 16 wireless stations to A and B. I had to do some repair along the way. When that was done I had a late lunch.
After lunch Dave wanted me to set the flurry, so I did. It involved unloading two fully loaded machines and moving them to the stand. Then I set them and the two machines that were already there. After that I loaded all of the machines and set up the controller. Finally I set up the stands and a scoring table.
The final task was to help finish loading the machines. I did 4 and that was enough. My back is killing me.
I ate dinner with the Boy Scouts. The tickets were $50. I'm glad I didn't have to pay. The steak was OK, but the rest (asparagus, salad, and baked potato) weren't very good.
The Mazda guy sent us an email. He found a car, but the color sucks (dark gray). I wish the dumb asses would have listened to me a month ago. We may end up with an Audi.
The evening was surfing.
We went to the club at 9:30. The battery in the 5-stand controller was dead, so Dave asked us to go to Battery Plus to get a replacement. They didn't have one, but looked hard for one. I stopped at Mazda on the way hoe and told a salesman to find me a car.
When we got back I used an old USB charger to try to charge the 5-stand battery. While that was working I searched for the rest of the station signs. I finally found them and put them out. Then I gave it to then new guy to try out.
The new guy showed me how to set the receiver address. Then I went out and set the receivers on the 16 wireless stations to A and B. I had to do some repair along the way. When that was done I had a late lunch.
After lunch Dave wanted me to set the flurry, so I did. It involved unloading two fully loaded machines and moving them to the stand. Then I set them and the two machines that were already there. After that I loaded all of the machines and set up the controller. Finally I set up the stands and a scoring table.
The final task was to help finish loading the machines. I did 4 and that was enough. My back is killing me.
I ate dinner with the Boy Scouts. The tickets were $50. I'm glad I didn't have to pay. The steak was OK, but the rest (asparagus, salad, and baked potato) weren't very good.
The Mazda guy sent us an email. He found a car, but the color sucks (dark gray). I wish the dumb asses would have listened to me a month ago. We may end up with an Audi.
The evening was surfing.
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Day 924
I thin we got up about 7.. We surfed for awhile and then got up to do pet stuff and have breakfast. Then I surfed until about 9:15. I had to wait for Dave to go to the club.
I went to the club to charge the Ranger battery. Unfortunately they had upgraded the chargers to new smart ones. So I took the battery back to the shed and hooked up a 12V supply to it. Then we went to buy stuff.
We got some kitty litter and a cupboard shelf at Target. We got some ant traps,carpet cleaner, and a saws-all at Lowes (I had a coupon). Then we went back home.
The power supply had put enough juice n the battery that a charger would charge it. So I hooked up one and had lunch. Then I went to the club to work. I spent the next 5 or 6 hours setting up stuff. I moved signs around and made up new ones. I had to use one of the rental rigs. The nastiest thing was picking up all of the trap tarps. Lots of them were infested with ants or spiders.
Ellen used the carpet cleaner on the carpets in the big trailer. It seems like it made a big difference, but time will tell. She also got a start at doing the same thing to the small trailer.
Dinner was frozen pizza. I'm very tired and had a short nap afterwards. The rest of the evening was surfing and reading.
I went to the club to charge the Ranger battery. Unfortunately they had upgraded the chargers to new smart ones. So I took the battery back to the shed and hooked up a 12V supply to it. Then we went to buy stuff.
We got some kitty litter and a cupboard shelf at Target. We got some ant traps,carpet cleaner, and a saws-all at Lowes (I had a coupon). Then we went back home.
The power supply had put enough juice n the battery that a charger would charge it. So I hooked up one and had lunch. Then I went to the club to work. I spent the next 5 or 6 hours setting up stuff. I moved signs around and made up new ones. I had to use one of the rental rigs. The nastiest thing was picking up all of the trap tarps. Lots of them were infested with ants or spiders.
Ellen used the carpet cleaner on the carpets in the big trailer. It seems like it made a big difference, but time will tell. She also got a start at doing the same thing to the small trailer.
Dinner was frozen pizza. I'm very tired and had a short nap afterwards. The rest of the evening was surfing and reading.
Tuesday, May 15, 2018
Day 923
We got up at 6:30 - Mountain time. We packed up the trailer and were on the road by 6:20 Pacific time. We mad good time to Baker City. We were fueled up and on I84 in a little less than an hour.
The drive was long and boring. There were the usual occasional hassles with trucks. We got pretty good gas mileage until Hood River where we hit a strong headwind.
We were cruising down 205 at about 12:30 when the GPS warned us of trouble ahead. Some jackasses had crashed at the 10th street exit in Oregon City. We decided to take 99 down. A big mistake. Between the slow speed limits, lights, and traffic through Canby we probably would have been better off in the traffic jam on 205.
We managed to get to the club a little after 1. The big trailer smelled like a mouse cage and had mouse shit all over. We spent quite awhile vacuuming. Then I filled the tanks and got the car unwrapped and running. At least that went well. I couldn't charge the Ranger battery. It's totally dead and the dumbass smart chargers won't charge it. I'll have to try the club's chargers tomorrow.
After that I went to get the mail while Ellen worked in the trailer. It was 4 and I hadn't eaten all day, so I went to Arctic Circle. When I got home it was more work. I tried to mount the new TV, but I need a couple of adapters. I moved a bunch of personal stuff from the small trailer, then I moved the guns. That was it, I was finished for today.
I ordered the adapters from Amazon. Their 2-day Prime shipping will have them here in a week. Whoopee.
The rest of the evening was dealing with the mail, including proxies. Then it was a little surfing and bed.
The drive was long and boring. There were the usual occasional hassles with trucks. We got pretty good gas mileage until Hood River where we hit a strong headwind.
We were cruising down 205 at about 12:30 when the GPS warned us of trouble ahead. Some jackasses had crashed at the 10th street exit in Oregon City. We decided to take 99 down. A big mistake. Between the slow speed limits, lights, and traffic through Canby we probably would have been better off in the traffic jam on 205.
We managed to get to the club a little after 1. The big trailer smelled like a mouse cage and had mouse shit all over. We spent quite awhile vacuuming. Then I filled the tanks and got the car unwrapped and running. At least that went well. I couldn't charge the Ranger battery. It's totally dead and the dumbass smart chargers won't charge it. I'll have to try the club's chargers tomorrow.
After that I went to get the mail while Ellen worked in the trailer. It was 4 and I hadn't eaten all day, so I went to Arctic Circle. When I got home it was more work. I tried to mount the new TV, but I need a couple of adapters. I moved a bunch of personal stuff from the small trailer, then I moved the guns. That was it, I was finished for today.
I ordered the adapters from Amazon. Their 2-day Prime shipping will have them here in a week. Whoopee.
The rest of the evening was dealing with the mail, including proxies. Then it was a little surfing and bed.
Day 922
We were up at 7 - Mountain time. After pet stuff and surfing we did the wash. That way we won't have to worry about it for the rest of the week. When that was finished we went over to Dan's at 8:30. We walked around the sportsman access by the barn. Lucy had a great time running all around. I think she thought we were hunting.
When we were done running the dogs Patsy wanted us to move a refrigerator into Dan's workshop, so we did. Then we went over to Halfway. I wanted to run the Bronco. It really works well now that it's fixed. Ellen wanted to shop at the quilt store. It's going out of business and has bargains. I had a cup of $4 coffee while she spent quite a bit of time there.
After that we went to lunch. The place we wanted to go to was closed on Mondays. The second place had run out of food (it was only 12:30). So we ate at the third place - our last choice.
Afterwards we went back to Dan's. We sat in the yard with him and bullshitted for quite awhile. Then he took Ellen to Holcomb for kayaking. I went to the trailer and drained the tanks. Then I went to Holcomb. Ellen was in the kayak and Dan was fishing from the bank. He was catching quite a few, and Lucy got to lick them.
When we were done I went over to the other park and ask the Filipino couple if they wanted to go to dinner - I'd buy. The man didn't want to go, but his wife sure did. We all met there at 6. We had a good dinner and lots of good talking. It was cheap, too. About $60 for everything.
After dinner we all went back to Dan's and sat talking on the deck for quite awhile. Then it was time to say good byes.
When we got back to the park I lined up the truck so I could hook up easily tomorrow. Then we showered and went to bed.
When we were done running the dogs Patsy wanted us to move a refrigerator into Dan's workshop, so we did. Then we went over to Halfway. I wanted to run the Bronco. It really works well now that it's fixed. Ellen wanted to shop at the quilt store. It's going out of business and has bargains. I had a cup of $4 coffee while she spent quite a bit of time there.
After that we went to lunch. The place we wanted to go to was closed on Mondays. The second place had run out of food (it was only 12:30). So we ate at the third place - our last choice.
Afterwards we went back to Dan's. We sat in the yard with him and bullshitted for quite awhile. Then he took Ellen to Holcomb for kayaking. I went to the trailer and drained the tanks. Then I went to Holcomb. Ellen was in the kayak and Dan was fishing from the bank. He was catching quite a few, and Lucy got to lick them.
When we were done I went over to the other park and ask the Filipino couple if they wanted to go to dinner - I'd buy. The man didn't want to go, but his wife sure did. We all met there at 6. We had a good dinner and lots of good talking. It was cheap, too. About $60 for everything.
After dinner we all went back to Dan's and sat talking on the deck for quite awhile. Then it was time to say good byes.
When we got back to the park I lined up the truck so I could hook up easily tomorrow. Then we showered and went to bed.
Sunday, May 13, 2018
Day 921
We got up at 7 today and were on the road by 7:53. It was a typical travel day, rain at times and several construction zones. The main difference was it's I84, so at times the trucks were a pain in the ass. We averaged just under 66 MPH for the first two hours. Gas mileage was really good - 13.4, 13.2, and 12.8. Boise was a breeze, but Nampa was a pain in the ass due to construction.
We gained an hour due to the timezone change, but we've decided to live on Mountain time until we get to Salem. That will make us an hour earlier getting into Portland on Tuesday. We stopped in Baker to fuel up and go to the grocery store. Then it was on to Richland to park and seee Dan and Patsy.
Dan was out washing cars. We talked for quite awhile and he showed us his newest toy, a Can Am side by side. Then we went to one of his neighbors to see if we could fix her swimming pool pump. The best I could do is suggest to her that the motor capacitor was fried. She ordered one from Walmart for $15.
Then we went to the boat dock. The people working there are Filipino. They fixed Dan 30 spring rolls for dinner. Dan dropped me off on the way home and I picked up the Bronco. It runs amazingly well now.
I went back to Dan's for dinner. There were another couple and the swimming pool lady there, too. We had a great dinner with the spring rolls and roast pork that Patsy fixed. There was much talking and story telling.
We talked with Dan and Patsy a little bit more after their guests left. Then we went back to the trailer to water the cat and go to bed.
We gained an hour due to the timezone change, but we've decided to live on Mountain time until we get to Salem. That will make us an hour earlier getting into Portland on Tuesday. We stopped in Baker to fuel up and go to the grocery store. Then it was on to Richland to park and seee Dan and Patsy.
Dan was out washing cars. We talked for quite awhile and he showed us his newest toy, a Can Am side by side. Then we went to one of his neighbors to see if we could fix her swimming pool pump. The best I could do is suggest to her that the motor capacitor was fried. She ordered one from Walmart for $15.
Then we went to the boat dock. The people working there are Filipino. They fixed Dan 30 spring rolls for dinner. Dan dropped me off on the way home and I picked up the Bronco. It runs amazingly well now.
I went back to Dan's for dinner. There were another couple and the swimming pool lady there, too. We had a great dinner with the spring rolls and roast pork that Patsy fixed. There was much talking and story telling.
We talked with Dan and Patsy a little bit more after their guests left. Then we went back to the trailer to water the cat and go to bed.
Saturday, May 12, 2018
Day 920
We woke up at 7 today. The day didn't start well, Taiko died during the night. We were both really sad, but we knew that he had been near the end. The worse part was that all we could do was put him in a plastic bag and throw him in the garbage. It doesn't matter really, but it would have been nicer to cremate him. It was a really sad morning.
We were on the road before 8. Today was road construction and rain. Just after we left Rawlins there was a 15 mile, one lane, construction zone. The only thing there was the road blocking cones. There was no workers, equipment, or evidence of any work anywhere on the 15 miles. There were three more one lane sections during the rest of the trip. We also went through several rainstorms including one thunderstorm with hail.
We had fantastic mileage - 13.5, 12.9, and 12.5. This was due to a tailwind and several thousand feet of decreasing elevation. We also made very good time. We'd done the 300 miles to Brigham City in less than 5.5 hours. That included one stop for fuel and another to clean up and change clothes after a very gooey cherry pastry ended up dropping a big sugary glop over my hand, shirt, and pants.
It was 1:30 when we got to Brigham City. We decided to keep going. The park there wasn't happy, but didn't charge us. We drove another 120 miles to Deklo. We stayed there before. We could fuel up there at the park. We also got dinner at the grill there. All in all it is a nice place. Unfortunately it's been raining, hard at times, since we got here. Also, it's 46 degrees. I don't think it's been any warmer than that anywhere we've been today.
Making the extra 120 miles will make tomorrow's trip a lot better. It will be 330 miles. That's plenty given that we will be going through Boise and the last 40 miles is the road to Richland.
In the evening Ellen started contacting cat breeders. She's located one that has a nice looking Bengal kitten in Canby. We'll go see it on Wednesday. There are two other breeders that haven't replied yet. I'd like to get a replacement for Taiko ASAP. Both Fletcher and Lucy are very concerned that he's missing tonight. Fletcher has spent all day looking for him. Lucy was sniffing all over the trailer looking for him this evening.
We were on the road before 8. Today was road construction and rain. Just after we left Rawlins there was a 15 mile, one lane, construction zone. The only thing there was the road blocking cones. There was no workers, equipment, or evidence of any work anywhere on the 15 miles. There were three more one lane sections during the rest of the trip. We also went through several rainstorms including one thunderstorm with hail.
We had fantastic mileage - 13.5, 12.9, and 12.5. This was due to a tailwind and several thousand feet of decreasing elevation. We also made very good time. We'd done the 300 miles to Brigham City in less than 5.5 hours. That included one stop for fuel and another to clean up and change clothes after a very gooey cherry pastry ended up dropping a big sugary glop over my hand, shirt, and pants.
It was 1:30 when we got to Brigham City. We decided to keep going. The park there wasn't happy, but didn't charge us. We drove another 120 miles to Deklo. We stayed there before. We could fuel up there at the park. We also got dinner at the grill there. All in all it is a nice place. Unfortunately it's been raining, hard at times, since we got here. Also, it's 46 degrees. I don't think it's been any warmer than that anywhere we've been today.
Making the extra 120 miles will make tomorrow's trip a lot better. It will be 330 miles. That's plenty given that we will be going through Boise and the last 40 miles is the road to Richland.
In the evening Ellen started contacting cat breeders. She's located one that has a nice looking Bengal kitten in Canby. We'll go see it on Wednesday. There are two other breeders that haven't replied yet. I'd like to get a replacement for Taiko ASAP. Both Fletcher and Lucy are very concerned that he's missing tonight. Fletcher has spent all day looking for him. Lucy was sniffing all over the trailer looking for him this evening.
Friday, May 11, 2018
Day 919
We got up at 7 and were on the road a little before 8. The weather was bad most of the way, It was foggy when we left - visibility about 200 yds. In a few miles it started getting worse. It got down to 100 to 150 feet. I'm driving at 65. If there's anything in front of us we'll hit it. I couldn't slow down though, because someone will rear end us. This lasted for 20 to 30 miles. It's the worst driving I've done with the trailer.
Eventually the fog lifted. Driving was OK for awhile and then the rain started. It wasn't really heavy, but it kept up on and off for the rest of the trip.
The only other things of note were the fuel mileage (10 to 11.5) and Ellen's lack of navigational ability. The GPS didn't agree with the way we wanted to go, so she had to give me directions., At one point she told me to take the wrong highway. We had to make a 3 mile u-turn to get on the right one.
The road from Casper to Rawlins was a lot better than I thought it would be. We made good time. We were in Rawlins by 2:30. We could have gone to Green River and then stopped in Idaho tomorrow. Oh well.
Fuel is really expensive here - $3.54/gal. I hope that isn't the way it is for the rest of the trip.
After we set up we went for a walk. Then it was surfing and TV. About 5:30 a strong thunderstorm came through. It had it all, strong winds, lots of thunder and lightning, heavy rain, and quarter size hail. I thought the truck was going to be damaged, but it wasn't. It was really loud inside the trailer though. Lucy was not amused.
It was pizza and salad for dinner. After that it was reading and surfing.
Eventually the fog lifted. Driving was OK for awhile and then the rain started. It wasn't really heavy, but it kept up on and off for the rest of the trip.
The only other things of note were the fuel mileage (10 to 11.5) and Ellen's lack of navigational ability. The GPS didn't agree with the way we wanted to go, so she had to give me directions., At one point she told me to take the wrong highway. We had to make a 3 mile u-turn to get on the right one.
The road from Casper to Rawlins was a lot better than I thought it would be. We made good time. We were in Rawlins by 2:30. We could have gone to Green River and then stopped in Idaho tomorrow. Oh well.
Fuel is really expensive here - $3.54/gal. I hope that isn't the way it is for the rest of the trip.
After we set up we went for a walk. Then it was surfing and TV. About 5:30 a strong thunderstorm came through. It had it all, strong winds, lots of thunder and lightning, heavy rain, and quarter size hail. I thought the truck was going to be damaged, but it wasn't. It was really loud inside the trailer though. Lucy was not amused.
It was pizza and salad for dinner. After that it was reading and surfing.
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Day 918
We woke up at 7 today, but stayed in bed for a little while surfing. Then we got up, had breakfast, and did the pet stuff. Ellen wanted to go to Custer State Park, so we loaded up the dog and took off. Lucy was very happy to be coming along.
We stopped on the way to get a sewer hose connector. One of the ones on the hoses I carried broke when I tried to connect the hose yesterday. I glued it, but I didn't trust it. The first place we stopped at was sold out. The second had it. They also had an oven vent to replace the one that broke a couple of days ago.
It cost $20 to get into the park. That seemed excessive, but at the end I was satisfied. We took the "wildlife loop". We saw buffalo and antelope right on the side of the road. Some of the buffalo crossed the road in front of us. We also saw a prairie dog town right by the road. It was crawling with them. Apparently there are burros, elk, and bighorn sheep also, but we didn't see any.
There was a lodge near the end of the loop that served lunch. Ellen had buffalo stew and I had a hot beef sandwich. The food was really good.
We turned off onto the Needles Hwy. Most of it was winding, narrow road climbing up through a forest. There were a couple of tunnels. One was 9 foot wide and 11 feet tall. The other was 8 foot wide and 11 foot tall. No trailers on this road. Near the end was an area filled with groups of granite towers - the needles. The main act was one that had a hole near the top that made it look like a real needle. We got out at the turnout and got a glimpse before it was covered with fog. There was no time for pictures.
The road then intersected with the road to Mt. Rushmore. Visibility went down to 200 feet. When we passed the monument you couldn't see the parking structure much less the mountain. We took the same way back to Rapid City as yesterday. I'm sure glad we got to see it yesterday.
When we got home it was 45 degrees and raining. I had to dump the tanks. The hose connector fix didn't work, so I had to cut off the old one and install the new one. When I was finished I discovered that the new connector is longer and my hose compressor won't fit. I also discovered that the oven vent I bought is too small. Double crap.
Before I went in I lined up the truck to hook up tomorrow. All I'll have to do is back straight to hitch up.
Ellen fixed chicken and rice for dinner. The evening was TV, surfing, and preparing to leave tomorrow.
We stopped on the way to get a sewer hose connector. One of the ones on the hoses I carried broke when I tried to connect the hose yesterday. I glued it, but I didn't trust it. The first place we stopped at was sold out. The second had it. They also had an oven vent to replace the one that broke a couple of days ago.
It cost $20 to get into the park. That seemed excessive, but at the end I was satisfied. We took the "wildlife loop". We saw buffalo and antelope right on the side of the road. Some of the buffalo crossed the road in front of us. We also saw a prairie dog town right by the road. It was crawling with them. Apparently there are burros, elk, and bighorn sheep also, but we didn't see any.
There was a lodge near the end of the loop that served lunch. Ellen had buffalo stew and I had a hot beef sandwich. The food was really good.
We turned off onto the Needles Hwy. Most of it was winding, narrow road climbing up through a forest. There were a couple of tunnels. One was 9 foot wide and 11 feet tall. The other was 8 foot wide and 11 foot tall. No trailers on this road. Near the end was an area filled with groups of granite towers - the needles. The main act was one that had a hole near the top that made it look like a real needle. We got out at the turnout and got a glimpse before it was covered with fog. There was no time for pictures.
The road then intersected with the road to Mt. Rushmore. Visibility went down to 200 feet. When we passed the monument you couldn't see the parking structure much less the mountain. We took the same way back to Rapid City as yesterday. I'm sure glad we got to see it yesterday.
When we got home it was 45 degrees and raining. I had to dump the tanks. The hose connector fix didn't work, so I had to cut off the old one and install the new one. When I was finished I discovered that the new connector is longer and my hose compressor won't fit. I also discovered that the oven vent I bought is too small. Double crap.
Before I went in I lined up the truck to hook up tomorrow. All I'll have to do is back straight to hitch up.
Ellen fixed chicken and rice for dinner. The evening was TV, surfing, and preparing to leave tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
Day 917
We got up at 7 CST today, which is 6 MT. I decided to keep us an hour earlier than everyone else. That meant that after pet stuff, breakfast, and some surfing we still got an early start to Mt. Rushmore.
I tried to take a back road way to the highway. It didn't work out because there was a lot of construction on it that Google didn't show. It wasn't that bad though. We still made pretty good time.
Mt. Rushmore is really cool. It was sunny when we got there and great for photography. I took a lot of pictures including several of Ellen. She even took one of me. We spent about 10 minutes figuring out how to do a selfie and then took several of those. We also took a short trail closer to the mountain which gave some really good places to photograph from.
We took the binoculars with us. It was a great decision. Through them we could see incredible detail on the sculpture. It was really neat.
We ate at the restaurant there - buffalo burgers. It was really good food at a pretty good price. We ate outside looking at the mountain. After lunch we went through the gift shop and bought a couple of trinkets.
There's a town, Keystone, on the road back to Rapid City. We stopped there and did the tourist thing. We went through maybe a dozen shops. We bought t-shirts and Black Hills gold earrings. The great store was a couple of Coca-Cola bear Christmas ornaments from an antique shop. We got done about 3 and went back home.
Lucy was really happy to see us. We took her out and threw the bumper. She did an incredible number of retrieves. When she was done we spent the rest of the afternoon surfing. We'd done a lot of walking and were kind of tired.
Dinner was left overs from last night's dinner. Then it was surfing and TV until bedtime.
I tried to take a back road way to the highway. It didn't work out because there was a lot of construction on it that Google didn't show. It wasn't that bad though. We still made pretty good time.
Mt. Rushmore is really cool. It was sunny when we got there and great for photography. I took a lot of pictures including several of Ellen. She even took one of me. We spent about 10 minutes figuring out how to do a selfie and then took several of those. We also took a short trail closer to the mountain which gave some really good places to photograph from.
We took the binoculars with us. It was a great decision. Through them we could see incredible detail on the sculpture. It was really neat.
We ate at the restaurant there - buffalo burgers. It was really good food at a pretty good price. We ate outside looking at the mountain. After lunch we went through the gift shop and bought a couple of trinkets.
There's a town, Keystone, on the road back to Rapid City. We stopped there and did the tourist thing. We went through maybe a dozen shops. We bought t-shirts and Black Hills gold earrings. The great store was a couple of Coca-Cola bear Christmas ornaments from an antique shop. We got done about 3 and went back home.
Lucy was really happy to see us. We took her out and threw the bumper. She did an incredible number of retrieves. When she was done we spent the rest of the afternoon surfing. We'd done a lot of walking and were kind of tired.
Dinner was left overs from last night's dinner. Then it was surfing and TV until bedtime.
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
Day 916
We got up at 7 again and were on the road by 8:10. The first 60 miles were just like the road getting there. Then we turned north on another highway and things deteriorated.
The road was rough and hilly. There was continual ups and downs. There were also several construction zones, including one that caused us to wait for 15 minutes or so.
I thought things would get better when we got to I90. Not so. We turned west into a strong headwind. We got 7.9 MPG for the last 150 miles. Crap.
There were two bright spots. We gained an hour by crossing into Mountain Time. Also, we stopped for about 20 minutes at Wall Drug. That's one of those places we've heard of for years. It was a magnificent tourist trap. Nothing but lots of tourist junk.
The park we are staying at is outside of Rapid City. It's OK, but right next to the freeway and noisy. As we set up it started to rain. That's the only time there was even clouds in the sky all day.
We got everything set up and did the laundry. After that we went into town. We walked around a little and went into several shops. We ate at a bar/restaurant that had fantastic gumbo and root beer. On the way home we stopped at a grocery store and got some food.
Ellen has the shits. She had them at the store and after we got home. The evening was surfing and TV.
The road was rough and hilly. There was continual ups and downs. There were also several construction zones, including one that caused us to wait for 15 minutes or so.
I thought things would get better when we got to I90. Not so. We turned west into a strong headwind. We got 7.9 MPG for the last 150 miles. Crap.
There were two bright spots. We gained an hour by crossing into Mountain Time. Also, we stopped for about 20 minutes at Wall Drug. That's one of those places we've heard of for years. It was a magnificent tourist trap. Nothing but lots of tourist junk.
The park we are staying at is outside of Rapid City. It's OK, but right next to the freeway and noisy. As we set up it started to rain. That's the only time there was even clouds in the sky all day.
We got everything set up and did the laundry. After that we went into town. We walked around a little and went into several shops. We ate at a bar/restaurant that had fantastic gumbo and root beer. On the way home we stopped at a grocery store and got some food.
Ellen has the shits. She had them at the store and after we got home. The evening was surfing and TV.
Monday, May 7, 2018
Day 915
We were up at 7 and on the road by 8:10. We would have made it by 8 except I had trouble hooking up. That goddamn hitch has to be lined up perfectly in order for it to hook up. Even an inch off and it won't connect.
The first part of the trip was a 150 mile run up to I70. It went pretty good except for a little traffic coming through Wichita and a stop in the middle because of Ellen's asshole. Mileage was 10.8.
We gassed up at I70 and continued north to I80. The road wasn't an interstate any more, but it was built like one. There were 2 lanes and interstate style exits. The only difference was it ran through several towns on surface streets at reduced speeds.
We fueled up again at I80. Mileage was a little over 10. I'm not sure why there was a difference. We went 40 miles on I80 and then turned off on a secondary road towards South Dakota. We went 70 miles on it in a NW direction. The road was two lane and a little rough, but we made good time. Miraculously we didn't get held up by slow traffic anywhere along the way. We did have to slow down for a few small towns.
We got to our destination, Broken Bow NE, about 2:15. It's a town of about 4,000. It seems bigger. We fueled up, parked the trailer, and unhooked. The park is a city park, but it has about 16 really nice full hookups. It's better than some private places we've stayed.
We went back into town and drove around. There were a lot of cool old buildings dating back to the 20's. The place is small, but it's very much alive. We drove 3 miles out of town to a brewery that had a sign on the highway. Unfortunately Monday is the one day of the week that they are closed. So we drove back and had a really early dinner at a restaurant boarding the town square. It was over 80 and we sat outside with the dog in a place that was only partially shaded. It felt fine. I'm going to freeze my ass when we get to Oregon.
When we got back we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening surfing. We did take the dog out about 8:30 so she could do retrieves., She did a whole bunch and was really happy.
I do need to make a note about Taiko. He's close to the end. In fact, we're not sure if he's going to make it to Oregon. He can barely walk and isn't eating much. Injecting him with water perks him up for a little bit. It's sad, and we really miss him sleeping with us and meowing at us in the morning about breakfast. We'll probably have to put him down as soon as we get home.
The first part of the trip was a 150 mile run up to I70. It went pretty good except for a little traffic coming through Wichita and a stop in the middle because of Ellen's asshole. Mileage was 10.8.
We gassed up at I70 and continued north to I80. The road wasn't an interstate any more, but it was built like one. There were 2 lanes and interstate style exits. The only difference was it ran through several towns on surface streets at reduced speeds.
We fueled up again at I80. Mileage was a little over 10. I'm not sure why there was a difference. We went 40 miles on I80 and then turned off on a secondary road towards South Dakota. We went 70 miles on it in a NW direction. The road was two lane and a little rough, but we made good time. Miraculously we didn't get held up by slow traffic anywhere along the way. We did have to slow down for a few small towns.
We got to our destination, Broken Bow NE, about 2:15. It's a town of about 4,000. It seems bigger. We fueled up, parked the trailer, and unhooked. The park is a city park, but it has about 16 really nice full hookups. It's better than some private places we've stayed.
We went back into town and drove around. There were a lot of cool old buildings dating back to the 20's. The place is small, but it's very much alive. We drove 3 miles out of town to a brewery that had a sign on the highway. Unfortunately Monday is the one day of the week that they are closed. So we drove back and had a really early dinner at a restaurant boarding the town square. It was over 80 and we sat outside with the dog in a place that was only partially shaded. It felt fine. I'm going to freeze my ass when we get to Oregon.
When we got back we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening surfing. We did take the dog out about 8:30 so she could do retrieves., She did a whole bunch and was really happy.
I do need to make a note about Taiko. He's close to the end. In fact, we're not sure if he's going to make it to Oregon. He can barely walk and isn't eating much. Injecting him with water perks him up for a little bit. It's sad, and we really miss him sleeping with us and meowing at us in the morning about breakfast. We'll probably have to put him down as soon as we get home.
Sunday, May 6, 2018
Day 914
We were up at 7. After breakfast and hooking up we were out by 8. I wanted to take the toll road to I35 because the most direct non-toll route had a blocked freeway. Ellen said go another way that she found. So we did. Bad idea. Things went well until we got near the airport. Then her inability to read a map had us going in the wrong direction. After several miles we made a U-turn and went back the other way. At least we had no traffic problems all the way through Texas.
The same wasn't true in Oklahoma. There was road construction in Oklahoma City that had generated a 2.5 mile traffic jam. Ellen had the internet show us another way. We drove 2 miles on the frontage road. No one else was on it even though the people on the freeway could see it was empty. We stopped for fuel even though we'd only gone 50 miles since a fill up. That gave us enough to get to Wichita without stopping again. The last 1/2 mile involved a little detour, but all in all we saved a lot of time.
When we got to Kansas we had to stop at a toll booth, on the interstate. It cost us $5 to go 25 miles. We made good time overall, getting there about 2:30. Mileage was so-so, maybe 11 to 11.5.
Crap kept happening when we were setting up. The park is brand new and the concrete is so smooth that we couldn't get the trailer level because the blocks slipped. I tried to open the bedroom slide and pushed the wrong button. The off-door slide crunched the cabinet door again. I don't think it's fixable.
That wasn't the worse. There was Malt-o-Meal all over the kitchen counter. Ellen hadn't closed the box. I had to take out the rack and the liner to clean it up. That involved screws and tacks. That's when I discovered that her olive oil bottle leaked. I then noticed that the shelve above was dirty. That was because she'd put a sesame oil bottle up there with the cap off. Of course it had spilled. I think that's the source of the funny smell we've been smelling since we left Austin.
I ended up scrubbing both shelves with 409. I also used pet spray on the upper one. The lower one doesn't smell anymore, but the upper one still does a little. I had to go to the Dolla. Store to get some more shelf lining materiel.
So, instead of being able to relax after setting up the trailer I ended up cleaning and driving around for over three hours. When combined with the morning's navigation problems I was really pissed. I'm pretty much over it now.
Dinner was left over tacos. After that it was TV and surfing. This place is the first we've been at that has cable.
I'm hoping that traffic won't suck tomorrow morning. We are at the south end of Wichita and we have to drive directly north through it to get to the next stop.
The same wasn't true in Oklahoma. There was road construction in Oklahoma City that had generated a 2.5 mile traffic jam. Ellen had the internet show us another way. We drove 2 miles on the frontage road. No one else was on it even though the people on the freeway could see it was empty. We stopped for fuel even though we'd only gone 50 miles since a fill up. That gave us enough to get to Wichita without stopping again. The last 1/2 mile involved a little detour, but all in all we saved a lot of time.
When we got to Kansas we had to stop at a toll booth, on the interstate. It cost us $5 to go 25 miles. We made good time overall, getting there about 2:30. Mileage was so-so, maybe 11 to 11.5.
Crap kept happening when we were setting up. The park is brand new and the concrete is so smooth that we couldn't get the trailer level because the blocks slipped. I tried to open the bedroom slide and pushed the wrong button. The off-door slide crunched the cabinet door again. I don't think it's fixable.
That wasn't the worse. There was Malt-o-Meal all over the kitchen counter. Ellen hadn't closed the box. I had to take out the rack and the liner to clean it up. That involved screws and tacks. That's when I discovered that her olive oil bottle leaked. I then noticed that the shelve above was dirty. That was because she'd put a sesame oil bottle up there with the cap off. Of course it had spilled. I think that's the source of the funny smell we've been smelling since we left Austin.
I ended up scrubbing both shelves with 409. I also used pet spray on the upper one. The lower one doesn't smell anymore, but the upper one still does a little. I had to go to the Dolla. Store to get some more shelf lining materiel.
So, instead of being able to relax after setting up the trailer I ended up cleaning and driving around for over three hours. When combined with the morning's navigation problems I was really pissed. I'm pretty much over it now.
Dinner was left over tacos. After that it was TV and surfing. This place is the first we've been at that has cable.
I'm hoping that traffic won't suck tomorrow morning. We are at the south end of Wichita and we have to drive directly north through it to get to the next stop.
Saturday, May 5, 2018
Day 913
We got up a little before 8. There was no reason to get up early, but it was bad policy to sleep in. The next three days will be travel days. We did the pet stuff, breakfast, and then surfed for a little while. About 9 we took the dog to a dog park about a mile away. She didn't want to do retrieves - only 3 or 4. She did a little socializing and then just stood around. It wasn't hot, but it was sunny. Maybe that was the problem.
We came back home, surfed for awhile, and then went to the flee market next door. It was huge. It's at least three or four times the Fredericksburg show. The sites were numbered and went up past 2,000. There were at least 1,000 other stalls. There were lots of people, but the place is so big that it didn't seem crowded.
Most of the vendors were selling stuff at full retail, there weren't many bargains. There was a wide variety of stuff. There were lots of clothes vendors, cheap electronics, kid's toys, used tools, and fair type food places. There was also some unexpected stuff like tire stores, furniture stores, and auto stores selling bumpers and grills. It was definitely different than anything we'd seen before.
With all that variety we only bought lunch (pad Thai and orange chicken) and a small bamboo plant. I tried to buy a metal flamingo, but the vendor wouldn't negotiate. I guess she thought white people should pay full price.
After lunch Ellen's asshole started to give her problems. She went home and I walked around for another half hour or hour. Then I went home to plan the trip and put away stuff from the convention. It seems we may not be staying in Richland because the water is up and the trailer park is full. Too bad we have to come in on a weekend.
The sale ended at 5, so I ended up not going back. Instead Ellen and I went to the grocery store and the pet store. We bought taco fixings at the grocery. We bought Taiko a bed because he isn't coming to bed with us any more. He can barely walk. I'm afraid he's close to the end. He's really gone down hill in the last couple of days.
Dinner was tacos of course. After that it was surfing and reading. In bed before 11, tomorrow is a travel day - 365 miles to Wichita.
We came back home, surfed for awhile, and then went to the flee market next door. It was huge. It's at least three or four times the Fredericksburg show. The sites were numbered and went up past 2,000. There were at least 1,000 other stalls. There were lots of people, but the place is so big that it didn't seem crowded.
Most of the vendors were selling stuff at full retail, there weren't many bargains. There was a wide variety of stuff. There were lots of clothes vendors, cheap electronics, kid's toys, used tools, and fair type food places. There was also some unexpected stuff like tire stores, furniture stores, and auto stores selling bumpers and grills. It was definitely different than anything we'd seen before.
With all that variety we only bought lunch (pad Thai and orange chicken) and a small bamboo plant. I tried to buy a metal flamingo, but the vendor wouldn't negotiate. I guess she thought white people should pay full price.
After lunch Ellen's asshole started to give her problems. She went home and I walked around for another half hour or hour. Then I went home to plan the trip and put away stuff from the convention. It seems we may not be staying in Richland because the water is up and the trailer park is full. Too bad we have to come in on a weekend.
The sale ended at 5, so I ended up not going back. Instead Ellen and I went to the grocery store and the pet store. We bought taco fixings at the grocery. We bought Taiko a bed because he isn't coming to bed with us any more. He can barely walk. I'm afraid he's close to the end. He's really gone down hill in the last couple of days.
Dinner was tacos of course. After that it was surfing and reading. In bed before 11, tomorrow is a travel day - 365 miles to Wichita.
Day 912
We got up at 7 today - I wanted to leave for the convention by 8. That gave us plenty of time for pet stuff and breakfast. We even got in a little surfing before we left a little after 8.
Traffic was screwed up on one of the freeways we needed to take. So we took surface streets instead. They were clear and I don't think they cost us any time over a jammed freeway. The second freeway was clear all the way into town. I was worried because it was raining fairly hard. The trailer brake alarm didn't come back on though.
We got parking easily except for some reason the attendant taking money was really slow. It wasn't more than a block to the convention center.
The convention itself was a lot like the shot show. The big manufacturers had their shot show booths. There were a lot of hunting places, clothing places, and smaller parts manufacturers that you wouldn't see at shot. Of course you could also buy things at a lot of the places.
I got a chance to see the SIG 365. It's cool and I will be buying one in the fall. I also bought a green laser for the LCP II, a Benchmade automatic knife, and a Geissele trigger. I got a good price on the knife, a fairly good price on the trigger, and way overpaid on the laser. That was OK, we got to talk to Bill at the booth.
Several places at the show had shooting simulators, pistol, rifle, and shotgun. We tried them all. It was really fun.
By 4:30 we had walked over 15,000 steps and were really tired. We rested for awhile and looked at traffic on the web. By 5:30 we found a way to get home without much delay except for going part way on surface streets to avoid an accident on the freeway. All in all it was a pretty nice.
When we got home we let the dog out. She really had to pee. Then we went about a mile to an Arby's for dinner. Afterwards we stopped at the Kroger's across the street. We got a couple of things and a six pack of Coor's Light for the people next door. They had put a pallet at our entrance because the rains had flooded our campsite. It's the only one in the park that's under water.
We didn't get home until after 8. The rest of the evening was surfing and reading. It was a short one. We were tired and went to bed early.
Traffic was screwed up on one of the freeways we needed to take. So we took surface streets instead. They were clear and I don't think they cost us any time over a jammed freeway. The second freeway was clear all the way into town. I was worried because it was raining fairly hard. The trailer brake alarm didn't come back on though.
We got parking easily except for some reason the attendant taking money was really slow. It wasn't more than a block to the convention center.
The convention itself was a lot like the shot show. The big manufacturers had their shot show booths. There were a lot of hunting places, clothing places, and smaller parts manufacturers that you wouldn't see at shot. Of course you could also buy things at a lot of the places.
I got a chance to see the SIG 365. It's cool and I will be buying one in the fall. I also bought a green laser for the LCP II, a Benchmade automatic knife, and a Geissele trigger. I got a good price on the knife, a fairly good price on the trigger, and way overpaid on the laser. That was OK, we got to talk to Bill at the booth.
Several places at the show had shooting simulators, pistol, rifle, and shotgun. We tried them all. It was really fun.
By 4:30 we had walked over 15,000 steps and were really tired. We rested for awhile and looked at traffic on the web. By 5:30 we found a way to get home without much delay except for going part way on surface streets to avoid an accident on the freeway. All in all it was a pretty nice.
When we got home we let the dog out. She really had to pee. Then we went about a mile to an Arby's for dinner. Afterwards we stopped at the Kroger's across the street. We got a couple of things and a six pack of Coor's Light for the people next door. They had put a pallet at our entrance because the rains had flooded our campsite. It's the only one in the park that's under water.
We didn't get home until after 8. The rest of the evening was surfing and reading. It was a short one. We were tired and went to bed early.
Thursday, May 3, 2018
Day 911
I got up at 6. By 6:18 I was on the road. The trip back to Waco was uneventful, and only took a little over 2 hours. That was mainly because people were driving 15 to 20 miles over the speed limit through the construction zone at Temple. Of course I took the toll road up. I'm not going to get screwed on I35 twice.
When I got back to Waco I had breakfast and then surfed until a little after 9:30. There was no point in starting earlier as the checkin time was noon. The drive was OK until we got about 40 miles from the park. It started raining really hard - dark orange on the radar. Of course the Texas drivers couldn't handle it at all. I was just hoping no one screwed up. Luckily no one did. There was a massive jam going the other way at one point. Somebody had screwed up.
We got to the park a little after 12. Of course it was raining. To make it worse our site has 2 - 4 inches of standing water on it. Of course my shoes and pants were soaked by the time I got everything set up. The park, and our site, are literally right next to an airport runway. I bet we'll be hearing a lot of airplanes once the thunderstorm quits. Lucy is not happy about the thunder and lightening.
After setting up I went inside and changed clothes. Then it was surfing and reading.
I wanted to fill up the truck before tomorrow. The convention closes at 6. If Friday afternoon traffic in Dallas is the same as Austin we'll be in a traffic jam on the way home. When I started the truck the day's hassles continue. There was an error message "trailer brake control needs service". Ellen looked it up. The likely culprits were a fuse, dirty contacts, and water in the connectors. Everything else involved the dealership. The bad thing was that it could cause the truck to go into limp mode.
I tried to look at the fuses in the parking lot. They are impossible to get out without a pliers, which I didn't have, so into Walmart for pliers and contact cleaner. Then I checked the fuses. All good. When we got home I cleaned the contacts. Then I started the truck so I could turn it around and use a hair dryer to dry the connectors. The message had gone away. I'm not sure if the cleaning did anything and I dried the connectors anyway. Hopefully the problem won't return.
Ellen fixed stir fry for dinner. After dinner was reading and surfing.
When I got back to Waco I had breakfast and then surfed until a little after 9:30. There was no point in starting earlier as the checkin time was noon. The drive was OK until we got about 40 miles from the park. It started raining really hard - dark orange on the radar. Of course the Texas drivers couldn't handle it at all. I was just hoping no one screwed up. Luckily no one did. There was a massive jam going the other way at one point. Somebody had screwed up.
We got to the park a little after 12. Of course it was raining. To make it worse our site has 2 - 4 inches of standing water on it. Of course my shoes and pants were soaked by the time I got everything set up. The park, and our site, are literally right next to an airport runway. I bet we'll be hearing a lot of airplanes once the thunderstorm quits. Lucy is not happy about the thunder and lightening.
After setting up I went inside and changed clothes. Then it was surfing and reading.
I wanted to fill up the truck before tomorrow. The convention closes at 6. If Friday afternoon traffic in Dallas is the same as Austin we'll be in a traffic jam on the way home. When I started the truck the day's hassles continue. There was an error message "trailer brake control needs service". Ellen looked it up. The likely culprits were a fuse, dirty contacts, and water in the connectors. Everything else involved the dealership. The bad thing was that it could cause the truck to go into limp mode.
I tried to look at the fuses in the parking lot. They are impossible to get out without a pliers, which I didn't have, so into Walmart for pliers and contact cleaner. Then I checked the fuses. All good. When we got home I cleaned the contacts. Then I started the truck so I could turn it around and use a hair dryer to dry the connectors. The message had gone away. I'm not sure if the cleaning did anything and I dried the connectors anyway. Hopefully the problem won't return.
Ellen fixed stir fry for dinner. After dinner was reading and surfing.
Day 910
We got up about 8, did pet stuff and had breakfast. We weren't in a hurry because the Dr. Pepper museum didn't open until 10. We left in time to get there about 10:30.
The museum was really cool. Dr. Pepper was invented in the mid 1800's. The original building doesn't exist anymore, but the museum is in a slightly newer plant across the street. The museum had 100+ years of memorabilia and some really interesting exhibits about how the bottling process has changed over 150 years. Of course they had a gift shop, but we didn't buy anything.
The museum is about 3 blocks fro Magnolia, so we walked over there for lunch. It's quite an establishment. There's a bakery/restaurant, a large children's outdoor play area, a lot of covered picnic tables, and 6 or 8 food trucks. We at lunch from the trucks and then went into the main store.
The store is crammed with yuppie household goods - wall hangings, scented soaps, books, linens, etc. All of it was hideously overpriced. I'm sorry to say I bought a small metal plaque that says #demoday" for about twice what it was worth.
After that we went home. When we got there we took the dog swimming. She did 28 water retrieves. I stopped because I thought she was getting tired. Not so. She did 15 land retrieves while I dried her off.
We had dinner. A little after 6 the alarm company called. The "tamper alarm" had gone off. I called them and finally got the person on the phone to tell me it was the telephone box. I also called Isaac. He was nice enough to go home and check the house. It was all right.
I got in the truck and drove back home. It took three hours to get there, mainly because I got stuck on I35 due to a lane closure at Oltorf. I missed getting through cleanly by 10 minutes.
When I got hoe I called Ellen to use her as tech support. The alarm company was useless. She told me how to put the system in test mode. Using that we determined that the phone box was the problem. I opened up the box. It looked like when I put the new battery in I'd gotten the battery wire to just barely interfere with the tamper switch. I routed it so that will never happen again. I also bent the switch arm out a little so it would make better contact.
I couldn't go back because the park locked up at 10. I wanted to take a shower, but the hot water coming out of the guest shower was black. I ended up taking a cold shower. I got to bed a little after midnight. I set the alarm for 6.
The museum was really cool. Dr. Pepper was invented in the mid 1800's. The original building doesn't exist anymore, but the museum is in a slightly newer plant across the street. The museum had 100+ years of memorabilia and some really interesting exhibits about how the bottling process has changed over 150 years. Of course they had a gift shop, but we didn't buy anything.
The museum is about 3 blocks fro Magnolia, so we walked over there for lunch. It's quite an establishment. There's a bakery/restaurant, a large children's outdoor play area, a lot of covered picnic tables, and 6 or 8 food trucks. We at lunch from the trucks and then went into the main store.
The store is crammed with yuppie household goods - wall hangings, scented soaps, books, linens, etc. All of it was hideously overpriced. I'm sorry to say I bought a small metal plaque that says #demoday" for about twice what it was worth.
After that we went home. When we got there we took the dog swimming. She did 28 water retrieves. I stopped because I thought she was getting tired. Not so. She did 15 land retrieves while I dried her off.
We had dinner. A little after 6 the alarm company called. The "tamper alarm" had gone off. I called them and finally got the person on the phone to tell me it was the telephone box. I also called Isaac. He was nice enough to go home and check the house. It was all right.
I got in the truck and drove back home. It took three hours to get there, mainly because I got stuck on I35 due to a lane closure at Oltorf. I missed getting through cleanly by 10 minutes.
When I got hoe I called Ellen to use her as tech support. The alarm company was useless. She told me how to put the system in test mode. Using that we determined that the phone box was the problem. I opened up the box. It looked like when I put the new battery in I'd gotten the battery wire to just barely interfere with the tamper switch. I routed it so that will never happen again. I also bent the switch arm out a little so it would make better contact.
I couldn't go back because the park locked up at 10. I wanted to take a shower, but the hot water coming out of the guest shower was black. I ended up taking a cold shower. I got to bed a little after midnight. I set the alarm for 6.
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
Day 909
We got up a 7 today, it was good we did. We did the pet stuff and had breakfast. Then it was load the trailer time. I took out all of my final stuff and put it away. Ellen did the same. This took awhile. Then Ellen went into the house to finish the wash and do some cleaning.
I closed up the trailer and then started to hook up. That took longer then usual, I'm out of practice. Once it was hooked up I moved it forward. I used the cart of gravel I had there to fill in the holes where the tires were. It wasn't enough. I had to get another load.
Isaac was out there, so I took him around showing him what he'd have to do if he were to leave before we got back. I put little notes on everything.
There was a bunch of thrashing after that as we put the last minute things we'd forgotten in the trailer. I think I closed it and then reopened it 3 or 4 times. Finally we were ready to go about 11, half an hour after I wanted to leave.
There was a crash on I35 in Austin, so we went up Loop 1. I took the toll roads over to I35 above Parmer. It will be interesting to see how much it cost. The trip itself was uneventful except for 15 miles of construction through Temple. It will be nice when it's done, but that is years away.
We ate lunch on the road and got to the campground about 1. Setting up didn't take a lot of effort. When we were done we drove a few miles back towards town and stopped at the Mammoth monument.
The monument is neat. They excavated 20 mammoths. They took some out. They partially excavated the rest and built a building over them. Apparently there are more there, but they are waiting for government permission to dig them up.
On the way home we stopped at "the best burger place in Waco" according to the internet. It was REALLY good. When we got home we got out computers. I got out my small one and spent awhile setting it up and getting it updated. Then we took a walk around the park.
We walked to the far end of the park. There are showers there and there's none in our campground. It's a 1.4 mile round trip, so we'll probably drive down for showers.
The rest of the evening was surfing and reading. There's no cable her and we didn't try the on air channels.
I closed up the trailer and then started to hook up. That took longer then usual, I'm out of practice. Once it was hooked up I moved it forward. I used the cart of gravel I had there to fill in the holes where the tires were. It wasn't enough. I had to get another load.
Isaac was out there, so I took him around showing him what he'd have to do if he were to leave before we got back. I put little notes on everything.
There was a bunch of thrashing after that as we put the last minute things we'd forgotten in the trailer. I think I closed it and then reopened it 3 or 4 times. Finally we were ready to go about 11, half an hour after I wanted to leave.
There was a crash on I35 in Austin, so we went up Loop 1. I took the toll roads over to I35 above Parmer. It will be interesting to see how much it cost. The trip itself was uneventful except for 15 miles of construction through Temple. It will be nice when it's done, but that is years away.
We ate lunch on the road and got to the campground about 1. Setting up didn't take a lot of effort. When we were done we drove a few miles back towards town and stopped at the Mammoth monument.
The monument is neat. They excavated 20 mammoths. They took some out. They partially excavated the rest and built a building over them. Apparently there are more there, but they are waiting for government permission to dig them up.
On the way home we stopped at "the best burger place in Waco" according to the internet. It was REALLY good. When we got home we got out computers. I got out my small one and spent awhile setting it up and getting it updated. Then we took a walk around the park.
We walked to the far end of the park. There are showers there and there's none in our campground. It's a 1.4 mile round trip, so we'll probably drive down for showers.
The rest of the evening was surfing and reading. There's no cable her and we didn't try the on air channels.
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