Day 3227

 We woke up at 8 and got up.  I fed the animals and had breakfast while Ellen took Abby out.  Then I loaded the laundry stuff into the truck and we went to the laundromat.  We went out the locked gate.  That let me test the combination and dump the trash bag in the dumpster.

The laundromat was more crowded than on Tuesdays, but it wasn't a pain.  The big pain though was that Ellen's phone quit working.  After the laundry was finished we stopped briefly at BiMart for peanut butter and a new dog whistle.  The old one broke yesterday.  Then we drove to Verizon.

The Verizon stop was short.  They had a nationwide outage that only affected some phones.  Ellen's was one, mine wasn't.  Luckily we weren't pressed for time today, so the trip wasn't a big problem.  I fueled up at Brooks on the way back.

When we got home I positioned the truck so that hopefully it will be easy to hook up.  I also took down the tripod and put it in the shed.  Then we took Abby for her last walk. We went all around the club making sure to stop by the pigeon coop.  It was open, so she had a great time chasing the birds.

After that we spent the rest of the afternoon surfing and watching videos.  Ellen's phone started working again.  We both took showers just before dinner.  Ellen fixed stir fry.  I started draining the tanks before dinner and finished it after dinner.  Then I flushed out the hose and coiled it in the shed.  The only thing more that needs to go in the shed is the water hose.  I'm leaving that for tomorrow.  I also decided to leave the Starlink until tomorrow.

I plan on getting up at 7:30 tomorrow and hitting the road by 8:30.

Day 3226

 I woke up about 8 and got up to take Abby out and feed everyone.  Then I went back to bed and played games for a while.  I got up after 9 and we took Abby for her walk.  People were shooting and we only walked to the highway and back.

When we got back I had breakfast and then went outside to work.  It was basically putting things away.  The water and gun cart went into the truck.  The water hose and BBQ went into the shed.  I drained the tanks and filled up the dog food container.  Finally I took off the trailer tire covers, inflated the tires, and tightened the torque nuts.

Ellen spent a lot of time on cleanup, vacuuming and wiping things down.

All of that took a little over 2 hours.  When I was done there was nothing left to do today.  I spent the rest of the day surfing, napping, and watching videos.  It was nice to have a partial day off.

Day 3225

 I woke up at 8 and got up to take Abby out and feed the pets.  Then I went back to bed to play games for a little while before getting up for breakfast.

When an hour was up we took Abby for her walk.  We stopped at the Helice field to talk with the pigeon guy.  He'd opened the coops, so we took Abby by the twice.  She had a great time chasing them.

When we got back I got out everything necessary to wash and wax the car.  I helped some, but Ellen did a lot of it.  What's because I was busy getting out other things.  I also washed the windows inside and out.  When we were finished she put peppermint cotton balls all over the car while I inflated both the car and truck tires.  Finally I put the car back in the carport, connected the battery charger, covered the car, and tied the cover down.

As soon as that was done we went to the Helice field to shoot.  It's challenging, but not as hard as it looks.  I could probably get good at it if I practiced.  However, at $2.60 a target that's not likely.

When we were finished we went back to the trailer for lunch.  After that was some surfing and videos.  I had a nap.

Dinner was a BBQ pizza.  I put everything in the shed tomorrow.  I'll also do the trailer tires and lug nuts.  That's the last things to be done before we do the final departure prep on Monday.

I beginning to suffer my usual pre-trip anxiety.  I always worry that there will be some sort of trouble while we're traveling.  Hopefully there won't be.

Day 3224

 I woke up about 8 to take the dog out and feed all of the animals.  Then I went back to bed to play games until Abby's hour was up.  When it was we took her for a walk around the club.  I thought she'd be tired, but she wasn't.  Instead she ran at least as hard as she usually does.

When we got back I ate breakfast and then went out to the shed.  I packed up the stuff stored there - TP, Ellen's pants, dog toys, cereal, etc. into boxes to protect it from mice.  Then I moved it all to the basement.  The basement is pretty much full now.

While I was doing that Ellen was scrubbing the shower.  It was pretty dirty.  That filled up the shower tank,, so I started to drain the tanks.  I decided to try to clean out the sink tank, so I poured 15 gallons of clean water into it.  When I drained it a fair amount of junk came out.

By then it was 1:30.  We went to Elmer's for lunch.  Then we went to Safeway to buy food for the road - bananas, OJ, cold cuts, etc.  When we got home we put it all away and walked to the club to see if they were going to do Helice tomorrow.  They are.

We went back to the trailer to watch videos.

Dinner was leftovers.  After that was more videos.

Tomorrow we'll wash the car and put it away.  We managed to put just 3,100 miles on it this summer.

Day 3223

 I woke up a little before 8 and got up to take Abby out and feed all the pets.  Then I went back to bed for an hour.  When I got up again I ate breakfast and then we took Abby for her walk.

Abby didn't walk yesterday, so today she was supercharged.  We walked around the course and she didn't slow down any at all until we were halfway around the course.  Even then she kept up a pretty good pace.

When we were finished we left to go to Beaverton.  When we got there we stopped at Mud Bay to get Cooper treats, but they didn't have any.  Then we went to Tammies to get paints for the RC Audi.  Ellen called Hooch and we decided to go to an Argentinian place for lunch.  It was pretty good.  Then we took the dogs to the dog park.

Abby and Rico covered a whole lot of ground at the park.  They also had a continuous supply of dogs to play with.  When we left Abby was a tired doggy.  Even at that when we got to Hooch's place Abby and Rico kept playing on the deck for hours.  Eventually they tired out.  We talked with Hooch and later Julia joined us.

About 6 we went to a Japanese place for dinner.  It was very good.  There was enough food that both of us have lunch for tomorrow.  When dinner was done we left for home.  We got home about 9.  We fed the pets, watched a few videos, and went to bed.

Day 3222

 I woke up about 7:45 and got up to feed the pets and let the dog out.  Then it was back to bed fora little while. Eventually I got up and had breakfast.

After breakfast I went outside to the shed.  I put new filters on the shop vac.  Then I took it out to the car port and connected the extension cord from the shed.  I told Ellen that the car cleaning stuff was ready and then started to get the trailer washing stuff out.

The new foamer for the wash and wax is great.  It made it easy to cover the trailer with foam.  It also used a lot less of the wash and wax.  It was still a lot of work to clean the rest of the trailer.  The two slideouts made the street side a pain and the front overhang of the trailer is a wet job.  I finished up just as Ellen finished the car interior.  Then she got the dog ready while I put everything away.

We left for Abby's walk at 10:30, pretty good time.  I wanted to get the trailer done before it started raining and I did.  We stopped at the clubhouse.  I told Dave when we were leaving and got the new gate code.  There were people shooting by then, so we only made it halfway around the course.  It started to sprinkle lightly just as we walked back to the trailer.

It was starting to rain more as we got in the car for errands.  We went to the pet store for dog food and Lowe's for Stabil and a new car wash pole.  The old one broke today.  That's OK, it was probably 15 years old at least.  Lowe's didn't have a pole.  Oh well.  We also stopped at DQ for lunch and Jone's Farm for pears.

By the time we got home it was raining hard.  I started to drain the tanks and retired to the trailer to watch videos.  That turned out to be expensive.  I ended up buying a short wave radio for $250.  I hope to listen to it on the trip.

It rained pretty hard until 7.  Dave used the opportunity to light the burn pile.  By 7:30 the sky was partly cloudy and we had to close the blinds to watch TV.

Hooch texted.  We'll go to his place tomorrow afternoon.

Day 3221

 I woke up at 8 and got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that we loaded the laundry into the car and went to the laundromat.

When the wash was done we went to Hubbard to check out the car wash that Joe had told us about.  Unfortunately it's a do it yourself wash.  What's the point?  We went home and washed the truck there.  When the wash was done Ellen did the wax while I started washing the trailer.  

I used a new wash and wax that contained the ceramic sealant.  It worked well.  However it has to be put on in the shade.  The sun had moved so that only the back and door side of the trailer were in shade.  I'll have to do the other two sides tomorrow.

Using the new wash and wax worked OK with a bucket, but it's supposed to work better with a foamer.  We decided to go to Harbor Freight to get one as well as going to Mickey D's for lunch.  When we got back we let Abby tear up the foamer box.  It's the only running she got today.  She didn't want to do much because it was in the high 80's.

We hid out in the heat surfing and watching videos.  I emailed Hooch.  He's really busy this week, but maybe we can see hi on Thursday afternoon.  I had a nap, too.

Ellen fixed BBQ steaks for dinner.  Abby likes steak night as much as Lucy did.

After dinner was more videos and surfing.

Day 3220

 I woke up a little before 8 and got up immediately to feed the pets.  Then I finished getting up and had breakfast while I waited for an hour until Abby could run. 

I loaded up the shooting stuff and we took Abby out on the course.  I didn't shoot very well.  It's disappointing considering my shooting at the tournament.  Of course having up to 4 floaters in my field of vision at one time didn't help. 

When we got back I put everything away and drained the tanks.  By then it was 12:30 and I was hungry.  We went to the golf course for lunch.  We also stopped at Wally World to get paper goods for the trip.  We now have all we'll need until we get home.

I sat down to watch videos.  That turned into a pretty long nap.  When I woke up it was more videos for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Dinner was Ramen.

I'd planned on washing the trailer, but somehow that didn't get done.

Day 3219

 I woke up about 8.  I fed the animals and then played games for an hour.  Then it was up to take Abby for a walk.  People were starting to shoot, so we only walked halfway around the course and back.  Abby had a good time, but she didn't seem to be running as fast today.  I think it's a recovery day.

When we got back I had breakfast and did a little surfing.  Then I went out to fix the light on the Typhon Grom.  I knew it would be time consuming, and it was.  I had to totally redo the wiring for the front lights.  I also drilled a small hole in the shock mount in order to route the wire so it wouldn't get abraded again.  The result works well and looks a lot better than the old install.  I also modified the routing on some other wires that really  made it easier to latch the body.

When I was finished I cleaned everything up and put everything away.  I don't think I'll be doing any more RC stuff until I get to Texas.

It was time for a late lunch and some more surfing.  That morphed into videos and another nap.  I didn't wake up until 4:30.

Ellen fixed stir fry for dinner.  After dinner was more videos until bedtime.

Day 3218

 I woke up about 8 and played games until after 9.  Then it was up to feed the cats and take Abby for a walk.  It was pretty much a normal "pigeon tour".  We got back just as people were beginning to shoot.

After breakfast I went out to drain the tanks and clean the interior of the truck.  I vacuumed it and treated all of the surfaces with cleaner/protectorant.  I also cleaned the inside of all the windows.  While doing so I found that the vacuum cleaner filters needed replacing.  $28 for 5 filters.  FUCK BIDEN.

When that was done I went inside for some surfing and lunch.  I also made an appointment to get the Bronco fixed on 10/3.  Then we went to Safeway for groceries.  We were almost out of orange juice and bread.

When we got back home it was videos and a nap.

Dinner was a sandwich.  After dinner I watched the last 2 episodes of BCS.  It's getting predictable, and he still doesn't go by "Saul".  I'll watch some more, but it better get good soon.

Day 3217

 I woke up at 7:30 and got up to feed the cats and take Abby fora walk.  We got over to the pigeon coops and their owner was there.  We talked for at least half an hour.  While we were talking Abby was running all over chasing birds, crossing and recrossing the trailer field, and running through the tall grass.  She never stopped and covered a whole lot of ground.  The pigeon guy was very impressed and said she looked like a really good dog.

Eventually we continued to walk.  Abby got lucky.  The pigeons were flying and she got the chance to chase several when we passed the coops.

When we got back we had breakfast and then left to go north.  I took Abby's breakfast and dinner with us.  We stopped at the Costco in Wilsonville to buy batteries and water.  Then we continued to the Safeway below John and Patty's place.  I got french bread and garlic butter (Patty's request).  I got a chocolate shake next door for Vicki and a coffee a few doors down for me.

We got to John and Patty's at 11:30, just about when I wanted to.

The weather was nice today, so we spent most of the day on the deck and on the patio.  John turned on the fireplace.  It was nice.  We had drinks and talked as usual.

Patty fixed thin steaks again, they were really good.  We wen inside to eat them and then stayed inside because it was getting darker and colder.  The days have really shortened up here.  We talked until 8 before going home.  We said our "see you in 8 months" goodbyes and invited them to Texas over the winter.

There was a whole lot of traffic on I5 on the way home.  It really didn't thin out until Aurora.  We got home at 9 and watched videos for a little over an hour before going to bed.

Day 3216

 I woke up about 8 and played games for a while.  Then it was up for cat feeding and taking Abby for a walk.  We did the normal circuit of the club.  One cool thing happened.  Abby managed to surprise a pigeon that was standing on the ground.  She took off chasing it and almost caught it.

When we got back I had breakfast and did a little surfing.  Then I went out to the shed.  The first task was to make a new tie out for the dog.  The job went smoothly, but took a little time because I had to use vice grips to crimp the furrels.  Then I finished up the RC car by putting the wheels on it.  I boxed up all of the extra parts and took them to the basement along with the car.

I still wanted to do something, so I started to look at fixing the light on the Typhon Grom.  It will take some work to rewire it and replace the light.  I had to unpack half the basement to get the replacement light.  After that it was getting warm and it was lunch time, to I called it quits and went inside for lunch.

After lunch I surfed for a while and sat down for videos.  That turned into a nap.  Ellen woke me up to say she was going to Walgreen's for drugs.  I stayed home and surfed some more.  That turn into surfing again, but no more naps.

Ellen fixed BBQ pizza for dinner.  She planned on putting bacon on it, but she burned the bacon.

After dinner was more videos.  I watched three episodes of BCS.  It's getting really good again.  I've got 2 ore episodes of season 2.  At that point I'll be 1/3 through the series.

Day 3215

 I woke up about 8 and played games for a while.  Then it was p for pet stuff and breakfast.  We couldn't run Abby because it's sewer day.  After some surfing I went out to the shed.

My original intent was to clean up the tools and stuff from yesterday.  However, the case of rusted 12 ga on the floor caught my attention.  It's been there for quite a while now because I've been avoiding dealing with it.  Time's getting short though, so I decided to deal with it.

I took the case out to the chair by the trailer.  I also got out the Dremel (surprise).  The case was still soaking wet even with all of the time in the shed.  There was literally water inside the shell boxes.  All the shells were heavily rusted.  Half the shell boxes fell apart when I tried to get them out of the case.

I used the Dremel with a cutoff  to cut the hull in half.  Then I emptied the shot into a small box, pulled the wad out of the hull, and threw the wad and hull into an empty shell case.  It was a long and dirty process.  It took me at least 2.5 hours to do it, maybe more.  When I was done my hands were covered with rust.  My arms, glasses, and shirt were covered with dust from cutting the hulls.

It was after 1 when I was done.  I ended up with 15 lbs of shot.  That's cool, but I didn't do any reloading at all this year.  I went back inside to have lunch.  I was just starting to eat when the sewer guy showed up.

The sewer guy had a new hose fitting the connects directly to the trailer sewer fitting.  It makes draining the tank faster and a whole lot cleaner.  We were out in record time with none of the usual mess.

I put everything away and went back inside to finish lunch.  Then we went to CVS to pick up drugs.  We also stopped at Lowe's to pick up the stuff I need to replace Abby's tie out in the house.  She's chewed the current won into a tangled mess.  The last stop was Hops n Drops.  I really needed a drink.

We stopped at post office on the way home.  There was the part for the screen door and tires for the RC car.  That gives me something to do tomorrow.  We'll see John and Patty for the last time on Friday.

I sat down to watch videos.  That turned into a very long nap.  When I woke up I had a frozen dinner and returned to videos for the rest of the evening.

There was a corporate shoot this afternoon, so Abby didn't get to run at all today.

Day 3214

 I woke up about 7:30 and played games until 8.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After that I loaded the clothes into the car and Ellen left for the laundromat.

Abby only ate part of her breakfast.  I made her wait an hour anyway.  In the meantime I dumped the tanks and surfed.  I followed down a rabbit hole about the Israelis using exploding pagers to kill and wound a lot of terrorists.  It was a pretty impressive operation.

After an hour I took Abby on a walk.  We walked around the club.  She ran fast and pretty far.  The weird thing was that she didn't run in the north field.  Instead she stayed inn the high grass on the club side.  It was cold and windy, I wore the heavy sweatshirt.

When we got back I went to the shed to work on the RC car.  I finished work on it except for mounting the ESC.  I need to put connectors on it.  I'll look tomorrow, but I think that I'll have to wait until we get home where I have the right connectors.  I left everything a mess so I have something to do tomorrow while we wait for the sewer guy.

We took Abby to CVS so I could order some drugs that I'll run out of while we're traveling.  Then we went to the pet store to get one more bag of cat food.  That will be enough to get us home.  We stopped at the DQ there for lunch and Dutch Bros for coffee.  The last stop was Freddie's for their root beer.

When we got home I surfed and then watched videos.  Of course there was a nap, too.

Ellen fixed BLT's for dinner.  After dinner was more videos.  I watched some more episodes of Better Call Saul (BCS from now on).  It's getting good again.

Day 3213

 I woke up about 7, turned over and went back to sleep until 9.  Then it was feed the cats followed by walking Abby.  We decided to do a pigeon tour today.  Abby ran as far as she usually does, but perhaps not as fast as usual.

When we got back I had breakfast and did a little surfing.  Then I went out to the shed to work on the RC car.  I finished up the construction and enhancement of the rear end.  That was all I could do without the new servo.  There's just four steps left before it's complete.

I went back inside and looked up the package status.  There were two at the post office.  It was 1:00, so I mad a quick trip over there to get them.  I was going to go to CVS to see about an early drug purchase, but they close at 1:30 just like the post office.  I just returned with the packages and had leftovers for lunch.

After lunch I surfed for a little bit, but got bored.  I went back to the shed to do more RC car work.  It was sunny today, but not very hot in the shed.  That was nice.  I decided to work on the car body.  I cut it all out.  Then I punched about 15 holes of various sizes in it.  This is the most complicated body I've ever seen.  It has many plastic pieces that need to be attached to it.  It also has a full set of light mounts.  All I need to do is add 3mm LED's.

The last thing I did was measure the body to determine the maximum tire size I can use.  That wasn't very easy to do before it was cut out.  The answer is 75mm.  It turns out that previously I'd found some 72.5mm tires on Amazon, so I ordered them.

That was it for accomplishments.  I did some surfing and watched videos for the rest of the day and evening.

Ellen fixed corn chicken legs on the BBQ.  The corn was great.  I hate chicken legs, but I didn't tell her that.  At least the BBQ made them taste better than usual.

Day 3212

 I woke up a little before 8 and played games for a while.  Then it was up to feed the cats.  After that I put the Typhon Grom battery on the charger and we took Abby for a walk around the course.  I mad sure that she got in a lot of running.

When we got back I loaded up the car with all of the stuff 9archery, iPAD, etc).  Then I had breakfast.  When that was done we left for Hooch's place.

We got to Hooch's place about 11:30.  We sat out on the deck and let the dogs play.  It was a little hard on Rowdy, so Hooch put him inside.  Eventually Alicia got ready.  We took two cars because Martha came along, too.  We went to the same archery place as last time. 

I took Abby for a walk while they shot arrows.  I found a really large overgrown place at the edge of the park.  It was hilly and covered with tall grass.  I let Abby run around inn it for quite a while.  Then I took her back to the car and got out the Grom.

I had fun with the Grom.  It doesn't traction roll anymore.  I do have to turn down the drag brake a little.  I hit the curb and one of the front lights went out.  I'm not sure why, but it will be fairly easy to fix.

Eventually the battery ran out.  I took it and the dog back to the car.  I put the Grom away and got out my tablet.  I sat on a bench with Abby until they were done with archery.  Then we went to the adjacent dog park.  Abby and Rico had a great time playing together and with other dogs.  Abby wasn't going 100% though.

Martha wanted to go to a "puzzle exchange", so we went back to Hooch's place.  She and Ellen went to the exchange while Hooch and I sat on the deck with the dogs.  Amazingly Rico and Abby kept chasing each other around.  I didn't think Abby would have the energy, but she kept up.

When Martha and Abby got back we got Sophia and went to a Ramen place.  It was crowded and the wait was long, both for a seat and for the food.  The food was OK, but not super special.

We went home from the restaurant.  We got home at 8.  I did a little video watching and surfing and then went to bed.

Day 3211

 I woke up at 8 and played games for a little while.  Then it was up to feed the cats.  Then I got out everything and we went to shoot.  We took Abby along with us.

It was a nice cool day with an overcast.  I tried to shoot as well as I could.  I didn't shoot as well as I did at the tournament, but I did better than I usually do.  I need to retain the focus I had during the shoot at all times.

Abby had fun running around when we moved between stations.  She was a little tired when we got back.  I put everything away and then too my gun to the shed to clean it.

The barrel was absolutely filthy.  I had to soak it with chemicals 3 times and run a brush with the drill twice.  Even then it wasn't squeaky clean.  I spent almost 2 hours on it.

When I was done it was time for groceries and lunch.  We stopped at the post office and Bauman's on the way.  We also cashed the checks from the tournament.  Ellen won $20 and I won $80.  After Safeway we stopped at AC Greasy to pick up hamburgers.  The final stop was for fuel before going home.  It was after 3 when we got home.

After lunch I started watching videos.  That lead to a long nap.  I woke up in time to drain the tanks and feed the animals.

There was no dinner, just some snacks.  After dinner it was more episodes of the Netflix video.  I've finished the first year.  Unfortunately the second year is starting out slow.  I almost quit because it was getting boring.

Day 3210

 I woke up a little before 8 and played games for quite a while.  Then it was up to feed the cats and take Abby for a walk.  We walked all around the course and she acted like a tired doggy when we got back.

After breakfast and some surfing I went out to the shed to work on the RC car.  About the only thing I cold do until the servo comes is build shocks.  Each shock had 14 or so parts, most of them plastic.  It took a significant amount of time to cut them off the sprues and then file any rough spots.

The first part of the assembly went pretty easily.  Assembling the shock internals required 3 C clips for each shock.  It was a real pain in the ass.  I lost 2 and broke one.  Fortunately I had plenty of spares in my parts box.  I filled them with oil and then went in for lunch.

When I came back out things went further south.  The crappy instructions caused me to mis-install the sealing rings.  I had two shocks done before I noticed.  I had to take them apart and refill them with oil.  By the time I got all of them filled up my hands and parts of the work table were an oily mess.  After that installing the adjustment rings was a pain, too.  I had to clamp the shock body HARD to tun the rings.  When the shocks were finally done I packed everything up for another day.

That was pretty much it for the rest of the day.  I spent some time surfing and a lot of time on videos.  I did text Hooch.  We'll go see him on Sunday.

Day 3209

 I woke up at 7:30 and played games for a while.  Then it was up to feed the cats and take Abby for a walk.  There were people shooting even though it was early.  That meant that we could only walk to the trailers.  I did take Abby through the weeds to the west of them.  She likes that.

When we got back I had breakfast and did a little surfing.  Then I went outside to the shed and rearranged and recounted the ammo.  I'm glad I did.  I'd misidentified and miscounted part of it. I made up a new shopping list.

Then I unloaded the car from yesterday.  When I opened the basement I learned that the mouse is alive and kicking.  He'd chewed up some more paper towels and eaten hole in a bag of cat food and another of cat litter.  It took a while to clean up the mess.  Then I put all of the human and pet food in spare boxes so he can't do it again.  The cat litter went into the trailer.

By then Ellen had the couch opened, so I put the guns away.  Then I surfed while she put it back together.  I had a craving for In-N-Out, so that's where we went to lunch.  We took Abby and afterwards went to the pet store to buy her a toy.  They were half off, so we bought three.

When we got home I did some surfing, then videos, then a nap.  A NFL games was on (it's Thursday), so I watched the first half.  It was a boring as I remembered.  I turned it off and got out the car I started on.  Unfortunately the servo I bought is the wrong size.  I ordered another one.  I also looked for tires, but didn't find any good ones.  I ended up building up the front and rear suspensions.  The shocks are next.

The build took until time for bed.

Day 3208

 I woke up alittlebefore7 and couldn't get back to sleep - so I played games.  I got up about 8, fed the cats, and then took Abby for a walk.  We made it around the course in a little over half an hour.  When we got back I had breakfast, surfed, and drained the tanks.

We waited an hour and then fed Abby.  Then we left for John and Patty's.  We stopped at Bauman's on the way for a pie and some vegetables.  When we got to Beaverton we stopped for chip dip, coffee, cat food, and a chocolate shake for Vicki.  We made it to their place a little before noon.

We sat down, drank, had snacks, and talked for hours.  Abby was pretty good sitting on the couch.  We had to remind her to stay there a few times, especially when Patty was fixing dinner.

After dinner (at 4) we switched to watching some videos.  We left about 8:30.  It was a fun day.  Hopefully we'll get to see them one more time before we leave.

Day 3208

 I woke up about 8, played games for a short while, and then got up to feed the cats.  I put th washing stuff in the car.  Ellen left for the laundromat and I took Abby for a walk.

It took Abby and I half an hour to walk around the course.  That's probably about 3 mph.  Pretty good for a fat old man.  When we got back I had breakfast and then went out to the shed.

I started by gluing the rim of the second cart tire.  I'll put the tires back on the cart.  Then I went out to clean out the trailer basement.  The mice had made a complete mess of it.  I ended up taking everything out.  I had to throw out 2 bags of dog treats that they'd eaten.  Then I had to vacuum up all of the shredded paper and mouse shit.  Finally I had to scrub the entire floor with 409 to clean off the mouse piss.

The mice had also shit and pissed in the Starlink antenna box.  I had to wash that out and let it dry in the sun.  The only possible good side of all of this was that the mice had partially eaten the contents of both poison traps.

When that was done I went into the shed and organized everything that needed to be in the trailer.  Some of it was ready to go and other stuff had to be put in boxes.  There was quite a bit to go through.  Once that was done I started backing the basement.  I put the Starlink box at the streetside end, the "stuff" boxes in the middle, and the pet and people food in the curbside end.  When I was finished I still had a fair amount of room for TP and Ellen's pants in the curbside end.

It was after noon and I was just finishing up when Ellen got back.  I unloaded the car and put the 2 bags of Casoron she'd bought in the truck.  Then I took the house garbage bag to the dumpster.  

When I back I had lunch.  Ellen wanted to make travel reservations, so I spent some time completing the travel plan.  While I was doing that I calculated how much ammo we'd need to take.  I ended up wrapping 8 cases of ammo in plastic and loading it into the truck.  It was 5 and the middle 80's by then.

I sat down to watch videos, which rapidly turned into a nap.  I'd put in a pretty full day of work.

Ellen fixed chicken fingers for dinner.  After that I watched some episodes of "Just Call Saul".  They were slow at first, but became interesting by the end.  I'll keep watching.

Day 3207

 I woke up about 7:30 and played games for a while.  Then it was up to feed the cats and take Abby for a walk.  We took her all around the course.  She had great fun running through both the high weeds and the north field.  She ran hard and didn't even seem that tired when we were done.

When we got back I drained the tanks and went out to the shed.  The first thing I did was continue gluing the shooting cart tires.  I glued the other side of the first tire.  The other tire wouldn't come off the wheel, so I just glued one side of it to the wheel.  I'll do the other tomorrow.

After that I started cleaning up and putting things away.  The chargers and batteries got packed and the RC tools were put away.  I also opened the big hair dryer box.  Inside was a box for the hair dryer, one for a stand, and a filler section.  That's what made it so big.  I set aside the hair dryer box and discarded the rest.

I started to put away the Grom's and ran into a problem.  I'd wired the back lights on the Typhon wrong.  I had to disassemble the wiring and completely redo it.  That took a lot of time.  By the time I'd done that it was afternoon and getting hot.  I went back to the trailer.

We left and went to the post office.  I picked up the Audi RC car and a part for the new car.  I probably won't get to the Audi until we're back in Texas.  We had lunch at the golf course and then came home.

It was too hot to work outside.  I sat down to watch videos and ended up taking a long nap.  I'm still a little tired from the weekend.  Getting old is a bitch.

I really didn't get anything else done the whole day.  I started binge watching a Netflix show.  I'm not sure how far I'll get.

Ellen fixed chicken stir fry for dinner.

Day 3206

 I woke up at 7:30 and got up for pet stuff and breakfast.  Then it was killing time surfing until it was time to get the shooting stuff together and walk out to the starting station.

I started out shooting really well I ran the first 6 stations, dropped 1, and then ran the next station.  After that was the long walk between 15 and 1.  I was tired by the time I got there.  I started dropping birds.  I dropped bird on one station because I was too tired to swing the gun.  I ended up with a 92, the same score as yesterday.  

Amazingly that was good enough to tie for HOA.  Ellen said I won $80.

I tested my wheel repair by riding back on Gerry's cart.  It worked fine, but the trip showed that the other wheel needs the same treatment.  We put everything away and then took Abby for a walk.

When we got to the clubhouse Gerry and Garrett were having lunch.  We sat down and socialized for an hour or so.  Abby found a couple of dogs to socialize with.  She was pretty good around the other people eating.  Gerry and Garrett went off to shoot and we took Abby over to the trailers to extend her walk.

When we got back we put Abby in the trailer and went to Woodburn.  We ate lunch at AC Greasy and stopped at the hardware store for more Shoe Goo.  Then it was home.

I sat down to watch videos.  That quickly turned into a log nap.  I was really tired after three days of shooting and hauling things around the course.  When I woke up I went back to surfing.

Dinner was a frozen thing followed by more surfing.  I switch to working on the RC car.  I built the rear differential and installed the motor.  That's as far as I can go until the servo shows up.

I put the RC stuff away and started planning the return to Texas.  The tentative starting date is 10/1.  We'll need to be in San Antonio on the 23rd.  We also decided to add 20 ga FITASC to what we're shooting.  I still have to plan the middle of the trip.

Day 3205

 I woke up at 7:30 and got up because I couldn't get back to sleep.  I did the pet stuff and had breakfast. After getting the shooting stuff out I just killed time surfing until it was time to shoot at 9:30. 

We started at the high station (6) on the north side of the course.  We shot with Gerry and Garret.  I dropped two targets on that station and 1 on the next.  Then I didn't miss on the next 8 stations.  Unfortunately then we had to go from station 15 to station 1.

I decided to ride on the back of Gerry's rig.  We only go a little way before the tire came off the cart wheel.  I got it back on and started to walk the rest of the way.  The tire came off again a few hundred feet later.  I put it back on again and gave the cart to a course worker to take to the trailer.  then I walked the rest of the way to station 1.

By then I was hot and tired.  I also had to shoot first.  I missed the last bird of the last pair (it wasn't hard).  I then proceeded to miss 1 bird on each of the remaining stations and two on one.  None of them were hard targets.  I was just too tired and hot after the trip to station 1.  I finished with a 92, but I was really disappointed.

When we got back I unloaded everything and we went back to the RC store to exchange the fluids I'd purchased yesterday.  I also got a pinion gear.  We ate lunch at a DQ on the way home.

When we got home i went out to the shed to fix the cart wheel.  It was very hot inside.  I got out a tube of Shoe Goo and spread it on the inside of the tire and on the outside rim.  Hopefully that will hold it.

When that was done I was very hot and tired.   I spent the rest of the day surfing and watching videos.

Dinner was leftover halibut and rice.  It was still very good.

I didn't work on the new car because I was just so tired

Day 3204

 I woke up a little before 8 and got up to do pet stuff and have breakfast.  After that I got ready to go to the club.  We left for it about 9 because we were scheduled to shoot at 9:30.

We hung around the club for a little while and then walked to our first station.  Of course it was on the opposite side of the course.  We got there in plenty of time though.  Eventually we ended up walking a little farther so that we could start on station 1.

It was hazy today, but not all that hot.  Ellen shot rally well and won her class.  I shot OK, but not well enough to win anything.

When we were done we went back to the trailer and put everything away.  Then we drove to the clubhouse with the dog and Ellen's gun.  CG was having a "fix it" thing.  They said for her to bring her gun back tomorrow.  I bought some 20 ga competition ammo and some 12 ga practice.

After that we went to the post office to pick up my RC car kit and to the grocery for milk, bread, and OJ.  I accidentally got $15/lb off on some fresh halibut.  The person who wrapped it up entered the wrong type of fish.  Then it was home.  The temperature was in the high 90's.  I decided to just surf for a while.

I started to look over the RC car kit.  It turned out that I needed shock oil and two types of diff fluid.  I decided to go to the RC store for it.  When I got there I screwed up.  I left my glasses in the car and didn't have my hearing aids on.  That caused some confusion on what I wanted.  I ended up with the wrong shock oil and one wrong diff fluid.  I'll have to take them back tomorrow.

I ended up doing a little work on the car.  I built the front diff.  I was going to do the motor, but the kit pinon gear is plastic.  I'll have to buy one of those tomorrow, too.  I ended up on Amazon to buy a servo and tires.  I ordered the servo, but passed on the tires for now.

Ellen fixed the halibut.  It was really good.  There's enough left for tomorrow, too.

Day 3203

 I woke up a little before 8 and played games for a while.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  After breakfast we took Abby for a walk around the course and then just did was surfing - basically killing time until we leave to take Devon to the vet. 

We put everyone (including Cooper) in the car and left about 10:15.  We made very good time and were at the vet in about half an hour.  They took us right away.  We were actually driving home before the time of our actual appointment, 11:15.

The trip home was a little slower because it was stop and go on217 just before Tigard.  It wasn't a big delay though.  We stopped at Arby's for lunch.  We also stopped at the post office and the gas station.  All in all we made really good time.  We were home by 12:20.

When we got home it was hot - 91.  I started watching videos and that turned into a nap.  I woke up with a bad pain in my stomach.  I also felt low.  I went to bed and played games for several hours.  At least I felt a lot better when I got up.

I went back to surfing and then back to videos.

Dinner was leftovers.  After dinner was more videos.

Day 3202

 I woke up a little before 7.  Some junk call asshole from Texas called and I couldn't get back to sleep.  I played games for quite a while and finally got up a little before 8.  I did the pet stuff and then had breakfast.  After that I surfed for a while until it got a little warmer.

Eventually I went out to the shed and got out the Casoron.  I used a little more than 2 bags to do the area.  Unfortunately that meant that I had to use part of the bag in the truck  I'll have to buy another one.  I'm not sure how long it took, but it was over two hours to do the whole thing.  When it was done I went inside and too a much needed shower.

After the shower I surfed for a while.  Then I put the guns I gotten from the safe under the couch.  Luckily there's plenty of room for the remainder.  I also called BetterNight and ordered some more CPAP stuff.  They've been bugging me with emails and texts for some time now.

I was just about to go to the shed to work on the Mojave when the sewer guy showed up.  This time it was kind of messed up.  The tank didn't seem to want to drain completely.  After the guy left I back flushed it with the shower water.  That seemed to clean things up, but it really slowed down the process of cleaning up.

After that I got back to the shed.  I finished installing the front light and reassembled the body.  I'm not going to be able to put magnetic connections on it until I order some, probably from AliExpress.

That was it for accomplishments today.  I sat down for videos and some dozing off.  I noticed that the quality of the sound produced by the new TV is significantly better than that of the old one.

Ellen fixed chicken and scalloped potatoes for dinner.  After dinner was more videos.

Day 3201

 I woke up at 8 and played games for a while.  Then it was up for pet stuff and breakfast.  Then I loaded the laundry stuff into the car and drained the tanks.  When that was done it was out to the shed to start spraying.

The battery charger said the battery was full, so I filled up the sprayer with herbicide and started to spray.  I got about 3 square yards done before the battery died.  Crap.  I loaded the battery into the truck and drove to BiMart.  I got lucky there.  A replacement battery was $10 off and they had DEF on sale for $3 off.

When I got back I put the battery on the charger for half an hour to top it off.  Then I went back to spraying.  Things went much better.  It was fairly cool and there was a light breeze which allowed me to keep the spray off me.  It took about 3 hours, plus travel time, to do the job.

When Ellen got back from the laundromat I told her to take the dog for her walk.  I knew that I'd be too tired to do it.

When I was done I put everything away, went inside, took a shower, and had a very late lunch.  I was really tired, so I sat down for videos.  I also got the tablet and went through 14,000 sale items.  I only found 1 that I decided to buy.  It was a $1 off.

I did find a 1980 Audi Quattro rally car on sale.  Ellen said she'd paint it so I ordered it, too.

All of the RC buying took the rest of the day.  Ellen fixed frozen shrimp and spring rolls for dinner.

Day 3200

 I woke up about 6:30 - I couldn't sleep.  I played games until almost 8.  Then it was up to feed the cats and take Abby on a walk.  She was really energetic today, running near full speed the whole way.

When we got home I had breakfast.  Then I went out to the shed to put the sprayer battery on the charger.  Hopefully it will be ready tomorrow.  I also got some gun socks and put them in the car.  A little later an hour was up and we fed Abby.  It took a little time, but she finished it all.  Then we left for John and Patty's.

The trip up was uneventful with light traffic.  We stopped at Safeway for some things that Patty wanted.  When we got there it was raining so they put their dogs in the basement.  Abby was actually great all day.  She sat on the couch and for the most part stayed there.  She also entertained John by wrestling with him.  I was proud of her.

I took 6 of the guns from there safe back with me.  Hopefully they fit under the couch.

We talked the afternoon and evening away.  Patty fixed steak and salad for dinner.  We left about 8 for an equally uneventful ride back home.

Day 3199

 I woke up about 7:45 and played games for a while.  Then it was up to feed the cats and take Abby for a walk.  This time it was a a full "pigeon loop".  She ran a lot more and harder than I thought she would.

When we got home I ate breakfast, did a little surfing, and then went out to the shed.  I started by gluing the Mojave light together.  Then I tried to figure out a way to magnetically couple the light wires to the frame.  I failed.  I'm going to need to use materials that I have in Texas.

After that I replaced the old tail lights on the Typhon with the new ones.  That basically meant wiring them from scratch.  I even had to add resistors.  The result looks pretty good though.  Finally I painted the edges of the Mojave light.

I went back inside to check the email.  Pat hadn't responded to my email about visiting, so I started to shop.  Amain had a 20% off everything sale today.  I spent hours looking for stuff that I didn't have and that I would want.  I settled on a touring car chassis kit with an additional kit that upgrades it to a rally car.  Then there were more hours looking for parts for completion - electronics, body, fluids, etc.  I literally spent until after 9:30 building up an order.  It was worth it though.  I'll be able to build the whole car for under $300.

Andreas stopped by while I was shopping.  We talked for quite a while.  He asked how the club was doing.  I filled him in on us.  I also gave him the TV.  It didn't seem that Joe had really wanted it.

Pat finally replied.  We'll go see them tomorrow.

Ellen fixed steak for dinner.  Abby really likes steak night.

I actually had fun today even though there wasn't a lot to write about.