OK. Now I’ve done it. Just when things were going fine Les sends a picture of this blue Winnebago he found in Hillsboro that was for sale. Interesting, for sure, and I just had to see it. Bad mistake. Now I have to go pay the guy for it and get it home. Dumb.
So, we’re now the proud owners of a 1973 Winnebago. Yea!
I wonder what the neighbors are going to think when we get it home.
I’ll let you know.
Hi – today I purchased a new Apple Airport Extreme to replace the Apple Time Capsule that failed while we were gadding about. I suspect I should have turned it off before we left, but it’s been running steady for the last two years and I didn’t want to have to reconfigure it. Setting up the Extreme solidified that sentiment because it’s taken me the better part of 6 hours to make it work. But I did it.
I think the extra time spent was due to the fact that I’m convinced, like most males, that using instructions is a sign of weakness. A big checkmark against my manly status. It doesn’t matter that what I’m trying to accomplish is complicated beyond belief, but it’s not supposed to be. I typically just keep pushing buttons and changing settings until all the green lights come on and it magically works. Consequently, it’s difficult for me to repeat the process without pushing all those buttons over again, should it become necessary.
But, it works. Everything in the house is wirelessly connected to the internet, and I’ve installed my new printer (another purchase today) so that it’s accessible for printing from pretty much any kind of hand held device. I’ll test that tomorrow, but I’m confident it will work. It told me it would, and I believe it.
All that’s missing now is the new 3 TB backup drive I bought (today). The old Time Capsule was a 1 TB. It’s full, but I won’t be able to access any of it until I tear it apart and pull the drive. From all the information I’ve seen on the internet there’s about a 100% chance that the power supply is fried, but the drive is good. I’ll find out and let you know how it goes.
Now, my eyes are burning from all this work and I must quit. If any of you have any sage advice as to how I can read instructions, for anything, without damage to my manly status, I’m all ears (or eyes, in this case).
Also, greetings to the one person in the United Kingdom who checked me out today.
Cheers
The title says it all with the exception of having to get up around 0630 to let the dogs out. Yes, I’m the one who let the dogs out. I do it every day. Now you know.
After letting them out, I let them in and fed them a nutritional breakfast of some kind of chopped up meat slathered in some questionable gravy, and they love it. I fed the cat, too.
About the cat … when we got home yesterday she was just leaving the yard to go visit the neighbors … wait! You already know all of this stuff … you want to know what happened after Diane brewed the coffee, don’t you?
Well, I poured a cup, settled down on my side of the couch and drank it, very slowly. Then I had another one and another banana. During this time Diane sat on the other couch, not wanting to sit near me since she’s been sitting near me constantly for the past 18 days, or so, and we watched a couple of the 822 TV shows that were recorded while we were gone. A significant thing happened when we were doing that. After watching a pretty boring Bones episode when we decided we didn’t care about watching it any more. So, Diane deleted all the episodes on the DVR and cancelled all future recordings. That left us only 815 shows left, a much more manageable number.
Shortly after 1000, Jennie, Lydia, and Gilligan arrived to pick up Diane for another Gilligan shopping trip. Once they left, I was on my own so I found a comfortable position, changed channels to watch the Oregon St. vs. BYU game, and just sat there until Diane and the kids returned. Then I was given a fashion show by Gilligan and Lydia of all the princess dresses Gilligan got. She loves princess dresses. We love her in them.
After the fashion show I set the Oregon/BYU game to record, Diane’s recommendation, so we could go to Wal*Mart to see about getting a router for the computer and to for sure get Panzee some more canned dog food. All we got was dog food because they didn’t have the router I wanted.
This means, of course, we’ll have to go to Portland tomorrow after church to rectify that situation. And to go look at at 1973 Winnebago D22 that might have our name on it. Hopefully not, but you never know. I’ll let you know how that goes.
After the failed shopping trip I once again parked myself on the couch and cruised between the football channels until Diane got fed up with all the yelling at which time she seized control of the remotes and switched to HGTV. That’s when we decided to eat supper. Diane ate a baked potato and steamed vegetables. I ate a can of Cambel’s Manhatten clam chowder, a bunch of crackers and a pound of cheese.
Now it’s 2100, I’m full, and Hawaii Five-0 is on. Aloha.
Yesterday morning at 0845 we attained escape velocity and left orbit around Nampa. Our trajectory was plotted with infinite care and we were properly flung west on I-84 toward Portland. Initially, our navigation system stopped functioning using specific destination detail, but it would accept input for the general area of our desired landing zone which was OK in the beginning.
Diane assumed the pilot seat for the first 256.38 miles. We had stopped for nourishment in Pendleton, which is as close to geographically half way as it gets, and the weather began to change. The facility of choice was Subway which was conveniently located next to a much needed Starbucks because Jim and Donna forced us to drink non-caffeinated coffee for two days. Had we only known …
After procuring our standard fare from Subway (messy chicken sandwich for Diane and a sausage/egg, non-drip sandwich for me) and Starbucks (caramel machiatto for Diane and white chocolate mocha for me) we escaped Pendleton and entered the traffic pattern headed west.
When we reached a stable velocity I retrieved our “eating on the fly bibs” from the front luggage compartment then did my best to unwrap Diane’s messy chicken sandwich in such a manner that as little as possible would contaminate her lap as she piloted us west. No matter how hard I try, however, some always escapes. This generally due to the gravitational pull of large objects we encounter in our flight path which make it necessary to jig and jog around them.
Everything went well until the weather changed. We knew it was going to happen because of reports sent back by the faster scout-type craft. When the first drops of moisture hit us, followed quickly by a gust of wind from the south, Diane felt it was time to change pilots. We stopped at a rest area and searched for someone to take her place but there were no takers so she finally agreed to let me try. At this point in time she had piloted us safely, through mild summer weather, for the above mentioned 256.38 miles. Now it was up to me to navigate the infamous I-84 corridor through the treacherous straits of the Columbia River Gorge.
The wind shrieked past our vehicle, the rain beat upon it, more adventurous pilots flew past us without a care that this was the first rain in months, but I remained steadfast in my mission and piloted us safely for the next 150 miles. By this time our fuel gauge was listing firmly to the left near the “E” so it was time to obtain some more. At this point we were out of the Gorge so the cross winds were gone and the rain had lessened to a reasonable drizzle so Diane was comfortable with resuming the task of pilot and I took over as navigator, our normal fair weather positions.
The traffic patterns in the greater Portland Area were horrible causing numerous areas of concern for us. Most of it was at a standstill as people jockeyed for position to enter the freeways north to Washington which were also not moving. Using our superior navigational equipment, and the fact that all the traffic was going in different directions than we needed to go, we found ways around it. Even so, it took the better part of an hour to complete our transit across the Portland Traffic Jam to a more comfortable position on Higher 30 West across from St. Johns.
Upon arriving home, Breezie was exiting our yard but returned immediately when she realized someone was opening a door. She meowed her welcome over and over and over and over and wouldn’t leave us alone until we had scritched every inch of her tiny body.
We were left on our own until Jennie finished work at 8:30pm then brought the entire Walters clan up to greet us. It was a joyous time to see all the kidlets again. Now all we need to do to complete this is to see the Cate kidlets. That’s going to happen this morning because Aunt Jennie is taking Gilligan shopping for her birthday and Diane and I are going with her. My main reason for going is to get the proper electronical parts necessary to resurrect our computer network which suffered a catastrophic failure during our absence.
Diane’s brewing coffee now so I feel the need to end this and partake.
Today was a blur of naps. Jim slept fitfully, repeatedly, in his TV chair and Diane just up and went to bed for most of the afternoon.
Me? I napped a bit in a chair, a little bit more on the couch, after Diane went to bed, and made a sincere attempt nap standing up, a skill I once had. None of them were fitful, as were Jim’s.
Donna didn’t nap at all. She went out in the morning to get her hair done because the injury to her left arm, caused when Jim placed sodas in the wrong place on the garage floor, makes it difficult for her to wash and comb her hair. The rumor is that Jim broke her arm. In truth, it was a broom. That’s all I can say because of the pending law suit.
For lunch we ate some beans that are only sold in Colorado and smuggled into Idaho for discerning residents. They are the kind that don’t have to be soaked for a couple of days before cooking – they can be cooked right away. I believe the kitchen blind was lowered the entire time they were cooking to avoid any problems with neighbors who are totally against bean smuggling.
The beans were very, very good, and they came with corn bread muffins. Jim was unhappy with them because he had difficulty getting all the muffin off the paper. Later in the day, when Maryssa showed up, she was able to peal them just fine. Steffani arrived shortly after Maryssa, interrupting all the napping going on. Steffani didn’t get a muffin because Maryssa ate all of those remaining, smothered in honey. I did not notice any problem pealing mine. Also, at my urging, Jim chopped up some onion for the beans and it was the crowning touch.
It was after the beans that Diane went to the bedroom for her nap. In her defense, she got up with a headache, and a nap was just what she needed. I had a bit of a headache, too, and we agreed that it’s probably because the weather is changing. Tomorrow will probably be out last day of sunshine until next April because the rain is coming. That’s good because that will translate into snow for the mountains which are painfully bare at this time.
Maryssa left for softball practice, in Boise, at 5:30pm with a end time at 7:00pm. That was critical to know because in lieu of supper we all decided go to a ‘U Swirl’ yogurt joint when Maryssa was done. She predicted 7:30pm but didn’t call until almost 8:00pm. We were starving.
U Swirl is a custom frozen yogurt place like non other. It has 18 different flavors, 40-50 kinds of topping, and a little bin of waffle cone remnants that might have been reclaimed from the floor from dropped cones. I know for sure that they shatter when dropped more than 3 feet. All of this for 39 cents a pound. For the seven of us it cost $30 to fill our little buckets. I had 3 different flavors, Maryssa had 8. I made the mistake of putting hot fudge on mine knowing it was going to hurt my head. I didn’t care. It just tastes so good. An added benefit, in addition to the headache, is a stomach ache. Nice. Add that to my hip ache, the ringing in my ears, dry eyes, puffy left foot, and other stuff, I’m just a mess. I’ll probably come up with diarrhea tonight.
Hopefully I’ll wake up.
We arrived in Nampa around 4:30, I think. It may have been 3:30. It’s a topic for discussion because one of us has remained on Pacific time since leaving home on September 23rd. Transiting through Arizona compounded the problem because they don’t change their clocks which I think is a stellar idea. Then we went straight north to Utah and the time changed on our phones, but not on one of our wrist watches, or in the car. It really doesn’t matter since we’ll soon be back on Pacific time, but it causes confusion for one of us having to deal with the difference, explaining time and again that it’s not really noon, for instance, but one o’clock.
Our brief visit to Hill AFB was really nice. We didn’t go by the exchange to make those unnecessary purchases I mentioned, but we did go by the gas station to fill up, and Burger King for a warm sandwich. I also got orange juice and Diane got a huge cup of really hot, really bad coffee. She asked that they put four sugars in it, but I bet they forgot. Fortunately, we have those kind of supplies for emergencies, which this was, and I poured a bunch in and it didn’t do much good. Before doing that, however, she told me to put some in my travel mug but I used hers instead because mine was moldy and didn’t smell nice. Diane had to roll down her window. In my half, I poured five (5) of those little creamers and it did no good. It was a total waste of creamers, but I drank it anyway, just because. If only we could have found a Starbucks in a timely manner. By the time they appeared on our radar it was too late because we were almost to our destination.
Our average speed for the trip, including the 2 hours I drove (yea!), was 72.8 mph with two stops – one to pee and one to reload our bladders. So we made good time.
Nothing significant happened other than the fact that we were happy to arrive safely in Idaho where drivers are more sane. I don’t think anyone from Utah followed us across the state line so think we’re going to remain safe for a while longer.
When we arrived, Jim met us at the front door in his pajamas which indicated, to me, that it was time for bed. I don’t know why he bothered with them because he generally sleeps in his TV chair wearing what ever he has on at the moment. But he did. They are festive blue ones. He wore them the entire evening, even at dinner.
Before dinner, Steffani and Maryssa arrived to visit. Maryssa was a little punch drunk from lack of sleep (homework, she said) and went to work on current homework, laying on the floor, on her stomach, eating cookies and drinking a big glass of milk. It was interesting and caused me to wonder if I could do that without spilling it all over myself. I don’t think I my neck would bend back far enough to get anything in my mouth. But that’s to be expected, I suppose, since I’m way beyond 16, unlike her.
Bob arrived from his dentist shortly thereafter, then we all sat down for a pot roast dinner. It was awesome. The only problem was when Jim put a glass of water in front of my plate right where I was about to point, and I didn’t see it. I’m sure he’s the one who did it because I have no memory of picking it up before. I could’ve, I suppose, but I will always wonder. The result was that I hit it dead center and dumped all but about 1.5 swallows all over the table. Thankfully Donna had a table cloth on the table which soaked up most of it but an auxiliary towel was required to mop up the remainder. Quick action on everyones part kept it out of Steffani’s lap. Diane, of course, was mortified, as well she should have been, but everyone else seemed to take it well.
Spilling the water kinda ended the meal, so we ate cake, then everyone participated in completing Maryssa’s homework. It was a good exercise for all of us. It was all about medical terms. None of my answers were used.
After visiting for a short time Jim fell asleep in his chair and all the sudden it was time for bed. So that’s where I am at the moment. Diane sequestered herself in another bedroom and locked the door so I perceived that I was to use the other one. Which I’m doing.
Tomorrow, Jim wants to get up at some outlandish hour and do “stuff” so that’s what we’ll do. Now I must sleep.
Today Diane drove a marathon from Kanab to Hill AFB near Ogden. It was about a 380 mile stint part of which was documented in my previous entry titled ‘Escape From Kanab‘. That was done on my iPad, on the fly, and the connection was tenuous so it failed to upload. I just discovered that and added it. So, this is my third entry for the day and I’m going to make it a short one.
After getting our coffee in Cedar City things mellowed out nicely. Diane was happy, I was happy, and it just got better when the speed limit went to 80 mph. Diane let out a little shriek of happiness that startled me, just before she pumped the cruise control up to match the sign.
At this point it’s important that you know Utah drivers are about the worst we’ve ever encountered. Anywhere. Considering all the traveling we’ve done over the years, I think we’re qualified to pass judgement. Okay, maybe not pass judgement. How about criticize and share opinions? That’s better. It’s probably not a good idea to pass judgement on anyone in Utah since there is a concentration of Mormons in the area and we’re not entirely sure what kind of punishment they would impose for that kind of infraction. So, it’s just opinions, based on personal observation during the many times we’ve been in Utah. In general, most of them are pretty good, but those who are bad, in my opinion, are terrible and dangerous. It’s evident the bad drivers have attitudes. Bad ones. Consequently, they take a lot of chances. At 80 mph what they do, in my opinion, is pretty much insane. In my opinion.
In spite of it all, we managed to make it safely to Hill AFB, our goal for the day. I called first thing this morning to make a reservation at their on base lodging. The room(s) we were given are absolutely incredible. It’s a two room suite which allowed Diane to watch Dancing With The Stars in the bedroom while I watched recaps of all the Pac-12 games on ESPN in the living room. It’s also got free wi-fi which we are taking full advantage of by connecting five devices. We couldn’t use them right away, however, because they all needed charging. While that was going on we walked over to Burger King (yes, it’s on base), then on to the base Exchange for a look see at what they might have that other Exchanges don’t. It’s evident, after close scrutiny, that all base Exchanges, for all bases, Navy and Air Force, use the shame shopping list to stock their shelves. And, the prices are pretty much the same at all of them.
The walk we took to visit Burger King and the Exchange covered about 2 miles by my estimation. It was a long ways. But, the air was clear and comfortable, and we needed the walk. Walking was also a deterrent for buying things we didn’t need which is always a danger when we drive. We’ll just drop by there tomorrow morning on our way to Nampa and pick up some things we need.
We finally escaped the sedating effect of Kanab at either 8 or 9 this morning. We’re not sure which is true because Waze took us back to Arizona, instead of North, when I programed her for Hill AFB in Ogden, Utah. So we circled around a bit, switching back and forth between Pacific and Mountain time. Very confusing and made me blink a lot.
Ultimately, however, things leveled out, I became more aware of my surroundings. I suspect the reason for that is because the landscape began to attain a tinge of green. The change was so subtle that it was almost like an illusion. By the time we made it to Hurricane, Utah there were actually trees and the telephone signal gained a bunch of bars, becoming a very solid 4G presence. All of our eletronical devices became happy clams. Once again we could communicate.
Sadly, about 20 miles before that happened, I called brother Jim seeking permission to transit the Utah/Idaho border at some point tomorrow. He wanted a specific time but I couldn’t comply, not knowing what tomorrow might bring. Then, as luck would have it, the signal was either lost or Jim hung up. Either way the all was terminated. He was at Burger King participating in his Tuesday Coffee Clash so I suspect he hung up. So, we are in jeopardy of violating some sort of idahoian law tomorrow the punishment for which we do not know. It could be bad.
When we escaped from Kanab we began a quest to find a Starbucks so we could obtain invigorating refreshment. It quickly became apparent that Utah doesn’t allow these popular stores inside their city limits, only on freeways, and in the wrong direction. Consequently, the only caffeine we’ve had today was from the pump pot at the hotel. Diane said it wasn’t bad, but 50% of us didn’t agree. Perhaps when reach the boundaries of a larger metropolis there will be solace in the form of a Venti White Chocolate Mocha No Whip (VWCMNW).
Shortly before we got to Hurricane, an old guy on a Harley made a dedicated attempt to demonstrate how the gene pool is maintained in a manner that only allows relatively intelligent folks to breed. We were on a two lane road and he chose to pass when some very large vehicles were coming our direction at a combined closing speed of 120 mph. Had Diane moved a couple of inches to the left there would have been some serious skid marks on the pavement as he didn’t leave his lane and barely missed the front bumper when he chose to position himself in our lane. Exciting.
Glory Hallelujah!! Cedar City, Utah has a Starbucks. We’re stopping and I’m done here.
This is just a quick update to share a few pictures that I was unable to upload while on the freeway because Diane was driving too fast.
First, for Ruth, proof that her family had something to do with the formation of the Grand Canyon. Apparently the Mather’s’ve been around for a while.
And here’s what things look like at the rim near Mather Point … quite dramatic
This one is just to prove we were there so no one can accuse me of fabricating like they sometimes do. This could, of course, be a really old picture but you will never ever know.
I really didn’t realize that Diane was so much shorter than me. Interesting.
The next few pictures are ones I snapped out of the passenger window as we sailed up the highway. I was fascinated by the colors and geology of the hills we passed. I really have a hard time calling these hills because they’re so sharp. Hills have round tops, not sharp ones.
This last picture kinda says it all and is an Arizona statement of the obvious.
In case you can’t read the sign, it states “Watch for Rocks”.
We left Mesa, Arizona yesterday around 2-ish and arrived in Flagstaff shortly thereafter. It is, after all, only about 180 miles away. For Diane, that’s a walk in the park and only took 3 hours. So, we arrived around 5-ish.
Using Siri, I contacted the Drury Hotel on the way and secured a room. We don’t often stay in hotels so this was different for us. But, a room is a room is a room and that’s what we got. A room. A pretty nice one. What made it even better was the free evening food and free breakfast. Ok, I know it’s not really free, but it’s not a line item on the bill, so technically it was all free. Not that I really think you care, but I ate wienies last night, biscuits and gravy this morning.
Now I’m bummed. Right here I attempted to add a photo of my wienies, but the internet we have at our current address is incredibly slow. So, you’ll just have to visualize them. And, I won’t attempt to add any others.
Today was a long one because from Flagstaff we went to the Southern Rim of the Grand Canyon. We spent two hours there, mingling with 30-40,000 of our friends from all over the world. Really … three out of four people were speaking a foreign language. Perhaps if I’d worn my hearing aid …
The canyon was beautiful and breathtaking as we knew it would be. But, the sun was a little off and things were a bit hazy so it detracted a little bit. That’s why we only spent 2 hours there, then we headed to the East Entrance on Highway 64 to Highway 89 and headed north to Page, Arizona. We had initially thought we would stay the night in Page but we arrived too early. So we decided to just get a Starbucks and continue one. But, we couldn’t find it so we got gas for the car instead and continued on.
The new goal became Kanab, Utah. Until I checked the map, I’d never heard of Kanab. It sounds like something you’d eat at a BBQ with toothpicks. The scenery on the way, however, just blew us away and chased all thoughts of toothpick food from our minds.
After exiting the Eastern Entrance, we crossed the Little Colorado and the mountains turned red with incredible stripes of lighter colored rock. The closer we got to Utah the darker the color and when we crossed the border all the mountains turned gray. I took a gazillion pictures which I’ll have to share later. I wish I could now because I’ll probably forget.
Kanab … what can I say? It’s smack dab in the middle of an incredible array of natural wonders like Zion, Bryce, The Grand Canyon, the red mountains, and I’m pretty positive there are some nasty snakes out there beyond the freeways. Kanab has also been the location for numerous movies over the years, including the recent John Carter. I know that’s true because I read it in a newspaper while I was waiting for dinner at Pizza Hut.
It’s dark now, Dancing With The Stars is over, and Hawaii Five-0 is starting so I need to quit.
Tomorrow we’re hoping to reach the vicinity of Salt Lake City, then it’s on to Nampa, Idaho. On the way I’ll call Jim to see if it’s OK to stop by for a while.
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Temporary Sanity ... 