Last rides of the year...

 

Rides? Plural?  Yep.  I got out on the e-bike and the Vespa this morning.  The wind was blowing in the upper teens when I got up this morning, predicted to be 20 to 30 mph before noon... seems like a good time to get out and enjoy "the last rides of the year.'

Funny how we put those descriptors as we close out a year: This will be the last time I'll _______; fill in the blank.  Odds are pretty good we'll be doing all those things again, often starting tomorrow.  With the predicted wind and a cold front predicted to blow in tomorrow night, it will probably be a while before I get out on either of my two-wheel conveyances in the next couple days.

I enjoyed both rides.  The e-bike is my morning ride around our island - it's for the exercise.  Getting out on the Vespa is because I need to ride.  Need.  It satisfies something deep inside me.  No, I'm not going to get philosophical or ethereal... I can't really explain it myself - I just need to ride.  Regularly.  The sensations, the feel of the wind, the smells.  Plus, no one cut me off in traffic today.  ;-)

File photo.

You know those eye tests?

 

The color acuity ones where you see "a number" within the circle?  Yeah, I took one of those today...

 OMG - I need a new motorcycle!  LOL

Another pleasant day in the Tropical Tip - I took Joan's bike out for a ride.  It was a good test of the new earplugs, and they work great.  Her Xmax sits me a bit more "in the wind" than the position on my Vespa.  The run across the causeway is a good test for noise in the helmet... and those new molded earplugs pass that test better than anything else I've tried.  Also, her bike is a fun ride!

We spent some time formulating our plan for the trip north to get the motorhome.  No, we haven't heard anything from Winnebago - they're closed until the 3rd of January.  And when I say "we," I mean that Joan was looking at routing, timing, mileage.  She presented the plan to me and I gave her that "Huh?" face... then went for a bicycle ride to digest the plan.  More on that as it happens.  And, when it happens.  First we need to know that they've put it back together.

Huh?

 

Not a sense of dumbfoundedness... rather: "I beg your pardon, I didn't hear that."

I seem to be collecting an assortment of hearing protection devices; well, all kinds of ear plugs.  After 50+ years of riding motorcycles (and scooters) and playing rock 'n roll, my hearing is still in pretty good shape.  Example: I can hear when Joan grumbles at me under her breath.  In the next room.  ;-)

I have tried all kinds of ear plugs to wear when riding.  The cheap foam ones.  The not so cheap foam ones.  Silicone plugs that look like 3 little umbrellas.  Most recently, I have been using my Apple Airpod Pro earbuds, with active noise cancelling - those do the best job so far.

Last week, I saw some "mold your own" ear plugs advertised on a shooting site: Radians, Custom Molded Earplugs.  They get good reviews on Amazon; less expensive than some of the silicone styles I've bought that are marketed to riders.  With these, you get two little containers of material; you divide each material in two, then mash them together until it is a solid color.  Shove that in your ears and don't talk or eat for 15 minutes while it sets up.  Peel it out of your ears, let it cure another 3 hours, and you have custom molded ear plugs...

While they are in your ears, curing, they make crackly noises - the plastic blend is out-gassing.  It reminds me a bit of the brine shrimp chomping on stuff on the bottom of Wild Blue when we were in the berth at night.

I left them in for about 15 minutes then pulled them out of my ears - nice snug fit.  After letting them cure, it was time for a test run.  It took a couple tries to fit them in - that will get better with some experience, 'cause when you have them lined up properly, they slide in like a key in a lock.  You definitely notice the difference with them in.  Out on the scoot - they fit great under the helmet.  At speed over the causeway, they were... blissfully quiet!  Yes, even quieter than the Airpod Pro earbuds.  Next time out, I'll try them with my Nolan helmet with the communicators in it to see if I can adjust the volume on that so I can hear Joan talking to me.  At this point, I am very pleased with how these work.

Joan had gone to the store before I went out on the scoot - she said, "Be careful out there - there's a lot of traffic."  No joke - a lot of the condos and hotels on the island require a 3-day minimum stay around the holidays, so I think we are at the "crossover" between Christmas visitors and New Year's partiers.  Plenty of cars and golf carts out and about; in the time I was out, there were 4 different vehicles that either cut in close in front of me, or pulled out from a side street too close in front of me.  And you can't just flip 'em off like in the good ol' days - too many of them are crazy, with a capital CRA.

Dumbass drivers aside, it was a good ride.  The wind is down a bit from the previous few days; not the predicted 12 mph, but not blowing like stink.  Glorious sunshine.  A light chop on the bay, but there were plenty of excursion boats out and the ones I saw looked plenty full.

When I got home, there was the usual PSA (Public Service Announcement) regarding shooting guns in the air on New Year's Eve: "Remember what goes up must come down - do NOT shoot guns in the air on New Year's Eve.  Let's keep the celebration safe for everyone."  It's not a joke - every year in memory, someone gets hit by "celebratory" gunfire here in the Rio Grande Valley.  They also warn about fireworks: many communities (ours included) do not allow fireworks... apparently they haven't told all those temporary fireworks stands that are open right now.  Life in deep south Texas.

Serenading...

 

Joan and Rufus like their morning concert.  It doesn't always work out, but Joan had put in a request last night, giving me a list of three things I needed to do this morning: take the scoot out for a test ride with the OEM seat on it, wash the Equinox (apparently a flock of birds had used it for a target run), play some music.  If I got anything else done, that would be a bonus.

I got out early on the scoot to run it at speed across the causeway and back.  I do sit just a bit higher on this seat, but the wind was already blowing at 17 and gusting higher, so it was hard to tell if it was much different.  I have to say that the Shuberth helmet and the Airpod Pro earbuds do a great job of taming the wind noise.

Once back home, I went to work on getting the car washed.  I am absolutely convince that paint manufacturers should use bird shit and bug guts in their paint formulas: that stuff sticks like crazy.  It took a lot of elbow grease to get the car looking spiffy again.

Back inside and on with the Living Room Concert Series.  I have mentioned before about how much Rufus likes me to sing and play for him.  I sat down in one of the recliners, with my smallest Emerald (the X7), and he hopped up into my lap for a "better than front row" experience...

 That is a happy furry boy.  Good timing... since he was feeling mellow, Joan suggested that this would be a good time to trim his nails.  She got out his "sling," we put him in it, I held him up by the handles, and Joan used the new nail grinder to blunt his claws.  He only got riled once, and when he figured out that all the thrashing didn't get him anywhere, he just let his Momma do her thing.  The boy is big and strong - if he doesn't want to be held, you will get shredded trying.  This sling works pretty decent; this is only our second time using it, and Joan was able to get all 4 paws trimmed.  And then Rufus got a nice treat.

From there, it was off to do some running: we had a package to pick up at the Post Office, prescriptions to get at Walgreens, and then some groceries at Wally World.  You've heard "there is a lot of that going around"... not talking about Covid, I'm referring to stupid.  There is no vaccine for stupid.  Joan was 5th in line at the Post Office, and it took a while; the guy in front of her was pretty sure he had "counterfeit stamps."  We were third in line at the Walgreens drive-up, and it took even longer; but the guy right in front of us, after waiting in line, just drove on through without getting anything - no, I don't know why.

And then onto Wally World.  You can tell when people are dressed for the beach at Walmart, even if they are wearing a cover-up.  The wind is blowing 25, gusting to 35... going to the beach today will be like sitting in a sand-blaster.  So, with nothing else to do, they were clogging up the aisles in Wally World.  This made the "Roller Derby experience" from a few days ago look like child's play... instead of shopping carts at a diagonal in the aisles, today it was shopping carts perpendicular to the aisles - it looked like a police road block, only with stupid people instead of law enforcement.  Three kids on one of the handicapped motorized shopping carts nearly ran us down as they came out of a side aisle without looking (they all looked pretty healthy - just stupid).  Looking around at the "unique" assortment of people, I was wishing I had brought a Walmart Bingo Card today - I could have gotten a black-out for sure!

I did hear one clever woman who was on her cell phone, and whose shopping cart was not blocking the aisle (one in a row!): "I have to go now, I have ice cream in the cart."  No, there was no ice cream in her cart.  Of course, this excuse to get off the phone will only work if you aren't heading home to the person who was on the phone - they'll be expecting ice cream.  ;-)

Where the Queen sits...

 

Another quip from my dear ol' departed Mother.  If I were to ever ask, "Where should I sit?" her reply was always: "Where the Queen sits - on your ass."  My Irish family upbringing.  ;-)

This isn't just about "where to sit," but also "where is my seat?"  That's seat as in: the original Vespa seat for my scooter.  When I asked Joan, I found out the original seat was in our storage unit.  I like the Corbin seat I have, but I was feeling I might try a change.  Well, back to the original seat.  The Corbin seat is a bit wider at the nose (front of the seat) and more firm; I'm OK with firm.  Also, with the "bomber jacket brown" leather, the Corbin is better looking (to my eye) - it sets the Vespa apart.  The original seat allows me to slide back a bit further, and speaking of sliding: the fabric on the seat is "grippier" than the Corbin.  Not sure if that is a plus or a minus; I know Joan does not like the slipperier feel of the leather on the Corbin.

Fortunately, it is a relatively straight forward bolt on/bolt off to change the seats.  Well, except there is a bit of aligning that needs to be finessed so that it latches properly.  After mounting up the original seat today, it took me several tries to get the alignment right for the seat to latch... and then it wouldn't unlatch.  Well, that is going to be an inconvenience.  The seat opens with a button you push on the dash - I couldn't push that button and pry up with both hands, so I had to ask Joan to come out and push the button while I pulled.  Yeah, that worked.

I bit more adjusting on the alignment and all is good.  I took the scoot for a very short test ride up our street.  I'll have to give a longer, higher speed test before deciding which seat to stay with.  This original seat sits me up just a bit (maybe 3/4") higher, and at speed, that may be enough to induce noise into my helmet.  I'll give it a good run tomorrow or Wednesday.

In the meantime, a couple photos of the original seat re-installed...

I know where I'll be sitting... I don't recall any photos of the Queen riding a Vespa.  ;-)

It's a Date...

 

No, Joan still doesn't let me date.

One of our little "gifts" to each other the last couple years is a new Rufus calendar.  It's a small desk calendar that is easy to take along in the coach or have on a shelf here at the house... and it shows off different images of our big furry boy.

 The cover...

 

The image on the left is how Rufus looked the day we adopted him; the boy was in serious need of being rescued.  The image on the right is how he looks currently.  Yes, that is the same cat.  We watched him blossom.

Inside the calendar...

A month at a glance, each featuring one of our favorite photos of Ruf.

We picked it up today at Walgreens in Harlingen.  They could have mailed it to us, but I was looking for an outing.  It is another windy day (gusts to 30 mph) - if you don't get out early to do things like ride a bicycle or go for a scooter ride, afternoon isn't the time to "go outside to play."  But, it works fine for taking the car for lunch, picking up a calendar, and a stop at the nearly empty storage unit.  Warm (82º when we were in Harlingen) and sunny, but windy.  Still beats cold, snowy, and windy.

A Christmas Ride...

 

72º at 8:30; I decide to swap out my usual bicycle ride for some time on the Vespa.  It is quiet in the neighborhood as I get the scoot out and gear up.  The wind is already 17mph and building.  It is gusty riding across the causeway.

Nice to be out in the breeze on Christmas morning.  I stopped at Jim's Pier on the island to take a couple photos...

Enjoying the riding, I stopped at the Dolphin Docks on the way home for another shot...

One of the definite pluses of living in the Tropical Tip: year 'round riding.  Well, summer when it's hot and humid can be a bit sticky.

All I want for Christmas is the front fender I ordered in July.  ;-)  Oh, and world peace.  And all the little children of the world to hold hands and sing in harmony.*

* Steve Martin bit from Saturday Night Live.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve...

 

Up and at it early on my bike this morning, to get a ride in before the wind kicks up; the weasels are predicting winds 20 to 25 gusting to 30.  But, it is warm and sunny, and that beats the heck out of slogging through cold and snow.

Plus, today gives me the opportunity to post a couple of my favorite images...

 

Merry Christmas!

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We got to do our Facetime visit with Steph and Dan this evening - it really is better than a phone call, 'cause you can see the faces... and move the phone around so we can all see cats, too!  Bonus.

Nap time...

 

When we got home from our trip into Harlingen today, I laid down on the couch... you know, to "rest my eyes."  Rufus likes to join me.  Joan shot this series while I slept...

 Rufus was napping on the back of the couch (above).  A while later, he came down to see if I thought it was time to give him a treat...

"Dad - do you think I should have a treat," he said quietly (above).  "Dad?  Dad?  DAD - DO YOU THINK I SHOULD HAVE A TREAT?  NOW?"

Apparently, I slept through that.  When it was clear that I wasn't going to get right up...

"Oh, man, I never get a treat when I want one."  For the record, he gets regular treats, because... he's such a good boy.

;-)

Roller Derby!

 

 "You got Joan a new gig at the Roller Derby rink?"  Thanks for asking... but, no.

Today, we made a trek into the big city.  Well, the bigger than our small town.  Harlingen.  There were some things we needed at the HEB and Sam's Club, and we have been putting it off, waiting for my digestion system to feel up to being away from a bathroom.  Today was that day.

"There's a Roller Derby league in Harlingen?"  Cool your jets, I'm trying to tell a story here.  And, no, there isn't a Roller Derby league in Harlingen.  Anything that sells food or gasoline is packed today - people gearing up for having big meals for the holiday and gassing up their cars/trucks to go over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house.

Every place we went to was packed.  "What does that have to do with Roller Derby?" you ask.  I'm getting there.  Shopping carts were full in HEB; at some point, when you can't get any more in the cart, apparently you are required to just clog up the aisles.  Parking your cart diagonally in the middle of the aisle to allow the fewest amount of people to get by.  Just like what blockers do on a Roller Derby team; there are 5 members on a team: 1 jammer, 1 pivot, and 3 blockers.  The goal of the blockers is to not allow the jammer from the opposing team to get past them.

"Golly, Jim, you know a lot about Roller Derby," you say.  That is true.  There is a story that Joan and I met in a strip club.  I'll get back to that.  She and her Roller Derby team came into the strip club where I was a featured performer.  As the jammer on the team, she can be quite a powerhouse - there is a rumor that she put a $1 bill in my g-string and asked for change... I can neither confirm nor deny that account.  I am apparently digressing once again... but, it is the holiday season and I like to entertain the youngsters with these "When I was your age..." stories. *

So... the blockers.  Both HEB and Sam's were full of 'em.  I still have some of my "tease and dodge" skills from the male exotic dancing, and I was able to fake and move around most of the blockers.  Sometimes, I was able to keep up with Joan as she tossed stuff into our cart.  What I am getting at: a lot of damn people getting in the way.

That said, we managed to get through HEB and Sam's, gas up the Equinox (gas prices are slowly dropping), and go to Chick-fil-A in less than 4 hours.  And that includes an hour there and an hour back.  Our skills from back in the day still come in handy occasionally.

We are stocked up enough that we should be able to go for a week, eating in holiday style, and not have to venture out again until after people have slogged through the After Christmas sales.

--------

* Some of the tales in this post may be along the line between totally made up and almost nearly true.

Scootin' about...

 

I have been feeling kinda lousy, not getting too far away from a bathroom.  Still not "normal," (insert your own joke here), but feeling the need to get out on the scoot for an hour or so.  Perfect day for it: 73º, sunny, light breeze.  A good ride.

I was surprised that there weren't huge crowds on the island; cars in the parking lots of most of the restaurants, but not packed.  Christmas is generally busy with families on the island; maybe they will be showing up in the next day or two, or maybe this Omicron variant of Covid has people re-thinking getting together?

We had already decided that we'd do Christmas with Steph and Dan via Facetime this year and each of us stay home.  We're still planning to head to Arizona next month... depending on how things progress with Winnebago.  It will be another quiet Christmas for us.

The weather weasels are calling for warm and windy on the 24th and 25th.  

 

A call from our friends at Winnebago...

 

This morning.  No, the coach isn't done; this is an update.  Due to some strong windy weather in Forest City, there is a delay - they couldn't move the new roof structure from the manufacturing plant to the repair facility when they planned, so it set the completion date back.  There seems to be some question as to whether they do or do not have the hood and fenders in their hands... last week, I was told they do have them, today the guy giving me the update couldn't say for sure.

Yes, I still have faith in them.  Also, the plan when I scheduled this was they wouldn't be closed between Christmas and New Years; that also changed.  Originally, they thought the repairs would be done right after Christmas.  That moved to January 5th.  Now, they are estimating January 10th.

I get it - this is a big undertaking; more complicated than originally building it.  Our perspective: make it right... take whatever time it takes.  I've just asked for some advance notice so we can get ourselves north to Iowa.  I told Michael (our rep there) that we'd like to get there when the repairs are being completed so the motorhome doesn't have to set out.  He said they'd work with us to keep it inside until we get there.  I feel they are working with us.

The next update will be after the 1st of the year.

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The Winter Solstice...

Often called "the shortest day of the year"... a misnomer, since the day is still 24 hours.  It is the day with the least amount of daylight and most amount of darkness, though.  So, yeah, the longest night of the year.  On the bright side, from here on, we pick up more daylight each day.

A norther blew in the last few days, but it is in the upper 60s today.  The forecast for Christmas Eve (day) is 78º and sunny;  Christmas Day: 79º and sunny.  My idea of lovely holiday weather.

Cocooning...

 

Our weather has been crappy the last two days.  That fits, 'cause I had been crappy, as well.  Today was a definite improvement... for my bowels and the weather.  The gray skies went away, but it was still cold - the high today was 61º and still a cold north wind.

It has been a good time for cocooning, staying inside with the electric fireplace adding to the ambiance of the living room.  That, and a big furry cat on your lap...

 

The boy is good about "spreading the love around."

I got out for a walk this afternoon; yes, I got a whole half mile from the bathroom.  TMI, again?  Joan had gone to the store this afternoon and suggested I put on "something warm" to go outside.  A jacket and a stocking cap for this island boy.  I took Ruf out for a bit first, then did my own walk-about.  It felt good to be outside.  While some may question my use of the word "normal," I am on my way back to my normal.

Survey says...

 

If you said, "What the host of Family Feud says," you get 10 bonus points.  If you said, "Richard Dawson was the first host of that show, and there have been 4 other hosts before Steve Harvey," you get an additional 50 bonus points.

I was asked to participate in a survey.  It's a study being done by the Mayo Clinic, in conjunction with Cologuard... yes, the "crap in a box" people.  They ask a whole bunch of medical history and lifestyle questions.  It took about as long to read the consent form (you do read stuff like that, don't you?) - 10 pages long - as it did to fill out the survey (about 60 questions).

Apparently, "my time is valuable."  In return for giving them this information, I was rewarded with a book of stamps.  (approx value: $11.00)  To be fair, I would have given them this information for free, if it helps determine the usefulness of the crapping in a box testing.  A book of stamps... when is the last time you mailed something?  I'm guessing these modern medical researchers are familiar with e-mail or these new-fangled interwebs stuff.  ;-)

I was hoping for something more useful than stamps... like a buggy whip or a box of floppy disks or paper for a fax machine or a newspaper subscription.  Odds are pretty good that anyone born in this century has never heard of those things.

Full Cold Moon...

 

And, it's a "micromoon."  "What's a micromoon?" you ask.  Thanks for asking.  It is the opposite of a Supermoon, with this month's full moon being at its furthest point in its elliptical orbit around the Earth.  While it will appear smaller due to this apogee, it won't likely be apparent to the naked eye.  The Full Cold Moon should be self-explanitory.  Yeah, we are almost at the Winter Solstice.  It has also been called the Long Night Moon by the Mohican Indians, due to it rising near the solstice, the longest night of the year.

How it looked when I first checked it out...

A layer of clouds obscuring part of the moon (above).  A patient wait for the clouds to clear, and...

I cannot confirm that test runs are being carried out at the North Pole, although this image is being spread around...

;-)

People suck...

 

In case you hadn't heard, someone on Tiktok started a "shoot up your school on Friday the 17th" challenge.  That is just vile.  No doubt, someone thought they were being funny or controversial, but that is pure evil.  Unfortunately, there are stupid people out there who will think this is a thing. 

Think people wouldn't be affected by this "challenge"?  Today, in Steph's homeroom class, there were 10 students.  Out of 28.  Parents were keeping their kids home.  One Mother called Steph and said, "I expect that you will be extra vigilant today, if I let my kid come to school."

This is the last school day before their Christmas break.  More likely that someone started this challenge with the idea of "the day off."

Steph was explaining Tiktok to me: someone can post a challenge like this, and once it takes off, delete their initial post so they can't be tracked down.  That is seriously messed up.  I hope someone sues Tiktok to recover all the wasted man-hours... a wasted school day for the educators (you can't teach when nearly 2/3 of the class isn't there), and all the additional law enforcement that patrolled in and around schools across the country.

If you aren't outraged by this, you should be.  How would you feel about sending your kids to school with this situation?  How would you feel if someone posted this challenge for the place you work?

An earlier challenge was "get your teacher fired."  Yeah, if you have kids or grandkids, they are bombarded with this crap.  

It is no wonder that educators are leaving the field in record numbers.  If you think people are stupid now, imagine what they will be like when there's no one left to educate them.

I lucked out...

 

Sweetwater, one of my favorite places to buy music gear, is having a "24 Day Holiday Gear Giveaway," offering something new as a prize each of those 24 days.  I did not win the drawing today...

 Whew!

My idea of "perfect pitch" is still: when you throw an accordion into a dumpster and it lands on a banjo.  (rimshot)

:-)

Flexible...

 

Not talking about how my achy ol' back handles bending over.

I ride my bicycle almost every morning.  Not this morning.  I couldn't get too far away from the bathroom.  No, that's as much as I'm going to say about that.  You're welcome. 

By this afternoon, I was feeling up to a ride.  My ass was a bit tender... oh, sorry, I wasn't going to say anything.  78º, sunny, and breezy.  It felt good to be outside.  It felt good to be sitting on something besides a toile... opps, sorry.  I got my miles in.  Look at me being all spontaneous.  Sort of.  Now, I need a nap.

The saga continues...

 

The Progressive (insurance) person we are dealing with has had some concerns that the dollar amount of damage on our motorhome is going to put it in the "totaled" category.  It is closing in on about $5k within that totaled number.  I made a call to Winnebago to see how they were coming on the repair and if they have run into any unseen damage.  The good news: the amount of unseen damage is minimal.  The interesting news: they already have the repairs about 60% done!  That last 40% is going to take longer because it is paint and the body work on the cab... yes, the hood and fenders that were back-ordered from Ford are in.  Our Winnebago contact thinks they are going to be "pretty close" to that 2 week time estimate.  The other news (not calling it bad): when I first scheduled this repair, I was told that the Winnebago Factory Customer Service would be open between Christmas and New Years... that has now changed.  So, it looks like it will be after the first of the year before we can head back to the frozen northland to retrieve our repaired coach... unless they have the work done ahead of their schedule.

I was told they put a couple extra people on this job.  Joan and I are both curious about how that roof replacement happens... it would have been interesting to see that process.  Or, maybe it's like: you don't want to know how the sausage is made.

Progress.

The last look at the coach before they took it away...

Live to Ride...

 

Ride to Eat.

There is a lot I missed when Steph and I were on our trek to the frozen northland: I missed my Honey; I missed my big furry boy (he is sitting on the back of my chair, looking over my shoulder, as I write this); I missed the warmth of the Tropical Tip; and I missed getting out on my scoot.

That last one must have been apparent, because this morning Joan said, "How would you like to take the scoots somewhere and go out for lunch?"  She didn't have to ask twice.

To avoid the lunch crowd, we tend to go out to eat in the "off hours" - today, we pulled up to Padre Island Brewing Company just before 2:00.  I was craving cheese curds and Joan reminded me of their fried curds when she suggested the lunch outing.

Getting off the scoots there...

Masked up and ready to go inside...

 Lunch was good (especially the cheese curds).  No I do not live on a steady diet of fried cheese curds - I get them maybe once a month... just happens to be one of my culinary favorites, so I mention it when I get to partake.

A lovely day: 79º this afternoon, sunny, a bit of breeze.  Really nice riding.

When we got home, after putting the scoots away, I changed into some shorts and got my little e-scooter out to run garbage.  Joan set the bag out by the front door; when I picked it up, something inside hissed at me!  What the heck?!  I picked it up again and it hissed at me again.  I had to see what it was... on closer inspection, I could see the nozzle of a Reddi-Whip can up against the side of the bag.  Yep, empty, but it still had some gas in it.  I was pretty sure Joan didn't put a snake in the garbage bag.  Well, mostly kinda sure.  ;-)

The lights...

 

Time once again for the Lighted Golf Cart Parade here on our island.  While I waited for the carts to come down our street, I took this photo with the ShiftCam on the iPhone of our canal...

 

Probably would have shown more of the lights if I had taken it from up on our deck, but I was down on the dock.  Not super crisp, but that is the limitation of the iPhone as a camera, not the ShiftCam grip.

And then, as the golf carts came down our street...

Friends Mike and MJ in their cart...

Dressed in their Denver Broncos attire.  The parade continues...

People in the carts were full of Christmas spirit, lots of shouts of "Merry Christmas!" back and forth.  Well, except for the guy at the back of the pack who was pissy because the non-electric cart in front of him was "blowing stinky exhaust everywhere."  I guess every parade needs a Grinch.  ;-)

As with the photo of the canal, these aren't the sharpest due to using my phone, but they are a memory.  It's always fun to see how people decorate their carts.

72º as they went by just before 7:00... that's my idea of Christmas weather!

 

How low can you go?

 

Limbo?  Not with these creaky old joints.

I've been looking into some kinds of hand grip to use with my phone when using it as a camera.  The iPhone does a decent job with photographs, but it is not ergonomic like a dedicated camera.  If all you're doing is taking a photo at eye level and the subject isn't moving, the phone alone does a fine job.  But, if you want to get lower to the ground, as in getting a photo of Rufus at his level, it is cumbersome to hold the camera, compose the shot, and click the shutter button on the screen.  I was looking for something that would allow me to use the phone/camera with one hand, from any angle, and be able to easily make the exposure.

Enter the ShiftCam.  This thing attaches to the phone, giving you a right hand grip with a shutter release button in the place where you'd find it on a typical DSLR (right under your index finger).  It uses blue tooth to connect to the phone for the shutter release.  It has internal batteries that also can charge your phone wirelessly while you're shooting.  You can flip it up on the grip and it becomes a hands-free stand for your phone (vertical or horizontal), as well as a wireless charger.

The image above is from the front, with the grip to the left side of the image and you can see the phone sticking out on the right side.  It can be rotated to take photos horizontally or vertically.  Much easier to hold and make the exposure with one hand.

I took a photo with it while out for the evening walk with Rufus...

Nice low angle (at Rufus's eye level) that was easy to shoot with one hand, while holding his leash with the other.  I think I am going to like this gadget.  I find myself using my phone more often than my other still cameras for getting a quick photo.  This attachment isn't light weight, but it feels pretty sturdy.  Certainly not something that I'll carry around all the time, but when I know I'll be using the phone for photos, I think it will be handy.

https://shiftcam.com/

And, that's a wrap...

 

Not wrapping Christmas presents.  We were up really early again - not to make miles with the motorhome, but to get to the airport.  The Mason City, Iowa, airport.  Small, as in: one gate.  The lady at the counter is also the person who checks your boarding pass at the gate, and tags your bags for gate check, and shovels the snow away from the door out the gate leading to the plane.

Clearing security was my first time with the titanium hip - yep it sets off the metal detector.  The TSA fellow doesn't really care if I have a card from the doctor that explains why I'm setting it off.  I get to have the detailed pat down.  He told me it was going to take "4 minutes" for the pat down, and he used every second of that.  I can't say for sure, but I think we're dating.

Thanks to yesterday's flight getting cancelled because of the snow, this Regional Jet was packed.  It was a lot of bodies in that small "boarding area," and a full plane.  Steph and I were able to take this first leg of our flights together to Chicago...

As we climbed in altitude, we could see the first sun rays of the day...

Our flights out of Chicago were at nearly the same time, and about 8 gates apart - it gave us the opportunity to have breakfast together and get our last hugs in before we parted company...

It was truly a treat to be able to spend this week with my girl.  It made this trip an adventure instead of an ordeal.  It gave us the chance to talk about about life without the rush of normal life getting in the way.  I am grateful to have had this time together.

From Chicago, she headed to Denver, then Phoenix; I went to Houston, then Harlingen (in the Rio Grade Valley).  My trek from Gate C10 to B21 gave me my steps for the day; carrying my computer bag and backpack, I felt a bit like a pack mule by the time I got to my gate... with 10 minutes to spare.

Leaving Houston, we flew over the Houston Ship Channel on the way south...

It was solid overcast when Joan picked me up at the Harlingen Airport (Valley International Airport) - she is even prettier than I remembered, and I was happy to take her up on the offer for her to drive home.  I went through three seasons today: from bitter cold/snow in north central Iowa to sunshine in Houston, to shirt sleeve weather in the Tropical Tip.

At home, Joan had a pork roast waiting for us; nice home-cooked meal.  Yes, Rufus seemed happy to see me, although he was most interested in the fact that I made it back home just in time to give him his 5:00 meal.  When he was done eating, I took him for a walk on his leash.  He is a good boy.

Nice to be back home.  Good to see these faces...

This is the first I've had to fly anywhere since my Mother had a stroke and passed away 10 years ago.  The planes were packed; the terminals were packed; lines to board; the seats in the planes seem smaller and closer together than I remembered.

There are times that flying is the most expeditious way to get somewhere, but it is certainly no longer my preferred way to travel.  It is good to be back home.  I feel for my kid, since she is back to work early tomorrow... I may take the day as a "slack day"... because I can.  

I need to get out more...

 

We were in a hotel last night when we got the texts that the flight was cancelled.  We are rebooked for another flight tomorrow morning (one flight out each day at this small airport).  So, we are here for another day, but it was no problem getting the room for another night.  I remember years ago sleeping on the cold floor of an armory when the roads were closed while we were heading for a ski area.  This is better.

We slept in this morning until nearly 8:00 - it has been a week of very early mornings (heading out in the motorhome at 0:dark-thirty most days.  The hotel has a hot breakfast, DIY style; a decent offering of scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits & gravy, cold cereal, and something I've never seen before: a pancake maker.  You wave your hand in front of this thing, it pours out some batter that runs on a little conveyor belt that gets cooked on both sides, and then pops out onto your plate at the end.  I was fascinated by the process and apparently not the only one: everyone in the breakfast room had to come over and make two little pancakes (that's how they come out) to watch it do its thing.  As a nod to the former television show Hee-Haw: "Hooowheeee!"

 

I don't think we'll be going anywhere today, so I may have to walk laps within the hotel.  The snow has stopped, but it is damn cold out there, and I didn't have room in my backpack to bring my hiking boots.  Looks like there must have been about 4" of the evil white crap out there this morning; my view from the 4th floor of the hotel...

 

So, not much to do today, but we are safe and warm, with a comfortable place to sleep; Steph and I are together, instead of getting stranded after we split up in Chicago.  One more day away from my Honey, the big furry boy, and the Tropical Tip.  Although, when I talked to Joan this morning, she said a "cold front" is coming in later today (high in the 50s) at home... I'll be dressed for it.  ;-)

Sitting here in the hotel room, I realize I have changed my way of traveling rather significantly over the years; we used to fly everywhere (whether our own plane or flying commercial), so hotel/motels and rental cars were a part of daily life.  This is the first time I've had to stay in a hotel in over 5 years; it has been a decade since I had to fly commercial.  I am spoiled by having my own stuff (like a bathroom, comfortable bed, kitchen, and the usual house-type amenities) in an RV or a capable boat.  The hotel room is nice, but there isn't a dinette-type table, although it does have a fridge and a microwave.  The bed is comfortable enough, but not as much as what we have in the motorhome or at home.  I am not looking forward to all the waiting in line and cramped space on the 3 different planes I'll be on to get home (2 of them are the smaller Regional Jets).  I am used to packing once (one big packing event for the motorhome) and then not having to schlep stuff in and out for as long as we're out.

I really appreciate our usual way of traveling.

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Well, we did get out.  To stave off the cabin fever, Steph and I ventured out to get some kind of lunch.  There was a Subway at a walkable distance Pilot Travel Center... but, it wasn't open.  A Mickey D's across a snow-packed 4 lane highway didn't look like fun.  It was colder than a Minnesota well digger's gizzard (27º but "feels like" 17º) so we opted for a hot dog for me, corn dog for Steph, then trek back to the hotel...

Yes, I have a five-head in that photo above... most people have a forehead, but the hood on my jacket was set back just a bit so I could zip it up higher to help with the cold and wind.  In case I haven't mentioned before, cold and snow SUX.  The restaurant at the hotel opens at 5:00, so that will be as far as we venture this evening.

We need to be up at 4:45 tomorrow morning to clean up and get the hotel shuttle to the airport for an early flight... assuming the plane makes it in tonight.  I am enjoying the time with my kid (and kicking her butt at Monopoly Deal, cards), but I think we are both looking forward to getting back to our routines.

Bye, Bye, Bye...

 

If you said, "The boy band NSYNC, 2000, and arguably their most popular song," you get 25 bonus points.   Today, it was time to say, "Bye, bye, bye," to the motorhome.  A high-5 between Stephanie and me when we walked away from it for the last time, for a while...

While we do wear masks when indoors at the Winnebago facility, these masks were to heat the air up a bit before breathing it in our lungs.  The snow hasn't hit, yet; I was happy to turn the coach over to them before it got covered in snow.

This is my new best friend Colton...

He is one of the techs that will be working on it.  Bless his heart, when I asked about how difficult a job it is to replace the roof, he said, "That is one of my favorite jobs - it isn't hard, but it does take the know-how."  He further set my mind at ease when he told me that everything in the roof will be replaced: meaning the padded ceiling panels and recessed lights (where water poured through in the worst of the hail storm) will all be replaced.  The roof will be built on their assembly line and be replaced as one big single unit.  It will be tested to assure it is water-tight, and road-tested to know it all went back together as it was originally.

I looked back at it one more time as Steph and I walked to the Winnebago Visitors Center...

Probably just me, but the gray day (typical before a snow storm) seemed appropriate.

We walked through the Visitor's Center; it is very nicely done, and shows the history of Winnebago Industries from the time they made that first little pull behind trailer to today.  Winnebago also owns some other brands you may be familiar with: Chris Craft boats and Newmar (another quality manufacturer of motorhomes).  It was interesting to take it all in, see a couple vintage RVs, and peruse a bunch of Winnebago branded merch, like: t-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, stadium blankets, etc, etc.  No, I didn't buy anything - we are traveling light for the way home: a roller bag and messenger-type bag for Steph, a back pack and a "murse" (man-purse, over the shoulder) for me.  No room to buy souvenirs.

And now, we have a couple hours to wait for the shuttle that is scheduled to pick us up at the Factory Service Center at 2:30 and take us to our hotel for the night.  I am hoping the flight that will get us out of here in the morning gets in this evening (yeah, one flight per day at this small airport); they are predicting up to 7" of snow to accumulate tonight... it may be an issue.

These gray days (I remember winters from my misspent youth in exotic Eye-Oh-Waa) just feel a bit gloomy.  It may be having to leave the coach behind.  Steph, ever the glass-half-full kinda gal said, "But, it's a happy time - you're getting your motorhome made like new again."  That chipper attitude can be annoying as hell.  ;-)

We got the coach here, and it held together.  A lot of angst on my part getting to this point.  Done!

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No Bye-Bye...

Steph and I both got the text at the same time: our flight out tomorrow morning is cancelled due to the flight in this evening (same aircraft) being cancelled due to the weather.  So, we will be spending another day here in the frozen northland.  Not sure what we'll do to entertain ourselves, but Steph and I are together and we aren't on the road in crappy weather.

No, we didn't fall off the face of the Earth...

 

It's been a busy couple of days with our trek north to get the coach to Winnebago.  Short story: we are currently parked in Winnebago Customer Service RV parking - plugged in, and we will turn over the coach to them tomorrow.

The longer story: when I last left off, we were in York, Nebraska.  It was an easy day's drive to my brother-in-law's house in Iowa.  We had a nice, but brief stay with him.  I don't have a brother, but that man is my brother in my heart; it was good to see him again.

Looking at weather forecasts, it made sense to get out of there this morning.  Mother Nature gave us a brief freezing drizzle overnight, so we went out for breakfast with John before hitting the road, letting the sun do it's job.  The coach got filthy with road grime in this last stretch, but we got to Winnebago before 1:00pm, with sunny skies and temperature around 42º.  That last part is important because we needed to dump and flush the black tank before settling in.  There is a Winter Storm Warning, with the crap weather predicted to start overnight - this was our "window" for getting the black tank dumped and winterized; done.

We have some paperwork to fill out and turn in tomorrow, but we should be able to sleep in (that's relative, considering we have been rolling very early most days) before we turn over the coach.  We have a shuttle scheduled to take us to a hotel by the Mason City Airport tomorrow, then catch a flight out early Saturday morning... if weather allows.  In the meantime, all the planning worked out, the temporary roof repairs held together, and Stephanie and I have both enjoyed spending the time together.

Now, it's up to Winnebago to do their thing.  One fly in the ointment: the metal hood and fender panels have been back-ordered by Ford.  It could come to pass that part of this repair may not happen (just found that out today)... none of that is function or safety related like the other damage.  As tired as I am right now, I won't be losing sleep over that.

Earlier this week, the Aspect in a rest area with the big guys...

And, here in the overnight RV sites (by permit) at Winnebago Factory Service...

And now, the winter weather warnings are being scrolled across the TV screen; so, that's fun.