If you said, "The 'More cowbell' quote came from a Saturday Night Live routine featuring guest host Christopher Walken, 2000, a parody of Blue Oyster Cult recording Don't Fear the Reaper," you get 25 bonus points. If you asked, "You bought a cowbell, Jim?" you would be incorrect.
Heading south in Kansas today, we were up and rolling at Oh-Dark:30...
In order to make it to where we wanted to stop next, we knew it would be a long driving day. To add to the fun, the roads in Oklahoma (especially just after the KS/OK border) suck. After a particularly rough stretch, I switched to the left lane... yes, I know that is the passing lane; there was no other traffic, and that road surface was a bit better than the right lane.
How bad was it? Thanks for asking - something in the forward overhead cabinets started banging against the cabinet. It sounded like a never-ending bad drum solo. Like a crappy garage band playing In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. Yeah, that bad.
When we stopped to give Rufus some lunch, I moved some stuff around in that cabinet. At the next stop, Joan moved stuff, 'cause what I did made no difference. Next stop, I took the stuff out of the cabinet and put it in a bag. The road laughed and got rougher. Something started squeeking - sounding like a kid with ADD and no sense of rhythm playing a cowbell. Another stop - Joan checked the dinette table and determined the mechanism that keeps it upright was not aligned. She fussed with it, it clicked into place, and she wiggled it... no squeek.
Until we got back on the road, then the squeek had changed pitch. Leads me to believe the table getting the snot beat out of it by the road is the culprit. It is tough to diagnose when we are driving separate, and Rufus only has a Learner's Permit, so I can't let him drive while I go back to check the table. And, by that time, we had covered 400+ miles.
When I went into the office to check in (I had booked for two nights), Joan said, "See if we can get a third night and we can go through Fort Worth and Austin on a Sunday." Seeing that the RV park isn't even half full, I knew it wouldn't be a problem.
On these long driving days, we need a day or two off to recover. "So, why don't you just travel fewer miles in a day, Jim?" you ask. You are just full of questions today, aren't ya? The answer: there isn't anyplace along the way we want to stop. This place is connected to a large, nice casino... so, there are eating options. And Joan can try to win enough to cover our stay. And the grounds in the RV park are very nice, so Rufus and I will get some walking in (already took a short walk after getting set up and before I started writing this."
Wish us luck.
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Continuing the music theme: a "patio concert" before supper...
It's been a while since I've played. After the drive today, it was good to just kick back for a while. Rufus and Joan are a good audience.
2 comments:
I did something similar the other night. Our newly screened-in back porch is Duke's new outdoor "room" and he loves it. Alice likes it too. As the sun set, I sat on our porch swing serenading Duke and Alice with Hawaiian slack-key for about 90 minutes. (I'm in the mood to play Hawaiian music these days, even though I cancelled going to Kennewick for an annual gathering this weekend).
Nice that Duke has an outdoor room! Always good to sooth the savage beast (referring to Duke, not Alice) with some Hawaiian music. ;-)
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