Swallowed 'em...

We bought a really cool bike rack for our e-bikes.  A great fit with the truck.  Now that the truck is gone, replaced by the Honda CR-V, there is no place for that bike rack.  Because it doesn't have a hitch on the back.  There is a hitch for the Honda waiting for us at Steph and Dan's place in Phoenix.

In the meantime, the CR-V swallowed up those big ol' fat tire bikes, with plenty of room left over.  It helps that they bikes fold; but even folded, they are beasts.  We strapped the bikes in place with Velcro and bungee cords.  Feels solid.  To make sure the bikes don't scar up that pretty interior, I put some blocks of styrofoam under the frame support on the bikes, and between any part of the bikes that could potentially rub against the car interior.

With all but the last minute stuff to load into the RV, we cleaned up - it if was a sweatball competition, I was far in the lead.  Joan probably worked harder than I did, but I was outside more today... and it was hot and humid.  It felt good to just sit for a bit.

Joan suggested a late lunch/early dinner at Russo's, with some pizza left over for snacks on the road.  I was completely in favor of that idea.  And, no one has to cook or clean.  As we pulled away from the house, in the Honda, with the bikes in back... the styrofoam began creaking.  Not a friendly little squeek, but a chorus of horrendous creaks.  It was funny for the first 30 seconds or so... and then Joan began to consider the consequences of driving across the roads in west Texas with creaking louder than the stereo will blast.  "We have to do something about that!"

I said, "The Honda is a lot quieter than the motorhome - it only seems fair that you should get to enjoy..."  That little voice in my head interrupted the voice coming out of my mouth: "Yeah, I'm sure some wash cloths wrapped around that styrofoam will quiet it down a bunch."  Whew!

Yes, we will be driving separate to Phoenix.  I'll be in the motorhome, Joan will be driving the CR-V.  I am not looking forward to that drive without some friendly conversation.  And, a pretty Blonde to navigate.  Although we have made this trek dozens of times.  I'm guessing Izzy will ride with me, since she likes to burrow between the pillow shams on the bed.

By the time we leave Phoenix, the Honda will be set up for towing... being towed behind the motorhome and being able to tow the cargo trailer or haul the bikes on the back, as the situation allows.  Well, that is the plan.  The RV service place that is doing the tow bar install is supposed to have the parts in hand before we get there.  We'll see how that plays out.

On the bright side, when we are down for the night on our trek across, if we want to go out for supper, it is going to be easier with the CR-V.  And not having to unstrap scoots.

Plus, we are looking forward to seeing Steph and Dan.  Last week, they finished their 15th and final year teaching at Rainbow Valley.  They are moving to another school district where they will continue to mold young minds.  We are excited for them with this move.  We will get to see their schools while we are there.

We are ready to get rolling with this season!  The motorhome... the CR-V... the scoots... the e-bikes.  You can't take it all, but I am looking forward to our changes, too.

Nothing says nutritious breakfast like...

... ice cream and a left-over stromboli.  Yeah, we're cleaning out the fridge.  No way I was going to toss slightly freezer burned ice cream or any form of Italian food.  Two of the 4 main food groups - now I just need to have some bacon and chocolate.  Scratch that: the ice cream was Oreo, so I am covered on the chocolate.  I looked... there is no left-over bacon.  Pretty sure that is an oxy-moron.

The loading and house closing continues.  I do think I'm rapidly approaching the "No mas!" stage with this moving in and out stuff.

The local weather weasels are taking delight in saying, "The outside air temp at the coast is 87º, but it feels like (the misery index) 100º... and, it is going to get even hotter before the day is over.  Even hotter inland!"

The only response I have to that would be expletive-filled.

March of the Penguins...

That's what our friend, Mary Jo calls it: that walk to and from the motorhome as you are getting things loaded.

We pulled the Aspect out of the storage unit, stopped at Discount Tires to get the tires aired up, and brought it home.  The loading has started...

To add to the fun, it is another warm, humid day here in the Tropical Tip.  Fortunately, the motorhome is plugged in, the air conditioner is keeping it cool... just that "penguin march" in the heat, to and from.

When I pulled up weather today, several of my favorites come up... it was 63º in Friday Harbor today... that sounds pretty right now.  ;-)

What's next...

In the last post, I mentioned 4 big oil rigs in the turning basin at our local port.  Make that 5.  This morning, it looked like the drilling ship that came in yesterday was moving around... nope, another one that looks just like it!

These ships are impressive.  They are about two years old, and have been pulled off their current 3 year contract, due to the depressed oil prices.  I was visiting with my buddy David about them - they will likely have a short down time before being put back into service.  They can drill to 4,000', with GPS driven gryro propulsion to keep them in one spot.  Expensive rigs... too expensive to leave 'em sitting.  Day rates between $250k and $500k for operating costs.

In the meantime, this means more income for our local port authority.  And the turning basin is starting to look like a parking lot... a parking lot for VERY BIG rigs.

My nakey girl...

There is a difference between naked, nekked, and nakey.  Naked means you have no clothes on.  Nekked means you have no clothes on and you're up to something.  Nakey is cute naked... like a little kid playing in the sprinkler... or little Isabella without her harness.  Wait, you didn't think I was going to post naked photos of the Blonde, did you?

We have a routine: I play guitar, Joan comes into the guitar room, and Izzy follows her.  Joan brushes Izzy, after taking off her harness.  Since Iz doesn't like to go for walks here, she gets to run around nakey for a while...

Sweet in all her freshly brushed fur.  She has a slightly concerned look on her face... there is more activity than usual around the house.  She knows what that means.

The process has begun: stashing and gathering.  Stuff is off the deck, so no grilling or TV watching out there.  For a while.  The walls in the guitar room are looking bare.  Speaking of guitars (and I have been doing that more lately), I mentioned that the new Emerald X7 is a "small guitar."  Not ukulele small, but smaller than my other guitars.  My two carbon fiber guitars...

The RainSong Shorty is on the left, the Emerald X7 on the right.  If you look close, the neck sizes are pretty close in size - the X7 is 3/4" shorter.  The body size on the Emerald is smaller and thinner.  Yes, the Shorty is louder (size matters with an acoustic guitar).  The headstock (where the tuning keys are at the top of the neck) is also smaller on the X7.  Interesting design on that Emerald headstock: it is shaped so the strings run straight from the nut to the tuning keys.  I don't know if that makes any difference, but it seems like there would be less sideways pressure on the strings.

Oh, there are some pretty wood guitars, too; but these carbon fiber guitars travel nicely.  Wood acoustic guitars need to live where the humidity is 45 - 50% humidity.  Not an easy thing to control when you are RV or boat cruising.  Joan asked if I wanted to take both of these... there is a finite amount of room in the Aspect.  And, I bought the X7 because of its compact size.  Here's a look at the Shorty (left) and a Taylor all mahogany, similar size, on the right...

There is a lot of stuff moving beyond our deck, too.  The three oil rigs that are being temporarily stored in the turning basin are now 4 rigs.  And some big tugs playing "musical chairs," moving these giants around...

It will be interesting to see what's next in the turning basin.

An afternoon set-up...

No, I'm not talking about adult beverages or having a date.  Joan still doesn't let me date and it's too early for a drink.  I'm kidding, of course - it is after 5 o'clock.

I have had the Emerald X7 for 12 days now.  I like it.  It was nicely set up from the factory.  But, every guitar player has preferences for they way they like their guitars set up.  And the strings they like to use.  I knew I would be changing the strings because I didn't care for the D'Addario strings that came on it.

I figured: as long as I am replacing the strings, I'll sand down the saddle, making the action even lower.  I don't have another saddle (the piece that goes between the bridge of the guitar and the strings)... I prefer to keep the original saddle and work on a second saddle... just in case.  If you sand it too low, you risk the strings buzzing on the frets or changing the tone.

Our kitchen island makes a good guitar work bench, and I am fortunate to have the assistance of the lovely Izzy - she loves to play with the string while I'm working on the guitar...

First, the old strings have to come off.  Here's the saddle...

It's the smaller black thing in the photo above.  The lower black thing is a sanding board.  Look close at the saddle, and you can see where I've marked it with a "T"... top, so I get it put back in the right direction.

Putting on the new strings...

Yes, with Izzy's help...

She's holding down the end of the string - couldn't do this without my little furry assistant.

The results: the guitar was very nice to start with, now it is even better!  It plays easier and I definitely prefer the sound of these strings.  Plus, they are what my fingers are used to, and they have way less "squeek" (as you move up and down the fretboard).

I am SO liking this guitar!

A morning ride...

It has been warm and humid this past week.  Yes, even first thing in the morning.  It was 80º when we decided to go for a bike ride at 7:00 this morning.  And, "fog your sunglasses" humid when we went out the door.

It was surprisingly pleasant once we were moving.  I didn't bring a camera with me, but stopped to take a few photos with my phone.  A nice start...

We rode around our island for a while, then decided to cross the bridge and ride into town a bit.  The bridge was out when we got there, so a short wait...

Another view looking east from the eastern most point of town...

The causeway across the Laguna Madre to South Padre Island...

We rode through the neighborhoods in town, then back to our island.  On the way home, Joan said, "It looks like the tower on that one rig is leaning again."  We stopped to take a few more photos...

Indeed.  That isn't cropped crooked.  There is some large tug activity around one of the rigs...

Those large tugs aren't local - looks like one of these rigs is getting moved.  We watched for a while, then decided we needed to stir up some breeze, before heading for home.  And breakfast.