Be warned, the next person that asks me if it is hot enough for me, I'm going to spin them around and give them a wedgie maybe even a nuclear wedgie--you know where the small particles in their drawers smash into their subatomic chin. Don't make me have to get ugly. When people ask me that asinine question, I always want to tell them, "Of course not, I'll have to slow roast all night before my flesh falls off my bones". Here is where I insert the democrat joke, but I will give it a break.
I was in Lowe's Home Improvement yesterday. For the Canadians, Lowe's is a home improvement warehouse similar to Home Depot. I was walking past the John Deere riding mowers and noticed that every single mover had a sign on it that said if you bought a John Deere mover, you would receive a John Deere hat. I thought about that for a couple minutes (stuff is taking longer for me to process due to the heat--don't get me started on the heat again), and I thought to myself what kind of person would make the decision to buy an expensive lawnmower just to get a hat? The sign made me want to call Deb and tell her I wanted to buy another John Deere mower just so I can get a John Deere hat. I know Deb, and she would want me to have that hat. I would covet the hat for the rest of my life. Maybe I would buy two mowers, so Deb and I could have matching John Deere hats. The hat would give me shade and people wouldn't ask me if it is hot enough for me every ten minutes--I said that last part with my teeth clinched.
Work has been beating my up lately. I am almost caught up from the work related things that accumulated during our trip to Canada. Being away from home caused me to have a laundry list of stuff needing my attention. It is nice being needed but the last few days have been ridiculous. I should get caught up this weekend just in time to start it all over again next week. I'll quit whining in a couple weeks. But I guarantee you, I will make the next person that asks me if it is hot enough for me whine. Yeah baby, it is going to be nuclear wedgie in Raleighwood for that idiot.
Deb said that she found pieces of taffy in Monty and Riley's fur from their little adventure into eating the entire bag of taffy from our bed. Riley had some on his rear leg and Monty had taffy stuck to his tail. Now how did he get it on his tail? We are stilling giggling over the images of the puppies sitting on our bed chewing a bag of taffy.
Speaking of the puppies, while we were traveling up north, the people that met Monty and Riley usually said the same things. They all would say how pretty the puppies were, then they would comment on how hot the puppies get in our weather. I usually told them that Monty and Riley had zippers on their bellies and would take their fur off--like a coat--when it was hot. What they didn't know was that I have been teaching the puppies to viciously attack people that ask me if it is hot enough for me. But the puppies would only attack a bag of taffy and not people. I might have to trade them in on pitbulls if my current attitude continues.
It is getting late and I need my beauty sleep. I keep sleeping but I am not beautiful yet. Maybe it will happen tomorrow. See you later.
Al
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Curtains, Taffy, Refrigerator--Raleigh July 27, 2010
I went to see Mary today. She is the lady that has cropped my coiffure since the time my coiffure was brown and not gray. Mary is self-employed and has a really slick salon area that she rents in a building with other people of the same profession; they are all hair stylists and each has their own salon that is about 12' x 16' or thereabouts. Some of the other stylists there have decorated their spaces with all grades of stuff that I consider unique--like hard wood flooring. Mary's salon is decorated more mainstream with a touch of contemporary-except without the coffee drinking weirdos that usually hangout in modern/contemporary areas. At least her decorating tastes were mainstream until recently. I walked into her salon today, and I noticed she had hung curtains that reminded me of something that I associate with a den of iniquity. I didn't want to come right out and say whorehouse because some of the Baptists from church read this blog. But, I guess I just did. As a matter of fact I mentioned to Mary that I thought it looked like a French version of it. These curtains were all hangy downy, lacey, and nothing that I would normally associate with Mary's personality. Mary said she has taken a lot of ribbing over the curtains. She said one person asked if she was giving massages and another person said they thought it looked kind of like a funeral parlor. I have known a few women in my life that would have busted out crying over comments like those that I just mentioned but not Mary. She's the kind of lady that would laugh and then give you five good reasons upside your head not to call her whorehouse curtains funeral parlor curtains. I told her she should run around in French negligees or something. Now that I think of it, I've got to check my haircut. She might have cut a swath out of the hair on the back of my head where I couldn't see it to get even or used the clippers to shave the word "dork" somewhere. I wouldn't put it past her.
I had lunch out today and a little boy about 12-18 months was sitting patiently in a high chair checking out stuff (like kids will do) while his mother stood in line to order. He was a cute little guy. I walked up behind him and his mother, and he became fixated with me. I'm always enthralled with how kids will stop and stare. They haven't been told not to do so yet. After a minute or so I got him to smiling and making faces back at me. His mother looked at him, then looked around at me, and immediately knew I was communicating with her son, we were just not talking. She laughed and went back to ordering. The little guy was much too young to talk but we talked just the same. I've noticed that I have been been "talking" to kids a lot lately. I have always liked kids but had kind of forgotten how much fun they can be. Deb says that I want grandkids. I don't think so. I'm too young. If my son decides to have children before I am sixty years old, I will take him to Monty and Riley's vet and have the vet neuter him with a dull, rusty butter knife. And for my friends that have children, or are expecting children (God help me), no I won't babysit your monsters. Geez.
Our super duper, high tech, taxpayer subsidized refrigerator died this past weekend. It's display said that it was working fine and didn't cool. In case you can't remember, the thing is six weeks old and cost the equivalent of the gross national product of Albania. So, I called Samsung, after I tried to use their worthless website, and told them to send out an idiot to work on it, and they did. The idiot came out and looked at it and said it was working fine and left. Einstein said it was cooling, singing, and dancing like it should, and I experienced a problem from an electrical storm. I checked on it just now, 10 hours after Einstein left, and it was warm inside. Well La De Da. Let me sum up this refrigerator for you. First, it is bright, shiny, and promised to be the best thing since sliced bread. Second, the taxpayers helped me buy it. Third, it failed miserably a short time after I bought it. Fourth, when I complained about it not working, I was told I didn't have a problem. Now who does that sound like? Come on you can guess. That's right, the democratic party. I have a democrat residing in my house. The only difference with this refrigerator and a democrat is that the refrigerator actually was useful for a short period of time.
We went out to dinner about an hour ago. When we got home we discovered Monty and Riley had been really naughty. Let me start by saying that the dogs are not allowed on the furniture--ever. Deb had left a bag of salty water taffy inside a canvas bag on our bed, and the dogs got into it. The taffy was individually wrapped, inside two plastic bags with ribbon closing the bags. The bedspread was super wet in an area about 1' wide and 2' long, and Deb didn't know why it was wet. I surmised it was dog drool from chewing all of that taffy. I'm sure that was a funny sight seeing the dogs chewing all that taffy. The bedspread was covered in blotches where the candy had been smeared onto the bed. I'll betcha the puppies had a good time with the taffy Deb brought back for her friend. The bag was empty and the pups were full.
I think that I will continue with the blog for a while and not just during the times that we are on the road. I enjoy talking about the funny things that I see everyday. I'm amazed at the people that read this blog. I see so many things everyday that I find interesting and sometimes funny. So, I guess I will continue the blog for a while.
Al
I had lunch out today and a little boy about 12-18 months was sitting patiently in a high chair checking out stuff (like kids will do) while his mother stood in line to order. He was a cute little guy. I walked up behind him and his mother, and he became fixated with me. I'm always enthralled with how kids will stop and stare. They haven't been told not to do so yet. After a minute or so I got him to smiling and making faces back at me. His mother looked at him, then looked around at me, and immediately knew I was communicating with her son, we were just not talking. She laughed and went back to ordering. The little guy was much too young to talk but we talked just the same. I've noticed that I have been been "talking" to kids a lot lately. I have always liked kids but had kind of forgotten how much fun they can be. Deb says that I want grandkids. I don't think so. I'm too young. If my son decides to have children before I am sixty years old, I will take him to Monty and Riley's vet and have the vet neuter him with a dull, rusty butter knife. And for my friends that have children, or are expecting children (God help me), no I won't babysit your monsters. Geez.
Our super duper, high tech, taxpayer subsidized refrigerator died this past weekend. It's display said that it was working fine and didn't cool. In case you can't remember, the thing is six weeks old and cost the equivalent of the gross national product of Albania. So, I called Samsung, after I tried to use their worthless website, and told them to send out an idiot to work on it, and they did. The idiot came out and looked at it and said it was working fine and left. Einstein said it was cooling, singing, and dancing like it should, and I experienced a problem from an electrical storm. I checked on it just now, 10 hours after Einstein left, and it was warm inside. Well La De Da. Let me sum up this refrigerator for you. First, it is bright, shiny, and promised to be the best thing since sliced bread. Second, the taxpayers helped me buy it. Third, it failed miserably a short time after I bought it. Fourth, when I complained about it not working, I was told I didn't have a problem. Now who does that sound like? Come on you can guess. That's right, the democratic party. I have a democrat residing in my house. The only difference with this refrigerator and a democrat is that the refrigerator actually was useful for a short period of time.
We went out to dinner about an hour ago. When we got home we discovered Monty and Riley had been really naughty. Let me start by saying that the dogs are not allowed on the furniture--ever. Deb had left a bag of salty water taffy inside a canvas bag on our bed, and the dogs got into it. The taffy was individually wrapped, inside two plastic bags with ribbon closing the bags. The bedspread was super wet in an area about 1' wide and 2' long, and Deb didn't know why it was wet. I surmised it was dog drool from chewing all of that taffy. I'm sure that was a funny sight seeing the dogs chewing all that taffy. The bedspread was covered in blotches where the candy had been smeared onto the bed. I'll betcha the puppies had a good time with the taffy Deb brought back for her friend. The bag was empty and the pups were full.
I think that I will continue with the blog for a while and not just during the times that we are on the road. I enjoy talking about the funny things that I see everyday. I'm amazed at the people that read this blog. I see so many things everyday that I find interesting and sometimes funny. So, I guess I will continue the blog for a while.
Al
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Raleigh July 25, 2010
Walter and I drove all day Thursday and got home about 6pm. Traveling is fun but as "they" say, there is no place like home. The heat in Raleigh is stifling as it was 100 degrees Friday. The humidity was high and breathing required effort outdoors. But inside the house, our new super-duper air conditioner was doing just fine. Thank you democrats and the next generation of our kids for giving me tax money to replace our air conditioner. I had to get in a democrat jab somewhere.
Deb got home last night at 11pm. The puppies and myself were really happy to see her. Riley has been beating up on Monty as Deb wasn't around. Riley considers himself my pup and Monty considers himself to be Deb's. When Deb isn't around Riley asserts his alpha male role and beats up on Monty as much as possible. Brothers will be brothers as "they" say (here "they" are giving advice again). Deb was selected for "special screening" by TSA simply because she was flying one way. Now how stupid is that. Don't you think the terrorists have figured out that a one way ticket means extra scrutinization? Of course this is just another example of why the US is hated the world over due to inane and silly screening of the traveling public.
The journey to Canada and back cost about $2400 in gasoline and around $600 in campsites. Seems a lot of money, right? It is a lot of money. But we were gone for about a month. If we traveled by car the fuel bill would have been about 1/3 of what the motorhome used (assuming we took my pickup truck). Had we taken my truck and stayed in hotels, the $600 in lodging would have been four times what it cost for the motorhome. For those of you that aren't good at math, that is about the same costs. Plus, for most meals, we cooked at the motorhome which resulted in a significant savings. But the most important reason we traveled in the motorhome allowed us to take Monty and Riley. A few years ago we drove (my truck) from Raleigh to Naicam and the hotels we stayed in were disgusting. We only stayed in one hotel room that didn't smell like urine. Most hotels have "pet fees" that they charge to do extra cleaning that they don't do. Long live The Love Boat.
I was trimming my mustache a few days ago and slipped which resulted in my having a gap missing from my mustache. I figured I had two choices, either I could glue some dog hair on my lip or cutoff my mustache. So, I glued some dog hair on my lip. Sorry, I meant I cut my mustache off. Deb has wanted me to do so for some time because she says it makes me look younger. She is correct, I look 16 years old again. As a direct result, I have been listening to Lady Gaga and other teeny bands that sound like cats in heat whining into a microphone. I plan to put huge speakers in my truck and drive around irritating our neighbors with rap (you can't have crap without rap) music. I think I will close now so I can run to the mall and hang out for a while. I figure I can text my new teeny friends (LOL) and let my pants hang down to my knees. I figure about a week of me acting 16 years old and Deb will beg me to grow my mustache back. We shall see. Deb just told me I can't go to the mall because I was grounded. I'll slip out later when she is taking her nap (old people have to nap). I want to get a tattoo while I'm at the mall. I'm thinking a tattoo that is on my back just above my belt and please don't call it a tramp stamp. You grown ups are so narrow-mined. My iPhone needs recharging, so I'll have to go now but be assured we are still BFFs. ROFL.
Deb got home last night at 11pm. The puppies and myself were really happy to see her. Riley has been beating up on Monty as Deb wasn't around. Riley considers himself my pup and Monty considers himself to be Deb's. When Deb isn't around Riley asserts his alpha male role and beats up on Monty as much as possible. Brothers will be brothers as "they" say (here "they" are giving advice again). Deb was selected for "special screening" by TSA simply because she was flying one way. Now how stupid is that. Don't you think the terrorists have figured out that a one way ticket means extra scrutinization? Of course this is just another example of why the US is hated the world over due to inane and silly screening of the traveling public.
The journey to Canada and back cost about $2400 in gasoline and around $600 in campsites. Seems a lot of money, right? It is a lot of money. But we were gone for about a month. If we traveled by car the fuel bill would have been about 1/3 of what the motorhome used (assuming we took my pickup truck). Had we taken my truck and stayed in hotels, the $600 in lodging would have been four times what it cost for the motorhome. For those of you that aren't good at math, that is about the same costs. Plus, for most meals, we cooked at the motorhome which resulted in a significant savings. But the most important reason we traveled in the motorhome allowed us to take Monty and Riley. A few years ago we drove (my truck) from Raleigh to Naicam and the hotels we stayed in were disgusting. We only stayed in one hotel room that didn't smell like urine. Most hotels have "pet fees" that they charge to do extra cleaning that they don't do. Long live The Love Boat.
I was trimming my mustache a few days ago and slipped which resulted in my having a gap missing from my mustache. I figured I had two choices, either I could glue some dog hair on my lip or cutoff my mustache. So, I glued some dog hair on my lip. Sorry, I meant I cut my mustache off. Deb has wanted me to do so for some time because she says it makes me look younger. She is correct, I look 16 years old again. As a direct result, I have been listening to Lady Gaga and other teeny bands that sound like cats in heat whining into a microphone. I plan to put huge speakers in my truck and drive around irritating our neighbors with rap (you can't have crap without rap) music. I think I will close now so I can run to the mall and hang out for a while. I figure I can text my new teeny friends (LOL) and let my pants hang down to my knees. I figure about a week of me acting 16 years old and Deb will beg me to grow my mustache back. We shall see. Deb just told me I can't go to the mall because I was grounded. I'll slip out later when she is taking her nap (old people have to nap). I want to get a tattoo while I'm at the mall. I'm thinking a tattoo that is on my back just above my belt and please don't call it a tramp stamp. You grown ups are so narrow-mined. My iPhone needs recharging, so I'll have to go now but be assured we are still BFFs. ROFL.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
"family bathroom", Indy Motor Speedway, Milton, WV July 21, 2010
We stopped at a KOA campground in Milton, WV for the night. I'll bet you have no idea where Milton, WV. Don't feel bad I don't either as I didn't pay much attention to the town. Milton, WV is a town between Lexington, KY and Charleston, WV on I-64. Milton is an okay town as far as town goes. We didn't get shot driving through it and kids didn't run out trying to sell us candy like the kids do in Mexico--at least not yet. The campground was expensive and full of kids. I will have to spray the dang motorhome for kids after this place. About 11pm, I went to use the park's "facilities" and found the only bathroom closed for cleaning. Oh I called them some ugly names. I was ashamed of myself for about two milliseconds. Then I walked back to The Love Boat and Walter said there was a "family bathroom" on the other end of the stupid park. So, I walked to the "family bathroom". The sign on the door had a male and female symbol and likely meant one of two things. My first thought that this was a bathroom was for girly men like Richard Simmons. My second thougth that either sex could go in which again meant Richard Simmons. So, I stood outside and comtemplated what the word "family" meant on the door of a girly man bathroom. I was confused and didn't want to have to spray myself with kid repellent before I went into the girly man bathroom. So, I stood there a few seconds and the mosquitoes removed two pints of my blood (and would have eventually sucked out my brains turning me into a democrat). In short order, I decided to risk whatever fate "family bathroom" meant. I went inside and looked around. A family bathroom must mean that the whole dang family can come in, because this bathroom was large enough for the entire Brady Bunch. Why the whole family would want to see each other on the john is alien to me but to each their own. This bathroom was the size of a bedroom with a shower, sink, and john. There was ample room in there so a kid could ride around on his bigwheel without disturbing his other family members watching each other on the john. After a little thought, I left and brought Monty and Riley back with me. You have your family, and I have mine. My "family" doesn't run around in the bathroom; they just sit and look at the person on the throne and say nothing. I prefer silence to bigwheels. The puppies thought the "family bathroom" was a good idea. Me too.
Walter and I stopped at The Indianapolis Motor Speedway today, and it was a blast. There is an amazing museum there with all kinds of race cars including Indy, Formula One, and NASCAR. I would highly recommend a trip to see this museum. We also took a tour of the race track. We got on a bus that went on the track and made one lap while showing us the sights around the track. The track tour was my favorite part of the day. The track is 2 1/2 miles long and has several holes of a golf course inside and just outside of the track. The golf course is quite old as the track dates to 1909. May I suggest you view the museum and track if you are in the area. What a great day for us but not for a guy driving a million dollar motorhome that was trying to enter the grounds. The main entrance to the facility goes under the track. The roadway dips down to allow vehicles up to 13' 8" tall. How do I know this fact, it is written on a huge sign at the entrance? Why does this concern me? The Love Boat has antennas that would not go through this "tunnel" entrance. However that didn't prevent a driver of a million dollar motorhome (somebody elses) from trying to make the turn into the track. We didn't pay him much mind until we heard the crunch of fiberglass and metal. The motorhome had struck a support piling and the concrete above the entrance. He backed the motorhome out a little and repositioned himself and made a clean entrance the second time. Could you imagine trying to explain to the owner of a brand new million dollar motorhome that you ran it into the entrance and messed up the side AND top? During the tour, there were many, many million dollar motorhomes on the inside portion of the track. I guess drivers and VIPs move their motorhomes into place days before the race. The Brickyard 400 is this coming weekend. I wonder how many of them ran into the entrance. The pilings on the entrance were pretty well abused from other vehicles striking them. Ouch.
Oh I almost forgot. We left Zion, IL at about 5:30am and drove through the center of Chicago without a single traffic related problem or slowdown. We cleared Chicago after two hours of driving. We were utterly amazed. In twenty-five years of traveling through Chicago, I have never been through unscathed from traffic until today. There is always a first for everything I guess.
Tomorrow we will drive into Raleigh via Charleston, WV. I am looking forward to being home.
Walter and I stopped at The Indianapolis Motor Speedway today, and it was a blast. There is an amazing museum there with all kinds of race cars including Indy, Formula One, and NASCAR. I would highly recommend a trip to see this museum. We also took a tour of the race track. We got on a bus that went on the track and made one lap while showing us the sights around the track. The track tour was my favorite part of the day. The track is 2 1/2 miles long and has several holes of a golf course inside and just outside of the track. The golf course is quite old as the track dates to 1909. May I suggest you view the museum and track if you are in the area. What a great day for us but not for a guy driving a million dollar motorhome that was trying to enter the grounds. The main entrance to the facility goes under the track. The roadway dips down to allow vehicles up to 13' 8" tall. How do I know this fact, it is written on a huge sign at the entrance? Why does this concern me? The Love Boat has antennas that would not go through this "tunnel" entrance. However that didn't prevent a driver of a million dollar motorhome (somebody elses) from trying to make the turn into the track. We didn't pay him much mind until we heard the crunch of fiberglass and metal. The motorhome had struck a support piling and the concrete above the entrance. He backed the motorhome out a little and repositioned himself and made a clean entrance the second time. Could you imagine trying to explain to the owner of a brand new million dollar motorhome that you ran it into the entrance and messed up the side AND top? During the tour, there were many, many million dollar motorhomes on the inside portion of the track. I guess drivers and VIPs move their motorhomes into place days before the race. The Brickyard 400 is this coming weekend. I wonder how many of them ran into the entrance. The pilings on the entrance were pretty well abused from other vehicles striking them. Ouch.
Oh I almost forgot. We left Zion, IL at about 5:30am and drove through the center of Chicago without a single traffic related problem or slowdown. We cleared Chicago after two hours of driving. We were utterly amazed. In twenty-five years of traveling through Chicago, I have never been through unscathed from traffic until today. There is always a first for everything I guess.
Tomorrow we will drive into Raleigh via Charleston, WV. I am looking forward to being home.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Ft.Sheridan, Puppies, Tollways--Zion, IL July 20, 2010
I lied to you. We decided to stay another night in Zion, IL. Somebody I know wanted to stop by today, so here we are. You may know that there are several roads in this area that span a great distance north to south. A couple of the more famous roads would be Green Bay and Sheridan Rds. Sheridan Road is just inside of the shore of Lake Michigan and runs through several towns to name a few are Waukegan, Lake Forest, Fort Sheridan etc. Lake Forest and Fort Sheridan are beautiful. Fort Sheridan used to be an army post and somebody bought it and turned it into an amazing town. Some of the old army buildings were converted into gorgeous condos and single family homes. There's lots of open space that is beautifully landscaped. If you are up this way a visit to Ft Sheridan would be worth your while.
We drove down Sheridan Rd quite a distance today and took the dogs for a walk in a park in Lake Forest. Lake Forest is a rich little town. The puppies got out of the car and immediately did what they do best which is making friends. I have mentioned the puppies' naturally ability to be the center of attraction a few times in the past. Lake Forest was no exception. Two little girls, about nine years old, ran up and made friends with the puppies immediately. One little girl wanted to walk Riley so I gave her his leash and away she went being drug by Riley. Riley knew he could get away with anything he wanted, and she would go along with it. Those two girls took turns walking him. Riley was in heaven. What really amazed me was how the kids ran up to us and started talking. I guess their parents haven't had time to tell them that the entire world is bad and means them harm like many parents do today. The kids' parents were nice to talk to as well. Maybe I will change my views about the people here. Naahh.
Tomorrow the drive through Chicago will be very early in the morning. If you know anything about Chicago , you would know there are really only two ways to drive through Chicago if you're heading east. Those two ways would be I-90 (Skyway) and 1-94/294 (Tri State Tollway). Both routes are parking lots in the morning and evening. Our current location is sort of on the edge of Chicago (I am lying a little) and it is 110 miles until we clear Chicago in Gary, Indiana. Yes, I said 110 miles. That would be the equivalent of starting in Raleigh and ending in Winston-Salem, NC. Many people don't really understand how Chicago sprawls. We plan to go through the center of Chicago at about 4am to avoid rushhour. If we don't got through so early, those 110 miles could take several more hours. How do people put up with trafffic like this on a regular basis? And it gets ugly cold here too.
I have seen enough BO for president bumperstickers to last me a lifetime. I guess the mosquitoes have been sucking out the brains of the locals for too many years, and this is what you get. I'll bet most of them now want to scrape the bumperstickers off but can't. But then again there are always the people that try to support the losing team regardless. You know, the kind of people that would flaunt leprosy and tell you it is fun. Yeah right. How's that change working out for you Bumpersticker People? Did I hear you say "...not so good"? I told you so.
I must admit that I didn't mind being in the Chicago area this time. I met some nice people. Don't get me wrong and think I want to be a Yankee, but I met a few people that I liked; then they got into their car and drove like a maniac and earned their ranking on my poopy list. I will not miss the highspeed driving idiots. I guess they drive really fast so people won't have time to see they have a non-removable BO for President bumpersticker and realize they made a horrible mistake.
Update: Today is Thursday. We drove to Milton, WV and are 350 miles from home. I'll update when I get home today. We stopped along the way and will talk about them when I get home.
Al
We drove down Sheridan Rd quite a distance today and took the dogs for a walk in a park in Lake Forest. Lake Forest is a rich little town. The puppies got out of the car and immediately did what they do best which is making friends. I have mentioned the puppies' naturally ability to be the center of attraction a few times in the past. Lake Forest was no exception. Two little girls, about nine years old, ran up and made friends with the puppies immediately. One little girl wanted to walk Riley so I gave her his leash and away she went being drug by Riley. Riley knew he could get away with anything he wanted, and she would go along with it. Those two girls took turns walking him. Riley was in heaven. What really amazed me was how the kids ran up to us and started talking. I guess their parents haven't had time to tell them that the entire world is bad and means them harm like many parents do today. The kids' parents were nice to talk to as well. Maybe I will change my views about the people here. Naahh.
Tomorrow the drive through Chicago will be very early in the morning. If you know anything about Chicago , you would know there are really only two ways to drive through Chicago if you're heading east. Those two ways would be I-90 (Skyway) and 1-94/294 (Tri State Tollway). Both routes are parking lots in the morning and evening. Our current location is sort of on the edge of Chicago (I am lying a little) and it is 110 miles until we clear Chicago in Gary, Indiana. Yes, I said 110 miles. That would be the equivalent of starting in Raleigh and ending in Winston-Salem, NC. Many people don't really understand how Chicago sprawls. We plan to go through the center of Chicago at about 4am to avoid rushhour. If we don't got through so early, those 110 miles could take several more hours. How do people put up with trafffic like this on a regular basis? And it gets ugly cold here too.
I have seen enough BO for president bumperstickers to last me a lifetime. I guess the mosquitoes have been sucking out the brains of the locals for too many years, and this is what you get. I'll bet most of them now want to scrape the bumperstickers off but can't. But then again there are always the people that try to support the losing team regardless. You know, the kind of people that would flaunt leprosy and tell you it is fun. Yeah right. How's that change working out for you Bumpersticker People? Did I hear you say "...not so good"? I told you so.
I must admit that I didn't mind being in the Chicago area this time. I met some nice people. Don't get me wrong and think I want to be a Yankee, but I met a few people that I liked; then they got into their car and drove like a maniac and earned their ranking on my poopy list. I will not miss the highspeed driving idiots. I guess they drive really fast so people won't have time to see they have a non-removable BO for President bumpersticker and realize they made a horrible mistake.
Update: Today is Thursday. We drove to Milton, WV and are 350 miles from home. I'll update when I get home today. We stopped along the way and will talk about them when I get home.
Al
Monday, July 19, 2010
OUT OF SEQUENCE Rain, Lake Shore Drive, Deer Signs--Zion, Illinois July 19, 2010
This was found not published for some reason. It is from Zion, IL
I am sick of the rain. It has rained on us everyday we have been north of the Mason-Dixon line. The puppies are tired of the thunder and lightning which has been almost everyday too. The puppies lose their minds when it thunders. I know NC has been going through a drought, and I should be glad that it is raining somewhere, but I wish it would hold off until I get home even a little. I've enjoyed the cooler temperatures though. When we entered into Illinois, the temperature was 90 degrees F which brings an end to the cool temperatures for us. Dang.
Before I forget, while traveling in Canada we saw dozens of deer crossing signs and none had bullet holes. Oh come on now. Doesn't Canada have redneck idiots like we do in NC?. I was grown before I found out deer crossing signs aren't erected new with bullet holes. Maybe Canada changes the signs often to make US citizens think Canadians don't shoot those signs. I know better though.
We are camping in a state park in Zion, Illinois which is about 75 miles north of downtown Chicago. I am familiar with this park as having visited here a few times in the past, but this is the first time camping here. This is a nice park but the bathrooms are a half mile (at least) from our campsite. The distance made me go hmm. The Love Boat has "facilities" but the park's only campsite supplied utility is electricity which means we are forced to use the park's bathrooms. Let's just say that the fresh water tanks on the motorhome are not large enough to supply two showers per day for two days. The mosquitoes here are murder but they've been a problem for the last month. As much as I, as most people, dislike insect repellent, there is no way to not use it. I tried playing Celine Deon music in Canada to keep the mosquitoes away but that didn' t work. It did keep everything but mosquitoes and pimply faced teenage kids away, both of whom gathered in swarms. If I have a vote, I vote for the mosquitoes. This park is full of children, but I was lucky enough to get in the old curmudgeon section. The campground host manning the park lived in Fayetteville, NC for a while and hooked me up.
We went into downtown Chicago today. Naturally we drove along Lake Shore Drive and stopped in the park for a walk. The puppies had a bunch of fun. We stopped on the shoreline and watched what we found out later was a sailboat race. A lady from the sailboat race judging area came over and sat down with us and snuggled up to the puppies. Riley liked her a lot and snuggled up to her. Riley looked up at me and asked with his eyes, "Can I keep her Al?" But we didn't keep her and we drove down to Rush Street or at least we drove around and around Rush Street but never quite found it. The GPS was truly confused and kept sending us around and around in larger circles. I saw the same people pass by the car a few times. I decided Rush Street was not worth finding again. I have been there a few times and wanted to show it to Walter. Well Walter isn't going to see it this trip. To bad, so sad, GPS bad.
We leave for Indianapolis tomorrow morning very early. We plan to visit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. Maybe we can get to look at the track.
See you tomorrow.
I am sick of the rain. It has rained on us everyday we have been north of the Mason-Dixon line. The puppies are tired of the thunder and lightning which has been almost everyday too. The puppies lose their minds when it thunders. I know NC has been going through a drought, and I should be glad that it is raining somewhere, but I wish it would hold off until I get home even a little. I've enjoyed the cooler temperatures though. When we entered into Illinois, the temperature was 90 degrees F which brings an end to the cool temperatures for us. Dang.
Before I forget, while traveling in Canada we saw dozens of deer crossing signs and none had bullet holes. Oh come on now. Doesn't Canada have redneck idiots like we do in NC?. I was grown before I found out deer crossing signs aren't erected new with bullet holes. Maybe Canada changes the signs often to make US citizens think Canadians don't shoot those signs. I know better though.
We are camping in a state park in Zion, Illinois which is about 75 miles north of downtown Chicago. I am familiar with this park as having visited here a few times in the past, but this is the first time camping here. This is a nice park but the bathrooms are a half mile (at least) from our campsite. The distance made me go hmm. The Love Boat has "facilities" but the park's only campsite supplied utility is electricity which means we are forced to use the park's bathrooms. Let's just say that the fresh water tanks on the motorhome are not large enough to supply two showers per day for two days. The mosquitoes here are murder but they've been a problem for the last month. As much as I, as most people, dislike insect repellent, there is no way to not use it. I tried playing Celine Deon music in Canada to keep the mosquitoes away but that didn' t work. It did keep everything but mosquitoes and pimply faced teenage kids away, both of whom gathered in swarms. If I have a vote, I vote for the mosquitoes. This park is full of children, but I was lucky enough to get in the old curmudgeon section. The campground host manning the park lived in Fayetteville, NC for a while and hooked me up.
We went into downtown Chicago today. Naturally we drove along Lake Shore Drive and stopped in the park for a walk. The puppies had a bunch of fun. We stopped on the shoreline and watched what we found out later was a sailboat race. A lady from the sailboat race judging area came over and sat down with us and snuggled up to the puppies. Riley liked her a lot and snuggled up to her. Riley looked up at me and asked with his eyes, "Can I keep her Al?" But we didn't keep her and we drove down to Rush Street or at least we drove around and around Rush Street but never quite found it. The GPS was truly confused and kept sending us around and around in larger circles. I saw the same people pass by the car a few times. I decided Rush Street was not worth finding again. I have been there a few times and wanted to show it to Walter. Well Walter isn't going to see it this trip. To bad, so sad, GPS bad.
We leave for Indianapolis tomorrow morning very early. We plan to visit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum. Maybe we can get to look at the track.
See you tomorrow.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Eddie Munster, Customs, Highways Honoring Idiots--Bessemer, Michigan July, 17, 2010
We drove all day from Sioux Narrows, ON until we reached a small town on the south side of Lake Superior named Bessemer, Michigan. We found an okay place to stay named Alpine Campground. The lady that ran the place was a German ex-patriot. She lived in a house on the property and had a small office in one room. We checked in and she had her son guide us to the campsite in a golfcart. Guiding RVs to their site is somewhat customary as navigating a very large vehicle through an unknown campground can be very stressful especially near dark. The entire operation was nothing unusual except for the owner's son. Do you remember The Munsters? You know that comedy/satire program that aired in the 60s that showcased the lives of some "monsters" that lived with normal people. There was Herman, Lily, Grandpa, Marilyn, and the character that I want to point out, Eddie. Eddie kind of looked like a teenage wolfman/boy. The campground owner's son looked like Eddie Munster, and I am not kidding. This Eddie wasn't a teenager at all. He was 35-40 years old, looked like a werewolf, and lived in his mother's basement in a town in the middle of nowhere. If I were a screenwriter, this guy's was a movie waiting to happen. Oh, before I forget, there was a huge, old sign in front of the campground advertising the name of the campground and a "rider" that said "Drive Tru". What that rider should have said was "Drive Thru" which is a colloquialism referring to drive through campsites--so you don't have to disconnect your towed car. Wasn't Eddie smart enough to know that sign was incorrect? Kind of one of those things that makes me go hmm.
When we drove through the US customs, I was pleasantly surprised as they were nice to us. Two of them came inside (separately) The Love Boat to search for goodness knows what. But they did find my oranges and took them. I guess terrorists use oranges for something. I felt violated. Could somebody hold me? Yeah right.
Speaking of somebody holding me, on the way through Minnesota today, we drove on the Walter Mondale Highway which is Hwy 53. If you are not familiar with Walter Mondale don't be upset. In 1984, Mondale lost a presidential election to Ronald Reagan by only garnering electoral votes from Minnesota and DC. Good lord, why would Minnesota name a highway after this guy. We only drove on this highway for a short period of time, because I was getting nauseated just thinking that I was riding on something honoring that nitwit. I decide that if the road changed to Al Gore Highway I was going to stop The Love Boat and throw up. I'll bet you that the Walter Mondale Highway ended in a deadend like his career which would be befitting. Oh lord, I can't wait on the Nancy Perlosi Highway. It would have to be a highway with butt ugly scenery that goes in a direction that nobody wants to go . Good lord. Somebody hold me please.
Tomorrow, we leave for Chicago. I swear if I have to drive on The Rod Blagojevich Highway, I'll have an aneurysm. You know Blagojevich as the former governor that tried to sell B.O.'s (you know the person whose name is not allowed to be said in my presence) former senate seat. I'm sure Illinois is proud of that idiot too.
When we drove through the US customs, I was pleasantly surprised as they were nice to us. Two of them came inside (separately) The Love Boat to search for goodness knows what. But they did find my oranges and took them. I guess terrorists use oranges for something. I felt violated. Could somebody hold me? Yeah right.
Speaking of somebody holding me, on the way through Minnesota today, we drove on the Walter Mondale Highway which is Hwy 53. If you are not familiar with Walter Mondale don't be upset. In 1984, Mondale lost a presidential election to Ronald Reagan by only garnering electoral votes from Minnesota and DC. Good lord, why would Minnesota name a highway after this guy. We only drove on this highway for a short period of time, because I was getting nauseated just thinking that I was riding on something honoring that nitwit. I decide that if the road changed to Al Gore Highway I was going to stop The Love Boat and throw up. I'll bet you that the Walter Mondale Highway ended in a deadend like his career which would be befitting. Oh lord, I can't wait on the Nancy Perlosi Highway. It would have to be a highway with butt ugly scenery that goes in a direction that nobody wants to go . Good lord. Somebody hold me please.
Tomorrow, we leave for Chicago. I swear if I have to drive on The Rod Blagojevich Highway, I'll have an aneurysm. You know Blagojevich as the former governor that tried to sell B.O.'s (you know the person whose name is not allowed to be said in my presence) former senate seat. I'm sure Illinois is proud of that idiot too.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Sioux Narrows, ON July 15, 2010
Today was a no pressure day. We drove down to Nestor Falls to show Walter the terrain. We stopped at a remote part of the lake and let the dogs "go play" which tells the dogs that they can run off leash. They go nuts when they get to "go play". We were around 200 feet from the lake, and Monty took less than one minute to jump into the lake. I called him and told him to stay out of the lake but he ignored me. Monty is still wet hours after the Keeshond Polar Bear Outing.
I walked down to The Potty People's place a couple minutes ago. You'll remember from yesterday that one potty was missing. Today, I am happy to report, the potty has returned and is facing the other potty on the mat. When I walked by the campsite, there were several people grilling out next to one of the potties and people were sitting around on the mat. Somebody had placed their coat on one of the potties. Yuck. Yuck. YUCK. Nasty. What is really amazing is that I noticed that the trailer was from Oklahoma. I used a mapping program and determined the shortest distance possible to the Oklahoma border is 2100 miles. Oh my. Somebody drove well over 2000 miles with two porta potties in tow. Nasty, eewwww. Then they get here and party around the potties. Eeeeeeewwwwwww.
This campground is full of US citizens. Wisconsin and Minnesota are the usual license plates. I did see plates from Florida, Ohio, Missouri, Texas, and Oklahoma (this is The Potty Peoples' Honey Wagon). We are about sixty miles north of the US/Canadian border.
We are staying here for another day and leaving on Saturday. We should be in the US on Saturday. We haven't had a chance to go fishing here but will do so tomorrow. We're renting a boat and will motor around a while. Of course we're taking the puppies as Monty loves to go for boat rides. We'll see tomorrow how much fishing goes on.
Al
I walked down to The Potty People's place a couple minutes ago. You'll remember from yesterday that one potty was missing. Today, I am happy to report, the potty has returned and is facing the other potty on the mat. When I walked by the campsite, there were several people grilling out next to one of the potties and people were sitting around on the mat. Somebody had placed their coat on one of the potties. Yuck. Yuck. YUCK. Nasty. What is really amazing is that I noticed that the trailer was from Oklahoma. I used a mapping program and determined the shortest distance possible to the Oklahoma border is 2100 miles. Oh my. Somebody drove well over 2000 miles with two porta potties in tow. Nasty, eewwww. Then they get here and party around the potties. Eeeeeeewwwwwww.
This campground is full of US citizens. Wisconsin and Minnesota are the usual license plates. I did see plates from Florida, Ohio, Missouri, Texas, and Oklahoma (this is The Potty Peoples' Honey Wagon). We are about sixty miles north of the US/Canadian border.
We are staying here for another day and leaving on Saturday. We should be in the US on Saturday. We haven't had a chance to go fishing here but will do so tomorrow. We're renting a boat and will motor around a while. Of course we're taking the puppies as Monty loves to go for boat rides. We'll see tomorrow how much fishing goes on.
Al
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Campgrounds, Potty People, Bovines--Sioux Narrows, ON AgainJuly 14, 2010
Edit: I was reminded that bovines are cows. I forgot. Swine are pigs. So sue me.
Walter arrived in Regina, SK, Canada yesterday a few hours late but intact. Deb stayed in Naicam, as planned, with her parents and will fly home the same day Walter and I arrive in Raleigh. That day should be July 24th. Walter brought me the replacement stabilizer controller and The Love Boat's stabilizers are working again. I will wait to discuss Walter's plane ride for a few days until we are back in the US. Enough said for now.
Walter and I left Regina, SK around noon yesterday and drove until we reached The Shady Oaks RV Resort in Sidney, Manitoba. We picked that sorry campground because we could get a site that didn't require us to disconnect The Crapper. The term for that type of site is pull-thru and is rare in government parks. Manitoba has lots of provincial campgrounds that are nice but don't usually have pull-thru sites. We drove until almost dark and really didn't want to setup in the dark. We had to install the stabilizer controller, thus we picked The Shady Oaks RV Resort. This placed sucked. Somebody misspelled the name of the place as the "ad" in the name should have been "itt". The owners of this "campground" charged for stuff that is always free in other campgrounds--many things. The owners of Poopy Oak RV Last Resort advertised an indoor pool on this huge sign that we saw from the road. Yep, they did have an indoor pool, but it was in a shack out in a field. The shack was something you would expect to see on J.D. Clampett's place in Bugtussle. A place J.D. Clampett used to house farm animals like pigs. Sooooo-eeeee. Let's go swimming. Forget that.
We drove all day today and arrived a few hours ago in Sioux Narrow, ON. Yes ,this is the same place Deb and I stayed in on our way to Naicam, SK. We (Walter and I) arrived in the pouring rain and got a campsite on the water near where Deb and I stayed a week or so ago. We pulled up into the road in front of our campsite and decided to disconnect The Crapper from the motorhome in the road. The rain was pouring down, so I put on a poncho rainsuit and left Walter in The Love Boat with the puppies--it was thundering and the puppies were not happy. So, I got out and got the toad bag which is a bag that contains the stuff I need to disconnect The Crapper (PT Cruiser) from The Love Boat (motorhome). This bag is where you I keep the locks and pins for the hitch. So, I disconnected The Crapper and put up the hitch and walked around the back of The Crapper. I had the hitch bag in my right hand and The Crapper keys in my left hand. What I should mention here is that I've lost some weight during this trip. I haven't lost a great deal of weight but enough to make my clothes loose. Now remember, I had on the poncho, the hitch bag was in my right hand and The Crapper keys were in my left hand as I walked around the back of The Crapper. Yeah baby, you might have guessed what happened. That's right, in a split second, my shorts fell down and landed around my ankles. I was standing in the road of a crowded campground with my drawers around my ankles holding the hitch bag and car keys while wearing a poncho. I looked down at my drawers, started laughing, sat the bag and keys on the ground, and somewhat hurriedly pulled up my drawers. I was laughing so hard I didn't even look around to see who saw me. As a matter of fact, I really didn't care who saw what happened as the damage was done. Opening night of The Southern Boy was a smashing success.
A few days ago I posted a picture of the dual potties at a campsite in the Sioux Narrows, ON campground from our last visit. The reviews of the photos from people that read this blog have been hilarious. As you now know, I am back in the same campground. So, I wondered if the potties are still there. A little while ago, Walter and I walked past the same camper and one potty was missing and the mat that the potties sat on was in disarray. Now where did the missing potty go? We are curious and will explore the situation tomorrow. The Potty People's campsite is a few campsites down from ours. I guess the neighbors that saw my drawers fall down are acclimated to the events happening at The Potty People's campsite and thought I was visiting The Potty People or something.
Yesterday, while driving from Naicam to Regina to pickup Walter, I saw a barn that had large letters advertising a website that I assumed was for pig farmers--I assumed. The sign said BovineClassifieds.com. At the time I assumed BovineClassifieds.com was a website similar to Craigslist.com but instead for cows. I guess BovineClassifieds.com wasn't such a good idea as the website no longer exists. Who would have guessed that such a good idea would not succeed? Maybe BovineClassifieds.com was intended to be a website with visions of a paid online dating service like Eharmony.com except for cows. I guess the inventors of BovineClassifieds thought Ecowmany.com was too silly--not me though. I'll betcha (see I still remember Sault Sainte Marie) whomever paid to be on Ehogmany.com stayed at The Shady Oaks RV Resort and used the "indoor pool". Moooo.
We will be in Sioux Narrows until Friday and should be back in the US somewhere Friday night. We plan to be in Chicago on Sunday night.
Al
Walter arrived in Regina, SK, Canada yesterday a few hours late but intact. Deb stayed in Naicam, as planned, with her parents and will fly home the same day Walter and I arrive in Raleigh. That day should be July 24th. Walter brought me the replacement stabilizer controller and The Love Boat's stabilizers are working again. I will wait to discuss Walter's plane ride for a few days until we are back in the US. Enough said for now.
Walter and I left Regina, SK around noon yesterday and drove until we reached The Shady Oaks RV Resort in Sidney, Manitoba. We picked that sorry campground because we could get a site that didn't require us to disconnect The Crapper. The term for that type of site is pull-thru and is rare in government parks. Manitoba has lots of provincial campgrounds that are nice but don't usually have pull-thru sites. We drove until almost dark and really didn't want to setup in the dark. We had to install the stabilizer controller, thus we picked The Shady Oaks RV Resort. This placed sucked. Somebody misspelled the name of the place as the "ad" in the name should have been "itt". The owners of this "campground" charged for stuff that is always free in other campgrounds--many things. The owners of Poopy Oak RV Last Resort advertised an indoor pool on this huge sign that we saw from the road. Yep, they did have an indoor pool, but it was in a shack out in a field. The shack was something you would expect to see on J.D. Clampett's place in Bugtussle. A place J.D. Clampett used to house farm animals like pigs. Sooooo-eeeee. Let's go swimming. Forget that.
We drove all day today and arrived a few hours ago in Sioux Narrow, ON. Yes ,this is the same place Deb and I stayed in on our way to Naicam, SK. We (Walter and I) arrived in the pouring rain and got a campsite on the water near where Deb and I stayed a week or so ago. We pulled up into the road in front of our campsite and decided to disconnect The Crapper from the motorhome in the road. The rain was pouring down, so I put on a poncho rainsuit and left Walter in The Love Boat with the puppies--it was thundering and the puppies were not happy. So, I got out and got the toad bag which is a bag that contains the stuff I need to disconnect The Crapper (PT Cruiser) from The Love Boat (motorhome). This bag is where you I keep the locks and pins for the hitch. So, I disconnected The Crapper and put up the hitch and walked around the back of The Crapper. I had the hitch bag in my right hand and The Crapper keys in my left hand. What I should mention here is that I've lost some weight during this trip. I haven't lost a great deal of weight but enough to make my clothes loose. Now remember, I had on the poncho, the hitch bag was in my right hand and The Crapper keys were in my left hand as I walked around the back of The Crapper. Yeah baby, you might have guessed what happened. That's right, in a split second, my shorts fell down and landed around my ankles. I was standing in the road of a crowded campground with my drawers around my ankles holding the hitch bag and car keys while wearing a poncho. I looked down at my drawers, started laughing, sat the bag and keys on the ground, and somewhat hurriedly pulled up my drawers. I was laughing so hard I didn't even look around to see who saw me. As a matter of fact, I really didn't care who saw what happened as the damage was done. Opening night of The Southern Boy was a smashing success.
A few days ago I posted a picture of the dual potties at a campsite in the Sioux Narrows, ON campground from our last visit. The reviews of the photos from people that read this blog have been hilarious. As you now know, I am back in the same campground. So, I wondered if the potties are still there. A little while ago, Walter and I walked past the same camper and one potty was missing and the mat that the potties sat on was in disarray. Now where did the missing potty go? We are curious and will explore the situation tomorrow. The Potty People's campsite is a few campsites down from ours. I guess the neighbors that saw my drawers fall down are acclimated to the events happening at The Potty People's campsite and thought I was visiting The Potty People or something.
Yesterday, while driving from Naicam to Regina to pickup Walter, I saw a barn that had large letters advertising a website that I assumed was for pig farmers--I assumed. The sign said BovineClassifieds.com. At the time I assumed BovineClassifieds.com was a website similar to Craigslist.com but instead for cows. I guess BovineClassifieds.com wasn't such a good idea as the website no longer exists. Who would have guessed that such a good idea would not succeed? Maybe BovineClassifieds.com was intended to be a website with visions of a paid online dating service like Eharmony.com except for cows. I guess the inventors of BovineClassifieds thought Ecowmany.com was too silly--not me though. I'll betcha (see I still remember Sault Sainte Marie) whomever paid to be on Ehogmany.com stayed at The Shady Oaks RV Resort and used the "indoor pool". Moooo.
We will be in Sioux Narrows until Friday and should be back in the US somewhere Friday night. We plan to be in Chicago on Sunday night.
Al
Monday, July 12, 2010
Pics of Sioux Narrows, ON and The Wieners
Monty (left) and Riley riding under the First Mate's legs in The Love Boat. Click on the images to make them expand.
Sundown at our campsite in Sioux Narrows.
Daytime picture of our campsite in Sioux Narrows, ON.
Deb took this picture of another campsite in Sioux Narrows. This campsite looks quite ominous. I'm glad we were not parked next to them. Note there are two of those things. His and hers? Yuck. Note this is in front of the boat dock.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Mosquitos, Marjorette, Carwash, Moose Calls--July 11, 2010 Naicam, SK
Oh my where do I start? I haven't updated in a few days and boy did the topics stack up. I need to offload some of the more funny stuff, or I might break something in my head.
My routine here in Naicam is about the same, I get up, shave, bathe, and put on Saskatchewan Aftershave. Saskatchewan Aftershave is commonly called Deepwoods Off Insect Repellent. Good Lord, mosquitoes are the provincial bird here and are plentiful. If you stand still without bug spray more than five seconds, the mosquitoes will suck out your brains and turn you into a democrat (little d is intended here). We all know we don't need more liberals, so I usually spray myself twice just in case.
Naicam, had a town homecoming this weekend. The planners had all kinds of activities scheduled but the most interesting event was the parade. The majorette that headed up the parade looked about eighty years old and was all decked out in a majorette's outfit. I'm pretty sure she made her outfit, because majorette outfits don't come with underwire bras and suphose. This woman was twirling and flipping and spinning like crazy which really impressed me. Now you haven't lived until you've seen a majorette that performed on The Mayflower. She really did a good job of twirling that baton. Really, I was impressed. But what do I know? Further in the parade, there was a float from the soccer club. It was a truck pulling a large farm trailer with a fence around it similar to what you would see on a sidewalk. Inside the fence were several kids kicking around a soccer ball. Yep, I said kids standing up kicking a soccer ball as part of the parade. I just knew the trailer would lunge and junior would do a half-gainer off over the fence and get ran over by the antique tractor that followed him in the precession. What was really horrible, was I waited through the entire parade and Santa was not at the end of it. That's how Deb got me to go by promising me that Santa was at the end of it. Fibber, fibber, fibber. Next time I want to drive one of those antique tractors. I could get a megaphone and speak Southern to crowd which would be entertaining to them I'm sure.
Another activity that I attended this weekend was a homecoming church service in Naicam's school auditorium. The service was pretty much a standard service that you would find in about any church in the US or Canada. What was really notable were two things. First there was a woman that sat behind me that sang really, really loud and poorly. The Bible says "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord" not "Make a grunting and dying gorilla call unto the Lord." Deb and I got to laughing so hard that I was afraid my mother-in-law was going to smack both of us on the back of our heads. I would like to smack the person that told that woman her moose mating calls were singing. Then it dawned on me. What a great joke to play . All you have to do is convince her that she is talented and should broadcast her yelping dog voice for the entire congregation. Then the jokester could set in the back row and laugh at the people wincing in agony that are sitting in front of Moose Mating Call Woman. Somebody played a brilliant joke on The Southern Boy. I'm just glad Monty and Riley were not there. They would have been howling along with Moose Mating Call Woman which would have earned them a smack from my mother-in-law too. The second thing that was notable about the service was that this auditorium had air conditioning and a rather robust air conditioner at that. The temperature was set to the Summer in the South setting instead of Summer in Canada setting. You have never heard so much complaining about being cold in your life. The only comfortable person in the whole auditorium was The Southern Boy, deaf but comfortable. I think air conditioner reform in Canada was setback years today. Then it dawned on me, the AC was part of the joke. What a brilliant prank.
We went to the local carwash tonight. It is located in the town called Spalding, SK which is a relatively short drive away. Now, you are wondering why I would mention a carwash. Right.? And the reason is that the carwash was located on a dirt road. A really dusty dirt road too. I had to think about the situation for a minute. If I washed the car, it would be wet and attract dirt from the road on the trip out which would negate the act of washing it. So, I washed it, and it emerged from the dirt road cleaner than when it entered. Who would have guessed that? Believe me, I tried to turn this paragraph into a democrat joke but couldn't. I'll try harder in the future.
Well that is all for today. I have other stuff to talk about but not today. Monty, Riley, and myself leave Naicam on Tuesday and pick up Walter for the trip home. I'm just sorry that I didn't record Moose Mating Call Woman so I could pull the same joke on Walter. Oh well, there will be other opportunities in the next couple of weeks.
I'll write more tomorrow if my hearing returns.
Al
My routine here in Naicam is about the same, I get up, shave, bathe, and put on Saskatchewan Aftershave. Saskatchewan Aftershave is commonly called Deepwoods Off Insect Repellent. Good Lord, mosquitoes are the provincial bird here and are plentiful. If you stand still without bug spray more than five seconds, the mosquitoes will suck out your brains and turn you into a democrat (little d is intended here). We all know we don't need more liberals, so I usually spray myself twice just in case.
Naicam, had a town homecoming this weekend. The planners had all kinds of activities scheduled but the most interesting event was the parade. The majorette that headed up the parade looked about eighty years old and was all decked out in a majorette's outfit. I'm pretty sure she made her outfit, because majorette outfits don't come with underwire bras and suphose. This woman was twirling and flipping and spinning like crazy which really impressed me. Now you haven't lived until you've seen a majorette that performed on The Mayflower. She really did a good job of twirling that baton. Really, I was impressed. But what do I know? Further in the parade, there was a float from the soccer club. It was a truck pulling a large farm trailer with a fence around it similar to what you would see on a sidewalk. Inside the fence were several kids kicking around a soccer ball. Yep, I said kids standing up kicking a soccer ball as part of the parade. I just knew the trailer would lunge and junior would do a half-gainer off over the fence and get ran over by the antique tractor that followed him in the precession. What was really horrible, was I waited through the entire parade and Santa was not at the end of it. That's how Deb got me to go by promising me that Santa was at the end of it. Fibber, fibber, fibber. Next time I want to drive one of those antique tractors. I could get a megaphone and speak Southern to crowd which would be entertaining to them I'm sure.
Another activity that I attended this weekend was a homecoming church service in Naicam's school auditorium. The service was pretty much a standard service that you would find in about any church in the US or Canada. What was really notable were two things. First there was a woman that sat behind me that sang really, really loud and poorly. The Bible says "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord" not "Make a grunting and dying gorilla call unto the Lord." Deb and I got to laughing so hard that I was afraid my mother-in-law was going to smack both of us on the back of our heads. I would like to smack the person that told that woman her moose mating calls were singing. Then it dawned on me. What a great joke to play . All you have to do is convince her that she is talented and should broadcast her yelping dog voice for the entire congregation. Then the jokester could set in the back row and laugh at the people wincing in agony that are sitting in front of Moose Mating Call Woman. Somebody played a brilliant joke on The Southern Boy. I'm just glad Monty and Riley were not there. They would have been howling along with Moose Mating Call Woman which would have earned them a smack from my mother-in-law too. The second thing that was notable about the service was that this auditorium had air conditioning and a rather robust air conditioner at that. The temperature was set to the Summer in the South setting instead of Summer in Canada setting. You have never heard so much complaining about being cold in your life. The only comfortable person in the whole auditorium was The Southern Boy, deaf but comfortable. I think air conditioner reform in Canada was setback years today. Then it dawned on me, the AC was part of the joke. What a brilliant prank.
We went to the local carwash tonight. It is located in the town called Spalding, SK which is a relatively short drive away. Now, you are wondering why I would mention a carwash. Right.? And the reason is that the carwash was located on a dirt road. A really dusty dirt road too. I had to think about the situation for a minute. If I washed the car, it would be wet and attract dirt from the road on the trip out which would negate the act of washing it. So, I washed it, and it emerged from the dirt road cleaner than when it entered. Who would have guessed that? Believe me, I tried to turn this paragraph into a democrat joke but couldn't. I'll try harder in the future.
Well that is all for today. I have other stuff to talk about but not today. Monty, Riley, and myself leave Naicam on Tuesday and pick up Walter for the trip home. I'm just sorry that I didn't record Moose Mating Call Woman so I could pull the same joke on Walter. Oh well, there will be other opportunities in the next couple of weeks.
I'll write more tomorrow if my hearing returns.
Al
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Grandma's House, Aardvarks, Walter--Naicam, SK July 08, 2010
The weather in Naicam, SK has been nice. The days are usually low 70s and low 60s at night. There has been a lot or rain here. This area is primarily farming and the crops are in trouble due to an overabundance of rain. But I've heard about the temperatures in Raleigh being so horrible. I saw a news report that said Toronto was having an awful time with the heat. Their temperatures were 10-12 degrees less than Raleigh's which was causing their heads to explode. Thousands upon thousands of Torono folks heads exploded. If they understood AC they would still have their heads but that is not the case. Oh well, in Raleigh we are used to the heat and sort of expect it. I don't miss the heat, but I do miss my bed.
The puppies are doing great. They have been to Grandma's house before. When we got here, the puppies remembered Grandma's house and were happy to be out of the motorhome. Grandma's house has lots of places for them to explore. The Love Boat is moored in the backyard of Deb's parent's house. They like going between The Love Boat and the house. This is puppy heaven--no heat and lots of attention.
We went to Dairy Queen yesterday during a trip to the town 35 miles from Naicam. Deb wanted to go to Dairy Queen. Good lord. I said fine and pulled in the parking lot and refused to go through the drive-thru. I saw no need to perform for the locals like I had to in Neepawa. So we went inside. Deb's Dad sat at a table and Deb and I went to the counter. Of course there were kids manning the store. So, we went up to one of the kids and order. I told the girl I wanted chocolate ice cream. The kid looks at me and said, "We can't serve chocolate. It is only allowed in aardvarks". I looked at Deb and she didn't understand the kid either and asked her to repeat herself. Again the kid said you could only get chocolate in aardvarks. Deb said she understood the kid the second time. There are several cultural differences between Raleigh and Canada. However, I know the only aardvarks in Canada are in zoos. No, there are no aardvark crossing signs like you find with moose. The puppies might like to play with an aardvark but there aren't any here even though you can only get chocolate in aardvarks at Dairy Queen. So, I just whistled and walked away. I've learned not to ask questions. But low and behold, Deb brought up the subject while we were eating the synthetic, vanilla iced product that Dairy Queen dispenses. Deb said she had a hard time understanding the kid at the counter and that the kid said you could only get chocolate in arcades. Now that is an outright fib. The kid said you could only get chocolate in aardvarks. I heard the kid say it two times. Deb likes to fabricate stuff.
The trip up here has been tough on The Love Boat. We had several things fail. Most of the failures I can attribute to rough roads. Ohio, Michigan, Ontario .... were especially rough and bumpy. We went to California in November and returned in January and had zero failures. Nada. The vibration of the rough roads has taken it toll on The Love Boat. I had to have parts flown into Raleigh that Walter is bringing up next week, because I can't get them locally. Which brings me to the next subject.
You may remember Walter from the trip home from California in January. Walter flew to Texas and Deb flew home, because Deb needed to go to work before we could get home. Walter loves this stuff so much he is flying into Regina, SK on Tuesday. Deb is staying here until the end of July, and Walter and I are bringing the motorhome back to Raleigh. The Love Boat sails on Tuesday when Walter arrives. We will arrive in Raleigh near the end of the month. The puppies are coming with us, and they like Walter a lot. I've bought some neat fishing gear for us and plan for us to fish in Sioux Narrows on the way home. That should be quite a story. We are planning to rent a boat and the puppies will go out with us.
I'm really tired today and can't seem to find funny stuff to talk about. I'll reboot and will have more to say tomorrow. Bye for now.
Al
The puppies are doing great. They have been to Grandma's house before. When we got here, the puppies remembered Grandma's house and were happy to be out of the motorhome. Grandma's house has lots of places for them to explore. The Love Boat is moored in the backyard of Deb's parent's house. They like going between The Love Boat and the house. This is puppy heaven--no heat and lots of attention.
We went to Dairy Queen yesterday during a trip to the town 35 miles from Naicam. Deb wanted to go to Dairy Queen. Good lord. I said fine and pulled in the parking lot and refused to go through the drive-thru. I saw no need to perform for the locals like I had to in Neepawa. So we went inside. Deb's Dad sat at a table and Deb and I went to the counter. Of course there were kids manning the store. So, we went up to one of the kids and order. I told the girl I wanted chocolate ice cream. The kid looks at me and said, "We can't serve chocolate. It is only allowed in aardvarks". I looked at Deb and she didn't understand the kid either and asked her to repeat herself. Again the kid said you could only get chocolate in aardvarks. Deb said she understood the kid the second time. There are several cultural differences between Raleigh and Canada. However, I know the only aardvarks in Canada are in zoos. No, there are no aardvark crossing signs like you find with moose. The puppies might like to play with an aardvark but there aren't any here even though you can only get chocolate in aardvarks at Dairy Queen. So, I just whistled and walked away. I've learned not to ask questions. But low and behold, Deb brought up the subject while we were eating the synthetic, vanilla iced product that Dairy Queen dispenses. Deb said she had a hard time understanding the kid at the counter and that the kid said you could only get chocolate in arcades. Now that is an outright fib. The kid said you could only get chocolate in aardvarks. I heard the kid say it two times. Deb likes to fabricate stuff.
The trip up here has been tough on The Love Boat. We had several things fail. Most of the failures I can attribute to rough roads. Ohio, Michigan, Ontario .... were especially rough and bumpy. We went to California in November and returned in January and had zero failures. Nada. The vibration of the rough roads has taken it toll on The Love Boat. I had to have parts flown into Raleigh that Walter is bringing up next week, because I can't get them locally. Which brings me to the next subject.
You may remember Walter from the trip home from California in January. Walter flew to Texas and Deb flew home, because Deb needed to go to work before we could get home. Walter loves this stuff so much he is flying into Regina, SK on Tuesday. Deb is staying here until the end of July, and Walter and I are bringing the motorhome back to Raleigh. The Love Boat sails on Tuesday when Walter arrives. We will arrive in Raleigh near the end of the month. The puppies are coming with us, and they like Walter a lot. I've bought some neat fishing gear for us and plan for us to fish in Sioux Narrows on the way home. That should be quite a story. We are planning to rent a boat and the puppies will go out with us.
I'm really tired today and can't seem to find funny stuff to talk about. I'll reboot and will have more to say tomorrow. Bye for now.
Al
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Flooding, Dancing Southern Boy, Dairy Queen--Naicam, SK July 06, 2010
Ok, internet connections for the last two days have not been as plentiful as I would like. We left Sioux Narrows, Ontario on July 4, 2010 and drove to Neepawa, Manitoba. Then, we finished the drive to Naicam, Saskatchewan today. In total about 625 miles. We traveled 2362 miles in The Love Boat since leaving Raleigh. Well, let's get down to business.
Remember the massive rainfall that happened in Sioux Narrows, ON? Two days after that rainfall we packed up and tried to leave the campground. Notice I said "tried" to leave. The rain had turned the ground into a muddy mess, and The Love Boat got stuck. I've gotten stuff stuck many times in my life. I stopped the tire spinning before The Love Boat dug to far in, then we carried gravel and threw it under the wheels which allowed us to pull out of the mud. The Love Boat's wheels and part of the undercarriage was pretty much covered in mud, and I was a little bummed that the mud was going to harden into pottery on the wheels. About three miles after we got out on the main highway, the road was flooded with about a foot of water from the same storm. The water was 200 feet or so wide. Past readers of the blog will remember that we can't back up The Love Boat with The Crapper in tow. For those that don't know what I am referring to, let's just say the front wheels on the towed car don't respond correctly when backing. So, we approached the water, and I stopped and thought for a few seconds. There were four things goings through my mind. First, the water was deep enough for us to get stuck and do massive damage. Second, I could not back up and there was not room to turn around. Third, if we could turn around the detour was likely several hundred miles. Fourth, I wanted to wash the mud off The Love Boat. So, as we sat there, we watched a couple other idiots ford the water. So, I got brave and drove The Love Boat and Crapper into the water. The water was deep but The Love Boat was high enough to ford one foot of water with no problem--as it turned out. I've done a lot of things crazy things since we started RVing ten years ago, but I have never forded one foot of water with an RV. The Love Boat sailed through the 200 feet long, one foot deep water just fine. Might I add I knew the water did not have a current flowing over the road and would not have tried this with a current flowing. Even The Crapper made it through fine. And you betcha, the mud on The Love Boat was gone. As the saying goes, God takes care of drunks, fools, and total idiots that drive their stupid motorhomes through Lake Sioux Narrows. Good times Yall.
We stopped for the night last night in Neepawa, MB as I just mentioned. This was a nice campground in the middle of nowhere. Last year before the California trip, Walter and I installed this neat device on The Love Boat that is basically just a wifi repeater. It has a big outside antenna that I crank up and a small router style device inside that amplifies wifi signals. It is quite impressive and can pick up wifi networks from up to a mile. In some campgrounds the wifi networks are located a long distance from your campsite and the repeater is necessary. We have used the repeater several times since leaving Raleigh on this trip. Did I mention that it picks up wifi signals up to a mile? Well, I cranked up the antenna in Neepawa, turned on the amplifier, and the repeater found no networks at all. Nada. Zip. At first I thought the repeater was bad. because this campground was in town and should have picked up something. But it didn't. Then it dawned on me that Neepawa had no wifi networks. Good lord, somebody needs to bring that town into the 21 century. Which brings me to the next topic.
Since we arrived in Manitoba and Saskatchewan (yes I can spell Saskatchewan from memory) several people have walked up to me and simply stated that we were a long way from home. Actually, these folks only wanted to talk to me. Correction, they wanted to hear this Southern boy speak Southern to them. You betcha (picked that saying up in Sault Sainte Marie), I am a walking, talking, Southern dancing bear of sorts. This has happened several times mind you . But I got a little rattled today when we stopped for gas (please don't get me started on the high price of gas in Canada). I was washing the huge bug guts off the windshield, when this guy walks up to me with a paper in his hand and states, "What is your purpose for being up here so far away from home?" At home the New York Yankees all would have freaked out and their heads would have exploded or something. To be totally truthful, at home if somebody walks up to you while pumping gas, it is usually a B.O. voter wanting you to give them money. But, I checked my self-defenses long enough to think the situation through. I kid you not, I actually did not speak for an uncomfortable length of time, because I needed time to reboot my head. A system overload had occurred, and this guy upset my karma something fierce. I'll have to return to the vortexes (ggrrr) in Sedona, AZ to reset my chakra now. If you don't know what that means, go into the archives and read the Sedona, AZ posts. Anyway, after the mind reboot, I decided this guy didn't vote for B.O. and was harmless. So, I told him we were going to Deb's parent's house to which he said, "that's a good enough reason". Well I was feeling all warm and snugly that I provided this esteemed gentleman with such a worthy answer. In actuality, he didn't care about why I was sitting in Godknowswhere, Manitoba, he just wanted the Southern boy dancing bear to talk Southern to him. You betcha. So, I did and made his day. I might as well be from Mars. "Yall take me to your leaders. Beep, beep". Geez Louise.
Deb wanted to go to Neepawa's Dairy Queen. Deb loves Dairy Queen and for the life of me I can't see why. But, I went with her to Dairy Queen. Now here is where the fun starts. We pulled into the parking lot, and I had to make a decision. Should I park and let Deb run in, or do I pull up to the drive-thru? I knew that if we went through the drive-thru there was going to be some Yalling and dancing of The Southern Boy. I just knew it. Deb says that we should go through the drive-thru, and I reluctantly said fine. Did I mention that this is where the fun starts? So, we pulled up to the magic board and the kid in the store said something that I didn't understand. I asked Deb what she wanted, and she didn't know, so I told the kid, "just a moment please". Well the kid heard banjo music playing from the drive-thru lane, and he knew that a Deliverance movie character had pulled into the Neepawa Dairy Queen. He said something else really fast that I didn't catch. Regardless, while Deb decided on her poison, I told Speaker Box Boy that I wanted a small, dipped, chocolate cone. He comes back with, "You want two hot dogs?" Of course, Deb told me that Speaker Box Boy couldn't understand me. I guess I had given too many performances that day and had worn out my Yaller mechanism. I totally discounted her notion, because I had spoken to him clearly and in my normal paced voice. He just couldn't hear me over the banjo music playing in his head. Deb told me again he couldn't understand my accent and that Dairy Queen didn't have chocolate ice cream. I knew that was nonsense, so I told Speaker Box Boy that Deb wanted a medium, vanilla cone. Speaker Box Boy said something that I couldn't understand, and I drove up to the window. Guess what? In a few moments, Speaker Box Boy emerged with Deb's cone, and a small, dipped, chocolate cone. Well La De Da. He did understand me. I gave Deb the I told you so look and left.
See Yall tomorrow.
Al
Remember the massive rainfall that happened in Sioux Narrows, ON? Two days after that rainfall we packed up and tried to leave the campground. Notice I said "tried" to leave. The rain had turned the ground into a muddy mess, and The Love Boat got stuck. I've gotten stuff stuck many times in my life. I stopped the tire spinning before The Love Boat dug to far in, then we carried gravel and threw it under the wheels which allowed us to pull out of the mud. The Love Boat's wheels and part of the undercarriage was pretty much covered in mud, and I was a little bummed that the mud was going to harden into pottery on the wheels. About three miles after we got out on the main highway, the road was flooded with about a foot of water from the same storm. The water was 200 feet or so wide. Past readers of the blog will remember that we can't back up The Love Boat with The Crapper in tow. For those that don't know what I am referring to, let's just say the front wheels on the towed car don't respond correctly when backing. So, we approached the water, and I stopped and thought for a few seconds. There were four things goings through my mind. First, the water was deep enough for us to get stuck and do massive damage. Second, I could not back up and there was not room to turn around. Third, if we could turn around the detour was likely several hundred miles. Fourth, I wanted to wash the mud off The Love Boat. So, as we sat there, we watched a couple other idiots ford the water. So, I got brave and drove The Love Boat and Crapper into the water. The water was deep but The Love Boat was high enough to ford one foot of water with no problem--as it turned out. I've done a lot of things crazy things since we started RVing ten years ago, but I have never forded one foot of water with an RV. The Love Boat sailed through the 200 feet long, one foot deep water just fine. Might I add I knew the water did not have a current flowing over the road and would not have tried this with a current flowing. Even The Crapper made it through fine. And you betcha, the mud on The Love Boat was gone. As the saying goes, God takes care of drunks, fools, and total idiots that drive their stupid motorhomes through Lake Sioux Narrows. Good times Yall.
We stopped for the night last night in Neepawa, MB as I just mentioned. This was a nice campground in the middle of nowhere. Last year before the California trip, Walter and I installed this neat device on The Love Boat that is basically just a wifi repeater. It has a big outside antenna that I crank up and a small router style device inside that amplifies wifi signals. It is quite impressive and can pick up wifi networks from up to a mile. In some campgrounds the wifi networks are located a long distance from your campsite and the repeater is necessary. We have used the repeater several times since leaving Raleigh on this trip. Did I mention that it picks up wifi signals up to a mile? Well, I cranked up the antenna in Neepawa, turned on the amplifier, and the repeater found no networks at all. Nada. Zip. At first I thought the repeater was bad. because this campground was in town and should have picked up something. But it didn't. Then it dawned on me that Neepawa had no wifi networks. Good lord, somebody needs to bring that town into the 21 century. Which brings me to the next topic.
Since we arrived in Manitoba and Saskatchewan (yes I can spell Saskatchewan from memory) several people have walked up to me and simply stated that we were a long way from home. Actually, these folks only wanted to talk to me. Correction, they wanted to hear this Southern boy speak Southern to them. You betcha (picked that saying up in Sault Sainte Marie), I am a walking, talking, Southern dancing bear of sorts. This has happened several times mind you . But I got a little rattled today when we stopped for gas (please don't get me started on the high price of gas in Canada). I was washing the huge bug guts off the windshield, when this guy walks up to me with a paper in his hand and states, "What is your purpose for being up here so far away from home?" At home the New York Yankees all would have freaked out and their heads would have exploded or something. To be totally truthful, at home if somebody walks up to you while pumping gas, it is usually a B.O. voter wanting you to give them money. But, I checked my self-defenses long enough to think the situation through. I kid you not, I actually did not speak for an uncomfortable length of time, because I needed time to reboot my head. A system overload had occurred, and this guy upset my karma something fierce. I'll have to return to the vortexes (ggrrr) in Sedona, AZ to reset my chakra now. If you don't know what that means, go into the archives and read the Sedona, AZ posts. Anyway, after the mind reboot, I decided this guy didn't vote for B.O. and was harmless. So, I told him we were going to Deb's parent's house to which he said, "that's a good enough reason". Well I was feeling all warm and snugly that I provided this esteemed gentleman with such a worthy answer. In actuality, he didn't care about why I was sitting in Godknowswhere, Manitoba, he just wanted the Southern boy dancing bear to talk Southern to him. You betcha. So, I did and made his day. I might as well be from Mars. "Yall take me to your leaders. Beep, beep". Geez Louise.
Deb wanted to go to Neepawa's Dairy Queen. Deb loves Dairy Queen and for the life of me I can't see why. But, I went with her to Dairy Queen. Now here is where the fun starts. We pulled into the parking lot, and I had to make a decision. Should I park and let Deb run in, or do I pull up to the drive-thru? I knew that if we went through the drive-thru there was going to be some Yalling and dancing of The Southern Boy. I just knew it. Deb says that we should go through the drive-thru, and I reluctantly said fine. Did I mention that this is where the fun starts? So, we pulled up to the magic board and the kid in the store said something that I didn't understand. I asked Deb what she wanted, and she didn't know, so I told the kid, "just a moment please". Well the kid heard banjo music playing from the drive-thru lane, and he knew that a Deliverance movie character had pulled into the Neepawa Dairy Queen. He said something else really fast that I didn't catch. Regardless, while Deb decided on her poison, I told Speaker Box Boy that I wanted a small, dipped, chocolate cone. He comes back with, "You want two hot dogs?" Of course, Deb told me that Speaker Box Boy couldn't understand me. I guess I had given too many performances that day and had worn out my Yaller mechanism. I totally discounted her notion, because I had spoken to him clearly and in my normal paced voice. He just couldn't hear me over the banjo music playing in his head. Deb told me again he couldn't understand my accent and that Dairy Queen didn't have chocolate ice cream. I knew that was nonsense, so I told Speaker Box Boy that Deb wanted a medium, vanilla cone. Speaker Box Boy said something that I couldn't understand, and I drove up to the window. Guess what? In a few moments, Speaker Box Boy emerged with Deb's cone, and a small, dipped, chocolate cone. Well La De Da. He did understand me. I gave Deb the I told you so look and left.
See Yall tomorrow.
Al
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Sioux Narrows, ON July 4, 2010
Yesterday, we bid Lake Superior goodbye and set sail for The Sunset Country. We arrived in Sioux Narrows which is sort of kind of next to Nestor Falls, ON. When we blew through here several years ago and decided to return and spend some time. Well, here we are. We got in last night and just had time to set up the motorhome when the rain started. Then the power went out. The storm brought thunder and lighting that made The Puppies shiver and quake each time the thunder boomed. Monty put on his combat helmet from Nam and ducked into his bomb shelter or at what you would call the dining room table. He was not a happy puppy. The rain came down at a rate of about 2-3 inches per hour which is a sizable storm. There was a small river running under The Love Boat until about midnight or later. Good times Yall.
Since the power was off and we needed some drinking water, we decided to go into Sioux Narrows. Sioux Narrows is a wide spot in the road with a few businesses, one of which was the trading post or what is better described as fleecing post. A gallon of water was $3.59 plus tax of course we stocked up at that price. The water in the campground has a sign that says to boil your water for one minute before consuming. My impression was, oh goody, nasty water. Yummy. So we bought two gallons of water and liked it. Oh baby did we like it. So we left and went to the Sioux Narrows Provincial Park on our way back to The Love Boat. We pulled up to the entrance and Deb walked up to building and came back and stated there was a sign on the door that said the office was closed. So, we decided to go in and check the campsites out for the return trip in two weeks. We pulled through the gate and a car sort of tries to ram us head on and a woman sticks here arm out of the window and asks us if she could help us. I thought about it a second and decided that she needed to go into town and whoop somebody's butt over charging us $3.59 for a gallon of water. But she didn't look very useful for that type of thing, so I told her we wanted to check out the campsites for a return trip. Then the fun started. She stated that it was not a good night for viewing the park as she was "getting the campers settled down after the park caught the tailend of a tornado". We are in the sticks and we had not checked the weather that day due to the lack of any electromagnetic waves of any sorts here. No TV, no satellite (due to the storm), and no local radio. It turns out the the "tailend of the tornado" was only a storm and the tornado occurred more that 500 miles from here. The Car Ramming Woman was all flustered about nothing. Car Ramming Woman would blow a head gasket should she come down to North Carolina where tornadoes and hurricanes are irregular bedfellows. She would be running around acting up so much that Monty would have to tell her to shut up. I can just hear Monty telling her, "Buck up woman. Put this helmet on and jump into your foxhole. You're yapper is giving away our position. Haven't you ever been in a storm before?"
We got up this morning and stepped out The Love Boat into our campsite which overlooks this huge lake. This campsite is very pretty, squishy but pretty. We heard the cry of what Deb said was a loon. It sounded more like somebody repeated sitting on a chicken but what do I know. This area is renowned for its fishing and hunting. While driving in yesterday, the GPS should as much lake space as land. This really is a beautiful place when you're not having to back stroke through the campsite.
A couple days ago in Thunder Bay, we went to a local RV dealer for a part for The Love Boat. When we walked in the guy at the counter asked us how we were, "...fairing this blistering heat?" What he was referring to was the day time temperature of 82 degrees. Good Lord, at home we see 82 degrees in the winter. Blistering Hot Boy's head would be spinning around like a Tilt-Whirl if spent time in NC during the summer. The weather forecast in Raleigh was calling for a cool streak of 85 degrees over the weekend as high ninety degree days were the norm when we left. Geez Louise.
I'll try to update more later today.
Al
Since the power was off and we needed some drinking water, we decided to go into Sioux Narrows. Sioux Narrows is a wide spot in the road with a few businesses, one of which was the trading post or what is better described as fleecing post. A gallon of water was $3.59 plus tax of course we stocked up at that price. The water in the campground has a sign that says to boil your water for one minute before consuming. My impression was, oh goody, nasty water. Yummy. So we bought two gallons of water and liked it. Oh baby did we like it. So we left and went to the Sioux Narrows Provincial Park on our way back to The Love Boat. We pulled up to the entrance and Deb walked up to building and came back and stated there was a sign on the door that said the office was closed. So, we decided to go in and check the campsites out for the return trip in two weeks. We pulled through the gate and a car sort of tries to ram us head on and a woman sticks here arm out of the window and asks us if she could help us. I thought about it a second and decided that she needed to go into town and whoop somebody's butt over charging us $3.59 for a gallon of water. But she didn't look very useful for that type of thing, so I told her we wanted to check out the campsites for a return trip. Then the fun started. She stated that it was not a good night for viewing the park as she was "getting the campers settled down after the park caught the tailend of a tornado". We are in the sticks and we had not checked the weather that day due to the lack of any electromagnetic waves of any sorts here. No TV, no satellite (due to the storm), and no local radio. It turns out the the "tailend of the tornado" was only a storm and the tornado occurred more that 500 miles from here. The Car Ramming Woman was all flustered about nothing. Car Ramming Woman would blow a head gasket should she come down to North Carolina where tornadoes and hurricanes are irregular bedfellows. She would be running around acting up so much that Monty would have to tell her to shut up. I can just hear Monty telling her, "Buck up woman. Put this helmet on and jump into your foxhole. You're yapper is giving away our position. Haven't you ever been in a storm before?"
We got up this morning and stepped out The Love Boat into our campsite which overlooks this huge lake. This campsite is very pretty, squishy but pretty. We heard the cry of what Deb said was a loon. It sounded more like somebody repeated sitting on a chicken but what do I know. This area is renowned for its fishing and hunting. While driving in yesterday, the GPS should as much lake space as land. This really is a beautiful place when you're not having to back stroke through the campsite.
A couple days ago in Thunder Bay, we went to a local RV dealer for a part for The Love Boat. When we walked in the guy at the counter asked us how we were, "...fairing this blistering heat?" What he was referring to was the day time temperature of 82 degrees. Good Lord, at home we see 82 degrees in the winter. Blistering Hot Boy's head would be spinning around like a Tilt-Whirl if spent time in NC during the summer. The weather forecast in Raleigh was calling for a cool streak of 85 degrees over the weekend as high ninety degree days were the norm when we left. Geez Louise.
I'll try to update more later today.
Al
Friday, July 2, 2010
This made me laugh for hours.
I normally don't photograph things in the men's restroom, but this made me laugh.Below are photographs of a handdryer that I saw in a little town south of Thunder Bay. If you look closely there is graffiti written above each symbol. Normally you would expect the typical graffiti that says something like, push button (usually butt), wipe hands on pants. The first photo is handdryer, the second is a zoomed image of the instruction plate. If you click on the images it will expand.
Above the symbols it said: Push button, receive bacon, eat bacon.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Thunder Bay, ON July 1, 2010
We drove from the lunchground to Thunder Bay, ON today. It took about three hours to drive as we stopped a few times. The terrain changed from Rocky outcrops along the water at Neys to bright red rock then to slate as we neared Thunder Bay. The red rock was beautiful. In Thunder Bay, along the lake's edge, the terrain is less rocky and beaches are sometimes sandy. For every five deer crossing signs on the Trans- Canadian Highway that you would see is one moose crossing sign. The wildlife seems to have changed as well as the terrain.
Boy is gas expensive here . I paid $1.10/liter for gas yesterday. If you factor in the US to Canadian currency exchange rate, that equates to $3.91 per gallon. I am told the difference in cost is taxes. I remember when the exchange rate was 65 cents US to the Canadian dollar and now it is 94 cents US. I heard some idiot at the Sault Sainte Marie campground say that the Canadian government should change the exchange rate so US citizens will go over and spend money. He said "how do they expect us to afford to visit there"? If I get a vote, I vote we deport that idiot.
Deb was talking to somebody at our current campground's dog park (the dogs are happy but are barking 94% less due to the exchange rate) that sighting a cougar was extremely rare. He said he often hikes around all over Ontario and has never seen a cougar. Well he must not have gotten the memo that cougar sightings are only for the US citizens, so that we will come up here and spend money and not feel so bad about it. Geez. As much as gas costs here, that cougar should have put on a tutu and tap danced for us or maybe called a few bears over and had a really wild chorus line.
The reason this blog posting is late is because the wifi in this kiddie laced campground was not working last night when we arrived. But, there was one thing working that we didn't want or need. It was the mouths of the children of the "gentleman" next to us. All evening, his kids circled our motorhome yelling and screaming like the Indians did to the cowboys. One of the little monsters kept running around yelling "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy". Today, if Mommy, Mommy, Mommy doesn't shut that kid up, I will put my foot up Mommy, Mommy, Mommy's..... You get the picture. Why do idiots expect us to put up with their children like that. Had I acted like that as a child, my mother would have beat my..... Again, you get the picture. We saw a sign in Neys Provincial Park on the beach that said, "Parents, you are responsible for your children. No lifeguard on duty". Well that would never go over in the US (or this campground for that matter). Clearly, US parents are not responsible for their children. US parents force their responsibility on the neighbors, teachers, police, camp counselors, or anybody else but themselves. Canadians have strange customs at time.
Get this, it is going to be 81 degrees in Thunder Bay today and tomorrow. What happened to the nice cool weather?
I'll try to update tonight if the wifi works. We are staying in Thunder Bay tonight and leaving tomorrow for Nestor Falls which is 265 miles away. Nestor Falls is beautiful.
Al
Boy is gas expensive here . I paid $1.10/liter for gas yesterday. If you factor in the US to Canadian currency exchange rate, that equates to $3.91 per gallon. I am told the difference in cost is taxes. I remember when the exchange rate was 65 cents US to the Canadian dollar and now it is 94 cents US. I heard some idiot at the Sault Sainte Marie campground say that the Canadian government should change the exchange rate so US citizens will go over and spend money. He said "how do they expect us to afford to visit there"? If I get a vote, I vote we deport that idiot.
Deb was talking to somebody at our current campground's dog park (the dogs are happy but are barking 94% less due to the exchange rate) that sighting a cougar was extremely rare. He said he often hikes around all over Ontario and has never seen a cougar. Well he must not have gotten the memo that cougar sightings are only for the US citizens, so that we will come up here and spend money and not feel so bad about it. Geez. As much as gas costs here, that cougar should have put on a tutu and tap danced for us or maybe called a few bears over and had a really wild chorus line.
The reason this blog posting is late is because the wifi in this kiddie laced campground was not working last night when we arrived. But, there was one thing working that we didn't want or need. It was the mouths of the children of the "gentleman" next to us. All evening, his kids circled our motorhome yelling and screaming like the Indians did to the cowboys. One of the little monsters kept running around yelling "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy". Today, if Mommy, Mommy, Mommy doesn't shut that kid up, I will put my foot up Mommy, Mommy, Mommy's..... You get the picture. Why do idiots expect us to put up with their children like that. Had I acted like that as a child, my mother would have beat my..... Again, you get the picture. We saw a sign in Neys Provincial Park on the beach that said, "Parents, you are responsible for your children. No lifeguard on duty". Well that would never go over in the US (or this campground for that matter). Clearly, US parents are not responsible for their children. US parents force their responsibility on the neighbors, teachers, police, camp counselors, or anybody else but themselves. Canadians have strange customs at time.
Get this, it is going to be 81 degrees in Thunder Bay today and tomorrow. What happened to the nice cool weather?
I'll try to update tonight if the wifi works. We are staying in Thunder Bay tonight and leaving tomorrow for Nestor Falls which is 265 miles away. Nestor Falls is beautiful.
Al
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