Category: Travel

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Coffee and Doughnuts

When you’ve been driving for hours and are really getting tired of being on the road, it can really help perk yourself up if you stop for a cup of hot coffee and some doughnuts. The caffeine in the coffee will get the adrenaline going and chase the sleep away. The sugar and carbs in the doughnut will also give your metabolism a kick. Plus, it is good to get up out of the driver’s seat where it is dark and quiet, and sit at a busy, bright counter filled with people and noise.

The last time I was driving through New Jersey, I stopped at one of the turnpike refreshment shops and bought coffee and doughnuts. If you have ever driven through New Jersey at night, you know how boring and monotonous the turnpike can be. That in itself causes so many accidents that the state of New Jersey had to put concrete lane barriers between the northbound lanes and the southbound lanes. And they have rest stops every 15 miles or so.

There is always plenty of parking at the rest stops, and most of them have 24 hour gas stations, convenience stores, and either a Burger King or a Dunkin’ Donuts shop so you can take a break and get some food, like my favorite, coffee and doughnuts.

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Be a trucker

When I was young back in the 70’s it was always a cool thing to be a trucker. We watched all the trucking shows on TV like Convoy and Smokey and the bandit. My brothers and I would always hang out the windows of our car and pump our arms at a trucker trying to encourage him into honking the horn.

Nowadays, truckers are more in demand than ever. The problem is that not too many people actually want to be a trucker anymore. Living on the road is difficult and getting the proper licenses is time-consuming and expensive. I think that for the right person though, it could be a great career move. Give it some thought.

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Well worth the trip

If you haven’t ever been to Washington DC, you should make the trip.  There is something for everyone there.  Not only were the July 4th fireworks amazing but the museums were very educational.  My favorite just happened to be the NRA museum and there’s no charge to get in.  Believe it or not but Rachel actually found it interesting too.

Yeah I know most people think that guns and things like that are a guy thing but that’s not necessarily true.  That’s almost like saying art museums are for ladies.  I dare to disagree.  If you could have seen some of the amazing work on not only the stocks of the guns but also etched in the medal on these weapons, you would appreciate the workmanship if not the weapon.  No I’m not promoting anything with guns, just promoting a nice trip.

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Fireworks in Washington DC

Everyone keeps telling me that you haven’t seen fireworks until you see them in Washington DC.  I have been told that there is nothing more beautiful than seeing them around the Monument.  Well, looks like we will get to know first hand.

It’s been too long since either of us has seen a really good fireworks display so we decided to take a road trip to Washington DC to see what all of the fuss is about.  I did pull up a couple of youtube videos from the past years and I must admit, I’m getting a bit excited about seeing them up close and personal.  Stay safe everyone and enjoy your holiday.

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Friends, Florida, and cars

Since my work takes me out of state every once in a while, I am sometimes able to visit friends or family if I am in the area. I was recently in Tampa, Fl and was able to see an old friend of mine named Bob. We went to college together and have stayed in touch ever since. It turned out that I had one whole day to do whatever I wanted and so I hung out with him.

The only thing that Bob really had to do that day was that he wanted to buy some Used Cars he could give to his children. He had gone online and watched some used car videos and wanted to get my opinion on the cars he liked. We found a place that we liked for used cars Tampa and that can be found at this web address http://www.parkautomall.com we got ready to head down to the lot.

We talked with the salesman and found two cars we liked. We made a pretty good deal to buy both cars and he was able to apply for credit right there at the store. When the deal was closed I think everyone was happy. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the kid’s faces as they saw their cars. All in all it was a great trip and I hope to back to Tampa Bay soon.

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Antiques

Since everybody knows I have a truck, I was helping a friend move the other day. When people know you have a truck, they always want you to help them move. Anyway, my friend asks if I wanted an old sewing machine that he had in the upstairs bedroom. It looked interesting and so I took it.

The machine was very old and it was a Singer. I looked up the serial number online and discovered that the machine was made in 1892. My first thought was that it may be worth a lot of money. It turns out that there are many machines like it and that they are a dime a dozen. I guess I learned a lesson today.

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Road trip

I recently went on a road trip to visit some old friends of mine. Their names are skip and Barbara and they live on a farm in central Virginia. While I know how to get there fairly well, (I have been there before). It can be a difficult place to find. They live on a gravel road and they always tell me to look for a red fence. The problem is that there are many red fences in the area.

I mentioned to Skip that he might want to consider getting some personalized address plaques for his home. It would be so much easier to know for sure where to turn. I found a site online that has many residential address plaques for sale. They are fairly cheap and make a nice addition to any location. Allowing visitors to your home to find it easily will make everyone happy.

Skip was glad for the advice and said that he would look into the situation right away. His wife Barbara also liked the idea. they seemed to decide that the bronze address plaques would be best for them. I rest assured that the next time I visit them I will be able to find them without a problem. This makes a lot of difference even though it is a small improvement. I wish everything was as easy as this.

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My dead battery

My car battery has been failing over the last several days. I had to get a jump start from friends at work just to get home the other day. This morning, it was dead again and I was lucky a neighbor of mine came to the rescue and got me on the road again.

I went to a local auto parts store and was surprised that a decent battery costs nearly $100 dollars. I had to buy one though and they put it in for me. Now at least I can start my car and get where I’m going. Cars sure are expensive!

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The long ride

I love how big our country is. I went on a trip recently and discovered that you can drive for hours on end at 80 miles per hour and still not be even close to our destination. This happened to me when I went to see a friend who lives in Mississippi. His name is john and we went to college together. It was good to see him and his family.

John had just bought a new home and was just starting to get it the way he wanted it. The first thing I noticed was that he didn’t have a security alarm. I talked to him about this and told him that it would be worth the investment to have some peace of mind. Knowing that his family was safe is of great importance. We found a home security tupelo company that could provide the services he needed.

Another aspect of his new home was that it would be very expensive for him to have cable service installed. We did some research and discovered a site called LocalTV-Satellite.com that made our decision easy. John could have his choice of the many programs options they had. I am sure that John is enjoying his new home and his family is too. As for me, I am facing a long ride home!

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Thanks internet!

The power of the internet is pretty awesome. With just a few clicks and keywords, you can find information on just about anything. Even if the information you need is in another country. This happened to me recently. I was talking with my aunt who still lives in the UK. She has been planning to move and wanted me to help her find a low-cost removal company to move her things.

She has lived in the same apartment for many years. She has always dreamed of living near the water and now she has her chance. She will be moving at the end of the month. The problem is that with all the expenses of her new home, she has to keep her house removal costs to a minimum. I thought I could help and so I did some research online.

I found out that moving can be costly. The good news was that there are many companies out there who can do the job for less. It’s important to have as many moving quotes as possible in order to make a good decision. The site I found above does just that. My aunt is happy to know that she can move to her new home without a lot of worry. Thank goodness for the internet!