Category: Travel/Transportation

Posted on

Thinking of San Diego

Before I settled down and took over the family house and farm, I had the opportunity to do a bit of traveling. I can’t tell you how much I miss that part of my life. One of my favorite places was San Diego, California. And thanks to Facebook I have been able to reconnect with a couple of good folks that I met there and they are still living there after all these years.

I found one friend on Facebook through the Meservy Law link that I followed, which took me to another site that I clicked around on and 45 minutes later I stumbled onto one of the greatest bartenders that I’ve had the pleasure of working with. He is a lot older than I and quit the bar tending business and it’s crazy lifestyle and last I heard was driving a city bus some where in Wisconsin. I used to have his phone number and his address, but then it turned into utilizing email and then he pretty much dropped off the face of the earth, so finding him on Facebook, by complete accident was a nice surprise.

If I ever get out that a way I will certainly have to spend some time with this guy. They just don’t make them like him any more. But then again, I don’t get out much anymore.

Posted on

Searching For The Bright Red Coffee Can

As much time as I have spent trying to get things better organized around here since moving permanently here at the family farm, it would take a miracle to get it all done by myself. I have done a good amount in the past 5 years or so, but my parents lived here most of their adult life and the managed to accumulate a lot of stuff throughout their life times and never wanted to get rid of anything.

I was looking for a few u bolts the other day and I knew that I had seen a coffee can in one of the out buildings that had a variety of u bolts as well as other types of bolts that I knew would come in handy at some point (much like my dad did apparently). Now that I need them of course I can’t put my hands on the coffee can to save my soul even though I remember it being red in color and you would think that a red coffee can would stand out and say “look at me” but not this time.

I’ll be darned if I am going to run into town for a couple of bolts, so I’ll just keep looking for that darned coffee can and next time I go into town, if I haven’t found them yet, then I’ll start looking at buying new ones. Of course as soon as I purchase new ones I will find the old ones, it never fails!

Posted on

Nemo Tents and Sleep Systems

For many years, more than I wish to confess to, I have been wanting to go out with some friends and go hiking, camping and fishing like the good ol’ days, but had just been too tied down with work and spending time with loved ones. This year I felt was a brand new year, and was a perfect time for me to get out there and so something I had always wanted to do.

Like I said before I had been wanting to go camping for a long while, and I found myself scavenging my garage for supplies and camping gear I needed to go. I found so many things I used to use while camping, but couldn’t find my tent I used to use. While searching for it, I realized my tent is very out of date and probably needs an upgrade even if I did come across it.

I took a night to sit in the office and just search around the net for some good deals on tents. I came across a nemo tent sale, and had found great deals on all types of tents, but the one that stood out to me the most was a 3 season tent, something I’ve always wanted to own. I ordered it right away and had it shipped to my home, and in no time at all I was camping out by the lake the following weekend. I am so grateful to have found such a sturdy tent to spend many of nights in while by the camp fire enjoying nature.

photo of Nemo camping gear
Nemo Sleeping Bags

 

Posted on

Looking For The Perfect Mocha At A Reasonable Cost

It wasn’t all that long ago that the McCafe was the new “product” from McDonald’s and they were advertising it very heavily on local TV. I’ve seen several different commercials recently, and that’s with just the little bit of TV that I’ve watched. According to the local Business Journal, the man who owns most of the McDonald’s franchises in Alabama has spent a WHOLE lot of money remodeling the Alabama restaurants to include a McCafe.

I’m looking forward to visiting a McCafe and trying their coffee. I wonder if it tastes as good as a Starbucks and how much of the flavoring you have to add yourself instead of a trained barista. I’m not optimistic what-so-ever, since every time I drink just a plain old McDonald’s coffee it upsets my stomach for hour after drinking, so I would imagine that it will be the same with their specialty barista drinks.

So far I haven’t found anywhere that makes the hot mocha that I enjoy drinking day or night, summer or winter as well as Starbucks. But seriously someone could go broke frequenting Starbucks. Last time I was at a Starbucks I was really happy to see that they have started their own “Customer Rewards” program so that after a certain amount of purchases you get a free drink. The bad news is that you have to purchase 20 drinks to get a free one. That’s a lot of purchasing going on in order to get a free one. At least with Sheetz you only have to buy 10 in order to get a free one. They are a bit cheaper than Sheetz and are the closest to the Starbucks flavor that I have found anywhere else yet.

 

 

Posted on

Luxury Vacation Rentals, Paris or Greece?

Since it has been so nasty outside with freezing rain, snow, sleet, along with some pretty hefty winds these past couple of days, I do what I only have to do and get myself back inside as quick as possible. The older I get the less I enjoy (yes I used to enjoy) winter and all the ugly weather that it brings along with it, like it or not. Although we have had some pretty mild winters these past couple of years it is still winter and it’s still cold and wet. Not my favorite mixture.

I’ve been going through some boxes that have been in the “Guest Room” for many years now that mainly have papers in them that have needed to be gone through, most of which ends up in the paper/cardboard recycling bin. It’s a slow process and sometimes a painful one that causes me to feel depressed for days. Even though my folks have been gone for over four years now it is still painful and raw. I will never get over it, but am doing the best that I can with the cards that I have been dealt in this life. Living here at their house and running the family farm on my own has been a challenge and will continue to because that is real life.

What I really need right now is when I get my tax refund check is to book one of the luxury paris vacation rentals that I’ve been eyeballing online for years now. I made the mistake of sharing my wants and needs for a luxury vacation some where like Paris or Greece and now she seems to be on a mission to get me away from here and plan the “perfect get-a-way” for me before I lose my mind and health. I don’t want to go alone, but there really aren’t a lot of people that I could spend that amount of time with and enjoy before wanting to strangle them. I’ve been on my own for so long here that I don’t know how I would handle sharing myself 24/7. And trying to find someone that can get away for a week because of their job, or their kids, or their aging parents, or their health or their finances, blah, blah, blah………

 

Posted on

The Old Homestead Crying Out For A New Kitchen Undermount Sink

It really shouldn’t surprise me that so many things are in such bad shape around here, but with so little time and little money to put back into the old homestead it sure is frustrating and very disappointing. The latest thing that I have discovered is the need for a new Undermount Sink in the kitchen.

Now instead of going into town and spending the time and money that it takes for the gasoline that it takes for the trip, I have asked my eldest sister to take a look for me on the Internet to help find some sites that have affordable Undermount Sinks. Since she is very familiar with everything around here just about as well as I am and I trust her judgement since she helps out more than anyone else around the house when she is able. Right now I really have my hands full on the farm, this crazy weather makes farming so much harder to deal with, so any help right now is totally appreciated.

I don’t spend a lot of time in the kitchen. I tend to buy frozen dinners that you just toss in the microwave for a few minutes. Eat it while watching the TV or sitting in front of my computer. When I’m done eating, everything expect the fork and the glass that I have used goes right into the trash, so there isn’t a lot of dishes and clean up in that old kitchen, but I don’t want to wait much longer to where it will turn into a real pain in the neck.

Posted on

Interning For The Summer

My oldest nephew is heading overseas in seven weeks or so, for his summer intern job in Amsterdam. My sister has been working closely with him over the phone and by instant messengers to help him find cheap accommodation Amsterdam by using a web site called www.shortstay-apartment.com and searching their database for an apartment or even a room in Amsterdam for the month of June. They are on a shoestring budget and would much rather spend the money on activities to take advantage of being in Europe for a month rather than spending it all on some place to sleep.

Last year the same nephew spent the entire summer as an intern for a big law firm in Philadelphia. He agreed to take the position without knowing much about the actual job function. He just trusted his college liaison to place him in a company that would further his interest in helping the environment. Philadelphia is a great city for young people. It has a lot of history, culture, and professional sports to keep people active and stimulated. The cost of living is high because of its location on the East Coast and so near to New York City. But for a lot of people, Philadelphia is a lower cost alternative to living in NYC or the north Jersey area. This year he is traveling to Amsterdam and working with an engineering company. He is looking forward to learning about the European approach to generating, using and saving energy.

Posted on

Wrapping My Brain Around Half Chaps

The first time I heard someone talk about half chaps, I just couldn’t wrap my brain around the concept of just half of a chap. Now chaps aren’t something that are discussed much, so I hadn’t really thought about the half chaps that they are now selling of which so many of the equestrians of the world are wearing these days.

So when my oldest niece asked for a pair of half chaps for this Christmas I had to look a bit online and see what they are all about. Theequestriancorner.com is a great website for all kinds of equestrian gear and equipment which has a good amount of half chaps of which I took some time and checked out. They were actually cheaper and better looking than I had thought they were going to be, so I ordered her a pair for Christmas. The look on her face when she opened up the package was just fantastic! Her mom actually got a video of her shaking the box, trying to guess what was in it and then just ripping it open and the look of surprise and happiness when she got it open and realized what they were.

Posted on

Many of The Columbia Backpacks

Yesterday I had to go and pick my niece up from the nurse’s clinic at school to take her home. Bless her heart she was so sick, most likely the flu. Good thing I got my flu shot a few months ago and I tried to keep the window down in my truck and no hugs and kisses were exchanged in an effort to keep her germs all to her self. Last thing I need is to get sick. Since I am usually not around a lot of people that are carrying millions of germs along with them I don’t get sick very often and I always get my flu shot.

My sister was out-of-town all day and they couldn’t get hold of my brother-in-law, so I am on the top of the emergency names and numbers to call in situations like this. It was a cold and rainy, miserable weather day, so I was actually grateful to get out of the nasty weather, ride in my nice warm truck to go fetch my niece, carry one of the many columbia backpacks that she uses for school, take her home and get her up to her room. I stayed with her until her Dad got home and I haven’t heard from anyone yet to let me know if they are taking her to the doctors or what. I hope she feels better soon and am praying that no one else in the house gets sick as well.

Posted on

Box Office Failure

One of my favorite action movies by someone other than Mel Gibson has got to be the original “Speed.” The movie had a great cast: Keanu Reeves – gorgeous, intense, the clean cut, cop-type everyone loves to love Dennis Hopper – one of the best bad guys EVER – Sandra Bullock – America’s darling – Jeff Daniels – Imaginative casting – from slapstick to a cop – and it worked! Can you believe it has been 19 years since that movie came out? IT was released in 1994. Now that certainly makes me feel so OLD!

One of the worst sequels of all time, Speed 2 was made with a lot of the same people, with the noticeable absence of Keanu Reeves, and released in 1997. It was a box office failure – and rightfully so. The movie was a money grab and had so many technical inconsistencies that it was neither believable nor entertaining. The set for the huge crash ending was supposed to be the Caribbean town of St. Martin, but according to Wikipedia, there is no town by the name in the movie and there is not town that looks anything like the scene in the movie. So I stand by my original comment that the Isla Moin Marina in Costa Rica was used as the basis of the movie set in Speed 2. Unless this town did not exist in 1996, in which case I wonder if the architect was inspired by the movie?