Mosh Glass

Ok. So it’s day two back. I was thinking I should title this Day 2 or Second Day or something numeric. I am an accountant after all. Over the years my English instructors always harped on the need for a title to a story or article. I always hated them. It’s not so easy coming up with a pithy title every day. One that is topical or funny or arcane. But maybe I can see a bit of the point of it all. I will try harder tomorrow. I may even change today’s while in progress.

I am again up to early. It’s 10am in Maine and I guess my head is still there. A shame my body isn’t. Speaking of, I gained ten pounds while on vacay. For anyone who has read the blog you may be likely to blame all the cocktails, trips to Giffords Ice Cream, dinners with friends or for that matter all the eating out. Well, that sounds about right. I started up the diet I was on before I left. I had lost 30 lbs prior to going on vacay so I would like to kick the ten plus lots more. So I will keep you posted. That’s blog humor. Posted. It’s all I got.

I was sitting here at he kitchen table typing and the cat, Prince, jumped in my lap. She really never talked to me before. But, she has been my best friend since we got back. If I sit, she hits my lap. Actually annoying that she is so needy. Cats are supposed to be aloof. And I wish she would hold onto her hair.

I am going to go make 3 coffees in a moment. One for me and the others for the kids. On a normal morning I make coffee for whoever is here. Today three. When the kids lived here it was four every day. Making two each morning as I do now seems so easy. See, habits can be changed or adapt to new circumstances. Then there is breakfast. I don’t make it for everyone. Maybe guests. A man has got to know his limitations. I will make my own. After coffee.

My breakfast diet food is pancakes. Special pancakes from a box. Low carb. They have absolutely horrible syrup to put on them. I eat em dry. I only use real Maine maple syrup. Which is the best. Life is too short for bad syrup.

I know. You are all jealous.

Ok. Shower time. No pictures, sorry.

I had a haircut this morning which I arrived early for. Amazing thing is I have not been on time for a cut in years.

Had to drive home and pick up my phone. Was planning on going to Vacaville for a car wash. But a phone is important. Made lunch while there, some sloppy joe meat from a box. Diet food. Gotta lose the ten.

Now off to Vacaville to find someone to scrub 10000 miles of bugs and dirt off the car. Have not washed it since the day before we left. While in Vacaville I discovered that my favorite hand car wash converted to automatic so I can’t get a decent wash anymore. The only others I am familiar with also are automatic. These types of washes do not remove the level of bugs I have on the car. It’s nasty. I will probably have to find a real detailer somewhere. I wash it myself but even I can’t get all the bugs off. And I scrubbed with Michaels toothbrush. Don’t worry, he never reads the posts.

After the car wash I went back to Dixon to see my buddy Jim. While I was away on the trip dragging my trailer around the country, he did same with his wife, one daughter and grandson. No dogs. He was not out for a month like us but he did make it as far as South Dakota. Maybe the gypsy lifestyle is a function of age. Not sure.

Unfortunately, after all errands were done, I had to go to work. Have I mentioned I don’t want to go to work? I mean today. Well, in this post? Usual paperwork done and still catching up with all the mail and requests for my time. Probably be carching up for a month. Turns out we sign d a new client while I was away and somebody paid off a four year old invoice. That does not happen often enough.

I was fortunate to have to leave early. I went to the bank first to finish off all deposits that came in while I was gone. Then instead of continuing on to next appointment I went back to the office to get my phone. I forgot it. Do you detect a theme? I usually only forget it once a day.

Left office for the day. Off to Auburn to meet with my real estate agent Linda and the sellers agent Jim. Jim, though he lives in Dixon, is a 3rd generation Dixonite. Crazy. The three of us went through a property showing, measured out distance from lot to sewer hook up and generally discussed all aspects of the lot. For those of you late to the party, we would like to live on the property in Auburn. Have to buy the land and build a house. We made one offer already. Went nowhere. Now on to round two. New offer. We will see. If we buy the property this blog will become, for a large part, the building of our house blog. Will see.

I should mention, for those not living on CA, it is hotter than Hades right now. I just got back from mild and temperate east coast weather. And so far it’s been over 100 every day since I returned. I am melting. The property inspection had me soaked afte 10 mins. There is more of the same on the forecast. Probably another week of it.

Came home after the inspection. No traffic, I really flew down the hill. And my AC is cranking with the brand new compressor. I can get chilled to the bone. Love it.

Ran to grocery for prescriptions and hardware store for bulbs for the fixture above the dining table. I can now see to write this. That’s nice. As I get older I notice I am falling apart. First the eye went now the ears. What’s next? I dread it whatever it is.

Got home. Found out Michael was not eating dinner. He just wasn’t hungry. I hate hat. It never works well cooking for one. I always short change myself. I ate cold leftovers for dinner. Marika is not home, she went to Santa Rosa and will be back later. Anyhow, I had enough to get full.

My AC guy came by today and put in a new thermostat upstairs. It was broken. You could not turn it down. Lovely. It’s 90 degrees upstairs and the down button doesn’t work. Anyhow, shout out to Steve at Air Repair. Thank you Steve.

I had a few chores still to do. I am still putting away stuff from trip and doing laundry. One of our dining chairs collapsed last night. I fixed that. Now strong enough to hold my extra ten pounds. Yay.

After all this I was sitting at the kitchen table and fell asleep. By east coast time it’s one am. And I am quite tired.

I was woken from my nap when Marika showed up with her cat Vlad in tow.
Vlad is kind of a pain in the butt. Friendly but not. I like home but he is a devil. All the other animals get along well with him. That’s nice.

Tomorrow I have a regular work day. Probably 8 hours, and I think everyone should feel sorry for me. I have a couple work appointments and accounting work to do. I am trying to be positive about it. At least I get to retire in a few years. Now bedtime.

So you can see the blog continues. It was created for the trip but at the urging of Marika I am going to continue posting.

It seems very strange that after being gone only one month I can forget a lot of little things. I went to feed the dogs and could not remember where we keep the dog food. Eventually I figured it out. My understanding of habits is it takes 30 days to establish new ones. I was gone 35. I guess that would be like booting my computer and having the memory cleared. I am now resetting memory. It’s painful. I am getting there. I am sure the office will be painful as well. But I have a few errands before that. I have to take the trailer to Auburn, go to the bank, etc.

I am back on my regular diet. I think I gained ten pounds while away. Yikes. We will see how this goes. Kids are both home today and helping to clean house. Amazing how dirty it was.

I should mention, our two cats seem to have been quite upset with us. They have not been eating. They pooped around the house. They peed in a few places in addition to their litter box. Lovely. And it appears Roomba quit running. This all adds up to vacation hangover.

Also, the garage freezer door had been left open. Marika got home a few days ago and found it. She says it smelled like death. There was a couple hundred pounds of meat in it so I imagine that’s a good description. Marika filled up the trash can and called for an immediate pick up. Good idea that.

Got to Auburn around 1045. Stopped at American Teardrop and spoke to Bud Hausman, the owner. Now, Bud, is a talker. A professional talker I think. I unhooked the raider and parked it out front. Then I had a quick talk with Bud. 35 minutes later I am almost out the door and he is still talking. Don’t get me wrong, I like the guy. But boy can he talk. Anyhow, he seems to think he can repair the trailer quick enough for a camping trip around the tenth. I also found out he has a new “kitchen attachment” he will be fabricating for the teardrop. It’s a metal box four feet long that sits on the tongue of the trailer. Each end is a slide out. On one end is an ice chest and a sink. The other has a generator and a table and chairs. I told him to put me on the list. I gotta have one. And since the trailer is gonna weigh more I am gonna put a supercharger on the Fit. Cool.

Back to the office, only took 35 minutes, for an appointment with a client. Usual stuff, explain why they are confused about some tax item that I think is extremely simple. This guy is very well to do and makes quite a living. Yet he is still confused about taxes. Oh well. Keeps me in clover.

Another appointment followed with a associate I do tax planning with for clients. We set up structures so rich people can avoid paying taxes. That makes their fair share zero. America, she is a great country. We got together to go over ongoing planning on a couple cases.

The afternoon stretched out long. I had a mountain of mail to get through. I didn’t. I managed to get all payments received together for deposit. I did get a very large check in the mail. That was really nice. Really nice.

The rest of the day was admin BS and filing and looking at mail, etc, etc. No one else came in or called. I like that. I left at about 515. I had to go to the store and pick up some caramel. Can’t believe I am dead out. Both Marika and Emiky like caramel lattes so I gotta keep a ton on hand.

From there I drove home. It’s seriously hot here right now. Over 100. The AC took fifteen minutes to catch up. It was like a prison movie where they put you in “the box” when you break a rule. Eventually it cooled.

It was truly hot in the house as well. Someone had actually turned off the upstairs AC. That does not help. But we managed to get the house cooled off.

I started the BBQ, we are not cooking inside. Too hot. Anyhow, tri tip has been on 30 mins so we should be eating soon.

We also had teriyaki green beans which are not in the picture. We had a fine homemade dinner. First since last week. I like eating at home.

Tonight, being Tuesday, is garbage night. Good thing is the kids are home and help get it out. Bad thing is it’s been hotter than it should be all week and the garbage really smells bad. Not like that last post two days ago but still bad. It’s a long walk to the road with he stinky cans.

I am truly ready for bed again. The time change, even with the slow drive across country, is still tough on me. Want to go to bed early, then I wake the hell up early.

I have a few appointments tomorrow and I have to be in Auburn by 4pm. We are gettIng close on terms on a lot in Auburn. We would then build a house on it. Which would give me a lot of material for the blog. But I think I need to go to sleep now.

Yes folks, all good things end. We are just passing Reno. Within smelling distance of home. Wow. 950 miles yesterday was a beast.

Woke late, no alarm set. Stopped at a local coffee joint for sustenance. And in the road. So far nothing of substance mostly because this part of NV is a zero. Sage brush covered in sage brush. We did drive through Lovelock where OJ was locked up for seven years. I waved.

The dogs have gotten quite anxious, shaking and panting. We had to move Latte to the front seat.
We have stopped a couple extra times to water them and walk them which does seem to help out. Latte has stopped shaking. I am assuming they have a sense of where they are and want to be home. Who knows?

The landscape has become Sierra. I love it! This state, CA, is beautiful. I can make a comparison to the rest of the country cuz I just drove it. I am looking at the Truckee River. Beautiful. Maybe we should camp one more night? Michael would steal the car.

We are going to stop at American Teardrop in Aubirn on our way through. He needs to see the damage from the leak in the trailer. I want it fixed. I have been “selling” his trailer all across the country as I drove. This morning in a rest area I had a ten minute conversation with a lady about it. Her daughter owns a Honda Fit like mine and is currently driving around the country and camping out of the Fit. I meet people like this everywhere.

Just passed through the CA ag inspection station. We lied. They let us through. Lots of roadwork here. Only two lanes open. Just like the rest of the country. And a quick shout out to Cal Trans. They are the best road workers in the country in my opinion. Some states are truly scary in what they do on their roads. I never thought to highly of their skills but driving cross country changed that opinion. Go Cal DOT!!

We have passed through Truckee and have begun the climb. We are getting way close.

We reached Auburn round noon. Went to American Teardrop where Bud, the owner, spent ten minutes telling me how it could leak and on and on. Bud is a talker. A pro. Anyhow, I am returning with an empty trailer tomorrow for him to fix. He has a new add on coming out later this year. Basically a kitchen in a box. Mounts to the tongue of the trailer. Has a sink, a stove, a generator and table and chairs in it. The box is four feet long. I am getting one.

Stopped in Favis and got Murder Burger for lunch. Could not resist. Home at 130. Kind of a let down. Spent two hours unloading and putting away stuff. Have lots of house cleaning and laundry to do.

Marika came home for the night and we went grocery shopping. Had to buy take out cuz it’s late now, almost 9, and we don’t have time or energy to fix dinner. We will tomorrow.

We had our dinner, did some dishes, put away a few more things and I am going upstairs to make the bed and go to sleep.
Tomorrow is a work day. I trul hate the end of vacay.

It’s 242 in the afternoon. Why am I so late starting up? Well, this blog is internet based and my connection did not exist until now. From Limon, CO to Rock Springs, WY, nothing. I am a couple miles west of Rock Springs and Shazam I have a connnection. So forgive me if my am items are foggy, I forget fast.

As I mentioned yesterday, we spent the night in a hotel in Limon. The Super 8. Filthy. Smelly. Nasty. Accepts pets. I love it. Woke up with alarm at 5 am. We went back to sleep till 6. Oops.

Up at six, Jaxon had pooped all over. Which I stepped in. Barefoot. Good morning! I took the dogs out. We showered, loaded up, had a fabulous Super 8 free breakfast (Michael skipped it. Me too) and on the road. Quick stop a few miles down at Starbucks.

We then drove. And drove and drove. Not too awesome. Continued on 70 to 287 in WY and got to 80!! in Wyoming. Finally. You would think 80 would be faster, no. Only two lanes. 70 is far superior. There was 12 miles of one lane driving as well. On a Sunday. No work going on. This is how it was on the way out to Maine.

Anyhow, we drove. Near lunch we yelped around for a restaurant. Not tough. This is around.
There are three towns between Ft Collins and Rock Springs. So we basically Yelped Rawlins, WY cuz we were gonna pass through it at about one pm.

Turns out, Rawlins, population 1800, has a very well rated and often reviewed Thai place. So we ate there. Yes, Thai. In the middle of nowhere Wyoming we had Thai food. And it was very good. And cheap. No pics because I forgot.

We watered the dogs, on the front lawn of the police dept, right where we parked. There’s one for justice.

On the road and hit Rock Springs about 245. Gassed up at the Sinclair station and back on the road. We are now just past Little America. If you have not heard, Little America is a rest stop on steroids. They have every conceivable thing you would need while on the road. And I don’t mean in a store. They have a store, hotel, playgrounds, restaurants, semi truck repair, car repair (mechanic on duty today). And it’s here in the middle of nowhere Wyoming. And the place was hopping. We are now up to the minute.

Here are a few landscape shots. Just a little background.

We just hit the rest stop. We are in Utah. About 40 miles from The Great Salt Lake. We watered the doggies. The rest stop was quite majestic:

Anyhow, on the slog to the next gas station. Hopefully past SLC.

Ok. We have passed SLC and are getting gassed. 618 miles to home. To far for today. Early tomorrow. Finally.

Look at that:
Some kind of factory outside SLC. The smokestack makes me feel insignificant. If you know what I mean.

Quick picture of a lake nearby. Guess which lake?

Salt flats.

Piles of some kind of white stuff. Sign says “Mortons”. Wonder what it is?

Zoom on this photo. The pile of white is about 5 miles out. That’s a lot of salt.

Ok. Last one. Impressive amount of salt.

This is what we get in far western Utah and eastern Nevada:
That road goes to the horizon. Straight, no geographic features to look at, just boring. When we reached that point on the horizon you see in the picture the road made a slight right turn. And then it looked exactly like the picture. Again.

We have noticed a true climb in the outside temperature. We are driving directly west so into the sun. And the sun is dropping so we get it right in the windshield. And it’s getting quite hot in here. More joy of traveling.

Ok. We have been driving for over 350 miles she nice the last paragraph. Nothing has happened. It’s been all Nevada all the time. Very boring. No scenery. Nothing going on. Just gas and dog stops. But we are in Winnemucca. Our stop for the night. We are camping soon. But first dinner at my favorite place here, The Pig. It serves BBQ. Very good BBQ. I am enjoying an end of day cocktail. I am sick of the car. We are 317 mi from home. Maybe five hours. And we are not setting an alarm tomorrow. Yay.

So we slept in an extra 30. We’re tired. Sue me.

We drove about 387 miles today so far. With stops for dogs, gas, dogs and more gas.

The drive down 70 has been very smooth. Far better than the hwy 80 drive east. Road condition is immensely better and no road construction to speak of. Definite improvement. We crossed the Missouri River twice.

Not much to report. Sadly. Anyhow, we have stopped for lunch in Kansas City, KS. Joe’s Kansas City BBQ. The line is out the door. That’s a good thing.

The pictures food is ribs (great with or without sauce) and brisket (sauce needed). Both very good. And sides, cole slaw and BBQ beans, both excellent. I can recommend the place. He has a location downtown too.

We ate in the car so we could run the AC for the dogs. Would have preferred inside.

Back on the road, destination Denver. About 830 tonight we hope. It’s a fur piece from hereabouts. Michael is in a fine mood. Oh joy. Butthead. He never reads the blog I can say anything.

Btw, I need to mention for my broadway fan friends… everythings up to date in Kansas City, they’ve gone about as fur as they can go. They got a big theater… I think you know the rest.

The Kansas turnpike, I 70, has three lanes. I 80 has only 2. Does that make sense? The ride is very pretty. Rolling green forests and grasslands. Lots of water. Too bad it’s Kansas. If this were in CA it would be very expensive real estate.

Look at this:
See how Kansas just stretches to the horizon? This is my day. We just passed the Wamego exit. Take that exit, go north 10 mins and you are at the Oz museum. I wanted to go. Michael, no way. I like roadside attractions. I will probably never be out here again so I gotta go when I am able. Which, it appears, is not now.
Hey look:
No. Wrong. It IS a different picture. Just seems the same. Haha.

Stopped in another town at another gas station. We can’t just gas and go. We have to squeeze the trailer and car to a pump. Gas up. Park near grass. Leash up the dogs. Water them. Poop them. Then put out the water dish and water them again. Takes 10 to 15 mins every fill up. Four or five times a day.

OK. Question time. Every 25 to 30 miles since Illinois this morning there is a billboard. For some such or other adult store. Some are 75 feet up. Some ground level. All huge. What the hell is with the Midwest and adult stores? Why so many? How much adult merchandise can the Midwest use? I never see this in the western states. I am not judging, I am politely asking. Anyone?

I have been thinking. All day. Yes, my head hurts. I think that you will not find Kansas on anyone’s bucket list. It was on Dorothy’s, but she finally got there in the end.

Stopped again for gas. Read previous description of gassing up. I did that again.

We are in western Kansas. This state is far larger than I ever thought. It just goes on and on. Scenery has changed as well. Now, it’s barren, just rolling grass hills and no trees or bushes. We are pushing for Limon, CO, for tonight’s camp. That’s in eastern CO. On the way is a whole bunch of nothing. A few small towns. We seem to have Yelped a good restaurant in Burlington, CO. Called The Dish Room. Strangely it has a lot of reviews and rates 4.5 out of 5 stars. Food is American and Italian or so it says. All ingredients fresh and not too expensive. We are two hours away. One stop to make prior to getting there.

I have failed to mention a very prominent feature of the landscape today. I even woke up to find my camp was surrounded by it. It’s corn. Every time I look out the window I see corn See what a mean. I just looked up again. It’s as if the Midwest grows nothing but corn. Which may be true, I don’t know. I am surprised by how ubiquitous it is. Just saying.

I was just thinking as we were heading into our last stop before we eat. This last stop is for feeding the dogs. Probably the high point of their day. Besides breakfast. So we pulled into a Sinclair gas station at some unknown point in western Kansas. We always look for a very long spot on the perimeter to park. Easy on, pull straight out. Got a perfect spot with grass. We buckle leashes on each of the doggies because they would wander off. One of us, usu michael takes them on a short walk. I get out the water bowl and bottle of h2o and fill it. Then to car for bowls. Being old, all three have different diets. Then to hatch for dry food which I divvy up. Then to trailer, cuz I keep the ice chest there, and get canned food and plain yogurt. Each gets their share of specific food. Then to medicine chest. As I said, they are all old. Jaxon gets two meds and the other two one each. By this time they are back from the walk and I feed them. Of course, now I have to clean it all up and put it away. It was Emily’s idea to bring the dogs. Where is she? Oh yeah, still in Maine with no dogs. Good thing I love her. I took a few pics of this:

So I tried to get a campsite near our destination in Limon, CO. Seems the “wind farm” guys consumed all available spaces near there. So I tried hotels.com. What a GS nightmare. I tried online and after 4 attempts I called them. The idiot from the call center in the Philippines spent 20 mins trying to book then said I had to talk to service. I did. He spent another 10 minutes trying then said it was my bank. I called my bank, ” no problem here, me vivier”. What would captain obvious say? We were driving and stopped for gas. The card worked fine. I tried travelocity and booked a room in under a minute. This is why I drink. Two Margaritas at dinner.

We got to our first destination, The Dish Room in Burlington CO. Nice restaurant and really out of place in nowhere east CO. It would be more in line with the big city. I had an antipasto salad, very nice. And butternut squash enchiladas with a sweet corn tamale. Very good. Nice take on enchiladas. And the two Margs. Great dinner.

Off to Limon now. On the way. It was a long 50 minutes. I have pent up fatigue and was nodding the whole way. We got to the Limon Super 8. Not the finest but at least I got a room. The night manager said I was lucky. She charged for only one dog. Which is nice. Her dog died yesterday so she was a little down. Always sad when pets pass. Anyhow, I am lying in bed and ready to sleep. No reading tonight, just sleep. 5 am is early every day.

Woke up today at 5am. A little early. We want to drive 12 hours a day. By we I mean Michael. He is a “I’m on a mission type of guy” and we gotta stick to schedule. Anyhow, it is completely foggy here this am. Seems strange in mid summer but I have not been up here in over 40 years. Michael just said, there’s a lot of fog. Duh. He is driving first today and got a little upset because of it. That’s my boy, get upset over he inconsequential. We just merged onto 90 and will be on that highway for another 375 miles. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? I am not sure how to blog an interesting story from a drive on the interstate but I will try.

Skies are getting cloudy and gray 70 miles from Buffalo. Gonna check the weather. The weatherman says clear all day and no rain. I find the weather is wrong quite often. But I need to check something.

Just read Emily’s last blog post. It turns out this is conpetitive blogging. She was thrilled she posted yesterday before me. Well, I congratulate her. Of course, now that I know it’s a race I will need to get a little more competitive. Watch out, baby. I’m headed for first!

Another 100 miles. The landscape, though beautiful and I crowded is also unchanging. And each rest stop is spaced out every 25 miles or so with the same fast foods and gas station. Not exciting. I did have a snack, stopped and watered the doggies. Watered myself. And back on he interstate. We did pass by the Erie Canal which I think is exciting. Never been there before. Up ahead near Buffalo we will see Lake Erie which is cool. We are 30 miles from Rochester (home of Cocktail Gator, see previous post) and 90 from Buffalo (home of four time in a row Super Bowl losing Bills). I will keep on the lookout for more thrilling points of interest and keep all up to date.

New York is a big state. Something I did not realize until we started driving through it from east to west. We are making good time today, and yesterday, but it just goes on and on and on. I am looking forward to hitting Pennsylvania. It’s the small things.

NY is close to done. It’s about 520 miles across. We are at a fuel station just for a rest stop. Out the side window I can see Lake Erie. Very cool. It’s huge. Like Trump huge only bigger. It’s an ocean. See?

There is a long line at the bathroom unfortunately and I am waiting. We can only hope that changes soon. I am running on Tim Horton coffee right now and need the relief.

Boy are the folks at the Barcelona Market and Gas unpleasant. Michael bought chips so he could use restroom. I bought gas so I could. And the gal inside is still a B.

Took some shots of Lake Erie. Very impressive. If I came up on that not knowing I would think it was the ocean. It’s tough to comprehend the magnitude until you are here. Unfortunately, Michael is chomping at the bit to get through Columbus before rush hour. His priorities are skewed. I would prefer to sightsee my way home, at least a little. It’s tough traveling with others. Off to the NY/PA line. Maybe 30 miles. I hope we get to stop for lunch.

We have stopped in Painesville for lunch. Michael picked a place about 4 miles off the 90. We got to the turn off and he said let’s go to This place right here (Paninis). I said ok. We got there he said let’s go in the grocery store to the deli. Ok. Deli sucked. We went to Paninis. Anyhow. I ordered this which has not arrived yet. Michael ordered same but different meat. Me pastrami, him Italian. I’m ready. Send it over.

Well, that was a meaty, crunchy, melty sandwich. Very nice and only $8. Only in Ohio. I will go ahead and recommend it if you are ever in Ohio.

Continued our drive down 70 through Ohio. It’s NOT a toll road. As u recall, I gave Ohio $44 on the way to Maine in tolls. So hwy 70/270/71 is smooth and nice. A much easier drive than 80 which was in miserable condition and a toll road. Why does anyone drive 80? We stopped a couple time for gas. Got to Indiana border about 630. There is a huge arch over ye freeway with a “come back soon” written on it as u leave Ohio. I doubt that will happen. There is a Cracker abarrel in Indiana at the border. We stopped and I was finally able to return the book on tape we picked up in Lincoln? On our way out. Then we got gas again. Not at Cracker Barrel. Michael wants to eat elsewhere. Now we are driving towards our final destination for today, a campground in Casey, Illinois. And maybe dinner.

So I have been trying to find a place to eat, while we drive, on Yelp. It’s a chore. I found a nice place in Indianapolis but Michael was driving and for some reason was scared of parking in downtown Indy due to our trailer. I don’t get it. I would have managed. Downtown Indy was a happening place on a Friday night. People everywhere and lots of places to go. Sorry we missed out on them. So my next choice is in Terre Haute and I hope he can handle parking there. Would not be my first choice of places, there is one near our destination, but again Michael seems worried we will not get there before it closes. Weenie.

I need to call out the former Idiot in Charge here in Indiana, Mike Pence. He balance the budget here. I know how. He used road maintenance money to pay the bills. The highways and city streets are BS. Potholes, torn up, just awful. When he runs, I vote for someone else. Maybe Kasich since the Ohio road I was on all day was smooth.

My friend Cissie has been texting me a lot today. She has time on her hands since she is convalescing from recent surgery. Her daughter also happens to be living in the apartment above our garage. We have been going back and forth which is nice since Michael does not talk much in the car. He just drives. And navigates. I do like having a navigator. I am running directions to dinner for a change. We are having Indian food. Indian in Indiana, that’s funny.

I can not say it enough, Indiana roads are crap. I hate Indiana. Fix your roads.

Finally at dinner. On these long road trips mealtime is the most exciting part of the day. The Indian food here is not quite as good as Punjabi Dhaba back home, but still good. Kinda pricey. But I like it.

Good news! We just moved into the central time zone. We gained an hour. Since I have extra time I think I will take a shower when I get to our camp. I don’t want to smell as bad as the dogs do. And I get an extra hour of sleep. Bonus!!

Just got in to camp in Casey, IL. It’s not the middle of nowhere but you can see it from here. If it wasn’t nice nighttime and dark, of course. We got things set and went to bed.

Well, this is it. We are leaving at about 11am, ready or not. Got up at 730 took a shower and made coffee. Usual. Then it’s final pack. Back and forth to the car 25 times packing and repacking. It’s a long trip. We are trying to make 12 hours a day.

. That is immediately prior to leaving. Beth always cries when we leave. Tradition. Dogs are loaded. We are off.

We got about 8 miles down the road to the Shell station on the far side of Skowhegan. Gas. And some chicken from Chesters which is inside the station. We have been fixin to try the chicken for the last month. Finally got it. I am gonna give it a thumbs up. Back in Dixon, the best fried chicken in town is sold at the Texaco station.

So gassed up, chickened up, and back on the road to Manchester Intl Airport. We got as far as Biddeford, in southern Maine, and stopped at one of Maines finer rest stops. Large restrooms, and clean too, and three fast foods and a small general store, and a Starbucks (yay!!) and gas. So we hit the genl store, the bathroom, Starbucks (not in that order). And we were off again. We also watered the dogs at the doggy rest area. Making decent time. I do still have to find a Cracker Barrel to return our book on tape. I don’t want to buy it.

Just paid my third toll of the day $4.50. That goes with the previous two of $1.50 each. I hate toll roads. I like California better. Just bridge tolls. And Ohio sucks, sorry Ed. Hey Ed, my 5th grade state report was on Ohio and my paternal Grandma is from Ohio. As is my good friend Doug (Newton Falls). So I know Ohio and its crappy road tolls (nice reststops). Just sayin.

We are in New Hampshire!!!
That’s the bridge that seperates the two states. As you can see from the sign. Kinda makes us feel we are getting somewhere. First NEw Hampshire toll $1. There is a definite trend developing too wide and I don’t like it much.

Stopped off in Hampton for rest stop. Hit the Mc’s and…Marika, she’s driving, learned a valuable lesson. I always say, try to park the trailer so you can pull out without having to back up. She didn’t. Short lesson on backing a trailer followed. And don’t turn so sharp you climb a curb with the trailer tire either. Well, no harm no foul.

Made the airport at 2. Watered the dogs (out). Escorted Marika to check in and got her a boarding pass. Escorted her to the escalator and said goodbye. Prob see her in a week. We went back to the car and watered the dogs (in). Boy can they drink water. Esp Jaxon, he just keeps going. Glad I have a gallon bottle for him. And now we are back on the road and in the turnpike. Will keep you updated on the tolls. The airport parking lady want to charge us for the teardrop to be parked. Really. She gave us a break. It might be easier if they just outright steal my money.

The day has become a series of turnpikes and interchanges. I can see my future! The next few days will look like this. Not very exciting. We are driving through Massachusetts now. We managed to drive the NH Everett turnpike and escape all tolls. That’s a nice feeling. And so far, knock on wood, same for Mass turnpike. How long can our luck hold?

This is how I would prefer to travel. Dogs have a good life. And few real worries.

Mass turnpike takes a picture of your license plate every few miles and sends a bill. Seems nice, I don’t have to stop for a voucher every on and off like NY.

We rest stopped for dinner and gas, nothing special except the stupid and rude woman at the pizza place. Her reaponse to each question was “no meatballs no sausage”. I looked at michael and said, McDonald’s. No sausage or meatballs there either.

Driving through upstate NY. Beautiful country, a far cry from the drive out on 80. We are going to join up with 80 in Wyoming but for the time being we get beauty.

We camped out outside Middleville NY. Came in in the dark and will be up and gone before light. We did the usual dog and clean up stuff and in bed by 1030.

Today was a sad day. Bill and the HAPPY Adult kids were up and ready to head back to CA. The dogs were happy to get into the car, as well. After packing the car and trailer, they headed off. The boys were dropping Marika off at the airport in Manchester. For some reason, she needed to be home yesterday!
The boys drove on and are spending the night in New York.
I am at camp trying to get things done! I need to wash the siding, paint a deck and hire a roofer. It was tough getting things done with everyone here. They were on vacation!
My parents have their house on the market and need some help. I am gladly able and willing to help them!
I wanted to post a blog before Bill! Yippee…I did it! Kinda boring, but I succeeded! Enjoy your weekend!

When you have been on vacay in one place for a month it is very difficult to leave. And, making it more difficult, I came by car. Sure I have to pack my suitcase. And I need to do laundry first so I have something to wear on the road. And then I have to pack the car. And the trailer. And leave out enough to get ready and go tomorrow am. So it leaves very little time to do a couple favorite things before we all run out. We, michael and me, will be driving back with trailer in tow. We will be driving Marika to Manchester to catch a plane. Manchester is about 4 hours from here. We will be leaving Emily here. She flies out of Portland on 8/2. We got a good deal on her ticket. Anyhow, as I was saying, it’s a load of work getting out of town. So, what am I doing to get ready? Drinking coffee and eating some banana bread. That’s important too. Emily is reading a book. Michael is dead out, he was hammered last night. Marika is in bed because it’s only 9am and this is my daughter we are talking about.

Daughter still in bed. But she did eat and have coffee. Son up and ready.

Now go to dump. There is no garbage service here. We actually go to the dump once a week. It’s really a transfer station but dump is more piquant. Here is what I am talking about:

Emily saw this. One word text from her: hillbilly. That is mean. I prefer white trash. That vehicle btw is the Twin. The finest 1986 station wagon that Buick ever created. You need a stick to hold the back hatch open. AC doesn’t work. Smells inside. But, it is free to drive. Free wins.

So we dumped our junk and garbage. I tossed a table I had taken apart. Seems Maine does allow scavenging at the dump. A gentleman there was collecting scraps and took the entire table. Recycle. The rest of the rubbish was hopeless.

Went across the lake to the other cabin and grabbed our paddleboards. Nancy Nesbitt grandkids had been using them. Nancy actually drove by while we were there passing so I had a chance to say goodbye. We went back to our camp and dumped off the paddle boards and d coded to go out to lunch. There is a new place inside the old grist mill in the center of town. It looks like a place you would find in California. Very un Maine like. Even the prices are high for Maine. I wish them well though I am still waiting on my order. We just changed tables, the previous one got really warm when the sun moved. This one is in deep shade and the chairs are far more comfortable.
Not a great photo but the darkness displays the deepness of the shade. Those planter boxes in the foreground are used by the cooks for some herbs and veggies. Again, un Maine like. Meal was pretty good except my fries were lousy.

After lunch back to camp. We have now successfully packed the trailer and made the bed in the trailer. Making the bed is no small feat. The end of the mattress is tucked under the cabinets at the end sonitnis very difficult to put sheets on and tuck them in. Oh well. All that is left is packing the suitcases and the dogs. And, unfortunately, leaving. Getting home means going to work. Work is not fun. We will be leaving for Beth and Hanks and the last supper. ☹️

Had shish kebab, cole slaw, and potato salad. Maple bars for dessert. We are trying to get to Giffords tonight for a final round of golf and some ice cream. But it’s getting late and we are still sitting here going over the map to pick a route. We may miss golf. That will be sad. But I guess that’s what we have to put up with.

Made it. Unfortunately Michael won by two strokes, even with a partial back nine collapse. We got our last Giffords ice cream of the season. So sad. After that we went back to camp and most of us packed. At least I did. And packed the car as well. And finished packing the trailer. We are almost ready.

Last night was very comfortable on n the trailer. Michael slept in the car. Which is not so bad. We, that’s me, got up early. We had a cold camp breakfast, hooked up the trailer and headed to Acadia. Our plans: conquer the mountain.

We had planned a couple hikes which were difficult in nature. We found out, once we got to the trail head that the cliffs were closed due to falcon nesting. So no vertical climbs for us. Instead we took a hike to the top of Mt Penobscot.

Those shots show what it was like. A steep 3 mile shot to the top of the world.

We are smiling because it’s all downhill from here. Along the hike there were thousands of wild blueberries ready to be picked. So we got an extra breakfast on the way.

Return trip down the hill was not as steep, we went back a different route.

The return was mostly shady and no wind blowing and downhill all the way. The uphill climb was a little harsher with a cold wind blowing in off the ocean. The trail back ended at the north end of Jordan Pond. We had parks at he south end. There was a Pond side trail of logs for about 1.3 miles.
Those are split logs nailed to cross beams. You may think it a fine trail. Except it is hard and unforgiving so not unlike concrete. A pounding on the joints and feet. And over a mile??! Crazy. Got back to the car which by now was in a full parking lot. We arrived first this am. On the hike we saw no one till after we reached the summit. I am sure it will surprise Emily we were all able to be up that early to be first out. See, it can happen. We are now on our way back to our camp in Madison. Currently driving through Holden, ME. Will be on 95 soon and into Madison in 45 minutes.

Home in Madison. Time to put all away and do laundry. Tomorrow is packing day cuz dis train is leaving for da west coast in two days!! So lots of cleaning. We are going to take Emily to lunch now. I hope. Hey, congrats to Emily! She just published her second post. The blogging was her idea and this is supposed to be all of us. Kids, not so much. Emily and I are holding up the blogging.

So it took two hours of cleaning and unpacking and showers and then we went to lunch. Place called The Bankery. It is a bakery in a former bank building. Cute isn’t it? They have food too. After lunch back to camp. We need to clean next door because another air bnb’r arrives tomorrow. Once we are done with our chores we are going to Ed and Helenas for dinner. Helena that’s her, is an excellent chef so we always eat well and both are convivial hosts. As you may recall from previous post, they brought the Pisco to the party a couple days ago. I am looking forward to dessert because it is always awesome and I love dessert. I am bringing the booze. I made the prickly pear juice and will be making Margaritas with it.
Quick update, the drinks were excellent. And Helena has made her famous chocolate cake. We are lucky.

So they brought out a bottle which is an incredibly smooth tequila. So we all started drinking tequila which can be trouble. But I must say it is a wonderful tequila. I had a few glasses. So did emily. And Beth. And the kids (adult children). I gotta get some. Pre dinner tequila.

Dinner was very good, as I expected. Good wine too. But I knew that. The chocolate cake was to die for. Thank the lord for Helena. We are into homemade limoncello now and a few other post dinner drinks. I am getting winded.

Everyone is now tired and drunk. It’s well after midnight and we are going home. I stopped drinking by 9 though everyone else, not so much. We got home and everyone passed out, for the most part.