Adventures
TC1 Days 4 & 5: At sea
First I will report two technical successes. Due to the impending Hand, Knee and Foot training session, we needed to print a set of rules and some scoresheets. So I took the laptop down to Deck 1 where there was a “business center” with 3 computers and a printer and inquired at the service desk … Continue reading
TC1 Days 2 & 3: At sea
The first full day at sea was, as expected, quiet. At breakfast I tried the buffet scrambled eggs (terrible), bacon (good) and lox (excellent). I then, while waiting for Jett’s cappucino to be made, joined in on the attack on a 2,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. In the afternoon I attended an “international beer tasting” event that … Continue reading
TC1 Day 1: Embarkation
The process of embarkation – passing through the passport check, filling out health forms, checking in and receiving our on-board “keys” – went very quickly and we were aboard the ship in less than 30 minutes after our bus arrived at the dock (at 12:47 pm, to be precise). But the process contained an element … Continue reading
TC1: Our first transatlantic cruise – prelude
The start of our first transatlantic cruise has arrived! For the next 27 nights we will be aboard the Holland America Oosterdam, first crossing the Atlantic Ocean, then cruising the Mediterranean Sea, followed by two nights on land in Venice. It should be an epic vacation! To get started we had a day of very … Continue reading
Truck maintenance nightmares – 2 of 2
After my “adventures” at DeVoe Buick GMC on Wednesday and Thursday I decided that I had better get the bad tires replaced ASAP. So on Friday I drove over to the Goodyear Collier Care Center just a few miles from our park. The instructions, though not trivial, were clear: Put two new Goodyear Wrangler tires … Continue reading
Truck maintenance nightmares – 1 of 2
So I took my truck to DeVoe Buick GMC of Naples on Wednesday with a short list of things that needed attention: Oil change. Check the brakes. Diagnose and, possibly, fix the shimmy that I feel at highway speeds. I dropped the truck off at 11 am and got no phone call that afternoon. I … Continue reading
Our next cruise adventure
Yes, we booked a 27-day cruise yesterday, characterized by Jett as “the cruise of a lifetime.” And since we had already blown our “budget” by choosing to go at all, we decided that we might as well go in comfort and booked a Signature Suite. We will have nearly 4 full weeks cruising, first, the … Continue reading
New Orleans
I don’t think any city was higher on my US Cities bucket list than New Orleans (or “Nawlins” – I like to say that just to annoy Jett). I finally got to remove it from the list on Saturday. Jett and I drove the 55 miles to the French Quarter with the intent of walking … Continue reading
STE2 Hop 9: Rockport TX to Brownsville TX
247 miles via TX 35, US 181, I-37, US 77, I-2, US 83, FM 511 and local roads at each end and to find a gas station in San Jose TX. Cumulative tow miles: 1912. Truck miles: 460. Cumulative truck miles: 2390. This was the worst hop of the trip. Why? Let me count the … Continue reading
Rockport TX after Hurricane Harvey
Hurricane Harvey roared ashore at Rockport TX the evening of Aug 25, then raked the area for over a week with torrential rains and strong winds. Recovery is underway but even now, more than 2 months later, parts of Rockport look like the hurricane roared through last night. The most stunning example of total devastation … Continue reading