Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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Well, today's nice, short trip was like driving head first into a wind tunnel, until we got down Raton Pass and turned east. Then the wind tried to throw us into the next lane. Very tiring to drive and was more than glad to stop for the day.
Tall and Short Friend are in western New Mexico, heading home, too. Depending on which route they take, we all might arrive back home around the same time.
Obi-Wander scared us today. As we drove out of the campground, a high pitched alarm went off. No sign of anything on the dashboard display, everything was secure, all seat belts attached. After about 30 seconds, it went off. Since we couldn't find anything amiss, we continued down the road. Then coming down the mountain into Raton, the dashboard display went blank and that alarm went off again. After about 30 seconds, the dashboard restarted. When we arrived at this campground, I turned off the engine and we went inside to register. When I started her again, the dashboard was blank. But when I heard the "click", I tried to start her and she did. Then the dashboard display started up again. No idea what's going on.
This warranty fix-it list is getting quite large... L'Andante never gave us issues. One minor warranty issue, when the Corian kitchen counter split. After that, just routine maintenance and the occasional Workhorse recall, all fixed in a timely manner.
Well, it's bloody hot in the main cabin. I'm joining Spotacus in the bedroom. Later, y'all.
"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." -- Mahatma Gandhi
Czarny, black cat
Rainbow Bridge: Spotacus, Alexander the Grrreat, and so very many more
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Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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Joined: 10/29/2004
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This entire trip, we've encountered very few stupid drivers. The last few days made up for it in spades.
Two days ago, a pickup merged onto the interstate, then, without looking, tried to take up the space we were occupying. When he finally noticed the wall next to him (said wall being the side of our RV), he gunned his motor and zipped past, on the shoulder.
Today was incredibly stupid people driving cars day. First, a car insisted on passing us even in the face of an oncoming car. Oncoming car moved onto the shoulder until stupid got past. Second, a truck passed us with oncoming cars, but I assumed he'd jump back into our lane and braked to give him room. Third, as we headed along a double-stripe hilly area, a red car roared past us on the shoulder! He then vanished, clearly going much, much faster than the speed limit.
I'm trained in evasive driving, but having to do it in an RV is not cool...
When we fueled up, we pulled out and headed down the road. Not even a quarter mile and that alarm went off again. I pulled over and as soon as I put it in neutral, the alarm stopped. WLToo did another walk around, found nothing, and we headed back out.
Just before we got into a small town, a couple of trucks roared past us northbound, on a two lane road. Next thing we know, something is banging on the side. I pulled over and WLToo got out the Gorilla tape, to tape a slide-out side edging that came loose. We crawled gently into town, pulled into a truck stop, snapped the piece back into place and secured it with the tape.
Obi-Wander is starting to look like she's held together with black tape. Well, I guess she is...
Tonight and tomorrow night, and we're home on Tuesday (fingers crossed, knock on wood, etc.).
Sister said she and boyfriend would go to our place and turn the air conditioner back on this weekend. Hope so.
It was 104 when we pulled into this campground. Spotacus ate his "we're here" treats and retired to the bedroom, where the A/C works. It still got up to 85 back there before sundown, but it's quite pleasant now. The campground's indoor swimming pool heater was broken, so the pool was deliciously cool to me. Made coming back to a hot RV tolerable.
Tomorrow's a 300+ mile day, so best get some sleep. Later, y'all.
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magnusfide
On the Road Again and Again and Again...
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Joined: 10/30/2009
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And now you know why we don't drive that area anymore. Maniacs in abundance on those roads. ![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/biggrin.gif "biggrin")
"The only time you should fear cast iron is if your wife is fixin' to hit you with it."-Kent Rollins
First law of science: don't spit into the wind.
Magnus
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Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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Got home yesterday. Short and Tall Friend arrived about half an hour ago. They'll stay with us until their house air conditioning is fixed.
Spotacus had to be coaxed out of Obi-Wander. When he cautiously put his head outside, he realized he was home and dashed out. We didn't see him again for a couple hours. Then he went out about 0530 this morning and stayed out until 0800. Now he's in his natural habitat: our bed.
As I waited for the gate to open, a couple of does were near the gate. They gave me such a dirty look, as if to say where had we been for so long. The water trough was bone dry, there's no corn in the feeder, and we never tossed anything out for them. First thing WLToo did was clean the water trough and fill it. We'll get some corn tomorrow. It's been so hot and dry that there's not a lot for them to eat, so the corn's necessary.
Meanwhile, the barn swallows are still nesting, so we'll have their company a few more weeks.
Time to set up the kebabs. Later, ya'll.
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magnusfide
On the Road Again and Again and Again...
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Glad you made it home safely. I'm sure Spot-man is glad to have his realm back too.
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Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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Leoghaire has been coming by every morning since we got home. Sometimes her fawn comes along, sometimes not. All the deer look pretty healthy.
Spotacus goes on morning patrol, then sleeps the day away. He jumped right back into his routine, so he's not begging for treats every time a human goes out, then comes back inside. He did that a lot in the RV.
This trip actually resulted in me losing about 10 pounds. Hopefully, that trend will continue.
WLToo has already planned out the winter garden, but planting doesn't begin until late August or early September, so he has plenty of time to assemble what he needs and clean up whatever's left from this year's volunteer spring garden. I asked him to plant some bok choy and Daikon radish, so I can continue to make kimchi every couple of weeks. Absolutely love the stuff and it's so very good for us, too.
Experimented with this batch. I added cucumber and zucchini and left out the carrot. But I think I didn't put in enough garlic or chili paste, so it may be one of the milder batches. We'll see later today or maybe tomorrow.
Well, there's lightning out there, so I'll get off the internet. Later, y'all.
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magnusfide
On the Road Again and Again and Again...
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The Spotacus is back and that's all that matters. Life can continue. I'm glad the deer found enough forage while you were gone.
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Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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The kimchi is quite tasty, although milder than I prefer. Will serve it with very thin steaks marinated in raspberry chipotle sauce, then flash cooked in our Egg -- my version of Bulgogi.
Spent all day yesterday and today running Mom around the city, going to doctors and picking up prescriptions. Over 100 miles each day -- after driving for two months, I'm really tired of it. More medical appointments upcoming the next couple of weeks, so more driving. Sigh.
There's a swimming pool calling my name....Later, y'all.
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magnusfide
On the Road Again and Again and Again...
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Can your husband help drive your mom? That Bulgogi sounds good. Has me thinking.
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Wanderlost
Texas Hill Country
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Dang, it's hot!!! It's so hot that Spotacus refuses to go outside. Of course, that means he gets into trouble at times. I have no idea what set him off, but he peed on top of the chest freezer the other day, whilst staring right at me. Good thing we have plenty of Wee Cleaner...
We got a new pool cover. WLToo decided we needed to cut it into shape yesterday, during the hottest part of the day. Sheesh. Anyway, it's on the pool now and hopefully will cut way back on water evaporation. Also cut a cover for the spa, so the only water exposed to the sun is the little waterfall between spa and pool. It also means the pool will heat up, and swimming will be a lot like being in a bathtub, but at least the water won't evaporate at a half inch per day. Means we get a bit of exercise, too, before and after each swim.
Several vultures parked on the garden shed the other day. WLToo went exploring and found the haunches of some small animal, possibly a possum or fox (foot was definitely not a raccoon). We never smelled it -- the vultures here are plentiful and very efficient.
Hummingbirds are still here, not terribly plentiful, but here at least. One buzzed Short Friend and me a week ago, making it clear the feeder was in need of tending. What nags they are...
I lost ten pounds on the trip, due mostly to being very limited in what I could eat, thanks to the gastritis. Got off that medication a couple days ago, but I don't think all is quite well yet. So I'll keep eating the gastritis diet, in hopes of both losing more weight and of not setting off the pains again. Strange what causes pain and what doesn't. Carbonated beverages of any kind are a total no no - man, that hurts. Wine's okay, though, in small doses. Tomato juice is very bad (bummer, I love tomato juice). Limited amounts of tomato-based foods are okay. Pickles are great (whew. I love pickles). White potatoes, no. Sweet potatoes, yes. Chocolate is supposed to be a no, but it doesn't bother me. Still, I limit it, mostly because I'm trying to avoid a lot of sugars (sugar = pain). Caffeine is a no. Fine, I know how to decaffeinate my tea. In summer, I tend to drink mostly ice water, anyway. Kimchi is very good -- most fermented foods work so far. The diet said to avoid peppers, but I grew up eating them and taking them totally out of my diet makes me sick, so I didn't take them out, and I'm fine.
Started keeping a food diary of what causes pain and what doesn't. It's rather eclectic and bears only a little resemblance to the gastritis diet. But it's working for me, and if it means no pain and weight loss, it's all great.
We're still off-loading Obi-Wander, due mainly to the unrelenting heat. When we finally finish, we'll take her in for all that warranty work.
WLToo just came home, so it's time to start making the beef stroganoff. Later, y'all.
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