Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for Dinner

Gerry & Barbara have been "encouraging" me to go out to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for a long time.  It sort of reminded me of way back when Larry Jr. was about 6 years old and the girls worked on me to get a dog for Jr.  I knew that taking care of the dog would not be on their agenda after a week or so and then someone else would be responsible.  Yep, that is how it worked out.  At least this time I had a great meal and even better company.

I finally weakened and we bought two $50 coupons at Costco for a total of  $80.  I should have bought 4 coupons, not 2.  Two things come to mind when I think of Ruth's Chris, very good food and $$$$.  We had excellent meals and very good service from Russ, our waiter.  All in all it was a very pleasant experience.  The restaurant was full when we left, so many others were enjoying themselves, also.

Gerry, me, Henry & Barbara

Henry then took us on a tour of downtown Charlotte and we were impressed with the area.  The main drag has many restaurants and bars for blocks and all the places were doing a booming business.  It is one of the cleanest cities in the US what we have been to and the pride everyone had in the city showed.

We all adjourned to the motorhome for some adult drinks and visited for a while.  Since we had a fantastic creme broulee at the restaurant, we didn't have dessert at the motorhome.  By the end of the evening we were all stuffed to the gills and worn out, so we called it an early evening.

Earlier in the day Larry Jr. came over to pick up Grant and we hooked up the TV in the bedroom to a blu-ray DVD player.  When I installed the TV I thought we could use the home theater system in the motorhome, but couldn't get it wired correctly.  The blu-ray is dedicated to this tv, so that will work out fine for our needs.

The Storms Just Keep A Coming

The last few months have been interesting and especially the last couple weeks.  We had another rain event come through here tonight and dump about 6 inches of rain in the area.  One report said to watch for flooding in the Charlotte Motor Speedway area and that is where we are located.  No danger to us since we are on high ground and far away from any stream.  The 3 ft deep ditches along side of the road were full and carrying a lot of runoff down the hill.

This is what we saw when we were returning from picking up Grant this evening and bringing him back to the motorhome for a sleep over. 

The skies opened up and the downpour began and it was difficult seeing the road at times.  There wasn't much traffic, so that was a good thing.  The wind really picked up and was pushing our poor old Saturn all over the road, but no real danger.

I got an email from cousin Al who was/is in Missoula, MT and he said it was 100 degrees there at 8:30 PM.  We were at 69, so that part was better, but we could have done without the rain.  Actually, the temp. dropped from +/- 90 degrees prior to the storm.

Last night grandson Sean and Taylor came over to the motor home for dinner.  They have seen the motorhome before, but this was a chance to see it better.  Gerry fixed up a great spaghetti dinner with a salad and Texas Garlic Toast.  Yummy!.  Sean and Taylor visited with us for a while and then had to get back home since they had to go to work today.  It was really nice seeing them and having some two on two time.

Our neighbor at the park is a very nice guy from Atlanta, GA.  He is on his way to a family reunion over the 4th and just wanted to take it easy for a couple days, so stopped here.  He worked for FEMA and knew a couple of friends of ours who also worked there.  It sure is a small world.  He had some stories about hurricane Katrina and the attention given to New Orleans, while Mississippi was devastated even more, but was overshadowed by New Orleans.  He said the powers to be in Mississippi were a pleasure to deal with and had their act together.  I won't repeat what he had to say about the politicians in New Orleans and the governor in that state.  I think anyone who read about the situation down there will be able to figure out what he thought about them.

Well, it's almost midnight and the rain has finally eased up enough to go to bed.  Grant will be up at the crack of dawn, so it's time for us to hit the hay.

I hope you all had a nice day and kept cool and dry.

U. S. National Whitewater Center

Gerry, Barbara and I decided to visit the National Whitewater Center today.  I read about it earlier and it was rated one of the best tourist attractions in Charlotte.  We weren't sure what we were getting into, but it sounded like an interesting place to check out.

Barbara had some chores to take care of in the morning and arrived here at the motor home just before noon and we left for the center right after that.  I plugged the address into the Tom Tom GPS and let it guide us there.

We were hungry and decided to have lunch at the Center.  They had a nice menu and we sat outside and watched people taking the zip line.  There were about 25 people waiting all the time and the line moved fast.  Barbara & Gerry decided to try the zip line, but they didn't have closed toe shoes so that ruled that out.  They could have rented shoes, but neither of them like the idea of wearing shoes that so many people had worn before.  The next time we go there, closed shoes will go with us.  Probably a swim suit also since most activities revolve around water.

As my sil Henry says, put this on your bucket list if you are in the Charlotte, NC area.  I just wish I were 25 years younger and didn't have bad knees.  It looks like a fun place to spend the day, all day that is.

Barbara

Main complex

Part of the canopy trail

Barbara & Gerry

The center is the world's largest and most complex recirculation artificial whitewater river and costs $38 million to build and about $7 million a year to operate.

Activities

Water Sports

• Whitewater Rafting - Rafters with trained raft guides can paddle Class II, III, and IV rapids on the artificial whitewater channels. In 2010, the USNWC had 100,000 rafters.
• Whitewater Kayaking - Whitewater kayakers, from beginner to expert, can paddle, with or without instructors, alongside Olympic contenders. Periodic slalom races are scheduled for all ages and all skill levels.
• Flatwater Kayaking - Flatwater kayaking is offered on the Catawba River, which is adjacent to the USNWC’s property.
• Stand-Up Paddle Boarding - Stand-Up Paddle Boarding is new to the USNWC in 2011. Participants stand on a board similar to a surf board and use a long paddle to maneuver along the Catawba River.

Land Sports

• Mountain Biking - The USNWC has over 14 miles of trails, ranging from beginner to advanced trails. Bikers can bring their own bikes and helmets or rent equipment from the USNWC.
• Eco Trekking - Eco Trekking is based on the geo caching system. Participants are given a GPS device and the coordinates to cache points located throughout the trails and facility.
• The Trail System - The USNWC has over 14 miles of trails which are shared by bikers, runners, and walkers. The trails are used for various races including the River Bound Race Series and the XTERRA Whitewater Trail Race and Triathlon. 
• Rock Climbing - The USNWC’s climbing center is one of the largest outdoor climbing centers in the world. The open-air climbing wall has over 40 roped climbs and reaches a height of 46 feet.

Aerial Sports

• Canyon Crossing - The Canyon Crossing opened as a new activity in spring 2011. The Canyon Crossing consists of a circuit of sky bridges with five different aerial challenges that span the south ridge gorge at heights of over 50 feet. At the last platform is a 250 foot zip-line which returns participants back across the gorge.
• Mega Zip - The MegaZip, which opened in 2009, is a 1,123 foot zip-line which begins at the top of a 46 foot tower, goes over the whitewater river and ends at Hawk Island.
• Mega Jump - The Mega Jump is a controlled free fall from a 46 foot tower. The Mega Jump, which opened in 2010, utilizes the POWERFAN® assisted free fall system, technology that was pioneered by the film industry.
• Adventure Course - The Adventure Course is an aerial obstacle course 20 feet high in the trees.
• Climb 2 Zip - The Climb 2 Zip is a 100 foot zip-line which begins at the top of a 32 foot platform.
• Canopy Tour - The Canopy Tour, which opened in 2011 and goes along with the recent demand for eco tourism, consists of 14 tree platforms linked by 7 zip-lines, multiple sky bridges and other aerial challenges. The Canopy Tour reaches heights in excess of 60 feet and goes across wetlands and a 90 foot deep canyon, along the Catawba River and through portions of the Historic Tuckaseegee Ford and Trail. Guests are accompanied by two trained guides who provide educational information about the region of participants as they go from tree platform to tree platform.

Locale	Charlotte, North Carolina USA
Managing agent	U. S. National Whitewater Center
Website	USNWC
Main shape	Two Loops
Length	Slalom: 300 metres (984 ft) Long: 550 metres (1,804 ft)
Drop	6.4 metres (21 ft)
Slope	Slalom: 2.1% (113 ft/mi) Long: 1.2% (67 ft/mi)
Pumped	7 pumps (usually 6 or 3)
Flowrate	Slalom: 15 m3/s (530 cu ft/s) Long: 19 m3/s (670 cu ft/s)
Surf wave	Adjustable M-Wave plus others
Lighting	yes
Canoe lift	yes
Opening date	2006

Dinner at Jared's & Watches

Our grandson Jared and two friends rent a house in the Charlotte area and Jared and Lee are the cooks, so they invited Gerry and me over for dinner tonight.  Blake, the other roommate works afternoons and wasn't able to join us.  We made the drive over there and found the house quickly with the aid of our Tom Tom GPS.  

We had before dinner drinks and took a tour of the house.  It's a 3 bedroom home in a nice neighborhood of single family dwellings.  They have a nice yard, but not so big that it's a problem to take care of without a lot of work.  Bachelors usually have other things to keep themselves occupied. 

Jared prepared beef tips over rice for dinner and it was super tasty.  He put the beef into a slow cooker and left it on all day and it was ready in a jiffy when we got there.  It was so tasty I was about to go back for seconds but held back.  Great job Jared and Lee.  You can cook for us anytime we are in the area.

Jared, Gerry and me.

Gerry's watch battery went dead a few days ago and she has been trying to buy a new one since then.  We called Jared's Jewelry store and they wanted $40.00 to replace the battery.  WHAT!!  We then called Reed's Jewelry store and they wanted $10.00 for the same service.  That is more like it.  The battery in my watch has been dead for a couple years and I decided to get a new battery at the same time.  They said the watch was too old and they didn't have a battery that would fix it.  Ok, take it to the Quick Fix store and they had the battery and now I have a "new" watch.

What does a watch battery and dinner at Jared's have to do with each other?  Well, there is a connection to be sure.  We were living in Costa Rica in 1989 and Barbara was pregnant with Jared.  Barb, Henry, Ryan, Stephanie and Sean flew down for a vacation and visited with us for a week or so.  Henry had to go back to work and left Barb and kids behind.  Gerry and I were scheduled to travel to Bangkok and Singapore for a conference and Barb stayed behind to watch Larry Jr.   Hold on for a minute.  I am getting there.

We did stop in Singapore and visited with our friends Hanne & Niels for a few days.  While we were there I bought the watch that I needed the battery for today.  The one that was too old.  So, there you have it.  The watch and Jared are the same age and both work now.

Barbara was a real trooper in that she stayed behind in a country where she didn't know her way around, didn't speak the language and didn't know anyone.  Our maid only spoke Spanish, so they had to communicate somehow.  It all worked out in the end.

Ryan, Sean & Stephanie

 
There you have it, all over dinner and a watch.   

Man Of Steel - Review

It is rare that Gerry and I go to see a first run movie.  We are so far behind on movies that the ones that Redbox has are first run movies for us.  All you have to do is skip going for a year or so and then rent the DVD and watch it at home.  

It is more reasonable that way since you don't have to spend $7.00 for popcorn, $4.50 for a drink and a small fortune to get into the theater.  Plus, you can pause it if you have to take a break.

We broke all our rules and attended a viewing of the movie "Man Of Steel" with Larry Jr., Jane and Grant today.  It was showing in one of those huge theaters with 14 screens and 9-10 different movies showing all day long.  We thought it would be difficult to get tickets, but there were a number of seats available.  We sat in the middle of the theater about 15 rows back from the screen and that was close enough.

The movie is full of action, fights, and fantastic scenes where buildings were destroyed en mass.  All in all it was an entertaining movie and if you kept in mind that it was based upon a comic book hero, they did a great job.  It did have a story line with twists that we hadn't seen before and that helped move it along.  We agreed that it was about a 7 on a scale of 1-10, not as good as "Iron Man" but very entertaining.  I almost made a serious mistake and brought my hearing aids along to the move.  Trust me, they weren't needed.

There was one disappointment for Gerry though.  This Superman didn't have his little curl on his forehead, but she thought he was very hot.  She used some descriptive words that I can't put in the blog, but I am sure you ladies can fill in the blanks.

After the movie we had a nice lunch at Panera Bread and then headed over to Barbara & Henry's house to visit with them and some of the grandchildren.  We watched the NASCAR road race from Sonoma, CA and it was one of the most boring races I have ever seen.  The strategy revolved around pit stops and getting back in line and keeping away from a wreck.  At least I didn't have to pay to attend the race.

Later we watched a new TV program called "Crossing Lines" on NBC.  It was very interesting and looks like it may be something to watch.  We'll have to keep an eye on this program and see if they continue to have good scripts.

That was our day, how was yours?

Dave's In Town & Happy Birthday Elizabeth

Henry's younger brother, Dave was on his way north from Florida and stopped for the night to visit with the family yesterday.  Henry likes to party, so they invited the 4 grandchildren and spouses along with Gerry and me to come over for pizza and beer.  Say no more, we will be there.

Dave is always the life of the party and spins some great tales about his work.  He is an EMT and some of the situations he finds when he arrives on the scene are hilarious.  I passed on some of the more gory photos he had on his Ipad, but did enjoy seeing his new boat.  I think I see a fishing trip on the horizon the next time we are in the area where he lives in Florida.

Shawn, Stephanie, Taylor & Uncle Dave.

 Dave likes to keep up with the latest computers, phones, ipad and such.  I think he has time when he is on duty to do some things with them and really enjoys the technology.  Here he is showing the kids photos of his new boat or possibly some gory auto wreck  to which he responded.  You know Dave is in town when the Pepsi bottle is in evidence.  The rest of the clan all prefer Coke products, except Gerry, Dave, Barbara and me.

The previous evening Henry brought his boss and two co-workers to the house for a couple beers after a sales meeting.  Gerry and I had met one of them, Ben, back in Las Vegas for a food show and it was nice seeing him again.  We did meet Doug, the boss, and Craig, a fellow sales manager.  The one beer turned into a couple and we wound up swapping yarns for a couple hours.  I had a good time listening to some of their stories and adding a few of my own.  Great bunch of guys.

We've been on the go with family visits so much lately that we are worn down and need a break.  We really enjoy the visiting and catching up on what everyone has been doing the past year and wouldn't trade the time for anything.  It does tire us out a bit traveling back and forth every day, though.  Tough on the ol' bodies.

Our granddaughter Elizabeth ( Lexa ) turns 16 today and we wish we could be there to celebrate the big event with her.  We will be in the Maryland area in the early part of July and I am sure we can celebrate the birthday a little late.  

Happy Birthday Red!

 

  

Father's Day Weekend Happenings

The past few days have been very busy for us and when we returned home in the evenings I was too tired to even think about preparing a blog entry.  Now that things have settled down, a small recap of the weekend is in order.  

It was a full time family visiting time for us since Friday.  We picked up Grant on Friday afternoon and brought him back to the motorhome.  Saturday we went to Barb & Henry's for dinner and some adult beverages.  Henry prepared some bbq chicken and corn on the cob for dinner and then we sat around their fire pit and enjoyed the rest of the evening.  Grant started a really nice fire with dry wood so it didn't smoke us out like last time.

Barb & Grant

Since we had the nice fire, s'mores were the snack of the evening.  Grant managed to keep all of us in s'mores to the point where overload was fast gaining on us.  Even Rita (the dog) wanted to get in on the snack time and sat there with her soleful eyes waiting to get fed.  I think Grant may have sneaked in some morsels for her at one time in the evening.  That dog will eat anything and her round belly shows it.

Rita waiting patiently.

My parents didn't take many pictures over the years so I don't have a lot of pictures of my father.  This is one of the last ones I have of him when he came to visit us in Rockville, MD in 1971.  He passed away in 1972 a day after our anniversary.  He is sorely missed.

Left to right: Billy Clark, Rick Clark, Me, Cassie, Charles Clark, Barbara & Lori Lumpkin.  5 youngest were his grandchildren.

Our daughter Cassie couldn't make the trip down here for the celebration so I thought I would include a picture of her favorite flower along with her photo.  Barbara planted Calla Lilys and they were blooming for the weekend. 

Larry Jr had to work on Sunday, so he and Jane came by before heading into work and visited for a short while.  It was great seeing him on my day even if for just a few minutes.  We will celebrate Father's Day with him on Monday.  Jane picked up Grant and took him home so he could get to bed early.  It seems we keep him up too late.  Hey, we don't get to see him that much.

"Little" Larry and me.

We went over to Barb & Henry's after this and managed to miss the end of the NASCAR race.  Since it was just the four of us, we had a relaxing afternoon and evening and called it quits early so they could get some sleep before beginning the work week.

Barbara with her great smile.

I received some nice gifts, but the greatest gifts of all were spending time with two of my children and receiving a nice call from the other.  Thanks guys, you made my day.  Love, Dad.

Royal Cafe & Creperie

Larry Jr. & Jane were going to their Friday night dance class and we picked up Grant for the weekend.  Jr. mentioned a crepe place near the dance class location and once you say crepes, Gerry is raring to go.  Crepes are one of her favorite food groups and she doesn't pass up a chance to have one.  Our house boy in Abidjan made the absolute greatest crepes in the world and they were on the menu quite often.

This place is a little different from the usual crepe place in that they actually make them into sandwiches.  I had a gryo one, while Gerry tried the Italian crepe.  Each one was a meal in it's own.  We all agreed that they were delicious and it would be added to our places to visit while in the area.

http://www.royalcreperie.com/  

Gyro crepe.  Doesn't that look good?

Grant, Larry Jr. & Jane with full tummies.

 Jr & Jane went to their dance class and we brought Grant back to the motorhome for the weekend.  We had an enjoyable evening with him and then we all went to bed early.  Great way to start the weekend.

Big Storm Forecasted for our area.

We've been watching the big storm heading toward us and for a while it looked like it would miss us, but as of 4:30pm it looks like Charlotte will get some rough weather.  There isn't a lot we can do about it and have put some papers and stuff in a bag in case we have to get out of here.

It seems like the storms are getting bigger and bigger each year and causing a lot more damage.  Charlotte has been on a flood watch the past week or so at various times.  Fortunately, we are high and dry.   There is a chance of 1" hail during this latest storm and that would make it three years in a row that we've run into hail.  

Stay tuned for a later report on this lousy weather event.  We are the circle with lines through it just east of Charlotte.

Time to think to bring in the slides and batton down the hatches.

As the sky darkened, shelter at Barbara's house came to mind and we packed a few important things, brought in the slides and started to head there.  We made it about a block when the storm was right on us.  Lightning bolts were a flying in the air, the wind really picked up and shoved the car around.  That is when I decided to get off the road, seek some shelter and parked next to a building to get out of the wind and have some shelter from the rain.

We parked across from the Charlotte Motor Speedway and tried to get a picture of it during the storm.  It was raining so hard that the speedway disappeared even though we were about a half block away from it.  

Taken with windshield wipers going full blast.

Signs were flying down the road.

While waiting it out, we called Barbara and warned her it was heading her way.  She said it was sunny and then said, oh boy here it comes.  She had heavy rain and some hail and then lost the power at her house.  So much for going over there for dinner.  She made it through the storm in fine shape except for the power problem.  Henry had been out of town and had to drive through the rain to get back home.  He made it, but even after the rain stopped, didn't agree to do some grilling and opted for a tuna sandwich.

Although we did have power, since we were out, we stopped by a local restaurant and were seated quickly.  The previous customers were just finishing up and we thought that was great.  By the time we finished our meals there must have been 50 or more people waiting to be seated.  It seems all those people lost power and were coming in for dinner.  I almost had to fight my way out of the restaurant.

There were a lot of trees down along the road back and one had blocked a lane in a side road.  I'm glad we weren't driving by when that one came down.

This large tree fell across a busy highway and the road crew had cleared a path through and went on to other fallen trees.  If you look closely, you can see the power lines that were downed by the branches as the tree fell.

 All in all we lucked out on this one.  Areas north of us were hit with microbursts and there was a lot of damage due to trees falling on houses.  I think part of the reason for so many trees falling was a combination of very wet ground and the high winds.  I haven't heard of any deaths associated with the storm and hope it stays that way.

We did not get any hail and for that I am thankful.  That was our day, how was yours?

Corn Hole Time

We had the big family gathering today to celebrate Fathers' Day and our being in North Carolina.  It was great seeing everyone again and since they lead such busy lives, it was especially nice.   Our daughter Cassie and her family couldn't make it and they were missed.  Gerry's sister Darlene and bil Tom made the drive down here for the party.

The big game was being played when we arrived.  It was girls against boys and I'm not sure who won, but I was rooting for the girls.  The corn hole board was a gift to Barbara for Mother's Day and it seems to be in use very often.  Here's Barbara & Taylor competing against each other with their partners down at the other end.

Taylor & Barbara playing corn hole.

Shawn & Lee

 For those of you that don't know what the game of corn hole is all about, a brief introduction follows. 

There are 4 bean bags per player or team and tossing the bags onto the board scores a point or 3 points when it goes in the hole at the top of the board.  There are cancellation points much like horseshoes and the game is played to 21 points.  One doesn't have to win by 2 points and the first to 21 wins.  It seems that a beer or drink to help level your throw is part of the game.  Or at least, that is how the game is played in North Carolina.

Jared & Larry Jr. in a deep conversation.

Big Smile from Taylor

Jared, Larry Jr., Sean & Taylor

Barb, Gerry, Henry & Ryan

Grandpa Henry & Griffin

Everyone left and finally it was down to Tom & Darlene, Barbara & Henry and Gerry and me.  By this time we were worn out and left also, very early for us to leave a party.  We can't party three or four nights in a row and keep going.  We did have a great time and really enjoyed seeing all the family.

That was our Sunday, how was yours?

Fire & Water

Gerry and I had Grant stay with us for the weekend and we wound up visiting with Barb & Henry at their house.  Gerry's sister, Darlene and husband Tom drove down from Annapolis, MD to join us in the festivities.  We hadn't seen Darlene and Tom since last September and it was great seeing them again.

Henry prepared some Chicken Speedies on the grill and with the sides, we were more than filled up with great food.  No, that isn't my Mai Tai mix on the bar, it's for Tom. 

 

We ate on their patio and after dinner someone had the bright idea to build a fire in the firepit.  Nice thought, but since it had been rainy for the last week, the firewood was soaked.  Grant wasn't to be deterred and worked on the fire for a long time.  Henry finally went over and helped him and this was their reward.

It was only after the fire was going that Gerry remembered we didn't have any marshmallows or chocolate for S'moors.  It was too late to pick them up so we all had to suffer through not having them. 

It was difficult to get a nice picture around the fire since the smoke kept moving around and covering up people in smoke.  This was the best we could do with the picture and I've included it just so you know they were successful in the fire making skills.

By this time the adult refreshments were flowing freely and someone thought it would be great to get into the hot tub.  Barbara and Grant were prepared since they had their swimming suits, while Gerry wasn't as fortunate.  Do you think that would stop her from jumping in?   No way!  Barb and Gerry found some clothes for her and in she jumped.  Darlene, being less daring decided to opt out of the hot tub.  This is the best shot I could get of shy Gerry in her hot tub outfit.  She looks pretty hot to me.

I don't really like hot tubs and since I wasn't properly dressed, I declined the invitation to join them.  Plus, I wasn't sure Darlene could handle seeing me in there and I know it would be hard for her to resist.  So, I stayed out for Darlene's sake.  No thanks are needed.

We left shortly after that and weren't sure Grant could stay awake long enough to drive back to the motor home, but he made it.  Good thing!  There is no way that I could carry him into the motor home since he is so big now.  

Alaska Trip - 1995

Gerry and I had planned on buying a motorhome and looked for the perfect one for almost 2 years.  We finally figured out the the perfect MH wasn't in our budget, but we did find one that we both liked.  It was a 30ft 1995 Fleetwood Flair with no slideouts and it seemed huge to us.  We picked it  up at a local dealer (who went out of business a year later) and took it home to see if it fit in our driveway.  It did, but was a little tricky parking it.

We took it out for a test run at a local state park and checked everything we could.  It all worked and we were very please with that.  Then we drove home, packed it up and went on a 90 day trip from Maryland to Alaska and back, driving a total of 15,016 miles.  
Why am I writing this you may wonder.  Well, I was reading a blog today and the bloggers were in Fairbanks, AK and looking for the North Pole visitors center.  Here it is in 1995.

 
They found out that the visitors center had moved across the street to the campground that used to be there.  We camped there for a few days while we visited all the sights in the area.  The blogger said the visitors center was in the office of the old campground and the campground was closed for good.  What a shame, since it was a great spot to stay while in the area.

Gerry was on the phone with one of the kids at the campground office in 1995.  I was using Compuserve as my internet provider in those days and we connected to the local Compuserve phone number to check our email  Compuserve is also out of business.  Can I pick winners?

Check out the following blog about their Alaska trip.  Ray & Cindys RV Travels

It was a very muddy trip along the ALCAN Highway and the stuff they put on the road to keep the dust down really cakes up and clings to everything when it got wet.  We had mud about 6-8 thick on the undercarriage and must have added a couple hundred pounds to the unit.  

There are a number of blogs about traveling to Alaska and it's sort of a pilgrimage for RVers to make the trip at least once in their lifetime.  We thoroughly enjoyed the trip, but if you don't like to drive a lot, then I wouldn't advise starting on the adventure.  

We had a quiet, but rainy day around here.  It was time for Grant to spend the night with us.  We drove to Larry Jr. & Jane's to pick him up, but before leaving we had some great homemade pizza prepared by Larry Jr. Then we brought Grant back to the MH with us.  He is zonked out on the couch and we are finally getting ready for bed.

That was our day then and now.  How was yours?

Rain & Tom Tom GPS

The topic of today is all the rain we've been getting here in the Charlotte, NC area these past few days.  I don't know what the total rainfall has been, but it has been falling on and off all day and night.  Since we just left the desert, the humidity and rain are really getting to us and it looks like it will be getting worse with the tropical storm heading this way.  Thank God the motorhome doesn't leak.

Our Tom Tom car charger quit working on the unit a year or so ago and I've been using the phone charger on it.  One problem has been that the car chargers have quit working after 6 months of use.  When the first one went out I figured it was just old.  Then when it happened again I read the instructions and found out the new ones were not as powerful and most likely burnt out trying to supply the GPS.

Gerry has an Amazon.com gift card and we decided to order a Universal USB Car Charger from them.  It was compatible with our Tom Tom and the price was right.  We tried to use the card to pay for it using Barb & Henry's Amazon account, but it wouldn't accept the gift card numbers.  Finally after finagling with it for a while it went on it's merry way and the unit was charged to their credit card account.  Hummm, I liked that.   They have express shipping for free this month so we took advantage of that also and the charger came in Tuesday.  

I plugged the charger into the car cigarette lighter (why do they call it that when we don't smoke cigarettes?) and off it went.  It was working and charging up the GPS just like it was supposed to.  Ah, the wonders of electronic devices today.  Now I feel able to take the next step and maybe order a new phone.  Maybe!

We've been on the go since we left Red Bay, AL and decided to take a day off.  Just our luck that it's been raining all day and we can't do much anyway, so it worked out fine.

That was our day, how was yours?

Relaxing at Barb & Henry's

Barbara had a day off work on Wednesday and she and Gerry decided to work on some craft projects.  Also, Barbara drove over to Ryan & Dee's and picked up great grandson Griffin to watch him for the day.  That should have been the first clue that not much craft stuff would be accomplished.   Griffin has to be the most held and loved child in the world since he goes from one person's arms to the next on a rotating basis.  Today was no exception.

I'm not too enthused about holding young babies and wait until they are around 2 years old and can walk and talk before I pay much attention to them.  Of course, by then they aren't much interested in talking to me or are running around like a banshee and I can't keep up with them.   Griffin did come over and try to get me up and moving around, but fell a little short of accomplishing this.  Maybe when he is a little older it will work.

Come on old man, get up.

While the girls were ohing and awing over Griffin I took advantage of the fast internet service to download some files and update some programs.  I also brought along my 1T (terrabyte) external disk drive and moved a lot of huge files from my PC to the 1T drive.  That took forever since there was about 200Gig of data being moved back and forth over a USB connection.  Henry just jumped the ante on computer stuff with me since he bought a 3T  drive and I only have the 1T drive.  I wonder if they sell 4T drives now and how much they cost?

Taylor (grand daughter in-law) and Stephanie (grand daughter) came by after work and visited with us for a while.  It's always nice to see them since they are bubbly and cheerful and nice to be around.  They are both RNs and Stephanie works for an invitro clinic while Taylor teaches at a local high school and works part time at a hospital during the summer.

Taylor on left, Stephanie on right.  Beautiful girls (women)

I took time out from all the festivities and went to pick up Grant from his school.  It was a 30 mile drive there and seemed to take forever, but we had a nice chat on the way back and time flew by.  Grant scored a goal in the soccer game at school and also made a sliding tackle to prevent a goal.  The fact that he had on nice khaki slacks and a long sleeve white shirt never entered the thought process.  Looks like some fels naptha will be used in the laundry tonight.  

Jane came by after work and joined us for dinner and then she and Grant headed back to their house.  Barb had prepared a nice spaghetti dinner and we all chowed down on the great food, except for Taylor who had to leave and go home to fix our grandson Sean his dinner.

Once all the kids were gone and it quieted down we visited with Barbara & Henry until late in the evening and then headed back to the motorhome.  Boy, visiting really tires you out.

That was our exciting day, how was yours?

 

Lazy Days of Almost Summer

Gerry and I both spent our school years in Central Illinois during the 50s.  Earlier than that also, but I won't address that in this blog.  Summer was defined as when we weren't in school and that time period was from Memorial Day to after Labor Day.  I always looked forward to the freedom of summer and those days at Gillespie Lake swimming and hanging out at the beach.  Never mind that once you go into the water it was a mud beach, but it was a beach.  As the summer wore on the water temperature really started to rise but it was still refreshing due to the long hot summers we had then.

Those were the days before watching tv, cellphones, X-Boxes, the internet and all the computer games that children play today.  Basketball, baseball and football occupied most of my time.  We even could play cork ball with only three players.  We learned how to deal with issues one on one and worked out our differences.  Sometimes it may have degraded to fisticuffs, but an hour later we were fast friends again.  No gangs, but neighboring towns didn't like for you to scout out the girls there, but it worked out for me since I met and married Gerry who lived in a neighboring town.

Those days are long gone and I don't think kids could go back to them with all the outside influences on the youth of today.  It is their great loss, but I don't think they would think of it that way.  Even small towns away from big cities are prone to drug use and the problems associated with that.  Drugs when we were kids meant prescription drugs and there were few of them in our lives, unless you counted mercurochrome.  We were a rambunctious bunch and were quite familiar with mercurochrome.  It stung when applied.

What Is Mercurochrome™?

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A bottle of Mercurochrome™.

Mercurochrome™ is a product which was once widely marketed for use as a topical antiseptic. Thanks to changes in the way the US Food and Drug Administration regards Mercurochrome™, the product is not readily available in the United States today, although it can be found in many other regions of the world. This antiseptic is part of a family of products made with a base of merbromin, a chemical which must be suspended in an alcohol or water solution before it can be used as an antiseptic.

This product was marketed for use on minor cuts and scrapes during the 20th century. It typically had a reddish to brown color which would stain the skin when it was applied, and if it was suspended in alcohol, it might sting slightly. Mercurochrome™ was recommended for use on people of all ages, and many people in the middle of the 20th century had a bottle in the bathroom cabinet for household use.

There are two issues with Mercurochrome™ and other merbromin products. The first is that they contain mercury, a metal which is known to be poisonous. Although no one has definitively linked Mercurochrome™ to mercury poisoning, presumably because the metal is only present in trace amounts, many people prefer to err on the side of caution when it comes to mercury. The FDA originally grandfathered the drug in, and later decided that it should be banned until additional research could prove that it was safe for use
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The second issue with Mercurochrome™ is the color. The dark reddish to brown stain covers up the natural color of the skin around the wound, making it hard to detect the early signs of infection. Skin which is red and irritated will be difficult to see under a coating of Mercurochrome™, which means that the infection could be missed until it grows much larger. Clear topical antiseptics or antiseptics which do not stain are preferred so that wounds can be clearly visualized.

Although this drug is not in wide use any more, it has an iconic status. Mercurochrome™ often appears in books and stories set in the mid-20th century, and people who lived during this era may have fond memories of it. For people who are not familiar with the drug, the references to it in various media from the era when it was used can be confusing, and people who refer to  merbromin products when they talk about wound care are obviously thinking of an earlier era.


Sunday we went to Barb & Henry's to watch the NASCAR race with them, visit for a while and to try to get a free meal out of them.  The real purpose of the visit was to drop off a baby blanket for Barbara that Gerry had started in March and been crocheting since then.  She finished it on Sunday and felt it was time to drop it off.  She had earlier crocheted a baby blanket for Dee for Griffin and Barbara liked it so much she almost kept it.  Now she has one of her own.  

Oh, a gift for me?

I love it!

 They ran us out of the house around 9pm and we headed back to the motorhome and stayed up until after midnight.  It rained hard all night and we didn't get a lot of sleep, so Monday we were walking zombies.

Larry Jr & Jane invited us over for dinner on Monday and Jr used us as guinea pigs for a new pasta meal.  It turned out really good and I had two helpings of it.  He has turned out to be a real chef and isn't afraid to try out new dishes.  I think he may be in competition with his mother who is an excellent chef.  We visited after dinner and kept them up until 11pm, then  gave them a break by hitting the road.  

That's how we spent the last few days, what have you been up to?