Big Send Off last night

We had planned on leaving Concord on Tuesday morning, but fate had other plans for us.  Larry Jr. came over on Monday and helped me with some minor repairs to the motorhome and when I went to start the engine, the battery was dead as a door nob. (Old Illinois Saying).  We used the auxillary starter and finally got it running and after 30 minutes or so I shut the engine down.  Next try a few minutes later resulted in silence.  

A quick check of the battery with a tester revealed only 4.6 amps in each of the 12 volt batteries needed to start the diesel engine.  We checked around for replacement batteries and found they ranged from $238-$300 plus for the pair.  GULP!!  I knew diesel motorhomes cost more to run, but the cost of the batteries surprised me.  Time to think about this.

Our MH has the engine batteries in the rear of the coach in a very difficult spot to reach.  It is a very tight fit and the batteries have to be removed from the bottom of the area.  I was backed up to a wall and didn't have any room to work with, plus the difficulty of changing them over and I decided to have the local RV dealer do this task.  They came out Tuesday and two experienced techs worked for over 2.5 hours to change the batteries.  They were soaked from sweat and said it was the most difficult battery they had run into in over 20 years.

Enough said, I willingly paid them for the service charge, labor and two batteries.  We put it on our American Express card so will get 1% back and that will ease the pain.

Barbara came over after work and we chatted long enough to entice her to go out for dinner with us at the On The Border restaurant a few miles down the road.  We all had a great meal and were very pleased with the food.  Henry was "busy" so he missed out on the great food and company.  Yes, beer and Margaritas flowed freely.

We chatted with our neighbors next to us who are going full time next year in their RV.  They prepared for this big event by putting up their rental house and their home on the market and each one sold quickly.  Now they will live out of the MH until she retires next July.  Additionally, they are having work done to the MH and have rented an apartment in downtown Charlotte for a number of months.  Welcome to the full-time life you two.

It was then time to relax before going to bed and all of a sudden, we heard a loud boom.  Real loud BOOOM!  They were shooting off fireworks at Lowe's Motor Speedway after an event there on Tuesday.  We had a front row seat and enjoyed the fireworks for 20 minutes or so and when they finished we headed to bed.

Today, Wednesday,  Larry Jr. stopped by to say goodbye and then headed up to Winston-Salem as part of his job.  Jane Clark was on National Public Radio as part of a 3 person talk hour on drug prevention.  We felt she handled herself like a pro and was by far the best prepared for the show.  Super job, Jane.

The drive from Concord, NC to Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield, VA was uneventful and we managed to complete most of the trip without air conditioning.  Our plan was to spend three nights here, but Friday the park is booked solid.  There will be a large concert in the park and the concert goers have taken over.

We did run across this odd looking setup at a rest stop on the way to Virginia.  They had metal rails attached to the frame of the truck and added a 5th wheel hitch to the end of the frame.  I can't imagine that the truck would handle very well with all the tongue weight at the end of the metal rails.  The unit had a Circus sign on it so I assume they were carnival people, or circus people.

 

We visited with our friends Mann & Carolyn this evening.  Carolyn had prepared a lasagna dinner, with garlic bread, salad and wine.  The lasagna was great and the company even better.  We talked up a storm and got caught up on events in our lives since we last saw them in July 2013.  Time sure flies by fast when you are having fun.

See you later. 

Cranes & America: Imagine The World Without Her

Gerry and I went to the movies today and saw the Dinesh D'Souza documentary, "America: Imagine The World Without Her".   We saw his other documentary, "Obama's 2016" a few years ago and this one pointed out how correct D'Souza was in some of his predictions.  Scary!

We both thought the documentary was very well done and should be shown in American High Schools and Colleges to show the other side of the story the students are presented today.  Or, in the case where American History isn't taught, at least one side of the story.  I would highly recommend that everyone should see this film and draw their own conclusions.

When I expressed this recommendation to some people regarding "Obama's 2016", they said they wouldn't watch it because it was anti-Obama.  Judgement and not even seeing the film.  Sort of like putting your head in the sand. 

We are camped in an urban setting and don't have any trees, so we brought in some substitutes in place of them.  These are just down the road from us and if we put some branches on them it would look like a forest.  What do you think?

 There is a big auction on equipment taking place this Saturday and these are some of the items for sale.  I'd like to buy a tractor and one of these bucket trucks just to play with, but Gerry won't let me go there and bid.  Seems she doesn't want to drive the truck and tow the tractor back to the cabin.  What do you think, should she let me buy them?

We went over to Barb & Henry's house for dinner and a movie this afternoon.  We had leftover Meat Pie Roma (superb) and then watched the movie "Non-Stop" with Liam Neeson.  We all enjoyed the movie and couldn't figure out who the bad guys/gals were.  If you like suspense and drama, then this is the movie for you.

No, I am not a movie critic, but I know what I like. 

  

Hendrick Motorsports Museum & Gift Shop

Our campground is just a few miles from the Hendrick Motorsports complex with garages for their 4 NASCAR drivers.  There must be 10-12 large buildings in the complex and the museum and gift shop is one of them.

Grant isn't a fan of NASCAR because he likes the Indy cars more than stock cars.  To say he is a rarity in this part of the country is an understatement.  Stock cars reign around here, not Indy cars. 

We suggested a visit to the Hendrick Motorsports complex and he was ready to go.  There isn't much I can say about the shop other than show some photos of what is there.  I've left out the gift shop since it is basically your overpriced shirts, hats, pins and other items.

So, here goes with the photos.

Who is Jimmie Johnson?

Barbara's favorite driver.

Jeff Gordon cars from the past.

Sneaky way for Gerry to be in photo

 We took Grant out for a special lunch at Taco Bell after the visit to Hendrick Motorsports.  He said his mother and father don't like the place, however his grandfather in Oklahoma introduced him to Taco Bell.  He knew exactly what he wanted to eat without even looking at the menu and was happy with his meal.

That was our day, how was yours?

Rain, Rain, Rain

They have been forecasting a cold front to move through the Charlotte, NC area and it arrived today.  We went over to Larry & Jane's house to spend some time with Grant and soon after we got there the thunder started.  Grant had the foresight to come in and keep away from the lightening that lit up the sky a few minutes later.  

It came down in buckets and the back yard quickly filled up with water.  They have a small drainage ditch at their property line and it was about 3ft deep and then it spread into the yard. 

 It started to hail and the wind picked up and brought down some trees and branches in the neighborhood, but no damage to our immediate area.  Finally, the power went off and the lightening storm continued.  Now that is what I would call a monsoon type rain.

Not to belittle the display of nature, but we had rain like the above just about every day in the rainy season when we lived in Costa Rica.  Our gutters were about 10 inches wide and 12 inches deep and they couldn't handle the water coming off the roof.  This started around May and lasted through October.  All your outdoor activities had to be planned for the morning since the afternoons were extremely wet.

Recently, the house cat Sherman disappeared and never returned.  He was 13 years old so it is a mystery what happened to him.  Now they have a new kitten in the house and it is full of vim and vigor.  He has two speeds, uncontrolled and sleeping.  We seem to be there for the uncontrolled portion of his day.  The kitten is quite entertaining to watch.  He loves to attack their 100lb black labrador dog all the time.  Guinness, the dog, just looks at the cat with amazement and doesn't respond.

Jane, Montpelier & Grant

 Since we lost electric power, we went out for dinner at a local Mexican restaurant.  Gerry enjoyed her meal, mine was ok (what can you do to ruin a burrito?) and the others weren't that impressed with their meals.  The fish ceviche was good, but Gerry makes it better.  Oh well, you win some and lose some.

By the time we returned to their home the power was back on, so we visited for a while and finally decided to hit the road.  We ran into a very heavy rainstorm all the way back to the motorhome and had to slow down to keep from hydroplaning.

The roads near the campground had large amounts of water standing in the road and there were small river like amounts moving at high speed.  We finally arrived back at our nice and dry motorhome and collapsed.

That was our day, how was yours? 

Just Hanging Out

 Gerry and I have just been hanging out here in North Carolina visiting with our family.  We've managed to put a number of miles on the car running around between visits to family members. 

One evening we went out to dinner at a local family restaurant and the TV was on just behind us.  It must have been something interesting to have Grant, Jane & Larry, Jr staring so intently.  The meal turned out be just so so, while the desserts were great.

We stopped by Barbara and Henry's home today to watch the World Cup final game between Germany & Argentina, but first we had to endure the final few laps of the NASCAR race in New Hampshire.  Just kidding about the race, it had a great ending.

The photo below includes our three grandsons, and two of their special ladies in their lives.  Our granddaughter was in Maryland for a motorcross bike race and couldn't make the party.
 

Gerry, Ryan, Taylor & Sean, Hannah & Jared, Larry Sr

Grant joined us for another grandchildren photo and had on his Ivory Coast soccer team shirt.
 

Larry Jr joined his sister Barbara, Gerry, me and Henry for another group photo.  It's hard to believe than Larry Jr. was always known as Little Larry for so long and now he is 6' 3 1/2" tall and big.  No longer Little Larry now, but still is in our minds.

Barbara had prepared pulled pork bbq, coleslaw and other fixin's.  We managed to stuff ourselves and enjoy the great pulled pork.  There goes the diet.

Right after the photo taking everyone started to head on down the road and it was just Barb, Henry, Gerry and me to sit around and chat.  Barb & Henry both have busy days ahead of them on Monday and we left early so they could get some much needed sleep.

Oh, BTW, Germany won 1-0 in overtime and it was their 4th World Cup championship.  I expected them to win 3-1, but Argentina put up a stiff defense and it took Germany until the 113th minute mark to score.  Great game.

Gerry's great nephews Christopher and Caden both compete at a high level in Karate tournaments and did very well at the 2014 USA Karate Nationals in Reno, NV this year.  


 3rd Pl. in Boys 6 y.o. Beginners (out of 20 boys) in the 2014 U.S. Karate National Championship is Caden!

 THE winner of this year's Nationals, boys 11 y.o. Intermediate is Christopher! Very deep division with 26 boys.
With him is the 2d pl. Girls 11 y.o. Intermediate champion, and they were (good) friends in Park City, where she still lives.

The 1st and 2nd place per division starting at age 12 represent the U.S. Karate Team at the 2014 World Ch., this year in Peru.

 Do you think they have proud parents and great aunt & uncle?  That's the way to go, you guys.

July 4, 2014 Independence Day

Happy 4th of July to all who read the blog.  I hope it is a great day  for the celebration wherever you are.  We celebrated the 4th of July overseas a number of years, however it is great to be doing so in the U.S.A.

 

We will be celebrating the 4th with two of our children and some of their families at Larry Jr. & Jane's home with a nice picnic and then some fireworks afterward.  It looks like it will be a perfect day weather wise with nice temps and lots of sun.  Cassie and Jack couldn't make it down here for the 4th, but we will still be thinking of them.

Have a great day all of you.

Henry - Mother's & Father's Day dinner

Good morning Henry.  Have you read the Yahoo News website yet?

Thanks to you and Barbara for the Great Meal last night for the Mother's & Father's Day celebration.  Surf and turf is one of our favorite meals and it was delicious.  The steaks and striper bass were grilled to perfection.

Henry, Gerry & Me

Barbara took the above picture, so I am including a photo of her taken on the patio.  What a great smile.

Barbara

 
 Grandson Jared and his girlfriend Hannah showed up after playing doubles volleyball at the court by the community pool.

 Grandson Sean and Taylor (wife) showed up at the same time after the volleyball game.  The guys played the girls and the matches were very close.  Both girls played high school volleyball and are very athletic.

I think the grandsons must have smelled the steaks that Henry grilled on the patio and rushed on over.  Uncanny how they can do things like that.

Gerry and Barbara worked on craft stuff all afternoon and I took the opportunity of having fast internet service to download some files and tune up the computer.  It worked out great for all of us doing our own thing.

Can anyone explain to me why the Immigration people would fly illegals from Texas and drop them off in San Diego to be processed.  The processing was to take their names and have them promise to show up in court the next day.  They take them to bus depots and see them off to destinations all over the U.S.  Do they really expect the illegals to show up the next day?   I think not!!!  It seems to me that the Immigration people are just completing the work of the Mexican coyotes who sneak them across the border.  What kind of insanity is going on with the U.S. Government?  I wonder if Obama knows about this???

Time to finish off the blog and hit the hay.  Have a great day wherever you are.

Darts & Blueberrys

We have been visiting with family since we arrived here in Concord and are having a nice time.  We last saw them in October of last year and it's great catching up with them and what has been going on in their lives.

Larry Jr. is a lifelong Pittsburgh Pirates baseball fan just like me and also likes to throw darts.  It must be an inherited thing through his DNA.  He combined his two interests and made a beautiful dart board with it showing off guess what.

Yep, he made it in Pirates colors with their old time uniforms.  Now he is going to have to make another one for me when we settle down and get off the road.  I just hope I can lift my arm enough to throw darts when that happens.  He did a super job on the dart board and put a lot of loving time and care into making it.

Gerry decided it was time for some blueberry pancakes and made a large batch of them today.  I was so busy eating and enjoying them I almost forgot to take a picture.  As you can see, I had almost cleaned the plate of the pancakes.  They are every bit as good as they look and I could eat them 3-4 times a week.

Later in the day we went over to Barb & Henry's house to watch the US-Belgium World Cup Soccer game and have dinner with them.   As everyone who loves soccer knows by now the US lost in extra time 2-1, but they held the Belgium teams scoreless during regular time even though Belgium tried furiously to score.  The American goal keep, Howard, managed to block 16 shots on goal and that ties the record set over 50 years ago.  He was fantastic and played a game that will be remembered for a long time.  

Belgium did control the game for most of time and US blunted their attack so much it seemed impossible that Belgium didn't score for such a long time.   

Henry grilled some pork chops and we sat around a managed to finish off a number of them.  I had an especially tender chop and it was one of the best I've had in years.  We finally wore them out and when Barb's eyes started to flicker, we knew it was time to hit the road.  It was great seeing them and actually have time to visit with them.  

Today was SIL Jack's birthday and we called him late in the day to wish him Happy Birthday.  Luckily he was still up and we managed to talk to him for a few minutes.  We will celebrate his birthday more when we get back to the cabin. 

That is what we have been up to since we arrived and it's been great seeing everyone.  There is a big 4th of July celebration at Larry & Jane's on the 4th with lots of food, drinks and fireworks.  

Hope everyone out there is having fun and staying safe.