My friend Marybeth over at BabyGoodBuys is hosting a Spring Social Giveaway Party that starts today. There are at least 40 giveaways over the next couple of weeks, with some very nice prizes! My giveaway will be featured tomorrow. I’ll be giving away one of my tote bags with a matching cosmetic bag that I sell for $45! You don’t have to wait until tomorrow to start entering to win those prizes, though! Hop on over and take a look at what is up for grabs today!
As you may or may not know, Fabgrandpa and I live full time in an RV and work at the Grand Canyon during the season. It is time again for us to make our migration west for the job. We hooked up the trailer to our new truck for the first time today, and set out with a destination of Tom Sawyer RV Park in West Memphis, Arkansas. It is right across the river from Memphis, Tennessee. We’ll be staying three nights here so that we can go down and do Beale Street again.
We LOVE the blues, and live blues is the best ever! Our first date way back in 1991 was at The Blues Harbor Club in Underground Atlanta. I think I fell in love that night, while having dinner and listening to the blues with my handsome guy.
FabGrandpa had a goal of leaving by 9:00 A.M, and we actually got on the road around 9:20. He is in his own little heaven driving the new truck. It has a computerized diagnostic and information system on the dashboard, that figures the MPG automatically. I know this feature has been in vehicles for a long while now, but we have been driving a 1997 truck since 2001, so this is all new to him. For a guy who loves numbers, he is, well, orgasmic!
Although we only drive about 55 mph while we are towing our trailer, we were making good time. However, the trailer seemed to be “wiggling” around back there, something it didn’t do when we towed it with the other truck. We pulled over to the side of the highway for a potty stop, and discovered that there had been a blowout on the trailer!
That tire was not only blown out, it was worn completely off the rim! So, from now on, if that trailer starts wiggling, we’re stopping to see what the problem is! We have talked about getting on of those tire pressure monitoring systems several times, but never acted on it. I think now is the time to just do it.
This is where I am so glad I have that Droid phone that I got back in November. It has the greatest Map app on it that functions as a GPS. It shows us as a little blue arrow on the road, and shows us moving along the road as we drive. When we pulled over and discovered the blowout, I had no idea where we were, except that we were on the entrance ramp to US Hwy 78 near Holly Springs, Mississippi. I looked back up the ramp, and there was an Exxon gas station over there.
Instead of walking back up there in 86 degree heat, I opened the GPS app, went to the nearby places tab, touched “gas stations” and there was the name and phone number of that gas station. I touched the phone number, and the phone dialed the number. When someone answered the phone, I told them I was in the RV on the on ramp to Hwy 78 with a flat tire and needed someone to come and change the tire. They gave me the phone number for Ricky’s Towing Service. I called Ricky, and less than 10 minutes later, someone was there changing our tire. Incredible! Even more incredible when you consider that I had no idea where I was!
James from Ricky’s Towing Service got the job done in just a little bit, charged us only $35, and had us back on the road in about forty minutes. We’re going to have to find a tire store in the morning, but I sure that Map app will find it with no trouble.
We finally got to Tom Sawyer about 4:45 P.M., and got the very last site with a concrete pad! At least that was good luck! There is only a small part of the park open right now, because the river flooded. They are working to get the sites that were flooded cleaned up and repaired.
It was still hot when we got here, so after we got set up, we went inside for some A/C and a cold beer!
And just because the rig looks so good:
I saw this meme on Tammy’s Two Cents and decided I wanted to play along. More About Me A to Z!
A. Age: really really close to 59.
B. Bed size: It was a special order to fit our RV–too big for queen size sheets, too small for king, but very very comfortable.
C. Chore you dislike: picking that hairball out of the shower drain. Yeah, I KNOW it’s my hair, but yuck!
D. Dogs: belong in the yard.
E. Essential start to your day: Coffee with French Vanilla Coffeemate and QUIET until I get through with reading my email ans forums.
F. Favorite color: Amethyst
G. Gold or silver: Gold and lots of it!
H. Height: 5′ 6″
I. Instruments you play(ed): only those stupid plastic recorders in 4th grade. And the accordion. I HATED that stupid accordion. My brothers got to play guitar and banjo, but me, a stupid accordion. I hate that song, “My Bonnie Lives Over the Ocean” because of those stupid accordion lessons!
J. Job title: right now, unemployed volunteer. In summer, Visitor Use Assistant. In the past: Reservations Clerk, Night Shift Supervisor, Receptionist, Claims Specialist, Service Representative, Operator, Pillow Stuffer, Burger Flipper, Booger Wiper
K. Kids: Son who is going to be 40 this year, daughter 37, daughter 35, step daughter 35, grandson 14, granddaughter 12, grandson 9, grandson 3, granddaughter almost 1.
L. Live: In a travel trailer: Home is where we park it!
M. Mom’s name: Vera
N. Nicknames: My husband calls me Honey. I am NOT telling you the nickname from my childhood. And if my sister does in a comment I will delete it.
O. Overnight hospital stays: several, for surgeries: Gall bladder removed in 1979, tonsillectomy in 1983, Meckels diverticulitis in 1984, hysterectomy in 1996, the births of my children. And spending the night at the hospital when my father was dying of cancer and when my mother had surgery for diverticulitis.
P. Pet peeves: People who throw trash out of their car windows; dog owners who let their dogs poop in public places and don’t pick up after them; people who allow their children to run all over the place in a store or restaurant; people who won’t use a turn signal
Q. Quote from a movie: “Frankly, Scarlett, I don’t give a damn!!”
“Come and get it, you sack of shit!”
“Anyway, like I was sayin’, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey’s uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that’s about it.”
R. Righty or Lefty: Righty.
S. Siblings: Two older brothers, two younger brothers, one younger sister.
T. Time you wake up: Depends on what day it is and whether or not I have job.
U. Underwear: Of Course!
V. Vegetables you don’t like: Beets. They taste like dirt.
W. What makes you run late: Nothing in particular. Sometimes just being old can make you late.
X. X-rays you’ve had: I broke my foot in 2003 when I slipped on the running board of my truck. Ouch! and plenty of other times that are less memorable.
Y. Yummy food you make: Mexican Seafood Soup, Squash Casserole, Meatloaf
Z. Zoo Animal Favorites: The lions. They RRRRROOOAAAARRRR!
If you want to play along, just copy away and put it on your blog…let me know you did it so I can come by and read your answers!
While I love our new truck, I have been having a hard time getting in and out of it. Because it is a 4X4, it is very high off the ground. The F-250’s tend to be higher up than the 150’s too. Anyway, FabGrandpa went back to Tuscaloosa for the third time today to get the running boards and the tonneau cover installed.
The good folks over at Truck Supply in Tuscaloosa had everything we needed. They installed the black running boards. I have to tell you that I was very concerned about how this would be done.
Back in 2001 when we bought Baby Doll, our 1997 F-F250 that we just traded in for this truck, we took it to Leer in Atlanta to have the running boards put on. A couple of days later, I was going to lunch from the job I was working at back then. All the guys at that place were standing out there looking at my truck, because I had the best truck of anyone who worked there at the time. I stepped up on that running board to get into the truck, and it fell off of the truck, and I wound up falling on my hiney in the parking lot. I was so embarrassed! We told the Eric at Truck Supply that story and he assured us that would not happen this time!
Truck supply sells all kinds of things you would need for a pickup truck. They have running boards, tonneau covers, shell covers, tool boxes, hitches, and a whole lot more. I saw some of the biggest truck tires I have ever seen in there! Their prices were very reasonable, too. We had to order the tonneau, but it was delivered to them in one day.
FabGrandpa had been thinking of getting the soft cover, that was more like a heavy canvas cover. I don’t like those, as they don’t seem to be as secure as the hard ones. I have always thought that someone could just use a knife to cut one of those open and take your stuff. At least with the hard one, that raises up like a car trunk, there is a lock and key so I feel like my stuff in the back of the truck is safer. We decided on the hard one.
The running boards and tonneau cover just made this truck look more beautiful to me! I think this is the nicest ride I have ever owned. It is a long long way from that old 84′ Cavalier Wagon we used to have!
How many people do you know personally who will be hurt if the budget is not passed? FabGrandpa and I will be. For example, we are currently serving as volunteers at a federal campground in Alabama. We have been told that if the budget is not passed, the campground will be closed down and we will have to leave. While we were planning to leave anyway on Wednesday to head to Arizona to our summer seasonal jobs, those jobs in Arizona are with the National Park Service. So, we’ll be heading 2000 miles to Arizona for a job that may or may not be there when we get there.
My son, Seth, has been in the Air Force for 16 years or so. He is currently stationed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. From what I understand, he will get paid on April 15th, but after that, if the federal budget is not passed by then and the government is not back up and running, he won’t be paid at the end of the month. He has a wife and four children. Although only three of his children live with him, that is still a lot of mouths to feed when you have no money coming in.
And what about all the senior citizens who receive Social Security as their only income. My mother, my father and mother in law, and countless other older people we know who may or may not receive their monthly payments while the government workers are furloughed.
Edited to add: Social Security will not be impacted by a government shutdown. Social Security benefits will still be paid. Sorry, I was misinformed when I wrote this.
And the biggest thing that irritates me about this whole situation is that the fat cat senators, congressmen, and the president will ALL still get paid if the government shuts down. Knowing that they will still get their pay tells me they have no incentive to make sure they come to a compromise before the country is shut down for lack of funding. And no, I don’t think we’re broke, I just think that once the yearly budget bill expires, there is no “law” or direction on where the money is to be appropriated, so nothing is spent until the budget is competed. They need to get on with it, and make America work for all of us.
We know lots of people in the same situation–our co-workers at the Grand Canyon, other people who are members of the military, one set of friends who are contractors for the Army Corp of Engineers. It is very scary to think about what will happen if this budget is not passed. We are keeping our fingers crossed.
But tell me what you think. Do you like the new look of the blog or not? I took both pictures at the Grand Canyon. The header is of course the canyon itself. And the background, if it shows up on your screen, is the same picture I used in the old header of some fleabane near the entrance station. It may not show up for you though. I know it does on my computer, but on FabGrandpa’s it doesn’t. So, yay or nay? do you like it? too busy? unique and all me? Whadda ya think?
We went on a trip to Georgia last week to visit FabGrandpa’s mother. She had fallen the week before and broke her hip. They operated on her to repair the damage, and then she was moved to a rehabilitation facility near her home. It is not what we as a family would like to hear, but with physical therapy and a lot of hard work, she’ll be able to go back home. I felt so helpless not being able to make her comfortable for more than a minute or two while I was there.
When we got back home, FabGrandpa checked the oil in the old truck, the one we always called Baby Doll. She was so low on oil that it was not registering on the dipstick. That was so unlike her–in the more than 10 years that we owned her, she had been an excellent workhorse, and served us well. But, since we are getting ready to travel almost 2000 miles pulling a 34′ travel trailer, I did not feel comfortable taking a chance with a truck that was leaking oil. He called the Ford dealership in Tuscaloosa and talked to them about making a repair, and set it up for dropping Baby Doll off yesterday.
On the way to Tuscaloosa, we decided to look to see if Townsend Ford had any used F-250’s on the lot. They did. As a matter of fact, they had at least four, and one used F-350 dually that I was in love with. Larry Price, the salesman, showed us all five of them. We drove all of them, and decided that this tan 2006 Ford F-250 Lariat 4X4 Diesel Power Stroke V8 with 89,000 miles on it was the one for us. It is loaded! It has a 6-disc CD player, heated seats, defroster on the side mirrors, all the razz matazz you can think of:
We had to go back to the dealership today for them to put on new tires and a new switch for the mirror adjuster. All of the people who work at Townsend Ford were great! They treated us like we were valued as customers, and that really makes a big difference when you are making such a big purchase. From the sales manager, (sorry, I forgot to get his name) to the service tech, they were all smiling, and I’d like to think it wasn’t just because we’d just dropped a chunk of change there.
Larry, our salesman, probably spent more time with us today than he did yesterday, helping us get things squared away. I can not stress enough how smoothly this purchase went, and how good I felt about the service we had at this dealership. I have been to car lots before to buy a car, and have salesmen treat me as if I was invisible and only discussed the vehicles with my husband. I hated that, and I can tell you, there are several dealerships in the Atlanta area who lost sales because of it. I did not feel that way at all at Townsend Ford.
Oh, and look at this:
Too bad it won’t haul the Jayco! But don’t I look mahvelous, dahling?
The only thing wrong with this truck, is that it is soooo high off the ground. I have a hard time getting in and out of it. So, tomorrow, FabGrandpa is taking back to Tuscaloosa to Truck Supply to get running boards and a tonneau cover for the bed. Can’t wait for those running boards!
Here are just a few pictures of the new truck to tease you with. I’ll be writing more about this adventure tomorrow:
More tomorrow, I promise~!
