This year we had another great Thanksgiving dinner hosted by Kaj and Stacy. Those two did a great job on everything ... the food was great, the visiting was great, and the Patriots won - couldn't have asked for a better Thanksgiving. Except for having the NJ Evringham's there - that would have even been better!!!
The Winne's chassis builder (built by "Workhorse") announced several months ago that it was starting a recall campaign for the brake calipers on the Winne. It seems that too many units have suffered from brakes sticking "on" leading to high heat, loss of braking, cracked brake rotors, and other consequential damages. This problem has been known for several years but it took a long time for Workhorse to do its investigation, then work with Bosch (the brake supplier) to come up with a "fix", then produce several hundred thousand new brake calipers, and then get the replacement campaign going. Even though I have never had a brake issue with the Winne - I figured I better take advantage of the recall and while I was at it - I might as well get new brake pads installed - afterall the Winne has 74,000 miles on her and since the calipers where coming off anyway - might as well "get 'er done." So I made an appointment a couple weeks ago to get the work done here in Maine at a local Workhorse Chassis Service Center in Portland - on the day after Thanksgiving.
So we awoke yesterday - the day after Thanksgiving - Black Friday - to a bit of white on the ground - mostly from an overnight bit of freezing rain. But I already had the appointment - so we might as well "get 'er done" - right? After getting Peggy up early - lured out by the promise of breakfast at Cracker Barrel - we cleaned the ice off the Vue - went over to where the Winne is stored - scraped the ice off the Winne's windshield - and drove to Portland.
We dropped off the Winne and made it to CB by about 9:00 AM - just about the time all the Black Friday Early Birds were finished shopping and in need of breakfast - and right about the time the normal risers were getting out for their breakfast before shopping. Ah - don't I love hanging out in the CB store for a half hour waiting for a table - Oh well - at least we have a CB in Maine now!
We spent the rest of the day doing small chores around the house and a bit of running locally - just taking care of "stuff." The "stuff" that you can't get done while hanging around in NY all Fall! Then around 4 PM we get the call that the Winne is ready - drive back to Portland - and then back home. Busy Day!
Today we'll get Winne back in her parking place (by the way - the new brakes work great - and by the looks of the old brake pads - it was definitely time for some new shoes) and get ready to head back to NY for my final week of earning gas money.
We hope everybody had a successful, safe, and satisfying Thanksgiving holiday!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Don't Change the Bacon! - Topsham, ME
I know - two posts in one week! What is Mikee up to? Well - for one thing Mikee is sitting in his own Lazy Boy, in his own house, and is watching his own TV! Howz that for an improvement! Things are definitely looking up.
Peggy and I drove the Vue home today from NY. As we drove that 300 or so miles we decided that we needed to stop at Maine's newest tourist attraction - The Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Restaurant in Portland, ME. That's right ya'll - good ol southern cookin' - Southern Maine style! The only reason I mention this is to give Randy and Terry Guiler a hard time. Randy and Terry claim to have stopped at over 80 different Cracker Barrels in their RV travels - but this one in Maine just opened a few weeks ago so I'm pretty sure Peggy and I have been to 1 that Randy and Terry have yet to visit. We have never counted the different CBs that we have visited - but it has got to be a pretty high number - but not as high as Randy & Terry!
Now for my next very important observation. As anybody knows who has visited a few CBs - the store layout is almost exactly the same in every store. You walk in through the "store," you enter the restaurant in the back left of the store, the shotgun is always above the fireplace, and the rest rooms are straight back from the entrance door. Men's on the left and Women's on the right. EXCEPT in Maine and one other CB we have visited - I can't remember where! So who gets to decide which sex rest room is on which side? And why mess with a working layout? All they are doing is increasing the likelihood that one of us CB Frequent Flyers is going to find himself or herself embarassed in the wrong room!
I intend to take this up with CB management in short order - this is important - keep the men's on the left and the women's on the right. As a matter of fact - I recall that Gene and Judi Curp are hanging out in Nashville as we speak. They could run right over to the CB headquarters in Lebanon and file my complaint for me.
Just don't let 'em change the bacon, biscuits, or the french toast!
Peggy and I drove the Vue home today from NY. As we drove that 300 or so miles we decided that we needed to stop at Maine's newest tourist attraction - The Cracker Barrel Old Country Store and Restaurant in Portland, ME. That's right ya'll - good ol southern cookin' - Southern Maine style! The only reason I mention this is to give Randy and Terry Guiler a hard time. Randy and Terry claim to have stopped at over 80 different Cracker Barrels in their RV travels - but this one in Maine just opened a few weeks ago so I'm pretty sure Peggy and I have been to 1 that Randy and Terry have yet to visit. We have never counted the different CBs that we have visited - but it has got to be a pretty high number - but not as high as Randy & Terry!
Now for my next very important observation. As anybody knows who has visited a few CBs - the store layout is almost exactly the same in every store. You walk in through the "store," you enter the restaurant in the back left of the store, the shotgun is always above the fireplace, and the rest rooms are straight back from the entrance door. Men's on the left and Women's on the right. EXCEPT in Maine and one other CB we have visited - I can't remember where! So who gets to decide which sex rest room is on which side? And why mess with a working layout? All they are doing is increasing the likelihood that one of us CB Frequent Flyers is going to find himself or herself embarassed in the wrong room!
I intend to take this up with CB management in short order - this is important - keep the men's on the left and the women's on the right. As a matter of fact - I recall that Gene and Judi Curp are hanging out in Nashville as we speak. They could run right over to the CB headquarters in Lebanon and file my complaint for me.
Just don't let 'em change the bacon, biscuits, or the french toast!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
"And the Hits Just Keep On Coming" - Niskayuna, NY
Another wild and crazy week here in NY.
Peggy has been spending her days shopping (mostly for Christmas) while I've been spending my days working on recovering from all the project changes I found out about the previous day. I think it's safe to say that this project has taken more turns than a NASCAR driver on a typical Sunday on a "road course." I had to add the "road course" part because not all turns have been to the left. Some have been to the right, some have been U-Turns, but after all the turns ... we do end up at the same place ... just like a NASCAR driver.
The bad news is - my project has been delayed even further! The good news is - I'm going to work on Monday - then we are driving to Maine on Tuesday to spend the rest of the week enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday. We will be returning to NY on Sunday the 28th and I'll work 1 more week to December 3rd - THEN I'M DONE!!! Yippee ... the end is in sight!
After that who knows? This last several months have been a real challenge in many ways and I think Peggy and I both need a rest. I think we will be spending at least a couple months at home figuring out how that routine works again. At some point we will want to head out again for warmer temps but we will have to balance that desire against how much pain we want to go through to get the Winne ready to roll in the dead of winter. We've done it before - but it's not necessarily a pretty sight!
The 2010 chapter of Maineiacs in Motion has been more than interesting - and certainly not much resemblance to what we had in mind going into 2010. Stay tuned for the 2011 Chapter - I can't wait to see what's next!
Peggy has been spending her days shopping (mostly for Christmas) while I've been spending my days working on recovering from all the project changes I found out about the previous day. I think it's safe to say that this project has taken more turns than a NASCAR driver on a typical Sunday on a "road course." I had to add the "road course" part because not all turns have been to the left. Some have been to the right, some have been U-Turns, but after all the turns ... we do end up at the same place ... just like a NASCAR driver.
The bad news is - my project has been delayed even further! The good news is - I'm going to work on Monday - then we are driving to Maine on Tuesday to spend the rest of the week enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday. We will be returning to NY on Sunday the 28th and I'll work 1 more week to December 3rd - THEN I'M DONE!!! Yippee ... the end is in sight!
After that who knows? This last several months have been a real challenge in many ways and I think Peggy and I both need a rest. I think we will be spending at least a couple months at home figuring out how that routine works again. At some point we will want to head out again for warmer temps but we will have to balance that desire against how much pain we want to go through to get the Winne ready to roll in the dead of winter. We've done it before - but it's not necessarily a pretty sight!
The 2010 chapter of Maineiacs in Motion has been more than interesting - and certainly not much resemblance to what we had in mind going into 2010. Stay tuned for the 2011 Chapter - I can't wait to see what's next!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Watching the Snow Fly - Niskaynua, NY
This last week was pretty wild and crazy here in NY. We started the week off with a little welcome from Ol' Man Winter.
It only collected to about a 1/2" - but it was enough to remind me why I'm not supposed to be here. All my RVing friends have escaped to warmer climates and here I sit - with no snow brush in the vehicles I may add - I left those in Maine!
As you may remember - back in May of this year I was called by an old friend wanting to see if I would mind coming to NY for a few months to help him out on a project. No big deal - show up - play Project Manager for a few months, pick up some gas money for the winter travels - and be home for Halloween. Sounded like a decent plan to me - so off I went.
As September arrived it looked like my project would be delayed for about month and probably wouldn't complete until mid-November. No problem I said - I'll stick around to finish it up - still plenty of time to get back to Maine - enjoy the Holidays with the kids - and then off to warmer climes.
As September closed ... "things" took a turn for the worse and it looked like the project may not complete until December. "Well Now" I said. That will definitely put a cramp in my style - so ya'll better find a replacement for me cause I need to get outa here before Turkey Day. That's where it all went wrong! I guess these folks aren't used to people telling them they need to leave.
Whadda ya mean you're going to leave! We need you! We can't do it without you!
"Sure you can" I say - "You guys represent a really big company with offices all over the country - I know you can find a replacement." Then came the hard part ... .
Remember the old friend that started this whole mess back in May? He and another old friend (who happens to be a Vice President with the company I'm working for) come to me and say "What would it take for you to stay."
I knew it was coming - I really didn't want to hear it - but there it was.
So after thinking about it for a few days - I came up with an unreasonable amount of money for me to stay until the first of the year ... they accept ... and here I am - watching the snow fly in NY.
2010 has been a wild and crazy year so far - and it looks like it's going to keep it up ... right to the end.
As you may remember - back in May of this year I was called by an old friend wanting to see if I would mind coming to NY for a few months to help him out on a project. No big deal - show up - play Project Manager for a few months, pick up some gas money for the winter travels - and be home for Halloween. Sounded like a decent plan to me - so off I went.
As September arrived it looked like my project would be delayed for about month and probably wouldn't complete until mid-November. No problem I said - I'll stick around to finish it up - still plenty of time to get back to Maine - enjoy the Holidays with the kids - and then off to warmer climes.
As September closed ... "things" took a turn for the worse and it looked like the project may not complete until December. "Well Now" I said. That will definitely put a cramp in my style - so ya'll better find a replacement for me cause I need to get outa here before Turkey Day. That's where it all went wrong! I guess these folks aren't used to people telling them they need to leave.
Whadda ya mean you're going to leave! We need you! We can't do it without you!
"Sure you can" I say - "You guys represent a really big company with offices all over the country - I know you can find a replacement." Then came the hard part ... .
Remember the old friend that started this whole mess back in May? He and another old friend (who happens to be a Vice President with the company I'm working for) come to me and say "What would it take for you to stay."
I knew it was coming - I really didn't want to hear it - but there it was.
So after thinking about it for a few days - I came up with an unreasonable amount of money for me to stay until the first of the year ... they accept ... and here I am - watching the snow fly in NY.
2010 has been a wild and crazy year so far - and it looks like it's going to keep it up ... right to the end.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Musings of a Maineiac - Latham, NY
Howdy again from the Empire State. Peggy and I made the trip back to NY from Maine last Sunday - driving the truck and pulling the Vue. That combination actually worked out OK. The truck's gas mileage suffered by about 4 MPG - but it was cheaper than driving both vehicles - and I had somebody to talk to on the trip!
We have survived out 1st week here at the local Residence Inn where we are living in our "Studio" apartment. It's actually a lot like living in an RV as far as space goes. As long as we are going to be here without the Winne - I suppose this will do.
Well election week is over. I think we are all thankful for that. For us that still have landline phones - and transfer the landline phone to our cell phone when we are away - the constant political calls have stopped, the lawn signs are slowly disappearing from the landscape, and the TV pundits have something new to talk about. Overall - I feel much better after this national election that I did after the last - but we've got a lot of fixin to do before we can say that America is back on track. I do believe that when we look back on this period in our history we will view it a lot like the late 60s - full of turmoil and one of the key periods in our history when we, as a nation, had to take one clear path or another. I see it kinda like a period of adolescence when you have to decide that it's time to leave all the protections of your parents behind, grow up, and start making the hard decisions that come with being an adult. Did you ever notice that we go through this every 40-60 years? The "roaring" 20s followed by the economic calamity in the 30s, the post-WWII 50s followed by the tumultuous 60s, the "me" generation 90s followed by the bubble bursts in the 00s. The problem is - the swings get wilder and wilder, the world gets crazier and crazier, the blues get bluer and the reds get reder. We all recognize the symptoms - we just can't seem to cure what ails us.
Enough of that soapbox ... time to move on to my next favorite subject "Early Retirement." About 5 years ago I was fortunate enough to be in a situation where I could "retire" at age 55. To me, that meant that I could 1) Not have to get up and go to work everyday to earn $$ for Peggy and I to survive and 2) I could do more of the things we wanted to do rather that just what we "had" to do.
Knowing that I COULD stop working (as long as we didn't go financially crazy) was a nice feeling but then came the reality of SHOULD I stop working? What about all the opportunities I had to profit from my experience? How long would these opportunities continue to exist? Didn't I want to take advantage of those when they came available? How was I going to avoid going crazy (or driving Peggy crazy) with "nothing to do?"
Here is what I've learned in the last 5 or so years:
1. Nobody promises you tomorrow.
2. Family is number 1.
3. Friends are number 2.
4. There is never (and will be never) enough time to do all that I want to do - So I'll never have "nothing to do."
5. "Opportunities" will always present themselves. Some are best passed up - some are not easily recognized as opportune.
Come to think about it - I guess I knew these things all along!
It appears that "retired" life is a lot like "working" life - we get up - we make decisions - we try to enjoy life - we go to bed and do it all over again the next day.
But then many of my "retired" friends would claim that I've never really retired - so how would I know!
We have survived out 1st week here at the local Residence Inn where we are living in our "Studio" apartment. It's actually a lot like living in an RV as far as space goes. As long as we are going to be here without the Winne - I suppose this will do.
Well election week is over. I think we are all thankful for that. For us that still have landline phones - and transfer the landline phone to our cell phone when we are away - the constant political calls have stopped, the lawn signs are slowly disappearing from the landscape, and the TV pundits have something new to talk about. Overall - I feel much better after this national election that I did after the last - but we've got a lot of fixin to do before we can say that America is back on track. I do believe that when we look back on this period in our history we will view it a lot like the late 60s - full of turmoil and one of the key periods in our history when we, as a nation, had to take one clear path or another. I see it kinda like a period of adolescence when you have to decide that it's time to leave all the protections of your parents behind, grow up, and start making the hard decisions that come with being an adult. Did you ever notice that we go through this every 40-60 years? The "roaring" 20s followed by the economic calamity in the 30s, the post-WWII 50s followed by the tumultuous 60s, the "me" generation 90s followed by the bubble bursts in the 00s. The problem is - the swings get wilder and wilder, the world gets crazier and crazier, the blues get bluer and the reds get reder. We all recognize the symptoms - we just can't seem to cure what ails us.
Enough of that soapbox ... time to move on to my next favorite subject "Early Retirement." About 5 years ago I was fortunate enough to be in a situation where I could "retire" at age 55. To me, that meant that I could 1) Not have to get up and go to work everyday to earn $$ for Peggy and I to survive and 2) I could do more of the things we wanted to do rather that just what we "had" to do.
Knowing that I COULD stop working (as long as we didn't go financially crazy) was a nice feeling but then came the reality of SHOULD I stop working? What about all the opportunities I had to profit from my experience? How long would these opportunities continue to exist? Didn't I want to take advantage of those when they came available? How was I going to avoid going crazy (or driving Peggy crazy) with "nothing to do?"
Here is what I've learned in the last 5 or so years:
1. Nobody promises you tomorrow.
2. Family is number 1.
3. Friends are number 2.
4. There is never (and will be never) enough time to do all that I want to do - So I'll never have "nothing to do."
5. "Opportunities" will always present themselves. Some are best passed up - some are not easily recognized as opportune.
Come to think about it - I guess I knew these things all along!
It appears that "retired" life is a lot like "working" life - we get up - we make decisions - we try to enjoy life - we go to bed and do it all over again the next day.
But then many of my "retired" friends would claim that I've never really retired - so how would I know!
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