Trip Pics

Belle and I met in 2001, both of us having lived lives before we decided to form a partnership.  One of the things we agreed on early, is that there would be no step or half children.  Whatever the circumstances that a child finds themselves in, it is't their fault.  A kid is a kid and deserves to be loved, so her grandchildren are mine and my grandchildren are hers.  It doesn't matter.  A kid is a kid and we'll love whoever they bring us.

Belle's first husband was in the service (I don't know the branch), but when he was in  Vietnam, Belle lived with his parents in Knobknoster, MO.  Her father-in-law was stationed at Whiteman AFB near there, and Belle (as a military dependent) spent time on the base  She wanted to go there  to use the Exchange and to see how it's changed in the past 45 years.  So, we drove out to Whiteman.  It's changed a bunch, according to her.

Belle and Zach, in front of the BX at whiteman AFB, MO.

After checking out the commissary and BX, we went to pick up a great-granddaughter who wanted to spend time with Belle.  We had visited the night before, ad she wanted more time with great-grandma, so we picked her up for lunch.

Belle and Brooklyn chatting while we wait for our order.

The barbecue was excellent, even if it was Kansas City style.  I believe that the pit-master may have studied in Texas for a while.  The brisket was excellent.  Zach found two bottles of BBQ sauce o the table, one labeled MILD, the other labeled HOT.  We tried the HOT one and found the label amusing.  When we go to Missouri, Belle always cooks an etoufee for the gathering.  She tones it down quite a bit, using almost no spice at all, but the more fragile palates find it challenging.  Missouri palates seem to be fairly delicate.

Belle and Lori, in Lori's kitchen

Lori is Belle's daughter (legally, step-daughter, but we don't care).  She was our hostess for this trip, providing everything we needed while we were in town.  I miss her already, and look forward to seeing her, and the rest of the family soon.

Home

We're home, safely, after five days of travel.  PawPaw will be getting back into his routine.

It was great, seeing the Missouri family.

Emma, Missoui

About an hour east of Kansas City, likes the sleepy little tow of Emma, MO.  We're visiting some of Belle's family (and by extension, my family) who we haven't seen in a year or so.

Situated in the rolling farmland of the Missouri plains,  this quaint little town reminds me of towns and villages all over the US that are being passed by the bigger,  more bustling cities that seem to dominate the country.  Emma is small, just off of Interstate 70, and is very quiet.  On a Tuesday morning at 10:00 we wee the only vehicle on Main street.. 

Belle had come up last year for a funeral, and knew of one little treasure in town, so she wanted to visit it again.   Emma's Guns and Antiques.  I forgot to bring a camera this morning, not even my cell phone.  This place is exactly what you might expect to find in a little town where the economy is struggling.  Inside the proprietor has antiques and collectibles,   Plus a pretty good selection of modern firearms of every variety.  And ammo. 

As Belle browsed through the antiques, I gravitated toward the gun counter, where the owner and I talked guns and politics.  The folks in small-town Missouri share many of the same views as the folks in small-town Louisiana.  He and I talked about everything under the sun, and I even noticed that he had a small portion of his enterprise set aside for package liquor.  Antiques, collectibles, guns, ammo, liquor and beer, all under the same roof.

Right across the street is the town pool hall, bar, and lunch cafe.  I may have to make it into that establishment before this trip is over.

Plumbing Compete

After church yesterday, we ate lunch and the boys and I went out to the destruction zone to try tom make the final push on the plumbing.  It was just a matter or working the plan.  We went out into the sun first, to finish the drains and sewer, then went inside the shop to tie it all together.  I was very pleased with the results.

The toilet and vanity are installed in the bathroom.  We had to mount the toilet on a small pedestal so that the discharge, which goes out through the wall, would clear a structural purlin.  That extra two inches raises the standard basin to handicapped height.  The basin is lagged to both the wall and anchored to the floor with lag bolts.  It's rock-solid and Belle is pleased with the finished result.  I still need to add a door to the bathroom, but didn't want to do that until the fixtures were installed.  The opening is cut for a standard ADA complaint 36X80 door.

The kitchen is complete.  We tested everything, found some drips and make the tweaks necessary for leak-free operation.  While the boys and I played with plumbing, Belle was doing some touch-up painting.  After we were satisfied with the plumbing, we turned on the little mini water heater and got it going.  In just a few minutes we had bot water in both the sink and the bathroom vanity..

This project is 95% complete.  We still need outlet covers and that door for the bathroom, but we're putting a pause on the construction.  I have to take the trencher back  to the rental company this morning, and as soon as I return, we're hitting the road to visit with family in Missouri.  Belle's been itching to go up there, and I need a change of scenery.  So, we'll go hang out with people we love in Missouri.

It's going to be fun, and we have a house-sitter arranged.

Welcome Home

My girlfriend (yeah, we're married, but she's still my girlfriend) will be home tonight after six days in Missouri.  She texted me this morning and said that she was beginning the journey.

I'll be glad to see her, and the dawg will be glad to see her.  It is amazing how boring my life is when she's not around.

Satellite Radio?

My new Sedona has a radio that will access satellite radio, and I'm thinking about buying a subscription for the spring/summer shooting season.  Belle and I will we traveling a bit, and having to change radio stations every 100 miles is a pain.
 
I'm thinking about the very basic package, just a list of radio stations so that we can travel without having to seek/search every time we drive out of a station's range.

But, anyone out there with a better idea, I'm willing to listen.

Thoughts, experiences, etc?  Let me know in comments.

35W

There's this highway in Texas, 35W.  A portion of I-35, it stretches from  Laredo to Gainesville, all the way across the state.  At the DFW metro area it splits into two parts, east and west.  Last year when we went to the stockyards, 35W was "under construction".  This year, 35W is "under construction".

I know road work takes time, but when Texas Monthly is writing unflattering articles about the project, maybe it's time to let the traffic flow.  And, judging from Fort Worth's own Star-Telegram, it looks like work on 35W there has reached the disaster stage.

I-35W madness: Road work wreaks havoc on north Fort Worth

That's just the headline.  The story is much worse.  I'm sure that somewhere in the Texas DOT offices, there is one sadistic traffic planner  laughing gleefully.

There simply must be a way to do road work without affecting the safety, sanity, and traffic flow of millions of people.  Texas DOT hasn't figured it out.  Judging from the articles I've been seeing, they're not interested in figuring it out.

Showdown in Cowtown

I've talked about this before, but later this month, Major D, Blue Eyed Bell, and Akarate Zach are headed to Fort Worth Texas for a combined event; The Texas State Championship and the Southern Territorials of Cowboy Fast Draw.  April 20-24, we'll be shooting at the historic Stockyards.

Of course, you can click on the picture to enlarge it.  Lots of info on that little poster.

Last year, it was two separate events, but this year three clubs have combined to do one large event with two sanctioned matches.  Again, last year, each separate event drew over 100 participants and they're hoping that this year they can top it.

The historic stockyards has an events page linked to their calendar that has more information.

We're stoked.  There will be plenty to do, plenty to watch, lots of good food and shopping opportunities.  It'll be a nice mini-vacation for both Milady and me.  They've got lots of things planned for us when we're not shooting.  Or, you can just slip off and do your own thing.

I'm really looking forward to this.

Don't Bring It to Louisiana, Either

Driverless cars, that is.  I love the concept, think that it's a cool idea.  A driverless car will be able to give mobility to the disabled and probably will reduce accidents.

However,

Volvo's North American CEO, Lex Kerssemakers, lost his cool as the automaker's semi-autonomous prototype sporadically refused to drive itself during a press event at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Why not?  No lane markings.

 "It can't find the lane markings!" Kerssemakers griped to Mayor Eric Garcetti, who was at the wheel. "You need to paint the bloody roads here!"

Paint the roads?  Are you high?  Hardly anyone paints roads in Louisiana.  I can take you to entire sections of roads that have never been painted.  Good, asphalt road with nary a center stripe nor a fog line.  Driving down them on a dark night is a lot of fun.

Shoddy infrastructure has become a roadblock to the development of self-driving cars, vexing engineers and adding time and cost. Poor markings and uneven signage on the 3 million miles of paved roads in the United States are forcing automakers to develop more sophisticated sensors and maps to compensate, industry executives say.

This technology is still in its infancy and it will be a while before it is mature.  But expecting government to paint the roads so that your technology can work, simply isn't in the cards.

Wirecutter says that they won't work in California if they need road markings.  They damned sure won't work in Louisiana, either.

Friday Traveling

It's Friday afternoon, and I'm on the hook for a trip to Baton Rouge.  Milady's family is getting together at Brother-in-law's house.  So, Milady went to Jena earlier, picked up Mss Reba, and we're on the road.  We'll be home Saturday afternoon late or early evening.

While we're there, we'll spend some time with youngest son, who lives in Baton Rouge.  His wife is starting school at LSU's School of Veterinary Medicine.  I'll take a couple of handguns, because he does hobby leatherwork and he wants to try his hand at cowboy holsters.  I'll give him that opportunity and when I see him in September, we'll highlight his handiwork.

Home

We're home.  Regular posting will resume once I'm unpacked and the laundry is done.

Odessa - Day 3 Update

Today, we shot Bracket Matches, which pair shooters against their own skill level.  Then we watched the finals match.  Then, the awards ceremony.

Akarate Zach brought home a concho for his belt, signifying 9th place in the Billy the Kid (male youth) category.

We'll install that on his gun belt when we get home.  It's a nice, three-color concho.  For his first title shoot, that ain't bad.  It ain't bad at all.

Calamity Jane got her 11th place certificate, and we were surprised when she was also named 3rd place in the Ladies Senior category. I didn't get a picture of her with the trophy, but I'll take a pic soon and put it up where everyone can see it.

We're now comfortably ensconced in a room in Weatherford, TX.  Tomorrow we'll visit the stockyards in Fort Worth and head for the house.

Odessa - Day 3

In a few minutes I'm going to fold this computer into its bag and start packing the car.  We're going back to the match this morning, where they'll run the finals for mens, womens and youth.  None of us will be in that match, but they'll have shooting for the also-rans, in the form of a braket match.  So, we'll all get to shoot again today, if only to keep the guns limber.

Noon-ish, there will be the final awards ceremony.  There will be a couple of drawings for pistols, and we've got several tickets.  It would be nice to bring home a new pistol, although my luck with raffles is such that I hold no great hope.

A couple of pictures from yesterday.

That's Akarate Zach, going against Good Deal Lucille.  Lucille is the reigning National Champion and granddaughter of my cousin, Gentleman George.  She's very fast, and only eleven years old.

That's Thorn Valley's Big Mark on the line, and I'm not sure who he's shooting against.

Last, and certainly almost least, is PawPaw hisself, getting beaten once again.

Today, sometime shortly after noon, we'll all be leaving Odessa and scattering across this great land.  For Milady and myself, we plan to stop in Fort Worth and spend the night.  There's a shop in the stockyards that Milady wants to visit again.

Packiing

Spent the morning getting ready, checking the list, packing, doing all the things to leave this afternoon.  Took lunch to Milady's crew, came home and checked everything again.

Miss Susan is watching the place while we're gone, and babysitting the Dawg.  He'll be fine.

Now, I'm on hold, waiting for my lady to get home from work.  I think I'll put on a movie and take a well-earned break.  Might even nap.

I'll be posting from the road, when I can.  We'll pitch out of here about 5:00 and try to make it to Dallas before we stop for the night.

Tuesday Ramblings

Ran errands this morning, got a lot done.  Getting-ready stuff for the Odessa trip coming up.

It's hot out there.  Damned hot.  Accuweather says 91F with a heat index of 105.  That might be.  My back porch thermometer shows 95F in the shade.  With 50% humidity, that puts the heat index at 102, and we haven't reached the heat of the day.  I'll spend the afternoon indoors, checking my list for the trip.

I'm cooking tomorrow for Milady's work crew.  They get paid every-other Thursday, and like most of the pore-an-starvin', on the day before payday they're broke, so she has begun feeding the whole crew on the day before payday.  The menu tomorrow is smoked chicken and Ouida potatoes.  I'll get up in the morning, put those birds in the smoker, then piddle around the back yard.  About 10:00, put on the potatoes, then assemble the meal.  Delivery for 11:30.  Then, I'll come home and start packing for the trip in earnest.

We'll leave here when Milady gets off work.  We'll check the list, make sure everything is packed, and put several hours on the road before we find a hotel for the night.  It's a long way to Odessa (a little over nine hours) and Milady wants to get a jump on the road show.

Rpad Trip

Milady and I spent the day driving, and we made it to Warsaw, MO.  A nice steak, a drink, and we're ensconced in our hotel.  Tomorrow, we'll find our hosts and go to a wedding.