2 January 2014

2 January 2014

Linus, Snoopy and I want to wish a Happy New Year to all my family, friends and faithful readers!  If you are a faithful reader, we consider you a friend to us! May 2014 be a better year for us all and may it bring us all happiness, peace, joy and prosperity.

Today’s music trivia band is a pop band that everyone should know. I have been called a Rock & Roll snob in the past due to my music affiliations to true music and to a lot of crap out there. Today’s band had some pop hits in the later 60s and early 70s with songs such as, “Last Train to Clarksville”, and “Valleri”. Recently I heard their song, “Pleasant Valley Sunday” in a salad dressing commercial and another one, “I’m a Believer” resurrected in a “Shrek” movie. Can you name this band who was only developed for the purpose of marketing and producing a campy comedy TV show basically for young teenagers?

This New Years Eve (NYE), Snoopy, Linus and I stayed at home and watched TV all evening, but not any of the countdown drama, just shows we had Tivo’d. We really don’t like going out during amateur night and we consider NYE, St Patrick’s Day, Cinco de Mayo, etc. amateur nights out.  I began that practice many years ago when it seemed like I was always on the road in Colorado for work on St Patrick’s Day, and it was snowy out usually, so I did not risk it.  After marrying Patty, we celebrated St Patrick’s Day since it was her birthday also.  Now the only reason I have to drink on that day is just to forget about her.  L

Most of you know that this is my last year working before I go into retirement.  After a few months of doing nothing but preparing for our back roads tour we plan on heading out on the road with Linus northbound at least to Seattle, before heading eastbound towards Montana and Yellowstone National Park.

Good grief, this year will be one of paying off credit cards and other debts that have piled up since having to pay all that alimony.  I have also been riding my bicycle in an effort to rehab my blown-out right knee, lose some excess weight and get back into shape prior to our road trip.  I also need to figure out what I need to bring along and pack in Linus and what will be just excessive equipment.  I’d like to plan some camping trips to be gone for several days just to see what I will be using and what will be superfluous.  

This past year I began acquiring camping gear I thought would be useful.  I got a Dutch oven and tripod I thought would be useful for cooking and baking with a campfire, but they are made of cast iron and weigh quite a bit. I also bought a small microwave oven I thought would be useful.  I have a generator but I think I need to sell it and get a smaller one just to save space. I also have a red wagon with inflatable tires which comes in handy moving the generator around as well as hauling firewood and whatever heavy that needs to be carried a far distance. I also have a stand-alone air conditioning unit which would come in handy during the summer and humid months, but I think it may be too bulky to bring along. The fridge in the bus is too small to be of any use, so we use it for storage and use a ice chest for an ice box.  We also have a small electric heater for those cold mornings when we may need it.  We have a two burner stove in the bus, but we usually just use the two burner camping stove outside.  We of course have a coffee pot and a jug to make sun tea.  We even have a toaster and small blender for margaritas, when needed! 

We also carry tools to make small repairs as needed.  You have to remember that Linus is a 1978 VW, which makes him 36 years old currently. We will also carry some spare parts such as fan belts, wiper blades, spark plugs, extra oil (of course), headlamp bulbs, fuses, etc.  If you break down out in the middle of nowhere, I doubt AAA will be of any usage to anyone.  We also will carry all our electronics such as smartphone, laptop, MIFI internet JetPack, iPods, GPS receiver, and all the various charging and patch cables.

We also carry defensive protection, several weapons such as survival knives, hatchet, my rifle and possibly my handgun.  I really need to check the conceal carry laws in all states we plan on traveling through since they all are different prior to our trip.  I think I should be okay if the weapon is not loaded, but I’ll need to make sure of those laws.  If anyone has some insight to these handgun weapon laws, we would appreciate some feedback from you all.

Snoopy says, “This year… try to Bark Less and Wag More!

Until next time… Be Good!

- cb