[pepperberry farm]

You don't ever want to sign up for submarine service!

that's the exact method I used to discover my own claustrophobia....

[clackers]

surely

Looks like a melty slice of Velveeta on top of that pulled pork?

You see that's how insidious that vendor was, Bob ... mushrooms, not pulled pork.


(Just quietly, it was pretty good)

[robtcorl]

You see that's how insidious that vendor was, Bob ... mushrooms, not pulled pork.
(Just quietly, it was pretty good)

I won't tell.

Mushroom caps, some with bacon, others with pulled pork, and all with cheese and roasted red peppers are pretty tasty too.

[MarkJerling]

That looks yum!

[Rupert]

Looks like a melty slice of Velveeta on top of that pulled pork?

Home! I have a healthy mouse!

Velveeta......We had two weeks of McDonalds...tonight something more tasty....Vienna sausage on whole wheat with two slices of Velveeta!

Almost 5400 total miles on this trip......dead dog tired of seeing asphalt. It will take me a couple of days to get my head straight.

Regards!

[Racer X 69]

Almost 5400 total miles on this trip......

Pictures or it never happened.

......dead dog tired of seeing asphalt. It will take me a couple of days to get my head straight.

I drove big trucks for 5 years, and covered nearly 800,000 miles.

But I like to drive.

[clackers]

Almost 5400 total miles on this trip......dead dog tired of seeing asphalt. It will take me a couple of days to get my head straight.

Does sound like you need a holiday from your holiday.

[Rupert]

I drove big trucks for 5 years, and covered nearly 800,000 miles.

That hurts really bad Racer.......I can't even imagine that number. I'm beat up pretty bad tonight.

I have pictures.......I'll get to a few of them tomorrow. Tonight I'm going to crash in my own bed.....very shortly!

Good to be back with you guys too!

Regards!

[Racer X 69]

That hurts really bad Racer.......I can't even imagine that number. I'm beat up pretty bad tonight.

So sorry Jim, it was all in fun.

Tonight I'm going to crash in my own bed.....very shortly!

The very best part of every run was the first night home, where I was finally able to get to sleep in my own bed, rather than the bunk in Monstro.

But I usually had to put the lawnmower outside the bedroom window, running, so I had something that resembled the sound of the truck running to lull me to sleep.

[tim60]

Home! I have a healthy mouse!

Velveeta......We had two weeks of McDonalds...tonight something more tasty....Vienna sausage on whole wheat with two slices of Velveeta!

Almost 5400 total miles on this trip......dead dog tired of seeing asphalt. It will take me a couple of days to get my head straight.

Regards!

So did that movie about the Maccas eater enlighten us about your intra-car communications?

[robtcorl]

Welcome home Rupert!
Hope Otis got the place back in order before your arrival.

[Parallax]

.... It will take me a couple of days to get my head straight.

Regards!

A couple of days?
That's a bit optimistic, isn't it?





Welcome back, Jim.

[Rupert]

Thanks guys! It's good to be back in the rut of everyday life and here in the world of sanity and reason, with matters of true importance among people of reason.

I feel like a Zombie or one of those walking dead, and look similar too!

Great trip, but a lot of stress out there on the highways of America. They are not friendly roads. When I was young I traveled extensively and enjoyed most of it. Now the roads are very crowded and if you eliminated the hiney humpers and rocket launched maniacs they would still be much less occupied.

For the most part, the big trucks were the best drivers on the road, and most courteous, but there were exceptions. If you take a road trip, you had better do what I did.....drive like every second of your life depends on your absolute direct attention.

Enjoyed visiting the other half of our family, we don't get to see them often enough. It was a wonderful visit. Mrs Rupert took most of the pictures as we drove along...I only used the big bulky FF and Tamron 70-200 sparingly. Toy Cameras are still best on a long fast trip.

I learned a lot on this trip......that I hate motels. In the old days you pulled your car up to the door of your room and unloaded/loaded the ton of unnecessary junk you carried for the trip. Motor Inns is what was the trend. Nowadays they are mostly gone and replaces by 3-6 story buildings that require a map to get to your room, and a half dozen trips to get your junk there.
We only found three Motor Inns on our trip.....and they were also the cheapest.......the best being only $44. Some of the high rise were as much as $200......ridiculous!

Gas was mostly cheap the entire trip...from $1.89 in Oklahoma to $3.27 in Nevada. The TT gets about 30mpg on the highway, so it was not a big factor.

We ate so much McDonalds that we started to dread seeing the Golden Arches......but the breakfast meals were always a treat.

11 days out...we spent a total of almost $3K which includes the $1K Mrs Rupert gave our grandson for graduation. So it was a lot cheaper than I expected. Would have been much worse if I had let Mrs Rupert gamble in Reno...she is a compulsive gambler but shows remarkable restraint...when threatened with being left behind.

The purpose of the trip was to attend the graduation.....the rest was just a side benefit of some great scenery and family visit.

Mrs Rupert with the graduate....A few more shots to come later....I'll try not to litter up this important thread with "vacation pictures".

BTW- For anyone wondering...the K1 + Tamron 70-200 2.8 is an unbelievable combination, just simply amazing!

Mrs Rupert with our 3rd oldest grandson, Kristopher...the graduate.


Got to go..... and see about repairs on the TT.....that truck tire almost ruined our trip but now it's time to get it restored to its original glory!


Regards!

[robtcorl]

Got to go..... and see about repairs on the TT.....that truck tire almost ruined our trip but now it's time to get it restored to its original glory!

Too bad us old guys can't have the same thing done to our bodies.

I agree about multi-story motels, hate 'em, I always try to get a ground floor room.

I went, for the first time, to IKEA yesterday, it was my wife's 65th birthday.
The place is like a maze, I had to turn back a little ways in from the entrance since my claustrophobia was kicking in.
It wasn't the closed in tightness thing, it was the How the hell can I get out of here if I need to! thing.
She got her few 'needed' items and I felt okay in the restaurant for a lunch of meatballs and mashed, pretty good eats IMO.
Then on to Ted Drewes for hot fudge sundaes.



My selfie picture taking needs some work.

[Racer X 69]

Great trip, but a lot of stress out there on the highways of America. They are not friendly roads. When I was young I traveled extensively and enjoyed most of it. Now the roads are very crowded and if you eliminated the hiney humpers and rocket launched maniacs they would still be much less occupied.

Yes, the highways are overburdened. Gridlock has become a way of life these days.


What we need are cars like George Jeston drove.

For the most part, the big trucks were the best drivers on the road, and most courteous, but there were exceptions.

This has always been the case. And the fact that there are exceptions is indicative of the 200% driver turnover rate. The mega carriers treat the drivers poorly, pay them poorly, and don't properly train them. With such a high turnover rate the trainers on average have about 6 months of experience themselves.


The blind leading the inept.

If you take a road trip, you had better do what I did.....drive like every second of your life depends on your absolute direct attention.

So true.

Mrs Rupert took most of the pictures as we drove along...I only used the big bulky FF and Tamron 70-200 sparingly. Toy Cameras are still best on a long fast trip.

I like to keep a 28mm or 50mm lens on the K5 when traveling. That makes it easy to grab it, point and shoot.


And when on a pleasure trip one can always stop when really neat stuff demands photographic attention.

I learned a lot on this trip......that I hate motels. In the old days you pulled your car up to the door of your room and unloaded/loaded the ton of unnecessary junk you carried for the trip. Motor Inns is what was the trend. Nowadays they are mostly gone and replaces by 3-6 story buildings that require a map to get to your room, and a half dozen trips to get your junk there.

The roadside motor inns are still there, but they are mostly on the byways, far from the beaten path.


And they are disappearing.


In the hurried pace of modern life, the masses have forgotten how to take it easy, and stop to smell the roses.






Sounds like your journey was mostly a good one Jim. And when there was adversity you seemed to deal with it well.


Welcome home!


A song for your return (I always listen to this when returning from a long journey, it gives perspective to it all) :

You Tube

You Tube

The lyrics:


Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day
Fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way
Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town
Waiting for someone or something to show you the way

Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain
And you are young and life is long and there is time to kill today
And then one day you find ten years have got behind you
No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun

And you run and you run to catch up with the sun, but it's sinking
Racing around to come up behind you again
The sun is the same in a relative way, but you're older
Shorter of breath and one day closer to death

Every year is getting shorter, never seem to find the time
Plans that either come to naught or half a page of scribbled lines
Hanging on quiet desperation is the English way
The time is gone, the song is over, thought I'd something more to say

BREATHE REPRISE
Home, home again
I like to be here when I can
And when I come home cold and tired
It's good to warm my bones beside the fire
Far away across the field
The tolling of the iron bell
Calls the faithful to their knees
To hear the softly spoken magic spells.