Not having had a vacation, a real one, in way too long, I hopped in the old Corolla this past Tuesday (had an appointment to keep on Monday and other stuff to do) and took a drive up to visit my brother-in-law Hans at an undisclosed not so superseKrit location amidst tall pines and mighty oaks (and maybe a few other kinds of trees too). I was supposed to have driven up to NH for the annual Northeast Bloggershoot but that got canned because Brendan begged off or should I say told me to bugger off. His pals set up Saturday (yesterday) as Fantasy Football selection day and that was it for the trip to NH. That drive has taken us anywhere from about 4.5 to 8 hours depending on traffic and I just did not feel up to driving there alone. It wasn't that I could not make it but did not want to make the trip by myself for a one day event then come home the next day even knowing there were excellent people going to attend and that it would have been a good time. Still, it would not be the same without Brendan (I know from having gone there solo once before) so I backed out. Hopefully we will go next year.
Being I had already told my boss I was taking off the entire week, I figured I had best get myself somewhere and the only other somewhere I could think of was Hans' new place in the countryside. So off I happily went in the Toyota with clothes for a week (no doing laundry for me while there but am doing it now) a shotgun, a pistol, lots of ammo for each and a mini-keg of New Castle Brown Ale. (Hans had plenty of other beer, and booze and while there I also picked up a case of Stella Artois.) Along the way I picked up some edibles.
On the way to Hans' place, I heard a loud ping or twang while driving. I knew it was from the Corolla but not what. When I stopped at a farm-stand to get some fresh corn and other goodies, I noticed steam coming from under my hood. That was at least two hours after hearing that noise. Popped the hood and saw there was a tiny hole in the radiator from which a narrow spray of steam was escaping and that widened into a wider cone before it wafted away in the breeze. Still had almost all my coolant so drove on to Hans' place, made it there without overheating. Looked at it later and pulled a branch and some small acorns from the front of the radiator but once it had cooled off nothing was leaking. Picked up some sealant the next day and that did the job. Need to get the damn thing flushed.
As for the rest of the week, once I got to Hans' place, Hans and I did almost nothing except relax, eat and drink. I never even fired a single round or did I practice with my crossbow that I had left there the weekend before. (I would have been there continuously since then but had to be home last Sunday and had an appointment and stuff to do at home Monday.) I did try to change out the safety on the Remington 870 that I brought along. It has a J-lock safety button but lost the damn spring and now have to order another (damn those tiny springs once they get sprung they are hard to find). Other than that, we picked up some supplies and on Thursday we drove over to the racetrack at Saratoga Springs.
We stayed for just two races. The first was a steeplechase the other a normal race. I bet on the second race but only after asking a woman, selected at random, which horse she thought would win the 2nd race. She said either the 2 (Meagan's Muse) or 3 horse (Egyptian Rose). Hans bet on 2 and I bet on 3. I also bet on the 5 horse for reasons of my own. Sure as shit flows downhill, Egyptian Rose came it first. Meagan's Muse was second and the 4 horse third. I had bet $5 on Egyptian Rose and walked away from the window with $25.25. I wish I had remembered to bring my $50 scratch off lottery ticket from the car; I could have cashed it there and would have bet the $50.and that would have been nice.
Anyway, after the race, I searched for that woman for quite some time wanting to give her half but to no avail. Not finding her, Hans and I had some almost good pizza for lunch, at the track, with the winnings.
I took off from Hans' place on Friday and headed west for Geneva, NY - about a three hour ride. Took me a bit longer since I stopped here and there but considering the stops, I made it in good time. I stopped by the Hessney Auction Company that evening and spent my time, for three hours, previewing rifles, pistols, shotguns, ammo and other assorted items to be auctioned the next day. Then had about a 40 minute drive back to Auburn, NY (only place I could get a room at Holiday Inn for points), stayed the night there and was back in Geneva the next morning for the auction. I picked up some excellent deals ta the auction but more on that in another post.
Drove home from Geneva, leaving there about 4PM and getting home about 1145. Took my time, pulled over a couple or few times because of really bad downpours making it almost impossible to see any distance on the road and making it smart to pull over. Got home safely and am happy to be here but man is it ever so hot (was hot upstate too but not as bad as here). Just as I got home, the weatherman on the radio said it was 85 degrees (just before midnight). Oh well, lest I bore you more, that is it for now so let me close by saying I had a great and lazy week of doing almost nothing and am probably a couple pounds heavier for it. Back to the diet today.
All the best,
Glenn B
Being I had already told my boss I was taking off the entire week, I figured I had best get myself somewhere and the only other somewhere I could think of was Hans' new place in the countryside. So off I happily went in the Toyota with clothes for a week (no doing laundry for me while there but am doing it now) a shotgun, a pistol, lots of ammo for each and a mini-keg of New Castle Brown Ale. (Hans had plenty of other beer, and booze and while there I also picked up a case of Stella Artois.) Along the way I picked up some edibles.
On the way to Hans' place, I heard a loud ping or twang while driving. I knew it was from the Corolla but not what. When I stopped at a farm-stand to get some fresh corn and other goodies, I noticed steam coming from under my hood. That was at least two hours after hearing that noise. Popped the hood and saw there was a tiny hole in the radiator from which a narrow spray of steam was escaping and that widened into a wider cone before it wafted away in the breeze. Still had almost all my coolant so drove on to Hans' place, made it there without overheating. Looked at it later and pulled a branch and some small acorns from the front of the radiator but once it had cooled off nothing was leaking. Picked up some sealant the next day and that did the job. Need to get the damn thing flushed.
As for the rest of the week, once I got to Hans' place, Hans and I did almost nothing except relax, eat and drink. I never even fired a single round or did I practice with my crossbow that I had left there the weekend before. (I would have been there continuously since then but had to be home last Sunday and had an appointment and stuff to do at home Monday.) I did try to change out the safety on the Remington 870 that I brought along. It has a J-lock safety button but lost the damn spring and now have to order another (damn those tiny springs once they get sprung they are hard to find). Other than that, we picked up some supplies and on Thursday we drove over to the racetrack at Saratoga Springs.
We stayed for just two races. The first was a steeplechase the other a normal race. I bet on the second race but only after asking a woman, selected at random, which horse she thought would win the 2nd race. She said either the 2 (Meagan's Muse) or 3 horse (Egyptian Rose). Hans bet on 2 and I bet on 3. I also bet on the 5 horse for reasons of my own. Sure as shit flows downhill, Egyptian Rose came it first. Meagan's Muse was second and the 4 horse third. I had bet $5 on Egyptian Rose and walked away from the window with $25.25. I wish I had remembered to bring my $50 scratch off lottery ticket from the car; I could have cashed it there and would have bet the $50.and that would have been nice.
Anyway, after the race, I searched for that woman for quite some time wanting to give her half but to no avail. Not finding her, Hans and I had some almost good pizza for lunch, at the track, with the winnings.
I took off from Hans' place on Friday and headed west for Geneva, NY - about a three hour ride. Took me a bit longer since I stopped here and there but considering the stops, I made it in good time. I stopped by the Hessney Auction Company that evening and spent my time, for three hours, previewing rifles, pistols, shotguns, ammo and other assorted items to be auctioned the next day. Then had about a 40 minute drive back to Auburn, NY (only place I could get a room at Holiday Inn for points), stayed the night there and was back in Geneva the next morning for the auction. I picked up some excellent deals ta the auction but more on that in another post.
Drove home from Geneva, leaving there about 4PM and getting home about 1145. Took my time, pulled over a couple or few times because of really bad downpours making it almost impossible to see any distance on the road and making it smart to pull over. Got home safely and am happy to be here but man is it ever so hot (was hot upstate too but not as bad as here). Just as I got home, the weatherman on the radio said it was 85 degrees (just before midnight). Oh well, lest I bore you more, that is it for now so let me close by saying I had a great and lazy week of doing almost nothing and am probably a couple pounds heavier for it. Back to the diet today.
All the best,
Glenn B
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