Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Holiday Weekend

On Saturday morning, Jim, Jacob, Nancy, Norm, Irma, Richie, and I hopped into a couple of vehicles and headed up to the farm in Kaleva. Since the farmhouse is no longer inhabitable, we checked into connecting rooms at a nearby, small-town motel. We have stayed at this particular place many times in the past, and, while the units are generously sized and the owners are very friendly, it also leaves a bit to be desired. Nancy, Norm, and Irma's room had a malfunctioning doorknob, and when they tried to open it to get out, the handle would just spin around in circles. If not for the door to our connecting room, the three of them would have been trapped inside. We gave them a key for our door, and kept the deadbolt unlocked so they could come and go as needed. During a thunderstorm early Sunday morning, a gust of wind blew our door completely open and wind & rain whooshed into our motel room. As the deluge continued, Jim, Jacob, and Richie all glanced up from their slumber and went right back to sleep. I had to clamor out of bed, push the door shut against the 40 mph breeze, then attempt to secure it well enough so it would stay closed. Fortunately, none of us are high-maintenance travelers, so between the door issues, dirty carpeting, and some visiting ants & crickets, we found things at the motel to be comical rather than annoying.

We did have a great weekend, despite some bouts of rain each day. (And despite having orange juice spilled all over me by our young "waitress" at breakfast on Sunday!) The guys dodged the showers and golfed both Saturday and Sunday. We met up with some cousins several different times at various restaurants, decorated graves at the cemetery, had a barbecue with relatives, and hit up the local casino. We went to a Memorial Day program at the VFW hall on Monday, where the current members display flags honoring their deceased veterans. My dad's flag from his funeral flies there each year. We were then concerned that we would encounter heavy traffic on our drive south yesterday afternoon, but were pleasantly surprised to cruise straight on home with no problems. It was a fun weekend, and was nice to visit Kaleva again after not being there for a couple of years.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Better Late than Never

Jake and I managed to get a few pictures when our CRV odometer turned from 99,999 miles over to 100,000 last week. We pulled onto a side street and snapped some exciting photos. It was around that time when Jacob noticed that the oil change reminder sticker on our windshield stated that our previous service visit had been at 93,500 miles. I couldn't believe that we had possibly gone that long without bringing the poor CRV in for an oil change. Was I really that careless? Jim checked his "vehicle maintenance spreadsheet," and advised me that - sure enough - over 6,000 miles had elapsed since our last trip to the service center. Oops. It is a good thing that the 100,000 hullabaloo brought our attention to the mileage. The CRV is happily sporting new oil and rotated tires as of yesterday afternoon.


Almost there!
There!


Saturday, May 12, 2012

Segway Spin

Recently, Steve discovered a business near his house that rents Segways. He invited Jacob to try out the personal transportation gizmos with him, and Jacob was very eager to give it a whirl. They made reservations for an hour-long tour this afternoon. Both Jake and Steve got the hang of riding the Segways rather quickly and soon they were zipping around the practice area like skilled professionals. Their guide said that they did such a good job that he was even able to bring them on some advanced trails. The two had a great time and now highly recommend the Segway as a fun & entertaining way to get from one place to another.


Jake and Steve on their Segways.

Sunday, May 6, 2012

100,000

Jim, Jacob, and I have begun looking for a new car - well, actually a small SUV. We visited numerous dealerships this weekend in an attempt to narrow down our choices. Our stops so far have included the showrooms of Honda, Jeep, Mitsubishi, Dodge, Kia, Ford, Subaru, and Hyundai. We always get a good chuckle from car salesmen, and this shopping trip was no exception. We came across two sales people - both women - who, despite saying that they had many years of experience, didn't know some fairly basic facts about their particular brands. The funniest guy we encountered, however, was at a Honda dealer. He asked us tons of questions, even though we explained that we were just beginning our search and simply wanted to check out the sizes & colors of CRVs. We started to walk outside to the lot, and, in an attempt to make us stop, he told us to just sit back and "circle some of your favorite colors" in the brochure until he returned with some keys. Jim, Jacob, and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. I don't think any of us have been asked to circle our favorite colors since first grade.

Soon our 2006 CRV will hit 100,000 miles, which is one of the reasons that we are shopping for something new. During our drive from Michigan to Texas in January, Adam, Jacob, and I traveled in Adam's Jeep Liberty. We knew "Libby" the Jeep would hit 100,000 miles sometime on our journey, and vowed to pay attention so we wouldn't miss the milestone. Adam wondered exactly what we should do to mark the achievement, and I suggested that we take a picture of the odometer. Sarcastically, I added that maybe we could also pull over to the side of the road, get out of the vehicle, jump up and down, and shout woo-hoo. The first time we passed a car broken down on the side of the freeway, Jacob quipped, "They must be celebrating 100,000." I found the "celebrating 100,000" line absolutely hilarious and each time we passed a vehicle pulled off the roadway, I kept the joke going. Much to the chagrin of Adam and Jacob, I repeated it over and over again - all the way to Texas. By the way, we missed seeing "Libby" turn 100K by two miles, so we have no pictures of the event. Hopefully, I will get a shot of the CRV odometer when it reaches 100,000!