Down Time - Discovery Cove

All I can say is, WOW!  This place is so awesome.  We went here several years ago while staying in Florida for a few weeks during the winter.

This is the entrance...

I loved these playful dolphins in the entryway.

Randy surprised me with a private cabana reserved just for the two of us!  It came with a professional photographer who took some really great shots of us that day.  Certainly better than we could have taken as distracted as we were by the main attractions.

My first ever dolphin kiss.

He was just like a dog and wanted his belly rubbed all the time.

See what happens when you don't rub his belly fast enough :-D

Randy wasn't so sure about the idea of kissing a fish and had a hard time not laughing!

Hitching a ride...

We happened to go the week of Valentine's and Randy surprised me yet again with a special delivery from one of my dolphins.  He swam up to me with a buoy that said I Love You Oodles and Oodles. Randy.  I was so surprised.  It had to be one the best and most romantic days we have had so far.





Since we don't drink champagne, so I still have this unopened bottle and glasses.  The chocolates Randy polished off in short order and the crystal frame sits on my dresser with a photo of us from that day.  It is such a lovely reminder of the special time we spent together there.

The day started out beautifully, but by late afternoon some clouds had blown in and it cooled off a little.  Randy was able to search out a cup of steamy hot chocolate for me while I pealed off my wet suit.  I can't think of a better way to end such a lovely day!

He was so happy all of his plans had come together without a hitch.  AND he just loved the private cabana!!!!

Just a Pretty Picture of Truck & Trailer

Cutest Hood Ornament Ever

I stopped to fuel at the TA in Milldale, CT when I saw this little guy on the hood next to me.  I know you all have seen the more common hood ornaments out there like the flying pig, ducks and ladies.  But this is only the second one I would actually like to have.  The first one was a chrome husky.  Now with this bear I just don't think I could decide.  But since I can't find either of them, I don't have to.  I had Randy ask the guy when he came back out where he had gotten it (I was on the phone).  He said he had got it in LA about 7 years ago.  It was a special order back then and took him over 6 months to get it.  So I am still out of luck.

On the Job?

Last night I drove over and thru the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnels, twice.  The first time while heading south around 0130 the northern tunnel was closed down to one lane for both north and south bound traffic.  They had a transit authority car running first one way and then the other escorting the vehicles thru the tunnel.  When it came to my turn to drive thru I was wondering what kind of work they were doing on the tunnel.  To my surprise all of the workers in the tunnel (about 8) were actually asleep on the job!  They were LAYING DOWN on the hoods of their trucks, cars and on the walkway along the side of the tunnel!  Not one of them was even standing up.  Of course this aggravated me exceedingly so I just had to reach over and flip on the engine brake.  8" pipes behind a big CAT and on high...I just let it rip all the way down the tunnel until we started back up the other side.  I ALMOST couldn't resit grabbing the train horns when none of them even stirred at the racket, but Randy was trying to catch a few hours sleep before we got to our next stop.  So I had to restrain myself, THIS TIME.  After all I would get another shot at them on my way back north ;-)

Then on my trip back north around 0430 I was both appeased and disapointed to discover that they were back to work.  They were braking down the work area in preperation of reopening the tunnel for rush hour traffic.  So I just couldn't justify blasting them even though Randy was awake next to me in the jump seat.  Oh well, there is always next time....>:-)

Hail Storm

Here we are sitting in a truck stop just south of Lancaster, PA watching TV and waiting to go load in the morning.  Randy has found a movie on HBO he has been wanting me to see "Birdcage."  So we have tuned it in and snuggled into bed to watch it.  The opening credits aren't even over yet when the screen goes black.  The message on the screen says no signal.  Since we know this happens occasionally and usually passes in seconds we wait...and wait...and wait.  After a few minutes of nothing but a blank, black screen we get up and look out the windows.  The sky is completely black above us.  The cloud layer is so dense it has blocked out our satellite signal (which has never happened before in 4 years of owning one).  I opened one of the side windows on the truck and that was when we heard it.  The wind and low deep growling and rumbling.  It kind of sounded like two ships rubbing against each other.  Instantly we both thought tornado!  But there were no storm warnings coming over the weather bands on our radios or CB.  We opened all the shades over the sleeper and cab windows so we could watch.  It wasn't long before the heavy clouds passed, maybe 6-7 minutes or so.  The sky was still dark grey though and you could see what looked like a heavy curtain of rain heading toward us.  Turned out to be pea sized hail!  

Sitting Here

OK so I have been neglecting my blogging lately.  We were running pretty hard for the past 2 weeks and now I have been sitting here for 3 days.  Doing absolutely nothing.  Which I have to say after the last 2 weeks, FEELS GREAT :-D  It's amazing how quickly time can pass when you are trying to entertain yourself with catching up on some sleep, watching TV, playing on the internet and talking on the phone.  

Randy has rented a car and driven down to Norfolk to go on a Tiger Cruise with one of his oldest friends, Ed.  Ed is returning from a 7 month cruise and it is his last one.  He is retiring from the Navy after 22 years!  It's a big milestone and Randy didn't want to miss it.

So here I sit...with so much time on my hands I forgot to blog :-)

YUMMY

Mixed mahogany and brown rice with scallions and pineapple.

Poaching talapia in pineapple juice and tamari.

Rice and talapia topped off with lots of fresh scallions!

Some Areas Just Aren't for Stopping!!!

I just couldn't resist taking a picture of this when on our return trip thru this area we actually saw a tractor trailer who had decided it was time to pull off of the road and take a nap!  YUP!  Right by two of these bright red 8' tall x 12' wide reflective signs! Maybe he will be on the Darwin Awards next time around?

foreign Driver

So there we were sitting in the TA East in Ontario, CA when someone knocks on the back door of our sleeper.  We weren't expecting anyone, so Randy cautiously checked and then opened the door to a man standing on our catwalk.  He was a foreign driver who barely spoke English.  He had a piece of paper in his hand his company had given him and he started to gesture to it trying to show Randy something.  It was a PICTURE DIAGRAM showing how to axle out your truck properly.  I mean come on is our industry getting so bad that we need 3rd grade picture diagrams to show us how to do our jobs.  Apparently so.  

Next the driver handed Randy his weight ticket and then started jabbering again.  Of course Randy instantly saw the problem.  This guys drivers were over by 180 pounds.  But apparently he didn't know what to do with the information he had, so he decided to knock on our door and ask for help.  I guess we present a knowledgeable image? 

Randy put on his shoes, grabbed his gloves and went out to see what he could do.  I grabbed the camera and followed.  When this other driver saw we were going to give him a hand he slowed down and was able to speak a little bit of very broken English.  Randy showed him how to slide his tandems first.  Then he showed him how to put the landing gear down and slide his 5th wheel.  Unfortunately no air was getting to the release pins on the 5th wheel and we weren't able to figure out why in short order.  Since it was a minimum amount of weight he was over on the drivers and he wasn't over gross or any of the other axles, Randy told him to just run with it.  He would probably burn off enough fuel to equal it out and then not to completely top it off again until empty or fixed.  We also told him to call his company and get the problem fixed.

All in all an interesting and enlightening little diversion in an otherwise normal evening.  It is depressing to see drivers of this caliber being sent out on their own with so little training.  After he left, all we could wonder was what else he hadn't been properly taught...

Moral of the story...don't park next to the scales if you don't want to be disturbed.

Choo Choo Continued

A little while back I posted about a load we did out of Kansas City's Union Station.  I mentioned I would dig up some photos of our previous visit.  So here they are.  But first here are a few refresher pictures.  

The following pictures where taken 3 years ago when we were in Kansas City for my birthday and visited this same station!  It was so cool so be able to get photos of us and the truck next to this very same engine!  Remember this is the guy who recently snagged that air line off of a train he found lying on the ground at a RR crossing.

Anyone who knows me understands this picture.  I mean come on, chocolate and a big teddy bear who wouldn't fall in love :-D  No he wasn't for sale, or yes he would have been my birthday present!

Touring the trains...

Chatting with the retired conductors...for several hours.  Really nice guys and the one on the right had been to a lot of the same places we have been.  It was really interesting comparing notes on how things had changed between our visits.  

A neat mural on the wall done of this same station in years gone by.

I got to sit in the engineers seat.   My left hand is on the train horns and YES THEY WORKED!  The first time I pulled the lever at the conductors urging I nearly jumped out the window next to me :-D  

Ostrich!!!

We were heading north on 15 in SoCal and I was on the phone with a friend from home.  When all of the sudden Randy starts waiving his arm in front on me pointing to our right, yelling "Look, Bonny, LOOK!"  At first all I see is empty hills. No houses, vehicles, nothing insight.  Then he points my head and I see it...an OSTRICH!  The ostrich is running full out along the side of the highway headed to LA :-D

 

Sorry it happened to fast to get a photo of it racing the traffic. Boy that would have a been a keeper too.

Installing New Shifternob

OK anyone who has ever changed one of these knows about all the little parts (2 springs, rubber gasket, plastic molded pieces, ball bearing, etc) that can and do go flying if you aren't really careful when you take the top off.  We of course did great the first time, but we didn't add any extra petroleum and so had to take it apart a second time.  That time both of those stupid little springs went flying as the air blew them to who knew where along with the rubber gasket.  The rubber gasket and the first spring I found almost immediately right next to the gas peddle.  The second one took us over an hour to find.  It had landed and rolled just far enough under the base of the brake peddle that unless you lifted it you didn't see it.  Can you imagine calling dispatch and telling them the truck can't make the pickup because we lost a tiny little spring less than 1/4" long x 1/8" wide?  And all because I wanted to replace a scratched shifter knob.

Unless you are unlucky like we were, it really is a simple job to change

 one of these out (I have changed many throughout the years 

without incident).  Remove the top access panel and the two screws.

Lift off the knob and the side gear splitter switch.  This is where it 

gets tricky.  See those two very small holes at the right side that are

 sort of outlined?  Those are air outlets and are highly pressurized.  

Once you loosen and lift off the cover they blow air hard, fast and loud!

This air blowing is how you loose those little parts.

Since we didn't have any petroleum jelly handy and didn't want to spray

 white lithium here, we used just a dab of Carmex.  It holds those tiny

 little parts in place as you flip the selector switch upside down to put it

 back in place, lubes and helps seal the air gasket.

Now that the air has drained off for the second time, 

I flip and very carefully set the selector switch in place.

Now all we have to do is put the new knob on top...

and screw it back down.

The last step is to place the access cover in the top of the knob.

Viola.  New fancy carved wooden shifter knob.

We started the truck and reaired the system to test it.  It 

worked better than before!  I guess that Carmex was just the ticket.