U.S. Government “Shut Down”
In a nice bit of irony, the image above is today’s Google Doodle in celebration of Yosemite National Park’s 123rd Anniversary. If you wanted to go and celebrate at the actual park today – oops, can’t, it’s closed.
Anniversary Cards
Yesterday was Donna and my wedding anniversary. This year we are celebrating the one that is right about halfway between major milestone and holy crap that long.
Because we are usually shopping together when it comes time to buy greeting cards for each other for Valentine’s Day and Anniversaries we take turns, one person shops for cards while the other loiters in the magazine section or an aisle over. Then we swap places.
This is a lot better than one couple we know, who never waste money on greeting cards, they both stand in the store/aisle and select a card they would like to give to the other and show it to them right in the store. Then instead of heading to the checkout counter, they put the cards right back in the slot where they found them.
This year because we were going away for the weekend we packed our cards separately to bring out on Sunday morning. Donna gave me my card first and as I opened it up she said, “I just love the picture on the front.” When I saw it, I instantly recognized it and said, “Well then, you’ll love my card.” That’s right, we has each chosen the exact same card. First time that has ever happened.
Started up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 1262
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 1262
Mountain Getaway
Made a trip into the NC/TN mountains this weekend. We were celebrating my birthday, our anniversary and on a recon mission for an MMC trip up here in November. Total distance traveled between 7:00 AM Friday morning and 1:00 PM Sunday afternoon was 760 miles. I drove every one of them and enjoyed the heck out of myself. We bought premium gas 4 times in that time (if you count the fill up before we left), 2 in the NC mountains with an average cost of $3.89 and 2 in SC midlands with an average cost $3.39. For the trip the Emperor got a little over 28 miles to the gallon, which ain’t half bad considering that about 2/3rds of the driving was spent in 2nd and 3rd gear at 3500 to 4500 RPM being flung around turns.
We stayed in a one bedroom cabin at a place called Fontana Village and had a mostly great time. The only real fault we found with the place is that you are a captive audience restaurant-wise because the nearest place to eat is Robbinsville, 22 twisty mountain miles away and what they have there really isn’t anything worth going for. As such, dining at one of the two open restaurants on the grounds can set you back a pretty penny. On Saturday morning the breakfast buffet at the Mountain View was our only option and at twelve bucks a person (total bill with tax & tip; $29) it was not as good as the $7.95 one at a Golden Corral in Aiken, just served from nicer containers. Dinner at the Wildwood Grill on Saturday night was $40 for 2 hamburgers a beer and a glass of wine. But now that we know there were serious about the fully equipped kitchen in the cabin, next time we are bringing our own (well as least as much as we can carry in the Miata.)
The photo above is of the Hiwassee Reservoir taken at the overlook of the Hiwassee Dam on at about the mid-point of the loop planned for the Saturday drive when we take the Miata Club to Deals Gap. This is the same loop as we did 2 years ago, but we are hoping the weather in November this year will be a lot more like our weather this weekend and not anything like the cold and wet of the 2011 trip.
This afternoon the Emperor got a well deserved bath while I ignored NFL football and its effect on my fantasy football team. I may not watch any games next week either, if that is what it takes, because the football Purple Whales are winning 118 to 106 and I still have one guy playing tonight and my opponent has nobody left to play at all.
Started down, went up, back down, up again, down again, up once more, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 1261
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 1261
Car Camo Considered
This is the back end of the new BMW M4 covered in camo because they are not ready to actually debut them yet, although they are out test driving them. I drove its predecessor, the M3, back in 2008 at a Susan B Komen Ultimate Drive and effervesced about the experience:
414HP V-8. Yikes! This car should be illegal, but I’m glad it is not. Just the exhaust note alone is enough to make the hairs on your arm stand up. Not deep throaty Detroit rumble, but raspy, race car purposeful. One suggestion, when you mash the go pedal to the floor you should already have your head back on the headrest or it will be snapped back to it. This is as close as you can get to experiencing a catapult launch from the flight deck of an aircraft carrier on land, unless you drag race funny cars on the weekend.
If I was really rich, or kinda rich and single, this thing would be my daily driver, but seeing as I’m neither of those things I drive a 10 year-old Miata (not that there is anything wrong with that.)
What I think might be cool, and I wouldn’t even have to be rich, would be to find a place that vinyl wraps cars and cover the Miata in that black & white swirly camo. Although, I think to do that I would need to be single, or if I did that without asking for permission, I would end up single. 🙂
We Own The East?
All the clubhouse celebration photos of the FRS from last Friday showed the players all wearing this shirt. Do you think that they were contractually obligated to do so? Or did they just not care what the heck they were wearing after downing several Bud Lights (the official beer of MLB Playoff Clinching)?
First off they don’t own the East, at best they were leasing it for a year. Secondly, last night the Braves donned T-shirts with the same words on it. So just who does “own” the East?
The only thing worse than that shirt is this hat!
1 Angry Owner
After a promising start to the day the Purple Whales faltered and are now a sure lock for being the only team in the EZEFFL without a victory. Right now I trail by one point and my opponent has a kicker going on Monday night. The one in a million shot is that Denver gets shutout or Matt Prater misses as many field goals as he gets points after. Like I said last week: No big thing, every team makes our league’s playoffs.
Just like last Sunday I planned to wash the dead bugs of the Purple Whale and didn’t because I spent the afternoon parked on the couch with the FRS on the big TV and an NFL game in a small window, along with ESPNs Fantasy Cast running in another, on the laptop.
After going to Five Guys for a birthday burger (Thanks Joan) Donna and I went to Lu Lu’s and rode through the automatic car wash in the Sonata.
133,000 Angry Crows
We went for a Sunday morning hike in Hitchcock Woods and when we got near Fulmer Stable towards the end of the walk we could hear a murder of crows squawking like crazy. It sounded like a hundred thirty three thousand birds shouting about something. As we exited the woods onto the sandy road leading to the parking area we could see what all the hullabaloo was about, a very large bird of prey was perched in what was obviously their favorite tree.
I had just enough time to get out the camera, locate the bird, zoom in and snap this one photo of his backside before he flew to another branch further into the tree. The crows never stopped making a racket and a few minutes later our hawk had had enough and he flew right over our heads and deep into the woods. I never did get another picture of him.
Today on the way to work this morning the Emperor ticked past the 133,000 mile mark, so tonight I gave him a sponge bath in the garage as a present. Well, that and he got filthy when the grounds crew at the plant weed-eated the strip of grass right behind where we park.