Tuesday, September 06, 2016

Panic in Detroit

This country girl has gone to the city. I have no idea which bridge I should be on, but at least my rig is under 14 feet. So I will fit. PHEW!

Saturday I drove up I-75 which had detours, road work and traffic. Harley dog got us lost four times. The first 11 miles took us over an hour. After that we sort of picked up speed. We stopped at a rest area that was adjacent to a bicycle path. We wandered down it a ways exercising out feet and paws. Harley could have gone 10 miles but we turned about after about a half a mile. I was anxious to get back into the thick of things while I still had energy to move forward.

My rig was cobbled back together recently-minus the cab air conditioning which worked beautifully then suddenly just seized up one day recently. The patched up repairs was enough to get us back on the road until parts are rounded up.  Sadly I hate to wait a week to get even the patch job done. I wasn't due for an oil change, but did it anyhow while they were rerouting a new serpentine belt to avoid the AC compressor.

I figure you can never change the oil too much. It was the secret to me driving my trusty rusty heap of a jeep during my Caribbean years. I gave it lots of oil changes to keep that hard working engine climbing those extreme island hilly roads that are built at impossible angles.

Now, I want my current 1993 engine purring but on hot humid days, the lack of AC is maddeningly hot and sticky. Even Harley was panting heavily. We tried using the generator and the back roof AC but the way my rig is laid out, the roof AC just doesn't reach the cab. I guess if I have to do it again, I will try to use a big box fan tied to the table leg and see if I can push some cooler air up forward.

I tried riding with my window down, but the extreme noise from the freeway seemed more distracting than cooling. My windows are manual crank down, so Harley has to ride with his window closed, because I can't reach the handle on his side while I am driving on my side. Poor puppy.

"Panic in Detroit" is a song written by David Bowie for the album Aladdin Sane in 1973


I missed hurricane Hermine. I am so sorry to hear about Cedar Key, Florida and their 8 foot tidal surge. I had a fun visit on that quaint little island in spring of 2015.  The park I stayed in was in an ideal location but they had crammed in the RV spots so extremely tight that I called it "cramping" rather than camping. At the time I didn't have neighbors on either side. It's a good thing because otherwise they would have been parked about 5 inches from me (according to the permanent markers) leaving me no sunshine to come in my windows at all. I love to open all my shades first thing at dawn to see my world, not hide from it. I did enjoy zipping around on my old Schwinn bicycle around town. I hope they get the place put back together again.

My heart goes out to those that were stuck with hurricane mayhem. It's truly no fun before, during and afterwards. The "before" is the worst because so many last minute critical decisions have to made based on widely varying information that indicate you should do one of ten different things to possibly survive. Many of the options involve last minute travel and the expenses associated with that. Not everyone is ready to flee their home and go hunker down elsewhere.

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THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY TODAY!



4 comments:

  1. A tip for mosquitoes . . . The "Herb Lady" from Mineral Wells, Texas advised putting some cheap vanilla (with no sugar of ingredients that might attract bugs)and water in a spray bottle and spray as needed. She had a radio show and wrote a monthly article for "Texas Living First" in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

    Of course, Texas has mosquitoes that can carry you away. lol You know (tongue in cheek) every thing is bigger in Texas. It also works for gnats, etc. This is a much better option than spraying poison on yourself all day. My friend the Herb Lady, Joanne Boudreau, is no longer with us but so many of her articles and tips are still helping those of us who are still here.

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  2. I have tried to cool the cab by running the generator and the roof air conditioner. You have to use a fan to push the air to the front. Since you are so far North maybe you will run into some cool temperatures.

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  3. I have tried to cool the cab by running the generator and the roof air conditioner. You have to use a fan to push the air to the front. Since you are so far North maybe you will run into some cooler temperatures.

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  4. Nancy says .... hey mix up some heavy garlic spray in a small sprayer and spray around your RV to clear mosquitos for hours! Works Great, smells like dinner and won't hurt any critters!

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Life is goof!