Vacation in Devils Lake

On Friday, Brent and I started out on a short vacation in Devils Lake. Instead, we ended up at Lake Oahe. that's the other big lake on the Missouri River. The weather never allowed us to complete our trip by small plane. I was sorry to miss the party for my mother-in-law, Viola Sinness. I did want to see her. On Sunday Brent and I flew back to Denver. The weather was perfect for that trip.

We made a pit stop in Greely where we did things that you do on a pit stop. Had a great breakfast at the airport in Greely. During the flight Brent did the piloting and I held the maps, and my bladder. Oh, and I also looked out the window. This is a much better view than in a commercial airliner. Brent is a pretty good pilot. I had to kid him though by telling him that the only person braver than the pilot is the passenger. All-in-all, it was a pretty good time.

Sue, was waiting for us at the Erie airport, and gave us a ride to their house. At their house was fresh rhubarb pie and fresh coffee. The pie was topped with ice cream. A nice way to end a vacation that virtually didn't happen.

Thanks for the flight, Brent. And thank for the pie, Sue. And thanks to all the nice people we met in Mobridge. If I had a boat I would go back up there and fish.

Mobridge Extended Vacation

Man, oh man, do I miss Starbucks. Who would ever dream that they wouldn't have one in Mobridge. I guess Farmers Brothers served from the lobby of the hotel will have to do. God must have known that the economy in Mobridge is el stinko so He send us here to spend our money, I don't know why else we would be here.

All seriousness aside, we're having a decent time. I don't feel an obligation to mow the lawn, do laundry, or run out and do bids. I don"t miss having pizza for dinner, either. I had a great time sitting in the cafe looking out the window watching it rain. I recommend it. I did watch "The Magnificent Seven" Four of which got killed, two left town, and one fell in love and stayed. Pretty magnificent. Other than that, I watched the grass grow. It would have been nice to have had a Starbucks while I watched it grow.

Anyway, tonight I am looking forward to sleeping on a hard motel bed, but softer than last night's, and listening to the air conditioner, but quieter than last night's. I am also looking forward to the flight to Devils Lake, which might not happen due to high winds.

Today, Brent and I went to the airport and looked through the chain linked fence staring at the airplane. We must have looked like a couple of prisoners with our fingers clutching the fence and peering through. Somehow Mobridge is holding us hostage. The highlight of the day was the dinner mints. Even now we are plotting our escape. I hope the plane stays tied down until tomorrow. At least I got my phone charged at a price of $29.

Hope to see you all in Devils Lake tomorrow.

Mobridge Vacation

At the last minute I decided to fly with Brent up to Devils Lake, ND to join Audrey who is there to see her ailing mother and to attend her school's class reunion. So we left Denver in a little Cessna and headed for Mobridge, SD where we would stay the night. The intention was to leave Mobridge at 8 this morning and arrive at Devils Lake at 10:30. Well, the weather isn't cooperating. Rain this morning, a low cloud ceiling, and storms between us and our destination. So, now I am enjoying a vacation in Mobridge.

The motel, MoRest Inn, wasn't so hot. Hard beds, noisy air conditioner, bathroom door doesn't shut, no place to set a tooth brush. But, by George, we do have high speed internet. We also had to rent a smoker's room. And the town is overrun with boats. Lake Oahe, you know. Big fishing tournament.

Oh, we did get an airport courtesy car. An old Crown Victoria with cracked windshield, speedometer doesn't work, and wiper blades are bad. And it was raining, of course.

We had breakfast at a family cafe, and that was actually pretty good. I had choice French toast and ham. I asked what was choice about the French toast and the waiter said I had the choice of ham, bacon, or sausage. The Staley's syrup gave me a gut ache.

Tonight we are staying at the Wrangler. Much nicer room with quieter air conditioner. It has an indoor pool, and I forgot my swimsuit. It has softer beds, all-day coffee, vending machines, a cafe, and....... high speed internet. The room is also much larger.

We were going to rent a car to drive the rest of the way to Devils Lake. The Ford dealer is the only ones that rent.... they we all out of rentals. Ho-hum!

Flying in I told Brent that it looks like we are at the end of the earth. Now I am convinced of it. The airport manager lives on a ranch. His closest neighbor is about 10 miles away. We must have flown over about a hundred square miles where we saw only a dozen or so houses. I'm not sure why everyone lives on top of each other in New York when they could be here fishing on Lake Oahe.

Well, I did enjoy the plane ride in. It was pretty cool until we were landing. When Brent cut the power for the decent it sounded and felt like we had no power at all. I was wondering how we were going to make it the rest of the way to the airport. We seemed much too low and slow. To make a long story short, Brent made a perfect landing with about 3/4 of the runway left over. Cool! I have to remember to get a picture of me standing next to the plane. The only person braver than the pilot is the passenger.

I think I'll go over now and get one of those free cups of coffee. If it were Starbucks this would be a great vacation.

Just remember this. I love you all. I had to tell you that because we are flying again tomorrow. :-)

Great Blessings

Some of the greatest blessings in my life are my grandkids. They bring a great amount of joy at some of the most needed times. They know how to brighten up my life.

The other day when I was starting a job I received a phone call from my grandson, Archie, who lives in Wausau, Wisconsin. He wanted to tell me how he was promoted in school. Cool. He also told me that he loved me and was looking forward to seeing me this summer. That's pretty neat I'd say.

Then, this past week I spent several days with three of my Grandkids (Amber, Julia, and Cade) up in Avon. Ya, they kind of wore me out, but they were also loads of fun. Together we hiked (they scootered), We went on the paddleboat, we fished, went to Mc Donald's for ice cream, went to the coffee shop in Edwards, went to the rec center to swim, and played war, and played war, and played war. The kids are not only good winners but also good losers. Thanks for the great time kids!

Amber, did you enjoy your Starbucks frapaccino?

Then on Father's Day I got a pretty nice card from the grandkids in Michigan. Each of them wrote a pretty nice note in it and that really touched my heart. Then today they called to let me know they were giving Orville a permanent. Actually Tory was doing that while Lane was taking pics. I wanna see those pics.

Kids, you are a real blessing to your grandpa.

Hail Damage

Hail damage is usually not a good thing, that is, unless you need a new roof. Well, yesterday it hailed, and hailed, and hailed. As it was beginning I ran out to the driveway to back my truck into the garage. No damage there except the hamstring I pulled racing to the truck. Ouch!

Then I stood inside the house and watched the hail pile up on my sidewalk and deck. I was happy to see it change from pea size to marble size. I thought, "this is it! This is what I'm waiting for!" The hail kept coming down and kept piling up. But it got no bigger. The only damage was a few more shingles loosened by the wind, the leaves on the tree knocked off and shredded, and the plumb tree pretty much got flattened. Oh, and one hamstring that hurt the rest of the evening. Still hurts!

I guess I'm just not lucky. :-(

Painting the House

The dreaded task is house painting, on the exterior! I always put this off as long as I can which is about 5 to 6 years. I don't mind the part where I go around and tighten all the siding, trims, and caulk in all the gaps. I can even handle going up and down the ladder. But I must admit that I hate the brush work.

I used to believe that the only way to paint a house is with a brush. I have painted plenty of houses that way. I always argued that you would get a better job. And to a certain extent that is still probably true. But when you are painting textured siding, brushing is a major pain. For some reason that liquid paint does not want to flow into the deep recesses of the texture. So the solution seems to be to brush, and brush, and brush. Gotta work that paint in.

It appears to me that today's exterior paints are made for spraying. that makes sense since about 90 percent of house painting jobs are done that way. So I can rent a sprayer or buy one. I usually don't like to rent. That's why my garage, shed, and truck are full of tools. After all "why rent when you can own?" Well, it's not like these tools appreciate with age like a house. Oh, wait, are houses still appreciating?

Anyway, when I am done my right arm will definitely be stronger than my left. My arches will ache from standing on the ladder. My skin will either be a nice tan or beet red. And most of my spare time will be used as will my spare change.

Just so there is enough spare change for Starbucks. And we thought oil was black gold! Well, so is Starbucks' Pike Place.

A Long Time

It's been a long time since I have blogged. There are times in life when not many things go right and it is better to hold your peace, rather than have everything tainted with a negative thought pattern. I'm not free to share the issues I've been dealing with but they have kept me in a depressed state of mind until now. I believe that I am now emerging on the other side and life again is making sense. The "Author and finisher of my faith" is with me and gives me strength for today. "I can see clearly now, the rain is gone." No, life is not perfect.... far from it. But what is, is and what will be, will be. The fact remains that no matter where you have been, or how enormous the problem you face, God is always there.

Many blogs will come forth in the future. This blog sight is reserved for some of the lighter things in life so there will be no Obama bashing here.... and no politics. For that you have to go to "Coffee with Blogger Rod."

I am considering two more blogs. One is Bible oriented and the other would be Rod's Hall of Shame. The problem with the first one is that it will seem hypocritical to some (those who have never forgiven anyone) and in the other one I would have to be number one on the list. So I have a catch 22. But, hey, a lot of people with the same issues I have have moved ahead to do something worthwhile.... not held back by their own hypocrisies. So we'll see what happens. I do know this, I am doing my best to "forget those things which are behind," and I am "pressing on toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God." No, that doesn't make me perfect, or better than any one else. It just makes me better than I was.

Gold Star

Hey, I earned a gold star! There are not many things I can earn a gold stat in, but I did at Starbucks. Wow! I get a free drink every 15 times I buy a beverage. I also get free refills with each visit beverage purchase. I get a free beverage on my birthday (if I live that long). And I get a free personalized gold card, which I haven't seen yet. So, bottoms up to Starbucks.