No title just idle chit chat

Ratkity

Ut oh!! Run (limp) towards the hills! @ericnliz is on prowl for rats with fuzzy tails.

Them critters ATE the wiring in my retired neighbor's garaged minivan... nearly in a week's time!! $800 worth of repair. The county got em though through traps (us city folk can't arm ourselves these days).

Man, are they destructive around here.. and evil. When I'm on my BICYCLE they try to run out in front of me in my 'hood. I'm serious. A conspiracy. They tend to realize the Harley will eat them if they come close.

When you are ready, I think mah cajun friend has a great recipe for Squirrel Sauce Picante!

ericnliz

@Ratkity, Liz informed me I'd end up in the pokie, especially when I headed out the door with my .44 magnum. Now I'm in the process of training the hummingbirds to give 'em a ZAP in the butt!
Little buggers were sittin' on the roof eatin' strawberry shortcake. One of 'em even grabbed a cherry & put it in on top just to give the 'ol nose thumb to me. Hmmmm.....wonder if they'd run me in for dynam...oops, here comes Liz.....................run Forest, run!.....

Ratkity

Homebodyatheart

We're back, didn't drown or float down the road, and are tired. We had a nice time, and the Mr. does not seem to be scared off. L@dybug did suffer an owie on the way home, so I'll be calling Elsie and company Monday. I have a 2.5" crack in the front window. Came from a very small ding and expanded itself. Drat! I tell  you, if we had any chance at wifi I'd have been looking up Noah to order an ark! We have never seen such rolling heavy rain squalls! The asphalt pad we were on had over an inch of standing water at one point as it couldn't drain as fast as the rain was falling! It was raining so hard and fast mid-afternoon that you couldn't see the road, and we were driving back to town to pick up a few things. Same storm a friends son-in-law was towing their boat in. After stopping he realized that the bilge pump had turned itself on while the boat was being towed! That's a storm! 

Pics and stories later. Also, "Hello" from @Dalehelman and Sandi!

Oh and @ericnliz, remind me to show you my Road Kill Cookbook sometime... it's way too "informative" for my tastes!

ericnliz

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ericnliz

@Homebodyatheart, Glad you're not water-logged, and had fun despite the rain. I know exactly what you went through because my back deck drain couldn't keep up either! Had water all the way up to the legs on the big gazebo!
Happy Father's day to Mr. Homebody! You're a trooper, and glad you had a good time! Look forward to seeing you on future T@Bventures!
Sorry to hear about your front window! Did it just happen on this trip?
Had a REALLY weird thing happen in the WolfT@B. The magnet for the shower door (door side) slid out in pieces  (4 or 5) while we were visiting the kids. Seems there is a little plastic piece at the bottom of the door that holds the magnetic strip in a track in the door. Found the plastic piece, but it won't stay in the track, so already placed a call to Elsie on Friday, and hope to hear back Monday for a replacement of both the plastic piece, and a new magnetic strip. Plan to ask her if she's had an issue with them before, or this is just an isolated incident. For now, a piece of tape is holding the strip in place. 

Homebodyatheart

@ericnliz, first... Happy Fathers Day to you! Your experience with the shower door is not a new one. Way back in the old forum pages somewhere others have had the same issue, and fixed it the same way. I'm sure Elsie will have a better solution, though. Good luck with it!

The window crack was on the way home yesterday. I came back via 54/Trent, etc. It was more scenic, but I'm sure the Mr. would have preferred we stayed on the freeways.

Tried out the new plastic rug this trip. It is pretty durable, although while it drains water down, it also lets water through (I know, 'ya think I'd have figured that one out ahead of time!). Need to get a small broom so I can sweep little rocks and twigs out before I put it down.

Later... 

Ratkity

Get one of those folding RV brooms with dust pan that clips on it when folded up. The best invention made!!

2Cougs

Do these count as "zombies"?
Actually within 45 min of setting up, "Mike" came to check us out.  Ended up moving his tent to the site next to ours so he could be by us!

Homebodyatheart

Awww...ducks and a zombie, all in one day! Mr. 2Cougs looks very relaxed, too! 

ericnliz

@2Cougs, Looks like really nice weather! Ducks don't count as Zombies, but still pretty cool visitors. Good thing Craig wasn't sittin' in a bath tub, he'd have had company!

ericnliz

@Dalehelman, Good morning! How was your trip to Farragut S.P.?

Dalehelman

Great rain on Thursday after noon. Some really heavy rain on Friday, but perfect on Saturday and Sunday. Our dome  canopy worked perfectly.

ericnliz

Glad it worked out for the weekend! Absolutely POURED here on Thursday and Friday, and was thinkin' about you guys hoping you weren't experiencing the same. I'll have to admit, that canopy you have is pretty slick!

Homebodyatheart

@ericnliz it poured buckets off and on at Farragut, too! My little tarp awning holds up to the worst of it like a trooper though, so we had a dry place outside and inside. I was also somewhat impressed with the plastic woven mat we just got. While the rain and muck came back up through it, it looks almost new after a good hosing off. I'm not totally convinced it made a difference in what we tracked into the Bug however. I second the opinion that @Dalehelman 's 15' x 15' awning was very nice to hide out in the rolling deluge! 

Ratkity

I'm packed and ready to go! Bike is staying home. Harvey isn't. It's a little too swampy on the DelMar to ride the bike. Heck, I had a hard time getting it off the asphalt into the grass beside the driveway. She might get to go on the next trip.

Tropical remnants of Cindy (sp) might give us some rain, but if I recall, the fish are already wet and don't mind. Got rod, reel, hooks... and GO! 

PS I catch em, but don't eat em. I'll take out anything DNR says to remove from the river.

Verna

@Ratkity, they've changed the forecast here for upwards of 3" for the Cindy remnants. I'm cool and dry trying new T@B playtoys.

Ratkity

I'm looking forward to good friends and good food... weather ...ppfffft. We have been in torrential downpours during our potlucks. Tarps appear like magic, everyone huddles and chows down. Of course, we've renamed a few of our favorite places... Elk Neck has become "Wet Neck", and French Creek has become "Drench" Creek (MD, PA state parks).

dsatwork

Seems it never rains in southern California
Seems I've often heard that kind of talk before
It never rains in California, but girl, don't they warn ya?
It pours, man, it pours

Just got to love Southern California in the summer time....I can ride my bike 365 days a year. 

ericnliz

@Ratkity, don't forget your water wings! Have fun & be safe!

ericnliz

If you're afraid of a little rain (ok, here, it can be a LOT, especially in the mountains!), 'ya shouldn't be campin'! Some of the best times I've had was a rainy trip. Always carry an extra tarp with us....'ya just never know what that "box of chocolates" is gonna give 'ya! Besides, I've found fishin' is always better in the rain....turns from fishin', to catchin'!!!!

ericnliz

@Verna, What new "play toys"? Or are 'ya just gonna keep us in suspense?

Verna

Hang on, @ericnliz. Resizing the photos. Had to catch the Campground Mgr before he left on vacation to see how long he wants me to play Camp Host during the July 4th week. 

And this rain is coming straight down with little wind (knock on wood), so it is tolerable. I'm not on the lake in my kayak because of the threat of thunderstorms. That, my friend, is one thing that I admit to be afraid of--on water in a thunderstorm!

ericnliz

@Verna , Now, THAT would be a shocking experience! Wait for the storm to pass, and FISH ON!

Homebodyatheart

@Verna I've been wondering how your new gig is going. I bet after the season is up you will have some great stories to share, and probably a few more you won't!

Verna

I'll share that it was a bit eerie Wednesday night when no one was camping in my loop with approximately 50 sites. I was OK until a car pulled up behind my truck and T@B (it's a dead end behind me). I walked casually (maybe dumb-ly) back there. They turned on their bright lights and quickly backed out, and just as quickly left my individual loop. But they came right back, going the wrong way and speed towards the other end, parked and turned off their lights. I went inside the T@B at that point and waited for them to leave. They didn't come back. I am now convinced that they were going to break into my truck, until I walked out there. I'm now a bit more "prepared" if I go outside at night now....  I also put a motion sensor solar light pointing from my T@B handle to the rear of my truck. While my windows are always open to the first notch, I may not hear something, but Sunny has definitely been telling me when someone is nearby. Other than that, I feel safe here, it's neat that I can walk down by the lake after dark and see the stars and hopefully see the moon glistening off the lake. I made a good choice of campgrounds to be a camp host at. 

Homebodyatheart

So, because I'm (nuts, crazy, semi-impulsive...) I finally picked up a 13' x13' canopy. The instructions say it sets up in 3 minutes with two people. The YouTube video says it sets up easily in 3 minutes. Um, no. Even following directions it was an easy half hour of frustration. We did get it up. It's very heavy. One person more than likely cannot set it up alone. Unless they lift weights for a living. I don't. It will be really handy camping as the overhang can be tucked over the edge of the Tab so it's good for rain, probably. Luckily we set it up in the driveway first, otherwise we might have had issues and crankiness trying it while camping. 

Dalehelman

Even though it is heavy I think you will really like it.

Sharon_is_SAM

The canopy will serve triple duty:  shade around the TaB, shade the TaB itself and hail protection for the TaB.  We have a 10 x 10 and it serves us well.

Homebodyatheart

@Dalehelman time will tell if any rain gets through the "vents" at the top, especially if it's windy. It sure looks good, though! I told Dan that every post I've ever read about people putting things like this up the first time had problems , but that after that it got much better. I'm crossing my fingers on that one!