A few years ago we saw these critters at a garage sale. Someone was very creative in the making of these statues. The owners had a very reasonable price on each, so we bought them both. They have happily been watching our front yard ever since.
Author: Roadtirementvintage
Roadtirement’s tomato plantings
One thing we have decided to pursue during our stay at home isolation is grow some garden plants. We went ahead and started some tomato plants inside, as per recommendations. Our son cut some plastic water bottles in half and used some self sterilized soil for the inside seed beds.
Photo taken April 10th
Photo taken April 19th
The April 10th photo shows the tomato seedlings. You can see in the April 19th shot how much the tomato seedlings have grown. In addition, the two containers in the foreground are peppers. We are hopeful that we’ll get some tomatoes and peppers after we transplant the seedlings.
We have a small garden plot in the backyard. Hopefully we will reap the rewards of same. We’ll keep you posted…
When Roadtirement meets Indiana’s shutdown order
Sher and I have been in a stay at home situation since we got back a month or so early from our usual stint as Winter Texans. Since our return to Indiana on February 25th we have been really in a stay at home mode courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic. With our ages and my “underlying health issues” we have to be careful. So we thought we’d share some of what makes up Roadtirement’s self-isolation environment. What do we have, how do we live day to day, and what’s some of the stuff we’re doing when we can’t go to the casinos, live theater or set up and sell at festivals and flea markets.
Pictured is a very nice and vintage hiking trails map from Tucson. The topographic map is dated 1967 and was published by the Southern Arizona Hiking Club. The map centers around Mt. Lemmon, north east of Tucson, in the Santa Catalina Range. Mt. Lemmon is a very popular recreation area with miles of trails in the rugged terrain of the mountains.
Details of Mt. Lemmon w/trails
The map legend
We got this map when we were visiting Tucson a few years ago. I spotted it in a listing for an estate sale and was the lucky bidder. I did my graduate work at the University of Arizona in the early 70s and made many of the 2 hour trips from Tucson to the top. That sparked my interest in the map that now lives on our living room wall.
Do you have anything in your house or RV that reminds you of experiences from decades ago?
Trivia to pass the time in isolation
Trivia is a game that many like. It can be an activity to pass some time while you’re in quarantine or self isolation while you stay at home. Here’s a couple of trivia questions for you:
1. What group had a hit with the song Wendy?
2. Whose orchestra recorded the soundtrac for The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly?
Got some trivia you’d like to share?
DIY RV plumbing repair
The cracked pump
While we were staying at the La Hacienda RV Resort in Austin this past winter we had a little plumbing issue in our RV. One evening Sher was sitting at the table and said “Maj, my feet just got wet.” Well, wet where it’s supposed to be dry is always a problem.
Long story short, there was a crack in the fresh water pump that supplies fresh water to the HWH, shower, toilet and sinks from the fresh water storage tank on board. After a check online and checking the leaking pump, I determined what replacement pump I needed. Ordered from Amazon, it arrived at the RV park 3 days later.
New pump ready to be connected
Installation finished. The white tank is the fresh water supply
It was not very difficult to remove the old pump and install the new one. The pump was in a compartment under the cushion for the table, easy removal. Two wires and two pipe connections were easy to hook up. Fortunately the base plates on both had the same screw hole patterns. After about an hour I tested the newly installed water pump. It worked!
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema schedules Planet of the Apes
Full size statue from the from the 1st movie
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is a nation wide chain of “dinner and a movie” entertainment. While they are closed due the COVID-19 restrictions, their website still shows a scheduled showing of the 1968 cult classic “Planet of the Apes” for August 30th this fall. Whether this showing happens remains to be seen.
Sher and I and our Austin family went to one of these theaters during our Winter Texan stay this past year. The seats are large and comfortable, and the table for your dinner is more than adequate. Food was good, too. We saw and enjoyed Little Women.
Anyway, I wanted to show you the huge statue in the lobby of the theater we went to
Ad for an Ape movie marathon
in Austin. The statue is from the actual movie Planet of the Apes. I asked one of the employees where it came from. Turns out the owner of the theater chain also owns the rights to the Planet of the Apes franchise. There were movie posters for all of the Ape movies displayed in the lobby as well as ads for an APE movie marathon of the original five movies.
Have you seen the Planet of the Apes movies? Can you name the original five titles? Might be a good topic for a “stay at home in isolation” set of trivia questions. Stay safe, dear readers. Don’t go ape!
COVID-19 empty park
Not a soul in sight
Sher and I took a drive the other day as the weather was nice even though a tad bit on the cool side. As our son hadn’t been out for a while either, he graciously drove.
We started our jaunt driving around town, and we immediately noticed that there was a fair amount of traffic out on the streets. No pedestrians in sight, with the exception of a fellow with a carry-out order from a local restaurant.
No children laughing and romping around today
Then it was off to a local city park. The attached photos are the result. The nice shiny new playground equipment had been closed with caution tape. The normally busy park was empty. We did enjoy getting out for a while, maintaining social distance. Heck, we stayed in the car! We do not know how the upcoming “open the country back up” suggestions will affect us. Without a vaccine or real effective treatment we’re not sure when it will be safe for us to get back to normal, whatever that “new normal” will look like.
Stay safe and healthy out there, folks!
Palm trees, puffy clouds, coronavirus isolation
The picture is really kind of pretty. Those green fronds of the palm trees starkly contrast with the white and blue hues in the sky. But what does that have to do with COVID-19 isolation? Nothing.
So much is happening in the country, the world, our state and our street. No, I take that back, very little is happening on our street. But the country? We got our stimulus money from the IRS. Trump put up a campaign ad disguised as a “briefing” in one of his press conferences. He backed down a little from his “I have total authority” statements. But those statements really tell a lot about who Trump thinks he is. Have you noticed that he likes to cut off reporters before they can even finish their questions? And in some cases he then yells at them because the question they want to ask might put Trump in a bad light. And don’t get me started on Trump’s asinine use of Twitter.
When is our isolation going to end? As one who has a list of those underlying health concerns I am really hesitant to think about soon returning to a “normal” life out and about. Until they (whoever they are) can come up with an effective treatment or an effective vaccine I am not sure when Sher and I will feel comfortable or safe going out. It will be interesting to see what conditions state or federal governments will need to see prior to “opening for business”.
Thanks for allowing me to “rant” a bit and share the frustrations that so many of us are feeling right now. I just hope that as soon as possible we can all get back into the new normal, whatever that turns out to be.
Sun on the water and fog in the valleys
Here’s another photo from one of our past adventures
This photo was taken on a whale watching cruise in the Salish Sea north of Seattle. The sunlight was creating diamonds of reflections on the surface of the Sea. A wispy fog was at the same time flowing up the valleys lending a flavor of mystery to the scene.
Not so bushy tailed squirrel
Here’s another pic from the archives because, well, you know why…
Usually squirrels have bushier tails than this guy. He is still pretty cute, however.
