Do you like model trains?

Okay, that's a trick question.

EVERYBODY likes a well planned model train layout.

But even if you don't, you've got to admire this:

The largest model train layout in the world.



Only problem is that it's in Hamburg, Germany.

(seen at Maggie's Farm)

Aerie Report, April 22, 2010

Being as it was Earth Day, I spent a couple of hours today playing in the dirt. I weeded the two large garden plots and turned over the earth in each. I can confirm that the black flies are out here, too. I was working in short sleeves and got a couple of bites on my forearms.

I raked out one bed to make it ready for the planting of onion sets. I'm doubling the number of onions going in the ground this year for three reasons: 1) we ran a little short this winter in the home-grown onion department 2) Terry wants some white as well as yellow onions and 3) they require so little attention once they get started. Since we will be gone for much of the summer, that last was a vital part in the decision.

The other bed is where we grew cukes, tomatoes, and string beans last year. It had a thin layer of straw on it over the winter. I turned that in but found the soil to be pretty solid lumps of clay despite the 20 bags of top soil I mixed in there last year. I'll let it sit until Saturday afternoon before adding more top soil and raking it out.

We're not planning much of a garden this year since we'll be on the road for much of the summer. The only other plants that will go in the ground are melons and squash--winter squash, not zucchini. If we put zukes in we would have baseball bats by the time we get home in late August and those aren't good for much except, well, baseball. The melons and butternut squash, as pre-started seedlings from Agway, will go into specially prepared mounds of a mix of topsoil and cow manure. With luck, we should have a bountiful harvest if the borers don't get them. Since we haven't had any borers in the zukes the last two years, we should be okay.

We will not be planting any lettuce or spinach--they will just bolt while we are away and will not get used. Nor will we bother with tomatoes. It's too short a season, and they require lots of water and flower picking to keep them tight. The same for bell peppers. Our season is too short and they just don't do well even in pots on the deck. We'll pass on the cucumbers for the same reason as the zucchini. And string beans? If no one is here to pick them once they start producing, they too will be like baseball bats when we get home! I suppose I could grow navy beans or lima beans but then I'd have to dry them to store them properly.

******

Terry went with a few of her stitching friends today to visit the History Center in Ithaca, NY. One of the women she knows had an exhibit of Hungarian embroidery there and she gave them a personal tour and explanation of the materials. They had lunch at Moosewood, a famous vegetarian restaurant.

******

We took a little walk outside after dinner this evening and found quite a few wildflowers growing along the ATV/log skidding trail that winds around the hill. Parts of the slope are quite moist so there were violets, spring beauty, trout lillies, columbine (still too early for flowers) and even horse tails. There were another four or five we couldn't identify from memory. I'll have to go back there tomorrow with my camera and see if I can get some pictures. The forecast is for nearly an inch of rain on Sunday and if they are correct, that should mean an abundance of growth early next week.

******

I planned to go down to the Mansfield Agway tomorrow morning to get some bags of topsoil, but I got a call this evening that the cap for the Tundra was in and they would like me to be there around 10 AM to get it installed. They're about 30 minutes away and installation should take about an hour. I'll get the dirt after. The cap is too important. My Tundra will have a whole new appearance by noon.

Tundra (Aerie) Report., December 29, 2009

The best words to hear form the service manager: "Of course, it's covered by your warranty."

The worst: "We don't have the part in stock. We've ordered it and it should be here tomorrow. We'll call you and set up a date."

I actually can't fully remember what the problem was. I think it was a bad air injector pump or something like that. The fact it wasn't going to cost me more than time made the rest of my mind slightly fuzzy in reception.

I blame the cold, cold temperatures.

******

The winds howled out of the north-northwest much of the night. By this morning the thermometer read just 6 degrees at 9 AM and never got above 16 degrees all afternoon despite a strong sun shining all day.

Aerie Report, December 23, 2009The Oh Cr*p!! Edition

Just as the weather wonks had moved the ice storm to early on Christmas Day and opened a window I could work with the travel to NJ on Christmas Eve and back later on Christmas Day, the Tundra betrays me!

I traveled down to AJ's Power Equipment in Mansfield today to purchase a generator (just in case) and then over to Wally World for some groceries (okay, snack food for the bowl games). On the way back up the hill to the Aerie, the "Check Engine" light comes on. I'm 200 or so miles before my oil change and the time for the Maintenance Required" light, so this is not to be taken lightly. The truck doesn't act any differently than before but a 500 mile round trip to NJ is not to be undertaken without someone more knowledgeable than I looking under the hood. (I did check the oil and coolant fluids and they seem fine. And none of the gauges on the dash indicated a problem in the short trip to town and back.) I did call the serviceman but he said 1) they are closed until Monday, 2) it's probably nothing more than a sensor malfunction since the behavior didn't change, 3) the fact that it's not misbehaving now doesn't mean it won't start acting up in a couple hundred miles. I made an appointment to bring the Tundra in on Tuesday.

So it looks like I'll be home alone for Christmas...again. Just me, the cats and a few hundred small birds.

I still have to get down the hill tomorrow to get the mail and fill up two gas cans...just in case.

******

I figure to cook a venison tenderloin, some string beans and a baked potato for my Christmas dinner. Julie the Cat will help me eat the tenderloin. I'm sure of that. She really likes wild game. She starts salivating as soon as the meat has thawed enough to give off any aroma and, sometimes, even before that. When a friend gave us some moose meat a few years back all we had to do was take it out of the freezer and she was stalking the kitchen waiting for her "taste"--which translated into a good sized tablespoon's worth of finely cut red meat. She'll pick up a piece and give it a good shake to make sure it's dead before chowing down.

She's the only one of the three that eats "human" food. She'll eat chicken, turkey beef and some fish (she doesn't like blackened or cajun style and forget about any rubs or breading), but what she really likes is venison, moose, bison, and squirrel. Looking at those first three, I think she's got an inner cougar in her somewhere. Thank goodness she's the smallest of the three cats!

******

I mentioned the ice we're supposed to be getting on Friday. They now say the ice could accumulate to 0.4 inches before the whole thing switches to rain. Looking at the maps it seems the storm center is actually going to pass a bit further west than they thought earlier this week which is why points west of the Great Lakes will be hit hardest with the snow and wind. Here, warm air will be pulled up from the south and run over the cold air that's been entrenched for a week or more. (At the Aerie, we haven't see the temperature get above 31 degrees in more than a week.) The moisture in the warm southern air will fall through the cold lower layers and freeze either on the way down or on the surface. Eventually, the warm air will push the cold air back to the north and we'll get all rain...maybe. At 2100 feet, I don't really know if that's going to happen.

After two days (Friday and Saturday) of slightly warming temperatures, we'll get back to below freezing again. And that's for the high temperatures. We'll be a few degrees below the average highs and, upon those clear nights, almost 10 degrees below the average lows through New Year's Eve.

I better pull some more firewood in to the garage...just in case.

I think I can. I think I can. I th...OH SH*T

I've mentioned before that the Aerie is situated at 2100 feet. I may have also mentioned that the road up to the Aerie is quite steep-especially the last 100 yards up and the 3-400 yards beyond the driveway--hence the need for Terry to have a 4-wheel drive vehicle for those times when the Aveo can't quite make it.

Well, snow and ice are not the only deterrents to travel on that steep stretch. The road is packed clay and gravel, but mostly clay. And when it gets wet....

Not only does it radically change the color of my dark green Tundra and the bright yellow Aveo, giving each a nice shade of tan along their sides, but it becomes slippery as...well...snow or ice.

The dump trucks (which continue to to carry heavy loads up the hill as I type) have little trouble making the grade since they have that spare third pair of tires on the rear and enough gears to down shift sufficiently to create a rumble that causes the earth to quake. But (and there's always a "but") there are some trucks that just can't cope with the conditions. These are usually cargo containers on 18-wheelers or flat beds. Regardless of whatever load they are hauling, the weight is distributed differently and deflected off the drive axles of which there are usually only two directly behind the cab and ahead of the load.

I've watched several 18-wheelers grind their gears and make it just past the driveway only to run out of low gears and come to a halt a few yards up the hill. They then have to back down the hill and try, try again. Sometimes they succeed and sometimes they give up.

I saw one give up and park on the side of the road until a bulldozer came down the hill to haul the flat bed the rest of the way up the hill. That truck's engine must have hemorrhaged for it backed (rolled?) down the hill and remained on the side of the road for days. The driver stayed with it for much of the time until one day it was gone.

Today, a flat bed hauling a large backhoe attempted The Hill several times.Each time it would creep past the Aerie and grind to a halt just above our driveway. It would slowly back down the hill to a somewhat leveler area and have another run at it. Three times it tried. Three times it failed. After the third attempt, it backed down and parked along the side of the road. I heard some wheel chocks being moved about and then the backhoe fired up its diesel engine. Then the backhoe climbed the hill to be followed a short time later by the unburdened flat bed looking totally embarrassed.

It all seems so futile for some of these trucks. There are more gentle slopes to the west and east but none as direct as our road. Still, I have to wonder if the wear and tear on the engines, the time lost in multiple attempts, etc. couldn't be better spent in exploring one of those alternate routes.

Oops! (On the truck.) and At the Bolt Hole

Okay.... So it appears there was nothing wrong with the windshield at all. The winds of Wyoming didn't blow a gasket/molding off the top of the windshield because...well, there never was one there to begin with. It just looked like there should have been a gasket/molding there. I would feel foolish about that except:
1) The servicemen at the dealership didn't catch it either even after A) telling me that they couldn't find that part in the parts manual because B) they seldom have to replace it (How about never?! 'Cause it doesn't exist!
2) The people they spoke to in California (the designers?) didn't catch it either.
3) I got a new windshield gratis. (Terry swears there was a little ding in the old one. Probably right at her eye level. I thought it was tree sap.)

I stopped at the dealer's today on my way to the Bolt Hole and had the fella at the service desk with whom I have been dealing come out to the lot and check the gap at the top of the windshield. We then went over to a new Tundra on the lot and found it had ta-da! the exact same gap. Oh well. Live and learn.
******
Meanwhile, I drove east on Route 17 (the new I-86) to Binghamton, NY and then north on Route 12 to Utica and then on to the Bolt Hole from there. This is an older route that I used to take when I came up from NJ and didn't want to deal with the NY Thruway. It's actually shorter than taking either Route 14 up past Seneca Lake or Route 13 through Ithaca and is just as scenic.

Today I saw (and was stopped at the crossing) a positively huge freight train as it crossed Route 12 just south of Chenango Forks. It was easily one of the longest I've seen in the middle of the day here on the east coast. I'd estimate 100-120 cars of carious shapes and sizes. I got there just after the engines cleared (and disappeared around the bend) and sat for about 15 minutes or so.

I managed to just get through Sherburne, NY before they started their Cavalcade of Bands parade. The first Saturday of June they have lots of marching bands compete as they march along a mile or more of Route 12 that runs through town. All kinds of folks were already lining the sides of the highway and I felt like practicing my "parade wave" as I drove by. I did, however, manage to avoid the huge detour/delay that the parade would have presented.

I did see many, many cars suddenly dive for the shoulder of the road (some even made it all the way) when the driver or passenger saw something interesting at one of the many yard/garage sales along the way.

I saw a sign along the way that had me thinking. It said "Night Walkers for Sale." Now, I don't know about your area of the country but I grew up calling the worm used for fish bait a "Night Crawler" and this sign just seemed wrong. That is, unless they were selling zombies. But I didn't see any indication of that.

(I also didn't see Gov. Palin, Rev. Paul. Sorry.)
******
Once I refueled the truck and picked up some groceries, I was at the Bolt Hole by just after noon. Bright and sunny, with a fair breeze blowing and grass nearly up to my knees in spots. So I knew what my second task would be. (First was unloading the truck, groceries in the fridge and turning on the water.)

Oh-oh! No gas for the mower! All the cans in the garage were empty--which was a good thing.This ethanol-mix fuel doesn't do well when it sits. Even when you put Sta-Bil in it. So it was back down to the gas Stewards to get some gas. Luckily it's only a 30 mile round trip. /sarc
******
Back at the Bolt Hole, I fueled the mower, pushed the primer a couple of times and pulled the cord. There is no sweeter sound than the sound of a Briggs and Straton engine turning over on the first pull after the machine to which it is attached has been sitting idle in the shed since last November.

Then it was back and forth at a very slow walk to cut the thick, tall grass. I call it grass because some of it is. It's really more of a pasture mixture of plantain, wild strawberries, clover, hawkweed, daisies, mint, and--heck--even chives left over from a former attempt at gardening. Mixed in the grass were lots of pine cones that kept getting chunked out of the mower's shute and even whapped my shins from under the cowling of the mower a time or two. Twigs got chopped up as well. I avoided killing the one garter snake I saw. A woeful creature that was extremely lethargic and looked like it needed to shed its skin. I also missed the one wood frog that jumpedout of the thickest patch of true grass right in the middle of the vast expanse of the lawn.

Luckily the blackflies were kept at bay by the breeze. Not so the deer flies. All my mowing was done while squashing deer flies. I was usually too late in this action to prevent bodily harm--to me. My reaction was more a response to the stinging bite of blood lapping creatures. Every time I would even come close to a shrub or an over hanging branch, I would attract two or three of them. Working in shortsleeves, even with a liberal application of Deep Woods Off, was not a wise move. My elbows, knuckles and wrists became prime targets. By the time I was through--it took thre hours--I had probably killed a score of deer flies. I say "probably" because I've seen flies that have been pretty well smashed and flung to the ground right themselves, shake their wings and take off for another assault. My arms were dotted with little droplets of blood along with a few smears from flies that were not going to return. If I had any worries about high blood pressure, I would be safe for a couple of days--longer if I venture outside again.

And all the while my Phoebe tenants just sat off to the side and watched. They made no effort at all to come to my aid. Ingrates! Heh, they were probably sated on flies anyway.

Thank goodness that one of the allergy shots I got for four or five years, desensitized me to the bite of these pests. If I hadn't gotten those shots, my forearms would probably swollen enough to be comparable to Popeye's.

Truck has been fixed...maybe.

So I picked up the truck this afternoon and drove back to the Aerie where I noticed not much different at the top of the windshield at all. There's still a gap between the glass and the roof but now there seems to be a strip of rubber at the bottom of that gap. (I know. I know. I should have looked more carefully at the dealership when I picked it up. I was careless, okay? Besides I was happy it didn't cost me anything.)

When I drive up to the Bolt Hole tomorrow, I'll have to swing by the dealers to see if that's a feature of the Tundra or a flaw in the new glass installation. It doesn't have to be out of my way. I just need to take a different route. (I actually drove down to Wally World after dinner to see if anyone had a Tundra in the parking lot. There were two. One was an identical model to mine but perhaps a year or two older. It seemed to have a rubber strip that stood up from the joint. But on mine that ould be making contact with the windshield wipers.)

I'll want to avoid the trip up along Lake Seneca tomorrow anyway. Seems Alaska's Gov. Palin is visiting up there at Seneca Falls (the birth place of women's suffrage, home of Susan B. Anthony, etc.) and Auburn (home of Harriet Tubman and birth place of William Seward--who purchased Alaska from the Russians way back when). It's Alaska's 50th year as a state and she's dropping by to celebrate what was called Seward's Folly. Palin's retinue consists of a mere three vehicles but why take a chance of getting stuck in a motorcade as they go from Auburn to the airport.

Morning Report from the Aerie

A dreary morning here at the Aerie with a high overcast sky that threatens rain and temperatures in the upper 50s heading to low 60s...maybe.

Still, that's an improvement over what's to our southeast and east where up to 2 inches of rain are forecast for eastern PA and the NY/NJ/CT tri-state area.

About the only thing bright and cheerful today are the dozens of Goldfinches raiding the feeders. When one bird hops in on the left side of the tray feeder another has to hop out on the right. There''s just not enough room for them all at one time. And when they periodically spook or fly off to the trees to digest their food, it's a wave of yellow and black. They have certainly got the cats' attentions. Shadow and Chester are crouched at the windows making that chattering sound hunting cats (or maybe it's "frustrated cats") emit when they are focused on a target. When a bird happens to flutter a wee bit too close to the glass, Shadow will execute a most impressive standing high jump that lifts here 13+ pounds nearly three feet straight up.

Terry and I dropped the Tundra off at the dealership yesterday afternoon and they have promised to have the windshield replaced this morning by the glass subcontractor so we can pick it up this afternoon before closing time.

I think Terry will be making the sign of the cross as we pass Grace's Chinese Buffet on Rt 220 in Athens. We stopped there on the way home yesterday for dinner and all I can say is WOW! Good food that they didn't try to mask beneath too much spicy sauce at a super price. When was the last time you had dinner for two for less than $20? The soups (egg drop and hot and sour) were superb. There was plenty of variety in the salad line and close to 50(!) choices in hot entrees (and we tried way too many of them). Desserts ranged from the ubiquitous almond cookies and spice cake to fresh fruits and soft and hard ice cream. (The hard ice cream was from Hershey.) All I can say is that old saying about Chinese food is a lie. I wasn't hungry at all last night.

So, tonight we'll eat at home. Not to save money but to try and rein in our belts.

Tomorrow I'll pack up the truck and head up to the Bolt Hole to do some grounds keeping and general repair. The list of things that must be done is growing. I might even get in some lumberjack (mostly on blow downs) work in before returning to the Aerie.

Tundra Trials and Tribulations

Soooo, I called the service manager yesterday afternoon to see if they had found the correct molding for my Tundra. His answer was of the "Yes" and "No" variety...or maybe "Good news" and "Bad news" would be more appropriate. Seems that the molding is not sold separately but as an integral part of the windshield assembly. Therefore, he had to order the entire windshield.

At least that explains why the part is not in their catalog. Although, it does smack of some PPP (piss poor planning) on the part of Toyota. Henry Ford's assembly line designers would not be pleased.

They got the windshield assembly in today and the service manager is contacting the installer (because, of course, they do not install glass on site) to make arrangements for its installation.

Good news seems to be that this may, in fact, be covered under the warranty.

Still, the Tundra ride is one of the best I've had in a full sized truck and I'll not speak ill of the folks in the service department of the dealership, either. It's not their fault this is taking so long to repair. In fact, they seem to be shaking their heads over the situation too.

UPDATE: 1:35 PM Wednesday: The service manager just called. The windshield will be replaced on Friday. Truck dropped off late Thursday and picked up late Friday.

SNAFU

When we returned from our trip out west last week, I called the dealership to get the Tundra a servicing. It was "only" 5K miles past due. I also tried to explain about the missing molding at the top of the windshield; blown off by the Wyoming winds. The service manager wasn't sure about what part I was in need of and said they would look it over when I brought the truck in for service.

That was early last week. When they saw what was missing, they looked in their parts catalog and, lo and behold, the part was not listed. Seems it needs replacing so infrequently they don't even list the thing. Okay, I can dig that. Might even speak of the Tundra's reliability or something. So they called California and got a part ordered.

Today I was supposed to get that molding installed. I drove over to the dealers (about an hour from here) and handed over the keys. They spent 30-40 minutes cleaning off the residue from the duct tape I had been using to ensure no water got into the gaping crack and discovered that the folks in California had sent them the wrong part. Now, understand, these were the folks who designed the truck. *sigh* A wasted afternoon.

When I left, after spending a total of two hours in the waiting room, the parts manager was still on the phone trying to get the correct part ordered. IF they get one ordered, it should be here in a day or two. (FedEx overnight is wonderful!) Then it will be one more trip over to get the molding installed.

It's about a 45 mile trip...one way. At least they didn't charge me for today's visit, but I wish they would pay me for my gas. I figure I'm burning up around 5-6 gallons each time and current prices are $2.60 per for regular. Then there's the greenhouse gases...actually, forget about that part of the equation. With the weather we've been having we could use a little warming.

There and back again

It was a rather uneventful trip up to the Bolt Hole and back after I had the trailer inspected.

The Tundra handled the load with ease, although it did require twice as much fuel than it would coming back without the load. (10 mpg vs 19 mpg)

The trailer tracks very nicely and I only have to be sure of remembering to swing a little wide on the sharp turns of an intersection.

And backing up? Pshaw! A snap! The handling was extremely responsive and, with my hand on the bottom of the steering wheel so that when it went left the back of the trailer did too, I was able to back the trailer into the barn in one pass. And considering that requires backing from across the street, through the gate and then, perhaps to the left about 15-20 yards as I move across the lawn (which may be 30-35 yards wide at this point, I feel quite proud of my handling this task with only the aide of the truck's mirrors and a pair of belt-on mirror extensions. It seems the Tundra's standard mirrors are a bit wider than the Silverado's were. I can almost get by using them alone but the extensions make it even better and I can see the back corner of the trailer.

Having parked and unhitched the trailer by 4:30 PM I looked around the yard and realized the grass didn't need cutting so I decided to head back to the Aerie rather than sack out for the night. And that's what I did.

I stopped along the way to pick up my NY hunting/fishing license for the coming season and to do some window shopping. Having to drop $280 for a non-resident all-round sportsman's tag and a bear tag (despite having to pay some $3500 in county and school taxes) I decided to hold off on any purchases.

I got to listen to the Mets' game for much of the ride home. I always find it amazing that I can pick up WFAN as I drive through Cortland and Ithaca in the evening hours. I got back to the Aerie just as the Mets went ahead 6-3 in the 8th inning and quickly tuned in the game on the radio. (I usually "watch" the game on the Gameday play-by-play available on the Mets'' website.) For once the bullpen didn't blow it. Man, Delgado has been HOT!!!

Anyway, I'm glad I decided to drive back last night because this morning we were awakened by the sound of rain falling gently outside. As late as Monday, the forecast was that the remnants of Fay wouldn't reach here until late today but she arrived early. The rain isn't heavy by any means but that doesn't really matter. A light misting on a well used road can be almost as dangerous as a heavy downpour. The oils and grease from passing cars and trucks rises to the surface and makes them pretty slick. And once off the paved road...well, clay and water make for some very slippery mud. If I had stayed overnight, I would have had to contend with those conditions on the way home.

Speaking of the weather...the temperature is currently 57 degrees outside. On August 28. It is effing cold out for August. And this rain is coming from the south? I did my part yesterday folks. Nearly 500 miles in a 5.7L V-8 pickup and half of it was while towing a trailer!!! We're talking serious carbon foot print here. So where the hell is my global warming?!? I'm going to go get another cup of HOT coffee.

Some more chores at the Aerie

Lovely summer day here at the Aerie (after the morning fog burned off). The sun was shinning and the temperature hovered in the mid-70s most of the afternoon.

I spent the morning cutting the grass and then picking blackberries. It amazing how many there were on the canes along the upper driveway. That's what happens when you ignore them for a week and there's lots of rain.

After lunch I went and got the Tundra serviced. It's about 10 months old and needed its 10K service. I also had the dealer do the PA inspection thing while I was there. The dealer is a little over an hour away and it took an hour and a half to do the work so I was gone for most of the afternoon sitting in the "lounge" at the dealer's.

Rain is supposed to return tomorrow--which is a bummer since we are supposed to be going birding in the morning. Hopefully, the 50% chance of showers will mean the other half of the county gets rained on and we don't.

There's a street fair in Wellsboro on Saturday and I volunteered to set up and man a table for the Tiadaghton Audubon Society starting at 10:30 AM. The forecast for Saturday is excellent and here's hoping it stays that way.

Travel report

I drove the 200+ miles from the Aerie to Parsippany yesterday in the Toyota Tundra. Terry had offered me the Aveo with its excellent 30+ mpg but I knew I would find it a bit cramped. Okay, I would find it a lot cramped. Especially since I was going t be going to the Bolt Hole before returning to the Aerie.

In an effort to squeeze as much as I could out of the 5.6 liter V-8 engine, I held my speed to a relatively consistent 65-67 miles per hour. Any slower than that and the Priuses would have run me off the road. I let most everything pass me and kept an eye all around for anyone making sudden maneuvers as I wanted to avoid those clowns like the plague. I filled up the tank in Mansfield, PA ($3.94 per gallon) and again in Parisppany, NJ (also $3.94 per gallon--which was a first--NJ is usually $0.10-$0.15 cheaper). The distance was just about 230 miles and I used 11.6 gallons. So I managed right around 20 mpg.

Today I did the same thing traveling the NY Thruway to the Bolt Hole and got about the same as, if not slightly better than, the 20 mpg. I stopped to get fuel at the local Stewart's and paid $4.15 per gallon. For regular.

Across the parking lot was an Amish gentleman and his four little children. He had ridden his horse drawn buggy in to purchase a few gallons of kerosene. If it wasn't for the time it takes to travel 200 plus miles, that horse drawn buggy looked like the smart means of travel.

At approximately $4 per gallon and 20 miles per gallon, I'm paying around 20 cents per mile just for fuel. And I can't eat my Tundra if it breaks down.

Then again, I don't think that little black buggy has much of a payload and adding a couple of draft animals might actually slow you down to a crawl. A trip of 200 miles might take a week.

Traveling Music

When I purchased the Aveo for Terry I noticed the audio system no longer included a tape cassette player. When we got the Tundra, we again lost a cassette player. Now, I realize there are fewer and fewer tape cassettes being sold in music stores these days. I know this even though I haven’t been in a music store for a bit. Not because I’ve been downloading music or anything. I just got tired of dropping a C-note every time I walked into a Sam Goody’s. Even before I managed to keep out of the music stores, the tape displays were making way for more and more CDs. That’s even true at the local WalMart. But I’ve got probably close to two hundred or more cassettes. And I almost never listen to them anywhere but in the car. What to do?

While I had Jessica here (she's going to bug out tomorrow to avoid any ice on Friday), I got a quick tutorial on converting music tapes into MP3 files using Garage Band on my MAC PowerBook. Later I’ll burn some of those MP3 files onto CDs so I can play them in the truck. I spent most of the afternoon recording four ZZ Top’s tapes. Next up will be some Tractors and Bruce Hornsby.

Maybe, when I get done I’ll take the cassettes down to the local 2nd Hand Shop and see if I can get anything for them. Right now he’s got a pretty pathetic selection of tapes there from artists (?) of whom you’ve never heard.

Truckin'

I did some running around this morning to my insurance agent and the body shop to put in a claim and get an estimate for repairs to my Tundra. The total for parts, pain and labor will run about $2500. I've got a $500 deductible. I'd rather the parking garage's insurance pay the whole thing of course, but if needed I'll bite the bullet and submit it to AllState and let them deal with the Canadian insurance company.

Hmmmm

GM confirms massive losses

Toyota Reports Strong Profits

Could this be because I chose a Tundra over a Silverado?

New Truck

Terry and I had to leave the house this afternoon to pick up the new Toyota Tundra and therefore we missed watching the West Virginia vs Rutgers football game—thank goodness. But, more about that debacle later.

A couple of pictures.

First: what we traded in:

2000 Chevy Silverado 2500 with 158,000+ miles

And what we purchased:

2007 Toyota Tundra (It’s actually a very dark green but in the overcast skies it looks more slate grey.)

Papa's Got a Brand New Toy!

(Well, almost.)

Upon arriving home from the Bolt Hole, I started to ask Terry about if we could get a new truck to replace my 2000 Silverado 2500. I started off slow by telling her about some difficulty I sensed with the transmission and how the tailgate/bed connection was giving me a tough time. But before I was through, Terry suggested we go take a look at some trucks. (I had hinted a couple of weeks ago and gotten THAT look. (You know, the one that means, "How'd you like to sleep on the porch all winter?") Well, never let it be said that i would let an opportunity like this pass me up. I went on line and did some shopping. I looked at both the Siverado 2500HD and the Toyota Tundra SR5.

This morning we took the Silverado down to my mechanic in Mansfield and dropped it off so he could change the oil and take the rusted running boards off. (After 7 winters of NJ and NY salt I was fearful the tubular running boards might give way every time I got into the truck. Besides, they were starting to look like hell.)

While the truck was in the shop, we went shopping. We needed a truck capable of hauling our 27' Wilderness travel trailer (7500 pounds empty) and that would have some room inside as well. That meant a 6L engine in the Chevy Silverado 2500HD or the 5.7L in the Toyota Tundra SR5. Either would have to have the equivalent of an extended cab, i.e. an bench seat in the back of the cab. We also wanted bucket seats for the driver and navigator.

First we went to the bank to see what we could qualify for in the way of a new car loan. The bank man ran our info and came back with a credit score that was in the 760s. No problem there.

Next stop was the local Chevy dealer. He had a few '07s in the lot and an '08 Silverado 2500HD extended cab that I knew about from my on-line search that would fit our need of towing the trailer. After looking over the '08 we went inside and started talking money. Terry's dad worked for GM at the Linden, NJ plant for over 40 years and although he has been gone for nearly a decade, we still qualify for the GM Family plan. As a result the price was pretty good. But, like all GM products the damn thing came with free OnStar for a year and that silly little antennae on the roof forever. To continue OnStar service beyond the first year would cost an additional $300 or more annually. I told the dealer we'd think about it.

We picked up our 2000 Silverado from the garage and then went to the Toyota dealer up in Sayre, PA.

There was one '07 Tundra SR5 with an extended cab (they call it a double cab) in the lot that also had all the requirements for towing our trailer. It also had an off-road package (so did the '08 Silverado) and 18" wheels. We took it for a test drive while they took a look at our trade-in. It drove well on the back roads and also on the small stretch of Route 17 that we ventured out on. When we got back to the dealer's we started talking money. With the trade-in, dealer incentives, manufacturer incentives and what not, the price was almost identical to the '08 Silverado. But then we were given another choice. Instead of the $2000 manufacturer's incentive we could opt for 0% financing on a 48-month "loan." A little quick math proved that we would save far more over the 48-months on the 0% than we lost in the $2000 rebate. (The bank was offering 6.25% over the same period. GM would have been around 9%.)

The end result: On Saturday--possibly Friday--I'll be driving a Dark Green Toyota Tundra.

After years of nothing but Chevy vehicles, I feel like a bit of a traitor, but the Toyota is made in Princeton, Indiana. The Silverado? Could be Michigan, or maybe Canada or even Mexico.