Archive for November, 2009
Posted on November 10, 2009 by jason
One of the advantages of having friends spread out across the country when you are on a road-trip is that you have abundant laundry opportunities. Days spent sitting in dingy laundromats are usually among our least favorite of the trip. Sometimes interesting, but not our favorite.
Alli and Kevin have the most high-tech washer and dryer we’ve ever seen. The washing machine talks to the dryer. I have no idea what they are saying to each other, but it sure is impressive. They are big and shiny and powerful too. We’ve sent many keys through the laundry over the years, but never had one come out like this. At least the compass still works. Angela’s cell phone was not so lucky. If you call her and she doesn’t answer, well…
This key already has a history and the key-chain is a farewell gift from our friend Tom in Oakland. It held Angela’s key, and she lost it in a state park just outside of Bend, OR. Once we figured out where it disappeared (near the swings), we called. They hadn’t found it, but we left a mailing address just in case it turned up. Two weeks later, someone found it and turned it in. The park folks mailed it to Texas and then my dad mailed it to Mitch in Montana, where we picked it up. We figured it was now a good luck charm and it would always be with us. So long, key.
When I bought the bus, it didn’t come with any keys. I was a little worried about this, but found out that there is a code stamped on the inside of the door handles. After removal, I was relieved to find that both door handles had the same code and found an old-school locksmith with the right reference books. $10 later, I had keys for the bus and they actually fit the ignition too (I had to re-key the rear door – easy filing.)
Posted on November 9, 2009 by jason
After Milwaukee, we made tracks towards Illinois. It didn’t take long before we noticed that on this stretch of road, some people were pointing and laughing at us when they passed. It was mostly moms in SUVs with kids all staring and laughing. We still don’t know what was so funny, but we figured there were a couple of possibilities. Either the mom’s were recalling their funny childhood VW bus stories with their kids, or they were warning their kids to do their homework or they would end up driving a jalopy like ours instead of their SUV with heated seats and DVD players. It gets so cold here that the lakes freeze and people drive on them – heated seats might be a good idea.
We got an unusual welcome to Illinois at the toll booth. The guy sticks his head out and says “what in the world brings you to this God-forsaken state?”
“Just passing through” was the best I could come up with.
We got a late start, the bus was running well and we were in the mood to cover some ground, so we drove right through Chicago (we have both been there a few times already) and into Indiana. I had no idea that the interstates were all toll roads. For some reason I always assumed federal tax dollars covered the interstates.
Anyway, another strange stop just across the border in Indiana. I start filling up the tank and the guy next to me wants to chat… and insists that the bus must be worth over fifty thousand dollars. I assure him its not, but he keeps insisting “no, no, that’s worth more than a house.” I don’t really know what’s up with this guy, but he’s starting to get a little too interested in the bus. Just then Angela comes out of the convenience store and we both give each other the wide-eyed look and we’re out of there 20 seconds later. She and Bode had gone in to use the facilities. They were told to go around back. They did – but there were no facilities around back – just people peeing in the bushes.
We drove a bit longer until we were tired and found a cheapy motel in La Porte. I’d never heard of the place, but a few days later we got an invite to visit someone in La Porte if we ever passed through. Another reason to improve our blog-lag.
The next day were were off to our usual late start (and we didn’t realize we changed time zones) and did some more mindless toll-way driving to Brunswick, Ohio to visit another friend. Mandy and her two girls, Blaire and Emma, generously let us come stay and made a great dinner for us. I even got to do some handyman work.
The girls entertained Bode with Wii games and I think he now has a taste for Olympic ski jumping. We all stayed up way too late catching up. The last time we saw Mandy, she was was at our place in Alameda for a girls’ trip. This was the weekend that Angela was in Napa and Bode and I stayed home and decided to go buy a VW bus. The rest is history, so Mandy gets to share partial credit (or blame) for enabling this trip 
I couldn’t help but notice how strange the bus looked parked in the subdivision the next day. It was sort of like a ghost town, with no people or cars to be seen.
What followed was supposed to be more uneventful driving, but we had a pretty close call with a car careening off the median just outside of Cleveland. We were in the middle lane of a three-lane highway – an unusual position for us, but we had just merged highways – and all of a sudden the only car ahead of us in the left lane just smashes into the center median… hard. Not sure what caused it, but they immediately spun around and started sliding across the road directly in front of us. I hit the brakes and time stood still while we just waited/hoped they would continue to slide across the road to the shoulder. I just stayed on the brakes and watched intently – not knowing where they would end up or whether I would hit another car trying to avoid them. We missed them by maybe twenty feet. If we would have been in the right lane, we would not have missed them.
After a few seconds we recovered from the initial shock, we saw that other folks were stopping to help, and we were lucky enough to just take deep breath, shake off the scare and keep going. We had our sights set on Niagara Falls – it was sort of on the way to NYC.
It was cold, but we enjoyed checking out the falls. It’s an impressive amount of water. We were pretty much just here to look, so mission accomplished. I didn’t expect to see a giant statue of Nikola Tesla – much less people taking their photos in front of it, but there you go. Build a giant statue of anyone and people will take their photos in front of it.
Maybe it was the weather, but Niagara did not strike me as a particularly romantic place. Isn’t this where people come to get engaged or honeymoon? I just didn’t see the allure. I also didn’t see the allure of going over the falls in a barrel.
True story: years ago my friend Joe decided it would be nice to drive up to Niagara Falls with his girlfriend for a long weekend. Of course, she was interested in going. She had apparently concocted the idea that Joe intended to propose marriage on this particular weekend. Joe was clueless. Not long after the weekend was over and they started the drive home, she burst into tears and demanded he explain what was wrong and why he didn’t propose. Joe was clueless. Needless to say, by the time they made it home, Joe no longer had a girlfriend.
Posted on November 6, 2009 by jason
Apple picking was up next. Good clean fun. The kids had a blast running from tree to tree and taste-testing the products. Something like 30 different varieties and they were all good. Around here, you can pick apples until Thanksgiving and there were still tons of apples on each tree. We returned with 40 lbs of apples for $10. I’m not sure what the Strubbes will do with that many apples, but we did our best to eat them while we were there.
This might explain why the nearby town was called Appleton. I always take note when places are named after the thing they destroyed in order to be created. At least in this case there are still some orchards.
It’s noteworthy that having the bus parked in the Strubbes driveway for a few days attracted quite a bit of attention. Several neighbors came over to see what was going on and tell their bus stories. One guy even brought over a picture of his old bus. It looked like a Dormobile to me, but he swore it was a Westfalia.
On the way out of town, we stopped in Milwaukee. Nice place.
Happy Days. Laverne and Shirley. Schlitz.
Back in the early 70′s, Nixon was president and Schlitz was the #2 selling beer in America. The beer that made Milwaukee famous, as they say. In a sub-genius move to increase profits, the brewers tinkered with the formula (multiple times) and destroyed the taste and the customer base in the process. It was then relegated to cheap-beer status the rest of its days, but it did get us through college without any major problems.
The brewery has changed hands many times since then and now belongs to Miller. They claim to have ‘re-discovered’ the original formula and have started producing it again. We tried it… it’s fine. Probably not our favorite, but we’ll keep going back… after all, it is the only beer that says its name when you open it.
And, since this is a post about Wisconsin… Cheese. Packers. Favre.
Posted on November 5, 2009 by jason
…to the most amazing woman we know!
We’re lucky guys - Jason and Bode.
Posted on November 4, 2009 by angela
When we initially mapped out this trip, Wisconsin seemed to be an isolated point on the map. But, once we were on the road it would be impossible for us to miss seeing our good friends Steve and Melissa in their new Wisconsin home. Steve has been a friend of both Jason and I since college. The guys were housemates, and that is how I met Jason my last year at UT. It took another year for him to ask me out, but 4 years later were were married (a pretty good story itself.)
Anyway, we never thought we’d find a woman to put up with Steve* but lucky for us Melissa came with a friend to our Halloween party 11 years ago. Melissa grew up mostly in Hawaii, and has the patience of a saint. A quality well used in the taming of the Steve. They have 2 great kids, Wolfgang (6) and Johann (nickname Yo-yo, 3). Bode was in absolute heaven during our visit. Yo-yo is a real entertainer, tap dancing pant-less outside (it was about 40 degrees) and singing Weezer and Jersey Boys songs. He even does a medley. Wolfie has Melissa’s patience, and taught Bode how to play Wii games and all about Star Wars.
Steve moved here from Austin to follow a major job opportunity. What kind of opportunity? Depends. Like, the disposable undergarment. When he got the job, we made jokes. Lot’s of them. He even wore them for a while to understand the product and empathize with the customer base. Serious business. Working on incontinence products may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but really, this is the big time.
He’s moved on since then. Kotex was next. A logical next step? Now, we just found out he just moved again to an even bigger brand… Pampers. Snicker all you want. It’s a multi-billion dollar business.
When we arrived in Neenah, both Bode and Jason were sick. Jason spent the first day in bed and Bode was hardest hit the next. The weather was cold and windy, so the boys were happy to spend a day lounging while their partner in crime recovered.
The police and fire departments of the neighboring towns gave out Halloween candy at the local mega-mart on Saturday morning, so we hit that. It was cold–way cold. But it warmed up that afternoon. Neenah’s official trick-or-treating hours are from 4-7. The boys were ready to go at 3:59. This area is very idyllic, and most families have 3-4 kids, so it was really fun and a much different Halloween experience than Alameda. Wolfang even told the candy distributors, “no nuts for these two, please”.
We used to have hundreds and hundreds of kids from other towns come to Alameda and trudge up and down the stairs to our front door. At 9 (or whenever we ran out of candy) we’d have to turn off all the lights and hide in the back of the house. If there was any activity in our house, the un-costumed teenagers continued to knock.
After about an hour, Johann and Bode were ready for the ‘party’ which involved eating their loot and giving out candy. Wolfie and his dad took advantage of the entire 3 hours and made a good haul.
Also, it’s pronounced Strew-bee. Say it. It’s fun!
*Kidding, Steve. Really!
Posted on November 3, 2009 by jason
From Vermillion, we cruised all day through Minnesota and Wisconsin on our way to Neenah. Unfortunately, we had to pass up some awesome offers to meet new folks in Minneapolis, get a tour of the local public radio station, and hang out on a disc-golf ranch. All things we’ll make time for on the next come through. This time, we had to make it to our friend’s place for trick-or-treating.
Having a time-line and a putting dates on things really changes the character of the trip. You just can’t schedule the kind of fun we’ve been having, and this adds some level of stress – no matter how minor – that I’d like to avoid. As I type, there are two more I can think of: Angela’s birthday (Nov 5th – NYC) and Thanksgiving (Texas) that will be pushing us forward.
Anyway, more interstate highway today. Long stretches of uneventful driving and 18-wheelers.
A quick stop in Blue Earth, MN to run around the Jolly Green Giant was about all we had time for today. Ho, Ho, Ho, Green Giant. That one.
Blue Earth was the title of the first Jayhawks album (my least favorite), so I assume this is it. The all-time best is Hollywood Town Hall, and it’s not too far away from here either. Also, we drove right past the SPAM museum in Austin, MN. We were actually planning on stopping, but the town just smelled like SPAM, so we kept driving. Not a smell I will allow my nostrils to get used to.
Drive drive drive sputter. We pull over and I pop the engine lid and take a look. The connector on the choke on one of the carbs doesn’t look right. I wiggle the wire to make sure it has a good connection. SNAP! The spade lug breaks right off the carb. It’s not supposed to do that.
There is just no good way to quick-fix this puppy and we’re on the side of the road and it’s cold. Fortunately, Parker sent me away from Whitefish with a soldering iron and I get to put it to use. First, I have to dig up a spare cigarette lighter socket that i just happen to have (future project) and wire it to the battery. Then plug in the mini-inverter, then plug in the soldering iron (add extension cord to the shopping list.) Roadside emergency soldering – a first for me. I solder the wire directly to what’s left of the terminal, fire it up, and we’re on our way again.
We cross the Mississippi and we make it to the Strubbes’ by dark.
Newer Entries »
