It was suppose to get up to 105 degrees and we wanted to beat the heat. I rolled out of bed at 6:30 am and got dressed. We loaded a few items and double checked to see if we got everything. We had a bagel for breakfast. Then Larry turned off the water heater under the sink in the kitchen, I turned off the ice maker and Larry turned off the water to the house. We were on the road by 7:00 am.
When we left the house the temperature was 76 degrees in Belton Texas. By the end of the day we were in Hamlin Texas, at 4:00 pm the temperature was 105 degrees. It was a hot day, we were glad we had power in Hamlin. The air conditioner run constantly until the sun started to go down. It turned on and off all night.
Hot summer day
Larry drove 235 miles on two lane highways and occasionally a four lane highway. We drove by Gatesville, Hamilton, Comanche, Rising Star, Abilene and Angon. We drove through other small towns. When we got to Comanche Larry stopped at Donut Palace to buy donuts. We drove by the Jones County Courthouse in Angon. It was beautiful. When we got to Abilene we stopped at Allsup and filled the Minnie with gas. Abilene is 40 miles from Hamlin. I dozed off now and then.
We arrived at Hamlin at 11:30 am. We aet up the Minnie for the night. The first night is free and additional nights are $15 per night.
Hamlin City Park entrance
After setting up for the night we had a sandwich for lunch. We spent the day keeping cool under the air conditioner. Larry started and finished a book. I played games.
I played the Daily Challenge of Solitaire and Mahjong from yesterday and today. The event was Event: Free Cell Mini of 10 games. It took me 1 hour, 59 minutes and 46 seconds to complete, which put me in 12th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.
In the evening I walked around the park. I walked for 45 minutes. I did seven labs around the track, which was 2.2 miles.
Hamlin Collegiate High School had their first Junior Varsity game against Coleman High School today. Their first Varsity game is next Thursday against Crosbyton High School. The opening night was a big success, the parking lot was full and there were a lot of people in the stands. The game was over by 9:00 pm. It was nice to be surprised by the game beheld.
Hamlin Collegiate High School opening Junior Varsity game
A full parking lot to support the Pipers
By the end of the day I had done 6,500 steps. We had a super day.
It was a hot day. The morning temperature was 77 degrees and the high was 103 degrees. It's hot.
We spent the day finishing the preparation for the trip. We got an early start about 8:00 am when I got up. Larry surprised me, he bought breakfast. He took the motorcycle for a ride to fill it up with gas. On the way home he stopped at the donut shop and bought breakfast.
After breakfast we went outside and started on the finishing up preparing the Minnie for the trip. First we put the motorcycle carrier on the back of the Minnie. Then Larry wiped it down to get rid of the dirt. Next we loaded the motorcycle on the carrier and strapped it down. Then we put the cover on the motorcycle and strapped down the cover. Larry put the extra gas container on the carrier. Finally we checked to make sure the lights worked. They worked perfectly. Now the Minnie is ready.
After the motorcycle was ready we went to town to pick up a few things at Walmart and to stop our mail at the UPS Store.
When we got home we started finishing up inside of the Minnie. Larry kept me company while I finished loading the food in the refrigerator and the dry goods in the cabinet. Then I swept the Minnie out. After lunch I took the bedding out of the bags and made the bed. Now the inside is ready to go.
At dinnertime I barbecued some skewers for dinner. While the skewers were cooking I browned some pork sausage for a bake to take with us.
After dinner Larry cleaned the drains in the master bath and the kitchen. When he finished I made the bake. I cleaned the bathrooms, dusted, vacuumed the house and mopped the kitchen floor. We watched YouTube videos in the evening because I was busy cleaning house and making the bake. When Larry went to bed I watched Aladdin from our movies collection.
I didn't play the Daily Challenges of Solitaire or Mahjong. I played the event, which was Event: Solitaire World Tour of 30 games. I only did 28 of the games because I ran out of time. I played the games for 3 hours, 23 minutes and 43 seconds, which put me in 13th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.
I played seven games of pinball in between doing my chores to relax a little bit. I played three games on the mini cabinet, which were Cactus Canyon, Cirqus Voltaire and Fun House. I played four games on the big cabinet, which were Big Buck Hunter Pro, Dracula, Nightmare Before Christmas and Star Fox. I didn't get on the board but I had a great time playing pinball.
We had a beautiful day with a lot of sunshine. The morning temperature was 74 degrees and the high temperature officially was 103 degrees at 3:00 pm.
We started the day off by taking the Minnie to Ace Hardware Store to get propane. While there we picked up some hose and a couple of hose menders. The hose is used for the water tank vent, when you fill the Minnie with water the water will kickback through the hole you use to fill it. The reason it does this is because there is a very small hole for vent not allowing the air to escape fast enough. Larry wanted to route the hose differently. On the way home we stopped and filled the Minnie with gas.
When we got home Larry backed the Minnie to the side of the house to dump it's tanks and fill the water tank with water. While he was dumping the tanks he noticed the hose was leaking near the end where it goes into the ground. Later he took it apart, cut off part of the hose and put it back together. After the tanks were finished he moved the Minnie back to the front of the house. and plugged it in.
Next we went back to town with the car to do few errands. First stop was the post office to stop our mail. While Larry was doing this I went across the street and took a couple of pictures. One was Italian Pastarico Inspired, which is a small restaurant. It had a beautiful entrance. The other pictures was the public library, they recently remodeled and painted a cute mural on the side of the building. Next was at HEB to do more grocery shopping. We had a home delivery from Walmart yesterday for the majority of the groceries and other items we needed for our trip. There were a couple of items that Walmart was out of stock. While picking up the items we bought some seasoned pork and other items we like from HEB. Final stop was to get cash to take with us on our trip.
Italian Pastarico Inspired
Belton Public Library mural
By the time we got home it was time of lunch. After lunch we went outside to start loading the Minnie with stuff we're taking on our trip. Larry helped me load the items into the Minnie. Then I loaded the food items in the kitchen cabinet. I put the motorcycle helmets in the shower. Then I loaded sodas under the dinette seat. After putting everything in the cabinet I filled the freezer with food and put some items in the refrigerator. Larry put some electronic items in the Minnie. After loading the food in the Minnie I loaded the clothing we were taking with us. Tomorrow we'll do the finishing touches.
I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Two Games Tango Mini of six games (3 Spider and 3 Tri Peaks). It took me 15 minutes and 42 seconds to complete, which put me in 16th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.
I played seven games of pinball. I played three on the mini cabinet, which were Michael, No Fear and The Godfather. I played four games on the big cabinet, which were Beetlejuice, Big Bang Bar, Blizzard of Ozz and Dracula. I had fun playing pinball.
Michael (Mini)
No Fear (Mini)
The Godfather (Mini)
Beetlejuice (Big)
Big Bang Bar (Big)
Blizzard of Ozz (Big)
Dracula (Big)
We watched YouTube videos.
In the evening we watched the next super hero movie in our collection, which was Avengers: Endgame. When Larry went to bed I watched Top Gun: Maverick from our movies collection. I ended up doing 8,000 steps.
I think today was the hottest day of the summer. The morning temperature was 74 degrees and the official high temperature at 3:00 pm was 105 degrees. It's suppose to stay in the 100's for the next week or so.
Temperature at the house at 2:00
We spent the morning washing the Minnie. When I got up Larry was already on the roof getting ready to wash it. The roof was very dirty and had leaves with sap on them. It was very hard to get leaves and sap off. The brush was getting most of it off . He ended up getting a hand brush to scrub the rest off. Once the roof was finished Larry moved onto the back and the rest of the Minnie. When he got to the cab he ended up getting his buffer out to buff off the leaf stuff. He ended up using compound so he had to wax the hood because the compound took off the wax. While Larry worked on the hood I washed the north side of the Minnie and the cab. After we washed the Minnie Larry cleaned the tires and checked the air in the tires and air bags. It took us four hours.
Yesterday, I got a new weekly pinball challenge, which is Dracula. We had a Dracula game already on the cabinet but this weeks challenge is another version. Larry had to download it and today he installed it on the cabinet. Once he got the game installed he played it to make sure it worked. Then I played it my first high score was 63,440,920, which put me 35th out of 46 participants. Last week's challenge of Last Action Hero my high score was 326,115,340, which put me in 39th out of 105 participants.
Dracula
Last Action Hero
I played another seven games of pinball. I played three on the big cabinet, which were Michael, Queen and The Beach Boys. I played four games on the mini cabinet, which were Batman Forever, Dr. No, Pirate's Life and Playboy. While playing Batman Forever and became high score #6. While playing Playboy I played the Mansion Mania and became a Playboy Champion. I had a fun time playing pinball.
Michael (Big)
Queen (Big)
The Beach Boys (Big)
Batman Forever (Mini)
Dr. No (Mini)
Pirate's Life (Mini)
Playboy (Mini)
I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Klondike Adventure of 20 games. It took me 1 hour, 14 minutes and 23 seconds to complete, which put me in 19th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.
In the evening we watched the next super hero movie, watch was the Avengers: Infinity War. from our collection of movies. When Larry went to bed I watched Top Gun from our movies collection. I ended up doing 4,000 steps. I worked on the Horse of Iron puzzle.
We had very special day. Every year at the end of August Larry and I go on our fall trip with the Minnie for 6 to 8 weeks. Louise's birthday is in August, so is Larry's and mine is in September. We began an annual tradition of celebrating all of our birthdays on Louise's birthday or very close to it. Today was the day we decided to celebrate our birthdays.
We spent most of the day at Louise's house. We arrived there at 9:15 am and didn't get home until 3:30. At our arrival we were greeted by Alice, Louise's dog. She came running to us to say hi. We brought lunch, which was sandwiches and chips. For the sandwiches we brought pretzel buns, meats (pepperoni, Geno salami, forest ham and bacon), cheeses (Swiss, provolone and pepper jack), mustard and miracle whip. The chips we brought a multi pack of Lay's chips (limon, barbecue, plain and all dressed) to choose from. Louise had the dessert, which was German chocolate cake and chocolate oatmeal cookies.
Birthday Cake
Lunch
Before lunch Larry did a few brother dos. He took measurements in Louise's tub/shower because she asked if he could install a shower bar. After taking the measurements he told her he could install a bar. Next he looked at the box he had built for her security camera at her front door. It was falling apart. He took it off and brought it home so he can rebuild it. Next he got her YouTube videos to work on her television in the living room and the master bedroom. He also looked at her mailbox to see if he could fix it.
Brother dos
After lunch we opened our gifts. We received a lot of super gifts. Thank you Shirley and Louise for the gifts. The gifts we received from Larry's mom (Shirley) were a Walmart gift card and an Amazon gift card. The gifts we received from Louise were 2 bags of Jack Links beef jerky, Health bars, Reese's miniature peanut butter cups, Mr. Goodbar miniatures, peanut butter clusters, can of Tootsie rolls, two jigsaw puzzles (one 1,000 pieces and one 500 pieces), two Amazon gift cards and two birthday cards. We gave Louise a couple of decorations (Werewolf and Leprechaun), a couple of Amazon gift cards, a couple of food cards (Texas Roadhouse and Firehouse Sub), a couple of pins and Tickle Me Elmo. She loved the Tickle Me Elmo. We had a super celebration.
Birthday gifts
Food gifts from Louise
The jigsaw puzzles, Amazon gift cards and Tootsie rolls from Louise
Gift cards from Shirley
Louise playing with Tickle Me Elmo
Alice
Louise having a great time opening her gifts
Me having fun opening my gifts
The Werewolf and Leprechaun
When we got home I played games. I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Easy Street Mini of 5 games. It took me 10 minutes and 40 seconds to complete, which put me in 23rd place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.
I played eight games of pinball. I played four games on the mini cabinet, which were 60th Anniversary, Ace of Speed, Metallica and The Goonies. I played four games on the big cabinet, which were Big Bang Bar, Jaws, Star Fox and The Beach Boys. While playing The Beach Boys I became high score #2. I had a fun time playing pinball.
60th Anniversary James Bond (Mini)
Ace of Speed (Mini)
Metallica (Mini)
The Goonies (Mini)
Big Bang Bar (Big)
Jaws (Big)
Star Fox (Big)
The Beach Boys (Big)
In evening we watched YouTube videos. We watched the next super hero movie, which Ant-Man And Wasp from our movies collection. When Larry went to bed I watched the third Fantastic Beasts movie, which was Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore. I ended up doing 3,000 steps.
