A Day Trip to Stillwater

One day earlier this week the GlassStacker came up with the idea of a drive to Stillwater.  It is not very far, about 40 miles, and would make a good day trip.  Besides, there is a Herberger's store there and she was looking for some new flatware for our kitchen.
Always mindful of her comfort and safety, I inquired whether or not we should use our new big old Teutonic LuxoBarge.  The moment she said, "Sure, why not",  I knew exactly how Brer Rabbit felt when he was being thrown into the briar patch.  Happiness is taking a day trip in the big old TLB with The Boss in the seat beside you.

Joy was short lived on that day.  As we drove into Stillwater, the old TLB sounded an alarm gong, followed by a terse message on the dash regarding low coolant.  Of course I pulled over right away in the Lowe's parking lot.  The radiator was too hot to investigate so we decided to spend a little cool down time shopping at Lowe's for some of the other things on our list. 
Yep, the coolant was low.
Lowe's does not carry automotive stuff, but there was a Wal-Mart close by.  The Wal-Mart was just across the Lowe's mega parking lot and halfway across its own mega parking lot.  Now The Boss is always into fitness and exercise so we set off on foot across the paved fields.  Wal-Mart is arranged with car stuff on one end of the store and distilled water on the opposite end necessitating more exercise within the confines of the store.  I was also made aware of what it feels like to be 16 pounds overweight as I carried the 16 pounds of goods on the trek back to the TLB.  We got back, poured in some coolant and some water, and continued our drive into town.
Wouldn't you know it, the gong, along with the short message about low coolant were back before we had gone very far.  Quick, pull off the road into a nearby liquor store parking lot.  There is no sign of overheating and it had started raining.  In hindsight we should have called AAA right then and just hauled it all home on the back of a flatbed.
Once again the car was too warm to investigate so we waited a bit while things cooled off.  The radiator cap turned out to be faulty, a big chunk of plastic was gone from its lower edge.  My first thought was, why does this big old German LuxoBarge have a plastic radiator cap?  My next thought was, where in the whole of Stillwater am I going to find a replacement plastic radiator cap for a Teutonic LuxoBarge?  It is a good thing that The GlassStacker is pretty tech-savvy.  She quickly figured out that there was a NAPA store just a half mile or so away from our location at the liquor store and determined that they had the part in stock, at a reasonable price, and that they would hold it for us.
We took off walking again, remembering that fitness and exercise are always the order of the day.  As it was still raining we ducked into McDonald's on the way, then we decided to skip across the drive through lane to Taco Bell.  When we arrived at TB it was seriously raining so we sat and ate a bunch of tacos, she likes crunchy and I like soft, and waited for the rain to lessen.  Because now the grass has become wet, really wet, from the heavier rain, we have to walk on the frontage road to get from Taco Bell to NAPA.  Out in the street we were dodging cars and puddles and wondering if you get wetter when you run or not and eventually get to the auto parts store.  While I am paying for the radiator cap, The Boss asks the counterman for a plastic bag, she is getting concerned about the effect of so much rain on her smartphone.  It is still raining when we start walking/running back to the liquor store parking lot.  As a note of interest, I do not look anywhere near as good when I am running as the GlassStacker does.  She is really graceful.  A few minutes later I have poured in some coolant and some more water and we are again heading for downtown Stillwater.
Arriving downtown, we parked in a 3 hour spot on the crowded main street near a coffee shop.  While docking the barge, I noticed that the radiator was emitting some vapor, I could just see the little puffs between the raindrops.  Oohh, not good.  When I opened the hood, the first thing I noticed was that the bleed screw on the top of the radiator was broken and coolant was bubbling out in a big way.  Oohh, really not good.
The bleed screw is a little plastic screw plug used to remove air from the cooling system, NAPA doesn't have one, the car will not run without it, and why is it made of plastic on a big old TLB in the first place?  You might guess that it was still raining.  We went into the coffee shop, bought a medium sized cup of dark roast coffee and sat down to think about our day trip to Stillwater in the big old Teutonic LuxoBarge to buy some flatware for our kitchen.

What we needed at that moment was an old fashioned hardware store.  Stillwater is a tourist town and the downtown area has a lot of restaurants and little shops and cute stores that sell potpourri and antiques.  The hardware store is in the new part of town, up on the hill by the Lowe's, a couple of highway miles away.  Too far to walk.  Call a taxi.  Wait 25 minutes in the rain for the cab to arrive.  A $15 cab fare gets us to Ace Hardware.  The plug is a 10 mm diameter with a thread pitch that is not available at Ace Hardware.  Buy a 1/8 NPT brass plug - because it is close to the right size - and a small tube of RectorSeal thread dope.  Call the cab company.  Wait 25 minutes for the cab to arrive.  Eat a bag or two of hardware store popcorn.  A $15 cab fare gets us back downtown.  The car hasn't been ticketed or towed yet.  Lightly coat the threads on the brass plug with the RectorSeal and carefully screw it into the plastic tank on the top of the radiator.  Top up the coolant.  Head for home.   The gong and the terse message quickly reappear.  Stop.  Let the car cool.  Go to the Wells Fargo ATM across the highway from Lowe's to replenish our depleted cash.  Check for leaks.  Top up the coolant.  Head for home.  The gong and the message are there again.  Stop.  Check for leaks.  Top up the coolant.  Head for home.  Drive the rest of the way home without incident.  Converse with The Boss during the quality time afforded us during the drive.  Now, a couple of days later, the pipe plug from Ace is still holding and I have ordered a replacement brass plug from the barge repair company.

We bought our flatware early in the day at Herberger's and had time for brunch at Perkins.
I used our new flatware for my lunch today.  Joy is here.

Keep 'em running
As always
The GlassStacker's Assistant

Home Again - To a Mountain of Snow

Today is the first day of spring, you cannot tell by looking out the window.  Snow everywhere.  The Boss and I are just going to hunker down and read a book, and not feel a bit guilty about anything.

Keep 'em running.
The GlassStacker's Assistant

A week on "The Big Island" Hawaii

Wednesday, 13 February, 2013


What have we been doing?

We went to Hilo a week ago, to refill my meds, no luck.  So we went to the farmer's market and to the Hilo Homemade Ice Cream store instead.  I eventually got the pills at Costco in Kailua Kona.  Highway 11 has so many twists and turns for the first 25 miles that it is a long 106 miles to Hilo.  On the way home we stopped at Volcano Village and had a lava burger, just to keep our strength up.

The L&L Hawaiian Barbeque is our choice for a couple of meals each week. The Boss has figured out how to get a bowl of rice, steamed vegetables and some meat for about $5.

The best Kona coffee we have found is at the Holuakoa in Holualoa.   While we were there on Monday the septic system was being pumped. That smell will make me give up coffee.  NOT.

The Boss snorkles every chance she gets.  Her favorite at this time is Kahalu'u Beach just south of Kailua Kona.

Kona snow started and ended this week.  The blossoms on the Kona coffee trees are white, delicate and very short lived.
 

Kona Snow

The GlassStacker has been doing yoga at the Paleaku Garden Peace Sanctuary.  She found a class that meets twice a week and is very happy with it.  While she does yoga, I tour the garden and write.  The exhibits range from a Native American Medicine Wheel to a Galactic Garden.  The Galactic Garden is a representation of our Milky Way complete with an earring on a leaf for our sun.  Did you know that nearly all the stars we can see with the naked eye are within the Milky Way.  You have to know just where to look to find outsiders.

Medicine Wheel

 

Galactic Garden

We have also been hiking in the area.  The 1871 trail at Pu'uhonua o Honaunau is one of our favorites. This trail is named for the 1871 activities of local residents who improved the trail as payment for their taxes. We have been walking about a mile out and back and hope to go further in the future. Yesterday we discovered a set of lava falls that resulted from a lava flow over the Keanae's Cliff just off the trail.  We went to Manuka State Park today to hike their nature trail.  It was 2 miles long, up and down about 400 feet, and difficult for old folks.  The area is all a'a lava flow and the trail itself is made of 3 inch chunks of lava.  Beautiful in its own way.

The 1871 Trail

Sunsets are rare at our house. The evening cloud bank obscures the true sunset, we would see it about 20 minutes early as the sun goes behind the clouds. We have started to go to the beach at Pu'uhonua o Honaunau for the evening ritual.

Sunset at Pu'uhonua o Honaunau

There are a few small things to worry about.  I am sitting on a hill overlooking Kealakekua Bay, the spot where peaceful natives killed and ate Captain Cook.  This bay was created by a massive earthquake and resulting landslide about 120,000 years ago. The tidal wave caused by the landslide swept over the island of Kaho'olawe and almost over the island of Lana'i.

We have been hiking on lava flows that are not too many years old. The volcano on Mauna Loa is still very active. Clouds keep it shrouded and out of sight. To get a taste and smell of the sulfuric fumes from the vents you have to travel Highway 11 about 20 or so miles further south toward Kileawea. On the way, a road sign warns motorists of cracks in the road caused by fault movements under the road. The highway parallels the Great Crack until it reaches Kileawea where it crosses the faults. This whole area is an active seismic zone. 

 

The end of the "Chain of Craters" road south of Kileawa Crater

While we were in college and taking geology courses, we learned about a’a and pehoehoe types of lava. It is really a learning experience to actually see these formations and to walk them. The a’a is impassable as it consist of large, car sized, jagged chunks of lava, strewn in every which direction. This is a formidable barrier, I can only imagine the cost of a crude road through such a lava flow. The road between Kealakekua Bay and Honaunau Bay is arrow straight through an a'a flow.  It is barely 2 cars wide for its 4 mile length and has a 20 mile per hour speed limit. Pehoehoe flows result in a much smoother surface and is easily walked, although is it no less a barrier to road construction. The pehoehoe flow took place at a higher temperature, the lava flowed like a river. To see this while we were taking the courses would have been a major plus. We are both truly awed by the rocks and the formations we see here.

Our hiking travels frequently take us into the tsunami danger zone. Earthquakes in the Pacific have the potential to cause large waves that could result in tsunami on the Hawaiian coast. There are warning systems in place, in fact some parts of the island received a false alarm from the 8.0 magnitude quake in the south Pacific just last week.

My computer is full of tiny ants. The machine is a food source. I’ll have to not munch while I compute.

Enough worrying, here we are in paradise.  I can see the boats returning to Kailua Kona. They have taken tourists south to the harbor near the Captain Cook monument for snorkeling and others have gone further south to the lava tube at Alahaka Bay. It is the “3 hour tour” on the South Kona Coast.

I am off to wander the Galaxy Garden and think about my place in the universe.

Keep 'em running.
The GlassStacker's Assistant

Glass Stacks Everywhere

For the past couple of years the Boss has been collecting glass.  She has gone to flea markets, estate sales, thrift stores, and any other place glass objects may be found.  These shopping excursions have not just been in the local area, she also managed to pack a suitcase full of glass when we came home from Honolulu a couple of years ago.

The house was getting full.  Red, blue, green, brown, purple and clear plates, saucers, ashtrays, vases, and other things in cardboard boxes on shelves, on tables, under tables, on the floor, and in closets.

Not anymore.

She has been stacking like a mad woman!  She is the GlassStacker!

 

Now the glass stacks are everywhere.  She is still smiling.

Keep 'em running
The GlassStacker's Assistant

Drive a Sprite to Conclave: Yes!

This is a rewrite of a letter that appeared in The Healey Enthusiast, September, 1993.

I had to write and tell you a bit about Conclave '93 in Louisville.  My son Dan, daughter Karen and I attended and participated in some of the events.

We left Red Wing on Saturday the 26th of June as a convoy of two;  our Sprite and the BJ9.  The first day was pretty uneventful.  We stopped every 100-150 miles for gas as the Sprite had a non working fuel gauge and we had no experience to tell us just how far we could go on 7 gallons of fuel.  Distance and speed were also a little hard to measure as we had a MkIV speedometer on a 4.3 differential.  In the end the combination was only about 10-12% off and easy to live with.  We camped that night in Palisades-Kepler State Park near Mt. Vernon, Iowa.

The next morning, low on fuel and making a much needed stop, we encountered the first of many curious citizens.  The station owner apologized for not having high octane, leaded fuel and asked several questions about the car.  I told him I could use 87 octane, unleaded (thanks to Edelmann's) and answered whatever else I could.  We drove through Davenport and south through Illinois over some of the roughest freeway I have ever seen.  The Sprite was hopping around like a bantam rooster, my boxes of apple and orange juice were jumping all over the place.  We camped at Wolf Creek State Park in southern Illinois after buying underwear in Decatur.  Some of us do not pack very well.
The third day took us through the forests of southern Indiana.  I had to be careful not to run away from the big "BJ9" Ford Club Wagon on numerous turns and twists in the road.  When I told Dan that I thought this was a beautiful area he didn't seem to feel the same way, driving the Ford.  Our caravan made Louisville during the evening rush hour.  By then the engine in the Sprite was a little better broken in and I felt I could almost run with the freeway traffic.  That experience convinced me of the need for a 3.7 rear end and maybe a 5 speed transmission for my Sprite.  We camped at the Louisville South KOA in Shepherdsville, Kentucky.

On Tuesday morning, June 29th we picked up our registration packet at the Executive West Hotel.  We were just in time for the funkhana and the solo which were being held across the street at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center.  It was easy to find the tech area for the solo and after a minor adjustment to the front wheel bearings the Sprite was cleared for the event.  Between the tech inspection and the actual solo, Karen, age 11, and I ran the funkhana.  She steered and I clutched and braked.  We had a great time running for the roses.  Later that afternoon Dan and I each ran the solo.  We didn't break anything and had some average times.  As the day progressed the level of preparation for these events by the conclave committee became evident.  We met a lot of very helpful people everywhere we went.  These folks were truly caring, sharing enthusiasts.

While the solo and funkhana were taking place Karen noticed the rides and thrills of Kentucky Kingdom.  On Wednesday, she and I played, splashed, rode, walked, got sunburned and very tired at this amusement park.  While we were having all this fun Dan was bending the ears of some of the folks with BN2s.  He talked to Rich Chrysler, Joe Fruend, Bob Thomas, Bill Lillibridge and anyone else who would listen to him.  By the end of the day his notebook was filled and a few rolls of film had been cycled through the camera.
Thursday was the day of the RC races and the car show.  Time had been set aside for washing and prepping the Healeys before the show so we woke early and headed into town.  On the way we stopped for breakfast at the Shepherdsville McDonalds.  While we were eating I remarked to Dan that I would like to be at the Expo Center at about 9:00 am to clean up the car and get it ready for the show.  When he told me it was already 10:00 am my falling jaw just about broke my ankles.  We blasted out of there and went straight to the show, not even thinking about what the car looked like.  We were the last car in!  I hope no one was offended by the bird poop on the fender and the Kentucky mud on the tires.  During the car show the RC cars were run indoors on a polished cement surface.  Dan and Karen had more horsepower than traction but had a good time anyway.
At 4 pm everyone made a LeMans run for the exits.  My family and I were more than a little homesick so we decided to head for home.  The AC was irresistible so we put the Sprite on the tow bar and headed north.  Red Wing looked like heaven on Friday afternoon.
As near as I can tell it was about 670 miles to Louisville and another 100 or so running around.  The Sprite averaged 36 corrected miles to the gallon and burned a half quart of oil for the trip.
Keep on Healeying!

Keep 'em running
The GlassStacker's Assistant