On vacation from my vacation.

I’m having a vacation from my vacation. How cool is that?

Mssr. Richard H., the new Ural owner, is out of town until tomorrow night so I’m shacked up in a cozy motel just a few blocks from his house, waiting for his return.
The TV has a bazillion channels so there’ll be some heavy remote action tonight.

The internet access is wireless. I hate wireless! The signal keeps dropping off and I lose the connection. It’s probably something to do with my laptop because folks with better laptops don’t seem to have any problems like that. At least when it does work, it works pretty well.

This morning I got the bike off the trailer and took it for a spin around Clay Center, Kansas. It’s sunny and warm so all I needed was a T-shirt and helmet.
(Oh yeah, just to stave off the comments…pants, boots, socks and underwear too. This IS Kansas after all, not San Francisco.)

The locals tell me this is the first nice weather they’ve had. They’ve had a long, cold winter. One guy I talked to asked me if I was cold in just a T-shirt, as he felt it was still a bit cool. I told him if the temperature ever got up this high in Bandon, people would start dropping from heat stroke and the real estate agents would be jostling each other taking pictures of their properties for their internet ads.
He didn’t seem to get it. Folks around here seem pretty straight-forward. Nice, but no foolin’ around.

I discovered this store today while I was out scouting for some supplies. It’s called Dollar General. I’ve been seeing them all over the place since I got to Kansas. In one town a local even gave me directions using it, “Go down there, turn right at the dollar general….”

Lord have mercy! Everything is a dollar, or multiple or fraction thereof, and the place is packed with stuff. Nothing really expensive or unnecessary, but if you need some plastic bowls, high-lighting pens or 25 envelopes for 50 cents, it’s the place to go.

Took me an hour to get out of there and only cost me $5.00.
I got a big magnifying glass with a light, perfect for looking at a map in a hurry. Before, I had to put on my cheaters and try to look over the tops to see the road while trying to look at the map…especially important when trying to judge if a 63 year old prostrate can make it to the next rest stop or if one should just head for the bushes! This gizmo should help.

I asked the lady about the store and she said it was a national chain, it was moving west and is in Colorado now.
I can’t wait for it to get to Oregon. It’ll give us retirees a place to do some recreational shopping on our fixed incomes.

Cruised around some more and discovered the locals don’t give tourists much of a break in traffic. You better know which way you’re going or just go with the flow. I took a wrong turn and ended up on the highway heading out of town. I had to go 5 miles to find a place to turn around, all the while with a huge semi on my butt.
I’m always nice to tourists back home and give them plenty of breaks. Oh well…

I also discovered the restaurant attached to the motel is a Mexican place. I went in and tried it out. Pretty good, but they don’t beat La Fiesta back in Bandon.

Tomorrow I’ll shine up the bike, gas up the car, do some laundry, etc. After I deliver the bike, I’m back on the road.

Speaking of being on the road, I’ve found that KOA is a pretty good deal these days. Back in the day I scoffed at their campgrounds and their excessive price. State campgrounds used to be a couple of bucks and KOA was $20.
Nowadays, they still cost $20 (or less) but we all know $20 ain’t what it used to be. Anyhow, they have hot showers, laundromats, tent areas and hook-ups if you need ‘em.

BTW, I fooled around with the blog settings and now anyone can leave comments. I just looked back and saw a bunch. Pretty cool, this blog stuff.

Nap time!

…more follows…