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#Post#: 13799--------------------------------------------------
Away from Home
By: Jack Date: July 10, 2019, 2:56 pm
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I just wanted to remind everyone that I'm going to be away from
home next week (I had originally mentioned 8 thru 12 July, but I
guess I'd looked at the calendar wrong).
We are leaving early morning Monday and will return late Friday
afternoon/evening.
I'm taking 54 people, so we're taking the bus, the passenger
van, and four SUVs (mine, Traci's, Bridgette's, and Marcus'),
plus a couple of the college boys are taking their cars, so
we'll have plenty of transportation if we decide to separate.
While I will be taking a laptop and should have wireless
service, my timing for chat and updates might be a bit shaky,
and there will probably be days I'm not able to get on at all.
Just FYI.
#Post#: 13807--------------------------------------------------
Re: Away from Home
By: kalico Date: July 10, 2019, 11:43 pm
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Thanks for the update jack
Enjoy your vacation with the boys and family......
Safe travels
Hugs kal
#Post#: 13873--------------------------------------------------
Re: Away from Home
By: Jack Date: July 14, 2019, 4:34 pm
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We're all ready to go.
Yesterday was chores - cleaning ahead of time, laundry, and
animal care was most of it, along with a bit of weatherproofing,
in case of emergency.
Today was packing. Since everything was washed and put away
yesterday, today was just a case of filling list. We're not
doing anything that requires fancy dress, though we are each
taking slacks and either nice polos or buttoned shirts. We're
leaving tomorrow and will be back Friday, so we're each taking
five undies and socks, plus three shorts and a pair of jeans (or
whatever each boy prefers).
Instead of messing with everyone packing toiletries, I just hit
the store and bought enough travel items for everyone. For
Craig, Chance, and Garrett, I bought travel sets with shaving
kit bags (though Craig doesn't shave yet, and I'm pretty sure
Chance won't need to shave more than once while we're gone).
The bus does have underneath storage, and it has enough room for
the band or football team. That also locks, so we've already
packed most of the stuff. The boys each have a backpack for
travel/entertainment, and they left a change of clothes out
tomorrow. Mickey, with his allergies, is the only one who
really has anything to worry about in the morning - everyone
else can just shower (if they chose), dress, and walk out the
door.
We did think about taking Fido with us. They accept dogs, and
were willing to accept a rabbit, but they want an extra $150 for
pets (per stay, not per night), and I didn't think he'd enjoy it
that much.
Since the Dugan children are all older now, I've turned to Jay
(my across the street neighbor and old friend) and his older
boys - 16-year old Gage, 14-year old Matt, and 12-year old Larry
- to take care of the pets and keep an eye on things while
we're gone.
#Post#: 13880--------------------------------------------------
Re: Away from Home
By: Jack Date: July 15, 2019, 4:13 am
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It's right at 4am as I write this, and the house is crazy.
It's hard to get the bus back here. The only ones licensed to
drive it are me, Marcus, and Chris. If people didn't part on
the streets, I think there would be plenty of room. As it is,
it's just easier for us to leave from BCA.
I should probably mention that we managed to get all the chores
done and everything packed with no one getting spanked, though I
did end up putting Craig and Jake in the corner for a few
minutes.
For now, we breakfast is on the buffet - the centerpiece is a
cheesy hashbrown casserole (with ham), and we're having
scrambled eggs, biscuits, Eggos, and there's always plenty of
stuff for a continental breakfast (fruit, muffins, cereal).
Most of the boys are traveling in a t-shirt and either shorts,
sweats, or pajama bottoms, so they can go back to sleep once we
hit the road. We'll probably stop north of Austin for brunch,
and we should reach the resort in time for check in and a late
lunch.
Right now, Van is saying good-bye to all the animals, the other
boys are saying good bye to their particular friends, and I have
several felines trying to help me type this.
Considering how slow my posts have been lately, I'll probably be
around as much as I normally am, though possibly at odd times
for a few days.
Behave while I'm gone, and I hope you all have a good week.
#Post#: 13882--------------------------------------------------
Re: Away from Home
By: Zyngaru Date: July 15, 2019, 8:50 am
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[quote author=Jack link=topic=1369.msg13880#msg13880
date=1563182007]
It's hard to get the bus back here. The only ones licensed to
drive it are me, Marcus, and Chris. If people didn't part on
the streets, I think there would be plenty of room. As it is,
it's just easier for us to leave from BCA.
[/quote]
Now you have my curiosity up. I have been thinking when you say
bus you have been talking about a school bus all this time.
Many people convert old school buses into various types of
recreational vehicles.
But now I am thinking you must be talking about something bigger
and more sophisticated. Something like an old Eagle Coach or
MCI, Prevost, Van Hool or something along those lines. A
motorcoach, not a bus. What most people would call a charter
bus or greyhound. Which is what I drove for 23 years.
Everything from the really old 1950"s GMC's to 1964 MCI4, to the
modern Silver Eagles and MCI10's. They went in lengths from 30
feet long to 45 feet long. From simple front steering to Rear
wheel following. They can even raise up and down, now.
Motorcoaches that celebrities turn into multimillion dollar Tour
Coaches.
If this is the type vehicle you are talking about, then yes
loading it at BCA is probably the better choice. I have had to
get them into some really tight places with mere inches
clearance on the sides, thus the mirrors barely fit, but that
was my job and I did it everyday, for someone who only drives
this type vehicle occasionally, it is best not to try and
squeeze it into tight places.
#Post#: 13883--------------------------------------------------
Re: Away from Home
By: kalico Date: July 15, 2019, 1:43 pm
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Enjoy your vacation and time with the kiddos, family and friends
Hats great just corner time.... lol
Hugs kal
#Post#: 13890--------------------------------------------------
Re: Away from Home
By: Jack Date: July 15, 2019, 4:16 pm
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Zyngaru, I want to say it's an MCI F3500, but I'm not going to
swear to that.
I kind of pulled a mild scam on this one. I bought the bus,
donated it to BCA for their use, which allowed me to write it
off my taxes, but part of the agreement is that I get to use it
for things like this, as long as the school doesn't need it. I
do pay for it's uses, but it's much cheaper than a regular
rental would be.
I agree with you on the driving. Marcus drives it the most,
since he handles a lot of the 'away' middle school sports events
during the school year. I usually let him get us out of town,
then I drive for a while, then he takes over to get us to our
destination. Chris's experience is with a regular school bus,
which (as you said) is quite a bit different.
We have arrived safely.
I'm not really impressed with their water park, but the younger
kids like it, and the pool is large enough, so we're not
unhappy. We weren't planning to spend much time here anyway.
After getting checked in, we ate lunch at their pool bar and
grill. Many of the adults (and a few of the older kids) are
checking out the spa right now. I'm in our cabana, enjoying the
poolside view, while giving everyone a central place to check
in.
Some of us have been up since three or four o'clock this
morning, so we've decided not to do a fancy dinner tonight.
We're going to meet in the cafe for dinner about 7pm, and I gave
permission to anyone for whom that doesn't meet their schedule
to eat on their own or do room service.
Oh, there were actually sixty of us total in my group. My
cousin Ryan and his two sons were able to join us, along with
Steve, Belle, and Gywn. While that's all more or less family,
The Cavanaughs, McLeods, and McCalls thought it would be fun,
and they're also here and will be coordinating at least some of
their activities with us.
#Post#: 13893--------------------------------------------------
Re: Away from Home
By: Zyngaru Date: July 15, 2019, 5:10 pm
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Glad you made it safe and sound. All checked in and beginning
enjoying the facilities.
Yes the MCI 3500, was a coach that test drove for MCI when it
first came out. I had won the International Driving Completion
that year so I got to see the new coach before it came out. We
already had two 35 foot Eagle coaches and two 25' Van Hool
coaches, so we were used to the short wheelbase, which can
cause over steer and they are more susceptible to cross winds.
I think MCI's version of the 35' coach is a better design.
Honestly after driving 45' coaches, driving the little 35' is
like driving a sports car. In Washington DC, Chicago, New York,
all the major cities, I would pull in front of the bigger
coaches and whip in front of them and parallel park up next to
the curb faster than they could react. Where the 35' coach only
needs 3 parking spaces, the 45' needs 5 spaces to parallel park.
Yep, you made a great deal with buying it and then donating it
with the option to use it. That worked for the school and you.
They don't come cheap, even though they are 10' shorter than the
full sized coach. I gave up my CDL license, when I retired from
driving. I didn't want any temptation to go back over the road
again.
#Post#: 13944--------------------------------------------------
Re: Away from Home
By: Jack Date: July 18, 2019, 5:31 am
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We have been very busy the past couple of days.
We had originally intended to visit Sea World. About 6 years
ago, a documentary called Black Fish was released, condemning
Sea World on a lot of issues. Since then, they have ended their
Orca breeding policies, but some other things might continue.
Of course, the documentary was made from only one point of view,
and Sea World released statements saying that the documentary
was misleading in some ways and completely false in others.
Several of my college students are rather socially conscious, so
when we were making plans for this trip, this issue came under a
lot of discussion. The younger kids don't want to help hurt the
animals, but they really did want to go.
As I said before, Monday was mostly spent on the driver,
checking in, and enjoying the small water park at the resort.
Tuesday most of us went to Morgan's Wonderland for the main part
of the day. Some of the teens (and young adults) went north to
the Texas Ski Ranch instead. We met that evening for dinner,
then did the Buckhorn Museum and Saloon and spent the evening at
the San Antonio Aquarium.
Yesterday we started with s Segway Tour, then went to the Alamo.
We spent most of the rest of the day in Brackenridge Park,
which includes the San Antonio Zoo and their Japanese Garden.
That didn't take all day and we spent some time at Splashtown,
went up the Tower of the Americas, ate lunch on the Riverwalk,
and were exhausted last night.
And, looping back to the beginning, we're spending today at Sea
World. We did a lot of online reading before deciding, but this
is the article that helped us all agree
HTML https://hippie-inheels.com/should-you-visit-sea-world/
I had no problem with Sea World when we went back in 1998
(except with one of their food service locations), but I figure
Josh and Barry would be paying pretty close attention, and I
think they're the ones who really decided we were going. While
I hate the concept, we paid for the 'quick queue' tickets,
because this is the only time we're going to visit in a three
year period or so, and I don't think any of the pre-teens have
been before. We also arranged so everyone gets one of the
animal encounters, and we bought the tickets so everyone can
also go the Aquatica - the Sea World water park.
So yeah, I probably won't make chat again today, and I expect to
be exhausted tonight, but I hope it's going to be a good time.
Tomorrow, we're checking out of the hotel early and hitting
museums. The Witte Museum for the older kids and the younger
kids are doing the DoSeum. We had hoped to work in the Natural
Bridges Cavern, but the Witte doesn't open until 10am, so we've
decided to leave at 3pm, hoping that's early enough to miss the
worst of traffic, and still get us home before too late tomorrow
night. We did think about extending our visit one more day, but
Schlitterbahn would be hell on a weekend, and that idea was
voted down.
#Post#: 13949--------------------------------------------------
Re: Away from Home
By: Adric Date: July 18, 2019, 11:27 am
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Some months ago I tuned into this video
HTML https://www.videoproject.com/The-Age-of-Aluminum.html
on TV. I
thought it was going to be an informative program about the
wonders of aluminum, and it started out that way.
And then it slowly changed, ultimately blaming just about every
human illness on this terrible element and the wicked corporate
interests that have infiltrated it into our lives. IMO, it was
way OTT. A good example of propaganda with an agenda and an
intent to mislead.
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