Just stuff

Historical Photo:
This should cause you to stop texting!

today:
You learn something new every day. It was moving day. Weather was great, traffic was light.  We waved at walking couples as we left. Great ride not many traffic lights caught us and I didn’t throw anything around in the house. (Gotta make myself a note. My two drawers below my computer will not stay shut!  Done).  That note was made beneath the other note that says: Replace bulbs in bathroom light.)

Our new neighbor just pulled in as we did. He came over and in our conversation mentioned he was a bike rider. I said, “Friends Don and Evelyn just gave us those two bikes.” I pointed them out.
He actually hinted he rode ‘real’ bikes. He had ridden across the USA two times. He did 80 miles a day took a few breaks and finished in 40 days. I learned that clubs do this often. They pay someone to feed them two meals a day, and find a place for them to sleep at night. I never knew that.

After coming in and setting up, Friends Don and Evelyn fed us lunch. (and we didn't have to pay them!) We had a great time and did some catching up on who is sick and who died back home related to their HS class.  Later Sherry needed a haircut. She uses the Salon at Walmart. As we drove in she spotted a bus, painted on the side was MT Killington Bicycle Club. We might have wondered a lot if we had not just met the new neighbor. Someone from Vermont is doing a bike-ride. This is their support vehicle.

Mt. Killington is very familiar to us. On a Mt like this She Threw her pack down the hill ahead of her, she was hurting so bad.

The peak is on the AT. Sherry pulled a groin muscle going down that mountain. It put us off the Trail for a while.


Oh' I didn’t tell you. We may be back in the truck farming business. I have replaced the entire tomato crop.  But this time the plants are portable, and we can protect them. I put the entire new crop in the motor home shower for today’s ride. Here they are in the sun. Can you see the Bloom. BUMPER crop coming up. And without federal assistance.

Put in your orders early, they will go fast!  LOL

Nite Shipslog

PS:  Little known facts about the USA, from Cousin Tony: In Colma, California the dead outnumber the living by nearly 1,000 to 1.
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 The Lincoln Futura that became a Batmobile

Rocky Top

Historical Photo:

                                 Albany, NY police circa 1955
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The Great Smoky Mountains, Rocky Top
Standing Indian in Western NC, That is where we were camping. WE always walk when camp so we climbed to the top of Standing Indian Mountain. It is the highest peak on the Appalachian Trail south of the Smokies. SO, we SAW THE TRAIL!
That is where the dream of hiking the trail was born in SHERRY’s mind. When that girl really gets an idea she is like a hound dog worrying a bone. She is gonna get-R-done. I got onboard since she had followed me over a good part of the world, it was my time to follow.
WE researched, bought gear, and after a false start of 100 miles, we finally decided to DO IT for real.
Fast Forward about a year another start, WE reached Fontana Dam, the beginning of the near 90 miles thru the Smokies. It takes the younger hikers 5-7 days. In our mid 60’s we planned 11 and had the food for it. Shelters are about every 7-10 miles.

It is a great hike, it crosses the highest point on the AT, Clingman’s Dome. But before you get there you sleep a couple nights. Awaking one morning after 6 days on the trail 3 days into the Smokies. Sherry was down at an ‘out house’. I was scruffy looking, sitting on a log, when up walks a newlywed couple on a day hike from Cade’s Cove, fresh and spiffied up. They were caught aback, running into a real weird guy sitting on a log in front of a strange structure (the shelter). The young lady walks over and asks, “Do you live here?”  I shoulda pulled her leg a little but I explained we were hiking the AT.
 “You mean you are planning to walk from here to Tennessee?” (The end of the Smokies)
“I said no, we plan to walk to Maine, that is about 2,000 miles further up the road.”  They walked off shaking their heads.

Later that day we meet two sisters hiking South. One had just finished cancer treatment and they were hiking the trail for self-confidence.
There are thousands of reasons why people walk the 2,270 miles.
Later Sherry said, “Our next Mountain is Rocky Top.” I couldn’t wait. I had heard and tried to sing with John Denver. I am ready for this. There is a familiar term among hikers, ‘False Summit.’ (That is when you are tired of climbing and THINK you are finally at the top, but you ain’t!)
I think I sat three times and sang two lines I know of that song, then realized I had wasted my breath. I thought we would never reach the REAL top of ROCKY TOP!  LOL. I did have an excuse, we were in a cloud the whole time.
The Smokies are an American Treasure.

Nite Shipslog

PS:  Little known facts about the USA, from Cousin Tony: Only one-third of all $100 bills are actually inside the United States.

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I believe this is Admiral Byrds vehicle to study the South Pole. Sure got the attention in the late 1930s.

Your fun memories of the old telephones!

Historical Photo:

This photo was entitled 'Thoughts Have Wings' by the photographer. I believe he knew what he was talking about. Most kids have BEEN THERE!
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I mentioned older phone systems earlier. I am smiling remembering our phone bills. They were divided:
  ........Local calls----_$____ 
   . long distance calls--$_____ 
 (Long distance could have been the next town)
Mother's day was the Phone company's biggest Long distance day.
Long distance calls were expensive and we all tried to keep them to a minimum.

In the military many times we would use the pay phone instead of our house phones. Change was set aside for payphone calls.

You could tell the operator you would like to reverse the charges and they would ask the person you were calling if they would accept the charges for a call from you. Problem was, you could hear the person you were calling say yes or no. I never did near no, but I know people who did.
 Father's day was the biggest 'reverse the charges' day.

 'I remember city+4 digit' numbers. Many of us were around when prefixes then area codes were added. I do remember the sweet voiced operators, “Number Please?”

Did you ever listen in on party lines?
Did your party line have a ‘line hog’?

There came a time you picked up the phone and instead of 'Number Please?' you heard a 'dial Tone' meaning you could use your 'new' rotary dial phone.  Followed soon by 'Ms. Push button' phone.  And then there was long distance 'Direct Dialing'.

My Sherry went to work part time in High School and had the first phone 'ever' installed in their home.

Once my family had the only phone on the block and mama would send me to get Mrs. Green or Phillips because she had a call.

Old Alexander Graham Bell would be shocked to know what that simple device has grown into.

Oh, did you ever play ‘Telephone’ with string or wire and tin cans?

 I know two people here have watched a one person phone board. Me 'n Paula (anymore?). You watched for a light to come on. Pull an unused back wire plug it in where the light is and say 'Number please'. Then take the front wire and plug it into the number requested. Pull a little switch back to ring the number. Push the switch forward to listen for an answer. The operator could also push the switch forward to sneak a listen on the conversation, or to find out if someone had hung up! LOL (I did find a boy operator on the net)

Nite Shipslog
PS: Little known facts about the USA, from Cousin Tony:  
There are around 5,000 commercial airplanes flying over the United States at any given time.

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Methinks this is the economy seats!