Highlights of the Brew Crew...This past Memorial Weekend the family and I took the RV out on its maiden voyage. We headed to Truman Lake about 1 hour southeast of the Kansas City area. It is a lake that I visited during my youth where we would go camping and fishing at the Bucksaw Campground. My grandpa would drive his RV and many of my uncles, aunts, and cousins would show up and grandpa would take us out on his pontoon boat to go fishing or just a ride around the lake. Now I have my own family and we are creating new memories with our RV. Well, we headed south on Friday a little after noon and stopped at the Flying J in Peculiar, Missouri to fill up with gasoline (first fill up for us in that guzzling beast) and propane (much cheaper than I thought it would be) and get signed up for the Flying J RV Rewards card. While filling up the gas tank, it gave me a chance to inspect the dump station/water station for future reference. After getting fueled up we were back on the road headed towards the lake. We stopped briefly in Clinton, Missouri at the Wal-Mart to stock up on groceries (that place is a madhouse on a Friday during the summer) then onto the campground. Just outside the campground entrance their is home that sells firewood $5 a stack and we picked up two (gotta have firewood!!!).
We arrived at the campground and were told they did not have any hook-up sites so all that remained were primitive sites. That lead to us taking a tour of the C Loop of the campground and choosing the last site we stayed at on our previous trip a couple of years ago. Upon making it back to the gate to pay for our site we then needed to dump the black and gray tanks and fill up the fresh water tank. These resources are right next to the campground entrance kiosk and provided another first in our RV adventures. I hollered at Gina to get out of the vehicle and follow along as I went through this process for the first time. Every thing went smooth (apparently I bought a used RV full of $hit as the black tank was showing 2/3rds full). Making it back to the campsite we backed her in and unloaded the firewood, chairs, and some coolers. That was it. No unloading a van/truck/car to figure out which tote had what or unrolling a tent and yelling at each other on which pole went where. Smooth. We had a great night. The next morning saw a storm come through with thunder, lightning, and rain. But no worries as we were safe and dry in the RV. Hearing the thunder I just rolled over and went back to sleep. You have to understand that the last time we visited that campground in a tent and at the specific site we had a helluva storm roll through that had the wife and girls terrified as we wondered if the tent would stay staked down and would not leak too bad.
About mid-morning the campground attendants came by to tell us that an electric hook-up site had come open and we had first choice so we jumped at that chance. Loading up what little we had out we drove over to the B Loop and found our site lakeside and just over from the swimming beach. Due to using too much of the freshwater I saw a chance to fill it up with a community water spout but even with 3 hoses I still didn't have enough length to reach across the road. Thankfully our across-the-road-neighbor let me borrow his and we were back in business. With the freshwater tank full again and electricity running through the RV, I kicked back in my chair and opened a cold one while the kids headed off to the beach. We woke up the next morning and again, not much to clean up or pick up. We were off and gone with no trouble. Let the adventures begin....
2nd Inning.
American History lesson...Memorial Day. From www.usmemorialday.org, "Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service...(It) was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11, and was first observed on 30 May 1868, when flowers were placed on the graves of Union and Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery...It is about reconciliation; it is about coming together to honor those who gave their all." It began to be celebrated on the last Monday in May when Congress passed the National Holiday Act of 1971 which lead to it becoming the unofficial start to summer.
I watched the National Memorial Day Concert this year and it was hosted by Gary Sinise and Joe Montegna. They have been hosting it for several years now and they really do an honorable job of reminding us of why we celebrate the day. This year they shared the story of the Granville brothers. It is shown below.
God Bless all of you that put on the uniform to do what many of us can not do.
3rd Inning.
Random Thoughts...Being a homeowner sucks at times, especially when it rains and you get water in your basement... Banana pudding should be the National Dessert...It is okay for your family to go out to the car while you finish the 2nd of your 2 for $7 margaritas at a restaurant...A walk-off hit to end a ball game should always be celebrated with teammates at home plate...I always have the fear of getting a poop pain while sitting in the dentist's chair...Would it be a good gift for my wife's birthday if I got a picture of me made doing the George Costanza couch pose?...Does anybody from the KC area remember Crematia Mortem?...Maybe during a rain delay they could have the MLB players from each team try to perform the best slide across the tarp on the infield Rick Dempsey style...Sheldon Cooper would get this country back on track within six months...4th Inning.
Vacation Destination...This week I came across this exciting theme park news. If you have ever been to Universal Studios-Orlando then you know that it is a great amusement park destination for the family (but wait until your kids are upper elementary IMO). The wife and I went way back in 2000 and at that time the big addition to the park was the Spiderman 3-D ride (which after riding it I threw up while doing a quick exit upon the ride ending...I blame the Incredible Hulk roller coaster I rode prior to the Spiderman ride). Anyway, after 20+ years on tv and a small presence at Universal Studios, The Simpsons will now be given a larger section at the park which should be a blast! So stop by Springfield and enjoy a Duff beer at Moe's then head over to the Kwik-E-Mart for a snack then get your picture taken in front of the statue of Springfield founder, Jebediah Springfield, then finish the day off with dinner at KrustyBurger! Video promo is below. Enjoy!
5th Inning.
Articles of the week...
- Drink a beer have a good time, drink 200 beers and piss off Cardinals fans!...A Kansas City Royals fan moves to St. Louis and decides to cause a ruckus and tick off Cardinals fans through a beer drinking contest.
- One of the best post-game interviews in MLB...If this was about a Yankee or Cardinal I wouldn't bother posting it but it's not so here you go. I love baseball and this fella loves baseball. Gotta love a player that shows his enthusiasm for the game!
- A popular NFL quarterback gets fan love...Robert Griffin III is emerging as one of the more popular players in the NFL and fans in Redskin nation showed their love for him recently. Must be nice to have a popular QB...
- This IRS mess is getting U-G-L-Y...In a former job position with my current employer I conducted National Security background investigations for a Federal customer and I can guarantee that if I conducted those investigations with the same criteria and scrutiny that the IRS used in this Tea Party mess I would be fired and facing jail time.
- Choose your Kryptonian Ancestral House...With the upcoming release of 'Man of Steel' they have posted a site that decides what Ancestral house on Krypton you would belong to after a few personality questions. I am a member of the Dar House. Jeremy-Dar. Which is very weird because my middle name is Darrol. Hmmm...
- The Queen meets a dying boy...There are not enough feel-good stories to remind us of the good that humanity possesses. This one involves a Hollywood actress that has class.
- The oldest living American Veteran...With Memorial Day recently passed it was nice to read this article about a WWII veteran.
- Marvel Superhero trivia & a 4 year old girl...Stan Lee would be proud of this little girl and her knowledge of the Marvel Comics Universe.
- More guns, diminishing gun crime rates...If we were to believe the gun control fanatics you would think are nation is/has been suffering from ever increasing numbers of gun crimes. Not so...says the Federal Government. Say what? Yeah, the DOJ released new statistics that re-confirm what the NRA and a plethora of gun rights organizations have been saying. The problem is not a gun problem it is a cultural and moral problem with too many people in this this country.
Movie I want to see...again....
My top 10 Teen Comedy Movies of the
'80s Countdown Part 9....One Crazy Summer. My countdown continues with another entry by
John Cusack. In this Cusack installment he plays Hoops McCann, a recent high school graduate that wants to become a writer/illustrator. His buddy, George (played by Joel Murray, brother to Bill) invites Hoops to spend the summer on the island of Nantucket with him and that's where the crazy summer begins. Enter another friend on the island played by Curtis 'Booger' Armstrong and another played by Bobcat Goldthwait and a little known actress by the name of Demi Moore. Demi's character, along with Hoops and his buddies, is out to save her grandfather's home from demolition so the rich family on Nantucket can develop it. Good fun and lots of laughs. Add this one to your rainy day dvd collection. Trailer is
below. Enjoy!
7th Inning.
Firearms Corner...This week I wanted to showcase one of the new faces over at the NRA News...Colion Noir. He is another example of the diversity of gun owners. We are not all crazy, old, white, right-wing extremists! You can check out his NRA News contributions here and his YouTube channel here.
8th Inning.
FFL Factoid...This week's FFL Dealer type: Type 09.
· Dealer in Destructive Devices--Dealer in firearms, including destructive devices, ammunition for destructive devices, and armor piercing ammunition. Requires payment as a Special Occupational Taxpayers (SOT) Class 1 (can act as an NFA Dealer). To deal/broker any destructive device with an explosives content (e.g. flash-bangs) requires an additional Federal Explosives License as a Dealer of High Explosives. Fee is $3,000 for three years.
9th Inning.
On May 15th, the Kansas City Royals nation lost a great member...Fred White. I grew up during the Royals glory years in the late '70s/early 80s and always remember Fred's voice along with Denny Matthews calling the games on the radio. Even after he left the booth for the Royals you could still turn on the AM side of the radio dial and have a chance at hearing him call Big 12 basketball. I did have the chance to meet Denny and get his autograph in his book (along with seeing his World Series ring up close) and I wish there would have been the opportunity to meet Fred. R.I.P., Mr.White.
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