ASUS Transformer Tablet

Cool day, forecast is for threatening rain. Was a good day to get the new ASUS Transformer tablet packaged up for shipping to ASUS. Guess I screwed up the micro-SD card slot.

When i got the tablet, I could not figure out how to the the micro SD card into the slot. The manual shows WHERE to insert the card but not HOW to insert it. Eventually, I found out (thanks John) that there was a dummy card insert shipped in the slot. Manaul says nothing about this.

OK, now I have the "dummy card" removed, and attempting to insert the micro-SD card. I had problems inserting the card - got it stuck in the slot. At Best Buy (where i purchased the tablet) they were able to removed the card. But, the card slot is damaged.

I inserted the card wrong side up. Once again, there are no instructions in the manual! Looking at the screen, I figured that the card should be inserted with writing facing up - facing me. NO! - To install the card, turn the tablet facing the screen DOWN (so you can look at the ASUS name on the case - THEN the micro SC card is inserted facing you.

Looks just backwards for me! Everything else I have, the cards are inserted face up.

SO, while I am on the road, I gathered up the paperwork, RMA et al, packed it with the tablet and traipsed off to the local USP Store. Left it for them to package it up and sent if off to Texas.

Oh well - I could have tried to get it covered under the Best Buy warranty (I had a month to purchase the warranty), claiming the card was stuck after I had the warranty. But, that's not me -- it would have been cheating.

Our One-Bedroom Condo on Wheels

Wednesday, May 19

Some will look at this 40-foot (~12m) Allegro Phaeton and see a toy — a really big, fancy toy.  We look at it and see our retirement home — a one-bedroom condo on wheels.

Welcome to a Virtual Tour of our One-Bedroom Condo on Wheels.

The beauty of this Phaeton is that the former owners have already optioned some of the things that were on our wish list.

Customized Floor Plan of our Phaeton.

Mui completed the purchase of the “gently and lovingly used” coach in Portland, Oregon just a few hours ago.  I’m going to have to wait until July to see it in person; that’s when we’ll be flying to Portland to bring the Phaeton here.

For now, the Phaeton is parked in a storage facility in Portland.

Although we’ve taken the first step towards realizing our dream of touring the US and Canada by motorhome, we still have a few years to go before we can retire and go on the road full-time.  In the meantime, stay tuned for our weekend adventures aboard the “condo on wheels” coming to a blog near you.

Critter cam update

When we've gotten any critter cam pictures at all lately, they've been a little disappointing. Things like...

half a coyote.
The fastest trigger speed is one second, which seems molasses-slow when you're dealing with wild animals. So we see a fair amount of empty frames and half-animals. (The newer model Cuddeback has a slightly faster trigger, I think.)

Sometimes the critters captured are not wild, but still unexpected. Hmm, should Jasmine be that far from the house at night? (She's usually not. I know, because she's usually barking just under the bedroom window.)

Maybe she's made some new friends. She chases stray dogs away during the day, but is she having secret midnight rendezvous?

Then this showed up! I knew armadillos had moved into north Alabama, because I'd seen one on the driveway last year. (Well, that and the 10,000 roadkill carcasses.) But only lately have we noticed quite so many small holes dug everywhere. I was thinking skunk (a critter cam no-show so far), but after catching this picture in the area of maximum hole-digging, I'm ready to assign blame to this guy.
Just another reason to have a yard rather than an actual lawn!
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Nine-banded armadillo, (Dasypus novemcinctus).
Their rooting around doesn't bother me much, but according to the link above, evidence is mounting that they may be nest predators to ground-nesting birds.

Tree Quiz

Sauron?

That's my dainty size 6 next to the largest leaf in North America. Identify the yellow leaves on the lower left for extra credit.

A big hint to how this tree got its common name.
Answers below.
--------
1. American Beech Tree with a personality problem. (Fagus grandifolia.) The smooth carving surface often tempts woodland vandals.
2. Around here this tree is known as the Cowcumber, but more commonly it's called the Bigleaf Magnolia, Magnolia macrophylla. I've read that they're rare, but it's one of those plants that tend to be locally abundant when you do find them.
Extra credit: Sweetgum, Liquidambar styraciflua.
3. Hophornbeam, Ostrya virginiana.

It's official... We Count as Virgin Islanders for the next 10 Years

Bi-Fold to Slider

An in-house washer and dryer in the motorhome was a must-have for me.  Luckily, the former owners of our Phaeton had exercised the option to have a Whirlpool set installed.  The units are in a cabinet next to the clothes closet in the bedroom, with a bi-fold door hiding them from view.  It probably means we lost some storage space, but that’s OK by me as it beats trekking to a laundromat every time we want to throw a load in the washer.

Our only problem with the set up was that the bi-fold door did not stay open unless the coach was perfectly level.  Now, you tell me how many times that happens!  We were debating solutions when fellow Phaeton-owners MZ & TZ went to the Houston RV Show.  We must have been connected telepathically — when they got home, MZ emailed us a picture of the sliding door Tiffin is now installing to hide the W&D.  Perfect!

Nothing really wrong with the bi-fold door, but we would prefer a slider.

At first we thought we’d have Tiffin replace the door when we go to Red Bay next winter.  Then we thought, “why not do it ourselves?”  Easy enough to convert a bi-fold into a single panel door.  Mui went to work taking measurements.  And in no time, he had a rough sketch of the project drawn.

A measurement here; a measurement there.  Yeah, we can do this conversion.

Mui was able to get almost everything he needed at one of his favorite toy stores — the local Home Depot.  Unfortunately, HD didn’t carry the slides in the size we needed them, so the project was delayed until we received 26” Accuride slides from DrawerSlides.

We decided to tackle the project this afternoon, and as soon as Mui got home from work, we headed out to the coach.  Taking the bi-fold door down and removing the piano hinge was a piece of cake.  Even I could have done it, but Mui was having too much fun to let me get my hands on the drill.

Taking down the bi-fold door did not present a challenge.

After cutting the new aluminum brace down to size, Mui went to work screwing it in place to make a sturdy single-panel out of the two pieces of the bi-fold door.  As a finishing touch, he used self-adhesive felt to cover the screws.  It wasn’t really necessary, but he felt better doing it to protect our closet door from possible scratches when we slide open the new door.

Next step, converting the two panels into a single panel door.

Installing the slides and hanging the door, while not difficult, did require two people to do it right.  My job was to make sure the slides remained aligned while Mui screwed them to the back of the door, and to hold the door steady as he installed it in place later.  I must have done my part right — the door went up straight and it slides smoothly on the tracks.  The locking mechanism works to keep the door from sliding open when we’re not using the W&D.  Beautiful!

Once the first few screws are in place, I can step back and take photos of the last few
steps of the install process.

The width of the slide means that there is a narrow gap between the door and the frame.  Mui wants to cover that with trim, but it’s not visible and it does provide a bit of ventilation should I need to slide the door closed to get into the closet while the washer and dryer are in use.  We’ll use it as is for now and see how we feel about that gap once we’re living in the motorhome fulltime.

Mui showing off his handiwork!

So, what other mods do we have planned for the Phaeton?  Who knows!  Every time we go out to the motorhome, Mui gets a bright idea or two.  Stay tuned and we’ll keep you updated.

Lunch Time

Just me and some trails and a few sprinkles and those creaky trees that sound like they're making kissing sounds.

Errands and New Friends

Fort Pickens Campground — Gulf Islands National Seashore (GINS), Florida
Temps: Lo 58F / Hi 66F (14C / 19C)

One day of blue skies and sunshine, and we’re back to clouds and mostly dreary conditions. We got a short break with the sun peeking through yesterday afternoon. Today, we added fog into the mix. We woke up to misty conditions that lasted through the day. Not once did the sun show itself.

So be it; good time for quiet walks on the beach, making plans for the next few months, running errands, and making new friends.

The map to the right shows the miles we logged with the toad yesterday — about 75 miles (120 km). Most of it was to run errands.

One thing about Florida — everything is spread out. Another thing about Florida — getting from the barrier islands to inland spots is not always a straightforward shot.

(1) Fort Pickens Campground … (2) American Home Base … (3) Commissary … (4) National Naval Aviation Museum … (5) Joe Patti’s …
(6) Back to the Campground.

We started out early yesterday morning with a drive to our “mailbox home” at American Home Base(AHB). We could have asked them to send our mail to us, but we figured we’d make an in-person call and say hi to our contact there as well. Since starting to fulltime, they’ve sent us our mail twice (on demand) and so far we have no reason to regret our decision to use them.

Next, we drove to the commissary to pick up a few things. Unlike most commissaries we’ve shopped at, this one is off-station and required a detour before the fun part of our day.

Shopping completed, it was onto the National Naval Aviation Museum, located on Naval Air Station Pensacola. Although the Navy Lodge we stayed at in September is practically across the street from the museum, our time was limited and we didn’t get a chance to visit it then. Since running errands took longer than expected, our plans to tour the facility today didn’t quite work out as expected either. So we’re 0 for 2 for this museum — which, by all accounts, is not to be missed. Perhaps third time will be the charm.

In the universal language of all aviators, a WWII pilot relives his flight with naval
aviators from his past and future.
L to R: WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm.

The trip to the museum was far from a waste, however. One of the reasons we were there was to keep a lunch date with new friends. Ron and Ina, soon-to-be fulltimers from Woodbridge, Virginia, reached out to us soon after we arrived at Fort Pickens. Since they’re snowbirding it at the Blue Angel Rec Area (military campground), the Historic Cubi Bar Café at the museum made for a convenient meet-up location.

We sat in the open area overlooking the restored planes in the “early aircraft” display area. In hindsight, we probably should have sat inside for a step-back into history. You see, the café is not just an eatery, but an exhibit in its own right. The décor and layout apparently duplicates the bar of the famous Cubi Point Officers’ Club in Subic Bay (Philippines). During the Vietnam conflict, the squadrons began a tradition of placing plaques in the bar. When the club was closed in 1992, those plaques were moved here and placed exactly as they had been at Cubi Point.

The café is filled with memorabilia from the original Cubi Bar.
[collage from photos courtesy of the website]

The menu offers a simple, but tasty selection of soups, salads, sandwiches, and paninis. I was happy with the Half Aviator’s Choice and Cup of Soup (in my case, ham on whole wheat and Italian wedding soup); Mui ordered the Barrel Roll — a panini consisting of sliced deli ham and warm pulled pork, dill pickle slices, and Swiss cheese.

Thanks, Ron and Ina, for treating us to lunch; next time we meet up, lunch is on us.

We debated spending the afternoon at the museum, but hints of blue sky encouraged us to deviate from our plans. Well, that and the lure of Joe Patti’s seafood market. We had heard of this place from several people, and now that we’ve been, we understand why it is so highly recommended. We picked up some salmon — part of which we had for lunch today; and a couple pounds of shrimp. We will go back to fill up our freezer before we leave the area. And to have more of the excellent gelato also sold at Joe Patti’s ;-)

No photos from inside; but here’s one from outside the hangar-like market building.

By the time we arrived at the campground, the sun was out and the patches of blue showing between the clouds were on the increase. So, we quickly put the groceries away and went for a short walk that turned into a long walk. We started out on Pensacola Beach, walked up to and through the group camping area, and strolled back via the gulf-side beach. The sun went into hiding halfway through our walk, but we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless.

We saw another nine-banded armadillo near the campground, but it was too fast for me. So, here’s the sum total of my wildlife photos from yesterday … didn’t take the camera out today.

The brown pelican was at the pier at Joe Patti’s; the Great Blue Heron (probably a male
preparing the nest for this year’s mating season) was not far from the campground.

Although I didn’t take the camera out today, we did go out. We didn’t stray far from the campground, opting to create our own trail by walking the Blackbird Marsh trail, connecting to the gulf-side beach via the loop A access, wandering all the way to Battery Cooper, and returning via an inland trail we happened upon that took us by Battery Worth before it dropped us into loop B in our section of the campground.

Tomorrow’s weather forecast is iffy. There are storms moving in from the west that might bring rain. On the other hand, the front may wiggle and by-pass us. So, we’re in wait-and-see mode as far as any sightseeing is concerned.

Vicariously

I'm going to post pictures of Morgan's bike race, because when you're married sometimes you think and feel like you were there even know you really weren't, because well... you're married and stuff.


I'm going to post pictures of Morgan's bike race because I really wanted to be there.

I'm going to post pictures of Morgan's bike race because of stuff like this...



I'm going to post pictures of Morgan's bike race because they won iron balls and they called themselves "Team Quatros Machos Saquatchos".

I'm going to post pictures of Morgan's bike race because men who race single speed mountain bikes and win are super sexy. Quien es mas macho?

Trail Work - Wabash Trace

It was a warm but windy yesterday. Really wanted to ride, but not ready to buck the wind. Greg was assembling a crew to work on the Wabash Trace. I decide to fore go the ride and help get the Trace in ready for the riding season.
We divided up on 3 crews: 1) grading the trail surface 2) rack out tracks from the grader 3) tree/dead fall clearing.
Wish there was a way to stop damage of the trace caused by inconsiderate people - be they be bike riders, equestrians, or motorized (illegal) vehicles. Some sections need a lot of grading because of travel on the Trace when the surface is soft.

Spring Moose

I saw my first Moose of today. It was along Highway 1 near Finland, MN. We stared at each other for a couple of minutes before the Moose decided I was of no interest and wandered off into the woods.

Canyonlands & Arches - Take 2

When I got up (late again)yeserday, I was not sure what I was going to do. Knew that I did have to repack the car. Also wanted to clean up any other things I want to do/see. I decided to trek South to check out the Needles District of Canyonlands.

Stopped for a couple photos on the way to the park. Wilson Arch is along Rt 191. Enjoyed the scenery driving highway 211 to entrance. I was disappointed with the Needles district compared to Island in the Sky district. Only a couple view overlooks along the park drive. Stopped along the road to look at "Newspaper Rock".

I thought that during my last visit to the area, I had skipped Needles. After all, it was a long off the main highway. Now, I am not sure. Newspaper rock and the end of the park road seemed familiar.

Back in Moab, I was hungry. Stopped at Wendy's (hated to eat at a chain but was not looking for a sit-down meal. On up to Arches to see some places which were took crowded (it was Sunday). Took photos at the Windows Area and Park Avenue.

The one thing I did not get accomplished was riding Mill Creek Pathway

Today's photo was taken at the end of the Needles Scenic Drive. Now, packing up the room. Next stop is Torrey, UT.