House Update (Tuesday, May 10th, 2016)

We had a chance to go down and check on the kids house again, so of course we took advantage of it. 

When we got there it was raining, so we decided to make a small detour while we were waiting for the rain to stop.  There's a guitar store in downtown Colorado Springs called Tejon Street Music that Steve has been wanting to visit, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity.  From the reviews on it, he was afraid that it was going to be a very upper-end, intimidating type of store where he's afraid to play anything, but to his surprise it wasn't at all.  

It is a family owned store that has been on Tejon Street, run by the same family for the last 40 years.  When we walked in, there were signs on all of the guitars requesting that you ask for assistance, but the son immediately came out and told us to try anything we like and said that if we had any questions to just let him know.  He then went back behind the counter and kept himself busy while Steve tried out a few of the guitars.  Steve asked him questions on several occasions, and he was very knowledgeable. They had a great selection of both guitars and banjos, in fact they are the only music store in Colorado that carries carbon fiber guitars.

When we finished at the music store, it had stopped raining, so we headed back to the kids new neighborhood.  Their house is truly becoming a house inside and out!  We weren't able to really get inside this time because there was so much activity going on, but we were able to get a few pictures through windows and doors to show them the progress. Its getting exciting!  The exterior is completely done, except for the stone, and the interior is at sheet rock stage.  

Happy Mother's Day (Sunday, May 8th, 2016)

This Mother's Day was one of the best I can remember.  It was the perfect day, with only one big thing missing, our son (in-law), who after almost a year is still in Georgia finishing up his training.  

We started out the day with a brunch at our house to celebrate some of the moms in our lives.  It wasn't a big elaborate brunch, just a nice easy meal, which gave us a chance to enjoy the people that were able to join us.  Our youngest daughter wasn't able to come this morning because next week is finals week at CSU, and she is spending the day studying. She couldn't afford 3 hours on the road on such a critical day.

Once everyone had left and we took a few minutes to clean up, we headed to our favorite Thai restaurant to pick up a take out order of our favorite Thai dishes, Tom Ka soup and some curries.  We packed it into the car, and headed to Fort Collins.  Our youngest daughter said that although she couldn't make the drive down to Denver, she could certainly take a short break on Mother's Day, and we had the perfect plan.  

The weather has been gloomy since we returned to Colorado, but today seemed a bit warmer, so we picked our daughter up and headed to the park near her house.  

A yummy little Thai picnic in the park!

Our youngest daughter's boyfriend is also studying hard for finals, so he didn't go home for mother's day either.  So after lunch, we swung by to pick him up and we all went out for some frozen yogurt for dessert.  If only our son (in-law) could have joined us, it would have been the perfect day.  But this is close to perfect, and I'll take it!

When we finished our yogurt, we dropped our youngest daughter's boyfriend off at his house, and took our daughter back to her apartment.  We had some gluten free food for her, so we ran it up to her apartment, and as we were getting in the car, she yelled down to us that we had forgotten our cooler.  So I headed up to retrieve it, but they called me back.  They had a better plan.

These silly girls always make me laugh!  That's why I love them so much!

Another Exciting CU Graduation (May 6th, 2016)

Congratulations to our niece!  It's another exciting day in our family as we prepare for the graduation of our niece from the CU School of Engineering.  

It is a full house at the CU Coors Event Center!

Dean Davis presided over the celebration, just as he did for our daughter's graduation in December (see our December 18th, 2015 post). The only difference is that this time he wasn't wearing a Santa hat.

Our niece with her parents

We are so proud of our niece!!!  She now starts her professional life.  We wish her all the best!

A cloudy day in Boulder, Colorado.  But graduations here are known for rain.

The Boulder Flat Irons on Graduation Day

18 Tires (May 4th, 2016)

We just finished a terrific month in Lake Havasu City, as part of our quest to go places and stay a little longer.  It really gave us a chance to relax a little more and enjoy the little things; something that we haven't taken advantage of for many years.

However, it wasn't all relaxation and enjoying this trip as luck really wasn't on our side.  On a high note though, we have learned a lot about buying tires!  But with that said, let me start at the beginning.

The night before we were leaving for Lake Havasu City, we had planned on going to Fort Collins to visit our youngest daughter.  As we headed north, we got a little too close to the shoulder, and Pop! Pop!  Not one, but two tires hit a pot hole.  We got out to assess the damage and quickly realized that we weren't going to make it home on one spare tire, so we called a tow truck, who graciously (and for a small fee, of course) towed our car home and put it in the garage for us.  As Steve looked further, the rims were also badly bent, so we would also need two new rims.  Not great timing since we needed to leave for Lake Havasu City the next day, but we decided we would make it work.

The good news in all of this is that our youngest daughter decided that if we couldn't come up to see her, she would come down and see us.  So we got to spend an wonderful evening with both of our girls before we left for our little get away.

Steve got up early the next morning and headed to Costco because that's where we originally purchased the car tires.  The guy at Costco said that he had good news and bad news.  The good news was that Costco has automatic road hazard warranty on all their tires, so he gauged our tires and said that there was 75% tread remaining.  That means that we would only have to pay 25% for the two tires that hit the pot holes.

The bad news was..... They no longer carried the tire that we needed, and since our car is all wheel drive, all four tires have to match, so we were going to have to get four new tires, not just two. But then the guy at Costco continued and said he had more good news..... since they no longer carry our tires, they would cover the cost of the other two tires that have to be replaced as well as the mounting and balancing.  The bottom line, we paid $88 for four new tires.  Crazy!  A huge shout out to Costco Tire Center!!!

So at this point, the count is four tires and two rims.  Not what we had planned on, but not so bad.

So the next day, after stopping off with our oldest daughter to look at the progress on her house (see our post from Saturday, April 9th), we headed out for Lake Havasu in the truck, leaving the car behind in the garage, to wait for some help once we returned home.

We left our daughter's new house in the afternoon, which meant that we would be driving late into the night, so we took the well traveled route of I-25 south to I-40, and I-40 west to the Lake Havasu City turn off.  The entire trip was uneventful, as we like it, until we got just past Flagstaff, AZ.  As we were coming down the hill west of Flagstaff, we noticed that the truck was starting to shimmy.  I was driving so that Steve could rest a little bit, so I decided to change lanes and see if it was just the road, but unfortunately, changing lanes didn't help.  So we got out and looked, and sure enough, we had developed a bulge on one of the rear tires.  We had a spare along, so we decided to lower our speed and see how far we could make it.  To our surprise, the tire made it clear into Lake Havasu City and didn't leave us changing a tire on the side of the road in the middle of the night.

Shortly after we got into Lake Havasu City, Steve headed to Discount Tires (where we had purchased the truck tires), to see what they would do for us on this tire.  Unlike Costco tire road hazard warranty isn't included in the price so Steve had elected to not get it.  This just left the manufactures warranty.  The manufactures warranty gave us about 20% the price of a single tire and of course we needed at least two to keep the tire size the same on a given axle so Steve purchased two tires.  He complained a bit (he's not a complainer!) and Discount ended up giving us the mount and balance price off of one of the tires.  In contrast, if we would have purchased these tires from Costco we believe the second tire would have been totally free!!!  We wouldn't have purchased from Discount Tires and gone to Costco but the closest one is in Henderson, NV about 2 hours away and we just couldn't face the drive!

At this point, the count is now six tires and two rims.  Again, not what we had planned, but at least this tire didn't strand us on the side of the highway, in the middle of no where, in the middle of the night, so that was great!

A few days later, we took the boat out for a few hours and then put it back in the garage for the night. We had friends coming to visit (see our post from April 19th), so after a few weeks of sitting in the garage, we just wanted to make sure that the boat was running well for our friends.  And it was.....we love our boat! No problems at all.

So the next day, after a morning of hiking with our friends, we got the boat all loaded up for an afternoon on the lake. We started to pull it out of the garage, and quickly noticed that one of the tires on the boat trailer was flat.  No way, are you kidding?  Another flat tire?

So we aired it up, threw the air compressor into the back of the truck, and headed to the lake anyway. We weren't going to let this stop us!  We had a great day out on the lake, and when I walked up to get the boat trailer, the tire still had air in it.  I was so excited! So I pulled the trailer down and we loaded up the boat, and made it clear back to the house on that silly tire with no problem!

The next day, Steve started pulling the boat tires off, and realized that they were starting to crack and had chunks of rubber coming off of them.  They still had great tread, but we think the heat and dryness in Havasu must have taken a toll on them.  They were just rotting away.

Then, as Steve started looking at the wheels, he noticed that although the outside of them looked great, the insides were really rusted and were corroding.  That's not good.  So once again, it looked like we were going to be replacing more tires.  The more he looked, the more problems he found. And since it is a tri-axle trailer, it requires six tires plus the spare, which makes seven.

At this point, the count is now thirteen tires and nine rims.  Again, not what we had planned, but at least we had a great time with our friends, and the one flat tire on the boat trailer didn't ruin our day!

We went through the rest of our time in Havasu without any more tire problems.  We took time to enjoy the small stuff like sunset and lightening storms, and truly enjoyed our stay.

As we got ready to leave Havasu and return home, Steve started getting our utility trailer ready for the trip home.  We are bringing it home so that we can help our kids move once their new house is ready.  Steve checked all of the tires on the utility trailer and surprising, they all looked great, no cracks, no chunks falling out, and the rims looked good too.  But since our luck so far this month had not been great, we ran out and picked up a bottle jack just in case.  Steve threw the bottle jack in the back of the truck, and off we went again.  Pulling the trailer behind us, back to Colorado.

Our entire trip home was uneventful, until we got just past Trinidad, in southern Colorado, and poof! There went one of the trailer tires.  So we got to the side of the road as quickly as we could, and sure enough, it wasn't only flat, it was shredded.  Steve mumbled a few choice words under his breath, but managed to stay impressively calm.  He pulled out his brand spanking new bottle jack and jacked up the utility trailer and put on the spare.  We still had about 170 miles to go to get home, so this wasn't good.  Once again, we reduced our speed (since we no longer had a spare trailer tire), and continued on our way, as everyone whipped by us on I-25.  Steve didn't talk much the rest of the trip.  The only thing he said was.  I'm not kidding around this time!  I'm replacing all of the tires on this trailer when we get home.  I'm not taking a chance of another flat tire while we are moving the kids.
    
Since the utility trailer has dual axles, it requires four tires.  So at this point, the count is now seventeen tires and nine rims.  Again, not what we had planned, but at least we got home safe and sound. And shortly after we got home, we bought four new tires for the utility trailer.  And the best news....we've replaced every tire on every vehicle we own, so we can't have any more flat tires, Right?

Well, you've probable figured out from the title of this post that there must be one more tire somewhere.

A few days after we got home from Havasu, our son (in-law) moved back home with the help of his dad.  They made it all the way from Georgia to Colorado with no problems.  But as our son (in-law) and daughter were heading out for their first dinner date in almost a year, it happened.  Tire number 18 decided to give out. Our son (in-law) quickly changed the tire and they were once again off to their much deserved dinner date.  Unfortunately the tire was destroyed so it also needed to be replaced!

The count is now eighteen tires and nine rims.  Again, not what any of us had planned, but at least our son (in-law) and his dad made it home safe from Georgia before that last tire decided to blow.  We didn't want to replace 18 tires in less than a month, but sometimes life isn't fair.  We're just glad that no one was ever stranded and our son (in-law) didn't have to unload all of his worldly belongings on the side of a lonesome highway, in the middle of no where, to get to his spare tire as he was trying to get home to Colorado.  Life is good!

LHC Desert Storm Poker Run (Friday, April 29th, 2016)

We woke up this morning excited for the Desert Storm Poker Run.  For those of you who are not familiar with poker runs, it is a race (of sorts) down the lake.  There are five stations along the lake where the "racers" will each pick up a playing card.  The first station is at the far end of the lake, so the racers run down the lake at top speed to pickup their first card.  They then make their way back up the lake, stopping at the remaining stations to pick up their other four cards.  

The rules and card stops shown in the program

Lake Havasu is one of the few lakes in the U.S. that does not have a speed limit, so it is perfect for poker runs.  It gives the "racers" a chance to really enjoy the speed of their boats.  The object of the poker run is to have the best poker hand at the end of the night. When the "race" is over, the "racers" will have the option to buy additional cards to try to improve their hand.  The entire event is a funraiser for the community and its' charities.

As spectators, we always find a spot along the "race" route, where we anchor and watch the amazing boats go by at full speed.

Steve and I were on Tim and Cheryl's boat (Thanks guys for inviting us!) along with Brian and his sister Shawna, and then Alan and Linda come to our same little cove and tied up to us.  It was fun to have everyone in one place to enjoy the day.

The helicopters fly with the boats and take pictures during the poker run.  The boats actually out run the Helicopters.  Crazy!

The boat in the foreground was anchored like us, but this pictures shows about six of the poker run boats coming around the corner ahead of us.

It is hard to tell but we believe that many of the boats in the above pictures are going well in excess of 100 MPH.  Some are likely going 140+  MPH.  Crazy speed on the water!!!

Once most of the poker run boats had gone to stop one and were coming back up the lake, we headed to Havasu Springs Resort to grab a great hamburger and beer for lunch.  Then we boated back to the channel to do a little boat and people watching. 

The red and yellow "car" is called an amphibean.  It can run on land or water.

Brian, Steve and Tim watching all the craziness

Notice the boat parked directly across from us in the channel.  Those are the biggest Mardi Gras beads I have ever seen!

After a big day on the lake, it was time to go home and relax. Tomorrow will be the Desert Storm Shootout, where the "racers" will have a chance to see how fast their boats will really go.  As we understand it the boat Low Altitude (See previous post) was the fasted boat on the lake.  A whooping 193 MPH!  

The picture below shows the shootout course near the island.

A picture of the shootout course from the program

Most of our friends are going to the shootout, but I need to work, so we will be staying home.

LHC Desert Storm Street Fair (Thursday, April 28th, 2016)

Each year, Lake Havasu kicks off their boating season with the Desert Storm Poker Run.  It is a four day event with non-stop activities, most of which are centered around boating.  We don't go to all of the events, but we definitely try to hit the street fair and the actual poker run if at all possible.  It is an opportunity to see some of the most amazing speedboats in one place all at the same time.

The cover of this year's program

Schedule of 2016 Desert Storm activities

The street fair was Thursday, and gave the poker run racers a chance to show off their beautiful boats to all of Lake Havasu City and its visitors.  The vehicles that are required to pull some of these boats are almost as impressive as the boats themselves.

Many of the boats that visit Lake Havasu during the poker run exceed the 8' 6" width limit for the roads, therefore in order to trailer them to Lake Havasu, they have to either pay wide load fees and abide by the associated limitations, or they can be tilted on a hydraulic trailer and therefore fall within the 8' 6" restriction.  The next boat is one of these.  They are using a hydraulic trail to tilt the boat which makes it not only road compliant, but also makes it much easier to display at the street party.

Alan and Steve posing in front of one of the poker run boats

This boat has two jet engines in it!

Crazy!  Three engines!

Not a boat, but super cool!

Front view of one of the boats!

The helicopters for Speedboat Magazine is also here.  They photograph the boats as they speed down the lake

We spent the morning with our  Alan and Linda at the street fair, and then came back in the evening with Tim and Cheryl and Brian and Kathy.  At night a lot of the boats are lit up for better viewing.

Jet engines that are in Low Altitude!

We have to laugh at our friends.  Alan and Linda are VERY into boats, so we spent four hours going through the street fair with them.  We looked at every detail of every boat in detail.  

Our evening friends were more into the idea of getting out and enjoying the evening.  With them, we saw the entire street fair in about 45 minutes.  We had a great time with both and are looking forward to the poker run tomorrow.