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 Being Retired now, I thought that it was time for a new name to this Blog |
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Talk about perks, my career had one of the best I can think of! I traveled in the course of business, delivering classes for my employer. I was a Senior Training Specialist for Motorola Solutions, and taught classes on a wide variety of subjects centered around 2-way radio communications. I knew that when the time arrived that I would retire, and I have. I've always said that if you can't stand the heat in the kitchen, get out! I can't handle the heat anymore. I was qualified to deliver approximately 32 different classes, but about half of those were 'Legacy' classes, and were not in demand anymore. My students were technicians, those who maintained, programmed, calibrated, and repaired large 2-way radio systems. Some of these systems are statewide, and use TCP-IP networking to allow sites to communicate with others. Some are small, traditional type radio sites. The size doesn't matter, in each case the systems must be kept operational at all times, since many of them are Public Safety Systems. So I traveled, sometimes frequently, 3-4 weeks in a row.... where have I been? Some of the places I've been (I can't list them all here, the list would be toio long) are pretty interesting. 1. Hawaii - Four times, Oahu, Maui (twice), and the Big Island 2. BangkokThailand, twice 3. Frankfurt Germany, twice 4. Algiers, Algeria 5. Melbourne Australia 6. Bismarck North Dakota, Summer & Winter 7. Los Angeles, Too many times to count 8. Washington DC, Too many times to count 9. Seattle three or four times 10. Texas, all over the state 11. Florida, all over the state 12. New Mexico, HOME! Several times  Best Cultural And Regional Honorable Mention |
Road Trip (The Best Laid Plans Of Mice & Men) One of my favorite phrases is "The Best Laid Plans Of Mice & Men...." from Robert Burns' poem "To a Mouse". To me, it means that no matter how well you plan something, Murphy's Law is likely to step in. Let me tell you the complete story. We've been considering the purchase of a Motorhome for quite a while really. We've vacillated between getting one and not getting one. Neither of us are big on camping or getting out a lot. We're both in our 70's now, so hiking anywhere is almost a no-go, at least for her. As far as I go, let's just say I'd be the turtle in the Tortoise & Hare race. But we finally decided to get serious, and have been looking for a couple of weeks now. I wanted to start small, in fact I wanted a Class B+, a camper van. Somehow she got hooked on a 24 foot Concorde Motorhome in Holland Michigan, and wanted to go see it. So Monday was the day. I wanted to stay overnight in Holland (I was there twice on business), and see things I saw years ago, and anything new too. We packed things up for this overnight stay and loaded us and the dogs into my van, off we went. It was a decent drive, but honestly, it seemed the drivers in Michigan had imbibed in a little too much.... Even though it was the middle of the day. That, or they were just out to get us. I doubt either is true, but Wow.... We arrived at 4:30, the place closed at 5. As I walked to the door, I met a salesman and gave him the name of the man I'd been in contact with (Josh). He asked if I was there to see the Concorde. I replied yep, and he said, "It was sold this morning!" Is there a need for me to tell you how I felt at that moment? So I went back to the van and told my wife what I had learned. Yeah, her reaction was the same as mine, but stronger. The biggest issue I had was Josh knew we were coming up Monday, knew it was a 4 hour drive, and never sent me a message about it being sold. We opted to leave immediately, and decided to head down to Logansport Indiana. From there, we would either head home, or spend the night. That drive was uneventful at least. We ended up staying overnight in Logansport, only to find that most restaurants were closed on Monday. I know that's a thing for smaller towns, but had forgotten it was Monday. C'mon, I'm retired now, the days run together... Buffalo Wild Wings it was for dinner. The next mornin we headed to Indianapolis to visit Braun's Fun Time Campers. They had a 2012 24 foot Winnebago View Profile Motorhome, as well as a 2005 Pleasure Way Van (Class B+) listed. Yes, I double checked this time. A quick check of them both at the dealership was enough, the Pleasure Way is a bit too old for my liking, undecided on the Winnebago. Either way, I thought we'd cut our losses and head home. That drive was pleasant, as pleasant as can be. Ahhh, The Best Laid Plans Of Mice & Men. So we didn't even test drive one, let alone see what we could get as far as pricing goes. The hunt continues.... Next up is a 2009 Pleasure Way Ascent TS in Champaign Illinois. It has a 3.0L V6 Turbo Diesel, it should be interesting. It looks very nice really, does not require the use of DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid), since that's only required on 2010 or later engines. She's asking $59,000 for it, I'd like to spend no more than $50,000. We'll see. |
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