I’m writing from the Tires Plus near the house today. The Subaru has started to make ominous squealing noises when I turn left, and I’m wondering if I may be up for some brake work. It actually began several weeks ago, and I was more than a little concerned last weekend when I was tooling down twisty mountain roads in NC and TN and wondering – not for the first time – what I could do if my brakes failed. I think I’ve mentioned that the car doesn’t have a mechanical emergency brake. It’s got a button that electronically turns on the parking brake, and it doesn’t work if the car is moving.
I really wonder who’d design something like that.
So I’m sitting here and letting them figure out what the problem might be. Might also need a tire or two. Or four. Who knows? At any rate, camping. Brett and I drove up to Joyce Kilmer last Friday morning and spent the night in one of our favorite spots on the Santeetlah, giving me a chance finally to try out my new car camping setup. It worked very well. I’ve got a Napier Sportz Cove for the car, which is a great size for short trips (maybe longer ones if I combine it with my Noah’s Tarp). With the Cove installed and two “don’t let the sun hit my kids” pantyhose over the rear windows, the car is essentially turned into a large screen room. I also picked up a nice thick memory foam mattress for the back of the car. Everything together worked great, and I slept like a dead man on Friday night.
Saturday, we’d planned to hike up to Bob Bald and spend the night there, but Brett wanted to check out Whiggs Bald first, so we drove up to it. A terrible, horrible, very bad drive indeed, which lasted for a bit more than 6 miles – and had me really thinking about those brakes – but we finally pulled into a clearing near the bald (the end of the road), and it was incredible. After a very short hike (maybe 200 yards), we found a fantastic place to set up tents and settled in. 360-degree views from the bald, creeks, a pond, and a very nice portion of the Benton McKay trail make this place a must-go-again destination for me.
Saturday was beautiful, weather-wise. Bright sun (I got burned), but not too hot, and a non-stop breeze that developed into pretty strong winds by Saturday night. Slept very well in the tent, though I have to admit that, once the sun went down, it got a bit chilly. Brett, assisted by a healthy dose of Jamison’s, curled up in his sleeping bag on the ground and slept in the open all night. Not sure how he didn’t freeze to death, but it probably helped that his new puppy, Luke, was in the bag with him.
I awoke fairly early on Sunday morning and took a nice walk on the BK trail. Walked down the mountain for two miles or so, then turned around and went back to the campsite. Got me thinking that I may be able to find a more car-accessible trailhead and get to the bald by hiking up from below on the BMT.
…..later…..
It is now Saturday, May 19th, and I’m just getting back to this post that I began at Tires Plus two weeks ago. The problem with the car ended up with me needing new brakes, tie rod ends, and (I think) rotors. Set me back about $850, which wasn’t at all thrilling. I was no more thrilled when, a few days later, half of the outlets in my master bedroom – as well as that room’s ceiling fan – stopped working after I unplugged and then re-plugged my television. Not a breaker situation, and I don’t mess with wires inside the walls, so I had my first experience with an electrician. He was a nice kid, knew what he was doing, and ended up replacing all of the outlets and switches in my bedroom and bathroom (and did something so that they’re not tied to each other any more) and happily lightening me by another $750.
That tax refund was fun while it lasted.
The GBB played a concert with the Atlanta Wind Symphony, a group with which I once played, last Saturday – both groups did well, although the gig was in Kennesaw, so it was pretty much an all-day thing for me. On Sunday (Mothers Day), Jenny and I went to a AAA baseball game here in Duluth with her Dad and one of her neighbors. It was a nice day and the game was pretty good. It also took most of my day, though. I’d hoped to get a bit more work done around the house. I need to finish clearing out my guest bedroom so that Dianne can use it in a couple of weeks, and I’m still emptying out my garage and music room. Will be taking up those projects again this weekend, although we’ve gotten so much rain in the last week that I also need to mow the lawns again (if it doesn’t rain today).
I did finally reserve a hotel in Chattanooga for the week that I’ll be working up there (Memorial Day week). Another $700, but at least I’ll get reimbursed for that. It is months like this one that make me really miss the checks that I was getting from AT&T. I have indeed learned to live on 50% of what I was making, but little surprises are no longer “little” when they happen.
And I guess that that’s all the news that’s fit to print for now. Have a happy day.