Dumbest Police Department In The Nation!

The Cartoon Network ran an unconventional advertising scheme in several cities around the nation. They placed a lit-up cartoon character around to advertise one of their shows. Of the cities enjoying the madcap festivities, only in Bahston, Massahootsits did the police think that the lit-up cartoon character was a bomb. A bomb????? Are you kidding me????

I travel around a bit. I'd like to think the places I visit are not too dumb. To help out the Dumbest Police Department in the Nation™, I am running this quick seminar on cartoon bombs. Class, pay attention:

Bomb.



Bomb.


Not a Bomb.

Thanks. It's the least I can do to help the terminally dumb.

Austria, Germany, and Amsterdam, Several Years Ago

Innsbruck, Austria! These pictures were taken before the era of digital cameras by a rank amateur - me! So please excuse the slightly off-color images. If I ever get a good photo improving program, I'll see about cleaning these pictures up just a bit.

The River 'Inn'.


It's easy to walk in Europe. Pedestrian pathways are found everywhere, even between towns. That's what keeps these elderly gents from getting fat!

View from the Sporthotel Penz, in suburban Innsbruck.


Biergarten near Innsbruck. I can almost taste them hops.

Speakin' of hops. Best bier in the mountains! Of course, it don't hold a candle to Lone Star Bier, er, Beer!

Sometimes I can't figure out the street signs.

These are my kinda condos!

The condo we're at in the USA looks a lot like this!

Gotta move the car outta the way. Parade coming!

It's Sunday. And they're marching to church!

The choirboys follow the procession to church. Anyone know why they parade to church? This was in a mountain village known as Seefeld.

The market in Hall-in-Tirol, Austria. Early in the morning.

I'll bet she's thinking, "Tourists!"

That's a tall bridge! There's a village in the valley below.

A high valley in Austria. Or, was it Germany?

Dunno why. I just like this picture.

There are many old churches in Germany and Austria.

Amsterdam! 'The Venice of the North'. Unlike Venice, Italy, this city is not sinking. There are miles of row houses with narrow streets on a canal.

The first thing you gotta do, before looking at the red light district or the pot-filled bars, is to ride a boat on one of the canals.

It must be interesting living on the waterways in Amsterdam. This is a really old bridge. It's probably kept in place for the benefit of tourists!

Electric light rail is starting to make a comeback in cities such as Dallas and Houston, but Europe has had 'em for decades.

The Centraal train station. One of the busiest rail stations anywhere.

People love to congregate in the many plazas in the city. Everyone is younger than me.

Our hotel for this brief visit to Amsterdam.

I took this picture because it was the first time I'd seen small florescent light bulbs! They started in Europe (made by Philips) and are slowly catching on here. The light from these bulbs is brighter now than in those earlier days of the late 1980s. I use them.

We've made several trips to Austria, Germany, and Amsterdam. On those trips, we'd also visit Venice. Alas, the visits to Amsterdam were less than 24 hours. We're hoping to spend more time there sometime in the future. As I get the old photos of the other trips loaded into the ol' eMac, I'll upload 'em here for your eddyfication!

Please Accept My Humble, Humble Apology.

The previous two posts probably have caused untold pain and anguish to the many tens of people who look at this blog expecting to see pictures of travels and fun rv'in'. If you are one of the many one or two humorless people who might have been psychologically scarred by the pictures and are seeking legal counsel hoping to earn millions of dollars in our lawyer infested society so that you can live on an island near Fiji, please accept my humble apologies!

Oh, and I probably don't have anything you want, anyway!

Happy Holidaze, Too

Happy Holidaze!

Clash of the Titans Weekend

Hope everyone's had a good Thanksgivings Day and hope that you've not OD'd on bird! The weather down heah in Tejas was just marvelous over the holiday, so we decided that we needed to get outta town for a quick three day sojourn to blow a little stink off.

Alas, I waited too long to book reservations at nearby state parks (who knew that everyone else would wanna leave town over the holiday, heh heh). Luckily, I found a nifty KOA just east of town along I10. If you are ever RVing in the area, I recommend KOA Houston East. It's really nice, with grassy sites and paved roads. Neat and trim doesn't begin to describe this purdy place.

The pool was actually open! A nice, sunny spot.

There's a nice green area for goofin' off.

As always, there's Kabins for them's without RVs.

Pleasant RV sites!

While sitting having a sip of wine Friday evening, I noticed that there was the sound of engines revving in the distance. I inquired at the KOA office and was advised there was a drag strip a few minutes away. So, on Saturday, we enjoyed something called "The clash of the Titans". Seems that this was the championship for this type of drag racing. There were professional teams and amateurs with outrageous Mustangs, Camaros, and other cars making all kinds of racket! What fun!

This guy was a winner.

I forgot my camera, so these pictures are from the following websites. Feel free to visit them!
KOA
HOUSTON RACEWAY PARK
OUTLAW STREET CAR NATIONALS

Fixin' Up The House

I'm recovering from a late-summer cold, of all things, so I'll take a moment to update the ol' blog.

We've spent the past couple of months surveying potential livin' quarters to buy in the near downtown area, and so far, the results have kinda been predictable. We've seen hirise condos, townhouses, and low-rise condos that are either too small, too expensive, or both. Sheesh! And, I gotta admit, the suburbs are cleaner than the areas that are supposed to be hot stuff near downtown.

With that in mind, we're renovating the interior of the suburban palace. If someplace else comes along to acquire, then the palace will be ready to sell. If not, we'll be moving back into our big 'ol circa 1975 place.

The kitchen and master bath have already been upgraded nicely. We've fixed up the upstairs bath, and now the front livin' and dinin' room. Next on the list is new paint 'n carpet for the den, carpet for the master bedroom, and new flooring for the entry.

Gotta admit, the ol' place will look sharp! Once this stuff is did, back to motoryhoming.

Livin' room

Dinin' Area

Harborside at Galveston

Recently had some relatives-by-marriage over for a visit, and we traveled down to Galveston. Here's a review I posted for the Harbor House Hotel:

I originally called the Galvez Hotel in Galveston, but they were booked for the two nights we wished to stay. The Galvez and the Harbor House are both owned by Wyndham Hotels, so they were able to book us into The Harbor House immediately.

Upon arrival in Galveston, we roasted on the beach. I telephoned ahead and discovered that, while check-in time is 4:00pm, they would be able to accommodate our party of 7 folks in two rooms at any time.

Both rooms were clean and the furnishings were free of excess wear. There is a microwave, small fridge, and tv in the wardrobe. Our room was quite large, with a sofa, comfy chair, lamps with three-way bulbs, coffee table, writing table with two large chairs, and soft beds. Regular and decaf coffee and tea were available each day. The room had exposed beams, a wood ceiling, and plenty of closet space. The walls are painted a soft golden color. I was happy to see that the windows open, so that you can enjoy the ambient sounds of the small yacht basin and harbor.

Each morning, we found a nice continental breakfast waiting in a 2nd floor living room near the elevator. The only problem I'm aware of is that the continental breakfast did not have butter available for one patron who loudly exclaimed his disappointment at putting jelly on his bagel.

There is an astronomically-expensive seafood restaurant beside this hotel; but dozens of other restaurants, boogy bars, and shops are a very short walk away.

If you love to comfortably watch harbor action and see cruise ships, yachts, shrimpers, and off shore oil rigs in drydock, this is the place for you! We've been there once before, and we'll go there again!
TripAdvisor.com

Movin' Into The City

Rising gas prices, lengthening drive times to work and play, declining quality of life..... the 'burbs are beginning to suck bigtime. So, time to move back into the city! We're renting a condo for awhile until we find a good one to buy. Here's some pictures of our current digs.

We decided on some amazingly comfortable and inexpensive sitting furniture from Ikea. The table is a relic from the early 1970's.

Beds from Ikea, an ol' quilt make for comfy sleeping. The 'puter is on a rolling table and can be used anywhere. Cats optional.

The walls between the condos, and even between the individual rooms, are cement! Great for sound-proofing!

Lots of shelving from Scandinavia keep the books, magazines, cloth swathes, and videos in some form of organization. You should see all the stuff that is still at the house in the 'burbs. Garage sale coming!

Cookin' them chops in the kitchen. That's eatin'!

Did I mention that cats are optional? Actually, we couldn't do without 'em.

S-10 Workhorse

Well, looks like a good thing that I spent that small fortune fixing up the ol' pickuptruck. It's been a real workhorse this past week, as the family 'n me relocate to a more central location in town. It's time to abandon the 'burbs for the inner city!

A nice hirise condo is just what the medicine man ordered. Yoo betcha!