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Showing posts from February, 2025

First Cruise of the Year (44-1 Annual)

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 Historically, wife and I have not been big proponents of Cruises, but I'm slowly changing/adapting.  Our first was way back in '04 and not a great experience.  If fact , it's what got me looking into All Inclusive Resorts at destinations.  Then we did one ages ago out of Galveston and had a good time.  Third was out of Ft Lauderdale and we actually brought our motorcycle (!!!)  ( Link HERE) ...   that was a good time overall (but had some drama I blogged about).  Then this past October did the High Seas Rally Cruise out of Tampa and had a great time (Link HERE ).  Well, I came upon a cruise being pushed by CVMA Chapter 44-1 out of Gulfport MS, departing from NOLA that caught my attention.   Soon, we were booked.  Then, I advertised it to Friends , Family and my local CVMA Chapter.  When the smoke cleared, our group was larger than all others attending which surprised me.  In fact, a notch disappointed in that a...

Dangerous Amigos....

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 Well .. sort of.  Close friends of us have retired and ....  finding their groove.   They've gotten used to the new retirement level income and not having to touch ... the stash ( you know, 401k/IRA, etc).   They just paid off the mortgage on their home so there's a 'pay raise' in itself.  Now, he's all in when I joke about the next trip ....   dangerous!    Had a few drinks today over lunch and he's like.. LETS GO!   Killing me. Problem is ... my schedule is crazy right now.  I swear, every month of this year I've gotten something planned ... Mexico, CVMA, Jeep related, Hawaii, Arizona, Georgia, more CVMA, MS home ...   this is crazy!  Then I've got the work trips in the mix to keep my stress levels up there on the edge. Starting to question the ol' sanity ........ I've always been a handful, but now got ol Mark n' Nancy catching the bug.  Could be a crazy year! well... not this kind of dang...

Vaca 'budget' ...

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 Okay .....   call it what you want.  When we go on Vaca a few times a year, normally get a few extra bux, bring it along and inevitably they find their way back into a safe place for the next one .. and the next one.  I had a stash of $2s in my gun safe but damned if it didn't jam up on me and I couldn't get them out.  Last trip left w/o my $2s.  Mama has been busting my balls to bring them on the next trip out there so ... FINALLY ...   got 'em out!    New 9V battery ....  makes pretty noises.  But couldn't get that handle to turn for the life of me.  Did some search on the 'net for answers/help and ...  relied on the brute force method.  Literally, pounded on each corner of the door to help with the latches and ....   lo and behold, it unlatched and opened.  Magic!  hahaha.  Have to admit, I was starting to wonder how much that was going to cost to 'break in' to the safe and have ...