Adventures with Lyndsey – Page 2

Giving In

I purchased a new dishwasher, which led into me replacing my kitchen floor. I didn’t want to put this nice appliance in with such a hideous floor, one that had been there since quite possibly the mid 1980’s.

I take pride in my abilities to do manual labor, but my body has been saying no to such ventures more and more to the point where I just need to stop trying and start giving into what my body is telling me.

The existing floor is (or should I say was) was compromised of two layers of linoleum. Full of bumps and holes and all of the bad parts of the 80’s. I first wanted to go with a classic black and white checkerboard look. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a supplier that had what I was looking for that was as durable as I wanted. That’s when I made the choice to upgrade to tile, an area that I’ve never worked in before.

We found a tile we liked, and since my girlfriend’s place has a tile kitchen I knew I wanted it to have a heating system. So I pulled a very expensive trigger.

I wanted to do the prep work, so they could just come in and lay the tile. I “thought” I was proceeding properly, but learned yesterday I was wrong. Part of our contract was for me to remove the appliances, trim and ensure the subfloor was at least 5/8″ thick. I missed a little detail though. They wanted it to be in OSB.

The subfloor of my entire home is comprised of what is commonly called chipboard. It’s essentially dust from woodworking that’s glued together and compressed to form a dimensional, workable piece of wood. It has a couple of real negatives. Water will cause it to disintegrate, and it isn’t as solid as other forms of sub flooring, something needed and in most cases required for tile.

My first step in preparing the area was to remove the way the water line for the ice maker was configured and install a “box” in the wall for it. Oddly, while doing this I discovered that someone had already drilled a hole for this purpose but never completed the task. Someone had just drilled a hole in the floor and ran a line through it.

I will fix the additional space I had to cut below after the tile is installed

Last weekend, I began the real preparations as I thought they would be. My neighbor helped me pickup some 4’x8′ sheets of 1/4″ luan plywood. This is commonly used to make flooring smoother or increase the thickness of the floor. I was using it for the latter purpose.

I removed all of the appliances, sans the dishwasher and was going to begin on removing the existing flooring on Saturday morning. I woke to discover my wonderful girlfriend had removed the vast majority of it while I was sleeping.

We both felt that the lower layer of flooring was much better looking than the one above it. I wonder why they put new flooring down that was less durable and definitely not as visually pleasing?

I took all of the old stuff downstairs, and cleaned the floor. We noticed some spots seemed to have black mold on them, probably from water leaks over the years. So I bought some mold killing sprays and sprayed them down.

Then I brought that luan up and called it a night. I only had 1 day left, but those activities alone had taken all the strength I had out of me. My injured back was also screaming at me.

So I laid 2 sheets of the luan down, removed the dishwasher and thought they would just lay the rest of the luan down. Boy was I wrong.

Now I’ll be spending roughly $500 more on this project, not due to what I did – but because of what my body couldn’t do. Something my soul used to love doing. My soul needs that harmony back in in some way. I just need to learn the lines of what I can and cannot do.

The City of New Orleans

On our last “adventure day” on our wonderful get away, we did something I always wanted to do, we went on a legitimate Mississippi river boat. It was also July 4th, our nations birthday. I found this to be the best way to celebrate our country, to learn about one of the first engines of our capitalist nation.

While I wanted to go on the Natchez, it’s apparently out of service with “The City of New Orleans” fulfilling it’s duties for the time being. I chose the Sunday brunch cruise, not too early not too late. Perfect for us.

Personally, I had a blast. The adults enjoyed the food, which included grits that were so fine I originally thought they were mashed potatoes, red beans and rice and jambalaya.

The interior was pure 19th century recreated

While not an actual steam boat, The City of New Orleans gives you a similar experience, with it’s paddle wheel and large stacks.

Kira was originally scared of the paddle wheel, out of a fear of something I had done earlier when we went to the Children’s museum. Amelia showed her that it was nothing to be scared of, and I assured her that I would not throw her overboard or hurt her in any way, and she relaxed.

I can see it in her eyes, “don’t throw me into this thing.”

The cruise involved a jazz band, who’s music was streamed all over the ship on TV and audio, they were stationed on the 3rd deck. There was also a gentleman who narrated the history about the areas we were traveling through and past.

Many onboard, didn’t take the food option and grabbed seats on the decks instantly, so we didn’t have the opportunity to find a “good” place to see the sights on the river, but that was okay. I didn’t take too many photos because I was again on water, and after the swamp tour I was a bit on edge.

While there are some changes, I can only imagine this is somewhat similar as to what people saw hundreds of years ago as they came to the French Quarter.

The French Quarter from the Mississippi River

This is definitely something I would recommend any family do if vacationing in New Orleans. It was nice and fun, suitable for all ages. Not something that is applicable for all things New Orleans.

I’m thankful Amelia gave me some good photos, it’s such a rare thing anymore

The next day we planned our exit strategy and packed up. It was a wonderful time in the crescent city. The big easy pulled all of her charms on me, and opened my mind on so many things that had been closed for years.

The Ends of Louisiana

After getting back from our jaunt to Florida, we took a day to rest. We got back late, and were all exhausted.

We took two day trips to two uniquely different locations that are as far south in Louisiana as you can go. Following The Great River Road, led us to Venice, LA where they even have a sign.

If you look closely, you can literally see the end of the road.

There isn’t much to do in this area of Louisiana, but there is much to see, to take in, to experience. With the loss of swamp lands due to the engineering of the Mississippi river, these lands could not exist within a few years.

The area is primarily filled with bunk hotels and heliports for oil rig workers. There are also many echoes of the past, with buildings that have been destroyed by hurricanes. Some are time capsules of sorts, as they appear untouched.

There is one pretty interesting place on the way to Venice however, Fort Jackson. There is another fort across the Mississippi river from it, but we had no way to access it. It was wet, and so we did not have an opportunity to access the interior of the fort itself.

We parked at the entrance and proceeded down the wood bridge to the gate, unknowing what we would find. The area was flooded, and it was soon fairly obvious to us that we were not going to be able to enter.

What we arrived to. The wheels were used originally to open the door that protected the fort

I didn’t know that any American forts ever had moats, but this one did. We then ventured over to the cannon battery as it looked like something we could catch a case of tetanus on.

It had some very hard to read but interesting plaques and memorials on it. Most of which I still have not read fully.

National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark

Bayou Mardi Gras – 300th Mardi Gras Commemoration

The views from the gun battery helped show the fort in better contrast. It’s very old, damaged from hurricanes, but it still stands today. I didn’t even know about this place until I was reading a very interesting story on the destination I was heading towards.

We didn’t visit the museum that is just down the road from the fort, but did stop at this very interesting memorial, which sits on the bank of the Mississippi river.

Walking up to it, I thought an animal tried to attack me

On our way out, we then made notice of these brick and earth shelters that littered the grounds outside of the fort proper. I could only assume that they were storage bunkers for things such as gunpowder and ammunition. They were wildly fascinating to me.

The next day, we went to the other southern tip of Louisiana, Grand Isle.

I did all of the driving, so I was unable to get any photos of our trips to either destinations. This trip was more residential however, and was filled with plenty of ship yards. It was quite fascinating. The last leg of the journey involved a toll bridge, that I honestly didn’t mind paying the toll to use. The views were quite breathtaking. Now mind you, this wasn’t a regular bridge. This was a several mile long, Louisiana bridge.

Then we made it. Lyndsey and I enjoyed the laid back atmosphere, and thought it was adorable that all of the homes along the main drag had names. I noticed a trailer park that had all of the trailers in the air about 25 feet, with further reinforcements so the trailer did not fly off it’s supports. I had never seen anything like that before.

We proceeded to the state park, where we just made it in time. They were about to close the gate for the evening. There isn’t much to the park itself, there is a camping section, and a day use section. We ventured to the fishing pier where I enjoyed the views of the oil drilling platforms in the distance.

The Deepwater Horizon was out there somewhere…..

Just when we got there, a dolphin was almost at the shore line. The image I got would make you wonder, but others said it was a dolphin and not a shark.

We then made the arduous journey back to defend New Orleans which was made very complicated. The road we had taken in was closed on our way back. We didn’t learn this until our GPS took us to a complete dead end. For a while we were driving blind, in the middle of nowhere. It wasn’t until after about 30 minutes or so that we were shown signs of detours. This detour took us to Houma, where we ate and then continued on our way.

One thing I noticed on our way back on both trips was what I only assume is one of the protective systems Louisiana has. At one point, I noticed a large door/gate that blocked the entire road off which was accompanied by a levee the same height as the door/gate. I found this very fascinating and interesting at the same time.

The Flora Bama Run

The next day we made a run to Florida, in the section I was informed is called florabama by the locals, due to it being directly south of Alabama. It was an adventure for certain.

Our first stop was in Panama City Beach, and not for the beach. We went there to see a person I treasure, a person I look up to, a person who moved away years ago to which I said that I would see if I was ever in the area again.

We had some hiccups due to the loss of the wallet however, something they told me over the phone wouldn’t be an issue. I have to go on a bit of a rant about the hotel we stayed at before I get on with this post however.

Under any and all circumstances DO NOT stay at the Boardwalk Beach Hotel. FULL STOP. I refuse to link to it, but it is on all of the typical hotel booking sites. I only got the room because it was the cheapest one I could find, and Hotel 6 was charging $500 a night. At $390 a night, I was expecting to find some comfort after a long day on the road, but that was only after I went through their gauntlet of horrors. The line to check in was about 100 feet long, and while their convention space seemed nice, the hotel rooms were the polar opposite. The lady at the desk was extremely rude to us, giving obvious examples that she had no cares about our unique situation (my wallet being taken by an alligator). They required I provide a different credit card, even though I had already fully paid for the room with one I had lost. They then stated that I would receive a refund on my first card within 10 days. I didn’t, and reported this to both of my credit card companies – who were very displeased.

But I got to have dinner with my friend. She hadn’t seen Amelia in a few years, I had been telling her about how much she had grown, but she got to see my tales with her own eyes. I was first introduced to her by another friend who did all of the music for a movie she had just finished. Dad was still with us back then, and the local connection was invaluable to me. I thought she and dad would become instant friends, and he could be invaluable to her in her work in the visual arts.

We then tried to get some rest, all four of us in the double beds we were provided. We were unsuccessful in our quest, but arose to something beautiful the next morning.

My girlfriend finally got some beach time. I could tell she was very happy in her soul.

I chose to stay in the room while the girls went down to the beach and played in the water. Before I knew it, it was check out time and we had another place to visit before we made our way back to defend New Orleans. So I went down to the beach to collect my wayward girls, pack up and hit the road.

Before we left PCB, we had to make a few stops though. Amelia wanted to go to Ron Jons and Margaritaville to pick up some things. I only had Google Pay on my phone to purchase things – and it quit working. So it was all on Lyndsey, we walked out of Ron Jons with a $600 bill. I was shocked when I saw the receipt. Shocked I tell you. I swiftly returned snorkels that Lyndsey had picked up for the girls – they were $100 by themselves.

After a long, and arduous drive across the panhandle of Florida, we made it to our second destination, Pensacola Beach. We drove there to see Lyndsey’s half sister, whom she had never met before. I was pretty amazed at her home, on one side is the ocean and beach, on the other side is the inlet, and behind their house is a channel for boats.

We sat and talked for a while, where I just wanted to sleep. Unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to do that. Both Kira and Amelia kayaked down the channel with Lyndsey’s nephew. Amelia took some prying to do it, but eventually gave in.

We then went to the inlet, where Kira was swimming while under the watchful eye of her cousin. We stayed to watch the sunset, it was pretty breathtaking.

We then scuttled off to Peg Leg Pete’s, a beach/island bar & restaurant. It was a hit with everyone.

I attempted to drive us home, but had to give up not too long into the trip. I was just too tired to really drive. So Lyndsey took the helm, and she did it well on this trip, driving about half way to our destination and the vast majority of the way back home. I’m really proud of the abilities her new car has provided her. Driving her old car was really a strain on her body.

Dr. Seuss Ate My Wallet

Not literally, but in a way. In actuality, an alligator did. But I’ll get to that later.

After our day at the museum, we got organized and made some plans we both couldn’t cancel and had hard timelines on. We were to have a day split with time in the French Quarter and on a Swamp Tour, something a friend of mine had told me many times to do.

Since I had been to the French Quarter before, and we had some tight timelines, I decided it would be best to drive and park in the French Quarter. I found us a parking garage we could park in that was just a block away from Jackson Square, and pre-paid. We had this block of time, there was no going back. We decided that we were going to split up, each parent with their child. Go do things we wanted to do. But there was a slight hiccup, Lyndsey left her phone at the house, something we didn’t realize until we got there. To go back we would lose about an hour of time, so to hell with it.

Amelia and I instantly went to our place, Stanley. I didn’t get the picturesque photo that I got last time, but it’ll do.

We had our breakfast, and were on our way. When we came in 2019, we really didn’t do much. So we explored the French Quarter as much as we could. Stopping at many of the gift shops along the way. Google maps wasn’t of much help, as it kept changing orientation on me. So we made some disorganized criss cross motions around the southern end of the place.

We stopped at the Museum of Death, which was cool but nothing awe inspiring in my opinion. They do have David Koresh’s band shirt, which is pretty cool.

We then made our way to The Art of Dr. Seuss, part of the Angela King Gallery. It was a small space, but my eyes were in heaven. They had lots of pieces that I found highly interesting, but one stood above the rest. I found it curious as it had no price tag on it. It was from my favorite Seuss book, “Green Eggs & Ham.” I had to ask, I had to prod.

“Would you? Could You? In a Car?” Arabian Edition

It was apparently the only copy remaining for sale. I was told that any works where duplicates were made are all done in limited copies. The price they gave was something I could handle, and so I bought it. I had it shipped to my home, just receiving it a few days ago.

By this time, we were both getting hot and we needed some hydration. Trying to find a place where you and your underage daughter can sit down and drink something non-alcoholic in the French Quarter isn’t an easy task, but I found a Oyster Bar on Royal street that let me do just that. Amelia had water and Sprite while I had water and a Hurricane, because why not?

I then started getting messages from Lyndsey, via her watch. She kept telling me where she was, but I was not getting cross streets to get a proper location. It appeared that her and Kira had went the polar opposite direction as Amelia and I did. After some back and forth, I settled up and we made our way to find them. When I reached them, they were both hot, thirsty and hungry. I wanted to go to the Hard Rock Cafe earlier, but knew they were closed. So I thought we’d stop by there, grab some grub and then head to our next destination. By the time we made it there, we discovered that they didn’t serve food until 4pm.

So I decided we would cut our losses and get out of dodge, with the traffic in the quarter – we were pushing making it to our swamp tour. We drove to the nearest place everyone could agree on and/or eat at. I just drank copious amounts of fluids to re-hydrate myself.

We made it to the location of our swamp tour just in time. After getting our wristbands, we sat and waited until the boats were ready. Something had happened to the boat we were originally scheduled to use, which bothered Lyndsey, as the boat we were on was a little larger than the one we were to be on.

There were many warnings about either locking things in your car, or making sure they are zippered, as items have been known to get lost on these tours. We were going along, having a blast. We would stop in locations and our guide would throw out marshmallows and hotdogs. The alligators faces would soften up, and act like puppies that were trying to steal food from the table. It was adorable.

He then popped out a little stowaway, a baby alligator. Lyndsey felt like she was in heaven, and Amelia smiled – which is rare anymore. I refrained, but relished in their happiness.

Recall what I mentioned about things being lost? I had put everything but my wallet inside a zippered pocket of my shorts. Through all of the bumps and hits that you get on an airboat, my wallet slowly but surely slipped out of my back pocket. While we were sitting still, there was a noise on my side of the boat. Someone stated they thought it was a fish jumping out of the water, then someone else said, “no it’s that guys wallet.” I happened to be “that” guy. Just then, a large alligator came to the boat, coming right up to me.

Everyone thinks that gator ate my wallet. Our guide told me that the wallet was in about 5 feet of water, and that if he felt like there was a chance to retrieve it, he would have. He kept apologizing to me, but there wasn’t much that could be done. Sure, it dampened my spirits but there was nothing I could do about it. I just had to proceed forward and enjoy things as best I could.

I had fun on the swamp tour, but spent the rest of the time trying to figure out how I would get my credit cards, ID and other items I keep in my wallet back. This created a real situation for us the next day as I had booked us a hotel room in Panama City Beach so I could see a friend who had moved away.

When in Rome

I kept repeating this phrase when on our vacation. I’m not one to like normal tourist spots, do normal tourist things. Even when I am the tourist. The next day we planned on going to the French Quarter, do some exploring and some shopping. We woke up late and not feeling the best – but we sure had to do something. XY (That’s Christy for the uninitiated) told me that they just built a new children’s museum at City Park, so we went for it.

For those who have never been, City Park in New Orleans is amazing. I would go to New Orleans just to visit that park.

We started the way we started many of our days, with a visit to Café Du Monde, as they have a location at City Park that’s laid back, easy to access and hello did you even read the title?

After the beignets were consumed, we carried on to the Louisiana Children’s Museum. XY wasn’t wrong, the place was new and mighty interesting.

The kids and I had fun with these chairs, the fog is actually an art installation and provides a cooling effect

The building was made to be as earth friendly as possible, and it shows. I appreciated the thoughtfulness in the design.

Speaking of design, the main entry doors even have a door specifically made for children. It was adorable as it is thoughtful.

Kira felt embarrassed, but I thought it was the cutest thing in the world.

The main lobby is a little blah for my tastes, but once you get to the primary areas it’s a hit. The first floor didn’t have much that intrigued our 11 year old brewing drama queens except for a really awesome magnifying station. The rest of the space was more for the younger kiddies.

Next to this were shelves filled with jars of things to discover.

The design continued with the windows for the building, which is full of to let in natural light and help eliminate the need for heating systems. There are a few windows that are larger on the outside than on the inside, causing an opportunity for the photogenic mind.

We then went upstairs, where they had a “toy” replica of Jackson Square, a large bubble machine, a music room and a really fascinating recreation of the Mississippi river.

Someone could have a lot of fun with this and Photoshop

I really loved the umbrellas hanging in the air.

Their interpretation of the river was great for all ages. So much so, that the kids (ours included) got in trouble for attempting to flood New Orleans.

We then ventured outside, which is really the beauty of the museum and City Park. We first took the path northward, leading to a floating classroom. There was a marsh like area that had Adirondack chairs, so I made myself comfortable. There were sight glasses, where Kira did some turtle watching as well.

We then made our way back to the museum, and explored the southern portion, taking a bridge to the labyrinth.

The girls had more fun with the ducks and birds around the area though. Cries of “oh my he’s so cute, I want to get close to him.” Were heard more than anything else.

We then went back to our “house” and rested, and had dinner. We just had a big day. Children’s museums are always a big energy suck for parents.

We then made some plans for the evening. First up, dessert. The first place on my mind, Angelo Brocato’s. This place makes genuine gelato, and has since it first opened it’s doors in 1905. Thankfully it was just a few blocks away from the house we were sitting. Mid-City has everything you need I tell you.

There’s a marker on the door of how high the water level was during Katrina.

After getting our fill of sweets, we made our way over to The Broad Theater, on the recommendation of XY. A place that’s not even a thing around here, a theater with a bar. We watched Cruella and I had a beer.

It was a good day in the Crescent City. The Big Easy really wooed us, and we miss it.

Space Camp

We were off for vacation, but decided to take it easy instead of my normal route of hard and fast to our destination. So we took a look at the map to see what was on our route. Huntsville, Al seemed like a good place to rest and they have the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, an excellent place to go for a couple of girls who are interested in STEM.

This is where the infamous Space Camp is held. They had lots of NASA and Space artifacts. It was a great place for all of us to start this whirlwind 25 day vacation.

A backup suit for Indiana’s own Gus Grissom

While here, I was blown away at the atmosphere of the whole area. Rocket and high tech companies surrounded us. It’s when I learned that my girlfriends father did a lot of work here, as he worked with the military and NASA on guidance systems for several different platforms.

Both of the girls had been here before, but I think this visit let them see the place in another light. I had never been, but I wanted to go to space camp as a kid. I think every kid my age did.

There is so much to do here that it’s quite easily a full day affair, especially if you participate in their camp programs. What really made my heart happy was the freakin’ Blackbird they have. That’s right, there is a SR-71 blackbird parked right out front.

I drooled over images of this plane as a child.

After a full day of this, we went off to find something to eat and then checked into our hotel. I decided to get us a Westin for the night. Everyone enjoyed, especially the room service. I wanted us to be comfortable for the day ahead of us. As we were then off to Montgomery and New Orleans. I was already exhausted from the days’ events.

A Vacation to Remember

I was finally able to be a man of my word to the man who gave me my first blog. When Amelia and I visited for a short period in 2019, I told him I would house-sit for him while he took his vacation, then a worldwide pandemic happened.

We spent 25 days out and about. Primarily staying in and around New Orleans, but making stops in Huntsville, AL, Panama City Beach, FL and Pensacola Beach, FL. We also took day trips to Venice, LA (on the Great River Road) and to Grand Isle, LA.

B has told me over the years that Louisiana during June and July is highly humid, I can’t remember the term he used exactly but it was meant as a warning. That said, now that I have returned – the peculiar weather conditions in the south are actually better for me than those of the midwest. I was able to do all the things there, where I cannot here.

I’m very confused at this point. This is the first part of many writings on this 25 day vacation.

A Brush with Sars-Cov-2

With the pandemic in full force, I cancelled Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities with my aunt and uncle. My uncle said it was the first time in 60 years that he hadn’t came home. They are in their 70’s and I didn’t want to risk their health.

It’s commonly known that this and other coronaviruses can silently spread, as some people can be infected and contagious without even knowing. I have been careful, so has my girlfriend. But my daughter’s back and forth lifestyle finally caught up to us, and her.

I had her for almost a week around Christmas, but not including the day itself. It was that day that she spent with her mother, per our divorce decree.

The day after I returned my daughter to her mom, my ex wife texted me to inform me that her husband had been admitted to the hospital with double pneumonia caused by covid.

I was floored. She went onto say that he had been sick since the 18th of December. I was enraged. I demanded our daughter get a test, as she had obviously been exposed. Her mother refused. I offered to do all of the legwork and get her tested myself, she still kept up her stonewall tactics. Instead of continuing to argue with her, I called my attorney. By the time he called me back, she gave in and scheduled her to get a test.

The results came back, positive.

My daughter hadn’t shown any signs or symptoms of infection, sans a runny nose here and there or a sore throat. After the results came back however, she apparently got sick.

Then we started showing signs and symptoms ourselves. I felt very flu-like, but had no fever. My girlfriend however got what seemed to be a full onslaught of Covid symptoms. It seemed like she could barely breathe, and would get light headed after walking ten feet. We all immediately ordered tests, with all results being negative.

Then, in the middle of the day while sleeping, I heard a scream. It was her daughter. She had fallen down half a flight of stairs in my home. I instantly called 911, with VBFD paramedics responding within a minute. I wasn’t sure if the fall had broken anything or made any of her ongoing spinal issues worse. She spent the day in the ER, where they performed a series of tests. She turned out to be okay physically, but still well in the throngs of symptoms. I was concerned.

It’s been a couple of weeks since those events happened, and while she is still healing, she is significantly better now. I still worry about her though. I still haven’t seen my daughter since the weekend after Christmas. My ex wife started texting me again, and I told her that I want her to get another test before I see her again. She didn’t give much resistance, but still refuses to test her household. I don’t understand.

I miss my daughter, but I will never miss the onslaught of ways in which we have felt due to this exposure.

Cruise Your Worries Away

This “new normal” has really been getting to me lately. My mind went through a period of depression as it normally does when it comes to change, but I am finding my escapes from it now. Those being my vehicles and my home. I have a laundry list of things I want to accomplish and that gives my soul energy.

Friday I was working as normal, then lunch time came around. So I ate something, watched a little TV and decided to take the rest of the day off. But what do I do? The day started out raining and gloomy but the clouds parted and it became beautiful outside. I know, take that Camaro out for a cruise!

So I did. I stopped to see several people who are important to me and this car. Namely my stepmother, my girlfriends parents and my car bro, Ira. He has a 87 IROC.

This is the first real drive I’ve ever taken the car out on, and I’ve got to say it was wildly different than the last time. The vibrations from braking are now gone. Due to my modifications to the proportioning valve, braking is balanced and effective.

While on the highway I did notice something that bugged me however. I was going the speed limit according to the speedometer, but was being passed like crazy. It seems the speedometer is off by about 10mph. This car has a mechanical speedometer. It involves a counterweight attached to the meter, and I think it is out of sync. It will take some tricky work to get this where it should be – but that’s one thing I have to get resolved as soon as possible! It’s going to drive me insane.

Yours truly, photo courtesy of my girlfriend’s dad

While at Ira’s he noticed something I hadn’t. The door moldings were gone on my car. I can only assume my uncle removed them when he painted the car. When I get the orange peel removed and the paint is where I finally want it, I will have to get these installed. I’ll probably have a body shop do it, to match the paint color and ensure proper installation.

While on the way back, I picked up my girlfriend on the side of the road and said “I normally don’t do this sort of thing, but your beautiful. Want to take a ride with me?” I think she loved it, and I did too.

With that cruise, a lot of the pressure I felt to get the car to a certain point before I did any driving suddenly removed itself. I still need to get the new struts installed but I’m going to take every opportunity I have to get out and drive at this point. I’ve had this car long enough to not enjoy it.