Sometimes it seems as if life and the world want to beat you down and keep you down.
But, if I stop to think about it, I have a job that provides for my family. One that I’m relatively good at (let’s not be modest; I’m excellent at it) and is there to give me troubles.
I do like a challenge.
I have more than one car. We have three, actually. Two of them are paid off and in reasonably good working order. There’s that.
I have a roof over my head. Food in my belly. A wife that loves me. And two kids that, for any of their faults, are probably more respectful, outgoing, kind, and well thought of than a lot of people I encounter.
Blessed beyond measure.
I hope I never really get what I deserve for my past sins.
I hope that I can make up for them.
I’ll take the troubles on my shoulders and keep moving.
Some might say that’s what I’m supposed to do as a father and a man.
This whole refurbishment of this truck is an ongoing thing.
I have a lot of cosmetic stuff to do. Chips in the paint for the most part. I’m actually thinking of a light spray over the major scratches and a dot here and there for the chips. Then a good buffing.
Not a lot of structural damage, amazingly, and not a lot of rust at all for a twenty plus year old truck.
It has been hot, and I didn’t want to do it. Today was a nicer day, and when it’s cooler, I spend a good deal of time in the garage.
Today I went with the fender flares that have been sitting in the garage for at least two months. (She may or may not have been eyeballing them at that time.) Theyβre a nice stainless steel and black rubber set that should last a long while with care.
I also did a bit of painting on the lowers under the doors and the front part of the bed with bed liner paint. It improved the looks and may provide some protection.
The plastic bumper covers are in surprisingly good shape but faded from their original gray. I went with black this time around. It suits the color scheme.
It’s nice to get out and improve and create. To do it myself. To get dirty again. Although, the shower did feel excellent.
I’m glad the weather is starting to change. It means more time for me in the garage/shop. I guess I may as well start getting things together.
Below is a write-up of a day on the Great Pee Dee River from years ago with Ken, Jerry, and Donnie.
Jerry stands at about six feet and is pictured holding the catfish.
Search Area: The Pee Dee River/Rockingham, NC to Cheraw, SC
Itβs going to be a hot one. Weather report is calling for a high of 97 degrees. I have packed a case of water that I froze last night. (If nothing else I can pack myself in ice in the kayak.) We will be leaving from Rockingham at Hwy 74 and pulling out just below the Hwy 1 bridge at the Chesterfield/Marlboro county line.THESEEGARS
GPS COORDINATES: Starting Point : N 34 56.739 W 79 52.146
CATEGORY: River Trips
Itβs 7:30 am Saturday June 7, 2008. We will be hitting the river around 11:30. Prior obligations kept Ken from going earlier this morning.
Itβs going to be a hot one. Weather report is calling for a high of 97 degrees. I have packed a case of water that I froze last night. (If nothing else I can pack myself in ice in the kayak.) We will be leaving from Rockingham at Hwy 74 and pulling out just below the Hwy 1 bridge at the Chesterfield/Marlboro county line.
Besides me and Ken we will have two other guys with us today. Donnie and Jerry both work with me. I asked if they would like to come along earlier this week and they jumped at the chance. I am going to publish this now and will edit as the weekend goes on. If you are reading this stay tuned.
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Home! Sore, tired, blistered hands, but alive and just fine. A nice trip. I would do it again. Higher water would have been nice but you canβt have everything. The trip took longer than expected. More to follow.
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We started out this morning from Laney Landing in Cheraw. Kenβs wife Sally was nice enough to drive us up in the Jeep and drop us off at the landing at Hwy 74.
The start of the trip was slow going and we thought that the water would get better. We had a lot of scrubbing through the rocks at the beginning but we had some nice spots as well. Continuing down the river we came to the railroad trestle about 2 miles from the drop off point.
After that we had some nice wilderness time. No turning back. The only way out was down the river. Not realizing what was ahead of us we pressed on. Suprisingly the heat wasnβt a problem. As of now Ken and I are sore and have a few blisters on our hands but no sunburn and I was suprised not to have a single bug bite.
The wildlife on the river is amazing. Donnie and I had never had the chance to see a bald eagle in the wild but we got that chance here. (I got as close as fifty feet from this fella!) He stayed with us about halfway down the river until we left his territory I suppose. The other great encounter with wildlife came late in the day. Ken came upon a catfish beached and still alive. Jerry and Donnie love to fish and had never seen a catfish this large.
Jerry said it had to weigh at least 75 lbs. Later we saw one as long the kayak in the picture above. You can consider that a tall tale or βthe one that got away.β I guess being this far out and no real predators a fish can grow quite large. We will be back once I can talk the guys into it.
We continued down the river and sadly I have no pictures really after sunset. I have to get some type of waterproof camera for trips like this.
We ended up being on the river after sunset. Not a bad thing. We just werenβt prepared for a night run. We had two headlamps between us. Ken ran front and I tried to run back. The most amazing thing was how well your night vision can adjust out there. We ran most of the way back with the lights off, nothing but moon and stars to guide us.
The only part that had us nervous was shooting the rapids. A night trip down the rapids would be dangerous. We were lucky. The low water made it alot easier than we expected. Iβve never been so glad to see Hwy 1. Me and Brown had to take a break there at the last and just be thankful that we made it.
Letβs go home!
Then comes the fun part. We pulled into Laney Landing feeling like prisoners of war finally making it home only to find out that someoneβs wife got worried and called the police and was just about to call the DNR to start searching for us! The whole lesson here is, no matter how much you think you are in charge or that she knows where you are, CALL YOUR WIFE!
Everyone is home safe and sound now. I personally canβt wait for the next trip.
I listen to a lot of podcasts and I hear a lot of Rock Auto commercials.
I’m sure they have plenty of deals, and that’s great. I needed a part today and searched it while I took a break.
The part was a radiator hose.
This part is roughly $20 less than what I ended up paying at O’Reilly’s ($38 +tax) and would be a significant saving.
But…
It is Thursday the 16th. I work for a living; it’s still sweltering in the South, and I need my truck running with A/C. The savings I would have had would not make up for the lost time.
I do have the choice of driving my other car, which does not have A/C at the moment. It’s great to have that choice. But an afternoon on the highway home would be torture.
I was out the door at O’Reilly’s in five minutes after first having called them to make sure they had the part. No standing around, no wasted time, which is also mentioned in the ads I hear.
Honestly, sometimes I stop at auto parts stores just to look around. I enjoy it. Which is a point the ads try to push. Lots of guys actually enjoy the auto parts store.
I had the part in hand, on the truck, and was back on the road in an hour.
I also hear a lot of βyou have to know what kind of car you have, what type of engine,β etc.
How do you not know this sort of thing?
Right there, I know, these guys have never worked on their own vehicles. And probably shouldn’t be pushing ads to people who do.
I didn’t write this to knock Rock Auto at all. It’s great to be able to get parts at such a discount. I didn’t write this to criticize anyone. It seems snobby, I guess, to write and read copy on something you more than likely know nothing about.
If youβre a man and do not understand the appeal of working on and fixing your vehicle and the satisfaction that goes with it, I donβt understand you. Which I suppose sounds a bit snobby as well.
I have had the advantage of a father who is one of the best shade tree mechanics I’ve ever known.
For those without that advantage, there is a world of information on the internet. YouTube will walk you through so many small and large repairs.
I thoroughly enjoy working on mine. I love my truck. Yes, there’s a song about that.
For the hobbyist and the person that has the time I can see online parts ordering and possible savings.
For a man trying to get to work, I’ll go local parts store every time.
Again, not knocking Rock Auto but I will sing the praises of O’Reillyβs.
I’ve been busy with my part-timer installing new fixtures. It has been a while since we’ve actually done what we enjoy. Just getting it done.
Bruce started overheating on me today. It would seem the thermostat is sticking. I bought a new one but by the time I got home I was worn out, so I decided to drive the Escape tomorrow.
I had to jump it off, it had been sitting so long, and then discovered someone had siphoned all the gas from the tank.
There are some sorry, despicable people in the world.
The truck will wait till to tomorrow. I have to get to work in the morning.
