Fall Foliage Time

 

A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.

 It is the season and many are thinking about heading to areas to enjoy the fall foliage.  There are places all over the US to enjoy the gorgeous color of nature.  Finding the perfect time to be in the right destination is easy.  The internet has it all mapped out for us.  This particular website is by the weather channel.  Just select the area you want to visit to enjoy fall color and the map will give you an indication of when to expect their peak time.     

Then, if you’re looking for more detailed reports, you can find it on the Foliage Network.  As the season gets closer, detailed updates are added every few days apart.  You can tell if it’s too early, too late or if your planning has been perfect.  This site also keeps previous year’s reports so you can when the perfect time was last year.  However, weather and moisture play a big part in determining when the leaves will change in 2012.

There are lots of places to find foliage maps on the internet.  Another really good one is the Yankee Foliage Network. 

In addition to the maps showing when and where peak season is, there are also recommended drives with some of the best colors in each of the states.

Every site you pull up and probably everyone you talk to will probably tell you of some of the best places to view the leaves.  Many RVers lived in the Northeast.  I’m sure they have their favorites.  It’s probably not a place they would necessarily make a special trip to view the leaves since they lived there.  However, many of us would.  This is one thing that many have on their bucket lists.

You also might have guessed it … there is also a free foliage app for your iPhone and other devices.  You can download it here.

The Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire as long been thought of as one of the best scenic roads to view.  A trip through this road on a weekend will find you behind hundreds of slow moving vehicles and most especially tour buses.  There are probably many other scenic roads that wind you through areas not appropriate for busses.    The internet also lists some of these.

At the Saco Ranger Station just west of Conway, you can pick up a map and begin to plot your stops at the various well-designated scenic overlooks, campgrounds, picnic areas, hiking trails, and historic sites along the Kanc. Unless you plan to drive straight through without stopping, you'll also need to purchase a parking pass. A visitor information center is also located on the western end of the Kanc in Lincoln, should you decide to drive the route in reverse.

The Kancamagus highway is highway 1112 and runs for 34 1/2 miles of beauty.  There are six campgrounds along the highway.  However, my guess if you haven’t booked any of those by now, you probably won’t be able to get a site.  You’ll also need to have a parking pass if you plan on stopping for any viewing along this road.  You can get the parking passes at the ranger stations.

I’ve viewed the leaves in the past in several states but a few years ago I decided I wanted to drive on the Kancamagus Highway.  I wanted to do it very much.  However, most hotels were full, flights were a mess and car rentals were at a premium.  The Northeast is flooded with tourists during fall foliage season.  The best alternative for me was to fly into Hartford, Connecticut.  Thank goodness I had already made reservations close to the airport as Hertz was out of cars.  Even though I had reserved one customers were late turning them in.  I went into panic mode but for no reason as early the following morning a rental car had been delivered to the hotel.  Whee!

The next couple of days were spent driving in New Hampshire and Vermont and checking out the leaves.  My timing was a tad past peak but the area was gorgeous.  As I write this I’m thinking .. I need to do this again sometime, some day.  If you’re heading to view the leaves for great pictures, I might warn you that the areas are flooded.  They are flooded with people and you’re likely to have strangers in those photos.

It definitely is the season.  There are many beautiful sites to see.

‘Tis life on the road.

“Keep Your Eyes Peeled”

Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

"Keep your eyes peeled"  -- Those four words are ones I use many times when traveling from our kids’ home to our little cabin when it’s dark.  I want two sets of eyes looking for deer along the sides of the road.  This dark road is loaded with them and it is very, very dark.  Thus, another reason we hate to stay out late because the driving is difficult.  Thursday night I said the same thing to Terry but deer isn’t what we found broadsided across the road.  As a matter of fact he saw it first as we came around the corner.  We’re lucky we didn’t hit it.  There was a car across the road that had just been in an accident.  The occupants were still inside.  You never know what to do in situations like this.  What if I was by myself?  I would have been scared to death to stop.  However, Terry was out of the car before we had even come to a full stop.  

In the meantime Terry helped the two dazed 16 year-olds out of their car and on the ground away from the vehicle. There was no cell reception in the area.  I turned around and drove to a house to have them call for help.  By then at least another car had arrived with headlights.  It seems the back tire blew and the driver lost control of the car.  It slammed full force into a tree and spun around.  Both boys were taken by ambulance but will be eventually heal and be fine.  There was no doubt that they had lots of broken ribs, collar bones and who knows what else.  However, the boys were lucky. 

Once the ambulances had left we knew there was no going straight through with the car still across the road and we'd have to take the long way around.  There were more dark roads ahead but thank goodness for our GPS.  We would have had no clue how to do it without the directions from Garmin.

One thing this has helped us realize again is that every car should carry emergency blankets, pillows, flashlights and flares.  That’s on our agenda today. 

That was the just ending to a very, very long Thursday.  We started it by attempting to clean out closets while getting ready to head south for the winter.  Next on the agenda was a trip in to Vancouver to see my 93 year old Aunt Jenny.  She seemed in pretty good spirits but it’s obvious she’s not quite as sharp as she once was but then who is?

After we left we headed on over to my brother’s place in Portland. He was trying to drum up extra cash so in order to help a little we had agreed to buy a bike from him. We don’t need a bike. Terry only likes bikes when they come equipped with engines. The good thing about it is that we have a garage to store things like this ….. at Lee’s house. So far we have left lots there including an air compressor, an ATV, propane tanks, a trailer and now a bike.

After that 100 plus mile trip to bid our goodbyes, we still had planned on moving the motorhome from it’s summer storage place close to our daughter’s to our son’s driveway.  That wasn’t a long drive …. about two miles.  We wanted full hookups to clean it out, stock it up and get it ready for the road.

Next came some cleaning out of closets.  After all if we hadn’t worn those things all summer why haul them with us.  Bags were loaded in the car and the buckets came out for washing down the bathroom.  Then … came the brakes.  It was a little text from Sabrina wanting me to pick up Mike from school so Lee wouldn’t have to …. another 40 miles round trip.  My response to her was “Aargh” but I went.

We still weren't done for the day.  It was definitely a long one but we still had a soccer game to go to at the high school.  We want to go to the home games.  Normally we have two games but Sandi wasn't playing Thursday.  However, Jordie was.    It was another one of those double overtime ones and it didn’t get over early.  Whoever said that winning isn’t everything and that how you played the game was more important had never been to a varsity game of any kind.  Winning seems to be the only important thing.  It was a good game and they won so we were happy.

It was also a very long day by the time we crawled into bed ... a very long day.  The good thing is we did get a lot accomplished.  We also decided on a route south but I’ll share that down the road.

‘Tis a busy life on the road.

A Little to Do Here and a Little There

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.

We started packing up and putting away on Monday.  We’ve decided we’re going to do a little bit each day.  Outside cushions were put in the shed and the chairs themselves in the greenhouse.  Even my little hanging hammock chair came down and was put away.  We’re going to collapse the greenhouse after we cover the chairs.  At least if we collapse it the snow over the winter won’t and we’ll be able to just set it back up when we return late in the spring.

The canopy top is down.  Little by little we’re getting ready to go.

Terry got a little ahead of the game and packed up some of his clothes at the cabin.  Since we were going to town anyway, his plan was to move them to his closet in the motorhome.  Me?  Well, I’m figuring I have a week or two before I need to get that serious.  My clothes can stay where they are for now.  I do know that many will come out of the motorhome and not go with us.

We also made a stop by Ace Hardware and picked up some lights for the motorhome and expandable caulking to fill a few gaps at the cabin.  We’ve got a little bit to do here and a little bit to do there.  We also need to winterize it.  There were a lot more things on that list we wanted to finish on Monday but some things take longer than you think they will and we didn’t get it all done.

Tuesday we had an appointment for a local mechanic to go through the Jeep and get it road ready. Now we need to schedule the actual work.  That'll happen next week. So far it looks like just a tuneup and new rotors plus a little flushing, lube and oil.  Towards the end of the week we’re going to move the motorhome into Lee and Sabrina’s driveway for a week or two while we clean it out and get it also ready to go.  We haven’t told them yet but they’ll figure it out after Sabrina reads this blog today.  We have to move the motorhome or pay another month’s rent on our storage.  We would do that but we really need to have better access to it so we can clean up and clean it out … which also means hookups..

A deer came knocking

and Duchess didn't like it.

Thursday we hope to visit my Aunt Jenny in Vancouver and brother in Portland. We’ll say “see ya” until next spring.

There’s lots to do when we get ready.  We’ve accomplished nothing in the decision process yet.  We know we’re going to Arizona because Terry feels with his father just passing, that's where we need to be this winter.  We just don't know how we’re going to get there.  I’m very good at making a decision on a route or even a place to stay and then changing it a day or too later.  So, it’s probably a good thing we haven’t had time to really get serious about this.  After all, we’re a week or two away at this point.

Jeep is getting ready for it’s checkup

We also have a little change in what all we’ve decided we’re hauling south.  Last year we pulled our trailer and had it modified in Arizona to haul two ATVs.  That’s going with us but without any ATVs.  We had three of them.  Now, thanks to Lee, we only have one left.  Lee sold two of them for us.  However, no way are we getting rid of my green monster, the Arctic Cat.  That one we’re keeping but it’s staying here.  We’re not going to haul it with us.  We’re actually hoping to replace the two that were sold with a side by side RZR.  Normally a person does not make a profit buying and selling these things but we made a good profit on those two.  Good job, Lee!  The difficult part is finding the RZR and, of course, at the right price.  That’s why we’re taking the trailer. 

Fall is here.  We can certainly feel it in the air.

‘Tis life on the road.

Time to Get Back and Go Again ?

 

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

 

Thursday rolled around and it was time to return to Portland. My flight was an early one. The plan was to be at the airport by about 5:30 for a 7:00 am flight. Having a flight that early means you lay awake half the night waiting for the alarm to go off and that’s what I did.  After all I didn’t want to miss the flight. By 3:00 am I was wide awake and couldn’t sleep.  If I couldn’t sleep, you can bet Tammi couldn’t sleep either.  We were up much earlier than planned.  She was taking me to the airport for the flight back to Portland. 

My breakfast selection

At least at this time in the morning there weren't long lines at security. It was a snap to get on the other side and settle in for boarding time. I always like uneventful flights even more than I like uneventful RV travel.  With fewer airplanes flying this route, more people wanting to get there and upgrades harder to come by, getting lucky enough to get an upgrade to first is much rarer than it used to be.  However, I did.   I really like being upgraded. I'm always amazed though at the number of people I've sat next to on those early  morning flights who feel just because the alcohol is free in first class, that they need to consume as much as they can and as fast as they can.   The fella next to me drank all the way. Well, I did too but I drank coffee.  He was going to Japan.  He’ll be in real trouble if he thinks he’s going to drink all across the Pacific!!

 

By the time I arrived back in Portland I was zonked.  That’s when the 3 AM wake up time starting taking it’s toll.  The weather upon arrival was quite a bit different than it was in Phoenix and also when I left about a week ago.  You could tell fall was in the air.  It’s definitely time to start thinking about getting the motorhome in shape for that trip south.

Traveling by air is a lot different than traveling down the road.  There are definitely pros and cons both ways.  We’re so lucky we have that option.  This trip has also made me realize how much I’ve missed this kind of travel.  We used to do it frequently.  It was obvious that I was definitely out of practice.  I think we may have to do something about that.

 

Actually, we’ve got quite a few things we need to do to get ready to hit the road. The cabin needs to be secured and we have two girls playing soccer so we’d like to see a few more games.  We’re thinking two or three weeks before we pull out. 

We still aren’t quite sure where we’re going to settle or even if we’re going to settle any place long term.  I’m not so sure it would work out for us.  We can always park hop between the county parks, Elks, membership parks and boondocking.  For some reason I just like doing it that way best.  I think we’ve been trying to force ourselves into finding that perfect RV park.  It might work for our friends but just maybe it’s not going to work for us.  I get hitchitch way too often.  Well, it may not work right now but one day it might.   I think I like the moving part best for now.  Someday .. we’ll find that perfect place if we still want it … maybe.   I also know we need to be someplace in Arizona this year.  Terry doesn’t think we really need to be in the Phoenix area but  a couple hours away would work.  Regardless of whether or not we’re happy with that, it’s where we need to be.  The good thing is that we also have lots of folks we know heading that way.

So now we know kind of where we’re going. The route to get there is still up in the air.  This week the maps come out, clean up and clean out begins. 

The Elks Lodges in Arizona

In the meantime the deer have their winter coats.  Our deer feeder is finished but I know they’re going to miss us just as we’re going to miss them.  They’ve learned in order to get our attention all they have to do is stand in front of our glass door in the morning.  I’m glad they don’t know how to knock or they’d probably try it.  Duchess sure doesn’t like seeing their nose up against the glass.

 

We finally had our little family get together for those three birthdays we had to postpone.  It was tough trying to get it scheduled when all nine of us could attend but about 8:30 Saturday morning we decided it would work at 11:00 that morning.  PANIC!!  I had shopping to do and Tammi flew to the store to put on a lunch spread for us.  Naturally …. I forgot my camera so clicked away on my iPhone.  I have a few mighty blurry shots. 

It wasn’t Sandi’s birthday but since the old folks (Sabrina, Robert & Terry) couldn’t get those party candles to blow out, she decided to show them how it was done.

‘Tis definitely time to think about getting on that road again.  I can certainly tell humidity is in the air and fall is just around the corner.

Antiques and Designer Discards

 

I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done.

I've always said the easiest way to keep track of what you've been doing is to take pictures. I've done just that. That's the good thing. The bad thing is I ended up deleting them on my iPhone by error and before I completed the pasting.  As you might guess I was not a happy camper. I couldn't retrieve because then I backed it up on iTunes before I recovered.  Stupid. Stupid.

While hanging out in Arizona we also drove out to Gold Canyon and Apache Junction.  We’re always looking for what we think might be that perfect RV park.  We did check out some parks but didn’t fall in love with any of them.  Well, we really like the Maricopa County Parks but they are short term parks.    The problem is that there is no weekly rate so you pay the per day rate of $25 and RVs are limited to 14 days. 

We didn’t just look at RV parks.  We also looked at several UTVs that just happened to be parked along Apache Highway.

Terry's father was a collector of antiques. He didn't collect glass, or furniture or stuff like that. He collected tools, wood planes, yokes. Sleds, irons ... And the list goes on and on and on. Over the years the kids have received some of the antiques. There were still lots left. His mother wanted most of them gone. With that in mind, Terry took his share. On Tuesday we wrapped and boxed and visited the local FedEx office. Tammi checked two big boxes on her flight to Portland. We were good FedEx customers as they double taped and took six more boxes off our hands for shipment to Washington. Terry carried a few items on the plane with him and our friends, the Dixons, allowed us to store a couple more items in their shed. Thank you Jim and Sandie. We will definitely pick up that "stuff" when we get back to Arizona in the motorhome.

It's not that we know much about antiques. We definitely do not. It would be nice to learn a little about what is in these boxes. I think the first thing we want to do is photograph and chart all of them along with price his folks paid on a spreadsheet.   

 

Terry had planned on heading back to Portland on Wednesday but after we got all the boxes shipped and current duties finished Tuesday  he decided he might just see if a flight was available out of Phoenix that night.  This was 5:00 PM so he didn’t have many options.  We checked schedules and he was lucky there was still a nonstop flight back to Portland at 9:00 PM. 

Me ?... Well, I hadn't really planned on heading back until Thursday. After all I still had things to do, places to go, people to see and a fabulous place in Scottsdale at the JW Marriott Spa and Resort.  I'm always amazed with these gorgeous resorts. I'm not so surprised at the rates they charge. What I am surprised at is that people actually pay the rates! I wasn't born into money and I’ve certainly never got to the place in my life that I could justify pending $349 a night for a place to sleep. Heck I even complain when the RV park rates are just 10% of that. 

Our casita setting

I know that most of the people who visit these places are on business but there are some who think nothing of dropping those $$$  for a nice week long vacation.  Oh well... It's a nice place and it sure beats a motel 6! 

The weather is still more than just a little warm in Scottsdale.  It’s hot.  Anything you want to do outside needs to be done in the morning or in the evening.  One morning I walked the grounds of the resort. It is nothing short of gorgeous. The pictures I snapped were of some of the outside areas. There was so much more to it. Inside the rooms were very spacious. . One of the downsides of resorts is the lack of reasonably priced menus. At one point I was starved and decided to settle just for a tuna sandwich.  The cost for the sandwich?  It was a mere $15 with tip.

 

The bathroom was almost as big as the bedroom side.

Bottled water in the room – $8.00

  

Even nightly  turn-down service was provided.

 

After Terry left I was mostly on my own. Tammi was working all the time but I rarely have trouble entertaining myself. There was one place (or was it two) I wanted to visit.  Ever been to Half Off Books? When we lived in Texas we used to frequent that store. We loved it. I spent a bit looking at titles and actually purchasing a couple. My luggage space going back was limited so I knew I had to be careful. 

Another place I wanted to stop was right down the road on Camelback. It was My Sister’s Closet. Ever been there? I discovered it a few years ago when they only had one store. Now they have several. It's a high end second hand clothing and furniture store. They advertise recycled designer clothes, jewelry, purses and many other items. They advertise designer and that's just what they mean ... Designer. They will not accept anything that isn't and nothing that hasn't been freshly cleaned. Many of the items are brand new. Folks apparently doled out lots of $$$ and then decided they didn't want it any longer. Other items were probably not new but certainly looked it. Some of the very popular names included Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Bally, Couch and even Tiffany's. Its a fun place to browse. You get to see what the other half discards. 

Interested in a used Chanel bag for a mere $2995? For a second or two I wondered what Terry would say if I told him I spent $3k on a purse!!!!   Actually, I think I know what he would say.

Used Louis Vuittano may be more to your liking.

------------------------

I didn’t want to end this post without attaching a picture of the bathtub with bubbles I mentioned the other day.  There is nothing like a warm tub with lots of bubbles. As you know, this isn’t a picture of the bathtub in our motorhome!!





‘Tis life on the road.

Zipping Through Quartzsite in September?

 

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.

Now that we’ve got the things we needed to do behind us we almost feel as if we’re on vacation.  When else do you have a rental car, a hotel and run around all day looking at things.  Isn’t that vacation?  Actually, we are staying longer than we figured.  We didn’t bring much in the line of leisure clothes so we went shopping.  We know lots of discount places in this area.  One place I really like is the Dillard’s Outlet.  We had one of these when we lived in Dallas.  Everything is at least 65% off and many things are reduced much more than that.  Terry needed pants and wanted a couple of new shirts plus other stuff.  There are definitely some great places to find stuff in this area.

Check out the bargain on this tag!  Regular price $425 – Sale price $148.75.  What a bargain!!  You'd think the t-shirt would be nice looking but I didn’t even like it!

Monday we decided to take a drive.  Boy, did we take a drive.  We went to Parker and Quartzsite.  Normally we only visit these places during the winter months.  We didn’t expect to see those places popping with people.  We also didn’t expect to see any RVs boondocking on BLM land.  Temperature was over 100 degrees!  However, we did see 3 RVs out there and they were boondocking!!  Many places in Quartzsite weren’t open yet but there were a few locals around.  We were going to stop at the Palo Verde Restaurant but it was even closed.

A while back I wrote a blog comparing the local law enforcement in that town to how we think of Boss Hogg.  Thus, we were anxious to get an update on the local Chief of Police, the mayor and the police officers who had been placed on administrative leave.  Rumor has it that the officers are now working for the Parker Police Department and the Chief of Police is on administrative leave while being investigated.  Other officials on the City Council have been replaced and the town appears to be trying to clean things up.  Well, that’s only how it appears but I have no idea.  That’s the rumors.  My previous blog is here.

While in Parker we did a couple things.  First of all we renewed the license plates on our ATV.  We also checked out a brand new RV park.  It’s the Pirate’s Den Resort!  What a park!  It sits right on the Colorado River with a sandy beach and cabanas.  The bad part is that all the beachfront sites are full and they have a very long waiting list.  If I can’t have a front row site, I’m not interested.  Wi-Fi has been installed throughout the park but cell service is pretty poor regardless of your carrier.  However, they have a gem of a place and I’m sure folks will flock there.  I'm also thinking that there may be many openings in RV parks this winter.  If the rumors of very high fuel prices come true, many snowbirds may not travel south. 

Pirate's Den RV Park

The bar and grill

The highlight of the day was meeting Jim and Sandie at Texas Roadhouse back in Mesa that evening.  The food was fantastic and we enjoyed it immensely.  However, we normally enjoy anyplace we go with the Dixons.  They’re fantastic people and we couldn’t ask for better friends!

‘Tis life on the road.

It’s HOT in Arizona and Last September Birthday

 

Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.

 

Happy Birthday, Sabrina!  Happy Birthday to you.  Her birthday is the 20th and the last of our 3 birthdays within 5 days.

It seems like it’s been forever since I’ve updated anything.  Actually, it almost has been since the last newsy blog was well over a whole week ago. We’ve done a lot and I’ve forgotten most of it.  It’s kind of hard to catch up right now. I can tell you that this week has been a very busy one.  We’ve done quite a few things we haven’t done for a while.  You want an example of one thing?  I took a bubble bath in a bath tub!!!  Now how many RV’ers can say that?  That’s a big thing to sink in that hot tub surrounded with fluffy white bubbles.  It felt wonderful!  Thank you, Marriott!

I hung around Washington for a few days after Terry flew to Phoenix to be with this family.  There were soccer games to attend, Duchess to take care of and a few days to chalk off until Tammi and I were ready to head to Phoenix.  Our flight didn’t leave until Friday.  Terry’s father’s funeral was Saturday.  Terry’s birthday was Saturday.  We had previously made plans to be elsewhere on his birthday but we already know that plans are sometimes difficult to keep. Sometimes we don’t have options.  Such was the case this time.

Tammi and I decided Terry needed a breather so we snuck him away on Saturday and took him to Joe’s BBQ in Gilbert.  This is the best BBQ place in Arizona and they even offer a free meal to folks on their birthday.    My cousin, Shelley, joined us.  It was a quick lunch and a quick getaway.  Afterwards we rejoined the family.

Picture of Terry’s Mom and Dad

When we return to this area we have a few favorite restaurants that we look forward to visiting.  Joe’s BBQ was one.  Texas Roadhouse is another.  Their rib-eye steaks are fantastic.  Cracker Barrel is another.  Terry goes for their vegetable plate with the dumplings and I love their catfish.  Then, there’s the Eastern Buffet in Apache Junction that the Dixons introduced us to last year.  The list of scrumptious seafood goes on and on including all you can eat crab legs, clams and shrimp.  Oh … we have a lot more places we love but those are great for starters.  Of course, any meal is better if you can share it with family or friends.

Tammi headed back to Portland on Sunday leaving us to entertain ourselves.  She didn’t get away before we got a little shopping in and a meal at the Elephant Bar in Chandler. I’ve got to Yelp this visit since it was nothing short of outstanding.  Tammi was already scheduled to return to this area on Tuesday for a business meeting so she’ll be back and we’re considering extending our visit (at least mine) since I can still share her room in Scottsdale.  We used to stay at fabulous resorts when we worked and the company picked up the tab but now that we pay for it, it’s a rare treat.  It’s too bad I can’t get her business to schedule more places for her where I want to go.  However, she is going to Orlando in October.  Terry says NO but I’m thinking on it.  I need to find out where she’s staying first.  If she’s staying in dive, I’m not going.  If it’s a fabulous resort, I might be swayed.

Crab and shrimp salad from Elephant Bar

Sunday we made a stop at the Mesa Swap Meet. It sure doesn’t look like it does in January! Many of the venders hadn’t set up yet. There weren’t a lot of people and it was HOT! I didn’t buy a thing but rest assured Terry didn’t let them down. He helped out the economy just like he normally does.

We also checked out a couple RV parks.  One is in Gold Canyon and another in Apache Junction.  We really have no idea where we’re going to stay when we head south.  We have no idea at all.  There is one place we plan on checking out Monday (the 17th).  It’s a new park and right on the water.

Barnes and Noble was also on our list.  I just had to buy the new book No Easy Day.  I don’t buy many new releases right off the presses.  This one I bought. 

The sun goes down so much earlier in Phoenix than it does in the state of Washington.  It’s already quite dark at 7:00 PM.  That’s just way too early to go to bed but when it’s dark you get fooled into thinking its much later.  The problem is if you go to bed early you’ll probably wake up much earlier than you want to.  I know.  I went to bed way too early the other night.

Tis life on the road.