Day 4 - Until Next Time…..Oh! Snowball & Da Crittaz!! | Rollin’ To Rolla

The final day is upon us and for a short visit, we had a great time seeing our sibs in their new habitat.  Our day started off early with dropping off Sedona to school.  Then we made a couple errands and had an awesome lunch at The Mandarin Garden. We made back to Erin’s home to see how Snowball was doing and she did fine, which reminds me.   

So, on Sunday we got to meet Snowball, the Adamson's dog they got back in El Paso, TX and of course, moved with them to Rolla.  She was described as a rambunctious and hyperactive dog who was incredibly strong.  There were a couple of times she kind of ran off in the new environment they moved into and she had destroyed her new kennel in the garage.  We met her and yes, she was very excitable, but she was all of the cuteness.  Her eye caught me and I could not stop talking to her and being all mushy, mushy with her.  

We had left for church on Sunday morning and when we got back we discovered how unhappy Snowball was with all of us.   She had destroyed the door from the garage to the house.  Oh my goodness that was wicked and a bit troublesome.   About a day later Jen came up with an idea of trying a temp solution of repairing her kennel with zip ties and see if Snowball would still break out.  At first she told Erin that they could just go to a home improvement store and get some, but then I remembered that I had some in a tool bag that I packed during our move in May.   I dashed back to the car and went to the garage to start implementation of Jen’s idea.  I felt very proud that I was prepared.  Well at least for that.  We zipped up the really damaged areas and reinforced the good ones.  It was then time to test it out.   Snowball fussed, cried and even tried to dig her bed out, but she could not break free of her kennel.  It was deemed a success and all that was left was for Snowball to adapt to it.  Now will this completely solve the work to be done with her?  Of course not, but the Adamsons can work the best they can to make things easier for them and they will.  They have been together too long not to. 

Snowball wondering what am I doing to her kennel.

Anyways, it was about that time to go and sadness did fall upon us all (I think David, too.  Tee Hee.  Love you man).  We said our goodbyes and ventured back onto the road.  He made a few more stops than we did on the way to Rolla, but made it back to home in pretty decent time.   We had fun and we will miss them so much, but we do plan to return and maybe sometime do a halfway meet up in Tulsa, OK.  I know that this city is not a very exciting one, but as most travelers know, you can find some interesting thing in almost anywhere.  Oh, I also want to point out that Tyson was going to be a concern on this trip, but with traveling in his new kennel with his sister and some help with essential oils, he ended up doing very well.  Slept most the way up there and back.  It was very comforting.  

Ok.  That is it on our trip since December 2015.  Next we will be doing a longer road trip back up to Minnesota.  To see the Crouches and VanBurkleos.  Who knows who else.  

Until then…..

Day 3 - City Tour | Rollin’ To Rolla

We actually got to sleep in today and once we were up, we were told that there was a little bit of the fire that was still burning.   Actually one log that was still pretty hot.  Anyways, sis-in-law (SIL) made us a boss breakfast IMO. Very, very noms!!!  

We chatted it for a while and it was time to head out.  We met up with some family at a local restaurant called Tater Patch.  It was a nice place with some pretty sweet food with a lot of focus on the taters.   I did not have much of the taters, instead I had some pasta.  My primary love ❤️

We then departed to have our tour of Rolla.   We saw some of the stores local and national.  We saw where SIL will be working starting next week and then stopped at BIL’s place of work.  We managed to find him there and he was in the process of coaching some student athletes in the weight room.   He broke off to chat with us for a bit and then we headed out to finish the tour.  

We then got back to the house and decided that a long time issue must be resolved, Wil Must See The Princess Bride.  I know!!!!   I ended up liking the film, but unfortunately it will not make my Top 10.   Not even my Top 20.  Sorry.  My niece had to later retire because she returns to class the next day and after daddy got home we all retired.   

A less eventful day, but still a great day.   Final day approaches.  

Later…..

Day 2 - Church ‘ N Fire | Rollin’ To Rolla

Day 2, which starts out with some yummy coffee and a good walk of the dogs.  We then headed out to the Adamsons church, which was having a special event at one of the member’s house.  It was huge and beautiful.  The service was held in their storage or secondary warehouse.  Not sure exactly.  After the service, as Kenan Thompson portraying David Ortiz would say, “ They had a biiig lunch!” And a big lunch it was.  Pretty much, too much to choose from and not many of us went back for seconds.  

While we adults were stuffing our faces, the kids went off on a hayride around the property.   When they returned, they said that they had a great time and later dashed off to some games.  Some of us adults, including myself, then went on the hayride and it was fun and uneasy.   We returned and prepared to depart.   

We arrived home as later was greater by daddy Adamson.  He then proceeded to the backyard and prepared for the mighty bonfire that night.   We enjoyed a very yummy dinner and then head outside for the s’more making.   

The bonfire was very big and lasted very long.  The heat radius seemed like it was almost 30 feet wide.  The marshmallow roasting went ok and a few of us were left with sticky fingers.   Check out photos on my Facebook page @becauseimwil and videos on My YouTube Channel called CocoaVision: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvIM0NVVVLjKhSGSSfUNpFg

Day 1 - Rolling Out | Rollin’ To Rolla

So the time has come to make out exciting trip to visit the Adamsons at their new home in Rolla, Missouri.  If you are not familiar with this small city, that is fine.  It is pretty much in the middle of the state just 1.5 hours east of Springfield and is in the northern portion of The Ozarks.  

Our day started with a very busy first half of the day as I attended my last class of the week and my wife was at the last day of her conference.  We met back around 2:30 pm, got packed up, gathered Da Crittaz and rolled out. The traffic out of DFW was great as we left at an ideal time on a Saturday.  Didn't run into much construction either as we headed through Sherman and approached Oklahoma.   

In Oklahoma, I will admit that I was somewhat on guard for reason some folks would find ridiculous, but I kept focused on the road, hanging around the speed limit.  My philosophy on driving now is why rush it, I will still make it there, God willing.  In almost every smaller city though, there was at least one car stopped in the opposite flow of traffic.  Kind made me a bit more nervous, but I made through the state with no problem.  We made one restroom/gas/food stop and proceeded out of the state.   

Kansas was pretty ok.  No police presence in the sense of any pullovers and I felt more comfortable driving.  My only issue is with the Will Rogers (I-44) turnpike as we entered from US HWY 69.  We received a ticket as was instructed to turn it in at the next plaza and pay $2.  We arrived at the next plaza and was about to hand the attendant our ticket where she all of a suddenly blurted out, “$4!”.  Then she saw the ticket in my hand and said, “Oh psych! $2”.  We paid and left wondering one thing, if that small strip was just $2 and she said $4 does that mean the whole turnpike through Kansas cost just $4?  If so, then I deem that as crap, but it has been a long time since I drove the whole turnpike. Will have to look that up. 

We finally arrived in Missouri and right after we left the rest stop, I started to ware down.   So my wife took over and we made it to Rolla around 2:30 am.  We fell out almost an hour later.  

Ready to enjoy our time with the Adamsons.  

Cruise Radio on Stitcher Radio Network

Me and my wife loves to travel and our latest form of travel was cruises.  We seriously enjoyed them.  There are some details of each of the three cruises we did in earlier entries in this blog.  After our second cruise I had discovered CruiseRadio.net on the Stitcher Radio Network.

This channel was great as I would listen most of time as they would give updates on the cruise industry including changes in protocol, fleet changes (renovations, new ships) and port changes.  They also featured cruiser's testimonials.  Very, very detailed.  My wife wonders why I listen to this show especially since we have not been on a cruise for 3 years now, but I just enjoy the show and hope that one day we can return to cruising.

Anyways, check out an episode of this show by clicking the box below and see what you think.  I will try to update when a show is new by having a link on the right column so check in from time to time or you can just simply go to CruiseRadio on Stitcher and check out their latest episode.  Alright, enjoy the posted episode and like I said, if you like it, keep checking for new episodes here and there.  Happy Cruising!

I Passed

So, I did it.  I am now certified as a Deployment Functionality Technician.  Pretty cool!  I am more confident in my job skills as a DFT and is ready to dive in the role on the team.  I feel things will go very well in this position, but I am not interested in ther overnights even though I have to do them. 

There are two other DFTs who need to be certified and I'm sure they will do great and pass with flying colors.  Now time to head home and get back to work.

Booooooooooooooo!

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DFT Training - Day 1 and 2

So I am in the Twin Cities, Minnesota going through my part 2 of training for Deployment Functionality Technician. The trip up here was pretty rough. 2 delays, but no cancellations. Once finally in the air half the flight was smooth and the rest was the choppiest i have ever experienced. Finally arrived at 10pm (started at airport at 3:30pm).

My driver arrived shortly before my bags arrived, which was awesome and we were on out way to the hotel. Dropped out stuff of at the hotel and went out for a late dinner.

After that we stopped at a gas station where things got interesting. Some guy in the car with his girl decided to try to start stuff with one of the guys in our car. They followed us to the hotel and circle the place before finally leaving. What a trip.

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On A Boat-Day 5: Nassau Hex

We have arrived in Nassau, Bahamas and was joined by 2 other cruise ships: The Sky fron Norwegan Cruise Lines and The Monarch from Royal Caribbean. Not a whole lot was planned for the day so we will make it a beach day. First stop was Hard Rock (of course) and picked up my shot glass.

Aftewards we took a 20 minute trek to find a beach to chill at. The water was cold upon entry, but was nice once you're completely in. The weather was great and the sun was blasting. Hours later we did a little shopping and headed back to the ship.

After a short nap, we headed to dinner then a movie on the main deck. The film was Jonah Hex, starring Josh Brolin and Megan Fox. Some of you may not have heard of it because when it released in July '10 it only stayed in theaters for just under a month. In my opinion it was pretty good for a comic book movie (DC Comics). I do recommend checking it out whenever.

Well off to bed. Tomorrow we dock at Freeport, Bahamas.

Towel Animal: Bear

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On A Boat-Day 4: Ruthless Play

Day 2 of the cruise. Just about the same activity as yesterday except things turned for the good. Starting with Jen doing much better. Still fatigued, but better.

I participated in Day 2 of the Super Duper Trivia, where I was still team captain. I don't how it happend, but we killed on this game. We answered question after question so well. We even picked up points when they missed questions. The physical challenge was to blow a long balloon and tie it shut. I was tricked in doing this challenged because the host asked for strong players. She meant players with strong lungs. I could not blow my balloon at all so my opponent won, but he didn't blow it up completely so instead of 50 pts, she only awarded 30. My friend called me a ruthless player because I was strategic with the card play: Double points 3x, made the other team miss a turn and after they got their last question right and tripling their points, I played a steal points card. I called it being strategic, but she says I was ruthless.

Later that day I returned to Name That Tune and Bean Bag Competition. I finished in 3rd in name that tune (41 out of 60 points). Then there was Bean Bag competition. My usual partner did not show so I teamed up with one of the folks from my trivia team. We finished 2nd.

The rest of the day was pretty much chill. Taking care of my baby and watched 300 & Dragonball + in spanish (that's right in spanish) until I went to sleep.

Next day, Port to call at Nassau, Bahamas.

Towel Animal: Elephant

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On A Boat-Day 3: Quarter Drop

First full day on the ship at sea. No ports so it's a fun day at sea. Jen chilled for most of the day and i was in and out of the cabin checking on her, doing events and eating.

One of the events I was in was called Super Duper Trivia. This is a multiple day event and the first day started off strong. Along with the questions you answer, there are physical challenges. Today's challenge was to take a quarter, put it between your butt cheeks, walk across the floor and drop it in a small cup. Oh my lord that is one big challenge (see video). I also participated in a name that tune and bean bag competition.

It was elegant night for dinner, which as you know means that we dress up. After that we checked out 2 comedians, Carl Fauleneberry and Dean Gaines. Carl, we saw on our first cruise as well. He's very hilarious then and now. He reused some of the same material, but was still very funny. Dean was new to us. He is a regular in Las Vegas. He was pretty funny, but was a bit over the top. He has a huge fascination with male genitalia, makes me wonder.

It was a pretty eventful day and we have another fun day at sea before arriving at Nassau, Bahamas.

Towel Animal: Swan

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