It is time for a Heineken!
Good afternoon fellow Diners. I hope everyone is well.
I went to Orlando yesterday to drop off my daughter's DragonCon CosPlay props with my sister. The drive was terrible, more on that later. I did get there in time to visit Colonial Photo And Hobby, my old favorite train store. I had not been there since late 2019, almost two years. Unbelievable.
It is looking a little worn on the outside.
The camera section is still awesome. I picked up a good deal on a used 28mm-135mm image stabilized lens for my T6 Canon Rebel. I will try that out soon.
They still sell and process professional 35mm film here. There are many serious photographers that keep this store in business.
The train side of Colonial Photo And Hobby was very barren. Most of the shelves were 1/2 empty. Looking around, almost all the inventory is brand new. It does not look like they have a problem with dead inventory sitting around.
I talked to one of the workers and he told me they cannot buy train inventory. According to them, all the manufacturers are out of inventory at their level. They can get a few Walthers products, Kato, and Bachmann, but most other items cannot be had. They said they have not been able to buy any locomotives other than Bachmann and Walthers wholesale.
There is nearly no Lionel or Large Scale trains in the store at all.
They have expanded the plastic model section into some of the train area to take up the shelf space. They have very few military models. They said getting those kits is a problem now too.
This cannot be good for the hobby shop business.
I did find a couple of the Rapido electric uncouplers. I will build a small section of track to experiment with these soon.
I drove out to my sister's house to drop off the props. She is leaving for DragonCon on Wednesday.
She has this 50+ year old Crape Myrtel in her front yard. I am jealous of this tree. My Crape Myrtels are just over 15 years old. I will never see them this magnificent.
On the drive to Orlando there was a terrible accident on Interstate 4 where it meets US27 West of Orange County. A big U-haul towing a U-haul trailer had rolled in the median. All of the contents were thrown all over the highway. I hope the driver was OK. It looked like a family has lost everything they own. It was a horrible site. Traffic was backed up for miles in all directions.
On the return trip home I saw two accidents. One on SR17 North of Arcadia with four cars in the ditch, and another on US41 in Punta Gorda where an 18 wheeler hit a car at an intersection.
Three accidents in one day is too much.
One year ago today my Areca Palms were planted in my backyard. In just one year they have grown in quite well.
Very soon they should give me complete privacy in the backyard.
That is all for now. Sorry to go on-and-on like that.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
August the Last. I wonder where we are going in September?
See You In September...
This is a good time to visit Gnu England.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Mike good luck with your hip. Last year in the deer stand, I noticed when I crossed my leg, with my left across my right femur, the lower left leg was parallel to the ground, When I crossed my right leg, I could not get it close to parallel. Now I am having a hard time getting my right leg into my pants while standing.
No pain so I will put it off as long as possible. Nothing to report on the cardiac front, except the sensor's charge doesn't last the 3 days advertised.
My son's stepson has tested positive for covid. So far he and the rest of the family are asymptomatic.
I think Virginia would be a good place, but I am not volunteering. The job others did was so much better than my attempt a couple years ago.
I see we are back to 504 Errors on this site.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
BroadwayLion This is a good time to visit Gnu England. ROAR
Lion mentioned Gnu England and instantly I was taken back to my first girlfriend. She was a Barry Manilow fan. I think every song Barry Manilow ever performed started out slow and melodic, crescendoing throughout until its/his screaming end. Fortunately for me she went to all his concerts with her groupie girlfriends and I was spared. You never forget your first love, we are still good friends, she is a Doctor at the University of Chicago Hospital.
Here ya go Brother Elias.
Kevin, your yard looks amazing, well done.
My sister is coming down to say goodbye to my daughter, which translates into giving her a big wad of cash so she doesn't starve at University.
We just went and picked up a University grant that my daughter got for all her volunteer work. She did not know how much she was awarded in advance of picking it up. This year she got $5000.00 and it is already in the bank. It pays to volunteer.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Again this site is frozen
Get a computer geek and fix your site!!!
TF
Come to think of it
I'll have a Heineken
Top of the page! From Kevin's batch!
Heineken's for all you Kids here!
Track fiddlerTop of the page! From Kevin's batch! Heineken's for all you Kids here!
Yep, Mine arrived nice and cold! Thanks Kevin. Yes, the site has been slow as mud the last 48 hours.
Hiney_on-track by Edmund, on Flickr
Isn't Florida one of the most accident-prone states to drive in? I sure recall some near-misses during the few visits I've made there.
Our hotel overlooked International Drive in Orlando on one visit and we could look out the balcony and generally see a fender-bender soon enough.
Heinekin is getting in short supply around here! Should have stocked up. Possibly due to the container shortage/rates?
I'll have to go back to home brewing. We have the hops!
IMG_1415 by Edmund, on Flickr
IMG_1886 by Edmund, on Flickr
See You in September!
Cheers, Ed
gmpullmanYep, Mine arrived nice and cold! Thanks Kevin. Yes, the site has been slow as mud the last 48 hours.
I thought it was just my computer or connection. It takes a long time to get a page to load.
York1 John
BroadwayLionAugust the Last. I wonder where we are going in September?
I thort we wus doing Stations!
"Yes, the site has been slow as mud the last 48 hours."
Very thick sticky mud!!!
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."