Good morning, diners. Just black coffee this morning -- it's donut day.
I went outside to walk the dog this morning and it was very foggy -- that's unusual for us.
In our town, fireworks are allowed for the week before July 4th. Last night, it sounded like a war zone. Evidently the supply chain problems didn't affect the import of fireworks from China.
My father loved loud fireworks. He would buy a bunch in July and then would shoot them on New Year's Eve. It was one of the few things he did that would bug my mother.
As kids my brothers and I would spend our hard-earned money on fireworks -- now I don't buy any. Our neighbors buy enough for everyone on our street.
I'll try to check in later today. We're off to church, then we have some other things going on, so there won't be any train time today.
California is such a beautiful state. Here is an Amtrak train heading through California's wine country:
Have a good Sunday everyone.
Edit -- Top of the Page! The diner has a great California Breakfast Egg Scramble Skillet breakfast for everyone this morning.
York1 John
York1As kids my brothers and I would spend our hard-earned money on fireworks -- now I don't buy any. Our neighbors buy enough for everyone on our street.
When we lived in North Fort Myers, I used to shoot off lots of fireworks every New Year.
Now, where I live in Cape Coral, my neighbors are like yours. There is so much action here that I don't buy anything.
York1The diner has a great California Breakfast Egg Scramble Skillet breakfast for everyone this morning.
Thanks, that was perfect!
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Attuvian1 SeeYou190 Maybe today's elderly are better at handling cold weather? -Kevin Not so, Kevin. Long before I was old I came out to Oregon from Michigan to attend grad school. Never minded Michigan winters, even below zero. Was out here for a year and a half before I went back for Christmas. Promptly froze to death! Amazed at how quickly I got declimatized. Has only gotten worse with age, though. As for dealing with extremes, folks chuckle when I remind them that if it gets cold, you can always put more on. But if it gets hot, you can only take so much off! It may get a laugh, but no sympathy. I can no longer deal with extremes of all sorts. John
SeeYou190 Maybe today's elderly are better at handling cold weather? -Kevin
Maybe today's elderly are better at handling cold weather?
What is a sort of funny parallel is we moved to Alaska for about 8 years where the average winter temperature was a high of 10 and a low of -5. One winter we went back to Ohio for Christmas with the families and I was colder in Ohio than I ever was in Alaska, even when it went to -40. I think the wind and humidity in Ohio contributed to the feeling of coldness.
Rick Jesionowski
Rule 1: This is my railroad.
Rule 2: I make the rules.
Rule 3: Illuminating discussion of prototype history, equipment and operating practices is always welcome, but in the event of visitor-perceived anacronisms, detail descrepancies or operating errors, consult RULE 1!
dti406I think the wind and humidity in Ohio contributed to the feeling of coldness.
Cold is definitely not the same everywhere. Up in the mountains with snow I am not really uncomfortable, but in Indiana, same temperature, and snow, it just seems bone-numbing cold. A very different feeling.
The biggest weather lie I have ever heard is that "dry heat" nonsense people spill about Arizona and New Mexico. They say, sure it is hotter than in Florida, but it is a dry heat, so it is not as bad.
Big giant lie. I have been in Arizona and New Mexico when it was over 100 degrees worth of dry heat. The heat is punishing, you sunburn instantly, and your throat gets instantly parched.
I'll take Florida heat over that any time.
Hi Everyone,
Brunhilda, a glass of Pinot noir, please.
getting in the spirit of the fourth, my favorite holiday and some of my fondest memories growing up.
On the Fourth of July, my dad and I would go up to my grandparents farm. There I would meet up with my cousins and we would each have about 1000 firecrackers.
We would spend the entire day blowing up things and shoot off the firecrackers. When evening came, the grownups would come out and my cousins and I would shoot off all the night works. All were entertained.
Good times.
Jim (with a nod to Mies Van Der Rohe)
up831On the Fourth of July, my dad and I would go up to my grandparents farm. There I would meet up with my cousins and we would each have about 1000 firecrackers. We would spend the entire day blowing up things and shoot off the firecrackers. When evening came, the grownups would come out and my cousins and I would shoot off all the night works. All were entertained.
Hi up831,
My earliest memories of fireworks were at my grandparents' farm too. My dad and my brother were both members of the Canadian Armed Forces Ontario Regiment Reserves. Somehow, a few artillery simulators managed to find their way to the farm. They scared the pants off of me! I had never experienced anything so loud!! Made the 'Burning Schoolhouse' look pretty lame!
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
We are having great fireworks shows right now in our neighborhood. I'm not sure where they are buying these things, but these aren't the kind of fireworks you can buy down at the legal fireworks stands.
Lots of money is going up in smoke. It's a lot of fun to watch and listen to.
Daisy the Deaf Dachshund is sleeping through it all.
York1We are having great fireworks shows right now in our neighborhood.
Mine too.
The weather is predicting very heavy rains tomorrow evening, so I think a lot of people just decided to send them up tonight.
SeeYou190Mine too. The weather is predicting very heavy rains tomorrow evening, so I think a lot of people just decided to send them up tonight. -Kevin
All the shooting fireworks are stopping, and we're having nature's fireworks starting. The big storm is about a half hour away.
With the diner visiting California, the news obviously has to be the new high speed rail project. Even with all the cost overruns, mismanagement, and corruption, the sections built so far are impressive:
Good Evening,
We were supposed to have showers and cloud today but it was sunny and about 70F.
Was our 40th anniversary today but no celebration. I won't go into the details except to say I live in the basement and she lives upstairs.
Didn't do anything all day.
For those south of the border, have a nice fourth and be careful with all those fireworks.
CN Charlie
Happy 4th of July to all my southern neighbours! I hope everyone has a good time!!
At midnight here the sky just erupted with fireworks. I guess it was offically the fourth, and time to let it go.
I am caulking around all the baseboards and door frames in the living room right now. Lots of work, but not much visible progress.
The World Is A Beautiful Place
-Photograph by Kevin Parson
Time to get back to work...
SeeYou190I'll take Florida heat over that any time.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Good morning, diners. It's a hot and humid July 4th. Bacon, eggs, and black coffee, please, Flo.
Happy anniversary, Charlie. Without details, I understand, too.
When you're retired, holidays aren't quite what they were when working. However, the grass needs cutting, and it's not getting done today since it's a holiday.
Our neighbors just got back from attending a wedding in California, and they took the California Zephyr. They had a bedroom, so they really enjoyed the trip. The only negative was lots of stops and delays.
The Stockton, California, station is the old Santa Fe station. Today Amtrak uses it.
I hope everyone has a great day.
Yeah, pretty low key for us as retirees, too. We had some friends over for a cookout on Friday, and last night we listened to fireworks across the way without even seeing them. We live in a summer resort community, and after a couple of years of lockdowns things are open again and the traffic is often a nightmare, particularly on weekends.
Yes, we've become Early Bird Special people, although you won't even find those here in the summer. We go early to beat the crowds and take advantage of Happy Hours. But, these long weekends are still just for buying from the store and doing some home cooking.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
MisterBeasley We live in a summer resort community, and after a couple of years of lockdowns things are open again and the traffic is often a nightmare, particularly on weekends.
We are a Winter resort community, and I understand. We had a long time without season residents or tourists, and it was nice. This past Winter was quite a struggle with traffic, crowding, and attitudes we has not seen for a while.
Here we are five weeks into Hurricane Season 2022, and not one single named storm. Yesterday a couple of news outlets have changed their predictions for the year. The original prediction was "we are all going to die", but that has been revised to "most of us are probably going to die" which I guess is better.
The best feature I have added to my living room:
I installed a little niche into the wall right by my spot on the couch where I can set my beer!
I think this will be a huge improvement on our movie snuggle nights.
Good morning diners! Flo, I'll have a glass of chocolate milk and a Bavarian long John please. Thanks all for the birthday wishes! This year was one of the nicest birthdays I've had in a while. I was up most of the night smoking a couple pork butts for tonight's pulled pork. They turned out great, but man am I sleepy. Fireworks were going off like mad in our neighborhood last night too. Lots of rain forecasted for tonight, so I'm guessing that's why there was such a show last night. My oldest goes in for surgery number three tomorrow. New doctor, new hospital, hopefully new (better) result. Later gents.
Mike
Water Level RouteMy oldest goes in for surgery number three tomorrow. New doctor, new hospital, hopefully new (better) result.
Thoughts and prayers for your daughter and you.
Long ago —
Shasta by Edmund, on Flickr
and far, far away.
Shasta_0001 by Edmund, on Flickr
SP_16th_Oakland by Edmund, on Flickr
How about a buttery, shortbread biscuit or cookie, if you prefer, to go with your tea or coffee?
Shortbread by Edmund, on Flickr
Cheers, Ed
Good morning, everyone. Bacon, eggs, and coffee, Chloe.
I woke up this morning to thunder, so I will have to delay the morning walk.
I don't mind, because I can't cut grass in the rain. Isn't that too bad.
Since college, I have never been much of a music person. My car radio is set to talk stations, and I watch TV instead of having a music system playing.
That said, my all-time favorite music from my high school years was California beach music. The Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, and all the others:
My brother was in the Navy stationed in San Diego in 1966. Visiting him, we rode motorcycles and stayed at his house a block from the beach. Great memories!
With the rain, it's another day to work on the layout. I'm kind of at a roadblock in something I want on the layout, but I'm not sure how to go about it. I may start another thread for some answers.
Ed's photo of the Oakland train station -- here's an updated view of the station today:
Have a great day today. Hope Mike's daughter's surgery goes well this morning.
Mike: Hope everything goes well for your daughter.
Fireworks are legal in the city limits in Dodge City from 10:00 am til 11:00 pm July 2nd through July 5th. We have neighbors that put on elaborate shows starting at dark; night after night. They must spend thousands of dollars on aerials (sp?). Fireworks were still going off at 2:00 am this morning. The smell of gunpowder is everywhere. I get the allure of fireworks, but I would rather spend my money on a fun trip or another home improvement project or model trains!
Speaking of trains. I did have some time in the layout room this past weekend. Made some major progress on sorting and placing like things together. The short term goal is to have space to actually begin construction of a 2' x 20' section on one of the branch lines that will be featured on the layout.
York1 I'm kind of at a roadblock in something I want on the layout, but I'm not sure how to go about it.
If there ever was a universal dilemma for Model Railroader, that might be it.
Happy 5th of July, Last night sounded like a war zone,
I did not go to our city fireworks as it was still over 100 F heat index at 9pm
Neighbors made up for that, i never have to buy any fireworks
Quiet diner day.
More storms heading our way tonight. That means the grass will be too wet tomorrow for me to mow. Too bad!
Wine train!
I did not hear any fireworks tonight for the fifth of July. Usually there are lots of fireworks on the 5th because they go on sale. Maybe not this year?
The whole neighborhood has been eerily quiet tonight. Not at all normal for the 5th.
Good Morning Diners! Flo, coffee and keep it coming.
Thanks to all for the well wishes for my daughter. The surgery went relatively well, although it was delayed so we got home much later than we originally expected. She is in pain, but not more than really expected, so that's good. New to this surgery is a drain tube with a little suction device that needs to be emptied periodically. That's kind of gross and a bit of a PITA to have to deal with the device, but if this approach fixes all this for her, it will be worth it. It's been over a year on this issue that doctors originally figured would take about 6 weeks to resolve, but one complication after another and here we are. I feel so bad for her.
We had no fireworks going off in our neighborhood last night either. Not sure why as we usually do for about a week after the 4th, but we'll take it!
Good morning, everyone. Bacon, eggs, and coffee.
Good news, Mike!
Our small town has a law that fireworks have to end at midnight on the 4th. Of course, you still hear them for an hour or two after that, but we don't hear any on the 5th.
There's not much going on here. My wife is again on the warpath fighting raccoons at the bird feeders. She spends her entire days working on it. She says it's her hobby. Of course, I can't be critical since I spend entire days playing with trains. I've quit offering to solve the problem with my gun.
One of Amtrak's best scenery trains is California's Surfliner.
Have a great summer day, everyone. (Except for Bear -- have a great winter day.)
Brunhilda, coffee with cream, please.
John: You are right about the surf liner being beautifully scenic. In several places along the route the trains are actually between PCH and the ocean. I mean you're practically on the water. Some gorgeous ocean views especially at sunset.
In San Diego county, there's also the South Coaster which goes from SD to Oceanside, or right near there. It's a commuter type train, but a fun afternoon ride. My wife and I rode it to Solana Beach and back for fun a few years ago. Sorry I don't have any pictures.
up831John: You are right about the surf liner being beautifully scenic.
Coast_cal by Edmund, on Flickr
On a private car excursion.
York1My wife is again on the warpath fighting raccoons at the bird feeders.
This summer seems to be rife with raccoons. I've "dispatched" over two dozen in the last two weeks. As the raccoon population declines then I begin trapping opossums then the skunks follow. The skunks can be a real pain to deal with.
We have to keep the critter population down in order to protect the chickens.
NYC_Lines_California by Edmund, on Flickr