Here and Gone
The last three days of my staycation flew by as I filled them with a combination of small chores, 3D printing and EUC rides. On Saturday Cindy and I went on a massive errand run that concluded with picking up nearly $300 of groceries at Sam’s Club. Shortly after we got home Deb came over to hang out, her and Cindy have been doing various crafting projects together. I slammed a few White Claws during the visit. The girls thought it would be funny to get a picture of me drinking with a flower behind the ear. I was too buzzed to object.
I also spent some time Saturday afternoon working on the pool cleaner, once again replacing the rubber “skirt” which seems to have a very short useful life. In the process of disassembly the gear train came apart. I put it back together but the cleaner wasn’t running normally afterward. It took a second tear apart and reassembly session the next day to get it right.
On Sunday I got out for a Dunkin Donuts ride on the MSX. It was a fast ride with speed again cresting over the 30MPH mark. During the trip I ran into a One Wheeler who was completing his coffee run from Starbucks. This guy was an advanced rider with skills that far surpass my own. After I returned I went right back out with the Skydio 2 in hand to shoot some aerial ride footage. The drone did an amazing job tracking me around and over light poles and trees, all autonomously.
I spent a good portion of the day Sunday in the hobby room printing/assembling stands. I have been fighting with problems on two of the printers which have been frustrating me. I need to spend more concentrated effort to try to get the problems handled.
On Monday morning I decided to end the staycation like I started with another run. I had my normal work alarm set so I got to the track early, hoping for a less miserable experience than Thursday. Even with it being before 7AM the temp was nearly 80 degrees and the humidity was off the charts. I’m not sure if the pic captured the misery well but I do enjoy the new portrait mode that comes with the Iphone 11. It can make even a novice like me look like I know what I am doing when it comes to photography.
So when I got home I headed out towards the chickens when movement in the pool caught my eye. Something was swimming around but it swam differently and was slightly larger than a frog. As I focused I realized it was a baby palm rat. Cindy had cooked out on the George Foreman grill the night before and didn’t get a chance to clean it afterward. I suspect that is what lured him in. The only reason the little guy didn’t drown was because the pool cleaner was still in the water, he was able to use the hose as a life raft.
I used the pool skimmer to coral the baby into a corner and then plopped him inside a container. He got transported to the same general area as all the rest of the rodents I have caught. I wished him good luck as he scurried away into the underbrush.
Late morning I headed out for my second EUC ride in as many days. I went to an entirely new destination to ride, Bonita Beach Road, all the way into Fort Myers Beach. It’s an area that Cindy and I talked about riding a number of times in the past but we never got around to doing it.
I made the trip solo and it’s a good thing I did as the riding conditions at times were pretty treacherous. There was a gusting cross wind that was pushing me all over the place. It was extremely problematic over bridges as it threatened to push my pedal into the high curb.
Once I got into Fort Myers Beach the difficulty continued as much of the main drag is ripped up for construction. My body was getting beat up trying to avoid/absorb all of the obstacles while rolling along at 25-30MPH. The video does a good job of capturing some of the struggles. I again put the drone up in the air at the end. Despite the very windy conditions the Skydio managed to track me without issue.
Just as I was ready to completely write off the guy that did the chicken yard fill/sod he out of the blue decided to contact me and let me know he could do the work this upcoming weekend. Hopefully he follows through. As the day wound down I lamented how quickly the 5 days had passed. I know I say this after every staycation but I could retire tomorrow and not miss conventional work one iota.