Monday, April 20, 2009

Refuge

noun: Shelter or protection from danger or distress; a place that provides shelter or protection; something to which one has recourse in difficulty. 

Refuge. 
Sometimes, that is what RoadAbode can be - somewhere to get away - leave behind the issues of the week. Sit outside and be warmed by a glorious sun, contemplate the sprouting buds and shoots. The simplistic wonder of Creation. 
Still need to come back to reality, but sometimes a small respite from the idiocy of work and church and school and responsibilities and more plainly - people - can give new perspective, or at least a fresh start.

This weekend, we each had a book along to enjoy. Perhaps we all needed to escape to somewhere....each girl had a fable or fantasy, and I continued the autobiographical RoadTrip journey of William Least Heat-Moon, "Blue Highways" Not a spiritual book, but certainly one that delves into the authors thoughts on the soul within. His refuge was no more than a van, barely converted for a tour around the U.S., a journey that gives glimpses into the variety of lives, livelihoods, and landscape that makes up our nation. Perhaps his view is a bit weighty toward a direction - wanting to explain and investigate the American-Indian Bloodline along his route - but it's a wonderfully descriptive journey across America's secondary roads and places. 

My Journey this weekend however, was to go in the opposite direction than we had originally planned:
  • Farmland rather than Seashore
  • Family rather than Friends
  • Lethargy rather than Busy-ness
  • Introspection rather than Observation
It was a glorious weekend. There should be more times like these.
We ate at Shady Maple - Not the "All-You-Can-Eat" gorge-fest upstairs, but a hearty and filling meal at the cafeteria. Purchased our dessert at the farm market - and bought a few extra to share. Shopped at the Good's Store for a few essentials in RoadAbode - and a few extra bargains as well.

Country Acres

A walk with Molly - stopping @ the playground.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

RoadTesting the LCD TV


Here's the TV in its "extended" mode. When traveling, it sits in front of the cabinet opening, buckled in, and is still operational using the inverter and switch I installed as one of our first upgrade projects for RoadAbode. It picked up over 100 channels in cable mode at Spring Gulch campground this weekend, a mix of analog and digital. Girls requested that I swivel the viewing angle down, which was pretty easy with the adjustment knob on the back (though I would not want to do on a daily basis - hard to tighten up by hand to my satisfaction) 
Am has purchased material and a rod to hang a curtain for inside the old tv cabinet - to conceal the cables and other equipment.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Upgrade Number two for 2009

Had been looking at ways to update the existing CRT TV in RoadAbode. One way was using an Acer LCD Monitor I had. I researched and then purchased a Digital TV Coverter. picture was beautiful, for Over the Air Channells, but was only picking up the secondary Cable Channels. Plus, hooking up games or the DVD player was problematic. What was suppose to be a "cheap" solution was getting costly. Looking on the web, found a good deal on a LCD 19" Vizio TV. I also purchased a swing arm mount to hang the LCD. Some new cables, and some cable ties and such, totalled out to about $240. Once all was delivers - The install fun began!

First came the removal of the old TV and VCR. One of my objectives was to also move the component switch, electrical, and subwoofer from the cabinet next to the TV, and into the space vacated by it. i also wanted to utilize an old Laptop (since the Vizio has a monitor in) for basic surfing/search functions when at a campground that has wifi and to play mp3s when needed.
Here's the Cabinet Next to the TV - Chock-ful of equipment!














He's stuff moved over - still a scramble of wires and cables, but getting there. The subwoofer and a/v auto- switch I added velcro to - so they don't move or slide around.














Positioned the computer I'll use in the cabinet. wedged in pretty well on it's own, but for extra protection, used some foam pieces under and on sides to help with bumping around. Connected to it are wireless keyboard and trackball, a usb wifi connector, and usb hub - so that a usb drive can be connected - or even ports for firewire as well. Connected semi- permamernt to the hub is an eight GB drive - to store apps or downloads on, without mucking up the system drive more.













Here's the swing-arm mount for the TV installed. Wires behind are still a mess.













Wiiring is a little better, and you can see the foam cushioning mounted for the laptop














Need to post some pictures of the finished product yet - But I need to do a road test first.

Sunday, April 05, 2009

RoadTrip to Zern's

Brought RoadAbode home early Saturday Morning with Am. Was a great ride, though windy. Did a quick wash and once-over, and filled/sanitized the fresh water tank.  This was for a planned RoadTrip with some RPC YAs to Zern's Farmers Market. Left around 3:30 - 4pm after Choir Practice.  The route on the way up I-76 to RT202 to RT422 to RT100 to RT73 was quite windy, and by the time I made it home, my arm was actually sore. On the way our guests got to play "RoadAbode Bingo" with cards I had created.
Once at Zern's, Am made sliced hot roast beef sandwiches. After everyone had their fill, we sent them into Zern's with a little "scavenger hunt" to do.
By nights end, everyone had fun, and we took swamp pike to 422 on the way home. Good time, and great outing in RoadAbode.
Alas, no pictures of our Saturday Adventure.