Election 2012 (surprise!), short squirrel-scaring trip, trip to Finger Lakes National Forest with Orat

(posted from home)

(This post covers 1 - 30 November, 2012)




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Friday, 30 November -

Today Labashi went into town so I thought I’d give the Miata some exercise on this 55-degree day. But the battery was dead. Last year I bought a de-sulfating battery charger so I dug it out and read through the instruction book and connected it to the Miata battery. My drive will have to wait.
I rode the motorcycle to Rocky Ridge Park and walked my five-mile loop in 1:50. There were lots of people around today, presumably because of the holiday and the nice weather.

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Thursday, 29 November -

I continued research on gasoline storage and ethanol testing. It turns out ethanol testing is fairly easy but it’s not easy to find a reasonably-priced tester. I also looked into buying racing gas and found a nearby source but it’s very expensive.
I also spent an inordinate amount of time looking for a fuel transfer pump. This shouldn’t be as complicated as it is.
That evening we watched ‘Rainshadow’ episodes again.

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Wednesday, 28 November -

This morning I drove into town for a few errands. Labashi wanted me to pick up a bottle of fox urine and I need to replace the filter on our new heat pump.
Labashi uses the fox urine to keep away critters--- groundhogs, skunks, oppossums, etc-- from under the barn. Unfortunately, the fox urine stock at Gander Mountain was depleted.
Since there’s a Lowe’s on that side of town I looked for a furnace filter there and was very surprised they didn’t have any 14x24 filters at all. I had to drive across town to the Home Depot and there found three choices for that size.
That afternoon I rode the Concours up to Cycle Tech to drop it off for service and Labashi picked me up. I’ve been putting off this expensive service but it’s time to get my winter bike back in action. It has had an oil leak at the bevel gear area and that’s going to be something like five hours of labor to replace. The old beast also needs a set of tires so there’s another $400 or so.
That evening we watched ‘Horatio’s Drive’, a Ken Burns documentary about the first cross-country automobile trip. Well done!

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Tuesday, 27 November -


Good thing I mowed yesterday.....it snowed last night! The accumulation was only an inch. I didn’t have to shovel and the driveway cleared itself by mid-day.
After a dentist appointment this morning, I spent much of the day researching the Honda generator I had bought for Hurricane Sandy. I want to have some electrical work done to make it more convenient to plug in to the house but today’s emphasis was on prepping it for long-term storage and, more specifically, on coming up with a strategy for my gasoline storage and rotation.
That evening we watched three episodes of ‘Rainshadow’, an interesting Australian TV series with Rachel Ward and Victoria Thaine. Love it!

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Monday, 26 November -

Weather’s still holding and in fact, our grass is still growing!

This morning I picked up Mocha Joe from its inspection appointment and then took a motorcycle ride in to Starbucks. I was intending to walk at Rocky Ridge or Rudy Park afterwards but then thought I may as well get my exercise behind the mower. With colder weather on the way, now’s the time.
That evening we watched several episodes of ‘The Good Wife’. The first two episodes don’t seem up to their normal high quality writing. What’s going on? Burnout?

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Sunday, 25 November -

This morning we and our guests drove to York for the brunch at Bistro 19. We’ve done this the last few times these visitors have come to see us. They like to get on the road home by mid-day so this makes a good place to have a meal with them and then say our goodbyes.
For some reason we seem to be ready to relax with a movie or something after seeing our guests off. Today we watched the entire Season Four of ‘Damages’, the TV series with Glenn Close and Rose Byrne.

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Saturday, 24 November -

Visitors coming! Clean the house!!!! Yikes!!!
We spent the morning rushing through clean-up for our visitors scheduled to arrive around noon. The visitors were Labashi’s brother and wife who come up a few times a year from the DC area.
We then drove up to Mom and Dad’s apartment and went out to Theo’s Grille for dinner.
After returning the parental units to their apartment the four of us drove to York to see Paula Poundstone.
Paula was funny and amazingly quick-witted as she ‘interviewed’ random people in the audience. Afterwards we had drinks at home before turning in.

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Friday, 23 November -


Most of today was taken up by installing the replacement ceiling fan. We had some frustrations with it. The screws around the outer edge of the ceiling mount are difficult to get started in the best of conditions. They’re so close to the ceiling you can’t use a regular screwdriver. Now add in trying to do the side opposite the ladder and the pieces not lining up quite perfectly. I eventually gave up on using the supplied screw and used a self-starting cap-head screw that would cut its own threads and could be put in position with a 1/4” socket. That allowed me to hold on to the ladder with one hand while leaning far out and reaching around. I had been trying to use a specialized screw-holding screwdriver but its grip on the philips-head screw was so tenuous that the slightest bump would cause it to drop the screw.
We tested the functions of the remote and were surprised to learn it didn’t work like its predecessor. The old remote had a reverse button but this one didn’t. It was supposed to be a reversing fan and now I realized what they had done. I had noticed a switch on the top of the fan housing and now its purpose was clear. YOU HAVE TO GET OUT THE LADDER AND CLIMB UP TO THE FAN SWITCH IF YOU WANT TO REVERSE IT !!!!!!!!!!
The other shock was that the light was no longer dimmable. On the old one, when you hit the light switch the light came on and the display told you the percentage of brightness the light was set at. Hold down the switch to change it. On the new model, though, it displays 100% all the time. Hold down merely turns it off.
We were tempted to take it back but decided we’d just have to live with it. This is one of those times where the phrase ‘Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff’ helps keep you sane. I hadn’t used the reversing function much and we could come up with another solution for having dim light while watching TV.

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Thursday, 22 November -

Labashi and I drove to Chambersburg today for Thanksgiving at Maypo’s. We listened to ‘This American Life’ podcasts as we drove and then had a delicious meal with extended family.
We had things to to back home the next day so we headed home that evening.

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Wednesday, 21 November -

Today we’re still in a stretch of unseasonably-good weather. I decided I’d better take advantage of it now to wash our old sailboat. We’ve not used the boat for years and each summer it acquires a greenish patina, I assume from some type of very light mossy growth, pollen, and airborne dust/dirt.
I had borrowed Maypo’s power washer for the job but thought I’d first just try a normal brush wash. I was surprised to see how well it worked so long as I first gave it a good soaking and liberal application of soapy water, wait a bit, then brush and repeat. Excellent! Thank goodness for fiberglass gelcoat.

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Tuesday, 20 November -

Today I started going through all my online passwords to be sure they all work. This led me to start a search for a password manager and I eventually settled on LastPass. I’d like to implement two-factor authentication and believe their method is a good one. But I have to think this through some more.
That evening we watched four episodes of ‘The Good Wife’ via Netflix DVD.

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Monday, 19 November -

Today I contacted the ceiling fan manufacturer to see if I could order a replacement receiver. It turns out the receiver is $60 plus shipping. Since the fan is already ten years old and it wasn’t absolutely clear the problem is a receiver problem, I decided to order a new fan.
After our visit to Home Depot yesterday I know Labashi is happy with the design of the latest model in the series. The old one was the Hampton Bay Calloway II and this one is the Windward IV. I ordered it from the Home Depot website.
That afternoon I rode in to Starbucks and chatted with ‘Carly’, the store manager. Her name isn’t Carly but she reminds me of Carly Foulkes, the T-Mobile girl. T-Mobile Carly rides a custom-painted pink-and-flat-black Ducati 848 Evo Dark and wears pink-accented helmet and leathers. Starbucks-Carly rides a white GSX 600 with custom pink pin-striping and wears pink-accented leathers and helmet. I like the kick-ass riding personas of both of these ladies.

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Sunday, 18 November -

We spent much of today working on our ailing ceiling fan. The fan portion works but the light no longer comes on. The unit is in an odd place and is inconvenient to service. It’s above the entrance stairway and 15 feet off the floor.
Just changing a light bulb forces us to get our aluminum extension ladder from the barn. We need a concrete block and a board to bring the floor level up to match the bottom stair, thus creating a platform for the ladder base. We also have to add stabilizer (standoff) legs to the top of the ladder and put cushioning pads on the leg-ends, then very carefully maneuver the unwieldy assembly into place without bumping the walls, steps, or the fan assembly.
I of course first checked the bulbs and swapped remotes, but to no avail. Apparently the receiver is bad. I disassembled the unit and took a close look at the receiver but saw nothing wrong.
After looking at replacement models on the web we drove in to Home Depot to look at them in person. Unfortunately, they had the model but not the color we wanted.
We then had our a meal of our favorite baby-back ribs at the nearby Texas Roadhouse before heading home.

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Saturday, 17 November -

Today I patrolled the web for a bit, then rode the F650GS down to Starbucks for a well-deserved patrol-break (!).
Late in the day we drove to Chambersburg to meet friends for dinner at the hibachi restaurant (Aki). I’m not a big fan of Japanese/American-style restaurant food. I was surprised how much I liked my pre-meal cup of hot Fuku-brand sake and then a ‘spicy dragon’ roll.
Our friends in this case were our long-time buddies from Colorado who were in town for a family visit. We had a wonderfully-long evening catching up since our last get-together more than a year ago.

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Friday, 16 November -

This morning I went hunting a bit more. I drove up Hemlock Road to the normally-blocked road just before the Hemlocks Natural Area. I drove back in about a mile past the now-open gate (it’s open for hunting season) to the road’s intersection with the Bear Ponds Trail. The road didn’t physically end here but a sign declared the road beyond closed except to authorized vehicles. This would be one of the areas the handicapped hunter I met yesterday could continue but I was done.
I parked and walked a short distance easterly but soon hit a series of swampy areas across the trail. I turned back, crossed the road, and took the trail westward and on to its intersection with the Tuscarora Trail at the top of the mountain.... a distance of only a half-mile or so but a pleasant walk. I know the Bear Ponds Trail hits the Hemlock Road near one of the parking lots so I’ll have to come back for that walk sometime to see what the ‘bear ponds’ are.
I returned to the van and drove back to a ‘Y’ intersection I had seen on the way in and took the other branch. The road climbed close to the top and ended at a small parking area. Two older guys were there unloading their tree stands onto a wheeled cart. They were apparently setting up for tomorrow, the first day of bear season. I chatted with them a bit. They were from Carlisle and had strong opinions about President Obama’s plans to take their guns-- or should I say TRY to take their guns.
I got the heck out of there before that conversation deteriorated any further.
I drove on down the Hemlock Road to Big Spring State Park and then explored up the open-for-deer-season roads (Shearer Dug Road, for one). I only saw one squirrel, though, and it was spooked.
I circled back to Fowler’s Hollow State Park and had lunch in the parking lot of the campground.
I decided at that point it was time to head for home. I had seen only one squirrel and hadn’t been seeing any squirrel nests in the trees. Time to go home.
I turned on Rush Limbaugh for laughs and headed on home, arriving late that afternoon. I took a few minutes to unpack the guns and gear from the van and settled in for the evening.

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Thursday, 15 November -

I had decided to go hunting today but had a slow start. I didn’t get out of the house until 1130 and had a ninety-minute drive to Tuscarora State Forest. Along the way I listened to Rush Limbaugh spread his joyous message to the faithful.
I hit the ranger station for my camping permit around 1315 and was parked in my camping spot and loading the gun by 1400.
I walked up the trail around the small hill behind my camping spot and came upon two squirrels close by the trail but in heavy underbrush. I scared the HECK out of them and then just a few yards later scared the heck out of another as he scrambled up a tree. What a start!
I followed the trail up on top and saw heavy-duty tree scraping. Most of it was in small saplings but one pine was four inches thick and rubbed bare most of the way around.
I didn’t hear any shooting through the afternoon though I did hear excited dogs off in the distance. WIth bear season coming up this weekend, I’m wondering if someone’s out with dogs trying to locate one. I know I’ve seen evidence of one not far away from here but I hope he (or she) makes it through. I don’t see the point of shooting bears if they’re not a problem.
I had been up on this hill last year turned back but this time went down the far end. I was surprised to find myself just outside the safety zone at the state park. I hadn’t realized I was that close to it.
I turned back up the nearby trail and hunted along it for 20 minutes or so before seeing a truck coming down the normally-closed road. That turned out to be a very interesting guy who was paralyzed from the waist down along with his hunting buddy. He had a permit to hunt by truck or by his six-wheeler ATV. We chatted about hunting in the area and about West Virginia. He also goes down to Cheat Mountain and Short Mountain to hunt. Good for him! He said he’s originally from Shade Gap but now lives in the Newville area and is just getting familiar with the Tuscarora state forest.
After meeting the hunters I walked up the pipeline to the top again so I could get a closer look at the heavy undergrowth on that side along the way. I then continued north to the next ridge where I could see I had come out to an old quarry I recognized. Up there I also came upon two fancy tree stands, one with a game camera watching it.
I circled back down to the van, thinking I was about done for the day. After a short break I decided I still had daylight so why not look around some more. I walked across the road and found a path I hadn’t know was there. I walked back in for 10 minutes but realized the growth was all slash and I was unlikely to see squirrels there.
I retreated and went back to the big-trees area below camp for a bit, then came back to the van and made supper.
I had brought along the generator again and ran it for an hour or so but tired of hearing the noise. I was very tired from the hunting and took a short nap, then turned my attention to the blog. Temperature had been in the high Forties all day but soon dropped to the low Thirties after dark. I spent the evening reading.

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Wednesday, 14 November -

This morning I caught up with the news and then rode in to Starbucks for a mocha to fuel my walk. I had mid-Fifties temperatures but cloudy skies for my walk at Rocky Ridge. I’ve not been out for a while so I found my five-miler (1:48) a bit tougher than usual.
That evening we watched four (!) ‘The Good Wife’ episodes. The season started out a bit roughly but the four on the second disk were much better and back to the quality we had expected from other seasons.

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Tuesday, 13 November -

I woke early today and took a few photos of Mocha Joe in snow. It wasn’t even an inch deep and patchy at that.
After breakfast I headed home, saving the trails here for another day, hopefully a joint venture with Orat sometime.
As I drove back down through Pennsylvania on US15 I had a phone call from Labashi. Could I make it home for a party at the Democratic field office tonight?
Approaching I-80 I saw a billboard for a gun shop in Sunbury and looked it up on the GPS. It was close enough for a small detour on my way home so I went for it, only to find they were closed today. They’re normally open Tuesdays but I suppose they were taking an extended holiday. I should have called.
Since I was on the east side of the river I took route 147 down and very much enjoyed the views of the river and the small villages along the way.
I arrived home by 1400 and cleared out the van before Labashi came home.
That evening we joined the pot-luck dinner at the field office and had fun talking about the campaign.

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Monday, 12 November -

Orat had to get back home for a lunch-time appointment so the boys packed up and we said our goodbyes at 0900.
Cold weather was reportedly coming in later today and we still had wind high in the trees and now clouds. But the temp was still in the sixties so I wasn’t ready to go home.
After consulting the map I drove to a trailhead on Burnt Hill Road which would put me within easy striking distance of the only lean-to shelter in the FLNF. This one lies along the Finger Lakes Trail.
The walk was pleasant enough though the trail was muddy in places (but no problem for my waterproof hunting boots). The shelter turned out to be a classic lean-to in design but executed in thick slabs of pine painted the traditional brown. It looked well-cared for though, come to think of it, I didn’t see a log. The privy was an immense building, apparently to accomodate a wheel chair. It had a steepish ramp, an extra-wide door, and room inside for two wheel-chairs to roll side-by-side back to the toilet. It’s offset, apparently to allow a wheel-chair to come in beside it. That’s all fine and good but the entire site sits on the side of a steepish hill served only by a trail. Maybe I’m misinterpreting the design.
After returning to the van and lunch, I set the GPS for Sugar Hill State Forest on the opposite side of Seneca Lake. I stopped at the Wal-mart at the lower end of the lake (at Watkins Glen) to return the movie but also looked for another slingshot. I had given the other one to my grand-nephew. And that’s how I learned Wal-marts in that part of the state don’t sell slingshots. I’ll just have to pick one up out in the sticks (at Mansfield!)
At Sugar Hill I found the main recreation area at the fire tower but the road was gated. There’s an equestrian camping lot near the gate, so I parked there and walked in to the tower and picnic area. This is a very nice equestrian-trails area and part of the Six Nations Trail System.
With the two walks today I was ready for a nap by the time I reached the van. I napped for an hour and then decided to move on.
I wanted to see the dispersed-camping sites I had talked to the Sugar Hill ranger about by phone earlier this week. I drove the dirt road down the middle of the state forest and saw four of them, each a small opening in the woods. They’d be absolutely fine for a self-contained rig and would be much better than a planned campground.
The dirt road turned into a rough dirt road after the intersection with ‘A’ Trail. I began having my doubts and looked for places to turn around in case I needed to back up to them. Mud puddles began looking ominously large and deep and I banged the receiver hitch a few times. After about a half-hour of this I could see a road ahead on the GPS so I stuck it out, hoping for the best. A final gamut of mudholes caused me to get out and look them over carefully before proceeding but I did get through.
Back on hard road I soon started seeing state-forest signs. I missed the unmarked turnoff and had to come back to a road marked only with a little green number sign, apparently marking the address number for the local fire service. I turned in there thinking I might be straying into someone’s private driveway but then saw a trail marker for the Oneida Trail. I was on the right track. In another mile I came to a dirt road and a sign about ATV unloading for disabled hunters. And back that little overgrown two-track was just what I was looking for--- a four-inch orange disk with a tee-pee symbol and the words New York Department of Environment and ‘Camp Here’--- a dispersed-camping site.
I set up the generator and made supper, then retreated to the front passenger seat to catch up the blog.
Around 2100 it started to rain so I put the generator away and an hour later went to sleep.
I was awakened several times in the night by hard rain and then one time noticed an odd sound on the roof. It was snowing. The temperature had been in the mid-Fifties when I went to bed but was now at the freezing mark. And I was VERY happy to be snug in Mocha Joe.

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Sunday, 11 November -

After our oatmeal this morning we took the youngster hiking and geocaching. I had printed off a half-dozen geocaches and knew there were three along the nearby Ravine Trail.
The trail is a loop of only about a mile but it turned out to be quite nice. It runs along one side of a small drainage ravine which develops into a deep and very steep-sided scenic mini-canyon. The trail then descends and crosses, then ascends the other side for the return. Trees are a nice mix of deciduous and evergreens.
We easily found the first geocache but nearly had an emergency at the second. I had made the mistake of giving the seven-year-old the GPS and had told him to follow the display to find the cache. Unfortunately, this particular cache lay on the far side of the ravine at its steepest. The grand-nephew got WAY too close to the edge in the slippery leaves.
At the last cache, we found a travel bug so I took that along to place somewhere near home.
After lunch I set up one of the bikes for the youngster to ride. He took one of the radios to the far end of the campground, reporting his position every few minutes.
We then broke out the slingshot and tried mightily to hit a soda can. Finally, Orat made it jump on his turn. I hadn’t bought the ammo for it (I didn’t want to leave the metal balls lying about) so we were using stones as we found them. Unfortunately, all the stones here were flat and flew wildly. But that just made the hits all the more cheer-worthy.
I then asked Orat if I could drive his rig. He has a Tundra pickup and though the towing payload is high, it still only has a half-ton load capacity. The truck camper reportedly weighs almost 1200 pounds dry so I wanted to get a feel for whether the truck needed air bags or a booster spring.
I drove along Burnt Hill Road, a mildly-pot-holed dirt road, steering back and forth and braking, etc. The load was hardly noticeable. I imagine an extra-windy day will cause some swaying but it will be minor. Since Orat’s purpose is mainly week-ending I can’t imagine it being a problem.
After returning to camp I took a walk on my own about a half-hour before sunset. I walked to dispersed-camping site down the road and then back the other direction for a final view of the sunset and a brief walk on the Interlochen Trail.
That evening we had a big fire but the wind picked up and we retreated to the camper. The youngster wanted to play cards with Orat so I made my excuses and moved to Mocha Joe.
Though the wind was making quite a bit of noise in the tree tops, we didn’t have that much at ground level and the temperature was still in the 60’s at 2100. I had rented a movie from the Redbox before I talked with Orat yesterday so I watched it tonight.
The movie was ‘Prometheus’ by Ridley Scott. I’m not a strong science-fiction fan and this one seemed too much a repeat of the ideas we saw in ‘Alien’. I suppose some of that’s inevitable given its relationship to ‘Alien’. Still, I was hoping for more. Easily said, eh?

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Saturday, 10 November -

This morning I finished loading Mocha Joe and departed by 0900. Orat had told me earlier in the week that he had work to do at his motel today. We agreed he’d join me at Finger Lakes National Forest’s Blueberry Patch campground mid-day tomorrow.
I thought I’d go ahead and check out the national forest and perhaps also cruise through a nearby state forest. But my cell phone rang as I walked through the Mansfield Wal-mart getting supplies for the weekend. The grand-nephew was putting the pressure on to go camping NOW so Orat had modified his schedule. He said he’d be at Blueberry Patch by mid-afternoon today instead of tomorrow.
I finished up my shopping and headed north. I only had another hour to go and soon passed through Watkins Glen and many wineries along the Wine Trail before reaching the ranger station.
I picked up maps and rules-books at the ranger station and by 1600 I joined Orat and grandson at our campsite. The campground was empty but for us even though it was a holiday weekend (Veteran’s Day) and camping fees had been waived.
It was already late afternoon by the time I had come in but Orat had started gathering wood for a campfire. I dug out my folding bow-saw and splitting hatchet and we soon had enough wood for the evening.
We cooked up some beef stew for the three of us and had our first meal in Orat’s truck camper. It’s a late-80’s camper but is in excellent condition for its age so that was very easy.
After a leisurely supper the seven-year-old was anxious to build the fire back up. After it died down again, we cooked hot dogs on the fire grate. These weren’t really hot dogs but rather sausages with chili peppers in them. That sounds ominous but they were just perfectly spiced and the seven-year-old an his papi had a second round.

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Friday, 9 November -

I spent much of today prepping for my weekend trip. I wanted to try using the new generator to run my electric heater. It’s a 3’ portable baseboard-style heater we use in Mocha Joe when we have an electric hookup. We don’t do this often while traveling but use it routinely when we visit my brothers.
As I unpacked the generator from its carton I found I had made a mistake. I had assumed the generator would come with the half-liter of oil needed for it. But as I opened the box I saw a message--- NO OIL!!!! (the message was inside the box!!) I had to go back and research what oil I’d need and soon realized I didn’t have any SJ-service-rated 10-30W dyno oil. I had to drive to my local gas station for that. If it had been an emergency I could have gotten by with a half-liter of the Mobil 1 synthetic I have around for the motorcycles but it’s better to break an engine in with dyno (dinousaur-era) oil and switch to synthetic after ten or so operating hours.
At the same time I filled my little gallon-size gas container. I could have used gas from my lawnmower can but that’s already six months old and I don’t want to risk it gumming up the generator’s carb.
I had also decided to buy a couple of walkie-talkies for the weekend. They’d be fun for the seven-year-old (my grand-nephew) and I anticipated we may need them for our two vehicles if we spend one night at the meeting site and then move to another site for the second night. Also, having them would mean I could set up one of our folding bikes for the seven-year-old and allow him to go out on his own big advanture, checking in with us as he went.
I had researched FRS/GMRS radios and settled on 350-series Motorolas I could get at Radio Shack. On the trip to get oil and gas for the generator, I drove on over to my local Radio Shack and bought a pair. They’re waterproof, have a scan function, and have a maximum-35-mile range. When you read the documentation closely, you realize the 35-mile range is under optimum conditions and you’re more likely to get something like a 2-mile range under real-world conditions. Still, they should do the job.
That evening we had guests for dinner. My old hiking buddy rar and his wife joined us for Labashi’s extra-special salmon souffle’ and a long and pleasant evening of chit-chat. We really have to do that more often.

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Thursday, 8 November -

Today I was glued to Twitter, still parsing election results and reactions. I’ve started to explore Red State, Drudge Report, and other sites to see where the arguments are going. A few pundits (Hannity and Krauthammer) are starting to talk about modifying the hard-line position on immigration reform but as expected many others are digging in and doubling down on hatred. On Red State I saw a guy say he didn’t vote because he didn’t believe either side represented his evangelical view and he was called names and the Red State moderator banned him from the site. To their credit, several guys questioned that ridiculous action but it was clear you have to toe their ideological line or you’re gone. THAT’ll teach ‘em to vote your way!

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Wednesday, 7 November -

Today was a recovery day. As a new member of Twitter, I was fascinated by the tweets leading up to Election Day, those during the election and now the reaction.
I also spent quite a bit of time researching Orat’s new camper and local places he can go. I was amazed to find the weather reports calling for 60-degree-plus weather at Finger Lakes National Forest this weekend. I contacted Orat and we began making plans to meet there. Coincidentally, my Twitter feeds from US Forest Service sites tells me we can camp free this weekend. Yea, baby!!


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Tuesday, 6 November -

Election Day!

We arose early, as did our guests. They were up and about at 0530 and we weren’t far behind. We drove to our polling place about 0645 and found a line of about forty people. We weren’t asked for ID voting was quick and easy (once we got inside the voting room!).
Labashi then left for her duties at the county democatic headquarters. There’s no data entry today so she made calls for an hour or so, then began handling the steady stream of people who had various questions about voting. Where is my polling place? What do I need to have with me? Can I get a ride? Why was I told I can’t vote? etc, etc.
I was again in on-call status. Around 1100 I rode the GS in to the office and checked whether things seemed in control. People were coming in but there were plenty of drivers and Labashi said there were no significant problems. I walked over to the local Subway to get her a sub but once that was done I wasn’t needed.
I then rode over to the Starbucks for a mocha and took a short walk (an hour) at Rocky Ridge. On the way there I nearly lost the bike on a turn. Last week’s road construction crew had left stone-dust on a turn and the front wheel slid out a bit but then steadied.
Back home I spent the remainder of the day on Twitter, trying to get a sense of what was happening with the election. There were a few scattered reports of voters being turned away but I had expected worse.
At supper time I took Mocha Joe in to see Labashi, thinking she might like to take a break in the van. But she was cruising along and was just fine. She didn’t need me to make a supper run so I walked over to Bistro 19 for a bowl of their Tomato Bisque soup.
Labashi came home around 2030 (the polls closed at 2000) and we shut off the TV and just relaxed awhile and watched an hour-long Katherine Madigan comedy special.
We turned TV back on around 2230 and things were starting to happen. I had seen Mr. Romney’s early lead but that of course was in states he had been predicted to take. But now things were swinging the other way.
We watched till 2330 and Labashi couldn’t handle any more. The president had been projected the winner by that time so the rest was just details.
I, on the other hand, was energized and couldn’t have slept. I listened to Mr. Romney’s short concession speech and it was clear he and his family as well as candidate Ryan and his family were shocked by the turn of events.
Shortly before 0200 the President came on and spoke eloquently and then I could finally sleep.

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Monday, 5 November -

Today Labashi and our guest took off early for phonebanking in York and Camp Hill, respectively. I’m serving a standby role today since the data entry is done for this campaign. I’m available to run errands but need not stand by at the office.
At mid-morning I headed to town on the F650GS. I’ve not ridden in more than a week and the battery seemed a bit weak.
I went in to Starbucks and worked on the blog and chatted with one of the employees about her recent trip to Ethiopia. She says she goes three times a year (!!!!!) for mission work. Wow, that seems like a lot for a local church to support. Then she told me they also run missions to Chile.
At lunch time I rode in to the Democratic office to see what Labashi was doing and whether she was free for lunch. She had made calls most of the morning but was now manning the front desk, answering questions from people coming in off the street. I ordered her lunch from the Thai place and picked it up, then left.
I rode to Rocky Ridge and walked for an hour. I purposely picked out a path near the parking area and on the side of the park with cell phone reception so I could get back to the bike within a few minutes if needed. I didn’t have any calls, though.
I made it back home a half-hour before dark and spent the evening on the computer. Labashi called around supper time to say she’d be busy until 2100 but they didn’t need help. People were coming in to find out where to vote tomorrow and it was steady but not overwhelming.

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Sunday, 4 November -

We started out with our normal Sunday morning routine today and I was planning to ride down to Starbucks. I was getting close to catching up and posting the blog when I received an email from my nephew. I thought I’d reply with a quick answer but an hour later was still ‘on my way out the door’ (not) when Orat skyped me. He was thinking of bidding on a pop-up truck camper on Ebay. That turned out to be a camper just like our parents had in the Eighties.
We spent quite a while poring over the many photos and it’s a good thing we did. The furnace had been removed from this unit. Orat doesn’t care about that and it’s one of the reasons the camper should go cheap. But that reminded us to check the listing very, very closely.
After lunch Labashi and I drove in to the Democratic office to enter data on this last-push weekend. The push for canvassers and phonebankers is hard but we were fine-- there were other data entry teams at satellite sites around the area.
We broke for supper at 1700 at our local favorite Bistro 19 and then worked until 2000. We went home and shortly thereafter our guest came in from her Middletown assignment and we compared notes.

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Saturday, 3 November -

This morning I spent quite a bit of time on the web researching options for my little portable Honda generator. I had realized in the storm that I really, really need to go ahead and have a transfer switch or electrical sub-panel installed. I need to get the connection into the house without running an extension cable through a window or door during a storm.
I could do that with just a few cables and an outdoor wall-mounted twist-lock receptacle but if I go to that trouble I may as well spend a bit more for the sub-panel solution. I already have a sub-panel and it has open slots so I’m thinking it would only take a few more components and some breaker moves to make my lights and receptacles switchable to the generator. The well pump and heat pump draw too much to run off the wittle fellwa but lights and receptacles would be useful for any cleanup work we may need to do. I’ll just have to keep a close eye on total wattage used and reserve enough for the fridge’s starting draw.
Labashi found a 1968 photo of the high school buddy who called late last night and me. She scanned it in and I forwarded it to him. He replied a few hours later saying his wife and daughters thought it hilarious. Exactly!
Shortly after lunch we drove in to the Democratic office for our data entry duties. We had a steady day but did get a chance to break for supper. We had a wonderful meal at Esaan Thai before returning and working until 2130.

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Friday, 2 November -

Today we cleaned house and swept up a bazillion pine needles in anticipation of our weekend guests.
Our first guest, Sharon, arrived that evening. She’s a volunteer from New York at our county Democratic headquarters. She had left Manhattan very early this morning, driven to York and worked all day and then came to our house about 2000. She was exhausted.
Late that evening, shortly after 2300, I answered an unexpected phone call. It was a high-school buddy I’ve not talked to in 46 years. We had lost contact at graduation and he had happened to blunder onto my name and phone number on the web. We had a long talk and I was amazed at the detail he could remember. It was great! He lives in California but has relatives in nearby Lancaster who he visits every couple of years so we will make plans to get together on his next visit.

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Thursday, 1 November-

Labashi and I drove over to Mom and Dad’s today to finish up the water alarm installation and then install speaker wires. The latter was needed to relocate speakers from a hallway to the top of the kitchen cabinet. This one got a bit more complicated tha I had originally anticipated. I had to split a carpet seam and had to drill wire-passage holes in one of the cabinets. What I thought would be an hour’s job took three.

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