Tow woe

[Riley Smith]

It's still not over. And it STILL smells like money. Sporadic as I mentioned and with conflicting indications. My personal bet is the computer is gone whacky because of all the various indications and actions. I did find that the tranny on that year had a lot of problems. One of the codes pointed to the tranny, which has a Ford maintenance item associated with it. A big can of worms if you ask me. So it's off to the guy again. I hope I have a truck again one day.

So, my tactic of making a mad dash late in the evening is effectively negated. I'm ashore and will stay for a while. That doesn't change anything other than the POSSIBILITY of a sail or outing. As it has been running in the 100s(feels like) I can't say that I would have even attempted that.

[Doug SC]

I feel your pain and the heat. It's supposed to cool off later in the week here. We raced this past Saturday with 8-10mph winds and on the water the heat wasn't bad while sailing. However, when we pulled the boat out at the ramp and put it up, I became a bit lightheaded even though I drank over a liter of water while sailing. High 90s and my age don't mix as well as they once did.

[Riley Smith]

I dunno about pie but some fried w/ biscuits sounds really good right now. I'd love to shoot those! It's too civilized to shoot around here anymore and the last time I managed to ignite some powder, I found that my elevated blood pressure makes me not as steady as I used to be. I think I could still save most of the meat though

[Riley Smith]

PS....the dang truck is running fine. Not a blip. Now I'm to the point of driving it to failure and THEN worrying about it. It's getting a little long in the tooth to be worrying about too much. The heat has abated a little, mainly because we've had cloud cover. I'm too, am VERY attuned to heat stress and can no longer delay that cooling period for a while like I once could.

[Riley Smith]

The saga continues as the truck left me hanging and it was towed. Consensus now is computer module. We'll see.

[Doug SC]

This is why I much prefer biking, hiking, paddling, and sailing to any type of motorized recreation. Of course it is a necessary need in our modern world for getting some where quickly. I try to limit the amount of driving just the same. I feel your pain.

[Riley Smith]

In all fairness the old Ford is just that, getting old and I've been trying to resist the "get a new truck" bug.The truck was a gift from my wife when I was in Africa, all smelling nice when we went zooming off once I arrived back home. Since then it's given good service but to admit it all, that dang thing is just TOO big. And consumes WAY too much gasoline. It's a good construction contractor truck. Will haul a crew, their tools, AND a trailer with the material. Which would be good if I were constructing anymore....but it does make a good tow vehicle. I've towed trailers all up and down the SE coast with it and the catboat is a snap.

[Doug SC]

I must admit I have had more vehicles that I hated to see go as they were reliable and treated me well than those, I was glad to be rid of. However, Driving just isn't something I truly enjoy. I like the traveling and seeing the countryside but not the driving. Paddling a canoe or sea kayak is different. I enjoy developing the skill and the process. Sailing falls into that category. I don't bike as much as I use to, and backpacking is now a thing of the past except for an occasional short distance affair. I think it has something to do with the physicality and the closeness of moving through the surroundings that make it so appealing.

[Riley Smith]

Every now and again I get the driving bug. Not not a old folks mosey around and look at the sights; a go somewhere far away feeling. Hours of driving. So...the truck and I have gone to New Mexico, Minnesota, NC, SC, FL,AL, and a WHOLE bunch of places in MS. It's kept that urge at bay for the most part, although the last few trips have been in the Honda. I love both of them for different reason.
 The truck is big and comfortable and will haul everything but the kitchen sink. The Honda is nimble, fast, and has gadgetry that makes the truck feel old. That Honda Lane Assist  (What I call autopilot) is awesome and takes a major part of the work out of driving. You don't realize how much it makes (highway) driving easier until you learn to use it.
 Truck is running fine so far. I was right....it smelt like money. And I have my tow vehicle back. NOW if we'll just get a breath of cool air I might not be afraid to go out on the river without heat stroke.

[Wayne Howard]

I've got an old truck that I bought to haul Unole around with. Used it maybe three times then bought the big boat and sold Unole back to Charlie Jones who promptly returned her name to Necessity. 2004 Dodge 1500 with vinyl floor mats, crank windows, manual door locks and a 5 speed transmission. A real torture to drive in traffic. And every time I think I might sell it, the wife comes up with a project requiring a full 8 foot truck bed to cart materials. Like right now, there is a pallet of 32 bags of shale weighing 1300 pounds in the bed of the truck.

The Honda sedan we now own has the lane keeping assistance and Adaptive Cruise Control so it will stay in its lane and the ACC keeps you from running over the slow guy in front of you. This works great in stop and go traffic as the car will stop itself and resume acceleration when the traffic moves. However if the car stops longer than 4 seconds, it will not resume unless you tap the accelerator pedal. This works wonders on MY ATTITUDE going back and forth between Central Texas and Pcola. Especially at Baton Rouge going eastbound. 

[Doug SC]

I miss my old 350 Dooley with the flatbed and liftgate. It's been gone for quite a while now and to be honest my body today probably would not miss it. I have fond memories of my dad's 60s Bronco and my old Willis Jeep. The Ford Arrowstar minivan had over 200,000 miles before the transmission went out. Lots of memories of family trips in that one.

These days, I much prefer being a passenger to being the driver. However, my wife has bought a new car a Mazda C30 and it has all the new driving features. We've only had it for a few weeks and I haven't been allowed to drive it enough to have them figured out. I might like driving a little bit better once I do if I get the chance. But the Ford edge is back out of the shop after hitting a deer this summer and the blinker works. It was a wiring problem. So I have a tow vehicle again.

Still put me in a canoe, a kayak, or a sailboat and I'll be smiling.