HAPPY

HALLOWEEN!

Pictures from the road to celebrate the day.

Enjoy!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

                                                                                                                                                                                     






















In the "ladies" room this morning.  Adds to the day's ambiance, don't you think?

First state crossing.

Today's agenda
Supercharger treasure hunt

Today's sole focus is to head south, collecting  as many superchargers pics along the way, before it gets dark.  I'd like to stockpile all 5 between Pennsylvania  and North Carolina.  Here goes.

 
#1 Hagerstown, MD




Talk about stinky!  Curiosity and a little research yields:
(Healthwise, there is a terrible odor that comes and goes and will give you a headache and probably a lot worse than that. This odor began three years ago and might be coming from a local plant, but the city and county health department have done nothing about it.)
but little else.  No matter, I'm not hanging around.

#2 Bethesda, MD

Oh yes Siree, temporary locations count too!  

Normally I would stop by and talk with the folks at Tesla, but not today, I've got to get a gettin'.

Thrid state crossing.
Missed West Virginia's Welcome sign!

#3 Woodbridge, VA





Whhhh...indy.

#4 Glen Allen, VA






Yeah after awhile they all start to look the same.

#5 South Hill, VA

Aww, you caught me!  
Four Superchargers and four states.  I'm satisfied.

Kitt has been bugging me for weeks now, to get her a Halloween costume. Although she's just shy of 2 years old, she's very observant and has seen others dressing up.  I finally get some free time, so I sit down with her and surf the web for ideas.



I decide to have some fun and suggest:

Bad idea!  I'm sure you've all "seen" the terrible two's.  She shows me its full furry and threatens to leave me walking home by myself.  

I tell her I'm joking and remind her I sold a perfectly good Lexus 400H so there would be room in the garage for her.  

She seems satisfied and I breath a sigh of relief, recognizing I just dodged a "mini" bullet.

We discuss different concepts and she likes the idea of a "reverse mullet", party in the front, business in the back, so Mom gets to work.

It's time for a fitting, but she keeps fidgeting, so it's taking longer than planned.

I give her a sipper cup of TT-30 juice and she's cooperative once more.  Much better. 

Ready for the party in the front!...now time for the business in the back.

Did I mention, she's no push over and says to me "business will certainly be taken care of back here".  Hmmm,  is that a growl?

She really doesn't forgive that easily and decides to teach me a lesson, no doubt for that "mini" joke.  I hear something about "engine, and exhaust, and that's not funny" before I'm sucked in.  


...and luckily

Uh-oh!

Of all the states I've visited so far, this one, Pennsylvania has taken me the most by surprise.  I had high expectation for the New England states, which were amply met, but I did not expect the beauty and back road scenery that Pennsylvania has to offer.  Around every corner is a photo op and I stop to do just that, as I check out this crop.  As suspected, it's soybeans which turn a beautiful Midas gold.

I love soft pretzels and having filled my share of punch cards over the years, head down the street to the oldest commercial pretzel bakery in America. 


Lititz, PA was voted the "Coolest Small Town in America 2013" and is home to the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery, founded in 1861.

I buy my ticket for the tour and the opportunity to get all twisted.

 

Ah, but not so fast, there are prayers to be learned!  

The origin of the pretzel dates back to 610 AD when an Italian monk "invents" the pretiola (little reward) to be used as a treat to help children memorize their prayers.  The shape of the pretzel represents the child's arms crossed in prayer and the twist, the union of their parents in marriage.  This is where the term "tie the knot" comes from.  The three openings exemplify the Christian trinity of the Father, Son & the Holy Spirit.  Who knew the homely pretzel had such symbolism!



I finally get twisted and make my own pretzel!

I'm informed however, that the FDA (aka killjoy) does not allow for it to be baked here.

Okay, onto plan B.   I pull out a buck and savor the soft, warm, pillow of deliciousness at the gift shop.  Wetzel and Anne... you have some catching up to do.

I finish off a glorious day with a trip to the Country Barn for some general poking around and an evening of line dancing.

Now, this is my kind of place.

Includes a detached  master bathroom!

Although there are regional differences from the songs and dances on the west coast, (planting me on the side lines more than I'm use to) I am warmly welcomed by new friends; Jean, John, Dottie, Ken, Bill and Deb.  Thank you for the invite to your table!  This was their first time line dancing and they did a great job.  Keep coming back!

This, is a delicate matter...

and I've been holding it, for as long as I can, but it's time to talk...

TOILETS

On my first dry run up the California coast, I mentioned I got stuck in a freak snow storm and had to spend 3 days hunkered down with Kitt.  What I didn't mention, was the "RV Park" that the storm blew me into was in the process of clearing out their long-term rentals, did not accept over-nighters (it's a long story how I ended up staying there) and had no working bathrooms.  It was time to improvise and I quickly "engineered" this beta unit.  The original model came equipped with a non-tight fitting lid and believe me when I say "took skill to use".   

Since that time, the production model has come out and I have upgraded to the "Turbo Toilet", a portable, collapsible commode, that I purchased at a Costco road show for $30. You can also acquire them on line from Black Pine Sports www.blackpinesports.com.

The Turbo Toilet comes nicely packaged in it's own zippered case and includes 12 decomposable bags and 12 deodorizing packets. 

This unit is the bomb, and when you gotta go, you gotta go.  A quick unzip, a hasty flick and both of you are ready.  

When I was walking down the isle at Costco, I saw this 190 lb "gorilla poser" jumping up and down on the toilet.  That alone was worth the 30 bucks, but then I learned of the easy to use locking mechanism, convincing me there would be no unexpected collapses.  Sold.  Upgrade beta unit.

All Done.