Mark's Off Road Warehouse Fire Thread (4 Viewers)

[65swb45]

On our last full day together, Wayne and I followed up on tips we had gotten from four different people and flew over the Harding Ice Fields to Homer. The ice fields were every bit as majestic as expected, and I didn't try to take any pictures, because this time I just knew the camera phone would not do the panoramas justice.

The coastline leading up to Homer was idyllic, more like the central coast of California in the spring than Alaska. Of course looking off to the west at the chain of volcanic peaks along the Aleutian Islands kept me cognizant we were many degrees of latitude from home. The famous spit was visible from miles away, and well before we landed I was sure I would try to rent a bicycle and ride out.

Of course Wayne's first order of business was replacing our water from any potable source. What he knew, but had failed to tell me, was that he had acquired a UTI, and was pounding the water in an effort to flush his system. Of course if he had told me, I would have told him to stop drinking up our supply of beer (I was going really light myself because of hints of gout in my feet) as well as chugging off a bottle of marinara sauce he seemed to have a craving for!

So I managed to find a bike rental less than a miles walk from the airport and went off in search of my own adventure. I found a multi-storied houseboat that looked like a perfect movie set.

 

[73fj40lc]

On our last full day together, Wayne and I followed up on tips we had gotten from four different people and flew over the Harding Ice Fields to Homer. The ice fields were every bit as majestic as expected, and I didn't try to take any pictures, because this time I just knew the camera phone would not do the panoramas justice.

The coastline leading up to Homer was idyllic, more like the central coast of California in the spring than Alaska. Of course looking off to the west at the chain of volcanic peaks along the Aleutian Islands kept me cognizant we were many degrees of latitude from home. The famous spit was visible from miles away, and well before we landed I was sure I would try to rent a bicycle and ride out.

Of course Wayne's first order of business was replacing our water from any potable source. What he knew, but had failed to tell me, was that he had acquired a UTI, and was pounding the water in an effort to flush his system. Of course if he had told me, I would have told him to stop drinking up our supply of beer (I was going really light because of hints of gout in my feet) as well as chugging off a bottle of marinara sauce he hopped to have a craving for!

So I managed to find a bike rental less than a miles walk from the airport and went off in search of my own adventure. I found a multi-storied houseboat that looked like a perfect movie set.View attachment 1546042View attachment 1546043

I got a good laugh out of the name of the red boat. I wonder if that is a play on words or not. I did a search on it and it does say something about naming the stars and navigation so I guess that makes sense.

 

[65swb45]

After a nice afternoon on the tip of the Kenai, it was back to the airport to deal with Wayne. He had followed me to the bike rental shop even though he wasn't joining me on the adventure, and his mental state was faltering. We were both suffering from a fair amount of sleep deprivation at that point, but as I stated earlier he was also suffering from a UTI he would not tell me about. I've had to deal with a fair amount of circumstances in my life where friends have made poor choices when their machismo was at stake. But none where I was so far from home and so vulnerable to it. And did I mention he had been a master of Shodokan? He blew up at me twice, and apparently once with another patron at the airport before I returned. He was passed out on the tarmac in broad daylight when I got back; I let him sleep.

Bundled in everything he owned: 72degrees ambient, no wind.

 

[65swb45]

We had an interesting flight back to Anchorage, passing close enough to a range fire on the Kenai to watch a water-dropping airplane take on a load of water almost directly underneath us. But by the time we got back to Anchorage, it was over. Wayne was so far gone that our host for the evening could see it and texted me afterwords to offer me safe haven from him. As much for my safety as for the chance of saving the friendship, I made the decision to spend the money on a commercial flight home. I spent a wonderful day with Rob and his family before he took me to the airport. FWIW, Wayne checked himself into the hospital, took care of his immediate issue, and continued his flight down memory lane without me.

When we reunited a few weeks later at a Fourth of July party, all seemed well enough.

Time will tell.

 

[73fj40lc]

We had an interesting flight back to Anchorage, passing close enough to a range fire on the Kenai to watch a water-dropping airplane take on a load of water almost directly underneath us. But by the time we got back to Anchorage, it was over. Wayne was so far gone that our host for the evening could see it and texted me afterwords to offer me safe haven. As much for my safety as for the chance of saving the friendship, I made the decision to spend the money on a commercial flight home. I spent a wonderful day with Rob and his family before he took me to the airport. FWIW, Wayne checked himself into the hospital, took care of his immediate issue, and continued his flight down memory lane without me.

When we reunited a few weeks later at a Fourth of July party, all seemed well enough.View attachment 1552119
Time will tell.

After the adventures you shared together and taking your past friendship into account, I sincerely hope that your friendship will survive and continue to grow stronger. It would be a complete shame for your friendship to suffer over a little pride and lack of communication.

In the top pic, I don't know how he survived the cold temps if he had all that on and it was 72 degrees.

 

[65swb45]

THE LAST ROOM HAS BEEN PAINTED!

Note. This would have been done a long time ago, but IH8wainscoting. With multiple coats of paint on the walls, pulling the wainscot not only required a lot of contouring, but a lot of patching as well. And the people I hired to wash the walls used some sort of chemical that caused small bits of plaster to blister off...not right away, but only when hit with the paint roller!

 

[65swb45]

 

[65swb45]

So I've been busy rebuilding parts for people these last few weeks. And there was a vacation to Death Valley. Not much time for for the offices. I found out my son is going to try and move out on his own again, so I had him help me move my desk from the shop into my new office. The desk is a hand-me-down I got from my mom when we closed my dad's shop 18 years ago. It's really coming together nicely now.

 

[65swb45]

Flash! Just finished laying the last of the flooring in the front office five minutes ago. We're moving!

 

[45Kevin]

Looking good.

Now it's just the base boards, but they can wait.

 

[65swb45]

Looking good.

Now it's just the base boards, but they can wait.

Baseboards?



Wait until you see my old office! [see post #260]

 

[73fj40lc]

Baseboards?



Wait until you see my old office!

The remodel is coming along well and looking really good. I know you will be so happy when you can finally put the remodel on the completed list.

 

[65swb45]

The remodel is coming along well and looking really good. I know you will be so happy when you can finally put the remodel on the completed list.

It will be many, many years between being put in service and being completed. That is the story of my life. That is why I laughed at Kevin's comment about the baseboards. The office we've been using for the last 27 years was never completed. Knowing this, I pushed myself harder to get this one in better shape before moving in.

Life is what happens while you're making other plans.

 

[65swb45]

The itch has been scratched! I just printed my first invoice in the new office!

I'm celebrating with one of the Fat Tires @mattressking brought me last Friday.

We're still gonna need a couple of weeks to finish shifting the rest of the stuff over, but I hope to start the demo of the old office by Dec.1.

I stopped long enough to ponder that way many more people view this thread than hit the 'like' button.

 

[73fj40lc]

The itch has been scratched! I just printed my first invoice in the new office!

I'm celebrating with one of the Fat Tires @mattressking brought me last Friday.

View attachment 1573732
We're still gonna need a couple of weeks to finish shifting the rest of the stuff over, but I hope to start the demo of the old office by Dec.1.

I stopped long enough to ponder that way many more people view this thread than hit the 'like' button.

Some of us are just sadistic and just like to watch a man busier than a one legged cat in a sandbox working his ass off. We can’t help it.

 

[65swb45]

And today the realization of something I've been waiting almost three decades for. On Saturday I unpacked my TEAC reel to reel I bought when I was 16 and plugged it in to my Pioneer receiver that I also bought when I was 16 (my entire summer's pay from my first job!). The Pioneer has been mothballed for 18 years (since my dad died) and the TEAC since we moved into our current home in 1989 with two infant children.

Today I wound in a reel of my favorite songs from childhood and flipped the switch. Nothing. Lights turned on, amp hummed, but reels did not turn. Well I determined the motor was turning, so I coaxed the tensioners into place and whalah! Neil Young's Harvest still plays. Hopefully everything will warm back up into proper working order.

 

[65swb45]

Looking good.

Now it's just the base boards, but they can wait.

Now I can show you why I laughed. I was 3/4 of the way through painting the old office when we opened the shop in May of 1990. Had started cleaning and painting and getting the building re-wired in August the year before. Again, under the heading of 'Life is what happens while you're making other plans '... the old office never got fully painted in 27 years!

Soon the evidence will be gone!

 

[65swb45]

Baseboards or no, the new office is WAY better (view from the LayZboy)

 

[65swb45]

Another milestone: the neon sign is in the house!

It wasn't my intention to bring it in to the house, but it's not really safe in the shop with the demolition going on. I toyed with the idea of selling it, but the wife said I should keep it...for now.

 

[OffTheHook]

On our last full day together, Wayne and I followed up on tips we had gotten from four different people and flew over the Harding Ice Fields to Homer. The ice fields were every bit as majestic as expected, and I didn't try to take any pictures, because this time I just knew the camera phone would not do the panoramas justice.

The coastline leading up to Homer was idyllic, more like the central coast of California in the spring than Alaska. Of course looking off to the west at the chain of volcanic peaks along the Aleutian Islands kept me cognizant we were many degrees of latitude from home. The famous spit was visible from miles away, and well before we landed I was sure I would try to rent a bicycle and ride out.
View attachment 1555481

Of course Wayne's first order of business was replacing our water from any potable source. What he knew, but had failed to tell me, was that he had acquired a UTI, and was pounding the water in an effort to flush his system. Of course if he had told me, I would have told him to stop drinking up our supply of beer (I was going really light myself because of hints of gout in my feet) as well as chugging off a bottle of marinara sauce he seemed to have a craving for!

So I managed to find a bike rental less than a miles walk from the airport and went off in search of my own adventure. I found a multi-storied houseboat that looked like a perfect movie set.View attachment 1546042View attachment 1546043

Great pics. That looks a bit like some kind of a ghost ship.