I have to admit that I’ve been humbled here in Kemah by the incredible people we have met, and the generosity of all of them. We met up with our friends, the sugar-cookie-family, for dinner last night, and I really just can’t believe the goodwill that they heaped upon us. Thanks again to everyone in the cruising capital of Texas.
I feel like we sort of slipped out of Kemah while it was still asleep. We woke up this morning sort of half-planning on visiting NASA. But by the time everyone was dressed, and the kids had both skinned their knees for the first time of the day, we had wordlessly decided that it was a gray day worthy of the road.
Getting out of Houston without driving on the Interstates is no small task. Mainly because instead of just busting it out at ninety miles an hour (or fifty-five, whatever) we were doomed to drive through what seemed to be just one giant suburb. We passed seventy-three Domino’s, one-hundred-sixty-seven McDonald’s, and three Chik-bigots.
The worst part of the mornings escape wasn’t the suburbs themselves but the stoplights. Stoplights have become our nemesis. Yellow lights are designed for cars, not ten-thousand pound drum-braked RVs. Even though I’m traveling anywhere from five to ten miles an hour under the speed limit there is about a hundred-foot window where there is no way I am going to be able to stop in time without putting down two feet Fred Flinstone style, but I am also not going to be able to run through the light while it is still yellow either.
So these days whenever I’m driving on a road at over forty-five miles an hour and I see a traffic light ahead I have to focus every ounce of my energy and concentration on that green—my foot light on the gas, ready to pounce on the brake if it turns yellow before a certain no-turning-back point.
Man, I could really use just one more second on that yellow. Just one. All right, three.
We eventually got out in the country and headed west—San Antonio on the radar. It’s springtime, obviously, and the wild flowers are out in force. To the point that you can smell them just driving down the road. It’s quite pretty in that flowery girly sort of way.
We were far busier in Kemah the past few days than we are used to. Our social calendar is usually left blank, and we could tell that the kids were tired. But we weren’t prepared to see them both fall asleep just thirty minutes into the drive, at ten o’clock, for a two-hour nap. Oh, it was heavenly.
The town of Shiner was our stop for the day. It was late afternoon and we happily stumbled across an empty—but big and clean—municipal park with RV hook ups.
I love skate parks. No gravel and no cracks means no wipeouts.
There really should be an RV design school.
Dinner with great new friends. These two girls were so incredibly sweet to Ouest. Such a great evening for all of us.
One great thing about being in Texas is the taquerias. Complete with all the religious stuff and the 13″ tv in the corner blaring Spanish language telenovelas. We had gorditas that made us feel like we were sitting in a market in Mexico City. So good.
Ali was in love with these bird houses. “It’s like they have their own apartment complex.” I scoffed. Until I saw that they have unit numbers on them. Mind blown.
I discovered in the past couple of days that I’m leaking a fair bit of oil while the bus is running. I’ve been adding oil semi-regularly but thought it was just the engine burning a bit of it. When we pull into a place at night and shut off the engine there isn’t a drop on the ground. The next morning when I fire it up and let it run for a few minutes before taking off I can see a pretty substantial puddle. I’ll get under there in the next couple of mornings and see if I can’t figure out exactly where it’s coming from. Shouldn’t be too hard to spot with how much it’s losing.
Also discovered tonight that we’ve lost our brake lights. That’s more worrisome. It’s definitely not safe driving this thing around with no stop lights. I crawled underneath and confirmed that there is power going to the hydraulic switch when the brake is pressed, but there is no juice coming out the other side (the wire to the brakes). Gave the fitting a few good raps with a screwdriver, but somehow that didn’t fix it. Out of ideas. I’ll be stopping at every auto parts store along the way tomorrow. It’s a stupid $8 part!
47 Comments on “Shiner”
Purple Martins, they are very good at keeping lots of bugs minimized. How was the Shiner Bock…:)
Love everything about the pic of Ouest in full launch mode down the ramp on her Razor – especially the earnest concentration on her face. Not surprising that two fearless travelers would produce a fearless child or two. Rock on, Bums.
I was going to say something very close to this, but you beat me to it. All the photos are great, but this one in particular was FIERCE!
You take great pictures! Maybe you can print and sell them?!
The oil, that might just be the way it . I used to own a bunch of old Land Rovers, same age as your bus, they all leaked a fair bit and there was nothing that could be done about it, especially in warm weather.
There’s a saying with Landie owners: “old Land Rovers don’t leak, they just mark their territory”.
I also owned two old Land Rovers. I also heard that if your Land Rover was not leaking oil, then it was out of oil.
Is it a religious thing about not using the Interstate highways EVER? I can understand your aversion, but how many more Taco Bells and scary intersections did you want to look at?
I agree. There REALLY should be an rv design school. Hopefully that part will turn around.
Aww! Our home! Cleanest little city in Texas! The kids will love riding their bikes etc on the paved roads at the park! Heimans Exxon on the main street (only street) through town may be able to hook you up with the part you need.
A common source of leaks in an old vehicle is from the rear main crankshaft seal. Its normal, even expected really. A dirty job to replace. Working from below you drop the oil pan to be able to see it. At the back of the engine, next to the flywheel will be either a seal retainer (for the lower half of the seal) or it may be combined with the rear main bearing cap. The seal is two curved chunks of a mineral fiber rope, impregnated with grease and graphite. With a new seal you get a tool to screw into the upper seal and hopefully pull it around and out, so you can pull in the new seal in using the same tool. The lower half of the seal is just stuffed into the recess on the seal retainer. A common enough repair for trucks.
NAPA auto parts franchises might have the listings for a “dodge truck” as old as yours, though sometimes the RV chassis had different brake systems. A better source would be a parts place that supplies small fleets of light trucks. I used to find them by asking at truck repair facilities as to where they got -their- parts. In the Rio Grande Valley I can recommend the Burton Auto Parts locations.
Being a MOPAR engine, the seal retainer may use bolts with splined heads, requiring a 12 point socket, NOT a 6 point socket. The bolts might take a 7/16″ or 3/8″ or 1/2″ socket, I forget. And your engine may be a 318-3; the industrial version of what went into the cars.
The leak could also be from the front main seal – which is a little easier to replace, as its in the metal stamped ‘timing chain cover’, though getting to that involves removing all of the belts and the pulley/vibration damper from the front end of the crankshaft. (Also a good time to replace all of the belts).
I dont recall where the oil filter is mounted, but it could be leaking from there I suppose. Of course leaks from the valve cover gaskets arent unusual. The only hard thing about reaching those is the bending over the top of the engine with the engine cover removed.
P.S. You may experience leaks from the A727 transmission also, either from ITS front seal, or more commonly from the tailshaft seal. Tailshaft seals are easier to get at; by dropping the driveshaft. There is also a seal around the shifting shaft that might leak – but its a tiny seal, so a small leak. Be sure the transmission cooler lines arent too rusty between the trans and the fittings on at the front of the RV.
I had the same problem, with the brake sending gizmo. It was an easy part and an easy fix, as I recall. If you are dealing with kids on computers in a parts store, and they cannot find it, try asking for the same year D-300 truck.
Ouest is hunched over on that razor … raise those handle bars.
Love,
Auntie
Rusty and I have joyfully followed your blog since the beginning. We are currently in GT. Your blog had a huge influence on my agreeing to go on this adventure with my husband, Rusty. I admire you and your family and will continue to enjoy following your blog but… I just had to address something that you had in your blog today. You called Chick-fil-a, Chick-bigot. I am a Christian, I believe the Bible is the inspired word of God and believe what it says. I believe as the CEO of Chick-fil-a, Dan Cathy, does in same sex marriage but I am not a bigot nor from everything I have read is Dan Cathy. Bigot according to Webster means “a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion.” I am not intolerant. I have friends who are gay, agnostic, just about every diverse faith you can think of and even Democrats (that is meant as a funny) and I love them dearly. That does not mean I love what they believe. They know my position and we accept and respect each others beliefs. We don’t let this difference in beliefs color or ruin our relationship. I understand there are many, many people on both sides of this issue and others that can’t get beyond this difference but I can and do. This plethora of friends enrich my life and what a loss it would be for me to let “intolerance” stop me from having friends who don’t believe as I do. I just wanted to say that difference in beliefs does not have to go hand in hand with bigotry which I also believe is a sin. I respect others views but I pray that others respect mine. If you want to delete this comment please feel free to do so. I do NOT want to start some heated debate. I just really get tired of the media misrepresenting a conservative, Christian view point. ( I know there are thousands of examples that could be quoted of bigotry from Christians and from nonchristians…this is MY view point and from everything I have read it is Dan Cathy’s as well) Respectfully, Linda
If there’s one thing I can’t tolerate, it’s intolerance.
Well, of course Dan Cathy is a bigot. What else could one who has donated millions of dollars to anti gay groups be called. What else could one who donated to the Family Research Council – listed as an anti gay hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center – be called. I would doubt very seriously that all of your gay friends are really your friends if they knew that you sanction (by your support of Cathy) GLBT employment discrimination and the ban on same sex marriage. This has nothing to do with Christianity, but everything to do with your using Christianity to club an entire class of people who don’t line up as you feel they should. Shame on you, your bigotry, and Dan Cathy, Linda.
Linda, very well said. I had a long reply to go along with this but did not want to start a flaming war.
Susan, you are the perfect example of what is wrong with this country. If you feel that strongly the do not buy chicken sandwiches from them, disagree with them, do what ever you wish. To openly call them bigots because the do not agree with a specific lifestyle, how intolerant of you. I do not agree with a number of Starbucks positions or political donations. I do not come onto the net and call then vile names, I just choose not to spend my money there. That is my voice. Why don’t we just suspend the Bill of Rights for those with whom you disagree. That will teach them. How dare they exercise free speech. How dare they exercise freedom of religion.
Gay marriage is a State issue. If the people of the state choose to recognize gay marriage then great, the people have spoken. If a state does not, great the people have spoken. But to demonize a person or a company because they disagree with you, well, whom is the intolerant one.
You are right, I’m absolutely intolerant of bigotry, Scott. Where I grew up it was not unusual to see KKK crosses burning on the side of the road on our way home from football games on Friday night. Yes, I call out bigotry and have no tolerance for it.
No one ever said Cathy couldn’t exercise his religion…no one ever said Cathy didn’t have the right to say anything he wanted. The issue you and Linda seem to have is that Cathy was, and is, seen as a bigot for exercising those rights. Awwwwwwww… Remember Pastor Fred Phelps of God Hates Fags fame. http://www.godhatesfags.com/ He’s another “Christian” who hides behind the freedoms of speech and religion to spew nothing but unadulterated hate. Do you, Scott and Linda, support Westboro Baptist Church? Do you? I don’t.
“Gay marriage is a State issue.” Oh? Really? Perhaps you should educate yourself before you illustrate your own bigotry and ignorance. The issue of same sex marriage is an overwhelmingly Federal one…one of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution and equal protection. State’s Rights, on the other hand, is the flag bigots use in their twisted attempt to justify their position. State’s Rights have, and should have, NO place in America when it comes to the rights and freedoms of all Americans, across all of America. Ever heard of the Civil Rights Movement, Scott…State’s Rights was the foundation of the South’s rejection of integration…the Federal Government stepped in. Miscegenation is another example. Do you two believe it should be illegal for different races to marry? Do you? I don’t.
I’m not going to clog the Bumfuzzle blog with this, but unless you live in a vacumn, Scott and Linda, you might have recognized you are on the absolute wrong side of history. Our religion shouldn’t matter one bit when it comes to equal rights for everyone, including the GLBT.
Excellent post!
Every Detroit Iron car or truck I ever owned, or worked on, & there were many, leaked oil from the rear main seal, goes with the territory. MAJOR job to replace it, & it only lasts so long before it leaks again.
Earlier you showed some pictures of old auto parts you found in the bus, I think some oil seals were included?
Paul Thomas
Instead of saying: I LIVE IN SAN ANTONIO, STOP BY!!! I’ll say: have fun in San Antonio! I’d recommend stuff to do but it’s Fiesta. I’m sure you’ll find something. 😀
Dan Cathy has been able to put aside his “deeply held beliefs” now that the company wants to expand into the New York, Chicago, LA markets.. http://www.toledoblade.com/Retail/2014/03/30/Chick-fil-A-CEO-Dan-Cathy-regrets-embroiling-family-chain-in-gay-rights-debate.html
Old engine seals dry out, some good info already posted, you may want to try SAE 30 oil in the next oil change to see if that slows it down to a manageable level of leakage, the 318 is a great car motor and for the most part a leak free one, but with age these things happen.
Ah, yes, I can remember when some manual transmission seals were made of leather & had to be soaked in oil a day or so before installing them. In 1982 I started buying Honda products, cars, motorcycles, outboards, generators, & snow blowers. NONE of them EVER leaked oil, and they also ran/run perfectly.
Paul Thomas
So sorry but I couldn’t resist this. For years we have had SAE30 on our salads! HAHA I live with a car guy and salad dressing has been named that for a long time.
Welcome to Texas…..most of us Texans are friendly. It’s your blog you can say what you want!
Old vehicles are fun. I own a 1971 Dodge D100 with a Slant 6 and auto that I will drive until the wheels fall off. If it needs a little oil, so be it.
Something not to miss in Shiner: Shiner Bock. Good German Beer from Germans who got to Shiner (probably about the time you have) and went “…ya, das is da spot” 100 years or so ago.
Not German, but Czechs. Jak se has?
That would be Jak se mas. Auto correct fail.
You are right that Czechs also came here. Also, that is.
It does one well to note that for about as long as there has been Bohemians, there has been Germanic entanglement. The nationalist identity of Czechs really didn’t hit its stride until well into the 19th century, and a nation as such not until the aftermath of WW1.
The Czech language didn’t even come into its own as a national language absent predominant German speakers until that time period, so intertwined are these peoples.
Interesting local aside in terms of music: Both Cajun Zydeco and Ranchero Mexican music owe their unique sounds to the influence of these Texas immigrants and their readily available, and affordable accordions.
YeeHaw :_
If it’s the rear main this would be a good time to consider getting rid of it. You are close enough to Mexico for good labor prices so a new engine might be another option.
Love your blog & dedication.
Chik-bigot seems a little snarky & intolerant .
Noo offence meant just saying.
I support the LGBT community. And I support equal rights for all people. A-L-L people. I’m disgusted that there are still those who do not support this. And I’ll say so right here so that my children don’t ever grow up questioning if it is okay to be gay—if I’ll support them.
In my mind, saying you have gay friends, but that you don’t support equal rights for them is equivalent to saying that you have black friends, but you also think separate drinking fountains is a good idea. In my mind you can not have it both ways.
I will not support anybody’s right to be anti-gay (and yes, not supporting gay marriage is the same thing as being anti-gay). Period.
Your retorts are always so complete. I absolutely agree, decide which side of the bread your butter is on. Where’s the disconnect, folks?
Excellent response and thanks for speaking up!
If as you are so bored with politics you want nothing to do with it, as you have said, why do you insert politics into your blog?
If you dislike television so much, as you have said, how is it that your political opinions are entirely shaped by it? A little too much tube time in Minnesota?
I’m in a bit of a mood today, so I’ll bite.
Only anti-gays consider gay rights political. The rest of us view them as something that should simply be a given. I doubt a vote was held to determine if marriage between a man and a woman is legit. And if a vote was taken, I doubt that millions and millions of dollars were spent trying to persuade voters that it isn’t.
T.V. You are right, I hate it. In the past year I have watched four movies and not one hour of television. I didn’t even watch the Super Bowl. I simply don’t have enough hours in the day to do the things I really want to do, so to even consider wasting hours of it accomplishing absolutely nothing is inconceivable to me.
Quit watching television. It is the number one thing you can do to improve your quality of life. It’s also the easiest way to get yourself out living the life you really want to live sooner. Think of the money you could save. Think of the things you could accomplish with that extra ten, twenty, thirty hours a week!
All right, I’m done for now. Ali told me I was in a bad mood today. She may have been right.
+1 . . . well-said, Pat.
Onward. Seriously, the things people focus on. Don’t let it ruin your day. So tell us what we really want to know….. did you have some good beer and a kolache? My Shiner friends loved the pic of the kids drinking out of the spigot. Timeless!
Gay stuff? Who cares! There’s an oil leak to be fixed here!
Oh I wish I was in Shiner! I miss that place this time of year. San Antonio will be great for Fiesta. 🙂
i hear the brewery tour at the shiner brewery is not to be missed. i think you guys like beer so give it a try if you have time
I hope nobody confused me with the other Linda. I believe these “deeply held beliefs” are an sham for a holier than thou attitude of wanting to dictate others lives. Your points, Pat, summed it up beautifully. Live and let live…
San Antonio is a nice place. Lots of Taquerias and mercados for fresh fruit for the kids. There is also a string of old missions that are free for the seeing and they are beautiful old buildings. Have fun!!
I usually only provide unwanted advice on engine issues, but I had too much caffiene today and can’t resist adding that I’m beginning to anti-gay activists are actually latent homosexuals themselves. They believe homosexuality is an immoral lifestyle choice; as in they fight their homosexual urges because they know it’s the right thing to do, and everyone should fight those urges too. Homosexualtiy is physiological, not a lifestyle choice. Thier brains are wired that way. They should be afforded the same rights and privileges as everyone else. Really, even if you don’t like it, how does a same sex marraige hurt anyone? Isn’t doing what you want as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else the basis of freedom and politcal conservatism? Besides, eventually all marriages turn in to same-sex marriages, as in, the sex is always the same.
I saw a PBS program many years ago, where they were interviewing a ‘man and woman’ couple who had been married for maybe 50 years. The man said something to the effect that after 50 years of marriage, the differences between the definition of the words monogamy and monotony began to blur.
It’s entirely inappropriate to go into these politics here. But that isn’t anything to stop me, especially after a drink and resting in the likelihood these few-day old comments are now just so many lost words on a great big interweb.
RightWingers aren’t really hypocrites.
The truth is much more disturbing than that. Hypocrisy is saying one thing and doing the other. They say one thing because they are obsessed with doing the other. So they are consistent, but deranged. The religious right calls “gay” a “lifestyle” and a “choice.” They aren’t anti-gay people so much as they are anti-gay behavior, as they imagine that, and they spend a lot of time imagining it. They aren’t really anti-gay in any meaningful sense either, being anti-gay is merely a position in a sick drama, and is part of a confusion about sex, human relations, dominance and violence.
That which they find uncomfortable about themselves they project out onto reality and onto others, where they can do battle with it, harming and terrorizing others in the process. They think that all of us are equally gay, but that some of us “choose” to act on it and some don’t. To their way of thinking, being “against gay” but then “slipping” and doing “gay things” is vastly superior to people openly advocating “gay.” This tells us that the word “gay” means something different to them than it does to most people.
They are projecting their own internal dissonance onto the rest of the world. Much of the religious right is fueled by this confusion about sexuality, which also includes confusing violence and dominance with sexuality. Features of this mindset include an inability to empathize with others, since the internal struggle dominates everything and precludes really seeing people.
Everything about the right wing movement we are seeing is fueled by this perverted – twisted, altered, misrepresented – sexuality. Dobson et al can say with a straight face, as he did about the Foley scandal some years ago, that the root problem is too much tolerance and diversity. That is because in his world – in his mind, which he cannot distinguish from reality – we are all depraved maniacs barely held in check by threats of punishment.
This same pattern now controls our foreign policy – we have had too much peace and understanding, you see, and that is dangerous. So they aren’t hypocrites. They are insane in the medical model, and Satanic and evil in the religious model. Up actually is down for them – they aren’t lying.
This is why the incompetence charge against the Republican leadership is off base. They aren’t trying to do the right thing and failing. They are trying to do evil (or sick) things and succeeding. They think preying on children helps the children. They think killing people saves them. They think abusing women is for the common good.
It is all much more weird and disturbing than most people realize.
Great family and we love your blog. We are Christians as well…doesn’t stop us from enjoying your writing/pictures. “Leftism has been and will always be a moral failure, despite its acknowledged appeal to many people of goodwill”. You read a lot, as do I. Take a look at dennis praegers book “still the best hope: why the world needs American values to triumph,” if you get a chance. You’re liberal, I’m conservative …we are both good people, just with different perspectives. Keep on truckin and everyone can stop sipping the haterade.