Recessions aren't thirst-quenching

A little article from the SF Examiner reminding us that smaller isn't always better (though in a vacuum we always try and choose it).

Give some of the larger wineries a chance with a blind tasting and you might find wines upon which you can ride out these difficult economic times.

Also, ever since the Grand Canyon we've been less afraid of 'the box.'

Some of the better ones:
-Fish Eye Pinot Grigio
-La Vielle Ferme is putting their Rhone blend in a bag, not too shabby
-The Black Box is a ubiquitous go-to, with Cabs from different regions in CA, amongst other varietals

http://www.sfexaminer.com/entertainment/27834089.html

Settling in

Jennifer & I have been settling in to Alpine over the last week and a half.

All our 'stuff' is on the premises and for the first time in week we were able to park both cars in the garage.

All we have left to unpack/organize are the many boxes stacked in the office/project room.

Jennifer got some pictures before we moved in, hopefully we'll post them soon.

Car Adventure

Okay, so throughout our adventure we have had tremendous luck with our vehicles.
Until today.

Near Lexington, Nebraska, we had what we thought was an alternator belt failure. Some of the dashboard warning lights like the battery, emergency brake & ABS lights were flickering.
Turning off the radio and AC kept those lights from flickering, but we knew something was up with the alternator/power system.
We looked up auto places on the GPS, but there weren't too many options near where we were.
When the speed and RPM gauges wouldn't work anymore I decided that we should pull off in Lexington even if we didn't have our choice of repair shops.
We made it to the Advance Auto Parts and tried to buy a belt. Rich had one size above and below, so grabbed some tools to see which one might work. Upon closer inspection it turned out not to be the belt, but the belt tensioner, which had sheared itself off.

The nearest dealership was in Lincoln, 160 miles east, but the service dept. was closed already so they couldn't even tell if they had one in stock.
There were also shops in in Salinas & Lawrence, Kansas and Cheyenne, Wyoming, but none of these had anyone working that could say whether or not they had the part we needed.

The shop in Boulder (330 miles!) had what we needed, but compared to a 160 mile tow in the wrong direction to a shop we wouldn't even know if they had the part until Monday, it actually seemed like a reasonable option.

We made the call.

A few minutes later a guy named Hector wanders over. Turns out he has the part we need, but for the 2.5 liter engine.

Dang.

Well, he says, we could see if we could put a different pulley on there, you want to come look with me?

So we climb into his mini-van.
He unlocks the Napa auto parts store down the road and picks out a pulley and some bolts.

Half an hour later he has the pulley on and things are looking up. The harder part was getting the belt back on.

I feel like it's the last day of Summer Break

I just packed the car for the last time of our adventure. We have some clothes and camping gear accessible, but after tonight in Saginaw we are on the road towards Wyoming!!

We meet the movers in Detroit tomorrow to pick up everything left in the storage unit, say hello to my grandmother Tini, then hit the road for Wyoming - and begin a new adventure!!