Rolling Nerd Fest

5 states and 603 miles today! That exclamation point is such a poseur. There’s just not a proper punctuation for, “It was a long, uneventful day and we worked hard to get to the end of it.” I’m leaning towards the underscore. 603 miles today _ 53 hours of clerical work this week _ I was pleasant at work today _

Sunrise at our campsite

I don’t love every moment, but I do love driving this thing.

Family selfie waiting for the sunrise. Morning hair, don’t care. And yes, we were still in our pajamas.

457 miles today! Batman’s elbow brace gave him no difficulty driving.  The USB loves the new batteries and tow wiring. 

Upon arrival at our campsite, Batman’s cousin and her adorable family joined us for s’mores. A marshmallow-related incident distracted me from getting a photographic record of their s’more appreciation. They even brought a light show in the form of a beachfront thunderstorm. Pretty impressive planning for a family recovering from their first day of school!

Yes, we ordered a pizza delivered to the waiting area.

Just another cute dog waiting for his RV. His name is Max. He smells nice.

A couple of electrical problems have us making a short (I hope) stop at Alliance. 

So to entertain you while we wait, here is Batman’s Eclipse Playlist:

I’ve had a few requests for my Eclipse Playlist, so here it is…

Ain’t No Sunshine, by Bill Withers

Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In, by the Fifth Dimension

Back in Black, by AC/DC

Bad Mon Rising, by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Blinded By the Light, by Manfred Mann’s Earth Band

Blister in the Sun, by Violent Femmes

Blue Clear Sky, by George Strait

Blue Moon, by The Marcels

Blue Moon of Kentucky, by Patsy Cline

Can’t Fight the Moonlight, by LeAnn Rimes

Dancing in the Dark, by Bruce Springsteen

Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me, by Elton John

Eclipse, by Pink Floyd

The entire Dark Side of the Moon Album, by Pink Floyd

Fishin’ in the Dark, by The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

Fly Me to the Moon, by Frank Sinatra

A Hard Day’s Night, by The Beatles

Here Comes the Sun, by The Beatles

I Saw the Light, by Hank Williams

Kryptonite, by 3 Doors Down

Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds, by The Beatles

Moonshadow, by Cat Stevens

Mr. Blue Sky, by The Electric Light Orchestra

New Moon on Monday, by Duran Duran

The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia, by Reba McEntire

Night Time is the Right Time, by Ray Charles

Ring of Fire, by Johnny Cash

Shadow Dancing, by Andy Gibb

Shine On You Crazy Diamond, by Pink Floyd

Soak Up the Sun, by Sheryl Crow

The Sound of Silence, by Simon and Garfunkel

The Sun Will Shine On You, by The Electric Light Orchestra

Total Eclipse of the Heart, by Bonnie Tyler

Twilight Time, by The Platters

Walking on Sunshine, by Katrina & The Waves

Walking on the Sun, by Smash Mouth

You’re So Vain, by Carly Simon

Packing and scheduling are much more serious when you’re preparing for a celestial convergence (the name of my next band). It’s so different knowing we’ll only be gone for 15 days, instead of 3 months like last year.

One snag has emerged that we will have to deal with upon arrival in Kansas City. The last washing of the roof revealed that most of the protective top layer has worn away. We will be doing a roof re-seal project starting Thursday. 

This year we have parked the USB at a local RV park while we packed and prepped. This strategy has yielded two benefits:  ample opportunity to retrieve anything forgotten, and the ability to leave directly from the park, without having to park on our street packing for several hours. Plus I get to start my vacation 3 days early. That’s a small joke. FYI, cleaning an RV roof is not vacation. 

Batman had elbow surgery on the 28th. He can still drive, but no climbing!

The Nerdfest is getting ready to roll! Our destination this year is the total solar eclipse, complete with special glasses, matching glow-in-the-dark t-shirts, and world-record traffic jams. Luckily, the USB is a completely free-standing hotel room with kitchenette and laundry. We are going old-school on a few items because cellular service is expected to be overloaded and sporadic. We have board games to entertain, and a radio to follow local coverage. We are burning our entire eclipse playlist (later post) to CD so that we are not dependent on internet for our soundtrack. Of course, we’re still using GPS for navigation, with paper maps for backup, as always. 

Our biggest change is in personnel. Only our youngest child and oldest dog will be embarking with Batman and me. Grandma is joining us for the eclipse, and three of the remaining four will arrive shortly thereafter. Grandma has delicately declined the invitation to accompany us on the second leg of the trip:  the roller coaster Mecca, Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. 

Our viewing location, Rosecrans Airport

My shirt design. What do you think, sirs?

One advantage of 1pm church is you can wash your bedding in the camp laundry while waiting for your hair to dry. Please note the sweater, jealous Floridians. Mornings are chilly here. The scarf is a vintage find from the thrift store in Challis, Idaho, in 2013. A hilarious post from that visit is here. https://rollingnerdfest.com/2013/07/07/sunday-in-the-rv-park-with-nerds/

The blanket is Batman’s quilt made of his marathon t-shirts. 

Last Friday night’s fun! Cool cars, fun art, fantastic pizza, and capping off the evening with Tim Tam Slams, a drinking-hot-cocoa-through-a-porous-Australian-cookie game. 

Batman arrives tomorrow, so I decided to do a few chores. 

• Disconnected the water, sewer, cable, & electric connections. 
• Pulled in the slide out & jacks. 
• Drove the USB  around the park to the propane refill area. Thanks, Lakeside!
• Drove back to our spot, set up, and reconnected everything. 
• Washed the left side and back of the USB. Front was done two days ago. 
• Made friends with two more dog owners in the RV park. 
• Nap. 
• Washed the right side before new neighbors check in and realize that my wash hose is hooked to their water spigot!

Special thanks to all the kids & dogs who put up with the disruption. More thanks to Barq’s root beer for getting me through today!

Just helping my daughter with a few little things. We assembled the crib, which only took 2 trips to Home Depot to replace a defective bolt. We picked up crib sheets, burp cloths, mattress pads, and a mini-swing-rocker (some assembly and C & D batteries required). She did the baby laundry and I folded and put away. So now we can patiently await the little person’s arrival. Due date is Aug 27th, but who’s counting?

Baby’s eye view!

Such an honor to share in their joy!