No need to sneak in experiences. Plenty of time before this heat and humidity will go away. Maybe head to the flooding from the hurricane so I can swim in the flooding since no pool anywhere near here. Likely at the bottom of the hill I live on where it usually floods up to the edge of the highway will make a nice swimming pool later in the day.
@jouest Around here (the armpit of the nation in the deep south) our natural summer hot springs are large potholes after a rain or if the water company hasn’t gotten around to fixing a leak or an open fire hydrant (it can take months to years to fix those on frequent occasion here and then they wonder why the water company is losing money. Duh. Well and they put in water meters that are incompatible with their computer billing system so people didn’t get bills. These kinds of Einstein decisions are common around here.). If I can find it again I’ll post the photo some joker put of himself in one of the pothole around here.
Just some minor landscaping stuff and a good powerwashing of the house exterior, while there’s an uptick in the temperature. I’ve otherwise had my summer fun, more than ready to welcome autumnal activities.
“wash your house” is the kind of thing they don’t tell you about until you’re an adult.
Wait. What? You actually, personally, have to wash your house? I thought that was what hurricanes and heavy wind driven rain was for. Nobody told this adult that.
@jouest@Zendriver One neighbor has more square feet of concrete on his lot than grass thanks to the previous owners, and he spends a lot of time pressire washing it
Visit to an apple orchard, visit to a pumpkin patch, we went to a concert recently in Milwaukee, We’ll be going to a wedding in early October and seeing the Soo Locks. Visiting the Marian shrine in Champion as well.
We are pretty booked through October and then there’s a new round of stuff starting in November and brain doesn’t have the capacity to think about it that far out right now.
Enjoy breathing the Smoky air. Look at the pictures my friend sent of all the helicopter sucking water out of the lake to fight the fire. I’m sure we’re not done with Fire season yet. So chill out read a book drink coffee same thing you do all the time.
@tohar1 Been following the Line fire closely. I’m not ‘right there’ but I have one set of friends who have been evacuated and told by the sheriff’s department that it had gotten ‘close’. There will be smoke damage I am sure. I have another that has been on warning since the weekend. They have most of a lake in between. She’s been taking very good pics of the helicopters gathering water from one of the smaller lakes. They are not in my gallery file to post, but here was the air from my back porch a couple days ago.
@Cerridwyn YIKES! I guess I shouldn’t complain at all! Ours is more like between hazy & foggy outside, but it stinks if concentration is high. Way worse for people that have underlying health conditions (asthma/COPD or the like). The smoke we get is mostly from West Coast & Canadian wildfires which gets carried by the winds & then settles in our region.
@Cerridwyn@tohar1 I just heard they’ve arrested an arson suspect there; yesterday they arrested a guy who’s accused of starting a major fire here in CO in July. WTF is wrong with those people?!?!?
Mrs. H. & I are heading to Asheville, NC in October, spending a week down there. I’ve heard there’s lots of craft breweries, good food & lots of trails in the surrounding mountains to get a few good hikes in. Also looking forward to touring the Biltmore Estates. Looks quite cool from the pics I’ve seen. (We’re celebrating our 25th Anniversary from back in August, but neither of us could get time off from work…)
@tohar1 That’s great! I had several friends/co-workers that escaped to there from California 10-15 years ago. Went out to visit a few times and decided I will gradually move there, so when a house came up for sale on a street right near 2 of the friends, I was able to buy it. It’s a great place, similar vibe to Austin Texas, Boulder CO, Santa Cruz CA.
Lots of good restaurants though we haven’t gone out as much since the Covid times.
So much stuff to recommend as far as places and trails.
River Arts district has lots of things especially if into arts crafts. A great BBQ restaurant called 12 Bones it is famous and was a favorite when Obama was president and visited he would always go there or if time didn’t allow staff picked up catering to go.
A good informal taco place called White Duck I think right by the river just north of the bridge in same area.
Nice walking path along the river in that district. Sometimes a farmer’s market.
Across the bridge New Belgium brewery is great and right by river along path. Can sit either inside or outside. No restaurant but always a food truck which varies by day of week. My friends like “El Kimchi”
Downtown has a lot of interesting stuff not a bad walking city because downtown is not so big. A bit hilly for walking bring good walking shoes. Some big parking garages so parking not usually a problem. Newest trendy downtown area is “South Slope” obviously South of downtown. Some microdistilleries.
Biltmore is definitely worth it at least once in a lifetime. Plan a very full day if you want to check out the gardens and grounds too. (And the shoes, again). Be warned the price is pretty high, I think $80 but that was a few years ago. Later on got to go back again with my friend’s mother that worked there as a guide, so they got us free admission and she gave us a private tour!
Getting TL;DR but if you like history get (or audiobook) the Anderson Cooper book Vanderbilt. I had no idea he is the son of Gloria Vanderbilt. He was digging into his own family history and there is a lot of dysfunctional family history, maybe true of all families (ask my wife!), but especially true of rich and famous names like the Vanderbilts.
@tohar1 Also October one of the best months to visit. Might actually be more busy because of famous “fall color” (or is it Autumn?) season. Drive a bit on the Blue Ridge Parkway (assuming you have a rental car). Slightly NE of Asheville is a visitor center. Any direction you drive on the pkwy there will be turnouts and opportunities for walks short and long. Later in the year some sections close for Winter snow/ice, but shouldn’t be an issue then.
Be warned you might want to move there! I’m not even there now (stuck in old home area West Coast) but wish I would be there.
@pmarin Don’t worry about TL;DR in my book! Thanks for taking the time to give me the recommendation rundown! I’ve been collecting info, watching YouTube videos, and relying on first hand knowledge from people who’ve been there especially.
Asheville came onto our radar as a guy who opened a successful brewery in Moorhead, MN (right across the river from Fargo, ND where I live) married some friends of our’s daughter & then moved to Asheville and opened another brewery (New Origin) that’s doing pretty well down there. (They were #1 recently on the Untappd app for Asheville region.)
We’re big into hiking/sightseeing, but in ND we really don’t have many hills/mountains around here but we’re up for a challenge!
We had ID’d “the Duck” for some tacos one day, so nice to see your rec there.
We have already purchased our tickets for touring The Biltmore, and yes, there was a bit of sticker shock…$165 each!! (Mrs. only request after seeing it on a Hallmark movie last year–so how could I say no.) Anyways, thanks again!!
@tohar1 I’ll have to contact you someday about recommendations for Fargo ND area. Honestly a “bucket list” item for sure but won’t be this year. I usually drive across the country in a 4WD camper (used to be a big motorhome, but too big). Did a lot of routes and had the thing where you put a sticker on states you’ve been to and I think I had at least 47 (took credit for AK and Hawaii though not in the vehicle). ND was conspicuously absent. Some people theorized that ND doesn’t really exist since nobody knew anyone from there. SD yes, they exist. Weird, but it’s there for some reason… Oh yeah, Wall Drug. Anyway want to do the far Northern route someday. Not in middle of Summer – too many tourists and mosquitos, apparently. Thinking of a Spring, Fall/Autumn. Some cold weather and even risk of a bit of snow doesn’t bother me. But been to Colorado and Wyoming enough to know that Snow is a possibility even in June.
Since SE Texas is not as flammable as SoCal this year, I’m deliberating the merits of assassinating some bahia grass with a huge propane torch. This would be very therapeutic for me.
@jouest@werehatrack
I got one of those torches but I was never successful at not setting other stuff on fire.
(However it makes a most excellent method for searing meat that you prepared sous vide!)
@werehatrack I’ve never had the guts to go after uncontained grass in the summer, but for grass in pavement cracks or growing up through asphalt, the torch is VERY satisfying to use. I do recommend it for its therapeutic benefits.
Same is true in “legal” west coast states and Colorado. But a different kind of grass. Never did it much but when I was in college it was “whatever someone’s friend drove in from Mendocino.”
Had no idea there was such variety. Now it’s calibrated and measured for content. There’s stuff for artistic inspiration, just binging an entire season of TV, or passing out on the couch.
Headed to FLA for the weekend
Spend time out on their boat with friends next week
Couple of days in a camping cabin at the local state park with another couple next week.
Routine yard maintenance… Now that it’s finally rained my back yard will finally turn green again and I’ll have to mow at least once or twice more before the season ends.
Do some canning (pepper jelly, pears etc…)
Put in footings for greenhouse project.
Cruise with the grandkids early October.
Week in the Poconos for fall colors mid Oct.
Mowing three acres in the blistering hot sun. And then jumping into a pool.
@lindaahrens hmm. We don’t have a pool, but you do say “a pool” and not “my pool” so buckle up, neighbors!
@jouest
Okay, then, my pool! The neighbors watch me from their window whenever I use their pool. Wierdos.
No need to sneak in experiences. Plenty of time before this heat and humidity will go away. Maybe head to the flooding from the hurricane so I can swim in the flooding since no pool anywhere near here. Likely at the bottom of the hill I live on where it usually floods up to the edge of the highway will make a nice swimming pool later in the day.
@Kidsandliz this sounds like the Meh version of swimming in a natural hot spring.
@jouest Around here (the armpit of the nation in the deep south) our natural summer hot springs are large potholes after a rain or if the water company hasn’t gotten around to fixing a leak or an open fire hydrant (it can take months to years to fix those on frequent occasion here and then they wonder why the water company is losing money. Duh. Well and they put in water meters that are incompatible with their computer billing system so people didn’t get bills. These kinds of Einstein decisions are common around here.). If I can find it again I’ll post the photo some joker put of himself in one of the pothole around here.
Just some minor landscaping stuff and a good powerwashing of the house exterior, while there’s an uptick in the temperature. I’ve otherwise had my summer fun, more than ready to welcome autumnal activities.
@Zendriver “wash your house” is the kind of thing they don’t tell you about until you’re an adult.
@jouest @Zendriver
Wait. What? You actually, personally, have to wash your house? I thought that was what hurricanes and heavy wind driven rain was for. Nobody told this adult that.
@jouest @Zendriver One neighbor has more square feet of concrete on his lot than grass thanks to the previous owners, and he spends a lot of time pressire washing it
@werehatrack @Zendriver is it possible he just wants to avoid his family and hasn’t discovered meh forums yet?
Visit to an apple orchard, visit to a pumpkin patch, we went to a concert recently in Milwaukee, We’ll be going to a wedding in early October and seeing the Soo Locks. Visiting the Marian shrine in Champion as well.
We are pretty booked through October and then there’s a new round of stuff starting in November and brain doesn’t have the capacity to think about it that far out right now.
@mbersiam ooh. Get married. Good call.
You know something I don’t know, @jouest? Are we wrapping up the last summer ever?
@djslack shh
Enjoy breathing the Smoky air. Look at the pictures my friend sent of all the helicopter sucking water out of the lake to fight the fire. I’m sure we’re not done with Fire season yet. So chill out read a book drink coffee same thing you do all the time.
/giphy pinky and the brain
@Cerridwyn We’ve had a couple days this week of the wildfire smoke. Yesterday was pretty close to nasty!
@tohar1 Been following the Line fire closely. I’m not ‘right there’ but I have one set of friends who have been evacuated and told by the sheriff’s department that it had gotten ‘close’. There will be smoke damage I am sure. I have another that has been on warning since the weekend. They have most of a lake in between. She’s been taking very good pics of the helicopters gathering water from one of the smaller lakes. They are not in my gallery file to post, but here was the air from my back porch a couple days ago.
@Cerridwyn YIKES! I guess I shouldn’t complain at all! Ours is more like between hazy & foggy outside, but it stinks if concentration is high. Way worse for people that have underlying health conditions (asthma/COPD or the like). The smoke we get is mostly from West Coast & Canadian wildfires which gets carried by the winds & then settles in our region.
@tohar1 that means it should be coming soon. We’ve got three big massive fires that are not that far apart if you look at a map.
@Cerridwyn @tohar1 I just heard they’ve arrested an arson suspect there; yesterday they arrested a guy who’s accused of starting a major fire here in CO in July. WTF is wrong with those people?!?!?
Mrs. H. & I are heading to Asheville, NC in October, spending a week down there. I’ve heard there’s lots of craft breweries, good food & lots of trails in the surrounding mountains to get a few good hikes in. Also looking forward to touring the Biltmore Estates. Looks quite cool from the pics I’ve seen. (We’re celebrating our 25th Anniversary from back in August, but neither of us could get time off from work…)
@tohar1 That’s great! I had several friends/co-workers that escaped to there from California 10-15 years ago. Went out to visit a few times and decided I will gradually move there, so when a house came up for sale on a street right near 2 of the friends, I was able to buy it. It’s a great place, similar vibe to Austin Texas, Boulder CO, Santa Cruz CA.
Lots of good restaurants though we haven’t gone out as much since the Covid times.
So much stuff to recommend as far as places and trails.
Biltmore is definitely worth it at least once in a lifetime. Plan a very full day if you want to check out the gardens and grounds too. (And the shoes, again). Be warned the price is pretty high, I think $80 but that was a few years ago. Later on got to go back again with my friend’s mother that worked there as a guide, so they got us free admission and she gave us a private tour!
Getting TL;DR but if you like history get (or audiobook) the Anderson Cooper book Vanderbilt. I had no idea he is the son of Gloria Vanderbilt. He was digging into his own family history and there is a lot of dysfunctional family history, maybe true of all families (ask my wife!), but especially true of rich and famous names like the Vanderbilts.
@tohar1 Also October one of the best months to visit. Might actually be more busy because of famous “fall color” (or is it Autumn?) season. Drive a bit on the Blue Ridge Parkway (assuming you have a rental car). Slightly NE of Asheville is a visitor center. Any direction you drive on the pkwy there will be turnouts and opportunities for walks short and long. Later in the year some sections close for Winter snow/ice, but shouldn’t be an issue then.
Be warned you might want to move there! I’m not even there now (stuck in old home area West Coast) but wish I would be there.
@pmarin Don’t worry about TL;DR in my book! Thanks for taking the time to give me the recommendation rundown! I’ve been collecting info, watching YouTube videos, and relying on first hand knowledge from people who’ve been there especially.
Asheville came onto our radar as a guy who opened a successful brewery in Moorhead, MN (right across the river from Fargo, ND where I live) married some friends of our’s daughter & then moved to Asheville and opened another brewery (New Origin) that’s doing pretty well down there. (They were #1 recently on the Untappd app for Asheville region.)
We’re big into hiking/sightseeing, but in ND we really don’t have many hills/mountains around here but we’re up for a challenge!
We had ID’d “the Duck” for some tacos one day, so nice to see your rec there.
We have already purchased our tickets for touring The Biltmore, and yes, there was a bit of sticker shock…$165 each!! (Mrs. only request after seeing it on a Hallmark movie last year–so how could I say no.) Anyways, thanks again!!
@tohar1 I’ll have to contact you someday about recommendations for Fargo ND area. Honestly a “bucket list” item for sure but won’t be this year. I usually drive across the country in a 4WD camper (used to be a big motorhome, but too big). Did a lot of routes and had the thing where you put a sticker on states you’ve been to and I think I had at least 47 (took credit for AK and Hawaii though not in the vehicle). ND was conspicuously absent. Some people theorized that ND doesn’t really exist since nobody knew anyone from there. SD yes, they exist. Weird, but it’s there for some reason… Oh yeah, Wall Drug. Anyway want to do the far Northern route someday. Not in middle of Summer – too many tourists and mosquitos, apparently. Thinking of a Spring, Fall/Autumn. Some cold weather and even risk of a bit of snow doesn’t bother me. But been to Colorado and Wyoming enough to know that Snow is a possibility even in June.
camping this weekend with an outdoor oktoberfest. still mowing the lawn. outdoor concert next week. lots of summer-y things still happening.
@catthegreat those all qualify, yes
Since SE Texas is not as flammable as SoCal this year, I’m deliberating the merits of assassinating some bahia grass with a huge propane torch. This would be very therapeutic for me.
@werehatrack wow you know grass breeds
@jouest @werehatrack
I got one of those torches but I was never successful at not setting other stuff on fire.
(However it makes a most excellent method for searing meat that you prepared sous vide!)
@chienfou @jouest @werehatrack Maybe torch in one hand, hose with a trigger nozzle in the other?
@werehatrack I’ve never had the guts to go after uncontained grass in the summer, but for grass in pavement cracks or growing up through asphalt, the torch is VERY satisfying to use. I do recommend it for its therapeutic benefits.
@jouest @werehatrack
Same is true in “legal” west coast states and Colorado. But a different kind of grass. Never did it much but when I was in college it was “whatever someone’s friend drove in from Mendocino.”
Had no idea there was such variety. Now it’s calibrated and measured for content. There’s stuff for artistic inspiration, just binging an entire season of TV, or passing out on the couch.
@jouest @pmarin @werehatrack
Now it’s too damn STRONG!
@jouest @Kyeh @pmarin @werehatrack
certainly smells like shit at any rate…
Headed to FLA for the weekend
Spend time out on their boat with friends next week
Couple of days in a camping cabin at the local state park with another couple next week.
Routine yard maintenance… Now that it’s finally rained my back yard will finally turn green again and I’ll have to mow at least once or twice more before the season ends.
Do some canning (pepper jelly, pears etc…)
Put in footings for greenhouse project.
Cruise with the grandkids early October.
Week in the Poconos for fall colors mid Oct.
@chienfou not bad
I live in Florida. I can sneak in the rest of my life before it cools off.