The lovely Mrs. W. and I just got back from what will have to pass as our summer vacation. I was able to get three days off last week and we took the dodge ram and the travel trailer and drove down to the Pensacola area where my son and his family have moved.

Their goal is to be debt free so they have bought a fixer upper house for cash in a subdivision out in the boonies which has a lot of vacant lots and a lot of wilderness around them. looks like a place where you might see just about any critter found in FLA except perhaps a gator since there is not much water really close to the house. We had three days there mostly.

I helped by getting the front and back doors both to latch and lock. The rear door required rehanging the frame twice to get it to work. I also installed a door on the bathroom.

I really hated the big picture there as there is a ton of road work going on for future development. Getting anywhere is a real pain in the hiney. It took a half hour to get to either a hardware or home depot.

My son has never professed any interest in doing things with his hands but it turns out he must have been watching more than I thought as he has been doing some fairly good stuff with the house.

It has a long way to go though.

I also had some real fun with my three grandsons, twin 4 year olds and a five year old. Very cute, and bright little fellows.

Last night in northern AL we spent about an hour in the campground pool after dark. There weren't many folks there and the water was perfect. All we needed was a drink to sip on while wathing the sun set and the full moon rise almost simultaniously.

Good stuff.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

So you come to FL and don't tell us?

Glad you had a good time in "non Disney Florida"

You're down by Miami, right? (only a three day drive to hook up for a beer!)

you know I would have looked you up if I had been closer!

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Really impressive to see some but not enough of the younger generation trying to help themselves. Long term debt cannot be all that much fun in todays world.

I would have thought that midwesterners would take their vactions to FL in the winter, not the summer.

Miss the grandsons.

I almost forgot to mention my little run in with biting ants! As we were pulling out I unhooked my electric cord and wrapped it up to stow in the trunk of the trailer. Suddenly I felt as though I had gotten into Nettles with my hands. In looking at them closer I noticed a lot of little ants. I had dragged the cord across their ant hill and they were biting the hell out of my hands. I quickly brushed them off and off my socks. then I went inside and my DIL had me rub vinigar on my hands. The Nettle feel went away shortly.

Those ants are something else!

I asked my son if they are fire ants and he just shrugged.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Fire ants are not little. Sounds like you got into some piss ants.

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Jim

I lived in Fla. for 20 years and I can tell you that fire ants willl eat your a$$ up. I have the scars to prove it.

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heh! pissed off piss ants!

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

If you get into fire ants, it's not just biting - it's the stinging! The little sweethearts bite you to anchor themselves, the better to sting you.

Nice picture of it here.

Nice description here. Scroll down the page for pictures showing how the stings develop.

i have just one of a spot that looks just like what is shown. So the bite or venom of the piss ant is similar but you just get one instead of two at a time I suppose.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Tom, I think those pictures may show someone with two fire ant stings - not a bite plus a sting. Unlike honeybees, a single fire ant can sting more than once.

If you get into a mound, you can get a lot of stings in a hurry. They don't mess around! I imagine that there are some impressive pictures on the Internet for the finding.

I have two spots but on different fingers. There was a third but it has gone mostly away.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Sounds like a great trip, TW. Well, sans the fire ants. My brother and I used to like poking the mounds with a stick and watching them swarm. A couple too close calls put an end to that practice.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)