Driving And Walking The Big Apple

This Saturday we decided to beat traffic and start early on a drive around “town”. Instead of going straight into NYC we took the New Jersey Turnpike to the George Washington Bridge. We then turned south onto I-87 until Madison Bridge. Traffic was really tolerable but that was going to change within the next hour. We drove down on 5thAve through Harlem (very beautiful part of NYC) and followed all along Central Park. We then went west on 34th St to 12.Ave heading north again. Either it was too early or it is just because it is Saturday, but we had no problem parking the bus on 44th.St.                                 Times Square From there on we took a walk which led us all the way up to Times Square where even at this early hour big crowds were pushing each other up the curbs. Times Square is where NBC is doing their morning show “TODAY”. The place is a sea of digital commercials flaring all over the high rises. We were looking for book store to buy a nice NYC map for me, but had a hard time to find the Barnes and Noble Store. So finally I walked up to a police officer and he sent us right up 46St. to 5th. Ave. And there, right on the corner is a great Barnes and Nobles store. A friendly employee pointed me right to the map stand and with his recommendation I purchased 2 maps, one for Manhattan only, the other Manhattan with a regional overview. Now, you might be wondering whether a GPS wouldn’t be doing a much better service. I like GPS a lot, but in NYC it is quite dangerous if you drive a bus or truck. Why? The GPS tries to send you up the Parkways, which there are many of. Parkways are prohibited for trucks and buses, so you understand you can get in a pickle. You can’t turn around a bus on a Highway so you would have to be backed down again with police assistance and no driver needs that embarrassment and hassle. Besides it would be followed with a juicy fine.  NOT with a big rig! I still remember our trip down south with our motor home in 2010 when we accidentally ended up on the New Jersey Garden State Parkway where we almost got trapped under low vaulted bridges. Never, never enter any Parkway with anything bigger than a van! Parking violation fines in NYC are in the vicinity of $180, any idling in the city is rewarded by a $2000 fine, so that kind of fun one should stay from. Unfortunately, I forgot my cell phone in the bus and could not take any pictures this morning, so all pics here are off the Internet. Are we doing the same trip again tomorrow? Most certainly we won’t. New York is hosting the World’s biggest marathon on Sunday November 1, and 65,000 runners will be at the start line. Besides of this event there are two major sport events in the area, so tonight this city will be pretty much shut down for traffic, which would make it totally impossible to drive a bus around Manhattan. Monday morning will see us leaving NYC early turning the bus back home.

Storm Hits New Brunswick Overnight

While I have enjoying been warm days with temps around 65F in NYC, New Brunswick was hit by a nightly storm. Talking to Bea via SKYPE I learned that wide areas of New Brunswick have been without power. An outside protection wall tipped over from a wind gust and a neighbour lost a huge trampoline. It is totally gone and has probably been blown into the forest, but nobody ever saw it again. Luckily, our stacks of firewood have not been blown over. Power was restored on Campobello shortly before noon the following morning, and I guess it only happened because of the grocery store and their freezers.

Downtown Manhattan

Today was one of several training days for me to get known to Manhattan’s chaos. We started from our hotel in N.J. and went through the Lincoln Tunnel. At 34th street we went west until 12Ave or 9a. The road runs south along Manhattan to Battery Park.              Broadway This is the area of Ground Zero and the new Freedom Tower. For a guy like me who has never seen anything like it, the trip was awesome. We went up again on Greenwich and that’s about where traffic got to be a problem. We tried Broadway to circle back to Battery Park but the congestion turned out to be too much. There was no way we could make any headway. And that pretty much was the way the rest of the trip was to be. New York City is choking on its traffic. Never in a million years had I ever seen anything similar. They might have traffic rules but nobody cares to follow them. If you don’t literally push pedestrians out of your way by inching the bus forward they will not let you pass. The same of course, is valid for every driver in this city. Ruthless driving is a way of life in this city. We were looking for a parking spot for the bus and it took 2 hours of driving around until we finally found a spot along 50th.Street and only because another bus was just leaving.        12 Ave South We went to a nice little restaurant and had a great meal there. It was the first decent food after leaving Canada. Had a great chat there and I learned a lot again. Did you know that New York Transit Authority has a 7 storey-building where buses are parked? 70-80 buses were just running down the ramp to get into the Lincoln Tunnel. They were about bring the tunnel traffic to a stand-still.        Entrance Lincoln Tunnel Space is at a premium in this city and innovative ideas have been developed like the below shown parking paternoster for cars. New York has an ongoing never ending construction-mania and if technically possible high-rises would be higher than Mt.Everest. We drove 54km today and have been driving for 3hrs. flat! That pretty much sums it up.

The Last 2 Hours

As we had left Connecticut behind us we rolled into the outskirts and suburbs of New York City. It rained like crazy and it got dark fast. We got in on I-87 and after a good while I could make out the illuminated tower skyline of Manhattan. Our group’s hotel was downtown and Doug squeezed our bus through the ever-tightening traffic. Finally we were on 5th Ave and it looked like everything had come to a halt. Thousands of private vehicles, busses, and hundreds of crazy taxi driver were meandering through the melee. In between all this chaos I saw pedestrians hustling across the street in dark clothes. It was raining like crazy. Then we heard sirens from behind. Doug said that an ambulance was trying to make headway through the cars. But our street was filled from one side to the other. Yet, miraculously, vehicles moved out of the way and the ambulance passed our bus on the left fighting on across the next intersection. After we had dropped off our group of passengers we went to find the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel, which leads under the Hudson River over to West New York. While getting in on the lane our bus was narrowly missed by a city bus storming down a hill, heading for the tunnel entrance. Whew….   Leaving Connecticut                                          Along I-87 into New York Well over on the western side of the river I could enjoy the nightly skyline of Manhattan, a major view indeed. Our hotel is the Fairfield Inn and we got great rooms here.

Rainy Day In New York

After one night at a less than mediocre motel in Fredericton I did not feel rested, and at 3am my night was pretty much over. I got dressed and ate some junk food but was longing for coffee. What kind of motel was this without offering a coffee maker to their guests? So I took my stuff and got in the van, driving down the street. A gas station would have coffee, I figured. Indeed they had just set up the coffee dispenser. With a coffee cup stored at my dash I continued on my way to the bus company.
My co-driver hadn’t arrived yet, but a motor home was parked down there with the owner waiting for something outside. Turned out the rig was scheduled for some repair and he was waiting for his wife to pick him up. Had myself a little chat with the fellow until co-driver Doug rolled in. Together we got the bus ready for the trip and made it out of the yard to the University Campus where our group of students would be waiting for us at 6am. And it didn’t take long until we were rolling out of town.

We border-crossed at Houlton, ME and started on the long run down I-95 to the Big Apple.
Several rest stops later we left Massachusetts and it started to rain. It’s gonna rain all the rest of the way, but I’m not driving. Co-driver Doug has taken over. He’s the expert on NYC and will get the bus to the hotel in the city.

And that’s all for today, I guess. Have to catch some sleep…. 

We Got A Wooden Wood Shelf And A Dog On Loan

Having a wood stove means getting fire wood inside the house. And not only in the house but also to where ever the wood stove is, which is the living room with us. And once the wood is inside it needs to be stored in some way. And Bea had just the right idea for that. Could a book shelf hold other tings than books?  An image on the internet showed the right example, and when a neighbour inquired whether we could have use for a bookshelf she was going to throw out, two good things came together. And it was a bonus that the shelf was in the very same style as the 2 other bookshelves we already had. Filled with wood (and some books) it looks like it has been there all the time For over a week we have had a second dog in the house. GRACIE is a dog on loan, or rather a dog who was in need of dog-sitting as her owners are on a trip south of the border.. Gracie is so quiet that we sometimes forget that she is here. She loves to dig herself into her soft blankets and sleep for a long time. But that doesn’t mean that her 16 years of age have been getting the better of her. No Sir, when she is getting into the right mood she is racing from room to room or around the table like a young puppy would do. She doesn’t seem to have any health issues and gets along with Molly just fine. Even though bigger dogs have always scored the highest points with me, I must admit that I really like her as she is cute as a button. And tomorrow I am gonna have my very last tour customer. The lady called this morning asking for availability for an Island Tour. And why not. Fall colours are still very beautiful and though a bit on the cool side, the weather is gonna be just fine with clear sunny skies. After the tour I have to drive to Fredericton (again…) for being in place on Wednesday morning at 5am for a 6-day trip to NYC and Boston.

Kissing The Dummy

It was a few degrees under zero when I started the car at 5:30am this morning. And of course still very dark. Cruising down to the border I was wondering whether the CBP-officer would be napping in his/her cubicle. She was not!  The red light changed to green as soon as I rolled to a stop at the lower end of the bridge. She did not recognize me as I was seated in the Buick, so she asked where I was living. I had 2.5hrs of driving ahead of me, before I could sit down in the First Aid Course I was booked in on. Since it was Saturday, traffic hadn’t awakened yet. And this time there was no fog either. 2 other course participants were meeting up, making this a 3-people + instructor meeting. 3 others who were booked in were a no-show. We were about to spend the entire day together so we had to introduce ourselves to each other. After the first couple of hours the instructor brought in 3 baby-dummies which we should perform various CPR-procedures on. Scenario was baby is choking – what to do?  The babies were just the beginning as there were three “adults” waiting for us  on the floor of the outer office.  It’s always a moment of truth when the course participants have to “kiss” the dummies and depress chests until the fingers turn blue. These dummies are quite modern creations. They are equipped with lights on the lower body. Not satisfactory performance of the First-Aider is shown with a red light, 1 green light signals there is hope, but only 2 green lights are the desired result. It’s about 40 years ago I had my last First Aid Course, and let me say that many things have changed. The only thing that has not changed is the stabile side position which ascertains that the “victim” does not choke on vomit. Sorry….there are such “uncomfortable” terms to be dealt with. Tomorrow we will learn more about how to treat potential emergencies. And towards the end of the day we write an exam. Cross fingers!

Taking On The Big Apple And Our Van Is Back

Thursday morning had barely started when the phone was ringing off the hook. Russ, the island mechanic, was telling me that our van was ready for pickup.  ?????  He’d been working at it from 4:30am. Atta boy!  But it all came at a price. The bill was just about 800 Bucks!!! Ouch….. Fuel pump was over $400 rest was labour and tax. Why for Pete’s sake they put the fuel pump in a totally inaccessible place like through the top of the tank and not within the fuel line, is beyond me. So, with PEI-Bob around, he drove me the few kms over to the shop.       Getting a bit crowded around here… This coming weekend I am attending a First Aid course in Fredericton. Might come in handy one day when driving a bus. Then from October 28 to November 02 I am off to take a good bite out of The Big Apple aka NYC. Hopefully all New Yorkers know this and stay at home when I come. I do not appreciate their traffic volume. While down there, we also take a trip to experience some MASSHOLES, pardon my French, I am thinking of Bostonions, whose city has been named the worst American city to drive in. Boy, am I ever looking forward to this.

Seems We Are Getting Ready For Winter

Over the past couple of days I have been working on getting a wood stove ready in our living room. The stove we had installed in the basement is heating up the dining area through a floor mounted register, but since these are separate rooms the heat is not reaching not reaching into our living room. So we found a slightly used fitting wood stove. First thing was getting 2 cement boards which I installed on the floor and on the wall behind the stove. The floor-mounted board was then adorned with brown tiles. The stove itself needed some black stove paint and was looking like brand new after that. Now stoves, are quite heavy and this one is no exception. Even though the fire bricks were taken out, it was a task of its own to wheel the stove in on a dolly.   Last thing was putting together the various pieces of a stove pipe. Then the big moment of a try-out burn arrived. To my great delight the stove works perfectly on our chimney. A great draft sucks all the smoke right out. And here we are right in front of a cozy wood burning fire.  This afternoon yet another “boondocker” arrived. But this time it was no stranger. Our dear friend PEI-Bob arrived from….PEI. He’s gonna stay for 2 nights before he goes on the road again to meet all our other friends in the south.

Driving from NYC to London, England?

If you haven’t heard it yet, this is the big news from Putin’s Russia. The Russians are thinking big. They are thinking HIGHWAY from Moscow directly to Washington, or London to NYC. A  crazy idea? Could be. And it could prove to be quite dangerous for the U.S. and Canada. A highway which could be used for an invasion not only from mother Russia, but also North Korea. Who would drive the about 13,000 miles to NYC if a jet can do this within 10 hours flat? Tourists….maybe. If the political world order would be different it  could be nice, but as long as the world is ruled by villains and lunatics and power-hungry monsters, I think the Bering Strait should stay the way it is. But by all means here is a CBC article on the subject. Angela Mulholland, CTVNews.ca Imagine being about to drive all the way to London, England, without ever getting on an airplane or ferry. It could happen one day, if a proposed superhighway and railway system goes ahead, linking North America and Europe via Alaska and Siberia. The head of Russian Railways, Vladimir Yakunin, recently proposed a plan for the combined superhighway at a meeting of the Moscow-based Russian Academy of Science, according to The Siberian Times. http://siberiantimes.com/business/investment/news/n0160-plans-for-new-transport-route-unveiled-to-link-pacific-with-atlantic/ PHOTOS The hugely ambitious project, dubbed the Trans-Eurasian Belt Development (TEPR), would see a new highway and railway line constructed alongside the existing Trans-Siberian Railway, and accompanied by new oil and gas pipelines. The superhighway would cross Russia's isolated eastern regions, cross the Bering Strait between Russia and Alaska, travel through the glacial wilderness of Alaska into Canada, and finally wind into the U.S. Not only would it bring new train, road and pipeline networks, the plan would also see the creation of infrastructure for the delivery of electricity and water supplies. "This is an inter-state, inter-civilization, project," Yakunin said. "The project should be turned into a world 'future zone,' and it must be based on leading, not catching, technologies." Yakunin provided no details about the costs of such a plan, nor how it could be achieved in what many consider the coldest and most challenging climate on Earth. But civil engineer Rick Baldasti, the head of the municipal and highways department at LEA Consulting Ltd. in Mississauga, Ont. says it sounds like a very expensive undertaking. "I could see that being a multi-billion -- multi-trillion -- dollar venture," he told CTV News.ca. Baldasti says, while the idea sounds "awesome," it would be extremely challenging to construct such major infrastructure on land covered by permafrost, glaciers and snow. "There are no roads or bridges or structures up there, and there's a reason for that: the climate just precludes it," he said. The superhighway would likely cross the Bering Strait at its narrowest point, leading into the Wales Indian Reservation. But even at that point, 87 kilometres of ocean separate the two continents. It would be impossible to build a bridge across a span like that, while building an tunnel beneath the ice would be likely just as impractical. Even if the engineering challenges could be solved, there's also the problem of how to cross the uninhabited areas of Alaska. Currently, the only way to get from Wales to the next major town, Fairbanks, is to take a 10-hour flight. Baldasti notes there are pipelines across Alaska, but they are built on stilts across the permafrost. "You can build gas pipelines on permafrost, but it's a bit like building on Jell-O," he says. Though the pipelines are made to be somewhat flexible to account for shifts in ice, that wouldn't be possible with a rigid rail line or highway, he says. While building across the Arctic sounds daunting, that doesn't mean there aren't those who want to try. There's an abundance of natural resources in the North that many are eager to access, and the Russian pipeline project could allow that to happen. Still, Baldasti says the plan will likely remain a pipe dream. "The idea of combining a pipeline and rail line sounds like an awesome idea. I'd love to get involved with it. But I'd say it's more of a fairy tale," he said.

A Cold Snap, A Break-Down, An Apple Cake And New Boondockers

When I first opened the door to let Molly out this early morning I had a hunch that something would happen today. And it did. The weather was blustery cold and there was in fact a solid layer of ice on the vehicles. Brrr…what a morning. Yet, the sky was deep blue and the sun was shining. It was a pretty good day to start making video sequences which I had  a plan for making into a nice introductory video over Campobello Island. So I grabbed the tripod and the video camera put in the van and started the engine. When I grabbed the wheel I noticed it wasn’t moving. Yup, my steering wheel was like glued in place. I put the van into gear ….and had a hard time to apply brakes. WHAT IN THE WORLD was going on?  I drove a couple of times up and down, until finally I noticed the oil  pump doing its work. So I headed out on the road. 1000ft. down the road I met my neighbour. I stopped for a chat. And while we talked the engine simply died on me. That had never happened before. Any attempt of restarting it was fruitless. I was in the middle of the road and there seemed to be no life left. As much as my neighbour, who happens to be a mechanic, tried to help, I remained stranded 1000ft. from home. It was clear that the engine, which turned over, did not receive any fuel. Fuel pump? Electrical failure? It could be anything! So, finally I walked home, where I took the Buick to do my little video excursion. Even though the views were great, I felt like freezing cold when trying to adjust camera setting. A strong Norther was blowing off the sea making any longer stay in its path feel like being in a freezer. Now, the best way of getting warm again is starting to bake a cake. Thus the radiating heat from the stove will quickly warm you up. And it is OH SO REWARDING, when the finished result is taken out of the oven. So needless to say it was Apple Cake with Whipped Cream in the afternoon. A few hours later a small RIALTA motorhome pulled up our driveway. Jean and Daniel had arrived. This couple from Seattle are our last Boondockers for this season. They have been on Prince Edward Island and stayed there with our friend Bob Weir, also called PEI-Bob. That is to distinguish him from so many other Bobs we know. Jean and Daniel are retired teachers and they are friends of Jill and Thayer which visited us 2 years ago travelling in THEIR RIALTA. Their blog: A Rialta kind of adventure, has been added to our blog-list over the past 2 years. What we are seeing here is a small network of traveling RVers visiting the same folks along certain routes. And wouldn’t you know it, Jean and Daniel even met our previous boondockers up in Nova Scotia WITHOUT KNOWING that also those had been both our and PEI-Bob’s guests. Small world, I say. So when they arrived we invited them in for apple cake and coffee, which they graciously accepted. A lively chat started right away and before we knew it, it was time for supper. Unfortunately, the Roosevelt Cottage closed for the season yesterday, but they can still go to the visitor centre see the movie, and walk around the park. And that will be all for this cold Sunday. Thanks for coming along.

Back To The Seventies And Eighties

You remember these old music units from the seventies/eighties with an LP-player on top? We still have one of them and it has been sitting in our storage room ever since we moved into this house. It is a Sanyo-unit and I am guessing it is from the late seventies. Since we will be getting a woodburning stove installed in the living room, we did some re-arranging of our living room. While we were at it I decided to get our old music unit down from our storage room. Compared to modern day units it is extremely easy to set up a couple of speakers. There is no worrisome remote control around and all it requires to operate is pressing a few switches, which I can find without my glasses, and set the unit to either tuner, tape or LP-player. Of course, Bea was rolling her eyes about having this rather big unit “decorating” the corner of our living room. Now I am looking forward to playing all our old records. They are like time capsules bringing back precious memories from a time when I was young.

Billy The Kid Played Crocket!

Do you like going to antique stores and flea markets? Have you ever found a very valuable item and purchased it for only a few Bucks or Cents? In 2010 Randy Guijarro walked into a Fresno antique store and bought an old black-white photography for 2 Dollars. It showed a scene where a few guys are playing crocket in front of a wooden cabin. Clothing and coloration of the picture indicates the place to be somewhere in the U.S. during the late 1800s. Nothing special at all, one would think. Yet, Mr. Guijarro is about to become a millionaire. One of the guys playing crocket has now officially been identified to be Billy the kid. (the man wearing the striped jacket) The scene shown in the picture has been identified to be in New Mexico So far, only one photo of Billy the kid officially existed, which makes the Fresno-found picture a true sensation for collectors. While that first photo changed hands in 2011 for 2.3million Dollars, this second picture is expected to fetch 5 million Dollars at Kagin’s auctions in San Francisco. Maybe a good idea to go to those second-hand sales, antique stores and flea markets.

A Long Ride To Moncton And A Very Stressful Return

Thanksgiving Is over again and with all public offices open, we could finally make the ride to Moncton, NB to examine a car we considered to buy.                 “Lost” in the fog…even our GPS couldn’t see the road It wasn’t all bad weather yesterday morning but the sun didn’t show. The weather forecast spoke of rain showers in the afternoon though. And, surprisingly, temperatures were supposed to reach 70F in the Moncton area.               Fall colours are at their peak. The object of our desire was a Buick Park Avenue Ultra.  It would make a great car for driving around locally. I have always preferred a bigger car versus a small one. I still think that small cars are more likely to turn into a death trap in case of an accident.   Riding north on the TC1 we soon noticed that the warm weather had caused a build-up of fog patches. Reaching Moncton at noon, we met the owner of the car. Our examination of the car showed that all 4 tires had to be replaced, which led to a radically lowered price. After all paperwork we visited a tire shop and got 4 brand new winter tires mounted. And the boys didn’t fool around very long as the car was out front and ready within one hour. Meanwhile we had been sitting in a Pizza Hut and enjoying delicious crusty-crispy pizza, watching from across the road when the car turned up again out front. But it was time to start on the run home. Darkness would settle in about 3 hour and I was afraid of running around in dense fog. It started to rain at around 3pm and pretty soon buckets of rain started coming down. It seems that it is always the area around St.John which receives most of the rain. We reduced speed accordingly and reached the St.Stephen border station around 7pm. A Valero Gas Station is right behind the border and both vehicles had to be filled up. The last hour along ME Coastal Rte 1 was NO FUN! Fog was so dense that it was hard to see ANYTHING. Finally reaching our home back on Campobello we felt exhausted. Again, it goes to show that we are not 25yrs. anymore.

October Warm-up

October started with a couple of cold days but has warmed up again to about 65F. I made use of this nice weather and replaced yet another window in one of our dormers. No more rattling from that old window! Bea had one of her last big days at the motel. Now that there are very few guests, all rooms have to be looked after and an in-depth-cleaning with the toothbrush had to be done. Guests have been praising the cleanliness of the place and that is due to Bea’s great work she is doing there. After I was done with the window I rolled down the top of our LTD and took Molly and myself to Herring Cove Beach. It was low tide and the beach was at least 300ft wide. Molly always enjoys rustling up something edible among the many marine shells and I heard her crunching on a crab shell right behind me. The beach was totally deserted and we had a wonderful walk along the water’s edge. When we came home Bea had returned from the motel and it wasn’t long until supper was ready. While most households have been enjoying turkey over Thanksgiving, we have had a crispy pork roast. Turkeys are just too big for the two of us. Tomorrow we will be starting the car hunt again. Hopefully, we will be able to show you some pics next time. (Sorry, no pics today)

A Voice From Beyond

Last week the Swedish author Henning Mankell passed away. After 3 years he lost his battle with lung cancer. I knew that Henning had cancer, but there are many people surviving the illness. Henning was not to be among them. Why am I writing about this? I met Henning when I was a stage technician at “Teatret Vårt” in Norway. That was back in 1977. Besides becoming the very succesful author of the Wallander crime novel series, Henning had several engagements with the Norwegian Theatre. Henning loved theatre. When I saw a story published at the Guardian I found a video where Henning speaks about aspects of art in general. I watched the video and when I heard his voice I remembered him vividly from the day I met him as a young man.       (click the picture to find the video in english) Henning was only 4 years older than me. R.I.P Henning. If you’d like to read about Henning Mankell’s work here is a link to follow: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henning_Mankell

About Blogs And Blogging

I have now been in the blogging business for 4.5 yrs, and I have no intention or even a thought of giving it up. Blogging has been like a good friend to me. I need it, but didn’t know it until I started out in March 2011. Before that I wrote letters. Looong letters. I sent them to family. And I have no clue whether they were interested in reading them. I know my mother did though. She was always waiting for the next letter when she had just finished reading the one in hand. She hoped I would write a book once. Nahh….. I don’t think so. But it would have pleased her immensely. Sorry mom! Then I started to blog. And I started to READ blogs. The blogs which interested me most were those telling tales of travels and adventures. But I also appreciated the ones which were totally unpredictable. Today it was this and tomorrow it was that. My preferences have not changed. I am still adventure-seeking and curious. I guess a successful general make-up of a blog is a mixture of some predictable and some unpredictable news-oriented topics. A daily column with varying content, but then there is the main stuff, the one which was indicated through a headline. Headlines are important. If I see a boring headline my fingers won’t hit the Enter-button so easily. As a blogger we are all running the risk of getting too predictable. Living on Campobello, for example, can result in a very predictable content. The same praise every time. That’s why I try to read other stuff, like other blogs and even various online newspapers. Somewhere there is always something one could make a blog posting of. Of course, every posting takes time, and time is not always available in sufficient amounts. The blogging community has also played a big role in my interest. Many bloggers we have met in person and we want to know what they are “up to”, so we read their blogs. I find it refreshing to read new blogs as well. Everyone has a different style and a different way of experiencing things. That’s the way I like it. There are days when my thoughts are not at blogging. Those can be days when I work a lot with other things or I am not feeling well at all. And I am sure every blogger has those days. It’s human nature not to be upbeat every single day. Thanks for dropping by!