We had a long day on the beach, a couple coolers full of beer, and good times by all! The water was the clearest I’ve ever seen it and the waves were light and predictable. We took a scenic drive throughout the beach and even managed to find some standing water to drive through. As usual, we didn’t think to get any pictures of us actually driving.

A gratuitous shot of our rigs.

He got down there a little before me and parked in front of the sign as a landmark.

Their dog Coal was leashed to the latch for the rear hatch on Jay’s Xterra but wild dog managed to break the carabiner so we upped the ante a little. No Clark Griswald moments ensued, however.

Carova is covered in wild horses. This was a mother and a foal walking along the dunes as we left.

Basically what WY is doing is charging sales tax on private sales of used guns. That makes this issue not about guns, but about right and wrong. The state got their cut when the items were purchased as new. They’re trying to double dip here and people are outraged, as they should be.  This would lead directly into charging a sales tax on items you might put in a yard sale or dispense with on Craigs List.

They say they don’t have a problem at craft shows, and there’s a reason for that. Crafters don’t constantly have their rights threatened from half of the political spectrum as well as their government. Gun owners have to be on their toes about things and as a result many of us are unafraid to loudly stand up for our rights.

The state hassling people over money for yard sales and craft shows is like trying to figure out how to pay your mortgage with change from your ashtray and couch cushions.

Source:  trib.com

Read the full article at nationalreview.com

I’m not alone in this conundrum. Cameron and Amber, two of my friends with blogs of their own, both capable and interesting writers, have also failed to update on a regular basis.  I wonder what one can do to push themselves to continue a project like this?  Maybe we should just let our domain contracts lapse and just give up on our own little corners of the internet.  Or maybe the next dozen posts are on the tips of our tongues.

One thing I’ve noticed the more popular blogs do is to specialize in one activity.  Whether it’s checking out new video games, books or cars, they stay inside that realm.  My friends and I are remarkably well-rounded and have multiple passions and driving forces in our lives.  For us, it may just be impossible to pick one thing to write about.  Maybe we have too many ideas instead of too few, as I’d pondered earlier.

Ah well, enough rambling.  I know I’d like to write more and for my friends to do the same.    Maybe I’ve met my quota for the day with the 284 words here.  It will have to do, I guess.  Until next time…

Since I was successful with this and had the process in recent memory, I even upgraded TidewaterATV.com as well.  It’s now running the latest software and has a clickable banner as well.  (Now I just need to find time to actually start riding again.  DOH!)  Emboldened, I may add a forum to it.  Not that the area needs one.  ECATVR.com has everything well covered.  I just want to get my hands dirty with PHPBB again because I’d like to setup a website for the civic league and neighborhood watch here in the new ‘hood.

Power sources:
For us guys there’s portable generators and power inverters.  For the ladies there’s AAA, AA, C, D, 9-volt and cell phone batteries.

Light sources:
Flashlights for tag, lanterns for the camp site and glow sticks for the storm party raves.

Fire related:
Gas cans and manual can openers (get one with a bottle opener) for the ones you start for fun. Smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and first aid kits for the ones you didn’t mean to start.

For disposing of the bodies:
Tarps, plastic sheeting, bungee cords, rope, ratchet straps, duct tape.

Anyway, here I am 6 years later. My girlfriend and I have been together for four years and lived together all of that except for maybe the first 3 months. We both have decent jobs, work full time and have managed to pay down some debt. Over the last few months, she’s been really interested in buying a house. My earlier experiences left a bad taste in my mouth and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. Stagnation is easy, right?

Last Monday I happened to be driving through a local neighborhood and saw a house for sale that caught my eye. It belonged to my grandparents until my grandma passed away in 98 when I was 17. My grandparents had 5 kids – 3 girls and 2 boys. The house was left to the youngest son, still living at home in his later 30s. He was a nice guy that was very bright but only worked when his addictions would necessitate or allow.

The house was paid for and at that time taxes and insurance amounted to a whole $125 a month. 5 months after my grandma passed she was followed by her oldest son, who was the only one that could ever get the youngest son back on track.

Needless to say, he was losing the place in short order.  When my parents got their tax return that year, they paid back up on the house and the family did what they could to get it sold as quickly as possible because that was better than simply losing the home that my grandparents had worked so hard for and taken so much pride in owning. The house was sold for a pittance and divided between the 4 living children and the widow of the oldest son.

The tax records I’ve seen only go back 5 years. It looks like last year the house was foreclosed on and then sold for around $70,000. The current owner bought it to flip and it went on the market 7 months after he bought it. It’s been on the market for a couple months now.

We went to look at the place last Tuesday. The current owner has prettied the place up although it doesn’t appear to have ever gotten into bad shape. The kitchen is where most of the work was done. It has new tile, new cabinets, new counter tops and a new layout. The whole house got new carpet and paint. It sits on about ¼ acre with a decent back yard. The detached garage was much larger than I remembered but I had only ever seen it stuffed to the gills with all my grandpa’s junk. It had some rot repaired, got new siding and doors and was wired for permanent electricity.

The neighbors to the left are the same ones that were there when I was little. They were as much family friends as anything and often my sister and I stayed over there and played while our mom took my grandma to get some groceries or to go to the bank.

I spent a lot of time at this place when I was young. My Gran is the most special person to me I’ve ever lost. Despite how much of the family has died off, nobody ever passed away in this house. That would probably change my feelings about it quite a bit. Other than the difficulties that led to the sale of the house there’s been nothing but good memories made there.

Over the past week we’ve gone back and forth on offers and today we reached an agreement.  We sign the contract tomorrow and begin the craziness that is trying to close on a house.  If you don’t mind, say a prayer or cross your fingers for us.