http://www.publicsurplus.com
http://www.govdeals.com/eas/index.cfm

I’ve had a lot of fun with point and shoot cameras over the years.  We’ve had two - both Canons and have just had great luck with them - they’ve been both durable and reliable.  I’ve gotten what I consider some beautiful photos with them. I’ve actually won a few ribbons at the local county fair in the photography category and there is a special sweetness about doing that with a camera the size of a deck of cards.

For this trip however I knew I would be very disappointed if we didn’t have a nicer camera with a real lens - capable both of better closeups and catching scenery and wildlife further away.  I went on the watch for a digital SLR (DSLR) and was happy when a good friend was selling off his Nikon D40 to upgrade. 

I’ll confess—I didn’t do any research.  I didn’t look around.  I knew enough about the Nikon line to know that the D40 had a great reputation in the market as a nice entry-level DSLR that could also be upgraded with different lenses, and was capable of taking some amazing photos in the right hands.  When the eBay auction for this camera ended unsuccessfully and Adam offer the camera (along with 2 lenses) to me at what I thought sounded like a reasonable price I jumped at the chance. 

It arrived last week - and I’ve had the chance to spend one good sunny afternoon with it outdoors.  You can view those photos on Flickr.  I’ve a lot to learn when it comes to taking advantage of the added flexibility of a DSLR - but I’m also happy to get photos like this with the camera pretty much set on automatic:

I haven’t had such a nice picture of those baby-blues since we got rid of our APS SLR camera. 

I hope to find a local photography class this summer - I want to get intimately familiar with this camera by the time we leave as I don’t want to waste what I expect to be some great photo opportunities.

A few weeks I mentioned that we had decided to get all of our old APS film digitized by a service called DigMyPics.  I thought I’d post some results here in case others were considering doing the same.

We sent in 70 rolls of APS film - which translated to around 2000 exposures.  I just sent the film packed in the little binders we had for the APS format, and shipped it out USPS for around $17.00.  DigMyPics sent us an email when they received our shipment and confirmed what we wanted.  Another email came around 4 business days later when they started processing our order.  They included a URL where we could watch the progress and see thumbnails of the images as they were scanned in.

That process took 3-4 days and once it was done we got another email with a link to an interface where we could select up to 1/3 of the scanned photos to delete (and not pay for).  The only real gripe we have about the service was that this interface didn’t track how many images you have selected for deletion, nor was it obvious how to save mid-stream and come back to the project.  Our first pass through we guessed we were done, submitted the order and then got the count - and saw that we could have eliminated about 150 more images.  At $0.35 an image that was still a significant amount - but the interface offered no clear way to go back and re-enter the elimination process.  MsBoyink emailed their customer service on a Friday evening and the next day there was a response - and DigMyPics had set the order back into the elimination process so we could delete more prints.  This time through we capped out at the 1/3 and completed the order. 

Our costs past the shipping to DigMyPics were roughly $450 - which sounds like a lot of money until I started looking at more DIY ways of digitizing these photos and how much time it would take just to scan, much less do any processing.

So off to DigMyPics they went.

Below are some samples - overall I’m happy with the results and would use DigMyPics again.  I do see some redeye in some of them - which I thought their processing would eliminate.  All of these were taken with an Canon APS SLR camera set on automatic.  They are as received from DigMyPics - All I’ve done is resize them.  Click for a larger version.

My now-13 year old boy (wasn’t he a looker?)

The quintessential Christmas card shot - pillow cases, bathrobes, belts, a doll - and as far as the grandparents are concerned I don’t think we ever topped it:

The pensive girl - up early one morning and not willing to smile yet. She’s now 11.

A couple of my favorites - mommy was gone, and I think one of them was reading a book about pretending to fly to the moon.  We re-created it - Grampas old hats were our helmets, the sunglasses our face shields, other clothes from the dress-up box were our spacesuits,  blankets draped over a couch became the spaceship.  Such fun.

Another of my girl.  At this age all we heard from the two of them was “Me!” from him and then a squeaky “Me Too!” from her. So we had t-shirts made to say just that. 

The APS negatives are now out in the trash (that was hard to do!), the DVD’s from DigMyPics are stored in the safe, and copies of the digital files are in the backup queue on the network. This project was a long time coming - and it’s really nice to have it done.

I bought my first CD around 1986 (Benny Goodman’s Greatest Hits) and got rid of it along with the rest of our collection today.  The racks holding 300 discs just collecting dust in the basement. We gave a bunch to friends, sold some off to the local CD resale shop ($45 worth), and brought the rest to Goodwill.

I had previously ripped all the discs to MP3 and was storing them on our network—but with services like Pandora and Last.fm available online and on my iPhone I just see no need to even own and manage the digital versions anymore.

The biggest thing to get over is the need to hear a particular song on-demand—but for me not having another collection of physical or digital things to store and worry about is worth giving that up.

Another step towards mobility!

http://www.freecampgrounds.com

Miranda thought about that comment for a moment before asking, “The RV will have a dishwasher, right?”  Funny Girl.

Miranda isalso interested in the dishes we plan to take in the RV. We have a set of plastic dishes that is in our camping chuck box. The mugs of the set are labeled so we can keep track of our own cup while camping. When I told Miranda we would not be taking that set of dishes with us on the road (they aren’t microwaveable) she asked if we could write our names on the dishes we are taking. Apparently she likes having her own personalized dishes.

It’s not.

I called our insurance agent yesterday to ask her several starter questions relating to this trip, including a question about our homeowner’s policy and how that relates to having someone else live in our house. She did a bit of research for me and called me back today. 

Citizens, our current insurance company, told her that we will need to cancel our homeowner’s policy (because the house will not be owner-occupied) and start up a “rental dwelling policy.”  As a result, we will have to increase the coverage for any of our contents. The person(s) living here will have to have to take out a personal renter’s policy.

Citizens stated that if a person was house-sitting the home for 30 - 60 days, then we wouldn’t have to make this conversion. But, a year warrants the change.

Mike and I then began wondering if changing the homeowner’s policy to a rental policy would affect our mortgage. We’ve heard that a homeowner’s mortgage is different than a rental home mortgage. I’ve also heard of a person who rented out a house but paid property taxes as if he lived there —when “caught” a year later he faced some serious penalties and fees.

We want to keep everything “legal,” so I called our mortgage carrier today. And, after selecting several numbered options and repeating my policy number and the last 4 digits of my SS number, I spoke with someone about our situation. Faith, the woman answering my questions, told me that my mortgage will not be affected if we change this insurance policy since this is a temporary situation. When I mentioned that it could be a year, she told me it didn’t matter. As long as we weren’t trying to sell the house to the person living here, we are okay. 

She did ask if we’d be changing post office addresses. I told her some of our mail would be forwarded to us and some of it would be sent to our accountant. And, if necessary, the person living here could forward mail to us, as well.  Faith felt comfortable with that answer. YAY!

So, now we have to look at the utilities issue. We originally planned to cancel all utilities in our name and have the person(s) living here put the utilities in their name. Now we aren’t sure if that’s the proper way to go. Maybe we should just have the house sitter reimburse us for the utilities after we’ve paid them—but, what if the person here racks up a huge natural gas bill during the winter and then can’t reimburse us for it?  Do we ask for money up front?

And, if we do ask for money up front, is that more like rent? And how does collecting rent affect our taxes?  UGH!  More questions without answers.

And it seemed like such a simple idea.

Hear that?  No. Quiet.  Listen.  Kind of behind the hum of the refrigerator and around the neighbor shoveling.  Hear it? 

That’s the sound of stuff—and stress - leaving the house.

Yesterday MsBoyink took the second Roadmaster Station Wagon load of purged stuff to donate to the second-hand store.  Included in the load - besides a fair amount of things “sold back” to us by my 11-yo daughter - was a 24” lateral file cabinet that used to hold old records.  We’re still shredding the sensitive documents it once held so the project isn’t completely done, but it’s been no small feat and a great relief to lower our file-storage capacity.

There are still many square feet of basement shelves to be gone through - but progress is progress!

Chevy Crew Cab

We tried an ‘08 model similar to what I’ve shown here.  I liked the fact that there was no leg-space-stealing center floor console - overall drivers side legroom was good. However it just felt a bit smaller than the Ford crew cab we sat in earlier - a lower roofline, a bit less side to side headroom, and a bit less legroom in the rear seat.  I think we could make it work if we found a screaming deal on one - but just not the perfect truck.

Dodge Crew Cab

We sat in a 2007 crew cab.  I also understand Dodge makes a “Mega Cab” - which is understandable because although this truck has four doors the rear seat is as tiny as a club cab truck.  The seating position seemed more upright, and this made for a leg/foot/gas pedal angle that was just uncomfortable.  The front passenger side foot area was crowded - the transmission tunnel skewed to that side so it sort of felt like sitting in a full size van.  I also didn’t find the driver’s seat to be comfortable.  Not a good fit for our needs.

Of the big three’s crew cab pickups the Ford seems to be the best fit.

Yukon XL / Suburban

Of course no tow-vehicle evaluation is complete without a look at the longest running nameplate in auto history - the Chevy Suburban.  We actually sat in a GMC Yukon XL which is the same vehicle - but felt more optioned out.  First impression was that it was comfy - didn’t have quite the same “big truck” feel as the true trucks.  I noted that I had the seat darn near all the way back - but it was enough and wouldn’t have to go back further.  Front legroom and headroom was good.  This particular rig had the optional second-row bucket seats - which we’d love as they’d allow easier access to the rear area from insde.  It would also keep the kids more separated and more comfortable.  I don’t think we’ll find one in our price range with those options however, and the lot didn’t have a version with the standard bench second row seat.  Overall the Ford Excursion is bigger and provides more legroom and headroom all around - but I think the Suburban is still a solid contender.

So at this point we’re down to an Excursion or Suburban to pull a travel trailer, or a Ford Crew Cab to go with a fifth wheel trailer.

On June 19, 1953, Harry Truman got up early, packed the trunk of his Chrysler New Yorker, and did something no other former president has done before or since: he hit the road. No Secret Service protection. No traveling press. Just Harry and his childhood sweetheart Bess, off to visit old friends, take in a Broadway play, celebrate their wedding anniversary in the Big Apple, and blow a bit of the money he’d just received to write his memoirs. Hopefully incognito. In this lively history, author Matthew Algeo meticulously details how Truman’s plan to blend in went wonderfully awry. Fellow diners, bellhops, cabbies, squealing teenagers at a Future Homemakers of America convention, and one very by-the-book Pennsylvania state trooper—all unknowingly conspired to blow his cover. Algeo revisits the Trumans’ route, staying at the same hotels and eating at the same diners, and takes readers on brief detours into topics such as the postwar American auto industry, McCarthyism, the nation’s highway system, and the decline of Main Street America. By the end of the 2,500-mile journey, you will have a new and heartfelt appreciation for America’s last citizen-president.

I’ve never been a very political person, but I am getting more interested in history and this book was a fun “road-trip” themed read.

I was surprised to learn that in 1953 ex-Presidents were not afforded any Secret Service protection, nor did they receive a pension. Harry & Bess were escorted to the train station and pretty much given a pat on the back for their eight-year stint in Washington.  Truman came from modest beginnings and was dropped back to them in a matter of days - returning to Independence, Missouri almost penniless.  Truman turned down several lucrative job offers in the private sector as he felt that by doing so he would disrespect the Oval Office.  An advance on his memoirs (taxed at 67%, thanks much) gave them enough money to purchase a car and afford to mix some pleasure in with the business of traveling to give a speech.

This book painted quite a charming picture of the Trumans - and made me nostalgic for time I never knew: the 1950’s.  Oh, I know - it wasn’t all bobby socks and tailfins.  For some it was tarbuckets. 

But the idea that a fresh from the Whitehouse ex-president could jump in the front seat and take off on a 2500 mile road trip with no entourage and make it back home safely tells of an innocence that was lost a long time ago.  And that’s too bad.