Good morning! Happy Thursday. 😀

Overcast, fog and 57 degrees in Delmar, NY. 🌫 Calm wind. Seems like we’ve had a lot of foggy mornings lately.

Off to work on the express bus on this foggy morning. 🚏 The express bus in the morning is usually right on time and is fast, but often I’m the only one riding the later one, as most people catch the earlier buses, which seem not to be so good at running on time based on my discussion with Colleen and because I often see the 7:55 AM bus departing the station at 8:20. Which always makes me fear that I’ve missed the bus.

Big Red is Watkins Spring getting his alignment checked. 🛻 I think the front left wheel still has an issue with toe-in, actually I kind of know that from looking at the tire. While I had the alignment checked and adjusted a little over a year ago, and I that improved things a bit, they didn’t have computerized alignment for my big truck at my local shop, so it’s possible they didn’t get things perfect. Anxiously waiting the news. 😟 But I also fear there is other broken hardware. It needs to be good though before I spend close to $2k on new tires.

I still haven’t settled on the tires yet, ⚫ but I am increasingly looking at Firestone Destination XT tires, which are relatively less expensive then others I’ve looked at. There is a local dealer downtown, and I just have to confirm they have the 35×12.5R18 size they’re advertising online. I really don’t want aggressive tires, I’d rather have a quieter ride 🤫 and better fuel economy. ⛽ The alternatives is order something from the off-road shop or get the BFGs from Mavis. I don’t need super good traction, but I want tires that hold up well, as I have 4×4 and I don’t really drive much in deep mud or snow these days.

At ten years old, my truck is a bit shy of 100,000 miles, 🤑 but with the cost of new automobiles heading up towards $50k, I am quite willing to nurse along the truck for the next few years , dropping a few thousand a year to keep it running. I don’t mind adding oil every once and a while, it’s always had a thirst for it, although actually it’s gotten a lot better since I added the solar panel, as I find most of the oil consumption is due to idling the truck more then driving it. I do need to also replace the shock bushing on the driver side rear, that is really rattling aroiund in the rough country and making for unpleasant rides on rough dirt roads, aka Betty Brook Road.

With all these costs, and gas prices pushing $3.45 a gallon locally ⛽ 🤯 I am thinking I will probably call off my West Virginia trip for this year, in favor of some 3-night trips locally, like the Madison County trip I’ve been talking about for some time. 🔫 I need to get my license and do some small game hunting, and just spending more time in the woods. I also have other issues I want to address with the truck, and by the time I get down to West Virginia the leafs are going to be past peak. 🍂 Plus it seems like vacations come and go so quickly — why spend a lot of money on something that quickly just becomes a memory?