Decision Made

So yesterday, this olelongrooffan blogged about the decision my brother and his beautiful wife made to relocate from a small farm in the Missouri Ozarks to St. Augustine Beach, Florida.



Well, today they came down and visited this olelongrooffan in the Birthplace of Speed and treated this soon to be birthday boy to lunch at a yummy mom and pop restaurant just up the beach.  We figured it would be better than the last time we had lunch together in April as the parking lot was near capacity and they were celebrating their 25th year in business.

My stuffed tilapia was delicious and their fried haddock was equally as good.

We had a wide ranging conversation about their new life here in the Sunshine State and it was an extremely enjoyable lunch.

Afterwards, we headed over to thejeepjunkie's garage to chat it up with him a bit about his new gig. Seems he really likes it and looks to have some big plans for his future.

So anyway, after jawboning for awhile the decision was made that they needed to head on home so they could hit Happy Hour.

"What time does Happy Hour start?" I asked my brother.

"As soon as I get home," was his response.

D*mn straight brother!



One of the things he talked alot about was getting out and riding down on the beach on his new bike he received from his lovely spouse.



And that lovely spouse mentioned how relaxing it was just hanging on the beach and watching the kids play in the shallow surf.

After they had dropped this olelongrooffan back at my Taj Mahal, I was reflecting on our visit and was able to make a decision.

thehorsefarmer and the thebarngoddess have officially left the building.

Henceforth they shall be, herein, referred to thebeachbiker and thebeachgoddess.

You are now christened.

And earlier this olelongrooffan mentioned they treated me to an early birthday lunch. (I turn 52 on the 29th of this month)

Well they also brought me an early birthday present.



Knowing my interest in all things automotive, earlier this year while thebeachgoddess was in good ole Saint Louey...hey Bus and PvtRN...she spotted this at a closing Borders book store and snagged it for me.



It measures 9"x11" and is nearly an inch and a half thick.  thebeachbiker mentioned he was just going to leave it on the coffee table at the Taj Mahal while this olelongrooffan was still in Denver but realized both the Bus and thejeepjunkie had access to my place and this thing might "grow some legs". The first thing I did was write my name inside the front cover!

I have this to say about that....this olelongrooffan has many enjoyable hours ahead reading that new treasure and that, along with seeing the newly christened thebeachbiker and thebeachgoddess today, really allows me to

Celebrate Life.

Decisions, Decisions

You may remember thehorsefarmer and thebarngoddess from their mention in some of my previous posts here on By The Numbers.



Well while this olelongrooffan was working my sweet *ss off out there in the Mile High City, thehorsefarmer and thebarngoddess



decided to quite making decisions like this one, sell all their farm stuff and move to sunny Florida, the retirement mecca of the eastern United States.  Technically, they aren't retired yet. thehorsefarmer is still pulling a post Navy retirement stint with the VA institution up there in the oldest city in North America



Yeah, a major life changing decision to vacate this big ole garage, 4x4 diesel Bow Tie (they still have another one with six wheels) and that sweet gen 1 Bronco and join three of his brothers down here in the Sunshine State.



I think it was the day on the beach back in April that really sealed the deal for them.

Oh yeah, the title of this post? These previously made decisions did not prompt me to name this post "Decisions, Decisions".

You see earlier this evening thehorsefarmer called this olelongrooffan to invite me to lunch on the morrow down here in the Birthplace of Speed. And of course, the quasi absent minded TheGentlemanFarmer look alike called me back just a few minutes later to ask about certain siblings birthdates.

As we were finishing up that conversation, he mentioned he had yet another serious decision to make.

"longroof, I can't decide if I want to crack open a beer or fix myself a gin and tonic."

Yeah, honest to God true story and I thank thehorsefarmer for cracking my blog writer's block I have been recently suffering with by offering up that comment.

And as much as I am looking forward to seeing them tomorrow, once this olelongrooffan is able to come up with some new, now more appropriate names for thebarngoddess and thehorsefarmer, then there will really be a reason to

Celebrate Life.

On The Road Denver Edition: The 16th Street Mall Addendum

Dateline The Birthplace of Speed, Florida: September 4, 2011



On the last full day this olelongrooffan was in the Mile High City it occurred to me that I had picked up no Denver, Colorado souvenirs to return to the Sunshine State with me.  (Well other than the cool orange thing I got during this adventure.)



So I asked cribbs where I could find a cool ball cap or t shirt to snatch before this olelongrooffan vacated the Mile High City, possibly forever.

He suggested I take the nearby pedestrian bridge over to the 16th street mall in downtown Denver.



And I did.

In downtown Denver, and I am sure other cities as well, they have these rent a bike stations all over. You can rent a bike and ride it all over downtown and drop it at any of the 16 or so rental stations such as this one which are dispersed around the downtown business district. It's pretty cool.



Outside the JET Hotel, a cool old piece of architecture, one of many around the downtown area, I spotted the dress code for entry on the front window of this night spot.



And as always, another big *ss animal following me around.



The 16th Street Mall is a sweet outdoor mall that was bustling during that Tuesday lunch hour. It is closed to all vehicles except the free buses that traverse the 17 blocks that make up the mall.



It begins at the Platte River and extends to the State Capitol Building.



And in that 17 block stretch, there were no fewer than seven Starbucks, none of which were visited by this olelongrooffan that day.



I did, however, make it to this cool park I had driven around several times early on in my visit.



I also spotted this facility and it, along with the JET Hotel, reminded me of thejeepjunkie and I stopped to text him to remind him to pick me up at the airport the next day.



Out in front of the Sheraton Hotel were these



odd looking ballerina statuettes and I had to capture a couple images to share with those of you Counting Along With Me.



And, again, another large animal following me around.



There also were several old school pianos scattered around the mall and anyone with, or without, any piano playing skills were welcome to have a seat at those keyboards and do your best Ray Charles impression.



The is the marker on the 13th step on the west side of the Colorado State Capitol Building marking exactly 5,280 feet above sea level. I did wonder if that was at low or high tide but no one was around to answer my inquiry.



And this is the view looking to the west from 5,286 feet above sea level.



That park I mentioned I drove around several times earlier?  There was a beautiful flower garden in the center of it along with some huge brass statues of a cowboy and and Indian, each on their own horse. Lousy images though so they aren't included.



Do you think this olelongrooffan could do a blog without a reference to an automobile? Me neither. I spotted this Nissan Ford Transit fighter leaving an alley in the mall area. I had earlier blogged about this truck and it can be seen here.



More large animals following me around, once again.



As I was crossing over one of the bridges back to Filmore, I crossed over some active railroad tracks filled with coal laden train cars.



This is an image of the park between downtown and the Platte River. Incidentally, the building just to the left houses the McLaughlin House, one of the places frequented by cribbs and this olelongrooffan later that evening.



Just outside of it was this pretty cool sculpture that looked even cooler at nite with uplights illuminating it.



I gathered an image or two of some rapids on the Platte River as well as




a self portrait of this olelongrooffan standing on that bridge.



I also got this image as I was crossing Eisenhower's Highway System number 25. I wonder if it will be featured by Hemmings 50 years from now?

Now by this time this olelongrooffan would suspect those of you Counting Along With Me are wondering if I was able to locate a souvenir on the 16th Street Mall that day.

I can confirm a Denver, Colorado ball cap is resting comfortably on the front seat of the Indian awaiting its journey to Palm Beach Gardens later this afternoon.

But even better, if all ya'll remember the tragedy that was described here,



you will be happy to know this olelongrooffan got the Deal Of The Day on my replacement sandals and please join me and my new sandals as we

Celebrate Life.

On The Road Denver Edition: The Finale

Dateline Daytona Beach, Florida: September 2, 2011




Should one of these notices show up in the front window of a project you are working on, you know it is probably a good time to head to the beach.



But not before having three invoices such as this one presented to you and a buddy in one three hour stretch then



this dude, cribbs, decides we should stop at a liquor store for some red bull and vodka to tide us over the rest of the evening.



Well Counters, this olelongrooffan is finally back home in the Sunshine State. Thanks to cribbs for the drunkedness and the shuttle to the Denver airport and to thejeepjunkie for a late night pickup at the Daytona Beach airport.

And know this, now that this olelongrooffan is once again resting comfortably in the Taj Mahal, I am really able to

Celebrate Life.

On The Road Denver Edition: An Unexpected Update

Dateline Denver, Colorado: August 24, 2011

So, this olelongrooffan is still in the Mile High City and things are rapidly progressing on the project which brings me here. 

Meanwhile, all four of my brothers are down in the Sunshine State dealing with yet another woman, this one in the form of Hurricane Irene. This olelongrooffan is really bummed that I am not there with them as I have Hurricane Supplies. Well, regardless of how famous and somewhat fatalistic the Bus is these days, I am sure we will all hook up once again.

Now this olelongrooffan asks for a bit of your indulgence here as I share yet another hurricane related story.

It was 1992 and the Hurricane was a dude known as Andrew, to my recollection, the last Category 4 hurricane the Sunshine State has seen. My not yet conceived daughter's Mom and this olelongrooffan were in France with some fantastic friends visiting a sister and her then husband. My Mom and several of her friends were down from the Sho-Me State enjoying our Naples home; thejeepjunkie and his family were living in the greater Fort Lauderdale area; and this olelongrooffan was in western France oblivious to the fact a Cat 4 hurricane was headed for south Florida. So Andrew decides to pay south Florida a visit and my Mom and friends head north to MickeyMouseLand to ride the storm out. thejeepjunkie and his family decided to evacuate to our home in Naples and end up partying like rock stars with my buddy Dr. Dudley and his family. I wake up that fateful day to my brother in law telling me a Cat 4 just hit South Beach and was heading towards my place in FantasyLand. Well, needless to say, this olelongrooffan was stressed more than Brad Keselowski with Carl Edwards on his tail. I mean my aged Mom and friends were in harms way, thejeepjunkie and his family were in the eye landfall area and no communications were available for me to contact them.

So what is an olelongrooffan to do? Well Counters, my doctor brother in law hooks me up with a couple little blue pills (I'm not talking Viagra here) and we four vacationers in that wonderful country caught that previously scheduled afternoon flight to Paris.

Yeah Counters that's right. I evacuated Hurricane Andrew to Paris, France. And know this olelongrooffan will forever tell the tale of how I evacuated Hurricane Irene to the Mile High City, no matter how premature that evacuation was.

Yeah, that's how I rock.

And that forbidden white masking tape was still on the windows of that home when I sold it!

Meanwhile back in Denver,



Big J spent the entire evening after his garage slab was poured spreading abundant amounts of H2O across it in an attempt to prevent the concrete from cracking.  So far success is showing its presence.



The next phase for his efforts was spraying out the interior of the Port Royal to evenly coat the fresh drywall with a base layer of paint.



Yeah, this olelongrooffan was able to capture yet another image of my feet during yet another image taking process.



During the same image taking process, I captured a shot of the window I had installed earlier.



Note the paint particulates in the air on this interior shot? Needless to say I beat it the h*ll out of there rather quickly I might add.



In the meantime, this olelongrooffan was out and about and captured these two beauties on Sheridan Street just around the corner. A '63 Ford longroof country sedan as well as a '65. The '65 is for sale for a mere twelve hundred bucks. Good thing for all of us that twelve hundred bucks is not in my possession on this road trip.



So after the fumes had cleared it is now time to for Big J to lay down his first ever floor tiles.



And, much to his, and my, pleasure that experience was an extreme success. Laundry room done, now on to the kitchen.



And that kitchen will be painted one of these colors prior to that flooring being installed.



Meanwhile out back a super huge garage is being installed and I don't believe these garage framers suspected they were going to be on a tree trimming crew before it was all over. But that worm drive circular saw works excellent as a chain saw.



Two white guys got the roof raised and the sheathing on the rafters in less than two days.



Yeah, room for Big J's BMW X5, girlie's Volvo X70 and my current Denver based Taj Mahal inside Big J's only requirement for his new Port Royal. Pics on Saturday!

Now if those of you Counting Along With Me will note, all of this construction based activity is super fantastic as it allows this olelongrooffan to return to the hurricane laden Sunshine State to resume some of my previous activities and I sure look forward to it once this project has come to fruition.

But if you have, in fact, been Counting Along With Me, you will remember the sighting of these two old cars that reminded me of my Dad, TheGentlemanFarmer, just a few short weeks ago, also here in the Mile High City.

Well, on my return from yet another visit to the big box retailer that loves the number 48 NASCAR racing team, this olelongrooffan spotted this



lovely offering at the intersection of Pecos and 38th street, just a few blocks from Port Royal.

And the fact this olelongrooffan was able to spot the very same old Mercury ragtop driven by a youngish bearded and pony tail bearing dude with his even more youngish daughter in the passenger seat really allows this olelongrooffan to

Celebrate Life.