Power Outage - 10/26/14

Or - A Shot in the Dark...

It was around 2100 last night...a dark and stormy night...when the power went out. Hahaha, even though everyone shook their head and laughed at me when I bought the kerosene lamp, I knew, deep in my heart, that someday, sooner or later, I would need it.

And, finally, I did.

Hahahaha, others may have been in the dark, but not us!!

I think the winds were so bad last night that they probably blew a tree into a power line or something like that because the power was definitely out. So I fired up the lamp and set back to smugly enjoy the light. I decided to pass the time by playing a couple of games on the desktop computer and ... it was dead, too!! 

Hahaha, in my smugness, I forgot that the desktop computer wasn't powered by a battery. 

How dumb can you get? I don't know but stick around, I'm bound to show ya!!

I was expecting to see the lights on when I woke this morning, at 0430 (Hey!! I went to bed UBER early, y'all!!). Imagine my surprise when they were still off!!

What the Heck!! 

So there we were, cold and in the dark and, to make a bad situation just a bit worse, the toilet is powered by a pump. And when the pump isn't working the ...  

What to do!?!

To the Bat-Mini!!!

We headed off to get some relief and, coincidently, to get some gas. Wow!! The gas on MLK was ONLY $2.99!! I never thought I'd see it under three dollars ever again. 

Never. 

Ever.

So we not only got some cheap gas, we also got some needed relief. 

And, still, the lights were still off. 

Instead of sitting in the dark and waiting for the lights to come on we headed to downtown Renton for breakfast. Hey, like like the great American and ever-so-popular Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emmanuel says, Never let a good crisis go to waste!! We didn't. If you can't fire up the electric stove why, then, you gotta go elsewhere for substance.

Besides, there's a place I've been wanting to try for a while now and so, with this excuse, we headed off to the "Best Breakfast" in Renton.

Heading down Rainier Ave towards Renton.

It was a dark and stormy morning, too. Great light, though.

There were a lot of branches on the streets and lots of other debris, too. The news said the winds reached near 50-60 MPH in some places in Seattle and power was out for nearly 150,000 people in the Puget Sound region. Obviously, we had plenty of company.

We made it to Rubattino's in Renton with no trouble. We've seen this place dozens of times but hadn't been in to sample their chow until this morning.

It definitely had the kind of small-town diner atmosphere that both Carol and I enjoy.

And, best of all, it had the football game that was being broadcast at 0600. The Lions were playing the Falcons in London, England. We were able to watch the first half. We left near the end of second quarter and the Falcons were winning 21-0. It seemed like a foregone conclusion...the Falcons were sure to win this one right!?!

Wrong.

Somehow the Falcons, possibly borrowing a move from the hapless Aggies of New Mexico State, managed to eke out a loss!! Yeah, the Falcons lost 22-21 to the Lions. 

Here's a view of the kitchen and our cook. Wouldn't call him a chef...Nope, don't think I could ever call him a chef but he is a sufficient hash-slinger at a diner.

And a Seahawks fan, too!!

Gooooo, 'Hawks!!

Plus, they displayed the requisite patriotism. 

Gooooo, 'Merica!!

I knew what I was getting shortly after opening up the menu...Corned  Beef Hash, hashed browns. three eggs, sunny-side up and toast. 

And Carol surprised me by getting the same dish...except her eggs were scrambled.

The concensus? An edible meal, heavy on the salt and rather bland. They could have done a whole lot better but they didn't. Still, we were both glad to have finally gotten to eat there and check that one off our list. 

We gave it Three Stars, mostly for ambiance. 

One of the big things in their favor, in addition to the 1960s decor, was they did have their Christmas Tree up...it was just from last year.

Oh, yeah, another factor in making this a unique dining experience was the open bar that was, amazingly enough, already doing business. When I went to the restroom, I had to walk by the other side of this business, the bar, and there were people in there already nursing a beer. 

Wow!! That's dedication!!

After breakfast, we both felt the need to take a walk and work off some of the grease we'd just consumed. There was a lot of grease to be worked off. 

A lot.

So we took a short jaunt around downtown Renton.

Love these Small-Town America towns.

Love them with, yes, even the warts. 

You gotta admit the locks worked, somewhat. At least they didn't get the frames, right!?! 

I admit, I am tired of thieves...they steal property, sure, but more importantly, they steal peace of mind and trust. 

I am, more and more, favoring some real draconian kinds of punishment for these gutter-snipes. I'm just plain tired of having to worry that a piece-of-crap A%# Hole will come and steal what is mine just because. We should feel safe and secure but neither of is possible with these wastes of skin sliming about.

In spite of that reminder of the lower dregs of humanity, there was still a lot to appreciate about downtown Renton on an early Sunday morning...it wasn't raining for one.

  Tattoo Parlor Reflected Window Selfie!!  

Mom!! 

Hahaha, I can say I'd never get myself a tattoo. Almost got one when I was in the Marines but, fortunately, I wasn't drunk enough.

Right next door to the Tattoo Parlor was an antique shop with these on display over the counter. My kind of antiques. 

Hmmmmm, they don't look that old!

I do like the surviving older buildings in the downtown area of Renton.

This one housed the St. Charles Place Antiques. 

I just checked Google Maps and St. Charles Place Antiques is, indeed, firmly and forever planted right there on Wells Avenue South.

I'm a-thinking that they must REALLY like the Monopoly game and a certain place on the game board. What do you think?

BTW, it was closed regardless of what the sign says. Small-Town America, folks!! Get over it!!

And, across the street was the Old Renton Book Exchange. Now we, silly us, had thought the Book Exchange was open for business. That's why we headed up this street anyway.

Our reason for this assumption? These book carts and tables...left out on the street.

Yet, to our surprise, they were closed. And the books were right out there!!

Mind you, I've spent nearly 20 years of my life in Hell Paso, Texas and I can testify, without  any hesitancy at all, that had these books been left like this on ANY street in Hell Paso, the books AND the tables AND the carts they were on would have been gone...toots suite, y'all!! Toots Ala Suite!!

It still amazes me!!

There are some things I simply am unable to comprehend.

Regardless, I did seize the opportunity to peruse the books and found these two Great Reads!!

Men of Courage

That guy, he reminds me of me, except I ain't that young, nor that muscular, and I don't have that much hair anymore, and it isn't that dark now, and I worked for a living as an NCO. Other than that, that guy is so totally ME!!

And this one with a Rock Hudson clone kissing one of the Stepford Wives.

Yes! Yes, Rock, you ARE the greatest!!

I have a special affection for brick buildings. And, evidently, fire escapes. I enjoy trying to capture these old brick buildings on ... digital? Can't say film anymore, can you!?! I guess digital is gonna have to do.

Still, it's interesting.

Since we were so close, we drove on over to Coulon Park just to see what the winds had done there. The trees along the entrance lost a lot of their leaves during the wind storm last night. Time moves on and so do the leaves, too.

However, we drove through the park and then crossed the railroad to turn right back toward Renton. I pulled over so I could get a couple pictures of the tracks and the trees. And I did.

After a quick drive through Coulon, we headed over to our park. Here's the entrance to the north end of the airfield and our park.

Mind you, it wasn't even 0900 yet so we're still dealing with the morning light. And it was glorious. Looking towards the east and the Cascades.

This light even made the old, seedy Trailer Park Marina look good.

Looking southeast towards the airfield from the park. The rising sun is blasting out the picture to the left.

The morning clouds reflected in the small bay made by the floating dock for the seaplanes.

Sunrise over the Cascades...Renton Municipal Airport.

Reaching out with my zoom lens, I got a detail of a house on one of the hills overlooking Renton.

The Eastside bridge from Mercer Island.

This one discovered her favorite jacket isn't all that warm on a cold and blustery morning.

The gulls were just waking up out in the lake.

Feathered rats and yet, I STILL try and get a pleasing shot of them.

A long shot of the Mercer Island homes on Lake Washington. 

My hopes went up when I saw this jetliner taxiing down the runway. I thought it was coming down to the north end of the field for a take-off...cuz the wind was definitely coming from the south. But, no, it was just testing out the engines...I guess.

Bummer.

A beautiful morning!!

The Eagle Tree, The Trailer Park Marina AND The Trailer Park. A magical combination!!

And a seagull. 

It's an illness. I swear it is.

As we were leaving, I got this shot of the road that circles round the airfield.

On the way home, I stopped across the street from the Stone House. The restaurant that is still in the construction phase...thanks to Over-Bearing and Over-Reaching Government.

They're building a new house right across from it. I'm guessing they had to get a HUGE crane to lift this down to where they would be using it. No other way down, really. Ah, the rich.

Looking east over Lake Washington.

It was a beautiful and dramatic morning.

On a completely unrelated note, the other day I got several dollar bills in change and while I was sorting and arranging them last night, I found this one. 

Hahahaha, I agree!!

Plus, I would add, 

Vote the Rascals Out!!

I will be sure to pass this one along. Count on it!!

Yesterday they had a 50% off sale on EVERYTHING at Vinnie de Paul and I got these two books.

This one was published in 1913. Inside the book, With Trapper Jim in the North Woods, it is simply inscribed, Clarence.

It is, obviously, a story of a boy's adventures.

Some of the other titles in this series:

The Rivals of the Trail

Caught in a Forest Fire

and

Chums of the Campfire

It says, about these books:

A series of wholesome stories for boys told in an interesting way and appealing to their love of the open.

Hahahaha, times have definitely changed since then!!

Here's the second treasure I got yesterday.

This one is titled:

Sturdy and Strong

-OR-

How George Andrews Made His Way

This book was published in 1904. On the inside it is inscribed:

To Pete Bengtson

from sister Hannah,

'Xmas, 1904.

Use your imagination and you might be able to see young Pete as he opened his gift on Christmas Day in 1904. 

There was no electricity in his house...nor restrooms. No car was in the front yard and no planes flying overhead. If the family went anywhere, they went by foot, horseback or wagon. There was no Walmart for shopping nor a radio or TV for entertainment, either. His family didn't stop at McDonald's for lunch or dinner. 

For young Pete, this book was a major source of fun, excitement, adventure and diversion from the drudge of everyday life.

I think I would have liked playing with Pete and his sister, Hannah.

Then, after all our other adventures this morning, I was coming into the living room when I spotted this guy out the window. He'd just finished carving up a pigeon for lunch and was sitting on the roof of the garage, letting his lunch digest, I guess. I was only able to get this one photo before he took flight.

Finally, after all this fun, it was time to root on the Seahawks. Yesterday we'd shopped at Walmart and our cashier, Roberta, had asked us to root extra-hard for her today as she wasn't going to be able to see the game. So there it was with less than a minute to play in the game and the Hawks had the ball and were driving and I said, Ok, Roberta, this rooting is for you cuz I said I would!!

And doggone if it didn't work!! In a very ugly game with a LOT of Seahawks missteps, they scored with something like 42 seconds left and held on to win the game, 13-9.

Hahahaha, way to go, Roberta!!

In spite of the weather we had a good time today. I was able to get out on my walk, the breakfast was good, the weather eventually was great and the game was...won. What more could you want, right?

Life is really good.

     Hooah!!