Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Retirement

Columbus Day 2025

Now that President Trump has restored the Columbus Day Holiday, we can wish everybody a Happy Columbus Day. Wickenburg is flying Old Glory on the main drags of town today as they do on other National Holidays.

From Gemini AI:

Columbus Day, observed annually on the second Monday of October, is a national holiday in the United States commemorating the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas on October 12, 1492. It is traditionally celebrated to honor the explorer and the beginning of European settlement in the Western Hemisphere. The holiday serves as a moment to recognize the historical voyage that opened a new chapter of global interaction. Despite the observance by many states and cities of alternative commemorations, Columbus Day remains a federal holiday, marking its place on the national calendar.

(Clickable) Image and Text courtesy of Google Gemini AI.

13 Oct 2025 by Retirement

Sixteenth Retirement Anniversary

Sixteen years ago, I pulled the plug on being employed. At first, it doesn’t quite feel like it has been that long, but again, so much has happened in the last 16 years that, when you think about it, the time seems to fill in with life’s events. Here’s a brief synopsis of a few of life’s milestones:

  • 2009 Retirement
  • 2010 Bought property in Arizona and started building our desert home
  • 2011 Moved physically into the Arizona home
  • 2012 Began retirement travels – viewed annular solar eclipse from Page AZ
  • 2013 Bob’s Mom relocates from California to nearby retirement home
  • 2014 First great grandson born in California. Acquired travel trailer to facilitate more travel plans to see family
  • 2015 Completed the RV Drive around the house with full trailer hookups
  • 2016 Many trips to various places of interest throughout the west
  • 2017 Travel to Wyoming and beyond to see the total eclipse with new class A RV
  • 2018 First great granddaughter born in California – trips of course
  • 2019 Second great grandson born in California – more trips
  • 2020 Second great granddaughter born in California – trips pending
  • 2021 A relatively uneventful year save for hernia surgery
  • 2022 Lost Beethoven, our red Min Pin – gained Tucker, a long-haired Chihuahua mix
  • 2023 Discovered a leak in the water line between bathroom and kitchen requiring a complete overhaul of bathroom and kitchen cabinets
  • 2024 Travel to Waco, TX to observe total eclipse of the sun. Visited other interesting places in the RV before and after the eclipse
  • 2025 Travel in the RV to visit birthplaces and residences of ancestors in the eastern and southern U.S.

So, as we continue our retirement, we will keep our heads on a swivel, given the multiple left-wing groups out to get their perceived enemies. And, then, there is the crime epidemic, thanks to president autopen, et al. We are fortunate that The Lord brought us to this tranquil place in the desert, generally away from all that malfeasance, but we never know when that might break down.

Y’all stay safe!

01 Oct 2025 by Aerospace Notions Retirement

Sunday Dinner

Damsel has a recipe for our Sunday Dinner consisting of Shrimp, Alfredo Sauce and Spaghetti Squash. I doodled the notion of such a meal into the Google Gemini AI image generator on my smart phone, and it produced the (clickable) image shown above. It looks very appetizing for an AI-generated (i.e. “Fake”) photo.

Gemini is a Google AI platform that enables image generation and editing. It uses multimodal input, enhanced reasoning, and natural language understanding to create images. With Gemini, you can generate images with a single model, such as Gemini 2.0 Flash, which combines text and image generation.

Gemini 2.0 Flash can be used for various tasks, including generating stories with consistent illustrations, conversational image editing, and creating detailed imagery with world knowledge
1. It also excels in rendering long sequences of text, making it suitable for creating advertisements, social posts, or invitations
2. Gemini 2.5 Flash Image is another state-of-the-art image model that benefits from Gemini’s world knowledge, enabling new use cases. It can generate images with a wide range of styles and subjects, and it is available via the Gemini API and Google AI Studio
3. To use Gemini for image generation, you can use specific prompts to achieve consistent characters, precise edits, and blended images
4. The platform is actively being improved, and Google is committed to making it more accessible and user-friendly.

Gemini is also integrated with other Google services, such as Google AI Studio, Vertex AI, and the Gemini app, making it a powerful tool for developers and users alike.

Anyhow, the actual meal will be posted on our food blog sometime late Sunday, 09/07/2025, after dinner.

06 Sep 2025 by Arizona Food & Dining Notions Retirement Technobabble

Vacation Summary

Here’s the rundown of the summer 2025 excursion; we traveled through twenty-one of the of the forty-eight contiguous states and camped in all but four of them (Illinois, Maryland, Tennessee, Texas). We enjoyed much scenery, local culture, oddities, skyscapes and other interesting landmarks. The map below shows the states in which we traveled and/or camped.

Clickable map created with MAPCHART.NET

We won’t get into all of the details about the numerous places visited and all that, but will summarize by saying that we visited the resting places of several ancestors and visited the birthplaces of some of them and their ancestors. We were gratified to enjoy the changes in climate, vegetation, livestock and other interesting flora and fauna along the way.

Here’s the specific itinerary of each leg of the trip; not mentioned is the duration of each stop, but you will get the idea of the magnitude of our travels on this trip. We left home on July 8th and returned on August 12th, a total of five weeks.

  1. Wickenburg to Monument Valley, Utah
  2. Monument Valley to Grand Junction, Colorado
  3. Grand Junction to Cañon City, Colorado
  4. Cañon City to Limon, Colorado
  5. Limon to WaKeeney, Kansas
  6. WaKeeney to Lawrence, Kansas
  7. Lawrence to Poplar Bluff, Missouri
  8. Poplar Bluff to Paducah, Kentucky
  9. Paducah to Salt Lick, Kentucky
  10. Salt Lick to Sutton, West Virginia
  11. Sutton to Morgantown, West Virginia
  12. Morgantown to Shenandoah Valley, Virginia
  13. Shenandoah Valley to Greensboro, North Carolina
  14. Greensboro to Wilmington, North Carolina
  15. Wilmington to Charleston, South Carolina
  16. Charleston to Kingsland, Georgia
  17. Kingsland to Tallahassee, Florida
  18. Tallahassee to Montgomery, Alabama
  19. Montgomery to Starkville, Mississippi
  20. Starkville to West Memphis, Arkansas
  21. West Memphis to Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas
  22. Horseshoe Bend to Eureka Springs, Arkansas
  23. Eureka Springs to Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma
  24. Lake Eufaula, to Elk City, Oklahoma
  25. Elk City to Tucumcari, New Mexico
  26. Tucumcari to Albuquerque, New Mexico
  27. Albuquerque to Holbrook, Arizona
  28. Holbrook to Wickenburg, Arizona

Even though we have most of the comforts of home in our motorhome, there is something to be said about being at home and enjoying the good retirement life without the chores of setting up and tearing down while on the road and the sometimes tedious driving between campsites in the various weather conditions. It’s good to be home.

15 Aug 2025 by Ancestors Notions Retirement Wanderlust

Monongahela River

We’re still roaming around the land of ancestors on this excursion. Today, we visited the place of my paternal grandmother’s birth in Barrackville, West Virginia. One of the major landmarks in this area is the Monongahela River, which is in northern West Virginia and Southern Pennsylvania.

Some facts about this river from Brave Leo AI:

The Monongahela River is a 130-mile-long river that flows through north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania. It is formed by the confluence of the West Fork River and the Tygart Valley River in north-central West Virginia. The river flows northward, joining the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh to form the Ohio River.

The name “Monongahela” comes from the Unami language and roughly translates to “falling banks”, referring to the geological instability of the river’s banks. The Monongahela River is an important waterway for industry, carrying coal, coke, iron, and steel. It is made navigable by a series of locks and dams operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The upper reaches of the Monongahela River basin are known for their whitewater kayaking and rafting opportunities. The river also has a significant history, including being the site of the Braddock Expedition during the French and Indian War in the 18th century.

Clickable image.

23 Jul 2025 by Notions Photography Retirement Wanderlust

Wilson Arch

We stopped to water the dogs and take a break from driving at Wilson Arch along US 191 south of Moab, UT. We’ve seen this arch many times over the years as we navigate through Utah. Photo from my Samsung Galaxy. Clickable.

From Brave Leo AI:

Wilson Arch is a natural sandstone arch located in southeastern Utah, just off U.S. Route 191 in San Juan County, 24 miles south of Moab. It has a span of 91 feet and a height of 46 feet. This arch is easily accessible and can be viewed from the road, with turnouts and interpretive signs available.

For those interested in exploring further, a short 0.4-mile hike offers a spectacular view of the majestic rock formation and the blue Utah sky beyond. The hike is considered easy and rewarding, with a chance to stretch your legs and explore the natural marvel up close.

Wilson Arch is also a popular spot for photographers and nature enthusiasts, with the changing light and shadows around the arch providing endless inspiration. Its imposing structure, set against the vast desert sky, creates a striking contrast that begs to be captured.

11 Jul 2025 by Photography Retirement Travel Wanderlust

2025 Concealed Carry Map and
  Winterizing the Small Arms

At some point in 2025, Damsel and I, along with the dogs, will be travelling in the RV, the purpose of which is to visit some of the places where our ancestors lived and died. Since we both wish to be armed wherever we go, it is helpful to know where our permits to carry will be recognized, so we visit USA Carry to consult their interactive concealed carry maps. After clicking on Arizona and Utah (where we have permits), our map looks like this:

There are 39 states (in blue or green) that recognize our Utah or Arizona permits. Fortunately, most places we intend to visit accept our CCWs. There is one small exception in one of the no-carry states on our proposed route. We’re thinking about how to handle that one, but I’m sure it will work out. Perhaps National CCW Reciprocity will happen by our travel date (not holding our breath).

The other arms-related issue here is getting everything winterized. Today, I inspected, dusted off and oiled up several of the inventory. At this point, we’re about halfway done with them. The (clickable) image below shows my semi-auto long arm and the maintenance setup on the patio atop the Spa cover.

The winterization of the rest of the inventory should be done by next week. That effort will include several pistol-caliber carbines which have yet to be taken to the range (by us). Maybe we will take them out and get them dirty before their winterization.

30 Dec 2024 by Arizona CCW Firearms Notions Retirement Wanderlust

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