Awake: 8:05am Temp? sleep 8+45 partly sunny overnight @ Indiana, PA.
After our breakfast in the hotel, I add ½ quart of transmission fluid to the Ford van’s transmission; without the customary warm-up that Kevin cautioned us about, we pull away from the Super 8 Motel & notice that even though the engine is running strong, the van is not moving @ the speed it should be. Soon, I must check the transmission dip stick to visually confirm the fluid level.
Last year for our Christmas holiday rendezvous, the main activity was focused strongly on “Brio” train track building & playing; this all took place on the 1st floor in the small play room. Guess what? This yr the main activity is: more “Brio” train track building with even more tracks, train cars, bridges, supports, etc, etc, on the 3rd floor in a newly designated playroom; a more suitable place for the architects to achieve their goals.
The configuration seems to continue as last year: build a different layout, take a few minutes to push the train & cars around the optional routes & then, tear it all up & start over again with different ideas that may be more challenging than the last. The (3) tier track layout was recognized as the best & most challenging of all that the master builders had displayed thus far. One has to be quick to take photos of each super-duper layout however as Matthew wastes no time in the demolition process, ready to eagerly build another.
Dinner by Kevin: (4) different pizzas: pepperoni & cheese, (3) different cheeses with pepperoni, Mexican, & ham & pineapple. Kevin is fine tuning his pizza making abilities each year & we are the delighted tasters.
After dinner, Kathy disappears to wrap some small presents for the boys.
I didn’t let the van idle enough to warm up the transmission fluid before leaving the Foote house tonight & sure enough, we pulled out on 6th Street & the van literally stopped with the engine revved up but not moving. A strange feeling….especially when (2) cars moving in opposite directions approached; one had to stop while the other went around us. After what seemed to be forever, I shifted into 2nd gear, then back to park, then again in drive gear & that seemed to get that fluid running into the right circuit to turn the wheels.
It happened again en route when stopped for a stop sign thru the IUP campus; no traffic but those (2) incidences convinced me to definitely get serious with the dip stick check.
Lights out: 12:20am
Leave a comment