Saturday, 12 March 2011
A few weeks ago, we dropped off the rig at Reines RV to have a new tank monitoring system installed. Not that there was anything wrong with the one that came with the unit. Mui just wanted something that his research had indicated was more reliable. Enter into the scene the SeeLevel II Tank Monitor. We thought the old monitoring system would be disengaged, but it was left intact. So now we can use it as a back-up if we suspect that the SeeLevel readings might be wrong.
Monitors galore in the rig. The SeeLevel gauge is the top-center one.
The gauge goes on the outside of the tank; here’s the one for the fresh water tank.
While the coach was at Reines, we asked them to de-winterize the rig as well. We’re now ready to go on the road. In early April, we have a reservation at Pohick Bay, the scene of our not-so-smooth camping episode last November (click here to read the post). We’re hoping for better luck this time. Mid-April will see us on the road for a week-long trip to the North Carolina coast. We’ve not been down that way before, so we’re looking forward to exploring new places. Of course, if the opportunity presents itself, we’ll go camping before either of those trips … we’ll see.
From the Reines camp store, Mui picked up a couple sets of …
… tension-mounted fridge bars.
The bars are supposed to keep things from falling off the shelves while we’re on the road.
We’ll see if they really do the trick.
After we returned the Phaeton to storage, we headed home. We usually have dinner out on Thursday nights. With the monsoon-like rain we had all day this past Thursday, we postponed our date night this week. That being the case, we decided to have lunch out today instead. We came across the Copper Canyon Grill in Centreville on our way back from the storage lot, and decided to give it a try. We came away very happy with our choice.
The place was all but empty when we arrived shortly after noon. By 12:30p, patrons were streaming in one after another. Our server, a pleasant and very helpful young woman, ran down the specials and offered a few suggestions without being pushy. The booths offered plenty of privacy. And, most importantly, the food turned out to be full-flavored and was nicely presented.
Copper Canyon (Barranca del Cobre in Spanish) is a group of canyons in
the Sierra Tarahumara in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico.
We started off by splitting a bowl of Tortilla Soup (thickened spicy chicken broth, fresh rotisserie chicken and avocados, with Monterey jack, cheddar cheese, and crisp tortilla strips) — the perfect warmer-upper on a cold, spring day. My main course was a Pan-Seared Crabcake Sandwich (jumbo lump on toasted bun, lettuce and tomato, with rémoulade sauce) — simply excellent. Mui was most pleased with his perfectly seasoned Southwest Salad (rotisserie chicken, iceberg lettuce, black beans, tomatoes, jicama, corn, Monterey jack, chipotle-bleu dressing, avocado, and BBQ sauce).
As is our habit, we skipped dessert since we did not split a main course this time. Fear not; Mui had a treat waiting at home. Occasionally, we enjoy having a bite of something sweet after dinner, so Mui recently started baking sheet cakes at home. After he freezes the cake, he cuts it into miniature portions, and puts them back in the freezer to be pulled out and served when dessert cravings need to be satisfied.
About a month ago, he baked a carrot cake; yesterday he baked what he calls a pineapple coconut cake. Don’t ask me for a recipe since he made it up as he went along. He likes to experiment that way. It turned out absolutely delish. Why wouldn’t it? It has all the right ingredients — vanilla pudding, dried cranberries, crushed pineapples, finely chopped walnuts, shredded coconut. Oh, and of course, the usual ingredients you need to make a cake … sugar, flour, eggs, milk, and what have you.
A sweet ending to our day.
The rig is ready to go camping and we found a great place to have dinner when we return from camping trips. All in all, a very good day indeed.
Wow! That's a lot of monitors! Nice idea with the cakes. :)
ReplyDeletesounds like a great day indeed, my blogging buddy!..can't wait till you are out on the road with new adventures to write about!..the cake looks yummy!...I would say that Mui is a 'keeper'..if he bakes cakes like that all the time!!!
ReplyDeleteThat Copper Canyon Grill looks like my kind of restaurant. I have a limited edition print by Dale Terbush called "Between This World and Heaven". Sure looks like a Dale Terbush rendering of Copper Canyon to me in that photo. Just curious. We never have things fall off the shelves while traveling, but when we stop while traveling, and I open the fridge for a beer, somethings will often fall directly into the dog's water dish, located in the perfect spot below the fridge to catch whatever has jostled about. Maybe I'll go find some more of those bars. We have them elsewher in the rig and they are great. Really looking forward to your trip, I loved the little bit of the Carolinas that I have seen.
ReplyDeleteOhh ohhh....afiyet şeker olsun -- SIS
ReplyDelete