It's 3 am, do you know where your car is?

Ours is still out front, but has had a rowdy visitor shortly after 2am (when the bars close)

Amazingly we slept through this, but neighbors who heard it and saw a fleeing white vehicle woke us up and called the police. No perp so far. GOOD MORNING!

I've been working on a railroad

I've just recently started working with a great group of gentlemen restoring an old caboose, built I believe in 1898, from the Petaluma & Santa Rosa Railroad. They have done an amazing job, and I am mostly just trying to stay out of their way.

BEFORE ( a long time ago)

A more recent before.(2 years ago, shortly after arrival)

And now.

You may note the lack of trucks (wheels) and the cupola. The cupola is off getting a separate facelift. The trucks, which have their own amazing stories, arrived this weekend.  Again, BEFORE

And now
Several photos by Gus, Thanks!

Fool us once, shame on you.

In a case of corporate-consumer kiss and make up, MoonRabbit and I are the owners of a new, Silver, 2007 Honda Odyssey LX. All is forgiven, but I wouldn't buy a 1999-2004 Honda Odyssey without a long term warranty on the tranny. We felt like we got a good trade in for the dead un, MSRP on the new, a package at a discount and an extended warranty with another discount. We normally don't go for extended warranties, but we're a bit gunshy I guess.

Oh, and they threw in the bridge!

Oy! Such a headache!

No, I'm not jewish, but those words best convey how I'm feeling right now. (BTW, I DO have a literal headache)

It all started last night about 9pm, when wife unit (Moonrabbit) called from her cell phone that her car was having serious issues on an unlit country road about 5 miles from our house, and had pulled over. After brief phone triage, I went to the "rescue". Her Engine light had come on, and the car, a 2003 Honda Odyssey, was popping out of gear sporadically. I checked the manual, and checked that the gas cap was on tight. We were actually closer to the Honda dealer than home, so we dropped it off about 9:30 pm.

We have been Honda owners for over 20 years, so I was confidant that the problem was minor. Having said that, we have had more problems, though minor, with the Odyssey than any of our previous Civics and Accords. About 10:30 am I got the call from the service department. Our 2003 Odyssey, with 59,100K miles on it, needs a NEW transmission! Estimate $4600! Warrantee ran out at 50K.

I transformed into Seriousyak.

So, from about 11 until 3:30 we have been shopping, looking at a new Honda Odyssey vs Toyota Sienna. A service rep came through, and made an offer to repair for about $1000, as a good will gesture. I am inclined to go with a new vehicle, since this one seems somewhat unreliable. We were reminded several times, that if we had ONLY bought the extended warranty, it would be covered. I reminded them that if they feel I NEED an extended waranty, I'm not buying their vehicle.

The Sienna vs Odyssey is just about a tie. Honda appears to be making a very real effort to keep us as customers. We haven't made a decision yet. Keep ya posted. (pun intended)