05.07.26 Oops, I did it again.....but...

     So I guess I just can't help myself. I swore, and Theresa said she would never let me, buy yet another battle tank that's a bucket of bolts, and full of rust. While it may seem impulsive, sell trains yesterday buy a new truck today, that's what I did. But I think, yet again, it was a good buy.

     While I had my sights on a GMC Yukon Denali a Suburban was a close second. So in between sanding and painting I spent a lot of time in the wee hours searching FBM for just that. I also looked on line to see what a newer model of anything would run. Well, above is just one example. An eleven year old vehicle with 122,000 miles for just under $14,000. And truth be told those Chevy and GMC in years 2002-2004 are my favorite. And then I found her. 

    What got me was two things, one owner, and 120,000 miles. Could that be true? Yes it was. It was freshly listed so I jumped on Messenger and set up a meeting. With an asking price of $4,999 could it be a good one?

     So yesterday Theresa and I drove to the Battleground Country Club to check her out. Needless to say the original owners were great. This was the family truckster that was used for local use and an occasional trip. For the last bunch of years it stayed put to be used as a Bog-Out vehicle if the world was to go to shit. Well with Covid over, and I guess the world in a better place, and with the kids grown and gone it was time for them to sell it. And I was the perfect buyer. 

     Newer tires, zero rust underneath, and an impeccable interior. The only two things were an ABS light that comes on intermittently and a finish that looks like they drove through an acid rain storm. If you were looking for pretty only then this would not be your go to. But if you were looking for a tank of a truck that was all good on the inside, one mechanic serviced it for 20 years, but a little rough around the face them she would be a taker. And we took her. I emptied the 35 hundies from my pocket and Theresa figured out Zelle with the sellers for another G-note. 

     So I would be into her for $4,500 and then a much needed paint job. So I looked at Maaco figuring they could do a quickie for about a grand and get her looking good. When I told my parents about it my Dad said, "I know a guy", and this just may wind up being a Godsend. His "guy" wouldn't be doing a half-ass scrape and paint type of Maaco job. So I felt relieved and really excited what she will look like all gussied up. 

     So I put on the plates and called for insurance coverage and drove her home. I gave her a quick power washing and a detail and washed the windows. This is going to be a perfect ride. It can tow the boat, hold all my fishing gear, and even be big enough if I need to escape the smaller home we plan on moving to. I'm sure things will come up, like what's with the ABS light, and things now unseen. But I'm happy.  

     So for now I have two Chevys in the driveway. The truck sits on FBM and I've already got a ton of questions from mostly annoying "Hi, is this available?" people. I'm thinking this will go by the weekend, but I thought the same with the trains. She needs an oil change but that'll have to wait because I can't get sidetracked from getting the house ready. And those rims...put getting those redone on my Christmas wish list. I love when an older truck has good rims. DMV in the morning to register and then inspection in a week or so. Hopefully it'll pass. 

     And yesterday was my Mom's 80th birthday. Had a bunch of the fan damily out for dinner and it was good food, drink, and laughs. It's crazy how fast life goes, not that I remember when she was born, which was in 1946. But for me in 1968, and Theresa in 1966, and even my first born in 1996. There's no doubt when they say live each day like it's your last and you can't take it with you. Soon it'll all be over, and they'll be taking you out of your house feet first. 

05.06.26 They're all gone...

     Well they're all gone. After a month on Facebook Marketplace and dealing with a bunch of jokers and flippers I finally said yes and let them go. Started at $7,000, dropped them to $6,000, and today I got 35 $100 bills in my hand. While it seems like a big cut I did take back several pieces from the collection before I dropped the price and today before we loaded up. $4,000 would have been more palatable but they are gone.

     There was a lot of stuff to load up and the guy, who left Connecticut at 0430, brought his F-150, which surely wasn't big enough. So he had to run to U- Haul and rent a trailer. While he was gone, and after we agreed on $3,500, I started to pack things up. For a bit I felt like Pinto in the 1978 movie Animal House with an angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. 

"Go ahead and steal some of your trains back....." to "Jesus is watching you". In the end I didn't take anything but when he got back I asked and he said sure, no problem. What was funny, and a shame, is this guy had no idea what he was buying. He didn't know the difference between pre-war and post war, and never had Standard Gauge trains in his hands. He packed the stuff up like he was at the checkout at Shop-Rite. They were trains, he wanted to buy them, and he did.

     After an hour or so he was locking the trailer up and backing out of the drive way. While I would have liked to see it go to someone in the know the stuff is gone. 30 + years of collecting all done.

     After he left I looked at the sun room where the trains were temporarily stored. They took up a lot of space and got in the way of progress getting the house ready to sell. The truth is most of the time they were either stored in a 1,000 degree attic, mixed temperature garage, or our flooded out basement. It was time to go. Now it's time to get to work.

     So then I turned my sights to the pick up. It's time for that to go as well. The first step was clean it out and wash her up before a quick photo session. I had to get rid of my stickers which included a Pop Fleyes I put on after Bobby's death.

     After a photo session at the park I put it up on FBM. It didn't take long for my Messenger to blow up with 100 asks, questions, and promises. I have it listed for $3,000, FIRM, so we'll see what happens. 

     And then there's what to do. I am not, I refuse, to buy another bucket of bolts or a vehicle that I have to work on or rebuild. But I also don't want any kind of payment..... So I found a sweet 2004 Suburban that I'm going to check out tomorrow. I know it needs a paint job and I'm looking into Maaco to see if that is a possibility. I can't be rolling into South Carolina with a ghetto ride. It's one owner, 121,000 miles, and they say it's just time to sell the family trickster. But, "Oh yeah, it might need brakes". So we'll see.

     This will surely tow the boat and fit all my fishing stuff inside. And the best part...Suburbans are great on gas, which is now $4.69 a gallon. Perfect.

05.05.26 The Delaware takes another...

      Robin Bets of Bangor, PA, was shad fishing this past weekend in the waters around Belvedere, NJ. It is reported that he was attempting to free his anchor and the boat dipped and started taking on water causing it to capsize. He was an avid angler and loved fishing for shad in the Delaware. His wife Kathy said, "He died doing what he liked, well what he loved, well before his time".

     If you've been on the Delaware River in a boat and have thrown an actor then you know this could happen to you. I've run drift boats on the Upper Delaware and a jet boat, and the Jones, mid-river in the tidal and non-tidal sections. Needless to say I have much respect for the river, mostly because I have messed up a few times which caused my anal sphincter to pucker. 

     Current, type of anchor, length of rope, flotations, and most importantly a knife hen things go sideways are things to have and consider. At the the end of the day, after you have pulled, motored up and over, and done just about everything to free yourself it pays to just cut your loses and let it go. A boat, even. drift boat, get be dipped down in the front which can swamp the boat, or, if you're in bigger current, cause the boat to swing wildly from side to side, and either throw you, or dip down on one of the sides. 

It's sad when you hear about things things on the river. Just a quick thought, that's two guys who've died this year, Betts, and Howard Bennet of the Camden Fire Department who died in February. Sadly, there will be more this year. Respect the river. Wear your floatation device. Have a plan and let someone know it. And have your safety stuff with you. You just never know when things will go sideways. 

05.02.26 Had to take a break...

 

     My recent pictures of the water in the river are like those sunrise or sunset images people post when they go fishing and don't catch. It's May 2nd and I haven't caught a striped bass, or any other fish, to kick off 2026. I've went about a dozen times, if that, and most have been an hour or less of a half-hearted effort. 

     Yesterday morning I hit a plumbing road block which really set me back at least a day. While trying to remove a muskrat-like hairball from deep in the bowels of the waste line I put a hole in the brass waste pipe that sits below the shower drain. So that means another hole in the ceiling and then trying to patch it as replacing it would call for a closet and hallway to be dismantled. So one my way to Home Depot for some JB Weld, which didn't work in the end I took the much needed mental health break and hit the river.

     It was mid-day, high bright sun and the mid-flood tide. The water was low, as it has been, running about 15,000 cfs, which was better than it has been. With gin-clear water it would have been easy to spot any herring swimming upstream but I saw none. And needless to say I didn't catch a fish. What I did enjoy was watching the turtles get chased off their sunning rock perches as the tidal water pushed in. They would move to the tippy top of the rocks, sometimes balancing with their feet in the air, only to give up when the water hit the bottom of their shells. The cormorants were out numbered by the gulls who split their time between the river and the land fill which is only a short flight away. 

     On the way back from Hilton Head when I was in the co-pilots seat I spent some time looking for my next ride. At this point, with the yard cleaned up and the mulch picked up from the recycling center, I don't need my Silverado war wagon anymore. As I searched I thought I found my next ride. It's was a 2003 GMC Yukon Denali with 176,000 miles. I said I wouldn't buy another old vehicle but those years, 2002-2004 are my sweet spots when it comes to Chevy's and GMC's. 

     So my plan was to get to Elizabeth for their 9 am opening yesterday morning. But at 5 am I checked their website and they sold it out from under me. I had been back and forth with the salesman and was good to go. I was either going to send the mortgage in a few days late, throw the pick-up on Marketplace, and hope that this mornings live video with some train collectors from Syracuse would add to the pot. But, you know what they say, you snooze you lose. It was a really nice ride and I thought she was mine. Another one that got away. It was in white too, which is my go to color, and will help repel that nuclear sun down in the Lowcountry. 

     Back to the grind today. We're getting close to listing it and we still haven't signed on the dotted line with the realtors yet. The thought of donating $45,000 in real estate commissions just kills me, especially in these times were the internet, and Zillow, are what people cruise around when looking for a house. Hopefully those "Coming Soon" signs I have out front will bring an early buyer, and this pretty weekend will bring a ton of people driving past heading to Lambertville and New Hope, and our own towns town-wide yard sale. Enjoy the nice weather today and go fishing.

05.01.26 Well that was a long two days....

     Not much to say other than it was a long two days. Flew down to Savannah in the morning on Wednesday. Spent the afternoon touring houses with our realtor and my mother. Spent the night at a Red Roof Inn that doubled as a crash pad for people making the trek from north to south or south to north, or, were construction workers who crashed their long term at a discounted rate, or others who might have just escaped prison.

     While we used the security cards issued when we checked in others used their own methods to have access. Needless to say the place was a tad sketchy but we slept hard and got up and split by 6 am. It was then a 13 hour drive back to Titusville over the 735 miles. 

     It was a good trip and good to see some of the houses we have been talking on over on Zillow. Some were disappointing while others possibilities. Interesting thing to note, after about a half a dozen home visits I started to have trouble breathing. Not sure if that was Lowcountry air, carpet, pets, or older homes that are covered in stucco that don't "breathe" right, no pun intended. 

     I got a kick out of this vehicle as it's the patrol car to enforce "Community Standards". That comes along with HOA's and rules and regulations. Wait until they get a load of me. 

     I was able to watch the fiddler crabs wave their claws in the sun as the flood tide approached. It was during dinner at The Foolish Frog in Saint Helena Island near Beaufort. It was a meal of fried green tomatoes and shrimp and grits. 

     Now back home it's game on mostly running around finishing up things or packing up the last bit for the storage units. Mom's up here and will go through her last bit of stuff as we get ready for one last estate sale next weekend. This is all exhausting, but hopefully worth it, as long as I can breathe down there. 

04.29.26 Off to Hilton Head...

 

    Taking a break from real estate readiness and doing a two day fly and drive back from Hilton Head. Mom’s driving back for her 80th and I wanted to join her for a bulk of the drive home. Im flying into Savannah which puts be less then 30 minutes from Sun City and Bluffton. While down here I’m going to scout out a few places with our realtor. While I hate to lose momentum on progress around the house my back im broken and the skin and nails on my fingers just about sanded away. And between the pollen and lead paint dust some fresh Southern air will do me good, along with some auto air conditioning on the 11 hr trek back to Titusville. Keeping our eyes on the prize…but surely the shits gonna hit the fan about something trying to get out of here. Just wait.

04.27.26 Well I went...

      I took a break to go and see what the rain did for the river. I got there at high tide just before the flip. The rain hadn't done much for the flows or turbidity but I see it did bump this morning up to 12,000 cfs.

     As spring goes on so does the growth at the river bank. That makes for plenty of flies caught in the branches. Luckily the low flows allow for some wading in the right spots. For me the skunk continues for 2026, but I know, well hope, that soon I'll bring one to hand. I've only went a few times and the most has been for about an hour. That's a far change from the marathon two-a-days I'm used to. 

     I haven't seen any bait but Delaware Joe did snag a herring on a plug the other day. So at least one is here. Sometimes when the bait is sparse it's better and the fish are eager to eat. But there's always a slow down when the fish are concentrating on spawning. They comes early, hit what's in front of them and annoying them, and then go do their thing. After that it's game on as they put the feed bags on and there's usually a lot of bait around to satiate them. Sometimes they linger, other times it's chew and screw, well leave, after they screw. 

     The madness continues and it looks like I might have a buyer for the trains. Two buds from Syracuse who collect and flip, so we'll see where that goes. They say it's freezing up there and there's snow in their forecast. High 90's a few weeks back and now high 30's at night. The rivers down to 55 now, after almost hitting near 70. Why can't we ever have "normal" weather anymore?

04.26.26 Entering phase two....

     I actually don't know what phase this is but it's the phase where you get a storage unit and start to get the bins out of the house and staged for the move. We told the guy, "We'll only need

 it for a couple of months....".  What I can say about getting stuff out of the house is that you can see all the things that need to be touched up. Yesterday between the raindrops and trips to the U-Haul center it was sanding, priming, and painting the staircase. Below is what it looked like before we bought the house in 2018. 

     What you can't see are the steps that lead down to the door. All curved which just leads to extra time getting the painters tape to conform with the bend. And the spindles? Forget it. I just can't. Too many other pressing things to do. 

     The front entrance is just about done. There's some dentil work that needs to be repaired and then painted but I think the 40 hours it took me to get it done was worth it. It's now time to concentrate on the inside and getting a storage unit helps thin stuff out and make room for the bull-in-the-China-closet that I become when it's go time. 

     While we were at the U-Haul super center we talked to the guy about renting a truck for the move. It's gonna cost us but there's no other option. I asked if I could tow the Jones Brothers down and he said it's not a problem. I already asked for a quote from Maximum Marine down in Upper Township for a quote for a new trailer. I'll sell the old one, and my truck, to pay for it. And man if those trains would sell I'd be really set. But selling things like collections isn't easy, and the buyers, can be well...

     If you don't answer in a timely fashion because you either work full time or have a life outside of Facebook Marketplace these are the types of responses you get. This guys a flipper and asked if it was available. I need to keep my eye on the prize, Sun City, and just exhale and be nice. We're getting close to be getting close. 

04.24.26 I did get to go...

 

     Some time over the last two days I wrecked my back. It's happened before and it usually just happens on it's done without any help from a twist, fall, or heavy lift. If you asked me what I actually did I'd probably give you a Mike Tyson to reporter Jim Gray answer....

     But luckily I found my wading staff and gave it a go. While the conditions didn't matter as I was going when I was going I felt like I might just catch a fish. And I almost did, some kind of fish. It was about an hour and a half into the flood tide and I thought that maybe fish would be on the move upriver from the deeper water. In the tidal section, with a changing tide every six hours, fish either hunker down or drop back as the water recedes. That's why guys love dropping tides, it's easier to figure out the lies and holes and where to find them. 

     There's a cool point that occurs when you're fishing an incoming tide on a river. and I'm not talking about a somewhat lazy ocean side 3-4 foot incoming. On the river there's a nine foot tide and at some point who can actually see it push up and actually flood there area you're in. And sometimes, like on a moon, it comes in real fast, and you have to be sure you don't get caught being further then you should. 

     If you look at the top photo you can see kind of what I'm talking about. "Normal", although running now at 8,300 cfs, river flor heading downstream and the "flood" waters coming upstream. When there's bait around that point can be a place where fish move into hunting spots as bait comes down with the current. That usually happens in bigger water, and this is not big water. In fact it's more like late summer then early to mid-spring. 

     I did have a swirl behind my fly during the retrieve in. I speculate is was a bass, either a smallmouth, largemouth, or maybe even a small striped bass. In early light it wouldn't be wrong for the possibility that a walleye might have taken a shot at it. Outside of the pain, and tingling in one leg, it was good to get out and clear my head before heading back to the work camp. And that's what the house is starting to feel like. Psychically I'm running out of steam, but my eyes are still on the prize. 

04.23.26 "This could be the last time...."

 

     That was the title of the post that came to mind. It reminded me of one of my favorite Grateful Dead songs, "The Last Time". Here it is below...

     The reason I say "It could be the last time..." is because who knows where I'll be in the fall. Will I still be in New Jersey or taking my nursing instructor show on the road down in South Carolina?. But anyway, today was the last day of med-surg clinicals for the freshman class. Last week I wrapped up the ER/Trauma Center rotation for the seniors. 

     The freshman were a hoot. We started in a long term care center, aka. nursing home, in the fall before going to Capital Health in Trenton on the med/surg unit. They did good. They learned. And they had fun. The best part of my days are watching them have lightbulb moments go off in their heads or working independently or with the staff when I'm not by their side. 

     They're all jacked up because they have one more big test and then the final. After that, starting just before the house gets listed, we head into Psychiatric Nursing where I'll be teaching the lecture, labs, and clinicals. Clinicals should be good as we'll be on the inpatient and crisis unit at Capital and at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital, aka TPH. 

     The six week course gets interrupted for a week as I join the two Joe's, Brad, and Abe, up on the Vineyard for a much needed week away sight fishing for striped bass. By then I'll be burnt out, if nor crippled, from all the stuff we've done, and still have yet to do. 

     Today was a half a day since it was the last one and I buried home to get painting. While I did my phone kept blowing up and I had to check it. It was messages from the kids at Essex  

County College who took their final exam today. I taught them for one of their two years at Essex before I departed last June. The text, "Your new nurses"....needless to say I'm proud of them, all of them.

So since I think I might have had a little to do with their success I'm going to treat myself this morning. I'm going fishing...

04.22.26 There's a lot of harvesting going on....

 

     Saw this and I had to laugh. It reminded me of what guys do with fluke that were over the then slot limit. Some would take a pair of scissors and trim the tails down to fit within the slot. Now with the striped bass having a slot limit anglers can use the Slot-Fit which uses Striper Compressor technology to get it to fit. Of course this is a joke but it does raise a point. 

     There's a lot of striped bass around. And interestingly the beaches, or Out Front, waters seem to be active early with striped bass. There's a ton of bunker around and I suspect those early Chesapeake and Delaware fish are making their way north for the summer. It used to be June and into early July where the beaches and jetties would be the place. Early mornings and late afternoons would see the crowds build watching and waiting for the bass to push the bunker up onto the beaches. It was a plug guys happy time, but frustrating for the fly rodders as usually they were out of range. 

     While the push of big fish this spring has been solid it has lead to more of a catch and release fishery due to the slot. That's a good thing because I've always said less fish harvested means more fish in the water, outside of catch and release mortality. But those slot fish, 28-31 inches, are being caught and harvested in numbers that I question as far as sustainability. Taking those fish now will no doubt affect those years class fish in seasons to come. 

     Eventually those big fish, the breeding classes, will die off and what will happen if there's a smaller bio-mass of fish making their spring and fall runs? Only time, and speculation, will tell. I don't what this years spawning success will be in the Delaware River. Drought like conditions aren't good for a spawn. The river bumped up a bit and is now running just under 10,000 cfs.

     Thankfully to the cold snap we had the temps are down in more tolerable numbers around 58 degrees overnight. I'm not sure I'll see those big water successful days like I had last year and I haven't heard of herring actually being spotted yet. No doubt each year things change, and the bass adapt and change with the changes as well. I hope to get out this weekend between running around and touching up things around the house. We are exactly a month from my listing deadline and I hope we're on target.

     With the blossom season that came and dropped it was time this week for Theresa and I to start the dreaded task of cleaning out beds and spreading black mulch. I made sure I wore gloves vebacqse once that dye gets into your pores it stays there for a while. While I thought I was good several of the nurses pointed out how horrid my hands were after we handled a Code Blue on the floor yesterday. Next time I'll have to make sure I have gloves on at the bedside. Between my nails basically sanded off and the black stain that colored my nails I get why my hands don't look like I am ready for surgery. It reminded me that I'm done with home maintenance and and I'm ready for my HOA fees to cover landscaping. Mowing the acre of grass is now an every-other-day chore and with this weekend's rain the grass and weeds will grow even faster. 

     We've just about cleared out the Facebook Marketplace inventory but the train collection remains. It's taking up a large space in the family room and is impeding progress in that room. The above pic is just a tiny view of the room full of trains. I'll have to come up with a plan B if they don't move, and the last thing I want is to lug them down to South Carolina. Downsizing is a bitch, and my advice is to start now, regardless if you're moving or not. 

04.20.26 And then there was one....

     It only took a few hours with the jet boat soaking on Facebook Marketplace for it to be sold. Guy pretty much bought it sight unseen. He lives across the river in Yardley and he bought it for he and his 13 year-old son who "could fish all day if I let him". 

     He has a 12 foot aluminum boat now with a 9.9 on it but this will be his first jet and one he'd like to take in waters he can't make now. I warned him about the Delaware, and it's tides and flows, and the rocks he'll encounter down below the tidal zone line. 

     Now all I'm left with is the Jones Brothers. She sits there waiting for her trip down south and few days with the plastic surgeon. She get her take replaced, her floor redone, and a new gel coat job. Of course the bottom paint will have to go. I'm contemplating having her travel down to North Carolina in style with a new dual-axle trailer under her. To complete the makeover she get some new power, most likely another Yamaha 150. 

     I'm looking into the possibility of towing her down behind a rented U-Haul truck. I looked online and guys say it's possible. I'll most likely sell my pick-up truck here in New Jersey before we go as I don't think it'll make the ride, especially towing that boat. They say those big U-Hauls have 10 cyclinder engines and are beasts. So what could go wrong?

     This guy is towing a 29 foot travel trailer which might be a bit much. The Cape Fisherman LT comes in at 19'10 and has a hull weight of 2,050 pounds, plus the trailer, which will be a tandem Load-Rite, aluminum with fancy wheels. 

     My question would be do I want a bunk or roller trailer down in the Lowcountry. It's a big low tide fishery and some of the ramps that I've seen aren't all that improved. In fact some of the best are tucked far and away inside the backside of marshes and estuaries. I'll have to call down to the guide I used, Marc Nutting, and see what he thinks. Any thoughts on it? Drop me a text 732 261 7291