It's just another nor-easter. A bad storm where low pressure from the south meets high pressure from the north. Add air flow along the Gulf Stream with strong Northeast winds and precipitation and things can go sideways pretty quick. And then there's the timing. If it hits on a moon tide then that's where the flooding comes in. The intersection where it's usually the worst is around the tri-state area, and then a little north into New England and south to the Mid-Atlantic states.
We've all seen the pictures and videos of what this storm has done, and will continue to do, throughout today. Above is the usual kind of picture from Sea Bright that happens with each storm. I thought after Sandy the towns that sit on barrier spits, where the ocean is on one side and the bay or river on the other, would rethink their position and make adjustments. But they mostly just rebuilt with some homes and businesses just raised in hopes of being higher than the next storm. Well, that didn't work out that well.
And there's no names for these nor' easters, they usually go by the dates they happen. The World World Meteorological Organization, or WMO, only names tropical storms and hurricanes. Sandy, which hit in October 2012, was named because it met criteria as a hurricane or tropical cyclone. There's no doubt this storm will have caused hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to homes, business, and vehicles. Add to that the beach erosion, and the cost of the last replenishment, and then the next one, and it's just throwing money out into the ocean.
I took a day off from working at The Fly Barn. That left me with some time to visit Julio and the Silverado over at the used car lot. I think they think that my idea is to beat them down with visits so they just tell me take the truck and finally leave them alone.
I grabbed the keys from Julio and took it for a 40 minute test drive. I drove it on the local streets and on the highway. I even took it off road to test the four wheel high and low. I don't what more I can do to expose it's flaws. My goal was to watch the oil pressure gauge. This model Silverado has an Active Fuel Management (AFM) system built in and one of the early signs it's bad is fluctuations in the oil pressure, but I didn't see any. A tire monitor light came on, but I can live with that.
I then checked the glove box for the codes for this truck to make sure it's a true Z71 which means a better tow and suspension package. It was there. So more things going good for it. The decision will be made after it goes up on the lift, and after a scanner reads the vehicle history, and a mechanic gives it a thumbs up or down.
And while there's all this attention to the Silverado there sits the Suburban. She must feel like when old dog owners visit with a puppy, like there's my replacement, great. One thing I decided
was to pull her off of Marketplace. Why sell it? Why beat up the high mileage pick up with around the town and to the store mileage? Besides, it's hard to fit 12-foot wood in a 5'6" bed. The Suburban can handle those long Hardie trim boards just fine. Besides over the three days I had it listed only 393 people clicked on it and I only got a handful of inquiries. I thought people would have jumped on it, maybe that not selling is a sign from the Chevy Gods.
So she watched yesterday as I got down and crawled underneath to do yet another inspection. This time I checked out the running boards, or steps, which are basically being help on by a thread. Those aren't usually made with any type of heavy construction, and they routinely rust out, even when there's no rust on the body.
They'll have to be replaced so Theresa, and or my Mom, can easily get in and out of it. It's got some lift and I'll need them as well so I don't drag my ass across the corner of the driver's seat which kills the padding and seat cover. So I might expect to hear, "Now more money...", well you know me.
I've already hit Marketplace and found a rust free pair in chrome for $40, and they're right around the corner. I've been back and forth with the seller and he said he'll even help me put them on. Not bad for a pair of twenty dollar bills.
This morning I'm going to catch the full "Harvest Moon" flood tide and see if I can finally find, and maybe even catch, one of these tailing redfish. If I don't get it done today, then surely I'm in the wrong spots at the wrong times. But one day I'll be dialed in, but at this pace I'll be doing it with a walker.