Tag Archives: ice cream

Burrell Brooks, Eastham, Fantasyland, Front Royal Town Square

Park Crawl

Leave a comment

Eastham Park

A little resting area by the Shenandoah river in Eastham park

Teddy and I slept in today and woke up late. After grabbing a meal, we headed out to Eastham park in the CitiCar.

Another great day. We grabbed a bench and watched a few people float by on canoes. Front Royal was designated as the “Canoe Capital of Virginia” in 1999. We are often seeing people in canoes when we walk along the river. One couple had a dog with them, but Teddy wasn’t paying much attention to its parking.

We headed down the trail and I let Teddy loose for a little bit in the dog park. Afterwards we continued down the path until we reached an area that comes down to the river itself. Teddy drank a bit of water and dipped his toes in, walking around for a bit. Afterwards, we head back to the car.

Oddly enough, the GPS speedometer couldn’t get a clear signal. We drove for roughly a half mile before the speedometer started working. With a clear sky, this is a bit concerning. I may have to move the antenna to the outside of the car.

Panoramic view of a little resting area by the Shenandoah river at Eastham park

Charge

Charging at Jack Evans Chevrolet

I had a goal this weekend to see if I could find and use the level 2 charger downtown. It is in a certified pre-owned Chevy dealership. On a Sunday in rural America, the place was fairly empty. I found the DC fast charger, but I didn’t see any compatible plug to charge the car.

I looked at a few photos and reviews and found that they have three separate charging stations scattered between two buildings. I found the one I needed with the J1772 plug was by the main entrance. I plugged in, heard a click, and saw that the CitiCar was charging away.

I decided to take a walk over to Main Street while the car was charging.

Confederate Monument Controversy

Controversial Confederate monument

I took a look at the Confederate monument in front of the court house. I saw it was on the ballot last week when I showed up to the registrars office for early voting in the presidential election. There is a vote to move it to another location. I hadn’t paid much attention to it before, or even knew of its existence. It appears that it isn’t of any specifically recognizable general.

I Want Candy

Store front on Main Street of I Want Candy in Front Royal, Virginia

I saw that a new shop was opening up on Main Street yesterday. The storefront is fairly unique compared to other buildings in Front Royal in that it has a curve to it that wraps around the corner. Teddy and I went in today to have a look around.

Pick your favorite candies and pay by the pound

They have a bunch of bins where you can pick a variety of candy and pay by the pound. I kept seeing different candy that I had long forgotten about when growing up. I had to stop myself and consider that I could leave some candy for next time.

C&C Frozen Treats

Carousel horse themed entrance to C&C Frozen Treats

We went into C&C Frozen Treats next. There are many murals around Front Royal, and the owner of the shop had someone decorate their entry way with the carousel horse theme found inside their shop.

There were only two dairy-free flavors left, and the only one that was safe for Teddy was the spiced cake. I ordered a scope for both Teddy and myself.

Town Square

Dairy-free ice cream for two in the park

Teddy and I headed across the street to the town square. Teddy was looking up at me on the whole trip over to find a seat. He knew he was going to get a treat at any minute.

I poured out some of the candies on the checkerboard table and started having a meal fit for two kids at the ripe age of seven.

Teddy will do anything for a treat, and he put on a really good show for everyone watching. The comments I most often hear is how people wish their dog could do what he does. People are often surprised that he knows the difference between his right and left. One of my favorite tricks is to trop a spoon full of ice cream, and then look away and start eating. Teddy will keep focused on me until I say “release”.

Burger King

After having our desert, we headed back to the CitiCar. We were almost up to a full charge, so I decided we could continue our little joy ride and cruise on up to South Street. We were stuck in the Burger King drive-through for about twenty minutes. By time we got our food, I was ready for a change of scenery and eat somewhere else.

Burrell Brooks Park

The charge from the dealership gave us a lot of battery to run around town with. I decided that we could take the CitiCar to Burrell Brooks Park. I hadn’t taken it there before because it’s simply too far.

The park has a small walking path with fitness stations peppered along it. There is also a playground, music playground, and basket ball court. It looked like a Childs birthday party was going on at the pavilion. Teddy and I found a bench at the far end of the park away from everyone else. The meal was satisfying. I took Teddy on the path around the park before we started heading for home.

Fantasyland Park

It was starting to get into the twilight hours and I was debating if we should go home, or stop by Gertrude Miller Park. I didn’t’ have an accurate reading on the batteries state of charge, and I knew I could recharge at a pavilion. Along the way, I turned on the lights and after a brief moment, they went out.

A CitiCar parked at Fantasyland Park

I was debating if I should go strait home without any lights, since it wasn’t too dark out yet. I pulled off into the Advance Auto Parts parking lot and decided to play it safe rather than be sorry. I pulled out the voltage meter and looked for a 30 amp fuse. I already knew which fuse to check, and how many amps it should allow. After two minutes, we were back on our way.

Rather than stopping at Gertrude Miller or Lions Park, I decided to go for the parking lot in between the two parks. I parked the CitiCar under a large tree next to Fantasyland Park.

We didn’t stay long. I took Teddy over to Happy Creek and let him wade a bit in the water. We walked around for a little bit before hopping back into the car.

Back Again

Just as we were almost home, one of our neighbors walking their dog waved at us. I turned around and zipped on over. Although he was stuck in the car, Teddy and his friend were super excited to see each other. Although the car sounds fairly noisy to me, my neighbor commented that it sounded like someone on a bicycle. This revelation came as a bit of a shock to me.

Teddy is exhausted from having too much fun

We said our good byes and I zipped back to the house and guided the CitiCar into the driveway. Teddy was a bit exhausted. We had been to one park after another, and a few stores the entire day. When I see him twitching in his sleep, I imagine he is having wild dreams chasing squirrels and rabbits through the woods.

In Other News

  • From the advice of other C-Car owners, I’m considering changing the button for Secret Hyperjets to be red.
  • A 12 volt charger arrived that works on both 120 and 240 volts AC power
  • I didn’t make any progress on the window this weekend…
Front Royal Eastham Park
Trips

One Hundred

Leave a comment

As of this morning, I’ve lost 100 pounds this year. I started losing weight so that I could increase range and fit in the CitiCar easier. I couldn’t even get the seat belt to buckle when I first got it.

Too big for a CitiCar seatbelt
Before and after photographs losing 100 pounds.

Ice Cream Run

I really wanted to get some local ice cream yesterday. I enjoy training Teddy with ice cream at the park. It was time for another adventure. Teddy and I arrived downtown to find that main street was blocked off again. I took a detour and parked behind the buildings on Main street.

Band with a harmonica

Teddy and I walked over to the town square and meandered through the park. While we were there, a small band was playing some music on the side of the road. One of the guys had a harmonica. We sat down on the curb and listened for awhile. I kept giving Teddy back scratches and massages.

It was time that we headed over to C & C Frozen Treats for ice cream. In front of the shop, there was a dunking booth with a giant teddy bear setting on the seat, and some pie throwing cut-outs for people to stand behind. The little shop was packed with kids. We waited for people to leave before going inside. The dairy-free choices are often limited, but good. I got a quart of brownie ice cream to take home. Teddy got a scoop of strawberry mango.

It was getting late and I wanted to get home before dark. I decided to stop at the post office on the way back. I hadn’t been there to pick up my mail for roughly eight months. When I opened my PO box, I found that it was packed tight.

Storage Idea

Arriving home, I started working on an idea to utilize the empty space in the CitiCar a bit better. I wanted a place to install some car speakers, a camera, lights, and a few other things. Nothing really seemed to be ideal to do anything.

I can’t get anything around the roll bars to mount things onto. There isn’t anything to clip onto. Nothing is magnetic, and I’ve had trouble getting adhesives to stick. It’s difficult to mount anything.

Mocking up cabinets between the CitiCar frame

I got some inspiration when thinking about how my camping trailers had been built in the past. Almost every spot available is made into cabinets or made available in some clever way for storage.

I made a template of the area between the roll bars in the back. I decided to work on making an area that can have doors, drawers, hooks, and some magnetic metal bits to clamp, affix, or hook things onto. I’m mocking everything out using cardboard for now. I’ll upgrade to the final materials once I’ve got it all worked out.

Other News

I purchased an Alltrax SR-72500 Series Motor Controller (SR72500) and a Albright SW180 48 volt Solenoid Kit with a resistor and diode. I missed a call from D & D Motor Systems regarding the solenoid kit. I called back and left a voice mail and later followed up in an email with details for what I was using it for.

A few magazines arrived.

  • Hope on Wheels: New Cars for the Gasless Era, Douglas Bartholomew, New York Magazine, May 21, 1979, pages 38 – 42
  • The Electric Tropica, Frank Markus, Car and Driver, March 1994, pages 95-97
  • A Shocking Discovery, Pat Foster, Hemmings Classic Car, September 2018, page 38
WAYPOINTODOMETERDISTANCE
Home1,115.3
C & C Frozen Treats1,119.64.3
Post Office1,120.40.8
Home1,124.64.2
Total9.3
RECHARGEENERGYCOSTDURATION
RatekWh9.85¢0.59 mph
Total2.35 kWh23.9¢15:52
Per Mile253 Wh2.6¢01:42
Trips

Gazebo Gatherings Summer Concert Series Season Finale

Leave a comment
Gear lubricant draining from differential

I’ve been trying to flush the differential fluid in my cars axle. It’s been more than six months since the car came off of the production line in 1976. I’ve been unable to do it without the proper tools to open the fill plug.

My Allen wrenches arrived today. I opened the drain plug and removed all of the differential fluid. After cleaning the plug, I tightened it back on and started pouring gear lubricant into the fill plugs hole. A quart was not enough. I put in an order for some more and filled the old bottle back up with the fluid that just came out.

Drain Plug5/16″ hex
Flow Plug3/8″ hex
Fluid75W-90, 1½ quarts
Gear Lubricant

SIX MONTHS AFTER PURCHASE AND EVERY SIX MONTHS THEREAFTER

* Check differential fluid level. Use 90 weight Hypoid gear oil. Fill to top. In cold weather lighter weight fluid may be used. It is not advisable to mix different weights. When changing types of oil, flush system. Use no lighter than 30 weight oil.

Section III – Maintenance, Sebring-Vanguard, CitiCar 1976 ½ Owners Manual, page 21-22

Teddy and I hopped into the car with a destination of Gertrude Miller Community Park. I positioned the dash cam so that it had both Teddy and myself in full view, as well as the dashboard. I heard something wearing a bit along the way. I wasn’t sure if it was the rear driver breaks, the motor, or something to do with the differential.

We spent some time at the park and then headed to Advance Auto Parts to pickup the gear lube. I brought the old bottle back with the 45 year old oil that came out of the car. They had me follow them into the back of the store and dump it into a large metal bin with a mesh over the opening. They wouldn’t take the container itself.

ICE parking at an EV charging station

With that, we headed over to the town square, only to find a large event with live music playing. It was the big summer season finale of the towns summer concert series. Vinyl Tracks was playing Beatles songs in the gazebo.

While looking for parking, I saw a big ICE truck parked at an EV Charging space. I got a little annoyed that this vehicle was ICEing an EV charging spot. Although the CitiCar that I was driving is an EV, I wouldn’t park there unless I was using the charger. No parking was available at the town square, so we went to another parking lot nearby and came back to enjoy the park.

Blue Ridge Arts Council Flyer for 2020 Summer Concert Finale featuring Vinyl Tracks
Social distancing at a concert

The concert was enjoyable to listen to as we walked through the park. Everyone was spread out and practicing social distancing. A few people wore masks. We walked past someone enjoying the music from their car.

Teddy and I went across the street to get some ice cream at C & C Frozen Treats. The little shop was packed with people due to the concert across the street. We didn’t bother going inside.

Ice Cream!!!

On the way home, I saw an ice cream truck in my community. I stopped the CitiCar on the side of the street and waved the truck down. I purchased an ice cream sandwich that looked like a big Oreo cookie. I got my ice cream after all!

Differential flow plug on a CitiCar

We arrived home at last. I checked the mileage, voltage, reset the kilowatt meter, and plugged in the battery chargers. The axle was a bit hot. I gave it some time to cool down. I came back and topped off the gear lubricant in the differential pan through the flow plug.

Video

CitiCar trip to the park
WAYPOINTODOMETERDISTANCE
Home1,106.6
Gertrude Miller3.2
Advance Auto Parts1.2
Town Square0.4
Home1,115.33.9
Total8.7
RECHARGEENERGYCOSTDURATION
RatekWh9.85¢0.60 mph
Total2.30 kWh23.4¢14:30
Per Mile265 Wh2.7¢01:40

Other News

The motor bumper arrived today as well as a torque wrench.

I had made about 15% profit in my dividend portfolio that I started out late last year. I sold off everything I had invested in it, so that it only consists of profit now. I’m investing the majority of the money into my other portfolio consisting of disruptive tech and a couple EV companies that I follow almost daily.

Things Mentioned

Mobil1 Synthetic Gear Lubricant LS 75W-90, 1 Quart
REXBETI Hex Key Allen Wrench Set, SAE Metric Star Long Arm Ball End Hex Key Set Tools, Industrial Grade Allen Wrench Set, S2 Steel
TEKTON 3/8 Inch Drive Click Torque Wrench (10-80 ft.-lb.) | 24330
Blue Ridge Arts Council (BRAC)
Vinyl Tracks
Klondike OREO® Sandwich
Club Car Electric GE Motor Bumper (Fits 1982-Up)
AUKEY Mini Dash Cam 1080p Full HD Dash Camera with 1.5” LCD Screen Car Camera with 170° Wide-Angle Lens, G-Sensor, WDR, Motion Detection, and Clear Night Recording

Trips

Downtown Expedition

Leave a comment
The CitiCar parked in an unusual spot

It’s been a long week. The weekend is upon us. Although it’s mostly cloudy, it’s a beautiful day out with warm weather. After finding my keys buried in the couch, Teddy and I hopped into the cheese and ran off to the park. Our first stop, like always, was to our local park, Gertrude Miller Community Park.

It’s fun being in such a tiny car. We were able to maneuver into a small area that isn’t wide enough for most cars to park. It was also at a convenient spot where we had enough area to do a U-turn and be on our way.

Teddy wading in Happy Creek

Teddy will often find his way to the Happy Creek river that runs in between Lions Park and Gertrude Miller Community Park. I let him wade around in a low spot and watch him drink some of the water to help keep him cool.

Lions Park Observation

On the other side of Happy Creek river, there is a little observation deck that he likes to hop up on as well.

Fantasy Land playground looks like a castle

We walked around Lions Park, sat in the shade, and then walked past Fantasy Land playground on the way back to the car. Just looking at the castle made me want to be a kid again.

As noon approached, it was time to cool down with a nice cup of ice cream. We drove over to the Front Royal town square. Our favorite ice cream man at C & C Frozen Treats across the street was happy as always to see us visit his establishment for “essential supplies”. I purchased a quart of Diary Free Blueberry Cheesecake to bring home, and Teddy got a scoop for himself.

Teddy and I went back over to the town square to find some shade and to do a few tricks. He’ll do anything for a treat, and ice cream is one of his favorites.

SitDownHead Down
NudgeScratchPaws Up
OffPlay DeadRoll Over
BackComeLeave It
WaitBalanceSpeak
LeftRightTouch
Teddy’s tricks
An old caboose from another time

Afterwards we walked around the town square a little bit. The Front Royal visitors center is an old train station, and a Norfolk & Western Cupola Caboose sets in the park. It’s locked off, so you can’t go inside. Usually kids like to play around it, climbing the steps and pretending to ride. It’s been inoperable for a long time, and grass has grown up over the tracks.

The gazebo in Front Royal town square

One of the main attractions in the park is the town center gazebo. Many bands have sat within the gazebo performing for the local community.

The center of the gazebo has a plaque with an inscription about a time capsule buried beneath. Who knows what treasures it contains?

We found a new mural on the side of one of the buildings. I decided it was time to continue our adventure and have a closer look.

@ARTbyAmandaHorn
#ManorLineMarket
#WingsProject

This mural lets you become a part of it. If someone takes your picture standing in front of the wings, you can see what you look like with wings. It’s always a treasure to find these murals around Front Royal. One day we’ll find them all. This one also had bee’s flying around.

Inklings is the newest store in town

As we took a walk down main street, Teddy and I found an interesting little pet friendly shop called “Inklings“. It used to be occupied by an art gallery. We went inside to have a look around. The woman inside offered Teddy a treat. I had him do a little performance for her. I grabbed a bar of soap to remove elbow grease with Rosie the Riveter saying “We Can Wash It!”. In addition, a cup with Lewis Carol on it and quotes from Alice In Wonderland caught my eye.

Teddy at Mountain Trails

Main street was closed to traffic so that establishments could use the area to help keep people spread apart. We crossed over and headed towards a hiking store called Mountain Trails. The Appalachia Trail runs through our little city, and many hikers and locals stop by for supplies. A mural of the Appalachia Trail is painted on the side of the building next to its entrance.

The staff were already familiar with Teddy. We hadn’t been there in such a long time, and they were asking to see him do a few tricks. I mentioned he wasn’t going to do them without a reward. A woman offered a treat, but he would only sit. He wouldn’t do the trick to play dead when she asked. I asked for one of the treats and had him doing a bunch of tricks to everyone’s admiration.

Since I had lost quite a bit of weight, I picked up a lightweight Charcoal El Mono T-Shirt by the Howler Brothers. It has a better fit and is ideal for the late summer heat. They threw in a free coffee flavored cliff bar with my purchase.

Time was moving fast. Even though we parked in the shade, I felt that our ice cream back in the car was going to melt if we took too long. We returned home and I got to unpack all of my loot for the day.

The Local Loot

View a map of Front Royal, Virginia

WaypointOdometerDistance
Home1,069.3
Gertrude E Miller Community Park1,072.22.9
Front Royal Town Square1,073.31.1
Home1,077.03.7
Total7.7
CitiCar odometer readings for a trip to the park and ice cream store
RechargeEnergyCost
RatekWh$0.0985
Total2.37 kWh24.1¢
Per Mile308 Wh3.1¢
Cost to recharge the CitiCar batteries

Trips

Royal Excursion

Leave a comment

The sun is out in the middle of a hot July summer day. Lazily getting up, it took my time enjoying the weekend morning. I had plans to pickup an office desk. I got into my 2004 Ford Explorer SUV and found that I couldn’t get the vehicle to recognize that the gear had shifted out of park. Unfortunately, my hybrid 2010 Honda Insight car is also inoperable. Due to the pandemic, I haven’t driven it for a few months and the battery has died. The only operational vehicle at the moment is… the CitiCar. Really? This?!? At least I’m within range of a couple auto-parts stores.

After calling around and making a few arrangements due to my predicament, it was time to enjoy the rest of the day. Teddy and I hopped into our little electric car and started driving. The right rear brake had a sound that concerned me, so I made a few adjustments back in the driveway and continued on again.

We visited both Gertrude E. Miller Community Park and walked over a little bridge to Lions park across river. Teddy waded in the Happy Creek river a little bit and started laying down when he realized we were about to leave. I’ll admit, if it were cooler, we would have stayed longer. I was getting hot, thirsty, and wasn’t inclined to drink and wade in the river.

1976 CitiCar at Front Royal Town Square

We drove over to pick up Ice Cream. Just like last week, Main street was blocked off. It probably put on an extra mile on the odometer, but the car seemed fine on battery charge, setting on the third tick of five, when we parked. Teddy had some dairy-free strawberry mint ice cream as a reward for doing a few of his tricks in some shade at the town square. We could see the ice cream man and his wife, while dressed as pirates, had stopped by the car to check it out.

On the way home, I had some concerns regarding how much load I was putting on the battery as we were on one of the last inclines. We stopped on a side street just before continuing home. Teddy and I had a bit of a serious discussion regarding the batteries and how much power the motor was drawing. After a minute or two, with clear traffic, we pulled out and continued on our way.

As I held down the breaks for a couple minutes going down hill, I was thinking of how much power was being wasted. Ideally, I could just let off the brakes and coast all the way home, but I wouldn’t even attempt that in my hybrid car with regenerative breaking. As we coasted into the garage, I could hear the motors fan blowing and wondered if I should leave the power on to help it cool off. I also considered if I should wait before charging the car.

In all, we go just under nine miles on our trip from a full battery. The fuel gauge read at 50%, half way between the red dot and the next tick. The owners manual states that the red dot indicates a ¼ charge. We could have probably gone an extra mile or two before fully depleting the battery.

WaypointOdometerDistance
Home1,060.5
Back to Driveway1,060.70.2
Gertrude E Miller Community Park1,063.73.0
Front Royal Town Square with detour1,065.61.9
Side Street1,068.22.6
Home1,069.31.1
Total8.8
CitiCar odometer readings for a trip to the park and ice cream store
RechargeEnergyCost
RatekWh$0.0985
Total2.71 kWh27.5¢
Per Mile308 Wh3.1¢
Cost to recharge the CitiCar batteries
Trips

Ice Cream Run

Leave a comment

Another day of fun on the road. At the moment, my “normal” car has a dead battery, and the SUV has a problem with the gear shift stuck in park. I had some diary-free coffee ice cream waiting for me at the local ice cream shop with only one way to get there…

The prior trip downtown enlightened me as to the shortest route, traffic, hills, breaking, speed of various gears, and how to compensate for the terrain. I decided to go the route that took me 3.5 miles to get home (according to google map directions). The total trip would be estimated at under 7 miles, with a mile of range left for extra cushion.

Teddy and I hopped into the car and we were on our way. There were a few things I did to help us go further listed in the extending range page.

Keeping an eye on the speedometer, second gear tended to top out at 18 mph, and third brought the speed up to 32 mph. Ideally, I would like the car to go faster, but not until I make more adjustments to the breaks and change over to radial tires.

The late summer heat tends to build up, and the windows don’t give much ventilation. It would be preferable to have later models where the window can slide down into the door. I may get a little fan with a 12v adapter.

I arrived at the town center gazebo and parked across from the Front Royal visitors center. The trip downtown felt pretty comfortable and I knew what to expect with the drive compared to the maiden voyage. I had more than half of my battery capacity left, and was at ease knowing I wouldn’t have problems going back home.

Teddy and I got our ice cream, and there was plenty of room behind the seats to put our coveted ice cream. We walked around the park area a little before we headed back home. The ride back was better as well. Rather than hearing the motor struggle and losing speed as the battery lost its voltage, the car operated just fine given the new strategy of driving.

Arriving home, we pulled in and voltage meter in the instrument cluster on the dashboard was showing the fuel at two thirds capacity. I hooked up the battery chargers which reported three batteries at 12v, one at 12.1v, and the accessory battery at 12.6v. The chargers combined registered as using 313 watts on the KILL A WATT meter. The batteries were fully recharged the next day, within 18 hours after the trip.

WaypointOdometerDistance
Home1,041.5
C&C Frozen Treats1,045.43.9
Home1,049.33.9
Total7.8
Odometer readings for a round-trip to the local ice cream store
RechargeEnergyCost
RatekWh$0.0985
Total2.62 kWh26.6¢
Per Mile336 Wh3.4¢
Cost to recharge the CitiCar batteries