goat365

The obligatory stay in Fort Worth recommendation!

Walkable, safe downtown, lots of good restaurant options, and enough fun things to get into.

If she knows Dallas well, it will create a different set of expectations...you will not have to compete with the way she has seen Dallas before.

The best option that you can get for a pool is someone else to take care of it.

Taking care of the pool zaps ALL of the enjoyment out of it.

So just budget in a couple hundred dollars a month for life for the pool guy, and put away a couple hundred more for broken pumps/equipment and the resurface that is necessary every 10-12 years.

I just had a resurface done...$13K. I have had 2 vacuum robots break, so I am on my third...$1400/ea. I have 2 pumps running my pool, they have each been replaced in the last 10 years...$1K/ea.

So just budget $400/mo in pool guy and repair slush fund. On top of the $125K it is going to take to put in a nice pool!

I was really close to just filling it in instead of resurfacing...$400/mo is a lot of fun money going into something that we use 15-20 times a year (twice a week during the Summer).

I am going to ask you to consider this situation:

16 year old daughter had $6K saved for her car. (10 years ago)

She could purchase a 10 year old used vehicle for $6K with unknown history and almost guaranteed maintenance costs and probably a set of tires before she got out of high school.

Or

I could lease a brand new, under warranty, Chevy Equinox for $0/down, $150/mo.

What makes the most financial sense for someone with a fixed income where every dollar matters?

This was a real situation...she made the $150/mo payment and knew EXACTLY what her car was going to cost her every month, and it eliminated any risk that I had to cover any maintenance that she could not afford.

Every situation is different, but in this case, a new Chevy Equinox made more financial sense than a 10 year old VW Passat.

If you have the ability...build your charging station in an out building (workshop or barn) and store in a vented metal box.

I know 2 people who had fires start in their garage due to plugged in tool batteries. One had camera footage of the the thing just sparking and starting to burning out of the blue in the middle of the day.

Do the research...there are TONS of people who keep them on the charger in the garage without incident, but there is also a large number of reported fires that have started as a result.

Bowman Lake was such a cool experience.

Getting there is an adventure, hour to an hour and a half on unpaved forest service roads...feels like the middle of nowhere...I think we passed one truck headed the other way from us.

Polebridge was a cool little place. Two little shops, and two food choices. We rented a canoe from one of the shops there.

Leaving Polebridge to the lake was the bumpiest 40+ minute drive I have ever been on. Potholes that literally swallowed cars. We were in a Wrangler, and it was tossing us back and forth the entire way as we weaved around rough spots.

But, once you get up there, it is so quiet. We were the only canoe on the lake that day, so it was a cool experience. You could see some people hiking the trails, but it was very few when we went. A family of 6 spent about a half hour at the lakefront, other than that, we didn't really see anyone else.

You are remote...if possible bring protection from bears. Especially in June, that is cub season. And I am not talking about bear spray. We saw 3 bears on that trip in the park...some really far away, but at Bowman Lake, you are on your own. Also, the mesquitos and bugs are big enough to drag you away if they wanted!

However...we have some amazing memories and pictures from that day!

Check your rental agreement...it may specifically state you cannot cross the border.

Getting into Red Rock Amphitheater is an intermediate level hike in itself...hahaha

I cant tell you how many people we passed on the way in who had to stop and take a break.

Stribog SP9A3...very accurate and reliable. Some have had issues with the mags hanging up, but I have never had a single issue.

As to people asking why anyone would want these kinds of firearms...two hands on the firearm and 9MM makes them practically zero recoil. You have the ability to fire as fast as you can pull the trigger with very little reset on the target. They are also easy to maneuver in hallways or doorways while being very close to firing position.

It is an amazing experience. Small FOB for security...no line. Easy on and taking off 10 minutes later. Your bags are waiting for you as you get down the stairs off the plane.

The routes that fill up are expensive...as they should be...people are willing to pay. You are definitely paying for that convenience.

However, value can be found. We have used them to fly Dallas to Denver a few times for only like $200-225/ticket more than the American Airlines flight. ABSOLUTELY worth that. We left our driveway in mid-cities DFW and were in our rental car in Denver in 3.5 hours total travel time. Cant beat that...

I agree...I just don't get the love for hot honey by so many. My wife loves it, but I have never tried it on anything that I thought it made it better. I just don't want "sweet" on my pizza, burgers, wings, etc.

Along the same line, but off topic, any kind of jam doesn't belong on a burger!