1st Gen. Lunch Table - General Discussion

All my in-laws are in England. Been to London many times. It’s very expensive. And lodgings are super tiny. Depending on the ages of your kids, it can be a lot of fun, but it will cost you a mint. A lot of places have English as a primary or everyone-knows language.

If you decide to do it, lmk ages and interests, we’ll give you a good start on a things-to-do list.

 

Iceland was awesome. I mean, if you’re rolling in dough, your kid like European destinations, and you prefer English language.

We did the train through the Chunnel to Paris, and it was fun as a checklist item, but underwhelming. Several tunnels with total blackout, then your ears pop and you realize this it the tunnel !!! and you’re under the channel. Don’t get me wrong, we were all into doing it— read about how it was built… left one of the digging machines down there… but it wasn’t worth picking a destination over.

 

@Festerw London and surrounds us a great trip with lots to do! History and art, and in London proper, lots of good food. I’m not trying to rain on your parade.

 

You saved it at White Barons.

 

Wife and I went back mid 80's. In fact the month before the "Royal Wedding"! Flew from NY, landed in Heathrow, spent 3 days in London, went to several of the many WWII museums. Pubs, great food & beer.. Over the course of the next 10 days we went up one side of the country, over the top, and down the other. We had First Class Brit Rail passes. Make sure you buy them here, I went to AAA, they have them. It will cost a 1/3 of what it does there to purchase. We stayed at Bed & Breakfast Inns all over the country. Was the 2nd best trip we ever took!
Britrail & B7B's rock!!
No matter what you do, it will be quite enjoyable.

 

Canada? Baby steps eh? j/k

Buddy rented one of those canal boats - RV on the water. Seemed to really enjoy it, but I'd want to be more urban than that in the UK.

 

That's what I told myself. "I'll get out of the country before I'm 25!"

Vancouver it was. But I made it out of the country before 25.

 

Do it!! I went there in late March 2019 with wife and youngest daughter. Ranks up there with the best of our memories. You can do it on a budget if you plan ahead. Groupon has a site in the UK. I booked two different full day tours (Viator) through the site and saved a ton. We went to Stonehenge, Bath, Stratford and the Cotswolds on one tour then Leeds Castle, Canterbury, Dover & Greenwich on another. There were plenty of others to choose from. I must say I was skeptical about doing any bus tour but as fate would have it, the buses we were on were less than 1/4 full and the guides were awesome. And the bonus for us was perfect weather (never a given). I also scored some big discounts on other sightseeing related things through Costco Travel. You can get restaurant deals on Groupon as well. We rented a Flat in Chelsea through Air B&B and yes, it was on the small side but served us well and the location was perfect. We were there during all the Brexit mayhem and actually immersed ourselves in the crowd. It did get a bit overwhelming after awhile but was very peaceful. We did many other memorable things. Spend the time doing your research and it will pay off.

 

Try a fish hook...

 

When I had to compile my travel history for a security clearance, I was surprised to discover that I had 44 Heathrow stamps on my passport! So I guess I've been to London once or twice. In fact I've traveled all over Europe the best way...using someone else's money. London is a great trip all things considered. Sure it's expensive, and the food sucks, but it just oozes history at every turn. Touristy things to do: London Tower; Victoria and Albert Museum; British Museum; Hyde Park (et al); Westminster Abbey.

 

I guess I should've mentioned we've traveled to Toronto a handful of times. I kind of forget about it since it's an easy 3ish hour drive.

We've had a pretty good time doing the hop on/hop off trolleys in a few different cities so that's for sure on the docket, then we figure out where we want to go and look for discount tickets online.

Hotels weren't too terrible once I looked outside of the city center. Tower bridge area seems more reasonable without being too far removed from easy movement via transit.

Appreciate all the suggestions so far, given me a lot of things to look at.

 

So I read your son is 14. Other kids, ages, interests?

The Shard (super high, looks over London) was cooler than anticipated… probably for any age. I’d choose it over the London Eye. Imo, this’d be more fun after a couple of days exploration, so you can look down and recognize places you’ve been.

By contrast, in Paris, I recommend the Arc de Triomphe be the first place you visit. Paris is a big circle, with this in the center. So you can see outward to all the arrondisements, get a sense of how the place is laid out. In addition to being a great place to check out the city, I felt it helped me keep oriented. Wherever I was, I could look at the Eiffel Tower and other points I had seen from the Arc, and orientate.

We’ve never gone to the Tower of London, but always wanted to— torture and prison history + the Crown Jewels. Unless you’ve got a little one, this’d be a good stop. In Paris, we stayed with a friend that guided us, so we had a great experience. We went in early July… many Parisians leave for their own holidays during the summer, so there’s fewer people, and we were not treated rudely. The *best* ice cream in Paris Berthillon— on Ile Saint Louis. Near Notre Dame cathedral, which is being rebuilt after fire, so I don’t know what’s open. But that ice cream is worth a hike. The cathedral we loved most Sacre-Coeur. You can see it from below, and when you’re there, see a lot of view from that vantage point.

Yes, the Eiffel Tower! I recommend getting tickets for timed entry. I also suggest going up the elevator, but walk down at least a few flights of stairs.

I saw someone up a ways recommended the catacombs in Paris. We felt opposite and wish we had not gone. There was graffiti; broken skulls, damaged by vandals; chain link fences erected throughout to try to curb damage— all of us were really bummed about humanity, due to the lack of respect for the dead on display here. Anyway. Offered so you can weigh it out based on your own family’s viewpoints.

For museums in Paris, my kid is a history buff… and we’ve always traveled by a no-more-than-one-museum-every-three-days rule… and sometimes let him pick. In 2017 he picked L’Armée museum. It was outstanding! We’ve visited many military history museums over the years and found that many (this one… and the British War Museum in Manchester especially) do a great job of presenting everything else that was happening in the backdrop of war. I recommend this one, if you’re not going to do the famous art museums.

Back to London: The Harry Potter Experience is nearby, good if your kids are fans. Or, if you decide to stay inside London, you may pass through King’s Cross station, look for the marked platform 9 3/4… which secret opening only works when the train is due to depart, of course.

Of the British War museums (there are 3: Manchester was excellent! for adults and kids; by comparison, the London one is pretty “history” focused… lol and probably only a good choice if your kids are really into history. A better choice to hold your kids’ interest would be the Science Museum, which is really good! Museums in London are typically free (or donation box), and museum cafeterias have really good, healthy, comparatively inexpensive food… with appetizing options for everyone.

Food in England is still real— made from healthy ingredients without you having to look at it. Breads don’t all have sugar… it all tastes different than our highly processed food here in the U.S. I’d say that the biggest error I’ve heard made about England (especially London) in recent decades— that food is boring. Only if you want it to be. London is now a food center— everything is good, except Mexican food; no one gets that right.

I’ve seen a show at the Old Globe theatre (built for people of another time… really uncomfortable seating… less room than cheap airline seating) and that was fun, but unless your kids are into theatre, I’d skip it. A far better show for teens, in my opinion, is Agatha Christie’s The Mouse Trap at St Martins Theatre, which is the longest running show in history. Who-done-it fun for lots of reasons plus, if any one in your group figures out who the baddie is before everyone else finds out, they’ll get a charge out of being a good detective. I really recommend this.

Hmmn. Lodging: we are fans of Ibis and related hotels. Rooms are small, but larger than many of the tiny older places in London proper. They’re conveniently located near transportation hubs, clean, and very quiet, which is a top requirement for me. Depending on how many people are in your family, and ages and responsibility level, it may make sense to book multiple rooms on the same hallway.

I’ve been to London many times so if you want more, or have questions, lmk.

 

Today I spotted a sweet First Gen Ridgeline 4x4 off-road.

 

Only a daughter, yup 14, one was enough.

Looks like we're off until June next year but I've got a lot of good ideas to look into.

 

Soak it in acetone.

 

So, some of you may remember I posted a photo and won the weekly challenge over at TW. I didn't really know what was going on, but got a bunch of pretty funny where TF are you memes because I didn't acknowledge my win and pick the next challenge fast enough. Can you guess? I forgot my judging was due today. And these guys like it early. How's 4PM PDST? Like 8-10 hours late. Threat of bans, yadda yadda. So I got it together and considered the submissions and picked a winner. Within 15 minutes, they were on that guy, 1-3 minutes the first post. Crazy town. I will never do that again, but why would I? One entry, one win. Mic drop.

 

rear bumper got rattle canned (not perfect. but better than the bumper missing paint)
and i put the axle back on just to get it out of my way.

need to find a diffuser.. i cant stand the big cans hanging out. (the factory thing that was there is long gone.. and man does it date the car)

 

I burned up my rear brake shoes with a dragging P brake cable. For rear brakes are you guys using OEM only? Powerstop or similar kit? I'll do drums while I'm in there.

 

I had bad luck with aftermarket drums, but pads were fine. The drums were only 6 months old, but they hopped when I applied the brakes.

 

I think most here are doing the OEM drums. Aftermarket have a tendency to come slightly warped even when new so I've read here. Not sure about the powerstop though since they are a premium brand.

I'm surprised you burned right through them. Last time that happened to me, either the drag was too light that it only overheated the drum but it didn't burn out the pads.

If it was bearing down hard, I generally pulled over and released the brake since it was obvious with the truck shaking.

 

I haven’t pulled them so I don’t know how bad they are. Maybe not burnt but started squeaking on occasion. What I did was I hung up the cable to get it out of the way for filling the diff. And then forgot it and drove 5/800 miles. It was like the e brake was partially engaged that time but not enough to feel it. I’ll inspect them maybe tomorrow to get a better idea. Thanks guys.

 

@Shifty' does.

 

If you don't want to remove them, you could try poking into the nozzles with a needle. Then cut some spare bulk hose and connect it to the nozzles and blow through that.

 

with the phone

 

He said in another post that he can't check the forum for about a week for some reason.

Could do the FJ cruiser sprayers. Nice spray pattern compared to the two straight streams on our trucks. Unless your 06 is different.

 

It's been awhile since I messed with mine and I kind of mangled one of them when I took them out, but it still stays in place. That's why I suggested the needle first, haha.

I want to say I had to use a pair of plyers on the retainers and they push up, you might need to turn the nozzle a bit when you push up so the retainers can go through. It's been a long time since I've done this so not 100%.

 

previous post reference. tundra2 asked how to get diff oil or something out of an Iphone. I thought acetone would do it.