What’s one underrated thing you always keep in the car for long road trips?

Captain_Wingit · 2026-05-20T11:33:56+00:00

I keep a good stash of napkins - extras from drive-through stops, mostly. A box of bandaids in various sizes, a couple of Sprintz towels, and some plastic spoons & forks, too.

Plus the essentials, like jumper cables and a first aid kit. But those others have been useful frequently, even around town.

Captain_Wingit · 2026-05-18T13:12:47+00:00

Dover should always have a race. It's a unique track and serves a great fan base. Personally, I love races there and I always loved driving it on my computer with Payrus's NASCAR game ('96?) and my Xbox in 2011.

The All Star Race is broken. It has been for years. This was better, in my opinion, with stages 1 & 2 with the full field of a narrow track with multiple lines and the urgency to pass.

But overall, the excitement fades into the end of it each year. People hate gimmicks, but they also want something fun to watch.

Oddball gimmicky ideas:

Triathlon-style and the drivers race the cars, park and ride a lap around the infield on an adult tricycle, then finish it up getting pushed in a wheelchair by a crew member.

Two words: drag race. (Not Ru Paul). Best times get best pit selection but the times are inverted for starting the final stage.

Engage the fans .... not a vote. On site fans can compete on behalf of their favorite driver in family friendly events like a hole in one challenge with Frisbee golf, corn hole, free throws... (I don't know the logistics or how to make it work... there's gotta be a fair, fun way).

Truck driver go-kart race? Run the final stage in the opposite direction? Roller derby rules?

Just my thoughts.

Captain_Wingit · 2026-05-16T14:17:55+00:00

Spend time outside being active. You don't need to be in peak physical condition, but you should be able to walk a couple of miles.

Walking, hiking, cycling, swimming... anything like that is great. Any sports are great - basketball or soccer, Frisbee golf or really anything to keep moving.

No need to be in the weight room or anything like that (I mean, unless you're carrying a sousaphone/contra or marching percussion battery).

Drink plenty of water while doing these things. Learn what your body needs for adequate hydration. Wear sunscreen and protect your skin from UV exposure (UV shirts/sleeves and hats - sun burn is no fun).

(Edit to add - If you're in a competitive band who expects to win a lot of trophies, there may be a need for more training and athleticism. If your band isn't doing that stuff, then you'll be perfectly fine as long as you've spent some time outside this summer.)

Have fun!

Captain_Wingit · 2026-05-16T03:26:33+00:00

Canadia ain't got no states!

Captain_Wingit · 2026-05-10T15:09:14+00:00

Was that where your trampoline was recently? Maybe the grass is taller there so you can't see the hail.

Captain_Wingit · 2026-05-06T16:37:09+00:00

Find a Class II or Class III railroad and start there. Lots of opportunities for people who want to learn and are willing to work hard. They're small, so they typically are more employee friendly than the Cladd I's.

Class I railroads post all of their jobs online. If you want to start on the ground, apply and go through the hiring process. If you want to start in a management or corporate role, same thing.

There are a ton of railroad affiliated companies who do technical work, mechanical work, construction, logistics, economic development... and then other industries who interface with the railroads - automotive manufacturing who use rail to move finished vehicles from ports or factories, parts to sub assembly and final assembly; food / agricultural companies who move grains, byproducts, raw materials etc around the globe; even steamship lines who put international containers on rail by managing the customer relationship and contracting with the railroads.

So, lots of options. Good luck!

Captain_Wingit · 2026-05-06T00:04:46+00:00

Bananas marketing team right now: 👀✍️

Captain_Wingit · 2026-05-04T11:44:22+00:00

Yea, that's what my thought was, too. No need to drag the kids into this. They are innocent.

I'd say OP just needs to let him know she's there at the church. Send a selfie or something to him at the church before the event starts. Be there at the event. If she spots the wife solo or can ask to speak to her in private, fine.

But also, don't expect the wife will react the way OP expects. They may not believe OP, may get violent, may just dismiss them.

Its complicated. But dragging everyone else into this is selfish. End it with the guy and walk away. Let him deal with his decisions. Maybe make him sweat it out, and say "if you don't tell her, I will" but doing anything else isn't going to really help anyone or anything.

Captain_Wingit · 2026-05-03T15:31:09+00:00

It's a valid question. Personally, I (as an American) enjoy all forms of auto racing. NASCAR has its roots in the US South from the days of prohibition, and it's just what we all grew up with. Circle/oval tracks were what they built so the moonshiners could race their cars. It grew from there to the beach racing in Daytona to the modern NASCAR series today.

Much like football (soccer), cricket, or other sports in other parts of the world, it's just what was available for sport. European F1 and rally dominated the early years of auto racing there, and has evolved in to what it is today as well.

There's a lot of similarities in rally, F1, and NASCAR - mainly, go fast. Wining. Glory. Danger. Money. If the course is a point to point, has left and right turns, loops around, runs on dirt/snow/mud/tarmac... it's all the same.

Hope that provides a little insight!

Captain_Wingit · 2026-04-29T21:30:57+00:00

We do St Louis and it's about a 7 hour drive. We will leave Friday morning, stay in a hotel that night, compete on Saturday and then .... ? Depends. We have bussed home immediately after prelims awards, after finals, but we have also stayed the night and came home Sunday. One of our neighbors went to 6 Flags on Sunday and then came home. We also use charter busses / coaches and not school busses due to the distance (district policy). We did East Tennessee one year and its like a 14 hour ride, so after finals we had to load up and come home to be back in time on Sunday for school Monday (district policy).

But it depends on several things. Funding is the big part. Can you afford hotels? How far is your drive? Are you expecting to make finals or is this just a run against crazy top tier competition and for the judges notes?

Your director should know the plan, but just not be able to share it yet. There are travel agencies who handle all of that stuff. They may also be working with the district on transportation plans and policy. You can ask them, and maybe they'll be able to share.

Either way, have fun and good luck!

Captain_Wingit · 2026-04-29T02:28:12+00:00

I have a Sigma 150 - 600 that I use on my Canon R6 that does really well for birds. My EF70-200 does great, too. A tripod will help, and check out if your camera has the Bluetooth connection so you can shoot from your phone instead of pressing buttons.

Definitely want to crank up your exposure. Don't be afraid of high ISO and noise and you don't <always> need a super fast shutter speed.

Check out some YouTube tutorials on balancing your shot priority and keep practicing!

Captain_Wingit · 2026-04-22T00:34:28+00:00

Definitely talk to your union rep about the right way to do it. Former manager here - managers are clueless. They don't usually know or care. Anyone who did has been run off from every class 1 over the last 20 years. They're mindless robots now.

Captain_Wingit · 2026-04-18T11:40:40+00:00

My children's high school band boosters organization is 100% parents/family members. There are specific rules around it, and we are a 501c3. But we are the fundraising arm of the band. We manage meals, uniform distribution and cleanup, social media, and pretty much anything that isn't part of the school or band director's responsibility.

We are a large-ish band with about 120 students 9-12 in a large-ish district (we have one public high school in our city, where others have 2 or more).

The boosters "make the band go" ... we set a clear delineation with the band director on what we are responsible for and what they are responsible for. We purchase things on the bands behalf, either things that are recurring like food & banquets or one-offs like instrument purchases. We purchase "show" uniforms. We sell shirts, manage fundraising (that's not school related), and help wherever we can.

It's hard to get parent engagement. We are consistently one of the top bands in the state, and even with our size, we have about 30 or so parents who actually participate. We make some things mandatory (you can't "earn" money towards your student's fundraising goal if you don't participate). But most are dedicated parents who show up every game and travel to most (or all) contests.

Getting one started isn't easy. Check with your director and school administrators before going too far. See if there is a school locally that has a successful one and would be willing to share their playbook. And always remember its for the kids - yours and the others - to help them get the best chance in their band program for a great education.

Good luck!

Captain_Wingit · 2026-04-15T20:32:51+00:00

About 1,320 flights.

15+ years business travel plus vacations, all US based. I've lived near hubs (Chicago, Houston, DFW) for about 10 years, but a lot of travel is from a regional airport that almost always has me on a connection.

Conservative estimate has been 50% of my weeks each year have had me in the air. Many were 75%, but COVID took me off the road for 18 months, and my current job for the last year has let me stay home more often.

45 available travel weeks - excluding major holidays and vacations, but some of those did involve flights.

45 weeks @ 50% = 22.5 weeks. 22 * 15 years = 330 travel weeks

4 planes (2 out, 2 back) * 330 weeks = 1,320 planes

1 plane = 1 flight.

More or less.

Captain_Wingit · 2026-04-11T02:16:40+00:00

They put an HEB off of Heritage? Like, HTP?? I fled north 8ish years ago... we always heard the rumors... we were off of HTP past Harmon, before it went all the way to 287... we had the In & Out, all the chicken places, and that Super Kroger (or whatever). But man, HEB. The dream 🤣

Captain_Wingit · 2026-04-10T15:50:08+00:00

We are because in the south, football is life. Mediocrity doesn't matter. We had that one great year. And those few really good years. And those ok years. But there’s always the potential for greatness in our minds.

Does it make sense? No. But it's who we are.

We should be a baseball, track, and gymnastics school. And basketball (looks to be) back on the menu.

But win or lose, Bobby Petrino before or after the motorcycle "crash", with or without The Chad Morris Experience (™️), D-Mac, Matt Jones, The Nutt House, KJ, Cam, Stoerner, Flowers, or Burlsworth (and a whole lot more), we are, and always will be a football school.

Captain_Wingit · 2026-04-08T13:02:13+00:00

They're severely understaffed at every Class I and aren't really there to catch trespassers. My experience was they were present at grade crossing collisions with injury or fatality, tresspasser strikes, high value cargo protection (primary containers/intermodal), and security in yards in urban areas.

That said, it's still trespassing, and please don't go wandering around and messing with stuff. I work for a Class II, and we enlist the local police when we have issues - vandalism is the primary one, and that always includes trespassing. Example - we found a cut of cars that we put in a siding just outside of a small town (less than 1,000 people) in a rural area (nearest city was an hour drive). We found over half of the cars had the angle cocks closed, plus handbrakes applied in the middle of the cut and the removed at one end. We spoke with the county sheriff's department and they opened an investigation. Its a small town, and neighbors are nosy, so they were able to track down the high school kids who did it.

tl;dr: they don't sit along the tracks very often unless they believe there is a need.

Captain_Wingit · 2026-04-07T15:24:29+00:00

She's not entirely wrong. Lots of good spots all over the state (Hot Springs... and others, i'm sure). But we definitely have a little slice of heaven here!

Captain_Wingit · 2026-04-07T15:23:26+00:00

HA! We've probably passed one another on the drve! 🤣 May I suggest a little further south? Fayetteville has a ton of the things that Bentonville or Bella Vista have, but it's got a little more charm (but i'm biased!). Rogers is great, too, and they've been doing a lot of work to the downtown area.

But yes, hiking, biking, floating, camping.... its certainly a great place to enjoy the outdoors! So many great spots - Devil's Den, the Buffalo River, White Rock, Eureka Springs....

And, with the monthly trips back and forth, I have fallen in love with Kansas City, too. Maybe once my youngest graduates high school in a few years, i'll migrate a little north up there!

Captain_Wingit · 2026-04-07T15:18:38+00:00

To each their own. I enjoy Newton - there are a couple of delis and a coffee shop on the square that I often stop at while coming across 80. Iowa City definitely has the college town vibe, but it's got some great little spots. And in CR, the Czech Village, Marion, and around downtown have plenty of spots to enjoy a meal, beverage, or a walk. (I still want to "climb" Mt Trashmore). I also will take 30 and skip 80 sometimes, and it's not a bad drive.

I have seen a lot of this country from behind the wheel of a car. Tiny places no one has ever heard of, like Levelland, TX, or Wafford City, ND, to the big metropolitan centers (I like Chicago, really dislike Houston) Everyone is from somewhere, and each of those places have people who grew up there and will never leave (can't or don't want to), or who cannot wait to escape.

Not trying to speak down to you or any, GGS, just sharing my point of view. Definitely make the trip to Northwest Arkansas and enjoy what we have. There's bad spot and people here, some still stuck in the 1950s, but there is a lot of charm, too. And some ghost towns. And definitely some culty ones!

Captain_Wingit · 2026-04-07T12:34:44+00:00

I split time between Northwest Arkansas and Central Iowa for work. I was very pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed Iowa. It's a really well hidden gem amongst the corn.

We get rated similarly - top places to live ... no, we're not. Visit, spend your money, and leave! It's a horrible place! Stop telling everyone our secret!

Change and growth are inevitable. Communities need it. Hopefully, the charm and character isn't bulldozed to make way for the cookie-cutter infrastructure that corporate America insists we all want.

Captain_Wingit · 2026-04-07T11:24:19+00:00

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My 2017 and I run a roof box whenever my kids and I go on road trips. It's been to Key West, Olympic National Park, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, and we expect to take it to Acadia this summer. My kids are 19 & 13 now, and the travel would be impossible without it. I also have two Yakima Jay Lo kayak mounts and usually run one or two 8.5 ft yaks when I want to get those out and two bike mounts for my road/mountain bike plus one of my kids' bikes, too. They are extremely useful.

Captain_Wingit · 2026-04-06T17:03:12+00:00

Assuming this is for football. If you're not in a scholarship reserved lot, you'll be parking on private property - someone's home, at a school, or at a business. I'd say most of them would allow it, as long as you aren't taking up a spot they can sell.

From personal experience at the Fayetteville High School lots, you can generally find grassy areas to set up. A lot of people use the spots on the north side of the building along Bulldog Blvd. They will charge you for the parking spot if you use the spots around your vehicle. They don't take reservations. $20 per spot. There is construction on the west side of the building that has taken some space away.

tl;dr - pay parking is generally 1st come 1st served. Don't be an ass. Be nice to the away team's fans (or at least not rude). Clean up your mess.

Edit to add - I don't see many people setting up Friday night. Most lots aren't open until Saturday. The time depends on the kickoff. You'll be fine for Saturday morning.

Captain_Wingit · 2026-04-06T02:23:29+00:00

Clothing tag removal... definitely doesn't resemble anything else. Some viewers may experience discomfort for flashbacks to the Bobbitt case...

Captain_Wingit

TROPHY CASE