Refueling

Bay City, Texas

Weather: low 45 degrees, high 74 degrees, clear skies

The last two days, the weather has been the kind of weather that folks in this area look forward to in the fall: cool mornings, warm afternoons, clear skies, and no wind. It’s the kind of weather that makes a person want to be outside.

Daylight saving time switched back to the old time this morning, but I woke up at 0300 hours, well before the alarm went off at 0400. I don’t know about everyone else, but I would rather leave the time at one or the other, than to have these changes every spring and fall. Now it’s going to take me a couple of weeks to adjust.

The project at work is moving along, and the few issues we still have to resolve are not nearly as difficult as the ones we had earlier. The station began loading fuel into the reactor today, and that should complete in a couple of days. By the end of this next week, we should be placing the new reactor head on the reactor vessel and making the final preparations to perform the testing of all the new components that will have been installed. Start up of the reactor will not be far behind, and electricity will begin flowing again to over one million homes and businesses.

When I came to work today, a beautiful full moon was hanging in the pre-dawn darkness, which reminded me that Halloween was last night. The last few years, we have been in parks where there were not any children, so the day has tended to become a non-event for us. This year, I heard of a new way of allowing children to partake in trick or treating that has started, where groups of parents will gather in a church or other parking lot and have what is called “Trunk or Treat”. The parents raise the trunk or open the back doors of their vehicles and play host to the little trick or treaters like that, instead of going through neighborhoods with them. I’ve heard several people say that they don’t partake in giving out treats anymore because of the potential liability that might arise. It’s a shame that things have gotten to this point, because when our kids were at home, they enjoyed going around the neighborhood and getting all sorts of goodies. It’s good to know that some parents are still trying to do something for their kids on this day of fun.

More later, be safe.

Today’s Town – Niagara Falls, New York: Cataract City

Not all who wander are lost.