Pommes Sauvages – Redoux
Mongo had finished all the apples again. Dad and he were finishing a walk back from the school, when Dad led him over to the apple tree again. Mongo just stared at Dad reluctantly as Dad leapt over the bar ditch once again.
“It’s OK buddy. It’s pitch black and rainy. There won’t be any yellow jackets around tonight.” Hubris hung heavy in the air.
Hudo to Undergo Overhaul in Charlotte, NC
Heidi had been enjoying her trip down the East Coast of the US. As one might expect from an octagenarian on an around-the-world-voyage, Hudo has had some issues. In Wilmington NC, Hudo experienced technical difficulties. Though the preliminary diagnosis was a thrown rod, upon disassembly it appeared that Hudo re-ingested a piston ring. Looking at the pictures, the engineering team at Mongolope.com found the damage to be unusual because how did the piston ring get above the cylinder wall to cause so much damage?
Hudo was reassembled and according to the Instagram posts, failed his shakedown drive. Further inspection showed damage to the connecting rod journals. Loose journal bearings could allow the piston to transit out of the cyclinder at TDC and catch a ring on the edge on the way down. Based on the new findings, Mongolope.com’s engineering division is glad that Heidi is investing in an overhaul of Hudo’s crankshaft and journal bearings before they continue their journey.
However, Hudo only had 15,000 miles since the overhaul in Germany. Heidi feels the short life on the engine calls into question the quality of the “overhaul” Hudo received in Germany. Regardless, Hudo and Heidi cannot continue without the bottom end of the engine being reworked. So Hudo has been loaded into a trailer for transport to Charlotte NC. Heidi is now very grateful to be piloting a loaner MG around Charlotte while she awaits the completion of Hudo’s rebuild. Since Charlotte is home to the Charlotte Motor Speedway, we hope Hudo will be able to find the very best of care in the “Queen City”. We wish Heidi and Hudo a speedy recovery from this delay, and all the best on the rest of their journey.
(Note: Some inaccuracies in the above summary may be due to my poor skills at translating German. However, the the team at Mongolope.com is also available to mistranslate several other languages at exorbitant rates in addition to mistranslating German )
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- Heidi in an MG
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- Hudo on the way to Charlotte via trailer
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- Damaged connecting rod journal bearings
See Heidi’s site for up to the minute information.
Pommes Sauvages – Continued
Mongo learns quickly, maybe quicker than Dad. They was almost out of apples at the house. As Dad, Spork, and Mongo exited the school yard, they crossed the road to the wild apple tree. Dad dropped the leashes and leapt over the bar ditch to the base of the tree. He turned around to look behind him.
Mongo stood on the other side of the road, giving Dad a dubious look that said, “No way, Jose!”
“Not taking any chances with yellow jackets, eh buddy?” Dad began to gather apples. Read More…
Pommes Sauvages
Mongo loves apples. When he and Dad go on walks, Mongo will scoop the ground apples up from under the neighborhood trees and bring them home for snacks. Dad will typically grab a couple of apples off the overhanging branches as they walk by, and put them away for Mongo treats.
Today, Dad and Mongo learned the downside of feral apple gathering. Mongo and Dad stopped under a tree to pick up some treats, but they were not the only ones to have that idea.
Heide Continues to Explore Wilmington NC
Heidi and Hudo are still in Wilmington NC, where Hudo has experienced technical difficulties. They have found wonderful support in NC from mechanics and machine shops. Hudo finally has a new piston in his block. We wish Heidi and Hudo a speedy recovery from this delay, and all the best on the rest of their journey.
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- Old Piston (alte Kolben)
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- New Piston (neue Kolben)
Howl-o-ween Aftermath 2015
Cleaning up after Mongo’s Halloween was not as easy as Dad had first expected. Mongo likes baths so that wasn’t the problem. Actually, Mongo is not that crayzy about the bath part, but he likes getting toweled off after baths, so he tolerates the bath part.
However, it took two shampoos to get the black hair paint off of Mongo. Interestingly, the area where he accidentally got hair sprayed took extra scrubbing beyond the two shampoos to come clean. That hairspray was resilient stuff; certainly more than a match for Seattle’s wintry weather!
When Mongo was all cleaned up, the hair-paint left a ring around the tub that Dr. Seuss would have been proud of.
Bath tub ring worthy of Cat in the Hat
Howl-o-ween 2015
It was a dark and stormy night in Seattle… So not very many trick-or-treater’s came by Mom-mom’s house for candy, even though she had bought the giant economy size box. And the lack of visitors was a shame because Mongo was wearing a very exciting Halloween costume. After trying on several different costumes, like a dragon or a soccer player, Dad decided that a cloth costume was not going to work. Poor Mongo tripped on the soccer jersey sleeves, and looked very unhappy. And the dragon head flopped over Mongo’s head, making it very hard for him to see, so he bumped into walls and furniture.
So Dad got on the internet and found the things he would need to make a really cool costume for Mongo.
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- Tiger hunting for treats
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- Tiger waiting for treats
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- TIger looking for treats
Mongo’s gallery
Mongolope 
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