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This past Independence Day weekend was all about the boom! I took a personal day on Monday so I could enjoy a long, four-day weekend. It was a nice weekend, too.
On Sunday, with Tina’s help, I added a 12″ subwoofer and 200 watt (RMS) amplifier to the truck’s new stereo. I drilled my first hole in the truck, too, a 7/16-inch hole in the firewall for an 8-gauge power cable from the battery. I put a nice plastic grommet in the hole and fed the cable through it. Before I put the carpet back and re-attached the kick panel, I smeared a bunch of silicone sealant around the hole to keep out any moisture or insects. Then it was simply a matter of running the cable under the door sill to the back of the truck. I also ran the signal cables and remote wire to the back of the truck, being careful to keep the signal cables from the power and remote wires. It was getting too dark to see, so I gave up for the day. But Monday morning I was back at it. A few crimps here, a few more crimps there… here a crimp, there a crimp, everywhere a crimp crimp. I made a ground to the chassis thanks to a seat bolt, and when I turned the ignition key to ACC, the amp fired up. That 12″ Pioneer subwoofer started booming to The Crystal Method‘s Vegas. Sweet!
I made a trip into town to fill the propane tank for a little Independence Day grilling on the patio. Since I was in town, I stopped by work and picked up the CHMSL (third brake light) I ordered to replace the broken one in the truck’s canopy. I also stopped at Albertsons for some grilling food; a couple of thick sirloin steaks, hamburger, corn on the cob, buns, chips, Pepsi, and some Snapple. When I got home, I decided to install the new CHMSL, again with Tina’s help. It was surprisingly easy, but it’s still a little unnerving to see the tail lights removed from the truck. When I was done, though, both corner brake lights worked, and the third brake light on the canopy also worked.
Tuesday brought more boom! Mother Earth and Mother Nature refused to be outdone by our Nation's birthday celebration. There was a 3.6 magnitude earthquake that boomed just off the tip of Vancouver Island, Canada, which Whidbey Islanders felt. Later in the evening, there was brief rain shower that brought some distant thunder booms.
Of course, once it was dark outside, the fireworks started booming in the night sky. Surprisingly, the fireworks didn’t last much past 11:30pm. Normally, we hear fireworks well past midnight, but not this year. I guess it was a little too cold outside.
In all, it was a very nice weekend. I’m looking forward to early Semptember when I’ll try to weasel another personal day to turn Labor Day into a 96-hour “goodbye to Summer” weekend.
