I used to live/work in Hemet, CA - in the foothills of the San Bernardino mountains. All it took was about a half inch of rain to turn the streets into torrential floods, 12-15 inches deep flowing 20+ mph. Used to watch cars drive across intersections in town get swept across several lanes by the flash floods.
Desert drivers in the rain are like drunk pigs on ice...
I have a price hammered out for a new 2019 SLR with a local dealer - they have a "Stop Sell" order from Polaris. I cannot get my ride until after parts come in and the recall is handled.
I use an Urban Carry holster for a Ruger LC9s.
The Ruger is completely enclosed, yet accessible in a second. (They have sizes to fit most pistols or revolvers.)
Leather holster hangs from any belt, gun is concealed below your waistband. Going on 3 years with this, no one has picked up on my holster in slacks, jeans, or shorts. Very comfortable to wear.
Cost is reasonable too, about $65.
Worth a look.
we've been having a lot of rain the last few days. This is after an afternoon storm with the sun coming out just about an hour before sunset.
View is off our front porch here at the ranch atop Round Mountain in Elkins.
Personally, I hope they do not go with an automatic - that is the short road to getting rid of the 5-speed manual transmission.
The Captain seemed very positive last night...
Now we are waiting on the dealer to make us an offer.
Our Cubs won today with a walk-off homer in the 10th inning. Why should I care?
When the Cubs win, the Captain is happy!
Showed her the photos of the red pearl SLR and she agreed they were "very pretty"!!!
Maybe Ruby will be coming home sometime soon..... 
Got a tip that the dealership in Broken Arrow OK had a new 2019 SLR in red pearl - my local dealer in NW Arkansas has not been able to get one in, so I took the 130 mile ride to go see it - the ride was well worth it!
The new 2019 red is not like previous red pearl from 2015/16, and nothing like the sunset red from 2017/18. Closer to the original 2015 red, but not as much a primary color - it is a rather creamy red, and its character changes a bit depending on the lighting. I also took a test drive 
Dealer said that "the 19's seem to handle better than previous models." I have to agree, I've taken some extended test drives in 2017's and 2018's in the last few months, and this new one seemed very nice indeed. Acceleration and handling were excellent, there was little or no noise from the belt drive or bevel gear unit on acceleration or deceleration. Handling at highway speeds (up to 85 mph) was smooth and predictable and although I didn't get to wring it out, the bit of driving I got to do on some twisty roads seemed very well mannered (throwing it into a corner at 55 in a 35 zone makes the sales guy scowl, by the way! 
)
You might be wondering... Is this Ruby?!? I certainly hope so, but I need the Captain's blessing. Have to wait for the right moment... 1) to show her the pretty photos, and 2) the dealer has to get back to me on a package price b/c I want to add several color mods right off the bat. I told him that the local dealer had made me an offer - but the deal was virtually MSRP (less than 2% discount,) kind of a take-it-or-leave-it offer. Made sure he knew I came a long way to do business, and left him with the list of stuff I wanted and my email. Let's see how hungry he is!
I'm posting a few photos - and I'm convinced - this is the fastest red ever!!! 
Congrats to you @sideseatdriver! After 40 years in the classroom, I train teachers for a living now, so I know how hard you worked for this job!
My specialties are low-cost STEM and particularly astronomy and space science - so if I can be of any help to you, please do not hesitate to ask.
@dangerdarrell I love your wife's razorback slingshot! I work for the University and am a big Hogs fan!
The baseball season was a real heartbreaker this year - but I've been a Cubs fan since I was a kid, so I was kinda prepared for that! 
We're pretty close, Northwest Arkansas. Missouri is only 20 minutes away - Joplin and Branson are frequent destinations for the Captain and I on weekend jaunts.
Congratulations! That's a hell of a speed run!
Huntsville AL or AR?
No need to worry about corrosion on aluminum plate. The first layer of metal oxidizes creating a micro-thin aluminum oxide coating that is very hard and effective at sealing off the remainder of the metal from further corrosion - unlike iron, aluminum corrosion is self limiting. Aluminum doesn't have severe corrosion problems unless there is an electrolytic reaction (virtually impossible when mounting the plate to a plastic layer). There are other ways to ruin aluminum - you could dip it in liquid mercury or submerge in sulfuric acid - but I don't plan on driving across any toxic waste sites!
Getting up to the Eureka Springs rally would be nice, just two things... Will my new SLR be delivered by then, and will the Captain be on board with this? I think the first one is the more problematic of the two!
Is there a registration fee/deadline for this event? We won't worry about lodging, we live about an hour away so we could just drive in and drive home at the end of the day.
The new (2019) SLR is available in red pearl, and the polaris website shows the interior color accent available in that color for about $450.
Question is whether the 2019 red pearl is the same color as earlier slings with that color name... if photos on the web are any guide, it may not be a close match.
