DeBary, FL.
55 deg. clear, NW wind @ 3 mph.
Forecast = Sun and clouds mixed. High around 80F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.
When Jim and Linda first came to the house when we returned to DeBary, one of the first things Jim did was to turn on all the electricity and then the water. When he turned on the water, (at the meter), he noticed that the meter kept showing usage even though he gave it time to fill pipes, toilets etc. He quickly shut the water back off and came into the house to see where the water was going.
Well, what he found was that the toilet fill valve in the bathroom, off of the bedroom, was not shutting off and was causing the problem. So, he shut off the valve under the toilet and went back out and re-opened the main valve.
Now, Jim and Linda have never liked that toilet. It had a low seat height, the seat was small and uncomfortable and he had had trouble with the tank valves before. The toilet in the front bathroom wasn't too great either. It had a broken piece under the tank, (which didn't seem to hurt anything,) but it always worried Jim that it would break more and cause a severe leak.
So, a couple days later, Jim called Kevin, (the local handyman, who Jim and Linda have used before). He came over and looked at the toilets and a few other things that Jim and Linda need done here at the house, and suggested Jim head over to Lowe's or Home Depot and pick up a couple toilets and he'd get them installed right away.
Well, that's what Jim did. He found some nice Kohler toilets that were on sale at Lowe's and now we have 2 new toilets that are working perfectly and should last a good long time. :-)
It was an expense that Jim and Linda hadn't counted on, but it's better to replace them now than to wait until they leak or something and cause a whole lot of damage.
Other than that, everything else seems to be working well and except for doing some work in the kitchen and dinning area, (new floor surface), which they were planning to do when we returned, all is well.
Yesterday, Jim and Linda headed over to the Winn Dixie Grocery Store near here to buy a bunch of groceries. As they were checking out at the register, there was an elderly gentleman and his wife checking out in the next isle. The gentleman had a cap on, stating that he was a veteran, and as he was about to pay the cashier, the man in line behind him told him to "put away his card" as he was going to pay for the couple's groceries!! The man told the elderly gentleman that he wanted to thank him for his service to the country and felt that buying his groceries was the least he could do.
What a great gesture!!!!
I hope all of you took a little time to remember all the veterans who gave so much to keep us free. Yeah, we've got some problems, but the good old USA is still the best county in the world!!!
This next Tuesday, both Jim and Linda have appointments to see Dr. Saferali, their chemo doctor for a follow-up appointment. Neither of them expect anything wrong so they're not too worried about going to see her.
Did you know that the major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Armistice with Germany went into effect? The United States previously observed Armistice Day. The U.S. holiday was renamed Veterans Day in 1954.
Woof!!!
Showing posts with label Repair. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Repair. Show all posts
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Friday, June 3, 2016
Catching Up On The Last Week
DeBary, FL.
85 deg. 70% humidity, NW wind @ 4 mph.
Forecast tonight = Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.
Forecast tomorrow = Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 94F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.
It's been almost another week since I've last posted and I thought I'd better catch up on what's been happening. We stayed out at the Campground until Tuesday. Jim got a few things done on the trailer but not near as much as he had hoped for. So, today he went back out there at about 7:00 AM this morning and got most of the items done. :-) Even going out that early, it was really hot and humid by the time he came back here (about 9:30), and he was really exhausted.
This weekend, it looks like we're going to have a "tropical depression/storm", coming across the state, from the Gulf of Mexico. They're forecasting heavy rain beginning Sunday and lasting all the way through Tuesday, bringing with it 4 or 5 inches of rain and possibly very windy conditions.
Not looking forward to a storm, but there's not much we can do about it.
If the weather isn't too bad the last half of next week, we're still thinking that we may be able to leave here by Monday, the 13th. I hope so, I'm really tired of sitting around here, waiting to get back on the road again.
Did you know that June is "National Camping Month?"
Woof!!!
85 deg. 70% humidity, NW wind @ 4 mph.
Forecast tonight = Partly cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 71F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.
Forecast tomorrow = Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 94F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.
It's been almost another week since I've last posted and I thought I'd better catch up on what's been happening. We stayed out at the Campground until Tuesday. Jim got a few things done on the trailer but not near as much as he had hoped for. So, today he went back out there at about 7:00 AM this morning and got most of the items done. :-) Even going out that early, it was really hot and humid by the time he came back here (about 9:30), and he was really exhausted.
This weekend, it looks like we're going to have a "tropical depression/storm", coming across the state, from the Gulf of Mexico. They're forecasting heavy rain beginning Sunday and lasting all the way through Tuesday, bringing with it 4 or 5 inches of rain and possibly very windy conditions.
Not looking forward to a storm, but there's not much we can do about it.
If the weather isn't too bad the last half of next week, we're still thinking that we may be able to leave here by Monday, the 13th. I hope so, I'm really tired of sitting around here, waiting to get back on the road again.
Did you know that June is "National Camping Month?"
Woof!!!
Friday, October 23, 2015
West Virginia To Virginia And On To Virginia Beach and More Problems
Virginia Beach, VA.
55 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast = Sunny, High 68F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph.
We left the Summer Wind CG at 9:50 Tuesday morning and continued East on I-64 until we came to Exit 169 (US 219) at Lewisburg. Following 219 South for about 2 1/2 miles brought us to Loudermilk Trailer & RV Sales, where Chris is the general manager. It was about 10:15 when we arrived.
Chris was waiting for us and directed us around to the rear of the business and into a spot where there was an electric hook-up to plug Nora in so that he could check the A/C as well as the furnace operation with the new Thermostat. Everything went well and everything worked with the new thermostat so by about 10:55 we were heading North on US 219.
Once back to I-64 we again turned East and followed it into Virginia and to US 220 at Cliftondale Park, where we turned South. US 220 brought us down to Roanoke, VA. where we again turned East on US 460. Following 460 brought us to Appomattox, VA and the Parkview RV Park.
It was right at 2:00 when we arrived, so it took us 4 hours and 10 minutes to get Nora's thermostat installed, stop at a station in Virginia to get Big RED a drink of that good old #2 diesel fuel and travel 178 miles.
We've been to the Parkview RV Park before and I don't remember all the noisy traffic on US 460 as well as Rt. 24 at all times of the day and night. I also don't think that the park was as well maintained as it used to be, but still is OK for an overnight stay. Kind of expensive though at $35.10, (after the Good Sam discount), for a full hook-up site with absolutely no other amenities.
It got pretty chilly Tuesday evening, so Jim turned the furnace on. Everything went well for about an hour and a half or so, with the furnace cycling on and off like it should, but then, it quit!!!!!! Yep, blew a fuse in the new thermostat!!!!!
Wednesday morning before we left Appomattox, Jim called Chris and told him that the new thermostat had also blown the fuse and to ask him if he had any other ideas of what might be causing it to happen. Chris said that he would call the manufacturer and see if they had any ideas and call Jim back. Jim said that we'd be on the road, traveling, so that he would call him back when we got to our destination instead.
So, we left the Parkview RV Park at 9:55 and continued East on US 460. 460 took us over to Suffolk and then to the Norfolk / Chesapeake area where we turned off on I-64 which took us around to Virginia Beach where we turned East on I-264. At exit #20, we turned off of 264 and then took local roads for about 2 miles to Joe and Nancy's house, arriving about 1:40 after traveling a total of 195 miles in 3 hours and 45 minutes.
The plan is to stay here in VB for about a week before heading to North Carolina to see Mike and Gina, in the Raleigh area. However, a lot will depend on the weather and the furnace as to when we'll need to head further South to stay warm.
Oh, speaking of the furnace, Jim called Chris back and he said that the only thing that he and the tech, that he spoke to, could come up with was a possible short in the wire that goes, first up to the Air Conditioner, and then down to the furnace. :-(
Did you know that on this date in 1930 - J.K. Scott won the first miniature golf tournament? The event was held in Chattanooga, TN.
Woof!!!
55 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast = Sunny, High 68F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph.
We left the Summer Wind CG at 9:50 Tuesday morning and continued East on I-64 until we came to Exit 169 (US 219) at Lewisburg. Following 219 South for about 2 1/2 miles brought us to Loudermilk Trailer & RV Sales, where Chris is the general manager. It was about 10:15 when we arrived.
Chris was waiting for us and directed us around to the rear of the business and into a spot where there was an electric hook-up to plug Nora in so that he could check the A/C as well as the furnace operation with the new Thermostat. Everything went well and everything worked with the new thermostat so by about 10:55 we were heading North on US 219.
Once back to I-64 we again turned East and followed it into Virginia and to US 220 at Cliftondale Park, where we turned South. US 220 brought us down to Roanoke, VA. where we again turned East on US 460. Following 460 brought us to Appomattox, VA and the Parkview RV Park.
It was right at 2:00 when we arrived, so it took us 4 hours and 10 minutes to get Nora's thermostat installed, stop at a station in Virginia to get Big RED a drink of that good old #2 diesel fuel and travel 178 miles.
We've been to the Parkview RV Park before and I don't remember all the noisy traffic on US 460 as well as Rt. 24 at all times of the day and night. I also don't think that the park was as well maintained as it used to be, but still is OK for an overnight stay. Kind of expensive though at $35.10, (after the Good Sam discount), for a full hook-up site with absolutely no other amenities.
It got pretty chilly Tuesday evening, so Jim turned the furnace on. Everything went well for about an hour and a half or so, with the furnace cycling on and off like it should, but then, it quit!!!!!! Yep, blew a fuse in the new thermostat!!!!!
Wednesday morning before we left Appomattox, Jim called Chris and told him that the new thermostat had also blown the fuse and to ask him if he had any other ideas of what might be causing it to happen. Chris said that he would call the manufacturer and see if they had any ideas and call Jim back. Jim said that we'd be on the road, traveling, so that he would call him back when we got to our destination instead.
So, we left the Parkview RV Park at 9:55 and continued East on US 460. 460 took us over to Suffolk and then to the Norfolk / Chesapeake area where we turned off on I-64 which took us around to Virginia Beach where we turned East on I-264. At exit #20, we turned off of 264 and then took local roads for about 2 miles to Joe and Nancy's house, arriving about 1:40 after traveling a total of 195 miles in 3 hours and 45 minutes.
The plan is to stay here in VB for about a week before heading to North Carolina to see Mike and Gina, in the Raleigh area. However, a lot will depend on the weather and the furnace as to when we'll need to head further South to stay warm.
Oh, speaking of the furnace, Jim called Chris back and he said that the only thing that he and the tech, that he spoke to, could come up with was a possible short in the wire that goes, first up to the Air Conditioner, and then down to the furnace. :-(
Did you know that on this date in 1930 - J.K. Scott won the first miniature golf tournament? The event was held in Chattanooga, TN.
Woof!!!
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
A New Tire For Nora and Rantoul IL To Utica, IL
Utica, IL.
53 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy this morning, then becoming cloudy during the afternoon. High 74F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
We left Rantoul, right at 9:30 as planned and headed North on I-57. The traffic moved right along and the only construction we had was about a 5 mile section just before we turned off on the Ashkum exit. Meier Brothers Tire Supply is just off of I-57 on the East side, so it was just a quick drive to get to their shop.
It was right at 10:30 when we arrived and we had traveled 49 miles.
Meier Bros. Tire has been in business for many years and Jim and Linda have dealt with them in the past and found them to be honest and sell good products at a fair price. They may not be the cheapest in the area, but you can count on them to do the work right and be fair.
By 11:15 the tire had been changed and we were pulling out of Meier's lot and heading West on Rt. 116. 116 took us over to the little town of Saunemin, where we turned North on Rt. 47. 47 then took us up through Dwight and up to Morris where we turned West in I-80. 80 then brought us over here to exit 81 near Utica and to the Hickory Hollow CG.
Hickory Hollow is Passport America Park and we've stayed here many times before, on our way through the area. It's a nice park, very clean, well laid out and with the PPA discount, very reasonable.
It was 1:20 when we pulled up in front of the office, so with the little detour to get Nora's tire changed we were on the road or at the tire shop for 3 hours and 50 minutes and had traveled a total of 143 miles.
Oh, and we also stopped at the Love's Truck Stop here at exit 81 and got Big RED a drink of that good old #2 diesel fuel before coming to the CG. :-)
Today, we'll be heading up into Wisconsin. The plan is to go to a CG that we've stayed at before, which is near Baraboo, WI. Jim's not looking forward to the drive because once we get onto I-90 near Rockford, the traffic will probably be very heavy and stay that way at least to Madison and maybe even farther.
Did you know that on this date in 1916 - The National Park Service was established as part of the U.S. Department of the Interior?
Woof!!!
53 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy this morning, then becoming cloudy during the afternoon. High 74F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
We left Rantoul, right at 9:30 as planned and headed North on I-57. The traffic moved right along and the only construction we had was about a 5 mile section just before we turned off on the Ashkum exit. Meier Brothers Tire Supply is just off of I-57 on the East side, so it was just a quick drive to get to their shop.
It was right at 10:30 when we arrived and we had traveled 49 miles.
Meier Bros. Tire has been in business for many years and Jim and Linda have dealt with them in the past and found them to be honest and sell good products at a fair price. They may not be the cheapest in the area, but you can count on them to do the work right and be fair.
By 11:15 the tire had been changed and we were pulling out of Meier's lot and heading West on Rt. 116. 116 took us over to the little town of Saunemin, where we turned North on Rt. 47. 47 then took us up through Dwight and up to Morris where we turned West in I-80. 80 then brought us over here to exit 81 near Utica and to the Hickory Hollow CG.
Hickory Hollow is Passport America Park and we've stayed here many times before, on our way through the area. It's a nice park, very clean, well laid out and with the PPA discount, very reasonable.
It was 1:20 when we pulled up in front of the office, so with the little detour to get Nora's tire changed we were on the road or at the tire shop for 3 hours and 50 minutes and had traveled a total of 143 miles.
Oh, and we also stopped at the Love's Truck Stop here at exit 81 and got Big RED a drink of that good old #2 diesel fuel before coming to the CG. :-)
Today, we'll be heading up into Wisconsin. The plan is to go to a CG that we've stayed at before, which is near Baraboo, WI. Jim's not looking forward to the drive because once we get onto I-90 near Rockford, the traffic will probably be very heavy and stay that way at least to Madison and maybe even farther.
Did you know that on this date in 1916 - The National Park Service was established as part of the U.S. Department of the Interior?
Woof!!!
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Another Week, A Little Excitement and Plans Being Made
Rantoul, IL.
67 deg. Overcast, NE wind @ 9 mph.
Forecast = Cloudy early, becoming mostly sunny this afternoon. High 81F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph.
Well, another week has gone by since my last post. Again, not much to write about, so I didn't.
We had a little excitement this last weekend. While Jim was using this computer, all of a sudden he got an e-mail saying that all of our gigabytes for the month had been used up and that they were adding an additional gigabyte, (at a cost) so that our service would not be interrupted.
Just 30 minutes before that, Jim had noticed that we still had almost 3 gigabytes left, (plenty for normal use for the rest of the time period), so something used 3 GB in less than 30 minutes!!!
Well, to make a long story short, after calling the Florida PC Doctor who had set this computer up originally and has a way to access the computer from Florida, (with Jim's permission). scanned the hard drive and checked for viruses and malware. He decided that evidently a large update had automatically downloaded and that's what caused the whole problem.
He cleaned up the hard drive, changed the settings so that wouldn't happen again, and now, we're good to go again! :-)
Whew!!! Didn't need a computer problem right now!!!
Jim and Linda have been making plans to head up to Wisconsin later on this month. Linda's brother, Glenn, and his family are getting together at a resort about 50 miles North of the Wisconsin Dells and we're planning on heading up there to see them.
Kind of like a little "Family Reunion".
We'll stay at a CG up there and then Jim and Linda will go to the resort during the days to visit with them. Being that we'll still be in the peak tourist season at that time, Jim has made a reservation at a park near where they'll be staying so that we're sure to have a site.
Ever since we've left Florida, there has been a tire on Nora, that has been losing air. Not much, but it's been bothering Jim because he felt that something just wasn't right. Well, one day he crawled under the trailer to look at the back side of the tire and he did not like what he found. :-( It seems, although this is a new trailer as of 2014, and we've never had a flat tire, there is a plug in the tire on the inside of the tread area. :-(
So, , , , , , Jim called a tire place which is North of here in Ashkum, IL. (that we've had dealings with before), asked if they had a replacement tire if necessary, and made an appointment to head up there on the day we'll be leaving here to head to Wisconsin. It'll be a little out of the way, but Jim feels he can trust the people at this place, so it'll be worth the detour and time spent to get it repaired properly or get a replacement tire.
So, the plan is to leave here on Monday, August 24th, head up to Ashkum to get the tire repaired / replaced and then continue up to Wisconsin from there. The "Family Reunion" starts on Thursday, so we'll have plenty of time to get up there. In fact, we may stay someplace around the "Dells" for a day or two, depending on how the trip goes.
After the "Reunion", we'll head back down here to Rantoul, arriving sometime before the Labor Day weekend. (Don't want to be out on the road over the Holiday). After returning here, we'll probably spend most of September here, but that part is written very lightly on the calendar in pencil, and of course, Jim still has that big eraser. ;-)
Did you know that today is "National Root Beer Float Day"?
Woof!!!
67 deg. Overcast, NE wind @ 9 mph.
Forecast = Cloudy early, becoming mostly sunny this afternoon. High 81F. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph.
Well, another week has gone by since my last post. Again, not much to write about, so I didn't.
We had a little excitement this last weekend. While Jim was using this computer, all of a sudden he got an e-mail saying that all of our gigabytes for the month had been used up and that they were adding an additional gigabyte, (at a cost) so that our service would not be interrupted.
Just 30 minutes before that, Jim had noticed that we still had almost 3 gigabytes left, (plenty for normal use for the rest of the time period), so something used 3 GB in less than 30 minutes!!!
Well, to make a long story short, after calling the Florida PC Doctor who had set this computer up originally and has a way to access the computer from Florida, (with Jim's permission). scanned the hard drive and checked for viruses and malware. He decided that evidently a large update had automatically downloaded and that's what caused the whole problem.
He cleaned up the hard drive, changed the settings so that wouldn't happen again, and now, we're good to go again! :-)
Whew!!! Didn't need a computer problem right now!!!
Jim and Linda have been making plans to head up to Wisconsin later on this month. Linda's brother, Glenn, and his family are getting together at a resort about 50 miles North of the Wisconsin Dells and we're planning on heading up there to see them.
Kind of like a little "Family Reunion".
We'll stay at a CG up there and then Jim and Linda will go to the resort during the days to visit with them. Being that we'll still be in the peak tourist season at that time, Jim has made a reservation at a park near where they'll be staying so that we're sure to have a site.
Ever since we've left Florida, there has been a tire on Nora, that has been losing air. Not much, but it's been bothering Jim because he felt that something just wasn't right. Well, one day he crawled under the trailer to look at the back side of the tire and he did not like what he found. :-( It seems, although this is a new trailer as of 2014, and we've never had a flat tire, there is a plug in the tire on the inside of the tread area. :-(
So, , , , , , Jim called a tire place which is North of here in Ashkum, IL. (that we've had dealings with before), asked if they had a replacement tire if necessary, and made an appointment to head up there on the day we'll be leaving here to head to Wisconsin. It'll be a little out of the way, but Jim feels he can trust the people at this place, so it'll be worth the detour and time spent to get it repaired properly or get a replacement tire.
So, the plan is to leave here on Monday, August 24th, head up to Ashkum to get the tire repaired / replaced and then continue up to Wisconsin from there. The "Family Reunion" starts on Thursday, so we'll have plenty of time to get up there. In fact, we may stay someplace around the "Dells" for a day or two, depending on how the trip goes.
After the "Reunion", we'll head back down here to Rantoul, arriving sometime before the Labor Day weekend. (Don't want to be out on the road over the Holiday). After returning here, we'll probably spend most of September here, but that part is written very lightly on the calendar in pencil, and of course, Jim still has that big eraser. ;-)
Did you know that today is "National Root Beer Float Day"?
Woof!!!
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Back To The Eye Doctor, A Little Shopping, A Leak and Mosquitoes
Rantoul, IL.
62 deg. clear, N. wind @ 5 mph.
Forecast = Cloudy early with scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 83F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Big RED took Lina and Jim back down to the doctor's office Tuesday morning and everything went well. She received the injection and will have to go back on the 21st to get the other eye treated. :-(
Again, we've had lots of rain here in Rantoul. The reports were somewhere between 2 to 3 inches, although someone said it was closer to 4 inches of rain.
One day, Jim and Linda headed down to Champaign and to the Hancock fabric store down there where Linda gets many of her sewing and needlework supplies when were're in this area. This time she just needed some "floss" (colored thread), for a project she's working on. After going to the fabric store, they stopped at the Urbana Gardens Restaurant and had dinner before coming back here to the Campground.
Oh, and on the way back, they also stopped at Walgreen's to pick up a few items they needed.
The day that it was raining the hardest, we had a leak that showed up on the floor in the bedroom. Yesterday, Jim determined that there was a small hole in the mounting flange of the water heater, (which is under the nightstand on Nora), so he calked it up with some sealant and also added sealant in a few other places around the heater where there seemed to be little cracks in the original sealant.
Hopefully that will cure the problem. I don't like getting my feet wet when I go into the bedroom to check things out. ;-)
Nothing much else to report. Even when the weather is nice around here, the mosquitoes are getting so bad, (because of all the rain and water standing everywhere), that you really can't spend much time outside without getting all bitten up. Repellent helps, but those little suckers are hungry!!! :-O The only time you can go out much is when the wind is blowing.That seems to keep them away somewhat.
Did you know that in 1865 Illinois was the first state to ratify the 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery?
Woof!!!
62 deg. clear, N. wind @ 5 mph.
Forecast = Cloudy early with scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 83F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
Big RED took Lina and Jim back down to the doctor's office Tuesday morning and everything went well. She received the injection and will have to go back on the 21st to get the other eye treated. :-(
Again, we've had lots of rain here in Rantoul. The reports were somewhere between 2 to 3 inches, although someone said it was closer to 4 inches of rain.
One day, Jim and Linda headed down to Champaign and to the Hancock fabric store down there where Linda gets many of her sewing and needlework supplies when were're in this area. This time she just needed some "floss" (colored thread), for a project she's working on. After going to the fabric store, they stopped at the Urbana Gardens Restaurant and had dinner before coming back here to the Campground.
Oh, and on the way back, they also stopped at Walgreen's to pick up a few items they needed.
The day that it was raining the hardest, we had a leak that showed up on the floor in the bedroom. Yesterday, Jim determined that there was a small hole in the mounting flange of the water heater, (which is under the nightstand on Nora), so he calked it up with some sealant and also added sealant in a few other places around the heater where there seemed to be little cracks in the original sealant.
Hopefully that will cure the problem. I don't like getting my feet wet when I go into the bedroom to check things out. ;-)
Nothing much else to report. Even when the weather is nice around here, the mosquitoes are getting so bad, (because of all the rain and water standing everywhere), that you really can't spend much time outside without getting all bitten up. Repellent helps, but those little suckers are hungry!!! :-O The only time you can go out much is when the wind is blowing.That seems to keep them away somewhat.
Did you know that in 1865 Illinois was the first state to ratify the 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolishing slavery?
Woof!!!
Monday, June 22, 2015
Oh Oh A Leak!!, Fried Squirrel and Father's Day
Rantoul, IL.
70 deg. clear, S. wind @ 6 mph.
Forecast = Wind increasing. A mix of clouds and sun. A stray severe thunderstorm is possible. High near 90F. Winds SSW at 20 to 30 mph
First of all, I hope all of you fathers out there had a "Happy Father's Day"!!!!
I think if was Tuesday when Jim noticed a few drops of water on the kitchen floor. It was right under the Air Conditioner, so Jim thought that maybe, because it has been so humid here, the AC had frozen up some and it had defrosted its self during the night. He wiped up the spots with a paper towel and also wiped a few drops off of the AC. The next morning, after some rain overnight, there was more water on the floor, and he suspected that possibly, the seal under the AC was leaking.
After taking the inside cover off (held on by 7 screws), and checking, he determined that the 4 bolts/screws that hold the AC down to the roof were not very tight, so he tightened them, dried everything off and re-installed the cover. Well, that must have been the problem cause even though we've had more rain and have operated the AC under very humid conditions, there haven't been any more drips of water on the floor!!!
It's nice when a problem has a fairly simple fix!! ;-)
Saturday morning there was this big "POP" sound and all of the electricity went off!! I knew what it was, cause it's happened when we've been here in years past.
You see, there's an electrical distribution/sub station, right next to the CG where they have a bunch of transformers and other electrical equipment and every once in awhile something goes wrong over there and cuts off the power.
Well, this time it was one of those goofy squirrels who run around here at the CG, getting into things and dropping nuts onto RVs. This time, one of them got into the wires over there and Zappp!!! Fried Squirrel!!!! :-O
I don't know what he was doing over there. There's no nuts or anything to eat, there's no leaves or twigs to make a nest. I guess he was just exploring, but he explored in the wrong place. Hope all the other squirrels in the area learned a lesson!!!
Jim had a very nice Father's Day yesterday. In the morning, Jeff called from Portland Oregon and they talked for about a half hour. Jeff seems to be doing well, and if everything works out, he and maybe Heather will be flying out to the East Coast this fall to see his brother, Mike, in N. Carolina and then connect up with us, either in NC or Florida.
Jim told Jeff that he'd send him money for air fare if he could work out the times and dates. :-)
After lunch, Mike called from NC. He and Jim talked for 20 minutes or so. Mike, Gina and the kids all seem to be doing well, They were getting ready to go out to eat at a restaurant near where they live.
Later in the afternoon, Laura called from Florida to wish Jim a Happy Father's Day. She couldn't talk for long as she was getting ready to head to work, but it was sure nice of her take the time to call.
Then, in the evening, Joe called. He and his family are in Myrtle Beach, SC for a little vacation and will be returning home to Virginia Beach next weekend. They also seem to be doing fine and are enjoying their trip. :-)
For dinner, Jim and Linda headed over to Monical's Pizza. They went a little early because they were concerned about a lot of folks having the same idea, and it's a good thing they did. By the time they finished eating, the place was almost full.
Today, Jim needs to get one of Nora's propane tanks filled. He'll probably do that this morning because the "weather guessers" are saying that it's supposed to be hot, humid and windy this afternoon.
Did you know that First local Father's Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, Washington? Sonora Louise Smart Dodd started the tradition of Father's Day in the honor of her dad, William Smart, a widowed Civil War veteran.
Woof!!!
70 deg. clear, S. wind @ 6 mph.
Forecast = Wind increasing. A mix of clouds and sun. A stray severe thunderstorm is possible. High near 90F. Winds SSW at 20 to 30 mph
First of all, I hope all of you fathers out there had a "Happy Father's Day"!!!!
I think if was Tuesday when Jim noticed a few drops of water on the kitchen floor. It was right under the Air Conditioner, so Jim thought that maybe, because it has been so humid here, the AC had frozen up some and it had defrosted its self during the night. He wiped up the spots with a paper towel and also wiped a few drops off of the AC. The next morning, after some rain overnight, there was more water on the floor, and he suspected that possibly, the seal under the AC was leaking.
After taking the inside cover off (held on by 7 screws), and checking, he determined that the 4 bolts/screws that hold the AC down to the roof were not very tight, so he tightened them, dried everything off and re-installed the cover. Well, that must have been the problem cause even though we've had more rain and have operated the AC under very humid conditions, there haven't been any more drips of water on the floor!!!
It's nice when a problem has a fairly simple fix!! ;-)
Saturday morning there was this big "POP" sound and all of the electricity went off!! I knew what it was, cause it's happened when we've been here in years past.
You see, there's an electrical distribution/sub station, right next to the CG where they have a bunch of transformers and other electrical equipment and every once in awhile something goes wrong over there and cuts off the power.
Well, this time it was one of those goofy squirrels who run around here at the CG, getting into things and dropping nuts onto RVs. This time, one of them got into the wires over there and Zappp!!! Fried Squirrel!!!! :-O
I don't know what he was doing over there. There's no nuts or anything to eat, there's no leaves or twigs to make a nest. I guess he was just exploring, but he explored in the wrong place. Hope all the other squirrels in the area learned a lesson!!!
Jim had a very nice Father's Day yesterday. In the morning, Jeff called from Portland Oregon and they talked for about a half hour. Jeff seems to be doing well, and if everything works out, he and maybe Heather will be flying out to the East Coast this fall to see his brother, Mike, in N. Carolina and then connect up with us, either in NC or Florida.
Jim told Jeff that he'd send him money for air fare if he could work out the times and dates. :-)
After lunch, Mike called from NC. He and Jim talked for 20 minutes or so. Mike, Gina and the kids all seem to be doing well, They were getting ready to go out to eat at a restaurant near where they live.
Later in the afternoon, Laura called from Florida to wish Jim a Happy Father's Day. She couldn't talk for long as she was getting ready to head to work, but it was sure nice of her take the time to call.
Then, in the evening, Joe called. He and his family are in Myrtle Beach, SC for a little vacation and will be returning home to Virginia Beach next weekend. They also seem to be doing fine and are enjoying their trip. :-)
For dinner, Jim and Linda headed over to Monical's Pizza. They went a little early because they were concerned about a lot of folks having the same idea, and it's a good thing they did. By the time they finished eating, the place was almost full.
Today, Jim needs to get one of Nora's propane tanks filled. He'll probably do that this morning because the "weather guessers" are saying that it's supposed to be hot, humid and windy this afternoon.
Did you know that First local Father's Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, Washington? Sonora Louise Smart Dodd started the tradition of Father's Day in the honor of her dad, William Smart, a widowed Civil War veteran.
Woof!!!
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Computer Repaired!!!!
DeBary, FL.
69 deg. partly cloudy, NW wind @ 4 mph.
Forecast = Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 88F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
Whew!!!!! Lucked out!!!!
Friday morning, Jim called David, The Florida PC Doctor and told him that this laptop computer was still locked up. He gave Jim his home address and told him that if he could bring it to his house and give it to his wife, he would look at it as soon as he arrived home, (sometime during Friday afternoon). So, after programming the address into Tillie, (the GPS Unit), Jim and Linda hopped into Big RED and headed over to his house.
David's house is over in Enterprise, which is a small town about 8 or 10 miles from here, so even though it was all city/residential roads over there, it only took about 20 minutes to get there. David's wife was very nice and helpful and soon Big RED was on his way back to DeBary.
On the way back, they stopped by Walgreen's and picked up a prescription for Jim and a few other items before returning here to the house.
Later Friday, David called and told Jim that he had gotten the computer unlocked, but that he wanted to run a few programs on it to make sure everything was working properly and to make sure that there wasn't any virus or malware still on the computer. He said that he'd call Jim when he was finished.
Well, yesterday morning, (Saturday), he called and soon Jim and Linda were heading over there to pick up the computer. David got everything cleaned up and now it's working just fine again with no loss of data!! :-) Whew!!!!
Normally, David comes to where ever you are to repair a computer, as he really doesn't really have a shop at home. But, being that he was so busy with this problem that was going on with so many computers, he made an exception for us.
Thank you, David, for the prompt and excellent service at a reasonable price!!!
If you're ever in the DeBary/Orange City, Deltona/Sanford area, and need help with a computer problem, give The Florida PC Doctor a call!!!
He's one of the "Good Guys"!!! :-)
Did you know that "Touch-Tone Phones were introduced in 1964?
Woof!!!
69 deg. partly cloudy, NW wind @ 4 mph.
Forecast = Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 88F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
Whew!!!!! Lucked out!!!!
Friday morning, Jim called David, The Florida PC Doctor and told him that this laptop computer was still locked up. He gave Jim his home address and told him that if he could bring it to his house and give it to his wife, he would look at it as soon as he arrived home, (sometime during Friday afternoon). So, after programming the address into Tillie, (the GPS Unit), Jim and Linda hopped into Big RED and headed over to his house.
David's house is over in Enterprise, which is a small town about 8 or 10 miles from here, so even though it was all city/residential roads over there, it only took about 20 minutes to get there. David's wife was very nice and helpful and soon Big RED was on his way back to DeBary.
On the way back, they stopped by Walgreen's and picked up a prescription for Jim and a few other items before returning here to the house.
Later Friday, David called and told Jim that he had gotten the computer unlocked, but that he wanted to run a few programs on it to make sure everything was working properly and to make sure that there wasn't any virus or malware still on the computer. He said that he'd call Jim when he was finished.
Well, yesterday morning, (Saturday), he called and soon Jim and Linda were heading over there to pick up the computer. David got everything cleaned up and now it's working just fine again with no loss of data!! :-) Whew!!!!
Normally, David comes to where ever you are to repair a computer, as he really doesn't really have a shop at home. But, being that he was so busy with this problem that was going on with so many computers, he made an exception for us.
Thank you, David, for the prompt and excellent service at a reasonable price!!!
If you're ever in the DeBary/Orange City, Deltona/Sanford area, and need help with a computer problem, give The Florida PC Doctor a call!!!
He's one of the "Good Guys"!!! :-)
Did you know that "Touch-Tone Phones were introduced in 1964?
Woof!!!
Friday, March 13, 2015
Computer Problems
DeBary, FL.
66 deg. overcast, no wind.
Forecast = Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 85F. Winds ESE at 10 to 20 mph.
The other day, just after Jim finished reading blogs and checking the news on the laptop computer, he went to shut it down and there was a message that there was an automatic update. It said that it would update automatically or he could choose to update right then.
He chose to update then.
Well, it started the update and then as the computer was updating, this normal message came up. It says "Getting Windows Ready, Don't shut off your computer". All seemed to going well, but the message just stayed there and it never went away. In other words, the computer just stopped working, right in the middle of the update!!!!
Jim tried a few things, but nothing seemed to work, so finally after about 2 hours, he called The Florida PC Doctor. Dave is the one who set the laptop up for Jim and Linda originally and he's very knowledgeable and his prices are reasonable.
Come to find out, there are many computers that are having a problem. It seems that there's a program called Panda Antivirus, (that is installed on the laptop), that had a problem and messed everything up. Dave has been working non-stop to try to fix everyone's computers, (a lot of businesses in the area included), so today, I think that Jim is going to take ours over to his house so he can work on it when he gets home.
In the meantime, the desktop computer that Linda uses was not affected because it doesn't have the Panda software, so we are still able to get on the internet. I'm having a real problem with using it though. I've almost fallen twice and it's very inconvenient for me!!
So, we're hoping that Dave can fix the laptop and that the glitch hasn't wiped out a bunch of stuff, which I understand is very possible. :-(
A Point to Ponder: Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
Woof!!!
66 deg. overcast, no wind.
Forecast = Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 85F. Winds ESE at 10 to 20 mph.
The other day, just after Jim finished reading blogs and checking the news on the laptop computer, he went to shut it down and there was a message that there was an automatic update. It said that it would update automatically or he could choose to update right then.
He chose to update then.
Well, it started the update and then as the computer was updating, this normal message came up. It says "Getting Windows Ready, Don't shut off your computer". All seemed to going well, but the message just stayed there and it never went away. In other words, the computer just stopped working, right in the middle of the update!!!!
Jim tried a few things, but nothing seemed to work, so finally after about 2 hours, he called The Florida PC Doctor. Dave is the one who set the laptop up for Jim and Linda originally and he's very knowledgeable and his prices are reasonable.
Come to find out, there are many computers that are having a problem. It seems that there's a program called Panda Antivirus, (that is installed on the laptop), that had a problem and messed everything up. Dave has been working non-stop to try to fix everyone's computers, (a lot of businesses in the area included), so today, I think that Jim is going to take ours over to his house so he can work on it when he gets home.
In the meantime, the desktop computer that Linda uses was not affected because it doesn't have the Panda software, so we are still able to get on the internet. I'm having a real problem with using it though. I've almost fallen twice and it's very inconvenient for me!!
So, we're hoping that Dave can fix the laptop and that the glitch hasn't wiped out a bunch of stuff, which I understand is very possible. :-(
A Point to Ponder: Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
Woof!!!
Sunday, March 8, 2015
New Glasses and Dave And Dee Dee Stop By
DeBary, FL.
51 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast - Partly cloudy. Highs around 77°F. North northeast wind 4 to 9 MPH.
By his eye doctor up in Illinois, it was suggested that Jim get new glasses back in 2013, but then Linda got sick and so they were kind of put on hold. Well, Wednesday, Jim decided that it was time. so he and Linda took Big RED and headed over to the 20/20 Eyeglass Superstore in Orange City.
They have a special where if you buy one pair of glasses, you get a second pair free for yourself or a family member and the plan was to get Jim a new pair of glasses and then Linda could get the second free pair. Well, all of that went according to plan, but when the optometrists learned that Linda was getting the injections in her eye, she suggested that Linda not get glasses right now as the injections more than likely were affecting her vision and new glasses would probably be a waste of money.
So, what to do?
Well, Jim still needed new glasses so he went ahead and had the exam and picked out the new frames. He didn't need a second pair of glasses, so being that Linda wouldn't be getting the second free pair, the manager at the store started discounting Jim's glasses. She discounted his glasses to 1/2 price, and also gave him a large discount on the optional transition lenses he wanted.
Once Linda's eyes stabilize she will be able to get new glasses, but for now, the reading glasses that she purchased at Walgreen's are working quite well.
Thursday, Dave and Dee Dee, (Part of the Illinois Bunch), stopped by. They were on their way from Thonotosassa, (where they now have a "Park Model Home", to visit some people in Orange City for a few days. They stayed and visited for a couple hours before heading over there. It was sure good to see them again and tentative plans were made to meet up with them up in Rantoul, sometime this fall.
Thanks for stopping by, Dave and Dee Dee, Jim and Linda really enjoyed your visit!! :-)
Friday, Jim went back to the eyeglass store and picked up his new glasses. They're a little different than his last ones, but I like them and he says that he can see better with them.
Nothing much else to report. A small leak had appeared out in the storage shed so Jim called Kevin, (a local handyman), and he came over one day and caulked an area where there were the screws go through the roof to fasten it to the shed walls. Other than that, it's just been the normal day-to-day things like laundry and grocery shopping.
Did you know that Salvino D'Armate probably invented eyeglasses in around 1285, though various sources suggest an earlier origin. He shared the invention of his new device with Allesandro della Spina, an Italian monk, who made it public and is often credited with inventing eyeglasses. The first eyeglasses had frames made of metal or bone and had lenses made out of quartz because the ''opticians'' of that time didn't have the capabilities of producing flawless lenses in glass.
Woof!!!
51 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast - Partly cloudy. Highs around 77°F. North northeast wind 4 to 9 MPH.
By his eye doctor up in Illinois, it was suggested that Jim get new glasses back in 2013, but then Linda got sick and so they were kind of put on hold. Well, Wednesday, Jim decided that it was time. so he and Linda took Big RED and headed over to the 20/20 Eyeglass Superstore in Orange City.
They have a special where if you buy one pair of glasses, you get a second pair free for yourself or a family member and the plan was to get Jim a new pair of glasses and then Linda could get the second free pair. Well, all of that went according to plan, but when the optometrists learned that Linda was getting the injections in her eye, she suggested that Linda not get glasses right now as the injections more than likely were affecting her vision and new glasses would probably be a waste of money.
So, what to do?
Well, Jim still needed new glasses so he went ahead and had the exam and picked out the new frames. He didn't need a second pair of glasses, so being that Linda wouldn't be getting the second free pair, the manager at the store started discounting Jim's glasses. She discounted his glasses to 1/2 price, and also gave him a large discount on the optional transition lenses he wanted.
Once Linda's eyes stabilize she will be able to get new glasses, but for now, the reading glasses that she purchased at Walgreen's are working quite well.
Thursday, Dave and Dee Dee, (Part of the Illinois Bunch), stopped by. They were on their way from Thonotosassa, (where they now have a "Park Model Home", to visit some people in Orange City for a few days. They stayed and visited for a couple hours before heading over there. It was sure good to see them again and tentative plans were made to meet up with them up in Rantoul, sometime this fall.
Thanks for stopping by, Dave and Dee Dee, Jim and Linda really enjoyed your visit!! :-)
Friday, Jim went back to the eyeglass store and picked up his new glasses. They're a little different than his last ones, but I like them and he says that he can see better with them.
Nothing much else to report. A small leak had appeared out in the storage shed so Jim called Kevin, (a local handyman), and he came over one day and caulked an area where there were the screws go through the roof to fasten it to the shed walls. Other than that, it's just been the normal day-to-day things like laundry and grocery shopping.
Did you know that Salvino D'Armate probably invented eyeglasses in around 1285, though various sources suggest an earlier origin. He shared the invention of his new device with Allesandro della Spina, an Italian monk, who made it public and is often credited with inventing eyeglasses. The first eyeglasses had frames made of metal or bone and had lenses made out of quartz because the ''opticians'' of that time didn't have the capabilities of producing flawless lenses in glass.
Woof!!!
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Can You Be Flexible?
DeBary, FL.
63 deg. cloudy, Wind NW 6 MPH Gusts 26
Forecast = Mostly cloudy with showers likely. Highs around 68°F. West wind 8 to 15 MPH, gusting to 21 MPH. Chance of precipitation 70 percent.
Can you be flexible?
NO! NO!! Not your body!!!
Can you be flexible enough to Full-time or even part-time for 5 or 6 months of the year? If you've been RVing for any length of time, I'm sure that you've had to be, or learn to be flexible with your plans.
Many years ago, when we first started Full-timing, we learned that you'd better allow for a mishap or two, anytime you're traveling or even staying in one place for awhile. Things just happen and there's nothing you can do about it.
If you can't adapt to these mishaps or delays and change your pans, you probably better not plan on RVing too much. Sometimes you can make up the time you lost for repairs or other unforeseen circumstances, but sometimes you just have to make a major plan change.
One of the first years that we were Full-timing, we had an accident in a parking lot South of Orlando. Jim made a hard right turn, the back of the MH swung out and hit a new Jeep Liberty and tore up the Jeeps fender and the plastic bumper on the back of the MH. It was the fist thing like that that had happened, Jim was really upset with himself, and to be honest, I thought our Full-timing days were over!!!
That little deal cost us 2 or 3 weeks of travel and a lot of plans had to be changed. We had to be flexible!
Then, there was time time that we were on our way to Oregon, via the northern route, (US 2). We were in the middle of Montana, (about 20 or 30 miles East of Havre in the middle of nowhere), when the diesel engine just up and quit!!!!
Jim got it going again and we limped into Havre where a CG made space for us and a great mechanic worked on the MH for almost 2 days, but still didn't find the problem. To his credit, he knew he didn't find the problem and he only charged us for a few other minor items he found and repaired.
To make a long story short, we went to many different mechanics, (even a authorized repair shop), but no one could find the problem. Jim finally determined that if he didn't run anything electrical except the engine, the engine would keep running. We visited with Jeff and Heather in Oregon, but then instead of going down the coast and to a bunch of National Parks, we headed back to Florida where a very good mechanic, Lester, found the problem in about 30 minutes and repaired it for about $150.00!!!
A very big change of plans! We had to be flexible!!!!
As most of you know, back in August 2013, while we were in Illinois, Linda was diagnosed with cancer. We scrapped all our plans, headed to Florida and spent the next 11 months down here where Linda had surgery, chemo and radiation treatments. It also marked the end of our 12 1/2 years of Full-timing.
A major change of plans!! We had to be flexible!!!!!
This summer, we were planning on going back out to Oregon again. But, Linda's eye problem required us to change our plans, yet again. It's OK though, we'll head up to Illinois to our favorite Campground and enjoy the summer there. Through the years, we've had a lot of bumps in the road, with that really big bump back in 2013. By comparison, this is just a little pebble in the road.
Another change of plans!! But it's OK, we're flexible!!!!!
Are You????
Did you know that there are 2,734,102 miles of paved public roads in the United Sates, with an additional 1,324,245 miles of unpaved public roads?
Woof!!!
63 deg. cloudy, Wind NW 6 MPH Gusts 26
Forecast = Mostly cloudy with showers likely. Highs around 68°F. West wind 8 to 15 MPH, gusting to 21 MPH. Chance of precipitation 70 percent.
Can you be flexible?
NO! NO!! Not your body!!!
Can you be flexible enough to Full-time or even part-time for 5 or 6 months of the year? If you've been RVing for any length of time, I'm sure that you've had to be, or learn to be flexible with your plans.
Many years ago, when we first started Full-timing, we learned that you'd better allow for a mishap or two, anytime you're traveling or even staying in one place for awhile. Things just happen and there's nothing you can do about it.
If you can't adapt to these mishaps or delays and change your pans, you probably better not plan on RVing too much. Sometimes you can make up the time you lost for repairs or other unforeseen circumstances, but sometimes you just have to make a major plan change.
One of the first years that we were Full-timing, we had an accident in a parking lot South of Orlando. Jim made a hard right turn, the back of the MH swung out and hit a new Jeep Liberty and tore up the Jeeps fender and the plastic bumper on the back of the MH. It was the fist thing like that that had happened, Jim was really upset with himself, and to be honest, I thought our Full-timing days were over!!!
That little deal cost us 2 or 3 weeks of travel and a lot of plans had to be changed. We had to be flexible!
Then, there was time time that we were on our way to Oregon, via the northern route, (US 2). We were in the middle of Montana, (about 20 or 30 miles East of Havre in the middle of nowhere), when the diesel engine just up and quit!!!!
Jim got it going again and we limped into Havre where a CG made space for us and a great mechanic worked on the MH for almost 2 days, but still didn't find the problem. To his credit, he knew he didn't find the problem and he only charged us for a few other minor items he found and repaired.
To make a long story short, we went to many different mechanics, (even a authorized repair shop), but no one could find the problem. Jim finally determined that if he didn't run anything electrical except the engine, the engine would keep running. We visited with Jeff and Heather in Oregon, but then instead of going down the coast and to a bunch of National Parks, we headed back to Florida where a very good mechanic, Lester, found the problem in about 30 minutes and repaired it for about $150.00!!!
A very big change of plans! We had to be flexible!!!!
As most of you know, back in August 2013, while we were in Illinois, Linda was diagnosed with cancer. We scrapped all our plans, headed to Florida and spent the next 11 months down here where Linda had surgery, chemo and radiation treatments. It also marked the end of our 12 1/2 years of Full-timing.
A major change of plans!! We had to be flexible!!!!!
This summer, we were planning on going back out to Oregon again. But, Linda's eye problem required us to change our plans, yet again. It's OK though, we'll head up to Illinois to our favorite Campground and enjoy the summer there. Through the years, we've had a lot of bumps in the road, with that really big bump back in 2013. By comparison, this is just a little pebble in the road.
Another change of plans!! But it's OK, we're flexible!!!!!
Are You????
Did you know that there are 2,734,102 miles of paved public roads in the United Sates, with an additional 1,324,245 miles of unpaved public roads?
Woof!!!
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Big RED's Recall
DeBary Fl.
39 deg. clear, N wind @ 12 mph.
Forecast = Sunny, High 62F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.
Bright and early yesterday morning Jim took Big RED up to the Dodge Ram dealer in DeLand. It was about 7:25 when they left here so that they'd be in plenty of time for Big RED's 8:00 AM appointment. By about 8:10 the mechanic was taking him back to a stall in the shop to do the Air Bag recall procedure of replacing the inflator housings.
Well, come to find out, the only inflator housing that needed to be replaced was the one on the driver's side. I guess it depends on serial numbers or something to determine what actually needs to be done. So, instead of it taking 3 hours, it took just over an hour and by about 9:30, Jim was backing Big RED back into the carport. :-)
During the recall procedure, the dealership disconnected the batteries, (Big RED has 2 batteries for his diesel engine), to change the air bag parts and while they were disconnected, they did a load test on them. The service writer told Jim that one of the batteries was getting weak and that he should probably replace the batteries pretty soon. He asked Jim if he wanted a price on new batteries, but Jim told him that he's take care of it.
So, if the batteries are getting weak, (and who knows how long they've been in there or if they've been properly taken care of), that will mean that at least before our summer travels, Jim will need to purchase a couple batteries. He did a quick look-up on-line and it looks like batteries with enough CCA, (Cold Cranking Amps), for the diesel will be right around $125 to $150 each. :-(
Nothing much else to report. Jim hasn't felt very good the past few days, but seems to be feeling better now. The weather has been pretty chilly and windy, (by Florida standards), so not much has been done outside. Linda did do 3 loads of laundry the other day. That's the first time in over a year that she's been able to go out to the shed, where the washer and drier are, that many times one day to do that.
She still has days when she's "light headed", but those days are getting to be less and less all the time. :-)
Did you know that it was on this date in 1986, that the U.S. space shuttle Challenger exploded just after takeoff? All seven of its crewmembers were killed.
Woof!!!
39 deg. clear, N wind @ 12 mph.
Forecast = Sunny, High 62F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.
Bright and early yesterday morning Jim took Big RED up to the Dodge Ram dealer in DeLand. It was about 7:25 when they left here so that they'd be in plenty of time for Big RED's 8:00 AM appointment. By about 8:10 the mechanic was taking him back to a stall in the shop to do the Air Bag recall procedure of replacing the inflator housings.
Well, come to find out, the only inflator housing that needed to be replaced was the one on the driver's side. I guess it depends on serial numbers or something to determine what actually needs to be done. So, instead of it taking 3 hours, it took just over an hour and by about 9:30, Jim was backing Big RED back into the carport. :-)
During the recall procedure, the dealership disconnected the batteries, (Big RED has 2 batteries for his diesel engine), to change the air bag parts and while they were disconnected, they did a load test on them. The service writer told Jim that one of the batteries was getting weak and that he should probably replace the batteries pretty soon. He asked Jim if he wanted a price on new batteries, but Jim told him that he's take care of it.
So, if the batteries are getting weak, (and who knows how long they've been in there or if they've been properly taken care of), that will mean that at least before our summer travels, Jim will need to purchase a couple batteries. He did a quick look-up on-line and it looks like batteries with enough CCA, (Cold Cranking Amps), for the diesel will be right around $125 to $150 each. :-(
Nothing much else to report. Jim hasn't felt very good the past few days, but seems to be feeling better now. The weather has been pretty chilly and windy, (by Florida standards), so not much has been done outside. Linda did do 3 loads of laundry the other day. That's the first time in over a year that she's been able to go out to the shed, where the washer and drier are, that many times one day to do that.
She still has days when she's "light headed", but those days are getting to be less and less all the time. :-)
Did you know that it was on this date in 1986, that the U.S. space shuttle Challenger exploded just after takeoff? All seven of its crewmembers were killed.
Woof!!!
Thursday, November 6, 2014
New Shocks For Big RED
Virginia Beach, VA.
58 deg. overcast, no wind.
Forecast today = Periods of rain. High 71F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..
Tonight = Rain showers this evening with mostly clear conditions overnight. Low 48F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Way back in April when Big RED first pulled Nora from the RV Dealer's lot to Highbanks, Jim thought that possibly Big RED's shocks weren't in the best condition any longer. But because Linda was still having treatments and Jim was busy trying to get the trailer ready and packed for travel, nothing was done about it.
Jim knew that the shocks weren't real worn out and figured that they'd probably be OK for this trip. He also reasoned that if they became too worn and the ride got too bouncy, he could find someplace to get them replaced along our route. Well, the farther we've traveled, the more bouncy the ride has become, so when we arrived here in Virginia Beach, Jim decided it was time to do something about it.
I don't know if you recall, but 3 or 4 years ago, Jim had Ray, (One of Joe's friends who works out of his garage), replace all the brakes on CLT (Cute Little Truck), when we were here. Well, Ray is very conscientious and is very reasonable with his pricing, so Monday, Jim gave him a call and asked if he'd have timer to change Big RED's shocks before we leave here on Friday?
Jim told Ray that because Big RED would be doing a lot of towing, he wanted him to try to get some replacement shocks that were better than the original ones. Ray said that he had time and would check on the availability of shocks and get back to him. After a day of not finding suitable shocks at local parts stores, he was finally able to find what was wanted at a truck parts store and would be available on Wednesday.
So, yesterday, Ray came over here and picked up Big RED. He left his little Toyota truck here and told Jim that if he needed to go someplace to go ahead and use it. In about 4 hours, Ray brought Big RED back, with new shocks installed, and told Jim that 3 of the 4 old shocks were definitely weak and in the short drive back here, he had noticed quite an improvement in the ride.
It was dinner time by the time Ray returned with Big RED so Jim hasn't driven him yet. Jim has some errands to run today so he'll get to test the ride later. Then, tomorrow will be the big test when we leave Virginia Beach and Big RED tows Nora back down to Williamston.
We'll only stay one night at the CG near Williamston so that Jim can dump Nora's tanks and then we'll head for the coast, (just south of the outer banks), where we have a reservation at the Surf City Family CG near North Topsail Beach, NC. We'll be staying there for 3 nights and then head down to Myrtle Beach, SC for 4 nights.
Ahhhh!!!! I can hear the surf already!! ;-)
Did you know that Virginia Beach has 28 miles of public beach area?
Woof!!!
58 deg. overcast, no wind.
Forecast today = Periods of rain. High 71F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 80%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..
Tonight = Rain showers this evening with mostly clear conditions overnight. Low 48F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80%.
Way back in April when Big RED first pulled Nora from the RV Dealer's lot to Highbanks, Jim thought that possibly Big RED's shocks weren't in the best condition any longer. But because Linda was still having treatments and Jim was busy trying to get the trailer ready and packed for travel, nothing was done about it.
Jim knew that the shocks weren't real worn out and figured that they'd probably be OK for this trip. He also reasoned that if they became too worn and the ride got too bouncy, he could find someplace to get them replaced along our route. Well, the farther we've traveled, the more bouncy the ride has become, so when we arrived here in Virginia Beach, Jim decided it was time to do something about it.
I don't know if you recall, but 3 or 4 years ago, Jim had Ray, (One of Joe's friends who works out of his garage), replace all the brakes on CLT (Cute Little Truck), when we were here. Well, Ray is very conscientious and is very reasonable with his pricing, so Monday, Jim gave him a call and asked if he'd have timer to change Big RED's shocks before we leave here on Friday?
Jim told Ray that because Big RED would be doing a lot of towing, he wanted him to try to get some replacement shocks that were better than the original ones. Ray said that he had time and would check on the availability of shocks and get back to him. After a day of not finding suitable shocks at local parts stores, he was finally able to find what was wanted at a truck parts store and would be available on Wednesday.
So, yesterday, Ray came over here and picked up Big RED. He left his little Toyota truck here and told Jim that if he needed to go someplace to go ahead and use it. In about 4 hours, Ray brought Big RED back, with new shocks installed, and told Jim that 3 of the 4 old shocks were definitely weak and in the short drive back here, he had noticed quite an improvement in the ride.
It was dinner time by the time Ray returned with Big RED so Jim hasn't driven him yet. Jim has some errands to run today so he'll get to test the ride later. Then, tomorrow will be the big test when we leave Virginia Beach and Big RED tows Nora back down to Williamston.
We'll only stay one night at the CG near Williamston so that Jim can dump Nora's tanks and then we'll head for the coast, (just south of the outer banks), where we have a reservation at the Surf City Family CG near North Topsail Beach, NC. We'll be staying there for 3 nights and then head down to Myrtle Beach, SC for 4 nights.
Ahhhh!!!! I can hear the surf already!! ;-)
Did you know that Virginia Beach has 28 miles of public beach area?
Woof!!!
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Tests, Shopping, Things Change and A Very Nice Meal
Rantoul, IL.
70 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy with afternoon showers or thunderstorms. High 92F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Tuesday, about 10:00, Jim and Linda took Big RED and headed over to Gibson City to get Linda's tests done. Everything went really smooth and in about an hour, they were heading back towards Rantoul.
On the way back, they stopped in Fisher, IL and had lunch at the Blue Star Family Restaurant.
Nothing much happened during the afternoon, but after grabbing a sandwich around 5;30, they again took Big RED and headed over to Wally World where Jim purchased a new coffee maker and a couple other small items. The coffee maker that Jim had was old, wasn't working too well anymore, and was all cruddy down inside of the water reservoir. :-( Besides that, he uses one of those little 5 cup coffee makers, so they don't cost a whole lot to replace.
You know, that brings up another subject I've been thinking about.
Years ago, Jim would have tried to salvage that old pot and use it a little longer. He would have been scrubbing the inside of the reservoir with a brush or something, pouring vinegar thought the maker to remove any lime that might have accumulated and maybe even gone shopping for a replacement pot if needed.
But, things / times have changed! Somewhere along the way, he has changed his attitude about things like that, and has decided that he doesn't want to, or it's too much trouble to go though all that work. It's the same way with repairs on the RV or other vehicles that we've had lately. He used to do all the maintenance and repairs on them, but now, except for some small repairs, he has someone else do the work.
Yeah, part of it is technology. He sometimes doesn't have the tools or the testers to do the work. but for the most part, he just doesn't feel like crawling around under a vehicle or inside of a cabinet or storage bay to do the work, anymore. And to be honest, he doesn't feel too safe when he's up on the roof of an RV, (and Linda doesn't like it when he goes up there), so, unless it's an emergency, he doesn't go up there anymore either.
I don't know, it might be age. Jim says that it much harder to get under a vehicle or do something inside of a cabinet or storage area than it used to be and if he does manage do the work himself, he's sore for quite a few days afterwords.
I know I can't run and jump around like a puppy anymore. I used to run and run and run, but the old joints just won't let me do that now. :-(
Getting older is not easy, but when you think of the alternative, it guess there's not much choice.
OK, enough of that!!!!!!
After going to Wally World, Big RED took Jim and Linda over to the Dairy Queen for a treat. They hadn't been there at all this year and really enjoyed it. ;-)
When Jim was over talking to Louise the other day, she gave him a couple of filet mignon steaks that she had gotten from Paul's son, who has a farm up near Galena, IL. So, yesterday evening, being that the weather was nice, Jim decided that he'd try to cook them on his grill.
Well, I'm here to tell you that they sure smelled good, and both Jim and Linda thought they they turned out really well! :-) They had them along with some potato salad, some sliced tomatoes, (out of Louise's garden), and bakery bread.
A very nice meal, indeed!!!! ;-) Thank you very much, Louise!!!!!
No plans so far for today. I'ts supposed to be quite hot and humid, so Jim and Linda will probably be staying inside a lot. It's supposed to really cool off for the weekend though.
Did you know that September is "National Prime Beef Month"?
Woof!!!
70 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy with afternoon showers or thunderstorms. High 92F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
Tuesday, about 10:00, Jim and Linda took Big RED and headed over to Gibson City to get Linda's tests done. Everything went really smooth and in about an hour, they were heading back towards Rantoul.
On the way back, they stopped in Fisher, IL and had lunch at the Blue Star Family Restaurant.
Nothing much happened during the afternoon, but after grabbing a sandwich around 5;30, they again took Big RED and headed over to Wally World where Jim purchased a new coffee maker and a couple other small items. The coffee maker that Jim had was old, wasn't working too well anymore, and was all cruddy down inside of the water reservoir. :-( Besides that, he uses one of those little 5 cup coffee makers, so they don't cost a whole lot to replace.
You know, that brings up another subject I've been thinking about.
Years ago, Jim would have tried to salvage that old pot and use it a little longer. He would have been scrubbing the inside of the reservoir with a brush or something, pouring vinegar thought the maker to remove any lime that might have accumulated and maybe even gone shopping for a replacement pot if needed.
But, things / times have changed! Somewhere along the way, he has changed his attitude about things like that, and has decided that he doesn't want to, or it's too much trouble to go though all that work. It's the same way with repairs on the RV or other vehicles that we've had lately. He used to do all the maintenance and repairs on them, but now, except for some small repairs, he has someone else do the work.
Yeah, part of it is technology. He sometimes doesn't have the tools or the testers to do the work. but for the most part, he just doesn't feel like crawling around under a vehicle or inside of a cabinet or storage bay to do the work, anymore. And to be honest, he doesn't feel too safe when he's up on the roof of an RV, (and Linda doesn't like it when he goes up there), so, unless it's an emergency, he doesn't go up there anymore either.
I don't know, it might be age. Jim says that it much harder to get under a vehicle or do something inside of a cabinet or storage area than it used to be and if he does manage do the work himself, he's sore for quite a few days afterwords.
I know I can't run and jump around like a puppy anymore. I used to run and run and run, but the old joints just won't let me do that now. :-(
Getting older is not easy, but when you think of the alternative, it guess there's not much choice.
OK, enough of that!!!!!!
After going to Wally World, Big RED took Jim and Linda over to the Dairy Queen for a treat. They hadn't been there at all this year and really enjoyed it. ;-)
When Jim was over talking to Louise the other day, she gave him a couple of filet mignon steaks that she had gotten from Paul's son, who has a farm up near Galena, IL. So, yesterday evening, being that the weather was nice, Jim decided that he'd try to cook them on his grill.
Well, I'm here to tell you that they sure smelled good, and both Jim and Linda thought they they turned out really well! :-) They had them along with some potato salad, some sliced tomatoes, (out of Louise's garden), and bakery bread.
A very nice meal, indeed!!!! ;-) Thank you very much, Louise!!!!!
No plans so far for today. I'ts supposed to be quite hot and humid, so Jim and Linda will probably be staying inside a lot. It's supposed to really cool off for the weekend though.
Did you know that September is "National Prime Beef Month"?
Woof!!!
Friday, April 4, 2014
No Treatments This Week and Planning Some More
DeBary, FL.
64 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 87F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
Linda didn't have any radiation treatments this week because during the next 2 weeks, they'll be doing a different kind of radiation and the doctor wanted to wait a week in between. So, , , , , this next Tuesday, she'll be going in at 7:30 AM for a treatment, that with prep time, that will take approximately 3 hours!!!! :-( There will be a total of 3 of these treatments administered over the next 2 weeks and then she will go back to having Chemo treatments.
Linda went to see the Chemo doctor, (Dr. Saferali) yesterday afternoon, and she indicated that there would again be 3 treatments at 21 day intervals. Linda has an appointment to see Dr. Saferali in 3 weeks, (the 24th of March). and the treatments should begin the following week.
Now, if you plan it out on a calendar, her last treatment should be on or about the 12th of June. Then there will be 2 or 3 weeks after that when she'll have to go in for blood test to make sure her blood count is OK. Then, we're guessing that there will be another month for follow-up visits.
IF, (and this is a big IF), everything goes smoothly, we may be able to start heading North somewhere between the middle to the end of July!!!! Jim and Linda both realize that many thing could change this, but we're all hoping that we'll be able to go, near that time frame.
Speaking of travel!!! The service adviser from LaMesa called the other day and they expect to have the trailer ready for pick-up towards the end of next week. They had to order some parts, thus causing the delay.
A Point to Ponder : I've learned that just one person saying to me, "You've made my day!" makes my day.
Woof!!!
64 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High 87F. Winds SSW at 10 to 15 mph.
Linda didn't have any radiation treatments this week because during the next 2 weeks, they'll be doing a different kind of radiation and the doctor wanted to wait a week in between. So, , , , , this next Tuesday, she'll be going in at 7:30 AM for a treatment, that with prep time, that will take approximately 3 hours!!!! :-( There will be a total of 3 of these treatments administered over the next 2 weeks and then she will go back to having Chemo treatments.
Linda went to see the Chemo doctor, (Dr. Saferali) yesterday afternoon, and she indicated that there would again be 3 treatments at 21 day intervals. Linda has an appointment to see Dr. Saferali in 3 weeks, (the 24th of March). and the treatments should begin the following week.
Now, if you plan it out on a calendar, her last treatment should be on or about the 12th of June. Then there will be 2 or 3 weeks after that when she'll have to go in for blood test to make sure her blood count is OK. Then, we're guessing that there will be another month for follow-up visits.
IF, (and this is a big IF), everything goes smoothly, we may be able to start heading North somewhere between the middle to the end of July!!!! Jim and Linda both realize that many thing could change this, but we're all hoping that we'll be able to go, near that time frame.
Speaking of travel!!! The service adviser from LaMesa called the other day and they expect to have the trailer ready for pick-up towards the end of next week. They had to order some parts, thus causing the delay.
A Point to Ponder : I've learned that just one person saying to me, "You've made my day!" makes my day.
Woof!!!
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Full-Timing RVs and Trucks
DeBary, FL
.
.
58 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Sun and clouds mixed. High 83F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
Being that nothing important is happening, I thought I'd create a collage of the RVs and trucks that we've had since we went full-timing back in 2001.
In the top left corner there's Mariah. (You can click on the photo to enlarge it). She was the 1998 35' Winnebago Chieftain gas engine motor home that Jim and Linda had when we started full-timing June 1, 2001. They had purchased her in 1999 and she served us well, taking us all across the lower 48 states many times and even up to Alaska and back in 2002.
The center photo on the left side is TTT a 1992 Nissan pickup truck. (Mariah named him TTT for Tiny Tin Truck). He also was with us right from the start and followed along behind Mariah for many, many miles. He really took a beating from all the gravel on our trip to Alaska and in 2004 developed some major mechanical problems, so in April of 2004, Jim traded him off for CLT, (Lower left in the photo), a 1996 Nissan pickup, (Named Cute Little Truck, also by Mariah). CLT's truck bed was the same as TTT's so it was possible to transfer the bed cap from one truck to the other without any modifications.
In 2005, Mariah developed some major structural problems so Jim and Linda traded her for Myrddin, (a 1992 40' Beaver Marquis diesel pusher). (Top right in above photo)
Myrddin was beautiful inside with a handcrafted cherry wood interior and was probably the motor home with the interior that Jim and Linda liked the best. Myrddin had his problems though, and on the first trip out West in 2005 we had major problems with the engine stopping all of a sudden and doing that, during the whole trip out west and back. Jim and Linda took him to many RV repair shops along the way, but no one could figure out what was wrong.
We finally made it back down to Florida where a mechanic named Lester, at a shop in Lakeland Florida figured it out. Come to find out, it was an intermittent short in a 12 volt electric motor that powered the vacuum pump for the dash heater.
The problem was fixed, but Jim never had faith in Myrddin after that.
In 2011 on our way to the RV Dreams Rally in Sevierville, TN, Myrddin again developed an engine problem. This time it was a misfire condition. We made it to the Rally and then after the rally, Jim tried to find someone who could figure out what was wrong. Every place he called, he was told that they no longer had the diagnostic equipment to check his engine out. Jim finally found a CAT dealer in Bristol TN who had the equipment and repaired the problem, which ended up being a loose wire on cylinders 3 & 4 injectors.
At this same time, there was also a problem with Myrddin's furnace. When they tried to order the needed parts, they found out that they were almost non existent. It was at this time that Jim and Linda started to look for a newer RV.
In May of 2011, Jim and Linda found Emrys, a 45' 2000 Newmar, London Aire diesel pusher motor home at a dealer in central Illinois. (Bottom center in the above photo).
Linda named him Emrys, and he was also very nice inside, but didn't have the fit and finish of the woodwork that Myrddin had. When Jim and Linda purchased him, there were some problems that the dealer said that they would take care of. Well, come to find out, they just patched him together to get him out of the door, and once we were on the road, things started to go wrong. : ( (This dealer has since, gone out of business).
Again, Lester, (the mechanic and his crew down in Florida), came to the rescue and soon most of the problems were repaired and we were on our way. : )
Emrys was huge at 45', great to drive down the Interstates, (steady as a rock), and great to be living in with his 2 slideouts, but neither Jim or Linda had any idea just how much more those extra 5' of length would restrict where we could camp or go. He was no fun at all on hilly, twisty/turny roads, (like U.S. 101 up along the Oregon coast), and we found that many of the campgrounds along the non-Interstate roads could not accommodate such a large RV.
Jim and Linda adjusted our travels though, and soon we were traveling on almost all Interstates and staying in only the larger parks.
I still don't know just what happened to make Jim decide that he thought it was time to stop full-timing and to buy a house again, but during the winter of 2012/2013, he told Linda that he thought it was time to stop. Now, before they started full-timing, they made an agreement that if one of them ever decided that it was time to stop full-timing, they would tell the other, discuss the reasons, and then stop if that person still felt the same after the discussion.
Well, as most of you know, they did buy a double wide manufactured home down in DeBary Florida. It's in a gated community and there is absolutely no place to park a 45' motor home, much less even get it through the entrance. They do however, have a storage lot within the community where a smaller RV could be stored.
So, the search was on for a smaller RV.
It didn't take long before Jim and Linda found Bobbie T., a 27' Class B motorhome, (lower right in the photo), at a nearby RV dealer that would take Emrys in on trade.
During the summer of 2013, we took Bobbie T, with CLT hooked behind, and traveled from FL to IL by way of Virginia Beach, VA and Apex, NC. At Linda's regular Doctor's appointment in August, she was diagnosed with cancer.
At that time, we came down here to Florida and moved into the Double-wide manufactured home so that Linda could have surgery and treatments, thus, officially ending our full-timing lifestyle in August of 2013.
Since we've been here in Florida, Jim and Linda have traded CLT for a 3/4 ton Dodge pickup, and sometime before fall, will be either selling Bobbie T, or trading her in on a trailer of some kind. The reason for this is that Bobbie T. is not doing well over in the storage lot and Jim is worried about what kind of condition her engine and other chassis parts will be in after such a long period of non-use.
So, that's the vehicles that we've had while Full-timing. We've had a great time traveling all over the lower 48 and up into Alaska and would have liked to full-time longer. But, as we all know, things don't always work out the way we wanted them to.
Did you know that American Eddie Eagan is the only person to have won gold medals in both the Summer and Winter Games? He was a boxing champion in the 1920 Antwerp Games, and also won gold at the 1932 Lake Placid Games in the team bobsled event.
Woof!!!
Linda named him Emrys, and he was also very nice inside, but didn't have the fit and finish of the woodwork that Myrddin had. When Jim and Linda purchased him, there were some problems that the dealer said that they would take care of. Well, come to find out, they just patched him together to get him out of the door, and once we were on the road, things started to go wrong. : ( (This dealer has since, gone out of business).
Again, Lester, (the mechanic and his crew down in Florida), came to the rescue and soon most of the problems were repaired and we were on our way. : )
Emrys was huge at 45', great to drive down the Interstates, (steady as a rock), and great to be living in with his 2 slideouts, but neither Jim or Linda had any idea just how much more those extra 5' of length would restrict where we could camp or go. He was no fun at all on hilly, twisty/turny roads, (like U.S. 101 up along the Oregon coast), and we found that many of the campgrounds along the non-Interstate roads could not accommodate such a large RV.
Jim and Linda adjusted our travels though, and soon we were traveling on almost all Interstates and staying in only the larger parks.
I still don't know just what happened to make Jim decide that he thought it was time to stop full-timing and to buy a house again, but during the winter of 2012/2013, he told Linda that he thought it was time to stop. Now, before they started full-timing, they made an agreement that if one of them ever decided that it was time to stop full-timing, they would tell the other, discuss the reasons, and then stop if that person still felt the same after the discussion.
Well, as most of you know, they did buy a double wide manufactured home down in DeBary Florida. It's in a gated community and there is absolutely no place to park a 45' motor home, much less even get it through the entrance. They do however, have a storage lot within the community where a smaller RV could be stored.
So, the search was on for a smaller RV.
It didn't take long before Jim and Linda found Bobbie T., a 27' Class B motorhome, (lower right in the photo), at a nearby RV dealer that would take Emrys in on trade.
During the summer of 2013, we took Bobbie T, with CLT hooked behind, and traveled from FL to IL by way of Virginia Beach, VA and Apex, NC. At Linda's regular Doctor's appointment in August, she was diagnosed with cancer.
At that time, we came down here to Florida and moved into the Double-wide manufactured home so that Linda could have surgery and treatments, thus, officially ending our full-timing lifestyle in August of 2013.
Since we've been here in Florida, Jim and Linda have traded CLT for a 3/4 ton Dodge pickup, and sometime before fall, will be either selling Bobbie T, or trading her in on a trailer of some kind. The reason for this is that Bobbie T. is not doing well over in the storage lot and Jim is worried about what kind of condition her engine and other chassis parts will be in after such a long period of non-use.
So, that's the vehicles that we've had while Full-timing. We've had a great time traveling all over the lower 48 and up into Alaska and would have liked to full-time longer. But, as we all know, things don't always work out the way we wanted them to.
Did you know that American Eddie Eagan is the only person to have won gold medals in both the Summer and Winter Games? He was a boxing champion in the 1920 Antwerp Games, and also won gold at the 1932 Lake Placid Games in the team bobsled event.
Woof!!!
Friday, December 6, 2013
CLT Goes To A Mechanic, Decorations and A Second Phone
DeBary, FL.
62 deg. light fog, no wind
Forecast = Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High near 85F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
Wednesday, Jim took CLT to a mechanic down on US 17/92. You see, for a while now, there has been a clunking noise coming from his steering wheel, and just lately, his horn has started blowing at odd times while driving down the road. Jim was quite sure that something had come loose in the steering column and didn't want to take any chances of the steering either locking up or coming apart! :-O
The mechanics at Bob Gorman's Alignment and Brake Center did a fine job and soon had CLT's steering repaired. While he was there, Jim also had the mechanic install new shocks on the front and do an alignment. Now CLT doesn't bounce while driving down the road and Jim says that he drives better too. :-)
While CLT was at the mechanic's, (Bob brought Jim back here to the house while CLT was being repaired), Jim and Linda finished decorating the tree. I think it looks pretty nice and I'm even starting to get into the Christmas spirit. ;-)
Then, about 4:30 Bob called and told Jim that CLT was finished and he would be picking him up in just a short while. In about 10 minutes, Bob arrived with CLT and picked Jim up. They headed back to the shop where Jim paid the bill, (Jim thought the charges were very reasonable), before bringing CLT back here.
Since she doesn't know how the chemo treatments are going to affect her, Linda's getting worried about getting everything ready for the upcoming holiday. In fact, yesterday, she and Jim were making a list of things that need to get done before the treatments start. Then, about 2:00 they took CLT and headed out to do some shopping and to see about getting another phone so that they can contact each other.
You see, all these years, Jim and Linda have only had one phone, and that had worked quite well because they were almost always together. Now, since we're here in DeBary, there already have been some times when a second phone would have come in real handy. After checking on how much it would cost to have another phone line added to their regular plan, it was decided to just go with a pre-paid phone, which was much less expensive.
After doing the shopping and getting the phone, they came back here for while and then headed to Gram's Kitchen in Orange City for dinner.
This afternoon, Linda has an appointment at the chemotherapy place for a "Chemo Patient Education" session. From what I understand, they will show Linda the facilities, explain the procedures to her and answer any questions she has about the treatment process and the side effects. Jim and Laura will also go along so that they will also have an idea of what Linda is going through.
Then on the 12th, (next Thursday), Linda will have her first treatment.
A Point to Ponder : Being kind is more important than being right.
Woof!!!
62 deg. light fog, no wind
Forecast = Mainly sunny to start, then a few afternoon clouds. High near 85F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph.
Wednesday, Jim took CLT to a mechanic down on US 17/92. You see, for a while now, there has been a clunking noise coming from his steering wheel, and just lately, his horn has started blowing at odd times while driving down the road. Jim was quite sure that something had come loose in the steering column and didn't want to take any chances of the steering either locking up or coming apart! :-O
The mechanics at Bob Gorman's Alignment and Brake Center did a fine job and soon had CLT's steering repaired. While he was there, Jim also had the mechanic install new shocks on the front and do an alignment. Now CLT doesn't bounce while driving down the road and Jim says that he drives better too. :-)
While CLT was at the mechanic's, (Bob brought Jim back here to the house while CLT was being repaired), Jim and Linda finished decorating the tree. I think it looks pretty nice and I'm even starting to get into the Christmas spirit. ;-)
Then, about 4:30 Bob called and told Jim that CLT was finished and he would be picking him up in just a short while. In about 10 minutes, Bob arrived with CLT and picked Jim up. They headed back to the shop where Jim paid the bill, (Jim thought the charges were very reasonable), before bringing CLT back here.
Since she doesn't know how the chemo treatments are going to affect her, Linda's getting worried about getting everything ready for the upcoming holiday. In fact, yesterday, she and Jim were making a list of things that need to get done before the treatments start. Then, about 2:00 they took CLT and headed out to do some shopping and to see about getting another phone so that they can contact each other.
You see, all these years, Jim and Linda have only had one phone, and that had worked quite well because they were almost always together. Now, since we're here in DeBary, there already have been some times when a second phone would have come in real handy. After checking on how much it would cost to have another phone line added to their regular plan, it was decided to just go with a pre-paid phone, which was much less expensive.
After doing the shopping and getting the phone, they came back here for while and then headed to Gram's Kitchen in Orange City for dinner.
This afternoon, Linda has an appointment at the chemotherapy place for a "Chemo Patient Education" session. From what I understand, they will show Linda the facilities, explain the procedures to her and answer any questions she has about the treatment process and the side effects. Jim and Laura will also go along so that they will also have an idea of what Linda is going through.
Then on the 12th, (next Thursday), Linda will have her first treatment.
A Point to Ponder : Being kind is more important than being right.
Woof!!!
Sunday, October 27, 2013
The Time Is Near and An Emotional Rollercoaster
DeBary, FL.
54 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Clear. High of 81F. Winds from the NNE at 5 to 10 mph.
The time is near. By 5:15 AM tomorrow, Linda will be at the Halifax Hospital, getting prepped for surgery. I don't know exactly what time her surgery is scheduled for, but I do know that Dr. Molpus has the surgery room reserved for 4 hours. That doesn't mean that the operation will take 4 hours, but the room is available in case it should take that long.
This last week has been an emotional rollercoaster. There were times when things were going along just fine and then something would happen and it seemed like a major crisis. :-( Most things were not really that big of a deal, but seemed immense at the time.
One of the more major things that happened was that CLT's battery decided to die. Friday evening, Jim and Linda were going out to eat and when Jim tried to start CLT's engine, the starter wouldn't turn the engine over enough to start.
So, yesterday morning, Jim got out his little battery charger and hooked it up to the battery. While he was waiting for it to possibly charge up the battery enough to get CLT started, Ray, from across the street, saw that Jim was having problems and brought his larger charger, (with a boost feature), over and in no time, CLT's engine was running. :-)
After thanking Ray for helping, Jim took CLT and went to Auto Zone, where they checked the battery. It was bad, and since it was an Auto Zone battery and had a little bit of warranty left, Jim purchased a new one. One nice thing about going to Auto Zone is that when you go there for charging/battery problems, they will test the whole system and then, if you purchase a battery, they install it for you at no additional charge. :-)
Now, this whole thing turned out to be something that was fairly easily taken care of, but Friday evening it seemed huge!!
Today, Linda has to drink about a gallon of stuff to get her insides cleaned out. She's not looking forward to that at all, but I think Laura will be coming over to be with her. She can't eat anything solid all day and after midnight, she can't even drink anything. Then tomorrow morning, Linda and Jim will have to leave here about 4:30 to get to the hospital by 5:15. :-(
Laura will be at the hospital with Jim, so they'll have each other for company while they wait. :-)
Oh, Jim was fooling around with the clock yesterday to make sure the alarm worked. He said that he can't remember the last time he set the alarm.
I don't know when I'll be posting next, but I'll let you know how the surgery went as soon as I can.
Did you know that in 2012, about 1,638,910 new cancer cases were diagnosed?
Woof!!!!
Thanks Ray!!!!
54 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Clear. High of 81F. Winds from the NNE at 5 to 10 mph.
The time is near. By 5:15 AM tomorrow, Linda will be at the Halifax Hospital, getting prepped for surgery. I don't know exactly what time her surgery is scheduled for, but I do know that Dr. Molpus has the surgery room reserved for 4 hours. That doesn't mean that the operation will take 4 hours, but the room is available in case it should take that long.
This last week has been an emotional rollercoaster. There were times when things were going along just fine and then something would happen and it seemed like a major crisis. :-( Most things were not really that big of a deal, but seemed immense at the time.
One of the more major things that happened was that CLT's battery decided to die. Friday evening, Jim and Linda were going out to eat and when Jim tried to start CLT's engine, the starter wouldn't turn the engine over enough to start.
So, yesterday morning, Jim got out his little battery charger and hooked it up to the battery. While he was waiting for it to possibly charge up the battery enough to get CLT started, Ray, from across the street, saw that Jim was having problems and brought his larger charger, (with a boost feature), over and in no time, CLT's engine was running. :-)
After thanking Ray for helping, Jim took CLT and went to Auto Zone, where they checked the battery. It was bad, and since it was an Auto Zone battery and had a little bit of warranty left, Jim purchased a new one. One nice thing about going to Auto Zone is that when you go there for charging/battery problems, they will test the whole system and then, if you purchase a battery, they install it for you at no additional charge. :-)
Now, this whole thing turned out to be something that was fairly easily taken care of, but Friday evening it seemed huge!!
Today, Linda has to drink about a gallon of stuff to get her insides cleaned out. She's not looking forward to that at all, but I think Laura will be coming over to be with her. She can't eat anything solid all day and after midnight, she can't even drink anything. Then tomorrow morning, Linda and Jim will have to leave here about 4:30 to get to the hospital by 5:15. :-(
Laura will be at the hospital with Jim, so they'll have each other for company while they wait. :-)
Oh, Jim was fooling around with the clock yesterday to make sure the alarm worked. He said that he can't remember the last time he set the alarm.
I don't know when I'll be posting next, but I'll let you know how the surgery went as soon as I can.
Did you know that in 2012, about 1,638,910 new cancer cases were diagnosed?
Woof!!!!
Thanks Ray!!!!
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Bobbie T Goes To The Repair Shop
Shipshewana, IN.
73 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = mostly cloudy, with a 40% chance of rain. W. wind @ 5 to 20 mph.
We left the Beaver Ridge CG in Lakeville about 8:50 and after returning to US 31 followed it North up to the South Bend, IN area where we turned East on US 20. 20 then took us to Middlebury and to Fox RV Inc.
It was 9:35 when we pulled into the lot so it took us just 45 minutes to travel the 37 miles over there. Not too bad when you consider that we had some minor road construction slowdowns East of Elkhart.
In the photo below, you can see Bobbie T backed up in front of the building where they are working on repairing the upper awning arm bracket mounting bolts.
This is the compartment that they had to work in to check out the dinette slide motor/brake assembly.
Besides, the slide motor brake and the awning bracket bolts, Jim also had them check on a propane problem. You see, when the water heater was on and Linda was using the burners on the range, it seemed like the propane pressure would drop and both flames would be low, resulting in the water heater kicking off and relighting from time to time. The problem ended up being a blocked screen at the inlet of the pressure regulator, which Larry Fox (the owner), said happens sometimes when an RV is not used for a long time.
As for the awning bolts, after taking out the old ones, cleaning up the mounting areas, and installing new longer , thicker bolts, the brackets were secured and everything in the areas were re-caulked.
Now, for the slide brake problem, that was the main reason that Jim brought Bobbie T up here.
Well, first of all, it was determined that the brake on the motor/brake/gear assembly was definitely defective. So, that meant that a new assembly would be required. There was only one problem. They couldn't remove the assembly!!!
Why, you ask???? Well, when Bobbie T was manufactured, they didn't cut the hole in her main floor in the right place. It's off to the front about 2 inches. The motor assembly has to be unbolted and slid back out of the bracket, but that can't be done because the hole in the floor it too far forward and that makes sliding the motor to the rear impossible!!!!
The only way to remove that motor assembly would be to remove the complete slide out, enlarge the hole in the main floor, remove the motor, and then put everything back together again.
A new motor assembly would cost about $260.00, it would take 4 to 5 hours to remove the slide out and enlarge the hole in the floor, (at the shop rate of $100.00 per hour) and put everything back together again.
So, Jim and Linda were looking at a repair bill, (just for the slide), at somewhere around $700.00!!!!!! :-(
Larry said that since the motor and gear assembly seemed to be in good condition, he suggested the purchase of a Slide Lock, which is around $40.00!!!
He said that it should work fine and that if Bobbie T was his, that's what he would do. "If", someday, the motor or gear assembly should go bad, then the slide out will have to be removed, but in the meantime, this $40 slide lock will work very well to keep the slide from moving out when traveling. ;-)
By 2:50 PM all the work was done, the bill paid, (very reasonable on all the repair work), CLT was hooked to the back of Bobbie T, and we were pulling out of the Fox RV lot.
Both Jim and Linda figured that we'd be staying at Fox RV overnight, but being that the repairs went so quickly, we headed for the RV park that Jim had selected for the nights after the repair was completed. The park is the Shipshewana Campground North Park.
From Fox, we continued East on US 20 to Shipshewana, and then turned North on SR 5. 5 took us through Shipshewana and up to SR 120 where the park is located.
It was 3:20 when we pulled up to the office, so it took us just about 1/2 an hour to travel the 12 miles over here. (lots of delays in Shipshewana). :-(
This is a nice park. Quite different from the South Park that we had stayed at quite a few years ago. The South Park is a very large park and is all open with no trees while this one is smaller with some nice pine trees. Both campgrounds are quite expensive, but then, we are in a tourist area.
This post is getting pretty long already, so I'll tell you about the downpour of rain and more about the park next time.
Stay tuned!!!! ;-)
Did you know that more than 100 species of trees are native to Indiana? Before the pioneer's arrive more than 80% of Indiana was covered with forest. Now only 17% of the state is considered forested.
Woof!!!
73 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = mostly cloudy, with a 40% chance of rain. W. wind @ 5 to 20 mph.
We left the Beaver Ridge CG in Lakeville about 8:50 and after returning to US 31 followed it North up to the South Bend, IN area where we turned East on US 20. 20 then took us to Middlebury and to Fox RV Inc.
In the photo below, you can see Bobbie T backed up in front of the building where they are working on repairing the upper awning arm bracket mounting bolts.
This is the compartment that they had to work in to check out the dinette slide motor/brake assembly.
Besides, the slide motor brake and the awning bracket bolts, Jim also had them check on a propane problem. You see, when the water heater was on and Linda was using the burners on the range, it seemed like the propane pressure would drop and both flames would be low, resulting in the water heater kicking off and relighting from time to time. The problem ended up being a blocked screen at the inlet of the pressure regulator, which Larry Fox (the owner), said happens sometimes when an RV is not used for a long time.
As for the awning bolts, after taking out the old ones, cleaning up the mounting areas, and installing new longer , thicker bolts, the brackets were secured and everything in the areas were re-caulked.
Now, for the slide brake problem, that was the main reason that Jim brought Bobbie T up here.
Well, first of all, it was determined that the brake on the motor/brake/gear assembly was definitely defective. So, that meant that a new assembly would be required. There was only one problem. They couldn't remove the assembly!!!
Why, you ask???? Well, when Bobbie T was manufactured, they didn't cut the hole in her main floor in the right place. It's off to the front about 2 inches. The motor assembly has to be unbolted and slid back out of the bracket, but that can't be done because the hole in the floor it too far forward and that makes sliding the motor to the rear impossible!!!!
The only way to remove that motor assembly would be to remove the complete slide out, enlarge the hole in the main floor, remove the motor, and then put everything back together again.
A new motor assembly would cost about $260.00, it would take 4 to 5 hours to remove the slide out and enlarge the hole in the floor, (at the shop rate of $100.00 per hour) and put everything back together again.
So, Jim and Linda were looking at a repair bill, (just for the slide), at somewhere around $700.00!!!!!! :-(
Larry said that since the motor and gear assembly seemed to be in good condition, he suggested the purchase of a Slide Lock, which is around $40.00!!!
He said that it should work fine and that if Bobbie T was his, that's what he would do. "If", someday, the motor or gear assembly should go bad, then the slide out will have to be removed, but in the meantime, this $40 slide lock will work very well to keep the slide from moving out when traveling. ;-)
By 2:50 PM all the work was done, the bill paid, (very reasonable on all the repair work), CLT was hooked to the back of Bobbie T, and we were pulling out of the Fox RV lot.
Both Jim and Linda figured that we'd be staying at Fox RV overnight, but being that the repairs went so quickly, we headed for the RV park that Jim had selected for the nights after the repair was completed. The park is the Shipshewana Campground North Park.
From Fox, we continued East on US 20 to Shipshewana, and then turned North on SR 5. 5 took us through Shipshewana and up to SR 120 where the park is located.
It was 3:20 when we pulled up to the office, so it took us just about 1/2 an hour to travel the 12 miles over here. (lots of delays in Shipshewana). :-(
This is a nice park. Quite different from the South Park that we had stayed at quite a few years ago. The South Park is a very large park and is all open with no trees while this one is smaller with some nice pine trees. Both campgrounds are quite expensive, but then, we are in a tourist area.
This post is getting pretty long already, so I'll tell you about the downpour of rain and more about the park next time.
Stay tuned!!!! ;-)
Did you know that more than 100 species of trees are native to Indiana? Before the pioneer's arrive more than 80% of Indiana was covered with forest. Now only 17% of the state is considered forested.
Woof!!!
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Dodging The Rain From Rantoul To Lakeville Indiana
Lakeville, IN.
72 deg. light fog, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy with a chance of a thunderstorm. High of 86F. Winds from the WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Even though we had fairly far to go, (for us), we didn't leave Rantoul until 10:00 yesterday morning. The reason was, that Jim was watching the radar and was waiting for a rain storm to pass to North of Rantoul. Once the rain had passed through the area, we pulled out of the Prairie Pines CG and headed North on I-57.
We took 57 up to Gilman, Il. where we turned off on US 24 and headed East towards Indiana. The 2 lane road was in good condition and we made good time through Eastern Illinois and Western Indiana.
All along 57 and 24, we had sprinkles on Bobbie T's windshield but hardly enough to run the wipers. That changed however, after we turned North on US 31, (a little East of Logansport at Peru). The further North we went the heavier the rain became and by the time we got up to around Rochester and Plymouth, it was raining really hard. A little North of Plymouth, the rain did let up, however, and by the time we arrived in Lakeville, it was just sprinkling again. : )
In Lakeville, we turned West for about a mile on IN. Rt 4 and then North for a little way on Maple Rd. That, brought us here to the Beaver Ridge Family Campground.
It was 3:20 Eastern time when we pulled up in front of the office, so, taking into consideration the time zone change, we traveled 198 miles in 4 hours and 20 minutes.
Beaver Ridge is a nice CG. Nothing fancy but well maintained with 30 Amp electric and water in the pull-through site that we're in. This is a Passport America Park and well worth the $15.30 for the night.
The first photo is of the office, across the street from us and down just a little.
The swimming pool which is almost directly across the street.
A view of our site and the street.
We're just staying for the one night, because this morning, Bobbie T has an appointment to get the slide repaired.
Oh, speaking of the slide. Jim's blocking seems to have worked. From Rantoul to up here in Lakeville, it did move out about 1/2 inch early in the trip, but hasn't moved any since then.
Today, we'll be heading up to Middlebury and to Fox RV. We're supposed to be there sometime between 9:00 and 10:00, so I imagine that we'll be leaving here around 8:30 or 9:00.
Did you know that Indiana's shoreline with Lake Michigan is only 40 miles long, but Indiana is still considered a Great Lakes State?
Woof!!!
72 deg. light fog, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy with a chance of a thunderstorm. High of 86F. Winds from the WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Even though we had fairly far to go, (for us), we didn't leave Rantoul until 10:00 yesterday morning. The reason was, that Jim was watching the radar and was waiting for a rain storm to pass to North of Rantoul. Once the rain had passed through the area, we pulled out of the Prairie Pines CG and headed North on I-57.
We took 57 up to Gilman, Il. where we turned off on US 24 and headed East towards Indiana. The 2 lane road was in good condition and we made good time through Eastern Illinois and Western Indiana.
All along 57 and 24, we had sprinkles on Bobbie T's windshield but hardly enough to run the wipers. That changed however, after we turned North on US 31, (a little East of Logansport at Peru). The further North we went the heavier the rain became and by the time we got up to around Rochester and Plymouth, it was raining really hard. A little North of Plymouth, the rain did let up, however, and by the time we arrived in Lakeville, it was just sprinkling again. : )
In Lakeville, we turned West for about a mile on IN. Rt 4 and then North for a little way on Maple Rd. That, brought us here to the Beaver Ridge Family Campground.
It was 3:20 Eastern time when we pulled up in front of the office, so, taking into consideration the time zone change, we traveled 198 miles in 4 hours and 20 minutes.
Beaver Ridge is a nice CG. Nothing fancy but well maintained with 30 Amp electric and water in the pull-through site that we're in. This is a Passport America Park and well worth the $15.30 for the night.
We're just staying for the one night, because this morning, Bobbie T has an appointment to get the slide repaired.
Oh, speaking of the slide. Jim's blocking seems to have worked. From Rantoul to up here in Lakeville, it did move out about 1/2 inch early in the trip, but hasn't moved any since then.
Today, we'll be heading up to Middlebury and to Fox RV. We're supposed to be there sometime between 9:00 and 10:00, so I imagine that we'll be leaving here around 8:30 or 9:00.
Did you know that Indiana's shoreline with Lake Michigan is only 40 miles long, but Indiana is still considered a Great Lakes State?
Woof!!!
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