Tag Archives: Iron Horse

2014/01/09 (R) Rainy Days And Writing

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I finished the first draft of my article for BCM on the Iron Horse converted bus and e-mailed it to the owners.  I also completed a draft of a shorter article on the Cool Cruiser bus conversion.  Both of these coaches were at the Arcadia Bus Rally where I was able to photograph them and interview the owners.

Rainy days are good days for this kind of work.  We’ve had a few recently, and we have taken advantage of them.  Linda has worked on her needlepoint, reading, and some accounting work in addition to putting our meals on the table, playing an occasional game on her iPad, and going for walks.  She is less inclined to sit and work for as long as I am, and rain does not deter her from walking.

Eventually, however, I also need to stretch my legs and get dome fresh air.  Around mid-afternoon we went for a long walk through the heart of downtown Williston and out to the west edge of town.  We stopped at an Italian restaurant to check out the menu and it had some options that would work for us.  We have friends arriving tomorrow mid-afternoon to spend a couple of nights, so we may try the restaurant for dinner.

We found the Win-Dixie supermarket and will check it out the next time we need groceries as it’s a lot closer than the Publix stores in Gainesville or Ocala.  We stopped at a roadside fruit and vegetable stand, sampled several different oranges, and bought a small container of one that was particularly juicy and flavorful.  We also stopped at the ACE Hardware store, checked out the store, and bought an outlet expander (2-to-6).

We were just about back to the entrance of the RV resort when a pickup truck passed us, slowed down, stopped, and backed up.  It was none other than Jimmy and Sadie Clay, the owners and converters of the Iron Horse.  They had driven over from Apopka, where they are volunteers in the state park, to check out Williston Crossings RV Resort.  They have a friend who had stayed there and told them how nice it was.  They were as surprised to see us as we were to see them.  We climbed in the back of their truck and gave them a guided tour of the resort.

Linda microwaved a couple of baking potatoes for dinner and sautéed onions, mushrooms, and broccoli with spices as a topping.  She added some shredded vegan cheese and we had a hearty, delicious meal.

We are both getting anxious to start exploring Florida, but it’s been good to be parked for the last week in our quiet little corner of our quiet little resort with cold, wet weather that gave me the opportunity to make significant progress on several critical projects.

 

2014/01/08 (W) Florida In Winter

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It dropped below freezing again last night here in Williston, Florida, but not by much.  This weather is not unusual for this time of year, and therefore not unexpected.  We normally use our three electric toe-kick heaters and our Broan ceramic cube heater to ward off the chill but when the outside temperatures get down towards freezing we use the Aqua Hot (diesel fueled hydronic heating system).

The unit has been running fine, but this morning I noticed that the coach had cooled off a bit. I checked the blowers on the bedroom and bathroom heat exchangers and the air coming out of them was not warm.  I checked the main unit (in one of the bays) and while the burner appeared to be running the feed lines were cool to the touch.  Normally they would be quite warm.  I turned off all three thermostats (bedroom, bathroom, and living room) and shut off the main switch that controls the burner.  The coolant in the overflow reservoir was at the add mark, so added some.  I turned the unit back on, turned on all three thermostats, and set them high enough to call for heat.  A short time later we had heat again.  The fans for the living room heat exchanger even came on (they haven’t been working the last couple of days).  Ahhh, the mysteries of the motorhome.  I added to much coolant, so of course it overflowed when it came up to temperature.

The weather was cloudy all day and the high temperature barely broke 50 degrees so we stuck around the RV resort.  Linda continued working on the needlepoint she is doing for Madeline and I started working on a featured bus article for Bus Conversions Magazine.  At the Arcadia Bus Rally I had the opportunity to interview Jimmy and Sadie Clay and photograph their 1984 Eagle Model 10 conversion “Iron Horse.”  The interior is done to resemble a railroad car from the Old Wild West.  I did not have a finished draft by bedtime, but I made excellent progress.

We took our usual walks and Linda made stuffed acorn squash for dinner using some leftover rice and other ingredients she had on hand.  She served it with a side of Brussels sprouts that she browned and then steamed.  Simple but delicious, and very satisfying on a cool evening.

2013/12/30 (M) Bussin’ Day 2

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Tom Mason leads a discussion about fresh water systems.

Tom Mason leads a discussion about fresh water systems.

The second day of the Arcadia (Bussin’) Rally kept us busy.  Breakfast was sponsored by Luke of U. S. Coach & Equipment Sales.  (Breakfast yesterday was sponsored by Steve Foster and the activities building is sponsored for the entire rally by Central Florida Bus.)  I went to the 9 AM seminar on the use of the on-board fresh water tank, put on by Tom Mason.  Tom uses the water in his tank for all domestic purposes, including drinking and cooking, and described the filtration system he uses to make sure it is safe and tastes good.  From there it was a Q&A/discussion format, which works well at a rally where there are a lot of very experienced people but the number of attendees at a seminar is not too large.

The Love Bus. Groovy.

The Love Bus. Groovy.

The “official” open house was today from 10 AM – noon, but many attendees have had their buses open to visitors since they got here.  Linda and I decided not to open our coach because of the cats, who are very stressed by strangers in their home.  We visited a few coaches including the Ultravan, the Love Bus, the Cool Cruiser, and two gorgeous trailers–a Spartan belonging to the Bone’s, and an airstream belonging to the Hunt’s—both with highly polished aluminum exteriors.

 

A vintage Airstream trailer and tow vehicle.

A vintage Airstream trailer and tow vehicle.

The “Old Hounds” group met for lunch at the Wolfert’s bus, so I stopped by there to get a few photographs.  After we had our own lunch, I attended the 1:30 PM seminar; a presentation by John Hunt of Tin Can Tourists titled “Home on the Road.”  John had researched and prepared an excellent presentation on how American’s took to the road in automobiles over the last 100 years.  The emphasis was on the evolution of where they stayed: think primitive roadside camping (the original boondocking) through the development of various kinds of campgrounds, cabin camps and eventually motels.  John’s delivery was very good.

 

The “Old Hounds” lunch meeting.

The “Old Hounds” lunch meeting.

 

 

The South East Bus Nuts were having a mid-afternoon meeting so I stopped by to take a few photographs.  Linda and MaryAnn went to play bingo and had a great time.  Bob Ernst was the caller, one of his many volunteer duties at the rally.  (Bob also takes care of the coffee all day, and was one of the golf cart drivers escorting buses to their sites.)  While the ladies played bingo, I went back to the Iron Horse and spent a couple of hours with owners Jimmy and Sadie Clay.  I took additional exterior photos and interviewed them about the conversion project.

Tin Can Tourists, L to R: Hunt Jones, Margaret Way (of Arcadia), & Forrest Bone. Margaret’s parents were original TCTs.

Tin Can Tourists, L to R: Hunt Jones, Margaret Way (of Arcadia), & Forrest Bone. Margaret’s parents were original TCTs.

We went over to the activities building with Bill and Karen for dinner around 5:30 PM.  As promised, Brenda Phelan had prepared salads for us.  We had hoped we might be able to have some corn, but after grilling it (yum) they put it in pans with butter (yuck).  The only other thing they had that we could eat was bread, so we each took a piece.

 

The South East Bus Nuts afternoon meeting.

The South East Bus Nuts afternoon meeting.

 

 

Dinner was followed by door prizes followed by a break before the evening entertainment started.  I used that opportunity to return to the coach and process some photographs.  I went back for the evening entertainment where Linda, Bill, Karen, Mike, and Kathy had held on to our table near the front.  Normally we don’t sit up front, especially for bands, but tonight was Sally Langwah and her husband, Roy.  They did a “Nashville impersonation” show in which Roy did Willie Nelson and Elvis Presley songs while Sally did a range of famous country female singers including Dolly Parton and Patsy Kline.  She changed into a different/appropriate outfit for each singer.

Sally Langwah leads a line dance.

Sally Langwah leads a line dance.

Sally and Roy were very entertaining.  They both interacted with the audience, who played along wonderfully, and their show lasted about 90 minutes.  After their show they provided another hour of music for dancing.  Linda and Karen learned a couple of line dances, and Linda and I got up for a few slow numbers (that’s the best I can/will do).   Although the crowd thinned as time went on, there were still 30 people there at the end having a great time.  Sally and Roy have already been invited back for next year’s rally.