Tag Archives: tire covers

2016/03/08 (T) Coverup Reset

I was awake at 7 AM having only slept for six hours, and not slept well at that. The Magnum remote showed the house batteries at 23.9 VDC and 44% SOC. The Fault light was also still on, and 24.0 VDC was my target voltage, so I put on my sweats, went outside, and turned on the AC power to the coach. The charger section of the Magnum 4024 inverter/charger did not activate, which was very concerning, and I was not getting any current on L1. Figuring out what was wrong, and fixing it if possible, was not what I planned to do today but suddenly became my first/highest priority task. I was reminded, once again, that the RV lifestyle has a lot of unexpected twists and turns and successful enjoyment requires a willingness and ability to deal with whatever comes up.

In order to get on with our day I shut off the Magnum inverter and then shut off the AC shorepower. I unplugged the AC cables into and out of the inverter and plugged the AC subpanel directly into the external AC feed. I turned off the 12 VDC master switch, disabling all of our 12 VDC devices, including our water pump and the control circuitry for the auxiliary air-compressor, and disconnected the positive 24V battery cable from the Magnum 4024, removing power from the unit. I turned on the shore water and at that point we were able to use the coach, at least as long as the auxiliary air pressure remained high enough to operate the air-flush toilet. Worst case was that we might have to use the small portable air compressor and/or start the main engine occasionally to pressurize the system.

There wasn’t a medical emergency at our coach. This is Bill and Brenda Phelan’s mobile workshop RV on our site (#230) at Florida Grande Motorcoach Resort in Webster, FL.

My next priority was making coffee and having breakfast. Bill and Brenda Phelan were due to arrive at 9 AM so we needed to be up, dressed, and ready for them. I called Brenda at 8:20 AM and she said they were on the way and would arrive on time. I drove up to the main gate at 8:45 and waited for them. When they arrived I directed them to our site and then drove back myself.

Bill and Brenda Phelan have several businesses, but this sign on the door of their mobile workshop RV says it all.

The first time we met Bill and Brenda was when we attended the Arcadia Rally 2014 (at the end of December 2013). They took over the operation of the rally starting with the 2012 gathering at the end of 2011, and ran it for five years, but it was not their main business. They had several businesses including a food concession trailer (The Fry’in Saucer) that they just sold. Their main business is making windshield covers, tire covers, windshield wiper and mirror covers, and patio mats. We ordered tire covers and windshield wiper covers from them at the Tampa RV Supershow in January and they shipped those to use at Big Tree Carefree RV Resort in Arcadia a few weeks ago.

Brenda and Bill test fit the main windshield cover before installing the corner snaps on our Prevost H3-40 motorcoach. Site #230, Florida Grande Motorcoach Resort, Webster, FL.

They were here today to make external covers for our bus windshields and the glass on both the driver and passenger sides of the cockpit. They operate RV Windshield Covers of Florida as a mobile business out of a very unique vehicle. Having converted a couple of buses into motorhomes they bought a used EMS truck (ambulance) and reconfigured it as a small motorhome with an industrial sewing machine and storage for all of their tools, materials, and supplies. The window covers are custom made on site, so the mobile workshop is a necessity.

After looking at our coach and discussing the job with us, we decided to have one large cover for the windshield, on large cover for the driver side fixed windows, and three covers for the passenger side. The reason for three covers on the passenger side was that the door has a window that opens and we wanted to be able to cover it independently. That required the fixed windows above it and to the rear of it to each have their own cover. Basically, the work went as follows:

Measure the window to be covered.
Roll out a large enough piece of fabric on the ground.
Cut the fabric to that require shape and dimensions, but a bit larger all the way around.
Hem the edges and reinforce them, adding loops to the four corners and the company label to one of the hems.
Attached 1/2 of a snap fitting to each corner to start, and in the center of the upper edge of wider pieces.
Hold the fabric up and get it temporarily in position and mark the location on the body of one of the upper corner snaps. Drill and hole and screw the mating park of the snap into the body.
Attach the fabric to the snap and then stretch it to the other upper corner and mark the location of that snap.
Drill a hole and screw in the mating part of the snap.
Attach the fabric to the second snap. Repeat this for the lower corners and any additional snaps that are needed to get the fabric to stretch tight and lay flat.
Repeat for each window cover.

Windshield and driver side covers finished and installed and looking good in the late afternoon glow of the late afternoon sun.

While Bill and Brenda worked I called John Palmer to get his opinion about the Magnum 4024 problem. He suggested that I reset the unit and see if that cleared the fault. If not, he suggested I call tech support. He confirmed that he had a couple of units in stock if I needed one, and also had high end standalone chargers.

The front cover goes under all four wipers and covers all four windshields with one large piece of fabric. We were very impressed with the way Bill and Brenda made these covers, and very pleased with the way they turned out.

I wanted to go through a careful diagnostic procedure before calling Magnum T/S. I found the manual on my iPad and looked at the diagnostic and routine maintenance procedures. The wiring appeared to be good and power was making it through the Progressive Industries EMS unit. I thought I had reset the unit earlier but according to the manual I had not done it correctly, which is to say, I had not actually reset the unit. Followed the directions and voilà! I called John back to update him.

The three passenger side covers are clearly visible here along with the windshield cover.

When Bill and Brenda were done working we got out four chairs, visited for a while, and gave them a tour of the interior remodeling work. We were impressed with their on-site fabricating and installation process and very pleased with the way the covers turned out. The chocolate brown mesh fabric is the same one we chose for our tire covers and complements the paint colors on the bus, including the chocolate brown upper body.

Once Bill and Brenda left Linda changed into her swimsuit and went to the pool while I took a nap. Linda eventually returned from her swim, I eventually woke up from my nap, and we eventually had dinner. At least I presume that we did as I did not finish this post at the time and am editing it for upload to our website many months later. I did, however, record that Joan and Bill, whom we met at the welcome party yesterday, stopped to chat, and that another couple also stopped.

2016/02/16–20 (T–S) Friends, Food, and Good Times

Leave a reply

[ Note: There are no photos as part of this post. ]

2016/03/16 (T) Girls Day Out

Mara needed to get to a medical appointment in the Miami area today and stop at the veterinary clinic where Maui was being treated a few weeks ago. We were going to let her borrow our car but Linda offered to accompany her on the rather long round trip and Mara gladly accepted. She was not going to ask us to go along and thereby possibly inconvenience us, but she was glad to not have to make the trip by herself. They worked out the arrangements yesterday and Linda was up, dressed, and gone this morning before I got up at 7:45 AM.

I made a smaller pot of coffee, had a glass of orange juice to wash down my vitamins, and had toast with apricot preserves for breakfast. I turned on our Verizon Mi-Fi and e-mailed the postcard photo to Linda’s Gmail account and responded to an e-mail from Butch. I also had a couple of e-mails back from Scott Neader at QTH.com in response to my support requests yesterday for the SLAARC account and WordPress website. I then turned off the Mi-Fi.

Having to manage a limited data plan is a pain but the overage charges are worse. The upside is that it allows (forces) me to do something else. In this instance, I worked the rest of the morning on my iPad catching up on blog posts. Linda texted me relative to the timing of their travels and asked me to send the postcard photo. I already had, but it had obviously not gotten to her yet. She expected to be back around 6 PM and we agreed to go out to dinner once she returned.

I had some hummus, sourdough pretzel nibblers, and grapes around 1:30 PM and then settled in to edit blog posts from the end of October and started working on the ones for November. Linda texted me around 2 PM to let me know they were leaving and would be home around 5 PM. I turned the Mi-Fi on and checked e-mail. Mara had sent me a photo of Linda sitting in front of a very tasty looking plate of food but did not mention what restaurant they were at.

I continued editing blog posts and got a couple days into November (2015) by 4 PM. I quit working and walked over to the swimming pool to use the showers. There are only two stalls and they were both occupied so I had to wait. Even so, I was done, back at the coach, and changed into nicer dinner clothes before Linda arrived. We waited until 5:30 PM to drive to the Magnolia Street Seafood and Grill restaurant in downtown Arcadia.

We arrived at the restaurant early enough to get a good parking place and not have to wait for a table but late enough to be hungry. We both had a large salad, minus the blue cheese crumbles, and shared a basket of French fries. On the way back to our coach we stopped at the mail room and Linda connected her iPad to the resort Wi-Fi system to download e-mail. The e-mail I sent her at 9 this morning had still not arrived.

We were back at our coach by 7 PM and turned on the PBS NewsHour. I sent the post card photo again and it still did not arrive in her inbox. We knew that both e-mails were sent because I cc:d one of our other accounts and received them there. Linda finally checked her Junk folder and found it; twice. She then created a post card for Madeline using the PostCardApp on her iPad.

We watched our usual Tuesday evening CBS TV programs while working puzzles on our iPads. Linda had a long day of driving and riding in the car and was tired. With overnight lows forecast for the mid-50s and no rain (but some early morning fog) we left the windows and bathroom roof vent open. We watched Limitless in bed, caught a little local news and weather, and then went to sleep.

2016/02/17 (W) FMCA NEC Meeting

We did not get up until 8 AM this morning so, once again, we did not go to the weekly coffee/donut meeting at the activity building; not that we usually go anyway. I made coffee and we wiled away the morning playing games and solving puzzles on our iPads. I turned on the Verizon Mi-Fi long enough to check e-mail and send a few replies. We eventually had toast and preserves for breakfast.

Bill and Brenda Phelan’s availability did not coincide with ours so I e-mailed her our shipping address here at Big Tree Carefree RV Resort and then called her with our credit card number. I also arranged for us to meet Ed and Janet Roelle tomorrow afternoon at their winter home in Sarasota and then go to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner.

The weather pattern for the next week was forecast to be dry and sunny with overnight lows in the mid-to-upper 50s and highs in the mid-to-upper 70s F. That’s what I’m talking about! and that is why snowbirds come here in the winter.

Linda went for a morning walk and dropped off the trash. She returned in time for lunch and made vegan grilled cheese sandwiches. We also had some orange juice to wash down our vitamins, which we had not taken at breakfast.

Linda made arrangements to meet Mara at the pool today at 1 PM and then spend time with her afterwards showing her how to set up and use Quicken for her personal financial records. I spent the first half of the afternoon editing blog posts from early November (2015). Just before 3:30 PM I dialed in to the meeting of the FMCA National Education Committee. I was still engaged in that when Linda returned around 4:15 PM. My meeting wrapped up around 4:45 after which Linda and I went for a walk.

We stopped by the activity building where Mara was in the library trying to get her computer online via the resort Wi-Fi and we were able to get her connected. Linda and Mara had agreed to meet at 5:30 PM for a power walk but it was already 5:25 so they pushed the time out to 5:45 and we finished our stroll.

Dinner was an improvisation based on ingredients Linda had on hand. Basically it was a sauté of onions, garlic, mushrooms, bell pepper, and kale, salt, pepper, thyme, and oregano in EVOO and finished with some Egri Merlot. Dessert was fresh strawberries and blueberries. We drank the rest of the bottle of wine before/during/after dinner. Yummy.

Wednesday evening is PBS nature/science night, after which we were quickly to sleep.

2016/02/18 (R) Ed, Janet, & Nathan

We left the coach windows open last night and slept well until around 5:30 AM. By then it was cool enough to need the extra blanket and the cats were fully awake and engaged in their usual morning routine dividing their attention between the sights, sounds, and smells of the outside world and their persistent attempts to get us out of bed to feed them. Our neighbors were also up early to take Ron’s mom to the airport for her flight back to Portage, Indiana. Since the head of our bed is on their side of our coach we were aware of their departure conversation and preparations. Even so, Linda was asleep last night before 11 PM and I was asleep by 11:15 so we got plenty of sleep.

I made our morning coffee while Linda turned on our Verizon Mi-Fi and got us connected. We had used 11.2 GB of our 12.0 GB data plan with two days to go in our billing cycle. We will get through the end of the cycle tomorrow at midnight without any overage charges, but the monitoring/management of our data usage for the last couple of weeks has been an unwelcome limitation and nuisance. In particular I have been editing blog posts but not uploading them, which I very much need to do.

I did check my e-mail and respond to ones from Brenda Phelan and Ed Roelle. We are going to Ed and Janet’s winter home in Sarasota this afternoon. It turns out they are just down the road from our friends, Ed and Betty Burns. Brenda had e-mailed us the UPS tracking number for our tire cover shipment. She indicated that they could make/install our windshield covers the morning of March 8th at Florida Grande Motor Coach Resort in Webster and we accepted the appointment.

I had an automated e-mail indicating that one of the websites I manage had been updated to WordPress version 4.4.2. That meant all four websites had been updated and probably had plug-in updates available that needed to be processed. As long as we were online I logged in to each site and initiated the updates. The actual update process occurs between the web server and the WordPress server, so the only data usage for me is sending the update request and receiving back the status messages.

We eventually had our standard breakfast of granola with fresh blueberries and orange/grapefruit juice to wash down our vitamins. I have been having problems with my coffee “creamer.” I know this is not a really big problem in the context of larger world events, but it is a problem nonetheless that is impacting my quality of life. The problem is that my soy creamer has been curdling, and that just does not make for good eats. To make matters worse, it does not happen all the time nor does it happen in a consistent way, at least not that I have been able to figure out.

For my first cup of the day I always add the creamer to the cup first and then swirl in the coffee as I pour. This almost always results in the creamer blending smoothly with the coffee; almost, but not always. Adding more coffee to the cup before it is empty, however, often produces the curdling; often, but not always. Sometimes I can get the creamer to re-blend by adding a little more; sometimes, but not always.

Linda did some quick online research and found information suggesting that I am not the only person suffering this situation and that it might be related to some combination of acidity, temperature (of the creamer and coffee), and procedure. We have two different coffee blends that I alternate between. The one I made this morning, Ethiopian Yirgacheffe half-caffe, is the one that is generally less inclined to curdle and is a slightly “smoother” single bean coffee compared to the Sweet Seattle Dreams half-caffe blend. She suggested I try a different creamer that is not soy-based. I will probably do that, but I have used other creamers in the past and they had a more distinct taste that I did not care for (in my coffee), such as almond or coconut.

We finally got dressed around 10 AM. Linda bundled up the daily bag of kitchen trash and took it with her on her morning walk. I had six iPad apps with updates available so I walked over to the activity building and downloaded/installed them. That took quite a while, but I got to sit outside on the dock in clear view of the Wi-Fi antenna and soak up some rays before returning to our coach.

When Linda returned from her walk we gathered up the plastic recyclables, added them to the ones already in the car, and drove to the Turner Agri-Civic Center to drop them off. As long as we were out, and in that part of town, we drove west on E. Gibson Street to check out the Shell Station on northbound US-17. As Jack Conrad had told us the station has one diesel pump, with a large nozzle, positioned so that a large vehicle can get into position to use it without pulling under the canopy. We will need fuel for the bus when we leave here on March 7 and this is where we will get it. We will then hook up the car here before heading north on US-17.

We stopped at Walmart on our way back to the RV resort to buy a tarp and a few grocery items. We ended up buying a small, inexpensive tent instead of a tarp. The tent has a floor and will provide a rainproof enclosure where we can store all of the stuff that is currently in the car. That will allow us to lower the 4th seat and have room for luggage and other stuff.

Since we would be having dinner earlier than usual today we had a light lunch of hummus, pretzels, and grapes. It was a beautiful day so Linda went outside to read while I worked at my computer editing blog ousts from mid-November (2016).

We picked Mara up at 2:15 PM and headed for Sarasota. The route to Ed and Janet’s place was familiar as it was the same route we take to get to Ed and Betty’s place; FL-70 west past I-75 to Lockwood Ridge Road and then south (which is the only direction Lockwood Ridge goes from there). Ed and Betty live just south of FL-70 while Ed and Janet are about five miles on down the road. We arrived right on time at 3:30 PM.

Ed and Janet bought a house that needed a lot of work but is located on an acre of Iand in a very nice subdivision. They are repairing and remodeling it extensively, both inside and outside, and we got the grand tour. I love seeing projects that are in-process as they are so full of possibilities. Ed and Janet are both very handy, have done this kind of work before, and enjoy it, so the work is both an investment in their future and a labor of love. Janet is also very artistic, so the design and choice of materials and color pallet will be very nice.

At 4:15 PM they got Nathan up and into his wheelchair, out to their car, and strapped in. Nathan is the last of 11 children that Ed and Janet have adopted over the years, all with serious disabilities, in addition to rearing three boys of their own. Their Prevost XL Royale Coach bus conversion is specially modified to accommodate Nathan’s wheelchair and bed and he goes where they go. Although I had seen the modifications to their bus at GLCC rallies we had somehow never met Nathan. He is a sweet young man who was severely brain damaged at birth so he does not really interact with strangers in a meaningful way, but he is clearly responsive to Ed and Janet’s presence and care. They adopted him when he was 3 months old and he is now 14 years of age.

At 4:30 PM we drove to Sweet Tomatoes restaurant for dinner. Sweet Tomatoes is a chain, but we do not have one anywhere near our house back in Michigan. Janet also follows a mostly vegan diet and they selected this restaurant because of its convenient location, excellent salad bar, and ability to accommodate Nathan in his wheelchair. It’s a buffet style (all you can eat) restaurant and the price for seniors, including beverages, was only $8. We were able to stick to vegan choices and still eat too much. We had never really spent any time with Janet prior to today and had a long, wonderful visit. It was after 6:30 PM by the time we left the restaurant.

We headed east on University Boulevard a short distance to one of the countless mega shopping complexes that stretch from St. Petersburg to Naples and found a Petco. Mara needed some special cat food and the Petco had it so she stocked up. We then headed back to Arcadia by way of I-75 north and FL-70 east, stopping at the Publix supermarket in Lakewood Ranch to do some more grocery shopping. We finally arrived back at Big Tree Carefree RV Resort just before 9 PM.

When we opened the door to our coach Juniper was waiting for us on the entry steps. Instead of turning around and moving back into the coach, like she has always done, she made a break for it and got out. Fortunately she did not run off and eventually crawled under the back of the bus on the driver side. Linda was able to coax her out far enough to get hold of her and return her to the bus but it took at least half an hour from the time she escaped to get her safely back inside and she gave us quite a scare. Having your black inside cat escape at night in a strange place is not something you want to have happen.

We missed most of our usual Thursday evening CBS comedy programs but settled in watch Elementary before going to bed.

2016/02/19 (W) Michael Arrives

We got up sometime between 7 and 8 AM. I made coffee and used the Silk brand Almond/Vanilla non-dairy coffee creamer we bought last night at the Publix supermarket in Lakewood Ranch. It did not separate (curdle), like the soy creamer has been doing, but I did not care for the way it tastes. Besides a strong, but very artificial, vanilla flavor I think it may contain sweetener, which I do not care for in my coffee.

I bought a couple of apricot filled bear claw pastry treats at Publix last night and had them for breakfast. They are not necessarily the healthiest treat, but they are vegan. After breakfast I finished up yesterday’s blog post while Linda dealt with some bakery related business. With our inside tasks finished we got dressed and went outside. I drove to the office to get our package with our tire and windshield covers and Linda started unpacking the small tent we bought yesterday at Walmart. Once we had the tent set up behind the motorhome we unloaded all of the stuff from the car and stored it in the tent.

The tent will keep our stuff dry and out of sight for the next week while we use the car to shuttle four people around. With the car emptied out we reinstalled the fourth seat, which has been in the front bay of the bus, and latched both rear seats in the up position. I removed the ham radio antenna from the roof and stored it in the front bay of the bus. We drove to the Turner Agri-Civic Center to drop off some recyclables and stopped at the self-serve car wash on the way back. We washed the outside of the car and then vacuumed out the inside, a task that was long overdue.

Before returning to our RV resort we stopped at the Shell station to top off the tank and then at Dunkin Donuts next door for some frozen coffee. Back at our coach we scrubbed the floor of the car, wiped out and dusted the interior, and cleaned all of the glass. We then returned the seats to their normal “full upright and locked” passenger position. It was nice to finally have the car clean on the inside.

With the car taken care of we brushed off the six tires on the bus that are exposed to direct sunlight and put the new tire covers on. They are very nice; a milk chocolate brown nylon mesh that is similar in color to the brown paint on the upper portion of our coach. They will block a lot of sunlight, reducing UV degradation of the rubber while parked, but will breath, preventing condensation. We also got four windshield wiper covers. I was able to put on the two for the bottom windshield wipers from the ground, or using the small step ladder, but the upper two will require the big ladder and I did feel like getting it out.

With our outside tasks completed I went back inside and updated our passwords program with some information for the SLAARC website. I e-mailed Scott at QTH with an additional support question and then settled in to edit blog posts from mid-late November (2016).

We knew today would be a long day that would extend late into the evening so Linda suggested that we take naps. I set the alarm on my iPad for 4:30 PM and finally laid down on the sofa around 3:30 PM. We were both up by 4:30 and got ready to leave. We picked Mara up at 4:45 and headed for Tampa International Airport to pick up Mara’s friend, Michael Crowley, who was flying in from Phoenix, Arizona by way of Houston, Texas.

Our GPS unit routed us west on FL-70 to I-75 where we went north as far as I-275. The GPS wanted us to stay on I-75 but we chose to take I-275 over Tampa Bay and through St. Petersburg. This stretch of I-275 is part of the Florida Tollroad system but our SunPass let us fly right through the toll plazas. The GPS took us off the Interstate highway before it should have and we had to find our way back on.

We eventually arrived at the airport and found our way to the cell phone parking lot. It was perhaps the nicest cell phone lot any of us had ever seen. It was spacious, with lots of parking spaces, had actual restrooms (not porta-potties), and had two large electronic display boards announcing all of the arriving flights. It was a bit like being at a drive-in movie theater, which all of us were old enough to remember.

About the time the board announced the arrival of Michael’s flight at 6:56 PM he called Mara to let her know they were on the ground and taxiing. He called again 15 minutes later to let us know he was ready to be picked up and a short time later we retrieved him from the arriving flights section of the Blue Terminal.

Linda had researched possible vegan-friendly places to eat near the airport and we collectively settled on an Indian restaurant named Curry Leaves. Linda had me put the address in the GPS and I tried to follow the directions while also watching the road signs but missed the last exit and had to make a short detour to get back to where we needed to be. In my own defense it was dark and the road systems leading in and out of major airports are the most complex ever built and, in my opinion, not always well designed. The road system for Tampa International was as bad as any I had ever encountered.

We found ourselves driving through a district of very upscale hotels and restaurants and finally found the one we were looking for right where the GPS said it should be. We were surprised to find that it was co-located in a building with a BP filling station but on entering the restaurant portion of the building it looked and smelled very nice. We also noticed that the staff was Indian and so were many of the patrons. That has generally been a good sign in our experience where ethnic dining is concerned.

We were seated in a corner booth and the waitstaff was charming and attentive. There was a bit of a language barrier but our waiter understood that Linda was trying to find out which dishes were vegan (no dairy, no meat) and pointed them out. We ordered Samosas and spring rolls as appetizers and two dishes to start for the main course. Mara and Michael had a frozen mango dessert while Linda and I had flour balls in honey sauce. The food was very good and the meal was wonderful in the company of our friends.

We were back in the car with the GPS set for home by about 8:30 PM. We took I-275 to I-4 east to I-275 south to FL-70 and headed east to Arcadia. We dropped Michael and Mara at her motorhome sometime after 10 PM. Back at our coach we stayed up for awhile and interacted with our kitties. We went to bed at 11 PM and turned on the TV to watch Charlie Rose on PBS. It had been a long day with the round trip to/from the airport being almost 200 miles.

2016/02/20 (S) Peace River Woodcarvers

Linda got up first today and I slept in until 8:20 AM. I had used up all but a few scoops of our current batch of coffee beans so I had to wipe out the storage containers, open new bags, and refill them. It was after 9 AM by the time I got the coffee brewed. I definitely do not like the Silk brand Almond/Vanilla coffee creamer but I have a large container of it, as that was all that Publix had, and I will finish it, because I do not like to throw things out that are usable.

Our Verizon billing cycle ended at midnight which meant our data plan had reset. Linda already had our Mi-Fi online and our local network connected. I reattached my computer to our network, updated my ES|ET Smart Security anti-virus software, and downloaded my e-mail. My Dropbox app also started syncing with the cloud server. It was dinging every time a notification popped up, which was bugging Linda, so I turned off the sound.

The tiny ants that have recently appeared in the kitchen had found their way into my last package of apricot-filled bear claw pastries (vegan). I got rid of them and ate the pastries for breakfast. Linda went for a walk but returned more quickly than usual. Mike (W8XH) from our SLAARC ham radio group had called and needed some information. I finished up yesterday’s blog post and e-mailed it to myself. I had an e-mail from Kate with links to YouTube videos of the group “OK Go.” I replied to that and bcc:d our iPads so we could watch them using the Wi-Fi at the resort office.

Linda vacuumed and mopped the floor in the rig. She does not do this very often as it scares the cats, but it has to be done occasionally. It scares the cats at the house, too, but they have a much larger space in which to escape the dreaded mop menace and find a safe place to hide. Juniper hunkered down on the bottom step of the entry, no doubt with thoughts of escape on her mind, while Jasper headed to the bedroom and tried to find a corner to hide in. Both cats like to get in the rear closet so I opened one of the doors and Jasper accepted the invitation.

I logged in to my computer and tried to check for updates but the Windows 10 Updates & Security function was completely non-functional. I fussed with it a bit but to no avail, and decided to deal with it later as everything else appeared to be working. I have had more issues with the Windows 10 upgrade on my ASUS laptop computer than Linda has had on her Samsung computer, but we have no idea why.

Today was the Peace River Woodcarvers show at the Turner Agri-Civic Center. We picked up Mara and Michael at 12:15 PM and drove over. Like the woodcarvers expo we attended in Punta Gorda early last month it was a mix of woodworkers and vendors. The vendors did not interest us as we are not involved in woodcarving or woodburning. Some of the work on display, however, was outstanding.

Our two favorite pieces were on the same table but the artist was not around. One was a knarly, twisted piece of wood that rose up vertically and became a beautifully carved head of a Great Blue Heron. The other piece was a Little Blue Heron carving that was so exquisitely done it looked real. We would have been glad to have either or both in our house, but they did not have price tags and the carver was not around to ask. There were undoubtedly going to be very expensive anyway which would have precluded us buying them.

As we were leaving the show a man was carving a bear out of a large tree trunk using chain saws. We watched him for a while and then left. We stopped at Winn-Dixie for a few grocery items and then drove to Joshua Citrus Company for some oranges, tangelos, and grapefruit. When we got back to the RV Resort we gave Michael a driving tour to orient him to the place and then dropped him and Mara at her motorhome.

I returned to the problem of the non-functional Windows 10 Updates & Security components on my laptop computer. I found a troubleshooter specifically for this problem and ran it. It said it found and repaired problems so I tried checking for Windows Updates but it still did not work. The more I fussed with it the more things seemed to quit working. I restarted it and things got even worse to the point where I could not even shut it down and had to power it off. I then powered it back on and was letting it do its thing when Butch called. We had not talked in a while so I left the computer for later and talked to him. Sometimes it’s better to just step away from a problem, so this was a welcome diversion.

He and Fonda have had a wonderful winter in Quartzsite, Arizona. Besides the rock club (Quartzsite Gem and Mineral Club) they discovered that there is a very active group of amateur radio operators who spend extended winters in Q and the surrounding area. The local hams are involved in a county wide “ham radio for kids” project. Other than Parker, Quartzsite, and Yuma, the population here is sparse and widely spaced. Homes do not have landline telephones and cell service can be spotty depending on where you are relative to the cell towers, which tend to be on top of mountains. The local hams are teaching technician license classes to school age children so they can get their FCC ARO Technician licenses. They are also supply radios that the kids can use to contact their friends and help each other with homework.

Butch and Fonda had also had a job interview for positions as BLM LTVA hosts. Butch said that work on their new house was coming along in their absence, at least that’s what the contractor was telling him. He had to finish rebuilding a Crosley engine when they get home and still had work to do on the interior of their bus. Etc. We may stop at their house on the way home to have Butch look at our house air conditioners, especially the center one, which was not cooling well last month when we used it.

Once we wrapped up our conversation at 5:15 PM I logged in to my computer. It seemed to start up correctly and I opened Outlook 2013 to check my e-mail. It opened correctly and downloaded my e-mails so I closed it. Mara and Bill were due at our coach at 5:30 PM so I did not have the time to check anything else.

Linda was just finishing the main dinner dish, Farro with almonds and dried cranberries, when Bill and Mara arrived. Mara made a kale salad with a soy sauce based dressing and a variety of interesting spices. I put the plastic table cloth on the picnic table and we set the table for dinner. We opened a bottle of the 2013 Egri Merlot and had a wonderful early evening dinner accompanied by a beautiful sunset in the company of good friends.

After dinner we cleared the table and took everything back inside. Mara brought the seminar schedule from the upcoming Holistic Holiday at Sea cruise and went over it with Linda. We finalized plans for visiting Punta Gorda tomorrow and visited until 9 PM when Bill and Mara took their leave and walked back to her rig. After they left Linda put on a 2-part Masterpiece Mystery program and we watched that and then went to bed.

2016/02/12-15 (F–M) Everglades Update

Leave a reply

2016/02/12 (F) Full Circle

We got up, showered, got dressed, and went down to breakfast around 8 AM. We were packed, checked out, and had the car loaded by 9 AM. We headed north on the Ronald Reagan Turnpike, exited at some miles later, and headed west. FL-94 ended at FL-997 where we headed north. In looking at a map later, we would probably have been better off to get on FL-997 right from the hotel. There was major road construction on FL-997 all the way to US-41, but traffic moved along at the 50 MPH posted speed limit.

At US-41 we headed west. This is Miccosukee Indian territory, as indicated by the Miccosukee Resort and Gaming facility (Casino) at the NW corner of Fl-997 and US-41. A short way to the west this stretch of US-41 (the Tamiami Highway between Tampa and Miami) is bordered by Everglades National Park on the south and the Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area on the north. It eventually leaves both of these and runs through the heart of the Big Cypress National Preserve.

We pulled in to the ENP entrance for the Shark Valley Visitor Center and immediately and got stuck in the line of cars waiting to get in. The parking lot had filled a few cars ahead of us and it was now a one car out, one car in situation.

Once we were in we checked out the tram ride to the Shark Valley Observatory Tower seven miles one way due south into the Everglades. It was a two (2) hour narrated round-trip and cost $24 per person ($19 for seniors). You can hike or bike out to the tower for free (after gaining admission to the NP). We did not have that much time so we walked part way down the road along an open channel of water about 15 feet wide and found lots of wildlife photo opportunities, including birds, a large turtle, and alligators. The most interesting thing we saw was a cluster of at least a dozen young alligators, ranging from one to two feet in length, piled up on top of one another.

A little farther west we left US-41 and drove a small 2-lane road for 38 miles. The first half was paved and the second half was good gravel. It was a lovely, slow drive with a maximum speed limit of 30 MPH and a few nature photo opportunities along the way.

A Black Vulture near the Shark Valley Visitor Center, Everglades NP, FL.

After rejoining US-41 we continued west through the Big Cypress National Preserve as far as FL-29 with Everglades NP once again on our left. We then headed south through Everglades City and re-entered the park. The Gulf Coast Visitor Center was very small and did not have the ENP shirts we had seen at the Flamingo Visitor Center and were now hoping to buy. The vendor operated gift store did not have them either. The only things you can do from this point in the park are explore the NW coastal portions by canoe, kayak, or pontoon boat. We did not have time for any of that on this quick visit so we pulled up the address for our RV park in the GPS unit and pushed on.

We had a better look at Everglades City on the way out of town and decided that it was an interesting looking little place. A traveling carnival of some considerable size was setting up in the middle of town, literally.

Back at US-41 we continued west as we were still somewhat east of the north-south line through Arcadia. The only other route home from here would take us north on FL-29 and then back east on I-75 and eventually back through LaBelle and up the west side of Lake Okeechobee. That would be a much longer trip and it was already starting to feel like it had been a long day.

We left US-41 at Collier Blvd. and traveled north about seven miles to I-75 north. Traffic was heavy, congested, and stop-n-go initially but eventually freed up. We traveled about 39 miles to exit 141 at Ft. Myers and headed east a few miles to FL-31. Our final 38 miles were straight north to Arcadia where FL-31 ends at FL-70 just west of our RV resort.

From the Shell station in Arcadia on Tuesday morning to our coach at 5:45 PM today we put 919.4 miles on the car’s trip odometer. The speedometer on the car reads slightly high, probably because the tires are not factory original specifications, so our actual mileage may have been slightly less by about one mile for every 60 miles traveled. That would be approximately 15 miles for our trip, making the actual mileage perhaps 905 for the four days, for an average of 225 to 230 miles per day. That’s a lot of driving, but the purpose of our trip was to get a first glimpse at a lot of south Florida that we had not seen before.

We brought a few things in from the car, spent some time with our cats, and then visited with Ron and Vera (who did not even realize we were gone), before walking over to Mara’ rig for dinner. Mara made a pot of vegan chili and a wonderful salad which we enjoyed with a glass of her favorite Malbec. We talked about our trip, how the kitties did in our absence, and discussed the logistics of Michael’s upcoming visit. We returned to our coach around 9:15 PM, finished unloading the car, unpacked a few things, adored our cats, and relaxed with our iPads for an hour before going to bed.

2016/02/13 (S) Yard Sale

I was up at 7:30 AM, partially prepped the coffee, and then unpacked clothes and hung them up or put them in the laundry hamper. Linda got up sometime after, after which I ground the coffee beans and finished making our morning coffee.

We noticed last night that a few folks had things sitting out in their front yards suggestive of a garage sale. This morning there was quite a bit of commotion outside and we noticed several yards just from our rig with lots of stuff sitting out on tables and/or the ground. Clearly Big Tree Carefree RV Resort was having an official yard sale event today.

We had granola for breakfast and then strolled through the resort. Based on one comment we overheard we got the impression that the yard sale might have started yesterday but there was still lots of stuff available. We are not yard sale people, as a rule, and our real destination was the laundry room. Most of the parking spaces were taken but the room was empty and none of the machines were in use. We walked back to our coach, loaded our laundry, computers, and iPads in the car, and drove over to the laundry room.

I got the laundry into a washing machine while Linda got her computer going and connected to the park Wi-Fi system. I then started my computer and got online. Her computer screen came up dark. It has done this many times in the past, but not recently. We think it may be related to the battery, but we are not sure.

Our main reason for bringing our computers over was to download our e-mails from the last four days. BCM, in particular, has a habit of sending me large files as e-mail attachments or links to large files in a Dropbox, which I prefer. I had at least 118 e-mails but no large attachments. I did not get a count from Linda. Both of our computers are also set up to automatically sync our Dropbox account, and one of the things it does is automatically backup four WordPress websites. We only had 2.5 GB of data left on our Verizon account to get us through February 19th, so we wanted to transfer as much data as possible via the park Wi-Fi system.

Once the laundry was dry, folded, and hung, we returned to our coach where Linda put on her swimsuit and then joined Mara at the pool. After putting the clean clothes away I rebooted and reconnected our computers and iPads to our local network and turned on the NAS. Once everything was up and running I connected the camera and off-loaded all of the photos from the last four days; just over 400 total. I got a bite to eat and then put on my swimsuit, gathered up my towel and a pair of dry shorts, and went over to the pool to join the ladies.

A Purple Gallinule near the Shark Valley Visitors Center, Everglades NP, FL.

When I arrived Linda and Mara were sunbathing. The pool was cool even though it is heated but once I was in and swimming gently I generated enough heat from muscle activity to be comfortable. I swam for about 1/2 hour and then sat in the hot tub with the whirlpool turned on and positioned myself to vigorously message my lower back. Linda had taken the soap when she went so I took that along with my towel and shorts and used to shower to rinse off the chlorine and get cleaned up. I returned the soap to Linda and walked back to our coach.

I doodled on my iPad while Linda read a book when she returned to the coach. She left at 4 PM to walk to the grocery store with Mara while I laid down on the sofa to take a nap and Jasper curled up next to me. I was aware of Linda’s return, gradually woke up, and finally got up.

Linda invited Mara to come for dinner. While she busied herself with the preparations, I went through all of the photos from our trip to Everglades National Park and Key West and backed them up to our NAS.

While I was looking at photos ESET Smart Security kept popping up messages letting me know that it needed my attention. I opened it and it presented me with a loooong list of critical and recommended updates. Given our data situation this month I deferred those until I can take my computer back to the office/laundry/activity building and use the resort Wi-Fi system.

For dinner Linda made a nice green salad and a “pasta” dish using an edamame and mung bean fettuccine style noodle. Mara came to our coach around 6:45 PM and brought a vegan chocolate mousse for dessert. It was based on blended avocados and it was a delicious finale to a scrumptious meal. There was a nice orange glow in the western sky but it was too dark by then to eat outside. It was also getting chilly following sunset so we ate inside and polished off a bottle of Barefoot Pinot Grigio between the three of us.

Mara left a little before 9 PM and we turned on the TV to see if anything interesting was on. One of the PBS stations was showing a three part drama titled Arthur & George based on a true life event in the life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and starting Martin Clunes (Doc Martin) as Doyle. Linda went to bed part way through the third episode but I stayed up to watch it as it was very well done. I flipped channels for a while after that but nothing else held my attention and I finally went to bed sometime after midnight.

2016/02/14 (N) Valentine’s Day

We were still tired from out whirlwind trip to south Florida and slept in this morning. When we finally got up Linda made pancakes for breakfast, this being Sunday and all.

It’s a good thing we have our 2 GB of bonus data for the next couple of billing cycles. Between the Windows 10 upgrade on two computers (most of which we did using the RV resort Wi-Fi), the upgrades to the iOS on both iPads, the inevitable updates to applications on all four devices, and quite a bit of work on BCM articles as well as our personal website/blog, we have had to monitor/manage our data usage very carefully for the January 20 through February 19 billing cycle. Even with being gone for four days to the Everglades and Keys, and taking our devices to the activity building to use the Wi-Fi, we will be very close to our limit by this Friday, which is the 19th.

There are at least eight alligators in this image and several more outside the frame. Shark Valley Visitors Center, Everglades NP, FL.

My computer was indicating that I had 22 updates available which meant that Linda’s computer probably had a similar number. One of them was a Windows 10 cumulative update which I knew would be large so I took both computers to the library and did the updates there. I then spent part of the day processing and backing up photos before turning my attention to blog posts. Even with our data situation I uploaded several from mid-October and prepared several more.

We had a relatively easy day otherwise and I did not record all of the details which are now mostly lost to me. Brenda Phelan called around 5:15 PM to let me know our tire and windshield covers were ready but she and Bill were headed out for a couple of days on windshield cover appointments. They would be back on Wednesday and we deferred dealing with delivery until then.

For dinner Linda made a mushroom bourginione with macaroni. She used a Lindeman’s 2014 Shiraz to make it and we also drank some before/with our meal. She bought a pint of Soy Delicious Cookie Dough non-dairy “ice cream” the other day and we had that for dessert. After dinner we settled in to watch our Sunday evening TV programs, including Downton Abby.

2016/02/15 (M) Ready, Set, No

We had our usual morning of coffee, juice, and granola for breakfast. Our fresh water tank had dropped below the 1/3 level yesterday or the day before. The monitor only indicates Empty, 1/3, 2/3, and Full so once it drops below 1/3rd I have to check it visually. Fortunately the tank is translucent polyethylene and is located behind a door such that I can see the water level when the lighting is right. Given how we are parked, facing southwest, the light is best in the morning as access to the tank is from the driver side of the bay.

The tank was down to the 1/8th level, which is about 15 gallons. We might have gotten one more day’s use but there was no reason to run the tank dry and the pump works better with a full tank. I dumped both waste tanks and refilled the fresh water tank. I checked the hardness of the water coming out of the softener after the tank was full and it was indicating somewhere between 0 and 1.5 gpg. I updated my Excel spreadsheet accordingly.

An Anhinga that just caught something to eat. Shark Valley Visitors Center, Everglades NP, FL.

Linda had work to do today on family tax returns and set up her computer on the temporary dining table while I continued to work at my computer on the desk. I selected and processed a couple of photos from our visit to Everglades National Park for Linda’s weekly postcard to Madeline. I then selected and processed photos to include in the blog posts for the dates of our visit to the Everglades and Keys.

Brenda Phelan had also sent us an e-mail yesterday regarding our tire covers. I replied to that and indicated that we might pick them up on Wednesday when she and Bill are back at their shop in Lakeland. With that done I started preparing for a 3:30 PM telecom meeting of the FMCA National Education Committee. I printed off six documents: meeting notice, agenda/notes, short survey results and sampling information, and the long survey results and sampling information. All told it was 55 sheets of paper, but I wanted/needed to see the survey results printed out.

At 3:29 I dialed in and was the first caller, which I though was odd. I doubled checked the meeting notice and realized the meeting was Wednesday the 17th. I knew that, but historically we have always met on Monday afternoons and I just had it in my head that we were meeting today. The upside us that I have more time to digest the data and think about how I want to handle the fact that the sample/response was too small (in my expert opinion) for the results to be considered representative of the FMCA population.

We had leftovers for dinner, after which we settled in to watch the X-Files and Lucifer on FOX as our usual Monday evening programs on CBS were preempted by the Grammy Awards, which did not interest us. At 10 PM we switched to PBS and watched a documentary on Stephen Hawking, followed Charlie Rose. Rose’s show was focused on Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scilia, who passed away over the weekend.

2016/01/11 (M) – 15 (F) Family and Friends

Leave a reply

2016/01/11 (M) Jack and Paula

Linda was up at 7:30 AM and read quietly. I got up at 8:15 AM and made coffee. We had granola for breakfast with fresh strawberries which finished the current batch of cereal. Linda got another batch out of the freezer to thaw. We have five batches remaining.

Linda was checking e-mail and noticed that we had been billed yesterday for almost $500 by iPage for web-hosting services. I originally signed up with iPage in January 2013 for three years. I transferred everything over to QTH in August 2013 but did not cancel the iPage account. I did not realize that the account was set up for automatic renewal. I logged in to see if I could close the account and cancel the transaction or initiate a refund but the website just gave me a number to call. I did and finally got to talk to Scott in billing. He was obviously a native English speaker and was able to take care of everything quickly and efficiently and provide a confirmation number. If iPage’s technical/customer support had been that good I might never have switched to a different web-hosting service. I am, none-the-less, very glad that three of the four websites I work with are on QTH.com‘s web-servers and wish that all four of them were. The technical and customer support there is second-to-none.

Linda wanted to send another postcard to grand-daughter Madeline so I downloaded the photos I took yesterday and selected one of a heron to use. I post-processed it at several different sizes and copied it to the NAS. She needed it on her iPad, however, so I e-mailed it to her. Even though our iPads (and phones) can connect to our secure Wi-Fi network they are not able to access the network resources such as the NAS and printer. I really should take the time to figure out if there is a way to do that.

On the drive home last night the Honda Element started displaying a message to “Check Gas Cap.” I pulled off the road and checked but it was on tight. The message, however, did not clear. When we got home Linda Googled the message and found several sites that indicated it was a periodic system check and would clear the next time around, assuming the cap was not, in fact, loose. That could take days, however, depending on how much we drove the car. The answer for most of this week will be “not much.”

Linda went for a late morning walk. The Element needed fuel so I drove to the Shell station on FL-70 to fill up the tank. Linda had walked to Winn-Dixie and was just returning as I was pulling out so she rode along to the filling station. She ran into Claudine Elbisser at the produce market and found out that she and Paul were still at Jack and Paula Conrad’s place south of town. Jack and Paula started the Arcadia Bussin Rally and ran it for the first 10 years before turning it over to Bill and Brenda Phelan.

Back at the coach Linda heated some Amy’s vegan chili for lunch. She opened a new (sealed) pack of saltine crackers as we like to crumble them in our chili and have a few on the side with vegan butter spread. They did not taste quite right but we were not sure just why. They were not spoiled but it seemed as if they were slightly stale (not crisp) and the flavor was also “off.” They were Publix branded and all of the grocery items we have ever gotten from there have been good quality but we decided to throw the crackers away.

A Green Heron at Myakka State Park, FL.

We went for a walk after lunch during which Linda got a call from her sister-in-law, Mary. They agreed that we might do something together tomorrow if Spence and Nancy had not made other plans for them. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon but cool with highs in the upper 60’s. Rather than sit around the coach I called Jack to see if we could stop by for a visit. He and Paula did not have anything specific going on so we drove to their place about 10 miles south of Arcadia.

When we arrived we were greeted by Jack and Paula but found out that Paul and Claudine had pulled out this morning, so we did not get to visit with them. We then realized that when Claudine told Linda she had to run “because Paul was waiting for her at Walmart” he was waiting in the bus. John and Lois Vickrey were there, however, and the six of us had a nice visit. There were two other converted buses at the Conrad’s but the owners were not around. We did not recognize their names but both coaches were at the Arcadia Rally 2016 and we would probably have recognized them on sight.

By 4:45 PM the sun was low in the sky and the temperature had dropped into the low 60’s. We were getting cold so we excused ourselves and left. We stopped at Walmart on the way back to our RV resort for a box of angel hair pasta and a box of Nabisco saltine crackers. Back at our coach I closed the two roof vents and we closed all of the windows. I checked e-mail and Linda started working on dinner.

She started with a nice salad of baby kale, scallions, olives, and pumpkin seeds dressed with balsamic vinaigrette. The main course was angel hair pasta with a vegan mushroom cream sauce. She used the Miatake mushrooms we bought yesterday at the Farmers Market in Punta Gorda. It was outstanding and we really liked the taste and texture of the mushrooms, which were a new culinary experience for us.

We went for our usual after-dinner stroll around the resort and stopped by the activity building where lots of residents were playing bingo and smaller groups were playing cards and games. In another building a dozen men were playing pool. It was a beautiful clear night with the constellation Orion rising in the eastern sky. Although the air temperature was crisp folks were out walking, just like us.

Back at our coach we settled in to watch our usual Monday night TV programs (CBS). They were all re-runs, which we thought was odd, but we watched them anyway. We were off to bed at 11 PM and straight away to sleep. I turned on the electric heater pad and set it on 3. Toasty.

2016/01/12 (T) Myakka River State Park (FL)

The overnight low temperature was 47 degrees F; not cold enough to warrant turning the heat on in the coach but cold enough to cool off the interior by morning. We pulled up the blankets when we went to bed and I turned on the electric heater pad on my side of the bed; a more efficient use of energy than heating the whole coach. As a bonus, the cooler the coach the less the refrigerator runs, although the new one is much more efficient than the old one. When it gets cool enough in the coach Juniper (the cat) gets under the covers between us and puts her head between our pillows. She is such a princess.

A pair of alligators in the Myakka River, Myakka SP, FL.

We finally got out of bed at 8:15 AM and slipped into out sweats. I made coffee while Linda talked to Kathi at the bakery back in Michigan. We doodled on our iPads while we drank our coffee and let the coach warm up. By 9:30 it was 72 inside. I turned off the heaters and we sat down to a breakfast of homemade granola with blueberries and bananas and a small glass of orange juice. We doodled for another half hour after breakfast and then got dressed. In preparation for meeting Linda’s brother, Ron, and his wife, Mary, at Myakka State Park at 11 AM Linda made a picnic lunch and I got the camera gear ready to go.

We had planned to be on the road by 10:30 AM but actually left at 10:39. The 29 miles to the park entrance was not all 60 MPH, so we did not get to the visitor center until 11:20 AM. Ron and Mary were already there waiting for us. We looked at maps and discussed what we wanted to do. Ron and Mary wanted to see alligators in the wild, so they had come to the right place. The main park road crosses the Myakka River about a mile into the park from the entrance / visitor center with parking at both ends of the bridge. We knew from our visit two years ago that this was an excellent place to see alligators, as well as a variety of birds and so it was again today. After spending some time on the bridge we walked along the south/east bank of the river and found two more alligators sunning themselves on the opposite bank.

A little farther down the road was the parking area for the Canopy Walk and Nature Trail. We climbed the tower, walked across the suspension bridge, and then climbed to observation deck at the top of the second tower. The suspension bridge goes through the forest canopy about 35 feet in the air and affords a view of the forest that most of us rarely see. At 76.1 feet AGL the observation level put us well above the top of the trees with a commanding 360 degree view of the park and beyond. I shot a nine frame panorama from west through north to east.

By the time we got back to our cars we were all ready for lunch so we drove to the developed area on the south shore of Upper Myakka Lake. This area has one of the two campgrounds, a boat ramp, air boat tour concession, restaurant, restrooms, picnic tables, and a trail that leads out to a platform where the lake flows out and becomes the river. We found a picnic table in the sun near the shore and had our PB&J sandwiches, oranges, pretzels, and water. After lunch we walked out to the platform and were rewarded with more views of wildlife.

Ron, Linda, & Mary atop the 76.1 foot observation tower, Myakka SP, FL.

Our next stop was the “Birdwalk,” an elevated boardwalk near the northeast corner of the lake that goes out into an open harsh and gets people close to the shore. There was lots of wildlife out there but most of it was some distance away. A sign indicated that the donation box was to raise money to build an observation tower at end of the boardwalk above the existing viewing platform.

Our final stop for the day was the parking area for a trailhead in the northeast corner of the park. The main trail led to primitive campsites as much as 10 miles away. We did a loop of about 2.5 miles (by my estimate). Although the entire trail (park) was level terrain the footing was rough or soggy in places. Portions of our hike were through the forest and the rest was through prairie. It was our most vigorous hike of the day and I did not take any photos even though I carried the camera along.

By the time we got back to our cars it was 4:45 PM. The sun was low in the sky and the temperature had dropped. We discussed our plans for Thursday and then headed our separate ways. We had just left the park entrance and headed east on FL-72 when I spotted a group of 6 to 8 feral hogs on the north side of the road by a stream about 100 feet from the road. Linda did not spot them in time so I turned around and went back. As I slowed down they took off but Linda got to see them. I turned around again and headed towards Arcadia. Less than a mile down the road I saw four more in the ditch just off the north side of road. They were very large adult animals.

We were back at our coach by 6 PM and had left over Asian salad for dinner. It had been a slightly more physical day than normal so after dinner we settled in to watch our Tuesday evening TV programs on CBS.

2016/01/13 (W) Coffee Clutch

Today was our second Wednesday at Big Tree RV Resort. The only significance to that factoid is that Wednesday morning is the weekly resort coffee. As new arrivals in the resort we received a coupon for free coffee but forgot to go last week so we made a point of getting up and going this morning. The coffee starts at 8 AM but we had been “advised” by folks to arrive early if we wanted a seat. We got there around 7:50 AM and the place was packed. We got in line to get our coffee and found out that today’s gathering was sponsored by an insurance agency and was free of charge. We found seats and made the acquaintance of the people sitting near us.

Ron, Mary and Me atop the 76.1 foot observation tower, Myakka SP, FL. (Photo by Linda)

This was not a coffee clutch where folks stand around, mingle, and chat. There are somewhere between 700 and 800 people in this park and I estimated that at least 400 of them were present at the coffee. Everyone was seated on both sides of long tables for the entire duration of the coffee, which lasted until 9:15 AM. It was very organized and consisted of introductions, lots of announcements, lots of door prizes, and a 50/50 drawing. For the seasonal and permanent residents the information is probably useful, but it was not that interesting or useful to us. We might go one more time just to take advantage of our free coffee coupon but the nature of the gathering won’t afford us any opportunity to meet people and talk to them over coffee so we probably won’t make a priority of going.

Today was laundry day for us. Linda needed a few things from Winn-Dixie, including a few Powerball lottery tickets, and walked down to get them. I gathered up the laundry, sorted it by color and temperature into three batches, and drove over to the laundry room in the activity building. The washing machines only took about 25 minutes so I stuck around until they were done. After getting those loads into dryers I went back and got the bedding, returned to the laundry room, and put it in a washing machine. I took my iPad with me but ended up in a conversation with a few folks. By the time I was done with the laundry and back at our coach it was 2 PM.

A flock of birds takes flight at the north end of Upper Myakka Lake, Myakka SP, FL.

I took a long a long nap during which Linda went for a long walk, prepared ingredients for tomorrow’s lunch, and worked on her counted cross-stitch project. I finally got up just in time for dinner. After dinner we watched a fascinating documentary titled “Autism in Love” as a result of which we did not watch Nature. We did, however, watch NOVA. It was also a fascinating program exploring new discoveries and understandings about the role and relationship of minerals in the origin and evolution of life on earth.

I watched some of the evening news on channel 11-1 and also checked the weather on channel 11-2. A strong low pressure system was moving east from New Orleans across the Florida panhandle with strong storms coming ashore in that area. A long, comma-shaped cold front extended from the low far down into the Gulf and was advancing on the peninsula. It was forecast to come ashore starting north of Cedar Key after midnight and then progressively affect all of the shore communities south to Marco Island with strong thunderstorms along the front and a low possibility that some of them might become severe. Rain, possibly heavy, was due in Arcadia starting around 4 AM and getting heavy by 5 AM. Knowing this obviously doesn’t change whatever is going to happen, but knowing what is expected allows us configure the coach properly and to be prepared and react appropriately to events as they unfold if needed.

2016/02/14 (R) Ron and Mary

We were up by 7:30 AM this morning, had showers, got dressed, and had breakfast. Linda finished food preparations for lunch today and then straightened up the inside of the coach while I dumped the holding tanks and filled the fresh water tank.

I was outside a little later in the morning and learned from a neighbor that the sewer line that services row K (where we are parked) had developed a blockage and sewage had “backed up into a couple of rigs.” No one, however, was able/willing to be more specific than that. A plumber was called and I chatted with him briefly when he arrived. He confirmed that the sewer line ran from our end of row K south towards the front of the park by Hwy 70. He determined quickly that there was indeed a blockage and I learned from him later that it extended along a considerable length of the sewer pipe. This was not the first time he was called to deal with this and was able to get the drain line opened up.

Piecing together the available information I figured it was entirely possible that the sewage that backed up was from our tanks but that the blockage was not something we caused. Linda, however, was of the opinion that the plumber had been summoned before I dumped. Regardless, I’m sure it was unpleasant for those who were affected and I hope we do not have a repeat of this situation while we are here. While in no way our fault, we would hate to have contributed to the situation in any way, however inadvertently.

My reasoning was that we are the second rig from the far end of the drain line and the tops of our waste tanks are almost 4 to 5 feet above ground level. The tanks are large and if they were near full would release a considerable volume of effluent with a significant head pressure. If the drain line was mostly constricted (reducing its available volume), and the blockage was not very far down stream (also reducing its available volume), the weight of the contents of our waste tanks could cause the drain line to quickly fill and then force the effluent up through any available path, such as another rig’s dump hose. This would continue until the levels reached equilibrium.

In a trailer with its floor not that far off the ground sewage could, hypothetically, back up into waste tank(s) and then into the toilet and/or sinks. None of that would happen, of course, unless the dump valves on the other RV(s) had been left open. We have always been told that leaving the dump valves open on an RV is a very bad idea but the reason is that getting a good, thorough, dump requires a nearly full tank. Today’s events have given us additional reason to keep the valves closed except to dump.

Now that’s what I’m talking about! We have got to get one of these. A 4-wheel drive, Sprinter-based Class B conversion from Sportsmobile as seen at the Tampa RV Supershow, Tampa State Fairgrounds, Tampa, FL.

Ron and Mary arrived a little after 11 AM. We gave them a tour of the interior remodeling work we have done and then sat and visited. Eventually we were hungry and spread the tablecloth on the outside picnic table and had lunch out there.

After lunch Ron drove us to Joshua Citrus a couple of miles south of our resort where we bought a variety of citrus fruit. We then drove to downtown, parked, and walked around poking our heads into some of the antique shops. Mary was looking for a pair of clear glass lamp chimneys with a 2″ diameter base. The closest she came was a pair with a 2-1/4″ base. Apparently 3” diameter bases are common, 2” diameter bases, not so much.

We returned to the coach for a while and then took two cars and went to El Pirata for dinner. It was our first time there although friends had told us it was OK and it was the #4 rated restaurant in Arcadia. Linda did not care for her margarita and also did not care for the veggie fajitas or any of the sides that came with the dish. I had Dos Equis Amber in a bottle, so it was fine. I thought the food was OK; not outstanding but not disagreeable, so perhaps she just wasn’t in the mood for Mexican food tonight.

The restaurant wasn’t full so we lingered and chatted for quite a while but eventually it was time to leave. We were only a few minutes from home but Ron and Mary had an hour’s drive to get back to Spence and Nancy’s place. Back at our coach we settled in to watch our usual Thursday evening CBS TV programs and then headed off to bed as we planned an early departure tomorrow morning to get to the Tampa RV Supershow.

2016/01/15 (F) Tampa RV Supershow

As forecast, the rain started around 4 AM and by 5 AM was fairly heavy. I was not, however, aware of any lightning, thunder, or strong winds. We got up at 7:30 AM, got dressed, and had some of the Honeybelle tangelos we bought yesterday. Honeybelles are only available for about a month starting this time of year and are highly touted so we bought a quarter-Bushnell bag. We were, however, quite disappointed in their taste and texture. We will eat them anyway, of course, but they will not be the treat we were counting on.

We planned to leave at 8:30 AM to drive to the Florida State Fairgrounds for the Tampa RV Supershow. It was still raining and was forecast to continue through the morning. I took the vertical grip off of the Sony SLT-a99v to lighten it and make it easier to carry in the Cotton Carrier camera harness/holster. I packed a couple of extra batteries, we took our raincoats, and headed out.

We encountered very heavy rain between Arcadia and Tampa, especially along FL-70 between Arcadia and I-75. We arrived at the fairgrounds around 10:15 AM, got our tickets, and made it into the Expo hall just as another heavy band of rain moved through.

A Prevost H3-45 VIP conversion shell on display at the Tampa RV Supershow. The driver side of the coach is elevated on ramps and mirrors on the floor allow show attendees to see the underside of the bus.

Just inside the door to the right was the major display of Prevost bus conversions and to the left was a major display of Airstream trailers and Class B motorhomes. We crossed paths with Steve Zigler, Prevost Sales Manager for conversion shells and chatted briefly. We met Giesle from the home office in St. Claire, Quebec and also met Melanie from Millennium Coach. We found out from Melanie that Millennium is now the primary corporate support for the Royale Coach Club. Apparently Liberty Coach took over sponsorship when Royale Coach folded around 2005 and Millennium took over from Liberty some time more recently. We were members at one time but have not paid dues in several years.

The Prevost coaches were one of the main things we came to see and meeting people from the company was a bonus. Our other objective was to check out all of the parts and accessories vendors, of which there were many, and RV Parks and Resorts, of which there where an equal number. We mostly picked up literature until we found Bill and Brenda Phelan’s booth. One of their products is tire covers made from heavy nylon mesh material. It blocks most of the sunlight while allowing moisture to escape. We have meant to get tire covers for years but never have so we ordered six in a dark brown material. They are a significant purchase, but not compared to the tires they are designed to protect. They will make the covers based on our tire size and ship them to us. They also make nylon mesh windshield wiper covers but I need to measure the length of our lower wiper blades and send Brenda the measurement. Another product of theirs are windshield and side window covers. These, however, are custom made on site.

The interior of the Prevost H3-45 VIP motorcoach conversion shell. This coach was actually in the process of being converted by Millennium for a customer. Note the interior layout marked out on the floor.

In the other vendor building we stopped at the booth for Williston Crossings and Belle Parc RV Resorts. Alan, who is the managing partner for both properties, was staffing the booth so we chatted with him briefly. We also stopped at the booth for Florida Grande Motorcoach Resort in Webster, Florida. This was the other RV Resort that our friend, Ed Roelle, suggested we check out two years ago. Unlike Williston Crossings, where we ended up, the lots in Florida Grande are all for sale as deeded properties with a fractional ownership in the common grounds and structures. At least that was our understanding.

The sites at Florida Grande sell for about $48K and a coach house can be added for about $31K. HOA fees currently run about $550 per quarter but we did not inquire about how the level is set or what limits might exist on them being raised. Lots can be placed in a rental pool when unused but we did not ask if owners can arrange their own sublets. We heard from someone later than only about half the lots are sold. That means lots are still available for purchase, but also makes such a purchase potentially risky. It means plenty of unsold lots are available to rent and if the rest of the lots do not eventually sell in a reasonable amount of time the future of the whole development would be in doubt.

We are not planning on purchasing a lot anytime soon, in Florida or elsewhere, but it is an idea that interests us longer-term. We might drive up in the car to check it out or, more likely, stop there for a few days in the bus when we finally leave Big Tree RV Resort in March.

We eventually found our friend, Al Hesselbart, manning his Antique RV booth at the far end of the fairgrounds. He was asked by the RV Show organizers to put together an antique RV display but relegated him to a remote corner of the show. He had commitments from the owners of eight antique RVs, plus his own 1978 Newell, but four of them backed out at the last minute and the other four simply did not show up. Whatever their reasons it was disappointing and inconsiderate. Al had a large TV monitor with a slide show of about 500 images running automatically in a loop. He had them in a shelter to protect them, and him, from the worst of the rain.

It was almost 5 PM by the time we got back to our car. We discussed calling Ed and Betty Burns, who live near Bradenton, to see if they were up for a visit but we were at least an hour away and decided it was too short a notice, too late in the day, and we were too tired. We fought our way through Friday rush hour traffic across US-301 to I-75 and headed south to exit 217, which is FL-70 to Bradenton (west) and Arcadia (east). We stopped at the Speedway for gasoline and bought two coffees to scare away the cobwebs. It had been a long day.

As we continued east on FL-70 Linda got a call from her sister, Marilyn, to finalize plans for tomorrow. We got back to our coach around 6:45 PM and had a light dinner of garbanzo bean salad sandwiches and a small glass of wine. We then watched a program about Agatha Christy on PBS/Create followed by two episodes of Miss Marple. Linda headed off to bed before the second episode was over while I remained up to continue working on my blog posts from today and the previous two days.

I stayed up to watch the WINK evening news (channel 11-1). They reported that the storms this morning included a confirmed EF-1 tornado in south Fort Meyers and wind damaged property in Lehigh Acres. The meteorologists made it clear that the January tornados from today and last weekend would normally be quite rare for this time of year but were not unusual in an El Niño year like this one. We are headed to Fort Meyers tomorrow for the first time to visit with Marilyn and the weather forecast looks fine if a bit cool. Another round of strong storms is forecast for Sunday morning in connection with the passage of yet another cold front trailing from a strong low pressure center moving east across the Florida panhandle. We plan to stay home Sunday but Marilyn is flying back to St. Louis, Missouri, weather permitting.

The Phase Place

Welcome to the next phase (hosted by QTH.com)

Tag Archives: tire covers

2016/03/08 (T) Coverup Reset

2016/02/16–20 (T–S) Friends, Food, and Good Times

2016/01/11 (M) – 15 (F) Family and Friends