Tag Archives: WCRVR (FL)

2014/01/10 (F) Visitors

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Steve and Karen Limkemann e-mailed yesterday that they were in Macon, Georgia and thought they would arrive at Williston Crossings today between 2 and 3 PM. They left S. E. Michigan Wednesday around noon and got as far as northern Kentucky before stopping for the night.  We had planned to do weekly chores this morning anyway, but that became necessary once we knew their ETA.  My chores included doing the laundry so we would all have clean linens, and dumping the waste tanks and refilling the fresh water tank.  Linda’s chores involved interior cleaning (vacuum, mop, dust, glass and mirrors, sinks and toilet, etc.) and de-cluttering.

Steve and Karen arrived on schedule and came in the new/rear entrance off of FL-121.  They phoned me and I drove over to lead them to our site which is near the original/front entrance on N. E. 5th St.  I had not finished filling the fresh water tank, so I gave Steve a tour of the bays while the tank filled.  Eventually the chores were done and we gathered inside to visit.

Being a Friday it was fire pit night at the RV resort, but first we went out to dinner.  We decided to try Angelina Mia’s, the Italian restaurant and pizzeria we stopped at the other day on our walk to town.  We ended up ordering a thin crust northern Italian veggie pizza, no cheese, and it was OK.  Steve had lasagna and Karen had seafood linguine, and they both said it was OK as well.  By the time we got back to the RV resort a large group had gathered around the fire pit and the fire was blazing.  There were no vacant chairs, and we did want to stand, so we retired to the coach and settled in.

We have had overnight guests in the bus prior to this, but only one person at a time.  Steve and Karen were the first couple to stay overnight, and the first guests to use the sleeper sofa pulled out into its two-person configuration.  In spite of the noise and vibration from the auxiliary air compressor, the refrigerator, the vent fans, and the water pump, they said they were comfortable and slept well.

 

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.

2014/01/07 (T) Ocala Florida

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It dropped into the mid-20s last night so we used the Aqua Hot hydronic heating system to keep the coach comfortable and the water bay above freezing.  Although the high temperature only rose to 43 degrees the sun was shining and we needed a break from the confines of the coach.  We had compiled a shopping list over the last few days so we decided to head to Ocala.

Our first stop was the Radio Shack store at the Paddock Mall where I got a small wireless keyboard, a wireless mouse, and some 75 ohm coax cable.  Although we have a few OTA TV channels, most importantly the PBS trio, we have a cable TV hookup as part of our site and a cable TV connection in our utility bay, so we are going to see if we can get it to work.

The dining table in our coach is not ideal for working at our computers and I was developing a sore neck.  The wireless keyboard will allow me to move the monitor a little farther away and position the keyboard more comfortably.

We went to Gander Mountain in search of waterproof camp shoes for outdoor use that we can slip on and off easily, but did not find what we were looking for.  We looked around online later and it appeared that L. L. Bean has what we want.

We doubled back to an outdoor mall where Linda went to Joann a Fabrics and I went to Staples to get a cooling pad for my laptop.  Staples also had and outlet expander (3 from 2) with two USB charging ports and a night light that solved a specific problem for use very nicely.

Our final stop was the Publix grocery store on US-27 just west of I-75.  This store is 22 miles from Williston, seven miles farther than the one in Gainesville, but there is a lot of other shopping in that area.  We did not do a general tour of Ocala, so we will do that another day.

Having uploaded my article and photographs on the Arcadia Bus Rally last evening I decided to do a shortened version of the article for the February issue of our GLCC newsletter.  I selected 17 photographs, most of which included at least one of our GLCC members and/or their coaches.  I finished the article, uploaded everything, and e-mailed newsletter editors Scott and Tami Bruner before I went to bed.  It felt good to get that done while the event was still fresh in my mind and have it off my plate as I have a backlog of articles to work on and keep falling behind on posting to this blog.

 

2014/01/05 (N) Views of WCRVR

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I’ve been hunkered down writing an article for Bus Conversions Magazine on the recent Arcadia Bus Rally and Linda has been working on her counted stitch needlepoint, but both of those are activities from which we need to take breaks and go for walks.  When we do, I usually take my camera along.  Here are eight more photos of Williston Crossings RV Resort that capture some of the features of the park and the ways that residents make their sites uniquely their own.

A cactus garden.

A cactus garden.

The fire pit.

The fire pit.

Grass and palm trees.

Grass and palm trees.

The old quarry from the back of one of the sites.

The old quarry from the back of one of the sites.

This belongs to one of our next door neighbors.

This belongs to one of our next door neighbors.

Tiki huts and rock gardens.

Tiki huts and rock gardens.

Donna & Michael’s Motorhome.

Donna & Michael’s Motorhome.

Donna, Michael, and Linda.

Donna, Michael, and Linda.