Another Walmart

We are on the last leg of our run to Florida and heading for our last Walmart ,thank you very much!!
But 20 miles from at exit we came up on the mother of all traffic jambs. We crawled along for about two hours before things broke up.

So we finally made it to our LAST Wally World and were guided by their security vehicle to their designated overnight parking area. I remember counting 10 or 11 RV's.
Here we are in our own little corner.
And we also had or very own Palm trees for that tropical feeling. Yes, it was raining!

We headed out in the morning and arrived at Blue Springs State Park around 3:00.

I was a bit disappointed because I was with the understanding that the site would have full hookups. But after spending ten minutes maneuvering the coach into a very tight spot, I was surprised to find no sewerage hookup. My tanks are nearly full and I didn't dump on the way in. We are here for two weeks so I am going to see if I can get some of the branches trimmed so after dumping my tanks, I can get back in easier.

We strolled down to see the Manatees, they are awesome to watch in the water. So large yet so graceful in their movements.

A Night In Statesville, NC

Another day of driving but we are still seeing remains of snow and the temperature still hasn't gotten above 45 degrees. Last night we had to cope with 50 MPH winds and 17 degree temperatures. It was nice and warm in the coach but it still reminded me of the weather at home.
In our latest Walmart parking lot. There is a Cracker Barrel to the left of where I'm standing so we did dinner there.

Here's a shot of the gang at Cracker Barrel.

We Are In Hagerstown Maryland

Our friends Don & Lucy came to our home last night in their coach and are going to tag along with us to Florida. They also have some friends Steve and Sharon that met us here at Walmart and are also heading to Florida so we will have a small convoy.
We did about 420 miles today and we are in a Walmart parking lot with eight (at last count) RV's. It looks like a small campground. Joyce and Lucy are in Walmart spending money so it's never a free night.
Note the sign on the post between the coaches.

Made It Through Christmas

Well chalk up one more Christmas, now that it's done we can move on to more fun things like packing the coach for our departure in two days.
It looks like the weather is going to be with us, I hope the traffic is also.
We have to be at Blue Spring State Park in Orange, Fl. on the 31st so we have plenty of time to get there.
Once there we can kick back for a couple of weeks and hope to soak up some sunshine.

So stay tuned while we prepare to begin our 2010 adventure.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Well this is the night that all of us kids have been waiting for.......Santa's coming!
So..........MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, Joyce and I hope you get everything you've wished for.

Still Snowing

It's 9:30 AM and the snow is still coming down. The picture below is from the kitchen looking out to the deck. That snow drift is about four feet deep.
I'm glad that I moved the coach to the driveway.
The depth of the snow varies from a foot up to ?????? There is a lot of drifting. Joyce thinks it's so beautiful but wait till she has to shovel it.

I'll bet our friends in Florida wish they were back here to see all this beautiful snow.... nah.... they're probably heading for the golf course ugh!

Blizzard Warning

I started the coach to move it to the driveway before the storm got here. I had three jacks frozen to the ground and had to be pried loose with a shovel. Then when I put her into drive to move it, the coach wouldn't budge. I then tried reverse and she broke loose.
Apparently the brakes froze to the rotors and drums. Anyways, I got her parked in the driveway which is a good thing because the snow from the storm is going to be around for a while and I would have been stuck in that field till spring.

Nor'easter

Yup, we have a Nor'easter on it's way and it's suppose to start about 9 PM Saturday. Whereas we only have ten days before we head out, I am going to move the motorhome up to the driveway so we can get out of here.

The weather man is calling for 8-15 inches of snow with 50 MPH gust before it all ends Sunday. Will post pictures, time to find the shovel!

Bad Knee

As you may know I had my right knee drained of fluid back in Oct.. Well I had to have it drained again a couple of days ago. The problem was it should have been wrapped after the first draining so the fluid wouldn't return during the healing process, it wasn't wrapped.
Help my friend Ken winterize his motorhome last night and I guess I shouldn't have because by bed time, the knee was swollen and hurt to the touch. Didn't get much sleep but it does feel better this morning.

As for the septic system "D" box replacement, it is done and the inspector is due today, then the hole can be filled in. Things are finally getting done.

Still Here

Didn't hear anymore on our counter-offer on the house so we will just hang in their till we get what we want.

In the mean time I had to spend some more of that money I made in Texas on the home we are trying to sell. Lucky I had the chance to make some extra money!!!
I noticed that I was getting some water coming up through the floor in the bulkhead area. Wasn't anything serious and I probably could have done nothing and it never would have been noticed.
But.....I couldn't sell the house knowing that so I am having it fixed.
The floor has been notched out from the bulkhead sub floor to inside where the French Drain is.

Crushed stone will be laid in and capped off with new concrete. This will allow any water seeping up to flow through the crush stone to the French Drain, thus keeping the floor dry.

I hope the new owners appreciate me spending this extra money so THEY won't have any problems with water.

An Offer On The House

We got an offer on the house and we counter offered but we feel that it will not go anywhere because their offer was very low. That's fine with us because it's so close to our departure time we would rather sell when we come back.
But if a good deal comes along while we are on the road, we can give the realtor power of attorney to do the closing.
Oh well.......we'll see what the future holds.

Snow

For those of you that need a snow fix, I took some pictures for you.
The snow started at about 6:00PM and Don had to go plowing because he drives for the highway dept.Don was out all night sanding the roads and didn't get home till about 6:00AM.

Once he got home he had to plow his own driveway. There was between 5"- 6" of snow. More than I really want to see. Three more weeks and Don & Lucy will be following us to Florida and points west.

Oh Man, It's Snowing

Well I'm sitting at the window at our friends home and the snow is beginning to fall. They are predicting 2"-4" inches tonight. Ho Ho Ho!!

Time For A Change

Sitting here with noting to do so I thought I'd try a different color template. Wanted to do some Xmas colors but I'm not that good at doing Html edits.

Good News - Bad News

We finally got the Title V inspection done on our septic system. The good news is that the system passed. The bad news is that I wasn't about to get that lucky because the Distribution box needs to be replaced due to the concrete deteriorating.
The "D" box will have to be dug up, replaced, and re piped into the septic system. And, whereas the box requires replacement, this town requires the addition of a filter where the line runs from the septic tank to the "D" box. With the addition of the filter, we will end up with a small round concrete cover located at ground level.
Then........the pond to the right of our home decided to get a green film on top of the water over the last few days. I have no idea as to what it may be but it looks terrible. We had heavy rain pass through last night and I figured it would wash away. It looked good this morning but by afternoon it was back. Any ideas!!!!!

Well we are heading to some friends home for the weekend. Will be nice to get away for a few days.

Life Goes On

I noticed water in the floor area of the bulkhead in our home. We have a pond that is very close to the house so we had a French Drain installed when the house was built. The problem is they never ran a line under the bulkhead floor and now that the water table is high I'm getting a couple of inches of water in the bulkhead pit.
This water is no threat of getting to the cellar floor unless it comes up a couple more inches. Rather than take a chance of that happening, I am having it repaired.
They will jackhammer the concrete from the bulkhead to the french drain about two feet away, then they will lay in drain pipe and new concrete. This will allow the water to drain to the sump rather than come up through the floor.
Man I hate having to spend money on a house that we are only going to sell but I have to make it right. I guess that's why I worked to make a little extra money.

Yucky Weather

It's a cloudy overcast day with light rain, typical New England Fall weather. Winter is just around the corner.

We have had a lot of activity on the house. We have had a showing every Sunday since we came home and we just got a call that someone from Cape Cod wants to see the house Wed. morning.

Joyce is aggressively going through all the cabinets and sorting stuff to save and junk. If we get any good offers now so close to our winter departure, I don't know what we'll do. I would hate to cancel our winter trip. We'll just have to hope for some good timing.

In the mean time we will continue to sort through our stuff and plan our trip to new adventures. Stay tuned!!!!!

Grandpa's Little Helper

Was a nice day today except for the heavy cool winds but I like being outside. I am always looking for something to do so I figured I would fine tune the steps on the coach.
My youngest grand daughter Hannah loves helping me so she held the wrench while I checked out the adjustment.
So we tweaked the step to firm it up a bit when you step on it. It's great having a helper. It will be nice when she gets older then I can hold the wrench for her.

Happy Thanksgiving

Joyce and I would like to wish a "Happy Thanksgiving" to all and now for a bit of humor.

A lady was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store, but couldn't find one big enough for her family. She asked the stock boy, "Do these turkeys get any bigger?" The stock boy answered, "No ma'am, they're dead."

I Remembered The Pictures

I wanted to get the sewer hose out of the water service bay and store it outside close by. I found the ideal spot under the last storage compartment on the drivers side. I used a 3.5" I.D. square PVC post liner that you can get at Home Depot. I bought one three foot section and two end caps. After pop riveting one of the caps on one end, I installed the other cap with a hinge and pop rivets.
Then a coat of flat black paint helps to blend it in as part of the chassis. In the picture below you can see it to the left of the exhaust. It's held up in place with 6" hose clamps fastened to the bottom of the compartment.
In this picture, I have the compartment door open so you can see the tube. This compartment door hangs lower than the storage tube so you can't really see it unless you bend down.

Here you can see the hinged door

My other project was to install a flat panel TV in the storage bay so we could sit outside on those warm nights and watch TV. The problem was how to store the TV during travel or when we are not using it.

I designed and made a swivel mounting bracket that has one half hinged and attached to the rail above the compartment door frame, and the other half attached to the TV back as seen below.

Here you can see the bolt that connects the two brackets and creates the swivel. When traveling, you spin the TV to face in then swing it up against the ceiling of the storage bay. I made a latching system to hold it safely in place against a foam frame so the screen is protected.

The List Gets Shorter

Spent most of the day doing stuff on the coach, finished the winterizing and installed the storage tube for the sewerage hose. I forgot to take pic's so will do tomorrow.
The realtor called and we have to get lost for a while tomorrow because he's bringing someone to look at the house at 1:00, what a pain. At least they won't interrupt the Pats game because they play at 4:00.
We've got two of the granddaughters tonight so I guess I'll go and watch Sponge Bob with them.

Do The Clean-up

Now that we are home we have to do the house chores as well as empty the coach of those items that will freeze.
Joyce and I worked on cleaning up all the leaves in the yard, took us two days to complete. We have been cleaning the coach off and on for the last week. Joyce has been bagging the can goods, etc. while I have been washing the outside and getting ready to winterize all the water lines.
Seems like an awful lot of work for such a short amount of time, we are only home for six more weeks before we head out for the winter.

I am installing a flat panel TV in one of the storage compartments. I made a bracket that will allow me to fold the TV up out of the way for travel. I will post some pictures after I get done with the installation. I am also adding a tube to store my sewage hose in because I hate having it in the water bay.
I'm trying to hurry and get these projects done before it gets really cold.

Leaving Walmart

Had to get some pictures of Frank and his dogs before we headed out but I couldn't get Joyce away from the dogs.
Frank's is retired and his wife still works, they live in Houston, Texas but she is flying out to meet up with Frank who will be visiting their son in New Jersey. Franks is really nice people, hope to run into him again down the road.
Joyce just couldn't get enough of the dogs and they really enjoyed her company.

Walmart parking lot prior to our departure.

We made it home at about 3:30 after detouring around some back roads to avoid a bad accident that had all lanes stopped on highway 287 in Pa.

The wind was gusting and the rain was heavy at times so it was a tough ride......Should have turned south in Virginia!!

Small World

We are in Pa. and about four hours from home. We dialed in a Walmart that was off the highway about three miles. We pulled into the parking lot and spotted another Phaeton parked by itself. I got out of the coach and couldn't believe it......after 16 hours of driving and picking this Walmart, we ran into Frank and his two dogs. You may remember the dogs because I took a picture of Joyce getting her dog fix before Frank left the Tiffin campground about a week ago. From there Frank traveled to Missouri to visit a cousin then he stopped here on his way to New Jersey.
He knew it was us pulling in as soon as he spotted the yellow Jeep. Man-o-man, what a small world.

Camp Walmart

We drove for eight hours today and are now in a Walmart parking lot in Virginia for the night.
We passed the NASA Space Center in Huntsville Alabama. Would like to stop here someday, looks interesting.

Heading Home

We are finished in Red Bay at the Tiffin service campground and thought we'd take one last spin around the back roads.
These people take their storms seriously and build these storm shelters either in their back yards or across the street from their homes.
We were surprised to find that these had a small cot for sleeping and a couple of chairs. Didn't think their storms lasted long enough that you needed a bed.
The Jeep is all hooked up and ready for our departure in the morning. We hope to be on the road by 8:30 - 9:00 am. We have three days of hard driving to get home. Wow, can't wait to get home to the cold weather and rake leaves. Oh well it's what we have to do until the home sells.

Things To Do In Red Bay Alabama

It's Saturday and whereas we are still here, we need something to do. We have already done everything there is to do in Red Bay so we had to wander. Along the way we passed this collection of old cars and trucks. You have to love these old southern automobiles with there lack of rot.

Looking for a nice pickup? There are some nice classics here.
The interior on this Chevy still had the original headline and the interior was in good condition. Drive it away!!
Dismals Canyon was our destination today and it was a warm and beautiful fall day, ideal for a walk in the woods.

Some people passing by were nice enough to take our picture.

Look at the size of these leaves, we were told that they are from a magnolia tree.

Oh man!!!!! Glad we don't have any in our yard because I wouldn't want to have to rake them up.

We had to cross a stream, there was a large tree that fell across the stream so I used it as a bridge.

Now this is the bridge that crosses the same stream. Joyce was too afraid to cross the tree bridge.

So she crossed the foot bridge the tough way; yes she made it but it was touch and go for a while.

Along the path was this little waterfall.

There were some pretty areas.

This is the dance hall where the Indians performed their dance ceremonies.

Coming to the end of our walk in the woods.

This waterfall has a small rainbow t the right but it's tough to see.

On our way back to camp we passed this place and just had to stop for pic's.

Most of the stuff was junk but I'm sure that there was something here for everyone.

This is a shot of one section inside the building. Wow, I'm sure that some real bargains could be had.

During dinner we were watching the Alabama college game. The Crimson Tide was loosing until..... Leigh Tiffin booted a 40 yard field goal. Tiffin is the schools highest scorer.

Leigh is also the grandson of Bob Tiffin the owner of the company that manufactured our motorhome. After kicking the field goal, this place came alive with air horns going off. Guess others were watching the same game.

Good Night!!!!!