Driveway Incident

I recently put my motorhome in my driveway at home. I thought it would be the easiest to just back it up the driveway, and put it on the grass next to the driveway. I was a little concerned that the back end would drag on the concrete, and it did. However; it was just the bottom of the hitch, and it made a little scrape mark on the driveway. So I decided to attach a couple of heavy duty casters to the bottom of the hitch, with the idea of them lifting the back end up just a little on the suspension. The casters were rated at 600lbs each.  So last Sunday, I thought I would try it to see if it would work without scraping. It didn't.  I pulled down the driveway, and started the turn out the driveway, when Alex motioned me to stop.  I got out and the hitch was resting on the concrete.  At the bottom of the driveway there were ball barrings everywhere. I looked under at the casters and they were both broken. I got back in and attempted to back up, but the wheels on the right side began spinning. I tried to go forward and they again spun. The front of the motorhome was blocking the entire street, and the neighbors were having to go around the block. Drew, the neighbor across the street came over to lend a hand. We decided to jack up the right side and put a 2x10 under that tire to give it some traction. I used the right rear leveling jack to pick up the wheel.  However; the tire on the left side then started spinning.  I attempted to used the left leveling jack and when I tried to pick up the left rear wheel, the jack missed the concrete and sunk into the mud on the left side of the driveway. I had already started turning out of the driveway when I stopped. When I went to lift the jack to put a 2x10 under that side, the jack would not retract. It was stuck in the mud under the motorhome.  It was time for some shovel work. After we got the jack up and put the 2x10 under it the jack went down and broke the 2x10.  Drew volunteered to get a piece of 2x12 white oak, which also broke. After digging the lumber out we stacked several pieces on top of one another and finely was able to get it to pick up the left side. we then put 2x10s under the left side and was able to get the motorhome out of the driveway. All in all there was no damage to the motorhome and no injuries, so all is well that ends well. I owe Drew a piece of oak and maybe a bottle for being a good neighbor. And as I like to say, "If there are no pictures, it didn't happen".

Blue Light Treatment

I have not posted in a while, so thought I would try to catch up a little. I went in for the second treatment on my skin yesterday, and I still have one more to go. This treatment is to be effective at preventing squamous cell carcinoma that I have been more regularly lately. My Dermatologist said that about 10% of the Actinic Keratosis ( age spots) turn to squamous cell carcinoma in light skinned people like me. As I posted earlier, I have to stay indoors, out of the light, for the first 48 hours. There is another similar treatment called 5 Fluorouracil, or 5 FU. With a name like "5-FU" I didn't think that could be good, but the doctor said that both options were equally effective. This treatment is called ""Photodynamic, therapy for actinic keratosis".
Anyway, in the meantime, we have had several house showings, and one very low bid offer. We don't have $40K to bring to closing, and even if we did, we are not. We have had very good responses form all the showings, so we are keeping our hopes up. We have been looking at the things that we will need to live full-time in the RV, and only have a few things to buy. One thing is a tow hitch and brake buddy to tow our car behind the RV. I would like also to have another slide out tray on the outside in the bay that has the TV and Phone jack, and a 110vac receptacle, to build a stereo and TV into it to view from the outside, under the awning. Well that is all I can think of for now.

So,  be safe and enjoy your friends and family.

Devil's Fork State Park

Devil's Fork with Lake Jocassee in the background

On Friday, November 18, I had the first treatment for my skin cancer. It went very well, and I have another on Dec 16th. Saturday we took the RV to Devil's Fork State Park in South Carolina. It is about 150 miles from our house. We stayed there till Yesterday.  I had to stay out of the sun light or keep my head covered for the first 48 hours.  Anyway, the RV had no problems, and everything operated great.  It has an old antenna on the roof that you crank up.  The TV's are analog, and so before we left, I stopped at Best Buy and bought a converter box.  The antenna was able to pick up about a dozen more channels than you can watch at once. Some friends from our congregation also came for the weekend and watched the football games on Thursday. In all there were lots of kids and lots of activity all around the campground.

Left to right-Sammie, Lilian, Eric, and Quintan Blando

11/11/11

Yes, today is 111111. I have not posted in a while. I have not dropped off the edge of the earth, although it seems like I have been around it twice. I've been trying to keep things afloat. I went to Little Rock, AK, for a work project. We were visiting Little Rock because they have a street car line that uses the same Gomaco, reproduction street cars that we have in Charlotte. It is common practice that agencies will share lessons learned with other agencies. In the cooperate world you would never admit mistakes to a competitor, but we are not competitors. Little Rock is a tourist town and their street car has a slightly different purpose than we have in Charlotte. Little Rock street cars set the stage for their historic city tourism. Charlotte will have a dual purpose of tourism and transportation. The future street cars will be modern cars like the Kinkisharyos that I posted in January of this year. Charlotte has 3 replica Gomaco cars that are the same as Little Rock, as you can see from one of the pictures. These will eventually be phased out in favor of new technology. Next week I will need to go to the dermotologist on some more skin issues. I think after that we will take the Bus on a little R&R for a few days before I winterize it. And as you can see parking and overhead powerlines can be an issue.

Break from the brakes.

Saturday, Alex told me that the brakes on the car were making noise. So I drove the car around and they seemed OK, but were making a little noise in the rear. I jacked it up and put stands under the back and took the wheel off the right side. When I pulled the drum off, pieces of broken springs fell out. The brake adjusting lever was bent and the piece that separates the shoes was also bent.  The drum was scratched and shoes were also chewed up. I went to the auto parts store and bought a brake hardware kit and shoes and a new drum. However; the separator piece was a dealer item. So, I went to the GMC dealer across the street and ordered the piece. I won't get it till Tuesday.  So, the car is on vacation till then.  We finished the day by going to our friend David and Carol's house for a fish fry. Very good time and a welcome break from the brakes.