Weekend in Asheville NC

On Friday when I got home there was a message on the recorder from a friend that moved to Tennessee in 2003 from Colorado. That was the last time that we had seen each other. Lanny said that they had a travel trailer and were spending a few days in Asheville. He offered to drive to Charlotte and so we could see each other. Lanny is a retired Sheriff's Deputy, and we have been friends since about 1974, when he moved to Denver from Indiana. He was not aware that we had a RV.  So I asked what RV Park he was in and we could meet them there. They were in Wilson's Riverfront RV Park just off I-26, very near downtown Asheville. I called the park on Friday and they said to just pick out a spot and then go to the office and pay. When we arrived, the office was closed on the weekends and they had envelopes to put your park fee in. It was a Passport America park and the fee was $15 for members and $30 for non-members. We are not members. It worked out great, and we went into the downtown area and found several good places to eat. We had a very good time, talking about old times and enjoying ourselves. The RV Park was very nice, but it is close to the highway and there was some traffic noise. It also is a little tough to get into, because you have to turn around just after you exit the highway and go back the opposite direction on the service road. That was not a problem with my RV, but it might be a little tricky with a large 5th wheel, if you are not very experienced. I parked on the side that the highway was on and Lanny was parked on the river side, with the river just a few feet from the back of their site. Here are a couple of pictures that tell it all. Thanks for stopping by and be Safe.


Chillin with Old friends 

Dog Days of Summer

I thought I needed to update a little bit. I turned 63 a week or so ago. I am a little down that we haven't sold the house yet. I think that it will be just a matter of time. I have been very busy at work lately. We are working on an extension to our current light rail line, and also a start on a street car demonstration line. That means that the city of Charlotte is building a 1.5 mile line from center city to the community college and hospital. The long term plan calls for extending that farther in both directions. The Streetcar project is marked to open in 2015 and the light rail extension 2019. On top of that we are getting ready for the upcoming Democratic National Convention that is to be held in Charlotte. There is a lot of planning with the security (as in Secret Service) for that. I have been trying to hire an additional employee to replace the one that left and went to DC.

The time has been flying by, and if I have to stay in Charlotte for another year, before I retire, that will probably fly by also. I will post a picture of the excitement I was having on my 63rd.

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Travel to Colorado

I have pretty much recovered from my eye surgery. I was not suppose to do anything that was a strain on my eyes, so I went took a few days off and rested. Then we decided to take a vacation and go for a ride in the RV. I got clearance from the ophthalmologist, and headed for Colorado. We broke the drive into 4 days going and 3 coming back. We stopped in Memphis and went through Graceland, sense we had never been there. I enjoyed it and think Alex did also. When we left Memphis, and got into Arkansas, we had a Stop Engine light come on. This is usually due to low oil pressure or a hot engine. We have gauges for these and the oil pressure was at a steady 60 psi, and the engine and transmission temperature were at about 180 degrees. I felt that it was a oil pressure sensor and that stopping and shutting off and re-starting the RV would clear it. It did, but only temporally. So we looked up and stopped at a Cummins dealer, and that delayed us about 4 hours. It was the sensor for the oil pressure and they replaced it and we were on our way with no further trouble the rest of the time. The folks at Cummings Little Rock, treated us as a priority, and the total cost was $11.90 for sensor and 19.00 for a wiring adaptor for the upgraded sensor, plus tax and 2 hours labor made the total at $284.00. I thought that was a bargain for a road breakdown. We had a great time and saw the kids and grandkids. Brahm, Louis and I went to the property and replaced a water hydrant that had corroded and then spent some time target practicing with their guns. We are now expecting puppys from Shiloh and Ruger. No explanation necessary. 

Retinal Tears

Retinal detachment is a condition in which the vitreous gel that fills the eye contracts and fails to separate cleanly from the retina. Instead, the vitreous pulls and tears a hole in the retina. That is more than I wanted to know about what retinal tears are. However; that is just what happened to me about a month ago. I had laser surgery, and have lost some peripheral vision. I still have some floaters and some blood in my eye, but that will clear up in time.  So I will get back to a little more regular posting when I can see a little better.   I've been feeling a little rough.

NorCold Recall

A couple of weeks ago, I got a letter in the mail from NorCold. They are the company that makes refrigerators for motor homes, camper trailers, 5th wheels etc. It was a recall notice for the model 1200, side by side refrigerators. It said that if you have that model to unplug it immediately. I checked ours and unplugged it. I took it to the Country Camping Corner near my home. They said that they would have to leave it for a few days, so they could order the repair kit, and install it. That was no problem. About a week later, they called and I went and picked it up. I looked in the back or the refrigerator, and they had indeed added a part labeled "R 1001". It is a shut off switch that shuts it off if the temperature gets too high. When I took RV back to the storage facility, and went to shut off the main power, someone had tried to cut the battery cable.

Back to Country Camping Corner I went with the picture on my cell phone. The owner of Country Camping Corner, told me that someone had stolen one of her most expensive 5th wheel trailers. As I talked to her, she did not except any responsibility or offer to even fix my cable.  The cable was only about 30" long and It is not available in auto parts stores.  It is a 2/0 copper cable and that is the size that is used for welding cable.  I just thought it would not be worth the fight. I was able to fix it without any trouble.

But to the folks at Country Camping Corner, "Adios", I was planning to have other items repaired and replaced at their shop. It would have been convenient for me.

I also focused on the idea that I should clean and paint a little in the battery area. The other terminals and nuts are starting to corrode.

That is it for now,  be safe everyone.



Transition Strip

I have not updated in a while, and I thought that I should write a few lines as to what's up. I have not been able to get any interest in my upsidedown home, So we will think about our next option.  I decided to put a sprinkler system in the front yard, just to make it easier to care for, in the event that we stay for a while. I think that I can do it for just a few hundred dollars myself.  I will post some pictures as I can.  I replaced the aluminum transition strip in the MoHo (Motor Home), and changed the oil. The transition strip was where the previous owner replaced the front carpet with some very nice bamboo flooring. However; when the did, they put an aluminum strip between the tile kitchen floor and the bamboo flooring. The tile had a notch of about 4"s at the edge of the J couch. This left a very sharp point in the aluminum 90 degree turn. I was afraid that someone would get hurt if the were to catch their bare foot on it.  In came the wood replacement. I'm happy with the results, and we love the bamboo flooring in the front. I didn't put out the slide for the picture, but you get the idea.  I still may sand the point a little. I guess that is all for now, be safe.

New Chairs

Last Thursday I had my last skin treatment. I hope it holds off the skin cancer for a while. I stayed in for the weekend, and went back to work yesterday. On Friday when Alex went to Costco, she called and said that they had some chairs like we have been looking for. They are around $80 at Camping World. We talked and she bought 4. They were $49 and now we have that behind us. I took them to the Motorhome on Sunday and drove to get fuel. It was 1/2 full, and it took 52 gallons to fill up. That should get us about 1/3 of the fuel for our Colorado trip in May.  Here is a Pic of what we bought, and don't forget to be safe, both driving and living.

Paying taxes

We got our income tax return the other day, and after paying a few things that I usually wait for tax returns to pay, its gone. I was able to pay the property tax to North Carolina on the motor home. $535.00, and the tax on my Colorado property. That was another $430. Paid my Texas property tax of $29.00 and the HOA fee of $165. Go figure that one out. I also bought a 5 gallon bucket of oil and a filter for the motor home. And finely I think that we can now save a little up to take the Motor home to Colorado on vacation. We have tentatively set it up for May. I will fill the fuel tank up, now and hope the price doesn't reach $5.00 per gallon by then.  We are able to get 12 mpg on it and the distance is 1600 miles. That makes 3200 round trip. If we can get 12mpg that is 267 gallons of diesel fuel. At the current $4.00 per gallon we will pay $1068.  If we get around 10 mpg, and pay $5.00 we will pay $1600 on fuel.  So that is the best and worst case. We could fly out and save a little. I just checked fares, and it would cost us $1038 Plus tax.  $197 each way per person, and $125 each way for Shiloh. After all she weighs in at a whopping 15 lbs. Oh, when we get there, we will have to rent or borrow one of the kids cars for the running around. I haven't figured the toad thing out yet. A toad is a towed vehicle. I guess that I should post a picture just because. Here is a fountain at a friends house last week when we went over to meet for the field ministry. It was the first time that it got cold enough for a few hours to freeze their fountain. Yesterday, 2-19-12, they were saying that there was a few snow flakes in the rain in the north side of town, and that was the first snow of this season. If you ask me "It don't count". Then I guess no one is asking. 

Take care and be safe. I will fill in more details on the vacation as I know more.

James Island SC

We just returned from James Island SC, where we stayed in the Campground in the RV. Brahm was in Charlotte for some work related training, and he stayed over a couple of days. It is a very nice camping area with a lot of hiking and other activities to enjoy. They have full hookups, and easy access. We took a shuttle into Charleston and spent the day. We have been in Charleston quite a few times, and have never been to Fort Sumter. So that is what we did this time. We left on Monday and stopped off at Drayton Hall. We have been there before, but wanted to take Brahm. Here is a link to their web tour. It was built in 1738 and was never modernized. No indoor electrical or plumbing. I have added som pictures of the campsite, Ft Sumter, Drayton Hall, and Shiloh waiting for us on the dashboard of the RV.


http://www.spinatour.com/draytonhall4/tour.html

100/% Silicone Calking--NOT

Last weekend we took the motor home out to get it cleaned up for the upcoming weekend at James Island. Brahm is coming for a work related two days, and is going to stay the weekend with us. We booked a couple of nights at an RV park in James Island South Carolina.  I thought we should clean it up.  The cost of re-winterizing it will be about $20 for 5 gallons of antifreeze. While cleaning the RV, I ran into a big problem with silicone caulking.  The previous owner used silicone to seal and patch some areas on the sides and around where the top meets the side. I do not recommend using silicone on the outside of any RV. The problem is that it will mold from the bottom out.  Further there are not an easy way to remove it once it has cured. Just as a silicone caulked bath tub or shower will turn black so will the RV seam. Now I will have to start removing it a little at a time, and replacing it with a non silicone caulking. Silicone can not be painted and it is very hard to remove all the residue for an acceptable looking repair. Anyway this repair will not happen quickly. I will work at it a little at a time. Every time I wash it it will be a reminder of the botched job by someone. I also left the plug out of the hot water tank and drove it home and it sucked the mineral deposits out and sprayed the side where I had just cleaned. All is well now, but here are some pics to remember the long warm weekend by. Great weather though. Be Safe everyone.