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.

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