July 5, 2023

Temperature 93 Degrees

I Love It When A Plan Comes Together

Why, oh why I planned our first day out for July 5th I’ll never know. All the talking heads on TV stated it would be one of the worse days to be on the road. Yipee!

So, we decided to outsmart them. We would leave early in the morning, like around 7 am. That would have us coming off the road around noon time. My thinking was most RV parks and hotels/motels would be emptying out around that time and so that’s when the roads would become heavy with traffic. So 7 am it would be. Thankfully, I slept like a log the night before. None of the normal tossing and turning and worrying abut this and that. Nope, I put my head down on the pillow and I was out.

OK, did we make our goal of 7 am? Well, how about 7:07 am! Now, our GPS had us going a route I would never, ever go. So I turned it off and went my tried, true, and tested way for leaving Polk City and Florida. It’s a combination of two lane and four lane county roads as well as an interstate or two. And I’m here to say, our plan worked like a charm. There was really no traffic to speak of the whole way. Yea, my way took maybe 45 minutes longer than the way the GPS wanted us to go, but I’m oh so glad I went my way. It was a nice and relaxing drive. And we were off the road by noon time.

Our home for tonight is an extension – literally – of an Econo Lodge parking lot. There are a total of 13 parking pads with FHU and we got the last one. We were here five years ago and it was a really nice place to stay. But now? Oh no, unfortunately the place has not been kept up and it is in really rough shape. Thankfully, we are here only one night and then we are off to South Carolina.

We’re settled in and despite the heat the AC is keeping us very comfortable. And thanks to Ms. Barbara we had a great meal waiting for us when we arrived. Last night she made a big crock pot full of chili. While on the road we keep the pot in the shower so it doesn’t slide around. Upon our arrival I plugged our electric in and she plugged the pot back in and within 30 minutes we were sitting down to a super supper. Gotta love that woman.

Time to go read a few more chapters in a new book I started. Then who knows what. We’ll continue to listen to the thunder boomers all around us. Will it rain or will it not. Time will tell.

Rain Drops Keep Falling On Our Heads – No More

May 2023

There is nothing more annoying than a leak in one’s RV. Not to mention how, if left untreated, much damage can be done. An entire roof could be ruined and a replacement needed.

I’m normally on top of things like this but I guess since coming off the road I’ve become a bit complacent. No more. I have my annual check list and I’ll be going through it every January as in the past.

Now, the recent rains revealed two areas of concern. The first was rather minor and easy to correct.

This first leak was coming from under my over the air antenna. That is the black round-shaped object to the right in the picture above. I decided rather than just re-caulking around the rim I would pull it up and, caulk the entire assembly and reinstall it.

Well, imagine my surprise when after I took it off I discovered a large uncovered hole that was from the previous antenna. The installer for this antenna never bothered to cover that up. Just goes to show, if you want it done right then you have to do it yourself. My good buddy Isaac and I decided we would make a cover plate for the hole, then caulk it and fasten it in place. That way if in the future water ever did make it under the base of the antenna it would not be able to get inside the rig.

But we weren’t done. There were a number of screws from a previous antenna install that we removed, then re-caulked the holes and inserted new screws. We pulled the air horn off, re-caulked, then reinstalled it. We did the same for the current satellite antenna, a couple of existing cover plates and the defunct solar trickle charger. If it was in the front part of the roof it got re-caulked with self leveling sealant. I’m confident now that we’ll have no leaks in the front for the rest of this year. However, like I said come December/January I’ll be back up there checking everything once again.

On to the bigger issue of the two.

Unfortunately, whoever (and I know who it was and I would like to ring their neck) installed this in the first place did an absolutely awful job. I can now see that they never properly sealed it in the first place and my past attempts at resealing it were quite obviously woefully lacking.

So my friends we have a perfect example of what happens if water makes it way into the roof of your rig. On the outer side, and the front side the wood is rotted and it has delaminated. The perfectly proper way to solve this would be to cut back the fiberglass roof and replace the wood underneath, and then lay down new fiberglass.

That’s the perfect way. But there’s another way to solve this without going to all that expense. I’m going to infuse an epoxy resin into the rotted wood. This will strengthen the existing wood and rebind the layers back together. Then I’ll fill any left over voids with an epoxy body filler. I’ll also install and bond a piece of metal to the damaged wood which will give a piece of solid material for the screws to bite into when the new skylight is installed. Then the new skylight will be installed and we’ll be as good as new. Now how about that.

So there you have it, the project of the month. Now to all those who are still RV owners, if you haven’t check the caulk on your roof in the last six months, what are you waiting for! Before you have a waterfall inside, go, check, and caulk if necessary. You’ll be glad you took the time to do so.

May 2023

Tune Up Trip

Knowing that we would be going away for a couple of months later in the summer, I decided that a tune up trip was in order. A simple trip, just an hour away at the Escapees Park in Bushnell. This used to be our winter home when we first started our full-time life on the road.

While here we would also be able to visit our good friends, Dennis and Pam. We met them our first winter in Florida, here at this RV park. They now live in Ocala, Florida.

OK, as for the trip itself. It was a short drive with no unexpected surprises. Ah, but this was the only part of the trip that went well. This, and the trip home I might add. Which came rather quickly. The rest of our short stay, well what fun indeed!

First, regarding set up. I quickly discovered I’m a bit out of practice. Suffice to day, if it could go wrong it did. First, I hooked up our water hoses, turned the water on and watched the outside faucets sort of blow up! What’s the old saying water, water everywhere. I did what I could to staunch the flow temporarily since we needed water inside. Eventually I would have to run to True Value to purchase a new set of faucets.

Moving on to the sewer set up. I was so proud off myself, I made all the connections in a jiffy. So, I pulled the gray water valve open but no water flowed. Then I realized that I had left the caps on each section of hose in place. Oh boy. Closed the valve, pulled the sections of hose apart, took a bath in gray water, corrected the problem and now all was well.

It was then I got to spend a few contemplative minutes regarding the whole situation. I started backing up, tripped on something and found myself flat on my back starring up at the clouds. Ah, such lovely clouds. Wait, not lovely but evil looking. For months we’ve had nothing but ideal weather. That was about to end real quick.

In short order those evil clouds opened up and we had buckets of water raining down upon us. But not to worry, we were safe and dry inside. For the moment. But it was not going to last.

Come now to Tuesday. We had a wonderful visit with our friends. It was the highlight of the day. And about the only good thing that happened that Tuesday.

Tuesday, the thunder, the lightening, and the rain came again. However, all seemed well. Then we heard it. Drip, drip, drip. What! We had a leak, in front right over the passenger seat. We quickly put a bowel under that and tried to get back to playing cards. Wait, what was that? Drip, drip, drip. Now coming from behind us in the area of the shower. Oh my goodness we had another leak. The skylight in the shower was leaking as well. Thankfully, the rain ended before we turned in for the night. But the decision had been made. We were running for cover, going home the following day, getting Elvira in out of the rain under the port.

So, our week long tune up trip turned into a two day tune up trip. And were we ever glad to get home. We no more than got here and the rain came again. Ha! who cares Elvira is now safe and dry under the port.

Was the trip a success? You bet. It showed me a number of items I had to address before we leave in July. I’ve already begun to repair the leaks we discovered. And a number of other issues which came up in our short two days. Ah yes, RV life is always interesting. But come on, houses are no different. There is always it seems that needs to be addressed.

So, to all who own an RV – Go and RV boldly! The rewards are worth the issues that do crop up.

April, 2023

Skimming Across Lake Kissimmee

One of our neighbors once said to us If you want a truly unique experience, then you need to take a ride on an air boat on Lake Kissimmee.

Well, based on their recommendation we picked a date and made reservations.

Come our given day we awoke to beautiful blue skies and seasonable temperatures. So, off we went. It took a little over an hour to get to Grape Hammock Air Boat Rides located on the south end of Lake Kissimmee.

Now, about the name – Grape Hammock. A bit of research and I discovered – according to local legend – that the name came from the large number of wild grapes in the area and from the groups of trees called hammocks that dot the shoreline.

Regarding Lake Kissimmee, some more research and I learned that it is the third largest lake in Florida and lies at the headwaters of the Everglades. As for how deep it is. . .

Let’s just say it isn’t very deep at all. On average the majority of the lake is only 5 feet deep, with a few spots around 12 feet. This guy no doubt wandered out into the water from Brahma Island. Brahma Island is a privately owned island near the lake’s southwestern shore. The state reached an agreement with its current owners that the island would never be commercial developed so it appears today much as it did say 30 years ago.

Okay, let’s go for a ride and see what we can discover.

This would be our ticket to getting out on the lake and around Brahma Island. Our guide and operator was a young man who purchased his first air boat when he was thirteen. He grew up in the area and on the waters of Lake Kissimmee. In so many words, he knows the lake.

And he proved it when he took us on an hour plus ride that wove in and out of small canals and in so many different directions that I lost all sense of direction.

Okay, the lake awaits us.

And this is the canal leading to it.

It’s amazing where an air boat can go. Through fields of lily pads and at times we were actually skimming over sand bars. Most of the time, according to our guide, we were in water that was only 2 inches deep – the type of water he prefers.

The area we were told is rich with wildlife so we were anxious to see what we could spot.

We first discovered a bald eagle. We were told that the land around Lake Kissimmee has one of the highest concentrations of bald eagles in Florida.

Of course there were alligators galore.

There were any number of little ones. This one we were told is probably a year old.

There’s also quite a few of the much larger size. Definitely makes you think twice about taking a swim in the lake. Actually, more like a wade.

Remember Brahma Island? Currently it is a wild life sanctuary where you are apt to find almost anything. For instance, though we never saw them, there are several zebra on the island.

But we did spot several

bison in the waters near the island and on the island itself. And to think we went all the way to Custer State Park to find these critters!

There were birds aplenty. This is a flock of Roseate Spoonbills. They are usually found in small flocks and usually feed in shallow, murky waters.

Various types of deer also call the island home.

All in all, though the ride was only a bit over an hour the time flew by quickly. It proved a delightful way to spend an afternoon in Florida. The air boat allowed us to skim through the shallows and dance across the wider part of the lake. At one point our guide had the boat spinning like a top. It was an absolutely thrilling ride. My advice, if you are ever in this area make the time to take an air boat ride out of Grape Hammock Fish Camp. You’ll be glad you did.