Double Celebration Day

Our Location Today Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

After sleeping in until 7:30 this morning we started off with a good breakfast waffles before checking the computers.

It wasn't long before we were out the door heading over to the trailer in the storage yard. When we unloaded the trailer from our last trip we had left our clean clothes in the drawers. The problem with that was now we were not certain exactly what we needed to bring with us on this next trip. Today we went to retrieve those clothes so when we pack this weekend we will know exactly what we are bringing.

From there we headed over to our daughter Karen's home because we had a date to go to lunch with Kylla our granddaughter. When we arrived we found out she was just getting out of bed (yawning above) because she had worked from midnight until 7:00 this morning. We thought we'd leave her sleep but when she heard our voices she was out of bed in a flash. A few minutes more and she was ready to go.

We headed over to Gilligan's which serves mostly sandwich type foods but also some of the simpler plated meals. We won't be home next month on the twenty-fourth which is Kylla's birthday so we were privately celebrating it today. The food has always been first rate as it was today the problem was that it is so tasty that we never thought to take pictures until we were half way done our meals.

After leaving the restaurant we headed back to the storage yard because Kylla wanted to see our new trailer. She had seen our old trailer but not this new unit. We opened it up to showcase the trailer and all the improvements we had made.

While doing so I noticed the front of the storage drawer under the rear couch seemed to be sagging. A closer inspection showed the screws were falling out into the drawer. I found the screwdriver to repair it only to find the holes were totally stripped. Out came the drill to put new holes through the inner drawer and five minutes later we were leaving the trailer with everything in tip top shape.

When we got Kylla home she told us that she had to get some more sleep because she had to be back to work for five tonight. Talk about overworking yourself well Kylla isn't the only one. Her dad Greg kept working all afternoon in the high heat with no breaks and little to drink hoping to finish their new deck.

I helped Karen reorganize the garage and unload new patio furniture before Kathy and I headed home. It felt good to cool down and get cleaned up until we remembered a few overlooked items we needed at Staples Office Supply so we headed out to take care of that.

For supper Kathy and I went out to Boston Pizza to enjoy their Tuscan Pizza. We can enjoy pizza anywhere anytime but when our craving hits for a Tuscan Pizza there is only one place to go. We even topped it off by sharing a Chocolate Explosion piece of cake for dessert and totally forgot to take a picture of it as well. The reason we splurged is because we were celebrating our 11th Wedding Anniversary. We do like to keep it low keyed and celebrate it privately.

With less then 3 days before the start of our next adventure we are getting everything together and anxious to go. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It's about time.

Krackers



What do you get when you cross

a snowman with a vampire?

Frostbite.

Getting Closer

Our Location Today Tecumseh, Ontrio, Canada

Just like everyone else we all have to go through our yearly checkups with our doctors. Part of those checkups include going for blood tests before actually going to see the doctor face to face. Today was my day of having to get up early and driving across town in order to beat the rush of others thinking the same way.

I am kind of a cheater though because I see my family doctor plus a specialist that both require almost identical blood tests so I book their appointments close together and only need one blood test to be done. This way I save my blood for something better. Giving the Gift of Life as a blood donar.

By 8:00 am I was on my way to grab a bite of breakfast and then to have an oil change done on the truck. Since it is a diesel engine it takes a little longer to do because it uses different and more oil then a gas engine but it is worth the reliability in protecting this investment.

After running into another retiree from the plant we worked in until it closed we compared notes of how life was treating us and what our plans are for the future. It seemed that time just flew by and the next thing I knew my name was being called that the truck was good to go.

Another quick errand was run on the way home. By the time I arrived home it was lunch and Kathy was ready for that with a nice toasted turkey sandwich and a salad.

While I was away this morning Kathy had helped me out by sorting and pretreating the laundry so that was my job this afternoon. Kathy continued dusting and cleaning the apartment so it will be done before we leave next week. We also decided to wait to wash and clean the truck. Since our area is still under a heat advisory with the chance of rain tomorrow. Why do the same job twice?

Ruth from Five Just Rolling Down the Road asked if we noticed any difference in towing our trailer with the wind deflector on our truck? When we had the older trailer there was about a two mile per gallon difference with the deflector. The front of the older trailer was more boxy or square in construction. On our new trailer we would probably get the same mileage because the front of the trailer is very aerodynamic in design. The advantage of the deflector now is keeping the dead bugs off the front of the trailer. It does not keep all the bugs off but there are very few even after a long trip. It is easier cleaning the deflector in a flat position then balancing on a ladder to scrub the front of the trailer.

Kathy and I would like to welcome a few new followers to our blog post. Kathy used to work for a company called Canadian Fence here in Windsor before she retired. Since they found out we are traveling they are very happy for us and have been keeping an eye on our trips by reading the blog. Another new follower we'd like to welcome is a follower called Sandi but there is no personal blog information that we could give a heads-up to and follow ourselves.

We are now less then 4 days to being on the road for our next adventure and we hope you'll be able to follow along for the ride/ Be Safe and Enjoy!

It's about time.

Krackers



You might be a Redneck if

Your neighbors call 911 everytime

you use the barbeque grill.

Trailer is Ready

Todays location Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

Sorry about not posting last night but it was a very long day yesterday and before I would have downloaded the pictures alone would have been after midnight.

Yesterday started early with the hopes of completing the must do list on the trailer. The first place I headed was on the roof to change our waste tank vents. Many times in the past after travelling we have entered our trailer to be hit with the odor nobody enjoys and this is caused by the wind forcing air down the vent stacks.

To end this problem I replaced all three of our standard vent caps with new Cyclone 360 degree vents. Now no matter which wy the wind is blowing it will rotate the head of the vent so that it draws the bad odors away as you travel down the road or even sitting still in a park so the inside of the trailer will smell the way we want it to. It was unbelievable how many screws and how much sealer was originally used to hold those covers in place and it took nearly an hour per vent to clean.

We had to stop at noon to head back to Windsor for our scheduled haicuts. It's hard to get hairstylists that will cut and style your hair the way you want each and every time so when you do you need to make appointments. After the hair cuts we made a quick stop back at the apartment to pick up a few things we needed in case we would still be overnighting at our son's.

Once we were back in Amherstburg I was able to finish sealing the new vents fairly quick. The next thing on the list was installing  the sewer hose containers on each side of the frame rails. Since I had predrilled pilot holes it made using the self drilling/self tapping screws a breeze. Using those same self drilling/self tapping screws I was finally able to install our level indicator on to our new pinbox making leveling the trailer so much easier.

Earlier this year when I rebuilt the media drawers in the rear bedroom into clothing drawers we noted after the last roadtrip the one seemed tighter than the other. Today that problem was taken care of by removing the drawers and shaving the opennig a sixteenth per side. Now it works great. Even though the drawers were made the same width as the old ones the drawer glides were heavier duty thus causing them to jam.

By this time Melissa had come home from work and cooked up supper figuring we all needed a break and nutrition. Even with the heat there was a slight breeze which made eating outside under their gazebo comfortable allowing us to enjoy our meal without being too hot and no bugs. Thanks Missy.

Right after supper I emptied half the trailer basement and removed the one particion wall to see what was the cause of the fresh water tank not filling when I tried to do it. There were no obstructions visible to the fill tube nor the vent. I experimented attempting to fill the tank the way I had with the same problem happening. So I turned the faucet down to about quarter flow and was able to fill the entire tank with no problem ecept a minor leak that I fixed right a way.

Behind the wall of Mysteries
Kathy was amazed at all the wires and piping.

We recalled in the past the faucets that we normally used for filling our tank had splitters with valves on them so you could have more then one hose connected at a time and be able to turn them On or Off from the splitter. That small valve in fact reduces the amount of water flow running through the hoses which made filling our tanks easy. Yesterday the hose was connected directly to the faucet meaning four times the water was trying to enter the tank at once and the vent could not handle it. Murphy didn't win.

Once the basement was put back together and repacked the last thing on the list was installing the tire monitoring system. If you recall I'd had a problem where I messed up the programming and didn't know how to fix it. A call to Tire Traker and within five minutes everything was corrected. So today they were installed the tires properly inflated and that crossed everything off the list. Always fun hugging the tires on a set of duals.

It took about forty-five minutes to unhook the hydro and water and put everything away. Another fifteen minutes for me to wash up and change my clothes and hook up. We said our final goodnights with hugs and kisses to the kids and grandkids and were on our way home by 9:20. By 10:00 we were pulling the trailer into the storage yard in Windsor.

Kathy loved the way the backup lights on the trailer worked. She didn't even need to use a flashlight. After parking it Kathy unloaded and shut down the refridgerator while I locked down the outside of the trailer and truck. By the time everything was put away in the apartment it was nearly midnight.

We were up early this morning for some scheduled medical tests that Kathy needed doing. From there we had breakfast at 10:00 and ran a few other errands. We finally got home just before lunch only to get a phone call from our granddaughter Kylla. She asked if we could run her out to a friend's place and if we could get together for a visit on Saturday.

After getting back from that errand Kathy worked in the kitchen cleaning and freezing some Rhubarb that was given to us on Monday by Bill and Vera. I see some jam and pies sometime in the future being made. Myself I was updating the GPS with the help of a tech. Unfortunately because of the size of the update we will now have to use a SD card because the GPS didn't have enough memory on its own.

One thing I never mentioned that since Tuesday our region has been under a Heat/Air Quality Advisory with the humidex over the century mark. It felt so good to stay in the rest of the afternoon that I barbecued some Chicken-Kabobs for supper tonight.

Tomorrow it's the trucks turn for an oil and lube and wash. With only 5 days to go before we're on the road again it's good to know we'll be ready. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It's about time.

Krackers



Office Jokes, Quotes, and Anecdotes

Work is the means of living, but it is not living.

Josiah Gilbert Holland

Making Progress With Murphy in the Wings.

Our Location Today is Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada.

We all know in the RVing world that our plans have to be flexible even if we try to be organized. Our plans for today made a sudden change this morning when Kathy announced we'd be doing our banking for the trip on Monday. When I told her the Banks would probably be closed for the Canada Day Holiday we added an extra stop to our list this morning. Of course when we walked in to the Credit Union it was packed and there was only one teller available. An hour later we walked out with the place just as crowded but with two tellers now on duty.

It was a short drive to the storage yard and within short order I had unloaded the truck so Kathy could fill and activate the refrigerator. As she continued that, I prepped the truck and trailer for towing. I was starting the truck to repostion it when Kathy came out of the trailer having finished inside. Ten minutes later we were locked on to the trailer with the lights checked and rolling on the road. Of coarse with this being Summer it also means it's road construction time.

Once we arrived at our son's it took less then two minutes to have the trailer parked in his driveway and starting the process of unhooking. We use a pair of X-chocks to lock the wheels especially on a slanted grade and they work great unlike normal chock-blocks. Unfortunately Murphy was playing little games and one of the cotter pins in th X-chock sheared making it inoperable. No problem since our move from our home most of my tools and hardware supplies came to Kevin's so within five minutes the repair was complete and the chock was securing the tires of the trailer.

By the time we had the hose pulled out and the pail and brush ready Kathy had made us lunch so we could sit and enjoy it with our son. Since Kevin is working on a small gazebo deck and cover for his hot-tub I suggested he keep doing that while I started cleaning the roof of the trailer. Normally we have cleaned our trailer before going on the road with it but we just could not find the time this year. So now it took a lot of scrubbing to get rid of all the dirt and bugs we collected from the June trip.

That's either a running dog or a chicken in the middle.

With all the scrubbing and rinsing complete it was time to open the trailer so the other jobs on our list could be taken care of. Kathy suddenly finds out we have no fresh water in the tank. No problem simply disconnect the garden hose and use our drinking hoses to fill the tank. Within minutes the tank is gushing over full. That's strange it hardly took any time. I checked the panel monitor and it says the tank is still empty. I tried again with the same reaction and the same result. Murphy is at it again! Kathy thought it had something to do with the wiring I've been working on but I explained that water and elctricity don't mix and the tank is just not filling. Instead of us leaving in the morning with the trailer I'll be finding out what is causing that problem.

All other pictures in todays blog were taken by Kathy'

We like many others have a problem with the streaks on the side of our trailer. The problem seemed to be the discharge spouts for the rainrails just let the water run straight down the sides of the trailer. Since I had access to my ladder I proceded to start changing them with longer ones we had picked up at Camping World. I started of the front corner and was shocked how they were fastened on. There was a big wad of silicone sealer three screws and four staples holding just that front corner. It took me over an hour to remove replace and reseal that corner rain spout.

By then Melissa our daughter-in-law was home from work and Kathy had brought hotdogs and broccoli salad for supper so Kevin fired up the barbecue and supper was ready in no time. After almost an hour of relaxation and nurishment and visiting I had to get back to work.

After the struggle I had doing the first spout it took me just over two hours to finish the remaining eleven. That's right twelve rainspouts were replaced today. Our trailer has four slides plus the upper rails on both sides of the trailer and they were all changed by the time the sun was setting.

We had another short visit that ended with a piece of tasty cake with a big Thank You. Tomorrow we have an afternoon appointment but we'll try to finish everything on our list including what Murphy gave us today. With only 7 days until our next adventure things will have to get everything completed soon.We thank Kevin & Melissa for there wonderful generosity for allowing us moochdocking priviledges to complete our tasks. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It's about time.

Krackers



You might be a Redneck if

You have a cigarette behind your ear

 in your yearbook photo.

PS. Murphy is causing problem

posting this blog from the laptop.

Trailer Day

Our Location Today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

We were up early so we could make phone calls and be on our way to work on the trailer by 10:00 this morning. With all the packages we were carrying it looked like we had just gone shopping but in reverse.

I tried to get to the storage yard so early that once we arrived I realized I'd forgotten to pick up a tube of silicon sealer. I had planned on  replacing the stack vent covers on the roof. By the time I returned we had lunch that Kathy had brought along. The food was good and the company better but suddenly the wind started blowing hard enough to rock the trailer from side to side. So much for climbing on the roof it didn't let up until after the sun started setting tonight.

Kathy continued her chores inside while I started to reinstall the Electrical Management System. If you recall I had installed it before but once we plugged in to shore power at our son's it wouldn't work. In order to run the refrigerator I had to remove it but it had only done what it was designed to do. It indicated a fault with the ground and since we knew it wasn't the plugs we were connected to we thought it was haywire. Where the problem was turned out to be in the adapter converting down to 120 volts.

I had to empty the basement  in order to remove a barrier wall so as to gain access to the rear of the fuse panel. Once that was complete I had to disassemble the fuse panel. Since I had prewired the output side of the EMS it was a quick switch of the input line and I had that finished in less then a half hour. Back in the basement another twenty minutes later I had the input connected to the EMS & fastened it down. Once the barrier wall was reinstalled and the basement reloaded the whole job start to finish had taken less then two hours.Kathy was finished inside so we had a short break having fruit she'd also brought along.

Since the wind was still rocking the trailer I went out to install our sewerhose carriers we'd purchased. Unlike our other trailers we've had in the past this trailer has two discharge outlets. This means that if you are staying on a site for any length of time you have to set up a lot of discharge hoses. After putting them away they have a tendency to continue dripping liquids that ran through them causing a mess. Carrying them in garbage bags was only a temperary thing. Three drill bits later I had drilled all the holes but didn't have the proper screws to complete the job.

By this time I had to get cleaned up because Bill and Vera were coming over to see the trailer in the storage yard. They will be travelling with us on our next trip in July out to Wyoming. After their arrival we gave them the grand tour which really impressed them. They kept saying we had a beautiful trailer and were amazed on how our modifications made it  better. We sat and talked  for almost two hours. 

Behind this wall is where the EMS is located

It didn't take long after they left that Kathy and I had the trailer closed up for the night and headed over to A&W for supper. Things are slowly coming together and should be complete by the time we hit the road in 8 days. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It's about time.

Krackers



Doctor, doctor, I've swallowed a roll of photographic film.

Hmmmmm. Let's hope nothing develops!

Ticking Off The List

Our Location Today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.


Weather channel informed our area to batten down the hatches today and expect the worst by noon. We had some heavy cloud banks come through this afternoon and wind that shook the trees but the storm that was predicted didn't materialize.

With such a forecast it was decided to work on indoor chores that needed finishing. The first chore was to reinstall Kathy's PC since we picked it up at the computer shop yesterday. The only reason it had to go to the shop in the first place was because of our internet provider shutting us down for no reason and their technicians not recognizing it was their Firewall causing the problem not the computer.

Kathy was back to verifying the routes we were taking on MapQuest and double checking reservations.

We were having trouble with our satellite not working on one of the televisions. After a few minutes with their tech on the phone and I had everything good to go. It seems because we are not that tech savy we had probably caused the problem by simply touching the wrong button.

Next I needed to rewire the trailer Electrical Management System with the more practical type of wire. Surprisingly both wires were of the same guage but one was meant for outdoor jobs and was coated with a much heavier insulation making it a nightmare to wire in such a tight box.

After lunch I attempted to update our GPS but ran into a snag. Because when you do an update they don't remove the old maps before loading the new ones the GPS doesn't have enough memory unless you add a SD card to it. The new maps most times are not replacements for the old maps but many times a duplication. Also we only need North American Maps and these downloads add world wide maps. That will be taken care of in the mornig after their offices open for the week.

After supper we stopped to mail a few birthday cards while we headed over to our daughter Karen's. This was the first visit since our return from our first trip. They have made progress on the new multilevel deck at the rear of their home having completed the structural framing and nearing completion of the upper decking. It was an enjoyable visit spent on the lower deck that remained untouched from before.

As I said earlier the bad weather passed us by but we still managed to make progress getting things ready for our trip which starts in 9 days. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It's about time.

Krackers



You might be a Redneck if

Everyone knows what color bra your wearing.