Still Here...

Well, we're gonna be here another day in Ocala. Mor-Ryde sent the wrong bushings. Sent ones for 7000# axles instead of the ones we need...8000# axles. Guys have to put the rig back together so we can push it outside and stay in it again tonight. We're concerned that these parts have worn after only about 10,000 miles on them and Kevin, from the Tampa Spring Co., here said to expect it on an ongoing basis. The problem he said is no one stocks Mor-Ryde parts so we're going to have this type of wait every time we need to replace something on the suspension. He said the best type of suspension, for ease of maintenance and easy availability of parts, is a spring type suspension. Parts are inexpensive, quick to repair and you can get the parts anywhere we travel. We told him about our concern, with having the bike on the back, for a smooth steady ride and not bouncing everything around inside the rig. He said he has RV'ers that come in with spring suspensions and they get that type of ride. So...lesson learned. Not sure I would go with Mor-Ryde again...Like the old saying says " The more gadgets you have...the more can go wrong."

Where's Bertha ?

Tampa Spring Company

We didn't plan on spending more than a few hours here getting work done on our rig but....that's not how it worked out. We came up Sunday afternoon...me on the bike and Linda driving the rig. I rode the bike separately because we had started to take the pins out, of the motorcycle lift, and didn't want to risk having the bike on there while we drove. Since the temps were supposed to be really chilly this morning we felt it better to drive the 38 miles in warmer weather so I wouldn't turn into a popsicle. Good thing...there was frost on the seat of the bike this morning when we got up.
Anyway, we came here to have an alignment done on the rig because the tires have been wearing odd on the passenger side of the rig. We also needed them to put in the new pins on the motorcycle lift. They finished up the lift...took a bit of muscle to get the old pins out so it didn't make us feel like big weenies when I saw how hard a time they had.
When it came to our problem with the tires, they found that the bushings, on the Mor-Ryde suspension, needed to be replaced. It was creating too much play in the wheels and they think is the reason for the weird wear pattern. Mor-Ryde has a 5 year warranty on the parts...1 year on labor. When I called Mor-Ryde and had Kevin talk to them they said they were willing to send new bushings if we went and had each individual tire, on the rig, weighed to see if we were overweight. The guys, at Tampa Spring Co. didn't know where we could get something like this done. They said there was a platform scale close but not one to do each tire separately. To expedite getting the parts ($125 worth), we told them to get the parts together and overnight them to us and we'd figure out who's nickle would pay for them. Once they finished up working on the lift, Linda and I took the rig 6 miles up the road to a CAT scale and got each AXLE weighed (Mor-Ryde agreed that they would settle for this method). The total weight, for both axles, came in at exactly 13,000#. When Kevin checked our tag, on the rig, he said we were way under where we could be and everything was fine. He called Mor-Ryde and they are sending the parts at no cost (we have to pay for the overnight shipping charges). We're camped here again till the parts come in tomorrow.
The guys here, at Tampa Spring Co., are great and really know their stuff. Since 1927 they have specialized in spring and suspension work on all types of vehicles especially large tractor trailer trucks. Soon they will expand to include more services that will benefit RV'ers. They will be getting into oil changes, etc. which I think will be a great service for all the RV'ers coming to and passing through Florida. I know we will certainly put them on our route for getting routine or emergency work done when we come this way. Click on the title of this post to go to their web site and see all of the services they currently offer. Call Kevin or Joey for your RV needs.
Tomorrow they will install the new bushings and then do the alignment. Once they finish up we can get on the road to Alabama. Not sure whether we'll have time to stop and see Linda's nephew or not. We'll have to see what time we get out of here.

Leaving Bushnell Today...

We're pulling out this afternoon. Got a little rain shower this morning and some gusty winds but as of noon the rain has stopped. Still lots of grey skies and the wind is still blowing but will be fine to get the couple things done outside before we leave.
We'll miss the big oak trees, laden with wispy moss, that are prevalent throughout this area. We'll also miss our neighbors here at The Oaks and our friend Jan, who we've spent a lot of time with.
About two days ago Linda and I started to get the "hitch itch" excitement that we get when we're about to leave one area for a new destination. For our fulltiming buddies on the road, they know what we mean. For those back home, it's an anticipation like you got as a kid on Christmas eve and you couldn't wait for morning to come so you could open your presents. Well, it's Christmas every day for us on the road....always a new "present" just around the next bend.

Our Day in Daytona...

We left for Daytona about 8:30 this morning. Had a nice ride there....took us about 2.25 hours. Once you get close to Daytona, you are sucked into the massive throng of bikers trekking towards the event. We wound up at Daytona Speedway where there were all types of vendor displays, bike manufacturers and food vendors. We walked around and looked at the displays. Here are some pics of some of the bikes on display.



Here is the Boss Hoss bike...a V-8 monster with loads of power.







"Got $100,000 laying around you don't know what to do with ?"






While some of these bikes are pretty to look at, they don't look very comfortable to ride.






The really neat part of the day was when we went to check out the race track. As we walked through the tunnel, into the infield, I could hear the Yiiiiing Yiiiing sound of what sounded like something going really fast. Once through the tunnel we got to see the track and turns out there was a motorcycle race going on. Wow....was it neat to watch the motorcycles going through turn 4 with its steep banking. It was so steep and they were flying around there....pretty much perpendicular to the race track.
If you click on any of these pictures, they will enlarge so you can see them better.














There were some funky looking bikes there that are trikes. Trikes are very popular down here with lots of senior bikers although I haven't seen either of these around here.











It's been neat to see the explosion of interest in trikes since I bought mine in '95. I loved my trike and boy did it turn peoples heads when I pulled into a parking lot or rest stop. Always created lots of questions and hard to get away from the crowd it would draw. I didn't see any today like the one I used to have but many that were real head turners.

Here I am on the day I went to pick up "Tess" from the shop where she was made. What a blast it was to ride ! Very fast and lots of fun to watch the little kids hang out of car windows to look at it go by. Had her for seven years....now we ride on two wheels instead of three. Had a great day at Daytona....got home and started to get things together to leave tomorrow.

Wall Color Tidbits

Linda and I love to watch the home improvement shows on TV and there was some really neat information, on the DIY network, on how to get a unique look to your walls. It was using American Clay...a product that uses all completely natural ingredients in its formula. This clay product goes on with a trowel and there are three different looks that can be achieved. There are 41 different colors available in this product and since they use natural pigment for the colors they create, there is very little fading that occurs over time.
But the really cool thing about this product is how it reacts in a humid environment. This is an ideal product for use in bathrooms. When there is moisture present in the air, the clay in the product absorbs the moisture out of the room and then when the room is dry and needs moisture, it releases the moisture back into the room. Perfect for an area where you don't want mold or mildew to form.
Many people have used this type of product to create the warm look typically found in adobe style houses. If you'd like to see more on this product, go to http://www.americanclay.com

Biker Babes from Bushnell

We stopped by the gas station, out in front of Wal-Mart, to get Bertha filled up cause the price on diesel has dropped to $1.99 ($1.96 with a gift card). (That's a .06 drop in just the last 24 hours). While there we ran into a guy who had a trailer on his truck that he was hauling his motorcycles in. Linda struck up a conversation with him, while I pumped, and he said he came down from Ohio for Bike Week in Daytona Beach. That got our wheels turning. We decided to take advantage of the 85 degree day we're going to have tomorrow by taking the bike to Daytona Beach for the festivities. Neither of us have ever been to it and since we're this close we figure we might as well go check it out. So that's the plan for tomorrow. We started packing away our patio furniture and skirting since the forecast is calling for rain Sunday morning. I hate packing up in the rain so we wanted to get it done today since we'll be away tomorrow. Should get lots of great pics so will post them when we return.

I keep forgetting to mention that we've been working on our "retirement skills" while here. Linda and I have tried our hand at shuffleboard and it's really quite fun. We go out on the shuffleboard court when the serious players have all left and we just goof around for awhile. It's fun ! Those little waxed pucks really scoot when you slide them so it takes a light touch. We feel we're well on our way in our training for true retirement someday.

This afternoon the RV doctor made a house call to replace the mixing valve on the hot water heater. That only took about 30 minutes so now we have hot water. Hooray! Now I can have my long, lingering showers once again. We are happy that it is fixed and all it cost us was a service call. Atwood sent a new mixing valve because they know there is a problem with this valve when it goes through the winterization process plus we were only a month beyond our warranty on the hot water heater.

Life is good !

Hot Tub Adventures

One of the reasons we picked this campground to stay at, is the fact that they have a hot tub. Having had a hot tub in our previous house, that is the one thing that we've missed since being on the road so we thought it would be a nice treat for us to enjoy the one here. Well, today is the first that we've taken advantage of the hot tub. The hot tub area closes at dusk, each night, so by the time we remember, it's always too late or it was out of order (has been broken down for close to two weeks now).

We arrived up at the hot tub area to find the pool area pretty busy and two people in the hot tub. My cell phone rang, as we were getting ready to get in so I took the call while Linda got in and began to chat with the two guys in there. When I finished my phone conversation I got in and the two guys were in the process of getting out. An older woman had gotten in and Linda was chatting with her. Another man came over and joined us in the hot tub. Seems he is a friend of the lady that was also in the tub with us. The lady was talking about the health problems her husband has been having lately so I was sort of half listening. She was from upstate NY, near Syracuse and comes to Florida for six months out of the year. The lady left the hot tub so her friend was left with Linda and I.

The guy was on the short side, pudgy belly and a bit of a comb over going on. He said that his wife had flown home because her mother was dying of cancer. That elicited an "Awwww" from both of us but I knew I must have missed part of the conversation when the next thing I knew, Linda was asking me if I was ready to go. I was sitting on the opposite side of the hot tub from where Linda and this guy were sitting but I sensed that something was up. She informed me, as we walked back to the rig, that the sentence immediately after the part about "My wife has flown home to be with her dying mom" was in the form of a question on whether she and I were interested in a threesome. Yuck ! So much for grief !..... My diminished hearing had made me miss this whole thing as it played out. What started out to be a relaxing soak in the hot tub turned into a short dip and dash back to our rig.....(sigh)The thought of a pervert lurking at the hot tub will keep us away for the duration of our stay.

Plan B...

Linda has been running around last week and this week getting all the tests and health check-up done that she needs to have in order to work at this hospital in Louisiana. Then, on Monday she gets a call that the hospital, where she is supposed to work, is no longer in need of nurses. Bummer ! Major Bummer ! Linda decided that since she almost has all of the tests completed anyway AND she can't even begin to get work in Louisiana UNTIL she gets her LA license, that she will proceed with the process. So, off we went to Brookville yesterday for the last test. (She figured up tonight that she has over $300 invested in all this testing, etc.)This morning she gets a call, from the agency, that the hospital, she was supposed to go to, will re-open the nursing pool in April. Good News except that they are accepting just a few nurses so we are hoping to get all of Linda's paperwork done and submitted, to the agency next week, so that she has a shot at one of the openings. It has been very nerve wracking and stressful around here lately :( Everyone out there please think good thoughts so she can get this position !!

Today we spent a good part of the day with our friend Jan...saying farewell and getting to meet her friend Nan, who is also an LPN. Linda and Nan talked "shop" while Jan and I visited. We had a great lunch together of fresh veggies and fruit. We'll miss our weekly visits with Jan but will stay in touch by e-mail.

On tap, for the rest of the week.... start putting things away outside...packing the truck, etc. Today I installed the new light fixture that the factory sent me in place of the one that stopped working. I guess that was my project for the day...(always seems to be at least one). Still waiting for my fingerprint check to come back...I checked with my company and they haven't heard anything yet. It's been 7 weeks !

Will fill Bertha up before we head out of here...diesel continues to drop. Is $2.05 across the street but with a Wal-Mart card is another .03 off....good price !

At this point our plan is to pull out of here Sunday afternoon and drive up to Ocala and boondock overnight there. Monday morning we have an appt to get the Mor-Ryde suspension aligned and checked out. They will also install the new bolts on the motorcycle lift for us. Will probably leave the shop around mid-day and then we're going to Tallahassee to see Linda's nephew. We'll stay near him Monday night and then start making our way towards Summerdale, Alabama on Tuesday. That is the plan as of this moment...stay tuned...things are bound to change.

Relaxing Sunday....

Not too much going on today...We went to Wal Mart to get the money orders that Linda needed for her nursing license application. We'll start putting things away this week as we want to leave Bushnell next Monday. To clarify, we are going to Louisiana as Linda has a nursing job lined up there. Some folks who follow our blog have asked us about going to "LA", thinking it's LA in California. Nope....heading to Cajun country. She is hoping to get there for orientation on the 10th of March.

This week we will be running around to get propane, get her blood tests, etc. that she needs for her application and then getting the rig buttoned up to head out. The weather this week is supposed to get better each day with temps in the 70's tomorrow and by the end of the week it should be close to 80. Yahoo !!!

Today I'm just waiting for the NASCAR race to start so I can watch that. No projects to do today...just a low key day. Tomorrow will be our last trip to the Webster Flea Market to stock up on fresh fruits and veggies. We are really gonna miss having all this fresh produce. We'll get twice as much as usual and put some of it in those green "fresh bags". Those things work great to keep fruits and veggies lasting a real long time in the refrigerator. I hope the carrot vendor is there this week as they weren't last week and I missed having carrots to eat this week. I cut the carrots into sticks (about twice the diameter of matchsticks), cook them and put butter and honey over them. Yum ! Linda and I both love eating a big 'ole helping of 'em.

This week I made a cold salad out of the fresh green beans and red potatoes that I had gotten at the flea market. Cube and boil the potatoes till cooked but not mushy. Snip the ends off the green beans and cook them whole. When both are cooked, put into a colander and rinse with cold water to get them chilled so they don't continue to cook. Once they've finished draining, combine both with some zesty Italian dressing and some slivers of onion (if you so desire). I used a dressing that had some grated cheese in it and it gave another great dimension to it. I believe it was Ken's brand of Northern Italian dressing. Give the whole mixture at least 24 hours to marinade before eating. Serve up with slices of crusty bread, fresh cut up fruit and a romaine salad with slices of tomato, onion, fresh mozzarella and balsamic vinegar and you have a wonderful springtime meal. Talking about food is making me hungry. Guess I'll go see what we've got to eat and have a bite while I'm watching the race.