February 6 through February 12, 2004

Friday February 6:

We awoke late after recovering from the early start yesterday.  Our position in the driveway was so out of the way we did not even hear Ralph and Reni's son Rick come in, or leave for work.  

I spent some time on the RV log, but when I tried to find the GPS location of Ralph & Reni to enter it in the log the cigarette lighter on the dashboard seemed dead, and the map light too; dead engine battery perhaps?  A check of the ignition said no.  Blown fuse, probably, but WHY?  I moved the GPS plug to the house battery lighter socket, and noticed a hot spark when I plugged it in, but it worked.  I finally got the GPS location after placing the unit out the window; rain last night had wetted the tree, blocking reception; or is it interference from the nearby computer???  I do not have reason to use the GPS from this position often except when loading map data, and then it need not acquire satellites.  I finished pin pointing our location and pulled the GPS adapter out of the lighter socket; it came out hard, and one negative spring contact broke off;  this thing has a big problem!  I inspected it and found signs of melted plastic at the broken contact.  I'll save the gory details of the repair for those interested; just hit that link.  Later I referred to the RV chassis users manual and found the 20 amp fuse for the cigarette lighter blown; now to simply replace it....    We found now that our fuse assortment bought special for the RV was the wrong size for the chassis interior fuse box;  we had standard tabbed auto fuses, the RV chassis uses mini, and maxi sizes.  I was not even aware that there was more than one size in the tabbed style of auto fuse.  Oh well, I still need the standard assortment for the house power distribution panel.  We also need another windshield wiper blade insert, 22".  The old torn one comes out easily, and I prefer a replacement for the rubber element, not a new blade which might fall off the wiper arm like the one on the Spirit keeps doing.  Monday on the way out we will stop at an auto parts store and take care of all this stuff.  Reni is due from work around 2:30, and we will go for dinner then....  :-))  Dinner is at Sweet Tomato in Sarasota, a GREAT soup and salad bar buffet in Sarasota.  We sure filled up fast....but I really did not stop eating right then.  :-)  Petsmart a few doors away called to us, as we had forgotten Purry's flea comb, but they did not have exactly what we were looking for.....  We drove "home" and watched TV until our eyelids drooped, then off to bed.

Saturday February 7:

I was up early today, taking advantage of free weekend minutes on line. Reni's fresh squeezed orange juice is sure the way to start a day!  The juice from their "less sweet" tree tastes like pure sugar. :-)  A message came in e-mail indicating we might not have to go to Atlanta next weekend.  There has been another referees clinic added in Florida on February 22, and if we can make arrangements to go it will save that trip north into cold weather.  I finish the on line business, and work the web page a bit before going inside to join the conversation going on their delightfully airy screened porch.

 Ralph has offered to take me to an auto parts store for fuses and windshield wipers; soon his contacts have us fixed up with everything we need for a full fuse spares kit, although I buy the last 20 amp mini fuse they have.  That will fix us up for now, and we will get more 20's later.  The wiper blade refills are just what I wanted, although they are not really easy to install; the long blades stick in the grooves, until we decide squeezing and pressing the refill into the grooves is better than the prescribed sliding method.  The second one goes much quicker.  :-))  Dinner tonight is planned for a Chinese buffet in Murdock, after a visit to Sam's club.  We bought some more salsa; Sam's fresh salsa is one of our favorites.  After yesterday's feed, I thought we would never need to eat again, but the food certainly changed my mind.  This restaurant does not use MSG, which certainly pleased me!   It was delicious, so we all prepared again for the coming famine....  :-)  We returned to the house and watched TV as it cooled enough for Ralph to light off the fire in the fireplace.

The pets seemed to enjoy the warmth of the fire too as they all joined us in the living room.   

It was quite different from my usual image of Florida to be watching the races in Daytona on TV in front of a cozy fire, but very pleasant on this cool evening..  We retired as our eyes drooped again.  Tomorrow is another day.  :-)

Sunday February 8:

The morning dawned cool, and the furnace ran towards morning.  I worked the web page hard, as it must be finished for upload today!   Ralph & Reni's son Robert, and grandson Reno came, trailering a car with a severe engine knock.

Ralph will make short work of diagnosing this problem when his back is a bit better, I'm sure. Claire and Reni collaborated on dinner; the spaghetti with chicken cacciatore sauce was SUPERB, and the fresh salad from the garden, and pound cake with pineapple and cool whip topping finished it off just right.  Reno is a really nice 5 year old boy; he helped Claire cook in the RV.

When not helping, he was riding his bike much of the day.

Reno is considerate and a pleasure to be around.  I had to get the rest of the family after so much camera attention was focused on Reno.

Reno had to try his hand at taking pictures too.  He really did not do badly with this one of yours truly.

He cannot be penalized for poor choice of subject matter at age 5 can he?  :-)  After dinner, Robert and Reno had to leave before darkness caught them with non-working trailer lights.  We wish them the best of luck, and good health in the future!  I pressed to finish and upload the webpage, and managed to get the primary and secondary sites loaded before evening TV.  Reni could not get the webpage to work, but it was due to having an old URL; it worked fine with the current one.  :-)  We enjoyed our visit with Ralph and Reni very much, as always; tomorrow we must move on.  Reni goes to work early tomorrow, so we take our leave from her this evening.  We will see Ralph again in the morning.  It is time for bed, but first we must use the free weekend minutes for some calls...  

Monday February 9:

It is 52 degrees under the RV this AM; the furnace ran a few times last night.  I awoke late for me, nearly 7 AM.  Reni soon appeared on her way to work, and we said hasty good byes again, and waved her out the driveway….  I cannot resist another picture of the attractive well kept screened swimming pool; we all had good times here when we visited years ago with the kids, but that was in summer.  Nobody has any urge to swim now.  :-)  

It is time to put our pictures on a CD; soon we leave this lovely place.  Ralph is out early to put out the flag.  We make a final pot of coffee for the road on the electricity, and try to finalize the arrangements for the Florida TaeKwonDo referees clinic on our calling card, unsuccessfully; the line is repeatedly busy.  This we can do from the cellphone, as busy does not cost minutes like an answering machine message or a "call back later" from a secretary.  We disconnect the electric line and coil it for storage; it is time to be on our way.  It is always great to see Ralph & Reni, and we are happy for this opportunity and look forward to the next time.  Ralph helps us back down the long drive and onto the road, then we wave goodbye....and move out smartly so we do not block the road longer than necessary.  We decide to stay on I-75 south and tolerate the damaged bridge one lane traffic; it is only backed up two miles, and moves well.  I am surprised to see the courtesy extended by most drivers when the merge signs appear; they immediately merge into the left lane, not crowding to the front of the disappearing lane like is usual most places.  The backup is about 2 miles, but proceeds quickly.  The bridge construction is already well under way, and the latest news is it will be finished in about 3 weeks, not the 3 to 4 months we had heard earlier.  We decide to take the road less traveled to Clewiston, CR 74, a straight run east across agricultural lands and swamps. First, a stop for lunch in a shopping center parking lot.   When we proceed the road is good, but there is little room for error as there is no paved shoulder.  There are some signs of grass torn up by vehicles dropping off the pavement.  Claire did her usual good job, leaving absolutely no chance of us dropping off the edge!  :-)   There is controlled burning under way in this field near the road.

I am quite glad the billowing smoke is not drifting across the road.    We proceed to John Stretch park, where we spent a pleasant late afternoon looking over the pond while Claire practiced TaeKwonDo and I walked Purry.  The old guy headed out over a 7 foot wide stream on a 4 inch diameter log, sure footed as a cat!  I did not want to pull his leash, as I was certain he'd end up in the drink, but the other side was no place I wanted to be either, and I would have had to swamp walk to get there!  Amazingly, although he was determined to go further into the high grass on the other side, he finally yielded to my frequent tugs from the end of the leash, and came back across the log.  I was congratulating myself on that successful escape, when he immediately started back across the log before I could pick him up....nothing to do but let him finish the crossing.  This time he is slower to respond to my tugs to return, and rubs repeatedly on an Australian pine tree at the far edge of the water.  I fear the need to wade has come, when he reluctantly agrees to return again across the log.  This time I watch carefully, and when he places a paw on the log to go back, I pick him up!  Nuff of this stuff!!  I carry him back to the RV, where he asks to be allowed in, and immediately heads to the litter box.  Purry is an indoor-outdoor cat too, who used to do much of his litter business outdoors.....  :-(  Well, he IS nearly 17 years old...  :-)  We shower, prepare dinner, and do dishes before dumping and taking on water just as the sun fell below the trees.  This park closes at sundown, so we drive the 10 miles to Clewiston Walmart for the night.  There are many RVs here, and the fishing tournament that had occupied much of the lot before has moved on.  I watch news and head for bed.  Claire watches a bit more TV before turning in.

Tuesday February 10:

It is warm under the RV at 6 AM; 64 degrees.  We had closed the vents last night, but the heavy blankets we use on cooler nights were unnecessary; the weather pattern is warming again.  :-)  I brew coffee in the stovetop percolator, as there is not enough left and there are RVs nearby that might be disturbed by the generator.  There is time to make out the log, and consider where we might best spend the next two weeks in south Florida.  We enjoy Lake Okeechobee, and will bicycle the levee in Clewiston today.  We think a trip around the east end of the lake would be interesting, too.  We drove the RV to a parking lot next to the levee, with long slots intended for vehicles with boat trailers but ideal for the motorhome.  This is sure a town focused on fishing.....

Even the lighted decorative holiday ornaments on the lamp posts are fish!  There were no restrictions against RV parking in this lot, only against overnight parking, so we stay, and after Claire prepares squash soup, we bike to the Corps of Engineers office.  This gives us the opportunity to see more of the town and it's canals.

This canal leads through the flood gate at the levee directly to the Okeechobee Waterway crossing the state, and to the lake.  We get a number of pamphlets covering Corps of Engineers facilities in numerous states (including MA), then proceed back to the levee dirt road; we had been here two years ago and enjoyed it, and this time was equally enjoyable.  There was lots of wildlife to see, and few people.

 The beehives stacked neatly on the bank of the waterway (directly left of the boat, on the grass) are one wildlife form we do not approach closely. Many bees in Florida are at least partly Africanized (as in "killer bees"), and these can be dangerously aggressive. We ride to a group of buildings huddled together behind the levee, surrounded by sugar cane fields. This is Joe's Fish Camp we are told, privately owned and accommodating RVs and also persons wanting a room to stay in.  Boat docks are conveniently across the levee in the waterway.  The lady who tells us this is walking her dog on the levee; her husband is fishing on the lake, but she does not like to go out every day.

We turn back now.  This time the wind has been light for our biking, and even favors the return trip, the way we like it.  :-)  A Corps of Engineers tug pushing a barge with a crane chugs along the canal, just keeping pace with us.  

We forge ahead when we ride, it catches up when we stop, doing a steady 7 mph.  We pass a flock of black vultures on the ground.

The birds do not appear very fearful of humans.  We ride to the levee gate, and shortly the barge catches up, and begins to turn into the narrow canal.

The captain is quite skilled, missing the edge by less than a foot, and blowing a warning horn when an airboat started out the gate as he entered; there was just NO ROOM!  We did hear a scrape as the barge hit the seawall at the first turn down the canal, but seawalls gotta be built to take that!  The airboat finally got his chance to come out.

He was taking tourists for a cruise through the lake's near shore grassy shallows.  We eat dinner and do dishes in this pleasant place; a lady approaches our open screen door and asks if it is OK to overnight here; I point out the sign prohibiting it, and mention that the Clewiston Walmart allows overnighting, and that is where we are going at dusk. We move after discarding the trash, and find our spot near a small class B RV in the Walmart lot.  I am tired, and seek bed after the TV news.  It is dark when I awake to use the bathroom, and when I try to flush, the pedal does not feel right;  I turn on the light and look, and the water fill pedal is flopping uselessly. The cable that leads from the pedal back into the bowels of the toilet seems loose.  I press the remaining pedal carefully by hand and get the flush plate to open partially.  This is a SERIOUS problem, and will require some kind of repair (but I have NO IDEA what) with all haste.  I inform Claire, suggest she let me do the flushing for now to avoid total failure, and return to bed to contemplate the problem for the rest of the not too restful night....  

Wednesday February 11:

At 4 AM I give up trying to sleep, and arise to look at the computer files I have saved with reference documents I have found on the web covering many systems used on the RV.  I find a folder on the Thetford Aqua Magic IV toilet, and inside I quickly find a document on installing a factory provided cable replacement package.  WOW, they are way ahead of me, and I only dimly recall downloading this material when I saw it mentioned in an RV newsgroup over a year ago.  The instructions are complete with sketches, and I have a very good idea I will need this package by the way the pedal acts. Package installation requires removing the toilet from the bathroom and plugging the holding tank hole to prevent odor. I think about disassembling the toilet to be sure there is not something I can fix without the package, or something wrong that requires toilet replacement.  I consider only briefly the double "dirty work" required to mount and dismount the toilet twice, and decide that we would buy the package, THEN open up the toilet.  :-)  I expect Camping World in Kissimmee or Naples might have the kit, but both are long drives that must be done TODAY, and we must be in Orlando Friday noon.  Perhaps we can find a local RV repair place with the part. I plan for all options on the computer map, and find that distances driven will make Kissimmee the most economical destination overall if we must buy the part in Camping World, but that means going over 150 miles today, followed by a toilet repair.  I know I will need a plug for the toilet water line so we can run the water with the toilet removed; hand washing during this operation will be essential!  :-(   I measure the fitting behind the toilet with the aid of a mirror, and go in to Walmart to look for a pipe plug.  There are at least 50 Walmart personnel in the parking lot in the early dawn light, standing around in groups talking, and all wearing the Walmart computers on their belts. I go inside, where it becomes evident that a Company inspection of  some kind had just occurred.  There are signs on many displays indicating violations of favored practices, and the loudspeaker announces a meeting for all associates;  geeze, I'm glad I'm retired!!  :-)  I find no pipe plug, and ask about a hardware store on the way out.  I receive directions to two, and then ask about an RV parts place.  I am told of one.  We wait until 8AM, then call Camping World Kissimmee on the cellphone;  I am placed on hold...grrr.  I leave a message, then decide to use Walmart's pay phone on the 800 number to call, and soon know that Camping World Kissimmee has four cable replacement packages in stock at $39.  We decide to try for a part locally, then keep going to Kissimmee if we do not find one.  The hardware store shows up first, and I quickly find the pipe plug I need; I'm VERY glad I measured the fitting, as I thought the plug needed was 3/4", but the measurement showed it was the 1/2" size used everywhere else on the RV.  It sure looked different in the mirror!  I asked the clerk about an RV parts place in town, and was told there were none in Clewiston, I would have to go to Naples or Ft Pierce for parts.  Since those cities are a good distance in the wrong direction for our Friday plans, we prefer going to Kissimmee, but are concerned about a place to overnight in that area close to Disney World.  We look for the RV place recommended by the Walmart clerk, but find only RV campgrounds; they will not have parts.  We decide to go to Kissimmee, stopping at John Stretch park on the way for a quick shower, dump and water fill; what a waste of a shower, considering the upcoming task...  :-)  Claire volunteers to drive, keeping me fresh for the "task"; I accept, already feeling like I have done a days work and it is only 11 AM.  The drive up the east side of Lake Okeechobee is interesting; there are places, such as Pahokee, that we would have liked to stop and explore if time were not so limited.  This is certainly sugar cane country.

The cane fields stretch seemingly forever, from seedling just transplanted to the fields, to those above with the attractive seed tassels, mature and nearly ready to harvest.  The burning of the fields before harvest puts a lot of smoke in the air, but it seems that nobody objects enough to discontinue the practice; it is cost effective for the producer, and jobs here are scarce.  The pace appears very "old Florida", and we find it refreshing.  We look for the Walmart in Okeechobee, but it is not where Street Atlas thinks it should be; we continue without searching further.  We stop at an RV dealer, who has locked doors, but inquire at a nearby store and are told he only sells RVs, has no parts.  Oh well, it is a good place for a quick lunch, then on to Kissimmee.  US Rt 441 here becomes quite rural with cattle pasture or scrub palmetto fields.

Lots of the cattle industry here in Florida concentrates on keeping breeding cows to raise calves for the beef industry;  the calves are sold to farmers in the northern grain belt as feeders for fattening.  In this herd a number of breeds are seen.  Often farmers try to increase heat and insect tolerance of their herds by cross breeding with hardier but less meat worthy breeds from overseas.  We see the highway is built up much higher than the surrounding land in many places, indicating land prone to flooding.  The driving becomes fast and easy except for construction, and Claire insists she does not mind continuing with it.  :-))  We reach outskirts of St Cloud and the roads line with businesses; Gator Lake RV resort appears on our right, and we inquire about a spot for the night.  This place is not well kept, but the desk clerk indicates the land has been sold to the state for highway development, and no money is being invested.  It would do if we could not find any other place to stay tonight, so we explain we must get the toilet fixed THEN might stay there tonight.  The clerk obligingly agreed to hold a spot until 6PM closing, if I would call when I knew if it would be fixed.  We continued a few miles down the road looking for the St Cloud Walmart;  It was not where Street  Atlas thought it should be either, but we found it a mile further down the road.  We drove in, saw RVs parked and no prohibiting signs; I put a waypoint into the GPS and we continued on toward Camping World.  The traffic increased greatly as we got into Kissimmee, but we finally arrived at Camping World, passing their "No overnight parking" sign on the way into the lot.  We soon had the toilet cable repair package, and the sales clerk said they did not care if we stayed overnight in the lot, but police cruised through during the night.  If we maintained a low profile we should have no problem.  I brought all the tools out of the locker underneath and into the RV.  We decided to eat dinner out, but the Chinese place nearby indicated they used lots of MSG in their food..  :-(  We opted for Pizza, and brought it back to the RV.  When pizza was consumed, there is no further excuse to delay I can think of, so must start the dreaded "task". A plastic bag laid under a  junk spare rug piece, covered over with another plastic bag makes our work area.  Hopefully no spills will escape the top plastic bag, but if they do we can toss the rug with no big loss.  The water pump is off, the line drained as well as possible, and the plastic wing nut pipe fitting in back of the toilet comes off easily with only finger pressure.  A plastic bag and paper towel wrapped around the pipe absorbs leaked water, but the fitting cannot be moved to insert the pipe plug; the toilet must come off first.  Oh well, a quart yogurt container just fits the hole and can act as an odor plug; the fan is running full blast pulling air from the roof INTO the RV so odors will be forced down into the tank and up out the vent pipe (we hope).  I remove the two nuts holding the toilet to the floor, give a few tugs, and it is in my hands.  I move it quickly to the plastic bag work area, then jam the yogurt container into the yucky looking hole.  The instructions are quite detailed, including just how to place the toilet for the work, and which screws to remove to loosen covers that must come off.  They do caution about the dangers of contacting human waste, and I am thankful for my safety glasses, but there is no way to do this job in rubber gloves....so we will wash hands well and often.  The underside of the toilet is .... disgusting...but we force ourselves to get over it and proceed to disassemble.  The cause of the problem is immediately obvious when the cover comes off; a cable is broken.  The cable replacement package should solve the problem!  :-)  The installation is not difficult, just intricate and time consuming. Claire is a big help as an extra pair of hands holding the light, supporting the toilet, and moving stuff I do not want to get soiled with my hands. The cable assembly must be installed, cables marked for length, then a spring removed to allow cable stops to be installed before reinstalling the spring.  It all goes smoothly, much more than I could hope for considering my fatigue.  I greased the cables with a thin coat of silicon grease to help them slide in the plastic tubes that go through the interior of the toilet and seal the holding tank fumes from escaping into the RV.  I hope the tubes do not wear through, and the added grease should minimize friction wear.  The valves seem to actuate properly, with just enough cable slack to assure the mechanism remains closed when it should.  Purry will not stay out of the area, which is VERY aggravating considering the effort we have made to keep and drips from reaching the floor...  GRRRRRR!  He does not seem to be willing to walk AROUND the wet plastic bag work area. :-((  I shift my attention to the hole leading to the holding tank.  The gasket must be removed, the seat cleaned, only then can the new gasket I installed on the toilet work properly.  I am overjoyed that the fan is keeping any odor from the tank from escaping to my nose as I scrape the gasket seat, then wipe the sealing surfaces with wet paper towels and dry.  It looks shiny and black when I rub a light coating of silicon grease over the whole sealing area.  This grease does not seal the toilet, but helps the new foam seal slide into place smoothly without kinking when the toilet is seated.  I saw evidence the former seal had pinched in the wrong place when it was installed, so wanted to maximize chance of a good seal this time.  The toilet required body weight to slip the gasket into place, as the instructions suggested, and pressure on each side allowed the nuts to be turned almost all the way without a wrench;  thus the instructions to only tighten them one or two turns with a wrench make sense.  The water line is reattached, and checked for leaks.  As an added precaution, a tissue tied around the line will get wet if any leak develops in several days.  The pump is started, all seems to work well.  :-))  We carefully dispose of the wet plastic bags, in the trash with the other soiled wipe towels, and declare victory. Since Camping World is closed, we move the RV to the back of the parking lot with the other RVs waiting for maintenance. I am exhausted and fall asleep quickly, although Claire cannot sleep and wants to read or watch TV.  We are concerned about drawing unwanted attention by showing lights in the RV, so she sits in the dark while I sleep.  This is second best overnighting for sure, but it is the best place we could have done this job; any extra parts, even a new toilet is available in the store 100 paces away if needed.

Thursday February 12:

I awake just before dawn, await light to pack up tools, then prepare to depart just after the store opens;  I want to look at water filters.  I am attracted to the $49 Camco 3 gpm exterior filter with 0.9 micron  porous ceramic outer layer that can be scrubbed off to work again after it clogs.  It has replacement filters available too.  I can find nobody to answer my concerns about slow water tank filling (3 gpm says it would take over 20 minutes to fill our 65 gallon tank completely; this seems like an unacceptably long time), so this purchase can await another day. We pull out by 8:30AM for Sam's Club a couple miles down the road (this Sam's at 4763 W Bronson Hwy Rt 192, Kissimmee is not in our Walmart directory; it must be new, at N 28d 19.679', W081d 28.188'), and pull in before it is open.  I am still someone in shock from the activities of the day before, so welcome a very lazy day.  The weather is heavy overcast, having been foggy earlier; it is nice because the RV stays pleasantly cool.  We plan to shop Sam's, then fill gas here (member price $1.549/g, best we have seen for a long while) before doing laundry, then spend the evening in the St Cloud Walmart.  It is already hot by the time we finish shopping (two trips inside for returns and "forgots").  At least all the trash from last nights work is finally GONE!  :-)  We fuel on the way out; Sam's fuel stations have a new system for dealing with membership cards, and a customer service person is there to help.  It is easy, similar to the one Flying J uses, where your discount card goes in first, followed by charge card.  It cuts me off at $50, and I try to start again; it says pump is unavailable...  I summon the lady, and while she looks on it works;  she says that does not surprise her, the software has bugs.  I'm sure none of those bugs will prevent my charge from appearing on my card statement....  :-)  We hunt for a laundromat recommended by a Sam's clerk, but find one on the other side and pull in fast; parking is tight in front, but available across the street in a "For Sale" vacant lot.  We decide to walk a bit with our laundry.  The laundromat seems busy, but has open machines and is air conditioned, so we stay.  After the machines are loaded, I return to the RV leaving Claire with a family radio as an intercom.  I work on the log, and take Purry for a requested walk.  I feel for him in his fur coat in this heat; it is over 80 degrees.  Claire requests assistance to return finished laundry, and soon we are on our way towards Walmart, about 10 miles away.  We want to stop at Publix for a few things Walmart does not carry, and are looking carefully at the malls and stores that line the road on both sides.  A Home Depot shows up, and I swing in; I want more ZEP dry powder commercial septic tank treatment for the black tank, and have not found it anywhere else.  This stuff works!  :-)  I buy 3 pound cans, and ask if Home Depot allows RVs to park overnight in their lot.  The young girl check out clerk looks at me like I'm from another planet, and pleasantly says she has NO IDEA, and could not even begin to guess.  :-)  Another large RV has pulled in while I was in the store, and the man comes out.  I ask him if he knows; he says he has parked in Home Depots after hours, with no problems, but expects the problems in Florida will come from police where towns selectively enforce a Florida anti-overnight parking statute.  This man was sent here by Camping World for a replacement sink drain; the light plastic part had shattered.  I advised him to try to get a metal replacement.  We move on, still looking for Publix; I finally get the GPS navigating for the St Cloud Walmart, now 7 miles away.  It evidently needed to be restarted before that part of the software would work.  :-(  We arrive at Walmart, and notice a Publix market across the highway from it.  We can walk there!  We park in back near another RV, and go across to Publix; crossing the highway in the heavy traffic requires some agility and speed, but we arrive alive.  Publix has a number of sales persons pushing samples of their prepared foods; this is a hard time to refuse, just before dinner, so we sample, and Claire buys a tube of Japanese horseradish that the sampling sales person guarantees will send fire streaming out our ears...  :-)  After another high risk highway crossing, Claire shops Walmart while I return to the RV with our Publix goodies.  I experiment with the fantastic fan, now running maximum speed pushing air INTO the RV, and not really making the inside cool enough with the hot engine adding it's heat.  I set the fan on maximum exhaust, and it cools nicely.  I sniff for holding tank odors, which were common with the fan exhausting before; NONE detectable!!  :-)  Perhaps the new toilet gasket installed with silicon grease has solved a long standing annoying problem for us!!  :-)))  Claire volunteers for the dishes again as I feel a bit tired still.  WHATA gal!!!  :-))  I turn in right after dishes are finished...no trouble sleeping at all.  Claire makes up for her TV deprived night at Camping World.  

That's it for this week folks!

ENJOY; we are! :-)