Camping

Hi there. Papa wanted me to write my own opinon on the Pineaaple,{What i call the Motorhome} so here we go.



So we left home around 1430, (We being my mother and I) and went kayaking. When we came back to the dock, the sun was setting, which means the Mosquitoes and the No-See-Ums or Sandflies were coming out.

Next day

Mama had to teach, so she had to leave EARLY and so it was just papa and I and so while Papa was finishing buffing the coach, I was reading. After he finished, we went kayaking to the swimming area (which was closed) and the concession stand. While we were paddling back, we saw an osprey nest and stopped at a little tiny beach that Mama and I stopped at yesterday. When we got back, I made some lunch and Papa went and took a shower. When I had just finished making our sandwiches, Mama walked in. So I quickly made her one, and we ate. We decided to take a bike ride over to the Kimbell Center, and Mama found out about this Photography adventure,and the prize was a small metal coin that had a scrub-jay on one side, and an eagle on the other. To get the coin you had to use a phone and figure out where the latitude and longitude put you. you had to get 3 out of 6 and the first one was in the building and the other was out front.

 There was a little button you could press to listen to the Scrub-jay's call

Scrub-jays eat a variety of things from acorns, as shown above,to the eggs of other birds.

So the 3rd picture is an osprey nest on kitching creek trail. We also got to see one of the parents guarding the nest, and one of the chicks popped its head up out of the nest before i got the camera out.

This is the pic with the nest AND the osprey lookout. It is in the middle of the picture on the bottom branch.

It looks like the other parent is in the nest with the chicks.

Next day

We went back to the Kimbell Center to claim our coins and i asked the ranger if he could bring Red, a Corn Snake, and so im just going to put all of the pictures that I took here.

This was right before he climbed onto my camera.

Well, thats it for my camping trip! Thanks for reading.

Birthday Weekend and a milestone...

Back in November I was looking at new moon weekends to book for stargazing and found out my birthday weekend fell right on one!   My first choice of Kissimmee Prairie was surprisingly booked out 3 months ahead of time!   On a whim, I tried Jonathan Dickenson  thinking no way in Feb., but was surprised and got the LAST site back in Nov.  I was a  bonus that it was on the river loop which has always been my fave as the spots had a ton of brush and bramble in between and it almost seemed like each spot was deep in the woods by yourself.   Well they just spent a bunch of money 'improving' it and frankly I was not happy with it.   Complaints include:

1. They reversed the traffic flow of the loop.  Not a big deal, but didn't need to happen.
2. They put in a concrete side walk to go to the bathrooms/showers and it runs right past each of the campsites (flow of traffic = less privacy)
3.  And this is the biggie.  They tore out most of the plants/trees and put little baby trees in (just re opened in October).   Okay I can see planting oaks, but c'mon the next 20 years is going to be alot of sun, not mention now you realize how close the neighbors are!

After talking about it at length to one of the rangers, it became apparent that none of the staff was too pleased with how it all turned out.  Sure I get that some of it had to happen, but after the raping of the Pine Grove campground post Wilma, I had hoped they wouldn't butcher it as much.....sigh.  Yes I know the Pines were invasive exotics and had to go, but man there is no shade anymore....*more on that later!)

So we had a Friday and Saturday nig

ht at the park.  I had to work all day, so I sent the girls ahead to establish the beach head.  They arrived around 4 and took the kayak out for a spin on the Loxahatchee River.  They found this recently chomped on fish (still trying to identify) trying to swim with only half a body.  From what I can see in the pic, the bite radius doesn't match a gator, so I'm assuming a small shark as it's a brackish estuary.

 I got off work and was able to get on the road by about 6:30ish.   Tourist traffic and Friday rush hour still in full force, the hour drive took a bit longer and I got to the park at about 7:45 and the campsite about 8PM.   One nice thing about the motorhome, is back it in, attach plug and water and your in business.  As the coach was packed in travel mode, some rearranging of things commenced and dinner was cooked up in short order.  Fish Tacos and some cold beer while stoking up the camp fire.

Fairly uneventful night, it was clear with great stars (but the light pollution for nearby urban centers and our neighbors with LED lit motorhomes detracted a bit).  Tired from a long day, I was happy to tend the fire for a bit, enjoy a cocktail, and relax.

As we ere only 40 miles from the house, Lucy had to teach her Saturday classes, so she was up and at them early and left by 8:30.  I regret not taking her offer to drop us off upstream with the kayak, where we could have paddled down the river back to our site (or pretty close to it) as it's about a 4-5 hour paddle downstream.   Nope, I got up and finished waxing the Pineapple as I had gotten about 80% done during the week.  There was fleeting shade on the side I needed to finish so I made haste and go on it.  I figure all told it took about 9-10 hours to clean and compound the finish.  The paint is 16 years old and showing it's age, but each polishing makes it nicer and it's still presentable....

I got done with waxing and put all my stuff away as it had been a week long project to finish.  Boy I thought my station wagon and Caddy were big.....Anyway it's good for a few months (been  a year since I did it last!)  My daughter finally woke up and we got ready for a paddle in the kayak.  We got down to the river and paddled for about 2 hours.  We went upstream which was a little more work, especially when the river bent and the wind was against us.   I originally wanted to make to Trapper Nelson's which was quite a bit upstream (last time I rented a skiff and it was about 20 min).  It would have taken a few hours to get up there I'm sure so we paddled for awhile and then let the river bring us back.  Sorry, I didn't bring a camera for this... We came back and stopped on a little beach and watched the fish fry and juveniles in the water and I got see several Southern Puffers.  They were abundant in the salty brackish water I grew up around in Ft. Lauderdale, but haven't seen one in decades...

We headed back to the campsite and I went to shower while my daughter started lunch.  As per my plan, Lucy returned while I was at the shower and they were making Paninis on the griddle.  They were delicious and I enjoyed them, then retired to the coach to take a nap as we were going to do a 5PM ranger walk.   Well we ended up instead chasing a Scrub Jay coin that you could get from the rangers if you filled out this questionnaire and took at least 3 of 6 photo ops they outlined.  That led us onto a nice 30-45 minute bike ride through the pine woods to find an osprey nest.

There were babies in it and if you look real close in the wider shot, one of the parents in on a branch low and to the right of the tree.  There was also a 100 mile foot race going on and the trail we took was part of the race track.   We saw a few racers and they looked pretty tired!

As the girls were devoured by no-see-ums the night before we opted out of the ranger river walk (where they got chewed up) and headed back to the campsite.  I started the fire for dinner and enjoyed the sunset through the trees.  I did get a good shot of the motorhome before it got real dark....and of our dinner too.

Dinner was chicken, sliced taters, and Couscous with a side salad and Pinot Grigio.  It was a little cloudier than the previous night, so more campfire and relaxing.  We finished up with a card game and snacks in the coach.

Sunday morning breakfast was pancakes and bacon, followed by a bike ride over to the nature center.  We took the long way and looked at some of the other equipment in the park....

Then off to the nature center where my daughter talked the ranger into letting the Red Rat snake out for a 'stroll'

We headed back and broke down the camp and were off the site by noon.  On the way out, I decided to stop at the dump station to flush the tanks if the line wasn't long.  I got there and there was no one in line!  I pulled up got busy hooking up the drain.  Just as I was pulling the levers to release the waste, I looked over and saw smoke and then fire by the bathhouse about 200 ft away.

I ran over to see if I could help and realized that everyone's hoses were too short, so I ran back to the coach and grabbed mine and ran back.  The wind was a solid 20-25 and was whipping the flames up pretty quickly.  Within 2-3 minutes the blaze had grown and was threatening the bath house and one of the RVs.

 The first pic is the fire moving away, the second you can see the water from my hose at the bottom and fire is coming at me.  I wetted down the dried grass to slow it down from reaching a campsite and also a nice little tree (think it is a Simpson Stopper) that you see in the pic with the Park fire wagon.

All told about 20 campers rushed over with hoses and we were able to have it well in hand by the time the park and local FD arrived.  They dragged out the big hose and soaked it all down.

As soon as my spot was out, I got my hose and reeled it up and went back to the dump station where others were now waiting.  Here are the aftermath pics.

This area was torched in under 5-8 minutes!   The rangers were very thankful as they said if we hadn't helped, it would have been alot worse as the wind was so strong.

When I bought the coach it had just rolled 100K and I got it with 770 miles showing.   On the way home I broke the 3K mark of ownership...  I finished the day with a fresh filter and oil change, greased all the fittings and getting her ready for a trip to Orlando next weekend.

She'll be getting her fuel tanks dropped, cleaned, sealed and new ethanol resistant lines installed.  May have some other work done as well, stay tuned!

Back in the Saddle

Well after the November debacle with the aborted run to Auburndale for the Smash 'em, Crash 'em, destructo derby, we finally got back out there as the holidays are well behind us.

I basically just replaced all three batteries to get us up and in service again, but still need to go through the whole electrical system, especially since the Solar Panel is throwing an error code. Although the house batteries are topped up, she was plugged into shore power, so not sure the solar is doing what it is supposed to (currently not connected to shore to test this out).

Having inherited my father's Celestron 8 and getting a small taste last January in the Kissimmee Prairie I thought I try again this winter.  Well even in November when I booked the spot, I got the LAST site for this past weekend, and the new moon weekend for February was booked out completely.   I think the word is out on our little secret state park...

With the holidays, work, my graduate coursework, etc. etc, I haven't really been putting the time into the coach that she needs.   As we are doing a long haul in August 2017, there is lots to be done before then and this weekend reminded me of the list of to-dos.   First of all while she drives great, she feels kind of bogged down and the gas mileage on this trip was 5.5 mpg which is far from the 9ish mpg she was getting a year ago.   A few posts ago, the distributor needed a new module, and somehow the timing or something isn't quite right now.  It was getting about 4, so advancing the timing helped a bit, but there is more to it as I'm putting out alot of black soot (unburnt fuel) too.

Now for the fun part!   I took a half day of work Friday and 'hoped' to be on the road by 1PM.  Well 2:30PM was more like when we left, then had to make 2 stops.  I had hoped to get out early enough to visit Sirum GMC in Okeechobee.  Mostly just to meet the folks and check out their operation as I drive by it all the time anyway.   Well, no time this trip as I wanted to be onsite before the big ball of fusion dropped out of sight.

Special guest Co-Pilot Ted E. Bear

On the way out of town on the Beeline Hwy, there was some construction and one of the 3 ft tall Orange cones and fallen into the lane.  I was slowed down to about 35-40 and hit it.  I heard a metallic noise that didn't sound very good.  I had my daughter stick her head out the vent window and she said the wheel flare in the rear was flapping.  I had to drive about 2 miles before there was a safe place to pull over (two lane blacktop).   First thing I noticed when I opened the door was my step was gone.

Yep, it's supposed to be right there under the door.  There was a piece left that I removed (before the pic) as I didn't want to rip my shins open on the jagged edge.  Luckily the the step was cast aluminum so it broke off fairly cleanly.  I feel REALLY LUCKY as my exhaust is intact and the tires did not get punctured.  Just out of frame above the water fill and outlet is a nice orangey smudge from where the cone must have flown up.  A quick roadside check over everything, and some tie wraps to secure the wheel flare (middle bolt got pulled through and was rubbing the rear tire) and we were back on our way.....

I did stop at the very same gas station where I was stranded back in November.  I pulled in next to the lawnmower man and he LOVED the coach.  I felt confident and sure enough she fired right up after taking on fuel.

We got to the park entrance at 5:15PM and right away saw the wife of a ranger that I spoke to alot last year.   I rolled down the gravel road (freshly graveled I might add)  and saw the ranger at the turn toward the campsites.  He waved and hollered at us and said he was working all weekend and we'd catch up.

As I pulled into our camp loop, I immediately recognized the Class C 4WD motorhome of the campground host from last year.  She saw us and was on our site before I even had us backed in all the way.  She was happy to see us and had just arrived the day before!   It was like homecoming!

As the week had progressed, the weather forecast kept getting worse and worse for astronomy.  It looked like our best bet was the first night, but as the sun was dropping fast, there were alot of clouds...75%+ coverage.   I hoped that it might clear up later and set about getting things all set up in the dying light as no moon and clouds meant DARKNESS would be on us soon and there aren't any lights other than what you bring.

We hopped on our bikes and headed over to the astronomy pads (open sky, no trees) and spoke with some of the other atstronmers. Nobody had great hopes for good viewing this evening, but I established ourselves, in case we might slink back later and have a peek through one of their scopes.

Back at the site, we ate our dinner and basically messed around for a few hours.  Around 9 I went out to look at the sky and while there was some stars, I could see it wouldn't last.  So I lit the campfire as the temperature was dropping fast.   At home I was sweating in shorts while loading and now it was about 50 degrees out.

 While I was setting up the fire, my daughter broke out all of the stowaways and they took over the inside of the coach.

Naturally I no sooner had a roaring fire than my daughter exclaims, "It's clear skies!"  After looking it over it was looking somewhat promising.  However, my telescope is from 1975 and completely analog. You need the North star to line it up and well it was pretty cloudy up that way.  I thought I might be able to use my phone to get things close......except I factory reset it this week and calibration is all wrong.  I'm looking at Orion and my phone has it about 90 degrees to the left.   I try to calibrate but it doesn't cooperate.....So more fire and off to bed.

Apparently insulation wasn't very good back in the 70s as I woke up  around 7 and it was 50 inside the coach (about 10 degrees warmer than outside).  When I finally got up around 8:15 the temp had come up a bit.

We ate breakfast and I took a couple of pics of the site.

That 40ft Allegro next to us made me feel tiny.   As it was a beautiful but cold and windy day, we set off on a bike tour of about 5 miles.  First we stopped at the park office and met up with the cool park ranger who had just come back from a buggy ride and was showing folks the old homestead of early settlers in the 1920s.  The house still stands but is in disrepair and not open to the public

Off we went to pedal and see some gators and birds.

For whatever reason, I didn't take any gator shots as there were about a dozen or so in the 6-9 foot range out sunning.  My daughter did get some good shots, so maybe she'll post some of them up here.

This was near the gators as the water was still in this area and there were alot of birds around.  My daughter tried to set up an action cam on her bike to take better stills with the 50x zoom

We completed the ride and then my wife (who had to work in the morning) and some friends of ours showed up.  The weather deteriorated and was completely overcast by sunset.  We had a good fire, drinks and fun to round out the evening.

It started raining during the night and was cold wet and drizzly so we canceled the two hour buggy ride in the morning as paying to get sick didn't seem like a good thing to do.   We had breakfast, and packed up.  It was the first time I used a dump station in a park (usually waited until I got home) and that was uneventful.

To finish it out, it rained pretty much the whole way home which got all the mud off the bottom so I skipped washing when we arrived at home.  That and it was 55 and raining......

Next trip is less than a month away!

Trouble in Paradise...

Haven't posted much as we haven't really been using the coach this fall.   September we took a trip to Italy and Switzerland and that pretty much tapped out all the fun money for awhile, but the trip was fantastic.  

Didn't see any GMCs in Europe but we did see a few Caravans (Euro for Class C motorhome).   I did get a picture of this one in Bellagio, Italy:

Most of them were about this size although we did see a couple that were a little bigger.

Right when we returned, hurricane Matthew popped up and we had a really close shave and the highly damaging winds only missed us by about 20 miles.   We went through the whole exercise of getting ready for the first time since 2005.    We tucked the GMC and my Cadillac (not in picture) away in our warehouse that houses our Circus School and karate dojo.   We could have probably gotten another 2 cars in there with some effort, but it was fine this way.

Fast forward a month and its early November.  I'm excited to get the coach out on the road to head up to Auburndale, FL to see the NIGHT OF DESTRUCTION  at the Auburndale Speedway.   Figure 8 bus races, demo derby, and my fave the boat and trailer race.   It's complete mayhem and ALOT of entertainment for 20 bucks.  

Had had promised my buddy Dave a trip in the motorhome and being a fellow gearhead, this was the perfect excuse.   Quick trip, one night at a nearby state park and meet friends at the race and use this machine for what it was built for.....a mobile party.

I prep it all up and drive up to Lake Worth (20 min) to pick Dave and his girl up and head out.  Right there was a warning sign as I broke the passenger side mirror loose while trying to adjust it....  We look it over and come up with the easy solution of drilling a hole through the mounting post into the coach side of the post (slips over a stud) and run a sheet metal screw through it.   10 min later and we are on our way.

Running up the Beeline Highway, the coach is humming along nicely and life it good.  We get to Okeechobee, FL and I point out Jeff Sirum's GMC shop right there as you come into town.  It's Saturday and I see one car in front of the office.  As we are pressed for time, we roll on and pull into the Racetrac gas station about 100 years past his shop.    I turn off the motor and gas her up, while the others use the restroom.

5 min later Dave points out I left the lights one while pumping.  No biggie right.  Then I say something really stupid, "Gee I hope it starts."   Well boys and girls, don't EVER say that outloud because right there I destroyed our entire weekend.... I got in the coach and went to start and NOTHING.   Not a click, not a pop, not even a half hearted attempt to engage the starter.   WTH?????

First pull the headlights back on, yep they still work.   Try turning it all off and start over.  Nothing.  Get the multimeter and check the battery.   13 volts....Hmmmmm  maybe the starter switch went bad (my coach is wired with a start button, as the column starter doesn't work right).

After  checking all the obvious stuff, I call Mr. Jim B. at the Co op in Orlando.   He tells me where the starter wire is on top of the engine.  Yep, there it is and look a wire is disconnected.  Hook it up and nothing....There is an Ace Hardware across the street, so off we go and get about 5 feet of 12 gauge wire.   we then run right from the battery to the starter.   It goes click click click from the solenoid.  Still show 13 Volts.   Damn the starter went.   Call the parts store a mile down the road and you know what,   They have a starter for a 1976 Oldsmobile 455 in stock (in a town of 5000).  

Dave volunteers to pull the old one, and then I hike the 2 miles in flip flops with the 50 pound starter.  I learned carrying a load long distance in flippys gives you shin splints....I swap it out and pay the man 80 bucks and hike it back.   It feels heavier on the way back lol.  Unfortunately the store did not have equipment to bench test it for us.   We get the new one in and still click click and not attempt to spin the motor.   At this point I walk down to Jeff's shop, but no one is there (he was at a rally of GMCs and someone sent me a pic of him in a kayak having fun)....

Time to call AAA.   It's now about 4:30 (3 hours later) and I tell them I need a flatbed.  Ok we got someone who will be there in an hour.  Great!   Well not so fast as they sent this guy:

Meanwhile I called Lucy and she drove the 80 miles out to pick up Dave and his girl as they said only 1 in the tow truck.   Well me and the tow truck driver talk, and figure out that if he hooks it up, he'll crush hydraulic lines that run on the frame as the rig pinches the frame rails to hold onto the truck it's pulling.   That and the back end will likely drag damaging my sewer tanks......I appreciate his candor and care about my vehicle.  Unfortunately, his company's truck that would work is having an engine overhaul, so he tosses me back to AAA

As this story is so long already, AAA basically then said I was SOL.  I remained calm and explained that no, I have been paying them for 20 years for a reason and they need to get me a tow.   So at 11:30PM the truck and driver show up (details spared).  We get it hooked up (I had to steer it with not power onto the rollback (2 inches on either side!)  

Got home at 2AM and the driver was a master.  He dropped it right in the driveway with me moving the other cars out of the way.....

While I had hours to wait for the tow by myself, I noticed the house lights dimming in the coach and the front battery (starting battery) was warm.   Finally putting it all together I knew it was the battery.

Turned out the starting battery shorted and took the house batteries down with it.  At this point I tried getting a jump from a few people at the station, but it just wasn't happening as the battery was shorted out (I didn't know this yet).

What threw both of us off was the full voltage while trouble shooting.    The house batteries are SUPPOSED to be separate from the starting battery and only bridged via a dash switch for emergency use.   The PO must have (or had done more likely) bridged it all together as I now know that the starting battery is hooked to the house lights, disconnecting the ground from the starting battery, there is still 12V available.    I haven't figured out yet how it's all tied together to rectify it.

Bottom line was two of the three batteries are done.   For now, I have a new deep cycle starting battery and one of the old Optimas still on the house (we aren't going off grid anytime soon) while I save up some money and go to two 6V AGM batteries for the house, get switches and isolators to assure this doesn't happen again....

http://shop.pkys.com/Blue-Sea-6007-Mini-Battery-Selector-Switch-1-2-BOTH-OFF_p_1623.html