Air Filter, Getting Ready and Dinner

DeBary, FL.

53 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecasts = Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. South winds 10 to 15 mph.


Once Jim went outside yesterday morning, he got out a few tools and removed my old engine air filter and installed this new one.

As you can see, it's very large and the filter element is permanently fastened inside of the canister. And as you may imagine, it's also quite expensive.

It's really not too hard to install though, and in about an hour and a half, Jim was finished and putting away his tools.

After he finished with the filter, he drug the tow bar out from under me and re-installed it on the front of CLT.

After lunch, Jim took a little nap before going out and putting some more water in my fresh water tank.

Besides doing some laundry, Linda has been starting to get the inside of me ready to travel. It's amazing how much stuff has been gotten out during our 2 month stay here. And as you RVers know, everything has to be put back in its proper spot so everything fits and stays where it's supposed to while we're traveling down the road.

Being that Laura has to work all weekend, Jim and Linda made arrangements to meet her, Lindsey and Ashley for dinner at the Perkins Restaurant. It will probably be the last time that they'll be able to spend much time together before we leave, although as I understand it, Ashley may stop by here on Sunday, and Jim and Linda may try to meet up with Laura Sunday evening after she gets off work.

The evening was spent doing the usual stuff.

Did you know that on this date in1954, The Nautilus was launched in Groton, CT? It was the first atomic-powered submarine. U.S. First Lady Mamie Eisenhower broke the traditional bottle of champagne across the bow.

Tires, They Won't Rent Me A Site but Problem Solved

DeBary, FL.

53 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy in the morning...then considerable cloudiness with a chance of afternoon showers. Highs in the mid 70s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Jim's big project yesterday was to check tires.

The first thing to do, of course, was to get out the compressor and hose. After getting it ready he started on my tires, first on my left and then my right. I'm pleased to say that out of all of my tires, (8 of them), and after more than 2 months, only one was about 5 PSI low!!!  : )

After checking my tires, he checked and filled CLT's tires and then his bike's tires.

The other item he took care of was to call back Roland and Louise, (very good friends of theirs who visited us up in Rantoul this past summer and who are now down at at park in Frostproof, FL.), to see if I could get in their park for a few days. He had called them the other day and they said that they would check.

Well, guess what?  Even though they have sites sitting empty, they told Louise that they would not rent a site to anyone for less than a week!!!! : (   That won't work for us this year because Jim has made reservation at another park, (starting on the 28th).

Needless to say, Roland and Louise were very disappointed and so were Jim and Linda. : (

Anyway, after Jim and Roland hung up, Jim got on the Internet, found another park that is only a few miles from Roland and Louise's park and made a reservation there!! 

They were very happy to rent me a site for less than a week!!!!! : )

Jim called Roland back and told him the good news. Now when we leave here, we're heading to the Lakemont Ridge Home & RV Park in Frostproof for 5 days before heading to Thonotosassa, FL to spend some time with the "Illinois Bunch".

After that, we start heading out West. : )

For dinner, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to the Pier 16 seafood restaurant in Orange City. They hadn't been there this year yet and always enjoy eating there. Again, both the food and service were very good.

Did you know that on this date in 1957 the first, non-stop, around-the-world, jet flight came to an end at Riverside, CA? The plane was refueled in mid-flight by huge aerial tankers.

Lots Of Ambition

DeBary, FL.

47 deg. scattered clouds, no wind.

Forecast = Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. South winds 5 to 10 mph.


I don't know what got into Jim yesterday, but he sure had a lot of ambition.

In the morning, he went out and checked all my batteries. I have two 12 volt starting batteries and six 6 volt deep cycle coach batteries, and he checked the electrolyte level and filled all of them with distilled water. Then he got out the garden hose and some spray stuff and cleaned them.

Since he had all of the battery stuff out, he then did the same to CLT's battery.

After lunch, he opened my generator compartment, slid the generator out with its electric slide and checked the oil and water levels. Then before sliding it back in, he started it up and let it run for awhile.

Since the hose was still out, he got out the squeegee with the very long handle and cleaned off the front of me, (especially concentrating on my windshield).

Now, I suppose you're wondering why Jim was doing all of this. Well, believe it or not, we've already been here for almost 2 months, and in 6 more days, we'll be leaving. I've enjoyed being here, but to be honest, my tires are starting to itch and I'm ready to do some traveling!!

After taking a little nap, Jim went out and cooked some pork chops on the grill for dinner while Linda cooked some noodles and some corn inside on my stove. After dinner they both watched TV and read some before going to bed.

Today, I think Jim may check the air in my and CLT's tires. Yesterday, I heard him say something about doing it and it definitely needs to be done before we leave.

Did you know that lead-acid batteries were invented in 1859 by French physicist Gaston Plante' and are the oldest type of rechargeable battery?

Two Movies, Parts and Dinner For Two.

DeBary, FL.

57 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.


Linda called Laura yesterday morning and plans were made to go see that Sherlock Holmes movie that just came out. Then, about 12:30 Laura came by, picked her up and they headed to Sanford to see it.

Linda said that she enjoyed the movie and both she and Laura had a good time. : )

While they were at the movie, Jim took CLT and went to the Deland Truck Center up in Deland, Fl. Jim found them a few years ago when he was looking for some filters for Myrddin and has been going back ever since. They have a fairly large parts department and if they don't have what you need, they'll gladly order it for you if they can. Also their prices are reasonable, compared to other places.

So, why did Jim go there? Well, he wanted to get a price on an air filter for my engine, a 12 volt LED light and some replacement chrome lug nut covers for my wheels.

He found the LED light that he wanted, the lug nut covers for me and got a price for the air filter. However, he didn't buy the air filter. You see, my engine air filter does not have a replacement filter element. You have to buy the whole filter assembly which includes the whole metal canister with the filter inside of it. The canister has large fittings on it for the very large hoses that go to my air intake and to my engine.

When we were at Creative Coach this fall, this filter had to be removed to work on my alternator and it was determined that it was getting close to the time when it needed to be replaced. Jim inquired about the cost and Lester gave him a price of $185.00.

Yep, you read that right. $185.00!!!!!

Well, since Jim and Linda had just spent a bunch of money on me, Jim told Lester that he would put off changing it for awhile.

OK, now I'll bet you're wondering how much they want for the filter at the Deland Truck Center? Well, They didn't have it in stock but Dennis told Jim that he could order it, have it in within a week and the price would be $135.00!!

Wow!! That's a saving of $50.00!!!! And it shouldn't be that hard to replace!!! Jim says that for $50.00 he'll gladly do it himself!! : )  He's going to order it after the first of the year.

After he returned, Jim replaced the missing and cracked lug nut covers on my wheels, (only 3 of them), and then took a nap.

By the time he woke up, Linda was home from the movie. Since there had been no plans for dinner, it was decided that they'd head over to Steak 'n Shake for a nice little dinner for two. ; )

After they got back, they watched the movie, "A Christmas Carol", on TV before going to bed.

Did you know that in 1843, "A Christmas Carol" was written by Charles Dickens in just six weeks?

Cleaning and A Comment On A Comment

Callahan, FL.

54 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. Areas of dense fog in the morning. Visibility one quarter mile or less at times in the morning. Highs in the upper 70s. East winds 10 to 15 mph.

Jim and Linda spent a good part of yesterday giving the inside of me a good cleaning. It hadn't been done for awhile and it showed. ; O 

Jim also dumped my tanks and filed up fresh water tank in preparation for going to see my mechanic in Lakeland, (Only electric hook-up there), talked to the neighbors for awhile, took a walk around the park, and cooked a couple burgers on the grill for dinner.

Meanwhile, Linda was doing laundry and working on her latest embroidery project.

Today we'll head to Lakeland. It's about 200 miles down there so it'll take awhile, but there's really no hurry as once we get there, I'll just have to wait until tomorrow morning before anyone will be around to work on me anyway. I don't even know if there will be an electric hook-up available for me, so I may have to boon-dock for the night.

I usually don't make comments on the comments that I receive, but yesterday, I received a very nice comment from Rod and Loyce Ivers, (some very loyal readers of this blog), that made me feel a whole lot better about my needed repairs.

Here's the comment that I received.

"I'm not too sure that embarrassed would be the correct way to describe that further repairs are needed. It seems like every time you move a motorhome, you need to take stock of what was broken in the process. Fixing these things up are kind of like that big drink of #2 diesel. Its just the cost of moving from point A to Point B. Its the cost of the activity in which we choose to partake... Your lucky that you have Lester and his crew to take care of all of this in minimal time, and probably minimal expense too as compared to folks that don't get the job done right the first time.... JMHO."

After reading that, I have to admit that embarrassed my not be the best way to describe my feelings. It's just that I know that I've already cost Jim and Linda a bunch of money, (especially with the tires that needed to be replaced), and I was hoping that I could go for awhile without having anything else go wrong.  But, Rod and Loyce are right. We RVs do take a beating, traveling down these roads and we do need a lot of up-keep and repairs to keep us road ready. And, I am very lucky that Jim and Linda know Lester and his crew, who know how to get me back in tip top shape again. ; )

Full-timing is a great way to live and it's really great to be able to travel all across this country to see the sights and visit family, but contrary to popular belief, it's not a real cheap way to live. Maintenance and repairs are needed just like they would be in a stix and brix home. And, in fact, sometimes more.

A Point to Ponder : If you decide that you're indecisive, which one are you?

An Empty Campground, Batteries and A Little Shopping

Rantoul, IL.

59 deg. clear, N wind @ 4 mph.

Forecast = Increasing clouds. Highs in the lower 80s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.


The Campground is empty!!!  : o

Well, not really, but it sure seems like it is after all those RV left the last couple days. There's probably about a dozen or so RVs here and it's just about like it was before the Farm Show, but it sure seems empty.

It's not going to stay that way for long though, the CG is completely booked for the Labor Day weekend, (only 1 RV to a site), so by the end of the week it'll be pretty busy around here again. ; )

Jim checked the electrolyte level  in my batteries yesterday morning and added some distilled water to the cells that were low. Then he sprayed some yellow stuff on the batteries that turned pink wherever there was acid and finally hosed off the batteries to wash away all the yucky stuff. Now except for a visual inspection once in awhile, they should be good to go for a couple months.

After that, he tackled a little problem I was having inside. One of the fluorescent lights in my bathroom quit working so he took it apart and decided that it was one of the bulbs that had burned out.

Now, he knew he had a couple new bulbs someplace, but he couldn't remember where he put them when he moved them from Myrddin into me. He looked in quite a few of my cabinets and went through a few tote boxes in my basement, but couldn't find them. : (  So, he decided that it would be easier to take CLT and go over to Rural King and buy some, rather than to keep digging through boxes.

I'm sure he'll come across them one of these days.

So, off to Rural King he and CLT went. He found the bulbs he needed and then because it was time to pick up the mail at the post office, they swung past there. Then as long as he was out, he went to the County Market grocery store and bought a few groceries he and Linda were out of.

All of this only took a little over an hour and soon he was back here and installing the new bulbs in my bathroom fixture. : )

While he was gone, Linda was cleaning up, putting away pots, pans and dishes that had been used when Mike and Jodi were here and eating breakfast.

Not much happened during the afternoon and then about 5:00 Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to the Pizza Hut for dinner.

Oh, I made a mistake yesterday when I told you that Linda and Jim were going to go to the eye doctor this morning. The appointment is actually this afternoon.

Hmmm! I could have sworn that it was this morning. : (

Did you know that in 1748 Benjamin Franklin first coined the word "battery" to describe an array of charged glass plates?