Worky! Worky!

26 Jan 10--Cathy and I climbed on top of the RV today to try to see where the leak in the RV might be coming from. We tried to caulk everything we could see that might need caulking, and probably some spots that didn't. Ultimately we determined that if we are able to solve this puzzle, we will just caulk the whole damn thing later and be done with it.



I thought I would take a few pictures to show you where our problems are, (especially Walter who may come up with something we are not thinking about), if this doesn't work out.

From the outside, you can see on the left what is the bedroom slideout. The leak there, from the outside, is in the lower, right hand corner. To the right of the slideout is the bathroom window, and to the left of that, between the window and the bedroom, is the wall that holds the electrical box that also had water in it. And then directly below the bathroom is the tool box area I mentioned yesterday. The water was seaping from the top left of the tool box down to the floor of the box. So the problem is all concentrated somewhere along the line of the awning right in the middle there.


From the inside of the house, here is the bedroom corner where the carpet is getting wet...and the wall to the left is the bathroom wall that the electric box is hanging on the other side of. (The water was only coming out of the whole that has the black wires going thru it.) And then again a picture of the tool box...we actually were able to put our hand up above where you see the black box on the left....quite wet in there.



They are calling for rain again on Thursday and Friday, so we will know soon enough if we covered the problem area. If not, we will have to take it into an RV center to have them run a leak check for us. Again, please say a prayer that we got it!!!

Brandon, MS

25 Jan 10--Arrived here in Brandon, MS, a little town outside the capitol city of Jackson, late this afternoon...too late to do anything with our LEAK, so we have to wait till tomorrow to tackle that.

We are at the Timberlake Campground, on the banks of the Ross Barnett Reservoir. The reservoir looks like a really, really big lake...we were told that there are 5 RV parks on the reservoir...this one has 165 campsites on it.

We took a walk around the park after we set up the RV, and it looks pretty nice (if you are into RV parks--haha). At this one you can pay a little extra to be right on the edge of the water, or you can pay standard fare to be in the interior. The interior very much reminds me of the Outdoor World place we stayed with Ellen in Maine.

I am not crazy about all the trees, especially with satellite TV, so we picked a spot on the outside loop of the park. I need a clear shot at the southeastern sky for a good signal!

There are a lot of people who live here full-time...you wouldn't believe how many people have boats and jet-skis parked outside their RVs. This place even has mail boxes that look like the kind we had in San Antonio. And look at this trailer and 5th-wheel...clearly these people live here year-round...they even have decks and swings set-up!

Our plan had been to go sight-seeing tomorrow, but now we have to tackle the LEAK, so we will probably have to wait till Wednesday...wish us luck!

By the way, my sister Julie said in an e-mail that she was surprised we didn't just strap ourselves to the RV during the storm and climb atop the RV anyway...I wish she would comment on the blog so everyone could share in the laugh!!! That goes for Walter and Marie also!!!

Noah's Ark, You Say?

25 Jan 10--We were only going to stay in Robertsdale, AL overnight, but when we got up yesterday we had tornado watches out for the whole area, so between the rain and high winds we didn't want to be driving. AND THEN WE SPRUNG A LEAK!!!!!

Spent most of the day looking out the window for a tornado, (the winds were a little nerve-wracking), and all the rest of the time trying to figure out where the water in our RV was coming from (ugh). We think there must be something on top of the RV that needs caulking, because we have water coming in on the carpet in the bedroom, in the electrical box in the bathroom (how scary is that), and in the tool box drawer on the outside of the RV. We couldn't get on top of the RV because of the wind and rain, so we just used about a dozen towels throughout the course of the day to soak the water up. (What happened to this being stress-free?)

We are heading today to Jackson, MS...about 200 miles from here...and once we get there we will assess the situation. Hopefully we will find the leak area and be able to fix it ourselves, if not we will have to take the RV to Camping World and have it fixed ($$$$$). Say a prayer for us! haha

High Cotton!

23 Jan 10--On the road again today. Left Tallahassee and the Big Oak RV park...took these final pictures just to show you this tree...look at it closely, it just may be the best Oak tree I have seen yet. Look how the branches go out and then down to the ground...I would have loved this tree as a kid!

I think I told you how we set up a 2-filter system for our water, but just this past week we made this holder/insulator for them. That is styrofoam we taped together, cut holes in, and then wrapped in packing tape to try to keep it water-proof...at least it keeps the filters standing and makes things look neat on the side of the RV. Actually, Cathy did it so I just wanted to show you how crafty she is! haha

So we headed down the road, ultimately heading back to San Antono for a little while, but stopped overnight in Robertsdale, Alabama at the Hilltop RV Park.

The lady signing us in told us that as it was Saturday night, they had a band coming in to play from 7-9 PM in the game room of the RV park. She said it was $5 admission for those of us staying at the park, and more for anyone coming in from outside. When we went outside and saw the size of the building the game room was in, I just had to go see inside, and took these pictures...the band was actually warming up when I went in there. As you can see, the room held about 8 rows of chairs, 6 across, with a little room on the side to go from the front to back of the room. I couldn't wait for 7PM to come around!!!

Cathy did not see the potential humor in this story that I did, so she stayed at the RV as I took my $5 and headed for the game room. I first had to get past security...there was actually an old guy at the door with a ball cap saying "security" on it...then I got my ticket, a button promoting the David Stacey fan club (he was the leader of the band), and quickly took my seat. I noticed a sign on the wall listing refreshments...and notice at the bottom it talks about the Hilltop "Opry"!

The band, called "High Cotton", played from 7-9PM with one intermission...there was a raffle and a magician that I missed because I walked back to the RV to see what Cathy was doing. But as you can see the place was packed and a fun night was had by all. I counted the people, and from what I could see there were 34 paying customers, 2 women taking the cover charge and passing out the raffle tickets, and 2 little girls....one of whom was the niece of one of the guys in the band.

I mentioned the little girl (3 yrs old), because right near the end of the 1st set she ran up to the band and jumped in the arms of the lady singer...who was about t sing a song that required yodeling!!! The little girl was trying to yodel with her, and that was adorable!

It seemed like most of the people in the room knew each other...a lady told me that 19 people were from the park and everyone else from the local community...I sat beside a guy who said he lived about an hour away!!! So he drove all that way and also had to pay more than $5!!! haha

I told Cathy all this and she still didn't think it was as funny as I did...makes you go "Hmmmm"!!!

Look at all the pretty tags

16 Jan 10--I have noticed something since we have been in Florida that I haven't seen in any other state we've been in...or at least not noticed. Again, this isn't anything earth-shattering, but I thought it interesting, so when we were out at the museum the other day, I took these pictures in the parking garage. Look at how many different car tags I saw on just one floor of the garage...there seem to be an unending supply of tags you can get here.

You can get your standard Florida tag...with the county or state on it.



You can choose to save the babies, the children, the heart, or the boobs!




You can cheer the Seminoles, Gators, Bulls, or the Rattlers.



You can save a host of animals, from the flamingo to the manatee and everything in between.

You can promote biking, fishing or golfing.

You can even honor MLK and "Live the Dream" (I didn't know I stole that from him for my blog!)

I saw a bunch more driving thru the streets...in about an hour I saw one for the Air Force, the Navy and even US Paratroopers. But I thought I would just post these that I got in one quick walk thru the garage...I actually thought someone might stop me and question me taking the pictures...I sort of like the concept of being able to get a plate like one of these.