We are at the park service parking lot in the village of Ocracoke, on Ocracoke Island (map). I'm blogging early, because we will soon stow the dish and drive to the other end of town for dinner. Where we will actually sleep tonight is something of a mystery.
Yesterday we stopped at the Wright Brothers memorial at Kill Devil Hills (adjacent to Kitty Hawk). We had to bypass this site on our last trip through, due to schedule.
In one of our boondocking guides was printed a rumor that overnight parking was possible at the small air strip near the site. This proved to be unfounded, or out of date: prominent signs prohibited "Camping or sleeping in vehicles." (Possibly, sleeping in aircraft might be allowed.) In any case, we had to press on down the island (visiting the Bodie Island lighthouse on the way, another spot we missed a year ago), finally stopping for the night at the "Camp Hatteras" commercial campground in Rodanthe (map). We stayed there last November as well, and we ended up in nearly the same space.
Sometime in the night, the wind picked up, and it remained blustery through most of today. We stopped at the Cape Hatteras light house, which was moved in 1999, en masse, some thousand feet from its original location, which the Atlantic is trying to reclaim. We then continued through the towns of Buxton, Frisco, and Hatteras, arriving at the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry landing just in time to see the 2:00 ferry sail away. We settled in to await the 3:00, and a ferryman came by to say that the 4:00 Ocracoke-Cedar Island Ferry had been canceled due to high winds, in case we had been planning to drive through. (We were not: I had already made reservations for a 10:00am ferry tomorrow from Ocracoke to Cedar Island.) I estimated the winds at 30mph steady, with gusts up to 50 or so. Odyssey was rocking quite a bit, and we weren't yet on a ferry!
The ferry ride was uneventful, and quite beautiful, actually. The sound was quite choppy, but the heavy ferry seemed completely unimpacted. After arriving at the southern terminus, we had a pleasant drive along the 13 miles or so of Ocracoke Island -- beautiful and desolate at this time of year -- before arriving here.
We had also read a rumor that one could overnight at the ferry landing here with a morning reservation in the off-season. It is unclear from the wording whether this meant the actual ferry loading lanes, or this Park Service lot we are in now, adjacent to the ferry terminal. Signs posted here, though, clearly indicate (again) no camping or sleeping in vehicles. Parking, however, is allowed for up to 72 hours.
When we are done with dinner at Howard's Pub (the only restaurant open this time of year in the entire village), we will ask them if we can stay overnight. If they turn us down, it looks like we will end up right back here until our 10:00am ferry. We just won't sleep. As far as you know.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Monday, January 30, 2006
Birthday at Sam's Club...
We are parked behind the Sam's Club in Chesapeake, Virginia (map), near Norfolk.
Yesterday, we traversed the southern portion of the Delmarva peninsula and crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel. When we did this same route last November, we then turned left through Virginia Beach, and stayed at the very pleasant First Landing State Park, right on the bay. Unfortunately, it is currently closed for the season, as are most camping opportunities in the area.
We opted for urban boondocking (big surprise, huh?) and chose this spot in the hopes there might be a nice restaurant in walking distance. While we have plenty of food on board, yesterday was my birthday and we wanted to go out for a nice dinner. As it turned out, the nicest of the several restaurants in this shopping center is merely a Texas Roadhouse, a casual chain we had yet to patronize. Any port in a storm, though, and they had great ribs, even though the peanut-shells-on-the-floor atmosphere was not exactly in keeping with the occasion.
Today we will continue south to the Outer Banks. We will end up in commercial parks there -- all the National Seashore campgrounds are closed for the season, and boondocking is not permitted in the few pockets of private land on the islands.
Yesterday, we traversed the southern portion of the Delmarva peninsula and crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel. When we did this same route last November, we then turned left through Virginia Beach, and stayed at the very pleasant First Landing State Park, right on the bay. Unfortunately, it is currently closed for the season, as are most camping opportunities in the area.
We opted for urban boondocking (big surprise, huh?) and chose this spot in the hopes there might be a nice restaurant in walking distance. While we have plenty of food on board, yesterday was my birthday and we wanted to go out for a nice dinner. As it turned out, the nicest of the several restaurants in this shopping center is merely a Texas Roadhouse, a casual chain we had yet to patronize. Any port in a storm, though, and they had great ribs, even though the peanut-shells-on-the-floor atmosphere was not exactly in keeping with the occasion.
Today we will continue south to the Outer Banks. We will end up in commercial parks there -- all the National Seashore campgrounds are closed for the season, and boondocking is not permitted in the few pockets of private land on the islands.
Bob Woodruff
Sean told me last night that Bob Woodruff had been badly injured in Iraq, but it didn't sink in until this morning who he was talking about. We met Bob in November 2004 and found him to be a very affable, pleasant guy.
Our encounter with Bob came as part of a "back scenes" tour of Good Morning America. We won this tour as part of a charity auction item that we purchased at the Tech Museum of San Jose. Bob showed us around the studio, introduced us to the Good Morning America staff and asked lots of questions about Odyssey. Later, we joked with each other that perhaps his interest would spark an on-air interview, but alas, that never happened.
Bob, we're wishing you a speedy and full recovery from your injuries.
Our encounter with Bob came as part of a "back scenes" tour of Good Morning America. We won this tour as part of a charity auction item that we purchased at the Tech Museum of San Jose. Bob showed us around the studio, introduced us to the Good Morning America staff and asked lots of questions about Odyssey. Later, we joked with each other that perhaps his interest would spark an on-air interview, but alas, that never happened.
Bob, we're wishing you a speedy and full recovery from your injuries.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Seaford, DE
We stopped for the night here at the Seaford Elks Lodge, on the Delmarva peninsula (map). After leaving Toms River, we had a leisurely drive across NJ on SR70, then hit I-295 down to the Delaware Memorial Bridge. We stopped at the Flying-J in Carney's Point, just before the bridge, and took on 200 gallons of diesel and 80 gallons or so of fresh water. We also dumped our tanks there, as Flying-J makes an effort to equip all their truck stops with RV dumps. Our FMCA-sponsored Flying-J RV card also gets us the cash price when using a credit card -- important with a 200-gallon fill up. Oddly, the additional penny/gallon discount for using the card is not available in NJ.
Seaford was a convenient stopping point, far enough away from the bustle of Wilmington (and even Dover) to be quiet and pleasant. Today we will cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, after picking up a couple items here in sales-tax-free Delaware.
Seaford was a convenient stopping point, far enough away from the bustle of Wilmington (and even Dover) to be quiet and pleasant. Today we will cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, after picking up a couple items here in sales-tax-free Delaware.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Souvenirs
We collect lapel pins as souvenirs. They are small and often quite pretty. We attached a cork bulletin board to the wall of the bathroom to hold the pins.
Toms River, New Jersey
We have been at the Elks Lodge in Toms River, New Jersey (map) for the last couple nights, just a block or so from Barnegat Bay. We have been visiting my parents, who live just a few miles from here in Brick Township. We had a nice visit, and my dad is making a quick recovery from his surgery.
We also picked up our mail, which we had directed here when we decided to come this way. I also ordered a couple items on the internet while we were in the area, and those arrived yesterday. One item is a Paladin 1258 three-level coax stripper, so I can finish the cable repairs on the satellite dish when we are in warmer conditions. The tiny RG179 is very difficult to strip properly unassisted, as the center conductor is prone to breaking.
The other item we ordered is a brand new Zoll AED-Plus Automatic External Defibrillator. While neither of us is in the high-risk group for sudden cardiac arrest, we do spend considerable amounts of time well outside of the critical 5-minute response footprint of the nation's emergency medical system (EMS). It's actually a bit alarming to look even at this map (link updated 11/09), showing 10-minute response circles for the nation's life-flight helicopters (ground-based ambulance footprints are, of course, even smaller). The AED adds a critical component to our already extensive self-rescue capabilities, which also include firefighting and first aid equipment. Since we are also both certified AED responders, having one aboard also gives us an important tool to help others who may be in need.
This morning we will pack up and head out of New Jersey for warmer climes. While it is tempting to head due south down Cape May and take the ferry across to Delaware, as we did last November, we need diesel, and the cheapest fuel we will see on the east coast is in Carney's Point, the last stop in NJ on 295/95 south. After we cross the Delaware, we will turn south down the DelMarVa peninsula, heading for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel. This will bypass the cities of Baltimore and Washington and their associated traffic. We do intend to spend some time in the capitol district, but we will save that visit for a time of the year when the weather is more cooperative.
We are heading for the outer banks, a section of the coastline that we bypassed last year to visit relatives in Raleigh. From there, we are thinking of maybe heading to the Florida keys, but only if we can get some campground reservations. The keys are notorious for prohibiting the sort of stealth boondocking that we usually do, and all of the state parks in the keys prohibit pets in the campgrounds, so commercial parks are our only option, and they tend to be full (and expensive) this time of year. On top of that, many places are still recovering from Wilma (which was probably our big chance to boondock in the keys, but we were busy in Baton Rouge at the time!). Suggestions (or offers of parking spots) are welcome.
We also picked up our mail, which we had directed here when we decided to come this way. I also ordered a couple items on the internet while we were in the area, and those arrived yesterday. One item is a Paladin 1258 three-level coax stripper, so I can finish the cable repairs on the satellite dish when we are in warmer conditions. The tiny RG179 is very difficult to strip properly unassisted, as the center conductor is prone to breaking.
The other item we ordered is a brand new Zoll AED-Plus Automatic External Defibrillator. While neither of us is in the high-risk group for sudden cardiac arrest, we do spend considerable amounts of time well outside of the critical 5-minute response footprint of the nation's emergency medical system (EMS). It's actually a bit alarming to look even at this map (link updated 11/09), showing 10-minute response circles for the nation's life-flight helicopters (ground-based ambulance footprints are, of course, even smaller). The AED adds a critical component to our already extensive self-rescue capabilities, which also include firefighting and first aid equipment. Since we are also both certified AED responders, having one aboard also gives us an important tool to help others who may be in need.
This morning we will pack up and head out of New Jersey for warmer climes. While it is tempting to head due south down Cape May and take the ferry across to Delaware, as we did last November, we need diesel, and the cheapest fuel we will see on the east coast is in Carney's Point, the last stop in NJ on 295/95 south. After we cross the Delaware, we will turn south down the DelMarVa peninsula, heading for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel. This will bypass the cities of Baltimore and Washington and their associated traffic. We do intend to spend some time in the capitol district, but we will save that visit for a time of the year when the weather is more cooperative.
We are heading for the outer banks, a section of the coastline that we bypassed last year to visit relatives in Raleigh. From there, we are thinking of maybe heading to the Florida keys, but only if we can get some campground reservations. The keys are notorious for prohibiting the sort of stealth boondocking that we usually do, and all of the state parks in the keys prohibit pets in the campgrounds, so commercial parks are our only option, and they tend to be full (and expensive) this time of year. On top of that, many places are still recovering from Wilma (which was probably our big chance to boondock in the keys, but we were busy in Baton Rouge at the time!). Suggestions (or offers of parking spots) are welcome.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Still in Fishkill
We are still in Fishkill, but now at the Sam's Club (map). Of course, the Sam's Club is adjacent to the Wal-Mart, but we figured we overstayed our welcome there, having been parked in the same spot for two nights.
Speaking of which, we chatted at dinner last night about the seemingly large number of people on RV bulletin boards who can not tolerate those of us who choose to stay at Wal-Mart. There are many "reasons" advanced why it simply should not be done, running from how dangerous it must be, to how rude, to how inappropriate for those who have spent hundreds of thousands on a motorcoach to "avoid" paying an "appropriate" fee to a campground.
Yet here we are, just a couple miles from the service facility which we needed, and I can't imagine where else in Fishkill we might have parked. All the state parks and even the commercial campgrounds within any reasonable radius are closed for the season. As I wrote a couple days ago, we had to do some serious research to even find a place to dump our tanks. But beyond that, we find our spot here to be nearly perfect: we have been able to run into Wal-Mart two nights in a row to pick up some needed items (to the tune of $30 each time -- so much for "freeloading," as the nay-sayers like to call it), and there are no fewer than six restaurants in walking distance of this spot. We had a nice prime rib Monday night, found a great Italian place last night called Casa di Pasta Ristorante (which, in spite of the name, had many non-pasta entrees on the menu as well, and a friendly and smooth house Chianti to boot), and tonight are planning on heading over to the Chinese buffet, which comes highly recommended, and was packed both times we passed by.
It seems that it is often thus. Even when commercial campgrounds are available, they are miles from anywhere. When we want to be miles from anywhere (which is often), we also do not want to be 25' from another RV. When we are passing through town, or even have business in town as we did today, all we need is a parking lot, and having some services nearby such as a store and a few restaurants is a big plus.
I don't expect my rant here will change anything. I certainly understand and appreciate people who feel the need for the services a campground offers, such as hookups, or even the perception of security such a place offers. I would not presume to change those people's minds or behavior. I just wish the vocal minority crusading against those of us who feel otherwise would mind their own business. Or else put their money where their mouths are, and buy out Wal-Mart so they can set a different policy. (I don't suppose it would even occur to those people, though, to even do something as simple as boycott Wal-Mart, with whose policies they seem so opposed).
In any case, this morning we left Wal-Mart and pulled into the shop at Chappaqua Transportation, where we spent the majority of the day. They tracked down most of the coolant leaks, most of the oil leaks, and found at least a couple of the air leaks. They also installed the new tag steering damper, though it turned out that the damage to the old one was largely cosmetic. We also learned that our hubs are in good condition, and that the low-speed front-end shimmy we are experiencing may, in fact, be attributable to the Equal dry polymer we are using to balance the wheels. Chappaqua has a lot of experience with these coaches, and I again learned a few tips and tricks.
It was already 4:00 when we rolled out of the shop, and we decided to return here for one more night, rather than fight our way into rush hour traffic, only to continue in the dark. In the morning we will head down to my folks' neighborhood near the Jersey shore, where our mail awaits us.
Speaking of which, we chatted at dinner last night about the seemingly large number of people on RV bulletin boards who can not tolerate those of us who choose to stay at Wal-Mart. There are many "reasons" advanced why it simply should not be done, running from how dangerous it must be, to how rude, to how inappropriate for those who have spent hundreds of thousands on a motorcoach to "avoid" paying an "appropriate" fee to a campground.
Yet here we are, just a couple miles from the service facility which we needed, and I can't imagine where else in Fishkill we might have parked. All the state parks and even the commercial campgrounds within any reasonable radius are closed for the season. As I wrote a couple days ago, we had to do some serious research to even find a place to dump our tanks. But beyond that, we find our spot here to be nearly perfect: we have been able to run into Wal-Mart two nights in a row to pick up some needed items (to the tune of $30 each time -- so much for "freeloading," as the nay-sayers like to call it), and there are no fewer than six restaurants in walking distance of this spot. We had a nice prime rib Monday night, found a great Italian place last night called Casa di Pasta Ristorante (which, in spite of the name, had many non-pasta entrees on the menu as well, and a friendly and smooth house Chianti to boot), and tonight are planning on heading over to the Chinese buffet, which comes highly recommended, and was packed both times we passed by.
It seems that it is often thus. Even when commercial campgrounds are available, they are miles from anywhere. When we want to be miles from anywhere (which is often), we also do not want to be 25' from another RV. When we are passing through town, or even have business in town as we did today, all we need is a parking lot, and having some services nearby such as a store and a few restaurants is a big plus.
I don't expect my rant here will change anything. I certainly understand and appreciate people who feel the need for the services a campground offers, such as hookups, or even the perception of security such a place offers. I would not presume to change those people's minds or behavior. I just wish the vocal minority crusading against those of us who feel otherwise would mind their own business. Or else put their money where their mouths are, and buy out Wal-Mart so they can set a different policy. (I don't suppose it would even occur to those people, though, to even do something as simple as boycott Wal-Mart, with whose policies they seem so opposed).
In any case, this morning we left Wal-Mart and pulled into the shop at Chappaqua Transportation, where we spent the majority of the day. They tracked down most of the coolant leaks, most of the oil leaks, and found at least a couple of the air leaks. They also installed the new tag steering damper, though it turned out that the damage to the old one was largely cosmetic. We also learned that our hubs are in good condition, and that the low-speed front-end shimmy we are experiencing may, in fact, be attributable to the Equal dry polymer we are using to balance the wheels. Chappaqua has a lot of experience with these coaches, and I again learned a few tips and tricks.
It was already 4:00 when we rolled out of the shop, and we decided to return here for one more night, rather than fight our way into rush hour traffic, only to continue in the dark. In the morning we will head down to my folks' neighborhood near the Jersey shore, where our mail awaits us.
Monday, January 23, 2006
A little excitement at the Fishkill WalMart. As far as we could figure out, the automatic fire alarm system detected a problem, and the entire Rombout Fire Department (all volunteer) was dispatched. It must have been a false alarm, because no one was in any particular hurry. The ladder truck was deployed to shine a spotlight on the roof, while most of the fire fighters, one Fishkill police officer, and a state trooper stood around in the night chill. Odyssey is parked about 150 feet to the right of this photo. We noted that the generator on the ladder truck was much louder than ours.
The snow tires work...
We are in Fishkill, NY, at the Wal-Mart (map). We are here because Chappaqua Transportation can't get us into the shop until they complete their DOT inspection tomorrow. They will try to get us in either tomorrow afternoon, or Wednesday morning.
Friday afternoon we left New Milford and spent the night in New City, NY (map) visiting my uncle and aunt. Saturday morning we checked the forecast for upstate, which indicated clear weather until Monday night or Tuesday morning, so we headed onto the Thruway and sailed on up to visit my cousins in Argyle (map). On the way, we stopped in Albany at their wastewater plant, which has a free RV dump. Since virtually every campground with a dump station in this part of the country is closed for the season, we were very relieved to find the gates open ("No Trespassing" and "Authorized Personnel Only" signs notwithstanding) and the RV dump in working order.
We had an excellent visit with my cousin Lawrence, his wife Lori, and my new "nephew" (actually my first cousin once removed) Joseph, who is already a year and a half old, but whom we met for the first time on this visit. Lawrence's brother, Chris, also drove up from Clifton Park to join the festivities. We spent two nights, during which we were wined and dined in grand style. We had an excellent parking spot in the driveway of their huge spread, but I managed to park such that a tree kept us from getting the dish on-line.
This morning we woke to an inch-plus of fresh snow, getting deeper as we sipped our coffee. My cousins Chris and Lawrence were already off to work, so we had breakfast with Lori and Joseph (and the ever-present Lab, Simon), and watched the local news and weather reports while we pondered what to do. After the major morning-commute traffic snafus cleared, we decided to make a run for it. I am happy to report that the deep-tread mud-and-snow rated traction tires we put on the drivers did their job, and we had no problems making it back to the Northway and down the Thruway. Below Albany the precip turned to rain, and things were pretty much done by the time we got here.
I need to relate one funny story about our visit. After we backed into the driveway and popped the door, Simon the yellow Lab bounded over and started to climb inside and up our stairs. Angel, who has lived her whole life in the company of a dog (Opal) was shocked, appalled, and offended that some hooligan dog was just going to invade her territory, and she raced down the stairs, popped out the door, arched her back, and began pouncing on Simon in a fit of rage and fury, fur standing at complete attention. It was amazing to behold -- we now need a sign that reads "this coach protected by vicious attack cat." Simon, of course, being a Lab, just wanted to play with everyone, and pretty much ignored Angel's machinations. Nevertheless, we awarded her the coveted Distinguished Service Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster for her bravery -- Simon, at 90+ pounds, outweighs all three of our pets put together by a factor of two.
A word about the map links, again: Apparently, shortly after switching over to Google Maps here in the blog, the "zoom level" feature of the links stopped working. Consequently, clicking on any of our recent map links now takes you to a map at the closest-in zoom level. Until I figure this problem out (or Google fixes it), I have switched back to Mapquest links for the time being.
Friday afternoon we left New Milford and spent the night in New City, NY (map) visiting my uncle and aunt. Saturday morning we checked the forecast for upstate, which indicated clear weather until Monday night or Tuesday morning, so we headed onto the Thruway and sailed on up to visit my cousins in Argyle (map). On the way, we stopped in Albany at their wastewater plant, which has a free RV dump. Since virtually every campground with a dump station in this part of the country is closed for the season, we were very relieved to find the gates open ("No Trespassing" and "Authorized Personnel Only" signs notwithstanding) and the RV dump in working order.
We had an excellent visit with my cousin Lawrence, his wife Lori, and my new "nephew" (actually my first cousin once removed) Joseph, who is already a year and a half old, but whom we met for the first time on this visit. Lawrence's brother, Chris, also drove up from Clifton Park to join the festivities. We spent two nights, during which we were wined and dined in grand style. We had an excellent parking spot in the driveway of their huge spread, but I managed to park such that a tree kept us from getting the dish on-line.
This morning we woke to an inch-plus of fresh snow, getting deeper as we sipped our coffee. My cousins Chris and Lawrence were already off to work, so we had breakfast with Lori and Joseph (and the ever-present Lab, Simon), and watched the local news and weather reports while we pondered what to do. After the major morning-commute traffic snafus cleared, we decided to make a run for it. I am happy to report that the deep-tread mud-and-snow rated traction tires we put on the drivers did their job, and we had no problems making it back to the Northway and down the Thruway. Below Albany the precip turned to rain, and things were pretty much done by the time we got here.
I need to relate one funny story about our visit. After we backed into the driveway and popped the door, Simon the yellow Lab bounded over and started to climb inside and up our stairs. Angel, who has lived her whole life in the company of a dog (Opal) was shocked, appalled, and offended that some hooligan dog was just going to invade her territory, and she raced down the stairs, popped out the door, arched her back, and began pouncing on Simon in a fit of rage and fury, fur standing at complete attention. It was amazing to behold -- we now need a sign that reads "this coach protected by vicious attack cat." Simon, of course, being a Lab, just wanted to play with everyone, and pretty much ignored Angel's machinations. Nevertheless, we awarded her the coveted Distinguished Service Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster for her bravery -- Simon, at 90+ pounds, outweighs all three of our pets put together by a factor of two.
A word about the map links, again: Apparently, shortly after switching over to Google Maps here in the blog, the "zoom level" feature of the links stopped working. Consequently, clicking on any of our recent map links now takes you to a map at the closest-in zoom level. Until I figure this problem out (or Google fixes it), I have switched back to Mapquest links for the time being.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Over the hump...
First, the really good news: my dad's surgery went swimmingly, he has been out of the hospital since Tuesday, and he will have his surgical staples out tomorrow. He is already out and about and driving, so our work here in New Milford is done.
Second, the mostly good news: our satellite parts arrived, I was able to repair most of the dish hardware, and we are back on-line. I am now posting from our usual connection, and I have also updated the "where we are" map link on the home page that goes to our position on the DataStorm Users' Group map. There is, however, a hitch.
MotoSat sent me some RG179 solder-on F-connectors to replace the ones torn off in the accident, and I spent a very cold afternoon on the roof in below-freezing temperatures carefully stripping cable ends and soldering on the replacements. Unfortunately, the internet receive cable shows open intermittently, and the DirecTV cable shows open solid. My theory is that the force of the impact put the cables under extreme tension before the connectors gave way, and the tiny (24-gauge, I believe) 2-strand center conductors of the RG179's must have snapped in one or more places along their lengths.
I am now faced with the prospect of disassembling the fancy, motorized, three-axis mount to replace the pair of broken RG179 cables. Moreover, MotoSat, who does not want me (as an end-user) to disassemble the mount, will not sell me complete cable assemblies. There is one spare RG179 in the mount, nominally there for a second DirecTV receiver which we don't have (and can't use, since we have only three good RG6 cables going up to the roof out of the required, and originally installed, four). That cable has no F-connector on its LNB end -- it was missing when I bought the unit. It is possible that this cable is still good, and can be made usable simply by soldering a new F-connector onto it.
As soon as we are someplace warm and dry, I will try fixing the internet receive cable with this spare. If that works, I can then trim one of the two broken cables back to a point ahead of any break in the center conductor, connectorize the cable there, and use a separate 75-ohm jumper to go from that connector out to the DirecTV LNB. That might cost me a couple of dB in the DSS signal strength, but the TV is much less sensitive (and critical) than the internet receiver. That would at least get us operational again without having to break down the mount.
In the interim, we are operational on both internet and TV courtesy of a pair of 25-foot coax cables that I keep in the hook-up bay for connecting to "park cable" -- something we have never done since we acquired Odyssey. They are draped across the living room and out through the roof hatch, and connected directly to the LNB's. It looks kind of hokey, and we will have to pull them down in an electrical storm (since they lack the ground protection afforded by the bulkhead connectors on the standard set-up), but it works well enough to get us to warmer, drier climes.
As long as we are already here in the northeast, we have made arrangements with Chappaqua Transportation of Fishkill, NY to do some work on Odyssey next week. Chappaqua runs a fleet of Neoplans, and has more than a passing familiarity with them, including the German-built variety (which have since been rotated from their fleet). Last November, before I started blogging here regularly, Chappaqua bailed us out by installing the brand new driver windshield that we had just picked up from Neopart in Pennsylvania. We had cracked the darn thing somewhere in Montanna, and ordered the last remaining spare in the US for will-call. We had to rent a U-Haul truck in Pennsylvania to get the windshield to Fishkill after the original plan to have a local glazier install it in Honey Brook fell through. (By fell through, I mean that the glazier took one look at the massive $1,800 piece of glass, another look at Odyssey, and said he wasn't going to touch the job for any amount of money.)
In any case, Chappaqua did such a great job with the windshield, and impressed us so much with their familiarity with Neoplans, that they immediately jumped to the top of our list of preferred vendors to work on the chassis. They were also super-friendly and very kind to us, allowing us to live aboard in the shop for the three days the window repair needed, and even letting us paw through their warehouse of odd German parts, a number of which they simply gave us.
As it happens, we stopped again in Honey Brook on our way here, picking up a tag-axle steering damper to replace the bent one we discovered during our last alignment. We can think of no one better to install that, and we'll have them check the hubs and other running gear while Odyssey is over the pit. We will also ask them if they can help at all with our air leaks and coolant dribbles.
Since they can't get us in any earlier than Wednesday, we will use the next few days to drive up to Argyle, NY to visit my cousins.
Second, the mostly good news: our satellite parts arrived, I was able to repair most of the dish hardware, and we are back on-line. I am now posting from our usual connection, and I have also updated the "where we are" map link on the home page that goes to our position on the DataStorm Users' Group map. There is, however, a hitch.
MotoSat sent me some RG179 solder-on F-connectors to replace the ones torn off in the accident, and I spent a very cold afternoon on the roof in below-freezing temperatures carefully stripping cable ends and soldering on the replacements. Unfortunately, the internet receive cable shows open intermittently, and the DirecTV cable shows open solid. My theory is that the force of the impact put the cables under extreme tension before the connectors gave way, and the tiny (24-gauge, I believe) 2-strand center conductors of the RG179's must have snapped in one or more places along their lengths.
I am now faced with the prospect of disassembling the fancy, motorized, three-axis mount to replace the pair of broken RG179 cables. Moreover, MotoSat, who does not want me (as an end-user) to disassemble the mount, will not sell me complete cable assemblies. There is one spare RG179 in the mount, nominally there for a second DirecTV receiver which we don't have (and can't use, since we have only three good RG6 cables going up to the roof out of the required, and originally installed, four). That cable has no F-connector on its LNB end -- it was missing when I bought the unit. It is possible that this cable is still good, and can be made usable simply by soldering a new F-connector onto it.
As soon as we are someplace warm and dry, I will try fixing the internet receive cable with this spare. If that works, I can then trim one of the two broken cables back to a point ahead of any break in the center conductor, connectorize the cable there, and use a separate 75-ohm jumper to go from that connector out to the DirecTV LNB. That might cost me a couple of dB in the DSS signal strength, but the TV is much less sensitive (and critical) than the internet receiver. That would at least get us operational again without having to break down the mount.
In the interim, we are operational on both internet and TV courtesy of a pair of 25-foot coax cables that I keep in the hook-up bay for connecting to "park cable" -- something we have never done since we acquired Odyssey. They are draped across the living room and out through the roof hatch, and connected directly to the LNB's. It looks kind of hokey, and we will have to pull them down in an electrical storm (since they lack the ground protection afforded by the bulkhead connectors on the standard set-up), but it works well enough to get us to warmer, drier climes.
As long as we are already here in the northeast, we have made arrangements with Chappaqua Transportation of Fishkill, NY to do some work on Odyssey next week. Chappaqua runs a fleet of Neoplans, and has more than a passing familiarity with them, including the German-built variety (which have since been rotated from their fleet). Last November, before I started blogging here regularly, Chappaqua bailed us out by installing the brand new driver windshield that we had just picked up from Neopart in Pennsylvania. We had cracked the darn thing somewhere in Montanna, and ordered the last remaining spare in the US for will-call. We had to rent a U-Haul truck in Pennsylvania to get the windshield to Fishkill after the original plan to have a local glazier install it in Honey Brook fell through. (By fell through, I mean that the glazier took one look at the massive $1,800 piece of glass, another look at Odyssey, and said he wasn't going to touch the job for any amount of money.)
In any case, Chappaqua did such a great job with the windshield, and impressed us so much with their familiarity with Neoplans, that they immediately jumped to the top of our list of preferred vendors to work on the chassis. They were also super-friendly and very kind to us, allowing us to live aboard in the shop for the three days the window repair needed, and even letting us paw through their warehouse of odd German parts, a number of which they simply gave us.
As it happens, we stopped again in Honey Brook on our way here, picking up a tag-axle steering damper to replace the bent one we discovered during our last alignment. We can think of no one better to install that, and we'll have them check the hubs and other running gear while Odyssey is over the pit. We will also ask them if they can help at all with our air leaks and coolant dribbles.
Since they can't get us in any earlier than Wednesday, we will use the next few days to drive up to Argyle, NY to visit my cousins.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
New Milford, New Jersey
There is much to report since my last post here, from Nashville.
We are now in New Milford, New Jersey, at the Elks Lodge (map). We are here because my dad will be having surgery this week across the river in Manhattan, and my mom will be staying at a hotel in Englewood, NJ, just a few miles from here.
After we left Nashville Saturday morning, we had a nice drive east through Tennessee, turning off I-40 onto I-81 east of Knoxville. We stopped for the night at the Wal-Mart in Bristol, Virginia (map). This turned out to be a nice spot, with several restaurants in easy walking distance (we ate in, though). The trucks found it useful, too, so we had a diesel idling nearby on and off through the night -- just like home.
We deployed the dish there, but I did not post here because we were trying to make a stealthy approach to New Jersey, lest my folks start worrying about us driving in winter conditions. (As it turns out, we had great weather all the way -- no winter conditions to be found.) So our arrival here was something of a surprise to them.
Sunday morning we stowed the dish and rolled onto 81 heading north. Now somewhere just north of Bristol is a low overpass -- clearance 14'-0". The clearance is well marked, and there is a sign indicating that overheight loads should take the exit to bypass the underpass. I checked with Louise to make sure the dish was, indeed, stowed, and she indicated it was. The loud noise and shower of debris as we hit the underpass at 60+, however, indicated otherwise.
We pulled over immediately to asses the damage. The steel overpass had cleanly sheared off the feedhorn and LNB assemblies from the end of the support arm. The reflector and, more importantly, the automatic mount came through the incident unscathed. The transmitter is still on the arm, with the waveguide broken off about three inches out. The rest of the waveguide, the receive LNB, and both TV LNB's along with their support arms were smashed into fragments, along with the shroud and the fancy blue triple-LED device that produces the trademark MotoSat blue glow. Also, the F-connectors ripped right off the thin coax running to the LNB's.
After several moments of shock and disbelief, followed by mourning (not anger, though -- that lasted all day), we re-stowed what was left of the dish, and pulled back onto the highway. After all, we had a schedule to keep, and our next stop would be the Flying J at exit 80, for the cheapest diesel we would find for the remainder of the trip.
When it's not your day, it's not your day, and, as fate would have it, I-81 was shut down completely between exits 54 and 60 due to an overturned hazmat tanker at exit 58. Southbound truckers warned us on the CB that there was a huge backup at exit 54, so we bailed off at 50 and headed up US-11, Lee Highway. That, too, was backed up for at least two miles south of exit 54, so we decided to be adventurous. With Louise reading map detail from the computer, and me dodging low trees, we navigated a series of squiggly little roads, mostly paved but some dirt, along the eastern boundary of the Jefferson national forest. We saw no other traffic to speak of, but everyone we passed stared at us in disbelief. We ended up back on the interstate at exit 60, saving easily 45 minutes of backup. Likely more, because we got back on with no other traffic, suggesting that something had happened to completely stop the detour on US-11.
Between the dish episode, the detour, and the fuel stop, we decided to make it a short day. Also, we needed to find Wi-Fi, so I could get on-line and start dealing with repairing the dish. Louise found us a commercial park with included Wi-Fi in Winchester, VA, called the Candy Hill RV Resort (map). Ironically, there was a Wal-Mart just across the street, a fact made even more ironic since our site was right next to the freeway, noisier than many of our Wal-Mart boondocks. We paid $30 for this privilege. In addition to the Wi-Fi, I did take the opportunity to charge the batteries, top off the fresh tank, and dump our waste. Still, $30 is pretty steep for a spot on the freeway -- Wi-Fi only costs $10 at Flying-J. Welcome to the east.
In any case, within a few hours of stopping, I had run the MotoSat mount through a full calibration, verifying that the mount itself was fine, and found a replacement dish/feedarm/transceiver assembly on eBay for $150. That hardware is already on its way to the hotel in Englewood, so I should have what I need to fix the whole shebang by the end of the week or so. Until then, we are stuck wardriving for Wi-Fi, or using the clunky desktops at the New Milford Public Library for access (limit: 60 minutes per day).
Monday saw us through small fingers of West Virginia and Maryland and into Pennsylvania. As long as we were driving right past it, we made a couple-hour detour to the Neopart facility in Honey Brook, Pennsylvania, to pick up a few much-needed parts (tag axle steering damper, replacement leveling valve, and some new hinge rubber for the bay doors).
Even with the stop, we made it into New Jersey, spending the night at the Wal-Mart in Clinton (map). We did do a little wardriving, but the northeast is more paranoid than elsewhere -- all the networks we found were buttoned up. (And, before anyone jumps on our case about this practice, we deliberately leave our satellite internet access open, so others parked around us can share. While we were in Death Valley, some random camper parked next door stopped by to thank us -- I can't imagine how he thought he was going to get on in the middle of the desert.)
We will be here in New Jersey at least until my dad is released and able to get around on his own. Until I have the dish on-line again, though, we will be on email only very occasionally. Also, blog posts will be spotty (I am typing this whole post off-line, in the hopes that I will find some access long enough to post it.)
We are now in New Milford, New Jersey, at the Elks Lodge (map). We are here because my dad will be having surgery this week across the river in Manhattan, and my mom will be staying at a hotel in Englewood, NJ, just a few miles from here.
After we left Nashville Saturday morning, we had a nice drive east through Tennessee, turning off I-40 onto I-81 east of Knoxville. We stopped for the night at the Wal-Mart in Bristol, Virginia (map). This turned out to be a nice spot, with several restaurants in easy walking distance (we ate in, though). The trucks found it useful, too, so we had a diesel idling nearby on and off through the night -- just like home.
We deployed the dish there, but I did not post here because we were trying to make a stealthy approach to New Jersey, lest my folks start worrying about us driving in winter conditions. (As it turns out, we had great weather all the way -- no winter conditions to be found.) So our arrival here was something of a surprise to them.
Sunday morning we stowed the dish and rolled onto 81 heading north. Now somewhere just north of Bristol is a low overpass -- clearance 14'-0". The clearance is well marked, and there is a sign indicating that overheight loads should take the exit to bypass the underpass. I checked with Louise to make sure the dish was, indeed, stowed, and she indicated it was. The loud noise and shower of debris as we hit the underpass at 60+, however, indicated otherwise.
We pulled over immediately to asses the damage. The steel overpass had cleanly sheared off the feedhorn and LNB assemblies from the end of the support arm. The reflector and, more importantly, the automatic mount came through the incident unscathed. The transmitter is still on the arm, with the waveguide broken off about three inches out. The rest of the waveguide, the receive LNB, and both TV LNB's along with their support arms were smashed into fragments, along with the shroud and the fancy blue triple-LED device that produces the trademark MotoSat blue glow. Also, the F-connectors ripped right off the thin coax running to the LNB's.
After several moments of shock and disbelief, followed by mourning (not anger, though -- that lasted all day), we re-stowed what was left of the dish, and pulled back onto the highway. After all, we had a schedule to keep, and our next stop would be the Flying J at exit 80, for the cheapest diesel we would find for the remainder of the trip.
When it's not your day, it's not your day, and, as fate would have it, I-81 was shut down completely between exits 54 and 60 due to an overturned hazmat tanker at exit 58. Southbound truckers warned us on the CB that there was a huge backup at exit 54, so we bailed off at 50 and headed up US-11, Lee Highway. That, too, was backed up for at least two miles south of exit 54, so we decided to be adventurous. With Louise reading map detail from the computer, and me dodging low trees, we navigated a series of squiggly little roads, mostly paved but some dirt, along the eastern boundary of the Jefferson national forest. We saw no other traffic to speak of, but everyone we passed stared at us in disbelief. We ended up back on the interstate at exit 60, saving easily 45 minutes of backup. Likely more, because we got back on with no other traffic, suggesting that something had happened to completely stop the detour on US-11.
Between the dish episode, the detour, and the fuel stop, we decided to make it a short day. Also, we needed to find Wi-Fi, so I could get on-line and start dealing with repairing the dish. Louise found us a commercial park with included Wi-Fi in Winchester, VA, called the Candy Hill RV Resort (map). Ironically, there was a Wal-Mart just across the street, a fact made even more ironic since our site was right next to the freeway, noisier than many of our Wal-Mart boondocks. We paid $30 for this privilege. In addition to the Wi-Fi, I did take the opportunity to charge the batteries, top off the fresh tank, and dump our waste. Still, $30 is pretty steep for a spot on the freeway -- Wi-Fi only costs $10 at Flying-J. Welcome to the east.
In any case, within a few hours of stopping, I had run the MotoSat mount through a full calibration, verifying that the mount itself was fine, and found a replacement dish/feedarm/transceiver assembly on eBay for $150. That hardware is already on its way to the hotel in Englewood, so I should have what I need to fix the whole shebang by the end of the week or so. Until then, we are stuck wardriving for Wi-Fi, or using the clunky desktops at the New Milford Public Library for access (limit: 60 minutes per day).
Monday saw us through small fingers of West Virginia and Maryland and into Pennsylvania. As long as we were driving right past it, we made a couple-hour detour to the Neopart facility in Honey Brook, Pennsylvania, to pick up a few much-needed parts (tag axle steering damper, replacement leveling valve, and some new hinge rubber for the bay doors).
Even with the stop, we made it into New Jersey, spending the night at the Wal-Mart in Clinton (map). We did do a little wardriving, but the northeast is more paranoid than elsewhere -- all the networks we found were buttoned up. (And, before anyone jumps on our case about this practice, we deliberately leave our satellite internet access open, so others parked around us can share. While we were in Death Valley, some random camper parked next door stopped by to thank us -- I can't imagine how he thought he was going to get on in the middle of the desert.)
We will be here in New Jersey at least until my dad is released and able to get around on his own. Until I have the dish on-line again, though, we will be on email only very occasionally. Also, blog posts will be spotty (I am typing this whole post off-line, in the hopes that I will find some access long enough to post it.)
Saturday, January 7, 2006
Here are the states we have visited in Odyssey so far. Interested in making your own map? Visit http://www.epgsoft.com/VisitedStatesMap/
Music City
We are in Nashville, TN (map), visiting friends. We are parked at a Wal-Mart here which, from the looks of it, is brand new. Handy, because I needed to buy coolant this morning. It dropped into the 20's last night, and our usual cold-weather coolant leaks have returned. These are mostly hose-to-pipe connections, where silicone rubber hoses have been clamped over brass pipes with steel clamps. The brass shrinks more than the steel, and coolant begins leaking between the pipe and the hose. We are still searching for a solution to this issue.
We had a nice drive through Oklahoma on Thursday, stopping for the night in a Lowe's parking lot in Van Buren, AR (map). Somewhere in the last hundred miles or so of Oklahoma, we passed a pair of marked state trooper Expeditions parked in the median, doing speed enforcement. We thought nothing of them, because we are never speeding in Odyssey. Nevertheless, a minute or two later, one of them comes roaring up alongside us, paces us for a few seconds, clearly looking us over, then drops behind us, and disappears. We had fun imagining the dialog in the median:
We'll never know how it actually went down. But if some of the dialog we hear the truckers engage in on the CB is any indication, this is a good guess.
We had a nice drive through Oklahoma on Thursday, stopping for the night in a Lowe's parking lot in Van Buren, AR (map). Somewhere in the last hundred miles or so of Oklahoma, we passed a pair of marked state trooper Expeditions parked in the median, doing speed enforcement. We thought nothing of them, because we are never speeding in Odyssey. Nevertheless, a minute or two later, one of them comes roaring up alongside us, paces us for a few seconds, clearly looking us over, then drops behind us, and disappears. We had fun imagining the dialog in the median:
Trooper 1: "Did you see that? Them guys was drivin' right down there on the ground!"
Trooper 2: "No way. They was up top."
Trooper 1: "I'm tellin' ya, they was down by the ground. Go look."
Trooper 2 (pealing out as if in pursuit): "OK, but you owe me a beer if you're wrong."
We'll never know how it actually went down. But if some of the dialog we hear the truckers engage in on the CB is any indication, this is a good guess.
Thursday, January 5, 2006
Howdy, y'all
We are in Amarillo, Texas, in the middle of the panhandle (map). We spent the night in the parking lot of a mostly-defunct shopping mall here, known as "Western Plaza." Parts of the mall have been defunct a long time -- the major anchor was clearly a Montgomery Ward, and they went out of business five years ago.
We parked here because there is an Olive Garden on the perimeter, and we can hardly resist when we are on the road. (I know -- Amarillo is famous for steak houses, including the Big Texan, where we have eaten before. However, we just made ourselves a steak Tuesday night, in a moment of poor planning.)
One of the businesses that remains at this mall (or possibly is an opportunistic venture based on rock-bottom leasing on empty retail space) is a night club called Graham Central Station. It is clearly very popular, if the number of cars in the parking lot is any gauge. Last night we were awoken by commotion around 2am, which turned out to be the club emptying out. Louise counted no fewer than six police cruisers roving the lot, presumably to make sure folks got in their cars and left, rather than hanging out, a practice with which we are familiar from our years in downtown San Jose.
We spent a few minutes sweating the possibility that we were going to get a knock on the door followed by "move along." Clearly, however, we were not the droids they were looking for. That, or my Jedi powers are now complete.
We parked here because there is an Olive Garden on the perimeter, and we can hardly resist when we are on the road. (I know -- Amarillo is famous for steak houses, including the Big Texan, where we have eaten before. However, we just made ourselves a steak Tuesday night, in a moment of poor planning.)
One of the businesses that remains at this mall (or possibly is an opportunistic venture based on rock-bottom leasing on empty retail space) is a night club called Graham Central Station. It is clearly very popular, if the number of cars in the parking lot is any gauge. Last night we were awoken by commotion around 2am, which turned out to be the club emptying out. Louise counted no fewer than six police cruisers roving the lot, presumably to make sure folks got in their cars and left, rather than hanging out, a practice with which we are familiar from our years in downtown San Jose.
We spent a few minutes sweating the possibility that we were going to get a knock on the door followed by "move along." Clearly, however, we were not the droids they were looking for. That, or my Jedi powers are now complete.
Tuesday, January 3, 2006
Must...try...new...maps
We are at the I-40 rest area and welcome center for the state of New Mexico, just over the Arizona line (map).
Many thanks to reader Kevin S. who answered my plea, and showed me how to get Google to put a push-pin at our location on the map. He also pointed me to a nice site with lots of information about working with the Google map product.
The map link above is one which, I think, most readily shows our general position to our readers. By the way, you can close the call-out balloon (which will reveal more map detail) without the push-pin "bubble" going away. However, there are many variations available. For example, this link is the easiest for me to cut-and-paste into the blog. It has the advantage of showing the satellite view overlayed with the map, but it is also a much tighter zoom level, so there is less context. Of course, the reader can zoom in or out, and select satellite, map, or combined display from either starting point. So I would like to get some feedback from readers: first, do you prefer the Google map to the MapQuest one, and, second, which form of map would you like to see as the starting point on the links I post? Drop me an email, or post a comment here on the blog.
Many thanks to reader Kevin S. who answered my plea, and showed me how to get Google to put a push-pin at our location on the map. He also pointed me to a nice site with lots of information about working with the Google map product.
The map link above is one which, I think, most readily shows our general position to our readers. By the way, you can close the call-out balloon (which will reveal more map detail) without the push-pin "bubble" going away. However, there are many variations available. For example, this link is the easiest for me to cut-and-paste into the blog. It has the advantage of showing the satellite view overlayed with the map, but it is also a much tighter zoom level, so there is less context. Of course, the reader can zoom in or out, and select satellite, map, or combined display from either starting point. So I would like to get some feedback from readers: first, do you prefer the Google map to the MapQuest one, and, second, which form of map would you like to see as the starting point on the links I post? Drop me an email, or post a comment here on the blog.
Barstow, CA -- one giant truck stop
We are parked in a dirt lot adjacent to the Wal-Mart in Barstow, CA (map). Parked here with us are three other rigs, and about half a dozen semis. Semis are everywhere in Barstow, which also makes it fertile boondocking territory.
We seem to have outrun the humongous storm that is hovering over the northern half of the state, at least for now. I expect it will catch up with us during the night.
I have received several comments posted to the blog by one of our newest readers. A couple concerned the map links, which are having some difficulties, as I wrote a few days ago. I would like to quickly respond to the suggestions thus far:
We do, indeed, post our map link on the Datastorm Users Group web site. If you click the "Where We Are" link on our main menu, it will take you there. However, that link is dynamic, and the map it produces changes every time we move. We want the links we include here in the blog to always point, statically, to the location about which we are blogging in any given post.
In regards to Google Maps (now called "Google Local"), these maps are quite good, but I have yet to figure out how to build a simple link that will show a pin or other symbol at our actual location. Using lat/long coordinates will bring up a map that is more-or-less centered on those coordinates, but it is not obvious from such a map what our actual position is. I have been using MapQuest because that site puts a red star at the indicated position, which remains in place irrespective of zoom level or recentering of the map.
Lastly, it was pointed out that Tioga and George have used MapQuest links on their site, and we could perhaps leverage that fact. However, I don't think George has posted a MapQuest link since this problem surfaced. (Our own MapQuest links also used to work just fine -- something has changed over at MapQuest.) Since George did not post the links directly into his blog (they were on the home page), they are not in his archives to "test" to see if they have the same problem. Since I think his links and mine were the exact same format, I suspect they would have the same issue.
So I am still open to suggestions on how to change my MapQuest links so they load properly on the first click (they do display just fine if you hit "reload" while on the page), or how to get Google to display a locaction icon, or what other map site I could be using that will give us the same functionality without the loading problem. Drop me a note if you have a fix.
We seem to have outrun the humongous storm that is hovering over the northern half of the state, at least for now. I expect it will catch up with us during the night.
I have received several comments posted to the blog by one of our newest readers. A couple concerned the map links, which are having some difficulties, as I wrote a few days ago. I would like to quickly respond to the suggestions thus far:
We do, indeed, post our map link on the Datastorm Users Group web site. If you click the "Where We Are" link on our main menu, it will take you there. However, that link is dynamic, and the map it produces changes every time we move. We want the links we include here in the blog to always point, statically, to the location about which we are blogging in any given post.
In regards to Google Maps (now called "Google Local"), these maps are quite good, but I have yet to figure out how to build a simple link that will show a pin or other symbol at our actual location. Using lat/long coordinates will bring up a map that is more-or-less centered on those coordinates, but it is not obvious from such a map what our actual position is. I have been using MapQuest because that site puts a red star at the indicated position, which remains in place irrespective of zoom level or recentering of the map.
Lastly, it was pointed out that Tioga and George have used MapQuest links on their site, and we could perhaps leverage that fact. However, I don't think George has posted a MapQuest link since this problem surfaced. (Our own MapQuest links also used to work just fine -- something has changed over at MapQuest.) Since George did not post the links directly into his blog (they were on the home page), they are not in his archives to "test" to see if they have the same problem. Since I think his links and mine were the exact same format, I suspect they would have the same issue.
So I am still open to suggestions on how to change my MapQuest links so they load properly on the first click (they do display just fine if you hit "reload" while on the page), or how to get Google to display a locaction icon, or what other map site I could be using that will give us the same functionality without the loading problem. Drop me a note if you have a fix.
Monday, January 2, 2006
Happy New Year
We are at the Elks Lodge in San Jose (map), a regular stop for us when we are in the bay area. We have been here for the past two nights.
After leaving Los Altos, where we had a pleasant and uneventful stay (well, other than the fact that someone pilfered two of our orange cones), we had dinner with friends in Santa Clara before heading to Livermore, where we had an early appointment on Saturday to service our tires. Friday night was wild and wooly, with one of the worst storms to hit northern California in years blowing through town. We parked Odyssey under the covered area behind the Les Schwab store where they work on trucks. That, at least, kept most of the water off the coach, so our several leaks did not plague us that night. The Les Schwab guys had a miserable time working on us in the wind and damp Saturday morning.
In any case, our tires are now rotated, and the valve stem extenders have been replaced with shorter items with integral screens to keep the Equal powder from coming out. We also now have long extensions on the inner duals, and we should be able to adjust our air pressure any time we like. (Prior to this work, the duals needed to come off to be aired up. Really.)
We spent a quiet New Year's eve with close friends in Milpitas, and yesterday was spent running around like crazy visiting as many friends as we could squeeze in. Circumstances require us to leave the bay area this morning, and we have not had a chance to see everyone we'd like. Our apologies if we missed you on this very brief visit. On our next return here we will try to stay put for a couple weeks -- we promise.
After leaving Los Altos, where we had a pleasant and uneventful stay (well, other than the fact that someone pilfered two of our orange cones), we had dinner with friends in Santa Clara before heading to Livermore, where we had an early appointment on Saturday to service our tires. Friday night was wild and wooly, with one of the worst storms to hit northern California in years blowing through town. We parked Odyssey under the covered area behind the Les Schwab store where they work on trucks. That, at least, kept most of the water off the coach, so our several leaks did not plague us that night. The Les Schwab guys had a miserable time working on us in the wind and damp Saturday morning.
In any case, our tires are now rotated, and the valve stem extenders have been replaced with shorter items with integral screens to keep the Equal powder from coming out. We also now have long extensions on the inner duals, and we should be able to adjust our air pressure any time we like. (Prior to this work, the duals needed to come off to be aired up. Really.)
We spent a quiet New Year's eve with close friends in Milpitas, and yesterday was spent running around like crazy visiting as many friends as we could squeeze in. Circumstances require us to leave the bay area this morning, and we have not had a chance to see everyone we'd like. Our apologies if we missed you on this very brief visit. On our next return here we will try to stay put for a couple weeks -- we promise.
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