We’re Happy Campers Again

 

Wesley Chapel, Florida  (high 73, low 56)

 

We’ve been busy around here trying to get ready to head south tomorrow. 

Yesterday, Tim, our mobile Rv repairman, came and installed our new a/c unit.  That was a pretty big job, and took him several hours.  I don’t know yet exactly what we’ll have to pay, but he said the extended warranty company is covering $1431 or something like that.  I don’t know if there will be any additional costs that we will be responsible for, because we haven’t paid Tim yet. The warranty company bases their payments on their costs for the parts, and not freight or any differences in parts prices.   They also have a set amount of time for the labor, and Tim had a little trouble since the new unit had some differences that had to be made to work with our old thermostat.   Anyway, it’s installed but Tim needs to check with the manufacturer on Monday,to make sure he has it wired correctly.  He was a little concerned because the old unit had had 5 connections/wires/something?  and the new one had 12.  It needed some sort of conversion unit to make them match up.  He explained it to me and it made sense at the time, but I can’t exactly remember what he said.  Anyway, I trust him to make sure it’s right.  He will be back first thing in the morning once he calls the manufacturer.

The shroud on the new unit is white and the old one was painted to match the coach.  We could paint it, but I don’t know if we will.   I wish I would have thought to ask him if the shroud came in black.  That would have looked fine.   I guess it’s too late now.  

After he finished with the a/c unit, he had to start on the toilet replacement.   The extended warranty company agreed to pay for the replacement of the circuit board, which is almost $400.   With labor and minus our deductible they will pay around $370, if I remember correctly.   Since we were never happy with the old Aria II Deluxe electric toilet, we opted to replace, rather than repair.   Tim found that they make the exact same toilet in a non electric model.    It’s solid porcelain, including the base.  No plastic shroud around the base.  Just what I wanted. The only thing plastic is the foot pedal and the seat.   It looks exactly like the old one, except for the pedal.  Tim said his cost for the new toilet was $639, so we’ll have some out of pocket expenses there.  The old toilet was nice when it worked, but it was so darn noisy.  

We are both thrilled with this new toilet.  Doesn’t take much to make us happy.   A toilet that flushes is good.

Yep, we are happy campers now!    Isn’t it pretty?

 

In a previous post I mentioned a naked man.   We didn’t actually see him but our neighbors Pat and Ron did.  The other morning, they were sitting in their coach having coffee and they happened to notice a guy in a motorhome right down the road.

Apparently, he came out of the bathroom butt nekkid with the curtains open!    Pat called me and told me to hurry over because she wanted to show me something.

By the time, I got over (then went back and got my camera) the excitement was over.   Darn.    :)

This was the woman.  It looked like she was cleaning.  Pat said the man must have come out of the bathroom after showering because he was completely nude.  You can see with those tall windows, that it wouldn’t have left much to the imagination.  What were those people thinking?  Do they think no one can see through the windows?

 

How about this next picture?  

Al was actually wearing his helmet.  Of course, right before this picture was taken, he got busted for working in the storage bays, without the helmet.    He has hit his head too many times on those darn slides, so he really needs to get into the habit of wearing this helmet.  

The problem with the helmet it that it’s kind of big and difficult to work in a storage bay with that big thing on your head.

Pat found this on Amazon.  It’s a baseball cap with a built in hard hat.  They also sell just an insert that fits into a baseball cap.   I think he would be more apt to wear a baseball hat than the helmet.

Not a bad idea, is it?   Wish I would have thought of it.

 

Al did manage to successfully replace the water pump, and without a head injury.  We picked up the pump at Lazy Days and got the exact same one, so that all the hoses and screws would match right up. The new one pump seems a bit noisier, but as long as it pumps,  I don’t care.

 

So, now all three of our things are replaced.    Hopefully that’s it for awhile.

 

The other night, we rented the movie “Jobs” from Red box.  It was the story of Apple founder, Steve Jobs.  That was a very interesting story and we loved the movie.  Ashton Kutcher did a terrific job portraying Steve Jobs.  The only thing we didn’t like about the movie was the ending.  It was too soon, and we wanted more.

I went online yesterday morning and bought the eBook from Amazon.  In seconds we had it uploaded to my phone, laptop and Al’s Galaxy notebook, for a mere $6.99. 

Walter Isaacson, the author did a great job researching the book.  It is well written and very detailed.   I hope it doesn’t end as early in Steve’s life as the movie.    Can’t wait to get to the Keys, sit outside at the beach and finish the book!

 

So……I think I have caught up on all of our news.    The plan for tomorrow is to head down to Jonathan Dickenson State Park, near Palm Beach.    Of course our history with reservations at Florida state parks, something will probably happen and we’ll have to cancel the reservation.   If by some miracle we get there tomorrow, we’ll stay there one night and then we’re off to the Keys on Tuesday.    We love the drive from Key Largo down to Sunshine Key.    It’s a beautiful drive along the Overseas Highway.

Can’t wait.