After leaving Jacksonville and the RV behind on the Sunday before Christmas, we made a whirlwind tour for the holidays, visiting Cathy’s family in Winston-Salem, NC; Dave’s Mom, sister and Adam and the boys in Whitehall, PA; friends Steve and Linda and Sue and Steve in Hampton, and finally Bonnie’s family in Jarratt.  By that time, it was New Year’s Eve.  We found ourselves pulling out with Orion Jr behind us on yet another rainy day.   Although we rarely saw the sun over the 2 weeks of travel, we were glad not to have to deal with snow and ice.  And we wouldn’t miss spending the holidays with family.

​Boat Stuff
 
We managed to squeeze in a brief visit to Orion during our travels.  Given the mild weather, she’s doing very well, but we took advantage of the warm temperatures to give her decks a good scrubbing.  She really needed it and looked much better as we left her again.
 
Orion Jr was crying out for some attention by the time we got back to her.  She needed a good cleaning as well both inside and out.  That would have to wait.  We focused on getting her ready to travel on the road.  The rest would have to be done in Florida.  We were grateful to our son-in-law Troy who did an amazing job backing her all the way from the back yard to the road around several obstacles.  With all the rain, there was some trepidation about getting stuck on the way out, but once we got started, we were fine.
 
New Year’s Day found us back in Jacksonville, back at the church where we left the RV. 
 
And, of course, we arrived in the rain.

sThe first 2 weeks of December found us immersing ourselves (almost literally) in the work of our newly-joined Nomads team. Nomads is a mission group under the sponsorship of the United Methodist Church that recruits RV’er to do work on various projects for churches, camps, disaster responses and more.  Our project was for Faith UMC in Jacksonville.  It was a great team and we ended with a tremendous sense of accomplishment and service.
​

The Work

We began our first Nomads project with a number of objectives: replace a water line to the sanctuary, strip and paint the posts along the breezeways and cover the roof of one of the buildings to slow its deterioration.  The primary objective was the plumbing and it quickly grew in size and scope from a simple “replace the line to the sanctuary” to a project that ended up rerouting most of the water flow to this 14 acre site. 

​The project team had what we learned was a unique set of skills for this complex plumbing project.  With a former city engineer, a vocational school teacher of (among other things) plumbing skills, and Dave’s project planning skills, the team scoped out the work to be done, devised a plan to bypass the existing plumbing, and managed to avoid some risky tie-ins to the existing plumbing. By the end of the 3rd  week, we had cutover from the old main valve to the new, and replaced the plumbing line to 90% of the church’s buildings.  

​The secondary objective was to strip and paint the breezeway support poles.  This involved the deployment of 3 power washers almost continuously (except when the plumbing project had the water off) for several days.  In addition to stripping the paint, we used the washers to clean lots of mold and dirt from the roof.  We also cleaned the eaves of the sanctuary and many of the sidewalks.  The painting continued after the official project ended, but lots of the hard work was behind us, which much easier work for Nomads “drop-ins” that followed.

​Finally, we had taken advantage of Cathy’s sewing machine to fashion a temporary solution to a leaking roof on one of the church’s older buildings.  She sewed together 2 – 30ft x 40ft tarps so they could be spread across the roof.  The team then hauled the heavy combined tarp up to the problem side of the building’s roof and nailed it down.  There is only a small section of roof not covered.  And the rain in the intervening weeks has proven that the tarp is doing its job.

​So, how does the project day go? 
 
We start each morning at 8am with a short devotion and get directions for work for the day.  There are breaks in the morning and afternoon and a hour for lunch mid-day.  The evenings on our project were rarely idle.  The church organized dinners for the group at the church, or we were invited to participate in church events:  Wed. dinners, Circle Christmas party, UMW brunch, Sunday School Christmas parties, and so much more.  We were invited to dinner at nearby restaurants and at member’s homes.  We could say no, but we enjoyed being part of the church’s hospitality and its Christmas preparations.  

​RV Stuff
 
We managed to get a few things done on the RV.  Cathy made some tire covers from Sunbrella.  We decided it was a wise idea to buy an extension cord, so that we aren’t quite so restricted in where we park the RV in the future.  And Dave wired in a more permanent 12V plug and battery monitor.  No more guessing about the health of the batteries

​After a week in Titusville, we made our way north to Jacksonville for an early arrival at the site of our mission project later in the month.  We had little trouble finding ways to make ourselves useful, and once again, we had lots of company for Thanksgiving.

Getting There
​
When we were looking for a place to stay over Thanksgiving, there were a number of campgrounds that were full already or that were charging a premium for that week.  By checking with the mission team leader and the church pastor, we learned that we could be useful if we arrived early, so we packed up and headed north to Faith United Methodist Church in Jacksonville on Tuesday, November 16th. 
 
The church provides 7 RV campsites specifically for members of the Nomads mission project teams.  (More about Nomads later.) They use the campground as a home base and work on projects nearby or at the church itself.  Since we were arriving early, we had our pick of the campsites.  Given the layout and our inexperience parking the RV, we were still glad that we were not the last to arrive.    We also learned upon parking the RV that we had some more supplies to purchase  We had just enough electrical cord to reach the pedestal located at the rear of the site, but we were forced to park right on the site line as a result.  We also discovered that our sewer line would not reach the sewer hookup.  We would be OK for a few days, but would need to get an extension before too long.  .  Finally, to get the RV level side-to-side, we added the board we carried for this purpose under the passenger side wheels.  However, this wasn’t going to be good enough. As we considered this problem, the custodian arrived, speaking primarily Spanish and managed to convey that he had another board we could use.  That made the difference.  A trip to Camping World a few days later solved the sewer hook-up problem as well.  
​
By the time Pastor Barry stopped by that evening, we were in good shape.  We agreed to meet early the following morning to see what we could do.

Getting to Work
 
 
Faith UMC has a large 14 acre campus with over a dozen buildings, some of which were used for a school that is no longer in residence.  To assist the small congregation with the expenses and to utilize the buildings, there are several groups renting space.  Seacoast Christian school leases the gym for their school basketball program.  There are 3 other congregations meeting in the sanctuary – a Spanish congregation meets later on Sunday morning, a Zume Christian congregation meets late Sunday afternoon and a Kaichin congregation gathers Sunday evening.   One building has been converted into an apartment, which houses a family of Cuban immigrants.  Among them are the Spanish pastor and the custodian.  So, there is a lot going on, but a lot of demand on an aging group of buildings built in the 60’s.  

 Of the various needs Barry discussed, we found ourselves focusing in on a few that met our skills.  Some electrical work was needed to restore power to the Zume Sunday School classroom.  There were a lot of leaks in the building that housed the youth group and some supply rooms.  We couldn’t re-roof the building, but we could deploy some tarps to give time for a more permanent solution.  There was a plumbing leak in the fellowship hall kitchen that needed a re-design to solve.  And we needed to get the pressure-washers readied for use when the Nomads project began.  

​And then there were the meals . . 

 Over the course of our first 2 weeks, we helped make and clean-up 5 church meals.  Stews, turkeys, hams, fajitas. Wow!  All the food we bought to stock up the RV was languishing in the freezer as we enjoyed the church’s hospitality.  We also became skilled at making ice tea, running the dishwasher, and locating the myriad dishes, pots, pans and appliances.  More importantly, we made connections with many church members, including the youth, getting to know them and vice versa.  Cathy was invited to sing in the choir and to join the women’s circle for a meeting.  

sOn Thanksgiving we were invited to dinner with church members Susan and Frank.  But we had to pace ourselves, because we were joining the church for a Thanksgiving dinner in the fellowship hall that night.  The church was pretty busy that day, since the Zume congregation was having a wedding service in the sanctuary followed by a reception in the gym. Also, the Spanish pastor and his family began digging a trench to expose the water lines being replaced by the Nomad project.  Some of the Kaichin and Spanish congregation members joined us for dinner, and the Kaichin pastor offered the blessing for the meal.  It was almost 10pm when the last of the dishes was put away, and we actually were the ones locking up the kitchen. 
 
By week’s end, we had completed most of the projects we had started, and were beginning to welcome the couples that would be our team members for the Nomads project beginning on Monday, the 30th.  

More RV Stuff
 
While staying at the church, we have a water hookup, and no shower house, so we are taking all of our showers on board the RV.  Initially, we wanted to use up the water in the tanks, which requires the use of a pump, but also generates a consistent pressure from the shower head.  When we switched to the water directly from the site, we were surprised how little pressure there was in the shower.  This wasn’t going to work long term.  However, Dave discovered the problem was the clogged water filter, since the pressure at the source was fine.  We’ve used these RV filters for years to fill our boat water tanks, so it was a surprise to see them slow down so fast (only a month’s use).  Once we deployed a new filter, the pressure in the shower was back to normal.  Lesson learned.  We have a few spares on board now.
 
We took some time away from church projects to get some of our own errands run.  We made a trip to Florida Blue to re-enroll in our health insurance, went to Green Cove Springs to pick up our mail and visited half a dozen storage lots to find a place to leave, alternately, the RV and the boat when we are not using them.  

Becoming Nomads
 
Back when we lived in Reston, Dave shared our plans to eventually take an RV tour of the US with our church’s DCE, Billie.  She shared with him the possibility of doing mission projects with other RV’ers through church-sponsored organizations.  So, within hours of making our RV purchase, we were on-line, looking to see what possibilities exist.  Dave quickly found Nomads, a UMC organization that connects RV’ers with organizations and people in need of the skills they possess.  In addition to having a mission that we could relate to, they had a project opening for a project in Florida in the Nov-Dec timeframe.  That would work very well for us.
 
We contacted Carla the director on a Saturday, and at her direction, submitted an application later that day.  We were given a phone interview the next week, and then were accepted as members.  Upon paying the membership fee, we signed up for a project in Jacksonville, to help replace a water line and do some painting at a church.  The project could take as many as 6 couples.  At the time we signed up, there was a leader and us.  By the time the rest of the team was arriving on site, there were 11 people on 6 RV’s, most of whom arrived on the Saturday before the project was to start on Monday.

​On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, we had our first neighbors arrive in their Class C motorhome.  They were John and Eileen, full-time RV’ers, having moved aboard 16 years ago.  As long-time Nomads volunteers, they participated in 30 projects and lead several of them.  More recently, they have been volunteering for the National Park Service and National Forest Service.  Eileen has recently published a novel that draws from her travels, called Fast Food Kills, a murder mystery.
 
The next couple we met was Pat and Scott from Missouri, who pulled their fifth wheel into the campground on Saturday.   They had joined the project late, after another volunteer had to cancel.  Scott had extensive experience with public water works in his jobs as city manager for a town back home.  He saw the water line project and offered his expertise, which was welcomed.  Having just finished a project in Thomasville, GA, they were only going to be able to stay 2 of the 3 weeks before heading home for holiday commitments.
 
Donna and Loren arrived from Illinois a little later in their fifth wheel.  (It should be noted that we have by far the smallest rig of all of these units.)  They were also experienced Nomads volunteers. 
 
By this time, we were hearing that the leader, Herb, was having mechanical issues and would be arriving late.  We could keep going, but it would be a bit different start.  Ed and Cora from Tennessee arrived next.  They had cruised on a sailboat for a while before deciding to do a bit more and served several years on a Mercy ship in the Carribbean.  Cora’s health was not good, but they were planning to participate as much as they could.
 
Late Sunday afternoon, our fearless leader, Herb arrived in his motorhome, having solved his mechanical difficulties.  Herb felt he owed Pastor Barry a debt, since he had been a big help in getting his wife into the local Mayo clinic, allowing them to park the RV at the church during her stay and eventual diagnosis of ALS.  After the death of his wife, Herb took some time off from Nomads projects, but when he saw this one come up, he wanted to lead it to make sure it happened.  So, by Monday morning, we were all present and accounted for as we gathered to kick-off the project.  

​Parting Shots
 
The church has about a dozen or more permanent residents that lounge about the place.  They seem particularly annoyed if we disturb them for very long.  

As we worked our way south from Richmond, we had one more stop to make in Virginia, visiting our daughter’s family while Cathy did some work for our son-in-law’s boat.  From there we made our way to Florida, shedding jeans and sweatshirts in favor of shorts and T-shirts.  Along the way, we continued to learn about traveling by RV vs. sailboat.
As we worked our way south from Richmond, we had one more stop to make in Virginia, visiting our daughter’s family while Cathy did some work for our son-in-law’s boat.  From there we made our way to Florida, shedding jeans and sweatshirts in favor of shorts and T-shirts.  Along the way, we continued to learn about traveling by RV vs. sailboat.

​Staying Off the Grid
 
It is one of the ironies of traveling with our fifth wheel that, so far, when we are closest to “civilization”, we have the least access to services (water, electric, sewer) than we do when we are in a campground, enjoying nature.  After we left the Pocahantas State Park, we parked for a few days by our daughter’s driveway. When we left, we wouldn’t be back on the grid until we got to Florida.  For the first time, we were spending several days “off the grid”, relying on the battery for power, the propane for refrigeration, heat and hot water, our water tanks for fresh water, and managing what went into the holding tanks, since we would be several days away from the next dump station. 
 
It took little time to realize we have some work to do to allow us to spend extended time on the RV’s battery.  With no 12V outlets, we couldn’t even charge our cell phones.  We were inspired to rummage around on Orion Jr  to pull out a spare outlet that Dave could wire in quickly and provide some temporary capabilities.  That gave us a little relief.  However, without Jr’s solar panels, the only way we could charge the batteries was to run the generator.  The first time we fired up the Honda 1000,, it was immediately overloaded.  We reviewed the circuit breakers for ways to reduce the load.   After turning off the Microwave (easy call), the hot water heater, the Refrigerator (since it was running on propane) and the A/C (another no-brainer), the generator ran without a strain.  However, we expected to have the AC outlets powered for the time the generator was running.  Not exactly.  It turned out that all but the ground fault outlets were connected to the breaker that controlled the hot water heater.  We couldn’t turn that breaker on or we would certainly overload the generator.  So, we seem to be restricted to the GFCI outlets.  Another hole in our off-the-grid electrical system was the lack of a battery monitor.  Without it, the only way to know how well the batteries were doing was to connect the multimeter to the newly installed 12V outlet.  We now knew we had several improvement opportunities before our power systems would be ready for the extended trip we planned to Alaska next year.
 
On a more positive note, our fresh water supply was no issue.  However, unlike the boat, the sink and shower drains did not go “overboard”, but are collected in the “grey” water tank.  This meant that we were more concerned with conserving fresh water due to the holding tank issues, not because we might run out.  The other holding tank, euphemistically called the “black” water tank was not an issue.  We had lots more capacity than either boat, and the same strategies applied to this land yacht.  Since we were staying at Wal-marts as we made our way south, and since we still hadn’t determined where we were stopping for an extended stay in Florida, we were going to have to find a place to dump the holding tanks to give us some more capacity “just in case”.  We learned that Camping World had a dump station and there was one just off the interstate before our planned stop in Savannah.  To take the best advantage of this, we pulled into the GA welcome center and parked the RV.  We heated up the hot water and took showers that would go down the drain at the next exit.  It worked pretty well.
 
As for the propane,since the temperature was warm enough to leave the heat off, and since we were taking most of our showers in the house when at our daughter’s, our primary use of the propane was the fridge.  We felt we had a lot of capacity in our 2-30 lb tanks, but we didn’t know how to tell when we might be running low.  We didn’t want to run the risk of losing the food in the fridge because we ran out of propane and didn’t know it.
So, we have plans for improvements to take care of some of the things we’ve learned.  And we’re still learning what our capacities mean for us in real terms of staying off the grid.  

​Back on the Grid
 
As we crossed the line into Florida from Georgia, we were still no closer to knowing where we were going to spend the night.  So, we took a cup of juice and all the camping brochures we could find and sat at a picnic table to begin finding a destination for the night or, hopefully, the week.  Two hours later, we had contacted several dozen campgrounds.  We finally decided on a county park in Titusville, called Manatee Hammock Park.  It is directly opposite the Kennedy Space Center and just south of what boaters call the Addison Point Bridge.  With Marianna, we had anchored just north of the bridge for almost a week one year waiting for a launch that never happened.  It was an interesting perspective to watch the ICW from shore. 
 
The campground was very pleasant and once there we were flush with services: water, electric, sewer, showers, wifi and even several dozen TV stations.  What a difference a day makes.  We settled in for about a week, spending time on a few projects that had been deferred by our visits and travel.  To our dismay, our little CharBroil grill was in a sad state when Dave fired it up for the first time back in Virginia.  So, we took advantage of an end-of-season sale to get a much nicer one.  At Manatee Hammock, Dave was able to assemble and use it for the first time.  It did a great job.  Cathy made a bag for some of the parts so that, when disassembled for travel, they wouldn’t bounce around and get damaged.   

Family and Friends

The few days spent at Bonnie and Troy’s house were very busy.  We spent 4 ½ days building a rear enclosure for Troy’s boat.  By the weekend, we had some time to entertain Troy and Taylor as overnight guests in the RV for a couple of nights.  They had a great time, and we were getting pretty good at playing Old Maid.  We enjoyed a campfire night in their backyard on Friday night and a get-together with Adam’s family on Saturday.  In between the sewing and socializing, we gave Jr  a small amount of attention, plugging in to give the batteries a better charge and checking for leaks.  For the most part, she looked good, but she needs a SERIOUS cleaning. 
 
By Monday, we were headed out, trying to stay ahead of the more intense rain.  However, it caught up with us as we were nearing our destination of a Wal-mart in Leland south of Wilmington, NC.  We were there to visit with George and Gail, and managed to spend the afternoon and evening visiting with them in their lovely home nearby.  After a delicious meal, the ladies scored a hard-won victory over the men in a game of Marbles and Jokers.  A perfect end to the day.

​We have begun a new phase of our travels with the purchase of a Palomina Puma 5th Wheel.  We haven’t stopped our sailing life, but hope to alternate between the RV and Orion Jr, in the summer and winter.  

Our New Land Yacht

We arrived at the RV Dealer, Outdoor Express RV in Falling Waters, WV early on a chilly Monday morning, with the truck stuffed to the brim with everything we could think of that we needed to start up our new life in the RV.  We wanted to start early, since we needed to pack the RV, get a new hitch installed in the truck, get a walkthrough of all the RV systems, pay for it and get moved and set-up in a campsite by the afternoon.  After that, we would have some breathing room to provision and fill in the many “gaps” of stuff we didn’t choose to strip off Orion, or take out of one of our “auxiliary storage locations”.  But first we had to get into the dealership. 
 
As we approached the narrow street (“Recreation Lane”) that led into the RV lot, it was blocked by workers installing new telephone poles and a tractor-trailer trying to enter the dealership.  After this confusion was cleared, we drove down the street behind the truck, and squeezed into a parking space.  The tiny lot was now filled with a trailer full of truck campers, the tractor-trailer we followed in with a forklift on its bed, and someone’s RV left parked in the middle of it all.  Hmmm…  How were we supposed to get ours out of this mess when we were ready to leave?  When we stepped inside to talk to our salesman (actually to meet our salesman, Randy, whom we had only spoken to on the phone up to this point), we were assured that this was an unusually busy Monday morning.  We were directed down to the service bay, where our 25 ft Puma was being readied for us.  Since we needed to have the 5th wheel hitch installed in the bed of the truck, we needed to empty it out quickly.  With Cathy in the RV, Dave offloaded the bags, bins, and other “stuff” into the RV.  Cathy tried to find places to put it all. Not that there weren’t lots of choices, but it all needed to make sense and all items stowed so that they wouldn’t go flying with the RV moving at 60mph.  Even with all the energy being expended, it was cold inside the RV.  However, one of the service reps stopped in and suggested he could turn on the heat.  Heat?  What a good idea!  Maybe this RV stuff wasn’t all that bad.

​In the meantime, Dave was working with the service rep on the hitch installaion.  Fifth wheel hitches sit in the bed of the truck, putting the tongue weight of the RV on the truck’s rear axles.  Since our truck was a shortbed truck (6 ½ ft), the hitch had to be installed such that the forward edge of the RV didn’t hit the truck’s back windows on tight turns.  Traditionally, this is accomplished by a sliding hitch.  When you’re about to do a tight turn, you move the hitch back to give the RV more room to turn.  But Reese has a new product that accommodates our situation.  It’s a modification to the pin box on the RV (that attaches to the hitch on the truck) to enable it to rotate more freely – called a Revolution or Sidewinder.  Dave had talked extensively to the Reese representative at the Hershey RV show and done more research afterwards.  He was convinced this was the way to go and had asked the dealer to install the Sidewinder pin box on the RV.  Unfortunately, the pin box that had ordered arrived bent, so its replacement was due in any time and had to be installed on the RV the day we arrived.  We lucked out in that our truck apparently had previously had a 5th wheel hitch and they were able to re-use the holes for the new install. They also did a great job working with the bedrug to fit it around the hitch. 
 
Although we arrived early, the time was moving on quickly.  By early afternoon, the hitch was installed and we had stowed what we could in the RV.  Will had given us a walkthrough explaining all the systems.  We had completed all the paperwork.  However, the pin box still hadn’t arrived.  The later it got, the more anxious we were getting. Since we planned to stay in the RV that night, the last thing we wanted was to park for the first time in the dark.  Working with Randy, we got a site in a campground only a few miles from the dealer.  This would allow us to get to know the systems nearby and come back for any problems we found.  We decided to duck out to Wal-mart to do some shopping for essentials (like dishes, sewer hose, water hose, levels for the side of the RV, etc.).  Arriving back at the dealership, the pin box was installed.  We took a few minutes to apply the levels to the front and side of the RV.  They would be critical for placing the RV on the site.  We were then ready to try out the hitch in preparation for our departure.
 
Easier said than done.  Dave discovered the Sidewinder pinbox has to be lined up with some amazing precision to be able to lock securely into the hitch.  It took a few tries, but he was able to hook up successfully.  The other thing that became very apparent is the need to be lined up straight with the RV.  Not only does an angle make it hard to catch the pinbox, it is also possible for the tail gate to dig into the RV if you aren’t lined up squarely.  Cathy was thinking that this would be fun.  Once connected, more adjustments were needed.  The hitch needed to be lowered to allow the RV to be level when it was under tow.  With this adjustment, Dave hooked up again and we were ready to head out – proud owners of a new fifth wheel.

​Camping Out and Checking Out
 
Thinking back to our first day owning Orion, there was a fair amount of trepidation when we looked at each other and asked, “Do you feel comfortable docking this boat?”  The answer at that time was a resounding NO.  It wasn’t the same level of anxiety, but still some concerns about maneuvering the RV out of the dealership and into a campsite.  The first turn onto a busy main road was an awkward left turn without a light.  Great!  Then we worked with the campground owner to ensure our first attempt was into a pull-through site.  A pull-through site to an RV’er is like a T-head dock to a cruiser.  Easy in and easy out. 
 
Once in the site, we started with the basics: disconnecting and leveling the RV, hooking up electric, sewer, water.  With a mostly empty cupboard, we headed back to Wal-mart for more supplies, this time stocking the fridge and the pantry.  Wal-mart was becoming our 2nd home.  By the time we were back at the campground, it was getting late.  But Cathy still had to wash the all the new dishes and pots and pans before we could use them to cook anything.  After a late dinner, we were still plowing through manuals and checking out systems.  Using our little TV from Orion, we managed to get quite a few TV stations over the antenna.  However, we discovered the handle that raised the antenna was a little loose.  Actually, it fell off in our hands.  We’d see about that tomorrow.
 
Over the next couple of days, we continued to check things out, getting great support from the service dept at OERV.  One of our outdoor lockers had a lock that wasn’t working.  They sent a service tech out to the camper to replace it so we didn’t have to move the RV back to the dealership.  The next day, we had a couple more small problems: a drawer got stuck, and a loose hinge made a cabinet door sag.  Without skipping a beat, another visit to the RV was arranged and they were fixed.  So, we were confident enough that everything was checking out that we decided to leave a day earlier than planned.  For our last night, we wanted to be off the grid, relying on the RV’s batteries.  To do this, we decided to move down to – where else -- the Wal-mart parking lot.  

​We checked ahead of time with the Wal-mart Customer Service to ensure we could park there and confirmed where we were supposed to go.  By early afternoon, we were pulling up alongside some tractor-trailers in the designated area, which was starting to fill up pretty early.  The chill from earlier in the week had been replaced by Indian summer, meaning we were looking to open some vents to let a breeze through when we realized something was running.  A fan. No. The HEAT.  Dave tried unsuccessfully to turn it off at the thermostat.  The temperature inside was rising.  Finally, he pulled the fuse as Cathy called the dealer.  This time, not surprisingly, we had to bring the RV to them.  The problem was quickly traced to a couple of wires where the insulation was not fully covering the wire at the connection, allowing the bare wires to touch and thereby bypassing the thermostat.  Within a few minutes the wiring was fixed and we were on our way back to the Wal-mart parking lot.  The ebb and flow of trucks and RV’s through the lot was a bit of an education in itself.  When we were chatting with another couple in their RV en route from Vermont to Wilmington, NC, we were a little taken aback to see a large truck back into a spot within feet of our steps.  We spoke to the driver, and he was planning on moving before we would be underway in the morning.
 
On the whole, the RV did well.  The batteries and holding tanks barely registered our overnight usage.  The fridge stayed cold.  We slept well.  It was time to head south.  Whatever else we needed to check out would be second to our enjoying the trip.

Grandkids and Grand Times
 
Our next stop was a state park just south of Richmond and only a few minutes away from our son’s family.  We were going to do some babysitting duty and get to have our first guests in the RV.  When not overseeing homework, we spent time over the week at the campground with campfires, roasting marshmallows and hot dogs and telling scary stories and singing campfire songs.  We also happened to arrive just before a Park after Dark event that let us take a princess, a super hero and a ghoul on a hay ride, through trunk or treats and petting snakes.  What a good time! 

​As Halloween came and went, it was time to move on.  We’d spend some time with our daughter’s family before looking to head further south.

Family North and South

After leaving the RV show, we spent several days in Allentown (as planned), and discovered the financial paperwork had slowed to a trickle, allowing us to enjoy the time together with Dave's mom and sister a little more. By Sunday, we were making our way south again to Hampton.


Or not.


Before leaving to head north, Orion's refrigeration had stopped working. It needed a new compressor, which was on order and still delayed. So, we asked each other why go back to the boat. The repair couldn't be done until the compressor arrived. So, we decided to keep driving south and west toward Winston-Salem to visit with Cathy's mom. It didn't hurt that it took us by way of another RV dealer, of course.​

We were splitting our time between several boats during the time back in Hampton: Orion, Orion Jr, Bay Dreamer, and our friend Betty's boat, Kanoa. We managed to get a lot done in a relatively short time. As Rat says, there's “nothing half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats”.

Pulling out the sewing machine

Our busy summer had caused Cathy to defer several sewing projects that she finally was able to catch up on. The biggest was to make a bimini for our friend, Betty's power boat. Before Cathy could pattern the bimini, we needed to repair a couple of mount points for the bimini frame. Dave managed to find a little starboard to provide the backing for one side mount, and we found the missing hardware for a good price at perfectfit.com. With a little epoxy to fill the old holes, the new mounts allowed us to open the existing bimini. Cathy used this to pattern the new bimini, which fit very well. This is her 3rd time making one, and each time she has learned more and made the building easier. The result looks pretty good, too. It also was a big help to have access to a house to work in (thanks to Sue and Steve), where she could leave the project laid out over the 3 days it took to complete.

Back at Joy's, Steve had asked for a new pocket for Bay Dreamer's starboard locker, and while she was at it, Cathy re-stitched his dodger. Orion Jr has a new grill that needed a cover, and which now has one.  

Hardware and Software


It was almost by accident that we realized as we were putting Jr away for the season that there was a BIG hole in the box that held the tiller extension handle locked in place. The plastic had simply become too brittle and failed. However, the folks at Forespar were great, sending us a replacement for free. It was an exact replacement, so the work involved was mostly cleaning up the old opening and ensuring it was caulked well when installing the new – a pretty easy install.

Over on Bay Dreamer, Dave helped Steve investigate why his auto-pilot had stopped working. As supervisor, Dave got to send Steve down into the “hole” by the rudder to discover the rudder sensor had slipped out of place. He was also on hand to hellp install clips on Steve's azy jacks to make it easier to disconnect them when he wants to deploy his sun shade.

We had an unfortunate “oops” when we were showing Orion to some prospective buyers. It appeared that one of the AIS cables that connects to the PC down below had failed. This connection is critical to ensuring the AIS at the helm works. Dave ordered a new one, and it was another pretty easy install. Once in place, the AIS on the PC at the helm was working as before.

Last, but not least, Dave had to talk to the city of Hampton about a new boat licensing fee they were implementing. We had received some mail that requested feedback, but it was already late when we received it. The bottom line was that Florida hadn't told VA that we had moved Orion Jr and the portabote to Florida. Once Dave got VA DNR to confirm this, Hampton took them over their books.

Tri-Service – Again

On a cloudy morning, the first hint of fall after a long, hot summer, we fell in line behind the other sailboats making their way to annual Tri-Service Race, passing the aircraft carrier Eisenhower as we left the Hampton River. We were crewing this year on Bay Dreamer, with Steve as Captain and Linda as first mate. What a difference a year makes. Last year, we drifted backward toward the Monitor Merrimac Bridge Tunnel as the current overpowered the little wind to keep us from even making the start line. This year we had a good 15 knots of wind all around the course, finishing in only an hour and half, as we made the circuit off Fort Monroe, out to Thimble Shoals light and back. It was a lot of fun.

The Tri-Service is a competition between the yacht clubs from the Navy, the Air Force and (what used to be) the Army at Old Point Comfort. The cup had been ours for several years, but was lost in 2014. With much fanfare, we won it back this year, as we hosted the post-race party. There were cheers from everyone, especially our commodore in getting the cup back.

Parting Shots

When we weren't working on boats, or crewing on boats, we had time to enjoy some dinners with friends and a few visits from Bonnie and Troy and the kids – even one where they arrived by boat after the Tri-Service race. We made it to Busch Gardens one final time for the season as well. But the biggest surprise was a visit from Tarun (a friend from our winter in Marathon) who stopped by Orion in Hampton as she was heading up to Williamsburg.

Heading to Florida in August is a little counter-intuitive – certainly not the typical cruiser destination for that month. However, we had an apointment with a mouse. 

Doing Florida

We joined our daughter's family, Dave's sister, Diane and our oldest grandson for a few days at Disney. Since we were in the neighborhood, we dropped in on Dave's sister Wendy as well.

 

To make the tourist thing complete, we circled by Cape Canaveral's Space Center on the way home. It was our grandson's first visit and it had been several years since our last visit, just before the shuttle program ended. The new exhibits and experiences dedicated to the shuttle and displaying Atlantis were impressive, even to a not-so-easily impressed 13 year old. There were also new experiences in the Apollo mission building that gave more depth to the missions to the moon, including the lunar landing.

Heading Back to Hampton

Our trip home was punctuated by a few stops at RV dealers as we start thinking about “what's next”. Droz had a few recommendations about which ones he preferred. But shortly after dropping him off, we received the sad news that our son-in-law's mom had passed away. Since we had made an impromptu trip to southwest VA to look at a 5th wheel, we turned back east and spent the next few days with our daughter's family as they made arrangements for the funeral and coped with the loss. Despite the sad reason for it, we enjoyed the time together and were thrilled to have a few hours with Cathy's sisters and brother-in-law, who made the trip for the funeral.

As the month was ending, we finally made our way back to Hampton. Back on Orion, we did some thorough cleaning and finished up the Cetol work for the season, just in time for a visit from a prospective buyer. Some coincidence. Dave also infuriated his friend Steve, by quicly resurrecting Bay Dreamer's chartplotter, which had died a few days earlier. The culprit, discovered a few days later, was a bad fuse, which had been degrading over time and finally quit during the Cape Charles race. Once replaced, the chartplotter and the solar panels both were back to working order.

To celebrate, we joined Steve and Linda on an evening cruise to the new restaurant at Old Point Comfort Marina, Deadrise, for some delicious seafood. On our return, we took a moonlight sail under a full moon up the Hampton River. It was beautiful ending to the day.

Despite our best intentions, we weren't able to get Orion out on the water to cruise a little. Once back in Hampton, Cathy first had a commitment to re-make some enclosure panels, which was quickly followed by a visit from Troy and Taylor. We returned with them to Jarratt and spent a week on projects at the Hawkins household. That didn't leave much time on Orion, but it doesn't mean we weren't doing what we wanted to do.

Beasts and Children
Llamas and alpacas. Beavers and otters. Frogs and alligators. With the grandkids in tow, we managed to see them all and more. Hampton has a city park that is a petting zoo, called Bluebird Gap Farm, which we enjoyed one Sunday afternoon. The following weekend, we took the kids to the Virginia Living Museum, where we visited most of the habitats Virginia has to offer, along with the animals that occupy them.

When not checking out land animals, we did manage to get out on the water, enjoying a cruise on the Miss Hampton tour boat. We saw some impressive Navy ships, including the aircraft carrier Harry S Truman and the destroyer John Warner, both decked out for the latter's commissioning the same day. The highlight though was a Los Angeles class sub entering the harbor past Fort Monroe as we were making our way back to the Hampton River. Before and after the cruise, we had fun at a Hampton Safety Fair at nearby Mill Point Park, which had lots of games and prizes for the kids. It was made to order. That night we joined our yacht club for a pool party, which was a fun event and a welcome respite from the day's heat.

Construction Projects

The biggest project on the list for our son-in-law was constructing a 40 x 12 ft kennel. It took several days in some witheringly hot weather, but by the time we left the structure was ready for use. There were several other projects that consumed the rest of the week, but most of the list was done before we left, with the whole family pitching in.