Donna, Loren and Pat laying sewer pipe Another couple of weeks in Jacksonville and we are getting dug in – almost literally. It didn’t take Pat and Fred long to plug into the community here either. Other Nomads have passed through, so we’re getting to know more of the extended community as well.
Church Work
There’s been no shortage of projects here at Faith UMC. We’ve disassembled a coffee machine, helped rewire an electrical panel, install handicap rails on a toilet, and even fixed a couple of car problems. However, the biggest project by far is the addition of several overflow sites to the RV campground. This involved over 100 ft of sewer pipe and water pipe and even more wire for several new RV outlets. With the arrival of Ron and Pat from Iowa, we had a skilled electrician on site who made quick work of several electrical projects, including the new RV sites.
Church Work
There’s been no shortage of projects here at Faith UMC. We’ve disassembled a coffee machine, helped rewire an electrical panel, install handicap rails on a toilet, and even fixed a couple of car problems. However, the biggest project by far is the addition of several overflow sites to the RV campground. This involved over 100 ft of sewer pipe and water pipe and even more wire for several new RV outlets. With the arrival of Ron and Pat from Iowa, we had a skilled electrician on site who made quick work of several electrical projects, including the new RV sites.
Dave, Pastor and Barry and Mark preparing lunch for youth retreat And, of course, there were more meals. The church hosted a youth retreat the 3rd weekend in January and they all had to be fed. We spent much of the weekend in the kitchen, which was probably a good thing, since it happened to coincide with the coldest weather we’ve had. (Although it was funny to hear the visiting kids from Lake City talk about the perils of coming “up north” where it’s cold.) The cold didn’t deter the kids from having a campfire which required “Florida” marshmallow sticks – i.e. palmetto palms. Cathy and Evalyn found the required plant behind the youth building and hacked away at it until it was void of palms and we were flush with sticks.
Orion Jr's new bimini Boat Stuff
Orion Jr’s bimini and enclosure were the first real projects that Cathy had sewn from scratch. To say she’s come a long way since then is an understatement. It has been a source of frustration every time we launched the boat to know how much better she could do now. So, this summer, we decided to replace the bimini. She started the work in September, just days before we found ourselves scrambling to get Orion Jr out of the way of serious flooding. The half-finished panels were tossed in a bag and put on hold. With the boat sitting in the church’s parking lot, she had a chance to finish the work started months earlier. It was a relief to see the finished 3 panels of the bimini in place. And they look so much better than the one they replace.
However, it is likely to be quite a while before the bimini is actually deployed on the water. With our decision not to go to Marathon, and our travel plans to go to Alaska this summer, we won’t be using Orion Jr before next winter. So, Dave decided to remove the new batteries he’d just bought and put them into the RV to give us the power we need to “dry camp” (without being plugged in).
Orion Jr’s bimini and enclosure were the first real projects that Cathy had sewn from scratch. To say she’s come a long way since then is an understatement. It has been a source of frustration every time we launched the boat to know how much better she could do now. So, this summer, we decided to replace the bimini. She started the work in September, just days before we found ourselves scrambling to get Orion Jr out of the way of serious flooding. The half-finished panels were tossed in a bag and put on hold. With the boat sitting in the church’s parking lot, she had a chance to finish the work started months earlier. It was a relief to see the finished 3 panels of the bimini in place. And they look so much better than the one they replace.
However, it is likely to be quite a while before the bimini is actually deployed on the water. With our decision not to go to Marathon, and our travel plans to go to Alaska this summer, we won’t be using Orion Jr before next winter. So, Dave decided to remove the new batteries he’d just bought and put them into the RV to give us the power we need to “dry camp” (without being plugged in).
Sally Corporation's more rambunctious products Having a Roaring Good Time
In an innocuous building in downtown Jacksonville, there are dark things happening – monsters, pirates, dinosaurs, talking bears. It is the Sally Corporation, makers of animatronics for amusement parks and businesses worldwide. We were treated to a delightful hour tour of the facility one morning along with about a dozen others visitors. From design to production, we were taken through the process of creating the silicone faces, the mechanical moving parts, to the finishing of make-up, hair and costumes. A Tyrannosuarus Rex roared at us, a pirate challenged us, and we were even given a lesson in Hindi about the founding of the Sikh religion. And, of course, there was the talking bear. It was a lot of fun. And it’s free. If you’re passing through Jacksonville, look it up. You need to make reservations, but it’s pretty easy to do.
In an innocuous building in downtown Jacksonville, there are dark things happening – monsters, pirates, dinosaurs, talking bears. It is the Sally Corporation, makers of animatronics for amusement parks and businesses worldwide. We were treated to a delightful hour tour of the facility one morning along with about a dozen others visitors. From design to production, we were taken through the process of creating the silicone faces, the mechanical moving parts, to the finishing of make-up, hair and costumes. A Tyrannosuarus Rex roared at us, a pirate challenged us, and we were even given a lesson in Hindi about the founding of the Sikh religion. And, of course, there was the talking bear. It was a lot of fun. And it’s free. If you’re passing through Jacksonville, look it up. You need to make reservations, but it’s pretty easy to do.
Our downtime activities ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous. One Sunday afternoon, we joined several church members at the 17th anniversary of the Brothers United in Christ, a men’s singing group drawing from 3 African-American churches that raised a heavenly sound. The event included songs from half a dozen church choirs, including Faith UMC, with Cathy joining in to round out the Alto section. A week later, the Nomads team that was finishing up a project at Neptune Beach, but staying at Faith invited us to join them for their final night dinner. This included coaxing us into demonstrating our abilities with a hula hoop. While Cathy and Dave reluctantly did their turn, Pat showed us all how it’s done.
We ended the month with a celebration of David's birthday that took us to St. Augustine. He had turned the magic age to purchase a long-awaited Senior Pass for free entrance and half-price camping at National Parks. So, we had to make sure we picked one up in time to make reservations at Denali for the summer, which we did the next morning.
