Cathy at Thanksgiving dinner Despite our motivation to get to Jacksonville and reunite with the folks at Faith UMC, we were forced to make a slow trip south, arriving the day before Thanksgiving. After enjoying the holiday together, we started digging into the list of potential projects and sifting out what was highest priority. It didn’t take much discussion to understand that getting the containers finished was at the top of the list.
Georgia Welcome Center on US 301 Taking the Scenic Route
When we bought our new truck, we asked about any break-in periods for the engine. There weren’t any – except we couldn’t tow anything for the first 500 miles. No problem, we would be over that before we needed to head south. However, in reading through the owner’s manual, Dave discovered another restriction. The transmission required that we not exceed 50 mph in the first 500 miles of towing. That meant taking I95 south would be a problem.
When we bought our new truck, we asked about any break-in periods for the engine. There weren’t any – except we couldn’t tow anything for the first 500 miles. No problem, we would be over that before we needed to head south. However, in reading through the owner’s manual, Dave discovered another restriction. The transmission required that we not exceed 50 mph in the first 500 miles of towing. That meant taking I95 south would be a problem.
Claxton Fruit Cake Company in Claxton GA on US 301 So, we made our way south by way of back roads – mostly US 301 – through NC, SC, GA. We even discovered another GA Welcome Center on 301. While sipping our complementary diet Coke, we chatted with our host about the benefits of traveling this “road less traveled”. Pulling the rig meant we weren’t free to explore much, but we managed to squeeze in a visit to the Claxton Fruitcake company, and a good meal of BBQ at the Rusty Pig a few miles down the road. Slowing down wasn’t such a bad thing.
Dave installing running boards Spending more time in the truck – or more specifically, getting in and out of the truck reinforced our desire to install running boards. Covering the gap between the cab and the ground was a bit of a gymnastic event. Through his research, Dave was certain we could install these ourselves. After reviewing several after-market alternatives, he finally came back around to the ones sold by the Ram dealer. They were good quality. We would not have to drill any holes. And the price was competitive. We even got them to give us a discount.
The cat is unimpressed, but we think the running boards work great Using the wisdom and experience of youtube, it took us a couple of hours (including time taken to talk about the job with various people passing by) to install the steps on the truck. It was as easy as the videos made it sound, they look great and, most important, getting in and out of the truck is so much easier.
Crew hard at work on roof of containers Faith Work
Shortly after we left Faith in the spring, the contractor finally positioned the 2 containers that would replace the storage rooms destroyed in June of 2017 by tree limbs falling on them. The work that had been initially planned for last winter had been delayed, and the time to get these containers in working order was long overdue. Working with the other volunteers who had arrived just before and after us, the work was finally getting under way.
Shortly after we left Faith in the spring, the contractor finally positioned the 2 containers that would replace the storage rooms destroyed in June of 2017 by tree limbs falling on them. The work that had been initially planned for last winter had been delayed, and the time to get these containers in working order was long overdue. Working with the other volunteers who had arrived just before and after us, the work was finally getting under way.
Don working on lights inside the containers Although the wiring had been mostly done in the spring, there was still some work to getting the lights to light inside the trailer. Through an unusually wet summer and fall, it was obvious that one of the containers had some leaks, so we needed to do some patch work on the roof. Also, the gap between the containers needed to be bridged to eliminate water accumulation in the gap and down the inner walls. Back in the temporary storage location of all the supplies, we needed to measure and inventory the major items that had to be moved in. Then all of them needed to be plotted on a chart to ensure they would fit.
A rough draft of the container layout By month’s end, the work was well underway. Although we had people coming and going between now and the start of January’s project, we were feeling good that we would have enough progress that the project team arriving then would be able to hit the ground running.
Barry setting out the Thanksgiving meal Holidays
We did make it for Thanksgiving and enjoyed the day with a church dinner. Jahaziel was trying out his new camera and made a video of the day. (See here.) Although it’s hard to hear some of the people speaking, it is a touching picture of some people reflecting on what they are thankful for.
We did make it for Thanksgiving and enjoyed the day with a church dinner. Jahaziel was trying out his new camera and made a video of the day. (See here.) Although it’s hard to hear some of the people speaking, it is a touching picture of some people reflecting on what they are thankful for.
Jacksonville Boat Parade The following Saturday, we took a short drive downtown to see Jacksonville’s holiday boat parade on the St. John’s River. They had some pretty elaborately decorated boats that passed us by on a mild night that were fun to watch.
