SV Orion - Annapolis, MD - David & Cathy's Journey - Logs

Late December - Out with the Old / In with the New

12/31/2020

Dave checks out the battery compartment in our new Cougar 25RES

With the Christmas shopping done and in the mail, we should have had some down time as the Christmas holidays approached. Or maybe not. We decided to fill the gap with a major purchase – a new Cougar RV. Two days before Christmas, we switched into high gear to make the purchase, move into the new RV and clean up the old one to put it on the market. So much for kicking back and enjoying the holidays.

But we do have some nice new digs.

Why the change?

While we have been happy with our Puma fifth wheel, as it passed the 5 year mark, we began to wonder whether it made sense to upgrade while it is still good shape or just stay put indefinitely. Talking it over with some of our fellow campers at Pocahontas who had recently upgraded, we were starting to more seriously consider the upgrade. Dave had found a layout that appealed to us in the Cougar RV line, which was the same brand our friends had purchased early last year.

However, it wasn’t until about a week before Christmas that Dave discovered there were a few 2020 models of the fifth wheel we wanted in Florida that were being heavily discounted. They were all at nearby Camping World Dealers. We tried to make a deal on one in Lake City, but that one was sold almost as soon as we started talking to the dealer. We were contacted by a salesperson who said we could look at one that was already sold in St. Augustine. That one almost literally drove away as we finished our tour. The same was true of the one in Ocala. Trying to negotiate to have one of the 2 remaining ones relocated to St. Augustine was a no-go, since we were offered almost nothing for trading in our RV. We had pretty much decided to give up for the time being, then changed our minds and decided to take one last stab at one at the Camping World in Kissimmee. This time, we were able to agree on a deal. That was Tuesday.

Early morning on I-95 en route to Kissimmee

The next day, we were on the road early to pick up the RV.

We were given a tour of the RV’s systems, processed all the paperwork, and were back on the road by early afternoon. We made it back to Faith with enough daylight left to maneuver the new RV into our spot in the campground. (We had moved the Puma out to the parking lot before we left.) We spent the next day, a very warm Christmas Eve, hauling all of our stuff from the old to the new. So, our Christmas gift to ourselves was spending Christmas Eve in our new RV.

The theater seats sit in the rear of the RV opposite the TV.

So, what makes our new RV special? Well, I could talk about its self-leveling capability, the electric fireplace, the large TV, the outdoor kitchen, or other features. But, in truth, there was one feature that sold it – the chairs. This unit comes with 2 large “theater seats”, that are very comfortable. That won out over the Puma’s sofa hands down. The chairs were certainly the tipping point.

Making It Our Own
Once we had occupied the Cougar, we needed to make some changes to make it work for us. The water tanks needed to be sanitized. Although the mattress was much more substantial than that in the Puma, it needed a softer topper that we ordered. The bedroom TV needed a mount installed before it could be moved over.

Power Watchdog surge protector

We now had 50Amp instead of 30Amp power, so we needed a 50 amp surge protector. Dave switched to a Power Watchdog unit. When the power is bad, the dog glows red. How’s that for a signal light. We wanted to move our propane tank sensors over, but had been disappointed with the clips that raised the tank to allow the sensor to be positioned underneath that we had used to on the Puma. Dave switched to a ring that would raise the tank. It was much more secure and easier to install.Then there is the storage, which was much different from the Puma. There were fewer compartments, but they were much larger. That meant they needed to be subdivided to allow us to use them effectively and still be able to find things. We ended up buying more storage tubs, after we measured the space and studied the dimensions of the alternatives. We were pleasantly surprised at how the storage, which seemed limiting at first, seemed to accommodate our stuff.

On a cold night the day after Christmas, we encountered our first serious problem. The propane heat, which is ducted throughout the RV, tripped the fuse that controlled it. When we turned off the heat, the fuse would reset. We’d start it up again and about a minute later, the fuse would trip again. Although we could rely on our electric fireplace to provide heat, we were disheartened at the prospect of a potentially major problem so early in our ownership. However, the next morning, we took advantage of a “Tech Help Line” made available to us through our purchase and an Elite Good Sam membership. We could not have been more pleased. The tech knew our RV, pointed us to the specific fuse (#6) on the panel and asked us to confirm it was black. (It was.) Apparently this is a slow-blowing fuse that can have problems. He had us replace it with a regular fuse and the heat started up and stayed running. He then called us back several minutes later to confirm it stayed running. What a turnaround from the night before.
There is more we plan to do, of course, but we are getting pretty comfortable in this new space.

Dave prunes limbs over the Puma before extending the slide

So, What to Do With the Puma?

When we decided not to trade our Puma 5th Wheel, we knew we were going to have to try to sell it on our own. So, after spending several days emptying it out, we spent several days, cleaning and prepping it to be sold. We moved it out of the parking lot, to make way for the new Nomads project team and into a less-desirable spot in the campground. This little-used site required a little tree-trimming to clear room for the slide.

As we had done for our Beneteau sailboat, we created our own website for its sale. (2015puma5thwheelforsale). If you know someone looking to start land cruising, we have a RV they will want to see.

Work at the Church - Stopping the Leaks

The gym roof has been the source of leaks that have been distressing the current tenant. Dave helped work with the roofing contractor to remove the vents that many had suspected were a major cause of the leaks. Part of their process was going to involve applying the fiber and thick coating that we had used successfully on the Wesley Hall roof last year. To make this happen, we drove to St. Augustine (remember the RV visit?) and picked up some of the fiber and pails of the thick product that would be used to apply it. The crew arrived the Monday before Christmas and the work was done in a couple of days. Its first test was the terrific Christmas Eve storm that arrived during the evening’s services. Unfortunately, there was still too much water on the floor the next day. More needed to be done.

The next Monday, Dave was able to get the roofers to return to use what was left of the pails and fiber to coat more of the roof ridge. Since they ran out of product before they ran out of roof ridge, we would still have work to do on the upcoming Nomads project. We made arrangements to get 3 more pails that will need to be applied not only on the roof ridge, but also along the seams midway down on each side. Stay tuned.

Ringing In the Holidays

Celebrating the holidays on our own was a new experience for us (and many others). We broke up the day by having a Zoom call with Bonnie’s family and Barb, Diane and Pam. We had a good time running a Christmas scavenger hunt that had some surprising wins by the 3 teams (Troy and Taylor, Bonnie and Troy, and the PA team). But, in the end, youth won out. Troy and Taylor were the victors. Just wait till next year!

We also had an outdoor visit with Sue and Steve Harvey, here to visit her mom who is a Nomad on our upcoming project. It’s been more than a year since we saw them last, so that was a treat.

We brought in the New Year surrounded by fireworks that lasted for several hours. We made our toast closer to 9pm than midnight, however. Here’s hoping for a great 2021.

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Early December - Florida Christmas

12/17/2020

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Creating a small light show next to our RV

This will be our first Christmas spent in one place in more years than we can remember. In between Christmas preparations, we began working on plans for the upcoming Nomads project in January.

Nomads Work in the time of Covid
The upcoming January project here at Faith will be a challenge, as we try to maintain safe distances while still completing the work that is the project’s goal. We surveyed the progress to Faith’s Mission House made by a Nomads team in the fall and assessed what would be required to make it ready for a tenant at the end of January. This will include completing a bathroom, shoring up a sagging floor and finishing the interior painting among other things.

Back at the main campus, we hope to advance 2 more mission rooms in the Peeler building to completion, building on the work begun in the spring. Maybe that will include repairing the roof to the porch as well. Over in A building, which has been used by tenants as both a school and a day care, we have an opportunity to upgrade a temporary drain to something more permanent, while the building is vacant. Then there is some more work off campus, where Pastor Jacob, who leads Faith's Arabic congregation, has some repairs needed to the exterior of his house.

The choices for the work to be done had to accommodate both the church’s needs and the Nomads rules for keeping the teams safe. Given the size of Faith’s campus, we were able to plan tasks that would keep couples separate from each other, and allow them to work in unoccupied buildings. We are feeling good that we can make it work. However, it will be very different from prior year’s projects.

In addition to planning the work, we began ordering supplies, which has its own challenges given the strain on the package delivery companies and the unusually high demand for construction supplies. With our experience at the park, we’re getting pretty good at placing pick-up orders at Lowe’s and Home Depot.

Gym Roof and other tasks

Just before we left for Virginia this past summer, a new tenant had occupied the gym and put down a new vinyl floor. The change in floor increased the visibility to a problem with leaks in the gym roof. We had thought all of our work 3 years ago had substantially eliminated the leaks, but it was apparent that that was not the case now. There had been some work done while we were gone, and tarps had been placed back on the roof to cover the open vents, which many believed were the source of the problem. While we were initially thinking we would tackle this repair as a Nomads project, Dave began working with local roofers to get estimates and assessments for the changes needed to fix the problem. One of their proposals – to remove the vents and cover the opening with a new metal ridge – was accepted. Dave helped modify the proposal to include their applying a coating of fabric and acrylic paint like we had used on Wesley. Only time will tell whether it works.

Our other tasks were on a smaller scale – changing out a door knob, replacing a photocell. And then helping Pastor Barry set up a live Zoom sermon from his house while he was under quarantine. It’s all in a day’s work.

RV (and truck) Stuff

At Faith, the distance between our holding tank cleanout and the sewer connection is a pretty long distance, not all of which is down hill. We finally decided to get a sewer hose support that creates a gradual slope compensating for the uneven terrain. The hose drains much better, and the support collapses into a pretty small space for storage.

Although we’re not putting a lot of miles on the truck, the warranty requires oil changes and fuel filter changes at regular intervals, regardless of the miles traveled. Dave assisted Fermin in changing the oil and fuel filters, shortly after we got back to Faith.

CWW – All Done? Well, not Quite

Although the Cabin Work Week project ended in November, the work to close out this year and prepare for next year continues. We reconciled our expenses with the Friends’ books in preparation for reports back to our sponsors. We also had a tremendous response for next year’s project all ready. All those who camped with us last year have indicated they plan to return next year.

Parting Shot

We resumed our nightly walks around the neighborhood. The difference is that we get to see Christmas decorations, including this army of characters in front of a nearby house. And by the way, Rudolph’s nose does glow!

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Late November - Home for the Holidays

11/30/2020

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Staying at McIntosh Lake Campground in Townsend GA

Leaving Pocahontas on the Monday before Thanksgiving, we were well aware of the warnings to keep our distance, so family gatherings were not in the plans. Instead, we said our goodbyes at Pocahontas and made a leisurely trip south to Jacksonville. Although we arrived on Thanksgiving Day, we greeted friends from a distance, and ate our Thanksgiving dinner alone. A small sacrifice for the privilege of having many Thanksgivings together with friends and family in the future. It’s good to be in our southern “home” again, where we’ll stay for the next few months. (Hopefully, not quite so long as the last 2 years.)

Wood stacked for winter storage

Cabin Work Week 2020 – Clean-up

We had 2 days before the rain was coming. Two days to pick up, sort out and stow the supplies scattered over 3 group cabin sites. The good news was the added help we had this year from several volunteers who joined us for this clean-up week after the Cabin Work Week ended. We managed to clean out Appamattuck, and all but one cabin at Chickahominy on the first day. But there was this large pile of wood. Despite moving a large load on the last day of the project, there were still 2 more loads to move down to the indoor storage at the Swift Creek Well House. The wood was still damp, heavy and the space to stow it already crowded. With the dump truck unavailable on Monday, we had to scramble on Tuesday to move and load as much wood as we could before our weary backs cried uncle. That left us unloading the final pieces in the rain on Wednesday morning.

Mary and Angie put finishing touches on Weyanock Lodge

Over the next couple of days, the work continued. At the Well House, Joe built shelves and we created drainage to make a new storage room usable and mostly dry. At next year’s cabin site, Weyanock, Mary and Angie finished painting the lodge, while Marguerite and Fred repaired some severely damaged screens and shutters on one of the cabins. Both efforts will give us a good head start on 2021.

New Chimney cap on Chickahominy Lodge

We spent our last week stowing the remaining items from Weyanock to their spots all over the park, finding tools that were left behind by a few volunteers, and preparing reports and post-mortems for the project to help with next year. There was one significant task to complete at Chickahominy. Steve has crafted an amazing chimney cap to keep water and creatures out of the lodge. With Fred and Dave’s assistance, he installed it one morning. It looks great and will be a template for similar repairs at the other cabin sites.

Dave, Fred and Steve on roof of Chickahominy lodge installing chimney cap

By the end of the week, we had done all we could and left the park feeling we were in good shape looking ahead to next year’s project. If any one is interested in signing up for next year's project, it will be held Nov. 1 - 12, 2021. You can sign up by emailing us, and we'll get the process started.

Adam and Dave plan the electrical layout on his bus turned RV

Family Time
With the project behind us, we managed to spend more time with Adam, helping him transform his school bus into the RV he is envisioning. Dave spent several days with him working the AC side of the electric and starting on the DC side before we ran out of time. We got to celebrate Droz’s birthday as well, which is a benefit of hanging around Virginia later into November. After one more visit with Bonnie’s family (on turkey harvesting day as it happened), it was time to pack up and head south.

On the Road Again

Having deployed the “skirt” around the RV and the heaters underneath as a defense against freezing temperatures, we knew we were ready to head south again. We stopped at 2 different campgrounds along I-95 – Bass Lake in Dillon SC and McIntosh Lake in Townsend GA to slow our trip, allowing the campground at Faith to free up from the current Nomad project. Both were very quiet and scenic, despite their close proximity to I-95. We used our downtime to create a Scavenger hunt for our granddaughter on Goosechase. We both had fun over the Thanksgiving holiday as she took photos and videos for the various hunt items. Almost 15,000 points later, we had promised to do another for the Christmas holidays.

One new tool we took advantage of this trip was the “WeighMyTruck” app, which allows a much easier experience weighing the truck and RV at any of the numerous CAT scales along the highway. It was pretty easy. Cathy added the app to her phone and set up an account that allowed us to pay through the app. When we arrived at the scale, we entered the location code from the intercom and aligned the truck and RV on each of the scales – one axle per scale. Once positioned, we told the app to process the weight. The app communicated with the weighmaster at the location, and we received our weight through the app and an e-mail with the official document. It was pretty cool! Except we realized that we had less “headroom” than we had hoped. Time to start jettisoning that extra clutter. (And stowing the minibots in the truck when underway. That’s 50+ lbs of weight loss.)

We certainly left the cold behind us. After a couple of chilly nights, we pulled into Jacksonville on Thanksgiving with a near record-setting 80+ degree day. That made for a hot, sweaty set-up process. Nothing like going from heat to AC in 24 hours. Don’t you love Florida? Still, it’s good to be back.

Jahaziel and Rigo

Parting Shot
We have been gradually reconnecting with our friends here at Faith. But we had an unexpected treat in getting to see Pastor Rigo and his family who were visiting the day after Thanksgiving. It was great to see them, and know that they are doing well.

In the meantime, we are starting to prepare for our January project here at Faith. There’s always something to do.

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Late October / Early November - Cabin Work Week at last

11/10/2020

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Our 3rd Cabin Work Week took place the last week of October and the first week of November. Although it is an exhausting couple of weeks, we take a tremendous satisfaction from the results.

Cabin Work Week – Chickahominy

Months of preparations led up to a very successful Cabin Work Week, which focused on our 2nd CCC-built group cabin site -- Chickahominy. The team that assembled was a blend of repeat and brand new volunteers. They did an amazing job. You can get a glimpse of all they did in this project video.
The work doesn’t stop with the end of the official project. We have another week of stowing supplies and some more work at next year’s cabin site – Weyanock. However, the pace has slowed some, which is a blessing.

RV Stuff

The chirping woke us from a sound sleep. Disoriented, we tried to place what it was. Removing the battery from the smoke detector made no difference. The chirping continued. Then the light dawned. It was the CO / Propane detector. Since this was directly wired in, it wasn’t a battery problem. The manual finally told us that the the detector was at the end of its useful life. Since we didn’t have a replacement in the RV, we pulled the failing one off and cut the wires. Just a few days later, a replacement arrived and was quickly installed. That should give us another 5 years of life.

Our neighbors at the campground and new Cabin Work Week volunteers had a “toy” that caught Dave’s eye. They had a Ryobi leaf blower that was compatible with our Ryobi batteries. About a week later, Dave had his own blower, along with a small shop-vac and a finish nailer. After all, you buy more you save more. Guess that promotion worked. All three were quickly and successfully put into service.

Our bi-weekly hauling of our holding tank waste took an unexpected turn one Sunday. The front wheels on the Rhino portable waste tank failed during a run up to the dump station. We managed to limp through that trip and one more, but we wouldn’t be able to use it again without replacement wheels. Although Camco responded quickly the next morning to ship new wheels, they didn’t arrive in time for our mid-week run. Thanks to the graciousness of our neighbors, we were able to use their tank for an after dark trip. Luckily the wheels arrived the next day and Cathy had installed them before the time we needed them. Whew!

Bonnie holds one of her bunnies

Family Time

We had a couple of visits with Bonnie’s family for a campfire meal at their home. We had 2 great visits with nice weather, good food, and fellowship. And we got to see the latest additions to the “farm”.

Adam continued his work transforming his school bus to an RV. Dave helped him sort through the electrical panels at Home Depot, moving a little closer to getting the bus powered up.

Parting Shots

Halloween at the park was more festive than we remember from previous years. Lots of decorations and costumed trick or treaters.

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Early October - Final Prep

10/17/2020

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Newly stained benches in Chickahominy

The countdown continues, as we move ever closer to the big day. No. Not the one you’re thinking about. The other one. The start of Cabin Work Week, which kicks off the last Sunday in October. We’re feeling good about where we stand in prepping the cabins for the 2 weeks of work and ensuring we have volunteers ready and able to take over. We had a few visitors as well, and continue to enjoy this beautiful season in the park.

Stained Cabin deck in Weyanock Cabin group

Cabin Work
As the time before the project kick-off gets shorter, we are focusing on some of the finer details to prepare for the team’s arrival. The Chickahominy cabin group is looking great – just don’t get too close. All of the high ladder work on the cabin peaks is completed thanks to Joe’s faithful efforts, and we split our time between wielding paint brushes and pounding the keyboard. With our combined efforts, we painted almost all of the wood on the Chickahominy cabins that was not going to be impacted by upcoming repairs. Anticipating the need to spread out when taking breaks, we decided to stain the benches in Chickahominy as well, so they wouldn’t be taken “out of service” during the project.

Appamattuck Lodge's stained columns look pretty good, if we do say so ourselves

When last year’s project ended, there was some exterior wood that wasn’t painted or stained – the columns in the lodge’s outdoor kitchen. Discussions concerning these columns in Chickahominy led to the reasonable conclusion that they needed to be stained in order to ensure the wood would be protected. That meant we had to backtrack to Appamattuck (weren’t we done there?) and power wash and stain these posts (all 14 of them). Dave power washed the columns in Chickahominy and Weyanock in anticipation of needing to stain them as well.

Dave gives Angie and Mary a tour of the cabins.

When not at the cabins, we continued planning activities, recruiting and coordinating volunteers, and buying supplies for the 2-week event. Our first pair of volunteers arrived a couple of weeks early on a previously planned trip to the park. We gave them a tour of the cabins and even managed to convince them to do some work while here on their own time.

Friends and Family

We spent a few days with Adam helping him plan for a bus to RV conversion, which included a field trip to an RV salvage yard. Note to self: RV’s don’t age well after the roof is opened up. After a few plan revisions, he is starting to feel good about his path forward.

Steve at Chickahominy cabin

We had a visit from Steve and Linda, who stopped by one rainy Sunday to pick up some straps Cathy had sewn for Bay Dreamer. After sharing a socially-distanced meal, we dodged the raindrops to show them the cabins before they had to head back home.

It’s not all fun and games, though. We’ve had to dust the cobwebs out of our heads to help Jayden with Algebra and Bonnie edit her submission to the Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching, which is a major undertaking.

During our last calm weekend for a few weeks, we celebrated Cathy’s birthday on a beautiful fall Saturday in the park. Her birthday sweatshirt was a welcome addition.

Can you guess what the 5th cat thinks?

Parting Shot
A funny birthday card that is all too true.

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Late September - Fall

9/30/2020

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Almost overnight, we went from shorts and T-shirts to coats and sweatshirts as fall arrived early to Virginia. No complaints here. The cooler temperatures made the outdoor work more pleasant, although we did have to choose our power washing days more carefully.

Hands On RVA volunteer painting at Chickahominy

Cabin Work
With the start of school, the number of volunteers working to prep the cabins dwindled quite a bit, but the work kept getting done. In Chickahominy, Park Host Joe finished the peaks on all of the cabins, while we focused on areas closer to the ground. When we did get a few volunteers to help, they finished painting the porch ceilings on all the cabins and the lodge. Working overhead like this is tough, so this was a great contribution. The work on each cabin was being divided into sections. The highest peaks or “A’s”, the shutters or middle, the lower siding, and the front porch. By month-end, we had all of the A’s and lower siding done on all cabins and one front porch in Chickahominy. Over in Weyanock, we managed to power wash the lodge and another cabin. Between rain showers, we managed to stain one more deck as well.

Cathy staining benches at Appamattuck

Although the majority of our work was focused in the 2 cabin groups that will be this year’s Cabin Work Week focus, we had a couple of tasks left in and around Appamattuck, last year’s site. We would be using this lodge to serve lunches during the project. Since indoor dining wouldn’t be allowed, we stained the campfire benches now, so they could be used for outdoor dining later. The shower building, which had received so much work last year, had never been painted. We finished this off, and it makes last year’s efforts seem complete.

Shower building with its fresh coat of paint

With the wood order placed, Dave spent time preparing the order for other supplies for the work and for lunches. Using sign-up genius for the first time, Cathy solicited volunteers to provide lunches and quickly had half the spots filled. With several weeks to go, the remaining slots are sure to be covered. But perhaps the most exciting development was the work by one of last year’s volunteers to raise funds. Within a couple of weeks of her efforts, she had raised almost as much as we were likely to lose with the end of the Garden Club grant this year. This is putting us in great shape, not just for this year, but also way ahead for next year.

Dave installing hinge on windshield

Golf Cart Woes

Our current park transport is a gas-powered golf cart that is intended for use as a park shuttle during concerts. It is aging, and it was no surprise when the upper half of the windshield parted from its flexible gasket and fell off one day. When the temperatures dropped, the increasing wind chill from the missing upper panel was beginning to be a problem. As the park used our golf cart as a shuttle for its first concert in a year, the missing windshield made for some cold rides.

Dave went to work and found a piano hinge and some VHB tape as a likely solution. Careful to position the hinge just right so that it would fold up and down easily, we installed the hinge and we now have both halves in working order – in time for the cold winds to blow.

Parting Shot

We enjoyed some visits from Bonnie and Troy and the kids, as well as Andi and Max on 2 different occasions. However, this guy was not quite so welcome a visitor.

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Early September - Just Volunteers

9/16/2020

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Dave prepping shower for painting

With our stint as August park hosts done, we transitioned our responsibilities to Joe, our replacement for September, along with our golf cart and keys. We didn’t leave Pocahontas, though. Instead we became just “volunteers”, using a number of free weeks we had earned to stay on through September. However, our day to day routine didn’t change much.

Dave and Joe coach the volunteers on the day's work

Cabin Work
With Joe’s arrival, we had some significant help in our work on the Chickahominy cabins. Progress accelerated as Joe took on the high ladder work required to prep and paint the upper peaks (or “A’s” as he calls them). We also continued to host the local youth from Chesterfield up until school started, who made progress painting the lower cabin walls.

Dave power washing the Powhatan Activity Center

Looking ahead to the Cabin Work Week, we continued prepping buildings outside of Chickahominy to ensure the workers could hit the ground running when they arrive. The Powhatan Activity Center sits between the Appamattuck cabin site and the Powhatan Dining Hall. We had been hoping to work on it last year, but time and resources didn’t allow that to happen. So, we were going to try again this year. In preparation, Dave power washed the exterior, so in addition to the roof repairs, we could paint it. Another outlier was a shower house between the nurse’s cabin and the Powhatan Dining Hall. This also needs roof repairs. So, that got power washed as well – inside and out. The cobweb-draped fixtures inside would have made a great setting for a creepy movie, but was not something you wanted to walk into.

Over at Weyanock, this year’s back up cabin site, we stained the lodge deck and ramp, since this would be the storage location for supplies at this site. Having the deck stained would ensure we didn’t have workers under foot, limiting access to the building’s contents.

When not lifting a brush or wielding a power washer wand, we spent time working with new and returning volunteers to ensure their questions were answered and to confirm their arrival. This led us to review the campsite reservations and discover a disturbing problem on the park’s reservation system. All campsites were marked as “not available” from Nov. 2 to 4. Hmm. . . Was there a park event we weren’t clued in to? When we raised the question, the park management discovered that the December closure had been accidentally posted to November. Once it was moved, we had our sites back. Glad we checked.

It was also time to start ordering supplies. With the lead time required to get rough-cut lumber for the cabins, we worked with Amelia Lumber to place the order for wood, and thereby discovered the dramatic increases in prices for wood since last year. On average, the prices were double, causing us to adjust the order to compensate. Hopefully, by this time next year, prices will have returned to their pre-pandemic level.

So, the work continues, but we are excited at how much is already done in this year’s cabin group compared to this time last year. Oh, and another accomplishment that we can’t take credit for – the road has been fixed! Now the trip to and from the cabins is not like bushwhacking through the woods.

Frames under construction

Jack of All Trades
We are not carpenters, but when the Friends of Pocahontas came to us to see if we could create partitions for the concessions booth at the upcoming concert, we were willing to give it a try. Using spare 2 x 4’s in the wood shop, we created 3 frames to hold a 3/16” thick piece of plexiglass, positioned 6” above the surface. Once we cut the channel to hold the plexiglass in the 3 sides, we assembled them, ensuring the channel lined up once assembled. Since we were getting done ahead of schedule, Dave decided to paint them as well. It’s not skilled craftmanship, but we’re pretty proud of the results.

The finished product was done in time for the concert

The next task was right down Dave’s alley. Since we were no longer park hosts, we had transitioned the electric golf cart to Joe. One afternoon, we passed him stopped in the road a few sites away from his RV. He had stopped briefly, but now the cart would no longer move. Since his site was so close, Dave helped him push the cart back to his site. A quick look at the batteries revealed a broken wire. Luckily, we had the ring terminal connector, heat shrink and tool to repair it. So, a short time later, Joe was back underway.

Broken weld behind our old steps

RV Stuff
The “clunk” noise was loud and not normal. Dave had just bounded down the steps leaving the RV, but something had obviously let loose. It turned out that a brace behind the steps had broken on one end. This was not going to be a simple fix. Or maybe it was. Dave found that our steps are no longer made, but that Lippert sells a replacement model that should fit the exact space. After talking with them, we found the correct model number to order. Dave was able to get a “damaged box” sale that was a good price and arrived much sooner than the alternatives.

New steps installed

But at 50 lbs, could we install these ourselves. Would the bolts on the old steps come off without problems? We waited until we could take some time to struggle with the project on a Saturday afternoon. (We also knew we had some strong relatives not too far away that might save us if things went wrong,) With some repeated application of WD 40 and some reasonable force, the bolts on the old steps yielded and came out. We had had an “incident” several years ago that caused the frame to be skewed a bit. This made installing the new steps a bit more challenging, but we managed to secure the bolts and the new steps work smoothly.

Parting Shots

We had some visits from family over the last couple of weeks. As school starts again, the challenges of virtual learning (and teaching) were mostly the topic of conversation. Bonnie worked with Troy and the kids to create a teaching space in her attic, while the kids each have their own “classroom” inside each of their bedrooms. Jayden is probably learning over the largest distance, as he logs on in Virginia to his classes in upstate NY. And Droz’ year continues to be anti-climatic as he begins his college life on the computer in his room. But, in person, we enjoyed the company, even venturing into a new take-out food – Chinese.

Also, the minibots were a big hit.

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Late August - Baby Steps

8/31/2020

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Freshly stained deck and steps on Appamattuck Cabin 1

With the help of some planned and unplanned volunteers, we are getting a head start on this year’s group cabin site work. Enough that we started to expand our efforts to a 2nd site. And as the park management came up for air after the flash flood damage, we could resume planning efforts for the 2-weeks of Cabin Work Week this fall. All of these are small steps that will make a big difference when we arrive at Cabin Work Week in October.

Appamattuck, Chickahominy and Weyanock

No. This isn’t a lesson in local tribal history, but a list of the group cabin sites that we’ve been working on this month.

Appamattuck's Cabin 2 looking sharp as with its newly stained deck. Time to move on to another site.

Appamattuck was the focus of last year’s work, and we had one last task to complete – putting a coat of stain on all of the cabin decks. All but one had been stained last year, so most just needed a single coat to refresh them. We also stained the deck of the nearby Nurse’s cabin that had received a new cedar roof last year. It’s prominent position next to the dining hall makes its new look stand out.

Volunteers on ladders are worth their weight in gold.

Chickahominy, Appamattuck’s neighbor, is the primary focus of this year’s Cabin Work Week (CWW). Our goal is to leave it looking like Appamattuck when CWW is done, and we are already well ahead of last year at this time. The weekend after the flood, an army of volunteers descended on the park. While several hundred focused on the flood clean-up, a dozen from Hands On RVA joined us at Chickahominy to scrape, paint and prime. We had several who were willing to get up on ladders or work under porch ceilings, which is like gold to us. This event also gave us a contact with a local agency directing the work of teens given court-ordered community service. Since that Saturday, they have returned several times, continuing to make progress staining decks, priming and painting in Chickahominy. This was a win-win, since the number of community service opportunities has been severely limited due to Covid-19, and we appreciate the extra help. With all the decks stained now, we won’t be literally “under foot” during the more active 2 weeks in the fall. And if the progress continues, we will need to expand to another site to keep everyone engaged.

Dave power washes the lodge ramp at Weyanock.

With that in mind, we moved to Weyanock – another group camp site on the other side of the Powhatan Dining Hall. By pressure-washing a couple of cabins, the lodge deck and picnic tables, we hoped to stay ahead of the scrapers and painters.

Rich helped us validate our estimates for supplies for CWW.

Not all the work on the cabins is physical. We spent time assessing the cabins to estimate the lumber supplies needed, as well as the myriad of other essentials needed to make repairs. By reviewing last year’s orders and talking to Rich who was responsible then, we developed our best guess at this year’s needs. We are in good shape to place the orders with enough lead time to have everything here for Cabin Work Week. Following up with Park Ranger Dustin, we continued planning the project’s activities and nailing down the scope. It’s all slowly coming together.

Recovered paddleboards, canoes and life jackets

After the Flood
The park has made some amazing progress since the flash flood damaged the area surrounding Swift Creek and Beaver Creek lakes. Those hundreds of volunteers collected missing canoes, paddle boards, life jackets, oars, and lots of trash. They started the hard work of restoring trails. Contractors had arrived within days and repaired the bridge over Swift Creek, making access to the Park’s north side easier for the helpers. And just before the month was out, VDOT was on site to start repairing the road to the cabins. (We are, of course, closely monitoring this work.) Work continues throughout the park, and the results are encouraging despite the amount of effort required to get things back to “normal”.

Parting Shots

It’s been a while since we have pushed a mower around. We don’t really miss it, but it’s one of the “perks” of staying in a site for a month.

Cathy has turned her attention (mostly) from mushrooms and moved on to other interesting features, like this stump’s decorations.

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Early August - Stormy Weather

8/17/2020

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Flash floods wreak havoc in areas of the park a couple of weeks after Isaias

Leaving Florida when we did, we thought we might be escaping just ahead of the hurricanes. That was partly true. However, when Isaias was bearing down on Virginia shortly after our arrival, we had to question that belief. And when 2 weeks later, flash floods tore through the park after 9” of rain fell within 24 hours, we discovered we didn’t just have to watch out for hurricanes. In between the storms, we kept making progress on the cabins and planning for the upcoming Cabin Work Week.

Beaver Lake spillway with submerged pedestrian bridge at its base after flash flood. The water had receded several feet when this was taken.

Rain, Rain, Go Away
We were busy at the group cabins, finishing up some minor painting in last year’s Appamattuck cabin site, when we got a phone call. “What are you doing?” Mark, one of the other hosts in the campground wasn’t asking us about our current project, but how we planned to weather Isaias now that the campground was closed. Closed? Were we planning on staying? Nothing in the forecast that morning had alarmed us, but the high winds in the forecast had prompted the closure. The hosts were allowed to stay and 3 of the four of us decided to do that. So, we had the rare privilege of having the campground basically all to ourselves. It was eerie and wonderful at the same time.

Dave follows the blower clearing Isaias debris from park roads.

Most of Isaias arrived – and departed – overnight that night. The park had some light debris on the roads that was cleared easily with a blower. So, rather than hunkering down the next day, we had a beautiful, breezy, low humidity day to work on the cabins. It was great. In the afternoon, we toured the campground by minibot and even took them all the way to the group cabins. We had the roads mostly to ourselves. By the end of the week, the campers were trickling back into the park, so we had to once again share it with them. It was only fair.

A couple of weeks later, the story was much different. Daily forecasts of heavy rain storms in isolated areas were becoming the norm. For the most part, they never materialized, or showered quickly and moved on. So, we were all caught by surprise when the torrential rain started early Saturday morning and didn’t ease up until Saturday afternoon. Although we were blissfully unaware in the campground, the rest of the park staff was scrambling.

Swift Creek, which was dammed by the CCC to create the park’s Swift Creek Lake, was rising fast. Most at risk was the boat rental area, which is on a flood plain next to the water. As the staff scrambled to save what they could, the water rose from their ankles to their waists. Nothing more could be salvaged. The waters swept away 2 buildings along with canoes, kayaks, life jackets, and oars. Amazingly, all but 1 of the heavy paddleboats and the dock they were tethered to held fast. There were also several cars parked nearby from a scout group that was hiking the park. All but 2 were removed before it was too late. Those 2 did not fare well. The water rose above their roofs and then it pushed them around, leaving skid marks on the pavement.

Although the rain stopped in the afternoon, the waters kept rising. By that evening, the dam was at flood stage 3 with water up near the top on both sides of it, requiring constant monitoring. The smaller Beaver Lake, held by a spillway, had been overtopped, with water covering a pedestrian walkway at its base. The water found any way it could to flow as it collected throughout the park. The side road leading to the group camps had to be closed when the force of water flowing under it overwhelmed the CCC-built culvert and washed almost half the roadway with a huge sink hole. (This was especially deceptive, since the roadway surface looked as if the damage was only a few feet wide.) And for those leaving the park, the main routes were closed, forcing them – many pulling RV’s -- to find another way to go.

Damage to Powhatan trail

On Sunday, we did some exploring on our own further into the park. We saw gullies dug into trails, vegetation flattened far away from the water, and huge trees downed. The river level was still high, flooding pedestrian bridges, a low-lying group campfire site and was still too high to reach much of the boat ramp area, including the 2 cars. There was a huge tree entangled in the bridge over Swift Creek, and the canoes and kayaks were lodged in trees. That was just what we could see. There was also serious damage to the bike trails on the north side of the park. Coming back from this will take quite a bit of work.

Cathy staining deck on Appamattuck cabin

Cabin Work
Fortunately, the group cabins were undamaged by the storms. Although our route to get to them changed pretty dramatically. The Monday after the storm, we made our way down East State Park road, avoiding its new sinkhole. However, on our return, our way was blocked by plastic fencing and a locked gate, for which we had no key. A call to the park ranger gave us another way out using fire roads. A little bit bumpier, but our golf cart was easily able to make the trip.

Our work on the Group Cabins took two forms: physical work on the buildings in Appamattuck and Chickahominy, and planning for this year’s Cabin Work Week and other volunteer work on the cabins. Appamattuck was the focus of last year’s work. There wasn’t too much to do. The repairs made with new pressure-treated wood needed to be primed and painted. And all of the decks needed to be stained, especially the cabin nearest the lodge that had its boards replaced at the end of the season and the nurse’s cabin near the Dining hall. We power washed all of the decks and the shower house in preparations for staining and painting. We managed to finish priming and painting all the cabins and lodge and moved on to staining the decks, starting with the new deck on cabin 1.

Power washing cabin in Chickahominy

In Chickahominy, we powerwashed all of the buildings. This was made easier with the purchase of a new electric powerwasher and several hundred feet of hose that allowed us to double-team the effort. We were then ready for a volunteer group to arrive to scrape and paint the weekend of (oops!) the flash flood. No problem, more will be coming.

In the meantime, we needed to work on the myriad of tasks for this fall’s event. We met with Dustin, Park Ranger in charge of Volunteerism, and ran through some ideas for activities and meals, as well as the project scope. We surveyed supplies left from last year, and placed orders for paint, primer and stain that we could use for volunteers starting now. We posted flyers for Cabin Work Week and responded to interested volunteers. With an eye to social distancing, we started looking at Weyanock, another group cabin site in the same area as Appamattuck and Chickahominy. This would give volunteers plenty of area to spread out and there was quite a bit of work to do there as well, which we documented in pictures.

Adam and Jayden enjoying pizza at a belated birthday celebration.

Park Life
We were thrilled to get a visit from Adam and Jayden. We had a belated birthday celebration (with our first take-out in 5 months – pizza!), and on their return visit, Jayden learned to ride the minibots with grandpa. A week later, Bonnie and Troy and the kids arrived for a visit as well. Social distancing makes it a little hard, but it’s still great to see them and know they are well.

Now that we’re taking more showers in the RV, we were pleased that the Friends of Pocahontas SP purchased a new, larger portable waste tank. (Of course, Dave had some suggestions to guide the purchase.) We’ve used it several times now and it works great. The new one is towable with 4 sturdy wheels, has a larger capacity than the park’s old model, and has secure fittings that lock with our sewer hoses. Its only drawback is the height of the tank, but we accommodate that by setting it downhill from the RV. We picked this site with that in mind.

And our days are not only work. In addition to evening walks, we’ve taken some hikes through the park. Cathy has been collecting pictures of mushrooms of every color, which are thriving after all the rain.

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Late July - Transitions

7/31/2020

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In place at Pocahontas State Park

Leaving Jacksonville just before the end of July, we said our goodbyes and made our way to Pocahontas State Park on a leisurely trip north. Arriving on Thursday the 30th, we pulled in ahead of the weekend rush. After settling in, we were ready to start work in our role as Park Hosts for August.

Finishing Up
With only a couple of weeks left to take care of unfinished projects at Faith, we had to be sure any new ones could be finished before we left. One that had been bugging Cathy since we arrived last fall was the sign above Asbury Hall that had been hanging down precariously by a single screw, as the wood was rotting. Entering Faith’s campus from the campground, it was the first building you come to. The one where all of our project meetings were held. Where the Ocean Roads class met on Sunday mornings. Where Cathy had done all of her sewing this year. Where we staged groceries during the pandemic. Where we went to have Zoom calls. Passing by it multiple times a day, the sign begged to be fixed, but other priorities kept getting in the way. Cathy decided she had a small window to take care of this before we left town.

The wood was rotting, so it was not just a matter or re-attaching it. With Dave’s help, Cathy found a pressure-treated board in the wood shop that was already cut to the right length. After priming and painting it white, she used the old sign as a template to create stencils for the letters and traced them onto the new sign. Once she had filled them in with black paint, it was ready to hang. With Dave’s help, the sign went back up easily and looks so much better.

"Do you want to try?" Barton's "yes" put him to work for a couple of hours cutting plexiglass.

Lori and Barton from Beyond 90 sought our help with a small project that would help them in a big way. In an effort to serve more clients and still preserve social distancing, they wanted to create plexiglass partitions they could erect between computer work stations. The only catch was the shape required an L-shaped cut in the large plexiglass sheet. Our last foray into cutting plexiglass with a jig saw had worked, but left a jagged edge that wouldn’t do well with this finer cut. Dave studied YouTube for tips on making a smoother cut than we had made last time. Armed with that advice, he brought out his multitool with a semi-circular saw blade, which worked much better. This time, he managed to convince Barton to join the project. With his much steadier hand, Barton operated the tool to make the cuts, while we held the large sheet in place. In a few hours, all cuts were done, and the first partition was in place, working as they had hoped.

Installing the final lock (for this season)

There was the occasional printer, computer or internet issue that Dave helped resolve. But we had one more locksmithing duty before we left as well. The church’s Mission House had recently been vacated and needed new locks. We re-keyed all of the exterior door knobs and deadbolts before we left. Since we had made so many lock changes, Dave printed up a cross-reference to leave behind that showed the key codes, locations and associated master keys, along with spare keys for each lock. Hopefully that will last until we return. Of course, by then, our skill will be pretty rusty.

Dave clears leaves from the roof and the awning

Packing Up
The RV was demanding more attention as we prepared to move again. Some things were just easier to do in Jacksonville, like cleaning the roof, scrubbing and stowing the grill, defrosting the freezer and washing the truck. There were also some repairs that we had been “meaning” to get to, that finally made the priority list – like replacing the plug on the RV’s power cord. This had been taped up for more than a year. We had the replacement plug for almost as long. However, when we moved the RV out of our site and up to the parking lot a week before leaving, we noticed a blackened prong on the old plug. Replacing it seemed much more urgent now.

Dave tapes up the covering under the RV, exposed by the water leak.

We also had some unpleasant surprise repairs at the last minute. Like the sewer hose that had a leak in it. Luckily the hole was near one end of the hose and our Rhino system of sewer hoses makes it pretty easy to simply re-attach the fitting to the cropped hose. Then there was the steady drip of water under the RV that we discovered one night when returning from our walk. Being parked on pavement, the flow of water was more obvious than it would have been back in the campground. How long had this been going on? Was it fresh water? Grey water? Black water (ugh)? We determined that it was grey water from the galley sink. We apparently had filled the galley grey water pretty full and it was leaking from the pressure on the fitting at the top of the tank. We’d never encountered it before, because we’ve never eaten so many meals (and washed so many dishes) in the RV over the course of a week before the pandemic hit. Once we dumped that tank the leak went away. Being sufficiently warned, we will make sure not to get it too full in the future. The leak had caused the covering on the underbelly to sag. We taped it back up (it had been opened a few years ago to repair a different leak), and we were good to go.

Then there were the things we wanted to upgrade, but had never gotten around to. We have an internal router that connects to a stronger antenna to pick up distant wifi signals. We had been having some problems with this becoming increasingly unreliable. Dave spent some time devising a better solution using the satellite connection pre-wired into the RV. By connection the internal wifi adapter to the one end of the satellite cable, he could connect the external high-power antenna to the other end of the cable outside. With the set up, the internal unit was more accessible in the center of the RV, and the outdoor antenna could be moved to take advantage of nearby wifi. The result is that the network rarely goes down any more. And we could mount the wifi adapter out of site under the TV. Cathy likes that particularly well.

A few years ago, we upgraded our TV, only to discover after the fact that it didn’t have a connection to the RV’s stereo speakers. However, with our noisy AC running most of the time, it could be difficult to hear the TV sound. Dave was considering a new TV, when he discovered a simple solution with our existing TV. He bought a cable that connected the TV’s fiber optic port to the sound system. And magically, the speakers work again. How many years ago did we buy that TV?

Tightening Up

Then there’s the boat. Despite her best attempts to ignore it, Cathy drug herself up the ladder to check out the cover and the boat’s interior. It was still dry inside, but it needed some attention. One of the cover supports had bent back so that it wasn’t supporting the cover. Also, there were more spots where water was accumulating, blackening the cover and causing more leaks. Then, there were the bugs. Ants from the nearby trees had found their way onto the boat.

So, having made sure the nearby bushes and trees were away from the cover, Cathy treated the interior more than once to reduce the ant population. Next, she and Dave scrubbed the cover to remove dirt and mildew. To remove the low spots on the cover, she fixed the support bow, tightened all the exsting lines between bows and added some, along with balls to boost the height even more. Much better. Then, she sprayed waterproofing on the upper half to keep the interior dry. This last step was a little tricky, given the daily showers in Jacksonville. To her surprise, within minutes of finishing the job, the skies opened up on her. Hardly the 6 to 12 hours of drying time. So, we bought some more and she did it again. Hopefully, it will remain dry for the next few months while we’re away.

New Green Acres RV Park in Walterboro SC

Traveling Up

With the sweltering summer heat, we couldn’t face sleeping in an RV with no or limited A/C, so boondocking on the trip north was out of the question. Cathy found 2 campgrounds, close to I-95 and reasonably spaced to make for shorter days. The first was in Walterboro, SC about 50 miles north of the GA line. And the 2nd was in Roanoke Rapids, NC which gave us the opportunity to see Christina and Serenity for the first time in a long time. Both campgrounds allowed us to check in over the phone and stay no-contact. We limited our stops en route to fuel and rest areas, keeping away from others successfully, and making for an uneventful trip.

Serenity and Christina at Carolina Crossroads RV Resort

We were excited to see Serenity, who has grown a lot since we saw her last. We were lucky to arrive between softball nights. We kept our distance and donned our masks for the visit, as we sat outside Mother Nature smiled on us with a cooling breeze at the end of a hot day. Hopefully, it won’t be so long before our next time together.

Dave and Kerstin discuss the work to be done

Starting Up
Shortly after arriving at Pocahontas, we met with the new volunteer coordinator, Kerstin and her boss, Dustin to discuss the work for the coming months. The Appamattuck group cabins that had received so much attention last fall had some minor painting tasks to consider them complete. Our primary focus for this year’s Cabin Work Week would be its neighbor, the Chickahominy group cabins. There would be some smaller volunteer groups between now and October, so we agreed on some suggested projects for them that varied to accommodate their skills.

No question we’ll have plenty to do.

Parting Shot
Our last walk on the evening before we left Jacksonville was during the remnants of a rain storm. We got a blessing as a result with a beautiful rainbow (with a faint double as well). Guess that means it’s OK to move on.

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