By mid-July we had arrived back in the Rochester area, where we would spend the next 2 weeks – first at a Boondocker’s Welcome home for a couple of days, and then at Hamlin Beach State Park for the rest of the month. Between visits with friends and family, we made some repairs on the RV, explored some new places, and enjoyed some local favorite food.
An impressive solar array at our host's in Riga NY. Riga, NY
As we drove down the long driveway, we couldn’t help but notice the huge solar array that greeted us at our Boondocker’s Welcome host in Riga NY, a Rochester suburb. We backed into a gravel pad next to the house and set up, but we arrived just a little early. The host had been motivated by our arrival to install a planned 50Amp outlet, and given the forecasted 90 degree temperatures, it would be welcome. There were just a couple of glitches.
Arriving shortly after noon, Val had not completed the final step of the install. We also had not parked quite close enough to the outlet to reach from the RV with our 50Amp cord alone. No problem. Or so we thought. We just had to use an adaptor and our 30Amp cord. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the right adaptor. We needed a male 50 to female 30amp plug. We had a female to male 50-30 adaptor. So, we made a run to Walmart to pick up the missing part, and we were back in cool air. Our hosts were busy folks with work and family, but we got to talk a few times over our stay. We learned more about the solar array that produces more power than they can use, and got to sample some fresh zucchini and basil from the garden.
As we drove down the long driveway, we couldn’t help but notice the huge solar array that greeted us at our Boondocker’s Welcome host in Riga NY, a Rochester suburb. We backed into a gravel pad next to the house and set up, but we arrived just a little early. The host had been motivated by our arrival to install a planned 50Amp outlet, and given the forecasted 90 degree temperatures, it would be welcome. There were just a couple of glitches.
Arriving shortly after noon, Val had not completed the final step of the install. We also had not parked quite close enough to the outlet to reach from the RV with our 50Amp cord alone. No problem. Or so we thought. We just had to use an adaptor and our 30Amp cord. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the right adaptor. We needed a male 50 to female 30amp plug. We had a female to male 50-30 adaptor. So, we made a run to Walmart to pick up the missing part, and we were back in cool air. Our hosts were busy folks with work and family, but we got to talk a few times over our stay. We learned more about the solar array that produces more power than they can use, and got to sample some fresh zucchini and basil from the garden.
Jell-o Museum display While waiting for our reservation at Hamlin Beach State Park, we did a little sightseeing that we missed when we lived in the area. Where to? Well, there’s always room for Jell-O. That’s right, Jell-O was invented and produced for decades in nearby LeRoy NY. There is a cute museum, just south of downtown near the original factory. From the original 4 flavors (lime, strawberry, lemon and orange), the company expanded to add some very popular (e.g., cherry, raspberry) and some disastrously unpopular (coffee, chocolate) flavors. The marketing efforts evolved over the decades from traveling salesman on “Jell- wagons” passingO out free samples and recipe books, to the Jell-O girl, to original artwork for print media, souvenirs and more. There was even an entire wall of Jell-O molds.
This restored wagon was one of many that traveled the countryside promoting and selling Jell-O. In the basement of the Jell-O Museum was a sampling of antique modes of transportation – from a Jell-o wagon to a very early bicycle. And adjacent to the museum was the historic LeRoy house, built in the early 1800’s, it had served many purposes in its history before being donated to the local historical society in the 1930’s. One of its more unique antiques was a music box with a huge (around 2 ft in diameter) changeable metal plate that serenaded its owners with songs from Yankee Doodle Dandy to Fur Elise. Our guide treated us to a sample song. All of that touring made us hungry, and we found just the right lunch nearby. Beef on weck. Thin sliced roast beef on a salted caroway seed bun. Hard to describe, but this one was delicious.
Bikers on a path by the lake at Hamlin Beach State Park Hamlin Beach State Park
Last year, we began taking “inventory” of campsites at campgrounds that we frequent in order to remind ourselves of the better campsites. Unfortunately, we didn’t do this at Hamlin Beach last year. That proved to be a very poor decision. So, we made this year's choice based on availability and the best look that a satellite picture would provide. As we approached our site – D147 for those who care -- the obstacles were many. There were trees situated just on either side of the opening. The road was narrow and there was little “shoulder” of open space on either side of our approach on the road. We tried several different approaches and each would get us wedged in uncomfortably close to some obstacle. To add to the stress, this was a record-setting heat day, and we were holding up traffic on the one-way campground road.
Last year, we began taking “inventory” of campsites at campgrounds that we frequent in order to remind ourselves of the better campsites. Unfortunately, we didn’t do this at Hamlin Beach last year. That proved to be a very poor decision. So, we made this year's choice based on availability and the best look that a satellite picture would provide. As we approached our site – D147 for those who care -- the obstacles were many. There were trees situated just on either side of the opening. The road was narrow and there was little “shoulder” of open space on either side of our approach on the road. We tried several different approaches and each would get us wedged in uncomfortably close to some obstacle. To add to the stress, this was a record-setting heat day, and we were holding up traffic on the one-way campground road.
Site D147 But, as has happened a number of times on our travels, we quickly discovered we had more help at hand before we even asked. That car being held up? Well that was the off-duty park manager. When she understood our dilemma, she called over Cliff from Maintenance. He was able to help us finally get the RV into the site and we breathed a sigh of relief. And over the next week, we made a complete list of sites that we like. Site D147 is not on it.
Cathy with John and Kathy at their home on Lake Ontario. The good news about our site was that, once in it, it was nicely shaded and the temperatures moderated a bit over the next week and a half. We took down our bikes and explored the park, visited with friends and, of course, checked in with the dentist. Retracing our steps in a culinary way, we sampled some ice cream from Abbotts, Byrne Dairy Lu-Gia’s and Pittsford Dairy, had some Dinosaur BBQ, and Zwiegle’s hots.
With the stove removed, the converter sits by the wall in the back of the cavity. RV Stuff
Our last update was written in the middle of some problems with the RV’s electrical system. While in Hamlin, we were able to get some mail (thanks, Carol) which included a replacement converter and a battery charger. The converter was no longer consistently charging the batteries, although ironically shortly after pulling into Hamlin, it started working again. In theory, replacing the converter was simple. Just watch the folks on Youtube. Unplug it from AC, disconnect 3 wires and then re-plug and connect the 3 new wires. It would take maybe 10 minutes. Right? Not exactly.
Our last update was written in the middle of some problems with the RV’s electrical system. While in Hamlin, we were able to get some mail (thanks, Carol) which included a replacement converter and a battery charger. The converter was no longer consistently charging the batteries, although ironically shortly after pulling into Hamlin, it started working again. In theory, replacing the converter was simple. Just watch the folks on Youtube. Unplug it from AC, disconnect 3 wires and then re-plug and connect the 3 new wires. It would take maybe 10 minutes. Right? Not exactly.
Dave working to remove the stove that sits above the converter Our converter was located under the stove and behind the circuit panel. So, just to get at it, we needed to turn off the propane. Since we also had to disconnect the batteries, this meant the fridge was no longer on while we worked. Since the stove also has lights and electric start, we had to cut the wired connections to the stove. After removing the cover, we removed the screws holding the stove in place and carefully pulled it out.
It lights! Success. Then it should have been easy to replace the converter, right? Well, not exactly. It appeared the ground wire passed through the converter from another device to the panel. To make this work, we decided to leave the ground wire in its connector, but move the connector from the old to the new converter. This was probably the hardest part of the install, as Dave hung upside down in the cavity that used to hold the oven and removed and re-installed the ground. Despite the difficulties, it didn’t take that long to finish the install, reconnect the wires on the stove, re-connect the propane and re-install the stove. With the propane back on, the stove lit, the fridge started up, and more importantly, the batteries have been charging consistently since. Fingers crossed.
Our Iota Battery charger With the uncertainty of the RV’s converter, we decided to install our own battery charger, an Iota similar to the one used on the boat for years, and our last RV. It arrived before the converter and its install was pretty simple. We placed it on the wall in the bay just on the other side of the battery compartment. The converter arrived and was installed the next day, so although we have a backup to charge the batteries we haven’t had to use it. Yet.
This part was the source of our In-Command problems. Our final problem has been some problems with our In-Command system – a control panel for the RV’s systems. The screen had been freezing and losing communication off and on. A possible solution was a replacement “end of line” resistor that had to be installed on the RVP Gateway inside the A/C. It also arrived while in Hamlin. This was another “simple” install that was made more complex by the position of the gateway deep inside the A/C intake on the roof of the living room. Working overhead on a step stool, Dave managed to move aside the obstacles enough to replace the old resistor with the new one. Then we had to do a system reset. That meant disconnecting from shore power and the batteries. When the system came back online, everything still worked. Again, only time will tell whether the fix is permanent, but so far so good.
Parting Shot
When we were pulling out of Hamlin Beach we found this nest lodged inside our hitch pin. We placed it carefully on top of the nearby power pedestal and told the park staff about it, but it seems a long shot that the egg will eventually hatch. But who knows?
When we were pulling out of Hamlin Beach we found this nest lodged inside our hitch pin. We placed it carefully on top of the nearby power pedestal and told the park staff about it, but it seems a long shot that the egg will eventually hatch. But who knows?
