Cathy in Virginia Arriving in Virginia the day before our daughter’s surgery, Cathy would spend the next 3 weeks often behind the wheel of the car, ferrying the family to school and various appointments. Meanwhile back in Jacksonville, Dave dug into the van’s issues in earnest and helped with a few things around the church.
Grandma driving Troy to the prom Drive Time
A few weeks before arriving in Virginia, our grandson had undergone a surgery that not only took him out of school for at least of couple of weeks, but limited his ability to drive. With his recovery going slower than originally hoped, and his mom’s knee replacement about to take her out of commission, there was a strong need for another driver. Shortly after Cathy’s arrival, Troy was going back to school, meaning a typical weekday involved 3 trips to town for about 90 miles of driving. Then there were several trips to doctors in Richmond – a 120 mile round trip or Prince George – a 70 mile round trip. Not to be left out, the newest member of the family, the French bulldog Winston needed a trip to the vet on the last day of Cathy’s visit. He is 30 lbs of pure muscle, which took all of her strength to keep him in check on the trip. One trip to the “city” came back with 6 live chickens. All in a day’s driving. In all, Cathy watched the odometer rise almost 2000 miles before the visit was over.
A few weeks before arriving in Virginia, our grandson had undergone a surgery that not only took him out of school for at least of couple of weeks, but limited his ability to drive. With his recovery going slower than originally hoped, and his mom’s knee replacement about to take her out of commission, there was a strong need for another driver. Shortly after Cathy’s arrival, Troy was going back to school, meaning a typical weekday involved 3 trips to town for about 90 miles of driving. Then there were several trips to doctors in Richmond – a 120 mile round trip or Prince George – a 70 mile round trip. Not to be left out, the newest member of the family, the French bulldog Winston needed a trip to the vet on the last day of Cathy’s visit. He is 30 lbs of pure muscle, which took all of her strength to keep him in check on the trip. One trip to the “city” came back with 6 live chickens. All in a day’s driving. In all, Cathy watched the odometer rise almost 2000 miles before the visit was over.
When the doctor finally cleared him to drive, Troy practically leapt behind the wheel of his mom’s new car. And, as a new driver, Taylor took the driver’s seat a few times as well, which gave Grandma a break. This being the last few weeks of Troy’s senior year, he was determined not to miss out on some special events. Cathy had the privilege of driving him to his prom. And he donned his future school’s (Virginia Tech) colors for “Decision Day”, acknowledging the schools the seniors would be attending in the coming year. Taylor joined more than one trip to the city so she could do some shopping as well.
 Troy and Taylor giving Grandma a break. |  |
Enjoying a campfire when the weather and everyone's health cooperated. By the last week of the visit, the “patients” had improved considerably. The living room was no longer looking like a hospital room and we had gathered more than once for a campfire. Troy was able to laugh (which had been very painful after surgery), and Bonnie’s repaired knee was allowing her leg to straighten more than it had in years. Most importantly, was the pain was going away.
A freshly waxed 5th wheel Meanwhile, Back at Faith
While Jose finished washing and waxing the fifth wheel, Dave continued to fight to keep his new grass growing. Rain was still in short supply in Jacksonville, with the smoke from nearby wildfires creating a smoky haze daily. However, it wasn’t the lack of water that was Dave’s problem, but an invasion.
While Jose finished washing and waxing the fifth wheel, Dave continued to fight to keep his new grass growing. Rain was still in short supply in Jacksonville, with the smoke from nearby wildfires creating a smoky haze daily. However, it wasn’t the lack of water that was Dave’s problem, but an invasion.
The grass grows despite the assault by armadillos. Something was digging up his precious grass. But, unlike the pests typical of the yards back in Rochester, such as moles and groundhogs, this was a new nemesis. The local hardware store gave him a quick answer: armadillos. They were hungry for the insects living in the grass, causing them to dig it up. Dave spent several days applying treatments to repel these critters, although he never caught a glimpse of them. One day he did see a rare group of animals. A family of river otters was leaving the new pond across the creek. They were too fast for the camera though.
The church also was replacing their tables and chairs in Wesley Hall. So, Dave and Jose spent a day removing the old and bringing in the new. Over the next few weeks, dispensing the old tables and chairs became an on-going task, including an arrangement that some of them be sent to a school in Africa.
Security on the church campus has been a subject of discussion by the Trustees. Dave met with the Jacksonville Sherriff's office representative to understand what the church might want to do on campus to improve security.
The church’s network often needs a little attention. Some recent alerts about older routers being vulnerable to attack caused him to replace the church’s main router, and while he was at it replaced the one in fifth wheel as well. He also reviewed the church's computers to ensure all were up to date on software.
Security on the church campus has been a subject of discussion by the Trustees. Dave met with the Jacksonville Sherriff's office representative to understand what the church might want to do on campus to improve security.
The church’s network often needs a little attention. Some recent alerts about older routers being vulnerable to attack caused him to replace the church’s main router, and while he was at it replaced the one in fifth wheel as well. He also reviewed the church's computers to ensure all were up to date on software.
Enjoying BBQ Thursday Despite all of these efforts, Dave was becoming most noted for a new tradition he was started: Barbecue Thursdays. Dave would fire up the smoker and bring the tasty results to the office around lunch time.
The Clock is Ticking
Time was getting short to get the van ready for our trip to Newfoundland. There were still some key systems not working: solar, hot water, and the battery monitor. After a few delays, Dave was finally able to work with Shane, a local mobile RV repairman, to get these systems working. By analyzing the connections to the solar panels, they determined what needed to change to get them charging the batteries. With the change, he was finally seeing power going into the batteries from them.
Next he needed to ensure that the battery monitor was seeing all of the draws from the devices in the van. Large draws could come from the AC for example, which was not being reflected on the monitor. This was solved by adding a shunt from the negative wires to the monitor. After making the change, Dave was gaining confidence that he was getting an accurate picture of the state of the batteries.
The Clock is Ticking
Time was getting short to get the van ready for our trip to Newfoundland. There were still some key systems not working: solar, hot water, and the battery monitor. After a few delays, Dave was finally able to work with Shane, a local mobile RV repairman, to get these systems working. By analyzing the connections to the solar panels, they determined what needed to change to get them charging the batteries. With the change, he was finally seeing power going into the batteries from them.
Next he needed to ensure that the battery monitor was seeing all of the draws from the devices in the van. Large draws could come from the AC for example, which was not being reflected on the monitor. This was solved by adding a shunt from the negative wires to the monitor. After making the change, Dave was gaining confidence that he was getting an accurate picture of the state of the batteries.
With the repairs complete, the bed is back in service. Finally, the hot water / heat system needed to have an upgraded control box and display. The one that came with the van only allowed gas to heat the hot water and there was no way to access the settings. The control box was straightforward to replace. But the display had a very short pigtail behind a large panel. With some careful maneuvering, Dave and Shane were able to make the switch. Once they turned on the hot water, the battery monitor showed a tremendous draw. Apparently the default was to heat the hot water with electric, not gas. It was a simple fix, but one more proof that the monitor was actually working now.
All of these repairs required access under the bed. So, once complete, Dave was finally able to but the bed back together. It was starting to look like we could make this trip work.
All of these repairs required access under the bed. So, once complete, Dave was finally able to but the bed back together. It was starting to look like we could make this trip work.
Floridian arriving in Jacksonville Parting Shot
After Cathy's 3 weeks of driver duty was done, she boarded a train for Jacksonville. She arrived early on a Thursday morning with less than a week left before we would pull out for our summer travels It was good to back home and with Dave, but it would be a busy week.
After Cathy's 3 weeks of driver duty was done, she boarded a train for Jacksonville. She arrived early on a Thursday morning with less than a week left before we would pull out for our summer travels It was good to back home and with Dave, but it would be a busy week.
