Appalachacola, Carrabelle, Fl.

 Often in our culture, we tear down anything 'old'.  Not true in many foreign countries.  I'm glad some history has been saved, when I can stand and view a slave home on the property of an early leader of Appalachacola.

 How many times had eyes stared out this window?  How much life evolved inside.  Where did the residents and their family go later on? .......................??? questions.

 The 'Main' house is kept up now as a tourist atttaction.  Decorated for Christmas, this one front window with a reflection of the flying American Flag in the glass window, caught our eye.

 NOT store bought, but finely crafted with love and attention in an old fashion kind of way.

 Home garden decorated for the Christmas Season.

 Below, one of several bat houses on the property.

 This part of Florida is slowly giving in to the development that is commonly changing our country from quaint to generic, but much of the 'old' is certainly there and the locals are proud of their heritage.  Nice town, nice vibes.

 A war memorial in a special square, contained bronze statues for each of the 5 US services proudly displayed.  Very Nice!

 Local art had changed this old home into a gallery.  Funky but it sure made me smile.  Had to stop and do a walk about.

 Old, mixed with new.  The 'tire' told you of another chapter in this town's history.  The vine? well the book that is being written.

 Gosh, I was trying to figure out how I could get this sweetie to join my crew!?

 Or this one!!!  Yes, once a sailor, always a sailor..............you don't grow out of certain things.  ;)

 Dorothy noted the nets were colored perfectly for the Christmas Season!

 Not many of the wooden fishing boats left.  Time, hurricanes and the cost of this highly labor intensive craft have taken the majority to the bone yards of the deap blue or the local marshes.  They photograph so well though, and I can't stop imagining stories lived aboard these vessels.

 'Art' in the eye of the (this) beholder.

 A bronze copy of the Vietnam Memorial art standing in DC is at a park in Appalachacola,Fl.

A sight once common when I was a kid, were fields and fields of cotton in the southern U.S.  No more.  This cotton was decorative growth in a private garden.

Manatee Springs to Crystal River Archeological sites

Several times in the past we have chosen to take a slow trip up the coast of Florida.  We have stopped at Manatee Springs 4 times now and love it for it's quiet, natural setting.  The spring this park is named for, is as clear as air, yet appears turquoise.  Folks love to swim or soak in it's cool waters.  Along the short waterway  from the spring to the Suwannee River, the park system has built a wooden raised walkway, to traverse the cypress swamp.

Buzzards lined the tree tops and below, in the mud were constant signs of raccoon traffic.

While sitting in our motor home, we enjoyed the deer walking through the campground eating vegetation.  They were cautious and often looked around.  Later, while walking our dog, we came across deer several times.

 Our dog, a rat terrier/all of 8 pounds was totally confused.  Her eyes were as large as they get.  Seems she had never seen a 'dog ' this big!

Next day, we were traveling north and spotted a sign for an archaeological site along the Crystal river.  I enjoy the history of our hemisphere so turned to investigate.  The site was the remnants of a village along the water dating thousands of years ago.  Various tribes over time inhabited this area.

A shell midden was at one time a Temple Mound with a ramp built leading to a large stone in the center of the village which might have had special significance.  The midden was build entirely of oyster shells.  Sorry to say, part of the midden mound, had been destroyed by early settlers or land owners but it does allow a good shot of the shells.

In the museum was something extremely interesting to me.  A pottery chard (piece) that resembles the large eyed drawing humans have drawn for thousands of years, representing aliens.  Yes, aliens.

I have NEVER seen this drawing on Eastern indian pottery, although in the american south west, this representation of a humanoid is common in petroglyphs.

Also, inside the museum as a very decent collection of man made weapon points, from spears or arrows.  I happen to be lucky enough to have one of these.

This display shows a specific type of arrow head I actually found on the surface of a plowed field in Georgia 40 years ago. It's the 'White' one shown here in the upper right and called by either name,  a Bollen Bevel or a Big Sandy.  It's one of the earliest projectile points found in the South East U.S.  and was believed to be made by the first nomadic peoples venturing into this  part of the U.S 7,000 BC, read that as...........9,000 years ago!  How cool!

Pottery displayed here was pieced together from fragments found on the property.

View from the top of the Temple Mound looking west.

Merry Christmas

We are finally off traveling for the winter, so wishing a Merry Christmas and Wonderful New Years to all.

Travel posts start this week,
thanks for waiting!

Hammer Head Shark at our dock!

Surprise, Surprise....when I looked over and saw a Hammer Head shark about 10' from me, a foot below the surface.  It was a juvenile, about 36-40" long, slowly checking out the empty slip next to Memory Rose.
I luckily had my camera near me too, so I was able to grab a few shots of it as it was swimming out to deeper water.

I passed it along to the local  TV news channels, 8 and 9 and caught it being aired once per hour.  The good reason for this was a few weeks ago, a spear fishing group was attacked by a bull shark in our local waters.

9-11

Replace Onan Genset with 1 or 2 Honda eu2000i's on Drawer Slide Assembly

 I removed the Onan 6500 watt Commercial Generator. It was far too Big  for our Class C needs; too Heavy and Noisy by a long shot and also, did I mention ......... a real Gas Hog!  Why would a Class C EVER need a gen set this big? Yikes, "don't you love the ....salesman?..Stop the Snake Oil CRAP and get back to truth..................
Ok, getting back to our post....

     The Access Door's 24" width was increased to 32" with our new Ebay door... to allow easy access for One or Two, new Honda eu2000i Generators.

BEFORE

AFTER

Sold original Onan 6500 Commercial Genset on Craig's List locally to a new Class A guy who needed constant AC,  to make space for a Slide Out Shelf/Drawer for either 1 or 2, Honda eu2000i -- "normally portable"-- generators.
While I am rebuilding this space--to hold 2 of these Honda's, I must admit, I will probably only bring one along with us now, for quiet/efficient battery charging and not 2 Hondas required for the higher amps required for Air Conditioner use. My project though is meant for 2 Gensets!

 This space will continue to use the original Pair of --frame mounted "L" shaped "C"channel mounts (shown in black) to adapt to this Sliding Drawer system.  The Drawers are made of heavy 1/4" 6061 Aluminum construction.  NOTE, the vehicles frame was drilled to allow the C channels to be relocated with a wider stance than original, so it could offer a wide Drawer Assembly.


Shown below, the concept of Drawer Slide Assembly and  initial drawing taken to machine shop.

Shown above, is close to, the final product, mounted to the underside of the original but relocated black frame extensions.  The Black L frames were spread Wider...on the Frame to allow a Wider Drawer Assembly.   Shown here also, is the new enlarged opening with Eternabond tape sealing all edges.

The NEW access door was an inexpensive Ebay purchase but was purchaced to allow an increase in the width of opening, from 24" to 32".     I  cut the door shown below,  almost in half,   left to right.... and relocated the Twist lock mechanisms, to the sides.  (See other photo of this door below, as finished product)  I also bought 2 locks to add to the Original holes in the door assembly and now have then installed.   The door modification hides the lower half of the Honda Genset as I boxed in the area.  The original Onan was visually too obvious and I think I can clean up the look and security of the new installation quite a bit!  What do "you" think?

I used a sabre saw with a long metal blade to cut the sides of the opening to the desired size.

The foam insulation was removed to a depth necessary to insert a piece of 2" x 4" material which was then marked and trimmed to fit.  The wood, bonded into place with Liquid Nails was then taped over completely with Eternabond tape for future protection, prior to installing the door.  The purpose of the wood it so the door assembly has something to be fastened to.

Basic assembly of Drawer Slide installed.

The Triple rail slides extend 28" out from the closed position and can support 176 lbs. at that position....far more load than I can impose on it.

The Drawer Slide assembly creates "Ease of Access", rather than just building a 'compartment' for the generators.  Being able to easily load or unload a generator and not have to bend or twist my back while using, maintaining, or fueling or starting these Hondas  is 'to me', worth the extra expense and effort.

 Shown above if the Drawer Slid out a few inches to demonstrate the Locking Mechanism I built to prohibit the drawer from sliding out while I drive!

Drawer Slide in 'Closed Position'.....ready to insert Push Pin (shown on lanyard).

Locked Position.

FINISHED !  Honda Generator is hidden from sight and the enclosure blends in, almost unnoticeable.

The Onan's Remote Start Button located inside the M.H. was sold on Ebay, as the Honda replacement is a Pull Start.

Replaced the "Start Button and hour meter with an intelligent Read Out of Voltage"

Minimizing Water Usage

I just wrote something on one of my favorite RV sites that I thought I should just ADD to my blog, so here goes!
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OK, gonna hang it 'out on a limb' here...

We are Sailors as well as land bound "Travelers" in our RV.  Methods learned from nautical cruising for more than 30 years have graced us with some wisdom, --- that is appropriate to land travel too.

At this point, we should agree that: ...."Limiting what you "put water IN a holding tank, can extend the time between Dump Station Visits". 


For Showering, we use land based showers at State and Private Campgrounds but when in more remote locations.....to save Drinkable Water and Grey Water Tank levels, we use a "Solar Shower 2.5 gallon bag and NOT our built in shower, unless necessary".    On our boat and RV, we heat up the water-only a bit with Sun Light(2 hours maybe)- so there is no scorching, but in the RV, if we need it, we fill the plastic bag with some water out of our tank-then add a tea/coffee pot volume of water heated by our propane stove-then top off the rest of the bag with more tap water.
This gives us a pleasant temperature... and power 'efficient' - shower.
....When appropriate.... we hang the 2.5 gallon Solar Shower Bag, on the rear of our rig's roof ladder 'or, if more comfortable' a tree limb ......and enjoy our shower..........after dark.   We read that sink and shower water can be used for watering our garden plants, so why not 'mother nature's'?
When not using this method we can go a week or more without need to empty our grey water tanks at Dump Stations.

In the galley, we opt to use a Moen single handle control for supply of water[recently purchased at Home Depot, NOT OEM], with a fine/minimal.... 'spritzer'.... to rinse dishes. This uses  much less water;  rather than the FULL FLOW of water available!!

IF, you do not "put water IN a tank, you do not have to EMPTY a tank".      ;)

We do make it a practice of emptying both tanks once a week when possible
Simplification works without minimizing life's pleasures or responsibilities.

Base Plate installation / Tow Package setup for Hyundai

We had purchased a Hyundai Elantra Touring manual shift auto in 2010.  One important thought at the time, was to purchase a car that 'could' be towed behind our motor home.  Well, I finally got the time and inclination to order all the parts necessary to accomplish a safe tow.
I had to wait, until a manufacturer actually had produced a BasePlate for our particular car.  It took Blue Ox company 2 years to actually get one to market.  I ordered it in May.

The installation seemed straightforward, but I found their instructions to be lacking detail and incomplete. "Of course, there is the caveat "Professional Installation" required or suggested................. :(

Removing the front panels on the car was not difficult, but getting the car up off the ground took some thouhgt and time to set up.  I had some extra lumber in my garage, so built a platform of it and used a short piece as a ramp for both sides.  Not being as flexible as I used to be, I needed the advantage of a more comfortable sitting/work position on the floor.

To install the BasePlate bar, some of the front panels had to be trimmed, as well as 2 corners off of the Frame Rail extensions.  That all went well and I was able to cut, drill and mount all of the components, but the cutting of the grille, required to allow the Baseplate components to be accessed from the front, was inadequately explained in the instructions.  Hence, I cut away a bit too much, instead of a perfect job, I got one that I call acceptable........

The 'Wiring' portion of this Tow Setup requires a 4 wire harness to be run from the Front Grill Area, back to the rear lights.........for brakes, tail and turn signals.  This job, I think I'm going to have to hire out as I just cannot bend my body into the tight spaces required anymore......... so be it.  I ran the wiring from the front 6 pin connector at the Grille, to just inside the engine compartment.

Now, I'm going to search the phone book and internet to see who I can find to complete this job.

Loved the Music!

But feel awful in the morning.................

Felt like this the whole week.                                      thanks Bob ;)  but I get this way too.

Moen Water Faucet for Galley

Tired of the cheap  $5. plastic faucet put in our rig 20 years ago, so upgraded it to a quality metal Single Hand Moen Faucet.

No more dual knobs...............One Lever and a 'Spritzer' !