Surprises in Leesburg, FL

Rick has been playing golf a couple times a week and last week, as he and his group approached the first green, found a group of sandhill cranes on the green.

It was pretty clear that these guys thought they were in charge and were not shy at all. In fact, they did not want to move so that we could putt the ball toward the hole! Slowly, they decided to ease along, making very load squawks to show their displeasure! We enjoyed seeing these large, beautiful birds.

We were shopping the other day and as we went out to the car, Rick heard a great sound as a four engined plane cruised overhead. Wow -- a B-24 on approach to the local Leesburg airport. We quickly traveled to the nearby airport and found that the Collins Foundation was in town with their flying collection of WWII aircraft! This B-24 was perfect and really was incredible to see.

Collins brought three aircraft, including this perfect P-51 Mustang fighter. This plane was a remarkable sound in the air and can exceed 400 mph. This plane protected bombers as they flew from England to Berlin and back -- imagine sitting in this small cockpit for hours -- and then having air to air combat with German fighters. Gives us pause to consider that.

Here is Rick's favorite -- the B-17. Imagine seeing these great aircraft on approach to the airport. Collins keeps these aircraft in perfect condition and tours the country to acquaint folks with the history of aviation in WWII.

While these planes were huge in the WWII era, they are very cramped and small inside. Rick has toured inside them and was amazed at how tight they are; of course, they were designed to carry a heavy bomb load and not provide luxury accommodations!

Florida Fishing on the Harris Chain

Dad and I have enjoyed fishing in the Lake Harris Chain of lakes in Central Florida for the past few weeks. This is classic Florida fishing in weeds, shallow water, and is a lot of fun.

One of the amazing things about this area is the wildlife that is around. While this is not the best picture, this bald eagle was one of several we usually see. There are a couple of nesting pair of eagles in the area and it is fun to watch them hunt.

This osprey shows that the eagles are not alone. There are many ospreys around and we see many each day. These guys really know how to fish -- they are much more productive than we are!

The Harris Chain of lakes is connected by several canals and rivers which provide a huge place to fish and explore. This is Haines Creek which is about 6 miles long and connects Lake Eustis and Lake Griffin. It is also a great place to fish!

Dad caught this nice bass while we were out. The weather is finally starting to warm up and we are looking forward to fishing in the next few weeks.

Our New Dingy - Installing a Baseplate in a Buick Lacrosse

We had enjoyed driving (and towing) our Chevy HHR for the past two years, but decided we really wanted a larger, more comfortable ride. After reviewing the various vehicles that can be towed with four wheels down, we found this 2010 (used) Buick Lacrosse, which was loaded with all kinds of great options. Of course, we had to set it up for towing and the first step is to install a towing baseplate on the car.

Rick has installed several baseplates on other cars (a couple for us and others for friends) and has had good success using the Roadmaster baseplates and we ordered one for the Buick (we made sure they had a plate available before purchasing the car).

The first step is to dismantle the front of our nice, new (to us), car! We used Rick's Dad's house for a work site since the RV site we are at is grass.

Several of my Dad's neighbors dropped by to watch the demolition and were very impressed -- and a bit skeptical that we could get it back together.

Here, my Dad tries out Rick's power screw/bolt driver which came in very handy. He was a big help in getting this project done!

This shows the level of tear-down needed. The Roadmaster instructions were very good and showed each step with a description and picture. Still, it helps to have installed a couple of these before.

We are now ready to actually install the baseplate. The plate is custom fit to the car and required some drilling (1/2" holes -- be sure to get new, sharp bits for this!).

Here, Rick has completed torquing the several bolts holding the baseplate to the car. The baseplate can be seen under the headlight.

After about 6 hours (including a few stops for rest, lunch, etc.) we were done! The baseplate is almost invisible when the plate mounts (seen above) are removed. We had to do some cut and fit with the foam insulation behind the front fascia -- this require a bit of patience, but is required to ensure a close fit of the front assembly.

Success! Rick still needs to complete the wiring and the brake - breakaway, but the baseplate is the biggest issue in getting the car ready to tow. While not for the faint of heart, this installation is well within the reach of folks who have some mechanical experience. You can visit the Roadmaster Website to download installation instructions for a given vehicle to get an idea of what is involved.

Visiting the Battleship USS Alabama

During our travels from Arizona to Florida on I-10, we traveled through Mobile, AL where the WWII battleship Alabama is berthed as a museum. I had seen it from the interstate several times and this time, I wanted to be sure that we could stop and pay a visit. As we drove into the park and saw this great ship, I was delighted we had made time for a quick stop. This is especially true since this is the sister ship to the battleship South Dakota.

While there is plenty of room int he parking lot for our coach, we spent the night in a Mobile RV park and then drove to the ship in the morning. Wow -- is this ship BIG! This shot shows the 16" guns on the bow and you can just see Orinda standing next to the turret to give a relative size. These guns can fire a 2,000 pound shell some 20 miles! Glad I am not on the receiving end of this.

You can tour throughout the battleship -- including the brig where this errant sailer was being punished! I will have to see if I can get Orinda sprung out!

In addition to the Alabama, there are many other great exhibits including the USS Drum, a WWII submarine that you can tour completely. Orinda did not want to tour given the close quarters, but Rick could not wait to check it out.

This is a great tour! This is a remarkably preserved vessel and you get a great feel for how subs operated in WWII. Here, Rick is in the aft torpedo room.

Rick is not as young as he used to be as he learned when crawling though these hatches. Glad I don't have to run through these!

Finally, there are a number of historic aircraft displayed including this A-12, a fore-runner of the famous Blackbird (SR71) . All in all, this has been a great tour and one that I really enjoyed. If you are traveling though Mobile, be sure to take a few hours and visit this great museum.

Wee-Bee RV Service helps out on the Tour

Rick has been pretty slack about posting to the blog! During the last month or so, we have been on the road and traveling from Arizona to Florida. Upon arrival in Eustis, FL, we found that one of our slide awning tops had pulled away from it's mount on the coach. At first, we figured this was no big deal, but we learned otherwise when we had a heavy rain and the slide awning formed a funnel where it pulled loose and directed a terrific amount of water right on the slide gasket which seeped some water into the coach. After this, it was definitely time to fix the awning!

Since we had just arrived at the Southern Palms RV Resort and did not know our way around, we checked with the office to see if any mobile service firms could work in the park. We received three names and called each one. Cody Wambolt, of Wee Bee RV Service, sounded knowledgeable and was interested in coming over, so we choose his service and were very glad we did.

Cody and his wife arrived at our coach right on time and quickly determined that our awning had separated around the plastic bead that fits in a channel on the coach. He un-wound the awning roller, pinned it, and then all three of us proceeded to slide out the awning fabric (all 20' of it) so we could examine it. This sounds easier than it was since this stuff is very flexible and hard to pull. Anyway, he got the material out of the awning rails and spread it on the ground where Rick (me!) used a special glue to re-fasten the awning material over the bead. This allowed us to save the money of a new awning since our current one was in great shape, but the old glue had let go.

Finally, we had the chance to re-thread the repaired awning into the rails -- which was a real thrill. It took all three of us to pull, push and maneuver the awning into position. I was really pleased that Cody knew exactly what to do.

All in all, this was a very good repair experience. Cody and team arrived on time, were very knowledgeable, and reasonably priced. Plus, he and his wife are fellow fulltime RVers! What more could you ask for! We highly recommend this firm if you are in the central Florida area.

Traveling from Arizona to Florida

We had a great couple months at Palm Creek RV Resort in Casa Grande, AZ, but it was time to head to Florida to visit with my parents. This is an interesting trip as we travel first in desert terrain, then hit the hills of Texas, and finally the coastal areas of Alabama into Florida. We followed I-10 for most of the way and found that the road was great most of the way.

Shortly after leaving Casa Grade, we stopped for fuel at Kingman, AZ and found ourselves on one of the few remaining parts of the original Route 66. We thought about how much longer it would take on the old two lane "Mother Road" as compared with the I-10 interstate.

Here we are hitting the state line of New Mexico. We are sure still in the desert area and thought about how comfortable we were tooling along in the motorcoach. We stopped at a nice RV park in Demming and headed out the next morning.

Finally, we hit Texas. We were again amazed at the size of the state -- heck, this is more like a small continent. You can count on traveling almost 900 miles on I-10 while in the great state of Texas! To put this into perspective, this is about the same distance as driving from Orlando, FL to Baltimore, MD! First, we drove in flat desert terrain, but after a few hundred miles, encountered hills, trees and lakes. Amazing! We want to come back to Texas and really explore this huge state.

Casa Grande Ruins -- an OLD Civilization!

We traveled to Coolidge, AZ to visit Casa Grande National Monument, which is about 18 miles from our RV park in Casa Grande, AZ. This is the location of a Sonoran Desert farming group of people that dates from around 1000 AD to about 1450.

These people were impressive builders and left behind a number of building ruins, such as these walls, which form the National Monument.

This is the Great House -- also known as Casa Grande -- for which the area is known. This very large structure is actually 4 stories high and has thick, straight walls built out of a clay substance. Dating from 1350, this shows how strong these buildings were. The roof now over the ruin was erected in 1932 and protects it from the weather.

Orinda shows how accurately these buildings were constructed. These buildings would be pretty impressive today -- imagine how amazing these were in 1350.

These people actually farmed the area using canal systems to irrigate the fields. Amazingly, these huge canal fields were dug by hand and managed for centuries.

This sophisticated culture lasted until about 1450 when the city was abandoned. Some folks believe that there were severe floods which destroyed the canals and fields. In any event, they left behind some amazing feats of engineering.

We really enjoyed our visit to Casa Grande Ruins and the desert the surrounded it. Well worth a stop if you are in the area!