Crossing our Fingers

Thursday May 29, 2014
Brandywine Creek Campground
Glenmoore, Pennsylvania

 

TUESDAY May 27

Solar Update

We arrive back at Brandywine Creek Campground on Tuesday afternoon with all of the information David collected over 4 days at Shawnee State Park with low voltage and his discovery on Tuesday after we arrived of a grounding wire hanging down under the coach.  Only problem is, he didn’t know that was THE wire.  He thought it was one Greg had decided not to use.  Turns out that it was supposed to be attached to that infamous brass bolt that broke off due to being tightened too tight last week.  Greg and Jimmy, another electrician, arrive about 4:00 and they retrace what David has shown them.  The errant ground turns out to be the key to why nothing worked after we left here last time.  Plans are to rewire some things based on what David read in the manuals, saw in wiring diagrams and confirmed with Jack Mayer, a saint and solar guru, and with AM Solar with whom he talked several times.  The system is functional the way it has been wired, but it was not optimal and would lead to problems down the line that may not have shown up for some time.

We’re hoping all these together will put things to right so that we can take the plunge again at the end of the week and head back down the PA Turnpike for what we hope is the very last time.  

Our trip from Shawnee State Park back here was absolutely horrendous.  The turnpike going east is much much worse than it was going west.  $37.15 to have the coach almost bouncing off its chassis is not amusing.

 

WEDNESDAY May 28

 

I visit Whole Foods to stay out of the way.

 

 

On Wednesday, while they are taking all 4 batteries out to be tested to insure no damage was done to them and doing the rewiring,  I manage to find a Whole Foods but have to drive 25 miles on the worst roads I’ve seen since I’ve been full timing.  Thankfully Ruby can handle these things better than Winnona. 

Pennsylvania wins the award hands down for the worst roads of any state I’ve travelled through.   It has just been marked off my list of places to ever return to other than driving I-81 through on my way to other places.  MAYBE.

 

 

Whole Foods continues to be wonderful and I find all the things I love there including bulk spices where I buy an amount that will refill my dried oregano spice jar for $.08.  Yes you heard me right.  Not $2.59 which is the normal price for a jar of Oregano in most spice isles, but $.08 to refill my existing jar.  Not all Whole Foods have bulk spices but boy do I love them when they do.  As most of you know, I travel with half a dozen fresh herbs so I don’t use dried a lot but some recipes call for them.  If you don’t use them a lot, they can outlast their freshness shelf life so being able to replenish them inexpensively is great.  Thank you Whole Foods.   And thanks too for bulk Nutritional Yeast.   Everything is fresher and less expensive in bulk.

 

The Duckies become famous and take a dip.

 

Since I took the Duckie family portrait for Paul Dahl who gave a shout out to them on his blog, R Sanity RV Adventures, the other day, I thought I’d post if for those of you who may wonder what this “Duckie view” on our side bar is all about. 

The Duckie brothers and their adopted friend MWP (Mini Winnie the Pooh) ride on the dashboard and have the ‘out the front windshield’ view at all times.  They also get out into the water any time they can.  They particularly like the campsite at Brandywine Creek since the creek is right there and they can take a swim.  Actually MW isn’t much for swimming but he’ll go and watch.  David says he’s sitting on his tube but he has found that it doesn’t hold him up in the water.  For those interested in serious trivia, the story of the beach rescue of MWP can be found in this post from 2012.

 

gazing at the creek just beyond the rock border

 swimming in the creek

 

 

No Cuyahoga National park for me this trip.

Unfortunately all this delay is resulting in our having to cancel our stop by the mystery National Park in Ohio.  I guess I’ll have to catch it later.  Actually it’s not quite so much of a loss as one would think since many of the trails and the Tow Path Bike route are closed or partially closed due to flooding according to their website.  Perhaps I can route us this way next time we go to Maine since we for sure will be coming up I-81 and not I-95 to do that.  And no more turnpikes!!

Isn’t this life style with its wonderful flexibility just simply fantastic!!

 

 

THURSDAY May 29

 

We visit The Coffee Cup diner.

On Thursday David chooses, as you would guess, to go out for breakfast as his reward for SO many hours spent troubleshooting this problem.   We are talking here about days of doing nothing but tracing wires and reading manuals.  This was a very hard won breakfast that’s for sure.  I find a place called The Coffee Cup which I think he will like.  It’s much more charming and clear than my pictures would lead you to believe.

When we get there it doesn’t look like much on the outside but on the inside it turns out to be one of those old fashioned diners he likes so well.  I get out my camera to take a picture of him going inside only to find that A) I have left the memory card in my computer and B) this Canon SX 50 has no internal memory which shocked me.  I’ve never had a digital that didn’t have some internal memory until this one.

So I use my HTC Rezound android phone camera and get another shock.  The pictures are terrible.  Seriously dreadful.  The thing only focuses about half the time.  My HTC Thunderbolt gave up the ghost a few months ago and I had an extended warranty.  I wanted to keep my unlimited data plan, so I used the warranty rather than upgrade.  But, what I didn’t know is that they would not replace the Thunderbolt with another Thunderbolt but only with the Rezound which I guess is a newer model but it is isn’t nearly the phone the Thunderbolt was in many ways including the camera.

I have put the pictures here just so David can remember it but boy are they appalling.  My apologies if they make your eyes cross.   That will be the last time I use this camera for pictures but I think you can read the menu.  Notice that in addition to scrapple, you can order Messes.  :-)

 

 

 

 

 

David may not be adventurous in a lot of things but he is when it comes to food.  He actually had scrapple for breakfast which is apparently a local favorite.  Eewww I tasted it and thought it was awful.

In the afternoon, I work on this post and David talks again to AM Solar to clarify some settings on the monitors.  Greg arrives 4:00 and installs overload protection and a disconnect switch for the inverter/charger to wrap up what we hope is the end of this 13 day “lesson on solar installations.”

We're hanging out here for Friday.  One more day to do some more boondocking over night and all day to make sure things continue working fine.  The weather has certainly not been very favorable to gathering solar power.  IF the weather tomorrow improves over the past 3 chilly, rainy days, we might to do some kayaking on nearby Marsh Creek State Park which has an enormous man made lake.  I’m not a fan of dams and wish we’d set the rivers and streams free.  I’d give up my paddling on them and any lake front views for similar things on the rivers and streams.  That is if they’d ask me to vote on it.

Right now, we plan to leave Saturday and have our fingers and toes crossed that everything is configured the way it should be for all systems to be GO on into infinity.   If not, we may just give up and head west to Oregon and drop in on AM Solar or happen to wander by Jack Mayer’s place. I think he’s in Colorado. HA!

Many have said “this too shall pass” and I’ve always told my daughter, “will you remember this in 5 years?”  We hope it has and that we don’t.