Heading South but we are Coach-less

Monday

Up early this morning to head for Colton RV with the coach.  Then in the car to Batavia for lunch with our camping buddies, then home to pack for the trip and make a few reservations for the next few nights.

The trip to Colton went well and we got checked in and got a couple things out of the coach then took off.  I did get a call later from one of the techs, so they had it in the shop and were looking at it.  But at 5pm they still had not located the source of the leak, but said it did not look like a simple thing.

We made it to Batavia after a stop for $10 of gas.  We wanted to fill up in Batavia at TOPS since Bonnie had earned $.90 a gallon off the price.  But the low full light was on.  We made it to the Miss Batavia just a couple minutes after noon and our friends had a booth for us.

We always enjoy Bob and Caroline's company

We all ordered and had Pittsburgh Salad, Hot Roast Beef X2, and a Hot Turkey Sandwich.  All few very good and gone quickly.  We visited for a couple hours and then said our goodbyes, see you laters. I had a set of de-flapper clamps for a RV awning and traded those to Bob and he bought lunch.

We then headed for TOPS and filled up for $2.91 a gallon, my opinion gas should even be a lot cheaper than that.

The rest of the day was taken up with making room reservations, planning routes, and packing clothes. Bonnie cleaned out the refrigerator and used what she could to make a good supper.  We got to watch a little TV while the washer and dryer ran.  Once we turned the lights on the flies invaded again, not sure where they are coming from.  They fly around but do not seem to bother us.  Bonnie even tried to vacuum them up.  Now its off to bed to get a good nights sleep.  In the morning we head south.

Tuesday

A big thunderstorm woke me just after 5am this morning, but it did not last long and after a trip to the bathroom I was soon asleep again.  I got up a little after 8 and packed the last few things.  I woke Bonnie and we had breakfast.  Then I took out the trash shut down the hot water heater and carried the luggage down to the car in the Ranger.  I think it was just after 10 when we pulled out of the driveway.

We had a good trip down to Corning and planned to visit the Corning Museum of Glass.  It was much larger than we thought and more on Glass Art than I thought it would be.  We visited for about four hours and took in most of the demonstrations.  It was laid us very nice and even though there were bus loads of people coming and going it did not seem crowded.

This is the area we are visiting today and tomorrow

On the shuttle to the CMOG

My sister likes teapots

I liked the colorful pieces 

 There is so much to see and take in here that it is a bit overwhelming to ones senses.  Especially with fairly new glasses.

A Tiffany window

We watched Jamie make a glass Pumpkin

Here are some large scale ones in the back of a beautiful truck

Back in 1972 the river flooded and this was the water level.

The river is a ways away and rose way over flood stage as a result of the remnants of Hurricane Agnes.

Bonnie did a little shopping in the gift shop and we now how a pumpkin similar to the one we saw made.

We jumped on the shuttle and headed to the Western and Native American Art Museum also called the Rockwell Museum of Western Art.  It is named after Robert Rockwell who started this collection of art.
We only had an hour and found it very interesting.  You start on the 3rd floor and wind your way down to the first floor.  Because I write a blog they gave me a press kit and pass.

My first Press Pass and Package

These are just a couple pictures from the museum

We had a good full day and are exhausted.  We got checked in at the Hampton Inn and Bonnie was ready to go eat.  We had talked earlier about the Endless Shrimp at Red Lobster and there is one close by.  So we headed there.

Endless Shrimp

The meal was good and we tried all 4 kinds of Shrimp.  Aric our waiter was good too, even though a State Trooper interviewed him in the middle of the meal.

Then it was back to the room.  One of the key cards did not work, so I took care of that while Bonnie showered.  She laid down to read and soon turned off the light for the night.  I plan to watch the President and maybe the Apple Event from earlier today when they announced the new iPhones.  Plan to fit a shower in there somewhere.  We need a good nights rest as tomorrow we have another busy day planned, maybe a little bit shorter.

Wednesday

We were a bit lazy this morning but did get up around 8:30.  After showers we headed down for a good Hampton Inn breakfast.  Lots of hot items and we always enjoy the waffles although they stuck to the waffle maker a little this morning.  After breakfast we read a little email, then I loaded up the ice chest and we headed out for Watkins Glen.  Bonnie's Grandparents, parents and one of her sisters had honey mooned here.  We have driven through before but never stopped.  First stop was the State Park that has a train that goes up the Glen Creek gorge.  We saved $8 by being old geezers they let us in free.  Wow was it hot when we got out of the car and very humid.  We decided to go as far as we could up the gorge trail.  You end up climbing over 800 steps and in the summer there is a shuttle but now you have to retrace your steps.  Bonnie made it a little further than me but I counted the steps on the way down and it 199.  I was soaked with sweat and needed some water to drink which we did not take with us.  Here are a few of the pictures.

The last falls on the creek and the Rainbow bridge

Entrance to the trail

The falls are pretty imagine when the gorge was full of water

This falls formed a heart shaped pool

We walked behind this fall and then up a spiral staircase

From behind the falls

I made it up these stairs first

I stopped Bonnie continued a little ways

This was the sign at an Earth GeoCache I logged in the park

Bonnie read about a place for lunch in one of the travel guides so we headed south of town for lunch as it was almost 2pm.  They boasted a famous Cheeseburger served between two pieces of toast.

Just a small diner but oh so good

We really enjoyed lunch

I had the famous Tony's cheeseburger and it was great.  Bonnie had the Burger BLT.  We topped that off with a Jamocha Shake from Arby's, no supper tonight for us.

Then we drove down into the Village of Montour Falls and found this cascade after I missed the turn to the race track

Two beauties

Then we headed up to the race track, they offer free entrance and you can watch who ever is practicing.  It was now 98 degrees as we arrived at the track.

It started to rain as we arrived

 That put a stop to the car that was running on the track.  It was a sports car.

I believe you can buy rides in this car

You can run a couple paced laps in your own car for $25 almost any day of the year.  Well it rained, high winds, and hail.  We sat for a while and headed for the hotel during one of the non rain periods.  We ran through light rain, heavy rain, and no rain on the way back and it was only about 10 miles.

We both took naps and decided to skip dinner.  A little TV now and then a good nights sleep again.  Tomorrow we continue to head South.

Bonnie got to do a little shopping today at WalMart and at:

Well thats it for tonight.

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Loading up the House on Wheels, Opps now UnLoading

Thursday

Another good sleeping night, nice and cool.  Today we start to ready the coach for our extended trip to Pennsylvania.  I will check things over and we will start to load our clothes and things into the Coach.  Looks like it will be a beautiful day.  However the word frost has found its way into the weather forecast.  My ear and neck are somewhat better but there is still some swelling.

So I went out to do some pre trip checks on the coach.  I wanted to check the Hydo Hot boiler that provides both heat and hot water.  First I had to add about 3/4 gal of coolant and I put on the new Radiator cap I ordered a few weeks ago.

Adding the coolant

 Then I fired up the diesel burner and let it come up to temperature.  Oh! Oh! the coolant is dripping out the bottom.  Did I mention I do not like dealing with leaks.

Lots of coolant on the bottom of the unit.

So I got online and it seems the plastic drain is a common source of leaks.  So I will try to replace it tomorrow.

These is the plastic parts that leaks

Another View

This is the brass drain and valve that I will try to put in tomorrow

I picked up the parts for the drain, then headed to the Opticians to pick up my new glasses.  Then on to church for Worship Team Practice.  While I was there UPS brought the RV Gutter for the roof edge on the coach.  We hope this will help keep the white streaks off the side of the coach.  We also got some an other delivery with some things for the house.

I got home around 9:30, still trying to get used to these new glasses and they are some different than the ones I have had for the last 5 years.  I had a bunch of emails from guys on the forums with hints and help on changing the drain.

Now a few minutes to relax and then off to bed.  Well the weather man used the Frost word again but it looks like it is for south of here.  It is clear and calm out.

Friday

Bonnie left around 9 this morning to take her sister to the Dr for a procedure.  I went out shortly afterwords and started to replace the drain on the Hydro-Hot.  First I drained the coolant, the plastic part unscrewed by hand, then I put in the brass drain.  I did have to remove the burner but that was pretty easy also.

Drained coolant into one gallon water bottles

Lots of stuff in the way

I removed the burner and had lots of room

The old plastic part

New all brass drain and the burner is reinstalled

The only problem is that when I fired up the boiler and it came up to pressure it still leaked, the new drain did not leak but something is leaking.  I checked everywhere I could see but no luck.  When Bonnie came home I went under the coach and removed a panel to access the rear of the boiler but all the connections there are dry also.  So time to call the repair shops.  They are all booked or did not even bother to call me back.  The dealer I bought the coach from did call.  I am taking it to them and leaving it there, they are booked through Sept 29th but will be able to work it in if its there.

This is the leak I think it is getting much worse as time goes by

Bonnie had gone to deliver some 31 orders and when she got home we ate quickly and then we ran in to Elizabeths to help prepare for tomorrow.  Back home and having a glass of milk before bed.  With the coach going in for repairs we are reworking our schedule and plans

Saturday

Gloomy cool morning hope it does not rain later this afternoon for Alexus's party.  Elizabeth has the favors and the decorating looking real nice, I was impressed last night.

So this morning I am headed out to empty the refrigerator in the coach and remove some of our stuff from the coach that we will need on our trip.  We have decided to go ahead and still go on most of our trip without the coach and we will spend a few days with my sister.  We are hopeful that we can still get in a long weekend with the coach at the end of the month as we all ready have reservations.  I had to cancel some for next week and since it was under a week we had to pay for one night and wait for a refund on the rest.  Just as I headed out the door to unload the coach, Luke from the dealer called to see how we were doing.  I told him what had just happened and he offered to talk to the service manager and ask them to make us a priority, so we are hoping that will help.

After 11 and we just got home for Alexus's 16th birthday party, 3 more days till her actual birthday.  Wow am I tired.  I will add a few pictures tomorrow.  Off to bed now

Sunday

First to add some pictures from the birthday party.  Here is a selection.

Everyone signed the letters

Putting on the finishing touches

Your only 16 once

Pooh Bear was bored, not mad

Guitar here and dance party were fun hit

The food even more so

Time with friends

Homemade Chocolat Cake

Lots of nice presents

We were up and off to church.  Alexus had several girls stay over so they slept in this morning.  Interesting thing is that the sermon today was about how thats ok.  Our church is starting a second duplicate service on Wednesday and they can go to that.

Once home we cleaned out the car and then had a little lunch.  Going to watch some recordings and some of the Bills game and nap a little.

Caught up on recordings, napped a little, watched the Bills lose in the last seconds of the game, and watched the end of the US Open Tennis.  Was ready for supper but Bonnie informed me to have cereal for supper, bummer but it is kind of filling.  Tomorrow morning we head for Colton RV to drop of the coach.

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Labor Day time with family

Monday

Happy Labor Day.  One of my blogging buddies posted a picture of some of his Navy momentous so I pulled out a couple things and took a picture.  Brings back some good memories, thanks John!

A few Navy momentos

While taking the picture I got bit in the ear by a wasp hurt a lot but seems to be going away now.  Now its time to get ready to head over to the family reunion.

My ear ended up about twice normal size.

 So we loaded up the ranger and headed to Brian's camp on the old family farm

Lets go

We had a great turn out and so many activities were going on.  The kids did a lot of exploring and chasing each other.  A couple of the dogs joined in that fun.  Jam was being made and also Apple Cider in an old family cider mill.  There was plenty of food and lots of dessert.  What more could one ask for. I will let the pictures tell the story.

Lunch time

The Millers

Brielle first taste of apple sauce, funny faces but she kept wanting more.

Time to visit

Washing and grinding apples

Time to press out the cider

Bonnie with her parents

Dad sneaking a piece of Cherry Pie, I stick with Mom's Apple Pie.

It was a wonderful day, we had a couple rain showers but Brian's tarps kept us dry.  The really heavy rain and thunderstorms went around us, Thankful for that.  Home now and it is cooling off so we should be able to sleep good.

Tuesday

Well I slept pretty good last night.  My ear did wake me up a time or two.  This morning my ear is twice as big as it should be.  Also now my neck is swollen, looks like I have a double chin.  Bonnie said go do what I needed to do and then take some Benadryl.  It makes me sleepy so I will wait till I am home for the day to take it.  I left for court around 11 and one thing let to the other and I was gone until 4:39pm.

Once home I took the Benadryl and now I am dozing off and on.

Wednesday

I got a good nights rest last night however my ear and neck are still swollen.  We were up a little after 6 this morning.  Then we picked up Elizabeth and headed for Buffalo City Mission to volunteer again.  Alexus also was up early and was already at school when we got in there.

We had a good day at the mission and were able to help them.  Bonnie helps in the baby day care.  I scanned in some documents and then worked on a calendar and flyers for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  They are planning to deliver 5000 meals on Thanksgiving.

One thing I noticed is traffic seems much heavier going in and coming home than it did when I worked.  We stopped for a few minutes to see how Alexus's first day of school was, and then came home.  Bonnie has a meeting so we needed to get home.

This Doe greeted us as we drove in today.  She did not move, the fawn came out of the woods later.

I am looking forward to relaxing tonight so will post this.  Thanks For Checking In!

Some more maintenance and Grass Cutting

Thursday

Nice quiet morning for sleeping in.  Got up and read email and blogs.  Then it was time to climb on the Green Machine and cut grass.  I did not feel very good but kept at it and about 2 hours later I was pretty much finished.  I cut about 80% of the grass and the rest I will get in the next few days.  I mixed up some weed killer and sprayed down on the side of the coach parking pad and along the edge of the driveway.

Just the right size sprayer

It was after 2pm and I was ready for some lunch.  Made a sandwich and was just relaxing when the phone rang.  Time to go to work, so I headed up to court for a couple hours.

I got home just a little while before Bonnie headed out for a haircut.  She made banana bread today and the house sure smells good.  The bread tastes very good also.  Almost time to head to church for worship team practice.

Practice went well and I was home around 9:30.  We got all the visuals set up and had some good conversations in the booth.  Time to relax and then hopefully get a good nights sleep.

Friday

Got to bed early this morning thanks to Time Hortons Iced Capp last evening, but thats ok.  So slept till 9 this morning.  After breakfast and blog reading I headed out to the coach.  Bonnie had a speaking engagement and had already left so I was on my own.  I had been putting off some projects for quite a while and needed to take care of them.  I got the tools together and put the slides out in the bedroom.

First up I wanted to lube the Pac Brake, it has been working good and I wanted to keep it that way.

Special Lube

Just a few drops on the pivot points

Next on the list was to reattach some loose carpet beneath the closet.  I needed to brush on some contact cement.  After it set up I reattached the carpet and used a hand roller to roll down the carpet.

Pulled out the loose carpet

This usually works good

Burshed on the cement

I can fluff up the carpet once it drys

Then I opened the windows and turned on the fan to get rid of the cement solvent smell.  Last thing was to work on the closet door latch, to hold the doors shut going down the road.

I made a small pocket for the latch to go down into.

Hopefully the door will stay shut now.  I figured I would let the coach air out a couple hours.  After an hour rain came out of nowhere and it rained long enough just to get everything wet.  I went out and shut the windows.  The rain stopped about the time I got back in the house.

Bonnie was picking up Alexus to take her shopping.  Elizabeth sent some pictures of a pig they are roasting for the ladies at Cornerstone Manor.  Just build a fire on the grass and set up the spit.

Pig is a roasting

The girls brought subway home for supper and then Bonnie ran Alexus home.  A nice relaxing evening and now off to bed.

Saturday

Gloomy looking morning, looks like the forecast is for Thunderstorms off and on all day.  A quick breakfast then up to court to work.  I spent a couple hours at court and worked up wrapping up my paperwork for the month.

I had time for a quick chair nap and then got a shower and got dressed.  Tonight was the retirement dinner for our county sheriff.  There was a great turnout and a lot of nice presentations.  I was home by 9 and will soon be headed to bed.  We sure are hoping the humidity drops soon, just breathing can cause you to break into a sweat.

Sunday

Great night for sleeping just the right temperature.  As humid and nasty as the days have been it has been good sleeping weather.  I almost rolled over for one more nap this morning but that would have made me sleep in and be too late for church.  So I was up a little after 8.  The girls went to Delaware for a concert so we don't have to pick them up today.  We never did get any rain yesterday and it is in the forecast again for today, time will tell.

Labor Day weekend and the Pastor started a 3 week series on Labor and Rest.  The sermon was really good and we are looking forward to the next 2 sermons.  Wow it is humid and quite warm again.  Still no rain today which is good.  My sister is making me some more reminders for the Coach so I had to measure the ones we have.  So I sent her a picture.

I wonder how wide it is.

I also brought the GPS is and did a little more planning for our trip next week.

Nice 7 inch size.

I checked for updates and it downloaded several.  Construction zones, new map update, and new campgrounds.  Then I added all the campgrounds we plan to use into the address book and by then it was time for a nap.

By then it was time to crank up the grill and do some cheddar wurst sausage.  Well thats about it for this week.  Tomorrow is Labor Day and we have a family reunion.  I hope you all have a good day of rest.

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