Lazy days at the Shank plantation

I had complaints that my last blog post was out of order. It was not listed as last date first and I was not doing it right and that I needed to correct my next post. So here is the newest entry to the oldest entry.
Ps. You can click on any April Picture and go to the web photo album for April.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Well my aunt Martha returned from the hospital today, everyone is happy that she’s back, especially the animals.



The weather has gone from cold and sunshiny to cold, overcast with drizzle.

I signed up for another couple of classes at the William Holland School of Lapidary Arts,
http://www.lapidaryschool.org/ this morning. So it looks like I am going to be in Franklin NC from April 19 through May 4th then back to Young Harris, GA to the lapidary school from May 5th through the 24th. They added a bunch of classes that they didn’t have when I signed up for the original class. One that I really wanted to get into had one opening left. It is “Cutting Opals”. Cutting gemstones has always been a craft that I have always wanted to do but until now I have never gotten around to it.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Following the storm a cold front went through and the temperature this morning is in the low 40’s and expected to drop another 10 degrees by Wednesday. I plan to leave here on Thursday morning and go in to even colder temperatures. I am breaking my base rule of “when it gets cold drive south”. The thing is that it is nice during the day when the sun is out. Temperatures run in the 60’s and with no wind the weather is almost perfect. Hopefully by the 19th when I arrive in Franklin NC the cold front will have moved on. I have to expect some cooler weather just as long it doesn’t last too long and it isn’t bitter cold. Cutter is lying on the floor shivering; I put a towel over him to help him retain heat. The main reason he is cold is that he wanted to go out at 5am and I just let him back in around 7. He has to learn to do his business quickly so I can let him back in before I fall back asleep. We will get it worked out. He’s stopped shivering already and is snoring.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Saturday morning and the weather has been great, until last night. My cousin Marty told me we were in for a big storm but it was more like a little shower where we were. TV radar did show a large storm passing through Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia; some areas had high winds and tornado warnings.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Around noon, my cousin Marty (when we were kids we call her “sister” or “little Martha”)



asked me to help Martha into the car as she was feeling dizzy and was out of breath. Marty took her to the local clinic and later they took her to the hospital in Griffin GA. She had become dehydrated and had a light infection. She seems ok now but they are keeping her until Monday just to make sure and to run a few tests.

I went to Katie's, with most of the rest of the Shank clan, for dinner. Katie is one of Billy and Paula Shank's daughters.



Carter is Katie's son. Here he is hiding behind a glass of tea



Click on Carters picture and check out the rest of the crowd.
We all stayed after dinner and plade a card game called "Hand & Foot".

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Today I went into Thomaston GA. and got the window repaired. I had about an hour to kill while the guy cut and installed the glass in the frame, so I went to the Piggly Wiggly. For those of you who are not southern born, a Piggly Wiggly is a grocery store. I picked up some fresh produce, fruit and a couple of other items, and then I drove around town. I still had 40 minutes to kill. Thomaston is not very big, but it’s about 900 times bigger than Molena. Thomaston is a typical small Georgia town. Like most it has a town square that houses the local Government center.
Some have parks as the town square which is nice. Most small southern towns are of older construction (which I like) and most are in need of repair (which I don’t like). Much like the American infrastructure the small town is in need of repair at a time when its economy is struggling to survive. I have a feeling that I will discover that Georgia isn’t the only state where this phenomena is occurring.
I picked up the new window glass that he installed in to its frame and happily paid the man the $15.00 he requested, which to me was a bargain in anybody’s book. I returned to Martha’s and installed the window.

After posting this entry from newest to oldest I think it is more confusing and a pain in the neck to try to read, so regardless of the way it is SUPPOSED to be I am going to post oldest to newest if I have more than one entry in each post.
AV

Six days OTR (On The Road)

Day two on the road (OTR)

April 2, 2008 Wednesday

I had planned to go to the Kennedy Space Center, then I found out it costs $38.00 and it takes all day. Well I wasn’t prepared to spend all day at the center and I wasn’t prepared to spend $38.00. Besides they have a negative entrance policy against the lupus race. And I was not going to leave Cutter in the Trailer all day, so I just drove buy and took this picture.



So, onward to South Daytona. I arrived at Lynn's around ten thirty and the managers of the park wanted me to park the trailer in the storage lot, which was no problem as they allowed me access to the trailer during daylight hours, besides there wasn’t much I needed to get out of Cazee anyway. I spent the next two days visiting relatives.

My step mom Lynn Hatch



Angie's mom Nancy Gaskins



My uncle Eddie Sweat (Mom's brother)



On Thursday evening we went to a Daytona Cubs AAA ball came. The Cubs were doing great until they changed pictures and they fell apart. They lost to the Milwaukee Manatees 8 to 6. I forgot to bring my camera again, so I took some pics with my cell phone. The problem with that is I haven’t figured out how to get them out of the phone and onto the computer.

Friday April 4, 2008
I said my goodbuys to Lynn and pulled out around seven thirty in the morning. I headed west across state road 44 towards Sanford FL where a friend of mine (Greg) lives with his cousin Linda and her husband Rick on the Wekiva River. It is a very scenic and tranquil location. I should have taken pictures but someone forgot the camera. I did take pictures of the camp ground (Wekiva Falls).







In it it’s hey day (Seventies) the spring was a very popular resort destination and the park grew quite large. They have over 600 RV sites with full hookup including grey & black waste water. The lady at the park said some investors have purchased the property and plan to upgrade. Right now there are a lot of people living in camper’s full time and some of them are in pretty poor condition. So some clean up is in order but that is also going to mean higher prices. The cost for a site is advertised at $18.00 but everything is extra. Electric $3.00, additional adult $6.00, child $3.oo, pet $300. Water and sewer did not cost extra. It is an OK spot but there are much better for the money.

My friend Greg Baumgardner



I met with my friend Greg and dropped off some stuff that he had stored at my house. It was good to see him again.


Saturday April 5, 2008
Greg took this picture of Cutter and me as we departed.



Our plan was to visit my cousin Rita and her husband Mike in Dade City and my other cousin Reba and her husband Phill in Brooksville, but I had called them yesterday and neither of them answered and when I called again today there was still no answer so I made the decision to shoot up the west coast of Florida on highway 19 and see if I could make it to Tallahassee. I was sure glad I had made the decision to not travel Interstate roads. There was hardly any traffic and often I was the only vehicle on the 4 lane divided highway. The speed limit was 65 mph and I really enjoyed the drive. We stopped every 50 or 60 miles to stretch and relieve ourselves. Cutter really seems to be enjoying the adventure so far. As we approached NW Florida the weather turned as a front moved across the state. By the time we hit Perry Florida it was pouring down rain and there were tornado warnings. I debated whether to go to Tallahassee or just run strait into Georgia until I found a nice camping spot. I decided that the weather made sightseeing in Tallahassee a pour choice at best so we continued north towards Albany GA. A few miles before Albany we spotted a nice little campground called Creekside and at a flat rate of $25.00 for overnight and full hookup including dump, elect, water and cable TV. They did not have Wi-Fi and my Verizon card would not connect in southwest GA. Cell phone reception was sketchy so I had to raise my antenna and stick my head outside to receive calls.
We drove a total of 317 miles this day. Four times the amount I said I would try to average. Even so, one of the goals of these adventures is to be flexible and adapt to the conditions.

Cutter and I went exploring and there actually is a creek at Creekside RV Park. A nice one too. On the way back to the campsite Cutter acted like he was having a hard time breathing. That was one of the symptoms of the heart worms that the Vet told me about. Another symptom is fatigue. He could have a heart attack or he could live several more years. I guess we will see, I am doing what I can. The treatment to kill the worms completely could kill him so I have elected to give him medication to keep them from getting worse but the damage that they have done can't be reversed. The breathing problem only lasted a few minutes but it was kind of scary. That is the first time that it has happened.

Sunday April 6, 2008
Pulled out of Creekside RV Park at 8:30 am and pointed Lyca North. Next stop, my cousin Angie Cobb and Mark, who lives in Seal Alabama, which is just SE of Columbus GA.

My cousin Angie



A couple of hours later and we arrived at her house. Parking was very tight and I broke a window on Cazee by hitting a Dogwood tree limb. The Dogwood are in bloom and when I hit it the pedals rained down like snow. A Dogwood in bloom is one of the most beautiful trees that I know of.

I put duct tape over the window and when I get to Aunt Martha’s in Molena GA I will fix it. We are heading over there tomorrow. Molena is about 50 miles N E of Columbus GA.

Monday April 7, 2008
We pulled out of Angie’s at around 8am and drove through Columbus missed a turn and quickly recovered. Arrived at Martha Shank’s around 10am or so. I plan to stay here a week, give or take a few days and sort some kinks out in the trailer and fix Cazee’s window. It has been hard to keep up the blog while on the road. Here I have a good internet connection and I have the time to catch up.

Till next post

AV

HTR Day has arrived

And weeeerrrrrrrr OFF

The warehouse is empty, the trailer and truck are loaded, the only thing left is to drive out of here. It is 10am April first 2008.





Cutter has his own specially made perch that is more stable for him and gives him more room to lie down and sleep.



Cutter says look at me I get to go on the adventure too, but he seems to say it without much enthusiasm.





We made several stops to pick up last minute items as we exited West Palm Beach. We took Military Trail to Blue Heron then north on I-95 to Donald Ross Road east to US1. From there we drove US1 all the way to Melbourne and took 192 east to A1A. and ended up at the Jetty Park in Cape Canaveral http://www.jettypark.org/ .

Here is a map link to Jetty Park.
http://maps.google.com/maphp?tab=wl&q=jetty%20park%20campground.%20cape%20canaveral%2C%20FL

Cutter tried to breath in all the air from West Palm to Jetty Park by sticking his nose into the wind but he got tired and finally laid down.
It was a pleasant drive. The trailer feels heavy, probably due to all the crap I jammed into it. I can tell I am going to have to throw some ballast overboard eventually. A bunch will be removed in Georgia when we get to the lapidary school. I am bringing a bunch of items for them to auction off for the nonprofit school.

Here cutter is keeping a tree from falling over, you can't see the tree, but trust me, Cutter is doing a great job. Good Dog.



Tomorrow we plan to visit the Kennedy Space Center first thing in the morning then hot foot it to South Daytona to visit family

All in all day one was pretty good

AV

Wedding pictures

Just a quick post to link the wedding pictures to the blog for all to see.
just click on the photo and it will take you to the album.



Mr. & Mrs. Kornstein

Leaving for Stamford CT the wedding

Wedding weekend

The day of my daut ers wedding.

Here I am in the airport in West Palm Beach.



The news for the past few days has been about all kinds of flight cancelations due to a wiring problem on a specific aircraft. Then on the way to the airport I hear about a plane making an emergency landing at West Palm International due to smoke in the cockpit. I have never liked to fly but I can do it if I have to, other than ear popping and the occasional queasiness feeling of motion sickness I do OK. It is just not my preferred mode of transportation. The skies are overcast and rain showers are blanketing the horizon.



I’ve seen better days to fly. I am here two hours early (hate to be late for anything) just to make sure that there are no problems and if there are, I can get them ironed out before departure. It would not do to miss my little girl's wedding. Julie Dawn Santini Hatch soon to be Julie Dawn Kornstein. Her man (Mike) is a great guy and I am happy we will be joining families. I had no doubt that she would choose a quality individual such as Mike. Dawn has been the daughter that every father wishes for. She was a joy to raise and no one could be happier than me with the success she has acheived in love and career.

Well I made it to Stamford, CT. The flight was great. We made fantastic time and landed about fifteen minutes early. Dawn was there to pick me up. We had a nice trip from White Plains, NY airport to Stamford where I tried on my tux. It fit great. Things could not be going better.

I will post the wedding pictures when I get them. I remembered to bring my camera this time and I plan to get a bunch of photos.

It is as overcast and dreary here as it was in Florida, only it's about 30 degrees cooler. (42 in White Plains, NY)

till next post
AV

Shanghaied by the bug

Flue?
I haven’t had a cold or the flue in almost five years. The day I last posted I came down with a nasty little bugger that put me down for a couple of days, one of which I slept through. Which was sort of a good thing, in that, I have been getting up early and getting to bed late. I caught up on my sleep but it was a lousy way to do it. I still have a congested head and a little flem but I am back in form and time is short.

I have condensed some things that I had already pared down into smaller containers and compacted some other previously squished items into even smaller spaces. The kinetic energy now stored in Cazee could most likely get me to the moon and back if I could actually drive to the moon. The trick as I see it is to place the items where I can access them and still not have to take the trailer completely apart, IF I can remember where I put any specific item. I am labeling every container and drawer and I am planning on making a treasure map of the stuff if I have the time. I have disposed of almost everything non essential (by my criteria of course) and have had most of the debris and non essentials hauled off. Faith Farm is due to pick up the remaining items that O’l Bill (my Pleistocene era friend and neighbor) doesn’t want. The warehouse practically echoes now that all the stuff is gone.

No photos to day, to busy getting ready only 4 days until flying off to Connecticut and it has decided to rain for the last 24 hours. Can't load stuff in the rain.

Scrambling man.

Fifteen days

Not much time left

When I was in the Army we had a term for soldiers that were near the end of their enlistment agreement or draft term. It was said that soldier was “SHORT”. Which meant that he would soon be a civilian. Well I’m short. I’m so short my feet are barely touching the ground. Only 11 days before I travel to Connecticut for my daughters wedding, and all the joy and happiness that it encompasses, then I return and start my new life as a full time RV’er. Another term we had in the military was for the career military man and that was “LIFE’er”. I think that term fits my new lifestyle although the meaning is totally different. In the military life’er is somewhat a derogatory term; however in my new context it embodies freedom and a new adventurous life. I’m probably blowing this whole event way out of proportion and reality most likely can’t possibly live up to the expectation, regardless I’m stoked.

I know it has been awhile since I last blogged and I sort of apologize for that. I say sort of, because it has been a hectic few weeks since I got on here and informed my admiring friends and family the boring details of my life. It suffices to say I have been getting ready to become a “LIFE’er”. I have been mostly getting rid of possessions and modifying Cazee and Lyca to meet my needs for the adventure. My possessions are down to the basic minimum raw materials that I still have to smelt down to their essence. Trim the fat so to speak. Speaking of fat I am down to 238 lbs. I got stuck on 244 for about three weeks and struggled with the new plan but I endured and things are good.

I got my family and friends together on the 2nd of March for a Bon Voyage swar’rey (French) I don’t have pics to show because I forgot to bring my camera to the party and my sister hasn’t sent me the ones she took (like she promised). So you will just have to imagine a bunch of people sitting around one of those Hibachi (ah la Beni Hona) grills having a good time.

I think that from now on the blog will be shorter but more and frequent in posting as HTR day draws near. I need to get into travel mode and I hope to be giving more of a running commentary of what I am doing, rather than what happened last week.

The team is ready for the most part and excited about the adventure. Which reminds me? I need your help. We have an unexpected new team member that I haven’t named yet. She came quite unexpectedly, in that; I had remembered that my friend Jim Guld mentioned a boat that many RV’ers had called “Porta Bote”. What is unique about this boat is that it folds up into a package about the size of a large surf board and can mount right to the side of the trailer. So I checked Craig’s list and sure enough there was one near Tampa Florida for sale at a good price. I had plan to run up there this past Friday and pick it up, but a fortunate turn of events kept me from having to do that. A guy in the Tampa area bought some of my heavier equipment on eBay and called to tell me he would be coming down to pick the stuff up on Thursday. So I asked him if he would mind stopping and grabbing the boat on the way down. I like it when a plan comes together. But she has no name. I need suggestions. You can leave them on the blog (be sure to include your name in the message), or send your ideas via e-mail to dubyacay@gmail.com



Cazee was so happy to hear about the boat as she was the only female on the team, now she has a girlfriend to commiserate with. If you want to see more about Porta Bote click this link. http://www.porta-bote.com/

Then I heard from Evan Kicker (everybody just calls him “Kicker”). He was residing in Coco Beach Florida and when he found out about the new boat he asked to come along and since he only weighs 35 pounds I agreed. Kicker is a 2 horse power Evinrude outboard motor that is in great shape and purrs like a kitten. Only don’t let him hear you say that, though he’s small, he sees himself as a tough guy.



This is “Jack”, another valuable team member. Such an odd name, huh.



There is also team member Sunny McJuice who is coming along. Sunny is a photovoltaic solar charging system for Cazee’s batteries. I don’t think he will get installed before we leave so we will mount him on the road, (well not on the road actually but on Cazee after we depart Lake Worth) which will be a fun project and good experience for me. Just another thing I can help other RV’ers with.

There is one other team member that I have not mentioned. He has been in the plan to go all along but I left him out until now because he is getting old and has some health issues. I just wasn’t positive that it would be a good idea to take him along unless I could resolve the problems he was having and I am happy to say that we have solved those issues and he is a solid member of the AV (Asphalt Vagabond) team. I am referring to my best bud “Cutter”. Cutter is my 11 year old Yellow Labrador. Most of you already know Cutter but for those of you who don’t, Cutter has been with me since he was 5 months old. At the age of two he got out and got hit by a car. The impact broke his right rear femur. We tried to save the leg but a combination of his youthful energy and my stupidly (If you want to hear the story and you have time, ask, I will be happy to tell it) we eventually had to amputate it, but don’t tell him it’s missing, because he still uses it to scratch with.



Well I think I got you caught up. Yesterday I replaced the bearings and brake shoes on Cazee and today I am going to install her brand new, super duty, nuclear, AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) batteries, (very expensive). If you want to know more about AGM batteries I have posted a small explanation at the bottom of this post.

I will post again with in the next two days. So, as my buddy Jack says, “Fair Winds” or if you are SCUBA diving, “Wear Fins”

238 lbs

Luv ya.



AGM, or Absorbed Glass Mat Batteries
A newer type of sealed battery uses "Absorbed Glass Mats", or AGM between the plates. This is a very fine fiber Boron-Silicate glass mat. These type of batteries have all the advantages of gelled, but can take much more abuse. We sell the Concorde (and Lifeline, made by Concorde) AGM batteries. These are also called "starved electrolyte", as the mat is about 95% saturated rather than fully soaked. That also means that they will not leak acid even if broken.
AGM batteries have several advantages over both gelled and flooded, at about the same cost as gelled:
Since all the electrolyte (acid) is contained in the glass mats, they cannot spill, even if broken. This also means that since they are non-hazardous, the shipping costs are lower. In addition, since there is no liquid to freeze and expand, they are practically immune from freezing damage.
Nearly all AGM batteries are "recombinant" - what that means is that the Oxygen and Hydrogen recombine INSIDE the battery. These use gas phase transfer of oxygen to the negative plates to recombine them back into water while charging and prevent the loss of water through electrolysis. The recombining is typically 99+% efficient, so almost no water is lost.
The charging voltages are the same as for any standard battery - no need for any special adjustments or problems with incompatible chargers or charge controls. And, since the internal resistance is extremely low, there is almost no heating of the battery even under heavy charge and discharge currents. The Concorde (and most AGM) batteries have no charge or discharge current limits.
AGM's have a very low self-discharge - from 1% to 3% per month is usual. This means that they can sit in storage for much longer periods without charging than standard batteries. The Concorde batteries can be almost fully recharged (95% or better) even after 30 days of being totally discharged.
AGM's do not have any liquid to spill, and even under severe overcharge conditions hydrogen emission is far below the 4% max specified for aircraft and enclosed spaces. The plates in AGM's are tightly packed and rigidly mounted, and will withstand shock and vibration better than any standard battery.