Friday, July 29, 2005
The rally is over, now to do repairs...
Friday, July 22, 2005, Rapair the Starter and do Laundry in Forest City...
We took the RV to the Ford dealer in Forest City and had the starter and solenoid replaced.
While this was being done, we went into the town and did the laundry in the laundromat. A busy place and quite hot both inside and outside. Temperatures have been in the 90s for the last few days.
With the car repaired and the laundry done, we got some propane at the local Winnebago dealer then filled up on gas, then went over to get weighed. We were too late! We got there at about 2:15 and they had closed after their 2 p.m. appointment. The lady was still there picking up the signs (the scales were gone...) so we agreed to come back in the morning. She was wilted to a puddle from the heat and working in the sun. She tried very hard to be nice to me. I appreciate that.
Since we had a half day to spare, we drove the RV with the tow car to the nearest Wal*Mart to get new house batteries. The old one do not hold a charge any more and were only 75 Amp-hrs anyway. They were blocked in with wooden blocks to take up the extra space. The new batteries are each 115 Amp-hours and should give good service for a while, anyway. The battery service at Wal*Mart is my preference. No questions asked if they fail or don't last as long as expected. And, Wal*Mart is everywhere, even in Canada.
After all that, we stopped at Clear Lake again to have dinner at the Dock, a nice restaurant recommended by the Alstate agent in town. We had forgotten to get the Canada insurance card from our agent, so after the batteries were installed, we called the local agent and he provided the cards. Nice guy. Nice dinner, too.
Finally, we went back to the rally grounds to stay one last night. (We could stay until Monday night if need be.) We found a level spot to park and as I was hooking up, the man in the rig next door came out to see why his satalite signal had disappeared. I pulled up another six feet so I was not blocking his view and he and his wife were happy.
Tomorrow we head for the Mississippi River and begin the river tour up to Red Wing.
We took the RV to the Ford dealer in Forest City and had the starter and solenoid replaced.
While this was being done, we went into the town and did the laundry in the laundromat. A busy place and quite hot both inside and outside. Temperatures have been in the 90s for the last few days.
With the car repaired and the laundry done, we got some propane at the local Winnebago dealer then filled up on gas, then went over to get weighed. We were too late! We got there at about 2:15 and they had closed after their 2 p.m. appointment. The lady was still there picking up the signs (the scales were gone...) so we agreed to come back in the morning. She was wilted to a puddle from the heat and working in the sun. She tried very hard to be nice to me. I appreciate that.
Since we had a half day to spare, we drove the RV with the tow car to the nearest Wal*Mart to get new house batteries. The old one do not hold a charge any more and were only 75 Amp-hrs anyway. They were blocked in with wooden blocks to take up the extra space. The new batteries are each 115 Amp-hours and should give good service for a while, anyway. The battery service at Wal*Mart is my preference. No questions asked if they fail or don't last as long as expected. And, Wal*Mart is everywhere, even in Canada.
After all that, we stopped at Clear Lake again to have dinner at the Dock, a nice restaurant recommended by the Alstate agent in town. We had forgotten to get the Canada insurance card from our agent, so after the batteries were installed, we called the local agent and he provided the cards. Nice guy. Nice dinner, too.
Finally, we went back to the rally grounds to stay one last night. (We could stay until Monday night if need be.) We found a level spot to park and as I was hooking up, the man in the rig next door came out to see why his satalite signal had disappeared. I pulled up another six feet so I was not blocking his view and he and his wife were happy.
Tomorrow we head for the Mississippi River and begin the river tour up to Red Wing.
