One step forward and 2 or 3 steps back....

July 10 – Bill went to town this morning after breakfast and after mowing our lot and the 2 beside us.  He left with a list, one being butt connectors.  I have been working on getting a new strip light for the front of the motorhome that went out and I got a price of $82 plus tax and shipping!  Yikes, it’s only 20 inches long.  I got to thinking (yes, I do that on occasion) that I should check under the RV and make sure it was wired in OK.  YES!  It was disconnected at one end so I added the connectors to Bill’s shopping list. 

While he was gone I did laundry, picked up and put away stuff, filed my bills, updated my checkbook, just “stuff”!  When he got back he was not a “happy camper” as he could not find most of the items on our list.  Wal-mart was out of or did not carry them.  At least he got his radishes!!  He did a return and got my connectors are Advanced Auto.

Once he had his lunch we put the butt connector on and tested it and “we have light”!  So that’s one more item off our list of RV issues without costing $82+!!!

The electrician I called came about 3 to see about our partial functioning GFI and the non-functioning under cabinet lights.  In the course of looking for that problem he found we have a leak under Bill’s sink cabinet.  It’s ALWAYS something!  The electrician showed Bill where it is as I was blocked off by us moving the 2 seat couch for him to get to the electrical behind it.  The GFI was put in correctly but apparently is a “bad” one!   It will do its job but the outlets don’t work.  So, now we have to add plumbing to the list I am trying to make shorter!!!  I guess Tuesday I will be calling Winnebago again!  What a bummer!

Since we work the next 3 days I doubt there will be anything exciting to post😧

Nice day in Niantic

July 9 - We planned an outing for today!  After the normal morning rituals, we packed up the camera and some books we were done with and headed to Niantic on the southern coast of Connecticut.

We really enjoyed this little town when we were here before.  They have several impressive

Yum!

used book stores and a great little seafood place along the shore.  We didn’t really check out the route that the truck planned for us and it was taking much longer than we expected.  I checked the phone directions and they were not even close!  It got us on a better route and we landed just a couple of blocks from Skippers, and boy, were we ready for lunch.

The lot was packed so I got out and placed our order while Bill waited for a parking spot to open up.  He did manage to get one

Misty day on the Bay!

before our food came out.  They only have outside seating and had removed a number of tables.  The view is across the bay and there were some sailboats out, although it was a bit misty still.  The bridge at the end of the bay was up when we arrived and remained so for a while.  There is also a commuter/train track running along the bay and we had several pass while we waited and during our delicious lunch!  I ordered us each a LARGE basket of clam strips and a SMALL order of slaw.  Bill thought it was too many clams but I was very happy with them.  We did BOTH finish off every crumb of lunch!  They sell scoop ice cream but we really did not room for it! 

About a ½ mile down the street is the Book Barn, which is awesome!  It’s a very sprawling

Where I found my book

place with houses, sheds, rolling carts and more, FULL of books.  Most of it is under trees and you meandering from mysteries to history to biographies to every kind of book you can imagine.  They have book buy back but we ended up not bothering.  I was looking for a couple of Mitch Albom books and they directed me to the 2 story building and I managed to get one that I was looking for!  They now have an entire

A section of the Book Barn

building of mystery books down the road a couple of blocks so we headed there.  Bill bought 30 paperbacks for $30 and one hardback that was pretty recently out for $7, so he was very excited.  I didn’t find any thing on my original mystery authors and have been reading a lot of his stuff so I didn’t contribute to that bag!

We agreed that was enough book buying for one day as we have no where in the RV to store any more.  So I found a nice mall kinda on our way back in Waterbury that we stopped at.  Bill parked under a tree and started on one of his new books while I got some deals at Bath and Body Works, Penney's and The Christmas Tree.  There was hardly anyone in the mall or the stores and it looked like at least 25% of the stores were not open yet or not opening at all.

One the way back to the interstate we drove thru Dunkin’ Donut for a horribly overpriced iced coffee.  You can be sure we won’t do that again.  It was 75% ice and if there was 25% drink we’d be stretching it!

It was a lovely day with no rain and we enjoyed the drive home.  On the way we took a little detour to see if one of our favorite ice cream places was still running and it was packed!  We will pay them a visit on our next set of days off!  We also passed a place with raspberries to pick that we will check on as well.

It was nice not to have to cook, as using the microwave is not really cooking!  We finished off the pickle steaks and some veggies and rice.  Not even many dishes to do!!

It was a normal quiet evening and we watched some Hallmark and read, as usual!

Making headway....

July 8 - Once breakfast was out of the way, Bill went out to do more organizing and cleaning off where we had LED lights and the glue needed to be removed.  He

The local bunny we see every day in our row!

did what he could then asked me to see if I could scrape off the rest.  I thought about it and knew at home I have a perfect little plastic scraper but not in the RV.  So I found a plastic chip clip and used De-Solve-it and with a bit of scraping and wiping got it all off.  We have new lights we plan to install.  Where is Paul when we need him??  I tested the new lights and ended up removing a couple of parts from the old ones in order to get them to work.  Bill played with the remote and checked out all the color combinations he can do once we install them.  Too bad we’re too late for Independence Day!

Bill left after lunch to run an errand on his way to his Dr. appointment.  While he was gone I used my new furniture markers to touch up my panel re-installation and the scraped to the trim that our bathroom door did.  Then I paid bills and filed!  It goes where we go!

I had phone calls to make, one to Winnebago about some issues I want to resolve without an RV tech if possible.  The guy I connected with was very helpful and took all the time I needed to answer and research our issues.  He told me where to start with a part I need to order and how to move forward on the rest of my issues.  Now I’m waiting to hear back on the part and looking for an electrician to maybe deal with my under cabinet lights issue. 

I made one of our favorites for dinner, pickle steaks with gravy and mashed potatoes with a steamed broccoli side!  Then we took a walk to the lower part of the campground to walk off a pinch of dinner!

Much better day!

July 7 - Today went better than yesterday’s outing! 

We had an appointment east of Hartford to have the oil changed in the truck so that was our first stop!  We waited in the customer room with only 2 other people and then it was just us. 

A bit closer to Hartford we went to Pete’s RV to return a sewer hose that Bill could not get to work with what he already had.  He didn’t want to talk to the guy he called about it so sent me in.  I had a few questions I wanted to ask the service department, so it was OK with me.  I received my refund and patiently waited while both service writers were on the phones.  Eventually the one seated at the front of the desk was available.  It was the strangest thing!  As he attempted to answer my various questions, he kept lowering his head and dosed off!   He’d pop back up and continue.  He’s quite a bit overweight and I noticed he leaned forward while on the phone and it slid gently down and he recovered it and kept nodding.  I thought he was acknowledging the caller but I think he was literally nodding off!  In reality, he had no clue about anything I needed to ask and of course, it was after 12 and the techs had all left for lunch.  When I got to the truck we were blocked in by a mail truck.  After a few minutes Bill asked me to see if someone was in the truck.  Nope, the radio was on but nobody was home!  We waited and waited and finally the mailman came out and apologized and we got on our way again!

Almost in to Hartford we made the rounds of Bed, Bath and Beyond, World Market, Petco (no luck), Walmart, Home Depot and PetSmart (where I found a little squirrel for Molly)!  We managed to work in lunch at Chili’s and it was very good!  Not very many people there, but the fewer the better!

Seemed like it took no time at all get home!  It was leftover night so we cleared out what we could!  Later I made a batch of People’s Cookies to use of the Cocoa Krispies I brought from the freezer at home.  I made them fatter and not so crispy and really like them better than super crunchy!

Nothing special on TV so we both read til bedtime!!

Pretty good day out...

July 6 – Yeaaa, 5 days off!  We started the day with a nice breakfast of cheddar biscuits, bacon and fresh fruit.  I did a load of laundry and we showered and left at 11:15.

Looks a lot less crowded

This was one of those days that just didn’t go according to plan!  I had an 11:45 appointment for bloodwork at Quest.  I had checked a month ago if my order would still be good and that they had it as we were traveling.  I was told it would be.  Well, I got right in for my appointment and was told that they did not have access to online orders except for Connecticut.  She gave me a business card with a fax number to have my Dr. fax a request, so I get to start all over!

Then we went to lunch at a Mexican restaurant that we’d eaten at when we were here before and it was terrible.  What a downer!

Our RV

You can’t buy wine in grocery stores here so Bill drove me to a nice liquor store where I enjoyed perusing the aisles.  I bought 3 bottles of wines I normally drink and one new one. 

We stopped at Aldi and Walmart and were close to getting everything on the list but not quite.  We took the Wendy’s drive thru and got “dessert” and then Bill waited while I did a quick stop in Home Depot but they didn’t have what I was looking for. 

Time to head home a bit defeated but at least we got out and about.

Bill bought some new outdoor lights as we had 5-6 that were done so he put them all out and cleaned off the back seat of the truck as he had a tub of RV stuff

Most of our row

that didn’t leave much room for groceries and the like.

Once the groceries were put away, I took my bathroom sink drain apart and ended up not having to replace it.  It is a push top and it was REALLY plugged up.  I also glued in 2 pieces of trim along the floor that had popped up.  My RV repair list is down to 5, so I’m making headway!

I roasted a seasoned pork tenderloin, nuked 2 ears of corn and sautéed slices carrots with olive oil and dinner was ready and pretty tasty.  I had picked up a 6 pack of chocolate covered coconut macaroons so we each enjoyed one for dessert.  Yummy!

Time for some TV and blogging!

The day after...

July 5 – Last work day this week!  Bill said we were due in at 9 so we arrived promptly and were told it was 10.  There was a revised holiday schedule and Bill was looking at the regular schedule.  No big deal, we went back to the RV and read for an hour! 

Bill and I started with cleaning the rec hall.  We cleaned all the BINGO tables, the game machines, the display cabinets and then Bill swept the porch and walkway.  I went to work in the office the rest of our shift and Bill was out doing yard work.

We had quite a few reservations for the holiday weekend next year so I spent some time learning more about the computer system and in putting new reservations.  I did the laundry from one of cabins in between.

Once we got home and chilled for a bit Smokey and Pam, work campers across from us, invited us over later to play Jokers with them.  Surprisingly, Bill agreed to play and we had a great time.  It was a really fun game with marbles on a board.  Pam and I were partnered against the guys.  They won twice and us only once.  It was fun and we look forward to playing again.

We heated up leftovers and had a little bit late dinner.  We watched one of our favorite shows, “The Good Witch”, which was the season finale.  Then it was reading time.

Great Independence Day!

July 4 - Happy Independence Day! This was day 3 for us and our hours were a bit later today, 11 – 4.  We had time to do some house chores and shower before leaving.  I did laundry so we have clean work shirts for tomorrow and changed the bed sheets since it’s Saturday.

The place is packed!

Bill ran the water slide again today for 2 hours and drove Steve around to sell 50/50 tickets today and more ducks for the race later today.  So he had a light day!

The office was pretty steady with visitors coming to see campers, new reservations, sales of candy, ice cream and other assorted items, especially ice!  I was able to sit more today so didn’t have such a sore back.

I had made a small dish of potato salad this morning so after I got home and relaxed a while, read a while and chatted with Bruce back in not so sunny Florida, then Bill lit the grill and we grilled a zucchini, a small steak, 2 brats and 2 thick slices of bologna (definitely not for me).  I got out the potato salad I made and we munched down on our Independence Day feast!  For dessert we had rice pudding, nothing traditional with that.

They finally got our section of the wifi back up and running so for now I am once again “a happy camper”!

We watched some TV and time to read a while!