Dec 10 – Great Balls of Fire!

It was up early for meeting today. Once daybreak broke there was this unfamiliar bright object in the sky attempting to radiate some warmth to the day with little progress as the temp outside only made it to the 50 degree mark before the Ball of fire began to set, giving way to a clear evening sky . The morning presented back to back meetings for both Kevin & Theresa. Theresa made some sandwiches for lunch. As she worked on that task Kevin noticed the front furnace had not ran for some time. This prompted him to begin a series of troubleshooting steps. He checked the thermostat, fuses and fan with no conclusions. With all the work that had been done on the Smitanic it was very worrisome that things may not have been installed correctly ( the thermostat was one of the items replaced prior to the trip). Kevin called 3 different mobile RV repair folks in the area and 2 were able to commit to stopping by tomorrow to take a look.

With the understanding that the furnace issue had been dealt with as much as possible the team elected to work on the next task, a trip to Walmart to get groceries for the week. As the couple approached the CRV they both commented on how it looked like a dirt-ball, it was covered with 1 inch think road grime and diesel exhaust that had been deposited on the Toad for the last 700 miles. This would require a detour on the way to the store for a much needed bath for the Toad. After a whopping $1.50 at the local hand held spray & wash the Toad was road worthy and at least 20 lbs lighter :). The CRV was now able to proudly park in the local Super Walmart while its occupants explored each isle the mega store offered. With shopping cart full the team and their almost clean CRV headed back to the Smitanic.

The light of day was waning so there was minimal time for a stroll with Zin down the River Walk. The campground is right next to an entrance to the famous walk. The walk provided a very serine and relaxing stroll. The walk presented rippling water over large boulders and wild birds (herrings, loons and ducks) enjoying their evening swim in the solitude the river provided. After 1 mile out it was time to reverse and see if the return trip could be accomplished before sunset!

Once back in the Smitanic Theresa assembled some of the new supplies for a delicious stir fry with rice dinner. As this was being prepared Kevin dialed in the Heat pump to see if it would supply heat for the night. Yes it worked. He then turned it off and the Furnace back on and low and behold it worked! If it works thru the night the service call can be cancelled :)

Tomorrow the team hopes to take in some of the other sites and history of this wonderful (but cold) city before leaving Friday AM. The CIA(Culinary Institute of America) is highly recommended as well as the holiday lights on the river walk downtown. Hopefully the temps will cooperate :)