Electric is fixed!

I arrived at the Born Free factory this afternoon and they got me right in to check out my electrical problem. Actually the microwave was fine, it just happened to be running when the ground wire in the power distribution panel disintegrated. It had apparently been in bad shape from being overheated in the past.  I had an issue back in November last year when the master 30 amp breaker tripped and the panel was really hot. I had just ran my new electric heater in high for the first time so I figured that was the cause.  I monitored the panel after that and it seemed warmer than it should be but the documentation said it could get warm and there was a fan to automatically cool it.  I was not too impressed with the campground pedestal although my Progressive box said there was no problem with the power.  I left that campground and at the next place I ran the new heater on high and monitored the panel for a while but it never got warm again.  I blamed it on the last campground and since everything was working fine, I didn't think about it again.  Guess maybe I should have had it checked out anyway.  Live and learn.

So now everything is fixed and running which is good because it has been raining all day and I will not be able to charge my electronics with my Goal Zero solar panel like I have been.  Actually I may have been able to charge everything tonight yet and if the sun comes out tomorrow, I could get it all charged up again.

All is well that ends well!

Back home

I came back home on Apr 1 after driving a moving van for my daughter-in-law from Oklahoma to Portland, Oregon.  No problems on the trip or the flight back to Oklahoma. 

I retrieved my RV from storage and moved back into it to spend my last 3 weeks in Texas.  Had to wash it since it was really dusty.  Then I went and got my kayak out of storage that I put there last fall.  So now everything is back together again.  Heading to Iowa tomorrow for some suspension upgrades and an oil change before I head back to Wisconsin for a wedding.

 Last night my microwave died and took my 120VAC power with it.  No circuit breakers tripped but I reset them all anyway.  No luck.  I have a heavy duty extension cord plugged in to the pedestal for my electric heater so I could keep warm last night.  I should be able to get that fixed when I am at the BF factory next week.  In the meantime I am fine with just  my battery power and the extension cord.  I am assuming my batteries will charge okay while I am driving so I should have full batteries each night on the trip to Iowa.

Construction zone

I didn't have very far to drive today but it seemed like most of it was a construction zone. One in particular was very irritating. It was a major road but due to construction it was dirt for about a mile going into and partway through town. Since it rained this morning, you know what it was. Mud. For a mile. On my newly waxed car! Since it was being towed behind my motor home, everything but the roof was mud. I wanted it clean for the trip to Norman tomorrow. Oh well, a little water and a brush and it came off easily.

At least I didn't have much wind to deal with and there was no rain during my trip. When I arrived at my destination, the sun was out at it was nice and warm. So it is all good.

Fast car

I have just one day here at Lake Tawakoni and I spent it washing and waxing my car. Now it will go faster! :-) Wish waxing my motorhome would be that easy.

It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day and I thoroughly enjoyed it. After finishing my work I was able to sit in my hanging chair for a while and relax. I can see some of the lake from my site and there is no one near me so it was very quiet and peaceful.

Tomorrow I head further north, but not too far.

Changes

My son is selling his house in Norman so the plan now is to help get the house ready to sell so I am making a fast trip back to the north Texas Thousand Trail Preserve where I started this trip through Texas. This way I will be closer to Norman so I can help out.

It is really nice to have such a flexible life so I can just rearrange a few things and go help out a family member.

Gulf coast

Drove down to the Gulf coast today. It was a long drive but I wanted to be able to say I saw the Gulf of Mexico. I put my hand in it even. The shells on the beach were all different from what I have seen on the Pacific coast so I spent a lot of time looking them over. So now I have walked the beaches of the Pacific, Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico.

I have not made any progress fixing my PC. The disk error checking came back clean. I may try taking it apart and check the connections next. Such fun.

The weather has been great here. On my trip today I saw 82 degrees on a bank sign. My left arm got a bit of a tan during my drive. So nice for January! When I got back to my RV I read the paper that was delivered and read an article about the cold temps in the midwest. Sorry about that guys. Hope you are all able to keep warm up there in the cold north.

I hate computers

Spending the day working on my Windows laptop. It has been crashing with disk errors lately and I finally decided something needs to be done about it. I have been keeping it backed up so when it dies, I will have what I need to continue living. Just finished doing a final backup and will try to fix the disk error now. Wish me luck.