Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Guys Weekend 2014

This years Guys Weekend Ed, Kev, and I took RoadAbode down to Abingdon Maryland to relax at Bar Harbor RV Park & Marina. The beauty of this place is location. Situated on the Bush River, a feeder to the Upper Chesapeake, the RV sites face toward a boardwalk along the banks of the river. One of the few campsites where we keep the driver area curtain open because of the view out over the water. Egrets, heron, hawks and other feathery wildlife abound in this quiet place.

Friday Ed and I headed out about noon to RoadAbode. We stowed our gear, and headed for Kev. Kev was waiting for Leann to get home to "tag Team" for caring for thier son, who was under the weather. It was nice to just sit and talk, and let Ed see the beautiful garden at Kev's home - even though I was itching to get on the road. Once Kev's gear was stowed and we were on our way, the trip south from Souderton was uneventful - which is usually for the best. Google Maps decided that the best way to skirt the traffic mess of the Blue route to i-95 was to hit Route 30 towards Lancaster and then south on Route 10. I think it was a little longer of a trip, but the scenery and driving was much more appealing. The route dropped us on i-95 slightly above the Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge, which crosses over the Susquehanna River. Another 20 minutes and we were at the campground.
Once we setup our site and took a stroll around the shoreline and park, we headed out to Pat's Pizza. for dinner. A great little eatery recently refurbished with great oven baked specialty pizzas. IT may be our age, but we couldn't finish the Stuffed steak pizza we ordered, and had to take some slices back with us. We stopped for some supplies and introduced Ed to an Aldi market. Last stop for the eve was for some ice at the Seven-Eleven on the road leading to the campground. Once back we relaxed outside with a campfire and some adult beverages. Had some fun looking thru the High School yearbook Ed brought.
Saturday we visited the town of Havre de Grace. A great little town where the Susquehanna empties into the Chesapeake. Some of the highlights for us there were the Visitors Center - where we learned of some of the revolutionary war history of the town - the river walk from the lighthouse to the town marina, and a wonderfully tasty family owned restaurant called El Jalapeno For dessert (and treats for home) we stopped in Bomboy's Candies. A little on the pricey side, but worth it - and the $5 grab bags hold some yummy treasures!
Dinner was at the local Golden Coral, We jokingly mention we were "seniors". When we sat at the table - we saw we got a discount!
Sunday, We traveled to Susquehanna State Park and walked the abandoned rails along the river, and investigated the old Rock Run Grist Mill. This mill was erected by John Stump in 1794. The engineering of the conveyor elevators, sifting machinery, and  how the grains were made into flour was amazing to see in the water driven mill.
After we stopped at the only winery.in the area, Mt. Felix winery.A bumpy dirt road led us to an Italian inspired villa atop a hill with a beautiful view of the grapes and the Chesapeake beyond. We samples, then bough a bottle a d sat at an outside table, while listening to opera.  The winery may not have the most delectable of wines, but it was quite a relaxing and fun time!
Dinner was Joe's Crab Shack where I was able to dine on they're Cajun prawn special. Not Maryland crab but still a great treat.
Back at the RV Park we enjoyed a swim and more a taste of a few whiskeys. Not a everyday thing for any of us, but interesting to sample and appreciate the different flavor notes of each.

Monday we had breakfast at an old favorite - Waffle House - and then packed up and headed home. Another relaxing Guys Weekend!

Friday, July 18, 2014

Working on RoadAbode

Had an issue with some rotted wood on RoadAbode.
It's been going on a while, and I just covered the problem up for a year or two with EternaBond Roof Tape (which worked great for a year or so) - but I finally decided to tackle the delam/rotted wood in RoadAbode's hindquarters. Each side and the rear underskirt under the bumper needed attention, as did the left turn lights mounting area.. Above are the before/after shots of the one quarter panel. For not knowing what I was doing (just was reading what others had done) it turned out pretty nice looking, and more importantly - was much more sturdy. Probably more sturdy then when we got her almost 10 years ago!
After reading a bunch of ways to fix - I decided to go the Gorilla Glue route. Gorilla glue was perfect for the job. When it hits damp wood, it actually expands into that area (clamping is important to get a tight seal). After our first RoadTrip since, it seems to be holding tight.

I first pulled out the rotting laminate and board. That also involved getting partly under RoadAbode. I cleaned the area pretty well, and replaced the 2x2 boards I took out with pressure treated. Many of the screws were rusted, and so I had to pry out - which was fine on the rotted wood that was going to be replaced anyway. I replaced the laminate, but first treated with a rubberized waterproofing paint on the external side, while completely covering the interior side in Gorrilla Glue. I then mounted that directly onto the Styrofoam that makes up the "sandwich" of the wall. Used 4 clamps to keep everything in place while it dried the recommended two hours, and proceeded to work on the opposite side. After the original was cured, I then glued the clean filon directly onto the foam. very little rippling, and it is more solid than I've ever seen on RoadAbode. To get good coverage on any glued surfaces, I used disposable "3 pack dollar store" brushes. Also, I should mention that latex or vinyl gloves are essential when using Gorilla Glue. The first time I did not use them - and my hands were coated for three days in black!.
A Few Pictures of the work done.










































Friday, July 04, 2014

Too cold for swimming?

Who would of thought it would be too cold to hit one of the campground pools?

Fourth of July

Drove up to Spring Gulch in New Holland on the the third.  Was able to leave work early.  Ran into some powerful thunderstorms outside of Morgantown. Was able to still go forward but at about 25mph. When we did get to the campground there was a bus stop on the only road up to our site. Had to wait for about half an hour to forty minutes until the wrecker truck was able to move it. Fortunately we had stopped for dinner at Shady Maple before we came to the campground. That presented it don't problems because they don't have parking for RVs towing. Was able to just take a few spots on an empty part of their lot.
Now looking forward to some r&r after a busy/crazy short week at work. Third weekend in a row we are out in RoadAbode!