America The Beautiful

The terrible accident we survived happened five months ago today, May 27th.

About 10 days ago I got to feeling well enough to finally stop wearing my elastic chest bandage, taking ibuprofen and icing my chest twice daily. My right rib cage remains slightly swollen and somewhat tender to the touch. I need to maintain a constant  awareness not to physically over exert myself. I remain with a constant mild burning sensation in my right rib cage area. I’m wondering when, if ever, it will finally leave me.

Mary remains at home in California tending to medical issues. Some believed to be related to after effects of the accident.

If you missed the Blog entry about the accident, here’s the link. If you want to understand the full scope of the accident you’ll need to read the Blog entries for the following several days…
http://wp.me/pDCku-4Eh

In the meantime, I’m in my second day here at Sumner Lake State Park in New Mexico.

We have a brief cold front moving though the area. Yesterday’s high temperature was only 48 degrees so I stayed inside most of the day playing with the computer and came up with this 1:58 minute video. It was 30 degrees at 5:00 AM this morning.

The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

Enjoying our beautiful country is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Another Electrical Problem Pops Up…Excuse The Pun…

Or rather…the power door locks decided to stop opening (popping up) a few days back on my Ford Bronco II. In light of my Blog entry about one month ago…”It Helps To Be Technically Minded”… I thought I’d share this story with you.

After about an hour of cleaning electrical contacts…unplugging and plugging in the concerned solenoids..there are two of them…one for the locking and one for the unlocking functions…I finally decided it was a defective solenoid. I had replaced both of them about 1.5 years ago when I was in Pensacola, Florida.

So I stopped a NAPA Auto Parts and bought a new one. Buying electrical auto parts can be chancy…if you’ve guessed wrong. Once you’ve walked out of the door there is no returning them for a refund of your money. In my case the part number and diagram on the solenoid I was guessing was defective did not match the unit that the NAPA guy said was the right NAPA part…according to his computer.

Fortunately I guessed right and the NAPA guy was right. I installed the NAPA solenoid…doors now lock and unlock as the are meant to do. Another problem fixed. Shouldn’t electrical devices last longer than 1.5 years?

As discussed in the earlier Blog entry…by doing the repair myself I probably saved myself $120 an hour labor charge and a 100% mark-up on the $23 solenoid if I had gone to an auto repair shop. Instead I get to put that money into the motorhome gas tank and move on down the road!

In other news…

Yesterday we moved the motorhome the about 15 miles back to Thousand Trails RV Resort in Bow, Washington. They primary reason for the move was so that Mary can enjoy her daily swim in the Olympic-sized swimming pool here. We expect to be here for an eight-day stay.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2011
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://lulu.com/panamaorbust

2010 Year In Review…

Jim says:

2010 was a great RVing year for me. Here’s some on the places I visited, things I did and people met along the way in the about 17,500 miles…

* Arizona
Yuma with a walk-in to San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora Mexico
Apache Junction
Old Tucson Film Studios in Tucson
Biosphere 2, in Oracle
Chiricahua National Monument deep in Apache Country for three days

* New Mexico
Deming with a walk-in to Palomas, Mexico

* Texas
Big Bend National Park for three days
Judge Roy Bean Museum in Langtry
National Museum of the World War II Pacific War Museum at Fredericksburg
Luckenback, population 3
Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park at Stonewall

* Louisana
Fred’s Lounge in Eunice
Jean LaFitte National Preserve at Barataria
Mardi Gras in New Orleans for two weeks
Battle of New Orleans site at Chalmette
The mouth of the Mississippi River at Venice
Pilot Town, an island ten miles into the Gulf of Mexico
Bayou Terrbonne to Houma marshlands
Mandalay National Wildlife Preserve and Bayou Black Swamp tour
Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center at Thibodaux
Mr. Charlie Oil Rig Museum at Morgan City
The Oldest Rice Mill and Birthpace of Cajun Country at New Iberia
Tabasco factory and the Annual great Gator Race at New Iberia
Rice and Crawfish country in Crowley
Jean LaFitte Nation Historic Park at Lafayette
Martin Accordion Factory at Lafayette
Saints Football Team Parade at Opelousas
Historic Town of Washington
A visit at the home Greg Girard, famous Louisiana Author at Catahoula
The Great Atchafaylaya Swamp
Louisiana’s Angloa Maximum Security Prison 25 miles from St. Francisville
Civil War Battlefield at Port Hudson
State Capital Building at Baton Rouge
The Last Wilderness Ultimate Swamp Tour
Nottaway Plantation at White Castle
Laura Plantation at Vacherie
Bayou Segnette State Park at Westwego

* Mississippi
Beauvoir – Last Home Of Jefferson Davis, Biloxi,
U.S. Highway 90 and Hurricane Katrina Ground Zero damage area

* Florida
National Naval Aviation Museum at Pensacola for three days
Blue Angels Precision Flaying Team at Pensacola
Historical Museum at Pensacola
Fort Barrancas at Pensacola
Gulf Islands National Seashore

* South Carolina
A week-long visit with my friends Bob and Judy Michaud at Summerton
Santee National Wildlife Refuge at Summerton

* North Carolina
Asheville
Cherokee Indian Museum at Cherokee

* North Carolina and Tennessee
Great Smoky Mountains National Park

* North Carolina and Virginia
Blue Ridge Parkway

* Virginia
Skyline drive
A visit with Mary’s stepdaughter and her family at Front Royal

* West Virginia
Harpers Ferry National Park

* Pennsylvania
Gettysburg National Military Historic Park
Hershey Chocolate Factory at Hershey
Dutch/Amish Country in Lancaster County
The Covered Bridge Tour of Lehigh County

* New Jersey
A visit with my friends Jim and Ginnie Palumbo in Wayne
Thomas Edison National Historical Park at west Orange
A visit with my cousin Simone and her husband Pat in Bergenfield

* Connecticut
A visit with my cousin Diane and her husband Bob at Hebron
A visit with my son Jim and his family at Ivoryton
Katherine Hepburn Museum at Old Saybrook
Nuclear Submarine Nautilus and U.S, Navy Submarine Museum at Groton
United States Coast Guard academy at New London
Ivoryton Playhouse and The Buddy Holly Story
The largest casino in the United States at Foxwood
Mystic Seaport
Amistad Exhibit at New London

* Rhode Island
Millionaire “Summer Cottages” at Newport

* Massachusetts
A visit with several different cousins and their families at New Bedford
Whaling Museum at New Bedford
The Island of Martha’s Vineyard for one week
Chappaquiddick Island
A week on Cape Cod including Hyannisport and Provincetown
Sandwich Glass Museum at Sandwich
A visit with old school friends at Revere
The first public beach in the United States at Revere
97th Annual Portuguese Feast/Festival
Lowell’s Boat Shop at Amesbury
Newburyport
Manchester
Gloucester Maritime Heritage Center and Fisherman’s Memorial
Rockport

* New Hampshire
Portsmouth

* New York
U. S. Army West Point Military Academy

* Michigan
Henry Ford Museum at Dearborn
Motown Music Museum and Ford F150 Pickup Assembly Plant Tour in Detroit

* Indiana
RV Museum at Elkhart
Fleetwood Motorhome Factory at Decatur
Workhorse Chassis Factory at Union City
Little Italy Festival in Clinton

* Nebraska
High Plains Museum at McCook

* Colorado
Rocky Mountain National Park
Museum of Northwest Colorado at Craig

* Nevada
National Automobile Museum at Reno

In addition those identified there were many other smaller museums, numerous restaurants and other experiences during the about 17,500 miles of 2010.
Whew! It was quite a year!

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com

RV Trip Favorite Photos #107-112

Jim says:

While Mary and I are taking care of business here at her home…there is little “new stuff” to Blog about daily. So I’ve decided to share with you some of my favorite photos from our recent 298 day, 16,000+ mile RV trip around the United States.

Since scenery and people snapshot-type photos require little special photography skills…and being limited by the abilities of my digital camera…I none the less took some photos that I really liked. They are presented in no special order of favoritism.

Today’s photos were taken April 15, 2010 at Fort Barrancas, Pensacola, Florida…

In other news…
62 degrees with showers yesterday. Reading, computer and TV day.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
My three books may be purchased at http://www.lulu.com
Just enter Jim Jaillet in the search box.

RV Trip Favorite Photos #84-106

Jim says:

While Mary and I are taking care of business here at her home…there is little “new stuff” to Blog about daily. So I’ve decided to share with you some of my favorite photos from our recent 298 day, 16,000+ mile RV trip around the United States.

Since scenery and people snapshot-type photos require little special photography skills…and being limited by the abilities of my digital camera…I none the less took some photos that I really liked. They are presented in no special order of favoritism.

Today’s photos were taken at the Pensacola, Florida Naval Aviation Museum on April 7-9, 2010…

In other news…
82 degrees yesterday. Replaced sewer hose and repaired a bicycle tire flat.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
My three books may be purchased at http://www.lulu.com
Just enter Jim Jaillet in the search box.

Bainbridge, Georgia

Jim says:

Yesterday I drove about 125 miles to Bainbridge, Georgia. I tried to stay on lesser used roads. Along the way I passed into the Eastern Time Zone.

Florida Highway 167

Georgia Highway 97

I’m parked at a small and apparently seldom used American Legion Post.

American Legion Post #502 in Bainbridge, Georgia.

Downsides: Small parking lot required me to unhook Bronco, turn around the motorhome and rehook. Post is closed tonight…no one to mix and mingle with. Temperature reached 87 in the late afternoon.

Upsides: Large shade trees with a gentle breeze. Hassle-free and free parking. i continue towards South Carolina again today.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com

I’ve Come To The End…

Jim says:

of my eastward bound travels across the southern portion of the United States.

Since leaving California on November 30, I driven about 3,200 miles in 143 days. That averages out to a very leisurely pace of 22.3 miles per day!

Yesterday I arrived in Panama City Beach, just west of Panama City, Florida where I spent the night at VFW Post #10555.

VFW Post #10555 in Panama City Beach, Florida

Today I’ll turn northeast and head in the general direction of my next planned scheduled stop to visit friends in Summerton, South Carolina. That’s about 400 miles and I expect to make it there in 3-4 days. I’m in no particular hurry!

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com

I thought I had a pesky problem solved…

Jim says:

Another thing I love about full-time RVing is that there are generally few problems in life and those tend to be small problems. This story is about a small problem that has been pestering me since we acquired the new motorhome.

Most Class A (the big square ones like ours) motorhome are built on a truck chassis. Our motorhome is on a Workhorse Chassis with 19.5″ dual rear wheels. Checking and adding air to the tires can be somewhat of a pain. On our motorhome I installed a valve stem extension for the inside wheel and it works fine. I’ve tried a number of items on the outside wheel to no avail. Even a Camping World Service Manager told me he had nothing that would fix my problem.

Right now the only way I can add air to the outside wheel is to use an angled chuck. I’ve good a real good quality 12 volt air pump, but it does not have an angled air chuck. The hole on the outside wheel is too small to attach my air pump.

The too small hole.

The day before yesterday I was on the phone with a Goodyear Tire Store and they told me they had all kinds of angled valve stems that would fix my problem.

Yesterday I went to the Goodyear Tire Store and the angled valve stem looked like it would work. They would only charge me $28.50 to do both wheels, plus tax…and no charge if they didn’t work. I was ecstatic! Camping World gets $54.50 for one-half hour of labor!

They took a wheel off the motorhome, removed the tire from the steel wheel and…Oh, No!…the hole on the steel wheel was too large for the angled valve stem. I was crushed! From the time I arrived until I departed…two hours had slipped away…and good to their word…there was no charge. That was good…but I’ve still got my pesky problem!

This angle valve wouldn’t work because the hole on the steel wheel was too large.

In other news…
As pretty as the day before yesterday was at the Gulf Island National Seashore…when you are near the beach there are very small gnats. I ran into them along the gulf shore in Mississippi also. They’re so small they can fit through the openings of the motorhome window screens. There were dozens of them and they bite like alligators. Fortunately they have a very short life span and they are also very dumb. They like camping out on the dining room window…so they made easy targets for my fast-moving thumb. I squished about 100 of them. I now have no more gnats in the motorhome! The gnats were a rather pesky problem that I did manage to fix!

So I decided to move on and ended up only about 25 miles down the road in Destin, Florida. After finishing with the Goodyear Tire Dealer I wasn’t in the mood to drive further. So I spent last night in American Legion Post there in Destin. I’m such a lucky guy…I get to meet so many nice people. At the American Legion bar, I met Gary and Connie from upper Wisconsin…married 43 years and still happy together. Thanks Gary and Connie for the great conversations.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com

Gulf Islands National Seashore

Jim says:

Yesterday I arrived at the Gulf Islands National Seashore about 25 miles East of Pensacola, Florida. I was in the middle of a seven mile stretch with no housing or commercial developments of any kind.

I’m glad it was an overcast day with a temperature at 69 degrees. When the sun is shining, the sugar-white sand is blinding. Along with the cloud cover, there was a gentle breeze with only the sound of seagulls and the small waves washing up on to the shore. Since it was a Monday…the place was deserted. I had it to myself.

My current location as seen by Google Earth.

Looking East.

Looking South.

Looking West.

I sat on the beach in my folding chair most of the day reading an Elmer Kelton western novel. It was most peaceful and relaxing. Who knows…I just may never leave here!

A good place to sit and read.

Unfortunately…Some workers came by late in the afternoon…since there were no signs saying no overnight no parking…I asked…they didn’t know and made a cell phone call to inquire and were told no parking allowed overnight. I normally do not ask…but I didn’t want a Ranger coming by at midnight telling me I had to move. So I moved Easterly for about four miles until I left the park boundaries. I found a nice quiet side street that I had previously scouted and spent the night there.

Here’s the official government website link…
http://www.nps.gov/guis/index.htm

All original material Copyright � Jim Jaillet 2010
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com

The Friendliest VFW Post In Florida…

Jim says:

I’ve done and seen many a thing in my years on the road. One of these things is that I’ve spent a night or two at a VFW, American Legion, Moose, Eagles and Elks, etc…

I usually find these places on Google Earth. All I do is identify the location of where I desire to stay and then ask it to show me the locations of the local clubs. Then Google Earth allows me to zoom in and see the size of their parking lot and if there’s enough room to park an RV.

They number in the thousands and one or more of the clubs can usually be found in the area where I desire to spend the night with my RV. Some have specific RV spaces with electricity available, but most do not. Usually I’m just looking for a mostly flat, safe place in the corner of a parking lot. Then inside I can usually enjoy good drink, food and companionship at a moderate price. Some places request a donation for an overnight stay, most do not.

It’s also an excellent place to get referrals for a local mechanic, etc.. I normally stay only one night, but recently because of waiting on the repair of a vital electrical component for my RV, I spent 13 nights at the American Legion Post #240 in Pensacola, Florida.

Most of these places serve as a social gathering place for persons of similar ilks where everyone pretty much knows everyone. In these places, the members are supposed to be “brothers, if you will. Since I’m usually “just passing through”, it’s interesting how a strange face is received by the local membership.

The first part of the process usually is the showing of a paid-up/current membership card which entitles you to visit the facility. Some places never ask to see it and take my word I’m who I say I am and others have a sign on the door saying only current members may enter.

Since I’m not a local member, I usually cannot use the membership card reader that automatically opens the entrance door. A doorbell is normally nearby that notifies the bartender that a non-local member desires entry. Once the bartender presses the buzzer, the door lock clicks open and entry is made…AND EVERY FACE IN THE PLACE IS LOOKING TO SEE WHO JUST RUNG THE DOORBELL!

Once they see who’s there, most go back to their in-process conversations. I proceed to the bar, and find an empty seat. I usually tell the bartender who I am…name and post location affiliation along the line of…:”Hi, I’m Jim Jaillet, a visiting VFW member from Post #7968 in Apache Junction, Arizona”. I then hand over my membership card for approval, then place my order. A chat with the next sit-ee or two usually develops. That is pretty much what happens at most locations. Sometime the next sit-ees show no indication of desire for conversation, and that’s okay with me. Usually they appear to be in some kind of deep thought, so I leave them alone.

Once in a while, the opposite happens…
Yesterday I had the good fortune to stop at the friendliest VFW (Veterans Of Foreign Wars) Post in Gulf Breeze, Florida. Once through the door, pretty near everyone was shouting at me…”Welcome to the friendliest VFW Post in Florida!” Here even though a stranger, you are truly welcomed as a “brother”. Everyone comes over says hello, shakes your hand, introduces themselves and expresses a welcome. That’s pretty much what happened yesterday. The kinda-sorta leader of this most friendly group was a guy by the name of Mike McDonald, also known as Frogman because he is an ex-Navy SEAL…a long time ago they were called frogmen. He also happens to be the Commander-elect of this local post and assumes his office this July. Mike made sure I met most of the better-than 50 people that came in during the day.

Mike McDonald is the third person from the left of photo.

Post 4407 looking North.

The sign does not say it all. They should add “The Friendliest VFW Post In Florida!”

Post 4407 looking South.

We spent the afternoon (four hours worth) drinking beer, eating hot dogs and waited for the NASCAR Race on TV which never happened because of rain. Most listened to the stories I told of my many years on the road with interest.

All in all, a most enjoyable day. Thank you VFW Post #4407 for making a wayward brother feel at home. You are most certainly the friendliest VFW Post in Florida…and maybe the entire United States!

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2010
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.panamaorbust.com