Tag Archives: Micanopy (FL)

2014/03/31 (M) T Minus 7

The last day of March marked the beginning of the final week countdown to our departure from Williston Crossings RV Resort.  On a drive into the Gainesville Publix supermarket we wondered which was stranger, leaving here after being in one place for just over three months, or returning home after being away for more than four months?  Linda was back home for three weeks in late February and early March, so it does not feel quite as strange to her.

I got a callback from AALL*Brite letting me know that would be back at Williston Crossings on Friday to wash our rig and polish our wheels.  Having that appointment confirmed allowed us to plan the rest of our week, which will include a visit to Weeki Wachi SP, and getting into the WCRVR swimming pool (finally).  We have seen AALL*Brite in the past at rallies in Michigan.  They do a nice job on aluminum wheels for a very reasonable price.  Their price to wash and spotless rinse the rig is also very reasonable.  We are not going to have them wax it, which is much more expensive, as we have never had wax or other such products on the coach since we had it repainted and don’t feel we need them.

We finally have a string of days this week with forecasted highs in the mid-80s; lovely days to be outside reading and crafting on the patio of our well-shaded site.  We have also been spending time with our RV resort friends with whom we will shortly no longer be able to visit.  While some of them live here year-round, others are winter seasonal residents like us and are also preparing to leave.

Monday is pizza double-punch day and half-price drink day at the Micanopy Blue Highway Pizzeria, so going there for dinner is a routine part of John and Ali’s week.  We have gone with them the last few weeks as it is a good opportunity to just sit and talk.  This time we were joined by John and Ann who we have seen at the fire pit and said “hello” to while walking, but not really talked with at length.

When we got back to WCRVR we gathered at John and Ali’s rig with our glasses of wine to continue the conversation.  We were joined by Charles and Sandy who we have also seen and chatted with at the fire pit.  They are currently living at WCRVR while they look for a business to purchase in the area.  They had a business in Texas (Houston area) that they sold and have been traveling around the central and eastern U. S. looking for one to buy.  They are in their late 40’s and are not ready to be retired.  In spite of a high temperature in the 80s, it got very cool after the sun went down and we retreated to the comfort of our coach.

 

2014/02/25 (T) Bus Project

Photos for today’s post follow the text in a photo gallery.  Maximum dimension is ~300 pixels.

I don’t think I’m obsessive or compulsive, but I can only sit and relax so much before I have to do something.  Linda likes to walk, and I like to walk with her, but I am less inclined to do that on my own just for the doing of it.  Still, I walked to the local ACE Hardware store today for some parts for a “project” and stopped at the Grocery Depot for some supplies on the way back.  It was probably a mile round trip; not enough to really promote cardiovascular fitness, but better than taking the car.

Yesterday I put some water in the garbage disposal opening.  (Yes, our bus has a residential garbage disposal.)  The disposal has never worked since we bought the bus and it occurred to me that the trap in the drain might not have any water in it, which would permit orders from the gray tank to come up into the house portion of the coach.  Not to worry as it turns out; the water did not drain from the In-Sink-Erator.  I left it for a few hours and it eventually drained out.  Examination with a flashlight revealed that the inside was complete rusted, so badly that I could not even see the two pieces that are free to rotate when the disposal is spinning.  I tried scraping the inside, but to free it up, but it was beyond hope.

I also finally understood why the switch which we assumed was for the disposal did not do anything.  At some point in the past someone turned it “on” and the breaker on the bottom of the unit immediately tripped and never got reset.  There would not have been any purpose in resetting it anyway.The only reasonably solution (from my point of view) was to replace the disposer, even though we did not intend to use it very much.  I am not aware of a product that is sold for sealing up the hole where the disposer goes.  (I could have plumbed it into the drain for the main sink basin, but given how small that section of the sink is, that would also serve no practical purpose.)  I did not remove the old unit, but I had a good look at it as I needed to find one of similar size and shape given the space where it had to fit.

Late morning I was getting ready to head to Lowe’s in Gainesville when John (next door neighbor) invited me to join he and Ali and group of folks from the fire pit to go out to the Blue Highway Pizzeria for dinner, so I deferred my shopping trip until later.  (Linda and I had a pizza at the Blue Highway in Micanopy a week or so ago and it was OK.  The staff was great and was very helpful in getting us a vegan pizza, but most pizzas just don’t veganize very well.  They did say that they would put our non-dairy cheese on a pizza for us if we brought it in a sealed package as it comes from the store.  That may be worth a try).

I left early enough to do my shopping at meet up with the group at 3:30 PM.  Luck was on my side.  Lowe’s had a garbage disposer that looked exactly like the one installed in our coach.  It was a Badger Model 1, 1/3 HP.  Badger is In-Sink-Erator’s budget grinder line.

Today I opened the unit, read the instructions (yeah, I’m one of those guys), gathered my tools, and went to work.  As shown by some of the photos that follow, the discharge port of the old disposer was completely clogged with—well, I’m not sure what—some combination of rust and food scraps.  Kind of nasty, although that stuff doesn’t bother me.  I removed the unit and discovered that it was a … In-Sink-Erator Badger Model 1.  Sometimes you just get lucky.  At least it was guaranteed to fit!  Everything went back together fairly easily.  I added water to check for leaks.  Water tight.  Plugged it in and voila, we have a functioning garbage disposer.  And yes, the switch we thought was for the disposer is in fact for the disposer.

The other project I have been contemplating had to do with toilet paper.  Our female cat, Juniper, likes to unroll it, shred it, and eat it.  As shown in the pictures the doors on the bathroom sink cabinet are easily reached when “seated.”  The right door opens into your right knee, but the left door swings clear.  Oh look, I could mount a toilet paper roll holder right there.  Open the door to use, close to hide it from the cat.

So, off to the ACE Hardware store in search of an appropriately sized TP holder.  They had just what I needed; end mounts in (fake) polished brass, and inexpensive too.  I like it when that happens.  I assembled the tools I needed for this project but was not able to find my drill bits.  Back to ACE Hardware for a drill bit.  The project was done quickly as projects go and it works great!  We’ve talked about mounting a paper towel holder somewhere in the kitchen.  That may be tomorrow’s project.

Here are the photos:

2014/02/18 (T) Micanopy (FL)

Our neighbors at the RV resort recommended the Blue Highway in Micanopy as a place we might find a vegan pizza to our liking.  They also suggested that they town was worth seeing.  So after several quiet days at home we headed for Micanopy (Mick-ah-no-pee) to check it out and then get some pizza.

Micanopy is an antique town.  That is to say, it is old, and most of the shops are antique businesses, with some local artist and artisan shops, and food.  There is a museum, and an historic inn that is now a B&B.  It was a beautiful afternoon and the place was mostly empty, allowing us to wander from shop to shop without having to fight crowds or weather.  Apparently the place is very crowded at times.  I have included photos from our visit in a gallery at the end of this post.

The Blue Highway turned out to be more than a pizzeria.  A ma, who we think was the owner, suggested which of their pizzas could most easily, and successfully, be made vegan and we took one of his suggestions.  We ordered a salad and a pizza and split both.

Our plan for tomorrow is to go to the Publix supermarket in Gainesville to stock up on groceries for me and get Linda packed for her flight back to Michigan on Thursday morning.

Photo Gallery: Click on thumbnail images to open for viewing.  Maximum dimension is 640 pixels.