Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Another Day With the Grandkids

(Scott AFB, IL)  Hi 78 Lo 55 - Perfect day. We've been trying to manage our tanks well enough so we wouldn't have to dump until we leave next Tuesday. But it wasn't to be. We started getting that telltale burp and bubble sound when we flush our toilet, which is the sign of a full tank. So we did a "light pack" (which means we didn't pack things up as tightly as if we were traveling) and move to the dump station. Jim spent some extra time and did a good long back flush. Now he says the black tank is "minty fresh."  :)  Since we were in the cleaning mode I swept and dusted inside.

While we were hitching up to the truck I noticed some water dripping from the area under the front chin behind the hitch. Jim investigated and saw two screws missing along the side, which left a small gap in the trim. A closer check showed the heads broke off the screws, so he couldn't just put new ones in. He removed the screws that hold secure the flat panel around the hitch and checked behind it with a flashlight. Luckily the insulation was dry, so the leak was rain water that came into the gap in the side trip and traveled along the flat panel and dripped out around the hitch. Jim put some sealer on the holes where the screw heads broke off, and also along the gap in the trim. What aggravates us is, that's the same trim that was replaced at the Carriage factory. They put all brand new screws in it and already two of them broke off. They are aluminum screws, so Jim is thinking of replacing them all with stainless steel ones.

We had a date today to take the grandkids to the movies. We went to see "X-Men: First Class."  We've seen a couple of the X-Men movies and enjoyed them. This was was very good, and was a prequel that showed how the X-Men got started. We love being with the boys and will really miss them when we leave on Tuesday.

After the movie, Angie and Frank met us for a quick dinner at Taco Bell. It was fun listening to the boys tell their parents all about the movie. We took the boys for ice cream while the parents ran some errands, then took them home. They live right behind the high school, and as we drove by the football stadium we noticed the marching band was practicing on the field. So after we dropped the boys off we went and sat up in the grandstand and watched them for awhile. We were chaperones when our sons were in the band.  I loved watching them play and it sure brought back memories.

Kendall, Frank, Jim, Kyle, and Angie.

Jim watched TV while I played games and visited the chatroom the rest of the evening.

3 comments:

GGuncle said...

tell jim to be careful, stainless screws are a good idea, but you might get a chemicel reaction between the steel screw & the aluminum siding on the camper. i had that problem years ago on an outboard motor, almost needed a jackhammer to get the screws out. dom...

KarenInTheWoods said...

EEWWWWW "Minty Fresh" ??? LOL .. I think not!

You sure are having a wonderful time with your family... I look forward to your blog and all the fun stuff you are doing with them.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Karen and Steve
(Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

Paul and Marti Dahl said...

I've used stainless steel screws on RVs before and they worked great.

True you can get some galvanic reaction between dissimilar metals, but that usually happens around salt water. Don't think you have any plans to sail your fifth wheel on the ocean, do you?

I feel for you, we know how hard it is to leave the grandkids, sort ofrips your heart out. Thankfully there's always the next time.

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