March 21st - March 25th - Beach Again and RV Repair

Yesterday a group of us hit the beach again at Passe-Grill. We like this area because it isn't very crowded. Here is a picture of part of the group as we sat under the shade of the palm trees and enjoyed the view and weather. 

It is amazing how white the sand is and how blue the water is in this area. We had takeout lunch at the little restaurant nearby and in the early afternoon headed back to the RV park.  We were sitting around visiting at the RV park when we noticed a small heron sitting on the light pole across the street. Here is a picture.

Of course, upon approaching he flew off. In the past I have watched him walk around on vacant lots on occasion. He is about two feet tall. The RV park adjoins Sawgrass Nature Park and I'm sure that is where he lives.

The day before yesterday I noticed that our porch light wasn't working. A burned out bulb right? Not my luck. I pushed the bulb in and it would light but it wouldn't stay lit no matter what I did. I took down the fixture and determined that the insulating wafer that suspends the hot wire in the middle of the socket had disintegrated. I needed a new fixture. Here is a picture with an arrow pointing to the hot wire with the wafer broken off.

This fixture was original (15 years old) and had been painted over when the rig was built. I wanted a new one to match the old 0ne as close as possible so that no unpainted areas would show. I quickly learned that all the new light fixtures come with LED bulbs pre-installed. I ordered one from Amazon and got it the next day. It was an easy install except, of course, none of the screw holes matched up so I had to put four more holes in the side of the RV.  I will leave it unpainted. It came with a yellow lens cover and a clear lens cover. I put the clear cover on and it is brighter than the original. Here is a picture of it installed. It should outlast me.

I hired to two guys to wash and wax the RV on Saturday. I know it will be a mediocre job since they are doing it all in one day. It takes me five days to do it right, one day for the roof and one day for each side. It needs washing and waxing badly and I can not find anyone at home to do it. It will be one less project for me when we get home.

It's another beautiful day today. Sunny with a slight breeze. Neighbors went to the American Legion Hall in Mediera Beach where you can sit on the deck overlooking the bay, drink and eat, watch the dolphins play, and listen to live music. We were invited to go but decided to sit this one out and just hang out here. When they get back this afternoon several of us guys may go to the Tampa Auto Museum just a few miles away to check it out. It is a private collection of very limited production cars from what I read. Should be interesting. If we don't go today we will go tomorrow. The great thing about retirement is that every day is Saturday. If you don't get to it this Saturday you can do it next Saturday.