March 17, 2023 - March 21, 2023 - Golf Cart Parade, Lockout, Golf Cart Project, Shop Drawer Repairs, and Visitors

The 17th we then went over to Roberts RV Park to watch the St. Patrick's Fay Golf Cart Parade with our friends there. We visited for several hours afterwards and got home at 9:00 p.m. Upon arriving we found that we were locked out of the house. Neither of us had locked up. We rarely lock the place when we are just going to be gone for a few hours nearby.  How the hell did this happen? Nothing to do but call a 24 hour locksmith. We were told he would be there in about an hour and a half. We could do nothing but sit in the car and wait. He arrived in little over an hour and in about ten minutes had the passage lock unlocked. While waiting we tried to figure out how this could have happened. I got a phone message that my Amazon order had been delivered. I looked in the door window and there it was on the steps. Proof that we didn't lock the door. All we could figure is the Amazon guy must have locked the door when he left. It is a passage lock where you turn the center button. It can't be locked by accident. While waiting we discussed the need to hide keys outside somewhere so we wouldn't be locked again. After paying $130.00 we were in and quickly to bed.

I woke up early on the 18th and pulled out the extra keys we were given. I determined which keys fit which locks. The deadbolt on the kitchen door has a key lock both inside and outside, which is illegal in a house because you could be locked in. Earlier I found a key that unlocked the deadbolt from the inside. I just assumed it unlocked the deadbolt from the outside. I found that the key did not unlock the deadbolt from the outside. I would have hidden this key and then later find out it wouldn't open the door!

With this information it was even more imperative that I get a new deadbolt with a latch on the inside. Upon discussing the situation with Kelly indicated she would like to have a keypad lock. In shopping for locks at Home Depot this morning I found the keypad locks were $100.00 more than the regular lock sets. But, "If mamma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy", so I bought the keypad set.

No big deal to change out the deadbolt right? WRONG! First of all, the old deadbolt only had an 1 1/2 hole. All new deadbolts require a 2-inch hole. Luckily the door is aluminum and Styrofoam because all I had to make the hole bigger was my Dremel with a small round sanding drum.

After going through about a half dozen sanding drums, I had the hole two inches in diameter for the new lock. I installed it and all was well, right? WRONG! The deadbolt did not match up with the striker plate on the door frame. An easy fix, right? WRONG! Someone had NAILED the door plate on with ten penny nails. I have never seen this in my life.

Getting the nails out without bending the aluminum door frame was tricky but I got it done and reinstalled the striker plate with screws so the deadbolt would extend. I then had to use the Dremel tool with a grinding wheel to modify the striker plate for the passage lock. The whole project ended up taking almost four hours instead of the half hour I expected.

Saturday evening the new windshield mounts arrived for the golf cart, so I got to work. Of course, they wouldn't just snap on. Because this is an older cart it has a brace on each side of the windshield post so two of the brackets had to be cut in half to work. They should hold the windshield tight because they were stiff to put on.

I have done everything to the golf cart I am going to do this season. Here is a picture with the top repaired, cleaned, reinstalled, the front posts painted flat black to match the back supports, and the reinstalled windshield with newly purchased mounts. You can see the driver's side crumpled fender which will be fixed next season with some glue and Bondo.

When we come back in the fall he will get new batteries, the old brown carpet ripped out and replaced, the fender repaired, new front light bezels, and maybe even painted a jazzy color or fire flames added. (Kelly is not keen on fire flames, so probably not.)

I have also been working on the drawers in the work bench in the shed. The drawers are particleboard. Several were falling apart, and several had worn down runners. You can see on this picture the runner is totally gone on the right side.

To repair the runners, I needed 1/2-inch-thick wood to match the height on the other side. Home Depot does not carry any 1/2-inch lumber, so I had to get creative. I don't have a table saw here to make my own. They did have 1/4-inch strips of wood so I glued two together to get the 1/2-inch height I needed. 

Here is a picture of one drawer with the new runner glued on, ready to be reinstalled.

I thought about getting an old dresser with better drawers and making a new bench, but I decided the repair of these drawers would be good enough for my needs. Here is what the bench looks like. One drawer is missing a knob, so I screwed on a block of wood for a puller until I come back next season. I have lots of knobs at home so I'm not buying any.

The bench area is shaping up. I need to make a backboard for hanging more tools and find a vice. I have already needed a vice a dozen times. I'll find a used one at a garage sale or online.

Sunday we had tickets to "The Carpenters Tribute" at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater. There wasn't an empty seat, and the concert was fantastic. It greatly exceeded our expectations. "Close to You" is "our song" and here the lady is singing it. The singer really sounded like Karen Carpenter and looked a lot like her as well. Great fun.

After we arrived back home, RV friends Jim and Belinda Wolfe, came by for a visit. They were in town putting things in one of their storage units. We ordered pizza and had a great visit before they headed back across the state to their RV lot in Port St. Lucie. They live in their RV fulltime and will be traveling this summer and fall. A Perryville visit is one of their stops, probably in September. We have RV hookups for them at the house.

Monday, while the ladies went shopping, David, Chris, and I, worked on rolling David's RV awning up. It was challenging because the aluminum tube had bent severely in the middle due to the weight of a heavy rain a month or so ago. It took all three of us, two ladders, and a little tweaking to get it rolled up enough that the door would open. David and Jean have sold the trailer. It is uncertain if they will make it back down to Florida next season. We certainly hope so, as well as Chris and Marj, who sold their trailer as well.

After the awning was up the three of us had a nice lunch at "The Crab Shack". The place is a real dump, but the food is great. We washed our lunch down with a couple of beers while we visited.

Tuesday morning our new Canadian friends this year from Avon Park, Scott, Beth, and Ralph, drove over for a visit and to see our new place. They brought a bottle of Mango Rum (which Scott and Beth turned us on to this winter) and fresh flowers. So nice of them. We didn't have a vase, so Kelly improvised by using two of our water bottles.

We had reservations to eat dinner at the "Columbian" restaurant in Ybor, City. None of them had been there before. We ordered different entrees, and everything was excellent. There are four Columbian restaurants but the one in Ybor City is the original, being in business since 1905. The restaurant has beautiful architecture inside, has seven dining rooms, and covers an entire city block. Here is a picture of Scott and Beth, then a picture of me and Ralph. All three of them were originally from Quebec but Ralph now lives in Ontario.

Once back at the house we had ice cream with toppings for dessert. Another lovely day with lovely friends. We plan on staying in touch and visiting each other next season.