~Wednesday, March 15, 2023~
Day 1,005
With the arrival yesterday of our ClearSource water filter system and our new locks, our 6th day in the Florida Keys would be one filled with installations and chores. I know, not a good use of tropical time. But since H20 is questionable at this campground as well (thanks to water main breakages), we better get our new filter goin’. It’s just as well since the weather wasn’t all that great anyway….windy, but not cold, and a slight bit of rain. As much as we couldn’t wait to be in The Keys, having a break from the hot Florida sun was a welcome thing. And you’d think it was a Sunday with all the turnover in RV sites today.
But before launching into any lengthy projects, it was my turn in the kitchen to lovingly make a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs and French Toast topped with delicious, fresh berries. It sure brought back memories since French Toast was always a family favorite.
It sure will be nice to see sparkling water the way it’s meant to be, and I can't help but wonder how it will improve our trailer fixtures and water lines as well. But first, a little tank sanitation was in order to reset things properly before installing the ClearSource. While Jeff got things going with that, I worked on a little website maintenance and a few light chores with an occasional break away to film Jeff’s endeavor. My projects, unlike his, were not worthy of filming, i.e. defrosting the fridge/freezer and cleaning the shower. I know…..exciting huh? But for the projects that are entertaining enough, it’s nice to have a little video treasure of our trials and tribulations of being on the road. Plus, we’d like to return the video favor to our fellow RV comrades who have helped US greatly when we didn’t have a clue as to what WE were doing. Gosh, what would we ever do without those YouTube videos that bring us up on a notch in our project prowess? So here we are, paying it forward and blessing the YouTube channel with one of ours……
With one project down, next on the list was replacing our trailer compartment locks. What I didn’t realize is how detailed Jeff’s measurements had to be to place the order in the first place. There were 3 things to consider…..
depth of the cylinder
length of the cam
how much the bend is in the cam
As Jeff attempted to replace the first lock, he ran into a fitting problem where instead of ⅝”, they made it ¾”. He thinks he’ll be able to MacGyver it, crossing his fingers he won’t run into the same problem on all of them. Until he works out the issues, we’ll postpone a video for now. So stay tuned.
While walking their dog Selah, our Delaware neighbors Cindy and Blair stopped by to say “hi” and to share a brilliant idea. It appeared that both of us had plans to visit Key West the following day, with one slight limitation…..our dogs. The good news was that we’re on slightly different schedules (they being early risers and us, well we don’t seem to get out the door before noon). With that being said, that would allow an exchange for a little doggy daycare and a more relaxed, lengthier visit for both families at the “southernmost end”. For us especially, it meant a little less pressure in racing home after our sunset cruise. Exchanging keys to each other's trailer, we now had a fabulous plan in place.
Before we knew it, we had doggy central on our street corner with Sadie, Selah, and Tom’s dog Molly before heading over to our little Jolly Roger Tiki Island for sunset. Tonight’s sundown was a little more dramatic thanks to a few lingering clouds on the horizon. But little did we know that Wednesday was POPCORN & A MOVIE NIGHT at Jolly Roger! While the guys were enthralled with “Maverick: Top Gun”, Cindy and I continued our chat about our travels and families. Married for an impressive 40 years, Cindy and Blair have 3 grown children, one being Luke, who is accompanying them on this month-long vacation in The Keys and whom we had the pleasure of meeting. They currently reside between Maryland and Delaware and are in the midst of wedding plans for their only daughter, set to be married in September. I’m sure it’s nice to have a little break from all the to-do’s. And just like us, they try to pack as much into a vacation as possible.
Sorry guys for having to cut the movie time short but it was past Cindy’s bedtime, plus Jeff and I hadn’t eaten dinner yet. With no desire from either of us to make dinner, I found myself digging into an Amy’s frozen taco casserole and Jeff, leftover chicken. And with my overripe bananas begging to have something done with them, I somehow got into the spirit of a little late night baking of……you guessed it…..banana muffins! It would be our way of saying thanks to our new friends for taking care of our girl tomorrow.