Christmas in Wilmington North Carolina

We spent a  wonderful Christmas in Wilmington North Carolina.  Rob's (Jen's boyfriend) Mom and Step Father (Linda and Mark) live here and they welcomed us into their home for all the holiday festivities.  

Christmas eve was spent with Rob's sister Jill and husband Landon. They had a nice holiday party. It was fun to watch the children decorate ginger bread cookies. Jill had made cute aprons for  the little girls.  They were all dressed in pretty white dresses with bows in their hair  (a Christmas tradition in the south).

Christmas day we went over to Linda and Mark's home where we enjoyed a delicious breakfast and opened presents afterwards. 



Mark, Linda, Rob, Jen, John, and Carol



Our campsite during this time was at the local Elks club. Many of the clubs offer camping in the back of their facilities for their members.  For only $15 per night we had 30 amp service and water.  It was conveniently located only a few blocks from Linda and Marks home. 

The next day Jen and Rob went with us to Fort Fisher Aquarium. We traveled past Carolina Beach and had a picture taken on the beach. It was snowing, cold, and windy. The weather has not exactly cooperated. Did you hear about the blizzard along the east coast? Raleigh had over 7 inches of snow(last time that happened was in the 1800's)  Under the circumstance we are fortunate to be here.  The snow in Raleigh may have really delayed our departure.  Whew!

The aquarium was very interesting and it was fascinating watching the large tank filled with over 32 species of fish.  Here a couple short video's that I took with my Droid of some of the fish. 

Stingray

Amazing Jelly Fish



Sea Horse




Diver in the large tank answering questions by under water micro phone



Beware!  I never knew eels could be this long

We finished our visit by going to the river front today. These pictures were taken along the Cape Fear River. There are a variety of interesting shops and restaurants in this area. John toured the USS North Carolina today. It is permanently docked in this area and was in service during WWII.



USS North Carolina

John and Jimmy enjoying the river front



Interesting Bed and Breakfast

Tomorrow we are heading south to Charleston South Carolina.  The weather man is promising warmer weather!

Repairs and Maintenance - A Tale of Trial and Tribulation

One thing you learn very quickly as an RV owner is that "stuff happens"  Suddenly our electric water heater quit working.  Luckily it still works by using the propane so we are not without hot water.  The weather was a little warmer yesterday and easier to work outside.  We will soon be on the road again so John decided to tackle this project. 

Day One - Process of elimination

John first watched a video (water heater maintenance) that we purchased at the Escapee rally.  One of the presenters was the RV Professor and he sold a variety of "how to" video's.   They are very well done and demonstrate how to do a lot of maintenance yourself.  Having work done at a dealership is very expensive and that's if you are lucky enough to get an appointment.  After a phone call to Suburban (the water heater manufacturer) John thought it was most likely the heating element.  They recommended a local dealer for the parts.  

We also wanted to replace the anode rod due to the recommendation that this be changed every six months as a full timer.  We had the rod but not the tool to take the heating element out.  Two trips later he was ready to start the project.

In the meantime, I decided to cook some Snickerdoodle cookies as a surprise for him (they are his favorites) and to also work on dinner.  Have you ever cooked without water?   There were dishes stacked almost up to the ceiling. 

Have you ever baked cookies in a convection oven?  It will only hold one cookie sheet and baked six cookies at a time  It was a labor of love and lesson in patience.  :) However, they turned out really well and the  RV smelled like cinnamon.

John  quickly installed the rod and heating element just as it was getting dark.  He came inside and turned on the water heater and it unfortunately it still did not work.  Good Grief!



Good news - we now have a spare heating element!  That is always a handy thing to have on hand. He also was able to flush out the water tank.  The campground in Indy had very rusty water and flushing the tank will hopefully extend its life. 

Day Two - Plan B

There were more phone calls  and with the help of a very friendly & knowledgeable RV tech, John now believes it is the thermostat.  The cover was almost impossible to remove.  Upon inspection it looks like this is the problem. After many more phone calls he was able to locate the part.  Remember-its almost Christmas and a lot of places are closed. 

Part was obtained, quickly installed and ...drum roll please.....it works!  Good job John!  He is gaining more confidence and patience each day.  Have another Snickerdoodle honey!