We're Getting There...

We just kept plugging away at it today and we got a great deal of the packing done. Forry pulled the bags for the lounge chairs and his bicycle out of the basement bays. I folded the chairs up and got them put into the bags. Mine goes in easily, but Forry's is just enough bigger (taller) that it just barely fits -- you have to hold your mouth just right.

While I was working on the chairs, Forry was checking the water levels in the battery bank --

Dern! There's my hand mirror! (Of course, when I can't find it, no one will claim having used it...)

By the time we finished up these tasks, it was getting awfully warm outside, so we retreated back inside the coach. I went to work on the computer desk, getting a whole lot of neglected filing done. I got the paperwork filled out for the mail-in rebate on the new Verizon JetPack (which, by the way, seems to be working very well).

I even got some of the kitchen stuff taken care of, including rearranging a drawer so that my new larger toaster would fit. We managed to watch the Mariner's game (a very nice win!) and the last part of the bull riding.

When the sun set and it cooled off a bit, we went back outside and loaded the car. My trike folds up and goes in first, then the lounge chairs and the two folding chairs and the little table. Our iron road-runner fits in a corner along with the globe light. I'll wait until morning to load the "gossips" and their stand along with the front door step-stool, when I can see where I sticking them in.

We folded Forry's bike up and fit it into its storage bag. We'll put the carrier on the rear of Toad II in the morning and put the bike on and tie it down. The recycling bin was taken across the street for tomorrow's pickup. We've garbage to take out in the morning, tanks to drain and a tire to air. Looks like we are actually getting there.

One More Project...

Several months ago, we bought some twenty foot lengths of plastic gutter at the Home Depot. Valle del Oro, like many other RV parks, wants your sewer hose up off of the ground (I think it's actually statute in many states). We have some accordion splints we use, but they weren't quite long enough for here. So we got the lightweight gutters to use for this purpose.

But, 20 foot lengths do NOT fit in any of our storage bays. So today Forry was using his jig saw to cut them into lengths that could be nested together and stored.

My job was to hold the wobbly end steady while he sawed --

In between the sawing, I did several loads of laundry. During that time we got a call from a Verizon representative saying that we were eligible for a free upgrade of our 3G Hotspot to a 4G one. I alternately use my Verizon Hotspot and my AT&T wireless card to connect to the internet. Usually I can get pretty good reception from one or the other -- and it sure isn't always the same one. I've got more space on Verizon than I do on AT&T, so I tend to use it more.

Though, I have discovered that since I no longer am playing Farmville or Frontierville, I've got plenty of room!

Anyhow, we stopped at the Verizon store and picked up the new Jetpack, trading in my Hotspot. There is a $30 transfer charge, but they gave me a mail-in rebate for a $50 debit card, so it looks like I'll come out $20 ahead with a faster connections besides...

Computer Stuff

It was another VERY warm day here in Florida. The thermometer was showing in the mid-90s before noon today. I turned on the air conditioning and we spent most of the day inside. I took advantage of the Camplink WiFi service here at Mouse Mountain RV Park to do some major down-loads. It cost me $10 to buy three days of the park's service.

My iPhone which is an iPhone 3 had a software upgrade (5.1) available, so I got that downloaded and also upgraded my version of iTunes software on the computer. That took three hours.

I also took advantage of Blog2Print's 15% discount this week to prepare my 2011 blogs and get them ready for printing in book form. That used up a couple of hours of fairly heavy-duty internet usage as well.

While we have an AT&T aircard that we use with our Cradlepoint router and a Verizon Hotspot, I am hesitant to use up our allotted gigabytes downloading software. With judicious use of the two of them, I am usually able to get through the month uploading my blog and playing Frontierville without going over our data allowance and having to pay extra. And it seems that in parks where we have trouble receiving AT&T, the Verizon coverage is usually good and where the Verizon service is lousy, the AT&T is usually good. And of course, when at an RV park that has free wifi, we take full advantage of it! Except for banking or bill paying which we are careful to do with our locked and encrypted service...