Google Tag Manager icon Overnight at Lake Kegonsa State Park Skip to main content

Featured

The Cruise--Details

I didn't include more details in the prior "The Cruise" post for two reasons. 1)  I didn't think anyone would be interested; and 2)  This trip didn't include much of the normal topics:  good beer, good coffee or John-style travel. But there are details, which may be useful to some people contemplating how such a trip is put together. On the first day of the trip, we drove three hours to pick up my mother in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  At 85, she isn't comfortable driving for long distances and hadn't flown for many years. We then drove 3 1/2 more hours to Chicago, where we checked into the Wyndham, where you can get a room that includes the cost of parking for up to 12 days.   We were up early on the hotel shuttle to O'Hare, where we then boarded the a non-stop American Airlines flight to New Orleans. Here, we checked into a Hampton Inn near the port.  My mother was pretty tired, so Julia and I went out for a Cajun dinner and live music.   Rememberi...

Overnight at Lake Kegonsa State Park


After our trip to Point Beach State Forest, I finished up the converter.  You know how you get to the end of a project and have pieces left over? Well, that isn’t a new occurrence for me.  It turned out that the main shore power cord needed a wire clamp to hold everything in place.  It would have been better to install that before everything was wired into place.

So there was some disassembly and then some reassembly.  Later,  the converter needed side shims to close a gap and to provide more support for attaching the converter box to the interior frame of the  Brew Hut.  I finished everything on Wednesday.  On Thursday, I took the Brew Hut in for the final summer upgrade:  new tires.

When I originally purchased this Scamp trailer, the owner told me that the battery and the tires were new The old battery was dead, and the tires were bald.  However, he also admitted that he bought the cheapest replacements that he could find at the local farm supply store.   I immediately replaced the battery.  After traveling to Arizona last fall and to Texas this spring, I didn’t trust the cheap tires for another long trip.

Based upon several recommendations at the Fiberglass RV forum, I ordered three Carlisle Radials.  The existing spare tire was the original (stamped 2000), so it was time for that to be replaced also.  After the tires were balanced and installed on the Brew Hut, I was off to Lake Kegonsa State Park for a quick overnight trip.

On a Thursday night, there were plenty of campsites available.  The sites are nicely spaced and wooded.  There are about 100 campsites; however, I saw only a few that would be good for solar power. Since I was checking out my electrical system, I opted for an electric site.


After a long hike on grassy trails at the edge of the woods, Callie and I watched the Packers game on my little-used television.  Well, Callie mostly watched me watch the Packer game.


Everything electrical seems to be working, and the new tires have set my mind at ease. On Friday, we moved Justin’s things to his new dorm room and moved Justin back home for a couple of weeks of relaxation (for him, not me).


During the next couple of weeks, I’m on caregiver duty.

After Justin starts college, I’m heading southeast in the Brew Hut, hoping for a quiet hurricane season.  Julia plans to join me again closer to our destination.  If all goes well, we will enjoy some time in a new place:  the Outer Banks of North Carolina.


Comments

Popular Posts