Clubhouse Turn
We’re in the Clubhouse Turn now and nearly ready to start heading north. The maintenance and safety checks have begun, along with additional tasks, that will require our attention prior to departure. It’s been four months since we crossed the Georgia-Florida boarder. Our stay here has been wonderful and we have mixed feelings about leaving; we so look forward to seeing friends and family back home but, we will also miss our friends and family here in FL and NC.
More Visitors from Canada
Darlene and Rick’s daughter Rebecca came to visit with her two children Brooklyn and Tyson. They live in the Ottawa area and traveled on three connecting flights in order to arrive at Fort Walton-Destin Airport. I can’t imagine traveling with a seven and four year old with all those stops, yikes! On one of their many outings, they invited us to join them on a Dolphin Cruise out of Destin. It was about and hour and a half cruise, first navigating the channel where we were able to witness our first dolphin sighting. Then we went out into the gulf for more sightings. The dolphins don’t seem concerned with the human activity around them, several vessels were jockeying for position and, they appear to just go about their business. They’re such beautiful mammals and graceful swimmers. During the tour we were introduced to the local landscape and other creatures. Okaloosa Island is located between Destin and Fort Walton, which creates a natural bridge between the two, with the assist from two real bridges. Originally owned by the government (Eglin AFB) but was conveyed to the Okaloosa County, not including Eglin Beach Park; still owned and maintained by the govt. and reserved for military and government employees. From the boat, we could see the beach which was beautiful and uncrowded. It was a gorgeous day and everyone enjoyed the cruise.
Hikes and Bikes
We traveled back to Panama City Beach Conservation Park for a couple more hikes. It’s a lovely park and we’ve come to like it. Although our bikes were attached to the back of the trailer and made the trek all the way to Florida, we haven’t ridden them much. PCB Conservation Park is a wonderful place to go for a bike ride and, although we talked about it, we never got around to it. Since weight is always a concern (for me but not so much for Mag), we decided to not include them on future trips.
Quick Visit to Apalach
We took a drive down to Apalach to have another visit with Trice & Jim before we head back north. Trice and I had been corresponding and firming up dates when she wrote to say, “I think our TV has died.” Seems she tried just about everything but could not generate a picture on the screen. It’s a TCL TV with a Roku operating system, very similar to one we have in the trailer. I actually hate the TV, I’m weird that way, and after discussing with Mag, we made an offer to Trice & Jim to bring our TV down to them to replace theirs. That gave me the opportunity to replace ours with a manufacturer and model I prefer. She was in agreement and we also offered to set it up during our visit. Trice also mentioned she wanted to mount the TV on the wall so, after a brief visit to bestbuy.com, we ordered a new TV and wall mount for pickup at their Destin location.
Our TV is mounted on what they call a Televator, which means it is stored in a cabinet behind the “fireplace.” When you want to watch TV, a button is pressed to raise the TV out of the cabinet, which is mounted on a standardized bracket so, swapping the two TVs should be a cinch! Well a quote from Of Mice and Men would be appropriate here: “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Rick came by to assist and it was apparent to us immediately something was amiss because the bolt holes were deep in the TV so, we (mostly me) initially thought there were just too short. I ran up to the local Ace Hardware store and with assistance, I picked up M5 bolts 25mm (~1/4″ x ~1″) and 30mm (~1/4 x ~1 1/4″) long just to be doubly sure I had the correct length. Well, neither fit. I assumed the bolt diameters would be the same on both TVs but, as it turns out, the new TV requires M8 (8mm/~3/8″) diameter bolts. Before I headed back to Ace, I told Rick I’m gonna pause and review the project to ensure we’ll have a successful outcome. I sketched out the existing bracket and took measurements on the new TV and discovered that the new TV will not rise high enough on the televator to be fully out of the cabinet; about 8″ (~200mm) short. Oh boy! I developed a plan to add a piece of flat steel to the current televator mount and drill holes to accommodate the new M8 bolts. I took all my measurements back to Ace, got new bolts, a piece of flat steel, a mini hacksaw and center punch and headed back home. I’m on a first-name basis with my new buddy at Ace and he was very helpful! I cut the steel to length, drilled all the holes needed and mounted the TV without issue. It raised to the correct height and all is working as it should. We’ll see how the mounting modification holds up after some bouncing down the road!!
Originally we had decided to spend two days in Apalach but because we had many chores to do and things & places to see before we leave, we decided to make the trip in one day; it’s roughly 2.5 hours. We were able to stuff the old TV into the new TV box so, along with the new wall mount all in the back seat of the truck; it’s a 50″ TV, we headed to Apalach. I let Trice know we’d be heading out at 7:30 and should be there around 10 but, once again, we forgot to calculate the time change. Although we’re also in Florida, most of the panhandle resides in the central time zone. This became obvious to us once we crossed into the eastern time zone and our clocks/watches make the adjustment. It now dawns on us that we’re in a time-crunch! Trice has an appointment with the speech pathologist and needs to head there by 2:15. We have to mount and set up the TV, squeeze in lunch with her before her appointment. If you haven’t figured it out yet, we became the Circus Squad instead of the Geek Squad and we’re not done yet.
We arrived around 11 and got right to work. First Trice & Jim provided guidance where to install the wall mount. The provided template made it easy to drill the holes in the wall but unless you attach it to the wall with the correct side up, it won’t work. The second attempt proves successful and now the TV is mounted. Next we have to make the connections to power, cable TV (in hindsight, I don’t think this was needed-they don’t have cable TV) and to their DVD/Surround Sound System. All is going well. I had conducted a “factory reset” on the TV prior to removing it from the trailer so Trice went through the setup up process without a hitch. They stream most all their content and everything is working properly except for the sound; its not coming out of the surround sound system. The surround sound equipment is housed in a cabinet below the TV and the audio cable wasn’t long enough. We really needed an optical cable but the local Ace store only had a six footer. We opted for a audio cable with RCA jacks and got it working.
It was so great to see them and observe Trice’s amazing recovery and determination. So proud! ♥♥
Loved spending time and getting to know you guys better this year.
Safe travels home and we definitely have to keep in touch xo
Likewise Darlene and Rick! Safe travels to you both and I’m already looking forward to our next adventure!
Tim and Mag, I enjoy reading of your adventures. You sure get a lot done when you’re down here.
Stay well and we’ll see you next year.
Chris
Glad to hear you’re enjoying our adventures. It was great seeing you all! See you next year, if not sooner?
It was great to see you. Safe travels. X&O’s Cil
Thanks Cil! Love you!!
You both are enjoying retirement and having fun. That’s what it’s all about. Loved seeing you. Loving our new TV. Thank you
Safe travels back home. xo Trice
You’re welcome and we’re glad the TV is working out. Let me know if you have any issues. XXOO