The DisFort's Chit Chat Cafe

[garneska]

Left the alarm off all day. Did other laundry and contractor said he would be here this afternoon. I did a load of towels in the wash and then waited. He came, we put the alarm back on the mount, i moved the towels to the dryer and we wait. Man if you would not believe that dang alarm did not go off. But we removed the smoke alarm and you could definitely smell the vent and felt some warm air. Definitely a leak or jostling of the joint.

The plan is Tuesday they will cut into the ceiling in the bathroom and hope they can get to it from there. They will also get the rest of the stuff done, the top on the knee wall needs to be glued. the baseboards need to be up. On Wednesday the shower door will be installed. When we get back from Ohio it should be mostly done. Just waiting on the cabinet piece and that is expected around thanksgiving so it will probably be the first week in Dec.

 

[jbrostek]

Sucks about the connection being an issue. His guys should have taped it if it was adding new to old.

I hope they can work it out and not too much repainting work is left afterwards.

 

[mickeyfan0805]

Wow - what a saga. Sorry for the frustrations!

 

[garneska]

I will say it does not seem it is where they connected it, but in reconnecting to it moved another piece. At least they are going to fix it. Should be done once we come back from Ohio. Even though it has taken forever, they seem to handle everything we throw at them. I just wish it was a bit faster.

 

[jbrostek]

@garneska I am glad they are taking care of it, sucks they did not pay enough attention to avoid it the first time. So frustrating when its little things like that.

Melissa and I had a great weekend in Luray. We stayed at Outlanders River Camp which is a nice little campground on the Shenandoah River.

We took advantage of the great Saturday weather to enjoy a 5.5 mile hike in Shenandoah National Park, we hiked the Stony Man trail look to the summit and back. Total Elevation change was 1179 ft.



This is a Panoramic from the Stony Man Summit, the view was amazing.


Saturday evening was enjoying a tasty steak dinner on the grill and a nice fire. The only complaint I had was they don't allow any outside wood and the bundles they were selling where not seasoned or dry by any means. I never got to talk to the staff about it, I did email that better wood could cut down on the smoke and enjoyment. However, I still got the fire going...and dinner was yummy even if I had to use the grill rather then the fire to cook them.



Sunday we visited two wineries after a relaxing morning of a hot breakfast and a walk around the campgrounds trails by the river. First up was a close by winery called Castle Vineyards. As we pulled up it was not close to what we expected, it looked like your standard suburban single family colonial home with attached 2 car garage. Out on the small back deck was a sectional couch tossed out there leaving a frat house vibe. Needless to say, we did not check out their tasting room and decided it was just a little too weird for out liking.

We then visited Little Washington Winery, which had two great tasting flights featuring their own wines and then what they called the "Dirt Road" tasting which was select US regional wines you might not get a chance to try unless you visited it. It was a bonus the winery is on Christmas Tree Lane, which for our love of the season was like a calling. We loved how cozy it was and relaxed here and had our packed cheese, crackers and grapes to go with everything.



After that one and buying a few bottles, we moved on to Quièvremont Winery. They were trying their own version of english cider which was pretty interesting and I hope they experiment a little more. We did a small tasting and enjoyed a glass and took in their gorgeous new tasting room with loft area.



Sperryville has a resident dad joke too, spotted along the way home.



Monday we gave the RV a good cleaning after breakfast and broke camp. We did that in lieu of winterizing since it will be warm this weekend and we can do it then at home. All the tanks are flushed and empty, so it will not need any more attention for the winter. It was a great couples weekend for us and after a very different first year of marriage was a welcome break from the usual.

Next up is back to the hose, cleaning chores and Thanksgiving weekend we decorate for the holidays!! (Our favorite.)

 

[garneska]

Good news. My contractor only had to cut two places for the dryer vent issue. Most important he cut the first hole in the bathroom ceiling and could clearly see the issue. There is a bend in the vent and he said there was not one piece of tape around it and it had completely unhooked. We were not at all surprised. Again super happy he could actually see something so we were not guessing if it was fixed or not. The only issue is he could not reach it from the first hole in the ceiling. He did have to cut one more in the bedroom wall. I was thrilled it was not on the inside of the closet since the dust would be on my clothes. At least now the dust is still contained in basically the entire condo anyway .

They are installing the shower door this afternoon. In general when we get back it should be done except the cabinet. He is hoping the cabinet piece will come before thanksgiving but i seriously doubt it. I am anticipating it wont be done till Dec. However we will be able to move back into the bathroom when we are back from Ohio.

 

[mickeyfan0805]

Good news. My contractor only had to cut two places for the dryer vent issue. Most important he cut the first hole in the bathroom ceiling and could clearly see the issue. There is a bend in the vent and he said there was not one piece of tape around it and it had completely unhooked. We were not at all surprised. Again super happy he could actually see something so we were not guessing if it was fixed or not. The only issue is he could not reach it from the first hole in the ceiling. He did have to cut one more in the bedroom wall. I was thrilled it was not on the inside of the closet since the dust would be on my clothes. At least now the dust is still contained in basically the entire condo anyway .

They are installing the shower door this afternoon. In general when we get back it should be done except the cabinet. He is hoping the cabinet piece will come before thanksgiving but i seriously doubt it. I am anticipating it wont be done till Dec. However we will be able to move back into the bathroom when we are back from Ohio.

Glad it turned out to be reasonable resolved! Good news all around.

 

[friendofeeyore]

jbrostek, So glad you were able to get away just the 2 of you. You have your 1st Wedding Anniversary next month (28th)?
Chris, So glad the dryer problem was resolved. Yesterday the hot water heater went out. The heater will not be here for a few days (ugh). So, to the club house to shower. Wishing everyone a very safe & blessed Thanksgiving next week.

 

[jbrostek]

@friendofeeyore It was great. Good friends and shared custody made it kind of easy to make happen. Though grandparents would be alternative if we lacked that. December 28th is our first year, and what a year it has been. One thing COVID taught us is we could be around each other pretty much non stop and still like each other. That I think is a good thing.

@garneska That is awesome a solution was found, too bad not handled when all the drywall was down. My fingers are crossed that are are pleasantly surprised and done with this remodel by Thanksgiving!!

Got pretty chilly last night, checked on the RV since its not winterized, it was fine. Tonight calls for a low of 25, I think I might run the heat set to 50 to ensure we have no freeze up. Saturday we will winterize it all and then no worries.

 

[tiggerdad]

Listen to few of this guys videos. 2nd half of video is answering comments from his last video where he was talking about proposed updates to national park camping.

First half deals with all the new campers this year.

 

[jbrostek]

RV miles is a good one, he recently went into the issue even new campgrounds are facing trying to get approvals. I believe that just from my own talking to other campers and some new ones I met in our travels. One was planning to sell as soon as it was safe to "get back to the resorts for a proper vacation." I am thinking I love RVing and its my preferred vacation, so oh well.

So far I have not seen a big issue with finding a campground. The ones I have always had to plan far ahead for I still have to plan far ahead for and the rest seem to fall in place. Even our last trip, we had some options and some places where just sold out as it was the last weekend of the year.

 

[mickeyfan0805]

So far I have not seen a big issue with finding a campground. The ones I have always had to plan far ahead for I still have to plan far ahead for and the rest seem to fall in place. Even our last trip, we had some options and some places where just sold out as it was the last weekend of the year.

This has been something I've seen increase as an issue over the past 10 years. As planners, we've never had an issue having campgrounds set for us. That said, I do know that some of our later changes to those trips are more difficult to adjust than they used to be. It seems as thought 10 years ago it was really Memorial Day, July 4, and Labor Day that were a concern (plus certain times at certain destination resorts, like the Fort). It's not quite that easy any more. Doesn't bother us, as I enjoy the planning and always have things set well in advance, but for those who like to 'roam,' I can imagine it is harder.

On this note - it's a happy day for us. Booked a 12 night stay for next August. Not the best time of year, but our first visit in 24 months, so we will take our time and enjoy every minute!

 

[bama_ed]

On this note - it's a happy day for us. Booked a 12 night stay for next August. Not the best time of year, but our first visit in 24 months, so we will take our time and enjoy every minute!

August? You're a brave man, Gunga Din! Yeah I know it's probably far out enough maybe WDW may be operating more normally and considering the school and work calendars. Just stay hydrated and keep reapplying the sunscreen.

Keep your eyes open at the end of 1st quarter next year for the August resort-only discounts that they often roll out for Fort Wilderness. It's one of the few publicly available discounts that occurs almost annually (not Florida resident, not Annual Passholder, etc.). They've typically been 15% so you might be able to use a future discount to splurge somewhere else on your trip.

Bama Ed

 

[Part-Time Paradise]

August? You're a brave man, Gunga Din!

I had to brush up on my Kipling with that line.

I agree with all posts that we aren't experiencing some crushing blow to travel and the RV way of life is under attack. I didn't get into a few of the places I wanted on peak dates, but that still didn't prevent us from getting out in the rig and enjoying our time in the outdoors as a family. However, as mickeyfan states I'm a big planner. I've got rough drafts of spring breaks and summer vacations out to 2028 (when DD, the oldest, will take off for college). I have a really unhealthy relationship with RV Trip Wizard.

 

[jbrostek]

So far we have had no issues planning next year. Got the dates we wanted for June, we already had FW booked for July 499 days out because you have to.

@mickeyfan0805 WDW in July/August tips. Cooling towels, buy good ones and use them! We all brought insulated water bottles and just asked for cups of water to refill them once we finished what be brought. Animal Kingdom has the least amount of AC, plan an early day for that one to beat the heat. We also found that the 2-3pm thunderstorm is a good time to head back to the RV for a few hours to recharge and go back in the evening. (I think this is still possible under the current park reservation system.)

@Part-Time Paradise We just subscribed to RV Trip Wizard for the last trip when I was looking for places to stay that were not closing Sunday the 15th for the season and allow us to stay through Monday the 16th. We so far mapped out our Hatteras and WDW trips for 2021, plus I been using it to look for weekend runs for early next season.

 

[PaHunter]

So far we have had no issues planning next year. Got the dates we wanted for June, we already had FW booked for July 499 days out because you have to.

@mickeyfan0805 WDW in July/August tips. Cooling towels, buy good ones and use them! We all brought insulated water bottles and just asked for cups of water to refill them once we finished what be brought. Animal Kingdom has the least amount of AC, plan an early day for that one to beat the heat. We also found that the 2-3pm thunderstorm is a good time to head back to the RV for a few hours to recharge and go back in the evening. (I think this is still possible under the current park reservation system.)

@Part-Time Paradise We just subscribed to RV Trip Wizard for the last trip when I was looking for places to stay that were not closing Sunday the 15th for the season and allow us to stay through Monday the 16th. We so far mapped out our Hatteras and WDW trips for 2021, plus I been using it to look for weekend runs for early next season.

Good news is that park hopping is returning after the first of the year. So you will be able to park hop subject to capacity limits.

 

[snowmedic]

Panama City Beach balloon glow







these are setting up before the glow at 7:00. Pics to come.

 

[snowmedic]

 

[friendofeeyore]

Loves Hot Air Ballon. I see a lot of RV's on the road now. Especially starting on Thursday thru Sunday. Have fun Rving!

 

[PaHunter]

Well my week ended on a terrible note. Was at work yesterday and some fellas dog ran under my work truck resulting in the dog being killed. Everyone who witnessed it said it was not my fault and nothing I could do. But being a dog lover, my heart still breaks and is heavy.