Summer Trip 2015 Ive been many places, but I've never been in Kahoots. Apparently, you can't go alone. May 6 May 19, 2015

Wed, May 6 We were able to make good on our Groupon ticket to the Charlotte Air Museum today. Though smaller than some air museums weve visited, the displays were very well done and two planes were of special interest. An amphibian (water & land) two seater of 1930 vintage was of special interest to Chris because of its engine. A shroud around the radial cylinders implied that it was: 1) an elaborate muffler system (unlikely), 2) an engine-driven supercharger, or 3) an exhaust-driven turbocharger. The latter two systems were typically used for either a) high-altitude flying (unlikely for such vintage aircraft of this type) or b) to provide additional horsepower for an early engine design typical of this era. Quick searching on the internet provided no ready answer. Readers: Heres your opportunity to try your internet research skills. The engine is a Kinner B5, 5-cylinder engine. Can you find what the silver device on the front of the engine would be used for? The most logical answer will net you a miniature washer-dryer combination (trinket) that you can dazzle your friends with when you tell them you have a washer-dryer in your automobile! Send your research to: thriftytravelers@cox.net.The second aircraft of interest was the commercial passenger jet, Flight 1549, that crash-landed in the Hudson River several years ago. The actual airplane was pulled from the water, investigated, and then donated to the Charlotte Museum. We spent close to an hour looking at all the displays and videos about the crash, the crew, passengers, and memorabilia related to this event. It was VERY interesting.

Thurs, May 7 We left McDowell Nature Preserve this morning on our day-long drive to Marietta, Georgia to visit our daughter Cindi, son-in-law Kip, and granddaughters Symphony and Journey. The drive was uneventful and leisurely with Sally continuing to read the murder mystery weve been on since the start of our trip. Traffic in the Atlanta area increased dramatically so our travel pace slowed down. We stopped at PECO camping trailers to purchase a 12-volt receptacle for our camper, then continued on through city streets during rush hour. As expected, our arrival was joyous with hugs, kisses, etc.

Fri, May 8 Sally & Cindi helped a friend of Cindi prepare for her daughters birthday party. They cleaned a good portion of her house while she (Laura) worked on party preparations. Cindi & Sally really worked hard to get the house in tip-top shape for all the girls attending the party and overnight experience. Plus the girls paddled kayaks on the lake adjacent to Lauras home. Meanwhile I worked on a few projects at the Williams' residence: power-sawing a round hole in a steel door for a lockset, buying lumber for two projects next week, sharpened Cindis mower blades, and several other small projects. I also painted some lettering on our trailers rear bumper. That evening Cindi, Sally, Kip and I went to Cabelas to look at fishing equipment.

Sat, May 9 With our granddaughters at the birthday party until mid-afternoon we treated Cindi & Kip to a movie matinee: The Kingsmen - Secret Service. But prior to the movie we did some landscaping chores: weeding the front yard and cutting down a 30-foot-high tree. The tree needed to come out before it got even taller. So we hooked a sturdy rope around it about up and had Sally & Kip pull tension on the rope while I used the chainsaw on the trunk. We knew the tree was tilted toward the neighbors fence, yard and swimming pool but as they pulled it started heading the wrong direction. I yelled, Pull hard! and they both put their weight into it; I couldnt get to their end of the room fast enough. Their grunting paid off with the tree falling exactly where we had planned. Whew! The Lord blessed us with that project!

Cindis neighbors, John and Gigi, invited all of us over for a nice supper. We spent several hours chatting and dining. These folks are surrogate grandparents to Symphony and Journey so we appreciate everything they do for Cindi and her family. John recently retired from Lockheed-Martin where he sold large transport planes. He had been a pilot in the Air Force. Gigi is an officer with Cindi (who is president) in their neighborhoods HOA-home owners association. I do a few projects for the HOA while were in town.

Sun, May 10 We awoke and sang Happy Birthday to our granddaughter, Journey, in celebration of her 11th birthday. We then joined our Williams family at the 8:30am worship service at Town C e n t e r C o m m u n i t y C h u r c h i n M a r i e t t a . T h e church did an excellent job of r e c o g n i z i n g m o t h e r s o n M o t h e r s D a y. From worship we drove directly to Symphonys final lacrosse game of the season the S t a t e Championship for 14-year-old and younger girls. This was an extremely exciting game with the Lassiter Trojans showing their skills on the field. They won the state championship with a score of 12 to 4. Symphony made several assists and was superb in her defensive maneuvers that helped keep the opposition from scoring. The girls were so proud of their accomplishment and it showed at photo-taking time in front of their large trophy.Following the game we went home for a short respite, then out for a casual lunch at Bobbys Burgers. All the nicer restaurants we wanted to go to for Mothers Day had terrifically long waiting lines so we plan to celebrate Mothers Day, Journeys birthday and Symphonys lacrosse victory at a nicer eatery later in the week.

Mon, May 11 I spent almost all day gathering. Last year I had a slight problem with my MacBook laptop not giving me access to photos I had recently taken. A repair was in order so I scheduled an appointment with the Apple Store in central Atlanta. Additionally, I chose to buy more foam weatherstripping for our Aliner. Prior to going on this summers trip I reapplied all wall and side-roof weatherstripping and found that the sponginess (compression) of the foam was too firm, despite being labeled as soft foam. These two chores took most of the day due to travel time. I have been investigating how Aliner, and other a-frame trailer owners, could re-weatherstrip their trailers while avoiding the cost of purchasing a kit from the manufacturer, plus how to do the installation. In trying to identify a source for the foam weatherstripping I chose to purchase from McMaster-Carr, a supplier of industrial supplies, tools, etc. They have a distribution warehouse in Atlanta. As mentioned, the first foam I ordered was stiffer than I wanted so I did a re-order. With the warehouse so (relatively) close, I had the new order set for a will call pick-up today. Travel time from Cindi & Kips house was over an hour. A surprise was the HUGE size of the warehouse and the thousand or so deliveries that were packaged while I was there. Without too much detail, I checked the two sizes of foam and found one to still be too firm. Via a phone at an adjacent order desk, I ordered a replacement and waited about 25 minutes for it to be found and shuttled down to Will Call. Through the three interactions with McMaster-Carr I found them to have excellent service and high quality products. More on the topic of a-frame weatherstripping in future issues.

The trip to the Apple Store was only about 30 minutes and, as always, Apple did a superior job. This is another reason I always purchase Apple computers their service is fabulous and Ive never had to pay for a repair when working directly with them unless it was a hardware repair beyond warranty and of a major nature, and thats very rare.Having left our trailer around 11a.m. I arrived home around 6 p.m. due to all the traffic in this area, including rush hour. This reinforces our desires to remain in Slocala (a funny term describing life in Ocala Slow + Ocala = Slocala).

Tues, May 12 Our day was spent in doing chores around the Williams household including work on the neighborhoods community pool. Cindi and the HOA board members wanted a drop box installed at the community pool house so that neighbors could make payments and/or drop in suggestions, requests, etc. Today was primarily to measure and plan the project.After school we took Journey & Symphony to the low-cost (but very nice) movie theater. The regular price is $1.75 per person, but Tuesdays are the dollar day for all patrons. Besides low admission rates their big bucket of popcorn is only $4.50 with a free refill. And they even allow you to share your popcorn by providing free paper trays for the rest of your party. Wow!

Wed, May 13 I took a metal cash box, like the type used at a school carnival or yard sale, and cut a portion out of the back to form a sturdy steel access door to the mail slot at the pool bath house. The cutting & finishing process took a few hours as the steel was substantial and need much sanding to guarantee no sharp edges. We also spent time at the pool as life guard so Journey and friends could play and swim.

Thurs, May 14 We visited Journeys elementary school to attend an Awards Assembly where Journey received several awards: one for being a Safety Patrol member, and another for being Mentor, and a third for accomplishing her years reading goal. Upon walking back home I started working on our trailer. A special project of mine has been developing a process by which to train other a-frame trailer owners on how to replace weatherstripping on their trailers. The week before we left on our summer trip I replaced the foam weatherstripping on our rig and videotaped the process. Having ordered the foam online from a firm in Atlanta and discovered the foam to be too firm after I did the installation. I decided to purchase a softer foam weatherstripping when we arrived in Marietta. (See this past Monday for details of this purchase.) Today was spent removing the newly installed weatherstripping and replacing it with newer, softer foam. Though removal of the new foam was harder than removal of older, dried-out foam, the project went ahead with surprising speed. Replacing four strips took about two hours. I was pleased with the results and will consider replacing two other portions of foam weatherstripping next week.Supper was special as we treated the Williams clan to Chic-Fil-As breakfast buffet that is held Thursday evenings. Everyone loved the food and the fine service!

Fri, May 15 Sally, Cindi and I spent the morning doing what we do well: garagesale-ing. We stopped at about 8-10 sales, which was easy as 5-6 of them were in a subdivision where multiple houses were involved in a neighborhood-wide yard sale. This is always fun for us whether its for the items we find or the price-negotiation activity.

Sat, May 16 Today was a fun day. It began with fun time with Cindi, Symphony & Journey. Kip left early to scout fly fishing accessories at Cabelas (outdoor emporium). I spent my morning cutting, sanding & staining woodwork for the basement hallway. Ill apply the clear-coat polyurethane Sunday afternoon. During breaks Journey and I played a boat race video game that was a lot of fun. A quick shower had Sally

(above) Chris tests mail slot he built for the community pool house. (below) Journey looks at classmate who is also receiving an award.

(below left) Bob & Natalie Crane hosted us for supper at the Sun Dial Restaurant on the 71st floor of the Westin Hotel, Atlanta. (right) Sally & I enjoyed the meal almost as much as Bob & Natalies company.

and I ready for an early evening supper courtesy of Bob Crane, a friend and financial advisor from Ocala. He was bringing some special paperwork that had to be signed months before our return to Ocala, so he flew to Atlanta to see that everything was done in a timely manner. Supper was fabulous at the Sun Dial Restaurant on the 71st floor of the Westin (Hoel) Peachtree Plaza in downtown Atlanta. Joining us was Bobs wife, Natalie, whom we also knew. We enjoyed a leisurely supper and had a terrific time conversing. It makes us very conformable to have an advisor who takes a personal interest in our financial dealings.

Sun, May 17 While everyone was running around to: a) get dolled-up for church and b) eat breakfast, we each did a quick review of our Saturday evening activities. Sally and I detailed our supper event with Bob and Natalie. Cindi and Journey told of their meal at Atlanta Bread Company (like Panera Bread). Symphony and Kip went to a Country music concert as Kip received free multi-day tickets to this big event. He estimated there were maybe 10,000-30,000 people in attendance; there were multiple stages with artists performing simultaneously. Symphony said it was really cool!We zoomed to church and joined in a very moving worship service. The church dedicated a good portion of time to the high school and college students who were getting ready to graduate shortly. The pastors recognized the contribution of parents, students and the church toward the students success. And the graduates were reminded that they are always welcome back to the church for renewal.We enjoyed a small lunch at home and spent a couple hours involved in individual tasks before driving to the picnic & swim event to celebrate Symphonys lacrosse teams undefeated season and championship win. A thunderstorm hit and we retreated to the nearby home of gracious parents who allowed the party to continue indoors. There were easily 30-40 folks in attendance. Cindi and Journey left after about 1.5 hours to go to their Awana (Sunday evening church school) end-of-the-year graduation party. Cindi was the MC (master of ceremonies) as both pastors were involved in other functions. Kip remained with Symphony at the lacrosse party for several more hours while we slipped out after another half-hour. (Guess were getting too old to keep up with the younger set!)

Mon, May 18 Work was the byword of the day. Sally and Cindi drove out to gather items for our camping trip, home projects and other tasks. That kept them busy from 9am until about 1:30pm. Meanwhile I hit some home projects full bore. Cindis exterior doors badly need painting and 2 out of 3 had holes from the previous owners. I used a small grinder to remove the paint around the holes, hammered a dent on the hole, then applied auto body filler. The door to the rear deck had rust long the inside bottom edge, so I removed it from the wall, ground off the rust, and applied a phosphate anti-rust chemical in addition to fixing a few dents & holes. The man-door between the garage roll-up doors, and the other two doors all required sanding with water and special waterproof abrasive paper. After lunch I installed a digital thermostat to the air conditioning / heating system. This required rewiring at the thermostat location and inside the AC/Heat furnace unit. By supper time everything was finished except final sanding of the exterior of the doors. Wow today was a work day for all of us!

Tues, May 19 What a terrifically unexpected day! Sally, Cindi & I went to Journeys fifth grade graduation this morning. The 1.5-hour event was well orchestrated with each of the four classrooms having each child called by name individually. The child would then walk to the front of the cafetorium, receive the certificate from the principal, then walk up the riser and wait while the next student was called. Students were called in an unusual but photographic order: boy-girl-boy-girl starting with the shorter students. The end result was the class standing with alternating boys and girls with the taller students higher on the riser. After all classes were called the principal presented an award to one boy and one girl for outstanding citizenship. The final award was the special Principals Award presented, again, to one boy and one girl who showed the greatest improvement over the year. Suddenly the name was heard was Journey Williams. Everyone began applauding and Journey,

(above) The view from the Sun Dial restaurant is amazing. You can see sooooooo far!

(above) Dr. Mobley presented Journey with the Principals Achievement Award. Journey was very proud of her hard work.

almost in shock and unsure of what to do, finally stood up and walked to the podium while Cindi wiped tears from her eyes and Sally & I stood beaming. The program ended with comments by the principal and the students walked out with Journey holding her plaque proudly. Following the ceremony there was a nice reception and everyone was taking photos of their children with their school friends. I took many photos of Journey and her friends.Back home we set back to the task of working on home projects. I painted the three doors on the house: the interior and exterior of the read door, the exterior of the front door, and the exterior of the man-door between the two large garage doors. Those jobs consumed the rest of the day.

Our thanks to all our readers who have been responding to our request for ideas on places to visit along our summer travel route. Your ideas have been terrific and were encouraged to go to the places youve suggested if we can fit them into our travel schedule. Please dont stop now keep those suggestions coming! In the next month well be traveling to: northern Georgia, Nashville, the Natchez Trace from Tennessee to Mississippi, and then on to Fort Worth, Texas. Any suggestions on a site we shouldnt miss? Maybe a terrific eatery thats worth a stop? Maybe just drop us a line about your travels or trailer questions.

Were keeping travel thrifty! Watch for Issue #3 in about 2-3 weeks ! HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY ! ! !

(above left) Chris, Sally, Journey and Cindi share big pride smiles as we acknowledge Journeys hard work in fifth grade as evidenced by her winning the Principals Award for high achievement.

(above right) Principal Dr. Debbie Mobley poses with Journey and the award Journey earned through her hard work all year in fifth grade. Only two children, one boy and one girl, earned this award out of all the approximate 100 fifth grade students. This was especially significant for Dr. Mobley as she retires this summer. She is a very honored and respected educational leader in the community and will be missed by students, parents and staff.

(below right) Journey smiles as she hugs the bouquet of flowers she received from her parents in honor of her graduation from fifth grade.