I awoke to the sound of heavy rain on the roof and knowing that both dogs refuse to go out in the stuff, rolled over and snoozed for a bit. I eventually got up and by then, it had stopped. We did not go very far as everything was damp and the trees were still dripping. 

For some reason, I could not lock the RV door when we stepped out and when I started to play around with it, the key got jambed in the lock. Daniel happened to walk past and stopped to look. Bottom line is that he managed to take the door apart and recommended that I go into Home Depot and buy something similar. I drove into Dripping Springs to the Home Depot there and after a long conversation with an employee, decided that they did not have what I needed. 

I had no choice other than to drive into Austin but before I did, I checked my phone and asked Siri to find a locksmith. The phone directed me to one in Dripping Springs which turned out to be a dead-end street of residential houses. Her next offering took me into Austin on a wild goose chase right into the heart of downtown where I had not been in years. After a couple of minutes, I remembered why… 

I escaped from Downtown and drove to Ben White where I knew there was a Cothron’s that I had used before and stopped to see if they could help. A young gentleman aided me but was not able to work on the problem straight away and suggested that I leave it and he would call me in the morning. After leaving my information, I jumped back in the Jeep and headed for Walmart’s and grabbed a few things. $60.00 later, I walked out of there with a few bags, groceries and bird feeder stuff. 

Incidentally, another reason to head to Walmart’s was to return the broken plumbing part and another piece that I did not need so it was not a wasted trip. I stopped at Starbucks on the way home after realizing that not only had I missed breakfast, I had also missed that all important first cup of coffee. Maybe I do not need it after all… 

The drive back was uneventful, and I pulled up to be greeted by my happy little buddies. After putting very few groceries away we went out for the final walk of the day. Incidentally, prior to walking, I had tried to get into the only storage area on the rig only to discover that the one and only key that fits the non-functional sliding door part that is now with the locksmith, also fits that same storage area. So much for that effort. 

We adjourned indoors for the evening, and I played catch up with the blog outlining today’s interesting events. One thing you can count on, there is never a dull moment living in and RV. 

Written 02/08/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com  

The Adventures of an Old Man and an RV. Henly RV Park, Dripping Springs, TX Day 71, Thursday 02/09/2023

The view towards the kitchen area of the new RV. The table is my desk.

I awoke to a beautiful sunny day and we had a very pleasant walk around the campground before returning to Quatro for breakfast and coffee. I have a busy day ahead of me which entails going to Austin.  I started it off by arranging to pick up my mail. Technically, I am supposed to schedule a pickup time, but I have done last minute walk-ins and they always come through. I am already scheduled for a Dentists appointment at 1:30 pm which is the main reason for going into town. 

I allowed myself plenty of time and arrived at PostNet around 12:15. The lady behind the desk recognized me and went back to collect my mail. There seemed to be a lot of it, and I sat in the car and sorted through it just to be sure there was nothing with a time schedule. Satisfied that everything could keep, I drove to the closest Walmart’s to see what they had in the way of RV stuff. 

I found step covers that I had been searching for and grabbed 4 of them. I need a total of 6 but the last one on the shelf was a return item and was missing the springs, so I left it. Now, I still need two more, but I have enough to complete one set of steps. That was the only thing I bought in Walmart’s. 

My next move was a few blocks away to the Dentist’s office that specializes in matching teeth colors. I had been instructed to sit in the car and wait for them to call me after having made the first contact, which I did for about 10 minutes. When I walked in and sat down, the entire process of matching colors took all of 5 minutes and I was out of there. I will get a call from my Dentists instructing me when to come in for the rest of the work in about a week. 

I was all finished with my business up at the North end of Austin and made the long drive down Mopac along with all the other heavy traffic with the same idea, to reach Ben White at the South end of town. There, I visited Cothron’s to see what, if any, progress they may have made with the RV lock. Sad to say, the answer was none, and they handed it back to me saying I needed to buy an entire locking unit. I did have them make me a new key while I was there. 

I thought about it for a bit and decided to drive to Kyle, where Crestview is located, to see if they could help. The clerk behind the service desk started asking me questions about the unit that I could not answer without my notes which I did not have with me. Telling him I would return in the morning, I left for the long drive back to Henly. 

I made good time stopping only at Starbucks in Dripping Springs before heading back to Henly where I was greeted by two very excited little dogs. I unloaded the Jeep and harnessed them up and we wandered around for a bit stopping at Quatro to pick up a couple of tools for the job ahead. Daniel stopped me and we chatted for a bit as he had been away all day on another project. 

Back at the new RV, (please, someone come up with a name for it), I installed an exterior handle that I had bought for an earlier RV, on the door from the bedroom we are now using because of the problems with the lock on the sliding glass door. At least, on this RV, I have the luxury of two separate entrances and have closed one because of the lock problem. 

Then I turned my attention to installing the mats I bought this afternoon on the steps from the bedroom which is now our primary exit/entrance. That went well except that the hooks are spring loaded and kept flying away as I lost my grip on them. They usually ended up under the RV and I had to use a long handled broom to get them out. In the end, I got them installed. These covers make the steps much safer. 

Figuring that we had done enough for one day, I put everything away in the one solitary outside storage area including the stuff I had brought up from Quatro and now with a key that would lock it in a safe place, did just that and then adjourned inside for the evening. 
 
There, I sat for a while catching up on the day’s events and wondering how to handle the hardware problem for the screen door. Daniel had suggested that I try to find something online which I did but everything I looked at did not have the right dimensions to act as a replacement. I’m thinking that I need to make the trip back to Crestview tomorrow and let them find the proper replacement. 

The rest of the evening or rather, what was left of it was spent in the usual fashion, food all around and then watching some aimless show on television. I did not watch for long, finding myself dropping off to sleep and went to bed instead. 

Written 02/09/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com