2011 Trip 6: Back to our favourite County...

Sandbanks PP - July 2011

Thursday...
The yearly trip to Sandbanks is one of our camping season highlights, not only for the beach but because it is our yearly trip with our long time friends, Helen & Paul, and also our yearly reunion with long time friends Geoff and Joey who live in the area. The plan is for the six of us to meet on Saturday night at a local gourmet restaurant for dinner.  Turned this trip into a long weekend by taking the Thursday and Friday off work. Always a good plan as it is a bit of a drive and the extra time is nice as there is lots to do in the County.

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2011 Trip 5: Boondocking ... well, sort of.

Rollins Pond SP, New York - July 2011

Thursday, heading out.
Going to Rollins Pond State Park, in the Adirondacks area of New York.  We have heard lots about this park, and the one right beside it called Fish Creek Pond.  We booked Rollins as we have been told it is quieter and less busy, with no larger motorboats allowed on the lake, perfect for us and our kayaks.  Should be about a 3 1/2 hour drive, although we tend take our time and explore the towns along the way. Heading out on the Thursday, which combined with the July 1 holiday, gives us a nice 4 day break.

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2011 Trip 4: Paddle makes it good...

Lake Opinicon - June 2011

First trip this year with the kayaks. Pulled them out from under the deck Wed night and loaded them up. A little dirty from being under the deck all winter, but we will take care of that this weekend. We find the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser is indeed magic. Always thought there was something super toxic in those things to allow them to clean the way they do, but in fact, that assumption is a myth. A little Googling discovered that they are actually a super fine micro pore abrasive. Literally scrapes the dirt off things. On a smooth kayak surface, they work wonders. Sorry, I digress...

Friday night traffic is light. Snacked on our sandwiches, a new routine we have we can just concentrate on getting set up when we arrive, rather than doing it while we are starving for dinner.

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2011 Trip 3: It's a jungle out here...

Murphy's Point PP - June 2011

We were here, in a tent, probably 30 years ago. All I can remember about this Park is that we arrived on a Friday night in the pouring rain, and set up the tent, a big canvas one, by the lights of our little Honda Civic. I recall the entire weekend it rained, and that is all I remember. No recollection of the Park at all.  Traffic was light this evening, sailed right out of the city no problem. This park is just past Perth, about an hour and fifteen away.

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What's inside those wheel hubs?

The brakes were doing a lot of squealing this spring, so I figured it was time to take them apart and give them a good cleaning. Also a good reason to satisfy my curiosity about just how these things actually work.

Bought a little bottle jack to raise the Alto, as my attempts to use the screw jack from the Santa Fe proved awkward.  A recommended purchase, for those times you need to use it to change a tire.  This will make the job much easier.  You can also see a small jackstand there, which is a wise safety precaution, and easy to keep in the car as well.

Inside, it is pretty much a normal drum brake, except what expands the shoes is a magnet, rather than a hydraulic When energized by the brake controller, it grabs the inside face of the drum, and as it gets pulled along by the rotating drum, the lever the magnet is attached to, twists a cam which forces the shoes out to make contact with the sides of the drum.  The more voltage applied, the harder the magnet sticks to the face and the stronger the leverage on the shoes. Pretty ingenious.

When the drum gets pulled off the spindle, the outer wheel bearing, held in place by the spindle nut, comes out of its race.  Lots of grease everywhere, which is a good thing.  Next spring, the job will include a full repack of the bearings.

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2011 Trip 2: Hail !!!

Silver Lake PP - May 2011

Long weekend...gotta love em!  Heading back to Silver Lake PP, same time as last year, but on a different site.  Nice day today, the rainy week seems over, at least for when we would like it to be. Traffic was suprisingly light, kinda unusual, perhaps a side effect of the risng gas prices.

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How cold is it outside?

We needed to find a good spot to mount the remote temperature sensor for our digital clock/thermometer.  Ordered this gizmo from REI, it displays the time as well as in/out temperatures. Pretty handy. I needed to figure out where to mount the sensor, under the Alto, so that it would be protected out of the elements, but still exposed to the ambient air.  I settled upon mounting it on the side of the slide-out step supports.  Here it will be out of the wind and spray while travelling, and well protected if it rains while we are set up. I then made a shield for it out of black coroplast, to protect it from any spray the wheel may kick up while on the road. Unless you were looking, it is not a noticeable installation.

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2011 Trip 1 - Opening the cottage...

Cedar Cove, White Lake - May 2011

Certainly much easier than the old days...although opening the cottage was an exciting event that started the summer season, it did involve a large degree of work to get it all going. From raking leaves to starting the water system to putting in the dock, a lot of work.

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Powering the Tivoli

We added a 12v power jack next where the Tivoli sits. The Tivoli is our awesome radio, which fills the Alto with amazing sound given its size. Check it out here... http://www.tivoliaudio.com/products/portables/the-pal-black.html Ours is a funky green colour, not readily available any longer.

I made up a couple of plastic mounting plates for the jacks, then screwed these to the walls. The wire between the jacks ran along with some existing Alto wiring. The whole idea being the jacks will be powered by either the AC adaptor or the 12v outlet on the front wall, and no clutter of cords. Looks sweet and works well.

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2010 Trip 11 - Wrapping it up...

McCreary's Beach, Mississippi Lake - Oct 2010

Well, looks like the last outing of the season is upon us. This fall has been very cool and wet, so we decided that Thanksgiving weekend, weather permitting, would be the time to get the Alto ready for winter.  Luckily, the weather is fabulous this weekend... still a little cool, but there is not a cloud in the sky and the brilliant sun is making the day feel warmer than it is. We have made reservations at a private campground just this side of Perth. We want full hookups this time, as we plan to flush the tanks and get them as clean as we can. Having a sewer hookup at our site will certainly help this task.

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