CitaPita...Carmen

Okay, folks, so we didn't make it too far last night, only 2.5 hours. 

At first things were going great, Polly was running as better than she ever has and Josh said you could really feel all the work we put into her in the way she drove. 

We got a couple hours from home and we noticed we were at a half tank so we stopped and topped it off. This turned out to be a big mistake. Over the years, sediment/rust particles/whatever had gotten into the tank when we stirred it up with the new gas, it clogged our brand new fuel filter. We lost power, started overheating, and pulled over. 

Luckily, my smart hubby had purchased an extra fuel filter, just in case. He installed it quickly and...it didn't help. Polly started backfiring and slowing down and we were forced to pull over again. Turns out the the sediment also got into the carburetor so we were having a fuel delivery problem.

Josh just cleaned up the carb and is fairly certain he's fixed the issue, but now there is a new problem. The overheating last night caused a pinhole leak to form in the radiator. Aaannd there are no radiator shops open to Monday.  Josh is going to attempt to seal the hole himself, but I'm not feeling good about our chances of getting Polly Luna to Florida at this point. I'm afraid every time we fill up we'll end up on the side of the road. 

So while DH fixes the radiator, I'm researching back-up options, just in case. I'm considering everything from flying and and renting an RV to renting an RV here and driving down. Any ideas?

Thanks, everyone! We're on the road now. One mile down and many more to go. Wish us luck! :)

Well, folks. We pulled it off. Tomorrow afternoon Polly Luna will pull out of my in-law's driveway to start her slow and winding way to the Fort.

We're in major packing/organizing/freaking out mode right now, so unfortunately I don't have time for a full, fun update. So in light of that, here is a list (likely not fully inclusive) of the work we've done the last few weeks.

Mechanical

• Full tune up (new filters, plugs, fluids, etc.)
• New engine thermostat
• New alternator
• New brake master cylinder
• Professional brake adjustment (necessary after we lost our brakes following the master cylinder replacement  )
• Major work done to the dash and exterior light wiring
• New u-joints
• New battery

Interior

• Rewired the scary water pump wire that had been striped down to the bare wire
• Recovered the bench seat in vinyl
• Partially recovered the ugly dinette that we bought out of another old RV with some shower curtains from Target (Spoiler alert - it's still ugly)
• Installed a new fridge to replace the broken original 
• Sewed up some new curtains
• Installed seat belts

I'm sure I'm forgetting something...

Although the mad dash to get Polly ready for the trip was as successful as it had time to be, this thread isn't over. We'll be picking it back up next spring for more improvements and to fix the mistakes we've made over the past few weeks as we decided that "good enough" was okay and "perfect" was a myth.

And because no post here is complete without pictures, here is the bench seat before and after.

Before:

After and installed:

The recovered ugly dinette (you'd have to see it in person to truly appreciate its flaws)

But in my defense, it used to look like this:

Looking down the hallway:

LOL!!!

We're here!! Snow flurries back home. A delightful sunny fall day in site 341. :)

I knew we should have left a week earlier!  We got two inches of the stuff on Saturday night. I'm not even bothered because I'll be leaving it behind soon enough.

Enjoy the sun and we'll see you soon. :)

It's  Redken Magnetics or Redken Extreme

Thanks! I got an Ulta coupon today and I guess I know what I'm going to use it on. :)

How on earth did I miss the BBT reference, I love that show!      Do I have to forfeit my geek card now? Because I like having that around. 

And that's before I head over to the new Haunted Mansion shop!

 

I'm doomed... doomed I say...

 

I can go 3 weeks without eating, right? 

And don't forget the new Pandora charms, too.

So cool!  Just googled them and apparently Lazy River Studio makes custom wood carved signs, etc. Beautiful stuff.

I'd love to see the inside of that camper.

This thread is dangerous. My shopping list is getting very long. If my shopping budget for this trip would gain a zero to the left of the decimal point, we'd be in business.

FW things I know I want:

• Christmas ornament
• Long-sleeve tee for DH
• At least one, but maybe two mugs
• Magnet
• Possibly a tee for myself as well

Wish they'd offer the throw art as a lithograph so I could hang it on my wall. I'd snap that up, too.

Barney Fife lives!

I'm thankful for this post because it made my day happier!

One of my daughters and I had escargot every night of our Disney cruise.  

I was just thinking about the escargot on the Magic the other day and wondering if escargot would be as good ordered elsewhere? I've only ever had it on the boat and it was the stuff dreams are made of.

I should have known that he would have been a fiend. :)

Maybe I'll set up a screen and projector and loop this video outside my rig for my decoration this year.

How's that for creativity!

Stumbled across this video while traipsing through YouTube.

I love this display!  Now that is creativity. :)

Has anyone seen it in person?

http://youtu.be/kNuY1syol48

Paying for online articles about WDW feels a bit like paying for a glass of water at Niagara Falls.

I don't understand their business model.

I do like the look of their calendar, though!

I actually do use a special shampoo that we buy at Ulta whenever they offer buy one get one free. The stuff without any phosphates. My curls actually do last longer, as it doesn't leave any residue in my hair.  I was the "big bottle of whatever would get my hair clean at a good price camp" (or freebies at the hotel) until my hair care guy gave me a half-bottle of the good stuff.

Brand, please! I'm always looking for a good shampoo to try.

Why did I watch this at work?!  These surprise videos always make me cry.

I love how excited they were, adorable!

I'm happily pinning these to my camping board. Good find!

I've seen more and more campgrounds put restrictions on the age of your rig, which to a certain extent I understand because there is the possibility your rig could break down on their property and they'd run into issues with existing reservations, vehicle leaking fluids on the site, etc. 

Age restriction is clearly something I'll be up against. 

But I cannot for the life of me understand what grounds any campground would have to limit truck campers and class C's. Makes no sense to me at all. 

 

Oh, and I get a notice, but there was a person who parked 90 degrees off of her drive in the grassy area and set up an attached tent to her vehicle.

 

One day she had to go somewhere and couldn't back up, so she drove over the top of some small trees (4 foot) to get out.  Bent them right to the ground

 

Then to top it off she ran over them again when she came back.

I'm not much for snitching, and in general I don't really care where people park if they aren't disturbing others, but this level of disrespect would have made me break out the video camera for a little spy mission. My blood is boiling just thinking about it. 

That looks so nice! Have a great time on your trips, and if you like, add your dates to the Thanksgiving thread. There is a list of dates when all of us fiends will be descending on the Fort. :)

http://www.fortfiends.net/forum/topic/10647-thanksgiving-2014/page-8  

I love that! Pinned for future use. :)

Just stumbled across this video of the FWR on YouTube. Pretty neat to see it in action!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_qWTfcclkE

This is absolutely fantastic. It's definitely on my short list of dream trips. Loving the pictures!

Now I want garlic parmesan wings for breakfast.

Also, I have a feeling that this trip report is going to give me a major desire to buy a BGE.