SeaDawg

Have a wonderful time. I hear it's such a beautiful spot. Wish we could be there, too. If you get the chance before you go, read Bill Belleville's essay, "Inside the Heart of a Poem." It's not long, just a few pages, but beautiful. (From his anthology . Belleville is a diver, a naturalist, and a Floridian. I think you'd especially enjoy his writing, Geri. Sherry

We love our Scandvik faucets and showers in the Oliver. Today, I found out a little info from their website and catalog: You can order replacement parts (hoses, parts, etc.) as an individual, but only closeout items in entire assemblies, direct from Scandvik. Regular stock assemblies can be ordered online from Yacht Supply Depot at a discount of about 25% off msrp, no freight. Looking thru the pdf catalog for Scandvik, I discovered a few things I did not know about our showers. The one in the bathroom has an adjustable aerator. Slide it down for shower (more widespread spray), up for faucet function. The slide valve for closing off the water while soaping up for navy showers is designed to drip a little, to maintain water temperature. It is not a positive shut-off valve like the pressure handle on the outside shower. The outdoor shower spray handle will flip up for continuous spray without holding the pressure handle down. Ours is the "Euro" model in the catalog. Scandvik sells a height adjustable slide mount for the combination faucet/showerheads, as well as the mount that we have installed in the trailer. Our shower and sink faucets/mixers are all brass, chrome-plated on the indoor faucets, and are real marine quality. I like that. They're built to last, like our Oliver trailers. Sherry PS There is a single-lever replacement galley faucet in the closeouts today, chrome, for under a hundred dollars. Just an FYI, our indoor shower faucet retails for $200.00, without the mount on the bulkhead.

Sorry gang, I've been out of touch with the board for several days with out of state company. Sorry, too, that the days mentioned won't work for me. I'll be out of town till the 15th or 16th with one of my sisters. Don't let it hold up the rest of you, though. Sherry

Looking at March, a satellite goes up 3/1, but the shuttle launch on 3/18 may conflict with family visits for us. Sherry

It has been warm here (believe it or not...). Temps in the 70's during the day. It rained today,off and on, and rain showers are in the forecast for most of next week, but the temps will be decent in Tampa Bay. We took the cat ferry from Ft. Myers to Key West this week with my brother and sister-in-law, and enjoyed two glorious days of sun and (dare I say it) great temps. Back at home, we took the little powerboat out in the intercoastal yesterday, and needed a jacket only outside the no-wake zones. Now, we're getting the tail end of the northern ugly weather, but it's still nice, between the showers. Back to Blue Springs.... There is an Endeavor launch scheduled for 2/7 at 4:39 am. Would it not be cool to see the launch (only 5 or so left in the program), and visit Blue Springs? I've seen the contrails from the backyard as the shuttles launch from the other coast, but have never seen a launch up close and personal. Blue Springs is, of course, booked completely for the weekends. However, there is some mid-week availability, before and after the launch. There are other central Florida parks within an hour or two of Cape Canaveral that might be available if some of you are interested. I'd be happy to research more. Sher PS Tom: No matter what the weatherman brings, we love to see you and Karen anytime! PS Cherie & Chris: Welcome back! Looking forward to seeing you both again! PS Chuck & Geri: It would be wonderful to see you newly weds again before you begin your journey on the westward trail. PS DC Kiefers: If we can work this out for a weekend, hope you can join us too! PS to all.... there is another launch in March, in case this doesn't work. S.

Sadly, we took only a few photos. Perhaps Pete can post a few? Sher

Thinking about a trip to Blue Springs. John Bartram, naturalist, visited here in the late 18th century. Any of you been here? There's a FL state park at Blue Springs, and I'm curious. I've read some 20th century writings that make it sound very much worth the drive. Sherry

On our second day at the Tampa RV SuperShow, we saw the lightweight Liberty electric bikes. Paul and I have been discussing getting folding bikes, and we'd seen the Liberty series on line. The small bike, at show special price, was $395 each. We measured, but they would not fit standing up in the truckbed with the topper in place. We are hesitant to fill a third of the bed with bikes folded, laying down on their sides. As we would use them primarily to cruise the campground, we can still manage without the electric part, if the bikes are not single speed. Still and all, it was tempting. Have any of you purchased folding bikes (electric or not...), that work for you? Sherry

Welcome to the forum, Sawdust!

One of the biggest RV shows in the southeast is held at the State Fairgrounds outside Tampa each January. We met up with Pete and his smiley dog Oscar to visit the show this year. The show was fun, and the weather turned so nice that we stayed two nights dry-camping in the grassy parking long instead of the one night we'd planned. During the day, the lot is full of cars, but after the show closes, we had a huge field for Oscar to run around in. Last night, a Casita from Washington joined us in our little fiberglass egg section. No campfire, but we grilled on Pete's awesome little Coleman, and enjoyed a lot of fun conversation after the show. We only wish more Olivers could have joined us. The cold weather is finally gone, and temps in the mid-70's made it especially nice to walk around the show and thaw out after our two weeks of bitter Florida cold. Maybe next year?

I saw a link to the Mahindra pickups and SUV posted on fiberglassrv.com, and thought some of you might be interested in reading about it, too. Mahindra (with 50 years of producing vehicles in India), plans to launch their compact pickups and SUVs in the United States this spring. The trucks test at 30 mpg city/37 mpg highway from their small diesels, with a tow capacity of 5,000, and a cargo capacity of over 2000 pounds. With a very small marketing budget, they will target select customers in the U.S., mainly Indian ex-pats already familiar with Mahindra, and green-minded customers looking for a high mpg clean diesel alternative. Trucks will be shipped to the U.S. in sections, and assembled here. SUVs will be shipped completely assembled. Look for a price-tag in the low to mid 20's. I'm not saying I'm looking to be the first on my block to own an Indian vehicle, but I do think it's time we had small, efficient diesel pickups available in the U.S. You see smaller, tough little pickups like this all over Europe and Australia, by a variety of manufacturers. http://www.dfwmahindra.com/index.php?x=home http://news.pickuptrucks.com/2009/12/ma ... pring.html http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/ca ... is-Spring/ http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradviso ... /Mahindra/ A diesel-electric hybrid is in their plans for 2011. Sherry

Happy Birthday!!!!

No, I'm not touting my adopted state. Yesterday, we spent the day at Forever Florida near St. Cloud. This 4700 acre area, dedicated to Allen Broussard by his parents, hopes to preserve at least within its confines the spirit and ecosystem of pioneer Florida. What a great day. The young people ziplined through the woods, getting an ecotour on the way to the course in a giant swamp buggy. We parents enjoyed a two hour tour in a similar coach, visiting sloughs, creeks, regenerated prairie, cedar domes, and pine forest. We saw allligators, deer, and turkeys, along with a number of other birds. Though we didn't get to see a rare Florida panther, we did see his tracks in the sand. Part of the acreage is a working farm, with a large herd of Florida cracker cattle, direct descendants of the cattle left behind by the Spaniards when they were attacked by the Calusa Indians. Forever Florida includes two big campgrounds, with no hookups but flush toilets and hot showers. We'd love to go back and camp with some of our friends. http://www.foreverflorida.com/ Sherry

As you all know, campers owe a great debt to the CCC. They built so many of the wonderful parks that we camp in yet today. I've personally lost count of the number of statues I've seen of "Iron Mike" in the parks, commemorating the contributions of these young men (and women) who built so much in our nation during the days of the Civilian Conservation Corps. There was a wonderful article in today's St. Pete Times about the CCC and a man who serves as a guide at the CCC museum here in Florida. Thought you might want to see it, too. more info about the CCC is available at : ccclegacy.org Sherry

The new year, and a new decade begin today. And Chuck and Geri begin their new life together! Congratulations and best wishes to you both! Sherry and Paul

Happy New Year! Sherry and Paul

The holidays are so wonderful for family get togethers, and so bad for (almost) everything else. I am so sorry about the mixup on your board. I know it puts a huge, huge wrinkle in your plans. Sherry

Larry, I hope your local dealer can get quicker response time than ours could. It took over a week to get the board from Norcold, but then, it took two weeks of phone calls back and forth to get permission to get the board to the dealer under factory warranty from Norcold. Good luck, and hopefully, since this is under Good Sam's extended warranty, they can order the board from someone more local. I know you're both anxious to get underway, and any work to be done during the holidays is a tough situation to deal with. Sherry

I split the topic with my response to Larry's question.... Lutefisk being far off topic, and, to many, far off the menu... And, as so often happens, my response is a bit long... Happy New Year! Sherry

My parents and my brother had lutefisk for Christmas day dinner. With lefse. And lots of meleted butter. For many people of Scandinavian heritage, it's a Christmas time tradition. Every year for the big holiday dinner on my dad's side of the family, all the aunts and uncles and cousins gathered at one house, and one of the aunts prepared lutefisk and lefse, usually between Christmas and New Year's. At our house, I served turkey and ham, as I am the only one who will go near lutefisk willingly, much less eat it. Actually, it doesn't have any flavor, except whatever sauce (as in melted butter, hot bacon fat with chopped bacon, or white sauce) you put on it, but few people who weren't raised eating it can get past the (a) aroma (b) texture to find out what it tastes like. A few of my braver friends have tried it, though, when I've made it for lodge dinners. Here's what it looks like prepared: Actually, that's how it looks prepared really nicely, as in a restaurant. At home, it often is not quite so full looking.... an extra minute or two in the steam or hot water will turn it first to shreds, then rather gluey... It's a tricky dish. For the Scandinavian immigrants, it was a taste of home. Stockfish (air-dried cod) was easy to ship, and basically, lasts forever unless it gets wet, yet retains all its fish nutrient value. As stockfish, it looks something like an organic shingle, and is just as tough. The stockfish is reconsituted in a bath of edible lye water, then soaked and rinsed till ready and voila... "fresh" lutefisk...It now has the texture of jello wigglers, but looks just like a fresh codfish, just shiny and kind of translucent. And, it's ready to be gently oven-steamed, or more commonly, boiled in a cheescloth bag. Some modern cooks even microwave it with a little water, but that's even trickier, cause you can't see it, and again, it's easy to wreck it and turn it to mushy organic glue if you're too aggressive. Getting ready for the holidays for us meant a trip to the market for a big chunk of "fresh" lutefisk, recently shipped down from Minneapolis. Only a handful of lutefisk processors remain in the U.S. today, probably because most young people will pass on the lutefisk.... rather than ask it to be passed their way. Sherry

Jam49, I don't think anyone seriously took your post as a message of "gloom and doom"... But it spurred some other trains of thought that were valid. It never hurts to have a "backup plan." I would remind anyone who wants to make sure that they are on ScubaRx's owner's group list to send info via a pm, and please, do not post personal information on this or any other open forum. As Pete said, there's not been even one small indication that Oliver has any intention of abandoning our forum support. To paraphrase Mark Twain in response to an erroneous obit, the rumors of the death of the Oliver have been greatly exaggerated... perhaps not so much here, but in other forums. I, too, cherish the many new friends I have made on this forum. I've been lucky enough to meet many folks in person. I hope to get to meet you one of these days, as well. And now, back to the holidays. Pass the lutefisk, please. Sherry

I still like Hull's Angels Sherry

Cherie, Thanks for the background info on forums. I had no idea what costs were involved. Personally, I think that as long as Oliver is serious about eventually returning to the travel trailer business when the economy improves that they will continue supporting the forum and their own website. (Their website is, after all, one of their most powerful marketing tools.) Even though none of us on the moderator team work for Oliver (we all happily devote our mod hours on a free, voluntary basis), I believe that the folks at Oliver would give us some notice to make other arrangements for the forum in the event that they should ever decide to discontinue their financial support of our "sandbox". Perhaps Mountainborn, as administrator, can shed some additional light here, but I believe he and his wife are spending the holidays with family right now. In the meantime, if you're willing to collect an off-line contact list, that's a nice backup in any event. Sherry

Merry Christmas and a very Happy 2010 from Paul and Sherry!

This is basically what happened to us: Sherry Some codes are re-settable more than once; others lock you out after two tries (one seems successful, second fails, you're done....)