Year 3 Week 7

July 30 to August 5, 2006

Winnipeg to Steinbach, Manitoba

Year 3 week 7

 

Sunday ; Today was another sunny, hot day. I really don't mind this type of weather. I'm a sunshine junkie. And I'm unemployed and homeless ... I don't have to wear a shirt ! HA HA HA HA !

Early this afternoon Darcy and Shirley Johnson and their 12 year old son Erik came to visit. We sat outside chatting for part of the afternoon, then went inside to view our travel photos of the last year. I barbecued steaks for supper, served with Joanne's Caesar Salad and potato salad, with her homemade Nanaimo bars for dessert. After they left we prepared for an early morning departure to take the trailer in for servicing.

We received a phone call from a franchisor "wannabe" on Vancouver Island. We had patronized one of his two business locations on Vancouver Island last October, and I had made an inquiry asking for more information on his business concept. He was responding now to my inquiry. No, thank you, I'm not the least bit interested in discussing business with some jerkoff who takes almost a year to respond to an inquiry ... goodbye !

 

Monday ; Today was sunny and hot again.

Happy Birthday to my brother, Russell.

We woke up early this morning and prepared for departure. We had to have the trailer into GNR Travel Centre for service at 8:30 A.M.. We dropped off the trailer, then headed to Wal-Mart on Regent to replenish supplies. We shopped quickly because Bo and Teddy were in the truck. From Wal-Mart we headed over to the Carlson's for the day. As we were driving there, GNR phoned with recommendations for some "preventive maintenance" service. They wanted to do almost $2000 worth of work that I considered unnecessary at this time. I strongly believe in preventive maintenance, but I don't "buy on" to service and repair shops "upselling" thousands of dollars worth of service just to generate revenue for themselves. I had the trailer serviced at GNR a year ago, and was satisfied, so that's why I returned to them this year. But after this morning's attempt to suck an additional couple of grand out of my pocket, my confidence in them is eroded, and I doubt that I will return there for service.

Joanne did laundry while she visited with her sister and little nieces. I got online, sent and retrieved e-mail, updated my blog, retrieved bank statements, paid the MasterCard bill, and tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully to retrieve updated financial data. The Edward Jones website was temporarily unavailable. Lorri prepared a nice lunch for us.

GNR phoned early in the afternoon to advise that the trailer was ready, so we left the Carlson's about 3:00 P.M.. We picked up the trailer and returned to Traveller's RV Resort. We got settled back into our campsite, then spent the rest of the day relaxing.

 

Tuesday ; Today was sunny and very warm, with a light breeze.

Joanne worked on finishing the de-oxidation / waxing of the trailer. She ran out of de-oxidizer / wax just before she completed the job. Darn ! I worked on repairing the lower fibreglass skirt. I got the inside / underside cleaned, then I applied a layer of fibreglass cloth and resin. It went well. I did a bit of cosmetic repair work with auto body spot putty / "Bondo" on the outside of the lower fibreglass skirt. Joanne painted one of the sink covers ... again. I printed and reconciled the bank statement.

At 10:00 P.M. I drove into the city on a quest for jelly beans for Joanne. Am I a good husband or what ?

 

Wednesday ; Today was sunny and very warm, with unexpected heavy rain in the evening.

We went to Southdale today to buy supplies at Dollarama and Canadian Tire, and groceries at Safeway. Joanne finished de-oxidizing / waxing the trailer. I did the first applications of fibreglass cloth and resin to the outside of the damaged areas of the lower skirt of the trailer. It didn't go as well as I had hoped. I can only do a small amount of the fibreglass repair each day, because it needs a day to dry between each application. It's going to be a long, tedious process, but at least I now know I will be able to do an acceptable repair, and won't have to replace the lower side skirt and bottom panel.

 

Thursday ; Today was sunny and very warm again.

I spent much of today continuing to work on the fibreglass repair. I have completed phase 1 of 3. I have finished the applications of fibreglass cloth and resin, restoring the structural integrity of the damaged panels. Next I need to drill and reinstall the fibreglass bottom panel, metal side brace, and aluminum end cap. The last phase, and probably as challenging as the first, will be to restore the cosmetic appearance. Lots of applications of body putty and sanding, then priming and painting. A long way to go yet, but the completion of the fibreglass structural integrity / strength phase is a big achievement. Good work, Dan !

This afternoon we went Wal-Martin' at St. Vital Centre, then over to the Carlson's to visit Lorri, Madeleine, and Amelia. Yesterday Amelia learned to ride a two wheel bicycle. Today I helped her learn how to get started by herself, without relying on a steadying hand from Mom to get started. Way to go, Amelia !

 

Friday ; Today started out raining heavily, then cleared and was a sunny, hot afternoon and lovely warm evening.

Of course, it was raining hard while we prepared for departure. At least it was warm. We departed Traveller's RV Resort in Winnipeg and drove east on TCH 1, then south on Hwy. 12 to Ridgewood South Campground ( & Golf Course ) near Steinbach. We got settled into our campsite, had lunch, then Joanne went shopping at Clearspring Mall in Steinbach. I read for awhile, napped, then worked a bit on the fibreglass repair. I'm having difficulty figuring out exactly how an aluminum end panel fits. It was mangled by the exploding tire, and I'm not even sure that I've reshaped it correctly.

After supper we went for a long walk around the campground and golf course. I watched a small airplane practicing aerobatic manoeuvers. There is a large flight training school nearby. WAAAAAHHHHH ... I miss flying !

 

Saturday ; This morning was sunny and warm. This afternoon it rained heavily. The evening was cool and windy.

Joanne got us up at 7:30 this morning to go out to the free pancake breakfast at Clearspring Mall that was part of Steinbach's Pioneer Days this long weekend. Great ... I got up early, and stood in line for an hour to get 2 free pancakes ! After our free breakfast we went inside the mall to buy groceries at Sobey's. Then we walked by the kid's petting zoo set up in the mall. I was amused by baby goats head butting one another. HA HA HA ... very cute and funny.

I spent the afternoon working on some maintenance projects. First I had to remount one of the lift cylinders underneath the bed. The bed base lifts up, and there is a storage area under the bed. The bed base lifts up with the support of two lift cylinders, and one of them recently pulled all of its mounting screws out of the bed frame. It was a tough repair job. Then I repaired one of the kitchen blinds. Finally, I went outside and washed the truck. Another tough job. Lots of bugs on the front !

After supper we drove into Winnipeg, about an hour northwest of Steinbach, to attend the Folklorama opening ceremonies at The Forks. There was a variety of ethnic dancing and singing groups performing on The Forks Stage, with a finale by a group from Cuba. The fireworks were cancelled because of wind.

On the way "home", we drove by our old house on St. Jean Baptiste. It looks good ! Then we stopped at Dairi-Wip on Marion Street for a late night snack. Wow ... it looks identical to 35 years ago. Even the same old faded photograph of John F. and Robert Kennedy on the wall. I had a Double Fat Boy burger. MMMMM ... it was exactly the same, and just as good, as 35 years ago. I used to eat a lot of Fat Boy burgers at Dairi-Wip ! It still shows ! HA HA HA !

DSK