We're fine & still in Wisconsin - a very wet Wisconsin this morning. Minnesota decided to keep it's state parks closed along the north shore of Lake Superior, so we're here a little longer than planned. We hope to move Monday to Stoney Creek RV Resort near Osseo, WI for a couple of nights. Move on up to Voyageurs Natl Park on Wednesday, That's the new plan.
We've had a busy (exciting?) week. I realized the black holding tank (for the toilet) was not draining properly when we went to dump it Monday afternoon. Called Paul & Kay for assistance. They could tell us now to fix what they thought the problem was - a bent cable connector to the gate vale. We couldn't reach it. During the conversation, Paul stated that if we were there and he had the parts, it'd be a two hour repair. We asked if they could fit us in if we came down. They - hesitantly - said yes.
Off we went Tuesday morning back to Indiana. We got there mid-afternoon. Unloaded some of the "basement" compartment. Paul moved the trailer near a sewer clean out that was a foot & a half above ground and hooked sewer lines up to it. (Yes, we're dumping up hill. Not recommended!) Paul climbed into the trailer storage and with a flashlight in his mouth a screw driver in one had and a mirror in the other, he moved the black tank gate open and out came everything. They hadn't received the new part, so we used some of Paul & Kay's bleach and sanitized the black tank. Worst part - draining that sucker up hill. We moved into a hotel for two nights while Paul & Kay got the part and replaced the black tank valve (now direct link vice cable) and came back to DeForest on Thursday.
Next excitement: While we were back in Lagrange, IN, we got to eat inside a restaurant! Campgrounds not open, but you could eat inside a restaurant. We went to the Fireside Craft & Burger in Lagrange. Social distancing was in place. Every other booth was blocked. Every other table had the chairs stacked on top of the table. Restaurant staff wore gloves and masks. Paying by cash discouraged. Enjoyed every minute of the experience. You'd thought we'd gone to the High Tea at the Floridian in Disney World.
Next bit of excitement: My primary laptop computer (yes, I have two) gave us the famous Blue Screen of Death (aka BSOD) Wednesday night. Back up computer was in the trailer at Paul & Kay's. We got about four years off that computer, so couldn't complained. We'd learned years ago to keep nothing important on the computer. Our data is backed up on an external hard drive, a second copy of the important stuff is on a large gigabyte USB flash drive, and a few things on a cloud somewhere. Do most stuff on the "smart" phone, so impact fairly small. Real impact is that I buy expensive laptops as replacements!
Last bit of excitement: The experience of purchasing a new laptop. I really prefer to see the product in person. Touch it. Count the USB and USB C connections. Touch the keys. See the screen. And I wanted it now. There's a Best Buy about 20 minutes from us, and it was open by appointment. Made an appointment. Really unique experience. We were met at the truck when I pulled in. Told the person I had a appointment. He explained that the manager would meet me at the door. Got to the door and the rules were explained. Unique actions: I was escorted everywhere. I was to touch nothing. Just point and my escort would show it to me and explain any options or answer any questions. I was allowed to touch the laptops, and any I touched were sanitized as I left. Newer laptops are thinner, so connections are few. I needed a hub for all the connections I like to make (mostly USB drives). And another large flash drive for a repair-bootable drive (that I realized I really would liked to have tried Wednesday night when my primary laptop failed.)
I walked away with a new HP Spectre x360 with 13 inch screen. Small. Looks like a tablet. Large keyboard buttons. Two USB C connections of which you need one for the power cord. One USB 3.0 connection. Best speakers we've every had on any desktop or laptop computer. Still loading stuff on it. Flew past that 15 GB limit on our hot spot (on an unlimited plan, of course.)
So why do I have two laptops. One winter, about 4 years ago, we went with Steve and Susan to Pensacola where I bought the best Toshiba I could get. Eight months later the interior connections failed to either charge the battery or run the laptop off the battery. Computer repair guys said to use it until it breaks - just plug it in. They wouldn't repair. Too much of a pain to return it to Toshiba. But it worked great when plugged into power - essentially, it was a desktop. I kept it. It comes in handy from time to time. Really reduces any stress when the other laptop fails. We keep Windows 10 up to date. Old versions of Microsoft Office and Quicken are kept on it.
So you're up to date on us. Sorry for such a long post, but it was such an interesting week! Thanks for dropping by and checking up on us. Hope to be in Voyageurs by Wednesday. David
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