Day 3 - The First Great Adventure begins to wind down...and thank GOODNESS!
kc
Mayport Naval Station, Jacksonville, FL
OK, so you know we have blown a tire, but the other 3 are the same age and exposure. Hmmm...wonder how long they'll last? Well, last night, we'd done some research, and we were lucky enough to find a Goodyear Service Center, only about 10 miles from camp. Better than THAT, even, was that they could get us 4 tires (G rated!!) and set us an appointment for 10 am today. Sweet. Couldn't ask for better.
We set out, right on scheduled, at 9:03 am. Missing the early rush-hour, and following the directions exactly as provided by Sarah, the store manager. Whoa, what's THAT??? Oh my, the road splits. I guess we stay on Beach, so bear left. Quickly. Whew, that was close.
I decide to confirm our arrival and Bill answers and lets me know we're expected, and he has the room. Also tells me we are approaching him quicker than we thought....oh look, there's the Goodyear sign and a man is out front, waving us in. Good thing we didn't call any later than we did!!
Oh my, look, he wants us to pull up in front and block all his bays...how are we gonna get OUT??? No, there is no exit that way, and, nope, we cannot make THAT turn...ok, well we'll figure something out, let's just get the tires changed. Do you think we should have them check and re-pack the wheel bearings too, as long as the tires are off? Yeah, sounds good to me, too, so I agree and we ask. Bill's not so sure, but says they'll check what they can. They've been done twice before, so I know it's doable and reassure him, while Dick is outside, setting up the trailer so the techs can work on it.
About 3 hours and 2 rain showers later, everything is ready to go, except they want to show us the rear tire...Seem they couldn't pull the wheel off and they think the bearing has seized. They aren't gonna take the responsibility of forcing the issue or pulling the wheel, so they just pack what they can and recommend we hit an RV service center soon. We cannot agree more, so out comes the phone and a local phone book. Seems the closest one, Sun Coast (they are HUGE down here) is booked to Sept. 4.....
Who's next? Why, Dick Gore, of course. He's big too, but he's back up at the airport, 20 miles away....but, ya gotta do what ya gotta do, and that bearing would NOT be safe through the mountains. By now, it's about pushing 2:30 pm, and we find out Dick Gore cannot get us in today either. Their recommendation is North Florida Spring and Brake. They agree that they'll take a look, but they cannot/will not promise anything, and they close at 5 pm, so we've got to hustle. Meanwhile, we've scoped out the exit options, and we think we can cut through the curb-area, if we're really, really, really careful. First, though, we've got to back out of where we are parked, almost to the main street. We can do this....with the radios. Wait. What the heck is wrong with the tires??? As Dick was backing around the curb, I notice that the front tire is leaning badly, and it's about 2 full inches off track of the rear tire. I go around to the passenger side, and I see THAT front tire also leaning badly, and 2 more inches the OTHER way off track....WHOA. Just hold on here. I see the mechanics are also looking, but not saying anything. I ask the lead guy to come around to see my side....he does, and he's not happy, but he agrees. This is NOT right. Back to the passenger side, back to the driver side, and back to confer with Bill. Dick pulls back up and blocks all the bays again. No one's going anywhere till we get this right. Our bill was more than $1200, and we weren't leaving until we were sure it was right and safe for travel.
Turns out, there's a trick to placing these tires back on the axles, and if you don't seat them right, they exhibit the behavior I noted. They lean excessively, and they don't track right. Out comes the jack, off come all 4 tires again. This time, the lead mechanic puts them all back on, checks them again, and once again, we start backing out. Oh, gosh...why in the WORLD is that guy sitting there, in the only possible place for us to go? He didn't appear to be very happy about backing up, but, jeez, just what did he think we could do about it? I mean, for goodness sake, he's just a compact car, can go anywhere, and we are almost 60 feet long, and bend only in the front! Some people just haven't got a clue. But, he backed up anyway, and we were able to proceed. Man, my honey can sure draw a crowd. All 5 techs and the store manager came out to watch him angle his way out to the street and through an 8-inch drop-off. He did great, though, and took that rig right outta there, without a hitch and without a single scratch or bottom-out. I heard the compliments and clapping as I scooted up into truck. On the road again, next stop, North Florida Brake and Spring.
We got there about 3:30, just as the rains started (again). Dick hopped out to talk to the owner and find out where we could park so they could get started. I took Sunny for a short potty-break and returned to the truck just in time to find Dick coming back with instructions. They moved a semi-tractor out from under a tin lean-to area and told us to back up in there, next to the dump truck. Now, we're 8.5 feet wide and they want us in a 10 foot slot. OK, we can do that. Sure 'nuff, hubby's a good driver, even in the pouring raing. He puts that puppy right where they need it and I get back in the truck to sit with Sunny while the guys do their thing.
A couple of hours and $80 dollars later, and we are ON THE WAY again! Turns out, the bearing was fine, but the brake was adjusted incorrectly. They replaced a seal, adjusted the brake, packed the wheel bearing and we were done. We pulled out and got back on I-295, heading back to Mayport and a much-anticipated dinner out with our friends, Karyne & Jon. At 4:59 pm (they close at 5, mind you), I notice our receipt says "merchant copy" and is signed. Oh, that cannot be right... I called them back immediately, and would you believe, they answered!!? George told me not to worry, they had everything they needed, and we could just keep the receipt; the transaction had already been processed electronically. That's all I needed to clear my conscience, and we kept on going. Got back to camp, washed up and waited for time to leave for the diner.
Karyne's mom hs been very ill, but today, she was doing pretty well, but Karyne stayed at the hospital later than she'd expected, so she called to tell us she was on the way and would send Jon up immediately. We told her no hurry, and to take their time. We'd never been to Safe Harbor before, so we checked out the specials and the menu and decided what we were going to order. About 5 minutes later, up walks Jon with great big hugs for us both. We all go in, order, and sit down on the deck. Karyne finds us just getting settled, and within minutes, our order number is called. WOW! That's a lot of food!! And, boy, is it GOOD. The salads are fresh and crisp, and the seafood is perfectly battered or seasoned. After dinner and some friendly chatter, we all head back to Karyne & Jon's house to visit Jewel, the turtle and the cats and have some dessert. Yummy all over again. Note to self: Publix frozen yogurt is almost as good as Ben & Jerry's and comes in WAY MORE flavors. Better make room in the freezer.
Back to the camper at 10:30 (after all, Sunny's been by herself for a few hours now, and we're both sure she's ready for another potty break), and I am certainly looking forward to another cool shower and alcohol rub-down. Why did Noah save the chiggers, anyway?? What good purpose could they POSSIBLY serve?
Till tomorrow....
Mayport Naval Station, Jacksonville, FL
OK, so you know we have blown a tire, but the other 3 are the same age and exposure. Hmmm...wonder how long they'll last? Well, last night, we'd done some research, and we were lucky enough to find a Goodyear Service Center, only about 10 miles from camp. Better than THAT, even, was that they could get us 4 tires (G rated!!) and set us an appointment for 10 am today. Sweet. Couldn't ask for better.
We set out, right on scheduled, at 9:03 am. Missing the early rush-hour, and following the directions exactly as provided by Sarah, the store manager. Whoa, what's THAT??? Oh my, the road splits. I guess we stay on Beach, so bear left. Quickly. Whew, that was close.
I decide to confirm our arrival and Bill answers and lets me know we're expected, and he has the room. Also tells me we are approaching him quicker than we thought....oh look, there's the Goodyear sign and a man is out front, waving us in. Good thing we didn't call any later than we did!!
Oh my, look, he wants us to pull up in front and block all his bays...how are we gonna get OUT??? No, there is no exit that way, and, nope, we cannot make THAT turn...ok, well we'll figure something out, let's just get the tires changed. Do you think we should have them check and re-pack the wheel bearings too, as long as the tires are off? Yeah, sounds good to me, too, so I agree and we ask. Bill's not so sure, but says they'll check what they can. They've been done twice before, so I know it's doable and reassure him, while Dick is outside, setting up the trailer so the techs can work on it.
About 3 hours and 2 rain showers later, everything is ready to go, except they want to show us the rear tire...Seem they couldn't pull the wheel off and they think the bearing has seized. They aren't gonna take the responsibility of forcing the issue or pulling the wheel, so they just pack what they can and recommend we hit an RV service center soon. We cannot agree more, so out comes the phone and a local phone book. Seems the closest one, Sun Coast (they are HUGE down here) is booked to Sept. 4.....
Who's next? Why, Dick Gore, of course. He's big too, but he's back up at the airport, 20 miles away....but, ya gotta do what ya gotta do, and that bearing would NOT be safe through the mountains. By now, it's about pushing 2:30 pm, and we find out Dick Gore cannot get us in today either. Their recommendation is North Florida Spring and Brake. They agree that they'll take a look, but they cannot/will not promise anything, and they close at 5 pm, so we've got to hustle. Meanwhile, we've scoped out the exit options, and we think we can cut through the curb-area, if we're really, really, really careful. First, though, we've got to back out of where we are parked, almost to the main street. We can do this....with the radios. Wait. What the heck is wrong with the tires??? As Dick was backing around the curb, I notice that the front tire is leaning badly, and it's about 2 full inches off track of the rear tire. I go around to the passenger side, and I see THAT front tire also leaning badly, and 2 more inches the OTHER way off track....WHOA. Just hold on here. I see the mechanics are also looking, but not saying anything. I ask the lead guy to come around to see my side....he does, and he's not happy, but he agrees. This is NOT right. Back to the passenger side, back to the driver side, and back to confer with Bill. Dick pulls back up and blocks all the bays again. No one's going anywhere till we get this right. Our bill was more than $1200, and we weren't leaving until we were sure it was right and safe for travel.
Turns out, there's a trick to placing these tires back on the axles, and if you don't seat them right, they exhibit the behavior I noted. They lean excessively, and they don't track right. Out comes the jack, off come all 4 tires again. This time, the lead mechanic puts them all back on, checks them again, and once again, we start backing out. Oh, gosh...why in the WORLD is that guy sitting there, in the only possible place for us to go? He didn't appear to be very happy about backing up, but, jeez, just what did he think we could do about it? I mean, for goodness sake, he's just a compact car, can go anywhere, and we are almost 60 feet long, and bend only in the front! Some people just haven't got a clue. But, he backed up anyway, and we were able to proceed. Man, my honey can sure draw a crowd. All 5 techs and the store manager came out to watch him angle his way out to the street and through an 8-inch drop-off. He did great, though, and took that rig right outta there, without a hitch and without a single scratch or bottom-out. I heard the compliments and clapping as I scooted up into truck. On the road again, next stop, North Florida Brake and Spring.
We got there about 3:30, just as the rains started (again). Dick hopped out to talk to the owner and find out where we could park so they could get started. I took Sunny for a short potty-break and returned to the truck just in time to find Dick coming back with instructions. They moved a semi-tractor out from under a tin lean-to area and told us to back up in there, next to the dump truck. Now, we're 8.5 feet wide and they want us in a 10 foot slot. OK, we can do that. Sure 'nuff, hubby's a good driver, even in the pouring raing. He puts that puppy right where they need it and I get back in the truck to sit with Sunny while the guys do their thing.
A couple of hours and $80 dollars later, and we are ON THE WAY again! Turns out, the bearing was fine, but the brake was adjusted incorrectly. They replaced a seal, adjusted the brake, packed the wheel bearing and we were done. We pulled out and got back on I-295, heading back to Mayport and a much-anticipated dinner out with our friends, Karyne & Jon. At 4:59 pm (they close at 5, mind you), I notice our receipt says "merchant copy" and is signed. Oh, that cannot be right... I called them back immediately, and would you believe, they answered!!? George told me not to worry, they had everything they needed, and we could just keep the receipt; the transaction had already been processed electronically. That's all I needed to clear my conscience, and we kept on going. Got back to camp, washed up and waited for time to leave for the diner.
Karyne's mom hs been very ill, but today, she was doing pretty well, but Karyne stayed at the hospital later than she'd expected, so she called to tell us she was on the way and would send Jon up immediately. We told her no hurry, and to take their time. We'd never been to Safe Harbor before, so we checked out the specials and the menu and decided what we were going to order. About 5 minutes later, up walks Jon with great big hugs for us both. We all go in, order, and sit down on the deck. Karyne finds us just getting settled, and within minutes, our order number is called. WOW! That's a lot of food!! And, boy, is it GOOD. The salads are fresh and crisp, and the seafood is perfectly battered or seasoned. After dinner and some friendly chatter, we all head back to Karyne & Jon's house to visit Jewel, the turtle and the cats and have some dessert. Yummy all over again. Note to self: Publix frozen yogurt is almost as good as Ben & Jerry's and comes in WAY MORE flavors. Better make room in the freezer.
Back to the camper at 10:30 (after all, Sunny's been by herself for a few hours now, and we're both sure she's ready for another potty break), and I am certainly looking forward to another cool shower and alcohol rub-down. Why did Noah save the chiggers, anyway?? What good purpose could they POSSIBLY serve?
Till tomorrow....
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