Day #20 – Leaving Disney

Walt Disney World FL to Sarasota FL

Packing up after a longer stay is a new experience for us.  Thank heavens we started last night!  We’re starting to get a rhythm to this.  I pack up the bathroom and the bedroom.  Then, I go outside and do all the flushing and draining and disconnecting.  It’s a dirty job, but easier on me physically than all the heavy lifting stuff that Kelly does inside.  This time it was a bit more challenging than usual because we knew the trailer would have to be nearly empty when we delivered it to the dealer for service.  So, clothes came out of the wardrobe and drawer and into a suitcase while items we knew we wouldn’t need until we returned to the Open Road got packed away.

Our drive to Sarasota was pretty much like our other towing days.  It’s a lot easier to pull out of a parking space than it is to back into one!  Walt Disney World property, with its maze of roads, can get pretty confusing.  Maggie (our trusty GPS) can’t tell the difference between a public road and an access road.  So, we were happy we’d been driving around enough over the past week to get a pretty good mental map of where we had to go to get onto the highway.  Traffic was very heavy the whole way.  We stay in the far right lane, keeping it just under 60 miles per hour, which means we sometimes have truck issues.  We got stuck in a convoy – four big dump trucks hauling gravel.  Even though each bed was covered with tarps, stones were flying everywhere.  Naturally, a stone hit our windshield and cracked it.  It grew longer, giving us lively conversation for the rest of the trip.  How long would it get?  Would the windshield fall into my lap?  Would our insurance cover it?  What would happen next?  Clearly the universe has been quite creative so far.

I love Sarasota.  Driving into town felt like coming home.  Blue skies, a faint breeze, warm air.  There’s nothing like it.  Maureen saw us pull down the street and came over to greet us.  The folks next door came out, too.  We quickly unloaded our gear into the garage and took off for Port Charlotte and the RV repair shop.

We somehow managed to complete all these tasks before sunset.  We had supper at one of our favorite spots – Sharkey’s on the Pier (http://www.sharkysonthepier.com/).  Fresh hope for a new day comes easily after fish tacos and a sunset at Sharkey’s.

But wait: there’s more!  The day did not end here.  Our next stop was Wal-Mart for a TV.  After ten years with Kelly, I’ve learned when to just get out of the way.  No, I didn’t want a TV.  Yes, we got a TV.  Flat screen, slightly larger than an index card.  TV was one of the things I wanted to get away from on this journey, but more about that on another day.

Day #19 – Our Last Day at Disney

Walt Disney World, Florida

We were both pretty mopey this morning. Last day at Disney and we really aren’t ready to go. I mean who really wants the magic to end? We went to the shops in Downtown Disney to return some clothes for some smaller sizes, and treated ourselves to ice cream sundaes at Ghirardelli. Then we packed up some of the inside stuff in the trailer to prep ourselves for an early take-off in the morning.

After running around and exhausting ourselves, we had to remind ourselves that this IS the LAST day at Disney! We hopped a bus to the Magic Kingdom. It was a late pass night for hotel guests and the park wasn’t closing until Midnight.

We rode the Haunted Mansion, and Thunder Mountain, and then headed over to the big one – Splash Mountain. I’ve always liked Splash Mountain, because inside the mountain you float around singing about laughing places and watching the tale of Brer Rabbit unfold. Brer Rabbit stories have been one of my favorites since I was five. As you come out of a tunnel your log floats in a track that curves around edge of the ride, and you get to watch other riders in their logs plummet into the depths of the “Briar Patch”.

Right now, being our last night, we were in need of a laughing place. Well, we found it. Those folks heading for that Briar patch kick up a lot of water and from the front seat of our log boat we got to see it ALL, and wear it ALL. We looked like two drowned rats. At first Suzie was pretty steamed, but I just couldn’t quit laughing. I had been foolish enough to look up as the water was falling, so most of what hit me went down the inside of my raincoat, and the front of my shirt, and then it soaked my underpants. It didn’t take her long to find her laughing place too.

We got off the ride singing Zippity Do Dah and had a great evening.

Day #16 - We Rock!

Walt Disney World, Florida

We have a friend, Phyllis, who is the Ginger Rogers of handy-woman tasks.  Back in 1999, when Kelly was rehabbing an apartment, Phyllis used to come over after work, in full professional garb, to help.  We had gotten her some white coveralls from Home Depot.  She’d don one of them over the business suit, stockings, and pumps, and then tackle the nastiest jobs.  On jobs that would gag a skunk, she just laughed and jumped in.  Just like Ginger, she could accomplish seemingly impossible tasks while wearing heels.

This morning, we were hoping Phyllis was sending us good vibrations.  Kelly decided to take the toilet apart.  I decided to not eat breakfast.  Generally, pooh makes me gag.  Poor Kelly always had to deal with dog droppings because just the thought of it would send me yakking.  (Can’t believe I’m even writing this!)  Anyway, Kelly decided there’d be less mess to clean up if she did the dismantling.  She is the bravest woman I know. 

If you dare, think about what a recycling toilet does and how it works.  You put about three gallons of water in it prior to using it.  You add about a half cup of chemicals.  Then, you make your biological deposits into the toilet.  The “flush” button causes a motor to churn up the contents inside the toilet container.  There’s a gauge to tell you when you’ve made so many deposits that the toilet must be emptied into the campground’s sewer system.

Now, if you’re still feeling daring, think about what the toilet would be like after 13 years of use. By strangers.  Both of us wore disposable gloves.  I had dozens of disinfectant towels unwrapped.  The necessary tools were laid out with nearly surgical precision.  We were ready.

Kelly had quite a bit of trouble getting the upper part of the toilet unscrewed from the bottom part.  There were four obvious screws on the top of the unit, but who knew there were two screws hidden under the front lip?!?  Luckily, she found them before she broke the rim.  The gasket sealing the bottom and top parts together was indeed ready for replacement.   She removed it and handed it to me.  I wiped it and wiped it with disinfectant towels until it was clean.  Then, I put it in a zipper baggie.  Meanwhile, she cleaned the inside of that toilet until it gleamed…well, as much as any 13-year-old plastic toilet can gleam.

We disposed of our disposable gloves.  We washed our hands about 20 times.  Then, we high-fived each other and headed to the Camping Connection (9140 W. highway 192, Kissimmee FL 34747), an RV service store.

When we got there, we walked the aisles for a few minutes, trying to get a feel for the place.  We started by asking for a fuse for the battery.  The guy walked around the counter, went down an aisle we’d already visited, and brought the fuse back to us.  Then we placed a water valve on the counter and asked to purchase two more.  That got a raised eyebrow and a trip to the back of the store.  He put those on the counter for us.  Then, we put the baggie with the gasket on the counter and asked for a new one.  His jaw, plus those of the two other guys, dropped.  Visibly.  There’s nothing like sewer stuff to get you instant respect.  This part had to be ordered.

They gave us great customer service.  They found the drawings for our toilet in their online material and printed it out for us.  They put a rush on the order for the new gasket.  They talked with us for nearly an hour about our other problems and answered all our questions.

We returned to our trailer and Kelly reinstalled the old gasket in the toilet so we would have emergency “service” until the new part arrived.  I made a Christmas wreath for the trailer and hung some ornaments from our awning.  Kelly put a decal map of the United States on the back of the trailer so that fellow travelers would be able to see which states we’ve visited. 

That evening, we joined other campers at the nightly campfire and movie event.  We donated some marshmallows and sticks for roasting to some kids and watched The Jungle Book.

A day that started with uncertainty and worry ended with a stronger bond to the RV community, a stronger sense of our strength and ability, and a lot more self confidence.

Day #13 – Another Leaky Valve

Tuesday December 8, 2009 – Day #13
Walt Disney World

We have another leaky valve!  How exciting is that!  Unlike some RV owners with leaky valves, we have a replacement tucked away for just such a day.  I teased Kelly: at this rate, we’d soon be tossing out all our belongings and carrying only a TV (yet to be purchased) and a spare for every part on this beloved trailer.  She thought that might just be a good idea.

Kelly has always insisted that nothing bad every happens at Disney.  Maybe that’s why she likes it here so much.  But, this litany of broken stuff is beginning to add up:
•    Leaky drain valve for the city (fresh) water line
•    Leaky toilet gasket
•    New clamp that was supposed to hold the trailer closed – pops open on the first bump
•    Old clamp on the same end pops open when the new one pops open
•    Tail light doesn’t work on one side
•    Backup light doesn’t work on one side
•    Furnace doesn’t work
•    Radio doesn’t work
•    Thermostat seems to think it’s 90F inside

I got pretty down about all this.  We weren’t keeping up with chores and we weren’t having enough fun.  It seemed as though the repairs were ruling our lives.  I was worried that we wouldn’t have enough money each month to take care of ourselves, plus keep the trailer running.  I didn’t want to stop, but the romance was quickly evaporating.  Each evening, I was chanting, “Each new day gives me fresh hope.”  This trip to Disney was anything but a vacation.

Somewhere along the line, I got my stubborn going.  I love this little trailer with the cushions from Carolyn, Kelly’s beautiful floor, and our home made curtains.  Despite the yuk, we’re dealing with most of the problems quite nicely.  And, if I trust the universe, maybe the money will work itself out.

We’re handling the mechanical problems pretty well, but the electricity has us stumped.  We're still in denial about the krapp leaking from our toilet.  We talked about finding a dealer in the Sarasota area and headed to a roller coaster.

Day #12 – Discovery of Serious Yuk

Monday December 7, 2009 – Day #12
Walt Disney World, Florida

There is nothing as exciting as waking up in Disney. Everything is here is perfect or as near to perfect as one can get. The sky is blue, the birds are singing, and there is a bus that leaves every 15 minutes to take you someplace wonderful. Nothing bad ever happens at Disney. Until today.

Today there is brown goo oozing out of the top seam of our recirculating toilet. I’m not going to pretend that I don’t know what it is, because I do know. I know exactly what that crap is and it isn’t pretty. Instead I’m going to pretend that it isn’t happening. This is not happening. I am at Disney and bad shit does NOT happen here.

After wiping down the offending piece of equipment with disinfecting wipes, we vow to use the restrooms provided by the campground. We will only use our toilet for piddle emergencies only. Paper in the trash and nobody flushes. We are in denial and we are going to have fun dammit. WE ARE AT DISNEY!

Off to the Magic Kingdom!

Day #11 – Off to Disney World

Sunday December 6, 2009 – Day #11
Saint Mary’s Island GA to Walt Disney World FL

We are getting much better and tearing down and packing up. Had we not taken a bathroom break, we would have actually left on time! But due to all the excitement of camping at Disney today, one really must take the potty break!

No incidents to report. Really! It’s a magical morning.

We get to the park and proceed to check in. We have a reservation, but apparently they don’t have a campsite. The park is full. We are upgraded to a better site at no extra charge. Amazing customer service. Dare I say it? Yes. Magical. Supercalifragilistic even.

Suzie and I have been planning this particular stop for about a year. This whole journey really began with visiting this campground in 2002. We had stayed at the Wilderness Lodge and had come to the campground for a dinner show. We arrived early and spent the afternoon riding around in a rented golf cart. The trailers in the park came in all shapes and sizes and were all gussied up for Christmas. Disney patrons take their celebrations VERY seriously. Looking at how much fun the campers were having, and how beautiful the campground was made us want to do it someday.

But the one thing that stuck in my mind the most about that day was not the lights. It was not the beautiful shiny rigs, and the happy campers. It was one Dad. One Dad who was trying to back his trailer up into his campsite and had missed. Missed the driveway and was stuck in a very deep ditch. One dad who now had several dads trying to help him and one woman trying to kill him. And now I was here with our trailer and no clue how to back it up.

Up to this point all the campsites we have stayed in have been pull through. Well, except at Tuck in the Woods, but I had help there…and there wasn’t a moat around the parking pad. I steeled myself (and Suzie steeled herself, I’m sure) and we proceeded. It wasn’t working out very well. Think about Driver’s Ed. and learning to drive a stick shift. I was making these little short, jerky movements that were not getting anywhere close to the parking pad. Back up. Pull Forward. Back up... Finally, I gave up and took the drive of shame around the campsite loop to line up for another go at it.

While I was preparing for this second attempt. Suzie got help. Bless her. The camper at the site across from us came over and explained the whole concept to me. Basically you pass the site. Swing a little wide so you can see the back of your trailer, and then slowly follow your trailer back into the site. I know, it sounds easy. Actually, it was fairly simple. But try it. It is still intimidating.

After parking, we high fived, enjoyed our magical moment, and took ourselves to the Magic Kingdom.