08/04 to 08/18 - Croton Point Park-2

CROTON POINT'S RV PARK

The weather continues hot and humid with threats of late afternoon thundershowers. This blog will chronicle my first week here at CPP and keep things short and sweet. It's been a busy week.
Monday, Caddy and I traveled to the dealership in Poughkeepsie for reprogramming the power steering module. The icing on that cake was meeting daughter, Marybeth for lunch. The timing was perfect for her to meet me at Panera's just as I was completing my paperwork. As an added surprise, Carlo was able to join us. Monday night was Appetizer Monday down in Hastings at Sakura. Sushi chef, Alex is now working in the kitchen as father-in-law and kitchen chef is now "officially" retired. Still, and as busy as they were, he created my three appetizers:

Three thick, partially cut, sauteed eggplant slices with a
pressed grilled shrimp between. This "sandwich was
drizzled with a sweet sauce.

Three grilled scallops in a spicy, tangy sweet sauce.

And finally, three lightly breaded sauteed shrimp
and pineapple chunks in another yet delicious sauce.

Not liking the sound my Caddy was making when brakes were applied, I stopped by American Cycle where I have all my work done. Turns out, the brakes are fine (just installed in December); it was the $trutS that need replacing. With 122,000+ miles on the vehicle, it was probably time. The visit did have an unexpected surprise however. Also present was long time, fellow teacher/retiree, Chuck, a former social studies teacher at BMMS. Together with Robin and Dave (both former students), it made for a very pleasant "reunion."

Chuck Dave ACR

Chuck Robin ACR

Wednesday was Winnie's turn to travel to a dealership. This time the Mercedes dealership in White Plains. Wanting most of the day for myself I ventured forth early so I could travel Route 9, I-287 eastbound and the downtown White Plains traffic during commuter hour. How cool am I? Believe it or not, the trip was (unusually) uneventful. Arrived about 8:45 am and had the "Service Campaign" for Sprinter vehicles taken care of:  updating the engine Control Unit (ECU) software. I'm sure now I can rest easy knowing engine fires shouldn't be a concern. C'mon, what are the chances of that happening!! The treat for this Wednesday evening's dinner will be a trip to Sakura with friends Craig and Trish who, as mentioned, occupy the site right next door. 

 

These tasty treats were special. I mentioned to Craig that on Wednesdays I let sushi chefs, Evan or Alex, create an "Anything Roll" whereby they go with whatever ingredients they want and present it, as usual, in a most artistic and appealing manner. A sushi lover himself, he went along with it and the results were well worth it and much to our liking.

Friday introduced me to a new wrinkle: items in my refrigerator were freezing. Problem arose when I lowered the thermostat to achieve a happy medium. The motor turned off and remained off. After checking hours later, the food in the freezer began to feel "spongy". Turning the thermostat back up to max would finally kick in but much later. Not taking any chances, all foods were removed and brought back home (fortunately, a 10 minutes drive) and put into my freezer. I'm in contact with the dealership in Iowa for a possible solution; a new thermostat is needed. I've check area authorized Winnebago dealers for service and found: a)  the closest are at least and hour and a half away; b) they're all too busy tending those who've bought their motor home through them and cannot take on "new" customers, and; c) none pre-order parts without their diagnosing and troubleshooting the situation which would require leaving my motor home "perhaps for weeks" while they go back and forth with the manufacturer of the unit. Frustrating to say the least. Things are looking good, however, I'm working with Anders, from Lichtsinn where I purchased and he indicated that "jumping through some hoops" we can get a non-authorized repair shop to do the work. A call to him on Monday will tell the tale. More about that in future posts.

Saturday? A washout. And next week much of the same. I took a video of the torrential downpour that passed through about 8:00 am. You can view that on VIDEO HERE on YouTube. Another video I made was a fascinating observation I made as I approached my rig. There, before me, was a dangling leaf being softly buffeted by barely noticeable air currents and suspended by an invisible silken thread. How did it come to be? Which came first, the leaf or the silken thread? And, finally, how did they become one? Thoughts to ponder when you have too much time on your hands. That video, also on YouTube, can be VIEWED HERE. 

Another observation that will give you a chuckle has to do with the "clowder" or "glaring" of 8 or 9 feral cats that roam the area around the dumpsters. 

What sign? There's six more hiding in the bushes.

They do make themselves right at home anytime
anywhere. There was another ahead and to the
left. Time? 10:00 pm

And so ends my first week here at CPP. Looking forward to the next one. Same life style, same schedules but it's so different when you're in a different environment and mindset. Till next time, take care and stay dry.