Searching for The Thermometer

After we returned from the first trip, Penny bought me a remote thermometer which can be mounted on the exterior of the trailer and sends the outside temerature to a display inside. We have one at home and it works well. We figured that since we’ll be travelling in winter this time, knowing the outside temperature would be useful.

Before we departed I attached the mounting bracket on the front of the trailer in a place where it would be in the shade.  Since I didn’t want the sending unit to fall off when we were on the road, I either asked Penny to put it somewhere in the front luggage compartment, or put it in the front luggage compartment myself, (which of us did it is a matter of dispute, since neither of us remember doing it) to be clipped in place whenever we stopped for the night.

Our first night out I asked Penny for the sending unit so I could clip it onto the trailer. Uh oh. Neither she nor I had a clue where it was. We searched every luggage compartment on the trailer and couldn’t find the sending unit, which, by the way, was sending the temperature to the inside display, we just had no idea where it was sending from.

The next night we emptied everything from all three compartments, and searched inside the trailer. Still no luck, but the unit was still sending temperatures.

Then, when we arrived in Savannah, we stopped at a Camping World RV store to pick up a few things. They had the same thermometer on sale for $20. I said “the only way we’ll find the original is to buy a replacement,” so we bought a new unit which is now mounted on the trailer.

The next day, still in Savannah, we decided to do our laundry. The laundry supplies are kept in a laundry basket in the front storage compartment, and we had gone through that laundry basket several times looking for the sending unit. But apparently not thoroughly enough. Penny picked up one of the laundry bags we keep in there and said “what’s this?” holding a small, grey object. Of course, it was the original sending unit for the thermometer. So now we have two remote thermometers. I guess it’s always good to have a spare.

A Tree Grows in Wilmington

We left as scheduled Sunday morning and are now in Wilmington, NC. We had lunch today Jackson's Big Oak Barbecue. We happened to be passing by at lunchtime and I like to sample regional barbecue, especially in the south. We pulled into the parking lot, and at the rear of the restaurant was the biggest oak tree I've ever seen. It's a live oak and it's branches must spread 150 feet from one end to another. The trunk is probably 20 feet around. I don't know the whole story, but this tree has got to be 200 years old. The restaurant has a letter posted from a gentleman who attended college in Wilmington long before the restaurant was built something like 50 years ago. He used to sit under that tree for solitude and inspiration, and after leaving Wilmington he heard that a restaurant was to be built on the property and was deeply concerned that the tree would be no more. Visiting Wilmington some years later, he was astonished to see the tree still standing in a protected area behind the restaurant parking lot.

The pork barbecue, coleslaw and hushpuppies were pretty good, but that tree is spectacular. Kudos to Mr. Jackson for sparing it.

BTW, I would spell barbeque with a "que" not a "cue" as above. However, the blogspot spellchecker apparently prefers "cue" and who am I to argue.

On the Road Again

We'll be heading out on our next adventure on Sunday, 11/15, and I'll resume blogging when we find something interesting. We'll be going south and southwest this time, with stops in North Carolina, Georgia, Florida and points west. If I run into Dubya while in Texas, I'll say "hi!"

I've managed to resurrect the dead laptop, and we've added broadband to our technology arsenal, so we may be better connected on this trip. We'll see if Verizon's "map for that" commercials are true, although I'm not sure what we'll do with all of those Verizon employees who will follow us around.