Am suffering a bit from contra dance withdrawal. This last weekend dance was a heck of a lot of fun, because of the dancing itself, as well as the people who were with and around me. Now it is over and it is a bit sad here.....

    That being said... life goes on, so it was up pretty early this morning. Had a quick breakfast and then went out to check on the hot water heater and see if there was a way to get the old Temp and Pressure valve out without having to go out and buy$20-$40 worth of tools. As it was, I managed with only the tools I already had in the old tool box. Had to remove some heat shrouding, but once it was out of the way I was able to get in there with a big pair of channel locks that I have. and twist it right out of there. The fact that it was replaced about 3 years ago, and that I had wrapped that one with Teflon tape, probably helped.

   Once that was out I was also going to pop the old anode out and replace that, since the tank needed to be drained anyway. Alas; I had bought a new socket, 1 1/16" dia, a few weeks ago, but what I didn't know is that I had no drive ratchet or breaker bar of the right size to hook it to. Bummer!!!!

    Packed up the truck, grabbed the old valve and headed out to the closest 'Camping World' store, which was about 30 miles away in a town called Gainsville. Made it there with no problem and asked a floor person if they had any of these valves in stock.... and of course they didn't. She did suggest that I go ask this old crusty salesman to see if he knew where I could find one near by. He did better than that though by going back in the store room and digging around until he found one that would work. So I am now set to get that installed.

   Also picked up a new exterior cap for the power cord for the trailer. Have thought for several years that the little door 'flappy' thing was going to blow off at some point, because it seemed a little loose, and that is exactly what happened on my way up to Atlanta. So I need to remove the 3 screws holding the old one and get the new one put back on.

   Of course while I was at the RV place it seemed like a good idea to actually check out a few of their new trailers since I will likely need something newer in the next year or two. They had 3 that met all of my requirements and then some. Mostly what I am looking for is the same general layout of my current trailer, but I am really craving a nice chair inside in which to read.... and likely fall asleep in once in a while. I also really want a better, or bigger, shower. The ones I looked at were brand new of course, where as I will likely be looking for a slightly used one, but even at that they weren't horribly expensive when you consider that it is actually my home. So even new, the cost was going to be somewhere between $20k and $32k plus tax and license. Will keep my eye out for one that is used and a lot cheaper. Even one of my sisters had seen one that would of worked and it was going for under $10k.

    Had to go find a Lowe's or Home Depot, after the RV store, in order to find a drive socket and extension. They of course had plenty of models to choose from, most of them in the $40-$50 range. That seemed a bit steep for a tool that I would likely only need once every couple of years, so I was a little hesitant to put out that much money for this. So I hunted the aisles a little bit more and ran across a close out item that was a LED lighted 1/2" drive, along with a lighted set of two short extensions, both for about $20. So that is what I got.

    I'm currently sitting in McDonald's catching up on computer stuff that was ignored over the last couple of days. A little bit more time here and then I'm headed back to the trailer. Not sure if I'll get everything back together yet today, but it won't take long once I get a start on it. The only thing left to do today is pack up the trailer a bit, do the dishes and be ready to get on the road bright and early tomorrow morning.