Day 10, 11 - Orlando - TT

Thursday (10) - Today’s project was replacing the broken digital tv antenna. After removing the thick layer of Dicor, I was able to remove the antenna. It looks like there were multiple different antennae over the years based on the number of holes in the roof. Between the large hole and the cable is an aluminum roof beam so I wasn’t able to reroute the cable. 

After several hours of fitting the cable into the antenna housing and using Eternabond tape to cover the old holes in the roof, I now have better over-the-air reception as the antenna can be rotated from inside. All edges and screw heads were covered with Dicor. 

I have one more roof project but I’ll do it tomorrow.!

Friday (11) - By 11am it was already over 70°F. So back up to the roof to replace the plumbing vent covers with 360 siphon vent covers. Directions were provided to reuse certain types of old covers so that is what I did. The Gorilla Glue seemed to work on the plastic but I may add some more glue later. They recommended Sikaflex but all I have is the large tube. I didn't want to open it for such a small project.

Another task was some minor battery maintenance. The positive terminal was heating up with high current. After cutting power to the battery, I removed the cables and cleaned the mating surfaces. They didn’t look that dirty. Something else to monitor…

BTW, this is the first RV park we’ve been to since returning to the RV in September, that had their pool and hot tub open. Everywhere else considered it “winter”. So this is appreciated.

Day 9 - Epcot Again

We went to Epcot again and just went on a couple of older rides without significant lines. I also made a dinner reservation at the sit-down Mexican restaurant. In general, sit-down restaurants are my preference. It feels more crowded today than yesterday. 

One of the rides we went on took us through examples of sustainable growing. We also went on Soaring which was basically the same as Disney’s California Adventure. 

We left Epcot shortly after dinner, to take Bridget to a hotel near the Orlando airport. Her flight to Fairbanks is early tomorrow morning. 

Day 8 - Epcot

At 6:59:59AM, I tried joining the virtual queue for Remy’s Ratatouille’s Adventure ride in Epcot. I believe it just opened last month. It was a 3D ride with trackless cars. In other words, you didn’t follow the car in front of you through the ride. It was cool but I don’t think I need to ride it again. 

We then had lunch in the Canada section. I had, what else, the poutine. It was a special version with turkey and cranberry sauce w/turkey gravy. It was tasty. We waited in a slow line for some maple popcorn in a souvenir bucket that we can refill inexpensively. Or at least the Disney version of inexpensive. 

We spent the after walking through the different countries with street performers such as this in tbe Italy section. The offerings really varied by country. We watched a movie in the Canadian section and Japan had an exhibit of “cute culture”.

We rode Test Track, Space Ship Earth, and Imagination and I had poké at a Hawaiian food booth. Delicious. We were back at the RV by around 8:15 or so. A full day with ~16k steps.  

Day 6, 7 - Enroute to Orlando - HH

Sunday (6) - This sign was at the Florida Welcome Center, which was closed. Does that mean that we aren’t welcome? This was definitely the most challenging travel day to date. About 300 miles almost all of it on a very crowded I-95. Traveling at the end of a holiday weekend was probably not the best idea. Most of the cars had Florida plates so they were probably returning home after their long weekend. Lots of congestion, slow downs, broken down vehicles but mostly too many people!

We stopped at a Blue Beacon truck wash and had the RV washed. It was $48 including RainX for the windows. A very reasonable price and we waited in line for around an hour.

We are in a church parking lot in DeLand, FL, which is part of Harvest Host. They ask for a donation to their food program which we did online. Tomorrow, we have another 51 miles to the Orlando TT park where we will be for a couple of weeks. We left at around 9:30 and arrived here at around 5:15 or just before sunset. A long day…

Monday (7) - Went for a walk into town about ¾ of a mile each way. It was only 61°F but it feels hot. We timed it pretty well. Check-in at the TT park is at noon (and not even 1 minute before!) and we arrived at 12:02pm and got in line. 

We were set up by 12:45 and it’s 68°F and sunny. I’m not going to complain about that. One minor maintenance item, the positive battery terminal for the house batteries warms up when a lot of current is put through it. Not a lot but ~115°F. It looks like the terminal needs cleaning. While here, I have a couple of other tasks on the roof. It’s supposed to be in the high 70s by the end of the week. That may be a good time. 

We then ventured into Disney Springs to pick up our passes. We had dinner at The Chicken Guy, one of Guy Fieri’s restaurants (actually fast food). The chicken was good though the teriyaki dipping sauce was only okay.