Our morning walk took us by the little Nature Center first. The front door was open, so we went in.
Many of the displays were the sorts of things we've seen before, like animal pelts and antlers. One striking display was this coyote with prey dangling from its mouth.
We did find one really surprising exhibit--an array of unusual handcrafted kaleidoscopes. When we asked why it was there, the staff member said just that they had been there when she arrived.
We went on to the marina and then to hike along the Beach Trail--another muddy trail that led to a large sandy beach. It continued, but our time didn't, so we turned around and went back to our campsite.
We finished hitching up and drove to the dump station to empty our tanks, a process we've done frequently. This time, however, something did not go as usual. We were unable to close the black water dump valve despite all our efforts. Both valves have been difficult to operate, but we recently used some valve conditioner and silicone spray, and the valves had been operating more freely. We decided to go on and plan to have repairs done in the DC area.
On the road, while Ken was driving, I called the park we're staying at while visiting Terri and family--Cherry Hill. They gave me the number of a mobile RV repair person that works at the park. I decided to call Peterson's to see if any special parts would need to be ordered from the manufacturer. Ralph in the service department assured me that it took standard parts that should be available anywhere.
Armed with this information, I decided to call Huston's Hickory Hollow, the park where we are staying the next two nights. On the phone I got the names and phone numbers of two mobile repair people. When I pressed the woman as to recommendations, she said that Jason was well liked, so I called Jason's number. His wife answered and said she expected him home from work at 3:00 p.m. She'd have him call.
A couple of minutes later, Jason called. It turned out that he'd gone home for lunch. We talked about our problem and our time frame. We didn't know if the issue was the valve or the cable. He was skeptical, since he figured if he needed a cable he'd have to order one. He also said from the looks of the entry in his catalog, the cable and valve came together as one assembly. I thanked him for his trouble and thought we'd go back to plan A and wait until we got to Cherry Hill.
As I thought about the situation, I decided to call Ralph at Peterson's again. He assured me that the valve was a standard 3" Valterra valve. The cable could be attached to any valve, right where the standard T-handle would fit. Armed with this information, I called Jason back, but he'd returned to work, so his wife said he'd call when he got home.
Meanwhile, we were driving on the Pennsylvania turnpike, which was slowed by lots of construction. The narrow lanes with no shoulders made driving more stressful. Then it began to rain, and in short order we were in a downpour. Even with the wipers at high speed, we could hardly see the roadway or the truck ahead of us.
Then we came to the final tollbooth as we exited the turnpike. As we pulled away, we heard a very alarming screeching noise. It was still pouring, but we pulled over and checked for damage. We didn’t see any, so we went on, but the rain got worse. We saw a convenience store that used to have gas pumps but now had only the shelters. We pulled under and parked. I ran back to the trailer and grabbed my raincoat and climbed the ladder to see if there had been any damage to the roof.
Not finding any problem, we drove on after the rain subsided. Now we were only a few minutes from our campground. Jason called back as we were waiting at the counter to register. He agreed to come to the campground. We proceeded to our site and unhitched and attached all the hookups.
About that time, Jason pulled up (that's his red truck in the photo). Surprisingly, he has worked on many Excels, because a group of Excel owners has an annual event at Hickory Hollow, during which he is in great demand. He talked about the great construction features of the Excel, even as he was lying under the rig removing the access panel and taking the old valve out.
The valve turned out to be the problem. Jason replaced it—a job that requires dexterity and attention to detail. When he finished that, we mentioned that we’d been having trouble with our gray water valve too. He didn’t have a 1 ½ inch valve with him, but he agreed to check and lubricate the current valve, which required removing it. It was a real bear to reinstall. During all this process, Jason remained positive and focused.
We think it took him an hour and a half to do the job, and the entire bill, parts and service, was only $80. We were amazed at our good luck in getting a great job at a great price in a timely, friendly manner.
We are planning to go to Flight 93 Memorial tomorrow
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