25 March ‘09 Wednesday
We’ve used our generator more than I thought we would during the rally in Perry. The solar panels were doing great, but when it comes time for the microwave, hair dryer, and the coffee pot, I thought it best to fire up the generator. Besides, you are supposed to run it about an hour a month. It should have a decent load on it, so with the rally going, it fit right in to run it. When leaving the fairgrounds at Perry and checking the tires for pressure, engine oil, and generator oil, I noticed that we had reached the time for the generator to be serviced. I’d already purchased the oil and filters to do the job, but before getting it done we stopped by Speedco in Jackson, Georgia. With Speedco, all you have to do is pull up to the door and they are ready for you… We pulled up, got the go ahead to pull in, and things got started. No sooner had it started and it stopped…the drain plug had been stripped and would not budge. They didn’t have another plug, if they were to get the stripped one out, so they really didn’t want to take the chance to do more damage. They wanted us to drive up to Atlanta and go to the Onan Service shop and they could handle the problem for us. When we pulled up to the door at Onan, they told us that they couldn’t do anything for us until Wednesday but if we wanted to stay, they had a spot for us to hookup. That was Monday, today is Wednesday and tomorrow we leave. In being able to stay here in their security area for free, it softened the blow for the difference we paid here versus the cost we would have paid at Speedco. After setting up the coach for our stay, we headed out to find some fresh veggies. Across I-75, we just happen to have the largest "Farmers Market" in the state,
We’ve used our generator more than I thought we would during the rally in Perry. The solar panels were doing great, but when it comes time for the microwave, hair dryer, and the coffee pot, I thought it best to fire up the generator. Besides, you are supposed to run it about an hour a month. It should have a decent load on it, so with the rally going, it fit right in to run it. When leaving the fairgrounds at Perry and checking the tires for pressure, engine oil, and generator oil, I noticed that we had reached the time for the generator to be serviced. I’d already purchased the oil and filters to do the job, but before getting it done we stopped by Speedco in Jackson, Georgia. With Speedco, all you have to do is pull up to the door and they are ready for you… We pulled up, got the go ahead to pull in, and things got started. No sooner had it started and it stopped…the drain plug had been stripped and would not budge. They didn’t have another plug, if they were to get the stripped one out, so they really didn’t want to take the chance to do more damage. They wanted us to drive up to Atlanta and go to the Onan Service shop and they could handle the problem for us. When we pulled up to the door at Onan, they told us that they couldn’t do anything for us until Wednesday but if we wanted to stay, they had a spot for us to hookup. That was Monday, today is Wednesday and tomorrow we leave. In being able to stay here in their security area for free, it softened the blow for the difference we paid here versus the cost we would have paid at Speedco. After setting up the coach for our stay, we headed out to find some fresh veggies. Across I-75, we just happen to have the largest "Farmers Market" in the state,
so we couldn't get there fast enough. We were told that they had good prices and great produce...well the test shows that they were right !!! While we were here we also had 2 other agendas to accomplish. Tuesday morning Louise called a cousin that she hasn’t seen in over 50 years. Ray lives just outside of the gates of Stone Mountain, and as luck would have it, we got an invite over to see him. Thanks to the GPS, we drove up to the front door without any trouble, a knock on that door and Ray and his 2 dogs were there to welcome us in. It was a great visit that got even better as each minute went by. Ray really made us feel at home. About 30 minutes into our visit we were joined by Dean, Ray’s son. Neither Louise nor I had ever met Dean but in a minute after he got there we really KNEW each other and liked every minute of it.
The thought of lunch came up and Dean suggested that we go to The Longhorn. Seeing as our car was “stuffed” with laundry and other things, we all got into Dean’s car. Lunch was really good, but the company was better but unfortunately too short. We have to say “Thanks” again to Dean for buying, and “Thanks” again to Ray for the hospitality…
Today we accomplished number 2 in our agenda. CNN Atlanta has been on “the list” for awhile now and today was set apart to get it done.
Today we accomplished number 2 in our agenda. CNN Atlanta has been on “the list” for awhile now and today was set apart to get it done.
Last week as we sat waiting for the “Balloon Glow” at the lake in Macon, we just happened to be sitting next to the Timko’s. It seems that Dave had purchased some new batteries for his camera, charged them and “something happened”…they were dead. I offered mine, but unfortunately he needed 4 instead of the 2 that I had. Well here we were sitting on the banks of the lake and meeting some more “strangers”… Dave, Laura, and their little daughter. It turns out that Dave is a Senior Editor and Producer for CNN and offered us a personal tour through the operations at CNN. Fact is, he is an “Emmy-award winning television journalist 4 times over for pieces like “Hurricane Katrina: Heroes of the Storm” in 2006. Well anyway, Louise and I took the standard CNN tour and then met up with Dave. After getting our visitor pass we were taken into the locations were things “take place” behind the scenes.
It was a kick to mix with everyone that makes CNN work and those that we see as the news correspondents. We really want to thank Dave for taking the time to show us around and we wish we could reciprocate some day, somewhere…
