Yesterday was a fairly lazy day. I had a couple of chores to attend to, but nothing big. The night before, I sat in the Euro-recliner and felt it tilt to the side a bit. I thought one of the legs must be on the heater vent. I moved the chair and sat down. Crunch! One of the legs went askew. The bolt that holds the lower portion of the leg had backed out. The last few threads of the bolt stripped when I put my weight on the chair.

Stuff happens when your home frequently rolls down the road. Things like furniture are subjected to vibrations that they aren’t necessarily designed for. I went to Ace hardware and bought two replacement bolts – one for the repair and one to have as a spare. It was an easy fix.

After the chair fix, I read for a while. I went online and joined the Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA). I’m not sure if we’ll see much benefit from FMCA, but I joined in order to be eligible for the Alpine Coach Association (ACA). ACA is a chapter of FMCA – you must be a member of FMCA before you can join ACA.

ACA provides a lot of support for Alpine Coach owners. They schedule several rallies every year. We’re planning to sign up and attend the event in Portland, Oregon in August. It will be a good opportunity to meet other Alpine Coach owners and learn more about our coach.

After I showered, it was time to dump the tanks. I had the gray water valve closed over the weekend to build up some gray water. After I dump and flush the black water tank, I like to run gray water through the sewer hose. Soapy gray water is always my final flush. After I opened the door to the wet bay, my neighbor came over and started talking to me. I was sociable, but I really don’t like interruptions when I’m doing things like setting up, breaking camp or dumping tanks. So I stopped what I was doing and we talked for a while.

We talked about some of the other interesting people in the park. I found out that Forrest, the guy I helped retrieve a wrench from his engine compartment, isn’t 70 years old like I thought. He’s actually 87 years old! Donna and I talked about this once. What is it about the RV lifestyle? Do older people gravitate towards it? Or, does the relatively stress-free lifestyle contribute to long life? It’s one of those chicken or egg type questions that can’t be answered.

Around 4pm, I rode the scooter over to Lucky Lou’s. I saw the usual suspects out on the patio. I sat and ordered a Guinness stout in honor of St. Patrick’s day. I arranged to borrow Mike Hall’s Jeep on Wednesday to pick up Donna’s bike from the bike shop. I’ll also use it to go to the Handlebar Grill Wednesday evening to meet up with Andy King and enjoy some live bluegrass performances.

The people at the next table on the patio were obviously very intoxicated. I couldn’t handle how noisy and obnoxious they were. I guess I’m getting old. I finished my pint of Guinness and departed. I went to the Red, White and Brew Bar and Grill for a traditional St. Patrick’s day meal of corned beef and cabbage with potatoes and carrots.

The plate was good, but it doesn’t compare with Donna’s traditional St. Patrick’s day plate. Every year, Donna makes corned beef, cabbage, champ (Irish mashed potatoes blended with scallions) and Irish soda bread. She’s at her folks’ house near Albany, New York this week, so I settled for the plate on offer at the Brew. It’s the first time since I met Donna that I went out for St. Patrick’s day dinner.

Today, the temperature will reach about 80 degrees, as it has for the past several days. This morning I’ll start on the washing and waxing job. I’ll start by washing and waxing the rear cap. Once I see how that goes, I’ll decide on how to proceed.

Later, I’ll go for a bike ride, then hang out at the pool.