The Adventures of Me & My Shadow #29 in AL, GA, SC, NC,
VA, MD & DE 3/30/99
only 1,330 miles, odometer reading now 35,049.
From Maryland, Hi Everyone!
Good news! I finally got rid of the computer virus. My friend
Bob McCarthy in Lillian, AL has a friend, Vernon Smith who knows
a lot more about computers than I do. He had a laptop computer
with Windows95 and a modem, I used it to down load the program
from the Internet, then he had a program called Slice that let
us copy the program to seven floppy disks and a program called
Splice (on disk#1) that allowed me to copy the files to my hard
drive. The virus fought me every inch of the way. If I was slow
in switching the disks, the virus would infect the floppy disk.
I would then have to put the floppy disk in my new computer and
rid it of the virus and start all over. After some practice I
was able to get the program installed on my old computer. The
Anti virus program fixed my computer and also made me feel good.
I think it even was good for the head cold that Gus has, but he
still needs to blow his nose. After a nice visit and some good
chow I put Gus in charge with the old computer and headed to Myrtle
Beach, SC. Had some rain and didn't have to worry about the sun
in my eyes.
Every time I have traveled through Atlanta, GA in the GMC I have
seen an accident, not first hand, by the time I got there the
ambulance and Tow trucks were doing their thing. This time was
no exception, a big computer controlled sign over the highway
told me there was an accident on I 20, I saw where it had been.
In watching the traffic I discovered why they have accidents in
GA. They have different rules, they don't use turn signals to
change lanes. They think when they see a signal light they should
close up any gap there is, the only drivers I saw signal for a
lane change were truck drivers and out of state drivers. The GA
drivers will speed up or slow down till they find a gap big enough
for them to move into, they don't dare signal their intention
or the gap will disappear. I think they are happy with me as I
always leave a big gap in front of me. They dart into it from
both sides with out signaling Maybe the traffic behind me are
unhappy with me for letting all the cars into the lane ahead of
me. I did make one GA driver very unhappy, I was running with
a string of traffic in the outside lane. We came to a slow poke
and the two cars in front of me didn't signal but swung out to
pass. I looked in the mirror and saw a nice new car coming fast
in the left lane. I put my signal on and moved over, he had a
fit, he honked his horn, blinked his lights and started to go
over on the shoulder, there was not enough room so all at once
he realized he had a brake peddle and he showed a little consideration,
not for me but for the paint job on that nice new car. I wonder
if he will remember what those signal lights are for? If I had
been any where else I would have let him go by before I pulled
over.
The RV park here in Myrtle Beach is very nice (1900 sites). However,
the first morning here I got up and there was a thick layer of
frost on every thing, I was thinking about heading back to FL.
After driving over 3,000 miles the tranny is still doing like
it is supposed to do, so I have come to the conclusion that it
had some contamination in it to cause it to act up and it just
happened to clear it self when I started it up after overhauling
the ignition switch. I have reconnected the wire from the kick
down switch to the tranny and I get no kick down but I can live
with that till I have time to check it out. Now that I have two
computers I have decided to use two navigators on the trip to
VA Beach, VA Gus is on the old computer & Gertrude is on the
new computer. I told them both to find the fastest way to VA Beach,
they each had a different opinion for the fastest way to VA Beach.
I had to get them Both on the same road so I told them how I wanted
them to go. Gus accepted my way with no questions asked but pig
headed Gertrude would not fall in line, She would not go the way
I wanted to go, I was about to tell her to go to hell but I figured
I could work with her and eventually she would see it my way.
I finally got her to use the same roads that Gus was using but
she kept insisting on going into a different RV park to the north
of us to get out to the highway. I put a "way point"
at the entrance to the park I am in and I'll be damned, she goes
out to the highway trough the other park then goes south on the
highway, makes a U-turn in front of the entrance to the park we
are in and then goes north at a high rate of speed to catch up
with Gus & me. I've known some stubborn women in my life but
she takes the prize. I just hope that I can make it to VA Beach
with out her giving me any more trouble. Again, in comparing her
map with Gus's, her map is letter perfect and Gus's leaves a lot
to be desired. If I could just get her to be a little more friendly
it would make my life a whole lot better. I moved the way point
at the entrance into the park a little way and now we are all
on the same track. The only problem left is her not having amplified
speakers like Gus has, When she finds this out she'll be fit to
be tied. The speaker cord was not long enough to reach her computer.
I have been busy helping a couple friends with front suspension
problems, Rudy Domingo from Maine and Bob Oltman from Florida.
I have the tools they need and like every one else here I offer
my advice. It is raining this morning but the weather is supposed
to improve, so we should have them both ready to roll before the
week is over.
We finished Bob's coach on Wednesday, We had to wait for a part
to be repaired at a shop in town. I now hope everyone, including
me, get to their next destination with no problems. If you have
to have trouble with a GMC motorhome it's best to have it at a
rally, there will always be lots of advice, help, tools, parts
and spectators available. The temperature at the park was always
way below my comfort zone of 80 degrees and we had some rain but
I did get a sunburn on my cheeks and ears. I should have been
in the shade down under the coaches we were working on but I let
the younger guys have the shade and I stood in the sun, offered
advice and handed them tools.
Again, I learned some things about the GMC and have some new ideas
to try on mine. Had some good chow and had fun playing BINGO,
I finally bingoed in the first game of the last day. I thought
that for once I would come out ahead, but no, someone else also
bingoed and I had to split the $15 prize so after paying $10 to
play I still came out $2.50 in the red, some day I hope to win
big.
The trip to VA Beach, VA with two navigators went well, I expected
to have trouble with Gertrude when she found out that Gus had
amplified speakers and she did not. She kept mumbling something
but I couldn't hear her so she may have been cussing me. I got
my son Dave looking for a voice activated relay that will cut
off the music when Gertrude or Gus start to say something. If
I get it and Gertrude finds out that the music stops when she
talks she probably will talk all the time. If I can get all of
her CD Rom disks copied to the hard drive I plan to let her be
in charge on the trip to California next month. After a short
visit in Virginia Beach and some lessons from my grandnieces &
grandnephew on how to play the card game "Rook" I headed
north to the eastern shore. When I got to the toll gate for the
bridge tunnel I handed the attendant $13.00, The female attendant
insisted that I pay $18.00 and like Gertrude, she would not listen
to what I was saying. The security guard came over and told her
to return my $13.00 and for me to make a U-turn and take my argument
into the office. To make a long story short, I paid $13.00 and
got an apology from her. I felt like asking her for a seniors
discount also, but decided to quit while I was ahead.
Till next time, Dallas or Dad if it fits. 3/30/99