Thu - 20 Feb/14

Up and out early this morning (8 a.m.). Charlotte skipped quilting to accompany me to Wally's Garage in Eustis, FL. The Del Sol blew out it's Air Conditioning Refrigerant a few days ago. My guess is that the Evaporator sprung a leak. I can't complain - the car is 19 years old.

I could change it; however, I don't have the equipment to evacuate the lines. Any air (moisture) in the lines would be fatal. Also, my back couldn't take the contortions required to dismantle the parts under the dash in the Del Sol. Wally comes well recommended. I made an appointment to do a pressure check tomorrow afternoon to determine the source of the leak. If I am correct and it is the evaporator I will have the heater core replaced at the same time as a preventative measure. It is also 19 years old and replacing it later would repeat the same process as replacing the evaporator. Might as well do it all at once.

We left before breakfast so IHOP, a few miles down the road, became our next destination. Being in before 9 a.m. allowed us to order the morning special.

After breakfast we crossed the road to the Lake Square Mall to access the Sun Trust ATM Drive-Thru for a "Cash Infusion". A local dealer was having an RV show in the mall parking lot. There were plenty of nice Class "A" Motorhomes.on display. I drooled; but, didn't stop.

We were now on our way to the Lake County Farmer's Market at the Fairgrounds in Eustis. This time of year it is open from 8 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Saying it was packed would be an understatement. It is not unusual to have upwards of 20,000 shoppers during the busiest times.

We finally found a spot to park at the farthest end of the expansive parking area and began our 10 minute walk (OK - I'm slow) to the fair building (on the horizon - grin).

This was our first time here. On entering I thought that it was large; but, not that large. I didn't realize that there were acres of tents, stands and trailers full of produce on the other side of the large building.

Needless to say (seems I always do - grin) - we found things we didn't know we needed and a few that we did come for. We bought 2 tapestry type wall hangings that have small coloured LED's embedded in the material that light up using 3 "AA" Batteries in a container hidden in the fabric. I thought they were really neat. How can you go wrong for $20 each.

My next moment of weakness found me purchasing a remote control rotating HD TV Antenna for the RV. Our current location is on the fringe for our antenna reception. Our antenna is an older design (pre-HD TV) that required an additional piece to receive HD TV. Changing channels requires turning the antenna to "Fine Tune" the channel otherwise it occasionally fades in and out. The price was right ($50) at about 1/3 the cost from am RV place and other places I have seen. I'll know in a few days when I have a change to hook it up if it was a good investment.

Even at a Farmer's Market - it pays to shop around. We purchased a whole flat of Strawberries for $12 compared to $16. Both offerings were from the same Florida grower. Unlike strawberries back home (Canada) at this time of year - these were juicy and red all the way through - not white in the center.

Again, it took 10 minutes just to walk back to the car at the far end of the fairgrounds. I have found, by experience, that a straight line is not always the shortest distance between two points. At our end of the fairgrounds there was a traffic jam (60 or more) trying to get out that exit. This exit was too close to the corner stoplight and turning lane to make it a viable option when there is a lot of traffic. Those in line in front of where I was parked hadn't moved in the 5 minutes it took me to unlock the doors, load the trunk, take off the top and prepare for departure. I left in the opposite direction passing at least 20 autos in our row alone that were headed in the opposite direction. At the other end of the fairgrounds there were only 5 cars in front of us. Bonus: we had an officer directing traffic. We were on our way in seconds.

We took the long way back to the RV park to avoid the traffic. On such a lovely day - why hurry?

Back at the RV we decided to turn on the A/C as it was now mid-80's F. Charlotte cleaned the strawberries preparing some for freezing (sliced and whole) and keeping some for the next few days. We then settled in to watch the USA vs Canada in the Women's Gold Medal Hockey game.

WHAT A GAME!

These are the 2 best women's hockey teams in the world and as they say...on any given night...

The USA scored 2 beautiful goals and were leading 2-0 with less than 4 minutes left in the 60 minutes of intense hockey. Canada then scored and cut the lead in half. With time running out Canada pulled their goalie for an extra forward. An attempted empty-netter that would have sealed gold for the Americans hit the post - Wow! Then, in the last minute Canada tied the score, sending the game into overtime.

A little over 8 minutes of unbelievable overtime hockey had us breathless. In overtime there are only 4 (compared to 5) forwards on the ice. This speeds the game up considerably. The action was intense with so many good scoring opportunities at each end...then...

Canada won Gold with a powerplay goal!

I could hear all the Canadians (about 25%) in the RV park cheering!

Canada's Women's Hockey Team has now won 4 straight Olympic Gold Medals in a row - second only to the USA Women's Basketball Team (5). Their game count since the Nagano Olympics is 20-0. Friday the Canadian Men's Hockey Team must beat the USA if they hope for a chance at Gold. That should be another good game.

We now could eat. We had another "RV Picnic" - same items again as yesterday with fresh strawberries instead of the pie.

Now able to relax I assembled the new HD TV antenna.

We decided to take advantage of the weather before the rain comes in tomorrow and headed to the Square at Lake Sumter Landing in the Villages. Tonight it was packed. The vendors were in the square with their wares of all varieties.

After making the rounds of the vendors we took a seat to listen to the band which was enjoyable as always.

The it was time for a snack. We decided to return to City Fire (American Oven & Bar) just across the street. Tonight they had live music inside which had the place jumping.

We decided to eat on the patio as we did on our last visit. I must correct myself. Tonight we had the same waiter - Kory - who was excellent once again. Last time here I praised the Nachos as the best we have had - anywhere. I stand corrected - tonight they were even better - they were fantastic!

We watched a lot of folks oogle the sports car parked near our patio table. Amazingly, I believe the only person that realized it was a clone of the Shelby AC Cobra was an elderly lady. Way to Go!

The Villages is like Disney for the Retired Set. Music can be heard from The Villages own radio Station (640 AM) playing at a gentle level from speakers on lamp posts surrounding the square. The buildings sparkle at night with the twinkling lights outlining their silhouette. Even the "Outhouses" are "In"! (grin)

We enjoyed the warm evening air on the way back to the RV park.The smooth, well-marked (both reflectors and lines) make night driving a pleasure rather than a task.

We enjoyed the Olympic Ladies Figure Skating Finals before calling it quits for the night.