A great 4th of July weekend!

I mentioned we were headed for our 4th of July rendezvous in Hooksett, NH, pretty near our old stomping grounds of 20 years.  We left NH in 1998 so it's almost like going to a new place, especially considering how astute our minds are these days:-)  Our good friends Ray and April are staying at Mark and Ginger's place and they were kind enough to offer their driveway as a parking spot for us and to come for a visit.  We were a bit anxious wondering how tight the driveway would be and how much room there was to get in and get out.  There is a church parking lot very close and sure enough as we came up the hill and into the lot, Ray and April were waiting for us.  We walked in and out the driveway, clipping a few branches here and there, thank you Mark, and it looked as if we'd be able to pull straight in the over 1/4 mile drive and go around the loop, and then be in position to drive right back out.  Well, we did just that, although it was touch and go getting around the loop, as it was WAY, WAY tighter than we expected, or should I say I estimated.  But it all worked out and we had a beautiful spot to spend the weekend.

So we spent a great 4 nights there in their park-like setting, listening to a babbling brook, the wonderful night sounds that we had missed, enjoying excellent company, in resort like environment beside a gorgeous pool, having a fun visit with one little glitch, always happens, huh?  I also want to mention and thank Ray and April for the amazing lobster feast they provided our first night in celebration of Jan's Birthday!  Thanks again.

All tucked in at our beautiful spot!

Private paradise in the woods

Our little glitch.  Once we were settled in, we were walking over to the house when I noticed a wet spot under the left rear corner of the motorhome.  At first I didn't give it a thought as that is right where the rear AC drains, but wait, we are boondocking and the AC's are definitely not running!  I pull open the engine compartment and I see anti-freeze all over the left side and it seems to be coming from our aluminum coolant tank?!?  By this time it is well into the afternoon and cocktail time is approaching so we decide it will wait until the next day, Friday.  

Jan and I went out to take a look first thing Friday morning with the idea if something needed to get fixed it needed to get fixed quick as we were entering the holiday weekend.  Sure enough there was a little leak right at a weld on a bracket on the bottom of the tank.  So the first thing we needed to do was to see if we could get it out of there and take a close look to see just what was happening.  We had to decline on a walk we had planned with Ray, April, and the dogs, so we tore into it.  It was pretty straightforward with a couple exceptions, there were 3 small hoses that fastened into the tank all the way in the back where we couldn't reach, so we had to go inside, open up the floor access panel and Jan and I contorted and stretched and managed to get them from there.

The leaking tank

The view from the access panel inside the coach

So, eventually we got it out, and were able to absolutely determine there was a tiny break in the weld beside the bracket on the bottom.  Weird, why would it break open and leak, but right now we knew we had to try to get it fixed.  Jan ran inside and went online and found a welding shop nearby that advertised aluminum welding and I gave him a call. He said sure he should be able to fix it but hurry over as he was closing for the weekend at noon.  I hustled over and sure enough once he ground it away you could easily see the crack.  He welded it up and we were good as new.

The tank out, the bracket on the right is where
the leak was

All repaired!

It was a bit tough getting it back in, but we did, and then all we needed was anti-freeze, how hard could that be?  Off to Walmart where I have gotten it in the past, no go, then NAPA, no, AutoZone, still no, a small truckstop, still no.  We finally gave up and decided it could wait until the next day when we could drive over to the seacoast where we knew there was a real truckstop and we'd get it then.  

So the next day, Ray, April, Jan, and I went first to lunch at an old standby, Newicks, in Dover, NH on the way to the truckstop.  It had been awhile since we were there, and we can report it was still great!

Onion nuggets

Clam chowder as it should be, thin and FULL of clams!

Ray and April sharing

The trip was doubly successful as we found the anti-freeze, bought too much.  I calculated badly, but now we have extra:-)  

We filled it up, ran it up to temp, checked for leaks and called it good, but still wondered why it had leaked to begin with?  Well it came to me as we reinstalled the tank.  Back this winter I had replaced the low coolant sensor in the side of the tank and noticed there was a bolt missing on that lower bracket, never gave it much thought, put in a new bolt, tightened it up, and that was that.  Well, we noticed the hole did not line up when we put the tank back in, so evidently that lower bracket wasn't in quite the right place, my new bolt put extra stress on it and with all the bumps we had been encountering it caused it to crack.  No, there is no bolt in that bracket now!

If you look close you can see the holes don't line up

So after a great weekend we headed out and on up the coast a bit to Scarborough, ME to a quiet wooded campground near Portland.  Jan and I went out to the beach, wide and wonderful for walking and took a nice 3 mile walk this morning.

Scarborough beach

And since we were such good doobies, we went up to Harraseeket Lunch in South Freeport, ME, on the harbor where we kept our boat for awhile.  It is an institution, a little hole in the wall, right on the dock, we got there early as they opened, and beat the crowds that starting streaming in a few minutes later.  We decided on scallops and they were Wonderful!

Yum, yum!

The view from our picnic table

And of course, when you are in Freeport, you pretty much have to go to LL Bean's for awhile, visited Delorme Mapping to see what new stuff they had, and then drove back down the coast, through the city of Portland back to our camp site.  It was a great weekend followed by a real nice day in Maine.

PS:  We missed you Ginger!