08-25-09

Corey has been upgrading the travel trailer’s sewer hoses in the RV park. They have been poorly maintained and are in dire need of attention. We worked on Sharron’s pipes…giggity. They were plugged under the trailer. Corey took them apart. It took awhile, but he was able to get them flowing again. It’s gross work, but I’m finding I’m learning a lot about my own RV through working on the travel trailers.
Inspired by Corey’s triumph over Sharron’s pipes I decided to work on my own plumbing. It’s a lot easier to flush the tanks while hooked up to city water and sewer. I drained them, and then rinsed them with the “shit stick”, a tool that attaches to a garden hose for sticking down the toilet that sprays high pressure water into the tank. The tanks were empty. I wanted to fill them and let them soak for awhile, then drain them one more time to get them good and clean. Filling the tanks takes awhile. I can leave a faucet on to fill the grey tank. I have a dumbbell that holds the toilet foot pedal down to fill the black tank. I left the shit stick turned on down in the toilet while it filled. I was outside for awhile when I thought I should check on it. When I opened the bathroom door I was horrified that I was too late. The floor had standing water rushing from the linoleum to the carpet. The toilet was full and overflowing. Instead of diving in and turning off the water, I ran outside and opened the sewer drain valve to get the water level to drop fast. Then I turned off the water main from the outside and began to clean up. It was a huge mess, but at least it was relatively clean water. I don’t think any serious damage was done, but there was water dripping out from under the bus even far from where the flood had happened. The good news was that my black tank gauge, which rarely works, was functioning perfectly. I finally fixed the gage, but I had to flood the bus to do it.
Andrew had found some mahogany muscles on the coast which he had cooked and eaten. Corey and I wanted to learn which muscles we could eat, so the three of us headed to the ocean. We climbed around on rocks, but it was high tide and we couldn’t get out far enough to find any muscles. The waves were big with intense energy as they plowed into the rocky coast. I was out far on a rock when I saw a big wave way out in the ocean. I usually miss the big waves with my camera and when I do have it ready the big waves don’t come. “I’m gonna’ get this one”, I thought and grabbed my camera. As it got closer it got bigger…and bigger…and bigger. It stood up…way up. I panicked, put my camera in my pocket and struggled to find anything to hang on to. The wave hit the rocks in front of me and water came crashing up and around the rocks I was on. I was only hit with spray, but still spooked I ran for high ground. My heart was racing and I was literally shaking, but I was laughing. It was an amazing moment. The ocean is awesomely powerful.
That night, after dark the siren started to sound. It sounds like tornado warning sirens back home. They blow it each day at noon. It turns off and on five times to summon the fire dept. They blow it seven times to test the tsunami warning. If it keeps sounding on and off that means that there is a tsunami and people should flee to higher ground. It’s exciting when it starts to slowly count and wait to see if it’s time to flee for your life. Andrew, who’s new to the area, frantically knocked on my door with concern in his eyes. He was ready to run for it. We were relieved when it stopped after five.