Clam Pass

While waiting for the van to get its finishing touches, I thought I'd give my blog a break and actually post about something else. Today I went to Clam Pass Park and Beach in Naples, FL. I was feeling antsy after staying put for two full days and I was feeling if I didn't drive my rental car, I was wasting money. I have been on the west coast of Florida between Port Charlotte and Naples for three weeks and I've barely seen the ocean. I saw bits of it in Port Charlotte just three blocks from my rented villa, saw only what I could see from Route 41 in Fort Myers, and only caught a glimpse of it Thursday night as we crossed the bridge over to Marco Island on our way to dinner; so today I decided to go to the beach.

Clam Pass has a boardwalk from the parking lot to the beach. There was a passel of people waiting for it and I thought, "What is wrong with these people? They can't take the quick walk over the boardwalk to the beach? They have to take a shuttle?" Well, it wasn't long before I was eating my words. I started down the boardwalk and I walked and walked and walked and walked. A couple of teenage girls were coming toward me chanting an inspirational cheer: "Come on, you can do it. Only six more minutes to go." And as they got closer: "I know you can do it. Keep it up. We have faith in you. Only seven more minutes to go." Six or seven minutes to go???? They weren't kidding.

Here are a couple of views from bridge that spans a finger of Outer Clam Bay. The first is looking up the river and the second is out toward the bay:

Here are the shuttles that take you back and forth between the parking lot and the beach:

Half a mile later, I finally found the beach and man, was it crowded:

This is the only beach I've seen that had a shelf of sand between the beach and the water. It dropped a good foot to foot and a half. Being soft, I hit the edge, it caved out from under my weight and I landed flat on my butt. I didn't care but my camera got covered in sand.

The gulf:

Can you tell what is missing from this sign?

A strange pedaling contraption outside the park:

What is missing from the Clam Pass sign? A pistol. Apparently they removed the "No Firearms" restriction.

Plastic Surgery Part 4

Not much to report on today except pictures of the running boards. The Cobra Shop does not do fiberglass work so the running boards had to be sent out. They're fixed and waiting for sanding and painting.

Since they had the sink out, I thought I would replace the faucet. It's not broken or leaking, but the spout is loose. I purchased two faucets -- one from Camping World, one from Home Depot -- and neither one fits. I had to return them both and reinstall the original faucet.

Plastic Surgery Part 3

Here are today's pictures. I didn't realize they took the whole inside of the van apart, too. About the only things still intact are the closet and the bed. The stove, sink and fridge are out and so is the rear passenger seat. Most likely, the bed will eventually come apart, too, as I asked Mike to check the battery box and replace it if necessary.

First, I'll report on the fridge incident. Since they had the refrigerator out, I thought I would replace the drain hose and also clean the burner and chimney. I replaced the drain hose a couple of years ago. Somehow, I cable-tied the hose to "something" that I couldn't see well because it was up in a hard-to-reach spot and behind a layer of insulation. When I went to remove the old tubing today, I cut the cable-tie and then pulled and pulled and pulled until about a foot of tubing came out of the hole. I came to find out that I basically cable-tied the tube to itself. There was nothing TO cable tie. The tube just goes up through a hole and attaches to the drain tray in the inside of the fridge. That was my big DUH! moment for the day.

Now on to today's pics:

A better angle of the lower body panel. If you ever wanted to know what a Dodge Roadtrek's black water tank looks like, here it is. No wonder why our sensors don't work all that great. The tank is only three inches deep -- if that!:

The driver's step removed.

An update of the rear quarter panel:

And here is the inside -- sink and fridge removed. Now should be the time to get a new faucet while the sink is out:

And here is a Ha-Ha photo. Note all the seeds. I don't even know what kind they are, so I have no idea if they're Connecticut seeds or Massachusetts seeds. I've had the fridge pulled before -- twice, actually -- and I'm sure whoever pulled the fridge did not leave all those seeds there.

Plastic Surgery Part 2

I got moved to Fort Myers today, so I was able to stop and see the progress of the van -- and also give Mike more work to do. Every day I call him with something else I want done. One of these days he's going to dread seeing my number on the phone or see me walk in the door. I figure I might as well get everything done now because I may never have the chance again.

Here are pictures of the work so far:

This is the window and fridge vent opening. Mike had to pull the fridge and he said he was surprised at how easy it was to pull and get to the window.

This is the back of the van. The picture on the left is a section Billy replaced for me a couple of years ago. He did a great job, but the seams started rotting through. The picture on the right is two dents that have been there since I purchased the van.

This is the side door and step. I forgot to get a better picture of the panel to the left of the door, but that whole section was replaced. As you can see in these pictures, the running board is removed.

And this is Mike. He moved, so he's blurry. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a better picture of him and Tim when I pick up the van:

Part 3 of this series should be the finished van. It won't be perfect. There is still a dent made by One-Legged Mike and his crutch. And I'm losing a lot of the pin-striping. Still, the van will be in better condition than when I first got it. I can't wait to see it finished.

Plastic Surgery

The Van of Discovery is going in for major, massive body work. It's needed it for two, three, four, and even five years. I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did. So why didn't I get it done before now? Many reasons. First, when I had the time, I didn't have the money; and when I had the money, I didn't have the time. I chose to use the van for what it was intended for -- to travel and see the U.S. -- and boy, did I.

Second, I tried. I brought the van to many, many body shops. I was told they only do insurance work, I was given the run-around, I was ignored completely, and I was ripped off by the one place that actually did some work. Once I found a local guy who would do the work, but he only worked outside and we lost our window of opportunity; it got too cold for him to work on it.

Then, by the grace of God, I got my answer. A fellow Roadtrek owner by the name of David Crook had major frame work done on his Roadtrek at The Cobra Shop in North Fort Myers, FL. I knew if I ever had a chance to get down to Florida, I was going to have The Cobra Shop do the work if I had to beg, scream, and cry for them to do it. Then my prayers were answered again. I got a job IN FLORIDA; not only in Florida, but in the Fort Myers area -- well sort of, but that's another story.

After working in nearly every corner of Florida and waiting three months, I am finally here and the Van of Discovery is at The Cobra Shop, lovingly being taken care of by Mike and Tim.

For your amusement, here are some pics of the work that needs doin'. These are the three worse:

Here are more pictures that aren't as bad. This is some fiberglass repair that needs doin' on the running boards:

The rip-off work. I paid $2K for this to be fixed two or three years ago. OK, maybe it wasn't all for body work. I had new shocks and a battery installed, too:

Mike called at 4:30 this afternoon to give me an estimate and also told me the work might be done by Friday. I can't believe all that work will be done in less than a week. If it wasn't for the fact that Mike and The Cobra Shop were highly recommended, I would worry about getting ripped off again. Mike assured me I should get a good five years or more out of the van, as long as the engine is in good shape. My mechanic says it is.

The next edition of this blog should be the finished work, unless I can get down to The Cobra Shop and take some pictures while the van is being worked on. It is a bit far and I have no transportation.