Kerr Scott Dam

Today I went to the Kerr Scott Dam and Reservoir in Wilkesboro, NC. Before the dam, though, I went to Walmart and made a few changes.
                        
 I went from this:                                                         to this:

And from this:                                                                       to this:

I'm not sure about the drawers in the closet yet, though. Every time I "improve," I have to move things around. Now I no longer have a space for my Crocks.

Kerr Scott Dam and Reservoir is a COE project. There are hiking and biking trails, picnic areas, and a playground. Here are some pictures I took around the park:



I tried to take a picture of this pinecone straight on so that it looked like a flower. Something moved -- either the branch or my camera -- and the light wasn't quite right. I suppose it didn't come out too bad.



Some geocaches are just too easy to find. I won't discuss how difficult it was to find the trail said geocache was on, though.



In respect for those killed at the Boston Marathon and I'm guessing the explosion in Texas, too:



These last two pictures are of the spillway. The water was wild. It certainly wasn't anything I'd want to get caught in.

Plastic Surgery Finale

What everyone has been waiting for. It's really late and I have to go to bed as I'm hitting the road tomorrow, but a lot of people wanted to see the finished results, so I'll post them quickly:

This was where the worst damage was. I forgot to open the door and take a picture of that section.

Look, Ma ... No dents. We've never had no dents. And I forgot to mention I got new awning supports, too. I purchased them two years ago and have been waiting... waiting... waiting.

 Rain gutter repaired:

Driver's step and compartment door repaired:

I lost my pinstriping:

 

I cannot say enough good about Mike and Tim at The Cobra Shop (North Fork Road, North Fort Myers, FL). I sure wish I could find a way to contact David Crook so I could give him a big THANK YOU. If I ever meet him on the road, he will get the biggest hug ever.

Edison Ford

No van yet (it should be ready tomorrow), so I played tourist today and went to the Edison & Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers. Edison was a remarkable, remarkable person. Do you know he is the only person who patented something every year for 65 years? What amazes me the most of the whole estate is that electricity was in homes before indoor plumbing was.

There are a ton of pictures here. Enjoy:

This is one of the many banyan trees on the property. Thomas Edison, Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone grew and tested over 17,000 varieties of plants to try to find a source of rubber, or latex, that could be grown and produced quickly. Edison thought we were relying too much on the foreign supply of rubber and feared we would have a shortage. Of all the plants they researched, they found that goldenrod produced the most latex.

The view of the Caloosahatchee River from Edison's back porch as it may have looked when he lived there and a view of the river as it is now

Inside the Edison house. As much money as Edison had, I was impress at how sparse and down-to-earth the home and furnishings were

An original electric light switch:


Picture of Henry Ford's home. Ford and Edison had adjoining homes.

The fence is the property line between the Ford and Edison residences:


And the view from Ford's front porch:


Various other pictures from around the Edison estate:

The Edison family pool. Before the pool was installed, they had to go to a local hotel to go swimming

This is the moon garden. It is called a moon garden because its purpose is to sit out in it at night and enjoy all the evening bugs and creatures. Bugs??? As in mosquitoes???

Edison's study and the botanical laboratory:

Why do you suppose this brick is here and how long do you think it's been here?



This was the pier that reached 1500 feet out into the Caloosahatchee River. At one time, there was a cabana at the end of the dock that was lit with electric lights