A Tale of Two Weekends at Stagecoach

28 Saturday Jun 2014

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A Tale of Two Weekends

Back to back weekends at Stagecoach, were very similar in many ways, but in many ways they could not have been more different. The weekend of June 21 was a hot weekend with high temperatures in the upper 90’s and so was the weekend of June 28. Both weekends had rain and both were pleasant weekends.

They were different in that the weekend of June 21 was the last weekend with the 2011 ML 350 and June 28 was the first weekend with the new 2014 ML 350 Bluetec. Both were somewhat emotional weekends as we found we were more emotionally attached to the white ML than we realized, with it being the object of many camping firsts. It was the first to pull the Island Time, the first to take us to the Keys, first to take the grandkids camping; it turned out to be a great tow vehicle.

While taking the 2011 ML in for servicing as it approached the end of its warranty I became aware that this would be the last year of the ML350 Bluetec with its 455 ft-lbs of torque. The 2015 replacement will be a ML250 with a turbo four-cylinder diesel producing around 350 ft-lbs of torque. While that is sufficient, we did not want to pass on the option with more torque, so we immediately contacted our Mercedes Sales Representative and started a search for one of the few remaining in inventory.

To make a long story shorter, on the same day we received an offer from Mercedes to absorb the final five lease payments if we traded vehicles. Offer in hand we found just the vehicle we were hoping to obtain. It is silver exterior with grey interior ML350 with many of the goodies, including keyless ignition, lane change assist and 455 ft-lbs of torque.

I took Thursday off to have the brake controller installed and then to have the trailer setup checked. Everything checked out, so we were ready to go for the weekend. Just as we were backing out of the garage to go get the trailer, Jeannie noticed a screw in the left front tire. We immediately went to the local tire store, where they removed a screw with a trailer type of head on it. I wonder where it could have come from? A brand new vehicle with 200 miles on it and a patched tire, oh well.

The new ML 350 Bluetec is a towing machine. It pulls the hills in the Interstate without even having to downshift. It is getting 25 MPG in town and looks like it will get 14 – 15 MPG when towing. Very nice!

As an aside, June 28 – 29 was the ARRL Field Day weekend and for the first time in many years, WB9ZNN was on the air. With my new AlexLoop antenna and my Baofeng HT I was in full action and enjoyed it very much. Unfortunately the heat chased me inside for the afternoon before I was ready, but it was nice anyway.

The weather chased us out on Sunday, but we made it home safely. We are ready for the second chapter to begin in our camping adventures. We sure are having fun.

Thanks,

Captain Skip

2011 ML 350 on final camping adventure

WB9ZNN on the air on Field Day

Taking a nap during a rain delay

First adventure for the new ML350

2014 ML 350 Bluetec with Island Time

First Visit to Pellicer Creek Campground

01 Sunday Jun 2014

Posted by captskip55 in Adventures

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Pellicer Creek Campgrounds

With the longer days of sunlight we are able to stretch the distance of our after-work run on Friday nights to include sites we cannot get to in the early Spring or late Fall. This weekend we ventured down I95, past St Augustine to the Pellicer Creek Campground and it was really worth the trip! The campground is a small gem hidden away in the travel guides because it does not have bathroom facilities as part of its infrastructure. But it does have 30 full hookup sites nestled away next to the Pellicer Creek, with a beautiful view and quiet surroundings.

We were fortunate enough to get the most prime space in the park, #25. It is a short cutout at the bottom of the small incline that is too small for big motor-homes, but just right for us. It is a pull through with (as it turns out) a very narrow turnout between two trees on the exit road. Though tight, we cleared the trees by 6 inches and could have cleared by more with a little wider initial turn.

The view was spectacular! Our site faced the creek that had a small deck and landing nicely incorporated into the creek side. The deck allowed for fishing and landing canoes and kayaks as they roamed the creek. There was a nice wooden swing and a fire pit nearby and together created a picture perfect setting.

The weekend was anything but ordinary. Earlier in the week the weather forecast was marginal, but by mid-week seemed to be more favorable. It turned out that it was somewhat rainy on Saturday afternoon and evening and threatened a Nor’easter on Sunday afternoon. As a result, we did not unload all of our outside accessories or even use the awning. While sitting at the picnic table I noticed several bumps in the sidewall of the front trailer tire on the passenger side. It seemed to start at the indentation commonly seen on radial tires at the overlap of the belts, but the irregularity seemed to span eight to ten inches around the sidewall of the tire. Not being a tire expert, but comparing it to the other tires it seemed abnormal.

Not wanting to take any chances, I decided to have the tire changed. Fortunately, of the ridiculous number of add-on packages we purchased, we did subscribe to Coach-Net for roadside service. One call to them and within an hour someone came and changed the tire for us at no additional charge. Not bad. Now I need to go through the process of replacing the spare. It seems that nobody is satisfied with their trailer tires on the Internet, so this may be the subject of another blog.

Additionally, this weekend I replaced two of the mini-blinds that were broken. In fact, one of the new blinds came broken, so I had to rob parts from one of the bad ones to make the new one work. Anyway, I was able to get the new blinds mounted without too much fuss and we no longer have to use storage container lids to block the galley window for privacy.

Oh yes, not to forget the Bliss Lights. We put on a spectacular show this weekend by lighting the trees in the area. Several people noticed, though it had to be really dark to get the full effect.

We scooted out on Sunday around noon to avoid the weather front that was blowing in from offshore on the radar and made it home without incident. We are really looking forward to returning to Pellicer Creek Campground when the weather is more favorable. We are still enjoying the adventure. Stay tuned for more.

Thanks,

Captain Skip