The Continuing Adventures of Jud

When you get a chance, watch this.

Paris the Luminous Years: Toward the Making of the Modern

Having never made it through a day at Disney without my Mobility scooter batteries going flat, I decided to go to a pair of larger batteries, and finally got around to building a new box for them. They are significantly larger, but of course, heavier, than the batteries that came with it, and hopefully will get me through a full day's run.


The old box with batteries weighs about 21 pounds and is about 13L x 4 1/2W x 5H: the new box with batteries weighs about 48 pounds and is about 16L x 7W x 8H, but will fit on my #2 ECV in the area reserved for the battery pack.


It is a bit wide for the #1 ECV, the Pride Go-Go, but could sit on the cowling behind the seat if I so needed. But the intent is to make further modifications to the #2 ECV and make that my primary scooter for major outings. The Go-Go is easier to deal with for quick hits like to the store for food- smaller, can fit in the trunk, but the #2 has a much smoother ride and is a bit faster so it better for a day's outing.

You may note I made some changes in the new box. In the old box, the circuit breaker and wire connection are run through the cover, which means they stay with the cover when I open it, while still being attached to the batteries sitting heavily in the box.

In the new case, I ran these through holes in the box itself, cutting a clearance in the cover to accommodate them. The new cover is also held securely with only two screws at one end, the other end held by fitted pins into matching holes in the box. Both these changes make removing the cover much easier.

Had to head up to a very early (for me) appointment at the Gainseville VA Hospital this morning. My appointment was at 8:30, which meant I had to be in the car by 6, which meant up by 5:30... these are not normal times in my universe... and lo and behold- I saw the sunrise as I drove through Ocala!



When I got to the parking lot, in good time, very little traffic on the way, I saw a space, pulled in and look what sat in front of me!



The procedure required about two minutes of my time, every hour for four hours, so I had to kill time between each imaging session, and I wandered the parking lot.

This is a tower that contains something- saw a hint that it was chlorine, but might have been something else... in any case, I liked the imagery and took several shots of it.



I was mainly out on the back side of the facility, and this conglomeration of "mechanical plant" items looked good to me.



There is a seperate building on the grounds called the "Nursing Home Building" and at the front entrance to it- currently undergoing some repair work to the sidewalks- is this pair of sculptures.



Back at the smoking area, I grabbed this detail shot where two different building finishes meet.



And on the way back in, my attention was grabbed by the newspaper machine and a front page headline in USA Today.

Went up to the Crystal River Mall to look for some things, and found that there is a Outdoor show there tomorrow and Sunday sponsered by the Citrus County Chronicle.




Chatted for a bit with Deb, Marketing and Community Outreach, and hoping to have a good turn out for the show!



RV's are being gathered in the front parking lot! Drop on by!

Then I crawled under the mobile to cut and cap the no longer needed 3" PVC that runs the length of the mobile- used to feed, or un-feed, the second bathroom, but not needed at all now that I am not putting the kitchen at that end... and it is in the way of the ductwork from the (now dead and hopefully soon to be replaced) HVAC, so I want to cut it out- but it turns out I capped it with a plastic bag and duct tape and now that I am going to cut it off near the in-use main drain, I need a better seal...



Sooooo... I headed up to Home Depot and returned some pipe I had under the house that I no longer need (was for feed to the new kitchen that isn't now happening) and bought a bunch of stuff including the cap. Have a couple of people up there who are familiar with me and are always very helpful for my often very bizarre requests for things that don't really exist.

As I got back to my car, I saw it 6:30, and figured I would head on up the few extra miles to Crystal River and get some hard taco supremes, did so, and took them over to Kings Bay and sat out on the pier while I ate them.


As I headed for the pier, I saw a bird and nest way on high... well, heard first- there was a lot of very distinct squawking going on. And no, I have no idea what kind of birds they were!


And over to the side, there was this little fellow looking for something...



But mainly, it was the Bay.

Given just how many days I have spent in the Walt Disney World Parks, I have wondered from time to time if I would ever find myself in another's photo or video.

Well, not me, but this is my scooter! Which means I was in one of the following ride vehicles- shooting pictures! LOL!



See the whole ride through video at: http://youtu.be/yDX7denhxuQ