Well, the end of another travel day and now ready to settle in a most comfortable bed at the Arnolds’. Roger and Wendy have lived here since selling their house in Peekskill, but have owned the property since 2006. A bike tour and a hike upon my arrival gave me a quick peek at just how big a project this entire gated community is.
I started my trip this morning from Wilson, SC at 9 pm and except for a stop at The Waffle House in Wilson for breakfast and a gas stop in St. George, SC, 451 mile trip got me into Bluffton at 2:15 pm. Gas in SC, by the way was $3.19 per gallon. This segment of the trip showed my Caddy averaging 23 miles per gallon. The drive was easy. Temp when I left Wilson was 51 and reached 71 when I arrived in Bluffton, SC.
A minor inconvenience however prevented me from going right to the Arnolds. Somehow the plastic radiator deflector panel in the front end lost the pop screws holding it onto the chassis and, as a result the 80 mile per hour travel pushed the barrier down and created a noise that I first thought were crosswinds. Upon checking the situation while gassing up in St. George, SC, I saw the damage and knew I could not continue the trip with this situation. I called Rog & Wendy and asked them to look up the nearest Cadillac dealership and I would drive right over there to see what they could do to help me. The discovery was made about 100 miles north of Bluffton, so the ride now was taken with a bit more care to be sure the entire panel would not be blown loose and lost on I-95. Once again, fortunately, the traffic was very light with perhaps 4 or 5 cars per mile. Speed limit once again 70 mph.
While waiting for Rog to get back to me with the name of the dealership, I put the Garmin to the test and punched in the nearest dealership. There were many but Cadillac was the one I needed. Lo and behold, Park Cadillac was located right there in Bluffton about 6 miles beyond Sun City. Rog called back and confirmed the name and address I had already found and that’s where I wound up.
At Park Cadillac, I described the situation to one of the workers at the dealership and he told me to drive vehicle around back to one of the bays. He apparently was between jobs, looked the situation over and proceeded to replace the missing pop screws and repaired the deflector. One section was damaged due to the contact made with the road while driving, so he zip tied that on a temporary basis indicating that it would certainly hold till I got home. I will call ahead to Mt. Kisco Cadillac on my way home and have the part replaced. The entire time spent at the dealership was less than 10-15 minutes and I was off with Wendy following Roger back to Sun City. They went out of their way to meet me there in the event they could not fix the problem and needed it overnight. I would then transfer my belonging to their car and have them at the house. As it turned out, it wasn’t necessary. There was no charge for the young man’s services so I tipped him generously for making my life a bit easier.
I will continue in tomorrow’s post describing an absolutely beautiful home…with pictures…of 11 Orchid Lane. I received a quickie tour of the place via bike ride and a walk thorough an incredible swampy environment…their nature walk. A major addition consisting of a screened-in porch with sky lights is in the midst of being built and the workers here, when done, left their workplace outside immaculate. Roger BBQed two gorgeous London Broils and we enjoyed a great dinner with neighbors Kathy and Dick Fiztmaurice, two other retired teachers that decided this is the place to be. Complete with stories of alligator living in their adjacent lagoon, we brought each other up on what is going on in our own worlds. More tomorrow.
I started my trip this morning from Wilson, SC at 9 pm and except for a stop at The Waffle House in Wilson for breakfast and a gas stop in St. George, SC, 451 mile trip got me into Bluffton at 2:15 pm. Gas in SC, by the way was $3.19 per gallon. This segment of the trip showed my Caddy averaging 23 miles per gallon. The drive was easy. Temp when I left Wilson was 51 and reached 71 when I arrived in Bluffton, SC.
A minor inconvenience however prevented me from going right to the Arnolds. Somehow the plastic radiator deflector panel in the front end lost the pop screws holding it onto the chassis and, as a result the 80 mile per hour travel pushed the barrier down and created a noise that I first thought were crosswinds. Upon checking the situation while gassing up in St. George, SC, I saw the damage and knew I could not continue the trip with this situation. I called Rog & Wendy and asked them to look up the nearest Cadillac dealership and I would drive right over there to see what they could do to help me. The discovery was made about 100 miles north of Bluffton, so the ride now was taken with a bit more care to be sure the entire panel would not be blown loose and lost on I-95. Once again, fortunately, the traffic was very light with perhaps 4 or 5 cars per mile. Speed limit once again 70 mph.
While waiting for Rog to get back to me with the name of the dealership, I put the Garmin to the test and punched in the nearest dealership. There were many but Cadillac was the one I needed. Lo and behold, Park Cadillac was located right there in Bluffton about 6 miles beyond Sun City. Rog called back and confirmed the name and address I had already found and that’s where I wound up.
At Park Cadillac, I described the situation to one of the workers at the dealership and he told me to drive vehicle around back to one of the bays. He apparently was between jobs, looked the situation over and proceeded to replace the missing pop screws and repaired the deflector. One section was damaged due to the contact made with the road while driving, so he zip tied that on a temporary basis indicating that it would certainly hold till I got home. I will call ahead to Mt. Kisco Cadillac on my way home and have the part replaced. The entire time spent at the dealership was less than 10-15 minutes and I was off with Wendy following Roger back to Sun City. They went out of their way to meet me there in the event they could not fix the problem and needed it overnight. I would then transfer my belonging to their car and have them at the house. As it turned out, it wasn’t necessary. There was no charge for the young man’s services so I tipped him generously for making my life a bit easier.
I will continue in tomorrow’s post describing an absolutely beautiful home…with pictures…of 11 Orchid Lane. I received a quickie tour of the place via bike ride and a walk thorough an incredible swampy environment…their nature walk. A major addition consisting of a screened-in porch with sky lights is in the midst of being built and the workers here, when done, left their workplace outside immaculate. Roger BBQed two gorgeous London Broils and we enjoyed a great dinner with neighbors Kathy and Dick Fiztmaurice, two other retired teachers that decided this is the place to be. Complete with stories of alligator living in their adjacent lagoon, we brought each other up on what is going on in our own worlds. More tomorrow.
1 comment:
Sorry to hear about the glitch with the caddy, but other than that, you are sailing along pretty well. PLEASE tell Wendy, Roger and Kathy that I said "hello," and am so happy for them all to be living in, what sounds like, an idylic setting. George and I will have to visit that area. The pictures of the Arnolds' home is fabulous! I love it...Enjoy your time with them.
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