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June 8, 2010, a Tuesday
Harleysville, Pennsylvania, to Parker (K2), Colorado, USA
— A very early flight back to Denver and made a DIY RV Toilet Plunger
I awoke at 2:38 before my 2:40 alarm. Yes, I had to get up in the middle of the night to get ready for our 6:40 flight to Denver. I would normally avoid such an early flight, but KA, MA, and JA, and KA's sister KN, and her family, KeN, AN, and BN, would be flying out on the same flight. So, it would be easy for me to get a ride to the airport with them and I'd also be able to visit with them as we traveled together. They're going to rent an RV and travel around South Dakota, Wyoming, and Colorado for two weeks. I can't imagine seven people in an RV for an extended time — I think they're crazy. I had a bowl of Kellogg's Raisin Bran for breakfast. KA's parents RaA and RoA arrived around 3:40 to help KA pack up last minute things, and we left at 4:00.
We waited at the Lansdale entrance to the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike for KN and her family to arrive so we could drive to the airport together.
We reached Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) at 4:55. RoA drove their minivan back and RaA drove KN's minivan back. We checked in then went through security. I went to the McDonald's at the end of the E concourse and had a Sausage Burrito and a large coffee. KA, et al, boarded the plane with the second B group and saved a seat for me because I boarded with the first C group. I sat in seat 9C of the Boeing 737 for Southwest Airlines flight 1420 to Denver (DEN). JA and BN were in 9A and 9B; MA, AN, and KA were in 8A, 8B, and 8C; and KeN and KN were in 8D and 8F. I read more of The Number of the Beast by Robert A. Heinlein. We took off at 6:56.
It was a bumpy flight, and the seat belt sign wasn't turned off for a long time. I had a can of water and a bag of Ritz Chips. I took a nap, and apparently there was a short window when the seat belt sign had been turned off. When I awoke, the seat belt sign was on and it was quite bumpy, and I was ready to recycle the coffee. :( The seat belt sign was finally turned off at 9:52 and I rushed back to the toilet.
We touched down at Denver International Airport (DEN) at 8:43 (10:43 EDT). I led everyone to the baggage claim, and the kids enjoyed the train ride from the C Concourse to the terminal. Our bags arrived quickly, and I called J to have her pick me up. She was just about to pull into the cell phone waiting area, but because our flight arrived a little early, she just kept driving to the terminal. I said good bye to KA, et al, because they would be getting a ride from the official Ground Transportation area on the same level as Baggage Claim, and J would be picking me up one level below, the regular civilian pickup level. I waited a few minutes, then J arrived. We left around 9:20.
J called her good friend K to see if we could take her out to brunch to belatedly celebrate her birthday, and she said that would be great.
We picked up K at her place then ...
Went to the IHOP on Quebec at 10:10. J and I each had the special of a Denver Scramble (scrambled eggs with ham, peppers, onions, and cheese). J had the regularly-included pancakes and I had a biscuit instead. The food wasn't anything special, and J disliked it. We had a nice time visiting with K though. We left around 11:10.
After dropping K off at her place, we headed "home."
We returned to the RV in Parker around noon and I was pooped. I took a three hour nap!
We went to SJ&DilK's (J's Son J and Daughter-in-law K's) around 4:10 so I could see the grandkids: GA (grandson A, age 8.5), GJ (grandson J, age 4.5), and GS (granddaughter S, age 3). We left and took GJ with us, and ...
Went to the Parker Library. GJ picked out some books and DVs, and J picked up a book that GA had put on hold.
Then we went to King Soopers to pick up a few things, and I got some Clif Bars that were on sale at a great price.
We returned to SJ&DilK's to drop off GJ, then ...
Stopped by the RV to drop off the refrigerated items we had purchased.
We went to Carino's Italian restaurant in Parker around 6:30 for Family Night where you can get a Family Platter for the price of the regular entrée. We split a Family Platter of Spicy Shrimp & Chicken (penne pasta, cayenne pepper romano cream sauce, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and green onions), and I had a house salad and J had minestrone soup. The food was delicious as always and it was nice to go out "on a date" after being away from each other for about a week.
We returned to the RV around 8:00 and the toilet backed up. The toilet has a very odd design. After the contents exit the bowl through an approximately 3-inch (7cm) hole, it goes through a very wide chamber then through an approximately 4-inch (10cm) hole through the floor and through a short pipe straight down into the black tank. Sometimes, a wad of toilet paper gets caught before going into the 4-inch hole, and I can poke it down using the handle to a Clorox ToiletWand. It didn't work this time, so ...
I went to Home Depot to get/build an RV toilet plunger. I got PVC pipe parts to build one. I got a 1 1/2-inch (3.8cm) threaded end cap, a 1 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch (1.9cm) threaded step down fitting, a 3/4-inch male threaded to friction fit adaptor, and a 3-foot (91cm) length of 3/4-inch pipe.
I returned to the RV and assembled the DIY RV toilet plunger. I used super glue to attach the pipe to the threaded-to-friction-fit adaptor because I didn't need a water-tight seal and I wanted to be able to use it as soon as possible. The plunger worked perfectly, and the toilet was back to normal. :) I did some things online, then went to bed around 9:55 (11:55 EDT) to end a very long day!
We waited at the Lansdale entrance to the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike for KN and her family to arrive so we could drive to the airport together.
We reached Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) at 4:55. RoA drove their minivan back and RaA drove KN's minivan back. We checked in then went through security. I went to the McDonald's at the end of the E concourse and had a Sausage Burrito and a large coffee. KA, et al, boarded the plane with the second B group and saved a seat for me because I boarded with the first C group. I sat in seat 9C of the Boeing 737 for Southwest Airlines flight 1420 to Denver (DEN). JA and BN were in 9A and 9B; MA, AN, and KA were in 8A, 8B, and 8C; and KeN and KN were in 8D and 8F. I read more of The Number of the Beast by Robert A. Heinlein. We took off at 6:56.
It was a bumpy flight, and the seat belt sign wasn't turned off for a long time. I had a can of water and a bag of Ritz Chips. I took a nap, and apparently there was a short window when the seat belt sign had been turned off. When I awoke, the seat belt sign was on and it was quite bumpy, and I was ready to recycle the coffee. :( The seat belt sign was finally turned off at 9:52 and I rushed back to the toilet.
We touched down at Denver International Airport (DEN) at 8:43 (10:43 EDT). I led everyone to the baggage claim, and the kids enjoyed the train ride from the C Concourse to the terminal. Our bags arrived quickly, and I called J to have her pick me up. She was just about to pull into the cell phone waiting area, but because our flight arrived a little early, she just kept driving to the terminal. I said good bye to KA, et al, because they would be getting a ride from the official Ground Transportation area on the same level as Baggage Claim, and J would be picking me up one level below, the regular civilian pickup level. I waited a few minutes, then J arrived. We left around 9:20.
J called her good friend K to see if we could take her out to brunch to belatedly celebrate her birthday, and she said that would be great.
We picked up K at her place then ...
Went to the IHOP on Quebec at 10:10. J and I each had the special of a Denver Scramble (scrambled eggs with ham, peppers, onions, and cheese). J had the regularly-included pancakes and I had a biscuit instead. The food wasn't anything special, and J disliked it. We had a nice time visiting with K though. We left around 11:10.
After dropping K off at her place, we headed "home."
We returned to the RV in Parker around noon and I was pooped. I took a three hour nap!
We went to SJ&DilK's (J's Son J and Daughter-in-law K's) around 4:10 so I could see the grandkids: GA (grandson A, age 8.5), GJ (grandson J, age 4.5), and GS (granddaughter S, age 3). We left and took GJ with us, and ...
Went to the Parker Library. GJ picked out some books and DVs, and J picked up a book that GA had put on hold.
Then we went to King Soopers to pick up a few things, and I got some Clif Bars that were on sale at a great price.
We returned to SJ&DilK's to drop off GJ, then ...
Stopped by the RV to drop off the refrigerated items we had purchased.
We went to Carino's Italian restaurant in Parker around 6:30 for Family Night where you can get a Family Platter for the price of the regular entrée. We split a Family Platter of Spicy Shrimp & Chicken (penne pasta, cayenne pepper romano cream sauce, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and green onions), and I had a house salad and J had minestrone soup. The food was delicious as always and it was nice to go out "on a date" after being away from each other for about a week.
We returned to the RV around 8:00 and the toilet backed up. The toilet has a very odd design. After the contents exit the bowl through an approximately 3-inch (7cm) hole, it goes through a very wide chamber then through an approximately 4-inch (10cm) hole through the floor and through a short pipe straight down into the black tank. Sometimes, a wad of toilet paper gets caught before going into the 4-inch hole, and I can poke it down using the handle to a Clorox ToiletWand. It didn't work this time, so ...
I went to Home Depot to get/build an RV toilet plunger. I got PVC pipe parts to build one. I got a 1 1/2-inch (3.8cm) threaded end cap, a 1 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch (1.9cm) threaded step down fitting, a 3/4-inch male threaded to friction fit adaptor, and a 3-foot (91cm) length of 3/4-inch pipe.
I returned to the RV and assembled the DIY RV toilet plunger. I used super glue to attach the pipe to the threaded-to-friction-fit adaptor because I didn't need a water-tight seal and I wanted to be able to use it as soon as possible. The plunger worked perfectly, and the toilet was back to normal. :) I did some things online, then went to bed around 9:55 (11:55 EDT) to end a very long day!