Fireplace repair, Sundaes, and visits to Montgomery, Enterprise, and Dothan.

Friday, 2/24/2012

Deer Run RV Park

Troy, AL

Wow, it’s been almost two weeks since I last posted an entry.  Where does the time go so quickly?  The last couple weeks we actually came out of hibernation and went exploring a bit.

Wednesday, the 15th, we headed north up to Montgomery.  We needed to turn in a bunch of recyclables.

Then we went downtown and checked out the Montgomery Visitor Center.  It’s located in the old railroad station.  The building is beautiful inside and out.

The balcony and supports…

beautiful stained glass windows and woodwork…

and the beautiful floor.

There were displays to see..

and a short film to watch.  We got some information on a few sites that we wanted to check out.  Unfortunately, it was getting late and we needed to head home.  We’ll have to come back and visit those sites another time.

On Friday, the 17th, we went to the Oakwood Cemetery here in Troy.

I had seen a comment on Facebook about a monument located in Troy, AL, “memorializing” John Wilkes Booth and his assassination of Abraham Lincoln.  How appalling!  I did some simple research and found out that it did FORMERLY exist.  It was not erected by the city, county, or state, but was actually commissioned by an individual, Joseph Pinkney “Pink” Parker.  Exercising his First Amendment rights, he erected it in his own front yard.  It stood there for several years, obviously causing much controversy.  Upon his death, Parker’s sons had the inscription “honoring” Booth removed and had it recarved so it could be used as Parker’s tombstone.

After finding this “historic” marker, we explored the cemetery for about two hours or so.  It contains some very old grave markers, many of which have deteriorated and fallen apart.

Many of the graves had no marker at all.  Perhaps the missing grave markers were made of wood like this one.

A few more pics of the cemetery.

On Wednesday, the 21st, we drove south to Enterprise and Dothan.  Enterprise has a monument honoring the boll weevil.  Many years ago, the primary crop for the area was cotton.  The boll weevil moved in and devastated the industry and forced farmers to find an alternative.  That alternative was peanuts.  Because of the boll weevil, the area farmers learned to diversify and prosper.  They honor the boll weevil with this monument.

We tried to go to the visitor center located in the old depot, but it was closed.

Here’s a sign for a local establishment, again honoring the boll weevil.

After our tour of downtown Enterprise, we drove east to Dothan, AL.  First stop was the visitor center.  Dothan, also, is heavily reliant on the peanut industry and claims to be the “Peanut Capital of the World.”  In appreciation of peanuts, they have this monument located at the Visitor Center.

Also at the Visitor Center were these beautiful flowers.

After our stop at the Visitor Center, we headed toward the downtown area.  First stop was this monument commemorating the naming of Dothan.

The story of the naming of Dothan was located nearby.

Just up the street, we found what is proclaimed to be the “World’s Smallest City Block.”  It’s a small triangle containing a stop sign, yield sign, street sign, and a granite marker.

Next stop was the Wiregrass Armed Forces Memorial.

We appreciate these memorials and what they represent.  “Thank you” to all those who have served throughout the history of this fine country.  We’ve been to a couple of these memorials now, and I believe there cannot be too many of them.

On Friday, the 24th, we endured some strong storms in the morning.  After the weather had cleared up, we headed out for a “nourishing” lunch at a place called Milky Moo’s.

We had eaten lunch here back in January with a bunch of folks from here at the campground.  However, we didn’t try the ice cream at that time.  Our friends, Mike and Sue, gave us a discount card that they weren’t going to be able to use before they left for Georgia, and today was the day to take advantage of it.  Terri had a small hot caramel sundae.

And I had a large hot fudge sundae.

We both enjoyed our “lunch” (thanks Mike and Sue!) and then headed over to Walmart for some grocery shopping.

Later in the afternoon, I decided it was time to attempt a repair to our fireplace.  A while back the blower motor stopped working.  I called Dimplex and they sent out a replacement blower/heating unit.  It arrived earlier in the week.  They said that because it was still under warranty, there was no charge.  And, if I wanted, they would have someone come out and install it for us.  After looking at the new assembly, I decided to try and replace it myself.  First, I removed the anchor screws and pulled the fireplace unit out of the cubby hole.  I unplugged the unit and then removed the screws from the top cover and carefully flipped it over without pulling any wires loose.

Then I took a few pictures of the wiring before I started the disassembly.

I disconnected the wires, removed the old unit, transferred the shroud and mounting hardware over to the new unit, connected the wires and double checked to the pictures I had taken, and then tried to attach the new unit to the lid.  The screw holes on the new unit didn’t match up to the holes on the lid.  I compared the new unit to the old unit and realized I had missed a couple of mounting brackets when I was transferring everything over.  So I disconnected all of the wires (again), attached the two small mounting brackets, reconnected all the wires (again), and double checked everything to the pictures (again).  Now I was able to successfully attach the new unit to the lid.

I reinstalled the lid and returned/secured the fireplace back into its cubby hole.  I plugged the cord back in and turned on the fireplace, and everything seems to be working just fine.

It’s really nice having the use of the fireplace again.  It still gets chilly at night here, and we’re looking forward to using it.