13 Dec 2018 - Downtown Montgomery, Loo Repair

13 Dec 2018

Happy birthday to the National Guard. On 13 Dec 1636 the first militia regiments in North America were organized in Massachusetts.  The (Air) National Guard was a big part of my military career from 1977-2015 and deserves a "happy birthday"!

Beautiful night last night.  Was about 48 F when we got up this morning with the sun shining.  By the afternoon it was overcast although warm, or comparatively warm at least, with a high of 63F.  As I write this (8:30 pm) I can hear rain on the roof and it is supposed to rain continuously until 7pm Friday night.  

This morning we headed back downtown Montgomery to see a few more sites.  We visited the Dexter Ave King Memorial Baptist Church where Dr Martin Luther King started his ministerial and civil rights leadership.  This is the only place he served as pastor.  

Our next stop was the Alabama Capital Building. The white building sits atop a hill and is surrounded by trees and monuments.  The original building was built in 1846 and served as the first capital of the Confederacy.

We started on the north side and visited the Confederate Memorial Monument.

The 88-foot tall marble structure commemorates the 122,000 Alabamians who fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War. The monument detail is very ornate.  Beautiful.

On each corner is a placard describes a different confederate flag that has obviously been removed due to our current state of "political correctness".   The stub from the flag pole is still visible.

 

The grounds are surrounded by beautiful trees, many of which are extremely old. 

As we worked our way around the west side where the main entrance is, the bronze placard where Jefferon Davis was sworn in as the president of the Confederate States of America (C.S.A)on the front steps.

Every door we tried was locked, although the signs indicated the Capital was open.  Doreen posed in front of what was supposed to be the main door.

On the south side of the Capital is the Avenue of Flags.

Across the street to the south is the First White House of the Confederacy.  It was the executive residence of President Jefferson Davis and his family when the Capital of the Confederate States of America was located here in Montgomery Feb 1861 until it moved to Richmond VA May 1861.  

The rooms and furnishings were very well preserved, many original.   

This dining room recently suffered some damage by falling plaster which fell on the dining room table and smashed some of the China dishes.  

We finished up downtown and received a call that my parts had arrived at the dealership so we headed north about 10 miles and purchased the parts.  While there we stopped for some Mexican lunch and then headed back to the RV.

The toilet or 'loo' repair consisted of removal and complete disassembly, replacing the water valve parts and waste ball & seal.  A residential toilet has a large trap area that holds water and prevents sewer gases from coming up from the toilet.  It also has a large water reservoir that when flushed forces the sewage from the toilet and down the pipe.  RV systems have to be very efficient with water so they use very little water to flush and a very small amount of water to keep the sewer gas in check. If that seal is bad, sewer gases can enter the RV from the black tank, and that is not a good deal at all!!  Also, like a residential toilet there is a floor flange which is replaced also.  So, I basically removed and overhauled the 'loo' and all is well now!  

Although we have been in Alabama for a few days already, we had not yet placed the sticker on the map, so Doreen took care of that task. This trip will take of many more states and leave only six states (Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Georgia)

We have already passed through Mississippi but we are reserving the honor of placing that sticker to Charlie and Elaine Philbrook, my first Air Force supervisor who came to my retirement ceremony.   We will see them in a couple weeks and will do that sticker then.