Change in Plans - Houston, Here We Come

We're on our way to Houston. My VA appointment for December 3rd in Tennessee was cancelled and my Mom is really not doing well. So we said goodbye to Key West and we're making our way to Texas.

In the interest of making good time, we decided to overnight at rest stops instead of using campgrounds. In Florida, you can legally spend the night at any rest stop that has night-time security. Truckers take advantage of this and so do RVers.

Our first stop was Sumter County Rest Area off I-75 northbound, a few miles south of Bushnell. This stop is 455 miles from Key West, with slow going up and out of the keys and then west across the state through the Everglades. We stopped for lunch at a visitors center in the Everglades and then continued on. We finally got to the rest area around 7PM, after about 10 hours on the road.

We resumed our journey fairly early this morning, and we've made it to the Pensacola area. We're spending the night at another rest stop. We hope to make it to Houston by tomorrow (Sunday) night. This will be a drive of around 550 miles, but will be easy going all the way on I-10 with a steady pace of 60-65mph.

RV Fire Safety

RVs tend to be fairly high-risk for fire because many have heat-absorption refrigerators, use on-board liquid propane systems, and the electrical systems are prone to failure due to stress from vibration and temperature changes.

An RV on fire is like a burning Christmas tree: it goes up fast and burns incredibly hot. For many of us, the biggest concern regarding an RV fire is that we can get out as fast as possible. This means our lives may depend on the effectiveness of on-board warning devices such as smoke detectors, CO2 alarms, and LP detectors. Fire extinguishers also need to be accessible - not necessarily to put out the fire, but to help buy time so we can get out of the motor home.

Anyway, we've spent a fair amount of time over the past couple weeks working to improve our fire prevention and safety equipment.

We started by replacing the 11-year old Carbon Monoxide alarm and the Propane Gas detector. A lot of RV owners don't replace these units, although they are known to fail after 10 years. They won't save your life if they do not work! We test these units once a month.

We also installed three Dual Sensor Photoelectric and Ionization Smoke Alarms: one in the cockpit area, one in the kitchen area, and one in the bedroom. Compared to just an ionization- or photoelectric-based alarm, a dual sensor alarm can detect both flaming and smoldering fires, therefore providing better fire safety protection. We test these units once a month also.

We keep a Sodium Bicarbonate powder-type B-C Auto/Marine fire extinguisher mounted by the door to the RV. We turn and bounce this extinguisher on the floor once a month to prevent the powder from hardening in the cylinder, and we also check the pressure gauge to verify the charge is still sufficient.

We also keep two foam-type A:B:C Multiple Use Fire Suppressant extinguishers in the bedroom. In theory, we could spray ourselves with this foam and run through fire to get out of the RV. They can also be used to put out stove-top fires. We check the expiration dates each month and will replace at that time.

The leading cause of RV fires are malfunctions with heat-absorption refrigerators. With this in mind, I installed a Halon autorelease fire extinquisher in the refrigerator compartment. If the ambient temperature exceeds 155°F (indicating a fire has erupted), this extinguisher will spew Halon in a 360-degree pattern to put out the fire. I check this unit once a month when parked for extended periods of time. I also check that it is still securely attached every time we reach a new destination.

In total, we invested around $430 on the above equipment. I would have spent twice that amount if needed - and I sleep better at night knowing our fire safety equipment is up-to-date and effective.

Key West Cemetary

Lynda and I rode our bikes to the Key West Cemetery and spent a couple hours visiting graves and enjoying the serenity. We come here every time we are in Key West - it is one of our favorite places.

This cemetery was founded in 1847 following a hurricane the previous year that destroyed the earlier cemetery located near present day Higgs Beach. To protect from future flooding, the 19-acre cemetery was located on Solares Hill, the highest natural elevation in Key West (18 feet above sea level). 

An estimated 75,000 people are interred here, divided among parcels that reflect the cultural diversity that continues to characterize the city of Key West today. The cemetery contains a historic Catholic section, Jewish section, the USS Maine Plot dedicated in 1900, and the Los Martires de Cuba, a memorial for those who fought in the 1868 Cuban revolution.

In addition to these defined areas, African Americans, Cubans and Americans, rich and poor, are interred throughout. In-ground and crypt style graves range from simple concrete copings filled with soil to elaborate monuments. Plot enclosures of wrought iron, wood, or concrete were often used to mark family plots.

Life Interrupts

Fran and John had to leave Key West unexpectedly. Fran is having some health issues and so they've gone up to Miami. They are great people and we'll miss them both; John promised to keep us updated on Fran's health, and we are sending prayers and positive thoughts her way.

And I need to go to Houston; my Mom's health has been poor and then she fell yesterday and broke her hip. I want to spend some time with her and my sisters could use some help. Not sure yet how this will unfold; we're still working it all out. Lynda is suggesting we leave Key West and go to Houston.

The irony is that we thought we would be in Key West for another four weeks and have been slow about doing the things on our To Do and See in Key West list. Oh well, I'm sure we will be back again sometime and we cannot control everything.