Our coffeemaker gave up the ghost

So our coffeemaker went on the fritz and of course it happened at breakfast time. Murphy’s Law, I guess. Well, yesterday afternoon was the last time I used it and it seemed fine brewing our coffees. Right afterwards I wanted to use the toaster and it didn’t work. Puzzled I checked the GFI breaker and discovered that it had popped. After a reset the toaster worked ok. So this morning our coffeemaker steamed and gurgled but no water was dripping out. Benno figured that the heating element shortened out. We’ll have to shop for a new coffeemaker, as this one was a very inexpensive brand. It also proves again that cheap is not always a good investment and you get what you pay for.  Just read on at the end of this post!

When I had packed the travel trailer in Canada I had contemplated taking the plastic Melitta coffee filter along which is useful when you have no electricity. I ended up packing it because it takes little space and is lightweight. All I had to do was to heat up some water and to pour it onto the coffee grounds in the paper lined coffee filter and that is what I did.  Coffee tasted great and it saved the morning ;-).

Yesterday we were on a mission. Benno discovered that his beloved sandals were in the process of developing a hole.  He had bought them at West Marine couple of years ago. It is a boating supply chain and since there is a West Marine store in Orange Beach, AL, that is where we went. The trip turned out to be successful, but the new footwear gave him a blister when he was going to wear them right away. Guess he needs to break them in slowly.  Passing through Foley on our way home we stopped at Piggly Wiggly. I just needed some half and half coffee cream and thought I check out the store. Many years back when we cruised with our sailboat there were many of this supermarket chain all over Florida, but now this is the only Piggly Wiggly I know of around here. I would compare it to the Publix supermarkets with its merchandise. Our family in Germany might find the name to be funny and that is why Benno took the picture.

Today we drove in the other direction toward Mobile. There is less tourism but lots of upper class clientele.  Thus you find in Mobile “The Fresh Market” delicatessen supermarket with all its wonderful foodstuffs and many very nice stores to window shop.  Across on the other side of the highway there is the Bass Pro Shop. Going in there is always a trip into the wilderness as the stores are created with indoor waterfalls, large aquariums and all kinds of displays that replicate being somewhere in the woods. We had fun browsing and Benno posed around a bit for the camera.

While we were in a kind of shopping spree, I spotted a "Ross" store. In there I found a little top that I could not live without it. Then onto "Hobby Lobby" where these couple new funky garden ornaments wanted to come home with me. They were 40% off just like the last time I purchased some at around this time of year.

In-between visiting malls I took the dogs for walks so they could also explore other lawns than the ones in our RV Park.  At home they were pooped out and needed a rest before they enjoyed more of the outdoors.

We haven’t found a replacement coffeemaker yet, so I guess that is what we are going to do tomorrow. 

And here is more about the topic of cheap. While driving down from Canada a week ago we needed to use our Honda generator at the overnight stops. While Benno was packing away the Honda generator in Birmingham, AL, he almost spilled his morning coffee when his eyes rested on the newly installed hour meter of the Honda generator. He noticed in shock that the reading showed 90 hours. That could not be and had to be badly wrong. Maybe 9 hours would be more like it and the realization struck that this meter was a flop. Yes, a bad “el cheapo” a no good “patron” a terrible dud.  Find out what the replacement is by clicking  here or find it on our technical posts sidebar.