Larry W4CSC wrote:

"Leanne" wrote in :

Larry is Short Stay still in operation??

With the departure of the Navy from Charleston, Short Stay was combined
into the Air Force's Lodge and is now a beautiful, well-maintained
recreation facility that encompasses the entire peninsula they used to
occupy. All the old rickety facilities are gone replaced by nice lakefront
cottages, a nice campground, a really nice small-boat marina and great
picnic and outdoor activity facilities. It's all been rebuilt.

There is still the Naval Hospital and according to my daughter some
other small but important Navy stuff in Charleston.

We stayed on the Charleston AFB for 5 days this month, and it was a
disaster. Not all of it was their fault, but some of it was

The room was on the second floor and there is no elevator. We had a
living room with a TV and a kitchenette, a bathroom with a shower
which passes through to the bedroom with another kitchenette (frig not
working) and TV. No utensils or plates.

We went down and looked at a friend's boat that she left at the
Maritime Center while they went home for Xmas, and phoned her to tell
her that it was OK (no water inside), but the electricity isn't on at
their boat. There is still storm damage in the marina - some of the
finger piers are at funny angles. I took some pictures of the boat
and sent them to her.

As soon as we got back to the AFB, Bob got cold symptoms and didn't
feel very well. He didn't sleep well, and this morning he explained
to me that all the water sounds that I've been hearing is because
there is a leak in the toilet and it flushes every 6 minutes (so I
KNOW he wasn't sleeping in order to time that!!). He looked at it and
said the flapper was new but it had been replaced with one that was
too small. We reported it by phone and in writing but nothing was
done. (If we keep the bathroom door shut, it isn't as noisy)

Feb 27th - Sunday

We drove out to our son's in Summerville for dinner, They gave
Bob his birthday presents (nuts - pistachio and almond).

Since the room has no utensils or plates, I stopped by KFC to get food
that I thought would last us a couple of days and perhaps provide a
cereal bowl for breakfast for the morning (we have the cereal and milk
in the car). Bob was miserable all night and did not get much sleep.

Feb 28th - Monday

The Mercedes was hard to start this morning. We went to the Inn and
asked for two more nights (we can only get 3 nights at a time as
retirees). Then we went to the pharmacy, but they don't stock my
prescription. (I'm about 10 days short - it is blood pressure
medicine.)

While Bob was in the Exchange, I looked up the Navy Hospital on the
map, so we drove down there. Security there is really tight - they
not only wanted to see Bob's ID, but mine too. They don't carry my
prescription either. They suggested I go to a civilian pharmacy. So
I did. But the civilian pharmacy said there was a SC law against
importing prescriptions from another state, and I'd have to get our
doctor to call them. I know he's not in the office on Monday, plus I
have no confidence in his office calling anyone since they once faxes
a prescription to the wrong fax number 3 times in a row.. He said he
could give me one pill but it would be about $1.25

March 1 - Tuesday

Bob is still miserable. Plus he tried to start the MB and it would
not start. The battery is getting run down from trying to start. I
called the desk and they said I could not get a tow truck unless we
could get to the gate (about 2 miles) and escort them in. She gave me
the number for security.

Security told me that they were prohibited from jump starting a
vehicle with any AF vehicles. He could hear Bob coughing in the
background, so he said that he'd allow a tow truck through the gate if
I could get one to come and called him Our son would not be allowed
through the gate either unless we could come and escort him in.

Bob thinks that a new battery will solve the problem but we have no
way to get one. He also thinks that the cold weather may have
something to do with it and we have no extension cord to plug in the
block heater. We walked 2 blocks to Burger King for dinner, and he is
worse than ever after that. Plus I've started coughing too like I was
in Key West. I wonder if there is something in this building making
us both sick. Our daughter says Bob must have pneumonia (or maybe
bronchitis) and to get him to a doctor.

March 2- Wednesday.

We got a bit more sleep last night and feel better. Bob has had an
idea - there is an Enterprise rental car place on the base. We will
rent a car and go get a battery. So I call. They say they will be
here by 10:30. Bob goes out to try to get the battery out of the MB
and discovers that he is missing a socket wrench and can't get it out.
(Actually he had it, but he was feeling so miserable that he didn't
find it where it was in the bottom of the toolbox)

After we get the car, we go to the exchange and they don't have
any batteries or tools. Then we go to Walmart, but they don't have
the right size of battery. Finally we stop at Advance Auto Parts.
He's also gotten a jump start thing that you plug into the
wall to charge the battery on IT and then unplug and take it out to
the car and jump the car battery with your charger.

Then we go to our son's and they give us lunch. Bob and our son go to
install the new battery in the car. While our DIL and I go to get our
grandson at school - he has to ride two buses plus the school has no
lockers so he has to carry one or two musical instruments and all his
books around with him. I think his backpack is heavier than he is.
But he rode the bus, so we go back and pick him up at the bus stop.

The MB still won't start with a fresh battery. So we will have to try
the charger to jump it tomorrow. We all had dinner at McAlister's.

March 3

Bob got us up pretty early so that we could try the new jump start
device and jump the car. It still would not start. So....

I started phoning, while Bob stuffed everything possible into the
little compact rental car (coughing as he did so).

First I phoned the local Mercedes dealer and explained the problem.
Wonder of wonders, the guy I spoke to was very helpful and said he
could send someone out to give it a jump, but I explained why I didn't
think that would help. So he said he could take it today (!!!) and to
give him a call when I got someone to bring it in.

Second I called base Security. They said yes that a tow truck could
come in - I'd have to tell them what gate to go to (the main gate is
completely torn up with construction) and I'd have to call back and
tell them when he was coming and what towing company it was.

Third I called AAA. They said they would send a tow truck and it
would probably be Jenkins, and they'd call when they were 10 minutes
away.

Fourth I called base security again to tell them who was coming.

Meanwhile Bob went to the front desk to check out, and then he was
going to get the rental car extended.

The towing company called and said I would have to meet them at the
gate and they'd be there in 15 minutes. She absolutely refused to
believe that the base would let the driver on unless we met them at
the gate.

I called security again and they said that they absolutely WOULD let
him on the base.

So I called Enterprise, but Bob hadn't been there yet. I called the
Inns of Charleston and they said he hadn't checked out. Then after
some conversation, the goofball there changed her mind and said he had
checked out. (As a side note - they said they'd charge me $1/day for
internet access, but they did not.)

So I called Enterprise again, and got the girl just as Bob walked in
the door. She let me talk to him, and he said he'd go to the gate. .

Then AAA called me back. She asked if the driver had got there yet,
and I said no that Bob was somewhere en route to the gate and so was
the driver. So she called the towing company and had them page the
driver, while I was on the phone, and she came back to me and said
that Bob and the tow truck were both at the gate.

Actually, the base DID let the driver onto the base, BUT he had no
idea where anything was on the base, and of course security wouldn't
tell him. So in order for him to find us, Bob had to lead him in.

We followed the tow truck drive to the Mercedes place,
and left the car - the repair guy said he'd call when the problem was
diagnosed. We had a reservation farther along the road, so we started
out for there. The MB place said we needed all the glow plugs
replaced (they were all 'open' they said). So we checked in at the
next place, took all the stuff out of the rental car, and then drove
back the next day to turn in the rental car and pick up the MB.

As soon as we left the AFB, Bob started to get better.


grandma Rosalie