Holy, wholly, holey roof

We had heard great things about St. Andrews State Park from the Bareneckers.  They did have a little weather scare while they were there but surely that would not happen to us….right?

We were having dinner together after a beautiful day in the park when my folks text me to ask if we’re ok.  Apparently there was severe weather ripping through the Gulf from Louisiana to the Florida panhandle.  I told them we’d keep an eye on the storm but it looked fine outside to me.  The wind picked up a little bit later and some sprinkles but nothing much.  Then at 11:20 our phones start buzzing with tornado warnings (not watches, warnings).  We pull up the weather radar and it looks like it’s about past us so I think we’re in the clear but Steph wants to be on the safe side.  We wake up the kids, put ponchos on and make our way to the cinder block bath house where other campers have come for shelter as well.

About 12:30am the warning drops to a watch so we head back to the trailer and find a puddle of water on the kitchen floor.  I poke around and can tell it’s coming from behind the fridge.  This is the first real weather we’ve seen on the trip.  Literally Oh-dark-thirty in the morning during a severe thunderstorm is not when I want to find out I have a Hawaiian roof (leaky leaky).  Fortunately the rain had seemed to stop so we prayed for no more rain.  I go to crawl in bed and wonder if I had wet the bed from the weather alert…there was a wet spot on my side of the bed.  It turned out not to be a bladder leak but rather a leak at the crank for the TV antenna.  Crud!!  I wrap a rag around it to try to soak up any more drips and I head to the couch to sleep the rest of the night.

There was no more rain the rest of the night, thank you God, and my first order of business in the morning was to inspect the roof.  All night I played it through in my head what I might find when I’m up there and how I will find the tiny gap where water is infiltrating.  But once on the roof my search for the culprit is very quick.  There is a giant hole above the fridge!

It’s the vent for the refrigerator…so its supposed to be there, but what is supposed to keep water out of it?  I can tell that something had been screwed to the flange at one time so I google around and find what should be covering the hole.  I purchase one at a local shop and get it installed along with sealing up the boot where the TV cable goes through the roof (there was a gaping hole).

I got some Eternabond tape and Dicor sealant that I’ll use to do some preventative maintenance on the roof when its less windy but we should be good to go for awhile.

I have no idea when we lost the fridge vent cover.  I looked back at the picture of the top of the camper from the ferry in Galveston and the vent cover was gone there too (it’s on the shady party of the roof).

Maybe we lost it in Sonora when we got waaaay too close to the trees?  Maybe it blew off before the trip?  Or maybe it was missing since the day we bought it?  How did I miss that?

The storm did quite a number along the Gulf…even as close to us as Pensacola.  There was a lot of property damage, many injuries and some deaths.  When I climbed up on the roof I think I heard the flutter of a bunch of angels take off.

Thank you Lord for listening to all the prayers and keeping us safe!