Thanks everyone for the replies.
We live 10 miles due north of the White House, in MD. So we won't have any cold weather anytime soon, bummer.
Luckily, none of the plates were even close to being exposed. It starts right up every time. I'm just used to changing them out after 4-5 years. But this one has been a good one so far.
I will give it a good cleaning and keep an eye out. Our oldest finally gets out of school this week, so off to Elk Neck state park for a few days.
Safe travels to you all. Thx again, mark