Summer 2015 Week One

Left the snowbird nest a week ago and have taken our time with our travels.  We’ve given ourselves 2+ months to get to the Kenai Pennisula in Alaska for the Habitat for Humanity home build we’re volunteered for.  Here’s our journey thus far

First night out we headed from Leesburg FL over to Fountain FL, to a campground we found a few years ago on the Florida Panhandle.  One of the best parts of the trip was the trip.  The first 40 miles were through developed areas.  The other 200+ miles were on great quiet roadways with limited traffic and traffic lights. Pine Lake RV Park

Day two we headed across the state line and spent the night in AL, a first time overnight camping experience for us.  We chose the campground based on location (west of Mobile) and price (Passport America discount).  The site and park were adequate for an overnight stay but with more rain predicted for the next few days (11 inches in 8 previous days) we chose to move along instead of exploring the area.  Payne’s RV Park

Our third night was spent in Bay Saint Louis MS, a mere 100 mile trip from Mobile.  We had stayed at this park before and knew that they had cement pads for parking our rig which would be better than dirt with the additional rain coming.  As this was a casino rv park, we decided to eat at their buffet and try our hand at the tables.  Glad to say we came out ahead by a few dollars.  Hollywood Bay Saint Louis Casino RV Park

Sixty five miles west found us at our next stop: New Orleans LA.  Like the AL stop, this was a first time overnighting in the state stop and we added that sticker to our door map.  The campground was along a boat channel that lead to Lake Pontchatrain and we were fortunate enough to get one of the back-ins sites right on the water.  While their basic prices are high, they accepted Passport America which gave us 2 nights for the price of one. We stayed 2 nights.  Pontchatrain Landing, site 24

It was during this time the the irony of my blog title and our brand of truck camper occured.  Several years ago I titled the blog as our RV Adventures and we are using our Adventurer RV.

While at this campground, we took their shuttle in to the French Quarter and spent several hours  walking around taking in the sites and sounds.  A disappointment we had in the French Quarter was when we headed to a cemetery and were advised at the gate that we needed a tour guide to view the cemetery.  We saw 2 people sitting just inside the gate and thought they were guides waiting to lead tours. They were not, just 2 more people to tell us we couldn’t through without a guide. When we asked where we could get one, we were told to go back into the French Quarter to find one.  Being tired from walking as much as we had already done, we weren't in the mood to walk back and forth any longer and gave up on that plan.

After 2 nights in LA, we continued west on I-10 and stopped in Beaumont TX,  This was another repeat campground for us from our Passport discount program.  They had the lowest priced laundry and I made sure to get caught up ($1 each wash & dry).  Beaumont also offered a complimentary “hot breakfast”.  Breakfast offerings were waffles, biscuits and gravy, cereal or bagels.  Gulf Coast RV Park

Day seven found us back on I-10 heading west through Houston to San Antonio for a 2 night stay.  While in Beaumont we decided that El Paso would be our true destination, but with the mileage to get there (850+ miles) we would do 275 miles a day with a day off in the middle of the trip.  Most of I-10 was posted as 75mph, a speed we will not do because of fuel economy as well as ride comfort.  We plugged along at 62 mph and were glad to see the speed on the Interstate in Houston reduced to 60.  The roads were usually 4 lines, several times increasing to 5.  We were able to ride one full lane in from the right the whole distance of greater Houston, TX which is about 50 miles.

Under normal conditions, I’d have flinched and pushed the imaginary brake on the passenger side 5 or 6 times a minute.  While I may have held on to the door handle a bit tighter than others it want well.  Just over 2 hours in to the day’s drive and we swapped as is customary.  When my 2 hour stint was up, we were less than 30 minutes from our destination and decided that I would remain driver.  We could see multiple flashes of lightening in the skies and very dark clouds and I hoped we’d make it to the park and get set up while still dry.  Mother Nature had other plans and about 10 miles out let loose with torrential rains.  My options were to get off the highway and wait out the storm or push through.  We pushed through.  There was some puddle pooling on the highway but the local roads were another story.  My luck was the roads were 4 lanes so I could stay near the middle to avoid the puddles.

We stayed 2 nights in San Antonio, dining twice at the Mexican Restaurant directly across the street. It was Fiesta week in town and the campground was very full.  While looking at our routing towards El Paso from San Antoniol, we decided to deviate from I-10 and now plan to travel Route 90 which will take us through some fun little towns and communities.  Travelers Word Carefree RV Resort

Next week’s journey will bring lots of new sites and places for us, stay tuned.

The Planning has begun in earnest

Tonight I did a quick listing to figure out our trip from FL across the southern U.S., up the west coast, into Canada and then Alaska, and returning back to FL, perhaps with a journey to eastern Canadian provinces before heading south.

The total journey is approximately 15,000 miles - not counting any side trips or deviations from the basic routing. Chuck's prediction is 20K.  Very rough and very basic - some locations are listed just to make sure I got the routing I wanted vs the more direct FL to AK my search wanted to give me.  Only time will tell, but it's fun doing some basic routing.

One the road again - part II

Picking up from our overnight in NY, our journey continued south and we stopped in Maryland to visit with our children, North Carolina, a return visit to a winery campground in South Caroline, Georgia and finally our destination in central Florida.

For me, once we got on to the NJ Turnpike, I felt I was able to enjoy the trip a bit.  Granted we were travelling in separate vehicles so we both were driving, but still, there was something about getting the traffic headaches of northern NJ and NY behind us.

We returned to a few campgrounds we had stayed at on other journeys and arrived at our Snowbird Nest in time for Halloween.  Two weeks after we arrived, we decided it was time to bite the bullet and purchase a truck camper for our future travel plans and adventures.

All summer long we had been looking at various camper options to accommodate our plans to travel to Alaska next year.  From the research we were doing, it seemed to make sense to us to leave our 5th wheel camper in Florida and to acquire a smaller unit for "camping".  We looked at truck campers (the type that slide in to the bed of a pickup truck), small travel trailers and smaller Class B & C units.  Needless to say we are very specific in our wants and needs and although we thought we found the right unit numerous times over, we'd quickly realize a feature or two that took that unit our of the running a few minutes later.

One truck camper that caught our eye was in NH and we saw it in early September.  It had 3 features we found rather intriguing; first, the kitchen was in the rear of the camper, including the fact that the fridge and stove were on a slide room that went out the back side.  The sink was on a fixed island and the kitchen was usable even with the slide in.  Second, besides a booth dinette, this camper also had 2 recliners - theater style seating which made being indoors and watching tv a lot nicer option than from the dinette only.  The third feature we really liked was in the bathroom.  The entire bathroom roof was a domed skylight.  Generally the bathroom has a very small vent in the ceiling and that is the only place a tall person can stand up straight.  This bathroom's full dome meant that both hubby and I could stand up straight while showering or doing our teeth.

We were concerned, however, about the camper's overall weight and put it on the back burner of our thoughts as we continued to look at campers.

Fast forward to our arrival in FL.  By then we had made an offer on a smaller truck camper at a dealership in TX - only seen to us in photos on the internet.  We were not able to come to an agreement on price and decided it wasn't meant to be.  I mean, we hadn't even seen the inside of a similar unit with the same floor plan to know if it would work or not.  So I was glad to let that one go by.

After visiting a few more dealerships and looking on the internet, we realized that we were comparing all possible contenders to the one in NH.  So through emails and phone calls we made an offer and soon found ourselves planning a trip back north to pick up the camper.

Mother Nature is a very evil being and decided to time a Polar Vortex during our journey.  We made our 1400 mile trip in 3 days since we didn't have a camper behind us.  We definitely felt a lot of stress and strain from pushing ourselves each day to do our distances.  The temperature kept getting colder and more miserable the further north we went.  The morning we were to take delivery of the truck camper there was sleet and freezing rain.  Not weather we snowbirds were really looking forward to.

We spent 3 nights at the dealership, learning how to operate slightly different features from our current rv.  While we were there we added a few more options to both the truck camper and the pickup truck to make camping better.  Leaving NH we took 3 more nights to return to FL, stretching our trip out to 4 days on the road.

Another two weeks later and we set the truck camper up on the pickup and headed back up the east coast to Maryland for the birthday of a grandbaby.  We spent a total of 10 nights in the new truck camper on this trip and continued to learn more about the truck camper and our wants and needs while camping.

We've been "home" to the 5th wheel for 5 days and already we're talking about where we could go for another mini trip this winter, never mind the real reason we bought the truck camper - to fit in to smaller campgrounds and cut down on our overall length and tolls.

Accessorizing

Because of my current location while using my computer today, I’ve decided this post will be about  an accessory we’ve acquired for our campsite.  It’s a typical mid-December afternoon in central Florida, so I’m in a screen room that is extremely spacious by most screen room standards.  Earlier this year we bought a Coleman Instant Screened Canopy: a hexagonal, easy to set up screen room.  I’d seen this room a few times at campgrounds and one of the principle reasons I liked it was it’s over all size - listed as 10’ x 12’.  Photos on the internet show a picnic table inside the footprint of the screen room AND room for people to walk around.  While we don’t have a picnic table in ours, we have had 4 folding chairs, a recliner, 2 small tables AND a dog bed with 5 people and a dog and plenty of room to move about.

Another feature that sold me on this unit was the doorway height.  Chuck stands 6’1” and both of us have had to duck under the canopy of most square screen room / shade covers.  Not here.  If we fully unzip the doorway, we can walk right in, no ducking required.  There are two walls with zipper panels and four with full screens.  Because of the strength of the FL sun and for a bit more privacy, we’ve zip tied an additional screen tarp  to the frame of the room.  The breeze comes right through, but the sun’s intensity is lessened a bit more, making it very comfortable for hanging out. 

The entire unit fits compactly into a travel case for easier transport to where ever it might be needed.  The screens and canopy have well thought out design features; clips into grommet holes on each post of the frame, extra pieces of material for wear points on the canopy, velcro type attachments to hold things snug.  Even the tie downs and spikes worked well on this unit.

The first time I put the screen room up, I did it alone, using ingenuity and a few rocks to help stabilize one leg allowing me to maneuver the diagonal side of the frame to open it to it’s full size.  While it can be done solo, it truly is much easier with a second person.

For added comfort in “my queendom” as we call the screen room (Chuck says I’m holding court when folks come by and visit) we acquired 2 folding rocking seats.  The chairs have flat leg bases allowing you to put them on any surface.  The back leg though has a piston  and the forward part of the leg base is on a pivot, allowing you to “rock”.  They quickly became our favorite seats and we leave the stationary seats for guests.  

While they don’t fold up as much as our other portable chairs do, the rockers do compact a bit for transportation, something very important to our and our lifestyle.

On the Road Again

Well the Rig's all packed

The campground is closed

The highway's calling

We're ready to roll

Newburg New York's the first stop on our way down south

(to the tune “Leavin on a Jet Plane”)

313 miles under our seats today - left Ames Brook Campground in Ashland NH a little after 9am and arrived at the KOA in Plattekill, NY around 4pm.  We stopped a few times to stretch our legs, walk Rugby or have lunch.  Traffic was good (ok great) for a weekday.  

We opted to drive Rt 9 in NH from outside Concord to the VT border; a pretty drive and one I want to do again some day. There’s a lovely river along a stretch of road that was still flowing with fury - by this time of the year most brooks and rivers had dwindled down to trickles, this one was coursing along like a spring brook.

Our journey continued on I-91 down to the Mass Turnpike where we passed over the highest elevation on I-90 east of the Mississippi - 1724’ above sea level.  Interestingly the sign pointing out the elevation height stated that the next time you reached that elevation on the road would be in South Dakota.

In NY we took I-87 down to our exit.  At this point I was reminded of a lesson we learned a long time ago, if the campground has provided specific directions on their website or in a camping directory, do not follow the GPS directions.  My GPS said to take 2 rights off the ramp - WRONG !!!  It was 2 lefts.

Tomorrow we’ll go another 300 miles, with a good portion on Interstates.  Depending on how we feel as we drive, traffic and weather conditions, we may make it to our planned destination near family. Otherwise we’ll stop about 100 miles out and boondock for the night at an RV dealer.

The day will tell.

Follow up to some posts

Oh why can’t I just write about all the things I want to share and do it in a timely manner?  So many times I think to myself “That would be a great blog entry” and by the time I get home or some down time, let it go by.

Tonight I can’t sleep and want to catch up a bit on some thoughts and whatnot.

For starters, I reread some of my more recent blogs, which were posted last fall.  As follow up to “My least favorite thing”, we made it to Florida with no more passenger anxiety issues for me.  I think part of it was the volume of traffic on I-95 south of Washington, DC is so different than the Northeast Corridor, and that we had taken the alternate route around DC and Northern VA.  We also cut our days’ drives down to 200 miles between overnight stops which made it easier on all.

While in Florida, I decided to sell my motorcycle and we decided to buy me a car, my first used car purchase.  Having the car made getting around in FL much nicer for me since I didn’t have to tie up hubby’s pickup truck to go to the store or visit a friend.  He then had the option of using his truck or riding his motorcycle when he wanted to go out.

For our northbound trip this past Spring, we brought both the car and truck with us.  I drove lead in my car and he had the truck and camper.  We had CB radios to stay in contact with each other and also to listen to the truckers about any traffic issues on our journey.  We kept our travel days at 200 miles since we both were doing the same amount of driving and had the potential to be extra tired.

Now that we’re settled in to the campground for the season, we use the car almost every time we go out shopping or even sightseeing; partially because Chuck lets me plan the trips and drive but also because the car is more fuel efficient.

Another area that needs updating is our camping destination.  Last October I had a few blog entries about our Work Camping opportunity in NH.  We decided last fall that we would accept the invitation to be one of the 2 couples the campground hires for the camping season.

We’ve been here for 2 months this year and still, to this date, my darling husband has not been assigned bathroom cleaning detail.  He has been shown how the owners want the bathrooms done, but I ended up doing that cleaning while he went back to other projects they have him doing.  One day I asked him to plunge a toilet that wasn’t working properly - I would have done it but it was in the men’s room and one of the campers wanted to use the shower...

I spend most of my time in the campground office, answering the phone, making reservations, checking in campers when they arrive and keeping the main building clean and neat.  The campground has an impressively stocked store, especially when compare to other campgrounds we’ve been to.  Items range from groceries to camping gear to RV supplies and souvenir clothing and gifts.

It’s fun to hear campers rave about how nice and clean everything at the campground is.  The owners take pride in this place and we enjoy being part of the team.

RV Hints - What's my size

When traveling through a new area, it’s always helpful to know not only how tall your rig is, but also how long.  And if your journeys take you across the border, it’s even more helpful to know what those numbers are in metric too.

We know the manufacturer's listed height and RV length, but didn’t know how long we were when hitched up to our pickup truck.  One day we measured the truck and trailer to get our length, making sure we included the ladder on the rear of the trailer.

To make sure we don’t have this worry on future travels, we’ve created a label that is attached to the truck’s dash.  Listed in both feet and meters are our height, RV length and length overall (truck and trailer). Now when we make reservations or travel routes, we know for sure what our limitations are.

Knowing our overall length is helpful as some campsites may be ok for a 40' bus. They think since our trailer is 36' long we can fit the same space. When you add in the length of the pickup truck, we need a site closer to 55' if we stay connected.