Apparently we survived hurricane Sandy and the resultant "super" storm (AKA the "Frankenstorm) pretty well. We had some wind last night and a bit of rain but we never lost power and have seen a lot worse. Our son Eric - about 30 miles west of us over in Auburn lost power last night but the kids down in Jersey that took the hurricane landfall pretty much head-on maintained power throughout the night! I certainly wouldn't have wanted to be near the coast down in New Jersey, New York, or Connecticut - but we made it through fine up here in Maine.
It's still cloudy out there and I'm sure we'll see a wind gust and a rain shower here and there - but I'm thinking we're pretty much done with Sandy. Time to move on.
But move on to what?
I could get out there and get busy cleaning up the yard. But it's still too wet.
I could start getting the Chevelle ready for storage. But I'd rather do that on a drier day as well.
I could get serious about ordering/building that storage shed I've been thinking about. But I think it's getting a bit late in the year for such outdoor work.
I could spend some time backing up all the files on this laptop and then try to improve its performance by making it go stupid (including a reformat of the hard drive) and then reload all the software. Or maybe better yet - load the new Windows 8! But that's risky business and it could me days to get everything working again - and then the performance may be no better.
Or I could move on to some new - totally yet to be figured out project.
What to do? What to do?
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Ready for Sandy
I reckon we are about as ready as we are going to get for the big storm heading our way. All the outside furniture, BBQ, hose reels, etc., are picked up and put in storage. Our emergency generator has been tested. We have plenty of food, water, and batteries. Yup - we are ready for the Frankenstorm! It looks like the NJ Evringham's are right in the path of Sandy's projected landfall - but Brian informs me that they are prepared as well. So we'll do what we always do during these times - keep an eye what's happening around us and our kids and adjust as necessary.
In many ways we are better prepared than most. If need be -- we have a "spare" home parked nearby complete with its own emergency power source. Hopefully we won't need "Plan C."
In between our storm preparations we got out the other day to watch Kyla and Bailey participate in their high school's soccer playoff games. The girls team won and the boys team lost a close one. Nothing like a sunny fall day in Maine watching some playoff soccer!
Alas ... it looks like our stretch of sunny fall days are behind us for awhile. Today is cloudy to really cloudy with rain & wind forecast for the next several days as the super-storm works its way through. I'd say that about 60% of the leaves on the hardwoods have fallen already and I suspect that the coming storm will rip off most of the remainder. But what about all those campaign signs that are stuck in the ground at just about every street corner? Where will they end up? I suspect we will end up picking those up as well.
So ... we'll hunker down for a few days and then emerge from our hiding places to finish up our fall cleanup in preparation for the cold weather to follow. Bring on the hot coffee, tea, and cocoa ... throw another log on the fire ... and grab (or download) a good book.
In many ways we are better prepared than most. If need be -- we have a "spare" home parked nearby complete with its own emergency power source. Hopefully we won't need "Plan C."
In between our storm preparations we got out the other day to watch Kyla and Bailey participate in their high school's soccer playoff games. The girls team won and the boys team lost a close one. Nothing like a sunny fall day in Maine watching some playoff soccer!
Alas ... it looks like our stretch of sunny fall days are behind us for awhile. Today is cloudy to really cloudy with rain & wind forecast for the next several days as the super-storm works its way through. I'd say that about 60% of the leaves on the hardwoods have fallen already and I suspect that the coming storm will rip off most of the remainder. But what about all those campaign signs that are stuck in the ground at just about every street corner? Where will they end up? I suspect we will end up picking those up as well.
So ... we'll hunker down for a few days and then emerge from our hiding places to finish up our fall cleanup in preparation for the cold weather to follow. Bring on the hot coffee, tea, and cocoa ... throw another log on the fire ... and grab (or download) a good book.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Readying for the Frankenstorm!
Last Fall we had tropical storm Irene to contend with in September and then there was the very odd Halloween night snowstorm. This Fall it looks like we may get both - this time on the same night! They (the news media) started off calling it the "Perfect Storm" but have recently started using "Frankenstorm" as the term to be used to scare us all into getting out and buying lots of bottled water and batteries. Now don't take this wrong ... I appreciate all the modern technology that can watch these storms develop and give us plenty of time to get prepared - and I'll be sure to take advantage of our forecasted nice day today to get the deck furniture and the BBQ put away - and maybe even test run the emergency generator ... but I think we can do without the media using terms like "Snowmageddon" and "Frankenstorm" to spice up the nightly weather report.
Speaking of the news media ... don't ya just love watching the very different "spin" on the various TV channels to the same piece of political news. Or even better ... don't ya love what some media outlets call "news." I know ... most of you aren't the political junkie that I am - but this election season can really be hilarious if you just sit back and watch both sides spin the same "fact" to their perceived advantage. Hilarious that is ... except it's too serious to be funny.
I am a believer in the pendulum theory of political science in America. As a nation - we tend to go to the "right" until folks on the "right" over-reach and push us back to the center. And then the opposite happens as we overcompensate - miss the center - and swing too far left. This has been going on for a long time - but unfortunately the pendulum swings are getting farther and farther from the center before we start moving back. I think it's past high time that we get moving back to the center. But then we need to find a way to dampen the swing in the pendulum. But how? I suggest that the pendulum is swinging farther and farther from center because we have allowed our central (federal and state) government to have too much power. They haven't just taken it - ripped it from our tightly clutched fists -- we have given it to them - one vote at a time.
Time to move back to the center and then slow down the pendulum. Let's take back what we gave away.
In the meantime - I'll go get ready for the Frankenstorm.
Speaking of the news media ... don't ya just love watching the very different "spin" on the various TV channels to the same piece of political news. Or even better ... don't ya love what some media outlets call "news." I know ... most of you aren't the political junkie that I am - but this election season can really be hilarious if you just sit back and watch both sides spin the same "fact" to their perceived advantage. Hilarious that is ... except it's too serious to be funny.
I am a believer in the pendulum theory of political science in America. As a nation - we tend to go to the "right" until folks on the "right" over-reach and push us back to the center. And then the opposite happens as we overcompensate - miss the center - and swing too far left. This has been going on for a long time - but unfortunately the pendulum swings are getting farther and farther from the center before we start moving back. I think it's past high time that we get moving back to the center. But then we need to find a way to dampen the swing in the pendulum. But how? I suggest that the pendulum is swinging farther and farther from center because we have allowed our central (federal and state) government to have too much power. They haven't just taken it - ripped it from our tightly clutched fists -- we have given it to them - one vote at a time.
Time to move back to the center and then slow down the pendulum. Let's take back what we gave away.
In the meantime - I'll go get ready for the Frankenstorm.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Advice From an RV Greybeard
Winne made it to her storage spot on Sunday and is resting quietly - waiting for her next opportunity to be off on a new adventure. I'm always glad to have that task behind me. Winne is cleaned inside and out, chassis lubed, oil changed, full of fuel, batteries disconnected ... and NOT parked in my driveway. Winne has had a busy year! She deserves the rest. Don't ya'll fret - she won't get lonely - I'll be over to visit every few weeks. I need to replace a few storage compartment prop rods that I have on order and exercise the generator once in awhile.
We have owned Winne for 8 1/2 years now and have traveled all over the US - racking up over 95,000 miles of seeing America. Back when I was an RVing rookie I would read everything I could get my hands on regarding how to operate and maintain a motorhome. After all - who wants to have to deal with "stuff" that doesn't work when you are driving across Wyoming! I still like to learn about hints and tricks to keep all Winne's systems operating correctly - but I guess I have graduated from RVing Rookie to "RV Greybeard." Since I am now a Greybeard (remember - I even have my Old Geezer Card now!) I thought I would offer some sage advice on operating and maintaining your RV:
Sage Advice #1: Use it.
I am a firm believer that mechanical systems need to be exercised frequently to be kept in top working order. Remember - "A RV at rest tends to stay at rest."
Sage Advice #2: Fix it.
Intermittent problems don't tend to get better all by themselves and will become real problems at the worst possible moment. In addition -- small problems tend to become large (and expensive) problems. Fixing issues when they first come up is usually a good policy. Note: I sometimes ignore this advice and it costs me almost every time!
Sage Advice #3: Learn From The Experience of Others.
Almost every problem/issue I have had with Winne has been experienced by others before me. There are plenty of RV forums out there that can help you troubleshoot just about any problem yourself -- or at least help you deal with your RV Service Center of Choice. You do have to be able to sift through the "advice" you receive. Some is "good" advice and some is ... well ... not so good. As with just about everything else in life - your own common sense is usually your best source of advice.
Come to think of it ... those three pieces of "Sage Advice" apply to many aspects of life. You may have to modify a term here and there to make it fit your particular situation ... but I think it works.
1. Live Life.
2. Address problems head on. Don't let small ones get to be big ones.
3. Remember - there are few problems that others haven't had before you. Learn from their experience.
Enough of today's "Advice From Mikee" Column ...
Time to pick up more leaves.
We have owned Winne for 8 1/2 years now and have traveled all over the US - racking up over 95,000 miles of seeing America. Back when I was an RVing rookie I would read everything I could get my hands on regarding how to operate and maintain a motorhome. After all - who wants to have to deal with "stuff" that doesn't work when you are driving across Wyoming! I still like to learn about hints and tricks to keep all Winne's systems operating correctly - but I guess I have graduated from RVing Rookie to "RV Greybeard." Since I am now a Greybeard (remember - I even have my Old Geezer Card now!) I thought I would offer some sage advice on operating and maintaining your RV:
Sage Advice #1: Use it.
I am a firm believer that mechanical systems need to be exercised frequently to be kept in top working order. Remember - "A RV at rest tends to stay at rest."
Sage Advice #2: Fix it.
Intermittent problems don't tend to get better all by themselves and will become real problems at the worst possible moment. In addition -- small problems tend to become large (and expensive) problems. Fixing issues when they first come up is usually a good policy. Note: I sometimes ignore this advice and it costs me almost every time!
Sage Advice #3: Learn From The Experience of Others.
Almost every problem/issue I have had with Winne has been experienced by others before me. There are plenty of RV forums out there that can help you troubleshoot just about any problem yourself -- or at least help you deal with your RV Service Center of Choice. You do have to be able to sift through the "advice" you receive. Some is "good" advice and some is ... well ... not so good. As with just about everything else in life - your own common sense is usually your best source of advice.
Come to think of it ... those three pieces of "Sage Advice" apply to many aspects of life. You may have to modify a term here and there to make it fit your particular situation ... but I think it works.
1. Live Life.
2. Address problems head on. Don't let small ones get to be big ones.
3. Remember - there are few problems that others haven't had before you. Learn from their experience.
Enough of today's "Advice From Mikee" Column ...
Time to pick up more leaves.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Changing Seasons - and Attitudes
Contrary to what you all must have been thinking these last few days - Mikee has not just been sitting around contemplating the meaning of life. I have accomplished most of Winne's pre-storage maintenance (oil change and chassis lube), completed winterizing of the fresh water system, helped Peggy get the inside surfaces cleaned and the carpet shampooed, and given the outside a good scrubbing. I still have a few more minor items to get done and then Winne can be put to bed for a few months.
Shortly after publishing my last blog post and while sitting in my recliner watching some Celtics pre-season basketball and waiting for the presidential debate to start ... I felt the house rumble a bit and then a big THUMP. Now I'm pretty used to feeling a rumble or two when living in Winne and parked next to the railroad tracks that all RV Parks are located near -- but the THUMP was new! Whoa -- we musta just had an earthquake! According to the news the quake was a 4.0 on the Richter Scale and centered about 60 or so miles away. Earthquakes are not an unheard of occurrence in Maine - but they are pretty rare. Fortunately, I haven't heard of any damage or injuries from this unusual event. Just a few shattered nerves. But then again ... perhaps the shattered nerves resulted from the debate!
Ah - once again it is Autumn in New England. The hardwoods are ablaze in bright reds, oranges, and yellows. And so is my lawn. I generally enjoy this season in Maine - except for dealing with those gorgeous leaves that collect in our yard! I think I need a new outlook on leaf removal. I should be thinking about the healthy exercise I'll be receiving as I rake/blow those leaves into piles to be followed by the even-more-fun process of placing all those piles into bags for hauling and then unloading at the Solid Waste Facility. Or perhaps I should feel thankful that I have the opportunity to assist our municipality in creating compost for use in local gardens in the spring.
Yessiree - that's what I'll do - I'll change my attitude - Bring on the Ibuprofen.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
More Understanding
Stuff I think I understand ...
Folks tend to like politicians that tear down their opponent. This must be true. If it weren't so - then politicians and their campaigns wouldn't spend enormous amounts of money on negative campaigning. Does anybody have a clue what President Obama plans on doing in his potential second term? Probably not but I suspect you all have seen an ad telling you how much of a dirty capitalist Mitt Romney is. On the other hand ... the Romney folks are constantly reminding us that President Obama has failed to improve the economy and has, in fact, implemented policies that have made things worse. Has anybody seem ads where Romney tells us what he plans on doing to improve things? Oops - I think I have! My bias may be showing!
According to Newton's First Law of Motion - "Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state unless an external force is applied to it." I'm pretty sure this applies to our RV life as well. Once we get Winne rolling we tend to stay rolling until we 1) run into one coast or another, 2) run out of money, or 3) miss our boring home lives.
The opposite is also true. Winne tends to stay in storage unless an external force is applied to it. The force necessary is directly proportional to the amount of snow and ice that has accumulated on top and and indirectly proportional to the outside temperature. This force is also indirectly proportional to the number of days since the first day of Winter. I call this Mikee's First Law of Snowbirding.
OK- enough of this craziness - time to get ready for some important stuff ... like the results of Dancing With The Stars to be followed by the next Presidential Debate. I wonder who gets voted off the show tonight? Will it be Bristol Palin or Kirstie Alley or maybe Hope and Change ... or Cut, Cap, and Balance?
Folks tend to like politicians that tear down their opponent. This must be true. If it weren't so - then politicians and their campaigns wouldn't spend enormous amounts of money on negative campaigning. Does anybody have a clue what President Obama plans on doing in his potential second term? Probably not but I suspect you all have seen an ad telling you how much of a dirty capitalist Mitt Romney is. On the other hand ... the Romney folks are constantly reminding us that President Obama has failed to improve the economy and has, in fact, implemented policies that have made things worse. Has anybody seem ads where Romney tells us what he plans on doing to improve things? Oops - I think I have! My bias may be showing!
According to Newton's First Law of Motion - "Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state unless an external force is applied to it." I'm pretty sure this applies to our RV life as well. Once we get Winne rolling we tend to stay rolling until we 1) run into one coast or another, 2) run out of money, or 3) miss our boring home lives.
The opposite is also true. Winne tends to stay in storage unless an external force is applied to it. The force necessary is directly proportional to the amount of snow and ice that has accumulated on top and and indirectly proportional to the outside temperature. This force is also indirectly proportional to the number of days since the first day of Winter. I call this Mikee's First Law of Snowbirding.
OK- enough of this craziness - time to get ready for some important stuff ... like the results of Dancing With The Stars to be followed by the next Presidential Debate. I wonder who gets voted off the show tonight? Will it be Bristol Palin or Kirstie Alley or maybe Hope and Change ... or Cut, Cap, and Balance?
Monday, October 15, 2012
Understanding
Things I don't understand ...
I don't understand why our cable TV company (Comcast) decided that we had to install a "Digital Converter" on every TV in the house. Supposedly it was because they were switching over to all Digital Signals and we wouldn't have been able to use their signal otherwise. The good news was that because every TV had to have an "authorized" box - they could control what you received from their offices. Changes would be so much easier! Not only that ... if you ordered new service (or a re-establishment of service following a cancellation) you wouldn't need a technician to show up. They simply send you the equipment - you hook it up and then go on the internet or use your phone to have it "authorized." Sounds pretty good - except for one small detail. When you cancel your service, not only do you have to turn in all the Set Top Boxes you needed to receive their service - they have a technician come over and physically disconnect the cable leading to the house. Soooo ... after receiving the equipment, setting everything up, and making the authorization call ... it still won't work until the technician comes out to hook up the cable. I'm sure this all makes sense ... to somebody!
I don't understand why the Christmas season starts in October. We still have two "holidays" to go before Christmas. Not only that - but one of those "holidays" celebrates all things not-so-holy. No wonder kids are confused. We don't let them figure out one holiday before moving on to the next!
I don't understand why we buy expensive high-tech toys for small children. Give them a choice between a high tech gadget with the batteries dying and an old cardboard box with a few blocks inside and the box-and-blocks wins every time!
I also don't understand who the "undecided" voters are! At this point in the election cycle there should not be a single undecided voter. As I've said before -- I believe 94% of American voters had their minds made up months ago. The other 6% aren't "undecided" ... they are "indecisive." Assuming these folks vote at all - they will make up their minds in the voting booth ... probably based on something important - like whose name has the most vowels.
I suppose I simply have a lot yet to learn!
I don't understand why our cable TV company (Comcast) decided that we had to install a "Digital Converter" on every TV in the house. Supposedly it was because they were switching over to all Digital Signals and we wouldn't have been able to use their signal otherwise. The good news was that because every TV had to have an "authorized" box - they could control what you received from their offices. Changes would be so much easier! Not only that ... if you ordered new service (or a re-establishment of service following a cancellation) you wouldn't need a technician to show up. They simply send you the equipment - you hook it up and then go on the internet or use your phone to have it "authorized." Sounds pretty good - except for one small detail. When you cancel your service, not only do you have to turn in all the Set Top Boxes you needed to receive their service - they have a technician come over and physically disconnect the cable leading to the house. Soooo ... after receiving the equipment, setting everything up, and making the authorization call ... it still won't work until the technician comes out to hook up the cable. I'm sure this all makes sense ... to somebody!
I don't understand why the Christmas season starts in October. We still have two "holidays" to go before Christmas. Not only that - but one of those "holidays" celebrates all things not-so-holy. No wonder kids are confused. We don't let them figure out one holiday before moving on to the next!
I don't understand why we buy expensive high-tech toys for small children. Give them a choice between a high tech gadget with the batteries dying and an old cardboard box with a few blocks inside and the box-and-blocks wins every time!
I also don't understand who the "undecided" voters are! At this point in the election cycle there should not be a single undecided voter. As I've said before -- I believe 94% of American voters had their minds made up months ago. The other 6% aren't "undecided" ... they are "indecisive." Assuming these folks vote at all - they will make up their minds in the voting booth ... probably based on something important - like whose name has the most vowels.
I suppose I simply have a lot yet to learn!
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
2012 Summer Trip Report
Well here I sit - waiting for my cable TV gadgets to get "activated" by Comcast. I'm pretty sure it will take several more phone calls to their technical support line before I get everything working the way it worked before I left - it always does. One of the downsides of being a RV Part-timer I suppose. Waiting on the cable TV folks to get it right or waiting on the Dish folks to get theirs right! Isn't technology a wonderful thing?
We are managing to get more and more moved in today - but I have a feeling it's going to be a slow process. The motivation to get everything done just hasn't set in yet. Maybe we're still recovering from all the travel days? Maybe it's the cooler weather? Whatever our excuse we better figure it out pretty soon before the snow starts flying!
Oh well - tomorrow is indeed -- another day!
As for the much anticipated travel stats - here goes ...
Total miles for the trip - 8,015 ... I guessed 8,000 before we left and budgeted accordingly. On our winter trip we averaged about $3.50 per gallon for fuel - so I budgeted for $3.60 on this trip. It's a good thing we got home when we did since the price of fuel seemed to be rising every day during the trip home. For the entire trip we averaged $3.65 for gasoline and 7.1 MPG. Yup that's right ... just over $4,000 for the trip!
We were gone for 80 nights with a little over half of those (45) spent at either the Quiring RV Resort or the Redeker Camping Lodges and Sewing Center. Since the Quiring and Redeker spots are free from cash outlay (although payment is provided via brotherly love) we saved a bunch on nightly camping fees. If you take our total parking/campsite fees and average them over the entire 80 days - we ended up spending about $13 per night. If you don't count the our stays at my sisters places we averaged just under $30 per night ... just under the budget for this trip.
Not counting our days spent in Yreka and Minden we stayed in 25 different RV Parks. 10 of those parks we have visited in the past. The most expensive placed we stayed was the Pittsburgh/Madison KOA at $45 for one night. We have stayed there before and it was expensive then as well. We need to find a nicer and cheaper spot to stay when in that area! The least expensive (again, not counting our stays at my sisters) was at Crossroads RV Park in Kansas. $14 for a quiet full hookup site was a great deal!
Our trip out to Yreka took 12 driving days over 15 days in total. Way too fast -- but our mission changed on day 7. The trip home from Sacramento was a bit better at 14 driving days over 18 days in total. Still too fast - but it's hard to slow down once Peggy smells the barn!
Winne ran pretty darn great for those 8,000 miles. We did have that serpentine belt issue early in the trip but after that repair she did well. Up mountains and down mountains, through 100 plus degree weather across deserts, and through some pretty impressive windy days. She did lose a small mudflap somewhere in Utah but that repair was pretty inexpensive and easy to accomplish in Yreka. Winne has now traveled some 95,000 miles and seems to be aging well. She certainly needs some TLC now to get her back into tip top shape - but then so do I!
Whew - what a year! 13,600 miles and about 180 days on the road! I think we are both ready to sit still for awhile.
But how long? What about a winter trip? We haven't stayed home for a whole winter in several years now! All I know is that I have a lot to do to just get ready for winter - both the house and Winne.
Ask me again in January!
We are managing to get more and more moved in today - but I have a feeling it's going to be a slow process. The motivation to get everything done just hasn't set in yet. Maybe we're still recovering from all the travel days? Maybe it's the cooler weather? Whatever our excuse we better figure it out pretty soon before the snow starts flying!
Oh well - tomorrow is indeed -- another day!
As for the much anticipated travel stats - here goes ...
Total miles for the trip - 8,015 ... I guessed 8,000 before we left and budgeted accordingly. On our winter trip we averaged about $3.50 per gallon for fuel - so I budgeted for $3.60 on this trip. It's a good thing we got home when we did since the price of fuel seemed to be rising every day during the trip home. For the entire trip we averaged $3.65 for gasoline and 7.1 MPG. Yup that's right ... just over $4,000 for the trip!
We were gone for 80 nights with a little over half of those (45) spent at either the Quiring RV Resort or the Redeker Camping Lodges and Sewing Center. Since the Quiring and Redeker spots are free from cash outlay (although payment is provided via brotherly love) we saved a bunch on nightly camping fees. If you take our total parking/campsite fees and average them over the entire 80 days - we ended up spending about $13 per night. If you don't count the our stays at my sisters places we averaged just under $30 per night ... just under the budget for this trip.
Not counting our days spent in Yreka and Minden we stayed in 25 different RV Parks. 10 of those parks we have visited in the past. The most expensive placed we stayed was the Pittsburgh/Madison KOA at $45 for one night. We have stayed there before and it was expensive then as well. We need to find a nicer and cheaper spot to stay when in that area! The least expensive (again, not counting our stays at my sisters) was at Crossroads RV Park in Kansas. $14 for a quiet full hookup site was a great deal!
Our trip out to Yreka took 12 driving days over 15 days in total. Way too fast -- but our mission changed on day 7. The trip home from Sacramento was a bit better at 14 driving days over 18 days in total. Still too fast - but it's hard to slow down once Peggy smells the barn!
Winne ran pretty darn great for those 8,000 miles. We did have that serpentine belt issue early in the trip but after that repair she did well. Up mountains and down mountains, through 100 plus degree weather across deserts, and through some pretty impressive windy days. She did lose a small mudflap somewhere in Utah but that repair was pretty inexpensive and easy to accomplish in Yreka. Winne has now traveled some 95,000 miles and seems to be aging well. She certainly needs some TLC now to get her back into tip top shape - but then so do I!
Whew - what a year! 13,600 miles and about 180 days on the road! I think we are both ready to sit still for awhile.
But how long? What about a winter trip? We haven't stayed home for a whole winter in several years now! All I know is that I have a lot to do to just get ready for winter - both the house and Winne.
Ask me again in January!
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Home Again
This will be just a short note to confirm to you all that Peggy and I made it safely home early this afternoon. We had a cloudy and sometimes a little rainy travel day but overall - not too bad. The traffic was pretty light considering our route and we made it home around 1:45 PM.
We spent a few hours unloading a good deal of our "stuff" that needed to come inside and then Stacy and Taylor Anne came over to welcome us home. It was great seeing them both and especially great getting to play some with Miss Taylor. She is really getting around great now and is right next to walking. Grandma and Grandpa will have to be more alert when watching her from now on!
Hopefully I'll find time tomorrow for a final trip report with all the stats you never wanted to see.
It sure is good to be back home ... and I'm really looking forward to a great night's sleep in my really comfy bed.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Almost There
Here we are - day 80 of this long and sometimes crazy trip. With one more day and only about two hundred miles to go we are both more than ready to be home.
We made the drive from just outside Philadelphia up the New Jersey Turnpike - over to the Garden State Parkway - Up to I-84 at Newburgh, NY and through Connecticut to here in Wales, MA ... near Springfield.
So thanks for the memories:
Darrell and Judy in Michigan.
Jamie and Ernie in Yreka.
Marcie and Don in Minden.
Nan in Medford, Yreka, and Minden.
Vicki, Lee, Terri, Samantha, Robyn, Scarlet, Bennett, Erin, Carin, & Zach in Sacramento.
Charlie, Carol, and Kendrah in Merced.
Randy and Terri in Kansas
and
Brian, Nicki, Alyssa, and Emily in New Jerzee.
It's all about family and friends ya know!
See ya'll tomorrow .... from HOME.
We made the drive from just outside Philadelphia up the New Jersey Turnpike - over to the Garden State Parkway - Up to I-84 at Newburgh, NY and through Connecticut to here in Wales, MA ... near Springfield.
So thanks for the memories:
Darrell and Judy in Michigan.
Jamie and Ernie in Yreka.
Marcie and Don in Minden.
Nan in Medford, Yreka, and Minden.
Vicki, Lee, Terri, Samantha, Robyn, Scarlet, Bennett, Erin, Carin, & Zach in Sacramento.
Charlie, Carol, and Kendrah in Merced.
Randy and Terri in Kansas
and
Brian, Nicki, Alyssa, and Emily in New Jerzee.
It's all about family and friends ya know!
See ya'll tomorrow .... from HOME.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
The Immaculate Reception
Ah, the beautiful view of the Susquehanna River with the Three Mile Island Cooling Towers in the distance. Brings back memories (fond and not-so-fond).
We are definitely "back east" now! The grass is green, the trees are orange, red, and yellow, the fuel and campgrounds are more expensive, they collect tolls to travel the roads, and the traffic is worse. Yessiree - almost home.
We pulled in to our Jerzee campground here in Clarksboro around 3:30 PM yesterday to find out that the place was packed and we would need to go to an "overflow" spot. What the heck? Why in the world would this place be so busy this time of year? Are the Canadians heading south already? (Yep), Is it leaf peeping season? (Yep), is it a three day weekend for those that get Columbus Day off? (Yep) ... Regardless - I need to remember to get reservations around here on the weekends!
Shortly after we pulled in and got set up we were joined by Brian, Nicky, Alyssa, and Emily. Not only that -- they brought Pizza and sandwiches from Domino's! We visited for several hours and the gals played a rousing game of Mexican Train before they headed home for the evening.
Today we plan on visiting at their house while watching their Eagles take on those cross state rivals the Steelers. Fortunately I really dislike the Steelers. Nothing personal - but I've been holding a grudge since the "immaculate reception" in 1972! I'm sure I'll get over it in time. But 40 years isn't enough!
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Zero Day
Today is the 42nd Anniversary of Peggy and my wedding. 42 may sound like a large number - and it is - but I mean it when I say that "it seems just like yesterday." She remains the love of my life and I'm proud to say it. I'm still not sure how I managed to pull off one the worlds biggest wins when it comes to finding the perfect partner ... but I did!
In celebration of that momentous day - we're taking the day off! A "Zero Day!" No miles to be driven. No highway intersections to negotiate. No fellow drivers to worry about. Well it's a day off for me anyway. Peggy has insisted on getting the laundry done ... and I'm not complaining. Perhaps I'll be a good husband and take her out to dinner tonight.
It is a beautiful fall day here in Richmond, IN where we settled in yesterday afternoon. Richmond is right near the Indiana-Ohio border along I-70. I figure we have 4 more travel days left on our trip and it looks like the first two will be spent heading pretty much due East to New Jersey to visit with Brian, Nicky, Alyssa, and Emily. We haven't seen them for quite awhile so we're both looking forward to seeing them again and finding out what's happening in their busy lives.
I know you are all looking forward to our end of trip statistics so I thought I would provide a few teasers in today's post.
Number of States Traveled This Trip (To Date) = 18
Number of Additional States Traveled in 2012 = 14
Days "on-the-road" in 2012 (To Date) = 173
% of 2012 "on-the-road" = 62%
Miles traveled in 2012 (To Date) = 12,510
Winne Overnight Parking Spots Visited in 2012 = 46
Hope ya'll are having a great day!
In celebration of that momentous day - we're taking the day off! A "Zero Day!" No miles to be driven. No highway intersections to negotiate. No fellow drivers to worry about. Well it's a day off for me anyway. Peggy has insisted on getting the laundry done ... and I'm not complaining. Perhaps I'll be a good husband and take her out to dinner tonight.
It is a beautiful fall day here in Richmond, IN where we settled in yesterday afternoon. Richmond is right near the Indiana-Ohio border along I-70. I figure we have 4 more travel days left on our trip and it looks like the first two will be spent heading pretty much due East to New Jersey to visit with Brian, Nicky, Alyssa, and Emily. We haven't seen them for quite awhile so we're both looking forward to seeing them again and finding out what's happening in their busy lives.
I know you are all looking forward to our end of trip statistics so I thought I would provide a few teasers in today's post.
Number of States Traveled This Trip (To Date) = 18
Number of Additional States Traveled in 2012 = 14
Days "on-the-road" in 2012 (To Date) = 173
% of 2012 "on-the-road" = 62%
Miles traveled in 2012 (To Date) = 12,510
Winne Overnight Parking Spots Visited in 2012 = 46
Hope ya'll are having a great day!
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Are We There Yet?
We finished off our visit in Kansas with a short drive Monday over to the Hillsdale State Park Campground where we settled in to a nice enough spot near the lake.
We were shortly joined by our friends Randy and Terry Guiler who are volunteers at the nearby Hillsdale Dam Visitors Center with the Army Corps of Engineers Not only did they come over for a visit - they even brought dinner! Good friends and good food -- can't beat that deal. We spent several hours visiting and took a short drive with them to see all the other camping facilities within the State Park. Randy and Terry will be leaving Kansas in a few weeks to set up in their winter spot in Bonifay, Florida. Good luck you guys and Safe Travels!
We got back on the road this morning around 9:00 AM - 1st task? Get through Kansas City. After safely negotiating all that traffic we spent most of our day cruising through Missouri enjoying the fall scenery.
As always - there was the daily fueling stop ...
Then came the last major task for the day - make our way through St. Louis during the early part of "rush hour."
With all that behind us we continued on up I-70 about 50 more miles to Mulberry Grove where we settled in for the night. Whew - long day ... but we weren't done yet. We had a great Skype call with Stacy and Taylor Anne and then a great Spaghetti dinner prepared by Miss Peggy.
It may have been a long travel day - but it was a good one!
Soo ... Here we sit ... about 1300 miles from home. Do we head straight for the barn? or detour slightly through New Jersey to check up on the NJ Evringham Gang?
Stay tuned - I can't wait to find out myself ...
We were shortly joined by our friends Randy and Terry Guiler who are volunteers at the nearby Hillsdale Dam Visitors Center with the Army Corps of Engineers Not only did they come over for a visit - they even brought dinner! Good friends and good food -- can't beat that deal. We spent several hours visiting and took a short drive with them to see all the other camping facilities within the State Park. Randy and Terry will be leaving Kansas in a few weeks to set up in their winter spot in Bonifay, Florida. Good luck you guys and Safe Travels!
We got back on the road this morning around 9:00 AM - 1st task? Get through Kansas City. After safely negotiating all that traffic we spent most of our day cruising through Missouri enjoying the fall scenery.
As always - there was the daily fueling stop ...
Then came the last major task for the day - make our way through St. Louis during the early part of "rush hour."
With all that behind us we continued on up I-70 about 50 more miles to Mulberry Grove where we settled in for the night. Whew - long day ... but we weren't done yet. We had a great Skype call with Stacy and Taylor Anne and then a great Spaghetti dinner prepared by Miss Peggy.
It may have been a long travel day - but it was a good one!
Soo ... Here we sit ... about 1300 miles from home. Do we head straight for the barn? or detour slightly through New Jersey to check up on the NJ Evringham Gang?
Stay tuned - I can't wait to find out myself ...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)