On the First Part of Our Journey…

We finally got our RV all loaded with the things we needed for our Summer adventure, at least we thought we did, more about that later, and pulled out of Sun-N-Fun around 11:30 on Sunday, April 24th. The RV was performing well and, other than the fact that “loaded” does not necessarily mean “stowed”, meaning the place was cluttered with bags and boxes we would have to deal with down the road, it was smooth sailing North. The repairs we had had done to the RV seemed successful. The dashboard air system was blowing nice, cool air and we had tried out the rooftop A/C while loading and it was working well too. Hate the expense but love the results.

The first day was pretty uneventful and the traffic was clear. We made it about 430 miles and into South Carolina for the night. After Geoff put out all of the slides, and we were putting away stuff, Geoff saw a movement in the bedroom. Quickly he grabbed a clear cup and a piece of cardboard and coaxed a small tree frog that had somehow found its way in, into the cup. It is not known if he came in while the slide was being put out in SC or if he had traveled all the way from Sarasota with us, but we hope he likes his home in SC.

While unpacking, we discovered the first of the things we forgot. Our very expensive knife set was left behind as well as our grilling utensils. We have some old knives we will have to make do with and some other utensils we can use with the grill. So far, nothing critical.

The next day was longer because we got on the road earlier. We ran into a construction delay in North Carolina but Ellyn was able to anticipate the backup using the social networking app Waze (ways) and we turned off and went through some local towns before getting back onto I-95. We stopped at a campground just north of Washington DC. We were glad to miss any rush hour traffic on the beltway. In the first two days we had covered almost 1000 miles and had about 350 to go the third day.

We usually do not like to travel this fast but to give ourselves some time to relax between long trips but a good friend of ours is very ill in Connecticut so we made the best time we could to get up here and see her. We will be staying in the area for a week or two until traveling on to the Boston area. Since there are no campgrounds close by, we are staying with friends in Trumbull, CT and have put the RV into temporary storage. It is not how we like to travel but, once again, the circumstances require it.

Post Script: Beware unusually low fuel prices! We stopped at a station in South Carolina and topped off because the price was only $1.90/gallon, about 10-20 cents lower than other prices we had seen along the highway. When we got to Connecticut, we saw an unusual warning indicator on the dash. It turns out this indicator means that water has been detected in the fuel. Geoff will have to drain the fuel filter and add more Howes Lubrication to the tank to see if that fixes it. Beware!

Post Post Script: Oops, too quick on that bad fuel call. Turns out the connector on the bottom of the fuel filter that feeds the “water in fuel” indicator was broken by some piece of road debris. I found it when I went to drain the water. Nothing but fuel in that filter so no water problem after all. A judicious use of Duct Tape and we should be back in business. However, (isn’t there always a “however”?) I have not been able to start the engine since we put in the storage lot. I think I have to get a better charge on the coach cells. I ran the generator for a couple of hours today but I might have to get some help. Not a good sign for our big trip.

Last Post Script: After some consideration, we decided that the chassis batteries needed to be replaced. We are not sure if they were ever replaced by the original owners and we have not since buying the coach in 2010 so we found a local source and put in two new starting batteries. This did the trick. Geoff got the coach restarted and warmed up. Things should be good to get back on the road again.

About to Relaunch

Ok, the long, cold Winter of 2015-16 is over and we are coming up on our spring launch into RV travel mode again. April 24th will mark our departure from the Sun-N-Fun RV Resort and the beginning of a six month adventure into the 48 contiguous United States. Stay tuned to this blog for updates as we go. It will be our most adventurous since the 2012 Alaska Adventure. Let's just leave it at that for now. Keep coming back to see how it unfolds.

As for us, we have been here in our SNF vacation home since the first week in August of last year. This is our longest time in one spot since we started this journey back in April of 2009, just over 7 years ago. It has not been boring because this resort is never boring. Things were quiet in the "home owner" area of the park because there were not many of us, but the rest of the park was hopping with Summer campers and Day Pass people enjoying the pool area. We enjoyed the peace and quiet around our end of the park and were able to let Jordy out without a leash to chase a ball on our walks. 

The only problem with being here in August and September was the heat. 80-90 degree days with lows only in the 70s and frequent rain storms. Actually the heat lasted well into November and it really did not get cool enough for a major change in how we would dress for each day until January. By then we were lucky to remember how to put on long pants and socks.

The 2016 season was loads of fun with Geoff teaching and playing guitar lots and Ellyn doing loads of sewing projects. Geoff was also able to do lots of bowling, despite an abbreviated league season, there was lots of open bowling times he was able to enjoy. We joined a local synagogue this year and enjoyed meeting lots of new friends there. We attended the local Jewish Film Festival as well as the Sarasota Film Festival which is just winding down. We also got to attend four Spring Training baseball games here in the Grapefruit League.

Among other special events this passed season, we went to Walt Disney World 4 times, one of those times on our own but the other times to meet up with friends. The biggest event this passed December was the new Star Wars movie, which we saw three times in the theaters and purchased on disc the day it was released. Since we had seen the original when we were first dating, this was a very special event. It was as strongly anticipated as was "The Return of the Jedi" back in 1983. It did not disappoint.

Now, we are getting the RV ready with some needed maintenance and a top to bottom cleaning before filling it with the necessities for 6 months away from our stationary home. Geoff already replaced some lights and did some PM on the hot water heater. We have some minor A/C issues to get fixed and then we can head out. We had a big chassis inspection done last Summer so we think it should be all set for a long trip. We are looking forward to being on the road again.

Update: We finally got to the A/C repairs although perhaps a little late. Today is Thursday, April 21, and the work is not done. We are hoping to get the rig back early tomorrow so we can get loaded up before Sunday morning. However, we have a Passover Seder tomorrow evening and a show to go to on Saturday evening. This will cut into our time. There has been a slight change in plans for when we leave here though. We were going to stop off in Charlotte, SC for a few days and near Washing DC as well, but now, because of a very sick friend in Connecticut, head straight there, hopefully a three day trip. We will be there for a week or two before heading off to Massachusetts.