Friday 6 October 2006 - Pecan Park RV Resort - Jacksonville, FL

Here we are – right back where we started from. What song was that from?

Anyway, 5 months, 4 days ago, we departed from this very RV park on our grand adventure, covering roughly 10,505 miles in the truck (less with trailer in tow), and 5,000 miles in the motor-home. I’d bore everyone with costs, gallons of diesel used, and average mileage, but I don’t think you’d find that particularly interesting.

We have been on all four Interstates representing the “edges” of the USA: I-10 in the South; I-90 in the North; I-9 in the East, and I-5 in the West (plus several in between).

This a.m. we left Forsyth, GA, thinking we’d get up and start early and arrive back in Florida early in the day. Well, it was one of those mornings where nothing worked as expected (I won’t bore you with details). Needless to say, we didn’t get away from Macon, GA until after 10 pm. We did arrive in Florida shortly before 4:00 p.m. so all wasn’t lost.

One thing we noticed as we traveled I-16 from Macon to Savannah and I-95 south to Florida that was significantly different than the last 5 months. Drivers in the Southeast are aggressive, rude, and inconsiderate. Nowhere else did we see drivers staying in the left lane when there was no need to, forcing drivers to weave and drive dangerously to get by. We saw more illegal and dangerous lane changes today, cutting us and others off to get ahead by one car. And more people drastically exceeding the speed limits – at least it seemed that way. Of course we didn’t drive through Boston on this trip, so maybe things are worse there?

It is hot here - don't know how hot, don't have a thermometer, but we had to run the generator and both motor-home air-conditioners in addition to the engine / dash air conditioner just to keep it comfortable. Now that we're here, it has started to cool off. Hopefully it will be cooler in Fernandina near the ocean.

As promised, today’s last photo on the road is from one the trip’s highlights – Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada. Photos don’t do it justice – at least mine don’t. But it was quite a spectacular place in the midst of many spectacular places. A place, if you haven’t been, you need to move heaven and earth to visit. It is truly unique.

We plan to take the motor-home over to Fernandina Beach tomorrow – 14 S 7th Street – and assuming the tourists haven’t taken over – park in front of the house and unload as much as possible. I plan to call the police and see what kind of limits they have on how long we can stay (since we’ll fill up a goodly portion of the narrow street).

Then we’ll bring the unit back to Pecan Park RV and put it in their dry storage lot (dry means no water or power). We’re not sure what the next 6 months will bring but we expect to take it out on the road at least once per month to keep the engine in “tune”, batteries charged, and keep our hand in motor home operation. Plus see some sights in the southeast.

This may be the last blog for a while – at least until we see what tomorrow brings. I also need to find out what the blog site will allow in terms of no postings for some period of time, etc. I also want to investigate in the next few months what is required to set up a web-site which I think would be easier to maintain and for folks to visit. More later.

Thursday 5 October - Forsyth, GA - night 2

Sitting here this evening, listening to the geese honking in our little private pond, I am disappointed that this adventure is ending. Margaret is quick to point out that a new adventure is just beginning. Back in Fernandina, we will not be busy with Chamber Music or Financial Planning Biz – things that have occupied most of our waking moments for the last 5+ years. But this adventure is ending – and part of me is sad.

Tomorrow is another (our last) travel day. We have reservations at Pecan Park RV Resort near JAX airport. We stayed there at the onset of our adventure. It is convenient and comfortable. We will also store the motor-home there once we’ve moved back into the house.

Today was a true work-day. Margaret went through every cabinet on the inside deciding what to leave and what to take. I did similarly with the under storage. (p.s. I also cleaned some, but not all, of the bugs off the windshield). We are sort of prepared to unload. Our plan is to pull up in front of the house on Saturday (after Friday night at Pecan Park RV Resort) and empty as much as possible. Somewhere along the way, we’ll pick up Ruby Bug and by the end of the day, have the motor-home back in dry storage and our bodies ensconced at 14 S 7th St, Fernandina Beach.

There are a lot of things we’ve meant to say in these blogs, but keep forgetting. Age? Occasionally, I’ll ask Margaret if we mentioned xxx, and she’ll say, No, we must remember to do that. But I’m not sure we always do.

I had great plans for the final picture of the trip; and maybe I’ll dig out the external hard drive tomorrow (yeah, right!) and put on a photo of Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada, probably the most singularly spectacular spot of the trip. But until then, a simple photo from our outing through the South Dakota Badlands / Grasslands of the solitary bison (with prairie dog friend – the small brown dot in front).

Thanks for all your comments and compliments. It’s been fun. And Margaret has tentatively agreed there will be more adventure next year. State tuned!

4 Oct - Wed - KOA - Forsyth, GA

Almost to Florida! After leaving Nickajack Lake in Tennessee, we headed east on I-24. All the maps we looked at, said Chattanooga, TN, was the next major stop. But surprise, surprise, as we were casually driving along I-24 there was this great big road sign saying, “Welcome to Georgia”! So the trivia question, if you’re ever asked, is, If you’re driving east on I-24 in Tennessee, when do you hit Georgia?” The answer is not “never”, but west of Chattanooga. A little bit of trivia for late night ruminations.

Anyway, here we are in Forsyth, GA – just south of Atlanta. Today’s photo op was a chance encounter. We were in a truck stop north of Atlanta for a bite of lunch. After checking out what the truckers were eating inside (and experiencing a few minutes of the noise and confusion), we decided on take-out (thank you, Burger King). While dining in the relative quiet of the motor home, I was contemplating the huge number of trucks getting gas at the Travel America Truck Stop. The question that popped into mind was, “How does the fuel (gas/diesel) get here for all these trucks to refuel”?

No sooner than the question arose, a tanker truck drove in. It was heading the “wrong” direction from the other trucks and was obviously there on a mission as the driver walked around, putting on gloves and hooking up pipes and stuff – from truck to yellow-capped receptacles in the ground.

Not being particularly shy, I got out the camera and went snooping. Turns out the truck driver was a really nice guy, i.e., he spoke to me in English without condescension to a “lowly” RV driver.

It was his second run of the day to refuel this particular truck stop. His rig carries 9,000 gallons of diesel (the legal load). He expressed envy at our motor-home and said it was his ambition to have one – he misses his wife while driving an oil tanker truck. But he loved being on the road.

The other tid-bit of information is the change to the diesel fuel laws. I had noticed, refueling frequently, a notice to the effect that “… this diesel fuel is not usable in any motor vehicle manufactured on or after 2007.” What did that mean, I wondered? Will I not be able to buy diesel fuel next year? What will people do that buy diesel engines next year? Questions posed to confuse and confound.

The answer, (drum roll please), next year the government has mandated cleaner-burning diesel. Meaning, instead of 500 parts per million of sulfur in current diesel fuel, it must be 5 parts per million. Thus, cleaner emission. Of course this will cost everyone. But the “good” news is the new fuel can be burned in the older engines, thus I won’t have to retrofit my motor – home, nor will the thousands of semi-trailer trucks on the highway!

He (the driver) was impressed I was getting 11.5 mpg while he (driving his rig) got 5.5 mpg. Of course he’s hauling 9,000 gallons while I’m wimping along with 24,000 pounds of load.

Tonight we are less than a one-day’s drive from home. Our plan is to stay here two nights and catch up on various lists: what to leave in the motor home, what to take to the house, what needs to be serviced on the motor home, what will we do when we get home, etc. You get the idea.

The campground is close to I-75 and next to a small pond complete with geese, ducks, and one lonely swan. Suki has been out and about (unleashed). Margaret had to fetch him when he got too close to the interstate.

The weather is mild and moist; probably in the low 70’s. We’ll likely run the air conditioner(s) all night, both to control the heat and humidity and the freeway noise. More tomorrow before we start our last leg home.

3 Oct Tuesday - Lake Nickajack - near Chattanooga

Lest you think we'll spend all night cavorting with our permanent neighbors, we should hasten to point out that not all is quiet and stillness. As you see from the above photo, we are parked near Lake Nickajack (and the Tennessee River) just west of Chattanooga, TN. As luck we have it, we are parked RIGHT NEXT to I-24 after it comes across the bridge. So I doubt it will be quiet and peacful tonight. Maybe the truckers will take the night off?

We now have only one state between us and Florida - Georgia! Tomorrow we'll drive into / through Chattanooga and see what we can see. Having been to Ruby Falls, Rock City and Lookout Mountain (in a previous life), we may not spend much time there. But we are learning to go with the flow; roll with the punches; and in general, let nature take it's course.

If we don't stick around (and it is beautiful country), we expect to be near Macon, GA tomorrow evening. If our friends are in town, we will stay a couple of days. But in either case, we will probably be back in Florida by Thursday or Friday night. But let's see what happens.

3 October Tuesday - near Chattanooga, TN

Well folks, we have hit a new level in camping. A never-before-experience in RV life. We are next to the "permanent" campers - no hookups, no noise, no early / late departures. In short, these folks are here for eternity.

Yes, our RV site is next to a cemetery. We are in site 5, they are in site 7 - right across the road! Don't know how we got so lucky!

Other events of the day:

Intelligent travelers that we are, we wisely(?) took the by-pass around Nashville. But after several miles of smooth freeway, we encountered CONSTRUCTION! Margaret, bless her soul and driving talent, was able to maneuver around concrete barriers, rapid lane changes, and inconsiderate drivers. We questioned our decision until we got back to I-24 on the southeast of Nashville, and encountered hordes of semi's and other semi-literate drivers. Not sure who won that battle.

During our by-pass of Nashville, Margaret decided (on the spur of the moment) we should visit a place she had just read about - The Widow of the South, Carrie McGavock - in the book. Sounded interesting but the road, named McGavock Pike, we took kept getting narrower and narrower and narrower. But all ended up ok as we made the great circle and came out at the on-ramp we'd just left (by coincidence, at the Grand Ole Opry). Once back on the Interstate, Margaret decided she'd had enough fun, so we pressed south towards Chattanooga.

Other items of interest in the last few days:

Chocolate chip cookies in the convection oven are setting a new record bake time, but the last batch attempted was a disaster with holes burnt through the center. Have hopes for a different, delicious outcome.

Let's see -- heard Canadian geese honking this early this morning. We have seen many ragged V's in our trip across country and one large group circling to get their bearings before heading south. There were also many many blue birds here at the campsite in KY.

The traffic today was horrendous. We got spoiled in the west where most trailers are hauled by the railroad, then taken to the roads for short distance deliveries. Here it is all interstate! We saw a Batesville Casket Company semi, with the slogan "Drive Safely, heaven can wait." Saw our first tobacco field. Many fields have been planted again for another autumn harvest, in contrast to the northern states in the west who had gather their last bounty for the year. The landscape has been rolling, treed, lushly green, or cultivated plots. No pastures filled with fat brown cattle or free ranging horses.

3 Oct 2 Tuesday - postscript from Kentucky State Park

There was a photo op encountered before leaving the Kentucky State Park that has to be included. I realize a lot of you are dog-folks, but I hope you'll enjoy the "stalker" Suki.

Yes, there was a turtle - terrapin - whatever the appropriate name. Suki - without leash and unrestrained - found it hard to work up an interest; particularly whenthe turtle snapped at Suki. No harm; no foul - but little interest. A "turtle is not a lizard", quoth Suki.

But an interesting stand-off nevertheless.

Monday 2 Oct - Still in KY

Today’s photo op is from Central South Dakota. Although Kansas is home to the sunflower, we continued to see sunflowers in South Dakota – but facing the wrong way. We weren’t even sure they were sunflowers at first. But after a couple of views with binoculars and telephoto lenses, we decided they were; but facing the wrong way! It must be late in the season and ready for harvest for oil (or whatever) but here ‘tis.

Tonight (2 October, Monday), we are still nestled in the Land-Between-the-Lakes Kentucky – or wherever. After a peaceful night, Margaret elected to stay-put, so here we are, another night in Kentucky. Not all bad. A park-like setting with lots of hickory trees (or pronounced in Southern dialect – hickry trees).

‘Twas a quiet day and time to catch up on business details – whenever cell-phone service deems to be available. Our “wonderful” Internet access service (Verizon) was off and on again all day. Must be wherever the satellites decide to be at any given moment. Margaret finished another book, and I am working through the stack of delayed mail from Florida.
Grilled some steak and dined al fresco. Perfect evening.

We are three days driving from Amelia Island, but undecided exactly how to divvy up these remaining days. Stay in Chattanooga (2 or more days), stay in the Macon area and see friends, or press on – arriving a day or two earlier than planned. After all, we don’t want to “surprise” the folks on Amelia by showing up early and upsetting their apple-carts! Whatever, we’ll pull out tomorrow, and play it by ear.

Today was a first. After 5 months on the road, we let Suki – the cat, roam free – no leash or whatever. It seems like a safe environment; a park-like setting with lots of grass and trees, few people, and most important, no eagles, hawks, or other predators. He (Suki) did really well. He roamed unsupervised about the surrounding trees – had a not-so-close encounter with a turtle (terrapin) – and came back into the motor home of his own volition. Margaret was quite thrilled. He did this several times. Either he was familiar with the motor home and/or it was a safe environment. He was a very happy puss.

We are pretty much alone in this park-like setting. A camp-ground designed to hold over a 150 campers – and we are one of only 10. Quiet, except for the lawn-mowers doing their thing. Boats on the reservoir and the occasional train are the only noises (not counting cicadas and other local vermin). Very peaceful. Many blue birds, woodpeckers, and chick-a-dies flitting about. Great temps. Nice breeze.

1 Oct blog – Land-Between-the-Lakes-Kentucky Dam State Park

A relatively short drive today – from the ridiculous to the sublime; from a Wal-Mart parking lot to the Kentucky Dam State Park. It was not without adventure however, maybe not the kind we were anticipating!

Once we left Illinois, the Interstate surface quality improved immensely, much to Margaret’s delight. Although we had “agreed” to limit each driver’s stint to about 1-hour, the road was so good, she wouldn’t relinquish control! But this proved short-lived when she announced we had enough driving for the day and should stop.

The next stopping opportunity came when the road sign announced Kentucky Resort State Park, so in we went. Then the fun began. The young man at the registration desk said we should drive in, pick out a spot, and call in the number. The park is immense – and next to a huge lake – so we thought it might be nice to be near the lake. We turned down a cul-de-sac but didn’t see anything we liked. Instead of backing and turning, I decided to make the little loop, unfortunately, it was too little for our behemoth – and we ended up stuck in the mud; yes, all 6 wheels!

So what to do (besides calling Good Sam for a tow – on a Sunday afternoon, miles from who knows where)?

Anyone who’s ever been stuck in mud (or sand), knows the first step to getting out is to get “stuff” under the wheels for traction. But what? Back in our trailer days, we purchased a set of “little orange blocks” for leveling. They have a grid pattern and come in roughly 10 x 10 x ¾ inch squares. But how to get them under the wheels? (Yes, I tried putting them in front and behind, but the wheels spun too much in the mud, so they had to be UNDER the wheels.)

Modern motor home technology to the rescue; and why motor home owners don’t carry jacks! Pneumatic levelers. Normally used to level a motor home, they will also lift the rear (and front) wheels totally clear of the ground. So we threw a few blocks into the mud under the pneumatic levelers and lifted all four of the back (driving) wheels off the ground. Then it was just a matter of moving the “little orange blocks” from the pneumatic levelers to under the wheels (and behind them so I could back up), since the front wheels kinda go wherever the back wheels take them.

The only other problem was the rather large pine tree I managed to back into once I got traction. So it was up to the roof-top (…prancing and pawing of each little hoof, out jumps dear old Santa Claus…) to clear pine boughs so they didn’t scrape off the antennae, ventilators, and air-conditioners. Then with a lot of noise and smoke, I managed to back clear of the mud and onto the pavement with room to turn. Safe at last!

Needless to say, we were very careful from not to choose any spot(s) to turn where they was mud or semblance of mud. Having said all that and arrived at our resting place for the night, the park is very nice.

Margaret writes:
The above brought back memories of being stuck in a canyon, off a side canyon, in Death Valley, where we had driven looking for petroglyphs – which we never found. Our VW camper was buried, all four wheels, up to the pan in soft sand. There was much digging, filling with sage brush, moving an inch or two, and repeating.

We not only had to dig out we had to turn completely around and head back up a steep incline with a turn at the top! We got it turned around and had advanced to the bottom of the incline when we realized it was impossible. We would have to walk out. Carol and I climbed to the top of the canyon wall to see what we could see. There was nothing but nothing in every direction. When we turned to go back down there was not a clue as to which way to go. I followed our footprints back to the VW.

Just then a jeep with a winch topped the hill looking for an out of the way camping site. Did we have one for them! They hooked us up and pulled us free and up the hill.

This was a walk in the park by comparison, though Carol did suggest calling Robin Williams for advice.

Lots of green grass, tall full trees, hickory nuts falling with a thunk on the roof, and sunshine. My kind of place.

Photo Op:
No, I didn’t get a photo of us stuck; I was too busy figuring out how to get out. But I did take one later, after we were safely camped to prove that we DID get out. And no, I didn’t knock off the top of the tree backing in!

No more adventures like this, please?