Virginia!

Had a nice quiet night at Wal-Mart and I was up before the sun ready to go!  I got a shower, made coffee and had a nice breakfast while doing internet stuff.  

It was about 8:30 when Dad came out and said that they were ready to go.  I jumped out to flip off the propane (I don’t like to have it on when I’m planning on getting fuel since the appliances that use it have an open pilot light) and made sure the fridge was working on battery, then jumped back in and got settled for the 300 mile drive ahead of us. 

I ended up in the lead and was zipping down the road passing trucks left and right, just like I would in my VUE!  I noticed that the PW was harder to drive at the higher speeds – I was going a “normal” highway speed – 70-75 (speed limit was 70), I got more buffeting from trucks and she kinda rattled more, but I kept going. 

Soon we stopped at a rest stop for a quick break – I didn’t even shut off the engine, just put her in park, jumped back to the bathroom and sat down again. 

Soon the dreaded fuel light came on!  It was about 10 miles before the exit with the Pilot Truck stop I’d planned to go to.  I knew from yesterday that I still had 5 gallons left and that if I was getting 18 miles to the gallon I would make it the 10 miles.  Didn’t stop me from worrying though!  I pulled in, jumped out at the pump to get fuel and was back on the road pretty quickly. 

Almost immediately after getting fuel I crossed the line into Virginia and gas prices fell by 20cents a gallon.  grrrr.  I totally could have made it too.  Dad had told me it was 200 miles across North Carolina – in actuality it was about 182, I got gas at mile 180 and we knew there was a Love’s at exit 1 in VA.  Oh well!

When I entered my gas purchase and the odometer reading into my “Gas Cubby” iPhone app the app informed me that I’d gotten 16.7 miles per gallon from the last fill up.  WHAT?!?!?!  My 1st fill up I’d been getting 18.5 miles per gallon.  What happened?   This is where I learned that driving a diesel engine is different from a gas engine.  Diesel engines have a “sweet spot” where they get the best gas mileage – not to slow and not too fast.  All my driving at normal highway speeds had pushed her past her sweet spot!  I slowed back down to the 65-68 mph that I’d been going when I was behind Dad.  I also noticed that the van was easier to drive – not as much buffeting and the ride was nice and smooth.  So, no matter what the speed limit is, I’m sticking to under 70 when I’m in the van!  And as an added bonus I probably won’t get a speeding ticket!

When I pulled off to get fuel, I got separated from Mom and Dad. They pulled off but there was no place for them at the truck stop so they went on.   We caught back up at a rest stop about 30 miles into VA for lunch.  It was at this point that I left my RV for the 1st time since I’d gone in after dinner last night.   I’d gone outside but I’d not gotten out of arms reach!  16 hours and almost 200 miles without going outside!  Not sure if this is a good thing or not. 

Yesterday at lunch we were talking about road trips and Russell shared a Charles Kuralt quote – roughly: “Thanks to the interstate system it is now possible to travel from coast to coast and not see a thing!”  I’d like to amend that quote to add: “And not even leave your vehicle!” 

After lunch we cam the rest of the way into Williamsburg. I wasn’t planning on coming here, I was going to just go straight home, but I had the spare tire in my RV and we decided that between the fix a flat kit and my roadside assistance the spare tire wasn’t carrying it’s weight and had to go, it’s not got a spot in my parents garage.  Also a few years ago my parents got me some leveling blocks for a rental RV and they needed to get into my RV.  I also decided I should visit my grandmother.   We are staying at a city park on the Chicahominy River.  It’s a nice park – big sites, hook ups, nice view! I had to back my RV into it’s site and I mostly did it by myself!  Mom helped a little but she mostly helped with the easy part – getting it far enough back in the campsite. 

We spent the rest of the day running errands for my parents and then had dinner and hit up Sweet Frog! 

It’s quite chilly here!  Temps were in the 50s when we got here – I was glad I’d brought my fleece and a long sleeve shirt!  Very crazy going from 90s on Tuesday to 50s on Thursday! I’m kinda happy actually because I get to test out the coach’s heater and see just how cold I get tonight!  It’s only going down into the 40s so should be ok, although I don’t have the proper gear! 

Tomorrow I’ll go the rest of the way home.  I can’t say as I’m fully happy about this, I don’t really want to put Roxy away and go back to regular life!  I’m considering stretching the week out by 1 more night and going to Prince William Forest Park tomorrow…we’ll see when I get back to Woodbridge!