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! 

4 States in 1 Day

We had plans to meet my friends Russell & Amy for lunch in Savannah GA and had planned to leave Waldo at 8:00.  Before I went to bed I assured Mom and Dad that I’d be up in plenty of time.  Well…not so much…I woke up at 7:37!  yikes!  I quickly made coffee, showered, dressed, cleaned things up since I was having guests later and was mostly ready to go by a little after 8. 

We were debating what was up with my tanks – the black tank was saying it was 1/3 full some of the time and 2/3 full some of the time and the grey tank still claimed to be empty.  No idea why the grey thought it was empty – we have some theories that I won’t go into here.  Dad decided I should dump at the campground since I had a sewer connection right there.   It didn’t take long to fill up with water and dump the tanks and we were ready to roll at about 8:30. 

When we were ready to roll I pulled out of my site and to wait for them to pull out and go around, it took them a very long time and I was wondering what was going on. When I looked out the back I saw that they were stopped,  mere feet from the campsite! Then I saw the door open and both Mom and Dad cam out…not a good sign. Dad pulled out of his site and quickly got into some trouble.  He didn’t see the telephone pole and got his coach, with his tow vehicle attached, wedged in.  The only way to get the coach out was to back up.  The only way to back up the coach was to take the car off.   Of course the car was jack-knifed and it was very hard to get the pins in the towbar off and free the car, but eventually they did and were able to get the car and the coach out and we were on our way!

We didn’t stop till Savannah and we made it there by Noon!  I called Amy and Russell and they came right over for a lovely lunch at Hoolihans!  It was great to see them and talk “Road Trips”!  So nice to stop and see friends along the way – might be enough to make driving back to FL another time appealing!

After lunch it was full steam ahead – we were aiming for North Carolina!   We made plans to stop for fuel in South Carolina at exit 82 which was going to be early for Dad and pushing it for me.   

At about mile 50 Roxy went down to 1 bar left and the fuel light came on and the bar started blinking…I kinda panicked!  I radioed Mom and Dad and said I was getting off to get fuel (we’d gotten separated and they were more than a few cars ahead) and that I’d catch them at their fuel stop.   I got off at exit 53, which is probably the only exit in the whole state that doesn’t have at least 3 options for diesel fuel.  I tried the BP, no dice, so I went to the Horizon’s station.  I pulled into the gas station and turned off the propane, then set out to find the diesel pump so I could make sure I went in going the right way and all.  There was a big pick up truck towing a 5th wheel so I figured he was diesel and went to look near him – couldn’t find the pump, so I went in to ask and the clerk pointed me in the right direction.  I went back out and went to pull the RV to the pump and luckily remembered just in time that the fuel tank is on the opposite side from my car!  Around the gas station I went turning several tight corners and being even more happy that I’d gotten such a small little RV!  Finally I was at the pump!  I opened the fuel door, took off the cap, put on my diesel gloves and went to pump. Only it wouldn’t pump.  No pay at the pump or anything.  Hmmm…  I figured I needed to pre-pay or leave my card…so I took off the diesel gloves, closed up the tank and walked in.  Sure enough she needed my card.  At last I went back out to the RV and pumped the fuel!  I put in 19.5 gallons!  It’s a 25 gallon tank, so I didn’t need to panic quite so much, but I didn’t know that!

I met up with my parents at exit 82 where they’d aborted plans to get fuel and got DQ Blizzards instead.  We went on up the road to a Flying J close to the border of NC for them to get fuel.  It was 6:00 when we got there and the parking area was already full of RVers bedding down for the night! 

We pushed ahead to Lumberton, NC (avoided a stop at the tackiest place on I-95: South of the Border!) where we parked up at Wal-Mart.  We are one of about 10-20 RVs here!  When we pulled in I jumped out to snap a picture of both of our RVs and the Wal-Mart sign and when I did I met a local drunk redneck.  He told me that he and his buddies were leaving and we could have the spot where they’d parked their cars because it was safer at that spot than it was where I’d parked – the security was better and I could leave my stuff out if I wanted to!  Then I went to my parents RV and was standing in the door when “Wille the Pimp” (of “People of Wal-Mart” fame) came by in his beat up panel truck and asked if we wanted him to Rainx out tires and wash the bugs the off the windshield.  I remarked as to how must have gotten the “full service” Wal-Mart! 

We went to dinner at Fuller’s BBQ which was just one exit back on the highway.  It was a yummy southern buffet – they had BBQ but they also had lots of veggies – well, they started as veggies anyway, I guess I should call them side dishes.  It was a yummy dinner!  Now we are back at the Wal-Mart all snuggled into out coaches – I made sure to get close enough to get the wifi!  They are predicting a chance of thunderstorms and showers tomorrow so it could get interesting! 

We Found Waldo!

After my leisurely morning at Collier-Seminole, it was time to start the drive north! 

We left from my parents RV resort a little after 11, which was at least an hour ahead of what we’d planned so that was good!

As I’ve been learning about the RV and getting settled in it I’ve had to keep reminding myself that this one is not a rental, it’s mine and I can put stuff where I want it, decide on modifications, and I won’t be giving it back in a few days and flying home!  When we rolled out the RV Resort it really hit me that this marvel of RV engineering was coming  home with me! And that I got to keep it forever (or until it falls apart, which ever comes first!) :-) 

Florida is a big, ugly state.  Naples is allllll the way in the far southwest corner so we had to drive the length of it – most of it along I-75.   The drive was really rather uninteresting, but I’ll tell you about it anyway!

The batteries died on my iPod speaker less that 50 miles from Naples! I just used the scan feature on the radio to channel surf and I found some good stations…and the sound quality was way better out of the nice speakers rather than the little iPod speaker.  I was able to recharge my iPod speaker – charges via USB – so brought that back!

I’m learning to trust the fuel gauge – it’s digital and it has 10 lines and as the tank goes down lines disappear.  Dad figured up that each line equals 2.5 gallons and should be about 50 miles.  It seems accurate!  (Yes, I get about 500 miles to the tank…about 20 MPG) I had my 1st experience getting diesel!  Not that big of a deal since I went through the RV lanes at the Flying J and it was really very similar to just getting regular gas.  I did have to stop a few feet before the pump and cut off the propane before I got up there and then remember to turn in on again after (wouldn’t want my frozen dinners to thaw out!).  I went into the Flying J and got my rewards card so next time I can get discounts!

I continue to enjoy driving the RV!  I can see almost everything – having a hard time judging distances in the driver mirror – and it’s very maneuverable!  Just gotta get that radio fixed!

We found some hills in Florida!  We were just north of Ocala on US301 (it goes all the way up to VA…) and I started seeing signs: “Hill blocks view”.   Hill blocks view of what?  The flat?  I thought maybe it was a warning that the hill blocked the view for people pulling out of driveways and such, but Dad said the sign means that the hill blocks the drivers view of the road!  Only in Florida would you need a sign to warn you about a tiny hill. 

We were sorta aiming for Jacksonville tonight, but we didn’t quite make it.  It was getting late and it we pressed on we wouldn’t get in until 7:30 so we stopped a little short in a town called “Waldo”!  We found Waldo!  There’s not much here – a gas station, a subway, a flea market on weekends, and a bunch of cops!  The town is a huge speed trap!  When we were coming in we went past the campground and had to do a U turn.  There was a light with a green arrow.  Dad was ahead of me and he took the whole cycle of the light to turn around!  I started into the intersection when it was on yellow and it quickly changed to red meaning I’d totally run the red light.  I knew the cop (silly me assumed he was the only 1) was busy with a speeder, but just as I turned he was done and he came back down the road toward me….I was sweating bullets for a few minutes waiting for him to come to the campground to nail me for running the red light, but they seem more worried about the speeders!

This is a nice campground, no idea what the name is.  It’s basically a big field with hook ups!  It was almost 90* when we got here, but it’s cooling off nicely – the fan in my RV is pulling in the air from outside making it nice and cool in my bed! 

Tomorrow we are having lunch with Russell & Amy in Savannah and then likely heading on to North Carolina! 

I’m also hoping to begin to solve the mystery of why my black (toilet) tank is almost full, yet the grey (shower & sink waste) is still reading as empty.  We have a few theories, but it makes no sense that the tank would still be empty!  Stay tuned!

Collier-Seminole State Park

My 1st State Park in my RV! 

I was looking for a legal, cheap-ish, place to camp near my parents in Naples and the logical choice was Collier-Seminole State Park.  It’s out about 10-15 miles from my parents and it’s kind of in the middle of nowhere (but I still have some cell phone service – it comes and goes). 

South Florida is mostly swamp & mangrove forest so as soon as civilization ends the swamp quickly begins. 

The park is good sized with a nice campground that can accommodate anything from tent campers to folks with rigs up to 40’.  The campsites are large and easy to get into.   They are all relatively level also, but this after all Florida.  They have water and electric hook ups as well!  What more can you ask for – a lovely setting & electricity!)

They have a few hiking trails & opportunities to canoe & kayak.

This morning I woke up at 6:30 and decided to take a sunrise stroll along the 1 mile nature trail! It was chilly in the RV so I decided it was the perfect time for a walk and that way I’d wait & take a shower when I got back and hopefully not disturb my neighbor in the tent with the water pump noise.   I quickly threw on some clothes and made coffee to take with me. 

The trail was lovely – mostly boardwalk, all flat!  Glad I’d walked before my shower as I ended up needed significant amounts of bug spray to keep the mosquitoes at bay!

In the heat of the day I find this area simply unbearable – intense sun, dry spiky plants, flat, flat, flat, flat, and then there are the bugs!  Those Seminole Indians must have been a hardy bunch to survive and thrive in the Everglades!

Along the way there were some interpretive exhibits about Baron Collier who wanted this land to be a National Park but wasn’t able to accomplish it.  He was a millionaire who helped build the road from Tampa to Miami (getting the road through the swamp was quite a feat of engineering) and loved the Everglades and wanted the land set aside.  I also learned that this area is one of only a few places where the Royal Palms grow naturally!

In the early AM, with sun just peeking between the Palm fronds and the temps still bearable it was very easy to see what Baron Collier saw in this land and that riches it holds!  There are all kinds of birds and cool animals – panthers, snakes, alligators, turtles, frogs (none of which I saw!) – as well as plants and flowers!  Too bad the early morning hours are short!

She has a name!

I’m not one who normally names her vehicles, but my RV is going to be the exception!

Her name is Roxy, how’d we get that?  Let me explain…

I haven’t have the privilege of meeting the woman I bought the RV from but she seems like an amazing woman!  My understanding of the story had been that her husband had died, therefore she had to sell the RV.  That was not entirely the case.  Turns out that her husband died and then she bought the RV so she could go RVing solo! Then she met a man and life took a different turn.   I can tell that my RV was her baby, it was very well taken care of and she went the extra mile to make sure it was totally ready for me!

And so since the woman I bought it from’s name is Roxanne and she goes by Roxie, we changed the spelling a bit and arrived at Roxy!

Hard to get used to calling a vehicle by a name, but she’s so much more than a vehicle! :-)

Pleasure-Way 101

After getting to bed late last night I had a hard time getting to sleep – a new bed, a new place and trying to get the bed setup right made for less sleep than I would have liked!  But, the good news is that tonight I know exactly how to do it and I’m sure I’ll get more sleep! :-) 

I was up at 6:15 and decided to turn on the hot water heater so I could get a shower when I was ready to get up.  So I got up and flipped it on, thinking I’d crawl back into bed – well, the light didn’t come on like it was supposed to.  hmmm….  I dug out the owners manual and started trying to figure it out.  The book was no help, but I thought I’d try again to flip it on…  This time I noticed that it says “on” at the bottom of the rocker switch…and I was switching it up rather than down – maybe it was already on?  I ran some water and sure enough it was hot!  Later I told my dad about it and we realized that the switch for his hot water heater was the opposite so he must have turned it on when he meant to turn it off! 

A quick shower and coffee and I was ready to get started with the day! 

Before I came down my dad had gone over almost every inch of the RV with a fine toothed comb and was ready to tell me everything about it.  We went over almost every system and aspect.   We learned that the battery for the chassis (the “car” battery) is under the floor of the driver seats and VERY hard to get to.   We learned where all the flat tire gear is stashed.  We learned which battery, house (powers the RV stuff) or chassis starts the generator.  We learned about how to by-pass the hot water heater when you winterize.  We learned how to make the TV work.   At one point we were both laying on the ground with our heads stuck under the RV looking for the fresh water drain and trying to figure out which tank was which! 

The whole time we were doing this my parents friends were stopping by to meet me, see the RV and discuss RV park politics.  My parents have a site in an RV community and so all their friends are RVers (although they all have big class A (busses)) and were excited to see my coach some even brought me gifts!  It kinda reminded me of a college dorm where all the sudden someone would show up and we’d start talking! 

After lunch we went out to run some errands and I finally got to drive my RV!  I’m amazed at how easy it is to drive!  At one point I kinda forgot I was driving an RV – felt like my VUE!  It’s very easy to steer and very nimble. After 1st getting lost in the RV park (kinda sad since it’s a circle – but I was thrown off because the other Sprinter in the neighborhood, the fix-it guy’s tool truck, had moved sites and I thought I was in a different place) we went to Wal-Mart, Lowes and Publix – the RV easily navigated each parking lot & some quick lane changes!

After the errands we went out to Collier-Seminole State Park, where I am camped tonight.  We found my site, but there was a road right behind it!  I’d been told I could move if I wanted to, so after backing into the site (for practice!) I ended up picking another site and moving over there – once again, backing up to get in.  In both instances my dad helped a bit, but for the most part the RV went exactly where I was expecting it to go and did what I told it to! :-)  It wasn’t hard to get in either site!  Admittedly it helped that the sites were both wide and very flat! 

At the park the RV learning continued – this time it was a lesson in putting out the awning – not something that I’ll be doing frequently because it’ kind of a pain, especially if I did it alone. 

This evening we went to Marco Island for dinner with a friend of my parents who used to live in their RV park but now has a house. 

Now I’m all settled in bed in my RV.  It’s starting to get chilly! YAY!  The sun & heat are quite intense down here!  I’m definitely not a fan of Florida!  Tomorrow afternoon we will start the drive northward!

Finally!!!!

After what seemed like the longest month ever I am finally in FL getting ready to go to sleep in my RV! :-) 

 

The flight down was long and largely uneventful.  Andy picked me up at 7 am and we zipped up to the airport.  There was no line at security and the flight to Boston was on time!  In Boston things got frustrating – my departure gate was in a different arm of the terminal so I had to go out of security and back through again.  Grrrr…  Then the plane was about an hour late leaving!  Better that flight than the 1st one! I did get to watch The Muppets, for free because of the delay, so that was nice! That movie is so awesome!  Also read a great book called “How NOT to RV!”. 

Finally after  what seemed like the longest 2 hours of my life we landed in Ft. Myers!  I zipped off the plane and hurried to baggage claim.  Mom and Dad were waiting, in the RV, in the cell phone lot!  I was excited when I arrived at baggage claim and the bags were already going around – but mine didn’t come out.  I waited and waited.  Then the carousel stopped.  After a few minutes it got going again and then I saw my RV sitting outside…Mom and Dad had pulled around…my bag *still* hadn’t appeared.  Finally, it came out and I practically took out a small child trying to get to it and run out to the curb.  As I ran out the door I could see my Dad pulling away – like he was going circle and come back, but luckily he saw me and Mom jumped out. 

We had a bit of difficulty opening the sliding door – which I did find rather humorous, came all that way and I couldn’t get in! 

She’s every bit as beautiful in person as she is in the pictures! The seats are very comfortable and there’s a bunch of cabinets & hidey holes to store stuff. 

Dad drove out of the airport – no way was I going to try and navigate that!  We’d planned to go to dinner at Bahama Breeze, a chain my parents discovered in Seattle and they have one in Ft. Myers, but the line was out the door! I’d wanted to stop at Trader Joe’s for some frozen meals so we stopped there and at Moe’s for dinner before coming back to my parents lot. 

I did drive her just a tiny bit, in the parking lot from Trader Joe’s to Moe’s.  Handles just like a car!  Very easy to drive!  Doesn’t seem very big at all!  Tomorrow I’ll drive her around so I’ll get a better feel for it.   I would have driven home from Moe’s but it was dark and I don’t have a clue where anything is so I let Dad drive. 

Tonight I’m staying on my parents site at their RV resort.  This is rather against the rules so don’t tell anyone! First night in my camper and I’m already breaking rules!  Tomorrow night I’ll be in a proper campground!

I’ll leave you with 2 quick pictures:

 

The view down the aisle from my bed!

 

 

My bed, ready for blogging and then sleep!  Prob won’t need the blanket, it’s humid and warm here, but I’ve got it just in case!

Good night!