The New 2019 Season Begins

Friday, February 8, 2019. Greetings and welcome to what I hope is the first of many opportunities to share my travel adventures with you, my friend. It's been a long time and  we retired folks easily slip into ruts during a hiatus between travel adventures. For me, it's been from the end of September until now, the 8th of February, five months. The time passed quickly (?). My routines were varied, enjoyable and memorable. And when that countdown began, a whole new routine began: paying closer attention to the unpredictable weather patterns, shopping for groceries needed for the trip (and deciding when is enough, too much), making sure the RV is up and ready to roll with weekly checking (will the repaired refrigerator keep things cold/frozen? Will the battery be charged sufficiently to start?). Then there was the packing and endless lists of "To Do's" before taking off. All of it could be overwhelming but this is my fifth year and even with a new RV, the routine is (sort of) mundane. I'll skip over the "TMI" problems encountered and get right to today, "Opening Day." 

When I awoke at 4:30 a.m., the visibility out my window to the west was less the 50 yards; the densest fog I've ever seen. The thought of driving in it was disconcerting. I saw nothing. By 10:30 a.m. the sun broke through the low hanging, quickly moving cloud cover and the sunshine was a nice omen. So, after making several trips back and forth to my apartment and loading the perishables and checking lists over and over,  I finally set off and was on the road by 11:45 a.m. Anticipating a four hour trip was nice on paper. In reality, I arrived at the Washington DC/Capitol KOA campground about 6:00 p.m., more like a six hour drive. A pit stop on the Jersey Turnpike and a fuel stop in Aberdeen, MD cost me time as expected. Ahh, the Shell gas station in Aberdeen, MD. I was getting $.30 off per gallon ($2.579/gal vs. $3.09 locally) and was fixated on how nice the savings were as I watched the amount being recorded on the pump. "Imagine, if you will," being called by the driver on the opposite side of my pump saying, "SIR, you're spilling!" Yup, the gas pump Gods decided that the automatic shutoff on this nozzle will not work today.  Spillage was at last a half gallon before I disengaged the pump and not before diesel covered my running board and splashed onto my shoes.  Curse, curse. I reported the spill to the proprietor who didn't seem fazed at all. The diesel fuel smell has lessened in the coach but I think I've become "nose blind" to the odor. The shoes are wrapped tight in a plastic bag and I'll deal with the specific procedure to follow for removing such odors from clothing, carpeting, etc., something to try in the coming days.

   

The 6 hour drive was long and uneventful unless you call being buffeted by crosswinds strong enough to tighten your grip on the wheel. Speed varied accordingly and the wind advisories were extensive through most of the trip. More traffic seemed to be traveling northward from Baltimore. Sunset was at 5:30 pm today and that meant my setting up was in partial darkness. Not a problem as I just had to hook up water and electricity. I just need power for heating and water in my fresh water tank which I use for flushing and washing only. So, my first day was "full", draining and my home away from home was cozy for the 25° night time temperatures. Tomorrow's drive will be long (362 miles and 5½ hours) and I'll be in Lumberton, NC. See you there.

Saturday, February 9, 2019

A long drive along I-95, another stop for diesel and, are you ready for this? What are the chances that at a second Shell station, the automatic shutoff valve at the nozzle did not work...again spilling another quantity of diesel? Can you remember the last time such an event happened to you at the pump? I reported and complained to a manager...or the gal who works the register and when I tried to email my concern to Shell via my online account, the link didn't work. So be it. More cat litter used (I hope) to pick up the mess. 
It was gratifying to see the Lumberton KOA well populated with RVs of all sizes. Clean and well run. Jessica greeted me and when I found out nearby Zeno's Italian restaurant delivered pizza, my dinner plans were made. To get to the delivery amount minimum I ordered a small plain pizza, a side salad and mozzarella sticks w/sauce. The pizza was dinner and the salad and mozzarella sticks was to be my lunch tomorrow as I'm traveling next to Georgia. As I found out the next morning, the huge crowd that had pulled in while I was there were probably the ones pulling out the next morning; lots of overnighters like me.

Sunday, February 10, 2019

Another great day for driving. Traffic wasn't that bad. I enjoy driving 70 mph on average and getting behind or ahead of an 18-wheeler and just keep the pace for miles and miles. There were lots of NY plate passing me but the highlight? I soon needed to fill up again. Seems I can get about 260-270 miles to a tank of diesel and I've been averaging 14-15 mpg. With a bit of a cloud hanging over me, I was making mental bets to see if I would be three for three in the spillage category. I chose Citgo this time and hooray, no problems. Yes, that was the highlight. Can you imagine? I stopped at the Georgia Welcome Center and enjoyed my salad and mozzarella sticks. The KOA here in Kingsland, GA was even more packed. After leaving temps in the 20's, I arrived with temps climbing to 60°. Folks seem to be eager to get on the move. If they're headed north I wonder if they know what they're heading into.  It doesn't look pretty.

Monday, February 11, 2019

Ah, the final leg of my 1,214 mile trip south.  A little over 3 hours and an easy jaunt after putting in 4-6 hour drives. Todays traffic was as expected, light and crazy. The construction on I-4 from Daytona over to Orlando was unreal. Fortunately, my Garmin chose the toll road which turned out to be the best, smoothest and lightly traveled route.  Florida drivers? Well, I'm told I can't complain about their erratic weaving and failure to use signals when changing lanes because they're all New York/Jersey/CT transplants. The other "getting used to" has to do with weather. 83° when I arrived at 1:30 pm at Thousand Trails RV Resort in Clermont just five minutes from Elite Resorts where I've visited in years past. Friends Vicki/George and Kathy/Ray are there. I'm now acclimated to the warmth (and yes, the AC is running in the coach) and the change of climate suits me just right. Regardless of the weather predicted, it's all about getting together with old friends, enjoying the company, the food, the stories and their up coming plans as they relate to their travel plans. I'm eager to get together with Vicky/George, Kathy/Ray, Trish/Craig, Doreen/Tony and Roberta. I'm hoping I can squeeze all I want to do in the short time I'm there. More in the next blog. Stay tuned, stay warm and stay safe.