Collected Comments from our 2024 Road Trip Blog

 

JuneBug commented on "Data and Statistics"

May 9, 2024

Ok, some of the data is interesting….I love our colored map. :)

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 46, 03 May, 2024 - Home Sweet Home and Data"

May 9, 2024

Bittersweet, I could have kept traveling but it is good to be home.

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 45, 02 May, 2024 - Pushing North"

May 9, 2024

Always to good to see Eric and Myra, they seemed happy and healthy. Our last HH of the trip was fun! On the road again.

 

Jean commented on "Day 42-43, Monday/Tuesday, 29/30 April 2024 - R&R, then point north."

May 5, 2024

Fred, your golf stories are funny!

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 44, Wednesday 01 May, 2024 - Reminiscing Georgia and Driveway Surfing in North Carolina"

May 2, 2024

Traveling through Georgia was “Deja vu” for me, we have been in this area often over the years while Randy and Sue lived there. Always good to see Eric and Myra, they are so welcoming.

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 42-43, Monday/Tuesday, 29/30 April 2024 - R&R, then point north."

May 2, 2024

Feels good to be back in “the states”. Traveling is fun yet tiring. Good times with family, hope we can return the favor. :)

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 32-33, Friday/Saturday, 19/20 April 2024 - Chillaxin and Fort Pickens"

Apr 27, 2024

I am glad Fred and James were able to get in some golf time. The beach time was very relaxing for the rest of us. Fort Pickins was also interesting and the ride along the coast so beautiful.
We also said goodbye to Randy and Juanita Friday night, they left early Saturday morning. :(

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 31, Thursday, 18 April 2024 - The Alabama, Pensacola"

Apr 27, 2024

Another unforgettable museum and the tour of the sub and battleship was impressive. Great dinner with family to end the day.

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 29-30, Tuesday/Wednesday, 16/17 April 2024 - The Gulf Coast and Blue Angels"

Apr 27, 2024

We couldn’t ask for better weather. Watching the Blue Angels is breathtaking, they are so talented. Spending time with family is priceless. :)

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 27-28, Sunday/Monday, 14/15 April 2024 - Visiting friends, moving to Emerald Coast."

Apr 18, 2024

Meeting friends is always a bonus. The ride on the lake was lovely, missing Lake Champlain but heading for the ocean!

 

Duane Barber commented on "Day 27-28, Sunday/Monday, 14/15 April 2024 - Visiting friends, moving to Emerald Coast."

Apr 17, 2024

I am using Susan’s iPhone as I lost your blog and wanted to comment on the Emerald Coast area. We are familiar with the Destin-Fort Walton Beach areas and nearby Eglin Air Force base. Place is huge and trained in that area and Santa Rosa Sound. I remember Destin having many campgrounds and a friend from NH goes there every winter with his camper. Hope you get to see the Blue Angels and if you have time, not too far north is Fort Rucker, near Dothan AL, home of Army Aviation and a museum. It’s not as big as Pensacola But you may enjoy it.
Continue to have fun and safe travels

 

Jean commented on "Day 27-28, Sunday/Monday, 14/15 April 2024 - Visiting friends, moving to Emerald Coast."

Apr 16, 2024

Looks like you're starting your St. John tan early!

 

Jean commented on "Day 25-26, Friday-Saturday, April 12/13, 2024 - Goodbyes and onto Vicksburg."

Apr 14, 2024

It does sound like a great place for the history, and monuments make it more interesting. Thanks for sharing.

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 25-26, Friday-Saturday, April 12/13, 2024 - Goodbyes and onto Vicksburg."

Apr 14, 2024

Vicksburg was quite interesting; we spent more time there than we expected. We are on the road again….

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 22-24, Tuesday - Thursday April 9-11, 2024 - San Marcos, Texas"

Apr 13, 2024

It was an interesting three days. Eclipse in Luckenbach, pool and shuffle board and more pickle ball! The “Mix” is a lot of fun. Randy and Sue knew what they were doing moving here.
Too bad we wasted time at Campers World…..”first world problem”.
Life is good!

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 19-21, Sat-Mon 6/7/8 April 2024 - San Marcos, Fredericksburg, Luckenbach, Solar Eclipse"

Apr 9, 2024

There certainly is a lot to do here at Kissing Tree and Randy and Sue are the perfect hosts. I will have to get someone interested in playing pickle ball when I get back home. The ecIipse was not a total bust but we were a little disappointed after driving all the way down here. :( I enjoyed our stay at 1693 Distillery, the Peach Cooli with their whiskey was delicious. We had a pretty quiet evening. Life is Good!

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 17 -18, Thursday/Friday 4-5Apr2024 - Big Bend and onto San Marcos"

Apr 9, 2024

Glad we got to visit another national Park; it did seem to go on forever. The Rio Grande is smaller than expected but a site to see and the Hot Springs were interesting too. We would have brought our suits if they had told us that we could get in the water…. Judge Roy Bean was in the atlas so we had to stop! :)

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 16, Wednesday 3Apr2024 - Carlsbad Caverns"

Apr 9, 2024

I was beyond excited to be able to explore the cavern; it did not disappoint. It seemed to go on for miles and the exercise was worth it. A little disappointed to miss the bat flight the night before but we were lucky. Glad we had our bathroom for the delay in traffic, lucky again! :)

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 15, Tuesday 02April2024 - Tucson to Carlsbad"

Apr 9, 2024

My fingers are crossed, I really want to explore the caverns!!

 

Unknown commented on "Day 16, Wednesday 3Apr2024 - Carlsbad Caverns"

Apr 5, 2024

That’s wonderful how you toured the caverns! I like the reverse technique……gives you a nice bit of exercise before you start traveling again. You guys are rocking the National Parks! That lifetime parks pass was a good investment. Enjoy your travels…We’ll be following you😎

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 13 & 14, 31March & 1April 2024 - Easter in Tucson, Old Friend and New Friends"

Apr 2, 2024

So glad we got to connect with all our friends. Easter Sunday service was nice and dinner was soooooo good! Glad we got to the park before the heavy rain. We apologized for bringing the rain and cold weather from Vermont. :(

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 12, Saturday 30Mar2024 - Grand Canyon Sunrise, Phoenix and Tucson"

Apr 2, 2024

Day before Easter sunrise, almost heavenly. It was a chilly morning. Bonus was finally seeing some wild life.

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 7, 25Mar2024 - Still crossing Kansas...in a Blizzard, Great Sand Dunes."

Apr 2, 2024

It was a stressful travel day. Too bad the dunes were covered in snow. :(

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 8, Tuesday March 26th 2024 – Arches National Park"

Apr 2, 2024

I couldn't believe our luck! The campground is the best place to be for this park. Also, getting around on the scooter was a great idea. Many hiking trails and views galore.

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 9, Wednesday 27March2024 - Arches National Park, Fred’s Birthday"

Apr 2, 2024

Happy birthday to Fred; I think he had a great day. Cheers to many more! :) Arches is simply spectacular with stunning views and many hiking trails.

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 11, Friday 29March2024, Grand Canyon"

Apr 2, 2024

We managed to get in a lot of steps today, as well as biking….I think I tired Fred out. Bonus was getting the laundry done too. :)

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 10, Thursday 28March2024 - Bryce Canyon and onto Grand Canyon"

Apr 2, 2024

Bryce was also stunning but hiking was not on the agenda. Hopefully, the Grand Canyon will be dry.

 

FredJ commented on "Day 10, Thursday 28March2024 - Bryce Canyon and onto Grand Canyon"

Mar 31, 2024

Sue, that sounds moist. Bryce was still in full winter when we stopped, hiking or camping would have been messy. Fred J.

In Response to a comment by Unknown

 

Sue Barber commented on "Day 10, Thursday 28March2024 - Bryce Canyon and onto Grand Canyon"

Mar 30, 2024

Yes. It was in May 1970 and the desert was in full flower. Had to move our tent in the middle of the night as we were camped in a “Dry” creek bed until it started to pour.
Sounds like your trip is going smoothly and hope it will continue that way.

 

Emily Marie commented on "Day 8, Tuesday March 26th 2024 – Arches National Park"

Mar 30, 2024

Lucky campsite! Love the video 👍 so beautiful! 🤩 -EMJ

 

Sue Barber commented on "Day 10, Thursday 28March2024 - Bryce Canyon and onto Grand Canyon"

Mar 30, 2024

We camped in a tent at Bryce in a huge rainstorm. Not fun. Finally a sunny day today. Sue

 

Paul Sacco commented on "Day 6, 24Mar2024 - Crossing Kansas"

Mar 27, 2024

Hope you guys re safe! Happy Birthday Fred Baby🎈

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 6, 24Mar2024 - Crossing Kansas"

Mar 25, 2024

Fred decided to move on despite my better judgement. Icy roads and windy, not a good comb. We are taking it slow and easy.

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 5, 23Mar2024- Lincoln's Boyhood home and the Arch"

Mar 24, 2024

Breaking up the drive was a good call. Lunch at Lincoln’s boyhood home and walking where he walked was surreal. The Arch is very impressive. I can see why they say it is the Gateway to the west. Also, Lewis and Clark walked here!

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 3 and 4, 21-22Mar3034 - Cherry Blossoms and Country Boy"

Mar 24, 2024

Walking the DC mall and seeing the monuments and memorials is patriotic for me, all the cherry blossoms were an added bonus to the trip. Our night at the brewery was fun and relaxing.

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 2, Wednesday, 20Mar2024 - Virginia"

Mar 24, 2024

Catching up with good friends never gets old and we got to see Olivia! We haven’t seen her in too many years. She made us a delicious dinner with dessert!

 

JuneBug commented on "Day 1, Tuesday 19Mar2024 - Headed South."

Mar 24, 2024

Always a good meal at CB and a good nights sleep.

 

Unknown commented on "Day 2, Wednesday, 20Mar2024 - Virginia"

Mar 21, 2024

Cherry blossoms are a must see. Enjoy

 

Unknown commented on "Day 1, Tuesday 19Mar2024 - Headed South."

Mar 21, 2024

You are off to a good start and hope the entire trip goes smoothly

 

Unknown commented on "Last minute packing."

Mar 21, 2024

That reminds me. I caught the very first episode of the Beverly Hillbilly’s on YouTube the other day

 

Unknown commented on "Time to Get Ready"

Mar 20, 2024

You have an ambitious travel loop. Have fun!

 

JuneBug commented on "Last minute packing."

Mar 19, 2024

Phew! We are tired already. Finished packing clothes (and shoes and snorkel gear, etc) today and will pack all the food and drink tomorrow morning.

 

 

JuneBug commented on "Time to Get Ready"

Mar 19, 2024

Feeling the pressure…and the excitement of getting away! Planning for a trip to St. John while on the road is a little worrisome, what did we forget??

 

FredJ commented on "Time to Get Ready"

Mar 18, 2024

OK, OK, .... I have a spare, I just did not want to carry another 100 lbs, but I did put it on.

In Response to a comment by Unknown

 

Unknown commented on "Time to Get Ready"

Mar 18, 2024

Sounds fabulous. Safe travels and buy a tire!

Liz  commented on "Time to Get Ready"

Mar 15, 2024

Safe travels!!! If you detour, let us know. - Liz and John

Data and Statistics

I know everyone loves data...well not everyone, but below is some data on our 2024 Road Trip/St John vacation. 

For the first time, I used RV Trip Wizard for trip planning and routing.  It is part of the RV Life subscription of $65 per year.  It allows you to plan unlimited stops, your specific vehicle size, your preferred travel speeds, etc., and shows elevations along your route, none of which Google Maps allows.   It can be run on your PC or your mobile device and syncs seamlessly. I generally used it for planning and went point to point using google maps but often had both applications running on separate devices. For planning a long trip with a large vehicle, I would recommend the RV Trip Wizard.

 

RV Life

Here is our route on RV Trip Wizard.

Trip Wizard also allows export of lots of data from your trip, I exported to an XLS spreadsheet. I know it is too small to read in a blog, but for the record I pasted a partial export here. 

Of course we always keep a mileage log in our RV.  Here is a summary of our log. 

- 46 Days/45 Nights of travel (7 nights of this were in St John). 

We stayed 38 nights in our RV, but only paid a campground for 9 nights. 

- 8356 Miles, 23 states. 

We added 6 states to our RV visited list. We clearly need to make our way to the Northwest. 

- 532 Gallons of Diesel at an average price of $3.95/gallon for a total fuel expense of $2099.

- 15.7 MPG average, not very good. Fuel was most expensive in PA, the least expensive in Kansas. 

Here is the data for the geeks.

Day 46, 03 May, 2024 - Home Sweet Home and Data

Friday, we left our HH around 7:30 AM and started for home. We both were ready to get home. 

The only stop we made was to see Mom. She was in good spirits and it was such a nice day we took her outside for a bit.  

When we left Mom was listening to  'The Music Man' who comes and plays live music, she really enjoys the music. 

We arrived home around 3PM to beautiful weather. June got busy unpacking and I unloaded the scooter, bikes and the outside stuff. While June slaved away in the house, I removed the snow equipment from my tractor and was mowing before we lost daylight, the yard was pretty high. 

It is nice to be home, after traveling all over the country, when we get home we always realize we do live in a very beautiful place, we are truly blessed. 

I know everyone loves data, so I will make a final post to this blog with all the statistics when I get around to it. 

Day 45, 02 May, 2024 - Pushing North

Thursday, Eric and Myra treated us to a hearty breakfast; all the fruits, pancakes and Eric's personally cured ham. It was delicious. I told Eric, this is the best Harvest Host I have stayed at yet! 

We departed North Carolina around 8:30AM. We booked a Harvest Host, McGrath's Pub and Eatery, in Dalton, PA for the evening. It was about 550 miles, a bit more than we like to do in a day, but we both kind of have a little 'get-home-itis'.  

We diverted in Fredericksburg, VA off I95 and took Rt17 towards Winchester, VA to avoid the DC area; we just have been burned too many times on that route. We did get some stop and go in the Wilkes-Barre area but other than that, it was an easy drive.  

We arrived at our HH around 6:30PM, it was easy parking next to the owner's rig. 

It was a great place, we had beers, wings and pizza.  We even took enough left overs to get us the rest of the way home. 

Friday the drive is 5-6 hours, so we should be home in the afternoon and back to the real world. 

Day 44, Wednesday 01 May, 2024 - Reminiscing Georgia and Driveway Surfing in North Carolina

Wednesday we left the Cracker Barrel in Perry, GA about 08:30AM. We would have left sooner but we wanted to stop at Lane's Southern Orchards (they don't open until 0900). We always stopped at Lane's when we visited Randy and Sue when they lived in this area. 

We do love their peaches and pecans. 

As we left, we drove by Randy and Sue's place in Bonaire, I snapped this picture just to send to Randy for nostalgic purposes. 

We made our way north to June's nephew's place in North Carolina.  We almost always stop on our way north each year and they are always welcoming. 

Eric and Myra were at their weekly church meeting when we arrived around 6PM but we made our selves at home and made dinner. 

Eric and Myra arrived home around 8:30PM, we had a nice visit and got to meet their two ferrets, Dolly and Dora. They are very cute. 

It was a long drive and we were pretty whipped so we retired early and plan to continue to at least PA on Thursday. 

Day 42-43, Monday/Tuesday, 29/30 April 2024 - R&R, then point north.

We were in the USVI from April 21st to the 28th, (Day 33-40, Sun-Sun) that week can be found here:  https://aljasa24sj.blogspot.com/ 

Monday, we got in around 00:30AM and were pretty tired, so we did not plan much for Monday.  

The Serenity Falcon had sat in Debbie's yard, unconnected to power, for 8 days under a shade tree. I left the refrigerator on propane. I was pleased to see that when we returned the batteries were at 45% and the propane had only dropped 10%.  It probably was good for another week but not much more. We were parked under a tree so the solar gave very little help. We used 154Ah of our 280Ah battery capacity. My old 105Ah of battery system would not have made the week. I did the math, it used about 0.8A per hour in capacity.  My net is that the new  Li battery system is a game changer in how long you can go on batteries. Enough on that. 

It was a down day, we got up late, had left over airport burritos for breakfast and did chores. June did laundry, I sorted out all the wet snorkel gear for repacking and did a grocery run on the scooter. I picked up stuff to BBQ when Deb gets home from work. June and Aunt Mickey took a long walk to the marina; they saw pelicans and cranes. Fred rode his bicycle around the neighborhood and checked on them since they were gone quite a while.

It felt good to do so little for a day. 

When Deb got home we made a big meal on the grill, Pork roast, corn on the cob, baked potatoes and added a salad. It was all delicious.

James topped it off with his bananas foster.  He is a darn good cook.

We were all full but somehow had room for dessert. 

It was a nice evening. 

Tuesday, James and I plan to golf and then we will likely start our way north....reluctantly. 

******

Tuesday, we woke to rain, golf looked iffy. Debbie had to go to work, so I said a quick goodbye since we were planning to leave mid day for home. 

The golf gods did us a favor and we got our round in at Lost Key golf course without any rain. 

Lost Key is a beautiful course.  I think the 'Lost' in the name has something to do with how many balls you should bring. Anything off the fairway is gone, or you will have to fight a snake for it. 

The fairways, greens and sand traps are well kept. I spent quite a bit of time at the beach, their sand is top notch. 

The course was not crowded and we were able to play as a twosome at our own pace, it was a fun round. 

We got back from golf and packed up for home, it was just starting to rain but I got it done without getting too wet. 

We said our goodbyes and left Debbie, James and Aunt Mickey's a bit after 11AM, it was starting to rain. 

We can not express how grateful we are to Debbie, James and Aunt Mickey for letting us stay with them while we were in Florida. We have been parked in their yard for 2 weeks, and they could not have been more welcoming. We hope to return the favor some day. 

As soon as we got on the road, the monsoons started and it rained hard until we were almost out of Florida. The Serenity Falcon got a good power wash. 

We made a bunch of stops. We got propane, we got ice, we got gas and we dumped/filled our tanks.  Despite all this we arrived at out targeted destination, Cracker Barrel in Perry, GA, around 7PM.  We had a good dinner and will continue our trek north on Wednesday. 

It is still 82F at 9PM....we are not north yet!

Day 32-33, Friday/Saturday, 19/20 April 2024 - Chillaxin and Fort Pickens

Friday was a day of leisure.  James and I golfed, the rest went to the beach, it was another beautiful day. 

James and I golfed at Perdido Bay Golf course, it is a nice course. I played about like I expected, my spectacular putting in Texas did not follow me to Florida.  However, it was fun to get out on such a beautiful day. 

There is plenty of water, I found most of it. 

We got back to the house just before the beach people.  After our naps (yes it is such a luxury for us retired folks), James and Debbie cooked ribs with corn on the grill.  We all went to bed a bit full...it was just awesome. 

Saturday, The first thing that June and I did was go to Big Lagoon State Park to dump or tanks. It is only 5 miles away, very convenient. 

We toured the park, it is very nice, we might consider it in the future. 

We even hiked the observation tower which gives great views of the area. 

Nice views in all directions. 

Aunt Mickey, Debbie, June and I set off to tour Fort Pickens, while James took care of his yard. James takes a lot of pride in keeping his yard beautiful. If you want to see a spectacular yard with vibrant flowers, you should visit Debbie and James. 

The drive to Pickens is spectacular, after Pickens we continued the drive with white beaches and ocean on both sides of the road. If I get time I may pull some of the dash cam video and add it to this blog. 

Much to our surprise, Debbie had never been to Fort Pickens.

Fort Pickens was built in the early 1830s to protect Pensacola Bay.  It was a very large fort that could hold over 200 canons. During the civil war, the Union held the fort and used it to bombard and dislodge the Confederates from Fort McRee and Fort Barrancas, which are across the bay.  It was also used as a prison for confederate soldiers. 

A darker side of history is that for a period after the civil war (1886) it was used to hold Geronimo, 15 of his Apache warriors and eventually their families as prisoners. He became a bit of a tourist attraction/sideshow with people coming just to see the famous Geronimo in prison. He was eventually transferred to a prison in Oklahoma where he died in 1913. 

It was a beautiful day. 

If any one recalls the story of Ft Pulaski, the rifled cannons rendered most fortifications obsolete.  This canon has been upgraded by inserting a rifled cast iron sleeve into the  barrel, which improved its range and accuracy...ingenious. 

During war time the bay was heavily mined. 

After Ft Pickens we stopped along the highway and made sammiches for lunch, one of the luxuries of driving your RV on the tour. We then continued our tour down the coast, returning to Debbie's around 5PM. It was a beautiful drive and relaxing tour. 

The white sand beaches are just gorgeous. 

We completed our tour and returned to Debbie's around 5PM.  James was just putting the finishing touches on his yard and we made plans to go out to dinner. 

We had a nice dinner at Hub Stacey's at the Point.

We had to get up early to catch a 04:45 Lyft ride to the airport, so we retired for the evening. 

This blog will go on hold until we return from St John a week from tomorrow (April 28th).

If you wish to follow along, here is a link to that blog: 

https://aljasa24sj.blogspot.com/