Sunday, March 29, 2009
Ida comes Home (photos)
Ida at home undercover at last.
On the ferry.
Our ferry waits for this Washington State ferry to get towed by.
On the ferry.
Our ferry waits for this Washington State ferry to get towed by.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Statistics.
We were on the road for 77 days and traveled 7574 miles. That averages out to 98.3 miles a day except that we only traveled place to place on 57 days which brings the average to 132 miles. Our longest day was yesterday--367 miles from Sweet Home to Guemes. Our two shortest days were just 29 miles. Our diesel mileage averaged between 15 and 20 depending on conditions. The average cost of diesel was $2.22. The most expensive was was $2.65 on Marco Island FL and the cheapest was $1.89 in Gila Bend AZ. All of the diesel was far cheaper than last year. The average price we payed for an RV park/ campground was $22.73. That includes 7 free nights. The most expensive place was $60.50 for a Florida RV park right on the waterfront. I figure the total we put out for RV parks was considerably less than it will cost for one week of hotel in New York City. Of the parks we stayed in, 21 were private RV parks, and 28 were public campgrounds. Our vote for the best state park system in Lousiana where they not only have wonderful state parks with water and electric hook ups but if you are over 62 you only pay half price. ($8)
That's all the statistics I have right now--what else do you want to know?
About Ida
We have arrived at home -- and I am ending the trip with a response to 77 days in our new Navion, with some statistics, and hopefully with some more photos. This bit is "about Ida"--or how we survived in a very small space. (in no logical order)
With the 5th wheel, it was always about the view. We would spend a lot of time looking for the spot in any campground with the best view out the back where all our windows are. Ida does not have so many windows and the best view we can hope for is some vegetation rather than the RV next to us. Choosing a spot is all about level. (I am talking here about public parks where we can choose our own spot). Unlike the big class A's we have no self levelers--so if we are not perfectly level it means figuring out where to put the blocks. We have been in some spots where we could not get level but luckily in all cases we were able to move. Enough about leveling. Dealing with leveling blocks is my outdoor chore. Kit just has to hook up water and electric--no unhooking vehicles now.
The most positive thing about our change of RV lifestyle is just the driving. Kit is happy. The seats are definitely more comfortable for one thing. We can park in nearly any parking lot (we take at least 2 spaces) and turn on a dime. We didn't add up the number of u-turns on this trip. Kit does all the driving but I got to give it a go on one or two hour stretches in Mississippi, Arizona, and California. It's like driving a big van (so we are told). I know I can drive but I prefer not to--esp. in high traffic situations. I will write about our great gas mileage in the statistics section.
The negative things as we expected are just living in a much smaller space. The bed in the corner is a double bed with a bite out--we had no problems sleeping here but it is a pain that Kit has to crawl over me to get in and out of bed. The shower is not as tiny as I first thought but getting the water temperature and volume right is a challenge. There is less than a square foot of space (not counting standing on the toilet) for getting dressed in the teeny weeny bathroom. But we survived just fine and some campgrounds have good showers. We have always hated motorhomes with dinettes--still do--but that is what we have for seating area when not on the road. It is very uncomfortable and we aren't yet sure how to deal with that. But there is a lot of storage underneath and it does make into a bed which was handy when Kit's back went bad. Also our passenger seat swivels to make a chair for reading in the evening--and I have discovered that curling up in the corner on the bed is a great spot for evening reading. Plus of course the table is handy for eating, and for computer and journaling work. I thought the TV which comes down out of the air over the table was a dumb idea but it actually works just fine for us. Not that we watched TV more than a half dozen times on the whole trip. Every time we would turn in for the news--it would be the "same old".. The problem with the TV is going to be figuring out how to hookup the digital converter since there is no access to the back on the TV in this slide down thing.
We were worried about washing dishes with only one sink but that turned out to be no problem--it is a large and quite deep sink. Cooking was really not a problem but I had to remember to do things in shifts--like make the salad before I opened out the stove. We tried a few simple things in our convection oven but it is still a mystery to me. The refrigerator is much smaller than in our Alpenlite so that can be frustrating at shopping times. Esp. having only one drawer for vegetables/ fruit. But the freezer is huge--we never came close to filling it
Our water tank seems small too--if we are frugal we can make 3 nights dry camping. Strange thing is that the capacity of the black and gray water holding tanks are about 3 times that of the water tank.
Kit has a list of changes he wants to make. First off : putting in golf cart batteries and replacing our many many lights with LEDs. We've experimented with a few so far. We prefer to run the generator as little as possible when off the grid and the lights use a lot of battery power or so Kit keeps telling me. (if I dare to have more than one light on at a time.)
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Getting close
We didn't linger on the Oregon coast as the weather was cold (40's) and wet. ( Had an unhappy experience at one of the lovely state parks--had to change sites because of a volunteer error. But we got a free night of camping.) To think just a week ago we were basking on the beach in shorts and tees. We are in Eugene tonight--it is only slightly more pleasant here. Tomorrow we head to my moms for a few days and then home by the weekend. Next post will be from Guemes. (unless I post some pictures today)
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Back to Highway 1
Left Calistoga this morning after shopping at CalMart (always a treat). Did I mention we had an awesome dinner last night at the Calistoga Inn. North through more wine country. Kit wanted to find the old Italian Swiss Colony winery where he went with his parents as a kid. It is now Cellar #8. Bought some wine. Drove on toward the coast. Stopped at another winery in Boonville at noon. The young female bartender totally blew our generational assumptions--she was very knowledgable and we had a pleasant interlude--mostly I got to taste the wine as Kit is driving twisty turny roads. (Bought more wine) So here we are heading south instead of north. Headed down to a KOA at Manchester. Turns out to the the worst value KOA we've been to. And the weather is dreary but no surprise there. Heading back north up #1 tomorrow and then through the redwoods. Don't know when we'll have internet again.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Highway 1
Me along Highway 1.
A rare penguin siting. (Note: the penguin's owner was from Anacortes)
Elephant seals on the beach.
Ida --somewhere in Joshua Tree. Me and a Joshua Tree. Prickly Pear in bloom.
Calistoga
We have just today arrived at the Fairgrounds in Calistoga--imagine a gravel parking lot with water and electric hook-ups. (and very basic bathrooms) No ambiance. $30 a night. Convenient location. And now FREE Wireless! Since we don't have bikes and Kit's back is still not OK we probably won't linger here but at least will get to go out to dinner tonight.
In the past week we have been mostly at public parks and one private park where the wireless was not working. We spent a night in Joshua Tree NP and had a good hike. Then headed to the coast. Ended up spending 3 nights in a new favorite paradise--Refugio State Beach just north of Santa Barbara. The campground has no hookups or even a dump station so it was a strain to get our water to last that long. But the beach was less than 2 car lengths from our campsite. Palm trees. Balmy breezes (no chilly wind) The bike trail is closed now but you can walk for a mile and a half and then walk on the beach another mile and a half. Soaked up sun. Then on to Morro Bay which is a very fine state park where we had not been before. (no hookups but water and dump station). Kit messed up his back while we were at Refugio and is not very mobile. I had to do the dumping. Hopefully with his new cane we can make it into town for dinner tonight.
Leaving Morro we drove up the famous California Hwy 1. Just as advertised it is twisty turny up and down and quite close to the ocean. Awesome weather. Luckily Kit doesn't mind driving--I couldn't have done it. Finally made it to Monterey and turned off the beach to stay up on the hill at Leguna Seco. Today was a long morning of mostly city/ freeway driving. Glad to arrive here.
I will try to post some photos. We are still trying to work without the mouse as it may be what is causing our computer to crash.
In the past week we have been mostly at public parks and one private park where the wireless was not working. We spent a night in Joshua Tree NP and had a good hike. Then headed to the coast. Ended up spending 3 nights in a new favorite paradise--Refugio State Beach just north of Santa Barbara. The campground has no hookups or even a dump station so it was a strain to get our water to last that long. But the beach was less than 2 car lengths from our campsite. Palm trees. Balmy breezes (no chilly wind) The bike trail is closed now but you can walk for a mile and a half and then walk on the beach another mile and a half. Soaked up sun. Then on to Morro Bay which is a very fine state park where we had not been before. (no hookups but water and dump station). Kit messed up his back while we were at Refugio and is not very mobile. I had to do the dumping. Hopefully with his new cane we can make it into town for dinner tonight.
Leaving Morro we drove up the famous California Hwy 1. Just as advertised it is twisty turny up and down and quite close to the ocean. Awesome weather. Luckily Kit doesn't mind driving--I couldn't have done it. Finally made it to Monterey and turned off the beach to stay up on the hill at Leguna Seco. Today was a long morning of mostly city/ freeway driving. Glad to arrive here.
I will try to post some photos. We are still trying to work without the mouse as it may be what is causing our computer to crash.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
California
Surprise! California is already on Daylight Savings time so we did not have to change our clocks. We were wandering around for half a day thinking it was earlier than it was.
Actually I am supposed to be writing about Arizona. We spent 2 days at Gilbert Ray--a wonderful desert campground. Walked over to the Desert Museum and spent a pleasant day with Don and Anne. Then 4 days at Organ Pipe. Didn't leave the campground much except for a few hikes and a drive down to Lukeville for emergency snacks.
I am on a public computer here in Borrego Springs so no photos yet. We are off to go hiking today with Dave and Louise.
Actually I am supposed to be writing about Arizona. We spent 2 days at Gilbert Ray--a wonderful desert campground. Walked over to the Desert Museum and spent a pleasant day with Don and Anne. Then 4 days at Organ Pipe. Didn't leave the campground much except for a few hikes and a drive down to Lukeville for emergency snacks.
I am on a public computer here in Borrego Springs so no photos yet. We are off to go hiking today with Dave and Louise.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Heading Out
We are leaving this morning for the "desert". (ie no internet access). Today we plan to move to Gilbert Ray Campground on the other side of town (Friday we are going to the Desert Museum with the Passarelli's) and then on the weekend we will head down to Organ Pipe for 4 days. We have reservations in Borrego Springs on the 11th and 12th. They will have internet access there. It was hard to get in as apparantly it's a wildflower year there.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
More Photos
LBJ's office at the Texas White House.
Frog on a hike in Texas.
Ida at Sunny Flat Campground (back side of Chiricahuas). Despite how it looks the campground is full.
Some Photos
Central High in Little Rock Arkansas.
A waterfall in Texas.
Unpublished Excerpts
No Beer Here
We bought groceries in Tennessee but they don’t sell beer there on Sunday. Driving the Interstate through Arkansas we didn’t find beer either. Stopped at the first store we found in Texas—it was a “dry” county. Three days without beer. (sigh) Some things are NOT the same all over the US. Travel rule #5 says “Respect Regional Cultural differences—but it’s hard when there is no beer.
Arkansas
We whisked through Arkansas on Interstates 40 and 30 with only 3 side trips. # 1. Into Little Rock to see Central High School National Historic Site. There is a wonderful visitor center that tells the story of the 9 courageous students who integrated this school—not all that many years ago. The school itself is the most imposing educational edifice that I have seen. I’ll try to include a photo. This is really the only Civil Rights stop we made in our journey through the south. #2. We ducked off the highway to find a state park to spend the night. (We did not go to Hot Springs even though there is a National Park. It sounded way too touristy. We did not go to the state park where you can hunt for diamonds.) #3. We did take a detour to Historic Washington State Park. It’s one of those old towns with a lot of history and refurbished buildings. It was VERY quiet when we were there. We took a tour. Washington was for a while the Confederate Capitol of Arkansas. Had a great plate lunch at the old tavern—good food and reasonable price.
Texas State Parks
Three nights in Texas and we have slept in 3 state parks. Not as cheap as Louisiana to be sure. Most of them charge an admission fee in addition to the $16 camping fee. Staying in a state park always takes extra time because of leveling issues. One of the biggest challenges with a small motor home is getting it level. We have a set of orange and yellow leveling blocks but sometimes not enough-- so we look for the most level spot we can find. The state parks here are certainly not crowded at this time of year. In fact at the first one there were over 60 sites and we were the only campers—not even a park host.
We have been heading all this time toward Austin but when we got there we discovered it is NOT an RV friendly city. We could not find a place to park anywhere: which is why we ended up in state park #3. It was 80 degrees—a nice afternoon for a hike and sitting in the shade with a book. Texas state park #4 charged $7 per person in addition to the camping fee and it was quite nearly full. The huge charge is because of the spring fed swimming pool which of course everyone wants to use (not us). The temperature is a constant 72 degrees and you can swim with the fishes—and the scuba divers.
We bought groceries in Tennessee but they don’t sell beer there on Sunday. Driving the Interstate through Arkansas we didn’t find beer either. Stopped at the first store we found in Texas—it was a “dry” county. Three days without beer. (sigh) Some things are NOT the same all over the US. Travel rule #5 says “Respect Regional Cultural differences—but it’s hard when there is no beer.
Arkansas
We whisked through Arkansas on Interstates 40 and 30 with only 3 side trips. # 1. Into Little Rock to see Central High School National Historic Site. There is a wonderful visitor center that tells the story of the 9 courageous students who integrated this school—not all that many years ago. The school itself is the most imposing educational edifice that I have seen. I’ll try to include a photo. This is really the only Civil Rights stop we made in our journey through the south. #2. We ducked off the highway to find a state park to spend the night. (We did not go to Hot Springs even though there is a National Park. It sounded way too touristy. We did not go to the state park where you can hunt for diamonds.) #3. We did take a detour to Historic Washington State Park. It’s one of those old towns with a lot of history and refurbished buildings. It was VERY quiet when we were there. We took a tour. Washington was for a while the Confederate Capitol of Arkansas. Had a great plate lunch at the old tavern—good food and reasonable price.
Texas State Parks
Three nights in Texas and we have slept in 3 state parks. Not as cheap as Louisiana to be sure. Most of them charge an admission fee in addition to the $16 camping fee. Staying in a state park always takes extra time because of leveling issues. One of the biggest challenges with a small motor home is getting it level. We have a set of orange and yellow leveling blocks but sometimes not enough-- so we look for the most level spot we can find. The state parks here are certainly not crowded at this time of year. In fact at the first one there were over 60 sites and we were the only campers—not even a park host.
We have been heading all this time toward Austin but when we got there we discovered it is NOT an RV friendly city. We could not find a place to park anywhere: which is why we ended up in state park #3. It was 80 degrees—a nice afternoon for a hike and sitting in the shade with a book. Texas state park #4 charged $7 per person in addition to the camping fee and it was quite nearly full. The huge charge is because of the spring fed swimming pool which of course everyone wants to use (not us). The temperature is a constant 72 degrees and you can swim with the fishes—and the scuba divers.
