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About this blog

Traveling America from West to East, then North to South, then East to West

Entries in this blog

 

Whack! ... days 14, 15, 16 of 32, Still in Cherry Hill RV Park

Friday, June 12, Day 14 of 32, Today we took the Metro into Washington DC. We have a 1 PM appointment to tour the Capital. We were able to get connected to our congressional representative's office and we only had 6 folks in our group, and then an Intern led the tour. What can we say about the tour of the Capital... it was great! A two hour tour only touches on the various things to see and hear about our country's history... it is an amazing place. Saturday, June 13, Day 15 of 32, Whack
DougC

DougC

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The Roadrunner Café in Ft Stockton.... Days 34, 35, 36, of a 38 day Adventure

...and the adventure continues, Thursday, July 2, day 34, Thursday is a drive day from San Antonio TX to Fort Stockton TX. We arrived at The Fort Stockton RV Park, in Fort Stockton in the mid-afternoon. It's located right off of I-10. The park met our needs and I need to mention The Roadrunner Café at the RV Park... we thought we were sitting in a house with home cooking! The menu is limited but very good. Everything was homemade, like fried catfish and biscuits and gravy... we had dinne
DougC

DougC

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The Lone Star State, day 31, 32, 33.... of 36 day Adventure

... and the adventure contineus... as mentioned before, Sunday June 28 was a driving day from New Orleans to Austin TX. We arrived at the Austin Lone Star Carefree RV Park about 8 pm... we set up the RV and then turned in for the night, Monday, June 29, day 31, We got ready to go into the downtown entertainment area of Austin... however the temperature and humidity were very high... so we knew that walking around outside in the downtown area would be difficult... so we drove around a numb
DougC

DougC

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The blog learning process continues ...

Newbie Blogger here. I received some very helpful blog process information from the FMCA IT Manager and another member, but now I misplaced their responses .... Anyway, thanks for the helpful information.
DougC

DougC

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The Adventure's 1st Day

Here we are relaxing in the Rig at the J & H RV Park in Flagstaff, AZ. We rolled into the RV park about 5:30 PM this evening after driving 407 miles today. Highlights of the Day: - Another on-the-job driving training day for Trudy as she drove on Interstate-10. Trudy drove for an hour or so, and did very well. As a Newbie to RV driving, Trudy had the most stress when the tractor-trailers zoomed passed us (don't we all!) We held our speed to 55-60 mph for best control... and I didn't e
DougC

DougC

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T minus 7 Days

... and the count down continues towards lift off (OK, I'm a NASA fan ), I mean until we leave on the cross county trek (OK we are also Star Trek groupies ). By the way, we saw the new Star Trek movie this week, and it was GREAT!!!! We continue to prep for the trip.... - The Boss is moving her stuff to a central location in the small bedroom that I call the warehouse.... hmmmm, 5 pieces of clothing for her and then I get one t-shirt, at this rate I may up end with at least a change o
DougC

DougC

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T minus 24 hours 'til Ignition (Turn the engine on)

Howdy. First, as a Newbie to FMCA I wanted to mention that FMCA and the web site have been great! The site is full of good stuff, more than I can get to in one life time -- information on CAT engines, Allison transmissions, tires, and a variety of other information. As we begin our West to East then North to South then East to West trip this coming Saturday we are looking for suggestions to see, do, or eat ... and for input from folks who have previously traveled the byways and highways of Am
DougC

DougC

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T minus 13 days

Howdy All, As mentioned previously, this weekend, May 15-16-17, is the motor coach testing weekend.... testing all functions and features... The RV is fully hooked up to shore power, water, sewer, and cable TV. As the temperature here is now in the 100's the two AC units are getting a good workout.... it was 107 degrees today.... I've let the front TV and the bedroom TV stay on... I visited the rig several times a day... testing the water flow in the kitchen, bathroom area and shower,
DougC

DougC

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T minus 10 hours and counting down....

A quick update... the "Trip" command center has officially moved from the house to the motor home... computer, printer, and wireless card are working well... Hmmm, other critical last minute items, 30 See's Candy Butterscotch Suckers (for The Boss), and Dale's "Frosty Paws Ice Cream Treats" I did manage to get my own personal stash of beer... Oh, we put on Clamato Juice, Vodka, and hot sauce-all for Bloody Marys; there is a reserve of white and red wine, along with a variety of die
DougC

DougC

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T Minus 10 days

Tonight I have a mild headache caused by walking into the RV ... A bit of explanation.... right at this moment... if I look in the bathroom mirror, on the left side of my upper forehead is a half moon cut, maybe 3/4" long, attempting to heal. You may wonder how I came to acquire such an injury... here's the story, on our motor coach (like many motor coaches) there are cargo/battery/other areas that have doors that lift up... when the doors are opened they swing out and up, with the
DougC

DougC

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T minus 0, We Have Ignition! Yippee!

T minus 0. we have engine ignition and now leaving the launch pad.... we are leaving from Cathedral City (next to Palm Springs) and headed for Washington DC. Stay tuned for the adventures of Dale the Dog, Trudy, and Doug... Woof!
DougC

DougC

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T minus 3 days, 12 hours

It seems that a true test of a couple's happiness and bliss is surviving the planning of a four- to five-week motorhome trip. I mean, we are having a really good time planning and preparing. However, it's the issue of stuffing a rather full house of things into a 9' x 38' box that is driven over hill and dale ... on smooth and bumpy byways and highways. You have to have the right stuff on board to get by for 30-plus days, and sometimes there may be a difference of opinion as to what should be l
DougC

DougC

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Sore Feet... days 17, 18, 19, 20 of 32 Day Adventure

Sore feet for both of us... since Monday June 15, we have been tourist every day.... On Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday, we bought and used "Hop-on/Hop-Off" tickets from Gray line Tours. We've seen all of the presidential memorials, and Arlington Cemetery and the Changing of the Guard. We saw the war memorials, both during the day and a second time in the evening. On Tuesday we had lunch at the Smithsonian American Indian Food Court, and the food was terrific... we recommend it to anyone. Tue
DougC

DougC

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Planning continues

We continue to plan and currently the first phase of the planned trip from Cathedral City CA to Washington DC is the following: Day 1, May 30 - The general route is starting with I10 from Palm Springs CA to just outside Phoenix, then I17 to Distant Drum RV RSRT at Camp Verde AZ. Day 2 & 3, May 31-June 1 - on day 2 we continue on I17 to I40 and turn East to I25, turn North at Albuquerque NM and drive to Taos RV CG in Taos NM. The idea is to spend two days in the Taos NM and Sante Fe NM
DougC

DougC

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Missed entry No. 2

Howdy, Ok, it appears we have the FMCA blog started... we now have to figure out how to have family and friends, outside of the FMCA community, read the blog. I find that is easier said then done. By now, after a days worth of blog stuff, I probably have a number of blogs set up out in the Internet universe, none of which are connected to each other or FMCA. Soooo, it seems to avoid retyping everything, I have to decide to continue with the FMCA blog and then copy and paste the blog into an e
DougC

DougC

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In the Big Easy, days 27, 28, 29, 30 of the 36 day Adventure

...You may notice that the adventure has now been extended a few more days... until Saturday July 4... we just couldn't make the desired stops and maintain the schedule... Thursday, June 25, day 27, today is a driving day and we left Defuniak FL and arrived at Ponchartrain RV Park, on the edge of New Orleans. We caught the RV park's 6:45 pm shuttle to the French Quarter and the driver let us off at Pat O'Brien's Restaurant, a popular place for music, food and a large patio with water fo
DougC

DougC

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Hot and Sweaty... Day 21, 22 of 32 Adventure

We are now at the American Heritage RV Park in Williamsburg VA... a nice big park just a few miles from historic Williamsburg VA... and the humidity is high! June 19, Friday, day 21, We arrived at the American Heritage RV Park in Williamsburg VA.... got in about 1 PM... got set-up, took Dale for a walk, and then headed off to a local place for lunch. Had a an excellent lunch at the "Hog Wild Smokehouse Restaurant", all of the fried or BBQ food you could want... of course, we had to start wi
DougC

DougC

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Home, Sweet Home ... Days 37 and 38 of 38 Day Adventure

... and the adventure comes to an end July 5, day 37: A drive day from Las Cruses, N.M., to Tucson, Ariz. Nothing exciting along the way. July 6, day 38: A drive day from Tucson to our home in Cathedral City, Calif., 380 miles on I-10. So ends a great 38-day adventure. We drove 6,822 miles and traveled through 14 states. We had set a trip "on the road" budget of $7,600, or $200 per day, for food, fuel and park fees. However, we actually spent $6,900. The savings was in fuel ... we had budget
DougC

DougC

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Getting Started

Howdy All, this is the first entry for our cross country trip blog.... the idea for the trip started about a month ago.... and now has growned into an actual "go do" thing.. One of the things to deal with trip planning is just too much information available... there is AAA auto club, Good Sam Club, FMCA, and others.... whew! We've sorta settled on using the Good Sam trip planner as it will identify rest areas, dump sites, fueling stations, state road conditions. We use that along wi
DougC

DougC

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Eating Our Way Down the East Coast... Day 23, 24 of 32 day Adventure

It sure seems like I'm making a lot of blog entries... I found if we wait too long to make an entry, then it takes too long to write the blog. Anyway, moving along to days 23 and 24 of the adventure ... Sunday, June 21, day 23, a driving day from Williamsburg VA to Surf City NC. We mainly drove on US Highway 17 so we through a lot of small towns which we enjoyed seeing. We stayed at the Lanier RV Park in Surf City... a nice area and the park is right next to the water and staff was friendly. A
DougC

DougC

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Boiled, not Fried... Days 24, 25, 26 of 32 Day Adventure

... the adventure continues and we are having a lot of fun On June 22, day 24, we had a large fried lunch before leaving Charleston and drove to Savannah, about 2 hours away. We got in late and after setting up, we crashed for the night... June 23, day 25, we planned to spend a full day in Savannah and did just that. The Savannah Oaks RV Resort, is located about 15 or so miles from downtown Savannah. I've come to love the Garmin we have... I just plug in an address and "Jill" (the Garmi
DougC

DougC

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31 days before "T" day

April 28, "T" stands for the "Trip"... One of the items that is part of the across the county round trip is that we are picking up a car, a 2002 Honda Accord, in Washington DC and bringing it back to California. It may turn out to be a toad, not sure yet. I spent several hours this morning researching tow systems versus shipping the car back by a private carrier versus renting a auto tow dolly. You would think we were launching a space shuttle with the amount of information I gathered tod
DougC

DougC

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23 days until Departure "T" Day

Howdy Ya All, I've been lazy with the blog.... but moving right along.... in 23 days we leave, that's May 30, in the morning... the master trip planner (me), kinda like a load-master in the Air Force, has got more lists started than one person can keep up with, most are not up to date... but, lists are a bit like a security banket... a list and a cold beer, a great way to relax Three of us are going on the month long, 7,000 mile trip... my significant other (Big Boss), Dale the dog (Littl
DougC

DougC

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22 Days Countdown Until Trip Day

Today was a better "get the RV ready" day. This morning I checked in with the RV store that is servicing our RV ... they said they didn't have my cell number, so they couldn't call and tell me the AC motor and squirrel cage came in and also the replacement fabric for the bedroom slider. I kept my thoughts to myself about them not having my telephone number .... With the parts in, I now have an appointment set for next Thursday to install the replacement parts. Next, as I mentioned in an ea
DougC

DougC

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14 days until liftoff (The Trip)

Just 14 days left... whoopee!!! This past week has been fairly busy, remember in our previous entry I mentioned my rotary club was hosting a GSE Sweden Team from May 8 until May 13.... wellll, we did that.... hence, getting ready for the trip was on the back burner.... it was a great week and the Sweden Team was taken to the airport this past Wednesday morning. Sooooooo, back to getting ready for the Trip.... on Thursday the RV was taken in to the local RV shop as planned to install
DougC

DougC

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