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 America. We have received some great suggestions!!!
Our trip route in general is East on I10, North on I17 Taos NM, East on I40 to Amarillo TX, East on I40 to Oklahoma OK, then North-East on I44 Branson MO, US-60/I24 to Nashville TN, I24/I40/I81/I77 to Hillsville VA, I77/I81/I66 to College Park MD.
Campground reservations are in Flagstaff AZ, Taos NM, Amarillo TX, Oklahoma OK, Branson MO, Nashville TN, Hillsville VA, ending in College Park MD.
By the way, I did a goggle search on the definition of "T minus" (which we use in our blog entry title... whew! my brain has OD'd on the responses.... suffice to say we'll continue with the "T minus" way of measuring time.
Today is Friday, one day before we leave. Dale the Dog has a beauty appointment at 8 AM, then the Boss has a beauty appointment or two starting at 9 AM. Hmmmmm, apparently I don't get a beauty appointment. I did ask Dale, he just gave a lick... the Boss suggested I put on a clean tee shirt before getting in the RV with Dale and her in the morning
Also today the computer will be loaded along with the printer. We will be using a wireless card for communications.
Did I mentioned I've been learning to play the bagpipes during the past 12 months.... however, to keep spouse & dog harmony in the RV during the adventure, I'm just practice on the practice chanter... I'll pick up the pipes when we get back. Also, while on the trip I will be using a small beach ball to improve the strength in my bag squeezing left arm.
We are now researching the Guy's Diners, Drive-ins & Dives (the TV show)... there is a web site that shows about 150 locations....
I'm still searching for the world's biggest ball of twine... I know it's in the country someplace
Trudy (the Boss) spent about 32 years working in casinos, her final job was Director of Table Games. I suspect we may visit one or two of casinos during the adventure.
Not much else to check on the RV.... today will be the final loading of small stuff... then in the morning, we load the pillows and toothbrushes.
Later,
Doug, Trudy, and Dale the Dog
... 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 of clothes for one day to put on the RV.... and oh my god, the Boss hasn't even started with the make-up, and hair stuff, or any other girl stuff. I think there is a 2,000 pound hauling limit on the RV, I get 250 pounds and guess who gets the rest!!!! LOL, life is great!
- we have added a few food items to the refer... critical items, such as a good assortment of beer, a white wine called "Little Black Dress" (for the Boss), and a variety of diet sodas, and diet Red Bull, I have at least one a day.
I did add a ladder hanger and a tall ladder... I also loaded a couple of wood folding chairs.
DRIVEN TRAINING TODAY!!!!!!!
Aside from me having a steel grip on my seat belt, and my pulse rate was about 200 BPM, and with my life flashing before my eyes... today was the first time the Boss got behind the wheel of the RV... a 30,000 pound vehicle that is almost 40 feet long (nose to tail)!!!! A few times I started to look for my seat ejector handle. So I pull the rig around to a wwwiiiiddddeeee neighborhood street.... then I move to the shotgun seat, and She sits in the command seat... then I point out the go pedal and the stop pedal.... Her comments of "cute things" kinda takes away from my macho view of the Rig...
... then I explained the vast array of lights and gages on the instrument panel was a beautiful thing to behold... I don't think it impressed Her... even the sound of the low air alarm, or the hissing sound of air when releasing the air brakes... I love that sound
OK, She then puts the Rig in "D" (I attempted to explain the intricacies of the 6-speed Allison transmission) and away we go, I held my screaming to a mild whimper... down the block, lift turns, right turns, quick stops... and then I thought my world ended as She turned into a short block with a cul-de-sac... OK... a few gardeners were around and they scattered as She put the Rig in "R", not for race, but for reverse...
Anyway, She (Trudy) did a GREAT Job... she backed up nicely... and had to make normal back and forth manuvers... we did driver training for about another hour and we called it a day... tomorrow we'll do some more driver training... Trudy is OK with driving it.... and that makes both of us feel better about the trip...
Trip preparation is going well...
Later,
Doug, Trudy, and Dale the Dog
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 even let out one scream, however I think Dale may have whimpered a little
- Do you ever watch the TV Food Channel Show (or maybe the Travel Show) called "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives"? Well, we stopped at a BBQ place for lunch called "Thee Pitt's Again", located in Glendale, AZ. Trudy had the pulled turkey sandwich and I had the classic pulled pork.... it was great. One of our trip's goals is eating at Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.
- An interesting part of today's trip was the change of landscape, from the low desert where we live in Cathedral City, CA, with a temperature today of 106 F, to raising up to 7000 ft elevation and pine trees, where the temperature is about 50 F. Pretty amazing we think.
We made OK time today, all things considered, averaging about 45 MPH...
Tomorrow, we have a 451 mile drive that should take about 8 hours.
So ends the adventure's first day.... it was a good shakedown for us and Dale, and for the Rig.
... until next time,
Dale, Trudy and Doug
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.
... 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 number of popular tourist areas (Georgetown, Hill Country) and then went back to the RV for a few hours. Later in the day, we did some online searching for places to eat and entertainment... and decided on a place called "County Line BBQ" about 10 miles out of town and located on the edge of a river. The meal was fabulous.... Trudy had Memphis BBQ Pork Ribs and I had Texas style beef ribs... ending with peach cobbler and fresh made ice cream By the way, when we got back to the RV Dale (the pooch) was given a beef rib bone, which he thoroughly enjoyed and gnawed on for several hours
Tuesday, June 30, day 32, Today we traveled from Austin TX to San Antonio TX, about 80 miles. We are staying at the Travelers World RV Resort. We get in about noon, set up the RV and then pondered what to do next. We took a trip down to the Riverwalk area and we took one of the boat rides that tours the canals and passes the many stores, hotels, and restaurants that line the canals. After a couple of hours we were melting from the temperature and humidity, so we got back in the car and drove around the Riverwalk area... later in the day we had dinner at a local Mexican restaurant that was very good. Later in the evening we made a trip to the local Super Walmart for a few supplies.
Wednesday, July 1, day 33, Planning our day, we made sure we had plenty of water and Gatorade with us. We got down to the Alamo historic area about noon and toured the Alamo. We then wandered into the Riverwalk Mall to cool down... next we ended up at Pat O Brians Restaurant for a cold beer and finger foods. Then to beat the heat for a couple of hours we went to the movies (the opening day of Ice Age), afterwords, we again walked along the Riverwalk area. We wanted seafood for dinner, so we settled on "Landries Restaurant" were we shared stuffed mushrooms with crab meat, and Trudy had oysters on the half shell, we then shared the seafood feast of crab, shrimp, crab cakes, and a stuffed crab, and of course a couple of cold draft beers.
Thursday, July 2, day 34, Thursday is a drive day. From San Antonio TX to Fort Stockton TX.
... stay turned as we continue our adventure,
Dale, Trudy, and Doug
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! We acted as tourist all day. We met up with Lexi and Dan, and then drove to Baltimore MD, to the Port of Baltimore.
OK, for those folks unfamiliar with the term "Whack", here is the definition: to strike with a smart, resounding blow or blows. I'll explain later, but first when we got to the Port of Baltimore and parked the car, we then walked to the Aquarium Pier and bought tickets to tour the USCGC Taney (last remaining large Coast Guard Cutter) and the USS Torsk (the last submarine produced for WWII.) We then got tickets for using the Water Taxi Service. After a bit of waiting and several water taxi transfers, we ended up at Captain James Landing...
...Whack, Whack, Whack! at Captain James Landing, a seafood restaurant with a outdoor eating area right next to the water, we ordered fried Calamari, and a dozen LARGE crabs... Whack, Whack, Whack!!! That's the sound of mallets cracking the legs and claws of the crabs... Ops, I should also mention that we had sufficient beer to wash down the fresh crab, Calamari, and French Fries... Whack-Whack-Whack!!!! ... and one more thing... we had milkshakes and ice cream at Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Parlor.
Sunday, June 14, Day 16 of 32,
Today is a rest and washing clothes day. We had to breakfast out, spent several hours with clothes, walked Dale several times, and then dinner out. Tomorrow, Monday, we are planning to tour a number of sites in DC.
... Stay tuned,
Dale, Trudy, and Doug
