Day 36 - Wednesday, February 9 - Back Home

 Weather report - It was 33 this morning. It was a mostly sunny day, but very windy.

We arrived home about 4:45 and were 90% unloaded by 6:00. It was only a 158 mile drive today but it felt LOOOONG. Part of the reason was driving 300 miles each of the two preceding days, but most of it was because of the gusty crosswind that made pulling the trailer a real adventure. 

We made it down and up the hills in our driveway without a problem.

Right now the truck and trailer are parked blocking our circular driveway that runs in front of the house. It is to muddy to maneuver the trailer out back so that I can get it on the pad where I park it.

The van is backed up to the trailer because we use it to haul things from the trailer to the house. Saves a lot of steps.

The neighbors were just getting home when we pulled in our driveway. The truck was hardly stopped when Hadley, the neighbor girl who is the same age as Lydia, our great-granddaughter, texted Kathy to see if she could come down for a few minutes to say hi. She was down here like a flash.

Kelsey and her family brought pizzas over for supper so we were able to spend time with them this evening.

We put almost 2,100 miles on my truck and over 1,000 miles on the car we rented. The most expensive fuel we bought cost us $3.63/gal at a Love's truck stop in West Memphis; the cheapest was $3.05/gal in Vaiden, MS, our very next stop for fuel. It looks like fuel prices were 20-30 cents/gal higher on our trip back north.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours.

Day 35 - Tuesday, February 8th - In the Snow

 Weather report - It was 28 degrees when I got up this morning. The highest temperature I saw on my truck thermometer was 63. It got hot enough, driving with the sun shining through the drivers side window, that I had to turn on the AC. 

We saw our first snow of 2022 today. As we were crossing the Mississippi river Kathy noticed snow and ice built up on the highway median barrier. After that there was varying amounts of snow, either on the ground or where it had been plowed into piles.

We drove a little over 300 miles today. We are spending the night at a campground in Willow Springs, MO. We are 155 miles from home. There is some snow still on the ground here and the ground is soft. The sites are white rock but the rock must have been put down recently without being compacted.

We drove a lot of Interstate today. I continue to be amazed at the pitiful condition of our Interstate highways. DOT's have been building Interstates since the late 50's. With over 60 years experience it would seem that they should have come up with something better than what we have. 

Highways construction and maintenance is supposed to be funded by fuel taxes paid by drivers. If the amount isn't adequate to maintain our highways maybe alternative sources of funding should be explored. Taxpayers are forced to subsidize mass transit riders, it costs taxpayers nearly $5 every time a rider steps on board a transit vehicle. Perhaps we need to make sure that an equal amount of general fund tax dollars are spent subsidizing drivers. 

You might ask, "How rough were the Interstates you drove on today?" We were bounced around so much that when we stopped for lunch my Fitbit congratulated me for having taken over 2000 steps that morning. By the time we got to the campground it was over 3,000 steps.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours.

https://www.cato.org/commentary/why-we-need-stop-subsidizing-public-transit

Day 34 - Monday, February 7th - Travelling Day

Weather report - It was just above freezing this morning. Before we had "broken camp" a light rain began. I think we were on our way round 9 AM. North of Mobile, AL the sun broke through the clouds and it turned out to be a nice, sunny day, with a high in the mid 50's.

I did get our hearts beating REALLY FAST on the north side of Mobile. We were on the ramp from I165 to I65. The speed limit was 65 and I was doing the speed limit. I did not see a sign for a lower speed on the ramp, but there must have been one. Once on the ramp I realized I was going MUCH to fast. I felt something shift a couple of times before I got slowed down. I'm not sure what "shifted", it felt like the trailer might have slipped sideways for a couple of instants. (Perhaps it was our guarding angels pushing on the side of the trailer keeping it upright.) When we stopped for lunch some things had fallen on the floor and there was a fair amount of broken glass.

We were on 45 and Alternate 45 most of the way, 260 miles, today. The road surface was in decent condition and traffic was light. Most of it is divided 4 lane. It was interesting to note that after seeing so many RV's on the highway when we went to Leesburg, FL we saw only a few during our 300 mile trip today.

We are spending the night at the Campground at Barnes Crossing in Tupelo, MS. It's  "one half mile from....the mall at Barnes Crossing (the largest mall in North Mississippi), the birth place of Elvis Presley, an hour from Tiffin Motor Home...."

The roads are paved and the sites are white rock. Our truck and trailer are on the right. Notice how the sites are "stair stepped" down the hill. Some of the roads are quite steep. Our site was long enough, and level enough, that we didn't have to unhook. Access to electricity, water & sewer was good.

We strolled around the campground a little, probably should have walked a little more.

Tomorrow we head north again. Google maps says we are 462 miles from home.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours.

 

Day 33 - Sunday, February 6th - Church Day

 Weather report - Overnight low here was a frosty 28 degrees. Things warmed up nicely once the sun came up. The high was in the mid 50's. The wind was light and intermittent. It was a nice day.

After Sunday School and church we went to Saraceno's again for lunch. I love that place. We managed to get inside the door (30-35 people in line ahead of us) but within minutes the line extended outside. When we came in we had to park in the field behind the restaurant. This is when we were leaving. When we arrived there were other cars in the field.

Our lunch.

After lunch we drove over to Fairhope, AL. It is kind of an artsy community about 15 miles from the campground, on Mobile Bay. It was a nice day to take a walk along the Bay, or sit and just enjoy God's creation. The sun reflecting on the water was beautiful.

I walked out on a pier and took this photo looking back at the shore. There was a sign saying that the pier extended 1,588 feet from the shore.

We were surprised to see all the tulips blooming. There are a few in the photo below but we saw hundreds in bloom as we drove by some of the other plantings

After a quick stop at the grocery store we headed back to the campground.

The lady who teaches Kathy's Sunday School class, and her husband (he is in my class), stopped by to say goodbye. They live in the residential area behind the campground. That was nice.

Lord willing we will be on the road north tomorrow. 

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours.

Day 32 - Saturday, February 5th - No Rain, But Cool

 Weather Report: The overnight low was 32 degrees. Today's high was a mostly sunny, but somewhat windy, 50 degrees. The sun felt good if you were in an area where the wind was mostly blocked.

About 7:30 I walked over to the clubhouse and had breakfast: breakfast casserole, sausage patties, a biscuit, orange juice and coffee, $4.75. What a deal. It is also a good time for visiting, I had a good conversation with a couple who are down here from Gaylord, MI. I was there over an hour, before walking the long way back home.

Later in the morning I took Kathy to the campground laundry (My contribution is carrying the clothes back and forth between the camper & truck and truck and laundry.) 

Back at the camper I replaced a burned out bulb in the light fixture over the table. Sounds easy, but it was not, nor was I expecting it to be. The bulbs are a rare automotive style bulb. I know this because when one burned out a few years ago, after visiting numerous stores, I found an auto parts place that would order me a box of 10. The bulbs almost seem to fuse themselves to the "plastic" holders. I can't get the bulbs out without breaking the glass and then smashing the metal base with pliers, to loosen the "connection" to the plastic base. When I changed the previous bulb I was able to do this without taking the light apart. I wasn't so lucky with this one. I had to remove the fixture from the ceiling and take it apart to get the base out of the socket. I had to wait until Kathy was back from doing the laundry so that she could hold the fixture up while I reconnected the wires.

After lunch we wandered through the countryside sightseeing and checking out new ways to get the 10 miles to Tractor Supply. This is the 3rd 30# cylinder we have had filled while down here. The first two I had filled at a local propane place after they requalified the tanks. It wasn't open today so we went up to Tractor Supply. 6.8 gallons @ $3.76/gallon. $27.60 including the 10% sales tax.

The sales tax here is 10%, even on groceries. South of the campground, in Foley, where Kathy buys groceries they even add on a 1% "user fee" on top of the 10%. Tractor Supply is north of here in Robertsdale, they didn't add the 1% user fee on my propane purchase.

I didn't sleep a lot last night so a nice, long afternoon nap felt great. Kathy did some reading and walking while I napped. After supper I took our trash to the dumpster and walked around the campground until I had a total of 3.35 miles for the day.

Another good day, only one more day down here.😞 We plan on heading north on Monday.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours.

PS. No coach buying updates.

Day 31 - Friday, February 4 - Rainy & Cold

 We went from running the AC yesterday afternoon to running the furnace during the night and during the day today. It had already dropped to 61 degrees inside when we turned it on during the night. It got up into the mid 40's today, but with the intermittent rain it sure seemed colder.

I drove over to the clubhouse this morning, in the rain, for coffee and to participate in the 8 AM baloney session. I got back to the trailer about 9:30. We didn't get much accomplished during the next 2 hours. Around 11:30 we headed to Gulf Shores and had lunch at the Oyster House. Kathy had some type of combination plate and I had the all you can eat pollock entrée. Both were good.

I took the photo below through the window next to our table. 

After lunch we checked out a couple of stores near the restaurant and then headed to the Outlet Mall. There were quite a few people at the mall considering that you have to go outside to walk from store to store. The place is huge. We only hit two stores before heading back to the trailer. 

Back at the trailer we had some discussions about what motorhomes we found acceptable and what we were willing to pay. Last night we made an offer on a 40 foot, 4 slide, 2009 Dutch Aire located in Hazlet, TX.

All four slides are "in" in the photo below. You can't see the bedroom in the back of the coach.

Drivers side with slide out.

Passenger side with slide out.

The coach is privately owned but listed through a dealer. It has been like pulling teeth to get additional information on it. I found out today that the reason the couple are selling it because his health has deteriorated to the point where they don't use it. They countered our offer but I told them I was still doing research and at this point was not ready to increase our offer

Overall the coach appears to be in good shape. The "aged out" Michelin tires need replaced. I saw a 2017 post on an RV web site where a guy was quoted $850 each for 305/70R22.5 Michelin XRV's. For the same size Toyo M144 he was quoted $500. The prices did not include sales tax, mounting, balancing nor disposing of old tires. Before driving it to far I would want all maintenance servicing caught up to date, and there is a LOT of it if they haven't been keeping up with servicing. I was SHOCKED to learn that to do a full service on the engine, transmission ($1,000), differential ($700), generator and a chassis lube costs over $4,000, The most expensive of the included items items only needs to be done every 3-5 years. The prices were from a local shop that is highly recommended by the people at the campground.

Another shocker is how motorhome prices have increased. According to NADA the 2004, 40 foot, 4 slide Dutch Star that we sold in 7 years ago is worth almost as much today as it was when we sold it.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours.

DAy 30 - Thursday, February 3 - Rainy Again

 It rained, drizzled, misted, etc. most of the day today. The sun did peek through the clouds for a couple of minutes in the afternoon. It was warm and HUMID. It got up to the high 70's inside the trailer and even with a fan going it was uncomfortable. We actually turned on the AC for maybe 3 hours.

I made a pancake and nuked a couple of Smokey Links for breakfast, then I headed for coffee at the clubhouse. I think the morning "world problem solving group"😀 stayed for almost 2 hours. Kathy often doesn't sleep that well so she stays at the trailer and rests. After coffee I took the long way back to the trailer. I haven't been walking enough, but I got in 3.7 miles today, most of it between rains.

Dick, the guy who took his wife back to Michigan last week, because of health issues, flew in to Pensacola this morning, with his son. One of the guys from the campground picked them up and took them to a U-Haul place to pick up a truck. A bunch of us helped load the things he and his wife wanted to take back to Michigan. They are trying to sell the house they have in the residential area behind the campground. Shortly after lunch they headed back north.

I had time to take a nice nap in the afternoon, before heading to the clubhouse for supper. Tonights meal was roast port, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli and a side salad. It was very close to at good as Kathy's.

The days are counting down to when we must leave. Our site rent is paid through the 6th. Monday morning, the 7th, we are scheduled to head north. I'm watching the overnight low temperature forecasts for the areas where we might spend the nights of the 7th & 8th. Crrent forecast is for it to be 28 overnight in the area where we would stop on the 7th and 32 in the area where we might stop the night of the 8th. At 28 we should be able to stay hooked up to campground water overnight, and not have to shower using the pump and on board water. I admit it, I'm spoiled, I don't like to "rough it", I like all the conveniences of home at my fingertips.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours.

Day 29 - Wednesday, February 2 - Rainy

 It rained on and off, all day. Temperatures were in the mid 60's. 

It was barely drizzling this morning so I walked over to the clubhouse and had coffee with the group that meets there every morning. We exchanged RV horror stories for over a half hour of the time, some were pretty funny. The rest of the time was just a general bull session.

Around noon we took the rental car back. We had driven it 1,078 miles. Then it was off to Publix to buy a few groceries. We had lunch at the Chinese restaurant we like.

The rest of the afternoon and evening we spent napping and reading. I did some research on employment in the US, for a future letter to the editor. It was kind of a boring, but comfortable, day.

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours.

Day 28 - Tuesday, February 1 - Tired Butts

 We are back home in the camper tonight. We arrived around 7:30, 1,000 miles in two days, to Leesburg, Florida and back. Kathy drove 925 of them.

We stayed overnight with Nancy, one of Kathy's sisters. It was nice to be able to spend some time visiting with her. This morning we checked out a motorhome on the south side of Leesburg.

After inspecting it we agreed on a price with the current owner, contingent on our being satisfied after a test drive. Kathy didn't like the way it rode or drove, so we are still looking for a coach.

Then it was 500 miles back to Summerdale. We had a great lunch at Gator's. We just happened on it when we got of the Interstate for lunch.

My sandwich, I think they called it a grinder, was GREAT. Kathy had some type of salad. She said it was good, but, after taking a couple of bites of my sandwich, she said it was not nearly as good as my sandwich.

We stayed off the Interstate as much as practical on our way back. We drove 27 & 98. The roads were good and traffic was much lighter than it was on I75 yesterday.

Today's weather was gorgeous! Sunny and low 70's. It would have been a great day to spend at the beach rather than sitting in a car.

(Andy - praying that you, Justin and the guys you work with will be safe while out in the stormy weather. Thanks for keeping the electricity flowing.)

God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours.