Hi All,
05/01/08 Thursday: Today, I ate crow for my earlier comments about
low cost Georgia fuel ($3.49). This afternoon on I-77 North, the cost
of regular unleaded gasoline in both SC and NC was 8 cents lower
($3.41) than in Georgia. And that was before Flying J's newly revised
program for fuel discounts was factored in.
Last month (two days ago), we learned the Flying J discount program
had changed. To qualify for a 3 cents a gallon discount in May, I had
to spend $10 at any Flying J store during April, which I did. For
more than a 3 cent discount per gallon I would have had to spend more
than $10, which I didn't. The new program is outlined in a brochure
available at every Flying J store check-out counter.
At the end of the day, we had traveled 203 miles to Lake Norman State
Park in Troutman, NC (I-77 Exit 42 & follow signs). This SP is new to
us. After entering the road leading to the "Family Camping Area," it
seemed like a lazy afternoon drive in the country (25 mph).
In the Family Camping Area are 33 tent/RV sites. The campground was
originally built for RVs smaller than our 32'er. And, most campsites
are on an up-hill or down-hill incline with trees on both sides of
the short macadam driveways. Within each campsite is a square framed
landscaped area for a tent, picnic table and fire place.
We found one long, level campsite (#21) on the driver's side with
sufficient swing room to back into it without nudging any of the
trees or dropping our Van's front wheels off the macadam. When
leaving the site, a straight out and wide swing to the left was
essential to avoid a steep drop off.
In all fairness, there were two other campsites (#27 & #29) plus a
handicapped site (#31) particularly spacious with easy access and no
steep soft shoulders. Those are located in the middle loop beside the
Campground Host's site.
After leveling our Airstream and shutting off the Van's engine, I did
my silly ritual dance of "checking each tire's grease cups for heat."
Ouch! Ouch! Two grease cups were blistering hot. Suddenly a new plan:
revise our wheel bearing maintenance schedule - immediately - like
yesterday.
When the Campground Hosts drove up in their golf cart to register us
and collect our $10 (Senior rate). I asked about wheel bearing
service in town. "Yes, there is a Camping World Store at the next
exit north on I-77." Now that answer was truly a real "Bingo." In the
morning, Camping World (CW) will get a phone call from me.
Everyone has a catalog from Camping World listing Service Centers and
their phone numbers. Right? It's filed along with the latest list of
RV Service Centers for all name brands of RVs. Right?
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05/02/08 Friday: Another beautiful day in the offing. Last week's
weather forecast for a window of fine weather may be right on the money.
An 8am call to Camping World revealed one "Tech" available and he is
"booked up." That was okay by me. I've been around the block enough
times to know cancellations occur unexpectedly and changes happen
regularly - for dozens of reasons.
We rolled out of Lake Norman SP toward Camping World (I-77 Exit 49) -
a 30 minute drive. Approaching from the south, I turned right at the
foot of the exit ramp, then right again at the first street (Waffle
House Restaurant on this corner) to CW on the right.
CW's RV Service check-in is at the first service area on the right -
not the second service area up the hill. During check-in with Service
Rep (Tom) and Tech (Bobby), I described our overheated wheel bearing
grease cups. Straight forward, they said: "We'll put you on our
waiting list for wheel bearings on 2 axles."
That pleased me even though it was unknown if the job could be
started until latter in the day - perhaps 4-5pm. Reflecting for a
moment: I had just called a service department I had never done
business with before, asked for wheel bearing maintenance on four
wheels and was told the job could probably be done later today and
perhaps finished up no later than tomorrow morning.
Maybe today is our lucky day. Our rig is not broken down on the
Interstate with all the hassle that scenario includes. Instead, we're
at the right place, at the right time, with the right technical
staff. As a "drive up" customer with no appointment, getting same day
service is not too shabby.
An hour later, the first wrinkle showed up. In addition to the wheel
bearings and new seals; one brake assembly mechanism was severely
rusted and needed to be replaced entirely. All other brake assemblies
were "okay" but the linings were thin and near the end of their
normal life span. The Tech asked me, "What would you like us to do?"
In my head, the answer was obvious. With the wheels already off for
the wheel bearing job, the best time to replace all brake assemblies
is right now. My reply: "Replace all four brake assemblies. Make it
happen - Make it right."
Our ducks are all in a row for a comfortable overnight outside CW's
service bay. Boondocking is our game; our 50 gallon fresh water tank
is full; both holding tanks are empty and our solar panels have been
generating electricity every day for the past 20+ years.
What next? With our cell phone, we called for Pizza to be delivered.
It arrived just before CW closed their gates and employees went home.
For us, this was a good day. Routine maintenance of wheel bearings
and timely replacement of brake assemblies were being taken care of
in a professionally competent manner. That's about as simple (or
simpler) as it gets when such jobs are scheduled at home, even weeks
in advance.
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05/03/08 Saturday: Reville was 6 am. Our Tech was ready at 8 am to
finish replacing the brake assemblies. By 10 am, the entire job was
completed, tested and the bill was paid (President's Club rate). We
were good to go. I returned our emergency key for CW's front gate,
tracked down Bobby and expressed our strong appreciation for the work
he had done, thanked the other four Service Staff for their
thoughtful courtesies extended to both of us, packed up our toys and
headed out the gate.
Our goal was Virginia Highland Haven Airstream Park (VHHAP) at 459
Highland Haven Rd NE in Copper Hill, VA. I have wanted to stop at
this park many times during the last 20 years - but our north/south
travels never matched their "open" season. They open May 1st and
close October 15th. Either we had already returned to NY before May
1st or we didn't leave NY until after October 15. This was our first
time traveling north through Virginia during the VHHAP's open season.
Directions: We continued north on I-77 to Exit 14 in Virginia, then
north on US 221 toward Floyd (25+- miles). At the light in Floyd, we
continued north another 10+- miles on US 221 toward Check and Copper
Hill. Just north of Check, we turned left on CR 610, right on 649 and
left on CR 792 to the Park. There were VHHAP signs from the CR 610
turn off - to the park, although we didn't notice them at first.
Traveling these 35+- miles on US 221 can best be described as a
challenging winding country road with many steep up-hill and down-
hill sections. Our speed was seldom above 30 mph and our transmission
did double duty slowing us down and accelerating. The new wheel
bearings and brakes had a good workout. They kept their cool and
functioned superbly.
Arrival at VHHAP was mid day - after 133 miles. This is a Co-Op
Campground with all 46 campsites owned by individual families. Many
owners had not yet arrived for the season, thus several open
campsites were available. We had our pick and chose a campsite with a
dramatic panoramic view of the mountain tops from our dining table
windows. No RVs were on either side of us which made our campsite
seem ultra spacious.
We learned the CG has never turned anyone away - even during peak
season. There is a rally field for boondocking. They have a fully
equipped Club House with laundry facilities and a strong Wi-Fi signal
straight down the street from the first site to the last site.
Earlier this morning when we left CW in the low lands, we wore shorts
and tee shirts. When we arrived in VHHAP, we donned sweaters and long
pants. This CG is at 3,000' which means it is in a colder climate
zone (somewhat similar to the Northeast). The next morning's
temperatures were in the high 40s with the same stiff breeze as
yesterday. This weather was the first cold we had experienced since
leaving Upstate New York last October.
----------------------
05/04/08 Sunday: This morning before leaving VHHAP, I visited the
Host to register and settle up ($21). We knew the Host from 25 years
ago when we attended a Rally together. Before leaving today, it felt
like a good time to "pay it forward" with a door prize (Certificate
for 3 free nights at the Minnesota Airstream Park). We won this prize
during the February 2008 Florida State Rally in Sarasota.
Realistically, it is unlikely we'll be passing through Minnesota this
year or next year. Instead of letting the certificate expire in our
desk drawer, we "re-gifted" it to VHHAP for use however they wished
(personal, door prize, 50-50 raffle).
After checking out of the Park, we continued north on US 221 through
Copper Hill to the entrance (Adney Gap Crossover) for the Blue Ridge
Parkway. This section of the Parkway was narrower but similar to US
221 and with many "overlook" areas (entering and exiting traffic). We
encountered several bicyclists getting their morning exercise,
motorcyclists with the same insignias on their jackets, but only one
jogger. Our average speed was a cautious 25 mph and seldom out of
second gear. Entering the Roanoke area, we followed the "To 81" signs
along I-581 to I-81 north toward Pennsylvania.
Our next to last night was originally going to be the Flying J Travel
Plaza in Clear Brook, VA, but the weather was comfortably balmy and
that strong tail wind was still following us. The Flying J Travel
Plaza in Carlisle (I-81, Exit 52A) beckoned and would mean only one
more overnight before arriving in Upstate New York.
By dusk, we had arrived at the Plaza (310 miles) and found many level
"back-in parking spots" available along the grassy areas on two sides
of the rectangular RV parking area. Within minutes, we were parked
level, supper was started, TV was hooked up, antenna raised and
tomorrow's mileage recalculated.
Why do we stay at FJ Travel Plazas? Simplicity and safety are the
main reasons. There is the convenience of a grocery/hardware/clothing/
electronics store stocked for travelers, availability of pure fresh
water, free dump station, clean propane at a fair price, a
knowledgeable staff who can refer us to local services for unexpected
snags, security from common understandings and expectations by other
RVers using the same RV Parking areas, an extensive Restaurant menu
(we like the "take-out" Buffet) and the occasional option of enjoying
FJ's immaculately clean showers. Typically the RV Parking area is as
quiet after 9 pm (or quieter) as the average campground. By 9 in the
morning, most RVers have continued on their way.
-----------------------
05/05/08 Monday: By 9 am, we were rolling north and still within the
same window of fair weather we have been following north since
leaving Florida last month. Our 1978 Ford Van E250 with 7.3L (460
CID) V8 has continued to tow flawlessly - a testament to the skills
of Marty Sands (Auto Clinic) in Jensen Beach whose race car
mechanical skills and enthusiasm for big powerful trucks is legendary.
Our 1989 32' Airstream continues to tow straight without any hint of
sway - regardless of trucks flying past us or unexpected wind gusts
slamming the sides of our truck and trailer. The combination of a
well balanced aerodynamic Airstream and a Hensley hitch makes towing
safe and pleasurable.
BUT - with the continuing skyrocketing cost of fuel, we will now be
limiting our travels to regions rather than to the entire North
American continent as we've done for the past 20 years. We'll save
the long distance trips for our thrifty diesel Suburban and '67 22'
Airstream.
By the time we arrived home, this was a 355 mile day - our longest
distance in one day since we can't remember when. First job after
backing into our driveway was greeting our house (neighbor Mario baby-
sat it for us), unpacking the Airstream fridge, relaxing with a
supper snack and then checking mouse traps in our '67 22' & '63 22'
Airstreams.
Last Fall, I created three "bucket style" mouse traps with a 1" ramp
to peanut butter on a dowel and 2" of anti-freeze in the bucket
(thanks to Rick Kunath for the idea). The '67 had three mice in the
bucket and the '63 had none. That may seem insignificant but one
mouse can ruin the interior of a trailer in one Winter. Our '67 22'
Safari is our mirror shined Airstream with beautiful upholstery
inside. The interior is still clean and sweet smelling. Hurray!
Unexpectedly, the garage "bucket style" mouse trap had two mice in
it. That meant our GMC Suburban and Mercury Station Wagon tow
vehicles were still pristine with no nests nor odor nor poop in
unwanted places.
This Summer, we'll use the Suburban with its 6.2L diesel engine
(triple the mpg of our Van while towing) as our daily driver. I slid
into the seat yesterday, turned the key and the loud diesel engine
roared into life immediately. I smiled a big broad grin and sat up
even straighter.
The batteries in both of our garaged tow vehicles have been charged
daily all Winter by small solar panels ($30 at West Marine) facing
the southern sky. They continue to do their job as designed. On
hindsight, purchasing those panels was one of my better decisions.
Next week, our Airstream will receive its annual re-organization with
an emphasis on weight reduction of "things" that seemed so important
at the time but which we never looked at again. Miles per gallon is
partially related to weight, thus our Airstreams are always on a
yearly weight loss diet.
This email is the second and last snippet describing our "Rolling
North" trip. It has been sent to Airstream friends, several Airstream
Yahoo groups, FCRV Full Time RVer friends, loving relatives and
favorite neighbors in NY & FL.
Chronologies like this are written only during our trips - mainly
because we receive similar chronologies from other RVers where we
learn many lessons from them. We hope our comments will be useful in
return.
To all our friends, relatives and neighbors, we thank you for your
encouragement and support while we are out galavanting during our
retirement years. Although these comments are not personalized in
this email as in my individual emails, I hope the format is okay with
each of you.
Please keep in touch, stay sharp, think smart and may life be good to
you and yours,
Terry