Laurel's comments on trip

While Bob did most of the actual reporting on the blog, I did have input. I regularly proofed it before he posted it, and reminded him of things he left out. (I also chided him for being a little to wordy, but think everyone else enjoyed it).



This was a trip of a lifetime. We conceived the idea about a year and a half prior to actually starting. I think I originally did the "wouldn't it be fun to do a four corners trip?", but once the idea was out, Bob ran with it. It is unbelievable how organized he was. He actually had each days mileage on a spread sheet, along with where we were likely to stop for the night, etc. We varied very little from the original plan, for the first three quarters of the trip.



The trip itself really was a great adventure. We saw much more than I had envisioned, and visited a lot of friends and family. The only negative there was not having enough time to see many of the things we wanted to see. We could have spent a week in Philadelphia, and three or four days in Charleston and at least another day in the Orlando area with my cousin Melodye. There were also many things we did not see, simply because they were not in the plan, and we did not have time.



I think my favorite part of the trip was seeing old friends and family. I would have loved to spend more time with everyone. You cannot really catch up with only a day, (or half a day in some cases). I know we will see everyone again at some time or other, (we already have some plans for the next year or so), but really regret the lack of time there.



On the other hand, being away from home for over two months was a trial for me. I think six weeks max, for any other trip where we drive. I really got tired of being a tourist by about the time we got to New Orleans, and after that we pretty much hurried the trip. We did only cut about three days off the original plan, but I don't see how we could have done all we did in any shorter period of time.



Maybe we were just a little too ambitious about what we could comfortably do in two months. Bob did all the driving, and I know he was worn out by about Tucson. However, we are very glad we had the opportunity to do this trip, and would recommend it to anyone, if possibly on a different schedule. I am glad that you all were able to go along with us on the blog.

Bob's comments on the trip

First, I wish to share some basic information in response to questions from blog readers.






Cost - Direct cost could fall into a few categories. First, since we drove a gas guzzling truck pulling four tons of trailer, would be fuel cost. While I don't have exact figures, we consumed between 1350 and 1400 gallons of gas. The most expensive, prior to California, was the gas we left with @$2.80. Most was $2.40 to $2.70, so I will estimate an average of $2.60. The highest price was $3.26 just north of Sacramento; the cheapest $2.29 in Frankfort, KY. Total fuel cost is estimated at $3500.






Second category would be accommodations. Of the 65 nights, 30 were spent at no cost. Wal-Mart was host for 10 nights, and the rest were at friends or family. Our average RV park cost was $30 per night, so we spent a bit over $1000. We could have spent less if we worked at it.






Number 3 would be entertainment. For us, that was admission to museums, amusement parks, and tour buses. We spent a little under $1200 for these.







We did not count food as we had to eat whether at home or on the road. We did eat out a little more than usual, but we were treated by others a number of times. The bottom line is we spent less than $6K, but that does not count the wear and tear (remember the tires?) on the trailer and truck. We budgeted $7K, so we did OK.







Several referred to our adventure as a "Trip of a lifetime". I agree with the description, and add a "once in a lifetime trip". It was great, but I wouldn't want to do a similar trip again. Being back by Thanksgiving was a time constraint that made it more or a mission than a vacation. Anyone planning a similar trip should leave the completion date open or not have so many specific objectives as we did. Also, since this was our first extended vacation since retiring, being on the road so long became a bit stressful and we, Laurel especially, were more looking forward to getting home than getting to our next destination. Are we glad we did it? You bet! We will always have fond memories of this trip.







We have been asked what our favorite part of the trip was. I think mine was the actual traveling from place to place, seeing the country side. There are always little surprises lurking around the corner like wild animals, vintage cars, homes with extraordinary landscaping, old barns, meandering creeks, or 50 mile vistas. Of course, visiting with friends and family members around the country was a great pleasure as were the visits to the museums and parks and the other activities.





One thing we hoped to do during the trip was to identify places that we would like to spend significant time. Philadelphia and Charleston are two cities we visited and would like to return to for a week or so for more thorough explorations. There were a number of cities we passed through or near by that we would like to visit in the future including Duluth, Charlotte, Myrtle Beach, Tampa, and others that may come to mind later.

Day 65, Tuesday, November 17, 2009 – 390 miles

WE MADE IT!!!!

However, it was not exactly smooth sailing. To start, the weather forecast for Stevens Pass which is the high point in the Cascade Mountains on US2, our preferred route, was borderline conditions. It had been snowing, and the DOT cameras showed it was not melting. Snoqualmie Pass on I90, however, was bare and wet. We chose to use the latter.

The drive over was OK. Traffic was not very heavy once we left the Seattle area. There was intermittent sun before we started climbing. After that, we went through rain into snow showers. The snow melted on contact, so no problems.

Our goal was to get home by 5:00 in time to watch the Gonzaga/Michigan State basketball game. Bobby was coming over to watch it with us. We were within 5 miles of home (passing under the Pines Road overpass, for those familiar with Spokane) when, you aren't going to believe this, we had another blowout, this one on the driver side rear of the truck. It was dark, rainy, in rush hour, and I was in the center lane. I hit the emergency blinkers and, fortunately, those around me took notice and gave me room to get to the side. I was parked in the "no-man's-land" between the highway and the east bound on ramp from Pines.

We pay for AAA, so I called for someone to come change the tire. They told me it would be within the hour, and that I would have to disconnect the trailer. Rather than wait, I proceeded to start the job myself. First would be to get the spare from under the pickup bed. That took me about 15 minutes since I had to learn how as I went. I figured, what the hell, and started replacing the tire. I jacked up the axle with the trailer attached with no problem. I was down to two lug nuts when the DOT emergency roadside assistance truck arrived. He has an electric impact tool that made the balance of the job easy and fast. We made it home about 5:30 to the rest of the ball game and lasagna that Tracy prepared.

We had a nice visit with Marian Hendrix and her dachshund, Millie. Due to the weather, we left earlier than planned, but we now are planning a visit for the annual Seattle Flower Show in February. That will be a car trip, no trailer, and hopefully, Pat and Vic Gilica will go with us.

Our total mileage for the trip was 12,899 miles. The original estimate was 13, 364, so we were within 3.5%. Most of the miles saved were the result of taking freeways to save time. No regrets. As mentioned yesterday, we will have followup posts later this week.

Day 64, Monday, November 16, 2009 – 141 miles

The day began by visiting with Ron before he had to leave for work. He normally leaves about 7 on Mondays, but didn't get gone until after 8.
After he left, I began the unpleasant task of cleaning out the waste tanks on the trailer. It is convenient to have a hose and drain available (I won't go into details on what was involved). It was windy and rainy, making it even less enjoyable.
We got underway about 9:15. We ate some breakfast, bought gas, then found I5 for the trip through Tacoma and Seattle on the way to W20West north of Everette. We arrived at her home in Oak Harbor about 1:30. The weather was intermittent rain and wind, some heavy. We will check the weather forecasts in the morning. If Stevens Pass is snowy, we will take I90 and go over Snoqualmie Pass which is 1000' lower. It will be an extra 40 miles.
We spent the afternoon relaxing and visiting. Marian made a great beef stew and salad for dinner, and pumpkin pie will be desert a little later.
The truck and trailer are parked out in the culdesac. I was going to finish winterizing, but will wait until we get home. We leave for home in the morning.
We will be posting on the trip home tomorrow or Wednesday. Both Laurel and I plan to post our thoughts on the trip in the next few days, so stand by.

Day 63, Sunday, November 15, 2009 – 377 miles

Today was a day mostly for travel as we continued our tour to the last (and first) state, Washington. We will first be visiting Laurel's brother Ron at his new home in Spanaway, and then driving up to Oak Harbor for our last stop with Marian Hendrix tomorrow.

We started the day with a fantastic breakfast at a restaurant the Beyers frequent a short drive from their home. The place was very friendly, as well as good, so most of the customers appeared to be regulars.

The first part of the trip was up US101 from North Bend to Reedsport where we head east on O38 to connect to I5. This is a road we have driven a number of times. Early on, it passes by a wildlife refuge where there is a large heard of elk that is often visible from the road. Today, we saw two groups of about 20, but they were off in the distance next to the trees. The road mostly follows the Umpqua River into the coastal range of mountains, and then deviates into the hills through the town of Drain and onto I5. Traffic was relatively light until we approached the Portland area, but not too bad. We took I205 to avoid the downtown bridges.

Traffic again got heavier as we approached Olympia, but kept moving. We made it to Ron's new home about 4:00. It is a nice, 3 bedroom rancher on a corner lot with a porch and chain link fence. Turns out the previous owners, a retired couple, set it up for an RV beside the garage. There is water, sewer connection, and a 30A electrical outlet. Needless to say, we set up the trailer there. Anyway, it is a very nice house and should serve them well. It is only 4 years old.

We were going to take Ron, Audra and Audra's son Bill to dinner. We decided on Chinese, but, being new in the neighborhood, they didn't know where one was. We used Gretchen to find one. We left Gretchen and took the address and tried to find it. No luck. We then drove up and down Pacific Blvd and could not find a Chinese restaurant. Finally, we were within a mile of their previous home, so we went to a restaurant they knew by that location. It was good.

When we got back to the house, I went with Ron in his company van to meet Audra's son Jason and pick up an entertainment center that is to be a housewarming gift from Jason and his wife Missy. The furniture is up in Auburn, about a half hour's drive away. We met in front of a coffee shop when Jason informed us the guy selling the furniture would be another half hour, so we drove to a bar for a beer. The Patriots-Colts game was on TV, so we watched it for awhile while enjoying a local brew. We left with the Colts 13 points behind, and figured they would no longer be undefeated (for the sake of Bob, Noella, and other Patriots fans, I won't mention how the game finished.) Anyway, we picked up the furniture and put it in Ron's garage for the night.

We visited some more until calling it a day about 10. In the morning, I will start winterizing the trailer by flushing out the two waste water tanks. We plan to sleep in Marian's house when we get there tomorrow, so we won't need the trailer facilities.

Day 62, Saturday, November 14, 2009 – 227 miles

Before I start my dissertation on this day's travel, I want to make a comment about my punctuality. It turns out we sometimes don't have the time at the end of the day or in the morning before we start our activities or drive to write one. A few times, we had no Internet connection, as was the case in Eureka on Friday night (it was intermittent). Although I would prefer to write these on the same day as the events occur because my memory, such as it is, would be fresher. It sometimes doesn't happen, and I get behind, as I am today. My apologies to our followers.

Today we tooled up the Pacific coast for over 220 miles. The day started with mostly clouds and fog, but quickly changed to sun breaks. The surf was fairly high and with the bright sun shining on it made for some beautiful views.

We got to see some more Redwood trees as we passed through the Redwoods National Park.

We kept looking for a fast food restaurant to get a cup of tea, but none were to be found in these small towns. We stopped at a cafe in Port Orford, OR. I decided to get a little snack to eat, so I ordered a biscuit sandwich. That was the biggest biscuit I have ever seen and it had two sausage patties, two eggs, and two types of cheese. It was not a snack but a meal, and very good.

We made it up to our friends, Craig and Janice Beyer, by mid afternoon. We parked our trailer beside their house. We had a nice visit and a delicious dinner of grilled tuna and halibut that Craig caught. Craig will be retiring from his BLM job next January. He has a sideline excavator business that he will run full time. Janice will continue with her CNA job at the hospital. They are both in their mid 50's, so too early for SS.

Tomorrow, we will be heading north to Spanaway, WA to visit Laurel's brother Ron and family.

Day 61, Friday, November 13, 2009 – 309 Miles

The best road between I5 and US101 in northern California is C299 which runs between Redding and Arcata. Since we did not need to go to Cottonwood, we decided to take C36 which goes from Red Bluff to just south of Fortuna. This is a 133 mile stretch of road better traversed on a motorcycle then a truck pulling a 27 foot trailer, it turned out. It is extremely narrow in places with lots of mountain climbing to over 4000' several times. Some parts of the road appears to have been just asphalt placed on bare ground with no grading. Little hills were so sharp and steep is was like riding on a roller coaster. As you crest the hill, you could not see the road, and the truck did not speed up until the trailer crests the hill, much like how a coaster train does not speed up until the rear of the train crests the grade. The last down grade off the mountains were a 10% grade in places. The brakes were smoking by the time we got to the bottom, and there was a sharp right turn right at the bottom. I had both feet on the brake pedal and fingers crossed on both hands.

We received an unexpected treat after we arrived in the coastal lowlands - Redwoods. We drove through a portion of Grizzly Creek State Park. We didn't see any trees as big as some we have seen in other parks, but impressive nonetheless.

We had lunch at a cafe in Wildwood, a very small town located at about 4000'. We were the only customer at noon, so I don't know if the cafe will be in business for long. They made a pretty good chili dog for us.

We arrived in Eureka in mid afternoon. We found a trailer park courtesy of Gretchen, set up the trailer, then set off to meet our friend from my Navy days, Joe Avery. We made arrangements to meet him at a coffee shop. While we were visiting and enjoying our tea and coffee, a couple who are friends of Joe came in. Joe got a pleasure in introducing us to them: Bob, this is Bob; Laurel, this is Laura.

After we closed the coffee shop, we walked a block to an Italian restaurant where Joe treated us to an excellent meal. Thanks, again, Joe.

Joe took a couple pictures which he is going to email to me. I will add it to this posting after I get it.