A descriptive look at traveling and full-timing with our second RV, a fifth wheel toyhauler.
Laura and Sasha started this adventure in April of 2005
for a two week vacation in a truck camper.
December 2010: From Williamsburg, VA to Lake Mead NRA, Nevada
Check it out! So this month we were going to be in a bunch of different places, including being with my parents and my sister and her family, plus getting some medical stuff done - just general stuff like that.
On December 4th, I found out that I would be able to come back to Canyonlands National Park for the next summer season, so I stopped applying to other jobs. I had only done a few, maybe about 15 applications in the hopes that I would be able to come back. And thankfully, I could now spend the winter on something else, training to become a Sky Ranger. Basically there is an online program through Astronomy From the Ground Up, that works with park rangers and other people to help us learn astronomy. As I love the night sky and learning, it was a great way to learn more. It would not start until January but I had to get my application in before December 1st.
So I got a bunch of congrats for going back to Canyonlands NP:
Rehired for spring at Canyonlands!! Life is good.
Yvonne Jevtich Batal AWESOME!!! I know u r psyched ♥
Amy Metroka Congratulations!
Me: Thanks Yvonne and Amy, yes we are psyched and the great news happened while we were in Williamsburg with my parents and Karen and the kids. So it was an excellent holiday surprise!
Melanie Abernathy Staiman congrats
Me: Thanks Melanie!
Sam Lish Congrats Ranger Laura. Hope to see you and Sasha out there again but it sure would be great to catch up with you two on the east coast first!
Bo Jevtich Congrats! That's awesome! Will be back...
Karon Voyles-Ricker CONGRATS 2 THAT WIN.....hmmm..now how can yvana...karon...put that on our travels....put that in the THINK LAB....
Catherine Stone McNickle Very nice! Happy Holidays Laura!
Beth Gershman Have fun!
Jackie Simon Congrats!!! Hope you guys have a great holiday. Good to see you.
Alice de Anguera Yay, us! Looking forward to another fun season!
Me: Definitely!
Ellen Harris Congrats Laura!
Sue Sparrow Great news - what a great holiday present!
Me: Yes, you are right, best kind of gift around!
So on December 6th: Too cold here in Williamsburg, VA, down to 25 last night. Hose froze, spigot had to be warmed up. Sasha has tons to do today, so that we can leave tomorrow. I think the high today ~ 43 degrees F - yuck for us. Time to Go!
We will leave a day earlier than we had originally planned and paid for. That is another thing that I do not like about campgrounds, you pay for something way ahead of the knowledge of if you are going to be there or not. No discounts and no money back for time not spent in their campground. Live and you Learn.
December 7th: And AWWWAAAYYY WE GO! Bye Bye Williamsburg, Hello Jacksonville, FL - We are headed south to get away from the BRRRR! and then will head West. We are going for the long haul - hope to make it down to Jacksonville in ~ 12 hours. We managed to get ourselves hitched up in the very first try. That would not have happened with the truck camper for sure.
In NC. Bye bye Virginia! at December 7, 2010 at 1:36pm - lots of family and friends in Virginia. My sister does a game with her kids - when they reach a border, they say hello, new state, good-bye old state. SO Hello North Carolina, Good-bye Virginia!
December 7, 2010 at 7:23pm: We are now in SC. Went to South of the Border for dinner. Sad, so sad a place! Not anything like it used to be when you were a kid. Don't eat there, the prices are crazy and the amounts small. I will now be driving for a while, so I have bought my caffeine, candy and dessert, Sasha getting diesel and gasoline (at a Flying J, not SOB!)
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December 8, 2010 at 1:07am: Yahoo, we are in Florida. It is 29 degrees F. Warmer than most everywhere else on the east coast! At one point on the travel down, it was 19 degrees! We will have to turn on the propane :( But at least the warmest blankets are on the bed. Well, by the time we parked, it had gone back down to 20 degrees. But we are in Florida now, and hope that the weather will change for us.
Sasha said: Drove tag-team with Laura. Left Williamsburg at 2:30 pm. Arrived at Macclenny, FL at 5:00 am. Approx 640 miles. Longer leg than normal to get away from the cold. His friends say:
Sasha Jevtich Believe it or not, neither of us had ever been to "South of the Border", even as kids. So we thought what the heck, let's amuse ourselves with a kitschy spot. We thought it would make a nice stop for dinner. Here's a free tip: AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
December 8, 2010 at 10:57am
Charlie Kolb You guy's stopped there? That place definitely gives off a creepy vibe...
Sasha Jevtich Looks great from afar....like a mini-Las Vegas, really cool
Sasha Jevtich Once you get close though, that's another story.....what a decrepit tourist trap.
Laura Capuano Jevtich I think I might have been there as a kid, not anything like it was though...Not a good place.
Charlie Kolb I definitely remember seeing it from I-95 on my way to CAHA
Carolyn Steele Segrist 45 years ago SOTB was a little one building place. The signs along the highway were the same, however, building it up and you got there and ????? Of course that was before I 95.
Carolyn Steele Segrist Did you find warmth? It was 19 at 7 am here today. It got all the way up to 38. Think we'll be heading SW soon.
Laura Capuano Jevtich yup, we finally saw 45 degrees! we hope it stays for a while.
Sasha Jevtich Macclenny, FL got up to 57F today: December 8, 2010 at 5:46pm
Kjell Ingebrigtsen 70s in Houston and up to a balmy 79 in Corpus on Saturday.....(still sailing weather)
December 8th: So we managed to stay at Walmart from 5 am to 5 pm, time to move on now!
Stayed the night in Alabama (12/8), got diesel in Mississippi and spent a night in Louisiana (at a casino no less!) I will now have been in all 48 lower continental states. December 9, 2010 at 12:40pm. I believe the picture is going into Louisiana. Anyone know if that is true?
Amy Metroka Very cool! :)
Sharon Bilman Congrats! That's one of my goals. I'm only up to 36. I'm missing the middle.
Leo Bassett I believe the crayfish are in seson
Me: We came, went and saw a "river boat" casino at Isle of Capri. We went so you don't have to! Unfortunately, the buffet was closed, the regular restaurant was very sad and $6 each for beers - we lost $12 in gambling on penny slots. We are staying at their parking lot for RVers, There must be a train track nearby, we are also next to where the trucks park, and the interstate is directly overhead. Sasha will post a picture tomorrow. December 9, 2010 at 8:26pm
Faith von Kleeck Sounds loud. Did you guys get any sleep?
Chrissy Bradley Awesome Laura - Not many can say that!
Me: @ Faith - Yup, no problem when you have earplugs! And it was warm and cozy in our camper.
Leo Bassett The ear plugs are for snoring not the night life. I'm I right?
Me: Leo, you may be right....
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So this is the front of our truck, with a Jotto Desk holding my MacBook Pro, using Delorme Mapping system, a WIFI hotspot (with the Verizon card) for me to be online, the tire system working fine now, the iPod (160 GB filled with music), and below and plugged in to our inverter, our phones and iTouch (for books and podcasts.) We don't have too much technology, do we? |
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It was December 9th when we took that picture.
December 10th: In Livingston, TX at the Escapees Campground. We will be seeing our Texas family tomorrow, going to a Houston's Restaurant in Houston, TX!
December 11th: We saw Kathy and Caitlin Boyhan, some of our family on my mom's side. Of course, no picture, but it was great to see them. Had a great lunch and excellent conversation with family today! Went to Houston's in Houston! How cool is that!
December 14th: Just left Livingston, TX to head towards El Paso, TX...with the winds though, we migh start traveling at night. Why is there less wind at night in the middle states? We don't know, we just do.
December 15th: Stayed at a rest stop during the early morning hours to 5 pm at a Rest Stop. Headed now towards Van Horn, TX and ultimately to El Paso. We will be early to the training. What training you ask? Well, on the next page you shall see. Me and my scooter, free as can be.
December 16th: Here we are at another Texas Rest Stop, this time in Van Horn, TX. REALLY liking the rest stops in Texas, they are better than some campgrounds I know.
Check out Next Month New Year and some other newbies: January 2011 for pictures and for Expenses of January