Summer Travel Map

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Now, what did we do again?

April 16, 2008
Peoria, AZ

I’ve been meaning to sit down to update the blog for the last few days, and every time I think about it I run into some other task that needs doing. Or a nap that needs taking (just kidding). I suppose it’s a normal part of the countdown to summer departure. I won’t bore you with all the details, but will share some highlights.

First and foremost, Geri’s dental work is healing very nicely. Slower than she’d like, of course, but healing nonetheless. And we have good news and bad news about how the dental work will impact our travel schedule. The good news: it looks like she can start the process of getting the crowns put on the dental implants earlier than we thought, in early September. The bad news: we’ll have to be back way earlier than we’d expected, and it’ll be hot! It’s worth it though, since the summer will be pretty difficult for her. We’ve got appointments set up starting September 2, the day after Labor Day, and she should have at least half of the crowns done by the time we head to Albuquerque in early-October for the Balloon Fiesta.

My eBay project is winding up, as the last of the items I posted just ended their auctions. This season's "stuff" was mostly computer networking and audio/visual stuff that's been collecting dust in the spare room since we moved here in 2005. It's always amazing what people will buy -- and how much they'll pay you to ship it to them. I've cleared enough to pay for 2, almost 3, fills of the coach fuel tank, so it'll get us to Alabama I suppose. And, we've cleared out our supply of empty boxes (I had to "borrow" some from our friend Mary Ann) and used "popcorn" in the process. There must be an increase in the number of people doing this, since the price of packing materials has gone through the roof in the past year.

On the planning front, we’re in excellent shape. We’ve got our route plan for the trip east done, and we’ve staged many of the things that’ll go in the coach for the trip. I’ve redone the wiring in for the DirecTV receivers so that we’ll be able to get OTA (over-the-air) HD (next year, we’ll upgrade the dish on the roof to get DirecTV HD as well). We’ve thoroughly cleaned the inside and tomorrow I’ll seal the roof and polish the outside. We’ll load some pantry items as well tomorrow, although the majority will wait until we’re ready for final preparations since the air conditioning isn’t on during storage and it’s starting to get hot. We had temperatures in the upper-90s over the weekend, and it’ll be hot again this coming weekend.

We've also had a chance to catch up with our friends Paul and Dorna for dinner, and we'll get together with Ana and Larry once more before we leave.

Our current schedule calls for us to finish loading the coach on Monday. We’ll finish up the house close-up activities on Tuesday morning and be on the road by 9:00 AM. Our first stop will be a couple of days in Memphis, with overnights in Albuquerque and Arkansas (this assumes that weather concerns don’t send us away from I-40) on the way. From there, we’ll head to Alabama for a week or so, then Philadelphia for a few days before we get to Connecticut. We’ll stay there longer this summer (saving on fuel and RV park costs), and head back this way in late-July or early-August. We’ll probably spend some time in Colorado and/or northern Arizona (the cooler part) in August before rolling into the Phoenix area right before Labor Day.

There’s not too much new to report on the culinary front, although we had a nice Shrimp Alfredo the other night and Geri’s making a new recipe (Cod Stew with Leeks, Chorizo, and Tomatoes) tonight that smells delightful as I type. We’ve got our “everyday wines” ready to go for the next couple of weeks, and I pulled a “six pack” of “special” wines from the wine box to bring with us.

Once we’re on the road, updates will be more frequent, as there will likely be more to say. I’ve noticed several other Rvers who blog using a component called “zeemaps” that I’ll try to set up; it allows for a dynamic map to be added to the blog with travel points highlighted. Sounds cool!

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