A cold start - #31-01

February 12, 2003 (Wed)
Home to Wytheville, VA (533/533 miles) Q046428

Well it's been an interesting day. It was 24 degrees at 6:15 when we got off this morning and dropped steadily as we drove Northwest on the Garden State Parkway and West on I-287 and I-78. It got down as low as 13 degrees in Pennsylvania before finally beginning to warm up a bit. Add a blustery head wind often filled with blowing snow picked up in the nearby fields and you can imagine how eager we were to turn south toward decent weather.

Q still had antifreeze in his plumbing - so we had no on-board toilet facilities - and his house batteries were so low from inactivity that they were barely able to keep the refrigerator running. The prospect of spending the cold night in a noisy truck stop or Walmart parking lot was weighing on us - most campgrounds are closed in the winter when their water pipes might freeze and camping traffic is low. In hind sight we realized that we should have headed directly south to get to the warmth sooner. Luckily we found the Ft. Chiswell Campground open. We can't hook up to the water but we've been able to put a little in our tank so we can use our bathroom facilities. We're plugged in so we can run the heater. We even have a cable TV hook up. Ah, the life of luxury. We're in Virginia just South of the junction of Interstates 81 and 77. The temperature here is about 40 degrees but the forecast is for it to go down into the teens tonight. Florida is going to feel really good!

Q046428 Ft Chiswell Campground #11 e/w/tv $24.64 B
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February 13, 2003 (Thu)
Wytheville, VA to Richmond Hill, GA (428/961 miles)

It didn't make it down into the teens last night but 24 degrees was cold enough to make sleeping difficult. And the wind was fierce all night long. We couldn't imagine what the wind chill might have been. It was almost up to 32 degrees by the time we were ready to take off at 8:45 but the wind still made breaking camp miserable.

We headed south on I-77 and up and over the Blue Ridge Mountains. Fancy Gap pass wasn't high, 2900 feet, but there was still plenty of snow on the ground. It slowly vanished as we went down and south. We heard on the radio that I-77 was shut down due to an accident with fuel spill up ahead so we jumped off onto I-74 so we could take the parallel US 601. We never heard anything more about conditions on I-77 so maybe we detoured for nothing. It was good to be off the interstates for a while though.

Gas prices are outrageous. In New Jersey we paid $1.49 a gallon. Since then we've seen it as high as $1.71 at places we would normally expect to pay reasonable prices. We've not done too badly - $1.54 at one place, $1.56 at another. The temperature has moderated - it was all of 64 degrees as we crossed the causeway to the campground. But this is Georgia.

Q046856 Fort McAllister State Historic Park #8 e/w $15.64s A
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February 14, 2003 (Fri)
Richmond Hill, GA to Penney Farms, FL (185/1146 miles)

We're getting lazy - stayed in bed until 7:15 or so this morning then showered and had a leisurely breakfast. The sky was cloudy with the sun breaking through in patches and the temperature was almost balmy at 54 degrees. A good kind of day for traveling. The big class A from the campsite across from us - the Haas' from PA - was pulling out of the dump station as we pulled in. We noticed that they had forgotten to put their TV antenna down. We tried to get their attention but could not. We wonder if they still have it.

We gassed up in Richmond Hill ($1.54) and started south on I-95, heading for our favorite fudge shop in the Darien, GA Prime Outlets discount mall. (It's our favorite because it's the only one we allow ourselves to shop at, not because it's any better than any other.) The mall was having a sidewalk sale - great prices but not much we could use. Joy did pick up a $49 shirt for $5 though.

Last year we swung by the bridge in Brunswick we'd watched being built because we thought it would be finished. It wasn't. This year we were sure that it had to be finished. It wasn't! It's been under construction about six years so far.

We got into Penney Farms, about 3:30, set up camp and went to see Mark's mother. We found her awake, alert and glad to see us. Apparently she has good days and bad. We were glad this was one of her good days. Conversation was difficult but not impossible. We'll be here until Sunday morning.

Q046856 Penny Retirement Community RV campsite #1 e/w $7.50 C
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February 15, 2003 (Sat) Penney Farms, FL (2) - Today was for MotherB. We walked over to see her and spent a couple of hours with her at dinner and supper times. We were able to help her eat these meals and it gave us a way to communicate without the struggle of verbal exchange. It is wonderful to see her sense of humor shine even though she is so weak. Between visits we came back to Q and read, napped, worked crossword puzzles and Mark practiced his guitar (he's three weeks into a new practice regiment after 25 years of total neglect.) In the evening we played a couple of games of RummiKub and watched a TV show that we'd taped before we left home.
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February 16, 2003 (Sun)
Penney Farms, FL to Lakeland, FL (171/1317 miles)

What a day! Violent thunderstorms here and record snowfall and blizzard at home. But it started smoothly enough. We got up, showered, unhooked Q from utility support, and went to say good bye to MotherB.

At 11:00 we headed for Starke where Mark's sister Dorcas and her husband Mike were camped in their fifth wheel. While we were there the rain came. It poured with lightning striking so close that there was no time between the flash and the very loud clap. But good company and good conversation made it almost fun. By 3:00 when we were again on the road it had let up but it didn't last long. We got gas just before getting onto I-75 ($1.65). Then it began to rain again and it poured all the rest of the way to Lakeland.

But at home it was snowing and blowing. We heard that 18 inches or more were expected in Washington and New York. It made us glad to be in the South experiencing less than completely pleasant weather (66 degrees). Our daughter Jennifer and her husband Dave were scheduled to leave Liberty Airport in Newark, NJ at 5:00 and fly to Miami, FL. We wondered if they'd be able to get out - we were hearing that the New York airports were shutting down. Donna, Ed and Kathy's daughter, checked the internet for us when we got there and found that the flight did get out. It must have been one of the last out. We arrived at Ed and Kathy's and joined family and friends celebrating their grandson's 4th birthday. A highlight of the party was the key lime cheese cake they served for desert.

Q047212 Ed and Kathy's back yard campsite #D e/w/s A+
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February 17, 2003 (Mon) Lakeland, FL (2) - This has been a relaxing day of visiting and errands. Ed and Kathy saw their daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren off , then we all went out shopping and lunch at a Subway shop. When we got back, Mark downloaded email and later called our son Jeff for a situation report at home. They had about 20 inches of snow at the time and it was still snowing. They were all OK although getting their girls to and from their weekend swim meet before it was called off turned into quite an adventure.

Tonight we watched "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" on Ed and Kathy's new DVD player. Great movie!
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February 18, 2003 (Tue)
Lakeland, FL to Englewood, FL (110/1427 miles)

Before getting on the road at 11:45 we went to the used paperback book store in Lakeland. This is the best such place we've ever shopped in. Besides having a huge selection and not being picky about what they take in, they pay the best price (25%) for the books we bring in. We're always surprised at how many books we can get to break even.

Our trip across I-4 and down I-75 was uneventful. The weather was cool for Florida this time of year - 67 degrees - but otherwise typically cloudless, sunny, and beautiful. We got here about 2:30, unpacked Q, and moved him - against his will as always - out of this motor home restricted condominium into the bank parking lot. While Joy, her mother and sister caught up on family news, Joy did a much needed laundry and Mark began to translate our notes into this more readable account of the last few days.

Q047322 SunTrust Bank Parking lot - parked