23 - 24 Trip to the Southwest, Day 171

Wednesday, April 3, 2024 - Home, Oswego, NY - 120.7 Miles, 7,166.4 Miles for the trip

Well, I'm home. The drive up I 81 was highlighted by light to medium rain. It stopped for a bit while I was unloading the trailer, but now at 4:00 it is either heavy mist or light rain. It is suppose to turn to snow overnight. It is down to 38°F so it might get cold enough. I drained the fresh water tank on the way here, but left the electric heater on at 60°F & if necessary, will winterize tomorrow. I'm worn out - my watch tells me I made 12 flights of stairs & since I'm doing laundry, I'm not done yet.

Some statistics for the trip - 7,166.4 towing miles, 8,797.5 total miles on the truck. Using the truck mileage indicator (often called the lie-o-meter) I averaged 13.01MPG towing. According to the 662.321 gallons of gas I purchased & the total of 8,797.5 miles for the trip, the average is 13.28MPG. Average gas price - $3.16 per gallon. Cheapest gas was $2.76 per gallon at Wichata Falls, TX, most expensive was $4.00 per gallon here in Oswego the day I filled up when leaving in October. Oswego is now down to $3.35 per gallon. Total cost of gas was $2,093.16

14.8 gallons of propane for an average cost of $3.39 per gallon; $52.50 for the trip.

Campground average was $27.47, one of the highest of my trips since I didn't spend a couple of months at the BLM Long Term Visitor Area where the cost is $40.00 every 2 weeks. The cheapest other than some free sites was $14.90, the average daily cost for my 2 month stay at La Paz County Park in Parker, AZ. Most expensive was $101.00 at Cherry Hill RV Park in College Park, MD (Washington DC area). Camping total for 171 nights was $4,752.55.

If I ever sell the trailer, I'm afraid I won't be able to say "Lightly Used". A s of today, the trailer has 53,643.05 road miles & I've slept in it 1162 nights.

So, the next trip for the trailer is a one day stop at Seven O's on May 1st to have the air conditioner replaced, then on May 14th a trip with the Guido's to the Spring Fling Trailer Rally in New Hampshire.

Dinner was an Amy's Enchilada Bowl with Spanish Rice & Beans.

Until The Next Trip -

23 - 24 Trip to the Southwest, Day 170

Tuesday, April 2, 2024 - The Guido's, Binghamton, NY - 159.2 Miles, 7,045.7 Miles for the trip

Another wet morning and day. I'm going to have to change my name to the Rain Man. It didn't even stop for me to make the last dump of the black tank & unhook the electric. While the rain was not as heavy as yesterday, the spray from trucks was just as bad, and I 81 has lots of trucks.

Last night I finished Murder at Marble House & started Alyssa Maxwell's book #3, Murder at Beachwood.

I arrived at the Guido's around 1:00.

We spend much of the afternoon trying to decide where to eat dinner. The decision was to eat out, but there are far too many choices here in Binghamton. 

I discovered that I somehow left my eye drops (and a refill for each) behind. Not sure what happened to them but they definitely didn't make it to Binghamton. I know because the Sensor Push thermometer that I keep in the bag tells me that the last update was at 10:28AM, when I left the RV park. I'm lucky that I have refills available & they are in stock at a Binghamton Walgreens. The biggest loss is the Sensor Push thermometer that was in the bag...

We finally decided on Chinese.

Until Tomorrow - 

23 - 24 Trip to the Southwest, Day 169

Monday, April 1, 2024 - Twin Grove RV Resort, Pine Grove, PA - 149.9 Miles, 6,886.5 Miles for the trip

Rain off & on overnight, light as I unhooked the electric & headed out. A miserable drive on various interstates, medium to heavy rain until the last 40 miles. Even during the lighter rain the spray from trucks was annoying. Anyhow, I arrived at Twin Grove around 12:30. I'm in site F12, a full hookup site on gravel with two picnic tables and a fire pit. The site is level side to side, and I lifted the tongue 2 1/2" still attached to the truck to level the front. $66.15 for the night (I am 1 day into the "premium" season).

Site F12

There are a pair of unisex bathrooms across from my site - no showers & no heat (48°F inside so I don't think one would enjoy a shower if there was one). I checked with the office to confirm our reservations for sites 8 & 10 for our October trip to the Hungry Mother rally because right now there are RVs in the sites that look permanent - 100 pound propane tanks & lots of semi permanent stuff around them. The folks at the office found our reservations so we should be good.

Checked the internet speeds - Verizon was 4.8Mbps down & 10.6Mbps up, AT&T shows 43.3Mbps down & 11.7Mbps up; I'm currently on AT&T.

After lunch I did some reading - I'm currently reading Alyssa Maxwell's Murder at Marble House, #2 in her series. These are well written books that have the feel of some of the great English women written mysteries. I'll probably read the entire series.

Dinner was a Benihana Hibachi Chicken & Rice Bowl.

Until Tomorrow - 

23 - 24 Trip to the Southwest, Day 168

Sunday, March 31, 2024 - Cherry Hill RV Park, College Park, MD, Day 4 - 0 Miles, 6,736.6 Miles for the trip

I listened to the Weekend Edition Sunday morning puzzle before climbing out of bed. I hope Will Shortz comes back soon. While the stand in puzzle master is OK, somehow it isn't the same without Will.

After breakfast I headed over to Brian & Karin's. The girls showed me the stuffed animals in their Easter baskets, then we hid candy filled Easter eggs for the girls (a tradition that has been going on for years).

Easter Basket Stuffed Animals

Hunting Easter Eggs

Hunting Easter Eggs

After some relaxing around the house we had a barbecue salmon lunch, hid eggs stuffed with money, another long time tradition. Even though the girls will both be teenagers starting when Nova turns 13 next week, they still enjoy the search for eggs.

We went for a walk along Sligo Creek, then back to the house.

Sligo Creek Walk

I headed out around 4:00 so I could start the process of packing up the trailer. It is suppose to be raining in the morning, so I did as much outside stuff as possible.

Me & Karin

After packing up the trailer I headed for a shower (much warmer at 64°F today) then snacked on cheese & crackers - still full from lunch.

Until Tomorrow -

23 - 24 Trip to the Southwest, Day 167

Saturday, March 30, 2024 - Cherry Hill RV Park, College Park, MD, Day 3 - 0 Miles, 6,736.6 Miles for the trip

The traffic on I 495 was much quieter this (Saturday) morning; yesterday is was a roar starting at 5:00AM. Still a bit cool during my morning walk at 40°F, but it is warming up quickly with lots of sunshine. 

I checked the speed of AT&T - 65.2Mbps down & 17.1Mbps up. Since I have unlimited AT&T I am using it and didn't check Verizon. 

I also have a shower report - Bathroom #1 is not too far from my site. 5 showers, one of which is handicapped. Separate drying area with a bench & lots of hooks, a shower curtain between the shower & drying area, soap dish in the shower & medium volume standard shower head. Plenty of adjustable hot water. One suggestion - when it is cool, don't choose the shower that is under the ceiling fan. Not sure why it is running when it is 50°F out, but it sure cools you off once you get out of the shower. I'll give it an A.

I spent the morning reading - current book is Murder At The Breakers by Alyssa Maxwell. The first in the Newport Mystery series. Mysteries taking place around the Vanderbilt family in Newport around 1900. 12 books in the series. I have already read book #4 and this is another series that probably should be read in order.

We went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch. I had a huge chicken burrito that half of which came home and became dinner. Nova was the only one to order dessert - deep fried ice cream.

Nova's Deep Fried Ice Cream

After lunch we headed to the park & played a round of miniature golf. Since we didn't keep score, no one won. A couple of close ones, but no holes in one.

Miniature Golf

Stopped at the cafe & arcade for coffee and a game or two of Skeet Ball.

After that I headed for the trailer & dinner while Karin & family headed home.

Dinner was left over Burrito.

Until Tomorrow -