While taking Lexie for our morning walk I saw this old oak with branches drooping to the ground. It reminded me of the old oak in Louisiana that my brothers would climb on. The branch in Louisiana didn’t touch the ground, so we would get it moving up and down, left and right.
Old oak with hanging branches at Devil’s Den
We had planned to leave the campsite at 10am, but as I started to drive my tire sensor said I had 11 pounds of pressure in a tire. The tire pressure should have been closer to 82 pounds. So we stopped the RV for 40 minutes while I checked the air pressure and filled the tires. It appears that the tire monitor was not connected fully to the valve. And I had trouble getting readings from that tire with my tire gauges. Maybe the valve stem was blocked/kinked? I eventually got it working, reading the right pressure and believing the number.
Lexi getting ready for the road
The rest of the trip was uneventful. We stopped once to stretch our legs. We drove through Tampa (and some congested traffic) before finally reaching our campsite in Bradenton. The site they assigned us was very close to the freeway. And Lexie does not like freeways. So I asked for a different campsite, and paid an upcharge to get a site farther from the highway, and on the lake.
Winter Quarters campsiteEncore Winter Quarters Manatee campsite viewGrumpy Steve after setting up camp
We are at Encore Winter Quarters Manatee, off of a creek that goes to the Manatee River. This site is quiet and people are friendly. But the sites are packed in. The freeway noise is noticeable and does freak Lexie out a bit. One other distraction: no see-ums (if you know what those are, you know what I mean. )
Another early night after dinner. We played Machu Koro, I won this round of games. And I did flip my utilities over to the correct side before starting the game.
Machu Koro game night
All this fresh air is exhausting! Another early to bed night!
Vicki-great view of their lake with fountain. Both neighbors have permanent sites and are traveling so it’s feeling quiet and a bit private. We’re meeting really nice people at these RV parks. And seeing some HUGE, luxury motorhomes and trailers. Definitely glamping! Still finding homes for our gear, food and stuff.
I learned today that it is not a good decision to take Lexie for a walk near a freeway. Lexie and I went for our early morning walk, which ended up being about 40 yards from I-75. A noisy I-75. Lexie went into a kinda shock, trying to get away from the freeway every chance she had. And she stopped listening to me. When she finally started listening again (because the freeway was far enough away), she wouldn’t look at me. She remained skittish until we had been driving again for about an hour.
Today’s morning routine now included removing the water hose from the campground faucet. So far there have been no major problems while traveling. Lots of small problems though. The most bothersome problem is having the doors open (example: the refrigerator door) while we are traveling. We haven’t had anything fall out yet, but it is a matter of time. Our shopping list now includes tension rods that we can use to keep the doors closed as they push the door against the other side of the RV.
We stopped at two rest areas today. There was no need for gas!
The first rest area was in Georgia, and there was a large wooded area in the back that I walked Lexie in. Vicki and I had lunch in the RV: ham/turkey sandwiches and pasta salad.
Lexi at the Georgia rest areaLunch at the Georgia rest area
The second rest area was at the Florida welcome center, where we got small glasses of Florida orange juice and grapefruit juice. We also got a lot of information about items of (tourist) interest in the places in Florida we were visiting.
FLA welcome center
We got to our campground, Devil’s Den, ten minutes before the office closed. God is definitely watching over us, I was not aware that the office closed at 4:30. The route suggested by my RV Life app included some unpaved roads! Unpaved, narrow, bumpy roads. The preferences on the maps app for our next travel day have already been adjusted.
unpaved road into Devils Den
The site at Devil’s Den is very pleasant, spacious and quiet (no road noise!) There is no bath house, so we will be really using the RV’s amenities for the next two days. There are also tall trees so close the RV that we can’t open the awning. And we are parked on Florida sand.
Devils Den campsiteVicki relaxing at camprelaxing in the evening
We took out the camp chairs and relaxed in the warm air in the evening. We didn’t need the awning. Lexie was tied to the RV, she spent most of her time laying down near us.
I briefly met our neighbor. This is their first long road trip with their RV, and they are from Willoughby, OHIO. Hopefully we will talk to them more tomorrow.
Something to note: my fitbit says that I have been getting over 15000 steps a day while traveling. Most of those steps are from the RV shaking my arm back and forth
Vicki – This is such a relaxing campground. Lots of shade, pretty quiet and feeling like we’re really in rural FL. We just found out the more civilized route (paved road) actually has stores, etc. LOL. It was lovely to have our appetizers, buffalo chix dip and crackers in this place that really feels like camping/glamping.
(Steven) The mattress heating pad on the bed kept us both warm, maybe a little too warm for me. I will adjust its setting to something less. Vicki liked her warm setting. But we were grateful for the heating pad as the RV itself got very chilly. There was frost all around the campsite when I first got up, but the frost was gone by the time we left at 10am.
Lexi took me for another walk. Thanks to the All Trails app, I found that there was a trail on the Little Tennessee River that Lazy Acres overlooked. We did about 2.5 miles of walking, a great way to start the morning.
Little Tennessee River trailSteve along the Little Tennessee River eastern bank
This was going to be a longer driving day than the previous two days. The ride was smooth through Tennessee and through Georgia until we came close to Atlanta. Even though we took the bypass, and even though we were traveling in the early afternoon, there were still congested areas.
Our first stop of the day was as the Georgia Welcome Center, a few miles south of the Tennessee/ Georgia border. This was our first experience of parking in the ‘truck’ area.
Parking with the big boys
Our second stop was south of Atlanta where we needed to walk around, and get some gas. Not much to say there except I bought 52 gallons of gas. Tank holds 80 gallons.
We arrived at the Interstate RV campgrounds in Byron GA around 4:30 and set up the RV. Since we are not expecting any more freezing weather, I de-winterized the RV. An RV pulled into the spot next to us, and as the gentleman was checking out his set-up, I professed inexperience in de-winterizing and RV. He talked me through it, pointing out where the water heater was and where the anode needed to go. I am sure I would have figured it out, eventually. But it was much easier with an experienced person talking me through it. And now the RV is fully functional with working water (hot and cold) and toilet.
campsite at Interstate RV, Byron GA
Dinner tonight was another prepared meal from our Cleveland grocery store. But the dishes were washed properly and easily afterwards.
Vicki-Hooray!!! Now I feel we are truly glamping – in-the-rig running water. Never took it for a luxury but it’s the game-changer. The late night bathroom trips are no problem now, instead of getting fully dressed and winter-coated to go outside to a rest room in below freezing temps in the middle of the night. Even doing the Atlanta bypass, the traffic is torture. On top of the usual heavy mid-day traffic, add to that the aftermath of a very serious car-truck accident and down the road a totally burned out semi cab. We were thankful for the above traffic view and the Jack Reacher audible book as we sat and inched our way along I-285.
Every day is a new learning adventure. We are thankful for this time together and the nice people we’re meeting along the way. Closed our evening with a game of Azul, then I was up til the wee hours reading.
Game night with Azul. Vicki outscored me 85 to 45. But I am still smiling.
We woke up to a very cold Florence KY with the temperature below 20. We were warm in the hotel, but the RV was cold, around 25. Our water bottles didn’t freeze so it couldn’t have been too cold for too long. One advantage of staying at the Best Western: Steve got a waffle for breakfast. Vicki had the healthier breakfast of eggs, bacon and cheesy hash browns. Lexie got to wait for dinner.
We drove south for 45 minutes and stopped at a Love’s in Sadieville, KY for gas. We had used almost half a tank, so I filled it up with 42 gallons. I am guessing my gas mileage may be at 7mpg (Rick, I finally own a vehicle with worse gas mileage than you!). And I have been traveling close to 65mph (Jeanne and Bob, you don’t want to be behind me!) for economy and just making sure that I have control of the RV. I can feel a little push on the RV whenever a semi is passing me, and it is still a beast to drive. I was tired after driving yesterday and my thumbs were cramping up.
Anyways, Love’s Travel Stop is great! I have been worrying about the air pressure in the tires, especially on the outside rear tires. The rear tires are ‘dualies’, an inside and outside pair on each side. The outside tire has the valve stem pointing inwards, and I couldn’t access it to put air into it. But the Sadieville Love’s has a truck shop in the back, and the mechanic there came out to help me with my tires. He had a simple solution of a small valve extender, and it worked great. I am feeling much more confident about traveling now that I know I can check and fill all the tires.
Sadieville Love for gas and tire fix
Our next stop was another Love’s Travel Stop at Corbin KY. We did grab some fast food. We did not go to see the Col. Sanders/KFC museum, though it was tempting (my fave old school fast food -Vicki).
The final stop for the day was at Lazy Acres RV Park in Lenoir City, Tennessee. On the way we crossed the Tennessee river and saw a huge dam. No pictures, it happened so fast. And we were ready to stop at our campsite.
But the view from the RV is remarkable. We are looking deeper and farther along the sides at the rivers and ravines. And we can see what is happening in traffic up ahead. And we can see how the highway is splitting to pick our lane. I do remember being one of the little people in my Prius, but a part of me is enjoying being on the higher side of the view.
We found our site in the campground. The site was level, so I put down the jacks just to provide additional stability. The slide-out slid out. Electric power was connected. Then Vicki started to clean up the bed from all the last minute items we had thrown on it before leaving Cleveland. Lexie took Steve for a walk around the campground.
We ‘made’ dinner in our RV too! Actually, we warmed up some cabbage rolls and mashed potatoes we had bought at our local Heinens grocery store. Microwaves are great camping tools. And we toasted our dinner with some (pre-made chi-chi) margarita’s.
A dinner of margarita, mashed potatoes and stuffed cabbage. Lexie is waiting for leftovers. She will be waiting a long time.
The weather tonight is supposed to be below freezing. We watched ‘Princess Bride’ on our DVD player, covered in blankets. We will definitely be testing our mattress warmer.
(Vicki)-We had gorgeous views through Tennessee. I was busy with navigation on my phone and couldn’t get to the camera quick enough. We’re following Steven’s brother Greg and his wife Barb’s trip through New Zealand right now and enjoying their great pictures. Need to catch some pictures of our spectacular views while on the road. The Little Tennessee River was WAY bigger than the Tennessee river and as Steven said, seeing these things from a better elevation provides stunning views. Driving through the edge of the Smokies, over so many beautiful waterways, enjoying a landscape not totally white – we’re learning to relax and enjoy the journey without racing the clock to get there.
The night sky was so clear with no light pollution and the stars put on a brilliant show. We both think one especially bright star looked red and must be Mars! We might check out a star gazing app as we’re hoping we’ll have a lot more star gazing nights on this adventure. Apps do help and we’re finding they are great tools. Steven found a driving weather app that shows weather along your whole route for the specific day and time you want to travel.
After much packing, and then finally just throwing things on the bed to be put away later, we finally took off!
Today’s travels were through snow covered Ohio, from Seven Hills down to Mason. Thanks for the hats Connor!
Our Seven Hills neighborhoodOhio north of ColumbusKuglic’s driveway in West Chester, OH
We stopped at West Chester to visit Jordan and Emily Adams (and Matthew, Benjamin, Joseph, Judah and Mary Eleanor) at Les and Donna Kuglic’s house. Great to see all the boys running around. And Mary Eleanor was very sweet, and quiet. The boys enjoyed getting in the RV and exploring it! As did the adults.
Benjamin and Judah checking out the RV
After dinner with the Adams and Kuglics, and a game of charades with the boys, Vicki, Lexie and I drove through Cincinnatti and across the Ohio River (at night) to get to our hotel in Florence, KY
Getting ready to travel. Ordered many items for our first long term trip. Steven’s biggest concern is getting the right tire pressure. This meant buying a 120V air pump with reserve. And trying to find the right chuck to get air into the outside dually tires.
It is cold this week (Jan 19-25), with temperatures dropping below 0, and snowfall during the week. Praying for good weather for our travels.
Saturday morning: using a space heater to warm up the RV. It increases the inside temperature a bit from 22 to 31.
