Intercourse

Pardon the provocative title, but here we are in Intercourse, PA...actually we are a couple of miles away in Kinzer, PA. It is the heart of Mennonite and Amish Country. As we drove in, we saw fields being plowed by mule teams. One was a six mule team. We'll leave on Sunday, so we'll spend Saturday learning what we can about the culture here. Today was a fairly uneventful day of driving. We worked our way out of Lake Anna, and headed north to Culpeper, Winchester, and Harrisburg where we turned east on the Penn Pike, PA283 and PA 30 to Kinzer. We arrived, set up and sat outside watching the golf channel until it was time to feed and walk Belle. We picked up a bunch of tourist brochures at the campground office. The temperature is near 80, but dropping. We are not using the A/C. Anyone with experience in this area with recommendations for eating and touring are encouraged to comment. I took a couple of pictures on the boat ride last evening, and I apologize for not posting them yet. Patience please.

Day 4

Today was a very short (105 miles) day. We got fuel at $4.589 and got 8.75 mpg for the 85 gallons. We had a very pleasant stop with Allen and Joyce Wegner at their lake house on Lake Anna, VA. Happy hour was an hour and a half tour of the lake on their pontoon boat. We had a nice supper and sat on their deck until well after the sun went down.

Day 3

A no driving day. We spent the day here at Williamsburg, VA taking life a bit easier. Durelle played golf with another camper at the course which is right out side our door. It's a short course, but an 84 is an 84. When she was done we went into Williamsburg for a late lunch /early supper. This campground is on the York River and is operated by the Cheatham Annex of theYorktown Naval Weapons Station.

Day 2

Breakfast at Camp LeJeune, lunch at Kitty Hawk and supper at Williamsburg. For those of you that noticed a one day difference in our departure date and our itinerary, we left on Monday instead of Sunday because Camp LeJeune was full for the holiday weekend. Today was a fairly long, slow day. We Left LeJeune at 0730 and wandered around route 17 through New Bern and Manteo to the Outer Banks. We then headed north on 158 through Kill Devil Hills and Kitty Hawk. In Kill Devil Hills I spotted the memorial to the Wright Brothers off to the left on top of a hill. At the next light, just south of the memorial, I turned left at a traffic light and a major intersection. I should have waited one more light. We drove at least five miles through winding (15 mph) roads in waterfront housing until we came to a sign that said, “Road ends 500 feet.” I had to unhook the Jeep, turn both vehicles around, and hook up again. We made it back to 158, turned north and turned left at the next light and entered the park. It was free with our Golden Eagle pass. All you seniors need one. It lets you into all national parks for free for life. We’ll get some mileage out of ours this summer.
From there, after lunch, we continued north and had no problem with the tunnel under the harbor. We had turned off the propane, but no one checked. It was no problem turning off the propane, because the fridge still doesn’t want to run on propane. I ran the generator all day. It was OK because, after lunch I ran the roof A/C too. The computer said I still got 8 mpg for the day. The camp site at the Cheatham Annex, a Navy Famcamp, did not allow satellite coverage, but they did have cable so Mom is OK. I promise to post some pictures soon.

Day 1

Well, this is the first night on the road for this trip. It was, fortunately, a short day of 238 miles. We departed at a leisurely 0930. But the day was like a honeymoon full of first night jitters. Before we got out of the housing development, I had to reset the position of the ignition key and the steering wheel in the towed Jeep. I tie a white handkerchief at the top center of the Jeep steering wheel that I can see it with the rearview camera. It wasn’t turning properly so I fixed the Jeep. Then we picked up I-526 to 17N in Mt. Pleasant. 17 was fine up to Georgetown and south of Myrtle Beach where we picked up 31 around Myrtle Beach. That’s a great bypass! We basically followed 17 through Wilmington to NC172 which runs right through the Marine base at Camp LeJeune. The campground is right on the ocean at Onslow Beach. We have to get out of here early tomorrow because the bridge to the beach is going to be closed for a week starting at 1000 tomorrow. Getting back to the first night jitters, the refrigerator…it runs great on AC but doesn’t want to run on propane. When it has been idle for a while, we have solved that problem by running the propane into the stove and the furnace (heaven forbid at these temperatures), and the propane seems to catch hold. Today it didn’t. We just kept the doors to the fridge closed and listened to the annoying beeps. At noon, when we stopped for lunch, opened the fridge and realized that the temperature was 45 degrees, I started the generator and ran it on AC. The jitters continued when we arrived at the Marine campground. The satellite antenna was locked on, but the TV demanded that I unplug it and plug it back in before it would condescend to work. Then I discovered that the reason we didn’t have water pressure was that the water hose had passed under the left rear jack pad, so no water was getting through the hose. We have been doing this thing for a long time and the numerous examples of “pilot error” are embarrassing. Hopefully the first night jitters are behind us. Tomorrow should be a long slow day through the Outer Banks. We took a couple of pictures here but will post them later

Getting Ready

We got a call late yesterday from the RV repair shop saying that the bus is ready. The monitor for the rear view cameras had failed. Tiffin sprang for a new one, but I'll pay for the labor. We previously went up to Gaffney, SC to the Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. for the standard "M2" maintenance. The fuel currently in the bus was purchased in January for $3.299 so the price will rise by a buck a gallon between fillups!
The Sturgis motorcyle rally is scheduled for 4-10 August. We are currently scheduled to arrive in Rapid City on the 11th. Is that too soon?

Tentative Itinerary

25 May: Hanahan, SC to Camp LeJeune, NC

27 May: Camp LeJeune, NC to Williamburg, VA

29 May: Williamsburg, VA to Lake Anna, VA...visit the Wegners

30 May: Lake Anna, VA to Intercourse, PA

1 Jun: Intercourse, PA to Brookline, NH

22 Jun: Brookline, NH to Belfast, ME

13 Jul: Belfast, ME to Magog,Quebec

14 Jul: Magog, Quebec to Brighton, Ontario

15 Jul: Brighton, Ontario to Emmett, MI

17 Jul: Emmett, MI to Empire, MI...visit the Daniels

23 Jul: Empire, MI to Sault Ste. Marie, MI

27 Jul: Sault Ste. Marie, MI to Marquette, MI

31 Jul: Marquette, MI to Copper Harbor, MI

3 Aug: Copper Harbor, MI to Kewaunee, WI

7 Aug: Kewaunee, WI to Lake City, MN

8 Aug: Lake City, MN to Mantador, ND...visit the Mertes'

10 Aug: Mantador, ND to Sioux Falls, SD

11 Aug: Sioux Falls, SD to Rapid City, SD

21 Aug: Rapid City, SD to Sheridan, WY

22 Aug: Sheridan, WY to Gardiner, MT

26 Aug: Gardiner, MT to Missoula, MT

27 Aug: Missoula, MT to Pasco WA via Athol, ID

28 Aug: Pasco, WA to Portland, OR...visit the Rux's

31 Aug: Portland, OR to Astoria, OR

1 Sept: Astoria, OR to Waldport, OR

2 Sept: Waldport, OR to Crescent City, CA

3 Sept: Crescent City, CA to Prospect, OR

5 Sept: Prospect, OR to Bend, OR

8 Sept: Bend, OR to Vale, OR

9 Sept: Vale, OR to Hill AFB, UT

10 Sept: Hill AFB, UT to Grand Junction, CO

11 Sept: Grand Junction, CO to USAFA, CO

18 Sept: USAFA, CO to Wakeeney, KS

21 Sept: Wakeeney, KS to Lawrence, KS

22 Sept: Lawrence, KS to Branson, MO...Tiffin Rally

27 Sept: Branson, MO to Hot Springs, AR

1 Oct: Hot Springs, AR to Vicksburg, MS

2 Oct: Vicksburg, MS to New Orleans, LA...H-2 mini-reunion

6 Oct: New Orleans, LA to Tuscaloosa, AL

7 Oct: Tuscaloosa, AL to Pigeon Forge, TN

10 Oct: Pigeon Forge, TN to Hanahan, SC



Brookline, Belfast, Branson and New Orleans are fixed; everything else is negotiable