On the Road Again Only Different...

We don't close on our house in Norfolk until the last Friday of the month, so we are taking a road trip to TN, AR, OK, NM, AZ, TX, AL and NC to see family and friends.  This post is about our first two days where we went as far as Conway, AR.

We thought, "Why not?"  Maybe we should re-think buying another RV and just take road trips. We shall see, but since we have a three weeks it was a good time to travel and see how we like it.  My hypothesis is, "it will not compare to the wonder and joy of RV living, but it can still be good."

On Day 1 of our trip, we made it to Maynardville, TN for an overnight stop.  We like to get on the road early and crept out of our 5-star accommodations at Goldmanor (Kelly and Jon's house where we are staying) and made stops at Wawa for coffee and McDonals for a couple of egg McMuffins.

We crossed over the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel as the sun was rising. Then it was on to Richmond on I-64 over to I-81.  Before we got there we crossed through the Shenandoahs and were greeted with this.

Yikes!  Snow!  It only lasted for about 20 minutes but it definitely got our attention.  We keep thinking we have avoided winter but that hasn't happened entirely.  The last three weeks in Virginia Beach have been a mix of different weather with some warmer days and some cold ones lately.

We pulled into Mike and Joan's neighborhood about 3:30 PM and since we were only going to be able to stay overnight, we better see Helen and Bill first.  Chances are that we would not be leaving Joan and Mike's once we got settled in.  So we stopped in to see Helen who had just returned from Physical Therapy.  She had knee-replacement surgery and Bill had her all set up in an easy chair with her knee raised.  Everything is going well with her recovery except the pain.  Ouch! She did say to much about it but once we asked questions she indicated it is some major pain.  But she is dealing with it and getting a little better each day.

Next stop was Joan and Mike's.  We unloaded our suitcases and air mattress and sleeping bags and it worked out fine.  Mike had fixed dinner and we had some great fajitas and beans.  On our way to Virginia Beach after selling the Roadrunner, we stopped in to see them and they were both ill.  They were much improved and were like their old selves so we were thankful for that.

On Day 2, we headed out of the driveway before six AM and got on I-40 heading west.  We refueled a couple of times along the way.  It is a bit of a shock to fill up on a road trip for under $30 when we were used to filling up the Roadrunner for $250-$300 a pop.  We like the lower numbers.  I noticed its not as easy to take a quick nap in the car as it was in the Roadrunner, but it is manageable.

The weather forecast didn't look too good on our route because of high winds, rain, and the threat of tornados.  We didn't want to do anything crazy, but we kept on eye on things as we traveled. We hit some rain for a couple of hours then it was mostly high winds toward Little Rock, AR.  About noon the east bound traffic on I-40 was backed up for a couple of miles as they cleaned things up from a tractor trailer that over turned.  Not sure exactly what happened but he may have gotten blown into the side rail in the passing lane and went over.  Out side heading west was fine.

We arrived in Little Rock and drove downtown to the Clinton Presidential Library and Museum.  It is one we had not seen before so we were hoping to see it and the Arkansas State Capitol.

The grounds are well maintained and in a great location a few blocks from downtown Little Rock.  On thing that struck me was the size of the building.  I might be the largest of the Presidential libraries we have seen in our travels.

 Both outside and inside the grounds, we saw artwork of Dale Chihuly.  We love his work.

Inside, the security was friendly and we paid the $8 fee before going to the third floor and taking a self guided tour.

 View from the third floor toward downtown Little Rock.

The Oval Office is always an interesting place.  Many of the presidential libraries we've seen have life-size replicas like this one.  For $50 we could side behind the presidential desk and get our picture taken.  Yikes!  We passed on that one.

We weren't able to spend the time it deserved, but we were glad for the chance to see it briefly.  It is one of the more well done presidential libraries we've been to and I was very impressed.

The afternoon weather was a big change from what we had experienced most of the day.  We drove over to the capitol building.  I was closed but I managed to take a few pictures.  

We thought we could drive some more and continued on I-40 to Conway AR where we got a motel for the evening.  After two hard days of driving, we went to dinner and then back to the motel and hit the sack.  

That's all we will relay for now and I'll save some more for the next couple legs of the trip to Tucson. Thanks for joining us on this adventure of the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Loving the RV Life

Here's a look at the route we've been on since we left Virginia Beach on Saturday.  

Everything doesn't have to be going our way all the time for us to love the RV life.  There are ups and downs.  The last few days have been a wonderful with a few things that went a little sideways.  We notched a couple of "wins" however, and are happily camped at the Roadrunner RV Resort and Campground (private) in Maynardville TN, for the Thanksgiving holiday.

We've been here many times over the years.  This is one the Roadrunner's favorite spots.  We're on Joan and Mike's property with water, 50 amp service and a dump station.

Here are the wins:

• Traveling in beautiful weather
• Visiting with good friends
• Catching an uninvited guest: a mouse
• Attending a good church
• Safely boondocking/dry camping in sketchy area of town
• Terrific early morning breakfast in Greensboro
• Getting in to the Cummins Coach Care facility first thing Monday morning
• Correctly diagnosing the engine hesitation with new fuel filters
• Getting underway before 10:00AM
• Seeing the wonderful Shenandoah Valley
• Not more engine hesitation
• Arriving safely in Maynardville TN

During Saturday's drive from Virginia Beach, we noticed how well the coach was running.  It was a smooth, comfortable ride at 62 mph.   We love traveling done the road and enjoying the ride.

We are grateful for good friends and love to visit when we have the chance to see people.  We had dinner and went to church with D and Jackie and got to catch up with each other.  Great times!

3 or 4 days after Halloween, we had a large bag of candy in our snack drawer.  That is probably not a good idea on a number of levels.  One morning Pam sadly announced we had evidence of a mouse in the Roadrunner.  One had eaten through a candy wrapper and apparently enjoyed a portion of a Reese's cup.  Yikes!  I got out 4-5 mouse traps we carry and set them up.  It took another 6 days before the munchy mouse met his match.

We always enjoy a good church service. We were able to attend Freedom Church with D and Jackie in Lincolnton, NC and were refreshed, renewed and encouraged.

After church, we decided our fuel hesitation issues required us to find a Cummins Coach Care facility and get it properly diagnosed. En route to Denver (near Lake Norman) the Roadrunner began hesitating slightly going up hills.  It has previously been an issue.  We guessed it the coach needed new fuel filters.  A similar issue occurred last December when we left Virginia Beach.  After sitting for months, the coach began slipping going up hills.  We guessed it was the same problem this time.

Unfortunately we had to back track 90 miles and arrived at the Cummins repair shop in Greensboro NC.  The gate was locked and it didn't look as if the electric hookups in back were being used.  We realized we had to find a place to stay overnight.  We first parked on the street outside of the gate. Our  satellite wouldn't lock on, so we looked around and decided on the abandoned restaurant next door.  It  had a parking small parking lot on one side and a staging area for a septic service on the other side of the building.  Surprisingly three truck came and went using that side of the parking lot.

We found a level spot and backed up the street 50 yards into the parking lot.  We were hoping we could stay there all night without causing problems.

We opened the Passenger Side slides but did not put down jacks.  We fired up the generator for a couple of hours.  Our TV satellite dish didn't work in that location, but at least we were off the street. Our Over-the-air (OTA) digital antenna picked up 22 stations and we watch some sports, read, and had frozen dinners.  It also was a restful night.

We were up early and went to breakfast at a local place and it was a real treat.  Lots of local folks there early getting a bite before work plus a few retired people.  Good food, huge biscuits.

We were first in line when the Cummins repair shop opened.  We carry spare fuel filters and left them on the seat of the coach for the mechanic.  It took about 90 minutes and we were done and back on the road.

There was some road construction and detours and we found ourselves on I-81 going through the Shenandoah Valley.  It is one of the scenic drives in America!  It was a clear day and we loved it.

We went up quite a few hills and had no more engine issues!  The Roadrunner ran smoothly up big inclines and we're thankful for that.

We continued over to Morristown TN and then to Tazwell TN before arriving at Joan and Mike's in Maynardville and our site.  It was late afternoon and a nice afternoon.  We got set up and are ready for a nice Thanksgiving.

Hope you and yours are enjoying the week and have a nice holiday.  Where are you for Thanksgiving?


Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Travel Plans June 2018 - February 2019

Thought I'd send out an update on what we think our travel plans are going to be for the next few months.  You never know, maybe we'll get a chance to say 'Hi' along the way.

This is our proposed route from June 2018 to February 2019.  We're planning on going to the NorthEast for the summer, then back to Virginia Beach for a while before we start our late fall and winter travels to FL.

*Please disregard the waypoint letters. I would change the letters to the waypoints if I knew how to do that.

June 2018

• 1 - 29:  Sea Mist Military RV Campground, Virginia Beach, VA
• 30:  Country Campground, Denver, NC

July 2018

• 1 - 2:  Freightliner Service Center, Gaffney, SC
• 3 - 5:  Newport News Campground, Newport News, VA
• 6 - 20: Cheatham Annex, Williamsburg, VA
• 21 - 25:  West Point Military Campground, West Point, NY
• 26 - 28: Haven Family Campground, Wales, MA
• 29 - 31: 4th Cliff Military Campground (near Boston, MA)

August 2018

• 1 - 5:  4th Cliff Military Campground (near Boston, MA)
• 6 - 9:  Ellacoya State Park, Gilford, NH
• 10 - 18: Forest Ridge Campground, Ellsworth, ME
• 19 - 21:  Cedar Haven Campground, Freeport, ME
• 22 - 23:  Central Bridge Hide-A-Way, Albany, NY
• 24 - 27:  Clute Park and City Campground, Watkins Glen, NY
• 28 - 30:  Darien Lakes State Park, Darien Center, NY
• 31:  TBD

September 2018

• 1 - 30:  Sea Mist Military RV Campground, Virginia Beach, VA

October 2018

• 1 - 31:  Sea Mist Military RV Campground, Virginia Beach, VA

November 2018

• 1 - 18:  Sea Mist Military RV Campground, Virginia Beach, VA
• 19 - 24:  Maynardville, TN (Joan & Mikes)
• 25 - 28:  Red Bay, AL, Tiffin repair work/maintenance
• 29 - 30:  Oak Grove Military Campground, Pensacola FL

December 2018

• 1 - 2:  Pensacola NAS Military Campground, Pensacola FL
• 3 - 6:  Clearwater, FL
• 7-14: MacDill AFB Military Campground, Tampa FL
• 15:  Overnight stop at Muskogee Casino, FL
• 16 - 31:  Sigsbee NAF, Military Campground, Key West, FL

January 2019

• 1 - 31:  Sigsbee NAF, Military Campground, Key West, FL

February

• 1-5: TBD en route to Mayport NAF, Florida
• 5-12: Gold Manor, Virginia Beach, VA
• 6-28: FL TBD

That's the plan - we will see how close we come to that.  Campgrounds get busy and hard to reserve in the winter time in Florida, so the earlier we decide what we are going to do the better chance we have of getting a campsite.  

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  

Crossing Paths With the Roadrunner

How does one do that?  Why would one want to do that?  We all have our ways and our reasons...

For a family, friends and acquaintances, I have listed one of my infrequent "Roadrunner Travel Schedule Updates".  Here's where we think we may be during the next few months.  If you are nearby or plan to be near us, it would be fun to catch up with you and say "Hi!":

Here our schedule as we know it:

January

• Jan 11 - 14: Agave Gulch FamCamp, Davis - Monthan AFB, Tucson, AZ
• Jan 15 - 17: Catalina State Park, Oro Valley north of Tucson
• Jan 18 - 22: Outside Our Bubble group, Plomosa Rd, BLM spaces north of Quartzsite, AZ
• Jan 23 - 27: Yucaipa Regional CG, Redlands, CA
• Jan 28 - 31:  TBD

February

• Feb 1 - 12: Catalina State Park, Oro Valley north of Tucson
• Feb 13 - 28:  TBD

March

• Mar 1-31:  Palm Creek Golf and RV Resort, Casa Grande, AZ

April 

• Apr 1 - 2:  TBD
• Apr 3-17: - Kirtland AFB FamCamp, Albuquerque, NM
• Apr 18: - Sayre City Campground, Sayre OK
• Apr 19 - Oklahoma City OK
• Apr -  Downtown RV Park, Red Bay, AL
• Apr -  Roadrunner RV Resort and Campground (Private), Maynardville, TN

May

• May 1-31: Ocean Pines CG, Virginia Beach, VA
• Jun 1-30: Ocean Pines CG, Virginia Beach, VA

June

• PA, NY and the Northeast?

Thanks for stopping by today for the latest update on our Roadrunner Travels!

Short Stop and Off We Go

Our time in Tennessee is always too short.  While there we were able to see family and neighbors and friends.  And we completed a project with Roadrunner Builders.  Mike had been saving the back porch so we could work on it.  He wanted some insulation in the walls and ceiling and a couple of windows trimmed out.

He had the insulation done and we got to do some of the rest.  He insisted on leaving the painting for him and since we ran out of time, that was OK with us.

We worked in the middle of 'errands' we had to do at Wiegel's and Hammer's in  Halls.  We also drove over to Powell's and picked up some things at Lowe's.  Our basic workday M-W was about 9:00 ish to 4:00 or 5:00 in the evening.

The insulation is all in place along the wall and also up top in the ceiling.  Our job was to cover up the walls, finish work on the ceiling and hide the seams.

 The first order was to cut and precisely size the sheet rock for a good fit.

 Next, Pam mudded over the sheet rock screws and taped the seams.

 We added 3" PVC trim under the ceiling where the wall joined.

While that was being done, I added 2 1/2" strips over the seams on the ceiling to cover them and the screws.  Mike's brad nailer came in handy for that.

We also took our time trimming out the windows and adding window sills.  All in all, we had a lot of fun humming along working on the back room.

The next day we headed out of town and found a gem of a overnight stop in Buena Vista, VA.  We're on our way to the Fairfax area to see out son and wife.  We hate paying $40 plus for an overnight stop. And there were quite a few of those within 30 miles of where we wanted to stop for the night.

Even among those expensive places, there is no guarantee that we would get open access for our DirecTV.  That would be frustrating.  But we found a place in Buena Vista, VA.  We checked out reviews for the Glen Maury City Park campground and they were pretty good.  Nothing great.  But we were looking for one night.

I called and asked and was assured we would be able to get an open site with satellite access.  Sure enough, we arrived, paid our $19.48 (with Passport America) and parked in the open field.  We had 30 amp service (which was fine since we did not used the A/C) and water.  Perfect.

It was a tad cloudy for a while but it was a terrific evening.  We had windows and the front door open and enjoyed the fall-like day.  We slept with the windows open and thoroughly love this place.  The cell phone service was great and we had no issues at all with our DirecTV access.  And best on all the  free wifi was excellent!  What?  I can't remember when that was the case apart from the Navy bases where we've stayed.

We will definitely keep this campground on our favorites list for next time.

It was a great time seeing Mike and Joan and all in Tennessee and getting to work on their place.  Always too short, but fun to get some work done with the Roadrunner Builders.  And we look forward to a few days seeing Adam and Melissa.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Reflections: Months of Friends - June to August 2017

Sometimes we just shake our heads at how much we enjoy this time of our lives.  We are most fortunate and we know it.  We don't take it for granted.  This is a bonus and we know it.  Among the biggest blessing of this lifestyle is the many people we encounter week after week.

We heard it said a couple of weeks ago when Scott remarked, "We see way more friends and family now than when we lived in our house in Florida".

The same is true for us.

We left Virginia Beach in June and drove a day and a half before we got to Maynardvile TN.  While there we visited with Joan and Mike and their kids.  Michelle and Jeremy are both working and they have a high schooler (Noah) and one in graduate school (Kayla).  We also got to see neighbors Helen and Bill and Mark and Lisa.  It was a good visit.

Next made our way to Kentucky.  While there, we connected with our daughter Kelly's friend who used to live in Virginia Beach.  It was good to see Becca and her daughter Parker.  We got to see airplanes from a viewing area at the end of the runway in Cincinnati.  We had a picnic lunch then drove in tandem over to the Creation Museum in Kentucky.  We had never met Parker and hadn't seen Becca in years.

After our time there, we drove on to Alum Creek State Park outside of Columbus Ohio.  We planned it so that our time there would coincide with Jeff his son Caleb's summer league baseball tournament.  They travelled with the team from home in Fairfax VA, where we lived before we launched into this lifestyle.  That was fun to see them!

After Ohio we continued north to Lansing Michigan for our Habitat for Care-A-Vanner build.  We were twice blessed there with family and friends.  Great-niece Kayla (from Tennessee) was moving into her apartment to start her graduate studies at Michigan State.  She and her family (Michelle, Jeremy, Noah) were there to help her move in.  Great timing - during the same week as our Habitat build.

Also while in Lansing, RV friends Marge and George camped with us at the Ingham County Fairgrounds.  They were in Michigan and made it a point to come over to where we were so we could see them for a couple of days.  We met them in Key West in our second year of full-timing and have crossed paths many times since.  It great to see them.

After Lansing, we drove east to Port Huron, MI.  From there we drove over to see Bill and Marg (Meghan's parents).  We saw them last winter in Lakeland FL.  It was great to go over to Petrolia again.  Bill and I played a round of golf with Pam and Marg in carts and then had a nice lunch at the clubhouse.
While in  Port Huron, we drove our car south toward Detroit and met friends Lisa and Rod for dinner on the picturesque St. Clair River.  Always good to see those two!

We had another Habitat build scheduled and drove over to Sioux Falls SD for it.  We always like going to Sioux Falls because longtime friends Steve and Therressa live there.  We got to see them a few times during our two weeks in town for the build.
We also got to see Bonar and Christa. We had dinner together one night and ice cream down at the Sioux Falls Park another day.  Hopefully we'll see them again where they winter in Fort Myers FL.
We met fellow Care-A-Vanners Dave and Jo Ann for the first time.  Interesting enough, I had corresponded with Brenda since she is the national Care-A-Vanner registration POC.  And we met her and Kit for the first time.
Years ago I got an email from Carole who follows the Roadrunner Chronicles.  She asked a question about full-timing and saw my post on 'Come help us on the Sioux Falls Care-A-Vanner build' and signed up with husband Scott.  That was pretty cool to meet these folks.

From Sioux Falls, we ended up in Seneca, Kansas for the eclipse viewing.  Friends from years ago in Fairfax VA, Mark and Alisanne, saw our travels on FaceBook and he asked us to join them for the eclipse at their beautiful cabin in Blue Springs, Nebraska.  It was great to meet up with them for lunch followed by time at their cabin.  We also got to see their daughters Carissa and Stephanie (and their kids) at the lake.  What a great time!
Before we got to Seneca, Bruce saw the blog and sent me an email indicating he and wife Jacque were RVers and lived in Seneca.  We were able to meet them for the first time and have dinner together to share stories.  It was fun.

Now here we are in Albuquerque with Reid and Amy.  Cousin Linda and husband Jim are not far away in Corrales and we hope to see them while here.
Tomorrow we are going to Santa Fe for a day trip and will see RV friends Steve and Karen and do the tourist thing in town and probably grab some lunch.

I hesitated about going through all this kind of thing but I wrote this for a couple of reasons:
- I want to look back and be able to remember the good folks we saw and met during our travels this summer, and
- I also wanted to give folks an idea of one of the main reasons we like this lifestyle so much.  We keep running into people and meeting new friends.  Not to mention all the other stuff that goes on during this adventure...

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

MSRV Solutions - New Carpet etc

We still need some help with our Habitat for Humanity Build in Sioux Falls July 30.  If you'd like to join us, please check out an earlier post and follow the links:

___________________________

We scheduled some work at MSRV Solutions and were there Monday and part of Tuesday morning.  We could not be more pleased with Daniel and Carl's work.

When we arrived just before 7 AM, the first thing I noticed was our new carpet laid out on their clean floor.  In fact the whole grounds, building and work area was well maintained, cleaned up, and well organized.  Impressive.  "You only get one chance to make a first impression" as the saying goes.  It was true here.

I had talked with Daniel a number of times and we made sure we ordered the correct thickness of carpet.  If it is too heavy, the slides won't slide in and out correctly.  Initially, we contacted Daniel for an appointment and had to reschedule.  Then as our appointment got closer, we ordered the carpeting from the Lowe's in Tupelo.  Carl picked it up and it was ready to go on Monday morning.

We went over the list of repairs that we wanted to get done. We had talked on the phone previously but the list grew longer as we got closer to Red Bay.  About 10 days before we arrived, out DS slide out would not go all the way out.  It was not the shear bolt that we had replaced a couple of times over the years so we didn't know cause of the problem.

Also we needed new arms for the main "patio" awning.  One arm was not working properly and would not retract.

Another big item for us was a leaking hydraulic cylinder for a rear slideout.  It was a slow leak but something we wanted to get fixed.

Repairs were also needed on the rubber gaskets around the DS slideouts.  We had rope lights installed near the ceiling in the front slide out interior area of the coach and one was not working.

Repairs:

• New carpeting
• DS slide out not working
• Rubber gaskets around DS slide outs
• Replace arms on patio awning
• Interior rope lights
• Hydraulic sync cylinder

Fixes:

Carpeting. We removed all the items we had stored under the bed.  The bed frame was dismantled and put temporarily in the front of the coach.  The old pieces of carpeting we removed and used as patterns for the new carpet.

 In no time the new carpet went down.  It was immediately a major improvement.

When the bedroom bed and frame were put back together, we moved the items back where they were originally.

Daniel removed the couch and only the heater hoses and seat belts remaining.  One they were removed, the grungy carpet was carefully removed.

Once the DS was done, Daniel worked on the PS.

While he was doing that Carl replaced the carpet up front in the stairwell and under the brake pedal.

Another big job was replacing the two awning arms.  One had worn out and the awning would not extend.

Inside, rope lights under the ceiling trim on the DS were not working.  Daniel found the problem, made a better connection and secured it.

Next, they worked on getting the DS slide to retract and go out.  After a lot of looking things over, Carl found a roll pin that was broken.  Instead of the normal 'shear' pin that we have replaced a couple of times, this one was located under neath and farther back behind the propane tank.  But the found a way to get to it and replace it and the slide now is working correctly.

The the rubber trim gasket around the same front slide also had to be secured.  And the rear one was leaking a bit and they caulked and glued things so water would shed away.  Good to get the rubber trim fixed up.

After we finished with the carpet, we had Brett come over from Tiffin after hours.  Our hydraulic sync cylinder was and he replaced a pressure hose fitting.  Not a very convenient location.

That was a couple of days work at Carl and Daniels MSRV Solutions.  They do great work at a fair price and we are glad to have found another good shop near Red Bay to get some work done.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Rewind: 2009 Travels - Our First 6 Months

We started full-timing in May 2009.  It took a couple of years of planning, research, decisions, project management (my worldview) milestones, and action -- and we launched into one of the best things Pam and I have ever done.

Looking back helps remind us of the excitement we felt and the new territories we covered and the things we felt during those first few months.  What an exciting time.  We had big plans and felt like sponges:  we couldn't soak it all in fast enough.

Everyday it seemed like we were learning a hundred things!  Everyday we felt excited and energetic and the whole idea was daunting. Our learning curve was steep and our brains could not take it all in. Something I have only recently been able to do is put together a contiguous map of the places we stopped.

Google Maps limits how many locations that can be displayed at one time on the map.  I had to learn to use overlays.  There are more features to learn I am sure but here's a look at where we went:


The day we bought the Roadrunner (2007 Tiffin Allegro Bus):  May 22, 2009

What an exciting day!  During the next six months we made our way to Maynardville TN to see Pam's sister and family.  Then we headed to Oklahoma City to see friends Kirk and Susan.

Our next scheduled stop was in Pontiac Illinois for a three week stint with the NOMADS - a volunteer group.

We then traveled to Canada (Petrolia across from the Port Huron border crossing and onto the beautiful Bruce Peninsula and Tobermory.)

We headed west to Mount Rushmore and then south again to another volunteer project in Greensburg KS.  After that, we visited brother Reid in Albuquerque.

We drove the Roadrunner south after that and headed to Kerrville TX for our first rally (with RV-Dreams).  We then went to the Fort Worth area to see brother Brad and then explored that area of Texas.

From there we went to the Rio Grande Valley and the border town of Nuevo Progresso.  Once there we crossed the border (on foot) and tried out Mexican dental care.

Our volunteer efforts to us to Galveston TX for a few weeks and then we headed west again.

It was on to Tucson next where we spent some time before heading to the San Diego/Camp Pendleton area for the holidays.

From there we went north to Redlands CA, near where we lived in the mid 1980's and visited former neighbors Bob and Sue.



It was a busy first six months on the road.  We tried to see a lot.  We did!  And we learned a lot and were pretty excited to be on the road.

We were asked, "What's the most memorable thing you have seen so far your travels"?   Ugh... that is always a hard question but some of the more notable memories include:

• Taking in the morning fog over the lake at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Benbrook Lake, Fort Worth, TX
• Disaster Relief volunteering, meeting like-minded folks in Galveston, TX
• Getting shivers at the exceptionally well done evening ceremony honoring military at Mount Rushmore
• Enjoying middle America at a lovely evening town 4th of July concert in Pontiac Illinois
• Crowding 17 friends and family into the Roadrunner over the holidays on the beach at Camp Pendleton CA

For a more complete listing of our experiences during the year, you can click on the right panel of the blog under '2009'.

That's a recap of the Roadrunner Travels during the first six months of our time on the road.  Its fun to look back!

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Financials - September 2016

Roadrunner Recap
In September,  we traveled east from the outskirts of Memphis, to Red Bay AL for repairs (replaced slide out toppers), then to Maynardville and on to Virginia Beach.

• Mid South Naval Station, Milligan TN
• Downtown RV Park, Red Bay AL
• Roadrunner RV Resort and Campground (private), Maynardville TN
• Walmart, Charlottesville VA
• Sea Mist RV Campground (military), Virginia Beach, VA

Here's an interactive map of our travels:

Or, if you prefer and find this easier to navigate, here is a static map:

We drove from the Memphis area to Virginia Beach after stops in Red Bay and Maynardville TN.

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget

Biggest Expenses
We were over our budget in the following areas:

• Gas for the car
• Maintenance
• Cell phone use (primarily our wifi/data plan) and 
• Medical (the bills for my July retina surgery

Large One Time Cost Item
Our biggest budget buster for the month was in the maintenance area while we were in Red Bay AL.  We had work done at Bay Diesel (Koni shocks) ($1580) and also had a list of things done at Brannon's (Custom RV) ($1630).

Monthly Average









We September was another tough month on the budget.  The maintenance and medical areas were the culprits this time.

Our monthly averages continue to climb and we will be over our 'hoped for' $4100 monthly budget for the year which ends next month at the end of May.  But we have had an extraordinary amount of Maintenance and Medical bills this year.

As always, if you think this spreadsheet might be useful I'd be glad to pass it along at no cost.  Just let me know.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!