Camping Our Way From Virginia to NY - Summer 2018

Thought I'd give an update of where we've been over the last few weeks.  We are now on our 'Summer 2018 Trip' to the Northeast.

Malek Visitor's Center, USMA, West Point

We're currently at the military campground at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
On the map below, our location would be at the northernmost point (F). We were here six years ago.  The campground hasn't changed much but the Visitor's Center at the USMA is brand new.  More on that and some of what we've been seeing.

We stayed in Virginia Beach all of May and most of June.  

Sea Mist RV Campground, Virginia Beach, VA

The last day of June, we made a quick trip

Rest Stop Along the Way

to South Carolina for some annual motorhome maintenance

Cross Country RV Park, Denver, SC

and got to see D and Jackie in Lincolnton, NC and Cindy in SC.  We headed back to the Virginia Beach area for a couple of weeks near Williamsburg, VA.   Our first stint for a few days was in Newport News.

 Newport News City Campground, Newport News, VA

King's River Campground, Cheatham Annex, Williamsburg, VA

There we got to see Bill and Kris and spend more time with Kelly, Jon and the grandkids.  Before we left we spent some time with Jon's parents (Diane and Marty), up from Augusta GA for a few days,

We drove a long day after departing Williamsburg and made it to out reserved site at Mountain Springs RV Resort just north of Shartlesburg, PA off I-78.

 Mountain Springs RV Resort

We hit the rains the whole way from Virginia Beach, but it hasn't been too bad.  They have been a series of hard rains, light rains and then now rain.  It hasn't been a constant downpour.  We carry an umbrella and wear rain gear and have kept dry.

Round Pond Campground, USMA, West Point

We snagged this site which is pretty level.  We are glad to be able to get satellite TV.  The internet and cell phone reception is sketchy at best.  I'm posting this from Starbucks at West Point which has great Wi-Fi.

We've seen a lot here and along the Hudson River Valley.  Over the last few days here, we re-visited the USMA Museum which is outstanding.  We also took another windshield tour around the premises and got some great views of the Hudson River.

Earlier we took a day trip over the Hyde Park (FDR home, Presidential Library and Museum), Val-Kill (Eleanor Roosevelt's Retreat) and the Vanderbilt Mansion.  Earlier today we made the two-hour drive to see Martin Van Buren's home in Kinderbrook.  We'll be telling those stories about our times there in the coming weeks.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Winter 2018 Travels Campsites

I look back over the months or years and forget exactly where we have been.  Or the route we took during different times.  So I need to 'document' our travels along the way.  It makes it a lot easier to remember where we were when...

We left Virginia Beach the day after Christmas and have been as far West as Redlands CA (near San Bernardino CA).  We are currently at a very nice place in Casa Grande Arizona enjoying the very Palm Creek RV Resort (between Phoenix and Tucson).

I like to take a snapshot from time to time to recap where we've been and this post is a look at a most of the campgrounds where we have stayed in the last couple of months.

Our first stop was in South Carolina.

We stayed at a campground just off I-95 after a long day on the road.  We stayed here previously in 2010.

In the Fort Walton Beach area to see Karin and then the next morning we drove to Pensacola to have breakfast with Bill.  It was the first time we parked the Roadrunner in a Cracker Barrel RV spot.  It was tight but it fit.

Overnight stop in Lake City Florida.

On a lake but more importantly, it was near the Interstate and we were able to get satellite access for the night.

Our next day was a fairly long one but we made it to NorthLake RV Park outside of Houston to see nephew Drew and Mark (and his wife Dean-na, and little one Kayley.)  

We were going to make it a short stop but we ended up staying at the campground for a couple extra days to wait out the ice storm in the Fort Worth area.

From Houston we went to Fort Worth (actually Cowtown RV park in Aledo) to see my brother Brad and his wife Sue.

We spent five days there before continuing on through the great state of Texas.  We had an overnight stop in Monahan's State Park.

Very unique and interesting sand dunes in the middle of the west Texas oilfields.

Deming NM was our next overnight stop and we like staying at the Escapees RV park there - Dreamcatchers.

The sites are wide and spacious and it is an easy in and out access.

We drove next to Benson AZ to spend the night and go out to dinner with Brenda and Kit.

We were together with them on a Care-A-Vanner build in Sioux Falls SD last fall.  

From Benson we made the short trip to Davis-Monthan AFB for a few days.

We were in the dry camping area but right across from the laundry and bathhouse.

Catalina State Park north of Tucson AZ.  One of our favorites.  Beautiful sites.  Great hiking at the park.  10 miles from my brother Marty's place in SaddleBrooke retirement community.

We only stayed a few days before leaving for Quartzite AZ to meet up with friends.

Our travel plans continued out to California where we had a couple of stops.   First one was at El Centro Naval Air Station.

If we like to check out military campgrounds if we are in an area where we can find one.  This turned out to be a great one.

Farther west, we made our way to Redlands CA to see friends Bob and Sue.  We camped at a great County Recreation campground in Yucaipa which was a couple of miles from their place.

Our stay was too short but we needed to get going and head back to Arizona.

We had our second stay at El Centro Naval Air Station.

Next we made our the way back to Catalina State Park north of Tucson.

After that, we returned to Agave Gulch FamCamp at Davis-Monthan AFB, Tucson AZ.  

Sites are fine but a little tight.  Great location.  WiFi in this spot worked well.

We are now at Palm Creek Golf and RV Resort in Casa Grande AZ which is about half way between Tucson and Phoenix.  

We are here to see friends Karen and Steve.  This is probably the nicest place we have ever stayed in terms of the park and facility.  Wide campsites, level, friendly people, golf, pickleball.  Great place to walk or bike.

More on this place later.

That's bit of a lengthy look at where we've camped in our travels for the last 2 + months.  We are looking forward to more warm weather and time with family and friends!

Hope you are all well and enjoying March!

That's all for this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Financials - December 2012

Roadrunner Recap
We spent the entire month at one of my favorite places:  

• Sigsbee Campground in Key West

It was 'Another Day in Paradise' for the whole  month in Key West.

Here's an interactive map of where we camped during the month. Click on the letters (waypoints) to see locations:

Or if you prefer, a static map of travels during the month:

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget
Here's a snapshot of our spending for the month:

Biggest Expenses
Not a big mystery on where the money went this month:  eating and gifts in Key West.

Large One Time Cost Item
We did run over run our budget on the internet data plan.

Monthly Average

In December, we had a very good month and came in $700 under budget.   We did not spent any money on diesel fuel or maintenance this month.  Those can be big numbers.

On average for the whole year, 2012 was a good one.  We can't complain, only $300 over budget.  Obviously we need to make some adjustments, but we are very happy.

We had a rough stretch earlier in the year.  Mostly we had RV maintenance issues.  We spent a couple times in the Diesel shop getting our manifold gasket fixed and filters changed and we bought new tires for the Roadrunner.   Our other high prices come from eating out.

 But for the other eight months, we were under budget.  And in the last 12 months we did a round-trip from Key West and back.  We spent time in northern Maine and Canada and put some miles on our vehicles.  We also spent months at time in locations ~ Key West, Virginia Beach and Maynardville TN.  Those longer stays make up for some pricey places we have stayed.  And parking for weeks at a time when we have volunteered for Habitat for Humanity.

So that's a recap of the financials for December 2012 -

I have often said this is more of a tracking tool and an estimate than a budget -- this month's spending proves it.  That's what our spending looked like for the month.  Thanks for taking a peek.  Hopefully they provide help or entertainment of some sort...  If you'd like a free copy of the spreadsheet I use, drop me a note and I will be glad to send it along.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Financials - August 2012

Roadrunner Recap
The event of a lifetime was getting to walk our daughter 'down the aisle' in an outdoor ceremony during her wedding to Jonathan (Jon).  It was a beautiful day!

We spent the month over in the military campground before driving west to Tennessee for a few days to see Joan and Mike and our 'Roadrunner RV Resort and Campground'.

• Ocean Pines RV, Oceana NAS Campground, Virginia Beach VA
• Greensboro Campground, Greensboro NC
• Roadrunner Campground and RV Resort, Maynardville TN

Here's an interactive map of where we camped during the month. Click on the letters (waypoints) to see locations:

Or if you prefer, a static map of travels during the month:

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget
Here's a snapshot of our spending for the month:

Biggest Expenses
Our biggest spending was in food:  groceries and eating out. It also included some beverages for the wedding.

Large One Time Cost Item
Wedding beverages: $249.11

Monthly Average

The monthly average continues to be under the budget but is on a steady incline beginning in June.  Diesel fuel continues to be above target levels.  All in all, we are very pleased with our spending levels the last few months.
I have often said this is more of a tracking tool and an estimate than a budget -- this month's spending proves it.  That's what our spending looked like for the month.  Thanks for taking a peek.  Hopefully they provide help or entertainment of some sort...  If you'd like a free copy of the spreadsheet I use, drop me a note and I will be glad to send it along.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!