Roadrunner Reflections - Getting the Roadrunner Sold - Part 3 of 3

It was about a year ago that we were in final preparations to sell the Roadrunner.  We had numerous texts and emails with Mike and had things lined up to make the sale when he arrived in Jacksonville.
We were busy getting things ready for him.

We had spent December in the Keys and then traveled north to MacDill AFB/Tampa to finish final cleanup and enjoy a few more days of the RV life.  We attended the large Tampa RV show and had a good time in the area.

We saw some friends in the area and we worked on the coach.  The last couple of days I decided to replace the gasket on the toilet because the toilet bowl was not holding water.  That is a good indicator the gasket is failing.

It always is little hard to do because we have to cut the wires, disconnect the water, remove the toilet, turn it upside down then put the gasket in reverse sequence, turn it back over, reconnect the wires and hook everything back up.  Its a 20 minute job if everything goes well.  Ha!

It did not.

The water in the toilet was leaking out.  I got the gasket upside down.  Next, we disconnected everything, turned it over again, put the gasket in, tightened everything down and POP!
The ceramic toilet broke!  Yikes!

It was Friday and we were leaving Sunday for Jacksonville.  Now the pressure was really on!  We ended up replacing our ceramic electric toilet with a foot pedal model that worked great.  We didn’t know if it was going to work but it performed magnificently and we wished we’d have swapped it out
many years ago!

On to Jacksonville.  We spent a couple of days at the Jacksonville Navy RV campground and then parked the Roadrunner at Mayport Naval Station at Pelican Roost Campground.  Its one of the military’s best RV campgrounds (in my opinion.)

While there, we rented a small U-Haul Trailer, packed up almost everything remaining in the

Roadrunner, and then drove to Virginia Beach where we put all our stuff in temporary storage at our daughter and son-in-law’s place.

We returned in time to meet Mike at the airport hotel in Jacksonville.  Then we drove over to the campsite, did a walk-around and we answered all his questions.

He and I went for a short test drive and then got the paperwork together to finish the deal.

The bill-of-sale had to be signed and witnessed and he handed over a check. Then we packed up and left the camp ground with the Roadrunner and our CRV in tow.

Pam and I agreed to help Mike deliver the coach to an RV storage facility and thought it would be good to have him drive the Roadrunner while we were onboard.  We also answered more questions as he thought of them.

All three of us were going to Cordele, GA to the KOA where we had overnight reservations.

Mike got some time behind the wheel as we went up I-75 so it was a useful few hours.  We arrived at the KOA and then I showed Mike how we set up and get plugged into the electric and water and sewer.

We went out to eat together and then dropped Mike back off at the Roadrunner while Pam and I got a motel room in town.

The next morning, we drove back over to the campground, hooked up the CRV and then we drove to the Atlanta airport where Mike rented a car.  We later joined up at the National Indoor Storage facility in Lawrenceville, GA about 20 miles away.

Then we unhooked the CRV for the last time, shook hands and departed while Mike checked the Roadrunner into the storage facility for the next three months.

He was working as a civilian in Germany and would be back in May to pick up Roadrunner with his wife Joan.  They were then going to drive it to Alaska which was his next duty station.

Later we heard from them on their way to Alaska and they said the coach was driving ‘flawlessly’.  They did need to get some fuel filters changed out (which we discussed as a possibility after sitting in the storage facility for three months), but all in all it all went well.

It truly was a win-win.  We were thrilled to be getting the price we wanted and they were happy to get the Roadrunner.  Hopefully it will have another 10 years of happy camping left in it.

So, those are some of the high points in the story, “How We Sold the Roadrunner.”  It unbelievably happened almost a year ago.  It doesn’t seem possible.  I captured some of the sale here.

The last 12 months have flown by.

We remember our days on the road as Wonderful Times!  It was a magical time and we love reminiscing about it. Hopefully there will be more in store for us, but it will be different.  And that is OK.

Do we miss it?  Do we have regrets?

Sometimes I think about it and miss our time on the road but quickly remember it was perfect timing for us.  It was the right time to move on.  We are so glad to be here in Norfolk/Virginia Beach and have a wonderful “Post RV life.” We are very blessed to have our kids (son and daughter-in-law in DC, and our daughter and son-in-law and two grandsons 12 minutes away) near us.

Our house, neighborhood, church and new friends are a real blessing and we are so thankful!

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Financials - December 2016

Roadrunner Recap
In December,  we visited the following locations along the  

• Gulf Waters RV Resort, Fort Myers FL
• Manatee Springs State Park, Chiefland FL
• Ho Hum Campground, Carrabelle FL
• Hurlburt Field FamCamp, Fort Walton Beach FL
• Oak Grove MWR Campground, Pensacola NAS FL
• Gunter Hill US Army Corps of Engineers Park, Montgomery AL
• Downtown RV Park, Red Bay AL
• Camping World Campground, Anniston AL
• RVacation Campground, Selma NC
• 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:

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget

Biggest Expenses

Highest 1 Time Cost Item
We had toppers replaced at Brannons and also had a list of things for him to check out including replacing the motor on one of the fans, troubleshooting a faulty light switch, replacing the 'eye' on our DirecTV, and downloading new software for our Razor Over-the-Air antenna.  $1400.

Monthly Average

The hits just keep on coming...We were $2100 over budget this month and the average climbed another couple hundred dollars again.

So this is a look at where our money went during the second month of the new 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!

Roadrunner Financials - November 2016

Roadrunner Recap
In November,  we visited the following locations along the  

• Sea Mist RV Campground (military), Virginia Beach VA
• Onslow Beach Campground, Camp Lejeune NC
• West Lake Recreation Area (military), Fort Jackson SC
• Red Top Mountain State Park, Cartersville GA
• Twin Oaks RV Park, Elko GA
• San Lan RV Resort, Lakeland FL
• Cummins South, Ocala FL
• Little Manatee River State Park, Wimauma FL
• John Pennekamp State Park, Key Largo FL
• Sigsbee MWR Campground (military), Key West FL
• Midway Campground, Big Cypress Preserve FL

Here's an interactive map of our travels:

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

November was fun month.  After Hurricane Matthew tore up our topper, we knew we'd have to go back to Red Bay before Christmas.  As it worked out we got to see a couple of State Capitols, a lot of Florida including time at Key West, and also stop for a quick visit with relatives in Maynardville TN.

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget

Biggest Expenses
Our over budget areas included:

• Fuel
• Cell phones
• RV and Car Maintenance (replaced two chassis batteries)
• Eating out

Highest 1 Time Cost Item
Seems as if the chassis batteries were the high items this month:  $$641

Monthly Average

This was the best month average-wise that we have had in quite a while.  Still though, it only brought down our year-to-date average a couple of hundred bucks.

So this is a look at where our money went during the second month of the new 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!

Hiking the Georgia Trails

We actually went  hiking on two trails and they were both not far from our campsite at Red Top State Park about 40 minutes north of Atlanta.  After a pretty busy day of trying to see the sites in the hustle and bustle of Atlanta the previous day, we decided to back off and take a hike.  It turned out to be an excellent choice.

Our campground may be typical for Georgia and if so, we are impressed.  We had quite a few trails to choose from and we picked the one nearest our campsite and joined up with another one.

We started on the Campground Trail taking us over to the Visitor Center and then joined up with the Sweet Gum Trail.

 The trails had enough ups and downs to get our heart rate up at times.

 But mostly it was a chance to get out there and enjoy the woods and take in the fresh air.  It was great day.  We love to do it and wonder why we don't get out there more often...

Here's a look at the 3.22 mile route we walked on my MapMyRide app:

I'm sure we'll be doing more hikes as we enjoy the weather down South here for the next few weeks!

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

More on our Day in Atlanta

Seeing the Georgia State Capitol, we found the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum.  We were glad it was open.  The ground and parking lot gave the notion of it being an important place.  It was well groomed and flags were flying.

 It reminded me a little bit of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum we visited in 2014.
We were greeted at the door with the news that entry for veterans on Veterans Day was free!

 That was a nice gesture!

We saw the orientation film that was excellent.  One thing it described was how he was affected by corruption in a state election.  He lost and the next time he ran one of his by lines was, "I will never lie to you."
I would say among his most significant accomplishments during his presidency was winning the Nobel Peace Prize for his tenacious and wise work with Egypt and Israel and reaching the Camp David Peace Accords.

 Then the tour of the museum took us through a number of hallways and displays.  A lot of it was about his early life from Plains to his time at the U.S. Naval Academy.

 The Iranian hostage crisis happened during his tenure and they were released after 444 days.  The Iranians finally let them go about the same time as Jimmy Carter was leaving office when President Reagan was being swore in.

The museum housed the presidential library and archives.  We could see rows and rows of filing boxes.  It contains 27 million pages of documents, 500,000 photos and another 40,000 objects (videos, audiotapes and films.)

We liked our tour and thought it was very well done.  It is worth the visit.

Next, we found the Atlanta Underground.  We weren't really sure what that was about but wanted to stop and see it.  The parking was free and we wandered around a little while.  It was a lot of shops and not much was going on.  We might not have been in the right entry way?  Or there might be a better vantage to see it.  We did not stay long and headed over the downtown area in search of the Coca-Cola Museum.

The World of Coca-Cola multi-media center outgrew its first location near Atlanta Underground and we went over to the larger site near the Olympic Park.

We actually walked through the Olympic Park to get to the World of Coca-Cola.

This was an interesting display commemorating the athletes.

They had a number of weekend events ongoing.  It is a place where events are staged and locals have a chance to bring a group for some kickball.  We saw a game in progress.

The World of Coca-Cola was across the street.

We were met with a statue of John Pemberton who was the inventor of Coca-Cola.  He had a saber wound from hostilities during the Civil War and began a life-long addiction to morphine.  He died of cancer in 1888.

As a trained pharmacist, he began experimenting with ingredients until he stumbled upon a concoction that he accidentally mixed with carbonation to get the "secret mix".

The lines were long because they had a power outage and weren't selling any new tickets.  Oops.

We looked around and went to the gift store instead.  More long lines.  But that was OK.  We didn't see anything we couldn't do without...

We saw this display of the polar bear which I remember from a couple of Christmases ago.  I thought this is a new twist and why did Coca-Cola decide to make and advertising campaign around a polar bear.
As the sign says, it was started in the 1920's and then re-introduced in 1993.  So it has been around a long time.

And there are all kinds of gifts to grab to fit any budget...

Outside and across the street, we made our way back through the Olympic Park grounds

Some very well done tributes to people who train for years and years in order to make it to the Olympics and some are lucky enough to get a medal.  And have their name engraved on these monuments.

It turned out to be a real busy day for us in Atlanta but we got to see a lot of different things.  And determine which other things we want to see next time.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Atlanta in a Day

We have not spent a lot of time in Atlanta over the years.  In fact the more we talked about going there, we were cautioned about how tough the traffic is going through the area.  Nevertheless, we wanted to see the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library/Museum and the Georgia State Capitol.

When we began planning our five week fall trip to Florida we had to consider a few things in order to make the most of our time there:  We wanted to

• Go to a few places we hadn't seen rather than concentrate on old favorites,
• See as many friends as possible depending on how our schedules lined up,
• Visit as many historical sites and capitols as we could squeeze in, 
• Get more repairs done in Red Bay,
• Stay at modestly priced locations,
• Relax a bit instead of being on the go every other day

With some of those thoughts in mind, we considered Atlanta and all it has to offer.  We weren't kidding ourselves though, and knew that you can't see Atlanta in a day.  Maybe a week if you hit the high points.  But still it has a lot going on and we actually thought we'd devote a couple of days to seeing what we could.

Our first challenge was finding a decent location to see the city.  We were hoping for some RV campgrounds to choose from on the southern side of Atlanta.  There were precious few choices.

We tried to find a U.S. Army Corps of Engineer park that had been recommended but that didn't work out either.  We located and called Red Top State Park which is about 40 minutes north of the city.  Not ideal, but still doable.

Next, we had to pick two or three things to do each day.  We have found if we cram in more than three or four things it becomes 'overload' and we can't learn all we want and digest it all.  We drove from Columbia S.C. through Atlanta (taking the northern I-285 beltway around the city) to Red Top State Park.

Yikes!  Everyone was right - the traffic is tough !!  Lots of crazy semi-aggressive drivers and not a lot of fun at 1:30 PM in the afternoon.  

Still we made it to our very nice site without incident.

Then for Friday we picked out seeing the State Capitol and the Carter Presidential Library.  Depending on how that went maybe we'd see something else downtown.  The next day we planned on seeing Olympic Park, Turner Stadium, the Underground and the Coca-Cola Museum.

But-- we ran into some issues and didn't get to see all of the capitol.  We forgot Veteran's Day was on Friday so none of the government or state offices were open.  But we went ahead anyway and went downtown.  Holidays are the perfect time to find a parking place and walk around the outside of the capitol!

Georgia State Capitol

We saw a few things and were struck at the size of the building.  It is quite a bit bigger than the last capital we saw.

 We peeked in the doors and sure enough - no one there.

We walked around the northwest corner of building and found a statue of Confederate General John B. Gordon.  He was one of Robert E. Lee's most trusted generals.  

After the war served as governor and later as U.S. Senator from Georgia.  Fort Gordon, outside of Augusta, is named after him.

 Outside there are a number of displays describing Georgia historical events surrounding Atlanta.

 These were erected in 1920 by the Daughters of the Confederacy.

 Near those is a statue of our 39th president, Jimmy Carter.

 As we made our way around the building we noticed some maintenance going on in the back.

Three vehicles were parked on the extra wide sidewalk and they had one of the back doors open and were carrying items back and forth.  While that was going on Pam looked across the street and said, "There's the Liberty Bell!"

Sure enough, on the southeast corner of the capitol is the Liberty Plaza.  It is in a place of honor and a great location for public rallies and other outdoor events.

The names of the three signers of the Declaration of Independence were on the back side of the Liberty Wall.

The Liberty Bell replica was on full display and in a prominent place.

It is probably the best display we have seen of the Liberty Bell replica in our travels to date.  The whole area was very well done.

This photo I grabbed off the internet gives a better perspective of Liberty Plaza and its proximity to the capitol building.

From there, we went over the the Jimmy Carter Museum and Presidential Library.  I will save that and some other things we saw in Atlanta for (an)other post(s).

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!