Roadrunner Summer Travel Plans

We started our summer travels and left Virginia Beach on Monday. We were going to overnight at the Fort Criswell RV Campground which is about halfway to Maynardville, TN.  We left early and got through the Elizabeth River Tunnel without incident and on our way to Charlottesville to Interstate 81.

We got to the Criswell area about noon and decided to keep going since we only had about  four hours of driving left.  I started out driving but Pam ended up putting in most of the time behind the wheel which worked out great.

I love being on the road again.  The Roadrunner rides smoothly, has comfortable seats and a big front window and it is a joy to be still living the dream.

We are about to wrap up seven years on the road the end of the month and it has been one great adventure!

After driving all day long, we were a little below half full on the diesel tank so we pulled into a gas station in Tazewell TN.  It cost us $174 to fill up.  I still remember not too long ago and it was twice that to fill up.  While filling up I did a walk around and to my surprise noticed we had dropped a PS rear hub cap somewhere.

 I have no idea how that happened but sadly now have to chase down another one and get that done.

We are going to the Tiffin factory in Red Bay next week so we'll get one there.

We had a nice day driving with some clouds and 60 degree weather.  In the afternoon it cleared up and it was bright and shiny when we rolled into to our camp spot at Mike and Joan's about 4 PM.  Long day but we got a good night's sleep and an extra day here.

While Joan and Pam went out to see their dad, Mike and I tried to hunt down a hub cap.  We came up empty handed but had a good day hanging out together.

Pam and I had a few minutes so we firmed up some reservations along our next couple legs of our summer travels.  We haven't finalized all our plans but we do have the following places on the schedule:

• Roadrunner RV Resort and Campground (Private), Maynardville TN
• Tiffin Factory, Red Bay AL
• Kirk and Susan, Oklahoma City, OK
• Reid and Amy/Kirtland AFB, Albuquerque NM
• Paul and Bobbi, Tehachapi, CA
• Bob and Sue, Yucaipa Regional Park, Redlands CA
• Sequoia National Park, CA
• Yosemite National Park, CA
• Brothers and Wives Reunion at Marty's Cabin, Arnold CA
• Oregon Coast, OR
• Olympia National Park, WA
• Glacier National Park, ID/MT
• Care-A-Vanner Habitat for Humanity Build, Sheridan WY
• Sioux Falls, SD
• Omaha NE
• Elkhart IN
• Philiadelphia PA
• Virginia Beach VA

That translates to something like this:

I am still learning Google Maps and overlaid a number of maps to create this one and got duplicate letters for the destinations.  Something to work on at a later date...but the main point is to create some semblance of a route for our travels the next four months.

That's all for now - Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Maybe we'll see you all the way somewhere?

The Wedding (Part 1)

Melissa and Adam got engaged last year, and they tied the knot this past weekend, October 3, 2015.

It was a terrific few days and lots of fun---before, during and after the wedding.  They had loads of friends and family to help them celebrate. The wedding itself was an outdoor event so there was some concern about the weather; despite hurricane Joaquin lurking offshore for a few days, it all went off very well.

One of the things I like about these occasions that we get a lot of time to see the extended family and visit with friends and get to know each other better.  Melissa and her family are mostly from the Philadelphia area and Adam's relatives are predominately from 'out West'.  It was really fun.  I haven't hugged that many people so many times in a long time.

Many guests stayed at the Hyatt-House/Merrifield in the Mosaic District of Fairfax (VA); it was the perfect location. The rooms were efficient and high tech and the full breakfast downstairs each morning was well done. The hotel was in the same city block as a Target and a number of trendy restaurants (all within walking distance of a block or two).

On Wednesday evening, Pam and I joined Adam, Melissa, and her family at the True Food Restaurant, where we had a chance to meet Jeff and Marilyn again and spend some time together before things got busy.  Melissa's brother, Rich, works and lives in DC and he came out to join us too.  It was a great way to start off the wedding festivities.

Friday night before the wedding, Out-of-Town relatives all met at the Matchbox Restaurant in a private party area, which worked out well and the food was excellent.

This was the first real chance to meet and greet all of Melissa's and Adam's relatives and family and extended family.  It was really fun and we all had a great time.

 The prospective bride and groom --

Interestingly enough, Melissa's dad is a twin (on the right) and Adam's dad is a twin (second from the left).

One of many group shot of the twins with Melissa and Adam

Here's the only photo I got of Melissa's Aunts and Mom (with Uncle Mel and his daughter)

Aunts: Gail, Debra (Debbie), Mel, and Melissa's mom Marilyn on the right

Warner and Goldman women: Adam's Mom (Pam), Aunts (Amy, Elena, and Sue) and sister (Kelly).

It rained a little throughout Friday... more like a steady drizzle. Saturday morning, the skies were a bit overcast, with some misty rain from Joaquin which was off shore.

Thankfully, it moved from the Caribbean and started heading north and away from the East Coast.  It could have been a factor in the [outdoor] wedding, but was never a problem.

Saturday morning, our Grandson Brooks made an appearance.  Kelly and Jon were staying near friends Jeff and Tiffany who babysat him both Friday and Saturday nights. He wanted to see everybody, so Jon and Kelly brought him over to the Hyatt House on Saturday morning during breakfast.

After breakfast, we ran some errands and then met Marty & Elena, Brad & Sue, Reid & Amy, and Marg & Bill at the Red Apron for lunch.  

We didn't have to be over to the wedding site until 4 PM.

Pam and I stayed in Reston at the Lake Fairfax Park Campground and were joined there by Marg and Bill who drove down from Ontario with their RV and had the campsite next to us.

This has turned into a really long post, so I am going to end it here and pick it up with my next post at the venue.  More pictures and details to follow...

Thanks for joining us on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Roadrunner Financials - September 2014

Roadrunner Recap

During the month of July, we were in the following locations:

• Camp Meade RV Campground - Fort Meade, MD
• Beacon Hill Camping - Intercourse, PA
• Assateague State Park - Berlin, MD
• Kiptopeke State Park - Cape Charles, VA

We spent time in the DC/Fort Meade area primarily to be near Adam and Melissa who live in Chevy Chase, MD.  They are about 45 minutes from Fort Meade, but there are not a lot of options closer to them.  Next, we traveled to Amish Country in Lancaster County to see friends Mike and Sue in New Holland, PA.  On our way down the Eastern Shore, we stopped a for a few days at both Assateague State Park and Kiptopeke State Park where we ended up staying through the Labor Day Weekend to wrap up the month of August.

Good News Areas We Are Under Budget

We had a good month in the following areas:

• Diesel fuel
• RV maintenance
• Campground fees and 
• 1 Time costs

Biggest Expenses
I paid our semi-annual insurance payment which caused a spike.  Other areas were

• Groceries and
• Misc (good fitting hiking boots)

Large One Time Cost Item
Our large one-time cost item for the month was our Medical/colonoscopies.  Results were good but as you know, they are not the most fun thing in the world.  Necessary evil.

Monthly Average

That's a snapshot of how we're feeling about the cost of things on this Full-Time Journey.  We are in month 63 of doing it.

Hopefully, some of the thoughts and figures are of some interest/value/curiosity.  If you'd like a blank spreadsheet of what I use I'd be glad to send you it at no charge to do with what you wish.  

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

Some More Things Before We Left Lancaster...

We will have to come again to Lancaster County.  We were only there for five days and there is more to see.  Some more things we got to see while there included:

• Flower and Home Marketplace  
• Factory Tour at New Holland Haytools Plant
• New Holland Summerfest Pennsylvania State Championship BBQ Cook-Off

Flower and Home Marketplace

We stopped by here to see a relative of Mike's who works there and to see the huge inventory.  This is like a Micheal's or Hobby Lobby on steroids!  It has a lot of inventory and is a very big store.  Tour buses park in the back and people could get lost in here!

New Holland Haytools Plant

This was a real treat!  I love factory tours.  This was in some ways similar to a tour at Red Bay to see Tiffin motorhomes being made.  Here, we saw some world class manufacturing going on with some hug metal bending machines and welding.  

The plant is on the outskirts of town and the New Holland Campus covers over 340 acres.  The plant itself is over 700,000 sq ft.  Inside they process over 47 million pounds of steel.  The 600 person workforce is non-union most work there a long time:  Average length is 17.6 years.

This particular plant is where they make the Roll-Belt Round Balers and Square Balers.  Most balers are now round but the square ones account for about 20% of their sales.

No pictures were allowed inside but it was a great tour!

New Holland Summerfest Finale - Pennsylvania State Championship BBQ Cook-Off

We got there mid-afternoon on Sunday to walk around the booths.  Some were still creating their dishes for the judges.  It was really a sight to see.  And it smelled really good!

Hundreds gathered for the awards in the late afternoon.  They had about 10 categories and awarded lots of trophies, cash, and ribbons.  

The above photo is not the grand champion (who was from Fairfax, VA this year) but he was happy with his large trophy!

We ended the week where we started - at the City Park.  Today instead of the band playing, hundreds of people came to see the awards for all the different varieties and tastes of Kansas City BBQ.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!

10 More Things We Did in Lancaster County

We love going to Lancaster County and spending a few days there.  I remember hearing about it from friends Mike and Sue

back in the early 1990's when we first met them after moving to Fairfax, VA.   We learned they had recently retired back to their home town of New Holland, PA and we planned a trip to go see them.  It was a great week!

In fact, we saw so many things I could write a blog about each one.  Instead, I thought I'd post a picture or two of some the things we saw:

1.  Produce Auction (New Holland, PA) Old order Amish and Mennonite's selling vegetables, fruit, flowers, etc

(which also included pallets of flowers)

2. Martin's Furniture (New Holland, PA) local factory and showroom

3. Wilbur Chocolate Factory (Lititz, PA)

4. Sturgis Pretzel House (Lititz, PA)

5. Mennonite Information Center (Lancaster, PA)

6. Amish Farming Tobacco

7.  Mowing the Fields (Amish Farm)

8. Covered Bridges (Lancaster County, PA) We only saw a few - there are over 25 in the area. Click here to see where else they are located.

9. Gourds at an Amish Farm

10.  New Holland Museum

Our week was a full one during our time at New Holland and there is more to share.  See you next time on the Roadrunner Chronicles!