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Saturday, December 29 – Travel Day 1
Huntington Beach to San Diego, CA – I-405, I-5 and I-805 - 90 miles A heavily trafficked route best avoided before 9:30 am and after 3:00 pm on weekdays. San Diego, CA to Yuma, AZ - I-8 – 180 miles Heading east from the intersection of I-805 and I-8, the next 85 miles of I-8 is a series of grades that lifts you to about 4,000 feet and then returns to sea level near the town of Ocotillo, California. At that point the highway straightens out as it carries you across the level desert, and crosses the Colorado River into the city of Yuma. If you ever drive through Yuma during the winter months you will be amazed at the number of RV parks full of RVs you will see next to the highway. There are places here where two and three gigantic RV parks sit side by side. And they all appear to be full! I’ll bet Yuma has more RV parks and, during the winter time, RVs per square mile than any other city in the country. I’m told that the snowbirds double Yuma’s population from 80,000 to 160,000 during the winter months. Our friends, Jerry and Arlyne Ray, own an RV lot on the east side of Yuma. It is located in a development of large lots where you can park up to three RVs at a time. Most of the owners have installed one or more full hookup facilities on their lots so they and their guests can spend extended periods of time. Every year, while enroute to our east coast speaking circuit, we stop here for two or three nights to visit with Jerry and Arlyne and another couple of good friends, Joe and Joanne Annuzio. Joe and Joanne have two adjacent lots directly across the street. This year we arrived in time to celebrate New Year’s eve with them and five other RVing couples. Vicki and I hope to make this an annual tradition. We take exit 12 in Yuma to get to Barney’s Truck Stop for fuel. They have two fuel islands reserved for RVs in the truck fueling area. As you can imagine, there are a lot of good restaurants catering to the snowbird population.
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Tuesday, January 1 – Travel Day 2
Yuma, AZ to Benson, AZ - I-8 and I-10 - 271 miles After leaving Yuma the relatively level highway crosses more arid country for 180 miles before it terminates at its intersection with Interstate 10 in Casa Grande, AZ. At that point we turned south on I-10 for sixty miles to the city of Tucson, AZ. Just north of the city a sign advises eastbound travelers to get into the two left lanes. It is a good idea to do this before the traffic gets too congested to make a lane change. Remain in the left two lanes until you have Tucson in your rear view mirror. The highway goes from level to gently rolling as it takes you to Benson, AZ. Just east of Tucson we stopped at the TTT Truck Stop to have lunch and visit with our friends, videographers John Holod and Jodie Ginter. They are in the process of finalizing our “RVing Alaska, What to Expect, How to Prepare” DVD. We hope it will be ready to go by March 1st. In Benson, we had dinner with our good friends Mike and Terri Church. They are the authors of the popular guide books, “Traveler’s Guide to Alaskan Camping”, “Traveler’s Guide to Mexican Camping”, “Traveler’s Guide to European Camping”, and “RV Adventures in the Northwest”. These folks work hard, work smart and are just fun to be around. We told Terri to pick a restaurant in Benson that was not too fancy. “No problem” she said “ there are no fancy restaurants in Benson”. We ate at Reb’s Café and Coffee Shop on 4th Street in Benson. Not fancy, but good food. That evening the temperatures were forecast to drop into the low 30’s. We hooked up to electricity and cable but left our water and sewer hoses in their storage bay. We use our propane furnace to warm the rig then we switch to a portable electric heater to keep the interior comfortable. Our enclosed water and sewer bay has two 40-watt light bulbs that we turn on to keep the interior of the bay warm. The next morning we hook up our water and sewer hoses just long enough to refill our water tank and dump our holding tank. We stayed at the Benson KOA. It offers easy pull-thru sites with 50-amp, water, sewer, cable and free, at-the-site wifi.
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Wednesday, January 2 – Travel Day 3
Benson, AZ to Van Horn, TX - I-10 - 390 miles I-10 is an easy drive as it climbs from Benson at an elevation of 3,576 feet to the crest of Texas Canyon at 4975 feet. After that, with the exception of a few brief hills, the highway is relatively level all the way to Van Horn, Texas. We experienced strong winds from the south that were also slightly against us. That night the temps dropped to 18 degrees. We fueled up at the Flying J Travel Plaza at Exit 0 in Anthony, Texas. Normally we average between 8 and 8.5 miles per gallon. The winds of the previous days had reduced our fuel consumption to 6.9 miles per gallon. The easiest way to drive through El Paso is to stay in the number 2 lane. We stayed at the Van Horn KOA. It offers easy pull-thru sites with 50-amp, water, sewer, cable and free, at-the-site wifi.
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Thursday, January 3 – Travel Day 4
Van Horn, Texas to Abilene, Texas - I-10 and I-20 - 327 miles Decision time. There are two interstate routes that we can take from Van Horn, Texas to Gre
ensboro, North Carolina. We can continue east on I-10 through San Antonio, Houston, Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Mobile. Then head north on I-65 to Atlanta where we would switch to I-85 and continue to Greensboro, NC. Or, just east of Van Horn, Texas, we can switch to I-20, a more northerly route that would take us through Fort Worth, Dallas, Shreveport, Birmingham and Atlanta where we would switch to I-85 to Greensboro. I-20 is a good highway, 120 miles shorter, and avoids the road construction mess on I-10 between Houston and Baton Rouge. I-10, however, is closer to the Gulf of Mexico and the weather can be milder during the winter months. The weather reports look good for us to take 1-20. This interstate crosses level, arid land all the way to Abilene. The winds were hard from the south but also a little behind us. So when we refueled at the Tye (Abilene), Texas Flying J Travel Plaza our mileage was boosted to 8.2 mpg. We stayed at the Abilene KOA. It offers easy pull-thru sites with 50-amp, water, sewer, cable and free, at-the-site wifi. That night we ate a very good steak at Sharon Allen’s (aka Sharon Riley’s) Steak House on South 11th Street and Judge Ely Blvd. (Click on photo to enlarge)Return to RV Know How
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Friday, January 4 – Travel Day 5
Abeline, Texas to Shreveport, LA - I-20 - 361 miles East of Abilene we entered gently rolling terrain with scrub oak and dry vegetation. Winds are lighter and slightly behind us. We stayed at the Shreveport KOA. It offers easy pull-thru sites with 50-amp, water, sewer, cable and free, at-the-site wifi. Going through Fort Worth and Dallas stay in lane 3 then, after crossing I-45, switch to lane 2. This will keep you in the correct lanes on I-20 for passage through these cities.
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Saturday, January 5 – Travel Day 6
Shreveport, LA to Meridian, MS - I-20 - 329 miles Louisiana, along I-20, is green and flat. Mississippi, along I-20, is not. Immediately after crossing the Mississippi River at the city of Vicksburg the terrain becomes hilly with forests and occasional farms. With the exception of their welcome centers, all the rest areas along I-20 in Louisiana are closed. Louisiana was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. Their highway department probably had to make some hard decisions as to where their financial resources could be spent. We experienced occasional light showers this morning and light winds in the afternoon. Daytime temperatures were unusually warm – 70 degrees! We stayed at the Meridian KOA. It offers easy pull-thru sites with 50-amp, water, sewer and a data port located in the laundry room that closes at 6:00 pm. We usually avoid the traffic of Shreveport by taking the I-220 Bypass. It is an easy, scenic highway. Today we took a chance on Saturday traffic being light through Shreveport and we remained on I-20. Traffic was light but we determined that if you are going to stay on I-20 through Shreveport be sure to stay in the number 1 and 2 lanes. We would also recommend staying in the number 1 and 2 lanes through the city of Monroe, LA.
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Sunday, January 6 – Travel Day 7
Meridian, MS to Anderson, SC- I-20 - 391 miles We crossed the state of Alabama today. The highway is fairly level and in outstanding condition. The scenery is farm and forest. All of Alabama’s beautiful rest areas, by the way, were open. Unfortunately, there are no rest areas on I-20 between Birmingham and the welcome center just across the Georgia border. One of the things I enjoy about the drive from El Centro, Ca to Atlanta, GA is that 95 percent of it is done in cruise control. It seems that if you want to get anywhere in the southeast you have to go through Atlanta, Georgia. Interstates 20, 85 and 75 all converge and cross through this city. I-285 is a loop, that completely surrounds Atlanta, so no matter which interstate you are on or want to change to, you can avoid driving through downtown Atlanta. Still, it is a busy, heavily trafficked road. Today is Sunday, the best day to drive through a big city. Traffic was lighter on I-285 than it would normally be on a weekday. We refueled at the Flying J at exit 19 in Temple, GA and stayed at the Anderson KOA. 50A, water, sewer and at-the-site wifi.
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Monday, January 7 – Travel Day 8
Anderson, SC to Charlotte, NC - I-20, I-485, I-77 - 138 miles Interstate 85 crosses rolling terrain between Atlanta, GA and Raleigh, NC. It is a commercial corridor. North and South Carolina have been successful in attracting a number of businesses to their states. Huge buildings with names like Mercedes Benz, BMW and Michelin line both sides of the highway. On top of that, I-85 is the most direct route from Atlanta, GA to the Mid-Atlantic area around Washington, DC and points north on I-95 along the Atlantic coast. Truck traffic, as a result, is extremely heavy along I-85. Just south of the city of Charlotte we jumped on the I-485 loop, transferred to southbound I-77 (not quite as busy as I-85) and got off at Exit 88 for the Charlotte KOA. This KOA has long, pull-thru sites with 50-amp, water, sewer, and at-the-site wifi. And our satellite TV antenna was able to make contact with the satellite. We will spend Tuesday and Wednesday here catching up on some household and business chores before moving to a city of Greensboro campground on Thursday. That will be home for the three days we present seminars at the Greensboro North Carolina RV Show. Vicki got her southern cooking fix at a Cracker Barrel restaurant (located off I-77 at Exit 90). Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, green-beans with bacon, and biscuits and gravy. Yummo! This is quite a departure from Vicki’s usual diet of chicken, fish, fruits and vegetables but every now and then she treats herself to the kind of food she was raised on. Check out Vicki’s book: “My RV Kitchen and Favorite Recipes”
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Thursday, January 10 - Travel Day 9
Charlotte, NC to Greensboro, NC - I-77, I-485, I-85, - 110 miles We reach our journey's destination, Greensboro, NC, today. For the next three days we will be presenting seminars at the North Carolina RV Show. The I-485 loop from I-77 to I-85 is a few miles longer but it takes you completely around the traffic of downtown Charlotte. North of Charlotte, I-85 crosses rolling countryside with farms, forests and towns. This area, especially around Greensboro is reported to be the fastest growing part of the United States. New housing developments are everywhere. Our home while we are in Greensboro will be the Hagan-Stone City Park Campground. It is located in an attractive wooded setting and offers long, level sites with 50-amp and water hookups and a dump station. After the Greensboro RV Show is over we will head for Tampa, FL where we will present seminars at the Florida RV Super Show.
Trip Summary: Our 2,644-mile journey from Huntington Beach, CA to Greensboro, NC took nine travel days averaging 294 miles a day. Our motorhome averaged about 7.8 miles per gallon and consumed about 330 gallons of fuel at an average of $3.63 per gallon for a total fuel cost of about $1,200.00. Ouch! The weather really cooperated. We experienced a few light showers, a few days of heavy winds and a couple of nights when the temperature dropped below freezing. In the past, during this journey, we have experienced heavy winds, rain storms, snow, ice and freezing temperatures.
Next: Our next destination is Tampa, FL where we will present seminars at the Florida RV Super Show. We will leave Greensboro immediately after our last seminar on Sunday. Two hours of driving will bring us back to the Charlotte KOA where we will spend the night. Monday, we will leave the KOA at 7:00 am and drive for about nine hours to cover the 540 miles to the KOA in Wildwood, FL (just south of Ocala). It has long, pull-thru sites, 50-amp, water, sewer and at-the-site wi-fi. We will take advantage of the full hookups to do laundry, and the laundry room to launder our flannel sheets. We will also eat hamburgers for dinner at the Steak and Shake next door to the KOA and buy a mixed bag of Indian River grapefruit and oranges from the fruit stand across the street. They are the best tasting, sweetest, juiciest citrus fruit we have ever eaten. This is the highlight of Vicki’s trip to Florida
Check out Vicki’s book: “My RV Kitchen and Favorite recipes”
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