Dear Friends,

As each of you mentioned you were curious about this trip! So, here I go with updates on our travels from MA to CA that start out on 12/1. I’ll carry on until 12/10 or 11 or 12!! As I am having trouble figuring out an email “group” in my “contacts”, this is a blind copy to each of you. Feel free to share with the friends we share – only!! And just let me know if you’re too busy to bother with these notes now by sending back a note “I’m busy”.

So, it is Friday, December 3 – Day 3, but I will send you my notes from Day One with any pix I think might be fun. Here we go!

December 1st – 8:30 PM

The first day in this new BaseCamp, now 400 miles from home in an RV Campground off of I-81 in Harrisburg PA. The noise of the freeway seems minimal, though I walked the dogs right next to it. (We are traveling with our 2 black standard poodles: Coala aged 10 female and Bear aged 7 male). The rush of the motors is a little like ocean waves, the exception being a flock of motorcycles or race cars with screaming engines in hot pursuit of maybe nothing at all?

Our route: 23 in MA to I-87 to I 78 to I 81 to exit 322 to this RV Park.

The camper is so efficient that my haphazard packing proves pretty good. Only a couple of magnetized cupboards popped out, but nothing really bad. The pillows and bedding that we didn’t anchor are strewn about. The sleeping bags are still in their netted hammocks conveniently placed for storage along the upper corners of this 6’5” tall space. It’s 20 ft long.

Such an intense day! I am navigating as co-pilot on my cell phone as the new BMW only recognizes Michael and doesn’t understand audio directions from him. Both of us are watching every bump in the road, each descends and turns and lists to test the reaction of the brakes that are computer detecting each other between the vehicles. We want to gauge any reaction of the trailer. Michael is driving well and he’s doing good at 50 – 65 mph, even reaching 70 in short stretches of perfect straight away surfaces. The car is inhaling gasoline! Trucks – 18 wheelers –  pass us all day long while we trail those gas tank trucks, the ones that fill things up – canisters, furnaces and maybe trailer parks, fuel delivery vehicles that hug 55 mph in the rightest lane, like us.

The 5-hour drive takes us 6 with 2 stops. Nonetheless, No turning around – yet.

Dogs in the back seat. They’ve been ready to roll watching the preparations for at least two days since I put their bedding in the Basecamp and threw their favorite blanket on the retractable steps into the camper as if to welcome them. We only GET the camper on Monday the 29th, so that we are leaving by Wednesday is feeling like – ah, what the heck – why not The dogs couldn’t navigate the steps to hop into the camper without the blanket that covers what looks to them like a thin ladder! The dogs have no space relationship/perspective to speak of.

It rains pretty hard the first night. It sounds like it through the aluminum can we are in. Even though temps are about 39 degrees, we are comfortable. Because of this gloomy winter story in this boring row of campers of all kinds, I didn’t take any pix….oddly, we meet about 4 – 5 couples who have lots to share with us. Campers are friendly. Campground people answer their telephones. And they are there to show you all about how things work! Sort of an odd mixture of being on our own and knowing we are okay to be here. Welcome? Sort of. ….

PS

Dinner our first night was spinach cooked on the stovetop in the new frying pan and smashed potatoes I’d made up before we left and refried. Yum.

Michael was up with the dogs 2x in the rain. My hero!

We sleep better on night 2.  More tomorrow from central time zone. We just crossed over 20 minutes before stopping at this KOA campsite called “Crossing Over, TN” no kidding. That’s what it is called.

Good night,

Rambling down the road…….

Pix of fist day or so….