I previously stated my intention to go north this summer, but would spend only a month in MA then would head to WI for my 55th high school reunion. That remains my plan. But it has been modified in one major respect: rather than traveling with only Rusty I will now be accompanied by both Rusty and Ooma. As this will be a trip by car rather than RV, packing will be critical. Ooma and I can both travel pretty light, but the Toyota is small and half of the back seat will be reserved for Rusty. Packing will be a challenge.
Speaking of the Toyota, it is currently in the auto body shop getting some minor front-end damage repaired. The plastic grille was damaged 6 months ago – possibly by someone backing into the car while parked. The damage was cosmetic except for one rather important thing: the cruise control no longer worked. Apparently the sensor for traffic ahead (the automatic collision avoidance system) was knocked out of alignment. I was not about to embark on a 5,000-mile trip without cruise control.
I hope to get the car back today. Assuming that the cruise control is working, I will then schedule a general maintenance checkup and get two new tires. Then all that remains is packing and preparing the RV for 11 weeks alone in Florida. There is some work involved in leaving the RV on site in the summer, the most important being obtaining a contract to have the RV moved if a hurricane approaches. I took care of that a month ago. But that also means that I have to leave the RV in a tow-ready state: slides in, utilities detached (except electric), stabilizers retracted. The truck will be left, too, but I need to position it such that the RV can be hauled away without being impeded by the truck. I also need to clear out the freezer as I don’t want to return to rotting food if the RV needs to be moved.
So there is some work to be done before we can head north. But the details of this eighth trip north (TN8) are now set. We will depart July 17 and will make the following stops:
- Kingsland GA. Two nights near St Mary’s and Fernandina Beach – two towns that I have never seen but which are highly recommended by Ooma.
- West Ashley/Charleston SC. Two nights near Charleston, one of my favorite cities and a city never visited by Ooma.
- Rocky Mount NC. Just an overnight stay.
- Woodbridge VA. Four nights with Jett’s sons whom I have not seen in over a year.
- Elizabeth NJ/New York NY. Four nights near New York. I have not been in Manhattan in years and Ooma has never been there at all. It will be fun visiting the city with a NYC novice. Rusty is a problem on this stop as I had no desire to bring him into Manhattan and I surely wasn’t going to bring him on a train or a bus. So I will be boarding him for 4 days.
Our destination is Worcester MA where we will stay for a month, courtesy of Ray, Jett’s brother, and his lovely wife Kim.
The TN8 will be a trip of about 1,500 miles (plus a fair number of miles spent sightseeing) over 6 hops – an average of 250 miles per hop. Nine nights in hotels – carefully selected by Ooma – will run about $1,300, a cost more than offset by savings on campgrounds and diesel fuel. We will also stay for 4 nights with Jett’s sons, so 13 nights total.
It should be a more leisurely trip than our recent trip to Austin (TX1), but it is 13 nights together, followed by a whole month together in MA (with lots of activities planned for that month – a topic that I will cover separately) and a long trip back to FL via WI. This will be a good test of our relationship.