My Travel Log
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86. Part-Time RVing in 2008
I might call this "A Year in the Life of a Part-Time RVer" or something similar. In general, I plan to review my RV travels throughout 2008, for my entertainment and for anyone else who might be interested. I've seen a number of websites where RV full-timers relate their experiences, how they get along, tips to others who might be considering full-timing, etc. My story here is similar, except that Joyce and I are definitely not full-timers. We've tried it a couple of times, but Joyce can't handle it much longer than a couple of weeks. We've thus reached a compromise, where I stay in the house part of the year and she RVs part of the year.
First, some interesting (?) statistics. Since I keep account of all my RV travels for business purposes, I've got an easily accessible and accurate record back to 2002. During 2008, I spent 91 days (and nights) in the RV, of which I was alone 57 and with Joyce 34. So, roughly 25% of my year was in the RV and 75% in the house, while Joyce was 9% in the RV and 91% in the house.
Just for curiousity (since I'm big on statistics), I looked back at 2004-2007 and here's that data. In 2007, total 110 days, 61 with Joyce. In 2006, 114 days, 64 with J. In 2005, 46 days, 30 with J. In 2004, 76 days, 64 with J. That amounts to the following percent days in RV for me 2004-2008: 21, 13, 31, 30, 25; For Joyce: 18, 8, 18, 17, 9. So, I guess I've beaten that to death. I just related all of these interesting numbers to Joyce and her comment was hmph. Guess that's probably everyone's reaction :)
Back to 2008 - I've gone through all my photos, kept only the REALLY GREAT ones, and still ended up with 25, plus another 15 from my cousin Bruce. I'm therefore going to try to keep this page from getting too long by being sparse on words except for short captions on the photos and short intros as needed. I think that's the best way to take you through my year without getting too bored.
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The first group below represents two trips we took to Orlando and took time out from business to visit Disney World. We bought the 3-day, 3-park pass, visited Animal Kingdom and Epcot in April, then Hollywood Studios in October. Joyce took about 200 photos on the later trip, which I managed to reduce to about 5.
Epcot, where many countries of the world are represented.
April, kids are in school, mid-week, so why the big crowd? I guess there's always a crowd.
Many fantastic animals in Animal Kingdom, but we like Tigers best.
And we got to see all those cute characters.
Birds doing some kind of mating dance.
Each country has plenty of great food to offer.
Alabama in July and August, staying at the Space and Rocket Center campground again.
I got this view of the shuttle every day on my way from office to campground - great view!
A shrimp boat that I thought looked interesting.
Camping at Long Point Park, a county park with really big campsites.
Me, with some of our catch.
Me, with a couple more that we caught.
Stunt show, one of my favorites at the studios.
Buckner, cleaning the fish and trying to ward off begging birds.
Closeup view of one of the park's many wildlife.
Also love seeing that Indiana Jones spectacular.
October, kids are in school, mid-week, still a big crowd.
Great illusion - enlarge to see it - that's just a big picture in the background.l
These are some great views of the last planned night launch of the shuttle in November 2008 (unless Obama extends the project). I didn't take them and they have nothing to do with RVing, but I thought they were great photos.
April
July and August
October
August
November
This last group of photos is a brief summary of a great road trip that my cousin, Bruce Smith, took this summer on a Harley. Not RVing, but really close to it. I initially understood him to say he was travelling from Pennsylvania to Long Beach, so I set up website www.PA2LB.com. He actually ended up in San Bernardino and hasn't reached Long Beach yet, so we're still adding to the site even though the original trip is completed.
I thought this was a really great road trip and reminded me of some of the RV trips I've taken, so I decided to include a summary here. He started in PA, came down the coast and wandered around Florida, then crossed the southern USA to California. If you want to see all the photos and details, visit PA2LB.com. Below is about 1/5 of the total number of photos on the website. CLICK ANY PHOTO FOR LARGER VIEW
Trying to stay ahead of the storms in Louisiana
Getting ready to leave Cousin Bob's abode
Visiting Petrified Forest in Arizona
Cooling off in the pool at our house
Great dinos in museum in New Mexico
Leaving our house for points West
Enjoying Hurricane Fay in South Carolina
In front of daughter's house in PA, ready to roll
Custom car parade in
San Bernardino
Checking out a classic in Tallahassee, Florida
End of the road at son Cole's house
Following the mother road
The full trip - click photo to enlarge - CLICK HERE for Mapquest details
So, that's my year, Bruce's trip, and Dr. Robert's trip. Hope you enjoyed it. I guess I not only enjoy travel, but also reading about travel, whether mine or a friend/relative. Even though I documented Bruce's trip and had read all the details of Robert's already, I still enjoyed going back through them for this chapter.
Below is my standard greeting to cover all holidays between now and Labor Day. You're also invited to check out:
- my RV-Blog entry: Closing Out 2008 - How Time Do Fly!,
- my DEC 2008 NEWSLETTER, and
- my 1959 graduating class website entry DECEMBER 1958 REVISITED
Maybe you'll find them more exciting :)
I thought I was finished, then I thought of another travelling relative that I'd like to mention. This guy took a "road trip" in September and October that kind of outshines ours above (distance-wise). I'm talking about my globe-trotting nephew. This time, he took a little trip through China, Thailand, Macau, and Hong Kong. It's all in his blog online, but I thought I'd throw a few photos in here for those who don't want to take time to read all the detail.
Pudong skyline in Shanghai, China
Shenzhen hotel view, where Hong Kong could be seen until 140 mph typhoon blew through
Feilai Feng, or Flying Peak grotto in Hangzhou
Great kites in Shanghai
Canal-side home in Bangkok, Thailand
Macau architecture (and tourist)
Gambling in Macau - now larger than Las Vegas
Typical Thai bathroom - read blog if you want all the distasteful details
Here's the whole trip, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Macau, Thailand,
back to Macau, then Hong Kong and back home
