We are home!
Friday - 6 December 2007: We are home! We spent
the past few days in California with family and then pointed Goldie north on
I-5.
Here are the facts: First, a safe trip. With the exception of a
close-encounter of the canine-kind with a coyote in Yellowstone National Park
the first week, and that nasty DC-sniper business, we arrived home healthy and
damage-free. Well... a little wind shield chip... At this moment, everything is
working in Goldie. We drove an amazing 9,980 miles. (Mary said DT should have
driven around to make it an even 10,000.) Goldie managed to average just over 10
miles per gallon - diesel. We camped in 38 campgrounds and parked in the
driveway of three friends/relatives. Our most expensive campsite was $47
(Navarre, Florida) and our least expensive was last night at Seven Feathers
Casino - $12 (not including DT's losses). I rate the campgrounds too, in my RV
log book, and on this trip I handed out a "five trailer" rating to four
campgrounds - Outdoor Resort in Hilton Head, Cape Hatteras on the Outer Banks of
North Carolina, the Hacienda RV Resort in Las Cruces, New Mexico and that
parking lot of Beaudry's in Tucson, Arizona. Hilton Head is the easy winner
between the four for facilities, Cape Hatteras for scenery, Las Cruces for its
fab dog walk and campsite design, and Beaudry's wins for on-site motorhome
shopping. All four of these campgrounds have phone lines at your campsite. The
most awful campsite is a tie between the still-unknown-name campsite in
Winfield, West Virginia and the soggy Jean Lafitte in Lake Charles, Louisiana. I
never carried my laptop into a campground office to use their modem connection -
and I only missed updating one night. Nearly every update was made with my
cellular modem. You Go, Girl!
The best meal of the trip is between Ginger's Lasagna a few nights ago in
Merced and Jean's Apricot Chicken. Or was it our lunch at 82 Queen in
Charleston, a beignet at Cafe du Monde, a Margarita at Margaritaville Cafe, the
tapas at Jaleo, the sea bass at Ten Pehn, fried cod at Mimi's in Charleston, the
hoe cake at Lady & Sons, sushi at Wolfgang's place in Orlando, anything at El
Charro in Tucson or our Thanksgiving Feast in Yuma? Who knows! (Well, those
beignets were divine.) I did not gain a pound on the trip - probably because of
all the dog-walking.
We saw many beautiful sights. LISA! I especially loved Mt. Vernon, and could
have moved into Oak Alley. It was wonderful to see so many friends and family
along the way!
Snickers did okay. (He really just wants to be home, or with me - and
preferably, home with me.) But, now, that old hound dawg has sniffed his way all
around the United States - which is more than most people can say!
America is beautiful – we need to explore more! Of course - there is no
place like home (except your RV) - so until our next adventure, I remain, your
Well-Rounded Correspondent.
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