What We Have Learned On Our Adventure So Far...

[rvgrammy1953]

Since we are about half way thru our travels this year, I thought I'd compose a summary of things we have learned so far.....

First, and most important are what a beautiful and amazing country we have!!! The scenery has been breath-taking and gorgeous.. and the people we have met along the way have been courteous, helpful, informative, and friendly....We have taken amazing photos and will someday bore all of you within an inch of your life with them..... (if you aren't all ready .... )

Next would be how long to stay in one place.....We've discovered that the longest we can handle traveling from one point to another, doing the drive 5-6 hrs., stop for an over night, then drive again ....is about 3 days....then we need to stop for at least 3 or 4 days to rest up....but if we stop for a couple weeks, a month or 2, we save alot....

1. Wear and tear on our bodies.

2. Gas money

3. Campgrounds, in general, are cheaper if you stay for a week or more...

4. And most important of all, our budget goes farther...

So, since we've come to the above observations, we've done some re-vamping of our travel plans.

1. We've decided to stay in Deming, NM until the middle of Nov. So, we won't be coming to the Canyon Lake GTG....We're disappointed, but had to make some decisions and this works best for us at this time....But since this is becoming an annual thing, we'll try again next fall...

2. We'll do a 3-4 day trip to LA when we leave here to spend a month at or near Poche' Plantation B&B Inn & RV Resort, between Baton Rouge & New Orleans.....This is a place which we have planned to visit for over a year and it's 1 of our trip's "bucket" list....( mine, mostly, but we already did most of Ernie's "trip" bucket list... ) And our wedding anniversary is in Nov.....So it's also a special treat for us .....

3. Then it will be points east into GA...visiting friends and seeing stuff that we never got to see when we were camp hosting....don't know, yet, if we'll make it to the FL GTG, but will let you all know.. But we do not want to miss the spring flowers in the south east....the Blessing of the Fleet, Darien, GA, and crabbing off the Tybee Island Pier....etc.

4. Finally, in April or early May....heading back to PA to spoil the Grand-daughter and visit with the relatives....and maybe do some traveling in the NE....

As we all say, "Plans are always made in JELLO" so of course, this is all subject to change, but it's what we have planned for now.....We learned not to be so ambitious on where we want to go to see stuff cause you can't do it all in one trip.....That's the biggest lesson we've learned.. ..And there is always next year...

We always like to keep "family" informed of the whats, whens, wheres, etc....and you all are, too....

So if any of you are coming along I-10 between now & mid-Nov., let me know and we'll get ya' a site here to stop and rest and Ernie will feed you

Safe travels, all...

Lori

[Bethers]

All good points - and good to hear you with them - and why I like my 3-7 day stays places. Since I boondock a lot of them - the cost factor of the rv parks doesn't matter as much - but does have to be factored in when using them. Like the gtg I'm at now is much more affordable because I stayed free the 3 nights previous. And the 3 nights I paid at the state park north of here - more affordable because of the $10 per night rate at the city park for 3 nights, then the 5 nights free before that. I, too, don't like the go, go go day after day- with exceptions like when I did that through Canada this time - then I sat 5 nights, with sightseeing/visiting 2 days, chilling for 3 ... I totally understand. And I like the extended stays also - when you get to know the folks and make even better friends. So totally understand the month long stays, too.

And thanks for telling us your thoughts and plans - however jello they may or may not be. Wish I could have seen you before you got so far east ... but there's always next time! Take care my friends. And enjoy NM - a beautiful place to be, for sure.

[Liz]

Really good post, Lori. I too am rethinking how I will travel, especially on long trips. Those resting days are becoming more important.

[Dawn309]

Lori, thank you for sharing your thoughts and plans. We sill be only traveling one day and then staying put for at least a week. This is mostly for Mom, but also for our wallets. It is less expensive to stay at least a week everywhere. Plus that gives us more time to learn about the area, which is something I am really looking forward to. We will miss you at Canyon Lake, but do understand. As you said, there is always next year.

[cpatinjones]

Good plans.

I am with you on your obervations. Thanks for sharing.

I haven't started my extended traveling (part/full) yet, because I am still working full-time. I already knew I did not want to travel daily or even every couple of days. I want to stay at least a couple of weeks to a month in one place, that is why I choose the RV I have.

[Sandersmr]

Unfortunately since I'm still working fulltime, my trips tend to be more the go, go, go type. I can understand you wanting to stay put a while. I'm sorry I won't get to meet you and Ernie at Canyon Lake.

[Irmi]

Lori, I, too, understand the longer stays at the campground. Since we just recently retired, with no income for a couple more years, we have to watch every penny we spend. So staying at campgrounds for longer periods of time definitely makes sense. If you can't make the GTG in FL, we'll meet up in PA sometime this coming year.

[mitch5252]

Great post, Lori! A nice read.

[Barbzeee]

Great Read Lori...something I've said for years ..but guess no one thought it was worth it goes
with the flow... Hence all my travels I stayed longer and got to also work out what was in the area I had to be ..what I
could mix business and some pleasure..made those trips amazing..

And boy those breaks in between are so worth it...wish I'd invented automatic setups ...now that would be nice..
push a button and ta daaaaaaaaa! it's all done ...hahaha..

Hope to catch up with you some where ...(just not over the rainbow..I hate heights) hahaha !

God Bless..Have Fun and Be Safe !

Zeee and Critters 3..

[snowball]

That is one of the reasons that when I go to SLC usually plan on staying a month partly for the less expense on the campground but also to see
the kids take in the family history library see friends and go to a doll class for a few weeks but this time it's going to be much shorter...
But Lori got to ask sense I've been to Demming what is there to see or do?
sheila

[rvgrammy1953]

What to see or do in Deming, NM?? Well, in Deming proper there's a museum, and there's Rockhound State Park where you can go looking for pretty stones, they let you take home up to 15 pounds of pretty stones.....that's to the East...Pancho Villa State Park is a couple miles to the West... 50 miles from Las Cruses.....60 miles to Silver City......restaurants.....the Southeast NM State Fair....they have a great Visitor's Info Center here....

[Pooker]

Lori - Sounds like a terrific plan to me. When we first start off on our longer trips, we tend to almost get overwelmed by how much there is to see and do and we're afraid we'll miss something! I used to plan any of our cross-country travels with that frantic stop to sleep, push on to the next thing to see schedule until after the first few. But then, we usually had a Navy reunion or something that we were heading to so those dates were not fluid.

Enjoy NM and all the other stops you have planned. And if you one day wake up, look at each other and say, "We're tired of this place - let's move on", you can.

Pooker

[Nasoosie]

What good advice, and what a well-written post, Lori! Thanks!

I hope to find some new FL campgrounds this winter where I can spend some time before the January GTG on the west coast. My trips up and down the east coast, however, will be the usual short nightly stops, as I like to get to my FL spots. Also, my friend, Kathy, who will be traveling with me, needs to get a plane flight on November 15th up to her daughter's house in one of the Carolinas.

Great post!

[snowball]

What to see or do in Deming, NM?? Well, in Deming proper there's a museum, and there's Rockhound State Park where you can go looking for pretty stones, they let you take home up to 15 pounds of pretty stones.....that's to the East...Pancho Villa State Park is a couple miles to the West... 50 miles from Las Cruses.....60 miles to Silver City......restaurants.....the Southeast NM State Fair....they have a great Visitor's Info Center here....

sounds like there is more to do in that area than I thought did see places lots of place in NM that I wished that we had had the time to check out enjoy your stay there
sheila