December 2003
Bright and early on the 1st of December 2003, we departed on our four month Snowbird 2004 Adventure. Fleeing from Maryland's Winter, this month finds us camping in Tennessee, Louisiana, and Texas. While traveling between camps, we usually stayed overnight at a truck stop. We made it to the Petro Truck Stop at Exit 29 on I-81 near Abingdon, Virginia the first night; 402 miles in 8 1/2 hours. Many truckers travel as a team (male/female) and take their pets with them. It can be lonely on the road. Our MPG suffered significantly due to all of the extra weight that we are carrying: clothing and food (too many canned and bottled goods). Prior to this trip we were getting about 11MPG, now only 9MPG! Perhaps the MPG will improve as we use up some of the canned and bottled goods. Nice drive. At the truck stop we used generators to keep the RV batteries charged; the heater blower really runs the batteries down fast. The overnight temperature got down to 28ºF but, it was comfortable in the RV. We have a down blanket that also keeps us nice and warm.
Next year we'll be in New Mexico and Arizona.
