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ajducote
05-06-2010, 11:30 AM
After months of planning, bus projects and much wailing and knashing of teeth, Ann and I will leave Friday 7 May on a 7 month 8500 mile summer trip. If things go well we will be out until around 1 Dec.
I want to thank everyone who helped me with campground and route recommendations.
Our route starts in Florida
Stops at:
Lake Fairfax, VA (see grand baby)
Cobb Island, MD (visit family )
Oklahoma City, OK
Sante Fe, NM
Williams, AZ (Grand Canyon railroad trip)
Durango, CO (Fat Beagle 4x4)
Colorado Springs, CO
Kerrville, TX (Fat Beagle Rally)
New Orleans, La (Family visit)
Kerrville, TX ( POG 9)
Cobb Island, MD (Family visit)
Lake Fairfax, VA (see grand baby)
back home to Florida

Let's hope that all the work I have done on the bus provides us with a trouble free trip. Hope to see some of you on the road.

JIM KELLER
05-06-2010, 01:15 PM
Andre, We wish you and Ann good luck and good health. What a great trip ! Remember, " These are the Golden Years. Not later, Right Now. "

phorner
05-06-2010, 02:56 PM
Andre,

Sounds like a GREAT trip!! Here's wishing you and Ann safe and "uneventful" travels.

Maybe we'll see ya on the road.....

ajducote
05-06-2010, 03:00 PM
Jim & Paul,

Thanks for the kind words. We are really looking forward to this trip. We NEED it.
Jim said what I have been thinking " These are the Golden Years. Not later, Right Now."

Hope to see lots of POG'ers this summer

I hope we ALL have good times and safe travels.

Loc
05-06-2010, 05:05 PM
Andre & Ann,

We are looking forward to seeing you three times this year in Durango and Kerrville. Sounds like a great trip. I am jealous. Drive safe.

Loc

RonAltman
05-06-2010, 06:08 PM
I'm green with envy, looks like a great trip you have planned. Safe Travels...

ToyMan
05-06-2010, 07:07 PM
Andre and Ann,
That indeed looks like a great trip. I can vouch for the Grand Canyon train ride as Suzie and I took my father there last week so he could mark off the Grand Canyon from his "bucket list".

The ride was great and it snowed most of the way. Lots of wildlife to see from either side of the train.

We stayed at the RV park associated with the railway. I give it 5 stars for facilities. Nothing else to do there but ride the train and shop a little in downtown Williams.

It snowed for about 1 1/2 hours of our 3 hour time limit at the canyon. We ate at the Hotel at the canyon and that took about an hour. In retrospect, we would forego the lunch and just tour the rim of the canyon.

Hopefully the weather will be better that what we encountered. 26 degrees, snow and 50 MPH winds.

Fuel for the trip ran about $3.04 to $3.14 per gallon.

Good luck and have a safe trip.

Ron

truk4u
05-06-2010, 08:10 PM
Andre & Ann,

Have a great trip and glad your doing it NOW, you never know. Hope to see you and Teeko (spelling) somewhere on the road.

Pete
05-06-2010, 09:47 PM
Andre & Ann
Be safe, have a great trip, hope to see you soon.

merle&louise
05-06-2010, 10:56 PM
Andre,

You and Ann have us beat, we are leaving June 6th for Alaska. We'll be gone two and a half months; will return home mid August. It will be 10,000 miles round trip for us.

This is the closest that we will come to full timing. Karen is really trying not to show it, but I think she is going to miss her kids. She has never been away from them that long. Her cousin and his wife are flying up to Anchorage and will stay with us for 11 days and then fly back to New Orleans. This guy is a gourmet cook; I can hardly wait!

rahangman
05-07-2010, 01:38 AM
Andre....can you spot a date for any of the locations. We will be somewhere around NM & CO this July as well as the Grand Canyon. We haven't quite cemented our plans (Kids/Grandkids in school etc) but would love to meet another Pog especially on the road.

ajducote
05-07-2010, 08:13 AM
Andre....can you spot a date for any of the locations. We will be somewhere around NM & CO this July as well as the Grand Canyon. We haven't quite cemented our plans (Kids/Grandkids in school etc) but would love to meet another Pog especially on the road.


current schedule travel days and length of stays are set based on our crazy work schedule. Almost no room for changes.

Lake Fairfax, VA (see grand baby) 8-23 May
Cobb Island, MD (visit family ) 23 May to 4 June
Oklahoma City, OK 7 - 18 June
Sante Fe, NM 19 June to 9 July
Williams, AZ (Grand Canyon railroad trip) 10 - 23 July
Durango, CO (Fat Beagle 4x4) 24 July - 7 Aug
Colorado Springs, CO 8 - 20 Aug
Kerrville, TX (Fat Beagle Rally) 22 Aug - 10 Sep
New Orleans, La (Family visit) 11 Sep to 1 Oct
Kerrville, TX ( POG 9) 2 - 21 Oct
Cobb Island, MD (Family visit) 23 Oct - 12 Nov
Lake Fairfax, VA (see grand baby) 13 Nov till 4 Dec
Back to Florida.

lloyd&pamela
05-08-2010, 08:34 AM
Have a great trip Andre and Ann. It may become habit forming and if not it will be a great experience.

ajducote
06-24-2010, 08:21 AM
An update. We are in Santa Fe, NM at Santa Fe Skies Rv resort. The trip has been going well so far. The only problem was a bad start capacitor for the generator cooling fan. Replaced the capacitor and that fixed the problem. Williams, AZ, Durango, CO are the next stops. We are getting to see a lot of the country that we have never been in before. So far it has been a good summer.
Safe travels to all

Ray Davis
06-24-2010, 11:18 AM
Great to hear that it's going well. I wish I were along for the ride!

ajducote
06-24-2010, 11:31 AM
Ray,

Thanks. I know you still work, like we do. Internet connection has been a little challenging , but we are getting work done. Most of the people we work with have no idea we are not at home. So far so good.
We are using 2 data cards, wifi when available and even trying a instant on DSL here. But, the little bit of trouble staying connected, is worth be able to travel and see new things.

Ray Davis
06-24-2010, 12:14 PM
Indeed it must be worth it. When I had my large satellite dish, I was able to work anywhere reliably. However, at $150/mo (minimum) for service, it was way too pricey, especially for only using it a couple of times a year. I use cellular now, and want to get the external antenna and amp the Lloyd recommends. But, for the most part, cellular is getting better. Obviously, there are some areas that won't work, but I try to avoid that.

Keep us informed of your travels. Love to hear how it's going. Are you going to make it into Southern CA?

ajducote
06-24-2010, 12:36 PM
Ray,

No trip to CA this time. The furthest west we will make is Wiliams, AZ. We have an internal amp and external antenna and it really helps. But with a 5GB limit on each data card, we have to be careful. Two of our work computers seems to be constantly downloading "required" updates. But we make it all work out. Cell coverage is getting a lot better.

Ray Davis
06-24-2010, 02:24 PM
OK Andre! We'll catch you on another trip then .... Best of Luck. Safe Travels.

rfoster
06-24-2010, 02:48 PM
Andre: Glad to hear you are having good travels.

Railside RV is were we stayed in Williams, AZ. Tamra is a very friendly and helpful hostess. Free Continental breakfast. You know us POG folks - where ever there is food - we are in.

ajducote
08-09-2010, 02:33 PM
Just an update on our summer travels.

This is / was the orginal schedule:
current schedule travel days and length of stays are set based on our crazy work schedule. Almost no room for changes.

Lake Fairfax, VA (see grand baby) 8-23 May DONE
Cobb Island, MD (visit family ) 23 May to 4 June DONE
Oklahoma City, OK 7 - 18 June DONE
Sante Fe, NM 19 June to 9 July DONE
Williams, AZ (Grand Canyon railroad trip) 10 - 23 July DONE
Durango, CO (Fat Beagle 4x4) 24 July - 7 Aug DONE
Colorado Springs, CO 8 - 20 Aug CURRENT LOCATION
Kerrville, TX (Fat Beagle Rally) 22 Aug - 10 Sep Next stop
New Orleans, La (Family visit) 11 Sep to 1 Oct
Kerrville, TX ( POG 9) 2 - 21 Oct

Things change here: Will need to go home to Florida after POG 9

Cobb Island, MD (Family visit) 23 Oct - 12 Nov CANX
Lake Fairfax, VA (see grand baby) 13 Nov till 4 Dec CANX


So far things have gone very well. Our biggest issue is staying connected to the internet for work. The best most reliable way has been thru the Verizon data card. RV park Wi-Fi is very hit or miss, but we have been able to use it to some degree. We have been able to do enough site seeing on weekends to make the trip more then worth the effort. But that Monday thru Friday work stuff sure gets in the way of having fun!

Hope to get to Pikes Peak this weekend and then see other things in the area as time allows.

Safe Travels to all.

HarborBus
08-09-2010, 04:02 PM
Sounds like you having fun.
But that Monday thru Friday work stuff sure gets in the way of having fun!. We also found that working was beginning to interfere with our personal lives, so we quit working, problem solved.:D