1,047 miles. In three days. I feel like we have been transported in the blink of an eye. I’m pretty sure that traveling that distance in Ms Ortolan would take us 4 to 5 weeks!
Benj bid us farewell in Clinton; he heading due north and we, well, mostly south with enough west to avoid NYC. As we approached The Tappan Zee Bridge a sign proclaimed, “High winds, trucks consider alternate route.” Oh did you see me cringe? Sure, we braved that cross wind, and how great that we basically looked at each other and said “what wind?”

Our KOA guide leads us to our spot

We traveled through snow (teeny bit) and our second KOA stay brought us by cotton fields in North Carolina. White puffy cotton balls balanced atop brick-red stalky bushes created a field of high-topped snow. I had the urge to pull out my nail polish remover but my newly polished toes screamed nooooooooooo.

Three days to Brunswick, GA with each successive day longer than the one before and despite the length, each one an easier drive. The worst stretch is I95 between Wash DC and CT and we avoided most of that. By Day Two my hand was disengaged from the handrail next to my seat and by Day Three I was feet up on the dash, pink piggies smiling in the sun. 🙂

In travel mode:Precious items normally on a counter need to be properly stowed. I decided to still keep a log/journal

The hydraulic fluid leak Russ discovered before Thanksgiving still appeared unchanged as evidenced by the paper towel test. When we had to make an unscheduled stop to retract the bedroom slide a ½” the next move was to find a service place in Brunswick. He’d noticed that section moved out just enough to be noticeable and sure enough when I hit “retract” the slide pulled in. Not sure if the reduced hydraulic fluid had allowed the holding pressure to drop or maybe it was a fluke; either way we needed to address the leak.
At 4pm we arrived at Coastal GA RV Resort, got situated and promptly washed a very grungy Bonny. The park isn’t really a resort but having a pool must qualify it to claim resort status. It’s a huge cement parking lot with grass and shrubs separating each site. But it’s level and allowing vehicle washing at no extra cost is a rarity. Our spot was a pull-through and close to the pool and laundry.
My plans for lovely weather Thursday appeared to be in serious jeopardy thanks to the hydraulic repair and oh while we’re at it let’s do that engine and genset oil change at Speedco and fill up with diesel. Chores first, play eventually.

As we make final departure preparations I must squeeze in a few words about things to be thankful for:
In no special order:
– Two months of projects are done, with only two new issues to resolve
– Spending time with family and friends
– great food and company on Thanksgiving. Awesome pies and we took home some leftovers
– No major injuries or illnesses
– Russ saw an allergist- yippee!!
– The price of fuel is dropping
– My washer/dryer combo unit- love it
– My microwave/convection oven works really well
– Our water pipes didn’t freeze
– Departure day weather looks precip-free
– Adventures lie ahead in the months and years to come

Bonny received her spa treatment despite the cold, windy day available to make that happen. “Wipe New” is as good as its name; just keep it away from the painted sections. That blue painter’s tape came in handy for help with that.

One wipe and wow!

Brrrrr

You may not be surprised to see that we relented and opted for a special license plate to complement Bonny’s.

New CT Long Island Sound license plate

Notice that CT makes a poor choice with the term “camper” plates but cleverly fits in the word. Opted for locking screws, of course.

Installing new roof vent covers which allow for greater air flow than the old ones

David and Matt carve that big bird!

Cleverly named cheese. Do you get it?

Much happiness aboard when Benj arrived safely; first at David’s for Thanksgiving feasting. Although I noticed we don’t consume quite as much (pie especially) as we used to, but Seth, Matt and Benj sure ate their share.

Our last four Thanksgivings were spent with 100-plus other cruisers in Vero Beach where most us sat safely on moorings, rafted together so that no one was without a place to be.

Being with our family (missing those in CA and MA as well as those who have passed on) was simply wonderful and we treasure every moment, for who knows where we’ll be next year.

Benj brought us a goodie bag filled with treats he knew we’d love. Dark Chocolate Quinoa cubes, dark chocolate kissed mango slices, the cheese pictured and more.

One last note: this is posting number 401. This means, dear reader, that you may have read 400 posts before this one. Wow! If you even read 25% of them, that’s pretty amazing. Thanks for being a follower or stopping by once in a while. Now that we’ll be traveling the high ways instead of the high seas I can’t predict much except that we can cover as many miles in one hour as we did in one day. See you down south!