51 days, 7064 miles

[GeneF]

Just have a little time so I thought I would post a quick trip report.

This trip was quite a bit different than our trip last year. Last year we had planned it to meet several folks along the way so our itinerary was pretty much set.

On this trip, other than camping with ForestCreature and her husband in Michigan and some camping reservations in Branson, we did not have a set itinerary. We were pretty much free to travel where and when we wanted too.

This freedom allowed us to explore different areas and come across areas we hadn't planned on.

What we did was pick our next city that we had planned on visiting and determining what was in the area and then make our plans. In Memphis, we knew we wanted to go to Graceland then saw that the Civil Rights Museum and Beal Street were there. Went to all three and enjoyed ourselves.

Campgrounds:

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park in Michigan, Fort Desoto Park in Florida and Georgia Veteran's Memorial Park are all gems. If you are in the area of these parks, I would recommend them.

We found it interesting that there was not a lot of difference in price between many of the state, county, national and private campgrounds that we stayed at.

Most had electric and water and some offered cable. This was true for some state and private campgrounds.

Main difference we felt was that the state, national, and county parks offered more of a camping atmosphere than the private ones. Most of the private ones were parking lots but close to attractions.

Discounts: This was something that dw and I were getting pretty good at finding. With the price of gas, we were looking for ways to cut some costs.

Grocery Stores: A lot of chains offer discount cards to save a few dollars. We learned to ask if they had a guest card and most do. If they didn't, we applied for one. It only took a few minutes. DW now has several.

Campgrounds: We used KOA, AARP, Good Sam, AAA and my Golden Age Pass at several cg's. Georgia is very nice and offers seniors a 20% discount. Few cg's do not offer some sort of discount. Most of the time it just about covers the tax, but it does add up. We paid a low of $17 at a core of engineers park to a high of $30 at a private park.

Senior Discounts. Now I know this doesn't apply to many of you yet, but your day is coming. We did ask for senior discounts and were surprised at some that were offered. For instance, at Silver Dollar City, dw was interested in a basket from a craftsperson there. She asked about a senior discount, and she got a 10% discount. They don't advertise this practice so you have to ask. Also, there doesn't seem to be a set age to be a senior. We found 55, 62 and 65 were the most common ages to qualify.

Buffets: We tried a few buffets because the price looked very good. Like $5.99 for lunch. Prices sounded good but most did not include a drink and that added a couple of dollars to the cost. Best buffet we had was in Memphis. Leonard's BBQ. $8.01 plus drink but excellent food and all the ribs you can eat.

Gas: Total cost for gas for this trip was $1412.34. I had budgeted $1500 and just made it under budget. Gas was a high of $3.49 on the New York Thruway in September to a low of $2.29 in Maryland. Michigan and Georgia were two of the cheaper states but gas prices could vary by 30 cents within a few miles. Averaged about 11 mpg.

Choosing the roads: We did use the interstates a fair amount but several times we chose to use the back roads which proved to be a bit more scenic and offered the opportunity to visit places we would have missed such as FDR's Little White House in Georgia and a Pumpkin Patch in Illinois. However, we also saw our share of WalMarts, Macdonalds, etc as we drove on these roads. Also, the back roads proved to be slower and more tiring to drive because of the stop and go traffic but there were fewer 18 wheelers to worry about.

People: We had a great time camping with Forestcreature and managed to hook up with SkipP for lunch and also Mowalker for a nice evening.

In a comparison of our two trips, we found this one to be much more commercial and expensive than last years trip. Last years trip centered around National Parks and scenic areas. Overall, I think next years trip will be another scenic one. Dw and I both missed the great mesas and hiking.

My highlight of the trip was a kayak trip down the Platt River in Michigan. There were only four of us on the river on a weather perfect day and the salmon were running. None of us had ever had this experience before and it was terrific.

The Kiwi held up pretty well. I have a couple of minor things than need to be corrected and I'll be taking it in tomorrow. A/C worked great. It would cool the Kiwi down in about 10 to 15 minutes. Furnace worked just as well to get the chill off on those 40 degree nights we had.

Also, the tv was a welcome thing this trip to keep an eye on the hurricances. We stayed in St. Louis an extra night to avoid one hurricane and stayed an extra day in New Berns, NC to avoid the northeaster in New England.

[Kelly]

Excellent trip report, Gene!  I sure am sorry you didn't make it to Minnesota this trip ... another time, I hope!

Someday I'm going to get a chance to travel like that!  My kids tell me now that they're going to come with me ... I just keep looking for a smaller and smaller setup so they won't fit!     I'm thinking a little ALiner behind a Wrangler.  LOL

Glad you and Terry had such a great trip ...

[ForestCreature]

My highlight of the trip was a kayak trip down the Platt River in Michigan. There were only four of us on the river on a weather perfect day and the salmon were running. None of us had ever had this experience before and it was terrific.
 

That really was a great day! Paddling down the river with all the Salmon swimming by was pretty neat to see.

[tlhdoc]

It sounds like you had another great trip.  I have to agree with you that Sleeping Bear Dunes is a great park.  Did you stay in the Platte River campground or the other one?  Did you climb the big dune?  I tried but only got up to the first big level spot.  From the bottom it looked like the top, but once you get up there, you can see the rest.

[vjm1639]

Sounds awesome! I read it twice..  ;>  Sure does make me wish I had that much time to take off and go.   I'm glad you had such a great time.

[campingcop]

Gene,

          Sounds like you had a great trip, one of these days I hope to make a trip like that, I have the time but don't have the money :mad: right now.

Wished I could have met you and Marcy when your guys were camping here is Michigan but just couldn't make it,maybe next time.

[chip]

Sounds like 51 days of heaven...

Too bad I didn't know you were in Dover...

[Surfcal]

Gene,
 
 Thanks for giving us a summary of the trip.  As many others have said, one of these days I'll take the time and effort to do an extended trip.  Stories like those keep the desire burning in me.  It's inspirational.
 
 Surfcal
 
 P.S.  Kayaking is one of the best things to do out there.  I'm going to try and do more kayaking while camping.