Our families 8 week RV Trip
So here is our first BIG family trip. We bought a 2011 38' Fleetwood Expedition 38B last Oct. We are pulling a Jeep Wrangler as a toad. Going will be me(the driver), my wife, and 3 boys (ages 12,11, a...
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I have taken about 173GB of pics and videos so far. I've had a GoPro camera in the front window since we left. We turn it on when we hit beautiful parts of the drive. I will make a video of the whole trip in mega speed. Lol. Would love to load some of my "god camera" pics but the internet has been pretty subpar. Here is the link to our blog. We again haven't had to chance to update it much but will before we leave here since this has been the best internet so far. I'm probably going to update the first post in this thread from now on. Should have reserved the first few posts in this thread.
So we left home and drove to Orange Beach, Al. Stayed at the State Park there. Was a nice place. Had some amazing seafood that night at a killer little local spot.
Then drove the next day to La. and stayed at the Cajun Palms or something like that. This drive SUCKED! Was pouring rain like crazy. Our damn bay door kept popping open on us. Lol. Nothing like having to jump out in 5 O'clock rush hour stop and go traffic in a torrential downpour to close it. My wife is the best. One thing I don't understand is people driving in the rain with their hazards on. It's illegal!! It's also distracting. I was following a Toyota Camry who was following a Semi in front. He was keeping up just fine, there's no need for your hazards to be on!!!! Big pet peeve of mine. We woke up the next day and took the boys(12,11, and 8) on an airboat tour of the La. swmap. Boat guide fed and was petting a 12' gator named Old Willie. Got some great footage of that too.
Then left for Houston for 2 nights. Went to the Johnson Space center. Kids loved it too. So did I. Seeing the shear mass of Saturn 5 Rocket is an awesome experience. Went out to dinner again that night at a place called Taste of Texas. Wow what a place. Fantastic. It's a really nice(expensive) steak house. They took us on a tour of the kitchen. We got to pick out our steaks. People were friendly. Was a very warm welcoming into Texas.
Next stop was San Antonio, Tx. We got there and took a tour of the Alamo. Kids weren't too enthused about going but ended up loving it. My oldest knew the history so he got his brothers into it. After that we took a river boat tour of down town's Riverwalk. San Antonio is a beautiful place. Next day was fun. We went to Schlitterbahn Water Park. You guessed it. Kids loved it. Stuck a GoPro on my kids head going down the water slides. Cool footage. After that we went and ate Puffy Taco's. Don't ask. Lol. Some place my wife wanted to go. Happy wife happy life.
Then came the drive to Carlsbad, Nm. Wasn't terrible, but it was long. Arrived at KOA there. Nice place. Decided to take the Jeep down this trail to the river. Yup, I got stuck. I didn't listen to the guy who escorted to our spot to watch out down there. Wife wasn't happy. Lol. First thing she said was don't get us stuck. I have a habit of getting stuck in my younger years 4 wheeling with friends. Spent many a night stuck. Haha. Kids loved it, wife didn't. Get back to find the Sat. TV. isn't working. Looks like the dish took a dump. I don't hear it honing in on the sats when I flip the switch. Grrrr.... kids and dad aren't happy.
Then the next day went to the Living Desert Zoo. The family that pulled us out recommended it. Great place. Later that day we went 750 feet into the Planet Earth. It was unbelievable. The pics I got are unreal. What an amazing place. My calves are still killin' me. Left to grab a bite to eat before going back to watch the bats fly. After dinner we went to Walgreens real quick. The sky looked like Armageddon.... and it hit. HAIL STORM followed by flashing flooding. It was crazy. For 10 and a half minutes I filmed us all in the Jeep getting HAMMERED by hail. Luckily both Jeep and RV survived without damage. So drive back to watch the bats fly, only they didn't bother flying that night. Frist real bummer of the trip.
So left there and went to Tuscon, Az. Stayed at the Coronado State Park. What an amazing camp site with mountains all around you. Just beautiful. We woke up next day, ran a quick errand, and our family discovered a new fun activity. GEOCACHING!! I bought a handheld Garmin for when we hit Moab. Thought it would be a good idea. Found 7 of 7 caches we looked for. There were 2 in the Park we stayed at. I kept seeing these trails up in the mountains so I grabbed a book at the ranger station of trails. Found a nice 26 mile trail which was a green easy trail. Took us up to 8200'. The views were astonishing. Parts of America that people hardly get to see. Just a great time. Kids want to go offroad again. Even the wife had fun.... until I told her if we went off the road we would tumble down and die. Lol. She didn't like that.
Next day we were off to California for the first time in my 40 years of life. Holy******what a drive. I was warned about the I-8 through the mountains. The RV was struggling. Had it to the floor for 8 or 9 miles. Went a whopping 43mph at the top of 3rd gear for miles and miles. There went my fuel economy. Lol. Hottest the engine got was 223* then would drop to 217*. Usually it slowly will creep to 215* then drop to 192* Tranny stayed at 199-203*. We finally arrive about 5:00pm local time. Took us a little more than 8 hours to make the leg. Stayed last night at Chula Vista RV spot. What a killer place!! Loved it and met some great people.
Went today to the SD Zoo. Amazing place. HUGE! Not RV friendly. Lol. We changed our trip some and had reservations at Campland on the Bay for today through the 5th but couldn't get last night here. So wife found last nights place for the night. I wish we didn't have to leave. This place is CRAZY!! It's like Disney's Fort Wilderness on Meth. Not what we envisioned but it's a cool place don't get me wrong. Just a different style of people here vs. Chula Vista. Maybe it's just the holiday. I dunno. Campland a true giant party with kids on bike and scooters and golf carts everywhere. They didn't seem to care that there was a big 'ol MH coming through there.
So tomorrow we are off to take a tour of the USS Midway and watch the fireworks on the carrier too. So Happy 4th everyone. Sunday it's onto Yosemite for 2 nights, then to SF, Seattle, and Glacier. Can't wait.
So we left home and drove to Orange Beach, Al. Stayed at the State Park there. Was a nice place. Had some amazing seafood that night at a killer little local spot.
Then drove the next day to La. and stayed at the Cajun Palms or something like that. This drive SUCKED! Was pouring rain like crazy. Our damn bay door kept popping open on us. Lol. Nothing like having to jump out in 5 O'clock rush hour stop and go traffic in a torrential downpour to close it. My wife is the best. One thing I don't understand is people driving in the rain with their hazards on. It's illegal!! It's also distracting. I was following a Toyota Camry who was following a Semi in front. He was keeping up just fine, there's no need for your hazards to be on!!!! Big pet peeve of mine. We woke up the next day and took the boys(12,11, and 8) on an airboat tour of the La. swmap. Boat guide fed and was petting a 12' gator named Old Willie. Got some great footage of that too.
Then left for Houston for 2 nights. Went to the Johnson Space center. Kids loved it too. So did I. Seeing the shear mass of Saturn 5 Rocket is an awesome experience. Went out to dinner again that night at a place called Taste of Texas. Wow what a place. Fantastic. It's a really nice(expensive) steak house. They took us on a tour of the kitchen. We got to pick out our steaks. People were friendly. Was a very warm welcoming into Texas.
Next stop was San Antonio, Tx. We got there and took a tour of the Alamo. Kids weren't too enthused about going but ended up loving it. My oldest knew the history so he got his brothers into it. After that we took a river boat tour of down town's Riverwalk. San Antonio is a beautiful place. Next day was fun. We went to Schlitterbahn Water Park. You guessed it. Kids loved it. Stuck a GoPro on my kids head going down the water slides. Cool footage. After that we went and ate Puffy Taco's. Don't ask. Lol. Some place my wife wanted to go. Happy wife happy life.
Then came the drive to Carlsbad, Nm. Wasn't terrible, but it was long. Arrived at KOA there. Nice place. Decided to take the Jeep down this trail to the river. Yup, I got stuck. I didn't listen to the guy who escorted to our spot to watch out down there. Wife wasn't happy. Lol. First thing she said was don't get us stuck. I have a habit of getting stuck in my younger years 4 wheeling with friends. Spent many a night stuck. Haha. Kids loved it, wife didn't. Get back to find the Sat. TV. isn't working. Looks like the dish took a dump. I don't hear it honing in on the sats when I flip the switch. Grrrr.... kids and dad aren't happy.
Then the next day went to the Living Desert Zoo. The family that pulled us out recommended it. Great place. Later that day we went 750 feet into the Planet Earth. It was unbelievable. The pics I got are unreal. What an amazing place. My calves are still killin' me. Left to grab a bite to eat before going back to watch the bats fly. After dinner we went to Walgreens real quick. The sky looked like Armageddon.... and it hit. HAIL STORM followed by flashing flooding. It was crazy. For 10 and a half minutes I filmed us all in the Jeep getting HAMMERED by hail. Luckily both Jeep and RV survived without damage. So drive back to watch the bats fly, only they didn't bother flying that night. Frist real bummer of the trip.
So left there and went to Tuscon, Az. Stayed at the Coronado State Park. What an amazing camp site with mountains all around you. Just beautiful. We woke up next day, ran a quick errand, and our family discovered a new fun activity. GEOCACHING!! I bought a handheld Garmin for when we hit Moab. Thought it would be a good idea. Found 7 of 7 caches we looked for. There were 2 in the Park we stayed at. I kept seeing these trails up in the mountains so I grabbed a book at the ranger station of trails. Found a nice 26 mile trail which was a green easy trail. Took us up to 8200'. The views were astonishing. Parts of America that people hardly get to see. Just a great time. Kids want to go offroad again. Even the wife had fun.... until I told her if we went off the road we would tumble down and die. Lol. She didn't like that.
Next day we were off to California for the first time in my 40 years of life. Holy******what a drive. I was warned about the I-8 through the mountains. The RV was struggling. Had it to the floor for 8 or 9 miles. Went a whopping 43mph at the top of 3rd gear for miles and miles. There went my fuel economy. Lol. Hottest the engine got was 223* then would drop to 217*. Usually it slowly will creep to 215* then drop to 192* Tranny stayed at 199-203*. We finally arrive about 5:00pm local time. Took us a little more than 8 hours to make the leg. Stayed last night at Chula Vista RV spot. What a killer place!! Loved it and met some great people.
Went today to the SD Zoo. Amazing place. HUGE! Not RV friendly. Lol. We changed our trip some and had reservations at Campland on the Bay for today through the 5th but couldn't get last night here. So wife found last nights place for the night. I wish we didn't have to leave. This place is CRAZY!! It's like Disney's Fort Wilderness on Meth. Not what we envisioned but it's a cool place don't get me wrong. Just a different style of people here vs. Chula Vista. Maybe it's just the holiday. I dunno. Campland a true giant party with kids on bike and scooters and golf carts everywhere. They didn't seem to care that there was a big 'ol MH coming through there.
So tomorrow we are off to take a tour of the USS Midway and watch the fireworks on the carrier too. So Happy 4th everyone. Sunday it's onto Yosemite for 2 nights, then to SF, Seattle, and Glacier. Can't wait.
