We are driving the RV to Alaska. See 2019 RV Trip—Alaska. We start in Marathon, FL and drive our car to North Carolina. The first leg takes us to Mesa, AZ for our son’s wedding.
North Carolina to Arizona
Our travels start in the FL keys. We had planned to take Questeria to Moore Haven, FL for the summer. But the boatyard is full. Plan B. Leave Questeria in the slip and pray for no hurricanes. (Actually, we have a haul-out contract, and Bruce says he will take it to the boatyard in case of a storm. But we are still praying for no hurricanes.) We take down the sails and enclosure, pull the dinghy and secure everything really well. We drive the car from Marathon, FL to New Bern, NC, in a day. (We are almost used to this 14-hour drive).
We are busy when we get to NC. We have to drive to Raleigh, and fly to Chicago for a memorial service for my mother. When we get back, we drive to New Bern and pick up the RV.
We had left it at Tony Hobbes and Son RV Service to have the leveling jacks fixed. When we dropped it off, in early January, they assured us that they would file the warranty before it expired later in the month. They didn’t and we had to pay out of pocket. We pick it up, and the jacks work, but they didn’t address any of the other issues we had asked them to fix.
Days 1 to 13
We spend a couple of hectic days un-winterizing and getting the RV packed and ready for the next six-plus months on the road. We want to see all the grandchildren before leaving the area. Our first stop is Wilmington, NC. We see Gracie, Lawton, Shannon, Daniel, Johnny, Erika, Steve, Jameson, Katie and Adam. Then, we head to Tega Cay, SC and see Oliver, Jackson Alicia and Jeff. We even get to see some soccer, T-ball and baseball games. Too bad, we don’t get to see Ava this time.
On days 10 to 14, we take off from Tega Cay, SC and drive to Tuscaloosa, AL. Then to Minden, LA, and Fort Worth, TX. We hang out in Fort Worth, TX for half a day so Fran can get her iPhone fixed at an Apple store. The battery is bad and they end up giving her a brand new phone. We stop at a rest area 232 miles later.
Carlsbad, NM is about 200 miles from here. We have been driving everyday. It’s time to take a break.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
We stop at an Elks lodge in Carlsbad, NM for two nights. We disconnect the car and drive it to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. What an Awesome day!
On day 16, we drive to Deming, NM. We stop at a Moose Lodge. They have an RV park with full hookups, down the street from the lodge. We only intend to stay one night, but they talk us into staying another for the fish dinner.
Roper State Park
On day 18 we drive to Roper State Park in Safford, AZ. We are getting close to Mesa, and will spend the weekend here. This place is beautiful and we post a picture to Facebook. I get a message from my friend John, from elementary school, who lives in Tucson, AZ. We make plans to stop and visit him on our way to Mesa.
Days 20 to 25
We stop in Tucson and meet up with John. We have been Facebook friends for a while, but haven’t spoke in person since just out of high school. There is a lot of catching up to do. Next, we drive to Twin Palms RV Park, in Mesa. This is a very nice spot. We have a hectic five days, a fun wedding, and a great time meeting and visiting with everyone. The final day I go on a hike with Adam, Katie, Alicia and Shannon and Fran watches Jameson.
The wedding is over, everybody has gone home, we’ve driven 2,778 miles—It’s time to go to the Grand Canyon.