In the morning when I'm having my coffee, I have been working on mapping out our trip. It has gone from scribbling notes on paper, looking up distances on google maps, searching for campground options and places to overnight on Campendium; ultimately accumulating the info on a spreadsheet with our daily travel goals and camping destinations, distances, costs, etc... We do plan to be somewhat flexible; I don't plan to book any campsites until we are on the road which is risky but I do have an idea of where we are going and where we might stay. I have planned 14 legs to our journey; only a couple of days will be around 200 miles of driving; the rest under 200 per day and many well less than that. Most of our stops will be 2-3 days to explore different locations and to relax. It will definitely be an adventure! UPDATE: I have started to book the first couple of campgrounds to get a feel for the reservation difficultly. I know the week prior to and after Columbus Day weekend will be our biggest issue.
I have already packed our trailer with winter jackets and accessories and clothes for cooler weather which is stored under our bed compartment; I recently packed part of our current season clothing into our wardrobes. There will be some cold temps in Bandera but mostly during the night; days will be around 60; we'll see how it goes...
There are some things I use at home I also want to bring - like my swiffer, immersion mixer, hand mixer - but there isn't much more I really need. We found room under our jackknife sofa to store Charlie's keyboard. He'll be bringing a lot of his "toys". For some items we've been considering purchasing, we'll probably just wait and get them in Bandera, if it turns out we really need them.
At home, I've been finishing up some maintenance projects I've had on my list. I repainted to freshen up the doors to Charlie's shed, resealed the sandbox to match the swing set I had already resealed last month and now I've started the deck. UPDATE - Completed the deck! That is my last house project. Brooke asked me to prepare a list of things that need to be done to maintain the house. Honestly, this is harder to do than you'd think; you always have to be looking at everything to maintain - but I will attempt to make a list for her.
I also need to wash and wax the truck; we have already cleaned the trailer with the exception of the awning which I hope to get to next week. UPDATE - Awning cleaned! The truck will need a good interior cleaning as well and I am trying to organize the cab to store necessities - water, tissues, hand sanitizer, masks, stuff for the cat, and anything else we may need regularly during travel.
Charlie has checked the air pressure on the trailer's tires, the truck went in for a final maintenance check with our mechanic.
We met up with friends Ellen and Yori in CT a couple of weeks ago- Sunday through Tuesday. We had a lot of fun visiting the Mystic Aquarium and hitting both Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. It was a pleasant break from the mode of getting ready through the month of September.
This is an exciting and just a little anxiety filled time. Time is counting down and before we know it - we will be on the road! That will be my next post!
