RV travel has not been kind to us lately. Last year the TN5 was aborted due to Jett’s cancer diagnosis. The trip south in the fall of 2018 (TS4) was delayed by the near-disaster in upstate New York and the pause for repairs in Virginia. The trip north in the spring of 2018 (TN4) was interrupted by the truck breakdown in Newburgh NY. The trip back from the west coast in 2017 (STE) featured(?) the truck breakdown in Utah. You have to go back to the STW in the summer/fall of 2017 to find a trip that didn’t have a major breakdown.
But hope springs eternal. Jett has been medically cleared to travel to MA and we plan on spending the summer at Lamb City Campground, as we did in 2018. In the very same site. We are looking forward to returning. It might be weird with the COVID-19 pandemic still raging – our get-togethers with family may involve masks and talking from a distance. But we will make do, somehow.
So I have to figure out a way to get there. This is my plan for the trip (1873 miles, 9 hops, 19 nights), starting from our home in Fort Myers:
- Hop 1 to Citra FL. 236 miles, 1 night. This is just an overnight stop. If I have time I might check out the campus of the University of Florida in Gainesville.
- Hop 2 to Hardeeville SC. 238 miles, 2 nights. The attraction here is Hilton Head Island. I have been curious about Hilton Head for years and this is a chance to see the place.
- Hop 3 to Fayetteville NC. 238 miles, 1 night. Another overnight stop. Nothing to see here.
- Hop 4 to Chesapeake VA. 227 miles, 3 nights. This is one of the featured stops on this trip. It is both a genealogical destination – I hope to see some of the places where my Virginia immigrant ancestors lived – and a historical destination (Yorktown and Colonial Williamsburg). It is likely that some of the places I want to see will be closed, but I will still get a flavor of the area.
- Hop 5 to Dumfries VA. 177 miles, 5 nights. This is the requisite stop to see Jett’s children and grandchild in Virginia. It will be a challenge to see them all without hugging.
- Hop 6 to Bedford PA. 166 miles, 3 nights. The two attractions for this stop are the Flight 93 Memorial and the site of the Johnstown Flood. I haven’t booked this stop yet because it is likely that one or both attractions will be closed. I may choose another destination if that is the case.
- Hop 7 to Watkins Glen NY. 237 miles, 2 nights. This was the destination when we had the near-disaster in the fall of 2018. This is to show Fate that we cannot be stopped. The main attraction is the Finger Lakes.
- Hop 8 to Lake George NY. 220 miles and 2 nights. I hope to see Fort Ticonderoga, but, again, it may or may not be open. If closed I will explore the Lake George area.
- Hop 9 to Phillipston MA. 136 miles. This gets us to our summer home. The trip itself will be interesting as it is almost all on local roads through fairly mountainous terrain.
If you look carefully you will notice than the longest hop is 238 miles, which means that we should not need to make any refueling stops while hauling the RV. That is always a good thing.
The 19-day duration is no accident. Because Jett is on immunotherapy infusions every 3 weeks, we have to make the journey within a 20-day window. She will have an infusion the morning of our departure and another at UMASS immediately after we arrive. We cannot be delayed on this trip. If there is a major problem we will have to figure out a way to get Jett north quickly.
I have done everything I can to make sure the truck is ready for the job. I replaced the right front wheel bearing (it was making some noise which indicated wear) and had the dealer inspect the brakes, fluids and hoses. I will wash it to make it nice and shiny and improve its confidence. I think it can, I think it can.
But I will be nervous until we get at least two hops into the trip. Wish us luck.
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