SCTigerCock 171 Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 A tease? WHERE IS IT? Please. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted November 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 Photos are FINALLY uploaded - now I need to sort through them. Hoping to get started on the actual trip report sometime this weekend. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PureTcrazy...rita 380 Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 I'll just have to resort to this then :popcorn: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Roller ... aka Ed 351 Posted November 19, 2011 Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 Either the popcorn ... or a good hijack! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted November 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2011 uh oh... I'm in trouble now...I sorted all the photos tonight. One step closer!That said, I expect this thing hits 12 pages before I get my first actual post out. :rofl2: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted November 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 (here goes nothing!)It was a dark and stormy night....Wait, that's another story, but it WAS a pretty stormy night! Thursday Oct 20th, Brian and I both left work a bit early (I think I actually skipped out the door!) and met at home around 4pm.The camper was packed and ready to go. All that was left to do was pack some food for the road in the cooler, a few last bits in the truck, button up the house, load up the pups and go.So why did that take an hour and half???Anywho.... a bit of a side note here.Some of you know that we had an accident with our TT back in mid-July. It was a doozie and left us flipped over on the side of the road. (If anyone wants the gory details, check the out HERE)The Readers Digest version is that we were incredibly lucky. All the dogs were crated and we were wearing our seat belts. Brian and I got away with just some scratches and bruises, the pups were perfect.The camper and truck... not so much. Both were totaled.That left us 3 months from our trip with no camper and no truck.Again we were incredibly lucky. The dealer had the exact same TT on the lot and Brian literally stumbled upon a truck that was perfect for what we wanted. Insurance came through, and within about a month we were ready to go again! Well.... physically.This trip was our first major haul since the accident. We'd done one test camping trip to our friends' place a few hours away, but this was the biggie.The fact that the day we left was one of the windiest we'd seen in a long time, with hefty gusts to boot, did not do anything for our comfort level getting on the road, despite our enthusiasm at finally being on our way back to the Fort.I drove (as usual) but Brian white knuckled it the first, oh.... 1000 miles! Mind you he was also concerned about whether he had the hitch/sway setup correct, and was convinced he could adjust it more even though he already had 3 times to that point.The wind was particularly bad through CT. Despite knowing that I'd driven/towed to WDW 5 times in the past 5 years, plus probably another couple thousand miles in local camping trips, it freaked me out too. Even the tractor trailers were swaying like crazy and slowing way down.And ultimately that was the solution - to just slow down. Way down. I don't think I drove over 50mph the length of 84 and 91 through CT, and 95 into NY until we hit NYC. Ok, so.... this might take a while, but we'd get there safely eventually.It was stressful. We pretty much drove in silence the first 5 hours - no radio and hardly anyone talking. (eek)The good news? No traffic!! We usually leave in the early evening and plan to get through the major cities late to avoid the traffic. Even still, we usually hit slowdowns, construction, or SOMEthing along the way.Not this time! We sailed through Hartford and Waterbury. We hit NYC about 10:30 and sailed through there as well - as much as you can sail through surfaces that seem to be comprised of pot holes strung together by wee bits of road.The other big difference in our trip this time was gas. This truck is much bigger than the last (V10 Excursion vs V8 Navigator). That's a good news, bad news thing where gas is concerned. Good news, we ran super in the Nav when towing, this truck we could run on regular. Also good news, this vehicle actually gets a tiny bit more mpg than the last. Good/bad news - MUCH bigger gas tank. The bad part is that you can easily drop $100-$200 at a gas stop. Good part is that gas stops are much less frequent, so we were actually saving time!That's a particularly good thing because having to go so slow in the wind put us a couple of hours behind schedule.We ended up only stopping for gas that first night in Darien CT and Cherry Hill NJ. Since gas stops were now about 4 hours apart (vs about 2.5 hours before) each one was also a pit stop for us and the pups.Can I just say my dogs are amazing travelers?? They pee on command and never once does anyone squawk about getting back in the truck even after hours on the road. (ok, the treats help) We barely heard a peep from them the entire trip!Luckily by then the wind had died down and I could increase my speed to 65 mph without any trouble at all.We took the east beltway around D.C. and the western 695 loop around Baltimore (Brian hates the Key Bridge)We had one snafu on the way. Just north of D.C. there was road construction and cones restricting lanes. There wasn't any traffic though, thankfully. Still, the cones went away so I pulled back to the right lane and ALL OF A SUDDEN THERE WERE CONES IN FRONT OF ME AGAIN!Now one big lesson I learned from the accident is DRIVE STRAIGHT - no swerving for ANY reason. So.....kathumpYep, that was me running over a cone.shhhhhhhhhhhhYeah, that's me dragging the cone down the highway.At this point it's around 3am and Brian has a bit of a meltdown. He's convinced we're trashing the transmission with every passing second.Up to this point I've been channeling, I don't know Ghandi or someone, and being ridiculously calm about everything. (it wasn't easy) I calmly tell him it's fine, there's an exit, we'll pull over slowly and safely, he'll remove the cone and see what's what.Everything was fine. It didn't even take us more than a couple of turns to get back on 95 south and on our way.Oh and for the record... I wanted to keep the cone but Brian tossed it. We finally quit for the night at a WalMart around 4am in Fredericksburg VA. Even I was getting cranky at this point and I think I passed out 3.5 minutes after my head hit the pillow.Usually when we do this we're awake by about 8 and back on the road, but somehow we slept in and didn't wake up until 10am. Oops! Oh well, back on the road headed south. A bright, sunny day, only a bit of a breeze.Again... no traffic!We were a few hours behind schedule at this point. Usually we try and get to within about 3 hours of the Fort to stop the last night. Normally that happens around 8-9 pm and that's after stopping for a meal somewhere.There were no meal stops this time - not that we starved, we had a cooler full of sandwiches and snacks - and we hit the rest stop on 95 in St. Augustine (just outside of J'ville) around 11:30.A better night's sleep this time, and we were back on the road for the last little leg around 8 am, with Brian driving for the first time!Maybe it's the former architecture major in me, but seeing these buildings always says to me "we're almost there!"It wasn't long after that we saw...AND THEN....HOLY CRAP WE MADE IT!!next up... the easiest, quickest check-in EVAH, getting settled at "home" :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lil Lisa 53 Posted November 21, 2011 Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 (here goes nothing!)Yay!!! :jumpforjoySo why did that take an hour and half???Time always flies when you're packing the camper!Some of you know that we had an accident with our TT back in mid-July. It was a doozie and left us flipped over on the side of the road. (If anyone wants the gory details, check the out HERE)The Readers Digest version is that we were incredibly lucky. You can say that again!!We hit NYC about 10:30 and sailed through there as well - as much as you can sail through surfaces that seem to be comprised of pot holes strung together by wee bits of road. Sounds like Illinois Yep, that was me running over a cone.Oops!!HOLY CRAP WE MADE IT!!Yay!!! :jumpforjoyCan't wait for more! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mouseketab.....Carol 1,261 Posted November 21, 2011 Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 WOOHOO!!! Great start Monique!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PureTcrazy...rita 380 Posted November 21, 2011 Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 Yay! Glad to see you've got it going! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doodlebug....Cherie 461 Posted November 21, 2011 Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 This is going to be a great TR. I can't wait for more. :banana: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
momof3kids-Yvonne 594 Posted November 21, 2011 Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 Great start! You've really got your dogs traveled trained.Wow! NYC, Baltimore and DC....can I just say I love my family, and miss living near them, but I do not miss the traffic in that area of the country at all. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Total Joker ... TJ 203 Posted November 21, 2011 Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 :jumpforjoy :popcorn: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gramme 2 Posted November 21, 2011 Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 Great start Monique....... Your TR is like a great book dying to read more! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stefa70 205 Posted November 21, 2011 Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 Yay, finally you're getting this report going!Just one thing: No picture of the demolished traffic cone? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SCTigerCock 171 Posted November 21, 2011 Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 About time..... :jumpforjoyI would have wanted the cone too. :clint: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Roller ... aka Ed 351 Posted November 21, 2011 Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 All these long pauses are just an invitation to a major hijacking! Better keep up the good stuff, or you're going to wake up to stuff we make up for you! :rofl2: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dblr....Rennie 224 Posted November 21, 2011 Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 Great start I do not envy your drive to the Fort, I have traveled up and down 95 many times but never the distance you guys do, we live in De. so we tend to run north in the winter ( skiing) and south the other months. The traffic in Ct. SUCKS no matter when I go thru, the only place worse was getting into Maine. Ok I'm done, can not wait to read more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hotmamac aka Misty 11 Posted November 21, 2011 Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 Great start to your report. I somehow missed the info about your accident when you first posted it...SO glad you are all ok!!! :heart:Can't wait to read more!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
liv luvs disney 2 Posted November 21, 2011 Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 Okay Monique, where are you? :wave1: :popcorn: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted November 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 2 words.... day job. (booooo)Promise to be back ASAP with the next installment. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SCTigerCock 171 Posted November 21, 2011 Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 One word...HIJACK :clint: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doodlebug....Cherie 461 Posted November 21, 2011 Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 No, that would be Quote Link to post Share on other sites
SCTigerCock 171 Posted November 21, 2011 Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 You sure about that? Because i thought it was HIJACK Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Roller ... aka Ed 351 Posted November 21, 2011 Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 FiendJack! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doodlebug....Cherie 461 Posted November 21, 2011 Report Share Posted November 21, 2011 No, no. It is definitley Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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