2014 - CONNECTICUT TO TEXAS

CONNECTICUT to MARYLAND

Sunday, October 5, 2014 - Westbrook, CT, to Danbury, CT

So here we go... shakedown trips behind me, this is what we've been planning for.

(Excuse the occasional use of "we" in this narrative - it's not the "royal" use of the term, as practised by our beloved Queen of England, but rather an old habit from my sailboat cruising days when I felt strongly emotionally attached to my boat and that we were on the voyage together).

A fairly short first run from Westbrook to Danbury as I have decided to "stage" overnight, ready for the main departure south tomorrow, at the CT Visitors Welcome Center near Danbury on Interstate 84.

This might seem an odd choice, especially as you have to head east on I84, essentially heading back into Connecticut from New York, to access the location. However, a reconnaissance visit here several weeks ago on one of my shakedown weekends had suggested this might be good overnight spot since it was easily accessed, fairly quiet, and had a dump station (good to head off with empty holding tanks...).

So the first miles of this trip are on a road I'm all too familiar with - I95 - but at least there are no construction or traffic snarl-ups late on a Sunday.

My previous recce of this Danbury parking spot had been around 10:00am, when all the overnight traffic had left. Unlike 10:00pm today, with the designated RV parking area dominated by 18-wheelers, one of which insisted on leaving the truck engine running. So not quite the peaceful spot I had expected, at least not until around 4:00am when the noisy truck headed out.

Monday, October 6, 2014 - Danbury, CT, to Newton, NJ

With plummeting temperatures last night on the drive here, I stopped to buy an inexpensive comforter to throw on the bed. A good move, as it was a rather chilly 48 degrees inside the RV when I got up this morning.

But with several layers of clothing hastily pulled on and sitting in a spot of early sunshine falling in a pool on the sofa, it was a tolerable first breakfast - standard fare of cereal, banana and soya milk.

The last of the 18-wheelers finally pulled out, followed by a couple of larger RV neighbors, both of whom stopped for what seemed like a rather extended period at the dump station. But at least this gave me time to read the "dumping" protocol in the manual one more time - being a holding-tank-emptying virgin (at least on land yachts).

Finally our turn at around 9:30am and all went well, I'm glad to say, as starting the day with sewage all over my hands or feet wouldn't have brought a smile to my face. So the black and gray water tanks are now both empty, giving us at least good couple of weeks before we need to deal with this again.

Then off we go, heading east on I84 until we peeled off to head west on Route 6, passing a Starbucks where I had an early morning coffee to celebrate successful tank dumping and kick us over the border into NY.

Having set a priority by minor and scenic road routes, rather than Interstates, the price to be paid this morning was some tricky navigation, with the on-board GPS insisting on a differing route from the app on my iPhone a couple of times.

Frustratingly, I see many photo opportunities passing by that can't reasonably be captured - due to traffic backed up behind me or lack of somewhere to pull over. But some do merit the search for a U-turn, particularly with the sun shining brightly as it was this morning.

(Click on any images in this narrative with a white border to open a larger picture)

Slipping behind schedule, I decided to treat myself to a quick 15 miles of Interstate to make up a little lost time. But what a mistake...

After 5 miles, the traffic ground to a halt and pretty much stayed that way for 2 HOURS...! The worst traffic experience I've ever had. And even when finally creeping off at the first available exit, it still took 30 minutes to clear round all the other backed up traffic also leaving the Interstate before I saw an open road again.

The result of all this was that my afternoon scenic drive was abandoned, revised Plans B and C came and went, and the priority became finding an earlier overnight stop than planned. Fortunately, I eventually found a Walmart a couple of miles further down the road - pulling into their parking lot just as it was getting dark.

And actually it's a very good spot, level, very quiet, and one other small RV here for company.

A restorative beer preceded some day-old and slightly dry sushi, and here I am writing travel logs again, just as I used to at the end of the day in my sailing days once the hook was down...

Nearly 6 hours driving for the day, at an average of 21mph...!

Tuesday, October 7, 2014 - Newton, NJ, to North East, MD

A good night's sleep in a very quiet corner of the Walmart parking lot, though the sweeping van acted as an early alarm call...

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Just to address the choice of Walmart (or similar store) parking lots for overnight stops, which may initially seem a little odd...

Most commercial RV parks are close to the highway and the sites tightly packed together to maximize revenue from the space, and for this privilege they will charge $40-$50 a night (although this will include electric, water and sewer hook-ups).

However, as I am mainly pulling over at the end of the day just for the night, the inside of the RV looks the same with the window blinds down wherever I am, and my on-board facilities mean I don't need all the hook-ups, a Walmart parking lot serves just as well - for free. In fact, a number of Walmart parking lots are a good deal more scenic and further from the highway than commercial RV parks and I rarely have neighbors right next to me.

Walmart also has useful basic supplies, and departure in the morning is simply a matter of driving away rather than stopping to disconnect all the services and then checking out.

State Parks, by contrast to commercial RV parks, are scenic, quiet, and inexpensive, so these I do use from time to time when convenient or I feel like a longer break from the driving seat.

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But back to our Tuesday morning...

The first stop for the day is just a couple of hundred yards up the road at Lowes to "borrow" their WiFi, download e-mails, get a little work done, then set off for real.

Decided to search out some of the aborted scenic route from yesterday, so headed back north west through rolling hills and picturesque lakeside roads.

Pulled over for a couple of photos, snatched between clouds passing overhead, stopped optimistically in Hope (!) and found a small local coffee shop for reasonable black coffee and predictably average cranberry muffin.

Skies gradually clouding over as we passed through a succession of interesting town names - Maxatawny, Kutzstown, Virginville, Ontelaunee, Gouglersville...

Now getting into Amish territory, with pony and trap warning signs on the road, kids in Amish garb getting off the school bus, women in traditional Amish bonnets and long dresses working in their yards.

Cornfields everywhere - must be the center of the corn universe.

Made the mistake of detouring through rather than round Reading early afternoon, hoping to find a better coffee and WiFi spot, but instead finding a sprawling, run-down town with a maze of one-way streets and road works from which I finally extricated myself after the best part of an hour to get back on some open roads, by which time light rain was making the roads damp enough to get road spray over the recently-washed RV.

Eventually found a Dunkin Donuts in Oxford and grabbed a late afternoon coffee while checking e-mails, then on just another 15 miles to the scheduled evening stop at Walmart in North East, just over the border from PA to MD.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014 - North East, MD, to Annapolis, MD

Usual early sweeper van noise, then highway noise picking up as commuting starts.

E-mails checked and route for the day, especially the final twists and turns in Annapolis, confirmed via "borrowed" WiFi connection before heading out, following scenic Route 213.

Managed to drive through Chestertown, MD, without glimpsing much of the character described in the scenic route guide - or a coffee stop. Winding on down Route 213, coffee becoming something of an overriding objective but nothing in sight. So undertook some rather strange detouring and doubling back in Centreville that eventually offered up a rather small and shabby Dunkin Donuts.

The straight black coffee I ordered turned out to be sweetened and white, and the seasonal pumpkin muffin also overly sweet - so probably my full day's calorie intake right there.

Fairly short run after that to a stop in Stevensville just short of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge where I pulled over to have some lunch and call Danielle Harvey for parking instructions at the Harvey house, but only got voicemail.

So on to my destination assuming I could work out final details of parking once there. The last few hundred yards required creeping through low tree overhangs on a narrow private road, branches scratching along the side of the RV. Coincidentally Danielle arrived back home with her two girls just as I drove in, so she was able to show me the couple of potential parking spots for the RV.

Danielle ran out for post-school activities shortly after that, so I took the opportunity indulge in much shuffling and ramp building for the front wheels to get the RV level before Nick and friends arrived home and I was able to celebrate my safe arrival with a beer.

So here we are in Annapolis, the first - and rather short - section of our meandering trip south completed.

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