We made it home!

We made it home.  I decided to take the Grapevine (Highway 5), as the Internet site for California freeways didn't show any problems.  We left at 5:30 am and arrived home at 2:30 pm.  That's 9 hours, about 1.5 hours more than driving my car to/from Vacaville.  It was again a really nice drive. 

Katie did really well the whole trip, but right now she's sleeping in the bedroom, not something she usually does when I'm home.  She's beat!  I'm sure I'll sleep well tonight, too.  

My son, Tom, called me on the way home this morning as he was driving to work.  I told him about the crunch on the side.  He was very non-plussed about it.  The refinishing business he owns, one office in San Jose, CA and one in San Diego, CA has 30+ trucks - little Ford Rangers - that all the technicians drive.  Tom also has an auto body shop where he makes any repairs the trucks need, among other things. He said there's nothing they can't fix, and not to worry about it.  They will do a good job on it.  So in addition to fixing any fiberglass issues, he thinks they will be able to fix the storage door, too, so I won't have to order a new one.  That is such a relief!

Thank you all for your stories of your own "crunches."  Virtually everyone I've told who owns an RV had their own story, some minor, some not so minor. It's nice to know I'm not the only one - I felt like such an idiot!  I could see everyone's head turned to the RV when I heard the crunch, but I acted like it was nothing, very cool.  (But, of course, I couldn't wait to drive down the street and stop to see what I had done.)

Don't worry about me driving so many hours.  I visit my daughter twice a year and can easily drive 8 hours without stopping except for gas.  After that, though, I start getting antsy.  And remember, I'm not yet a retired full-timer.  I am still just a weekend RVer on a schedule.  But next January all that will change, and I will be able to drive 100 to 200 miles at a time, maybe less.  I do not plan to drive 8+ hours at a time then, that's for sure! 

 

Here she is, waiting until the next trip

 

With all her friends at the RV storage lot

When I was unpacking, my mailman was here delivering my mail, and two books I ordered were here. Woodall's RV Owner's Handbook, just in time, and Woodalls North American Campground Directory.  JUST IN TIME.  When I publish this post I'm going to find a place close by where I can camp for a couple of days - not next weekend, but the one after that.  I've been having overnights with grandchildren and now I want to go off on my own and really use it.  Cook dinners, put out the awning, sleep in late.  That sounds so good!

Oh, also, I figured my miles per gallon.  8.3 mpg   Not too good, I was hoping for 10.  At first I got 12 mpg, but I was dividing the numbers wrong.  That made the 8.3 look even worse!  This trip cost me about $600 for gas - that seems really a lot but I have the receipts.  I started out with 3/4 tank and ended up with a little less than that, I figured about $25 less.  I have receipts for $575.  Add the $25 and that's around $600.   WOW.   I had full tanks on the way up, less so on the way back.  I'll have to watch that next time and see if my mileage improves. 

And look at this.  This is what I paid per gallon:

$4.16 (San Diego), $4.62, $4.30, $4.0 (Vacaville), and $4.50, all rounded up.  The highway gas stations are really gouging travelers.

Next time I'll post some photos of my grand kids, I got some good ones of Andrew at his Little League T-ball game. 

So that's it for our first trip.  The next one will be more relaxing.

From Me and My Dog, have a nice week, everyone! : )