Well it's that time of year, time to winterize the coach... So, tomorrow morning we will head south to Florida!

Just in time. It has been a cloudy, cold, wet month of October. I am ready for some sun and warmth.

We will take our time. Thursday night southern Ohio, Friday night northern Georgia. Saturday morning through Atlanta, Saturday night northern Florida. Arrive Oakhaven Sunday afternoon.

The coach is packed and full of fuel. Leaving in the morning!

Have Barth, will travel

Hot Dawg .... On the Road Again

We will make it home today from our 1800 mile trip . Just enough time to get everything cleaned up and ready to go again next week. A fun Fall Trip to Arkansas .


Happy Motoring

Looking forward to seeing you guys again. We start a big house on Palm Island Monday, our last big house after nearly 30 years in business. Maybe you can help me with the timing on 78. I have a good light available, just need someone who knows how to do it. Have a safe trip and we'll have a shandy waiting for you.

Hey Danny, sounds like a good plan. We should arrive at Oakhaven on Sunday afternoon, planning to head back in the car the following Sunday. During the week we definitely want to get over to the beach and we'll stop in then.

Today we ran 440 miles to the KOA in Lebanon, Ohio. Smooth sailing mostly. Cold and raining until we got out of Michigan (naturally) Southern Ohio was sunny and warm, but windy as usual. Dayton traffic was pretty heavy and of course, contruction. I swear Dayton has been under constant contruction for the last 10 years! The last hour was tedious.

Tomorrow we will head out to the east loop around Cinci and continue south. Planning to get through Kentucky and Tennessee, just into northern Georgia. That will get us through Atlanta (hopefully) on Saturday morning and southern Georgia by afternoon. One last stop near the Florida line Saturday night and Sunday we should be there.

Have Barth, on the road

Luckilly our big house got put off for another week so I'll be home all week. Gives me time to finish up the bathroom. Took the jon out yesterday and got the floor prepped for new tile, todays project. Yet another advantage to having a coach in the driveway when you have a 1 bathroom house. Plan to have a working bathroom by Sunday then all next week to do all the finishing touches. Safe travels and see you soon.

We got up this morning to overcast and rain. Michigan will not let us go.

Started with construction on the Cinci bypass, then construction through most of Kentucky. Between hills and trucks it was tedious. Still overcast. Drove through Tennessee with the trucks, hills, and obligatory stop and go traffic through Knoxville and around Chattanooga. Drove 440 miles to Cedar Break RV park, Calhoun, Georgia. A nice park about 2 miles from I75, easy to find, no road noise, 75 and sunshine! We are about 60 miles from Atlanta. Hopefully we can get through Atlanta on Saturday morning with no pain.... maybe. I am getting SO tired of I75.

On the bright side, we filled up in KY at $3.99/gal. Running 70mph and floored on the hills we still got 8.75 mpg which is good for the Monarch.

I have been driving Barths since 2011. Put 42,000 miles on the Regal and another 40,000 on the Monarch. Over the years it has gotten less fun to drive. With increased traffic, 2 lanes of trucks everywhere and endless construction, I am beginning to lose my desire to drive the coach to Florida. This may be my last trip. We are planning to get a park model in Florida for the future winter residence. The coach will be used for shorter fun trips.

Have Barth, travelling

We do something along this route on a regular basis and I have no idea why you would ever use the Cinci bypass. For the last 3 years we have blown right through town and have never come to a stop. Hope you get through Atlanta OK. We had no problem going right through about noon on a Saturday..

The KOA is right near the east bypass. A few years ago, the Cinci bridge over the Ohio river burned from a truck crash and was closed for quite a while. Also lots of construction in the past. That's when we first used the bypass.

Heading south in a little while. To be continued...

Stopped for lunch south of Macon. Made it through Atlanta fairly smooth. Only a few minutes of slow/stop. You never know...

Since 2011, we have driven the coach through Atlanta at least 30 times. Always a crapshoot. A few years ago there was a fatality accident and the road was closed for hours. We pulled off to wait it out. It took us five hours to get through town. 4 or 5 times we have sailed right through with minimal slowdown.

A few more miles and we'll stop near the Florida line. That will leave about 300 miles of Florida to go.

Sounds like it's going pretty good

I had to say something...

About 15 miles from our stop, the I75 turd fairy had to show. All 3 lanes came to a grinding halt, then stop and go for a couple miles to watch a pickup truck burn on the side of the road. Police had us down to one lane... (not sure why, the truck was just smoldering by then, well off the road.)

Made it to our exit, filled up for $3.85/gal at the slowest diesel pump I've ever used. Took about 20 minutes to pump 60 gallons! Got a good fill, averaged 8.5mpg. This was all through the hills in KY, Tenn and northern Georgia, 70 and floored a lot. The old 8.3 Cummins is doing fine for me.

Arrived at Eagles Roost RV park (exit 5) about an hour later than expected. Another crapshoot day on I75.

On the bright side (literally) it is sunny and 75. Shorts and sandals, finally!
We have full tanks and 300 miles left for tomorrow, we'll roll the I75 dice again tomorrow for a Sunday run...

Should be an easy day for you today. Clear skies and sunshine down here with just a light breeze. A few minutes ago I heard a crunch and thought it was near, but it turned out to be all the way up on 41. Sirens were pretty quick. Must have been a hard hit for me to hear it 6 blocks away. We'll be home all week so stop over whenever you get in the area. Manasota Beach road is closed right in the middle so you have to use Manasota Bridge for the north beach or Englewood bridge for Englewood and middle beaches. Manasota is in really nice shape, we were there for Friday sunset.

We left this morning around 9AM. 310 miles to Oakhaven park. The first hour and half was smooth and cruise control. After that fairly heavy traffic all the way. (Where is everybody going on Sunday morning?)

It appears the truck drivers now own the center lane, so anytime you see two trucks they are side by side. This was not so years ago. Makes passing with an underpowered coach rather tricky.

Arrived without incident, parked the rig and getting settled in. 1500 miles in 4 days is a bit much but nice to be here.
40's and rain at home, sunny and 87 here. Still have to uncover and revive the Prius. Life is good

Happy days to the Florida bunch, are you coming back for Christmas or there for the duration?

We will stay a week or so, then drive the Prius home. Planning to visit Nick and Donna at UBRVRAPE in Georgia on the way back. Being old farts we have doctor appts, etc coming up at home. We will come back here around Dec 10 for the winter.

The old red 09 Prius (200,000+ miles!) fired right up. Brakes are rusty, I have new rotors to swap if needed. At 45mpg+ it is a lot faster and cheaper than the coach!

The coach ran really well all the way. It has about 135,000 miles now, uses no oil and is running better than ever. (I am embarrassed to say I hardly ever check the oil. It goes 7,500 miles on an oil change and I have never added a quart of oil in the 40,000 miles I have owned it) If it weren't for traffic I would keep running it. I will use it for shorter vacation type trips from now on.

Have Barth, will travel, and travel, and travel!