Brenda & Brenda on the run

taking inventory

I meant to get this pic before they left but forgot. I called & asked her to get it, but I never meant for her to do it while they were driving!! (What'm I gonna do with them girls?)

Their campsite for the next few days, at Potters Creek, outside of San Antonio

Sonoran desert sunset, step 1

Sonoran desert sunset, step 2. Most intense sunset I've seen here in the states. (the most intense sunset I've ever seen was in Namibia, Africa)

West Texas from the car...

cactus from the Living Desert hike

in Carlsbad Cavern

in Carlsbad Cavern

in Carlsbad Cavern

from the Living Desert hike

my Brenda on the road in New Mexico

the other Brenda on the road in New Mexico

the San Xavier Mission outside of Tucson Ariz.

San Xavier Mission

The girls' lakeside campsite outside of San Diego. (ok, so it's really a retention pond...)

Arizona sand dunes

GC!!

a view from the South Rim

Some people see the canyon from the back of a mule. Brenda takes a different ride... (that's my girl!)

Take off!!!

Ya don't see any of these in parking lots around here!

My Brenda (on the left) and the other Brenda at the Grand Canyon.

Flirt under a nearly full moon in Zion National Park.

Brenda and Matthew in Canyonlands

Brenda in the Jeep--no top, no doors...yep, that's Matthew's Jeep!

Brenda & Brenda in Canyonlands

Brenda at Arches National Park

Flirt on the road somewhere between Bryce Canyon and Zion Park

That's our Flirt!

Flirt in Southern Utah

Ok, here's the thing with this long haul: My wife Brenda, and her friend Brenda are doing the trip (I still have that pesky day job to do.)

My Brenda and I just got back from 2 weeks in Maine with Flirt (our Camp-Inn 550 Ultra); we've had a week at home, and now she and the other Brenda are heading out to California. Planning to be on the road for about 3 weeks or so.

I'll be doing the posts from here because Brenda and computers aren't necessarily what you'd call the best of friends, but she and the other Brenda are going to be the long haulers on this trip

So tonight they're getting ready to head out tomorrow morning, and the long haul will begin!

Day 1-
Dang, what a crummy way to start a trip. When Brenda plugged in the 7-pole connector, one of the brake lights had a dead short--it was constantly on and wouldn't go off. Turns out the after-market T-One harness I installed (the only one I found available) has a "regular-duty" module in it, and there is enough of a load from a teardrop that it requires an HD (heavy duty) module.

An automotive electric specialist here in town had an HD module, so he was able to splice it in, but with all the trouble-shooting and stuff, they didn't get on the road till about 2:30. The original goal for day-1 was to make it to Defuniak Springs (starting line is in the Orlando area.) I didn't think they'd make it, but they did. The other Brenda has a sister in that area; they didn't roll in until about 9:00 their time, but they made it. Good recovery!

Day 1 addendum-
Just saw this FB post from Brenda & thought I'd re-post here. in her words:
"1st day out went thru a toll booth & forgot the quarters, found 1 in the car and 1 on the ground, So I ran to the car behind us and ask the guy for a quarter and told him I have dollars just no "cents" a great fun start to an awesome trip!"
--Yep, that's my girl!

Day 3-
The girls made it to Texas where they are going to stop for a few days to visit a friend, Sandy who used to live here in FL, but has moved to Texas. They figured out how to get to Austin, got on the right road, and headed that direction, all of which would've been fine except...

When they called Sandy to confirm their arrival and her address, they found out that Sandy actually lives in San Antonio.

Oh well... Texas is Texas, right? (What'm I gonna do with them girls?)

Day 6-
Ok, after 3 nights at Potter Creek Park, outside San Antonio, the girls are on the move again. Next stop: Carlsbad NM. They said the campground there at Potter Creek was very nice--I don't know what it'll be like in a few weeks after hunting season opens up, but apparently right now the deer are very bold, wandering around the campground every morning.
It was a great time visiting with a very dear friend and her son & grandkids. And of course, the kids loved the teardrop. How cool is a teardrop to 10-year old & younger boys!

Day 7-
The girls made it to Carlsbad today, and will be camping at Brantley Lake State Park for the next couple of nights. We're used to camping either here in Florida or in Maine where there is no way you would ever think of counting the number of trees around a campsite. But there in the NM desert it's a whole different look. They got one of the best sites in the campground because there are 3 trees at that site. I looked at it on the Google satellite image and it looks like those are the only 3 trees form miles around.
Beautiful sunsets in the desert though!

Day 8-
Carlsbad Caverns and the Living Desert today. This is Brenda's first time for something like this--I've been to the cavern before--and she thought it was great. Have several pics from the desert hike!

Day 11-
Made it to San Diego!!

They stopped on the way and saw the San Xavier outside of Tucson AZ. I hadn't heard of it, but apparently it's a very beautiful Mission next to an Indian Reservation that literally rises out of the desert and was built a kazillion years ago by missionaries when they first arrived. The girls said they absolutely loved it.

So now they're camped at some campground on the NW side of SD. They'll be there for 3 or 4 nights, and they're planning a zoo excursion on at least one of the days.

Day 13-
The girls are visiting people and places in Southern California. I'm copying this from Brenda's Facebook post yesterday:

Had a simply wonderful day today. We took a costal drive up the PCH & to Newport & then onto Carlsbad to see my cousin Craig & then south to LoJolla! So happy to be here!

I know they're having fun, and it's great to be on a trip without a lot of specific time-scheduling. But they do have one time-related item--they want to be in the Salt Lake area (where our oldest son lives) by Thursday. So as it turns out, it looks like they might be leaving San Diego without getting to see the zoo. (and that's ok by me--it leaves a chance for Brenda and I to do that together!)

Day 14-
Brenda & Brenda are on the move again, headed back east now (well, sort of...) They decided to leave S.Cal, and start in the general direction of the Salt Lake area, where our oldest son lives. Along the way though, the Grand Canyon, south rim. That should be tomorrow (at least).

Day 15 & Day 16-
The Grand Canyon!!
Brenda called me at work yesterday and asked me playfully if I could guess what she was getting ready to do. I guessed taking a mule-trip down into the canyon (because I understand people do that sort of thing...) But not my girl--she had a helicopter trip in mind!

The weather came up and cancelled yesterday afternoon's flight, so the girls decided to stay one more night and take of this morning. Brenda said it was an awesome tour--way better than an imax movie! They had a great time in the helicopter, and also just seeing the sights from the South Rim.

They're planning their next stop at one of my all-time favorite places in the world--Zion National Park in southern Utah. Now I'm really, really jealous! (But I'm glad the Brenda's are having a good time!)

Day 17 & 18-
The girls headed into Utah with the ultimate goal of getting up to the Salt Lake City area, where our oldest son, Matthew, lives. They went there by way of Zion Natnl Park (my all-time favorite place in the world) and Bryce Canyon.

As those of you who have been there know, there is much more to see and do in Southern Utah, but the girls wanted to do at least some of it with Matthew in his Jeep. So after a quick run through each of these parks, they headed north to Salt Lake

Day 19 & 20-
For this part of the trip, Brenda left Flirt parked in Salt Lake, and the girls loaded into Matthew's Jeep for a quick run through Arches and Canyonlands. Matthew does a lot of Jeep 4-wheeling, and this is one of his favorite areas, so he goes down there all the time, and was a great host for Brenda & Brenda.

It was a lot of driving for basically a one-day trip (they overnighted in a hotel in Moab). And Matthew doesn't put the top or the doors on his Jeep until much deeper into the winter than this, so it was a cold, windy drive to get there, and then get back to Salt Lake in time for church this morning. But they made it.

So Brenda & Brenda went to church with Matthew this morning, spent the afternoon with him and his friends, and then they'll take off from there for home tomorrow morning. And I can't wait!!! I'm really glad Brenda has been able to do this trip and that she's been able to do it as a gift to the other Brenda. But I'm ready for her to be home! That's my girl, and I miss her.

Monday it'll be three weeks that she's been gone. This is the home stretch now.

Day 21
Ok, they're on the way home. They left Utah this morning, heading north into Wyoming, and then across to Cheyenne. They'll spend the night somewhere in Nebraska tonight, and then start angling down to the "lower right".

Day 22
Y'know, long trips are interesting. Brenda and I both can be gone away from home for weeks at a time and be perfectly comfortable. And especially if we're together, we really don't get homesick all that much. Until it's time to turn and start heading for home. Then, no matter how many or how few weeks it's been, if it's time to head for home, then we're ready to get home.

I can tell that's how Brenda and Brenda are feeling right now. Yesterday they drove all the way from South Jordan, Utah, to Lincoln, Nebraska--almost 900 miles!

Of course, part of it too is that when you're just driving "as far as you can" instead of to some specific location, sometimes you (I know this has been the case with me, anyway) can kind of get in a groove, and if you feel good, you want to just keep on going. I remember one year Brenda and I made it all the way from south of DC to half-way out the Maine coast in just one day.

So, anyway, they're one day closer to home. As I write this they're on I-24 about half way between Paducah and the Tennessee state line. I don't know how much longer they plan on driving tonight--I've been encouraging them on the phone to just be safe, and not to push anything. They're both pretty smart about stuff like that though, so I have high confidence that they'll do the smart thing.

Day 23-
Ok, so much for the just-want-to-get-home theory. The girls made it to Nashville last night, and decided to stay for a day. So today they're cruising around Music City. Haven't heard whether or not they've run into any famous country music artists...

Day 25-
They're home!! Back safe and sound and am I thankful for that!
Took the whole leg from Nashville to Casselberry all in one day--another marathon driving day, but it sure was good to see her again.

So here are the final statistics:
7,421 miles
46 bags of ice
39 tanks of gas
25 days
17 nights in the teardrop
14 states
7 National Parks
4 State Parks
4 families visited
2 long-time friends
and 1 Camp-Inn 550 Ultra, aka Flirt!

I'm really glad Brenda got to do this--I think it was good for her, and she is now completely confident in her ability to go anywhere she wants with this trailer. I missed her, but I'm glad she did it, and I'm really glad she's back home. (That's my girl!)

I call "Next"!!!

 

Way to go Brenda & Brenda!! Camp-Inn women are true adventurers! Looking forward to reading about your trip via Dave. Wishing you a safe journey!!

 

wow! enjoy the trip, safe travels...

 

Dave, what are you going to do for 3 weeks?
So your wife gets to play, what about you?

Great to hear that two friends are going on a grand adventure. Hats off to Dave for letting the twins go on their own.

Jean

 

Brenda & Brenda have fun and be safe can't wait to see the posts.Dave what happens in Florida stays in Florida.Steve

 

Brenda and Brenda have fun seeing the sites hope you have lots of laughs, peaceful sceens, beautiful sunrises and sunsets and comfortable nights.

 

Sounds like fun. Have a great and safe trip! Looking forward to the posts.

Carol

 

Brenda & Brenda great story and pictures Dave maybe you can go next time.

 

Hey Jenn I missed the updates thanks for the heads up. What a wonderful trip and what a good idea to have someone at home do all the updates - I got to remember that. Neat pics too. Esp. the catus.

 

Yeah, I'm not sure if that was the best way to do that or not. Before I got into it I was expecting to be able to add daily updates, allowing people to comment in "real time" sort of. But apparently this site is not set up to do that. Don't know if there was another way to do it or not....

 

Dave, I'm not that happy with the way one is able to upload photos - I wish it were simpler. As it is, you did very well!