Washington to Florida
Returning to the lower 48, we pause in Washington to visit with more road-friends, Big Big Trip, another Airstream family, that we last saw at the Solar Fest in 2018. Although we lost the fall colors, we gained the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest. We parted ways with 13roads in a Barnes and Noble parking lot but made plans to reunite in New Mexico. Our next stop was Portland, OR to see my family and also to replace Bubbles’ tongue jack which died unceremoniously in Denali NP. Having spent so much time off-grid in Alaska and Canada, it was several days before we bothered connecting to power and water, despite being in a full hookup park.
After fun with family and more good food, we left Oregon and decided to drive down the coast. We park hopped all the way down into California and head inland on our way to the Bay area. Before leaving Oregon, we notice some odd tire wear on a single tire and decide to change tires – in a back parking lot of an abandoned hotel. We have Bubbles checked-out at Ultimate Airstream, Fairfield and find that we have a cracked bearing! This gets replaced under warranty and we are back on our way. On our way south towards Arizona, we stopped at an America’s Tire (Discount Tire) and get a new set of shoes for Bubbles.
We ended up in Arizona where it is very hot and dry. We briefly crossed paths with Fummins Family Roadtrip as they were heading west and us east. We last saw them in Homer. It is only a couple of more nights before we are reunited with 13roads in New Mexico. We ended spending a few weeks near Santa Fe and Albuquerque. I left the family there for a trip back to Cayman.
My trip back from Cayman took me to Dallas where I stayed with friends until I could be reunited with the family. After a couple of nights mooch docking of all of us catching up, we headed back to the Houston area to see my family for Thanksgiving. Then it is a quick push east and back to Florida. With reservations made nearly a year ago, we are able to enjoy a few state parks before returning to Sanctuary RV. Yes, we’ve become snow birds!
