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Old 08-11-2013, 03:13 PM   #1
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Newbie 2014 travel season - TIPS

OK...man the wife and I have been talking about next year and our plans with our new AS (will arrive in october I am told).

Plans for next year are as follows...as long as there are no catastrophes requiring unexpected leave use, we plan on four 1 week trips (monday-sun) and that will leave us with a few more days of leave for our usual christmas trip we do every year in early december to see inlaws.

January - Canopener - will attend this with a couple of our good friends (who have no kids, so they are quite helpful when hanging with us )

May 26th - June 1 - this will be our first "long trip" in the airstream...we want to do a beach trip likely - were debating port saint joe or saint george island vs. say tybee island area or hilton head - for now we have decided against atlantic due to freakin cold water that early in the season.

Week of Columbus day we are planning non-airstream related trip - we are going a 60th b-day gift trip to my mother in-law as a 60th b-day gift that she has long wanted to do...a gatlinburg week trip to enjoy the change in colors, scenery, shopping, etc...

That leaves us with two other week trips....other possible weeks include other federal holidays (although rule out christmas...impossible to get leave during that time).... Federal Holidays

So like labor day week, thanksgiving, veterans day...there are a couple of holidays during jan and feb....not sure about those (brrr).

im just killing time here and goofing, but any thoughts particularly on our first trip.

I would also like to plan a trip (PERHAPS) from here (Birmingham) to the beach perhaps in NJ as a family trip visit....but stop at somewhere halfway in VA that is nice...but it is a long trip to do with kids this young...probably not do that this year tbh.
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Old 08-11-2013, 04:05 PM   #2
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That leaves us with two other week trips....other possible weeks include other federal holidays (although rule out christmas...impossible to get leave during that time)....
So like labor day week, thanksgiving, veterans day...there are a couple of holidays during jan and feb....not sure about those (brrr).
I spent Thanksgiving week last year at DeGray Lake Resort State Park, Bismarck, Arkansas. The campground was less than half full, and the lake was a little on the low side as it usually is that time of year due to controlled releases, but still accessible in my inflatable kayak.

Thanksgiving week is their last week before they close for the winter, but at the lodge they put on an incredible Thanksgiving buffet. You pay extra for it— not included in the price of the stay— but well worth every penny. I won't be headed up there this year; my leave is almost depleted.

Veteran's Day hopefully will be the third annual Texas Piney Woods Rally at Sam Rayburn Lake. I had a great time there last year.
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Old 08-13-2013, 11:16 AM   #3
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thanks protagonist...I will take a look and consider...

Ahhh...Sam Rayburn Lake...I hear great fishing there too - could get some guided bass fishing while I was there....great ideas.

I am hoping some folks will help me decide for may, st george island vs. gulf shores vs. port st. joe....I stayed at port st joe at age 15 in a small RV with a buddy....our site was literally on the other side of the sand dunes...it was fantastic...

THe realization that when kids go to school (my son starts kindergarden in aprox 3 years) - it will totally affect such planning...

Im thinking we need to do a couple longer trips with the kids before they go back to school....my experience so far with traveling with my small children is that 5-6 yours per day is about the most tolerable...if night driving were to be more safe, I would consider that as well like 7pm-1am and let them just sleep in car seats no prob....but I would not do that.
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Old 08-13-2013, 11:22 AM   #4
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We tend to feed them lunch, then start the journey. That way the twins will sleep in the car and the three year old can watch a movie. We do a max of three hours travel time at the moment, more and there'll be freak-outs.
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Old 08-13-2013, 11:43 AM   #5
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We drove from B-ham to gulf shores about a month ago...took about 5-6 hours each way...we did pretty good...left early in the morning like 8 or 9am as I recall...ate a good breakfast...then hit the road - made it to like 10:30 or 11 before needing a more lengthy stop....our 6 month old was starting to get pissed...stopped for lunch..fed the baby...our nearly 3 year old son did just fine with the DVD player going and a bit of napping as well. On the way back, the baby for the last 2 hours was obviously less happy...that was a bit of torture for sure...

I think once she gets to age 2ish she will perhaps travel better like charlie seems to be doing...time will tell though....I wish I had DVD players and movies during travel during road trips as a kid...jeez it was boring..."are we there yet?!" at age 6-7 I recall was a frequently used phrase by me when going from home to see my grandparents (western KY to SW Virginia) - I recall getting to Hazard KY and thinking "we should almost be there"....uhh...no
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Old 08-13-2013, 11:50 AM   #6
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For sure. We went up to a cottage (cabin) three weeks back, that was a two hour journey one of the twins just hated. Seemed a lot longer from the driver's seat, despite my wife sitting with the kids in the back of the van.
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Old 08-13-2013, 11:57 AM   #7
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5-6 hours a day, in bursts of days here and there, is not too bad, but 2-3 hours is better, IMO.

You don't want them spending too much extended time strapped in the strict confines of car seats. They wouldn't or shouldn't experience that at home, as it restricts physical development.

Those longer, adult-interest-focused trips are not the best for small kiddies.

Just sayin'.....


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Old 08-13-2013, 12:17 PM   #8
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strapped in a car seat for hours a couple times a year I doubt will alter physical development....but no doubt that longer trips given these limitations are not kid friendly...so that likely out of the question

I guess when they are old enough to hike, bike, fish, etc...but are still in school...I will have to figure out early summer trips...
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Old 08-13-2013, 12:21 PM   #9
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That doesn't even include the almost every weekend to a campground near the house.
We are going on a friday evening-Sunday afternoon trip to a campground 1 hour away this weekend.
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Old 08-13-2013, 12:29 PM   #10
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we are so psyched to get some camping in this late fall and winter here locally...we have a few pretty nice state parks close by that should be great fun...we are already doing some planning on camping in areas to say go to bring the kids to an aquareum, a zoo, etc in said area...lots to do...love the flexibility...
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Old 08-13-2013, 12:37 PM   #11
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strapped in a car seat for hours a couple times a year I doubt will alter physical development....but no doubt that longer trips given these limitations are not kid friendly...so that likely out of the question

I guess when they are old enough to hike, bike, fish, etc...but are still in school...I will have to figure out early summer trips...
Of course.

The adventure is just beginning.

You could always do a bit of home-schooling....lots of folks out there doing that.


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Old 08-13-2013, 01:02 PM   #12
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We just finished a 5-6 hour trip last week with our 4 year old daughter. The portable DVD player made it tolerable for all of us. We never had such luxuries while traveling as a kid. Instead us 4 kids would play a game, read or just poke/punch each other until our parents got mad at us.
Maybe try a couple of closer places until everyone gets the hang of traveling. We like to travel right after breakfast and find a place where we can sit in the trailer to relax and each lunch and then do a few more hours. Breaking up the trip helps a lot.
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Old 08-13-2013, 01:10 PM   #13
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im not particularly pro-home schooling *personally*....but that would be for another thread...

Crispyboy...yeah, we will be doing no more than 5-8 hour distances for a while...with many more within 2 hour trips for a while...from october-may we will likely do quite a few local weekend outings with the kiddos....will be great fun...also plan on doing some stuff solo with my brothers (man trips) and with my father - he wants to go next year with me to louisville to this big hot rod show he went to a couple weeks ago in the airstream - we will spend 2-3 days drooling over all (Im told around 15-20K vehicles are there in the course of 3 days) of the rides...should be great fun.
...stuff like that ya know...great fun...good memories to make...
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Old 08-13-2013, 01:25 PM   #14
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OK...man the wife and I have been talking about next year and our plans with our new AS (will arrive in october I am told).
One of the things we always do is a short trip close to home each spring. While I do test systems when I dewinterize, it still gives me some time to make and corrections or get service prior to my main travels. Nothing worse than to have an issue on a trip where you are hundreds of miles from home or service.

Good example is that I didn't do a shake down trip this year and had a brake spring break when I was in the midst of a 400 mile trip from home. In that 200 miles that spring trashed the backing plate which in turn trashed the brake drum and shoes. I'm $380 poorer for not catching that on a shake down.
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Old 08-13-2013, 01:46 PM   #15
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ugh...that makes total sense jcanavera...

I suppose being down this deep south and rarely temps reach sub-freezing (alhtough they do from time to time)...I will not be doing the whole winterizing thing...although in the event of a cold snap I will need to do something...had a pipe freeze 3 years ago when temps dropped overnight...one pip for water to kitchen sink...it ended up not doing damage luckily....but I suppose if that happens I will just run the heat pump in the AS and keep things a bit toasty overnight during those rare events....hmm...im not sure about that...different thread I guess..self hijack my own thread
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Old 08-13-2013, 03:27 PM   #16
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I think a few short trips close to home would be the way to start. It will let the kids get used to it and it won't be far if you need to go home for something.
It also lets you figure out what you forgot and need or what you forgot and want. We always keep a notepad in the trailer so we can write down things.
The most important thing is to not get too serious and just have fun. Enjoy the adventure!
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Old 08-13-2013, 04:38 PM   #17
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If you are going to sleep the baby in something different in the trailer, might acclimate him/her to the new bed before you take your first trip.



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Old 08-13-2013, 04:47 PM   #18
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When I did my first trip, it was to a campground with full hookups, including sewer. Good thing, too, because I blew a fuse in the macerator pump, and blew a fuse in the hose take-up reel (that one twice) before I realized the trick to handling them; they're kind of finicky. Since I had full hookups, I wasn't inconveniencing anybody else while I got on top of the learning curve (that scene in Robin Williams's RV was still fresh in my mind).

And on the subject of "good thing, too" it's a good thing I had spare fuses handy.

Also, even though I had a water hookup, I didn't use it at first. I filled the fresh tank, and drew from it until it was empty to figure out what my consumption rate was. Only then did I switch over to the water hookup, secure in the knowledge that I wouldn't over-fill a holding tank from using too much water before dumping the tanks.
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Old 08-13-2013, 05:02 PM   #19
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A close destination for you is DeSoto Falls State Park on top of Lookout Mountain just east of Ft Payne, Al. The park has large back-in and pull-thru sites and very clean bathhouses. There are several hiking trails and a boardwalk leading to waterfalls. The drive up the mountain from downtown is not difficult.
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Old 08-13-2013, 05:45 PM   #20
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Children of reading ages can play the "find the license plate" for every state game. It's Geography and observation... and will distract the darlings for about 20 minutes. If you're willing to stop every hour or so, birdwatching - know what the local birds ARE and have the kids look for them at rest stops, roadsides in rural areas, etc. And of course if one of the children never spots a bird, it's a hint that a trip to an optician is in order.

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