After the (self-created) fanfare of our 5th year anniversary, year 6 seems a bit calmer, maybe even lackluster since 2020 began. Life isn’t always sunshine and rainbow, is it? Sometimes there are clouds and sometimes storms come our way, but life always goes on and I continue to always try and find the bright spots. In case you would like to read last year’s summaries (there were 3) you can click HERE, HERE, and HERE.
Our fifth year on the road ended while we were still in SW PA, getting to know our Freya. October rolled around and it was so hard leaving, but she was in good hands with her attentive parents taking great care of her. It was the longest we had been in one spot since we sold our last house, and we loved every minute of it! Our fall travel was awesome, helping our friend Linda with her full-time RV life launch. Stops in Assateague and OBX were delightful, to say the least. Celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas with family, and welcoming the New Year at Live Oak Ranch were highlights for sure. We returned to TX, following the trip for Freya’s birthday, which was extended for Bill’s brother’s death, and lock-down began. Having Cori & Greg’s place to hunker down, along with Tracy & Lee, once COVID-19 starting getting crazy was awesome. When it became apparent that the virus was only getting worse, we decided to head north earlier than planned, in case traveling became impossible due to states shutting down borders. Two friend visits didn’t happen, and a rally was canceled, and two installs were postponed, all due to the virus. With spring travel in-between canceled, we went straight from TX to PA. I had mentioned last year that our longer-term spots would be the same, as we wanted to be around to spend time with our granddaughter. In case you missed it, our daughter is expecting granddaughter #2 in November! What that means with regards to our travel plan next year is we will be back to PA for at least next summer, and probably the year after, getting to know our newest family member!
Let’s get to it!
Campgrounds
Private:
Hickory Hollow:
We ended year 5 at Hickory Hollow and stayed through mid-October for a total of 48 nights. There are two ways you can figure out the cost of that time, in consideration that we paid a flat rate for the entire season, $2100. We didn’t, however, stay 100% of the season so that skews the “per night” rate. Had we stayed at Hickory Hollow for the entire season, arriving opening day and staying through closing, the cost per night was $10.32 per night. That’s how Bill enters the rate into his spreadsheet. When we leave for “vacation” or arrive early, leave early, he just adds any additional amount spent at another place into the nightly rate for those days. More on that later.
We returned to Hickory Hollow the following spring, about 5 weeks ahead of our planned date of May 17. Good part of that was we were using the site as soon as we started paying for it, $2100 for the season. We took off for a few weeks, but otherwise have been here, 120 days.
Charleston KOA:
We NEVER stay at KOA’s, but we made the exception this time to see friends, Tracy & Lee, who were staying there to be near their daughter. We ended up being reimbursed for the cost, as the sewer hook-up was broken, clogged, whatever and it was GROSS. They actually wanted us to dump on the ground and “someone would go by and clean it up later” – we said “NO!”
Clearwater Travel Resort:
We’ve stayed here each year since we’ve been full-time, this time we stayed at Clearwater Travel Resort for 2 months, November and December. Their “month” for rates is 30 days and the monthly rate is a budget-busting $30 per night, plus electric. OUCH! We keep going back though because it is very convenient to visit my parents and they don’t mind Bill getting deliveries or doing installs.
Savannah Oaks:
We stayed one night at Savannah Oaks on our way from TX to PA. $36
Country Oaks:
Wanting to visit friends and the Jersey Shore, we booked and stayed at our former employer again for 11 nights @ $46.50 per night.
Elks Lodges
Ephrata, PA:
Year 6 found us back at our home lodge in Ephrata PA for a total of 15 nights. They ask for a donation and we sent them $150, or $10 per night.
Jacksonville, FL:
Our stay was one night at this lodge, we paid $20, which was their suggested donation amount.
Slidell, LA:
One night @ $20
Shreveport, LA:
One night @ $20
Arlington, TX:
One night $0 (we bottomed out on the driveway and they felt bad and didn’t charge us)
Auburn, MS:
One night $0 (lodge appeared permanently closed)
Rocky Mount, NC:
One night @ $0 (lodge had experienced a fire and was permanently closed)
State Park
Assateague State Park, VA:
This is a very nice park – right near the ocean and wild ponies, who roamed around freely. We stayed 3 nights @ $30.91
National Park
Oregon Inlet, NC:
We’ve driven by here several times, but that was our first time staying. Ocean is a short walk away, across the dunes. I love when we can hear the waves crashing from home. Five wonderful nights @ $28 night.
Friends/Family
We spent a total of 96 nights staying with friends/family this past year. Thanks to those who opened their homes to us!
MISC
One night each at Walmart and Bass Pro Shops
Favorite Campground
Our favorite place to stay this year was Oregon Inlet, NC. We LOVED listening to the crash of the waves as we fell asleep and then woke in the morning. We loved it so much that we’ve decided to return on our way south in the fall. It’s a simple National Park campground with some FHU sites and a bathhouse, but what it has in location more than makes up for that.
Least Favorite Campground
I’d probably have to say the KOA we stayed at in Charleston SC was our least favorite. That was due to the situation with the sewer hook-up being clogged. Thankfully, we were only there one night. Visiting our friends, Tracy & Lee, totally made it worth the trouble though. That and they did reimburse us, so they did make it right.
Favorite Elks
Its hard to not choose our home lodge in Ephrata PA as our favorite; actually it is, but I’ve chosen that one before so this time I will say the one in Slidell LA. They had a very nice area behind their lodge and we backed up to the little pond they have, creating a very nice view out our back window.
Miles, Repairs and Maintenance
The list for repairs and maintenance isn’t very long this year, thankfully. Looking ahead, next year will be a big one – more on that next month!
RV
| Window latch – bedroom | $35 |
| Supports for refrigerator door | 19 |
| Brass Anderson Valve | 170 |
| Coroplast | 23 |
| water pump | 257 |
| MCD shade springs | 60 |
| smoke alarm/batteries | 31 |
| outside step rugs | 73 |
| area rugs for inside | 120 |
Total $788
During year 6 we added 6,079 miles to our home on wheels, which is the least amount in a single year since we’ve gone full-time.
Truck:
The truck drove 9,235 miles, as stated above 6,079 of them were towing and the balance, 3,156, were not towing.
| Front tires – Michelin LTX | $550 |
| Oil Change – Filter/Rotella T4 15W/40 | 65 |
| Air Filter | 15 |
| Windshield Wiper Blades | 15 |
| DEF | 29 |
Total $674
Average miles per fill-up: 271.6
Average cost per mile: $0.250
34% of miles were city/66% highway
Average MPG 10.5 towing/ 14.2 MPG non-towing (mostly short trips within campgrounds and/or to job locations though – truck doesn’t get warmed up enough to get the 17MPG it would get on the open road)
34 full-ups
Average $p/gallon: $2.63
Total spent on fuel: $2,305
Car:
I followed Bill for the 6,079 miles added to the rig, plus an additional 18,874 miles for a total of 24,953 miles for year 6.
| 2 Oil Changes – Full synthetic 5W/20 | $55 |
| Rear Brakes | 25 |
| air filter | 10 |
| Transmission fluid change | 15 |
| antifreeze change | 30 |
| caliper change (lifetime warranty) | free |
| clearance light | 10 |
Total $121
Average miles per fill-up: 251.2
Average cost per mile: $0.09 p/mile
71% miles were highway, leaving 29% local
Average MPG: 25.4
Total # of fill-ups: 99
Average $p/gallon: $2.28
total gasoline cost: $2,246
I’ve done extensive write-ups on keeping the car vs not keeping the car – this year I’m just going to say that we like having the car, especially with Bill using the truck for installs. Can read here for my five-year evaluation. Warning – there’s lots of other great numbers in that post too!
I’ve gone back and reread some of my previous summaries to see what other items I could update you on and honestly, there isn’t that much to add this year. So, rather than ramble on, I’ll end here.
Previous Post: Moving Our Stuff
Coming Up: Year 6 Part 2
Future Posts to Look-Out For: Upgrading Running Gear!
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we hope to be on the road this next year. Not FT but usually 6 weeks plus. So much was confusing and cancelled.
Sorry to hear you canceled your plans. Please reach out if we can help.
We didn’t stay at Oregon Inlet, but we did drive through it. We definitely would follow your recommendation the next time through, as it looked delightful. And OMG…the KOA in Charleston. We stayed there and it was OK, but crazy expensive. Thing is, it was THE best place in town. Not a lot of choices along that stretch of the coast. We looooove Charleston, though. Was the charge as Assateague per night or total?
The $30.91 is per night – I’ll have to go back and fix that to be more clear. We love OBX and look forward to returning!
You guys do an AMAZING job keeping track of all your costs….I need to figure that one out!
Thanks Ellen – Bill can help with that – it’s just a spreadsheet that he plugs the numbers into.
Weird year for sure! It all looks good!
Weird year for sure! Here’s to hoping 2021 being more “normal”!
Crazy doesn’t begin to describe this year. We volunteer 2 four month tours a year, then have a 4 month vacation. We volunteer at some awesome places. First our winter gig in Florida, didn’t cancel, but we couldn’t work. Then our summer gig in Vermont closed down. I found a replacement and that failed. Fortunately we have a pad w/hook ups on our sons land. So here we sit in upstate New York, until January. We’ve reserved 4 months near Cedar Key, fl. It’ll be nice to be able to be tourists again when this virus has been put to rest. Here’s hoping next year is a good one.
So sorry to hear your plans didn’t work out – thankfully you had a place to hunker down. I hope 2021 is a better year for all of us! P.S.: you will LOVE Cedar Key!
Every year I think I’m going to do a summary, and have yet to make it happen. But I sure appreciate it when others take the time and share all the good info!! We too loved OBX and keep it on our list of places to return. We’ve had very mixed KOA experiences, always overpriced by comparison though. The one in Willits, CA is one we do return to as it’s a good midway stop getting up the west coast 🙂
I’ve done one every year – mostly because I like reading others and want to “pay it forward” I will admit it has been harder this year to sit and get it done.