Snowbird Prep

They say that the second time is a charm. I certainly hope that is correct as we are loading the RV up for another attempt at the migration south. We have a few more things to load and then we are off!

Our first attempt was an ill-fated loop through Indiana and then to points south as we ran into the dreaded Covid. Yeah, Pat and I both had a mild-ish case and now fully recovered. Except that I still do not have much smell and taste. Hope that comes back at some point. You really don’t know how nice it is to smell and taste until you lose it.

We were both fully vaccinated, but still contracted this virus that has been plaguing the world for two years now. My doctor said that having the vaccines may have kept it from being serious and a hospital stay. So, there you go. He also said that I should have super human antibodies now. But, of course now they come out with a new variant. Go figure.

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Our loading the RV process goes something like this. Get the RV from storage and park in front of the house. Load up everything in the basement compartments, the pantry, and our clothes closets and dressers. Then we move the 5th wheel trailer to the local lake (Claytor Lake State Park), where we can extend the slide outs and begin to load the kitchen, refrigerator and anything else. We have two full days at the park to finish.

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We cannot extend the slide outs with the rig parked on the street in front of our home. It would block most of the street! Our moving it to the local park works out just fine.

I also filled up both of the propane tanks at the local propane dealer. Good grief the prices for propane is up 54% from last year. Ridiculous! Thanks Biden. Not a huge impact for me just some small usage for the RV stove, but I feel bad for anyone heating their homes for the winter. I paid $5.04 per gallon yesterday and last winter paid $3.28 per gallon. Taxes included.

My truck’s diesel tank is full from a few weeks ago using our Kroger discount. The national diesel average price is $3.73 as of November compared to $2.41 from a year ago. That is another 55% increase. And then there is the grocery store price increases. Ugh…. LINK

The Claytor Lake State Park campground was completely empty when we set up the RV. This is compared to completely full the last time that we loaded on October 1st. Guess the winter weather slows down the RVers Up North. Plus the park is closing the campground on December 6th for the winter. That works well for us as we leave on the 6th. The park looks like something from a zombie apocalypse movie. Except for the zombies of course. I think anyway…

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So, we are now officially snowbirds! A few more things to load and a few stops on the way. Florida or bust!

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