Feeding The Beast

One simple step that is often overlooked in RV Trip Planning is when and how you are going to feed your beast.

Most RV's are over 30-feet long, some towing vehicles, some requiring special fuel (diesel and DEF) and you can't pull into the next gas station along the highway and hope for the best.  Most of the local gas stations are designed for the quick entrance and exit of personal automobiles....meaning if you are 30+ feet  long you are either going to get hung up or cause a little bit of inconvenience for others.

A Few Simple Tips on The Proper Way To Feed Your Beast (When, Where, Why & How)

When-You can estimate  your fuel economy and how many miles that it will take to empty your tank. (err on the low side just in case). Plan when you are going to stop  ie in 300 miles, in 400 miles...what every works for you just as long as you don't run empty.

Where-Look for larger truck stops or fueling stations that you can easily pull in and pull out of without getting hung up or being an inconvenience to others.
Nothing is worse than having to stop traffic so that you can either disconnect your toad or try to back out of a situation,

Why-Try to combine as many reasons to stop as possible (snacks, rest, food for the beast, convenience shopping) Hey if you are going to stop why not make it worth your while.

How-Look for stops along your existing route. Saving 5 cents per gallon seems like a lot..especially when you are buying 80 gallons (actually it is $4) but if you have to go 20 miles out of your way to save 5 cents per gallon then you have actually wasted money. 

Shameless Plug/Personal Opinion:

Also look for chains that are friendly to RV'ers I fill up exclusively at Pilot/Flying J's using my Good Sam/Flying J RV Plus Card. I save 8 cents per gallon off of the posted cash price. Most have large open fueling areas with diesel. If I need DEF I can easily pull around to the truck lanes fill up and move on. Their stores are bright and cheery (they definitely not the truck stops depicted in the movies)

I hope that this helps.


Cheers

Project Beignet-March 2018

Project Beignet Trip Recap

We traveled 2300 miles, burned almost 292 gallons of diesel fuel, 10 gallons of DEF, spent 20+ hours behind the wheel over 7 days and would do it all over again.  Either we know what we are doing and planned well or the RV Travel gods were on our side either way everything along the way went according to plan.

Friday March 23rd/Saturday March 24th 

Since we had the RV completely loaded the night before we started off the day with a hearty, healthy  and smart breakfast and then spent the extra time double checking our to-do lists. When 12 noon rolled around we picked up the girls and headed down the road.

The journey to New Orleans was relatively easy--->6 hours behind the wheel, followed by an hour long kick ass power nap and then a yummy dinner, 4 more hours behind the wheel followed by a 30 or 45 minute kick ass power nap. The only downside is that I drove through most of Alabama and Mississippi when it was pitch black dark out and did not have the opportunity to enjoy the scenery.

Once we got close to New Orleans and the magical sun started shining we all were energized after spending close to 20 hours in a 41 foot RV. We separated- Tawnya taking the girls to see the French Quarter & to pick up a healthy lunch to bring back to the campsite.  I told them that the healthiest lunch in town could only be found at  The Central Grocery.  While they were picking up lunch I went on to set up camp and catch some zzzz.


We arrived at Jude RV Travel Park-I was expecting...well my expectations were very low based upon the area of New Orleans that the park was located in. If an episode of Cops was filmed in New Orleans they would film 90% of the episode in this neighborhood. Once we pulled in we were greeted by the super friendly owner who was more concerned with me getting set up in my spot than registering and paying.

Sunday March 25th
Being the super responsible parents that we are we took Addi (our 10-year old) and Riley (her 11-year old friend) on our own tour of the French Quarter. Keep in mind that Tawnya and I have been to New Orleans many times before and can give one hell of a drinking tour of the Quarter. Never had we thought about a family friendly tour...until Sunday March 25th. We started off with Beignets and then it was off to Jackson Square, the lunch at Acme and then an eye opening walk down Bourbon Street. The look of shock and amazement in their eyes was comical.

Monday March 26th
Based upon a co-workers recommendation we had Beignets for breakfast...ok my co-workers really didn't suggest Cafe DuMonde 2 days in a row, but I have to shift blame somewhere. After another dose of healthy Beignets we drove out to Slidell, Louisiana and took a tour of the swap with Dr. Wagners Honey Island Swamp Tour. 

'Wild' Russian Boar

Family of marshmallow loving Racoons

Tiny 5-6ft gator

Tuesday March 27th
Based another friend called Groupon- we did a guided tour of the Garden District and St. Louis Cemetery-1. I used to laugh at people who would take the guided tours...now I have turned into one of them and loved it!

Pirate Sam was Great!

Wednesday March 28th
It was time to pack up and hit the road and head up to Stone Mountain. The drive was relatively easy and since it during the day, I was able to see the beautiful parts of  Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, South Carolina and Georgia. The drive from Louisiana to Stone Mountain Georgia took about 8 or 9 hours depending upon who is counting and the time zone change. We arrived in time to set up camp, make dinner and chill out.

Thursday March 29th
We all spent an awesome day at Stone Mountain Park (hiking, touring, mini golfing and shopping)

71flights of steps up- according to fit bit!

View from top of the mountain 

Friday March 30th
The day that every RV'er dreads...the drive home. I drove 20 hours down, so I figured that driving 10-hours back home would be a breeze. HA...thats what I get for thinking. Traffic around Atlanta and getting out of Atlanta sucked!!! and then once I made my way onto 77 (Between Asheville and I-81 in Virginia) it sucked even more between the up and down mountains, the wind, the volume of traffic, the wind...at one point before I pulled off to take a nap I seriously contemplated finding a spot to camp for a few hours and then continuing the drive home later that night.  But 11hrs later we made it home safe and sound & cleaned up ferocious but fabulous for the next great adventure.

Key Learnings From This Journey

1. We can make it New Orleans. We used to think that The Big Easy was soooo far away now we know  it really isn't that far away. The next time that we want crayfish or a beignet we can hop in the RV and head down to the Big Easy
2. Proper Planning makes the trip easier and less stressful. I used RV Trip Wizard and included all  of the rest stops and Pilot/Flying J's along my route
3. The drive home is going to suck no matter if it is 1 hour or 10 hours...just deal with it