American Automobile Association

We are still getting ready to drive to Florida.   Even though Disney didn't work out we are still going.   It is a nice time of year and after all we have been home for almost 6 weeks.   In a row!

This expedition requires a lot of getting ready.    Preparation for this trip has divided itself into several sets of tasks.   

Food is a biggie.   We are not towing an extra vehicle behind us.   That means that we would need to have about a week's worth of food.   We have stocked up on PB and J, pop tarts, microwave popcorn, rice krispy treats and hamburger helper. Maybe a few steaks, pork chops, burgers and hot dogs for healthy meals.

Pets are another necessity.  The parrot cage is all set up.   The cat box fits perfectly under it.   That should keep all  the animal poop mostly in one place given no sudden stops or reckless driving maneuvers.   Livestock food is stored under the bathroom sink.   Which category is that?

TV is the other biggie.  The DVD VCR is all installed.  It works the flat panel over the drivers seat, the 13 inch in the back bedroom and the great big dinosaur 29 inch outside, in the patio storage area under the floor.  There is no satellite receiver to go with the dish mounted on the roof.  The TV switch board is still kind of a mystery but hopefully we will decipher the functions of those little push buttons when we get wherever we are going.    Most campgrounds have cable available up so that means we get to run yet another wire from the back of the coach.   Along with the sewer hose, electric cord, special white drinking water hose we will now have a TV cable to deal with.   With the TV outside we will be able to enjoy the great outdoors while enjoying our healthy red meat dinner.

We have 100 gallons of diesel but the propane is getting low.   There is construction along part of our route.   The propane distributor is on a section of road that will allow us (me) to  avoid the construction zone and driving on the skinny lane diversion. The mirrors have already been repaired several times. We will get refilled on that other road for sure.

The route selection process is very tedious.  There are lots of route mapping web pages.   The one  from Bing maps looks good but it's 38 pages long.   We sat in the Diner yesterday where P suggested AAA.   Great idea, they have all kinds of travel stuff, we paid already and it might be fun trying to figure out where the office may be.  Our GPS took us right to the AAA office.   They had 30 parking spaces, well marked and wide open.  Hey that's a break, we should be able to great service.  In and Out, nobody here.  We walk in, exchange greetings with the nice lady at the counter and take a number as directed.   As we stroll to the back of the office the lady calls us over and asks how can she be of service.   She pulls map after map from her well stocked drawer, hands us a few large paperback TourBooks, CampBook and a pamphlet about Road Service options from AAA.  Armed with all this literature in a slick AAA plastic bag we got back in the van, started our GPS and headed home.

Wait... GPS!  We need maps why?  No wonder they were not busy and so well stocked.  I'll let you know how this goes.