The Miami-Beach-to-Kent Road Trip

Our 7,238.2 mile 13 day (August 25th through September 7th) road trip was a lot of fun. My 1993 Ford F-150 truck ran fine @ 75-80 mph and got an average of 15.5 miles per gallon using only one quart of oil and 467 gallons of gas. The $400 I paid for the cruise control installation really paid off. I didn't realize that Miami Beach, Florida was so far from Kent, Washington. If it wasn't for love, I don't think I would have made the trip. My fiancé, Teri, is all settled in and loves Washington state and the weather after 12 years of living in constant summer in southern Florida. Teri has two chow-chows and they are enjoying the cool weather too. We stayed exclusively at Motel 6, and liked knowing what to expect on our nightly stops. I went through Punta Gorda, Florida five days after hurricane Charley had hit and there were still many signs of destruction. Wadded up pieces of aluminum, yellow and pink gobs of insulation, and much brush still littered the median and both sides of the freeway. One very large motel could be seen from the freeway with the entire roof covered in blue plastic tarps. The freeway exit signs were blown into twisted shapes by the wind, and the highway department was using the temporary battery operated construction reader-board signs to replace them. I passed convoys of orange Asplund tree trimming trucks and many out of state power company trucks as they headed back north after helping with the storm damage. Heading into Florida were many convoys of unmarked travel trailers for people to live in while they rebuilt their damaged homes. We had a lot of fun on our trip, and visited the Grand Teton, Yellowstone National park, and the Wild Bill Cody park in North Platte, Nebraska. Funny thing... of the hundreds of RVs we passed, none displayed an RV.net sticker. Yes, Fall is here in Washington State, and my new bride is trying to stay warm with sweaters and jackets. Our night-time temps are now in the mid to high 40s, so it's pretty cool in the house when we get up. I have been using my FreeCycle.org pellet stove to take the chill off of this poorly insulated 30 year old mobile home. Teri is a Pittsburgh, PA native and knows all about cold weather, but after 12 years in southern Florida owns very few warm outfits. Her chow-chow dogs really like it here and have started growing heavier coats. We both have many friends in the Miami Beach area and have been paying close attention to the weather forecasts. Teri just loves the Seattle area and Puget Sound, and can't get over how lush and green everything is. We plan on making good use of my 28 foot Terry travel trailer for some camping trips in the future.