Storms and Traffic

What started out as a routine travel day ended a bit stressfully. After a normal departure and smooth traveling we approached Atlanta from the south only to encounter strong thunderstorms and rain. The rain can only be described as torrential. We decided that rather than fight the rain we should settle in for the night. This was about 4:30 pm. We saw a campground sign on the interstate and decided to go for it. Following the sparse directions on the signs we ended up on a back road that was not even paved where we asked a guy if there was a campground in the area. He said, "No." We asked if the road was passible and he said, "Yes, the section that is unpaved is very short and it leads to a shopping mall." He was right but once we got to the mall we really got turned around and it took us a while to get back to the interstate.

As we approached Atlanta the traffic got heavier and heavier. Since we were approaching the big city from the south we took the beltway around to the west and ran into the worst traffic gridlock we have ever seen. We crawled for an hour or so only to arrive at our exit to find it was blocked off due to an accident. Fortunately the GPS software was able to reroute us to I-20 west but once there we started checking for campgrounds only to find hardly any on that side of Atlanta. We pulled into a parking lot and did a broader search and found a nice campground up at Marietta, Ga. The mapping software routed us to it and showed it was only 13.2 miles away. We started out for it while calling on the cell phone to hold a campsite. By now it was late in the day for us, around 7 pm and they had one site left which they held for us. This campground is nice because it has free wireless internet.

The down side is that things are a bit soggy after all the rain. Our car looks like it is the color of red clay since that covers everything in this part of the country. Click here for the web site of the campground. I took some photos of the gridlock traffic with my cell phone. I'll add them to the post later. Anyway, we are settled in for the night and hope to make Red Bay, Al tomorrow. 250 miles to go.

Bye Bye Florida

FINALLY crossed the Florida/Georgia state line. We are at a refueling stop at a Flying J Truck Stop. It is a cool place to stop because they have high speed wireless internet. We stopped for lunch after refueling and hope to get past the Atlanta Metro Area today. That's it for now from the Flying J.

Rhythm of the Road

The first day always seems to be the hardest. Getting an RV on the road is like getting a ship underway. The crew is rusty and it takes a while to get things in the right place and to get in synch with the rhythm of travel. When on the road each day has a definite cadence. Today will be better and tomorrow even better as far as that goes.

We both slept extremely well last night. I think it is something about breaking that connection to routine duties and patterns at home. On the road each day is different and holds new adventures. We enjoy seeing new sights and meeting new people.

Today we hope to get past Atlanta and have that major metropolitan area behind us. Neither of us enjoys the congestion and traffic so it will feel good to take that south bypass and the big turn to the west.

The Mothership Has Landed

It sure takes a long time to get out of Florida. We passed Orlando and got into the rolling hills of the Clermont area and started seeing dark clouds and lightning ahead. Pulled into a rest stop on I-75 and studied our maps and GPS display and decided it was time to begin looking for a place to park for the night. We passed a KOA Campground in Ocala, Fl and started looking for signs on the Interstate indicating "Camping." Here in Ocala we saw one for the Ocala RV Ranch and that is where we are for the night. It is nice with good paved roads and 50 amp hookups. So, here we are spending the first night on the road still in Florida. Oh well, it is a long state and we got a late start. It has been a while since we have been on the road so it took us a lot longer than we had planned to round up all of those little last minute items like CDs, keys, glasses, medicines, etc. So, here we are at 5:46 pm in a really nice place with wireless internet, all hooked up for the night and a nice gentle rain is making those sleepy sounds on the roof. What a great way to travel and what a great life. I am sure the rest of the trips will hold many adventures but for now this is quite nice and pleasant. Click here for the campground web site.


Here is a screenshot of the GPS display after we parked.

Lunch Break

We are at the Fort Drum rest area on the Florida Turnpike taking a break for a sandwich. Got a late start this morning. More about that later. Feels good to be "On the Road Again."

Final Preparations

It is 6:30 AM and I am starting to shut down computers and other systems such as our Tivos. I have two doors to shutter but one of them must be left until the last minute. Today is the day. Some last minute packing to be done and then we are off for our adventure. I am really excited about getting started after one delay due to Hurricane Dennis. Of course, we must keep an eye on Tropical Storm Emily that is cranking up out there and following a similar path to Dennis. If she follows her big brother up towards Alabama we will just bail out and head on north. Gotta go. Things to do. See you on the road.

Departure Update

We will be leaving tomorrow. Dennis has been downgraded to a tropical depression and is moving out of northern Alabama, our first destination.

A new storm is brewing down in the Carribean and will likely be somewhere near the US by this coming weekend. That gives us a window of departure that we are going to take advantage of by leaving tomorrow.

We will have our laptop and satellite tv while on the road and will be watching the new storm so that we can stay out of its way. The new one will be called Emily.

I am anxious to turn this back into a travel Blog instead of a weather Blog.

Here is an interesting radar loop of Dennis making land fall. Click here to view it.

The Wunderground site is my favorite site for tracking storms. Clikc here for the latest info on the new storm brewing in the Carribean as well as Dennis.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Calmer Weather

The weather here in West Palm Beach has calmed down to more of a normal state. We are worried about my uncle Bill who lives in Fort Walton Beach. None of us have heard from him yet. We do know that he is equipped with one of those big automatic generators that turns on when the power goes out.

As far as our trip goes, we will wait one more day. We plan on calling the RV plant up in Red Bay, Al to determine the extent of their damages. The forecast for that area calls for possible tornadoes and very heavy rains. No need to drive into an area until they have fully recovered. We figure it will take us 2 - 3 days to get there so if we leave early on Tuesday morning it should all work out about right. That will also give us time to double check our provisioning and packing. Stay tuned. We will be underway soon.

A Second Power Outage

We had another power outage during the night when another spiral band from Dennis came through. I didn't get to my main computer in time to shut it down but Barbara's was still running on the battery in the UPS so I shut it down more gracefully. The rain and wind woke me up but I don't remember the time. I am guessing it was around 2am though which would coincide with this special weather statement that came in while we were sleeping.

At 2 am EDT...Doppler radar indicated bands of heavy showers
affecting Palm Beach County. The activity was most concentrated
across northern and eastern sections of the County. The heaviest
showers will affect areas between Royal Palm Beach and caloosa.
Gusty winds to 50 mph and torrential rainfall will accompany the
heavier showers across these areas. Mainly light showers will affect
the coast...but even these light showers could contain gusty winds
to 40 mph.

Rain Bands

Here's a shot of the rain and wind as one of the feeder bands swept through the West Palm Beach area.

Click Here for Overall Route Map.

Google Earth

This image shows a weather satellite image overlain on Google Earth along with the projected path of the storm. Google Earth is an incredibly powerful geographic display tool. If you do not have it on your PC you MUST get it as soon as possible.


Click Here for Overall Route Map.

Weather

Looks like my travel blog has turned into a weather blog. We just had a power outage but it is back on now. Bands of rain and wind continue to sweep through as the effects of Dennis are being felt here in West Palm Beach. Here is a snap of the weather radar from Miami grabbed from Wunderground.com


Click Here for Overall Route Map.

Dennis

Bands of heavy rain are sweeping through our area. They are connected with the feeder bands for Dennis. We lost power about thirty minutes ago and I am posting this using my laptop connected through my cell phone. The forecast for Red Bay, Al does not look good. I think we made the right decision to stay put. Here is the forecast for them:

LAWRENCE-LIMESTONE-LINCOLN-MADISON-MARSHALL-MOORE-MORGAN- 500 AM CDT SAT JUL 9 2005 ...IMPACTS FROM HURRICANE DENNIS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS TENNESSEE VALLEY SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY... HURRICANE DENNIS WILL APPROACH THE GULF COAST ON SUNDAY. DENNIS IS EXPECTED TO MAKE LANDFALL SOMEWHERE ALONG THE ALABAMA GULF COAST OR WESTERN FLORIDA PANHANDLE BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THE CURRENT FORECAST TRACK THEN MOVES DENNIS NORTHWEST ALONG THE ALABAMA AND MISSISSIPPI BORDER ON MONDAY MORNING AND INTO NORTH MISSISSIPPI BY BY MONDAY AFTERNOON. THE FIRST RAIN BANDS FROM DENNIS ARE EXPECTED TO IMPACT THE TENNESSEE VALLEY BY LATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON. HEAVY RAIN WILL CONTINUE SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY AS THE SYSTEM MOVES NORTHWARD. AT THIS TIME...IT APPEARS RAINFALL AMOUNTS IN THE RANGE OF ONE INCH ACROSS SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE TO UP TO THREE INCHES ACROSS CULLMAN COUNTY WILL BE POSSIBLE SUNDAY NIGHT. NORTHEAST ALABAMA MAY ALSO SEE HEAVIER RAINFALL DUE TO THE HIGHER TERRAIN. ADDITIONAL RAINFALL IS EXPECTED DURING THE DAY MONDAY...WITH FLASH FLOODING AND RIVER FLOODING BECOMING POSSIBLE. IN ADDITION TO THE HEAVY RAIN...STRONG WINDS WILL ALSO ACCOMPANY THE SYSTEM. SUSTAINED WINDS OF 15 TO 30 MPH WILL OVERSPREAD THE AREA SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND SUNDAY NIGHT WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH EXPECTED. WINDY CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY MONDAY. STRONGER WINDS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE HIGHEST TERRAIN OF NORTHEAST ALABAMA AND SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE...WITH GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH POSSIBLE. AS WITH ALL LAND FALLING TROPICAL SYSTEMS...ISOLATED TORNADOES WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE ENTIRE AREA SUNDAY AFTERNOON INTO MONDAY. CONSIDERABLE UNCERTAINTY STILL EXISTS WITH THE EXACT TRACK OF HURRICANE DENNIS. ANY SHIFT TO THE PATH WILL RESULT IN VARYING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND RESULTANT WEATHER THREATS.

Click Here for Overall Route Map.

Definite Delay

Look at the model projections from the National Hurricane Center. Click on the small image at the left to make it larger. These projections along with the fact that Dennis is growing into a major hurricane and the forecast is for him to strengthen further, we are delaying the start of our trip. We think it prudent to give Dennis the right of way here. Since our first stop is in Red Bay, Alabama to visit the factory that built the Mothership this makes sense to us. We doubt that they would be working on our RV in the middle of a major hurricane. We don't like camping in hurricanes either. We decided to give it a day or so to make sure that it does not deviate drastically to the right. We would not like to be up in Northern Florida and then have it turn to the right.

Now we have time to review our check lists. Do some more detailed preparations. Bob also needs to rest from the two days of intense work he has done packing the RV, putting up hurricane shutters, and doing last minute yard work. Maybe this is a good thing to let us take deep breath and fine tune our preparations.


Click Here for Overall Route Map.

Complications

Tropical Storm Dennis, soon to be a hurricane, looks like he also wants to go to Red Bay, Alabama. Hmmm, what to do? We sure do not want to arrive there and then have a hurricane hit. The discussion from the NHC is forecasting that Dennis will become a major hurricane and strike the central Gulf of Mexico. We may have to wait until he goes through. We can always start up that way and get within a couple of days drive and then see what happens. It is always interesting this time of year in Florida and the Gulf Coast.

Click Here for Overall Route Map.

Continued Preparations

Well, we have two tropical storms brewing in the Carribean. One, Cindy,
appears to be headed for Louisiana and is expected to make landfall in
that area. The other, still tropical depression 4 I think, is also
forecast to head into the Gulf of Mexico. I have ten of the nineteen
windows in our house shuttered. Our plan, since we are in hurricane
season, is to have all of the shutters up when we leave. It looks like
the hurricane guessing game has already begun. This might be a good
time to head out of Florida. We are still looking at a Thursday
departure with Red Bay, Alabama our first goal.

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Preparations Continue

We continue our preparations for the trip. Many people think it is just a matter of hopping in the RV and going when you feel like it. For a short trip this might be about right but for an extended one there are many things that have to be taken care of prior to departure. Prescription medications must be ordered, bills payed, laundry must be done, and then there is an entire category of things relating to the RV. It must be fueled with both gasoline, propane, and water. Tire pressures must be checked. Oil levels and engine fluids must be checked. We even took the car, the Escape Pod (PT Cruiser), in for servicing last week just to be sure it is up to speed. Also, all those little things from the last trip that should have been worked on while in port must be taken care of. A loose towel rack, installation of sun shades, various adjustments and tweaks; all of those must be done before departure. Finally, hurricane shutters must be put in place on the house just in case one of those bad boys blows through town. Now that we are retired doing these things is almost fun since it can be done a little at a time. The trip is really beginning to seem like a reality now. The last few days before departure are always a time of increased excitement, anticipation, and a bit of anxiety thrown in for good measure.

Click Here for Overall Route Map.

Travel Maps

I am going to maintain this blog as much as possible while we are on our vacation trip. Right now it looks as though next Thursday is our departure date. Our first goal is Red Bay, Alabama where we will get some repairs done on the motorhome. While on the road I plan on posting location maps like this one to let everyone know exactly where we are. You can click on the small map to the left to view a larger one or use this link to view the map in a version that will allow you to zoom in or out.

Vacation Preparation

We are planning a trip right after the Fourth of July holiday. There is a surge of vacationers on the road at that time and so we will delay our departure until they are done with their vacation thrashing. Our planning right now consists of a known stop in Red Bay, Alabama for some warranty repairs to the Mothership windshield. Other than that all I can say is that we have our Canada Inter Province Insurance Cards and all safety equipment required in Canada. We both have always wanted to see the Canadian Rockies and that is one of our goals. We have been watching the temperatures in Banff, Alberta daily and they are still pretty chilly there. I think we are both a little tired of the constant rain and heat and just need a change of scenery. All we know at this time is that we plan on being back home in August sometime. It could be sooner or it could be later depending on how we feel. We both enjoy being on the road in the Mothership as anyone who reads this Blog knows. So, in the weeks to come stay tuned for updates on our adventures on the road. We will be posting links as we have above to our present locations using http://maps.google.com/ . As you can see from this link, overall route, this is quite an ambitious voyage but with six weeks it should be doable. Also, if we don't get to cover the total distance we will still have had a great time.

New Project

I have been heavily involved in a flight simulator scenery development project lately. It has been great fun and involves a lot of what I learned working in both the IT field and in Geography. I am working with a virtual team to develop accurate flight simulator scenery for the State of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico coast over to New Orleans. You can read more at the website I created at http://fs-freeflow.com . The interesting things is that we received an unexpected bonus from a benefactor in Tasmania who donated a server to our project. He manages a website called http://FS-Shipyards.com/ that specializes in marine craft and scenery for flight simulator. To add an additional international flavor to the mix, the server is located in Denmark. Very interesting. So, if you want to learn more about the project just visit the site http://fs-freeflow.com/ .

We are using two software packages on the site, both of them freeware, SMF, Simple Machines Forum, and MKPortal, an interesting package that wraps itself around the forum. It is very configurable and I am strongly considering switching this site over to that configuration as well.