(Yes, I know it’s November right now; we are gonna play “catch up the blog” again this month.)

The Distance: 1,441 miles as we really kicked the travel into top gear after months in pre-COVID Key West and post-COVID Sanibel. Though we long ago abandoned our Western US circuit plans, we put in some miles bouncing around the Southeast as far as North Carolina and Tennessee. This month’s mileage represents nearly two thirds of our 2020 total of 2,227.

The Places:  We finished off our stay at Gilchrist Blue Springs State Park before heading north to the outskirts of Atlanta to see Rose’s cousins. From there we spent five days outside Spartanburg, SC to visit Dad and Marcia, and then headed for Black Mountain, NC and hoped for relief from the summer heat. We made a lengthy side trip to Wilmington on the North Carolina coast to see Mom and Tim before heading back to Black Mountain and nearby Asheville. We continued west with a week in Waynesville, NC before closing out July at Cumberland Mountain State Park in Tennessee.  

July gave us 12 days in public parks (2 in a national forest, 10 in state parks,) 10 in private parks and resorts, and 9 staying with family. We had full hook ups for 12 days, partial for 15, and stayed in a house for 4.

The Budget: Continuing an unfortunate trend from May and June we were once again significantly (25%) over budget this month. Like last month we suffered from a lack of market experiences, and then aggravated the budget with a lot of gas for our 1,441 miles of travel, along with relatively high campground fees for most of the month. And again similar to last month, we still would have been well under budget if not for an unexpected big expenditure, this time we had to replace the front rooftop air conditioner. Ah well, we remain moderately under budget for the year.

The Drama and Improvements:  As mentioned above, we had to completely replace our front A/C, during which process we elected to have preventive maintenance done on the rear A/C as well.

Next up: Fall Creek Falls State Park, TN.