After 3 weeks travelling and living out of the car it was great to stop and get an AIRBNB for a week of maintenance. The car has been travelling really well but it was important for us to ensure that it is maintained really well.
We have a pretty good routine when we travel in the car and we cannot complain as we do not pay anything for accommodation as we park in Walmart carparks. Walmart allow for travellers to park there as long as it is not long term, 72 hours maximum is what they prefer. Some Walmart’s have security but normally they are well lit up and most stores are open 24 hours a day, so access to toilets is available.
We have a membership to Planet Fitness which allows us to use all their facilities, shower (they even have hairdryers) and use their internet. The cost of membership is $23 a month and that allows Digby to bring a guest (me), so with 2000 stores in the US, we usually have access to a planet fitness.
Our daily travel routine is wake, do a workout, shower and then explore the town or move on to a new town, find a new planet fitness, shower, catch up on the internet or research a new location, park and then hop into bed, watch a movie, sleep and then do it all over again.
Our daily costs on the road is about $50 US a day which normally covers one sit down meal, fuel and access to parks or attractions. With the costs down we can comfortably stay in an AIRBNB or motel when we need a break from the car or need to catch up on things.
This week was a catch-up week, from cleaning and refurbishing the car, getting that all-important colour and cut. It was good to cook on a real stove and enjoy some good old home cooked meals instead of noodles, soup or a quick fix. One aspect we like in the US is the drive-up servicing – you drive in, diagnose your car, change the oil, check the safety requirements, replace things like wipers or engine filters all whilst you are sitting in your car, pay your money and off you go.
One thing that doesn’t seem to stop is admin, from key-wording the 17 000-odd photo’s, tax and other paperwork that seems to pop up, so it is good to be able to stop, spread out a bit and map out our next few legs. The initial plan was for us to head back into Canada and explore the East coast, but as you may be aware, we are over the cold so we are exploring the southern end of the US and then plan on heading back to the middle of the country for Spring in the national parks.
We have come across a few quirky signs and object so I thought I would share some with you, you may need to look carefully and read the signs, especially the red necks property gate.
So not a lot to cover this week, but we will be back on the road for the next blog so stay tuned.
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