OK...I think it works

Well I think the page works...so far. I thought it would be cool to write about our travels and post photos of things and places we visit. Didn't want to put them in a forum environment because of the length so I thought I would try a "blog". I've never tried this so it may not be setup or work like most but that's OK...it'll get better with time.

I'm starting with our new Cardinal...because I don't know if/how you insert pages of prior stuff. Or if you can change the order of the pages. That's OK though, the Cardinal is a new chapter in our travels anyway.

So check back often if you like travel and photos as we intend to do plenty of each!

The new 5th wheel!

 

 

We bought a new 5th wheel and truck to travel the US!

 

 We had "upgraded" our '07 Georgetown 315 class A (F53 chassis with a V10) to a '14 Palazzo 36.1 (Freightliner Chassis with Cummins 300HP) but with all the problems it was a nightmare!

 

After a lot of research and discussion we decided to look at 5th wheels. At the Tulsa Boat and RV show we found this 2014 Cardinal 3850RL and fell in love with it.  All the "must haves" were in this unit. So we bought it!

 

First challenge was finding something to pull it with. We owned a loaded '11 F150 in a bronze color with an Undercover lid on the back...not big enough to pull the big bird. We also own a '13 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited in Rock Lobster (limited production color in 2013) that we got to pull behind our motor home...that would do us no good at all. So after looking at a Ford King Ranch F350 diesel dually and two Ram Longhorn 3500 diesel dually trucks we went with the Ram that already had the Gooseneck/5th wheel ready package.

Next was waiting for the RV show to end as it was on display, and we bought it the second day of the show. Then came "moving day"....how can you pack SO MUCH stuff in a motor home??? It was after dark when we got home with "Big Bird" so we spent all the next day getting settled into it and ready to hit the road.

Saturday 2/15 about noon we set out on the road for the first trip in the 5er. I44, Hwy 75, Hwy69,  Hwy 82 and I35. Slightly longer than I44, I35 but I wanted a route with less traffic than going through Okla City till I got the feel for it. We had a 20 mph side wind most of the day, don't know what the gusts were. It was SO MUCH better than driving the motor home! I could run 65 or 70 and probably 75 or 80. I settled on 65mph as we were not in a big hurry and the truck was new. I also varied the speed up and down 2-3 mph for the first 200-300 miles.

Spent the first night out in the Winstar Casino campground. It's a very nice, wide open place. We had tickets to see Rascal Flatts that night...but were too tired to mess with the crowd at the casino. So we just sat in our new bird in front of the fireplace with a beer. Not a bad evening!

The next day, Sunday 2/16, we stopped by Camping World in Denton to pick up the flag pole I had them hold for me. and went through Dallas. That was a trip...but the rig handled much better that times with the Palazzo. We stopped at Southern Living RV park on the west side of Shreveport LA.

 Monday 2/17 it was on to Cajun Palms right beside the great Atchafalaya Swamp. Really wished I had my boat as we have fished there many times when we lived in Baton Rouge LA. Stayed two nights there and had to go to Crawfish Town to stuff ourselves with the crawfish feast!

 Tuesday 2/18 was a pilgrimage to the home of Tobasco. Misty came away with several regular bottles of various flavors and a 1 gallon bottle of original Tobasco! It won't last a year. Then it was on to Baton Rouge to see a dear friend of ours that still works for the same company as we did.

Wednesday 2/19 we headed for the kid's place in Crestview FL. Other than a dense fog on the bridge over Mobile Bay the drive was very nice and comfortable. Wonder why we didn't get a fifth wheel sooner? Pulled into Eagle's Landing at Holt FL one exit before Crestview. It's a nice park and we've been here a week now. We'll stay another week, then head for Kansas City and our youngest granddaughter's second birthday.