Poppy's First Adventure!

 Poppy's First Adventure!

What better maiden voyage than a familiar route to a familiar place?

I packed up Poppy and hit the road: I-40 East to my home state of New Mexico, a trip I had done dozens of times before. 

Friends on my favorite Facebook group, Travato Owners and Wannabees (TOAW) had said, "Forget about how you used to drive on road trips. Four to six hours is max drive time." 

Pshaw! I am a good long-distance driver! I can do more!

The first day was about six hours drive time, ending up about eight hours with rest stops. It was just about right. I got in to beautiful Kingman, Arizona right at dinner time. Called ahead to make sure the local Cracker Barrel allowed boon docking and pulled right in.

My first Crackerdocking experience!

Made my little microwave frozen dinner from Trader Joe's, ate my piece of cake from Cracker Barrel for dessert, and snuggled in with my book. 

The next day, I had planned eight-plus hours of drive time. Not bad, I thought! But 11 hours later, I pulled in to my destination, very tired and road-weary. Tired butt, sore back, and ready to get out of the driver's seat!!

I will have to learn that leisurely road trips are the way to go.

Once I arrived, I parked in the driveway at my sister's house and stayed a comfortable five nights. 

Moochdocking at my sister's house!

I was able to charge up the Volta system by driving the rig to show it off, and then the next night I plugged her in to "shore power." During the days I didn't have her plugged in, the solar seemed to keep the state of charge steady. Only the refrigerator and freezer were drawing power, but the gauge stayed steady!

Birthday party, hikes, and good food, good beer, and good company ensued.

I stayed for five nights in this little spot before moving on to Tucson, Arizona. My friend's HOA: "No RVs. No way, no how." Cracker Barrel here I come! Tucson and the surrounds are not too friendly to RVers. Walmart and Home Depot did not allow overnight parking. But Cracker Barrell had plenty of room in their large parking lot, including long pull-through spots. I ordered some fried chicken to thank them, ate one piece and froze the rest for later (because I could!).

While I was in the Cracker Barrel lot, I got to exploring my Jensen music system. It is handled with an app, so after downloading it, I started playing around and got some pretty good sound through the Bluetooth! There were indications of Zones A, B, and C, each with its own volume. I switched back and forth and couldn't quite understand where Zone C was. No sound! Oh, well. I finally turned it off and went to bed. 

Right around 4:40am, the stereo BLASTED me awake. Oh my goodness! How the heck did that happen? Did I brush my phone or my watch? In my sleepy state I just turned if off and went back to sleep. In the morning over breakfast, though, I did some more research and found out Zone C is the outside speakers!

It hit me that I had been blasting my neighbors unintentionally! One of them must've realized that it was a Jenson system, had the same app, and hooked into my bluetooth, paying me back for the gift last night! Serves me right. Now I know. 

After hiking and having a wonderful meal with my friends in Tucson, I rested again at Cracker Barrel and then continued West on I-10 and made it to Escondido to visit my brother and his husband. This time, Poppy stayed unoccupied on the street while I enjoyed real showers and the comfy guest bed. 

A trip to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, some delicious meals, and good company: nice topper to my vacation!

Fianally, I steered Poppy through the Orange County and Los Angeles freeways, and soon she was back to sleep on her new parking pad in my front yard. 

A successful maiden voyage! Three cheers for Poppy!