We continued our eastward trek along I-20 on Monday and ended up driving 227 miles from Vicksburg, MS to Tuscaloosa, AL. We stopped at a Pilot/Flying J in Meridian and topped off the fuel tank with 84 gallons of diesel for $187. I like the Pilot/Flying J’s because they’re always easy-in and easy-out. Plus we have their discount card (Pilot RV Plus) that we can pay online when the bill is due. Calculations after refueling confirmed our Scangauge D™ is accurate and we’re getting a little over 8 miles to the gallon. Not too bad 🙂
Once again our ~$100 annual Elks Lodge membership pays for itself… our iPhone app routed us to the Tuscaloosa Elks Lodge #393 where we went into the lodge and paid a reasonable $20 for the night.
After checking in, we disconnected the Silverado and pulled into a 50 Amp full hook-up site next to the only other Coach at the lodge.
Nice spots backed up to a short grassy area and thick woods. Next to us was a nice covered picnic area with BBQ pits.
After getting set up we went back into the lodge for some tasty margaritas and conversation with friendly folks. The bartender cooked us up a really good pizza and a BBQ beef sandwich for our dinner.
In the morning, I got our ladder out and spent some time washing the bugs off the front of the Urban Escape Vehicle. With a little help from Stilla, I even got most of the coach washed and wiped dry again.
Around noon on Tuesday we hit the road again and plugged the route to a Walmart in Centre, AL into our RVND™ GPS. We’ve been in contact with some old friends from Colorado Springs who invited us to park for a couple days at their new (to them) house near Lake Weiss. Tom & Johnna Phillips coordinated to meet us at the Walmart parking lot so they could lead us out to their beautiful home on the lake.
Tom & Johnna were already waiting for us when we rolled into the Walmart parking lot after our ~145 mile drive from the Elks Lodge in Tuscaloosa. They guided us to their house where we’re now moochdocking on their 50 Amp power hookup 🙂
Tom & Johnna have been here a year now but used to be in the Family Campers & RV’ers (FCRV), Rolling Springs Chapter out of Colorado Springs. We were also members of FCRV at that time and went on several camping trips together. We’ve stayed in touch with them along with several other current and past members. My Dad and stepmom Elaine are still active members and as a matter of fact – about this time last year we were with them in Gillette WY at the FCRV Campvention. And BTW – did I mention Tom & Johnna also have an Alpine Coach!?
Tom grilled us up some burgers on the back deck while we watched the sun set over the lake in the back yard and got caught up. Thanks Tom & Johnna for the hospitality!
Check back tomorrow for more pics… Tom & Johnna plan on showing us around the area…