We Were There: Traveling the Usa in Our Rv

By Renee Picardi

Travel with Renee' and Pete as they explore the United States in their forty-foot motor coach. Renee' writes e-mails to her family and friends, reporting all the wonders they have seen with full-color pictures depicting some of their favorite sites. Contending with weather and road hazards is part of their travels, and wrong turns only added to their fun and adventures. Their travels are not limited to their motor coach and included a cruise to Alaska on the Norwegian Star and to the Eastern Caribbean aboard the largest cruise ship in the world, the Allure of the Sea. From the majestic mountains of Zion National Park and the exhilarating Skywalk of Grand Canyon West to the beauty of fiery sunsets over both oceans, this is the life everyone dreams of.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Jan 23, 2012
• ISBN: 9781466904965

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© Copyright 2012 Reneé Picardi.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author.

ISBN: 978-1-4669-0495-8 (sc)

             978-1-4669-0496-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012900848

Trafford rev. 01/17/2012

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This book is dedicated to my husband who is my best friend and to our fantastic family and dear friends who have traveled with us on our journey through my emails. Thanks for your support, encouragement and for asking, How are you and where are you.

Our only regrets are missing you.

About the Cover: Reneé and Pete standing on the Skywalk at the Grand Canyon West

January 16, 2008

Hi Everyone,

Yippee, we’re finally on the road today. Our next stop is Fredericksburg, VA. We estimate it will take us about 5 or 6 hours to get there, taking our time and we are expecting some bad weather around Washington DC this afternoon.

We are headed to the Florida Keys. We were going to stop and visit some friends and relatives on the way down, but because it took so long to get going, we decided to go right there. We should be there on Monday.

To bring you up to date on what was happening, we sold both our cars just before Christmas and bought a 2006 Ford Explorer 4x4 Eddie Bauer edition. It’s maroon with beige metallic trim. It’s really nice looking for a SUV and rides smooth. We drove it to Mike’s house in the Pocono’s for a wonderful Christmas Season and spent New Year’s Eve with our good friends Wendy & Bob. Happy New Year everyone. From then until Monday we were waiting for the hitch for the car to be delivered, coming from Oregon (do you believe it?). Had it installed on Monday and the alternate breaks on Wednesday and here we are. Pete also submitted his retirement papers to the Union last Wednesday. Although we were waiting for the parts, it seems that everyday we were busy doing something.

This is so cool. I’m typing while Pete’s driving. So read fast. We are doing 63 mph and should be coming up to the Delaware Memorial Bridge. I’m a little nervous about going around Baltimore and Washington. Hope we don’t miss any turns. We have to take the alternate route because the propane tank is not allowed in the tunnels. That’s OK with me! Wow! Look at this bridge. We are so high up and it just started to snow. Got to go.

PS That 5 hour trip took us 8½ hours. A tractor-trailer overturned on Rt. I-495 about 5 minutes ahead of us and took out 5 cars and spread them out across 4 lanes. Thank God we missed it. Had to take a detour and then got lost for a few minutes. But we’re OK

Love to all,

Reneé & Pete

(1)_Our_Motor_Coach.tif

Our Motor Coach

February 2, 2008

Hi Everyone,

We finally got to the Keys on Monday and it was still cool down here and very windy. Still wearing my knee socks and jacket. Our campsite is about 100 feet from the Gulf of Mexico and we have been watching the sunsets every night. Each night it is a different color or there are some clouds that the sun lights up, but every time it is very beautiful. Most of the campers meet at a pagoda at the peak of the campsite and there are about 6 families here from NJ.

Tuesday we did a little fishing, but didn’t catch anything and on Wednesday we went to Key West. It took us about 1½ hours to get there. It was very crowded and it was hard to drive and look at everything and we especially had to watch out for all the roosters running wild, left here by the Spaniards. Of course we got lost. Since the island is only 2 miles by 4 miles, we soon found what we were looking for. It was the southernmost point of the USA and only 90 miles from Cuba.

Finally, it started to warm up on Thursday and we sunbathed for about 1½ hrs. I got really burned so we stayed indoors on Friday.