A Review of our 2019 travels

At the start of 2019 we were in Las Cruces, New Mexico touring the nearby  City of Rocks State Park.  Our travels in 2019 took us west to Joshua Tree, north to Utah, east to New Jersey, north (again) to Alexandria Bay, and south to Florida.

Notable places we’ve visited:

• City of Rocks State Park
• Hawaii 
• Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
• NKK FullTimers Rally, Silver City, New Mexico
• Tombstone, Arizona
• Quartzsite
• Joshua Tree National Park
• Lake Powell
• The Grand Canyon
• Winslow, Arizona
• Zion National Park
• Bryce Canyon National Park
• Utah’s Scenic Byway 12
• Arches National Park
• Salt Lake City
• Antelope Island State Park
• Antique Archaeology, Le Claire IA
• NKK FullTimers Fall Rally, Alexandria Bay, NY
• Boldt Castle
• Blue Ridge Parkway
• Floyds Country Store
• Key West
• Sanibel Island

Total miles traveled = 6,798

Average miles driven between stops = 158

Total number of stops = 44

Total costs for campgrounds = $20,326.17

Average cost for campground (per day) = $55.69

Financials:

Expenses 2019 vs 2018

• 45% increase in the Household category 
• 44% increase in the Recreation category 
• 13% decrease in the Medical category
• 23% increase in Vehicle category 
• 23% decrease in Utility category

• 36% increase in campground fees
• 17% increase in supply costs
• 55% increase in clothing costs
• 2% increase in food costs
• 21% increase in liquor costs
• 87% increase in cigarette costs
• 8% decrease in costs of gifts
• 4% increase in computer costs
• 39% decrease in postage costs

• 256% increase in fun stuff items
• 101% increase in ATM usage (ATM fees are credited by bank) 
• 8% increase in book purchases
• 1% decrease in costs for eating at restaurants 

• 33% decrease in dental expenses
• 2% increase in cost of health insurance 
• 123% increase in eyecare expenses (new glasses and frames)
• 49% increase in out of pocket costs for prescriptions
• 100% increase in Doctor costs (co-pay)

• No change in fuel expense
• 64% increase for costs for service & parts for the coach 
• 34% decrease for costs for service & parts for the Jeep
• 32% increase for insurance on the coach
• 9% decrease for insurance on the Jeep
• 6% decrease in cost for CoachNet insurance
• 7% decrease in cost for Tolls
• 94% decrease in parking costs (garage rental while on cruise was expensed in 2018)

• 34% decrease in cellular / data costs
• 7% increase in Satellite costs  
• 6% increase in Sirius Radio costs
• 8% decrease in propane costs
• 100% increase in electric costs (electric billed separately at Casa Grande)

So, did we meet our goals for 2019?

Our first goal was to stay at better campgrounds. 

I’m not sure we did as a whole. While we did increase our per day costs $14.41 per day, it doesn’t seem as though there was too much difference in the ratings.

That being said, almost half of the campgrounds we stayed at this year were KOAs (19 of 44), which is something we plan on changing in 2020. No KOAs in 2020 unless they are the only campground in the area, or have a rating of 4 stars or more, (our goal for all stops in 2020)

The second goal was to spend more time and money doing fun stuff. 

That we definitely achieved (256% increase) and plan on continuing the adventure strong in 2020. We are also going to reduce the amount of one week stops. We averaged eight days per stop in 2019, which was mainly in order to set up the office so I could work during the week. In 2020, our goal is to stay 14 days in the majority of locations and only move weekly if we are headed somewhere special, or have been to the area already and want to see something different.

So, there’s a lot more fun planned as we continue this adventure.

Until then, stayed tuned.