This is our first trip in an RV so we had only a little idea of what to expect. We are a family of four, me, my wife Liv and my two boys Ben (17) and Dan (13). Im not really a camper to be honest (I like a few more comforts and a clean shower) but I love the outdoors so an RV seemed like a really good compromise.
Liv and I went to the Grand Canyon, Flagstaff, Sedona and Monument Valley 18 years ago (in a car and hotels/B&Bs) and had a fantastic time so somewhat belatedly, we really wanted to show the boys how beautiful this part of the world is and of course, see more of it for ourselves!
We put together this trip using books like Lonely Planet, extensive Googling to avoid obvious errors and the busiest tours but it couldnt have been done without help from the guys here especially glc, travellingman, Rick Quinn, Southwest Dave and Midwest Michael.
The last time I drove any of these roads, we had an atlas, printed directions and probably no useable mobile phone. This time I was using an app called HereWeGo which is an offline Sat-Nav. Im pretty sure it is still free and we had it last year in Florida and it was excellent. But that trip was pretty easy compared to this one (Orlando, Cape Canaveral, St. Augustine, Charleston, Amelia Island and finally back to Orlando). Being on a U.K. contract with O2 meant that for me to use my phone would cost £7.50 (about $ 9) a day so anything offline was a godsend. This time however, Liv was on a new contract with Three that allowed free roaming in the US so we were able to validate the routes as we went, at least where there was any network coverage, which wasnt very often.
This was a 10 day trip in an RV around some spectacular places plus 3 city days in San Francisco and 6 on the beach at Pajaro Dunes just north of Monterey. I made these notes on the move and have updated them and added photos now I am back.
So thats us and how we got here, lets get on with the trip!