Rv trip Journals

Since we began full timing we do keep a log of sorts.

We use Google Earth to track our travels mostly because we use it to plan our moves. We also use Google Earth to save our "Bucket List" places to visit.

On top of what we post on RV Park Reviews, we do keep a blog of sorts. We update family and friends every couple of weeks to let them know what we have done, what we plan to do and where we have been. And then there are photos. We picture almost every campsite we stay in plus places that we see etc. These are all logged chronologically and tagged with location etc.

Everything we use to diarize our journey is digital but we do not use anything commercial.

It would be very easy to set up a "Word" document on your computer that you could use to just fill in the blanks.

Darrell & Jerry

 

We've done a trip log since day one but being somewhat old fashioned we use a small log book that we each hand write in at the end of the day as to where we drove from/to and the various stops of significance we made along the way. We log our starting and ending mileage for each trip and along with the time we started out in the morning and when we got to our daily destination, etc. Writing it out in a book is fun and at times we have sat down with a glass of wine in the evening and taken turns reading out loud about past trips that had both funny and not so funny commentary made about them. We just recently started a new book and we will keep doing this until we hang it up. We could have done all this on a notepad we take along but we started with the log book and it just stuck.......

BankShot................(aka Terry)

 

Don't laugh but it's just a simple hard cover lined page book that we hand write each days activities in. Pretty old fashioned but it does the job for us and it also keeps our handwriting skills peaked....

Terry..............(aka BankiShot)

 

We don’t keep a written journal but what we do keep are the campground maps that are handed out at check-in. Then when we are walking or biking around the campground we make note of the spots that we would prefer next time we visit. Other than that or reviews that we made on RVPR that is the extent of our journals.

 

Well.....way to go Terry!! I have just been told that "we" are adopting your method as well as what I (we) are already doing. Jerry likes the idea of tracking mileage etc. I am the "digital" one of our duet so Jerry will do the writing and I will just transcribe to the computer so we will have both type of record. It's a good think that I have time on my hands!!

Darrell & Jerry

 

Great ideas.

 

We are kind of different. In our sticks and bricks home, we have a map posted on the wall of all trips I've done.

We also track where we've been by using this site and the National Parks Passport Program.
Chris g.

 

Having lived in Maryland for many years, we've always headed north on I-81 rather than on the I-95 corridor. Although our exact route to New England varies a bit from trip to trip we usually cross the Hudson around Albany and cut east from there.

We've even driven to the Canadian Maritime provinces by way of Montreal and Quebec, heading north around the top of Maine before going east. It's a much more pleasurable drive than any of the routes through the US.

Google Maps makes it very easy to compare the estimated time and mileage for various alternative routes. For example, on a trip from Frederick MD to Halifax NS, the difference between going up I-95 vs going through Quebec is ~3 hours and 200 miles additional out of an estimated ~17+ hours and 1,100. What you can't directly compute is the likelihood that there will be delays along I-95 that add back a significant fraction of the "time advantage" for taking that route. Also not included is a measure of the "mental stress" of taking a 40' motorhome up the Jersey Turnpike and across the George Washington Bridge! For me it's a no-brainer; I'll take the longer, more relaxing route!

 

When it comes to journals, I am old school by using journals. I started with those ones that already have the year and the day, but now use one with lined pages where I can write in the date myself. I also keep a map like Fitzjohnfan which I update after every major trip.



BTW mdcamping, you are not kidding about I-95 through NJ/NY/CT. Once was enough for me.

 

Speaking of journaling, is everyone aware that Google Maps creates a Timeline for you as long as you're using location services? Your timeline shows every move you have ever made while carrying the phone. It shows our ventures in the UK and Norway last summer and even knows what portion of our touring around London was done on a bus! When you stop at a museum or other tourist destination it dutifully notes that. It's a little creepy, but for journaling and blogging it is quite helpful.

 

Thanks fir tge comments. The map is too big to show some detail. We actually drove route 15, the Merritt Parkway, from Cheshire CT, down to NY. Note that this was in 1995 in a car, two years before we got our first motorhome. Beautiful Highway, I hope to be able to drive it again someday.

 

i just this morning finished up taking a U.S. map, such as the one you use, and have highlighted in yellow all the interstates, highways and as many secondary roads as the map allowed, that we've driven on since we began RVing. Great Idea Chris...(aka Fitzjohnfan) and thanks for posting your map as you did. One doesn't begin to realize how many roads they've been on until you do this. And it's also fun..........

Regards, BankShot.............(aka Terry)

 

Instead of using a wall map that doesn’t have all secondary highways,we used our Rand McNally road atlas.

 

I usually use a Notebook App to take some notes, which was downloaded from the Apple Store.