After unsuccessfully trying to get valve extensions put on “The Big Easy” as we’re henceforth naming the RV, we rumble out of Indiantown to Hobe Sound to drop off some unused key blanks and head for the I-95 and the north.
First stop was Manatee Hammock campground at Titusville. A beautiful spot next to the Intracoastal
with full hookups (electricity, sewer and water) plus washrooms, swimming pool and free Wi-Fi. I had a swim, really nice thing to do in the heat down here.Wednesday 10th June
We took an early morning walk to the waterfront with Buddy
and had an early morning visitor
before topping up with propane and gas (8 mpg so far) and heading back to the I-95.For lunch we stopped at the Georgia Welcome Centre which like all rest stops on the I-95 are very nice places with sheltered picnic tables and washrooms etc.
In one day we passed through Georgia into South Carolina. Amazing, when you think we spent eight days transiting from South Carolina to Florida on Incognita.We stopped one more time at the South Carolina Welcome Centre before leaving the I-95 for the Tanager Woods Campground. This was a contrast from the previous night which had everything plus traffic noise from the US-1 highway.
Tanager Woods is in the middle of nowhere with full hookup but NO other facilities. But that’s OK for $11 a night. After all we have everything in Big Easy anyway.
Thursday 11th June
Off we go again but not too early. Back to the I-95 and on up through South Carolina with a stop near Florence to stock up on our vitamins and activate our US RBC bank cards.
Got pulled over by the police. Apparently I was driving too close to the shoulder and he wondered if I was sleepy. Anything but, with huge trucks that keep whizzing past just a few feet on the left. I shall have to learn to position the thing in the middle of the lane.
For an afternoon break we stop at one of those huge ‘discount’ stores they have off the highway – RJs in this particular instance. A huge load of junk as Carol said, though we did buy some sweeties.
Our stop for the night was near Roanoke Rapids at a very new RV park. So new they don’t even have half the facilities they’re supposed to. But they did have Wi-Fi.
Friday 12th JuneOff again round our usual time of 9 am and into Virginia and the least pleasant part of the trip negotiating the roads around Washington – no rest areas and wall to wall traffic with frequent slow downs and complete stops
Eventually we’re out of there and into Maryland and more pleasant surroundings with a stop for lunch at a scenic lookout that’s the scene of a civil war battle for the city of Washington.
Just after crossing into Pennsylvania we stopped for the night at an RV park that’s actually an RV dealership. They were having a ‘customer appreciation weekend’ with live music (a little too country for us) and burgers and hot dogs – not the thing for non meat eaters.Saturday 13th June
We had set ourselves a low target for the day’s journey so we had our usual leisurely Saturday cooked breakfast before finally trundling on to the I-81 at around 11 am.
Lunch was somewhere at rest stop in mid-Pennsylvania before we landed in South Gibson PA around 5.
The Shady Rest campground has the most rural setting we’ve been in so far.
We were half way up a mountain in a heavily forested area with a hundred foot drop behind the RV. We put rocks behind the back wheels just in case.The temperature finally dropped and we turned the air conditioning off and slept totally covered up for the first time in months.
Sunday 14th June
Another leisurely start to the day with a cooked breakfast and then it’s on into New York State and our campsite of the day just outside Alexandria Bay.
The weather is even cooler, no AC required. The locals thought it was a muggy day. Compared to Florida it was arctic.Monday 15th June
A short hop to the border and we follow signs for “Export Control” that go nowhere. We almost make it to Canadian Customs before we stop and walk back and then get yelled at for walking across the car lanes. Finally we are told to do a U-turn where it says no U-turns and then head back through US Customs. However, the paperwork takes about 10 minutes and we were soon headed for Canadian Customs. That took a little longer with money to pay.
But pretty soon we are heading up the 401 and then to Prospect to park the RV in our good friends Richard and Sarah’s driveway.
Tuesday 16th June – Sunday 28th June
Recovering cars from storage, doctors’ appointments and generally re-assembling the parts of our lives that can only be put on hold for so long.
Monday 29th June
Time to move ourselves on, up with the awning, everything stowed and off we go to Sandy Mountain campsite near Kemptville We were very lucky to get in with the upcoming Canada Day celebrations but signing up for a 10 day stay clinched the reservation.
Tuesday 30th June – Thursday 2nd July
This is one noisy place when the transients are around. Blaring music, screaming kids, drunken adults, not a tranquil spot. Once the first of July was past it quietened down a bit though and we met some very nice people who have a permanent trailer across the way. Lots of people have permanent spots. The trailers or ‘severely modified’ trailers
stay in the same place (it would take a lot to move some of them) and get bought and sold just like a house. Seems a little crazy when the land is owned by someone else.We bought new tires for our bikes and once they were installed we went cycling again for the first time in about ten years. As we were intending to go some places without having a car we knew we would be needing better transport than Shank’s Pony.
Friday 3rd July – Sunday 5th July
Leaving the RV behind in a field at the campsite, we head off to Montreal for a weekend visiting our friends Ken and Cheryl even though Cheryl was suffering from a rather nasty sore throat and cold (more on that later).
Whenever we visit Ken and Cheryl and family - not forgetting Guiness - we watch lots of movies and usually get to go see one too. No exceptions on this trip (“Up” was the movie – in 3-D yet – great!) though we did get to bed somewhat earlier than we used to – getting old?
We got to participate in their Sunday family BBQ with daughter Jessica and boyfriend Mike, Son Jeff and friend Sadie, plus Cheryl’s mom and her Uncle who was celebrating his 92nd birthday. So it was burgers and sausage for most and veggie burgers for some.
Monday 6th JulyFrom Montreal it was back to Ottawa, more specifically Orleans, where we stayed overnight with our Newfie friends Denis and Madeline.
Tuesday 7th July
Over to Sandy Mountain Campsite to pick up The Big Easy and then we’re off down Highway 43 to Cornwall and a lovely spot by the river at the big civic complex there to meet up with Ira and Ann and Rolling Thunder.
Wednesday 8th July
No early start for these RVers. But eventually we were on the way to Drummondville for the Mondial des Cultures festival. In their praiseworthy wisdom the city fathers of Drummondville open up the school parking lots and permit RVs to park 24/7 for the duration of the festival. There are no facilities but they do have a free dump station so it’s a good deal and you can buy a ticket for all days of the festival for $25 if you buy in advance of the start.
Thursday 9th July to Friday 17th July
Our enjoyment of the festival is somewhat tempered by the fact we both came down with the cold that Cheryl had but we still got to see enough to justify the entry fee.
The town gives over a prime spot by the river for the annual festival.
Standout performances for us were:
Singer guitarist Harry Manx, shown here with his weird cross between a guitar and a sitar,
The Paraguayan dance troup with these ladies who dance with up to seven bottles balanced on their heads,
the Serbian dancers, the Georgian dancers, Cameroon singer and guitarist Idy Oulu and Florence K.
Not forgetting the fireworks displays too.
We also did some cycling which felt great after many years of abstinence.
Saturday 18th July
We’re reluctant to leave before the end of the festival but we have tickets for Jennifer Warnes at the Ottawa Bluesfest on the Sunday. So after a visit to the dump station, we’re off back through Montreal to the Ottawa Municipal Campground where we’ve booked a week’s stay on Corkstown Road on the way to Kanata.
Sunday 19th July
We have tickets for the Bluesfest, so with camping chairs in hand we headed for the show and get almost front row seats for some really good entertainment.
We’ve forgotten what these guys were called (it was a fuse of two very different outfits) but they were very entertaining.
We really went for Jennifer Warnes and her exquisite backup band.
Monday 20th July to Sunday 26th July
We spent a very wet week in the campground. It’s a very bucolic spot with lots of trees
and quite a bit of privacy compared to what we had previously experienced.
However, did it ever rain causing very damaging flooding in nearby Glencairn and we had a river flowing through our site as evidenced by the mud left behind.
We of course were high and dry unlike most of the other campers in tents probably having their annual vacation washed out.Monday 27th July
On the road again and it’s off to spend a few days in the compound where our storage units are while we try to sort out our stuff and attempt to reduce it some. Also the RV has to be certified as fit for importation, e-tested and safety checked before we can get it registered with Ontario plates. The nearby Canadian Tire is one of the few places capable of doing this.
Tuesday 28th July to Thursday 30th July
The certification and e-testing was done but they had no forms for the safety check so we had to wait until Thursday for that and we finally get the RV back at 9 o’clock at night.
Then it’s over to the Georgia Carpet parking lot for them to install laminate flooring.
