What I would do different

We stayed in 28 separate places in 9 weeks time. A lot of fuel was used to make this trip.
With a lot of moving around it is hard to keep any routine. It was great to visit these places and we will always have the memories. Would we do it again? Not for 9 weeks! I am glad to have somewhat of a normal life again. And if anyone is interested in buying a camper here is the ad on Craigslist- http://tampa.craigslist.org/pnl/rvs/2512832443.html

In case anyone is interested here are some lists.

Places we stayed: (put my favorites in bold)
Roger's driveway Ponte Vedra, FL,
James Island Cty Park, Chas., SC,
Wilmington, NC KOA,
The Hornthal's driveway Elizabeth City, NC,
Assateague State Park, MD,
Tuckahoe State Park, MD,
Aunt Marilyn and Uncle John's driveway Malvern, PA,
Francis Slocum State Park, PA,
Woodford State Park, VT,
Meredith, NH, Blackberry Crossing National Park, NH,
Sugarloaf State Park, NH,
Quechee State Park, VT,
Country Village RV Park, Brandon, VT,
Button Bay State Park, VT,
N. Beach City Park Burlington, VT,
Montreal Canada KOA,
Wellesley Island State Park, 1000 Island, NY,
Fair Haven State Park, NY,
Letchworth State Park, NY,
Four Mile Creek State Park, NY,
Clearwater RV Park, OH,
Ceasar's Creek State Park, OH,
Hueston Woods State Park, OH,
Winton Woods County Park, Cincy, OH,
Morris Dam State Park, Knoxville, TN,
John and Leslie Irvine's driveway, Atlanta, GA,
James Island County Park, SC Again!

Naps were few and far between.
Bedtime was somewhere between 9-10:30pm.
Showers were not a priority everyday.
Fresh food was not always available.
Cooking on campground grills was a challenge.
I threw away sippy cups after a few weeks and bought new ones. Hard to get dishes clean w/o dishwashers. We went thru a dozen boxes of goldfish and cheez-its.
We did a good job at avoiding fast food most days on the road.
Rest areas are a great place to picnic. Good people watching too.

Some things we brought but didn't use;
compass

sleeping bags

tent

board games

cookbooks

weather radio

camp lamp

extra plates, bowls, cups- only needed 1 per person
ipod
jump rope

tablecloth

Things I found helpful;

hand sanitizer

quarters for laundry

movies for kids and portable dvd player

stickers for kids

books

maps and guidebooks from AAA

heavy duty bug spray

citronella candles

folding chairs

astro turf rug and door mat

headlamps to read at night

phone chargers

jog stroller

afterbite lotion and benadryl spray

advil

wine and beer

ziplocks in all sizes

Home at Last! I will put one more blog with our lists of what I would not do again.

Cooper River Bridge at sunset.

Finally made it home after a wonderful visit in Charleston seeing old friends. We were lucky to get back out on the Harbor for a sunset sail before we left.



First mate Barclay. That is a sailboat behind him not horns!






 



Our hosts Joyce and Wayne.



You call this camping?

I wish I had time to photograph all the funny things we saw at campsites. There were times I thought someone would get suspicious so I refrained. The campgrounds made for great people watching. Who needed TV when you had this. RVers are so serious about their rigs and set ups. Tent campers are more our style I am convinced. But who could have done that for 2 months?

Solution to the heat wave?



Who needs this much wood in July?





Convenient shopping for groceries. I loved rolling the cart right up to the door.



Back in the South

Our Atlanta relatives that put us in a real bed for a few days! I know their neighbors were glad when we moved the camper off the street.



Free reggae concert at our campground in Charleston. Don't think the singer is from Jamaica.



Folly friends



Ready for a cruise around Charleston Harbor.



Shem Creek



Hacked in Ohio

I learned a very valuable lesson. Beware of using wifi in unsecured areas. Some of the campgrounds offer free wifi and I of course was all over that. Somewhere at an Ohio campsite I was hacked. I have changed passwords, etc. now.

Other things I have learned on this trip: Coffee and alcohol are essential, do not leave food outside at night, I am a better fire builder than my husband, always have quarters on hand, my husband is an excellent camper backer, folding clothes is pointless, why take a shower everyday......

I had my first Skyline Chili in Cincy.


We made it to a few friend's places while in Cincinnati.



Old friend from Cincy.



Somewhere off  I-75 in Tennessee we planned a pit stop to see friends while we were headed South to Atlanta and they were headed North back to Cincinnati.



Jeff, you've been replaced.



We finally made it to my brother-in-law's house in Atlanta. Barclay now has lots of attention from the girls!







Lots of fun with friends at the pool in Atlanta.



Ohio at it's finest



Near Jamestown, Ohio.



Brotherly love



Craziness. How many people are staying at this site?



View of Cincinnati from the Museum at the Union Terminal



NY photos



The sailors before the Wednesday night race (Open Bic boat). Crystal Beach, Ontario. (Tilly, the dog, stayed onshore)



My view of the race from Debbie's sofa. I snuck in to put my feet up.



Barclay's new best friend Penny.



Crystal Beach






If no one eats my cooking then there is more room for cake and ice cream!



Niagara Falls

Horseshoe Falls looking toward Canada- notice the rainbow in rt corner

So I finally saw Niagara Falls. Felt good to see such an American beauty on the 4th of July. It looked like others were feeling the same way. A lot of Canadians were there also. The town of Niagara needs to work on their aesthetics. It looks like 1970's hotels and tourist traps. I was informed from my Wall Street Journal reading father-in-law that a NY businessman bought all the property and is just sitting on it to turn a profit later. In the mean time Niagara Falls downtown will look empty and dated.




Our camping was on Lake Ontario once more. Four Mile Creek State Park was great. Toronto was visible across the Lake. We got to watch fireworks from our camper. We met a family from Frankfurt Germany.3 boys with different levels of English. All were great fun for Barclay. They tried to teach him soccer.





We have noticed in all the NY State Parks that we are one of only a few out of state visitors. A lot of the campers were even local and had only driven a short way to the campground. They all looked at us like we were crazy. I have seen some crazy campers but we are not them!

We were lucky to get back over the Canadian border with one expired passport. My stepson grabbed the wrong passport when leaving Chicago. Travelling by land is a little more forgiving. The border guard said at least we could prove his citizenship with the old passport. Crystal Beach is where our friend Debbie lives in the summers with her husband and 3 children. She grew up sailing on Cowan Lake (Ohio) with my husband. She is still very active and even sails in St Pete in the Lighting Midwinters every year. This is the first time we had been to her sailing arena. Her club, the Buffalo Canoe Club, is in Canada.Go figure? And.... I didn't see canoes just sailboats.

Debbie's house on Crystal Beach, Ontario



Touring the Empire State

Upper Falls at Letchworth State Park




 
Not to give New Yorkers an ego boost, but I now understand why their state is called the Empire State.  Many people tend to think of New York City and discount the rest of the state.  From what I've gathered, that really ticks off people from the Upstate, which is basically everywhere else besides NYC and Long Island.  What does the rest of the state offer?  Pretty much everything!  There is a rolling countryside with large productive farms, strategic rivers and ports, expansive waterfront along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, quaint towns, and an abundance of natural beauty.  There is so much to see and do in the Empire State, we had to skip both the Adirondack Mountains and the Finger Lake Region.

We've had good luck booking at state campgrounds just a day or two ahead of time.  This has given us the flexibility to explore when and where we choose.


Outside Magazine's top pick for a New York state campground was Fair Haven State Park overlooking Lake Ontario, which we stayed at for 2 nights.  The sites were small and packed with some sketchy people which made for awesome people watching.  We enjoyed the well-utilized public beach, hikes along the water, and talking to the owner at the Hardware Cafe in the tiny town of Fair Haven.

Campsite at Fair Haven beside Crazy grandfather and hatchet boy

Our strategy booking campsites at the last-minute almost backfired.  Calling the reservation system for parks, Reserve America, we found that every campground in New York was booked the first weekend of July.  Luckily, well called back at the right time and found a cancellation at Letchworth State Park located on the Genesee River about an 1 hour south of Rochester.  The expansive park was named after William Pryor Letchworth, an enterprising businessman and philanthropist who manufactured leather saddles and carriage equipment during the mid 1800's.  The 14,000 acre park is referred to as the "Grand Canyon of the East", because of it deep 17 mile gorge and array of waterfalls. 

Back in the Good Ol' USA - Upstate New York

After 3 fun, but wet days in Montreal, we drove south along the St Lawrence Seaway toward the New York border.  The fertile soil of this valley is perfect for growing crops, as there were non-stop farms with heavy equipment dotting the countryside. 

No problems with border this time.



Canadian span of the Thousand Islands bridge.



Our next stop was the 1000 Islands Region, which is on the St Lawrence Seaway just east of Lake Ontario.  This area has a long history as a playground for the rich and famous.  A 3-hour boat tour gave us more incite into the area.  Large private island estates and castles were often owned by the heirs of inventors and entreprenuirs, such as McNally (maps), Singer (sewing), Emery (Lucky Strikes cigarettes), and Boldt (hotels).   Barclay's favorite castle was built by the inventor of Lifesavor Candy.  For a mere $14 million, country singer Alan Jackson recently purchased a gigantic estate along the river.

Boat Cruise around the 1000 Islands to Boldt castle.

Frontenac Post Office

Smallest "official" Island in the Chain

Smallest International island

We toured the largest and most extravegent island estate, Boldt Castle.  George Boldt immigrated as child from Germany in the mid 1800's, with only his shirt on his back.  A gregarious and driven man, he married a wealthy bride and continued to build the family fortune in the hotel industry in New York City.  His most well known jewel is the Walforf Astoria.  After buying many islands in the 1000 Island chain, he hired a staff of 300 to build a castle, remenisent of his favorite childhood castle in Germany, for his wife.  Three years into a 4 year construction timeline, George's wife unexpectedly died.  He ordered all work stopped and did not return.  The castle was completed years later and is owned by the Bridge Authority Organization.

Leaving Boldt Castle on Heart Island

Boldt Castle

While camping in the Wellesley Island State Park, we enjoyed many hikes and bike rides along rocky bluffs overlooking the river.   

Fishing off Wellesley Island

Last night, the sunset and perfect temperature beckoned us to a rocky point where Barclay tried his hand at fishing for the first time.  Although no fish were caught, he was excited to take control of the pole.

Jeff  Irvine

Montreal great city but what's up with all the rain

Old Montreal

Made it into Canada by sweet talking the border woman. We forgot the registration for the camper and Barclay's birth certificate wasn't a certified copy. I read in the AAA book it only had to be a copy. Hope we can get back into The US!

Old Montreal is so European with it's cobblestone streets and sidewalk cafes. Everyone speaks French. It was fun translating signs for my husband. I should have had some real fun with that. The rain was on and off all weekend. It rained out what could have been a big day since it was a holiday. St Jean Baptiste celebration and then a Jazz fest that looked a little soggy. We found a Biodome to get away from the rain. Awesome display of ecosystems. Of course the penguins are always the favorites.





Chinatown was only a few blocks from Old Montreal and only a few blocks wide itself. It had gates like the Chinatown in San Francisco. I did not see Nigerians selling fake Coach and Gucci purses and Rolex watches.