I have been reading some of my friends Xmass blogs and really liked the right background of the common issue on all of them –THE WHITE SNOW….That is how it should be…
So let me share with you our Xmass that also happened to be our Anniversary in Eilat ,the city on the Red Sea.
I will let the pictures speak for themselves and leave you all with a blessing for a BETTER year to come.
While Europe,Canada,parts of the US and even Australia (where it is summer now) are covered with snow we are experiencing this lovely weather in late December,although we would like to have some more rain if it is not to much to ask for..it is sad to see the “poor” brook almost dry.
Any how we decided to take advantage of this weather and took of to the Northern part of the country called Galil and as expected not to many people where out there in the middle of the week and that is what we like.
We hiked along the Zalmon brook and although the water level was really low still we could enjoy the hike,the surroundings and the small water pools traps along the way.
After taking it easy for about 3 miles we decided to head to the old city of Akko situated on the Mediterranean Sea and has a long history ,ancient structures and I would like to share it with you.
As we spend summers traveling with our 5W in North America we try to catch up with our local travels during the winters.
Usually the winters are quite mild in this part of the world so clear skies and crispy days are very common here that makes the outdoors activities very attractive.
All you have to do is be dressed as an “ONION” meaning layers of clothes that can be taken of or added accordingly to the weather changes,the trail has to dry and not muddy after a heavy rain ,add to it good company , good mood and you are set to go.
Our tour bus picked us up at 6AM and others on the route to South Golan Heights to Gamla and ancient Synagogues.
If you are interested to read about one of the most heroic battles (even more than Masada) go to http://www.jewishmag.com/40mag/gamla/gamla.htm and read all about it.
The trip ended at 8PM but till then we hiked around 7 miles on a beautiful day (a little hazy) and visited 3 ancient synagogues ,Gamla and had a surprise birthday party to one of our friends during the lunch break.
The tour guide was very informative and gave us the feeling that we are experiencing the old times and the events as they happened.
Till we meet again…
We live in Israel and RV every summer for 4-5 months since 2002 ,each trip to different States/Provinces, winters (that are very milled) we spend at home with family and friends.
So as you can see we are now at home while the RIG is stored in Ontario waiting for us to pick it up in the spring.
I have posted our next RV plan on the blog and will be happy if you can send you remarks/suggestions on it.
Yesterday I read some of your blogs and found myself missing the the travels and the RV life although we just got back from a 4 months trip in November,so we decided to take advantage of the great weather today and drove to the OLD part of Tel-Aviv .
The city is going through a lot of changes,the old section is getting an uplift while around it skyscrapers are blocking the sun and changing the atmosphere for the worst,doesn’t it happen everywhere?
We parked the car in a central location and wondered around by foot trying to go through old alleys,markets and old fashion restaurants.
I wish I could bring you the smells and the sounds of the market and the restaurants,but till this high-tech will kick in you will have do with the pictures as they here (try to imagine…).
As you can see it is impossible to escape the Modern buildings,they are everywhere,one person that lives still in one of the small old houses told us that the skyscraper built next to him blocks the sun completely and he can not even use the solar panels to heat the water…
The alleys and the small renovated houses that kept the “old flavour” are very nostalgic and inviting,just strolling down the alley,stopping at a coffee shop for a drink or an Ice-cream is very enjoyable,you can find old book shops,second hand stuff,old praying places from all religious and PEOPLE speaking different languages .
The next stop was the market that has it all,fruits,vegetables,flowers,food stands, a lot of GREAT smells and colors.
Then we hit our favourite small restaurant that specializes in meat soups that are prepared on small flame above an old small stove for hours ,the smell and the taste is just fantastic,the owner goes around and adds soup to your plate (not the meat) whenever she sees the level is reaching the bottom of the soup plate…so you will never leave hungry.
The soups come with a special pita that is usually dipped into mixture made from herbs,lemon and garlic,so after that you need a good glass of herb tea to “clean” the air.
I hope you enjoyed traveling with us in the OLD town although you must leave your RV behind…(But I envy you that can do it year round..)
Till we will be back on the road again…
My wife and I are doing this since 2002, each summer we visit new States/Provinces storing the rig at the end of each trip and picking it up in the following spring, never retracing, next year will be the 10th RV trip….hard to believe.
What started as a long lasting dream many years ago became reality –and there is nothing like living the DREAM.
It did not come easy as it sounds lot of adjusting had be done especially mentally and financially but here we are after 9 fantastic RV summer trips and hopefully many still to come.
If you like to see some of the adventure please go to our website http://danyshula.blogspot.com/ it is always updated as we go.
We ended our 2010 (Bruce Peninsula Ontario/Pennsylvania/Maryland/Virginia/Ontario) trip in Toronto and the rig is stored for the winter just an hour North of the city, so our 2011 trip starts from there.
We just came back from the trip a month ago brought the house and the garden back to normal and I am on the net planning our 2011 summer trip, I must admit that I enjoy this part quite a bit.
We love nature, hiking, scenic drives, special events, music and meeting people, so the plan is around these issues, I Google, ask for brochures, post on the forum and get advice from people that have done these routes.
Usually we pick a central location campground and do day side trips with the truck till we feel that we covered the area before moving on, the end of the trip has to be a winter storage place next to an International A/P.
Our 2011 trip will start in June:
* Toronto area to Sue St Marie either by ferry or by land, Boarder crossing to Michigan.
* Exploring North Michigan.
*West Michigan coast.
*Crossroads RV manufacturer Indiana.
*Lexington area KE.
*Land between the Lakes KE.
*Memphis area TN
*Nashville area TN
*Chattanooga Area TN
*Smoky Mountains area.
*October -end of the trip in Charlotte NC just to continue from there in 2012 to the Carolinas.
I will be thankful for any suggestions regarding the route, MUST SEE places or any other relevant remarks.
Many Happy Trails, May it last and last …….
Leaving Israel (home) to North America for a period of 4-5 months it is not an easy task,there are many issues that have to be taken care before departing such as:
Banking,bills,gardening,mail,vehicles,medicals and being ready mentally to leave your family and friends behind,BUT what is the alternative? sit put and feel sorry for not doing what you dreamt about for many years ? No way -it is all about balance.
So we decided to divide our time between RVing in North America during the summers and spending time at home in the winters.
We did some RV “test” trips in Italy,Norway and New Zealand with relatively small motorhomes before purchasing a 5W and a truck in North America.
It is not so easy for one that lives out of the US to do what we are doing,at the end of each trip the rig has to be left in storage (each time in different location ),stuff such as clothing has to be arranged so we will have everything in the trailer and ready for different weather conditions,but we have solved all these issues from experience.
We started doing this in 2002 and fell in love with it, each spring we start our trip from where it ended last Autumn never repeating our tracks,always exploring new States/Provinces ,meeting people from the RV world and some of them became our friends.
We love nature,hiking,meeting people and managing our time without any pleasure,we are always curious to discover what is “BEHIND” the next mountain.
So we just ended our 9th RV trip and this time to Ontario-Pennsylvania-Maryland and Virginia, you can read all about it in my previous posts,this time we had our eldest grand daughter (12 years old)with us for a month and only people that did it can understand the joy and pleasure of spending time with a grandchild .
The house and the garden are almost back to normal but the greatest news are that my medical test came back showing that I am clean from cancer cells after having 36 radiation treatments before our RV trip,not that there was another option…I believed in winning this battle and sometimes during the trip even forgot all about it,but it is good to have it “OFFICIAL”.
So back to normal,family ,holidays,friends and planning our next summer trip to Michigan-Indiana (visiting the manufacturer of my 5W)-Kentucky and Tennessee leaving the rig next to Charlotte NC just to continue to the Carolinas on the following year.
As English is not my mothers tongue (thanks God for the spelling automatic corrections) forgive me for any mistakes I do.
See you on the next summer trip and remember that today is the first day of the rest of our lives.
As all good things come to an end so is this 2010 RV summer trip.
It was an exceptional one because Yuval (our eldest grand daughter ) asked to join us for a month,only grandparents that had this experience can fully understand how happy we were to except her wish.
The month with her flew by so quickly but every day ,every minute was a pure joy,she became part of the “crew” helping with trailer and camping activities and in the kitchen as well,the one that benefited from this was ME, 1 Chef and one Su Chef….what else can you ask for?
Scroll down to see pictures related to Yuval in Ontario.
After dropping her off (with regret from both sides) at the airport to catch a direct flight back home, we continued to Pennsylvania,Maryland and Virginia.
Most of the time the weather was good allowing us to hike,swim ,explore and enjoy the outdoors.
We have meet friends from our previous RV trips and a friend from high school that we did not see for a whole decade…it was fun to say the least.
We also made some new friends from the RV family and enjoyed sharing stories ,interesting trip and future plans.
One of them invited us to store the rig for the winter on his property what made the end of the trip more enjoyable and easy – we thank them for all they have done for us.
As the season came to the end we found ourselves almost alone in C.G,morning were chilly and getting warm became an issue we decided to move and cross the boarder back to Canada , this time the crossing was smooth and easy I did not even step out of my truck…..
The last C.G was next to Niagara falls on the Canadian side on a beautiful lake and nice Autumn colors,we used the stay top winterize and prepare the trailer for the winter storage.
From there we drove all the way to our friends and stored the trailer next to their house and got all the help we needed .It was Thanksgiving evening and we were invited to share a dinner with the whole family,what a great evening it was.
Finally we left the trailer and drove with the truck to Toronto to spend time with our son and our Toronto friends,eating,hiking and catching up since our last meeting.
Close to our flight back home we dropped of the truck spending another two days there before returning to Toronto.
Hard to believe that we just ended our 9th RV summer trip ,good things past fast,but have already plans for our 10th trip….till then…bye.
As the Autumn came knocking on the door ,the nights became colder ,the days shorter and the RV traffic thinner,the C.G became almost deserted but we still had the desire to keep going and experience the foliage on the way back.
On the way from Pittsburgh to the Canadian boarder we have done 3 stops ,one in Mercer PA one in Tionesta PA and one next to Jamestown NY , some of the days were rainy and some crispy clear but cold (that’s how I like it),we enjoyed every minute and took it as it came still taking short hikes to waterfalls and visiting an Apple fest in Franklin PA,rain did not stop us at all ,it is only water…
In Jamestown C.G we meet again the owner Max that was glad to see us after we camped in his C.G last year coming from NY towards the Canadian boarder, he too is closing up and moving for the winter to Florida as most of the RVer’s from the cold area.
Crossing the boarder was smooth ,we did not have even to get out of the truck although I had everything ready for the usual questions we got so much used to.
In July in a C.G we meet a great couple that lives an hour North of Toronto , they offered us to leave our rig on their land during the winter ,we just talked with them and will on our way to their place in 2 days that will be used to do the laundry and get the staff packed and ready.
The next 2 weeks we will spend with our son in Toronto,visit friends and get presents for the grandkids .
Next year plan is already going through my head …Michigan,Indiana,Kentucky and Tennessee… I can’t wait.
We meet a great couple that is running the C.G in Tarentum just 20 Milles North East of Pittsburgh.
They own a great log house on the C.G grounds and they use as their home and public restrooms.
For many years they would hold a Blue Grass festival in the C.G but had to stop as it interfered with the the regular RV camping activities,we were invited for coffee ,cookies and even welcomed to use their computer to check our e-mails.
The city of Pittsburgh is beautifully spread out ,the city is surrounded with nice green hills with house all around, and at one point 2 rivers Monongahela and Allegheny meet to create Ohio river many bridges connect different parts of the city above the rivers and it creates a beautiful sight.
We strolled along the downtown,bought a sandwich in a famous bakery and sat down in the Market Square to eat, then walked along the banks of the rivers close to the famous Steelers Stadium and the Baseball one.
After that we drove to MT Washington sat in one of the pubs facing the rivers,bridges and the downtown-and what a sight it was…
At the C.G we were just on time for gorgeous sunsets that were just right to complete a fantastic day.
The Corps of Engineer in the US have built dams all over the country ,after finalizing the work they have arranged campgrounds in most of lakes/dams.
Many of them have electrical hook ups,a tab where you can fill water before you go to your site and a damp station,they also have on the grounds showers and toilets for those who camp with a tent.
ALL the campgrounds are located in a beautiful nature and are quite comfortable to go and out.
We chose Youghiogheny Lake Corps of Engineer C.G as it was on our way and had no idea what to expect.
It was a great choice,specie RV sites with Electrical hook ups and a clean C.G.
We had a long drive through hilly terrain ,so after getting settled we took things easy,took a shower and strolled around the C.G and the river that ran just next to our site.
Day later we visited on of the most fantastic beautiful S.P called Ohaiopyle S.P,there is a river running through the park,waterfalls with a short hiking distance,picnic areas,white water rafting,canoeing , many bike and hiking trails-what else can one ask for….
It was a great day like many others ,but this came as pleasant
surprise.
Shenandoah N.P is located on the North part of the Blue Ridge PWY and is a like a cherry on top of a cake,anywhere you hike,drive or have a picnic is beautiful and you can not go wrong.
The only “problem” we had is to choose from a long list what hikes to take ,but we managed…
As the park is located in the North part of the BRP we decided to move our rig to a C.G close to it,driving with the trailer ON the BRP and the Shenandoah N.P is possible but not wise,the road is curvy and narrow so stopping or turning around is almost impossible, the best solution was leaving the trailer at the foot of the mountain and making side trips with the truck alone-it worked just fine.
We found out that beside the vistas,hike and falls there is also night life in one of the resorts,so surly after a long day we enjoyed local dances and music with food and beverages.
I add some pictures for you to enjoy.
Life is good.
Near New Market at the foot of the Shenandoah N.P and the Blue Ridge PWY many cavers can be found, we have visited the Endless Caverns and used their C.G for 4 days to explore this fantastic area.
We arrived at 2PM to the C.G ,got hook upped eat some snack and walked to the Caverns just next to the registration office of the C.G
According to the tour operators, the cave was discovered by two boys in October 1879, while hunting rabbits on the property of Ruben Zirkle. The boys cornered a rabbit behind an outcropping of limestone rocks, and began moving some of the loose stones to flush the rabbit from his hiding place. After doing this they discovered a hole in the ground and ran back to the house to grab some ropes and candles. After going into the hole the boys found that there were many chambers and rooms. Not long after the discovery, the Zirkles began doing candle lit tours through the cave. In 1919, the cave was bought by Colonel Brown. Brown had the cave fully wired and lights were installed. Endless Caverns was allegedly the first cave ever to have electrical lighting.
Endless is home to colonies of bats, primarily little brown bats, that are visible on the tour route
We did a long drive (our standards) from Virginia Beach to West VA and settled down for 5 days along the South part of the BRP of Virginia.
Virginia Beach called also called Hampton Roads area is land and waters waved in a way that you do not know where is the ocean,where are the inlets and it reminds an octopus legs with waters in between them.
The city itself reminds Miami Beach with a long boardwalk (made from concrete) along the Ocean when restaurants,hotels and shops on the West side of it, different all together from West of Virginia.
It was 230 Milles long and took us around 6 hours with 3 stops,one of the stops we have done was next to a dinner recommended to us by a friend, “when you pass Wakefield on HWY 460 do not forget to stop at the dinner to taste their peanut pie” and so we did and never regretted it as it was delicious.
The C.G in Greenville has a swimming pool,a lake surrounded with grass ,Wi-Fi , full hook-ups and located comfortably to the BRP.
On our second day we headed towards the Natural Bridge using the BRP going South with many out looks towards beautiful vistas.
The Natural Bridge is a huge rock with a big hole in the middle of it,all made by nature,it is a beautiful sight and the only thing that I dislike about it is that it is private owned and became a tourist trap…
On the next day we headed to Shenandoah Valley C.G near Verona, it has a beautiful Waterfall on the grounds with a running river attached to it,we stopped and had some branch facing the falls.
From there we took HWY 11 towards Stevens Tavern and crossed the BRP on HWY 56 towards the trailhead to Crabtree Falls,4 Mile hike roundtrip with high elevation we reached the lower and the upper falls, the vistas on the way were breathtaking but the falls at this time of the year were not at full stream,never the less the Autumn colors and the hike were great.
Fish,wine,salad made by the Chief Chef Shula Oren was a great treat to complete another wonderful day.
On the third day we took a ride towards the Allegheny Mountains through the small country roads,our first stop was at the old town of Raphine there in a pastoralists views people renewed old house to look as they did many years ago instead of replacing them,this only added to the whole ambiance of this beautiful place.
We continued West seeing from far the BRP as we came to Warm Springs and found two old round white big huts that are used today for Hot Baths with water that runs under them,it appeared to be the oldest Warm Springs in the US,great place to take a dip for an hour ,only 18$ per person.
Further down the road lays Homestead a hug beautiful hotel that has it all,Tennis courts,Golf Course,Swimming Pools,Restaurants,Shops and VIEW,I imagine that for few thousand $ you can have a room there…
On the way back we stopped to see a huge Falling Spring falling from a large rock with the Appalachian Mountains are seen behind it…what a view.
At the end of the day I smile to myself when some asks me “Again you are off to see another fall,mountain or sunset”…..What can I answer to that “it makes my heart beat differently…”
Rosh Hashana , for those who do not know the meaning of these two words –it means in Hebrew “New Year” and as our calendar is accordingly to the Moon rather than the Sun it happens each year on a different date in the Christian calendar.
This year we celebrated Rosh Hashanah on 8 September while camping in Williamsburg,Rosh Hashana is a family Holiday and therefore it was a Holiday with a touch of sadness as at the table were only Shula and myself with all the family in our hearts…although we took advantage of the high-tech Skype system to talk and see the family.
While in Williamsburg we have visited and learned about the early history and battles of this area,we visited the landing sites , the ships that brought the first settlers,the museums and the restored villages in Jamestown and in Yorktown.
Talking with the people that played the role in the sites you start to wonder what on earth brings a person to fight ,risking his life,having close to nothing for food,slipping on the floor and if he makes the day with out a bullet he gets fever from almost anything…well it must be the will for freedom and a better life for himself and for the future generation DON’T WE ALL…
Here are some selected pictures from our visit.
We thought that visiting Washington DC after 40 years would be nice again,so we parked our trailer on friends lot that were kind enough to invite us and took the metro into downtown.
It was a tough long day but we accomplished a lot,we have visited the Holocaust Museum ,the American History Museum and walked the “Mall” from Smithsonian Museum to the Lincoln Monument,White House,Capitol hill and to Union station where we took the subway back.
The weather was on the hot side and we had to go into some museums just to cool off.
In the statue gardens we stopped for lunch listening to live Jazz sitting around a pool dipping our feet in the water.
Our next move is towards South Virginia to Virginia Beach area.
Till then….
After spending time in the Wilds we finally made it to the BIG city Philadelphia.
First we “parked” the 5W in a campground between Philadelphia and Lancaster and then meet with Carol & Harold .a couple we meet on the way to Alaska in 2002 for one evening and never saw them till now,but stayed in touch through the E-mail.
Carol and Harold picked us up from the C.G to their home and for 4 days went out of their ways to make us feel at home and we deeply thank them for sharing the time with us.
We have visited the city by foot,walked the park,went to see “Joseph” in the theatre and took scenic drives in the area-it was just marvellous-Thank you Harold and Carol.
We also managed to meet Shuki and Susan.Shuki and myself did not see each other since high school meaning we did not meet for 50 YEARS….unbelievable… we had a great time together and promised that our next meeting will not be after 50 years…
On the way from North PA towards Lancaster (the Amish country of PA) we decided to have a break in Bernville in Mid East PA in between the mountains and close to the Appalachian Trail.
The are is full of farm land ,Amish , Mennonites and beautiful nature.
We found a C.G that belongs to Passport America in the small town of Bernville and spent the afternoon cleaning and drying the wet trailer from the previous night. The C.G has full hook-ups and cable TV so we could finally see a movie without advertisements and clear as it should.
On the next morning we pack some lunch and take a scenic route towards Cornwall passing through rolling hills,farm land and green meadows as far as the eye can see.
We stopped in a library in one of the small towns on the way ,checked our e-mails and continued slowly towards Cornwall,in one of the turns Shula saw huge mushrooms on a lawn and asked me to stop.
As we approach the place to take some pictures we noticed that this lawn belongs to an Inn called Cornwall Inn that includes beautiful old buildings and gardens,as we needed to use a rest room we decided to check out the Inn and as we are approaching the entrance we see a couple working in the front garden .
After greetings we found ourselves invited to a tour of the old Inn and gardens which we dilated to do and found that the place was once a train station,post office and a local jail.
To see what the couple did from the place is remarkable,we saw the “before” and I can show you the “After” down here…
The outstanding couple show us a round and then took us to an Amish farm they know not far from there place, we found a very nice clean ,well behaved and open people.
We were allowed to take pictures and were surprised to learn that one of the girls even has a “Face book”…
A day that started with not many expectations ended to be an extra ordinal one…and what the difference where the people we meet.
We have hiked high lands,we have hiked lowlands,we have hiked frozen waterfalls but have NEVER hiked a 7.5Mile hike seeing 21 ,yes 21 waterfalls…..
If you look at the map above this is a waterfall trail ,each blue dot represents' a waterfall in Ricketts Glen S.P in Pennsylvania,
the weather was just right for the autumn it was just one beauty after another, each fall a totally different from the one before,and because the water was low we could walk the on the rocks around the falls and enjoy it from different angles.
It took us from 9AM till 3PM to complete the loop , we did it slowly and tried to enjoy the falls,the vegetation,the formations which was getting harder as we went from one waterfall to another because you kind of get used to it.
One day you can hike 4 hours to reach one waterfall and here we are hiking 21 waterfalls in 7.5Miles….
Our Camp Ground is located 4 miles from the S.P and has a vender that does smoked ribs,chicken with side dishes, so we decided to complete this fantastic day to have a treat,Shula had 1/2 smoked chicken with backed potato and I had 1/2 a rack of Texas baby ribs with beans…wooow that was great and it was served to our site by the vendor when it finally was done.
Her are some selected pictures from this another magnificent day.
The so called Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania is a part of the PA Wild’s but it deserves a chapter of its own and his official name is PINE CREEK GORGE.
He lies between Leonard Harrison and Colton Point State Parks, many scenic vistas offer spectacular views into 800 foot deep,glacially carved canyon.
We parked our trailer on the East Rim of the Canyon just one mile away from the head trail called Turkey Path that takes you down to the bottom of the Canyon and the river bank.
The only problem of this path is that you have to climb it up eventually….
We had a great hike down,luckily the path was dry after some rainy days that made it impossible to hike without slipping from time to time.
As you can imagine the hike down took half of the time on the reverse route but it was worth the effort.
On the way down we passed next to two waterfalls and not very impressing because of the season,I can imagine them in full strength at Autumn.
At the bottom we found a great place for a picnic sitting on a rock with the feet in the cool water and seeing vistas as far as your eye can see-just breathtaking…
On the way up we meet a couple from PA that took a day to see the Canyon and we talked our way up.
We wanted to raft the on the river but unfortunately the water was to low for this kind of activity.
Tomorrow we are of to hike in the West Rim and pictures will follow (I have added some pictures after the visit and hike in the West Rim).
We started our RV summer trips way back in 2002 (hard to believe that we already did 8 summer trips…wooow) when we flew into Edmonton Canada with 2 suitcases and in 2 weeks were on the way to Alaska with a F-250 1994 and a 5th wheel 27” with one slide 1999 and had no idea what to expect..
It was our first time to drive such a “monster” ,but if millions do it so can we.
This was the beginning of a LOVE story between the RV life style and us,so as I said every summer we RVed in different parts of North America and are enjoying it every minute.
If you browse through our website you will see that we covered the West and all of Canada (except 2 provinces in the center) and all the way to Newfoundland in the East.
We have hiked,rafted,worked in cattle farm branding cattle,meet wonderful people,visited amazing nature wonders and saw many beautiful sunsets but we still are exited every day…
This year will be different,our eldest grad daughter (12 years old) asked to join us for one month as a birthday present, what a surprise it was for us and what a joy.
So we will take off in July with Yuval and RV in Ontario mainly in Bruce Peninsula where we will enjoy nature,wild life,beaches,lakes,boat rides,hike and mainly be together.
After the first month we will bring Yuval back and continue to Pennsylvania & Maryland.
Photos will follow I promise.
