2011 RV Summer trip Plan

Technorati Tags: 2011,RV,Plan,Ontario,Canada,Indiana,Kentucky,Tenneesse,USA.

Being foreign residents we RV in summers for 4-5 months in North America and spend winters at home with family and friends.

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 10^th 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 …….

Back at home for the winter

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.

End of RV summer trip 2010

 

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.

 

 

2010-pensilvannia-maryland,Virginia, Slideshow: Danny’s trip from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada to 23 cities Washington DC, Toronto, Philadelphia, Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, Pittsburgh, Lancaster, Erie, Frederick, Front Royal, Yorktown, Du Bois (near DuBois, Pennsylvania, United States), Warren, Manheim, Wellsboro, Ricketts (near Lester), Natural Bridge, Warm Springs, Tionesta, Addison, Jamestown, Franklin Center and Bernville was created by TripAdvisor. See another United States slideshow. Take your travel photos and make a slideshow for free.

From Pittsburgh to Canada

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.

Technorati Tags: Tionesta,Niagara Falls NY

Pittsburgh PA

Technorati Tags: Pittsburgh

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.

Youghiogheny Lake PA

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

Technorati Tags: Youghiogheny lake

surprise.

Luray Caverns VA

Yes I know that I already posted a post about Endless Caverns but I must add that Luray Caverns are outstanding from all Caverns we saw and we did see some.
So with out any more words here are some selected pictures.