It’s been 6 months of Adventure
I wrote 6 months ago the following… and I filled out in black writing todays thoughts about it now + other ramblings what we have learned on the road.
Here goes what I thought 6 months ago and how my mind has changed….
We did not have much of an expectation on many things as life is more simple like that.. if this is turning out to be stressful might as well stay home. So we did not have much of an idea of…
we still stand on this .. and if it would have been stressful then the problem is in our heads not the place where we are.. so we are still going strong!!
Keeps us healthier ..
what is was going to be like on weekly bases, are we going to burn out for moving all the time, stopping at least for 3nights at the time! Managed it, expect once and paid for it for 4 days.
We seems to have followed this pretty much to a Tee! If we are on “on the move” mode which means that our next place that we really want to see is too far for 1 day drive we stop for 2 nights on the way and keep driving on the 3rd, stop for 2 nights again etc. It works really well and we all get to see something on the route, get our sports in and few good dinners.
When you do this longer than 1 month I can not see that you can do ‘camping lifestyle” with timetable for sightseeing/ dinners/sports etc. It becomes very stressful and tiring for everyone! If you think you have to see and do everything everyday you will be back home sooner than you thought!
We have been lucky not to have major break downs or other stuff happening that would have slowed us down from bigger goals.. like being in Maine for August, September in Nova Scotia etc. But anything like Van break down or sickness could have thrown us off and one needs to understand this before you leave!
how bored are we going to get, have not had time to think about it yet!
Still going strong on NOT getting bored. So much to see, tons of dog walks, cleaning the van (which is actually very easy to keep clean), bike rides, trail/beaches to run, shopping for food, playing Backgammon, making dinners, watch a movie in the evening.. more movies now days as we have not had possibility to have campfires cause of the extreme fire danger everywhere in North East. And of course planning where to stay in a few weeks, what we want to see, how to get there etc. takes more time we thought… computers!!!!
how soon we are going to kill each other, still alive.. both of us!
Yep… still alive and just had our 16th wedding anniversary !!!
Do not try to live in each others pockets.. if you don’t do it at home… it will not work now ether!!
Have your own hikes, bike rides, dog walks, laundry duty, supermarket runs etc. Just saying!!! This worked for us at home and works here too!
how far we can travel on travel days, max 300 mi, pref 230mi and depending of roads.
Still true.. here in Canada we try to stay under 200 miles as the roads tend to be smaller and speed limits are lower. Here where they actually have winter so the roads are eroded more and that slows things down… and now as we are one car unit we do shopping/fueling on our “travel” days that adds 1-2h to the travel time.
live in a box with two big dogs basically for doing stuff, getting up etc we have to do different times so we do not trip over each other..I sleep later and go to bed first! Solved.
I still sleep later in the morning.. ha!!! Ian walks the kids in the morning and I take care of them rest of the day mostly!
The kids get well exercised and we have basic rules inside the van.. everyone is happy and seriously there has not been days when we would have been all stuck inside more than few hours.
We have been toying with an idea of getting bigger rig as sometimes, specially when it’s a rainy or sweltering hot day outside it would be nicer to have more space to sit around, also have more storing space for few more toys like kayak, windsurfer!
BUT…Getting bigger rig means no more cosy camp sites in State/Provincial Parks where we can fit in now (bigger lots tend to be more in the middle of the campsites and closer to the roads for easier access and parking. Boring….)
We can not tow our car with this rig as this van really does not have the guts for it, we see it but does not look safe.. Bigger rig = Bigger running costs and we like to do miles…
So bigger rig (only like 32ft, we are 24ft now) and towing a car.. suddenly we are 40ft + together and that is just something that we are not ready… at least not yet.
AND we have not found a rig out there that we would love better than our Van sooooo….
move from King to Queen size bed (you think that’s funny.. try it!!) ha ha, maybe get 2 separate duvets??We do not have 2 seperate but I have a duvet, no problem !!??!?
It has been HOT summer… everywhere… still managing with one duvet!!
how are the dogs going to settle into moving camp twice a week? They LOVE it, it’s like Christmas morning every morning, new smells, new walks. They learned to love the camper on our short trips at the beginning.
They still LOVE it. Kaya and Rhona both are super happy and doing great!
Laundry.. sport laundry.. uhh?! I go to local Laundromat once a week and it’s quick and easy, do my shopping while laundry getting done. PS cycling bibs and running shorts, little hand washing goes far!!
Yes laundry is still vanity to get done and really have not done hand washing at all. Somehow we have managed it.
Only our bikes are missing from the picture
Few truths before you think of going for long time camping trip in a smaller than a Bus Size RV…
Get used to shower in Campground showers.. some are great some not so great.. like in our RV our shower is used as storage for wine, beer, bubble water and daily essential extras so emptying it everyday for a shower (yes I have done it ) gets old + you need sewage on your camp spot ..
We try not to but we do use paper plates when ‘dry camping’ for longer than 3 days to save water and for sewage tank not filling up too fast.
Get a nice BBQ and use it
Specially early summer and later in the autumn get a camp spot with sunshine. When the nights get colder it’s good to be able to dry out the inside with the sunshine during the day. Also have electricity on your camp spot so you can run small electric heater /cooling fan if needed. Running the heating or air-conditioning gets old after a while as it’s noisier in small space.
Do not bring too many clothes/dishes/books and options for stuff.. it’s amazing how little you need really. Leave all the “we might need this!!??!?” stuff home!
Getting Amazon etc. packets send to you can be tricky specially when you move further away from big cities. Canada is very unreliable on packet delivery times FYI… and you can only use “home delivery” when staying in private campgrounds.
Do book yourself for electricity/water/sewage campground now and then. Yes they cost more ($70-$90/a night outside California) but well worth it to get laundry/clean the rig/have a little more simple daily schedule.
Camping off the grit.. probably exists but we have not seen it yet. If you plan to stay for free overnight somewhere look for roads without houses on them and far away from main roads… we do have few friends that are quite good at it…
I’m a princess so… I would not leave for longer trip on tight budget. We eat home.. all the time, no breakfast/lunch/dinner out. Life still costs you money on the road and going to new places every time “on a tight budget” can get a bit headachy!! To say the least… if you have to start to complain about the price of washing machine load… stay home!! This is not a free “hobby”… anywhere !!! It defiantly helps to get out of California but things still cost money.
10. Make your moving to other campsite easy. Organize an easy storage spot for all your stuff that comes out to of the van when you stop (like outside carpet, chairs, table, levelers for leveling the Van, sunscreens for the cockpit. Make inside so it’s easy to store so nothing is flying around when you are driving. Nothing hanging on the wall that can chafe and make extra noise when moving. Fridge is securely closed etc. etc. Dogs have their beds ready and easy to take them out while doing a pit stop on the road etc. etc.
Do not hate to empty your black and gray water tanks… it has to be done and the easier you make it for yourself the better!
Just putting this here as if it is a hassle to pack and unpack the Van when you go to new campsite.. you will not keep going.
It’s not sunshine all the time so make sure you can be happy inside your RV
What we did not expect or what we did not know about..
There is serious water shortage in Maine and Nova Scotia.. most of the smaller private campgrounds rely on well or pond water (its all treated and regulated and safe) and it has been dryer winter and summer than previous years. What that means is that in some parts of Maine and Nova Scotia specially, the water that comes out of the tap is not most favorable flavor but in all seriousness I have only bought bottle water once for us.
Tourists use a lot of water during the summer
Canadians take wild fire risk very seriously! In Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island all the hiking trails have been closed all summer and no allowed access to the woods and wilderness. No camp fires of course and serious fines if you break any rules!! We are now in mid September and some counties are still under the wild fire warnings.
Todays politics have defiantly made a huge impact to the US/CAN border towns and tourism. No one is crossing the border.. Canadians have stayed home this year and US tourists have not gone across to Canada ether. We personally have not have had any different vibes or treatment. All our border crossing have been fast and now lines… GREAT!!!
I think everyone needs to get going again and get used to the new “normal”! Politics have not changed travel habits inside each ones home countries, so you still need to book your campsites.. ha ha!
Lot of people camp out… in US and Canada.. on the weekends. Special holiday weekends you are on your own if not planned before hand. During the week places are pretty empty in the spring and autumn! But come June/July/August.. get your camp spot early specially if you want to be somewhere that maybe someone else have found out about before you! ha ha Any camping close to the water will be hard to find, EVERYWHERE from June to September
Other people have discovered camping fun as well!!
The other thing that we learned was that when you cross over to Canada most of the campsites do not have sewage to offer on your campsite spot. They do all have water and electricity if you choose to have one. They will have one communal one of course for your departure from the campsite. Something to do with bedrock being close to the surface that they can not dig sewage. But we have NOT come across a campground that does not have water for offer.
Canadian Provincial Parks are AWESOME! They are cheap, clean showers, clean campsites, well run, usually you can get water and power on your campsite, and just beautiful spots everywhere!!! They love dogs and if they don't, check it out before! It can happen.. usually to do with beach access... All the Provinces have their own web sites for camping.. example https://www.peiprovincialparks.ca is for Prince Edward Island campground parks.
Maine is beautiful …I’m talking here about the coastal area as we only saw the coast… cycling.. all the roads are in the middle of the peninsulas and beach access’s are 95 % private! Not the most scenic state to go and do cycling! Lobster is “a thing”! Do not pay $40 for Lobster Roll.. you can get it for $ 28 ha ha!!!! Find a local lobster shack to buy your lobster and eat it at home… Maine knows what you like and they will take your $$$ with a smile!
Summer Maine
To get the dogs in the water to play.. sea or lake… can be tricky in Maine. Most beaches are out of bound for dogs during the summer months (May-October) but there are plenty of trails in the forests to run on everywhere… and Maine seriously is beautiful place but there are tons of other beautiful place also.
It was hard in the beginning
Yes… and then there are the BUGS!! Being spoiled San Diego resident for last 16 years we have defiantly lost our immunity for mosquito bites. First two months on the road we suffered a lot from mosquito bites and forever scratching horsefly bites. When we were north Michigan end of June Ian got back from bike ride and got chewed real bad. Next morning his face was so swelled up that he could hardly open his eyes… not comfortable to say the least! He did recover and we both started to be pretty immune (bites do not itch anymore) by the time we hit east Canada.
We did wonder how we both lived through our childhood time as we are both from “mosquito countries”, yes… it was always hard beginning of the summer and by mid summer mosquitos bites were really not a bad problem anymore.
Even Rhona was suffering from mosquito and horsefly bites but has gotten used to them now and no more scratching or licking. Kaya never had a problem as her coat is thick enough… good for you Kaya!
