We left home around 10:30 am, headed for the border, shopped for groceries and got as far as Winthrope, WA. We found a state campsite made dinner and bedded down.
Tuesday, September 16-08
When John got up and looked at the maps to plan our route, he freaked as how far we had to go and how little we had achieved. So we got into the travelling mode and put some miles behind us. We pulled at another state campground after a harrowing time of trying to find a campground, there are not many in Montana. The one we found could only be gotten to after travelling along a washboard gravel road. We felt like the motorhome would come unglued.
Wednesday September, 17-08
We packed up for another full day of travelling. As we were leaving, Liz, with Roxy, rode her bike along the bumpy gravel road to the highway while we waited for her in the motor home. She had a great time, Roxy never looked so tired. We have noticed that she is already losing some weight and looks more like a puppy again. Yellowstone National Park. I realized when we got to the west gate that I had forgotten to pack my bathing suit. So we headed back to the little tourist town and looked around for one. In the second store we went into--lo and behold I found a suit that fit me and was really cheap! That doesn’t happen—ever. We drove around the park looking at the sights, Paint pot trail, Old Faithful (which we waited around an hour to see) and lots of animals. Found a campsite on the east side of the park.
Thursday September 18-08
Left Yellowstone, saw a big herd of bison just on the side of the road, could almost touch them. That was spectacular. We headed for Thermopolis which we heard had the biggest hot springs in the world. Well it was a funny little town with various places where you could dip in the pools, kinda like public swimming pools. Liz and John had fun on a big waterslide that was totally enclosed and dark. John said the steam in the tube was claustrophobic, but they slid a few times while I just floated around. Found a private campsite with internet, yahoo. Internet seems to be not as easy as we expected.
Friday, September 19-08
We needed two full days of travelling to get to Chicago, so our stop was in a Rapid City, South Dakota. We shopped at Walmart to get some things to make our life a little easier, bins, coffee maker etc., I tried to. go through the self check out but because I had some big stuff (Liz’s drawers) everything got confusing and Liz & John had a great time making fun of me! We stayed in a lovely little state campground--we got the last spot at 10 pm. We forgot it was a Friday evening.
Saturday, September, 20-08
We got into the Chicago area around 3 pm and spent the next few hours looking for internet access so we could find someplace to stay near Willowcreek church. Once you get on the freeway there is no way off, it is an expressway so we ended up in the heart of the suburbs and finally found the address to the church. We found we were not far away so we looked for a campsite or a Walmart to stay in. We discovered that no one stays in Walmarts in Illinois. The only campsite we found were 50 miles out of the city. We headed to the closest one to the downtown area (we thought) and ended up in a muddy field of a campsite with drunken yahoos all around us.
Sunday, September 21-08
The next morning we realized we were way to far to go to Willowcreek We felt a little shell shocked so we headed back up north to another campsite with internet so we could regroup and do laundry
Monday, September 21-08
Downtown Chicago. We had to make a stop at a Best Buy cause Liz left her camera battery at home (in the charger). We drove around until we found parking on the street behind the Art Insitute. We had lunch at McDonalds and rode our bikes around the city park. It was really beautiful, but hot. We had to leave our parking spot after 2 hours, so again we drove around looking for a place. It is not easy finding parking in a city with a motorhome. We found parking near the planetarium which was half price after 4 and John and Liz made me walk all the way to the Sears Tower, with the promise of a taxi back. We discovered on the way that we just missed a reasonably priced boat cruise that would have taken us to the tower. On the way we found a crowd of people and reporters and learned that Obama was due to arrive. We waited about a half hour, but he still didn’t show and we were losing the light so we left. At the tower we felt like we had just enough time to get some daylight and see the sunset, but by the time we got tickets, used the bathroom and watched the mandatory video presentation it was already dusk. The lights were beautiful and it was well worth seeing but it would have been more interesting to make out the buildings around you.
We had deep dish Chicago pizza at Giordano’s and got a taxi (whew) back to the motorhome. We decided to head south to another 50 mile campsite. By the time we got there we decided that although we didn’t see all the things we wanted to it would cost another $100 just in gas & parking to get back to the downtown area, so we decided to just move on.
Tuesday, September 23-08
We met at the KOA another family of 4 (mom, 2 teenage girls & one foster baby) from Arizona that were also on the road for about 2 months. She was having problems with her motorhome so John and her had a long conversation about systems. We decided to make it a mosey day so we only travelled as far as South Haven, MI. We parked in a lovely state campground near a beautiful beach and decided to stay for 2 nights to have some down time. Got groceries, bent the bike rack backing into a tree, and tried out 3 campsites before we found one that was level enough. Got a campfire going, roasted hot dogs, now we feel like we are on holiday (it only took more than a week!)
Wednesday, September 24-08
We rode bikes, slept, read books, went to the beach. The lake was beautiful and warm. The dog got used to swimming a little.
Thursday, September 25-08
Traveled to Niagara Falls. We found a KOA near the falls & spent some time looking around.
Friday, September 26-08
Found parking near the falls downtown and toured the touristy area. Niagara Falls is a really tacky town. There are lots of wax museums and arcades, the typical gift shops. Liz bought a few things and I found a Christmas ornament. We took a trip on the Maid in the Mist and it was really cool. The falls are pretty awesome from the bottom looking up. You can really feel the power of the water current. We took lots of pictures and around dinner time we headed up to Toronto. We arrived at Greg & Leslie’s around 8 pm and they had a full dinner waiting for us. We stayed up until around 2 am talking and catching up.
Saturday, September 27-08
Leslie and Liz went thrift store shopping while Greg, John and I found a foam shop and got a piece made for the dinette bed. We visited with Kristina and the kids in the afternoon. Unfortunately Deiter was ill and unable to come. We again stayed up until 1 am talking. Liz went out dancing with some girls that she met and got back around 4 am.
Sunday, September 28-08
We slept late and then took Greg & Leslie out for brunch to Milestones in this huge mall. We didn’t go shopping cause it was just so big we couldn’t manage it. We went for a walk around G&L’s place—they have a lovely park a few streets behind their house. Liz, Greg & John went down to a fair at a church nearby and Liz met a guy that she hung around with that evening, while we talked yet again well into the evening.
Monday, September 29-08
We finally left Toronto around noon after spending most of the time looking for Liz’s cell which she later found in her boot! We just drove to Picton, ON and found a state park. The weather started to turn. After dinner we had a fire and went to bed.
Tuesday, September 30-08
We woke up to rain and windy weather. We had a slow start cause we were feeling a little shell shocked after Toronto. We drove into Picton and had coffee in a little coffee place and walked up and down main street in the rain. We then drove to Kingston along country roads to see the scenery. After finding a post office in Shoppers for Liz to mail a package to Brett, and getting my Kodoo account at Best Buy and buying a fuse at Canadian Tire we found a KOA near the town and decided to stay. Tomorrow we head to New York. We have decided that eastern Canada will have to wait for another time—too much driving and too much gas. We want warm & sand so we go south.
Well we have been on the road for 2 1/2 weeks.
What have we seen?
What have we done?
A lot of road & a lot trees & a LOT of driving.
Monday, September 15-08
We left home around 10:30 am, headed for the border, shopped for groceries and got as far as Winthrope, WA. We found a state campsite made dinner and bedded down.
Tuesday, September 16-08
When John got up and looked at the maps to plan our route, he freaked as how far we had to go and how little we had achieved. So we got into the travelling mode and put some miles behind us. We pulled at another state campground after a harrowing time of trying to find a campground, there are not many in Montana. The one we found could only be gotten to after travelling along a washboard gravel road. We felt like the motorhome would come unglued.
Wednesday September, 17-08
We packed up for another full day of travelling. As we were leaving, Liz, with Roxy, rode her bike along the bumpy gravel road to the highway while we waited for her in the motor
home. She had a great time, Roxy never looked so tired--we have noticed that she is already losing some weight and looks more like a puppy again. Yellowstone National Park. I realized when we got to the west gate that I had forgotten to pack my bathing suit. So we headed back to the little tourist town and looked around for one. In the second store we went into--lo and behold I found a suit that fit me and was really cheap! That doesn’t happen—ever. We drove around the park looking at the sights, Paint pot trail, Old Faithful (which we waited around an hour to see) and lots of animals. Found a campsite on the east side of the park.
A lot of road & a lot trees & a LOT of driving.
Monday, September 15-08
We left home around 10:30 am, headed for the border, shopped for groceries and got as far as Winthrope, WA. We found a state campsite made dinner and bedded down.
Tuesday, September 16-08
When John got up and looked at the maps to plan our route, he freaked as how far we had to go and how little we had achieved. So we got into the travelling mode and put some miles behind us. We pulled at another state campground after a harrowing time of trying to find a campground, there are not many in Montana. The one we found could only be gotten to after travelling along a washboard gravel road. We felt like the motorhome would come unglued.
Wednesday September, 17-08
We packed up for another full day of travelling. As we were leaving, Liz, with Roxy, rode her bike along the bumpy gravel road to the highway while we waited for her in the motor
home. She had a great time, Roxy never looked so tired--we have noticed that she is already losing some weight and looks more like a puppy again. Yellowstone National Park. I realized when we got to the west gate that I had forgotten to pack my bathing suit. So we headed back to the little tourist town and looked around for one. In the second store we went into--lo and behold I found a suit that fit me and was really cheap! That doesn’t happen—ever. We drove around the park looking at the sights, Paint pot trail, Old Faithful (which we waited around an hour to see) and lots of animals. Found a campsite on the east side of the park. Thursday September 18-08
Left Yellowstone, saw a big herd of bison just on the side of the road, could almost touch them. That was spectacular. We headed for Thermopolis which we heard had the biggest hot springs in the world. Well, it was a funny little town with various places where you could dip in the pools, kinda like public swimming pools. Liz and John had fun on a big waterslide that was totally enclosed and dark. John said the steam in the tube was claustrophobic, but they slid a few times while I just floated around. Found a private campsite with internet, yahoo. Internet seems to be not as easy as we expected.
Friday, September 19-08
We needed two full days of travelling to get to Chicago, so our stop was in a Rapid City, South Dakota. We shopped at Walmart to get some things to make our life a little easier, bins, coffee maker etc., I tried to. go through the self check out but because I had some big stuff (We bought plastic drawers for Liz to put her clothes in) everything got confusing and Liz & John had a great time making fun of me! We stayed in a lovely little state campground--we got the last spot at 10 pm. We forgot it was a Friday evening.
Saturday, September, 20-08
We got into the Chicago area around 3 pm and spent the next few hours looking for internet access so we could find someplace to stay near Willowcreek church. Once you get on the freeway there is no way off, it is an expressway so we ended up in the heart of the suburbs and finally found the address to the church. We found we were not far away so we looked for a campsite or a Walmart to stay in. We discovered that no one stays in Walmarts in Illinois. The only campsites we found were 50 miles out of the city. We headed to the closest one to the downtown area (we thought) and ended up in a muddy field of a campsite with drunken yahoos all around us.
Sunday, September 21-08
The next morning we realized we were way to far to go to Willowcreek We felt a little shell shocked so we headed back up north to another campsite with internet so we could regroup and do laundry.
Monday, September 21-08
Downtown Chicago. We had to make a stop at a Best Buy cause Liz left her camera battery at home (in the charger). We drove around until we found parking on the street behind the
Art Insitute. We had lunch at McDonalds and rode our bikes around the city park. It was really beautiful, but hot & muggy. We had to leave our parking spot after 2 hours, so again we drove around looking for a place. It is not easy finding parking in a city with a motorhome. We found parking near the Planetarium which was half price after 4 and John and Liz made me walk all the way to the Sears Tower, with the promise of a taxi back. We discovered on the way that we just missed a reasonably priced boat cruise that would have taken us to the tower.
On the way we found a crowd of people and reporters and learned that Obama was due to arrive. We waited about a half hour, but he still didn’t show and we were losing the light so we left. At the tower we felt like we had just enough time to get some daylight and see the sunset, but by the time we got tickets, used the bathroom and watched the mandatory video presentation it was already dusk. The lights were beautiful and it was well worth seeing but it would have been more interesting to make out the buildings around you.
We had deep dish Chicago pizza at Giordano’s and got a taxi (whew) back to the motorhome. We decided to head south to another 50 mile away campsite. By the time we got there we decided that although we didn’t see all the things we wanted to it would cost too much just in gas & parking to get back to the downtown area, so we decided to just move on.
Tuesday, September 23-08
We met at the KOA another family of 4 (mom, 2 teenage girls & one foster baby) from Arizona that were also on the road for about 2 months. She was having problems with her motorhome so John and her had a long conversation about systems. We decided to make it a mosey day so we only travelled as far as South Haven, MI. We parked in a lovely state campground near a beautiful beach and decided to stay for 2 nights to have some down time. Got groceries, bent the bike rack backing into a tree, and tried out 3 campsites before we found one that was level enough. Got a campfire going, roasted hot dogs, now we feel like we are on holiday (it only took more than a week!)
Wednesday, September 24-08
We rode bikes, slept, read books, went to the beach. The lake was beautiful and warm. The dog got used to swimming a little. John decided to go for a bike ride into town which was a little longer than he at first realized. He wondered at one point if he would make it home, but he did and felt like he had accoplished somethin
g. It was a great day that we all enjoyed. But we are 
learning that State campgrounds never are near any internet. So we are always leaving and never knowing what we are going to do the next day.
Thursday, September 25-08
Traveled to Niagara Falls. We found a KOA near the falls & spent some time looking around.
Friday, September 26-08
Found parking near the falls downtown and toured the touristy area. Niagara Falls is a really tacky town. There are lots of wax museums and arcades, the typical gift shops. Liz bought a few things and I found a Christmas ornament. We took a trip on the Maid in the Mist and that
was really cool & very wet. The falls are pretty awesome from the bottom looking up. You can really feel the power of the water current. We took lots of pictures and around dinner time we headed up to Toronto. We arrived at Greg & Leslie’s (Judy's brother) around 8 pm and they had a full dinner waiting for us. We stayed up until around 2 am talking and catching up.
Saturday, September 27-08
Leslie and Liz went thrift store shopping while Greg, John and I found a foam shop and got a piece made for the dinette bed (it's a lot more comfortable now). We visited with Kristina (my niece) and the kids in the afternoon. Unfortunately Deiter was ill and unable to come. We again stayed up until 1 am talking. Liz went out dancing with some girls that she met and got back around 4 am (the time she thought she would). She had a great time.
Sunday, September 28-08
We slept late and then took Greg & Leslie out for brunch to Milestones in this huge mall. We didn’t go shopping cause it was just so big we just couldn’t face it. We went for a walk around G&L’s place—they have a love
ly park a few streets behind their house. The housed in the York area of Toronto are built mostly out of brick and really close together. They live on the edge of what would be like Shaunassy in Vancouver, but without the big yards. Liz, Greg & John went down to a fair at a church nearby later in the afternoon and Liz made some friends that she hung around with that evening, while we talked yet again well into the evening.
Monday, September 29-08
We finally left Toronto around noon after spending most of the time looking for Liz’s cell which she later found in her boot! We just drove to Picton, ON and found a state park. There was a great sandy beach with dunes but the weather started to turn so we didn't see much of it. After dinner we had a fire and went to bed.
Tuesday, September 30-08
We woke up to rain and windy weather. We had a slow start cause we were feeling a little tired after Toronto. We drove into Picton and had coffee in a little coffee place and walked up and down main street in the rain. We then drove to Kingston along country roads to see the scenery. After finding a post office in Shoppers for Liz to mail a package to Brett--getting my Kodoo account at Best Buy sorted out--and buying a fuse at Canadian Tire--we found a KOA near the town and decided to stay. Tomorrow we head to New York. After much discussion, We decided that eastern Canada will have to wait for another trip—too much driving and too much gas. We want warm & sand so we go south
Wednesday, October 1-08
Well here I am in a campsite near New York city. We spent the day driving. We plan to stay for a couple of days (there is a tour of the city from here on Friday) so I will write more then.
The end of the first installment
Left Yellowstone, saw a big herd of bison just on the side of the road, could almost touch them. That was spectacular. We headed for Thermopolis which we heard had the biggest hot springs in the world. Well, it was a funny little town with various places where you could dip in the pools, kinda like public swimming pools. Liz and John had fun on a big waterslide that was totally enclosed and dark. John said the steam in the tube was claustrophobic, but they slid a few times while I just floated around. Found a private campsite with internet, yahoo. Internet seems to be not as easy as we expected.
Friday, September 19-08
We needed two full days of travelling to get to Chicago, so our stop was in a Rapid City, South Dakota. We shopped at Walmart to get some things to make our life a little easier, bins, coffee maker etc., I tried to. go through the self check out but because I had some big stuff (We bought plastic drawers for Liz to put her clothes in) everything got confusing and Liz & John had a great time making fun of me! We stayed in a lovely little state campground--we got the last spot at 10 pm. We forgot it was a Friday evening.
Saturday, September, 20-08
We got into the Chicago area around 3 pm and spent the next few hours looking for internet access so we could find someplace to stay near Willowcreek church. Once you get on the freeway there is no way off, it is an expressway so we ended up in the heart of the suburbs and finally found the address to the church. We found we were not far away so we looked for a campsite or a Walmart to stay in. We discovered that no one stays in Walmarts in Illinois. The only campsites we found were 50 miles out of the city. We headed to the closest one to the downtown area (we thought) and ended up in a muddy field of a campsite with drunken yahoos all around us.
Sunday, September 21-08
The next morning we realized we were way to far to go to Willowcreek We felt a little shell shocked so we headed back up north to another campsite with internet so we could regroup and do laundry.
Monday, September 21-08
Downtown Chicago. We had to make a stop at a Best Buy cause Liz left her camera battery at home (in the charger). We drove around until we found parking on the street behind the
Art Insitute. We had lunch at McDonalds and rode our bikes around the city park. It was really beautiful, but hot & muggy. We had to leave our parking spot after 2 hours, so again we drove around looking for a place. It is not easy finding parking in a city with a motorhome. We found parking near the Planetarium which was half price after 4 and John and Liz made me walk all the way to the Sears Tower, with the promise of a taxi back. We discovered on the way that we just missed a reasonably priced boat cruise that would have taken us to the tower.On the way we found a crowd of people and reporters and learned that Obama was due to arrive. We waited about a half hour, but he still didn’t show and we were losing the light so we left. At the tower we felt like we had just enough time to get some daylight and see the sunset, but by the time we got tickets, used the bathroom and watched the mandatory video presentation it was already dusk. The lights were beautiful and it was well worth seeing but it would have been more interesting to make out the buildings around you.
We had deep dish Chicago pizza at Giordano’s and got a taxi (whew) back to the motorhome. We decided to head south to another 50 mile away campsite. By the time we got there we decided that although we didn’t see all the things we wanted to it would cost too much just in gas & parking to get back to the downtown area, so we decided to just move on.
Tuesday, September 23-08
We met at the KOA another family of 4 (mom, 2 teenage girls & one foster baby) from Arizona that were also on the road for about 2 months. She was having problems with her motorhome so John and her had a long conversation about systems. We decided to make it a mosey day so we only travelled as far as South Haven, MI. We parked in a lovely state campground near a beautiful beach and decided to stay for 2 nights to have some down time. Got groceries, bent the bike rack backing into a tree, and tried out 3 campsites before we found one that was level enough. Got a campfire going, roasted hot dogs, now we feel like we are on holiday (it only took more than a week!)
Wednesday, September 24-08
We rode bikes, slept, read books, went to the beach. The lake was beautiful and warm. The dog got used to swimming a little. John decided to go for a bike ride into town which was a little longer than he at first realized. He wondered at one point if he would make it home, but he did and felt like he had accoplished somethin
g. It was a great day that we all enjoyed. But we are 
learning that State campgrounds never are near any internet. So we are always leaving and never knowing what we are going to do the next day.Thursday, September 25-08
Traveled to Niagara Falls. We found a KOA near the falls & spent some time looking around.
Friday, September 26-08
Found parking near the falls downtown and toured the touristy area. Niagara Falls is a really tacky town. There are lots of wax museums and arcades, the typical gift shops. Liz bought a few things and I found a Christmas ornament. We took a trip on the Maid in the Mist and that
was really cool & very wet. The falls are pretty awesome from the bottom looking up. You can really feel the power of the water current. We took lots of pictures and around dinner time we headed up to Toronto. We arrived at Greg & Leslie’s (Judy's brother) around 8 pm and they had a full dinner waiting for us. We stayed up until around 2 am talking and catching up.Saturday, September 27-08
Leslie and Liz went thrift store shopping while Greg, John and I found a foam shop and got a piece made for the dinette bed (it's a lot more comfortable now). We visited with Kristina (my niece) and the kids in the afternoon. Unfortunately Deiter was ill and unable to come. We again stayed up until 1 am talking. Liz went out dancing with some girls that she met and got back around 4 am (the time she thought she would). She had a great time.
Sunday, September 28-08
We slept late and then took Greg & Leslie out for brunch to Milestones in this huge mall. We didn’t go shopping cause it was just so big we just couldn’t face it. We went for a walk around G&L’s place—they have a love
ly park a few streets behind their house. The housed in the York area of Toronto are built mostly out of brick and really close together. They live on the edge of what would be like Shaunassy in Vancouver, but without the big yards. Liz, Greg & John went down to a fair at a church nearby later in the afternoon and Liz made some friends that she hung around with that evening, while we talked yet again well into the evening.Monday, September 29-08
We finally left Toronto around noon after spending most of the time looking for Liz’s cell which she later found in her boot! We just drove to Picton, ON and found a state park. There was a great sandy beach with dunes but the weather started to turn so we didn't see much of it. After dinner we had a fire and went to bed.
Tuesday, September 30-08
We woke up to rain and windy weather. We had a slow start cause we were feeling a little tired after Toronto. We drove into Picton and had coffee in a little coffee place and walked up and down main street in the rain. We then drove to Kingston along country roads to see the scenery. After finding a post office in Shoppers for Liz to mail a package to Brett--getting my Kodoo account at Best Buy sorted out--and buying a fuse at Canadian Tire--we found a KOA near the town and decided to stay. Tomorrow we head to New York. After much discussion, We decided that eastern Canada will have to wait for another trip—too much driving and too much gas. We want warm & sand so we go south
Wednesday, October 1-08
Well here I am in a campsite near New York city. We spent the day driving. We plan to stay for a couple of days (there is a tour of the city from here on Friday) so I will write more then.
The end of the first installment
3 comments:
Hey, thanks for sharing your adventures with us! You really ARE traveling on the fly!! Such fun. You're probably wise to abandon eastern Canada and head for warmer weather.....that gives you a good reason for a future trip when you can fly to Halifax or something and drive from there. Looking forward to your continuing escapades......
Wow, it sounds like you are having a blast. Fall has set in here with wind, rain and the cool briskness of a autumn morning. Thanks for sharing a part of your life travelling with those of us who are stuck at home wishing we were with you. Have a wonderful time we miss you. The pictures are a great feature to the blog. Did you break into song when you arrived in New York? ie: "New,York,New York" How far south do you plan to travel? I will let you go for now. Take care.
Thanks for the update! I was beginning to think you had forgotten all about us here in Langley - out of sight, out of mind. Hope everything continues to go well. We'll be waiting for more updates.
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