We headed out after school on Friday for our first trip of the year to Risser's Beach Provincial Park, just a few short miles from our place.
It was a grey day, with the promise of more cloud and rain for the weekend, but its the May long weekend, so how can you not hook onto the RV and head out.
We arrived about three o'clock and set up in our spot. It was a quiet lonely place. I am not quite sure if others did not realize the significance of the weekend!
On the way there we got ourselves some KFC in a bucket. Threw it in the cooler chest and got it out when we were all set up and "accessorized" it with some Kraft Dinner. Can anything be more perfectly low-class RV food??
Shortly after 8:00, the MacLeod's showed up from the city and got all set up across from us. The weekend was set to go!
Dinner the next night was a little more of what you would expect when dining with my wife when camping. It was a smoked pork shoulder that went along with a smoked pressed chicken, corn salad and fingerling potatoes.
Dinner on our last evening there was a wonderful stir-fry prepared by our camping companions! RVing with a wok! Who would have thought??
Of course, as the sun was about to set on our last night there, the sun came out in its glory!!!! Of course!
The sun came up the next cold morning as we prepared to set out for home. A quick pack up, we bid farewell to our companions, but not before we made plans for another trip together somewhere very soon.
Next weekend- YOGI BEAR!!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Night Number Two
After a quick overnight trip to the city without the trailer, we "camped out" one more night in the driveway, before days off ended.
Pretty chilly, furnace runs a lot! Might have to table camping for a bit longer!!
The family of four stayed in this night! :)
Pretty chilly, furnace runs a lot! Might have to table camping for a bit longer!!
The family of four stayed in this night! :)
Friday, March 25, 2011
Bringing the new toy home!
Right after night shift, I drove home, got my better half, and headed to Truro to get the new trailer.
I slept across the back seat as she drove. Crappy sleep, but whatever works! Got to Truro by 10AM, got our orientation brief (thanks again, Nick), and headed home.
As always, I am greatly impressed with CRCRV. Trailer was all set to go. Dish was installed (see the dome in front of the A/C?), and you know what? Didn't charge me a cent to install it!! Thanks again, Marc!
The real trick of the day was finding a place to park it. Got it done though.
Small town oddity. Nothing goes unnoticed. I got an email from the local trailer dealer, whom we spoke to at the trailer show the day we ended up buying this one. He noticed our new trailer in the driveway and wrote me to basically ask why we didn't buy from him.
I kinda had to laugh when he expressed confusion, that he had not heard from us since the show. The email he sent me was a reply to the email I sent him after the trailer show, explaining that the trailer he showed us didn't meet our needs. Then some concern that we didn't consider them when we bought. Obviously we did. We looked at his stuff at the show. Can't please everyone.
Guess where we slept the first night it was in the driveway.??
I slept across the back seat as she drove. Crappy sleep, but whatever works! Got to Truro by 10AM, got our orientation brief (thanks again, Nick), and headed home.
As always, I am greatly impressed with CRCRV. Trailer was all set to go. Dish was installed (see the dome in front of the A/C?), and you know what? Didn't charge me a cent to install it!! Thanks again, Marc!
Outside of the famous "House of Hay" in Shubenacadie, NS
The real trick of the day was finding a place to park it. Got it done though.
Small town oddity. Nothing goes unnoticed. I got an email from the local trailer dealer, whom we spoke to at the trailer show the day we ended up buying this one. He noticed our new trailer in the driveway and wrote me to basically ask why we didn't buy from him.
I kinda had to laugh when he expressed confusion, that he had not heard from us since the show. The email he sent me was a reply to the email I sent him after the trailer show, explaining that the trailer he showed us didn't meet our needs. Then some concern that we didn't consider them when we bought. Obviously we did. We looked at his stuff at the show. Can't please everyone.
Guess where we slept the first night it was in the driveway.??
Monday, March 14, 2011
The Waiting Game
Had great plans to take old trailer up the first of this week and bring the new one back at the end of the week. A good use of March Break. Not gonna happen. For a variety of reasons. Oh well, don't fret what you cannot control.
So, the plan is this. Empty the old one on Wednesday, take up on Thursday, get the new one next week. Easy! :) Nothing to it! :)
So, the plan is this. Empty the old one on Wednesday, take up on Thursday, get the new one next week. Easy! :) Nothing to it! :)
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Out of the Mud, onto the pavement!
It was a great day outside yesterday, so along with taking down the Christmas lights, it was time to move the trailer from the winter storage spot, out to the driveway to get it ready to trade in.
Getting it out was a bit of a challenge as it was on a high, somewhat dry spot surrounded by a moat of mud and water. Thank God, that Dodge invented four wheel drive, as I needed to drag it out of the mud! No issues, just a little scar across the side yard.
Now it sits on the pavement, waiting for the next warm day to empty it out and clean it up to get rid of it!
Once it got moved out, I noticed that the plate was expired. Of course! $99 later, all fixed. First bill of the trailering season!
Getting it out was a bit of a challenge as it was on a high, somewhat dry spot surrounded by a moat of mud and water. Thank God, that Dodge invented four wheel drive, as I needed to drag it out of the mud! No issues, just a little scar across the side yard.
Now it sits on the pavement, waiting for the next warm day to empty it out and clean it up to get rid of it!
Once it got moved out, I noticed that the plate was expired. Of course! $99 later, all fixed. First bill of the trailering season!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Keji as the First Destination for 2011?
I was looking online last night. Looks like Keji National Park is open to campers all year long. Reduced services of course.
The reservation system opens on 14th of April, but before that, its first come, first serve. How many people can be there in April???
The weekend of 1st-4th of April is a weekend off for all of us. Do we dare try a camping trip that weekend?? :)
The reservation system opens on 14th of April, but before that, its first come, first serve. How many people can be there in April???
The weekend of 1st-4th of April is a weekend off for all of us. Do we dare try a camping trip that weekend?? :)
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Winter!!
Not my idea of soon to camp! All I wanna do is get the old trailer out of the snow and get it up to Truro and trade it in on the new one. But alas, the snow just keeps coming down. Buried deep in the snow bank, no where near ready to be pulled out.
Maybe in a few weeks I might be able to get it out and on the road!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Halifax RV Show
I got off work Thursday morning early, caught a few hours sleep and headed to the RV show.
With a plan of course.
If you've been reading along, you know we love our wonderful little hybrid trailer. But we always had a few issues with it. One of the biggest issues was the lack of space. Not enough room to store stuff and at times, not enough room for us!! Off we went to see what we could find that was a little bigger.
We spoke to the dealer we got our trailer last year from, CRC RV. We had an idea of what we were looking for. The Jayco 26BH. Marc explained it was the next logical step. We got to he show, looked at for a second or two, but fell in love with the trailer across the aisle from it. The Jayco 28 BHS. Similar, but just right! Places for the kids, a place for us, a bigger kitchen for Alicia's most wonderful camping meals, and LOTS of storage! We found it!
We looked about for a while longer, made sure that there was nothing else that we missed and headed back to CRC RV. A quick transaction and we owned a new trailer! Now just have to wait until the spring thaw to make the change.
With a plan of course.
If you've been reading along, you know we love our wonderful little hybrid trailer. But we always had a few issues with it. One of the biggest issues was the lack of space. Not enough room to store stuff and at times, not enough room for us!! Off we went to see what we could find that was a little bigger.
We spoke to the dealer we got our trailer last year from, CRC RV. We had an idea of what we were looking for. The Jayco 26BH. Marc explained it was the next logical step. We got to he show, looked at for a second or two, but fell in love with the trailer across the aisle from it. The Jayco 28 BHS. Similar, but just right! Places for the kids, a place for us, a bigger kitchen for Alicia's most wonderful camping meals, and LOTS of storage! We found it!
We looked about for a while longer, made sure that there was nothing else that we missed and headed back to CRC RV. A quick transaction and we owned a new trailer! Now just have to wait until the spring thaw to make the change.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Passport America Club
What a score this was!
Its amazing how you come across things. I was looking at trailer/camping apps for my iPhone and came across this app for Passport America. "What the heck is this?" I thought. One pretty cool deal, I found out! Its billed as "The Original 50% Discount Camping Club!" With each membership comes half price stays at selected campgrounds. We paid $45USD and I am sure we save hundreds of dollars over the course of the summer.
The membership comes with a directory of participating campgrounds. Look up the place you want to stay and see whats available. You have to be careful, there are lots of blackout dates and some restrictions. But what's the worst that can happen? You pay what everyone else is paying! Trust me, you save enough through the year, that the occassional full price night won't break the bank.
Check it out!
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Wrentham Premium Outlets
This was the end point of our trip. Wrentham, Mass. (Side note for those who follow the NFL, this is right around the corner from Foxboro, Mass!)
What an incredible place. We found this place about 10 years ago on a trip with my grandparents, the original New England shopping pilgrims! Its hours and hours of shopping fun! 8 billion stores to browse and shop through. If I ask my wife, she says the Ugg Australia Store was her favorite. The many boxes in the back of the truck on the way home attest to that fact. I was able to find some stuff for myself as well. (Read, Saucony store).
Anytime we even think of heading this way, Wrentham is on the list of stops. How could you not?
Great thing about it too, is its relatively close proximity to other major cities. Boston is just a hop, skip and a jump away. This trip we ventured a tad south to Providence, RI. Checked out, you guessed it, another mall..haha. Didn't buy a whole bunch. Found most of what we were looking for in Wrentham!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
The BIG ADVENTURE
We had a 12 day block of time off in mid August in which we chose to embark on a huge adventure! Let's go to the USA! Seems like the RV thing to do, yes?
Well, my block of days off started after a night shift. The plan was for me to come home, sleep a bit, and hit the road around 3pm after our daughter was done at a birthday party for one of her friends. The plan worked as far as departure time, but the sleep before leaving got lost in the excitement of the trip preparations.
I got home around 7:30 am, got changed out of work clothes, and set to make preparations for getting underway. Double and triple checking everything to make sure nothing vital was left behind. Like there are no stores on the way! HAHA
Dogs in kennel. Food out for kitties, house locked up. Good to go!
We set out right on time, no stopping us now! GPS set for Bangor, ME, which we thought would be our first big stop. well, that was not to be, due to that lack of sleep business. At around 10:00 pm, we decided, with kids already sleeping in the back seat of the truck, that we would find a place to tuck in for the night.
The Big Stop Sign just outside of Oromocto NB. What a welcome sight at 11:30 PM after 6 hours of driving, following a night shift the night before and next to no sleep!!
We didn't initially set out to stop here for the night. We stopped for gas and a light snack, and thought, "that lot over there looks really big and trucks are lined up overthere, probably sleeping too..." We had this great plan to park in the corner of the lot. All alone. Hmm..how do you think that worked out??
The next morning about 6:00 am, we woke up and set out for the US adventure. Next stop, Bangor, ME!
We have had this long held family tradition when travelling to Maine, which we have been doing for most of my 40 years on a semi regular basis, of stopping at a certain FANTASTIC truck stop for breakfast. There is nothing like it. Dysart's has become a friend of the traveling family. Its located just south of Bangor, just off the I-95 at the Coldbrook Rd exit.
With a hearty breakfast in us, off we headed south again, in search of shopping and camping adventures.
Our first camping stop was in Old Orchard Beach, ME at Powder Horn Family Camping.
Great little spot where we spent a few nights both down and back on our trip.
Well, my block of days off started after a night shift. The plan was for me to come home, sleep a bit, and hit the road around 3pm after our daughter was done at a birthday party for one of her friends. The plan worked as far as departure time, but the sleep before leaving got lost in the excitement of the trip preparations.
I got home around 7:30 am, got changed out of work clothes, and set to make preparations for getting underway. Double and triple checking everything to make sure nothing vital was left behind. Like there are no stores on the way! HAHA
Dogs in kennel. Food out for kitties, house locked up. Good to go!
We set out right on time, no stopping us now! GPS set for Bangor, ME, which we thought would be our first big stop. well, that was not to be, due to that lack of sleep business. At around 10:00 pm, we decided, with kids already sleeping in the back seat of the truck, that we would find a place to tuck in for the night.
The Big Stop Sign just outside of Oromocto NB. What a welcome sight at 11:30 PM after 6 hours of driving, following a night shift the night before and next to no sleep!!
We didn't initially set out to stop here for the night. We stopped for gas and a light snack, and thought, "that lot over there looks really big and trucks are lined up overthere, probably sleeping too..." We had this great plan to park in the corner of the lot. All alone. Hmm..how do you think that worked out??
The next morning about 6:00 am, we woke up and set out for the US adventure. Next stop, Bangor, ME!
We have had this long held family tradition when travelling to Maine, which we have been doing for most of my 40 years on a semi regular basis, of stopping at a certain FANTASTIC truck stop for breakfast. There is nothing like it. Dysart's has become a friend of the traveling family. Its located just south of Bangor, just off the I-95 at the Coldbrook Rd exit.
With a hearty breakfast in us, off we headed south again, in search of shopping and camping adventures.
Our first camping stop was in Old Orchard Beach, ME at Powder Horn Family Camping.
Great little spot where we spent a few nights both down and back on our trip.
Out With the Old, In with the New!
Remember that comment about Chrysler engineering? Well.. we buy a trailer sized for the van we will be towing it with. Simple, right? HAHA.. nothing is simple in life!
Our trip home from Truro showed us that it might not be as smooth sailing as we first thought. The van pulled the trailer, BARELY.
How do you fix any problem? Throw money at it..AARGH! Well, in this case, I got my beautiful new (to me) 2008 Dodge 1500 4X4! That'll tow it! HAHA
Here's a pic of it and trailer on a later trip to the Annapolis Valley area of Nova Scotia, in July 2010.
Our trip home from Truro showed us that it might not be as smooth sailing as we first thought. The van pulled the trailer, BARELY.
How do you fix any problem? Throw money at it..AARGH! Well, in this case, I got my beautiful new (to me) 2008 Dodge 1500 4X4! That'll tow it! HAHA
Here's a pic of it and trailer on a later trip to the Annapolis Valley area of Nova Scotia, in July 2010.
A Recap of the Year That Was-Part One
I had a great plan when we started this to keep a log of our trips that we took, as the summer went by. So much for that idea! So, the next few posts, I'll try to recount what I can remember .
What a year we had! Took off to Truro the morning of the 25th of June to pick up our new baby: Our Jayco 17Z Hybrid Trailer. We searched and looked and researched for several months until we settled on that one. Part of our research also was where to buy. We have a dealer quite close to where we live. We looked but didn't quite like what we saw. We kept looking. A good friend recommended a place about two hours away from us. CRC RV Centre. www.crcrv.ca We hit it off with the owner, Marc, right away. The deal went great, we picked it up and off we went! Nothing could stop us now!
Hmm.... except Chrysler engineering...more to follow on that!
Our very first camping adventure was to a park that is right in our backyard. Quick trip, just to get out and see how it went. Here's Momma and the new puppy, who we HAD to take along!
These are pictures from our Second camping adventure at Graves Island Provincial Park, outside of Chester, Nova Scotia.
What a year we had! Took off to Truro the morning of the 25th of June to pick up our new baby: Our Jayco 17Z Hybrid Trailer. We searched and looked and researched for several months until we settled on that one. Part of our research also was where to buy. We have a dealer quite close to where we live. We looked but didn't quite like what we saw. We kept looking. A good friend recommended a place about two hours away from us. CRC RV Centre. www.crcrv.ca We hit it off with the owner, Marc, right away. The deal went great, we picked it up and off we went! Nothing could stop us now!
Hmm.... except Chrysler engineering...more to follow on that!
Our very first camping adventure was to a park that is right in our backyard. Quick trip, just to get out and see how it went. Here's Momma and the new puppy, who we HAD to take along!
These are pictures from our Second camping adventure at Graves Island Provincial Park, outside of Chester, Nova Scotia.
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