#101 Sep 2015 Reflections after 7 Months of Travel

                                  Wow! We really are “Living the Dream”

When we started this extended trip we were excited about what we would see and do. Now we have experienced so much that it is difficult to believe. There is so much to learn about the world around us and we have just scratched the surface.

We returned home to Surrey in August. These thoughts reflect our seven months of continuous travel. We are behind in the posts because our heads are so full of memories that we need time to catch up to ourselves. There are many more posts to come but this seemed a good time to let family and friends know what we learned about extended travel.

Why we took this trip

1) Time and health. Don’t wait for the perfect time. It may never arrive.

2) Desire to see North America at our leisure

3) We planned this trip when the exchange rate was favourable but decided to proceed regardless of the rate. Who knows what tomorrow’s rate will be.

4) We enjoy nature and history and understanding the land and how people have affected it.

What we learned AGAIN

1) There is always more to see and do, than time to do it.

2) Enjoy the journey. Don’t worry about the destination.

An extended trip (with 24/7 togetherness)

1) We have been married 43 years and most of those years we worked, raised a family, maintained a home (inside and outside) and had a social life (together and separately). We are each other’s best friend but even best friends have differences. We learned more patience and better listening skills and still there were times when one of us went for a long walk.

2) Most of our stops were 2 to 4 nights giving us 1 to 3 days to explore. We had no timetable but needed to watch our days in the US and time outside of our home province.

3) We took R&R days as we felt we needed them but still never stayed in one place more than a

week. We had expected to plan several consecutive days for R&R but there was not enough time to do so.

Our vehicles

1) Without a touring vehicle, many attractions and points of interest are not accessible.

2) Our Class A motorhome is 38 feet. A vehicle towed on a dolly takes more space in park sites. Many of the sites we occupied would not have accommodated the car and a dolly.

3) We did not anticipate how many miles we would drive the car and therefore didn’t budget for that cost.

23,000 km (14,000 miles) 2008 Georgetown XL Class A motorhome

15,000 km   (9,000 miles) 2007 Suzuki Grand Vitara SUV

Value of the blog

1) Update for family and friends in more detail than a conversation.

2) Review of our experiences for us.

3) Ralph kept a daily journal of our location and notes of interest about our day.

4) I photographed info signs rather than keep many brochures. I also photographed everyday views to help us recall details of the locations. Editing 200 to 300 photos a day sometimes became a chore but also helped recall the events.

5) THANK YOU to all our viewers who have commented on our posts. We enjoy sharing our experiences and photos and appreciate knowing they have been viewed. The range of the Internet is amazing, as we have had over 9,000 page views from around the world.

           

Finding RV parks
Our criteria for choosing RV parks during this trip were very basic. We wanted full hookups in a safe location. We did not have time to access other amenities available in many parks. In 7 months we stayed in 66 different parks.

1) Magellan RoadMate RV 9365T-LMB GPS

                 Designed exclusively for RVers

                 We are very pleased with this GPS as it allows us to easily search for RV parks, points of

                 interest and is easy to navigate. 

2) Good Sam parks

a)  Are abundant

b)  Have been reviewed

c)  Always give a 10% discount

3) Passport America

a)    Fewer locations

b)   Parks are not reviewed

c)    Discount frequently not available weekends, holidays and peak season

d)   When available the 50% discount is only for a very limited number of days

4) Coast to Coast

                   a)  Membership - check for re-sellers

                   b) Usually $10 or $15 per night

                   c) Limited stay – usually 2 weeks

                   d) Some seasonal limitations

Time of the year to travel

1) We left British Columbia mid January and were in SE Texas within 3 weeks. We can             explore western states another trip.

2) We spent March in Florida. When we arrived we booked our parks for the month since it was peak season.

3) North of Florida was not peak season so we planned only a few days in advance. If we had traveled up the East Coast earlier, some attractions would not have been open.

4) We arrived in the Canadian Maritimes June 1^st. Some attractions don’t open until school is out, particularly in Newfoundland.

5) I have spring allergies that started early March in Florida. We followed spring up the East Coast and into the Maritimes. I experienced allergies and Ralph (suffered) with me for 4 months.

6) As we started our in depth sightseeing in late February the days were longer and we were able to explore later into the day. Most venues close about 5 PM but we were able to travel and enjoy the sights later in daylight.
We had originally planned to travel through the Maritimes and the East Coast in the fall to see the autumn colours. If we had traveled north to south in the fall our days would have gotten shorter. We would have had much less daylight for traveling and sightseeing as we headed south.

Expenses to anticipate

1) Fuel and liquour prices are lower in the US

2) Dollar for dollar, food, RV parks, and entrance fees are about the same in the US as Canada.

We were never in one location long enough to shop around for the best prices, especially for food.

REMEMBER the exchange rate. After a few months and many stores it was easy to think in Canadian dollars when looking at prices.

3) National Park passes are great value in both countries. They often cover historical points of interest as well.

Since returning home we frequently see places we have visited in movies, shows and news. What a marvelous way to refresh our memories!

28 American States    5 Great Lakes    10 Canadian Provinces