Day 1
A night before departure one last pickleball session was held with several Tasman Court neighbors in attendance for the send off.
The next day the Smitanic hit the road north by 9 AM. The selected route would wind thru the VA hills. Kevin thought he could hear banjos playing in the distance as he navigated the mountainous curves and elevation changes. As he released the gas and applied the engine break heading down hill he proclaimed “It's all about the momentum, downshift, keep the RPMs high and on the up hills...watch the engine temp rise.”
Traffic was light on this post Labor Day weekday. There was no set destination, nor any campsite reservations. “Make it up as you go Nomad-style”. Theresa scoped out 2 possible stops. Kevin was feeling pretty good and opted for the further destination choice.
The Summersville Lake Retreat in WV was high on a hill above a lake with a lighthouse for a landmark. The site was nice with a great view of the lake, but not level. It would work for the one night stay. Theresa seared the ahi tuna obtained from the Willmington-based Seaview Crab Co and put it on a bed of fresh greens. What a treat! The temps were perfect to set outside and enjoy gazing at the stars and the fire flies as the sunset over the lake. This added another state to the Smitanic Brag Map.
The next days destination would be near Erie, PA.
Day 2
Due to all the climbs on the first day, Kevin did a pre-trip check that included the radiator and the hydraulic dipsticks. They were both low so he put a half a gallon of coolant in the radiator and a quart of oil into the hydraulic reservoir. He also noticed that the exhaust pipe had been bent when service was performed earlier in the week at triple T in Wilmington... disappointing :(
Todays route was more of the same: hills, curves, and more downshifting and engine break use. The traffic was lighter but rain added an extra challenge as the miles clicked away. Only 2 more travel days to make it to the designated Toronto campground. The nomads decided not to stay any extra days at any of the stops on the way, but to march on to Toronto and make an early arrival. Theresa got to work making reservations for extra days in Toronto campgrounds and the current night's campground, a KOA between Grove City and Mercer, PA.
The Sparano's (current residents of the Smit Homestead) had texted that Theresa had received what was assumed to be a Jury duty summons in the mail (Steve got a similar envelope). After a short call, Carolyn sent a picture of the document so Theresa could fill out her excuse and get it in the mail. The Grove City Post Office was in the heart of the Town next to the Grove City College. Theresa confirmed that this was same college that was home to a team of 6-8 cross country cyclists that Kevin and Theresa met on their falls2fields trek several years back. Cool! It is a small world.
With the letter successfully mailed, Theresa was sure that there would yet be another opportunity to perform her civic duty when she was not roaming around the country.
Day 3
The days destination was dialed into the RV's GPS(Nora). As Kevin navigated the beast thru a small town Nora indicated a right turn just outside of town. Thank goodness Kevin noticed a warning sign for 11ft 6 in clearance (the RV needs 13 ft) in time to avoid that encounter. Wtf. Nora was no help in finding an alternate route, every recalculation insisted on returning to the same low clearance road. Theresa needed some time to study the maps on the back up nav device (her iPad). A mobile home park had a road that appeared to be passible on the map, so Kevin pulled into the drive. As the rig with car in tow came to a pause a resident of the park came out to greet the seemingly misguided visitors. Adrian introduced herself and informed Kevin that she had just broke her arm in her mobile home. She looked maybe 70 ish or maybe a well weathered 55. Adrian then asked the obvious, “Are you lost? “. Kevin responded, “Well kind of” Adrian continued the conversation with “Where are you from?” and “Where are yo heading?”. She nervously passed in front of the RV several times checking it out like the Smitanic was some visitor from outer space. Theresa was frantically reconstructing a path back to a main thoroughfare on both iPad and gps that avoided the low clearance road. Nora refused to cooperate so the google maps route would have to do. Google maps of course does not have any clearance limits that can be noted on the routes. That would be a great upgrade to the mapping capabilities.
A final wave to Adrian and the Smitanic circled the very narrow mobile home park and did a bit of off-road mudslinging as it rounded the back side of the mobile home park where a trench had recently been torn up. The Smitanic crawled along as branches from trees scraped the top of the RV, while rear tires spun mud up and all over the Toad. Kevin was relieved to be back on a truck route and with Nora finally in sync there were multiple alternatives to get to the major I-79 route. Nora was followed and finally the safety of a major hwy was secured.
A much needed gas stop at the last pilot station was completed just outside Erie, PA. This gave all the RV occupants a much need break from the road as well.
Back on the road, Theresa's next task was to call Verizon to see what options for mifi could service visitors to Canada. She was informed that the current MiFi device would not work at all and any upgraded device and service would be very costly. This may put a damper on internet usage while out of the USA. Next ATT was called to change to an unlimited plan that would allow text, calling and data usage in Canada. The plan was pricy, an additional $70 plus taxes and partial month and change fees. The plan was to change back to a more economical plan once back in the States.
The nomads arrived at the Niagara KOA in the mid-afternoon. The park seemed familiar, Kevin seemed to recall it was a park used in the falls2fields trek. Theresa checked in and was given the assigned site. However when the park attendant guided the Smitanic to the site it was clear that it could not accommodate dockage for the massive rig. Entry into the site would require dodging another Travel Trailer in the adjacent site on one side and a large pothole on the other side. The attendant agreed and quickly pointed to another “upgraded site” that would be far easier for the entrance and exit. Nice. Next stop .... Canada!
Day 4 – Toronto Destination
An early rise was desired in anticipation of extra time needed at the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge Canadian crossing. The wait was about 30 min or so. It was a non-event! Even the Canadian bridge toll accepted the NC QuickPass! Traffic got heavier as the route skirted the eastern then northern suburbs of Toronto. It was about noon when all movement came to a halt. All 7+ lanes were wall to wall with lunchtime travelers. Gradually the crowds let up as the campground exit was made.
The Glen Rouge Campground was a Provisional park along the banks of the Rouge River. It featured nice flat, large grassy sites, next to the river, 30 amp & water however, no sewer. It was about 20 min to downtown Toronto, so weekly trips to the dump station would be more than worth the convenience of the location.
Kiehl and Madison had the following day off and planned to take the “GO” train to a station that was just 3 miles away! This was a great beginning for the month long stay!
No comments:
Post a Comment