RV Trip - The Northeast Edition

It's been three years since our last big RV adventure, one we enjoyed so much, that we decided we needed to do it again. Yes, I know we're not in an RV this time, but seriously, travel trailer adventure just didn't have quite the same ring to it!  This time we're heading East, Niagara Falls to Acadia National Park, Boston to Gettysburg. It's going to be a great trip!

Preparations for this trip seemed a bit more relaxed, probably because we had our own trailers, but more likely because we were seasoned campers on trips like this, so we thought! Things were going smoothly, gear packed, refrigerator working, and campsites reserved. We were confident this trip would be a breeze, no mishaps like our first trip.  (For those unfamiliar with our first big trip, you can read about it here).  We drove for about 4 hours and then made our first stop for gas. That's when things went downhill fast!

As we were pulling out of the gas station, we made a turn that needed to be wider. Much wider. Our hearts sank, we popped a tire. One of our brand new tires that we never would have imagined would blow, flattened by a cement barrier.  I'm not going to deny the irony of the situation.  It took me right back to that Oasis in DeKalb, Illinois, as Marc and I stood there looking at our trailer tire with a gash in it's side.  I couldn't bear to take a picture, I just wanted it changed and to get back on the road. Fortunately, we had a spare and it only held us up an hour.

Old school mapping techniques!

Our next challenge was trying to find our way without the convenience of the GPS on our phones. Because we were driving though Canada, we would have incurred international charges, charges I didn't feel like paying for. This didn't really stress me out until we were getting closer to our campground. I spent most of the trip using a paper map and some handwritten directions I pulled from Google maps before we crossed the border. Kind of forgot how fun it was to fold and unfold a map!  We were lucky that the highway signs were pretty good. I just needed to pay attention more than usual.

So, what should have taken a regular car 4.5 hours, took us 6 hours, including our 1 hour stop to change a tire. We made it to our first stop, Niagara Falls, Ontario and hooked up with the Hans Family once they arrived.  Looking forward to some awesome sight-seeing tomorrow. But for now, we are planning to relax and enjoy our first night ever camping internationally!