July 19, 2010 Sometimes you have to go home

And today was it. We went for a hike on river and falls trail first thing in the morning. You end up climbing about 200 feet above Lake Superior but it quite and easy trail and you don't really notice how much you have climbed until the end of the loop trail when it takes you down a steep set of rock steps.

We left the park at 0930 Central time, stopped at Rydens for fuel and crossed the border. No problems here and homeward bound. We pulled into the drive at 1227 Eastern Time. We were gone from home 29 days and covered 9442 km or 5901 miles. It was quite a trip,. Two thingsI know for sure - my blogging days are over and did the grass and weeds ever get tall in a month!

July 18, 2010 Touristy, Shopping and finally a State Park on the North Shore

A bit later start today - 0835 and northward we go. First stop Target in Red Wing, Mn. We had perused the  Target flyer at Warren and Pat's and their was a Netbook on sale for $198.00 with the 8 hour battery - you can't get that kind of price in Canada. Not sure what time they opened but there weren't very many people in the store and I think we picked up the first netbook of the sale and then Marla got a new bathing suit as well.
Continuing north on 61 we stopped in Taylor Falls - a nice little touristy town on the Mississippi - we stopped at a bakery where I continued my quest for the perfect cinnamon bun (this wasn't it) and visited a bead market and a flea market. We headed a little westward along the St. Croix River until we were north of the Twin Cities and headed over to I-35 and North Branch where we stopped and did a little Outlet Shopping. We only went to a couple of stores and had enough - didn't think it could happen but we were shopped out for this trip. We headed north on I-35 through the construction in Duluth and rejoined Hwy61 for the trek to the Canadian border. We have never been able to get a campsite at a Mn State Park on the north shore but we thought we would try as this was a Sunday night - surely they couldn't be full on a Sunday. We stopped for groceries in Two Harbors in case we did manage to get a site. We stopped at the first State Park - nope all full - the ranger checked the computer - the next one north still had one site and Temperance River had 7 or 8. We headed for Temperance River and managed to secure a site. We are less than 2 hours from home but finally a campsite in a State Park. funny thing though - it's just up the road from Lamb's Resort where we usually end up when the parks are full and we don't feel like going home just yet.
The park is actually quite small - about 80 sites but sits right beside Lake Superior with a couple of little trails to walk on.

July 17, 2010 Northbound to Minnesota

We got away by 9AM Saturday morning. Warren had tried to convince us to stay and race in there Bastille Day regatta (yes Bastille Day in the middle of Iowa!) but we didn't think our sailing skills were up to racing so off we went. We stopped for lunch at a roadside park along the Mississippi just north of Prairie du Chen. We had planned to stay in Winona Mn and explore the area as it had looked quite interesting on our way through in May of this year but when we saw the campground with trailers packed in like sardines we decided it would have to wait for another trip. We continued north on Hwy 61 to Frontenac SP just south of Red Wing MN on the Mississippi. We were lucky - there were only 3 campsites available. They let us drive in and take a look and choose which was nice. When I was registering the site another couple from Ontario took 1 of the 2 remaining sites!
It was not a bad campsite considering the lack of choice and it being a Saturday night less than 2 hours from St. Paul/Minneapolis.

July 16, 2010 Visiting and Sailing

We had a great visit with Warren and Pat. We hadn't seen Warren and Pat in three years so it was nice to catch up. Warren was in our wedding party and we have know Pat since her university days in Waterloo. On Friday morning we managed to fit in some shopping at the local malls and picked up our supplies for the rest of the trip. In the afternoon Warren took us out sailing on one of the University sailing club Hobie's. We hadn't been sailing since we sold our sailboat  so it was nice to get out on the lake. We had never been on a Hobie Cat before so this made for quite an experience.

July 15, 2010 Off to Visit Mr. Lincoln

We broke camp and left at 0720 after a miserable night of trying to sleep in the sauna. We were off to Springfield Illinois to visit the Lincoln Presindential Library. We arrived in time for opening and spent about 2 hours viewing the movies and displays. The museum makes a point of saying this is more about the real Lincoln as compared to the mythical Lincoln portrayed by the Lincoln Memorial in
Washington  DC.(which by the way is very much worth seeing as long as the other memorials in Washington). Two hours seems to be about our limit in Presidential Museums - doesn't matter how much or how little there is to see. It was interesting to see the effect this museum was having on other visitors - it was a very emotional experience for a lot of them.

We left Springfield and continued on to Iowa City/Coralville where we were stopping to visit Warren and Pat arriving at around 430PM.

July 14, 2010 Off to the Land of Lincoln

A very early day. We left Laurie and Deacon's at 0620 and were across the Bluewater Bridge into Michigan at about 0645. We wanted to get away before the construction and bridge traffic got too busy. The BWB can be very busy at times. We motored along I-69 - no sense in being touristy as we had lived in Sarnia for about 20 years.  We were hoping for some updated Illionois camping and tourist informatin but when we got to the tourist info centre just inside the Illinois border we found it closed due to budget cuts - the recession is definately not over in Illinois. So armed with our very old Illinois state map we headed SW and ended up at Weldon Springs SP for the night. It was about an hour away from Springfield where we will head tomorrow. Not much of a park and it had a boil water advisory.

This was probably the hottest night of the entire trip - almost 100 degrees and no wind at all. The Little Rascal was more like the The Little Sauna!

Intersest roadside historical marker. Maybe some science/techie type can figure it out!

July 10-13, 2010 Hanging Out in Sarnia

Saturday was a day to take it easy. We did a little shopping in the morning but mostly the rest of the day was hanging out by the pool at Laurie and Deacon's. 

Sunday Laurie and Deacon were off to Parry Sound while we stayed behind to babysit the Granddog Goose. We tried to do a little visiting with people we knew in Sarnia from when we lived but they were either away for the day or on vacation. More pool time, catching up on our laundry and bbq pork chops for dinner.

Monday Ron and Louise our friends from Courtright came up for a visit and we had another pool day. We time the bbq roast almost right in time for Laurie and Deacon to get back from their quick trip to Parry Sound.

Tuesday up early and getting ready to go to Courtright to spend a few days with Ron and Louise but this was not to be. We got a call at 8AM saying they had to go to Ottawa as their daughter had ended up in the hospital.  This caused a change of plans so we spent one more day in Sarnia 

July 9, 2010 Drive Drive Drive

This was going to be a long day. It was still hot when we got up so showers and away. We will stop and get some breakfast along the way. We left camp at 0633 and crossed at Ogdensburg at 0705. Breakfast at Rotten Ronnies in Prescott and down the 401 we go. We are off to Alliston and Sarnia today. We stopped for fuel at one of the few open service centres on the 401. Marla had noticed some smoke from the Timmie's on our way in but we really didn't think much of it. By the time I finished fueling the Jetta black smoking was billowing out from behind the building. As I was paying I asked the attendent if there was a fire. She hadn't noticed! Just as I got my receipt she got the call to hit the emergency shutoffs to the tanks. Needless to say we made a quick exit from that service centre! Fire trucks were coming down the 401 as we left!
We made a stop in Alliston to visit my mother and then we were off to Sarnia. One stop at the factory yarn outlet in Listowel
( http://www.yarnfactoryoutlet.com/ )
and we arrived at 0641PM after a very long day. We are staying at our daughter Laurie and husband Deacon's house for a few days and then off to some friends in Courthright for a boat day and expect to leave for Iowa possibly on Thursday July 15th.

July 8, 2010 A touristy morning then drive drive

We were up and away at 0853 bound for Shelburne/Burlington Vt area on Lake Champlain. We did a couple of tours this morning. The first was the Vermont Wildflower Farm - basically a seed shop and a short bug infested walk outside. Next stop was the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory and time for another factory tour.

http://www.vermontteddybear.com/Static/About-Us.aspx

We had the address for an antique shop in Burlington that advertised antique jewlery - Marla was on the hunt for sweater guard but we struck out on this pursuit. Oh well there is always  www.etsy.com

We now had an afternoon of driving ahead of us. Back to hwy 2 which travels up the middle of Lake Champlain on Grand Isle into New York State. We stopped at Coles Creek State Park just outside of Massena Ny. We got a great site right on the St. Lawrence River.

July 7, 2010 Time to spend some serious money and onward to Vermont!

We knew we needed new tires for the Jetta at some point this year so why not take advantage of our duty free allowance and no sales tax! We left the campsite at 0859 and went to Littleton NH right on the border with Vermont. We picked out our new tires, took in a couple of stores in the plaza and 20 minutes later we were off! Up and down the Interstate for half an hour to put some miles on and back to the tire store to have the wheels re-torqued.

This was our afternoon to be touristy. We stopped at The Farmers Daughter store just outside of St. Johnsbury - Marla bought some Vermon Maple syrup and a couple of other maple products. Tourist business seems to be really slow along Hwy 2 this year - the store is for sale and I don't expect it to be open much longer if business doesn't pick up.

We stopped at Little River State Park just outside of Waterbury Vt. We setup camp and headed back to town. Waterbury is just south of Stowe if that helps locate it. We had picked up some tourist pamphlets at the border so we stopped at a cidery for a sample of cider and apparently famous cider donuts and a  Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream - factory tour! Who knew they were here - not us.

We had a huge campsite against the side of a hill. We took a walk in the evening down to the swimming beach - we didn't swim. We are in the middle of the heat wave - it has been 98F the last 2 days.

July 6, 2010 It's another Outlet Mall Day

Up relatively early and on the road at 0847. Today we were off to North Conway NH. Like Freeport the town is mostly a shopping destination but one big difference - there is no sales tax in New Hampshire. After a relatively restrained shopping trip we stopped outside of town at Jigger Johnson campground in the White Mountain National Forest at 3PM. We had a nice site again just a short pathway from the Swift River.

July 5, 2010 On the road again and still eating seafood!

We got away at 0715 and headed out from Riverview. We stopped in Sussex and as promised the Walmart had the 4 pack of butane for our single burner stove. And of course they had a lot of other stuff that we couldn't live without. So with lighter wallets we departed and crossed the border at Calais Maine.
We had sampled lobster, scallop and shrimp along the coast of Maine on the trip out and Marla had a whole lobster in New Brunswich - now for the ultimate comparison. The Eagles Nest in Brewer, Me. We had discovered this place on a previous trip. It was packed then and it was packed this time!

The winner and still champion by a knockout!

On the road for another couple of hours and we stopped for the day at 325 eastern time at Two Rivers Campground on the Kennebec River outside of Skowhegan Me.  We went for a swim in the pool and had an easy evening.

June 30 - July 4, 2010 Relaxing Moncton

We spent the next few days relaxing at Marla's mother house in Riverview, NB which is just across from Moncton. On Friday we  did a little shopping for the trip and found the traffic engineers in Moncton and the screwup fairy have a lot in common - drive drive park..drive drive park..3 hours later we got back with a partial shopping complete. It was quicker to leave the Mountain Road shopping area take the bypass to Dieppe and come back through the city on Main St.We found the cheap supply of butane canisters which Walmart sells in a 4 pack for 11.99 were not to be found in the city but possibly in Sussex.(we will stop there on our way back to Maine) so off to Canadian Tire and we picked up 2 canisters at 4.29 each!
On Saturday after an early breakfast we were off to Alma (just outside of Fundy National Park) for a craft fair, fresh lobsters and sticky buns!  Marla's cousin Sylvia works there but we didn't see her this trip -  http://www.bakersjournal.com/content/view/738/38/

Marla and her Mother enjoyed their lobster feast. It was the long week and
Spike TV had on their Force of July Weekend Star Wars marathon on so while the ladies enjoyed the outdoors I enjoyed Star Wars!



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June 30, 2010 On the road to New Brunswick

Up a little later today - we still hadn't decided whether to stay another night or push on to Marla's mothers house. We would decide over coffee.  As nice as the campsite was we decided we would leave today and cross the border at Calais today rather than tomorrow with the Canada Day crowds. Our teardrop friend dropped by and told us he was also leaving and that his campsite was going to be open if we wanted it - he had this great campsite which was right on the waters edge while ours was elevated a bit. We had already made up our minds to move on although it was tempting just to move down to his site. We had another visit then just enough time to break camp and get out before the 11AM checkout.

We got to Calais and were through Canadian Customs in about 5 minutes so looks like the right decision was made. Tomorrow would be a different story with the Canada Day crowds.

We stopped for a seafood lunch at Ossie's between St. Andrew's and St. George's. There was quite a bit of local traffic including the local police which is always a good sign for an eatery. We were the only out of province plate in the parking lot. The lobster roll was #2 for the trip while I had my first scallop roll. Yummy.

We arrived at Marla's mother's house at 354PM. We had travelled 4554 KM or 2846 miles. Time to settle in for a few days. We still haven't gotten a firm plan for the return trip but I'm sure it will come to us when we climb back into the car next week.

The Jetta's mileage was what we had hoped for as we averaged 50.8 Cdn mpg or 42.3 US mpg.

June 29, 2010 Touristy Day in Maine

A little slower getting underway but still on the road at 9AM. We were driving along Route 1 when we happened upon Perry's Nuthouse. Marla remembers visiting there on a family vacation when she was younger. At one time it was a famous Maine touriest attraction but now it is mostly souveneirs. We stopped for a bit and bought some fudge and then on the road again.

We stopped at Bar Harbor for lunch - Marla another lobster roll and I had a scallop roll this time. Marla reports the lobster roll was much better while my scallops were fine.

I had no sooner said there should be a winery around here somewhere soon according to the roadmap (gotta love a roadmap that shows wineries!) and there was a sign to Bartlet Estates Winery. We took a 1 mile detour to the winery and sampled quite a few different types of their wine. They have mostly apple, pear or blueberry wines but they have won quite a few awards  and they were quite tasty. We bought 2 bottles and hit the road again. Time to get to the campsite early for a change.

We stopped for the night at Cobscook State Park about an hour south of Calais Maine and had a very nice site right on the bay. There was another teardrop camper from northern Maine at the park and we had a nice visit with him and his two dogs. We showed him ours and he showed us his. Now for those of you with your minds in the gutter climb out - we're talking about the trailers - ours is a commercially made model while he made his over a period of a year. He has been to Arizona with his teardrop - this was just a quick trip to check out the area while his wife was in Iowa.

June 28, 2010 The Day the Budget took a Beating

Two words to finish the budget - Freeport Maine. Not a place to visit on a budget. The whole town seems to be one huge outlet mall shopping mecca. Originally one of the claims to fame for Freeport was the flagship store for LL Bean but now there is store after store offering outlets. We arrived early in the morning and managed to find a pull through parking spot for the Jetta and Rascal and off we went. We really only went into 4 or 5 stores but the budget was history. At least they were all great buys. I had been looking for some Keen walking shoes in my size for our fall trip to Europe and I finally found them at LL Bean. Marla found some great buys at The North Face Outlet.
We left Freeport and headed north along Route 1. We stopped for lunch at the Brunswick Diner - they had a sign proclaiming Maine's best lobster roll - Marla tells me not so much. I had a shrimp roll and it was the best I had ever had - mind you it was the first one I had ever had!

We continued north and stopped at Camden Hills State Park just outside of Camden. We setup camp and headed back into town to be touristy for a bit.

Sunday June 27, 2010 Time to head North along the Coast

We said goodbye to Walmart, picked up a coffee at Dunkin Donuts - it didn't seem like a good time to break out the stove and brew some coffee!

We took the Interstate north and stopped at the Mass. Welcome Center just south of Boston. We were lucky as they had just reopened the month before after having been closed all of last year. Even luckier they had early hours - opened at 7AM - we arrived at about 7:45. The JFK Museum opened at 9AM so off we went and arrived just after opening. We spent about 2 hours touring the exhibits. There is a 20 minutes film before you enter the 21 exhibits so it doesn't take that long to do the entire museum. We have been to the Clinton and Eisenhower Museums and found this probably had the least amount of material but certainly had the most beautiful setting. It is on a point of land overlooking Boston Harbor. The Clinton library had the most information but so far the Eisenhower Museum was probably just about the right size.

We left the museum and headed north, glad that it was a Sunday so traffic was no worse. We decided if we ever visited Boston again we probably would not drive and if we did it would have to be a Sunday!

We stopped for lunch at the New Hampshire Welcome Center. New Hampshire has about 20 miles of seacoast and everyone from three states was there today. If you've been to Myrtle Beach at Easter or driven the main drag at Grand Bend on a summer weekend that's what the seashore road through New Hampshire is like - 20 miles of traffic congestion.

We crossed the border into Maine and stopped for the night at Wells Maine - not on the beach but on Route 1. We had our most expensive campsite of the trip so far at $34.24 for the night. We had been on the road for a week so this was also laundry night - $1.75 to wash and $1.75 to dry.

Never say Never - We ended up at a Wal-Mart for the night!

Today was a very long day. We broke camp at 8 in the morning and basically drove all day until 1030 at night. We had intended on heading east and camping in the Catskills Mountains just north of New York City. We did see some campgrounds early in the day but we weren't ready to stop. So through the Catskills and of course nothing to be found! We crossed the Hudson River at Red Hook and ended up heading south until we were in Hyde Park NY where the FDR library and museum is located - who knew! We usually stop at these museums once per trip and we were already planning on the JFK library in Boston. It was late in the day and we were too close to New York City for comfort so time to turn on the GPS and plug in a village in Conneticut. We certainly followed some interesting roads - at one point it turned into a dirt lane and had stone fences on both sides. There were some huge old houses - I guess thats how the other half lives. Anyway into CT on a small road and of course no visitor centre. It seems the best idea is to return to the Interstate when entering a new state so you can get a current roadmap and camping information. So we ended up on the Atlantic coast of CT on a Saturday night still looking for a campsite. We stopped at a State Park and they were full up - we knew we were in trouble when they said "Good Luck!" Heading north up the coast of CT into Rhode Island and still no luck - even the truck stops there had gates and wanted you to pay to spend the night. We were at the point of stopping at a motel when we saw a big Wal-Mart sign. We pulled in and there was a small motorhome and a campervan. What the heck - we went in and asked the greeter if this was one of the Walmarts you could camp and he said as far as he knew - just park over at the farside of the parking lot. We used the restrooms and retired for the night - it wasn't the best night's sleep but better than nothing. We woke up and found a Mexican couple having there SUV unloaded from a tow truck. He spent some time stopping and starting and staring at the tires but not going anywhere - I would guess a transmission problem. We went into the store, used the facilities and spent some money. We came out to find a police officer giving the Mexican couple a bit of a hard time. I looked off to the edge of the parking lot and noticed a "No Overnight Parking" sign. We were hitched up and left as this seemed like a good time to leave!

June 25, 2010 Backroads of Oh to PA

We followed the backroads of Ohio south of Toledo and Cleveland.  We stopped for lunch at the Pennsylvania welcome centre and then eastward again. We stopped at Dewdrop Recreation Area in the Allegheny National Forest. This was a very nice area built developed around a water resovoir used for controlling water levels. We had a nice campsite in the forest up on a little hill overlooking the lake. We were close to the washrooms and showers as well which is always a bonus!

Today was the first day we set the dining shelter up so we had a place to sit away from the bugs. So far the single burner butane stove has worked well. We also brought the Coleman propane grill stove.

June 24, 2010 - Luddington to Toledo and points in between

Today we continued down the East Coast of Lake Michigan to Holland Michigan. This was a place we had always wanted to visit when we lived in Sarnia but never made it to. Well at this time of year we could have missed it. There is a tulip festival in the spring which would be nice to see and the beaches are supposed to be nice. Other than that just your typical tourist town to spend lots of money in.

We left Holland and headed inland through southern Michigan into the backroads of Indianna east of Elkhard. We passed a Thor and Forest River plant on our travels. Into Ohio and through a town that must have been hit by a tornado - the town hall and firehall was half destroyed and trees down all over the place.
Today was the first time we had to use the "Bible" (Woodals Directory) to find a campsite. We tried the GPS but both places we tried were seasonal campgrounds. We ended up just outside of Toledo in a former KOA. As we found out later also on the flight path for Toledo airport!

June 23, 2010 From Lake Superior to Lake Michigan

On the road with rain threathening again - a bit of pattern to this trip so far. We crossed from the UP to lower Michigan at St. Ignace and took the Mackinaw Bridge in the rain and wind. Some poor motorhome owner was trying to secure there canopy while pulled over to the side on the Mackinaw Bridge. We took the shore highway southbound at Mackinaw City to Petosky through Traverse City and stopped at Luddington. After a fun bit of navigation with the GPS we arrived at a County Campground and setup camp finally in sunshine. A quick dinner and down to the harbour just in time to see the arrival of the car ferry Badger entering the harbour. It looks like a very nice public beach - powdersy sand.We took a walk out the breakwater to the lighthouse and then back to the campground. There were a few seasonal campers in for the night but only a couple of transients - it was almost like a private campground.

June 22, 2010 Along the south side of Lake Superior

We were off early again to avoid the rain. We had rain off and on most of the day but again we were lucky to be able to stop for lunch at a roadside rest between rainstorms.  We stopped in Marquette Mi for a little shopping trip at Gander Mountain and Wal-mart and then onwards to Bay Furnace State Forest which is just outside of Munising Mi. The weather had finally dried and it was a very nice day. We setup camp and had a glass of wine. A walk along the trail to the remains of an Iron Ore Furnace from the late 1880's made for an interesting end to another good day on the road!

June 21, 2010 On The Road to the East Coast

It's acutaly June 27 as I try to catch up. This is the first night we have had Internet at the campsite since we left a week ago.

We were hitched up and away by about
9AM June 21.
















A quick run to the border and down the north shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota.

We stopped for lunch at a roadside rest within site of Duluth. A quick lunch was in order so we wouldn't get wet from an approaching storm. We finished just in time and on the road again.









It could not have rained any harder for most of the rest of the day. We stopped at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center just outside of Ashland Wisc - very intersesting displays on mining and forestry in the area - not an hours worth of interesting but it was raining so hard we stayed inside until the rain was past.
We took the highway north to Washburn and stayed the night at Washburn Memorial Campground. Not very busy yet. We managed to get dinner cooked, dishes done and fit in a walk before the rain started again. An early night was in order. The mileage with the Jetta towing the Rascal was as good as we expected - 52 Cdn mpg (42 US mgp). Thats about 10 less than if we weren't towing.

June 20, 2010 Kakabeka Falls for the Weekend..then eastward!

We finally decided on Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park for our weekend camping trip. We hadn't camped here in about 10 years. Still a nice park but really illustrates why we don't camp at Ontario Provincial Parks - $34.40 a night for an unserviced site, although it did have showers.
We were running a little behind schedule but still managed to get setup and have the wine bar in operation by  2PM.

The modifications for the galley worked out fairly well - things need to be packed just a little tighter to accomodate the bouncing from the single axle. The curtains worked out well for the weekend and gave the privacy needed with the large windows in the door. The duvet needed to go in a larger cover but other than that everything worked out well. We had a rainy weekend  but Shannon had brought her dinging shelter so we were able to stay dry.

It was Shannon's birthday so what would a birthday be without a cake!

And of course what would camping be without a campfire and hotdogs. Shannon and Kaelynn cooking a hotdog.

Home again Sunday afternoon. Unload gear from this trip and reload for the next trip. Tomorrow morning we leave for the East Coast. We tentatively plan on driving along the south shore of Lake Superior, then down the east coast of Lake Michigan and then over to the Atlantic Coast and then north to New Brunswick. We hope to be at Marla's mothers house by Canada Day and spend a few days visiting. Then we will have to figure out a route home! Should be home mid to late July! I'll try to update the blog periodically but it will depend on Wi-FI along our route.

June 15, 2010 All RIV'd up and Ready to Go!

The RIV sticker arrived in the mail today and is attached to the trailer.
 
The last few days have been spent working on  the first modifications to the inside between  rain showers. We purchased a down duvet to go inside the duvet cover that Marla made. Curtains are made and ready to go up on the windows - just have to pick up some more velcro to attach the sash rods to the trailer wall.

The back galley storage area has been curtained off and mostly sealed from the sleeping area. We will give the mods a test run this weekend. We had planned on going to Trowbridge Falls in Thunder Bay but apparently there aren't any good sites left. Next plan was to head south of the border to Judge CR Magney State Park in Minnesota but by the time we made up our mind the sites were only available on Friday night and not Saturday. Ok we are down to Kakabeka Falls Provincial Park or the KOA. We will check out the KOA while we are in town tomorrow. It has a pool which might be nice if the weather clears up.

June 10, 2010 Hitched and Legal

We had visitors for the first week back from the mini adventure so not much progress on the teardrop front. We arranged for a hitch install so finally on June 10 we were off to Thunder Bay with both vehicles for the hitch installation and trailer inspection. We dropped the Jetta off and went to Canadian Tire for the RIV inspection. I believe it took longer for the paperwork completion than the inspection.

Off to the licence bureau to licence the trailer, get an Ontario registration and pay the provinicial sales tax. I would think come July 1, 2010 you will just pay the HST once at the border. So now we are legal to travel in Canada with our new teardrop trailer.

We received email confirmation from  RIV that they had received the inspection report. We will receive a Canadian compliance sticker in the mail to affix to our trailer.

It will be inteersting to see how the Rascal affects our TDI Jetta's mileage. We normally get well over 55  mpg(Cdn) on the highway. When towing with the Silverado we only lost about half a mile per gallon and got about 22 mpg. A nice change from the 10-14 mpg we would get towing the Funfinder!

We are busy fitting out the new trailer - our next trip will be next weekend when we are going to Trowbridge Falls Campground with our daugher and grandaughter(Shannon and Kaelynn). We will come home on the Sunday and then we head out for a month on the road with the Little Guy! We are heading through the States to the East Coast and up to New Brunswick - not sure of the route home yet but it will unfold as it should!

Are teardrop trailers for everyone? Not likely - you have to remember we are using this to replace a tent - a very small tent (a MEC TGV 4 season). We went with about as small as you could go - our Rascal is light enough to be towed by a larger motorcyle and has a small towing profile so as not to present much frontage to the wind behind the Jetta. We still don't know what kind of mileage to expect with the Jetta - stay tuned. Teardrops come in many types from homemade trailers that adhere to the 30's and 40's craftsman style to commericailly made ones like ours. You can outfit them with full galleys with stove, refrigerator and shelves and tv radio and DVD's inside or very basic like ours which is a bed with some storage.

One last thing - be prepared for lots of people stopping and wanting to see your trailer and ask lots of questions! We had people stop by everynight at the campgrounds.

May 30, 2010 Time to go home

Up for another day on the road. We didn't use the shower facilities - we would have liked to but didn't feel like standing in line. Oh well an hour plus the border paperwork and we will be home. Had our breakfast, hitched up and headed north. When we got to the border - We bought a bottle of booze each (Bailey's) at the duty free shop and proceeded to Canadian side to clear customs and start the import procedure.

We had imported our previous trailer as well so were aware of the procedures. Declare your trailer, fill in the paperwork, pay the GST and on our way in about half an hour. The next morning we logged onto www.RIV.ca , entered our file information from the border , pay the import fee (this covers the inspection at Canadian Tire as well), email a copy of your recall letter from the manufacturer and then wait for your file to be processed. We had a return email that afternoon with our inspection letter which we had to take to Canadian Tire for them to perform the import inspection. This wasn't going to be a problem as there was already a compliance sticker on the trailer meeting US and Canadian standards. If you do plan to import a trailer from the US make sure there is at the very least a US compliance sticker on your trailer - without it you can't import the trailer. I called Canadian Tire and they said come in anytime as there was no appointment required for the inspection. We will do the inspection in a week or so. We still have to get a trailer hitch for the Jetta so will probably do that the same day.

Our new Little Guy Rascal beside our Funfinder. Looks like she had a baby  and we didn't even know she was seeing anyone!