Well, it’s time to travel again. I’m joining some of the peeps I traveled with to Alaska, but this time we’re going to the Eastern Canadian provinces. It’s another Fantasy RV tour; totally worth it for others to worry about where we’re going, campgrounds, etc. We have to meet in Montreal, Canada on June 14. I’m typing this up on June 11 in Verona, NY.
We’ll be traveling through Quebec, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, and finally New Brunswick. To get home, I’ll need to go through Maine and New Hampshire, 2 states I’ve never been to before, let alone camped in. The furthest east I’ve been in Canada was Niagra Falls and Toronto. So, it’ll all be new to me. Praying the wildfires don’t affect the trip too much.
I worked Friday, June 9th in clinic; had a wonderful send off by my High-Risk Asthma team (thanks for the snacks and tea, and Rachel had to send me with dental supplies). I finished up various tasks in my office and finally left Riley to head to where I keep the trailer. And this was what I saw as I left:
Was this a sign of things to come???
Since I worked, I decided to just go about 100 miles the first night. The Clark County Fairgrounds in Springfield, Ohio was my first stop. I’ll not bore you with the details of the struggles I had at this site, but it was not what I expected. No one could tell me where to go, there were hundreds of cars there for a cancer fundraiser and even more in the back for a horse show. I found a field on my own that turned out to be completely empty and got set up. I was near either the goat or swine pens. They were empty though.
Old map 
New map!
Saturday morning, I ran to the local Meijer for a few groceries. Got to add an Ohio sticker to the places camped map, which was exciting! I was on the road relatively later than I wanted to be due to some issues with tire pressures, but got it sorted out. I drove I-70 east to Columbus then went up I-71 towards Cleveland. Eventually got on I-90. It’s funny to think that I-90 was a major part of my life when I was a kid as it runs straight through Spokane; nearly every trip we took anywhere involved I-90. But it doesn’t seem as familiar to me out east.
I made it to Westfield, NY after passing through northeastern Ohio and the tiny bit of Pennsylvania on the shore of Lake Erie. I spent the night at a very lovely KOA on the shores of the lake. I got in late enough to catch the sunset and not much else. There are grapes everywhere you look in this part of NY state! Wineries are clearly popular; don’t know if all the grapes are for wine or if some are for eating, but I couldn’t believe how many grape fields there were. I’d love to come back and explore this part of NY more in the future.
Sunset on the lakeshore
I left Westfield this morning and have traveled on the New York State Thruway exclusively today. I gave a silent shout out as I drove north across the Finger Lakes to my home for 4 years in the late 80s/early 90s. I never owned a car when I lived in New York, so all my travels were limited to catching rides with friends. We did manage to camp in the Thousand Islands and in the Catskills back in the day though. So, not my first time camping here (but my RV beats those old tents for real).
My campground tonight is in Verona, NY. It’s quite large, but not crowded. There are pretty nice sites, full hookups, and lots of trees and water. I got into my site and unhitched; it was definitely hotter here than on the lake! As I was cooling off inside a bit, someone knocked at my door. Imagine my shock when I opened the door and found Richard Hathaway! He and his wife Dana attended the RV rally I directed last year in Shipshewana and became interested in our Fantasy RV adventures. They decided to come on this trip, and we just happened to be at the same campground tonight–they are across the way from me! They have a new fifth wheel from last year, so I didn’t recognize it. Small world. We’ll separate tomorrow as they will cross into Canada from NY and head to Montreal, while I’m going to Vermont tomorrow.
Ok, that’s it for tonight. I’m posting in FB and Instagram. Will also share in texts for those who don’t have social media. In the past I’ve run into a lot of issues keeping up with my blog due to lack of WiFi. And Verizon wasn’t generous for data in Canada in 2019; it’s unclear if that’s changed. However, I think I have a plan for this. Stay tuned for more details! On to Brandon, Vermont tomorrow. I’ll be at Smoke Rise Campground for the next 2 days.
Travel with Me! 