An RV Story...

I could start waffling on again about beaches and nice views and all that but I'd rather deviate from the norm for a minute or two and tell you about something a bit different and warming. Having the RV has been great in more ways than just the obvious. Staying in hotels while fun for a 2 week holiday is not much cop when you are travelling about for an extended period and having to unpack and repack your bags every couple of days (we haven't yet stayed at a site for more than 3 days!). Which leads me to a side to the RV we hadn't considered. As you may have seen in our pictures the RV rental stickers are not entirely understated, in fact we stand out like the Cookie monster at a girl scout cookie cook-off. But this is certainly no bad thing as on more than one occasion already genuinely nice people have approached us asking for information on it and then just got talking to us. It was just the other day that we pulled up to an empty Pharmacy in North Carolina when an old banger of a car pulls up alongside us and the kindly gentleman within beckons to Fran in his husky Southern tones “Excuse me Maam but is that a rental Motor Home?” to which we feel obliged to explain where you can rent said motor home and passed on the phone number and web address. But the conversation rarely ends there, upon hearing your accent you know there is another question waiting to pop out “Are you from London County Council?” came the reply. He goes on to tell us he is Jim Sprull, from North Carolina, and visited the UK in the 60's and stayed in London County Council. The only reason he had pulled into the car park was to ask about our rental home (he wasn't even going to the shops) and yet here he was 10 minutes later still in conversation with us, telling us about his adventures and listening to ours.

But this isn't a one off. The number of times we have got talking to people in all sorts of situations is quite incredible. We have been tailoring our trip around the advice we have been given by strangers (who often later become friends) for quite a few weeks now, and without a doubt have seen some sights that otherwise we may have not even known existed. You just cannot underestimate the value of local knowledge. Further into North Carolina on a campsite in Wilmington we got chatting to a very nice man, Joe from Connecticut, again because he inquired as to the origins of our RV. He later introduced us to his wife Luanne and we went over to their RV for Strawberries and cream. I have no doubt we will keep in contact with our new friends.

On another occasion we were visiting Wrightsville Beach in Wilmington, we had just parked the RV on a meter and were unloading some stuff for the beach when a young guy and his friend walked passed and stopped to ask if it was a rental “YO! Where can I rent one of these?” and the conversation started. We went and sat with Will, Corey and Wes on the beach for the afternoon and later on they invited us to meet up again later for some dinner, which we did. Will took us to a local Vietnamese restaurant that was very good, through the conversation we found out that Will had just finished his exams for the summer, and didn't have much to do. He also said that he had always wanted to go on a roadtrip but never had the chance. We looked at each other and decided it would only be right to let this guy come and enjoy our journey for a time and give him a taste of the RV lifestyle. Will immediately jumped at the offer and decided to pack that night, as we were leaving in the morning! Convincing his mum was a different matter and it took a little while for her to realise we weren't axe murderers about to kidnap her son (understandable really as he had only known us for 6 hours!).

Will travelled with us for about a week before getting a coach back home from Savannah. We all had a great time in each others company, from playing crazy golf to going to an awesome Stephen Marley Concert and hitting the night life in Charleston, we all had a blast (and a few hangovers!) My hope is that we have given him the travel bug and he will try and arrange for a journey of his own in the future. I know we'll stay in contact and will look forward to meeting up with Will again at some point.

We are having a wonderful time on our journey thus far, and as you can see we have met many very friendly people. So far this is definitely turning out to be a trip of a lifetime, I can only hope that it continues to be so. We think of everyone back home all the time and hope everyone is well.
Karl & Fran
x

From Niagara to North Carolina and a fair bit in between!

It was Friday the 18th and the time had come to say farewell to my parents, they were heading back to New York to catch the plane home and we were heading for Peter and Heidi's house. They came and had breakfast with us in the RV and we said our goodbyes.

On the journey to Peter and Heidi's we managed to miss a turning at one point due to poor road signs so I chose the next best opportunity to turn around which happened to be a stoney car park outside a restaurant. With the RV on full lock making the turn out of nowhere we suddenly hear a huge CRASH! Fran shouts for me to stop as we both look to the back of the RV to see the plate cupboard door swinging around and smashed plates and glasses covering the floor and sink! OOPS! We are still unsure as to whether it was a badly packed cupboard or just that someone hadn't closed the door properly, but we now owe KOA at least 3 plates and 2 mugs. DOH!

We arrived at Waterloo later that day and Peter invited us into their house and treated us to some imported beer and a feast of wings. We all got on like a house on fire and talked into the night. The next day we were taken on a scenic tour of Toronto and told of its history and sights, it was really nice to have the chance to go back and see the things we'd missed as we'd only been there for 3 hours before that and hadn't really seen a thing. Peter showed us the area to the East of town where his daughters live on the lake, it is a really happenin' place that I can best describe as Camden but with a beach on the lake.

The time had come to head South so we departed Peter and Heidi's company (thanks for putting up with us!) and headed back across the border and into Finger Lakes country, it was the worst day we had had in a while weather wise (Canada had been unseasonally warm and sunny – in the 20's) and the rain came down hard. We didn't mind too much as we were just on the road but we needed to decide if we were to stay by the Finger lakes or just rough it in a truck stop. The weather wasn't giving us much of a clue so we flipped a coin and...Finger Lakes it was.

The coin came up trumps as we ended up at a picturesque camp site in Watkins Glen at the South of Seneca Lake, the weather even cleared to boot. The following day we headed to the lake to take in the incredible view and hot sunshine. The campsite had included some information about a Gorge trail so we thought it would only be right to check it out. As it was only just coming into Spring the Gorge was only 1/3 open but it was still incredible. The power of water was once again pointed out to us as we walked through the gorge and followed it upstream, with cliffs cut through the rocks on both sides some 60 feet high. If a coin sends you somewhere it is usually for a good reason!

We stayed another night at the same site as it had a pool and fitness room, perfect for an evenings relaxation. The temperature was that good to us we even managed to have a camp fire and drink beers into the night without even feeling cold. The morning came and we set of for Pennsylvania, Fran had found an area on the campsite information called “The Grand Canyon” and as it was only slightly off-route we couldn't resist. The campsite was a homely family run affair but we could have done without the flies that were thrown in for free.

As we had set off early we had enough time to take trek to the Canyon which rewarded us with more scenic views and even some eagles. Now I haven't yet been to the Grand Canyon but this one certainly had a lot to offer in its own special way. We took a 2 mile trek from the top of the canyon rim, down a wooded path to the base and fast flowing river below, and had lunch on a rock next to the river, watching it flow unto the horizon.

Its was turning out to be a lovely evening and stayed warm so we decided it would be best to light a fire and cook hot dogs, with a side of beer, and desert of toasted marshmallows. What more could you possibly want out of life than a smoked hot dog, cold beer, fire and the stars?

Unfortunately things don't always go that smoothly. The following day we continued South and East and ended up at a camp site with a promising name (Sandy Valley Campground) and offers of swimming, canoeing, lake fishing and hiking trails. The truth of it was that the 'LAKE' was more like a large pond they had (in Fran's words) stolen from the nearby river, there were no activities available and the campsite was mostly occupied by permanent campers that could keep a scrap yard in business for quite some time. Not to mention the nearby town that was inhabited by Hicks that didn't seem to want us in their local... I suppose the rain didn't help too much either!

Things took a decided turn for the better though the next day as again we continued on our journey. As we travelled from a land where the trees by the sides of the road were all bare and the only signs of life were the evergreens and grassy banks it suddenly dawned on us that we could see leaves on trees, and even more-so there was blossom in abundance. We had just driven into Spring. We were surrounded by Pinks and Whites, Yellows and Greens, the sun was shining and so were our soles. At this point we were in the suburbs of Philadelphia which is a bloody nice area with lovely big houses boasting large veranda's and well kept gardens which fran was very jealous of. Anyone with any idea how her blossom tree is getting on please let us know!!

Our lodging for the next few nights was to be Kristen's house, as she so kindly offered (after us badgering her via email) to put us up in her parents guest room. Her house is in an area a fair way East of Philadelphia, in a quiet private development (think Wisteria Lane as Fran mentioned earlier). Kristen makes a wonderful host and makes sure that we don't go hungry or thirsty and even goes to the effort of printing out some maps of Philly for us before she goes to work (Thanks again Kristen!). Now it would be wrong to go to Philly and not have a Cheesesteak, so we obliged. “But what's a Cheesesteak?” I hear you cry! Basically its a sub roll with shredded steak and melted cheese topping, I'm drooling over the keyboard just writing this!

On the Saturday (26th April if you've lost count!) Kristen was off work and offered to take us to Six Flags Amusement park in the neighbouring State of New Jersey. Its a great park with lots of adrenaline based roller coasters, one of which is newly built: the Kingda Ka. It has to be, without a doubt, the fastest accelerating thing I have ever experienced. It goes from 0-128 MPH in 3.5 seconds and shoots you up to 45 stories high and back down again – you could barely keep your eyes open because of the wind hitting you in the face. It is advertised as the tallest and fastest roller coaster on the Earth, worth queing for!

Whilst there we also decided to ride the log flume. At this point I should probably tell you that it was not the warmest day we have experienced since being away, in fact it was rather cold, and given the hot weather we had had before that day we were all wearing shorts and T-shirts. While standing in the queue we had watched people coming off the ride and decided that no one seemed to be getting very wet so we should be ok. Famous last words! Fran sitting in the very front got absolutely soaked, I got pretty wet and Kristen got the tail end of things – everyone standing at the exit stopped to stare at us as we left the ride in disbelief! They all assumed we had been having a water fight on there and could not believe how soaked Fran was as she had water dripping from everywhere!! Kristen says this was the funniest thing that happened all day...!

The following day we said our goodbye's and hit the road. Kristen had talked Fran into taking the wheel for this part of the journey so she did just that, and drove us from Pennsylvania, through the entire state of Delaware, to Maryland. Our next stop was the nations capital, Washington DC. We had been recommended a campsite that had good transport links to the center which was lucky as the first day the rain came down with a vengeance. We headed for one of DC's many museums that offer free entry, the Air and Space museum. There are some very special artefacts inside ranging from the first Apollo craft to a Spitfire to a V2 rocket. We both really enjoyed it and if you ever visit DC I would say it is a must see.

The weather improved the next day so we were able to go and see some of the many monuments that DC has to offfer, namely the Washington and Licoln memorials. Unfortunately all the tickets for the tour of the Washington monument were gone (I think you have to get up at the crack of dawn to get those tickets!) but it was still a great sight. The Lincoln memorial was very good and insightful too, as there is a new section under the main monument where they have put a lot of Lincoln quotes and history. You can see why so many people go there for inspiration as it is such a great place for thinking and contemplating. On the whole I found DC to be a slightly odd city though, as it is built around the monuments and the Mall, with the Whitehouse at right angles to the Mall and Capitol Hill at one end. Unfortunately due to the massive amount of history contained within the Whitehouse not to mention what it stands for itself as a building and monument you can no longer get near it without a very good reason. There is a section of fencing that must be over 100 meters from the house where you can get a photo taken (see Flickr for ours!) but that is AS CLOSE as you can get.

At this stage we agreed that what we both really needed was some beach action as we were nearing a month into things and we still hadn't just sat back and enjoyed the sun. With that notion we embarked again on the Wednesday and set our sights on Chesapeake Bay, more specifically the Cape that stands out separated by the ocean on the East Coast of Viriginia. It was a long drive but when we arrived at Kipoteke State Park it was well worth it. We were rewarded with a pine wooded area with little civilisation, that backed on to sandy beaches stretching for miles in both directions, and a warm and sunny evening to boot. We had dinner and then walked back to the beach to watch the sun set over the ocean (the mainland was that far across the bay that you couldn't see it on the horizon!).

Still not completely satisfied with the temperature and the beach we had found, we continued further South the next day. Our journey took us across the only way back to the mainland (other than back-tracking) via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. It is 20 miles of Bridge-Tunnel-Bridge-Tunnel-Bridge and quite a testimony to mankind's ingenuity. The bridge leads you straight into the centre of Virginia Beach, which is a lovely city based around its deep stretching beaches. We stopped to take a walk along the beach for a couple of hours but decided it would be best to get some more mileage under our belts.

Having left Virginia Beach it was only a short journey to get to the Northern most part of the Outer Banks, which is a 100+ mile Sand Bank which juts out of North Carolina in a SSE direction, before turning to head back towards the mainland in a SW direction. It is made up of 4 main sand islands that in places are no more than 30 meters wide, with a single road linking most of them, a ferry linking the bottom 2, and another ferry to get you to the mainland from the Southern most point. The houses at the top end around the towns of Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills are all little wooden brightly coloured affairs, all standing atop stilts in case of flooding. Most of the businesses you see all the way down the island are family run and it really feels like you have found a piece of land untouched by corporate America.

We visited the Cape Hatteras light house which has been marked a heritage sight and got the most amazing view of the bays and sand dunes from the top, it's just so awesome, the little marshy bits and pure white sand. It's apparently eroding quite rapidly and we were told that another couple of hurricanes could easily wipe out the banks which is sad to hear as it's just lovely here.

That night we stayed roughly half way down the Banks at a campsite in Rodanthe. It came as no great surprise that the beaches to the East coast come with wind thrown in for free. If you ever take up Kite Boarding (looks far too hard to me!) then you should without a doubt book your next holiday here as it is Kite Boarders paradise. With the calmness of the bay to the West but the constant wind due to it being out at sea it makes a great place to learn or just enjoy the sport. Our 2nd day on the Outer Banks we stayed in Hatteras, the most Southern part of the main island. That brings us to day, we travelled via ferry to the Southern most Island Ocracoke. We had great fun hiring a 2 person kayak and braving our hand out of the bay and into the sea, but it was far too much hard work in the hot sun so instead we just did a couple of laps of the boating lake, then spent this afternoon on the beach. As I (finish) writing this I am sitting in our RV on the 2 hour 15 minute ferry back to the main land where we will find a local campsite for the night.

So far our journey in the RV has encompassed over 2,300 miles and we have seen sights that have taken our breathe away. To say that we are having fun and enjoying mostly every minute would be an understatement. We are of course missing everyone back home loads, but your messages and emails are keeping us going.

Take care!
Karl & Fran