The Route

Deciding on exactly which route to take has been the hardest thing to do.  The more we look through the travel guides, the more we find to do.  At one point, we added up all of the stops we were planning to make, along with the travel time, and we were at a total of 55 days!!!  That's almost two months!  Needless to say, we had to be realistic and cut out some stops.  One disappointing cut was the stop in Niagara Falls, but we plan to go there sometime in July.  After lots of cutting and rearranging, we finally got the projected route down to about 43 days.  We're trying to stick to a 6 week time frame. 

So, just where are we going???

Here's our projected route:

Washington DC
Baltimore, MD
Hershey PA
Lancaster PA
New York City, NY
Cape Cod Seashore, MA
Plymouth, MA
Boston, MA
Bar Harbor, ME
Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia
Digby, Nova Scotia
The Ovens, Nova Scotia
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Cape Breton/Sydney, Nova Scotia
Prince Edward Island
Bangor, ME
Twin Mountains, NH
Mt. Washington, NH
Cabot, VT
Barre, VT
Waterbury, VT
Luray, VA

....and finally......HOME!!!

There will be lots of variety on this trip.  We’ll be in bustling cities, sleepy small towns, farm communities, beach towns, and an island where “time seems to stand still”.  We will learn how ice cream and cheese are made in Vermont , how potato chips are made in Cape Cod, and how chocolate is made in Hershey.  There will be rides on city buses, subway trains, Amish buggies, lobster boats, ferries, and even a historic cog railway.  We will explore sea caves, visit a granite quarry, tour Capitol Hill, walk the Brooklyn Bridge, go whale watching, and much, much more.  Most of all, we plan to enjoy this special time that God has allowed for our family.  We are so thankful for His blessings!

 

Planning, Planning, and more Planning!!!

I have planned for many trips over the years but never one as long as this.  It's quite a task!  The trip will last approximately 6 weeks and take us through at least 16 states, the District of Columbia, Nova Scotia, and two other Provinces in Canada.  Whew.....I'm tired already and we haven't even left!  Here is a list of a few things that had to be done to prepare for this trip:
* Obtain passports for travel into Canada
* Make plans for paying monthly bills while on the road (auto bill pay or pay ahead)
* Purchase a Wifi hotspot for Internet access so we can work while traveling
* Obtain special insurance cards showing coverage in Canada for the RV and tow vehicle
* Purchase an AAA Membership
* Have RV serviced and approved for a long trip
* Have a tow bar installed on the Jeep
* Arrange for someone to care for our pets while we are away
* Locate and reserve campgrounds at each destination
* Request tour guides from each state we will be visiting  (and read them cover to cover)
* Purchase a "Tractor Trailer/RV GPS" (it guides us around low bridges and areas not accessible to big rigs)
* Plan the tentative route and stops in each state (including information on cost, hours of operation, parking, directions, etc.)

.........the list goes on and on, but we're getting close to being done!  Yay!

                                                            A little reading material.... 

The "Toad"

We are just one month away from the start of our trip and time is passing so quickly. There is so much to think about and do when you are planning to be on the road for 6 weeks or so. This week we finally decided on our tow vehicle. It would be quite difficult to maneuver a 39 ft motor home through many of the small towns we plan to visit so it was necessary to take along a vehicle. After much research on "4-wheel flat towable vehicle" (otherwise known as a "Toad"), we decided on a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. Let's just say its quite different from my minivan. Our sons, Isaiah and Jeremiah, were thrilled with the purchase and can't wait for an opportunity to drive it without the top and doors. Yeah...I'm excited about that too, or not?!?