Pulled out around 8:00. Coffee to get going, then a quick breakfast at Timmy's in a near by town. We are heading cross country to Sherbrooke, then will hop the 10 into Montreal. Our penchant for traveling off the main highways has provided us with some amazing sights along the way, from the scenic to the quirky.
2010 Vacation Day 13 - The Factory Tour
On the road by 7:00 am. We are not totally certain how long it will take us to get to St. Frederic and the factory, so we are allowing some extra time. Drove right up Hwy 201, on what is called "The Old Canada Road". Apparently Benedict Arnold and his troops, in 1775, followed the Kennebec River, on their way to Canada. The highway follows the river most of the way. It is a great drive, and very scenic and very Maine as well.
2010 Vacation Day 12 - Where's the bridge?
The alarm woke us as planned at 5:30. I was however, already awake a bit before that, listening to the pounding rain and gusting wind. The last thing I wanted to hear. It was so bad, that if it continued, we would have delayed leaving. It did let up though, a little before 7:00. We listened to the weather report, and decided to hitch up and move out.
2010 Vacation Day 11 - The best fish and chips ever...
Headed over to Grenwich this morning, a part of the national park that contains the dunes. It is about a 45 minute drive from Stanhope. Stopped at St. Peters Bay to check out the shops and have an ice cream. Grenwich has a number of trails, and we wanted to walk to the dunes.
2010 Vacation Day 10 - Where's my life jacket?
Woke up early, so we both headed for a shower to beat the late risers. Not too windy this morning, we think we may have lucked out on a good day for a paddle. Dale and I walked along the beach for a long ways, taking pictures and looking for beach glass. I found a piece that is clearly from a beer bottle, part of the top. It is well worn and smooth from the abrasion of the sand, but still the top of a beer bottle.
2010 Vacation Day 9 - A reel or a jig?
Started off the morning with a breakfast of steak and eggs, and some fried potatos. Yummy. Low key morning, did a load of laundry, worked on this blog, and showed a few other campers the Alto. Apparently there is a resort nearby that does not mind people utilizing their wifi, so I went over there to do some blog posts and to check the email. Dale walked down to the beach to check it out while I blogged. Really nice resort, and they did not mind me sitting in the lobby while I connected. Ended up talking to the owner, as he wandered over to say hello. Nice guy, and we spoke for a while.
2010 Vacation Day 8 - Fox 1 Crocs 0
Up early to get a start on the packing up. Poked away at it between cups of coffee. Apple crisp for breakfast, which we did not have room to eat last night. Went over to say goodbye to our crokinole friends. Steve brought his banjo to sing a little ditty he wrote about our new friends, which summed up our crokinole experience quite humourously. Such nice people.
2010 Vacation Day 7 - Is there anything we have not done today???
Rained overnight, hard at times, but the whole thing only lasted a couple of hours. Love the sound of rain, I guess compounded by the fact we are no longer in a tent on the ground. No rush to this morning, very dull and overcast, and a touch cool. Made up the requisite coffee, and once again, granola with fresh peaches. Steve wandered over to talk to the other couples about plans for the day, looks like there may be some crokinole happening at the Panmure Island Pow Wow, a yearly event held just across the road.
2010 Vacation Day 6 - The boards were fast...
The day started out rather overcast and cool. Slept in a bit, then got the coffee going. Breakfast was Nova Scotia peaches, granola and yogurt...very yummy. Poked around outside a bit, then we wandered over to check out the crokinole boards we heard about around the campfire.
2010 Vacation Day 5 - Hermit crab racing...
Packed up and on the road by 9:30. A little later than expected, but no biggie. Heading for PEI, to a provincial park called Panmure Island. Weather and traffic both good today. Made it to the bridge in about 3 hours. Got a little sidetracked nearing the bridge, 3 of us, 2 trailers and a pickup truck, took Hwy 355 to the bridge. or so we thought, and ended up stopped at a construction detour. So we were all sitting stopped, not because of the construction, but because none of us seemed to want to venture further. I hopped out and walked up to the first trailer, he was not feeling good about the state of the road, then I wandered back the the pickup behind us. They figured that the road we were hesitant about would actually get us back to the main Hwy, so we all agreed and they led the way. Sure enough, we were back on track in about 15 minutes. Stopped and gassed up before the bridge, then started out.
A few changes to the trunk
We noticed right away that after travelling, some object that normally resides in the trunk, will inevitably make its way into the living area upon arrival. This is not surprising, given that the Alto can bounce around a bit, and the only divider between the two areas is a small fabric curtain. Having lots of extra coroplast from other little mods, I decided to create a better divider.
I cut a double layer of coroplast to size, and velcro'd it to the existing frame. Much better. You will also notice that I created a small wing piece which is attached to the front curve of the Alto. The power converter and connections are right behind it, so I figured a little extra protection would not hurt. The industrial strength velcro is a great product...super sticky and the velcro holds real well.
These little LED puck lights are awesome. They stick anywhere and the batteries seem to last forever. The trunk needed a little light, and this fit the bill perfectly.
These little LED puck lights are awesome. They stick anywhere and the batteries seem to last forever. The trunk needed a little light, and this fit the bill perfectly.
2010 Vacation Day 4 - Fog, fog and more fog...
Rained all night. Very damp and clammy this morning, but nothing the heatpump cannot cure. Got us dried out and toasy warm in no time. After getting squared away with the morning neccessities, I went up to the comfort station for a shower, while Dale braved the fog and utilized the outdoor shower again.
2010 Vacation Day 3 - Return of the pan roll...
Bit foggy and overcast this morning. Got the coffee going, then slowly started to get active. After an hour or so it started to clear and get much brighter. Dale decided that as we have a water hookup, that it was time to try the outdoor shower. She pulled out our little enclosure and set it up. Then she got the shower hose out and once settled in, got it going.
2010 Vacation Day 2 - Trees as far as the eye can see...
Up early, grabbed a shower and a bite to eat, and pulled out around 9:00. Probably have about a 5 hour drive into St John. Drove Hwy 2 to Newport, hopped the 95 into Bangor, then caught the number 9, the Airline Road as it is called. We speculated why it may be called the Airline Rd, as it cuts straight across the eastern part of Maine, as the crow flies, as well as an airplane flies. Just our theory... We have driven this road many many years ago, and I remember it being pretty primitive. Extremely scenic, but primitive. Well, it has changed.
2010 Trip 7: Vacation, NB & PEI
On the road at 7:00am, which in itself is remarkable. Heading to Skowhagen Maine, via Sherbrooke QC. Traffic not bad at all, through Montreal, passing the confusing urban landscape of Longueuil, and straight down Hwy 10. Very nice countryside in the Eastern Townships. Lots of farming and then hills once we get close to the border.
Now this should be standard...
We installed an extra electrical outlet on the door side of the Alto. There is no existing outlet there, and we found last year that when powering the TV, the AC adaptor cord had to be stretched across the trailer to the other side, just waiting to be tripped over, which it was a few times. There is a perfect spot for an outlet on the back wall of the toilet enclosure. It was installed up high, and the AC adaptor, or anything else, can be plugged right in. I carefully measured where the outlet box was to go, as well as the sizing. This is truly a one shot deal, no room for error. I drilled a couple of pilot holes on the corners, then drew an outline of the box. Drilled some larger holes in each corner where the box is to go, then using a fine toothed hacksaw, connected the holes. Some minor adjustments, and the box fit perfectly. Then I drilled a hole below for the electrical wire to feed through, with a grommet clamp to protect the cable. The power was tapped off the outside outlet, which is on a seperate circuit and rarely used. As you can see, it looks like it was always there.
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2010 Trip 6 - Sardines anyone?
Algonquin Provincial Park, Lake of Two Rivers Campsite - Aug 2010
On the road a little before 4:30pm. Was able to hitch everything up last night, which probably saved about an hour today...perhaps not a whole hour, but all the little last moment stuff that needs to be done to get underway, sure seems to add up. Traffic was heavy, and it started right on Bronson. We usually head down Carling to hop on the Queensway at Pinecrest, as the Queensway really seems to jam up between Bronson and Woodroffe. Well, not a great plan today. Did not know that Carling beyond Woodroffe was under construction, and got stuck in it with no escape. Took an hour to get onto the Queensway... crazy. The traffic on Hwy 17 was heavy until Renfrew, no suprise though, it is a long weekend.
On the road a little before 4:30pm. Was able to hitch everything up last night, which probably saved about an hour today...perhaps not a whole hour, but all the little last moment stuff that needs to be done to get underway, sure seems to add up. Traffic was heavy, and it started right on Bronson. We usually head down Carling to hop on the Queensway at Pinecrest, as the Queensway really seems to jam up between Bronson and Woodroffe. Well, not a great plan today. Did not know that Carling beyond Woodroffe was under construction, and got stuck in it with no escape. Took an hour to get onto the Queensway... crazy. The traffic on Hwy 17 was heavy until Renfrew, no suprise though, it is a long weekend.
