New York, Washington DC and Ohio
After our last night at the New York campground we got up early to put the RV into storage and wait for the taxi we had ordered the night before. We filled in the necessary paperwork to put the RV into storage and parked it up and left the keys with the campground staff, we then sat outside the camp office and got our stuff organised (a bag of clothes each and a camera for the three days we would be in New York City) at that point it was 7:20am so we figured we were running on time and were just waiting for the taxi. Turns out he was already there, and in an executive car (one of those all black town car deals) so we didn’t know that that was our taxi as we were on the lookout for the classic New York yellow taxicabs.
So once the driver came up to us and asked if we had ordered the taxi we were on our way to the train station, to catch the train into New York city to have a look around before making our way to the airport to pickup Kate’s Mum and sister. We got to the train station on time and caught the train we had planned to catch, and settled in for the 75-minute train ride into Grand Central Station in New York City.
We arrived and went out to the main hall of grand central station and Kate told me to look up (as she had been there before) and as I did I saw a very elaborate painted ceiling of all sorts of star constellations as well as carvings of all sorts of statues and things, it is very well done.
We made our way outside and went to find the Internet café we found on the Internet the night before so we could print out our New York pass receipts so we could pick up the actual New York passes. Once that was done we made our way back to planet Hollywood where we would be picking up the passes, after we had got that sorted out we went upstairs to the planet Hollywood restaurant and had breakfast and looked at all the movie memorabilia that was on display. After that we went and checked out times square and then we got on the subway and rode it to the station closest to the American museum of natural history. We got inside and saw most of the exhibits that we wanted which were mainly the animals with elephants (both Asian and African) an assortment of all other types of animals and then we went into where all the dinosaurs are, that was a lot of fun looking at all the dinosaur fossils and skeletons.
After that we got onto the subway again and made our way to an exhibit called bodies, which is a little creepy but very interesting. Basically it shows all the systems of the human body, the catch? Is that they are actual real people that have died that are on display. Depending on the display is how that particular person had been dissected, it was all very interesting. From there it was getting about time to head to the airport to pick up Kate’s mum and sister. We caught the subway back to Grand central station thinking that we could catch the airport train from there. We got there and went to the information booth and found out we had to catch a subway train to another station and catch a bus to the station where we could catch the air train, that sounded hard but the other option of going across the street and catching the bus straight to the airport sounded much easier, so we took that option.
We bought tickets and hopped on the bus to the airport, it took about an hour and a bit with New York peak hour traffic but we made it on time and went into the airport terminal that Kate’s mum and sister were to arrive at. We waited for them to arrive and bought some drinks and Kate got an afternoon snack while we waited. Kate’s mum and sister rolled on in after more than 24 hours of traveling, they said that they had had a good flight and that they were doing well even after all that traveling. We called the hotel that we would be staying at for the next couple of days to get them to send their free hotel shuttle bus to come and pick us up. We waiting for about half an hour before it showed up and we had no problems getting from the airport back to the hotel. We checked in and decided to grab some dinner before letting Marie and Kylie sleep off the jetlag, we decided on an Argentinean steak house. It was a good restaurant and the steaks we got we perfectly and the spaghetti marinara was also very good. After that we headed back to the hotel room and Marie and Kylie got ready for bed and Kate and I went down to the lobby to go on the internet before we went back up to bed for the night. We spent the next three days in New York so I will number the next few paragraphs accordingly.
NY day 1: caught subway into Times Square and got some tour bus tickets for a hop on hop of tour bus that drives around New York. After purchasing those tickets we crossed the street and got on bus, and rode on it for a while hopped off in the financial district walked down Wall Street on our way to purchase some Broadway tickets. We got there just as the ticket office had opened but there was already a bit of a line so we joined said line and it took about 15 to 20 minutes to get to the front of the line, and we all decided to go and see the Mary Poppins musical. After that we walked along a bit and got some lunch along the way, we then walked down to where the ferries leave to go and visit the Statue of Liberty but when we got there the line to get through security was 2 hours long and then you had to wait for the ferry to come after that so we decided to give that a miss. After deciding to give the statue of liberty ferry a miss (we decided to do a different boat tour the next day) we walked down to ground zero to where the twin towers once were, and looked at the memorials and the new construction for what will be replacing those towers.
We got back on a tour bus and went to Madam Toussards wax museum, which has a lot of famous people cast in wax. After that it was getting time for us all to get back to the hotel so that we could get ready for Mary Poppins and head back on out, which is what we did with no problems. Mary Poppins was a fantastic musical with all the classic elements from the film, and we also learned from the show guide that the author of the Mary Poppins books (P.L Travers) was an Australian and moved to England when she was over 18. We then headed back home and went straight to bed.
NY day 2: caught subway again got off a station early went to Rockerfella Center, which is turned into the famous ice skating rink in the wintertime. We went in and purchased tickets to go to the observation levels to take photo’s and all of that, but as we approached the elevators Kylie (Kate’s sister) accidentally dropped her ticket off the inside balcony near the elevators, so we had to get new tickets but once we had that sorted out we rode the elevator to the top and got some great pictures of all around New York e.g the Empire State building and Central Park, the Statue of liberty, the Chrysler Building and other landmarks around New York. Once we had checked out all the observation decks we went back down and visited the King Tut exhibit, which was very fascinating and had many artifacts that they had recovered from his tomb. From there we walked to the boats that were doing a statue of liberty cruise (not the ones we tried to get on yesterday which went to the island beside the statue of liberty, these tour boats just went down river and circled the statue for all photo opportunities). We got on board with no problems and set sail down the river towards the statue of liberty as our tour guide pointed out other things along the way, e.g certain buildings and when they were built and by who and all of that kind of stuff. Once we arrived at the statue, we all got our pictures at all various angles as we circled the statue and headed back the way we came.
Once we got back on dry land Marie and Kylie stopped and had some lunch and as Kate and I had eaten on the tour boat we decided to go across the road to the U.S.S Intrepid which is a decommissioned aircraft carrier that has been turned into a museum so that you can see a aircraft carrier up close and personal and various aircraft that have been set up on deck for viewing purposes also. Beside the U.S.S Intrepid was a submarine a growler submarine I believe it was called and we got to take a tour in and around that to see how life on a submarine was like, it was very interesting although a little cramped. We met back up with Marie and Kylie and proceeded to head for Central Park, just before we got there we saw FAO Swartz the famous toy shop and headed in there to check it out, we saw all manner of toys and lollies to delight kids and adults alike. The main highlight being the giant piano that we were able to play made famous by the movie “Big” that starred Tom Hanks. Once we finished in the toyshop we headed on over to central park where Kate and I rode on the famous merry-go-round. We then made our way over to Bloomingdale’s which is another store that is famous in New York, we didn’t do much there but it was good to have a look around and we can now say that we have been there. Once we finished at Bloomingdale’s we made out way back to times square so we could get onto the night bus tour, but before we headed out on that we got a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant called Applebees, from there we got onto our night tour bus and proceeded with out tour. Our tour guide told us many interesting things about New York as we drove along down to a particular point on the Hudson River where it’s the perfect spot to snap some pictures of the famous New York skyline. After that we all got back onto the bus and continued back to our point of origin, then got back onto the subway and went back to our hotel.
NY day 3: We got taxi from the hotel to grand central, and caught the train back out near our campgrounds we had then organised for a taxi from that station to our campgrounds. Once we got our keys back and had given Marie and Kylie the 50-cent tour we were back on the road headed for Washington dc. Along the way we stopped at Walmart and got some supplies now that our numbers we larger we needed more food etc. Once we got that sorted we got back onto the road and with one quick rest stop we made it to our Washington campground destination we then cooked dinner, had a look around the campgrounds, and retired for the night.
Day 1 at Washington DC, it was going to be a nice relaxing day after the hustle and bustle of New York city so we got up and had breakfast, which were pancakes and bacon, we all then changed to go swimming at the campground pool. It was a nice day for a swim, we made sandwiches and ate them beside the pool and after that Kate and I decided to play ping-pong with the table that was provided. After that we had one last swim before going back to the RV and calling it a day.
Day 2 Wash Dc: We caught the camp shuttle in, and we were dropped off at capital building of which we got a heap of pictures as well as the Washington monument in the background. We then caught tour mobile (a tour bus that goes around the city of Washington with a tour guide that tells you all about the place you are in) We then got off to go to the national archives building to go see the declaration of independence, but the line was to long, so we decided to get back on the tour mobile again to see the next landmark along the tour route. It was the Abraham Lincoln memorial, which is that big statue that everybody must have heard about, and its also located if front of those long “reflecting pools” which you might remember from the film Forrest Gump.
We snapped a few pictures and then some lunch, caught tour mobile again and went to white house stop, we actually went to the visitors center first which was a replica of the “red room” from inside the white house. After looking through all the information contained in the visitors center and purchasing some souvenirs we then went to the actual white house. We all got pictures again and it seemed as thought the white house was having some sort of function on the front lawn, we then got back on the tour mobile and went through Arlington cemetery which is the military cemetery with all the white headstones that stretch on forever into the distance. Apparently over 30000 service men have been laid to rest in this cemetery. Again we hopped on the tour bus and went to one of the Smithsonian institutes the one that concentrated on American History. We saw heaps of cool stuff, like the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz, and the jacket Fonzee wore in Happy Days and the first American flag ever made and heaps of cool stuff like that. We the visited the gift shop and got some more stuff before going outside to catch the tour bus back to our pickup point and caught the camp shuttle back to the campgrounds. Once we got back we saw the side awning we put down for some shade, one side had snapped up and it took us a few minutes to get that back to working order. We then prepared and ate dinner refilled our freshwater tank in the RV and also fixed the reverse light that had water caught in it. Once we were done there we watched some TV, showered and went to bed.
The next morning we packed up and got back onto the road, and after another quick top up at Walmart we were on our way, with one quick stop at an outlet mall for a spot of shopping but after that it was a straight drive to our next stop, which was the Niagara Falls campgrounds. We pulled in and found our campsite set up and then went for a walk around the park, we then cooked up dinner of bacon and pancakes which was fun and easy to do as we had all had a big day of driving and didn’t want to spend ages cooking and whatnot. The next morning we confirmed with the camp office that Niagara Falls had RV parking before making the trip out and they said it did. What they didn’t say is that there were quite a few low bridges that we would not be able to go under. So after a roundabout route we made it to Niagara falls and parked the RV, we walked along the waterfront and saw the falls from the viewing platforms and then proceeded to walk around to where we could purchase the maid of the mist boat tour tickets. We got straight on the boat and went on out to the falls and got to see them right up close. After we went back down and docked and exited the boat and headed back to the RV. We stopped in to a restaurant and had an early lunch, which was quite nice, and it had open bay windows from which you could view Niagara Falls from them. After lunch we all got back onto the RV and headed to the nearby Niagara Falls outlet mall and spent a couple of hours there getting some great bargains before getting back on the road yet again and heading for our Ohio campgrounds.
We drove straight through and made it to our campgrounds around 8:30pm, but where we are staying has one of the highest populations of Amish people and driving in was quite picturesque with all the fields and the Amish people driving the horse and buggies. Once we found our campgrounds and had set up for the night and cooked our dinner, the owner of the campgrounds came around to make sure we had found our campsite all right and had set up without any problems. He was very nice, and also Amish he also told us that he had visited Australia many times and loved the place and always enjoyed talking to any Australians that come through the campgrounds. He then invited us to join him and his wife for breakfast the next morning, to which we were more than happy to accept.
We went to bed that night reasonably early after a long day of traveling and to get ready to explore the town the next day. We all got up and were ready when we got picked up by the campgrounds owners wife who took us to an restaurant that served Amish style food. It was great; the food was fantastic as we all chose the all you can eat buffet so we could try everything that was on offer. It was also great to talk to the campground owners about their lifestyle and what they do and tell them about our holiday and future plans and just general friendly chatting. They were also kind enough to pay for our meals, which was so very generous of them. Kate and I have both said that we would definitely come here again, and we would even live here if we had the opportunity. After breakfast we got dropped off back to our RV, packed up and drove out to go and sight see around the town. Our first port of call was right across the road from the campgrounds, which had a pet shop with puppies…….. Big Mistake, puppies are cute and you were allowed to hold them, Kate fell in love with a white female bulldog and named here Munchkin, so needless to say it was very hard to walk away from the puppies.
After the pet shop we visited an Amish arts and craft store and had a look through there. Also we went to a Amish Quilt store and looked through there, Kate and I both found a quilt that we liked but decided to think on it and see some other shops first. We all got back onto the RV and got onto the main street, found a park and walked up the street going into shops that we thought looked good. We visited another quilt store and found another quilt that we liked but decided to have one more look at the other quilt before making our final decision. So we visited a few more shops before making our way back to the RV and going back to the first quilt shop we visited. We ended up buying the first quilt that we initially saw (will post pictures when we take them). We then made our way to a big hardware store called Lehmans, which housed all sorts of items, from fridges and stoves to books and DVD’s. Once we had finished there we got back into the RV and headed back to camp, we built a fire, cooked dinner (not on the fire) watched a movie and are now going to go to bed. So we are now up to date, as usual please comment or ask questions and we will blog again when we can; Blogging on the run is harder than it seems so thank you all for you patience.
So once the driver came up to us and asked if we had ordered the taxi we were on our way to the train station, to catch the train into New York city to have a look around before making our way to the airport to pickup Kate’s Mum and sister. We got to the train station on time and caught the train we had planned to catch, and settled in for the 75-minute train ride into Grand Central Station in New York City.
We arrived and went out to the main hall of grand central station and Kate told me to look up (as she had been there before) and as I did I saw a very elaborate painted ceiling of all sorts of star constellations as well as carvings of all sorts of statues and things, it is very well done.
We made our way outside and went to find the Internet café we found on the Internet the night before so we could print out our New York pass receipts so we could pick up the actual New York passes. Once that was done we made our way back to planet Hollywood where we would be picking up the passes, after we had got that sorted out we went upstairs to the planet Hollywood restaurant and had breakfast and looked at all the movie memorabilia that was on display. After that we went and checked out times square and then we got on the subway and rode it to the station closest to the American museum of natural history. We got inside and saw most of the exhibits that we wanted which were mainly the animals with elephants (both Asian and African) an assortment of all other types of animals and then we went into where all the dinosaurs are, that was a lot of fun looking at all the dinosaur fossils and skeletons.
After that we got onto the subway again and made our way to an exhibit called bodies, which is a little creepy but very interesting. Basically it shows all the systems of the human body, the catch? Is that they are actual real people that have died that are on display. Depending on the display is how that particular person had been dissected, it was all very interesting. From there it was getting about time to head to the airport to pick up Kate’s mum and sister. We caught the subway back to Grand central station thinking that we could catch the airport train from there. We got there and went to the information booth and found out we had to catch a subway train to another station and catch a bus to the station where we could catch the air train, that sounded hard but the other option of going across the street and catching the bus straight to the airport sounded much easier, so we took that option.
We bought tickets and hopped on the bus to the airport, it took about an hour and a bit with New York peak hour traffic but we made it on time and went into the airport terminal that Kate’s mum and sister were to arrive at. We waited for them to arrive and bought some drinks and Kate got an afternoon snack while we waited. Kate’s mum and sister rolled on in after more than 24 hours of traveling, they said that they had had a good flight and that they were doing well even after all that traveling. We called the hotel that we would be staying at for the next couple of days to get them to send their free hotel shuttle bus to come and pick us up. We waiting for about half an hour before it showed up and we had no problems getting from the airport back to the hotel. We checked in and decided to grab some dinner before letting Marie and Kylie sleep off the jetlag, we decided on an Argentinean steak house. It was a good restaurant and the steaks we got we perfectly and the spaghetti marinara was also very good. After that we headed back to the hotel room and Marie and Kylie got ready for bed and Kate and I went down to the lobby to go on the internet before we went back up to bed for the night. We spent the next three days in New York so I will number the next few paragraphs accordingly.
NY day 1: caught subway into Times Square and got some tour bus tickets for a hop on hop of tour bus that drives around New York. After purchasing those tickets we crossed the street and got on bus, and rode on it for a while hopped off in the financial district walked down Wall Street on our way to purchase some Broadway tickets. We got there just as the ticket office had opened but there was already a bit of a line so we joined said line and it took about 15 to 20 minutes to get to the front of the line, and we all decided to go and see the Mary Poppins musical. After that we walked along a bit and got some lunch along the way, we then walked down to where the ferries leave to go and visit the Statue of Liberty but when we got there the line to get through security was 2 hours long and then you had to wait for the ferry to come after that so we decided to give that a miss. After deciding to give the statue of liberty ferry a miss (we decided to do a different boat tour the next day) we walked down to ground zero to where the twin towers once were, and looked at the memorials and the new construction for what will be replacing those towers.
We got back on a tour bus and went to Madam Toussards wax museum, which has a lot of famous people cast in wax. After that it was getting time for us all to get back to the hotel so that we could get ready for Mary Poppins and head back on out, which is what we did with no problems. Mary Poppins was a fantastic musical with all the classic elements from the film, and we also learned from the show guide that the author of the Mary Poppins books (P.L Travers) was an Australian and moved to England when she was over 18. We then headed back home and went straight to bed.
NY day 2: caught subway again got off a station early went to Rockerfella Center, which is turned into the famous ice skating rink in the wintertime. We went in and purchased tickets to go to the observation levels to take photo’s and all of that, but as we approached the elevators Kylie (Kate’s sister) accidentally dropped her ticket off the inside balcony near the elevators, so we had to get new tickets but once we had that sorted out we rode the elevator to the top and got some great pictures of all around New York e.g the Empire State building and Central Park, the Statue of liberty, the Chrysler Building and other landmarks around New York. Once we had checked out all the observation decks we went back down and visited the King Tut exhibit, which was very fascinating and had many artifacts that they had recovered from his tomb. From there we walked to the boats that were doing a statue of liberty cruise (not the ones we tried to get on yesterday which went to the island beside the statue of liberty, these tour boats just went down river and circled the statue for all photo opportunities). We got on board with no problems and set sail down the river towards the statue of liberty as our tour guide pointed out other things along the way, e.g certain buildings and when they were built and by who and all of that kind of stuff. Once we arrived at the statue, we all got our pictures at all various angles as we circled the statue and headed back the way we came.
Once we got back on dry land Marie and Kylie stopped and had some lunch and as Kate and I had eaten on the tour boat we decided to go across the road to the U.S.S Intrepid which is a decommissioned aircraft carrier that has been turned into a museum so that you can see a aircraft carrier up close and personal and various aircraft that have been set up on deck for viewing purposes also. Beside the U.S.S Intrepid was a submarine a growler submarine I believe it was called and we got to take a tour in and around that to see how life on a submarine was like, it was very interesting although a little cramped. We met back up with Marie and Kylie and proceeded to head for Central Park, just before we got there we saw FAO Swartz the famous toy shop and headed in there to check it out, we saw all manner of toys and lollies to delight kids and adults alike. The main highlight being the giant piano that we were able to play made famous by the movie “Big” that starred Tom Hanks. Once we finished in the toyshop we headed on over to central park where Kate and I rode on the famous merry-go-round. We then made our way over to Bloomingdale’s which is another store that is famous in New York, we didn’t do much there but it was good to have a look around and we can now say that we have been there. Once we finished at Bloomingdale’s we made out way back to times square so we could get onto the night bus tour, but before we headed out on that we got a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant called Applebees, from there we got onto our night tour bus and proceeded with out tour. Our tour guide told us many interesting things about New York as we drove along down to a particular point on the Hudson River where it’s the perfect spot to snap some pictures of the famous New York skyline. After that we all got back onto the bus and continued back to our point of origin, then got back onto the subway and went back to our hotel.
NY day 3: We got taxi from the hotel to grand central, and caught the train back out near our campgrounds we had then organised for a taxi from that station to our campgrounds. Once we got our keys back and had given Marie and Kylie the 50-cent tour we were back on the road headed for Washington dc. Along the way we stopped at Walmart and got some supplies now that our numbers we larger we needed more food etc. Once we got that sorted we got back onto the road and with one quick rest stop we made it to our Washington campground destination we then cooked dinner, had a look around the campgrounds, and retired for the night.
Day 1 at Washington DC, it was going to be a nice relaxing day after the hustle and bustle of New York city so we got up and had breakfast, which were pancakes and bacon, we all then changed to go swimming at the campground pool. It was a nice day for a swim, we made sandwiches and ate them beside the pool and after that Kate and I decided to play ping-pong with the table that was provided. After that we had one last swim before going back to the RV and calling it a day.
Day 2 Wash Dc: We caught the camp shuttle in, and we were dropped off at capital building of which we got a heap of pictures as well as the Washington monument in the background. We then caught tour mobile (a tour bus that goes around the city of Washington with a tour guide that tells you all about the place you are in) We then got off to go to the national archives building to go see the declaration of independence, but the line was to long, so we decided to get back on the tour mobile again to see the next landmark along the tour route. It was the Abraham Lincoln memorial, which is that big statue that everybody must have heard about, and its also located if front of those long “reflecting pools” which you might remember from the film Forrest Gump.
We snapped a few pictures and then some lunch, caught tour mobile again and went to white house stop, we actually went to the visitors center first which was a replica of the “red room” from inside the white house. After looking through all the information contained in the visitors center and purchasing some souvenirs we then went to the actual white house. We all got pictures again and it seemed as thought the white house was having some sort of function on the front lawn, we then got back on the tour mobile and went through Arlington cemetery which is the military cemetery with all the white headstones that stretch on forever into the distance. Apparently over 30000 service men have been laid to rest in this cemetery. Again we hopped on the tour bus and went to one of the Smithsonian institutes the one that concentrated on American History. We saw heaps of cool stuff, like the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in the Wizard of Oz, and the jacket Fonzee wore in Happy Days and the first American flag ever made and heaps of cool stuff like that. We the visited the gift shop and got some more stuff before going outside to catch the tour bus back to our pickup point and caught the camp shuttle back to the campgrounds. Once we got back we saw the side awning we put down for some shade, one side had snapped up and it took us a few minutes to get that back to working order. We then prepared and ate dinner refilled our freshwater tank in the RV and also fixed the reverse light that had water caught in it. Once we were done there we watched some TV, showered and went to bed.
The next morning we packed up and got back onto the road, and after another quick top up at Walmart we were on our way, with one quick stop at an outlet mall for a spot of shopping but after that it was a straight drive to our next stop, which was the Niagara Falls campgrounds. We pulled in and found our campsite set up and then went for a walk around the park, we then cooked up dinner of bacon and pancakes which was fun and easy to do as we had all had a big day of driving and didn’t want to spend ages cooking and whatnot. The next morning we confirmed with the camp office that Niagara Falls had RV parking before making the trip out and they said it did. What they didn’t say is that there were quite a few low bridges that we would not be able to go under. So after a roundabout route we made it to Niagara falls and parked the RV, we walked along the waterfront and saw the falls from the viewing platforms and then proceeded to walk around to where we could purchase the maid of the mist boat tour tickets. We got straight on the boat and went on out to the falls and got to see them right up close. After we went back down and docked and exited the boat and headed back to the RV. We stopped in to a restaurant and had an early lunch, which was quite nice, and it had open bay windows from which you could view Niagara Falls from them. After lunch we all got back onto the RV and headed to the nearby Niagara Falls outlet mall and spent a couple of hours there getting some great bargains before getting back on the road yet again and heading for our Ohio campgrounds.
We drove straight through and made it to our campgrounds around 8:30pm, but where we are staying has one of the highest populations of Amish people and driving in was quite picturesque with all the fields and the Amish people driving the horse and buggies. Once we found our campgrounds and had set up for the night and cooked our dinner, the owner of the campgrounds came around to make sure we had found our campsite all right and had set up without any problems. He was very nice, and also Amish he also told us that he had visited Australia many times and loved the place and always enjoyed talking to any Australians that come through the campgrounds. He then invited us to join him and his wife for breakfast the next morning, to which we were more than happy to accept.
We went to bed that night reasonably early after a long day of traveling and to get ready to explore the town the next day. We all got up and were ready when we got picked up by the campgrounds owners wife who took us to an restaurant that served Amish style food. It was great; the food was fantastic as we all chose the all you can eat buffet so we could try everything that was on offer. It was also great to talk to the campground owners about their lifestyle and what they do and tell them about our holiday and future plans and just general friendly chatting. They were also kind enough to pay for our meals, which was so very generous of them. Kate and I have both said that we would definitely come here again, and we would even live here if we had the opportunity. After breakfast we got dropped off back to our RV, packed up and drove out to go and sight see around the town. Our first port of call was right across the road from the campgrounds, which had a pet shop with puppies…….. Big Mistake, puppies are cute and you were allowed to hold them, Kate fell in love with a white female bulldog and named here Munchkin, so needless to say it was very hard to walk away from the puppies.
After the pet shop we visited an Amish arts and craft store and had a look through there. Also we went to a Amish Quilt store and looked through there, Kate and I both found a quilt that we liked but decided to think on it and see some other shops first. We all got back onto the RV and got onto the main street, found a park and walked up the street going into shops that we thought looked good. We visited another quilt store and found another quilt that we liked but decided to have one more look at the other quilt before making our final decision. So we visited a few more shops before making our way back to the RV and going back to the first quilt shop we visited. We ended up buying the first quilt that we initially saw (will post pictures when we take them). We then made our way to a big hardware store called Lehmans, which housed all sorts of items, from fridges and stoves to books and DVD’s. Once we had finished there we got back into the RV and headed back to camp, we built a fire, cooked dinner (not on the fire) watched a movie and are now going to go to bed. So we are now up to date, as usual please comment or ask questions and we will blog again when we can; Blogging on the run is harder than it seems so thank you all for you patience.
Canada to America
Ok, so here is what we have been up to...
On Sunday we went to the baseball with Lucas and Donna. The Toronto Blue Jays were playing the Baltimore Oriels. It was a great game with Toronto winning and hitting 3 home runs. The game was at 1pm, and before the game Toronto were having a fan appreciation day where if you got there early you could line up to go on the field and take pictures of the players and the field. Did you know they didn't use real grass?
That was really fun, not that we knew any of the players, but because we got to go on the field and i pretended to catch a ball by jumping against the wall :)
After going on the field we checked out a few of the shops and food options and then went to our seats. They were pretty good seats and in full sun, which we loved but Donna and Lucas didn't, so they went back a few rows to where it wasn't as sunny. As we watched the game progress they were having a promotion where if the pitcher got seven strike outs then the audience got a free slice of pizza. The pitcher got his 7th out in the 7th inning so all was good with the world. After the game we headed back to Lucas's place and had Wingmaster, the absolute bested place that serves wings ever for dinner. We may have already mentioned that we like Wingmaster. This time we got Raspberry Jerk, Buffalo Blue Cheese Gold, Apple Pie BBQ, Tex Mex and Mesquite BBQ. The Apple Pie BBQ was amazing, totally the best flavour ever.
Monday Donna and Lucas went back to work, and we spent the rest of the week hanging out at Lucas's house, not doing much just reading and watching TV, waiting for our registration to arrive. By Friday we decided to call, and it turned out that they were only about to send it. We got permission for the RV to be booked into an early service and set that up for the Monday, thinking that the rego would arrive by Wednesday at the absolute latest. That weekend we watched Lucas play in a street hockey tournament and it was fun to watch the boys chase the ball around. We met Kevin Smith (Silent Bob) as he has his own hockey team Puck U, and they were competing in the tournament as well. Kevin was goalie. I was starting to feel a bit fluey so we didn't watch Lucas's Sunday night game as I wanted to stay in. He won that one.
On Monday I woke with no voice. Kade took the RV in to get serviced without me and came home with a Tim Horton's coffee for me...I love Tim Horton's. I progressively got a bit better throughout the day and come the afternoon we picked up the RV, no major issues with the service.
No rego arrived on Tuesday.
No rego arrived on Wednesday.
On Thursday, no rego. HOWEVER, I was watching TV and Kade was sleeping when the doorbell rang. Someone had hit and broken the drivers side mirror on the RV. At least he stopped because we wouldn't of known otherwise. So we had to get his details, called Apollo (the rental company), and called Ford where we got the RV serviced. They said come in and they would see what they could do to fix it.
On Friday, no rego. We called Apollo, and they had no idea where it was and tried to track it (we still haven't heard back about where it is) so they emailed a copy though. The service place said it would be at least 2 weeks before we could get a new mirror. So things were not looking too good...
The service place contacted a glass repair guy and we arranged it just to get a temporary fix to last until we hand the RV back. The glass repair guy fixed the RV on Saturday, and we then packed the RV with everything we had in Lucas' house, had one final dinner with them, and retired early as we were to get up at 6am the next day to leave.
We got up, and left with no issues, only slightly nervous about the border crossing as we didn't have the updated sticker for the rego, but our reason if asked was to be it is lost in the mail and the rental company is looking for it.
There was no wait at the border, the guy checked our passports, did the usual asking what happened to Kades passport (got wet at Disney World and his picture ran), asked us why in Canada, why in America, for how long etc. Then he asked us about if we bought anything in Canada. We realised we hadn't, and I don't know if he believed us when we said no. He asked us twice and then I had to explain how I met Lucas etc...but we passed through ok, and proceeded on our 900km drive to Salem, MA.
One of the places I really wanted to go to was Salem, and we were getting worried that we wouldn't have time to get there, as we had to be in New York City by 5pm on Wednesday to meet my mum and sister who were flying in. The drive was good, as we hadn't done any for a few weeks.
We arrived in Salem at around 7pm, and it was all foggy and the mood seemed to suit the towns history. Salem is the location of the famous Witch Trials of 1692, which the play and movie The Crucible was made about. We got an early night and woke up the next day refreshed and ready to walk the 1.5 miles to the city center, where the museum we wanted to visit was located. The museum was really interesting, they put on a demonstration of the trials from the start to the end of the hangings. Did you know that no one was burned at the stake for being a witch in Salem? They were hung and one man was crushed to death. The museum also had a time line of the evolution of witches, which was interesting. In 2001 an apology was made to the families of those whose ancestors still weren't cleared of witchcraft. After the museum we walked though town, looking at some of the shops and tourist points, including a Bewitched statue of Samantha, which caused uproar when unveiled around 7 years ago. We walked back to the campgrounds, and headed out, on our way to the New York campground, around 70 miles north of New York City.
We pulled in and set up camp, had dinner, and went to bed.
Today we headed to the Orange County Choppers visitor center, where they have a huge store, lots of the famous bikes on display, and a viewing panel where you can watch the team make bikes. Unfortunately we didn't see anyone we know from the show, but we did see alot of the bikes we liked and had watched being made. After that, we headed to an outlet mall that was close by. We arrived and saw it was a HUGE one, biggest one we had seen yet. We went to a shop called Under Armour that had some sales going and bought some thermals for the Alaska part of the trip. We got two long sleeve tops each, and I also got a jacket. Once we get Kade a jacket and both of us a vest or similar, we should be OK...we hope :) Kade also got two pairs of Levi jeans for $50. I love outlet shopping :)
We came back to the campground, had dinner (pork, asparagus, tomato and potato salad with bread) and have started to get ready for the trip into New York City tomorrow. We will put the RV into storage here at the campground and train it in, and stay in a hotel for 3 nights, with Mum and Kylie.
Thats all folks, as usual, please post any comments or questions, all you have to do is select read users comments, type in the comments field and hit publish comment.
Later :)
On Sunday we went to the baseball with Lucas and Donna. The Toronto Blue Jays were playing the Baltimore Oriels. It was a great game with Toronto winning and hitting 3 home runs. The game was at 1pm, and before the game Toronto were having a fan appreciation day where if you got there early you could line up to go on the field and take pictures of the players and the field. Did you know they didn't use real grass?
That was really fun, not that we knew any of the players, but because we got to go on the field and i pretended to catch a ball by jumping against the wall :)
After going on the field we checked out a few of the shops and food options and then went to our seats. They were pretty good seats and in full sun, which we loved but Donna and Lucas didn't, so they went back a few rows to where it wasn't as sunny. As we watched the game progress they were having a promotion where if the pitcher got seven strike outs then the audience got a free slice of pizza. The pitcher got his 7th out in the 7th inning so all was good with the world. After the game we headed back to Lucas's place and had Wingmaster, the absolute bested place that serves wings ever for dinner. We may have already mentioned that we like Wingmaster. This time we got Raspberry Jerk, Buffalo Blue Cheese Gold, Apple Pie BBQ, Tex Mex and Mesquite BBQ. The Apple Pie BBQ was amazing, totally the best flavour ever.
Monday Donna and Lucas went back to work, and we spent the rest of the week hanging out at Lucas's house, not doing much just reading and watching TV, waiting for our registration to arrive. By Friday we decided to call, and it turned out that they were only about to send it. We got permission for the RV to be booked into an early service and set that up for the Monday, thinking that the rego would arrive by Wednesday at the absolute latest. That weekend we watched Lucas play in a street hockey tournament and it was fun to watch the boys chase the ball around. We met Kevin Smith (Silent Bob) as he has his own hockey team Puck U, and they were competing in the tournament as well. Kevin was goalie. I was starting to feel a bit fluey so we didn't watch Lucas's Sunday night game as I wanted to stay in. He won that one.
On Monday I woke with no voice. Kade took the RV in to get serviced without me and came home with a Tim Horton's coffee for me...I love Tim Horton's. I progressively got a bit better throughout the day and come the afternoon we picked up the RV, no major issues with the service.
No rego arrived on Tuesday.
No rego arrived on Wednesday.
On Thursday, no rego. HOWEVER, I was watching TV and Kade was sleeping when the doorbell rang. Someone had hit and broken the drivers side mirror on the RV. At least he stopped because we wouldn't of known otherwise. So we had to get his details, called Apollo (the rental company), and called Ford where we got the RV serviced. They said come in and they would see what they could do to fix it.
On Friday, no rego. We called Apollo, and they had no idea where it was and tried to track it (we still haven't heard back about where it is) so they emailed a copy though. The service place said it would be at least 2 weeks before we could get a new mirror. So things were not looking too good...
The service place contacted a glass repair guy and we arranged it just to get a temporary fix to last until we hand the RV back. The glass repair guy fixed the RV on Saturday, and we then packed the RV with everything we had in Lucas' house, had one final dinner with them, and retired early as we were to get up at 6am the next day to leave.
We got up, and left with no issues, only slightly nervous about the border crossing as we didn't have the updated sticker for the rego, but our reason if asked was to be it is lost in the mail and the rental company is looking for it.
There was no wait at the border, the guy checked our passports, did the usual asking what happened to Kades passport (got wet at Disney World and his picture ran), asked us why in Canada, why in America, for how long etc. Then he asked us about if we bought anything in Canada. We realised we hadn't, and I don't know if he believed us when we said no. He asked us twice and then I had to explain how I met Lucas etc...but we passed through ok, and proceeded on our 900km drive to Salem, MA.
One of the places I really wanted to go to was Salem, and we were getting worried that we wouldn't have time to get there, as we had to be in New York City by 5pm on Wednesday to meet my mum and sister who were flying in. The drive was good, as we hadn't done any for a few weeks.
We arrived in Salem at around 7pm, and it was all foggy and the mood seemed to suit the towns history. Salem is the location of the famous Witch Trials of 1692, which the play and movie The Crucible was made about. We got an early night and woke up the next day refreshed and ready to walk the 1.5 miles to the city center, where the museum we wanted to visit was located. The museum was really interesting, they put on a demonstration of the trials from the start to the end of the hangings. Did you know that no one was burned at the stake for being a witch in Salem? They were hung and one man was crushed to death. The museum also had a time line of the evolution of witches, which was interesting. In 2001 an apology was made to the families of those whose ancestors still weren't cleared of witchcraft. After the museum we walked though town, looking at some of the shops and tourist points, including a Bewitched statue of Samantha, which caused uproar when unveiled around 7 years ago. We walked back to the campgrounds, and headed out, on our way to the New York campground, around 70 miles north of New York City.
We pulled in and set up camp, had dinner, and went to bed.
Today we headed to the Orange County Choppers visitor center, where they have a huge store, lots of the famous bikes on display, and a viewing panel where you can watch the team make bikes. Unfortunately we didn't see anyone we know from the show, but we did see alot of the bikes we liked and had watched being made. After that, we headed to an outlet mall that was close by. We arrived and saw it was a HUGE one, biggest one we had seen yet. We went to a shop called Under Armour that had some sales going and bought some thermals for the Alaska part of the trip. We got two long sleeve tops each, and I also got a jacket. Once we get Kade a jacket and both of us a vest or similar, we should be OK...we hope :) Kade also got two pairs of Levi jeans for $50. I love outlet shopping :)
We came back to the campground, had dinner (pork, asparagus, tomato and potato salad with bread) and have started to get ready for the trip into New York City tomorrow. We will put the RV into storage here at the campground and train it in, and stay in a hotel for 3 nights, with Mum and Kylie.
Thats all folks, as usual, please post any comments or questions, all you have to do is select read users comments, type in the comments field and hit publish comment.
Later :)
And Were Off
Its 6.30 on Sunday morning, and we are nearly ready to leave Canada. Just packing the last things into the RV and heading to Salem, MA. Tomorrow we head to New York, and will blog from there.
Later :)
Later :)
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