Day 308. Leaving Canada
Woke early to do a last bit of washing. Then took the Bison to the container port. Donned high viz jackets and were escorted past containers stacked high to the shipping handler. Shipping has been further delayed to Saturday, hopefully for the last time. Said bye to the Bison after parking it and co...
Day 307. Halifax
Morning spent cleaning inside and out. Slightly regretted only cleaning the exterior once in 10 months as the flies were baked on and impossible to remove. Finally managed it to some degree, donated our bikes to thr French next door to us, then went to the mall, picked up a hire car from the airport...
Day 306. Halifax
Spent the morning cleaning and the afternoon mooching around thrift shops, followed by a meal out. Have decided we're only cooking breakfast til we leave. On our return a bit more cleaning and packing.
Day 305. To Halifax
Set off early and drove about 45 mins to Mather the Shipping agent. Shipping has been slightly delayed. Next drove to a laundrette and did 3 loads of washing including bedding, towels and seat covers. Carried on to the (very cramped) Shubie campground and started the huge task of cleaning and packin...
Day 304. To Nova Scotia
Left the campsite after admin, filling , emptying and meandered slowly around the coast road. So peaceful, and sparsely populated. The clapboard houses often have lobster nets stacked outside or boats in the drive and more often than not a view of an inlet. Passed lots of potato fields. Hoped to...
Day 303. Montague and Panmure Beach
Up and off early to Montague to kayak up the Montague river, a tidal estuary. Very hot again, upto 31 today. The kayaks were sit inside ones which felt less stable than the sit on top. Saw some Canada geese and wading birds and what looked like mussles on the river bed. It was only knee deep in plac...
Day 302. To Panmure Beach
Leisurely morning, left the campsite at 11ish and drove over to Montague to see if we could reserve some Kayaks for tomorrow. Whilst there stopped for a nice lunch at the marina. Carried on to look at the lighthouse built in 1853 at Panmure Island. Still boiling today so stopped by Panmure beach ti...
Day 301. To Prince Edward Island
The only ones in the park up, went and sat at the falls at 7.30am and had it all to ourselves - can't beat wild camping!. Set off for Prince Edward Island National Park, a 4 hour journey through mainly woodland. Crossed the long bridge and reached the Stanhope campground. Still too hot for us so w...
Day 300. Into New Brunswick
Left the peaceful riverside spot and set off on what can be best described as a roller-coaster road through a forest. Passed several silver church roofs ( "tin" or "zinc-coated steel.") This choice was practical, as the in the past reflective surface helped to shed snow and ice during harsh winters,...
Day 299. Parc National du Bic
Very peaceful parking spot and woke thinking we were in France - still very odd hearing French around us. Set off on the incredibly bumpy highway (too bumpy to work on a keyboard at the table). Watched Iga Świątek win at Wimbledon on the phone. Got to Parc National du Bic and walked around the shor...
Day 298. Quebec City
Left Montréal and drove for about 3.5 hours on the awful Canadian Highway - so uneven, congested and full of road works. Reached Quebec City, parked about 1.5k outside and cycled in along the river. Very picturesque city with the castle on the hill. Walked the cobbled streets to the fenicular which...
Day 297. Montréal
Cycled to the Montréal underground station and caught a train to the Jardin Botanique. Wandered around and due to heat frequently stopping to sit in shady spots in the Chinese and Japanese gardens or listen to the green frogs by the lilly pond (sound like an out of tune guitar string). Took a taxi t...
Day 296. Montréal
Left the peaceful riverside spot and set off for Montréal. As soon as we entered Quebec road signs, shop signs etc. were in French - very strange. Got to our campsite by the river at noon and took our bikes on the ferry to the old port. Immediately struck by how European it feels. Wandered around t...
Day 295. Ottawa
Left the boondock after not much sleep due to being woken up by a 4am phonecall. Drove into Ottowa and headed in by bike. Another very hot day. Walked through the park, around the parliament buildings, saw the locks, had a cheap Vietnamese lunch in the market, saw the Cathedral and a tour around the...
Day 294. Thousand Island Park
Left the campsite at around 11 and headed to Thousand Island Park where we hired sea kayaks. The owner kindly suggested we stop for a rest at her own private island, Boomerang. It was very choppy getting there but her little island was idyllic - water lillies, ducks, swans and small fish in the calm...
Day 293. To Wellesley Island State Park
Left Oswego deciding it was too hot to wait for the parade at 1pm. Instead drove on through lush green countryside and spotted a sign to Oswego County Fair. Stopped for an hour and wandered around the animal and craft stalls. Very cute and some lovely displays. Carried on to our campsite at Wellesle...
Day 292. To Oswego
After visiting the Niagra water treatment plant to empty waste, crossed the bridge to US border control with a last view of the falls. Next stop was Walmart then Aldi. Drove the scenic (and somewhat bumpy) highway 2 hours to Ontario beach park which had a nice sandy beach but noisy with much com...
Day 291. 4th July in Niagara Falls
An 8.40am start to the zipline - first time doing this activity. Loved it and awesome views going down but probably the most expensive 60 seconds ever! After breakfast and donning cowboy hats and red white and blue, (for the bike too), cycled across the bridge into New York State. Walked around the...
Day 290. Niagara Falls
Left the marina car park, stopped for shopping and drove to Niagara and a £5 car park for the night very close to Niagara Falls. Walked to the falls - so spectacular and a phenomenal amount of water flowing over the edge. Then walked to the white water park, an hour long walk in the heat of the day...
Day 289. Toronto to Port Dalhousie
Morning bike ride in cool temperatures to Queens Quay then to Trillium Park taking a last look at the parks and wonderful Toronto skyline. After filling and emptying the motorhome drove to Port Dalhousie and stopped at the beach on Lake Ontario for 3 hours. Have now paddled in 4th out of 5 great la...
Day 288. Canada Day in Toronto
Woke to find the baseball pitches next to us were filling up with lots of folk and BBQs. Took in the atmosphere in the morning and in the afternoon set off on our bikes to see what Toronto had to offer on Canada day. Sharing the path with joggers, rollerbladers and skateboarders, first stop was Nath...
Day 287. Toronto and Blue Jays v NY Yankees baseball match
A quiet night at the marina. Set off for Toronto and found a great spot near Lake Ontario for £6 a day right by the cycle path. A nice path by the lake cycled past various quays, then to the old town and downtown which had its small version of Times Square complete with weed smells and down and out...
Day 286. Lake Ontario and Royal Botanical Gardens
A good night's sleep in our free parking spot. Set off on the hour long journey to the Royal Botanical Gardens near Hamilton. Spent 4 hours meandering various pleasant gardens including a separate rock garden. Next drove to Walmart - without realising in a very rundown area with the most potholed ro...
Day 285. Lake Erie
Had a relaxed morning in the woodland and set off at about midday. Much cooler. Zigzagged through farmland and into London Ontario. Doesn't have much in common with its namesake apart from lots of street names (Piccadilly, Oxford Street etc) and a St Paul's Cathedral. Got to Port Dover and had dinne...
Day 284. Lake Huron
Woke to another steaming hot day. After a couple of hours of work and filling/emptying motorhome and showering set off for Canada. Satnav took us to the crossing at Point Edward and got through with no questions asked. Drove to Pinery State Park and nabbed the ladt place at the campsite. Drove to th...
Day 283. Detroit
A late start. Took an Uber into the centre of Detroit and did a walking tour around the sights and down to the river overlooking Canada. Learnt that the words Detroit and Cadillac were from the French settlers in 1700s. Stopped in the Renaissance Centre, which was once full of shops but now has the...
Day 282. Ford Museum and Factory
Set off after a motel breakfast of reconstituted egg and waffles. Hoped to stop at a farmer's market at Ann Arbor but couldn't find a parking space so carried onto Dearborn and the Ford museum and car plant. 3.5 hours wasn't really long enough to see it all. Car plant theatre shows were interesting...
Day 281. Indiana Dunes by Lake Michigan to Kalamazoo
Left the hotel and drove down the magnificent mile in Chicago. Stopped in a Walmart on the South side - couldn't see another white person but did see two cops with guns. Entered Indiana and carried on to the Indiana Dunes National Park stopping at Beverly Shores - a nice beach by a lake Michigan. We...
Day 280. Chicago
An early start. Took the raised train to Lincoln park. Walked about a mile to the wonderful free Zoo. Some great exhibits, especially the gorilla enclosure. At about 1pm the temperature was rising so took the bus back to the hotel to rest and do some planning. The heatwave is persisting so we may n...
Day 279. Chicago
A great night's sleep with air con. Set off early down the river walk stopping at the river museum (Chicago has 37 moveable bridges), then meandered through Millenium Park to Lake Michigan. Lots of interesting architecture, gardens and fountains. Popped into the cultural centre which had a beautifu...
Day 278. To Chicago
Disturbed night due to heat. Crossed the Wisconsin River and set off on another very windy drive and did 80 miles less on a tank of petrol than usual. Got to the windy city at 3ish and felt like a fan oven at 37° and wind gusts almost knocked you over. Drove around the Polish area. Saw 2 cathedrals...
Day 277. To Wisconsin Dells
An uncomfortable night due to the heat. Set off via a short detour into Iowa (just to say we've been to that state), then into Minneapolis. Hoped to visit the world's largest ball of twine but it would have added 2 hours to the journey so gave that a miss. Crossed the whole of Minneapolis and the hi...
Day 276. To Sioux Falls
A peaceful morning sat listening to crickets by the Missouri river whilst Stuart did some marking. Stayed til midday enjoying the last of the cool weather then set off for Sioux Falls with a brief stop at the Dignity statue. Arrived in Sioux Falls and headed straight to Savers and Goodwill for some...
Day 275. Badlands National Park
Woke after a night in a Rapid City shopping mall carpark. First stop was the town of Wall which you'd pass by if it wasn't for its huge drug store (opened in the 30s). It's developed into something of a tourist attraction and includes shops, a Western art gallery, restaurants and even a traveler's c...
Day 274. Wind Cave and Mount Rushmore
An early start for the hour long drive back to queue for Wind Cave tour tickets and managed to secure some for 8.40am. Largest number of boxwork formations found in a cave. After breakfast by a field of prairie dogs set off on the 45 min wildlife loop road of the Custer State Park - lovely rolling h...
Day 273. To Custer State Park
First stop was Mt Moriah cemetery to visit the graves of "Calamity Jane" and "Wild Bill Hickok". Added some Calamity Jane tracks to the playlist and set off through the Black Hills of Dakota. Stopped at the Sitting Bull monument but at $30 entry decided viewing it from the distance would suffice. N...
Day 272. To Deadwood, South Dakota
Lovely to wake in a forest glade with a chipmunk sitting on the firepit. Drove through Bighorn forest down to Buffalo with meadows covered in wild flowers. Stopped for a McD breakfast for father's day then drove on to the Devil's tower famed for the Close Encounters of the 3rd kind alien landing. Cr...
Day 271. Driving through Wyoming
Had a very good night's sleep in the Walmart car park. Set off, and in 3 hours passed through many different Wyoming terrains - dry grassland, rolling cattle country, through Ten Sleep rocky river valley, the Bighorn forest with views of snow capped mountains, up to the Powder River pass at 9666 fee...
Day 270. To Cody
After breakfast at Yellowstone Lake drove towards Cody through beautiful terrain which seemed to change every 15 minutes - Sylvan mountain pass, lakes, the Shoshone Forest, rivers and the Buffalo Bill dam. At Cody we visited the historic Old Trail Town which has lots of late 1800s buildings from the...
Day 269. Grand Tetons
A beautiful morning and set off for the Grand Tetons and Jackson Lake Lookout for breakfast. Saw a flock of pelicans!. Got some bad news so stopped at the Chapel of the Sacred Heart to pray. It could have been in Poland - entirely built of wood. Next hired a boat and motored out onto Jackson Lake fo...
Day 268. Yellowstone
Started the day at West Thumb Geyser Basin by Yellowstone Lake. It has bubbling mineral pools of various colours, even in the lake. Dozens of cars parked on the roadside meant a bear sighting and sure enough saw a grizzly in the distance. Next onto Mud Volcano and Sulphur Cauldron and LeHardys rapid...
Day 267. Yellowstone National Park
Set off after shopping at Walmart and a quick drive through Bozeman where the cinema was hosting the "Boz film society ". Drove through lovely mountainous terrain as far as Gardiner (where we stayed in 2017). Entered Yellowstone and did Mammoth Hot Springs, the Norris Geyser Basin, Grand Prismatic S...
Day 266. Glacier and onwards
An early start to the oddly named "two medicine Lakes". Hoped to rent kayaks here but the wind was picking up so decided on another boat tour after breakfast. Beautiful scenery. Didn't go for a walk after as there had been 6 sightings of grizzlies and black bears yesterday and we didn't have bear s...
Day 265. Glacier National Park
Woke to blue skies which were strangely hazy (we were later told this was due to a wildfire 60 miles away in Lethbridge). Made our way to the "Peace Park" border crossing and we were allowed back in to USA by pleasant border control - no interrogation this time. Entered Glacier National Park at St M...
Day. 264 Waterton Park and Red Canyon
Set off early to secure tickets on the boat tour down Waterton Lake to just past the US border. A very scenic trip with an informative tour guide - did you know a grizzlies claws are 4-6" long? After stopped briefly at Cameron falls then drove to red rock canyon. In 2017 there was a devastating wild...
Day 263. To Waterton Lakes National Park
After a McD breakfast in Fernie, stopped in Sparwood by the world's largest tandem axel truck - used to haul coal. Then a stop at the Frank Slide Centre with history of a huge rockslide killing 100 in the town of Frank. Finally into Waterton Lakes National Park, passing a field of Bison. 30-40 mph w...
Day 262. To Fernie
Passed some bighorn sheep on our way out of the campsite and drove along the Kootenay valley to Columbia lake Lookout for breakfast, then via Skookumchuk to Cranbrook Walmart for groceries and petrol. Temperature has increased to 25° and we're back in shorts. At 3.30 stopped and found a very peacef...
Day 261. Kootenay National Park & Radium Hot Springs
After a brief stop at the hilariously named Lake Minnewanka, set off along route 93 and some stunning mountain scenery, stopping at a waterfall and Radium Hot Springs to try and soak some extremely painful knees from yesterday's exertions. Arrived at the Red Stake campsite early so time to relax wit...
Day 260. Bike ride to Johnston Canyon
Picked up some electric bikes from the center of Banff and did the 16 mile ride to Johnston Canyon (they close the road to cars for a couple of months in spring to let the animals forage). Passed Vermillion Lakes, the Bow river and saw some bighorn sheep and deer en route. Did a 3 mile hike to the w...
Day 259. To Banff
Watched ground squirrels eating dandelions for a while then set off for Banff to catch a tour to Lake Louise and Morraine Lake which can only be accessed by shuttle. Stopped en route to Banff to watch the long trains go through corkscrew tunnel. On the tour bus passed a grizzly with 2 cubs. Had an h...
Day 258. To Kicking Horse Campsite
Another long scenic drive past Glacier National Park and the Rogers pass. Got to natural bridge which was a torrent of milky green glacial water then onto Emerald Lake where we spotted a black bear. Managed to get the last space at the campsite for which we were very grateful as we're knackered.
Day 257. To Canyon Hot Springs
Long scenic drive to Canyon Hot Springs passing lakes and snow capped mountains. Had a dip in the hot springs and watched humming birds. Rain in the evening.
Day 256. To Kamloops
Drove East for 4 hours stopping in Kamloops Walmart for groceries and the Value Village thrift store for some chachki. Then onto a free overnight spot by the South Thompson River.
Day 255. Capilano Suspension Bridge Park
A walk around treetops and over suspension bridges. Very nicely done.
Day 254. Capilano RV Park
Packed and took a shared Uber to the RV park. Managed to park it and connect electrics. Cleaned the motorhome then sat by the pool.
Day 253. Vandusen Botanical Gardens
Took the bus to Vandusen Botanical Gardens where there were flower displays on a Downtown Abbey theme. A really beautiful garden. Then tramped up the hill to Queen Elizabeth Park for sweeping views of Vancouver and the mountains beyond. Finally the Skytrain back.
Day 252. Downtown Vancouver
A walk to Gastown to see the steam clock. Onto the Chinese garden (unwittingly through a very dodgy down-and-out area) then past the Olympic Cauldron.
Day 251. Granville Island and whale watch
Caught the Aquabus to Granville Island which has a nice vibe. Then went on a free whale watch tour (as didnt see any ladt time). It took us around Stanley park, under the Lions gate bridge and past the Noordam cruiseship (which we sailed 31 years ago from Alaska to Vancouver). In the harbour we saw...
Day 250. Grouse Mountain
Took the bus to Grouse Mountain cable car. At the top there were lots of free activities - chair lift up to a viewpoint, grizzlies, bird of prey and lumberjack shows and beautiful views. Most of the trails are still covered in snow.
Day 249. UBC, Stephanie's Almer Mater
Bus ride to Stephanie's Almer Mater, the University of British Columbia for a tour of the campus which is vast and even has a Japanese garden, rose garden, botanical gardens and access to a beach.
Day 248. Stanley Park
A 5 mile walk around Stanley Park and Vancouver's beaches.
Day 247. To Vancouver
Started off the day with a nice walk alongside the Qualicum river looking at the Upper and Lower Qualicum Falls. Then drove to Nanaimo port via a couple of thrift stores. Caught the 2:40 ferry to Vancouver - a lovely smooth crossing with a sighting of one whale and maybe a porpoise. Got off the ferr...
Day 246. Qualicum Falls
A long drive back across Vancouver Island. Stopped at a river viewpoint off Highway 4 for breakfast and then at Port Alberni for thrift shopping and a Walmart. Drove on to Upper Qualicum Falls campsite (very nice) and spent the rest of the day chilling in the Motorhome.
Day 245. Tofino
Mostly light rain today so spent a fair bit of time in the motorhome doing marking and admin. Also gave Bison a rough wash - only the second one in 8 months. We walked to the beach south of the campsite and stopped at Tacofino for burritos and tacos on the way back.
Day 244. Tofino
As it was a sunny day, ,we decided to walk into Tofino. Crossed three beaches, some headlands and woodland paths. About 5 mile round trip. Saw lots of seaplanes taking off and landing and a sushi bar owner was throwing away fish scraps on the beach which attracted about a dozen bald eagles up close....
Day 243. To Tofino
A 2.5 hour drive NW to the west coast and the town of Tofino. A very scenic drive with snowy mountains and many lakes. Took a short walk on the beach in sunshine and wind. Chilled at the campsite and watched euro vision in the evening.
Day 242. Northwards
Slept well on the roadside and set off via a narrow windy road to find a dump station and cash point via a thrift store. North on route 1 (very slow road) through Nanaimo and up to the North Island Animal Rescue Centre. Saw a bear, lots of birds and some rabbits. Kind of a sad place with injured bir...
Day 241. Victoria and Butchart Gardens
Had a fairly quiet night on the side road but had disapproving looks from the locals as they passed in the morning - nimbys! Boz went whale watching on a fast boat for three hours but only saw seals and birds. These orcas are very uncooperative. Drove north in drizzle to Butchart Gardens. 120 years...
Day 240. To Victoria BC
Headed down to Port Angeles to restock and then caught the 2pm ferry to Victoria on Vancouver Island. A smooth crossing. drove around Victoria with stops at the marina and the kids petting zoo. Parked up and then walked to downtown via the parliament building and harbour. Very British with statues o...
Day 239. Hurricane Ridge
Dropped down out of the park into Port Angeles and then up the long road to Hurricane Ridge at over 5000 feet. Still lots of snow around and magnificent views of Mount Olympia and the other peaks with their glaciers. About five marmots running around quite close to- a very cute rodent. Also a few bl...
Day 238. Sol Duc
Took a 2 mile walk up the river valley until we could get onto the bank and the stones and twigs in the rapids. Some drizzle but the trees kept most of it off and saw some deer towards the end. Were going to go to the hot springs again but Boz had a bad reaction to the minerals, so gave it a miss....
Day 237. Sol Duc Hot Springs
Woke up to a nice view over the lake and drove up the hill to Sol Duc in Olympic Park. They have hot springs, so we went for a nice warm dip in the sulphur smelling pools. It wouldn’t be a spa without a couple of Germans as well! Then a 1.2 mile in and out hike to Sol Duc falls which was another are...
Day 236. Forks and Crescent Lake
Slept in a bit and didn’t leave campsite until 11:30. Stopped in Forks to get some WiFi and have a brief walk around the town where the Twilight series of films were based. It’s also the wettest town in the USA. Then onto Crescent Lake where we managed to find a pitch at the campsite. Had a brief...
Day 235. Hoh Rain Forest
Drove an hour and a half through forests and by the deserted coast on 101. Every other vehicle is a lorry transporting logs. The road to Hoh Rain Forest reopened yesterday so we drove on it into Olympic National Park and managed to nab a first come first served site at the campground. Then walked...
Day 234. Lake Quinault
Stopped in Aberdeen for petrol and supplies - saw a very long train honking it’s way slowly through the town centre. Drove about an hour to Lake Quinault in the Olympic National Forest. Hiked along the lake shore and into the rain forest for 3.5 miles over creeks and through a cedar swamp. Had a rel...
Day 233. To Lake Sylvia
Started the day by having a wander around the Lewis and Clark exhibit in the park which tells the stood the first non-native crossing of the USA and ended near cape disappointment. Discovered a leak in the bathroom this morning, so stopped at an RV repair shop in Long Beach (very helpful) and also t...
Day 232. Cape Disappointment
Had a quite disturbed ight in our aunt - traffic including noisy lorries throughout the night, so woke early. Drove on to Astoria for some shopping and inverter fuses and then crossed the Astoria-Megler Bridge (longest continuous truss bridge in North America) into Washington. A drive along the c...
Day 231. Tillamook
A nice night at Cape Lookout park and we drove to Cape Mears (named after an English fur trader) to see the diddy lighthouse and candelabra Sitka pine tree. Then onto to Tillamook to visit the cheese/ice cream factory. A locally owned factory where we had nice ice cream and some pizza and then did...
Day 230. Cape Lookout
A sunny Star Wars Day. Headed off highway 101 to Cape Kiwanda where they have a large sand dune and a long beach which we walked for a long way. Drove further North to Cape Lookout trail. We walked through trees and along cliff edges to about the mid point (2 miles round trip) for some spectacular v...
Day 229. To Lincoln City
Drove back to Yaquina lighthouse in better weather but all the birds were gone - two bald eagles sitting in a tree seemed to have scared them off. Walked down to the rock pools and saw many resting seals. On to various lookouts including. Devils punchbowl , otter crest and Boiler Bay. Parked at Taft...
Day 228. Newport
Headed a little North to Newport. It has a lovely working harbour and we walked around looking at shops and the boats for a couple of hours. Also spent some time listening and looking at the sealions which have their own jetty in the town centre- all males as the females apparently spend all year in...
Day 227. Seals, whales and beaches
Drove north to the sealion caves. They have an elevator that takes you down the the biggest natural sea cave in USA where seals and sea lions come to rest. Also loads of elephant seals, sea lions and seals on some rocks nearby. Had a brief walk down to the shore at Captain Cooks Coast (he sailed by...
Day 226. Oregon Dunes Recreational Area
Headed North and stopped at John Dellenback Trail for a mile loop walk into the large sand dunes. Then on to a dune buggy place where we rode a large buggy over the dunes and on the beach. Really difficult to see the drop offs in the dunes and went down some very steep dune faces. Good fun and glad...
Day 225. Cape Arago
Stayed fairly near the campsite today. Drove to the Botanical Gardens at Shore Acres State Park which sed to be the home of a timber baron - spectacular views from where the mansion used to be. Lots of newts in the ponds. Revisited the seal lookout (still no orcas) and then walked down to the south...
Day 224. North to Cape Arago
Whilst packing up the motorhome, we saw a chipmunk and a hummingbird - small animals are nice. Drove north looking for petrol and stopped at Cape Blanco to look at the lighthouse (2nd most western point in mainland USA) and then the Bandon State Park loop which had a nice beach and seals/sae lions w...
Day 223. Into Oregon
Left California after 2 weeks and rove north into Oregon. The state has a huge number of state parks along the coast which will mean many stops! Today we visited Natural Bridge (an arch in the sea), Arch Rock (very windy) and Whaleshead Beach (via a dodgy road meant for 4WD vehicles that we only jus...
Day 222. Jedediah Smith Redwoods
Had a nice lie in and then drove to the redwoods in Jedadiah Smith Park. Walked the half mile loop around Stump Grove with a short detour to the river. Then drove the dirt road to walk the Mill path to the Grove of Titans. They built a nice boardwalk a couple of years ago and it was a really good mi...
Day 221. To Crescent City
Drizzle for most of the morning and into early afternoon but drove up to Lady Bird Johnson Grove in the Redwoods National Park an walked around a lovely grove of trees. Then down to the lower level and walked around Big Tree (seriously, use a Thesaurus) and nearby - we visited here 8 years ago. Very...
Day 220. To Trinidad
Left our campsite to drive North. Bit damp in the morning and did a shot walk around the Redwoods Wildfowl sanctuary but not much to see in the way of birds. Then drove into Eureka to look at the old town but there were lots of druggies wandering around, so we didn't stop long. Stopped in Trinidad t...
Day 219. Redwoods state park
Had a nice lie in as we didn’t have to change sites. Drove to big tree loop and walked over a river via a fallen redwood to see Big tree and Flat Iron tree. 13 of the 100 tallest redwoods in this grove. Then down to Roosevelt loop to see Giant tree (they are lacking imagination in their naming) and...
Day 218. Redwoods State Park
Spent the day in the Redwoods State Park along Avenue of the Giants. Firstly a couple of walks around Founders Grove and Mahan Loop. Some massive Redwoods both standing and fallen. Saw some of the same sights as when we here 8 years ago with Steph and Zoe. Then on to the campground at Burlington whe...
Day 217. To the Redwoods
A bit of a noisy night with local kids using the field as a race track. Left mid morning and stopped in Redding for food and petrol. Drove route 299 westwards to the coast. The road follows the Trinity river for most of the way an is very picturesque. Lots of trees, a raging river and small village....
Day 216. Red Bluff Rodeo
Another day at the Rodeo. They had the finals and also a fancy dress bare back competition - won by kid rock. Back at the motorhome I finally got around to connecting the inverter and changing the power connector on my laptop.
Day 215. Red Bluff Rodeo
Another day at the rodeo.
Day 214. Sacramento and Rodeo
Had a good nights sleep on the street (still weird that people think they own the street outside their house) and left to get propane. Stopped to look at the capitol building and gardens with loads of roses. Then onto the river to look around the restored old Sacramento with boardwalks and old railw...
Day 213. Gold rush towns
Had an undisturbed night in the roadside and left to head north via Aldi. Drove into the hills where the California gold rush started in the mid 1800s, and past La Grange where we watched a rodeo 8 years ago. Stopped at Columbia state park where they have preserved a gold rush town. Interesting to s...
Day 212. Sequoia and Kings Canyon
Drove up the windy road to 7300 feet again and stopped for breakfast at Lost Grove under some majestic sequoias. Then on to Kings Canyon and the General Grant Tree which is the second (or third depending on how you measure volume) largest tree in the world. We then walked the 1.8 mile north grove lo...
Day 211. Sequoia national park
Left the campsite by 8 and drive an hour up some very windy roads into sequoia park- climbed over 6000 feet. Stopped first at the Big Trees Grove where they have lots of large sequoia around a meadow. Still quite a bit of snow in places. Then in a bit further to General Sherman tree - the largest tr...
Day 210. Visalia
A bit of a wasted day today. Hung around the supermarket area until about 10:30 and then the mall for an hour. Went to pick up our rental car at 12 but they had no car and told us to come back at 3. Hung around Walmart and on returning, still j no I car available. Told them to forget it (Hertz). Dro...
Day 209. Around the Sierras
Took the long drive around the south of the Sierra Nevada mountains. As soon as we created the top, the scenery changed to green and grassy rather than dry - rain shadow effect I guess. The railway crosses the mountain via a route that circles over itself - very Swiss. Got to Visalia and visited som...
Day 208. Death Valley
Woke early and left the hotel with the sunrise at 6:30. Drove west to Death Valley national Park where the temperature got to 96. Walked the badwater salt flats at 280 feet below sea level, drove artists drive, walked a bit of Golden canyon and stopped at the sand dunes. Also walked to Zabriskie poi...
Day 207. Las Vegas
Spent most of the morning at the garage getting the new brake pads and discs fitted to the motorhome. Hopefully these will see us through the remainder of the trip. Picked Boz up from the north end of the strip where she had strolled in the morning, only to find it populated by derros. Walked around...
Day 206. Back to Vegas
Had a good flight back to Vegas - a block of four seats for just the two of us. Motorhome was waiting for us and we grabbed a Denny’s on the way to Circus Circus hotel for the night. Had a brief walk around the casino and played a few fairground games but too tired to walk the strip again.
Days 199 to 205. UK
In the UK.
Day 198. Leaving for the uk.
Spent the morning cleaning the motorhome and packing for the trip home. Around 2pm we parked Bison up in the oversize parking at Las Vegas airport and caught the 5:05 BA flight to the UK.
Day 197. Vegas
Spent most of the day at the garage getting the brakes checked. They need new pads and discs, and can’t source them in the USA, so I will have to look at bringing them back from the UK next week. In the evening we caught the monorail down to the T-Mobile arena to watch the ice hockey between LV knig...
Day 196. Las Vegas
Headed out to find a prospective brake dealership and Ev dump site - both located and will visit them tomorrow. Slent a good 15k steps exploring the north end of the strip at the VenezIa, Palazzio, Wynn, Bellagio, Ceasars and Metroploitan. All very nice and it just makes the whole walking around rea...
Day 195. Vegas and the sphere
Drove around the south east of Vegas looking at thrift stores for bargains. Stopped at a Denny’s for dinner in Mother’s Day. In the evening we walked to the Sphere and watched the film inside. Great images and effects but a very preachy, woke message through it all - so unnecessary. The outside is m...
Day 194. To Vegas
Had a leisurely departure from Zion and stopped a few times for shopping and supplies. Some magnificent scenery with steep cliffs following the Virgin river. Lots of Joshua trees along the way and also some big solar farms supplying Vegas. Drove into. Gas from the north and down the strip as far as...
Day 193. Zion
Put the bikes on the front of the e park bus and ride it up to the top of the canyon so we could ride back down the 8 miles. Lovely ride with stops at the Lodge and a beach near the sentinels. Grabbed an ice cream at the end of the ride. Exhausted, so chilled for the rest of the day.
Day 192. Zion
Caught the park bus all the way up the canyon to stop 9 and then walked the 1.2 mile path to the start of the Narrows. Box walked across the river (unsteadily without a stick) and a. It further. Most others were in full waders outfits. Wlaked back to the Bus and then walked from Big Bend to the Grot...
Day 191. To Zion
Left Lake Powell around 10 and drove for three hours westwards through canyonlands and into Utah. Rocky and dry for most of the journey. Bought some firewood on the way and got to our national park campsite around 4, with the time change. Setup camp and chilled by the motorhome in a warm evening.
Day 190. Upper Antelope Canyon
Woke to a clear sunny morning and after enjoying the luxury of electricity, we stopped off at Lake Powell to sunbathe for an hour. Stopped at the Vlen Canyin Damn visitor centre to see how they built the dam that formed Lake Powell. It got within a foot of overflowing in 1983. Then into Upper Antelo...
Day 189. To Horseshoe Band and Lake Powell
Started the day by doing Laundry and other admin before leaving the campsite around 11. Drove towards the east exit from the park, stopping at Canyon viewpoints for breakfast and sightseeing. A long straight drive towards Page with very dry land either side and just the canyon cut by the Colorado Ri...
Day 188. Grand Canyon
A lazy morning and moved the motorhome to its new pitch, one along from the current one. Caught the bus to the visitor centre and then walked slowly the 2.5 miles to the village, stopping at many view points along the way. Lovely warm day. Bus back to the campground but couldn’t be bothered with a c...
Day 187. Grand Canyon
Mooched around in the morning as we waited for 11am so we could move Bison to the new pitch - 3 nights on 3 different pitches. Then cycled to the road/trail out to Hermit Point. A 9 mile ride with ups and downs even though the canyon rim looks flat to the naked eye. Lots of great views of the canyon...
Day 186. To The Grand Canyon
Another nice night’s sleep and drove the interstate to Flagstaff. Had an iHop breakfast and then Walmart and petrol stops. The road to the Grand Canyon tops out at 7300 feet and is surrounded by pine trees and some left over snow. Setup at our lovely campsite in the Park and walked part of the Canyo...
Day 185. Sedona
Awoke at 7:00 so we could get to Bell Rock trail head and find a parking space. People start hiking early around here. Hiked up a long way with rock scrambling and then sat in the warmth of the sun looking out at all the other red mountains. Took a circuitous route back down and had breakfast and ch...
Day 184. Sedona
A good night’s sleep and headed off through Sedona to try to get to Cathedral Rock trail. Seems that Sedona doesn’t like RVs as nowhere would let us park but luckily found a parking spot on a road. Cycled down to the trailhead and walked up the increasingly steep trail beyond where we got with Zoe 8...
Day 183. Sedona
Woke to ice outside so I guess it must have been below freezing at 7000 feet. Drive down the windy hill road to Jerome for breakfast with a view. Then into Sedona and a walk up the Boynton Trail to the vortex for some meditation and reflective time. Glorious views of the red rocks of Sedona. Stopped...
Day 182. Prescott and beyond
A quiet night in the BLM land and we drove out towards Prescott on Rt 89. The town had some old Victorian houses and had a wealthy feel to it. I’ve drive over winding roads to 6000 feet. Got propane, petrol and water near the town and then up into the snow at 7000 feet for the night in Mingus forest...
Day 181. Phoenix to Wickenburg
Started the day by feeding all of the different animals at the farm and then tried scrambled turkey eggs for the first time - a lot harder to crack than chook eggs. Drove west via goodwill, grocery and petrol stops. Phoenix and it’s satellite cities spread out forever. Arrived in Wickenburg and caug...
Day 180. Phoenix Botanical Gardens
Headed into downtown Tucson to see what it was like - deserted! Then north on I10 to Phoenix. Stopped for 4 hours at the excellent botanical gardens. Loads of different sections and thousand of cacti. Saw some prairie dogs. Now decided we want a cactus garden in the UK. Finally across Phoenix to our...
Day 179. Arizona saguaro museum
Had a really quiet night and set off through the Tuscan Mountain Park ( loads of cacti) to the desert museum. Lots of cacti, desert animals, humming birds, reptiles and birdlife. Spent about 4 hours in total. Popped into panda express for electric and food and then back to the same BLM land for the...
Day 178.. Saguaro National Park
Got woken early by a generator and road noise. Sorted some admin and then drove to Saguaro national park. Did the 8 mile loop and some short hikes to look at the amazing cacti. Went on to the air museum which has hundreds of planes from WW2 onwards - some in Hangers and some outside. Lots of interes...
Day 177. Chiricahua and Tombstone
Quite a noisy night due to proximity of I10, so left earlyish and headed south west towards the mountains. Sat Nav took us over 8 miles of unsealed roads which shook the Motorhome a lot and required a toilet repair later. Got to Chiricahua National monument and drove the 10 mile loop to the top of t...
Day 176. Organ Mountains
Had a lovely night's sleep by the lake and had a nice coffee in the sunshine to start the day. Drove the 40 miles back towards Las Cruces and turned off to explore the Organ Mountain Park with a short hike up to an old cave in the rocks. Lots of cacti and great views towards West New Mexico. Drove o...
Day 175. White Sands National Park
Left the driveway and stopped at a couple of Goodwill stores on the way to Las Cruces. Then drove the straight highway 50 miles to White Sands Park. Loads of gypsum based sand dunes sparkling bright white in the sunshine. We hired a sled to slide down some of them without much success. A short drive...
Day 174. To El Paso
Had a peaceful night's sleep and took our morning coffee to say hello to the chickens and kangaroo. Spotted some Javalinas on the way out and after stopping for petrol, we drove the 3.5 hours to El Paso. Drove past a 65,000 tree Pecan Farm an also lots of double stacked freight rains with over 100 c...
Day 173. North to Alpine
Reluctantly left Big Bend. Read more about the desert plants and how they cost seeds in chemicals to stop them germinating unless enough rain falls to wash away the coating. Also some release poison to stop other plants of the same species growing too close. A 2.5 hour drive north via another border...
Day 172. Mexico
Woke to see some deer and a beautiful blue sky. Drove down from the mountains and south to Rio Grande Village. Decided to pop into Mexico via the crossing to Boquillas village which consists of a 20 second boat across the river and a half mile dusty walk into the village. Had some goat tacos and bee...
Day 171. Big Bend
A quiet night’s sleep and whilst filling water, etc. we saw a road runner and groundhog/prairie dog. The cows around here wander freely across from Mexico. Drove slowly back to the Chisos Basin for another night in the mountain area. Walked around the Window View area whilst waiting for the sunset.
Day 170. Big Bend
Descended from the Chisos Basin campground and drove the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive, stopping at an old ranch and some viewpoints. Took the 1.5 mile loop to Burro Mesa to look at a canyon wall. At the end of the today was the beautiful walk to Santa Elena Canyon where the Rio Grande has cut a 490m ch...
Day 169. To Big Bend
A very windy night and morning with advisory messages for high sided vehicles. We left around 12:30 and fought the winds for the first 80 miles. The scenery got drier as we headed west and after two stops for petrol, we got to Big Bend National Park. Lovely scenery and we parked up in our campsite i...
Day 168. Westward to Seminole Canyon
Sort of hassled off our kerbside spot by another camper this morning - weirdest Boondocker who treats the road as their property. Topped up Gas, Petrol, water, etc. and headed west on route 90. Land got increasingly drier with mainly low level scrub and cacti growing. Gas stations also getting furth...
Day 167. San Antonio
Left Cracker Barrel and stopped a laundromat to do some laundry. Then into the centre of town to visit the Alamo. Nicely presented and reminds you of how recent the history is - it was only in 1836 that Texas became an independent country before joining the USA 10 years later. Re-learnt all about Da...
Day 166. San Antonio
Woken by cockerels and cows - a nice start to the day. Left the animals and drove the hour or so into downtown San Antonio. Walked the river path into the city - a nice path which kind of felt like being in Disney’s recreation of what a Mexican town would look like. Stopped for some tex-mex food and...
Day 165. Through East Texas
A quiet night and left topped up with electric to head west. Drove through downtown Houston to see if we recognised anywhere from out 8 weeks here 40 years ago - we didn’t! Onwards towards San Antonio with a stop at a Dairy Queen for cold treats. Reached our Harvest Host ranch at 4pm. A real Texan s...
Day 164. Holly Beach and into Texas
Headed out from Lafayette and stopped for Groceries, to empty and refill waters and then hit a one hour queue on the I-10. Stopped at a small diner to get some Boudin and Cajun Cracklin (excellent pork cracking) and then headed west. A lot of flat country with water everywhere and we turned south at...
Day 163. Around Lafayette
Started off by driving to Lake Martin and boarded a skiff for a 90 minute tour of the lake. Saw lots of Bald Cypress trees, turtles, small gators and bird life. Very informative guide and a sunny day made for a pleasant experience. Then drove an hour south to Avery Island (not really an island - its...
Day 162. Louisiana
Drove north from the plantation to St Francisville which had some nice houses but not quite as portrayed in Lonely Planet. Interesting history about its reliance on the Mississippi in the 1800s. South to Baton Rouge with a brief stop at the Capitol building and park before driving the long straight...
Day 161. Plantations
Left in drizzle and crossed the Mississippi on a high bridge before stopping for some supplies. Drove down to Barataria Preserve to do a short boardwalk walk through the swamps. No gators. About a mile later we arrived at Oak Alley Plantation which was a sugar cane plantation with a lovely large hou...
Day 160. New Orleans
It rained today! We drove down Charles street through the Garden District to see some of the older houses. Very impressive. Parked up in the French quarter waiting for the rai. To stop but it didn’t, so drove round some more parts of New Orleans.
Day 159. New Orleans
Spent the day watching different Krews parade through New Orleans. We started off in one spot but found it better to wander down the parade route as it was quite often stopped. Caught/collected loads of freebies (too many necklaces) and a bit shocked by the wastage. Everyone seems to have a great ti...
Day 158. New Orleans
A good night’s sleep at Cracker Barrel and went to Eddies Wreckers for a propane top up - cold weather uses much gas! Drove into New Orleans and parked up near a park about 5 minutes from Bourbon Street. Walked into the French Quarter and wandered the lively streets, catching beads to thrown from ba...
Day 157. Through Mississippi
Left our church car park mid morning and stopped briefly at a wildlife reserve after crossing into Mississippi. Then into Pascagoula to stop ina park and walk along the rickety pier into the gulf of America. Very cold wind today but bright sunshine. Drove along the coast through Biloxi and other tow...
Day 156. To Alabama
Left our boon docker driveway around 10 and planned to go to the airforce museum in Pensacola but if you are foreign, you aren’t allowed in without a US resident. So drove scenic bluff highway instead and then rejoined I10 to head into Alabama. Stopped at a Bucees - a massive gas station chain with...
Day 155. West across the Panhandle.
Had a quiet night at the lavender farm and left to head west. A nice drive along the coast and stopped at Henderson state park for walk along the beach. Very white silica sand which squeaked under foot and crystal clear water. Drive onwards stopping for groceries and to recharge laptop at McD’s. Fin...
Day 154. Panhandle coast
Left the nice small holding after chatting to the lady about wildlife and farming - did you know Americans call tadpoles pollywogs?! Drove into Monticello to look at three old town and then south to the coast. Stopped at a state park and a beach overlook - really nice coast - mich less crowded than...
Day 153. North to the Panhandle
Had a good nights sleep in the airport car park and drove out through the never ending sprawl of Orlando, stopping for groceries and petrol. Bit overcast and when we got to Sulver Springs, the heavens opened, so we didn’t go and explore looking for manatees. Drove on north and west, crossing the Suw...
Day 152. Back to Orlando
After a shower and breakfast we said goodbye to Jo the cat and left Ouray in the snow and drove to Montrose for our flight back to Florida. Said goodbye to Heather and Lincoln at the airport and had plenty of room on our 2/3 full flight to Dallas. A longer than planned stopover in Dallas due to a de...
Day 151. Ouray
Had a reasonable amount of snow overnight an it continued through the morning. rove (slowly) to the Hot Springs and sat in 100 degree water whilst the snow came down - cool. The sun broke through about 12:30 and Ouray and the San Juan Mountains looked beautiful. Back to the house for a final clean a...
Day 150. Ouray
Spent the day tidying the house and cleaning the car in readiness for Lincoln and Heather returning tomorrow. The forecast is for heavy snow overnight, so we will see how clear the roads are tomorrow and if our flight on Saturday is affected - fingers crossed, not.
Day 149. Ouray
Woke to a light dusting of snow and -16F. Waited for the sun to breakthrough and did a short walk in the snow/ice near the river. Then back to the hot springs for a 2 hour soak.
Day 148. Ouray
Started the day off with an hour long call regarding Zoe an her transitions plan after Foxes - lots of unknowns. Drove into Ouray and walked the main street and it's shops. They have plaques showing what the street would have looked like in the 1880s - fascinating to see which buildings are still st...
Day 147. Ouray
Spent the day around the house doing chores, catching up on admin and making pizzas.
Day 146. Around Ouray
Left fairly early in the morning and stopped for a short (icy) walk up to Cascade Falls in the town. Then walked to Box Canyon falls which thunder through a gorge. They've built some good access walkways to make it easier to visit. Drove back to Ironton and Boz cross country skied around the 2 mile...
Day 145. Telluride
Started off the day watching Wales lose to Italy in the rugby:( Drove the 1 hour to Telluride today. It's a picture postcard US Main street in a valley with steep runs down from the top of the mountain. We caught the free gondola up to the summit and then down the other side to Mountain Village whic...
Day 144. Ouray Hot Springs
We were ging to drive to Telluride today but woke up aching too much from the previous day's snow shoeing. Drove to the Hot Springs instead and luxuriated for 2.5 hours in the mineral water and sunshine to ease the aches and pains. In the evening we went into Ouray to try music bingo at the Wright O...
Day 143. Ouray - snow shoeing
Drove up to the south of Ouray and parked below the Portland Trail. Donned our snow shoes and "walked" a mile uphill into the forest and amphitheater area. Heart rates up to 152 but really worthwhile and had a nice rest at the top. The walk down was a lot easier! Sunbathed back at the house and watc...
Day 142. Ironton
Decided to try cross country skiing today, so drove up to Ironton where they have prepared tracks. We skied (or mostly fell over in Stuart’s case) for 2 miles through trees and past the old mine buildings. Glorious sunshine and enjoyable although not as easy as it looks. Drove back into Ouray and so...
Day 141. Black Canyon Park
Had a phone call with HH regarding the new trailer and did some photo album updates before heading out north. Went to Black Canyon Park which is a narrow 2000 feet deep canyon. Spectacular but also quite a scary drop off. Went into Montrose and after visiting the small botanical gardens, went to the...
Day 140. Ouray
Had a chilled morning around the house, making phone calls and looking after Jo. Drove through Ouray and up the first 6 miles of the Million Dollar Highway to Ironton - named after the Gold and Silver found in the region. Some quite steep drop offs and snow ploughs clearing recent small avalanches....
Day 139. Ouray
Spent the day in and around the house getting familiar with everything an getting to know Jo. She seems to have settled to us and sat on my lap a few times. It was a very sunny day - almost too hot to sit out during the afternoon. We sat on the deck and gazed up at the stars once the sun had set.
Day 138. To Ouray
Got up at 5 for our early flight out of Orlando. Two really good flights with Southwest Airlines- they still have the “find your own seat” boarding method but we managed to get good seats with a spare middle seat on the flight to Dallas and the one to Montrose. Heather and Lincoln collected us from...
Day 137. To Orlando
Said goodbye to the chickens and drove north towards Orlando. Stopped for various things - to do laundry, goodwill store, groceries, petrol, dump, etc. Spent about 3 hours in Disney Springs which is a Disney shopping mall with music and loads of restaurants - very nice. Had a meal I. The T-Rex resta...
Day 136. Into Central Florida
Had a shower and left our campsite after 4 days. Decided to take the central North road towards Orlando. Very straight road with lots of warnings signs about panthers. Saw many storks. The northern part of the road was bordered for mile after mile with orange trees covered in Oranges. Stopped at Hig...
Say 135. Marco Island
Started off with a short walk to a lookout tower to see some birds. Then drove to Marco Island beach. The island is fulll of houses with private docks, so some pretty impressive real estate Spent about 4 hours on the beach (lots of shells). Drove back into the Everglades to stop at the lookout tower...
Day 134. Everglades
I spent the day marking and doing tax returns. Boz went for a kayak paddle on the Turner river through mangrove trees, seeing gators, turtles and birds. Lovely warm weather.
Day 133. Everglades Preserve
Drove to another boardwalk first thing to see some wildlife and then down to Everglades City to catch a boat ride out into the Gulf of Mexico (America) through the 10,000 island preserve. Lots of mangroves and bird life and two sets of really playful dolphins that swam under the boat and played near...
Day 132. Everglades
Left the airport early and after the obligatory Walmart stop, drove route 41 into the Everglades. Stopped at the Oasis viewing centre which was the best attraction so far in Florida, and free! Alligators chasing fish, loads of birds also catching fish and even two soft back turtles. So much life. Dr...
Day 131. Loiza beach
Grabbed an açai bowl for breakfast and then headed out to kill time until our evening flight. Found a lovely beach not far from the airport and relaxed by the lagoon whilst Boz snorkelled around small fish. Big waves. Washing outside the coral wall barrier. Got the car back to the airport on time an...
Day 130. Old San Juan
Fed the local cats and chickens before leaving our stay (after getting partial refund) and drove into San Juan. Walked around a lot of the town including the two forts and interesting streets. San Juan was the first port / fresh water after ships crossed the Atlantic, so was heavily defended by the...
Day 129. El Yunque
Drove for about 3 hours (via Ponce) to the north east corner of the island and the El Yunque rain forest. Had a few short walks along the 12km drive and around the visitor centre. Lots of big leaved trees and rain showers. Really nice. Drove to our Air BnB for the night - lots of chickens and cats w...
Day 128. La Parguera
Left our lively boutique hotel and drove to the south west corner of the island. Walked a little bit around the salt marshes of Cabo Rojo but it was too hot to walk too far. Then on to the town of La Parguera. After checking into our air bnb, we grabbed some food at a local cafe. Lots of cats and ch...
Day 127. Rincon beach
Had a leisurely breakfast and then drove 45 minutes south to Rincon beach. A nice wide beach with not too many people. Stayed for about 3 hours until showers started. Drove to a mall outside Aguadilla where the car then refused to start. The recovery guy diagnosed a weak battery so after 15 stressfu...
Day 126. Aguadilla
After breakfast we checked out a different small beach but decided to go back to Crash Boat Beach. Some nice sun until it started to shower around 2, so we headed back to the hotel for a bit. Later headed back to Sel de Mar restaurant in Aguadilla and watched the sunset as we ate. Back to the hotel...
Day 125. Crash Boat Beach
Had a rubbish night’s sleep in our windowless room and breakfast was probably the worst ever - how can you make scrambled eggs inedible? Drove an hour to Crash Boat Beach on the north west of the island. Got sunshine, Latino music and warm sea. Very nice to chill for 5 or 6 hours. Xhecked into our C...
Day 124. To Puerto Rico
The weather in Florida looked wet and cold for the coming week, so decided to fly out somewhere warmer. Parked the motorhome at Miami airport and jumped on spirit airlines to San Juan in Puerto Rico. Picked up the hire car and drove west to our 2 star overnight stop via poor roads, in the dark, with...
Day 123. Down to Miami
A comfy night at Cracker Barrel and drove to the beach to catch up on se marking and walk along the beach. Moving on we got propane, visited St Lucie Botanical Gardens and shopped in Walmart. Drove the 2 hours south in darkness and showers to Pompano Beach for a night in the car park of a bakery/ bi...
Day 122. Beaches
Spent a lot of the day planning onwards destinations whilst parked by beaches on Florida’s east coast. Went for a walk at Pelican wildlife preserve (the first preserve in the country) but only saw raccoons! Sat on a beach for a while but quite windy and overcast. Tried out Cracker Barrel car park fo...
Day 121. Merritt island revisited
Spent the day revisiting the wildlife of Merritt Island. Saw some alligators close up and aside from the usual birdlife, saw spoonbills, white pelicans and farm storks. Saw more dolphins in the canal area along with brown pelicans. Drove tonight Boondockers for the night on a very hospitable couple...
Day 120. Kennedy Space Center
Left Orlando and drive to Kennedy Space Centre for the afternoon. Did the tour of the main sites and saw the nose cones of the Artemis rocket boosters being transferred to the Assembly building ready for its launch to the moon in April 2026. Saw the launch pads 39A and B where shuttles launched from...
Days 116 to 119. UK
Got back to the UK and took Zoe back to Minehead via stops with Steph in London, the cats in Bristol and a Travelodge in Oxford. Caught Norse Air back to Orlando and got back to the hotel by 8pm on the 13th.
Day 115. Orlando
Spent the day getting sorted for trip back to UK but managed to fit in some pool time in the sunshine. Caught an Uber to the airport for our red eye Norse Air to Gatwick.
Day 114. Universal Island of Adventure
Revisited the first universal park and redid some rides and tried some new ones
Day 113. Universal Studios
Spent the day at Universal Studios again. Left around 5 as we were exhausted.
Day 112. Universal Studios
Spent the day at Universal Studios. Some good rides and excellent music.
Day 111. Universal island of adventure
A busy day at Universal Studios. Did a lot of rides including three in Harry Potter land (Hogwarts), Hulk rollercoaster and small rides in seussical land. Also got wet in a couple of water rides. Drove the short distance to our motel do a comfy nights sleep.
Day 110. Siesta Key
Spent most of the day on Siesta Key beach which is rated number one in the USA. Large amounts of white sand, gentle waves and dolphins jumping along the coast. A warm day with loads of sunshine. Then the 3.5 hour drive north back to Orlando.
Day 109. Fort Myers Beach
Spent most of the day on the beach at Fort Myers again. Glorious sunshine and calm seas. Found many hermit crabs in a variety of shells. Drove north (after long tailbacks to get off the island) to our overnight pub car park in Sarasota. A dog pub that allows dogs to roam around, which creates a love...
Day 108. Fort Myers Beach
Spent the whole day on the white sandy beach in Fort Myers. Saw pelicans diving, a dolphin swimming and someone taking their pet duck into the sea. Grabbed some food and a Taco Bell in the evening.
Day 107. Through the Everglades
A very hot and muggy night with loads of fireworks for the new year Drove to the alligator farm in Homestead and had an air boat ride, seeing alligators, large iguanas and many birds. Good fun and not too wet. Then saw the alligator feeding and got to hold 18” long alligators. They also had many oth...
Day 106. John Pennancamp State Park
Spent the day at the coral reef state park. Paddling, sun bathing and chilling. Drove north in the evening to our winery parking lot. Shared New Year greetings with the family.
Day 105. John Pennancamp State Park
Left at 8 to get into the state park for Boz to go snorkelling off the coast on a boat. Zoe and I drove a few miles further to catch our glass bottom boat out to the reef. A bit disappointed with few fish, just some fan coral and not much time over the reef. Saw some pelicans though! Went back to th...
Day 104. South to the Keys
A day of mostly driving. Left our rubbish RV Park in Hobe Sound and drove to the Aventura Mall near Miami for some retail window shopping and a take out from the cheesecake factory. Then further south with stops for petrol and food and anti mosquitoe / noseeum spray. Finally into the keys in the dar...
Day 103. Hobe Sound
Drove south for 2 hours to the town of Hobe Sound. Parked up at the beach and went for a walk but it was windy with a rough sea and a fair few Portuguese men of war washed up. Went on to Hobe Sound Park where they had some local animals including a opossum and some snakes. Walked down to the white b...
Day 102. Merritt Island Nature Reserve
Had an interruptied night’s sleep due to rain. Drove to Merritt Island Nature Reserve for the day. They have a 12 mile wildlife loop where we saw alligators, lots of birdlife and few people. Also an egret that insisted in following along side us by walking, running or flying. Evidently they are afte...
Day 101. To Titusville
Left the luxury of the house and headed east. Stopped first to play Congo Falls Mini Golf. Good fun and they had large carp and alligators you could feed. Stopped at Walmart and McDonald’s. Finished at our Boondocker in Titusville.
Day 100. Magic kingdom
Spent Christmas Day at Disney, along with 100,000 others! Got there at 8:15 to ensure we could get into the park. Spent 12.5 hours in the park on loads of rides, shows and parades. Finished off with a great firework display. Exhausted after 20,000 steps.
Day 99. Orlando
Spent the morning tidying and refilling the Motorhome. Joined Christmas Eve celebrations in Bournemouth via video link to sing carols. Nice to see everyone. Went to Denny’s for dinner which was disappointing. Then watched The Grinch
Day 98. EPCOT
Revisited EPCOT today. Did some of the rides we missed and repeated some. Queued to ensure we got seats for the Carol concert. Really impressive and narrated by Gloria Estefan this time.
Day 97. Animal Kingdom
Revisited Animal Kingdom today. Redid some rides and saw some new shows like lion king and bugs life. Bit busier than last week but not too bad with Zoe’s DAS pass. Left about 5:30 and watched Home Alone 3 in the evening.
Day 96. Orlando
A rest from Disney today after 4 long days and many steps. Did some shopping in the morning and then enjoyed the house, pool and sports room. Finished the day with some Christmas movies in the large TV.
Day 95. Hollywood Studios
Left our driveway (pecan pie in hand) and got an early check in to our Air BnB for the next 6 nights. Had a quick shower and then headed out to Hollywood Studios. Lots of rides and shows. Pretty much did everything they had to offer including twice on a few rides. Zoe braved Aerosmith roller coaster...
Day 94. Magic Kingdom
Disney World’s main park today. Lots of rides we knew and some new ones such as Tron which Zoe loved. Park was closing at 6:00 for special ticked event but that was fine as knackered after 3 park days. Feels like America is heading towards the Wall-e world - so many people in mobility scooters due t...
Day 93. Animal Kingdom
A day at Animal kingdom. Lots of great animals to see and some good rides including a jeep safari, roller coaster that Zoe screamed throughout and a flying birds show. The Pandora world was especially good. Really well planned park with lots to do. Stopped for Panda Express on the way back to the dr...
Day 92. EPCOT
A muggy night. Got up nice and early to book tickets for Disney and a pass for Zoe via a video chat. Decided to do EPCOT today - a 15 minute drive. Walked around the park twice hearing some good music/singing and doing some rides - EPCOT rides are gentle. They had an evening carol concert with 180 s...
Day 91. Back to Orlando
Left Titusville around 11 and meandered back to Orlando stopping at a state park to clean the inside of the motorhome. Boz and Zoe arrived from London at about 6:45 and we drove the 45 minutes to our Boondocker site for the night.
Day 90. Titusville
Spent most of the day shopping for the coming weeks - Aldi, Walmart, Bank, etc. Tried to find dump station for grey water with no joy. Spent an hour in the evening talking to a Canadian couple on the next pitch, exchanging tips and route suggestions. Boz and all the kids had lunch near the O2.
Day 89. Titusville
A day of admin and relaxing. Even had some wind and rain! Boz got to Bristol OK and spent the day with Sammie, Andrew, Zoe and the cats.
Day 88. Titusville
Spent most of the day in/around the Motorhome doing admin and laundry. Boz got back to Swindon safely.
Day 87. To Titusville
Had another Quick Look at the manatees and then headed south to shop at Florida Mall - they even have a Primark. Then after a Panda Express, dropped Boz at the airport for her flight back to the UK to collect Zoe. I drove on through many Florida gated communities to Titusville near the east coast. H...
Day 86. Blue Springs State Park
Weather not as great today, so we chilled in the Motorhome and then went shopping for Skechers in the midst of a thunder storm. wandered down to see the manatees later in the afternoon.
Day 85. Blue Springs State Park
A leisurely start to the day and then walked to the manatees and had a look inside the 1870’s Thusbay’s house. Moved to a different pitch around midday and then visited the manatees and black vultures again. Saw a few deer in the way back. Lit a camp fire to try to scare off any mozzies and midges.
Day 84. Blue Springs State Park
Drove north west with stops at various shops along the way until we got to our camp site for the next 3 nights in Blue Springs State Park. Walked down to the boardwalk by the springs and were greeted by hundreds of manatees and thousands of large fish. The manatees come here during winter for the wa...
Day 83. Cocoa Beach
Left the driveway by 9am and drove a short distance to the beach. Visited Ron John’s surf shop which has everything you could want related to surfing. Spent the day on the beach in some warm December sunshine. Drove an hour to our lovely small citrus grove for the night and had a nice chat with the...
Day 82. To Cape Canaveral
Reluctantly left Jekyll Island for the long drive south. Stopped for fuel and groceries and then had a Panda Express opposite the Daytona Speedway NASCAR track. Cruised Daytona Beach strip but didn’t quite match the custom cars for style or acceleration. Got to our driveway in Cocoa Beach and waited...
Day 81. Jekyll Island
Hung around the campground in the morning as we had to move pitches and do some marking. Cycled the short distance to driftwood beach which is where the sea has reclaimed a forest on the shore and killed off all the trees. Really weird sights but beautiful. Saw egrets and Herons. At dusk we cycled t...
Day 80. Jekyll Island
A nice relaxing morning, knowing that we don’t have to move today. Cycled around half of the island I. The afternoon - a really good cycle path network, keeping away from traffic. Jekyll Island was the holiday retreat of the ultra wealthy in the late 1800s and there are lots of old mansions I. The h...
Day 79. To Jekyll Island
Said goodbye to the goats and drove south, stopping again at the wildlife preserve to have breakfast whilst watching an alligator. South towards Brunswick and then over the bridge to Jekyll Island which looks very nice with plenty of cycle paths. Checked in to our campsite and a hot shower!
Day 78. Alligators
Headed out from Coach’s Corner and drove through Savannah to look at the buildings and oak/spanish moss trees again. Visited the Savannah Wildlife Preserve and did the 4 mile drive around the park. Saw about half a dozen alligators basking in the sun, egrets, herons and a turkey vulture feeding on a...
Day 77. Savannah
Had quite a noisy night with trucks going by. Got the bikes out and cycled into Savannah town. Lots of beautiful houses and parks, all accompanied by old trees. Really nice to cycle around In the afternoon we went to Wormsloe State Park which is where Noble Jones built a house and acquired lands whe...
Day 76. To Savannah
Had a brief walk around the farm and then headed towards Savannah. Lots of tree damage from Hurricane Helene with tree stumps along the road side and many fallen trees. Passed cotton fields and peach orchards. Got to Savannah after four hours and parked at the brewery but too tired to go out into th...
Day 75. To Athens
Left Chattanooga after a chat with a very Christian American Rv’er. Stopped en route in Red Top State Park for some breakfast. Drove the ring road round Atlanta and stopped in Athens to look at the nice State botanical Gardens. Finally into our farm stay for the night.
Day 74. Chattanooga
Left the airport car park around 9:30 and drove south via grocery store. Stopped in Chattanooga and walked around the river front park in sunny but chilly weather. Then drove to our free Boon Docker site for the night.
Day 73. New York
Boz woke early to ensure she got a place near the front of the crowds watching the Macey’s thanksgiving parade. Really good but a little bit dampened by the incessant rain. Then we left our little hotel and walked to Radio City Music Hall so she could watch the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. We wa...
Day 72. New York
Up at 3:30 to catch the 6:00 flight to Newark. Thought the airport would be crazy on day before thanksgiving but all really calm. Caught the trains from Newark to Penn Street Station and walked the streets looking at Christmas decorations on 5th avenue, inside Macey’s, Central Park and 57th street....
Day 71. Nashville
Checked out of our little home for the last three nights and drove to a cinema to watch the film “Wicked”. Quite long and not as good as the musical. Spent some time shopping and then drove back into Nashville for one last listen to bands on Broadway. Some good rockabilly. Drove out to our pre-booke...
Day 70. Nashville
Took a walk to the hill in the middle of Nashville and visited the state house. They are very proud of their “old” buildings. Included a plaque commemorating Tennessee being the last state to approve votes for women in 1920. Spent the rest of the day in Broadway, in different bars, having food, drin...
Day 69. Nashville
Had a nice lie in and then wandered out to see Nashville. Went into the Country Music Museum and learnt a lot more about Country Music than we knew. Lots of very sparkly outfits. Then wandered own Broadway and stopped in a bar to listen to a great band whilst drinking beer, watching NFL on the TV an...
Day 68. To Nashville
Left Pigeon Forge and drove for about 4 hours to Nashville with stops for petrol, groceries and a Boot Barn. Checked into our nice apartment for three nights and spent the evening just relaxing.
Day 67. Dollywood
A great day around Dollywood theme park. Got there at 11 and despite being cold, it was partly sunny and we wrapped up warm. Went on 5 big roller coasters and the dodgems which had virtually no waiting times. Decided we maybe getting a bit old for the really fast ones! Rode the genuine 1930s steam t...
Day 66. Smoky Mountains
Left sunny Asheville and drive into the Smoky Mountains. The main road (I40) was closed due to hurricane damage, as was part of the Blue Ridge Parkway, so we took windy backroads through the national park. Saw a herd of Elk and some nice views as we crossed at nearly 5,000 feet with temperatures dow...
Day 65. To Asheville
Left Waxhaw and drive three hours into N Carolina as far as Asheville. The recent hurricane has left a lot of damage to rivers and trees. Spent the night in a brewery car park and had a couple of drinks with a chatty owner.
Day 64. Dallas
A surprisingly good nights sleep and drove the truck into Dallas downtown to have a quick Look around. Then back to the airport and a smooth non-full flight back to Charlotte. Impressed by Dallas airport. Motorhome still OK in Waxhaw and spent an evening chatting with Tina and Sandy and being licked...
Day 63. Dallas
Woke up at Tina and Sandy’s to the sad news that their friend (who we’d met 4 days ago) had died suddenly overnight. Reminded us that what we are doing is right- live life while you can. Tina gave us lift to Charlotte airport where we caught our 3 hour flight to Dallas. Picked up a car from Avis - m...
Day 62. Carolinas
Had a nice chat with our boondocker hosts before leaving Sumner and then drove north to a shopping mall near Charlotte. Watched Wales lose badly at rugby and then drove back to Tina and Sandy’s for the night.
Day 61. SC Parks
Started off with a 1.5 mile walk around Poinsett State Park. A calm lake, turtles sunbathing and deer. Despite the warning sign about Alligators, didn’t see any. Then on to Congagee National Park. It’s a Flood plane forest with loads of trees all accessed via a boardwalk. Not much wildlife but inter...
Day 60. South Carolina
Reluctantly left Waxhaw and after stopping for some groceries, drove south to Andrew Jackson State Park. Had a nice walk around the lake and took the opportunity to fill up with water and dump the waste. Finally drove on to the south of Charleston so we could be ready for a couple more parks tomorro...
Day 59. Waxhaw
A lazy day. Spent most of the morning planning future travel routes. Then spent time with Tina and Sandy playing cards and petting the dogs. Nice and relaxing.
Day 58. Waxhaw
Spent the day in and around Tina and Sandy’s house. Had coffee overlooking their lake, surrounded by their great dogs - real characters. Took two of them for a walk to see surrounding properties which all have at least 5 acres of land. So jealous. Drove to see the hay barn that Sandy is constructing...
Day 57. North Carolina
Drove another 4 hours today. Firstly to a small town for groceries and petrol. Then stopped for lunch at Pee Dee Wildlife Preserve. Then on to Tina and Sandy’s house in Waxhaw. They are letting us park on their land (6 acres) and cooked us jumbalya for dinner. Also tried some of their neighbours’s m...
Day 56. Westwards
Drove for over four hours westwards into North Carolina. Initially, lots of bridges and inlets and then cotton fields and farmland. Stopped at Aldi and a thrift store and grabbed lunch at a Panda Express.
Day 55. Outer Banks
A day lying on the beach. Nice sunshine and less of a breeze than yesterday. Watched people trying to fish and squadrons of pelicans flying overhead.
Day 54. Outer Banks
Got a good early start from Williamsburg for the 4 hour drive south. Got stopped at one of the tunnels for not having our propane checked but nice patrol people let us off. Stopped in Kitty Hawk to see the Wright Brothers memorial and markers where they took the first controlled powered flight. The...
Day 53. Williamsburg
Spent the day in the historic town of Williamsburg. They have recreated / refurbished the town from the 1700s when it was the capital of Virginia and ruled by the UK as a colony. The whole town is free to walk around but you buy a ticket to enter any of the buildings. Lots of good stories and intere...
Day 52. South to Virginia
Drove out of Assateague and back onto the mainland. A long drive south. Stopped at Exmore Diner for lunch in a traditional 1950s Diner. Then over the massive (19 mile) Chesapeake Bay bridge/tunnel. Saw dolphins and pelicans. Passed the massive US naval base at Norfolk (2 aircraft carriers in port) a...
Day 51. Assateague Island Park
A relaxed day. Spent the whole day at the beach and campsite enjoying the sunny weather and no requirement to drive anywhere. Caught up on some marking and booking of future stays.
Day 50. Maryland seashore
Drove out from Delaware about an hour into southern Maryland. Stopped to get firewood and then found out that because of dry weather, all camp fires are banned. Parked up at our campsite in Assateague Island state park. Wild horses down the park and the beach goes in for miles. Very peaceful. Sunbat...
Day 49. Delaware
Left the little farm and drove 2.5 hours into Delaware across a large bridge. Stopped at the Cap Henlopen state park and cycled about 10 miles looking at beaches, salt marshes and birdlife. Also, some large guns which were positioned here during WW2 to fire at any ships entering the waterway leading...
Day 48. Annapolis
Clocks went back last night, so an extra hour to the day. Drove 3 hours from the chickens, goats and donkeys to Annapolis. It’s the oldest state capital and the Main Street and harbour are lined with 250 year old houses. Had a guided tour of the Naval Academy which was fascinating - 4,400 midshipmen...
Day 47. Heading South
Left nice and early and drove south via New York and New Jersey to a small rescue farm. Fed the animals and sunbathed for a few hours.
Day 46. Heading West
Left Cape Ann around 11:30 and headed west over the interstates. Lots of traffic and stopped for petrol and for groceries. Got to our pitch by a small lake on a farm anout 5:30 and had a peaceful night.
Day 45. Salem
Left quite early to ensure we had a parking spot in Salem. Cycled around the headland and then into Salem town. Lots of costumes and music as we strolled around. Went to the Salem witch museum which was a little disappointing but informative. As it got dark, we listened to some bands and followed th...
Day 44. Cape Ann
Spent the morning trying to plan the next few weeks of the trip. It takes time! Took a short bike ride to the beach and walked it from end to end. Nice and calm with some sunshine. Chilled back at the Motorhome.
Day 43. Cape Ann
Chilled in the morning, trying to plan Florida stays. A lot colder last night - down to 2 degrees. Drove down to nearby Winaersheek beach for a breezy walk along the fine sand. Then drove to the pretty town of Rockport with loads of quaint shops on the harbour side. Finally around the coast to Glouc...
Day 42. Salem
Left the church car park fairly early as we had to stop for groceries and to replenish the propane bottles. Then on through Boston on the Interstate and on to Salem. Parked up and rode the bikes in to the centre. Quite tacky but interesting to look around. Lots of witch related stuff and looked arou...
Day 41. Massachusetts
A lazy day. Spent the. Morning chatting to a New Zealand couple in the RV next to us. They are doing a year around the states and are halfway through. Exchanged tips and ideas. Drive 15 minutes to a Walmart to restock and then came back to the sunny church parking lot backing on to some woods.
Day 40. Boston
Said good bye to the alpacas and after getting petrol, parked at Mansfield station and caught the train 45 minutes into Boston. Walked the Freedom Trail from Chinatown to the USS Constitution. Lots of nIce buildings, views and British bashing history. It was also Crawl-o-ween where people dress up i...
Day 39. Massachusetts
Had a chilled morning on the farm. Wandered the area feeding the chickens, geese, turkey, etc and bought some honey and eggs. Then a short drive to a laundrette to wash bedding and clothes. A short drive to our next farm - an alpaca one this time. Were shown round by a friendly couple and bought som...
Day 38. Plymouth
Were greeted by the farm chicken this morning - very friendly and happy to be picked up. Headed out and after emptying waste at a gas station, drove to the Plimouth/Patuxet village. They’ve redone two villages from Indian and new colonial times. Lots of interesting stories and exhibits. They have th...
Day 37. Mystic
Not too noisy a night in the boat yard forecourt, and left for the short drive to Mystic - an old whaling town on then Connecticut coast. Spent 3 hours wandering the seaport museum. Like a skansen with lots of buildings and boats relocated here from the 1800s. Like a recreated village with all the...
Day 36. Yale & New London
Had a peaceful night on the drive in Connecticut. Drove half an hour to have a look around Yale. Lovely campus in the fall colours. Had a look into a number of buildings and very like Oxford in it’s feel. Drove on to a Walmart and then our pitch in the front car park of a boat yard in New London. Ro...
Day 35. Connecticut
Reluctantly left NY (after finding a drain for our grey waste) and navigated the interstates out into Connecticut. Stopped at Sherwood Island State Park for a few hours in a sunny beach looking out towards Long Island. Then on a little further to a Walmart (crap selection and nothing fresh) before...
Day 34. Brooklyn
Started the day with a cycle down to Brooklyn to the tabernacle for a service. Lots of raised hands and praise to the lord but left after half an hour or so. Then on to a glass factory which was having an open day, so watched some demos of neon light making. Rode to the shore overlooking lower man...
Day 33. Cycling in New York
Had a bit of a lie in to recover from two days of walking. After a breakfast of pancakes, blueberries and banana, we got on the bikes and headed for the ferry. Caught the boat to 90th street and cycled into and around Central Park. Quite busy on a very sunny day but nice to see lakes and baseball di...
Day 32. New York
Knackered! Set off at 9 and caught the ferry to Wall Street. Walked to battery Park and queued for 59 minutes for our ferry to Liberty island. Decided not to get off at Statue of Liberty as good enough pics from boat and also gave Ellisnisland a miss because of queues. Memo to self - catch free St...
Day 31. New York
Started off with a walk through Little Poland near the Motorhome and then caught the ferry two stops to 34th street. Ambled inland via the Chrysler building and Grand Central Station, ending up at NYC Library for a tour. Impressive rooms and very old style book retrieval system but quaint. Walked to...
Day 30. New York
Left the Garden Centre and after photographing a couple of pumpkin farm shops, we stopped for breakfast at Connetquot state Park. Did a 2.5 walk around the lake and trout hatchery. Then onto the busy end of Long Island and driving Bison along interstates and Brooklyn streets to our car park near the...
Day 29. Long Island
Left early ish from our car park and after getting petrol and DEF, crossed some big bridges on the way to New London. There is no way for a non-US car to pay tolls on these, so hopefully no nasty fines when we try to leave the States. Got to New London ferry terminal and boarded the 10:30 boat for...
Day 28. Newport RI
Sorted out the Motorhome and left our campsite in light rain - nice not to have driven for a few days. A long drive out of Cape Cod with the Columbus Day holiday makers and then stopped at a Walmart for supplies. Onwards then to Newport RI where we walked around the cliff walk looking at houses fro...
Day 27. Provincetown
Got up late and did some chores and then had pancakes for breakfast. Caught the free bus into Provincetown and wandered the main drag. Stopped to see some drag artist singers and later a brass band with a 102 year old member. Bought some clam chowder and lobster bisque from one of the many seafood t...
Day 26. Provincetown
Had a lazy start to the day but then got on our bikes and road the 7,5 miles into Provincetown. Very atrong headwinds along the coast. Walked around Provincetown (or Ptownas they call it) which is full of lovely small houses with sea views. Walked as far as the Pilgrim stone which commemorates where...
Day 25. Cape Cod
Had a good night’s sleep on the boat yard forecourt. Drive to Nickerson park to ride what was billed as one of the best bike paths in New England but it was an old railway line in cuttings and shaded, so gave up after 5 miles. Drive north to our campsite (luxury) and after connecting up, cycled to C...
Day 24. Brown Uni & Charham
Left the distillery car park and stopped at Brown University in Providence for a stroll around the quadrangles and buildings. Very Ivy League and American. Then a drive eastward to southern Cape Cod and our parking space at a Boat Yard. Christened our bikes with a cycle to the beach/harbour. They we...
Day 23. Walmarts and Rhode Island
Finished the admin in the Motorhome and were questioned extensively by locals on our right hand drive peculiar vehicle. Some great Boston accents. Drove off in the direction of Rhode Island, stopping at two walmarts to get food and also another bike, so that we are both mobile independent of Bison....
Day 22. Engine issues
Drove off from the Maple Farm and within 5 miles the car was shouting about transmission and engine errors. Pulled over and after faffing for half an hour decided to drive to nearest Chrysler/Ram dealer. They said they would be able to look at the issue but after two hours said they couldn’t. Sent u...
Day 21. Vermont
Survived the truck stop despite rain and loud engines. Drove to Walmart to get some super glue for the roof light shade which has worked loose and ended up buying a bike also. Once we get another one, we can roam a bit without having to drive Bison everywhere. Drove south through Vermont seeing some...
Day 20. North Vermont
Drove in the morning most through Stowe and into the Ben and Jerrys ice cream factory where we took a tour and sampled some ice cream. Now owned by Unilever. Then drove to Burlington which is a lovely town in a large lake. Walked the shore and the downtown area in sunny weather. Next went over some...
Day 19. Into Vermont
Had a quiet night apart from some rain and woke to a calm lake and brightening sky. Drove north to Newport near the Canadian border in Vermont - Montreal is only 2 hours away. Walked round a farmers market, boardwalk and the old town. Then onwards on Route 100 via farms and fall colours to Stowe. Th...
Day 18. Franconia Notch
Left the campsite as they had no vacancies for Friday and drive the few miles to Flume Gorge. Were going to skip as $21 per person but a coach party lady kindly gave us two spare tickets. Walked around the 2 mile loop seeing covered bridges, waterfalls and some geological stuff. Very nice. Then drov...
Day 17. Kancamgus Highway
Had a good night’s sleep with no bear attacks. Showered and grabbed some groceries from Lincoln before heading East and driving the Kancamagus Highway - renowned as the best route for fall colours in New England. Stopped at lots of lookouts, short trails and waterfalls. Very scenic. Turned round at...
Day 16. New Hampshire
Left the Brewery and drove into New Hampshire, stopping at a view of Mount Washington and it’s hotel where Roosevelt set up the IMF and World Bank in 1944. Drove on to Crawford Notch Park for a short hike to look at a Beaver Dam and then a 3 mile challenging hike up a mountain to see a waterfall. Sa...
Day 15. West into Maine
Had a peaceful night in our orchard site and left after emptying the grey water to irrigate the trees. ;) After stopping at Walmart to return the unusable SIM card, we headed west into Maine to find the fall colours. Stopped in a small town park for a late brunch and then on through lots of trees un...
Day 14. Acadia National Park
Had a lazy start with home made Sausage McMuffins and then chatted to a guy from Oregon about travelling in an RV to pick up some tips. Headed back to the park and had a lovely 3/5 mile walk around Jordan Pond over rocks, paths and boardwalks. Saw a garter snake and inquisitive red squirrel. Drove a...
Day 13. Acadia National Park
Left the campsite around 9:15 and after driving part of the loop road in the Park, stopped near Thunder Hole and did a 3.5 hour hike around the headland and then up and over Gorham Mountain. Lovely views and a typical American hike of medium difficulty. Only saw one snake. Rested a bit and then drov...
Day 12. Canada to Acadia National Park
Left our Boon Dockers pitch after a chat with the owner and drove to the Border where a very pleasant immigration officer admitted us after a brief inspection of Bison. Stopped for Petrol and drove through rural roads (lots or Trump and Harris posters on the kerbside) to Asheville to get some suppli...
Day 11. Fundy Trail Parkway
Didn't catch any mice in the traps under the bonnet overnight and after a couple of boiled oeufs left the golf course in rain and mist. Driving through the forests it appears even to us colourblind folk that the trees are changing to autumn colours. Drove 2 hours to the Fundy Trail Parkway. $28 to d...
Day 10. Moncton
Left Dartmouth and drove for 3 hours through forests, passing towns called Stewiacke and Pugwash. Stopped at magnetic hill - a bizarre optical illusion making you think you're rolling up a hill. Then to Moncton Bore Park as there was another tidal bore in the late afternoon and we thought we may as...
Day 9. Shubie Campground
A 5am start for Zoe's annual review zoom meeting and she seems to be doing ok. Next off to Walmart to get some necessities. $200 dollars later we have food for 3 days, including some 'farm fresh" apple fritters (which on closer inspection had 50 ingredients - eww). Had to drive to a separate liq...
Day 8. Collecting the Bison
Is it really only this time last week that we boarded the plane to Canada? Feels like a month. Woke in our Airbnb - a basement in a home complete with games area. The lucky teens who live here also have a boat docked off their back garden. Both had a long soak in a bath last night which could be...
Day 7. Martinique beach to Halifax
Started the day with a 2 hour walk along Martinique beach accompanied by sand pipers and other sea birds, then drove back to Halifax. Unloaded some stuff in (hopefully) the last Airbnb - a basement in a house, then drove out past the container terminal to see if we could spot the Bison, and we think...
Day 6. Pleasant Point
Didn't do much today as it was too windy for canoeing as planned. Did some admin, rested, and as we have a kitchen here attempted (but failed) to make a decent home cooked meal.
Day 5. Passboro to Musquodoboit
Woke on the first day of Autumn at "Parrsboro mansion" for a breakfast served by the South African owner who'd fled SA after getting stabbed in the neck. Next went for a walk over Partridge Island headland for views of the Bay of Fundy at its lowest tide - it has the highest tidal range in the world...
Day 4. Annapolis to Parrsboro
Checking the sea radar the Atlantic Sea docked in Halifax this morning. Frustratingly they need 2 days to customs clear it and with a weekend in between, we can't collect the motorhome til Tuesday. Left our Delap savory historic house (built in 1875) and first stop was a visit to the botanical garde...
Day 3. East Gerry, Digby, Annapolis Royal
Reluctantly left our lakefront house and set off on unpaved roads in what felt like wilderness towards East Ferry and the whale watching tour. It was the last trip of the season and we set off with low expectations however the captain said conditions were perfect - a very high tide due to the full m...
Day 2. South coast of Nova Scotia
Woke at 5am (9am UK time) and headed straight to Walmart for a few basics. Food prices are at least double what they are in the UK. Realised we'd overstretched ourselves with tonight's stopover so had to do a whistle stop tour of the south coast of Nova Scotia. A lovely 26° and sunny today. lots of...
Day 1. Halifax, Nova Scotia
After saying our goodbyes to Steph & Ryan took an Uber to Gatwick North Terminal. WestJet Flight WS 25 took about 6.5 hours to get to Halifax. Flew right over Minehead (and Zoe), Woolacombe, the west coast of Ireland which we explored last year, then nothing til the wilderness and numerous lakes of...