Who and Where?
First, the “who“. Before we depart on our travels, it is important to set the stage for you and introduce the cast of “characters” (me included) you will be reading about over the next 6 months or so. No, it is not the infamous Elkhorn of Virgil and Delores from our Alaskan Adventures last year. No, no, there are no problems or issues, it is just the Lanning’s have a home to go back to in Southern Indiana. Lots of grass to cut and family to see. We will winter with them again this winter.
“Chapter 11” belongs to Berny and Howard (aka Howie) who are originally from Brooklyn, NY now living in Florida. We met them in the fall of 2019 at a CCRVOC (Cedar Creek RV Owners Club) rally. Like The Lannings, The Solomon’s are slightly older than me… oops, did I say that out loud (sorry Berny) ? Well, not by much, but anyways, they are traveling with their furbabies, Daisy, a full grown (and short) Bassett hound, and Bernie, a (very short, and not Howie’s wife) Jack Russell Terrier. Daisy works her “wide drooping” eyes to get more treats than she needs (and spreads considerable drool), and Bernie (who they inherited after Howie’s brother passed away) is going deaf but still gets around just fine. Both are good dogs and travel well with them all the time.
Berny and Howie travel in a Cedar Creek fifth wheel named “Chapter 11”. Chapter 11 is their pride and joy and is a beautiful rig. Howie belly aches all the time that he has spends too much money on it, (yet he doesn’t stop) in upgrades, modifications, creature comforts, spare parts, and wax. They both have ebikes, so we plan on riding as many trails as we can.
Berny (his wife, not the Terrier) is a great cook and loves to craft. Berny has her own “she shed” for making her awesome creations out of yarn, thread, and paint (and more). She also deserves a medal for putting up with Howie for 40+ years! Berny is the Secretary of the our club (CCRVOC) while Ann Marie was the President a year+ ago. Being from Brooklyn, Howie is straight to the point and typically uncensored. He enjoys the hunt of locating a special needle in a hay stack and negotiating the deal (aka brow beating) !
We have spent some time at their house and have explored with them during many club rallies. Both are awesome folks and great friends and we are looking forward to traveling together this year.
Second, “The “Where“. We are embarking on a 12k mile, 180 day journey up the east coast. Chapter 11 will begin their journey by visiting Berny’s parents in North Carolina, then we will meet up with them in Ebenezer State Park, by Rock Hill, SC. Then on to Asheville to visit the Biltmore, Kill Devils Hills, Virginia Beach, Philly, Delaware, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia continuing up to New Foundland.
We have ferry reservations on the Marine Atlantic leaving North Sydney on 15 June for a 6-8 hour cruise to Channel-Port aux Basques. Channel-Port aux Basques is a town at the extreme southwestern tip of Newfoundland fronting on the western end of the Cabot Strait. We will be returning on 1 July to North Sydney.
Returning from New Foundland, we will continue exploring Nova Scotia and the Cabot Trail, on to New Brunswick and to Quebec by traveling around the most north eastern point of Maine ( still in Canada), paralleling the St Lawrence River for about 120 miles. Then on to Montreal, Bolt Castle and south thru central New York, to Indiana, Minnesota, Waco, Galveston, and back to Georgia by late October. Piece of cake, we are hoping diesel prices fall…
Oh yeah, Bigfoot is well, and resting in Statesboro, GA. We adopted the name “Gypsy” for our Cedar Creek, which at some point, I will tell you a story behind “Gypsy” that may make you laugh out loud.