Overall October was cheaper than September. We drove a bunch, but spent about the same on gas (cheaper gas in the U.S. than Canada) and we didn't have the big expenses of a boat trip or ferry rides. We're still a little over what we'd like to be spending due in large part to more car issues and going out a bit too much for sporting events.
Maintenance: We had an issue with our steering that needed fixing in West Virginia, which caused us to need another alignment. We also needed a new fuel pump in Delaware.
Steering issue: $270.69
Fuel Pump: $452.75
RV running total: $19019.44
Service: $80.28 on an oil change in Kansas City
Fuel - We've updated our Fuel log! We ended up driving more in October than we did in either of the prior months due to having to make it across country for a wedding in a very short timeframe. That barely cost us more than the month before through. We purchased an extra 60 gallons or so of gas and only spent about $8 more.
This month, we drove 5081 miles on 393 gallons of gas, averaging 12.9 MPG (about the same as last month)
Gas: $1148
Propane: $28 - We needed to get propane twice this month.
Food: $724 - We did just as poorly avoiding restaurants. We spent time with friends in cities again, which leads to eating out. Football season is also still going strong and we've gone out during every game to be able to watch the Ducks play.
Lodging: $14 - We stayed at 2 campsites run by USFS ($5 each) and payed for showers near Acadia National Park.
Phone and Internet: $73. On top of our base rate of $35/month we pay per $10/GB for data through Google Fi. We didn't do a stellar job doing all the internet-ing we needed to while on public WiFi networks (Walmart, libraries, etc).
Public Transit: $20 - We spent $10 each on a transit card and money to get us in and out of the center of Washington D.C.
Total Travel Expenses for October: ~$2810
Friday, November 1, 2019
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Rhode Island
While driving through Rhode Island we stopped at a historic house marked by signs on the side of the road. In large part we stopped to put the sticker on the map before we drove all the way through the state.
We also stopped because the sign called the house a castle and we were intrigued. It was not interesting. However, we did run into a local man in the parking lot and he started up a conversation. We asked him his favorite place in the state to hang out and he told us about Beavertail State Park just down the road. That recommendation made the stop worth it.
The park is located on a peninsula with great views. There is also interesting information on the history of the light house. We didn't stay long but did walk around a bit and enjoy the views while eating lunch.
Bonus picture: Aiden is starting to enjoy the passenger seat while we're not in the car.
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Cape Cod
For the second half of the day we spent time exploring Cape Cod. Had it been warmer and had better camping options we definitely could have spent more time here. Who doesn't love some quality time walking on the beach.
There are several impressive lighthouses along the cape but we only looked at two (sets) of them. The first is the famous lighthouse on the Cape Cod potato chips bag.
The second was the three light houses that preceded the famous lighthouse at its current location. There were three buildings in order to create a distinct pattern and help let sailors know where they were.
All the lighthouses in the original location have been moved back several times. The entire cape is slowly eroding and washing out to sea.
Someone made this artistic rock sculpture on the beach and Kathleen decided to practice taking "Instagram pics" of it. We're trying really hard to embody "travel bloggers" but are clearly not succeeding.
There are several impressive lighthouses along the cape but we only looked at two (sets) of them. The first is the famous lighthouse on the Cape Cod potato chips bag.
The second was the three light houses that preceded the famous lighthouse at its current location. There were three buildings in order to create a distinct pattern and help let sailors know where they were.
All the lighthouses in the original location have been moved back several times. The entire cape is slowly eroding and washing out to sea.
Someone made this artistic rock sculpture on the beach and Kathleen decided to practice taking "Instagram pics" of it. We're trying really hard to embody "travel bloggers" but are clearly not succeeding.
Plymouth
After stopping by Salem we decided we'd hit one more historic landmark in Massachusetts. We spent the first half of the day exploring the Plymouth water front. Next year marks 400 years since the landing of the Mayflower. Several things were off exhibit in anticipation of their celebration but it was still fun to see.
The original Plymouth rock has been cut down in size multiple times over the years, and there is of course doubt that it actually had anything to do with the landing. But it is an interesting symbol none the less.
A super intense structure was built to house the rock as part of the 300 year celebration.
It was also nice to see that there was some acknowledgement of the impact that this landing had on native populations that had been living in the "New World."
Overall, interesting stop. Not really a must see though. Maybe that will be different next year as they amp up for the celebration.
The original Plymouth rock has been cut down in size multiple times over the years, and there is of course doubt that it actually had anything to do with the landing. But it is an interesting symbol none the less.
A super intense structure was built to house the rock as part of the 300 year celebration.
It was also nice to see that there was some acknowledgement of the impact that this landing had on native populations that had been living in the "New World."
Overall, interesting stop. Not really a must see though. Maybe that will be different next year as they amp up for the celebration.
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Salem
We were passing close to Salem and decided we wanted to drop in, hoping to find a small-ish monument to the witch trials. What we did find was so much more.
Everywhere we have been so far has been either "shoulder season" or off season. Things have been either closed, or closing with in a few days. While this means that we haven't been able to get in places, it has also been nice. We haven't had to fight the crowds that are often found in some of the parks that we visited, and several places have even had cheaper "shoulder" rates.
The one exception so far has been Salem. October is definitively peak season. It was both fun to see the city in its tourist prime, and a little disturbing.
Next to the city's old cemetery there is a memorial dedicated to the 14 women and 5 men who were executed in 1692 after being accused of being witches.
Everywhere we have been so far has been either "shoulder season" or off season. Things have been either closed, or closing with in a few days. While this means that we haven't been able to get in places, it has also been nice. We haven't had to fight the crowds that are often found in some of the parks that we visited, and several places have even had cheaper "shoulder" rates.
The one exception so far has been Salem. October is definitively peak season. It was both fun to see the city in its tourist prime, and a little disturbing.
Next to the city's old cemetery there is a memorial dedicated to the 14 women and 5 men who were executed in 1692 after being accused of being witches.
Today, however, Salem seems to attract the occult. There are places all over town heavily advertising that they are "witch owned and operated" as they sell fortune tellings and potion ingredients. They also have an annual Haunted Happenings running the whole month of October, full of live music, plays and special tours. There was a line around the block for the Witches Museum.
We still haven't decided how we feel about the whole spectacle. Kathleen likes witches as much as the next person, and we have no problem with Halloween fun. However we couldn't quite shake the feeling that capitalizing on the murder of innocent people was a little insensitive.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Acadia National Park
We spent the last few days at Acadia National Park and the surrounding Mount Desert Island. We started our adventures at the visitor center, where we learned that Aiden would be allowed on leash throughout the park with the exceptions of some hikes where she really shouldn't go anyway. (Note: dogs are not allowed on the beach and Echo Lake during peak season).
We started on a walk around Jordan Pond. After getting to the far side, Andreas went on a hike with Aiden up to Sargent Mountains, then along the ridge southward to Penobscot Mountain before heading back down. They ended up not being able to come down the ridge the most direct way because there was a part that was too steep down rocks for Aiden to take. The peaks yielded magnificent views of the Maine landscape, broken up lakes, inlets, bays and islands.
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| Jordan Pond |
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| South facing view from Penobscot Mountain |
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| Too steep for Aiden |
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| Kathleen eating dinner at sunset |
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| Andreas snapping pictures of the sunset |
After a short night rest at our basecamp at Walmart in Ellsworth, we woke up early to catch the sunrise! We went back into the park and drove along the one-way road on the West side of the Island. Had we been up on Cadillac Mountain, we would have been among the very first people in the U.S. to see the sun that day. Unfortunately RVs are not allowed up to drive the peak, presumably because of narrow winding roads and limited parking at the top. But it was still lovely along the park loop road, and it was more secluded.
After sunrise, we visited a few other points of interest: one of very few cold water, shell rich, and sandy beaches in the U.S. and thunder hole, a place where, when the conditions are right, the waves come crashing into the rock with a loud thundering noise because of a cave that echos the noise.
Our last bit of tourism on the island was a visit to Bar Harbor and a walk across a sand bar to Bar Island. The town of Bar Harbor is a tourist town that entertains cruise ships in the summer and had everything that went along with such a town: touristy shops, local ice cream, fancy restaurants and bars, and lots tour companies offering trips into the national park. The sand bar we crossed onto bar island is only accessible at low tide. On the island we went on a short hike to the top, which had another great view of Bar Harbor and the rest of the island.
All in all Acadia was a beautiful place to visit. The seasonal reds, oranges, yellows and greens are a brilliant mix of color that we're not used to seeing in the Pacific Northwest.
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| Sunrise at Acadia National Park |
After sunrise, we visited a few other points of interest: one of very few cold water, shell rich, and sandy beaches in the U.S. and thunder hole, a place where, when the conditions are right, the waves come crashing into the rock with a loud thundering noise because of a cave that echos the noise.
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| Sand Beach |
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| Thunder Hole |
Our last bit of tourism on the island was a visit to Bar Harbor and a walk across a sand bar to Bar Island. The town of Bar Harbor is a tourist town that entertains cruise ships in the summer and had everything that went along with such a town: touristy shops, local ice cream, fancy restaurants and bars, and lots tour companies offering trips into the national park. The sand bar we crossed onto bar island is only accessible at low tide. On the island we went on a short hike to the top, which had another great view of Bar Harbor and the rest of the island.
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| Full crab carapace found on the sand bar. This fella outgrew his old shell |
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| View of Bar Harbor from Bar Island |
Travel Update 6
After leaving DC we knew we wanted to head out to Assateague Island, as well as visit one of Kathleen's friends in Baltimore, then we had major decisions to make.
We were planning to go to Acadia first but we started to second guess ourselves. It is already getting cold in the Northeast and we were worried that we might have missed a lot of the fall foliage. Also, we want to see Quebec and Nova Scotia as well as the Canadian side of Niagara and Kathleen had to renew her passport. We also considered doing a loop back to parks in Michigan or heading straight south.
We eventually settled on our original plan of heading north first and we are glad we did. Even though we were a little late for the leaves in a few places:
Some were still perfect:
Our main misfortune on this section came when we crossed a bridge into New Jersey and went to put the sticker on our map. We realized that we had left the stickers on the bike rack after putting Pennsylvania on at our campsite.
We thought about turning around but the bridge was tolled in the other direction and it would take us about an hour and a half to go around and back to the campsite. We decided to simply re-purchase the map from Amazon when we got internet, only to find that the map has been discontinued. We ended up buying a new map that we might place over the original. The idea of getting rid of the first one makes us sad so for the moment we have the new one in the window. We'll stop by our campsite on the way back down to see if we can find the stickers, but the odds aren't good. :/
Other adventures include a bridge with a "9 foot" clearance that we thought we wouldn't make it under. Only to find out that New York has a different way of measuring than we do...
We also knew that we had to stop by Williamstown, MA where Aleah, Kathleen's best friend growing up, lived before moving to Eugene. Kathleen had heard many stories of Lickity Split Ice Cream, but unfortunately it was closed for the season. We did however get to walk around the campus of William's College and see Aleah's old house.
Free campsites have been a little hard to find in the Northeast but the ones we have found have been lovely.
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