The Adventures of the Bray Family......

If You Want To See The Journals of 2006 Click HERE

6/3/05: We’re Off!

After several weekends of shake down trips, we are finally ready to go. My good friend Charlie came down from Chicago yesterday to finish installation of my sky router. That device will ensure consistent internet access while we are traveling around the country. I investigated Satellite systems to a great degree, and decided on Charlie’s solution due to a low start-up fee and more dependable speeds. We tested it at 659K upon installation, and that is indeed exciting.

We stayed up until 5:00 AM packing the bus and what was left in our home. Thousands of decisions had to be made over the past few months on what we were taking, what was being stored, what was being sold and what was being donated. It is certainly not for the faint of heart. We got back up at 8:30am and headed out of town. At around 9:00 AM, one of the datacenters in Indianapolis where many of my customers have service had a massive power outage! It was a crazy way to say goodbye to Indy. We had to take the bus into the dealership to have some repairs made, so we went to King’s Island to pass the time. Not a bad way to do it! We got back just in time to pick up the bus and get back to Cincinnati and hook up prior to the sun going down. It is not easy to park and set up in the dark.

6/4/05: King’s Island and Star Wars III

Our first night was very calm, and we slept in to make up for the night before. We got up and went back to King’s Island for most of the day. Thomas (my 9-year-old) rode Face Off for the first time today. He was scared to do it, but the excitement won out over the fear and we did it. He loved it, and I think I may have been a bit more scared than he was. I told Thomas about how facing one’s fears is a huge deal and that he has accomplished something millions of adults refuse to do out of fear.

We took a break from the rides and heat and watched Star Wars III. Traci (my wife) didn’t want to see it so she saw Longest Yard. Thomas and I enjoyed SWIII, but were surprised how violent it was. Overall it was a good movie, but mostly I am glad the series is now complete. We both agreed that Lord of the Rings was better than Star Wars. We hit the park for a while after the movie and came back to crash. Tomorrow we are going to sample one of the local churches and go to the water park for the afternoon.

6/5/05: Work and golfing with Thomas

Today was what I would consider more of a normal “work” day. I was up and working around the normal time, and able to knock a bunch of stuff out. The Skyrouter is working well and my Internet and Cellular connections are entirely sufficient. That is indeed great news.

After work, Thomas and I golfed 9 holes at Jack Nicholas’ Grizzly course at King’s Island. It is a beautiful course. Due to limited space, we limited our souvenirs to one Grizzly golf ball. Being that it is Eastern Time here, we could have golfed past 9:00 PM if we wanted to. Thomas got tired, so we went to La Rosa’s pizza for dinner. Afterward, we came back and shared a camp fire with some neighbors.

6/7/05: We got lost but found Jungle Jim’s

On Tuesday I worked a full day and we went for a drive in the evening to find something of a tourist attraction called Jungle Jim’s. We got lost on the way there, thanks to a young gal who gave us directions. It was OK, in this area you can’t be really lost. It’s just not that big. We finally made it to Jungle Jim’s. It is a store very much like Trader Joe’s but the size of a Super Wal-Mart. It is such a big deal it made it into the tourist book for Ohio. We enjoyed it, especially the bathrooms that had “port-o-let” facades along with a fake one for dogs. My son loved it. Any kind of joke about dogs is A#1 for Thomas.

6/8/05

I worked a full day from da’ bus today, and things are going really well. I think my customers and associates are starting to believe that I’m going to keep working, and that I’m not just on a year-long vacation. Don’t I wish! I knocked off at about 4 and went back to King’s Island. We finally got to ride The Italian Job roller-coaster (designed for the movie with the Mini Coopers). It was not the most intense coaster, but it was fun. Be careful about bringing the kids along if they don’t like dark places. This ride had a long stretch that was pitch black. One more thing checked off for the trip.

On the way out, we decided to hit one of those cheesy shows in air conditioning, considering it was 92 degrees today. Wow! Simon Cowell would have stopped the show after 2 minutes! I don’t know if I have gotten more picky as I’ve gotten older, but wow was this a bad show! The show was called School of Rock, after the movie. The thing that most amazed my wife and I was not the loud music or the heavy metal guitar, but the female backup singers! I think their dance trainers came from the Red Light District! I think they need to be reminded that this is a FAMILY amusement park! We were very happy when it was over.

The subject of campfires is on my mind tonight. Tonight we are keeping to ourselves, and enjoying the comforts of our “home”. Traci is watching the Food Network and I’m doing my blog thing. Last night my very introverted better half accepted the second invitation to share a campfire with our “neighbors” Joe and Cathy from Alabama. Their grandkids Andrew (nicknamed Bama) and Ashley (nicknamed Peach) joined our son Thomas for a little marshmallow destruction party. Things went really well, and we learned some valuable “full-timer” information that will benefit us for the rest of the trip.

The amazing thing to me is that my wife Traci is so out of her element on this trip. She does not care to talk to strangers. She does not care for campfires. She doesn’t like bug spray (a necessity) and she doesn’t like smoke. Adding all of these things together at one time is actually a bit amazing. The fact that she said yes to a second campfire in three days just floored me. This is going to be an exciting year!

Another thing we are absolutely enjoying is having no yard, no landscaping, no grass cutting, no pruning, no bug spraying, no fertilizing, no yard work at all. After only one week on the road it is amazing how much of a relief that is. We lived in a neighborhood where you MUST do all of those things, or our neighbor would walk by and make comments just loud enough for us to hear, and it drove Traci nuts. The gal once mistook me for the “gardener” and made some very judgmental comments about me not realizing I was her new neighbor. It is a hoot of a story, and one I’ll tell anytime anyone asks.

We’re headed out of Cincinnati on Friday morning on the way to Columbus.

6/10/05

We rolled out of Cincinnati early today on the way to Columbus. I think we finally figured out the towing thing. Joe, the one armed man from Alabama, told us about a company who made an adaptor kit for my Infiniti to allow it to be towed four wheels down. I called the company to confirm it, and they do make it! It won’t be a cheap endeavor, but it will be a good investment in the trip to minimize frustration. We have to use a company in Columbus to install everything, so I have to call them on Monday. We got through to our new campground easily enough, although the TV reception is non-existent, which is not good according to my 9-year-old. Work went well today, with lots of new projects getting started and moving through the pipeline.

6/11/05: COSI

Today was a wonderful day of exploring the COSI museum in Columbus. It is a huge science museum with a strong emphasis on children. My son loved it, especially the unicycle you can ride off of the 2 nd floor over the patrons below (see attached picture). Traci’s favorite was a display of the decomposition of preservative-free versus preservative-full food. For example, they had fresh fruit versus fruit cups and homemade chocolate brownie versus a Twinkie. As you can imagine, the Twinkie was virtually untouched by the decomposition process. My favorite was the fireworks display, where the gal explained and showed us how fireworks work. She played with Liquid Nitrogen and showed us what it will do when under pressure. It was extremely cool, and ended with three very loud explosions of balloons filled with Nitrogen gas.

They had a huge Titanic display with many rooms filled with artifacts from the ship. They handed out cards at the beginning so we could pretend that we were someone from the ship’s roster. We could identify the decks they probably slept on, and what menus they ate, and what dishes they used. It was very emotionally charged, and at the end, we determined whether our “pretend” passenger lived or died. It is well worth the trip to COSI just to see this. We also found out that we can now visit Science Museums around the country as part of the COSI membership. We will certainly do that as part of Thomas’ home school effort.

6/12/05: The Santa Maria

There is a life size replica of the Santa Maria tied up on the river in Columbus. I didn’t pay much attention in World History in high school, and after seeing Pirates of the Caribbean and Master and Commander, we were much looking forward to this. It amazed me how romantic sea life looks in the movies, but in reality it must have been just miserable. To believe 40 men worked and lived on that tiny ship 24/7 with no relief just amazes me. They explained life on the ship as if the person was a member of the crew. What question do you think eventually came up? You got it! Where did they go to the bathroom? 40 guys, eating mostly beans, working constantly in that climate, how did it work? Well, my son thought they went on the so called poop deck. However, that’s not correct. They actually stood on the side of the ship and did their business off of a 6” plank of wood alongside! You ask, what did they use instead of toilet paper? They used something called “the bitter end”. It was pretty much a wisk broom. No leaves, no paper, just a wisk broom! Did each guy have his own bitter end for his journey? Nope! Four bitter ends were shared among the 40 guys! It was tied to a string and dragged in the ocean water while not in use. The tour was very enlightening, considering the fact that we kind of feel like we are on a ship that travels down the highway, and we are “roughing” it because our entire bathroom is only a few square feet. I can say that I am thankful for my little rolling bathroom!

This evening, we went on a journey to a Super Wal Mart and stocked up on some items. We may end up staying in Columbus for another week or more to wait for the towing equipment to be installed. We also discovered that our leveling jack system is not working properly. We knew we weren’t perfectly level, since none of our doors will stay open, but at least the jacks went up and down, until today. We changed slips in the campground, and the jack system went haywire. We called Fleetwood, and they gave us the name and number of a dealer here in town that will be able to fix it. I’ve got lots of calls to make tomorrow!

6/13/05: Mechanical Problems and Lost in the Middle of Nowhere

Wow! What a day. We realized our hydraulic jack system on the bus needed repair. It refused to act properly when we changed slips in the campground. I called Fleetwood and got the names and numbers of local dealerships, but the first one refused to do the work! We are learning that to try to take our bus to a dealership other than the one that sold it to us is a challenge. Fortunately the second one said he would fit me in. I had to leave immediately and take it in. After 1.5 hours, I was finally there, and he indeed did have someone do it on the spot. Much kudos to RCD Sales in Hebron, OH. They fixed it, but are concerned that the problem will return. I’ll just have to try my luck at the next city. That experience took up most of the day, but the wireless Internet connection certainly came in handy again. I worked from a truck stop while eating lunch, and was back up to speed by the time the end of the work day rolled around.

We decided, based on my suggestion, to go ahead on to Cleveland after dinner rather than waiting until Tuesday morning. Since I had never driven the bus in the dark before, this was indeed going to be an adventure! We started out smooth, and tanked up on the way. I never let the bus go below a half-tank, since I don’t want to get caught in an emergency with no fuel. Diesel was $2.37 a gallon, and the bill was almost $90. Ouch! The nozzle overflowed on Traci’s hands, so she was not pleased. She is a trooper!

The Yahoo directions have been pretty reliable over time, but this time they were NOT. We didn’t double-check a map prior to leaving, which was a mistake. I just wrote down the directions and took off. We arrived in the Cleveland area at about 11:00 PM Indiana time (Midnight Cleveland). We got to the exit where Yahoo said to turn, but there was NO street on which to turn. We went on ahead about 10 miles thinking we would get there eventually. We got deep in the heart of a National Forest south of Cleveland and got worried. We turned into a Visitor Center parking lot to fire up the Internet connection and see what went wrong. I must have written the directions down wrong. The Internet connection worked well, but Yahoo was still wrong. I was right this time. Trying to pull out of a pitch black parking lot designed for cars in the middle of the night was quite a trick. I almost took out two posts and a tree, but escaped unscathed, except for the flexible flashy sticks in the concrete. I plowed those down but they popped back up again. No harm, no foul.

We decided to go back the other way across the Interstate and see what we could find. After driving for another 20 minutes or so, we saw an Interstate 80 sign and jumped for it. There was a Pilot Truck Stop there and I stopped and asked for directions to the nearest Wal Mart. The gal was irritated, but very helpful. At 2:00 am we dragged into our first Wal Mart “boon docking” experience. We brought water in the tank, so we could wash and brush, but pretty much collapsed after setting up the beds. We were parked among several other RV’s - some smaller, and one huge 45 footer as well as several commercial rigs. I wish they would shut off their engines at 2:00 am! All in all it was easy, and we shoved off first thing and called the campground and got right to it. It turns out had we not stopped at the Visitor Center we would have eventually reached the campground. Yahoo had .03 miles rather than probably 13 miles or something like that. We were never far from our destination, just driving around it in big RV like circles. Live and learn!

6-14-05: Work, Schedules and Tow bars

Today was a full day of work. Things went very well. I am very enthused about the responses I’m getting from my customers about the trip. We have yet to have anyone get negative or say they don’t want to work with me because I’m not in Indy every day. It has actually been quite the opposite. There are a lot of “closet” RV people out there who want to travel but don’t know how. Sit tight folks, you too can do this but you just need to wait until we get back. More on that later.

We finally found a shop who will install the towing equipment on our car and bus so Traci doesn’t have to follow in the Infiniti. You would think folks would be lining up to sell this much gear to people who need it, but this is the first shop we’ve called out of 5 who agreed to do it when we needed it. We have to stay in Cleveland an extra day, and rent a car for a couple of days, but when we leave here, we will be towing the Infiniti and Traci will no longer be on the other side of the cell phone. That is indeed good news.

Also, we made our reservations for the week of July 4 th at Niagara Falls. The campground had one 50 amp full hookup pull-through open. I was stunned. Folks we talked to around the camp fire said you have to make July 4 th reservations months in advance, especially at popular destinations. I think we may end up extending, but we’ll see. We are very excited. There is also a King’s Island type place there, so it will be a busy time. I may take some “vacation” time that week.

6-15-05: Work, family adventures

Today was a full work day. Things are progressing very well. I can’t praise the guys who designed and installed my Internet connection enough. Today I clocked the connection at 80K up / 1094K down. That is unbelievable to me. It has enabled me to be efficient in my work, and as usual, my Verizon cell phone is working perfectly.

We’ve had a ton of rain here in Streetsboro. Traci and Thomas went to the Cleveland Zoo today, and got rained on pretty well. They really enjoyed the zoo, especially the large numbers of monkeys they had. Thomas felt right at home! They also had a large number of big cats. One had just had a baby, and another one had just caught a rabbit. Traci didn’t know if it was put there on purpose or if a wild rabbit got in by mistake. Either way, it is now big cat food.

We stayed in the bus in the evening and read a lot. It’s awesome not to have a lawn to think about.

6-16-05: Work, and a huge McDonald’s

Today was a very quiet day in the Bray bus. Thomas and Traci hung around all day and played or read books. They don’t often do this, and I was glad to see they were relaxing. I worked a full day, and continued to enjoy it. Everything is working well, and I’m actually getting through a large to-do list I brought from my old office. It feels good to be getting some of the old stuff done.

After work, we took the advice of an author we read to go see “The Most Magnificent” McDonald’s in Ohio. It was two stories tall and actually had a glass elevator. They had a player piano under the atrium with a McDonald’s character “playing” it. I don’t know why, but the piano was not on tonight. It was probably the furthest we have ever driven (about 30 minutes each way) just to go to a McDonald’s, but it was fun. The food was normal, so we tried to eat as well as we could. Thomas wants me to say they had a Nintendo Game Cube system so he got to play Mario Golf for a while. Not that he doesn’t have the system and game in the bus, but it was neat to play it at McD’s. After dinner we relaxed and watched TV, since it is now raining again.

6-17-05: Work, R&R HOF, Yours Truly

I worked a full day today, and things are proceeding well. After work we ventured into downtown Cleveland to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There happened to be an Indians game, so the traffic was a bit thick once we got down town. Not withstanding, it was still pretty easy to get there. We didn’t actually go into the Hall of Fame, but we walked all around it and took pictures. Traci and I like music well enough, but we were forewarned that it is not exciting or even suitable to a 9-year-old. We went down to the waterfront and watched some kids skateboarding and biking at the special park they have set aside for these guys. I think Indy should do something like that.

We decided to go back to Hudson to eat dinner since we would have been overwhelmed by the Indians fans at the downtown restaurants. We ate at a place called Yours Truly. It was a neighborhood family restaurant featuring “Fish Fry Friday”. They advertise to call ahead to reserve your portion. We thought they were kidding, or at least being a bit dramatic. We showed up a bit late for dinner since we came in from down town. We got a table in about 15 minutes, and proceeded to order our fish. A look came over the waitress’ face that was one of alarm. She said she didn’t know if they had any more, and she scurried off. She came back with a huge sigh of relief saying they had four left, and ours was two of them. We had not run into a situation where the restaurant ran out of food. The fish arrived. Traci got fried and I got grilled. Mine was OK, a bit tough though. It tasted pretty good. Thomas tried some and liked it. One of our goals on the trip is to get my 9-year-old to try new foods, at least once per day. However, by the time I was done with it, it was downright chewy. Unfortunately Traci’s experience was not as favorable as mine. She actually had to put lots of stuff on hers to make it taste good. She only ate about a third of it and handed the rest off to the waitress, who was astounded that we didn’t want a to-go box. Had the waitress asked Traci one more time, she would have told her flat out that she didn’t like it. Traci loves fish. This fish was just tasteless and chewy. This would not have been a popular opinion in this restaurant where you have to call ahead to reserve your portion.

However, we have to make a huge mention about the apple pie and cinnamon ice cream for dessert. Traci and I are ice cream fanatics 100%. If I didn’t care what I looked like, I would have ice cream at every meal every day. I could weigh 300 pounds on ice cream alone. This cinnamon ice cream was the only cinnamon ice cream we have ever had, and it was in the top three of all ice cream we have ever had. It was incredible. We could not have cared less about the apple pie, or the fish, but the ice cream was worth the trip. We must go back before we leave to have the ice cream again. I’m sure their other food is good.

We also have to say we are extremely impressed with the town called Hudson, OH. This place is covered with trees. Every street looks like the neighborhood in Father of the Bride. It is as if they have never had a thunderstorm or tornado through the area. The trees are huge, and they are everywhere. The neighborhoods are simply built around the trees. It is as if they never cut a tree down to build a house. In among the trees, the houses are HUGE. Not just a few huge ones, or just a huge house neighborhood, but huge houses everywhere. There is big money in this town, even though the town is smallish and in between Cleveland and Akron. There are several factories around town tucked in among the trees. I don’t know if executives work in Cleveland and come in, or if they work for the companies in town and live here. How ever they do it, they have some mongo houses.

6-18-05: R&R

We slept in this morning and we then went into Hudson to stroll around. They have an excellent O’Malia’s type of market there that was just packed. We got all kinds of fresh food and a couple good bottles of wine. We are fortunate that we don’t live near that, because we would do nothing but eat. Traci has actually gotten me to like a mild type of sushi called California Rolls. I’m not one for raw fish, but these are really good. They had some excellent ones in this market.

We went to Aurora, OH to a huge outlet mall. We did some shopping for small stuff like books, candles and a good wine opener. We left ours in Indy and have been struggling with a cheapo ever since.

We came back and ate dinner and had our own camp fire. It was very relaxing to drink a glass of good wine around the fire.

6-19-05: Father’s Day: GRSC, Cuyahoga and campfire

We went to the Great Lakes Science Center today for a good part of the day. We were very impressed by the outside of the building. It is a very cool place. When we got in, we found that the membership Traci bought in Columbus got us into this place for free. What a deal! We got the “basic” access to the place, and initially thought it would be a quick trip, because it only covered two floors. Our son was enthusiastic, and dived in immediately. We eventually discovered that the place was HUGE. We were there for hours, and we actually had to drag Thomas out of the place. It was well worth the parking fee. The unanimous vote for #1 exhibit by the Bray family was the golf ball wall. (See picture.) It is like the pool ball exhibit at Science Works at the Children’s Museum in Indianapolis, but better. You can actually control the fate of the incoming golf balls, and Thomas got really good at hitting things with them. It was extremely cool.

We then went to Cuyahoga National Park nearby and did some hiking. We didn’t do as much as I wanted, but we still enjoyed the scenery. That place is huge, and very primitive. We came back and had another camp fire, sans the wine. It was a beautiful evening, and we called our fathers to wish them happy dad’s (grandpa’s) day. Back to work tomorrow!

6-20-05: Work, chores and rental car

Today was a very typical “life” day. I worked the whole day, we did chores, which are present whether you live in a bus, or in a house. I took my baby (2000 Infiniti I30t) to Summit Trailer Sales in Akron to have the towing equipment installed, as the first phase of the process. They came highly recommended by the manufacturer, so I can only trust in their abilities. The place is an old shop, well worn with time, and not at all impressive. However, the people seem to be sharp and good at what they do. I’m fearful, but leave my car anyway and have Enterprise pick me up. I rented a Malibu for two days, and boy is it a piece of junk. I really like my car. I got lost again on the way back, but eventually make it to the camp ground and finish working for the day.

We pretty much spent the evening getting ready to leave in the morning, with the exception of an unplanned camp fire, thanks to my son Thomas, who convinced me it was a good idea. Once it was lit, and aflame for a while, Thomas retreated to the bus to evade the mosquito invasion, and Traci and I were left out to be eaten alive by the evil blood sucking menace. Even after Deep Woods Off, we were no match for the persistent desire for these pests to eat. It was still fun, and relaxing, and Traci and I eventually put out the fire and came in for bed.

6-21-05: Left Streetsboro, Boon Dock at Walmart and found Summit

We finally left Streetsboro! The water there is the worst Traci or I have ever smelled, even during college, Spring Break in Cancun, you name it! It was horrible. We stank like metal, all of us. Our normally leaky hose actually stopped leaking because the rust built up in a matter of days and plugged the leak. Amazing! Everything outside the bus had rust all over it. How anyone lives there and drinks that stuff is beyond me. We had to drink distilled water the entire time. They must ALL have commercial water treatment systems.

I took the Infiniti to Summit Trailer Sales (in Akron, OH 3330 S. Main St.) yesterday and we need to go back and pick it up today. I was honestly scared silly about how my baby would look. I have driven my Infiniti for 5 years and over 100,000 miles and I want to keep it for ever! I don’t think any man has ever enjoyed driving his car more than I do. I feared that it would look like Frankenstein’s car. I pictured towing gear sticking out of the front of the car, and the look of it being ruined for ever. I’ve seen some cars so butchered for the sake of towing that I was fearful. When we arrived at Summit, I was stunned. Unless I bent down and stared into the grill, I could NOT tell that this was a “tow car”. I can’t describe how relieved I was to see my baby. It was awesome! I can’t say enough about the excellent world-class-work that Summit did on our behalf. If you are in Akron, OH and you need ANYTHING to do with towing or welding, or electrical work, call them. They are da’ bomb!

I worked in the afternoon out of the Wal Mart parking lot. I had the wonderful fortune of submitting the largest proposal thus far of 2005 while boon docking in a Wal Mart parking lot in Akron, OH from a wireless Internet connection. That experience was a defining moment in this trip. I got lots of other work done, but that was a big deal. I will report back as to the outcome of the opportunity, but I’m optimistic.

We took the rental car back and went to dinner at Friday’s and went to see Madagascar. Traci and Thomas had already seen it, but I hadn’t, so we all saw it again. It was very funny and I highly recommend it. We moved the bus to Summit so we wouldn’t have to do it in the morning. The extension cord they left out for us to plug in was an old ratty cord that was taped up at the end. I was fearful, but all was resolved in a moment because as soon as we plugged in, their circuit breaker blew, and we had no power. We hit the generator for an hour and went to bed.

6-22-05: Boon bock with Harleys, Tow Bar and Trip to Sandusky

Wow! We learned the hard way why people boon dock at Wal Mart. For the most part, Wal Mart parking lots are quiet at night (with the exception of big rigs idling). Well, we had to learn that the hard way. We boon docked in the very small parking lot of Summit which borders a rural road that leads to a boating community nearby. Everyone who owns a Harley in that part of Ohio had a parade up and down the hill past our bus (or so it seemed). Who rides a Harley at 2:00 am on a school night? They were zooming past us all night, and no matter how cool they sound in daylight, they are terrible when your bed is 3 feet from the road. Fortunately, the rain came and chased all of the Harley riders in doors. We got almost no sleep the entire night!

We were up early, especially because Kimberly (from Summit) was knocking on our bus just before 8:00 Ohio time ( 7:00 Indiana time). She told us they needed the bus and it was time for us to go to breakfast. We went to IHOP and then to Kohl’s for Traci to shop while Thomas and I sat in the car relaxing.

We got back to the bus and got to watch the guys at work. I actually took my laptop to my car and pulled and sent emails wirelessly from the front seat of my car. It is still amazing to me that it works as well as it does. When they were ready they did the tutorial on how to operate the entire system, front to back. I whipped out my digital camera with the built-in video and shot the entire lesson. The system is pretty easy to understand, but I wanted to be sure. It is another amazing technology to me when I can tow my Infiniti four wheels down when the “experts” told me it couldn’t happen. All of this is an investment in the rental gig since I wouldn’t expect anyone to equip their car to be towed. We even purchased an automatic breaking system for the car that will help me stop in an emergency. You can’t be too careful! You also can’t have too many tax deductions!

Off to Sandusky! Again, I have learned a valuable lesson about Yahoo maps! We need to double-check our directions. This time it wasn’t nearly as bad as last, it just cost us about 10 minutes of lost time and diesel. We arrived mid-afternoon and was able to get the car unhooked easily and camp set up quickly. We are glad to be away from the water in Streetsboro! This water doesn’t smell and that is a gift. I was back to work and actually got some important work done from this new town. Opportunities are rolling in and I didn’t miss a single one! We did, however, realize that our DirecTV receiver is dead and they need to bring us a new one. We have the good fortune of camping in a park that has free cable TV service. We had purchased a run of Coax cable just in case, and Thomas was able to enjoy his cartoons this evening without interruption.

The evening was relaxed and Traci and I went to Meijer to get some more wine and food. Off to bed. Good night!

6-23-05: AM Work and PM Dragster!

I worked all morning and we hit Cedar Point in the afternoon. Overall we had a good time, but I had much more fun than Traci and Thomas. We hit the Raptor after a few warm-up rides, and Thomas loved it. That was a good start. However, after a couple of other tame rides (they had the BEST carousel there—it had race horses and it went around at 14 MPH) Traci got a headache. We stopped for lunch at Johnny Rockets—the best experience we have had at that restaurant—hoping that Traci’s headache would clear. Unfortunately it didn’t, and Thomas got tired. We have to build up his endurance! However, I had waited 14 years to come back, and I wasn’t about to give up without a fight! I hit the Millennium, the Mantis and best of all, the Top Thrill Dragster. I was shot 420 feet in the air and returned to earth in a tailspin going 120 MPH. It took us 3 weeks to get there, the wait was about 45 minutes and the ride lasted about 5 seconds, and it was ALL worth it! It was extremely cool. We got back to the bus after dinner, and I caught up on work stuff. Balancing work and play is the theme of this trip, and today was an excellent opportunity to do so!

6-24-05: Work and Putt Putt

Today was a normal work day. I hit it hard, and got a lot of projects closed up. The month is shaping up and there are lots of good things to come next week. Thomas convinced us to go play Putt Putt after work, and we did it. The good news: the course was fun and not too expensive; the bad news: it was 92 degrees out. Thomas ran out of steam at about the 12 th hole and we wrapped up quickly. We went to Coldstone Creamery for desert based on the recommendation of a local. It was a lot like Maggie Moo’s in Indy. It was way too much ice cream, and we probably won’t go back. It’s time to get ready for the trip to Port Huron tomorrow.

6-25-05: Trip to Port Huron and Herbie Reloaded

Today was mostly transport. We got up, got ready, and shoved off to Port Huron, Michigan. It is our half-way point between Sandusky and Toronto, Ontario. Yes, Ontario! We are heading across the border tomorrow after making a flurry of phone calls to finish up some housekeeping and saying goodbye to friends. The cost of Verizon in Canada is $.69 per minute! My cell phone will be off until at least we reach Naigra. My cellular expert out of Chicago said we should be able to get Verizon and Sprint back as domestic service when we are Niagra since we are so close to the border. I hope so! If not, the campground in Toronto has free wireless internet, and I’m going to have my VoIP phone ready to use there. It should be quite the test!

The trip was pretty smooth, except for hitting a huge traffic jam at Detroit. We made through well, and didn’t hit any barriers or other vehicles. I had a gal cut me off as I was changing lanes, and I tried out my gigantic diesel horn. She actually jumped in her seat. The people in the back seat gave me the evil eye, but didn’t dare play chicken with me. At least she knew that I wasn’t happy with her driving.

Once we set up camp and unhooked the Infiniti, we hit Herbie Reloaded. It was a funny movie, and much appreciated by a guy who really likes his car. I don’t expect I’ll ever race mine in a Nascar race, but it was fun. They did a good job updating this classic. There were obviously some impossible tricks in the movie, but my son Thomas loved it. That’s what really matters.

Back to the bus and getting ready for bed.

6-26-05: Trip to Toronto and settling in

We got up and had breakfast in Port Huron and did some housecleaning stuff. We got the oil changed, car washed, and tanked up. Unfortunately we realized that our jack system is leaking again, and it took us a few tries to get the jacks to retract. We won’t be able to get them fixed until New York, so we’ll have to tough it out. Hopefully the next two camp sites are level. We got the Infiniti hooked up quickly (we are getting good at this) and headed across the bridge.

We had been warned that it could take an hour to cross the border into Canada. We crossed the big bridge and stopped at Customs. We saw others going through relatively quickly, and we began to be optimistic. We ended up talking to a very nice lady who asked a bunch of questions about weapons, firewood and our plans for Canada. She quizzed Thomas about his participation, and assured him that if he ever needed them, the border crossing was a “safe” place. She let us through after only a few minutes, and we were on our way! The roads in Canada are better than Michigan, that’s for sure! There was a little construction, but nothing serious. The trip to Toronto was smooth and easy. The directions we had were right on this time, and we weren’t lost for a minute.

We drove into the campground, and were very pleased. They have free internet access (fast too) and they didn’t charge us for Thomas, which is pretty standard in the industry. We think it’s a rip off, but no one cares. With the exchange rate, this was indeed a bargain. The place looks brand new. Even the fire ring next to us has never been used. Everything is clean, the laundry looked new. It’s not very full either. There are a line of big rigs and a bunch of tent camping, but not much else. It’s probably only 25% full, which is very unusual in the summer time.

I know it’s hot in Indiana right now, but it’s also hot in Canada. It hit 95 degrees today. They are having record electricity use in Toronto right now. I didn’t think it got this hot this far north. I guess it’s hot everywhere.

6-27-05: Work and Canada’s King’s Island

I worked until about 2:00 and then we departed for Canada’s King’s Island. It was HOT! I don’t think we have been at another park when it was 95 degrees. I can’t remember being that hot for quite a while. Thank Goodness for sports clothing that keeps you cool. Unfortunately the biggest ride in the park was down for repairs. We still had a great time. We rode their version of Delirium, which is a giant wheel on a giant stick that swings back and forth while it spins slowly. Thomas and Traci loved it.

I think the hit of the day was a ride we didn’t even ride. It’s called Cliffhanger. Two rows of people strap into the system and take off their shoes. The ride rises up, flips over both slowly and quickly, pretty much making you dizzy to the max. At the same time, it sprays the riders with blasts of water. Everyone on the ride pretty much gets soaked. There is lots of screaming, and even the audience gets a little wet. That was the good part, since were roasting. We rode a couple of smaller coasters, but nothing to “write home” about. The most amazing part to my wife and I is that they have no rules regarding apparel. People were wearing just about everything around the park. They have a water park as part of the entrance fee, so everyone wears their swimsuits to the water park and stay in them all day. That includes the skimpiest of bikinis and speedos.

We stopped at a “farmer’s market” on the way back to camp. It was very large, and in a permanent structure. It was on the edge of a farm, which impressed us greatly. However, when we went in, we realized that it is a produce store, but in no way a local farmer’s stand. There were vegetables from Mexico there! I would say the majority of the produce was imported. We did get some Ontario potatoes and zucchini.

We headed back to the bus and had dinner at Tim Hortons, which is a mixture of a Duncan Donuts and a Subway. There are many of them in Michigan as well, so we don’t know if it is a Canadian chain, or a US chain. The food was very good, and their coffee must be as well, but we didn’t get any.

6-28-05: Work and dinner.

I worked most of the day today. The month is shaping up nicely. I am going to take some time off next week for July 4 th at Niagara, so I hope to have a few more things closed up prior to then. After work we went grocery shopping, and found a decent sized town west of here a way. The town closest to us has an IGA and a liquor store, but that’s about it.

The big grocery store was something of a study in sociology for the Bray’s. Everything looked mostly the same to a Marsh or Super Target in the States. The portion that caused the most confusion and discussion was the dairy section. The gallons of milk are presented in 4 liter bags of milk. Not plastic jugs, but plastic bags. They sell reusable plastic pitchers that you use to pour your milk, but no plastic jugs like the States. We were fascinated. We don’t have enough room for more than one big gallon any way, so we ended up buying a half gallon carton. Another point of confusion was the prices on the walls of the produce section listed everything in both price per pound and price per KG. However, when it rang up, it rang it in the KG version. I guess they had to choose one or the other, and since they have the metric system here, they chose metric.

The prices here are decent, comparable to other small towns. The stuff is a bit less than in the States, considering the exchange rate, which at this point is about $.84 per Canadian dollar. However, gas prices are quite a bit higher. They price everything by the liter here, and it’s hovering at about $.85 per liter. That’s about $2.85 per gallon after the break for currency. Wow! Gas is actually a bit MORE expensive than diesel, which is very backwards to the States. We hope not to have to tank up prior to hitting New York state around 7/5. The trip to Niagara is a couple hours drive, for which we have plenty of fuel.

The other piece that has taken some getting used to is having the temperature in Celsius. I can quickly translate KM’s into miles, but it’s taking me a bit more time to do the math on the temperature. I found an easy website that does it for you, so I’m working it out.

There is another observation that Traci and I have made here in Ontario. There is a golf course on just about every exit off the highway. They are everywhere! These Canadians must be avid golfers. There are so many courses, I can’t imagine there being enough people to support them all. The countryside is beautiful, so the courses must be as well. Thomas and I will probably hit a driving range and 9 holes before we leave.

The other landmark around here that has created some conversation is the “family nudist campground” close to here. When we go to Toronto I’ll get a picture of the sign on the way back. We have no interest in going there, so we won’t get live pictures. Sorry folks! However, just the thought of a “family” nudist campground is extremely creepy to us. To me, there is nothing family oriented about a nudist campground. We’ve seen plenty of old men in Speedos in the campgrounds at which we have stayed (as well as King’s Island), and we certainly don’t want to see anything that would be covered by the said Speedo. We saw a post card saying that the mosquito is the official provincial (state) bird of Ontario. I guess these folks would have to take special precautions with their DEET.

Traci just cooked up BBQ chicken and the Canadian veggies and we had a wonderful meal. We purchased a bottle of Canadian wine at the store, and we’ll be enjoying that later.

6-29-05: Ontario Science Center, CN Tower and Richtree Markets

Today was a wonderful day in Toronto. We did the tourist thing big-time today. We ventured down town to visit the Ontario Science Center. It was huge! We were very impressed with the size and scope of the operation. Thomas had a great time. It had a wider scope than the one in Cleveland, and we could have stayed there for two solid days. Fortunately it was part of the same system as the COSI in Columbus, so we got in for free.

We headed down town to the CN tower after the museum. We had heard of the CN Tower, but really didn’t know what it was. It is the tallest stand-alone structure in the world. We went up in the elevator all the way to the 1,485 foot observation tower. It was a dizzying experience. It was overcast, so we could not see very far off the coast, but it was still impressive. They have one part that has a glass floor, and all of the teenagers were jumping up and down on it and frightening their friends. Thomas was barely willing to lay on it and get a picture taken, but he finally agreed (see picture). It was intimidating, even for us veteran roller-coaster fans.

We were starving and looking for a good dinner and we were sent to a place called Richtree Markets by one of the CN workers. It was about a 15 minute walk to the restaurant, but it was worth the effort. We went in and got seated and handed cards to have punched as we went along. Each vendor had different types of food and/or drink available, and we decided what we wanted, and they prepared it fresh in front of us. The prices were actually pretty good, not even considering the exchange rate. Everything was fresh, so it was really good. We ate well and splurged on strawberry cake for dessert. It was the best meal we had in Toronto.

We headed back to the camp ground and got lost for the first time in Toronto. The roads in Toronto are similar to Chicago. We tried to back-track and find the way out the way we came in. However, we didn’t succeed. We ended up going the wrong way on a major highway for about 30 minutes prior to finding our way back. It was a bit stressful, but we made it without major incident. We came back to the buss and went to bed.

6-30-05: Last Day of the Month and on to Niagara

We got up early and shoved off for Niagara. It turns out we had to take the same route to Niagara that we had taken back to the camp ground after getting lost last night. It helped make the trip a bit more familiar. I have to pause to make a couple of observations about life in Canada right here. Firstly, do the Canadians make any of their own cars? We have only seen the standard automobile dealerships we are used to in the states. With one exception, the cars on the roads in Canada are the same ones as on the road in Indiana. I don’t know what I expected, but I thought it would be at least a little different. Not so. Also, what is the British connection with Ontario? They act like they are a British Colony. Everything has Queen Elizabeth in it, even the highways. The QEW is the main highway from Toronto to Niagara, and it’s named after her. All of their money has her picture on it, some as a young lady and others as an old lady. It puzzles us folks from Indiana.

Overall, the trip to Niagara was smooth, with the exception of a few traffic jams. It seems the Canadians don’t give themselves enough time to merge when a lane is ending. In the States, I think we have a mile or more to accomplish that task. Here, everything is in Kilometers, so they only have about 6/10 of a mile (1KM) to do the same thing, and it causes huge back-ups. We would sit in a jam for quite a while only to realize it was just four lanes merging down to three. We made it OK, and found the camp ground relatively easy. The cell coverage here is very poor. I had 30 minutes of solid coverage right after we set up camp, and then I couldn’t get it until we went down to the river. I was able to wrap up the month on a high note, making both my wife and my carriers happy.

This place is kind of like Gatlinburg, TN, but not quite as concentrated. There are scores of little tiny Motels up and down the strip, and amazingly a lot of them are fully booked.

We were also amused by the proliferation of “gentlemen’s clubs” this side of the border. They are everywhere! It must be quite the attraction to all of the visiting Yanks because they are all huge with neon signs. There is even an apparel store nearby that caters exclusively to dancers. I tried to get Traci to let me take her in there or take her picture in front of it, but she declined both offers strenuously. Darn!

7-1-05: Big Day at the Falls!

Happy Canada Day! Today was the big day at Niagara. We purchased tickets to the big attractions and did the official tourist stuff. We even rode in a double-decker bus! I got lots of pictures and it was indeed a blast. We started out by going to the “Whirlpool”, which is a natural happening here, where the Niagara river goes into a big bowl and makes a 90 degree right turn. In the middle of the bowl is sometimes a huge whirlpool. This time it wasn’t as obvious, but it was still very cool. The Aero Car was down for the day due to heavy winds, so we’ll have to come back and do it on Sunday.

The next event was the “Flower Clock”. It was pretty, but not a huge deal. Their love of their gardens in Niagara runs deep. They are very proud of them. We left there and went to the greenhouse where they grow all of the plans to plant around the place. The “park” area covers over 4000 acres, all owned by the Canadian Government.

After that we went to the “Journey Behind the Falls”. This was the lesser of the two incredible experiences for the day. We went down elevators to tunnels behind the Canadian side of the Horseshoe Falls. In this equation Canada got the best of the deal, hence why everyone told us to camp on the Canadian side (The exchange rate is good too.). The view from the Observation deck (see picture) is closer to the huge Falls than is the US side. It seems like we can just reach out and touch them. 34 million gallons per minute is quite a site. We had seen all of this on a Travel Channel program, and feared they would make it seem bigger than it is. Fortunately that is impossible. It was one of the coolest things ever.

We then went to the Big Event, the Maid of the Mist. We got in a large boat with 300 other people (fortunately we were close to the front of the line, so we got to the front of the boat, Titanic-style) and headed off for the Falls. We had watched this from the road several times, and expected it to be cool. We had heard about it from friends, and seen the Travel Channel show, but were not prepared for the experience. We had our complimentary ponchos on, but they only stayed in place for a while. The obvious impact of the ride is the actual water coming off of the falls. The mist travels several hundred feet up and down river, sometimes interrupting traffic flow in the winter. The not-so-expected factors were the wind and the sound. I know the falls are loud, but I had no expectation of the impact of all three factors at once. It was amazing. It was also hard to breathe, because I knew I was breathing in lake water the whole time. It was 15 minutes I will never forget as long as I live. Traci feels the same way. (see picture) Thomas liked it, but wasn’t as impressed as we were. Once the boat turned down stream, we were back in no time.

Once that was done, we jumped back on the bus and came back to the camp ground. We had a few hours to rest and eat before going to the Canada Day (like our July 4 th) fireworks that evening. We did get some pictures of the Falls lit up by big spot lights, but it wasn’t as exciting as people made it out to be. We strolled down the river, and ended up on a curb about 10 minutes prior to show time. It turns out we could not have picked a better spot from which to watch the show. The style was a bit different than shows in the US as far as bomb types and tempo, but it was still a great show. There was a symphony right behind us playing music to match the sequence. On the way back to the car I realized I lost Traci’s cell phone during the fireworks. I don’t think anyone lifted it, but just in case I called Verizon when we got back and suspended the account. We’ll get another phone once we get to Buffalo, NY on Tuesday. I’ll be glad to have cell coverage and wireless internet back.

7-2-05: Rest and Relax

We used today to do housework and rest up. We did laundry, dishes and just chilled out a bit. We ate at a restaurant called Mick and Angelo’s. It was a local Italian restaurant and was it excellent! It was a bit pricey, but it was wonderful, and the portions were huge. We both brought home more than half of our meal for leftovers. We are making our plans for the next leg of the trip. This is as far as we had planned prior to leaving, and now we’re making it up as we go. We have reservations in Disney in November, and that is the next thing we’re committed to. As we go along we have to check on cell coverage from both Verizon and Sprint. We have learned a valuable lesson in our two weeks in Canada. I was still able to work, but was frustrated by the lack of connectivity.

7-3-05: Marathon Bike Ride and our first medical event

Today is kind of a “free” day in the Bray Road Trip. We normally don’t have three weekend days in the same park, but this week we do. Since tomorrow is July 4 th, I won’t have to work, and we aren’t leaving until the 5 th. We hit the big stuff already, and are just knocking around the camp ground.

The one thing about which I must pontificate today is “the camp ground as a destination”. Here we are in Niagara Falls, one of the true wonders of the World, with at least a week or two of solid sight seeing opportunities with experiences that one may never forget for their whole life. However, when we look out at all of the people that are milling around this camp ground, I would swear they never leave the place. There are 400 sites in this camp ground, and most of them are full. The camp ground certainly doesn’t want the people to leave, and they went to great lengths to prevent that from happening, and I think it worked. The (Hawaiian) agenda for the weekend included Hawaiian Crafts, Limbo Contest, Scavenger Hunt, Wagon Rides, Hawaiian Bingo (whatever that means), Hula Contest, Family Fruit Relay, a Beach Party with a Live Band (until Midnight!!! Right across from OUR Bus!!!), a Coloring Contest, Hula Hoop Contest, Costume Contest and a showing of The Pacifier (movie). Their employees even performed as a steel drum band each day from 2-4 PM. Everyone is up at the crack of dawn (we could hear them) and they stay up late at night, and the whole time they are sitting outside of their campers shooting the (90 degree) breeze. Everyone has a camp fire every night and the smell of smoke is thick. The other piece is that everyone walks everywhere, and they don’t give a hoot that they are strolling down the middle of the road in their flip flops and speedos in front of a 40 foot diesel pusher trying to get to its slip. Then, just to make things as complicated as possible, they rent out these incredibly dangerous three-wheel bicycles that are no taller than 48 inches. The kids zip around at high speeds in and out of traffic, not heeding any obvious RV related dangers. No one seems to care, but as far as we know, no one has been seriously injured (while we were here) on these glorified skateboards.

We did decide, however to go for a bike ride today. It wasn’t too hot, so we hopped on the bikes and headed for the Falls (3 miles away). The lay of the land is that between us and the Falls is one giant hill, hence the poor cellular reception. We rode about 1.5 miles up the hill, which wasn’t too tough, since we are on the smaller side of the hill. Thomas was a bit frustrated by the time we hit the top, but we all made it with flying colors. At that point, we had to stop and get some cash. We can use our debit card at ATM’s here and most don’t charge a fee, which shocked us. The exchange rate is automatically figured, so our $100 withdrawal shows up in the checking account as $80, very cool! Since we were on bikes, I had to walk up to the ATM. I did not notice that there was a car parked in the other ATM lane, full of younger adults playing loud music. Just as I started my transaction, a 20-something male stepped out from the back of the ATM and, let’s say, invaded my “personal ATM space” very quickly. Needless to say, it frightened me. I looked back at Traci, making sure I had my back covered in case of an altercation. Fortunately the girlfriend of the young man stepped out behind him, which was a good sign. I got my cash, pocketed it and took off. It was a good lesson learned. I need to check the environment before I hit the cash machine from now on. From that point, we simply rode down hill and tried not to hit anyone on the sidewalk. We made it to the Falls, and it was beautiful, as usual. We hung out in the park for a while and had ice cream. We decided to make the trek back to the camp ground, and boy, was it a challenge. Thomas needed me to walk his bike up the giant hill right by the river but after that we were on our way. At the top of the last hill, Thomas was just about out of steam, so we stopped at Tim Horton’s for lunch. The ride down the sloping hill back to the camp ground was fun, except for the occasional stop for a car turning right into a parking lot.

Meanwhile, back at the camp ground, Thomas was on his bicycle racing a younger child on his mini-bicycle, when the youngster decided to play a dirty trick and cut Thomas off as they were heading for the finish line. Thomas T-Boned him and flew off of his bike, his knee catching most of his weight (see picture). I applied anti-bacterial ointment, and he limped around the rest of the night. All in all, he survived his first big spill pretty well. No doctor’s visit needed, thank Goodness.

7-4-05: Happy Independence Day!

Today we felt like we needed to do something to celebrate July 4 th. We knew we would be wrapping up tonight to shove off tomorrow, so we couldn’t be out late to see fire works. We decided to head off to wine country north of the Falls to a place called Ontario on the Lake. The tour guide had told us that Winston Churchill said that the drive was the most beautiful in the world. We couldn’t argue with Winston! We headed off with no particular end in mind, although we knew we wanted to stop and buy some wine along the way. The drive was indeed beautiful. About every 100 yards someone drove their car up on the grass and were picnicking and enjoying the view of the river. I was surprised this was allowed. The views of the river were outstanding. We hit a winery and did some tasting, with Thomas in tow. They not only allow children in liquor stores here, but they encourage it. They offered Thomas some grape juice, but he respectfully declined. We got out two bottles of local stuff, and headed north.

We were just pulling into the quaint little town of Ontario on the Lake and oogling at all of the huge homes in the area when we spied a huge wooden fort. We parked and headed toward it, thinking Thomas would like it. It turns out that it was Fort George, used by the British and Canadian forces during the War of 1812. Since I know nothing at all about the War of 1812, I was clueless. We grabbed lunch at a small local shop and then moved our car over to the Fort and parked there. We did a walking tour of the Fort, learning lots about the war and times of a soldier.

The highlight of the tour was a musket demonstration by a chap named Peter. He was indeed an expert in both musketry as well as all war history. He has worked there for 25 years, starting at age 13 in the Fife and Drum Corp. He was incredible. He explained where the term “lock, stock and barrel” originated (the three parts of the musket) and also “flash in the pan” (a misfire of a musket). He showed how the musket operated, how they loaded it, and why they are so inaccurate. He actually got it loaded and shot it within 15 seconds. It was incredible. He also explained that they had no use for camouflage because due to the excess of smoke on the battlefield, they needed to be able to identify friend from foe. The inaccurate nature of the musket required them to line up in long lines to shoot at their enemy, because they had to lay down a blanket of lead since no one or few shots were accurate enough to hit anything. He said the American Civil War revolutionized warfare because the technology of the bullets and rifling made guns much more accurate.

After that we hit the rest of the buildings and got some education about living conditions and hit the gift shop. We bought some books and headed back to the bus. It was about 90 degrees, and I felt so sorry for the folks who worked there since they were dressed in several layers of clothing native to the time period.

After that we hit the Falls again just to look around and try to find a T-Shirt that we had spied earlier in the week. Unfortunately they had sold out. It just so happens that a local 65 year-old gentleman (we call him Luke Skywalker) makes his living walking a high wire between the local casino and another hotel next door. We got to see him do his thing, and it was pretty cool. Our necks hurt so we had to move on. We grabbed dinner and headed back to the bus. We have some chores to do prior to leaving in the morning.

My pontification for today is Annabella’s Massage Parlor across the road from the camp ground. I believe the laws in Canada regarding “adult” activities are a bit more liberal than in the States, but I didn’t think it extended to massage parlors. They not only have a huge sign out front advertising the nature of the business, but they also draw in patrons by having young (loosely labeled) ladies cantering about on the huge wooden deck out front in bikinis and very high heels. There are several mattresses on the deck where I suppose the “massages” take place. All of this is taking place right across the street from a huge family campground teeming with children. Usually American spas are places of tranquility with calming music, aromatherapy and clean white sheets. I don’t think that having a massage on a nasty mattress outdoors on the edge of a busy four-lane road by a bikini-clad strip-club reject would be very relaxing. Maybe it’s just me. Now we’re off to Bar Harbor, Maine. We will be on the road for about three days, boon docking at Wal Marts along the way.

7-5-05: Back in the USA! Stop in Batavia for a water leak.

We got up relatively early preparing to go across the border back into the States. We had been warned (by whom I don’t remember—note to self not to listen to them again) that the trip across the border would take an hour or more as there would be a huge line and they would search our entire vehicle. We drove across the Rainbow Bridge headed for Buffalo expecting the worse, but experiencing the best. The line was short, and moving quickly. The drug dogs were pacing up and down the lines of cars checking everything out. Once we got to the booth, the policeman came aboard to check out our stuff. He asked a bunch of questions, including how long we had been in Canada. We actually forgot and told him since the 30 th! We went suddenly brain-dead. He asked Thomas if he was really our child, asking if he was coming across voluntarily. Everything checked out, so in about 20 minutes we were headed down the highway on the US side. What is funny is that the guy told us the toll-booth down the highway would take our Canadian currency. When we got there the toll was $1.75 US and we gave her a Canadian $5. She gave me a really cheesy smile as she gave me my $.75 in change back. We knew we had been ripped off, and she knew it too. We were happy to be rid of the Monopoly money, but decided the rest of it would hit the scrapbook.

We hit Batavia, NY (about an hour away) expecting to work a bit and hit the local Six Flags park in the evening. We realized as we parked at Camp Wal Mart that we had a fresh water tank leak, and that it was coming out so quickly that we would not make it to Bangor without hitting a camp ground each night. That was no good so we headed off to the local Home Depot. I have to say that Home Depot has been almost as friendly as Camp Wal Mart, and in one case in Port Huron, MI, they were better. Wal Mart would not give us fresh water because they said they had a water bill to consider. I almost returned the groceries we had just purchased, but instead, smiled and left. They have saved us big $$ on this trip thus far, so I moved on. Lowes said no as well, and the third call was to Home Depot. They said “no problem, come on over”. Back in Batavia, we had no other choice for “home” repairs. The valve Fleetwood put in our bus was lame to say the least. I had used it all of 10 times since we bought the bus, and the handle broke and it would not hold water. Fortunately it wasn’t the black tank for all of you Dave Matthews Band fans out there (they dumped their Black tanks off of a bridge in Chicago recently and rained down their refuse on a boat full of tourists), but fresh water is very important. We called an RV repair shop in town and although they could not come help us, they told us what to do. Armed with my new knowledge and a spirit of adventure, we headed out. We found the plumbing department, and after a few New York Minutes of looking, I decided to cut to the chase and flag down a worker. Unfortunately she changed our course immediately and decided that plugging the offending pipe was better than doing it the way the RV dealer recommended. I nodded my head like a puppy and we searched for the parts to complete the task. I had measured the pipe, so I thought I had enough information to succeed. After three trips back and a couple hours later, the original recommendation worked and we were set for fresh water. Fortunately this time Wal Mart let us fill up again, and we could take showers. Unfortunately by this time the trip to Six Flags was cancelled so we wrapped up and went to bed.

7-6-05: Rochester, NY for new phone.

We headed East on I90 headed for Albany, NY where we were to spend the night at Camp Wal Mart for our second of three nights. We are getting very comfortable camping in this manner. As long as we have enough fresh water, we are truly good to go. We find that most if not all nights, we are among several RV’s in any given Camp Wal Mart, and most of the time, the others are bigger than ours, which is comforting in some strange way.

Those of you who know me well, you know that my phone is my constant companion, sometimes to the chagrin of my family. Well, my trusty cell phone died once again, and wiped out all of my data. This time I couldn’t restore it. I was without my extensive phone list, and unable to make many personal or business calls because I simply didn’t have the numbers any more. Plus, that phone’s batteries are horrible. I have gone through several in the time I have had it, and I had just had enough. Since we had to go to the Verizon store in Batavia to get Traci’s new phone (I lost hers on Canada Day) I thought I would check out the models for one for me. I found one I really liked, called a Treo 600, but they were out of stock. I called Verizon and found that the only store that had one (since the NEW 650 had come out, with no additional features I wanted) was in Rochester, NY. Fortunately that was on our way, sort of, so we took the exit and headed for the store. While I was buying my phone (Verizon stores are always slow and overloaded, and this one was no exception) Traci and Thomas went to the used video game store close by. It was a Thomas Paradise. He loved it, and asked the gamer dude lots of questions. Gamer Dude asked Traci why we were in town, because he said “no one comes to Rochester. You either live here or you don’t see it.” He said the pollution was the worst in the country or something like that, and that everyone in Rochester was going to die of cancer. Thomas got a “vintage” Game Boy game and was thrilled.

We headed back out on the road again, headed for Albany. We stopped at service plazas along the way to stretch our legs and for me to pull email and make some calls. I can talk on the cell phone while driving the bus, but it is still a struggle and I would rather not do it. It still amazes me that we can stop and plug in most any where and still be in touch. Traci had used Map Quest to find our next Camp Wal Mart in Albany. We took the appropriate exit, made some turns and found ourselves in a very bad part of town. For the first time I thought I would turn down Camp Wal Mart. Well, it wasn’t there! The directions took us to down town Albany, right by the Government Center. There were museums and office buildings, but no Camp Wal Mart. Highly frustrated, we stopped in a long line of parking spaces near the Government Center (it was nearly dark at this point), hit 411 and called the Wal Mart in question. It turns out that the Camp Wal Mart was at 146 Washington AvenueExtension, NOT 146 Washington Avenue, which was down town Albany. The Wal Mart Atlas we have didn’t say anything about an Extension, which is “up town”. I drove the bus through very hilly and narrow city streets with car in tow, which was an experience that both scared me and built my self-confidence. At least I didn’t hit anyone.

We got directions to our correct destination and got lost trying to get out of down town. With a couple of more calls and about two extra hours total, we were finally there. However, we encountered something we had not previously encountered with the towing system: the battery in the Infiniti died. We had to call the motor club to come jump the car in the morning so we could head on to Bangor, ME. We figured out that my Infiniti is just a little bit different in towing than other cars. In order for the breaking system to work, I have to leave the key in the ACC position, which also activates the automatic headlights if they aren’t manually turned off. The lights were on, and it didn’t hit me because I thought the entire car was powered by the bus. Another learning experience.

7-7-05: Oh, Deer!

Today was a marathon driving day. We drove from Albany, NY to Waterville, ME. All in all, we drove about 6 hours today. We were tired of travel and just wanted to get to Camp Wal Mart in Bangor, ME. Well, for most of the day, we just did the New York, Mass and Maine Turnpikes. We actually touched 4 states. We stopped at truck stops for a while and I worked in between. I managed to get some stuff done, and answered some calls. It’s getting old, and that’s why we decided to push until Bangor rather than stopping after the normal four hour stint. However, Mother Nature had different plans. Last night, while in bed, I caught up on an old Men’s Health magazine from April. The issue was huge, as usual, with everything that a man should know about life, health and relationships. I know I sound like a commercial, but I mean it. It’s the best magazine ever. There was a funny article in there about deer accidents. The wit was good, and I actually read it to Traci out loud. The author explained the best way to handle a deer accident. He said not to try to dodge a deer, because many more people get killed dodging deer than get hurt hitting deer. He said to square up, hold the wheel tight, hit the brakes and punt the deer off of the road. We were driving at 10:30 pm local time up I95 near Ellington, ME when Bambi decided to do a little dance in the middle of the road. We were alone on the road, but it was very dark. The article jumped into my head. I held on tight, hit the brakes and pow! the deer went flying. Traci screamed, and Thomas, looking up from his Game Boy, said “what happened?”. The deer decided to take my right front headlight array and about an 18 inch square of fiberglass with it into the ditch. I didn’t stop, because now there was a truck behind us. I went on to the next exit, with a distinct knock in the front-end. I feared that Bambi had lodged itself under the bus and I would go out to find fur and blood every where.

At the next street light above an exit, we stopped on the slow side of the exit to inspect the damage. I grabbed a flashlight and cringed. The hole was impressive, and the bump was actually the turn-signal flapping in the wind. I grabbed a bungee and wedged it in tight. I reluctantly looked under the bus and to my delight and surprise, there was no structural damage to the bus. The entire front façade of the bus will need to be replaced, but the very expensive generator just behind it was untouched. The deer had flown free and had NOT gone under the bus nor had it hit the Infiniti, which was another big fear. All in all, it was a clean hit, and the bus was still drivable, with only one headlight and two fog lights to work with. In Low Beam status, all three lights were on, but the left headlight was now pointing down toward the ground, so the road immediately in front of the bus was illuminated but nothing very far down the road. The other choice was one high-beam and no fog lights, which looked like a cone of light about 15 feet straight down the road and nothing to the sides. It was very eery. We decided to hit the nearest Camp Wal Mart for the night. We made one wrong turn and found ourselves on what Thomas nicknamed “dead-end drive”. It’s hard enough to maneuver this rig in small towns, but at night on a pitch black stretch of road with no headlights it’s almost impossible. Fortunately we found an intersection where the road did indeed go to a “T” and we swung it wide to the left and got back to the highway with no harm. We found Camp Wal Mart, put out the slides, hit the generator and chilled our frayed nerves. There would be no Bangor tonight.

7-8-05: Cross-Country RV’ing and Bar Harbor

We hit the road, still slightly upset about the night before and headed for Bar Harbor. Little did I know that a deer accident is considered a “comprehensive” claim by GMAC Insurance, and therefore won’t count against my record. Shew! I am much relieved by that knowledge. I thought I saw 5 years of perfect driving go down the drain with Bambi. We hit 1A, which is the coast road heading for Bar Harbor and our KOA for the weekend. Fortunately we stopped at a truck stop just before 1A and filled up and dumped our tanks. Boy, were we glad we did that! About half way through 1A, the highway disappeared and became, literally, a dirt road. Unlike in Indiana, where I assume our construction companies don’t like to be held liable, and/or they know what they are doing, this construction company threw the baby out with the bath water! They didn’t just skim off the top layer of asphalt to re-pave, they dug it all up! We went what seemed like a hundred miles on an uneven and extremely rough dirt road. What was worse, is that traffic was going both ways on this path, and the lanes were not even. Some spots favored our lane, others favored oncoming traffic. The bus was twisting and turning like a huge caterpillar. I think we actually sprung a leak due to that terrible road. We’ll add that to the list for the repair shop Monday. I could not imagine driving on that road when it was raining. Thank Goodness it was dry for our trip across Maine circa 1870. I’m glad we tanked up before hand, because even though the distance wasn’t enough to chew through 40 gallons of diesel, we didn’t have to worry about it either.

Once we got to the KOA, there was a bit of confusion as to where our slip was. One guy said we were in 131, and another guy said there was no such slip. It turns out that they were so jammed, they put us in the employee section of the camp. We got the bus (we nick-named her Brown Bess, or Bessie for short) in OK, but realized the water hookup was 25 feet away to the opposite side of the bus, and the electric was about 15 feet away on the correct side. After fighting off the dive-bomb mosquitoes, I finally got the hoses hooked up, with no length to spare. A hose I purchased a Home Depot was so terrible I decided to discard it. It was only $5. I now know that I need to purchase another hose for this situation. Our cord for the power was entirely sufficient. Since all they had available was a 30 amp site, we could only run one A/C unit, or the microwave, or the hair dryer at once. It’s a tough life, I know. We are used to this boon docking thing after this week, so we hooked up the sewer, but left the tanks closed, trying to determine the likely fill rate for the future.

However, we don’t have Internet. Sprint doesn’t come this far over to the sea, and that is not a good thing. Fortunately I’ve only lost a half of a work day, and my phone works great. Flexibility is the key to success!

We ventured out of the bus down to the “beach” to check out the sites. It was very foggy all day, but it was still beautiful. We had a smooth boat-ramp like hill going to the edge of the water, with thousands of rocks to choose from. Thomas asked me to show him how to skip rocks, and fortunately many perfect throwing rocks were provided. After about a half hour of demonstrations and lectures on skip-ology, Thomas pretty much perfected his throw. He got one to go about 20 feet with 5 skips. He was thrilled. Now every pile of rocks is inspected to find flat, round stones fit for skipping.

We headed into Bar Harbor, after making a reservation with a whale/puffin/lighthouse watching boat tour for Saturday. It was very beautiful, in a dreamy kind of way. Thomas described the fog as being “bright darkness”. I thought it was an amazing description by an almost 10-year-old. We walked around looking at the main dock area where from which we would depart for the trip. We hit some shops close by and decided to head to dinner since the rain was starting. We ate at Pat’s Pizza, a local joint that had pizza, pasta and fish. I enjoyed my Haddock meal, fish which tastes like Cod, but maybe even more mild. Traci had lasagna and Thomas had his normal chicken fingers and fries. He is going to sprout feathers on this trip! We headed back to the bus to wrap up the day.

7-9-05: Rain, Rain, Go Away!

It rained all night last night, and it’s raining all day today. The boat tour was cancelled for today. What a bummer! What do you do when you don’t have to work and it’s raining all day? We went to a movie! There is a tiny little movie theatre in Elsworth, ME that had first-run movies. We were amazed. They had Fantastic 4 and War of the Worlds. We hit Fantastic 4. It was pretty good. Thomas loved it, and that’s what was most important. The plot left something to be desired. Fortunately all of the suggestive jokes went over Thomas’ head. When the Invisible Woman was convinced to take off all of her clothes in the middle of a crowd and suddenly became visible in her underwear, Thomas thought it was gross. Let’s keep it that way for a little longer. He will be 10 in August. J

After the movie, we went for a drive to Bar Harbor looking for post cards and a pet shop affectionately known as Bark Harbor. Thomas liked it, but it made him miss his dog. Traci bought some treats for the pooches back home, let’s hope they make it in one piece! We ate lunch in a restaurant called Route 66 in the shopping district. It was obviously themed after the famous road, with lots of memorabilia about cars and the 50’s. There was a doorbell in the men’s restroom that had a sign under it that said “push button for maximum pleasure”. I didn’t even notice it when I went in there (Traci wasn’t surprised) but the waiter told the next table about it. Thomas insisted on going in to try it out. It is hooked to an old car horn that blares so everyone on the first floor can hear it. Everyone who works there thinks it’s funny. It reminded me of the bathroom we went into at a private restaurant/museum in San Diego on an SBC trip a couple of years ago. Right above the urinal the owner