The following Friday rolls around and we are on our way across the border to New York State.  A cousins’ reunion near Albany is the perfect excuse to get on the road and squeeze in a mini-adventure.  We want to use the campervan as much as we can before taking it on a longer trip so that we can make any modifications that we feel are needed and identify any potential issues with it.  We are taking stock of what we like and what doesn’t work for us in the van and would like to try and use all of the systems to make sure that everything is working fine.  After all, we bought a new van so that we don’t have to deal with breakdowns, but we are realistic and know that shit happens…

We love the mesh screen on the side door.  It’s a new feature for 2019 and is very effective.  It’s not the cheap, useless magnetic screen that you buy in the “As Seen On TV” stores , but rather a heavy-duty, good quality screen that actually works!  Kudos to Carado/Hymer for this!

I already raved about the heater, but I should add that the air conditioner works really well as well although a bit loudly.  We don’t usually sleep with the air conditioner on at night, so I don’t think that it will be an issue.

The cabinets are okay other than the latches mentioned in the previous post, but we do see room for modification:  additional shelving, Instead of the large space for hanging clothes, which we don’t really need.  Some awkwardly located cabinets and access to space need modification. We also need to make a “perch” for the dog between the 2 front captain seats so that she is a bit elevated and can see the road.  That a lot of of stuff to do! I will post photos of the process and link them for those interested.  But, for now back to our trip.

So this will be our first border crossing in the campervan.  We were a bit worried, especially regarding the food situation.  What can we actually bring across the border with us?  We know that we can’t bring meat, fruits, vegetables, rice, and lots of other products, but I read that you can bring cooked meals for personal consumption.  We decided to take just a couple of cooked meals (smart pot meatballs), and see what happens.  The key is to let them know what you have with you.

The RV in front of us was boarded by the border officers and they were pulled aside, but we were only asked a couple of questions.  We told them about our meatballs and were told to drive on and have a good weekend.  Thanks.  We will.

First destination was to Watkins Glen, which was a bit of a detour, but we wanted to see it.  We got there a few days after a really bad flood and the trail was partially closed, the water was a murky, raging brown colour, and the sky were going to open up again.  Nonetheless, the short walk we went on was pretty.

We left home later than we planned and it was getting rather late.  Yes, we do need to have a good system for leaving in an efficient way if we want to go on frequent short trips, but having a catastrophic computer meltdown contributed this time.  Hopefully, we’ll be better at it next time.  I am working on a master departure list. The NAV in the van wasn’t working and only later we figured out that you can’t do much with it when driving.  Safety first…

we did end up in a small state park, Oquaga Creek State Park, but a bit too tired to cook the prepared meatballs, we just had some bread and cheese and went to sleep almost right away.  Well, about that: the van was at a bit of a slant.  Maybe 2 degrees, which is hardly noticeable, but one of us didn’t sleep very well.  I know.  The princess and the pea comes to mind, but I am sure that I’ll get used to it.  Note.  We should get those levelers just in case…

The reunion at North Greenbush was awesome, but we were eager to get back on the road and head towards the Adirondacks so we left as soon as we could.  We drove on one of the pretty Scenic Byways to Lake Durant and this time we got there at a decent time to enjoy a nice meal with the lake as our backdrop.  There is something about being near the water that just makes you feel good!  The next morning we had our first, much dreaded experience emptying the black water tank. No real issues other than trying to fit the hose back in its compartment. More about this and how we solved the issue in a future post.

We drove the rest of the Scenic Byway to Cedar Point State Park.  I have to say that the American State Parks are much more relaxed than their Canadian counterparts.  A bit cheaper too!  The kid at the booth recommended a campsite and it was an awesome campsite perched on a hill overlooking Lake Ontario equipped with glorious sunset/sunrise.  Perfect!  The rest of the park is pretty much an RV park where all of the sites are very close together so we felt super fortunate to get this spot.  It felt like we are there by ourselves!

We watched the sunset as our sandstone coloured campervan basked in the glow.

Made dinner.  Yup, meatballs.

Sat by the fire, slept well, and woke up to a glorious sunrise. We can really get used to this!

We took our time going back home.  Stopped for some seriously delicious fish and chips and fish tacos at Dianne’s Fish Shack & Smokehouse and walked around downtown Kingston for a bit.

An impulse detour that took us via the free Glenora ferry to Prince Edward County just because we could, and then the highway home.

We weren’t in a hurry to get back home, but we really wanted to started on the projects that will make this camper van even more awesome.

BY THE NUMBERS: 

• Distance driven: 1,679 km
• Average fuel consumption: 7.2 km/l (19.9 mpg)
• Cost (gas, camping fees, entry fees, restaurants): C$410

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