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Old 08-03-2019, 09:50 AM   #1
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Florida to Canada road trip

Leaving tomorrow on a trip we've wanted to do for quite some time. At our ages, we need to do it while we still can. Heading north from home in Florida, taking our time and meandering our way, at about 300 miles per day (getting there is half the fun) with the ultimate destination being Canada and Nova Scotia. Expect to be on the road the entire month of August and, if it suits us, adding another week or so. Louie, our wonder dog, will be providing our protection. He's excited as he's always wanted to visit eastern Canada; lots of trees to mark up there. Expecting to visit family and friends in NH, up state NY and VA, on the way up and back. Plan to spend time in the Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island areas, while up there.
So, that's our story and we're sticking to it!

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Old 08-03-2019, 10:59 AM   #2
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Sounds like a great trip. Post pictures along the way.
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Old 08-03-2019, 11:10 AM   #3
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Prince Edward Islands is awesome. Hope your bringing your bikes. Beaches and trails there are the best.
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Old 08-03-2019, 12:13 PM   #4
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It’s beautiful up here in Nova Scotia. Have a great trip.
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Old 08-03-2019, 12:26 PM   #5
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Doing that route next summer, safe travels. let us know any good campgrounds.
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Old 08-03-2019, 12:31 PM   #6
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PEI is beautiful, and it's a 'free' ride in, but just be prepared for the CA$70 return toll over the only bridge OFF the island!
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Old 08-03-2019, 06:37 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by mannclan View Post
Doing that route next summer, safe travels. let us know any good campgrounds.
Depend on how you want to go and how long you want to take and what kind of campgrounds you want to stay in. We hate I95 so we head up I75 out of Florida and get off at Macon, Ga to Athens and then up to Asheville, NC (worth a couple of day stop). There are several Forest Service CGs SW of Asheville and a bunch of National park ones on the Blue Ridge Parkway all the way up to the DC area. On the way up to New England, campgrounds are sparse when you get close to NY, so we usually stay at one of the state parks around Clinton, Pa. On your way thru Maine, Arcadia NP is worth a several day stop and just over the border in Canada the beautiful little town of St Stephens has a campground right on the water within walking distance of the town. A little further on there is a beautiful Provincial Park on the Bay of Fund (New River Beach). If you are taking the ferry from St. John to Digby, NS, there is a county campground overlooking St. John.

Just some of our favorites.
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Old 08-06-2019, 10:40 AM   #8
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Sounds exactly what we are thinking, thanks.
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Old 08-06-2019, 12:52 PM   #9
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Thanks for the suggestions, we’ll check them out.
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Old 08-28-2019, 09:40 AM   #10
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Cool Back home again

Arrived back home 2 days ago...just in time for hurricane Dorian's coming arrival!
First, as a frequent critic of Thor and it's products, I have to say that our Axis performed almost flawlessly over our 24 day, 4700+ mile venture. Only issue was the 'check engine' light that came on and went off twice, for as yet still unknown reason(s). Whatever it was couldn't have been much because it never affected it's running, mileage, etc. Speaking of mileage, we averaged, overall, about 9.7 mpg. Worst tank full average was 9.3, in mountains. Best was 10.4 in the flatlands of SC, GA & FL. No toad.
As to the trip, overall it was good. But, have to say, a bit disappointing, which was partly our fault. We didn't do much planning. Altho we wanted to do this trip for several years, when we decided to go, we, with our old dog, Louie, basically just jumped in the Axis and left. No attraction or RV park reservations, deadlines or schedules. And, not having all that really wasn't a problem. I think our ages played a part in some of our disappointment. At 75 and 72, we just ain't up to a lot of what we used to do and enjoy, anymore. Driving is a good example. In past years of RV'ing, knocking out 500 miles per day was easy. Now, after about 5 to 6 hrs behind the wheel, I'm done. So, that limits you to 250 to 300 miles per day.
As to the disappointing aspects of the trip, first were the road conditions in PA, NY state, VT, NH and Maine. Many are no less than horrible, with patches on patches, potholes in larger potholes and large, uneven gaps in the expansion joints, especially where they join brides. I'm sure that if I went to a dentist, they'd find several loose fillings in my teeth! The sorry conditions of our American roadways is sharply contrasted by the great and almost perfect roadways we encountered, once we arrived in Canada. I don't know if Canada builds better roads to begin with and/or maintains them better or if there's less heavy truck traffic up there, but Canada's roads are, to say the least, much better.
Another disappointment was the distances between things we wanted to see in Canada. Canada is a big country, with large spances of beautiful countryside but it seemed like everything was 200 to 300 miles away...or, for us, basically a day's drive. Not having a toad aggravated this issue. After spending several days in both New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, we scrubbed our plan to head up to Cape Breton. Just getting there and back would have been 5 more days of driving. So, we missed that.
Another 'surprise' for us that probably could have been discovered with better planning on our part, was the prices of campgrounds in the upper US states and Canada. Due to the harsh winters, campgrounds and RV parks only have about a 6 month season annually. Most close sometime between the end of Sept. and mid-Oct. So, they seem to basically double their prices, to make up for their 'downtime'. Again, we can be our own worst enemies, because we generally don't seek out the least expensive alternatives. Usually, once we arrive at a park, we'll stay, irregardless of the price. As an example, in upstate NY, we paid $40 for an overnight stay in a state park.
Fuel in Canada is sold by the liter, with the price averaging around $1.29 (Canadian) per liter. Yes, you wind up with an Imperial gallon, which is about 5 quarts, but you're still paying close to $5 per gal, Canadian or about $4 per gal, US. As we've learned to do from our travels in other foreign countries, we just put everything on a credit card and let the credit card company figure out the actual US costs of whatever we buy. Just easier that way.
And, the final disappointment was our expectations. Having been to Peggy's Cove, near Halifax, NS, several times over the years, I guess we expected all the little fishing villages throughout Canada to be quaint, beautiful and picturesque like the the "Cove". Well, most of the ones we visited were modern, mechanized and commercialized. I'm sure its good for their industry but, they seemed no different than any other commercial fishing operation you'd see here in America. And, to us, at least, not worth a day's drive to go see.
So, with my DW not appreciating camping and RV'ing as much as I do, relatives to visit on our way home, in both NH and VA, we nosed the Axis South and slowly worked our way back home. Again, overall, it was good. And, it was great that everything mechanical and electronic worked well throughout the trip. But, we've decided that, given our ages and all the other factors, from now on, any long distance trips we'll take will be to fly, rent a car and stay in hotels.
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Old 08-28-2019, 02:02 PM   #11
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Thanks for the update, glad all went well and safe. Getting ready for storm also.
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Old 08-28-2019, 08:10 PM   #12
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Pick up a new gas cap...most likely that is what's causing the erratic check engine light.
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Old 08-28-2019, 09:25 PM   #13
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Glad to hear you had a good trip and are back safe. Your engine light might well be the gas cap, however my 2016 Axis has alway been very sensitive to wet humid weather with the engine light sporadically lighting in these conditions, especially right after thunderstorms.
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Old 08-31-2019, 11:54 PM   #14
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Hey, OldChief, thanks for that report. We took our Vegas and tow car to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia a couple of years ago, including the Cape Breton drive. We found the roads up there just as bad as the ones you mentioned in the states. Agree, US infrastructure has been ignored too long.

Our travels are made much easier by having a car in tow, limiting the miles covered in a day, and planning in relax days. Like you said, 250 to 300 miles is about average, 350 to 400 a long day. We really enjoying having a car to go exploring, and for finding a restaurant at the end of the day.

We have paid some crazy high prices for planned summer campsites in tourist areas, but at least we had a spot when wanderers were turned away. We too used credit cards in Canada, and mostly avoided exchanging money.

We liked Acadia NP, but in our opinion it pales in comparison to the Rockies, both US and Canada.

Glad you are home safe and perhaps a bit wiser. Hoping this coming storm doesn't inconvenience you.
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Old 09-11-2019, 10:02 PM   #15
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We are on our way south, this leg going from Niagra Falls to Fla.
I agree, the roads are terrible. The interstate hiways have been bad all the way from Utah.
We tried to plan out trip for Max 4 hours per day.
Some days slightly over. Even then, some seem to take longer than planned. In the future we will limit to 3.5.. Our fuel is averaging just over 10 for a Vegas 25.2.
Not sure what parks are costing, the wife does them, and I don't need to know,.
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