Saturday, July 2, 2022
What kind of travelers are you?
Traveler A:
- We have a definite departure time and plan to eat a good meal before we leave so we do not need to make many unscheduled stops.
- We plan out scheduled stops and know what times are more “high-volume” than others near popular destinations.
- We have a specific destination in mind to spend the night on our multi-day travel itinerary.
Traveler B
- We pull our 46 foot RV and “toad” through a Dunkin’ Donuts and have to leave out the entrance blocking angry customers who just want their Saturday morning coffee.
- We decide last minute to stop at one of the busiest tourist destinations in the Northeast on a holiday weekend.
- We grab our passports in case we decide to travel internationally at a moment’s notice, but fail to thoroughly review the registration and insurance documentation of both vehicles, just because the kids want to be able to say they went to Canada.
We are B.
Honestly, we have good intentions, but we also are fairly impulsive, especially with the flexibility of RV travel.
Rob and I hitched up the “toad” (my Jeep) to Kevin last night and I installed the RV brake. We tested it, locked it up, ate a late dinner, and drank a beer. I laid out coffee and travel mugs for the morning and double checked the animal care schedule for Amaya. Rob packed. I fell asleep.
We were up bright and early. Both of us showered, loaded last minute electronics and chargers into the camper before herding the half-asleep kiddos into their bunks. We thought we’d celebrate the beginning of vacation with a quick trip to Dunkin’ instead of making our own coffee. Good intentions, maybe not such a great execution. (This will be the first of many questionable decisions that will be made on this trip.) This Dunkin’ is literally 30 seconds from our home. Could we have zipped over in the vehicle that was not hooked up to the camper for a quick run? Sure, but wouldn’t it also be riskier and much more inefficient to take the whole show on the road? Absolutely.
After getting drinks, breakfast sandwiches and Munchkins (If you have not had a cornbread Munchkin yet, do not sleep on this – they are delicious!) for the road and only blocking four (or so) customers from entering the drive-thru, we were on our way! The kids went back to sleep in their respective hidey-holes and Rob and I had about three hours of peaceful driving with light traffic through scenic CT, MA, and NY, just chatting, spying the different species of roadkill (so far, a porcupine, a bear, a deer, and a wolf/coyote), and sipping coffee. Somewhere in this cozy together time, we decided to stop at Niagara Falls… and then cut through Canada to get to Michigan.
What could go wrong? I mean, who else would visit one of America’s most iconic landmarks on the weekend celebrating America’s independence?
The correct answer is: everyone. And they all converged on Niagara Falls at the same time as we did: 1:30 PM. Suddenly, our peaceful drive turned into a frenetic bottleneck with one “at capacity” parking lot after another. Also, you can’t park Kevin just anywhere. She’s big, and doesn’t take corners easily. If you miss a turn, you’re out of luck because there’s no backing up with the “toad” hitched. We have come close to having to detach the “toad” in order to back up due to almost not making a tight corner or driving under a low bridge. I can’t even imagine how horribly embarrassing it would be to have to go through the whole process of removing the RV brake, getting the car out of neutral, folding up the hitch and driving off separately to regroup with the hordes of traffic watching, beeping, yelling… I get sweaty just thinking about it. It turns out the DoubleTree Hotel had an event and they were more than happy to sell us a parking spot in the grassy field across from the hotel for the bargain price of $20. Money well spent.
Everyone was more than happy to stretch their legs as we made our ways down the riverwalk towards the falls. The closer you get to the falls, the faster and rougher the rapids get. What we thought were helicopters giving tours of the falls were actually Sheriff’s department helicopters. How many fools try to get in this water (fall into the water)? It’s terrifyingly swift.
All of a sudden, the riverwalk opens up onto a huge patio and you are literally on top of the American Falls (cleverly named, right?). The roar of the water is loud enough that you have to raise your voice a bit to talk to one another. What appeared to be thousands of tourists gathered for scenic photos along the overlook, chatter in at least five different languages. We took the obligatory family selfie before meandering among the crowd and exploring the kitschy shops and food trucks. A line that seemed to go on for at least two miles, snaked through the crowd, filled with tired, hot folks waiting for their turn aboard the Maid of the Mist, the scenic boat ride that approaches the falls. I’ve done the tour on the Canadian side, Horseshoe Falls, (well done naming these falls, Canada) and it’s fun, but it’s unlikely I waited in a line like that. I was with my parents and they are more of “Traveler A” people, so I’m sure we had a reservation or got there at the crack of dawn.
After a snack and a souvenir, we headed back to Kevin to cool off. We had decided, with the kids’ input, that it would be a fun (and timesaving) detour to cut through Canada on the way to Michigan. Our GPS led us to believe that this shortcut would save us around two hours. We had thrown our passports and kids’ birth certificates in the camper just in case. A quick Google search of necessary documents informed us that all we needed were registrations and insurance proof for both vehicles, and our COVID vaccination cards. No problem.
So, we got in line for Canada. And there we sat for two and a half hours, inching half a car length at a time toward the Rainbow Bridge that connects the U.S. to Canada. What does it say about America that the wait to get into Canada on Fourth of July weekend is over two hours?
By the time we approached the custom’s checkpoint, it was closing in on 7:30 PM. Sure, the views from the bridge were incredible, but holy moly, our shortcut wasn’t exactly a timesaver. A helpful agent directed us to the RV checkpoint an a border patrol officer requested and reviewed our paperwork. He asked us about our ArriveCan registration. Um, what? We neglected to register our COVID status on the health app for travelers. Oops. Luckily, he waved us through the gate with a brisk (very kind, he was Canadian, after all) reminder to use the app for our return trip or they would turn us away.
We made it! And only four hours later than we had expected to cross the border. Entering Canada made everyone famished, so while we made our way down the the Queen Elizabeth West Highway, I threw together some barbecue pulled pork sandwiches. (I pre-cooked about six meals and froze them so we could heat and eat and not waste time with such trivialities as stopping to eat.) If you’ve ever prepared a meal in a moving camper, you know it is a feat in balance and timing. Miraculously, no swears were uttered and no one dropped their food. Happy bellies, we barreled along.
While Alyssa and Marlie took turns riding shotgun, Kai played on his iPad and I got to watch the world go by from the couch. We saw Toronto across Lake Ontario and passed the Real Canadian Superstore (so mad I missed this photo opportunity) and about twelve Tim Horton’s – think: the Canadian Dunkin’.
Although we will only spend about three hours in Canada and it is unlikely we will even leave the confines of the RV, the trip will have been worth it. The kids get bragging rights about their first “international” trip and we got to spend four very cozy hours together belting out the entire PopRocks library. So far, no regrets on the twists and turns of the day. Let’s see how we feel after trying to find a place to spend the night just over the U.S. border at around 11:00 PM this evening.
I have a feeling there will not be enough coffee in the world tomorrow. But, it’s OK because I’m on vacation with some of the people in this world (minus Amaya).
Wandering, But Not Lost 