We spent two nights in Marion and looked at several preowned RVs but nothing that we really liked. Tom Johnson's facility is really nice and we had time to do our laundry and clean up the RV. We somehow have gotten into a larger RV mode and the next place that we wanted to visit was the Camping World dealership that was between Asheville and Hendersonville which we did, after a stop at the Southern Highlands Craft Guild Gallery on the parkway near Asheville.
The stop at Camping World was very brief and we decided to stop in Hendersonville for coffee and conversation. It was still early and we were in a "Lets head home" mode so we decided to pack it in. Our original plan included judging a BBQ contest in Washington but I didn't make the list so that's how we picked up the extra days. It turned out to be a bonus for us since I found out that there was a lot of rain in DC.
So we got on I-26 and headed south to Columbia, SC, then I-95 to Walterboro and the Cracker Barrel where we spent our first night out. We were home the next day - Monday - and at Dick Gore's on Tuesday. Interesting enough they had just taken a year old 30 footer in trade and after a couple days of negotiations we pick our "new" RV up on Tuesday. The last stop on our original plan was to stop in Greenwood, SC for another BBQ contest, one that we had been to a couple of years ago.
We bring the "new" RV home on Tuesday, load it up on Wednesday and head to Greenwood for our first test ride. We'll be home on the following Monday.
Final thoughts about the trip:
1. We had a wonderful time traveling up the coast and visiting some wonderful "working waterfront" seaport towns. We also went to several museums and spent time in a lot of historical towns and areas.
2. Some of our favorite places were Cape May, NJ; in Maine, Brooklin and Castine, home of Maine Maritime Academy; in Canada, St Andrews in New Brunswick and Lunenburg in Nova Scotia.
3. In Florida we have a summer and a winter season but none of our businesses close. As we moved north we found out that the seasons were 'in' and 'out'. In most areas the season only is for three or four months and if you're not there in the season most everything is closed including a lot of the RV parks that where we would have liked to stay. As we drove up the coast of NJ, the beach towns looked like there had been an evacuation with only a few people wandering around town, houses closed up and storefront shut down. We even went across a toll bridge that had a note on the door saying no toll until season opens.
4. Even with the US dollar worth more than the Canadian "Loonie" everything cost more in Canada. Diesel fuel at $1.16 per liter, at one market we walked out with a tab for $107 which probably would have been $65 at our Publix.
5. We used a Visa card with no transaction fees for almost all purchases. Most businesses had the handheld credit card swipers so you didn't have give the server your card with the numbers.
6. North of the Mason-Dixon line people were nervous when you passed them on the streets and said hello. In NJ it seemed they were thinking "What does he want?". In Maine they thought "It's cold, what does he mean by that?". But when we asked a question everyone became very friendly. In fact, most people, when they found we were from Florida couldn't wait to tell us where in Florida they or their relatives and/or friends spend their winters. Most were in the lower part of the state in the tropical weather.
7. We've had our RV for four years and traveled over 40K miles. We're now older and we both move a little slower. We love traveling in the RV but the Navion is a little tight for us on a long trip so we're looking forward to more trips in our new 30 footer. Next year "if the creek don't rise and......." we'll be traveling to Alaska for an even longer trip.
Thanks to you - all of our family and friends who track of us by our blog.
(Note from Susan - Thank you, Lou, for taking the time to keep up the blog. We had a lot of fun discussing it and it brings some wonderful memories. Looking forward to the next trip in the new RV. I miss my family and friends, but we certainly have fun!)
Final note - 12/02/2017
We did buy the 30' Newmar RV and we did drive up to Greenwood, SC for our first trip BUT
there were a few things about the RV we didn't care for. And even though we knew it woudn't fit into our garage it really bothered us taking up so much room in our driveway. So another executive decision - we listed the RV on rvt.com and wound up selling it to a contractor from Gainesville, FL.
We looked at other 30 ' Class C RVs that would fit in our garage and finally decided on a Winnebago Aspect 27K. But that's another story.
