Home Free!

Yes, we made it home - yesterday. But we got way too busy to do a posting.

Yesterday, started with -11C (12F) and that caused a whole lot of problems. Overnight there hadn't been enough battery capacity to run that little fa, so the water was frozen again. But worse things were underway.

Under a routine walk-around I discovered that passenger side tire was down quite a bit. So I unpacked our air hose and connected into the compressor outlet. After starting the engine I noticed air gushing out from that connector.

Removing the air hose didn't make a difference. The connector didn't close. I tried  multiple times but it didn't work. Then, finally after using Bea's hair dryer on it, it did close. But I didn't dare to try the air hose again.

So we left with a low pressure tire. Bea went onto the internet and found a tire service in Portsmouth, NH. We pulled into their yard and found two helpful guys inside the building.

When one of them started looking at the valve stem of the inner tire he discovered a damaged valve stem. A minute later he had gotten a new flexible stem from the shop and put himself under the motorhome to replace the old one. 

At the tire service

It takes a service minded person to do this outside in freezing temperatures. He finished his work by controlling both sides of rear tires and even our trailer.

When it was time to pay, the manager didn't want any money, instead he hinted to pay the worker directly, which I did. What a good man and a good outfit!

\We went back to the Interstate and continued for our last miles northward. We had lost about 2 hours that morning but made it to Bangor,ME before noon. 

3hrs later, we reached Canada Customs, where our bus and car was searched by two agents!  This is quite crazy, given the fact that we are locals here and would never even think of smuggling anything through the border. But I get it. There was no traffic and the agents must have been pretty bored.

We unloaded the car in the Roosevelt Parking Lot then continued home. 

Restarting the house was a problem right away. Our well pump did not produce any water, despite the power being turned on. So either our well is empty, or it is frozen. The latter being the most probable cause.

Our good neighbour Deanna had invited us for dinner so we warmed ourselves under a delicious meal. 

                                

Was This The Most Unpleasant Day?

Waking up this morning it was really cold in the rig, so I was quick turning the heater on full. I think we left Freehold NJ around 7:30am. 

Despite adding antifreeze to our rest of fresh water, the water froze. Our rig has a small electric heater in the wet compartment and we turned on the "system heat" button. Our solar panels should produce enough power to keep it running while driving.

And as we got rolling we joined the insane morning rush hour. Everybody was in a hurry to get to work. I have seen a lot of ruthless crazy driving in my days, but this morning took the cake. Not only were there a million of small cars but also an army of transit buses.

The goal was to get onto the "Garden State Parkway" for a short distance, than transfer to the I-287 with our aim being Newburgh,NY. The 287 becomes the I-87, one part of it veers to the north-east through New Jersey and which we cannot take because of dangerously low bridges. Instead we continued in heavy traffic towards Newburgh. 

Hudson River

While the I-87 continues towards Albany, we left onto the I-84 which leads down to Connecticut and towards the I-90 meeting the I-495 through Massachusetts. 

And finally we got down to the end of I-495 where entering the I-95 gave us that special feeling of almost being home. Besides of the horrible traffic volume around New York, through Hartford,CT and near the Boston area, our other big problem today was the ice-cold weather. Temps got down to -8C (17.6F) which means it gets really, really cold in the motorhome. Those Class A rigs with a rear engine have not enough dash heat to warm up the interior, something we have noticed years ago with our first Class A diesel. So we donned Polar-style clothing and yet it got cold. RVs are NOT made for winter use, regardless of what sales people will tell you.

And I need to mention the frightful state of the Interstates in Massachusetts. Despite the state cashing in on $$$$ in tolls, the roads have giant potholes and terrible bridge crossings. A true nightmare for drivers.

Below: Hartford,CT through our windshield

Once we got across into New Hampshire we turned into the parking lot of the NH Liquor Outlet. A great place to spend a peaceful night. It was also there that we discovered our water was running again. That little fan is a good thing to have.

So after many days starting from Holtville,CA this day feels like something we could have been without. Now, another cold day lies ahead for us and once being home....oh boy we have to restart the house again. But that's for tomorrow.

The NH Liquor outlet

Big Parking lot for ourselves

We Went Across The Sea!

 It's not the most common way people choose when they go north into the New England States but it has certain benefits and a big draw-back. I am talking about the outer route to avoid being swallowed up in big city traffic through Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia.

Leaving our camp in South Carolina, we went north on the I-95 to Emporia, North Carolina. From there Highway 58 is heading east via Suffolk to Norfolk. From Norfolk we took the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. But the problem is getting through Norfolk, a city-monster of the worst imaginable. Not only it is the horrible traffic, but worse still is missing signage to the Chesapeake BBT.

Once we reached it, our stress turned to relaxation. There is a low speed limit of 55mph and seemingly they enforce it as well. So exciting to drive on a road which all-of-a-sudden dives under the surface of the bay, while ships are happily sailing above crossing the tunnel. And then the road appears like a new-born Poseidon out from the depth and continues along bridges. But like Poseidon you get another chance to explore the depth of the Chesapeake Bay when the second tunnel swallows your vehicle. The tunnel then spits you out to more bridges until you reach Cape Charles, VA.

We stayed overnight in a big parking lot where the bridges are ending. There is a beautiful nature trail with overlook across the salt mashes. What a pleasure to walk there in utter peace after the stressful crossing through Norfolk.

The area once was of strategic importance under WWII when German submarines and warships were feared. A huge cannon was built, able to shoot at targets 25 miles away. The cannon I measured to be 23m (82ft) long. A true monster. However, it was never fired!

Overlook salt marsh

So this morning we got up really early, leaving our overnight location to reach Lewes, DE from where I had booked a ferry service to get us across the Delaware Bay.

The trip to Lewes took 3 hours and just like in Norfolk,VA the signage to the ferry terminal was abysmal. But we made it to the ferry terminal 2.5hrs. early. We were let into the staging lines as the first vehicle for the ferry departure at 12:15pm. 

Our arrival at Lewes,DE ferry terminal
Courtesy WEBCAM

We knew that the ticket building has a webcam from where the full staging area can be seen. So we called our family in Germany. They went online and could see us, waving at them. So much fun! Bea's brother even watched our arrival at Cape May on the New Jersey side.

The next 2.5hours we drove along the Garden State Parkway (toll road) ending our day at the Walmart in Freehold, NJ. We have used this overnight location a couple of times earlier. It is rather quiet and peaceful here.

Because of expected frost, we bought plumbing antifreeze here to fill into our fresh water tank. Yes, we can't use it for anything else than the toilet, but that way we can let it go into water lines. 

Approaching Cape May

This image shows the arrival of our ferry at Cape May, NJ
Courtesy WEBCAM

The End Of I-20

                           

                       Traffic can be heavy when approaching big cities

After 5 days at 650kms/day we reached Florence SC where we met with our friend Carmen. 3 days alone were spent on the I-20.

Carmen's rig, a brand new AIRSREAM

Yesterday, we had been in steady contact with our friend Carmen who drove up from Jekyll Island, GA to meet us at the "Midpoint I-95 RV-Park".

The RV-Park is an excellent choice for anyone traveling along the I-95 and wanting to take a break in peaceful surroundings with all the comforts of modern amenities.

Tall pine trees are lining the park roads and for someone like me who likes natural surroundings, the lack of concrete pads is a real blessing.

Planning ahead, we studied weather forecasts and found that it is better to stay yet an extra day to avoid getting into the coldest days back home.

This morning I also got a doctors appointment for March 5.

Then we will have to wait for results of tests.

Carmen walking the dogs