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How could we forget Niagara?

Ashley Longnecker / July 21, 2015

We totally forgot to mention in our post about our stay in Rochester that we also drove to Niagara Falls one day! Although it is very touristy, it was definately on our list of places to visit. None of us had ever been there before so it was super fun to have that experience together. We were shocked that at the top of the falls - it was so quiet. The water just fell off with out a sound. It was almost creepy how quiet it was. We got our tickets for the Maid of the Mist and Cave of the Winds and were ready to get wet!

First up, Maid of the Mist. You're packed on a large boat with a bunch of people (not too croweded) and they take you to the bottom of the falls. Prepare to get a little wet! There was so much mist it was hard to get a good shot of it, plus I really just wanted to watch it and experience it with the kids. Sometimes you need to just experience things and not take pictures.

Hamlin Beach, More Air Conditioning and Fun with Family

Jonathan Longnecker / July 17, 2015

After our overnight at the Ferryboat place, it was onward and upward towards Rochester to get our second AC Unit installed. Since we only had a couple of days before we were scheduled at the RV shop we decided to try a State Park.

We love, love, love state parks, but they often don't have sewer hookups which kind of limits how long we can stay there. They can also be really hard to get a 38' rig in. In fact, it can be so hard that certain husbands may get really angry and just give up and pout. 

To be fair, there were a host of issues we ran into. The first one being that the parkway leading to Hamlin has about 5 or 6 bridges that were too short to fit our rig under. Thankfully we got through one of them in the center (it was an arched bridge), but then had to take the long way around. Also, they didn't have water hookups so we filled our fresh tank (too full apparently) only to have it spilling out on the road the whole time we were trying to back in. We had no idea what was going on so that was stressing us out.

At this point I was super frustrated, but Ashley kept a level head and found some seasoned travelers to help us out in the next loop over. Turns out one of them drove trucks for a living and I watched dumbfounded as he backed the dang thing into the spot his first try. I will confess, I felt like much less of a man at that moment.

THEN we realized that Beebop, our F350 had burped out a couple of quarts of transmission fluid from all the pushing and pulling. Turns out we must have pulled the emergency break on the trailer making a tight turn, causing the truck to work super hard, sparks to fly out the back of the RV and everything smelled like it was on fire. We didn't realize what was going on until a few minutes of that. Can't be good, right? We took it to a local Ford dealership the next day, and they said it had just gotten overheated had an emergency overflow. Everything else looked good for a 2002 engine with 220,000 miles, they said! Turns out they were idiots - but we'll get to that in a couple of posts.

I know it sounds like of hot drama so far at Hamlin Beach. And we were just getting into our spot. But thankfully, the park turned out to be the most beautiful place we'd ever seeen (so far).

Situated right on Lake Ontario, it was like a beach, a lake and a park all rolled into one. The weather was perfect, the sunsets were gorgeous and it had a great laid back vibe. Enough talking, let me show you.

The 2015 Tiny Shiny Home Travel Route

Jonathan Longnecker / July 14, 2015

Below you'll find a map showing our travel route in 2015. Click on a marker to get a link to any articles we've written about that area. We'll keep this post updated so you can follow along with us. Enjoy!

We tried Virginia...

Ashley Longnecker / July 13, 2015

After we left Camp Hatteras in the outer banks of North Carolina, we headed north to New Point RV Resort in a small town called New Point, Virginia. Once we were about 30 minutes away from the park we thought it was really weird that we weren’t seeing any other RVs coming or going. Are we going to the right place? Did we miss a turn? What could this mean?

Upon our arrival we quickly found out that this was a seasonal park meaning that there were a whole bunch of people who live here. Either just in the summer or they live here full time. There were so many RVs with decks built onto them, and additions added on to their trailers. It had a really weird vibe from the moment we got there. But hey, we’re right by the water with a great view...once you look past the other RVs.

We check in and they tell us where our site is and we drive there to find someone had set up camp in our spot! Okay, so.... We circled around and went back to the office to see if they had made a mistake and the lady in the office drove down to see what was going on. This old lady with her super old dad were supposed to be in the next site over but since someone had their truck parked in her spot she just decided to set up camp in our spot. Surely we aren't the only ones that found that super weird. She was a bit ticked off that the manager asked her to pack up and move over. She took her sweet time, too, mumbling something along the lines of "you can have my spot but....." Umm, this was our spot, thanks, lady.

So, once we got our space cleared it was more than a challenge to get backed into this tiny spot. This resort has people packed in like sardines. Seriously, they would unhook people’s trailers and use a tractor to get them in because there is no room for the truck to make the turn. Luckily the spot in front or ours was open so we were able to back right through that one and into ours. 

After getting set up we went for a walk out to the beach. We were right on the Chesapeake Bay. It was beautiful...from afar. Upon walking down to the beach to check it out, I managed to pick up a whole handful of freshly broken clear glass that our kids easily could have stepped on. The water was covered in sea weed and the beach had trash and cigarette butts everywhere and was so dirty. We never went back after that.  At least they have a pool... We’ll make the most of it. 

Ferryboat Campsite

Ashley Longnecker / July 13, 2015

On our way to Rochester we needed a place to stay overnight and Wal-Mart parking lot was out of the question in this heat. We found a place in Pennsylvania called Ferryboat Campsites. I think it would have been an ok place but it was a muddy mess while we were there for one night. It all worked out ok because the rain didn't start until we had already got set up and the next morning it stopped long enough for us to hook up, AND, we didn't get stuck in the mud! I call it a win. I wish we had actually had time to take the Ferryboat...maybe next time.

While on the way there I got to drive our house for the first time! It was actually not as terrifying as I thought it would be... that is until you get to construction and narrow lanes. I think I only drove for about an hour. I'm pretty sure Jon may have faked a bathroom emergency so we could pull over and switch drivers. 

Anyway, on to Rochester!!