April 2008 - We begin preparations for our trip

The Carters (human, feline and canine) are preparing for a motorhome trip through New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador - the Maritime Provinces of Eastern Canada. We will be traveling in our 31-foot motorhome, a Holiday Rambler Admiral 30PDD, and towing our 4-wheel-drive Suzuki Samurai for exploring.

In the summer of 2002 we rented a small motorhome for a tour of the National Parks of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. After 17 days and 3000 miles, we returned the rental and went RV shopping. We bought a 25-foot Georgie Boy Landau and traveled frequently for the next 3½ years. We wanted to go to on longer trips so we began preparing for extended travel. First, we traded up to a roomier coach, our current HR Admiral. We ordered the coach from the factory, waiting over 3 months for it to be built with our chosen options. We included a bigger AC, dual-pane windows and extra batteries, all with an eye towards comfort and flexibility. We now have solar panels and an inverter (to make 120VAC from 12V DC battery power) so we can camp without services ("boondock") anywhere along our way.

Last summer we spent 3 months traveling through all types of terrain and climate in British Columbia, the Yukon and Alaska. This summer, we're off to the other side of the US and Canada. We will zip eastward as soon as school ends to rendezvous with an Adventure Caravans tour in Maine. Along the way, we will visit Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, Niagara Falls and family/friends in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. We also hope to spend several days camping along the Maine coast, where we both spent some memorable times during childhood. Elaine lived in a seaside mansion in Bar Harbor, ME for a summer during high school. She was awarded a National Science Foundation summer internship at Jackson Laboratories, doing research in biochemistry, and had many occasions to explore Acadia National Park. With only a short time to travel 3200 miles, we will stick to interstates and forego most sightseeing opportunities. We hope to return to the East Coast for a more leisurely exploration in the future.

The RV tour then spends almost two months in the Maritime Provinces. Elaine looks forward to Nova Scotia and plans to visit the village of Shubenacadie, the birthplace of her paternal grandfather, Norman Frame, in 1869. We are reading the Anne of Green Gables books by Lucy Maud Montgomery in preparation for our visit to Prince Edward Island. We also look forward to our visit to Newfoundland. Last summer in Oliver B.C., we met Darrell Miller, a Mountie (a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer) who grew up in Newfoundland; he whetted our appetite for a visit there. We expect to indulge in Atlantic lobster and seafood frequently - a real treat since we grew up in New England and miss the opportunity to get lobsters right from the docks for dinner.

After the tour ends in August in Bangor, Maine, we will ride the interstates back west. We plan to visit Rocky Mountains National Park, near Denver, then Cedar Breaks National Monument in Utah. Finally, we'll have to brave the deserts of Utah, Nevada and eastern California to complete our homeward journey, just in time for the start of the fall semester.