18/11/2016
After many delays, we finally crossed the border at
Gananoque (Thousand Islands) around 6pm tonight. We are headed in the direction
of Syracuse. Initially we planned on making it all the way to Locust Lake State
Park in Pennsylvania but with the delays we didn’t make it out of New York.
Luckily there are many places along highway 81 that you can stop at to avoid
driving all night. We parked at a rest stop near Whitney Point, New York.
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| Morning view from the rest stop |
19/11/2016
We headed towards Philadelphia, PEN today to visit Brookes
friend Neil. On the way we changed our plans and headed towards Locust Lake
State Park. We were driving in a
blizzard with wind strong enough to blow around the van on the highway. Arriving
at Locust lake State Park really felt like the trip actually was beginning. We
were 11 days behind schedule but having our first meal made in the van, playing
cards, singing along with the guitar actually made it feel like we were on our
way and done with the delays.
So far both Brooke and I (the short ones!) keep hitting our
heads and hips on the van. We are covered in bruises. Beka keeps pinching her
fingers on the old style seat belts and the corners of the cupboards are the
bane to my already very scarred head.
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| Sometimes you try to find interesting ways to unscrew things... until you realize the swiss army knife has a screw driver on it. |
20/11/2016
Waking up this morning to a gorgeous view of Locust Lake in
a winter wonderland was refreshing and peaceful. The hemlocks were drooping
with snow and the ground was sparkling.
Beka and I braved the cold and went for a bit of a dip in the lake. It
was FREEZING! Beka was screaming the entire time until she got back into the
van. My feet didn’t defrost for an hour.
We assumed that because the park was closed we didn’t need to
park normally. The night before we had parked the van horizontally, giving us a
great view when we walked out the doors in the morning. As we were about to start a hike around the
park the park ranger (Brian) pulled up and told us to park normally.
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| Locust Lake State Park |
We had a nice chat before heading out on our hike around the
lake. It was a nice approximately 20 minute hike that was perfect for not
spending too much time in the cold and getting on the road in pretty good time.
The snow looked gorgeous in the forest and over the lake. I am definitely a fan
of doing this trip in the season when parks aren’t busy.
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| Locust Lake State Park in a winter wonderland |
Today we headed further south along highway 81 towards
George Washington National Forest... BUT we didn’t make it. All of us are
getting more and more frustrated as things never really work out as we planned
them. Our RV battery died today so we realized we needed to actually hook up
our van tonight. Many of the parks are closed for the season and we don’t know
what ones still have access to hydro.
This meant stopping just north of George Washington National Forest in
an RV park called Cedar Creek. The RV
park means we have access to water and hydro to charge everything up again but
it’s really crowded and I really just want to be outside in the wilderness.
Van life combined with the constant delays is getting
frustrating and definitely takes some adjustment to get used to. With three of
us in one space there is very little room to store anything and we are
constantly tripping over shoes and bags. All of our storage space is constantly
blocked from being opened by bags and shoes. I am realizing that although I am
not a clean freak by any means I might be a bit OCD about organization. I’m not
really sure how to cope with this yet. I’ve tried organizing things in the van
but it just doesn’t seem to help and I am constantly doing it.
Brooke is also finding the space a bit cramped but mostly
from the perspective of dealing with such a tiny kitchen when she loves to cook
and prepare meals with a lot of space. Beka is finding the tight space
stressful because all of us are getting frustrated and we have all had very
little chance to relax. For me writing
this journal is a way to get things out of my head and relax at the end of the
day.
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| Beka trying to relax with a bit of colouring |
