After an extensive 2,000 mile drive from Nova Scotia to Neceda we arrived around lunchtime to be met by a swarm of mosquitoes and Cary. It seemed that we arrived right in hatching season as the mossies were intense.
After securing ourselves within the factory Cary gave us a tour of the facility showing us the various stages of the Camp Inn manufacture process before introducing us to our new baby Rosy Lee. Cary's introduction tour is nothing but thorough and we spent most of the afternoon inspecting and learning the ropes except for a short period where I hit the roof when one of the House Spiders made a brief appearance.
Paperwork followed together with some additional tee shirt and Camp Inn mug purchases and luckily for us I managed to persuade Cary to let us have his side tent flysheet that was installed on the demo model in the showroom and was the only one he had in stock.
Cary then assisted us with hooking up and testing our Tow Vehicle and surprisingly enough our wiring was incorrect which seems to be a common theme. We also purchased an alternative hitch receiver as the riser on ours was not high enough for the SUV model.
After some rewiring and some more mossies fighting as they followed us in when we brought the TV into the shop we were good to say goodbye for the night.
As we are Canadian Customers we had arranged for delivery across the border in Minnesota to avoid paying the sales tax (I don't want you thinking that we get away with the tax as we have to pay 15% in Nova Scotia when we register Ouchhh).
We met Cary in Minnesota just across from the state line town of Le Croix in the pouring rain the first of our trip. After some last minute guidance we were on our way for a trip back to the shores of Lake Michigan were we were booked in for two nights.
We still had all the equipment we had brought in the TV and wanted to find a dry place to load up the 560. A disused gas station provided the cover we needed for a couple of hours but Annie would not let me light up the propane for a brew (Wonder why).
We had some problems with the brake controller that I had fitted and no matter what adjustment setting it was on it played up terrible causing juddering and slouchy performance. I ended up disconnecting the brake power line for a much smoother ride.
Arriving at our campground the weather had broken for a while which let us set up the side tent for some shelter with the new rain fly. I was impressed by the performance as the wind and the rain increased throughout the night to such a level that I was sure the tent would depart. We had purchased a Northern Breeze on route but had not had a chance to set this up so I was not going to try in the windy conditions. Our first meal was buttered bread and jam with some chip and dip as neither of us wanted to stand in the rain and prepare anything.
The next day brought more bad weather but it cleared in the afternoon to allow a trip to Wriggly field although it was bitter and cold so once again no serious cooking. We did invest in a ceramic heater that worked wonderfully and heated the cabin in minutes. The next morning brought an early start as we had two days to get to Massachusetts and some serious driving.
Our third night was spent in a rest area and after being rudely interrupted by a jobs worth banging on the door to tell us we could only stop for two hours we moved on to a mall parking area in Eire Pennsylvania and hid behind a large truck. We did manage to get some enjoyment on the journey making breakfast on the way and stopping for tea breaks while giving tours in rest stop parking areas.
Our fourth night was much more relaxed in George Washington Campground in Rhode Island where we got a change to set up the Northern Breeze and we were really impressed with the tent. On our Journey to Neceda we diverted to Binghamton in New York State where they have there factory outlet and often sell seconds. As there were no seconds available we were given a discount of 20% off the full price so taxes in this cost us $340.00 a bargain. A good meal and a good night sleep with the trailer still hitched for a quick getaway in the morning.
Our fifth and sixth night were in Blackwoods campground in Bar Harbour which were reached via Freeport shopping. A well earned rest was needed here and the drive around the park is fantastic especially the view from the top of Cadillac mounting.
The camp really emptied out Monday day as all the memorial day campers departed and I really had no need to buy firewood as I acquired a significant stash from all the empty sites around us that was left over.
Our last day Journey home seemed like the longest of all but we had a simply border crossing at St Stephens apart from going to the wrong crossing point and we completed our 4,400 mile journey early evening with time left to rinse of the pollen, unpack and tuck Rosy Lee into her parking spot in the garage.
Would I do the journey again?
Yes but over a longer period 12 days was to much driving and not enough time for sightseeing. We had originally planned for a 16 day trip but had to cut short so Annie can fly to the UK for her family.
We now have our wonderful Camp Inn for this and many other summers to come. It was great to show it off and its a real talking point.
After securing ourselves within the factory Cary gave us a tour of the facility showing us the various stages of the Camp Inn manufacture process before introducing us to our new baby Rosy Lee. Cary's introduction tour is nothing but thorough and we spent most of the afternoon inspecting and learning the ropes except for a short period where I hit the roof when one of the House Spiders made a brief appearance.
Paperwork followed together with some additional tee shirt and Camp Inn mug purchases and luckily for us I managed to persuade Cary to let us have his side tent flysheet that was installed on the demo model in the showroom and was the only one he had in stock.
Cary then assisted us with hooking up and testing our Tow Vehicle and surprisingly enough our wiring was incorrect which seems to be a common theme. We also purchased an alternative hitch receiver as the riser on ours was not high enough for the SUV model.
After some rewiring and some more mossies fighting as they followed us in when we brought the TV into the shop we were good to say goodbye for the night.
As we are Canadian Customers we had arranged for delivery across the border in Minnesota to avoid paying the sales tax (I don't want you thinking that we get away with the tax as we have to pay 15% in Nova Scotia when we register Ouchhh).
We met Cary in Minnesota just across from the state line town of Le Croix in the pouring rain the first of our trip. After some last minute guidance we were on our way for a trip back to the shores of Lake Michigan were we were booked in for two nights.
We still had all the equipment we had brought in the TV and wanted to find a dry place to load up the 560. A disused gas station provided the cover we needed for a couple of hours but Annie would not let me light up the propane for a brew (Wonder why).
We had some problems with the brake controller that I had fitted and no matter what adjustment setting it was on it played up terrible causing juddering and slouchy performance. I ended up disconnecting the brake power line for a much smoother ride.
Arriving at our campground the weather had broken for a while which let us set up the side tent for some shelter with the new rain fly. I was impressed by the performance as the wind and the rain increased throughout the night to such a level that I was sure the tent would depart. We had purchased a Northern Breeze on route but had not had a chance to set this up so I was not going to try in the windy conditions. Our first meal was buttered bread and jam with some chip and dip as neither of us wanted to stand in the rain and prepare anything.
The next day brought more bad weather but it cleared in the afternoon to allow a trip to Wriggly field although it was bitter and cold so once again no serious cooking. We did invest in a ceramic heater that worked wonderfully and heated the cabin in minutes. The next morning brought an early start as we had two days to get to Massachusetts and some serious driving.
Our third night was spent in a rest area and after being rudely interrupted by a jobs worth banging on the door to tell us we could only stop for two hours we moved on to a mall parking area in Eire Pennsylvania and hid behind a large truck. We did manage to get some enjoyment on the journey making breakfast on the way and stopping for tea breaks while giving tours in rest stop parking areas.
Our fourth night was much more relaxed in George Washington Campground in Rhode Island where we got a change to set up the Northern Breeze and we were really impressed with the tent. On our Journey to Neceda we diverted to Binghamton in New York State where they have there factory outlet and often sell seconds. As there were no seconds available we were given a discount of 20% off the full price so taxes in this cost us $340.00 a bargain. A good meal and a good night sleep with the trailer still hitched for a quick getaway in the morning.
Our fifth and sixth night were in Blackwoods campground in Bar Harbour which were reached via Freeport shopping. A well earned rest was needed here and the drive around the park is fantastic especially the view from the top of Cadillac mounting.
The camp really emptied out Monday day as all the memorial day campers departed and I really had no need to buy firewood as I acquired a significant stash from all the empty sites around us that was left over.
Our last day Journey home seemed like the longest of all but we had a simply border crossing at St Stephens apart from going to the wrong crossing point and we completed our 4,400 mile journey early evening with time left to rinse of the pollen, unpack and tuck Rosy Lee into her parking spot in the garage.
Would I do the journey again?
Yes but over a longer period 12 days was to much driving and not enough time for sightseeing. We had originally planned for a 16 day trip but had to cut short so Annie can fly to the UK for her family.
We now have our wonderful Camp Inn for this and many other summers to come. It was great to show it off and its a real talking point.
