Category: Maiden Voyage

Today was crazy fun. First, it was a day we didn’t have to hitch up and go in the morning, so that was quite relaxing. The plan for the day was for Richard to go on a long bike ride around Acadia National Park while I messed around exploring Bar Harbor. Then in the afternoon we would both hook up and ride the carriage trails together. We put the bike rack on the car and loaded up both bikes to head to the start of the big loop. Richard took off and I headed into Bar Harbor.

The town is pretty much nonstop adorable. It is situated in a picture perfect little bay and is jam packed with gift shops, restaurants and pottery places. I had a mission in mind which was to find a nice bag or basket to put maps and papers into, but some fresh baked blueberry pie was absolutely necessary in order to proceed with the plan.

I spent about two hours just strolling the town and then decided I needed to put my feet in the Atlantic before we turned West. Acadia is mostly shoreline so it wasn’t too difficult to find a perfect beach. Then it was time to meet up with Richard.

He was almost unbearably giddy after his ride. We headed to Jordan’s Pond House to start our ride and grabbed a quick lunch first. The trails are well maintained gravel roads, closed to cars. And you do actually cross paths with horse drawn carriages, so that’s pretty cool. The loop we took brought us to some gorgeous lakes, keeping always under the pleasant shade of lush woods. Waterfalls and bridges appeared from time to time, and spectacular views opened up that looked all the way down to the ocean. It could not have been more beautiful.

And what does one do in Acadia at the end of a carriage trail bike ride? Apparently, one eats popovers. So who were we to go against tradition? Jordan’s Pond House serves a “tea time” menu from 3-5 and they bring piping fresh popovers to your table with butter and fresh strawberry jam. Yeah. It was just as yummy as you’e thinking.

Perfect end to a perfect day, so we returned to Dory who was happily waiting for us right where we left her. The one thing that was a bit of a bummer was that we were really hoping the solar panels would have recharged her battery. Richard has a highly sophisticated monitor that can tell you the exact draw and charge at any time. But this is complicated to hook into a system. In the meantime, we basically have a monitor that will tell you on a scale of 1-4 little LED lights what your current status is. Pretty fuzzy there and not what Richard needs for peace of mind. The other tool you get is a plug in thing that gives you a number, but again, this is not highly accurate. Even so, based on both inaccurate measures, the battery had not recharged during the day. At best, it maintained charge, which actually meant it kept the 12v fridge running all day. But it wasn’t “topped up” or increased as far as we could tell. That was both confusing and disappointing so we’ll need to do more research on this. We suspect the use of the caravan mover at set up really drew a lot of power.

Tomorrow we head to New Hampshire and we’re both glad we reserved a site with electrical hookups. So much to learn!

We had a drizzly, lazy morning as we packed up and headed to the first place we had made reservations for ahead of time: Acadia National Park.

The first item on our morning business was to get Maine blueberry pancakes. We got an excellent recommendation from the campground owner and headed to Milbridge House. As promised, this was a favorite of the locals and it did not fail to meet our high hopes. We were highly pleased.

We then continued to roll along for a short 63.9 miles for the day until we found Seawall campground in Acadia around 1pm. Despite the overcast weather, the scenery was simply stunning. Rocky shores met foamy waves in an almost “too Maine to be true” kind of way. There were picture perfect little houses and fishing boats dotting the coastline on and offshore. Red deer appeared out of the woods now and then and locals chatted on their front lawns and porches. Lovely.

When we got to our campsite, what struck us first is that we have a long way to go in our backing a trailer learning curve. Never was that more apparent than the previous day when we tried backing into our site at Sunset Point. We tried a while, reluctant to simply give up immediately and use the “caravan mover”. The campsite owner very kindly (and not in any kind of a rude way) offered to help. It was pretty amazing. He just fed me directions, “left, left, hard left, straight, right, hard right….” as I followed his guidance. He backed us in perfectly. Now, I had done my share of reading and video watching this past year. I knew about holding my hands at the bottom of the wheel, thinking of it as “opposite”, and using the “scoop” approach. But one thing I heard over and over is that you just have to do it to learn it.

So, when we got to Acadia, the skies were clearly about to open up with some serious rain and we were motivated to be set up before then. So we went straight to the caravan mover. This is a magical beast and can make Dory dance and spin around on command. The thing we were both nervous about was the draw on the battery while she’s doing all that spinning. We chose a campground with no electrical hookups, which we were pretty sure would be ok for a couple days, but we were cognizant of power use. We did the best we could to get her level quickly and did indeed get fully set up right before it started coming down. Nice to be safe, warm and dry inside.

Later, it cleared and we ventured out to do a bit of exploring and find dinner. We took an idyllic little trail that meandered through woods and to the beach.

We then found info on a place called Thurston’s Lobster Pound. What a place. It was clearly a local find, judging by the line out the door. On the approach to the door, you could see hundreds of lobster cages stacked high around the docks. Out front, lobster slayers periodically appeared and threw live lobsters into big boiling vats, tracked by numbered tags hanging over the side. To place your order, you got to actually choose your live lobster walking around in holding tanks by the order window. Weird if you think about it too hard. I think I’ve only ever had lobster a couple of times, so I’m no pro at knowing how to crack them open, but a friendly waitress was only too happy to go around and give pointers to customers.

We returned to Dory and got very cozy. There was even another Alto in the campground so we feel quite at home. The agenda for tomorrow includes getting some bike riding in at last. Hopefully it will be a nice day.

Total miles: 63.9, Engine time: 2 hours, 15 min, MPG 17.1

Well, in retrospect, everything worked out fine and we were definitely glad we got to a point yesterday fairly close to the border. It would have been a lot less amusing if we’d been dealing with things at the end of a long day.

When you buy something big, like a trailer, in another country there are things you must have in order when you cross the border. Safari Condo does a great job helping facilitate all of this and they use a brokerage service to generate a nice orderly pile of paperwork for you. Everything was explained to us in detail; which line we needed to get into, which papers to show, which numbers were important. We arrived bright eyed and bushy tailed at the Houlton-Woodstock border crossing with a nice packet of papers neatly stapled together. We knew to say the words “electronic manifest” and were good to go. When we approached the check point, we rightly got into the “Trucks” lane and comically drove our small rig up to the window with the armed officer posted in a booth waaaaay up high so as to be able to talk to truckers and still maintain authority. Already when we pulled up, he looked slightly annoyed. We happily said the magic words “electronic manifest” and handed him our paperwork (which required Richard to get out of the car and hold them up high for the guy to take. After some typing and scowling, he told us there was nothing in the system for us. Oh dear. We knew it must be a simple error but remained as submissive and compliant as we could appear to be. He then told us to pull up “out of the way” (he used that phrase a couple of times) and to come in the door. We followed these directions and attempted to look as out of the way as we could.

Coming inside, he now took our drivers licenses in addition to our passports and again told us the number we had issued to us was no good. He also said something about needing to enter through “New York”, which we didn’t understand, but were fairly alarmed about. Then he directed us over to another building which we later came to understand was the brokerage company that had supposedly arranged this. We complied.

The first thing the people inside the small office said was that they didn’t recognize any of our paperwork. Richard politely asked: “Isn’t this your company?” as he pointed out their name on the paperwork. It was, and that was the first positive sign.

So after many phone calls to Safari Condo, and the brokerage office in Montreal, it looked like what happened was that another couple had somehow used our entry number (and, it seems, our names) when they crossed the border a week earlier. Unbeknownst to us, we had apparently entered the states through a New York crossing the week before. Huh. Both of us were starting to wonder if we were going to have to return to Quebec, go up to the New York crossing, or just stay in Canada. At least there were cute little chipmunks and pretty birds to watch while we waited.

Eventually (after a couple of hours) a new number and corresponding paperwork had been generated. We were off to present a new nicely stapled packet to the grumpy armed customs guy. Again, we complied. Richard handed him the papers and said: “Ok, we got it fixed.” Officer Grumpy: “I don’t know.” We were silent.

We waited another stretch of time listening to truck drivers being asked questions. Finally, another armed guy, an armed woman, and a friendly armed guy, all filed through the door and went and looked at numbers displayed on the side of Dory (they also poked at the caravan mover a bit because, you know, it’s interesting). Seeming satisfied that numbers were now “good” instead of “bad”, they all three returned through the back door where we were being quiet and well behaved and the armed woman handed us back our driver’s licenses and passports. We knew then all would be well. Papers were stamped and grateful thank yous were given. And we drove off into the U.S.

After that, we took a lunch break at Tim Horton’s and I had a freaking donut.

We agreed that, all things considered, that wasn’t so bad. Also, we now had cell service and we’re suckers for that. Life was good again.

The rest of the day was honestly gorgeous. We took Highway 1 down the coast of Maine and it was simply stunning. Richard found us a place called Sunset Point for the night and it came complete with little walking trails by the water to watch the sunset. We had a cozy dinner inside and, despite the first part of the day, noted that this was the life and that everything is awesome.

I accidentally got into black and white mode for a while until I noticed. Let’s pretend I’m being “artsy”.

Total miles: 208.5, Engine time: 6 hours, 03 min, MPG: 16.9

Our morning today began by waking to the gentle sound of rain pattering on Dory’s roof. When actual camping, this is not a sound I tend to enjoy because it usually goes with things getting wet that shouldn’t, followed by me getting wet when I don’t want to. Safe and sound under a solid aluminum sheath, it is one of the more pleasant experiences I’ve ever had.

Richard made cappuccinos for me and espresso for him, using the Techimpex, and it was excellent. We brought tiny spoons and adorable blue cups to round out the full cafe mood.

We moved pretty leisurely and took care of campsite business after the rain had mostly stopped. We got out and rolling about 11:30 or so. One thing we both keep talking about is how much we love having our own bathroom in the trailer. We both take a shower every day, Richard in the evening and me in the morning. We can be pretty efficient about it and still get just as much showering joy as we do at home. The water can get so hot you really need to calm it down with a little cold. The shower curtain covers everything nicely and dries quickly as it hangs. The pressure is not as blasting as at home, but it works fine. We both tend to take “military” showers, where you get all wet. soap up, then rinse off. and that helps keep the “grey water” from filling up the tank too fast. All of this is to say: we are super happy we got the model with the shower.

One of the morning chores was to do a “dump” of the grey (shower, sink) and black (toilet) tanks. I had researched this like crazy and was all worried about it being gross. Really, it’s no big deal. It’s a matter of attaching a dump hose to the trailer and sticking it in a designated sewer connection. Then you pull out little stopper doors in the proper order (first black, then grey) to let it all flush out. It’s comforting that the last thing that goes through is soapy sink and shower water.

The drive today brought us all around the northeastern tip of Maine without actually entering Maine. We headed south from Riviera du Loup and went down Canadian highway 2, through New Brunswick, all the way to Woodstock. This is where we will finally begin to turn West.

It rained off and on most of the day but we stopped in a nice little place with a pretty park by a lake and I finally tried Poutine. This was something recommended to me many times before I headed out and several people have been anxiously asking whether I’ve had it yet. So yes. I can now say I’ve had Poutine. It was freshly made, very hot, and actually quite delicious. Not the best thing for one’s arteries, but it is pretty yummy in a hardy, savory way.

The drive felt long by the end of the day but we wanted to get close to the border crossing. So we found this place. This is not a “camping” place this evening, but rather, a place that satisfied both logistical and laundry needs. It is called Jellystone Park and is completely Yogi Bear themed. It’s a children’s wonderland, with water slides, mini golf, and “activities”. I guess it’s pretty popular.

Wifi continues to suck so I update when I can. Tomorrow we’ll be in the U.S. and hope our cell service will allow for a little better internet access.

Total Daily Miles: 185.3, Total Engine time: 4 hours, 33 minutes, MPG: 17.7

This is what the scene inside Dory looks like in “living mode”:

She is really very spacious and has a well thought out design inside. We lack for nothing and have easy access to all our stuff. Even when the roof is lowered, you can use most of the trailer except the back of the bed. You WILL bonk your head on the lowered crescent windows though when you go through the door, no matter how many times you’ve already done that.

Today was a perfect day.

We got ready to roll in record time (like an hour and a half) and started pulling down the bumpy, terrifying, dirt road around 8:30. We knew what was up ahead and the fact that whatever happened next could radically change the rest of our trailer owning careers. We had inched slowly down a very steep rocky hill to get to our remote campsite and we knew that physics suggested going up it would be more challenging. With big potential consequences.

Our hearts pounded. Richard asked if he should get out and I figured that would just make it more likely he’d be squished when I started rolling backwards. I repeated horse power and torque numbers in my head, and we dumped all the fresh water from Dory’s tanks so she’d be lighter. Bruce has traction control, I told myself over and over again. Dory is very lightweight as trailers go. Our backup plan was to go find someone with a truck to drag her out of there.

So we just went for it. Slowly…..

Not a problem.

Really, I don’t think Bruce’s wheels lost traction even for a moment. Engine didn’t strain for a second. It was awesome. I made Richard get out and take pictures.

Today was the first day we started to feel the way we’d always thought we might feel doing this. The terrain was beyond beautiful, I was no longer nervous about towing, and we got to simply enjoy the day. Yeah, we’re pretty giddy happy.

Here are some shots of the road through the Grands Jardin and the stretch along the Saguenay fjord.

After a perfect morning drive, we got back to the St. Lawrence river where we caught a ferry to the the other side. Dory and Bruce got to go on a boat ride!

We got reservations for a campground on the other side and right after we pulled in and got set up, it started to rain. We are enjoying listening to the sound of rain rapping on our roof, which is probably the world’s best sound when you are not in danger of being outside in it.

All around great day. Fears overcome. Limits tested. Beauty properly enjoyed and appreciated. All that remains is for Richard and I to discuss some strategies for how to calmly back a trailer into a campsite.

Mileage and time will be updated later, cause it’s raining and that information is in the car. We were averaging around 26 mpg, even heavily packed, on the trip. When towing over nonstop rises and falls (some up to 14%), we were getting 15-17 mpg. Not as bad as I thought it might be. Aerodynamics is a good thing.

When we left the KOA nearby the Safari Condo showroom, it only took us like 10 hours to get ready to pull out. Ok, maybe a slight exaggeration, but not by much. There is a lot to do even with a small trailer to get it ready to travel. We tried very hard to pay attention to everything during training, but it was still a lot of double checking and “Oh yeah” and extensive conversation around every step. All of the dishes had to have little shelf liners and packing material stuffed between them so they wouldn’t rattle themselves to death. Cargo netting had to be placed around all of the things on the bathroom shelves so we wouldn’t end up with a floor made of shampoo.

Then we pulled on to the road.

Remember, I had only towed about three miles along a very quiet street to the KOA, so this was pretty much white knuckle time for me. Yes, the Alto pulls very easily, and yes, the Acura was purchased with overkill in mind, but navigating through traffic and over the bridge back through Quebec City gave me heart palpitations. The state of nonstop tension continued until we took a little break to get gas. I thought I was going to pass out I was so relieved to stop.

Our aim was to head for a region to the northeast of Quebec called Le Parc National des Grands Jardins. We intentionally didn’t have reservations at campgrounds during this stretch of the trip because we weren’t sure how far we (I) would want (be able) to tow every day.

I must say, it was a lovely drive once we got onto highway 381 North.

I could feel that I was towing something but it wasn’t like it was making the car move in dangerous ways. It was more that I was constantly thinking “Holy sh*t! I’m TOWING something!” We had all the right equipment, thanks again to the people at Safari Condo. The brake controller I had installed in my Subie prematurely (like 10 months ago) that I then moved to the Acura didn’t end up working. So I’ve now paid for it to be installed twice in two different cars and still needed to get new one (a better one) installed at the showroom. Still, I could feel bumps in the road sort of echo behind me as the trailer went over them and it was freaking me out.

However, eventually we made it to some national park campgrounds. The first one was a large campground that would have been perfect, but was full. But they directed us to the next place down the road. Remember, there is a language barrier here. The nice lady at the front gate saw our rig and seemed happy to direct us to a site “au selvage” at the end of a road, 5 short kilometers. It would be next to a lake, sounded perfect. Then she said words in French and made wavy up and down hand gestures. I smiled and nodded. (dun dun dun…..)

The “road” was not what I had imagined dealing with on my first real day trailering, but once upon it, there would have been no easy way to turn back. Plus, I really wanted to stop for the day.

So that’s the background that leads us to some of these pictures. Not sure the photos truly capture the image of a shiny new luxury SUV towing a brand spanking new high tech trailer over some of these rocky roads, but just know that we got looks from the people on ATVs occasionally rolling past us.

I’ll have some pictures of the final hill in my post for the next day because that is when I had to get back up it. It took us a long time to decide whether to go down the hill in the first place. We discussed employing the “caravan mover” to turn the trailer around and go back. We discussed just camping at the top of the hill for the night, and we discussed going down it and expecting that this is where we would now live.

All things carefully considered, we went for it. And if we could have managed to detach from the tension of knowing this might be the place our beloved trailer ended up spending the rest of her days, we would have been in heaven. As it was, we were able to appreciate the beauty and the fact that we had a simply magnificent view inside and away from the millions of little black biting flies.

We had the entire area completely to ourselves after fishermen, ATV people, and hikers eventually left for the evening. We had a lovely dinner of stovetop warmed ham and cheese sandwiches, and remarked at how this was in fact exactly precisely what we had always dreamed of and specifically why we had gotten the trailer in the first place. Still, there was an edge. Richard was fairly certain the trailer would roll off its chocks on the very uneven ground and we’d end up in the lake in the middle of the night. I continued to try hard not to picture the car and trailer both rolling backwards down the hill (and also into the lake) the next morning. We somehow managed to let go just enough to enjoy the peaceful moment.

Total miles: 95.2, Total engine time: 4 hours, 1 minute (every second of which was experienced “fully”)

The day long awaited finally arrived!! (albeit with me still recovering from a nasty stomach bug).

I was ok by the morning thankfully, and we made it out of the hotel and to the showroom to pick her up just fine. We delivered a gift that had seen 3,000 miles of road on it, so I hope it was still ok on arrival.

Anyone who has ordered from Safari Condo will know that this is a family based business with a true commitment to customer satisfaction. Their product is without parallel in the trailer world and they take every bit of their job very seriously. As such, their English speaking salesperson had spent so much of his time patiently answering my questions, he made the joke that he was my “Canadian boyfriend”. The label stuck and I sent him Valentine’s candy, much to his co-workers’ amusement. So by the time we got there for our delivery date, we were well known.

The lovely people at SC even put a sign on the outside reading “Hi Mum.” I was honestly overwhelmed.

You know how when something gets so amazing it just becomes sort of surreal? That’s how the rest of the day felt. So much kindness, care, meticulous attention paid to us to make sure we knew how to use every single thing on the trailer. I just can’t capture what a unique experience this has been. This ain’t no car dealership.

Then the truly special moment came. There was a very inside joke in the Facebook group where I had told people I would happily take photos of whatever they wanted to see inside the trailer, unless it was “weird” like “I’d like to see what Santa Claus sitting at the dinette would look like.” So Dominique (basically the CEO of manufacturing) told me there was a special guest coming. Who should come walking out but Denis in a full on Santa suit, ready to snap a shot! It’s nice to buy something big from a company with a heart (and sense of humor).

We spent most of the day there with training. Richard also took a break to make 12v espresso for a few people. We spent the night at the KOA down the street and really just tried to unpack and unwind from such a magical moment. We will be venturing out to do what trailers are meant to do – camping – soon. For now, we’re just over the moon with love for the people at Safari Condo and with our beautiful Dory.

Many travels to come!