Monday June 24th after leaving the dog at the kennel, we left for Lakewood and the start of our adventure. The plan was to stop at RV Wholesalers in Lakeview and have a 2nd A/C unit installed before our trip but due to this and that, it was installed Tuesday and Wednesday morning we started heading east. Lesson 1 be flexible in schedules. Something will always mess with the plan.
Due to traveling with a 2 year old and some health concerns of my partner we broke the tip up into shorter days than many might. We took I-75 to US-30 to I-71 to I-76 to I-80. Our 1st stop was just over the border into PA. Shenango Valley RV Park in Transfer PA. A very nice place. Most sites appear to be yearly rentals based on the decks and flower beds around the RV’s. The driveway in and out is a very steep grade I’d guess it to be 7-8% and for this reason we will not go back. Otherwise it was a very nice and well run place.
We continued across I-80 to Milton PA and the YOGI BEAR SHANGRI-LA. What more could a 2 year old want than Yogi and his friends? This is an older park but they have a great playground and pool for the kids. We had a pull through site with cable. This was our 2nd night with cable hook ups so off to the local hardware store for a length of coax.
Friday we continued across I-80 into NJ and hopped on I-287 north and across the Tappan Zee Bridge and onto I-95 in CT. Was trying to miss some of the larger hills and stay out of NYC. Normally to get to New London CT we would go up I-81 through Scranton and across I-84 and drop down CT-34 into New Haven, CT. and hop on I-95 there. But as this was the 1st real trip with this rig I wanted to be cautious. I-95 was a mess. Stop and go almost the whole way to Mystic and I was reminded of why I moved out of the east coast. We arrived around dinner time at the Seaport Campgrounds in Mystic CT and checked in. Most of their sites were grass and we finally settled on a pull through so I was not in the grass. Just was not comfortable parking a 12,000# trailer in the grass for 10 days. Visions of sinking in the mud kept coming to mind. We picked this campground for it location of being 7 miles from my daughters and 2-3 miles from the attractions of Mystic. Since Seaport Campground was recently purchased by Sun Resorts there were many upgrades in progress, one of which was the pool. They had inflatables, bounce house and two with water. A water slide and a water bounce house of sorts. Due to the construction they waved the guest fee’s which was just fine with me. We were expecting guests. We spent June 28th through July 7th and had a great time. My parents stopped for 3 days over the 4th and we went to the Mystic Aquarium and had a 4 generation BBQ for the 4th. We also went strawberry picking and enjoyed time with family. If you’re in Mystic and want some great seafood there is this little place on CT-27 a mile or so south of I-95 called the Sea View Snack Bar. It’s been there for years. Some picnic tables and a view of the inlet and Mystic Seaport. The seafood is fresh off the boat and well worth the price. It’s not cheap but man is it good.
A humorous note: While enjoying a libation on the 4th I looked up to see a family arrive with a U Haul trailer and proceed to unpack a tent city. On the side of the U Haul was an advertisement for Wapakoneta OH and the space museum. Guess you can never leave Wapu.
As with everything, it must come to an end and so our return trip began. Not wanting to repeat the parking lot of I-95 we changed our trip back. I-95 south to East Lyme and CT-9 north (4 lane) a short 6 mile hop across CT-66 put you onto I-691 and I-84. Caught I-81 and back down to I-80 west to Milton, PA for two nights at the YOGI BEAR SHANGRI-LA for the little one to have some fun.
Since Milton, PA to Lakewood is around 440 miles we decided to do it in one day. This would be our longest day and normally we stayed in the 250 mile range. So Wednesday the 10th we headed for home. Around Akron the weather got nasty with heavy rain and the wind was picking up. By the time we got to Ashland, OH we pulled off and found a place to park facing into the wind and checked the weather maps on our phones. Since the storm was moving fast it only took 15 – 20 minutes for the worst of it to pass and off we went again. Glad we did pull over as when we got going again we almost ran over one of those big highway exit signs laying in the right lane. Would not have seen it in time during the down pour. By the time we made it into Lakewood the sky was blue and it was a nice end to the day. All in all we drove around 2,400 miles in the 3 weeks. There were minor issues like the truck popped its turbo discharge to the intercooler hose climbing the hill near Lamar PA. Had to repair a cable bracket on the bedroom slide and some other minor things. Rough roads on I-95 near Bridgeport CT popped the cord to the trailer lights/brakes loose. A zip-tie corrected that issue but not a good feeling only having the truck brakes to stop 20,000# in stop and go traffic in a construction zone. Carry tools that you can easily reach for minor repairs and plan on you plans being altered. Too much truck is a good thing! My F350 pulled the trailer well. Put the truck in tow, set the cruise at 60 and off she went. Up and down hills with little input from me. The truck would shift to control its speed. I only had to brake going downhill due to someone pulling in my way and slowing down.
