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Novice full timers


vollbear

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We're new full timers--just hit the road in November and this summer we're planning on traveling from Arizona, to San Antonio, DFW and then head toward the Blue Ridge Parkway, NYC, on up to Maine and then to VT for the Escapade. Any words of wisdom regarding travel, places to stay, need for reservations along the way, things to definitely avoid, would be greatly welcomed. Thanks ahead of time!

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Welcome to the Escapee forums! We are happy to have you with us.

 

You may want to consider taking the Natchez Trace at least part of your trip as it is as special as the Blue Ridge. I also suggest spending a day or two at Vicksburg, MS to visit the battle ground and the downtown museum. If you travel east on I-20 from Dallas you can easily get on to it at Jackson, MS and follow it north to Nashville, TN which is another place that is worth some time to visit.

 

If you have not visited there, Washington DC is well worth several days and the Smithsonian Institution can take two or three days alone. Another stop if you like history is Appomattox Courthouse NP. We also enjoyed Gettysburg Battlefield.

 

As you travel east, the Escapee park in Pecos is almost always full with all of the oil and gas work there so I'd not plan to stop there. In San Antonio, we always enjoy Admiralty RV Resort which has excellent access to the city attractions. In Dallas we have stayed at Traders Village RV Park and found it enjoyable with good access to the city attractions.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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Arizona to San Antonio and DFW in June, July or August time frame is a pretty warm to hot time to travel through here. October/November or March/April is better.

 

You might consider the northern route. Spend 2-4 weeks in the U'per (Upper Peninsula of Michigan) then head for upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and 3-4 weeks in Maine. We have visited the U'per and there is quite a bit to see and do. While we have never visited the northern shore of Lake Superior in Canada I have read that lots have people have enjoyed that trip.

 

In Maine go by Acadia NP and then follow the coast line to the Canada border. Plan on a week or more at Lubec, Maine and look around the area. There is a reversing falls within a 45 minute drive of Lubec. More info here. There are 20' tides in the area.

 

Another option, depending on when you can leave AZ is to head directly to Boston, spend mid to late April (2-3 weeks) visiting the historic sights in the Boston area. In May go into Maine for 3 weeks or so. Head into New Brunswick, Canada. Visit Nova Scotia for a month or more and head back to VT for the Escapade.

 

If you were to consider going to Nova Scotia, give some thought to taking your RV on the ferry to Newfoundland. We spent 7 weeks touring Newfoundland in 2008 in our RV and loved it. The downside to spending the time in Newfoundland was we didn't get to the southern or southwestern part of NS.

 

Being fulltimers you have lots and lots of options.

Al & Sharon
2006 Winnebago Journey 36G 
2020 Chevy Colorado Toad
San Antonio, TX

http://downtheroadaroundthebend.blogspot.com/

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Welcome to the Escapees Forum.

You will be covering a huge swath of the country between Arizona and Vermont. Without knowing what your interests are, it is a little difficult to recommend a route. If you are an Elvis or music fan, Memphis, Tupelo and Nashville have a lot to offer. US-61 is known as the Great River Road and the Blues Highway in Mississippi and goes through Vicksburg and towns important in music history like Clarksdale, MS. If you are interested in history, heading East there are Civil War sites in Corinth, Shilo, and Chattenooga. If you stay inland, there are more historic sites at Antietam, Harpers Ferry and Gettysburg. If you take I-40 to the coast, Wilmington has the Battleship North Carolina and a number of plantations. Just South of Washington DC is the Museum of the Marine Corps. The Finger Lakes Region and of New York and Niagera Falls are also potential stops along the way. If you provide more information about your interests and planned route, I am sure folks will provide more ideas and information.

 

Again, welcome to the Escapees Forum.

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Depending on your route in a days drive or less before San Antonio-Austin area is Fredricksburg, Tx. Near the LBJ ranch and Luchenbach, Tx. As much or more to see in Austin. Midway between the 2 makes it easy drive to either SA or Austin with campgrounds aroung New Braunfels or San Marcos. Taking on Kirk here I disagree somewhat on Traders villige especially on the weekend just due the the traffic getting into and out of the area. It isn't a bad park and is somewhat of a convienent location between Dallas and Ft. Worth. Near there and about as convienent is Cedar Hill SP on Joe Pool lake and 4 miles off the interstate. There is another one on that lake I can't remember the name of. One thing in some places on weekends, especially holiday weekends a lot of popular parks can be full. I volunteered at Cedar Hill for several years and I saw that happen there even with 355 spots. I saw some people in the park try to extend a few days have to move because if they were not paid through the weekend they were booked up with reservations. It doesn't happen a lot but can happen. I guess it can happen anywhere as I couldn't get in a state park in Tn once until after check out time on Sun. I don't want to scare you but not knowing how experienced you are it is good to be aware.

 

BTW I drove the Natchez Trace a month or so ago and there was one section closed due to a bridge out. There was a detour of some length on some narrow-ish road. Going N. the cut off was at I think Hoenwald, TN.

 

 

f

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Since you're now full time you have the freedom to choose when you want to travel. I certainly wouldn't wait til the summer months to start across the southwest. Just do what a lot of us full timers do, follow the 70's, and time out your travels to get to New England in the beautiful summer months in Maine. Maine can get crowded from Portland south, and around the Bar Harbor area. Try to find a conveniently located spot so you can day trip to see the sights. A couple places we stay, Harrington, Me. in the north, and Bucksport a little further south. Keep in mind also that the further north you go the cheaper the LOBSTAH. Since Maine and throughout New England is a summer destination for a lot of vacationers, I would be thinking about reservations, especially in the prime areas. But with that being said, we have done New England by the seat of our pants and didn't have any problems.

Fulltiming since 2010

2000 Dutch Star

2009 Saturn Vue

Myrtle Beach, SC

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  • 10 months later...

We have found that National Forest campgrounds tend to book up months in advance for what most people consider "camping season" (mid-spring to mid-fall). This has been our experience both as travelers and as volunteer camp hosts in those campgrounds. The NF campgrounds have walk-up sites, but the chances of getting one Thursday through Sunday in season are not as good as one would hope. We also learned to have plans and reservations during the window when the majority of schools around the country have spring break. Many destinations - not just the beaches - are booked well in advance for those times. We've gotten into a groove since last fall, though, of just making reservations a couple of days ahead as our plans materialize - unless we know we're headed someplace specific or for an event (such as this past Christmas with grandkids). If one place doesn't have the availability we want, we just look for another place to stay.

 

Rob

2012 F350 CC LB DRW 6.7
2020 Solitude 310GK-R, MORryde IS, disc brakes, solar, DP windows
Full-time since 8/2015

 

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