Rich and Linda Morris, proud owners of a new Airstream Interstate Class B motorhome, are taking their first steps into the RV lifestyle. When Rich asked us where we were headed next, I shrugged. He grinned and said, “How great to be so free!” I smiled inwardly, knowing it had nothing to do with being a free spirit. Stuff happens, and plans change. Why plan an itinerary today when everything can change tomorrow?
Bronte Provincial Park Campsite
The original plan had been to visit Karin—a high school friend of Manny’s—in Toronto, then to continue up the coast of Ontario on the way to Quebec, our ultimate destination. However, our first night in a Provincial Park gave us quite a shock: $42.00 a night! We rarely pay more than $30.00 in U.S. State Parks, and often much less. The Canadian park sites were ample, with similar amenities. But the bathrooms were filthy. We were shocked and disappointed.
We are not prone to rush to judgment, so we tried a County Park. Here we found more permanent residents than temporary campers. It was a desolate, end-of-the-line kind of place, where people live when they have no where else to go. And yet, it was still $42.00 a night.
We were flabbergasted when we realized that the $1.31 advertised on the Canadian Petrol marquee meant “per liter”, about $5.00 a gallon!
Petro Canada's Price
So we decided that after visiting Karin, we would hightail it back to the United States and travel along the southern coast of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River in New York to arrive in Quebec for the “Europeanesque” experience we desired.
I had always wondered why Marianne and Randy, Ontario residents and authors of the popular website www.frugal-rv-travel.com, always seem to travel in the United States.
I checked their site, and noticed that Marianne commented, “Although Randy and I are Canadians, we know it’s cheaper to travel through almost any of the 48 continental United States than to travel through our own province of Ontario.”
Now I understand why.
5 Responses to New Plan