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Trip report to the east. The good, the bad, and the ugly

michigansandzil
Explorer
Explorer
Thanks for everyone's contributions to help me get this vacation planned. I took over a year and a half to budget and plan for this trip; it was much anticipated.

Our background: we are in our late 30s and our children are 12, 10, and 6.
Our original plan was to take 16 days and visit Gettysburg, DC, Baltimore, Norfolk, Assateague Island, Philly, and NYC. I had lots of potential activities in mind, but I have learned that sometimes the spontaneous stops bring the most joy. That served us well for this trip!

Day 1: We headed out after work on Friday night. We wanted to stop at Gettysburg en route to DC Saturday so we needed to leave on Friday night to make it before the visitor center closed on Saturday.
We were delayed for about an hour of our 3 hour trip due to an accident. We rerouted with our gps and were 1 mile from the campground and the road was closed. Ok, it's after 10pm, and my 6 year old is exhausted and my 12 and 10 year old boys are hitting each other......let's find this place! 40 mintues later, we arrive at the campground. That 3 hour trip took us about 5.5 hours and we were toast when we arrived.

Day 2: We all slept well from Friday night. The drive to Gettysburg wasn't too far, 4 hours or so, so we slept in. We woke up happy and energized and ready to get the party started.

11:30am on Saturday on the Pennsylvania turnpike a car approached us and said, "Your camper tire is smoking!" Whoa. Ok, thanks to the person that alerted us. We pulled over hoping to fix a flat and continue on our way. No big deal, we have a spare and plenty of tools. Nope.


The bearings on the axle failed and when we stopped, it actually caught fire. Thank goodness for the fire extinguisher! We needed an entire new axle.

I made lunch and the kids were able to use the bathroom while we called and waited for a wrecker. Smart phones proved to be worth their weight in gold for this trip!

We arrived at the shop at 1pm only to have the mechanic tell us that he won't be able to look at it until Monday, then he'll have to order parts, then he'll have to fix it.........

That's life. I get it. I've had my share of broken furnaces and unexpected car failures while getting to work. But there's something so much more profound about having a poorly timed repair disrupt your only vacation for the entire year. If it had been Monday instead of Saturday, we would have been on our way that evening. But because it was Saturday, we were basically SOL.
I called every repair shop and camper store in a 2 hour radius and they all said the same thing, "Sorry, it's 1 on Saturday. We're all leaving and we don't work on Sunday." Let's just say that the kids all learned how to swear that day.

The first big day of our trip and now we're down for a few days at least. There is no pushing back the trip, our work schedules won't permit that. This is it, our only available time off. This is the only chance we'll have this summer.

We've decided our new family motto is, "Go big or go home!" We didn't want to go home, so we went big. We ditched the camper, went to Walmart for a cooler and totes for clothes, and headed off to stay in hotels.
This was not what we had planned and it cost a fortune. But having raised our kids in a camping environment, they knew very little about hotels and it was a fun experience for them.
2017 Coachmen Catalina 323 BHDSCK
2018 Ford F150 FX4
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45 REPLIES 45

ependydad
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Explorer
Thank you wonderfully for this trip report. It was a great read. Your all's perseverance is second to none. The pictures were great, too.
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mosseater
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This such a great story, untimely breakdown notwithstanding.

Way to make lemonade out of a bushel of lemmons! Fantastic life lesson to your kids, and the rest of us for that matter. Kudos to you!
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michigansandzil
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Explorer
NYCgrrl wrote:
Dinna exactly work with a friend from MI who literally cried when I left her at the 42nd St transfer point but she later laughed at self and told me how nice she found NYC police, LOL. Oh and she lives here now but whatevah.


We did like the tour, it was a great way to see everything and relax while not getting lost. It was brainless.

I can see how someone could cry about being lost in the subway, it is confusing when you're not used to it. There are no subways in Michigan, so unless you've traveled, you are basically a subway virgin. Honestly, I did the super easy way of navigating the subway as a tourist. I went directly to the practically empty booth and asked the nice lady how to get to where we wanted to go. I gave her money, she gave me cards, told me to take the line to the right and get off at 79th street. LOL, really couldn't have been easier.

So your friend moved from Michigan to NYC? That's quite a difference. I'm glad I saw NYC, but never in a million years would I ever consider living there. To each their own.

And I agree, I really liked Philly and I'd like to go back; maybe get that cheesesteak!
2017 Coachmen Catalina 323 BHDSCK
2018 Ford F150 FX4
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NYCgrrl
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Well I might have waved at you from up above since you went as far uptown as Grant's Tomb. I live on CPW and smile at the tour buses daily. Good you spent some time on the subways! I always tell visitors that it's doable and part of the true "citay" experience. Dinna exactly work with a friend from MI who literally cried when I left her at the 42nd St transfer point but she later laughed at self and told me how nice she found NYC police, LOL. Oh and she lives here now but whatevah.

Don't know how long your family has been in this country but my preference is Ellis Island over the Statue of Liberty. Almost all of my grandparents landed there and my paternal grandfather's reminiscences were recorded and are part of the permanent general and Caribbean audio exhibitions.

Last time I actually climbed to the crown of the Lady with the Lamp was in 6th grade......."Oops" said in typical "it'll be there tomorrow" native New Yorker fashion.
I do make a point of avidly watching Alfred Hitchcock's "Saboteur" however.

I don't visit 9/11 exhibits but that's just a personal thing; I understand how important it is to others.

Glad you got to visit so many points of interest on your bucket list after all!:C:

Oh and be sure to try and visit Philly again............one of my favorite cities on the Eastern Seaboard and needs alllllllll to taste a homegrown version of a Philly steak instead of those wannabes various chain restaurants/markets put out.

We visit Philly about once a year and still haven't gotten bored with the town.

Beatfarmer
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Thanks for letting us tag along on your vacation.
Time's sure fun when you're having flies!

chris_in_pa
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Loved the trip report! Great lesson in making do when things go wrong. Your family will talk about that trip for the rest of their lives.

dblr
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All I can say is WOW!!!!!!!! Great trip report and what was thrown at you in the beginning and how you all handled it was wonderful. We broke down this year and handled it the same way, deal with it make the best then move on. You gave your children a wonderful trip and a lesson on how not to let something ruin the whole experience, when life givers you lemons.... well you know the rest. Thanks again for sharing and it was a pleasure to follow along.
Might have to keep you in mind for when we head your way for some tips on Michigan.
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Oakman
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Thanks for sharing your trip with us and all the photos you included.
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mgirardo
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Explorer
Thanks for sharing your trip with us. I am glad you decided to push on after the broken axle. We've had our share of tow vehicle breakdowns and never let that stop us, thanks to AAA Plus with RV.

It is definitely a trip that you and your kids will remember forever and you taught the kids a life long lesson - when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

The only negative I have for you is: I can't believe you had Pizza in Baltimore and NYC, but missed the best pizza in the world in Philadelphia. Oh well. Next time. ๐Ÿ™‚

-Michael
Michael Girardo
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michigansandzil
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Explorer
Day 16, Saturday:
Homeward bound. 640 miles from Jersey City to our home in Michigan.

It was time to go home. The trip was uneventful. Nothing broke. The kids didn't even argue excessively. It was the bathroom breaks that wore us down.

Anyway, we're home now. Nobody got dressed today. We're all happy to be back. Tomorrow reality hits as we go back to work.

I hope you enjoyed the report.
2017 Coachmen Catalina 323 BHDSCK
2018 Ford F150 FX4
3 growing kids and 1 big dog

michigansandzil
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Explorer
Day 15, Friday:
Our last day of vacation. Bittersweet.

The kids were saying they are so happy we made them continue on a go to NYC. They really enjoyed the Statue and the entire experience. But at the same time, they were all homesick.

We slept in a little and wanting to take advantage of the entire day, we took the subway to our first destination. We had already passed this area yesterday on the bus tour and it probably cut our travel time by half. The kids needed to take a subway anyway, they had never done it before.
Subway ride in NYC. Check. Sorry, it's blurry.
We got off in the upper west side in a residential area. This part of town I really enjoyed. It wasn't overcrowded, it just seemed more pleasant and less touristy.

We went to visit the American Museum of Natural History. It was pretty awesome.




We did that for a couple of hours, (we completely skipped the diorama portions) and got back on the bus hungry. We did have a goal of eating pizza in NYC, b/c isn't it famous for pizza? When we got on the bus we asked the tour guide about where to get good pizza. Of course she knew, bc she's local. It happened that her favorite place V&T, was just at the next stop. Perfect! We got off and it did not disappoint. Best pizza ever! We ate every morsel.


We got back on the bus to finish up the tour. We noticed that we were driving right past the tomb of Ulysses S Grant. The kids had to go to the bathroom, so we got off to check it out. We didn't have our passports with us to get stamped so we just stamped paper and put it in our backpack to tape into place later. Interesting stop. My daughter couldn't figure out where the dead guy was, who he was, why he had a house, who lived here, what a tomb was.....




We got back on the bus, and found it was standing room only. No fun. We passed by Central Park and got off, my son had to pee again anyway. We got back on a less crowded bus and took that one to the closest stop to the 911 Memorial, then my son had to pee again.....

We had to walk just a little bit to get to the Memorial. Seeing as how it was a place where a horrific terrorist attack took so many lives, I felt that the smiling pose would be inappropriate. I got a pic of the kids' backs while they pondered the moment.




We had to high tail it back to the ferry to make the last one of the night.

This was a yacht in the harbor that my son loved. I told him I really hoped he would have one of those one day. ๐Ÿ™‚
2017 Coachmen Catalina 323 BHDSCK
2018 Ford F150 FX4
3 growing kids and 1 big dog

bee_46
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We live in Maryland and when we go to the ocean we always go to Assateague for the beach. Even if you are not camping the beach at Assateague is much easier to access than Ocean City and usually not as crowded. You do have to watch your belongings on the beach at Assateague as the ponies will grab things and go off with them.

It is nice that you got to Fort McHenry and got to help raise the large flag. We have also be able to do that.

I'm glad you enjoyed your time in Maryland. BTW I would not camp in Maryland in the summer without AC either.
Bobbie ๐Ÿ™‚

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michigansandzil
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Explorer
Day 14, Thursday:
I had purchased crown tickets to the Statue Of Liberty back in February. Being completely unfamiliar with the area and mode of transportation, I had some reservations about how to get to the ferry for the statue. I just asked at the desk and she told me which ferry to take and by the end of the day I feel like I had the whole "How to get into NYC" figured out. We didn't do the PATH train at all, but I think I could have figured that out as well.

Anyway, our tickets were for 10, and I didn't want to be late, so we erred on the side of caution and arrived early. I really wasn't sure if the 10 am time was for the ferry ride over, or the entrance to the crown. I thought maybe they wouldn't let us board the ferry until 10 and we arrived at 9. In the end it didn't matter what the time said to the ferry people, they just let us on, they never checked for a time. We must have had the best timing ever because we never waited for more than two minutes for transportation this entire day. We ferried over to Liberty Island without issue.
Originally, (before this trip started), I had wanted to visit Ellis Island. My attitude toward this trip changed considerably after the axle broke. I relaxed a LOT. The trip is different than what I thought I wanted, and that's not bad; just go with it, it will still be great. Nobody wants to go to Ellis Island? Ok with me. I explained what it was, took a picture from the ferry, and went directly to the statue. That was the biggest priority anyway.

We all agree that this was the second best part of the trip, with Assateague being #1.


View from the crown


We hiked up 340 steps in a tight spiral to reach the top. Not unlike going up a very tall lighthouse with better steps and handrails.




You can get this shot if you lay on your back in the far corner of the walkway. Another couple and I exchanged the task. Maybe this will be on my Christmas card as well.


We had an unexpectedly pleasant lunch on the island. There was fresh fruit and yogurt and sandwiches. We didn't have to eat fries and burgers again. It was sunny but not hot, there was a breeze, we had just completed a hike up to the crown of the Statue of Liberty. We felt triumphant. What a great day!! We went to the gift shop and the boys wanted a souvenir that was a box with a pic of the statue on it and their name. I think it cost $2. No problem boys, no problem. We also got pencils. This turned out to be a big pencil as a souvenir trip. They're cheap and when you have 3 kids it works. The kids had brought their own money for souvenirs and not surprisingly, when they had to spend their own money, they were very conservative. I offered tshirts, hats; nope they weren't interested. Great, savings for me then.

We ferried over to Battery Park in NYC. I'm not opposed to subways, I've managed to not get lost in Paris and London, but you don't really see much when you're underground, so we splurged and bought a two day on/off bus tour for everyone. It was worth it. We got off the ferry, and saw a bus at the curb. No waiting for us again. Score!

It was quite an experience. The kids were quiet I think because they were trying to absorb and process everything.


Our first stop was the American Girl Store. My daughter had been saving money that her grandpa gave her at Christmas last year. That's a long time when you're 6! The store is 3 stories tall and she was overwhelmed and excited, like a 6 year old on crack! We let her run wild for 30 minutes then had to settle her down to focus on what doll she wanted. Here she is.


We decided to take the boys to Toys R Us since they were patient for their sister. We were close to it so we just walked. We walked through Time Square. Why do people do that on purpose repeatedly? I'll never understand!
Anyway, they choose a video game. They had to pay with their own money again. Usually it's $50 for one game. Without any suggestions from us, they decided to split the cost of a $40 game. Yep, lots of lessons learned on this trip for everyone.

We got back on the bus and rode it to the ferry. Waited 5 minutes and ferried directly over to the campground. We were toast.


He's pounding on the door right now, "Let me in!" ๐Ÿ˜‰


We ended up getting take out from the restaurant right on the harbor side at the end of the campground. We figured we ate healthy for lunch, let's have some garbage. It was all really good.

All in all, we had a really good day!
2017 Coachmen Catalina 323 BHDSCK
2018 Ford F150 FX4
3 growing kids and 1 big dog

michigansandzil
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Explorer
tragusa3 wrote:
It is quite the coincidence that we both had bearing failures. Glad to see that it didn't send you packing.


You know, I actually thought of you and your experience when I was having doubts about my trailer's ability to get us across the county. When I was wondering how often that type of issue occurs with trustworthy trailers, you came to my mind and it gave me a lot of reassurance. You made it home and you didn't have a half million dollar diesel pusher. Maybe we could too.

Who knows, maybe someone reading my story right now will have a similar experience and be encouraged from it as well.
2017 Coachmen Catalina 323 BHDSCK
2018 Ford F150 FX4
3 growing kids and 1 big dog