Our new adventure awaits

[BethandSteve]

Hi Everyone,
We are purchasing a Motorhome in the spring and can’t wait to get on the road for our adventures. We are planning on doing this full time in an Entegra Anthem with a Bronco toad.

If anyone has any tips or destinations they love we would love to hear about them.

See you all soon
Beth and Steve

 

[Rollin Ollen]

Hi Everyone,
We are purchasing a Motorhome in the spring and can’t wait to get on the road for our adventures. We are planning on doing this full time in an Entegra Anthem with a Bronco toad.

If anyone has any tips or destinations they love we would love to hear about them.

See you all soon
Beth and Steve

Welcome aboard. Sadly I don't have any specific tips on where you should go or what to see but..........I can tell you that in the six years we have been on the road full time, we have NOT been disappointed in any of the provinces or states (US or Mexican) we have been to. But different strokes for different folks. We like visiting historical places, museums, sometimes off beat items, scenery, and we like to sample food that varies from place to place. Before COVID our travels were not planned per say. Where the wind would blow us is where we would go then we would check our bucket list to see if anything was close. We are not fans of big cities or Interstates but occasionally we do encounter them but there had better be a very good attraction at the destination. Since COVID and the influx of COVID campers we have had to become a lot more structured in that we reserve our campsites now.

You don't say where your home base is or what you would like to see and do. Just a few hints would get you some better answers to your query. Do you want to golf, fish, hike, climb, dine?

At any rate, Canada, the US and Mexico contain a vast treasure of places to see and activities to do. We have neve had a boring day yet! Opps, yes we have! I almost forgot that there are times that you need to take a break long enough to clean your coach, do your laundry, get the dog to the groomers.

Safe Travels

Darrell

 

[John&Andrea]

Welcome! Enjoy your journey. My tip, don’t be in a hurry. Take your time to enjoy and never be in a hurry to leave. That’s when the crazy stuff happens. Just sayin’.

 

[BethandSteve]

Welcome aboard. Sadly I don't have any specific tips on where you should go or what to see but..........I can tell you that in the six years we have been on the road full time, we have NOT been disappointed in any of the provinces or states (US or Mexican) we have been to. But different strokes for different folks. We like visiting historical places, museums, sometimes off beat items, scenery, and we like to sample food that varies from place to place. Before COVID our travels were not planned per say. Where the wind would blow us is where we would go then we would check our bucket list to see if anything was close. We are not fans of big cities or Interstates but occasionally we do encounter them but there had better be a very good attraction at the destination. Since COVID and the influx of COVID campers we have had to become a lot more structured in that we reserve our campsites now.

You don't say where your home base is or what you would like to see and do. Just a few hints would get you some better answers to your query. Do you want to golf, fish, hike, climb, dine?

At any rate, Canada, the US and Mexico contain a vast treasure of places to see and activities to do. We have neve had a boring day yet! Opps, yes we have! I almost forgot that there are times that you need to take a break long enough to clean your coach, do your laundry, get the dog to the groomers.

Safe Travels

Darrell

Hi Darrel,

Thanks so much for your reply!
Your right I didn’t give much information…goes to show how much of a newbee I am.

We are starting out from Cobourg Ontario Canada and plan on following the sun wherever that may lead us. Coming back to travel Canada in the summer time.
First trip is to entegra university so we can learn as much as we can about our new home
We love to golf, try new foods, and my husband loves history so we will look for lots of historical sites.
Are campsites hard to find and book for big rigs? I have downloaded RV tip wizard, harvest host, and all stays.
Have you stayed at any harvest hosts? If we had an option we would prefer quiet and spacious locations and campgrounds.

We can’t wait to meet new people on the road and learn as we go!!!

 

[BethandSteve]

Welcome! Enjoy your journey. My tip, don’t be in a hurry. Take your time to enjoy and never be in a hurry to leave. That’s when the crazy stuff happens. Just sayin’.

Hi John and Andrea,
Thank you and that’s a Perfect tip!

 

[Rollin Ollen]

Hi Darrel,

Thanks so much for your reply!
Your right I didn’t give much information…goes to show how much of a newbee I am.

We are starting out from Cobourg Ontario Canada and plan on following the sun wherever that may lead us. Coming back to travel Canada in the summer time.
First trip is to entegra university so we can learn as much as we can about our new home
We love to golf, try new foods, and my husband loves history so we will look for lots of historical sites.
Are campsites hard to find and book for big rigs? I have downloaded RV tip wizard, harvest host, and all stays.
Have you stayed at any harvest hosts? If we had an option we would prefer quiet and spacious locations and campgrounds.

We can’t wait to meet new people on the road and learn as we go!!!

We are Canadian thus, we winter south and summer north as you will be doing. We have visited a couple of Harvest Hosts but ended up spending about what it would have cost us at a regular park. We know that we are not obligated to make a purchase but felt a little sheepish by not and what we bought we really didn't want so they are not a prime choice for us.

A couple of suggestions for you. Golf = The Palm springs/Palm Desert area. Food = PE I for Sea Food (take in a Church style Lobster Dinner!), Cajun/Creole in New Orleans and Texas BBQ. History = The Oregon Trail starting from Independence to Baker City Oregon.

Being from Ontario I suspect your travels south will more than likely be eastern destinations. We have been to all of the Canadian Provinces (except for Newfoundland), All of the lower 48 (except for Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky) and as such, we have become very fond of the country west of the Mississippi. The east, in our opinion, is too populated, too busy and too noisy and most warm winter destinations are very humid. We found it really hard to find RV Parks in Florida without booking a year in advance. We have become very enthusiastic about desert boon docking where your neighbor is probably a quarter of a mile away and NO RESERVATION required. Winter temps are moderate and it is cool at night for good sleeping. We have met some very nice folks out there as well which we find almost odd. One would think that being very close to your neighbor would make it easier to meet people. Who knows, perhaps we might meet you in the desert some day.

That being said, we still have items on our bucket list that will take us back east. The Blue Ridge Parkway is very high on our bucket list and since I like Bourbon, The Bourbon Trails in Kentucky and Tennessee are calling my name. There are many other places that we will probably take in as well. Our bucket list is not shrinking. It is growing.

Safe travels.

Darrell

 

[BethandSteve]

We are Canadian thus, we winter south and summer north as you will be doing. We have visited a couple of Harvest Hosts but ended up spending about what it would have cost us at a regular park. We know that we are not obligated to make a purchase but felt a little sheepish by not and what we bought we really didn't want so they are not a prime choice for us.

A couple of suggestions for you. Golf = The Palm springs/Palm Desert area. Food = PE I for Sea Food (take in a Church style Lobster Dinner!), Cajun/Creole in New Orleans and Texas BBQ. History = The Oregon Trail starting from Independence to Baker City Oregon.

Being from Ontario I suspect your travels south will more than likely be eastern destinations. We have been to all of the Canadian Provinces (except for Newfoundland), All of the lower 48 (except for Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky) and as such, we have become very fond of the country west of the Mississippi. The east, in our opinion, is too populated, too busy and too noisy and most warm winter destinations are very humid. We found it really hard to find RV Parks in Florida without booking a year in advance. We have become very enthusiastic about desert boon docking where your neighbor is probably a quarter of a mile away and NO RESERVATION required. Winter temps are moderate and it is cool at night for good sleeping. We have met some very nice folks out there as well which we find almost odd. One would think that being very close to your neighbor would make it easier to meet people. Who knows, perhaps we might meet you in the desert some day.

That being said, we still have items on our bucket list that will take us back east. The Blue Ridge Parkway is very high on our bucket list and since I like Bourbon, The Bourbon Trails in Kentucky and Tennessee are calling my name. There are many other places that we will probably take in as well. Our bucket list is not shrinking. It is growing.

Safe travels.

Darrell

Thank you for the ideas and yes maybe we will see you both in our travels.
Glad to meet other Canadians with full time travel experience!
I agree with the boondocking as could cost more then a campsite as I would also feel obligated to purchase things we may not need.
I know everyone’s situation will be different but was hoping to find out more about RV insurance, health care in the US, and average monthly expenses people have been spending as a full time RVer.
We would more enjoy quiet spacious campsites rather than noisy crowed ones…but would like to try them all. Soooo excited to get our journey started!
Beth

 

[Rollin Ollen]

Thank you for the ideas and yes maybe we will see you both in our travels.
Glad to meet other Canadians with full time travel experience!
I agree with the boondocking as could cost more then a campsite as I would also feel obligated to purchase things we may not need.
I know everyone’s situation will be different but was hoping to find out more about RV insurance, health care in the US, and average monthly expenses people have been spending as a full time RVer.
We would more enjoy quiet spacious campsites rather than noisy crowed ones…but would like to try them all. Soooo excited to get our journey started!
Beth

Question: (But don't answer). Will you still have a stick and brick or are you renting it out or selling? Reason for the question is that Ontario allows private insurers to operate. Many private carriers will not insure you to travel full time. They do not stipulate exactly how long you can be away but many consider how long you can be out of province before your Canadian Medicare will laps to be the rule. Alberta and a few other provinces will let you be out of province for 7 months (that includes being in other provinces and out of country). The others limit you to six. Provinces that have Public Insurance can not deny you coverage from what I understand. In order to maintain our Alberta Health Care we sometimes have to fly back to Alberta just to say "We're here"!


Medical Insurance: We purchase "Out of Province" insurance from AMA and then add a top up to cover "Out of Country" again through AMA. Canadian Universal Healthcare is mandated by the feds but controlled by each province or territory. Many coverages differ from province to province. There are other carriers and policy costs and conditions vary. We joined the Snow Birds Club thinking that prices would be better. Not so for us. Our costs were very economical (under $2000.00) until we turned 65. The premium has now doubled even though we are still very healthy but, as you know, Insurers only care about numbers. We still feel we are getting a bargain. We also use AMA for our Roadside Assistance coverage. If you break down, towing a coach is very costly.

Monthly costs. Now that's a tough one. You can spend very little or you can spend a pile. It depends on what type of lifestyle you expect to live. Boob docking in the desert can be very economical. Staying at luxury resorts, golfing and dining out can be very expensive.

For us, our lifestyle is pretty cheap since we do not have any stick and brick expenses. we have only the cost of fuel, maintenance on the Coach and Jeep, Insurance (health and auto) groceries and our communications (tels in Canada and Verizon in the US and Mexico).

There is a forum thread where some folks have listed their costs. You will have to search for the link.

I'm here if you need any other info as are many others that will chip in their 2 cents!

Darrell






telus in Canada and Verizon in the States)