Doin Niagara and New England this summer

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ragtopfury

ragtopfury

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So the family vacation this year is in the planning stages.... Rather than our yearly pilgrimage to Myrtle Beach this year, we're heading North.....

Looking to do the following with the 5th wheel in tow:

Beginning June 17th -back home on July 1:
Niagara Falls and Toronto for a few days (Maid of the Mist, Falls Museum and ??)
do an over nighter out side of Montreal
head down to Twin Mtn, New Hamshire area for a couple of days (scenic railroad rides and ???)
then to Boston area for a couple of days (day trip to Martha's Vineyard, and ??)
shoot across to the Deleware Water Gap/Pocono Mtn/Bushkill area for a couple of days (sight seeing and ??)
then return home (wash the rig down and sleep until going to work the next day to rest up before doing Carlisle the following weekend)


I was last in Niagara about 25 years ago.... Never been thru New England before.... So for those of you up North and North of the Border, any "must see" tourist traps that the wife and kids might enjoy? By the time we head out, the kids will be 15.5 and looking forward to getting his learners permit when we get home, 4 and is no doubt a wound up little boy, 1.5 and will probably just be walking on her own by then....
 
Go to Salem Massachusetts. It is about 20 miles north of Boston. There is a ton of historical sites including The Salem Witch House, Witch Museum, House of Seven Gables. and lots more. Check out the mansions on Federal Street. Several of them were originally owned and built in the 1600's here is a link to the Salem Mass tourism Web page below. I was born in Salem and grew up there. Lived there for 35 yrs. You will have a lot of fun. Check out Winter Island .. It is an Island in Salem with an old Coast Guard Station that was used in WW2 and is now an RV park.

http://salem.org/
 
Cool man, i am in Gilford right on Lake Winnipesaukee YOU NEED TO SEE Lake Winnipesaukee its bueatiful and the biggest lake in New England. And we have a nice scenic railroad at Weirs Beach in Laconia.
 
Plymouth 340 said:
Cool man, i am in Gilford right on Lake Winnipesaukee YOU NEED TO SEE Lake Winnipesaukee its bueatiful and the biggest lake in New England. And we have a nice scenic railroad at Weirs Beach in Laconia.
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Laconia is beautiful in the Summer. Winnipesaukee is a gorgeous lake. My Parents own a piece of land in Wakefield N.H.
 
ragtopfury said:
So the family vacation this year is in the planning stages.... Rather than our yearly pilgrimage to Myrtle Beach this year, we're heading North.....

Looking to do the following with the 5th wheel in tow:

Beginning June 17th -back home on July 1:
Niagara Falls and Toronto for a few days (Maid of the Mist, Falls Museum and ??)
do an over nighter out side of Montreal
head down to Twin Mtn, New Hamshire area for a couple of days (scenic railroad rides and ???)
then to Boston area for a couple of days (day trip to Martha's Vineyard, and ??)
shoot across to the Deleware Water Gap/Pocono Mtn/Bushkill area for a couple of days (sight seeing and ??)
then return home (wash the rig down and sleep until going to work the next day to rest up before doing Carlisle the following weekend)


I was last in Niagara about 25 years ago.... Never been thru New England before.... So for those of you up North and North of the Border, any "must see" tourist traps that the wife and kids might enjoy? By the time we head out, the kids will be 15.5 and looking forward to getting his learners permit when we get home, 4 and is no doubt a wound up little boy, 1.5 and will probably just be walking on her own by then....
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You're gonna absolutely love it. Bring a camera and take plenty of pictures, and don't forget to post them up here. It's a beautiful part of the country. ENJOY!!!!!!


There's a ton of stuff to do, but if you get to Brattleboro Vermont. Be sure to stop at "Steamtown". It's a railroad museum, and besides some great steam locomotives (including a Big Boy), there are steam driven vehicles and engines of all types.

That's my tip, I'll leave some for the others to plug. ;)
 
your going to love the women in Montreal!!!lol Sandbanks,Ontario. kind'a like Florida beaches...located between Toronto and Montreal. I would definitly reserve if you like the area copy past the link http://prince-edward-county.com I'm in Ottawa,Ontario if you need more info in my area don't be shy ask.
 
cannucky said:
Four words for Toronto -Hockey Hall of Fame , then maybe Casa Loma for her ?
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This is a great idea.. you will enjoy the HHOF... but then give your wife some shopping money and you head to Quebec for some of the best strip clubs ever! LOL
 
Slight thread jack, but right around the same time my bro and I are going up to Maine to visit some family friends. We were going to go through Chicago, then up Michigan and into Canada through Sarnia, then take the TC highway all the way NE, through Montreal and Quebec, to highway 185 then turn south there and head to Presque Isle. Just a couple questions about driving there. What's traffic like? what's the normal speed on the highway. If it is 100Kph then would they bust you for going 106? (65 mph) Are the canadian police fairly decent when it comes to people from the states on that highway? Sorry, I'll let you get back to it.
 
HemiMark said:
This is a great idea.. you will enjoy the HHOF... but then give your wife some shopping money and you head to Quebec for some of the best strip clubs ever! LOL
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I can attest to that!
 
Be sure to see the falls at night too, they look really pretty with the lights, been there twice and the night time was my favorite. Maid of the mist is fun too, they get you pretty close...and wet too! Not far from there is Fort Niagara, that was really cool, buildings dating back to the early 1700's, they also have the oldest lighthouse on the Great Lakes, well worth the trip.
 
Muad'Dib15 said:
Slight thread jack, but right around the same time my bro and I are going up to Maine to visit some family friends. We were going to go through Chicago, then up Michigan and into Canada through Sarnia, then take the TC highway all the way NE, through Montreal and Quebec, to highway 185 then turn south there and head to Presque Isle. Just a couple questions about driving there. What's traffic like? what's the normal speed on the highway. If it is 100Kph then would they bust you for going 106? (65 mph) Are the canadian police fairly decent when it comes to people from the states on that highway? Sorry, I'll let you get back to it.
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100 kms = 62 mph, you'll be fine. my cruising speed is always under 120 kms in the slow lane. TC (401) be carefull, but the avarage speed is more like 140kms
 
GT340 said:
If you’re in the area I highly recommend Stony Brook State Park (I use to live very close to here: http://nysparks.com/parks/118/details.aspx

Also Watkins Glen State Park, right next to Watkins Glen Race track: http://gowaterfalling.com/waterfalls/watkins.shtml and the race track http://www.theglen.com/?homepage=true

Letchworth State Park: http://nysparks.com/parks/79/details.aspx
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I was going to say something along those lines, considering Watkins is my home town. :D A lot of folks who have never been to the Finger Lakes region can't believe that upstate NY can look like this! Running the old track, the actual road course, is a nice drive into the heart of some of the hills and gives a spectacular view of Seneca Lake. I can also give a small tour that will get you off the beaten track to give you some of the best views of the area.
 
2darts said:
100 kms = 62 mph, you'll be fine. my cruising speed is always under 120 kms in the slow lane. TC (401) be carefull, but the avarage speed is more like 140kms
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WOW 86 mph? nice!
 
Greatly appreciated input folks!!!!

Thus far, looks like we're doing (until some other highly suggested ideas come in to play):

- 3 full days in Niagara area most likely at the KOA just south/west of Toronto becasue I'd rather spend $60/night as opposed to $110 to stay at the one in Niagara - the drive back to the falls (or bus ride) is no big deal. Night falls, day falls, maid/mist (did it 25 yrs a go and can't wait to see the kids reaction), tunnels under the falls if they still do let ya do that, Falls museum to see all the goofballs that took the ride over the falls, maybe back into NY one day for Ft Niagara, maybe the HHOF if time allows.
- an over-nighter halfway between Toronto and Twin Mtn, N.H.
- 3 full days in Twin Mtn KOA for a few day trips from there. Conway Scenic RR, maybe Mt. Washington Cog RR, maybe the Hobo RR, Loon Mountain, Winnipesaukee area
- 4 full days in Boston/Salem area in another KOA. Salem witch stuff, Martha's Vines, Winter Island
- over-nighter (maybe 2) in Pocono/Bushkill area (we honey-mooned there, so just a breather on the way home is good this time around)

Packing a lot into 2 full weeks. Gotta hit the RR stuff seeing how we have the B&O RR down here complete with it's "one man opens a hatch and turns the turn-table by walking it manually" roundhouse.....Trying to stay at KOA's cuz we have their discount Kamping Kard and the good sam club can't beat the discounts we get with it.... We'll have to hit the finger Lakes/Watkins another year (like a week long trip just to Upstate NY in August next year after a 2-weeker in Myrtle) We're trying to fit Chincoteague, Va. for the pony swim across the chanel again this year....did it a few years ago - neat to see.

Next year I'll have 25 years with the company and that gets me a 5th week in vacation time....woo-hoo!!!!!.... We've done the whole lower East Coast several times. Hitting New England this year. That will take care of the entire East Coast..... in Two years, my oldest graduates high school and we're planning a 3 week loop around the states. Two years after that, we'll run an inner loop to catch the states we miss on the 3 week trip.... My/our goal is to be able to say we've at least touched 48 of the 50 states. In 15 years we hope to land on Hawaii, then we'll only have Alaska on the list.....

(BTW - the "go shopping dear while i hit the clubs" idea didn't fly...go figure. :-s)
 
Rather than the KOA. Just south of Boston is Wamputuck State Park. Great place and only 30 min drive from downtown Boston. http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/southeast/womp.htm
they have large sites and small crowds.
If you go to Salem hit up the witch dungeon. A good place to eat down on the square is the Boston Hot Dog Company or for Italian try Christina's Pizza on Lafayette. Tiny place with good food and great prices. If you are downtown definitely walk the freedom trail if you are a history buff at all it is worth the several hours it takes. The cape is nice but a longer drive than you think.
 
As for the speeds... it goes without saying, 86 mph can be fun, but not when you have a 10k lb condo in tow.... dry highway/interstate 62-67 mph is comfortable... let it rain and I drop back to 50-60 (sometimes slower) depending on the condtions.

I've done the major evasive move with it once about 6 years ago... off the right shoulder, into the grass, turn right to go left, reach down and put it in 4wheel to get the front straight again and not get stuck in the mud, drove around everyone else who was in panic stop mode, back up on the shoulder and into the lane in front of the stopped traffic...and kept rolling. Happened in a sudden down-pour/cloudburst in PA...had been raining off and on... traffic was back up to about 55mph. A group of vehicles was in the process of passing and riding next to me when the wall of water hit us, everyone just stood on their brakes.... Stood on mine too keep from nailing the minivan in front of me, thats when the back end of the trailer started to come around... shot for the shoulder and just as i was sliding past the guy in front of me, the next car up shot over and stopped....so i went off the road with it.... Sis-in-law was sitting up front, wife was in the back with my son... when we got straight, Sis was white as a ghost and only said "nice job". Wife looked up front and asked what was i doing.... And that quick, the rain stopped. I'm glad the grass off the side of the road was flat and not a hill.....
 
ramenth said:
I was going to say something along those lines, considering Watkins is my home town. :D A lot of folks who have never been to the Finger Lakes region can't believe that upstate NY can look like this! Running the old track, the actual road course, is a nice drive into the heart of some of the hills and gives a spectacular view of Seneca Lake. I can also give a small tour that will get you off the beaten track to give you some of the best views of the area.
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My father helped build and campaign motorcycles that won motorcycle championships at Watkins Glen, Langhorne as well as many hill climbing championships. Then built and raced cars (Midgets) that won many races on the East and West Coasts.

Western New York is as beautiful as any place in the USA and was a great place to grow up! I haven't been back there for quite some time and need to get back and visit friends and relatives and do a little fishing.

I still get a kick out of the sign by Mt Morris "The Best Town by a Dam Site"!
 
jkeck55 said:
Rather than the KOA. Just south of Boston is Wamputuck State Park. Great place and only 30 min drive from downtown Boston. http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/southeast/womp.htm
they have large sites and small crowds.
If you go to Salem hit up the witch dungeon. A good place to eat down on the square is the Boston Hot Dog Company or for Italian try Christina's Pizza on Lafayette. Tiny place with good food and great prices. If you are downtown definitely walk the freedom trail if you are a history buff at all it is worth the several hours it takes. The cape is nice but a longer drive than you think.
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Another place to get a meal and this is a MUST try. Check Out Bill and Bob's Roast Beef on Bridge Street in Salem. THE ABSOLUTE BEST ROAST BEEF SANDWICHES ON THE PLANET!!!!!!!
 
In my avitar behind the Duster is Seneca Lake which is 32 miles long. You will love the Fingerlakes area if you visit.
 
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