On People Along the Way 1

The earliest personal influence on the tour was by Dick Houtz of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, in about 2005. Willem was just beginning to understand the differences between trailers and 5^th wheels and how they compare with motor homes and was debating diesel versus gas trucks, when Dick’s vast experience and sober assessment of need, in relation to what the market offers, entered the process.  He cautioned about over-buying with respect to RV size, design and tow vehicle. As thinking expanded to make it a foursome affair and thus better justifying the expense and further use of whatever equipment were acquired beyond the one extensive trip, the plan crystallized further. And with Dick’s input in place we approached the many RV shows we attended in subsequent years. By 2008, when Fickie and Stella showed strong interest, their influence narrowed things down to a 5^th wheel and truck combination. Dick’s caution about not going too long for the rig had us wanting to fit 2 queen size bed(rooms) plus respectable living space, a bath room and a workable kitchen in under about 30 feet. Such was a challenge not being met by anything we’ve come across – not even at what was promoted as the largest RV show in the nation – in Hershey, Pennsylvania, with the equivalent of 20 football fields jam-packed with RV’s! It wasn’t until about 3 years ago that the Rockwood 8281 SS was modified by the manufacturer in such a way that we could adapt it further to meet the desired features, even with half a bathroom more than hoped for. And already, on a number of occasions we would either not have been able to reserve a spot, or found it possible to maneuver into an assigned site, had we exceeded the 31 foot trailer (excluding spare wheel and bicycles) that we now have. Dick’s advice continues to ring true!

Further help and food for thought came from Jan Mutmansky, a neighbor in State College. He and Dianne are seasoned campers, albeit not with something of the size and on the scale we were talking about. From his readings Willem had thought to acquire 2 catalytic propane heaters to supplement the on board gas furnace and it was Jan who suggested beginning with only one. It proved to be sound advice. On occasions he also raised points as if from a check list and ultimately was not only helpful with some matters when Willem and Susan got their house ready for sale, but also with mounting the Porta-Bote to the side of the trailer.

Larry Kuhns, another neighbor, took an active interest in our family throughout almost 30 years and lately, in our progress -- especially after Willem acquired the2500HD GMC Sierra truck in 2010. This irreversibly committed us to a 5^th wheel and Larry, who has been a truck owner for as long as we’ve known him, thought the GMC would do the job. He also came to our help in offering us a place to keep the RV before our departure as well as accommodation on his tree farm, after our house was sold.

Willem wanted to have a movable gas heater, fueled from the central propane supply. This called for a flexible gas line T’d off the main supply via a quick release and shut-off valve. With no experience at doing gas plumbing, he was trying to educate himself in Lowes hardware store in State College, when a friendly retired engineer, Bill Muzzy, paid attention and the two of them devised a design and compiled a shopping list. Some components had to be acquired elsewhere and when we ultimately had it all together, Bill came out to the RV on Larry’s farm and essentially installed the heater with fittings and all. To date this has proven to be a valuable addition to our technology.

Another helpful resource was Dave Damouth, who maintained a tremendously informative web site ( http://www.damouth.org/index.shtml ) and who was most helpful and encouraging during a phone conversation. Dave knows State College well and he and his wife, Helen, have visited relatives on Ridge Avenue, just around the corner from where Willem and Susan lived. Unfortunately we haven’t had the opportunity to meet the Damouths in person. But his expertise and excellent writing make required reading for anyone wishing to enter the RV travel world.

We thus felt we had everything under control when we left State College on schedule on August 1, 2013. Our previous posting, Problem Solving – Initial, documented how wrong one can be! At our first stop we encountered the first confirmation of how unique RV’ers really are. They are genuinely friendly people that easily stir up conversations. The most productive at Four Mile Creek was with a couple from Hamilton, Ontario, who was interested in our rig and had many questions. The next morning they were away from camp but toward the evening they were back, having gone to a Rockwood dealer in Buffalo to scout out Rockwoods in general. By then we have raised technical issues with him, which he resolved abruptly. It was followed by more help and confidence building at a game we were entirely new to. While based there, we crossed the border to meet Fickie and Stella’s daughter and family who were flying in that afternoon. This gave us time to drive around and go to church in Hamilton. To our surprise we met a fellow from the Netherlands who had spent some 20 years in South Africa as a missionary in Soshanguve, north of Pretoria, Adriaan De Visser. He also earned a doctorate from our former alma mater in Potchefstroom and was now a professor at a theological seminary in Hamilton. We had a lot in common and much to talk about during the coffee hour, before we received a phone call from Anida that they were on their way from Toronto airport to Niagara Falls.

Our experience at Four Mile Creek emboldened us to simply ask advice from neighboring campers, when needed. At our next stop outside of Toronto, we discovered another problem and although friendly campers could not help to solve it, we received assurance that we were headed toward real RV territory and an area with many RV service facilities. We had interactions with a real nice young family, including 3 kids from Ottawa and were disappointed that they had to leave shortly after.

Our next interesting encounter was with the French fellow at Killbear. It got off to a turbulent start, as narrated in our Problem Solving piece. But it didn’t take long (with a bit of encouragement) to elicit the better of RV’er conduct from him, consistent with the breed, by soliciting his advice, which resulted in interest, and in turn, in very valuable help!  We are still reaping the benefits.  

At Sturgeon Falls we had the privilege of meeting Jim and Barbara Vander Mey. Our Pennsylvania license plate stirred their interest and they were excited to learn that we were from State College, where Jim had earned a PhD in the 70’s. They haven’t been back in decades and were really nostalgic about their time over there. Jim pursued a career in business but they were semi-retired and Jim appeared not interested at all in becoming fully so. They maintain a home in Florida and were happy to learn that another house of theirs in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, had been closed on that morning. They could thus head south somewhat less restrained and was looking forward to continuing with the Canadian leg of their trip. These were really interesting people and friendly beyond measure. Also interested in and excited for us about what we were up to and wanted to keep in touch. They had good suggestions, especially about the Florida part of our trip and invited us to visit with them when we get to Cedar Key, not too far from where they live.

At the Ottawa campground we met a dynamic family with three kids ranging from teenager down. They were veteran RV’rs and have been on the move for years, although not fulltime. All the children were engaging and interested in where we came from and what we were up to, while the parents seemed to view us as an educational resource. For a brief moment, it made one feel somewhat guilty about what one’s own children have missed out on.

In Montreal at Alouette our neighbors were John and Brenda from Nova Scotia. They have been there for 4 months and commuted daily some 30 miles across town to a hospital where their daughter was, after having given birth to a son with severe combined immune deficiency, a genetic deficiency condition. After bone marrow transplantation treatment the boy had to be kept in isolation with the mother but his progress was sufficient for them to expect to be able to return to Halifax within a couple of weeks. According to John, his own son was the first of their extended family line to have survived the same due to technological developments of more resent times.  John is a real estate agent and Brenda pursues a career in air traffic control. Although he simply just had to take time off, Brenda was extremely busy every day after returning from the hospital and into the night. She was writing manuals and protocols related to her profession and thus remained employed. Good Wi-Fi thus facilitated active professional engagement. What a blessing for these conscientious parents! Meanwhile, John was very busy outside, cleaning and winterizing his already shining RV, while the opportunity presented itself to get ready for conditions we were not accustomed to.

Having been essentially off the American continent language wise in Quebec City, it was kind of an introspection phase of our trip. The many questions that arose were calling for talking with people, which did not happen much. And when it was attempted, even the best efforts in response were not easy to process and one had to wait for another day where the sound board would be working better. Yet, one wanted to interpret observations, which resulted in turning to the internet, Wi-Fi permitting. It was at our next stop at Rimouski that Skip and Beth made our acquaintance and we had English speaking real Canadians to enlighten us. They were the kind of people it would be fun to spend more time with and were on their way to a music festival in Prince Edward Island. Having retired as a high school principal, Skip’s teaching career included athletics and music and he exhibited a relaxed outlook on Canadian affairs and a live and let live attitude toward the rather complex cultural composition of the country. We’ve mentioned in our writing on Things Along the Way 2, the foolishness to simplify matters so they can be easily (and erroneously) grasped, such as incessantly happens in the political realm, yet complexifying is called for to better deal with reality. This seemed to be present in Skip’s outlook and perhaps also in the broader mindset of some Canadians – even the odd politician. However, we would later meet Canadians that leaped at the opportunity to rather vacation across the border in the US, where just about everything is less costly. Being Canadian comes at a price, no doubt.

The helpful nature associated with the RV culture was demonstrated at its finest by a French guy who was fluent in English. Having arrived at the Forillon National Park after the reception kiosk had closed, we had no clue as to where we could set up camp and the only thing we could make some sense of, was a map of the park, indicating numerous camp grounds with limited French directions. Having driven through a couple out in the open which appeared not workable, it was almost dark when we attempted Campground A in the woods. Now, dusk turns to dark in a hurry once one enters woods and it became trickier by the moment to negotiate trees on the left, the right and branches overhead, and sites were invariably small. At one intersection it required special caution to clear the turn, when truck lights appeared out of nowhere and the driver offered help in fluent English! He said we should be in Campground C and would guide us to 3 possible sites where we might be able to fit into. This is exactly what happened and once we decided where to settle, we briefly talked with the fellow. He had nothing to do with the park but was from the area, just knew it very well and was driving around to see where he could direct friends coming in for the next weekend. He was quite interested in our doings and really excited when learning about our plan to go through Maine as well. He had just returned from a 3 week vacation in a campground on Mount Desert Island, spoke of the beauty of the area, offered suggestions and elaborated on the financial advantages of vacationing in the US. We don’t think this fellow could ever imagine how improbable and timely his crossing our path at a tricky juncture really was! The second English speaker since Montreal, when we really needed to be understood! And his referring to a less costly environment ahead didn’t hurt either.

The French fellow from Montreal and his Hispanic wife from Washington State, who both spoke English, were very interesting and informative. Susan liked her a lot and had numerous conversations with her and is looking forward to maintain internet contact once such becomes more stabilized. His knowledge of the Forillon area extends over more than 50 years and he literally witnessed the change from a poverty ridden outpost where fishermen struggled year round on a non-commercial basis to keep body and soul together, to the present budding and growing summer vacation hotspot. Perhaps we’ve seen a few remaining marks of an era passed, which will be gone within a few years.

The next English person was the gas station lady when we were leaving Forillon and Quebec . She was English born and raised and knew the English side of the history and was really informative about how people succeeded in staying there year round. What used to be a non-commercial existence has evolved away from it and it will be interesting to see what industries and the labor that is now seemingly heavily government subsidized, will look like in the future. Currently fishing operations from Eastport in Maine work the waters even around Gaspe during the 32 week offseason for Canadian operations.

Allen, the care taker at Lake George in New Brunswick instilled some admiration and even more, sympathy. It seemed obvious that the owners of the campground had a business plan not aimed at long term prosperity and this fellow did his level best to keep things going against the odds, with an ever present smile. But he was in over his ears, particularly when having to face the unusual, such as the sizable rainstorm just before we arrived. We were all very thankful for him and how he helped us make the best of a matter that was not exactly of our design.

Eastport in Maine presented us with some very interesting people. The first was after we’ve just backed our RV in place and parallel to a motor home right next to us, when a fellow came rushing over and told us to reposition. We were at right angles to the road, whereas we were supposed to be at about 60 degrees. He informed that we were straddling two campsites. Pointing out that we were consistent with an existing camper didn’t help; neither that the rest of this particular camping area was virtually deserted. The other RV, whose occupant wasn’t there and appeared to have already been there quite a while, was at fault as well, we learned. The very knowledgeable guy had nothing to do with the campground -- a mere visitor like us, but he was witnessing a grave mistake in the making, notwithstanding no markings to which we could have paid attention.  And he promptly assumed authority to act in the better interest of mankind.  We could not but comply and thread our trailer around a tree trunk and underneath some low hanging, but seemingly benign thin leafy branch endings.  All in place, all smiles and ready to level out and set the chocks, our instructor rounded the corner, trophy in hand -- a piece of a vent cap that was sacrificed off the roof of our rig. We thus acquired another repair challenge to rise to but fortunately the weather was clear and was supposed to remain such until we would reach an area where a replacement part could be purchased.

The folks in town seemed more accommodating to the ignorance of strangers with even stranger accents. Informing a curious store attendant that Willem was from Pennsylvania had her puzzled; she didn’t know people in Pennsylvania sounded like that! Willem assured her, only if they are from Africa, which didn’t help much either. Something still didn’t look right. The town librarian didn’t have any problem whatsoever and was most interesting in obviating a need for Willem to work though volumes in order to gain an inkling of 2 ½ centuries of town history. A library and librarian like this are a major asset – presumably also for curious school kids, if they are encouraged to seek it out.

This kind of encouragement is what we would expect of the Eastport fishing boat captain we’ve alluded to before (Things Along the Way 2). One’s typically held image of a professional fisherman is that of a tough robust man’s man. But how different from the sea men Willem once spent time with on a mission to the Antarctic. This is the kind of person and his family one would like to get to know better. It isn’t difficult to understand why meeting such people was so inspirational for Studs Terkel.

Mount Desert gave us Mimi de Vries and her husband, Paul Dickson. Not only did the encounter result in a lovely evening together, with an excellent meal, but also to a first time experience of a real pipe organ inside a normal residence. This is exactly what Paul had built himself into the basement of their house. What an asset for a church organist! And the excerpt from Bach’s Great Fugue that Paul treated us on proved that this thing was for real and serious. Next to Mimi’s accomplished research career on glaucoma, she remains attached to her roots, visits South Africa frequently and is a terrific home maker together with Paul and his diverse talents. We will surely not let go of these fine folks.

And then there were the Du Toit’s from South Africa. What an exciting and courageous family! It certainly takes some doing to sell one’s stake in a successful accounting business and to travel the US and Canada before 3 kids got to school going age! Their progress has also been good, although they are on a different pace from ours and we last spotted them internet-wise at Lake Champlain.

The White Mountains of New Hampshire produced a great deal of breath taking scenery enhanced by around peak foliage. We were on the road a lot and had very little mentionable human interaction. Although we thought of making a day trip to Boston, we were so captivated by the crystal clear sunny days in conjunction with the best nature had to offer, that we didn’t go there. More than a year ago Willem had mentioned the possibility to his friends Bill and Cathy Anderson of seeing them when passing through New England. However a phone conversation had to make do and Willem was glad to at least meet that way.

Gail and Larry were our neighbors at Little River campground in Vermont. They are retired music teachers from Waitsfield, Vermont, where Larry later on also owned a music store. They were camping with their 5-year old grandson from Montpellier and enjoyed the last of it before winter. They were much interested in our doings and heading to Ithaca, New York, as the last stop before returning to State College. They have a property in Ithaca to which they are in the process of moving and were very enthusiastic about the area. They also know the Robert H Treman State Park, where we intend to stay and advised us on camp sites to target. Also at Little River, Gary and his wife Yoni from Burlington were introducing a fellow camping friend, Toni, to the pleasures of camping. They were very knowledgeable on the area and suggested numerous trails past historical farms and cemeteries. They pointed out that the woods that were now so spectacular were the result of spontaneous re-growth after having been stripped for the lumber industry many years ago. Quite remarkable for forests to be replenished so beautifully!

At the ice skating competition in Lake Placid, we happened to be seated behind two elderly ladies that were following the action keenly and one of them was actually taking notes. This prompted Willem to start a conversation with the note taker. It turned out that she was the grandmother of one of the competitors, Jordan Bauth, from Amherst, NY and that her daughter, the mother, was one of the coaches. Grandma was assessing Jordan’s chances of moving up, after having not placed as well as expected after the short program. She was in the final 5 skaters, so we had to wait right to the end to see her. She did a great job, placing second, if we understood correctly. This secured her a spot in the sectionals -- the next level of competition. All of this reminded Willem and Susan much about their own experiences and a daughter with a budding music talent that demanded extensive commuting and more so, dedication on the part of the student. Interestingly, one of Jordan’s coaches is a South African, Lenel van den Berg, and Willem and Susan went down to meet him afterwards. He had moved to the US 27 years ago to pursue his passion and was now coaching in Buffalo, New York. He seemed surprised to be addressed in Afrikaans and reciprocated very comfortably. Unfortunately we could not stay longer as his attention was much in demand, so we made it back to camp after a day full of surprises.