Admiring Devils Tower

Sorry, we are running a little behind with the updating of our blog. We will need to tell you how we got from Michigan to Devil's Tower. So keep checking the site.

We just wanted to put some pictures online of this amazing stone stump, which was inaugurated as the first national monument by T. Roosevelt in 1906. But you film lovers may recognize it also from the Steven Spielberg movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". As a Pulitzer prize winner has put it:" There are things in nature that engender an awful quiet in the heart of man: Devils Tower is one of them." See the pictures and judge yourself. We went for a bike ride up to the base and then hiked around it, while Francis tried to find the climbing routes he once did in his younger days. Tyler passed a junior park ranger exam. After he had informed the park ranger that he had seen all the animals listed in his booklet plus a giraffe, he was handed a medal of honours. 

American phone service

You can now call us - we have new phones and would love to try them out. Francis has a cute pink one to match the grips of his golf clubs and Edmée has a geeky, techie one with all the latest bells and whistles. Unfortunately our credit history as new American consumers does not allow us to sign up to any of the services that go with the geek phone. So Francis is smiling with his super slim phone, while Edmée is frustrated with her useless brick, which can only connect to Wifi if you practically sit on a router.

Our numbers are as follows:
Francis +1 413 358 0383
Edmée +1 413 358 0360

And so you may ask: “Why did you get two phones, if you share 30m2 of RV together?” Well, this is America man, buy one get one free.

For our European friends and family: just remember that we are currently 7 hours ahead of you. And although we would love to hear from you, our enthusiasm will be less so at night. Calling after 3pm your time until you go to sleep would be best.

For our techie friends and family (to which I can proudly count opa), connect to skype (www.skype.com) and call us for free. All Skype calls to Edmee are being forwarded to Edmee’s mobile phone (and she will try to find Francis if the call is for him). Don’t ask us why, but this is a completely free service and it works really well. So start calling and we’ll give you the latest update…. 

Passing through Iowa

We have long heated debates in our camper, but finally decide that Iowa is not the place where we are going to settle down. Click here for some pictures taken on the scenic byway near the Amana colonies. 

Chicago

Text to follow. Click here for more pictures

Camping version 2.0

We don't really know how and why it happened. We were on the highway somewhere between Detroit and Chicago, Tyler was asleep and Francis was ready for a little break from driving. We discovered a sign for an RV dealer along the highway and decided to stop and buy a cutting board that fits over the sink. Well guess what: the cutting board came with a spanking brand new RV, or a class A motorhome, for those in the know. We hesitated a little, because it meant leaving our cherished Aiguille du Midi sticker behind on our old camper which we traded in. A big thanks to the friendly people from Krenek RV (if you are ever in Michigan and you want to buy an RV, that's the place to go!) Click here to see pictures of our new rig.

Getting wet at the Niagara Falls

We are at one of the wonders of the world: the Niagara Falls. We decide to be the perfect tourists and sign up for a complete Niagara Tour. As the complete tourists we were immediatly taken for a ride when we discovered that the same tour was 20% less elsewhere. Oh well. Our tour included the friendly pick up by Heidi in her bus (Heidi moved to Niagara Falls long time ago to be with the man of her dreams), Heidi's Autobahn jokes, a visit to the Windy Cave (which was actually not really a cave), the Hurrican deck (for maximum exposure to the falls, i.e. to get really, really wet), the Canadian viewpoint, lunch at the Sheraton Hotel overlooking the Falls and of course the compulsory stop at the Souvenir shop. Heidi saved the highlight for last: a trip with the Maiden of the Mist, which is a boat service that brings its passengers almost directly under the Falls. Very spectacular indeed. Click here to see the pictures.

The Berkshires part 2

We spend some time at the lovely bed and breakfast of grandma and grandma (www.christinesinn.com). Grandpa has a big surprise for Tyler: his first set of (real) golf clubs. To see pictures of our stay in the Berkshires with grandma, grandpa and auntie Jennifer and grandpa’s beautiful Thunderbird click here.
Try viewing a short video clip here.

Via New Hampshire back to the Berkshires

Tyler cannot wait for his bike to come out of our transatlantic shipment. Every morning we tell him that we have to call the captain of the ship to see if he is already in Boston. But the captain is taking his time and so we decide to head up North to be in the neighborhood when the shipment arrives. We visit Francis’ oldest high school friend Karen and meet cute baby Emily and eat her husband’s fantastic steaks. Then we go up to North Conway in the White Mountains in New Hampshire, famous for it’s scenic railway, designer store outlets and Francis’ young adult climbing memories. But just before we are able to do any credit card damage in the outlets, the captain calls. We pick up Tyler’s bike and some boxes for the trip and head back to the Berkshires to conclude our “training loop”. We have graduated as aspirant campers and are ready for the big trip.

Seashells and seagulls - Cape Cod

We are going to find out why everyone is always raving about Cape Cod. Our first stop is Yarmouth, a name has a very idyllic ring to those who know the English equivalent. But Yarmouth on Cape Cod is hotel, motel, Holiday Inn and we are trying hard to find access to the beach. Just outside of town we finally gain access to a public beach. It reminds us of Noordwijk aan Zee, other than that we don’t see any Germans. We have a nice lunch and go seagull chasing and wonder what to do with one in the unlikely event we catch one.

Next stop: P-Town (the colloquial name for Provincetown) at the very tip of Cape Cod. P-town is a very nice place, and like many other nice places on Earth it attracts people from alternative walks of life. We enjoy our frozen Margarita on the sidewalk, while seeing Madame Lola cycle by on his mountain bike. Life is good in P-Town, which bustles with cafés, art galleries and trendy shops. We rent bikes to explore town and the beautiful beach. Tyler loves this mode of transportation and therefore we love it too…so much even that we cut an end-of season deal with the bike shop to sell us the equipment. So now we are not only proud owners of an RV, but have the matching bikes too. It sounds like we are risking becoming “full-timers” as they are called in the RV world.

Click here for more pictures

First stop: Mystic Seaport

And finally we are off: at the first turn we are in for a big surprise: everything which is not bolted in or firmly stowed away starts to move across the camper. At the next gas station we are even in for a bigger surprise. But our new GPS with Australian Sally leads us without any trouble to our first destination: Mystic Seaport, a historic port on the seaside of Connecticut, home of the first drawbridge of America. We eat icecream, see the bridge go up and down a number of times and have a seafood dinner along the Mystic River. We are planning to park the camper at the beach, to be able to wake up at the sound of rolling waves and seagulls. But after driving more than one hour along the seaside we find out that our American friends are not keen on seeing big campers at their shores: "No parking here at any time, it's the LAW". So we give up and park at the next best thing, the parking of a garden centre....
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The Berkshires

The first week of September: the whole family is back together again. We explore our new house on wheels, which still needs a name. Tyler aptly named it "Tylerhouse", but any suggestions are very welcome. The winner will be published on this site!
We spend about a week with grandma and grandpa in the Berkshires (on the border of the State of New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts). Unfortunately it is still too early for the "Indian Summer" where the foliage turns bright red and orange, but hopefully we will see some in the next few weeks when we are heading out west.

Tying up last ends

And so while Francis was off to America to buy the campervan (RV), Edmee and Tyler enjoyed August in Europe. From the beaches of the South of France to visits to family and friends, zoos and parks in the Netherlands to spending a few last hectic days in Chamonix to tie up loose ends, which included selling one more car. Thank you Carolyn, opa, oma, Minout and family, Yvette and family, Ellen and family, David, Carine and baby Coline. Also thank you and good luck to the new owners of our chalet: Annemarie, Maurice, Tommy, Jasper and Doortje.