Our Bus Adventures

In Late July of 2003 Tracey and I purchased a 37 foot Holiday Rambler Endeavor Motorhome. This BUS STYLE monster is a fully self contained home that is designed for Full-Timing RVers who want to see the country and beyond. (photo insert-driving the NY Thru-way)
We are a long time away from retiring, so seeing the country is a bit out of the question - but seeing the Easter States is well within our reach and this beautiful and fully equipped motorhome is ready to take us anywhere we want to go. 

Our first adventure was to beautiful Lake George, NY high in the mountains of northern New York State. We thought about going to Rehoboth Beach, Maryland as our first adventure, but that seaside town would be extremely crowded and not very different from the ocean towns near us. So we searched the Internet for other locations that interested us and Lake George seemed like a good choice.

We found the Lake George Escape Resort and it was highly rated by Woodalls Camping Directory and Trailer Life Magazine, so we booked a three day stay with them. We chose a pull thru site which was fine by me, I had only had about 100 miles driving this monster bus around and backing into a narrow campsite was a bit frightening.

A big factor in choosing this resort was the fact that they had a free shuttle service to Lake George Village which left every hour from 9am to 9pm. This seemed fine too, allowing me to leave our car home. Being 37 feet long alone is a bit humbling, but to add another 20 feet for a car and tow bar seemed to be too much for our first trip. Mind you, everyone who has a motorhome this size swears that the car being towed is a "NON ISSUE" because if the bus clears an obstacle, then the car automatically will clear it because it is so much narrower. But mentally I had my hands full and I was happy enough to get us and the motorhome to Lake George and back.

We invited Fred ( the young man I have mentored for many years ) along with us on this maiden voyage. I figured he might come in handy when it came to setting everything up and maneuvering around. He was delighted to be invited and he came with a pocketful of money - Fred has been working all Summer installing tile and carpeting, so he was rich by most kid's standards.

I was told by one of my traveling buddies that the NY Thru-way could be a real mess and he had suggested that I leave as early as 3am, but that was something I was not ready to do - mainly because our check in wasn't until 1pm that afternoon and on the chance that we did get there early, I was NOT about to start my vacation sitting in the bus parked at a roadside stop for 4 or 5 hours. I had though intended to leave around 4:30am but somehow that became 5:30am and the sun was peaking up along the horizon at us. We tucked away all the life support stuff: cable TV coax, 50 amp power cable, lifted the stabilizer jacks, stowed the 2X8s used  under the stabilizers and did a final walk around to see that all the antennas, cargo doors and anything that should be stowed was placed and ready. (photo insert - Fred amoung the Ticonderoga Pines)

Now I must remind you that I'm a bit freaked by rattles and even with a moblehome filled with dishes, glasses, pots and pans, I still has a reasonable hope that this would be a rattleless venture. I told Tracey and Fred that it was THEIR JOB to keep all the needless noises down and they both eliminated the majority of sounds that could be abated within the first bumpy 10 miles as we headed toward the Garden State Parkway and my very first tollbooth.

I did my homework and knew that it would cost 50 cents to get this Bus (without car and 70 cents with car) through the toll booths, so we had a bag full of change handy and a set of rules that involved a right side spotter at every toll booth. It's easy to see how much room I have on my side and I think subconsciously I you try to give yourself a few extra inches "JUST" to be safe - but the further north we headed, the tighter the booths became, so there was NO ROOM for luxury, so a spotter telling me "Keep more toward your side!" was not very reassuring, especially when I was already as far as I dare go. But somehow we cleared all the booths, although I did lightly tap the right side mirror while exiting on booth and I couldn't imagine trying to breeze through "Easy Pass" at 20 miles an hour with this monster.

We really got a feel for the many natural phenomena's that occur while traveling the highways, including the natural air-waves that both pull your vehicle in and repel it away as large vehicles pass you at high speeds.

This is where the rear view cam came in handy, I'd keep an eye on large 18 wheelers coming and ready myself for the inevitable suction that would come as the final 3rd of the truck passed on my left. (photo insert - Tracey starting breakfast, Fred doing what he does best) It really wasn't much more than keeping a firm grip on the wheel and sometimes adjusting my lane position a bit using the wheel, but all in all it was interesting to see the airwaves do just as it had said in the books.

  I had a double long tandem truck cruise on by my left and it was interesting to see what was going to happen as a Class C RV about 35 foot long also passed me on my right. The pull from the 18 wheeler won out, but only by a little. I kept my lane, set the cruise control for 65mph and let her do her thing.

I also got a chance to use my Garmin GPS while traveling the NY Thru-way. It was interesting to see upcoming lakes and parks as I made my way northbound on this newly traveled route. I became really comfortable about an hour into the drive and It was almost second nature getting the bus in the proper place along those narrow lanes and even when shifting lanes rather abruptly in construction zones.

Our First Stop
Somewhere just into New York State we decided it was time to pull over for a break. I saw a sign for a road side stop ahead and made my way to it. I pulled in and found a fairly level area between a bunch of 18 wheelers and a few larger motorhomes and parked. (photo insert - our campsite in Lake George)

I jogged back to the bathroom for a quickie bladder break and wasn't happy with the levelness of the bus, so I lowered the stabilizer jacks and brought up the one side, meanwhile Tracey broke out the pans and whipped us up a couple grilled cheese sandwiches and a fresh pot of coffee. We opened the windows, overlooking a few people sitting out on the park benches as we sat back and downed our eagerly awaited meal. I popped in a movie that Fred and I had started watching the night before and we took our time eating, watching and finally started getting cleaned up for the next leg of the ride.

When we first got the bus ready for this voyage, I took  Fred around and showed him that everything in the bus was spotless, especially the bathroom and I made it understood that it was to stay that way. I said "I only have two rules 1) I cleaned this toilet myself and know it is clean - so if you use it while moving or parked, you make a mess then you clean that mess. The second rule was almost as simple: I said eat anything you want, cook anything you want, but after you are done you will immediately clean your mess - NO MESS is to be found in the sink at any time. This went for Fred, Tracey and me! There is nothing worse than inviting bugs into the home you are living in and I can not stand to live around a messy kitchen or living space - a footnote, the bus was indeed kept clean and the trip was all the better for it.

Back on the Road......

It's interesting how you go through a series of mountains as you travel from central NJ to  upstateNY. You climb a great deal of the time then level off for nearly an hour before climbing again. All in all you never get the feeling that you are high in the mountains and I guess as far as "Mountains" go, you really are NOT all that high. But it was a good way to test the climbing power of the Bus and I will say that it ttrulyis a climbing machine. (photo insert - peddle cart rental area)

We ran into some seriously slow and merging traffic as we passed the Albany route 87 intersection. As best as I could figure three major roads intersected and all became route 87 the North Way. After getting past this snarl we only had an hour left to Lake George. Luckily, the hills started climbing again and we had some outstanding views of the lower roads and rivers that ran below bridges that we traveled. Sadly though, I didn't have much chance to look around, especially down because I do get some vertigo problems when doing this. I was happy enough to hear Tracey and Fred's explanation of what they were seeing.

Finally I saw the signs for exit 22 and knew that we were now just 2 miles from Lake George Escape Camping Resort. The website offered a lot of great images of the RV Park, campsites and surroundings, so I almost had the layout of this area down after studying the map previously .

We arrived at 11am, a feat unheard of by a friend named Dube. He strongly suggested I leave at 3am to beat the NY State Thru-way traffic. I couldn't imagine handling this beast for the first time in the dark and driving thru narrow toll booths. Even with my Garmin Color GPS mounted safely in front of me, I wasn't ready to take chances, so we let around 5:30am and hit moderate traffic all the way out of NJ and into Albany - where it got pretty heavy for about an hour.

Lake George, NY
So we checked in and slowly snaked the 37 foot long luxury saltine box thru the narrow roads of this huge RV park. I passed tent sites overlooking the river, 5th rigs and travel trailers of all types and many class A vehicles like ours. (photo insert - play area and rafting transport)

Now I get chicken and I again am glad I have a pull thru site and not have to backup this into a camping site - it really isn't any fun. I'm new at all this and feel like Ricky Ricardo and Lucille Ball in the Long Long Trailer - Speaking of which, we DID start a small boulder collection, where 1) none weigh over 2 pounds and 2) They don't travel anywhere with us but HOME.

First things first: I leveled the bus with the auto leveling jacks, extended all the canopies, plugged in electric, hooked into water and sewer and cable. First of all I have to say their cable is great, over 100 channels, all crystal clear. That is always a plus when away. Everything was hooked up in about 20 minutes or so, not too bad really.

You know I'm a bit compulsive and RATTLES drive me nuts - so everything is wrapped or bubble rapped or stowed where I cant hear it. The privacy door just past the fridge and the second door just beyond the bath area gives you lots of protection from the rattles in the rear. I had both Tracey and Fred shoving towels and restacking stuff for about 30 miles each way - lol. On with the trip.

Fred and I checked out a "WALKING PATH"  that was suppose to lead back to the camp store - well... no way mister, it dead ended half way there, I'm sure they are expanding the park. I really think the  Tenters have the best sites.

Contacting Beemaster 
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