Living The RV Dream

Gail and I are pleased to present our second guest post by our good friends, Rick and Shellie Unger. This will be the first of 2 guest posts about RV’s (one of my obsessions, much to Gail’s chagrin)! The other will be from my cycling friend from Maine, describing his process in choosing the right RV for him.

Now, on to the post!

My wife and I are both in our 60’s, and therefore qualify as seniors, although at best, we are “semi” Rippers. We enjoy the outdoors and travel. Before the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic we never considered taking an RV vacation. This summer, after months of staying close to home, we decided to rent a Class B RV, which is essentially a large van equipped with a king size bed, a mini kitchen and a full bathroom. Our 10 pound dog Milly came with us. She took to RV’ing like a duck to water.

Our itinerary took us first to the Finger Lakes region of New York for a tasting at the Dr. Konstantin Frank winery, one of the best known wine producers in the area. We spent the night nearby at a Harvest Hosts-participating winery, Heron Hills. Harvest Hosts, for a modest annual fee, connects wineries and similar businesses with RV owners, offering a free place to park one’s RV. Purchasing some wine or other products from the winery is considered good form, but otherwise, there is no charge beyond the annual membership fee. Heron Hills provided a beautiful site overlooking acres of vineyards and idyllic Keuka Lake. We parked next to a retired couple from Florida who were in the middle of a five month trip in their RV. I don’t think we are up for that; at least not yet!

Our next stop was two nights in a private campground next to the magnificent Pine Creek Gorge, a.k.a. the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania near Wellsboro. We spent two days exploring the Northern end of this 47 mile long gorge carved into the Allegheny plateau. We enjoyed hiking along the rim and biking the rails-to-trails path on the bottom of the gorge.

Spending the night in the RV is quite different from a motel. One connects the RV to an electric outlet provided by many campgrounds, as well as running water through a hose. Once connected, the air conditioner, microwave and television can be used , as well as the bathroom, including a shower, although it is a very tight squeeze for anyone over 6 feet tall. When those connections are not available, such as at the Harvest Hosts sites, the RV’s large storage batteries and water tank allow the use of all the amenities. We were anxious about having to dump the gray and black water (sewage) periodically, but that turned out to be not as unpleasant as we feared.

After a scenic drive from Wellsboro to a Harvest Hosts winery near Erie, Pennsylvania, and a lovely dinner at an Italian restaurant in Erie (we found good restaurants with outdoor dining for many of our meals, eating “in” primarily for breakfast), There is a very small kitchen with two gas burners, a microwave and a small refrigerator/freezer. We cooked dinner a few times and enjoyed simple breakfasts with our coffee. The sleeping arrangement was quite good; two bench seats in the back of the RV convert to a king bed. We slept quite comfortably.

Our luck turned for the worse, however, when we had a minor accident. Misjudging the RV’s length, I banged the rear side windows of the RV on a towel dispenser on the post of a gas station in Erie. The window shattered, and we took refuge in a Best Western.

The next day after a friendly Dodge dealer patched up the broken windows with plastic, we decided to head back to Philadelphia, cutting the trip short. We had experienced the highlight, the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, and despite our mishap, we got a good feel for traveling in an RV. We look forward to our next RV adventure!