August 28, 2007 we are staying at Four Mile Creek State Campground in Youngstown, New York. We got here about 10:30am, it took us almost an hour to get thru the U.S. Border from Canada. They were having cars and trailers pulling off to the side to really inspect the vehicles. We knew we were going to be pulled over so Dave is quizzing me on everything that we had in the coach, alcohol, food ect. he was going to tell them everything we had, he said what they are mainly looking for is the alcohol and not paying the taxes on it. We didn't even go into a store in Canada so we were going to be screwed on the stuff we already had. We gave them our drivers license plus passports, told them we were just driving to Niagara Falls thru Canada from Illinois and they said Thank you very much you can go, yea.
Anyway, we went to Niagara Falls as soon as we got to the campground and boy did we have a lot of fun. What an amazing thing to see,just amazing really, plus we had great weather, in the low 80's, it was a perfect day. We will post pictures soon, Dave took a ton of them.
A couple stories, I want to share. Last Sunday we stopped at a Flying J for fuel, of course, and since it was Sunday and we didn't go out for breakfast, that's our rule every since being on the road, we decided to stop and have lunch. When Dave pulled into the truckers side, right between 2 big rigs I had asked him to turn on the generator so we could put the air conditioner on for Valley while we had lunch, it was still pretty warm outside and in the rig. I started walking towards the back of the coach then turned around and asked Dave if we were moving, he said "NO" it was the rig next to us that was leaving. I said seeing the movement out the windows was making me sick and I couldn't look so I turned around and starting walking to the back of the rig (no windows to see from) The next thing I almost fall because Dave slammed on the brakes, I thought something hit us, he said it was us moving he had forgotten to put the brake on, he put it in neutrol but didn't put the brake on and it was us moving. Thank goodness no damage done, just a good scare, ever since then every time we stop I ask Dave "did you put the brake on"?
With the CB Radio we get to listen to the truckers so we are slowly learning the Ling-go like "Evel Knievel" is a motorcycle cop, "Bear" is a marked car officer and "Plain White Wrapper" is a white cop car unmarked. They really get on the CB's informing all the other drivers about where they are too, and by the way if the cops have someone pulled over you know that to, because they say they have a "customer" and are busy right now. If you screw up driving in anyway with the truckers they get on their CB's with that too, to tell the others. We know this because Dave was passing some trucks then got back in behind another truck because there was a car behind him, which I knew was stupid because the truck he got behind was going to slow, anyway he had to hit his brakes because, like I said the truck he got behind was too slow. Needless to say when we got back in the trucker behind us that we had passed had gotten on the CB and said to the others that the Asshole motorhome passes him then cuts back in and hits his brakes, well Dave hears this and tells the trucker to watch his language and the trucker gets back on and says "Fuckyou". I tell Dave "please don't get in fights with the truckers" I did it nicely, yea right. He was wrong and I told him so, and please don't fuck with the truckers.
On the highway in Indiana it is posted "hit a highway worker there is a $10,000 fine and 14 years in jail" in Michigan the fine is $7,500.00 and 15 years in prison, we sure as hell don't post anything like that in California.
This has been long enough, we hit the road again tomorrow, we were suppose to stay 2 days but we still have 1000 miles to drive to meet our friends in New Brunswick, Canada on Friday. So back to Canada driving tomorrow.