Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 13

Sunday, September 15, 2024, Riverside Park Motel & Campground, Niagara Falls, Canada, Day 5 - 0 Miles, 591 Miles for the trip.

A quiet day with most of the rally folks heading out. There are still about 5 trailers here, most leaving tomorrow.

Some statistics:

A total of 28 sites with 3 Trilliums, 3 Bolers, 1 Egg Camper, 2 BigFoot 5th wheels, 2 Bigfoot pull behind, 15 Escapes (1-17, 7-5.0, 2-19, 5-21), 1 tent & 1 other.

The dates for 2025 are September 12-14.

Dinner was cheese brats.

Until Tomorrow - 

Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 12

Saturday, September 14, 2024, Riverside Park Motel & Campground, Niagara Falls, Canada, Day 4 - 0 Miles, 591 Miles for the trip.

A little cooler than last night, down to 55°F by early morning. I walked north along the parkway until I reached the cormorant roost.

After breakfast I dropped a couple of things at the blue tarp, a give away location. Managed to lose one item, but I believe my MIMO antenna is going to travel with me forever.

After showing the trailer a couple of times, I walked around doing some morning photos:

While there were not many takers on my "blue tarp stuff, lost of stuff traded hands.

The pot luck was wonderful, as usual. The raffle of stuff made 3 rounds before everything was gone. After that folks gathered around the campfire.

Dinner was, of course, the pot luck. All three pies as well as a couple of peach pies went!

Until Tomorrow - 

Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 11

 Friday, September 13, 2024, Riverside Park Motel & Campground, Niagara Falls, Canada, Day 3 - 0 Miles, 591 Miles for the trip.

A warm night - the electric heater never came on although I spent the night switching between sheet only, blanket & comforter. 

I spent the morning & earlyv afternoon baking pies. I thought I had 3 disposable pie pans, but found only 2. Luckily, Loraine was heading out to do some shopping & bought me a 6 pack (of pie plates, not beer). As usual, each pie baked differently. The last was the neatest, while the middle pie is messy. They all taste the same.

I made a round of the campground for some photos. Lots of new arrivals - we have 2 Bolers, 2 Trilliums, an Egg Camper, 2 BigFoot 5th wheels as well as a couple of 25's, and many Escapes ranging from a 17, lots of 19's, 21, and many, many 5.0s.  More photos at the Niagara Wine Escape Rally page.

Dinner was left over Chicken Marsala with an Ontario Peach.

Until Tomorrow - 

Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 10

Thursday, September 12, 2024, Riverside Park Motel & Campground, Niagara Falls, Canada, Day 2 - 0 Miles, 591 Miles for the trip.

While warmer, it still cooled down to 55°F last night. At least the electricity stayed on. 

A quiet day. I did my mile walk heading south on the Niagara River Parkway walkway that parallels the road. After breakfast I read blogs & forums & enjoyed my morning coffee. After that it was sitting outside under the Guido's awning. Took a little break from sitting to have a pork loin sandwich using leftovers from yesterday's dinner. It got up to 82°F so the shade was welcome. Around 4:00 a cool(er) breeze started but it was still warm enough that I am tempted to fire up the AC before going to bed. It is still 81°F in the trailer.

I did a walk around the campground with the camera. Mostly Escapes & Bigfoots. Lorraine says she gets her best afternoon naps in the truck:

More at either today's LakeshoreImages page or the 2024 Niagara Wine Escape Rally page.

The AT&T cell service here is interesting, at least for the internet. I did a speed test using Safari & Speakeasy, my usual app for testing internet speed. 45Mbps down & 12Mbps up. When on a website owned by RV Life (such as the Escape forum of Fiberglass RV forum) they ask you to do a speed test, the results of which are posted in their reviews of campgrounds. The RV Life speed test showed .56Mbps up & 0Mbps down, both of which are wrong. On top of that, using my iPhone 13 and a speed test not using WiFi but directly connected to AT&T, I got 450Mbps down & 25Mbps up. My AT&T cell router is old and an older SIM card so I'm sure it is missing some frequencies that the cell phone covers, but that sure indicates that I should upgrade the modem.

Dinner was Chicken Marsala with Oreo cookies for dessert.

Until Tomorrow -

Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 9

Wednesday, September 11, 2024, Riverside Park Motel & Campground, Niagara Falls, Canada - 133.2 Miles, 591 Miles for the trip.

Another cool night at 49°F, and even colder for the trailers - the power went out around 8:40PM, and never came back on before we left this morning. A park employee said it was out for the entire city - a problem with a high tension power line. My propane furnace is set 2 degrees lower than the thermostat on my electric heater, so it was 60°F at the head of my bed. The Guido's furnace decided to not to make any flame. They had not used it in a couple of years...

I used the inverter to grind & make my morning coffee, and with the multiple runs of the furnace, left the campground with the batteries at 89%. They were full by the time I hit Riverside.

Most of the drive was on 3, either Ontario 3 or smaller local 3's. We arrived at the campground around 2:30. 

I'm in site 41 and the Guidos are in 42. Both are full hookup sites on grass, close to level, and plenty of room for both the trailers & tow vehicles. $412.45 Canadian for 5 nights, or $82.49 per night. US prices were $305.00 or $61.00 per night. They only take cash & the owner figured the exchange rate at .734 Canadian to US. My credit card at the restaurant gave me a .736 exchange rate, so the park rate was OK.

Me in Site 41

The Guidos in Site 42

The site photos are a little dim because I didn't take them until we got back from dinner. Notice that one of the hummingbird wind chimes is lit.

After setting up we spent the rest of the afternoon chatting & hanging out. At 5:45 we headed to Betty's for dinner. I had baked Halibut which was as good as usual.

Dinner at Betty's

Until Tomorrow - 

Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 8

Tuesday, September 10, 2024, Dalewood Conservation Area, St Thomas, Ontario, Canada - 83 Miles, 457.8 Miles for the trip.

Another cool night at 50°F; the electric heater ran more than the previous night. I packed up the trailer after breakfast, then sat around for a bit since we were only going 83 miles so no hurry to leave.

The border crossing went fine although there was a long wait for someone ahead of the Guidos at the bridge payment booth. Just the usual 30 second, 3 questions at the border. We drove most of the way on the QE 402.

I'm in site 71, and the Guidos in 70. Both are water & 30 amp electric on grass. Not all that level needing 1 1/2" side to side and the nose is 1" too high, but not enough out that I didn't bother unhooking. $74.00 Canadian or $55.15 US for the night.

It warmed up enough for shorts, but started to cool out of the sun as evening approached.

Me in Site 71

The Guidos in Site 70

Dinner was a Savory Brown Sugar Pork Loin, Mac & Cheese & Apricots.

Until Tomorrow - 

Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 7

Monday, September 9, 2024, Lakeport State Park, MI, Day 6 - 0 Miles, 374.8 Miles for the trip.

A warmer night than the last few - the furnace didn't run until around 6:00AM when it got down to 55°F outside.

By 2:00 it looked like an empty campground. Over the afternoon quite a few new arrivals, including a very shiny Scamp 13. I drove to the Murphy gas station at the local Walmart and got gas for $3.13, the cheapest of the trip.

We celebrated my 80th birthday. Calls from the kids, friends in Colorado, and the Guidos made me a strawberry shortcake. We had turkey burgers & summer squash for dinner, our first meal together here at Lakeport.

Until Tomorrow - 

Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 6

 Sunday, September 8, 2024, Lakeport State Park, MI, Day 5 - 0 Miles, 374.8 Miles for the trip.

Another cool night; down to 40°F. It warmed up to 67°F by noon, and felt warmer with lots of sun. I took a few photos of a hummingbird at the feeder & some of the trailers on their way home. We are staying today & tomorrow so that we hit the Niagara Wine Escape rally on Wednesday.

Dinner was the leftover Knoor Garlic Noodles with added chicken.

Until Tomorrow - 

Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 5

Saturday, September 7, 2024, Lakeport State Park, MI, Day 4 - 0 Miles, 374.8 Miles for the trip.

It started out cool and a very light mist. The Swap Meet started at 10:00. I brought a bunch of stuff, both to sell and to give away. I managed to give away almost everything, and sold all but a Coleman Grill/Stove, the 12/12/30 DC to DC Converter & my Easy Touch Thermostat. 

At 12:00 the Hot Dog Lunch started. 

At 1:00 "Show Your Trailers" started. I added a couple of photos above. A good chance to see what others have done to their trailers or to check out other brands. I showed the Escape 21 a couple of times. While showing off the Guido's Scamp is one of Anne's favorite part of rallies, they are still recovering from Covid and spent the time in the trailer.

There was going to be a 4:00 Solar demonstration, but the person doing it couldn't make the rally.

Dinner was Knoor Garlic Noodles with added chicken.

Until Tomorrow - 

Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 4

Friday, September 6, 2024, Lakeport State Park, MI, Day 3 - 0 Miles, 374.8 Miles for the trip.

Much warmer overnight; it only got down to 66°F outside & 69°F in the trailer even with the Maxx fan running and most of the windows open. A little after midnight a light rain started & continued until morning. I did go for my usual morning walk after the rain stopped, although there was still a heavy mist & no sun. Cool at 64°F

After breakfast I read some forums & journals, then finished my current book - Terry Goodkind's First Wizard's Rule and started Jimmy Breslin's The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight. Glad Goodkind's book was on a Kindle - his paperbacks are usually 2" + thick; this one is 852 pages in the print version. First Wizard's Rule is the first of a series of 11 books...

With the lousy weather, I spent most of the day in the trailer reading. I did walk around looking for new arrivals and found a few as well as a couple groups talking

Around 1:15 I headed for the showers. Individual shower rooms across from the bathrooms. One "family" bathroom with shower & toilet/sink, one handicapped shower, and 5 individual shower rooms. The one I used had a large drying area with 1 hook & a bench. The shower stall was large enough, shower head a standard one with adjustable temperature control. No shelf in the shower stall. Flat floor between the shower stall & the drying area, no shower curtain, but little runoff into the drying area. Overall, a B.

After my shower I made another round of the campground. Ever had a few minutes of sun:

At 6:00 I headed to site 65 for a Hobo Pie gathering. Hobo Pies are made using pie irons.

I've added a second page to the Algonac/Lakeport Rally Pages.

Until Next Time

2024 Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 3

Thursday, September 5, 2024, Lakeport State Park, MI, Day 2 - 0 Miles, 374.8 Miles for the trip.

I finally found a good enough connection to post the trip pages to Blogger, so day 3-7 are all coming at once.

It cooled off comfortably last night. I walked around part of the campground before breakfast - did about a mile. I later discovered that if you do all of the loops, it is almost 2 miles.

After breakfast I sat outside in the shade & read. The Guidos appeared, both not feeling well. Some of the guests (and the bride) at the wedding they went to last week came down with Covid. Guido went to town for some supplies & Covid tests. They took the tests and are both positive. While I feel fine, I took one and am negative. I will have to test again in 3 days. The Guidos went to a clinic to see if they could get a Paxlovid prescription. The clinic confirmed that they both had Covid, but because of various medical conditions, neither were eligible for it. So they are back in the trailer & wearing masks when they go out. They have had Covid multiple times before and while they don't feel all that good, it doesn't appear to be an emergency.

I made a round of all the loops taking photos of any fiberglass trailers I found. I won't be able to post them until I get to Niagara Falls or home since the internet is too slow here at Lakeport. Both Verizon & AT&T are very slow to non existent. While yesterday I couldn't even read my mail with AT&T, I just rechecked it and it is usable, so I will post some photos. Many more at the Algonac/Lakeport page.

So, diner tonight will be in separate trailers. I'm microwaving an Impossible Teriyaki Chicken meal.

2024 Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 2

 Wednesday, September 4, 2024, Lakeport State Park, MI, 188.3 Miles, 374.8 Miles for the trip.

We spent most of the drive on CA 3, a mostly 2 lane road with a 50MPH speed limit. It did great things for my gas mileage - I hit 15MPG by the time we reacher the QE 402, which is like a US interstate with a 68MPH speed limit. Even with 50 miles or so spent on the QE 402, by the time we reached the park I was at 14.6MPG.

We are in sites 69 & 71, both large sites on grass with electric only. We are here 6 nights at $37.33 per night with the per night charge of $36.00 & an $8.00 reservation fee. There is also a required Michigan Parks Pass good for a year. I haven't purchased mine yet - they were out of them when I registered.

We switched sites so that the Guidos could use the one with more shade, so I'm in 69 & the Guidos are in 71. 

The Guidos in Site 71

Me in Site 69

There are not going to be a large number of pictures in my posts from Lakeport. Very marginal internet - it took 10 minutes to load the 4 photos (thumbnails & larger versions) on in LakeshoreImages web page, and while these only took 2 minutes each, that is pretty slow if I do my usual large bunch of photos.

I'll try posting my usual rally photos, but I doubt they will make it until I get to a faster connection.

Dinner was cheese brats & beans with applesauce.

Until Tomorrow - 

2024 Trip to the Algonac (Lockport) Rally & the Niagara Wine Escape Rally, Day 1

 Tuesday, September 3, 2024, Long Beach Conservation Area, Wainfleet, Ontario, Canada 186.5 Miles, 186.5 Miles for the trip.

I did the final packing of the trailer with the stuff I still need to use the night before & in the morning. I have duplicated some of the stuff, but there is still quite a bit of last minute packing.

After a pancake breakfast we headed out. NY 104 to NY 34 to the NY Thruway, across the Peace Bridge in Buffalo, then Ontario 3 to Lakeshore Road & the Long Beach Conservation area. We arrived around 2:30.

We are in sites 73 & 74 with me in 73. Level within 3/4" on grass for $55.15 per night.

Me in Site 73

The Guidos in Site 74

Like all the Conservation area parks, the electrical hookups are "interesting". The Guidos & I each paid for a 15 amp site. Actually, I have to share a single 15 amp receptacle with the Guidos. Should be interesting making coffee in the morning! 

One of the park staff came around and offered to provide an additional cord so that the Guidos could plug into a 30 amp circuit in a building about 75' from the trailer. Then another nice staff member came over and said the Guidos could not plug into the 30 amp connector because we only paid for a 15 amp connection. We tried to explain that with both trailers plugged into a single 15 amp receptacle we each only had 7.5 amps, but she insisted that each of us could draw 15 amps. Finally, we showed her the problem by me firing up my hot water on electric drawing 11 amps, and Guido firing up a 1500 watt electric heater drawing 12 amps. The circuit breaker blew in about 2 minutes. At that point she relented and allowed Guido to plug into the 30 amp receptacle, but we didn't have enough cords or a 30 amp male to 15 amp female adapter to let us use our cords. It sort of works out since the person behind us is leaving for work in the morning so Guido can use his receptacle for morning coffee. 

So, eventually, we are set up & sitting under the Guido's awning reading. I set up my Verizon Hotspot for the internet & changed over the WiFi repeater to Verizon. While my AT&T iPhone works on the internet, my Night Hawk AT&T cell router does not because it won't roam so I'm using Verizon, which is a Bell 5G connection. Hopefully, the Guidos will be able to use the connection. I've been told that there is no cell service at the Lakeport State Park campground, so there may not be daily postings when we get there. 

We also filled up on water since the word is there is only one water faucet at the Lakeport campground and watched a video of a long line of RV's filling up.

Dinner was Blue Dragon Honey Teriyaki Stir Fry Sauce with mixed Chinese vegetables, an invention by Anne. Very good!

Until Tomorrow -