Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 18:37:09 -0700
Reply-To: Malcolm Stebbins <mwstebbins@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Malcolm Stebbins <mwstebbins@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Trip report: Mich to Nova Scotia
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
There have been many trips where I set the itinerary, so for this trip it was Patricia's turn to
map out the trip home. So, down through Michigan for 2 days at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn:
farther south into Ohio for the Hopewell (indian burial) mounds near Chillicouthe OH. For those
of you who think there in NOTHING to see in Akron Ohio, try the Stan Hywet House of the Sieberling
family (founders of Goodyear tire co.), a wonderful English Tudor style house and imaginative
gardens.
Then we headed east through Harper's Ferry WV en-route to 3 days in Wash DC where we camped in Tom
& Michelle Forhan's driveway. Tom & Michelle are wonderful folks & very helpful & hospitable. In
DC we concentrated on the Smithsonian's The National Art Gallery, National Museum of Natural
History then the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Gardens of Bumbarton Oaks Museum &
Garden, the US Botanical Garden, Ford Theater, National Geographic Headquarters, and of course
walked "the Mall"
As we headed north up the cost, we visited Gardens in near Philli: Winterthur House & Gardens
(DuPont family); Longwood Gardens (also Dupont); Chanticleer Gardens. North to the a Vanderbuilt
mansion in Hyde Park (north of Poughkeepsie NY). Four more smaller gardens in Conn., then on
north to western Mass. for more gardens and a visit to Pat's friends and a visit to Dearfeild
Mass., a Stebbins ancestral home.
On to Boston for a quick tour of the the "Freedom Trail" (and other historic sites). Here we
drove right past Boston Bob Donalds (the vanagon engine rebuilder), so we stopped in for a visit.
What a nice guy. On north to Mirrimack NH where I picked up a 'new' rear fiberglass bumper from
Joe and met Jon.
From here the trip was about over, we headed up the Maine cost along highway US 1, into New
Brunswick and the nice coastal town of St.Andrews by the Sea.
As far as Vanagon content goes: as reported, 68 kilometers into the trip a coolant hose blew off
due to a loose chose clamp; the brake master cylinder (I think) began failing in New Brunswick so
I did a lot of down-shifting getting home from there.
Trip stats: 5,703 kilometers (3,542 miles), 706 liters (185 gallons) of petrol which translates
to 12.4 liters/100 kilometers (19 mpg). We traveled about 80 to 90 KPH (50 to 55 mph) through out
the trip and traveled less than 800 kms (500 miles) on interstate type roads. We took interstate
roads around major cities. 30 days for the trip makes it about 190 kms (120 miles) per day. We
stayed in TOO many commercial (and, gasp, KOA) campgrounds. Total cash cost (food, fuel, camping,
entry fees etc.: CDN4215/30days = CDN$140/day (about US$108/day.
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