Road trip from California to Maine

OR...How to travel in a RV and not pay for a single night of lodging

This is the picture we taped to the dashboard in the truck the day we left.

We were invited to visit friends in Maine and take a tour of the Camden Harbor on his lobster boat. We had three weeks and a camper but not a lot of money. We discovered the "RVer's Friend", planned our route and left on one of the hottest days of the year.

I can honestly say that it was the trip of a lifetime. What we found was the most amazing, beautiful country.

What was even more amazing is that we spent every night free. We stayed at Truck Stops and Travel Plazas. We took showers, ate our way across the country and all of it without paying for a nights lodging.

This is a two part story. Look for the link at the bottom for the trip home. We visited many other places.

Our route

visited 14 states (28%)
Create your own visited map of The United States

9/21/2002 - Odometer reading 190948

I never take pictures of California because it is not a vacation until we hit the border of another state

We left at 9:12 am on our big adventure. Gas in 2002 was $1.49 a gallon. We visited Oatman, Arizona on our way and ended up in Flagstaff, Arizona for our first night out. We stayed for free at the Conoco Station.

Welcome to Arizona

9/22/2002

Flagstaff, Arizona to Tucumcari, New Mexico

We stopped for lunch at the Red Rock State Park in New Mexico. We had camped there before and it is an incredibly beautiful place. Stayed at the Chevron Station in Tucumcari. It was noisy but we slept well. When we pulled into the dirt lot, we had it all to ourselves. When we woke up, we were surrounded by what appeared to be hundreds of big rigs.

Welcome to New Mexico

9/23/2002

Tucumcari, New Mexico to Tulsa, Oklahoma.

We drove 527 miles and spent 13 hours on the road. Might have taken less time if we had not stopped at so many places. Tip here...If you are driving through this area, add another day to the trip. By the time we got to Maine, we were a full day behind. For those who have not traveled America, around every corner is another sight to see.

Spent some time at the Oklahoma City Memorial.This is a must-see where time really did stop between the two walls that were erected to contain the minute the bomb went off. Children do not run and play here. Almost without being told, they recognize the tone of this memorial. I have pictures on the companion lens, Attractions on Route 66.

Welcome to Texas?

9/24/2001

Tulsa Oklahoma to Cuba Missouri

We spent time visiting family in Springfield, Missouri. Last day in Missouri, stayed at the Voss Truck Port in Cuba, Missouri. Showers were $10.00.

(Note - 5/23/2011 - Joplin was destroyed by a tornado yesterday. Our hearts and prayers go out to the families in this area.)

Welcome to Oklahoma

9/25/2002

Cuba, Missouri to Swanson, Ohio

We drove all day. Covered 585 miles in 13 hours. Spent the night at the Sunoco Travel Plaza in Swanson. Did you know that from Cuba, MO to Swanson, OH covers four states. At this point we were falling behind in our schedule.

Those four states were revisted on the way home but the only picture we took on that day was the Mississippi River. Our very first every view of the river.

9/26/2002

Swenson, Ohio to Erie, Pennsylvania

One of our goals was to spend some time with friends in Erie. At this point we were a full day behind in our schedule so we were very happy to finally be there.

Gary (my husband - dressed like a California Tourist), me and Patty at Lake Erie. We don't live where lakes are this big. We can always see across our lakes so this was interesting.

9/27/2002

Erie, Pennsylvania to Rochester, NY

Still running a day behind, we took off with Patty and Jim and headed to Niagara Falls. Stopped at the Seneca Nation Reservation to eat lunch, good food.

Took the Maid of the Mist boat trip. What an incredible experience. From there, we crossed the Peace Bridge on foot into Canada to eat lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and then bid farewell to Jim and Patty to continue our journey.

Spent the night at the Scottsville Travel Plaza on I-90.

9/29/2002

Rochester, New York to Rockland, Maine

Do you know that there are only two off-ramps in New Hampshire and neither of them have restrooms. Use the restrooms in New York or wait until you get to Massachusetts.

Made it to Alan's house in Rockland, Maine.

Photo Gallery

Welcome to New Hampshire - Remember there are no restrooms.

Downtown Camden, Maine

Travel Tips

Enjoy your trip! We live in a beautiful country and each state is beautiful in it's own way. We ate lobster in Maine, saw Plymouth Rock. We saw Lincoln's house in Springfield, IL. We traveled the entire Route 66. We saw Niagara Falls. We traveled through 14 states.

• Start with www.freecampgrounds.com and www.desertdutch.org. Both of these web sites provided us with the inspiration and information to plan a trip like this. We bought the "RVers Friend". Plan out your route and head out. This is the most amazing adventure and we plan all our trips this way now.
• Decide how long you plan to drive and then about 2 hours before your deadline, look up a place and head towards it. In our case, we spent more of our time off the highway and more on back roads. There are so many things to see so your destination for the night might change, depending on how many time you stop for sightseeing. We ended up a whole day behind schedule because we stopped at the Oklahoma Memorial and the largest cross in Texas.
• Check out where you plan to stay. Does it meet your needs? We only changed our minds once in New Mexico when we were uneasy with the truck stop. It was probably fine but everyone has a feeling about something once in a while. Stick with your feelings. Be alert. Even well patrolled stops have not so nice people.
• Find a parking space. Most of them are fairly close to the facilities. Please do not treat it like a campground. It is not a campground but a place to sleep. Please keep the area clean.
• It matters little what kind of RV you travel in. It could be a travel trailer or 5th wheel. The only vehicle that does not lend itself to this type of travel is a pop-up trailer. Be a good citizen. Do not setup a campsite. Keep you slide-outs closed. This is a privileged granted by the various stops and is only for an overnight stay.
• If possible, park away from the big trucks. It's noisy. Many places have spots for RV's only.
• Use the facilities at the truck stops. Many of the showers are nicer than mine at home and some have family showers.
• Chicken Fried Steak gets bigger the further east you go.
• At many Wal-marts, you can spend the night free. Watch for signs posted in the parking lot, many cities now have regulations that forbid it. If in doubt, ask at the store.
• If you are in Salem, MA, follow the parking regulations and the streets are too small for larger RV's.

Lobster Fest

What a great meal that can never be recreated.