Location and mode of transportation are going to greatly influence what you can and can't take from home with respect to furnishings and supplies. If the vacation home is located in a remote area or in seasonal area such as Grand Bend, ON, then getting supplies won't be difficult during the peak season but off season it will be questionable. If your vacation home is located further north say around Huntsville, ON and further north you really do need to take a lot of supplies with you. If you are traveling by personal vehicle taking a lot of extra supplies works nicely. However, for this vacation home we have the choice of driving or flying. Flying then renting a vehicle works out to pretty much the same cost as driving but saves us a good day and a half in travel time. On a shorter visit flying is the better choice but means there is a lot less we can bring with us.
We have several friends who have cottages in the northern areas of Ontario. My husband stays at one for a week each year. They seriously take everything they will need for that trip. The only real option is to bring items such as food, bedding, furniture, kitchenware and just about everything else usually via a utility trailer hitched to their vehicle. Occasionally in that area you may find used furniture for sale and in most cases buying a cottage there will include household contents but not always. A grocery store may be within 40 miles but will have limited offerings and higher prices than you are used to in your regular grocery stores. Still there is only so much you can bring with you so at some point you will need to shop at one of these smaller grocery stores. In the northern areas fast food is likely going to be close to non-existence but this is a great opportunity to find little family run restaurants specializing in home cooked meals.
Our vacation home is located in the southern US. A utility trailer hitched to the vehicle is not an option given the make of our vehicle as well as border issues. Packing the vehicle with items to bring down works providing they are not food items not allowed by US Customs. We will be using this method from time to time but reality dictates it is a bit more frugal to buy what we need locally when here. Flying out presents a whole new problem because there are restrictions as to what you can bring. By far the easiest solution is to buy what you need to stock the house when you arrive. Unless it is a product that you can't get in the country where your vacation home is, buy what you need there. If you are bringing in any product from Canada to a foreign country including the US make sure it allowed first.
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
0 comments:
Post a Comment