North into New England

It's been so comfortable at Tip Tam cg I'm almost hesitant to leave, almost! At my annual physical I must have failed some exams 'cause the VA seemed to add more than a few extra tests. I finally got a clean bill of health, but it delayed my leaving by a couple of weeks.

February and March sure aren't the best months to spend in NJ. Still, I feel like I accomplished a lot. I cleaned out my mini-storage unit and now really only have my RV and truck. Tax season started with lots of problems, some with the IRS electronic filing process and some with the software. Once the difficulties cleared up the rest of tax season went fine. I also got to see my sons, take some mini-trips with them and have some fun. We spent a couple of weekends in Jim Thorpe, PA running around paintball fields. One of the days it was barely in the teens and had snowed a few days before. This fat, old man is getting a bit old to be running around the woods from 9am till near 5pm (lol). I must admit I did have fun. We also went into NYC for a few days. Saw the play "The Jersey Boys". The story of the Four Seasons with lots of their music. Wow, did this bring back memories for me. It's a great show if you get a chance to see it. We went up the Empire State Building which I hadn't done in decades. My son kept asking where this and that was and I kept pointing out various landmarks. Next thing I knew three couples were following us around asking where things were. I had become a tour guide (lol). My son, who is in a business program at Seton Hall University, found a two hour walking tour of the Wall Street area. Other than being cold it was fun and very informative. We even went to Great Adventure for a day. I still can't believe I was talked into going on those wild, crazy roller coasters. The ten weeks sure went by fast.

It's mid-April and I'm heading up the coast of New England with stops in CT and RI while on my way to ME and the Canadian Maritimes. First stop is in central CT. I'm stopping in CT 'cause it's one of only two East Coast states I missed camping at last year and to visit a cousin I haven't seen in a few years. I drove about an hour to visit the Mystic Aquarium. The trip was a real bust. The parking lot was so full we were directed across the street to a village lot. I managed to find parking and walked back to the aquarium entrance. The line was over 90 minutes long, full of families and little kids. Definitely not for me! I walked around the very touristy village, but it was crowded also. One shop was so full people were standing on line waiting for others to leave the shop. I did stroll into a few shops but everything was geared for tourists and very overpriced. Turns out CT schools were out this week. Go figure!

Had a great visit with cousin David. He looks great (you really do David). We seemed to be chatting away non-stop. Lots to catch up with. Another day David's son Josh came by the campground. He's no longer a kid and I doubt I'd have recognized him if we passed on a street. How could he have grown so much when I'm still the same? (lol). It was great hearing that Josh and his brother Jeremy have grown into men and are doing well. From CT I had a very long drive, about an hour (lol) to a RI state park. The park had been recommended by Don & Sherry who I met at a MA state park last year. The park had a pretty lake and some hiking trails. No hookups at all. I came in with sufficient fresh water and the gray & black tanks empty. Dang, it was cold the first few nights! First night I toughed it out with the inside temperature about 50 (brrrr). The second night, I woke up to 42 degrees inside the rig! Enough is enough, the heat went on and to heck with electric or propane usage!!! Cousin Rick drove over from Providence the first evening. We chatted a bit and went out for a bite. It was great to catch up with ya Rick. On Sunday, Don & Sherry came over with their little pup Ginger. We walked around the park, caught up a bit, as they selected their site for Memorial Day weekend. Over the week spent at the RI park I: explored the historic town of Chepachet including the tavern famous for the Dorr Rebellion and several antique shops, the town of Putnam I guess famous for the K-Mart (lol), and took several rides to Providence. In Providence, my tour guide cousin Rick had lots of stuff planned including tooling around, wearing fedoras, in his 1936 Dodge, "V cool". Providence is a neat little city with a lot of history. It'll be even nicer if they ever finish all the construction (lol). Off to Maine, several LoW gtg's, and lots of lobster!