Maine & Canada 2013

Crossing over the Piscataquis River bridge and entering Kittery Maine I could almost taste the lobster. The Indian River cg is old and a half mile down a heavily rutted dirt road. Still, it's on the river with some nice views, real quiet, and a short ride from route 95. Also, at $17.50 a night for a full hook up the price is sure right. I met Rick, Nancy, and Joe at one of my favorite restaurants, Warrens in Kittery. My first lobster of the year, yum!! Rick called in the morning. We hung out at his place for a little while. We went to a place Nancy had recommended called "When Pigs Fly". Strange name for an incredible bakery and sort of bar restaurant. The homemade breads are incredible! I only hope I have room in my freezer for all the loafs I bought. Rick and I shared a homemade pizza and a beer sampler of seven varieties. A friendly waitress helped make it a very pleasant afternoon. Nancy cooked a great chicken dish for dinner and we enjoyed chatting, watching a porcupine waddle around from the back porch. Sunday, Rick, Joe, his friend Ian, and I hung out at a driving range for a while before Rick had to head back to Rhode Island. I strolled around the Kittery Trading Post and confirmed that they do allow RV'ers to park for free. In fact, they even allow RV'ers to stay multiple nights for free which is very unusual.

The ride from Kittery to Palmyra is a very easy one, a couple of hours almost entirely on route 95. The owner, Rick (not to be confused with my cousin Rick above), had told me he wouldn't be at the cg until later in the week and I should just take any site I liked in the "B" row other than B1. Roland & Sharon are work campers who stay at B1. They live in Greenville, about 1 1/2 hours away, but stay the whole summer at this cg. Roland & Sharon had arrived earlier in the day. We remembered each other from last year and chatted awhile. Getting set up was a whole lot easier than last year. I pulled a little past the site, backed in most of the way, straighten out a bit, pulled in and dropped the rig perfectly level. Last year it had rained a lot and the grass was wet. Every time the trucks rear wheels hit the grass I sat and spun them, digging holes in the grass. It must have taken me 20 minutes to pull into a beautiful, open site. This is definitely one of the prettiest cg's I've been to in over two years. Rick, Linda, and their son Brian keep the golf course and camp ground immaculate!

With it being early in the season and not much going on in the area, I offered to help out at the cg. There had been a couple of storms over the winter so I cleaned up the debris on the 100 sites. Rick gave me a gizmo that checked the power on the 120, 30amp, and 50amp outlets which gave me yet another excuse to walk around a little. While checking the sites I noticed that many of the light detectors were broken so I got some electric tape and repaired them. Finally, I went around the cg after dark and made a list of all the site lights that were out. Rick didn't want to charge me for my site in exchange for the work. It didn't seem fair for only taking a few strolls around the pretty park and I wouldn't hear of a free site. We settled on my paying the discounted Passport America rate for a month, splitting the month into a few weeks in May and a few more weeks in July, and Rick treating me to dinner. These are very nice people and a very comfortable cg to stay at. Over the two weeks at Palmyra Golf & RV cg I: helped a little getting the park ready for their season, saw "Around the World in 80 Days" at the Penobscot Theater in Bangor, enjoyed another lobster dinner, enjoyed an evening at the Bangor Discovery Museum (more below), finally finished one of my RV projects (more below), had dinner with Rick & Linda, and even hit a bucket of golf balls. The evening at the Discovery Museum was a serendipitous event. The tickets I got to the play were apparently for supporters of the Penobscot Theater. As a supporter I was invited to a special event at the museum across the street. They had several presentations on art related topics along with lots of free food & wine, an interesting evening. As for my RV projects, I had two. One was to create storage space under my bed and the other was to attach doors to the front of the cabinet holding my washer/dryer. The bed project ended quickly when I discovered that the slide mechanism takes up almost all the space under the bed. That was an easy project. The second project sort of escalated a little on me. When I had the washer/dryer installed the mechanics took two doors off a cabinet, along with some shelving, in order to fit the washer/dryer in. Once in, the washer/dryer stuck out about an inch so the doors wouldn't close. They left the doors with me and I'd been wanting to figure out a way to put them back on. It seemed easy enough, just put some furring stripes around the edge and attach the doors to them. Well, I measured the sizes of furring, had them cut at Home Depot, sanded them a little and stained them to match. They looked great and fit fine. My first problem came when I went to take some left over screws out of the doors. They required some kind of square screw driver which I don't have. Rick laughed and shared with me that the square screw is apparently fairly common on RV's. He lent me the correct tool. My second problem came when I went to attach the doors and discovered a four inch gap between them. I realized that before the washer/dryer there must have been a center strip on the prior wardrobe cabinet. I couldn't put a center strip on since I wouldn't be able to open the wash/dryer. I went back to Home Depot and got a strip of wood I could attach to the inside of one of the cabinet doors. This way it would open with the door and not block the washer/dryer. Of course now this strip had to be stained and attached. My next problem came when my shortest screw driver wouldn't fit in the small opening between the door and the water pipes. Anyhow, after borrowing a short screw driver my project was finally completed. It really does look good.

The drive to the Bethel cg was pretty easy, straight down route #2 from Palmyra to Bethel. The rain even cooperated. I think the time of my drive was the longest stretch in a week that it didn't rain (lol)! The only problem came when my gps thought the cg was about 1/4 mile past where the entrance is and I didn't see the entrance until it was to late to stop. I got lucky with a gas station just past the cg that had enough room for me to make a "U" turn. The Bethel Outdoor Adventure & RV Park seems mostly geared to kayak'ers and canoe'ers. There are only a few sites and the cg is right on route #2 with some truck noise even during the night. The cg gave me a pretty site backing right up on the river. Unfortunately, there were a couple of trees that blocked my sat. dish. The site I switched to was a double width site and a clear view for the sat. dish. I managed to take several walks/hikes in between lots of rain. There are two pretty little walking paths each going in a different direction along the river. My stroll to and around town was about 3+ miles. Bethel is a cute little mountain town. I found a bike shop and took mine in. The bike has been bouncing around in the bed of the truck for about two years. The chain has gotten pretty rusty and the brake & gear levers are almost frozen. The shop did a nice job cleaning it up and replacing the cables & chain. Sunday was very relaxing. Walked to town and picked up a couple of newspapers, hung out in the rain reading and watching some news shows. I really am a news junkie (lol)! Two Mainely-LoW'ers showed up Monday afternoon and stayed until Wednesday morning. The rain continued the whole time but we did manage to walk a little and go out to dinner one day.

After the LoW's left I met Ernie & Mike. They're work campers who have been coming to this cg for many years. They've known each other since grade school and both served in the Navy. Ernie's wife is still in Florida, finishing up some medical issues and Mike's wife helps out in the office. We got to know each other pretty quick on Saturday night. Mike knocked on my door a few minutes before 10pm informing me that the county sheriff called to inform the cg that a stage 1 alert had been announced. He told me this means that water will be released from the upstream dam at Shelbourne around midnight. It's been raining almost steady for 8 days and they need to release some of the water behind the dam. Mike told me the last time they did this the entire cg flooded. I needed to move my truck and rig to higher ground. In the pouring rain it took me about 20 minutes to get dressed, I was in my pj's, hook up and move near the cg entrance which is about 30 feet higher. In the time it took me to move I was soaked. Being completely wet anyway I walked back to help the others. A third work camper, Cindy was alone. Her husband was off visiting friends and wouldn't be back for a couple of days. I took down her staked RV awning, helped her move all her outdoor stuff into a shelter and drove her towed car to the higher ground. I also helped Mike load and move two trailer loads of kayaks and canoes to the higher ground. I was wet and tired and slept great from about 1am to 6am. Peeking out the window, all looked fine, no flooding. I had my usual breakfast, dressed and went to help moving everything back. Since my truck was already hooked up I took the RV with me to fill up the gas tank & get my Sunday newspapers. By 10am I was back at a camp site, all hooked up with an interesting experience behind me.

The drive to Greenville and Moosehead Lake was pretty. Lots of back Maine countryside, no main roads. The site at Lily Bay SP was a little tight to back into but real pretty view right on a lake cove. Over the few days I finally saw a moose, a small female. The more exciting event was the bull moose those in the campground heard on several mornings and evenings. It rained every day but I managed to hike around the park. There was one trail 1.6 miles from my end of the cg to the other, Lots of pretty views. I tried to take a float plane ride but they wouldn't go up with only one passenger. Met Dick & Ellen, owners of a bookstore. We chatted for awhile. Later, when I was getting a haircut, the barber knew Dick & Ellen and we chatted like old friends. When I was in the local outfitter store, they also knew Dick & Ellen. Small towns sure are interesting.

The drive to Freeport seemed familiar. The first part of the drive I had taken last year when I came up north from Palmyra, albeit without the RV behind me. The second part of my drive was on I-95 & I-295. You've seen one highway you've seen them all (lol). The Desert of Maine cg was easy to get to, but then the fun started. While the ride to the cg was easy and I arrived early about 12:30, it was in the 90's, I was hot and tired. They said the person who spoke with me on the phone had given the wrong info on rates. I almost lost my cool but managed to work out an okay compromise. The fun continued when the first site electric couldn't keep my a/c going. The owner seemed apologetic and had the circuit breaker changed. That didn't help. I tried another site which also had poor electric. The owner suggested a third site which my RV wouldn't fit in, too long. The fourth site finally worked but didn't have a sewer connection. It took a little over three hours to drive here and about five hours to get settled in :=(! I was totally drenched from the heat and ready to collapse. I took a quick shower and went out for dinner. The lobster pound on the South Freeport wharf was perfect. Typical Maine, place your order, take a number, and enjoy the best lobster ever. Sitting at a picnic table overlooking the marina, light breeze, wow, great evening. Over the next week I strolled around the desert, about a mile around, took the jeep/tram tour, had a great day sailing on a schooner out of Portland harbor, saw the play "Dream Girls" at the Pickard Theater on Bowdoin University campus, hiked all 7.5 miles of Wolf's Neck Park. The town of Freeport has a website of hiking trails, "Freeportconservationtrust.org". There are over 20 miles of trails with the longest only about 5 miles. I hiked all but the Florida Lake trail, not 'cause of the gators (lol), it was just way to muddy. Lots of pretty views of Casco Bay, the town and surrounding areas. The campground let me help out with their butterfly house when they received a new shipment. It's amazing the way the breeder ships these delicate creatures. They overnight about 100 of them, two to an envelope, folded in half, carefully. I sprayed some sugar water on the plants and flowers then carefully opened the envelopes. It was enjoyable to watch as the butterfly's stretched their wings and took off.

A hobby of mine for the past 15 years or so has been genealogy research. I had a quick success in locating first cousins I didn't even know I had (hi Bobbie, Betty, and Rick). The quick success has turned into a periodic diversion. If you've ever tried genealogy research it's a lot of tedious searching and record keeping. Well, this past week I had two new finds, one on my fathers side and one on my mothers. My mother had an older sister who just disappeared around 1920. I "found" her living as a patient in a Colorado hospital in 1930. Back then people went to western hospitals for emphysema and tuberculosis. Along with my Aunt Bessie, I also found an uncle, my mother's brother, living and working in the same hospital. I had met my uncle a few times before he passed away in 1977. The family story about my Uncle Abe was him getting mixed up with a group called "Murder Incorporated" and being forced to leave Brooklyn. When he passed away he was fairly well off so it's interesting to see him working as a porter/waiter in a hospital. On my father's side I finally located the 1900 census record of my great-grandparents. I knew they had a son Samuel, my grand-father, and a daughter Annie, who there is a whole story about. I'd heard a rumor from my new cousins that there was another son, Saul. On the census record I confirmed the older son Sol (corrected spelling) and "found" two more sons, Sidney and Aaron. Armed with this new info along with their dates of birth, I have lots of new "stuff" to research. The Freeport, Maine library has a subscription to genealogy software so, with all the rain, I spent a day inside doing research.

When leaving Freeport I had my second shortest drive to the campground on the Casco Bay, only 26 miles. The shortest drive was in November 2011 when I drove from one park in Bushnell, Florida to another in the same town, about 2 miles. This drive was easy until the last 5 or 6 miles. Even the dirt roads I've driven on had less ruts and pot holes than the roads leading to the cg. I drove well below the 25 and 30 mile limits and still thought the truck and RV would have parts falling off. I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived. I didn't have high expectations for this campgrounds since both the workcamper who took my reservation and the owner who got involved were extremely rude. If I wasn't going to meet the Mainely-LoW camping group I never would have continued with my reservation. Now, upon checking in, this workcamper was very friendly. Her husband let me reach into a tank and pick my own lobster. The site was easy to get into, a full hookup, with great sat. dish reception. The lobster dinner was ready exactly when promised and really delicious, boiled lobster, baked potato, grilled corn on the cob, yum, yum!! Yet another workcamper let me pick a movie to be shown in the rec. hall this evening. I just arrived and I'm enjoying this place already. Between no hook ups at all at the State Park by Moosehead Lake and no sewer hook up for the past two weeks, I have lots of laundry loads to do. Got two loads in the first evening and a third started before I left on Saturday morning. I went to the Maine Maritime Museum only about 5 miles from the campground. It was interesting. The tour guide seemed to go on and on, repeating himself several times. It was painful to listen. He eventually shared with our group that this was his first time doing the tour on his own. Oh well! I guess if I were more into ship building the museum would have been more interesting. The lobster history exhibit was nice. I then went to the Musical Wonder House in Wiscasset, about 10 to 15 minutes from the Maritime Museum. This museum is an absolute wonder. I found it magical!! The owner and I immediately hit it off. He got no more than about three of four sentences from his mouth when I asked him what city in Brazil he came from. Paolo looked at me in amazement and asked how I knew he was from Brazil. I shared with him something of my many trips throughout Brazil before I retired. It turns out he was born in Spain, grew up in Brazil, and went to school in England. We chatted for quite a while about our various travels and the cultures around the world we've enjoyed. The tour of his music box exhibits was absolutely astounding! I highly recommend visiting this jewel of a place just off Route #1 in Wiscasset, Maine. The variety of music boxes is far beyond anything I'd ever imagined. One of the oldest boxes is from the 1600's. It has a small drum, several bells, castanets, and two dolls dancing to the wonderful music. The detail and creativity is unbelievable. I had wanted to have lunch of a lobster roll at a great place in Wiscasset. However, I spent so much time in the music box museum and it would interfere with dinner. So, on to Boothbay Harbor to stroll around and have dinner. It was about a half hour to the harbor. Finding parking in this tourist mecca was surprisingly easy. It was a nice afternoon to stroll. Boothbay Harbor is a cute village full of what I call "junk stores". While a cute town, it is totally geared for tourists. Still, it has a lovely harbor and I enjoyed a beer with some chowder on a wharf overlooking the marina.

The Mainely-LoW's should be arriving today (Monday). I walked around the cg and saw a rig from TX that looked familiar. Lo and behold, there on the dash it says Marge Smith (hi Marge). I knocked on the door, nobody home. I found Marge, Carolyn, Heidi, and two Joyce's sitting by another rig. We chatted awhile and one Joyce left. Marge and I enjoyed a lobster dinner at the cg. The other Joyce and Carolyn had some chowder. The five of us hung out, played a dice game, and chatted between the periodic rain. On Thursday I brought my truck in for a regular maintenance. Carolyn, Joyce, and Heidi left on Wednesday. Marge met me at the dealership. We strolled around the Bowdoin College campus, went to the Perry-MacMillan Arctic Museum and had a light lunch on Maine Street.

Another short ride, about an hour to Thomaston and the Saltwater Farm cg. The cg is right on the St. George River. It goes from a mud flat where people clam to about 13 feet deep in minutes. Thomaston is at the southern end of several pretty towns. I've been coming to this area for almost 40 years. An old neighbor who sold antiques in New Jersey would come to this area of Maine each summer on buying trips. I visited them several times in the early 1970's. After all these years I did discover something new and very unique, elephants! The Hope Elephant project in Hope, ME. Olga and Rossie (the 43 year old elephants) are sisters who were rescued from a circus and very well cared for. In the past couple of years over 4,000 children have come to see them and the conservation program their rescuers support. On one of the few days the forecast was for a sunny day I took the ferry to Islesboro to bike around the island. It was sunny all right, all the way into the mid-90's with barely a breeze! During my approximate 25 mile bike ride I went through the 16 ounces of water I brought plus 32 ounces more! I was drenched! Dang, it's tough being a fat, old, man! It was about an hours drive back to Bath, ME, the Pickard Theater on the Bowdoin College campus, but it was well worth the trip. Les Miserables was great, I think way better than when I saw it on Broadway. There were several strong players who did great jobs with the songs. The scenery and scene changes were incredible. Spending time in the Chamberlain Museum and doing the walking tour was very timely. I had just finished reading "The Last Full Measure", a book about the end of the Civil War. General Chamberlain was a professor from Maine who played several important roles during the Civil War. Fascinating stuff!

The Saltwater Farm cg had great views but strange sites and poor electric connections. I lost power several times. The day before I left, the power went off yet again and it wouldn't reset. I left it off and the rig on the inverter. Between the raindrops I unhooked and closed up. Good thing since the day I was leaving it came down in buckets. It rained the entire ride to Palmyra. I got lucky and was able to set up in only a light drizzle, lol. I really like the Palmyra Golf & RV Resort. The owners, Rick & Linda are simply nice people who will do whatever it takes to have their "company", us RV'ers, enjoy our stay. The campground and golf course are immaculate! It's a pretty place to stay and stroll around. July 4th was very nice. The Bangor Band played great patriotic music to a nice crowd of about 100. Most of us then strolled to the riverfront where we listened to more music and watched fireworks. From the river we could see the fireworks of the towns of Hebron, Brewer, and Bangor. At times they seemed to be having a contest with each other. The most incredible sight was when a huge bald eagle swooped over the band, right on cue to their playing America the Beautiful. The entire audience let out lots of ooohs and aaahs! Magnificent!! I hung out with a group of old vets, like me. It was a great evening. Between the rain and heat spells I still enjoyed my stay. Between the Bangor Band weekly free concerts, the Bangor library weekly free music, and the weekly farmers markets, there was plenty to do. I even got in a few dips in the pool and a few rounds of golf.

While at Bar Harbor the weather finally turned great. Clear, sunny days in the low 80's. Lots of hiking, a 4 hour sea kayak tour, strolling around the Oceanerium exhibits and marsh walk. I met a lovely family camped next to me and hung out with them for a few days. Mark is a retired NH state trooper and his wife Janice is a retired school teacher. They were camped in the largest truck camper I've seen, travelling with Mark's dad and one of their grandsons. Next to them was his son Chris, his wife, Heather and their two kids Logan and Emma, camping in a pop up. We shared coffee each morning and some dinner each evening. Nice people. While at Bar Harbor I also toured the Atlantic Brewery and even bought a few of their heavy malt brews. The Southwest Harbor is a cute town on the Arcadia peninsular that many people miss. Nearby is an interesting Auto Museum that celebrates the brass era of cars. They have several autos that are absolutely works of art. The Abbe Indian Museum in Bar Harbor was okay but seemed to have lots of plaques talking about the native Indians and few actual artifacts. The trolley tour was nice with at least a breeze flowing. My short hike around the top of Cadillac Mountain had incredible views.

Not a bad ride up the coast to my friends in Whiting, just north of Machias (hi Anne & Stephen). When they first moved from New York to northern Maine I honestly thought they were nuts! This area defines why Maine is called vacationland! They live at the end of the paved road, over three miles off route #1 and over a mile from their mailbox, across from Gardner Lake which at over 3,800 acres is huge. Over the few days I parked by their beautiful home we went out fishing and did some ATV'ing. There is no way to describe AVT'ing in the Maine woods to anyone who hasn't seen these forests. Imagine a forest almost half the size of the State of New Jersey with 1/2 of 1% of the population!!! We drove the ATV's for over 20 miles and never crossed a road or saw another person.

The next couple of weeks were spent in Canada, roaming around the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick and onto Prince Edward Island. The Bay of Fundy Provincial Park is quite large. Lots of hiking trails and beautiful views. I hiked a couple of short trails in between the rain. The change in the height of the bay from high tide to low is incredible. It goes from a mud flat to about 52 feet deep in minutes and reverses back to a mud flat when the tide goes out. This is not a place you'd want to get caught walking the beach as the tide comes in! A little past the park along the shore is the Flower Pot Park. The in and out of the tide formed these giant rock columns with trees and plants on top. They really do look like flower pots, weird!

Prince Edward Island (PEI) is an absolutely enchanting place. I hadn't been here in over 30 years. Back then I took the ferry across and poked around on my motorcycle a little. This time I drove over the bridge, about 9 miles long. You wouldn't see much driving over in a car but with the height of the truck the views from the bridge are great. During the summer months there is music most everywhere you go. Travelling around the shore there are lots of quaint little fishing villages. On the north shore there were huge sand dunes, the south shore has red sand from the heavy iron content. The Islanders claim it's the iron that gives their produce its great taste. How many of you have read the story "Anne of Green Gables"? My guess is most of the women and none of the men, lol! The story and its author, Lucy Maude Montgomery, have become part of the enchantment of PEI. The Green Gable museum was interesting but the Montgomery house & museum was fascinating. Running this little known stop was Robert Montgomery, a first cousin of Lucy Maude's. He is an absolute character!! About 6'3", long grey, disheveled hair down to his shoulders, a face with tons of "character", and gnarled hands that I doubt have ever been washed (lol). I was the only one there and his stories continued almost without end. I felt obligated to pick up a copy of the book. It's definitely a little girlie story but so sweet it brings a smile and at times a tear. If you've got a soft spot it's worth the read. I went to the famous "Dinner Feast" in Charlottetown. The play was called "Good Golly Miss Molly"! The buffet dinner was excellent and the show fantastic. One LoW camper came by for a few days from her home in Nova Scotia, Penny King. We went to two other plays together, "Anne & Gilbert", and "Anne of Green Gables". Both plays were incredible. It is amazing the talent on this island, the smallest and least populated of the ten Canadian provinces. Penny and I also took what is called a Hippo Tour. This is a combination tram and boat, which drove around Charlottetown, providing a running tour, then driving into the harbor and continuing the tour from the water. We also went to the "famous" St. Anne's Church dinner. Many of the church's sell dinners as a means of raising funds for their community. St. Anne's apparently has one of the longest running dinners. The food was good and we were stuffed. Both before Penny arrived and after she had left I explored a little of the three counties; Prince in the west, Queens in the center, and Kings in the east. PEI is a beautiful place!

Back at my friends Anne & Stephen again, and some more fishing & ATV'ing for a few days. Stephen cooked some moose burgers, my first taste of moose. They were good and reminded me of bison, pretty near zero fat. Stephen also cooked some mackerel he caught, yum, yum. A friend of Stephen's had given me some moose stew but Anne didn't want to hear about it cooked in her house so I took it with me. My last stop in Maine was back in Palmyra. While in Palmyra I went to two concerts a week in Bangor; the library and Bangor Bands. One day was spent at the Skowhegan State Fair. I watched two really exciting tractor pull events (yawn, lol). The fair had a grizzly bear show which really impressed upon me that I don't want to see a grizzly to close. The bear in the show was a cub and only 7 feet tall. They said the largest have been recorded at over 12 feet and about 2,000 lbs! These are huge animals!! Carolyn Smith from Mainly-LoW same by with her daughter. We went to dinner with Vern and his wife Linda who were camped next to me. I enjoyed my last Maine lobster of this year. I finally bought a CB radio and which I'll play with a bit. I found a guy who tuned it up to about 40 watts, ten times the standard 4 watts they come with. I'll play with my new toy as I go down the roads, "breaker, breaker"  (lol). I also cooked the moose stew. It was pretty good with a strong after taste. I probably won't have any more but now I can say I have eaten moose, lol.

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!

North to NJ 2013

My first stop on the way to NJ was a short ride to Jacksonville. Leaving Marvin's in mid-afternoon, it was late when I arrived and it was starting to drizzle. I managed to get set-up, pick up some Chinese take out, some fresh fruits & vegies, and get back just as it started raining. A TV movie and an early night. It looks like it'll be raining on and off for the next couple of days and there are a few movies I've wanted to see anyway, so...  I think I've read every one of the "Jack Reacher" books so a movie starring Tom Cruise sounds good. The movie was ok, not great and not bad. In the books Jack Reacher is about 6'5" and Tom Cruise is just over 5'6", at least the numbers are the same (lol). The second movie I saw was the Promised Land, starring Matt Damon. Another movie star I like and another movie that was ok.

I stopped in Jacksonville to attend my cousin Bobbi's after New Years party and see a show at the Alhambra Dinner Theater with her and her friends. Bobbi, your party was great, the food was fantastic and your friends and neighbors are very nice. I enjoyed meeting them. The show we saw was "Ring of Fire", the Johnny Cash story. I liked that they didn't try to mimic Johnny Cash, but rather had some talented people sing his songs and play guitar as a tribute to him. The show was very enjoyable.

In the next morning I'm off for a long drive to the Charleston, SC area. Jolly Acres was a friendly place to stay last year. It was great when the owners and work campers all remembered me. A couple staying again at the cg also remembered me, Bud & Pat. We sat out chatting a few evenings in the beautiful weather, warm for mid-January. It was restaurant week in Charleston and many of the restaurants had special menus. The salmon frittata accompanied by a Bloody Mary was a perfect brunch. Charleston is one of my three favorite southern cities, the others being; Savannah and St. Augustine. You're able to walk these cities and there always seems to be something going on in addition to great food and attractions. I also saw yet another movie on one rainy day, "Guilt Trip" with Barbra Streisand. This is really one cute movie that even brought a tear to my eyes at a few points. Then again, it doesn't take much to get my eyes watery.

Another long ride to Wilson, NC. I'll stay only a few days. Not much doing around here besides a really great barbecue place. I did check out the North Carolina Baseball Museum. The docent was a real chatty guy and the place is packed with memorabilia. They could easily fill a building twice this size. I was amazed at the number of famous ballplayers who have had some contact with North Carolina, lots of people from Ted Williams to Catfish Hunter. An original program from the 1956 world series between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the NY Yankees brought a tear to my eyes. I'm sure I held an identical program. It was the last year for my Dodgers before they deserted me :=(  I loved baseball as a kid and played all through High School. I even played in a few adult leagues right up to becoming a single parent not that many years ago. I just stood by the field remembering such great times. The walking tour of Wilson, NC was kind of depressing. There are 23 stops on the published tour of about a 1 1/2 mile cool walk around town (cool 'cause it was in the 40's). Many of the stops are nothing more than boarded up buildings. Even the docent in the visitor center warned me to be careful walking down some of the streets. There are several old buildings with some interesting architecture but they're in such disrepair it didn't look like they would stand up to a stiff breeze.

Newport News Municipal cg was the second place I stayed at when I started RV'ing in 2011. It's in a great location, close to lots of "stuff". It's also one of the few cg's in the area open this time of year. It's cold! Today is the warmest day and it's only in the mid-40's. The rest of the week has the day's forecasted in the 30's and the nights in the teens. I left my water line in rather than deal with a long popsicle (lol). I went to the Living Museum on the warmer day since it's mostly outside. Pretty interesting place. In a relatively small area they have several outdoor habitats with; wolfs, fox, turkeys, deer, bobcat, bald eagles, beaver, otters, coyote. They set up a large outdoor aviary that you walk through which has lots of local birds including brown pelicans. As large as these birds are, the aviary is big enough to allow them to fly a little. I was happy to look around the indoor portion of the museum to warm up (lol). I'm parked directly across from the park showers and this is one of the few cg's in my travels that I've enjoyed using their showers. Especially for a public park the showers are well maintained, clean, hot, with lots of pressure. As cold as it is this will save my on board water until I get to a cg's where I can deploy my heated hose. RV'ing is lots of fun, but I'll be glad when I no longer need to deal with camping in the cold.

Wow, what a surprise, what a great museum! I almost didn't go to the Mariners' Museum. I'm ex-Army, not Navy, and, while I enjoy the ocean, I don't have any experience with ships and such. Still, I'd seen and enjoyed the Hunley Museum in Charleston and the Mariners' Museum has the relics from the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia (the former USS Merrimack). There was so much more than just "stuff" from the Monitor & Merrimack! There is a section dedicated to the Titanic with lots of artifacts. They have an entire room of incredible miniature ship models with details that are seen with magnifying glasses. I'm still fussing with my little craved manatee I started in the woodworking class I took while in Bradenton, FL (lol). I was really fascinated by the number of artifacts on navigation; books, and instruments from hundreds of years ago. If you're in the area you wouldn't be disappointed strolling through this museum. I also went to the Virginia War Museum and the US Army Transportation Museum located at Ft. Eustis. The war museum traced the US military, with separate rooms of displays, from the Revolution, to the War of 1812, Civil War, Spanish-American, right through WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and the current wars in the Middle East. Isn't it sad how much of our history is traced through conflict? The US Army Transportation Museum was interesting. When I was in the Army I don't remember thinking about transportation much. Our resupplies were mostly prearranged. If we needed something urgent or special I put in the request via radio. Like magic, our supplies would appear and usually be dropped out of a helicopter at a prearranged time and place. I spent most of my work career in a field called project management. Over the years I got a much better appreciation for the planning and logistics to coordinate and move people and materials. The Army Transportation motto is "Nothing happens until something moves!". Think about what it takes to move hundreds of thousands of military personnel, with all the thousands of tons of needed equipment, all around the world. These are massive projects!

It remained cold but the rain and snow held off. I wasn't looking forward to the drive around the DC beltway but all turned out fine. The drive was long, over 4 hours, but sunny and easy. The Gettysburg cg left a list of available sites for me to chose from. The entire cg was covered with snow. I pulled in with no problems and hooked up my heated water hose. The water worked fine at night but I had a long popsicle in the morning with a frozen hose. Turns out the 120v outlet didn't work (lol). When I checked in on Monday morning, Sue, the manager, lent me a 50amp adapter for the 120v outlet. A few hours later the water was running fine. The one day it was sunny and in the 50 's I walked the Gettysburg battlefield. It's interesting to actually see what the soldiers saw from the ground. At Gettysburg, from the observation deck, the battlefield seems very flat. Yet, when you walk the fields you realize that the slight rises are enough to completely shield an enemy from just a few hundred yards. The visitor center included a large circular painting of the battle completed a few years after it actually took place. The museum and films presented a pretty balanced view even suggesting that the South came very close to winning. If you're ever in the area be sure to stop into the diorama in town. They have a 30 minute presentation around a scale model of the battle area. Very interesting!.

My final drive to NJ was easy and without event. The son of the cg owner, Darin, immediately remembered me. He drove me around the cg to pick out whatever open space I liked best. It's funny, I've laughed several times to couples setting up their portable sat. dish with the wife yelling out their rv to the husband. "honey, two more feet to the left"! Here I was with Darin listening just outside my rig door, my TV on loud, yelling at me backing up "move it over two feet to the left". I was laughing out loud at the whole scene (lol). Once I finally got situated I headed out to food shop. When I returned, Darin had set up and connected PVC to my sewer line and reinsulated my heated water hose. If anyone ever wants a cg in NJ I heartily recommend Tip Tam. The owners will do whatever they can to make your stay as pleasant as possible. Guess I'm settled in till April.

New Year's 2012/2013

At heart I guess I am a wanderer. As much as I enjoyed my stay in Bradenton, after three weeks it felt good to go "wheels up"! The drive through the Orlando area was better than last year but still crowded and needed my full driving attention. The drive should have been about 2 1/2 hours but ended up taking over 4 hours with the traffic going though Orlando. In the future, I've got to avoid this I-4 corridor! Heading down Marvin's driveway was most definitely melancholy. It felt great knowing I'll be with lots of folks I know and enjoy. It was sad remembering that last year I pulled in directly behind Bob Lynch who is no longer with us.

Bobbie & Linda arrived yesterday and have already been helping to get things ready. They're expecting about 45 rigs with a total of around 65 people. Ron Henderson called. Apparently, the Walmart he usually stays at on his way to Marvin's no longer allows overnights so he's on his way here a day early. We all chatted a little and then an early evening. I was up early, finished breakfast, some reading, and out the door by 7:30am. The first rigs began pulling in before 9am. Bobbie had me directing the parking. The good news is all the drivers were great and managed to get into the spots I directed with no issues. The bad news is I was on my feet from 7:30am till about 4pm without even a lunch break (lol). I enjoyed helping and got to meet everyone. The four days seem to have flown by. First day we had a great bar-B-Q with all the fixin's. Afterward, Dave Irons set up his karaoke machine, played his guitar, and we sat around singing and chatting.

On New Years Eve morning the food began including: Amish casserole, French toast blueberry casserole, homemade biscuits, coffee, hot chocolate, home made honey & jams, juice, and fruit (yum, yum). We spent the day getting reacquainted, chatting, and strolling around "Pancho's Rancho". For those who don't know Marvin Panch, do a little googling. He's an interesting guy and a great person. As Happy Hour wound down we congregated for hamburgers and hot dogs along with pot luck side dishes. For those who've never experienced a large group "pot luck", just imagine about 45 separate side dishes (one from each rig), and each one is more delicious than the next. At 8pm our celebration continued. Since we hadn't eaten since 5pm, the dinner left overs along with 45 new appetizers appeared. Music began by 9pm and continued until midnight. Kevin (Marvins son-in-law, who is a fantastic cook) created yet another cake master piece. The dancing began by 9am and went until the midnight champagne. With a shortage of men dancing, I did the best I could to dance with every gal there. It's a tough job, but someones got to do it (lol - ;=))!!!

New Years Day we had "breakfast in a bag", same as last year. You drop a couple of cracked eggs in a heavy duty baggie, along with whatever fixings you like; cheese, peppers, bacon, sausage, onion, whatever you like. You then drop the baggie into a large pot of boiling water for about 10 minutes or so. Presto, chango, breakfast in a bag! Delicious, along with more of Kevin's homemade biscuits, homemade honey and jams. Midday we enjoyed a typical southern New Years good luck meal of collard greens, black eyed peas, and homemade cornbread. Kevin should open a restaurant, delicious! In the afternoon about 50 of us took a 2 hour pontoon boat ride, the Blue Heron River tour. It's incredible the number of birds, turtles, and manatees we saw along this pristine waterway. One strange sight was a fair sized turtle sitting on a log with a small gator using him for a pillow (lol). A guess a pillow is better than being lunch!

The evening brought a delicious pulled pork dinner with all the trimmings and a table full of pot luck desserts. After dinner we enjoyed over two hours of Homer Noodlemen's great humor. His energy level is simply amazing. In the morning the rigs began leaving early as we gathered for coffee, croissants, and most important goodbye hugs. I hung around till mid afternoon to help clean up also enjoyed lunch with Marvin, Bobbie, and Linda.

Heading North in Florida - 2012

It's still only late November yet I feel like the year is past. I'm heading north again. With the new IRS tax preparer rules, I must take another two day tax course. Lucky I found one on my route. I needed to leave Lake Worth one day early and will arrive a day late for the Dixie LoW get together in Silver Springs. At least I get the required course in without to much hassle. The course is at the Caribe Royale in Orlando and I found a Passport America cg about 10 minutes away in Kissimmee. It's an older park with lots of permanent residents and I'm under a tree so no TV. Oh well, it's only two days (three nights) and I'm gone each day from 6am until late with planned dinner dates two night ;=)!!

The tax seminar had more information than I thought. With congress in a seeming stalemate I thought there would be a one page handout that said "all tax laws are to be determined" and the second day of class would review the handout (lol). With over 200 attendees I doubt that anyone understands all the tax laws, and we're the "professionals"!! Tax laws have become incredibly complex with all the various deductions and special situations only serving to give congress ways of providing various friends and lobbyists special favors. They should do away with all deductions, tax all income the same way, and dramatically lower the tax brackets. Something like anyone with income under $75,000 a year pays nothing and then taxing income above that starting at 10% and going up to around 75% for incomes greater than $500,000. Of course they'll never make it simple because it would take away their ability to have lobbyists lobby them. Anyhow, the seminar did have lots of information, my evenings were very pleasant, and the days went fast even without TV.

Several people told me the road into the Silver Springs cg was a really rough one. It was definitely a heavily pot holed dirt road but not as rough as it was made out to be. Just go slow, sort of a secret in life itself. German and her husband were very friendly and my site couldn't have been more perfect. A full hook up, perfectly level, pull through site, with a clear view for my sat. service. Several of the half dozen folks I already knew; Ron Henderson, Gail from Ontario, Jerry McKay, Calvin. A few of the Dixie LoW's were new to me; Don, Marie, Devon, and a new LoW'er Judy. Gail cooked a complete dinner for everyone, really good. The group had coffee and breakfast every morning and a pot luck Friday. Ron and I played BINGO with the other campers one night, I even won two games :=)  We went to what was to be a craft fair one day. It turned out to be a church flea market. Ron and I drove around a little trying to find some park hiking trails. We stopped and saw a pretty lake but no trails. A few other LoW'ers stopped by to visit including; Dennis, Trina, Helen, and several of the Dixie LoW regulars. Most everyone left on Sunday morning. Afterward, walking around the cg I met Ted and Jane from Michigan. We sat out, along with German and her husband, chatting for a few hours. I tried to find "stuff" to do in both Silver Springs and Ocala. It must still be off season or something 'cause I couldn't find a thing :=(!!

It is a very easy drive to Bradenton, that is until I got within a mile of the cg. My gps didn't like the cg address and sent me to a truck stop. I drove up and down the main road a few times. For those who maybe don't know, "U" turns pulling a fifth wheel are not fun! A fellow LoW'er, John from Texas, had tried to give me directions but I guess I'm just dumb 'cause they didn't help much other than to let me know he also got lost and I was close. The cg finally answered the phone and directed me in. Wow, what a great surprise!! This is a beautiful RV resort. The RV's and cute little permanents are neatly arranged around a lake which is about 1 1/4 miles around. My perfectly level, full hook up site backs up on the lake and is a short walk from the club house. The people are super friendly all over the park. I'm a little nervous with my RV door in the back and my rig literally hanging over the water. I'll need to look for any movement whenever I'm going in or out. The cg says they know of two gators, one a little three or four footer and the other a bit over five feet. A few minutes after setting up, my power went out and the rig switched to the inverter. I reset the park electric box but it happened again. I called the park office and they immediately sent an electrician over. Mike checked it out and said my surge protector had blown. We hooked the rig up directly, I was very nervous without the surge protector, but the power went out again anyway. The park had to replace the electric box. I mentioned my now blown surge protector and, without argument, they gave me a $150 credit. This is a very nice park.

One of two heated pools.

I did my usual walk around the park only this walk took a little longer than usual. I must have had a lost puppy look when I entered the club house. Peggy, a permanent in the park, sort of scooped me up with a big smile and showed me around the two story club house. There sure seems to be a lot to do at this cg. There's a large meeting room with a wrap around, screened in porch, a well stocked library, a kitchen, exercise room with lots of work out machines, a separate room with a few pool tables, a jacuzzi outside by a heated pool, both of which overlook the lake. This is a pretty park. I did a nice 25 minute workout, swam a little and got a back massage by the jacuzzi jets. This is great. Ron Henderson arrived early and joined me for two hours of line dancing lessons. At 91 he sure has a lot of energy. He's a happy guy :=)!! Four days of the joint Gulf and Mid-LoW gtg went very fast. Breakfast together each morning and happy hour each afternoon. A bunch of us went to a play called Plaids. It was the worst play I've ever seen. The six of us who went in my truck had drinks by the water before the show and another drink afterward. The five gals and I had a nice evening even with the play.

Pool looking onto the lake.

 



Four of us went to see the Gamble Plantation.The park ranger had so much information, he really made it a great tour. Big signs all over about not touching any of the artifacts. When the ranger heard that Ron was a WWII veteran he took the old gun down and we took pictures of Ron holding it.

Five of us went to see the Christmas boat parade. Parking was a little tough, driving around awhile. We finally found parking fairly close and watched a few boats come by all decked out in lights. The party, gift exchange, and games were lots of fun. I managed to keep my 25 minute exercise routine going plus biking around the park. Maybe I'll even lose a few pounds!

Ron & I with our party hats.

I've gotten into three regular park activities; water aerobics, wood carving, and line dancing. The water aerobics is an hour most days in the heated pool. It's not much exercise, but lots of socialization and fun. I'd thought about wood carving when I first took off in the RV and stumbled on the class here at the park. Russ and Bruce were very helpful getting me started on carving a little manatee. I may take this up or at least get busy making a sign for the Alaskan Signpost. Line dancing is two hours a week and lots of fun. I'm sort of getting the hang of it but still have two left feet. We do line dancing mostly to oldies which are my favorite music.

Wow, three great playhouse shows in the same week. Annie was almost at a Broadway show level. That little girl really belted out all those great songs. The Nutcracker Suite at the Sarasota Opera House was nice. If you get a chance, it's a pretty building. The play, A Christmas Carol, filled out my three-some of holiday inspired events. All very nice and really got me into the holiday mood.

Riding a Lippizan Stallion was like driving a sports car. The trail horses I've ridden almost need a knock on their head to get them to turn, go, or stop. The Lippizans are so well trained they seem to sense what you're thinking and just go. The slightest movement of the reins and they go just where I wanted. The hardest part was getting used to a saddle with no stirrups.

I'd stopped by the Ringling Estate last year but didn't take any photos. It was such a pretty day strolling around the 60 acre grounds. Everything is so pretty and serene. I love the banyan trees and peaceful settings around the ponds. It must have been fantastic living in a setting like this. The house, Ca' d'Zan (Venetian for "House of John" as in John Ringling), was all decorated for Christmas. So pretty...



I was a little disappointed with the cg Christmas Party. The music was okay but so loud I couldn't carry on a conversation with the people sitting right next to me. I was getting a headache and left after about 1 1/2 hours. While I was in the area I also toured the Mixons Fruit Orchard. They were very friendly and after tasting lots of fruit, fruitcake, and honey wine, I left with some grapefruits, tangerines, and kumquats. I also got my fill of Chinese food. There is a nice little take out place in the same strip mall as the nearest Publix. It made it easy to order Chinese, do my food shopping, and have my dinner ready when I checked out. The almost 3 1/2 weeks actually went pretty fast. I can see where I'd be very busy if I lived in an active park like this one.

Farthest South in 2012

Wow, that was an easy ride from Savannah to Jacksonville. Only one "nut" during the ride. I must be getting real accustomed to these little jaunts between campgrounds. The Pecan Park RV cg is just off I-95. It seems real new and very well kept. All large pull thru sites with full hook ups. It's hot and humid and no one seems to be out and about as I did my usual park walk. Most of the rigs as mega-monsters, big class A's. This is definitely not a "trailer-park". Took a little ride into downtown, toured the Science & History Museum and the Riverwalk area. Jacksonville is a much bigger city than I thought at near 1 million population and well over that when including the surrounding communities. I had a very nice evening with cousin Bobbie and her friend Marilyn. Fernandina Beach is a cute town with lots of nice restaurants, shops, and several really good ice cream stores. Our stroll around town after dinner was very pleasant.

I spent most of one morning on the phone with the IRS figuring out my registered tax preparer status, scheduling the required continuing education classes, and juggling my itinerary to get to the right location on the right dates. This wasn't fun! Oh well, at least it's done (I hope).

What a great day. I went for a hike at the Theodore Roosevelt Wildlife area within the Timucuan Ecological Preserve. Upon entering the little museum and welcome center I met Mary Hammond. She was the volunteer manning the center and a full time RV'er. We chatted for about 1 1/2 hours! . She provided me with info on volunteering for the National Park Service and I gave her info on Loners on Wheels. Our little chat would have been enough to make for a nice day, but it get better. As I began my hike I watched a guy get all suited up for his hike. He checked his boots, put on a belt with a canteen and pocket knife. Fixed his hat and grabbed a walking stick. I said hi and mentioned that he sure looked prepared. Bill introduced himself and we began hiking together. He's a former Army MP who apparently hikes this park frequently. We did about eight miles in about three hours, chatting the whole time. The hike seemed to go fast with the company. After the hike he invited me to an American Legion Hall where we chatted a bit more over a cold beer. He got me thinking about maybe joining the American Legion and the VFW. I seem to remember that both occasionally allow RV'ers to park overnight and both definitely provide camaraderie where ever I travel. Jacksonville Beach was a short drive from the Legion Post. I walked up and down the beach for about 1 1/2 hours taking in the roll of the waves, a light breeze, and lots of bikinis.

The Alhambra Theater in Jacksonville was beautiful. I'm continuing to enjoy these local playhouses. This time it was a dinner theater showing Phantom of the Opera. The food was incredible, the play was great, and the other patrons at my table were delightful. In fact, this playhouse was so enjoyable that I'll try to stay in this area on my way north just to attend another performance. When I got back to the RV the flea market right next door was still open. I felt an obligation to at least check it out since it seems to have a common owner with the RV park. The stalls were in the process of closing as I walked slowly through all three huge buildings. I guess I'm just not much of a consumer or collector but at least I got a little stroll in.

It looked a little like rain so I closed the awning and put the sewer connection in, something really not pleasant to do in the rain. It rained a little during the night and came down a bit harder in the morning. Absolutely no hurry today with only about 60 miles to drive to St. Augustine. The rain didn't ease up so I finished hooking up and got soaked doing it. As I drove south the rain get lighter and finally stopped and turned into a pretty day. I suddenly had this urge for Chinese food. I set up and headed for some Chinese take out. This seems like a pretty small RV park, I'm not sure where 25 rigs from LoW group are going to fit. The one scrawny tree by my rig blocked the sat. dish. I seemed to have room to move so I kept going up and back a foot or two until I finally got reception. The tourist brochures seem to show lots of things to do and see in the area. I'm sure when the LoW's get here we'll have lots of little day trips to take.

I took the trolley ride around the old historic St. Augustine and took notes on things I'd like to check out. First on my list was Anastasia State Park. I camped here over 30 years ago while travelling around the country on a motorcycle. I remember pitching my pup tent under some trees in full view of the beach. I remember a beautiful park, beach, and evening. I drove around the camping area but couldn't find the site I felt was the one I'd camped at. In the 30+ years, the park had probably undergone several changes. I walked along the beach for a few hours. Over the next few days while waiting for the LoW campers to arrive, I took a cruise around St. Augustine bay and walked the old historic part of the city. The old fort, Castillo del San Marcos, was very interesting. The fort was build in 1672 and is the oldest masonry fort in the United States. The masonry walls are actually made of local seashells which harden over time. Can you imagine ducking behind a pile of seashells to protect yourself from incoming cannon balls? Another day I climbed the historic lighthouse, went through their museum, and walked around the little boat launch and park. Strolled the Spanish section of St. Augustine. It seemed more touristy than the historic section with lots of shops and restaurants. The flea market adjacent to the RV park is pretty good sized. I'm always amazed at the junk that is someone else's treasure (lol). I did buy some fruits and vegetables and got a great price on a new set of sheets.


I met five couples at the RV park, all from TX and OK, and all here to help set up for a Good Sam Rally. They invited me to join them for dinner. We sat around chatting about everything from Good Sam to politics and religion. Nice evening. Another couple who were Camping World ambassadors, seemed to know some of the Good Samer's but were very stand-offish. They didn't join us for happy hour or pot luck and barely spoke. Very Strange! Several days later, when they left, they went off with their awning out and ripped it off on a telephone pole (:=(. I was on the phone with my son Zack when I noticed some people walking around my rig checking something out. I cut the call short and met Jacques & Therese, a couple from Quebec. Their water line was leaking and they were checking out how mine was hooked up. Cute couple who kept switching back and forth between French and English, occasionally getting mixed up and speaking French to me and English to each other (lol).

The LoW's arrived!!! I had joked with Jan in the campground office that the LoW group had coordinated their arrival so all 25 rigs would show up at the same time. I think most of them really did!! The SE-LoW's are a great group. I didn't realize how much I missed them. It was fantastic to see these people who felt like old friends even though we just met last year. The park seemed to run out of sites and put Ron Henderson off in never-never land. Ron is nearing 92 years old and has more energy than most any two or three others combined. He is incredible! A retired engineer who fought in the Battle of the Bulge in WWII and has been full timing for well over 30 years. I enjoy hearing his many stories. I went with him to his assigned site to help and discovered there was no electric hook up and the site had a pile of dirt blocking it. I went to the office and got him another site which the campground tries not to use. After I got Ron set up at his new site and had gone back to my rig, Jan, from the office, and one of the maintenance workers, Mike, came knocking. Jan didn't realize that the pump house Ron was now camped at was scheduled to have major work done the next day. Mike quickly extended an electric line to the original site and they asked me to explain to Ron and get him moved yet again. Good thing Ron is such an easy going person. He took it all in stride and we had him settled in no time.

Happy hour, yippee! Bobbi is so organized. She had sign ups for over a half dozen side trips, everything from the trolley tours, a cruise, pirate ship, golf, and even a combination obstacle course and zip line. I'd already gone on the trolley tour but they need one more to get a discount for everyone so off I went. It was much more fun doing the tour with the SE-LoW's than on my own last week. We had a great lunch at a Cuban restaurant, the Columbia. Three of us shared a champagne sangria. I think Cheryl got a little tipsy (lol). Carolyn, Mary Kay, Nancy, and I went off golfing. The good news was a got very rare birdy. The bad news, a lost four balls in water and ended with a 105 (:-(.  A bunch of us went to the Lightner Museum. I had wanted to see this beautiful building and it's collection of collections. We had a lovely lunch at the Alcazar Bistro and then went walking on the beach. Our pot luck dinner was it's typical delicious meal. John Henry fried a turkey, Linda made some stuffing, and all the other fix'ins were great. Sitting out most evening listening to Dave Irons sing and play his guitar, life just doesn't get any better. Hurricane Sandy is heading up the Atlantic coast but was kind enough to stay mostly away from us. The high winds did cause the Pirate Ship cruise to get cancelled so about 20 of us went to dinner and a comedy club. The place looked a little dumpy but the food was excellent. I couldn't get over how efficient the waitress was. She handled our table with 20 individual checks plus another table of eight with ease. The comedy club was great. The Disgruntled Clown was really good. This 6'7", 350 lb clown had me in tears! Two hecklers up front, both women, tried to get under his skin. He was obviously annoyed by them but handled them fine.

Bobbi put together a last minute campground dinner that was fantastic. Everyone kicked in $3 and we had more fried chicken and fish than the group could eat plus lots of side dishes. It was a nice end to a great gtg.

I met my cousins Bobbie and Ellen for dinner Sunday evening. They choose a great restaurant in the old Spanish section. The Tasting Room had delicious tapas and a great wine. After, we walked around a little and had some ice cream. It was a lovely evening. We're planning to get together right after New Years when Bobbie returns from her vacation. First, a belated New Years party at her place and then the Johnny Cash play, Ring of Fire, at the Alhambra Dinner Theatre. I'm already looking forward to it.

I took my time in the morning and was on the road around 10am. A few hours later I was pulling in to Paradise Oaks in Bushnell. I felt like I was coming home. This is the first campground that I'm at a second time. It's where I met the SMART folks last year and had a moving experience at the Florida National Cemetery on Veterans Day. It's where a bunch of us sat in the hot tub enjoying several evenings. I feel like I'm heading home.

I had just backed in and not even set up when the team of Joan & Linda asked if I'd like to join them for a Chinese lunch. Absolutely! There are only a few of us LoW's here today and it was a little chilly. Still, we sat out for an hour or so and laughed at the many stories Joan has of her travels with Linda. I caught up with my wash and had a great nights sleep. The rigs left rear tire was very low on air. I set up my little compressor and the tire seemed to hold. I'll have to keep an eye on it. The next morning was also a little chilly but it warmed up fast. A bunch of us went out for a chicken lunch. By evening there were about 20 LoW rigs around. By the next day there were closer to 70 rigs. What a great rally! The catered breakfasts and dinners were "so so" but the activities seemed non-stop. I felt honored and got a little emotional to participate in the veteran ceremony run by Dave Irons. The karaoke Dave also organized was lots of fun. Mary Kay, Nancy, and I did sneak out one morning to join Carolyn who was staying at Flori LoW Oaks and play some golf. About 30 women teamed up in pairs, putting their names on slips of paper to be bid on, blind, by us guys, with the women then taking the winning bidder to lunch. The proceeds went to LoW activities and I couldn't let the bid go below $10 soooo, I wound up with two winning bids and a harem of four women. I got ribbed a little (lol). Sheila & Lulu (yes, her name is Lulu) took me to a Waffle House. Noreen & Nancy brought flowers and took me to a great deli called Too Jays at the Villages. The Villages is a fairly new and fast growing community of about 70,000. The community has lots of golf courses, several little town areas with shopping, and all kinds of residences from townhouses to up scale single family homes. Very pretty. Noreen, Nancy, and I met at Marvins, with Noreen driving us in Marvin's car and he tagging along. Rather than hold everyone up walking back and forth to my rig to leave the flowers, I left them in Marvin's rig. Later, Marvin brought the flowers to me with a photo taken of his handing them to me. Of course he signed the photo inside a heart (kind of funny, even with the ribbing I took). The husband and wife music entertainment team kept us dancing until about 10pm. I kept my word and danced with almost every woman in the place. I won a prize for the costume with the best hair. It was great fun.

The last evening we had the world famous Homer Noodleman for entertainment (if you've never seen him do a google, he's hilarious). Homer has a great comedy act, he plays several musical instruments, and has a really good singing voice. What amazes me most is the energy he puts into his act. We were in stitches! With the rally over and about a dozen of us staying on for the Escapee gtg, we continued our happy hour by Linda's rig. Tuesday evening the cg let us use their large grill and the clubhouse. We had an impromptu pot luck and listened to Dave sing and play guitar. Bobbi, Linda, and I hit the hot tub several evenings with Pat joining us on one occasion. This is a fabulous lifestyle!

As the rally broke up, my little Margie slipped me her phone number and suggested lunch. Before anyone reading this gets any wrong ideas, Margie is about 4'10", weighs 75lbs soaking wet, and just celebrated her 90th birthday! She does have more energy than most any three people combined. Margie grew up in Minnesota and has told me stories of her ice fishing days with her parents. She's a doll! She was in the mood for Mexican so off we went. She finished off almost a half pitcher of sangria. What a pleasant afternoon.

Dave took me to the Escapee luncheon where I met many of the folks I had first seen last year. I tried not to eat too much at the Golden Corral buffet but didn't quite succeed. Wow, was I stuffed. The Escapees began to arrive almost as the LoW folks were still leaving. Last year Sharon Hatch adopted me into Escapees. This year I adopted Charlie. I reminded him next time he saw Sharon to be sure to say "hi" to his new Grandma! (lol)  The SKP food was really good, from the road kill stew to the pot luck to the pizza. They had the same entertainment as last year and once again I danced with every female I could grab (lol). A bunch of us went on an air boat ride, I got to carry the flag in the veterans ceremony, and, as with last year, I got all choked up at the Veterans Day ceremony at the National Cemetery. We went to a local park from the cemetery and enjoyed each others company along with hot dogs, hamburgers, and lots of fixings. About a dozen of us LoW'ers went out for a great steak dinner. The prime rib was delicious! Bobbi, Linda, and I hung out in the hot tub. In the morning all but John Hubbard and I headed out. Another great rally.

I took my time in the morning, no hurry. As I packed up I saw the left rear tire was again flat. John had gone to a Goodyear tire store just down the road and had good things to say about them. He drove me over and they had the right tire in stock. I finished hooking up and drove slow with the compressor having brought the tire up to about 45psi. It was going to take about an hour so John and I went to a barbecue place for lunch. When we got back I had two new tires and was ready to go. John went back and got his rig and followed me. Slow, easy drive to the Atlantic coast. It went pretty well although I did pull off once at a wrong exit and John and I had to make a tight U-turn to get back on the FL Turnpike. We arrived about 2:30pm, checked in easy and found David Poole hanging out. Relaxing afternoon with some beer and watching some people fish. The next day the three of us did a little exploring. We went to the Warbird Museum which was pretty interesting we lots of planes and artifacts from WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam era. We had a nice lunch at Corky Bells and checked out the Cocoa Beach Pier. While enjoying some beer, we watched the surfers and lots of pelicans. They are big birds and one actually let a few people pet him. Next day Ron Henderson, Jerry McKay, June, & June's mom Becky arrived. It seems the Space LoW chapter will be closing and this may be the last gtg. They didn't even have any equipment for morning coffee. We had our own breakfast and enjoyed our coffee as a group. David and I played some pool. We were so evenly matched it was eerie, we are equally in need of some lessons (lol). We piled into two cars and went to Blue Springs State Park to spend the day watching manatees. When we returned, Dwight came by to visit with us and a new LoW'er, Barbara showed up. June got some pizza and we all hung out for the evening. John & David left in the morning. Barbara, Ron, and I went hiking at the Enchanted Forest Sanctuary. We did about 3 - 4 miles while asking Ron if he was okay. At 91 he has more energy than Barbara and I combined!!

In the evening we went out to dinner and in the morning everyone but Barbara and I headed out. I had gotten a ticket to see Driving Miss Daisy at the Titusville Playhouse and Barbara managed to get one of the last tickets and join me for the play and dinner. Yet again I am amazed at how wonderful these local playhouses are. The show was absolutely great. Barbara headed out the next morning and I finally got to take my longer hike at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. It was a cold, wet day and so my hike was a short one. Cleaned up a little and pulled in the slides, just in case it rains overnight.

Took my time in the morning and left around 11am. Slow and very easy drive south on I-95. John Prince Park is pretty although my site is a bit tighter this year than last. Right after setting up I walked over and found Ira & Elaine. The couple I met last year recognized me immediately. They are such nice folks. It was very relaxing to sit out with Ira for a little while and chat a bit. Thanksgiving dinner at the Calienes was absolutely the best. These are great people who always make me feel welcome. I am so lucky to have such friends. It was such a lovely evening, we ate dinner outside. Armando, Madeline, her parents, his parents, their two sons, Madeline's sister, her husband, their two daughters, Armando's sister and her three daughters. These are all happy people and beautiful families. Ira, Elaine, and I sat out and chatted a bit more. We had lunch together one day. Armando, Madeline, and I went to the movies and dinner another evening. This was a great stop for me even if I didn't play golf as I did last year. It was definitely melancholy leaving. I enjoy the folks in this area but, onward I go, now turning North.

Heading South, again

The Country Music RV park was fun and now I'm heading south. It was a very short ride to the Army Corp of Engineer campground in Tioga, PA, less than 100 miles. The park is huge with several camping areas and lots of hiking trails, all along two big lakes. I'm camped in the trees so no sat. service and no TV. The cell service seems pretty good so I do have web access. The site is pretty short with a slope. The truck would stick out into the path if I parked it in front of the RV and it barely fits sideways while staying off the grassy area. It took all my plastic wedges to get the rig mostly level. The park seems well kept and I have a full hook up so I can catch up on my laundry and take  nice long showers.

The first morning I headed up to Corning, NY. In all my travels I've never been to the Corning Glass museum. It was worth the trip. I saw four shows and an incredible collection of glass art work. The shows included; a hot glass show where they made a beautiful cobalt blue vase, a flame working demo where they used different temperatures and created a little glass bear, glass breaking where they demonstrated both how fragile glass is and how bulletproof glass is made, an optical fiber show which explained how and why light follows the glass path. The art work was really beautiful. It seems that glass works are only limited by a persons creativity. The town of Corning was kind of cute, several little shops and restaurants. On my way out of town a saw a Home Depot. I bought an eight foot 2 by 6 and had it cut into eight one foot lengths. I was able to use these to almost level out the RV.

They call the deep valley that runs about 60 miles the "Grand Canyon of PA". It's beautiful. I parked at the bottom and began walking along a wide path. I hadn't walked even a mile when I met two guys also hiking. I asked them about the canyon and they told me a place I could drive where I'd be able to hike the rim and see the depth and breath of the valley. I ended up hiking a few hours along the rim. The "real" Grand Canyon is stark, desert and rock. I remember hiking into it and camping over night along the Colorado River. That was years ago and I doubt I'd be able to climb out at my age. I stayed along the top rim and didn't venture down the steeper side trails. These beautiful green hills are surely different than the Arizona canyon.

The campground has lots of hiking trails. I checked a few of them out, hiking a total of maybe 10 to 12 miles over several days. In the RV I can hear some road noise during the day from a highway about a mile away. Once in the woods, even 1/4 mile, all the noise disappears. Several people I met warned me about rattlesnakes in the area. I've seen snakes many times with all my hiking. I don't mind rattlesnakes. They warn you, unless you come up on them suddenly. If you're ever in the woods and you hear them rattle just freeze until you see where they are. Then make sure to give them lots of room. Down south is worse with the possibility of cottonmouths, sometimes called water moccasins. They've actually been know to chase people. For the most part I feel safer in the woods than driving on roads.

Yet another train ride. There was a Sunday brunch train ride thru the mountains. Very pretty. I was expecting breakfast in a bag. What a great surprise! They actually have a chef who cooks everything fresh right on board the train. The ham & egg casserole was really good. The table was set beautifully with linen, china, and glass. What a delightful ride.

The ride to Maryland is one of the longest I've taken at almost 6 hours. After about 2 hours, just when I was ready to take a short break, a Walmart appeared. It was like it was planned. A short stroll around the store and I was off again. About 2 hours later there suddenly appeared a road side rest area to once again take a short break. I got to the campground easy but was disappointed. Gambrill State Park is small, not well kept and there was no one around to check in. I drove the loop twice looking for a site or someone to ask. My truck and rig barely fit down the tight lanes with the trees brushing my top and sides. I finally back tracked about 8 miles to the Greenbrier State Park I had passed. This is a pretty park around a 42 acre lake. I took a site with no hook ups but it is a pull through. A park ranger came by as I was pulling in to let me know there was no electric at the site. I showed him my solar panels. He seemed amazed. A woman who identified herself as the cg host came by as I was almost set up to also share that there was no electric. She said they had a problem with a little pop up camper who thought there was electric and got upset when he found out there was none. I showed her the solar and we chatted awhile. After setting up I hiked around the lake. Several beaches, a few people out in row boats fishing. You can see the little dam on the far shore. Real pretty.

My first day was spent walking the Antietam Battlefield. This is huge. I walked for about 4 hours covering around 8 miles and more monuments than I could count. It is really incredible the stuff you don't learn in school. I never knew how close the south came to winning the Civil War. When you walk these battlefields you get more of an appreciation for what the combatants went through. It's ironic that much of this battle was fought around the Dunker Church. A church built by pacifists.

I seem to be checking out lots of caves. The Crystal Grotto Caves sounded interesting. A road crew digging out shale for a local roadbed stumbled upon these caves around 1922. The land has mostly been in the same family since then. They didn't want to conduct a tour for only one person so I hung around for about an hour waiting for someone else to show up. I got to chat with the current land owner. Strange guy! Finally a woman showed up from Indiana who had been visiting family nearby. She was funny in that she obviously didn't like the confined spaces of the cave yet went out of her way to take the tour. As far as caves go, this one was relatively small. They're still exploring and opening up new areas, after 90 years!

Back at the campground I chatted a little with some campers who seemed to have more kids than I could count. Turns out there are two families home schooling about 8 kids. One of the little girls, maybe 5 or 6 years old, saw a baby bear wandering around. The kids had me checking the woods every time they heard a twig crack. They were cute. Also met an interesting couple from North Carolina. The guy is part of a Civil War reenactment group up here for the 150 year anniversary of the Battle of Antietam. He sure looked the part of a Confederate soldier. We chatted for a few hours. Unfortunately, the reenactment is a few days after I leave.

I hiked around the lake each day and checked out two local towns, Boonesboro and Sharpesburg. Both towns had been very active during the Civil War. Boonesboro was reportedly founded by two cousins of the real Daniel Boone. Four days at a site with no services, no problem. On to Trap Lake State Park in Laurel, Delaware.

The drive was easy. One short stop for gas where the RV actually fit in fine. The area is very rural, lots of pretty farms. The campground signs were a little confusing. I went into the day park area and fortunately had an easy turn around. The site was to be a pull through for a 30' rig. There was no way to fit my rig in. I got out and paced the site. It was barely 30' which will never accommodate my RV plus another 20' of truck. I drove around, found another site, left the truck and RV at the new site, and walked to the registration cabin. The campground people quickly switched my reservation to the new location. The campground is packed with almost every site taken. As I walked back to my rig a big old class "A" burped it's way past me, obviously on its last legs. As it rounded the turn for the sites, black smoke began to billow from the engine and the rig died. A couple and their two teenage daughters ran out as someone walking nearby called the fire department. Apparently they've had the rig for about 20 years, definitely got their money's worth. The two teenage girls seemed relieved and stood around texting their friends. The family lives fairly close and had an undamaged car.

This park seems to surround a fair sized pond. There is a trail that runs around it. I'm told it takes between three and four hours to hike completely around. A short walk around the camp sites and an early night. Next day a few hours of driving to the main Delaware beach, Rehobeth, and the beach at Ocean City, Maryland. Rehobeth Beach seemed like a typical busy tourist beach. Lots of shops and restaurants. Very congested, especially for a Monday in mid-September. There are what seems like two races going on. One running and another on bikes. As I rode toward Ocean City I was amazed at the number of motorcycles. Turns out this is "bike week". There are easily 10,000 motorcycles, they're all over the place. Some very pretty ones! Another short walk around the site area when I returned in the evening. Saturday I decided to take the long hike. The trails are mostly wide and well marked. I froze and just stared at the two little fawns. Beautiful! Dozens of tree frogs. Two graceful blue herons. Woodpeckers, ducks, and even a loud hoot owl. About half-way around there was a small country church originally built in 1720. In my travels I've seen so many of these little white churches. They are the backbone of our country. As I entered back into the day area of the park I came upon a nature center with a small museum of sorts. This is a nice little park. Lots of cypress trees which I didn't know grew this far north. One pretty tree had apparently decided to become an island (lol).

The drive to North Carolina was pretty easy. Still, I don't like the long stretch of route #13 which runs through the spine of Delaware. The road always seems to go on forever. I've driven over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel on a motorcycle and car. This was my first time over it with my rig. It's a very pretty drive. I stopped at the rest area/restaurant for lunch. Fried oysters, nice! I've driven the North Carolina Outer Banks in years past. They're very scenic, connected by several ferry's. This trip I'll explore the Inner Banks of NC. The cg is a little off the beaten path. When I checked in they gave specific warnings about black bear that have been roaming the cg and bobcat that have been spotted in the woods adjacent to the cg. Apparently, the bobcat are fair size and more than capable of carrying off pet cats and dogs. I guess I'll rest up and not take any hikes in these woods (lol).

Right after breakfast I headed out for a long day's drive and sight seeing. It seemed like a cool idea to completely circle the Albermarle Sound. First stop, Kitty Hawk and the Wright Brothers memorial. Last time I was along the Outer Banks was over 30 years ago. Wow, has it gotten built up! I don't remember any strip malls. It was a sleepy, pretty area with beach houses and large sand dunes. It still has some old beach houses but also lots of condos, strip malls, putt putt golf centers, and other touristy stuff. Now you can barely see the ocean and sand dunes. The Wright Brothers memorial was nice. Lots of walking around the field where they flew their flyer. It's amazing to think that in a mere 66 years we went from the first manned flight to walking on the moon (1903 to 1969). Where will flight be in 2035? What will the Earth be like in 2035?

As I continued my drive around the Albermarle Sound I came upon a little aquarium. It had the usual exhibits. A lady cutting and folding little pieces of paper caught my eye. The aquarium had a sandy area stocked with shark teeth where kids could sift them out. The lady made these cute little paper boxes which she gave to the kids to carry home their treasures. Only a few minutes from the aquarium was the site of the Lost Colony. Most folks learn in school that Plymouth Rock, where the Pilgrims landed in 1620, or Jamestown, were the sites of the first New World settlements. Actually, the Lost Colony was a settlement founded in 1585 with 116 men, women, and children under the authority of Sir Walter Raleigh. They ran out of supplies and sent their leader, Sir Richard Grenville, back to England for resupplies. When he returned three years later (no direct flights back then) the colony was gone with absolutely no sign left. For the last over 400 years archaeologists have tried to find evidence of what happened with no luck. Only the rough outline of a small fort remains. One of the many mystery's around our big, beautiful, country.



 

Continuing around the Albermarle Sound I drove over several long causeway's, at least a couple over a mile long. This is a very pretty area which has a strong link to fishing. Several small towns, lots of farms. I stopped for dinner at Frog Island Seafood. A fellow RV'er had recommended it and luckily warned me that it looked kind of dumpy on the outside. The crab cakes, rice pilaf, and fried okra were delicious. I bought some fresh crab and catfish to take back to my rig.

 

I'd heard about the Dismal Swamp National Refuge, an area that covers well over a 100,000 acres, part in Virginia and part in North Carolina. It's a protected coastal ecosystem with lots of wildlife, once estimated to be over 1,000,000 acres. The visitor center told of the areas history from native Indians, to escaped slave encampments. I admit to being a little nervous hiking in a swamp area with lots of protected bears, bobcats, and other wildlife. I was surprised at how few bugs there were in a swampy area. I did work up a light sweat after a few hours and about 7 miles of hiking. It was a nice afternoon.

 

 

The camp ground has a stocked pond and I've yet to use the fishing gear I took with me over a year ago. The old saying of "... you don't have to catch fish to say you went fishing", sure held true for me. Oh well, at least I finally went fishing. Rick told me about a nationwide internet group called meetup.com. They seem to have lots of different interest groups. I've looked for one in the last few places I camped with no luck. There is one meeting in Elizabeth City, about 20 minutes away, called the Freethinkers. Sounds like an evening of conversation and a few brews. Eight of us met in a local sports bar. Very little talk on the topic. Mostly just friendly conversation for a few hours. An enjoyable evening.

 

 

The ride to Wilson, NC was unexpectedly easy. On MapQuest it looked like many different back country roads going through lots of little towns. My GPS routed me mostly along three US roads with up to 70 mph speeds, very few lower speeds areas, and only a few lights during the entire 150 miles. As usual, a Walmart magically appeared at almost my exact half way point of 90 minutes. The campground is right on the main road, run by two sisters who bought it less than two years ago. My site is mostly open with one little tree. The one tree is enough to block the sat. dish so no TV for the next three days (lol). There's a tobacco plantation and museum a few miles down the road that sounds interesting. The older I get the less I can stand cigarette smoke but somehow the smell of tobacco leaves is sort of pleasant, a little sweet smell. The process of farming tobacco is very labor intensive, a lot of work. It's an amazing process. The museum included several out building showing farm life of about 100 years ago. It's strange to see so many things that I remember from my home as a kid. A washboard I'd help my mom do clothes on before we got a washing machine. A hand wringer I helped start the clothes drying process even after we got the washer. An ice box similar to one we had until the first refrigerator we got around 1960. Old school desks and chairs which were attached to each other with little ink wells always on the right side of the desk (we weren't allowed to be left handed, lol). Lots of old family medical remedies from chest rubs, gargles, liniments, and salves. Interesting exhibits.

 

Over the few days at this park I also checked out a walking tour of the town of Wilson, a local barbecue place and conversation with a Ford truck technician. My truck pulls with no problem. In fact, unless I check the mirror I don't even know the rig is back there. Going up a steep hill slows me down, but no problem pulling. It's going down on roads with 8% grades or more that doesn't seem to be working the way I'd like. This is the first automatic vehicle I've ever owned. When going down a steep hill I use the brake to slow a little. As soon as I touch the brake the truck downshifts. That's not a problem until I get to around 3rd gear and see the RPM's getting higher than I want. Now what do I do? I can't let the rig continue to build speed and I can't touch the brake. It's a conundrum! Here in the coastal area of North Carolina they don't have many hills and didn't have an answer.

 

Last year I'd stayed in a South Carolina SP (Little Pee Dee). I met some nice folks at the cg but the park didn't have much to offer. I had stopped by the Bass River cg to get a cap for my sewer outlet (the original had gotten loose and disappeared). The cg owners, Guy and Judy, were very friendly and I'd made a mental note to stay if ever in the area. The ride was real easy, straight down I-95. Guy was even more friendly than I'd remembered and his hosts were great also. A nice open full hook up site. Long showers, washing machine, and sat. dish. Life is good! There's not much in the area to do or see. I checked out a Radio Shack and a truck stop store, looking at CB radios. I'm getting ideas, seeing different features, but nothing a really like yet. I also strolled around the giant South of the Border complex. It was only a couple of years ago I stopped here when driving to FL with Alex and Zack. I think they were fascinated with the size and variety of the fireworks. Todd, a fellow camper and ex-marine got to chatting with me in the afternoons. He was cleaning his awning and his mom's on her camper. I couldn't let a marine outdo an army guy so I scrubbed my awning also.

 

I'd been looking forward to getting to Skidaway SP in Savannah. This is one of two southern cities I really like, the other being Charleston, SC. The cg is a pleasant surprise. While there aren't any sewer hookups they do have water and electric in pull through sites. My site even has sat. dish access. There are about 6 miles of hiking trails, a very nice interpretive center, lots of beautiful live oak trees, and we're within the Savannah city limits. The park even has a swimming pool (closed after Labor Day). Savannah is just as I remember it. Lots of pretty squares, a walking street with quaint shops, lots of restaurants and "junk" shops, all with interesting stuff of course. I took an cruise up and down the Savannah River on a paddle wheeler. The captain giving background and descriptions of the area. Did you know that Savannah is the 4th busiest port in the entire USA and the 2nd busiest container ship port? There were two immense ships in port. Both near a 1,000 feet long and 13 stories high. Incredible! The oceanographic institute on Skidaway Island was great.

Typical aquarium exhibits of inhabitants of this area but they also had a nice little hiking trail part way along a salt marsh and part along a woodland trail. The 300 year old live oak is magnificent! I spent a day in and around Tybee Island, one of the larger barrier islands along the coast of Georgia. Walking the beach, seeing the huge sand dunes was great.

 

If you're ever in this area don't miss the Oatland Island Wildlife Center. The center is actually run by the Savannah public schools. It includes over a mile of trails with wildlife exhibits spaced throughout your walk. The wildlife include; several varieties of owls, falcons, bald eagles, herons, cranes, gators, cougars, bobcat, bear, fox, deer, wolf, bison, armadillo, and even a pond to sit and ponder by. I couldn't believe how many turtles were in the pond, amazing! Savannah also has a train museum and a museum of the area. The train museums central feature is a roundhouse housing about 10 old cars in various stages of restoration. Visitors ride on an old passenger car as we're taken down several short rails and around the roundhouse while provided a description of rail travel in the Savannah area. The local museum has lots of exhibits from prehistoric times, to American Indian culture, to the Civil War, WWI, and WWII. Back at Skidaway State Park I hiked about 8 miles of their trails. I love the live oak canopies framed on one side by salt marsh. My last hike along the last park trail caused some excitement. I had strolled about 1 1/2 miles out of the park to pick up the Sunday papers. On my 1 1/2 mile stroll back, my son Zack thankfully called.  Holding the phone in one hand and the Sunday papers in the other, I was looking down a little more than my usual tree and sky observations. As my right foot was about to go down the copperhead moved slightly. I jumped back at what had to be the last moment. The three foot snake was already coiled and ready and exactly where my foot had been about to land. I magically became a lot more observant the rest of my walk back to my rig. Returning to Florida tomorrow and the peace of easier to spot gators (lol).