The drive to the RV dealer was easy. I pulled into their lot, dropped the rig in front, and intended to go to dinner at the same steak house where I celebrated buying the RV. I wasn't that hungry and had some salad stuff to use up rather than leave it in the RV while the rig was being serviced. A nearby movie was playing the Bourne Legacy which I'd wanted to see. I actually stayed awake for the entire movie. No slides open or any hook ups. I'll sleep fine and be first in line for the service bay in the morning. Service opened at 8am and by about 8:15am I was on the road. A few quick errands stopping to pick up my mail, go to the bank, and fill up with gas. Picked up Alex & Zack about 11am and we were on our way to the Poconos. Alex has to be at Seton Hall University on Thursday so it'll be a quick get away of only a few days.
We all seemed to recognize the Split Rock Resort even though it had been six years since we were last here. They didn't have a waterpark back then. We had a light lunch while we waited for our room and spent the evening in the pool and jacuzzi. The next day we spent at the water park. Zack and I went on all the slides. Alex met some other kids and hung out in at the surfing. It was interesting the way they built an area with a very strong current that you could really surf. Zack and I took a few long walks to the lake area and even played a little tennis. After checking out we spent some more time in the jacuzzi. On our way back to NJ we stopped at the indoor shooting range we had gone to earlier in the year when we did paintball. Alex wanted to study so only Zack shot. I have such mixed feelings about the shooting. I resisted ever buying even toy guns for them when they were young. It took years of Alex' lobbying me before we did paintball the first time. I grew up with toy guns; water guns, cap guns, cork shooting rifles. As a teenager I would go to an indoor range with my friends. After Vietnam I've become very put off by all guns. Maybe it's to be expected. Maybe not! I don't know...
We had dinner at the same diner we'd gone to for years and then I dropped the kids off and went to a nearby hotel. In the morning I was still stuffed from dinner and only had some coffee with a newspaper. I hung around till time for the closing. The closing didn't go smooth. In fact it was touch and go as to if I would even sell these last few properties. However, we finally came to an agreement. I am so happy to be rid of these rentals. I feel truly free of most all ties and able to travel. After the closing I picked up Zack. He wanted to go for Chinese and then a movie. It was a very relaxing afternoon and evening. In the morning we went to another diner for brunch. This was the same diner that had cooked the cases of sausage for me to take to the Boy Scout breakfast last year. After brunch I took Zack back and headed off to the RV dealer. There were no problems found in my rig, just maintenance stuff and the bill was even a little less than expected. I have a long drive to Cortland, NY so I'll stay at the dealer tonight and leave early in the morning.
There was going to be a LoW rally but it was cancelled when the organizers couldn't find a caterer. I had already booked the campground. Between this, the closing, and Alex having to be at college this past Thursday, my travels got a little messed up. I would have preferred not to travel back north, especially for almost five hours. Such is life. The campground was very easy to get to, just about a mile off I-81. It's called the Country Music Park. They have two country music type opera houses, one indoors and one outside. Various bands play every Saturday night and Sunday afternoons. It was almost 4pm when I arrived and I was tired from the drive and the closing. My neighbors at the next site asked if I was going to hear the band in a way that suggested everyone goes. By the time I setup, had dinner, and cleaned up it was time to go and I was really tired. I went anyway. The music was great and almost all of the 200 or so people were up dancing to the country music. I stayed for a couple of hours but then had to pack it in. Sunday morning it seemed most of the campers were off to church early. It's amazing how religious our country is. You don't get that feeling living in cities or suburbia, only in rural areas. I drove around the area a little, found a supermarket and explored Cortland, NY. The New York State Fair is on this week and about an hour's drive. There are also two plays; Cabaret in Auburn and The Mystery of Irma Vep right here in Cortland. I got matinee tickets to both plays.
It rained the day I had set aside for the fair so I just hung out at the campground. I didn't realize that The Mystery of Irma Vep was such a popular play. Apparently, it's one of the most produced plays of all time. I'd never heard of it. It was a fun, farce of sorts. Performed very well and quite enjoyable as most all country playhouse productions are. Cabaret was great, definitely performed at a Broadway level. It was very sad for me, with lots of old memories. I saw it on Broadway in 1969. I had just returned from Vietnam and my childhood best friend was due to return in a few months. His fiancee, Tina, had gotten word that he was missing in action. She and I spent the day together, including seeing Cabaret. We got word shortly after that he had been killed. After his funeral I spent the rest of the summer in Europe trying to get my self back into "life".
Two RV's pulled in next to me. The farther one was a couple from the Albany, NY area. The one next to me was Pat & Paul from Freemont, CA. I had mentioned the Cortland play to them and they went also. We had dinner together at a local seafood joint. From dinner we went to a wildlife refuge and hiked around a little. It was kind of funny as when I followed them to dinner we took a "scenic" route, when they followed me to the hike we took a "scenic" route, and we all got a little lost while hiking. It was fun. Paul, the other couple, and I went to the Country Music Opera house on Saturday night. Paul's wife Pat stayed in their rig, read and rested. It was much nicer than last week when I was alone. We shared a couple of pitchers of beer, enjoyed the music, and watched the people dancing for almost three hours. I was a little tired and called it quits about 10:45pm. Paul left also. After breakfast I said goodbye to the other couple as they were heading back to their home. Pat, Paul, and I went back to the wildlife refuge and hiked a few different trails. Yes, we got lost again. It's a fairly small area so we didn't get too lost. It was fun and a nice hike. We shared contact info and I hope we'll remain in touch.
It's supposed to rain on Monday so I cleaned and packed up on Sunday. It's a short drive to my next stop so I had a leisurely morning on Labor Day. Said "goodbye" to the half dozen people I'd met. Leaving here and heading south seems to end my second of ten roughly planned trips. When I took off last August, I'd planned to make a loop south to Florida and return to New Jersey in February/March for my tax season. After tax season I would make a loop into New England and return to New Jersey before the kids started school. These two trips are now behind me. I'm planning to repeat these a second time, a last time. I think 2013 will be my last tax season. It's been over 40 years since I started doing taxes. I don't think I ever liked playing with numbers but I enjoy seeing my "customers". Most are much more than customers, they're people I've known for many years and look forward to seeing. Still, who wants to be in New Jersey during February and March?? (lol) My third and fourth trips will be repeats of one and two. Trip five will again go south from New Jersey to Florida but end there around January of 2014. From there my sixth trip will take me across the southern USA and eventually head north to Great Falls, MT. The seventh trip will be to Alaska and return to Seattle. Trip eight will be a leisurely drive to Florida. For trip nine I'll find a place to leave the RV and fly the kids and I to Hawaii. Once in Hawaii renting an RV, it will be the 50th state I'd have camped in. The tenth and last trip I'm thinking about at the moment is Antarctica. I'm not planning to camp there, but it would make all seven continents that I'd set foot on. I think that would be cool! Who knows what will be. My mom's favorite saying was "que sa ra, sa ra (what will be, will be)"!
Parking in the Trees
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Friday, August 17, 2012
Back in New England
The ride to Sturbridge, MA was short and easy. The park ranger at Wells State Park said my site was a pull through. None of the MA State Parks have sites with services (i.e., water, electric, or sewer). I pulled up to the site and got out to walk through it since it sure didn't look like a pull through. As I got near the back of the wooded site, Don & Sherry on the adjacent site yelled to me that it wasn't a pull through for anything more than a bicycle. They apparently did the same thing I did when they arrived about an hour earlier. Don suggested I drive down the road a short distance to a turn around and back in from the opposite direction and he'd help guide me in. It sounded about right and I was very glad he had offered to help, it was greatly appreciated. With his help guiding me I got in, leveled the rig a little, although it still had a bit of a tilt, set up, opened the slides and then went over to Don and Sherry to thank them and chat awhile. I met their toy Pomeranian, Ginger. What a cute puppy! The three of us sat and chatted awhile, sipping beer. It was an enjoyable afternoon.
The next day I toured the Old Sturbridge Village. It's an interesting place, much larger than I thought. The day was pretty hot and only a few of the buildings had a/c (the gift shop, restaurant, and a candle store). I took a little boat ride that included lots of information about the village. It wasn't crowded and I had a chance to have a long conversation with the enacter in the period print shop. Among my first "real" jobs was working in print shops. I enjoyed that profession. It's a whole industry that no longer exists what with computers and copy machines. Having just finished reading the biography of John Adams, I almost felt I knew the village. It seemed like what our founding fathers would have lived and known. It made me wonder if what our cities are today is really progress. I spent the evening sitting with Don & Sherry again. Ginger is almost getting me to rethink travelling with a puppy. She took to me real quick. She would play if I played. If I slowly pet her she'd curl up on my lap and nap. Don & Sherry live in RI. Sherry works for a major lighting manufacturer and was studying for an LED certification she has to take. Don was out of work the day we met but got a call to start a job working with boat engines when he returns home. Another nice evening. The next day I went to Brimfield to see the antiques. I had heard of this place for many years but had never been before. The entire town is lined with tents and stands selling all kinds of treasures. It was a very hot day!. Lots of interesting things to see and lots of strange people. It sure is true that "one persons junk is another's treasure"! The evening was again spent hanging out with Don, Sherry, and Ginger. We hung out every afternoon. On the day before I was leaving I drove Don to do some shopping. He then cooked a delicious sausage, pepper, and onion dish he put into a hero sandwich. We sat eating and chatting. They invited me to camp with them when I get to RI next year. I think we'll remain friends for a long time.
The morning I was leaving I walked down the park path to throw out my garbage and a baby bear ran across the path about 15 feet in front of me. It was about two feet high and maybe three feet long. Some nutty guy was walking fast, following the bear. I suggested he may not want to do that. He said he just wanted to get a photo. I shared with him that where's there's a baby bear, mama's probably not too far behind. The garbage dump was near the park ranger station so I stopped by to let them know about the bear. They told me the mama and baby had been spotted around the park the past few days. They were going to check around and warn people about basic bear "courtesy" and safety.
My drive to Cold Brook, NY began real nice. It was a beautiful day and most of the planned 3 1/2 hour drive was on I-90. I got off the highway where the GPS said and before I knew it I was on a dirt and gravel road, real rough. About 10 miles down the road I come across a sign "Construction, road closed"!! I was not a happy camper! I had only one way to turn and it looked like a small farm road. After a few miles I came to a larger county road. The GPS was still directing me back to the closed road. Instead of following the GPS I headed on the larger road in the general direction where I thought the campground was. After another few miles the GPS finally recalculated a new set of roads. When I got within 1/2 mile of the campground I came upon yet more road work with a huge dump truck blocking the road which appeared closed. I asked the truck driver if I could get through and they moved the construction equipment to let me get by. I was exhausted when I pulled in after about an hour's more driving than I had anticipated. Anne, the campground owner, got me smiling and improved my mood immediately. My site was super easy to pull into, full services, and the sat. dish immediately picked up the Direct TV. Unfortunately, cell service is real weak in the area.
The cg seems to back up to the Adirondack park and has some spectacular views. There are a few nice trails, a golf driving range, and a swimming pool that even has some shade. Apparently Marge, another LoW member whom I met a few months ago camping in Shelbourne Falls, MA, knew I was on my way. She had been driving behind me on I-90 when I turned off at exit #29. She stayed on I-90 and came here a back way. I thought the LoW gtg was next weekend, but it was this weekend and several LoW members were already here. This gtg is a joint one between the Yankee LoW's (some of whom I'd already met a few months ago) and the UNI-LoW's (Upstate New Yorker's). In all there are about 20 rigs. The pot luck was incredible! Each and every dish was truly delicious. Anne ran a tractor pulling a hay wagon each evening. A bunch of us LoW's piled in, singing every old song anyone could think of at the top of our lungs all around the cg and for a mile of so around the farm community. It was great fun. Several of us also spent time cooling off in the pool. I learned some new card games and we had lots of conversation. All in all, a good time.
While in the area I got to explore a little of Rome, Utica, and Herkimer, NY, and the surrounding Mohawk Valley. I had a great afternoon at Fort Stanwix in Rome and yet again learned more in a short tour about specifics of the pre-revolution and revolutionary war in this part of the country than I ever learned in school. The tour of the Saranac Brewery was interesting and I got to see some of Utica. It was interesting to see the McSorley's Ale House private label beer that Saranac made. I spent a few years of my misguided youth drinking at McSorley's on 7th street in Manhattan. Lots of great memories. I took a train ride on the Adirondack Scenic Railway. It was a doo wop train with waitresses dressed in poodle skirts, playing 50's music, dancing with us, and playing with hula hoops. The ride was about 90 minutes through the Adirondacks. We stopped at a 50's themed restaurant for burgers and malts and they rode back with more 50's songs. It was a great day.
The drive to the Yankee LoW gtg in Andover, VT was easy. I pulled into an I-90 rest area to walk and stretch. When I walked back to my rig a couple had parked next to me in a Jayco Eagle 5th wheel. They were walking around my RV sort of checking it out. We chatted for about 1/2 hour before heading out. The VT cg is bigger than I imagined. I can't believe the fee is only $10 a night with full hook ups. They have some long standing deal with LoW's that they honor regardless of how long someone stays. My full three weeks for only $210, incredible! Several LoW's are already here, many of whom I know from either the Shelbourne Falls, MA gtg, the Cold Brook, NY gtg, or both. There are even three members who I met in FL last Fall. I have a full hook up site up a steep hill. The gtg is on the other side of the road and doesn't have sewer hook ups. The cg offered to give me a site near the gtg and then move me next week. I didn't like the sharp turns to get in and don't mind walking the 2/10's or 3/10's of a mile each way to the gtg. A few of us went out in Marge's car to get grocery's for our pot luck tomorrow. It rained every afternoon but the cg had a covered pavilion that we used for our breakfasts, pot lucks, and playing games. Other than hanging out we all went for dinner in Ludlow one night. I had five of us piled in my truck as I drove over a short cut, dirt & gravel mountain road. The daily rain washed out part of the road going into the gtg's side of the cg. My truck had no problem making it but several of those pulling cars quickly drove them to my side of the cg fearing they wouldn't be able to get them out. The cg quickly filled the wash out almost as soon as the rain stopped. Still, it was yet another reason I'm glad I stayed on my side of the road.
Some of the LoW campers wondered what I'd do in such a remote area for three weeks, especially with no cell service. For the two weeks remaining after the gtg ended I: went to a farmers market, toured the Calvin Coolidge homestead, saw Fiddler on the Roof at a local playhouse, took a Murder Mystery train ride, hiked a little at a park I'd hiked several times, many years ago, went to a Hops & Wings competition, toured the Long Trail Brewery, toured three cheese factories, a marble museum, and a maple syrup museum, toured Rutland and the Clinton Castle, and even took another horseback ride. I got lucky at the Calvin Coolidge homestead in stumbling across a celebration day with a chicken barbecue and lots of activities. In the Coolidge museum I got to talking with a woman who was fascinated by my full time RV'ing. She told me stories of when she and her husband took nine months to walk across the USA. The artisan cheese factory on the homestead site was founded by Coolidge's father and still operates. I enjoyed a wine and cheese tasting they had going on. Fiddler on the Roof was great. I really think local, country playhouse are way better than Broadway. You sit close with no long lines or parking issues. The settings are intimate and friendly. The Murder Mystery train was really great. There was a mother/daughter team playing the roles of a chief detective and her assistant. As they played out their parts they gave clues to the murderer. On our way back they gave out cards for us to record our guess. I actually won and received a hand painted bottle. It was fun! The scenery was beautiful riding thru the VT country side. Okemo Mountain resort was hosting their second annual Hops & Wings competition. It was a tough vote since all the wings were great. I liked the hard ciders better than the local beers. It's amazing how many local breweries there are. It was a little sad driving by an Inn I'd gone to many times from the early 1970's up to 1990. The Inn was in disrepair and for sale, and the general store about a 1/2 mile down the road had burned down several years ago. I enjoyed the Inn with it's tennis court, in door and out door pools, fantastic restaurant, adjacent to Gifford Woods State Park, and across the country road from a small lake with row boats and canoes. I would walk to the general store on Sunday mornings for a newspaper and then enjoy french toast from home made bread, each slice about two inches thick. There was a restaurant a few miles down the road where the waiters & waitresses would sing while serving great meals. It too burned down years ago. Sad, but life goes on.
The ride to Central Bridge, NY was real easy. I'd just been here this past March with my kids. We went to Howe Caverns and the Baseball Hall of Fame. I'm only staying a few days to break up my ride to the RV dealer in PA. I can't believe it's been a year already. Wow, did it go fast! No sat. service at the cg but at least I have cell and web access. I went to an Indian Museum which had lots of artifacts and gave a great history of the six tribes who inhabited this area. The Secret Caverns was interesting. They have a 100 foot waterfall underground. It comes from an underground river and eventually flows to a small stream in the valley. Fascinating! I had dinner one night in the same barbecue place the kids and I went to this past March. In the few days I spent in the area I also toured a museum complex in an old stone fort, went to a little country/general store and got some fresh farm fruits and vegetables, and enjoyed the cg's Halloween in August. I'll spend most of tomorrow (Sunday) driving to the RV dealer. Just a check up, no problems. The rig has a one year warranty so I may as well have all the systems checked out.
The next day I toured the Old Sturbridge Village. It's an interesting place, much larger than I thought. The day was pretty hot and only a few of the buildings had a/c (the gift shop, restaurant, and a candle store). I took a little boat ride that included lots of information about the village. It wasn't crowded and I had a chance to have a long conversation with the enacter in the period print shop. Among my first "real" jobs was working in print shops. I enjoyed that profession. It's a whole industry that no longer exists what with computers and copy machines. Having just finished reading the biography of John Adams, I almost felt I knew the village. It seemed like what our founding fathers would have lived and known. It made me wonder if what our cities are today is really progress. I spent the evening sitting with Don & Sherry again. Ginger is almost getting me to rethink travelling with a puppy. She took to me real quick. She would play if I played. If I slowly pet her she'd curl up on my lap and nap. Don & Sherry live in RI. Sherry works for a major lighting manufacturer and was studying for an LED certification she has to take. Don was out of work the day we met but got a call to start a job working with boat engines when he returns home. Another nice evening. The next day I went to Brimfield to see the antiques. I had heard of this place for many years but had never been before. The entire town is lined with tents and stands selling all kinds of treasures. It was a very hot day!. Lots of interesting things to see and lots of strange people. It sure is true that "one persons junk is another's treasure"! The evening was again spent hanging out with Don, Sherry, and Ginger. We hung out every afternoon. On the day before I was leaving I drove Don to do some shopping. He then cooked a delicious sausage, pepper, and onion dish he put into a hero sandwich. We sat eating and chatting. They invited me to camp with them when I get to RI next year. I think we'll remain friends for a long time.
The morning I was leaving I walked down the park path to throw out my garbage and a baby bear ran across the path about 15 feet in front of me. It was about two feet high and maybe three feet long. Some nutty guy was walking fast, following the bear. I suggested he may not want to do that. He said he just wanted to get a photo. I shared with him that where's there's a baby bear, mama's probably not too far behind. The garbage dump was near the park ranger station so I stopped by to let them know about the bear. They told me the mama and baby had been spotted around the park the past few days. They were going to check around and warn people about basic bear "courtesy" and safety.
My drive to Cold Brook, NY began real nice. It was a beautiful day and most of the planned 3 1/2 hour drive was on I-90. I got off the highway where the GPS said and before I knew it I was on a dirt and gravel road, real rough. About 10 miles down the road I come across a sign "Construction, road closed"!! I was not a happy camper! I had only one way to turn and it looked like a small farm road. After a few miles I came to a larger county road. The GPS was still directing me back to the closed road. Instead of following the GPS I headed on the larger road in the general direction where I thought the campground was. After another few miles the GPS finally recalculated a new set of roads. When I got within 1/2 mile of the campground I came upon yet more road work with a huge dump truck blocking the road which appeared closed. I asked the truck driver if I could get through and they moved the construction equipment to let me get by. I was exhausted when I pulled in after about an hour's more driving than I had anticipated. Anne, the campground owner, got me smiling and improved my mood immediately. My site was super easy to pull into, full services, and the sat. dish immediately picked up the Direct TV. Unfortunately, cell service is real weak in the area.
The cg seems to back up to the Adirondack park and has some spectacular views. There are a few nice trails, a golf driving range, and a swimming pool that even has some shade. Apparently Marge, another LoW member whom I met a few months ago camping in Shelbourne Falls, MA, knew I was on my way. She had been driving behind me on I-90 when I turned off at exit #29. She stayed on I-90 and came here a back way. I thought the LoW gtg was next weekend, but it was this weekend and several LoW members were already here. This gtg is a joint one between the Yankee LoW's (some of whom I'd already met a few months ago) and the UNI-LoW's (Upstate New Yorker's). In all there are about 20 rigs. The pot luck was incredible! Each and every dish was truly delicious. Anne ran a tractor pulling a hay wagon each evening. A bunch of us LoW's piled in, singing every old song anyone could think of at the top of our lungs all around the cg and for a mile of so around the farm community. It was great fun. Several of us also spent time cooling off in the pool. I learned some new card games and we had lots of conversation. All in all, a good time.
While in the area I got to explore a little of Rome, Utica, and Herkimer, NY, and the surrounding Mohawk Valley. I had a great afternoon at Fort Stanwix in Rome and yet again learned more in a short tour about specifics of the pre-revolution and revolutionary war in this part of the country than I ever learned in school. The tour of the Saranac Brewery was interesting and I got to see some of Utica. It was interesting to see the McSorley's Ale House private label beer that Saranac made. I spent a few years of my misguided youth drinking at McSorley's on 7th street in Manhattan. Lots of great memories. I took a train ride on the Adirondack Scenic Railway. It was a doo wop train with waitresses dressed in poodle skirts, playing 50's music, dancing with us, and playing with hula hoops. The ride was about 90 minutes through the Adirondacks. We stopped at a 50's themed restaurant for burgers and malts and they rode back with more 50's songs. It was a great day.
The drive to the Yankee LoW gtg in Andover, VT was easy. I pulled into an I-90 rest area to walk and stretch. When I walked back to my rig a couple had parked next to me in a Jayco Eagle 5th wheel. They were walking around my RV sort of checking it out. We chatted for about 1/2 hour before heading out. The VT cg is bigger than I imagined. I can't believe the fee is only $10 a night with full hook ups. They have some long standing deal with LoW's that they honor regardless of how long someone stays. My full three weeks for only $210, incredible! Several LoW's are already here, many of whom I know from either the Shelbourne Falls, MA gtg, the Cold Brook, NY gtg, or both. There are even three members who I met in FL last Fall. I have a full hook up site up a steep hill. The gtg is on the other side of the road and doesn't have sewer hook ups. The cg offered to give me a site near the gtg and then move me next week. I didn't like the sharp turns to get in and don't mind walking the 2/10's or 3/10's of a mile each way to the gtg. A few of us went out in Marge's car to get grocery's for our pot luck tomorrow. It rained every afternoon but the cg had a covered pavilion that we used for our breakfasts, pot lucks, and playing games. Other than hanging out we all went for dinner in Ludlow one night. I had five of us piled in my truck as I drove over a short cut, dirt & gravel mountain road. The daily rain washed out part of the road going into the gtg's side of the cg. My truck had no problem making it but several of those pulling cars quickly drove them to my side of the cg fearing they wouldn't be able to get them out. The cg quickly filled the wash out almost as soon as the rain stopped. Still, it was yet another reason I'm glad I stayed on my side of the road.
Some of the LoW campers wondered what I'd do in such a remote area for three weeks, especially with no cell service. For the two weeks remaining after the gtg ended I: went to a farmers market, toured the Calvin Coolidge homestead, saw Fiddler on the Roof at a local playhouse, took a Murder Mystery train ride, hiked a little at a park I'd hiked several times, many years ago, went to a Hops & Wings competition, toured the Long Trail Brewery, toured three cheese factories, a marble museum, and a maple syrup museum, toured Rutland and the Clinton Castle, and even took another horseback ride. I got lucky at the Calvin Coolidge homestead in stumbling across a celebration day with a chicken barbecue and lots of activities. In the Coolidge museum I got to talking with a woman who was fascinated by my full time RV'ing. She told me stories of when she and her husband took nine months to walk across the USA. The artisan cheese factory on the homestead site was founded by Coolidge's father and still operates. I enjoyed a wine and cheese tasting they had going on. Fiddler on the Roof was great. I really think local, country playhouse are way better than Broadway. You sit close with no long lines or parking issues. The settings are intimate and friendly. The Murder Mystery train was really great. There was a mother/daughter team playing the roles of a chief detective and her assistant. As they played out their parts they gave clues to the murderer. On our way back they gave out cards for us to record our guess. I actually won and received a hand painted bottle. It was fun! The scenery was beautiful riding thru the VT country side. Okemo Mountain resort was hosting their second annual Hops & Wings competition. It was a tough vote since all the wings were great. I liked the hard ciders better than the local beers. It's amazing how many local breweries there are. It was a little sad driving by an Inn I'd gone to many times from the early 1970's up to 1990. The Inn was in disrepair and for sale, and the general store about a 1/2 mile down the road had burned down several years ago. I enjoyed the Inn with it's tennis court, in door and out door pools, fantastic restaurant, adjacent to Gifford Woods State Park, and across the country road from a small lake with row boats and canoes. I would walk to the general store on Sunday mornings for a newspaper and then enjoy french toast from home made bread, each slice about two inches thick. There was a restaurant a few miles down the road where the waiters & waitresses would sing while serving great meals. It too burned down years ago. Sad, but life goes on.
The ride to Central Bridge, NY was real easy. I'd just been here this past March with my kids. We went to Howe Caverns and the Baseball Hall of Fame. I'm only staying a few days to break up my ride to the RV dealer in PA. I can't believe it's been a year already. Wow, did it go fast! No sat. service at the cg but at least I have cell and web access. I went to an Indian Museum which had lots of artifacts and gave a great history of the six tribes who inhabited this area. The Secret Caverns was interesting. They have a 100 foot waterfall underground. It comes from an underground river and eventually flows to a small stream in the valley. Fascinating! I had dinner one night in the same barbecue place the kids and I went to this past March. In the few days I spent in the area I also toured a museum complex in an old stone fort, went to a little country/general store and got some fresh farm fruits and vegetables, and enjoyed the cg's Halloween in August. I'll spend most of tomorrow (Sunday) driving to the RV dealer. Just a check up, no problems. The rig has a one year warranty so I may as well have all the systems checked out.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Maine
Lobster, lobster, and more lobster!! I do love those little red guys. At least one day I'm determined to have lobster all three meals; lobster omelet for breakfast, lobster roll for lunch, and a lobster for dinner, yum, yum!
The ride into Maine was easy and very pretty. This is the first time I've entered Maine from any point other than the coastal roads. The cg is really nice. You drive past a well kept 18 hole golf course and come to the cg check in. Brian, the owners son, couldn't find my reservation. He gave me a great site and said his dad would figure it out when he came in over the next couple of days. The sites were gravel with a well kept grass field all around. Very pretty! I felt like an idiot when I had so much trouble backing into what should have been an easy site. With all the rain over the past several days the grass was very slick. I got the RV backed in fine but the rear wheels of the truck kept hitting the grass and spinning. This is the first time in almost a year that I was wishing I had four wheel drive! Once I got the rig in all was fine but I sort of dug some ruts in the well kept grass. I spoke with Brian to ask about receiving my mail and apologize for the ruts I made. He said lots of folks do the same and the cg would fix it up with no problem.
The owner, Rick, stopped by later in the week. I won a quarter from him when he thought I was much younger than he is. I beat him by only a year. He and his father had a sheet metal company in southern NH for many years. Neither of his sons were interested in continuing the business. When his father retired, he decided to buy these 400 acres in ME. His one son, Brian, loves the outdoors, lives nearby with his wife and baby. Brian runs and repairs all the heavy equipment, back hoes, diggers, dump trucks, etc. Between them they created the golf course and camp ground. They work real hard keeping the place immaculate. It was raining light so I tried the indoor golf simulator. It was very interesting. I hit my own clubs and a real golf ball into a giant screen. On the screen the simulator had the 18 hole Pebble Beach golf course. There are several cameras which seem to measure the stroke and the screen senses the speed, spin, and trajectory of the ball. It took a little getting used to but was fun and I even worked up a little sweat. I didn't lose even one ball (lol).
Bangor is an okay little town. Not much to do but I'll try to go to at least one play and outdoor music event. I drove around the town, parked at the water front park and walked a little. I went to the Cole Transportation Museum which is incredible! The collection of transportation related artifacts and things related to Maine is more than can be viewed in a single trip. It is amazing the quantity of things the Cole family collected. The museum is well worth a few hours of time if you ever get to Bangor, Maine. Bangor has some outdoor concerts going on Tuesdays and a farmers market, craft fair and more outdoor music on Thursdays. I'll have to get to some of them.
The first of the two Good Sam chapters began arriving on Thursday. Ralph and Marge invited me to join them for dinner. Ralph retired from the Navy as a Chief Warrant officer. It was a pleasant evening. The chapter had about 15 rigs show up. I played nine holes of golf with two couples on Friday. I joined them in a soup pot luck Friday evening. I put together two different varieties of New England clam chowder and added some hot sauce. It must have been good since it disappeared pretty fast. Saturday morning Ralph and I played 18 holes then about 20 of us went out to lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing some shuffle board, a fun little dice game, and lots of conversation. I met Ray who retired as a Command Sgt Major, very impressive. He joined us at shuffle board and showed us the dice game. With 32 years of service, he had never been in combat and seemed very interested in my stories. The group headed out early on Sunday.
Monday I met my friends Stephen and Anne near Bar Harbor. I had my lobster omelet for breakfast, lobster bisque for lunch, and a whole red guy for dinner. The three of us walked around Cadillac Mountain, the town of Bar Harbor, and one of the Mount Desert Isle ponds. The weather was great. It was a perfect day! A few days later I drove to Bucksport to go up the bridge observatory and check out Fort Knox. It is an interesting, peaceful day. Another day I drove to Charleston, more of a rural area then a town and went horseback riding most of an afternoon through some wooded trails. Afterward I went into Bangor to hear one of the outdoor concerts. This one was on the lawn of the library with a full orchestra playing show tunes. A very enjoyable day. On another occasion I drove down the Maine shore from Belfast to Camden, Rockland, Owls Head, Spruce Head, and as far south as Wiscasset. I wanted to have breakfast in Belfast but it was early when I got there and nothing was open. I walked around the harbor and the town. There were lots of strange, interesting carved wooden benches around town. All different animal shapes; bear, moose, an elephant, even a surf board. Camden had me reminiscing about times past, many years ago. Neighbors I met when I first moved to NJ about 1973 would rent a cabin in Camden, ME to do antique shopping during the summer. They would then sell their finds during the rest of the year. I came up here several years in the early and mid-1970's and have lots of fond memories. I walked the town and harbor and had breakfast overlooking the lobster boats and windjammers. Another great lobster omelet! The Owls Head Transportation Museum was a real find. Not as much "stuff" as the Cole Museum in Bangor but an incredible collection of MG's. More reminiscing, this time about my 1978 British Green MGB. It was a cute little car I bought as a replacement for my 1978 white Triumph Spitefire. Both cars would probably fit in my truck, at the same time! I must have asked a half dozen people where an old book store was. I stopped in a combination general store and coffee shop and was asking the cashier when an older couple having breakfast said they knew where it was. We got to talking and they asked me to have breakfast with them. I joined them with a cup of coffee and we chatted for awhile. They used to full time RV but felt they were getting to old to handle the rig (they're in their mid-80's). We shared a few stories and exchanged emails. The Lobster Lane Book Store was exactly how I remembered it from near 40 years ago. It looked like it would fall down any minute when I strolled around it around 1973, yet it was still standing. What a great place if you love books. The rooms seem to go on and on piled high in what seems like total randomness. What a great place! After exploring the Owls Head lighthouse I continued driving south to Wiscasset. Several people told me about a lobster place called Reds, said to be one of the best in Maine. It was easy to find since it was the only one with a long line of people waiting to be served. I waited by the little shack for about an hour and a half for an absolutely incredible lobster roll. The roll had near a pound and a half of lobster on it. Sitting at a picnic table, looking at the bay, enjoying the lobster, seemed the definition of a sticker on my truck "Life is Good, Simple as That."!!!
It hit the mid-90's today and I'm playing 18 holes! I was dripping wet when I finished and jumped into the swimming pool. I think Webster has a picture of this pool under the definition of "delicious"! It was too hot to cook dinner so I went to Anglers Restaurant in Newport, all of five minutes down the road. What a great little local restaurant. I was facing another guy eating alone a few booths down. We got to talking, more like shouting so I joined him. Maurice is from the area, having lived here his whole life. He's gone through a few marriages. He grows raspberries and tends his garden. One of his sons had some drinking problems and disappeared about 20 years ago. His other son lives in the Seattle area but calls almost every day "checking on his dad". Maurice let slip that his 76th birthday is next week. I told the waitress and she brought him a cupcake with a candle. She and I sang "happy birthday". It looked like Maurice was going to cry. It was a great evening!
The first couple of the second Good Sam group arrived. Paul and Janet appear to be in their mid-80's. Paul retired after 20 years in the Air Force. He's having a tough time physically. He has a defibrillator and is on oxygen. Still, they try to get out and camp once or twice a week. I offered to drive them to Bangor for the Rock 'n Roll show this evening but they declined. Bangor had a combination Farmers Market / Craft Fair along with a five piece band. They had two electric guitars, a bass, keyboard, and a great drummer. The music was really nice. It was a great evening sitting and sipping a strange beer; Old Railroad Oil. I asked for a thick, dark brew in a pub that claimed to have 150 different beers. What a name, but it was pretty good.
The Good Sam group wasn't as inviting as the others. They seemed to know each other for many years and would talk on topics that myself and a new couple wanting to join couldn't participate. Ron & Snooky (yes, that's her name) were considering joining the group, unlike me who is just passing through. I doubt they'll join since they didn't even participate after a few trys. I hung in with the group and kept attempting conversation but it just wasn't working. I was actually glad when the rain came. When the group was leaving I asked a few of the guys to help me put the picnic tables back on the sites where they belonged. I finally got one guy to reluctantly help. The others said the campground would take care of it. In the afternoon, after the sun dried the canopy Rick had put up, I took it down and brought it back to the office. I guess it was okay to hear some of the other RV'ers stories. Some gtg's are more fun and more interesting than others.
Rick and his wife Linda took me out to dinner on Monday. I have taken a real liking to these people. They really want all campers to enjoy themselves. I've watched Rick go around almost every day to almost every camper and simply chat for a few minutes. Owning a campground is not easy. There is always more work to do. The Cayers are hard working, happy people. I will definitely return to this cg.
I wanted to go to Moosehead Lake on Tuesday when the SS Katadin began its cruises for the season. At first I was going to go even with the rain. Driving back to the cg after dinner last night, Rick gave me a little tour of the area. Linda pointed out a haze to the right which would be a lake without the mist. They then pointed out a haze on the left which would be a great view of the golf course with no mist. I realized that all I'd see on the cruise would be lots of haze. It's supposed to rain again on Wednesday so I guess I'll take the cruise on Thursday.
I've got to schedule more time in the Moosehead Lake area next year. It's beautiful here! The town of Greenville is small with only a few little shops, but it has three museums. All the museums were free only asking for donations. Lots of exhibits about the development of the area, including Indian and animal dig "stuff". There is a pretty extensive exhibit about Charles Lindbergh. The cruise was delightful. We sailed out about 90 minutes towards Mt. Kineo, then turned back. The pilot gave some tourist info about several specific houses on the lake, families and folk lore, and info about the four largest islands. There was a wedding on our cruise. An older couple who went all over the ship taking pictures. I drove up some logging roads to the site of a B-52 crash back in January of 1963. They think it was caused by some structural problem and the remains of the plane are scattered throughout the woods. In fact they just found some additional debris about a month ago. This was about the third time I'd wished I'd gotten four-wheel drive. These logging roads are not for the faint of heart. When construction trucks barrel down the road in the opposite direction they don't move, you need to. I almost ended up in a ditch a couple of times. Dinner was at the "Black Frog" overlooking the lake. I did my usual joking with the waitress, mainly about accent. She picked up on my New York accent and asked where I was from. My now standard response of ".. I'm from where ever I'm parked..", and the follow up of being a full time RV'er got a big smile and a great response. She dropped her order pad, sat down and put here legs up on a chair. Apparently she and her boyfriend had been talking about going RV'ing. We chatted for some time until her boss came by and asked her to get back to work. Before leaving the area I drove to all the moose hot spots and several miles down the logging roads but never saw a single moose.
Leaving the Palmyra Golf & RV Resort I felt a little sad. I'm going to miss my almost daily chats with Rick. I've stayed here longer than any other cg except for NJ. I'll definitely come back here next year.
The ride to Eliot, ME was pretty easy with almost the entire trip on I-95. I stopped at a Cabelas after about two hours of driving. It's a very hot day! I walked around the store, bought some heavy tent stakes to hold my awning down. Cooled off, had some water and a free hot dog they were giving to all customers. It was a good break. The cg road is very rough. I sure hope the Alaskan rodes are better than this. Gravel & dirt full of pot holes. Rick told me this was an older cg and not well kept, he's right. Diane and her husband Don are nice enough. I ended up with a full hook up site instead of the electric & water I thought I was getting and for only $19.26 a night. Camp ground fees are running way less than the $30 I had estimated. Cousin Rick wasn't going to get to ME from RI until around 8pm so I went to dinner alone. My mouth has been watering just thinking of Warren's Restaurant. First time I came here was on the recommendation of some neighbors around 1973. Warren's is a great family restaurant right on the water in Kittery, ME. Great lobster plus a soup, salad, and desert bar.
Rick came by a little before 8pm with his son Joseph and a friend of Joe's, Ian. We all got reacquainted walking around the cg. The kids were happy to sit in the RV and watch a movie. Rick and I drove out and picked up some pizza and stuff. It was a pleasant evening. Sunday morning I got acquainted with some of my RV neighbors. John, directly across from me, is a local real estate developer. We chatted about real estate projects a little. Greg stays in this park for the summer with his wife and two cute little girls about ages three and five. The girls were picking wild blueberry's by the side of my rig. The little one is going to sell a container full for $1 million!! At even a fraction of that I better start picking also (lol). Carlo is parked in front of me with his daughter, her husband, and their two girls ages about 5 and 7. Nice friendly people even if Carlo is a bit nutty. He's a copper believer! What's that you ask? He wears copper mesh inside his baseball cap and breaths through a home made mask he lined with copper. He believes in the healing and restorative properties of copper. Who knows, he's in pretty good shape for his 76 years! Rick came by around noon. We walked around the Kittery Trading post and a few other outlet stores and stopped for some ice cream. Around 6pm we picked up Joe and his friend Ian at another friends house, dropped Ian off at his house and met Joe's mom Nancy at Warrens, that's two days in a row for me and I love it!
Monday I drove to Dover, NH, a cute town about 10 minutes away. There were a few little shops but after about an hour of walking around I was dripping in the 90 degree heat. On my way back to the cg I spotted a turn off for Vaughan Woods State Park. It was a little over a mile off the road to the RV cg. I sat in a shady spot and read for about an hour or so. Tuesday I drove up the coast road almost to Kennebunkport. The little towns along the coast are quaint and I past some beautiful homes. Most of the road had a 25 mph speed limit and was jammed with tourists. I stopped in a few towns and walked around. Lots of little beach resort areas. The Nubble Lighthouse was cute and the park beside it made for a great walking break. I took country roads back and got to see some of the beautiful back areas of southern Maine.
Greg invited me to his fireworks show on Wednesday but I had already booked a fireworks cruise. I spent the early afternoon walking around Portsmouth, NH. I remembered a bit of a dilapidated town. I saw a quaint town with lots of shops, museums, parks, flower gardens everywhere, a really nice place. I stopped for dinner down the road from the cruise ship. An ice cold beer, some calamari, and lobster stew, yum! I sat on the beach across from the restaurant for about an hour and a half, reading, people watching, and listening to the waves. Life is good, simple as that! The cruise ship was a whole lot smaller than I thought it would be and they packed aboard around 100 people. I managed to get a great seat on the open top deck. Sitting next to me on one side was Phil and Carol. Phil is a few years older than me and was a marine from about 1962 to 1966. He served in VietNam but not in combat. He volunteers to assist two mentally handicapped people, Carol being one of them. On my other side was a family with four little kids. The youngest, a cute little 18 month old boy was a hand full for his mom. He made me nervous with all his jumping around. I thought he was going to end up in the water. The ship cruised out past the rocky islands known as the Shoals. We saw lots of cormorants diving into and under the water. We saw some seals swimming around our ship. The highlight was a hump back whale that seemed to be bigger than our ship. I'd never seem such a huge animal, incredible! The sky got dark real fast and the captain announced that the town fireworks were being moved up and hour due to the pending lightening storm. He put the ship in overdrive and we really moved back to the main land fast. The light show was great! From the water we could see the fireworks of about a dozen towns plus the lightening on the water.
Thursday morning I strolled around the cg a little. Chatting with Diane and Greg. I cleaned up a little, did a wash load, and started planning when to empty my tanks. Around 1pm I left for the Hackmatack Playhouse and their production of Oklahoma. I love these little country playhouses, they're all different, quaint, and always great performances. The Hack, as they call it, is a half barn with a cape cod house added on, parking in a grassy field across from a buffalo farm, on a little back country road. It was a perfect setting! I have vague memories of my parents taking me to see the show on Broadway about 1955. I got tears in my eyes watching and listening to the great Rogers & Hammerstein songs.
Friday is my last Maine trip for this year. LL Bean is having their 100 year celebration. Lots of events, demonstrations, music. It was a long drive, over an hour. Wow, has Freeport, ME changed. This is a shoppers paradise! All the major outlet stores are here but LL Bean dominates the town. The store was interesting to walk through but I didn't buy anything. The prices are crazy, especially for a supposed outlet store. The music must have been meant for teenagers, loud with unrecognizable lyrics. I went to the LL Bean restaurant for lunch. The food was good but the service was not, way to many tourists. All in all the trip was a bummer.
Saturday morning while I was cleaning and packing up a girl strolls up and asks where the office is. I pointed to it but couldn't resist chatting and walking her over. If I had to guess I would have said she was in her late twenties to early thirties. As we chatted she referred to her kids in her RV. Turns out she's in her mid forties, divorced, and home schooling seven kids!!! She and the four kids I met are all so calm and well behaved it was incredible. I was wishing she had come by a few days earlier or I was leaving a few days later. Oh well, such is life!
The ride into Maine was easy and very pretty. This is the first time I've entered Maine from any point other than the coastal roads. The cg is really nice. You drive past a well kept 18 hole golf course and come to the cg check in. Brian, the owners son, couldn't find my reservation. He gave me a great site and said his dad would figure it out when he came in over the next couple of days. The sites were gravel with a well kept grass field all around. Very pretty! I felt like an idiot when I had so much trouble backing into what should have been an easy site. With all the rain over the past several days the grass was very slick. I got the RV backed in fine but the rear wheels of the truck kept hitting the grass and spinning. This is the first time in almost a year that I was wishing I had four wheel drive! Once I got the rig in all was fine but I sort of dug some ruts in the well kept grass. I spoke with Brian to ask about receiving my mail and apologize for the ruts I made. He said lots of folks do the same and the cg would fix it up with no problem.
The owner, Rick, stopped by later in the week. I won a quarter from him when he thought I was much younger than he is. I beat him by only a year. He and his father had a sheet metal company in southern NH for many years. Neither of his sons were interested in continuing the business. When his father retired, he decided to buy these 400 acres in ME. His one son, Brian, loves the outdoors, lives nearby with his wife and baby. Brian runs and repairs all the heavy equipment, back hoes, diggers, dump trucks, etc. Between them they created the golf course and camp ground. They work real hard keeping the place immaculate. It was raining light so I tried the indoor golf simulator. It was very interesting. I hit my own clubs and a real golf ball into a giant screen. On the screen the simulator had the 18 hole Pebble Beach golf course. There are several cameras which seem to measure the stroke and the screen senses the speed, spin, and trajectory of the ball. It took a little getting used to but was fun and I even worked up a little sweat. I didn't lose even one ball (lol).
Bangor is an okay little town. Not much to do but I'll try to go to at least one play and outdoor music event. I drove around the town, parked at the water front park and walked a little. I went to the Cole Transportation Museum which is incredible! The collection of transportation related artifacts and things related to Maine is more than can be viewed in a single trip. It is amazing the quantity of things the Cole family collected. The museum is well worth a few hours of time if you ever get to Bangor, Maine. Bangor has some outdoor concerts going on Tuesdays and a farmers market, craft fair and more outdoor music on Thursdays. I'll have to get to some of them.
The first of the two Good Sam chapters began arriving on Thursday. Ralph and Marge invited me to join them for dinner. Ralph retired from the Navy as a Chief Warrant officer. It was a pleasant evening. The chapter had about 15 rigs show up. I played nine holes of golf with two couples on Friday. I joined them in a soup pot luck Friday evening. I put together two different varieties of New England clam chowder and added some hot sauce. It must have been good since it disappeared pretty fast. Saturday morning Ralph and I played 18 holes then about 20 of us went out to lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing some shuffle board, a fun little dice game, and lots of conversation. I met Ray who retired as a Command Sgt Major, very impressive. He joined us at shuffle board and showed us the dice game. With 32 years of service, he had never been in combat and seemed very interested in my stories. The group headed out early on Sunday.
Monday I met my friends Stephen and Anne near Bar Harbor. I had my lobster omelet for breakfast, lobster bisque for lunch, and a whole red guy for dinner. The three of us walked around Cadillac Mountain, the town of Bar Harbor, and one of the Mount Desert Isle ponds. The weather was great. It was a perfect day! A few days later I drove to Bucksport to go up the bridge observatory and check out Fort Knox. It is an interesting, peaceful day. Another day I drove to Charleston, more of a rural area then a town and went horseback riding most of an afternoon through some wooded trails. Afterward I went into Bangor to hear one of the outdoor concerts. This one was on the lawn of the library with a full orchestra playing show tunes. A very enjoyable day. On another occasion I drove down the Maine shore from Belfast to Camden, Rockland, Owls Head, Spruce Head, and as far south as Wiscasset. I wanted to have breakfast in Belfast but it was early when I got there and nothing was open. I walked around the harbor and the town. There were lots of strange, interesting carved wooden benches around town. All different animal shapes; bear, moose, an elephant, even a surf board. Camden had me reminiscing about times past, many years ago. Neighbors I met when I first moved to NJ about 1973 would rent a cabin in Camden, ME to do antique shopping during the summer. They would then sell their finds during the rest of the year. I came up here several years in the early and mid-1970's and have lots of fond memories. I walked the town and harbor and had breakfast overlooking the lobster boats and windjammers. Another great lobster omelet! The Owls Head Transportation Museum was a real find. Not as much "stuff" as the Cole Museum in Bangor but an incredible collection of MG's. More reminiscing, this time about my 1978 British Green MGB. It was a cute little car I bought as a replacement for my 1978 white Triumph Spitefire. Both cars would probably fit in my truck, at the same time! I must have asked a half dozen people where an old book store was. I stopped in a combination general store and coffee shop and was asking the cashier when an older couple having breakfast said they knew where it was. We got to talking and they asked me to have breakfast with them. I joined them with a cup of coffee and we chatted for awhile. They used to full time RV but felt they were getting to old to handle the rig (they're in their mid-80's). We shared a few stories and exchanged emails. The Lobster Lane Book Store was exactly how I remembered it from near 40 years ago. It looked like it would fall down any minute when I strolled around it around 1973, yet it was still standing. What a great place if you love books. The rooms seem to go on and on piled high in what seems like total randomness. What a great place! After exploring the Owls Head lighthouse I continued driving south to Wiscasset. Several people told me about a lobster place called Reds, said to be one of the best in Maine. It was easy to find since it was the only one with a long line of people waiting to be served. I waited by the little shack for about an hour and a half for an absolutely incredible lobster roll. The roll had near a pound and a half of lobster on it. Sitting at a picnic table, looking at the bay, enjoying the lobster, seemed the definition of a sticker on my truck "Life is Good, Simple as That."!!!
It hit the mid-90's today and I'm playing 18 holes! I was dripping wet when I finished and jumped into the swimming pool. I think Webster has a picture of this pool under the definition of "delicious"! It was too hot to cook dinner so I went to Anglers Restaurant in Newport, all of five minutes down the road. What a great little local restaurant. I was facing another guy eating alone a few booths down. We got to talking, more like shouting so I joined him. Maurice is from the area, having lived here his whole life. He's gone through a few marriages. He grows raspberries and tends his garden. One of his sons had some drinking problems and disappeared about 20 years ago. His other son lives in the Seattle area but calls almost every day "checking on his dad". Maurice let slip that his 76th birthday is next week. I told the waitress and she brought him a cupcake with a candle. She and I sang "happy birthday". It looked like Maurice was going to cry. It was a great evening!
The first couple of the second Good Sam group arrived. Paul and Janet appear to be in their mid-80's. Paul retired after 20 years in the Air Force. He's having a tough time physically. He has a defibrillator and is on oxygen. Still, they try to get out and camp once or twice a week. I offered to drive them to Bangor for the Rock 'n Roll show this evening but they declined. Bangor had a combination Farmers Market / Craft Fair along with a five piece band. They had two electric guitars, a bass, keyboard, and a great drummer. The music was really nice. It was a great evening sitting and sipping a strange beer; Old Railroad Oil. I asked for a thick, dark brew in a pub that claimed to have 150 different beers. What a name, but it was pretty good.
The Good Sam group wasn't as inviting as the others. They seemed to know each other for many years and would talk on topics that myself and a new couple wanting to join couldn't participate. Ron & Snooky (yes, that's her name) were considering joining the group, unlike me who is just passing through. I doubt they'll join since they didn't even participate after a few trys. I hung in with the group and kept attempting conversation but it just wasn't working. I was actually glad when the rain came. When the group was leaving I asked a few of the guys to help me put the picnic tables back on the sites where they belonged. I finally got one guy to reluctantly help. The others said the campground would take care of it. In the afternoon, after the sun dried the canopy Rick had put up, I took it down and brought it back to the office. I guess it was okay to hear some of the other RV'ers stories. Some gtg's are more fun and more interesting than others.
Rick and his wife Linda took me out to dinner on Monday. I have taken a real liking to these people. They really want all campers to enjoy themselves. I've watched Rick go around almost every day to almost every camper and simply chat for a few minutes. Owning a campground is not easy. There is always more work to do. The Cayers are hard working, happy people. I will definitely return to this cg.
I wanted to go to Moosehead Lake on Tuesday when the SS Katadin began its cruises for the season. At first I was going to go even with the rain. Driving back to the cg after dinner last night, Rick gave me a little tour of the area. Linda pointed out a haze to the right which would be a lake without the mist. They then pointed out a haze on the left which would be a great view of the golf course with no mist. I realized that all I'd see on the cruise would be lots of haze. It's supposed to rain again on Wednesday so I guess I'll take the cruise on Thursday.
I've got to schedule more time in the Moosehead Lake area next year. It's beautiful here! The town of Greenville is small with only a few little shops, but it has three museums. All the museums were free only asking for donations. Lots of exhibits about the development of the area, including Indian and animal dig "stuff". There is a pretty extensive exhibit about Charles Lindbergh. The cruise was delightful. We sailed out about 90 minutes towards Mt. Kineo, then turned back. The pilot gave some tourist info about several specific houses on the lake, families and folk lore, and info about the four largest islands. There was a wedding on our cruise. An older couple who went all over the ship taking pictures. I drove up some logging roads to the site of a B-52 crash back in January of 1963. They think it was caused by some structural problem and the remains of the plane are scattered throughout the woods. In fact they just found some additional debris about a month ago. This was about the third time I'd wished I'd gotten four-wheel drive. These logging roads are not for the faint of heart. When construction trucks barrel down the road in the opposite direction they don't move, you need to. I almost ended up in a ditch a couple of times. Dinner was at the "Black Frog" overlooking the lake. I did my usual joking with the waitress, mainly about accent. She picked up on my New York accent and asked where I was from. My now standard response of ".. I'm from where ever I'm parked..", and the follow up of being a full time RV'er got a big smile and a great response. She dropped her order pad, sat down and put here legs up on a chair. Apparently she and her boyfriend had been talking about going RV'ing. We chatted for some time until her boss came by and asked her to get back to work. Before leaving the area I drove to all the moose hot spots and several miles down the logging roads but never saw a single moose.
Leaving the Palmyra Golf & RV Resort I felt a little sad. I'm going to miss my almost daily chats with Rick. I've stayed here longer than any other cg except for NJ. I'll definitely come back here next year.
The ride to Eliot, ME was pretty easy with almost the entire trip on I-95. I stopped at a Cabelas after about two hours of driving. It's a very hot day! I walked around the store, bought some heavy tent stakes to hold my awning down. Cooled off, had some water and a free hot dog they were giving to all customers. It was a good break. The cg road is very rough. I sure hope the Alaskan rodes are better than this. Gravel & dirt full of pot holes. Rick told me this was an older cg and not well kept, he's right. Diane and her husband Don are nice enough. I ended up with a full hook up site instead of the electric & water I thought I was getting and for only $19.26 a night. Camp ground fees are running way less than the $30 I had estimated. Cousin Rick wasn't going to get to ME from RI until around 8pm so I went to dinner alone. My mouth has been watering just thinking of Warren's Restaurant. First time I came here was on the recommendation of some neighbors around 1973. Warren's is a great family restaurant right on the water in Kittery, ME. Great lobster plus a soup, salad, and desert bar.
Rick came by a little before 8pm with his son Joseph and a friend of Joe's, Ian. We all got reacquainted walking around the cg. The kids were happy to sit in the RV and watch a movie. Rick and I drove out and picked up some pizza and stuff. It was a pleasant evening. Sunday morning I got acquainted with some of my RV neighbors. John, directly across from me, is a local real estate developer. We chatted about real estate projects a little. Greg stays in this park for the summer with his wife and two cute little girls about ages three and five. The girls were picking wild blueberry's by the side of my rig. The little one is going to sell a container full for $1 million!! At even a fraction of that I better start picking also (lol). Carlo is parked in front of me with his daughter, her husband, and their two girls ages about 5 and 7. Nice friendly people even if Carlo is a bit nutty. He's a copper believer! What's that you ask? He wears copper mesh inside his baseball cap and breaths through a home made mask he lined with copper. He believes in the healing and restorative properties of copper. Who knows, he's in pretty good shape for his 76 years! Rick came by around noon. We walked around the Kittery Trading post and a few other outlet stores and stopped for some ice cream. Around 6pm we picked up Joe and his friend Ian at another friends house, dropped Ian off at his house and met Joe's mom Nancy at Warrens, that's two days in a row for me and I love it!
Monday I drove to Dover, NH, a cute town about 10 minutes away. There were a few little shops but after about an hour of walking around I was dripping in the 90 degree heat. On my way back to the cg I spotted a turn off for Vaughan Woods State Park. It was a little over a mile off the road to the RV cg. I sat in a shady spot and read for about an hour or so. Tuesday I drove up the coast road almost to Kennebunkport. The little towns along the coast are quaint and I past some beautiful homes. Most of the road had a 25 mph speed limit and was jammed with tourists. I stopped in a few towns and walked around. Lots of little beach resort areas. The Nubble Lighthouse was cute and the park beside it made for a great walking break. I took country roads back and got to see some of the beautiful back areas of southern Maine.
Greg invited me to his fireworks show on Wednesday but I had already booked a fireworks cruise. I spent the early afternoon walking around Portsmouth, NH. I remembered a bit of a dilapidated town. I saw a quaint town with lots of shops, museums, parks, flower gardens everywhere, a really nice place. I stopped for dinner down the road from the cruise ship. An ice cold beer, some calamari, and lobster stew, yum! I sat on the beach across from the restaurant for about an hour and a half, reading, people watching, and listening to the waves. Life is good, simple as that! The cruise ship was a whole lot smaller than I thought it would be and they packed aboard around 100 people. I managed to get a great seat on the open top deck. Sitting next to me on one side was Phil and Carol. Phil is a few years older than me and was a marine from about 1962 to 1966. He served in VietNam but not in combat. He volunteers to assist two mentally handicapped people, Carol being one of them. On my other side was a family with four little kids. The youngest, a cute little 18 month old boy was a hand full for his mom. He made me nervous with all his jumping around. I thought he was going to end up in the water. The ship cruised out past the rocky islands known as the Shoals. We saw lots of cormorants diving into and under the water. We saw some seals swimming around our ship. The highlight was a hump back whale that seemed to be bigger than our ship. I'd never seem such a huge animal, incredible! The sky got dark real fast and the captain announced that the town fireworks were being moved up and hour due to the pending lightening storm. He put the ship in overdrive and we really moved back to the main land fast. The light show was great! From the water we could see the fireworks of about a dozen towns plus the lightening on the water.
Thursday morning I strolled around the cg a little. Chatting with Diane and Greg. I cleaned up a little, did a wash load, and started planning when to empty my tanks. Around 1pm I left for the Hackmatack Playhouse and their production of Oklahoma. I love these little country playhouses, they're all different, quaint, and always great performances. The Hack, as they call it, is a half barn with a cape cod house added on, parking in a grassy field across from a buffalo farm, on a little back country road. It was a perfect setting! I have vague memories of my parents taking me to see the show on Broadway about 1955. I got tears in my eyes watching and listening to the great Rogers & Hammerstein songs.
Friday is my last Maine trip for this year. LL Bean is having their 100 year celebration. Lots of events, demonstrations, music. It was a long drive, over an hour. Wow, has Freeport, ME changed. This is a shoppers paradise! All the major outlet stores are here but LL Bean dominates the town. The store was interesting to walk through but I didn't buy anything. The prices are crazy, especially for a supposed outlet store. The music must have been meant for teenagers, loud with unrecognizable lyrics. I went to the LL Bean restaurant for lunch. The food was good but the service was not, way to many tourists. All in all the trip was a bummer.
Saturday morning while I was cleaning and packing up a girl strolls up and asks where the office is. I pointed to it but couldn't resist chatting and walking her over. If I had to guess I would have said she was in her late twenties to early thirties. As we chatted she referred to her kids in her RV. Turns out she's in her mid forties, divorced, and home schooling seven kids!!! She and the four kids I met are all so calm and well behaved it was incredible. I was wishing she had come by a few days earlier or I was leaving a few days later. Oh well, such is life!
Monday, June 4, 2012
Heading into New England
It was a short, easy drive from Tip Tam to the Alps Family cg just east of Albany. The owners, Ron & Sherry, are very friendly. Over the week I stayed, every time we saw each other they'd stop whatever they were doing and chat. The cg was small but had a quiet little lake with easy walking in the woods around it. On one day trip I explored south western VT. I took a road tour, driving over five covered bridges. It was a tight fit and I barely made the load limits, but it was fun & pretty. I also walked around Bennington, VT. It's a cute town. On a second road trip I explored north western MA. The tour of the Shaker Village was very interesting. This unique sect of the English Quakers were very industrious, hard working folks. They lived a commune type of life long before the hippies of the 1960's. Near as I could tell they had only one major flaw which eventually led to their demise. It's hard to grow a community either through future generations or new converts when a core value is celibacy! A third road trip took me into Albany. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed walking around the central capital mall area, exploring several museums and outdoor exhibits. Having just gone to the Vietnam Veterans memorial in DC with Alex & Zack, I somehow felt a need to see the one specifically for fallen NY'ers. It was the first time I ever looked directly at the names. There, staring at me was my best friend growing up. He was always "Howie" and it seemed strange to see his name spelled "Howard". I won't go into details here but it did bring back lots of memories and had me in an extreme introspective mood the rest of the day.
It was an easy, pretty drive through southern VT and into NH. Passed through a couple of small towns but mostly magnificent peaks of the southern Green & White Mountains, lots of little lakes and peaceful streams. The owner, Bob, helped guide me into a pretty little wooded site. He waited to make sure my sat. dish worked, which it did. He and his long time worker Jim are cleaning up for the cg opening next week. Bill, the wagon master for the NH Good Sam group arrived a few hours after me. He's kind of quiet, taking care of his elderly mom who was travelling with him. He did tell me that in addition to the groups usual pot luck dinner on Saturday they were also having a pot luck brunch and a brown bag raffle. For the raffle everyone puts something into a brown bag and we bid on the bags site unseen. The raffle raises funds for the chapter.
I took the half hour drive to Concord, NH, checked it out. I bought some food-stuff, picked up a neat little compass for the brown bag, and a few pounds of breakfast sausage for the brunch, along with fruit for my usual pot luck salad bowl. I didn't have high expectations for the Good Sam gtg based on the Samboree I had attended in FL. Wow, was I wrong! There were 15 rigs and all nice people. They were very welcoming of this wanderer visiting their chapter. I went out to dinner with two different groups and learned some new card games. One couple expressed interest in joining me on my 2014 Alaskan adventure. A 2nd couple, who live near the shore by Portsmouth, NH asked that I call them when I get nearby and they'll join me at one of my favorite restaurants in Kittery, ME, Warrens. A third couple had an almost identical rig to mine. We spent time in each others RV picking out all the little differences. They live in Concord and I joined them for dinner and drinks the day after the gtg broke up. It was a very enjoyable gtg.
Over the next couple of weeks I explored the area taking in several attractions. There is an interesting discovery center in Concord, mostly focused on astronomy, dedicated to Christa McAuliffe, the NH teacher who died in the space shuttle Challenger. I toured the museum and went to three planetarium shows. One was about the night sky and a second was about Black Holes, both interesting. The third show has me doing more research, it was about fractal equations and the graphics they produce, extremely interesting. On another trip I attended the NH Philharmonic Orchestra in Manchester, NH. It was an incredible evening. A 17 year old violinist, Sirena Huang, received three standing ovations. I was sitting in the front row, about 10 to 15 feet from her playing her on-loan Stradivarius. It seemed the entire audience stopped breathing during her performance. If you ever get a chance to see her play, do it! I also did some hiking in Bear Brook SP, billed as the largest in NH. The woods were really pretty after the brief rain and several waterfalls were flowing nice from the recent run off. I spent an enjoyable few hours at a local Indian museum. I've always had an interest in American Indians. I think it's left over from my Cub Scout days when we all received Indian names. I still remember mine, Spotted Deer ;=) lol! The museum had lots of artifacts from tribes throughout North America. They provided a self guided tour which included several video presentations. On their 10 acres of grounds they established a traditional Indian farm and herb gardens. I really enjoyed strolling through the wooded area with many flowers, shrubs, herbs, and trees named and explained. It was a delightful afternoon. Another interesting day trip which turned out to be a little expensive was to a buffalo farm. The owner Dave was friendly and talkative and I was the only one there that afternoon. Watching the "buffalo roam" was nice and I ended up buying a lot of fresh meat, cheese, and homemade marinades. The meats included a pork chop that's about an inch and a half thick with zero fat, some lamb, elk, and of course buffalo. I also took a drive up to Laconia, NH and Lake Winnipesaukee to attend the theater presentation of Man of La Mancha. It is definitely one of my favorite plays and I love the songs. I walked the cg almost everyday, strolling along the lake front and sitting in a swing by the lake reading and enjoying the view.
It was a short and easy drive to Shelburne Falls, MA. The cg is on the Mohawk Trail in the middle of ten quaint Berkshire Mountain towns. I had reserved a site with water & electric but no sewer. I asked to upgrade but was told the cg was booked solid over Memorial Day. For now I was the only rig on a field of about 100 sites. The field sloped and I had to buy four additional leveling blocks. Even with eight blocks my rig still wasn't completely level. During the next few days I explored several towns and events including:
The Bridge of Flowers - An original foot bridge connecting the villages of Shelburne and Buckland which after being replaced for road traffic has been planted from end to end with flowers and maintained by the local women's club.
Cunnington Fair - A typical local fair. Lots of music, food, & crafts. I had a free general checkup from a mobile health van; 20/20 vision, perfect hearing & blood pressure, and no glaucoma.
Film Festival - A quaint movie theater in Shelburne Falls had a "Three Stooge's" film festival. I arrived early and offered to help Fred, the caretaker setup. We chatted awhile. I enjoyed some popcorn, the guitarist before the films and the festival.
Butterfly Village - In a neighboring town of Greenfield I enjoyed a magnificent butterfly celebration. An airplane hanger sized building filled with butterfly's, soft music, and lots of man-made waterfalls. Very tranquil.
Two different candle & craft stores - Great smells, peaceful strolls thru the little towns and shops.
The Ledges - I took about a four hour hike, including about 1/2 mile of an uphill scramble I wasn't sure I was going to make. The Ledges is an animal sanctuary with fairly well marked trails. It was a beautiful afternoon.
The "Harmanics" - Three guys playing the most interesting harmonicas I've ever scene. They played in a local discovery center in Turners Falls. The town also had a lovely park which overlooked rushing falls, more quaint little shops.
Fine Arts Center at Amherst - The theater rivalled Lincoln Center in size and beauty. The evening performance was titled Peace and War. Several moving orchestra pieces including one called Belshazzar's Feast by William Walton. The piece was performed by two complete symphonic orchestra and a 200 person choral group, a total of 325 people on stage, incredible!
I had a fortuitous call about someone wanting to purchase the last of my apartments in NJ. The LoW camping group won't arrive until Thursday so I have a few days to complete the sale. I took the almost 300 mile drive on Sunday without a single stop. I went immediately to my mini-storage facility and took all the papers needed for the sale and then to a local Marriott. After over a week of quick showers due to no sewer hookup it was great to take a really long, hot one. Monday morning I had breakfast with a friend and spent the rest of the day on the phone and email preparing and completing the sale details. Tuesday I had breakfast with another friend, picked up my mail, did a little shopping and spent the afternoon with Alex & Zack including dinner. Wednesday the sale was completed and I returned immediately to the cg. I was happy to be done with the apartments but totally exhausted.
The LoW group began to arrive Thursday afternoon with Maureen in her B+, Diane in her van, Joan and her mother Hazel in their individual B+'s, Barbara in her truck camper, and Marge in her A. Maureen, as wagon master, made coffee and had continental breakfast for us each morning. I helped her setup each day and we got to talk about her two trips to Alaska. She gave me lots of great suggestions as I shared my building plans and she shared her written daily notes from one of her trips. She's interested in joining my budding trip in 5/2014. Barbara is well over 80 and has travelled the country full time for many years in her Ford Ranger truck camper. I think I'd find it a tight fit for a weekend trip! Amazing! Hazel spent most of the time inside her B+ with two cute Chihuahua's. Marge was tired from a few long, unfortunately eventful days of RV troubles. Maureen, Joan, Barbara, and Diane piled in my truck and we went to the Bridge of Flowers one day, the discovery center in Turners Falls another day, and a Tri-County fair on yet a third day. Walking around Shelburne Falls, seeing the Bridge of Flowers, the Trolley Museum, the Glacial Potholes, and the town, we bumped in Fred!! He and I recognized each other, I introduced him to the ladies who couldn't believe I actually knew someone in this small village. At the discovery center we saw a film on Rachael Carson for her 100th birthday and a local show on Celtic Heals. The Celtic dancers were really good. We had lunch and dinner in Turners Falls, a thoroughly enjoyable day. The tri-county fair was another nice day. Mostly high end crafts which were interesting to look at. I spent two hot afternoons in the solar heated swimming pool. Delicious!
It was a long but easy drive to northern NH. At first I was a little concerned with the cg. It looked small, fairly empty, and was right on the main road with a bit of truck traffic. Janet, the owner is very friendly and we chatted awhile. She and her husband bought the cg 19 years ago and have been very happy raising their three children here. I have a full hook up site with a clear view for my sat. dish. With the full hook up I was able to catch up on my laundry and take long, hot showers. First day I drove to North Conway and walked the town. A cute, tourist town geared toward all the hikers and visitors to the Presidential Mountains. I finally rode the Cog Rail to the top of Mt. Washington, something I'd never done in my dozen or so previous trips to this area. I decided to hike down the mountain. It took about 2 1/2 hours and was a pretty easy hike. No way could I have made it up, too old and too fat (lol). Janet had suggested the Glen Falls hike. It was a very short hike, only about a mile, but really pretty waterfall. It's been raining night and day. I stayed in on Saturday and caught up on cleaning, reading, and a few other things. Sunday I walked in the rain at a local fair. It was at a park made to resemble a logging camp. Most of the exhibits were indoors but you had to walk outside from one house to another. I tried lots of the international food including a Norwegian goulash, Canadian meat pie, Polish Stew, and for dessert a potato candy (strange, sweet, and quite good). It continued to rain on Monday and Tuesday. I took some wet walks in nearby woods and packed up for my Wednesday drive into Maine. I'm looking forward to lots, and lots of lobster.
It was an easy, pretty drive through southern VT and into NH. Passed through a couple of small towns but mostly magnificent peaks of the southern Green & White Mountains, lots of little lakes and peaceful streams. The owner, Bob, helped guide me into a pretty little wooded site. He waited to make sure my sat. dish worked, which it did. He and his long time worker Jim are cleaning up for the cg opening next week. Bill, the wagon master for the NH Good Sam group arrived a few hours after me. He's kind of quiet, taking care of his elderly mom who was travelling with him. He did tell me that in addition to the groups usual pot luck dinner on Saturday they were also having a pot luck brunch and a brown bag raffle. For the raffle everyone puts something into a brown bag and we bid on the bags site unseen. The raffle raises funds for the chapter.
I took the half hour drive to Concord, NH, checked it out. I bought some food-stuff, picked up a neat little compass for the brown bag, and a few pounds of breakfast sausage for the brunch, along with fruit for my usual pot luck salad bowl. I didn't have high expectations for the Good Sam gtg based on the Samboree I had attended in FL. Wow, was I wrong! There were 15 rigs and all nice people. They were very welcoming of this wanderer visiting their chapter. I went out to dinner with two different groups and learned some new card games. One couple expressed interest in joining me on my 2014 Alaskan adventure. A 2nd couple, who live near the shore by Portsmouth, NH asked that I call them when I get nearby and they'll join me at one of my favorite restaurants in Kittery, ME, Warrens. A third couple had an almost identical rig to mine. We spent time in each others RV picking out all the little differences. They live in Concord and I joined them for dinner and drinks the day after the gtg broke up. It was a very enjoyable gtg.
Over the next couple of weeks I explored the area taking in several attractions. There is an interesting discovery center in Concord, mostly focused on astronomy, dedicated to Christa McAuliffe, the NH teacher who died in the space shuttle Challenger. I toured the museum and went to three planetarium shows. One was about the night sky and a second was about Black Holes, both interesting. The third show has me doing more research, it was about fractal equations and the graphics they produce, extremely interesting. On another trip I attended the NH Philharmonic Orchestra in Manchester, NH. It was an incredible evening. A 17 year old violinist, Sirena Huang, received three standing ovations. I was sitting in the front row, about 10 to 15 feet from her playing her on-loan Stradivarius. It seemed the entire audience stopped breathing during her performance. If you ever get a chance to see her play, do it! I also did some hiking in Bear Brook SP, billed as the largest in NH. The woods were really pretty after the brief rain and several waterfalls were flowing nice from the recent run off. I spent an enjoyable few hours at a local Indian museum. I've always had an interest in American Indians. I think it's left over from my Cub Scout days when we all received Indian names. I still remember mine, Spotted Deer ;=) lol! The museum had lots of artifacts from tribes throughout North America. They provided a self guided tour which included several video presentations. On their 10 acres of grounds they established a traditional Indian farm and herb gardens. I really enjoyed strolling through the wooded area with many flowers, shrubs, herbs, and trees named and explained. It was a delightful afternoon. Another interesting day trip which turned out to be a little expensive was to a buffalo farm. The owner Dave was friendly and talkative and I was the only one there that afternoon. Watching the "buffalo roam" was nice and I ended up buying a lot of fresh meat, cheese, and homemade marinades. The meats included a pork chop that's about an inch and a half thick with zero fat, some lamb, elk, and of course buffalo. I also took a drive up to Laconia, NH and Lake Winnipesaukee to attend the theater presentation of Man of La Mancha. It is definitely one of my favorite plays and I love the songs. I walked the cg almost everyday, strolling along the lake front and sitting in a swing by the lake reading and enjoying the view.
It was a short and easy drive to Shelburne Falls, MA. The cg is on the Mohawk Trail in the middle of ten quaint Berkshire Mountain towns. I had reserved a site with water & electric but no sewer. I asked to upgrade but was told the cg was booked solid over Memorial Day. For now I was the only rig on a field of about 100 sites. The field sloped and I had to buy four additional leveling blocks. Even with eight blocks my rig still wasn't completely level. During the next few days I explored several towns and events including:
The Bridge of Flowers - An original foot bridge connecting the villages of Shelburne and Buckland which after being replaced for road traffic has been planted from end to end with flowers and maintained by the local women's club.
Cunnington Fair - A typical local fair. Lots of music, food, & crafts. I had a free general checkup from a mobile health van; 20/20 vision, perfect hearing & blood pressure, and no glaucoma.
Film Festival - A quaint movie theater in Shelburne Falls had a "Three Stooge's" film festival. I arrived early and offered to help Fred, the caretaker setup. We chatted awhile. I enjoyed some popcorn, the guitarist before the films and the festival.
Butterfly Village - In a neighboring town of Greenfield I enjoyed a magnificent butterfly celebration. An airplane hanger sized building filled with butterfly's, soft music, and lots of man-made waterfalls. Very tranquil.
Two different candle & craft stores - Great smells, peaceful strolls thru the little towns and shops.
The Ledges - I took about a four hour hike, including about 1/2 mile of an uphill scramble I wasn't sure I was going to make. The Ledges is an animal sanctuary with fairly well marked trails. It was a beautiful afternoon.
The "Harmanics" - Three guys playing the most interesting harmonicas I've ever scene. They played in a local discovery center in Turners Falls. The town also had a lovely park which overlooked rushing falls, more quaint little shops.
Fine Arts Center at Amherst - The theater rivalled Lincoln Center in size and beauty. The evening performance was titled Peace and War. Several moving orchestra pieces including one called Belshazzar's Feast by William Walton. The piece was performed by two complete symphonic orchestra and a 200 person choral group, a total of 325 people on stage, incredible!
I had a fortuitous call about someone wanting to purchase the last of my apartments in NJ. The LoW camping group won't arrive until Thursday so I have a few days to complete the sale. I took the almost 300 mile drive on Sunday without a single stop. I went immediately to my mini-storage facility and took all the papers needed for the sale and then to a local Marriott. After over a week of quick showers due to no sewer hookup it was great to take a really long, hot one. Monday morning I had breakfast with a friend and spent the rest of the day on the phone and email preparing and completing the sale details. Tuesday I had breakfast with another friend, picked up my mail, did a little shopping and spent the afternoon with Alex & Zack including dinner. Wednesday the sale was completed and I returned immediately to the cg. I was happy to be done with the apartments but totally exhausted.
The LoW group began to arrive Thursday afternoon with Maureen in her B+, Diane in her van, Joan and her mother Hazel in their individual B+'s, Barbara in her truck camper, and Marge in her A. Maureen, as wagon master, made coffee and had continental breakfast for us each morning. I helped her setup each day and we got to talk about her two trips to Alaska. She gave me lots of great suggestions as I shared my building plans and she shared her written daily notes from one of her trips. She's interested in joining my budding trip in 5/2014. Barbara is well over 80 and has travelled the country full time for many years in her Ford Ranger truck camper. I think I'd find it a tight fit for a weekend trip! Amazing! Hazel spent most of the time inside her B+ with two cute Chihuahua's. Marge was tired from a few long, unfortunately eventful days of RV troubles. Maureen, Joan, Barbara, and Diane piled in my truck and we went to the Bridge of Flowers one day, the discovery center in Turners Falls another day, and a Tri-County fair on yet a third day. Walking around Shelburne Falls, seeing the Bridge of Flowers, the Trolley Museum, the Glacial Potholes, and the town, we bumped in Fred!! He and I recognized each other, I introduced him to the ladies who couldn't believe I actually knew someone in this small village. At the discovery center we saw a film on Rachael Carson for her 100th birthday and a local show on Celtic Heals. The Celtic dancers were really good. We had lunch and dinner in Turners Falls, a thoroughly enjoyable day. The tri-county fair was another nice day. Mostly high end crafts which were interesting to look at. I spent two hot afternoons in the solar heated swimming pool. Delicious!
It was a long but easy drive to northern NH. At first I was a little concerned with the cg. It looked small, fairly empty, and was right on the main road with a bit of truck traffic. Janet, the owner is very friendly and we chatted awhile. She and her husband bought the cg 19 years ago and have been very happy raising their three children here. I have a full hook up site with a clear view for my sat. dish. With the full hook up I was able to catch up on my laundry and take long, hot showers. First day I drove to North Conway and walked the town. A cute, tourist town geared toward all the hikers and visitors to the Presidential Mountains. I finally rode the Cog Rail to the top of Mt. Washington, something I'd never done in my dozen or so previous trips to this area. I decided to hike down the mountain. It took about 2 1/2 hours and was a pretty easy hike. No way could I have made it up, too old and too fat (lol). Janet had suggested the Glen Falls hike. It was a very short hike, only about a mile, but really pretty waterfall. It's been raining night and day. I stayed in on Saturday and caught up on cleaning, reading, and a few other things. Sunday I walked in the rain at a local fair. It was at a park made to resemble a logging camp. Most of the exhibits were indoors but you had to walk outside from one house to another. I tried lots of the international food including a Norwegian goulash, Canadian meat pie, Polish Stew, and for dessert a potato candy (strange, sweet, and quite good). It continued to rain on Monday and Tuesday. I took some wet walks in nearby woods and packed up for my Wednesday drive into Maine. I'm looking forward to lots, and lots of lobster.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
New Jersey in February & March
There had been only three choices of a campground in New Jersey during the off season. Originally, I thought I'd stay in one of several pretty state parks. Unfortunately, the ones close to the area I needed are all closed during the off season. Zack and I drove to all three of the private campgrounds last August, checking them out. I settled on Tip Tam in Jackson. It's located about 10 minutes from the mini storage where I put all my tax records and personal belongings I hadn't given away. Jackson is also about the same distance from the Outterbridge Crossing as I was living in Bridgewater so my drives to most of my tax clients were not much more than it had been. Also, the drive to the Somerville area and the kids was very doable.
Tip Tam is owned by Joanne and her son Darin. They were very friendly and overly helpful in getting me set up. The day I pulled in it was below freezing and I didn't want to set up my water or sewer lines. When I returned from my first trip to the mini storage, Darin had set up a PVC line for a sewer and a heated water hose was left on the picnic bench. I spoke with him and let him know I didn't need these things and was okay with using my fresh water on board and only setting up the sewer every few weeks when needed. He let me know there was no charge and they wanted me to be comfortable staying with them over the next few months.
I pulled in mid-week and by the weekend I had met Charlie, Greg, Donnie, Bill & Gina. Dan, Mike, Eric, and of course Joanne & Darin. All were staying at Tip Tam for various reasons. All welcomed me and offered to help in any way needed. A very friendly group. Donnie turned out to be a bit of a nut who was asked to leave within a couple of weeks of my arrival. He did contract work for several local shore police units as a diver. Unfortunately, he also had several late night "guests" and seemed unable to keep the noise levels low. Dan, Mike, Bill & Gina, and Eric was always around for a cheerful hello and occasional conversations. Greg hung around a bit more than the others with Charlie and so we chatted a bit more also. Charlie and I hit it off pretty good. He's known as "Truck Stop Charlie" and even has a bit of an internet and local following. He and his blue Peterbuilt are occasionally featured on the "Speed" channel's trucker show. Charlie grew up in Spring Lake, NJ. His father owned a small trucking company and Charlie took to trucking at an early age. His father apparently lost a fortune in the Madoff scandal. Charlie owns a classic Peterbuilt truck and a low-boy trailer. Having grown up in the area and working with his father's trucking firm, he knows lots of people in the area. Charlie seems to have more truck work than he wants. He and I drove around the area a few times in his Peterbuilt. Wow, it's a truck-truck and makes my truck seem like a kids toy.
Over the couple of months I stayed at Tip Tam I managed to accomplish a few things. Among them; renewed my drivers license, got my truck & RV serviced, did all my tax work, got my annual physical and dental exams done, got my truck air horn repaired, added some modifications to my truck including a side step so I can reach the RV safety pin without climbing on the rear tire and a locking gas cap, had several breakfasts and lunches with friends, and went on more than a few road trips with Alex & Zack.
Alex, Zack, & I had two paintball weekends in Jim Thorpe, PA. Real nice weekend get aways. The hotel has a buffet breakfast, an indoor pool and even a jacuzzi. There's the cute town of Jim Thorpe, and several nice restaurants for dinner. I've come to enjoy paintball, running around in the woods from about 9am till 5pm. I'm amazed that I can still run around at my age, lol :=) On our second paintball weekend we even went to an indoor shooting range on our way back. Even with Alex & Zack both having rifle and shotgun merit badges, I think it was interesting for them to shoot hand guns. On another road trip we went to Howe Caverns riding the boat on the underground river, and spent another day in Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame. The kids stayed with me in the RV one weekend and we explored the shore area. It worked okay but was definitely a little crowded with three in the rig. The week prior to my heading out was also their spring break. We spent it walking around DC. I had to rent a car since the truck wouldn't fit in the hotel parking lot.
It felt good getting on the road after two months. I was comfortable at Tip Tam but was definitely itching to move on to new places. I'll definitely stay here again next tax season.
Tip Tam is owned by Joanne and her son Darin. They were very friendly and overly helpful in getting me set up. The day I pulled in it was below freezing and I didn't want to set up my water or sewer lines. When I returned from my first trip to the mini storage, Darin had set up a PVC line for a sewer and a heated water hose was left on the picnic bench. I spoke with him and let him know I didn't need these things and was okay with using my fresh water on board and only setting up the sewer every few weeks when needed. He let me know there was no charge and they wanted me to be comfortable staying with them over the next few months.
I pulled in mid-week and by the weekend I had met Charlie, Greg, Donnie, Bill & Gina. Dan, Mike, Eric, and of course Joanne & Darin. All were staying at Tip Tam for various reasons. All welcomed me and offered to help in any way needed. A very friendly group. Donnie turned out to be a bit of a nut who was asked to leave within a couple of weeks of my arrival. He did contract work for several local shore police units as a diver. Unfortunately, he also had several late night "guests" and seemed unable to keep the noise levels low. Dan, Mike, Bill & Gina, and Eric was always around for a cheerful hello and occasional conversations. Greg hung around a bit more than the others with Charlie and so we chatted a bit more also. Charlie and I hit it off pretty good. He's known as "Truck Stop Charlie" and even has a bit of an internet and local following. He and his blue Peterbuilt are occasionally featured on the "Speed" channel's trucker show. Charlie grew up in Spring Lake, NJ. His father owned a small trucking company and Charlie took to trucking at an early age. His father apparently lost a fortune in the Madoff scandal. Charlie owns a classic Peterbuilt truck and a low-boy trailer. Having grown up in the area and working with his father's trucking firm, he knows lots of people in the area. Charlie seems to have more truck work than he wants. He and I drove around the area a few times in his Peterbuilt. Wow, it's a truck-truck and makes my truck seem like a kids toy.
Over the couple of months I stayed at Tip Tam I managed to accomplish a few things. Among them; renewed my drivers license, got my truck & RV serviced, did all my tax work, got my annual physical and dental exams done, got my truck air horn repaired, added some modifications to my truck including a side step so I can reach the RV safety pin without climbing on the rear tire and a locking gas cap, had several breakfasts and lunches with friends, and went on more than a few road trips with Alex & Zack.
Alex, Zack, & I had two paintball weekends in Jim Thorpe, PA. Real nice weekend get aways. The hotel has a buffet breakfast, an indoor pool and even a jacuzzi. There's the cute town of Jim Thorpe, and several nice restaurants for dinner. I've come to enjoy paintball, running around in the woods from about 9am till 5pm. I'm amazed that I can still run around at my age, lol :=) On our second paintball weekend we even went to an indoor shooting range on our way back. Even with Alex & Zack both having rifle and shotgun merit badges, I think it was interesting for them to shoot hand guns. On another road trip we went to Howe Caverns riding the boat on the underground river, and spent another day in Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame. The kids stayed with me in the RV one weekend and we explored the shore area. It worked okay but was definitely a little crowded with three in the rig. The week prior to my heading out was also their spring break. We spent it walking around DC. I had to rent a car since the truck wouldn't fit in the hotel parking lot.
It felt good getting on the road after two months. I was comfortable at Tip Tam but was definitely itching to move on to new places. I'll definitely stay here again next tax season.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Heading North to NJ
I left Marvin's about 7:30am on 1/2/2012, before breakfast. What a great party the past three days have been. Very easy driving for about an hour and a half. I pulled off for gas and a great breakfast. Hey John and Ernie, if you're reading this, I found a Georgia diner and am practicing for our February get together. Drove real easy for another hour and a half and saw a Camping World. Pulled in and finally found the desks I've been wanting. Easy ride to SC cg.
Very friendly family owned cg called Jolly Acres. The cg seems very clean and well maintained. The site was level with a clear view of the southern sky for my satellite dish. It's forecasted to be in the teens the next few nights so I didn't hook up the water or sewer. I also put a cup of anti freeze in the gray and black tanks and left a slow drip on the fresh water. All went well, no frozen pipes and nice cold water to wash my face in the morning.
Hung out, rested, and explored a couple of small towns in the area. The town of Summerville has a TD Bank, Post Office, and most important, a Walmart (yes Alex, a Walmart). Took a few great trips into Charleston. I hadn't been here in over 30 years and remembered it as a really neat small city. There's a new bridge connecting Charleston with Mount Pleasant, a really cool looking suspension bridge. I went to a new park on the Mount Pleasant side called Patriots Point. I toured the aircraft carrier Yorktown and took the ferry to Ft. Sumter. Both were very moving and even brought tears to my eyes. The market area of Old Charleston was charming. Strolling the area, peeking into lots of little shops and the open market. I found a little restaurant with an open veranda and sat facing the market area. Lots of "people watching" as I enjoyed a fantastic catfish dinner with one too many beers. On another trip, a different, bit more fancy restaurant in the French quarter. A few local beers with fried green tomatoes and crab cakes. Yum! On my second trip into Charleston it was very crowded. A beautiful, clear day in the mid 60's and the cruise ship Caravel Fantasy docked downtown.
The Fire & American LaFrance museum was a real find. They had about 50 fully restored fire vehicles, some from the 1880's. They had all been restored to showroom condition. The Hunley submarine was also very interesting. Built in 1863, it was the first submarine to sink an enemy ship, the Housatonic. The Hunley was powered by the muscle of her 8-man crew, no other power whatsoever. They used a candle for light. The hatch the crew entered thru was about two feet across and the inside height was only 4'3". Amazing. I also toured the only American tea plantation, located just outside Charleston on one of the many barrier islands. Did you know that there is actually only one type of tea plant? I never knew it. All the different types of tea (i.e., black, grey, oolang, green, etc.) are made by varying the drying time of the tea leaves.
The local chamber of commerce had a small museum. I was the only person looking around and the lady docent and I chatted for about two hours. It turns out she's a cousin to the cg owners. Her family owns one of the 100 "tents' in the Indian Campground. If you look this up you'll get a lot more info but basically it's a Methodist prayer meeting place in the middle of the woods. There are 100 old wooden cabins built in a circle around the prayer field. One week a year its packed with families cooking, eating , and in prayer. The other 51 weeks it's a weird place, totally deserted.
I wanted to stay at this cg in North Carolina near Asheville. It turned out to be little more than a road side rest area with barely roam for me to turn my rig around. I didn't even unhook, stayed the night and left in the morning for Virginia. Pulling my rig through the Shenandoah mountains was "interesting" to say the least. It was just as fun going downhill as going up. It took 3rd gear to pull up some of the steeper and I needed to leave the truck in 3rd when going down to avoid "running away". The cg was rustic but did have full hook ups. In three days I explored Natural Bridge, the national D-Day Memorial, Lynchburg, Virginia, and a few nearby towns in the these beautiful mountains.
Luray Caverns were almost exactly half way from Virginia to Gettysburg. The 90 minute tour was a nice diversion from four hours of mountain driving. The caverns are beautiful. The Gettysburg cg was an easy drive. It's way to cold to leave the sewer and fresh water hoses out. I filled the fresh water and left all hoses in. Good thing 'cause it stayed in the teens with 3" of snow overnight. The RV is doing fine in the cold weather, nice and comfy inside. Drove around the Gettysburg area. Sure wish it was a little warmer, it would be nice to walk the battlefield and town. I sat thru the cg's 3 hour presentation in return for three free nights immediately and a certificate for 30 more. The young guy giving the presentation was easy to say "no" to. He built his presentation on the cost savings and there were no cost savings for me. He tried to switch his approach near the end to the "unquantifiable" amenities. It was too little too late. It may be a good deal for someone who will camp at the cg's owned by this group, but not for someone who travels around full time like me. The snow came and it stayed below freezing. I stayed an extra day hoping the rain and warmer temperature will melt the snow and ice on the slides. I'll need to clean them of all ice in order to avoid damage to the weather seals.
It was a little scary on top of the RV cleaning the slides off of the remaining snow and ice but it went fine. Slow and easy ride to Jackson, NJ. Over the next few weeks, I need to get the client tax records from storage, schedule and do the tax work, renew my drivers license, fill the propane, get the truck serviced, and spend some time with my sons. I'm camped until the end of March.
Very friendly family owned cg called Jolly Acres. The cg seems very clean and well maintained. The site was level with a clear view of the southern sky for my satellite dish. It's forecasted to be in the teens the next few nights so I didn't hook up the water or sewer. I also put a cup of anti freeze in the gray and black tanks and left a slow drip on the fresh water. All went well, no frozen pipes and nice cold water to wash my face in the morning.
Hung out, rested, and explored a couple of small towns in the area. The town of Summerville has a TD Bank, Post Office, and most important, a Walmart (yes Alex, a Walmart). Took a few great trips into Charleston. I hadn't been here in over 30 years and remembered it as a really neat small city. There's a new bridge connecting Charleston with Mount Pleasant, a really cool looking suspension bridge. I went to a new park on the Mount Pleasant side called Patriots Point. I toured the aircraft carrier Yorktown and took the ferry to Ft. Sumter. Both were very moving and even brought tears to my eyes. The market area of Old Charleston was charming. Strolling the area, peeking into lots of little shops and the open market. I found a little restaurant with an open veranda and sat facing the market area. Lots of "people watching" as I enjoyed a fantastic catfish dinner with one too many beers. On another trip, a different, bit more fancy restaurant in the French quarter. A few local beers with fried green tomatoes and crab cakes. Yum! On my second trip into Charleston it was very crowded. A beautiful, clear day in the mid 60's and the cruise ship Caravel Fantasy docked downtown.
The Fire & American LaFrance museum was a real find. They had about 50 fully restored fire vehicles, some from the 1880's. They had all been restored to showroom condition. The Hunley submarine was also very interesting. Built in 1863, it was the first submarine to sink an enemy ship, the Housatonic. The Hunley was powered by the muscle of her 8-man crew, no other power whatsoever. They used a candle for light. The hatch the crew entered thru was about two feet across and the inside height was only 4'3". Amazing. I also toured the only American tea plantation, located just outside Charleston on one of the many barrier islands. Did you know that there is actually only one type of tea plant? I never knew it. All the different types of tea (i.e., black, grey, oolang, green, etc.) are made by varying the drying time of the tea leaves.
The local chamber of commerce had a small museum. I was the only person looking around and the lady docent and I chatted for about two hours. It turns out she's a cousin to the cg owners. Her family owns one of the 100 "tents' in the Indian Campground. If you look this up you'll get a lot more info but basically it's a Methodist prayer meeting place in the middle of the woods. There are 100 old wooden cabins built in a circle around the prayer field. One week a year its packed with families cooking, eating , and in prayer. The other 51 weeks it's a weird place, totally deserted.
I wanted to stay at this cg in North Carolina near Asheville. It turned out to be little more than a road side rest area with barely roam for me to turn my rig around. I didn't even unhook, stayed the night and left in the morning for Virginia. Pulling my rig through the Shenandoah mountains was "interesting" to say the least. It was just as fun going downhill as going up. It took 3rd gear to pull up some of the steeper and I needed to leave the truck in 3rd when going down to avoid "running away". The cg was rustic but did have full hook ups. In three days I explored Natural Bridge, the national D-Day Memorial, Lynchburg, Virginia, and a few nearby towns in the these beautiful mountains.
Luray Caverns were almost exactly half way from Virginia to Gettysburg. The 90 minute tour was a nice diversion from four hours of mountain driving. The caverns are beautiful. The Gettysburg cg was an easy drive. It's way to cold to leave the sewer and fresh water hoses out. I filled the fresh water and left all hoses in. Good thing 'cause it stayed in the teens with 3" of snow overnight. The RV is doing fine in the cold weather, nice and comfy inside. Drove around the Gettysburg area. Sure wish it was a little warmer, it would be nice to walk the battlefield and town. I sat thru the cg's 3 hour presentation in return for three free nights immediately and a certificate for 30 more. The young guy giving the presentation was easy to say "no" to. He built his presentation on the cost savings and there were no cost savings for me. He tried to switch his approach near the end to the "unquantifiable" amenities. It was too little too late. It may be a good deal for someone who will camp at the cg's owned by this group, but not for someone who travels around full time like me. The snow came and it stayed below freezing. I stayed an extra day hoping the rain and warmer temperature will melt the snow and ice on the slides. I'll need to clean them of all ice in order to avoid damage to the weather seals.
It was a little scary on top of the RV cleaning the slides off of the remaining snow and ice but it went fine. Slow and easy ride to Jackson, NJ. Over the next few weeks, I need to get the client tax records from storage, schedule and do the tax work, renew my drivers license, fill the propane, get the truck serviced, and spend some time with my sons. I'm camped until the end of March.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
New Years Party!
Mostly easy drive from Bradenton to Daytona Beach, except the Orlando area. The traffic through the area of I-4 where I'd been this past July with Alex and Zack was bumper to bumper. It was kinda fun to know the area a little. Driving a 5th wheel through this kind of traffic is definitely not fun and I had almost an hour of it.
I'm heading to Pancho's Rancho. Marvin Panch has a ranch in Port Orange, just outside of Daytona Beach. He's a member of the LoW camping group, I met him in St. Marys, GA this past October and I've been invited to his annual New Years Eve party. Apparently, He's been having these bashes for about 20 years. Marvin is a great guy and very interesting. He won the Daytona 500 in 1961 and still races. He raced in a senior division earlier this year to celebrate his 85th birthday! Incredible!
I recognized the rig pulling into the ranch in front of me. It's Bob Lynch from TN. He and I camped in three other locations, twice ending up next to each other. He's had some health issues, gave me the password to his rig, and asked me to check in on him if he doesn't show up for an event. He's also given me tips and help with setting up my rig. As we pulled in we saw lots of familiar folks. It seemed like old home week. They have it very well organized. Bobby and Linda are checking the rigs in and assigning spaces. Members of Marvins race pit crew are helping to park the rigs. One large class "A" got stuck and had to be pulled out with a tractor. I helped Bob back in and I backed in next to him. Lots of hugs from people who felt like old friends. It's hard to believe I just met them a couple of months ago.
There are 53 rigs and about 75 people ready to party. We set our lawn chairs in a huge circle for happy hour. Everyone in a festive mood. I seem to know about half the folks. Many from LoW and Escapees who I know. Some from other groups called Wandering Individuals on Wheels (WIN), Singles International (SI), and Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA). FMCA is almost all couples. WIN and SI are mostly singles but allow couples. Escapees (SKP) are mostly couples. There are also friends of Marvins, his family, and several long time members of his pit crew. Everyone stood up, said a few words, and introduced themselves. Lots of toasting to Marvin and general good times. Dinner was barbecued chicken and ribs with all the fixings. Dave Irons then led the whole group in karaoke and played country songs on his guitar until late. Breakfast was incredible, an Amish casserole (delicious) and a French toast blueberry casserole (also great), along with homemade biscuits, homemade jams & jelly's, fruit, juice, hot chocolate..., I'm going to gain back the whole 10 pounds I've lost!
Mid morning we took a short trip to Blue Springs State Park to see the manatees. The park counted 322 wild manatees by the springs today. The park rangers have a book that lists over 400 manatees which have been identified and individually named. A few of us helped the rangers pick out specific manatees. They are such gentle creatures. As they frolic and play they caress each other. You can't help but smile as you watch them. Bob drove some of us to the springs, but was obviously driving erratic. He said he wasn't feeling well and asked me to drive his truck back.
We had an early dinner of hamburgers, hot dogs, and tons of appetizers and side dishes. We then had time to clean up and change for New Years. The party started at 8pm and went till around 1am. The DJ had us up and dancing all night. I tried to go light on the appetizers but they were soooo good. No hard liqueur for me but lots of wine and of course champagne at midnight. Lots of hugs and kisses all around. A really great party.
Breakfast was interesting. They had several large pots of boiling water. We put two eggs in a heavy plastic bag and added whatever fixings we wanted to the bag; cheese, ham, bacon, sausage, broccoli, mushrooms, etc. We put our name on the bag and dropped it into the pot for about 12 minutes. It was delicious! In Boy Scouts we had the scouts put some bacon on the bottom of a paper bag then place an egg and cheese on top. They had to keep the bag close enough to cook the egg but not so close that the bag caught fire. Only a few scouts actually got their eggs cooked. This approach worked for everyone.
Mid day we had what I was told was a traditional southern good luck meal of black eyed peas, collard greens, and homemade cornbread. I can't describe how delicious it was. We then went to the Daytona Speedway with Marvin leading our tour. The speedway provided a tour tram and driver/guide. Marvin was treated like royalty. I had come to know him as simply "Marvin". His picture is all over the speedway. I'd never been to a race track and couldn't believe how big the place was. On race day they have over 260,000 people and it becomes one of the largest cities in FL. It is an amazing place. I'd hate to be on the roads in the area when this place let's out (lol).
Sunday evening we had a pulled pork dinner with all the trimmings. After dinner there was a British comedian who was hilarious! He did everything from tell jokes, to play about five different musical instruments, tease several of us (not me, thank you, thank you). He did some magic, told some great stories and generally had us in stitches. I said my good byes as we all went to our rigs since I was leaving early. I can't believe how great RV'ers are. They are super friendly and welcoming. 75 people with mostly the only thing in common is a love for RV'ing and the outdoors. Not a single problem. Everyone helping everyone else and just enjoying themselves. What a great life!
I'm heading to Pancho's Rancho. Marvin Panch has a ranch in Port Orange, just outside of Daytona Beach. He's a member of the LoW camping group, I met him in St. Marys, GA this past October and I've been invited to his annual New Years Eve party. Apparently, He's been having these bashes for about 20 years. Marvin is a great guy and very interesting. He won the Daytona 500 in 1961 and still races. He raced in a senior division earlier this year to celebrate his 85th birthday! Incredible!
I recognized the rig pulling into the ranch in front of me. It's Bob Lynch from TN. He and I camped in three other locations, twice ending up next to each other. He's had some health issues, gave me the password to his rig, and asked me to check in on him if he doesn't show up for an event. He's also given me tips and help with setting up my rig. As we pulled in we saw lots of familiar folks. It seemed like old home week. They have it very well organized. Bobby and Linda are checking the rigs in and assigning spaces. Members of Marvins race pit crew are helping to park the rigs. One large class "A" got stuck and had to be pulled out with a tractor. I helped Bob back in and I backed in next to him. Lots of hugs from people who felt like old friends. It's hard to believe I just met them a couple of months ago.
There are 53 rigs and about 75 people ready to party. We set our lawn chairs in a huge circle for happy hour. Everyone in a festive mood. I seem to know about half the folks. Many from LoW and Escapees who I know. Some from other groups called Wandering Individuals on Wheels (WIN), Singles International (SI), and Family Motor Coach Association (FMCA). FMCA is almost all couples. WIN and SI are mostly singles but allow couples. Escapees (SKP) are mostly couples. There are also friends of Marvins, his family, and several long time members of his pit crew. Everyone stood up, said a few words, and introduced themselves. Lots of toasting to Marvin and general good times. Dinner was barbecued chicken and ribs with all the fixings. Dave Irons then led the whole group in karaoke and played country songs on his guitar until late. Breakfast was incredible, an Amish casserole (delicious) and a French toast blueberry casserole (also great), along with homemade biscuits, homemade jams & jelly's, fruit, juice, hot chocolate..., I'm going to gain back the whole 10 pounds I've lost!
Mid morning we took a short trip to Blue Springs State Park to see the manatees. The park counted 322 wild manatees by the springs today. The park rangers have a book that lists over 400 manatees which have been identified and individually named. A few of us helped the rangers pick out specific manatees. They are such gentle creatures. As they frolic and play they caress each other. You can't help but smile as you watch them. Bob drove some of us to the springs, but was obviously driving erratic. He said he wasn't feeling well and asked me to drive his truck back.
We had an early dinner of hamburgers, hot dogs, and tons of appetizers and side dishes. We then had time to clean up and change for New Years. The party started at 8pm and went till around 1am. The DJ had us up and dancing all night. I tried to go light on the appetizers but they were soooo good. No hard liqueur for me but lots of wine and of course champagne at midnight. Lots of hugs and kisses all around. A really great party.
Breakfast was interesting. They had several large pots of boiling water. We put two eggs in a heavy plastic bag and added whatever fixings we wanted to the bag; cheese, ham, bacon, sausage, broccoli, mushrooms, etc. We put our name on the bag and dropped it into the pot for about 12 minutes. It was delicious! In Boy Scouts we had the scouts put some bacon on the bottom of a paper bag then place an egg and cheese on top. They had to keep the bag close enough to cook the egg but not so close that the bag caught fire. Only a few scouts actually got their eggs cooked. This approach worked for everyone.
Mid day we had what I was told was a traditional southern good luck meal of black eyed peas, collard greens, and homemade cornbread. I can't describe how delicious it was. We then went to the Daytona Speedway with Marvin leading our tour. The speedway provided a tour tram and driver/guide. Marvin was treated like royalty. I had come to know him as simply "Marvin". His picture is all over the speedway. I'd never been to a race track and couldn't believe how big the place was. On race day they have over 260,000 people and it becomes one of the largest cities in FL. It is an amazing place. I'd hate to be on the roads in the area when this place let's out (lol).
Sunday evening we had a pulled pork dinner with all the trimmings. After dinner there was a British comedian who was hilarious! He did everything from tell jokes, to play about five different musical instruments, tease several of us (not me, thank you, thank you). He did some magic, told some great stories and generally had us in stitches. I said my good byes as we all went to our rigs since I was leaving early. I can't believe how great RV'ers are. They are super friendly and welcoming. 75 people with mostly the only thing in common is a love for RV'ing and the outdoors. Not a single problem. Everyone helping everyone else and just enjoying themselves. What a great life!
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