Verona Beach and The Adirondack Mountains

On Monday we spent the day at the Verona Beach SP campground near Verona Beach, NY. Had a site with a limited view of the lake. There was a paved multi-use trail we enjoyed twice during the day. Took Gopher swimming. A very nice park.

On Tuesday we headed towards Rome, NY and the Adirondack Mountains working our way towards Lake Champlain and Burlington. Made a Wal-Mart run in Rome, NY

Camped at the Little Sand Point Public Campground administered by the NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC). We got a site directly of Piseco Lake. What a wonderful view. Mostly Carol enjoyed the view & read her book. Gopher & I went walking and wading in the lake. The site is full of chipmunks. They know just how long the dogs tie out rope is and stay one foot away. Really aggravates Gopher.

It started to rain on Tuesday night late and continued through most of the day Wednesday. We stopped in Speculator, the closest thing to a town in these parts, and did a load of laundry. After that we went to the Lewey Lake DEC campground. Got the last waterfront site. What a view. Probably the best campsite to date. It even has a small sand beach. The rain finally stopped in the late afternoon & the sun came out. We enjoyed ourselves reading & watching the ducks, birds, squirrels & chipmunks. Gopher was sitting outside with Carol watching the squirrels & chipmunks. A squirrel made the mistake of coming too close. Regrettably Gopher got the squirrel. We'll be more vigilant in keeping her away from the wild critters.

We work up to a rainy day so decided to move on. We drove to the Village of Port Henry on the shores of Lake Champlain. Lots of history around here. The first blast furnace in America and the first commercial electrical generating station. The Village has a wonderful collection of homes from the mid-1800's. Stayed at the Village owned campground of Champ Beach and RV Park. Our campsite was just across from the Village beach affording us a nice view of the lake; at least between the rain showers. It was raining when we arrived and raining when we went to bed. The campground is interesting. We were the only transients; the rest of the RV's were seasonal. Mostly people who brought their boats for a summer of fishing. Had two unusual rules. First there was a $10 deposit required in case you left a mess at your site. We got out deposit back with no one checking our site. Why bother? The second was really annoying. If you wanted to dispose of your trash in the dumpster you had to get a key from the office and pay a fee of $2/bag of trash. Forget it. We took our trash with us and disposed of it at the rest area on the interstate. We won't go back there again.

On Friday morning we drove to the Ausable River Campsites campground near Keeseville,NY. The Ausable River runs right through the campground; our site has a perfect view of the river. Most of the campers are here to canoe or kayak the river. The sun's shining for about the first time in the last three days. Took Gopher for a swim. Sat in the sun & read our books. This is a nice campground. We would stop here again. We're staying here tonight & tomorrow. Today, Saturday, we went to a nearby farm market. The campground has a tractor that pulls a large, flat wagon used for hay rides for the kids. On Saturday it goes to the market. I was able to get Carol and her wheelchair on the hay wagon. We bought some local blueberries & tomatoes as well as some home made cookies.

We're very much enjoying our trip. Been gone for 26 days. Called Mom to say hello; she sounds just fine.

Tomorrow, Sunday, we take the Port Kent to Burlington ferry. Looking forward to Burlington. It's probably our overall favorite place to visit. We talked about ideas for next Spring/Summer. Maybe rent a house on the Shenandoah River for a few weeks then come to Burlington again. We'll see.

Saw a sign on the back of a camper today.

"Don't know just where we're going.

Not sure how to get there,

But we're on our way."

:-)

Cayuga Lake SP near Seneca Falls, NY

Left the Niagara Falls area this morning about 9:30. We very much enjoyed our stay in the area. On the way out we stopped by the fruit stand we found the other day. Bought some more cherries and this time, the local peaches were ripe. The drive from Niagara Falls to our next stop, Cayuga Lake State Park near Seneca Falls was pretty. Rolling hills, farms with crops of corn, peaches & cherries, horse ranches, etc. This is a beautiful part of the Country.
Cayuga Lake is one of series of large lakes making up what is called the Finger Lakes Region. The lakes are long & narrow; much like a finger. Our campsite is a short walk to the lake. Grilled chicken, sausage, fresh corn & yellow squash. We cook out on the grill most nights. Carol is reading. Anxious to find out the end of The Navigator story by Clive Custler. It's a good story; I read it earlier on the trip. I'm still working on the Civil War trilogy. Decided to just stay one night here so we can extend out stay in Burlington by a day or so. If we're ever in the area again, we would come back here. Two years ago we toured Upstate NY along the Seaway Trail running along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence Seaway. We like this part of NY; we'll be back again.

Niagara Falls, NY

Arrived at the Four Mile Creek State Park about noon after stopping to restock groceries. The regional grocery store is TOPS. Had a nice selection of fresh foods, salads, etc. Bought some cherries and corn from a roadside stand. The cherries were excellent; corn for dinner another day. On the way here we filled up with some ,relatively speaking, cheap Seneca Indian gas for $2.81/gal. The Indians are getting their revenge on the Pale Face by selling a Seneca brand of cigarettes for only $9.99/carton. I can only imagine how nasty a $9.99/carton cigarette must be.

The campground is nice. Located right on Lake Ontario. Has a good dog beach for Gopher.

Late in the day we took a ride to the Old Fort Niagara SP then to Whirlpool SP for a nice view of the Niagara River.

On Friday we went to the Niagara Falls State Park; the oldest SP in America. That's where the Falls are located. We went on the Cave of the Winds tour. You go down an elevator to river level then descend into a cave and along the falls on a set of stairs. We couldn't do the stairs but we enjoyed the view nonetheless. After we went back to the camper for lunch then took Gopher on a real nice walk all along the river. Visited the Three Sisters Islands. Niagara Falls was a very touristy area as we had expected but it was a quality sort of touristy. Not tacky like Ocean City, Md or Myrtle Beach, SC.

Took a ride around Lewiston, NY in the afternoon then back to the campground. Took some more walks then went for a swim in Lake Ontario. Had a very nice day. Talked to our neighbors in the evening. Nice people from the Albany, NY area.

On Saturday we took a drive north along Lake Ontario to Olcott then east to Lockport; an historic Erie Canal town. Two years ago when we did our rails-to-trails tour of New England we rode and camped along the canal around Syracuse. Bought some more sweet corn at a roadside stand. Went to church at the Our Lady of Fatima Shrine. There is a large garden area with 125 life size statues of different saints. In spite of the rain, we enjoyed both the Mass and the garden. See the photo. One of the very few of both of us. A nice guy took the picture for us after church.

Rained on & off all day. The first all day rain of the trip. Woke up this morning to 55*. Felt good for a change.

Tomorrow we move on drifting slowly towards Burlington, VT then Mystic, CT for the Wagner family reunion.

Evangola State Park, Irving, NY

We spent July 10h & 11th at the Evangola State Park in Irving,NY; about 45 minutes west of Buffalo. Right on Lake Erie. Has a wonderful view of the lake. There is a beautiful sandy beach within an easy walk. We spent most of our day reading, swimming with Gopher and just enjoying the view.

Tomorrow we head over to the Niagara Falls area for the weekend. Since this is the prime camping season, we found it's necessary to make reservations at the state parks for Friday & Saturday nights. Most other times our travels have been planned to be off season. We prefer the off season because we're not tied down by reservations.

Enjoying ourselves. Both reading very interesting books. Carol's reading the new Clive Custler book Alex bought us and I'm on the last of the Civil War trilogy by Shaara.

Near Saegertown, PA

We very much enjoyed this campground and the surrounding area. Woodcock Lake is a Corps of Engineers(COE) project. Like most other COE projects we've visited, it's very well maintained. Took a ride around the lake stopping at the two day use areas. One had a nice creek supplied by water from the dam. Lots of fisherman trying for trout. Carol remember seeing a produce stand as we came into town. We stopped and bought some local corn, yellow squash and a sweet potato to do on the grill tonight. We've become addicted to our new Weber gas grill. Most nights we cook on it. It's fun, makes the food taste good and keeps the heat and cooking smells outside. The grilled sweet potatoes with the brown sugar & cinnamon coating are one of our favorites. After dinner we walked down to the lake to let Gopher have one last swim.
If our travels ever bring us back this way, we'll stop here again.

Through July 8th

We spent July 5th & 6th at the Rural Retreat, Virginia, municipal campground. Rural Retreat is in a very, very rural, very Southern part of far western VA. The campground primarily serves the local folks. Ours was one of the very few out-of-state tags. The County Fair was in progress not far from the campground. One of the featured events was a Hillbilly Olympics. Can't guess what that might be. Spittin' chewing tobacco? Smashing beer cans against your forehead? Who knows. Fishing and beer drinking were the primary recreational activities of the campers. Very friendly people. Whenever we were walking around the campground they would stop and chat. We found a path that Carol was able to use to get to the edge of the lake. Took Gopher off her leash so she could cool off. It's still hot. In the 90's most days.
We enjoyed our stay here. If we were ever in the neighborhood again, we would come back.

On Saturday morning we went to the Corp of Engineers facility at Sutton Lake near Sutton, WV. We had a site right on the river leading to the lake. The campers reminded us very much of the campers at Rural Retreat. Local families enjoying the 4th of July weekend. Beer drinking, loud country music & fishing. A bunch of people just having a fun time. We saw the very same group of people in a rural part of Kansas a few years ago and again at campgrounds in rural Montana. This is the core of America I think. Decent people doing their job, raising a family and enjoying themselves.

All through NC, VA & WV we were surprised at how many people smoked. A lot more than we typically see at home. We had breakfast in NC and people were smoking in the restaurant. Haven't seen that in years. Saw lots of really overweight kids as well. I guess the health craze hasn't hit these very rural areas yet. An ad we saw for a local fireman's fundraiser breakfast featured biscuits & gravy. Of well. Not surprised I suppose.

On Sunday morning we left for the Colonel Crawford Public Park near Saegertown, PA. This is where this update is coming from. We're very impressed with this municipal RV park. It's late. I'll write about the Colonel in a few days.
Having a nice time. Found a Panera Bread on the way here. Good sticky buns. Can't criticize the overweight kids to much. :-)

Four Paws Kingdom, Rutherfordton, NC

Arrived at 4 Paws on Saturday, June 30 for a five day stop. We've been here before and always have such a nice time. The other campers are always so friendly. The common interest in dogs always makes striking up a conversation so easy. Of the people we've met, Karen & Tina, from Hartford, CT and their dogs Journey, a chocolate lab, and Jake the Mutt, Karen's ill behaved "son", stand out. We've really enjoyed their company. It's funny; in a dog park environment, we seem to remember the dogs names rather than the peoples. Met the wonderful "parents" of Startsky the golden retriever, Milo and his sister ??, the miniature dauxhund (sp?), Marnie the gorgeous Australian shepherd and Finnegan the Iris Setter.

The campground, as the name suggests, is very much orientated around people who travel with dogs. http://www.4pawskingdom.com/

On Saturday night we went to a "Old World Fare" dinner prepared by the German born owner's, Bridgett and Meik. Had Hungarian goulash, black forest schnitzel, smoked bratwurst, on & on. On Saturday we joined in the Dog Olympiad. An assortment of dog games. That night we entered the Chili Cook-off contest. Didn't win but had such a nice time with all the other people we met here. On Monday, Carol painted a bandanna for Gopher. See the photo. Tuesday was a Day at the Beach for the dogs.

Today is the 4th of July. Went blackberry picking on the nature trail. With some pushing & pulling, I was able to get Carol's scooter onto the trail. Really wish they made 4 wheel drive scooters. After that it was swim time for the dogs. In the evening we joined in on the pot luck supper. Had a wonderful day.

Leaving in the morning with Burlington, VT being our goal by July 23rd before we go to Mystic for the reunion. We'll be travelling north from here through VA, WV,PA & NY. Going to stop by Niagara Falls. Never been there before.

In North Carolina

Left Ft. Pierce on Sunday evening about 6 pm. Had Mom over for an early birthday dinner then did the final packing and took off. Drove to the Georgia Welcome Center then stopped for a rest. Finished the drive on Monday.

Spent Monday through Wednesday at the Cascade Lake Recreation Area & Campground, Pisgah Forest, NC. Near Brevard, NC. We had a campsite right near the lake. Nice swimming beach for the kids, boat rentals, places to fish. This is a nice campground, we would come back again. On Thursday we moved on to the River Creek Campground near Rutherforton, NC. Another nice site right on the Broad River. The main attraction of this campground is tubing. They have a shuttle service that takes you up river a few miles and you can float back.

We were hoping for cooler weather but so far it's been near 90 during the day. Nice at night; in the low 60's. This weekend it's supposed to cool off some. Hope so.

Trip Route, July, August, September, 2007

We will be leaving Fort Pierce this coming Monday, June 25th. Assuming my Mother's health remains good and no hurricanes blow the house away, we plan to get home sometime in late September. This will be our longest trip to date. About three months.





The map, Carol's idea, shows the approximate route. Our first stop will be in Brevard, NC then over to the 4 Paws Kingdom Campground in Rutherforton, NC for the 4th of July. After that it's north through far western Virginia, central West Virginia, western Pennsylvania then into New York, stopping in Niagara Falls for a few days. We chose this general route to take us through parts of America we've never seen. Then on to Burlington, VT arriving there on July 23rd. That gives us about a month for this leg of the trip. Carol's family reunion is in Mystic, Ct from July 26th through the 29th. After the reunion we drift slowly north to Maine then to Canada. We will be in Halifax, NS from August 10th through the 12th for the International Busker Festival. The plan is to spend August in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward's Island. There is a Lazy Daze rally in Booth Bay Harbor, ME from September 6th through the 9th. After that we'll head south to see Jennifer , Alex & families before heading home.


At least that's the plan. We'll see how it plays out.

Can't wait.

We've only been home for three weeks and we're ready to get going again. More then ready. We were ready last week. :-) Maintenance completed, shopping done, about packed, doctors visits completed. Just hanging out until Monday.

The trip home

Left Alex's house on Wednesday. Stopped at Carolina Beach State Park near Wilmington, NC for one night. Somewhat of a disappointment based on the brochure we read. Oh well. The next day we went on Huntington Beach SP near Myrtle Beach. Well worth the stop. Nice campground right on the ocean. Enjoyed our stay. On Friday we drove to the James Island County Park near Charleston, SC; one of our favorite campgrounds. Friday was a beautiful day. Took two long walks to the great dog off-leash area. There is a large lake surrounded by a very large field. Enjoyed the day. The weather forecast for Saturday & Sunday was for steady rain. It rained all night Saturday and was raining when we got up. About 10am we decided to just head home. We drove through the remains of a tropical depression all the way until about Daytona Beach. Arrived home about 7pm Saturday. Glad to be finished with that drive.
Going to use the next four weeks getting ready for our July/Auguat trip to New England & Canada. Had Mom over for dinner today. She seems quite happy with her home. Has a new best friend; Alice.

Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland

Forgot to add about the trip to Assateague.

After the rally at Tuckahoe, six rigs headed over to the Assateague Island National Seashore.

We stayed Friday & Saturday and headed to Alex's house on Sunday to avoid the Monday, Memorial Day, traffic. Had a very nice time, as we always do, when we are camping with this group.

May 30

We had a wonderful time visiting with Jen, Alex and families. Left Annandale this morning about 5:30am to beat the morning rush hour. We stayed the night at the Carolina Beach State Park near Wilmington, NC. Not what we had expected based on the NC State Park website but OK for one night. Hard to beat the $10/night cost. Tomorrow we take the ferry from Fort Fisher to Southport as we continue our way towards Charleston.

Southeast Lazy Daze Rally Tuckahoe, MD

Arrived at the Tuckahoe State Park near Queen Ann, MD on Monday the 21st of May for a get together of the Southeast Lazy Daze Club. There were ten rigs there. Everyone was surprised when Tedd and MaryLou showed up. Hadn't seen them since January of 2006. Since we last met, they had through hiked the Appalachian Trail. On Monday we all had subs for dinner. On Tuesday we went to Tilghman (pronounced Tillman) Island, MD for a two hour ride on a Skipjack sail boat, the Rebecca T. Rurak. It was built in 1886 and is the oldest Coast Guard registered boat in America. Carol stayed on shore with Dorothy Wockenfuss. Dorothy is from Tilghman Island and had been on the Chesapeake Bay since she was a child. After the wonderful cruise we had dinner at the Chesapeake House restaurant on the island. Carol had crab cakes. The best ever. After dinner, Dorothy's cousin Larry Gowe talked about the life of a Chesapeake Bay waterman. all about fishing, crabbing and oystering. A fascinating talk. On Wednesday we went to the Adkins Arboretum for a guided walk.

Wednesday night was the ice cream social followed by the Pot Luck supper on Thursday.

Gettysburg Lazy Daze Rally

We arrived in Gettysburg on Thursday the 17th for the Northeast Lazy Daze Caravan Club rally held to the Gettysburg Campground. In total there were 29 rigs in attendance.

On Thursday we had a cookout, hamburgers, etc. On Friday we toured the battlefield. Carol's scooter allowed her to go most places everyone else went. I even put her in her wheelchair and managed to push & pull her up the trail to the top of Little Round Top; one of the major sites of the battle. Carol & I drove the camper and then did the self guided auto tour. We both read the book Killer Angels by Michael Sharra, a story about the battle. It really helped us better understand the events and places we saw. A very enjoyable day. That evening we all went to a wonderful B & B that also hosted parties. Great family style dinner. On Saturday day, we stayed at the campground and waited for our friends, Joe & Clara, to arrive. They were delayed caring for Clara's Mom like we care for Granny. That evening we had the pot luck supper. We made shrimp jambalaya. On Sunday most people left to head home but five rigs stayed with plans to leave Monday. We both agree that the best part of these rallies is the great company. The Northeast Group is having another rally in Booth Bay Harbour Maine in early September. If all goes well with Granny, and baring any major hurricanes around home, we would like to leave Ft. Pierce in early July, tour New England, attend the reunion in Mystic and then attend the Booth Bay event. A few other couples are planning to tour Canada in August (after Mystic and before Booth Bay) and invited us along. That's the plan. We'll see what really happens.

Tomorrow we are driving with four other couples to Tuckahoe State Park via Wal-Mart and a Trader Joe's.

Yet another nice day

This morning Enterprise delivered the rental car at 9am. We spent the morning at the Lancaster City Market. Per the brochure it's the oldest continuously operating Farmers Market in America. Since 1730. It was interesting. A nice assortment to meats, cheeses, fresh veggies, baked goods, etc. We bought an assortment of prepared salads for lunch & dinner. When we got back to the campground we were surprised to find two other Lazy Daze motor homes. Mike & Jan ? from Maine and Don & Bonnie Hunt from Mass. We spent the afternoon visiting, then went to Miller's Buffet for dinner. Oink, oink. One of these days I need to stop eating like this. I can feel myself getting fat. We had a wonderful day. Carol's reading the Gettysburg book to learn something about the war before we get there this coming Thursday. Almost finished.
I got an e-mail from Don Hughes today. We worked at Harbor Federal for years together. He & Lee have a motor home and are headed to Alaska. Asked us if we wanted to join them. Would have been fun but this isn't the time just yet, for a really long trip. Soon perhaps.

Lancaster area

On Saturday we drove around the area stopping at the Bird-In-Hand farmers market and a few other such places. The Amish farms are beautiful. The land has either just been planted or being plowed. On Sunday we went to dinner at the Miller's Buffet for Mother's Day.

Today we went in town to get a new battery then drove to a nearby Lancaster City Park for a nice walk. Did a load of laundry and read our books. Carol is reading the book on the Civil War battle at Gettysburg that I just finished. We'll both be better prepared to understand the battle when we get to Gettysburg this coming Thursday. The rental car is being delivered tomorrow.

First day in PA Dutch Country

This morning we drove the motor home to the Green Dragon Market in Ephrata,PA. It's a huge combination of permanent stalls inside buildings and outside vendors. The outside vendors are your typical low quality flea market stalls. Everything for a dollar junk. The vendors in the buildings sell prepared food, fruits & vegetables, meats, cloths, furniture, on & on. There was a hay auction going on. Interesting to watch as the growers sold their hay to the buyers then transferred the hay bales from their truck or trailer to the buyers. We bought some scrapple (for me) a crab cake sandwich (for Carol), some apple fritters and a shoofly pie. A wet bottom shoofly pie is the classic PA Dutch desert. It has a sweet molasses bottom covered with a crumb filling that is basically brown sugar, butter & flour. Very tasty.
Mid afternoon we went to the Shady Maple Buffet for lunch. An absolutely huge buffet of typical PA Dutch cooking. Pot roast, sauerkraut, roast pork, sausages, fried chicken, lots of veggie dishes and a very nice desert bar. Oink, oink!!.
Returned to the campground about 5pm. Stuffed. Sat around and read our books until bedtime.

Alex's house. Enjoying our visit.

On Sunday the 6th, the girls had an early Mother's Day party for Carol since Jennifer & Karen will be in Florida next week. Jennifer treated Carol to a manicure on Saturday. On Sunday Britta Bar-B-Qued a super dinner for all of us.

We have thoroughly enjoyed our visit. I've been helping Britta with chores. Pulling weeds, mowing, fixing things. Walking Gopher every day.

On Thursday we leave for Lancaster, PA. Pennsylvania Dutch Country.

At Alex's house again

Left Assateague Island about 8:30 this morning. We'll be back to this campground. One of our favorites. Arrived at Alex's early afternoon. Played out back with Finn for an hour or so. Rolled trucks down the slide, played on the swingset, threw the rope for Gopher. Carol enjoyed Teagans company as always. Going to stay for the weekend washing cloths, cleaning the RV and enjoying the kids company.