September 2018 – Traveling as a Full-Time RVer…
With the Summer Camp-hosing responsibilities now behind us and this being the first time we have entered a Fall/ September month where Joanne hasn’t headed off to teach another year or Mike starting his Fall busy photography season, we were free the first time in our adults lives, to go anywhere we wanted in our RV. We considered so many options including: heading to Colorado to visit our son, heading towards Tennessee and taking the Natchez Trace Trail south, or going North and experience the Northeast and the Fall colors…
Between receiving some unfortunate health news from family in late August, wanting to see my sister for her big 60th birthday, wanting to meet our daughters futures in-laws, Joanne having already paid for her annual girls college weekend in upstate NY (before deciding to retire), Caitlin wanting to do some dress shopping for her wedding, and visiting with some home-town friends and saying some proper goodbyes; the decision was made we would head North towards the Northeast & New England.
Our first stop after leaving Maryland was my sister Pat’s home in Beacon, NY. While Beacon is the town I also grew up in and went through school, I really don’t get over there much. My sister still owns a beautiful home in this very popular suburb town of NY in the Hudson Valley. Our plan was to Mooch-Dock for a couple of nights in Pat’s driveway while catching up on laundry and taking her out to dinner for her birthday. The RV and tow car fit nicely in her driveway for a couple of nights (which gives another option to park or store short term in the future if needed). An Italian dinner with Pat and her daughter Calle was terrific and we are so glad we got to take her out for her birthday.
Mooch-docking – Driveway Surfing at Pat’s Beacon, NY
Celebrating my sister Pat’s Big 60 Birthday with family…
Just as we were getting ready to depart we were surprised by a drive-by visit of Calle’s father Donnie who was one of my best friends from high-school. We haven’t seen Donnie in several years so it was nice to have a few short moments to catch up before heading for our next stop.
While at Pat’s we actually started formulating a path for our 8 weeks through the northeast and creating a very flexible calendar/agenda. Next stop upstate NY…
Leaving Pat’s we headed West as we decided that we would spend several days in Watkin’s Glen, NY. (a place we have never visited before). The best part of RVing is having the flexibility to just stop along the way to explore unexpectedly. As we headed towards Watkins Glen we decided to spend the afternoon at Bethel Woods (which for those of you don’t know is the home of the 1969 “Woodstock” Concert)!
FYI.. Joanne is actually from the concert’s namesake Woodstock, NY which was home to a very eclectic arts community in the 60’s & 70’s. The concert, while named after the town, was actually held 60 miles west of the actual town. We often kid Joanne (who is squeaky clean and as conservative as they come) about working at a Pottery Store in town, part time during her younger years, which also was a “head shop” as well. (She has some funny stories from those days.)
While we were only 12/13 years old during the concert of ’69 the influence of this cultural phenomena has played a role in our our lives and others growing up in those years. In fact, I actually proposed to Joanne in 1978 in Woodstock, NY at the “Woodstock Pub”. Since we had never been to the actual concert site we figured it was time for a visit…
All I can say is that the community, visionaries, and historians have done an incredible job preserving and developing the Bethel Woods site. The grounds are spectacular and the museum is exceptional. Standing at vantage points along he property also allowed moments to reflect and imagine the sheer size of the crowd and the moments that have been chronicled of this historic event. The only thing that would have made the visit better would have been to be able to attend an actual concert on the grounds, which they have often with many bands and artists. I would say this place is a must stop if you are ever close or heading to Western NY/the Finger Lakes region.
The site of the original “1969 Woodstock Concert”
Just as we were leaving Bethel Woods the rains began. Guess we were going to get the real life experience of what it was like to be in Woodstock with that horrific rain they experienced in 1969 for the remainder of our drive this day.
As we followed the GPS weaving through the rural parts of NY state we finally arrived in Watkins Glen just before sunset. Our hope was to stay in the actual State Park that is right in town, though as we weaved our way up the switch backs from town we quickly realized this was a busy place! Most traveling routes are prepared from a strategic perspective with little thought on the tactical details. Today was no exception and we soon discovered this was the busiest weekend of the year here as it was the “Annual Watkins Glen – Gran Prix Weekend”. Wow! – is all I can say…
Watkins Glen Gorge Trail
A few pics from the Gran Prix…
Had to take a pic of that TR-6 …(Just like the one we used to have)
Arriving at the parks gate we were quickly informed of the event and the slim chances we would find a camp-site here or close by. I began talking with the State Park gate -keeper and about 15 minutes into the dialogue we had great rapport and all of the sudden he blurts out – “I like you and your wife and have a great offer for you; I have one site in the campground that we don’t reserve that I hold personally you and your wife can use it for the next few days if you want.” It actually turned out to be an incredible opportunity and the site was one of the best in the park. Some days serendipitous things just happen that you can’t explain…We expressed our sincere gratefulness and then quickly moved to set-up.
Some of the hikes we took while camped here included:
- Watkins Glen Gorge Trail
- Taughannock Falls State Park
- Robert Treman Falls State Park Trail
When we reflect back on our time here, what made this visit so great was: The location of our campsite, the easy access to the weekends festivities, the street food/vendors, the hiking and many water falls, and the grand prix with the laps of the vintage cars through the park and downtown. It collectively made for a very memorable few days. We are really starting to get used to this lifestyle of Full-Time RVing…
Departing Watkins Glen our route took us North. We had a goal to be in Webster, NY by Tuesday 9/11/18 for introductions to our daughters future in-laws. Since we had a few days before then our next stop was Sampson State Park in Romulus, NY. We have never been here, though have friends and family that recommended it as a convenient place to explore the finger lakes area. While the weather wasn’t great these few days the Seneca and Cayuga Lake Wine Trails were super and we still managed to get some sightseeing and hiking in. I can assure you, we needed more time in this area than a couple of days to really experience all the wineries. We did 5 in one day and that was way too many, opting for just a tasting of olives and homemade spreads at Varick Winery on the final visit of the day. In fact their olive spread was the only thing I purchased all day aside from the tastings (and wished I had bought an extra jar now)!
Sampson State Park – Romulus, NY
Sampson State Park – Romulus, NY – Our site by Seneca Lake
The Cayuga Lake wine Trail…
Leaving Sampson State Park we were headed to “The Dews” in Webster, NY. We hadn’t decided where we were going to stay yet and they quickly invited us to “Mooch-Dock” on their farm property. Our first inclination was to decline since our visit was going to be solo without our daughter and her fiancé. Then we said why not?? Probably setting us up for the “Meet the Fockers” and Jack comments for the rest of our days… Yes we actually met out daughters in-laws and camped in their driveway the first time we ever met. This is something only Full-Time RVers or aficionados of Ben Stiller comedies can really appreciate… Before pulling into the driveway we actually parked at a local XMAS tree farm to un-hook our toad and do some surveillance and a driveby to check out logistics/set-up. (Always a good idea)
The Dew’s & Nunan’s meet and greet…
The Dew’s were incredible hosts, and the logistics worked great. We enjoyed a terrific meal, stayed up far too late having a few extra beverages, each sharing our very similar life stories, and talking mostly about our kids and their upcoming wedding. While we are gaining a son in-law, we left the Dew’s feeling we also are gaining some very special new friends as our kids marriage will bring our families together. We couldn’t be happier !
As we departed East on 9/12/18 we headed towards Watertown, NY and then ultimately the the Thousand Islands area of NY. Not knowing where we would take a few days to relax and enjoy this area, we settled on a campground called “Happy Hollows Campground” in Lowville, NY. Arriving at the office the manager gave us a few options for campsites. She then asked, ” are we here for the Cream Cheese Festival?” Of course we had no idea what she was talking about and quickly were educated about this annual, unusual, event… We decided on a secluded site in an empty field, all by ourselves, which turned out be an exceptional location for nightly camp fires, star gazing, and just relaxing. Note… you can’t use any electric heat or air conditioners here as they have a very antiquated electric system. (the old style glass fuses and all.) In addition, the bathhouses were quite rustic as well. (yes I am talking in code here). Regardless, it turned out to be a good decision for us and a very relaxing few days. We spent considerable time hiking, driving/exploring the countryside with the convertible down, and then just had to attend the “Cream Cheese Festival”. We couldn’t understand why it was called this until we happened upon the only industry in the area (which is the home of “Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese”). (It all made more sense now.)
Campsite at “Happy Hollows”…
Hiking at Whetstone Gulf State Park..
Hiking “The Black River Trail” – adjacent to Fort Drum Watertown, NY…
FYI – the festival holds the record for the Guinness book of World Records for the largest Cheese Cake ever baked. Seeing that tractor trailer at the Lowville Firehouse where they were dishing out (for free) HUGE plates of free Cheese Cake we just had to partake… The cost to tour the vendors, eat cheeses cake, hear the multiple corners of live music, and observe an actual cream cheese carving contest was right in our budget..”$0.00″ – Perfect day!
Doing our part on that Giant Cheese Cake…
Departing Lowville on 9/17/18 we headed towards the Adirondack Park for the next few days. As we entered the park and mountains we found ourselves excited and reminiscent to be back in this area since we both had graduated from undergraduate school in Plattsburgh, NY many years ago and had driven through this area when we were much younger. Passing all the small towns in the Adirondacks on the west side of the park we finally arrived at “Durant Lake State Park”. Arriving here re-confirmed why we hadn’t bought an RV bigger than 32′ long. Even at 32′ we were pushing the boundaries of the camp sites . We found a very good site that was level and backed right up to the lake. To get in took considerable maneuvering, though once settled it was perfect. Note: during our stay here we saw several larger RV’s attempt to get into other sites with little success. Our site was right on the lake, we had a terrific fire pit, and great privacy. Als0, it was within easy walking distance to the brand new bath-houses and the recycle center. One comment is this campground is frequented by a lot of bears (hence the warnings everywhere). I spent several nights walking to the bath-house or trash receptacles in the dark singing as loud as possible so as to keep the bears at bay so I didn’t happen on them by accident.
Our campsite in “Durant Lake” – Adirondack Park
Our first day here we took a drive through the entire Adirondack Park, passing through many of the Lake towns like Long Lake, Blue Mountain Lake, Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake, Lake Placid, and a drive/climb up Whiteface Mountain. It was a beautiful Fall day with the top down on the Mini. We had a terrific time driving and visiting this area and decided we will be back! The day before our departure we rented Kayaks at the main gate of the park and spent several hours taking a 12 mile round trip kayak adventure around Durant Lake. It was beautiful (though we probably over did it this day given the back and shoulder problems that followed the next few days)! I would highly recommend doing this though moderation might be the better decision…
Our Kayaking adventure on Durant Lake in the Adirondack Park….
Top of Whiteface Mountain …
Our next stop was chosen because we would be close to Joanne’s annual Girls College weekend. We headed to Warrensburgh, NY. Joanne had made a reservation well in advance of this visit as we knew we would be there for her weekend. Unfortunately, when we arrived in town we had inadvertently made reservations at the wrong campground. While the bathhouses were clean and the people were nice, the campground was nearly 9o% seasonals and very dark with pine trees, sap, and needles everywhere. This is usually not the type of campground we like to be in, though we had already paid on line for the sites, so we were committed. Joanne really wasn’t concerned; of course she was staying in a 5,ooo sq ft 8 bedroom rented house, with her friends for the weekend, while I camped with the seasonals. I think I was getting the short straw here for sure! While Joanne visited with her friends I invited my sister Pat to drive the 3.5 hours and visit with me a few days while here.
Pat and I spent a couple of days driving the Adirondacks and reminiscing about our very young years when the family visited Lake George for some very memorable trips. (I guess some events from our youth just can’t be forgotten no matter how hard we try…) Some of the highlights from these couple of days was a stop at the Moose Festival at Indian River, and dinner in Warrensburgh, NY at George Henry’s and a quick stop at a Coleman Factory Outlet store where I purchased 2 new camp chairs and a lantern stand for the campsite we have been looking for. We did try to attend the Adirondack Balloon Festival twice though the weather and wind didn’t cooperate for the flights this weekend. Probably the big find from the weekend was Pat’s insistence to stop at the local Habitat for Humanity Restore Store. Pat makes a small hobby of visiting these type of stores though this stop yielded a belt case that fit my new Sony camera perfectly and didn’t break the budget at a cost of $1.00.
Pat & I stopping by the “Moose Festival in Indian Lake”…
Look who we met at the “Moose Festival”…
Joanne returned from her girls weekend and after getting laundry done (very reasonable here) we started to hook up for departure. Since leaving on June 24th we have had an ongoing issue with our toad lights working correctly. I have spent hours trying to fix and diagnose an intermittent problem and just when I think it’s all set, another issue pops up. Today I received a new electric cord from Roadmaster to replace the Blue Ox cord which I thought also might have a short. To my surprise Roadmaster and Blue Ox have different pin configurations and when Plugged it in a blew a fuse in the coach which now moved the problem to the coach in addition to the toad. At this point, I had had enough with this problem. I asked the campground manager for a recommendation to have someone take a look at the problem and this proved to be the best reason in hindsight for visiting this campground. We drove out of the campground and about a mile down the road where we spent about 3 hours at Randy Vieles’ Automotive Service in Warrensburgh, NY. This shop is the most organized, cleanest, and customer service centered facility I have ever seen. They diagnosed all issues, rewired the toad and receptacle, diagnosed the coach , and fixed everything. I can’t recommend this operation enough if you are in this area and need some service. The charges was very reasonable and the piece of mind going forward would be priceless…
Since we got started late this day, because of our electrical issues, we were really just winging our travel plans this day. We headed east towards Vermont with plans to either spend a few days in VT and then New Hampshire or vice a versa. Driving through Vermont was not as scenic as hoped for due to the rain and weather. Just past Woodstock, VT (very quaint town), and then past Killington we happened on “Long Trail Brewery” . Since it was after 4:00 already we immediately did a complete U-turn and swung into the Long Trail parking lot. After looking over the facility, food and drink being enjoyed by everyone we thought why couldn’t we just park in their lot over night and enjoy the fare?! Since they aren’t on the Harvest Host registry we inquired with the manager. He said they closed at 7:00PM and had never had anyone ask before though he would check with the owners while we took the self-guided brewery tour. Completing the tour the manager approached with a “yes” and we were set for the night. Joanne quickly found a seat by the fireplace in the dining room since a little fall chill had hit us and we proceeded to order a flight for tasting. The wait staff was super and made additional recommendations for our second flight; then we had their signature Nachos followed by a terrific meal. We would highly recommend a stop here … Our walk to our coach at 7:00 PM was easy and the stay was super; adjacent to the river for the night. (This is why we like RVing so much…)
Great Beer and Food at Long Trail Brewery…
Waking to another day of rain we thought let’s just continue on to Franconia, NH for a few days after leaving Long Trail. The drive was uneventful until we went through the “Notch” the first time with very high winds hitting the RV. I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was white knuckle time for a few minutes here. Through the “Notch” we headed to Joanne’s pick of campgrounds for the area. She had reviewed several state parks and other options and for the small price difference decided on Country Bumpkins Family Campground with Water/Electric hook-ups. We had several options of sites taking into consideration which were best with drainage, access, convenience, and location to their pond, so we could be entertained by their roving duck herd.
Country Bumpkins campsite – Lincoln, NH
Franconia, NH treated us to many positive moments, and since we were having such a good time we decided to extend a few extra days here. Some of our excursions included:
- The Flume Gorge Trail/Hike
- The Basin Hike
- The Notch and views of where “The Old Man of The Mountain” used to be
- The New England Ski Museum
- Bridal Veil Falls Trail in the White Mountains
- The Lonesome Lake Trail from (Lafayette Place Campground Trail Head)
- Drove the “Kanc” – Kancamagus Scenic Byway
- Mt Washington & the infamous Cog Railway
While we had several days of rain while here, we just loved being in this area. The cool nights, beautiful scenery, friendly people, and magic of the White Mountains made for an incredible few days here.
The Flume Gorge Trail – Franconia, NH
The Basin – Franconia, NH
Bridal Veil Falls Hike – Franconia, NH
Lonesome Lake Trail/Hike
Our Mt. Washington & Cog Railway Visit in New Hampshire…
As we left the Franconia area of NH we decided we would stop by our niece and husband’s home in Keene, NH in the southern part of the state. We have found one of the greatest added bonuses of Full-Time Rving is the ability to stop and visit with friends & family on our travels. The Contrady’s were terrific hosts in Keene and allowed us to Mooch-Dock for the night and also treated us to a delicious Acorn Squash-Quiainoa dinner followed by an apple cake desert. Yum….
Visiting with Fisher’s & Contrady’s -Keene, NH
With September and our first month of actually traveling as full-time RVers coming to a a close we couldn’t be more excited with our decision to retire and get on the road. We probably said numerous times how much fun and how fortunate we felt to experience this adventure as we reflected several mornings at breakfast. The question is: where would this Revolutionary Journey take us in October…?
