October and on to Maine

 A snapshot of our travels.

We returned from Mateo and Adriana's wedding the last week of September and reunited with our home at Frosty Acres near Albany, NY (A).

Our first landing at Frosty Acres - - - -  and a view from our 2nd site on returning from the wedding.

From here we really started seeing a colorful progression and transformation of the leaves as we moved further east and north.

We stayed in several beautiful RV parks (B, C, D) as we headed through Vermont and New Hampshire towards Acadia National Park (E) near Bar Harbor, Maine. Of course in Vermont we had to stock up on maple syrup. You can get the maple syrup in just about any variety of containers from glass cabins to large maple leafs, small bottle variety packs and on and on.

At this point we first saw the Atlantic Ocean near Old Orchard Beach, ME,

Hmm - looks like an ocean - a bay actually.

However we soon were treated to a much better and surprising sight than this. Our dear friends Ken and Zita were visiting friends nearby in New Hampshire at the same time we were passing through that very area. This was not planned and we marveled at what can sometimes pass as coincidence. We had lunch in Kennebunkport that included the first crab of our trip - yum.

While in Kennebunkport we couldn't pass up a pilgrimage to  - - you guessed it - the Bush Compound just a few minutes from our lunch stop. Now I must say that between the tourist signs in the shops ("How's that Hopee Changee thing going?" referring to the Obama campaign themes) and the demographics of the people we saw (can you say WASP?), we were not in the blue state diversity of Washington anymore.

I will touch more on our experience of being outside our usual comfort zone of west coast liberalville as our travels continue. But I can say we are currently in Virginia as I type this, have visited many Civil War battlefield sites where we are the ones with the accent. We have both been shocked and depressed at the absolute carnage that resulted from the Civil War and the depths "we" will go to defend what we believe to be right. The end of slavery was a moral imperative and the cost was paid in endless blood.

We carry our own prejudices and judgments and we still have the deeper south to traverse.

 

Now Acadia National Park presented a problem as our arrival coincided with our witless leader's knickers twisting fight. We felt much worse for the folks that has planned for years, flown thousands of miles, spent untold thousands to visit some of our world class national wonders only to find locked gates. We were able to set up in an rv park just outside of Mt. Desert island, where Bar Harbor and Acadia are, and drive all around and through most of the park.

I know - the beard is getting longer by the minute. The ZZ Top look has pretty much been ruled out. Joanie is ready to trim it in my sleep.

We did miss out on Cadillac Mountain which at 1,530 feet, is the tallest mountain on Mount Desert Island and the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard.
Bar Harbor is one of the most beautiful places. The town itself is very touristy as cruise ships visit all summer long but the outlying coastline and cozy harbors make for a tantalizing summer escape. I do believe the winter gets a bit frozen to say the least.

On leaving we traveled down the coast through Freeport (F), where LL Bean was born -

Can you believe their flagship store has stayed open 24/7 since 1951? Evidently this store has only closed 3 times, 2 of those being a major fire across the street and the assassination of JFK.

 

Continuing south along the coast through Maine and Massachusetts was incredible as we drove  through small fishing ports founded in the 1600 & 1700's; Falmouth, Portsmouth, Gloucester, Newburyport. Since we watched a couple of seasons of Wicked Tuna we had to look around in Gloucester (I still can't pronounce that word) for the boats in the show. We didn't get far as there are a few thousand.

On the way south we also

 

We had a wonderful stay at Salisbury Beach State Recreation area (G) just north of Boston and met a wonderful couple, Beryl and Bob. Now that's a beard. I guess if it didn't go north it had to go south (sorry Bob) :).

They are just starting out in the RV lifestyle and while sharing a pasta dinner at our place we made the most amazing discovery. While sharing about our future travels I started talking about family and friends we were going to visit in the next couple of months and as I was describing who we knew in Hartsville, SC (no names yet) Beryl exclaimed "Are their names Julia and Finn?" My mouth hit my knees as I said "Yes!" Talk about a small world. Beryl had gone to school at Coker College where Julia teaches and knows them both! What are the odds. We shared the wonder and awe at the mystery of our "chance" meeting at this crossroad.

 

Well - Boston and Cape Cod next. Until then - Happy Trails.

September Catch Up

Well everyone - seems like if I can do a monthly blog it would be an improvement. A lot has happened and many miles have been traveled, some expected and some not. I will endeavor to keep more timely communiques.
Here is a rough graphic of our September, except for a brief foray back to Seattle - more on that later.

Our last update left off on Labor Day weekend and Pymatuning State Park/Reservoir (B). Pymatuning actually straddles both Ohio and Pennsylvania and after Labor Day we immigrated back to the Ohio side where we were delighted to host Joanie's son, Andy, and granddaughter, the ever surprisingly Amelia for 5 days.

As you can see these two don't get along very well. Amelia medicine cures all that ails.

 

However some things can't be fixed.

 

From Pennsylvania we continued east crossing into New York and up to Buffalo. We went north and camped at Four Mile State Park (D) on Lake Ontario. This is the last of the five Great Lakes we see.

From here we visit Niagara Falls - from the US and Canadian sides. So many pictures of course and awe inspiring up close. We had to do the Maids of the Mist cruise up to and into the Falls of course!

 

 

This video is from the US side                   This video is from the Canadian side

 

We discovered statues honoring Nikola Tesla on both the Canadian & US sides.

 Man before his time

 

Niagara Falls had a big impact on both of us. Mother Nature in full and unrelenting motion showering us with her beauty.

 

More visits with Joanie's side of the family in Canada and we are off again.

 

 

From here things got interesting. Several months earlier Mateo, my third son, living in Nicaragua, decides that his Seattle wedding date will be September 22nd. Well okay - we're in New York thank you very much. So we store our home in an RV park near Albany (G) and fly back to Seattle for the wonderful festivities. We both loved coming back not only for this family celebration but to reconnect with family and friends.

Did I say we loved going back to see our loved ones?

 

Part 2 on the way.

 

August Catch Up

Hello all,
We are currently in an RV park near the Pymatuning State Park (H) in Ohio and for a nice change we have good WiFi and so I am catching up on our last few weeks - finally!

Last time we talked we had really enjoyed biking around Mackinac Island (B).

A quick aside here as you may be wondering the same thing we did - for weeks.

What is the proper way to pronounce the word "Mackinac"?

The French Pronounced it "aw" but spelled it "ac". The British heard it pronounced "aw" so they spelled it that way. Whichever way it is spelled, it is always pronounced "aw".

So you have Mackinac Island and the Big Mac (Mackinac Bridge (I don't think McDonalds got in on that one) - which claims to be a longer suspension bridge than the Golden Gate in San Francisco - a debate for another day) and Mackinaw City. So you can talk like a local now.

We went up to the UP (Upper Peninsula)(A on the map) for a week or so staying in a Hiawatha National Forest campsite. The national sites (Park, Forest, Lakeshore etc) have been great. They usually don't have hookups (water, electric or sewer) but have water fill up spots and dump stations. They average about $20/night and with the greatest deal out there - The Senior Pass sold by the National Parks - we get free entrance to all National Parks and 50% off camping fees.
The must see up there are the Pictured Rocks.

 

This last picture shows a rock column that erosion isolated from the shore and if you look closely you can see the root system draping to the left back to the shore that keeps the tree alive.

 

We really liked the UP, except for the mosquitos, and could have stayed longer.

 

From there, back to Mackinac continuing down through Michigan to Ohio and Kelley Island (E) where the big draw there are the Glacial Grooves.

"The Glacial Grooves on the north side of Kelleys Island are the largest easily accessible such grooves in the world. They were scoured into solid limestone bedrock about 18,000 years ago by the great ice sheet which covered part of North America. A trough 400-feet long, 35-feet wide, and up to 10-feet deep remains today. The ice, probably hundreds of feet thick, flowed from the north in what is now the Lake Erie basin. The Devonian limestone containing the grooves contains marine fossils that are 350 to 400 million years old. Many other grooves were quarried away during the last century."

Imagine rocks and boulders compressed beneath the glacier inexorably carving into the softer limestone creating these grooves and swirls.

 

From there we continued to Cuyahoga Valley National Park where a canal from the mid 1800's ran through the valley. The old original towpath is a popular hiking and biking path.

 

For the Labor Day weekend we parked our home on the Pennsylvania side of Pymatuning State Park/Reservoir.

 Very pleasant.

 

Well that brings us up to September. We anticipate much quieter campgrounds and parks now that summer is officially over.

More to follow. Happy Trails.

 

Still Alive

August 14, 2013
Hello All,
We are still alive and well but I have been slacking on my blogging.

We enjoyed an absolutely beautiful day on Mackinac Island today.

More on that later.

In the next week we will be off grid in the UP (Upper Peninsula) of Michigan (B) for a week or so and I hope to catch up after that.

Here are our latest travels plans - eastwards ho!

Chicago & Michigan Bound

After Chicago in early July we had a mellow trip across Nebraska and Iowa on the way to visit Joanie's daughter, Jennifer, and grandkids Charlie and Henry.

I don't think Henry is getting strangled by Charlie.

 

We enjoyed some camping at Starved Rock State Park

 The five of us fit pretty good in the rig, for a couple of days anyway. This pic is actually with the slides in.

We really had a good time catching up with Jennifer and the boys. I know Joanie was very happy.

 

From Glenview, IL we continued on to Ann Arbor, MI where my son, Michelangelo has been schooling forever. He has recently received his Masters in Sociology and is continuing on to his doctorate. We are very proud of his hard work and commitment.

We talked him into camping with us for a few days though he had to study most of the time. However a mini golf (they call it putt-putt here) challenge lured him away from his books.

I do have to give credit where credit is due - Michael and I were roundly defeated by Joanie's 3 hole in ones! The shame. To her additional credit she only reminded me about it for the next 2 weeks.