Skowhegan/Canaan, Maine

What a crappy night! We stayed up until 12:30 getting our stuff put away, packing up and getting ready for a one or two-day motel stay, didn’t sleep much at all and got up at 5:30 to await the tow truck at 6:00. At 6:30, we called to find out where the tow was. “Oh, my supervisor is working on that personally. When she finds one to do the tow, we will call you”. Right!

About 9:30, the tow truck shows up with a second repair vehicle “to help the driver get hooked up”. They didn’t know if they could get hooked up because we couldn’t start the engine to build up air pressure and raise it up. The tow driver was tall and the service truck guy was short and fat. “Why can’t you start the engine?” I was asked. “Because the fuel line has a hole in it and is leaking” I replied. “Lemmesee” “OK” So I took “Mutt” inside to show him the burned fuel lines while “Jeff” stayed outside and went under the rig. There was a lot of “aayup” and “aayaah’s” in typical Maine drawl while they looked and poked around. After a short mechanical conference, “Mutt” (who turned out to be the owner of the towing service), asked me why we just didn’t change out the two fuel lines right here instead of towing it into Bangor and have Freightliner do the same thing. That was my original preference when I first diagnosed the problem so that was fine by me. However, being skeptical, I asked them if they could do it. I received a very strong “Sure” from “Mutt”. “Jeff”, however, asked for some dikes (cutting pliers) to cut the plastic ties holding the fuel lines in place so he could better ascertain the complexity of the job. It turned out that the lower hose ends were in an almost-inaccessible place. The job was do-able, but not a piece of cake. “Mutt’s” off the cuff estimate was “about $300”. We gave them the green light.

After a couple hours of work, and a few second thoughts on my part, “Jeff” had removed both hoses and “Mutt” was on the way to get two new hoses made up. While “Jeff” was under the rig, he found out what caused the whole problem. The muffler is held up by a bracket that is part rubber so it is only semi-rigid and can move. The rubber either burned through or just broke and the muffler dropped. When it dropped, the exhaust pipe that runs directly above the two fuel lines (great engineering Freightliner!) also dropped and was now directly touching the lines. This burned through the one line almost completely and the other about half-way. When I was putting insulation on the exhaust pipe, I was moving it around and it hit the fuel lines a couple of times. This was just enough to break through one of the lines all the way and start the fuel leak. If this had happened on the road (and it was only a matter of time…a very SHORT time), we would have been in real trouble. It very easily could have caught fire and that would have been a total bye-bye.

Anyway, “Mutt” soon returned with two new fuel lines and they were installed in short order. “Jeff” then fashioned up a new muffler bracket and I added two safety straps from metal plumbers tape as a safety backup. We then fired up the engine and it ran perfectly…no leaks, no hiccups, no nothing! The total bill was $420 and change. (The original estimate didn’t include the muffler work or the cost of the two hoses). We paid it gladly and then found out that the $53 road call fee and a $20 mileage fee would be reimbursed by our insurance company. That’s like getting a half-price hot fudge sundae and finding out it had four scoops of ice cream instead of two. We were thrilled! The only thing left to do now is to fix the jacks. As of Thursday morning, the parts still haven’t arrived.

Friday morning - There’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news is that the shuttle valve is here. Not “here” here, but “there” here…as in, the mechanic has it in Bangor. The bad news is that two of his employees called in sick today and he is really backed up. I impressed on him that we leave on Sunday for a 56-day tour. He said he would get back to me.

At 4:15, I called the shop and they said a mechanic was on his way and, sure enough, at 4:30 he showed up. By 5:00, he had the new valve installed and…and…and…IT WORKED! We are 100% back in service again. I had been inspecting rigs all day and was a sweaty mess. A long hot shower and a four-finger drink did wonders for me! We met with all the guests at 7:30 for a tractor-pulled hayride and ice cream social courtesy of the KOA RV park. I will sleep well tonight.

All our “chickens” are now in the park. We have a total of 21 rigs going on this trip but one, my trainee assistant Tailgunner, is dropping out after 10 days or so. He showed up yesterday so I had already inspected most of the rigs. So far, my primary job has been to inspect all the rigs for mechanical readiness and to check for any defects and/or problems.



Rig inspection

Claudia has been going around to all the rigs with Terry (the wife-Wagonmaster) and greeting all the people, getting all their paperwork in order and getting them indoctrinated as to what’s going to be going on during the trip. Claudia is all done and I have just one rig left to inspect so today will be an easy day. We are planning to go to the New Balance shoe factory later for a tour and a new pair of tennis shoes. It’s going to feel good to ease off a little! We have been busting our butts the past few days. Every time I do this, I realize I’m not 16 anymore.

Tomorrow is the Orientation Meeting where we all get together and tell them the “rules”, how the trip is going to be run and what to expect. Tomorrow evening is the Welcome Dinner at a local restaurant. We take off Monday morning to cross the Canadian Border and head for Ste-Foy, Quebec for three days and then on to Gaspé. I double-checked the muffler bracket yesterday and it looks good, so, hopefully, we won’t have any more problems. Cross your fingers! The next installment of blog will be from Canada. Y’all stay safe!

BTW, if you click on any of the pictures I send along, they will jump to a separate window and enlarge…and I don’t want any nasty comments about the picture in this session!

#@*&%#$&@%!!!!!!!!

Well, we are here in Canaan, Maine in a KOA RV park where the trip will start. Today did not go well. We pulled into the park and Barry and Terry Klein, our leaders, were already here…but that’s not a bad thing. We pulled into our assigned site and started to level the rig. It wouldn’t level correctly so I moved it slightly to a more level spot on the pad. It still wouldn’t level and the jacks would only go down, not up. I couldn’t retract them. The right side wheels, both front and rear, are off the ground. To make matters worse, the jacking apparently twisted the frame to where we now have a new crack in the windshield which, additionally, is starting to pop out of its frame…which is not a good thing. We called the coach service hot line and they couldn’t figure it out either. There are four valves on the leveling system manifold that are supposed to release the pressure when opened. They didn’t! So, we are stuck for the night at a weird angle until we can make a phone call to the factory in the morning. After reading the service manual, I think I have it figured out. My theory is that a little thingy called a “shuttle valve” is bad. We shall see.
In the meantime, I have some figures for you. We have travelled 3,944 miles so far and have purchased 532.4 gallons of diesel fuel at a cost of $2,483.14 which averages out to 7.4 MPG. We have more than contributed to our nation’s economy and will, unfortunately, continue to do so, even more than expected with this jack problem and the cracked windshield. CRAP! I need a cocktail!


After a cocktail or three, we settled in for an uncomfortable night in a more than slightly cattywampus vehicle. Morning came with the usual clouds after the usual evening thundershower. I hit the computer early and googled the Internet for fixes to our problem. I found one that appeared to be right on. After conferring with the company that makes our leveling jacks, I ventured forth into the unknown with a 5/8” socket and unbolted a cap nut to a hydraulic reservoir and released the pressure to the shuttle valve. I guess good things happen to good people because it worked! The jacks retracted. We now have a level coach and a new shuttle valve is on order. It will be replaced on Wednesday or Thursday right here in the campground. Things are lookin’ up!

I fulfilled my duties as chief engineer and mechanic by replacing a few lights and switches in some power panels, did a few other various chores and took a very relaxing hot shower. Now that I smell better, Claudia and I are headed out into the countryside to explore, seek and destroy.

The only thing I destroyed was my figure! We went to the Post Office and then went searching for auto parts and a place to have dinner. Since we are pretty much “fish”ed out, we opted for Chinese. Thanks to “Karen”, we found a great Chinese restaurant. They had a buffet and a half…two full steam tables on both sides, a single table full of desserts, plus soups and ice cream. It was huge…and only $9.35 per person. It’s only $7-something if you arrive before 4:00. I am uncomfortable, but happy! Claudia is asleep on the couch! I couldn’t possibly eat another thing…until tomorrow!

Today is our last “free” day so we are doing our final shopping and getting the last of our honey-do’s done. We are also practicing smiling so we have a happy front when we are with the guests! We got to Wal-Mart, filled a shopping cart and then went to a couple of auto supply places for stuff to repair the exhaust pipe heat shield and a wiring loom cover. We returned to the rig and put stuff away. I had to do a safety and quality control test on a half gallon of black raspberry ice cream before putting it away. It passed! After that, I got busy on the heat shield repair.

When doing the jack work, I had noticed that the fiberglass wrapping around the exhaust pipe was half gone and that the heat coming off the exhaust pipe had melted the wrapping around a wire loom bundle. I put a new wrapping around the wires and attached some high-temperature shielding around the exhaust pipe. As I did so, I noticed the exhaust pipe was loose. After I finished the job, I went under the rig to pick up scraps of insulation and wire and noticed a pretty good stream of liquid coming down from the engine. I crawled under and found out it was diesel. To make a short story long, I determined that the exhaust pipe had slid down and was resting on two fuel lines. It had burned through about 99.9% of one hose and, when I was working on the insulation, the pushing on the exhaust pipe finished breaking the hose the rest of the way.

I clamped off the broken hose with a set of vise-grips which stopped the leak. We are now going to be towed to the Freightliner dealer at Bangor (41 miles away) tomorrow morning for repairs. We expect it to be a two-day job. If so, we will be staying in a motel about a mile down the road. That way, we can do our jobs during the day. I’ll just run down and pick the rig up when it’s done and we’ll be back in business. The good thing (if there is such a thing) is that it happened now and not out on the road up in Canada.

So, I am sending this blog out early to let y’all know what’s going on and that we will be out of touch for a couple of days. If you need us, try the cell phones but coverage is spotty at best. More news, hopefully good news, later in the week.

Acadia N.P. and Bar Harbor

It rained softly almost all last night. I only heard it a couple of times and woke up completely refreshed. After very slowly crawling out of bed, we took our time getting ready. After showers, vacuuming, cleaning and other chores, we finally left for Ellsworth, Maine, our Bar Harbor campsite for three days (or more). We had seen some great-looking country on the way up so, after setting up, we retraced our steps back down to Belfast, a cute little town on the Passagassawakeag River. (I had to put that in…sorry! Those Irish names are always difficult to pronounce. I don’t have an Irish accent. Belfast = Irish…right?) Anyway, we had a scallops, fries and cole slaw lunch at a local tavern on the river and then meandered the streets of the town slowly in the car.

We then headed north through Searsport and Bucksport, turned south on Hwy. 166 to Castine, billed as a “must see” in one of the local guide books. We saw it but I must have missed the “must” part of it. Other than the Maine Maritime Academy, it was just another Maine town, cute, but nothing special. We returned to the RV park and walked down to Patton Pond for a look-see. I took a few pictures even though it was getting dark. I think I can get better pictures when the sun is out so I’ll try again later. We are going to try to get up a little earlier tomorrow morning as there should be a lot to see on Mount Desert Island where Bar Harbor is situated.

Friday morning was clousy and foggy! It is supposed to rain, thunder and lightning later, probably tonight but be semi-sunny tomorrow. There are lots of yellow foul weather slickers being worn around here. Mine is going with us today. Our Explorer looks like a “local” car after being towed for miles in wet weather. It is brown, not red like it used to be but why wash it? That’s a waste of money and $6.00 buys a lot of ice cream…but I digress.

We took off and marked a restaurant named “Jasper’s” in “Karen’s” memory bank. We are going there tonight for a $9.95 all-you-can-eat fish & chips dinner, complete with fries and cole slaw. Continuing on, we went into Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island. We first toured the town of Bar Harbor and picked up several “bargains” that we could not live without…probably. We then drove to the park Visitor Center and did the loop road on the island, slowly heading for the Jordan Pond House which we were told was an “absolute positive must do”. The JPH is a restaurant right on Jordan Pond.

The view from the Jordan Pond House

Their claim to fame is popovers served with blueberry jelly on a lawn overlooking the pond. We passed on this and sat inside due to the weather. I ordered a blueberry ale from a local microbrew. Definitely good! We then split a bowl of lobster stew, a lobster roll and two popovers with blueberry jam. Definitely tasty again, especially the stew, which is actually a misnomer. It’s a light cream, butter and sherry broth with big chunks of lobster in it. Dessert was a Maine Blueberry Cobbler a la mode. VERY definitely tasty! I love blueberries!

Moving right alone, we cruised eastern half of the island, going up to Cadillac “Mountain” (I put the quotes in as the “mountain” is only 1532 feet high) since the fog had lifted slightly. Great view! After that, we headed for a town known as Northeast Harbor. After we turned north and finally headed back to the RV park, we were treated to more spectacular views along the road that followed the water. The views up here just go on and on and on and on.


Bass Harbor Light



Acadia Scenery


After the cocktail hour had come and gone, we headed out for Jasper’s Restaurant. Claudia had the stuffed haddock and I had the fish & chips. Most places up here use haddock instead of cod for the “fish” in fish & chips, which I thought was sort of unusual. Both were delicious. Claudia ate all of her dinner and even snatched some of mine. I can’t be sure due to sly snatching fingers, but I probably had about 8 fillets. I don’t hold back when it comes to fish & chips, especially when it’s all-you-can-eat! We did not order dessert! We just paid the bill and headed back for the rig, a little TV and a good comfortable night’s sleep.

The rain was a non-event and we woke to a mostly cloudy, but dry day. Today, we do the western part of the island, including Southwest Harbor, Manset, Seawall, Bass Harbor and Tremont. As we neared the island, the weather turned to a mostly sunny, but dry day. Things are lookin’ up! We went straight to Tremont and then came back to a little hole in the shoreline called Bernard. What a find! There were a couple of “authentic” lobster restaurants down some dirt roads that were a real find. We saw all the cars parked alongside the road so we stopped and went exploring. Here’s what we found.





After Bernard, we drove through Bass Harbor, Seawall, Manset and Southwest Harbor before re-doing the loop road we did yesterday. It was clearer today so it seemed worthwhile. It was! We also hit Bar Harbor again and then made a couple of stops as we headed north. One was to a lobster shack on the main road that had five wood burning cookers going full tilt.



They were doing a land office business selling lobster dinners. We had set some steaks out for dinner so we passed on the bugs. The second stop was for some blueberry ice cream. Mmmmm good!

Tonight was perfectly prepared steaks with carrots and a salad. Tomorrow, we head for Canaan where we start the Gaspé and Canadian Maritimes tour. We will, however, have three days to ourselves to explore the area before we actually start “work”. The fun is almost over. It’s just about time to jump out of the lobster pot and into the fire. Y’all stay cool!

Saltwater Farm Campground

We are now at Cushing, Maine at the Saltwater Farm Campground. The trip here was interesting at the very end. “Karen”, our GPS, failed us for the first time. She took us down the wrong road. When we got to a virtual dead end, we had to unhook the car, turn the rig around and go back to the main highway. This time, we followed the directions in the book and went right to the campground. The site overlooks the Saint George River and has full hookups and wi-fi.

View from our campsite

After setting up, we still had a few hours to kill so we took off for the “Dip Net”, a restaurant at Port Clyde that was highly recommended by Linda, our campground host. After driving about 30 miles or so, we found out it was closed. All was not lost as the drive was spectacular. As Linda put it, this area is the REAL Maine.

We drove back to Rockland by a different route, full of hideaway homes, most with a boat and many lobster traps in the yard. After a quick late lunch in Rockland, we again headed north to Rockport (are you following me with all the “rock” names?) and Camden. We followed as many streets as we could that went down by the water and saw lots of boatyards and marinas. Since it was getting south of 5:30, we told “Karen” to take us home. This time she was right on (but I had set the correct location in the GPS as we left the park earlier). When we got home, we learned that Tiger Woods had won the U.S. Open back home and that gas prices were at a new all-time high. Fantastic! Time for a cocktail.

Driving “the REAL Maine”…We did a straight banzai run to Bath where the Bath Iron Works is located. This is a major shipyard here on the Right Coast. They obviously have a major Navy contract as there were three Spruance class cruisers there in various stages of construction.

Bath Iron Works

We first went to the Maine Maritime Museum and did an hour-long tour. After that, it was a boat ride in a converted Navy utility boat on the Kennebec River along Bath’s waterfront.

Lighthouse on the Kennebec River

After a short non-buying visit to the obligatory gift shop, we left the museum in the rear-view mirror and did a drive-thru of the town before heading south.
The next stop was the Boothbay Region, specifically the towns of Boothbay, East Boothbay and Pemaquid. Boothbay was beautiful, Pemaquid was absolutely spectacular but East Boothbay won the gold! If we ever thought of having a summer home somewhere other than Encinitas, it would be right here.

Boothbay Harbor

East Boothbay scenery

Linda was right on…the REAL Maine is right here.

After oohing and ahhing ‘till we were oohed and ahhed out, we again turned south…until I saw a sign that read “Oyster Farm”. Hard brake, turn right, drive four miles and pull in to a really cute house right on the water. A young lady was there and promptly sold us six large oysters for $7.00. We turned south for the third time and made it home somewhere near 5:30.

The first order of business was to build a drink. Following that, I broke out the barbecue and started preparing the ingredients for Baja Barbecued Oysters. We melted a half cube of butter and added garlic. We then cooked and crumbled some bacon, sliced up some green onions and broke out the shredded cheddar and bread crumbs. I was ready.

Placing the oysters round side down on the barbecue, I waited until they popped open. Expertly shucking them with my oyster knife (yes, I have an oyster knife…a real one!), I threw away the “top” shells, dumped the remaining liquid and returned the oysters to the bottom shells and placed them back on the barbie. Garlic butter was added followed by the onions, bacon bits, cheese and bread crumbs. Down went the lid and the critters cooked for a few minutes until the cheese had melted and was bubbly. Perfect!

Baja Barbecued Oysters

Paired with hot green beans and fresh cut fruit, they didn’t last long! Today was a good day!

Our second full day here found us going north. We first visited Owls Head Light.

Owls Head Light

It was foggy and kind of eerie. The foghorn was blowing and you could see only about 100 yards out onto the water. We could hear a boat chugging by with a bunch of kids on board but couldn’t see them at first. After a while, they slowly materialized out of the fog and slowly went past the light. We then went back to Rockport for some shopping. After picking up supplies, we headed for home, had lunch and then left for the local movie house to see the latest Indiana Jones flick. After the movie, we came home where I cooked up some pork chops for dinner and we got ready to head to Bar Harbor tomorrow. Bar Harbor is the last stop until we start “working”. It’s been a fun ride!

Old Orchard Beach

Thursday, June 12th – Travel Day - We took off just before 9:00 am and headed for Ilion, NY, the site of the Remington Firearms Museum. Arriving slightly before 10:00, we were just in time for a tour of the factory. We browsed the showcases next to the lobby where all the old rifles, shotguns and pistols were exhibited.


Remington Museum

They had all the old ones and all the new ones, including some examples of their custom engraved and gold inlaid models that fetch well in excess of $10,000 each. After the tour, we continued on to Westfield where we stayed at the luxurious, spacious and scenic…NOT…Wal-Mart. Tomorrow we head for Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

Friday, June 13th - We are here! Valentino, Claudia and I have successfully transited the 48 contiguous states from the lower left to the upper right! We got all snuggled in at the Powderhorn RV Park in Old Orchard Beach and then took off to see the local sights. We hit the main drag (aka “tourist trap”) and had lunch right on the beach facing the Atlantic Ocean.


Old Orchard Beach main drag


Lunch on the beach (view)

Lunch consisted of fish and chips and fried scallops followed by the obligatory ice cream cone. After lunch, we headed for the sand and plopped our toes into the ocean.


Here are my feet in the Atlantic Ocean

We then found the local Visitor’s Center, picked up a bunch of local information and headed back to the rig to sit in the sun, read and plan out the next two days.

Saturday, June 14th – Friday the 13th got me! I woke up, turned the computer on and… The message read “The User Profile Service failed the login. Translated into non-geekspeak, it plainly said “I ain’t gonna work”. #&%@*#. I went to the RV office and they recommended a computer repair shop in town. I called them, took the laptop in and got it fixed in about an hour…for $75. He explained that “somehow”, a second user named Jerry got installed into the registry and the computer didn’t know what to do. All I know is that computers have a mind of their own and they hiccup at the wrong time. (Is ANY time good?) Anyway, it got fixed and we set off for a day of sightseeing.

We headed west on highways 1, 1A and 9, heading for Kennebunkport, Ogunquit and York. The towns were just what we expected, only more beautiful…typical New England homes on curving tree-lined streets. Ogunquit, an artist colony, is particularly beautiful. The tourist season doesn’t start until next week so the streets were only slightly crowded. We stopped at every small town along the route and explored all the main drags. All the harbors had schooners, sailboats, power boats, small fishing boats and many of the typical Maine lobster boats.


Kennebunkport Harbor

Boats in Kennebunkport Harbor

We continued on until we got to York and went straight to the Cape Neddick Lobster Pound (restaurant).

View from the lobster pound

Low tide at the restaurant

I ordered a lobster roll, Claudia ordered steamed clams and we each had a cup of clam chowder. We split a “Pound” brownie ice cream sundae for dessert. Delicious! After lunch, we headed for the Cape Neddick lighthouse, known as Nubble Light. It was spectacularly beautiful!


Claudia at Nubble Light

Nubble Light

We then retraced our westward route, stopping at all the neat places we saw on the way out. Getting back to the motorhome a little after six, I turned on the computer, did a System Restore to a few days ago and, HOT DAMN…it worked…and nothing lost! Happy Days are here again! Rain is forecast for tonight and it is turning cold. Time to button up the rig and snuggle up to a cocktail.

Father’s Day, Sunday, June 15th – The rain hit at 12:40 am and was a moderate drizzle with enough noise to be peaceful. When we got up, Claudia made me some waffles with strawberries, blueberries and other fruit. It was a wonderful start to a great day. We started out and headed north toward some lighthouses. I got Father’s Day greetings along the way from the kids. We stopped at the Cape Elizabeth Light, known as “Two Lights” first

Cape Elizabeth Light

and then went on to Fort Williams. The Fort Williams Light is really beautiful and excellently preserved.

Fort Williams Light

We then jumped up on I-295 and headed for the L.L. Bean factory outlet stores at Freeport. There were three huge stores broken up by the various sports. In the camping section, we found two bandanas, a wind-up flashlight and a small camp lantern. You wind on a crank for about one minute and the LED lights burn for about an hour. After the L.L. Bean stores, we visited several other stores in the area. Freeport has been revitalized by converting all the old stores into factory outlet stores. It looks like the entire town has been re-energized. After Freeport, we headed for the DeLorme headquarters in Yarmouth. DeLorme is a mapping company that makes all kinds of maps for the entire world. They also make GPS units and many other things that contribute to navigation. There is a huge globe of the world named “Eartha” that rotates and revolves just like earth does. It weighs 5,600 pounds and has a 41-foot diameter.

Claudia and "Eartha"

That about finished the day except for dinner. We came back to Old Orchard Beach and went to a highly recommended restaurant called “The Clambake”. It was a big open building that is sort of self-serve. You go to an order window to order your food, seat yourself in the restaurant section and wait for your number to be called. We ordered a Captains Platter which consisted of haddock, clams, shrimp and scallops, all lightly breaded and fried. It was served with french fries and a salad bar. When the food arrived, we were shocked! It came on a 12” plate and was heaped to the point of overflowing. There was no way we were going to eat that much food at one sitting…and we didn’t. It was delicious but left no room for an ice cream dessert. We had to pass!
Returning to the rig, we rearranged the car, put stuff away and started to get ready to leave tomorrow. We are headed for the Cushing/Thomaston area where we are staying at the Saltwater Farm Campground for three days. We are having a ball! This place is beautiful but, according to several locals, the winters are “BRUTAL”!

Groton and the Adirondacks

We pulled into Groton about 3:00 and drove directly to Gerry and Linda’s “farm” house, just outside of town. They have a really cute house on about 45 acres. The house has about a 10-acre area around it cleared and planted in grass. The rest is forested and beautiful. They get deer, turkey and fox on the property. We got the rig set up on their front lawn which, they assured us, had a gravel base and the weight of the rig wouldn’t sink into the grass and make ruts. The four of us settled back in the rig with our beverages of choice and got caught up and informed about the area. Linda’s sister, Charlotte, soon showed up and we had another reunion. Claudia and I then took them all out to dinner at a great Italian restaurant. After dinner, we hit a local soft-serve ice cream store. They had 36 flavors of soft-serve ice cream, not just your normal vanilla and chocolate. After a medium maple walnut cone (me) and a hot fudge sundae (Claudia), we dropped Charlotte off at her house and continued back to Linda and Gerry’s. Everyone said goodnight and we went to bed.

Today was “Explore and Sightsee Day”. Following directions from Gerry, Linda and Charlotte, we headed out for Taughannock Falls. After parking, we sauntered up a wide almost-level path to the falls. There was not too much water flowing down the river from the falls but we had high expectations. After a short walk, we came to the falls which are actually higher than Niagara Falls. I took a few pictures and we returned to the car.


The path to the falls




Taughannock Falls

We continued up the west side of Cayuga Lake to Ovid and then turned south, stopping at the Wagner Vineyard for lunch and a little shopping. We bought a bottle of Semi-dry Gewurztraminer and a blush. They were also a micro-brewery and one of their beers intrigued me. It was a small seasonal brew called Sugar House Maple Porter, made from sap from maple trees. I had a small taste and bought a six-pack. When I get home, there should be one beer each for my two sons, Alex and Scott, one for my neighbor, Robert, one for real estate advisor and friend, Bill Huss and two for me…unless a thirsty new best friend shows up and convinces me he (or she) should share one of my last two beers.

View of Cayuga Lake

We then drove down to Watkins Glen and hit the local outlet store where I picked up a new shirt. We then went around the corner to the sporting goods where we got some things for a certain grandchild who will remain nameless at this time since they read this blog. After loading the loot in the car, we did a drive-through of Cornell University and were amazed at its size. The campus is huge! Getting close to the cocktail hour, we returned home.

After sharing the tales of our outing, Claudia got a tour of Linda’s home and I got a tour of Gerry’s woods on an ATV. We then had dinner and retired to the porch for conversation and planning. We were interrupted by the antics of a mother robin whose nest was under the deck where we were sitting. She didn’t like us sitting on “her” deck and protested loudly. Tough! We were about to call it a night when Claudia spotted a firefly. We all went on “firefly alert” and soon spotted a few more. It was then time to head for bed, leaving the robin and fireflies to themselves.

The next day, we got up, packed up and set off for the thriving metropolis of Cold Brook, NY, home of the Adirondack Gateway Campground. During our drive, Linda had called, warning us of a MAJOR thunderstorm that just hit them and was heading our way. As we checked in at the campground, the owner asked if we had heard about the weather. That was a clue! She assigned us to a site she thought would be the safest and warned us to unplug the power when the lightning hits. That also was a clue! Ten minutes after we were all set up, the rain started. I unplugged the power cord as instructed. We then heard thunder. We then saw lightning. We heard a tornado warning on the CB weather radio. Claudia saw a lightning strike that looked like it was just outside the campground, maybe a hundred yards or so away. All I can tell you that when the light flashed, it was BRIGHT and the simultaneous “crash” was more of a “snap” than a “boom”, something I’d never heard before. Luckily, the storm was short-lived and we were soon plugged back into power. We returned to cleaning the rig (inside) and doing laundry and other chores. Tomorrow, we head out for a drive into the Adirondacks.

Boy are you lucky! The storm knocked out the phone lines and the Internet here at the park so…you are going to get another day’s blog since I couldn’t send out the one I had written.
After a wonderful night’s sleep, we jumped in the car and told our trusty guide, “Karen” - (our GPS unit), to take us to Old Forge which is off Hwy. 28 heading into the Adirondack’s. She eventually took us there but some of the roads we went on were more like backwoods trails except they were (sort of) blacktop. I was remembering Larry Slycord’s words of wisdom, “Don’t drive down the roads with tall weeds between the ruts.” We finally got to Old Forge and stopped at the Visitor Center.

Moose River on the way to Blue Mountain Lake

We got lots of great info and advice and were soon headed for Blue Mountain Lake and the Adirondack Museum. The lady at the Visitor Center had recommended the café at the museum for lunch so that’s where we went.

View from the restaurant

The museum

Claudia had a mushroom soup and half-sandwich combination and I had soup and a barbecue pulled pork sandwich. Delicious…and with a great view of the lake. We toured the museum after lunch and it was one of the best museums we’ve ever been in. Granted, it was geared to the Adirondack area but, boy was it beautiful and complete. We recommend it highly to everyone if the fuel prices ever drop and you get out this way.

After touring the museum, we took off to continue our loop trip of the area. We swung down to Indian Lake, turned south to Speculator and then southwest to Piseco and home. One thing we noticed was that every town had at least one cemetery. They were everywhere. This is some of the most spectacular country we’ve seen to date. I’ve never seen so many trees, mostly birch, pines and hardwoods. We also saw lots of deer and several turkeys. I swung into the campground about 5:00...a great day!

Tomorrow, eastward bound for the Right Coast with an overnight stop at Westfield, MA. We are almost there!

Niagara Falls

After the stopover at the Port Huron KOA, we left for the last leg to Niagara Falls. We crossed the Blue Water Bridge over Lake Huron,



cleared Canadian customs easily and arrived at the Windmill Point RV Park in the afternoon. After setting up, we drove into town for a fish & chips dinner and then on to the falls. All we did today was a drive-by but the view was absolutely spectacular. I can’t wait until tomorrow to spend time there up close and personal. We returned to the park and Claudia soon commented, “I think I see lightning!” Well, she did. We now have a humungous thunderstorm sitting right on top of us. Our weather radio says it should blow over tonight. All small craft have been ordered off the water immediately. The rig is shaking pretty good from the close bolts. The rain coming down is a full-blown toad choker. We are parked so we have a view of a small 12-acre quarry lake. If there were any gators in it, they would surely be heading for high ground. WOW, a bolt just hit at the other side of the lake. I jumped! There was absolutely no time separation between when I saw the lightning and the rig shook HARD! That was too close! I’m going to bed. To hell with this!

The storm blew itself out, or at least moved on by morning and there was nothing but blue sky when we woke up. The TV reported that some areas had received from four to seven (7) inches of rain over the past 24 hours. We drove in to the main city parking lot, stashed the car and walked to the nearest tourist information booth. We purchased two “Adventure Passes” and headed off for the “Maid of the Mist”, the up close and personal boat ride to the falls. We received two fashionably coordinated blue plastic poncho’s and boarded the boat.



We cruised by American Falls first. American Falls is the smaller of the two falls and is…duh…on the American side of the river. We got rather wet from all the mist. We then cruised to the (Canadian) Horseshoe Falls where we got soaked! The majority of the water (90%) flows over the Horseshoe Falls and the sound is almost deafening. This is truly one of nature’s most spectacular sights.






After the boat ride, we hopped on the People Mover (a shuttle bus) and went to the “Journey Behind the Falls”, a tunnel behind the falls themselves with openings to watch the water fall. Good, but just a so-so from our point of view.
Back on the bus to the “White Water Walk”, a wooden walkway that takes you right by the rapids along the river. The rapids are classed a “6”, making them one of the deadliest rapids in the world, if not THE deadliest.



After the rapids, we decided to slow it down a bit so we headed for the Butterfly Conservatory to check out the bugs.





Bugs they did have! Lots…and in many colors, sizes and shapes. I burned up a lot of “film”, hoping to get a few good shots. Turns out that most of them were good. It was now five o’clock and we started to head for the car, stopping for a mocha cappuccino soft serve ice cream in a waffle cone on the way back.

Returning to the park, I broke out the maps, brochures and a margarita and planned for tomorrow’s activities. We are tentatively going to explore Niagara-on-the-Lake and Fort Erie.
Saturday, June 7, 2008 – That’s exactly what we did. Actually, we went to Fort Erie first, but that’s splitting hairs. We arrived 20 minutes before the next narrated tour by a young man dressed as an English soldier (a Redcoat) of the War of 1812 era.

We got an excellent 90-minute tour of Fort Erie, the site of the bloodiest fighting between English and American forces. Several tour guides dressed as Redcoats, Canadian militia, Canadian civilian forces and Iroquois Indian scouts gave us a demonstration of the loading and firing of .75 caliber smoothbore muskets.



We then went on a tour of the fort itself, seeing the enlisted men’s quarters (very meager), the officer’s quarters (nice, by 1812 standards), the mess hall where we were served lemonade and cookies cooked right there by a young lady in period dress in a reflector oven.



We then were led outside and they torched off a “three pounder”, a brass cannon that fired a three-pound cannonball. It was loud!

Next was a great scenic drive up the Niagara Parkway to Niagara-on-the-Lake where we miraculously found a parking place right in the middle of the town. After some sightseeing, we parked our butts at the golf course restaurant which dated to 1875. Claudia had fish & chips. I debated between a meat pie and “bangers and mash”…sausages and mashed potatoes with caramelized onions. I opted for the pie…and it was good! On the way back to the car, another ice cream shop beckoned. It advertized 56 flavors of ice cream and that was enough for us. I tried rum and raisin. Claudia had a cup of very ordinary French vanilla and some sort of apple pastry that looked better than it tasted.

We then headed west on Lakeshore Road, past spectacular lakefront properties to Welland Canal, the main freighter canal between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. We stopped at Lock 3, the canal museum, gift shop and viewing point for ships transiting the canal.



Unfortunately, it was a slow day for ship traffic and the next freighter wasn’t due in until 7:30. We didn’t wait! I took Claudia to the viewing platform and patiently tried to explain how the locks work. To say that Claudia has a problem with visualization is like saying that King Kong was big! Luckily, there was a model of the locks in the Interactive Room. The volunteer docent also explained the process to her. Only when she realized that the lock doors go well below the level of the water did she understand how the process works. We then returned to the RV park to watch the Belmont Stakes, “Finding Nemo” and get ready for the trip to Groton, New York tomorrow.

Here is an email to us from Larry and Linda Slycord back in Iowa. This was part of the storm that hit us here.

“Hi, hope you are enjoying your time at Niagra Falls area. Glad you were not here Thursday night, actually 1:30am Friday. Had a toronado touch down in the campground. 2 trailers rolled over a few times, blew out their slides, and picnic tables flying everywhere. We were the only ones without damage, but real scary. 2 injuries, had to cut the bottom out of one trailer, turned on the side to extract the person. Two semis rolled up on the off ramp going west on 80. One occupant was sucked out after a sign went thru the windshield. Fortunately the two in the campground received leg injuries only. Keep us posted of your travels.” Linda & Larry

Woodstock, Paw Paw & Port Huron

We have crossed the Mississippi River and are now in Woodstock, Illinois. Not “THE” Woodstock, which is in New York, but Woodstock, IL, the home of the creator of the Dick Tracy comic book character. We are staying on a farm with friends from our second Alaska trip, Bob and LaVerne Foerster. We have a level, secluded concrete parking pad with 50 amp power. That is akin to being in pig heaven for an RVer! We went out for dinner last night at an old mill on a stream where I had roast duck…delicious! Some kids were fishing in the stream and were catching pretty good-sized carp. After dinner, we returned to the farm where Bob broke out the sand-rail go cart. I took it for a spin and was soon rearranging the rocks on their driveway doing slide-turns as I raced around the barns trying to beat their grandkids speed record. I failed to beat their best time (but they are lighter and therefore faster) but did manage to not roll the damn thing which I consider a victory in itself. (I was too fast for a picture!)

We went into town for breakfast the next morning and then did a tour of Woodstock. Cute town! We returned home, got caught up on emails and e-banking, visited a bit and then returned to the rig to fix dinner for our guests. Dinner will be the award-winning Crescent City Skillet recipe I got from a Dutch oven cooking website. (It won First Prize at the 2004 National Cornbread Cook-off) Tomorrow we head for Paw Paw, Michigan and then slide north into Canada for a three-day stay at Niagara Falls.

The drive to Paw Paw took about four hours, most of it through the construction in the windy city (Chicago) area. There were a bunch of torn up Interstates. The problem is that most of the Interstates here are two-lane roads. You lose one lane and you are now down to a one-lane Interstate. (I went to college. That was not difficult to figure out!) We had a lot of roadway where both lanes were under construction and they routed us over to the westbound lanes and we still had only one eastbound lane. It was not a fun drive but we did see some of the sights like the Sears Tower and the Cubs baseball field. We also hit some of the infamous east coast toll roads which cut into our stimulus check refund by about $25. We got to our destination just after three o’clock and were met by Kathy who directed us to their RV parking spot next to their house. They have a spacious home right on Mud Lake where deer, raccoons, ducks and other varmints and critters abound. Really beautiful! We visited for a while and then Don made us his famous fish boil dinner using fresh caught lake trout and salmon. It was fabulous! Dessert was a homemade strawberry pie topped with whipped cream. I’m sure glad we’re still on our diet!

Rolling out of bed at the ungodly hour of 8:30 am, we showered and went in for a breakfast casserole, English muffins, orange juice and coffee. Screw the diet! We are on vacation…at least for now. We then waddled out to the car and went into South Haven for a tour of the city and lunch. We started by heading to the waterfront area of the city and walked out the jetty and onto the beach, sticking our toes into Lake Michigan. We also collected beach sand as “treasures” for two granddaughters.

A tour of the city followed. Don and Kathy pointed out lots of landmarks and point s of interest, including several fine examples of the “Michigan state tree”…the orange highway cones that are freely used in profuse abundance all over the state.

The "Michigan State Tree"

We then went to Don and Kathy’s restaurant at a bowling alley and had some absolutely delicious seafood chowder, Caesar salad and a “DuCharme Special” pizza…thin crust with pepperoni, sausage, yellow peppers, green olives, bacon, mushrooms and double cheese on top. We then returned home via a circuitous sightseeing route during which we saw two turkeys, one huge whitetail buck and a woodchuck. The other half of last night’s strawberry pie (a la mode) topped off the night. Tomorrow we go back on our diet and head for Canada and Niagara Falls.

We stopped at the Port Huron KOA to catch up on chores and to split the trip to the falls into two days rather than one long day. We are in a beautiful tree-filled RV park with all the facilities including full-power FREE wi-fi. We will get all our laundry done, the rig cleaned, caught up on emails and blogs and be ready to party at Niagara Falls without feeling guilty. For now, stay safe and you’ll hear from me again after the Niagara stopover.

Port Huron KOA