On the Road Again

On The Road Again


It has been eight weeks since arriving in North Carolina so it was finally time to move on. My dad used to say that fish and company all started to smell at the same time, three days. So Meg and Rusty were dealing with some smelly fish. Living in separate quarters helps keeps the fish frozen. We look forward to returning to Durham for the wedding in five months.

A bit of rust on the Slining Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Fifth Wheel this morning to go along with some frost. But we got it on the road in good order; however it was the wrong road. After living in the same spot for a while I thought I knew more than my new GPS. Well 30 miles in the wrong direction and I had to admit the GPS was right. Nonetheless we arrived in Charleston, SC about 7 hours later and twenty degrees warmer. Have to admit I am a bit bushed after the day behind the wheel. I got out of driving shape while growing Chapel Hill roots.

Birds chirping greeted us along with the Palmettos and the Cooper River Bridge (completely rebuilt from ten years ago) as we arrived in Charleston. Suzy and I had visited Charleston years ago when Tatum was doing a year student exchange at College of Charleston. Our return was mandated when Tom finished reading Pat Conroy’s new book, “South of Broad.” It is a great read and magnet for Charleston. We roamed the city streets and made sure we spent time south of Broad Street. Such a beautiful city with museums shops and houses all mixing together.

Jet and I had a great walk in a swamp where Jet looked unsuccessfully for spots where the alligators were peeing on palmettos.

We are off to Savannah today for New Years Eve there.  Should be fun.  Happy New Year! 

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas, No More Christmas

The holiday hustle and bustle has come to an end and we settle back into our non-holiday lives at least until next week. Suzy and I had a wonderful Christmas in Greenville, SC with Rusty’s family. Gwen and Pepper Miller had invited us for Christmas after spending Thanksgiving in Durham at Rusty and Meg’s. We looked forward to more good times as the parents of the soon to be married (5 months from today).


Greenville is about 4 hours west of Durham (including a Waffle House stop). After being greeted by Pepper and Gwen in her reindeer horns, we were quickly made to feel at home. I think Gwen had been cooking since Thanksgiving. She admitted to have been decorating since then. Every room was a splendor with Christmas decoration and trimmings, and food was overflowing the refrigerator and freezer when we tried to squeeze in a few of the things we had baked and presented.

Gwen and Pepper’s Dixie, a border collie that crossed the border, was a bit shocked when we all pulled up with three more dogs. Jet, Barley and David, all black labs and all in the holiday spirit more then took over the floor area and up to two feet into the air. Thank goodness the counters were 32” or we would have gone hungry. The dogs got along famously, the three older dogs sharing the spot light with the puppy David. The proud puppy parents, Meg and Russ, were more than modest when their young pup showed off his ability to chew and attempt to eat anything that he could find if no one was looking.

We did some last minute shopping and sightseeing in downtown Greenville, which is beautifully restored and decorated for the holidays. Christmas Eve found us at the 5 p.m. service at the church where Gwen is the organist. It was a nice service and we returned to a lasagna dinner, starting a new tradition. Christmas day found a couple of inches of rain descending on Greenville but we were all snug in Gwen and Pepper’s living room, eating and opening and eating. We sandwiched in a few good walks to stimulate the appetites. A Christmas day dinner set the bar pretty high for future gastromic (new word) achievements. A great run in Paris Mountain State Park capped our visit. It almost capped my endurance as Meg and Rusty convinced me to follow them on the way back to the truck which turned out to be NOT the way back but the way to the bottom of the mountain (the truck was parked on top). I will have to come up with Explorer names for them so they can join Columbus, Magellan, Vasgo de Gama and Ponce de Leon (Tom, Steve, Les, and Dave).

So its on to a new year this week.  Cheers

Holiday Greetings From Tom and Suzy

Holiday Recap of Year’ Happenings


Been another great year, or should I say one of the greatest traveling years yet. Suzy and I have been on the road since June going from Boise to Chapel Hill via the Maritime Provinces and the East Coast. We have traveled over 7,500 miles in the RV so far. We are still thousands of miles and four of five months from our eventual new home back in the Seattle area. We left Seattle in the winter of 2000 and will return again in the spring of 2010 after stops in Europe and Boise.



It has been the year of the “...ments” for the Slining’s. Let me remind you that Webster defines “…ment” as the act or instance of doing something.

Let me take a moment to document a few of the elements of these “doing things”.



Suzy’s retirement after 38 years in education.

Tom’s escapement from work at Resources.

The Slining Family encirclement in the form of a reunion in Manistique, MI.

Meg’s engagement to Rusty Miller (Nuptials in May 2010).

Tatum’s empowerment with a master’s degree and new employment as a high school guidance counselor.

A full complement of Grand Puppies (Rufus and David).

The sale of our permanent encampment in Boise and subsequent storage of goods.

Purchase of Mobile housing equipment (A fifth wheel trailer and diesel truck) for traveling North America.

Tom’s testament of our RV travels, see www.ssawbridge.blogspot.com.



I hadn’t ment for this to go on past harassment to torment but I did. I have been known for embellishment but this year it has not been necessary. Listed below are a few of the great adventures and spots from our last six months.



Bicycling, hiking, and fishing in the National Parks; Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Rocky Mountain, Acadia, Skyline Drive NP, and the Smokey Mountains NP. Exploring quilt shops and bookstores in every location, for every quilt shop Tom found a coffee house.



Visiting and studying at the Eisenhower, Truman, Kennedy and Roosevelt Presidential Libraries. Traveling and enjoying the Canadian Provinces of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia.



Camping, emptying sewerage and doing laundry in the 20 States of Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Kansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina.



Above all we have continued to recognize our blessings on this great adventure. We have had the support of family and friends and have met numerous great travelers who have impressed us with their kindness and hospitality. This is truly a great country.



All our Best, Tom and Suzy

Dog Crap in the Leaves, Cat's Cradle and Used Tires

This blogging is hard when you aren’t traveling to a new place every day. Guess that is a way of saying we lead boring lives when not traveling. No, just less bloggable.


For instance, being challenged by a dog that craps in the leaves and then kicks leaves over the crap before you get a chance to pick it up. A real world conundrum that I pursue daily. Or how not to be frustrated with a freshly washed lab that finds it enjoyable to run up muddy ditches ignoring a perfectly clean road that you are running on. And this is just the dog, don’t get me started on my daily marriage obstacles of living together in 300 square feet. A crucible so intense that we often find one of us making up a reason to drive into town for something we really don’t need.

The other day Suzy and I went to the “Cat’s Cradle” to hear Rusty’s band, “Chiller Filler” open for “Los Straightjackets “ and “El vez”. The cradle is a very popular venue in the NC music world and getting a gig there is a special honor. As we stood in line outside on a rainy night a full hour past our bedtimes, we were impressed by all the folks in line that didn’t know a band member but that were just good music fans. I have to admit that I felt a bit special, having our names on “the list” and getting in free due to our future son in law’s rock star status. Ok, I am embellishing a bit, but Rusty is truly a talented and passionate musician and his band is really good. Couldn’t help feeling a bit “hip” in this audience, at least until midnight when we snuck out just as it seemed to be really getting going.

We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Rusty and Meghan tonight. They are picking up the new puppy, David, on their way back from a Phish concert in Charlottsville. I agree, Phish, might be a better name for a dog, but you will have to ask Meg and Rusty why you would name a dog after a person. My own list of dog’s names is more traditional, Corky, Crickett, Rufus, Rowdy, Toby, and Jet. I think Meg and Rusty are going for Barley, David, George, Oliver, Michael and Loretta. Who knows?

An exciting day the other day included getting the tires rotated on the truck. After visiting four establishment truck stores where the wait for doing a 15 minute job was 6 to 8 times the length of the job, I settled on a one garage door used tire garage on a country road. Not that much unlike Marty’s in Burien. Only this proprietor spoke only Spanish so we had fun describing the contracted task and then agreeing on the price. My thoughts of getting the job done cheaper were quickly ambushed by a guy much smarter than me as he feigned not understanding anything about money, but quickly took my twenty dollar bill without offering change. The fox being eaten by the chicken gave me good reason to smile all day.

Thanksgiving in North Carolina

We are celebrating our first Thanksgiving in Durham, NC with Meg and Rusty and Rusty’s parents, Gwen and Pepper. As Gwen and Pepper were making their way from Greensville, SC to Durham Meg and I were running the Gallop and Gorge, Thanksgiving Day 8k run in Carrboro. Meg’s NY Marathon gang of Noel, Kelly, Allison, and Kiyah, joined us for the run. It was my first organized run since my ankle surgery in 2005 and it went well.


After the run we showered and headed for Durham to greet Gwen and Pepper on their arrival. It was the first time Suzy and I had met Rusty’s parents and had a great opportunity to get to know them. We found we had so much in common other then raising two wonderful children. Meg and Rusty had organized a great feast and included us all in the preparation. Too much good food to mention.

The next day we met the gang in Carrboro for some coffee, antiquing, then out to the fifth wheel for Thanksgiving leftovers. Wonderful weather and lots of leaves on the ground made a nice picture. On Saturday we all drove up to Linconton, NC to visit the Labrador breeder where Rusty and Meg had the tough task of picking one puppy out of two litters totaling 14 puppies. As they tried to concentrate and rate puppies the puppy "grandparents to be" enjoyed playing with the puppies and their parents on the beautiful farm. We took a break for some true Carolina Barbeque (vinegar sauce) and then back to the farm for the final pick. They were all so cute, I am glad I didn’t have to choose. Little David had his toe nail painted to mark him for when Rusty and Meg return to pick him up next weekend.

The weather all weekend was just super ending up on Sunday with temps in the high sixties making a great fall bike ride possible. We look forward to spending Christmas in Greensville, SC with Gwen and Pepper and the “kids” prior to hitting the road as we head south to Florida.

Shaconage

The Cherokees named these mountains shaconage meaning blue like smoke. We thought the Smokey Mountains was a better name I guess. I like shaconage, but then again I like Denali in Alaska better then Mt. McKinley. We Americans seem to be famous for renaming. Saw this in Europe over and over, the most famous being Cologne which is not even close to the German Koln. Anyway enough said about renaming.


The Smokeys are the most visited National Park in America, far outnumbering the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone. A ranger told us it was because there is such a large population here in the east. Not sure that is it totally. I think all the tourist oriented strip malls outside the park bring them in. Anyway, now is the time to have the park to yourself. Wonderful roads climbing from the entrance at 2,000 feet to over 5,000 where Suzy and I started hiking on the AT (Appalachian Trail). We decided not to do all 2,174 miles of the AT today so we did 5. The AT winds some 70 miles through the park and is the border line between Tennessee and North Carolina. I have no idea how many times we crossed and recrossed the border in our five mile hike. We did ride the beginning 20 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway also. We had done the first 100 miles of the northern end late in October. Some genius had so much foresight in putting these roads in. What an amazing ride without any signs or businesses or anything except you and the views.

We loved the trees in the Smokeys, I am sure that is why they are called the Great Smokeys. 85% of the NP was formerly owned by the timber companies and 65% of that was logged but it still leaves some old growth. Majestic stands of Fraser Fir, red spruce, maples, basswood, yellow buckeye, Carolina silver bell, beech, yellow birch, yellow poplar, magnolia, hickory, eastern hemlock, flowering dogwood (Carolina state tree), eleven species of oak and five species of pine all make up one of the world’s most diverse plant communities. And throughout it all was our favorite NW wild rhododendrons. They were everywhere and thriving. Getting 55 inches of rainfall annually is probably the main reason for the rhodies success.

So its back to Chapel Hill today to settle in for another spell.  Have to admit it took a small stick of dynamite to pry Suzy out for this trip.  She is liking staying in one spot for an extended period.  Can't let her roots get too deep or we will never get to Florida in January.

Checking In

Its been ten days since my last blog. This settling in and living a bit less nomadically is slowing the blogging progress. We love our little RV park in the countryside outside Chapel Hill. It is so quiet and full of trees and squirrels. And I thought with all the squirrel recipes in the south that there would be a shortage of the fuzzy buggers. Even jet can’t seem to scare them away. I am still waiting for Jet to figure out that they climb trees. Right now he is just darned confused on how they disappear so fast.




We had the remnants of Ida in the form of a tropical storm land on us and it did a lot of road damage on the Outer Banks where we were supposed to be last week. We kept postponing and finally decided to drive over to Asheville, NC in the Smoky Mountains while the Outer Banks got back to normal.



Love this area of NC, with lots of forests and little logging towns. Asheville is a jewel of city in the mountains and overloaded with great art and people. It is 74 here today and sunny. Unheard of at this time of the year. Weather supposed to get back to normal soon. In the meantime we will enjoy the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the herd of elk that have recently been reintroduced here.



Meg leaves for Chile tomorrow so we won’t see her for a week when we get back to Chapel Hill. Looking forward to Thanksgiving, when Rusty’s folks join us. Will be nice to get to know them. There is another new addition to the family scheduled for early December. This time it is lab puppy David joining Meg and Rusty. Rufus joined Tate and Jeff early last summer so as far as grandpuppys go, we are doing really good. It seems like all of Meg’s friends here in Chapel Hill have little babies. She accuses me of being more gaga over babies right now then Suzy. Hard to believe, maybe I will get a puppy to get over the baby wanta be in me.

Settling In the Triangle, Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill

A new phase in the loop trip of the U.S. for Tom and Suzy; stopping for two months.


We think we are going to enjoy this break for many reasons. First and foremost, being able to do some bonding with Meg and Rusty. After years of just seeing Meg at Christmas or for a week in summer this will be nice to have relaxed time together. And also we will be getting the time to get to know Rusty better. Plus getting to hear his band play, take bike rides with him, and watch some college games to name just a few. This should be a great holiday season. Rusty’s folks are coming for Thanksgiving and I think we are going up to Greenville to share Christmas with them.



We have already shared some of Meg's great cooking which I am sure Suzy enjoys over my predictable fare.  I have already been on a great run with Meg and Rusty and Jet and Barley. Another planned for Saturday and then the Carrboro farmers market to follow that. Next week, Suzy and I are going out to the Outer Banks for five days. Then back to our little forest setting RV spot to enjoy more of the Durham, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh area.



Life is good.

Monticello

Thomas Jefferson’s home or Ben Franklin’s was the question I was asking myself after leaving Monticello. The home was so full of little inventions that you had to wonder if Jefferson was reading Franklin’s email. Clocks that told the day, dials that carried wind direction to the patio, dumbwaiters for wine, the first storm windows, plants that were hybridized like 33 kinds of peas, a book stand that kept five books open to the last read page, the first use of decks attached to houses, and dueling pens that automatically made a copy of everything written all indicated the author of the Declaration of Independence was more a tinker then most realize.



Monticello is located on top of large hill outside Charlottsville, VA. Jefferson built this house to his own specs and called it his “essay”. He retired here and lived his last 17 years here and ironically died here 50 years to the day from his Declaration of Independence.


Jefferson’s trademark views on freedom and independence are a bit clouded by the remnants of the slave quarters on his property. He never did release a single slave during his lifetime but long pondered how he could. It was obvious that his large plantation might become rundown without the help of all the slaves. The Thomas Jefferson Foundation does recognize that TJ fathered at least one child with a slave, this happening ten years after his wife died.



Despite the hypocrisy of his views on freedom and slavery, he was THE voice for separation of church and state and wrote the Virginia state articles on this separation that were modeled by others. As our third president, Jefferson certainly had a great track record however he did not list the presidency as one of his three life accomplishments that he had put on his headstone. All in all, he was a significant person in our country’s early history and set the bar for many ideals.



We are off for the Blue Ridge Parkway running along the Blue Ridge Mountains today. Too far to make Ashville in one day but the weather is supposed to clear so it should be another beautiful day of driving. Nice to not have a schedule and be able to go as far and stay as long as we like. Probably never be another time like this in our lives.



We are looking forward to landing in Durham later this week or weekend and setting stakes in the ground for TWO months. What will that be like? Look forward to time with Meg and Rusty and getting into a bit of a routine. Not that traveling the country isn’t a routine of its own.

Skyline Drive running the length Shenandoah National Park in Western Virginia

We had heard a lot about this beautiful drive in the Shenandoah Natl. Park from other RVers and in books but we were still unprepared for the splendor of this magnificent road. It rises out of the valley at Front Royal, VA and climbs to over 3500 feet above sea level. The entire 105 mile length is along the ridge of the mountains so you can look down into the valleys over both the east and west sides of the mountain ridges. There area 75 overlooks along the route. Needless to say they didn’t overlook many overlooks. We didn’t overlook all 75 but came close as the beauty of the fall colors going down into the valleys thousands of feet below drew us off the main road. At the top of the mountains the leaves were all brown and some of the trees barren. As you looked down into the valley 3000 feet below they turned to yellows and tans and at the bottom you could see some reds.

This reminded me that we have been watching the leaves change since early August when we left southern New Brunswick and noticed that the sumacs were all turning red. It has been a full three months of color change. Wonderful. And we still have a few weeks to go. We will head down the Blue Ridge Mountains on Sunday and anticipate more of the beautiful fall color. Life is good and colorful.

Forty miles into the park there was a tunnel with 12 feet 8 inch clearance. I had our Montana figured at 12 feet 4 inches with the new vent covers I had installed adding six inches to the height. So I figured 4 inches clearance. As we approached the entrance I was a bit nervous but there were no turnarounds so we proceeded in. Immediately a loud noise and we both jumped off the seats. To our relief we see that the tunnel is dripping water a big splash had hit the windshield. Now to find a place to change my underwear.

The leaves on the ground along side the road were swept into a magical dance by our jet stream as we drove by at the maximum speed limit of 35 miles an hour. They were mesmerizing to watch in the rear view mirrors, so much so that they almost lured me off the road into the ditch a few times. We were taken aback at first by the numerous gaps and runs signed along the way. Out west we call gaps, passes and runs are streams.

The narrow twisting road reminded me that at an early age I was practicing for this drive through Shenandoah's mountains. I can remember as early as eight years old some 55 years ago practicing to stay within the lines as I filled in my coloring books with my crayolas. And driving this beautiful highway I was again working hard with my tongue clenched between my teeth to keep the 5th wheel within the lines on the road. All that practice was paying off.

The Battle of Bull Run

Wow, civil war history 20 miles outside the nation’s capital. How convenient for the 21st century traveler. Bull Run, a creek in Virginia was the site of the first major battle in the civil war. It was supposed to be the first and last battle of the war. They both thought they could win the war in one battle. As it turned out it took four years and 600,000 dead Americans to decide the victor. The rebels called it the battle of Manassas for the town nearby.


Turns out the Union Army got its butt kicked by leaving its 2 cannons unprotected on a flank. The citizens of Washington that had followed the soldiers out of DC to Centerville near the battlefield to watch the fight were quickly horrified and turned to return home only to be run over by the rapidly retreating Union army. The same Army that took three days to march from Washington took 12 hours to return, with their tails between their legs.

The rebs won another battle at the same site later in the war, the second battle of bull run.

Our volunteer guide, Joe, was amazing. His civil war knowledge went far beyond Manassas and couldn’t trip him up with my questions about links between Gettysburg and Bull Run. He even knew of distant cousin Gen Reynolds of Gettysburg fame.


Our next visit to Civil War sites will be at Lexington, VA on our way to Durham. Stay tuned.

The senate is disappointing

So I got down on my knees and crawled into the Idaho Republican senator’s office whom I had been pestering for years with emails about what a lousy job he was doing and why wasn’t he following my sage advice on the economy, taxes, health care and veterans rights. It was truly humbling, but at least the marble floor was smooth and clean. For my penance I received two free passes to the senate gallery.



Suzy and I anxiously left the building and headed for the senate chambers. Visions of lawmaking dancing in our heads. After going through all but full body search, we were finally admitted to the chambers of the senate by the “Senate Nazi”. This woman, in her fifties with a butch haircut and expensive suit, would make the Seinfield Soup Nazi look like a Walmart greeter. She was ruthless, and we sat in huddled fear as she policed us in our seats, admonishing one fellow for reading a map.



But now for the main show, our government in action. A senator from West Virginia was reading nomination for a district court judge to the empty senate chambers. Yes, empty like he was the only senator there. Maybe the rest were watching on cspan. Anyway, when he finished a democratic senator from Maryland entered and spent 15 minutes complaining that the republicans were not letting enough district and federal judges be nominated. He was followed by a republican senator from Alabama who spent his 15 minutes arguing that the republicans were doing better under President Obama then the democrats did under President Bush.



Yes, with all the pressing problems in our country, like health care, job loss, homelessness, the economy, etc, etc, our senators were devoting their time to arguing like children about what the other had done to them. I just hope we caught them in the one thirty minute period of the month when they paused to point fingers and as soon as we left they went back to the pressing problems of our country. Am I naïve or what?

Barley and the Jet

Meg and Rusty paid us a visit last weekend and we took the opportunity to introduce Jet and Barley the two black labs. They were both much more interested in the new humans then in the new dog. The fifth wheel did quite well with two more adults and another big dog. Lots of room. Barley was a bit disappointed in Jet’s reluctance to play grab ass and Jet was disappointed that Barley wanted to rip up all his toys. (they had to be put away for a couple days). See their picture on the the blogspot, www.sawbridge.blogspot.com


Meg was in town for the Obesity Conference so we had a huge dinner Saturday night to prepare her. Suzy and I had found a super farmer’s market near our campground and we reaped its goods for our dinner.



Rusty and I enjoyed the Clemson and Miami game which Clemson won in overtime after seven lead changes. We were interrupted during the day by the park manager who explained the heavy downpours we were having had caused the creek to overflow the exit road. So we were trapped until the water receded. Good excuse for more football.



Before the squalls hit us we enjoyed some sun and fall color, as we did Sunday before Meg and Rusty departed. We will be joining them in another week for November and December in Durham. Then in January it will be on to Florida and then our turn to the west.

The George Bush Center for Intelligence

If this isn’t the mother of all oxymorons, then I am not …….  Anyway, we drove by the sign outside McClean where the CIA is located. Had to take a picture. Its on the website for the blog. Ssawbridge.blogspot.com



Lake Fairfax Park in Reston, VA is one of the best that we have found in the last four months. It is a county park, with cricket, soccer, football, and baseball fields, inspersed with large picnic areas, all shaded by beautiful oak, maple and elm trees. It has a group camping area and a rv camping area which are far away from everything else so it is quiet and peaceful and very beautiful. Jet loves all the squirrels which I have to thank for lengthening my right arm by an inch as Jet takes off after them at the end of his leash, yanking my arm longer each time.
I sideswiped a pine tree getting here, and luckily no damage just a bit of pitch to get off.



The first two days we went to DC and visited the Smithsonian exhibits on African Art, Quebec, Jamestown, and Santa Fe the different explorer countries landing in America and their different results. Very interesting as we had been to Quebec and Plymouth recently and could fill in the lines. Then it was the Museum of Natural History and the Museum of American Art which were super. All changed since my last visit ten years ago. Then we had a tour of the Capital with the new Vistiors center. My our tax payer dollars were spent wisely on this beautiful addition that allows us to visit the capital.



We were interrupted one day by a presidential limo parade that blocked all the roads for half an hour. Think the president was making a hamburger run.



Little side story on our tour of the capital building. Because I have been so voiciferous with my Idaho congressman, they were not anxious to hand me out any special passes, so I dropped Suzy off near the visitors center and went to park. Had to go all the way past Washington monument to park. As I get out of the car Suzy calls and says she has tickets for the 10:20 tour and it is 10:00. So I decide I have to run to make it. It’s a long run in jeans and polo shirt but I made it just in time. Got some funny looks from the guards who thought anyone perspiring as much as me must have a bomb wrapped around him.



We also have visited the air and space museum out by Dulles which is huge and has the Enola Gay and a Space Shuttle Colombia on display along with an SST, lots of MIGs, and others from one man gliders to the first Boeing 367-80.



Waiting for Meg and Rusty to join us today for a night. Meg has conference in DC this week. Jet will meet Barley and test the 5th wheel for lab capacity.



Cheers

The Corn Maze

The path from Lancaster, PA to Washington, DC was supposed to be a simple drive of 180 miles. Little did I know that there were road mazes out there at this time of the year that made your barnyard corn maze look like a beginners navigation class.


What do you do when your GPS, your brain, your map and your wife’s intuition all suggest going a different way then your 50 foot long rig is headed? I throw up. My hands that is. What do you do when you get hopelessly lost in the first 15 minutes in rural PA and you have to get to a major metropolis later in the day? I think about spending the night in a corn field.



That is where we found ourselves the other day. I think it might have been a black hole for the GPS. No matter which way I turned it wanted to go back in a half mile. The map didn’t have the detail we needed and all the Amish horse carriages were going the other way. Confusing to say the least.



The secret for getting re-oriented turns out to just keep going toward roads that have more vehicles on them. Pretty elementary I would say. Anyway, I made a note to not start out again without a firm plan on getting to the next major road. Turns out we went about 20 miles out of our way but that seemed like a hundred and the hour we lost seemed like an eternity.



Happy Straight Trails

Wet and Rainy in PA

Valley Forge

A cold rainy day is the only way to really begin to understand what the Continental Army endured during their winter at Valley Forge, and it was a cold and rainy day we embraced as we arrived at the Valley Forge National Historic site 20 miles west of Philadelphia.

The site is dotted with small clay chinked cabins that were made to resemble the originals built by the army in the fall of 1775. The cold rain and wind were helpful in giving us an idea of the suffering endured by the army over the winter. Of course we had layers of high tech fabrics, umbrellas, and a warm heater in the pickup. So I guess we really didn’t get it.

It was clear though, that if Washington didn’t hold the army together over this winter and spring the independence of our country wasn’t going to happen. A good Prussian, Von Stuben, arrived to train the troops and reinforcements in the spring brought the better trained Continental Army to 20,000 troops and ready to kick some British butt.

More on PA

What is with these early colonials naming their towns? My favorite is the small farming town where we experienced a Dutch PA smorgasbord the other day. The town is called Blue Ball. Complete with the Blue Ball Bowling Alley, the Blue Ball Gas Station, etc..  As cold as it is lately around here, I am beginning to get a sense of why they named the town what they did.  Then there is Intercourse, PA and the Best Western Intercourse Village Inn. Didn’t know there was a best western way of intercourse but you learn something daily on this trip.

The smorgasbord was recommended to us by people in our Lake of the Woods RV park. We were tired and I wasn’t in a cooking mood so we dared it. The place, Shady Maple Smorgasbord, was as huge as were many of its patrons. For 28 bucks the two of us were unleashed on a plethora of cafeteria items, supposedly indicative of Dutch PA cooking. So from this I deduced the Dutch PA folks invented cafeteria food. It was great people watching and we were amazed by the pencil thin lady in booth next to us make dozens of trips to the food bar and consumed 5 plates. Amazing. Suzy thinks she will not eat now for a week and be back next week.

PA turnpikes are something else. So few exits that once you do successfully get off one of them after paying a modest toll, you have to back track over most of the roads in the state to get to your destination. Not real energy friendly.  But a good way to see the backroad areas of this pretty agricultural area.  Lots of Amish farms as noted by the long lines of clothes hanging out and the meticulous grounds, to say nothing of the carriages and the beautiful horses pulling them.  The carriages are fully enclosed with glass windows and blinking red lights behind.  Still see the Amish on their bikes in the rain up the hills.  I feel a bit like a weeny having not ridden my bike in a week cause of the weather.

A Day in Le Fevre Country

We arrived in south central Pennsylvania and established our base camp in Bowmansville just outside Lancaster. We are about midway between Gettysburg and Valley Forge in the heart of Dutch country PA and the Amish country. Great spot to camp on the top of Yellowhill as the leaves desperately try to cling to the branches and preserve the colors for another week.




My distant relative, Isaac Le Fevre arrived here outside Lancaster in 1708 and settled 2000 acres of land that William Penn had gifted him. His family all being killed as martyrs back in Strasbourg, France, young Isaac made the journey alone. Mary Ferree looked out for him and years later he took as his wife, Catherine Ferree, Mary’s daughter. Isaac settled on this land on Pequea Creek just outside Paradise, PA. Here he raised his family and began the long line of U.S. LeFevers that eventually became LaFavers and eventually bequeathed Margaret Georgine La Faver Slining, my mother.



We spent a couple hours at the Lancaster County Historical Society in Lancaster doing research on the LeFevers and on General Reynolds whom we had followed the previous day at the battle of Gettysburg some 60 miles away.



The Historical Society holds the famous LeFevre Family Bible that was printed in 1608 in Geneva in French and which Isaac brought to Pennsylvania when he came over in 1708. There is a story about how Isaac baked the Bible into a loaf of bread to smuggle it out of France as the Hugeunots were being killed when caught with the Bible.



The history behind this story only goes back into the 1930’s and it is presumed that it is just that, a great story. One of the reasons the story doesn’t hold water was evidenced by the size of the Bible. It would take a HUGE loaf of bread to hide this bible. We were shown the Bible by the archivist at the Society, a great gal named Heather who donned her white gloves and showed us the Bible, in its leather cover, and its pages of cotton or linen paper. Heather shows it to any La Faver family that comes by and apparently many of them make the pilgrimage. She knows the history of the Bible by heart and all the interesting footnotes inscribed as well. Heather even showed us where someone had written in English the recipe for a flu tonic. She had made the tonic herself for one of the Ferree family reunions and kept a bottle in the refrigerator at the Society. She brought it out and gave Suzy and me an eye dropper full of this alcohol, honey, vinegar and spice tonic. Suzy and I thought it didn’t taste bad and maybe our secret defense against the H1N1.



Armed with all the new found family history we headed for the pastures around Paradise and Strasbourg Pennsylvania in search of the cemeteries and land of the LeFevres. We found the Le Fevre cemetery outside Paradise next to an Amish school. An old one room school house was just letting out, and the horse carriages were pulling up in the rain and picking up the bonneted girls and straw hat boys after their day of class. The play yard at the school abuts the cemetery. Actually the boy’s outhouse is connected to the fence surrounding the cemetery. Only LeFevres can be buried in this cemetery as evidenced by the headstones, many going back to Isaacs’s sons. There was on recent headstone of a teen age LeFever buried in 2004.



We found Isaacs gravesite in the old Carpenter cemetery near Strasbourg next to the rail road tracks. A steam engine came by as we were arriving; full of tourists and then two minutes later a couple of Amish horse drawn carriages came along. All of this served to put us in the proper historical perspective. Isaac is buried next to his mother in law, Mary Ferree. Couldn’t find his wife, Catherine’s grave.

General John Reynolds and Gettysburg

I have always yearned to see this famous battlefield in Pennsylvania. In 7th grade, Mr. Kryznarich had us memorize the Gettysburg Address and I remember it to this day. When I think of Lincoln the words just start coming to my lips.




As we drove to the visitors center I was immediately drawn in by the countryside. A former infantryman is first always looking for defensive positions when he looks at landscapes. After he has these put away in the back of his mind, he can go on enjoy the sites. The grounds surrounding the visitor center were a good example of the rolling topography of the area and one could see the highground highlights even though high ground in this area is rarely over a couple hundred feet.



The visitors center had a great film on the civil war and the battle of Gettysburg and then you went upstairs to what they called the Cyclorama, which is a recreation of the famous portrait by a French Artist of the battle. It is done in a 360 degree room and the foreground is actually models of the battlefield which blend into the painting as you look out. Amazingly real looking, even hard to tell where the painting ends and the models begin. They narrate the opening days battle using sound and light and it is realistic to whatever degree a real battle can be duplicated without the carnage.



As we went through the museum we found many references to Major General John Reynolds, commander of 1 Corps. A Corps being composed of three divisions which are composed of three or more brigades composed of three or more battalions composed of 4 companies, each made of 4 platoons, each made of 4 squads, you get the idea, it’s a whole lot of men he commanded. And he led his Corps into the battle on the first day July 1, 1863 near McPherson Barn. What is unusual about this? Many things, first of all, to me, a Corps commander on the ground with the troops is amazing. Most of these general guys were in the rear, safe and away from harm. (This is also true of generals in my experience in Viet Nam) Also amazing is that he decided to initiate the battle of Gettysburg at this point. This point allowed him to room to engage, size up the enemy and then slowly move back to the high ground on seminary ridge and then cemetery hill. This plan insured control of roads leading into the battle, buy time to allow the rest of the Union Army to arrive, and more importantly gain the high ground which the Union Army would successfully defend in the next three days.



General Reynolds was shot through the head as he led his troops into battle and we visited the approximate spot on the battlefield where this courageous general fell. The spot is marked by a monument. He was the first general shot in the battle of Gettysburg. He was also a distant relative on my mothers’ side of the family, the LaFavers. Gen. Reynold’s grandmother was the granddaughter of Catherine LeFevre. Catherine was married to Isacc LeFevre who was our ancient ancestor that escaped persecution in France (around Strasbourg) when his parents and 6 brothers and sisters were martyred as Hugeunots. Young Isaac came to Pennsylvania in the late 1600s. (more on Isaac and the rest of the LeFevres in another post)



I can’t tell you how this distant relationship with a brave Union general, brought the battle alive for me. It seemed to breathe air into the history and bring it closer to home. This battle was the deciding battle of the Civil War. Had Lee won the battle the union would most likely have been split and we would be living in a divided country.



It is hard for us to imagine the country at this time, but with the help of good history and many artifacts, the National Park at Gettysburg allows us to go back and dwell on one of the most important moments of our country’s life.

Storm King

While wandering around the Hudson valley on Columbus Day, we came across the Storm King Art Center. Storm King is a 500 acre museum celebrating the relationship between art and nature, which has always been one of my interests. There are over 100 post WWII sculptures by internationally renowned artists scattered artistically over the beautiful landscape. The landscape includes over 80 acres of native grasses which eliminate the need for mowing these areas.




The big treat was finding one of my favorite artists, Andy Goldsworthy, works. He built a permanent rock wall called Storm King Wall that weaves itself through the trees and into a pond and out the otherside. Goldsworthy is a British master at natural materials and most of his works are built and photographed and then nature dismantles them. The wall is permanent and was built by a crew of “wallers” brought from England to build this piece. It is featured in his “coffee table books” and has been one of my favorites, so you can imagined how excited I was to “stumble” across it at Storm King. Another noteworthy piece is by Maya Lim, artist of the Viet Nam Wall. She did the Wavefield at Storm King, a field of grass knolls that resemble waves across the land.



Suzy and I agreed that the fall is the perfect time of the year to walk and view the art of Storm King. So if you are ever in Mountainville, NY you owe yourself a tour of this wonderful place.



For a picture of Goldsworthy’s wall go to www.ssawbridge.blogspot.com and see the inset picture.

New York is so Much More then the City

Sitting in our beautiful spot on top of a hill outside Florida, NY, I was thinking how impressed we have been with the state of NY. Beautiful hills and trees, the Hudson which has to be as big as the Colombia, and the cute little villages in the woods. It is knock out gorgeous. This has to be the best week of the year for the color.

First off, our spot on top of a big hill is heavily wooded and home to a dozen wild turkeys which are fun too watch out the window. There are also a dozen big white tails roaming the grounds along with some really small yearlings. The fall winds keep leaves in the air and fresh air in the nostrils. The park is so quiet as it is only 20% occupied and the folks seem to be in the city (60 miles away) a lot. Mostly big motor homes here for some reason. A few big 5th wheelers and one small, scamp like wedgie wedged in between us.

After going up the Hudson to Hyde Park the other day we went down the Hudson to West Point. What beautiful grounds. All buildings made out of the local rock, granite, and everything in order (surprise). The old protestant chapel on the hill was spectacular, with its stained glass windows and gothic architecture. Actually all WP buildings are of the garrison Gothic example. Except for the new library which is the same old rock but a more modern design. Small statute of Gen. Patton outside library. Patton took 5 years to graduate from the 4 year school and explained he had trouble finding the library. So now his statue stands holding binoculars near the library.

While standing overlooking the Hudson at Trophy Point on the cadet campus we were taken by the Battle Monument dominating the spot. The monument holds the names of the West Point grads killed in the civil war. 55 of the 60 major battles of the civil war were led by an officer from the academy on opposing sides. Around the monument are cannons buried barrel down symbolizing never again against each other. Amazingly, the first name I noticed looking at the monument is Col. John Reynolds. He was the first high ranking officer killed in the battle of Gettysburg. He was also a cousin of us La Favers. Brother Esly tells me he was a general but the monument lists him as a colonel. We will research this when we visit the LaFaver cemetery and the “Book of LaFaver” outside Lancaster next week. Anyway, it was exhilarating to have his name staring back at me this hallowed ground.

Our travels into the city have been interesting and a bit hectic. Yes, I broke the cardinal rule, “Do not drive into the city.” Friday we visited the upper Westside and Central Park. Today we did Greenwich Village and SOHO and all their activities of a Saturday morning. Lots of vendors and markets and dogs being walked. Traffic isn’t too bad, as I find the NYers better to drive with then their cousins from Boston. However, as advertised, there is little parking, but we managed to find free parking both days. A miracle!

The Mecca for Democrats in the U.S.

As I approached the visitors center of the FDR Library and Museum in Hyde Park, NY recently I met a couple of nice German guys from Hannover. I told them that for an American Democrat, a trip to Hyde Park to see FDR’s roots was equivalent to a journey to Mecca. They were astonished, but I assured them we American Democrats only have to make the pilgrimage once in a lifetime. On the other hand an American Republican’s visit to Hyde Park must be a living hell. What with all the Government programs that FDR initiated proudly being displayed on the walls and display cases, it’s a wonder they can hold their breath long enough to get out. The trip up the great Hudson River Valley with fall’s colors in their splendor and all the beautiful homes and mansions on display was worth it all by itself. The Hudson is just as I had envisioned it, wide with rocky walls and high rolling hills on both sides. Throw in the fall colors and it’s a trifecta. All the wealthy families from America’s early industrialization have large estates along the Hudson, including the Vanderbuilts. The Roosevelts’ wealth originated from a large sugar factory they started in NY city when they came over from Holland. Young FDR was an only child and quite spoiled being home schooled until he was sent off to a private English academy at age 14. Before he left he shot and stuffed over 300 different kinds of birds, many of which are still on display at the Museum of Natural History in NYC. One wall of the mansion has at least 40 from his collection. I think he was a better shot then I as a small boy. His mother dominated his life and could have been forecasted to be the mother in law from hell for poor Eleanor someday. FDR contacted polio as an adult when he attended a boy scout camp. Within 14 days he was unable to walk. He never admitted to anyone he couldn’t walk and made extraordinary preparations so that people visiting so no sign of his crippling illness. He used to drag himself down a beautiful tree lined path to the road daily to build strength. He was fanatical about recovering enough strength to regain walking. And I believe that if he hadn’t got I into politics he would have had the time to rebuild himself. So it was quite a sacrifice he made becoming a politician including assemblyman, governor and president. He married Eleanor who was a distant 5th cousin, Teddy Roosevelt Jr. was her uncle I believe. Anyway both Franklin and Eleanor came from much wealth so it is amazing to me that they became the champions for the less fortunate. I believe it was Eleanor who took the lead in this area and set the example for her husband. She continued her good works long after FDR died in 1945. The first hundred days of FDR’s first presidency set the bar far too high for any succeeding president to measure up to. And he just kept going from there to become one of the most influential presidents in our history. Our tour of the mansion which at only 17 rooms and 3 bathrooms was too small when FDR was born so additions were added making it 37 rooms with 9 bathrooms. Born at the mansion, the bed he was born in is still there. After marrying Eleanor they had 6 children, 5 boys, the oldest always moved to his father’s childhood bedroom. The Roosevelt property at Hyde Park was over 1600 acres and the National Park Service has saved 900 of those acres. They are full of first growth hardwoods and pines, all majestic and carefully planted in significant places. My favorite story about FDR was when the Queen and King of England visited Hyde Park. FDR was a collector and one wall of the house had a collection of political cartoons of England and the monarchy. FDR’s mother told him to take these down before the King and Queen arrived. Like a good son, he failed to do it, and the King of England upon entering the house, made a bee line to the wall with the cartoons where he studied them quietly leaving everyone in suspense. Finally he turned around and said, “You have some that I don’t have Mr. Roosevelt, wonder if I could have a few of those?”

Cape Cod and the Wild Snake Episode

The cape is a great place and we were glad we got to really see it over two weeks in the off season as there is ample evidence of the crowds during the summer. The traffic infrastructure is pretty old so there are backups even in the off season. Beautiful views on both sides and beautiful homes in the ocean view areas. Love the marshes that provide transition between the ocean and the land. Lots of cranberry bogs but couldn’t find one in harvest with the berries floating on top. Will have to look sometime over near Ocean Shores, WA where Ocean Spray has big area of bogs. Had fun visiting and touristing with Judy and Es for a couple days toward the end of our stay. We had also spent a day with the Vermie’s at the beginning of the stay over on Nantucket Island. It wouldn’t be a memorable visit though without the big toilet rinsing caper on the next to the last day of our stay. Suzy had showered and was air drying her hair in her underwear when I was servicing the sewer system. Every so often(once a month) I put a hose down the toilet and flush the system extra clean from the inside. I had brought the hose in and had the wand in the toilet and went outside to turn on the water. When I came back in, Suzy was screaming and water was squirting everywhere, as the wand had malfunctioned and was spraying water everywhere. I grabbed the writhing snake of a hose and tried to choke off the water telling Suzy to go outside and turn it off. She immediately flashed outside, around the trailer, turning it off and flashed back inside with only bra and thong accompanying her. I was wiping up the water when she arrived back in the trailer and she grabbed a towel and helped mop up the water. She said she couldn’t believe it didn’t bother her at the time. None of the neighbors complained either. So we got it all back together and good as new. Threw that leaky wand away too.

JFK Library and Museum

JFK Presidential Library and Museum is located on the campus of University of Massachusetts on Columbia Point in Dorchester. It is a beautiful building with great views of the harbor. It is also nice to be so close to a college campus. The museum is smaller then the other presidential libraries and museums we have visited due, obviously to his short time in office. It was hard not to imagine what the museum might have been full of if the assassination had not occurred. It also left me feeling a bit sad as we walked into the sunlight. What could have been. I found the replica of the oval office interesting as JFK had it mostly decorated with things from friends and family. They meant so much to him. They also had a replica of Bobby’s Attorney General office which was very interesting. Not as much on Jackie and the kids but a nice bit on how she nursed him back from back surgery right after their marriage JFK’s penmanship qualified him to be a doctor, but his wife’s was immaculate and beautiful. It was fun reading some of her letters. I really liked the way they handled the assassination. It was only shown on one wall with 15 small 12 inch tvs playing Walter Cronkite’s commentary. That was it, nothing else and it was very effective. Maybe too effective. The similarities to our current president when it comes to being charismatic were amazing and striking as we listened to some of JFK’s speeches. I think the Obama library and museum someday will finish the abbreviated JFK museum. Next presidential library will be FDR’s in Hyde Park, NY just forty miles where we are camped tonight. Looking forward to FDR’s as his was such a pivotal time for our country. We will also visit West Point that same day. Want to see what all this ring knocking is all about being an OCS product, you know.

The Plantation at Plimouth or Pilgrims survive despite themselves

Plimoth Plantation is located just outside Plymouth, MA and of course near the Plymouth Rock. The later is a bit of litter trap. Years ago I visited the Plymouth rock when in Boston for the marathon. It was covered in trash. Suzy and I visited it again the other day and the trash is now being kept down to a manageable level but people are still throwing their trash into the pit holding the rock. Is it some kinda custom? The rock is really a small boulder and a bit of a disappointment but a must see anyway, if only a chuckle. Now the plantation is a reenactment of the pilgrims village and the Indians camp. It is quite well done. I was impressed that the sign at the entrance gave the Indians (native people) credit for being there for 12000 years when the pilgrims arrived as the Johnny come lately’s. The native people are from the Manosquot tribe and they represent the contingent at the village. Pretty impressive, the same people, the natives are the “actors” in the camp. One guy was burning out a canoe from a large log. Just as they have done for thousands of years. They ran these canoes hundreds of miles north and south along the Atlantic shore fishing and hunting. Two gals, one with a baby were cooking a duck, and making a mush for breakfast. Others were weaving baskets. One complained of tarpel tunnel and I thought that the original natives probably suffered from it as well, but had no idea what it was. The native people and the pilgrims did not trust each other so they welcomed each other in their respective villages mostly so they could keep an eye on the other and get any warning if something was being planned. Give you a bit of a different feeling about Thanksgiving, it was really kind of a spying dinner, keeping eyes on each other. A few hundred yards away and surrounded by a parapet fence was the Pilgrim village complete with actors working on the fence, the fields and cooking. The paths between houses were complete with mussel and egg shells. A red tail hawk perched on a fence nearby, looking for handouts or mice. He was unthethered. One of the actors, about sixty years old, was so in character and so knowledgable it was easy to forget he was acting as he told the tale of the company that invested in the pilgrims trip to the new world and how they gave up on the pilgrims after they didn’t send back enough goods. Course they arrived in the dead of winter with half their number dead or dying but little things like that were not heeded in the analysis of the bottom line of the company. Course the company didn’t send the goods it had agreed to to the pilgrims either, leaving them really in the learch. Our earliest steps toward capitalism almost sunk the whole operation. When asked about freedom of religion, the pilgrims said they would have none of that, as they were tired of all the heretics from Europe, so there was only one way in the new world. Rice was more coveted then meat and in limited supply as it came from England along with things like butter. The guy playing CaptainStandish,was good, he even had real bad teeth. Spoke of Indians with disrespect accurately. We couldn’t help come away from the plantation thinking this grand experiment was very lucky to survive and stick with all the errors, mistakes, and awful behavior of the pilgrims.

National Parks

This week PBS is showing special on OUR national parks and it has been great. Spending a lot of times in the parks lately makes the show really come to life. A few things that I find interesting include the fact that we are the only country with national parks. That we had such a hard time convincing congress that we needed them to protect our assets for everyone and the way it has turned out without a national plan in place. John Muir is of course the architect of our park system and I wonder where we would be today without him. He was joined in the fight by many including Teddy Roosevelt and other less known presidents. It was common back in the late 1800s and early 1900’s for the rich in the country to gobble up the best land and build huge summer homes. The rich in those days had a huge majority of the country’s assets and many had not heard of sharing. It took guys like Rockafeller II to demonstrate philanthropy and kick start the process. Much of Acadia National Park was donated from land owned by the rich or bought by them and turned over to the government. Acadia was the first national park on the east coast and saved a jewel that would have become like all the other coast on the northern eastern shore, the private summer playground of the rich. The battle started at Yosemite and Yellowstone and interesting enough, it was precipitated by greedy commercial interests that were abusing the land, selling off the natural resources, and turning the areas into profit centers. The Niagra Falls earlier in the 1800’s had gone this path and the entire area was bought by private parties and ruined with gaudy shops and money making ventures. It was the terrible legacy of Niagra Falls that was used over and over as the “what if” scenario that would play out if the land was not protected. Having visited the falls in July, I was amazed by the gross commercialism and fun park atmosphere. Catch the rest of the PBS series or replays if you can. It is amazing and will inspire you I am sure. Makes you feel good about handing down a positive legacy to the next generations.

I am the man from Nantucket

We are safely docked on Cape Cod in Sandwich. Good shore power and water. Beautiful place, lots of fall color, beaches everywhere, more around lakes then along the ocean believe it or not. Minnesota is lucky they patented the “Land of 10,000 lakes” before Cape Cod. Lots of conservation areas as well that Jet and I have been finding perfect for fall runs. We spent Friday on Nantucket Island with friends, Bill and Penny Vermie, from Seattle. They were combining work and play in New England. We took the high speed ferry over in some fairly rough seas. Suzy was rather quiet but held it together. We rented some bikes and rode the island for the rest of the day. Great bike trails and beaches and some amazing homes. There was a strong wind all day so we got our share of exercise when we were heading into it. Bill and Penny accompanied us to the Scallop Festival in Bourne on Sunday before heading on to Rhode Island. We extended our stay on the cape so we could see sister Judy and husband Es starting October 3. We are off to the last farmers market of the season in Hyannis, a stop at Trader Joes and Barnes and Noble and back in time for a little football. Good Day!

Up and Down, In and Out

These are the motions we are having trouble with in the RV. Or should I say, WITH the RV vs. IN the RV. You see, first it was a broken jack system in July that caused problems with the up and down. And this week we smashed the stairs taking care of the in and out. The stairs smashing was a maneuvering problem, maneuvered right over a rock which hit the fold down stairs making them into a parallelogram vs. a square. I wasn’t going that fast but the weight of the 5th wheel gives lots of inertia and the rock had made its mind up not to move. Got a new set of stairs the same day at camping world and I had them installed by 5 PM that evening (Saved a few hundred as Camping World charges $110/hour for shop labor). We both will be a bit more careful in making unscheduled and unobserved turns in areas with large rocks. Now it will take Jet another month to get used to two stairs vs. three stairs. He was leaping all the stairs while they were broken and had no problem. I had no problem with it either. Portsmuth, NH is great little port on NH’s 18 miles of coastline. We liked it because it was unlike all tourists towns along the coast, so few t shirt shops and cheap gift shops, plenty of nice coffee houses, open areas and friendly people. It registered the top art gallery, top pizza, and top used book store for our trip. We almost didn’t go. Then we drove the coast south to New Hampshire Hamptons, North and regular Hampton that is. Beautiful old houses with great sea vistas.

Last Day in New Hampshire

Land of the tax free alcohol. Tax free everything, thus lots of out of state license plates at all the stores. We are outside Manchester in the woods. Nice spot, and the campground prices have plunged, less then half what they were a month ago. Diesel dropping too so we are making up for budget excess earlier in the summer. Jet and I did a rock climb up the side of Mt. Washington. They have not figured out switchbacks in NH yet. Just straight up following rock slides. I worried that it was getting too steep for Jet as we went mile after mile up over the rocks. He just kept leaping up and pulling me. Finally we broke out of the trees into the clear but faced a huge ledge that I could lift Jet on but it was slanted so he couldn’t advance. Then I worried about getting him off it on the way down, so we decided it was a good place to turn around. Jet plummeted down hill, leaping 3 feet at a time. Swear, the dog is part mountain goat. Me, that is another story, as I braked myself using all body parts. Was glad to reach level ground in the parking lot (yes that was the only level ground around). The campground we are in is kinda a summer camping spot for people that leave their rigs here year round. They seem to be trying to out do each other by putting additions on to their rigs, like decks, porches, woodsheds, sun rooms, etc. Good ideas but their carpentry skills are amusing. Lots leaning to going on. Hope they don’t get big snow. Some of the rigs haven’t seen the road in years nor a have they seen a scrub brush. Interesting. Jet finds the plastic flowers, plastic flowers, plastic gnomes, plastic rocks, all very scary and approaches all with butt lowered and nose up, ready to beat a hasty retreat if necessary. Only took about thirty tries to get the rig backed in here. Tight entrance but big spot. Provided entertainment for couple on a golf cart that just were riding around watching people back in. After a while this started to bother me a bit as I was not having a good backing in moment. After many glares they still didn’t get my annoyance. So when I finally got it in, I said to them sarcastically as I could, “Thanks for all the help” and they smiled and said “Your welcome.” Right over their heads! Took me a minute to calm down and get over it. Suzy was helpful. One of our problems was our walkie talkies ran out of battery so we were having trouble communicating. Suzy did say we were doing much better then the couple a few lots down where there was some angry shouting going on in the backing in process. Off to Portsmouth, NH today and then Cape Cod tomorrow. Got a nice spot reserved in Sandwich, MA on the shoulder of the Cape.

Live Free or Die

There is a relay run going through North Conway this afternoon and all the nine passenger vans decorated with goofy running stuff brought back lots of memories. Relay goes from Mt Washington, highest peak in the East at 6500 feet to the ocean. Kinda like our Rainer to Pacific relay. I was nostalgic but then remembered being up all night in the back of the van and running at 3 AM and began to feel much better. Have to invent relay for old folks that finishes by 9 PM. Leaving Maine had two firsts, first finger given in anger and first road cone squished. The finger was compliments of a young lady who thought I cut her off as I changed lanes as I was turning left. Maybe I have got more fingers and just don’t know it but if it is the first on this trip, its been 11,000 miles. Not bad. And I haven’t given any. The cone incident was caused by a way too narrow construction lane. Either squish the cone or ride the other side up a curb. Not on my new tires. The construction guys didn’t seem upset, at least I didn’t get my second finger. We are in another woodsy campground. I want to climb, hike Mt Washington on Sunday so we will be here for at least three days. Guy in store told me it was a bit surreal climbing Mt Washington as there is also a road up and a cog railway. I told him aobut running up Pikes Peak to find a cafeteria and parking lot at 12,000 feet, quite a surprise to me. Suzy and I will do some hiking and then canoe the Saco River which runs through the campground.

Still manly and mainly in Maine

Good Morning from Scarborough, Maine on the southern coast just outside Portland. Beautiful fall weather here, highs in low 60’s, and evenings in low 50’s. The trees are turning, mostly the sumacs right now with oak and maple not far behind. Interesting to see the pockets of color as you look into the forests. Seems to me they do better job of cutting here in NE, much less sign of any clear cuts.

The park we are in has 750 sites with only 10% occupied. As soon as Labor Day passed the parks became deserted and quiet with the kids back in school. Weekends pick up a little. This is one of the best parks yet. So many trees. Had to be careful driving in not to hit any. 4 swimming pools and kayak and canoe access to a great marsh/estuary. Will try the canoes this afternoon.

For those of you who wanted to leave comments on the blog site but were having trouble, I have fixed the problem. So little comments like “Tom, keep your day job” are fine. But remember, I have such a thin skin that I bleed easily. Naw, use both barrels.

Driving in farm country the other day we saw a herd of cattle with white blankets on. As we got closer we realized it was their color. They were black with perfectly geometric band of white around their middle, making them look like they had blankets on. Definitely some genetic foreplay going on in this area, as we also saw some goats a mile later that had llama pelts and calico colors. Suzy and I held our breath until we had passed out of this little GM experimental area.

I miss Acadia. We had such a wonderful time there. Think we will head west to the White Mountains of New Hampshire, then south to Massachussets then west to Conneticut. We will do NY city by train from Conneticut. That is the macro picture for now, all subject to change at the drop of a hat. And I have a few hats to drop.

We have been in Maine for two weeks and it is on the top of the states visited so far along with Colorado. Of course Canada was wonderful and our favorite was New Brunswick, but we enjoyed all the maritime provinces.

In Defense of Montana

Piss Poor Performance in Predicting Power Problems

September 11th, also known as Suzy, Tatum and Terri’s birthdays, dawned cold and bright on Desert Island. Emphasis on the cold as Bangor, just north of here set a low temperature record of 39 degrees, matching our temp on the island. We had plans for a trip to Camden and Rockport on the Maine coast south of here. Being Suzy’s birthday I had vowed to shop without dissent or do anything else her heart desired. A good husband will do that.

As I got out of bed I noticed that besides being cold in the RV it was also a bit darker then normal. I tried numerous lights and found that the 9 volt lights all worked but none of the 120 volt lights working. Further exploration revealed that the converter that takes 120 volt current and converts it to 9 volt power and also recharges the batteries was not working so we were running on battery power. Not a good wake up call. Outside I found that all the neighbors had power and back inside I found the microwave was the only 120 volt power working. How strange. I reset my gfi and got it working so I had that 120 volt power too, but nothing else. Basically half my panel wasn’t working and an important half it was as it powered the converter that runs the refrigerator and furnace which were now operating off the battery and propane. They would keep working until the battery wound down or the propane ran out.

Suzy had the great idea to go out for breakfast, after all it was still her birthday. So we took off for Maine wild blueberry pancakes. Over breakfast I trouble shot the electrical system and confessed to my bride I was flummoxed. She suggested we go to Camden another day and instead pull the RV to Bangor to a service shop to have them fix it. I agreed and we headed back. Stopped at the office on the way in and asked if anyone had reported power surges last night. None reported but they said they would send Randy down to take a look. Randy, native North Carolinan, arrived immediately started trouble shooting. He had a nice voltmeter and we checked and confirmed half the panel was out. Then we notice that the 50 amp lines were only half working, explaining why half the panel was not working. One was dead, so we thought it was the circuit breaker and I thanked Randy and got ready to pull the breaker and get a new one. As I was taking it out it struck me the power in to the breaker was the problem, not the breaker, so I hurried out to catch Randy, whom I found at our hookup box already testing the power source. We had both come to the same conclusion at the same time, the power from the park was bad. Sure enough, half the power on the source box was dead. Eureka, the RV was fine, it was the park’s power that was the problem.

Randy ran up to the office and found the breaker feeding our sight was bad and replaced it, immediately fixing our problems. Good lesson, always assume nothing. Check everything back to the source and check the source. The ole Montana was pissed that we had thought bad things about its electrical system so we both apologized and headed for Camden and Rockport.

Cruise Ships and National Parks

I think I mentioned the other day that the ratio of T-Shirt and Gift Shops to tourists in Bar Harbor is approaching one to one. And there are thousands of tourists. I vowed not to return to Bar Harbor after an abbreviated trip into the hordes of unwashed tourists. But I had no idea where they were all coming from. Then, on a hike in Acadia the other day we had a nice vista of Bar Harbor and guess what was tied up in the harbor? You got it, two huge cruise ships. Are you kidding? No wonder things are crazy in that little town where a couple of lobster boats normally increase the population by 25%.

After attacking anything resembling a shop selling T-Shirts in town, the tourists all board buses and are dropped off in the National Park. They have been equipped with maps and a destination, so the buses vomit their contents in the parking lots and the contents flow to their destination which is always about 250 yards away. Arriving exhausted, they block all trails and roads, and take ten million pictures of their adventure in a national park.

I am all for “each to their own”, but this really tests my patience. From now on, I make my plans in Acadia with the cruise ship arrivals and departures in mind. They are published in the local paper. I guess this is not as bad as snowmobiles in Yellowstone but this being the first national park that I have visited in reach of the buffet boats, I was taken aback.

I guess the tent campers probably see our 5th Wheel trailer as a land cruise boat. I did bike with a guy from Bar Harbor the other day and he said they are trying to limit the cruise ships to the fall when the other tourists have left. He was saying that the large number of tourists had really lowered the satisfaction meter of visits to Bar Harbor and the community is studying ways to make visits more enjoyable.

Suzy has founds lots of others harbors on Desert Island, like NE Harbor, Bass Harbor, SW harbor, etc that seem much more natural and probably more like Bar Harbor used to be.

Islands galore around here, not sure how many in the archipelago but some great names. Like Sheep Porcupine Island, Bald Porcupine Island, and Big Porcupine Isle. Seems that the sailboats are staying in these offshore islands and smaller harbors rather then in Bar Harbor.

Loop Road, Acadia National Park

Loop road, a beautiful mostly one way traffic 22 mile loop around the park’s best sites. My first attempt on my bike resulted in a wrong turn (who needs maps in a national park?) and therefore the loop was turned into an out and back. Between my faulty memory and seeing everything in 180 degree reverse it was similar to a loop. Anyway I did the loop another day, all 2000 feet of elevation gain.

The park has 45 miles of carriage paths. These were built in 1932 because many people even then were still driving their horse carriages and found them to nice to give up. So, they built the beautiful carriage paths and refused access to any automobiles. So the green movement was born long before modern times. Suzy and I took our mountain bikes on many of these carriage paths and found them perfect for seeing the parks backwoods. A few less hills would have been perfect, Suzy informs me.

Super hiking trails around the lakes in the parks drew us immediately off our bikes and into our hiking gear. Lots of split plank paths suspended above the moss and wetlands near the shores. Jet found them easier to jump over then walk on. Also lots of rock paths along the shores, big rocks to jump between.

Horse Poop!

Jet’s take on the NE

You haven’t heard from me since we left Canada. Been busy readjusting to the smell of American dogs’ pee and taking longer naps now that we are in a different time zone. But all in all, it is good being back in the dog friendly U.S.. Been hiking and running in the Acadia National Park, something they wouldn’t let me do in Canada.

The other day on our run along Bubble Pond in Acadia I was alerted by a small animal in the road ahead, but then disappointed to find out it wouldn’t run and provide me a chase. Reason being, it was a pile of horse manure. My eyes are not so good at the long distances and the wind must have been at my back. Anyway as we ran along (slowly as Tom is slowing down from the lack of running lately) I was thinking what was with all the horse crap on the trail. When I even think about a crap, Tom and Suzy frantically search for a plastic bag, and are scooping it up almost as it leaves the source. So what is with all this horse crap? Why aren’t horse owners cleaning up after their animals? After all, the size of a pile of horse craps exceeds what I can do in two weeks. And the odor is not pleasant to my nose, anyway. So I am going to start an initiative for horse owner cleanup.

My other senses like hearing are still sharp, although Suzy caught me in an embarrassing mistake of hearing the other day. Tom was off on a bike ride and I was sure I heard the truck arriving so I let off with a few welcoming barks. Turns out it was just a passing truck, then this happened again, and I barked a welcome and it wasn’t Tom. Couple more trucks passed but I knew they weren’t Tom. And then finally Tom. Suzy pointed out that I was alerting and barking at diesel trucks and not gasoline trucks. OK, so I learned that every diesel is not our diesel. What is the big deal?

I imagine you have all heard about my rib steak dinner the other day. Tom and Suzy had no idea that I could get the steaks out of grocery bag, remove the shrink wrap and Styrofoam packaging and consume them bone and all without detection. They were upset as this was my first uninvited dinner and they didn’t even feed me that night. Oh, yeah, I learned my lesson, from now on, only eat half the steaks, leaving one for Tom.

I went backpacking the other day around Jordan’s Pond. (New Englanders call small lakes, Ponds) Tom had picked up a dog backpack at an REI garage sale and then had packed it away. Well he dug it out the other day and thought it would be a good idea for me to carry my own water, water dish, their water and snacks and my dog bones. It was a funny feeling underneath for a while but I quickly got used to it. I got a chuckle out of a girl on the trail who saw me and exclaimed, “Look, he has a life preserver on!” Can you imagine a Labrador with a life preserver? I was insulted. All these little foo foo dogs and their sweaters and hats and she picks on me doing the dogly thing of being a true pack animal. Humans! And the other dogs on the trail were all trying to get my dog bones. I couldn't do a big enough bend to get at them myself.

Ohh, almost forgot, got a new small stuffed animal this week. About the size of a small rat. Man can I make that guy squeak. Driving everyone crazy! Life is great!

Jet
Jetane (former French Canadian Lab)

Cadillac Mtn.

Acadia Must Mean Hills of Rock in French

Acadia National Park on Desert Island in Northeast Maine is certainly a national treasure. The trees and rocks make a great team for impressing the many visitors. After only three visits we have become enamored with the rugged beauty and ample recreational possibilities.

Cadillac Mountain standing just over 1500 feet above sea level is supposed to be the first place to see the sunrise in the US. I guess because it is the tallest mountain on the east coast within 50 miles of the coast. So with a sunrise scheduled for 6:13 AM we got up at 5:30 and drove up the summit. Saw only one car on the way up and thought we might have the place to ourselves when we go there. Coming around the last bend in the road we were treated to a half full parking lot and vista of people standing on the horizon watching the sun rise. It was 6:01 so how could this be? The rim of the top of the sun was just hitting the horizon as we raced up the summit. Got it! Pictures galore. Then I realized that the later sunrise time was for Bangor and Portland which are inland from Cadillac Summit. But we made it. Would have missed it if we had stopped to let Jet have a pee. With all the islands and lakes and rock mountains the sunrise was truly magnificent. Even with the background of the Japanese tourists all discussing the various photographic nomenclature and techniques to capture the best picture. Good thing I know Japanese so I can decipher their frantic conversations. A good sushi chef taught me it all.

Did I forget to mention Suzy was not a happy camper when the alarm went off at Oh Dark Thirty, and even after I reminded her that she didn’t have to go to work this morning, she was a bit slow getting in the spirit of a beautiful sunrise. Once we got there and witnessed the sight all was forgotten, or delayed anyway until we returned home after my run and Suzy’s walk on Bubble Pond. Suzy taking a nap as I type.

Lost between 3rd person and 1st Person

Now that I have 50 blogs posted, it is time to look at my grammar.

Where is the second person who is supposed to keeping my persons straight? I know, on second base with “what”. A good second person will do that. But none in sight and my elementary English teacher is long since in the happy grammar school in the sky. I am resolved to try to stay in the third person in my blogs. Ooops, I mean, Tom is resolved to stay in the third person in his blogs from now on. Naw, that is too hard. Better stick with persona non grata. Besides, if it gets by Suzy I am home free. She is always asking if I spell checked it? Naw, that depersonalizes it for all those folks who know how I can’t spel.

Spent a few hours in Gift Shop Harbor (Bar Harbor) this afternoon. How many moose T shirts does one person need? Why do most gift shops sell ice cream? What more bigger sacrifice must a husband make on a nice afternoon, then to go “shopping” with his wife? These are the tough questions.

We are settled in for ten days on Desert Island on which Acadia National Park is located. Have a park loop planned for early tomorrow morning on the Specialized Roubaix. Beautiful fall weather here in Maine, mid 70’s in daytime and high 50’s at night.

Witnessed the ultimate in spousal abuse last evening in RV campground in Bangor. This couple with their grandson had arrived at their campsite in my backyard. She got out to help him back their trailer into their spot. Instead of helping she went into a full time rant telling him he couldn’t do this and to do that and stop this and no, no, no, ad nauseas. And I thought he was doing a good job. She blistered the poor guy, right in front of his grandson. When she was finally satisfied she gave him hell about the whole process and how he should have listened to her. I felt so bad for the poor fella. He looked beaten down. I was going to go over and tell him where he could get a good deal on a handgun but decided to stay out of it. Amazing, relationships are amazing. And humans too.

You are Home!

I want to go home, I want to go home, oh how I want to go home! (What was the song with these lines? Something to do with going to sleep last night in Detroit City.)

I have to be honest. There have been a few times on this trip when I have asked myself, “Tom, what in the hell were you thinking, when you decided to buy this rig and head off into the sunrise (we are going east mostly so far). Yes, moments of weak spirit do occur and have to be dealt with in a forthright manner when you make drastic changes in your life style. Admitting these moments of doubt to each other is good therapy as we found we each have these moments. Not necessarily in the same proportions but that is another story.

My moments of weakness are usually related to two things. Something on the rig stops working or when I stop at a gas station and get the bill for a load of diesel here in Canada. Suzy’s are also related mainly to two things, the internet not working or missing her daughters.

The cure for this weakness for me has been reading the works of Jack London via Kindle. London’s tales usually all have to do with some tenderfoot starting out on some impossible journey in the early 1900s and facing the elements alone. We are talking some minus 60 temperatures, chopping into one’s leg, being attacked by wolves, mugged by robbers or Indians, etc. etc.. It is hard for me to be feeling sorry for myself because the furnace won’t start when reading about some guy whose fingers freeze off trying to light a fire. I found that the safety device on the propane tanks had kicked in and cut off the propane. The turn of a knob was all that was needed to fix it. If this was what the poor guy in the Northwest Territories whose dogs had just frozen leaving him 200 miles from civilization and only two days food had to face, then my broken jack or noisy pump don’t look all that formidable. Thank God for Jack London and RV insurance.

As for the price of diesel fuel; Jack London doesn’t help much. Actually he worsens the situation by writing about all the guys finding gold in the Yukon and becoming rich. I am getting almost 13 miles to a gallon pulling the rig which is better then I planned for so what is the problem? Well, if you ever pulled away from a gas station after spending $110 to fill up, you would understand. Diesel up here is averaging $.99 a liter. And there are about 4 liters in a gallon and the exchange rate is only about 106%. For all you math challenged folks out there that is about four bucks a gallon. Remember last summer? Oh, I hear all the sobbing for me coming through the white birch trees. Quite comforting I must say.

The cure for this malaise I find is, remembering that we are not paying mortgages, property taxes, water, electricity, gas, and multitude of other expenses related to a home so we can afford to let a little of our gold dust go the Canadian oil barons. And that we are not getting up and getting dressed for work, just a workout in the dunes.

So we hang in there and usually around the next corner is a view so magnificent that we forget all our negative thoughts and marvel in the wandering spirit. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see North America and like the pioneers it is not without some glitches. So we continue to circle the wagons and hunker down when hardship or doubt come at us. Works good!

Gift Shops and History

While in Halifax we visited the old maritime town of Ludenburg on the Atlantic coast. This old sailing town was just what you would picture in the quintessential description of a sailing town, complete with sail makers, wooden boats being made right on the street, rigging shops, maritime shops of every variety and of course the sailors necessity, the gift shop. I have been amazed that the old fortresses we have visited on our trip, both French and English, have all had gifts shops. I had no idea that back in the early 1700’s that the gift shop was such a part of the fabric of daily life. It is amazing but it must be true because all the old sites had one, usually very prominent in the settlement. That is the great thing about history, it is full of surprises.

Speaking of shops, we found that Halifax must be the leader in boutiques (another word for shops men will find nothing of interest in). There were at least 400 of these little shops in Halifax and only one ancient fortress, The Citadel, guarding them all. Very interesting to someone?

As we leave Halifax heading toward U.S. we are encouraged to begin to see some trees turning color. More were seen in New Brunswick and some in Maine too. We are looking to follow the fall color south through New England.

Tropical Storm Denny and the Great Steak Caper

Tropical Storm Denny

We were comfortably situated in Baddeck on Cape Breton Island and feeling quite smug having survived the vestages of Hurricane Bill a week ago. Someone mentioned that a tropical storm was weakening off the coast of Nova Scotia so we paid it no heed. About 7 PM Saturday night it started to rain hard and it kept up through 7 AM the next morning. We were on high ground fortunately as the runoff was everywhere low. It was coming down so hard, I made up my mind not to move today and just stay where we were. About 8 AM it just stopped and started getting a bit lighter. So I put the rig on the truck and we headed for Halifax. Suzy noticed another slider leak on the opposite side of the rig, and I made a note to fix it when we stopped. As we drove to Halifax we couldn’t help but notice the lakes and rivers were all at their rims. Lots of puddles everywhere and it was then on the radio we learned we had abooout 5 inches of rain in the previous 12 hours. There was low behind the tropical storm so it heaped it on. So on successive Saturday nights in the Maritimes we had a hurricane and a tropical storm. Good thing we are from the PNW as all this water just made us feel at home. Now if I could only find a Starbucks.

To celebrate the sunshine I picked up a couple of rib steaks to BBQ that evening, along with other provisions (when you are RVing they are called provisions not groceries). We put the groceries in behind the back seat where Jet rides and then rode back to the campground. As I arrived I went to let Jet out and he had a small piece of one of the steaks in his mouth. Further investigation revealed he had eaten all but that small piece after taking the package out of the bag, opening the plastic wrap and consuming even the bones. He has NEVER done anything like this before, always waiting for permission to eat anything. I was pissed and Jet knew he had done something wrong, but I am not sure he knew exactly. Could not believe he did all this without us hearing him. I went back to the store the next day and the rib steaks were not on sale anymore so I ate hamburger and reminded Jet often of his error. He did his best to keep his digestive track calm after the new diet, and only obliged us with a couple days of the skitters.

Fortress at Louisbourg

Located on the Northwest tip of Cape Breton Island just 20 miles out of Sydney lies the largest re-created historic site in North America. We had heard about this site from a native Nova Scotian who highly recommended it. Suzy suggested it on our day trip to Sydney and we easily found it easily. Just followed buses full of Japanese; works every time.

The sight is a large town and fortress the French set up in the early 1700’s as their launch point for other excursions and a large cod fishing ground. They dried the cod and shipped back to Europe by the boat full. The Grand Banks were GRAND in those days.

The Canadians had found the foundations on the sight and then found the full set of drawings for all the buildings and fortifications so they re-created everything in exact detail. Amazing. Then they manned it with a village full of kids and adults in the clothes of the era and doing the activities of the era, right down to playing cribbage in a saloon. Also all the soldiers dressed in uniforms and weapons. Gardens with the vegetables growing, geese, chickens and pigs running around, smoke in the chimneys, pots on the fires, it was easy to feel like you had stepped back in time to 1744. The “actors” all stayed in period with their conversations with you as they went about their duties. I especially enjoyed talking to a young lieutenant about the fortifications, lines of fire, and strategies of defense.

You see the French were attacked by the British later in 1744 as part of what we refer to as the French Indian War. After a seven week siege the British won, sent all the French folks back to Europe and took over the fort. Ten years later the British gave it back to the French as part of a treaty arrangement and the French took it over again only to lose it in another seven week siege years later. Think that was what they called the King Geoge’s War. Anyway, I was interested on how the French had lost it twice in sieges. Very well informed on history was the young lieutenant and kept his cool while made some disparaging remarks about the French military mistakes in keeping the fortress.

The guard at the gate when we got to the fortress would only let in French visitors, accusing the rest of us as being spies. When she found out we were from the states she even less enamored with allowing us to pass. She was great, so in character and funny too.

We left the fortress and felt like we were going back in a time machine to the 21st century after a half day in New France.

The Cabot Trail

The Cabot Trail

John Cabot discovered Cape Breton Island on the north of Nova Scotia in 16 or 17 something and of course they named the road around the island after him. It is an amazingly beautiful road that rises and falls some 1200 feet from the ocean to the mountain tops. It does this a number of times. I was so glad I had elected not to pull the RV around this route. The crashing surf, high winds, and rapidly moving clouds make a great backdrop for our first full day in NS. What a great place. Looks like they are anticipating a hard winter by the size of the woodpiles we have been seeing. Either that or a lot of tourists buying campfire wood.

Another phenomenon we have noticed besides the wood piles is the lawns in all the Canadian Provinces we have visited. I mean every square foot of property that has a house attached is lawn. Huge lawns, few plants, and always someone on a riding lawnmower looking like they are asleep after being up there so long. I was talking to a guy from Halifax on the ferry and mentioned this to him, saying why with such a short summer why does everyone spend half of it mowing their huge yards? He agreed it was crazy and had noticed the same thing. Could the government being paying them to grow lawns instead of potatos?

We finally saw our first moose after 24 days in Canada. Well, it was actually the back half of a moose would not turn around to show us the better half. She was trying to chew her way to the other side of the national park and didn’t bother looking up. She was about 20 yards from a yellow diamond sign with a picture of a big bull moose. Maybe they tied her up there?

Jet loved the pounding surf. He was intrigued by the sea foam, which was accumulating in long lines on the edge of the surf and rocks. The wind was picking up big clouds of it and blowing them inland. Jet attacked the airborne “cotton candy” fiercely until he tasted out that it was about 99% sea salt and 1% jellyfish poop. Very difficult to spit out once you have attacked with such a vengeance. Many funny dog faces and lip pullings followed.

Had a nice lunch in an Acadian restaurant on the east side of the cape. Great chicken and potato soup, an Acadian favorite. We passed up the restaurant advertising oyster sandwiches. Can you imagine? The Cabot Trail didn’t disappoint. We decided it was our favorite part of Canada so far, as it reminds us of the mountains and ocean in the Pacific Northwest.

I love Nova Scotia

"I love Nova Scotia!"

These were my exact words when we walked into the information center at Port Hastings prior to driving on to Cape Breton Island. We had been driving for about an hour since getting off the Northumberland Ferry from Prince Edward Island. The mountains and forests of NS were incredible and I was on a high. The information center was full of people and the staff of 10 were mostly busy helping them. My exuberance had gotten the best of me and my “I Love Nova Scotia!” was a bit loud. All the staff stopped doing what they were doing and almost in unison, replied, “So Do We!” What a fuss! Big smiles around and I then accused them of keeping this place a secret. They explained they were doing there best to get the word out and then treated us like royalty as they explained the ins and outs of Nova Scotia.

Our first objective in Nova Scotia is exploring Cape Breton Island and the world famous Cabot Trail. We made the small harbor of Baddek our staging point as Suzy picked out a nice campground there. Just before the campground I made a wrong turn onto the Cabot Trail highway and going the wrong way. Uphill and no turn arounds in sight. We kept going, higher and higher and nothing in sight. I finally gave up and pulled into a narrow driveway. Couple of blind corners as I backed out to try and turn around on the busy highway. Stopped traffic in both directions as I maneuvered the 5th wheel to do a 180. Then we were off again with only about 8 cars and drivers shaking their heads.

We pulled in to our very narrow pull through slot and met our neighbor from Lubbock, TX with his 55 foot super deluxe motor home, 20 trailer for his sports car and trophy wife. Man with everything. When I extended the slider on his side my slider and his slider were (no exaggeration) 9” apart. Talk about having close neighbors. We both chuckled how the spots are becoming narrower and narrower. Not how our RVs are getting wider and wider. Suzy and I chuckled in private on how “WE” were now the Clampets next to their luxurious rig. Granny and Jethro no less.

Suzy very disappointed we can’t get the internet from here. Only spot wifi works is on the counter in the office. A bit disrupting to their business, but they advertised free wifi. Suzy has been on a bad run picking RV campgrounds. Out of her last four picks, three were pretty sketchy. She was likewise as unsuccessful on picking bakeries and restaurants lately. She is a bit gun shy now about making those BIG decisions.

Back on the Internet

We have had a few days of no internet. The park we were at in Baddek, NS said it had internet but you had to be in the office with your computer on the counter to get it. I was tempted this morning pulling out to put duct tape over the WIFI on the sign at the entrance.

We are in Halifax tonight in a nice park WITH internet so will start to catch you up.

We went through Tropical Storm Denny last night a week today after Hurrican Bill. Think we got more rain with Denny. Anyway that was interesting! Will blog about it more later.

Will attach last two blogs on the Confederation Trail and then more tomorrow.

Leg Three Summerside to Milton 62 km 37 miles

I had to take two days off for the hurricane, first day off was for the torrential rains on Sunday and Monday was a move the RV and dry everything out a bit day. My bike is covered in red dust and mud. No sense cleaning it as I still have a 100km to go after today’s ride. Maybe finish it off tomorrow. Then take the ferry across the Bay of Fundy to Nova Scotia on Thursday. The third leg was a bit more uphill then the previous two legs, but I can’t complain as uphill on an old railroad bed is never steep. Trains don’t do steep. I must have been a bit tired at the end today as I got to where I was to meet Suzy outside Charlottetown and there was no sign of her at the rendezvous. So I walked around for a minute or two until Suzy honked the horn, she was sitting in the truck about 20 feet from where I was standing.

New smells today included a creosote plant and a hog rendering factory. Only bad thing about old railroad beds is they always go by industry and some industry is smellier then other. Lots of bicyclists out riding today. I was beginning to wonder in the first two days if the trail was quarantined. Saw the first downed tree from the remnants of Hurricane Bill. PEI really got off light as did Nova Scotia. There have been a few puddles but no trail closings.

I have discovered the perfect food for rebuilding tired bike legs; fresh PEI mussels. They are going for less then two bucks a pound and are amazingly fresh. Boil in the kitchen without any residual smells. Some are orange on the inside and some white. The orange ones are a little sweeter. But they are all great. The harbor where we bought the mussels is full of lobster boats and the shore is piled high with lobster pots. Got some great pictures.

Leg Four Milton to Elmira 100km 62 miles

I knew it when I started out in the morning, this was going to be toooooo long a ride today. On a road bike 60 miles is fine, on a mountain bike 60 miles is like a 100 on a road bike. The wind when I awoke was rocking the 5th wheel so I was hoping Suzy’s sore throat would be too bad for me to leave her. But of course, she woke up feeling much better and I had my work cut out for me. Why had I blogged that I was doing the trail? If not I might have chucked it. On the way to the drop off point in Charlottetown I noticed the wind was coming from the SE and I would be biking NW so all of sudden things were looking up. Sure enough, a bit of wind help was there and better yet, I wasn’t bucking it.

Caught my first leaf of the early early fall season, this first leaf was actually caught by my handle bars. Each year I try to catch as many falling fall leaves (in the air or they don’t count) as I can while hiking, running, or biking. So I got a real jump on fall this year.

The first 50 km flew by and I was feeling good. Maybe too good, as I went out a bit fast and now at 60km I was not feeling so strong. Stopped and had horrible hot dog bun with old beef in it, couldn’t eat it, so had a Hershey’s and a banana and hit the trail. A burst of energy came my way and the next thing I knew I was at 75 km and rolling. Pulled into Elmira, an old railroad station, after 4 hours, 59 minutes and 45 seconds, just under my target 5 hours. Whooeee. But where was Suzy. I laid down on the grass and using my helmet for a pillow dozed off for an hour and the rattler woke me. Suzy had got stuck in a backup from an accident and road construction. She was a bit frayed, and I was worried and tired, we didn’t make the best of partners on the road home. She had bought this nice beaded bracelet that was supposed to be good for communication and we decided it was having the opposite impact on our communications. But we have recovered and are on our way to catch a ferry tomorrow from PEI to New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Then three days on up on Cape Breton and the Cabot Trail. Then the plan is to hit Halifax and begin winding up our Canadian adventure.