Famcamp

Friday 30 October 2009
Hanscomb AFB, MA

It was a day like any other at home (except, we woke up to airplanes taking off and huge trucks full of dirt or tar going by) Chores! Rob worked outside and I in. He scrubbed the front of the RV which was greasy from road grime and exhaust from the truck. He scrubbed around the front edge as well. We have a skirt that encloses the front overhang of the RV so you can turn it into a little storage room, but we have never installed it. Mainly because we haven’t been in one place long enough to need it. But, we want to store the bikes under there while we are here for the month. He also tried to change all the locks on our storage compartments. It is bizarre, but when you buy an RV they are all, keyed the same, regardless of manufacturers or anything. So everyone’s single compartment key will fit in everyone’s compartments. Anyway, our new locks are the wrong size so we have to reorder them.
I worked inside. Changed the sheets, did laundry, dusted, cleaned mirrors, vacuumed, scrubbed the floor, etc. At the end of all that we were going to go to the gym, but realized we really didn’t have enough time to drive over, do our work out, drive back in time for Rob to get over to Anne’s for the kids. So, he went for a run. I continued putzing around.
After he left I did the P90X abs workout. 25 reps of 20 ab exercises. It was hard, but it felt good to be doing something again. I have turned into quite a cow on this journey.
I showered and read. I bought a book about Ted Kennedy which is really nice and I wanted to read it. I also didn’t want to just watch TV. So, when I finished the Kennedy book I read my other book until 8 pm and then I watched TV.
Rob got home about 9pm so we watched a couple episodes of “The Closer”. He has all of season one on DVD. Then we went to bed.

I ran around the neighborhood and found a series of trails right near the campground. However there has been so much rain I could not get through one section because of the flood of water. I also found where the bike trail that goes from Concord to Cambridge passes through this area. I wish I was going to be in the area longer, I would love to ride the trails. I went to meet Anne before she left for her class. I had the honor of spending some time with the girls before Dan got home from work. What a treat. We decided to go geocahing again, Grace handled the navigating to the nearest parking spot with my iphone and Lauren navigated us as close to the cache as my GPS would allow and then we spread out to look. I have been doing this for a while and spotted a likely pile of tree limbs and announced that “I think I see it”. Grace was the next to find it and came over by me and did the “I found the cache” dance. We do it this way so everyone in the search party gets to “discover” the cache if at all possible. Anyway, sharp eyed Lauren found it soon enough and we combed through the “loot” to see what we wanted. Grace as the first to find, choose first, she took an elephant pin she wants to give to her teacher and Lauren took a cork painted with a face. We didn’t have anything to put in so we went back to the truck to get an old pair of sunglasses to put in. That is the rule, if you take something, you have to leave something. The next cache was a little harder to find. We had to walk a bit and move the truck once, but we finally found it hidden in the base of a light post. This one was a micro size and not much room we took two coins and put in a flossing tool. We thought we may have enough light for one more, but when we got near, it was too dark. I, of course, do not know my way around and had no idea how to get back to the house and neither did the girls, so we plugged the Curtis house into the iphone and Lauren tried her hand and navigating. After a couple of hours, no just kidding, we found the house right away and quickly made and ate a great dinner of tacos. Thanks Anne. Dan came home way too soon and found us all wound up; I left Dan to calm everyone down and headed back to the camper.

Boston Museum of Fine Arts with Maddi

Mirrored bottles.
Ganesha, Hindu diety.

Renoir's Dancing at the Bougival.

Degas' Fourteen-year-old-dancer.

Old North Church.

Thursday 29 Oct 2009
Hanscomb AFB, MA

Ah, the rain has finally stopped. There are actually blue skies up there.
We were supposed to meet Maddi at 10 am, at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, but we miscalculated our timing and were late. We forgot about our “Get gas NOW” light being on. She had an ESOL group tour to conduct. I believe ESOL stands for English Speaking Other Languages. These were groups from other countries who speak fairly good English. Her tour started at 10:15. Since we missed her at 10:00 we arranged to meet here at 11:45. We drove to the North End of Boston to the Coast Guard station. There is a USO there so we went to visit them. We received all kinds of great information, maps, discounts and freebies and we told we could park the truck there all day. So we did.
We walked about a mile and then rode the Green Line from the North End down to the Museum of Fine Arts. We met Maddi and then went immediately to get something to eat at the Café there. After lunch she gave us the most amazing “Intro Tour” to the Museum that I have ever had anywhere. She was awesome. Not only is she extremely knowledgeable, but you can tell that she loves all of it, the art, the history, teaching, all of it. It was wonderful.
Afterward Rob and I went to the gift shop/bookstore and bought a statue of Ganesha. He is one of the best known and widely worshiped deities in the Hindu pantheon. He is the Lord of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles. He is also worshipped as the god of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth. He watches over travelers and removes obstacles from their way. When Maddi told us about him at his statue she told us we need one for our travels so we got one.
From the museum we walked back to the Green line station and rode it back to the station in North end. We walked down Hanover Street to Mike’s Bakery. We bought several canolis to go and one to eat in with an espresso. I had a cannoli with a honey nut shell. Ummmmmm. It is the first I’ve ever had. We walked back to the Coast Guard base and retrieved our truck.
We headed back to our home on wheels stopping first at “Stop n Shop” and the Liquor store and then went home. We fed the Yumster and then ourselves and then watched my favorite programs, CSI and Mentalist. Tomorrow is going to be a mellow day for me. Sort of. I’m going to do laundry, clean our house, and go to the gym. Rob is going to do the same as well as go and Baby sit Grace and Lauren. I’m going to start my
Personal Training program.
It was a nice relaxing eve.

We Drove all Day!

Wednesday 28 October 2009
Clarksboro, NJ 61°

We had a leisurely morning, which probably wasn’t a good idea because we have a long drive today. We spent the morning on the computer trying to line up a vehicle to pick up the stuff in storage at the condo in Seattle. We settled on a 10’ truck. We don’t have enough stuff to fill it even half full. But, it’s what we could pick up in Seattle and drop off in Reno.
We strapped things down and pulled in the bedroom. I noticed about 30 ladybugs huddled in the corner of the slide. We grabbed the vacuum and sucked them all up and then vacuumed around all the slides as we brought them in. Hopefully that will be the end of those horrible bugs. We spent all eve grabbing them and throwing them out the door.
It rained hard all night. We were in a little lake this morning when we got up. It continued to rain this morning as well. We packed everything up and hit the road at 10:30. It rained all through New Jersey. It rained all through New York. It rained so hard in Connecticut you could stab it with a fork. Ha Ha thought I’d be a little funny as we’re drowning.
We finished the book “Namesake” so now we are listening to “Rhett Butler’s People” by Donald McCaig.
It really and truly did POUR in Connecticut. Visibility was about 2 feet. It was awful.
We finally entered Massachusetts at 4:30pm. It was still raining very hard.
At 6:40 (with our “get gas Now” light on) we arrived at the spot we wanted at Hanscomb. I will be here for the entire month of Nov so we had to make sure it was the right one. The entire place has an inch of water everywhere and it was still lightly raining. But by 7 pm we were all settled in with the heat and the fireplace on and in for the night. Yea!

Northern Neck to NJ

Farnham Church since 1683.

The Williamson plot, we miss them still.

Rob, Cat, Becky and Ed.

New Jersey ducks.

Tuesday, 27 Oct 2009

Kilmarnock, VA 56°

I woke up several times during night and wee hours to it pouring rain. In the early morning we woke up to a leaf blower on the green of the 2^nd hole. We got up and packed all our stuff, striped the beds and gathered all the towels and went into the house. We enjoyed coffee and cereal with Turner and Darla and then hit the road.

We called Becky and Ed and arranged to meet them at the Episcopal Church in Farnham. In this church, 45years ago, Becky and Ed were married. It is the church that Rob’s Grandparents and Turner and Brady attended while growing up. It is in the cemetery at this church that Rob’s Grandparents as well as Becky’s parents are married. There is a large stone with “Williamson” on it and in front of it are the individual stones of Robert Lowell, Geraldine (Gigi); Clara, and Jim Williamson. Becky said there are 4 more plots owned by the Williamson family there as well.

Ed and Becky took us into the church to show it to us and then into the Perish hall. On the wall in the perish hall is a photograph of a group of people taken at the dedication of the Perish hall. In it was Rob’s grandfather and uncle as well as Becky when she was younger (as well as many others that she could name). Gigi and Clara had already passed away. Gigi passed away in 1979 (73 y/o) and Clara passed in 1981

From there I drove an uneventful drive to Chris and Caroline’s house. I backed in to their driveway and we hooked up the Seville. YumYum was happy to get back inside her home and get a little food, water, and use of her box. We went inside the house and chatted briefly with Caroline and Rosie. She expressed how happy she was that we had come and we were equally pleased that we were able to visit. We gave big hugs goodbye and hit the road again.

Rob drove us expertly through Maryland and Delaware and into New Jersey. We crossed the Delaware River and continued north on Highway 295 to Clarksboro, NJ. We arrived at Timberlane Campgrounds at 4:26 pm. It is an easy pull through. It is fairly level so we didn’t even unhitch the truck. We are right across the lane from a big pond that has a little island in it. There are all kinds of dog carriers and little dog type houses on the island. They are for the ducks. As we were getting settled all the ducks, in a gaggle came over and welcomed us. Rob took a film of it.

We settled in and made Cornish hens for dinner. It has been a whirlwind tour of visiting for the last couple of weeks and it is nice to be settled just the two of us. Tomorrow we will drive about 6 hours back to Hanscomb AFB up by Lexington.

Kilmarnock, VA

A great day of golf.

A nice screened in porch between #1 and #2.

#1 on Indian Creek, within sight of Chesapeake bay.

No carts in this crowd.

Monday 26 October 2009

Kilmarnock, VA

I slept in and boy did it feel good. I went into the main house and had coffee and cereal with the group. We watched The Ellen D. show on TV and then Rob and Turner disappeared. I found them in Darla’s office on the computer. Rob was showing Turner our blog and all the pictures.

Rob went on line to find out about renting a truck in Seattle. He found out that they want to close escrow early and that they require both our signatures, so I may go to Seattle with him to sign Docs and then fly back to Boston. We are still working out the details for that.

We had very delicious home made black bean soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch and then got ready for golf. They live at the 2^nd hole green and 3^rd hole Tee. Their lot curves down to the Chesapeake Bay. Indian Creek goes into the bay on one side and another creek comes in on the other. They have a large screened in porch with all the lovely white rattan furniture and all. I love it.

Anyway, their golf course is called Indian Creek. It is a great course. Very challenging with narrow fairways and water on all but 3 holes. I played my typical lousy golf, although I did get at least 2 pars. And….I only lost 2 balls. Actually, I did pretty well and putted very well. The trees down here are just starting to turn so a couple of the holes were lined with fall colors. Very picturesque.

They have a tree in their yard that is huge and full with green leaves. What makes it so unique is that scattered all around it are blotches of orange, but only on the tips. It is really pretty.

After golf we went back to their house. Darla had pre-made dinner and was now getting it together. Rob’s Aunt Becky and her husband Ed (whose home we went to first in Sharps but they were at the Steelers game) were coming to dinner. Becky is the niece of Rob’s grandfather. His grandparents were brothers married to sisters. Becky’s Mother was sister to Rob’s Grandmother, and her Father was brother to Rob’s Grandfather. They were all fascinating. The eve was spent sharing many details about Rob’s Grandparents, Great Grandparents, and other family member back then. They talked about those family members’ talents and cooking abilities. They also talked about articles of furniture or artifacts that are in Darla & Turner’s home and Becky & Ed’s and where they came from. It was fascinating and overwhelming.

I went to bed at about 11pm and Rob came a bit later.

Baltimore to Kilmarnock

A pretty pond near Sharps.

The dock at Turner and Darla's in Kilmarnock.

Milden Hall, a bit run down, but still grand.

Red sky at night a sailor's delight.

Sunday 25 October 2009

Baltimore, MD 50°

We got up at 7am so we could head out by 8. Rob started a pot of coffee but it blew the fuse at the house. He went to see about resetting it but no one was up so he made a pot of coffee in there. We had a cup of coffee and visited with Ngoima until Chris came down. He was dressing for Church. Chris reset the circuit breaker so we packed up the rig. We pulled in all the slides, grabbed our bags, YumYum’s stuff and then YumYum herself and headed out. Caroline and Christopher had left at about 6 am.

We easily found the Skating complex in Restin where the games are being held. It is a really nice complex with a junior rink and an Olympic rink. They have a skating store with both hockey and figure stuff, a snack bar, a warm indoor area to watch, and ring-side seating. We could hear Caroline cheering as we headed to the rink. Christopher plays on the Stars team and they were playing against the “Raiders”. The stars were behind 3 to 1 when we arrived. I told Caroline not to worry that they would win. It was a great game. The stars picked up the 2 points to tie early in the second period and it remained tied until late in the third period at which time the Stars scored two more goals. How did I know the Stars would win you ask? In typical Raider fashion they lead in the beginning then fell apart miserably and lost the game. I think it is a name curse. We were happy the Stars won.

It was a beautiful sunny day as we headed to Kilmarnock, Virginia. It was 59° when we left Restin. It is expected to warm up as we go further south.

Speaking of the “Raiders”, they are supposed to play the New York Jets this afternoon at 4pm out here. I am hoping we will get to see some of it.

As we crossed the Rappahannock River Rob started describing his Grandparents home called Milden Hall. It was right on the river with a big lawn heading down to its shore. He said it was in a place called Sharps, but we couldn’t find it on the map. All of a sudden we saw a sign pointing to it. We had been looking too far north. We turned around and headed down to Sharps. We found his Aunt’s home pretty easily. They are away at the Steelers game. Then we found his Grandparent’s home. It is beautiful. Rob was disappointed that it was a bit run down. It could use some work, but the yard was not overgrown. It does not seem as though anyone is living in it, but there is some furniture in it. We took several pictures (a couple with Rob’s phone to email now to his sisters, Nancy and Brad). Then we continued on to Turner and Darla’s.

We arrived in the cute little town of Kilmarnock at 2pm and at Turner and Darla’s 20 min. later. It was a very nice eve. We met all their cats and heard about how they were all rescued from the golf club house. We went to their Club House for dinner. And we stayed in their cute little guest house.

Baltimore MD

Saturday 24 October 2009

Baltimore, Maryland 61°

Rob got up quietly and went into the house. He came back at about 8:30 and said he was leaving with Chris, Rosie (age 6), and Christopher (age 11) to go to Rosie’s soccer game. Christopher is refereeing two games. I went into the house and visited with Caroline and had a cup of coffee. She was waiting for Jack (age 10) to take him to his soccer game. So, I walked the two blocks down to the field where Rosie was playing and watched the end of her game. They lost, but they were also short 2 players.

From there Rob, Chris and I drove over to join Caroline at Jack’s game. We only stayed there for a few minutes and then Rob, Chris, and I went back to the house for a bite to eat. Christopher came home and was ready to go to his hockey practice so Rob and Chris took him. I stayed and waited for Caroline. When she got home I went with her to go to here gym to work out. It was nice. I haven’t been to a gym for a long time. We worked out for about an hour and a half and then went back to the house.

I went to the RV and Rob and Christopher were in it trying to catch the ladybugs and were throwing them out the door. We finally got out the vacuum cleaner and started sucking them up. Hopefully after a time or tow of vacuuming they will all be gone. We received an email from our friend Don and he told us what they are, that there are no natural predators for them and that they get into your stuff and lay eggs and then it is really hard to get rid of them. Hopefully we are getting rid of them before they have a chance to do any of that.

We went in and all sat down to a big lunch. Francis (age 16) and her girlfriend were there as well as Chris’s friend, Ngoima, whom he has known for 50 years visiting from Kenya, and the rest of the kids. We had a nice long lunch and visited.

Afterward I took a shower and came out to the RV to put on my makeup and catch up on the journal. A few minutes later Rob arrived and took a nap.

It is raining again and we are hearing thunder off in the distance. It is very warm and humid. Currently, at 3:57pm it is 70°. When I stepped out this morning I thought, “Alabama” it feels like when I was in Alabama. Apparently we are officially in the south.

Tomorrow we will all go to Christopher’s Hockey game which is in Virginia. After the game Rob, YumYum and I will just continue on down the road to Turner and Darla’s home. We are having a nice visit here with Chris (Rob’s Mother’s younger brother), His wife Caroline and their 4 children.

At 8pm Chris, Caroline, Ngoima, Rob & I went to a Jazz concert. The son of one of their neighbors is a bass player. It was very free style jazz. Afterward we went to the Belvedere Hotel and had dinner. From there we learned that Christopher and Jack were still out at a place downtown so we went and picked them up.

We went back to the house and since it was 11:30 pm we went straight to bed.

NY to MD

The gang at the jazz club.

The Tufts home.

A tight squeeze in the driveway.

Friday 23 October 2009

West Point, NY 57°

We buttoned everything up, dumped all the tanks and hit the road at 10:30. Our final destination today is Baltimore, Maryland. It is cold and overcast today. Our first destination is Camping World in New Jersey. We still have not found the light bulbs we need and we need some other RV supplies.

At 11:15 we crossed into New Jersey. The drive was uneventful. We chatter about our adventure thus far. Rob got his schedule for November this morning and submitted some trades. Now he has off the first 4 days and the last 6 days of November off. That is good. So he has the day before and 4 days after Thanksgiving off.

Our new plan is to remain in the Boston area and go trick or treating with the girls, and. Rob will leave on November 1^st and fly to Seattle. He will rent and load a truck with all the stuff he has in storage. He will drive to Reno and put that stuff in the storage there. He will then pick up my car with the kayaks and drive to Fresno. At that point it all depends on time. He may either drive my car on to LA or may leave it in Fresno and fly to LA.

We stopped at Camping World in New Jersey. It was not as big as the ones we normally go to, but it pretty much had everything we needed. We did want to get a map of the US with stick on States so we can add each state as we visit it. I had gotten the wrong one a year ago and the one I got hangs on a window on the inside of a window with suctions cups. We will look somewhere else.

The remainder of the ride was gloomy. The whether is gray and over cast. The terrain is not as exciting as it has been in the past.

We entered Delaware at 3:50 pm. Still overcast and gloomy. Most of the vehicles have their head lights on. A sign said we have 65 miles to go to Baltimore. Our mapping program says 65.5 miles to their house. We entered Maryland at 4:15, It was raining lightly. I’m tired of being in the truck. I feel like a big blob. I want to get out and walk around. Either that or go to sleep.

We finally arrived at Chris and Caroline’s at about 5:30. It was warm. We parked out front on the street until we were sure we were at the correct house and then began the chore of getting the rig in their driveway. They have a nice circular drive way with beautiful trees located in the exact locations to cause us grief. I slowly directed Rob into the entrance to the driveway carefully avoiding the trees in the entrance. We actually got the rig out of the street and then encountered a limb that was shooting out from the tree at just about a foot below the top of the rig. Hmmmm, what to do??!! What else could we do? We cut off the branch!! Then we weren’t able to make it past the front of the house the first try, so we backed up, re positioned and tried again and this time made it past both bushes and are line up for our departure. We opened all the slides and gave a tour and then went into the house for a hearty supper of home made pizza made by 10 y/o Jack.

We spent the eve chatting and drinking wine until bed time. Rob and I slept in the RV with our little YumYum. It rained through out the night.

New York, just like I pictured it.

Central Park from the "Top of the rock".

Grand Central, that's Cat in florescent yellow so I could always find her.

Skyscrapers and everything.

The happy couple over NYC.

Bloggin'.

Off to NYC

Manhattan skyline at sunset.

The Brooklyn Bridge from East Drive.

A beautiful day in Central Park.

A sunny day on the bus.

Times Square at night.

Thursday 22 Oct 2009

West Point, NY 55°

Busy, busy day! We got up early and drove to Peekskill. It was only about a 15 min drive and pretty. We caught a train and rode it all the way (1 hour ride) into Grand Central Station, New York. Wow! It is a beautiful building. We wandered around in Awe for a few minutes and of course took some pictures.

From there we walked to the Port Authority Bus Terminal which was about 10 blocks (.8 miles) away. They had a USO there so we wanted to get Military discount vouchers. From there we only walked about 8 blocks and caught the Gray Line “downtown loop” tour bus. It is a jump on, jump off which are my favorites. We wanted the upper deck naturally so had to wait a bus or two before we were able to get a seat up there. By the way, it was a beautiful, warm, sunny day. I believe it got up to 72°.

The tour was great. We went from mid town to through the Garment District, by Madison Square Gardens, then Macy’s and Tiffany’s and all the other expensive stores, Empire State Building, the Flat Iron Building, Greenwich Village, then SoHo. From there to Battery Park, up the East River by the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, through East Village, by the United Nations, Rockefeller Center, and onto Central Park.

We got off at Central Park and walked down 57^th street to Park Ave. Our destination was Pace Galleries on the 2^nd, 3^rd, 5^th, and 7^th floors. (Might have been on 4^th and 6^th floors as well, but we didn’t go to those floors.) The reason for this gallery is that it is owned by Dick Solomon who was a room mate and very good friend of Rob’s Mother and Father. We met him on the 7^th floor which is one of his offices and an amazing collection of African and far western pacific cultures sculptures. They were awesome. On the other two floors were paintings, prints, and photographs. All truly amazing.

From there we walked about 3 blocks to Dick and his wife Ann’s home on Park Ave. They have a great apartment, filled with wonderful art. We had tea/coffee and cake with them and caught up on old times they shared with Rob’s Dad. They were both lovely and very gracious people.

We visited with them for a couple hours and then walked back to the Rockefeller Center which was only about 4 or 5 blocks. We went to “the top of the Rock” as they say which is up to the top (67 floors and it only took 14 seconds in the elevator). When we got into the elevator they told us to look up when the door closes. I thought it had something to do with the speed of the climb, but it turned out they were displaying photos and a little show on the ceiling. You could also look through it and see the lights in the elevator shaft as we zoomed upwards.

It was amazing up there. We were there in time to see everything in the distance all around, and stayed long enough to watch the sun go down and watch the city begin to light up. The Empire State Building lit up first then various domes and peaks and finally light with in the various buildings lit up.

We realized we were starving so we decided to walk back to a Deli that both Brad (in a text message) and our tour guide told us was the best in town. The problem was it was over 3 miles away. No problem, we can walk. Oops, I tripped stepping of a curb and ended sprawled out on all 4s in the road. Humiliated but mostly ok. Then couple blocks later missed a down slope and just about bought it again. Final straw, I twisted my ankle on a grate that was about an inch above the rest of the sidewalk surface. I was sooo done with long walking. We had actually gotten down by Time Square and not far from Grand Central Station. I was hurting a bit so we went into the first deli we came to with more than three people in it. We were disappointed.

We walked from there to Time Square. Now this is what I’m talking about. We actually hung out in Time Square and people watched. It seems like everything we do is rushed to get here or get there. And I was awed by Time Square with all the Marquis, and people and stuff going on. There is a great bleacher type structure but it is solid and the surface is all lit up red underneath and there were more that a hundred people sitting there. Naturally being curious, I thought, “what are they all doing?” So I said, “let’s go see” and we did. It turns out they were all just there taking in the sights. So we joined them and just sat for about 20 min. taking in the sights of Time Square.

As usual, there just isn’t enough time in a day. I would have loved to have gone in to Tiffany’s just to wander around, or Macy’s, but especially to Ground Zero and the museum where the new memorial and 5 buildings that are going to be built are discussed.

I really wanted to walk through Central Park and go to some other places. But, we had to go. We walked back to Grand Central Station found out what and where the tracks we needed to go back, were told we had three minutes to get there, and we ran. We made it just in time! We had a nice relaxing hours ride back to Peekskill. We made the mile walk back “up” to the truck and drove back to our abode de wheels. I fed YumYum and then went immediately to bed. Rob stayed up for a bit.

One thing I failed to mention. This morning we made it to the train station with about 7 min to spare. However, there was no place to park. One of the cab drivers told me you could park on the other side of the Highway for free, so I called Rob and told him. (He dropped me off to get tickets while he parked). So he went up there and I waited and waited and then the train came. And then the train left. And a minute later I saw Rob running down the hill. This is a large part of his life, getting to the airport off of a trip, or in this case the train station, and missing his connection/train, by one or two minutes. FRUSTRATING! But, we got a cup of coffee, ate our bananas and finally patiently, waited for the next train.

West Point

We found lots of fall color in New York.

Inside the West Point Chapel.

The motto of West Point in stained glass.

View of the Hudson River from the Civil War memorial. These cannons pointing into the ground signify that no American will ever fire on another again.

Washington Hall from across "The Plain"

Wednesday 21 October 2009

Leaving Pittsfield, MA

We started our day by almost getting the rig stuck in the campground. We had to maneuver through trees three 90 degree turns. The woman who told us about the site said we could pull in and then pull though to another site. It was not nearly that easy. We wiggled and jiggled, backed up, pulled forward for about 20 min.

It is much warmer over here in New York. The drive was uneventful, but pretty. There are definitely more colors down here. We found the West Point MWR (Moral, Welfare & Recreation) Campsite and our particular spot. This one merely required backing in. We got out of the truck to make sure we were positioned properly and were immediately assaulted by a gazillion ladybugs. Oh My Goodness. There were over a hundred of them all over the white of the Seville. When we opened the door to go in or out they came flooding in. Yuk!

We left immediately and went to the U S Military Academy, West Point. We went first to the visitor center and in time to join their 2:15 tour. This wonderful, old, retired, Army Officer whose son was a graduate of West Point was our narrator. He was great. We stopped at 2 places, first at the Army Chapel. It is enormous and beautiful with each graduating glass adding to the collection of stained glass windows. It has the largest pipe organ in the world.

We drove by the football stadium. They are gearing up for a home game this Saturday. It is a huge stadium. Next we went to Trophy hill. That is where there are many captured cannons. There is a huge monument to all soldiers lost in all wars. Around this monument are cannon barrels stuck upside down into the ground. This is to say Americans will never fire on another American again. We also stopped at "The Plain" a field which is a big quad in front of the mess hall, the barracks, and the Commanding Generals home. It is where the pass in reviews are held. It was a great tour. Afterwards we went through the West Point museum. It was also very interesting.

I think it would be fun to be stationed at West Point as a member of the cadre. Makes me want to volunteer for active duty.

After this we went to the PX. I would like to get some West Point sweats, but they didn’t have them there. Next we went to the commissary for groceries and then back to the ladybug covered abode de wheels.

There weren’t as many bugs on the outside as when we left, but there were about 14 on the ceiling and flying around inside. They are supposed to bring you luck. Hmm, I guess we’ll see.

Watched TV and planned out tomorrow. We’re going to take a train into NY City. We are going to the trade center, ground zero, and then over to see the statue of liberty. I’m looking forward to it.

Current temperature here in West Point, NY 50°. Tomorrow it is supposed to be 72°. Yea!

The Berkshires

Sunset over the Berkshires.

Cat's designated "UFO" tree.

Sunset at the lodge.

Berkshires.

A Nor'easter in Marblehead.

Tuesday 20 October 2009

Hiddey Valley Campgrounds, MA 45°

Oh my goodness was it ever cold this morning. The heater didn’t come on during the night and it turned out to be for a good reason. BOTH of our propane tanks were empty. Rob, the ”MAN” got up and drove off to fill up the two tanks. I told him YumYum and I were going to stay in bed until it was warm…and we did.

The rest of the day was very lazy and zoomed by.

We paid bills, went through all the mail that was forwarded to us at Anne’s caught up on correspondence and stuff like that. Next thing we knew it was 3:30pm. I think part of the reason it zoomed by was because it was overcast all day and to me it just felt like morning.

Anyway, we figured it was too late to go into Stockbridge to the Norman Rockwell Museum so we drove up to the Visitor Center at the base of Greylock Mountain. We looked around at all the pictures and then went on a 2 mile hike called Barley’s Farm loop. I’m not sure who he was, but he had a huge apple orchard in the 1800s and now all the area belongs to the parks service. It was a fun hike. They had a brochure with 13 points of interest telling about the area the trees, the valley, brook, etc, etc, etc.

We came back and adjusted fire on our journey plans. It is getting very cold, snow is falling in many places and all of the campgrounds we are contacting are turning off their water all ready. As it turns out the two main places we want to visit….Woodstock and Kennebunkport are each only 2 – 2 ½ hour drive from Boston. So we decided to go south for the remainder of our trip. Tomorrow we will head to New York. We are going to spend the next two nights at the Army Academy West Point. While there we are going to go in and tour New York City. I have never been there other than the drive through it on the way out here.

From there we are going to go to Baltimore, MD. There we will spend two days visiting Rob’s Uncle (his Mother’s younger brother) Chris and his family. We actually get to take the RV there and park it at their house. Then on Sunday, leaving the RV where it sits, Rob, YumYum and I will drive down to Virginia and visit Rob’s Uncle (Rob’s Dad’s younger brother). We will stay with them Sunday and Monday (we get to play golf on Monday).

From there we will go back to Baltimore to pick up the rig. We just may get to spend another night with Uncle Chris et al. and then drive 8 hours back to Hanscom. Rob has to fly out of Boston back to LAX on the 30^th. I will settle in to my month stay at Hanscom.

That’s it in a nutshell. The rest of the eve was spent chilling and watching “The Closer” dvds.

Salem to Mt. Greylock

Tower on top of Mt Greylock to memorialize the fallen veterans of Massachusetts.

Gene, Maddie, Cat and I in their beautiful Salem home.

Pretty drive up the Rockwell Road.

Cat and Maddie, awed at the waves in Marblehead.

Sunset at the lodge on Mt. Greylock.

Monday 19 October 2009

Belmont, MA sunny & cold

Dan was gone when we got up and the girls were getting ready for school. Anne was busy with lunches, and breakfast. We had our final visits and giggles with them and then switched to bunches of hugs good bye.

Rob, YumYum and I headed for the Seville back at Fam Camp. Gene Comier had made a comment about how I looked younger with my hair shorter (we had been showing them past pictures of our home, other adventures, etc) My hair has been bugging me anyway and his comment stuck in my mind so I thought that’s it. If I had the barber sheers with me I would have buzzed it off myself, but instead we went on base and I had it all cut off there. Not quite the short spiky cut that Monica does back in Incline, but much better than what was going on.

It is a beautiful sunny day. It is funny, after all the storm, rain and snow yesterday there is not a cloud in the sky. We pack up our little home, dumped our tanks and were on the road by noon. We are headed to Hidden Valley campground which is near Stockbridge, MA. We will probably get there around 3 or 4 pm. We will chill somewhat today, do laundry, etc and then tomorrow go to Stockbridge and visit all the Norman Rockwell stuff, his museum, studio etc. I am happy to be on the road again.

The drive to Stockbridge was nice and comfortable. We listened to a book on tape, “The Namesake” by Jhumpa Lahiri (winner of the Pulitzer Prize). Anne recommended it to us. It is nice.

It is a little disappointing the rather than lots of awesome leaf colors, many of the trees are bare. It is still a beautiful day and the Berkshires are really pretty.

We arrived at the Hidden Valley campground at about 3:30. It is in the woods. They are all really big sites, but the hookups are odd. The one they assigned to us was nice, but the electric and water hook up were beyond our reach, they had to give us another one and it didn’t have water at all. We filled our fresh water tank before going up to our site. We will only be here two nights.

Rob went for a run and I organized dinner. He came back about an hour later and said let’s go watch the sun go down. So we drove about 8 miles up to the top of Greylock Mountain. It was 3491' the highest point in Massachusetts.. There was some snow and ice at the top. There is a lodge up at the top which is a camp over for hikers on the Appalachian Trail. It was so cool that we have finally come across the AP. I have read lots about it and really wanted to hike it (I really wanted to hike it many years ago. Now I’d like to ride parts of it.) Actually, it would be fun to bike the whole thing in parts.

It was fun. We cam back to our abode and I fixed dinner. We were told by the lady who checked us in that she didn’t think we’d be able to find anymore open RV grounds further north so we figured we better solidify our plans and call places to make sure we will have places to stay.

Currently it is 37° here in Pitsfield.