I am attempting to laboriously blog from my cell phone, as we have had no Internet service at the campgrounds where we've stayed, so please forgive my typos and lack of punctuation.
We left Cartersville on Wednesday evening to begin our Northeast tour. We hope to visit The Finger Lake Region and the Adirondacks in New York after Cleveland, Ohio. Then Acadia Park and Bar Harbor, Maine. Then we will head down the coast to Boston area and New York City.
We drove a few hours to a campground in Tennessee (Athens I75 Campground.) It was an unkempt place with knee-high grass outside our door and mostly permanent-type campers, but we had hookups (water,power, sewer, cable tv) and we could run our air so we were grateful for that. There was no one in the office when we arrived and no one there when we left, so we had no one to pay and no drop box etc. Poor way to run a business!
I googled a campground for Thursday night and found Old I35 Campground in Jamestown KY. It was about six miles off 75 then a half mile down a dirt road which left our towed suv very dirty. The "campground" was, delightfully, in a wooded copse on the edge of a corn field. We were the only travelers there but there were a couple of permanent residents The lady who greeted us was very nice and later gave us fresh squash from her garden. Obviously, a farmer had decided to maximize the income from his land. We let daisy run in a mowed field after a supper of BLT's made with thick slices of Christians homegrown tomatoes.
The playground.....
Friday, July 29
We had a leisurely morning on Friday and didn't get on the road again until about 10 AM. I couldn't pass up an opportunity to shop for about an hour at the huge Tanger outlet at I 75.
We arrived at Punderson State park in Ohio at 4:30, no thanks to our GPS, which took us on the wrong 422 exit Our campsite, # 9 , was very sloped and Chuck struggled to get us level. A kind neighbor gave us a wood block that we added to our plastic blocks. When the front jack came down, it lifted the coach off the ground! This resulted in the tires actually being off the ground by a few inches. It looked and felt very odd and we still weren't level, which we knew could result in permanent refrigerator failure.
We decided we would cut our stay short. Punderson is a beautiful park, but the only decent site for a "big rig" is # 13.
To top it off, Chuck couldnt get a satellite signal through the in- motion unit, so he dragged out the manual dish. He worked til nearly dark before he gave up. He was greatful when I hooked Fox News up to the Bose. I said we could do without TV, but not Hunka!
Saturday, July 30
We left at about 9 AM to go to Chuck's cousin Barb's house for a lovely brunch and a great visit with many of Chuck's cousins and two amazing 96 and 90-something aunts, he had not seen for a long time. It was sad to say goodbye and we all promised to get together more often, hopefully at Redtop mountain state park.
After we returned to Punderson State Park, Shelene, my high school friend, and her husband Jim, arrived on their Harley for a visit. It was so nice to see them!
Later, we heard music across the lake at the Lodge and decided to drive over and check it out. It turned out to be a wedding in a tent, lakeside. The lodge was a picturesque Tudor style and the rock patio gave us a bird's- eye view of the wedding party and band, plus a gorgeous view of the lake at sunset. We struck up a conversation with a nice couple from Bainbridge who were there with their corgi dog, and ended up spending a couple of hours chatting with them.
July 31, 2011
We had a liesurely morning before packing up and heading Northeast to Geneva State Campground on Lake Erie.
We had our choice of beautiful campsites because it was a Sunday afternoon. Chuck unloaded the car and i went in search of the perfect site which was number 75. It is a heavily wooded site which was a surprise. Campsites near the ocean are sunny and treeless so we expected the same here.
Setting up was a breeze this time because it was level. We had just 30 amp power but no water, but our tank water lasted just fine. However, I was in clothes-washing withdrawal. :-). Chuck would tell you that I love to wash clothes every day, mostly just because Im excited to have a washer and dryer (all-in-one) in a camper!!!! ... but also because it's such a small thing that it holds only a few items.
We rode our bikes to the beach where we went for a nice walk and discovered a cove where boats were pulled up to the beach.
When we came back we dressed for dinner and went into Geneva on the Lake. What a tacky little torist town that has changed little since I was young. The tiny lake- side cottages reminded us of scene from a 1940's movie.
But it is the town where Chuck proposed to me back in 1968. We were glad Piero's Italian restaurant was still operating We had yummy clam pasta and strolled awhile.
Geneva on the Lake is biker and old - car heaven with many Interesting sights to see! We walked down to the beach, then I challenged Chuck to a game of skeet ball in ome of the many arcades, because it's one of the few games I can beat him at. And I did!
After our walk down memory lane, we stopped at the beach to watch a firey sunset Back at the campsite we put Daisy in my bike basket and rode around the nearly- full campground, enjoying the cool evening air...relief from the unusually high temps. Nothing like the ambience of glowing campfires!
Monday, August 1
Took a long bike ride along a lakefront street where we saw many beautiful homes. We worked up a good sweat and appetite for lunch.
We spent the afternoon on the beach. I cant recall Lake Erie waters ever being so warm; 77 degrees! There is about a 10' wide area of smooth stones along the edge of the water which were difficult to navigate. I kept losing my balance, which made me feel ancient, when the waves hit, but once past the smooth rocks, it was nice and sandy.
Tuesday August 2, 2011
I-86 in New York very rough for about 20 miles. Scenery pretty though, on route to Taughannock State Park. Daisy is enjoying her water-filled cool bed under the dash.
Chuck enjoys driving approx 60' combined-motorhome and tow vehicle. Definitely a "man thing"!
......and i do a fair job as copilot/navigator using a gps on pc, one on a phone and a normal one. Sounds like over-kill, but if we make a wrong turn and get in a tough spot, we may have to Unhook the SUV to turn around On a couple of such occasions we drove 5+ miles to avoid that scenerio (GPS fault, not mine!)
We arrived at Pinetree Campground near Taughammock State Park(near Ithaca, Ny) at 4:30 pm What a nice surprise! Lovely park with shady and open spacious sites and scenic mountains in the background. Its only 83 degrees and breezy. Heavenly. We hear it is 95 in Atlanta. The owners, Sue and Richard are very nice and helpful. We hope the forcasted rain for tomorrow wont keep us from exploring the many waterfalls, gorges and wineries here! Cooked dinner and started a a load of laundry! Yea!
wed., August 3
Chuck cooked us a nice breakfast then we headed out to explore. Daisy was happy to be included!
We paid seven dollars to park at Buttermilk Falls State Park but were little disappointed to see that the Falls had very little water. We decided to hike to the top, but stopped just short of because the stairs were so steep that Daisy was having a hard time hopping up them. That's our story and we're sticking to it!
Then we drove to Robert E. Tremon State Park
The trip up to the falls had worn Daisy out, lol, so we stopped for a few groceries at Wally World (yes, New York
It was an overcast, and sometimes drizzly day, but we didn't mind and were relieved to enjoy 72 degrees. We hear it was 100 in Atlanta
Note: I went to the office this morning to use the campground's advertised internet access. After I'd worked for about 45 minutes, they asked me to leave as they needed to use the connection. That's a remote campground for you!
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