Mile 1570 - Littleton, MA

Boston Minuteman RV Park, one of the prettiest parks I've been in, maybe it's the lack of rain but regardless I love it.  There is a train just far away to make it wistful, chipmunks abound and each site has its own firepit built out of large rocks. The aroma of pine is sweet and it is just cool enough to wear a sweater, I can't stop walking around,happy just to be here.  Go ahead and take a chance if you are nearby.

Getting here was a rough ride at times, I84 in Connecticut shook the sound bar off its mounts and it crashed down on me. The highway was packed - I'm yellin' and trying to keep the coach in the lines - Liz is picking up the parts trying not to get emotional - boy, what a crazy minute.

Off tomorrow to pick up Ruth (my Mom) and then to Belfast Maine in spite of the weather, chances are we'll have a cloudy time filled with clams, lobsters and beer.  Hoping to put in a trip to Acadia National Park if the government is still open.

More Rain - I cannot believe this...

We are in Matamoros PA, where PA meets NJ and NJ meets NY, it is another liquid day.

Sad to say that it does not look like any easing is coming our way in the next few days.  Our plan was to head up to Belfast ME on Thu Oct 1, things are booked, my mother is expecting us to pick her up on Wed but the weather just will not co-operate.   We are bummed to say the least.  Thank you Joaquin.

The coach behaves well in the mountains around us, not much complaining up and down some steep grades even towing the White Toad.  Just have to keep alert and be ready for any quick stops, there is a lot of construction on the interstates (and they need it) so the traffic can go from 60 to 30 - downhill - in no time.  You can reallllly feel the White Toad when that happens.  I now understand the term 'white knuckle driving'.

Let us hope for a respite from the rain before we head home.

Front Royal VA

Yesterdays drive was quite the experience, RV'n in Fl does not equip you for the hills and valleys of northwestern Virginia.  But we made it intact and with a modicum of bad words.  So here we are at Front Royal KOA.

The rain has followed us from Myrtle Beach, guess I forgot to unhook it from the coach.  With the weather like it is we decided to do some spelunking to avoid the weather and hit Skyline Cavern.  Bring a sweater and a camera.

                                                                                                                                                                    Followed by lunch in Washington at Tula's, did you know that there are no french fries (or any other fried food) in Washington VA?  Something to do with the delicate sewage system.

Distilling in Sperryville at the Copper Fox Distillery where they make a nice single malt scotch -  really!!

And a Skyline Drive back to the campsite.












It was a great day regardless of the cloudy weather.

Beach Time

A cloudy, warm day - perfect for some time on the sand.  It's been a fair 4 nights here at Ocean Lakes,  Liz says now we can check this off the list., a bit too packed and busy for her I think.  Next door there is Lakewoods with some RV sites that are set back a bit and well spaced with many pine trees, maybe we can try that.  I would like to come back to the area as it has a lot of old time beach with boardwalks, little restaraunts (nothing to write home about though), bars and Arcades everywhere.  The beach here is primo, soft off white sand, steady small waves and not crowded.  We spent the morning on the beach with Gene and Sandy just chillin...  The fishermen below were just a random shot.

Maybe I should take up fishing, it looks like a great way to spend some time since I enjoy the beach so much.

Talc got a chance to catch up on his reading.

Liz  got a chance to bop around the RV park on her electric scooter.

And I packed up the coach a bit.

Off to Front Royal tomorrow, it's our longest planned drive of 460 miles, where we'll spend a day exploring some caverns and Shenandoah National Park along the famous Skyline Drive.

Sunshine on my shoulder makes me happy....

Kudos to J Denver.
It's amazing how 5 minutes of sunshine can change your outlook on an otherwise dreary day.  Myrtle Beach was inundated with a deluge for the past day and a bit, but this morning held promise of a change.  Having the Sun just breaking thru the thick clouds on my morning walk made me feel great.

 We have some friends here at Ocean Lakes (we are the interlopers), Gene and Sandy.  They have a large 5th wheel and are just getting into RV'n.  It's nice to have someone to visit with a glass of wine.

Liz and I check out the big chairs,,,

And, finally the sun breaks thru just in time for the evening sunset.  What I need is a sundowner.

Ugh, A grey rainy day

Thursday, I should be at the office, it is as grey as the cube I lived in for 20 odd years.
The rain took a break in the late morning so we went to the boardwalk to take in the sights.

Very quiet as it is off season, enjoyable walking the streets without the throngs of tourists (yeah, pot calling the kettle...).   A ride on the 'Sky Wheel' to fill in the time and then lunch at a Nathans.

Ocean Lakes - Myrtle Beach S.C.

Well, we are here,  not the quaintest of places but it's on the beach and in a tourist town.  Over 800 RV sites and it's nearly full.  There are more golf carts here than on a golf course, as the sun goes down they seem to parade around, just cruisin like Fonz in Happy Days.  I'll have to do my cruusin on my scooter.

Beach is nice, but the weather is turning and we expect RAIN, RAIN, RAIN for the next three days. May have to bail on this location a day early.

Mile 0 to Mile 361

Right on time, 10:00 AM we are on the road, the stabilizers are giving us problems but no matter - we'll figure it out later.
The White Toad sure adds length to the coach but when we are under way it feels like it is not there, of course when you try to stop there is another 2800 pounds that needs to be taken into consideration.

Towing the car significantly lengthens the stopping distance.

We found Waldo, slipped thru Coosawhatchie and pulled into Yemassee right on schedule.  Point South KOA had a easy pull thru for us and we won't need to unhook the White Toad or even hook up the water (bit sulphery here so I think we'll pass and use tankage).

Of course all is not well, I try to extend the stabilizers and nothing happens.  Not having stabilizers is a trip changer to say the least, but I find the problem, a bad micro switch on the control panel and manage to jumper it to get things working.

This is going to take some major soldering to fix and I don't have the equipment at this time. Something for me to fiddle with at our next extended stop.

The Point South KOA is nice, woody and they have a Wine/Coffee Bar with pizza and wine tasting. There is even a working telephone in a Red Phone Box right out of Piccadilly Circus (well, maybe not from there but it is a real one from England).  A great overnight stop.

Most everything is well, wine will fix the rest.

1 day till departure...

After a frantic weekend all the planning (by Liz) has come together, she has lists upon lists of things not to forget, pages and pages of directions, information on reservations, recipes and more lists.
Of course my take  this is, 'don't worry, we are not going on an expedition to the Artic.  There's more than one WalMart on the way and I'm sure they'll have what we forget.'
Then 'I' do something like forget the toothbrush charger that you can't find anywhere and have to deal with it.

Can't beat Liz's lists.


And to make sure we eat well a basil plant is making the trip with us.  Gotta have fresh basil.

Hope it makes it, it's looking a bit poorly at the moment.

Our First * for us anyway * Big Trip

After many small trips Bruce decides that a trip to Maine to check out the foliage change might be fun, turn us into 'peepers', since he's retired there is lots of time, and the cost of diesel is great.  Being honest, we are taking the same trip (almost) that friends of ours did in 2013 - originality,it seems, is not our strong point.  Time to fix the coach, map out the trip and clean the damn thing .

Install a new inverter/charger, read 800 maps to plan a route, sift through the myriad of RV camping sites, and figure out what it will cost.  Three days of detailing the outside, (why? - it's just going to get dirty again), wore me out.  All this preparation is  waaaay more effort than the trip could possibly be.

Liz is working on the mail, the bills, keeping the plants watered, the pool cleaned , the clothes to bring and, above all, the menus.  Cant't have Talc and I going hungry.

Talc is excited, he is looking forward to getting some new pins.