Hello!
More adventures from the road!
After Bethel, Maine we drove to Mount Washington. It was our first real indication that the end of the "season" was upon us....many campgrounds had already closed. Some that were still open had no hook-ups, which usually wouldnt bother me at all, but Im travelling with someone from Texas, who was freezing to death in Maine, and NH was not any warmer! So hookups were in order, in order to plug in the adorable electic heater that warms up tootsies in short order (hope it doesnt start a fire!)
The first campground we stopped at (after dark of course because the road was sooo pretty and we had to go look at where the old man used to be, etc) was a little odd - "yes we have a site, yes we have hookups" , then they asked us "do you have a radio?" yes "doyou have a pet?" yes "Well we dont allow either, so you'll have to move along".......well ok then. Come to find out they also dont allow alcohol in the RV, or any noise after 9pm.......probably not a good choice anyway!
We ended up driving for miles in the dark, all the way to Bethlehem, where there was a campground called Apple Hill or Blossom or Run -I should write these things down! No one was in the office, but they were open, so we drove in. It was so dark, and most of the sites were full, but no people or lights anywhere. Spooky. We did find a spot and settled in for the night. The next day we found a human in the office ,paid up and went on our merry way to the Cog Railroad - one of my personal favorites. I just love technology I can understand! No dogs allowed on the railroad; we had to park away from the congestion, so Allie didnt bark every time something moved! Three hours up and back, with a chance to walk around in between.
It had snowed a few days before we arrived, apparently hard enough to produce 4 foot drifts that closed the road for a day. Everything was covered in crystals of snow and ice that looked like feathers. And the wind was blowing like crazy (not 261 miles an hour, as has been recorded there, but ...) It was fun.
Back to Keene for a couple of days, took care of some paperwork, got the scooter and scooterhauler, and back on the road to NY State. It was a stop on the way to visit my cousin and 93 yr young aunt. Not to mention that I got to go see her grandaughter in a cheerleading competition!
Once we left NY State we headed south into PA. The first night we made it as far as Montgomery. Not too far but thats ok. We found this great place to eat - the sign said "Me and Ma's What-Not Shop and Country Kitchen", on Rt 220 between Milan and Ulster NY - 2 huge burgers, smothered with whatever you wanted, 1 enormous plate of fries with tomatoes, onions, blue cheese and hot sauce, 2 drinks (refillable) for $16.32.....I could only eat half, Allie more than enjoyed the rest! Its probably a good thing I could only eat half...."me and ma" both looked like they really liked their own cooking, and I understood why!
Anyway, Riverside Campground in Montgomery was a really pretty site, right on the river.
Allie got to run around with no leash! Apparently they also had a lounge and restaurant open later than anything else in town, but since we right on the riverfront we didnt hear a thing!
Spent the next night in Gettysburg, PA - slow slow day, spent too much time getting groceries and hardware store stuff - we had to figure out how to get the scooter on and off the hauler, for example. We had also hooked up for the first time, a GPS system that Cruise America sent us as a gift...occasionally it is right on accurate! Her name is Cynthia, and I have to admit, it drives me nuts. I want a map. But it was fun to play with on day 1. Cynthia sent us to 3 different campgrounds around Gettysburg - the first two were practically full. It was Friday, Oct 26, and the campgrounds were celebrating Halloween. I mean adults and children running amuck with costumes on, haunted houses, lights everywhere, trick or treating from 5 - 7pm. We went to a third campground, which was called Granite Hill - home of the Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival in May each year. Well that would be cool! But it wasnt May, it was Halloween weekend. They actually had one site left, so we took it, because of course, it was about to be dark. The woman at the desk said oh of course all the campgrounds are booked, theyve been booked for the whole month of October - we do Halloween every weekend in October! They were having a DJ'd Monster Mash that night which we were invited to join in on. Who knew? She said everyone from up north thought it was weird...I said it was probably because the campgrounds arent even open! Unfortunately, as soon as we parked and had dinner, it started to pour....which didnt stop the hundreds of costumed revelers from mashing, but it did stop me! And it poured all night long.
Saturday morning the sun came out for our drive to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. Let me tell you right now, I loved Harper's Ferry, and I wish I could have spent 2 days there. I love the old buildings - some restored, some stabilized, some half torn down to show the different architecture over the centuries, people in period costumes. It is also the site of the John Brown raid on the Munitions Factory, which failed miserably and led to his hanging in 1859. There is a museum dedicated to that entire escapade and to the life of John Brown. Very cool. The machines from the old factories were still intact, and are often used to give demonstrations. We spent all afternoon there, I had to get dragged to the last bus back to the parking lot.
But! There was a KOA campground right next door....with one available campsite, because? It was Halloween weekend! We didnt have any candy to give out, so I couldnt hang up our little pumpkin from the KOA office. There were some very cute kids wandering about trick or treating, and some very nice dog outfits as well! More next time of our adventures after Harpers Ferry.
Love you all, Mindy
More adventures from the road!
After Bethel, Maine we drove to Mount Washington. It was our first real indication that the end of the "season" was upon us....many campgrounds had already closed. Some that were still open had no hook-ups, which usually wouldnt bother me at all, but Im travelling with someone from Texas, who was freezing to death in Maine, and NH was not any warmer! So hookups were in order, in order to plug in the adorable electic heater that warms up tootsies in short order (hope it doesnt start a fire!)
The first campground we stopped at (after dark of course because the road was sooo pretty and we had to go look at where the old man used to be, etc) was a little odd - "yes we have a site, yes we have hookups" , then they asked us "do you have a radio?" yes "doyou have a pet?" yes "Well we dont allow either, so you'll have to move along".......well ok then. Come to find out they also dont allow alcohol in the RV, or any noise after 9pm.......probably not a good choice anyway!
We ended up driving for miles in the dark, all the way to Bethlehem, where there was a campground called Apple Hill or Blossom or Run -I should write these things down! No one was in the office, but they were open, so we drove in. It was so dark, and most of the sites were full, but no people or lights anywhere. Spooky. We did find a spot and settled in for the night. The next day we found a human in the office ,paid up and went on our merry way to the Cog Railroad - one of my personal favorites. I just love technology I can understand! No dogs allowed on the railroad; we had to park away from the congestion, so Allie didnt bark every time something moved! Three hours up and back, with a chance to walk around in between.
It had snowed a few days before we arrived, apparently hard enough to produce 4 foot drifts that closed the road for a day. Everything was covered in crystals of snow and ice that looked like feathers. And the wind was blowing like crazy (not 261 miles an hour, as has been recorded there, but ...) It was fun.
Back to Keene for a couple of days, took care of some paperwork, got the scooter and scooterhauler, and back on the road to NY State. It was a stop on the way to visit my cousin and 93 yr young aunt. Not to mention that I got to go see her grandaughter in a cheerleading competition!
Once we left NY State we headed south into PA. The first night we made it as far as Montgomery. Not too far but thats ok. We found this great place to eat - the sign said "Me and Ma's What-Not Shop and Country Kitchen", on Rt 220 between Milan and Ulster NY - 2 huge burgers, smothered with whatever you wanted, 1 enormous plate of fries with tomatoes, onions, blue cheese and hot sauce, 2 drinks (refillable) for $16.32.....I could only eat half, Allie more than enjoyed the rest! Its probably a good thing I could only eat half...."me and ma" both looked like they really liked their own cooking, and I understood why!
Anyway, Riverside Campground in Montgomery was a really pretty site, right on the river.
Allie got to run around with no leash! Apparently they also had a lounge and restaurant open later than anything else in town, but since we right on the riverfront we didnt hear a thing!
Spent the next night in Gettysburg, PA - slow slow day, spent too much time getting groceries and hardware store stuff - we had to figure out how to get the scooter on and off the hauler, for example. We had also hooked up for the first time, a GPS system that Cruise America sent us as a gift...occasionally it is right on accurate! Her name is Cynthia, and I have to admit, it drives me nuts. I want a map. But it was fun to play with on day 1. Cynthia sent us to 3 different campgrounds around Gettysburg - the first two were practically full. It was Friday, Oct 26, and the campgrounds were celebrating Halloween. I mean adults and children running amuck with costumes on, haunted houses, lights everywhere, trick or treating from 5 - 7pm. We went to a third campground, which was called Granite Hill - home of the Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival in May each year. Well that would be cool! But it wasnt May, it was Halloween weekend. They actually had one site left, so we took it, because of course, it was about to be dark. The woman at the desk said oh of course all the campgrounds are booked, theyve been booked for the whole month of October - we do Halloween every weekend in October! They were having a DJ'd Monster Mash that night which we were invited to join in on. Who knew? She said everyone from up north thought it was weird...I said it was probably because the campgrounds arent even open! Unfortunately, as soon as we parked and had dinner, it started to pour....which didnt stop the hundreds of costumed revelers from mashing, but it did stop me! And it poured all night long.
Saturday morning the sun came out for our drive to Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. Let me tell you right now, I loved Harper's Ferry, and I wish I could have spent 2 days there. I love the old buildings - some restored, some stabilized, some half torn down to show the different architecture over the centuries, people in period costumes. It is also the site of the John Brown raid on the Munitions Factory, which failed miserably and led to his hanging in 1859. There is a museum dedicated to that entire escapade and to the life of John Brown. Very cool. The machines from the old factories were still intact, and are often used to give demonstrations. We spent all afternoon there, I had to get dragged to the last bus back to the parking lot.
But! There was a KOA campground right next door....with one available campsite, because? It was Halloween weekend! We didnt have any candy to give out, so I couldnt hang up our little pumpkin from the KOA office. There were some very cute kids wandering about trick or treating, and some very nice dog outfits as well! More next time of our adventures after Harpers Ferry.
Love you all, Mindy
