December 30, 2013--We have moved to a new campground, about fifty miles from our previous one. It is a small campground called The Colonies, located about a mile north of Fort Monroe,on a very narrow spit of land, with Chesapeake Bay on one side and Mill Creek on the other. I didn't count them, but I am guessing that there are 13 RV sites because each site has the name of one of the original thirteen colonies; we are sitting Virginia, the site and state.
A short walk away, we have a sandy beach on the Bay side. Also a view of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel and ships entering the Bay on the waters above the tunnel.
Our intention is to sit here for at least three days, doing a little walking--maybe down to Fort Monroe--reading, and writing. Then we shall head a little further south along the coast, exactly where is still to be determined.
During the past week we visited Colonial Williamsburg every day. Last night, we witnessed the Grand Illumination that takes place on the green in front of the Governor's Palace. This is an evening event where a colonial fife and drum corp and a company of riflemen march from the Palace down the green, stopping at the homes, located along the green, of several prominent colonial citizens of the town. The house is given a musical serenade and volley is fired in salute.
A line of torch bearers moves with the formation, marching along each side of formation. Their duty is to light the way and to light the cressets located in front of the selected houses. Cressets are iron baskets filled with wood set on iron hooks that act as lanterns when lit. One of the torch bearers came close to lighting my toque as the group marched by because the torch was leaning out to the side instead of straight up. At least it provided a bit of heat on a very cool, damp night.
During the week, we also got to listen to and speak with several prominent colonials: George Wythe, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington. We visited the collection of folk art exhibited in the Art Museum. We had a good conversation with a colonial tailor, a female colonial gunsmith--also handled a flintlock made in the shop that had a fantastic balance and ready sight-line. We ate in Chownings Tavern and Shields Tavern--B learned at each place that she liked the colonial "rummers." Except for Saturday, we had the village to ourselves; on Saturday, a sunny, mild day, it was wall-to-wall people.
We have been enjoying our "winter home." Because we are "old backpackers" we find our new environment to be a very elaborate and will appointed tent-- much better than the two-man tent that we lived in for many nights on the trails in the White Mountains. We have adjusted to the compact toilet/shower facilities, B is able to produce meals as good as those she made back in our log cabin, our "bedroom" is comfortable, we got to watch the Patriots beat the Bills--we didn't get to see the Patriots-Ravens game, but enjoyed hearing the results--our Verizon internet "box" works very well. We did find that the "laundry room" at last weeks campground left much to be desired. Today we found a laundromat in a strip mall that was much quicker and cheaper.
Hopefully, good things and good weather continue along the way.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Monday, December 23, 2013
Today is December 23, we are at our first "destination," which is Williamsburg, VA. We will be here for at least seven days, but we may extend our stay until after New Year's Day to allow us to experience some of the Christmas and New Year events that take place at Colonial Williamsburg. We are staying very close to Colonial Williamsburg, at the Anvil Campground--which puts us between a railroad track and a roadway.. We'll see how that works out.
Since the last blog entry, this is our seventh night on the road. We winterized and closed the cabin last Tuesday, Dec. 17, and spent that night at the RiverBrook campground in Rumney, NH. That was another snow and cold gift from Mother Nature to take with us, in memory, as we travel south. The campground was in winter mode--meaning no running water, but their toilet and shower facility was very clean and heated. We recommend this campground.
The next day, we drove to Rhode Island to see Stevan and our granddaughters, Melissa and Julia, and to see, with them, the TransSiberianOrchestra performing that night in Providence. This was Stevan's Christmas gift to us. It was a great show. with excellent seats--center, in the third row from the stage. The performance was similar to last year's, but I thought the stage graphics and set was better than the one used last year. Stevan gave us the same gift last year--he'll have to come up with something different for next year because the word is that this is the final Christmas tour for TSO. We didn't camp on this night; we stayed in a hotel.
Thursday morning, Dec. 19, we headed out along US 6 through rural Rhode Island and Connecticut; something we have not done for years--very scenic. In Hartford, we moved to I-84 and travelled into New York. Around 3:00 PM, we stopped at a rest area to locate a nearby campground. We found one that was located in the town of Florida, NY. We called. When I asked if the were open, the woman's reply was, "What do you mean by open?" She then said they had full hookups--water, electricity, sewer, cable, and WiFi--but that their bath and shower facilities were closed. I said we would take a site. We reached the campground at 3:30. At the "managers" office, I found the woman I talk to on the phone to be elderly and with a spinal condition that kept her bent over, and had to walk with a cane. In the "office" there was also a bed-ridden man on oxygen. I paid $54.00 for the night's stay and headed to the assigned site. After backing in and connecting the electrical cord, I looked for the water and sewer connections, but couldn't find any indication of either one. there was about six inches of snow on the ground. I walked back to the "office," told them my problem, then the two "managers" discussed how they could solve the problem. She made some phone calls to people that worked for the campground, but who had already left for the day; all she got was voice mail. She told me to move across the roadway to either of two other sites that she was sure had water and sewer. I did. They didn't, more or less; I found the water connection at one of the sites only because someone had left a bucket over the faucet. I couldn't find the sewer connection on ether of these two sites. It was getting dark and so was my mood. Again, another walk. This time the "managers" said there was a site at the far end of the campground, at the top of the hill, that had "just been vacated" so they were sure that there were water and sewer connections. Now, after B had secured everything that she had already taken out in the camper, we drove a long climbing road to the top to the hill. I couldn't read the site numbers, and all the empty sites were snow covered. Naturally, I passed the one we were looking for. I backtracked, found the site, walked into it, saw a faucet, turned it on--no water came out. Drove back down to the office--happy as a raving maniac.
The "managers" solution this time was to refund my money to me and to let me stay at any of the first three sites I wanted--no charge--for the night. I had paid with Visa, so the woman was going to refund using the card. She took it, went to the machine, pushed some buttons, then said, "Oh no, I charged you again. I don't think I can do refunds." Now it was very dark outside and inside me. She finally figured out how to get a refund processed and refunded my $108.00. In the earlier blog I had said that we were not going to the state of Florida; I should have included cities, towns, and villages.
The following day, we left this memorable place. We headed south on US 209, which passed through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, a scenic and comfortable 35-mile drive. After leaving the Recreation Area, we stopped for lunch at a small local diner, Cherry's, in the town of Kresgeville, where we had two excellent meals: broiled scallops for B, and a half-rack of ribs for me. We each ordered a slice from two of their many homemade pies to go. We planned to have them for supper after we settle into tonight's campground. Again, around 3:00, we stopped and did a search from nearby campgrounds. We found that there was one just a five miles from where we were. We called. They were open and had full hookups. After last night's experience, we knew that could mean anything.
When we arrived at the campground, Twin Pines, in Pine Grove, PA, we found a KOA campground located in beautiful site, with great views--and sunset. Their hookup connections were all visible. To top it off, they had a log cabin with several large rooms, each well heated, with a toilet and shower. This cost us $28.00 for the night. We were all setup by 4:30 and enjoying wine and TV.
December 21, the first day of winter; we are waking up in Pine Grove, PA, not quite in the South--but close. The Weather Channel online tells us this morning, that our log cabin is expecting to see some heavy ice today and tomorrow--well, so far, that makes this trip worthwhile. B and I like snow, but hate ice. For the sake of everyone back home, we hope that the ice is not as bad as it was a few years ago.
We left the campground at 10:45, and an hour and a half later, we were at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center. This is our fourth or fifth visit to Gettysburg, but our first visit to this new visitor center. The outstanding thing to see here is the Cyclorama painting of Pickett's Charge. This circular painting is 377 feet long and 42 feet high. Painted in 1883, and restored in 1990's, it is very realistic. The museum exhibits are also outstanding. Then there is the bookstore--so many books, and so little time to read them.
We left the visitors center at 3:45, did a search for an nearby campground, only to learn that many of the ones in the area were closing down for the holidays. We found one on about the sixth call. They were very close, but the office was closing at 4:00. We reached the campground with about five minutes to spare. This campground was called Round Top, in the shadow of the battlefield Round Top. We had a good night here and find that we are getting comfortable with our "winter home."
Sunday, we travelled south on US15 from Gettysburg to Fredrick, MD. Here, we visited National Museum of Civil War Medicine. We found the exhibit to be very interesting and informative. It took about two hours to go through the three floors of the small museum. From Frederick, we continued south on US 15 to just outside of Charlottesville, VA., where we located a campground in the town of Louisa. This campground, Small Country Campground, was out in a wooded area. The narrow two-lane road that led to the camp took a bit of effort in driving. The road had many curves and many times the road sloped down to the outside of the curve which caused the truck and camper to lean a bit. This also caused the truck to try steering towards outside of the curve. When we arrived at the campground office, it was closed, but a girl came over from one of the trailers, opened the office and signed us in. The first site given to us was not very level so I asked for another site. The second site was a little better, but still had a small slope in two directions where we had to park to hook up to the services. It also started to rain while I was connecting the hoses and power line to the camper. It rained all night. The temperature, however, was in the mid-seventies.
The good thing today was that the Patriots beat the Baltimore Ravens. We thought that we were going to see the game on TV, but there was no cable at the sites we could use here, and it turns out that the game time had been moved up to 1:00 PM.
Since the last blog entry, this is our seventh night on the road. We winterized and closed the cabin last Tuesday, Dec. 17, and spent that night at the RiverBrook campground in Rumney, NH. That was another snow and cold gift from Mother Nature to take with us, in memory, as we travel south. The campground was in winter mode--meaning no running water, but their toilet and shower facility was very clean and heated. We recommend this campground.
The next day, we drove to Rhode Island to see Stevan and our granddaughters, Melissa and Julia, and to see, with them, the TransSiberianOrchestra performing that night in Providence. This was Stevan's Christmas gift to us. It was a great show. with excellent seats--center, in the third row from the stage. The performance was similar to last year's, but I thought the stage graphics and set was better than the one used last year. Stevan gave us the same gift last year--he'll have to come up with something different for next year because the word is that this is the final Christmas tour for TSO. We didn't camp on this night; we stayed in a hotel.
Thursday morning, Dec. 19, we headed out along US 6 through rural Rhode Island and Connecticut; something we have not done for years--very scenic. In Hartford, we moved to I-84 and travelled into New York. Around 3:00 PM, we stopped at a rest area to locate a nearby campground. We found one that was located in the town of Florida, NY. We called. When I asked if the were open, the woman's reply was, "What do you mean by open?" She then said they had full hookups--water, electricity, sewer, cable, and WiFi--but that their bath and shower facilities were closed. I said we would take a site. We reached the campground at 3:30. At the "managers" office, I found the woman I talk to on the phone to be elderly and with a spinal condition that kept her bent over, and had to walk with a cane. In the "office" there was also a bed-ridden man on oxygen. I paid $54.00 for the night's stay and headed to the assigned site. After backing in and connecting the electrical cord, I looked for the water and sewer connections, but couldn't find any indication of either one. there was about six inches of snow on the ground. I walked back to the "office," told them my problem, then the two "managers" discussed how they could solve the problem. She made some phone calls to people that worked for the campground, but who had already left for the day; all she got was voice mail. She told me to move across the roadway to either of two other sites that she was sure had water and sewer. I did. They didn't, more or less; I found the water connection at one of the sites only because someone had left a bucket over the faucet. I couldn't find the sewer connection on ether of these two sites. It was getting dark and so was my mood. Again, another walk. This time the "managers" said there was a site at the far end of the campground, at the top of the hill, that had "just been vacated" so they were sure that there were water and sewer connections. Now, after B had secured everything that she had already taken out in the camper, we drove a long climbing road to the top to the hill. I couldn't read the site numbers, and all the empty sites were snow covered. Naturally, I passed the one we were looking for. I backtracked, found the site, walked into it, saw a faucet, turned it on--no water came out. Drove back down to the office--happy as a raving maniac.
The "managers" solution this time was to refund my money to me and to let me stay at any of the first three sites I wanted--no charge--for the night. I had paid with Visa, so the woman was going to refund using the card. She took it, went to the machine, pushed some buttons, then said, "Oh no, I charged you again. I don't think I can do refunds." Now it was very dark outside and inside me. She finally figured out how to get a refund processed and refunded my $108.00. In the earlier blog I had said that we were not going to the state of Florida; I should have included cities, towns, and villages.
The following day, we left this memorable place. We headed south on US 209, which passed through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, a scenic and comfortable 35-mile drive. After leaving the Recreation Area, we stopped for lunch at a small local diner, Cherry's, in the town of Kresgeville, where we had two excellent meals: broiled scallops for B, and a half-rack of ribs for me. We each ordered a slice from two of their many homemade pies to go. We planned to have them for supper after we settle into tonight's campground. Again, around 3:00, we stopped and did a search from nearby campgrounds. We found that there was one just a five miles from where we were. We called. They were open and had full hookups. After last night's experience, we knew that could mean anything.
When we arrived at the campground, Twin Pines, in Pine Grove, PA, we found a KOA campground located in beautiful site, with great views--and sunset. Their hookup connections were all visible. To top it off, they had a log cabin with several large rooms, each well heated, with a toilet and shower. This cost us $28.00 for the night. We were all setup by 4:30 and enjoying wine and TV.
December 21, the first day of winter; we are waking up in Pine Grove, PA, not quite in the South--but close. The Weather Channel online tells us this morning, that our log cabin is expecting to see some heavy ice today and tomorrow--well, so far, that makes this trip worthwhile. B and I like snow, but hate ice. For the sake of everyone back home, we hope that the ice is not as bad as it was a few years ago.
We left the campground at 10:45, and an hour and a half later, we were at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center. This is our fourth or fifth visit to Gettysburg, but our first visit to this new visitor center. The outstanding thing to see here is the Cyclorama painting of Pickett's Charge. This circular painting is 377 feet long and 42 feet high. Painted in 1883, and restored in 1990's, it is very realistic. The museum exhibits are also outstanding. Then there is the bookstore--so many books, and so little time to read them.
We left the visitors center at 3:45, did a search for an nearby campground, only to learn that many of the ones in the area were closing down for the holidays. We found one on about the sixth call. They were very close, but the office was closing at 4:00. We reached the campground with about five minutes to spare. This campground was called Round Top, in the shadow of the battlefield Round Top. We had a good night here and find that we are getting comfortable with our "winter home."
Sunday, we travelled south on US15 from Gettysburg to Fredrick, MD. Here, we visited National Museum of Civil War Medicine. We found the exhibit to be very interesting and informative. It took about two hours to go through the three floors of the small museum. From Frederick, we continued south on US 15 to just outside of Charlottesville, VA., where we located a campground in the town of Louisa. This campground, Small Country Campground, was out in a wooded area. The narrow two-lane road that led to the camp took a bit of effort in driving. The road had many curves and many times the road sloped down to the outside of the curve which caused the truck and camper to lean a bit. This also caused the truck to try steering towards outside of the curve. When we arrived at the campground office, it was closed, but a girl came over from one of the trailers, opened the office and signed us in. The first site given to us was not very level so I asked for another site. The second site was a little better, but still had a small slope in two directions where we had to park to hook up to the services. It also started to rain while I was connecting the hoses and power line to the camper. It rained all night. The temperature, however, was in the mid-seventies.
The good thing today was that the Patriots beat the Baltimore Ravens. We thought that we were going to see the game on TV, but there was no cable at the sites we could use here, and it turns out that the game time had been moved up to 1:00 PM.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
We knew little about RV'ing and little about what we would need to live away from our normal environment.
Since then, we have learned some things about both.
I can now take the camper off the truck and to load it on. Each time gets a bit easier for me, but B still can not watch the process. During the three months, I have kept the camper connected to the shop's electricity in order to keep its two batteries charged and allows electrical appliances to be used inside the camper. I have also kept the heater on, set to the minimum temperature setting. This has kept the camper at 44°. The heater runs on propane--the camper has two twenty-pound tanks. With the cooler temperatures that we have had the past few weeks, a tank last about ten days. Surprisingly, that temperature is comfortable when we have to be inside. I did learn that in extremely cold temps, the propane flow may be a bit erratic. If the flow to the heater stops, I learned that the thermostat has to be reset in order for the heater to restart. This bit of information was learned during a call to the dealer.
B feels comfortable about cooking in the camper. She has purchased cooking utensils that will be used exclusively in the camper. She has also planned out where everything will be kept and what type of meals she can cook. So, we should be in good shape and, hopefully, not too much out of it when we return.
Right now, the camper is on the truck, and loaded with just about everything we will need when we leave in a few days. It is also loaded with some snow--and more is expected tomorrow. Maybe this is nature's way of wishing us "Bon Voyage."
Our decision to travel into some of the southern states for two months has made it necessary for us to arrange for a mail delivery service. The US Postal Service will only hold mail for a maximum of 30 days. We have signed up with a company in Florida that provides a temporary mailing address where our mail will be forwarded. The company will keep us informed of what they have received; then we can have them send the mail to us by FedEx when we are ready to receive it and staying somewhere for a few days.
We have also gotten into some technology as a result of this trip. We now have a wireless phone service; we each have a cellphone and a device that gives us a WiFi internet connection where and when we need it and inside the camper. This frees us from having to rely on public, unsecured WiFi.
In addition, we have added a VPN (Virtual Private Network) software and service to our computer. This removes our identification and encrypts data sent from our computer, relays the data to its destination, unencrypted, then returns any reply to our computer encrypted, where it will be unencrypted. This is all to hopefully prevent identity thieves from intercepting any of our personal information that we need to send out during our trip. What a wonderful world we live in!
Today the "winter cottage" looks like one. Winter has not officially arrived, but it sure looks like it. There was twelve inches of snow last night. Nice joke, Mother Nature! I got the snowblower out to clear the walkway and driveway so we can leave on Tuesday. I also had to do the thing that B doesn't like me doing: clearing snow off the roof--this time, however, it was the roof on the camper.
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