Home again

We had a surprisingly easy and uneventful drive home from Pennsylvania.  Avoiding Washington and Baltimore, we took I-81 most of the way---out of the way and adding some miles, but a pleasant drive.  The only traffic back-up we hit was about 5 miles from Ashland, our exit from I-95 just before getting home.  

What a great vacation!  We lucked out on the weather, as they were expecting rain several days in the coming week up in Cape Cod.  Here, there was no rain during our absence, so everything is very dry, but we expect to get some rain early in the week from Hurricane Nate.

Heading south again

Today we were on the road by 8:00, unusual for us.  However, we anticipated a long day of driving, with our destination a campground in Pennsylvania.

Today's drive was the same as last week's, but in reverse.  We took Route 6 westward along Cape Cod, connected with I-495 to the Mass Turnpike, and took that to I-84.  Then it was hours of driving along that highway, crossing the Hudson at Newburgh after a fairly uneventful drive across Connecticut.

In just one week's time, the leaves in the northeast have started turning.  All along, through Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania, there are brilliant reds, oranges, and golds.  

We have stopped for the night near Tobyhanna, PA, in the Poconos.  The campground is mostly seasonal campers, and this is the weekend of their big Halloween celebration, so there are tacky decorations at most of the sites, and it looks to be a big partying time for all.  So far, though, it's a quiet evening, our last in the RV for who-knows-when.  

A Day in Provincetown

After our usual slow start to the day, we headed out in late morning to explore Provincetown.

Our first stop was at Race Point Beach where we took Ranger for a walk.  He still is not thrilled about walking on the beach, particularly when there are people with scary fishing rods along the way.  But he lasted a bit longer than he had at Coast Guard Beach on Tuesday.

From there, we headed into town, which is an interesting place.  There are lots of shops, restaurants, and galleries, as well as a wharf from which whale-watching boats and ferries leave.

We had an excellent lunch at a local restaurant, both of us finding our fish really delicious.  We returned to the campground for an afternoon of relaxation before beginning to pack things up for our return home.  I could stay much longer....but it has been a great week on Cape Cod.  

Day 2 on Cape Cod: Hyannis and Chatham

The weather continued to be cool and sunny today, but with stronger winds.  We decided to explore a couple of the towns south of the campground, starting with Hyannis.

Hyannis has little houses near the water that are used by artists to sell their work.

The harbor was a busy place with charter boats, whale-watching boats, and ferries to Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.

Downtown Hyannis has many shops, as well as the JFK Museum.

From there, we followed Route 128 along the coast to the town of Chatham, where we picked up some groceries and made a stop at the Chatham fishing pier, where commercial fishermen bring in the day's catch.  Gulls and seals were on hand in case anything happened to be dropped their way.

Dan is enjoying all the beautiful work boats in this area.

In late afternoon, we headed out for some cycling on the Cape Cod Rails Trail again, going northward.  We didn't make it to Wellfleet, given the late hour, but it was a pleasant ride anyway.  

A day at Cape Cod

After a late breakfast, we went to the visitor's center for Cape Cod National Seashore to check on where  we were allowed to walk with the dog.  Any of the beaches, we were told.  So we went to Coast Guard Beach and walked along it, though Ranger did not seem to enjoy the noise of the surf and the soft sand.

From there, we drove a few miles north to the Nauset Lighthouse, which is the one shown on the package of Cape Cod Potato Chips.

We returned to the campground for some lunch and relaxation.  In mid-afternoon, we headed out on the Cape Cod Rails Trail, southboard, and after a little over four miles of cycling we were in the town of Orleans.  Dan replaced his bike mirror which had broken, and we walked around a bit before heading back to the RV.

Dinner was leftovers, followed by another campfire.  With temperatures in the mid-60's in the afternoon, falling to about 50 at night, it's perfect for enjoying the warmth of a fire.  

Arrival at Atlantic Oaks RV Park, Eastham, MA

Monday was a very good day.

Partly because of what did NOT happen:

1. We did not have to have the RV towed into a repair shop when it did not start up at the time we were ready to leave.  Dan found a loose connection to the battery.  I believe that he can fix anything mechanical or electrical.
2. We did not have our RV go up in flames along Interstate 495, as did one we passed along our route.  Actually it was just the van that was pulling the camping trailer.  How they managed to get the trailer unhitched from the burning van and a safe distance away was a mystery.  
3. I did not permanently lose the spare Honda key.  After about a half hour of hunting everywhere, in every pocket, all over the car and RV, I retraced my steps from the earlier dog walk and found the key at the spot where I bent over to pick up after Ranger.  Sigh.

And what DID happen was that we got settled into Atlantic Oaks RV Park along Route 6 in Eastham.  And we went from the tall hemlocks of Boston Minuteman Campground....

 

to the scrubby oaks, sandy soil, and fall flowers of Cape Cod.

This campground is very nice.  It is located right along the rails-to-trails bike path that runs for twenty-some miles, so we could get into either Orleans or Wellfleet without going out on busy Route 6, which is busy even at this time of year.  The campground is run by the daughter of its founder, with its "sister campground" run by his son and family.  The campstore is well-stocked, the person at the desk was helpful in providing maps and suggestions of things to do, and our site is spacious and flat.

Ranger definitely had a good day, in that it began at the dog play area at Minuteman CG:

and ended at the dog play area at Atlantic Oaks.

For Ranger's people, the day ended with a campfire, which felt good with temperatures in the 50's (at that time of day).  So far, it's been in mid-60's during the day and 40's at night.  It is definitely fall in New England!

Visiting Eugene, Part 2

I had good intentions of taking some photos today, but I never got around to pulling out my camera.

We stopped at Sean's in Arlington around noon to pick up the family cradle which Sean had stored since Philip's birth.  It was tricky to get it into the back of the SUV but we managed.

Then on to Gene's for another afternoon of eating, drinking, telling stories, and so forth.  Philip continued to be Ranger's best friend, taking him out on the beach three times for walks (really runs).  Unlike yesterday, it was warm and sunny today, so my turn at beach-walking with the dog was very pleasant.

Gene again outdid himself with cooking: Pasta with tomato sauce and sausage, salad, bread, and lemon meringue pie for dessert.  

Today, Gretchen was able to spend time with us, as well---good to catch up on news of her parents and so forth.

We are back in our cozy RV now, relaxing in preparation for packing-up and heading out to Cape Cod tomorrow.  Hoping for somewhat warmer temperatures for the early morning dogwalk--- for today's walk at 7 am it was 40 degrees!

Visit to Eugene's

Saturday remained drizzly and very cool all day, not a great day for being outside camping.  Fortunately the plan for the day was to visit Gene at his new apartment in Revere.  In late morning we drove to Arlington to pick up Sean, Veronica (age 12), and Philip (age 8), who squeezed into the back seat while Ranger rode in the back compartment.  The distance was only about ten miles, but being that it was Boston, it took about 30 minutes to get to Revere with heavy traffic and many traffic lights. 

After years of living in a tiny third-floor apartment in a house in Cambridge, Gene is now in a sixth-floor (top-floor), contemporary style apartment about twice the size right along the public beach in Revere.  With a corner unit, he has views far out across the water.  More immediately on this day, there were views of kite-surfers braving the cold and wet to skim along the waves down below.  The apartment has two spacious bedrooms, two baths, and a large open living room, dining room, kitchen area with big windows that let in lots of light.

Gene had made a huge meal of chicken, rice, green beans, sweet potatoes, and salad---delicious!  He also made a chocolate cake which he served with real whipped cream and mixed berries.  

Ranger was a bit antsy being in a new place (with an elevator!) but after exploring all the rooms he settled down on a small rug that Gene brought out especially for him.  Over the course of the afternoon, he had two walks along the beach with Veronica and Philip which he seemed to enjoy a great deal.

The drive back to the campground seemed long in the traffic and the dark, and upon return to the camper, I settled for a bowl of instant oatmeal for dinner and crashed early.  

Arrival in Boston area

Today was another day of travel, leaving New Tripoli, PA by  8:30, traveling through the Allentown area, and connecting with I-84 at Milford, after a slow by pretty trip along Route 209, though the Delaware  River National Recreation Area.  Through New York and Connecticut on I-84 (with delays for road construction several times in CT), we took the Mass Pike to our destination:  Boston Minuteman Campground in Littleton, MA.

We have stayed at this campground before, and it's a good one.  Our site has a patch of forest on one side for privacy, and we're close to the showers and office.  They have recycling (YAY!) and the showers are clean and  hot.  What else could you want?

After a dinner of cheeseburgers, we had the first campfire of the trip, and it's getting cool enough that it felt good.  Last night it got down to 44 degrees; tonight is supposed to be in the mid- to upper 40's.  What a change from the summer-like weather we have been having in Virginia!  Glad I packed all those long pants and long-sleeved shirts!

Ranger is happy to be out of the RV for awhile.  The campground seems to be full this evening ( a Friday) and there are lots of dogs around. There is a nice dog playground nearby, so he is a happy camper.

Tomorrow, we'll be picking up Sean and family and driving up to Eugene's new home in Revere.  It's been four years since we last visited up here, so there will be lots of catching-up to do.  

Heading north

Our poor little RV has sat in our driveway for six months now, and it is time to get it OUT and moving!

We headed out this morning, going north on I-95 to Washington, then picking up I-270 to Frederick, Maryland, and then Route 15 to Gettysburg.  So far....sort of good.  There was, as always, traffic around DC.  From Gettysburg, we should have gone straight north to Harrisburg, but we meandered through York, Lancaster, and Reading, with much road construction and town traffic.  It took seven hours to reach today's destination: the Allentown KOA which is really in New Tripoli, PA.

Ranger was more than ready to get out of the RV, and he exhausted himself chasing the frisbee in the dog park. Brother Bill came over from Slatington for dinner, and some beer was consumed, despite the many prominent "No Alcohol" signs around the campground.  

Trying to figure out the best route for tomorrow, as we head for Boston.  Anything to avoid NYC traffic!  

But it is good to be out on the road again.  Temps tonight should be in the upper 40's, good for sleeping.  

Last day on the road

We spent the night just east of Raleigh, NC at a fairly new RV park.  Temperatures got into the low 60's so Ranger got to play in the dog "park" for awhile and Dan grilled dinner.  We both had good hot showers before the clouds rolled in.  It rained overnight and is gray and drizzly  this AM, though not nearly as cold as it has been.  

Should be home by midafternoon!

Heading north, near Savannah

It was a short day of driving, a little under 300 miles, and we are at the RV "resort" at which I was finally able to get a site.  It's not great, but satisfactory for one night.  What we did not anticipate was that tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day's which is a BIG deal in Savannah.   Our "next-door neighbors" who came down from Boston, said that the parade in Savannah is the second largest in the country, after Boston of course.  Not sure whether that is correct.   Several sites around us are filled with party-ers who came for the big parade tomorrow.  Apparently, there is no parking available in Savannah (you have to reserve a parking spot) and the town will be packed with people.  Fortunately, we will not be among them as we intend to continue up I-95 in the morning.  

Meanwhile, this campground "Savannah Oaks" is right on a small river, and the trees are covered with Spanish moss----a very Southern look to the place.  

It actually got into the low 60's this afternoon and we were able to spend some time outside, which Ranger enjoyed.  There are plenty of dogs around, plus (darn!) some cats.  Forecast for tonight---down into the low 30's again!  I guess we got spoiled with two weeks of good weather at the start of the trip, but this is rather unpleasant for our trip to escape the cold.  

Driving again....

We packed up and left Dauphin Island shortly after 9 am.  It was windy and cold, which is the case all over the South.  Rather than go through the mountains to get home, we opted to backtrack along the coast where we might find slightly warmer temperatures.  So today was spent driving along I-10 on the Florida Panhandle.

Tonight we are in Tallahassee at a privately-owned RV park (Tallahassee RV Park) just off I-10.  We have neighbors close by on either side, a negative, but the park is very clean and well-kept.  I took the opportunity to get a hot shower and shampoo, and it was the best shower so far for this trip:  plenty of hot water, good water pressure and even a heater to warm you when you are dressing!  Ranger enjoyed watching the many dogs go by as he lounged outside in the low-50's temperatures.

Being too cold for grilling outside, we made wraps with chicken and black-beans-and rice, and kept our little electric heater going.  The forecast is for a low of 32 tonight---we'll see.  We will move northward tomorrow.....

The cold continues

As the snow fell farther north, we were happy to not be at home.  However, the same front that brought snow to New York and New England brought cold temperatures, even here in Alabama.  It's been around 50 during the day and low 40's at night, not good beach weather!

I met Kelly for a walk at Bellingrath Gardens, where it was overcast but out of the wind.  We were too late for the azaleas which must have been beautiful about two or three weeks ago, but there were plenty of other flowers to see.

Kelly needed to get to work for the afternoon, so back to the campground went I.  I spent much time trying to get reservations at RV parks for our trip home.  We are taking it slow, only about 300 miles a day, in order to let all that cold weather move on.  And it must be that many of the snowbirds who are leaving Florida to head back home have been stalled on their way by the weather:  I had a terrible time finding an RV park in South Carolina that had a space available!  

Kelly was scheduled to give an informal talk to the public about her research at Moe's BBQ in Mobile on Tuesday night, so we drove into town for that.  We enjoyed her worm videos along with some beer and great barbecue before heading back for one last night at Dauphin Island Campground.

We packed up some of our stuff in advance of today's departure, so with 42 degrees and wind this Wednesday morning, we need to get the bikes on the car, hook the car to the RV, and head east back into Florida.  

Two windy, rainy days

Kelly and Michael made a good call, packing up their tent and heading home late Saturday evening.  By midnight it was raining and the wind picked up----a LOT!  Sunday morning was miserably wet and windy, hard to walk forward against its force when Ranger and I went out for his walk.  We worried some about the screened tent  (in which we keep bicycles, chairs, etc.) blowing down but fortunately it held.

So we headed into Mobile.  Kelly and I spent Sunday afternoon at the spa where we had pedicures and lounged and soaked in the hot tub.  Dan and Ranger hung out at Kelly & Michael's doing laundry and reading.  😀

We met nephew Clay VanderWerff and his wife Lauren at Yak, the restaurant that catered Kelly and Michael's wedding, for some good Nepalese food.  Then rather than drive back into the wind and rain, we spent the night in Kelly's guest room.

Monday was another windy, wet day.  We all slept fairly late.  Michael had work to do that required quiet, so Dan, Kelly and I went out for brunch, did some grocery shopping, and went to a matinee.  We saw "Hidden Figures" which was wonderful!  

Back at Dauphin Island Campground in the evening, we heated up some Brunswick stew and listened to the rain and wind outside, while we were cozy and warm with our heater chugging away.  At home there is snow in the forecast so we are not in a hurry to head back that way!

Friday and Saturday on Dauphin Island

On Friday morning, we caught the 11 am ferry from the ferry slip about a quarter-mile from the campground.  The ferry crosses Mobile Bay, to land at Fort Morgan, about a 35 minute trip.  While their brochure said that passengers can watch dolphins and various seabirds, we didn't see much but gulls; however, it was a pleasant ride across.

Once across, we drove east for about 25 miles to Gulf Shores where we got on 59 north to Foley, Alabama.  Then...98 west to take the scenic route along the east side of Mobile Bay.  We entered the town of Fairhope from the south, passing lots of pricey waterfront mansions along the way.

By then it was lunchtime, and we ate outside at an excellent local restaurant where the waitress fussed over Ranger, and of course he just ate up all that attention.  While in Fairhope, we drove by a couple of houses that I had browsed on realtor.com, and Dan made a stop to check out the local marina, just in case we happened to move down and just in case we bought another boat!

We completed the loop around the bay, going north, through Spanish Fort, west into Mobile, and south on 193 back to Dauphin Island.  

Kelly and Michael arrived in the evening and set up camp in the tent-section of the campground.  

On Saturday morning, we all took a walk through the nearby Audubon Bird Sanctuary, which the dogs enjoyed.  The best part was the last stretch along the beach where Kelly ran with Ranger and allowed him to splash around in the waves.  (He had a good shower back at the RV to get the sand and salt off of him.)  

After a lunch of HUGE burritos purchased from one of the local restaurants, we are all taking a break to digest and rest, so I am using the time to update this blog....and then maybe nap for awhile.  

A quiet Thursday

After breakfast, we headed out to find a West Marine store, as Dan needed to replace the regulator for the grill.  The store was north of the campground in an area that Dan thought desirable for house-hunting (along the Dog River) so we also did a drive-by  of a house on the water that was for sale.  It was probably lovely, but it was a long way from a town, from grocery shopping, from anything.  Not suitable, though living right on the river would certainly be nice.

Back by noon, Kelly connected with me and I picked up Rossi, for us to dog-sit for the afternoon while she taught her class and attended meetings.  Rossi was uneasy leaving Kelly and did not lie down ALL afternoon!  She and Ranger and I did have a good walk, and she was able to sniff out things at the campsite.  

Kelly arrived around 5:00, much to the delight of both Rossi  and Ranger (who always goes crazy when he sees Kelly).  Shortly thereafter, Michael arrived, and Dan grilled burgers (regular and veggie) for dinner which we enjoyed while catching up on news.

This morning, Ranger and I were both up early again.  We had our morning walk along the beach near the lab as the sun came up.

 Cloudy weather expected for the next two days, with rain in the forecast for Sunday.  Kelly and Michael plan to bring a tent out later today to stay overnight in the campground.  

A Day of Travel

This was the story of Wednesday:

We traveled about 200 miles west and are now at Dauphin Island Campground in Alabama.  It has a good location going for it, but that is about all.  Our site is very small, right up against another camper, and bumpy with lots of tree roots.  The bathrooms are quite awful, though, to be fair, they are obviously in the process of building a new bathhouse.  

Ranger does seem to like this place, however; he was up at 5:30, ready for a walk which ended up being almost an hour long.  There are also cats all over, concentrated near the fish-cleaning station, so that is pretty entertaining for him.

We are looking forward to seeing Kelly later today, when she gets off work.  

Last day at Grayton Beach

After yesterday's successful trip to the dog park, we took Ranger over again to play. However, he must have been either too tired or too sore from all that running---he played but not as long and not as vigorously.  He still seemed to enjoy being off leash for awhile.

I spent some more time out on my bike while Dan relaxed at the campsite with our tired dog.

One more trip to the grocery store ended our last, lazy day at Grayton Beach.  In late afternoon we packed up the screened room, put bicycles on the car rack, put away the lounge chairs, and retreated to the RV for some soup and a quiet evening.  Waiting for the rain....which definitely fell during the night!  (So nice to have a roof over our heads on nights like this.  

Happy Dog!

When we went to the local Publix for some groceries, we noticed a sign for an off-leash dog park, so on Monday we went to check it out.  

Ranger loved it!

He had a chance to chase his frisbee and then take a walk around the grounds.  He met two other dogs along the way and did pretty well with them, other than a disagreement over who "owned" that tennis ball.  When we got back to the campground, he drank LOTS Of water and then collapsed for a good nap.

After lunch and some lounging, Dan and I biked up to Watercolor, parked the bikes, and walked around some of the shops.  Very upscale....not tempted to buy anything, other than that small ice cream cone that cost me $7!

The weather continues to be good: sunny, breezy, highs in the 70's and lows in the 60's.  Rain is supposed to move in overnight, though, so we will probably pack up much of the stuff this afternoon in preparation for tomorrow's drive to Alabama.