Home with new eyes.

I did not think that I would continue blogging after our return from the trek, but the trek has changed me. When I drive through Oregon I now look at it with different eyes and am just awed by the beauty of the mountains around here. Last weekend Bob and I went up to our favorite camping spot. It has a great view of the Clackamas river valley and of Mt. Jeffereson. We had two days to ourselves and then daughter, grandson and two friends arrived. While it was just the two of us I sat there and almost had tears in my eyes looking over the beauty. It was awesome in every sense of that word. I must be thankful for the trek to have given me those new eyes. Bob and I sat at the cliff edge and just watched the sky and the clouds as it got closer and closer to sunset. I will not say that we watched the sunset because we were looking southeast, but it was that time. We watched the clouds move in, dissolve, and move in again. We watched the mountain turn pink as the sun actually set. We said goodbye to our favorite spot because the altitude is so high that it is difficult for Bob to breathe. He is able to manage, but not really much energy. It takes him almost a week to recover from the lack of oxygen. So we have decided that this is the last time.

Then when everyone arrived I did not really have much time to look at the scenery. Grandson is truly a handful and is very active and into everything. We gave him a small broom and he spent many hours sweeping the dirt. I love him so much.

We were very thankful to have the larger trailer for this trip because it got pretty cold at night. Daughter could come into the trailer in the morning and have coffee, heat a bottle for the boyo, and we could let him run around inside until it warmed up. we even had enough room inside for everyone to have breakfast in the warmth. (It went down to below 40 so it was pretty cold.) It warmed up later in the day, the Honey was very nice in the morning.

Honey is now at the dealership getting some very critical repairs made. She will be there for a while and that is fine. We are not planning on going anywhere for several months.

We are home!

What an amazing journey. It ended with a little difficulty. We left Pendleton and planned to be home at about noon. We were driving along and listening to the final two discs of our story. We were less than 100 miles from home. (I had passed a car with a flat tire and thought how lucky we had been not to have any problems along the way. As soon as I thought it I wondered if thinking it would jinx us as it does when I say it. I didn't say it, but too late.)

Suddenly Bob rolled down his window as a car was passing us. I could see a hand out of the passenger window as the car with trailer cruised by. I asked Bob who it was. He said that they had indicated some sort of problem. We wanted to pull over and look, but this was part of I-84 where we were right next to the Columbia River, the roads were very windy and there was almost no shoulder. Bob finally found a very short spot with a wide enough shouder and we pulled off. At first we did not see anything wrong. Then we saw that one of the passenger side tires on the trailer was gone. It was not just flat, the entire tire was gone. We were riding on the rim.

We got into the pickup and started looking for the emergency phone number fom our insurance. We reached them and they indicated that our emergency coverage had lapsed over ten years ago. This was crazy because we did not even have insurance with this company ten years ago. But they were willing to send someone out if we paid almost $200. There we were on the freeway with cars whizzing by and causing the pickup and the trailer to shake every single time. The wind was very strong and it was scary to even get out of the pickup. I didn't have much choice so I gave her the credit card number and figured we would fight it out with the insurance company when we were home and safe.

It took about an hour for the tow truck to get there. The guy was wonderful. He knew just what to do. He didn't use a jack but rather boards and had Bob pull the other trailer wheel onto the board and that lifted the trailer enough for him to take off the wheel and replace it with the spare. He also found out what had caused the problem. There was a small piece of metal that was hanging behind and between the two tires. It had scored the other tire and had obviously scored the missing one so much that it just disintegrated. Thank heaven the other car warned us and we were able to stop safely. It could have been a disaster.

We started up again with all tires working. It is amazing how vulnerable we both felt after this. But by now, we were both hungry. We stopped at a wonderful restaurant in The Dalles. (It was obvious that the woman on the emergency phone was not from Oregon. When I told her that we were near The Dalles I had to repeat it about five times and finally spell it out including the space. I love Oregon.) We were able to collect ourselves and Bob was already planning his speech to the manufacturer about this being caused by a manufacturing defect.

It took another 1 1/2 hours to get home. I must say that we did not see any place in the entire five months that was more beautiful than the Columbia Gorge. We both kept seeing things that we had never noticed before along the way. What a wonderful way to end the trip!!

We have pulled Honey into the drive and I have started emptying it and doing laundry. I am having a hard time remembering where things are in my own house. I am sure that it will not take long to get back into the swing.

So here is what I will take away from the trek.

1. The USA is beautiful and there are so many more places to go and see that we did not have a chance to visit, even on a five month trip.
2. There is no place like home for me. There was no place that I would rather live than here in Portland Oregon. It has the right weather, the right scenery, the right pace of life, etc.
3. I missed my daughter, son-in-law, and grandson more than I thought I would.
4. It takes a lot of work for two people to be together 24/7. I am amazed that we are still talking to each other.
5. My favorite places were, Kartchner Caverns, Galveston Beach, Henderson Beach Florida, St. Augustine, Washington DC, Hershey Pennsylvania, Watkins Glen New York, Burlington Vermont, Mt. Rushmore, the Rocky Mountains, and the Columbia Gorge.
6. Bob's favorites were, Kartchner Caverns, City of Rocks in New Mexico, Fredericksburg Texas, Henderson Beach, Watkins Glen New York, Burlington Vermont, Cape Cod, Maumee Bay Ohio, and Mt. Rushmore.
7. Neither one of us has any desire to do such a long trip again, but we will do shorter ones.

Thanks to everyone who read this and let me know that they liked it. It has been a joy.

We are in Oregon!!!

I have been so tired the last few nights that I have not downloaded my pictures to include in my blog. Tonight I finally did it. I am including one picture from the KOA campground. You can see our site and also how crowded the campground was. I love the picture as we were leaving Mt. Rushmore of the profile of George Washington - different than you usually see. The last two pictures were from Yellowstone - one showing the yellow stone from the geyser. The other showing the devastation from the beetle that is killing the trees. So sad.

Last night after I finished blogging and was talking to my daughter on the phone, Bob was having trouble getting comfortable. He stretched and hit the picture of our grandson. It fell over and came apart and scattered. I got off the phone and started helping Bob look for the pieces. We couldn't find them all. We actually had to go into the storage compartment under the sofa because some pieces fell through the hole and were down there. The picture frame was demolished. Good thing that we were parked outside a Walmart. When Bob announced that he would not be able to fix it, I just grabbed my purse and marched into Walmart and bought another one. Yeah.

We had another long driving day today. We are now in Pendleton Oregon. We cheered as we crossed the border. We then filled our gas tank and Bob started to get out and I had to remind him that he just had to roll down his window and say "fill er up." We cheered again. We got some lunch and there was no sales tax. We cheered once again. Good to be home.

As we drove from Ontario to Pendleton I viewed the scenery through new eyes. Oregon is amazingly beautiful and I have not appreciated it in the past. At first it was barren land - no water but no trash. This must just be grazing land. But it was starkly beautiful and thought provoking in appreciating the difficulties of the pioneers. I don't have the right words to describe it well and pictures do not capture it.

Then it got greener. There was still very little trash and there was a lot of obvious pride of ownership. The properties were neat and well tended.

I had completely forgotten how beautiful the drive down the mountain and into Pendleton is. (I did have my eyes closed for part of it. I trust Bob's driving, but some of it is so scary and feels as if you are careening down the hill out of control and ready to plow into that semi doing about 20 miles an hour.)

We are camped at the Wildhorse Casino campground. There is a powwow going on here that we will stop and see tomorrow - too tired tonight. (I had a little scare. We went into the casino for a little gambling and then dinner. I went to pull out my wallet to pay and the wallet was not there. I get so scared when that happens. I hightailed it back to the trailer which was about half a mile and left Bob in my wake because I was so nervous. There it was sitting on the table in the trailer.) We plan to stay here tonight and one more night and then head for Portland. We will be home on Monday July 5. Yeah.

Yellowstone

It was very warm last night in the Walmart parking lot. We made a mistake and parked so that the parking lot light shined right into the window above the bed and right onto me. That made it hard, I could not throw off the covers and lay there naked because the light was shining right on me. It would have been a great view for someone. But when it cooled off we slept better.

I have to laugh at myself. After we had dinner Bob got on line to do his month end recap of our finances (Yes we can do that in a Walmart parking lot as long as we have cell phone reception.) He wanted to print out the summary of our charges so that he could compare them to our receipts. The printer was out of colored ink (it still had black but no colors). I was in the store shopping so Bob started to look around for the extra ink that we had packed. When I got back he said that he could not find it. I remembered seeing it the day before when I was cleaning. I started looking. I pulled up the seats with the storage underneath - not there. I pulled out the drawers - not there. I looked in the drawers in the pickup - not there. I pulled up the seats again, I pulled out the drawers again, I searched every inch of the pickup - thinking maybe it had fallen out - not there. I thought about going into Walmart to see if they carried the ink we needed. I was so frustrated. I KNEW that I had seen it. Bob finally changed all the fonts to black and printed it out. We were tired and irritable. I suggested that we have a drink of the scotch that I had brought. (I keep the scotch wrapped in a dish towel with all of the cleaning stuff because the cleaning stuff is all plastic and I can keep the glass bottle of scotch from rolling around.) I pulled out the scotch and guess what was behind it amidst all the cleaning stuff - the printer ink! I have no idea why I put it there. Maybe I needed more stuff to hold up the scotch bottle. We just started to laugh and then sat there drinking the scotch. How can you lose stuff when this trailer is so small?

We left Cody fairly early and headed for Yellowstone. One of the best buys we ever made was to buy the senior pass for national parks. It has gotten us into at least three different parks on this trip without any cost and Yellowstone was another one. Nice!!!

According to the literature the entire park is above 7000 feet in altitude. Bob has a hard time breathing above 5000 feet so this was a challenge for him. I asked him to stop so that I could take some pictures. He got out the driver's door and walked to the passenger door and was out of breath and had to rest. So he did not get out much.

There is a big lake in the middle of the park that is a caldera resulting from a volcano. (I didn't know that the park was part of a volcano.) The trees in the eastern end of the park have been devastated by a beetle. They are dead. It makes it hard to look at them. But it was an amazing sight to see.

We then got to the area of the geysers. There were way too many people around Old Faithful so we skipped that one and went to one of the smaller ones. Wow. Bob was not able to walk so he stayed in the truck and I walked up to the geyser. It was really hot. The steam was pouring out. You could feel the heat walking by from about 15 feet away. The steam was so heavy that there were times when you could not see anything. The smell was a little sulfuric, but not bad. The sulfur in the water left yellow stains on the rocks as it went over the falls and into the river. (I had one of those really stupid moments about 5 minutes after getting in the truck when I realized why the park is named Yellowstone. Duh!) We had a very nice picnic lunch, but it was hard on Bob to stay much longer, so we just drove out. I liked it, but to tell the truth I was more impressed with Bighorn yesterday. I would like to go back and camp at Bighorn. Yellowstone is just too crowded. (Yeah I know this is a holiday weekend but from everything I heard it is always crowded.)

We drove 8 miles in Montana and then into Idaho. I must say that eastern Idaho looks like someone decided that the entire part of the state should be a dump. There is trash all over the place - in huge piles and everywhere. There did not appear to be any pride of place. I don't think we had seen any other place that was as trashy. It got a little better as we drove west and it became more agricultural. But there was still lots of trash.

We are now in a Walmart lot just outside of Twin Falls Idaho. So close to home. We will probably camp in Oregon for a day or two. It all depends on whether we can find a place to camp during the holiday weekend.

We look back on this and we both agree that we are getting tired and we want to come home. We are thinking about where we will park Honey in our small driveway and I am planning on getting my hair cut as soon as possible. We are looking forward to pulling up to a gas station, rolling down the window, and saying "fill 'er up." Soon.

We are in the mountain time zone

We had a very relaxing day yesterday. I cleaned the entire trailer, including dusting, washing the floors, and washing the windows. It took me less than an hour to do that. (Amazing.) We spent a little more time at the pool. (As I spend more time in the pool I enjoy the water more and more.) The sun was out all day but it was windy. I took a walk around the entire campground - it is huge. I would love to bring grandson (and his parents if they are interested). He would so enjoy it in about 5 years.

I didn't sleep well last night - too much resting I think. So we were up early this morning and left early, heading west. South Dakota continued to be very touristy right to the border. I can't believe all of the things that they are using to get tourist money. But the scenery was gorgeous and Mt. Rushmore is worth seeing. (Bob says that Mt. Rushmore is just a hill of "beans." I don't know what that means, but he insisted that I include it in the blog and he thinks it is very funny. Weird husband.)

As soon as we crossed into Wyoming there were no more touristy things. In fact, there was very little. The landscape was green, but there was no water to be seen and very little development. It was fairly flat. Then suddenly you could see the mountains. These were the Bighorn Mountains. I had never heard of them. We turned off the interstate and started to cross the mountains. We climbed very steeply. Hank (the pickup) was struggling a little, but he did not overheat. We just slowed down some.

The views were gorgeous. This was one time when I really wished that I could paint or draw because photos just cannot capture the amazing sights and vistas. The ground is mostly rocky and there were regular signs identifying the type of rocks and their ages, ranging from millions to billions of years. The strata were beautiful and often included streaks of red or orange. As we got on the other side we were in a gorge with sheer walls of the most beautiful rock formations. We wanted to stop, but this was a narrow road and a 9% downgrade so we thought it might not be a good idea.

We then went through a high plateau that was very flat. There were some small rivers and some agriculture. At the end of the plateau we started up the foothills of the Rockies. This was designated in our map as one of the most scenic rides. At first there was not much to see. Then as we got closer there were amazing rock formations and mesas. (We had been listening to an audio book and had to turn it off to watch.)

I realized as we were driving that one big advantage of blogging is that I do not just watch the scenery go by. I look at it and try to use words to describe what I am seeing and feeling. That helps me to really see it and to think about what I am seeing.

We were luckier on weather today than usual. As we were driving along the plateau I could see a huge black cloud that was obviously raining and it looked like it was right over where we were headed. But the wind was strong and it blew the cloud further east before we got there. We are currently in Cody Wyoming, the sky is beautiful blue, and it is 90 degrees with 11% humidity. We are in a WalMart parking lot. (This is very easy and inexpensive. I have now learned to look up which towns have WalMarts so that we do not have to guess.) There are already 15 rvs in this parking lot and they keep pulling in. If everybody buys something from WalMart when they stop here, it is a good business idea. I really tried not to buy from WalMart before we started spending the nights here.

Lots of driving today and Bob is quite tired, partly becuase of the higher altitude here. But we both enjoyed the day. I really like the west (better than the east). I like the scenery, the people to tree ratio, and the pace of life. Hmmm.

KOA Hill City/Rushmore

It is 9:30 am, the sky is absolutely blue, the temperature is 81 degrees, there is a nice breeze blowing, and the campground wifi is working. Yeah! So I have more time to write about our doings. The trip from Marquette to Rapid City was a little grueling. We did it in two days so that was a lot of driving. It really was not very interesting. Once again we noticed differences between the regions and the states. Going such a long distance in a short time makes it more noticeable. Finding a place to stay on Friday night was a challenge. We had decided that we did not want to pay to stay in a campground just to sleep. But the rest areas do not allow overnight parking in Minnesota and we got off the interstate so we were on a two lane highway with no rest areas. Bob assumed that we would be able to see a WalMart from the road. We drove and drove and didn't see one. It was also boring and I was getting irritable as was Bob. We had no more CDs to listen to. Yuck. We finally stopped for dinner. It was okay. We then continued driving. At about 8 pm (it was still full light) we stopped for gas and I took the amazing step of asking if there was a WalMart around. There was and we found it easily. We bought some stuff there (including a CD) and spent a fine night in the parking lot.

The drive on Saturday was easier because we had a shorter distance and we had a CD to listen to. The info center when we entered South Dakota was full of info, but the guy who gave it to me spoke so quickly and by rote. He had done this too many times. There were so many touristy spots along the road. It was all aimed at tourists. We had not seen so many RVs since Florida - I guess it is time for summer vacationers. The info guy told me that we might have a hard time finding a campground without reservations so we sat in the parking lot and I started making calls. It only took three calls and we got a spot at this very nice KOA, We didn't want to pay $40 to get here at 8 pm and just sleep so we decided to try another WalMart. First we stopped at a Flying J. They were fine with us sleeping there, but there were so many big semis (a lot of noise and movement) and it was gravel. So we found the WalMart. This one already had about a dozen RVs in the lot. One had even disconnected the trailer and the car was gone (a real no-no). It was warmer that night and the rv that parked next to us ran his generator and his air conditioner most of the evening so it was really noisy - how rude. But we slept well and were ready to go.

We had a 45 mile drive on Sunday so we got here real early. The place is just huge. It is a full mile from our site to the front desk. The scooters are coming in really handy. The quieter pool is by the front desk and not by us (did I say the scooters are handy?). There are so many kids here. It is a kids paradise. There is always a background noise of kids having fun. It is like music. It is remote enough that many parents allow the older kids to just go where they want. The temperature is nicely warm, very hot by 5 pm, but cools down nicely in the evening. This is a nice destination campground if you have kids (or grandkids). Maybe we will come back with the grandson. It is even nice without kids by the way. Just a relaxing comfortable place.

One thing that I found interesting is why they decided to carve the Rushmore monument. It really was as a tourist destination. They wanted to bring folks to western South Dakota. They did. It was quite a spectacle and an amazing feat of engineering. By the time we left it was really crowded. People pushing and being rude. When I was in the gift shop I started to pick up an item, but the man standing next to me decided he wanted that item and grabbed it, almost from my hand. The elevation was over 5000 feet so Bob was having a hard time breathing. He mostly sat while I ran around taking pictures. at one point he was looking for a seat, someone stood up and he started toward the seat and a couple of teenagers ran over and sat in it before he could. RUDE! Too many people. Time to do other things - which we did. The drive around here is intersting and stark. We noticed that there were not many deserted buildings as we had seen in other areas. We decided that things were too hard to get here to abandon buildings. There was not much water. What there was was dammed up and made into resort areas - for more tourists. I wonder what the state would be like if they did not have the tourism.

Yesterday after we left Deadwood Bob said that he was done with touristing. I agree. It may be just that we are getting close to home, but I am getting anxious to be home. Today we are going to just stay in the campground. I want to spend some time cleaning Honey. We can go to the pool or just ride around on our scooters or bikes. Campfire tonight probably, then pack her up again. We will leave tomorrow morning and take the back roads and head for Oregon. It will probably take us about three days or maybe four. Yeah.

Geting close to home

We are camping at a beautiful resort in South Dakota, but we have no cell phone access and the wifi is iffy. So Bob and I are in a bar, drinking beer, eating nachos, and I am blogging. I never included the pictures of Marquette, so some of the ones above are from Marquette. Minnesota was interesting. It reminded me a little of Tuscany, except they were growing corn instead of grapes and olives. We stayed two nights in a WalMart parking lot. Not bad.

The resort is absolutely wonderful. It is huge. Two large heated pools, two hot tubs, a jumping pillow and many playgrounds and activities for the kids, a water slide, nightly movies and entertainment, wine tasting, whew!! When we checked in they said that many people come and never leave.

Mt. Rushmore was gorgeous, but it is clearly a tourist attraction and was intended to be such. The idea was to draw folks to South Dakota. The whole area is a trouist attraction. You cannot believe how many from houses of mystery to wild west towns.

We spent today in Deadwood. A lot of history. We gambled and walked and had a good day. (We didn't go to Crazy Horse becuase they wanted $10 per person just to drive in. We looked at it from afar.)

I want to eat more nachos and drink more beer so I will sign off.

We are in the central time zone

We spent one night in St. Ignace at the Tiki campground. The owners told us that it used to be called the Old Indian Burial Ground Campground. It was a nice evening and our friends from the UP got there late and we had a lovely campfire. The next morning it started to pour. (Sometimes it seems like the rain follows us.) So it did not make sense to take the ferry ride to Mackinac Island. We waited until the rain let up a little and then packed it up. We headed for Marquette. We were going to stop on the way so that I could get a look at the Mackinac bridge. But it was still too foggy to see anything. So I have not seen the bridge. Disappointing. (I had heard so much about it when it was first built.) We headed along the shores of Lake Michigan. There is a local dish called a pastie (pronounced pass-tee), We went to lunch and tried it. It tasted a lot like a shepherd's pie without the potatoes.

The drive to Marquette was more interesting than I thought it would be. You would think that we would get tired of seeing scenery, but we don't. As we were driving along I asked Bob if we had seen any scenery like this along the way. He agreed with me that he had not. The trees were really stunted and the land was very flat. We drove through the Hiawatha National Forest. (I didn't know that Hiawatha was in Michigan. Apoparently Gitchee Gumee is Lake Superior.) One of the things I noticed in Michigan is that they do not have convenience stores - they have party stores. We stopped for gas along the way at a place with a party store and went in. First we saw rows of animal skins hanging form the ceiling. Then there were rows and rows of soda and chips. Very much a party store.

Marquette is a delightful small town that reminds me of Burlington Vermont. The college is very dominant in the town. There is a wonderful biking path and they have worked to make the Lake Shore a beautiful and inviting place. Our friends took us on a wonderful little tour. (There is a little park called Presque Isle that overlooks the beautiful painted rocks. It seems to me that there are a lot of places called Presque Isle. I will have to look up the origin of that name.) We are far enough north and west in the eastern time zone- and it is the longest day of the year - so that it was light until very late. Bob and I went to the trailer after 10 pm and it was still light for a very long time.

We had some great restaurant food and Bob made his pasta putanesca again. Yummy! We dry camped for two nights in the parking lot of the YMCA. Interesting.

Today we got up early and it has been a long day of driving. Bob decided that he wanted to cover lots of ground and he did not want to pay to stay in a campground. We drove through the rest of the UP. It felt very isolated and abandoned. There were parts that were pretty but for the most part it felt like Michigan had forgotten about it.

We drove through the upper part of Wisconsin and into Minnesota. We are now on central time and getting closer to home. The roads in Minnesota leave a little bit to be desired. They are as bad as the ones in New York. It was some hard driving. Bob decided that he wanted to try staying in a WalMart parking lot. He thought that we would see one from the highway. We did not. I finally convinced him that we should ask when we got to a moderate sized town. We did and found the place. They were very nice. We will see how I feel about this in the morning.

One thing that Bob and I have noticed is that you can really tell the difference as you go from one state to another. Wisconsin felt a lot more prosperous that the UP. There were more towns and more doing. Minnesota feels pretty basic. There are lots of lakes and lots of signs welcoming the fishermen.

The further south we have gone, the more agriculture we have seen. The corn fields are not only planted but the corn is about two feet high. (The last corn that we saw was in lower Michigan and it was about two inches high.)

I have gone now for nine months letting my hair grow and I have decided that I will get it cut as soon as I get home. I do not like long hair and the bother of it. I think that I look better in short hair. OK for the experiment.

Too foggy to see the bridge

It rained last night, but not hard. We drove up along the eastern coast of Michigan. Once again we could not see the Lake because of all of the private homes along the shore. Some were very small and some were huge, but they all had long yards and many trees so that they could have privacy. An interesting cultural item was that most folks had a sign at the end of the drive with something identifying them. It might be the name of their home ("Serenity Acres") or it might be their name with an appropriate picture (the Brewers with a picture of a coffe pot). These signs were not small signs. They were very big - like 3 or 4 feet square (some even more). They would be hanging at the end of the drive. so as you drove along you were completely distracted by the signs. Wonder how that culture started?

The scenery was pretty. There were some nice rolling hills and lots of trees. When we did see the water of Lake Huron it was very blue. Nice after the brown of Lake Erie. The trees were mostly evergreens and pretty small by west coast standards, but there were lots of them.

At one point there was a large lake on one side of us (I think it was called Long Lake) and Lake Huron on the other. During that part of the ride the trees were very scrawny - very short and spindly.

As we got closer to the top of the lower peninsula of Michigan there were a number of state parks and roadside parks so that you could see and enjoy the lake. It became more touristy with lots of cottages and motels - not many restaurants. Two of the three we tried today would not even take credit cards.

As we got closer to the Makinac bridge it started getting really foggy. So when we got on the bridge we could not see even the bridge much less the water and the coasts. The bridge is five miles long so it was a long way in the fog. I understand that there is a place on the other side of the bridge where you can get a good view. If the weather is nice tomorrow (it is not predicted to be) I will try to get a view.

Our campground is one block off the main drag through town (St. Ignace). I went for a short walk and there is a beautiful view as I was coming down the pretty steep hill of that one block. (I forgot the camera but will try to remember one later).

We are spending some time now trying to figure out where to go after Michigan. there is really not a lot to see in the middle. We will probably do Mt. Rushmore, the badlands, and Glacier Nat'l Park, then home. Wow.

An interesting day

Neither of us slept well last night. As I tried to sleep I tried all of the tricks that I could think of. One was to go through in my mind the entire trip. I could remember most of the places, particularly the ones that we had stayed at for longer periods. But there were some where i could remember that we had stayed, but could not remember exactly where it was and how long we stayed. I am very glad that we have kept track of where we stayed each night on our calendar.

We slept late this morning and got a late start. We wanted to do some driving around the area, but we had some chores to do. The sway bar that we wrecked yesterday had to be replaced. We drove to the RV parts house in town and they wanted $170 for a part that we had paid less than $50 for. So we left and drove to the Camping World store that was about 60 miles away. In order to get there we had to drive through West Branch Michigan. We had lived in that town 40 years ago when I got pregnant with my daughter. We lived right on the main street in town. So when we drove through we looked to see if the house was still there. It was! It had been seriously remodeled and looked much better than I remembered, but it was there. It brought back a lot of memories and Bob and I spent quite a bit of time talking about life then and the changes that we have both experienced. How interesting.

We did get the part for $42 at Camping World, which made the trip very worthwhile. By the time we got back and filled the gas tank and did grocery shopping, it was almost 4 pm. We spent about an hour at the lovely heated pool, then sat and enjoyed the serenity of the spot. Nice night.

Away frm the humidity

The humidity was awful and only got worse. We had a hard evening and a hard morning. Bob felt like the breath was gone. It did hit him a lot harder than it did me. By 5 pm Bob could hardly get around. We were done for the night. Wow. I am so glad that I do not live in this kind of humidity.

We got up early and left early. We got bitten up by mosquitoes while we were dumping our tanks. Then somehow we seriously bent the sway bar on our way out. Wow. How did we do that? No idea. But the Maumee Bay park is a very nice park.

The drive through Toledo and Michigan on the freeway was boring. It looks like every interstate everywhere. There was nothing to see and it was so flat that there was nothing interesting. We finally left the freeway after Bay City and drove right along the coast of Lake Huron. What was interesting was that we were only a few hundred feet from the lake and could not see it. There were houses all along. When there weren't houses there were resorts. There was one public park, but for the most part the shore and the lake were very commercialized.

We got about half way up the coast and found a lovely campground. It is cooler and the humidity is much lower. We will drive along the Au Sable River tomorrow and enjoy the trees and the birds. (I did not remember how awful the humidity can be. I could never live here.)

Be careful what you wish for

The storm last night was pretty fierce. The wind was really strong but there was not much rain. Just strong wind and humidity. We had the air conditioning on in the trailer so I went outside for a walk (I hate air conditioning.) I saw fields full of fireflies. I remember them from my childhood and have not seen them at all since I moved west. It was like a visual symphony in the fields. I just stood there and took it in for a while and loved the moment.

We kept the air on until the temp outside got down to the high 70's then we turned it off. It was still hot and uncomfortable during the night. Bob got up ahead of me and turned the air on immediately. When I got up at 7 am the humidity was 97%. Let me say that again, the humidity was 97%. (We know that because we got this really cool indoor outdoor thermometer that also gives us the humidity.) It was so humid it just drained the strength out of me. We sat for a while in the cool trailer and finally got moving. Neither of us had any energy to do anything in the humidity so we just went to the beach. Nice beach. Nice day at the beach.

Looking forward to Michigan. It will be sunny but not so warm and less humidity. I am really spoiled living in Oregon - when we have warm temps it is not so bad because the humidity is really low. Bob and I noticed that the humidity does not seem to bother our fellow campers as much as it does us. They must be used to it. But this was a nice day and a nice campground.

A found jewel

So the last time that I blogged we were stopped for the night at a rest stop. One of the great things about traveling with Honey is that Honey is home wherever we take her. The night at the rest stop was very comfortable because we were home. What an interesting concept. Anyway, we got up early, ate breakfast, did the dishes, cleaned up (just like every day except no showers) and were on the road by 7 am. It was still raining. It had been pouring off and on during the night. We had not unhooked Honey so taking off was easy - we just started the engine.

We went through New York. This is a road that we had been on before. It is still amazing that it looks different going in the other direction. But it was not as interesting as before, so we put in a CD and started listening to a novel. As we started thinking about lunch and the timing for lunch I commented that we would be at a certain point at a certain time unless we had to stop for gas. (Have you figured out what happens next?) Bob looks at the gauge and says that we have to get gas very soon because we are almost out. We pull off at the next exit which the signs say have a Mobil Oil - but the gas station is closed. Back on the Interstate. The next exit has a Citgo and Bob says that he would rather run out of gas than buy Citgo, so we pass that one. (We may have to eat our words.) The next exit has a sign for a Mobil. We pull off and it is closed also. (What is going on?) The next exit has a sign for a Sunoco and Mobil. Both of them are closed. By now the gas gauge is almost on empty and we are really nervous. If this continues we will be in serious trouble. We go into a convenience store and ask for the nearest gas station. It is a few feet down the road in the other direction and some off brand - which Bob usually refuses to buy - but we filled. what a relief!

We continued through New York and then through the very upper part of Pennsylvania. Then into Ohio. We realized that if we stopped we would get to Cleveland during rush hour. So we pushed ahead and got through Cleveland pretty easily. (It was strange to see how much it had grown in the last years. The boonies were full fledged cities.)

We still had no particular plan about where we would stop. We kept driving. We were getting tired and just a little irritated with each other. We got off the interstate and started pulling into every place that had camping. They were awful. Very narrow sites. Nothing to see or do. They actually looked dirty. The people camped there did not look like anyone I wanted as a neighbor for even a night. We thought about another rest area, but neither Ohio nor Michigan allow overnights in rest areas. There was a state park down the road. I called and they said that they had two sites available, nonreserveable, available on a first come first serve basis. They thought it might still be available when we got there in about 45 minutes. So we headed for the campground. It was the Maumee Bay State Park in Oregon, Ohio. (They pronounce Oregon funny and laughed at how we pronounce it.) We did get here when there was still a site available. This place is a real jewel. It is right on Lake Erie. (It was built many years after I left Ohio which explains why I had no idea that it was here.) It has very nice size sites - as large as any we have seen. There are bike paths, walking paths, a beautiful beach and several swimming areas. There is also a lodge with a restaurant.

We spent the day doing laundry, then taking a long bike ride, then a couple hours on the beach. We went to dinner at the lodge and had a great dinner. The temperature was in the high 90's and the humidity was about the same. It was really hot and uncomfortable. We actually turned on the air conditioning in Honey while we were out for dinner - Honey holds the heat very well which is really nice when it is cold, but we wanted to be able to sleep tonight.

We have decided to stay here until Sunday morning - it is just a really pleasant spot and very inexpensive. In fact, some of the best camping that we have had on the trek have been in state campgrounds. The exception is New York - the state campgrounds in New York are not very well taken care of, they are very expensive, and most of them are closed this year for budget reasons. But Ohio has a jewel in this place.

I am sitting outside now and there is a lovely breeze. Unfortunately the hosts just came by and said that there is a terrible storm at the Ohio/Indiana border and it is expected here in about an hour. So I will proofread this and sign off for the night. (One day of sun and then a day of rain.)

A day of sun and then a day of RAIN

Yesterday was a lovely day. The sun was out and it was delightful. I have been able to do a good 3 mile morning walk for the last three days and that feels nice. I walk on the bike path and listen to NPR. (The picture with the picnic table is from the bike path.) Later, Bob and I took our bikes into Burlington and went to a restaurant right on the water. We had a great lunch. For dessert I got hot cheesecake. Whoever heard of hot cheesecake. It was cheesecake covered with a meringue topping. It was interesting, but I will hold out for regular cheesecake. We wandered around a bit and then spent the rest of the day in the sun. It was warm enough that we were able to have a campfire in the evening. (No mosquitoes here. I have no idea why, but it was sure nice.)

This morning we headed out. We decided not to go to Niagara Falls. The tours were too expensive ($150 per person). We figured we could look without a tour, but the campgrounds were twice the usual price. So we decided to go along the St. Lawrence Seaway and just find a camping spot along the way and then hightail it for Michigan. The first part of the trip was lovely. We had backtracked over some of the area we had already seen. It was different seeing it from the other direction. (I will never understand how that happens.) We drove through a Mohawk Reservation. It looked pretty much like any city but the election posters were for folks to be elected Chief and Subchief. There was a sign that proclaimed that this was Mohawk land and not NYSP land. I wonder what that was about. But there were sushi restaurants and nail salons and otherwise it looked pretty Americanized.

Both Bob and I noticed many large houses with huge wraparound porches. Almost every one of them was simply a storage area. They were stuffed with stuff. Such a shame. I love sitting on the porch and watching the world go by. There were some very large gorgeous homes sitting right next to the worst shacks that I have ever seen. Hmmm. The cutaways on the highway showed some very interesting rock formations. (I have become very aware of that after having driven through so much of the country and seeing how different they are.) Here they are made of many layers of granite and that long and flat. We noticed that many people used those long flat rocks to make really pretty rock walls around their homes.

The St. Lawrence Seaway is a huge waterway. Just huge and wide. I could not help but compare it to the other waterway that forms a border between the US and its neighbor. The Rio Grande is a tiny river, despite its name. I had no idea that there were so many islands in the middle of the St. Lawrence. It makes for a very picturesque scene. The other picture is of the St. Lawrence from one of the rest areas overlooking the Seaway.

Then it started to rain. It was raining hard enough that we could not see anything. So we left the scenic route and headed for the interstate and started through NY. Unfortunately we got to Syracuse right at rush hour. Bob always hates driving the trailer through a city during rush hour. But to make it worse, the rain got worse. It was a driving rain with fog. We could not see more 30 feet and that was straining very hard. Bob could hardly keep it on the road. Although I was not driving I could not take my eyes of the road so that I could help him. (Does it really help? Can't tell.) You have not experienced anything until you have experienced driving a trailer through a major city during rush hour in a blinding rain storm.

South of Syracuse the rain stopped, but we were exhausted. So we have stopped in a rest area and will spend the night here. Good night!

SUN for a day

I haven't blogged much for the last few days. It has been raining. We drove around the white mountains, but with all the rain it was hard to see anything. And everything costs money. You couldn't even walk up to the falls or drive to the top of a mountain or park a car without it costing. We didn't want to pay with all of the clouds. Yesterday it was a little clearer so we took a ride that we had taken on a prior day. There was more to see the the mountains are nice. But it was still cloudy and rainy.

And to make matters worse, I got a terrible migraine. We were in a nice campground, but it was muggy and damp and the mosquitoes were voracious. We couldn't sit out more than five minutes or even take a walk without covering ourselves in 100% DEET. With the migraine, I couldn't enjoy much. It is hard to get out and do stuff when your head feel like it is going to come apart. (But I am much better now.)

There were some interesting things in New Hampshire. The area was covered with what they called Shelburne Birches. Apparently they were planted by the state and were on both sides of the highway for miles. There were some very interesting homes built of rock. Not very sturdy in earthquake country, but I bet they hold in the heat. There were signs about moose everywhere. "Break for moose. It could save your life. Thousands of collisions." We didn't see a single moose, although we almost ran into two deer. I was sorry that we did not have the opportunity to walk a little on the Appalacian Trail. Maybe another trip.

This morning as we were leaving, the cloud cover was much higher. We could actually see the tops of the mountains. It was a very different view without the cloud cover, but I wasn't going to stay around waiting to see if the sun actually came out. Mt. Washington is nice enough, but no snow at the top - like I am used to seeing. There were some gorgeous views driving along the valley. One interesting thing is there were a lot of amusements aimed at children and many of them had a western motif, such as cowboys and indians or a small western town that needs to catch the bad guys. (Why western in northern New Hampshire?)

We crossed into Vermont and it immediately felt different. Less touristy and more real. I felt more comfortable. It was interesting how fast that happened. We did stop to buy some Vermont maple syrup. I loved the little store. When you walked in there was a little sign that saide "If you are in a hurry, you are in the wrong place. In fact, are in the wrong state." what a nice sentiment. The scenery in Vermont really reminded me a lot of the areas around Portland.

We got to Burlington and the sun was out. We put up Honey and then walked down to the beach and we spent about an hour in the sun. Yeah. Yeah. We grilled steaks and are sitting outside. We will be here for a few days and I hope the weather stays this nice.

Another rainy day in paradise.

Yes, more rain and a little cold - got down to 45 degrees last night. We are in a really nice campground and I really like the people-to-tree ratio. I also like the managers/owners and the layout. It feels good. (The owner just spent half an hour telling me about how they bought the place and their philosophy, inclulding the use of solar power.) However, they are having some water problems in the campground. They had to take out the stairs that lead to the office in order to get to the water pipes. We had to go through the basement and the shop in order to get to the office. Today they had to pull out the water pipes. A big truck came and was parked in the middle of the only access in and out of the campground. The owners warned us last night. So this morning we moved our pickup outside of the gate so that we could come and go. What a mess for them. Only a slight inconvenience for us.

But it rained all day. We decided to drive around the entire area. The clouds were hanging really low so even when it was not raining we could not see much of the mountains. At one point we drove right into the clouds. On the east side of the mountains it is very touristy. Many hotels, motels, B&Bs, restaurants, family fun, etc. The west side has very little and looks to be almost hard scrabble. Makes you wonder how that happens?

The mountains are very developed. There are lots of trails and "fun activities." But everything costs money. They charge over $30 just to let you drive to the top of Mt. Washington. (We did not even think about doing that today because it was so cloudy and rainy. Maybe tomorrow.) The little historic railroad is more than $60 per person. If you want to park in any of the scenic areas you better make sure that you have paid the daily use fee (unless you have the senior federal pass). All of the roads that do not lead to campgrounds or picnic areas were closed with signs that said "foot traffic is welcome." There were lots of campgrounds (I think we pased seven or eight of them) but they had no water or electricity to the sites. There were hiking trails every half miles or so. There was even a scenic area in which they explained how they manage the area and that it is not really as wild and scenic as they thought.

We took the very scenic road (the Kancamagas Hwy) to go around part of the mountain. As we were driving, it reminded me of the drive along the Clackamas. We are so spoiled in Oregon. we take all of it for granted. Here it is a really big deal. Everyone told us to make sure that we went along this drive, but to us it was nothing special. (Part of that may have been because we could not see any of the mountains because of the clouds, but even so, I have seen the gorgeous mountains as we drive along in Oregon.)

We have decided to stay here for a few more days. The weather prediction is for nice weather. I would like to walk along the Appalacian trail, maybe take the drive to the top of Mt. Washington, and maybe (with any luck) even sit out in the sun around the pool. We will see. But it feels nice here.

white mountains

Although we really liked Bar Harbor and Acadia, it was time to move on. We decided to head east through Maine. Route 2 goes across, more or less straight. What we didn't know is that there was a lot of construction on the road. Lots of construction. Many areas of one lane and many areas of no pavement. But we were not in a hurry and there were not many cars. (I like not having a specific plan. It allows us to be relaxed and not upset by stuff.) The bumpiness did cause some of the cupboards to open and food fell out, but thank goodness nothing broke. I try to keep that in mind as I pack up and put the plastic bottles in the front.

There are major difference between coastal Maine and inland Maine. On coastal Maine it is all about the tourist - B&Bs and antique shops everywhere. Inland there were a few motels, but this was more how the people live. It looked to me like the folks were independent like their reputation. Lots of businesses in the home, from decorating, to construction, to lawyers, to wood carvers. You name it and people were doing it out of their home. I don't know why there are so many people making and selling weather vanes here, but there were a lot of them. There was a beautiful wild flower along the road which I think is called lupine. I had never heard of it before, but it made the drive very pretty.

There were lots of closed businesses and abandoned businesses and houses. Some of the houses were huge and looked like they were really something when taken care of. But they are now empty. The places need paint and nails. The yards need mowing and weeding. Many of the restaurants that we saw were now closed. (I hope it is just because it is still early in the season here, but it will take some work to open them if that is the case.) Almost every one of the restaurants that we saw, except for those in the downtown area of one larger city, were fast food and cheap. This is not an area with a lot of money.

Still lots of water, but instead of coves and inlets it is rivers and lakes. Some of the lakes were so brown after the rain that they looked like chocolate. Others were a beautiful blue.

We crossed into New Hampshire and are staying in the town of Shelburne, right outside of Gorham. We are less than a mile from the parking area for the Appalachia Trail. We are in an area that is very woodsy. We are just a few miles from Mount Washington and the White Mountains. (I had never heard of them before, but this looks to be a beautiful area.) The campgound is still almost empty. School gets out next week and the season starts. The weather is still damp and drizzly, but the weather predictions are that it is getting warmer and dryer (I keep hoping. How many times have I said that on this trip?)

Right now Bob is not feeling very well. I drove the the nearest store and got him some Pepto and we will see if it helps him feel better. He is sleeping and I am in the office building lounge area so that I can stay out of his hair. (The wifi doesn't work at our site so this works out ok for a couple of reasons.) Actually, we have been pretty lucky during this trip on our health. I hope that we stay healthy and that Bob's whatever recovers.

An accessible mountain

After a really horrendous rainstorm last night, the day today started out pretty cloudy. I didn't think it was going to be a nice day. We spent some time trying to decide whether to try biking, because the weather looked too iffy. So we decided to go back to the park in the pickup and headed for Cadillac Mountain. This is the highest mountain on the east coast. It is only 1500 feet. However, unlike the ones that we are used to in Oregon, there are not any smaller mountains around it. It rises right up from the seashore.

When you get to the top there are all kinds of signs to stay on the paths and to leave only footprints. The paths are all wheelchair accessible. I kept feeling like this was an accessible mountain - unlike the ones that I am used to. There are also some well marked trails going off in every direction. There were several folks who biked up to the top - and who seemed to get there without even being out of breath. The rocks and the breaks in the rocks were also interesting. We tried to imagine what kinds of forces it would take to create rock formations like that.

It was windy at the top, but the view was spectacular. I took many pictures and once again I realized that I can't tell one from the other. But it was beautiful. I was also really proud of Bob because he walked more than he usually does. He must have enjoyed the panorama also.

We then left there and drove to Bar Harbor and spent some time in the Indian museum here. There was an historical timeline and this was the first time that I realized that the Indians did not have the right to vote until the 1950's. There was an exhibit about the Native American struggle for freedoms and what it took to get the right to cross the border into Canada, or to retain their fishing rights. There was also quite a bit of stuff on how they lived. Apparently many artifacts were just scooped up initially and the context in which they were found was lost. They are working harder to do a better job of locating and dating the artifacts so we have a better idea of how they lived. I left wondering why Oregon does not do a better job of chronicling the Native Americans. (Maybe they do in the High Desert Museum. Now I have to go see that one.)

We wandered around downtwon Bar Harbor and did some shopping. Cute stores. I got some blueberry pie. Yum. I have got to get back onto my diet, but I do like blueberries. (Sunshine, you have to come here. Everything is about blueberries.)

We have decided to move on. It is going to rain for the next few days and we would rather be moving than sitting in the trailer waiting for the rain to stop. But I have finally convinced Bob that we should just go without a particular destination or reservation. He has also promised that if I say that I want to turn around to stop and see something that he will let me do that and not get so upset. We have decided not to go into Canada with Honey. We have heard too many stories about what happens at the border in terms of the agents tearing things apart. If we go we will leave Honey at a campground and just go for a night or two and stay in a motel or with friends.

Rain, rain, go away

While we were driving here yesterday we passed a sign for a Logging Show. The sign said that it was closed for the season and under it was another sign that said "Rain, Rain, Go Away." That's been the story of the last few days for us.

We are currently camped outside of Bar Harbor, Maine. It rained all day yesterday while we drove here. The ride was beautiful. Maine has a lot more water than anywhere on the west coast. They have so many different names for the bodies of water. Do we have any ponds in Oregon? I don't think so. The seashore has a lot of tourist cabins and touristy shops. Obviously this is where the rest of New England comes to vacation. There was a tourist town about every 10 miles. (We took the scenic route rather than the freeway.)

We found a campground that is not very expensive, but the full hookups (meaning electric, water, and sewer) did not have any wifi or cell phone accessibility. So we are in a spot that is only water and electric - no sewer. That is ordinarily just fine because I would prefer to use their bathrooms and shower. However, in the rain and on a grassy field I get wet and muddy going to and fro. So it was nice when the rain stopped for a while so we could get set up.

I am also becoming an expert on how important it is to our experience when the campground manager is nice. We have had a couple of times when we camped somewhere just because of the attitude of the person who welcomed us. In some cases the welcome was overwhelming. That was the case in this campground. I had asked the woman what sights we should see. Usually the response takes about 5 minutes and covers the highlights. She started cutting out coupons for us and spent at least 30 minutes covering everything to do, to see and to eat - including those places to stay away from. Wow.

The manager here recommended a place for dinner that was about 15 miles away. Nice ride. The food was fine and inexpensive but not great. It might have been better if I had been brave enough to try lobster again. But it seems more effort than I want to get the food. I had fried clams and they were very good.

For some reason both Bob and I were very tired so it was early to bed and a very good night's sleep - listening to the pouring rain and the thunder. (I started to say listening to the lightning but of course you can't hear lightning.) When I awoke the ground was very wet, so the walk to the showers was pretty yukky. And these showers were pay showers-although they were hot and roomy.

Our existence on the road is truly very basic. You can probably tell that from the amount of time that I talk about bathing, eating, and sleeping. We spend a lot of time on basic stuff like showering and meal preparation and cleanup. (I want to interrupt to say that it is truly pouring right now. The windows are fogged up because Bob is cooking chili and all I can see is rain.) Anyway, there is a peacefulness in having things be so uncomplicated. Get up, make breakfast, clean up, shower, and by then it is mid morning and time to be a tourist for the rest of the day. We do a lot of reading, crossword puzzles, and play games when we are not tourists.

So this morning it was still raining. We decided to visit Acadia by car. We first stopped in the visitor center and got to see a 10 minute film on the park. The ranger spent about an equal amount of time with us going through the map and giving us suggestions of what to do and see. Since it was still pouring the best idea was to take the loop around the place by car. It was gorgeous. It stopped raining often enough so that we could get out and take some pictures. The difference between this and the Pacific coast was subtle. There were times when I felt the same as I do at home and almost felt at home. Other times I would be amazed at how different. For example, the rocks here are not volcanic. They are granite and were pushed up by the ice age. Another difference is that there is a lot of private property in the park. People do donate their property after the years go by so there are some amazing huge private homes.

In the middle of the park is a pond with a beautiful house that has been turned into a restaurant. It is apparently famous for its tea and popovers. We had already had lunch (we packed it and ate it at one of the scenic overlooks), but we stopped for tea and popovers. I had blueberry tea - had never had it before. Yummy!@! The popovers were delicious with butter and jam. What a nice break. We stopped and bought some blueberry tea to bring back with us.

Then a nice one mile Nature Hike around part of the pond. This really felt a lot like Oregon except that the path was nicely graveled and there was a sign every quarter mile so we would not get lost. Because this park is so old and because there are so few parks in the east, this is a highly developed park with lots of hiking trails and biking trails. We were lucky that it did not rain while we were on the nature hike - that might have been about the only half hour that it did not rain today.

We decided to call it a day and headed home, going through the city of Bar Harbor on the way. The city looks nice enough that we might want to spend a day or two there. The weather looks bad enough everywhere. It is supposed to rain all day and night here and then be nicer tomorrow for a day or two. So we have decided to stay here a few more days and enjoy the nice weather - if it really comes. If it does not rain tomorrow we will pack up the bikes and try one of the biking loops in the park. (One advantage of being a senior is that you can get those national park passes and all federal parks are free so we can go back as often as we want.) The way that it is pouring I only hope that we don't sink into the mud before tomorrow. So sitting here in the rain, blogging, reading, and waiting for Bob to make his wonderful black bean chili.

Rethinking the plan

OK, so no pictures. Yesterday I forgot my camera and today my camera would not work. Yuck.

Four months is a long time to be on the road. It is even longer if the weather is not so great. Yesterday it was pouring all day. We drove to the LLBean flagship store(s) (there are about four of them on one campus) Big and expensive. No deals and nothing really to see. I did buy a few small things and the cashier couldn't get the scanner to work for one of the items and said that she was not allowed to just put in the price. After standing there watching her try to scan the item in for 15 minutes, guess what I decided? I decided that I did not need that item at all.

We left and drove into downtown Portland Maine. It is much smaller than the one in Oregon. (I knew that on an intellectual level - it is always different to actually see it.) The good news about a rainy day is that no one else wants to park in the tourist areas. We found a spot and parked and just walked up and down the Old Harbor area. The down side is that most of the shops were closed and the tourist buses and boats were not going out. We walked around for two hours and then headed back to the car.

When I went online last night I realized that today was going to be a sunny day. But Saturday is going to rain again. We had been planning to leave here this morning and travel to Bar Harbor. That would have meant that we were traveling on the good day and camping on the rainy days. We decided to stay here another day just because the weather was going to be nice and we could even just sit in the campground and enjoy the nice weather.

As we were talking about our plans both Bob and I admitted to each other that we are getting tired of bad weather and that going to Nova Scotia will mean more bad weather for a longer period of time. The 10 day projections for there are mostly rain - only 3 days of even partial sun in the next 10 days. This is not what either of us want to do. We decided to think about it more later.

Today started out cloudy but soon became a beautiful sunny day. We drove to Old Orchard Beach, paid for parking and spent the entire afternoon sitting in beach chairs on the beach. We then went into the restaurant right behind us and ordered hamburgers. I haven't had a hamburger in months. I took about three bites and started to feel strange. Then I broke out in a cold sweat and had to lie down. It felt as if my blood pressure was going really low again. Maybe there is so little stress in my life that I have to decrease my blood pressure meds even more. I don't have my blood pressure cuff with me to measure so I don't know for sure what is happening. I won't take the meds tomorrow. Now I am feeling better.

We have decided what to do tomorrow, but I don't know what we will do after that. I have really gotten on Bob's case for making me do all of the planning and then complaining about what I planned (we had a small incident on the drive along the Portland coast where he was tired and blamed me for not realizing how much traffic there would be. I pointed out that I had no more way of knowing than he and I had asked him what he wanted to do and he had agreed that this was a good plan. He backed off.) Neither of us really have any idea of what will happen next on the trek. We even talked about just going home. We are going to make lists and try to decide what it is that we want to do. We have complete flexibility and can do whatever we want. We are not tied to any plan. We both want some sun and some warmth. I don't know beyond that. We will see. It is likely at this point that we will skip Nova Scotia - may just go into Canada enough to see my friend in Montreal. Whatever happens Bob is going to do more of the planning from now on.

Portland to Portland

Yes we are here in Maine, about 15 miles south of Portland (that seems so strange to say). Our last two days in the Cape were very restful. We drove around to view as much as we could. It was too windy to take the scooters and we wanted to see more than we could on the bicycles. We drove along the national seashore. It was late in the afternoon and we did not actually get on the beach, but just looked. As you can see, the beach is lovely. There was a pretty good size cliff right next to the beach and apparently the stairs had been demolished last winter. But they have been rebuilt. The waves on this side of the cape were beautiful to behold. I wish we had had time to go into the water. Alas.

We drove along most of the rest of the cape. It was apparent to me that we were staying in the low rent area of the cape (fine with me). The high rent areas had really HUGE homes with gorgeous landscaping. There were lots of high end shops and restaurants and lots of touristy stuff. I came away with the thought - quaint. The accommodations were not of the usual hotel/motel type. There were lots of bed and breakfasts in some of those huge houses. There were lots of cabins. Even those places that obviously were newer were built with that kind of style - quaint.

Our last night there we went to a very nice restaurant in Truro. It was in an old huge house. The food was scrumptious and we both overate. I had blackened swordfish and Bob had prime rib. I haven't had such good fish since Bob and I were in Barbados. Then we really splurged and had mud pie for dessert. It was also good. Both Bob and I remembered the first time that we had mud pie. It was in a small restaurant in Grants Pass Oregon. We both agreed that the Grants Pass mud pie is still the best mud pie we have ever had, but the one in Truro was not bad.

We took our time getting started this morning. We drove north again, skirted our way around Boston (hit a Cracker Barrel for lunch) and then 16 miles in New Hampshire and then into Maine. We stayed off the Turnpike as we left Massachusetts. At first there was a lot of traffic. (I think we were going through "the Hamptons." I always thought that the Hamptons were mountains. But there were three towns with Hampton in the name. So I think this was it.) There was lots of traffic, lots of stores and lots of very large houses. As we drove, the traffic eased up which made Bob very happy.

Along this part of the coast of Maine there are some really gorgeous beaches. We passed Ogunquit and Kennebunk (I love the names here.) The towns themselves are very typical coastal towns. We did not have reservations anywhere to stay the night. Everything I found was very expensive and the reviews were not great. We checked out several places and have finally winded up in a KOA just outside of Old Orchard Beach. It is a little too dark for pictures now, so I will save that for tomorrow. But this is fairly woodsy and well kept.

After we got set up, we drove to Old Orchard Beach. That is actually the name of a town, not just the beach. The town reminds me a lot of Seaside, Oregon, with tourist shops and restaurants lining both sides of the main street right along the beach. There is no parking except in paid lots. We drove up next to the beach and it looks like a nice beach, but it is chilly and windy today so we just drove around.

Tomorrow rain is predicted so we will go into Portland.

Two nights of music

For the most part Bob and I have not been doing anything after dinner except be in the trailer or sit around the campfire. We read, play games, or watch DVDs. Earlier this week I saw that one of the nearby restaurants was having a jazz band last night. It was a small trio. We went and had wine and tasty finger food and listened for about an hour. They weren't great. It was the kind of music that tends to be in the background and there were a lot of people talking over it. But it was an enjoyable evening.

Most campgrounds have bulletin boards in the laundry area. I guess that they figure you will read the stuff while you are waiting for the machines. I do read the notices. Up until now the events being described are never while we are in the area. Today I noticed a flyer for a group called "O'Challah." They were billed as a combination of Jewish klezmer music (hence the challah) and Irish music (hence the O') It was free and at the National Seashore info center about a mile from here. So we went. It was excellent. What a great combination. Hebrew, Irish, Yiddish, Serbian, American, and Macedonian music. Some sing-a-long - especially the Hebrew stuff (Shalom Havarim to start off). I got the info on the group. There is apparently a CD available and I will look for it.

What is an interesting twist is that as Bob and I were sitting watching the violin, guitar, clarinet, mandolin, and flute, both of us were thinking that we want to make sure that our grandson learns to play a musical instrument. He is already showing great interest in music. It is such a great way to express yourself. I will figure out a way.

Another interesting thing is how Jewish music is the same everywhere and Jewish people. I connected with the Jewish woman of the group (who played the violin) immediately and we had a great conversation after the show. It reminds me of how my daughter said that the Passover seders in Rome were the same as the seders in Portland. How does that happen?

The rest of the day was quiet. I Skyped with daughter and grandson this morning. (He is getting cuter every day.) The sun was out and the temperature was perfect. We had planned to go on a bike ride, but we were both reading interesting books. We just sat in the shade and read and laughed and watched the world go by. We need to do this more often. As one of my sisters keeps reminding me, my husband is 81. I do have to give him some time to recover. I think that he is feeling much better after almost two days of just relaxing. Good. (Cause I am ready to roll again.)

Provincetown and such

We drove along the cape into Provincetown. I have to say that I was not overwhelmed. The drive was pretty and you could see the ocean and the bay at the end. But the parking was nonexistent or very expensive. We tried to find a place to stop and really didn't see anything that made it worthwhile to pay the exhorbitant parking rates. So we kept driving and started back. It was less than 30 miles and we can come back if we want to see something.

We wanted to find a restaurant to stop and have lunch. There were many restaurants that had take out only. There were lots of pizza places - not what we had in mind. The one restaurant we found in Truro said that they did not start serving lunch until noon and it was only 11:35. We could walk around the very tiny downtown or we could sit there and wait. We decided to move on. Another restaurant which billed itself as a bakery and bistro had no place to sit down inside and all of the outside tables were full. They only had sandwiches anyway. We finally found a small Thai restaurant. Let me say that Thai food (Asian food actually) is not the same on the east coast as it is in Portland. Disappointing.

We decided that since it was a warm day that we would go back to the beach. That was lovely. We watched the tide go out pretty dramatically and you could see the vary large expanse of sand with grass. We sat in the sun and watched the many children playing in the shallow water and having a great time. We listened to teenage girls on a blanket nearby discuss things that they knew nothing about. (Was I ever really that young and silly?)

I realized that we were watching the west and that the sun would be going down right over the bay. So I suggested that we come back and watch the sunset. Bob insisted that we were looking north not west. It didn't matter what map I showed him or what logic I used-he insisted that he was right. But he agreed that after dinner we would come back and watch and see who was right.

Guess who? We did watch a really pretty sunset. I do like the sunsets that are absolutely clear and you can watch the sun slip into the ocean. This was not one of those. This was one with a few clouds at the horizon and it was also very lovely. While we were sitting and holding each other (it was pretty cold) we would cuddle and kiss every once in a while. I heard a camera click behind me and turned to the young man and wanted to know if we should get out of his way. He replied that we were actually the subject of his picture. He got some of us just being together and promised to email them to me. All in all a very pleasant way to end a day.

This morning Bob and I both felt lazy and like we did not want to do much. I really wanted to clean the trailer. It gets pretty dirty. So I dusted, swept, mopped, and scrubbed and it feels much better. I doubt that we will do much today but enjoy being here and the pleasant weather. The campground is not nearly as full as I thought it would be. Apparently it is still very early in the season. They do have a very short season. We do need lazy days like this regularly.

Enjoying Cape Cod

It was a busy day today. It rained last night and was a little damp and chilly this morning so it seemed a good day to get some repairs done. Always something. Do not go trekking without your mechanic. The repairs went pretty quickly and we were done early. The sun started to come out and it had all of the beginnings of a beautiful day.

We biked a quarter mile down the road to a seafood place that had been recommended. I wanted fried clams and Bob wanted a salad. They didn't have any salads today. They wouldn't take credit cards. Bob got very irritated. I decided to get my clams to go and we would go back to the trailer and Bob could make himself a good lunch. That worked out well. (The clams were scrumptious.)

We then got back on the bikes and started down the bike path. It is 22 miles long and our campsite is located at about mile 17. We headed towards Orleans, the nearest town. It was about 4.5 miles. The path was well paved and fairly scenic. There were parts that were simply boring. Other parts were along ponds and very nice. When we got to Orleans Bob was pretty tired, so we went for coffee, did a little shopping (Bob got some great new sandals), and then headed back. Unfortunately about one half mile before the campground the path goes under the road and there is a steep uphill coming out of the tunnel. Bob decided that he wanted to see if he could do the uphill without the aid of his battery. He did it, but it almost did him in. He almost lost his balance and his lunch. The good news is that we were really close to the campground so we could get back and he could rest. He promised me that he would not do that again.

We then drove back to Orleans and we both got pedicures. This is the only way that I have found for Bob to keep his toenails cut short. (Very important because otherwise he stabs me with those things in the middle of the night.) This was a brand new nail shop that had only been open for a month and was being run by two brothers and a sister. They did a nice job.

It is chilly tonight. We thought about a campfire, but decided that we would rather not.

The weekend campers are starting to arrive. I understand that this place will be packed - not only the campground but the entire cape. Glad we have a spot and do not have to drive around much - except to the beach and Provincetown, but without the trailer. Looking forward to another great day tomorrow.

A day at the beach

It was really warm when we woke up today - 60 degrees. We had a late breakfast outside. This is the first breakfast we have had outside in a long time. It was very nice. Did I say nice? It was very nice. We really took our time getting moving and just enjoyed being out there.

We decided that it would be better to drive our bikes to the bike repair place than to bike there and wait. Good idea. They said that they would have them by the end of the day. So no biking today.

We tried to go to the recommended place for lunch but we walked in and the smell of fish was overpowering. Bob absolutely could not handle it. So we decided to try another recommended fish place and it was closed on Wednesdays. (Bob had joked on the way that it was going to be closed. He was right and felt guilty for jinxing it.) We had lunch at an Italian place. They had puttanesca but it was not as good as Bob's. The waitress spent a lot of time with us and told us that she is pregnant. She told us a lot about the area and we enjoyed talking to her. There is a jazz band playing there on Saturday night. I told Bob I was going and he could go or not go, it was up to him.

We got our stuff together and headed for the beach. It seemed sunny and warm and we couldn't bike so beaching seemed like a good idea. As we were gathering our stuff the manager of the campground told us to bring jackets because it is often cool at the beach. Wrong. It was sunny and very warm. I put on a bathing suit but Bob just sat in his shorts. We stayed for about two hours and felt toasty. I wandered into the water and cooled off. We were on the Cape side so it was very calm and very warm and there were almost no waves. The kids were playing in the water and having a grand time. The parents were getting hot and irritable. Interesting.

There is so much that I want to do here. The manager of the campground tells me that it will be full this weekend and very busy. I can only assume that the whole place will be packed. So we are trying to decide what to do when there are not many folks and what will be good when the place is packed. Amazingly the beach was almost empty. That was fine with me.

Picked up the bikes and they are repaired and ready to go. We were both so tired out from the sun that we just sat at the site. The breezes started up in a short time and I thought that I had died and gone to heaven. Bob keeps saying that this is what he has been looking forward to doing. I hope that the weather stays this nice. (They are predicting some thundershowers tonight but sun in the afternoon.) Tomorrow will be a biking day in the afternoon I think.