Mother's Day

It was a very nice day. The day started with snow flurries this morning. Who woulda thought? But they ended quickly. It was still windy and cloudy and not a particularly nice day to be outside. So we decided to do inside stuff. We started by waiting for a Skype call with daughter and grandson. My goodness how he is growing. It is amazing the difference that three months makes. Oh how I miss him - and his parents also.

We then drove into Corning and went to the Museum of Glass. Fascinating. They did a really good job of showing how glass was created and how we have advanced in our use of glass. There was some really interesting modern stuff to add and some amazing demonstrations. I was surprised at how much we both enjoyed it.

We then took the shuttle to the Museum of Art of the American West. It was really a museum of Indian culture. Very interesting. I want to get some prints of some of Remington sketches of that we saw. They did not have them in the museum store. I will keep my eye open for them. I am always amazed when we find a museum that does not seem to fit. who would have thought there would be a Museum of the American West in Corning New York? There were a few paintings of the west as it was in the 19th century. One particular picture of a lake in the forest really struck me. It looked like some of the places that Bob and I regularly camp. I looked at it and realized that I really miss home. There are times when both of us think that we just want to go home. This is a long time to be away. But the exhibit was very interesting. It was not until we were waiting for the shuttle back to the parking lot that I realized that the front of the building had a buffalo breaking through the bricks. I loved it!

Tonight we had dinner at the local Italian restaurant. The food was delicious. This was only the 4th night for our waitress. She messed up Bob's order. (That seems to happen to him a lot. This waitress was so sweet. She must have apologized 10 times.) We got our desserts free and got Tiramisu. I am now so full that I can hardly move. We have decided to stay here at least one more day. Don't know where we are going after that.

Thunder and lightning

Wow. I don't remember a storm like that since I was a kid living in Cleveland Ohio. It kept thundering and lightning and raining and thundering and lightning and raining. After about an hour or so of this, Bob admitted to me that he really liked listening to the thunder. That was good because there was a lot of it. It was still going on several hours later when we finally went to bed at about 10:30. During the night I realized that it had stopped raining (through the wonderful window that I insisted on), but the wind was really strong. I mean REALLY strong. That kept up all night. When we got up in the morning it was still very windy. I went online to read the weather reports so we could decide whether to stay put or move on. Based on what we read, we decided that it didn't make much difference. It was going to be rainy and windy no matter where we went - and we were ready to move on.

So we got an early start. I thought it was only going to be about a hundred miles. That is because New York seems to be the only state (so far at least) that doesn't number its exits by the mileage from the beginning. So what I thought was going to be 46 miles, was 46 exits - almost 200 miles. Good thing that we got an early start.

New York is in competition with South Carolina for the worst roads we have come across. The first hundred miles were so rough that I could not even read the map - the book was jumping up and down so much. The last hundred miles were better but - omg.

All that being said, the ride was beautiful, Despite the predictions, the sky cleared a little and the wind let up quite a bit. (I actually think we just got ahead of it because it is starting to cloud up here and get windy - but I am getting ahead of myself.) The countryside was lovely. There were very gentle hills and lots of trees and grass. Spring is truly here and the trees are all budding and very very green. There were creeks here that were wider than rivers in Arizona. In fact, there was a creek that was wider than the Rio Grande. The rivers were very wide - not very deep, but very wide and slow moving. There were enough hills that you got tremendous views as you topped each hill. There were a couple of anomolous (?sp) things. First, we were going along the interstate with manicured shoulders and fences and bill boards - only to come across a sign that said "Natural Area." I could not for the life of me figure out what was natural about this area other than the trees and the grass, but there had been trees and grass all along. Hmmm.

Then there was a sign telling us that there was a scenic overlook turn off. That was another puzzle. It was very scenic, but not really any different than the last 100 miles or the next hundred miles for that matter. I had to wonder why someone decided that this was a scenic overlook rather than the other 200 miles. Another Hmmm.

We are now camped in Watkins Glen NY. It is part of the county park and is right next to the little league park. I can hear the game through my window. They did not stop playing in the rain or the wind which is starting to pick up pretty good. It looks like this is a beautiful area. There is a lovely little park right on Seneca Lake that is right across the street. This will be good for morning walks. It is also a cute little town. If the weather clears it will be perfect for bikes or scooters. Yeah!

I had to stop and remember that in 1988 I came to this area to take my daughter to college in Ithaca. Everyone had told me this was a beautiful area, but when I got here I was not overwhelmed. It seemed like something was missing. There were no high mountains or big trees. It was nice but -. Now, here I am finding this area very beautiful. I can only think that it must be that I am now comparing this area to the rest of the east coast and not to Oregon. In comparison to the states we have recently seen, this area is quite lovely and I do look forward to touristing. (But I miss Oregon. My little sister said that what I might get out of this trip is a certainty that I love where I live. That may be true.)

When we got here one of the first things that I did was go into town to do my laundry. The manager of the campground came in after we did and I started talking to her and asking, as I always do, what should I do while I am here. She gave me some suggestions and then said that one of the things that I must do while I am in the finger lake area is to visit Ithaca. I guess it will all depend on how long we stay and where we want to go next. Ithaca might look very different if I am not being the very nervous parent of a student.

Pictures coming when the rain and wind stop.

Lazy days

We have been watching the weather forecasts and rain is predicted. So, we decided to stay put for awhile until the rain passes us by. (I am not sure that this is really going to work because it looks like there is another front right behind.) Anyway, this is a nice and quiet site. Yesterday we went to the casino for a few hours. I am amazed at how many casinos there are around the country. When we came out it was cold and windy, so we just stayed put in Honey.

The weather is still pretty yucky (highly technical word) today. (It is supposed to turn nice on
Saturday afternoon for a few days.) We bought Bob a new book of crossword puzzles and we are having fun doing them together. The last book was too easy and Bob finished them all by himself - now he needs little help on these.

Because it is supposed to rain this afternoon and tomorrow morning and we are planning on leaving tomorrow morning, we have already put away all the outside stuff. Hitching up and leaving tomorrow should be easy. and we only have about 100 miles that we plan to go. Bob was concerned today that we were not moving fast enough. I had to remind him that we have no deadline and can take as much time in any place as we want to take. That is the point, but it is really hard for both of us to do. So, along that line - today we are just being lazy. I got a few things done that I had been meaning to do inside Honey, but other than that, sitting and reading and playing games and doing puzzles are the order of the day.

Actually, Bob is really enjoying the lazy days because he has enough energy to cook dinners and has been making some scrumptious dinners. Teriaki beef and vegetables are on the agenda for tonight. Greek penne last night and vegetable beef soup the night before that. This is so much better than eating out and my weight is getting back under control after several days of eating out with Sis and sister-in-law.

One other thing that I want to comment about. I keep thinking about Fanny and wondering what is happening with her. I find it amazing that the darn trailer stays in my thoughts. I hope that some caring owners find her and take good care of her.

We are both tired

Today was another beautiful day, until about an hour ago. For most of the day the sun was shining and it was in the upper 70's or lower 80's. We packed a lunch and then drove back to Presque Isle. We ate our lunch at the beautiful bay. Then we got ready to bike and Bob realized that he had not taken his motor. (He has a battery powered motor that gives him a boost when he gets tired or the hill is too steep.) He tried to bike without the motor, but he was getting too tired. So I stayed at the bay and watched the bikes and he drove back to camp and got the motor. (It took him about an hour and I got to finish the book that I was reading so it was not so bad.) We then biked around the park - about 7 miles. My pictures are much better because I got the settings on my camera right. The beach scenes are on the Lake Erie side, the other scene is on the bay side. It is beautiful. It was quite windy so part of the trip was very tiring. By the time that Bob and I got back to the pickup we were both exhausted.

We drove through downtown Erie. There is not much to see. There were a lot of vacant buildings and it looks as if the town has seen better days. When we got back to camp we just hung out for a while. The owner of the campground wanted to mow the grass on our campsite. Great!! But he got a little close to Honey and knocked down our water filter. He and Bob tried to fix it but could not. So we drove back into town and bought another filter. It went on easily - nice to have that happen for a change. The owner has offered to give us a free night. We have to decide if we want to stay here another night or just get a refund. It will depend on the weather.

As we were eating dinner the sky got overcast. We sat outside for a while and it got more and more threatening. When we heard the thunder we packed everything that might get hurt if it got wet and came inside. It is now raining with thunder and lightening. The wind is pretty strong as well. So we are nice and cozy in Honey and we will see what tomorrow brings.

Nice day

It rained during the night, but had stopped by the time we got up this morning. We took our time getting up. I took a good one hour walk and then Bob and I did our exercises. (We have not done them in over a week.) We ate slowly and relaxed and stayed here for lunch. By then, the sun was out and the sky was blue.

I did a little research on where to go next. We decided that Watkins Glen was where we wanted to go, but most of the parks are not open until this weekend. So we decided that we would stay here for a few more days. It is really nice and relaxing and quiet.

We drove down to Presque Isle State Park. We drove around the park and it looked so delightful. We drove back to our campsite and packed up the bikes and drove back. We then took a bike ride around the park for the rest of the day. There is a multi use path all around the area. I don't know how long it is, but we did about 7 or 8 miles and barely touched it. On one side is the Bay. (I tried to take pictures, but the sun was so bright that the pictures are really washed out. I included the best one but it is still pretty washed out. I will try a different setting tomorrow.) On the other side is Lake Erie. It really does look and feel like the ocean with waves and a beach, but these pictures were really washed out.

This is a really nice state park. It is well taken care of and is very user friendly with lots of parking places and easy accessibility. (We noticed that there is a campground right next to the state park. But the campsites are so close together that you could reach out from one window and touch the next trailer. I am glad that we are staying in a spot with much more room.)

Bob and I plan to go back to the park tomorrow and bike around the parts that we missed today because we got too tired. We will bring lunch and really make it a day.

Tonight is quiet and rest time because we are both a little tired from the bike ride and the day. Bar-b-q steaks for dinner - yum. Bob is really enjoying the fact that he is able to cook some now that the weather is nice and we are in a nice spot. Who can figure?

I am sitting here in Honey with the windows all open. I can see the sun is setting through one of the windows and I can hear the birds chirping away. It is really peaceful.

Back on the trek

I must admit that sleeping in a motel room was a little weird. It was a nice enough motel room, but it was not Honey. We made breakfast in the hotel, cleaned up, and we were on the road by 9:30 am. We still were not sure how far we were going to go, but the sun was shining and it was a beautiful morning. As we drove along the northeast border of Ohio, there were more and more clouds. It felt like we were going to catch up with the rain. So we slowed down, got off the interstate and took the backroads into Erie Pennsylvania. We then headed for a Cracker Barrel for lunch and started looking for a campsite. The first place that I wanted to check out was right on the lake, but there was something drastically wrong with the directions. We could not find it. I tried calling and got an answering machine. So we gave up and tried another spot. By this time Bob was getting really tired of driving in traffic - we were in downtown Erie. We found where there were three campgrounds within a mile of each other. We looked at the first one - sites too close together - not enough trees. The second one just looked like it was all permanent rvs. So we headed for the good old KOA. But the road was closed. There was no place to turn around We asked the guys who were working on the road and they said that they were putting in a new pipe and the road would not be open all day. We called the KOA and they had no idea that the road was closed - they had not been warned. They gave us directions to get there through the backroads. By the time we got Honey turned around Bob was getting really irritated. So we went back to campground #2.

I stopped and asked if we could drive through and see where the overnighters stayed. The owner was a delightful woman and joked with me. (She said that she put up the cones so that we could not get to the KOA and would have to come to her.) Her husband then led us to this spot. It is a huge campsite in the middle of trees - but surrounded by very old trailers and mobile homes. They are so far away that they do not bother us. Bob was impressed because the husband started telling us about how they had just bought the place and what they were doing to improve it. We decided to stay here. It feels very nice.

We drove into town and found a Walgreen's and filled our prescriptions for the next three months. We also did a little grocery shopping. The campground owner (Jody) gave us instructions about how to get to Presque Isle. We will go there tomorrow.

Tonight we had a simple dinner - good because of all the food we have eaten the past few days. We then had a nice campfire and are getting ready for bed. I am looking forward to sleeping again in my own bed in Honey. I could even stay here a few days if the weather stays nice. (By the way, by 2 pm the sun was out and it was nice here. They said that it is supposed to be very nice tomorrow. )

Cleveland

We had a very restful visit with my sister. We did very little except rest and eat. We actually really needed that and the timing was just perfect. Sis looks pretty good although she is still in some pain in her knees. Niece looks good and is now better since we convinced her that she might be lactose intolerant. We spent a lot of time playing with Mac, the scottie. He is really good company for sis and loves being around people. During the visit one of my socks developed a very large hole, so I gave it to Mac. He loved it. He would carry it around everywhere and try to get one of us to pull on it and try to take it away. Sis reported that he even took it to bed last night. (We spend all this money on toys but kids and pets love the simplest of things.)

I did have a chance to have a fairly long Skype visit with daughter and grandson. Oh I miss them all so much. It is wonderful that we have the ability to Skype. The phone would undoubtedly be enough if grandson was not changing so much every day. He will be walking soon.

Bob really want to cook something at Sis's house and finally convinced her that he would prefer that to going out to eat. He made pasta puttanesca and it was delicious - one of his better efforts. Sis loved it. I will have to remember to send her the recipe.

This morning we got up well rested and ready to continue the trek. (Bob admitted this morning that he was getting tired enough before the rest that he was thinking of ending the trek. We have to remember to find the time to sit and do absolutely nothing on a regular basis.) We are spending the night in Cleveland to visit my sister-in-law. The drive here from Steubenville was nice and the rolling hills are very familiar from my childhood. It is funny how some things just look familiar even if you have never really seen them before (we took a different route than we usually do because we did not want to stay on Interstates). It is also funny how I am looking at things from a different point of view. For instance, when I lived here (over 40 years ago) I took the Ohio River for granted. Now I look at it and realize what a big river it is and how different from the many ther rivers that we have seen. No wonder it was such a common form of transportation. (I just never thought about it before.)

There are no good places to camp or rv around Cleveland, so we are staying in a motel (Wow this feels different and it is not really that much more expensive than some of the campgrounds that we have stayed in. We got one with a kitchen and all so it doesn't even feel too crowded.) Then tomorrow we will head off again. I really have no idea where it will be from here. Bob and I have to talk tonight. I am definitely more interested in state parks and looking at the scenery than the big cities. Lots of time to go and take our time.