Fort Griswold

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Marsha Brecht

We did not go into Mohegan Sun Casino today, choosing instead to explore the countryside around us. The fall coloring is just getting started here and it’s very pretty.

We found ourselves in the small town of Groton where we found a memorial and an old fort, Fort Griswold, across the Thames river from New London, CT, on Long Island Sound.

Here, in 1781, a British fleet under the command of former American general Benedict Arnold attacked the fort and bloody battle ensued.  There the names of all the men who died are on a plaque here and signs explain the details of the battle.

Fort Griswold and Memorial

Covered Way…A pathway between the fort and the lower battery where soldiers using it were under cover from enemy gunfire.

Entrance to the fort from the Covered Way

 

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Mohegan Sun Casino

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Marsha Brecht

We would like to stay in Connecticut for a while longer before we head south for the winter, but with uncooperative Walmarts and closed campgrounds it’s increasingly difficult.  There are very few year-round campgrounds, but they cost $40 to $60 per night.  That’s just too much!  We only need a place to park, not looking for a resort experience.

Up until now we had kinda forgotten about Casinos!  Well, actually, there are almost none in the New England area.  Today we made our way northeast to Mohegan Sun Casino.  Wow!  This place is huge!  And beautiful!  It makes Mystic Lake Casino back in Minnesota look like child’s play.

We are allowed to park here free for a week with an option for an additional week if we want. There are only about 15 other RVs in this ‘oversized vehicle’ parking lot on this Monday night, but room for maybe 50+.  A separate parking lot just for tour busses has only 30 busses parked in it at the moment.  Business is slow.

Dale Chihuly Glass Sculpture in One of the Lobbys

When we signed up for the Player’s Card in the casino they saw it was my birthday and gave me free stuff… I got a dozen Kirspy Kreme donuts, a Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Cone, and a milkshake from Johnny Rockets, along with an assortment of buy-one-get-one deals at several of the restaurants and shops here.  AND…it was 2-for-1 Buffet today. AND, we each got $10 in slot play.  Score! 🙂

Celebrity Chef  Bobby Flay Restaurant

This place even has its own gas station, but we won’t be buying gas here, it’s $4.91 per gallon.

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New Haven, CT

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Marsha Brecht

A visit to an orchard was on our agenda for today.  There was one just a few miles from us, so Bernie and Teresa and I went to watch the activities.  Lots of parents were their with their kids picking out the perfect pumpkin.  There were pony rides, and llamas and goats to  see.

Squash

After picking out a few squash and making some purchases in the store we went out for a late lunch at a nice seafood restaurant.

Then we drove out to Lighthouse Point to see the New Haven Lighthouse and the park there.  The sun was out but it was a little cool.  Teresa went for a run while Bernie and I walked around the park.  Then the three of us walked along the beach, found some benches to sit on and just hung out for a while.

New Haven Lighthouse

 

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Goodbye Cape Cod

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Marsha Brecht

Our time in Cape Cod is up and we have moved to Connecticut to see our daughter, Teresa.    It was about a four-hour drive for us and took us a while to find a campground as many are closed for the season already.  The Walmarts we checked did not allow overnight parking either.

Gas prices we saw were as high as $4.17 per gallon.   Our gas expense today was $90 for the RV and $60 for the Jeep.

Gas $4.17

We finally got to Teresa’s place and had a late lunch and did a little shopping.  Then she decided to join us at the campground for a campfire and roasted marshmallows.  She will be spending the night with us.

Teresa

 

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Cape Cod Canal

Posted on October 12, 2012 by Marsha Brecht

There are some cranberry bogs in this area and it’s cranberry picking time.  We went in search of cranberry picking pictures.  Fail.  We did find some already picked bogs but a picture of that would be really boring.

But we did stop at this general store and got a kick out of the separate benches out front for the Democrats and the Republicans.

Separate Benches for Democrats and Republicans

In the town of Sandwich, we found this old house thought to be the oldest house on Cape Cod.  It closed for the season just yesterday and was all locked up.

Hoxie House, 1675

It’s looking more and more like the New England states roll up the streets and turn off the lights after Columbus Day.  Campgrounds are closing, some restaurants are closed, attractions are closed, and even the garbage is no longer picked up at rest areas and parks.

Closed and Sealed for the Season, Carry in – Carry Out Policy

Lobster does not have as huge of a presence here on Cape Cod as it did in Maine, but it’s still popular.  We found these Lobster Pot Pies in the store.  Too much for me.

Lobster Pot Pies

I don’t remember learning anything about the Cape Cod Canal when I was in school, but that was a long time ago, so perhaps I just forgot. Living in Minnesota it really didn’t matter to me.  Anyway, it is a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, and it is the widest sea level canal in the world.

Opening in 1914 the 17.4 mile canal crosses the isthmus at a narrow point essentially making Cape Cod an island and saving vessels up to 150 miles of travel and from the hazardous route around Cape Cod.

Cape Cod Canal

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Provincetown, MA

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Marsha Brecht

Sunny day! wooo!  Look at that blue sky!

I swear there were ten tour busses at the visitor center today as we drove by it.  When we got to this beach there was one bus there and it was from Minnesota, mostly Cottage Grove and Woodbury area people.

Minnesotans

About 50 feet behind where this group of people is standing is where the first transatlantic telegraph cable was brought ashore in 1897 connecting us with Europe.  It stayed in service for 24 years until Marconi’s wireless machine took over.

Nauset Lighthouse

Highland Light

We visited two of the lighthouses here and then returned to Provincetown.  We rode the Provincetown Trolley for a 40 minute narrated tour of the town.  I could also call it a thrill ride as the driver took us the full length of Commercial Street.  It was amazing that she didn’t hit a car, a pedestrian, a utility pole, or a shop awning but it was so close!  No leaning out the windows!

Provincetown Trolley

Commercial Street in Provincetown

Provincetown Pier

There is a large pier off Commercial Street.  All these little shacks are places where you can charter a fishing tour, or whale watching, or para-sailing, and more.

Marina. Provincetown Skyline.

Provincetown’s population is just over 3,000 people, but in the summer the population rises to more like 50,000.

The town library was in a nice old building, but even more impressive was that on the 2nd floor there was a half-scale replica of a fishing schooner.

Fishing Schooner Inside Library

There are some old cranberry bogs in the Cape Cod area that appear to be left for nature to reclaim.  They are small fields separated by a grid of dikes.  The hiking trail runs along the tops of the dikes with a few benches to rest on.  We saw bird houses, bat houses, and bee hives in where the cranberries used to grow.

Walking Trail in Cranberry Bogs

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Crack and Cape Cod

Posted on October 10, 2012 by Marsha Brecht

We did not see this last night, but this morning we find a crack in our windshield. 😦  It’s about a foot long right now, let’s hope it doesn’t get any bigger yet.

Crack!

Today we drove out to Cape Cod National Seashore, and to the town of Provincetown which is at the end of the road.  Our first stop was at one of the beaches on the Cape Cod Bay.  The tide was wayyyy out, we could walk out a long way, but didn’t find much for shells or anything.

Beach

On the ocean side we found the place where Marconi built the first US transatlantic wireless telegraph station 1901-1912. The first telegram was addressed to Edward VII King of England by President Theodore Roosevelt on January 19, 1903.

Marconi Station

There are still a few remnants of the station remaining, some of the concrete foundations and towers.  The ocean has nearly completely eroded the station away.  Wow, a lot has changed in the last 100 years.

November 20, 1620, the Pilgrims anchored the Mayflower and signed the “Mayflower Compact” where Provincetown is now.  Most people think that happened at Plymouth but that is where they later settled.  There is a big granite Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown.

Pilgrim Monument

Commercial Street (main street) is very narrow, I’m surprised they even allowed traffic on it at all.  For being the off-season there were still a lot of people walking around.  There are lots of art gallerys and museums and clubs here.  This is also a popular vacation destination for GLBT travelers and is known for its fun nightlife and eclectic scene.

Downtown Provincetown

It was getting late in the day and there is mist in the air, so we just did a quick drive-thru of Provincetown before heading back to the campground so we wouldn’t have to drive in the dark in the rain.  We’ll be back.

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Massachusetts

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Marsha Brecht

We have accumulated a carpet of pine needles on the top of the motor home over the past 5 nights we have been here necessitating a roof sweeping.

Bernie Sweeping

Once that task was done we said goodbye to Bob and Bobbi and hit the road again.  We’re heading for Cape Cod, but for today we will be staying near Raynham, Massachusetts, just south of Boston.

And, just a note, no water leaked out of our tanks this time like it did when we drove down from the White Mountains of New Hampshire, so we’re good.

It’s still cloudy, and rained a bit on the drive, but wasn’t bad.  I see the weather forecast for the day after tomorrow it should be sunny!  Looking forward to that!

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Bear Brook State Park

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Marsha Brecht

Even though it was a damp cloudy morning we hiked the nearby trails just to get some exercise and see the sights.  We were hearing gunfire not too far away so we decided not to venture too far into the woods after all since we didn’t know the boundaries for the hunters.

Along the Trail

The swimming pond is closed for the season, the picnic tables all stacked up inside the shelter and the parking lot barricaded.

Shelter by the Pond

The C. C. C. Worker  –  This statue is dedicated to the young men who served in the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1933-1942.  Their work in the parks and forests of New Hampshire, and many other states remains today for all to enjoy.

The CCC Museum that we have been camped behind for the last few days is closing for the season today.  Tomorrow we will leave this area and slowly move south.

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Nothing

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Marsha Brecht

No pictures and nothing for the daily blog, but I thought I should say something before some of my relatives wonder what happened to us.

We watched over the museum here this morning so the volunteer hosts could go to church.  Then when they came back we just loitered around here for a while and then went to Eric and Danielle’s place for supper.

And now it’s raining again.

See you tomorrow 😀

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Hibachi and Family

Posted on October 6, 2012 by Marsha Brecht

Today we drove in to Concord and had lunch with our son and his wife.  I’ve never been to a Japanese Hibachi Grill before so going to Moritomo’s was a treat for me.  Our chef was a comedienne and entertained us while he cooked our food in front of us.  It was a good time and the food was good too.

Hibachi Chef

After that we hung out with the kids at their apartment for a while, had some pumpkin beer and a good visit with the newlyweds.

Danielle and Eric

As soon as we returned to the motor home…guess what… it started to rain.. surprise surprise, so we’ll be spending the evening watching TV.

Posted in Daily Post, New Hampshire, October | 1 Comment

Sunshine and Apples

Posted on October 5, 2012 by Marsha Brecht

The sun came out today!  It’s about time!  Bernie and I went for a walk first thing this morning to enjoy the sunshine before it vanished again.  Not far from where we are camped is The Old Allenstown Meeting House.  This 200-year-old building is listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places.

There was a man working near the building, he was the president of the Allenstown Historical Society and had the key to the locked building and let us in to see it and gave us a little history about it.

This building is unusual because it has sloping floors toward the center of the room and original pew holder’s names have been preserved.

Old Allenstown Meetinghouse Circa 1815

An arsonist tried to burn it down in 1985 and did significant damage, which has now been repaired.  Why do people do that??

Old Allenstown Meetinghouse Circa 1815

Then we and Bob and Bobbi went out for lunch and then to visit the Carter Hill Apple Orchard.

Picking Apples With Friends

Bird Watchers

At one edge of the apple orchard was a deck with several people with cameras and binoculars.  We heard them shouting and getting excited.  Who knew bird watching was so exciting.  They were spotting eagles and hawks.

Home Sweet Home Again

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Another Wet Day

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Marsha Brecht

More rain, more clouds…..

Lake Winnipesaukee

There was a break in the rain so we went for a drive around the scenic Lake Winnipesaukee.  There was some fall coloring, but it’s just in the early stages here.  We stopped in at The Loon Center and watched a video about Loons.  The Loons here are about a third larger than the loons in Minnesota, and they only migrate to Rhode Island or Cape Cod.  We wanted to hike the nature and wildlife viewing trail there but it began to rain again so there went that.

Now we’re back at Bear Brook State Park not far from Concord, New Hampshire, camped next to our friends, Bob and Bobbi, who we met earlier this fall.  We’ll spend a few days here and see our son and his new bride again before we leave.

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Leafing White Mountains

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Marsha Brecht

While we didn’t see and do everything there is to see and do in the White Mountains area we thought it was time to hit the road again.  Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was that we have been parked in the same spot for an entire week–longer than we ever stay in any one spot, who knows; the road was calling us.

So, we packed up, dumped our dirty water tanks and filled up the clean water tank, brushed the leaves and pine needles off and hit the road.

Leaving The White Mountains Area

Rain and fog accompanied us as we drove down the mountain.  This has been an awesome stay, I only wish the sun had been out.  We need to come back next year and do this again.

We stopped at a rest area / information center about a half hour later.  When we returned to the RV we found that water was pouring out of our fresh water tank and onto the ground.  Our 60 gallon fresh water tank was almost empty!!  It must have been pouring out onto the ground for the last several miles, but we never noticed because of the rain and splatter of the wet roads.  The water was flowing out of the overflow pipe.  After a few minutes it stopped and we were on our way again, not knowing why this happened.   We can only guess that perhaps it was the difference in air pressure from the mountains to the valley that pushed the water out??  But almost all of it??  We’ll have to keep an eye on it.

We’re staying in a Walmart parking lot tonight because, well, free is good.  Although, we did go in and spend $50 on groceries and supplies.

There is a state park near here that we went to check out.  They had a very nice RV park with all hookups and even cable TV, but it was $47 per night.  We’ll go with free for now… although we do need water!

We need to start thinking harder about where we stay from now on as most of the RV parks close down for the season after this weekend.

Our gas expense today was $90.  $3.79/gallon.

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Franconia Notch State Park

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Marsha Brecht

Partly Sunny was the forecast for this morning so we went out in search of the elusive sunshine.  We went back to drive the Kancamagus Highway again hoping for some wonderful sights.  There was a brief moment of sunshine, but that’s all.  The leaves are about at peak color now but without the sunshine and a better camera my pictures don’t look any better than they did when we drove it last week.

Sunshine!

The Flume Gorge at Franconia Notch State Park was our next stop.  We hiked the two-mile loop through the Flume and through some very scenic areas. The boardwalk provided us the opportunity to see the gorge up close and get a good look at the ferns and mosses that grow there too.

Flume Gorge

Covered Pedestrian Bridge

The next thing was to ride the Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway.  Once at the top we hiked a 30 minute trail to a lookout tower and took in some breathtaking views in all directions.   This was not as high up as when we visited Mt. Washington, and it was no where near as cold and windy as that was.

Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway

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One more stop before heading home…The Old Man of the Mountain, a legendary granite profile of a man’s face on the side of a mountain.  This has been an iconic symbol for the state of New Hampshire for many years.  Then on May 3, 2003, it collapsed and fell off the mountain.  The Old Man of the Mountain Profiler Plaza has recreated the experience of looking up and seeing the old stone face.

The Old Man of the Mountain Profiler Plaza

Looking up at the mountain along a profiler rod you can again see the face back where it belongs.

He’s Back!

Posted in Daily Post, New Hampshire, October | 1 Comment

Clark’s Trading Post

Posted on October 1, 2012 by Marsha Brecht

It rained all night and still foggy and drizzly this morning.  The weather is supposed to improve tomorrow so hopefully we will be able to catch some glimpse of the sun and get some good pictures.  Well, where do we go today where we can stay somewhat dry?

We decided on Clark’s Trading Post, a family touristy place with a bear show, gift shop, specialty shops, museums, and more.  They are winding down for the season and will shut down for the winter in two weeks.   We paid off-season admission price of $14 each, down from $19.  There were not a lot of people there, half the entertainment was closed off, half the food service venues were closed, but the shops and museums were open.  It was disappointing that so much was closed off, but we still enjoyed the bear show and the train ride.  Exit through the gift shop.

Clark’s Trading Post “Main Street”

Bear Show

Train Ride

The Wolfman harassed us all on the train as we went by, shouting and rambling on about us trespassing and invading his space.  Then he would get in his car and drive along side, yelling and threatening us.

The Wolfman

Pretty

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Cog RR and Mount Washington Resort

Posted on September 30, 2012 by Marsha Brecht

According to the weather forecast we may see some partial sun on Tuesday if we’re lucky, but the rain will continue for another whole week.

It’s Still Pretty

The Cog Railroad seemed like a fun thing to do, but not in the rain and fog.  Yet people were lining up to ride it the 3.5 miles to the top of Mt. Washington anyway.  You know they won’t be seeing anything.  I’d love to take it some bright sunny day when you can see for miles.  We just went to look at it and to visit the museum about it.  It’s been here since 1869 and the museum shows you a lot about its origin and there is a very interesting video about its evolution.

Cog Railroad

The Cog System That Gets The Train Up The Mountain

The Mount Washington Resort is the big deal resort of the area with tons of amenities.  It is 100 years old and recently completed a $50 million refurbishment and expansion.  Parking was free and we went inside to have a look around.  Beautiful.  And it has some incredible views which we could not see today because of the rain and fog.

The Omni Mount Washington Resort

We considered eating there but we weren’t up for fine dining and reconsidered and went to a cafe down the road before going home.

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Sugar Hill, NH

Posted on September 29, 2012 by Marsha Brecht

Another Drizzly Damp Day.  Not wanting to stay inside all day we ventured out in the drizzle to find something to do.  Our first stop was at the local coffee shop in Bethlehem where we had some shoefly pie and a hedgehog cookie with our coffee.  I had heard of shoefly pie, but never have seen it.  This was simply a maple flavored coffee cake in a pie crust.  It was good but I liked the hedgehog cookie much better.  That is a soft flourless cookie made with dates, walnuts, and coconut.

Shoefly Pie and a Hedgehog

Next we headed to the nearby small town of Sugar Hill.  Our first stop there was at a place called Sugar Hill Sampler, a big gift shop/antique store/museum all in one building.  They had lots of really cool stuff.  Too bad I couldn’t buy any of it since we don’t have room for any “stuff” in our motor home.  But we enjoyed looking at everything and tried samples of the jellies, dips, and fudge.

Sugar Hill Sampler

The folks at Sugar Hill Sampler mentioned that we should stop at the open-air market just down the road, so that was our next stop.  There were about 20 arts & crafts vendors there.

Open-Air Market

Music was playing, we followed our ears to this machine.  We were getting wet so I just took this quick picture and then we left.

Music

Just outside of town is Polly’s Pancake Parlor and Bakery.  Apparently this is the place to eat as the place was packed with people, so we stopped there for a late lunch.

Polly’s Pancake Parlor

Polly’s Pancake Parlor makes a variety of pancakes from scratch and all are served with a condiment tray that includes their own homemade pure maple syrup, pure maple spread, and granulated maple sugar.

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Rain and Candy

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Marsha Brecht

All summer it’s been sunny and dry and now when we want the sun to light up the fall colors it’s nowhere to be found.  The forecast was for rain this afternoon so we left this morning for a drive around the country before the rain hit.

Blue Sky Peeking

Littleton Covered Bridge

The sun never did come out.  On our way back home we found Chutters candy store in Littleton, NH.  Their claim to fame is that they have the world’s longest candy counter, 112 feet long and it is in the Guinness Book of World Records.  They have loads of retro candies there as well as many flavors of fudge and other gifts and souvenirs.

World’s Longest Candy Counter

As soon as we got home it began to rain so we’re spending the rest of the day inside, watching TV, playing on the computer, and making soup.

Apple Hill Campground in Bethlehem, NH, has good TV reception, good 3G internet reception, and good Verizon phone signal, plus full hook-ups for the RV, and all at a reasonable price, so we paid for three more nights here.  Monday morning we’ll decide where to go next.

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White Mountains, NH

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Marsha Brecht

McDonald’s has been offering free coffee all week and we like free stuff so that was our first stop.  This is a big ski area in the winter and this McD’s played up to it by making some of their booths into ski lift gondolas.

Ski Lift Gondolas at McDonald’s

I can’t begin to describe the sights we saw today and the pictures just don’t do  it either.  You have to be here to experience it.  The sun came out today and while the colors are not yet at their peak they are still very impressive.  I took 100 pictures today, here are just a few:

Waterfall

Covered Bridge

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