The Nomadic Life

New Jersey

We packed up around 9 this morning and headed out.  We were not interested in driving this bigass RV thru the middle of New York City so we took the long way around and then made our way south as far as Trenton, New Jersey.  Once we were out of New York state the scenery changed dramatically from all the metro stuff to something much more beautiful.

Tonight we are not in a nice RV park, rather we are parked for free in a Walmart parking lot and in the middle of a really big shopping development.  I’m in heaven, hahaha.  All my favorite stores and restaurants are in sight.  We went for a long walk and found a ShopRite grocery store.  I think this must be the largest and nicest grocery store I have ever been in.  We did some recreational shopping, bought a few things, and walked back to the RV.

It was 75 degrees and sunny when we got here today, getting warm enough inside the RV we considered turning on the air conditioning!  I hear Minnesota is going to get snow. 🙂

By the way, New Jersey rest areas recycle too, but looks like only aluminum and glass.

I try to blog at least SOMETHING every day.  Today is a challenge.  Teresa is busy with classes and homework today so we won’t be seeing her. When we arrived last Tuesday we got the best price by paying a weekly rate, so we are paid up thru tonight and will leave first thing tomorrow morning.

Bernie tinkered around in the “basement” of the RV looking for a leak we believe we have.  Sometimes we can hear our water pump activate when we haven’t even used any for a while, it is suspicious.  He found a Winnebago Itasca RV dealer/service provider south of here, in Delaware, but the earliest appointment we could get isn’t until December 1.  If we can figure out where the leak is maybe we can just fix it ourselves.

The RV park where we are is called River Dale Farm Campsites.  There is a barn here and some horses.  It’s a beautiful sunny day and we walked around the park and went over to see the horses.

Then back to the RV to tidy up and prepare some food for the rest of the week since we don’t know where we will be staying or what we will be doing for the next several days.  I cooked some Minnesota wild rice in the crock pot :). 



Wolfs Head



Skull & Bones





Book & Snake



Scroll & Key





Quiddich



Harkness Tower





Grove Street Cemetery



“The Dead Shall Be Raised”





Eli Whitney Inventor of the Cotton Gin



Teresa “Light and Truth”







Gozzi’s Turkey Farm

Very near here is Gozzi’s Turkey Farm.  If you want to purchase a fresh turkey for your Thanksgiving dinner this is the place to go.  They have different colored turkeys in a pen for the children to feed.  Get your order in early.



Hiking Trail


A few more miles up the road from the turkey farm is Sleeping Giant State Park.  The outstanding landmark of the skyline north from New Haven is the silhouette of the Sleeping Giant laying on its back, feet to the east, head to the west and the prominent chin thrust upward to the sky.  One local Indian legend relates how the spirit Hobomock diverted the Connecticut River from its original course in the Quinnipiac country and moved it far to the east.  The benevolent spirit Kiehtan then cast a spell upon Hobbamock, causing him to sleep eternally in repose as the “Sleeping Giant.”  During the legal battle the Sleeping Giant Park Association waged in the 1920’s and 30’s to stop the quarrying on the Giant’s head, supporters of the SGPA warned that if old Hobbomock’s sleep was disturbed, bad luck would forever haunt the local inhabitants.

Tree Carving

We hiked one trail on the east side to the top of his right foot.  There were broken branches and damage from the storm last week, but there were people there with chainsaws clearing the trials for hikers.

Lookout Tower on the top of Sleeping Giant

Then we drove to the west end of the park and hiked another trail around his head and chest and up to his left hip where there is a lookout tower that was built in 1936.  This tower is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  We climbed to the top of the tower and enjoyed the amazing view before heading back to town.

After all that hiking, we stopped at a Mexican Restaurant for dinner and then Bernie and I were tired and Teresa said she had homework she needed to do so we dropped her off at home and we came back to the RV to relax for the rest of the day.

Turning clocks back one hour tonite.



Bishop’s Orchards Farm Market

Today was windy and cool, yet sunny and nice.  We’re just exploring the community and seeing what there is to see around here.  Bishop’s Orchards Farm Market was a pleasant surprise. 
It has the standard apple orchard fare as well as being a great fresh produce and grocery store.  I saw many interesting things here that I don’t see in the regular grocery stores.  Lots of prepared foods, home made soups, sandwiches, salads, and the like. 


River Dale Farm Campsites


When we got back to the RV park we walked around it.  We are almost alone here.  All those RV’s you see in the picture are empty, closed up and winterized. 

Then, when Teresa got off work we went in to New Haven to have dinner with her and hang out for a bit.  She decided to return to the RV park with us and spend the night.  We’ll find things to do tomorrow.

Marble

Marble made a rare appearance in the living room and and napped on the couch for a bit today.

Frost again this morning!  But it should be warming up the rest of this week.  The office was closed when we got here yesterday so we found the caretaker and he said we could stay for a week and gave us a discounted weekly rate.  He also mentioned that they were advertising on the radio for those areas that are still without electricity that they can come here because there is electricity and gasoline around here, so he is expecting more campers will show up.  Right now this RV park is rather empty.

Gillette Castle

Not far from us is Gillette Castle.  This is a mansion that was built in 1914 by William Gillette, an eccentric actor known for playing Sherlock Holmes on stage.  It now belongs to the State of Connecticut and is a State Park.  This was closed for the season so we could not go inside, but we could walk around the grounds.


Side View of Gillette Castle

They say the inside is just as eccentric as the outside.  It was built with rock from the area and is high upon a hill overlooking the Connecticut River. The ground and the house are currently undergoing some maintenance and restoration.

View from Gillette Castle

The view from the Gillette Castle was quite spectacular, too bad I can’t get it all in the camera.  In this picture, on the river below, you can see a small ferry boat that carries your car across the river to see the Castle.

After seeing the house we went for a drive around the country.  It was a lovely drive, but the roads were narrow and windey, good thing to have the car as the RV would never make it.

Oh look!  Gillette Castle State Park Recycles!













Propane Fill

It was another freezing night, but we kept warm with lots of blankets and an occasional run of our generator to power the electric heaters.  We spent the night in a Walmart Parking lot and were joined by another RV similar to ours as well as an auto transport truck who needed sleep.  Our first stop as we headed out was at a nearby propane dealer to fill our tank, so now we’re good to go.

Winter is Here

As we were leaving Massachusetts we saw many tree trimming trucks again, as well as pickup trucks with generators in the back, and all sizes of snow blowers.  The pickup in this picture has at least three generators in the back.  The power is still out in much of this part of the country.  We’re hearing reports of school closings until Monday. 

Hammonasset Beach

We managed to find a campground that was still open, although they said they will be turning off the water and officially shutting down for the season later this week.  I hope they let us stay thru the weekend as we want to visit with Teresa.  She’s busy with classes and work during the week.  A weekend visit would be nice.  We filled up our water tank just in case we have to leave, at least we will be prepared.  There’s always Walmart.  The couple in the RV next to us said they live in the Boston area, which is only a few hours away from here, and they were here because they don’t have any power in their neighborhood yet.

Remains of Boardwalk

Located on the south coast of Connecticut on Long Island Sound, is Hammonasset State Park.  It was not open for camping but we stopped and had lunch and went for a walk there before we found the other campground.  We had walked this beach back in July.  At that time there was a nice boardwalk a long distance along the beach and several nice bathhouses.  Hurricane Irene came thru here the end of August this year and took out the boardwalk and damaged the bathhouses and left a mess in the sand. 




Sad to say no pictures today.

We were up early and drove the car to Concord, New Hampshire, to visit our son, Eric, and his girlfriend, Danielle.  The drive up there was pretty, and the roads were clean and dry.  There was still quite a lot of snow in the road ditches and in the trees, and we could see lots of broken trees along the sides of the road.  I bet we saw 50 tree service vehicles out and about.  It was a nice visit, out for lunch, did some shopping, then out for dinner before heading back to the RV.

We are hearing reports of school closures and now they have actually cancelled Halloween!  Not so much because of the snow but because so many are still without electric service.

We stopped at a gas station in town to buy gas for the car and they didn’t have any!!  One half of Concord was without electricity so everyone went over to the other side to buy their gas.  Oh well, we made it back home with a little to spare. I’m sure they are not all out everywhere.  Will have to find some tomorrow, as well as the propane we still need.  It’s been freezing at night, so we have used up the propane that runs the furnace.  We have a generator that runs off gas from our gas tank, so we can get by with that for now.  At least the RV has an almost full tank of gas.

The Beginning

 Lucky us.  There was a major snow storm in the northeast United States.  We were right in the middle of it.  We were ready for 4-7 inches of heavy wet stuff.  It was a bit disappointing in the morning to find not so much.  We scraped the snow off the car and head out on the road again.

Line for Gas



Gas for Generators



It’s a cold and windy day.  30 degrees this morning, and 3 to 7 inches of heavy wet snow in the forecast for this evening.  Cindy took us out to Sarasota Spa State Park to show us the sights.  That is a National Historic Landmark, a fancy schmancy spa built in the 1930’s and currently being revitalized.  There happened to be an old car show there this day, as well as a huge College Cross Country Finals.  Here are some pictures from the day.

New York

There is still some color left in the landscape in this part of the country.  We are too late for the best part, maybe next year we can catch it.

It was 27 degrees when we got up this morning and frost on the ground, but the roads were not icy at all.  We drove to near Albany, where my friend, Cindy, lives.  We had a nice supper with her and her husband at TGIFriday’s and a nice visit.

Word is there is 2 to 4 inches of wet heavy snow on the way tomorrow.

Oh, and about the recycling..I saw no sign of any recycling efforts at any of the rest areas we stopped at in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, or New York.  tsk tsk tsk

The first thing we saw on the road early this morning was the remains of a car transport and it’s load of (I think) 8 cars all burned up on the side of the road.  Crews were cleaning up the mess and directing traffic.  It must have just happened during the night as one lane was closed and traffic was backed up for miles.   Unfortunately no picture as it was in the oncoming lane and went by too quickly for me to get the shot.

It rained all the rest of the day until we stopped for the night, then it quit.  The forecast for tonight is for a hard freeze that will put an end to the growing season.  Maybe even some snow.  We’ll see in the morning.

Marble Looking Out Window



On The Road Again, blah blah blah More driving today, no sight seeing.  We made it as far as South Bend, Indiana.  Spending the night in a Walmart parking lot, but that’s ok.  I have TV, and internet, and there is shopping….what more do I need?

In all fairness to Wisconsin, I will report that Illinois also recycles. However, only aluminum.

And We’re Off!!

Packing took longer than we expected.  Just when we think we have it all, we remember more things.  We spent the night in the RV last night as a trial run to see what we might have missed.  Everything looked good, and by the time we got really ready to go it was about 10:00 a.m.
The drive was rather uneventful, just freeway driving, nothing much to look at.

It’s been a nice cool day, good day for a drive.  But we were tired from the packing and a restless sleep, so we didn’t get as far as we planned.  We are just north of Madison, Wisconsin, and it’s getting dark so we are parked for the night.  My Internet connection is very slow here and I’m running on battery power so I have to make this a quick post.

Wisconsin Recycles!

Wisconsin Recycles!  I had to mention it and give them credit for doing so.  I remember on our travels last year there are many states that do not recycle at their rest areas.  Yay for Wisconsin!  We’ll see how the other states are doing this year.

The last two days were long ones.  There were things at home that needed tending to so we didn’t take the time to sight see along the route home.  There are places to park the motor home for free overnight so we took advantage of those.  Yes, one Walmart parking lot… and the other was at the Ohio Turnpike Travel Center with the big rigs.  There was no electricity available and our generator is not working properly and my computer’s battery was almost dead… oh the hardship!  Oh well, all we wanted to do was sleep so we didn’t mind.  We were comfortable and felt safe.

It’s good to be home again.  Thanks for reading my blog.  This trip is over, but there will be more. Stay tuned.



Rear Camera View

We had a great time visiting family and friends, but it’s time to head home.  Before stopping to say goodbye to Eric and Danielle, we first stopped at a U-Haul facility to rent a dolly for Teresa’s car that we will be taking back to Minnesota.  Pulling it has not been too difficult.  We hardly know it’s back there.  We just have to remember to be careful on the corners and be mindful of how long we are.  The rear camera helps a lot.  We do have side cameras too!

Bernie usually drives thru the city traffic but somehow today I found myself in the middle of rush hour traffic in Albany, New York.  Ugh…I did NOT like it!  I only got honked at once when I got in the wrong lane at the Toll Plaza and had to scoot over.

Tree covered hills of New England

Today we drove thru parts of New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and half way thru New York state. I see why people like to come here when the fall colors change.  The rolling tree covered hills go on for miles and miles.

We are sort of paralleling the Erie Canal.  We bridged over it once and I wanted to take a picture but I just couldn’t get Bernie to stop and back up on the freeway.

Marble chillaxing

I wonder what goes on inside Marble’s head.  She spends almost all her time laying on the bed even when we’re driving down the freeway.

Last winter we visited our friend, Peter, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  He said we should look him up at his summer home in Maine if we were ever in the area, so that’s exactly what we did today.  Up and off early this morning, we left the RV at the campground and drove the car up to Ocean Park, Maine.  Peter is a photographer, you may have seen his work.  He takes pictures of lighthouses and scenes all along the east coast. He makes post cards and refrigerator magnets and books for tourism, among other things. 

Ocean Beach, Maine

Huot’s Seafood Restaurant, Saco, Maine

Portland, Maine

Portland Breakwater Light (The Bug Light)



Spring Point Ledge Light

Portland Head Light

Ram Island Ledge Light



Cape Elizabeth



Saddleback Campground

We are camped at Saddleback Campground.  It’s a nice little privately owned campground about 20 miles east of Concord.  We chose to stay here because it is a member of the Passport America network and we could stay for half price.  We are staying 3 nights.



Main Street, Concord, NH


Concord, New Hampshire, is not so big.  I think the population is around 40,000.  So not even as big as Mankato or St. Cloud in Minnesota.  But it is the state capitol.  Getting around here is a little challenging with lots of narrow and one way streets, but not half as challenging as New Haven, Connecticut, was!


Where Eric and Danielle live now


Eric and Danielle were in the process of moving from one apartment building to another one.  This yellow apartment building is where they will be living now.

Campfire at Wompatuck State Park, Massachusetts

The last few nights were great nights for sitting around the campfire.  The rules are very strict here.  Do not bring in your own wood.  Only buy wood in the park you are going to use it in… and if there is any left over you have to leave it behind for the next camper to use.  NOT supposed to take it out of the park. The reason is to prevent spread of the Asian Longhorned Beetle and the Emerald Ash Borer.

Cummins/Onan Repair Shop


We had an 8am appointment at the Cummins repair shop to have them check out the generator that doesn’t seem to work right.  So we got up early and headed out in rush hour traffic.  It wasn’t that far away but took forever to get there.  Boston traffic is horrible, and driving a bigass motor home in it was no fun at all.  We have Teresa’s car now, so I had to follow Bernie while he drove the motor home.  After an hour of stop and go traffic and a few wrong turns we were only 4 minutes late!

We were there for two hours before they decided there is nothing wrong with the generator at all and that the problems we are having are somewhere within the wiring of the motor home.  And since there was nothing wrong with the generator they could not charge it to warranty *sigh* so it was $140.

After the wasted morning then we drove the rest of the way north to New Hampshire and had dinner with Eric and Danielle at a Friendley’s restaurant.