Day 7 - White Haven, PA to Plymouth, CT

Tuesday

This morning we had an accident.  Not to bore you with a lot of details, but we deviated from our normal routine, and as a result we forgot to lower the TV antenna on the roof.  You guessed it! We ripped it off. What a crash! We felt so very stupid. Well, we had not made a really dumb mistake yet with our upgrade from a tent to this rolling condo, so we were due. Just another inconvenience. 

Gentile Campground, Plymouth CT

After Norm removed the old one and we were again on our way, I returned to my computer and spent the next several hours trying to find the appropriate replacement. After a lot of web searching, and several phone calls,  I finally found one not too far out of our way and arranged to pick it up tomorrow.  I am rather glad the scenery wasn't particularly exciting, because my face has been in my computer for days now.

As were neared tonight's destination, we drove up a very steep hill into Gentiles Campground.  This place needs a lot of TLC, and a huge demolition team to get rid of all the old cars and miscellaneous out buildings! But we were escorted to  a very nice site with no one nearby. In fact, it was like a ghost town. Very eerie. We set up before a big thunderstorm hit and proceeded to finish off the day warm and dry. 

Day 6 Edinburg PA to White Haven PA

Monday

I tried to pick up this turtle from behind to move it and it jumped
about a foot off the ground and whipped it's head back and nearly
snapped off my nose!  I never knew they could do that!
I guess that is why they are called " Snapping Turtles "

I happily report nothing exciting happened today, at least for the normal person.  I, on the other hand, was excited to see a swarm of cicadas as we drove along somewhere in Pennsylvania. I had been reading about this rare event, and hoped to actually witness it one night ( only for one night ) during the trip up.  Let me inform you a little about them…..

These harmless little buggers are looking for one, and only one thing… sex.  They have waited a long time for it.  Seventeen years to be exact. ( sound familiar? ) Since 1996, this group of one-inch bugs, in wingless nymph form, have been living a few feet underground, biding their time. They emerge only when the ground temperature reaches 64 degrees.  They grow to 2 ½ inches long.  

A Cicada from "Brood II " emerges once every 17 years.
Some scientists estimate they may number a trillion

After being round for a few weeks,they sing, mate, and then they die. Their offspring will go underground  not to surface again until 2030.   They are also quite loud.  Cicadas are among the loudest insects known to man, and a swarm of them can produce sounds up to 120 decibels.  That's louder than a rock concert ( about 115 decibels ), and comparable to the noise from a chainsaw ( humans start to experience pain from sound at the 110 to 120 decibel level ).  You wonder why I would want to see and hear that?  Perhaps because it is such a rare event, perhaps because I am so in love with nature, but probably because I am weird.  In actuality, I most likely would very quickly regret it since my hearing is quite acute.  

Some people like to eat these things. There is a cookbook on the web called "Cicada-liscious" with many recipes for muffins, cupcakes, etc from the bugs when newly emerged.  Fresh is best, I imagine.  They liken them to shrimp or popcorn.  Ymmmmmm.  Low fat and gluten free! I think I would have passed, but Norm would be up trying a coffee or chocolate covered one.

Cicada Recipes

If you’re interested in a low-fat, carb-free protein fix, here are a few cicada recipe resources we’ve found:

• Cicadas with Garlic, Celery and Anise (from Insects are Food)
• Dry Roasted or Deep Fried Cicadas (from Gizmodo)
• Soft-Shelled Cicadas, Cicada Tacos and Cicada Rhubarb Pie(from NPR)
• Also see recipes for Cicada Dumplings, Chili Cicadas, Southern Cicada Tartlets and Emergence Cookies (from Cicada-licious).

 I really wanted to see this phenomenon on the ground or even in the woods, not necessarily splucked ( is that a word? It should be) on our windshield where we first became aware of their arrival somewhere in Pennsylvania.  

Nothing like a juicy Cicada on the windsheild!

Gross.  I mean, REALLY really gross.  You could see swarms of them, darting around like happy little hummingbirds, until .... splat. splat. splat splat. 

While we continued on our way, I spent a couple of hours trying to find a campsite that had cable TV so Norm could watch the Bruins tonight, and I could watch the insipid show “ Bachelorette”.

 I never thought we would have use for both televisions in this little home on wheels, but it was nice to have.

The campground was Lehigh Gorge Campground in White Haven, CT.  The roads were very rutted and it pitched and tossed the RV all around, no matter how slow Norm went.

 It was such a lovely day so we played a game outside before dinner and took a walk and explored the campground which was undergoing a large expansion.

Day 5 - A Day with GPS Drama

Sunday -   Max Meadows, VA to Edinburg, PA 

Our trip to date

Today is a day when the goal is to just get from Point A to Point B.  But life is never that mundane, is it.

 We found upon departing that my marriage-saving GPS was, of all terrible things, dead.  Oh God, does that mean I may have to resort to a M-A-P? The Rand McNally paper- thing used for centuries past?  I equate my loss of  these basic skills to the pimple faced, tattooed, ring disfigured kids behind many a check-out counter that can’t make change for a dollar.   Modern technology is a mixed blessing, but boy in this case, it sure prevents couples from arguing, and the incredible frustration of wives when hubby refuses to stop to ask for directions! ( Whether or not Hubby chooses to follow said GPS is another story. )Thankfully, I clutch my iPad to my chest, giving me the same feeling of security as my old favorite Teddy Bear. Blessed are the "back-up devices ".  What would we do without all these brain deteriorating modern marvels? How would we find our way out of the proverbial paper bag?

The 7" screen on this GPS is HUGE!

Thankfully I had my Ipad and cell phone as back up. Electronic device addiction.  I wonder if there is a re-hab center for that.

After 2 ½ hours of intensive research ( one of my idiosyncrasies  ) we decided to go for the "Super Deluxe" model that is designed for RV’s or Trucks.  It is supposed to keep you off of roads with low bridges, or those restricted with propane tanks, weight restricted roads, etc. I found where the best price was, and where along the way we would find it in stock.  We stopped at Best Buy, put all the specifics of our motorhome, ( entered 11 ton weight to be safe ) and proceeded happily on with our huge 7” screen and new-found confidence!

Oh no!  We are heavier than this bridge's weight limit!  I hope this thing is amphibious.
Where do we keep the life jackets?
If we collapse this bridge, do you think we will be on the 6 o'clock news?
I can't believe our " smart " GPS took us this way. 

We drove a mere 20 minutes up the street and was instructed to take these tiny, tiny neighborhood streets ( which I could not believe Norm could navigate through )  and as we slowly took the next corner……

 We saw it. We felt it. Dread... Down this steep hill was a narrow cement bridge......

 The sign read “ DON'T CROSS BRIDGE WHEN UNDER WATER “. Durrrrrr. 

 And another that said   “10 TON WEIGHT LIMIT “!! Didn’t we just input we were 11 ton?  Ahhhhhh….

  I took this picture for prosperity and for the 6 o’clock news team  and prepared for a potential collapse.  People fishing saw us coming and ran off the bridge and cleared the way!!!!

And…….we were fine.  I could have used a Depends,but Norm did not seem fazed. 

So much for being totally confident with this new purchase.

We arrived safe and sound at Creekside Campground which had great potential of being very nice. It was, in fact, beside a creek.  We found a site, avoided the poison ivy on the site, ( hopefully ) and watched the ducks flirt with each other.  We then had dinner and watched a movie.

Day 4 - Biking the Virginia Creeper Trail

Saturday, June 15^th – our 11^th Anniversary

Today is our anniversary, and we are going to spend it doing what we love most (other than each other, of course).  Doing an outdoor activity!

The Virginia Creeper Trail is a 34 mile " retired " railway corridor of the Virginia-Carolina Railroad, which winds down through the Blue Ridge Mountains from Whitetop to Abingdon, Virginia.  It has numerous restored trestles, and crosses the Appalachian Trail. Norm and I will mountain bike down 17 miles of what is touted the prettiest section.

One of the many restored tresstles

  We set the alarm clock for 6AM, checked the weather and discovered it was due to be 48 degrees at the top! Yikes! Did I bring warm enough clothes?  It is almost summer.

 Since it is considered to be the best rail-trail in the east, and among the best in the United States, we decided we better catch the first shuttle to avoid the crowds.  It was an hour drive, so we left at an early 7:15.

There were many informational kiosks along the way.
The trail was extremely shady, so it was quite cool. 

 The road up the mountain was extremely narrow and steep, and the shuttle ride was a pleasant experience in and of itself.  When we finally made it to the top, the air was quite cool as we headed down the mountain on a trail that was perfectly groomed.  Norm and I both prefer more of a technical and physical challenge, ( and I prefer some danger ) but as we mostly coasted down the hill, we enjoyed the streams, waterfalls, and rock outcroppings along the way.  We passed over almost 20 trestles, stopping to enjoy the rapids flowing below while taking advantage of the warming sun when available.

Since we worked up an appetite coasting down this trail, we took advantage of a trail-side café and had lunch along the way.

 

We drove the hour back, took another nap, then enjoyed a delicious grass fed beef pot roast I had cooking in the crock pot all day for our romantic anniversary dinner. Life is good.

As we now sit, Norm is watching the Bruins playoff game, and I am catching up with this blog.

This a one of several fly-fisherman we saw taking advantage of the great trout fishing here.
  This is one of many platforms built to allow the handicapped to fish as well!
How fabulous is that?

Day 3 - Winnsboro, SC to Max Meadows, VA

Friday, June 14, 2013

Today we are heading to Virginia so we may finally bike the Virginia Creeper Trail from Whitetop to Demascus.  It should be absolutely fabulous since the weather turned cool ( 30 degrees cooler ) and I understand that after heavy rains the gorge is teaming with spectacular waterfalls.

Fort Chiswell Campground
Quite nice. Trees, grass, some space and nice folks.

 

We changed our mind on our campground choice.  Instead of driving up to the top of the mountain with the motorhome, we decided to stay at this very nice place at the bottom where we stayed last year called Fort Chiswell RV Campground in Max Meadows, Va.  This is a very nice campground considering it is right off the highway.  There are  huge cow covered hills surrounding us, so it seems a lot more remote than it actually is.  We find the people here unusually friendly, and most of the motorhomes unsually large. We met a couple that spends a lot of time visiting The Villages, and plays a ton of pickleball there.  Hopefully they will contact us next time they are there.

View up the river from the rail trail

 After taking a much needed nap, we inquired where there was a nearby hike.  We were told “ oh, yeah! go to Foster Falls!” After following the given directions, we approached the state park entrance, and asked which way to the trail that took us to the Falls.  We just could not understand why this guy looked at us like we were crazy.  We kept asking the question in different ways so he would just stop looking at us that way, wondering why he could not answer such a simple question.  Well,  Norm and I eventually learned that “ Foster Falls “ is a town, not a geological occurance!  Boy, we felt stupid!  It ended up being just a lovely walk in the woods, on a fabulous rail trail that was part of New River Trail State Park. Such beauty!  This place was so incredible!  They had facilities to rent canoes and kayaks to enjoy the crystal clear river and rapids, bicycles and gorgeous horses to enjoy the perfect tails!  Oh, I would love to live here.

Oh my goodness! They certainly grow poison ivy here!
It grows so big you would swear it was a tree! Yikes!
It is a good thing I have a "poison ivy radar".

                                                                                                                                                                                     




We got back, had a lovely dinner, finally enjoying the great outdoors.  Ohhh, this is nice.

Day 2 - Brunswick, Georgia to Winnsboro, SC

June 13^th, Thursday

State Park Campsites are NOT for everyone.  But Norm and I can
pretend we are in a large, warm ( or cool ) dry tent!

Today was just a day of travel. It was another extremely hot day as we drove about 4 ½ hours and arrived at Wateree State Park in Brunswick, Georgia.  Now these are the type of sites we prefer!  Very wooded and pretty secluded. Norman expertly backed in the very narrow site, missing all the trees! What a nice way to start the trip! It was mid-week so the huge lake it sat on was very quiet, but I understand that on weekends, it is crazy out there with all the high powered motorboats.  Needless to say,we LOVE campgrounds during the week!

Campground Manager AND Electrician?
I sure hope he turned off the power......

 We have a very sophisticated voltage surge protector that we plug into the electrical outlet on all campgrounds in case there is a problem that could cause great damage to our home on wheels. Well, today it detected a problem.  We called the office and a very clever state park manager came and found that the ground was faulty. He completely rewired the post, and we were finally able to turn the AC on. Thank goodness!  He was very impressed with our device, and said it probably saved us from some serious damage. He said he would not have found the problem had we not had it.  Yeah!  It was so nice to hear, because it is one of those things that you spend hundreds of dollars on and might wonder if it was worth it.  I guess this time, it was.

We had dinner, and played Rummikub during a pretty significant thunderstorm. Oh, it so nice staying dry!  The weather alert radio kept going off, but we didn't know what county we were in, so we need to add that to our list of questions during check in during this crazy and dangerous weather.   

THE START OF A NEW JOURNEY - CANADIAN MARITIMES PART TWO- 2013

This new format might be a little more user friendly.  Just click anywhere on the post, and the entire article and photos can be read.  This year I have a new camera and hope to take a lot more, and hopefully better, pictures for your enjoyment. I would love your feedback.

Off we go!

Wednesday, June 12^th 2013

Last summer, if you remember, we called it quits after 2 ½ months on the road touring Ottawa, Quebec, The Gaspe Peninsula, and a glorious month in Newfoundland.  We decided we would return this year, as planned, to thoroughly enjoy New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. We intend to slow down and “smell the roses”, without any schedules to meet other than Halifax’s International Tattoo the first week of July.

We spent the last several weeks taking care of any maintenance needed on the motorhome, and making our Florida house “Hurricane ready”.  The freezer in the RV is packed with all sorts of organic meats and chicken which we surprisingly were not able to find in Canada last year.  We are able to bring 20 pounds of each over the border, and it will be close.

How nice!  Holes in the barrier for Turtle Crossings!

Well, finally the date of departure has arrived, and we took off at 11:07 heading for our overnight destination of Golden Isles RV Park in Brunswick, Georgia.  It had everything we needed.  50 amp electrical, water and sewer hookups, plus the bonus of cable TV as well. Sites were level and even with a decent amount of space between them.  TV was a priority for Norm since his hometown hockey team, The Boston Bruins, are in the Playoffs. They unfortunately lost their first game against the Chicago Black Hawks enduring many hours of overtime, finally ending after 1:00 AM.

When we arrived it was pretty close to 100 degrees F. The motorhome had difficulty battling the sun beating off the aluminum box, so we decided to go check out St. Simon Island. I really wanted to go walk in the ocean.

Norm installing new shade in 20 seconds.  Blocks the sun
and people can no longer see in!  Awesome!

It was so hot it took the tow car about 15 minutes to get cool.  I can’t say I have experienced this kind of beating heat before.  I am glad we are heading north, but wish we had done it 2 days sooner.  Last year we were able to stay 1 day ahead of the extreme heat when we went north, and 1 day ahead of the frost on the return.  We were so lucky!  As long as we stay out of the way of a tornado, I will be happy. (well, not really, I hate the heat.)

The beach was very lovely, so we were very surprised there were not more people there.
Next time we will have to bring chairs, books
and a picnic!

Underwater metal detector?

Norm and I decided to eat out since it was just too hot to cook.  We found a restaurant that was the favorite of the locals, and we totally agree!  Crabdaddy’s Seafood Bar and Grill.  The PEI mussels were recommended as was the unbelievable Crab Soup!  Best I have ever had, and I now wish I got another cup of soup “to go “. I will be dreaming about that soup for years to come.