30 Mile Point Lighthouse

May 31 – We were up and on the road again around 8:30.  We drove to Golden Hill State Park   on Lake Ontario.  We had applied there to volunteer but never heard from them.  It would have been a great place.  The volunteer site looks over the lake and is right in front of the 30 Mile Point Lighthouse.  We paid our $2 and went on the tour of the lighthouse.  The lady giving the tour was excellent and so knowledgeable.  The lighthouse keeper quarters are for 2 keepers.  We got to see the downstairs but the upstairs is now rented out at $200 per night or $1200 per week.  It is 3 bedrooms and fully stocked kitchen with an incredible view.  It’s not a tall lighthouse so of course we went to the top.  Bill didn’t stay long as he’s not much on heights.  She told us none of the seaway lighthouses were/are tall due to the size of the boats and the size of the lake.  We drove around the park to check it out.  It’s not as large as Darien is but the sites are more level.
 



Winery at Marjim Estate

On the way to Burt, we stopped at The Winery at Marjim Estate.  I did a tasting of 4 wines for $5 and that included the souvenir wine glass.  They only make fruit wines and 3 I really liked so left with a large bottle of one and a small bottle of another.  The Estate is also used for weddings, receptions, anniversaries and other events.  There were lots of fruit trees and I thought I saw grape vines with the wire trellis but they looked like trees so I wasn’t sure what they were.  When I asked I was told they are fruit trees that they are dwarfing so they can plant them closer together and make it much easier to harvest the fruit.  So I learned something new.

 

 

Rhubarb

On our first attempt we missed the turn off for Burt, but only got a short way down the road when we realized it, so turned around and found Murphy’s Orchard.  It really is an orchard and they make all kinds of jellies that they sell there and in local shops as well as flavored vinegars.  The significance is it was built by the McClew family in 1850.  His family owned the property for 4 generations.   In the beginning that area was considered Indian country and also was being fought for by the British.  Mr. McClew put in a secret room under a trap door in his barn for the dual purposes of hiding his family from the British and the Indians and to hide run away slaves as part of the Underground Railroad from 1850 until 1861.  They have a video presentation and you can see down into the room but it’s currently under excavation.  It is a working farm that hosts many school field trips about farming as well as the Underground Railroad.  In the downstairs of the original house there is a gift shop and 2 tea rooms and the kitchen.  The owner for the past 37 years lives in the upstairs.  The tea room is open for lunches, tea gatherings and bridal events.  The only thing they had fresh to sell today was rhubarb and they went out and picked it while you waited.  So I got a couple of pounds.  Not sure what I’m going to make with it, but we both love rhubarb.
 

From Burt we headed into Lockport again.  Since we had plenty of time before our tour and I had checked to see if there was an AAA location there, we found it easily.  I left the books at home that I had ordered for this trip so we got new ones and looked in a campground book they had to see about a place to stay on our way south from Canada.  Bill wasn’t happy with the route I planned and I hadn’t been able to find a campground the way he wanted to come back but we found 3 possibles in the book.  The lady there gave us a lead on a place for lunch.  Since it’s Friday it was “Fryday” at the restaurant so I had Fish and chips with no chips but slaw.  The breading was way too thick and I took most of it off but the slaw was very good as was the fish without all that batter.  Bill had a bologna burger.  He said it was good, but he thought it would be a thick slice of bologna like I do for him on the grill, but it was kinda shaved and piled on.
 

We were only a few miles from the Erie Canal Cruise location so we headed there to check in and pay for our tickets.  Once we did we checked out their building and then walked down the street to a building that houses artists and craftsmen and has a small military museum. The little museum was nice and we did enjoy some of the wall art although we were not in the market for any.  The was a guy carving a huge sea turtle from a log with a chain saw that I would have liked but Bill constantly reminds me that we only have so much room in the RV.

 

 

Upsidedown railroad track over Erie Canal

As 3:00 approached we headed back to the canal and readied for our 2 hour tour, just a 2 hour tour.  There were only 13 of us on the boat so it was easy to walk around to get photos as we  went west thru locks 34 and 35 and got a close up look of the 5 step locks that were the originals.  The two locks are back to back as we needed to rise 50 feet.  Each lock was a 25 foot step.  The old ones not in use are 10 foot each.  We passed under an upside down railroad bridge, saw the tow path along side the canal and some of the first buildings built right along the canal.  The town of Lockport was not there until they decided to build the locks.  The process took so long and used so many workers that the town sprang up in the process.  It’s

Locks almost closed

really a pretty good size place now.  We turned around and went back thru the locks going east and passed where we started and went under 2 lifting bridges.  In the normal position they are at ground level, so even in a canoe or kayak you’d have to duck to go under.  As taller boats approach the keeper raises the entire bridge with lifts on each side of the canal.  When it’s in the up position pedestrians can still walk over but not while it’s moving.  Cars have to wait for it to come back down though.  Further down the east side our captain explained about “free stone houses”.  So much huge rock was blasted out for the canal and it was just piled up on the sides that people started carting it off for free to build houses and churches.  We saw 2 of the churches and 6-7 of 30 houses that were build using free stone.  There were a lot of Canadian geese, some with babies and some ducks also.  We got back to “port” around 4:30.

 

Attica Prison

Time to head back to Darien!  Our co-hosts wanted us to go to a Fish Fry meal with them tonight and we hadn’t told them what time we’d be back, so as we entered the park we headed to their RV and they were just getting ready to drive to our RV and see if we were back.  Perfect timing!  So we headed home and fed poor lonesome Molly and left for dinner.  I  The batter was really thin and crispy and the slaw was homemade and coarse the way I like it.  Bill even had the fish but he had all the normal trimmings, fries, cole slaw, potato salad and macaroni salad.  He said the fish was really good and that’s a rare compliment from a non-fish eater.  We had seen a

Attica Prison Tower

road sign for Attica and Bill asked our friends if that was Attica Prison.  It was and they offered to take us to see it as Bill was very interested in it.  That is one huge facility.  They even have a farm that the less risky prisoners work on that provides most of their food source.  It looks more like a fortress or something than it does a prison.  I hadn’t thought about fried fish twice today but I had the fish again with cole slaw and this fish was way better.

It was good to get home for real and go get a shower after being in the heat and two fried food restaurants.  I needed to spend some quality time with Molly too.  She was happy for me to sit in my recliner so she could sit in my lap for a while.  I didn’t get to work on my pictures at all so won’t get this posted tonight.  Not sure what our schedule it for tomorrow!

 

 

 

 

 

May 30 – Kinda of a do little, boring day.  After breakfast Bill went to do his painting and I took the laundry to Alden.  After laundry I went to the post office and grocery.  Bill was finished painting when I got back and had some “news”.  He was approached by a painting crew hired by the state parks to do all the painting in the parks in this area.  So, he is done painting.  The park manager had told him he could paint and these guys told him it’s their “job”.  So he’s done!

 

After lunch we headed out for a bike ride but along the way got sidetracked by some of the campers.  We started talking and an hour later I told Bill it was time to get back so I could get the blog done.  So later after dinner we walked back down to the showers for a little more exercise.  Later I was on the computer and Bill was reading and the electric went off.  We don’t know why but the outside breaker popped but it came back on as soon as Bill reset it.

 

Kam and I skyped tonight, so that was nice.  She went over our mail and talked about looking for a car and a church for the wedding.  She and Dan leave the 6^th for Pittsburgh and get back the 10^th so they’ll be there while we’re in Canada.  She’s hoping to have the church reserved and a date set by then.

 

Time to get some posting done!

May 29 – The weather prediction was 60% chance of rain at 11 then decreasing to 20% for the rest of the day.  It looked pretty nice out so we decided to head to Niagara Falls. 

Maid of the Mist

We left about 9:30 and made our way through Buffalo and on to Goat Island where all the things we wanted to see and do were.  It’s a small island in the middle of the Niagara River between the US and Canada.  There were not many cars in the lot when we arrived as it wasn’t a really pretty day but that was fine with us.  No waiting in line.  We got our tickets for Cave of the Winds.  First they give you a plastic bag to put your shoes and socks in, and then they give you a pair of plastic sandals to change in to.  We had our photo taken with a Niagara backdrop but it was $30 for the package and was not worth it to us.  Then after changing shoes they take you 

Kelly on the Hurricane Deck

down an elevator and you’re on the edge of the island.  Here they give you a yellow thin rain poncho and then you’re on your own.  You walk along the edge where there are hundreds of seagulls nesting.  I got some nice photos of baby seagulls and one of a mother with her eggs.  I could not believe how many seagulls there were.  They were flying overhead with straw and twigs in their beaks to make their nests.  This was excellent timing.  Bill was rushing me along as there was a bus load of school kids coming and he didn’t want to get behind them.  You maneuver a



Baby seagull

series of stairs and platforms with the intention of getting as close to the American Falls as possible, which is 10 feet.  It was one most of the most exhilarating experiences I’ve ever had.  You’re right there at the falls and the noise is tremendous and the force of the water is pounding on the rocks with such power that you can’t possibly avoid getting wet.  It’s called the Hurricane Deck, and I can understand the name for sure.  I went up first and Bill took my picture and then I came down and he went up and then I joined him at the top to take an alternate route down to get photos of the section of the falls that we were in front of.  Wow, it was awesome!

 

 

High dollar sandals



The drawback was my feet were freezing and my hair was soaked in addition to my capris up to my knees.  We took the elevator back to the top and pitched the ponchos and put our sandals in the appropriate bins.  Then as we were walking away I noticed several groups walking around in the sandals.  Bill had commented on how he liked them so I asked if we were allowed to keep them and was told yes.  I explained that we didn’t know that and we put them in the bin, so the girl told me to take my tickets to the front and they’d get me new one.  So Bill was pleased to see me with 2 pair of cheap sandals but they do say Niagara Falls on them.  He was lucky I was not too wimpy to go and ask.

We attempted to get on teeny tiny Luna Island for a view of both Horseshoe and



Deck where we were on the far right of the American
Falls.  This is only about 1/3 of the falls width

American  Falls,

but alas, it was closed for repairs.  We did manage to take a look from Goat Island and could see the bridge from the US to Canada and the Maid of the Mist boats carrying loads of passengers.  We did that once years ago and both agreed the Cave was way more exciting.  On the other side of the island was Terrapin Point where there’s an excellent view of Horseshoe Falls and the rapids leading up to the falls.  We made a quick stop at the gift shop and on the way out I was accosted by a black squirrel begging for food.  I felt so bad that I didn’t have anything for him but I did try to take a video of him and some photos.  Will see how that worked out.

The French Castle

Further north of the city of Niagara Falls is Ft. Niagara.  It’s a state park that houses a fort first built by the French in 1726.  We stopped in the town neighboring the fort, Youngstown, and had lunch at a small place along the Niagara River.  From there we could see the fort jutting out and also Ft George on the Canadian side.  They had a good movie before heading out to see the fort and we were fortunate to have a volunteer accompany us and explain a lot more about the fort and the happenings there.  Basically the French established the first fort (Ft Conti) in 1679, followed by Ft Denonville in 1689 and in 1726 was the first permanent building which is and was called the French Castle.  Britain took control in 1759 and continued to make changes and additions to the fort until the American Revolution when the United States took control by treaty in 1796.  But that didn’t last, as the British recaptured the fort in 1812 and it was ceded to the US a second time in 1815.  The War of 1812 was the last conflict at the fort but it was used until 1963 as a training station thru both World Wars.  Currently there is a Coast Guard station below the walls of the Fort along the Niagara River.  It’s been really well restored and while we were there a group of archeology students were conducting a dig and found old coins, a musket ball and a bone.

 

Part of the original lock

We pretty much thought our day of touring was over when we left the fort and were heading   back but the route we chose took us through Lockport.  Lockport is on the Erie Canal and home to the first and only set of 5 ladder locks ever built.  At first we were just going to stop at the Visitor Center to get info for our next trip, but after picking up information and chatting with one of the ladies there, we took in the movie they had and it was excellent.  It was about the reason and who developed the idea of the canal and thru the building of it.  The distinctive part of the movie was that in the middle of it the screen moves to the side and you are asked to come on board and you end up on the other side of the screen on the deck of a boat going thru the canal.  The screen closes and the narration continues. 

 

One of the 7 Sunderland sisters

The building also houses an exhibit of interesting people and things in the area but I was most intrigued by an old ad poster for hair growth tonic that showed pictures of the 7 Sutherland Sisters.  I found them fascinating.  Combined their hair totaled 37 feet long.  They were born in Lockport and were all singers.  It’s really a very interesting story, but the hair thing is a bit strange.

 http://www.rapunzelsdelight.com/sutherland/sisters_old_page.html

Then we took a short walk to locks 74 & 75.  On one side the lock is new and on the other is the original 5 step lock.  We just took a couple of photos as it was late and nothing was going one.  Currently the canal is used primarily for pleasure boats.

 

We stopped at the Indian reservation and refilled our tank.  It was still .40 less per gallon than the Flying J.  After dinner the other host couple stopped by and visited for quite a long time. They gave us some driving directions and offered more info on places to see.  We have more on our list than we are going to be able to see.  Oh well, a reason to come back!

 

 

May 28 – Very early in the morning I knew our plans for today would not go according to plan.  It was raining and raining rather hard and steady.  So we didn’t rush to have breakfast or get dressed as we had to decide what to do.  Most of the things we want to see and do are outside and Bill doesn’t have his rain jacket and we didn’t want to have to be in the weather anyway.  So the plan for the day was to head to LeRoy to the Jell-o Gallery and Caledonia to the Camping World. 

LeRoy is only about 30 minutes and when we got there we were advised to wait as they had a couple of school buses there so we went on to Caledonia, just 10 minutes away and found the Camping World to get a new clasp for the sliding glass closet door.

 

 

The kids were gone when we got back to LeRoy to the Jell-o Gallery, which is behind the Historic LeRoy House.  Both are run by the LeRoy Historical Society.  We were only interested in the Jell-o Museum.  LeRoy is the birthplace of Jell-o, patented by Peter Cooper in 1845 but never distributed.  He sold the patent to Pearl Wait in 1895 who tried marketing it but didn’t do well so sold it for $450 to Frank Woodward of LeRoy who was 20 years old and he developed it into a major product line with 4 flavors.  He changed his company name to Jell-o and later sold the whole company to General Foods and eventually it became Kraft foods.  It was really fun to watch the old tv commercials and see all the promo items Jell-o has used over the years.  I did get a recipe to make Jell-o 1-2-3 from scratch, well starting with a box of Jell-o.  That was my favorite product and they discontinued it in 1996 I think.    The downstairs of the Jell-o Museum was also a very interesting display called “On the Road”.  There were a number of wagons, carriages and a 1908 Cadillac.  The modes of transportation covered 100 years.  Very interesting.

We had lunch at D & R Depot Restaurant, which used to be the train depot of LeRoy.  The

tracks are still there and there are still trains using them but no more passenger trains stop there.  The food was excellent and everything was made fresh.  We both had Chicken Pot Pies that came with a salad and a yeast roll and a muffin.  I had half of a ginger muffin and ¼ of a yeast roll and both were yummy!  You can guess who ate the rest.  

 

We took the long way home via Batavia as I wanted to stop at the JoAnn’s there for more netting and then we stopped at Wal-mart.  I had 2 receipts (one from Ohio) that the cashier overcharged so I wanted to clear that up.  I got back $12, so it was worth the stop.  Plus we needed a couple of things.

The weather cleared up some but was drizzly on and off most of the day.  We never had to stay inside, so all in all it was a good day.  Once we got close to home we stopped at the Kutters Cheese Factory that is just a few miles away.  I wanted to check it out and we did buy some curds.  I got the Buffalo ones, wow, they’ve got some zing!  Wimpy Bill got plain white cheddar.  They had a huge selection of cheeses they make and cheeses they bring in. 

 

We only have 2 campers in our park tonight and we think there is only one in the other loop.  Tonight it’s raining pretty steady again so will set what the morning brings as to our plans for the day.

May 27 – It was warmer again today when we got up, 50’s and it eventually made it into the 70’s so it was a beautiful day out.  It was rather eerie in the afternoon as by 2:30 there were only 4 campers left including us.  Most were gone by 10.  I guess they were anxious to get home to a warm house to sleep in as there were a lot out in tents for the last few nights.

 

Before it got too warm out Bill went back to his scraping and painting project, which he

Bill hard at work

decided will need 2 coats, and I baked cinnamon flax crackers and Chia Flax crackers.  We will grill out this evening so I don’t have much to do in the way of prepping for dinner.  I did the vacuuming while the crackers baked so the inside housework is done. Then I tackled balancing the checkbook, never a fun thing.  Being gone for the summer doesn’t exclude having to do the normal things we’d have to do at home.

 

 

When Bill got back from painting we watched some TV then he set up the grill.  We ate outside and it was really nice out.  I put Molly’s hut up and she enjoyed watching the birds and smelling the outdoors.  Bill grilled burgers, hot dogs and hotlinks.  We’re good for a couple of meals now.  A couple was riding their bikes while we were grilling and he asked where in Florida we were from.  He knew exactly where Ocoee is.  He used to build homes in Windermere during the 80’s.

 

Kam called as she was at the house getting Bill’s rain jacket to mail and she picked some things from the garden.  I was glad to hear that.  She did say my cantaloupes were full of bug holes, major bummer.  At least she got some collards, tomatoes, a pepper and lettuce.  She’s not into beets so I hope they don’t go to waste.  I pulled up all the plants that were done producing before I left so it wouldn’t turn into a jungle like last year.

 

Then we went for a bike ride.  The other loop has 7 campers and we are down to 4.  One left about 7 and a new one came.  After the ride Bill did the dishes and I went to shower as we want to leave by 8:30 tomorrow.  Bathing in the bathhouse is a ritual for me.  By the time I get all my stuff out and set up, shower, and get my lotions and powder etc on and repack my tote bag, it’s not a quick ordeal at all.

 

We’re looking forward to watching the first episode of the season of “Longmire” tonight.  It takes place in Colorado.

May 26 – Still pretty chilly again this morning, high 40’s but it turned into a really nice day.  I made some venison sausage for breakfast with almond pancakes and eggs for Bill.  About the time we finished, ranger Doug stopped by to bring Bill paint and supplies for him to do some scraping and painting of the big electric panels.  Bill had told him it needed done and he’d be happy to do it.

 

Bill was totally bummed when he got up that the TV was again not working.  His radio isn’t getting the best signal either so after he left to go paint I called Sirius to verify what direction that antenna needed to be pointing and she said south, so I went out and moved it, hoping that cures that problem.  Then back to the TV.  It totally baffled me that it would not work.  I thought I’d try a different cable but couldn’t find the other one and then checked the connections going into the RV and when I touched the cable you could hear the signal meter beeping like crazy so I replaced the homemade pigtail with a store bought one and so far so good.  When Bill got back from paint scraping he was indeed a happy camper.

 

After lunch we rode our bikes and took our trash down and checked the loop.  Then we finished putting new carpet on the holey board that we didn’t get done before we left home.  Of course Bill wanted to play a game and as usual he won.  I sat out and read for quite a while.  The sun was out and it was really nice out with no wind.  I got tired and came in and took a nap in the recliner. 

In his CAP (camper assistance
program) cap

We had our leftovers from last night for dinner and walked the loop.  Several new campers came in today and replaced the ones that left.  A lot are here for the big concert at the Darien Amusement park a few miles from us.  Bill had wanted to go until he found the cheapest tickets are $50 in the back in the grass.  Tim McGraw is the headliner and the campground expects that some of the registered campers will be trying to bring in other people to stay over once the concert is over.  There will be park police manning the front gate to check every person who tries to come in.  We should be in bed by then.

 

We walked our loop one last time after dinner and one of the campers needed their vehicle jumped so Bill went over in our truck and jumped them.  Now it’s time to settle in for the night.

May 25 – We slept in a bit since it was still a chilly morning.  Not as cold as yesterday, 40’s this morning.  We didn’t rush around much at all.  After breakfast we walked to the bathhouse and took our showers and checked out our loop.  I told Bill I would re-check the satellite dish before calling for a service tech as I really just couldn’t see that anything should be wrong on our part.  Luckily I found it had gotten out of level somehow.  As soon as I re-leveled it, boom we were back with TV.  But then we left.

 

Bill at Millard Fillmore House

We went to East Aurora to visit the home of the 13^th President, Millard Fillmore who was responsible for the Compromise of 1850.  It brought California in as a state and postponed the Civil War for 10 years.  We planned to have lunch and go to a movie.  As luck would have it, the house is not opened until June and the theatre there only has one movie and it as a cartoon movie.  We ended up having lunch at East Street Grill that specializes in 25 kinds of hamburgers. I had a delicious Greek burger but passed on the bun and Bill had a Blue Cheese and Bacon burger.  They were ½ pound and we were stuffed.

 

Across the street was a place called Vidler’s, www.vidlers5and10.com,  that was a 5 and 10 cent store in its day and now takes the whole block and in one part they have so many neat things from my childhood.    There were games, toys, candies, hairnets, all kinds of things that when I was a kid that you bought at the dime store.  We both enjoyed looking at all of it.  The basement had a huge kitchen section with past and present items, and there was a craft and fabric section.  The rest of the upstairs were more like current day gift shops but some cute and unique items.  I did find a tiny whisk and a small tart pan to keep in the RV.

 

We went ahead to Fillmore’s house just to see where it was in case we work it in to come back for a tour.  I took a few photos and we headed 9 miles up the road to Lancaster where there was a 10 movie theatre.  We went to see Fast and Furious 6.  I’d never scene one of them and it wasn’t so violent with shooting and killing but lots of car racing and wreckage.  Neither of us liked the ending.  On the way out of Lancaster we stopped at Wal-mart trying to find a couple of things they didn’t have at the one we went to yesterday.  Today we were luckier and I found a Rubbermaid bin like I left at home for our ice bin in the freezer and a replacement bulb for my cactus.  Still no luck on the clasp for the siding mirror door so will try Lowes and HD when we see one or a Camping World.

 

Neither of us was overly hungry so we drove back a different way to see what there was along the way and as we got back to Alden I gave Bill the last opportunity to eat dinner as it was 7 and I knew as soon as we’d get home he’d be hungry.  He wanted to try Town & Country Family Restaurant that was in a log cabin.  It was OK.  I had the ½ slab of ribs special and only ate 3 ribs, not even half.  They were loaded with meat and really moist and tender.   A glass of riesling was only $2.99 so that was a deal.  The mixed veggies were frozen and the house salad was nothing special.  Bill had grilled chicken with ham and provolone and he only ate half and said it was OK so we have meat for another meal ready.

 

Once we got back we did our loop check and chatted with the neighbors and Bill talked to the lady ranger, April, about some of the rules that appeared to need enforced and was told not to say anything since it was a holiday weekend.  We thought rules were rules, but I guess sometimes they’re not.

 

The TV worked but nothing of major interest was on.  Molly was very glad to see us and has not been eating like normal since we left home.  We’re sure it has to do with Xena being gone but will just have to give her some time to adjust.

May 24 – When we got ready for bed last night I suggested we get one of the electric heaters out for the bedroom and Bill thought that we didn’t need it.  However, he did get it out and plug it in and I turned it on and set the temp before I went to bed.  Well, it got cold last and even Molly came in and got in bed with us rather than spent a cold night in the living room.  When Bill got up it was in the high 30’s out and not much warmer in the living room.  It did finally get into the 50’s out and the sun tried to come out late in the day but we both wore long pants and sweatshirts outside.  You could see the fog rolling off the lake so when Bill went out I asked him to take a picture for me.

 

Since it was cold out and in I went ahead and did some baking that helped warm things up.  I tried some bread made with cream cheese and eggs but it was more like sponge cake.  Tasted fine but not very bread-like.  Then I made a batch of granola so Bill wouldn’t have to eat eggs every day.  I bought some yogurt so I will have some in that for a change. 

Fog rolling in on Darien Lake

Doug finally made it by and went over things and had us officially sign in.  Basically we really don’t have to do a lot.  We can help out at the front entrance this weekend since it’s going to be pretty busy and they expect to be full.  We are supposed to check the toilet paper but they didn’t give us any or a key to get any and we’re just to be the eyes and ears of the park and report if there are any rule breakers, then they’ll send a ranger out to deal with it.  They put a sign in our yard that designates us as the hosts.  Bill got a cap but I didn’t get anything.  The state has a “Red Cap” program which is the volunteers.  Doug didn’t leave until 1 so we had lunch then drove into Batavia.  It’s a pretty good size town with Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond, Michaels, Joann’s and Super Wal-mart.  We made several stops and on the way home we went on one of the Indian reservations to get diesel and it was .40 per gallon less than Flying J and TA.  It was 10 miles out of the way but worth the trip.

 

When we got back we drove both loops and wow, there sure were a lot more sites filled.  The majority are pop-ups and small travel trailers.  There are a lot of tents too.  We also can’t get the Direct TV working so placed 2 calls to them to no avail.  Will have to call a local place to come out and tell us what is going on.  Bummer!

 

We had dinner then donned our jackets to walk our loop.  We did a little trash pick up and I found a perfectly good plastic rain poncho that was left at a sight.  Bill wanted me to pitch it, but it wasn’t even dirty and you never know if you’ll need it.  I checked to see if the ranger had done anything about the swallow nest I told him about at the bathhouse and it was still there.  I even saw a bird leave it and then could hear the babies so I hope they don’t move it until the babies leave.  He was telling us about the different birds here and how one kind looks after another and I asked about the nest since they were protected in CO last summer and he indicated he’d have to do something about it.  I wasn’t sure what that meant.

 

We’re on the end of the row here, but now we have neighbors all along the road across from us and on the other side.  Everyone has a dog or two and these are the biggest dogs we’re ever seen in a campground.  Most RVer’s have small dogs, so you know these are people who camp, not RV.  Huge, big dogs!!!

 

I guess tomorrow I’ll call and see about the TV.  So tonight Bill is watching some of his cowboy movies he got for his birthday.  It’s just how our luck runs!

May 23 

 It did some major raining last night.  It sounded at times like we were in a tin can.  Guess it eventually died off as it was not terribly wet out this morning, just cooler.  Sun came and went most of the day.  We sat around waiting to hear from Doug.  Bill read and I went through the various literature we picked up along the turnpike to see where I want to try and visit while we’re here.  We aren’t sure what time off we get or how it all works so I just highlighted all of the locations on the map and made a list.  Bill says we won’t get to them all but we’ll see.  There are several lighthouses I want to visit along with a fort, the falls, Corning Glass, 2 Indian reservations and the Erie Canal locks.  Then there’s a wine country tour, well actually there are 3 in this area of NY but one looks a bit easier to do with some of the other places on my list.  Wineries will be last on the list though.

 

While I was going through the literature I spotted our first deer from our kitchen table.  There’s a huge mowed field and behind it a bigger unmowed field and there it was.

 

Pedestrian bridge across canal of the lake

After lunch we took a bike ride, planning to visit the other loop and see how many campers they had and then go down to the lake and take some photos.  We saw the other camp host couple and introduced ourselves and they invited us to come sit so we did.  They winter in Crystal River and are full timers.  They used to live in here in Alden and sold their house to their son and come back here for the summer.  They do 2 weeks in this park then 2 weeks out and back and forth until it’s time to head back south.  This is not where I’d want to spent so many 2 week sessions, but they do it to see their children and grandchildren.  They told us we don’t really do anything as hosts.  Just greet the campers and let them know to let us know if they need anything or have any problems.  Still have not seen Doug.

 

Beach across the lake

It started getting pretty windy and chilly so we left and rode to the lake and it started to rain.  Of course by the time we got back to the RV it stopped and 10 minutes later the sun came out.

 

Then the Direct TV went out.  I reset it and waited and checked the connections and waited and then just started over on the Menu setup and boom, it came right back on.  It worked fine this morning so we don’t understand but there seems to be a lot of atmospheric issues here as the wind just stops and starts.

 

Just before dinner a park ranger, Joe, stopped by to let us know Doug would come by to see us in the morning.  Then maybe we can start making some plans.  We know we can’t really be gone on the weekends and that’s fine but we can go to the store or laundry if we need to.

 

After dinner we made a trip to the bath house and boy, it’s cooling down.  It’s 58 out now and it’s just 8 so will be a cool night.  Time to post and relax with some TV and crocheting.

May 22
I made a flax, coconut, almond flours crust for blueberry tarts with cream cheese for breakfast.  I think Bill is getting tired of eggs.  I only made a half recipe in case they were nasty, but they were pretty tasty.  We weren’t sure if we were to go find our supervisor, Doug, or wait for him to come see us.  So we lazed around a bit and finally decided to ride our bikes up and put some mail in the mailbox and see of Doug was in.  He was not here yet as his dog died and we know how that goes. 

 

 

After driving the truck around the big camping loop (we have the small loop) we drove into the little town close by of Alden to do some laundry, go to the post office and see where they sell diesel.  We found 2 grocery stores, a few small restaurants, plenty of tractor and farm supply places and the laundry.  While I was doing the wash Bill went to the post office and checked out some of the restaurants.  It’s a nice little town and much closer with many more amenities than there were in Ignacio last summer.  Once we finished the wash we checked out the TOPS grocery.  Expensive, but good quality, reminds me of a Publix.

 

 

Doug still was not here when we got back so we decided he’ll get to us when he’s ready.  I did some dinner prep after lunch.  We both just read and Bill checked in on TV on and off.  After dinner we walked instead of riding the bikes and it started raining so we hurried back.  Of course then it stopped but we got bursts on and off.  There were 4-5 more campers in our loop this afternoon. 

 

 

Never did hear from our park manager, Doug.

May 21 – We got on the road earlier than we expected.  The trip to Darien Lakes State Park in NY is about 200 miles but we wanted to be early enough to really get the RV set up for our 2 week stay.  We combined our break and lunch since we left just after 9.  Also, we were on I-90, which parts were also a turnpike so the plazas were kinda far apart.  As we drove through Pennsylvania there was nothing on either side of the road but vineyards.  I’d love to do a wine country tour there.  There were numerous vineyards listed on the exits as well as some billboards.  The vineyards thinned out as we arrived in New York.  We passed Buffalo and the entries into Canada and Niagara Falls. 

 

We had no problem finding Darien Lakes but it was kinda disappointing.  There are no lakes, just one small man made lake, more like a big pond.  It’s for swimming (when there is a lifeguard present), fishing and kayaking.  We really don’t know what the draw is to the park but they have 156 campsites.  Bill went in to check us in and that’s when we found out that the sites have no water.  There are no “specific” host sites and the one they generally assign in our camp loop was worse than the sites we left in Punderson.  I think I was misled by the ranger who told me they had electric and water.  I never understood that we’d have to unhook and drive to one of the many faucets and fill up.  Bill was ready to just stay the night and leave.  We drove to the assigned site and agreed, NO WAY!  We marked down 2 other sites in the same area by the bathhouse and Bill wanted me to go in as he says I’m more aggressive.  We knew that the head ranger would not be here today as it was his day off and we were to meet with him tomorrow.  When I went back in the office the second in command was there and we discussed the situation.  The sites we wanted were reserved for Memorial Weekend coming up.  I explained that we’d need to be near a faucet as with a rig our size we would not pack up and go for water repeatedly during 2 weeks.  He gave me a choice of 4 other sites near water, so we drove back around and chose one right beside the water with trees in the back but primarily in the sun.  It was the longest and flattest one. 

 

After we set up and took the bikes off Bill rode his bike up to let them know what site we chose and to take Molly’s medical papers.  They are strict here about rabies so it’s a good thing the vet office encouraged me to get the rabies certificate.  To get to the bathhouse we have a path right behind our RV thru the woods.  The thing is there aren’t lights anywhere so it’s going to be pretty scary going at night.  That’s when we will use our own toilet. So, I guess we can manage it for 2 weeks.  We are very glad they wouldn’t let newbies have a month!

 

Bill gave the RV a quick bath while I got the inside all in order.  Then came the challenge of setting up the Direct TV.  We have a big clear yard area beside us so I set it there.  So to our total surprise I got it on the first try!  Yee ha!  In Rainbow Springs I tried a dozen times and could NEVER get a signal.  This time I was dead on first thing.  So the Direct TV is on the big TV and I tried the antenna on the bedroom and we got ABC and CBS.  So we’re pretty much good to go for 2 weeks. 

 

After dinner we walked down to check out the bathhouse and then I baked some almond cookies and make a new recipe of Flax Chia crackers.  It was looking a bit like rain.  It did.  First there were a couple of bursts and then we got a soaker.  I managed to go down for my shower before the soaker.  I took my phone in case I needed Bill to drive down and get me.  The bathhouse for our loop is OK.  There are 2 sinks, 2 showers and 3 toilets.  The showers have a small dressing area with a chair, so it’s OK for 2 weeks.  I just hate carrying all my stuff back and forth.

 

The crackers were really good and the cookies were OK.  Since I’m off wheat it’s tough to do a lot of quality baking but I do find some recipes that we can live with.  We had cookies for snack and I did work for work and Bill read.