Busy day in Hyde Park, NY

September 7 – I failed to mention that when you first opened the door to our room at Super 8 the smell of urine hit you.  Once you got in you didn’t smell it, but it didn’t sit well with me.  When I went to the front desk last night for extra towels I made sure I told the clerk because they required a deposit for Molly.  He asked if we wanted to move but it’s such a hassle and Bill wanted to be on the bottom floor because of how much stuff we have to bring in.  So, this morning when I went up to pick up our receipt I asked if they had comment cards.  The clerk said they use comments on Trip Advisor and did I have a problem.  I told her about the smell and that I didn’t know how someone could clean that room every day and not notice it and she gave me a receipt for crediting back the $95 to my CC for the room.  In the long run I expected something from the manager but that was a total surprise and I didn’t refuse!

Factory turned House

It was only about 40 minutes to Hyde Park where we spent the majority of the day.  First was the Eleanor Roosevelt NHS.  After going on the tour of the houses on the property I want to read more about her.  It was fascinating to say the least.  When she married FDR they lived in his mother’s home which he later inherited.  Eleanor did not buck her mother-in-law and was not happy there.  After she discovered FDR having an affair with HER secretary she offered him a divorce but he asked her not to but gave her and 2 of her friends, who were a gay couple, land in Hyde

Eleanor's chair

Park to built a get away cottage. They each paid 1/3 of $12,000 to build the stone cottage on the Val-Kill river.  She spent a lot of time there where she grew as a person and became involved in political affairs.  She upheld all of her duties as First Lady but she also travelled for her own causes and she and her 2 friends built a factory on the property for out of work farmers to learn various craftsmen trades and make furniture, pewter and weaving rather than have them move to NY City.  They ran the business for 10 years but it never was

The Stone Cottage

profitable.  Once it closed Eleanor turned it into housing and once FDR died she moved into it permanently.  FDR had made plans for his home to automatically be given to the National Park Service knowing she would not want to live there.  Her whole life is very interesting and fascinating and she is the only First Lady to have a National Park.

FDR Home

As we were leaving we found out that it is against the law in NY to leave a pet in an unattended car so when we drove over to the other side of Hyde Park to the FDR NHS and his Presidential Library we decided not to leave Molly alone.  Bill was more interested in FDR than I was so I let him go there while Molly and I ate lunch in the car and I read and played solitaire.  Bill said he needed another hour once he got back but we still had one more stop to make.

Vanderbilt Mansion

Just 2 miles down the road was the Vanderbilt Mansion.  It sits high on the bank along the Hudson River and the view is fantastic.  This time Bill stayed with Molly and ate his lunch while I went in.  He knows I enjoy architecture and he doesn’t so it worked out.  I was able to show his Park Pass and ID and they let me in for free and I got right on a tour.  The house was built by Frederick Vanderbilt, one of the

Sitting area

grandson’s of Cornelius Vanderbilt who made the fortune that he left to his sons, who left it to their children.  Frederick was given only $10,000,000 as he was the youngest and at the time of his death he had $70,000,000 plus this home.  His siblings all ran out of money because they didn’t really work and they spent the money like it was a never ending fountain.  Frederick, the first to graduate from college, which was Yale, served on the boards of 22 railroads and was director of the New York Central that his grandfather built, for 61 years.  He wife, Louise was 12 years his senior and they had no children.  Although his siblings were having to sell off their estate (one built the

Ladies parlor

Biltmore in NC and ran out of money before his could finish and his wife sold off parcels to pay the taxes), he didn’t leave a penny to any Vanderbilts, but to his wife’s nieces and nephews and 37 of his employees and $10,000,000 to charity. The niece who got the mansion didn’t want it and due to the depression she could not sell it so neighbor FDR convinced her to sell it to the National Park Service for $1 and a huge tax deduction.  Then during WWII, when FDR came to Hyde Park security was at a high and he housed the Secret Service on the 2 floors of the mansion that had been living quarters for the male and female servants and employees.  It was another very interesting story!

With our stops for the day all done we drove to Wilkes-Barre, PA and got a newly renovated room at the Red Roof Inn for the night.  It was VERY nice and for only $67.00.  We unloaded and went to a recommended family run Italian place for dinner.  It was very good.  Bill was not feeling good and had a stuffy nose so he went to bed early while I typed and posted.

Moving on to New York

Bennington War Monument

September 6 - We were up earlier today.  We had breakfast from the coolers and left at 9.  It takes a while to load everything back in the car and get ice from the machine and put it in the coolers.  Today we

Cool Moose 

headed west for NY.  On the way we stopped in Bennington,VT to see the monument there for the Battle of Bennington during the Revolutionary War.  It was quite impressive and you could go up but we were on a tight time frame and it was starting to drizzle so I just took photos.  They also had a cool painted moose that was titled the Covered Bridge Moose since that is what was painted all over it.

Our first stop in NY was on our way to Saratoga National Park to wash the car.  It was covered with dust and dirt from yesterday’s adventure and it was driving Bill crazy.  We couldn’t go through a car wash since we had the bikes on the back so he found one where you do it your self.  A big im-provement for sure.

Which side will he choose?

Saratoga was nice.  They had a very well done movie about the 2 battles fought there during the Revolutionary War.  It explained why it was the turning point for the Americans.  It was there that Benedict Arnold was a hero for our side before turning traitor later.  Scum bag!  After the movie we drove the battle fields.  We decided to eat lunch from the coolers in the parking lot of the Visitor Center before heading out on the car tour.

Martin Van Buren House

Not too far south near Albany was the Martin Van Buren NHS.  We timed it perfectly and got on the next tour of the house.  It was quite impressive with several of the newest inventions of the time.  They had running water on one floor by using a pump inside the house to pump water up to a 100 gallon tank that could be used to flush the only toilet as well as fill the only built in bath tub and the various sinks in the kitchens and laundry rooms.    It’s too bad his son was a gambler and lost the home to debtors.  It later became an orphanage and an old folks home.  They were able to recover about half of the furnishings but the most impressive was the beautiful wall paper in the main dining room was original with the exception of the ends of the room.  Bill was sad to learn that he was the founder of the Democratic Party.  Look where that’s gotten us!

Thomas Cole House

The Outhouse

We knew we would be close but we hurried to the Thomas Cole NHS.  We didn’t arrive in time for the tour but I did get into the visitor center for my stamp and got to take photos of the house.  He was a leading landscape painter by 1843.  This is where landscape painting began.  The house was nice but I was more impressed with the 3 seater fancy outhouse in the yard.

The next challenge was to find lodging for the night.  We wanted to start tomorrow in Hyde Park but the only pet place was $155.  Not!  We found a Super 8 one town away for $99.00.  I just can’t believe the prices on the cut rate motels.  Once we got moved in we had a snack and chilled for a while.  Bill wanted to eat out but I wanted to use up more of the food in the coolers and since we had a microwave this was a good time to do it.  When we got ready I cooked corn on the cob, squash and heated up venison burgers and Italian sausage.  Later for dessert we heated up peach crisp.  We have emptied one cooler of 3 so far!

After watching “Hell on Wheels” and typing it was time to call it a day!

A better day but not so great!

September 5 – I woke the first time at 6 and the second time at 7:45.  Not off to a very good start.  It took a long time to pack the rest of the fridge, pitch what we couldn’t take, pack the car, drain the tanks and get going.  Of course we had breakfast first!  We dropped the RV off and stopped at the store for another cooler and ice and finally got on the highway at 10:30.

Definitely too much gluten!

The first place on our agenda was The King Arthur Company complex in Norwich, VT.  I get their catalog and read that they had a new place with the store, the baking school and their Café all together.  It was great!  I would love to go to some baking classes there.  We visited the store and I bought a few things and checked some baking products to see if they match items I already have.  We were going to eat in their café where all the bread and pastries are baked there and you can watch the bakers work.  Bill got a slice of pizza and we each got a dessert but I said I needed to eat from the coolers so the food doesn’t go bad.  He had some vegetables and we both had fruit from the cooler.

I wanted to visit some cheese farms and we marked 3 places northwest of Norwich and

View of the White Mountains

headed out.  Well, they are located way off the beaten paths for sure.  We were on gravel, dirt roads and lanes and the car was filthy!  The first we went to on the Vermont Cheese Trail had no signs and no one answered the door and it didn’t look like they had a store, so we left.  The next one, Neighborly Farms of Vermont was open and the girl working was also the cheeseroom manager and showed us around and answered lots of questions.  They are organic and make cheese once a week and raise the cows and milk them there.  They sell 1/3 of their milk to Horizons Organic Milk that I’ve seen in stores.  I bought one package of sharp cheddar.

The next farm, Fat Toad, is a goat milk farm but they don’t do cheese they do caramel from goat milk.  They have 6-7 flavors you can try.  I got a Brewed Coffee caramel for me and Maple Caramel for Bill.  I don’t know for sure how we will use it but it won’t be hard to get rid of!  That coffee caramel is delicious!  There were 2 others in south Vermont that I hoped we would get to before the day ended but we didn’t make it.

On the Marsh Billings Farm

We headed south to visit the Marsh Billings Rockefeller NHP and located it on my phone and we lost service and never saw a sign and drove all through the woods and finally came out on a road and drove into the town to find out where we were.  We had driven about 30 minutes out of the way so we asked for road directions in case we lost service again.  So in another 30 minutes we finally got there.  They closed at 5 and we just made it in time to get my passport stamp and a couple of photos and got to ask some questions.

Bill driving through 

As we were heading to the interstate we drove through a small town, Taftsville, and there was a covered bridge on the left.  Of course we had to drive through it and get photos.  Then on the other side of the bridge Bill saw a sign for another cheese place.  Why can’t they post on their signs how far they are?  That just burns me.  We drove way back in again on small little roads and we found it, but it closed about 15 minutes before we arrived and of course no one came out to see if they could help us. 

The Vermont Country Store

Luckily for me, The Vermont Country Store was open until 7 so we jumped on the interstate and headed south to Rockingham.  I used to get their catalog but after a while if you didn’t order they stopped sending them.  That store is awesome.  They have so many things from my childhood from candy to games to lotions and just odd things that we used to use all the time that you can’t buy at a regular store.  They have the old ice bags that flatten out, liniment, toothpastes, cotton nightgowns.  The list goes on and on.  Bill enjoyed all the samples of food items they have out to try.  There was fudge, cheeses, meats, crackers, jams, syrup and more.  We had about 45 minutes in the store and we left with a small bag of goodies.  They were giving out 1# bags of dried cantaloupe and asked if we wanted one.  She said they over bought and didn’t want to let them go bad.  So we got one!

We decided to spend the night in Brattleboro, VT and it was only 30 minutes further south.  The only place we found to take Molly was a Motel 6 and with a 10% discount it was $75.  I could not believe it.  We haven’t done a lot of moteling since we got the RV but I didn’t think Motel 6 would have gotten so expensive!  Oh well, what can you do?  Once we checked in and left Molly we had dinner at Ramunto’s.  It was Italian but one part was more like a pizza place with sports on many TV’s.  We each got a small salad and split a calzone.  It was good but not enough ricotta to suit us.  It was the perfect portion though.  No leftovers, since we have any more space to put any.

Molly didn’t seem to notice we were gone.  She really likes hotel rooms.  I tried to do some catch up on the computer and Bill went to bed early.  It wasn’t the best day but a big improvement over yesterday.

Worst vacation day ever! (and we've had some bad one)

September 4 – If we rate today on a scale of 1 – 10, it would be a minus 2.  We left the campground at around 9 for a day in Vermont visiting cheese farms and other places I marked on the map.  Once we got out on the road Bill saw 2 panel lights on the RV.  One was a “Check Engine” and the other was “Check Brake Fuse”.  He pulled over as soon as he could find a space along the 2 lane road to do so.  I went out and tried to see if the brake lights to the RV and the car were working.  The sun was shining right on the rear of the vehicles and it was tough to tell.  I thought the car was on but not the RV.  Not good!  Bill first called our tech, Frank to ask where to find the fuse panel for the brakes and he said it would be hard as they put them in different places on just about every model.  So Bill called our dealer and asked them and they said the same thing.  He said we needed to take it to a Freightliner Chassis dealer and found the closest one to us.  It was in Londonderry, NH about 100 miles south.  So Bill called them and the service manager said he could check it out this afternoon but if they couldn’t fix it today it would not be until Tuesday!  That was not sounding good before we even started.

So we headed on down the interstate and it was only a few miles off to the dealership.  We waited in the RV over an hour before they got to us.  We read, ate our lunch, played solitaire, and read some more.  The tech spent 5 hours and could not find the problem.  The fuses all checked out fine once he found them and he did all kinds of computer diagnostics but the last we heard they were going to call the RV manufacturer and talk to them. 

 So we were told to leave it there.  Well, I found a campground about 20 minutes away so we called and went.  It has a golf course that looks pretty nice but once you get past that it is literally and figuratively all down hill.  What I call a “deliverance” campground.  For $40 I was expecting something much nicer.  Trees were scraping the top and sides of the RV on the way in and then I had to back in for the first time.  Bill drove behind me to the campground since he had brake lights and I did not.  I called the local Market Basket grocery store and told the manager our problem and asked if we could bring our frozen foods and leave them there.  He said we could.  We knew the dealer would not be able to leave the RV plugged in to power and we didn’t want the generator running 24/7 so we would have to empty the fridge and turn it off. 

We had a quick leftovers meal and then loaded 2 Trader Joe bags with frozen blueberries, rhubarb and our other stuff and took it to Market Basket.  We bought a Styrofoam cooler since we had our plug in cooler with us.  We made a stop at McDonald’s to use the WIFI and have an iced coffee and got back to the RV just after 9.  We packed out clothes and toiletries, packed Molly’s food and the “dry goods” we would be taking.  We decided to try and go to VT tomorrow then on to PA and maybe NY on the way back.  I needed to call and cancel our RV reservations and look at pet friendly motels instead.  What a major CRAPPY day!

New Hampshire Sites

September 3 – There was no hurry to leave today as we were only going about 150 miles.  After breakfast and showers I walked over to Home Depot in search of the rubber grippers I was hunting.  Luckily they had something that I think will do the trick.

We headed to the next exit off I-95 and filled up the RV, then up another exit to take route 201 over to 2 west.  The traffic was not bad at all but the road was windy and some up and down.  Nothing too steep at all.  There was no rush and we stopped at a scenic view of the White Mountains to have our lunch.

We arrived in Bethlehem, NH by 2:00 at Apple Hill Campground and got settled in.  It’s very woody but not very level spaces.  No cable or WIFI, but it was PPA and only $17.50 so the price was right.  It’s a bit seedy but several of the RV’s around us are new and very nice.  It looks like they leave them here for the season or are here for a while to visit in the area.

Chutters candy counter

We went to check out the town, but it’s very small and before we realized we had gone through it!  So we went a few more miles to Littleton.  It’s a pretty good size town and has a nice refurbished old downtown.  They have a candy store, Chutters, that has the Guinness record for the longest candy counter of 112 feet.  Of

Thayer Hotel

course we had to visit and get some candy!  What a selection!  I got something special for Shiloh and my brother Mark, then Bill picked out some for him and so did I.  He visited the State Farm office across the street to see if he could get a new Atlas but he didn’t have any.  He did tell him that U. S. Grant made appearance on the outdoor balcony of the Thayer Hotel when he was staying there visiting the White Mountains.  George W. Bush made a speech on the steps of the Courthouse and many other presidents have visited the town.  Pretty cool for this little town.

Iron Furance

On the way home we sidetracked to Franconia and saw some nice vintage homes and a old iron smelting furnace.  It was on private property (not that it would keep me from getting closer but it was pretty out in the open) but I got a photo from across the river.  I learned that the furnaces were not outside but inside a building but since most were made of wood they either burned down or fell to decay after the furnaces were no longer in use.

As we passed by through Bethlehem we stopped at the General Store to check it out.  Bill had to have some maple cake donuts and he encouraged me (it

Outside the General Store

didn’t take much) to buy a 6 pack of Del’s Shandys made in Narragansett, RI.  Barbara had told me about them so I took her word that I’d like them and had one when we got home.  Yum!  Much better than those Leinenkugal Summer Shandys.  Good call Barbara!

We sat outside with our beverages and some gluten free pretzels I found at Wal-mart and read for a while then came in and started organizing our day tomorrow.  We had leftovers as planned and I journaled and Bill read and then we both read!

Good Bye Pam, Steve and Chris!

September 2 – Good bye Charlie Brown Campground!

We got up at 8 and after breakfast Bill went to pick some peaches for the road.  When he got back we finished closing up the RV.  Pam and Steve came to tell us goodbye and that they are coming to Florida in December, so that was good news.  It’s always so hard to say good-bye after spending 3 months with folks that you really like and enjoy being with.  At least we will see them in December!  Carl and Linda came for good-byes too.  They will be heading back to CA in October and who knows where they will end up later.

When it was time to get backed out, Ron and Barbara came up and she and I took the car to the front and let the guys to the backing up.  Ron did a great job of directing Bill out of the spot!  We went down to the parking area and hooked the car up and said our good-byes to them next.  It wasn’t as sad as we know we will be seeing them once we are all back in Florida. 

We did have some problems with the error messages again on the leveling legs and put a call into La Mesa, but being the first workday after the 3 day weekend I knew it would be a while before anyone got back to us, so after a while we took off.  We got a call back after lunch but it didn’t help much.

We stopped for lunch and made a driver change.  The drive to Waterville, ME was uneventful, which is the way we like it.  We got parked in the Wal-mart parking lot but didn’t put the legs down as it was pretty level there.  I called Polly to ask if she could drive to dinner so we didn’t have to unhitch the car and she could.  She was coming about 5:30.  We arrived at 4 so had time to make a quick shopping spree at Wal-mart.  I had a short list that I waited until we got there and Bill wanted a new hose and washers.  I was looking for some little stick on rubber gripper things to put under some of my kitchen counter items but didn’t find them there.

Polly was on time and we headed to Joseph’s Fireside Steakhouse.  There was a 20 minute wait but Bill went to the bar and got us some drinks to make the wait more enjoyable.  Dinner was delicious!  Bill ordered a flatbread and Polly enjoyed it so much she ordered another.  She went with salmon for dinner and Bill had the chicken cordon bleu and I had a cup of clam chowder while they had salad and for my meal I had the beer steamed mussel appetizer and a big salad.  Every bite was so good.  I never have mussels unless we are in the northeast so when I’m here I eat them often, but that will be the last for a long time!  Boo hoo! 

I made a pie to have Polly over to have a piece and visit more but her back was really bothering her so I cut several small slices for her to take home.  I really hated saying good-bye as this could be the last time I see her.  She can’t travel to FL anymore and who knows when we will get back to Maine.  I’m glad I made the effort to go see her again before we head home. 

After an hour or so and our meals settled we had our dessert.  Then we both read until Bill was dozing and headed to bed and I did manage to last longer.

Our last day at Charlie Brown Campground!

September 1 - It was sad to go to work today knowing it was our last day.  They were nice to let us have the early shift so we could get things packed up after work.  We thought it was going to rain but had not by the time we left at 1:30.  Steve let us leave a little early, so that was even better.  We have really enjoyed our time here, not just seeing all we could see in a 4 state area, but we met a lot of nice people in the campground and Steve, Pam and their son Chris were great to work for and with.  We’ve invited Pam and Steve to Florida in December to stay in our apartment and Barbara and Ron said they will come up from Venice, so that will be awesome! 

Bill was started on the breaking down process when I got home.  It took us about 90 minutes to put everything away outside and put the hitch and bikes on the car and pack the back of the car.  Whew!  And it hot out, maybe the hottest day we’ve had here. 

I put a peach crisp in the toaster oven for us on the road and made a peach jello pie to have with Polly in Maine tomorrow night and for her to have to take home.  I put more stuff away and later Bill grilled 3 kinds of meat for our Labor Day feast.  We had corn on the cob, Waldorf salad, broccoli salad and potato salad.  There should be enough leftovers for 2 more meals on the road.  Our friends Ron and Barbara picked us up at 7 for a trip for ice cream.  We will miss them the most!  We just hit it off immediately and have truly enjoyed spending our summer with them.  We plan to continue our friendship back in Florida!

So tomorrow we start a new adventure as we wind our way through Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania and into Ohio.  We need to camp in the first 3 to cross them off our list and will go to Ohio for Bill’s reunion with his high school.  From there is the long drive to Florida to our September campout and then home.  Gee, where did the summer go?  I think aging makes it go faster!