Hamlin Beach State Park We spent most of the last 2 weeks of June back in NY at Hamlin Beach State Park on the banks of Lake Ontario near Rochester NY. However, by month’s end we had traveled 500 miles further west to Kendallville IN at the town’s Bixler Lake Campground, where we were contemplating how long it would take to get a tow truck to move our RV. More about that later.
Travels:
Travels:
Brightly Farm's deck has a lot of comfortable chairs to relax in Brightly Farm Market, Hamlin NY:
“I don’t see how we’re going to do this.” Not an auspicious beginning to our planned first stay with a member of Harvest Hosts. This organization links RV’ers with businesses, such as wineries, breweries, farms, museums etc, that can accommodate them for an overnight. The understanding is that we will spend about $20 at the business in exchange for the hospitality. We had hoped to use this membership much earlier, but the soaring temperatures in early June had made this untenable at that time. Most Harvest Hosts sites lack any electric hookup, which for us means no AC.
“I don’t see how we’re going to do this.” Not an auspicious beginning to our planned first stay with a member of Harvest Hosts. This organization links RV’ers with businesses, such as wineries, breweries, farms, museums etc, that can accommodate them for an overnight. The understanding is that we will spend about $20 at the business in exchange for the hospitality. We had hoped to use this membership much earlier, but the soaring temperatures in early June had made this untenable at that time. Most Harvest Hosts sites lack any electric hookup, which for us means no AC.
Greenhouses at Brightly Farms But this was going to be a pleasantly cool night, and we were anxious to give it a try. Having read a number of good reviews of Brightly Farm, it seemed a good choice that would also position us close to our next stop at Hamlin Beach State Park. We were told to park behind the store next to the barn. Walking around the area, we weren’t sure how this was going to work. There were obstacles everywhere. The owner’s truck blocked the entrance, and a lawn tractor blocked part of the drive in front of the barn. On one side of the barn was an array of solar panels, and on the other side, newly planted apple trees were uncomfortably close. Pull forward too far and we could damage the shrubs, and risk hitting the woodburning furnaces that they sold. Hmm. .
Leaving Brightly Farm for Hamlin Beach Despite our uncertainty, we gave it a try. The employees moved the truck and lawn tractor, which helped, but after repeated tries on both sides of the barn failed, we finally parked on the road in front of the barn. We were told the area wasn’t used this time of year, and we could stay there. That was great, but we couldn’t see how it would have worked with even one more RV staying there. We obviously need to get better at docking in smaller spaces.
These friendly guys were looking for some treats. Sorry guys. Once settled, our experience improved tremendously. The store was full of local wares from produce to wine to furniture. We settled on some fresh strawberries, ice cream of course, a chocolate chip cookie and some fresh made blueberry pie for a dinner later in the week. After hours, we had the grounds to ourselves, where we watched the sunset from a swing in their garden. A good way to decompress. Despite a rocky start, we look forward to trying some more Harvest Host locations.
Hamlin Beach State Park on Lake Ontario
It was a very short (20 minute) drive to our home for the next 11 days at Hamlin Beach State Park. Originally established as a Monroe County Park in the 20’s, it was expanded by the CCC in the 30’s and became a state park. With the creation of the Lake Ontario State Parkway shortly after, the park became popular with the nearby residents wanting to enjoy the beach. As Dave reminds Cathy when we travel to the ocean, the lakes have wave action and sandy beaches without stinging your eyes with salt. Practically perfect, right?
It was a very short (20 minute) drive to our home for the next 11 days at Hamlin Beach State Park. Originally established as a Monroe County Park in the 20’s, it was expanded by the CCC in the 30’s and became a state park. With the creation of the Lake Ontario State Parkway shortly after, the park became popular with the nearby residents wanting to enjoy the beach. As Dave reminds Cathy when we travel to the ocean, the lakes have wave action and sandy beaches without stinging your eyes with salt. Practically perfect, right?
Chillin' in the parking lot We left Brightly Farms around 9am the next morning and arrived at Hamlin Beach around 9:30. However, unlike Pocahontas, it didn’t matter that our site was empty and had been for several days, NO ONE is allowed to check in before 3 – well, maybe 1:30. Since we had nowhere else to go, we parked the RV on a large, empty day use parking lot and went for a walk – first along the lake and then into the campground to check out our site. And it was a good thing we did.
Broken water spigot next to our campsite Staying in a campsite for 11 days that had no water or sewer connections, we were going to have to be careful with our fresh water consumption and what we put down the drains, unless we wanted to pull out and have to park again, something we are loathe to do. However, for fresh water, we had a plan. Back in March, we had carefully selected a site next to a water fill station. It was a short enough run, we could use the hoses we had on board to top off our water. We would take showers and use the restrooms at the bathhouse, and we should be just fine. Except . . . the nearby water spigot was out of order. Oops. Learning this beforehand, we made sure we knew where we could stop to fill up the rig before parking.
When 1:30 (exactly) rolled around, we checked in before heading to the campground. We emptied our holding tanks and filled our fresh water tank (which required us to park on the one-way road entering the campground in the process), and made it easily into our site. (So much better than the night before.) Our neighbor was new to full-timing, so Dave shared some of our stories with him, while Cathy finished setting up the rig.
When 1:30 (exactly) rolled around, we checked in before heading to the campground. We emptied our holding tanks and filled our fresh water tank (which required us to park on the one-way road entering the campground in the process), and made it easily into our site. (So much better than the night before.) Our neighbor was new to full-timing, so Dave shared some of our stories with him, while Cathy finished setting up the rig.
Cathy on boat ramp at Hamlin Beach We spent the next 11 days reconnecting with friends and family, and getting our teeth and eyes checked out. More about those adventures a little later. While we initially planned a longer stay to comply with the Covid regulations we knew about in March, we were pleased to be in NY as they crossed the 70% vaccinated mark and lifted the state of emergency restrictions. You go guys!
CCC Camp Layout at Hamlin Beach history trail Near the end of our stay, we learned of a CCC history trail that was located on the site of the original CCC barracks. Since few of these sites were preserved after they were abandoned, this was a rare offering. The CCC camp was used as a POW camp during the war before being abandoned after the war. Since the site was never used, the building foundations remained along with some photographs that allowed us to envision it. It was a multi-year effort by the Friends of Hamlin Beach State Park to recover and interpret the site. They did a great job.
Hamlin, NY to Kendallville, IN
As we prepared to leave NY, the weather once again turned hot and humid, meaning that once again we were motivated to find a place to plug in, rather than explore some of the more interesting Harvest Host locations along the way. But first, we had to make our way out of NY, choosing the right place to cross the canal that didn’t have a low clearance bridge, and to pass around Buffalo without repeating our experience in Harrisburg. Copilot did its job, but ensuring it sync’ed with Google Maps kept Cathy busy for much of the first day. For example, passing through Lockport (famous for the historic “flight” of 5 canal locks), Copilot wanted us to take a side street to avoid crossing the canal twice on the major routes. Google had no problem with this. What we discovered was the fact that the “truck route” signs agreed with Copilot, since one of the bridges was weight-restricted. Oh. Got it.
As we prepared to leave NY, the weather once again turned hot and humid, meaning that once again we were motivated to find a place to plug in, rather than explore some of the more interesting Harvest Host locations along the way. But first, we had to make our way out of NY, choosing the right place to cross the canal that didn’t have a low clearance bridge, and to pass around Buffalo without repeating our experience in Harrisburg. Copilot did its job, but ensuring it sync’ed with Google Maps kept Cathy busy for much of the first day. For example, passing through Lockport (famous for the historic “flight” of 5 canal locks), Copilot wanted us to take a side street to avoid crossing the canal twice on the major routes. Google had no problem with this. What we discovered was the fact that the “truck route” signs agreed with Copilot, since one of the bridges was weight-restricted. Oh. Got it.
Evergreen Lake Campground, Conneaut OH We chose a couple of very reasonably priced stops in Ohio to break up the trip to Indiana, thanks to our Passport America discount. The first was Evergreen Lake Park, just off I90 in Conneaut OH, not far from the NY state line. The 2nd Sunny’s Campground in Wauseon OH, approached the Indiana state line. Both campgrounds made much more of their business with seasonal campers. (Sunny’s had 800 sites!) But we had pull-throughs at both locations and even had full hook-ups for less than $20 at Sunny’s.
As effortless as the last 2 days had been, our arrival at Bixler Lake Campground in Kendallville IN was anything but. It was supposed to be an easy day. We only had 75 miles to travel, putting us into the campground around 11am. After stopping for fuel, we got within 20 miles of Kendallville, when we saw a disturbing sign, “Road Closed”. After taking a detour that added 20 miles to our journey, we finally pulled into the campground closer to noon, with the grey skies and thunder sounding. The campground manager showed us to our site quickly so we could set up ahead of the storm. And, we might have made it, except . . .
Checking out the grounding jack wiring “LF Jack Error”. This cryptic message brought our set-up to a screeching halt. Our “landing gear”, i.e., the 2 jacks that support the fifth wheel in front when it is not attached to the truck have to go down to disconnect. This error was telling us that the left front jack wasn’t budging. We tried forcing it, by pressing and holding the retract button. A jerk and nothing. Cathy tried manually extending the front jacks. The right moved, but not the left. Dave checked the voltage on the connections. All was good. Oh, and did we mention that by now it was pouring? Cathy took a time-out, used her phone to look up a youtube video on the problem, but it offered no new advice. So, we called Lippert. Just as they were telling us what to do, the call dropped. Our conversation was centered around a voltage drop, so Dave took some pictures and we emailed them to our contact, and called back. We got someone else who confirmed that it wasn’t an electrical issue. There was nothing more they could do over the phone, we would have to take it somewhere nearby. Cathy called the closest service location and the service tech agreed to check with Lippert and call us back. When he did, he agreed to step us through some of the same checks to help us avoid the trip in. Cathy fired up the Ground Control pad and discovered that the error had changed to “RR Jack Error”. So, under guidance from the tech, she tried again to extend the jacks and this time, they all moved, even the one with the error. Once retracted again, the error cleared. We were soaked, but we could finish setting up.
Not so fast.
With the downpour, we had discovered we were setting up at too much angle and the truck was sitting in standing water. We needed to get the RV to higher ground by backing up. That started out well, until we stopped to pick up a leveling board we had originally placed under the tires. Having lost momentum, the truck’s rear tires began to spin. We couldn’t move back or forward. Trying to increase traction, we used boards, a mat. Some fellow campers brought over kitty litter. None of it helped. We decided to disconnect to get the weight off the truck. This would prove to be a bad decision. We managed to disconnect but the truck wouldn’t quite come out of the mud. And the truck was sliding sideways such that it would soon be struck by the king pin from the trailer.
Not so fast.
With the downpour, we had discovered we were setting up at too much angle and the truck was sitting in standing water. We needed to get the RV to higher ground by backing up. That started out well, until we stopped to pick up a leveling board we had originally placed under the tires. Having lost momentum, the truck’s rear tires began to spin. We couldn’t move back or forward. Trying to increase traction, we used boards, a mat. Some fellow campers brought over kitty litter. None of it helped. We decided to disconnect to get the weight off the truck. This would prove to be a bad decision. We managed to disconnect but the truck wouldn’t quite come out of the mud. And the truck was sliding sideways such that it would soon be struck by the king pin from the trailer.
Ruts from our muddy arrival We finally called for a tow, but had to explain that we needed 2 tows. One for the truck and one for the trailer. This really confused the dispatchers at Good Sam, but we finally got our situation across. Or so we thought. While waiting for the tow, we did some clean-up, but we saw the ground had firmed up some. Also, we discovered we had enough clearance to raise the 5th wheel’s king pin high enough so it was out of the way of striking the truck bed. So, we tried a final time to free the truck on our own and managed to do it.
Cathy called Good Sam to cancel the truck tow, and confirm they were still planning to come tow the 5th wheel. Over an hour later, the text said the tow was on the way. However, it didn’t look like the right equipment. A call to the tow service confirmed this. They only had a winch available. This wouldn’t work. She called Good Sam back, explained to a 3rd person what we needed, and suggested we wait until the next morning so the ground could dry out. Surprisingly, the tow operator who had originally been dispatched came to check on us and suggested a tow operator in Fort Wayne. We relayed this information to Good Sam.
Cathy called Good Sam to cancel the truck tow, and confirm they were still planning to come tow the 5th wheel. Over an hour later, the text said the tow was on the way. However, it didn’t look like the right equipment. A call to the tow service confirmed this. They only had a winch available. This wouldn’t work. She called Good Sam back, explained to a 3rd person what we needed, and suggested we wait until the next morning so the ground could dry out. Surprisingly, the tow operator who had originally been dispatched came to check on us and suggested a tow operator in Fort Wayne. We relayed this information to Good Sam.
The next morning dawned sunny and dry. By 10am, we were assigned another tow operator. Cathy called and quickly discovered they also didn’t have the right equipment to tow us. Frustration levels rising, Cathy called Good Sam again. The campground was beginning to fill for the holiday weekend. If we waited much longer, it wouldn’t be practical to move the RV. We had a few more conversations with Good Sam before a wrecker designed to tow semi’s showed up. They had a fifth wheel hitch and carefully connected to our fifth wheel and gently pulled it to the road. The driver waited while we ensured we could connect to the truck OK and we managed to move to a new spot out of the mud, thanks to the campground manager relocating us.
We breathed a sigh of relief and made ready to explore the area over the 4th of July weekend ahead. Welcome to Indiana!
We breathed a sigh of relief and made ready to explore the area over the 4th of July weekend ahead. Welcome to Indiana!
Dave, Joanne and Cooper walking by the Genesee River Friends and Family
Having lived in Rochester for so many years, we enjoyed having a longer visit to catch up a little with friends and family still in the area. Carol invited us to join her and Jerry for a takeout fish fry our first Friday in town. (We brought that blueberry pie with us as well.) On Saturday, we joined sailing friends Joanne and Ralph for breakfast and a sail on Lake Ontairo on White Bird. Sunday found us enjoying homemade pizzas overlooking Lake Ontario at John and Kathy’s house. And we managed to lure a couple of visitors to the park. Former Kodaker Ron joined us for burgers the next Friday, and Dave’s friend Paul from his teens joined us on Sunday.
Having lived in Rochester for so many years, we enjoyed having a longer visit to catch up a little with friends and family still in the area. Carol invited us to join her and Jerry for a takeout fish fry our first Friday in town. (We brought that blueberry pie with us as well.) On Saturday, we joined sailing friends Joanne and Ralph for breakfast and a sail on Lake Ontairo on White Bird. Sunday found us enjoying homemade pizzas overlooking Lake Ontario at John and Kathy’s house. And we managed to lure a couple of visitors to the park. Former Kodaker Ron joined us for burgers the next Friday, and Dave’s friend Paul from his teens joined us on Sunday.
Dave gets his new pair of glasses. In between dentist visits, we checked out ice cream we had been missing from Lu-Gia’s, Abbotts, Byrne Dairy, and burgers from Bill Gray’s. Having been driving more over the past month, Dave also realized a visit to an Optometrist was in order. Eyemart Express offered and delivered glasses in a day. He discovered that his eyesight had changed significantly since his last check last November.
Our new tire pressure sensor repeater installed. RV Stuff
Thanks to Carol, we were able to catch up with some mail while in Rochester, which meant we could solve our tire pressure sensor problems. Dave received and installed a repeater that would boost the signal from the trailer tire sensors to the display in the truck. Since we had no problems over the 500 miles from NY to IN after installing it, the problem seems to be solved. Cathy just needs to remember to turn it off when setting up at each destination. We’ll see how that goes.
Thanks to Carol, we were able to catch up with some mail while in Rochester, which meant we could solve our tire pressure sensor problems. Dave received and installed a repeater that would boost the signal from the trailer tire sensors to the display in the truck. Since we had no problems over the 500 miles from NY to IN after installing it, the problem seems to be solved. Cathy just needs to remember to turn it off when setting up at each destination. We’ll see how that goes.
Dave fixes a drawer bottom that had separated. We had to attend to a few problems with things giving way that were probably dislodged by all our traveling. We re-attached a bottom to one of our kitchen drawers with some glue and our brad nailer. The mini-fridge in the outdoor compartment came out of its brackets and started shifting. We re-positioned the front bracket and it now rides solid.
Parting Shot
While waiting for Dave's glasses to be made, we took a walk along the canal by our old hose. One of the neighbors had a pretty setting by his dock, and a fitting picture for this July 4th holiday.
While waiting for Dave's glasses to be made, we took a walk along the canal by our old hose. One of the neighbors had a pretty setting by his dock, and a fitting picture for this July 4th holiday.
