SV Orion - Annapolis, MD - David & Cathy's Journey

Late December - Holidays

12/31/2022

Sunrise over Beaver Lake Trail

Leaving Hilton Head, we drove north to Virginia and spent 10 days celebrating the holidays with friends and family and enjoying the beauty of Pocahontas in December. We were back in Jacksonville by the 28th to greet some travelers who were heading south, and planned to take a rest at Faith for the night. When the New Year’s fireworks were going up, we were making ready for work to begin in earnest around Faith a couple of days later.

Some ornaments Cathy made for the grandkids

North to Virginia

Since our reservation at the Pocahontas cabin didn’t start until Tuesday, we had the weekend to travel north. We had already made plans to stop by Steve and Linda’s in Poquoson. We had begun clearing their attic of our boating supplies earlier in the fall, and we planned to pick up some larger items on this trip to take them back to Orion Jr at Faith. We had a good visit with them as well and managed to find a place in the truck for the supplies that made sense to take with us – everything from a door from Orion Jr to a 9.8hp outboard.

Cathy and Twila's catalog Christmas tree

Our next stop was Pocahontas, and, arriving on the Tuesday before Christmas, we had arrived enough in advance of Christmas that we had time to decorate the cabin inside and out for the holidays. Part of those decorations included a “catalog” Christmas tree that was started by Twila from the park office staff back in the fall. After joking with Cathy about a Uline “Christmas” catalog, she patiently folded an 800 page catalog to make the tree, giving it to us as we left in November. However, Cathy realized that she actually needed a 2nd catalog to make the tree work. So, she found one and did the folding of that one herself. A can of green Rustoleum later and we had a Christmas tree. Having not make one in over 50 years, there was a lot she would do differently next time.

Winter Solstice Hike

Our first full day at the park turned out to be surprisingly busy. We started the day before sun-up. After scraping the frost off the windshield (where is that ice scraper), we joined one of the park’s Winter Solstice hikes around Beaver Lake and watched the sun rise over the lake as we made our way around.

Grandpa and Taylor opening gifts

Shortly after returning to the cabin, we learned we would have company from Bonnie and the kids. With a major storm coming through the next day, we scrambled to get all of our grocery shopping done in time to get back to meet them. It was the first of several visitors we would host over the next few days. Driving through the campground, we discovered Micah and Jessica from Cabin Work Week were park hosts for the month, and we invited them over for dinner the following evening. The next day, despite the plummeting temperatures and near gale-force winds, Droz joined us for a Christmas get-together.

Grandpa and Droz

On Christmas Eve, we hosted Bonnie’s family, cooking our 2nd prime rib dinner in as many years. The favor was returned the next day as we traveled to Jarratt to spend Christmas day with them. Our family time wasn’t over yet however. Chris and Carolyn arrived mid-day on Monday and Droz joined us for one more family reunion. They don’t get old.

The next morning, we served up all of the leftovers we could (having sent a healthy amount home with Droz on Monday), and then we said goodbye to Chris and Carolyn, heading south for Jacksonville as they returned to NC.

Cabin Work – sort of

We had one Group Cabin project task to do while back at the park. A table saw had broken during the 2nd week of the project, and the saw was still under warranty. We had tried to get it repaired before leaving in November, but the receipt was hard to locate. By the time we had returned, the receipt had been located and the return approved. The return this time went smoothly and the warranty was honored.

Back to Jacksonville
We were making our way to Jacksonville on a schedule. We had 2 couples planning to stop over at Faith on the 28th as they made their way further south into the Florida Keys. So, we made the trip with just one overnight, arriving a few hours before they both arrived. Dan and Karen were camp hosts during our stay at the park. Tom and Debbie had been Cabin Week volunteers for several years. We had a brief time to welcome them. After they enjoyed the hospitality of the church for a night, they were on their way south again the next am.

Another Year’s End

We were able to raise a glass to toast the end of 2022 and the start of 2023. We enjoyed putting together this video taking a look back at the year just ended. Hope you enjoy it too.

Click on the picture below to watch:

Our Journey 2022

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Early December - Back at Faith

12/16/2022

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Faith's sanctuary with brightly lit with new lightbulbs.

Arriving in Jacksonville in late November, we had only a couple of weeks before we would be heading north again. So, we did what we could to get a handle on the work that would be starting once we returned, and to follow up on activities that had been waiting for our return.

Joe climbs high in sanctuary to change lightbulbs over the chancel

Church Projects

Joe had arrived a few days before us, spending several days blowing off some of the many roofs at Faith. However, when we arrived, we joined forces on our first project. The highest lights in the sanctuary have needed new light bulbs for some time. However, how to reach them has been a problem. Joe devised a modification to an extension ladder that allowed him to climb up high and reach all but one. As his helpers on the ground, we steadied the ladder, passed supplies up and down and remained extremely grateful for his willingness to work up high. The chancel area is now brightly lit and looks great.

Dave supervises the Advent Wreath construction

A few days later, Pat and Fred arrived and, as frequently happens, we put them to work almost immediately. We were in the middle of creating a larger-than-life Advent wreath for the parsonage front lawn. Using a 4ft table top, an abandoned artificial lighted Christmas tree, 20ft of PVC pipe, several end caps, some lamp sockets, some flame-like bulbs and a 3 cans of spray paint, we set to work. To create the wreath itself, our first task was to dismantle the Christmas tree. Using some bolt cutters, we separated the tree limbs from the tree. And then we painstakingly took the lights from each limb until we had separate strands of lights, 3 of which still lit. Using the lights, we wrapped the greens securely into a circle to cover the outer edge of the table. Next we determined a good height for the PVC candles that would look correct in proportion to the wreath. Using the chop saw in the wood shop, Dave cut 4 to a 22” height for the outer candles and 1 several inches taller for the Christ candle.

Fred, Barry, Cathy and Dave by wreath in place at parsonage

Since it was already Friday of the first week of advent, our timeline was a little accelerated. Ideally, the caps would be wired for the lights before painting, or the painting would take place several days before the wiring, so it would be completely dry. That wasn’t going to happen. Cathy took the “candles” and paint and spray painted 3 purple, 1 pink and the tallest one white. After a couple of coats, the candles looked pretty good, but only a hour later, we had moved them back inside to install them on the table and begin wiring the lights.

(Nearly) finished advent wreath. A socket is still needed in the Christ candle.

The bottom caps were secured to the table with screws and the top caps removed to cut a hole big enough for the light socket. (After one not-so-centered socket hole was drilled, we had to swap the top and bottom caps on that candle.) As the sun set, we were installing the last of the sockets and wiring them together to a single plug. Since another candle needed to be lit each week, the sophisticated solution was to leave the unlit candle bulbs loose in the socket until that candle was to be lit.

Since time was of the essence, we loaded the wreath into the back of Pastor Barry’s truck and headed over to put it in place. To our delight, it looked pretty good. And it brought some Christmas to the parsonage lawn. Pat and Fred had barely had time to take a breath before they finished their first project.

100 pallets on their way out of the campground

For years, the back of the campground at Faith had been the place where some debris had accumulated, but in 2020 a number of pallets started arriving with more regularity due to the distribution of food in nearby apartment complexes. By the time we arrived this fall, the count was nearing 200. So, to regain the space and access to a couple of campsites, we got the green light to place an ad in Craigslist. Within a few days, over 100 pallets were on a trailer pulling out. The rest left a week later. Of course, in the intervening week, 11 more arrived. And so it goes.

This tree split in half after a storm this fall

While the church had little damage from the recent hurricanes, one tree on the property didn’t survive one of the storms. The limbs had been cut away, but needed to be hauled away. With the unseasonably warm temperatures, disentangling these limbs and cutting them to manageable lengths was hot work. We were grateful when the last of the debris had been removed and we could get out of the heat.

One of dozens of internet switches in the inventory

Dave is the go-to parts guy for all this maintenance activity. And since we were heading north on the 12th of December, he did what he could to ensure those staying behind had what they needed to keep going on their projects. And, of course, we spent time working on the internet. There were several issues still outstanding since the summer’s lightning strike that could only be addresses in person. Cathy inventoried all the switches across the campus and collected 4 that needed to be returned. Dave worked on solving some problems with the livestream as well as problems in other spots on the campus. Of course, there will be more to do. Meanwhile Pat and Fred started working on several small engines: a blower, lawn mowers, etc. Butch and Cheri arrived about a week after we did, and within days he was fixing water pipes and working on tuning up the tractor.

Dave is the go-to parts guy for all this maintenance activity. And since we were heading north on the 12th of December, he did what he could to ensure those staying behind had what they needed to keep going on their projects.

Broken spring-loaded latch that needed to be replaced

RV Stuff

Shortly after arriving at Jacksonville, the latch on a large drawer in the galley broke off and would no longer secure the drawer shut. Luckily this happened after we were done moving for quite a while. Cathy ordered some replacements and worked to install them. While all of the “how-to” videos show how easy the installation is in a cabinet, the demos were not being done upside down inside a drawer. After much too long, she managed to get the replacement installed. However, since the latch was slightly smaller, it didn’t grab as tightly as the one it replaced, and this was a very big drawer (almost 3 ft). To ensure it stayed closed underway, she installed 2 latches equally spaced from the center line to give more holding power.

Enjoying our last evening on the balcony outside our room

Disney – Hilton Head

It was our second year visiting the Disney Hilton Head resort for a few days in mid-December. The time there was spent relaxing and enjoying the beautiful area around the resort.

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Late November - Thanksgiving

11/30/2022

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Thanksgiving Dinner

After a week of clean-up at the park, we left Pocahontas for Jarratt to visit our daughter’s family for Thanksgiving week. By month’s end, we were pulling into Faith UMC in Jacksonville, our home for the next few months.

New storage shelves in Well House

Cabin Work Week Clean-up

After 2 incredibly warm weeks of the project, winter came early to the park. Our clean-up week was a chilly one, so we were motivated to keep moving or seek out some heat. With some new shelves built in the Well House storage building, we were able to organize our supplies much better and with many hands, the work to collect the supplies from 3 different sites went quickly. We cleaned the cabins, blew off roofs, and took trash to the dumpsters. We even did some more scraping and painting of the Well House, the rear of which is the last of the building needing attention.

Nurse's Cabin with new ceiling and walls after painting

While the team had scrambled to install ceiling panels in the Nurse’s cabin late in the project, we had several days of painting ahead of us that transformed the interior of the building when completed. By Friday, we felt good about locking up, knowing we were in good shape for the next year. And, speaking of next year, we had barely completed the work for CWW 2022 before Dave was busy working on estimates and proposals for next year’s project.

The work does continue.

Soaking the kitchen faucet

RV Stuff

We had a couple of issues with the RV that had been lingering for a while, but finally needed more serious attention.

With the plummeting temperatures, we were using about 20% of a tank of propane every day to keep the RV warm. Knowing the current level of the tank became very important, so when it was clear that one of our sensors wasn’t reporting, we wanted to fix it quickly. Thinking it was just a battery, we were disappointed that replacing it made no difference. After a call to tech support, it was clear that the sensor needed to be replaced. Luckily one was available nearby, and it started reporting in reliably once installed. Gotta have some heat.

We have also been puzzled by a bad taste in our water. After sanitizing the tank a couple of times in the same number of months, we were disappointed that the problem kept returning. We made a discovery that it was not the tanks that were the problem, but our galley faucet. It has a pull down hose sprayer, and we suspected it wasn’t getting clean with our sanitizing efforts. So, we disassembled the faucet and soaked it in vinegar. While this worked somewhat, we still suspect the hose is part of the problem and we haven’t found a way to get at it yet. In the meantime, Dave has upgraded his water bottle to one that produces UV-C light to sanitize the water he drinks. So far, he pretty happy with it.

Playing the game of Life

Celebrations

We celebrated Droz’ 21st birthday together on a rainy evening that was brightened with balloons and cake. He appeared to enjoy it, even if it was spending time with the old folks.

Dave, Troy and Troy work on installing the fence panels

On Monday of Thanksgiving week, we moved to Bonnie and Troy’s. Part of our time there was spent helping finish the fence installation we had started last year. We also picked up a paint brush to paint the chicken coop. But most of our time was spent enjoying time together. Playing games, watching Christmas movies and, of course, eating. It is Thanksgiving after all.

Traveling South
On the Monday after Thanksgiving, we headed out for Jacksonville. It was a relatively quick trip south, spending only 1 night on the road. For the first time, we made use of a convenient free dump station at the Kenly 95 Truck stop at exit 106 on I-95 in NC. It was easy in and easy out. We also stopped at the new Buc-ee's near Florence and found a great price on diesel, easily 40 cents less than what we had been finding. (Although we could only brag so much, since Pat and Fred got a price almost 60 cents less the next day!) Spending the night at a Wal-mart in Manning, SC, we were boondocking for the first time in a long time. Given the chilly temperatures overnight, we ran the generator to provide heat in the evening.

The next day we arrived in Jacksonville, the temperatures were much improved from the chill we left in Virginia. And we are happy to be back at Faith.

Wonder what we will be up to next?

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Early November - Cabin Work Week 2022

11/13/2022

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New screens installed at 3rd Branch

The project came out of the preparation week with a tremendous head start. The screening and shutter repair work moved quickly from our primary site, 3rd Branch, to last year’s secondary site, Paspahegh. The work on the upper vents was so far ahead that, after completing 3rd Branch and Paspahegh, they returned to our 2019 site, Appamattuck, to finish the cabins there. (The vent work was something not in our work plan back then.) There were even shutter and screen repairs made to a squirrel-damaged cabin in last year’s Weyanock site.

Bill installs the last composite ridge cap on 3rd Branch Cabin 4.

The roofing team was able to install composite roofing on 2 cabins in 3rd Branch and finally was able to put a new composite roof on the historic shower house next to the Powhatan dining hall. This has been on our list for 3 project years. They were also able to repair holes in asphalt roofs in a 3rd Branch cabin, replace the outdoor kitchen roof on the 3rd Branch lodge and repair the damage caused by a fallen tree in a 2nd Branch Group cabin.

New closet and paneling in the Nurse's Cabin

Long-deferred work to finish the interior of the Algonquian Nurse’s Cabin was nearly completed, moving it closer to being able to be used by park visitors renting the dining hall. By the end of the 2nd week, we had completed the stabilization of 3rd Branch and Paspahegh, and had made repairs to cabins in all but one of the 6 group cabin sites.

Our Halloween decorations won an honorable mention

We also had some fun with new after work activities. Since Halloween fell on our first day of work, we had a Halloween decorating contest that brought out the creativity in our camping volunteers. We revisited the scavenger hunt that generated a lot more participation and some fun exchanges throughout the park.

Cathy’s sister Carolyn joined us for several days this year, helping with lunches (including providing one), painting and doing some screening. Bonnie, Troy and the kids joined us one evening while she was here, and Droz came by the next day for a long-overdue reunion with their aunt.

While the project preparation and execution is exhausting, the rewards of the work done, and the camaraderie of the volunteers reminds us each year why we keep coming back to do another one.

You can get a glimpse of the work and the fun in this year’s video, by clicking on the picture below:

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October - Fall Fun

10/29/2022

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Fall foliage in the park

In the final days leading up to our Cabin Work Week project, we broke away from preparations to visit with friends and family. We went sailing on the Chesapeake with Steve and Linda, had lunch with Droz, and exchanged visits with Bonnie’s family, all of which were a welcome break from the increasing list of project tasks. As the month was closing, our first volunteers were arriving to help us complete the final preparations.

Dave works the phones while Cathy works with a roller

Project Prep

As the project’s start approached, we spent more of our time doing the administrative work and less hands-on activities. We had to make some supply runs, assign campsites and assemble camper packets, assign volunteers to work teams, plan and develop off-work activities, and coordinate lunches. This was made more intense by a last minute (2 weeks before the project) email to the Virginia State Park host distribution list, which yielded a dozen new volunteers and filled our campsites for the first time in 5 years. The late rush meant there were daily emails about paperwork, site assignments, background checks, and more.

Shirley and Carolyn unloading supplies at 3rd Branch

Our pre-week team arrived on Monday, October 24th, and we began setting up our primary work site, 3rd Branch Group Cabins, for the work to come. Lowe’s delivered supplies to the site, which were stowed inside cabins, and the inventory of lumber, tools, fasteners, paints, screen, etc. was moved to 3rd Branch and organized. With the tools and supplies in place, we began getting our skeleton team experienced with some of the work to be done. A small team began stripping and re-installing screens, making and mounting new screen frames. Another team went to work on the upper vents, installing hardware cloth and screen to keep the squirrels and insects out. Yet another team began building replacement shutters. And we had painters painting more of the lumber, and staining the picnic tables. A busy, but productive week. And all the work ensured we had a group of team leaders ready to hit the ground running when the full project began.

Getting Away

It had been a couple of years since we had visited with Steve and Linda in Hampton. After an earlier visit was postponed by Ian’s arrival, we finally were able to get together in late October. We enjoyed time catching up, spending time together and taking a trip on the bay in Bay Dreamer. It was a beautiful weekend, so the wait was worth it. We also took some time while there to clean out much of our boating supplies up in their attic, which was kind of liberating. Even with all of our downsizing, we have too much stuff.

Troy sports his first attempt at writing with his router.

We had a visit from Bonnie and the kids one weekend, where we tried out our new Hershey s’mores basket for the first time – gaining experience with it for the s’mores competition during Cabin Work Week. The next weekend, we visited with Bonnie, Troy and the kids at their place. Grandpa helped Troy assemble and use the router we had given him, so he was able to make his first sign. And Daddy Troy took each of us for a ride in his ATV. That was between volleyball games with Taylor. It was a fun day.

Night hike to the Gill-Dance cemetery with tea lights illuminating the graves.

Parting Shot

For the first time in 3 years, we were asked by the park to drive the hay wagon on a hay ride. The new CCC Museum curator was planning a nighttime hay ride to the cemetery (there are many in the park) that has the graves from the Gill and Dance families. This was a little nerve-racking since we would have a narrow spot to turn the wagon around at the end of the ride and it would be very dark (no moon). We learned at the last minute that there was another spot to turn around that would be much easier. It was. So, we were able to turn the wagon around and then join the group at the cemetery for a magical experience and an interesting talk about the history of the area before it was a park.

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Late September - Staying the Course

9/30/2022

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Dave powerwashes the picnic table on a deck before making repairs

Summer was reluctant to give up its hold on central Virginia as September was coming to a close. But after sweating through several 90 degree days mid-month, we had switched from AC to heat and were cozy inside as Ian’s remnants made their way through the park on the last day of the month. Despite Mother Nature’s tantrums, we continued to make progress on project preparations.

Dave and Kevin cut boards for a repair

Project Work

While administrative work is pretty much a daily activity, once the larger wood and supply orders were placed for Cabin Work Week, we turned more of our attention to hands-on work. The boards that have been drying out over the past year are now ready to be primed and painted, preferably before the project starts. So, we started working our way through our large inventory.

In addition, there are 75 to 100 screens in each cabin site, and most need re-screening. Some need to be completely rebuilt. That means lots of frame wood and screen trim. While another volunteer had already ripped boards into hundreds of screen trim pieces. We took some scrap wood and ripped it to make wood for new screen frames. Then all of this wood needed to be primed and painted.

We had help with the painting. On Public Lands Day, the last Saturday in September, we were joined by 7 volunteers who primed all of that screen trim and got the finish coat on much of the frame wood and some 100 pieces of screen trim. While all of this was going on, another couple of volunteers scraped and primed a nearby building used by the Virginia Master Naturalists, and yet another patched holes in siding in this year’s group cabin site.

Dave and Kevin fit new board on Hotel Pocahontas deck

During the last week, we were joined by Kevin, who is a new Cabin Work Week volunteer. The park had asked for help repairing a deck behind a building they call Hotel Pocahontas, but it was originally the Algonquin Ecology Camp’s administrator residence. The deck and door threshold were rotting in part because there are no gutters on the building. In preparation for that work to be done, we powerwashed the deck, replaced rotted deck boards and re-built the back door threshold that was seriously compromised. Once the gutters are in place (likely in October), there is a reasonable chance the repairs will hold for quite a while.

Returning from a tour in the rain

Guests

What a treat to get 2 visits within a couple of days from friends passing through the area. Susan and Frank Davis arrived on a Sunday afternoon as they made their way back to Jacksonville (and to prepare for Ian’s arrival). We took them on a tour of the group cabins that was cut short by the arrival of a downpour. Good sports, they weathered the rain in our long golf cart ride back to their car and had smiles despite the turn in the weather. Also, since Faith still had some devices that were not working due to the lightning strike back in July, Dave configured a new router that should replace one that failed and sent it on its way with Susan and Frank. One more small step forward.

Fred and Pat at Pocahontas for the night

A day later, Cathy awoke to a text from Pat that she and Fred might be stopping that day nearby on their way south to Charleston. Trying to get in to the their destination campground in NC before Ian’s arrival, they were just passing through. After working with them to try to secure a spot at a nearby Walmart (who said no), we lured them back to the park with us for the night, and had a good time catching up.

Parting Shot

We had a not so welcome passenger on the golf cart one day. He got off at the next stop. Or so we hope.

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Early September - Back in Virginia

9/17/2022

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Arriving in Reston just before Labor Day weekend, we were one stop away from our final destination for the next few months at Pocahontas State Park. This was the latest date for our return to the park before our annual Cabin Work Week project, so we pretty quickly got to work assessing inventory and creating orders for supplies needed for this year’s project.

At Lake Fairfax Park campground

Lake Fairfax

Our return to Reston had us arriving just as the holiday traffic was beginning. We were grateful to be pulling in on a Thursday, avoiding the peak of the traffic on Friday. Against our better judgment, we did venture out on Friday and so did just about everybody else. We confined much of our exploration to the park for most of the weekend, although we did visit with Cookie and Jerry on Sunday night – one of our main reasons for stopping back in Reston on our way back south.

Dave measuring deck for replacement boards

Pocahontas State Park

Time at Pocahontas quickly falls into a schedule of sorts. Mornings take us to the work site to inventory supplies, assess the site, or start preparing wood for the project. Afternoons find us back at the RV working on computers or phones as we work to finalize volunteer lists, research and order supplies, plan activities or some other project-related activity. We have occasional meetings with park staff and other hosts.

Troy and Taylor at Pocahontas

On the weekends, we have visits with family – Bonnie and Troy’s family and Droz, including one Saturday at Busch Gardens.

RV Stuff

Our backup camera at the back of the RV had become an essential tool for Dave to back the RV into a campsite. Since it was installed last year, it had performed flawlessly – until it didn’t. Pulling into Lake Fairfax, the camera signal just wasn’t there on the monitor.

Thinking it was a loose wire, Dave crawled up on the roof of the RV to check. While Cathy watched the monitor, Dave adjusted wires and the cameras position, but nothing changed. To ensure the problem was with the camera and not the connections in between, we swapped out the camera on the back of the RV with the one from the truck that shows the truck bed. When that worked, we decided to make it a permanent change. Before we were done, we discovered that now both cameras worked. With the 2 cameras swapped, all was good, although it wasn’t clear what caused the outage.

Parting Shots

Passing into Maryland on route 15 from Pennsylvania, we stopped at a welcome center that had a display about the creation of the border between the 2 states. With lots of conflict between the two colonies, a definitive border needed to be set. Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon took on the task with what was state of the art technology for its day. Using a transit device to determine the direction for the border line, and a gunter’s chain to measure distance, they set “crown” stones every 5 miles. These had been carved in England and shipped to the colonies to be placed with William Penn’s crest on the PA side and Lord Calvert’s on the MD side. While the Mason-Dixon line has some uglier connotations from later US history, it was originally about ending a conflict, not starting one.

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Late August - NY to PA

8/31/2022

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Having moved south out of NY’s North Country, we were winding down our travel through the state. Our last 2 stops in Cooperstown and Bainbridge brought us south to Pennsylvania where we finished out the month.

Near Cooperstown. It's not glamorous, but it's home for 2 days.

Cooperstown, NY

“Weight Limit 5 tons”.

What was that? We were at the end of our day’s travel and only a couple of miles from our destination at a Harvest Host site outside of Cooperstown.

Down that weight-restricted road.

Since our truck and rig weighs about 9 tons, we called our host for the night to ask what was ahead of us. He was confused about the sign, saying he had taken full dump trucks up and down that road. Since this was the north entrance, we looked at the south entrance to the road. It crossed a bridge that CoPilot (our RV-customized navigation software) gave no information about, which usually means it's OK, but not always. We opted to drive south to cross the bridge and, while driving called the local Sheriff’s office to get more info. They had none.

As we approached the bridge, we breathed a sign of relief when it was a 13-ton limit. A short distance and no more restrictions later, we were greeted by our host in person and backed into a full hook-up site for the next 2 nights. Later, we drove the road and saw nothing that was weight limited on its full length, but we would have had an even more stressful arrival if we had seen the weed-obstructed 5-ton limit sign that we had missed on our journey north on the road.

Dave at Fly Creek Cider Mill

When you hear Cooperstown, even if you’re not a baseball fan, you think Baseball Hall of Fame. While we are aware of this big attraction, we were not in the area very long, and not sure how we would spend our time. Driving through “downtown” Cooperstown on the south shore of Otsego Lake, we were taken aback by the congestion generated by the Hall of Fame. Maneuvering our long-bed truck into some tight parking was not appealing, and given our short stay, we decided to include the baseball tour on another visit.

Instead, we visited the nearby Fly Creek Cider Mill and drove around to the northeast shore of Otsego Lake (which is, by the way the source of the Susquehanna River) to see Hyde Hall within Glimmerglass State Park.

The cider press stands ready for this year's first apples.

Fly Creek Cider Mill has been using the waters of Fly Creek to power its cider press for 165 years. The family-owned business is a destination that includes tastings, tours, a shop full of their own and local merchandise and an adjacent snack bar that has some great food. When we sampled their cider, we both were amazed at the fresh unadulterated taste of just apples. It was August after all. How was that possible? We spoke to the owner about this and he explained that once the cider is pressed, it is UV-stabilized and then he freezes 5,000 gallons. That allows him to sell fresh cider throughout the year. After our tasting, we chose to have a glass of cider as the drink included with our hot pot roast sandwich (another delectable treat) and then took a gallon home with us.

Hyde Hall in Glimmerglass State Park

Pulling into Glimmerglass State Park, we expected to check out the campground, drive through the park and then hike one or 2 of its trails. What we didn’t expect to do was tour an early 19th century mansion sitting on a hill overlooking the park. Glimmerglass was originally part of the Clarke family estate, and when the state acquired the lands for the park, it also became the owner of the mansion, named Hyde Hall. The state was originally less than thrilled with having this albatross on its hands and planned to tear it down to build tennis courts. A Clarke family descendant went to work to keep this from happening. Eventually, a non-profit was formed to preserve the house and began the difficult and painstaking process of restoring it.

Hyde Hall dining room

Hyde Hall was the largest private house constructed in the US between the Revolution and the Civil War. The house was built from locally-quarried limestone, and although this gave the exterior an institutional appearance, it ensured the building would survive. However, the interior had been allowed to deteriorate badly after the last of the family moved out in the 1960’s. As a result it took years of work and money to restore it to much of its original glory. As the transformation took place, much of the original furnishings and items were brought back to the mansion. The tour therefore allowed you to step back in time to 1835 when the original George and Ann Clarke were in residence.

Bust of Anna Clarke Pell

The Clarkes had a tempestuous relationship with their tenant farmers. The George Clarke who built the mansion had inherited the land (120,000 acres) from a great-grandfather, who amassed it while serving as Secretary and then Lt. Gov of NY in the early 1700’s . Grandson George arrived in America shortly after the Revolutionary War to make the claim that even though he was British, he could keep this land, since he didn’t fight in the war on the side of the British. To the dismay of the locals, he won his claim. However, over the next century relations with the tenant-farmers erupted into a couple of “Rent Wars” that took a toll on the family’s fortunes.

Lighting the vapor chandelier

One of the more interesting “state of the art” items built into the elaborate mansion were vapor chandeliers. These had no candles, and the wick served only to ignite an alcohol mixture that burned without the soot that might darken walls and ceilings. We were given a demonstration of the lighting process. Also, to our surprise on our tour was one of the Clarke descendants who had visited the hall as a child.

Each fireplace in the house is made of a different kind of stone. This one is in George Clarke's office under a map of his holdings.

General Clinton town park was our home for 4 days in south central NY.

General Clinton Park - Bainbridge, NY

We found this little town park in Bainbridge NY through Passport America, though it is not a typical Passport America campground. The town doesn’t take reservations, and we wanted to stay over the weekend. So we arrived on a Thursday and easily found a spot with water and electric. Although not officially a pull-through site, we were able to enter it as if it were. Very easy. After walking around the park, we discovered there were dozens and dozens of sites available. That must be how they host the FMCA rally each year. When we asked a local what there is to do around Bainbridge, he initially couldn’t think of anything. But then he mentioned a band concert on Friday night. We also discovered a few things on our own.

Cathy holds on tight as the giraffe gets his treat.

About 20 minutes SW of Bainbridge was the Animal Adventure Park. This zoo is just off I88, but not near anything else. We visited on a particularly hot day, so some of the animals were either lethargic or retreating in the shade. But one of the popular features of the park is buying a feeding bucket. The bucket and the animal enclosures are labeled with a) whether the animal could be fed and b) what of our bucket contents they would eat. We started out with the giraffes. While the giraffes liked our lettuce leaves, we also bought an acacia branch, which was a much bigger hit. We had to hold on tight as they wrapped their tongue around a section and stripped off the leaves. It was a lot of fun. And since we had enough to spare, we offered some of the experience to some kids nearby.

Baby cuddles with her mom

We could tell the zoo was thriving by the number of babies throughout the exhibits. Monkeys, camels, donkeys, zebras, kangaroos and goats. Lots of goats. There must have been 20 kids with a few more due any day. And babies of any species are pretty cute.

Bandstand on the Village Green in Bainbridge

We enjoyed other small-town activities while staying in Bainbridge. The American Legion had a chicken BBQ, which did not disappoint us. The nearby ice cream stand had some pretty amazing custard. And we did make our way to the band concert on Friday night. After a stop at Bob’s Diner in town to pick up some dinner, we walked down to the Village Green park to enjoy the concert from the Bainbridge Old Time Band. This park had anchored the small downtown since its founding in the 1820’s. The Presbyterian church that was the backdrop for the concert had existed nearly as long. It was a beautiful summer evening and we enjoyed our meal and music all the more on this pleasant night.

Into PA - Saylorsburg

Leaving Bainbridge on a rainy Monday, we headed to the small town of Saylorsburg on the edge of the Poconos in PA. We planned to stay at the private Silver Valley Campground for 3 nights, expecting to spend one of our days visiting Dave’s Mom and sister in Whitehall. Then we would move to PA Dutch country for the last week before Labor Day.

Front steps on Fairmont Street after repair waiting to dry.

Whitehall where Dave's Mom lives with his sister Diane, was a 45 minute drive south from Saylorsburg. We traveled down for a day to visit and help out a bit. The big project this day was a masonry repair to the front steps. A few bricks had loosened recently and successive past repairs had not held up. The adhesive was reported to be thick and difficult to apply with a regular caulk gun. Dave decided to take this opportunity to expand his Ryobi tool set with a power caulk gun. By the time we had removed, scraped and treated all the bricks with muriatic acid, we were grateful for the ease of the power gun. Since the repair had to set for a week, we left hoping we had done what was needed to make the repair stick this time. (Pun intended.) We enjoyed the time to visit, and were treated to Pam’s delicious turkey dinner and Mom’s assistance with our laundry while we worked on the front steps.

The next day we decided to visit the nearby historic town of Jim Thorpe to take the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway. After snagging a standalone street side parking spot that was just big enough for the truck, we made our way to the center of the historic downtown, which was the train station, to buy our train tickets. This 70 minute train ride took us north from Jim Thorpe along the Lehigh River into Lehigh Gorge State Park. We chose the open air car, which had benches along the center of the car, allowing passengers easy access to the views on either side of the car.

The opera house hosted many stars during its heyday. Mauch Chunk was a popular escape from NYC and Philadelphia, since it was a short train ride.

We spent the rest of our 4-hours (dictated by the parking meter), exploring the historic district. The town was founded as Mauch Chunk, the Lenape tribe’s name for the nearby Sleeping Bear Mountain. The name change to Jim Thorpe came in the 1950’s as the town made an
agreement with Jim Thorpe’s widow to create a memorial for the Olympic athlete. The town’s fortunes rose with the coal mining industry, and, more specifically, the Lehigh Coal and Navigation company during the 1800’s. The wealth generated by the industry was evidenced by the distinctive buildings along main Street.

This 3D painting of Amish quilters at work was done by Aaron Zook and hung at the Shady Maple restaurant.

PA Dutch Country - Manheim PA

Moving southwest out of the Poconos, we were headed for a small town between Lebanon, Lancaster and Hershey. The oddly-named Pinch Pond Campground was located on I76 (and we mean ON I76) near the small town of Manheim. As with our previous destinations, we arrived without a specific plan, but developed one day by day. Driving south and west through PA Dutch country we discovered the restored site of the Ephrata Cloister, an early experiment in monastic living that found expression in William Penn’s colony that espoused freedom of religion. We ate fresh ice cream at an Amish dairy farm, and tried some shoofly pie and Lebanon bologna.

Strasburg RR engine

And we decided to take another historic train – the oldest, continuously operating railroad in North America – Strasburg Railroad. This time, our open air car and the others on the train were restored to pristine condition and pulled by a steam engine. We took a 45 minute ride through the surrounding PA farmland to the optimistically-named town of Paradise and back.

Dave climbing Governor Dick observation tower

Over the weekend, we decided to avoid the crowds by exploring some local parks. We climbed up to the Observation tower atop the nearby Governor Dick hill. To get to the top of the tower and its views we had to climb 8 ladders inside a narrow column. Luckily there were separate ladders going down. There was no room to pass someone inside. The view was worth it, and the 8 ladders back down were tight, but still easier to navigate than those going up. The next day we followed the tow path around the Union Canal Tunnel in Lebanon.

Cathy's personalized candy bar comes off the line

But we saved the sweetest stop for last, spending a couple of days visiting Hershey’s Chocolate Town. We designed our own chocolate bar and watched as it was made and packaged. We took a trolley tour, narrated by a former student at Milton Hershey’s school, a cost-free private school for children. There were other shows and lots of chocolate samples along the way. Luckily, we don’t live close enough to go there on a regular basis or our waistlines would pay the price.

Although the temperatures weren’t cooperating, summer was coming to a close. We had one more stop on the road before landing at Pocahontas. On the first of September, we pulled out and headed south for Virginia.

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Early August - Way Up North

8/19/2022

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Campsite by the St. Lawrence seaway near Massena NY

Leaving Rochester on the first of August, we headed even further upstate into NY’s north country along the St. Lawrence River. We could tell just how far north when our cell phones were mostly tuned to Canadian cell towers. This circuit gave us a chance to spend time with our grandson living in Massena and enjoy some of summer’s bounty.

View from Cedar Point State Park

Cedar Point State Park

Cedar Point State Park sits on the St. Lawrence River as it approaches Lake Ontario. With a beach, a dock and a boat launch, its appeal is all about the water. The campground sites were pretty tight, but we managed to get into our full hook-up site without too much difficulty. (Of course anything would be easier than the last one at Hamlin Beach.)

With only a day to explore the area, we drove into nearby Clayton and walked the historic downtown streets. Next, we drove down the road to the Thousand Islands Winery, a Harvest Host location, to check it out as a possible stop and to sample their wines. We opted for a wine slushie flight, which was a pleasant change from the typical tasting.

Jayden with Grandma and Grandpa

Robert Moses State Park

It has been almost six years since we last pulled into Robert Moses State Park on the St. Lawrence near Massena NY. At that time, we were on our way back from Alaska. Our reason for staying here were the same now as then – to visit our grandson Jayden living nearby. While we had visited with him many times in the intervening years while he was in Virginia, this year was our turn to travel north to see him.

Must be my electric personality

Robert Moses State Park was a “by-product” of the creation of 2 massive infrastructure projects. One was the St. Lawrence – FDR Power project, a hydro-power plant first proposed by Governor Roosevelt in the 30’s, that feeds electricity to a power-hungry state. The 2nd was an enhancement to the St. Lawrence Seaway, creating a series of locks to enable commercial ship traffic from the midwest and Canadian cities to pass more easily and reliably around the St. Lawrence rapids.

Passing under the Eisenhower lock

The park is built on the land that surrounds these 2 projects, offering camping, nature trails, and water access for boating and swimming. Entering the park, the road passes under the lock entrance via a tunnel. On more than 1 occasion, we passed under as a ship was moving over us. Cool. There is a visitor center for the power plant, but much more interesting to us was the lock. We spent an afternoon at the observation platform right on the edge of the lock, watching ships maneuver in and out of the locks with precision requiring inches of accuracy.

Jayden lights the fire while Grandpa "supervises"

While there, despite record high temperatures, we enjoyed the time together with our grandson doing some camping favorites, mostly involving food. As the evening temperatures cooled, we lit a campfire, pulled out the marshmallows and chocolate and made our first s’mores this year. There were campfire pies and hobo packs. And we even tried out a new shade-mounted screen to watch a movie – until a thunderstorm made us scramble to put it all a way. Luckily, the rain mostly held off for the weekend, so Jayden’s tent stayed dry. And to escape the heat, we did some birthday shopping and explored the nature center in the park. It was a great weekend, and well worth the trip.

Salmon River - by Babbling Brook RV Park

Babbling Brook RV Park – Fort Covington NY
Leaving Massena on a Monday, we headed a short distance east to a private campground, still within 6 miles of the Canadian border. The park was aptly named for the sound coming from the nearby Salmon River, which provided a soothing background noise as it rushed over the rocks nearby. The heat had finally subsided, so we were treated to a week of fall-like weather that made our explorations all the more enjoyable. While we didn’t know exactly what we would find in this remote northeast corner of NY, our week-long stay found enough to make our visit interesting – a visit to Almanzo Wilder’s farm, a relaxing horse-ride, and a rousing dance band and BBQ on Friday night. Oh, and Dave got to exchange internet installation ideas with some contractors on site.

Babe and Star were calves that Almanzo trained using a small yoke such as this one.

Almanzo Wilder was the husband of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the author of the Little House series of books. Her 2nd book, Farmer Boy, was about Almanzo’s childhood on his family’s farm near Malone NY. The Wilders left the farm when Almanzo was 18. It is now open for tours. We had an amazingly knowledgeable young man on what turned out to be a private tour. Throughout the farm, illustrations from the book were used to relate the Wilders' life on the farm to the buildings and items we were seeing.

Cathy rides Laura at the end of our trail ride.

On Saturday, we took a trail ride at a local stable that took in rescue animals, including many Amish horses that were no able to work as they had been trained to do. The stable owner was our guide, leading us through the woods, along the creek and back. It was a beautiful day for the ride, and with only the three of us on the ride, we had time to get to know her and the history of the stables. The pandemic and some serious health setbacks had taken their toll, but the generosity and compassion of the nearby Amish community had transformed the difficulties into a blessing. It was a wonderful story of grace.

Dave on his horse Don along the trail

We tried some local eateries, sampling ice cream nachos, a Michigan hot dog and Maple ice cream made with local maple syrup, just to name a few delicacies. The nearby farm stand was a source of fresh corn that tasted great just off the grill.

When we were back at the campground, Dave had some long conversations with a team installing a series of WiFi antenna towers that were going to dramatically improve the campground’s service. He was able to compare notes about some newer technology that might help with some on-going problems at Faith, such as a grounded ethernet cable (Cat8) that might withstand lightning strikes and wifi antennas that could extend the signal without cables. All food for thought, given our almost daily phone calls with Pastor Barry and Nelson from Faith diagnosing the fall-out from the mid-July lightning strike.

Tug Hill Estate Winery
After a week at Babbling Brook, it was time to move on, and our travels turned south for the first time since leaving FL in May. Our stop was a Harvest Host site called Tug Hill, just east of the tiny town of Lowville. The winery was indeed on a hill, with a commanding view of the farms and windmills that stretched out in all directions. The winery buildings sat amidst large fields of blueberries and grapes and smaller sections of apple orchards and flowers.

In our spot at Tug Hill Estate

This would be our first time truly boondocking (i.e. no shore power) in over a year. But the cool nights made that less of a concern. What became a concern upon our arrival was the designated parking spots, which were all on grass. When we tried to find a spot that would be comfortably level and still allow us room to maneuver to the exit, we were sinking too much into the soft ground. This wasn’t going to work. After some discussion with the staff, we were allowed to park in the gravel parking lot, since no events were planned that night.

It didn’t take us long to get to the blueberry fields. What started as 2 quarts eventually grew to 4, as we went back out in the evening and again the next morning before leaving. We cooled off from our picking by enjoying one “flight” of wine slushies (actually one of them was a blackberry brandy slushie) and another flight of 2 brandies and 2 wines. Relaxing on the deck overlooking the valley was a beautiful end to the day. The next morning we would be heading further south, making our way very slowly back to Virginia.

Parting Shot

This face was carved into a tree at the Nature Center within Robert Moses State Park.

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Late July - 'Round Rochester

7/31/2022

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By mid-July we had arrived back in the Rochester area, where we would spend the next 2 weeks – first at a Boondocker’s Welcome home for a couple of days, and then at Hamlin Beach State Park for the rest of the month. Between visits with friends and family, we made some repairs on the RV, explored some new places, and enjoyed some local favorite food.

An impressive solar array at our host's in Riga NY.

Riga, NY

As we drove down the long driveway, we couldn’t help but notice the huge solar array that greeted us at our Boondocker’s Welcome host in Riga NY, a Rochester suburb. We backed into a gravel pad next to the house and set up, but we arrived just a little early. The host had been motivated by our arrival to install a planned 50Amp outlet, and given the forecasted 90 degree temperatures, it would be welcome. There were just a couple of glitches.

Arriving shortly after noon, Val had not completed the final step of the install. We also had not parked quite close enough to the outlet to reach from the RV with our 50Amp cord alone. No problem. Or so we thought. We just had to use an adaptor and our 30Amp cord. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the right adaptor. We needed a male 50 to female 30amp plug. We had a female to male 50-30 adaptor. So, we made a run to Walmart to pick up the missing part, and we were back in cool air. Our hosts were busy folks with work and family, but we got to talk a few times over our stay. We learned more about the solar array that produces more power than they can use, and got to sample some fresh zucchini and basil from the garden.

Jell-o Museum display

While waiting for our reservation at Hamlin Beach State Park, we did a little sightseeing that we missed when we lived in the area. Where to? Well, there’s always room for Jell-O. That’s right, Jell-O was invented and produced for decades in nearby LeRoy NY. There is a cute museum, just south of downtown near the original factory. From the original 4 flavors (lime, strawberry, lemon and orange), the company expanded to add some very popular (e.g., cherry, raspberry) and some disastrously unpopular (coffee, chocolate) flavors. The marketing efforts evolved over the decades from traveling salesman on “Jell- wagons” passingO out free samples and recipe books, to the Jell-O girl, to original artwork for print media, souvenirs and more. There was even an entire wall of Jell-O molds.

This restored wagon was one of many that traveled the countryside promoting and selling Jell-O.

In the basement of the Jell-O Museum was a sampling of antique modes of transportation – from a Jell-o wagon to a very early bicycle. And adjacent to the museum was the historic LeRoy house, built in the early 1800’s, it had served many purposes in its history before being donated to the local historical society in the 1930’s. One of its more unique antiques was a music box with a huge (around 2 ft in diameter) changeable metal plate that serenaded its owners with songs from Yankee Doodle Dandy to Fur Elise. Our guide treated us to a sample song. All of that touring made us hungry, and we found just the right lunch nearby. Beef on weck. Thin sliced roast beef on a salted caroway seed bun. Hard to describe, but this one was delicious.

Bikers on a path by the lake at Hamlin Beach State Park

Hamlin Beach State Park

Last year, we began taking “inventory” of campsites at campgrounds that we frequent in order to remind ourselves of the better campsites. Unfortunately, we didn’t do this at Hamlin Beach last year. That proved to be a very poor decision. So, we made this year's choice based on availability and the best look that a satellite picture would provide. As we approached our site – D147 for those who care -- the obstacles were many. There were trees situated just on either side of the opening. The road was narrow and there was little “shoulder” of open space on either side of our approach on the road. We tried several different approaches and each would get us wedged in uncomfortably close to some obstacle. To add to the stress, this was a record-setting heat day, and we were holding up traffic on the one-way campground road.

Site D147

But, as has happened a number of times on our travels, we quickly discovered we had more help at hand before we even asked. That car being held up? Well that was the off-duty park manager. When she understood our dilemma, she called over Cliff from Maintenance. He was able to help us finally get the RV into the site and we breathed a sigh of relief. And over the next week, we made a complete list of sites that we like. Site D147 is not on it.

Cathy with John and Kathy at their home on Lake Ontario.

The good news about our site was that, once in it, it was nicely shaded and the temperatures moderated a bit over the next week and a half. We took down our bikes and explored the park, visited with friends and, of course, checked in with the dentist. Retracing our steps in a culinary way, we sampled some ice cream from Abbotts, Byrne Dairy Lu-Gia’s and Pittsford Dairy, had some Dinosaur BBQ, and Zwiegle’s hots.

With the stove removed, the converter sits by the wall in the back of the cavity.

RV Stuff

Our last update was written in the middle of some problems with the RV’s electrical system. While in Hamlin, we were able to get some mail (thanks, Carol) which included a replacement converter and a battery charger. The converter was no longer consistently charging the batteries, although ironically shortly after pulling into Hamlin, it started working again. In theory, replacing the converter was simple. Just watch the folks on Youtube. Unplug it from AC, disconnect 3 wires and then re-plug and connect the 3 new wires. It would take maybe 10 minutes. Right? Not exactly.

Dave working to remove the stove that sits above the converter

Our converter was located under the stove and behind the circuit panel. So, just to get at it, we needed to turn off the propane. Since we also had to disconnect the batteries, this meant the fridge was no longer on while we worked. Since the stove also has lights and electric start, we had to cut the wired connections to the stove. After removing the cover, we removed the screws holding the stove in place and carefully pulled it out.

It lights! Success.

Then it should have been easy to replace the converter, right? Well, not exactly. It appeared the ground wire passed through the converter from another device to the panel. To make this work, we decided to leave the ground wire in its connector, but move the connector from the old to the new converter. This was probably the hardest part of the install, as Dave hung upside down in the cavity that used to hold the oven and removed and re-installed the ground. Despite the difficulties, it didn’t take that long to finish the install, reconnect the wires on the stove, re-connect the propane and re-install the stove. With the propane back on, the stove lit, the fridge started up, and more importantly, the batteries have been charging consistently since. Fingers crossed.

Our Iota Battery charger

With the uncertainty of the RV’s converter, we decided to install our own battery charger, an Iota similar to the one used on the boat for years, and our last RV. It arrived before the converter and its install was pretty simple. We placed it on the wall in the bay just on the other side of the battery compartment. The converter arrived and was installed the next day, so although we have a backup to charge the batteries we haven’t had to use it. Yet.

This part was the source of our In-Command problems.

Our final problem has been some problems with our In-Command system – a control panel for the RV’s systems. The screen had been freezing and losing communication off and on. A possible solution was a replacement “end of line” resistor that had to be installed on the RVP Gateway inside the A/C. It also arrived while in Hamlin. This was another “simple” install that was made more complex by the position of the gateway deep inside the A/C intake on the roof of the living room. Working overhead on a step stool, Dave managed to move aside the obstacles enough to replace the old resistor with the new one. Then we had to do a system reset. That meant disconnecting from shore power and the batteries. When the system came back online, everything still worked. Again, only time will tell whether the fix is permanent, but so far so good.

Parting Shot

When we were pulling out of Hamlin Beach we found this nest lodged inside our hitch pin. We placed it carefully on top of the nearby power pedestal and told the park staff about it, but it seems a long shot that the egg will eventually hatch. But who knows?

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