Mmmm . . .Tom Wahl's and a frosty mug. Well not quite the same as it used to be. Leaving DC on June 1st, we made our way north toward Rochester, making a couple of stops in Pennsylvania. We planned our stay in and around Rochester around some dentist appointments, so we pulled into Hamlin Beach State Park the day before the 1st of these. While in the area, we enjoyed reconnecting with some friends.
among the rhododentrons in bloom at Ives Run Through Pennsylvania
Since our motivation for moving north in the summer months is to seek cooler temperatures, we were a little dismayed that our first couple of days in PA found us in the mid 90’s. Since we had electricity at both of our stops, we were still cool. We retraced last summer’s travels a bit as we made our way to a Harvest Host, Armstrong Valley Winery in Halifax. Unlike our last stay, we had only 1 neighbor during our 1 night stay, since there was no festival this time. However, the hospitality was just as warm, and we enjoyed a “charcuterie box” and wine slushies on their deck overlooking the vineyards that evening.
Since our motivation for moving north in the summer months is to seek cooler temperatures, we were a little dismayed that our first couple of days in PA found us in the mid 90’s. Since we had electricity at both of our stops, we were still cool. We retraced last summer’s travels a bit as we made our way to a Harvest Host, Armstrong Valley Winery in Halifax. Unlike our last stay, we had only 1 neighbor during our 1 night stay, since there was no festival this time. However, the hospitality was just as warm, and we enjoyed a “charcuterie box” and wine slushies on their deck overlooking the vineyards that evening.
Cathy enjoying NY pizza just inside NY. Our next stop was one of our favorites – Ives Run Campground, which is an Army COE park on the Tioga Reservoir near the PA-NY border. We made our requisite trip to Jones Kones for some ice cream while we ran some errands. We had the unusual experience of buying fuel for the truck in NY, walking across the parking lot to PA to do laundry and then back across the same lot to NY to get a slice of pizza from the convenience store where we had just fueled up. During our stay, the heat dissipated, and we enjoyed pleasantly cool temperatures for most of the next couple of weeks.
The smoke from the Canadian fires turned the sun into an orange ball. Hamlin Beach (Rochester, NY)
The drive north out of PA to Rochester was under a hazy sky that only got worse over the next 2 days. We were in the path of the intense fires from Quebec. A day that should have had a clear blue sky looked grey, and the visibility limited as well. The sun had a strange look, as if someone had placed an orange ball in the sky without the accompanying warmth. This was not exactly what we expected as we pulled into Hamlin Beach. Partly because school was still in session and partly because of the smoke, we had few neighbors until the weekend.
Dave had 2 dentist appointments 2 weeks apart, so we had to plan our stay accordingly. That meant spending 1 week at Hamlin Beach, 4 days at a private campground close to Lockport and then another 6 days at Hamlin. With that schedule we were able to navigate the 14-day stay restrictions for the state park.
The drive north out of PA to Rochester was under a hazy sky that only got worse over the next 2 days. We were in the path of the intense fires from Quebec. A day that should have had a clear blue sky looked grey, and the visibility limited as well. The sun had a strange look, as if someone had placed an orange ball in the sky without the accompanying warmth. This was not exactly what we expected as we pulled into Hamlin Beach. Partly because school was still in session and partly because of the smoke, we had few neighbors until the weekend.
Dave had 2 dentist appointments 2 weeks apart, so we had to plan our stay accordingly. That meant spending 1 week at Hamlin Beach, 4 days at a private campground close to Lockport and then another 6 days at Hamlin. With that schedule we were able to navigate the 14-day stay restrictions for the state park.
Vicki and Ron joined us for dinner at a nearby restaurant From our base at Hamlin, we were able to make several trips to see friends. Ron and Vicki from Cathy’s Kodak days joined us for dinner on Braddock Bay one evening. While we have connected with Ron several times on our recent Rochester visits, this was the first time Vicki (who retired in March) was able to join us.
Kathy and John A few days later, we were headed 30 minutes further west, visiting with Kathy and John at their house on Lake Ontario. The cool temperatures coaxed us inside for the first time on our visits to enjoy a delicious meal and even better company. The Canadian smoke was easing enough that we finally were able to snap a sunset picture over the lake.
Our friends, Joanne and Ralph, from our cruising days invited us to join them for breakfast and a sail on Lake Ontario on their boat. The forecasted rain held off long enough to give us a beautiful sail in a light breeze.
Our home for 4 days near Gasport NY Niagara Hartland RV Resort (Gasport)
“You should go to the Lockport Cave.” That was the top recommendation for things to do as we moved to a small campground about an hour west of Rochester in Gasport. We were near the Erie Canal a short distance from Lockport, famous for its original “Lockport Flight” of 5 locks. Using some rainy day downtime on the day we arrived, Cathy started learning what the caves were about to plan a trip for the following day. That is, until the search results started proposing stories about “Lockport Cave tour boat capsizes” from 34 minutes earlier. As she started to read, it became apparent that this was an unfolding story that was getting national attention. The center of Lockport was closed down as rescuers were trying to reach the 29 people who were on the boat for its noon tour. While 28 were rescued with only minor injuries, one person was caught under the boat and did not survive. It was unsettling to say the least, since a day later, we would likely have been on that boat.
Instead, we found other things to do.
“You should go to the Lockport Cave.” That was the top recommendation for things to do as we moved to a small campground about an hour west of Rochester in Gasport. We were near the Erie Canal a short distance from Lockport, famous for its original “Lockport Flight” of 5 locks. Using some rainy day downtime on the day we arrived, Cathy started learning what the caves were about to plan a trip for the following day. That is, until the search results started proposing stories about “Lockport Cave tour boat capsizes” from 34 minutes earlier. As she started to read, it became apparent that this was an unfolding story that was getting national attention. The center of Lockport was closed down as rescuers were trying to reach the 29 people who were on the boat for its noon tour. While 28 were rescued with only minor injuries, one person was caught under the boat and did not survive. It was unsettling to say the least, since a day later, we would likely have been on that boat.
Instead, we found other things to do.
We found some ice cream and fresh tomatoes at the Harris Farm Market, some beef on weck ( a local favorite of Dave’s) at Canalside Inn, and some warm fresh caramel corn at Chenez’s in Lockport. We had traveled through the locks and visited the historic locks beside them when we came by boat back in 2014. This time, we explored the Erie Canal Discovery Center, a stop on the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor. We even had some BBQ and strawberry shortcake at the Christ Episcopal Strawberry festival. It was a bit disappointing since there were no fresh strawberries. Apparently the NY strawberry harvest was damaged by a May freeze and local strawberries weren’t going to be available until late June.
Personal Stuff
Since we were in one place again for a longer time, we ordered our mail and, for the first time in several years, had it sent “General Delivery” to the closest post office in the small town of Hamlin. We made sure this was a service they offered, and started tracking the package as it moved from Florida to us. It seemed to arrive on schedule, but we were scratching our heads when we got the notice that it was “out for delivery”. Hmmm. . . Then curiosity switched to concern when the next message said it was “returned for insufficient address”. What?
We made our way to the post office and asked about our package. The first postal clerk tried to help us, but couldn’t find it. He encouraged us to wait, since he was not normally working this office, and the regular clerk would be back shortly. When she arrived, she began looking for the package, and seemed to be having the same trouble. Our anxiety was high about the package because Cathy’s passport was in it (which had taken 6 months to get renewed). Finally, the clerk pulled the envelope from the outgoing mail, which luckily wasn’t scheduled to be picked up until 5. As she handed us the package, we asked what we should have done differently. She said it was correctly addressed. OK. But not too reassuring.
Faith Work
It’s summer in Florida, and, not surprisingly, Faith had another lightning strike that took out the internet. So one Sunday morning, we are walking Pastor Barry through the network to find the damaged switches and replace them in time for the service. While we got the basics done to begin streaming, there were many more that needed to be identified.
So, Nelson agreed to come back the next day and walk through the network. He called at 1pm. By 4pm, we were just finishing up, but the network was back up and running, with 1 small exception. Also, Dave was able to make some simplifications to make any future outages easier to address. Some phone calls with the IT support for Kim’s Open Door and Beyond 90 ensured they were going to be fine as well.
All of this took place the morning that the church’s new Youtube channel went live. We broadcast an announcement on the prior channel to let viewers know that the service had moved. It seemed to work for most viewers, but it is always a little hard to tell.
Parting Shots
Traveling north during early June, we got to enjoy many more flowers decorating the roadsides and the campgrounds, especially pretty were the rhododendrons in full bloom at Ives Run. Here are a few:
Since we were in one place again for a longer time, we ordered our mail and, for the first time in several years, had it sent “General Delivery” to the closest post office in the small town of Hamlin. We made sure this was a service they offered, and started tracking the package as it moved from Florida to us. It seemed to arrive on schedule, but we were scratching our heads when we got the notice that it was “out for delivery”. Hmmm. . . Then curiosity switched to concern when the next message said it was “returned for insufficient address”. What?
We made our way to the post office and asked about our package. The first postal clerk tried to help us, but couldn’t find it. He encouraged us to wait, since he was not normally working this office, and the regular clerk would be back shortly. When she arrived, she began looking for the package, and seemed to be having the same trouble. Our anxiety was high about the package because Cathy’s passport was in it (which had taken 6 months to get renewed). Finally, the clerk pulled the envelope from the outgoing mail, which luckily wasn’t scheduled to be picked up until 5. As she handed us the package, we asked what we should have done differently. She said it was correctly addressed. OK. But not too reassuring.
Faith Work
It’s summer in Florida, and, not surprisingly, Faith had another lightning strike that took out the internet. So one Sunday morning, we are walking Pastor Barry through the network to find the damaged switches and replace them in time for the service. While we got the basics done to begin streaming, there were many more that needed to be identified.
So, Nelson agreed to come back the next day and walk through the network. He called at 1pm. By 4pm, we were just finishing up, but the network was back up and running, with 1 small exception. Also, Dave was able to make some simplifications to make any future outages easier to address. Some phone calls with the IT support for Kim’s Open Door and Beyond 90 ensured they were going to be fine as well.
All of this took place the morning that the church’s new Youtube channel went live. We broadcast an announcement on the prior channel to let viewers know that the service had moved. It seemed to work for most viewers, but it is always a little hard to tell.
Parting Shots
Traveling north during early June, we got to enjoy many more flowers decorating the roadsides and the campgrounds, especially pretty were the rhododendrons in full bloom at Ives Run. Here are a few:
