Finger Lakes, Vermont and New Hamphire

Day 20  7/10  The Finger Lakes are a beautiful area filled with big farms, vineyards, cherry orchards, and 100's of wineries.  We drove to Taughannock Falls State Park and hiked the gorge and then rim trail.  We were pleased to find out while you are camping in a NY State Park your admission to other NY State Parks is FREE !  It is the dry season so Taughannock Falls were not as impressive as they could be, but still pretty.  We were able to walk down the river bed park of the way up the falls.  We had a late lunch in Ithaca at Nikki Green's a great Vegan restaurant followed by grocery shopping.

Wayne walking the river bed

Us in front of the falls

Falls from the Rim overlook

Day 21  7/11 We drove over to Watkins Glenn and rode part of the Catherine Valley Trail on our mountain bikes.  It was up hill most of the way out, I liked the ride back better. The trail goes through the town of Montour Falls. We missed seeing the falls on the way out but saw them on the way back...not sure how we missed them the first time through.  It was a 16.5 mile ride, which on the mountain  bikes was enough for me.  On the way back to the RV we stopped at two wineries for tasting.  The first was JR Dill.  They buy local grapes.  We bought two bottles of wine.  The second was Silver Thread.  They grow most of their own grapes but do buy a few from others.  We chose to do their wine and chocolate pairing tasting.  They were all great pairings but we both especially enjoyed the Curry White Chocolate with Pistachio and Ginger.

Note the falls behind the white house

Chocolate and wine pairings

Day 22  7/12  We again went to Watkins Glen to visit Watkins Glen State Park.  We hiked the gorge trail and the south rim trail.  Their sign said they had over 800 steps in the park.  I think we climbed them all!  On the way back to the RV we stopped to pick cherries.  At only $2.50 a pound I wish we could have gotten more than two pounds, but we are going into Canada soon and need to eat up all of our fresh produce.

Wayne picking cherries

Day 23  7/13  Today was another travel day.  We drove from Sampson State Park to Woodford, Vermont, where we camped at Greenwood Lodge and Campsites.  The park is on 120 acres of land with ponds, trees and rolling hills.  We took a hike around the park before supper and I took pictures of wildflowers.  There was a woodchuck enjoying some grass outside our window while we were having dinner.

Day 24  7/14  Our drive today was from Vermont to White Birches Campground, in Gorham, New Hampshire in the White Mountains.

Day 25  7/15  We have a nice view of Mt Washington however there was so much cloud cover we decided not to go to the top.  Today's first stop was the Appalachian  Mountain Club (AMC) Lodge at Pinkham Notch.  We saw cars from all over the United States. The hikers were there to hike the local White Mountains or more adventurous hikers were doing the Appalachian Trail.  Our first hike of the day was a little piece of the Appalachian Trail from AMC to the Lost Pond.  The trail was pretty rugged and took much scrambling.  I am not even sure that 40 years and 40 pounds ago I could have hiked much of the trail, those are some ambitious people that hike the whole trail.  After a picnic lunch we saw the Honeymoon Covered Bridge in Jackson, NH.  Our second hike of the day was to see the Glen Ellis Falls.  This is a beautiful area in the summer.  The lady at the information center said it gets as low as 40 below here in the winter...no thank you.

Proof we were on the AT in New Hampshire

Proof we were on the AT in New Hampshire

We saw lots of trees that were growing over big rocks

Mount Washington

Lillys growing in Lost Pond

Honeymoon Covered Bridge, Jackson, NH

Glen Ellis Falls

Niagara Falls and Buck Shot Lake

Day 14  7/4  Everyone seems to think Niagara Falls is better from the Canadian side. I think they are more majestic from the Canadian side but you can get closer and more personal on the American side.  After crossing the Rainbow Bridge we spent the morning on the Canadian side of the falls.  It is built up with motels, casinos, shops and restaurants which includes beautiful walkways and landscaping.   Tip for those of you who may visit, you can park at the casino parking deck for only $5 a day.  After walking along the shore and taking pictures we rode up the hill on the Incline Railway Car which offered a nice view.  After lunch we went to the American side of the falls which is a state park.  You could get a lot closer to the falls to see the force of the water and see the build up of the rapids.  Both sides are worth seeing.  We were able to see some fireworks from the campground.  Happy 4th of July !

Rainbow Bridge and American Falls from the Canadian Side

Horseshoe Falls

Close up of Horseshoe Falls

The power of the water is amazing

Incline Railway Track

I hope this is a runaway buoy as it is just above the falls !

Close up of Horseshoe on the US side

Horseshoe on US side

American Falls on US side

Day 15 7/5  We used today to wash clothes, go to the grocery store, make granola, gas up the car and catch up on the blog. Wayne put a new bearing in the drivers seat.  It had been difficult to rotate and was making a terrible noise.  It is much nicer now.

Day 16- 18  7/6 to 7/8  Our travels today took us to the Rochester, NY area to park the RV.  Tom and Sandy, friends of Anne and Mike, offered to let us park the RV in their driveway so we could go by car up to see Anne and Mike Long. We met Anne and Mike on our first crossing to the Bahamas on Born to Cruise.  They were constant VHF radio contacts on the crossing, and we later met in person at the laundry room in Nassau.  If you followed us during our first cruise Anne and Mike own the boat "Beans".  They are still cruising, we have moved on to RV's.  We arrived at their home in Plevna, Ontario on Buckshot Lake, just in time for a wonderful dinner.  It is a joy to be able to see someone again after a long time apart and just pick up where you left off.

We enjoyed a wonderful weekend with dear friends. Anne and Mike have a nice place on the lake.  Along with the house, they have a two car garage, a boat house and a dock. Wayne counted 9 boats! Anne has several garden patches taking advantage of the sunny spots on their wooded lot. They feed the birds and the chipmunks but try to discourage the bears. The chipmunks have been trained to eat out of your hand.  They love peanuts and sunflower seeds. They stuff their cheeks then run to their storage place to stash it and rush back to you for more. While there we took a motor boat ride to see Tom and Sandy to thank them for the use of their driveway. David and J invited the 4 of us all over for sundowners on Saturday.  Sunday afternoon proved to be a perfect afternoon for a sail around Buckshot Lake followed by a quick swim.  In the evenings after dinner we enjoyed playing games and talking.

RV storage thanks to Tom and Sandy

Chubby cheeked Chipmunk

View from the screened in porch where we had lunch and supper

Wayne's new friend

They were standing in line for the sunflower seeds

Getting ready for our sail, the boat is a US 18

View of their house from the lake, boat house to the right

We all had a great time sailing

Anne taking down the sails

Wayne putting the boat back on it's mooring

Day 19  7/9  It was time to head back to the US.  We promised to get together as soon as possible with Anne and Mike, maybe at their place in Florida.  We picked up the RV from Tom's place and drove to Sampson State Park in NY.  We took a walk before dinner to explore the campground.

Pennsylvania

Day 9, 6/29.  This may not have been our longest drive but it probably took the longest…Williamsburg, VA to Harrisburg, PA, Gifford Pinchot State Park.  The traffic was TERRIBLE!!!  In southern Florida they complain about the way the snowbirds drive and create traffic, but that is nothing compared to this.  It was accidents and too many people on the road.  We drove 256 miles and it took us 7 ½ hours.  After dinner we took a walk around the park. There is a nice lake. We saw many campsites where they brought their kayaks. 

Day 10, 6/30  I had never been to Gettysburg, so today was the day.  We decided to do the movie, cyclorama and bus tour along with the museum.  The bus tour in an air conditioned bus was the way to go.  Our guide was informative and had a sense of humor.  Wayne had seen the cyclorama years ago.  Since then it has been cleaned and moved to a beautiful new facility that  was built just for this amazing painting.  42 feet tall and 133 long and painted in the 1800's. WOW !  We took a break in the middle of the day to enjoy a vegan burger at The Parrot, very good.  Our final stop of the day was to see where Lincoln did his Gettysburg Address.  

Day 11 7/1.  So the plan was to get up early and drive to Letchworth State Park...however while preparing to leave I noticed that the Low Coolant Light was on...not good.  Change of plans.  It was Sunday so we knew we had to spend another night and look for a mechanic in the morning.  We talked to a camp host who happened to be a mechanic.  He offered to look at it.  He said he thought it was the waterpump, which is what Wayne suspected.  After making arrangements to spend another night, we decided to check out Hershey.  I had heard the factory tour was good. We along with LOTS of other vacationers did the Factory Tour.  It reminds me of a ride at Disney where you get on the ride which is a moving cart that holds 5 people.  You are then taken along a track with a host on the screen in the cart as well as animated cartoon characters along the way.  Free mini chocolate bar at the end.  Good ride for free.  We resisted temptation and did not buy anything in the gift shop.  

We have been taking side roads and not coming back the same way we went to places to try and explore.  The rolling hills with the barns are nice to see, however,  we are not fans of the PA road and highway systems.  

Day 12 7/2.  Wayne was on the phone at 7 AM calling mechanics.  The first was too busy, but  he did however recommend Interstate Towing and Recovery in Camp Hill, PA who said, yes, they could look at it for us.  They confirmed it was the waterpump.  The  part was in stock and would be delivered...well the manufacturer's computer was down so they would not deliver the part until the computer was up.  So...we waited all day and no part.  Wayne and I both finished the books we were reading and we went out for a nice lunch at The Vegetable Hunter.  I have not mentioned that PA is having an extreme heat wave !  95+ temps...it is cooler at home.   We are spending the night in the parking lot, hopefully the computer will be up tomorrow.

Capital Downtown Harrisburg,PA

Day 13 7/3  YEAH the water pump was delivered and installed within an hour.  After a late start, we were once again on the road.  We drove from Camp Hill, PA to Grand Island, NY, Cinderella Motel and Campground. It was a long day on the road (325 miles), but we are happy to be on our way again.