Vermont Rally bound!

Last weekend we camped with Tab and Deanna in Tiffin, Ohio. We stayed at Walnut Grove Campground which was out in the country and was really a nice setting. It wasn't a bad campground, but there were a lot of kids around and in the area directly behind us, there was a company picnic on Saturday. They had a large number of people, a cookout, then games. It was quite a large gathering, but they really were well behaved and they didn't create any problems for the rest of us. We took pictures before we left of us with our Alaska trip mascots, Bingo and Bongo. Bongo lives with us and Bingo lives with Tab and Deanna. They are fraternal twins, from the same nest.

On Sunday morning, we left to head to Vermont to an FMCA rally and they went on home. We drove across Ohio and Pennsyvania and stopped for the night near Jamestown, New York. There is a large lake there and we drove down the west side of it. It is a really nice lake. We spent the night at Top-A-Rise campground which was adequate. When I called for reservations, the man told me that if no one was at the office, just go across from the Berkshire. I naturally thought I had heard him correctly and figured there was a Berkshire motorhome which would be my landmark. But when we arrived and we started looking for the Berkshire, it was no where to be found. I finally decided that he must have said “brick showers” since there was a brick showerhouse and a few pull-thru sites in front of them. LOL Gotta' love that accent. We are learning how to sleep comfortably in MinnieMee. It's not easy and we have been experimenting, but I think we pretty much have it figured out. The next morning I looked out in time to see a brindle Scottie and a Westie being walked by their owner. Thankfully, he didn't mind that I requested my doggie fix and I got to pet them both.

The next day we drove red roads all day. There was a 30 mile stretch on the Southern Tier Expressway which is currently extremely bad and people are losing wheel liners and hubcaps and generally tearing up their vehicles. So we decided to take other roads and bypass that stretch. We drove through the Finger Lakes area and it is truly beautiful. I didn't realize New York had such beautiful areas. My previous experience with New York was mainly on the toll roads and I really didn't see much of the state. But it is lovely and we really enjoyed our drive. We stopped in the small town of Ellicottville and walked up and down the main street checking in at shops and enjoying the break. This is one reason we got MinnieMee. We want to explore the east coast and it is much easier in a small rig. We stopped for the night at Cold Brook, New York, at the Gateway to the Adirondacks. We met a lovely woman who was camping with her two black and white Pappillons, Lady Bug and Troy. We shared a campfire with her and I got to hold one of the dogs. So sweet. I really miss mine.

Today we spent the day driving in and round the Adirondacks Park. It is very large and there are several driving routes and loops you can take. We stopped at Old Forge, New York which is a town in the park. We parked in a city lot and walked up and down the main street before retreating to MinnieMee for a snack before leaving. We continued on and stopped a little later for lunch. I'm sure the mountains are very pretty and I keep hoping we will see a lot of scenery, but the roads are basically cut through the forest and there are very few places where you can look out and see vistas. I got a couple pictures, but it was hard to find picturesque areas. The lakes are beautiful, but once again, there were not pull-offs or many lake front parks where we could pull in to take pictures. I don't know if all the roads are like that, but we traveled on several which were the same. This area should be called the Lake District. There are so many mountains lakes and some are well populated with cabins and homes on the shore.

We are camped tonight in Chestertown, New York, at a campground which is down in a hollow of sorts. It's right next to the interstate, but with the A/C and fan running, we can't hear any noise. We are currently getting some much needed rain. It is doing a lot of thundering and lightning, but doesn't appear to be anything severe. We are finding that so many campgrounds anymore have a great population of seasonal campers rather than overnighters. I think we may be the only one here for just one night, the others are set up permanently. There are very few people even here in their RV's.

Tomorrow we are leaving here and heading across Lake Champlain on the ferry and going into Vermont and explore. We've never been there, so we are anxious to see it.

Till next time. . .

Dale