Post Rally Antics!

On Monday, July 23rd, we left Essex Junction and headed to Waterbury, Vermont. Terry always plans our routes and there were some things we wanted to see in that direction. We went to the visitor's center which is in the train depot, which still operates as a depot. It sits on the tracks right in front of the Green Mountain Coffee plant. There is a coffee shop in one end of the depot where they sell Keurig coffee machines and Green Mountain Coffee. Turns out that GMC owns a part of the Keurig name, so there were a lot of choices in the shop for the coffee makers and the flavors of coffee. We walked a loop through town thinking it would offer some interesting shops, but there were just some antique stores and some small businesses. We walked back to the motorhome and continued up the road toward Stowe.

On the way, we passed by the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream factory. We wanted to visit a maple syrup farm up the road, so we continued to the Morse Farm. The family has been making maple syrup at this location for 200 years. We watched a movie about the operation and then visited the store. While we were there, the "star" of the movie came into the store area and visited with us for a time. The weather this year has not been good for the maple syrup farm. They normally tap the 3,200 trees for five weeks in the spring, but due to the mild winter and early budding of the trees, they were only able to tap the trees for five DAYS! They also don't use the maple buckets here that hang on the side of the trees. They tap the trees, then attach small hoses and the sap runs through the hoses for miles, emptying into the large storage tanks at the back of the sugar camp. I talked with "Burr" Morse about my grandfather's sugar camp and the memories I have of visiting during maple syrup time when I was young. I never knew there was any other kind of syrup until I became an adult.

We left the sugar camp and went back to Ben & Jerry's. We took a tour, which was really only one area where you could look down and view the factory floor. It was a hallway with glass on both sides and they described the different work stations. It was similar to the tour we took at Blue Bell in Brenham. although that tour was much more involved and included more. At the end of the Blue Bell tour, you got a scoop of your choice of ice cream. At the Ben & Jerry's tour, you get a nut cup with the "flavor of the day" in it. No spoon, just have to squeeze the soft, refrozen crap into your mouth. And since I don't like double chocolate fudge ice cream, I didn't eat mine. What a cheap company. I don't like their ice cream anyway, but this was really a cheap way to treat customers who come from all over to visit their creamery.

Once we left there, we continued our drive up to Stowe, Vermont. We found a campground and checked in, then took off again. We drove up the mountain to the Trapp Family Lodge. You will remember the von Trapp family as they are the family about which "The Sound of Music" was made. The family immigrated to the United States and took up residence in the mountains above Stowe, Vermont. It is said that this location was chosen because the area resembled the views the family had where they lived in Austria. The view from the lodge is indeed beautiful, stretching out for miles. We visited the lodge and hoped to have dinner there, but we were there in the middle of the afternoon and the restaurant and lounge are not open at that time. We wandered back to the parking lot and took some pictures of the views and then returned to camp.

We had been promised some rain and in the early evening, we could see a storm moving toward us from over the mountains. It really was a beautiful and interesting sight to watch the rain come across the mountains. We planned to head out the following morning and leave Vermont by traveling up through the islands on Lake Champlain.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Rally fun!

While at the rally here we have attended a couple seminars and learned some things we didn't know. But there are other activities as well and yesterday we engaged in some of those.

In the morning we boarded a bus and went to the Coast Guard station on Lake Champlain. We are very close to Burlington, Vermont, where the only station on the lake is located. We were taken on a tour and got to see the operations room and other areas where the personnel live and work while on duty. We also got to board two of their vessels while the young man explained how the boats are used and what types of emergencies and other work they are responsible for. One of their boats is used specifically for ice rescue and they train daily in the winter weather permitting. Last year the lake did not freeze over, so there were no ice related emergencies.

The large boat is called a buoy tender. The Coast Guard here is responsible for maintaining all of the buoys on the lake. They have foam buoys which are put out in the summer and when they are taken out in the fall, they put steel buoys in. They maintain about 50 buoys on the lake.

In the afternoon we boarded the bus once again and went back to the waterfront for a 1 1/2 hour pleasure cruise on Lake Champlain. This was really lovely. The weather was perfect, warm in the sun, a nice breeze and sunshine. Our cruise was from 4-5:30 so the afternoon sun started diminishing and we had a beautiful view of the lake and the Adironacks on the New York side. We didn't go too far, but there was narration which told a bit of the history of the lake as well. It was a most enjoyable ride.

After dinner we were entertained by Dan, the singing Trooper, and his lovely wife Mary. They are exceptional singers and put on quite a performance.

Today we have been busy attending seminars and meeting people. We have enjoyed the rally here and the superb weather. We still have two days to go and even more entertainment, so we are looking forward to even more fun. AND, it helps that Terry won a door prize at one of the sessions we attended! He won a new HD television! Whoo hoo!

Till next time. . .



Dale

Lake crossing, Lake Champlain

The severe weather that was forecast last evening did not materialize, but we did have rain. No problem there. We left camp this morning and continued our drive through the Adironacks. We drove to the town by that name. It really wasn't much of a town, meaning it wasn't large, but was quite picturesque on the shores of Schroon Lake. The scenery in this part of the country is absolutely beautiful, no question about that.

We drove on roads Phaeton Place could only dream of. That is the reason we got MinnieMee--to go where no diesel pusher has gone before. LOL  Once we got out of the dense forest, we were on wider roads and saw a little more of the mountains.

We traveled on to Ticonderoga, which was the location of Fort Ticonderoga. The town is very quaint with several historical buildings. We stopped at a museum which was in an old building and was at the park which at one time was the location of the industrial hub of the town. The river running through the town had several waterfalls and the town dammed up the river and used the water power to run their mills, of which there were several.

We continued on to the Ti Ferry as it's called. It is a small ferry pulled by cables which were underwater. We were the only vehicle waiting to go across, but when the ferry docked, we decided against it. The slope was a little too steep for MinnieMee and we were afraid of scraping on the back. Our holding tank connections are the lowest things on the coach and we certainly don't want to break those off. LOL So we went back through town and drove further north to the Lake Champlain bridge. The bridge is new and was built in 2009, replacing the original bridge. At the bridge on the New York side are the remains of two forts which were used for defense. One was a French Fort which was eventually blown up by the French rather than allow it to fall into enemy hands. Drawings of the fort show it to have been a nice looking structure in the "star" formation. The British also built a fort there and it was larger and more elaborate than the French one. It was destroyed by fire. A fire in a chimney got out of control and blew up the magazine in the fort. It was never rebuilt, but there are some buildings which partially remain

Also in the area is a lighthouse and a long pier. The pier is where steamboats would dock when traveling on the lake. I walked the 62 steps to the top of the lighthouse and looked out. It was really scary being that high up. I got some good pictures of the bridge. It is really spectacular.

Once we crossed the bridge into Vermont, we drove through the college town of Middlebury. It was very picturesque. Everything here looks so neat and clean. You don't see a lot of trash along the roads. There seems to be some pride in their surroundings.

We drove toward Shelburne, which is where we camped for the night. Enroute we stopped at the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory. We didn't take the tour, but did go through the gift shop which had about every color/theme teddy bear you could want. The prices started at $29 for a small bear and $49 for the most common size. They were cute, but I have a hard time spending that kind of money on a stuffed animal. There other cute ones in the stores, especially around Christmas time, so I left without buying any.

Till next time. . .

Dale

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

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME!!!!!!!

THESE PEOPLE ARE PROFESSIONALS!

Cousin Gary, aka, Professional Gator Wrestler, feeds Wally Gator #2. I understand Wally Gator #1, lives in the "other" farm pond a short distance away. He's not as "friendly" as Wally Gator #2, who, when he sees you coming, follows you to the bank for his snacks, amid considerable "hissing" I'm told.

Perhaps you could use a few tips from "The Dog Whisperer." I'm sure those techniques would transfer. LOL

Till next time. . .

Dale

Catching up. . .

When we left the rally last week on Saturday morning, we drove straight through downtown Chicago. Hah! Let me tell you. . . that's not for wimps. We made it fine. It got a little crowded in places, like near the Loop, but soon after passing that area, traffic started to thin out and it was smooth sailing from there on.

Monday morning we had the coach over to Charger Enterprises in Elkhart to have the A/C fixed. They were closing on Tuesday for the rest of the week, so they said they would fix it if we got it there early. We did and they replaced the motor control board. Surprisingly, the compressor was not blown which we had feared. And I had purchased the manufacturer's extended warranty when the unit was put in two years ago. Since the original warranty ran out May 15 of this year, it was covered under the extended warranty. We only had to pay the labor, so we saved almost $200! Whoo hoo! AND, we still have almost three more years on the warranty to go!

Friday we are heading out to Vermont in MinnieMee. Her generator got a tune-up last week while we were at the rally and it's running well. With the 100*+ temps this week, we fired up the gennie and ran the A/C on her and all is working well. We are still stocking her with items for the Alaska trip and we are about done. We got our sleeping bag this week and I made a sheet sack for it, so we are good to go there. Hopefully we will get along with the sofa/dinette/bed, but we may have to make some adjustments if it's too uncomfortable.

Yesterday was a much better day here in northern Indiana. After suffering from triple digits temps for over a week, we finally had a day in the 80's. I sat outside for a good part of the day and read under the awning. There was a good breeze most of the day and it was very pleasant. We didn't do anything except relax which felt quite good.


Last week I continued to box up stuff from the basement of the storage condo. Some is Jocelyn's stuff and we will take it to her later and some is getting boxed up for Good Will. Some will be held for a garage sale which will probably wait until next year. At least the basement there is super cool, so it is one place I could work and actually be comfortable. We are heading over there again today so we can continue that work and get some last minute things done on MinnieMee.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Another day at the rally!

We had thought the possibility was good that would leave the rally today since it was supposed to be another hot day and our front A/C unit is out. But we had a cool night and the motorhome was very comfortable this morning when we got up. The sky was overcast so we thought that might keep it cooler for today.

We started off with morning coffee at the main hall, then took in some more of the display coaches. I found a floor plan I liked. Too bad it is just like the one we saw at Elkhart Campground. We met the owners, who bought it a few months ago and have had a nightmare of a time keeping it on the road with all the repairs, etc. In fact, they are now in negotiations to encourage Winnebago to buy it back because it is a lemon. Oh well. . . I will keep what I have.

We also took in a couple more seminars including one on Allison Transmissions. They always do a good job and are extremely knowledgeable about their product and can answer any question you might have.

This evening we returned to the main hall and were entertained by Jimmy Fortune. He sang with the Statler Brothers for 21 years and is an extremely talented musician. He is a gifted guitarist and as a singer, has a wide range to his voice. He sang some favorites, including some hymns, and also performed many of the Statler Brothers hits which were his own original compositions. He paid tribute to veterans and to America in song and verse. He entertained us for 90 minutes and was even joined on stage by The Marlins who performed for us last night. It was a great evening of music and everyone enjoyed the performances.

Tomorrow we are going to be leaving soon after morning coffee as we want to get settled back in to the Elkhart Campground. Phaeton Place goes in first thing Monday to have her front A/C replaced. We will be glad to be "cool" again.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Rally time!

We are in Pecatonica, Illinois, at a rally. This is the FMCA MWA rally. That's Family Motor Coach Association Midwest Area rally. We arrived Tuesday and we sat in the holding area about two hours until we got parked. The dates on their literature that was sent to us was incorrect, so we were actually a day early, but we got parked anyway. And to make it better, we have 50 amp service. We were only supposed to have 30.

We have about 250 rigs, so it isn't a real big rally, but these are among the friendliest people I have met in a long time. We have made lots of friends already and have especially enjoyed meeting and fussing over all their dogs. We had opening ceremonies Wednesday evening, but I'm sure not everyone was there. Along with the rest of the midwest, we are having a horrendous heat wave and it was too hot for some people to get out.

We went to coffee this morning and afterwards went to see the vendors. We are a little disappointed with the number of vendors. There were not very many and not a lot of variety with those that did come. We went to the seminar yesterday put on by Mac McCoy (Mac the fire guy). His programs are always impressive and very well done. He stresses the importance of knowing how to get out of your rig in the event of a fire and how necessary it is to practice escaping from your rig. We already have the fire extinguishers in our rig that he recommends, but we learn something from him every time we hear him speak. When we got back home, we tried our escape windows. They had never before been opened, and they stuck, we we did get them open and are confident they would work if we ever had to exit.

Last night about 9 p.m. we heard a loud pop and the front A/C immediately quit. It also started emitting a foul burnt carbon smell. I guess it's safe to assume that the unit that we have been having problems with has finally given up the ghost. It is two years old. It is shot and we could not even get the fan to run. So we turned that circuit off. We didn't have any trouble keeping cool overnight because the rear A/C is running well, but it isn't enough to keep the entire coach cooled down. With today being the hottest day so far at 97*, we haven't been keeping all that cool. The bedroom is cool, but one can only spend so much time in there. . . okay, okay, you can spent a LOT of time in there, but meal time is a struggle. We have been eating out of the refrigerator trying to eat cold stuff to keep cool. We did manage to take in a seminar today as well as look at some display coaches. Haven't seen anything I like any better than ours and I do not like the new Phaetons. Ours has much better quality materials in it.

This evening we went to the entertainment and even though it is still hot, the group, The Marlins, were absolutely terrific. They are four brothers who sing and play instruments. They are multi-talented and play several instruments. They performed a variety of songs from many genres and were extremely entertaining. They have a website, www.themarlins.net if you are interested in looking them up.

We may leave here tomorrow. The jury is still out on that one. The heat is oppressive and tomorrow is supposed to be cooler, so we might stay for another day. But there is no point in being miserable, so we may have to head back to Elkhart. The good news there is that Charger Enterprises, where we have service work done, is going to get an A/C unit and install it for us on Monday. They are closed the rest of the week, so they are going to get us up and running before they leave. Thanks, Gerald!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Keeping busy. . .

We have been busy at the apartments taking care of things we normally take care of in the summer. We did get our one empty apartment rented before we left to go to the lake, so everything is rented now. Whoo Hoo!

I started getting some stuff sorted in the basement. We have some things we have been storing that we are going to take to Jocelyn. We will be making the trip there in MinnieMee, so that will be fun.

We also have been having service work done on our coaches. Phaeton Place has had an oil change. In addition, we did some service on the roof air conditioners. The back one was leaking water, so we took the cover off and found what looked like a mat-type filter on the fins over the coils. Only when we started to rub the mat a little, we found out it was compressed dirt. Hah! Once we would get a piece started, it would peel off in sheets. We got that all cleaned off, then used toothbrushes to finish cleaning it up. Now it works a lot better and doesn't leak water down on the bed. We opened the front A/C unit also and cleaned it, but it wasn't nearly as dirty as the back one. Next month, we take her in to have the transmission serviced.

MinnieMee has been having some work done. We took her in Monday and our mechanic put all new belts and hoses on, changed the oil, serviced the chassis and the rear end and changed the transmission fluid. The only thing the mechanic found wrong was a burned wire in the refrigerator compartment. ??? YIKES! Refrigerators are probably the #1 cause of RV fires and subsequent burning down to the frame. The refrigerator wasn't on. We knew there was a recall on it and it did work for us, but we shut it down when we went to the lake. Good thing. So Terry called and got an appointment with the refrigeration guy and he repaired the problem and did the recall on it yesterday. Now we have to have the generator serviced and she will be good as new. Unfortunately, we are not going to take her to the rally Monday as Terry wants to have a generator working in the event we have electrical problems. They normally use auxiliary electrical lines and it's not always dependable. So we are taking Phaeton Place. Since we are going to Plan B, we are going to be here all day tomorrow to get things ready to go.

The rally is at the Winnebago County Fairgrounds in Illinois. I cannot remember the name of the town. It is a strange name. We are leaving Monday morning but not arriving there till Tuesday some time.

I have been busy sewing for Aenea. Haven't got much done. That last big sewing event for me was when Jocelyn got married. I made her dress and her maid of honor's dress. That was 12 years ago. The little romper I made was easy enough, but the rick-rack was NOT. I hate rick-rack. I followed the instructions to the letter, but apparently some rick-rack has the color on both sides. Mine did not, so when I turned the dress right side out, the rick-rack color was on the inside. Grrrrrr. I had to rip it all out and re-do it. But it turned out nicely. Notice the buttons. . . they are little bunnies. Too cute. I still have the hat and the panties to make, but they will have to wait till we get back from the rally.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Miracle baby!

Three months ago on March 12, 2012, our newest grandbaby, Aenea, was born at 28 weeks. She plopped out into the hands of her mother and both were nearly instantly whisked off to the ER and the NICU. There did not ever appear to be anything wrong with baby girlie, but for some unknown reason, the spontaneous birth changed the family's life forever.

For the next 89 days, Aenea lived "in a box" as big brother Ronan put it while the NICU staff did what they do best--save these teeny, tiny little babies so their families can welcome home healthy and happy babies in days, weeks, or months to come.

Aenea weighed in at 2 pounds, 12 ounces and 14.4 inches long. As with most preemies that age, the lungs were a concern, but she had a will to live and her parents made certain she knew they were there from day one. A parent's touch is all that is allowed at that point and it isn't until they are off the ventilators that the parents can have more contact time. But Jocelyn and Tom maintained a daily vigil with their wee one. Big brother Ronan eventually decided to brave the screening and visited his sister. They posted pictures of Ronan and Whiskey the dog so Aenea could see them when she opened her eyes.

Aenea made it through, improving almost on a daily basis. The last hurdle was eating. I was not aware that feeding is a common problem with preemies. . . I supposed because they are fed through a nasal tube straight to their tummy. They have to "learn" to get hungry and "learn" what satisfies that hunger. That was her last challenge and that took some time. But finally that seemed to click and after the mandatory test time, she got her "get out of jail" free card. She now weighs over 7 pounds and is over 17 inches long.

Mom, Dad, and Ronan broke Aenea out of the "pokey" on June 9 and brought her home. She is a healthy, happy baby who now gets to live in her own home with her loving family.

Prayers have been answered!

Till next time. . .

Dale

Fun with the kids!

Brandon and Megan had a brief but good visit here at the lake. The weather did not cooperate much. In all the years we have been coming here, this was definitely the coldest we have ever experienced. But even with the boat fiasco, we were able to salvage some really good time on the lake.

Brandon and Megan rented a pontoon one day and we went out in the afternoon and did some swimming. It had a big slide on it and that was a lot of fun. I have always wanted to go down those tall slides, so I finally got my chance to do it. The only problem was the climb up the steps to the roof so I could slide down. But I managed that okay. The kids had a blast, too, but with the chill in the air, once we got out. . . we were COLD.

The kids were camping in their tent. One night we gave them a fan because it was hot and the other nights we gave them a portable heater because it was cold. LOL   The last night they were here they slept in the motorhome because they had packed their car the night before.

On Sunday, Terry and I rented a powerboat so we could take them around the lake and show them the sights. Brandon, of course, was familiar with everything, but the lake has changed a lot. . . well, the docks on the lake have changed. Most have been vastly improved over what they used to be and he enjoyed seeing that. I think Megan enjoyed seeing the lake. It was still not as hot as I like it on the water, but the sun was warm and we had plenty of sunshine, so we had a very lovely day on the water. We returned to our slip later in the afternoon and the kids took the jetski out. Fortunately Terry had worked his magic on it and it ran like a top. We chased them up the Obey River and they enjoyed themselves. Eventually Megan got back in the boat with us and Brandon took off on the ski doing what he does best. . . spinning around and throwing water everywhere. It was good to see him having fun on it again. I miss having the kids home and the fun we had when they were little.

They left early Monday morning and headed back to Florida, taking the jetski. We are hoping they get some good use out of it. They did get back home safely and had no trouble pulling the jetski that far. For that I am thankful.

Last Wednesday then, we broke camp at Dale Hollow and headed to Mississippi for the annual family reunion. We won't be able to go next year because we will be in Alaska, so we wanted to see everyone again. Fewer people seem to attend every year. We haven't missed one in a long time and we still enjoy going.

We came back to Dale Hollow yesterday thinking that the insurance company would be ready to give us a settlement on our boat. How silly of us. I don't think insurance companies plan anything to be easy for their customers. We did make some decisions about the boat and are comfortable with those. We have cleaned out our storage space and will be waiting elsewhere for word from the insurance company. My only advice to anyone out there with a boat is to be careful with whom you insure it.

Tomorrow we head back to northern Indiana. We have a couple rallies we want to attend this summer and we need to get the little motorhome ready to go.

Till next time. . .

Dale