ITS HOT OUT THERE!

We are laying low in Beantown.... so very hot. Today it got to103°..... in Boston! That is really rare. We know just enough to realize going into town would be tragic....the heat.....the crowds....the sights we have already seen and enjoyed ... we decide to stay close to home and keep cool. Remember, we are NOT on vacation, our time is wide open... no "return" limits on us, no sir. So, we read, we eat, we nap....Paul does his walk. That is what we do. We have reservations at Blackwoods campground in Acadia NP for next Monday through Wednesday so we will leave here on Monday, the temps in Maine are much more comfortable and since we will be dry camping (primitive) we would enjoy cooler temps for sure.

 

 

I posted this photo on FB, but thought I would share here too just to show you that we are not roughing it. We enjoy our afternoon tea break as often as we can.

Gotta scoot....time for tea!

Tally ho,

Cathy

New England

Took us more than an hour and two harrowing attempts at tunnels (Holland AND Lincoln) plus being turned away at the Geo. Washington bridge....propane is a "no no"..... finally on our way north. Humarock, MA was our destination. A short trip, we thought, but with Friday traffic, not so short. Should have taken 4 hours, but actually took almost 7! Did I mention how much we hate I.93 AND I  95 ??? Traffic was awful. GPS did not give us complete directions and it had been over 25 years since we had visited the area...much had changed! We could not get an RV spot, but we did reserve a spot in the overflow. No water, no electric and no sewer. The view was semi nice if you got past the very large and overflowing trash dumpster. Fourth Cliff is an Air Force recreation and famcamp site. When we were stationed at Hanscom back in the 80's we tent camped here many times.

 

View of the inlet and some of the RV Sites we did not get.

 

 

That's our MiniPearl hiding behind the makeshift privacy screen...see the dumpster?

 

 

 

EROSION has ruined the area. The beach is closed and cannot be reached from the facility. We used to use those rickety steps to get down, now they don't even reach the hillside, they stop a couple of feet from land. So sad to see. The beach is rocky and the water is cold. Not like NC at all.

 

 

Still, beauty abounds!

 

New England has her charms.

 

 

 

We enjoyed our time at Fourth Cliff

 

 

Awesome hydrangeas everywhere, the colors more vivid than I have ever seen. Maybe all the rain???

Our next stop is Boston, again...

 

Tally ho,

Cathy

 

 

WE "heart" NYC

I realize some of you are Disney fans, some of you love Hawaii...(Karen and Joe love both)....some folks are Carolina Beach addicts and Topsail fanatics....no one really likes Myrtle Beach (heh, heh, heh) ! But us...well, we are over-the-moon in love with NYC! Our first family visit was way back in the very early eighties. We drove from Syracuse to Poughkeepsie and took the train into Grand Central. These were Pre-Giuliani days...the city was a mess. Times Square was just awful...one porno shop,  strip club,  x rated theatre after another....we still had a great time...the kids really enjoyed it too....we did the U.N. and Staten Island ferry, Macy's, and oh yes, our first Thanksgiving Day Parade!
Since then, we have been back many many times, perhaps 35-40 visits and I never think, "well, I've seen it all now".

 

Today started out overcast. We took the ferry from Liberty Harbor across the Hudson river to the Wall Street port. Even gloomy is impressive here.

 

 

The ferry takes less than 10 minutes and cost us $6.50 each. A real bargain. The tall building is the new All Nations building on the site of the World Trade Center Towers. It is a beautiful building.

 

 

So, we get off the ferry and neither of us has any idea where the heck we are or how to get to where we need to be...I stop to take the above photo of the bike rentals...heard these are big in Europe, so cool we have them here too...well, a nice lady asks if we are lost?.... what do we say? "oh, no, thanks anyway."  We want so badly to be cool New Yorkers....and what do you know???? Right next to these bikes is a "YOU ARE HERE" map, we are saved!!! We find the subway, buy our Metro card (they now cost a dollar...bummer). We head way uptown...finally. Get off the Metro at 103rd and wander around once again....but, hooray! We finally find

 

 

At just $6.00 a piece, this gem of a museum was a bargain.

 

 

We had an early lunch in the café....delish! Paul looks unhappy here because he spilled some tomato sauce on his favorite shirt...the pizza was killer tho!

We visited several exhibits. A great one on the new small dwellings they are designing for folks who want to live in NYC, but not pay millions...The tinyhome movement has always been fascinating to me...there's lots of videos on YouTube so this was neat to see. We also saw a photo history of Manhattan and area and learned much more about this city's history. Spent about 3 hours there and we were beginning to fade...and we had a long trip back to Liberty Harbor.

We got lucky as the M4 bus stopped right in front of the museum and was not crowded so we hopped on and rode all the way down 5th avenue from 103rd to 32nd...passing lots of NYC icons on our way. Caught the Path to New Jersey, got off and asked a friendly postman which way????? He kindly gave us good directions and soon.....but wait....is that a real Mexican restaurant on the corner????? Yep, and now I am hungry...so we go in...

 

 

Killer hot sauce and chips....and way cute place

 

 

The end of a perfect day!

Tally ho,

Cathy

 

 

 

 

 

CAMPING IN THE BIG APPLE

 

The office

 

 

The view...if you look real close, you can see the Statue of Liberty right in the center!

 

 

Camping....Jersey-style

 

 

MiniPearl and Paul with Jersey skyline in the back

 

We had a 6 hour drive to get here, but traffic was minimal, roads were in good shape and the GPS took us around DC! Tolls cost big time when you are pulling a trailer....Arrived at Liberty Harbor RV Park at 4:45PM and by 6 we were all set up, we didn't un-hitch the car since we will not be using it. Think we decided to take in the Museum of the city of New York and maybe walk the High line...will let you know. We can take the Liberty Harbor Ferry right to Wall Street from just outside our door! Or, walk several blocks to the Path Station...

I fixed breakfast for dinner tonight, we walked around the RV Park, then to sleep by 10...big day in the city.

 

Tally ho,

Cathy

 

ROUND TWO

We are heading out on our second year of adventure, I should say "traveling adventure" since I believe you can find adventure anywhere...you just have to LOOK! We are leaving a whole month later than we left last year, so that has an impact on our plans. We want to make it to Glacier and we will have to hurry a bit in order to avoid early cold temps and ....snow! So, we will not be able to make the trip to the Vintage Fiberglass Rally in Nova Scotia...really hate that as the folks we met last year were all so kind and friendly, we were looking forward to seeing everyone again...hopefully next year for sure.
We spent a lot of time going through our belongings once again evaluating their worth...I am proud to report we pared down a whole lot. It was very evident to us what we use often as opposed to what we seldom or never used...we left that behind this year.
Tonight we are at Fort A P Hill a bit north of Richmond. Tomorrow we head to Jersey City. We are staying two nights right on the Hudson River across from Manhattan. It is the closest RV Park to NYC! I heard about this place from a lady I met in a campground in AZ. It is a bit pricey, as RV Parks go...but way cheaper than any hotel in Jersey or Manhattan. We plan to walk the Highline and visit the museum of New York City. Maybe catch a show...or the ballet...who knows??? Anything is possible in the city!

 

Do we look like we are having fun???

Well...we are!

Tally ho,

Cathy

ONE YEAR...part two

We loved most every moment...but we both agreed that Disneyland was a big disappointment.

 

And the Sonora desert was a huge hit!

 

 

 

We fell in love with succulents!

And

Joshua Trees

 

 

 

I finally got to see a Major League baseball game while in the Phoenix area! My KC ROYALS beat the White Sox!!!

 

It was spring training, but a good game all the same.

 

Would we do anything differently?

Yes...bring less "stuff"!!!

I loved the Badlands

Paul loved the Hot Springs, Arkansas area.

We both enjoyed Las Vegas

 

So, there you have it...one wonderful year full of adventures, surprises and great beauty.

Life is good

Tally ho!

Cathy

 

 

 

 

 

 

ONE YEAR

On June 10th we will have been traveling in our Casita for one whole year! When I came up with the idea Paul felt sure 6 months would be more than enough time to be on the road....after 6 months we knew we would need lots more time to see and do all we dreamed about...but, this year has been an amazing miracle adventure that exceeded all our expectations.
So here's a recap, Smallwood style....
WHAT DID NOT HAPPEN
A). We had no car trouble, except for a windshield miss hap.
B)   We witnessed no horrific auto accidents.
C).  We never were stuck in traffic
D)   We had no tire issues (flats)
E)    We had no contact with the police regarding violations of the speed limit....we did have a nasty run in with a park ranger while staying in the Buffalo Bill State Park outside Cody, WY.

WHAT DID HAPPEN...
##Put over 30,000 miles on the car
##Visited 35 States
##Spent nights in:
   State parks
   Federal parks
   Corp of Engineer's parks
   TVA Park
   Military Fam Camps
        UASF
         US Army
          Marine
          Navy
Backyards (Stith's)
Front yards (Parker's)
Walmart
Cracker Barrel
KOA
Private RV "resorts"
Oh and County Parks
 ##We visited Presidential libraries
Kennedy
Nixon
##We toured military museums
National museum of the Marine
Army Museum at West Point
USAF MUSEUM in Dayton, Ohio
National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola, FL.
##We slept every single night either in the camper or on the memory foam!!!
We were on the shores of..
The Atlantic:
In NC
In Boston
In Maine (Bar Harbor)
On the Bay of Fundy
THE GREAT  LAKES!!!
The Pacific:
San Onofre
San Diego
SPENT TIME
In
The BAD LANDS
THE SONORAN DESERT
WE TOOK OVER TWO THOUSAND PICTURES!!!

This is not all for the recap, but it is long enough for now, will post the second half soon.

 

Biltmore Estate

 

 

 

In the gardens at Biltmore

 

Back in beautiful North Carolina...our camp site on the French Broad River

Tally ho!

Cathy