Checking in!

Can you believe we’ve been staying at campgrounds that have NO WiFi and NO cell phone signal? We’ve been in the boonies for the past week! This means I have a few days to catch up on. Check out this picture of Tom trying to get cell service. We did a lot of this!

After we left Niagara Falls we traveled the New York countryside in search of our campground for two nights. It turned out to be a very pretty wooded campground. We drove into the Adirondack Mountains and the fall colors there did not disappoint.

Unfortunately, when we left home Tom had a cold. This cold had turned into a nasty cough and Tom just felt miserable. I finally told him we were going to go into town and find an Urgent Care Clinic. When he didn’t argue with me I knew he must really be feeling miserable. The diagnosis was bronchitis. A trip to Walgreens to fill some prescriptions and we drove back to the campground. After dinner, Tom was in bed early.

Next on our itinerary was a couple days in Vermont. Fortunately it was a short drive. I offered to drive but Tom, being the man, insisted he drive. We arrived at Kenolie Village campground and as soon as we were set up I told Tom to go rest. He slept for 2 ½ hours, woke up for dinner and then fell asleep again on the couch. He woke up and went to bed. The antibiotics started to kick in within a couple days although Tom is still a bit tired.

Vermont welcomed us with some fabulous colors. They are still just beginning to pop but we were able to find a few spots that were very colorful. We began the morning with a stop at a place that makes cheese. We were able to peek through the windows and watch the process. There were samples to be tried and of course we had to buy some! We also found some Vermont maple syrup. The best thing that was there was a pumpkin spice truffle. Oh my goodness! Yes, it was to die for!

After lunch at Wendy’s… yes they have them in Vermont also… we headed out for a drive. We ended up on an unpaved road exploring the countryside. We happened upon a “garage sale” where the owner’s yard was the most eclectic mix of decorating I have ever seen. Bicycles hanging from trees, yard art made out of ski poles and skis, a windchime made from ski poles and various other items.  We never did see the owner of the place as no one showed up while we were there. At one point I lost Tom. My immediate thought was this would be the perfect horror movie. All these creepy items around us and Tom goes missing. Do I jump in the car and leave him saving myself and the dogs? Not to worry, Tom answered my call and all was well.

I found the place we stayed in Vermont to be a bit creepy as well. There were a lot of seasonal campers there and I felt like we were the outsiders. Everyone stared at us including when they drove down the road on looked into our RV. One of them even waved at me through the window. We are friendly people but they didn’t speak to us, just looked at us. haha

We drove through New Hampshire on to our next stop in Maine. The fall colors just kept getting better and better. On The Saco Family Campground was our home for a few days in Maine. This was a great campground on the Saco River. There was plenty of space between the sites and everyone was very friendly. The first day we decided to drive to Bar Harbor. Tom checked the map and didn’t think it looked too far. His failure was that we were not at the spot on the map he thought we were. We were quite a bit further south. So it turned out to be quite a long day. Bar Harbor has a fun downtown that reminded us of a Key West but with a northern vibe.

Portland, Maine was a much larger city. Portland is the largest city in Maine in fact. We drove around a bit and walked along the waterfront. This reminded me of Seattle. I decided I NEEDED to see a lighthouse. I happened to be talking about this while in a store and the friendly clerk mentioned there was one just 15 minutes away. Yay! Our GPS was a bit confused but eventually we did find the lighthouse. Not only did we find the lighthouse but it was also the site of Fort Williams and there were relics of the fort still on the grounds. The views were awesome. I would have liked to stay longer but we had three furballs waiting in the RV to be let out. They were happy to see us as usual. Well, they better be happy to see us! Back in the car we jumped to head to a restaurant the owner of the RV park told us about. The best seafood in Maine he said. It sounded good to me! Of course I had to have the Maine lobster! DUH!!! Tom, well Tom doesn’t like seafood. Crazy right??!! He ordered the flank steak steak and couldn’t get over how good it was. We were told we were in Maine during the peak fall color season. Maine had a drought this year. The colors are doing what they call "pop and drop". The leaves change and very quickly fall. All I know is we saw some incredible colors!

Tonight we are settled in at the Boston Minuteman Campground. We are about an hour drive from Boston. This campground reminds me of the campgrounds back in Montana so I feel right at home here. AND we have WiFi (sort of) and cell service. Tomorrow we shall be tourists in Boston. There is so much history there we should have a great day!

Until next time…

Niagara Falls

Bucket list! Niagara Falls! We had such a great day here. First we went to check out the U.S. side of the falls and had to take a ride on Maid of the Mist. Mist?? Do they know what "mist" is?  By the time you get to the falls, that's not MIST! It was like being in a tropical storm. The wind picked up and the water sprayed in huge drops. Now you know why you see everyone wearing those fashionable ponchos. I, Debbie, prepared for the day. I wore my Keen water shoes, shorts and a rain jacket. On top of that I had a dry pair of shoes and another jacket in the car. Winning! The falls were awesome and it really is something to see. Did you know Niagara was the first State Park in the U.S.? There's a bit of trivia for you.

After lunch Tom had us booked on a Jet boat adventure up the Niagara river through the rapids. He didn't get us just any seats on the boat, he booked us the co-pilot seats! We sat right next to the boat captain, one of us on each side of him. The journey was so much fun. The things they can do with those boats is incredible. Our captain was doing donuts and taking us right in the middle of class 5 and 6 rapids. Many times the water washed over the entire boat. Fortunately we were inside the cabin but there is a "wet deck" on the rear where people would get completely drenched. No one was that brave on our tour. You have to see video to understand what it was like. Check it out here http://www.niagarajet.com/.

The next step was to go over to Ontario. Fortunately I remembered to pack our passports just for this occasion. The Falls area on the Canadian side has much more to do. There are tons of shops and restaurants and the view of the falls is better. There is also a boat there to take you up to the falls as well as a Behind the Falls tour and ziplining. We were too late for the Behind the Falls tour and the zipline was closed. I didn't check prices so I can't say whether the U.S. or Canadian boat is less expensive.

We had a remarkable day at Niagara Falls. And now... on to the next stop!

P.S. As we are driving we are seeing more and more changing leaves. I hope our timing is right!

It's the EPIC RV road trip!

Here we are somewhere in Ohio.  Ok, we are somewhere between Cincinnati and Columbus and we are already on day THREE of our latest adventure.  The last two nights were spent in Indiana at Follow the River RV Resort outside Florence, IN.  We arrived Monday night about 6:30 and camp was set up quickly.  We're getting pretty good with the teamwork of getting everything hooked up! Debbie even got dinner started while we set up and it was ready by the time we were.  Yes, I'll be honest, it was a simple meal, but still!! Then we sat back to watch the first great debate.

We explored the area a little bit on Tuesday.  Tom had to make sure Debbie got to check out the little, ok tiny, ok wee, who am I kidding?  It was the MINISCULE town of Rabbit Hash, KY. No, there isn't much there but it IS historic and I guess the adventure is all in getting there. :)  We then drove to Vevay, IN and checked out an antique mall.  No purchases were made but they had some cool stuff. Baby Bear got meet a giant rubber ducky today.  Ok, ok, it wasn't rubber, but it was cute just the same!

Then it was back to the campground and the kids (dogs) (us?) got to have some fun.  The RV park is huge with big open spaces and the dogs enjoyed being able to run off-leash.  Us? We discovered a bounce balloon pillow. There weren't any kids around to use it and it just looked so lonely.  Debbie braved it first and quickly declared we needed one in our back yard.  It's great exercise!  Tom couldn't be outdone so he had to give a go also.

Tonight's stop shall be Niagara Falls.  It's a long journey today but finally we will be getting into some of the states we have never visited before.  I have been to New York but I'm not sure changing flights really counts.  We are looking forward to what the next few weeks have in store for us!

See ya at Niagara Falls.