Which way next?

 

We just got on the Interstate and went North into New York State and a town called Vestal near Binghampton. More relaxing and exploring.

Does it get any better?

Well it might have to get worse before it gets better sometimes and this apparently was one of those times!

An American dart board.
Solid wood with wooden darts too.

We had a bad experience of PA roads a couple of years ago when the extremely rough going broke the rear suspension completely in two. We were saved by Dave and Gloria luckily.

https://banbrv.blogspot.com/2021/09/2009-monaco-cayman-broken-trailing-arm.html

Not wanting to repeat the experience we decided to take the Interstate north into Upstate New York to an area we hadn’t so far explored.

As we got further north the mountains got higher and the climbs steeper for the coach to climb.

I glanced down and saw a red warning light flicker while climbing some of the steeper hills. It went away as soon as I let off the throttle.

This is usually a sign of low fuel pressure and might indicate a blocked fuel filter which we hoped was the case but doubted because we had new ones installed before we left AZ and we had only done about 4K miles since.

The nearest Cummins Diesel dealer was in Syracuse NY so there was a chance to find what the problem was and explore Syracuse at the same time!

One of the good things about Cummins dealers is that they may have the ability to let you camp there! This was one of that did and we gratefully plugged into their 50 amp power supply.

The technician plugged in his computer and confirmed low fuel pressure under heavy load but found the fuel filters to be fine. He spent a whole day going over the fuel system and found several small problems and a software update for the ECU which when added together were the cause of the issue.

We spent another night there as it was late in the day before he had us set to go, meanwhile we learned about the Erie Canal and how it affected the Westward expansion of the USA.

An Erie canal boat is very different from an English canal Boat

We also discovered the Elks Lodge in Liverpool (NY)! A pretty place on the Erie Canal, full of friendly people. Our joy at finding another Liverpool was increased when we read the Lodge history and discovered that when the Elks took over the property it was called the Downing Tavern! Coincidence at it’s best!

Liverpool Elks looking over the water

From the Erie Canal we decided to head North East which would head us towards Vermont, New Hampshire and our final destination of Maine. It would also allow us to follow the St Lawrence Seaway along the Canadian border.

A Lighthouse on the Seaway

Not a bad view from the rig at Jacques Cartier State Park

We had been at the other end of the Seaway in Sault St Marie some years back and lived for a short while on a town on that Seaway in St Catherines Ontario Canada. Tracking along another part of it seemed like a good idea.

https://banbrv.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-huron-circle-route.html

We were now in school summer break time and rapidly approaching the July 4^th Holiday. About the only time we make reservations if for Holiday weekends and especially the 4^th which gets very busy.

Some research came up with a couple of NY State Parks along the way, and when I got onto their booking website we found them to be very reasonably priced at $30 a night for water and electric with a dump station on site.

The first park was Jacques Cartier SP and the second Robert Moses SP. Both were well maintained, very picturesque and busy! We enjoyed them immensely especially Jacques Cartier where we had a view straight out the front window looking over the Seaway.

A bulk carrier heading west to Hamilton Ontario 
enters the lock.

The Seaway itself was excellent and we explored the locks, dams and museums, then watched ships passing thru the lock going to Hamilton and St Catherines Ontario. Kind of closing the loop for us.

Another ship ready to exit the lock.

We spent a couple of weeks in the area before crossing into Vermont and exploring the Newport area. A couple of brew pubs and a dinner cruise on Lake Memphremagog (no idea how you pronounce that!) were just right for us!

Very scenic lake front in Newport VT

We keep returning to this area which is generally referred to as New England and is made up of the most North Easterly States, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts. I don’t think there is an “Official” list, and I probably insulted the inhabitants of several states!

Mountains, rivers, pretty towns and villages this area has it all.

We crossed the Northern part of Vermont and onwards to New Hampshire where we wanted to return to the Lincoln/Woodstock area where we met up with Barbara’s brother and sister in law several years ago.

https://banbrv.blogspot.com/2016/10/waiting-for-visitors.html

Clarke's Country Store has everything for tourists

Performing bears

Steam train rides, all great fun.

We weren’t disappointed and rode the Steam Train, drove up Mt Washington and reveled unashamedly in the whole tourist experience.

Cable car ride to the top of Cannon Mountain NH

A little hazy but pretty

We even hiked to the top observation tower.

There, we admit it and we loved it. All too soon we were on the road again to our final destination for this trip Maine.

Back to Maryland

 Another 2 day stay turned into a week before we continued up 340 into Maryland. East lay Baltimore and Annapolis where we lived for 25 years, so lots of catching up to do!

We were here last year in October for Mike and Holly’s wedding, yes the same Mike and Holly we stayed with a few weeks ago! We caught up with them for breakfast again, they were riding their Harley’s. 

Holly and Mike out riding

I delight in seeing them enjoying motorcycling together and at the same time I’m more than a little jealous as I haven’t ridden a motorcycle in 10 years now.

Mike got me back into motorcycles way, way back when I first started to work for JJMA. I can’t remember when that was exactly but it must have been sometime in the early 90’s. He rode a very tired Yamaha Venture Royal into DC everyday. One day I was walking from the parking lot towards the office and he rode in. I waited for him to park and noticed the back tire of his bike was down to the cords! After I gave him a lecture about maintenance and safety he asked me what the heck I knew about motorcycles. When he found out that I had ridden from 1966 to when we emigrated in 1983 he set out an a crusade to find me a motorcycle!

Eventually he found a GS1100 Suzuki that needed love and the rest was, as they say, history. Happy days.

We stopped at the Severna Park Elks for a couple of nights then the Annapolis Elks for nearly a week while we caught up with Dave and Gloria who saved us from disaster when our suspension was destroyed by the terrible Pennsylvania roads a few years ago, and we managed to meet up with them for dinner.

Dave, Gloria and the crew

Naturally our son Fred and his wife Cori were at the top of the list of people to see and we managed a couple of visits and at the same time took advantage of them when we had our mail delivered to their house.

Many bridges across the Susquehanna River in Havre de Grace MD

Time went quickly, traffic was crazy and after another fleeting visit with our favorite ex neighbors Doug and Lynn we deserted the DC/Baltimore/Annapolis mess and crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge onto what is called the “Eastern Shore” of Maryland.

Airplane nose art from the Glenn L Martin museum

In 12 miles we went from crazy drivers and traffic jams to quiet rural roads on Kent Island just off the end of the Bay Bridge. We pulled into the Elks Lodge there and we were immediately welcomed and made to feel at home. The planned 2 nights stay soon became a 4 night one as we explored the little towns and villages hidden away in the area.

Eastern Shore lighthouse

We suddenly sat back and we both came to the same conclusion. This is where we wanted to be. 

Boats at the Maritime Museum St Michels MD

We had suddenly and quite unexpectedly got back to our happy place where we had nowhere to go and didn’t have to be there any time soon!

Eastern shore Farm Market

Not that we hadn’t enjoyed every minute we spent with all our great friends that we’d caught up with, we absolutely loved every minute spent with you all.

Antique wooden boat at the Maritime Museum

BUT, we had been driving point to point to point, which is not our happy way of doing things.

We had difficulty deciding where to go next!

The Eastern Shore had captivated us so we headed North towards Delaware/Pennsylvania/ New Jersey.

One of our “Things” is collecting the lapel pins that Elks Lodges have for each individual Lodge. Our collection is close to 150, but would be much more except for Lodges that were closed, didn’t have pins or we couldn’t find.

Black Widow night fighter in Redding PA

We are now at the point where there are about 10 States that we don’t have pins from and Pennsylvania and New Jersey are 2 of them so we decided to clear that up!

The Philadelphia/Delaware/New Jersey area is at least as bad as the DC/Baltimore/Annapolis area for traffic but is cursed even more by the endless tolls imposed on the travelers.

Trains at the Strasburg PA Rail Museum

To avoid this and to enjoy some back roads we chose to drive to Lancaster PA where for the most part life is a little slower. There are even lots of horse drawn buggies on the roads and the local Amish people can be seem plowing behind horse teams. We have visited this area numerous times in the past when we still lived in Maryland and villages like Bird in Hand and Intercourse still bring back great memories.

Mansion in the little town of Owego NY

We quickly settled in and found 3 Elks Lodges with pins to fill in another State but we just couldn't force ourselves to drive into the traffic mess of New Jersey, so we still don’t have one of their pins! Ah Well…..

The roads in PA have already been responsible for breaking the suspension on the Monaco a couple of years back and after a wander around and a visit to an airplane museum (Yeah!! says Barb ((NOT))). We just got on the Interstate and went North into New York State and a town called Vestal near Binghampton. More relaxing and exploring.

Wandering the Blue Ridge

 So this section of the trip has been all about visiting friends, and it has been delightful!

In case you thought we were done visiting you are wrong, we had turned west and now we went a little north to visit old friends in Tazewell VA, Harold and Wanda. We learned from their son Don that Wanda was ill and getting treatment in Virginia Beach, we hope she improves soon.

Harold and Barb share a hug

Harold welcomed us and proudly showed us around his garden and the surrounding district. It’s over 20 years since we met riding motorcycles and it was good to see him again.

We stayed at a local park near Tazewell on a lake with great views. It wet my appetite for more of the hills of Western Virginia (as opposed to West Virginia which is a whole different state, but still with great mountains).

The lake near Tazewell in Cavitt's Creek Park.

We next headed for Roanoke VA which adjoins probably my favorite road in the US, The Blue Ridge Parkway.

We stayed at a great Elks Lodge that had a beautiful building, camping with an electric hookup and a full size swimming pool. The food was excellent, everyone was friendly and we loved it.

Fabulous Elks Lodge in Roanoke

We had lots of time to explore the city of Roanoke and we cruised the Parkway up to Peaks of Otter where we enjoyed lunch overlooking the lake.

Peaks of Otter looking over the Lake

On the way back we used my amazing sense of direction to “Explore in a different direction” and found ourselves in the town of Bedford and noticed signs for the National D Day Museum.

The entrance to the D Day Museum

The connection isn’t immediately obvious with Bedford being well away from any coastline, but their story is of the 20 young men who were part of the 29^th Division who died on D Day.

Dramatic statues
 

Its just a small town in the hills so taking 20 men from it was a blow felt in some way by every house in the community.

Amazing details

We toured the museum and we were impressed by the statuary in the park like atmosphere. It brought back memories of my Dad’s experiences that we only uncovered after his death.

We also sampled the beer at a few local breweries of course! And luckily there were several breweries in Roanoke as well as the good selection at the Lodge. I’m not saying any of that influenced us but the intended 2 day stay stretched to a week and we felt so welcome there. A nice place to stay.

Steam locomotives at the Virginia Transportation Museum

But move on we did.

My next favorite road after the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP for short) is VA rt 340 that ambles North/South parallel to the BRP and I81. Initially we drove Rt 11 and then got on 340 to Waynesboro and another great Elks Lodge with hook ups.

View across from the BRP

I used to camp just down the road at Sherando Lake for a motorcycle rally over the Labor Day weekend. That’s where I met Harold and his sons David and Don. Mike and took our sons there too. It’s scary to think they are nearly 40 years old now!

On the BRP near Sherando

Barbara is new to this area and I’m sure she got tired of me telling her where I had been, when and who with! Fortunately she has been enjoying the area as much as I have and I think I’ve made her  another fan of the area.

Mad Man Dan's brewery

Naturally breweries were an attraction and especially Wild Man Dan’s which was tucked away in the middle of nowhere but so full of character. We chatted with the owners and marveled that they had dedicated parking for us! Not really! They have a Bed and Breakfast there and the parking signs say BnB Parking. We parked the car next to the sign because our license plate is “BNB CAR”!

Reserved parking just for us!

Another 2 day stay turned into a week before we continued up 340 into Maryland. East lay Baltimore and Annapolis where we lived for 25 years, so lots of catching up to do!

Texas and more

 Maine was our next objective, but how we will get there and what we will see along the way is anyone’s guess!

Tag along, it’ll be fun.

North was an obvious choice of direction! So we did that.

A night or two in St Augustine seemed nice but the trip up I95 to Savannah was a mess with trucks and cars fighting for lanes. Exactly what we hate, and a good reminder to stay off the interstates. We have no deadlines until August now so there is no need for speed.

Nice tree lined streets and little parks everywhere

We have never visited Savannah before and didn’t realize what a pretty city it is. Except for the parking situation.

Some really fancy tombstones

We have always had a “Thing” for cemeteries and the Bonaventure Cemetery was an excellent one, with memorials going back to the foundation of the Colony of Georgia and including prominent people up to the Civil War and beyond.

Old buildings and cobblestone streets on River Street

Savannah was spared from destruction in Sherman’s “March to the Sea”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherman%27s_March_to_the_Sea

which split the Confederacy in half. The citizens of Savannah paid the Union forces 25,000 bales of cotton to spare the city and so there are lots of original buildings to wander around.

Juliette Gordon Low founder of Girls Scouts in the US
was from Savannah

We did our customary “Hop on Hop off” bus tour to get the feel of the place then explored the water front area which is aptly named “River Street”. Some nice beers and seafood helped us get to know the city and I think we will return again sometime.

By the end of the day we were both feeling exhausted from all the walking. We should have done more during the winter… but we say that every year!!

North up the coast again to Myrtle Beach gave us the opportunity to see another old friend from our Maryland/Motorcycle days and we explored some of Barry’s favorite watering spots. Not being particularly “Beachy People” we spent our spare time shopping for RV accessories!

Our tour guide Barry

Barry’s last name is Monaco so he liked our rig!

He liked the RV brand.

It’s beginning to sound like we slogged further and further North but things were fairly close together and next we had an invite to stay at Mike and Holly’s farm in North Carolina.

The faithful Sheep Dog

We were back in Maryland last October for Mike and Holly’s wedding in Frederick and they kindly invited us to stay with them if we found ourselves in the Wilmington area. 

We jumped at the chance!

The curving driveway

Porch overlooking the creek

Their “farm” is a charming little place at the end of a country road and down a winding private driveway which opens up to reveal a beautiful house on a quiet creek with a barn and their collection of animals roaming in the paddocks. So quiet and relaxing with room in the drive for our rig.

Enough room for the rig!

Our great hosts Mike and Holly

We spent several days exploring the area, eating out at their favorite spots, sitting on their pier and annoying the fish with my amateur attempts at fishing! We eventually had to tear ourselves away but thank you Mike and Holly for the great hospitality.

Not much further away but West instead of North had us camping in a nice campground attached to an adventure park outside of Charlotte NC just a couple of miles from Barbara’s cousin Helen and her family who we got to meet.

Helen and Barbara

Friends and neighbors from Maryland also live within about 50 miles so we caught up with Dave and Kathy who we rode Goldwings with. 

Dave, Me, Barbara and Kathy

Then with Heather who is the daughter of our neighbors back in Gambrills. You realize how time has flown when you find that the young girl from back then is now a teacher and mom!

With Heather and her family

So this section of the trip has been all about visiting friends, and it has been delightful!

Still more friends to see along the way but you'll have to wait until the next post to meet them!