Tuesday, December 10, 2024
Last legs to home
Monday, September 9, 2024
Maine and trouble
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.
Then things started to go wrong.
Leaving New Hampshire I started what I thought was the start of a cold or perhaps flu. That fuzzy, hot/cold just not right feeling most people have experienced.
By the time we got to Augusta Maine I had all the symptoms of the vertigo I had back in January. Not as extreme as then but I had a couple of spinning around events and I had difficulty walking. Driving was out of the question. Barbara was there to help of course Bless her.
I still had the physio exercises memorized from the last time but of course as the symptoms went away I had stopped doing them. I started them again and called my doctor back in Casa Grande for a referral to a Vestibular Physiotherapist in nearby Waterville ME at “Back in Motion”.
It was 2 weeks before I got an appointment but Kelly gave me a variation on the “Eppley Maneuver” I had been doing, and which wrecked my neck last time. She also gave me some exercises involving fixing my eyes on a point and moving my head in various directions. All of which helped.
No miracle cure though and we were forced to stay nearly 4 weeks in Augusta as I slowly improved. Taking short walks around the parking lot as often as I felt able.
Thank goodness we had chosen to stay at the Augusta Elks! Friendly people and camping with 50 amp electric when the weather was hot and sticky, so we could run the air conditioning, really saved us. They have a dump station and fresh water fill right there too which helped.
As I improved I managed to walk a little further so we made sure to get our Lobster addiction attended to! We even managed a couple of hours at the Maine Lobster Fest in Rockland but I was exhausted afterwards.
Maine Lobster Fest Entrance |
Our favorite crustacean |
We had never been to Waterville and explored the local places and restaurants including a side trip to the Skowhegan State Fair which tested my walking ability. I was pretty happy that I managed to last 4 hours with stops along the way.
All the fun of the Fair
Pretty
soon it was time to make a move to Bangor where we had reservations
for 2 weeks at Pumpkin Patch RV Park.State Fairground Entrance
You may remember this as where the Lobster Rally was held.
https://banbrv.blogspot.com/2016/08/lobster-fests.html
https://banbrv.blogspot.com/2021/08/the-objective-has-been-reached.html
Unfortunately the rally was discontinued when the local Escapees Chapter couldn’t find anyone to step up and lead it. Sad, but we see it happen more and more in the clubs and organizations we belong to.
Its still a great place to stay though and our friends Peter and Donna Ward who we met earlier this year in Florida spend their summers here.
https://banbrv.blogspot.com/2024/05/start-of-new-adventure.html
Peter graciously took it on himself to drive us around and show us some of their favorite places, which naturally involved Lobsters!
Peter
and Donna were born and
raised in Maine and although Donna likes Lobster, Peter doesn’t. We
treated him to a steak while the other 3 of us pigged out on our
favorite dish!Barb Donna and Peter
Peter enjoyed his steak Donna set to enjoy you know what!
Just
as things seemed to be going well we got a call from Peter and Donna.
They had contracted COVID.This was a 2lb model!
The next day I had symptoms and tested positive. Barbara didn’t!
It’s kind of difficult to isolate from your spouse in an RV! Barbara, bless her, volunteered to sleep on the long sofa in the living area whilst I got the bed!
We called our doctor in Casa Grande and they phoned a prescription for Paxlovid thru to the local Walmart. This is supposed to shorten the COVID symptoms and help in general.
After taking it for 5 days I felt great, like I’d never had COVID at all. The terrible weariness was gone and we went out (Suitably masked) and had an enjoyable day walking in the fresh air. A miracle cure!
Except the following morning I woke up as bad as I had been at the worst part of the infection. No energy, cough, feeling miserable.
After a couple of days we decided to go to a local Urgent Care center and they looked me over and X Rayed my chest (I thought I might have pneumonia I felt so weak). Then they told me about “Rebound COVID”.
Apparently about 20% of people taking Paxlovid have exactly the same experience as I had. After taking the last of the drug they get a day feeling great then plunge right back into the symptoms. I was one of the lucky 20%!
We established when I had finished the drugs, and that I had no fever. They told me that although I was still testing positive that I wasn’t infectious and I could start going out again.
Best news for Barbara is she could sleep in a bed again after almost 2 weeks!
All this had resulted in our 2 weeks at Pumpkin Patch lasting 4 weeks! They are such a great set of people, although we had to move a couple of times within the park, they found us a place for the 4 weeks and even penciled in a further week should we need it.
Every day one of the park people drove by in a golf cart and when we were out sitting in the sun they would stop and ask how I was feeling and hoping I would be feeling better soon.
Such warm and friendly people, this place has always been special to us and now it is even more so.
Eventually I got over the major symptoms of the COVID which just left the vertigo! I had felt so bad that I had stopped the physio which made my recovery from the vertigo take a couple of steps back.
So that’s the sad story of the last almost 8 weeks, only 2 of which we have really got to enjoy experiencing Maine. We have managed to make a serious dent in the lobster population however so we take that as a plus!
Time
has come to start our return trip to Casa Grande. It’s going to be
2 weeks later than we had in mind when we arrived, but hopefully it’s
not too late in the season to cause any problems.Monster Lobster Roll!
We spent a couple of hours discussing a possible route back, taking a more direct line between Maine and Arizona. We also have limited our daily mileage for the first 7 or so stops until I find out how I do driving.
I’ve been driving the car and that seems to be OK so I’m not too concerned. The start of our route will be country roads for about 300 miles thru Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont and with the Autumn colors about to happen it may be a spectacular drive.
So tune in next time to see how we do!
Saturday, August 3, 2024
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!
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.An American dart board.
Solid wood with wooden darts too.
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.
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!An Erie canal boat is very different from an English canal Boat
Liverpool Elks looking over the water |
A Lighthouse on the Seaway |
Not a bad view from the rig at Jacques Cartier State Park |
https://banbrv.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-huron-circle-route.html
We were now in school summer break time and rapidly approaching the July 4th Holiday. About the only time we make reservations if for Holiday weekends and especially the 4th 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.
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.A bulk carrier heading west to Hamilton Ontario
enters the lock.
Another ship ready to exit the lock. |
Very scenic lake front in Newport VT |
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
We
weren’t disappointed and rode the Steam Train, drove up Mt
Washington and reveled unashamedly in the whole tourist experience.Steam train rides, all great fun.
Cable car ride to the top of Cannon Mountain NH |
A little hazy but pretty |
We even hiked to the top observation tower. |
Tuesday, June 18, 2024
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 |
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.Many bridges across the Susquehanna River in Havre de Grace MD
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.Airplane nose art from the Glenn L Martin museum
Eastern Shore lighthouse |
We suddenly sat back and we both came to the same conclusion. This is where we wanted to be.
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!Boats at the Maritime Museum St Michels MD
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.
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!Black Widow night fighter in Redding PA
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.
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…..Mansion in the little town of Owego NY
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.
Thursday, May 30, 2024
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
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.Harold and Barb share a hug
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).
We
next headed for Roanoke VA which adjoins probably my favorite road in
the US, The Blue Ridge Parkway.The lake near Tazewell in Cavitt's Creek Park.
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 |
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 29th Division who died on D Day.The entrance to the D Day Museum
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.Dramatic statues
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.Amazing details
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.
But
move on we did.Steam locomotives at the Virginia Transportation Museum
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.
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!View across from the BRP
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.On the BRP near Sherando
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”!Mad Man Dan's brewery
Reserved parking just for us! |