Another Return to PA

 I have been very lax in my blogging as it has been almost two months since my last post. I just completely lost track of time. As is the case on any trip my plans are very fluid and flexible. We left Delaware and returned to PA. My original plans were to stay for a week in PA and double back to go to New Jersey. I nixed that plan after dealing with southeast PA traffic getting to Delaware, and it was ridiculous to backtrack just to get Jersey off of our list. With that being said we stayed at Appalachian Campsites for two weeks.

The camp site we were assigned was totally drenched in sunshine with no shade, making for a sweltering get together:

The location was ideal to visit with old friends and rehashing old times at the jail.

We started the day at Cigars International for a stogie and a beer:

Then we visited Roadside America, an old time roadside attraction near the campground:

A miniature train layout that has been running for years.

We were close to the Appalachian Trail so I met up with my buddy Dan at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary for a hike:

Look closely at the sign: "Bald Overlook", truly appropriate>

Here you can see the mountain plateaus that create thermals that the raptors, such as eagles, hawks, and falcons use to soar along the range. The best time to visit is in the fall when they are migrating up and down the Appalachians.

I don't know why I lost track of time and posting to the blog but I had many distractions, including the cat food drama. I went to several Petsmart locations, from Allentown to Reading to track down the little diva's food. Plus meeting up with friends and getting more golf in.

We had a foursome at Golden Oaks, me, Bob (aka Zee), my brother-in-law Jimmy, and Barry.

Never a serious moment!

It was great seeing Zee (on the right). I haven't seen him since 2012. He took me in as a young pup when I first started at the jail and he looked out for Doreen when we were all just pups.

We all got together again with our significant others for a nice dinner at Ganly's Pub

Barry and I got a round in at Lebanon Valley:

Not a great course, but man, they have slippery greens! I actually had a four putt when I rolled a 20 footer off the green, chipped up, then three putted from there. 

We would get another round in while we were at our next stop at PA Dutch Country. This time I knew the greens a little better but Barry knew the course a little better. He tried to convince me on a certain hole, that a small creek below the green on a par four was in play off the tee. The hole was only about 300 yards to an elevated green but the landing area was a blind shot and there was a tiny creek below the green. No, not even a creek, a one foot wide path of water that crossed the end of the fairway. I uncorked a 3 wood and was quite pleased with my swing. Barry chose an iron for his shot. My pleasure soon turned to dismay as I found my ball in that little bitty body of water.

Barry was right. I hate that! What were the odds? We laughed about it as we downed some cold ones afterward.

 Our stay at PA Dutch Country was close to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, only a few miles down the road. I had heard of it but we had never attended in the past, even though it was a short trip down the PA Turnpike from where we used to live. The faire is open for 13 weekends in the late summer and early fall. The setting is Medieval England at the start of Queen Elizabeth I's reign. We decided to check it out on a Saturday.

The faire is held on the grounds of the Mount Hope Estate and Winery.

What a hoot. We had a good time watching the performances and the people. You get a discount on your admission if you show up in costume, and a lot of people take advantage of that.

I didn't know you could get a black and gold kilt!

We caught a performance of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet"

Poor Romeo has killed himself mistakenly thinking Juliet is dead. She cannot live without him and she too offs herself by thrusting a dagger into her abdomen.

 The most popular attraction is the jousting match:

A human chess match:

Lots to see and plenty to eat and drink. I don't know if I would do the kilt thing though like some guys do:

  After our stay at PA Dutch Country we were off to the northeast and our stay at my mother-in-law's in Jessup. Our plan was to park in the driveway for two weeks from the 20'th until September 3 and be there for her 88'th birthday party over Labor Day weekend. We could enjoy ourselves at the party and not have to worry about driving back to a campground. We would then go to a campground in East Stroudsburg where we would have a short drive to Jersey and attend Doreen's nephew's baby's christening. 

 Not so fast. Ah, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry, and they did in this case. We arrived on a steamy afternoon and after much maneuvering I got the trailer parked in the driveway.

I proceeded to plug the power cord into the newly installed 30 amp outlet that my brother-in-law had installed for us, and I heard a "pop!" after I turned on the breaker, which I noticed was a double pole. 

The power indicator light was lit so I assumed I had power. Once I tried to run the air conditioning I knew there was a problem. The air would not stay on and the microwave was having an issue. Everything else seemed fine. The TV worked, lights, fridge, etc were all working. Or so I thought. Somehow they were running off the battery and that eventually died the next day. On the next day the electrician who installed the outlet came over and took a look. He realized the trailer ran off of a 120 volt power source and he had installed a 240 volt breaker. He only went on the information Doreen had given her brother when she sent him a photo of the plug, which looks like a clothes dryer connection, which is 240 volt.

  I called the closest RV repair shop near Wilkes-Barre and made an appointment to bring it in. I dropped it off on Tuesday, August 27. The tech I spoke to knew exactly what happened when I told him the story. He said "they put a dryer line in didn't they?" It was probably the power converter. 

    Depending on when the trailer would be done I might have to spend a third week at Doreen's mother's house. We would have to make the best of it. When my second brother-in-law, Tony, aka Cheesy invited me to sarsaparilla Friday at the hose company I jumped on it. I didn't ask him why they call it that but I wasn't going complain about all the beer and dago red you can drink along with homemade soppresatta and lazy pierogies for 10 bucks. What a wreck I was. I can't remember the last time I was out until 2 AM!

Me, Bo, and Cheesy

  That was our first Friday in town. The following Tuesday my third brother-in-law Frank, took me to cigar Tuesday in his old store in Clarks Summit. We drank some beers and smoked cigars and his buddies played the electronic slots, which I couldn't believe were now legal in PA. They wanted me to get in but I know those machines are for suckers so I politely declined. Another late night!

  When Tony asked me to go to another sarsaparilla Friday I had to decline. I told him I had one more brother-in-law to party with (Jimmy) on Saturday and I couldn't spread myself too thin. I had to be in good shape for the party on Saturday. The party was a good time and I outlasted Jimmy and his motto of Rose' all day, as in rose' wine. Two bottles and he was crashed by 9. I was like pace car my brother-in-law Frank said. I kept going steady until after midnight hanging with the millennials. 

  I still hadn't heard anything about the trailer so I called them on Tuesday after the holiday. The converter was replaced but the microwave was cooked and would have to be replaced. They would have to order one. I gave them a day and called on Thursday. The microwave was the wrong size; too small. At this point I was almost begging for them to make it work. I implored the woman that I had to get out of town soon. She had to chuckle when I said that I was staying at my mother-in-law's for over two weeks and was desperate to get back on the road to Florida. Finally the call came late in the afternoon on Friday that the trailer was ready. I picked it up Saturday morning and brought it back to 123 Maple St. to load up. 

 After two weeks and four days I was ready to go. Oh well, what's three more days? Might as well just leave Tuesday for our stop at Gettysburg Farm near York. That's what we did. 

The PA odyssey of six weeks, three days was behind us as of September 13 when we made our way to Williamsburg Virginia.

I will likely be home in Florida by the time my next posts are up. That is how far behind I am.

  

The Empire State and The Diamond State

 We left Rhode Island for New York and Rondout Valley Resort in Accord, NY. I know we stayed here back in 2014 but didn't do much sightseeing during the four days we were there. This go round we would have a week.

  I suppose the location of the campground could be considered the Hudson River Valley or the foothills of the Catskills with New Paltz and Poughkeepsie to the east about 45 minutes and Kingston 30 minutes to the north. Really not much around. This is where the great cat food quest begins.

 For the last few years we have been using Chewy. You call them and they deliver the food via FedEx right to the house or the campground on the road. Lately however they have been out of stock of the cat's flavor: Nutro sliced chicken and tuna entree in a savory broth, mmmmm. We finally got a small order delivered but it would not be enough to sustain the finicky feline for long. Thus Doreen would call any pet store in a 30 mile radius, specifically PetSmart, the parent company of Chewy, to see if they had it in stock to fill in when Chewy was out. Most other stores don't carry it. Doreen did some research and even called the manufacturer and found out that particular line was being discontinued. Oh no, the dreaded switching over a cat's regular food. In the interim we would track down every last can of the Nutro sliced chicken and tuna entree in a savory broth in our path.

  With that being said we took a trip to the Kingston PetSmart to scoop up the remaining cans there and then we grabbed some lunch. Another day was spent doing laundry. Not my favorite chore.The two laundry rooms at the campground were all being used. I had to go outside the compound. Luckily I found a laundromat a few miles down the road. 

  We also took a trip through the mountains to Mohonk Preserve on our way to the Walkway over the Hudson State historic park.

  

 Wile E. Coyote, genius?

The Mohonk Preserve Testimonial Gate. What is it? I'm not really sure. The best I can guess is that it the historical entrance to the preserve and the resort that is at the top of the mountain. It was closed for renovations so I couldn't get more information.

The Walkway over the Hudson is a re purposed railroad bridge. 

The river is half a mile wide at this point and bridge spans about a mile and a half.

The Poughkeepsie RR Bridge was the only RR bridge south of Albany and it transported passengers and raw materials from the Midwest to Northeastern industrial centers.

A view downriver of the Mid Hudson Bridge.

You eventually end up in downtown Poughkeepsie on the other side so we just turned around and walked back.

We stopped in New Paltz for a bite to eat.

 Doreen had a fancy salad and I just has some wings. Not photo worthy.

  From New York we made our way to Delaware, also known as the First State or in my opinion, the Flat State. Our destination was Lum's Pond State Park about 45 minutes south-west of Wilmington. I chose a route that would take me down I-476, aka The Blue Route to I-95 and into Delaware. I totally forgot our departure was a Friday which means heavy traffic on all routes heading south out of Philly toward the beaches. A 240 mile trip took about seven hours mired in bumper to bumper traffic the entire length of the Blue Route from the PA Turnpike to 95, and once again on 95. We finally arrived about 5 PM and found our site quickly and proceeded to set up in the sweltering heat.

 Luckily some respite from the scorching sun was provided by large shade trees behind us and to the side. Anytime you can get shade to the south it is an ideal scenario. The only drawback of this site was the blacktop. In most cases you would welcome that- when it rains, leveling the rig, easy to walk over, and general tidiness, but when the mercury is rising past the 90 mark it becomes a heat magnet.

  This would be only a four day stay. I took advantage of the nice trails biking around the lake about half way. 

 We took a ride to Delaware City and Fort Delaware State Park.

A short ferry ride takes you to the Civil War era fort on Pea Island.

 Then a short walk over the boardwalk 

To the tram

Fort Delaware never fired a shot in anger during the war but instead was used as a prisoner of war camp holding thousands of Confederate soldiers and officers.

The interior buildings are three stories high incorporating housing, messes, armory, dispensary, blacksmiths, etc. Everything needed to run the fort. And of course cannons; lots of them.

All three levels with cannon. By my count, seven on each level on at least two of the five sides of the pentagonal fort.

We were too late for the cannon firing demonstration but we did see the musket demonstration.

The island is three feet below sea level so a moat came natural.

We took the return ferry back to Delaware City

and stopped in Crabby Dick's, the only establishment open this Sunday afternoon.

A real dive bar with really bad entertainment. These two were drinking at the bar with some friends and I learned they are in the cement business. They should stick with that.

  Overall not a bad excursion for the day. We returned to the trailer and by that time the sun was blazing. Doreen struggled mightily to get into the trailer but she was very overheated and dehydrated. She needed to take a break with North America's oldest brewery:

Yeah, that's a Yuengling Black & Tan pounder! Sucked it right down.

  Of course we had to ride around in search of cat food. Our search took us into Newark, Delaware, home of the Blue Hens. We scored some Nutro and found a relic of the past:

A 5&10 cent store! Not really. The items for sale were mostly University of Delaware goods and dorm stuff for the college kids. 

  Doreen had a hankering for Maryland Crab Cakes and Delaware would the last chance to get the best ones you will ever have. We found a nondescript place called Two Stones Pub in even more of a nondescript shopping center.

Looks can be deceiving because this was way beyond pub grub. More like a gastro pub. I couldn't believe how good the food was; complex ingredients and flavors. Doreen had the crab cake and I the fish sandwich and mussels for an appetizer. If you are ever in Delaware check them out. They have five locations so there should be one near you in the second smallest state in the union.

  So, that's it for new states this trip. New Jersey got pushed off until next time. I am not going to back track from Delaware to Appalachian to South Jersey back to Scranton. Sometimes you have to tweak your itinerary to fit your mood. Next it is back to PA to Appalachian Campsites in Shartlesville. Until then, happy trails.