Rubble everywhere from excavation. The water pipes had burst and were being replaced. No sewer sites where available and we were under a water boil notice. I had to navigate the trailer through the narrow opening above to back into a pull thru site. The road became rutted as I maneuvered back and forth trying to squeeze between the boulders surrounding my site and those on the sides of the road. I would not be deterred and after about half an hour I got it in.
The weather was fabulous the first day or two but then the rains came making everything a muddy mess.
I was only able to extend my awning about half way to get any cover from the rain.
The two weeks were spent going back and forth to Doreen's mother's and sisters about 45 minutes away in Jessup. This would not be so bad were it not for the eternal road construction in the area. The same orange cones were up on Rt. 611 and I 380 that were there last year. Lanes closed, no left turns, detours; everything that makes Northeastern PA just wonderful. The state tree should be the orange traffic cone and the state animal odocoileus virginiaus mortuus est. Scientific name for dead whitetail deer on the road every two miles.
I got some golf in with the boys at Olde Homestead Golf Club.
I am the true Florida boy now, the only one with trousers on.
The weather was blustery and chilly on this links style course. We all struggled to keep the ball on path and at the end, my brother-in-law Jimmy bested us by a couple strokes. We played for big stakes and Barry and I made a push on the back nine to knot the entire match. Jimmy helped us by missing a short par putt on the last hole giving us the back nine and tying overall saving us 3 bucks apiece.
It was fun playing on the northern bluegrass and fescue and the dramatic elevation changes. Much different than I have been playing at home.
We spent time with friends in White Haven at the southern edge of the Poconos. Their house is in the woods where wildlife is abundant. The deer come right to the door practically.
For my birthday I just wanted to stay local to the campground so we found a brew pub for drinks and appetizers at the Barley Creek Brewing Co. before going to dinner.
They also have a distillery making their own whiskey and spirits. I enjoyed their ale while Doreen sipped their house whiskey. We then moved on to dinner at Smugglers Cove, a seafood place down the road.
I have to have surf and turf for my birthday.
A basic no frills old-school eatery. Doreen had the crab cakes, the drinks were good and I was pleased.
I got another round of golf in again with Barry and this time Rick, my old partner from our annual jail golf outing.
The day started out cold and damp but warmed up nicely. Many holes were waterlogged from the heavy rains the two days before. Iron Lake Country Club is a decent course with some interesting holes but a little rough around the edges. Massive fir trees were frequently found by my drives but I was able to prevail by two strokes over the field. I needed to go par, bogey on the last two holes to break 90 but took a double bogey on the short 280 yard par 4 17'th and bogey on the par 3 18'th.
We attended a graduation party in Carbondale at the hose company. They wouldn't let me back the fire truck in after the party though.
Doreen's nephew Tony is a Steeler fan so we had the perfect gift for him.
Luckily my buddy Dan had been holding the jersey for us for five years since we moved.
A final campfire before leaving PA and heading to New England. Dan relaxing by the fire.
We left on June 26 for East Hampton Connecticut. En route I hit the hardest bump I have ever hit on a highway on I 84 leaving New York and entering Massachusetts. The bump was one of those seams where a bridge or overpass joins the road. I can usually see it coming by watching the traffic in front of me and slow down accordingly when I see the cars bounce up and down. This time there was a long stretch with no traffic in front of me and I hit at 70 mph, so hard my head nearly hit the roof of the truck. I checked my side view mirror and saw my bike jutting out horizontally. I pulled over and saw the large L shaped hook holding the bike had bent downwards with the force of the bump. The bike was hanging by thread. I was able to bend the hook back in shape and get on my way.
We pulled into the campground and I knew I had better check for any damage inside.
Luckily just the usual problem. The supports for the shelves in the closet that break easily. There were several this time that had succumbed to the violent bump. I was getting tired of the flimsy plastic supports so I went into town to the Ace Hardware and found metal pilasters. An easy fix that I should have done years ago.
Sorry to bore you with mundane topics but this is what can consume time on a trip.
The campground was nice with plenty of sites but only one section with full hookups. This is not it.
I just realized I didn't even take a picture of our site. Oh well, not missing much.
We took a day trip to Hartford, about 15 miles away. I don't have anything flattering to say about Hartford so I will just say the capitol was nice.
Nathan Hale:
We wanted to stop for a cold beverage but nothing was open yet. Strange that on a Friday afternoon nothing was open until 4 or 5 PM. The Bushnell Park carousel was even closed.
We contacted Pam and Ken, two whippersnappers from Cypress Lakes who live in Connecticut in the summer. We met at the Cambridge House Brew Pub for food and drinks.
Doreen always likes the quirky road side attractions and Pam recommended Conny the whale on our way back to the campground.
Conny, named for Connecticut, is a full size adult sperm whale 60 feet long.
He was built to bring attention to conservation of the seas back in the seventies.
Another day trip was to Mystic Seaport. This is the largest living history museum in the country. It is a working sea port although not for whaling any more.
The museum is set up to represent a whaling town in the late nineteenth century. All of the buildings are authentic and some have been relocated to the museum.
The only wooden sailing whaling ship in existence, the Charles W. Morgan, a registered Historic Landmark.
Every type of building needed to support, manufacture, maintain, and supply ships and the men who sailed them are represented. From a chapel to a school house; from a rope building to nautical instruments shop and everything in between.
After a couple of hours Doreen was becoming overheated so I kind of ran through a lot of the buildings while she went inside the visitors center to cool off. It was a very warm day in the high 80's. After she cooled off we drove into the village of Mystic and to the famous(?) Mystic Pizza. I remember the 1988 movie but I don't think I ever saw it. I know it put Julia Roberts on the map.
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I thought it would be a tourist trap but the pizza was excellent. The crust was airy yet crunchy. The mozzarella was quality cheese, smooth and melty but not runny. The sauce, just a hint of basil and not too sweet. And the beer; a nice ice cold locally brewed IPA. I sucked the first one down so fast the server jokingly asked did I like it?
After two pizzas and about three beers we took a stroll around town.
A very interesting drawbridge spans the Mystic River:
Here are the counterweights that raise the bridge deck.
A quaint little town. That was it for Connecticut, the Constitution State. Why the Constitution State? They were the first of the thirteen colonies to draft their own state constitution. There you go useless knowledge lovers.
Sorry for the lengthy post. We only had five days in Connecticut after PA before heading to Maine and I didn't have much time to write. The next post should include Maine, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Until then, happy trails.
