Hello to our kind blog readers:
You will notice one
thing visually different about this journey. We no longer have the white 2000 F-350 Ford
dually diesel. She gave me 15 years of good service and we decided that our
future journeys would be more reliable if we had a vehicle that is designed to
handle the nearly 6,000# load we have in its bed. Say hello to the silver 2015 Ram 3500 6.4
dually gas Hemi. It was special ordered to handle 7,000# load and has lots of
electronic goodies for more comfort and figuring out where we are and how to
get to the next place.
It is going to be hard to top the adventure that Daisy and I
had in 2014 on our trip to Alaska. We are not going to try. What we are going
to do is go “on the road again” and have more adventure and fun. You are
welcome to “Come go with us” as our
blog readers. This summer we are planning to travel the 9 states in the continental
US that we have not been to together in our truck camper (TC): New Jersey, New
York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine,
and Michigan. This will give us 49. We
are not planning to go to Hawaii in the truck camper! Since we are going to be
in New England, we have decided to go on and visit the Atlantic Provinces (Nova
Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland/Labrador), as
well as Quebec and Ontario. We are expecting that it may take as much as 2
months. So fasten your seat belts and make sure you have your passport along.
Our jumping off point is on the east coast near Aberdeen
Proving Ground in Maryland where our grandboys Levi and Joshia live (their
parents are there too). This first blog chronicles our travel from Arkansas to
Maryland. Let’s begin.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015
Day 1, 72 degrees, light rain
378 miles to travel
A tropical storm was pushing its way up from the Gulf of
Mexico and influenced the weather for our entire trip from Arkansas north to
Illinois and east to Maryland. For us this meant rain, and lots of it. If it got bad, we just pulled off the
road.
My preparation work for this trip included resealing any object that penetrated the TC roof—vents, antennas, and skylights. This necessitated me doing ladder work and removing vent covers and old caulking where warranted, a project that required 9 tubes of self-leveling caulking and several days of kneeling. Since doing this task, I have decided that I am getting too old to continue to do this and can afford to have someone with better knees and back use theirs. Daisy and I also installed seat covers that she ordered to protect the new truck seats from drink and food spills, she said. (But I think it the real reason is to keep me from smearing stains from my greasy work pants on them like I did with the old truck.)
My preparation work for this trip included resealing any object that penetrated the TC roof—vents, antennas, and skylights. This necessitated me doing ladder work and removing vent covers and old caulking where warranted, a project that required 9 tubes of self-leveling caulking and several days of kneeling. Since doing this task, I have decided that I am getting too old to continue to do this and can afford to have someone with better knees and back use theirs. Daisy and I also installed seat covers that she ordered to protect the new truck seats from drink and food spills, she said. (But I think it the real reason is to keep me from smearing stains from my greasy work pants on them like I did with the old truck.)
We spent the night before we left Arkansas in the TC, having packed the unit and left the house in vacation mode with a/c, lights, water, doors, and windows where they should be. I say this because the one of the vent covers on the TC was not where it should be—it was jammed open. I called a buddy with an extension ladder and drove to his house to unjam it. It only took me 30 minutes to get this done and the rain stopped long enough that I remained dry in the process.
So even with this delayed start, we drove one hour longer than normal and spent the night in Quincy, IL at a former KOA campground.
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| The ground was spongy soft |
The new owner put us on one of her new concrete pad sites.
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| All KOAs had this iconic look. |
We had been in and out of rain and the campground was very soft and wet. There were more storms to come that night and the owner made us aware of the storm shelter’s location in the basement of the clubhouse if we needed to use it.
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| Shelter door is the other side of the bike. |
Daisy made a quick meal of chicken and tortilla soup while I connected the TC to the utilities. It wasn’t long before the storm hit. We were comfy and safely off the road.
Thursday, June 18
Day 2, 77 degrees
333 miles
It rained most of the night, and I am happy to say that my
roof caulking held up to the test. Just north of the campground we crossed the
Mississippi and noticed that it was out of its banks and muddy.
Our destination for the day was Crawford, Indiana, with a stop in Knoxville, Illinois to see a close friend who is recovering from her second bout with cancer. We visited Rita and her sister Dixie for about an hour and a half before continuing our journey. Rita had just come home from surgery for colon cancer and her prognosis is really good. We thank God for that. I had met Rita on the road in Texas many years ago. Both she and her sister were full-time RVers for several years. They traveled separately and supported each other as the need arose. I had never met Dixie but had heard of her adventures for years. Rita met Daisy last year, but previously knew her only through my travel blogs and phone calls. It was a fun visit.
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| Rita and Dixie |
Our destination for the day was Crawford, Indiana, with a stop in Knoxville, Illinois to see a close friend who is recovering from her second bout with cancer. We visited Rita and her sister Dixie for about an hour and a half before continuing our journey. Rita had just come home from surgery for colon cancer and her prognosis is really good. We thank God for that. I had met Rita on the road in Texas many years ago. Both she and her sister were full-time RVers for several years. They traveled separately and supported each other as the need arose. I had never met Dixie but had heard of her adventures for years. Rita met Daisy last year, but previously knew her only through my travel blogs and phone calls. It was a fun visit.
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| St. Mary's Chapel, now closed, is right next to Rita's condo. |
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| Here it comes again. |
The Illinois River was out of its banks too as we journeyed on I-74 watching the advancing cloud cover. We were sticking to major highways to avoid low-lying roads where flood warnings were being posted. Here I must give credit to radar and weather alert apps for our smart phones. Looking at a storm and its course and intensity in real time helps immensely.
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| Wet, wet, and more wet |
We went through a storm between Peoria
and Bloomington and arrived in Crawfordsville, IN at another KOA, about 5:45 pm.
KOAs are more pricey, but they have well-designed facilities and provide strong
WiFi signals and cable TV that we used to help plan our next few days’
journeys. This one had a storm shelter too.
Again it rained off and on all night. |
| We had our choice of 5 muddy sites. |
Friday, June 19
Day 3, 68 degrees
324 travel miles
The rain quit this morning allowing me to dump our grey (waste)
and black (poop) tanks and get the rig ready to depart. I do the outside
procedures while Daisy does the inside stuff.
We had light rain most of the day until we entered the Indianapolis
loop. Then it rained heavily, with gusting winds. Our timing was not good. Our
phones showed us that this storm was a long, slow mover with heavy
precipitation, but moving across our path and not along it. So we slowed down, and
after 15 miles drove out of the storm. If we had stopped, we would have been in the storm for several hours.
At 3:35 pm I was
tired of fighting wind and rain so we called it a day and camped for the night
in Cambridge, OH at the Spring Valley Campground.
There was a family reunion going on and we
got one of the last remaining sites because it was a short one in length.
(Hurray for the TC.) However, I got to set up again in the rain. I was thankful
for the rain gear we had from our Alaska trip.
Daisy made a comfort meal of smoked sausages and lima beans with salad.
Luckily the rain stopped long enough for us to go to the showers that were close to our site.
At 3:35 pm I was
tired of fighting wind and rain so we called it a day and camped for the night
in Cambridge, OH at the Spring Valley Campground. 
There was a family reunion going on and we
got one of the last remaining sites because it was a short one in length.
(Hurray for the TC.) However, I got to set up again in the rain. I was thankful
for the rain gear we had from our Alaska trip. Daisy made a comfort meal of smoked sausages and lima beans with salad.
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| Clean showers close by the pool |
Luckily the rain stopped long enough for us to go to the showers that were close to our site.
Saturday, June 20, Day 4
Guess what? It was raining again, and I got to wear my rain gear again to prepare for departure. We drove into West Virginia near Wheeling and then stopped at a rest area that was having a birthday party for the state.
They were handing out pepperoni and cheese sandwiches from Tim Horton’s along with cookies and cupcakes. We had never been to a state birthday party before--another first for us! They even had a woman playing mountain music on a dulcimer. A welcome center employee informed us it was the 182nd birthday. Daisy smiled politely, and as we left told me it was actually 152 years since West Virginia officially became a state when it split from Virginia during the Civil War.
I believed Daisy.
We crossed the eastern continental divide (2,610’) and arrived at 4:30 at our friend Linda’s house in Columbia, MD. The temperature was 85 degrees.
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| Cynthia, Jeff, John, Linda and Daisy |
Linda had a party for us with a few close friends, and we shared wine and appetizers then a hamburger meal. We sat around later talking about genealogy. We slept in her guest room that night due to her narrow street not being a good place to open the slides on the TC. The next morning we would be traveling just a short trek to be with the grandboys.
Sunday, June 21, Day 5
65 miles
We met Shannon and Matt at their church campus in
Perryville, MD prior to going to their home.
Matt was working the sound system, Shannon was the campus worship leader and praise team singer, and Joshua and Levi were playing a video game with a friend.
We were early and Daisy asked if they needed any help, and Levi and I wound up with a job.
This Sunday was also Fathers’ Day and they had a box treat that needed to be stickered. Our job was to apply the stickers. We did a good job!
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| The praise band |
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| Shannon at her best |
Matt was working the sound system, Shannon was the campus worship leader and praise team singer, and Joshua and Levi were playing a video game with a friend.
We were early and Daisy asked if they needed any help, and Levi and I wound up with a job.
This Sunday was also Fathers’ Day and they had a box treat that needed to be stickered. Our job was to apply the stickers. We did a good job!
After church, all dads got a stickered box which turned out to be one of the largest glazed donuts I have ever seen.
We only had 16 miles to travel to get to the campground where they live full time in their motor home. Because it was Fathers’ Day, the dinner menu include ribeye steaks (Matt’s favorite) and banana pudding (my favorite).
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| Father's day feast |
The boys helped make the pudding by slicing bananas and layering the bowl with vanilla wafers. I had taught them to make this several years ago in Arkansas. It was less messy this time around.
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| Shannon and Josiah on one side, Levi and Matt on the other |
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| Let's eat now, Pop-Pop! (That's what they call me.) |
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| Open WIDE! |
Monday, June 22, Day 6
It was hot and humid and the plus factor was that we had no
planned travel for the next few days. Daisy enjoyed some afternoon time at the pool
with the boys. Shannon and I went to the Philadelphia airport to pick up my son
Michael and his lady Beatra, who flew in from Long Beach to spend a few days
with us.
Tuesday, June 23, Day 7
Another hot and humid day.
Shannon and I went to Wilmington, DE, about 26 miles away, to pick up a minivan so that we could all travel together. We got out for a little travel around the area, and one of the first things we all did was to have an ice cream lunch.
Tuesday, June 23, Day 7
Another hot and humid day.
Shannon and I went to Wilmington, DE, about 26 miles away, to pick up a minivan so that we could all travel together. We got out for a little travel around the area, and one of the first things we all did was to have an ice cream lunch.
Matt was at work so he missed out this time.
Matt had to
fly out on a work trip in two days, but one thing he wanted to do was to have a crab fest
before he left. We did this the last time we were together and it was messy fun.
So this morning we went to a local farmers market to get a dozen ears of fresh corn and found a seafood place to order ½ bushel of steamed, seasoned Maryland Blue crabs.
We cooked the corn by shucking it first, placing the ears in a cooler, and covering them with boiling water. You then shut the lid and walk away. We got back to them ½ hour later, yummy!
So this morning we went to a local farmers market to get a dozen ears of fresh corn and found a seafood place to order ½ bushel of steamed, seasoned Maryland Blue crabs.
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| Now, Daughter, this is how you select tender corn. |
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| The Crab Shack |
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| Got crabs? We did! |
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| No, Levi, no bunnies in the shopping basket. |
We cooked the corn by shucking it first, placing the ears in a cooler, and covering them with boiling water. You then shut the lid and walk away. We got back to them ½ hour later, yummy!
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| The Family |
We ate outside in a sturdy screened room. We spread the picnic table with brown paper so that all one had to do at the end was roll up the edges with all the trash collected in between.
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| These are regular sized |
We had just started eating when a storm came up suddenly with heavy rain and strong winds and some lightning.
Levi, who is not into "crab picking" as it is called, took his corn and bolted inside the motor home. There he watch the weather channel and gave us colorful reports.
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| Beatra's first Maryland crabs. Michael showed her how. |
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| Matt and Shannon lost no time getting down to business. |
When rain runoff got 1 inch in depth on the ground and the thunder got quite loud, Josiah, Shannon, and Beatra also went inside. Daisy, Matt, Michael, and I just kept on picking and eating crab through the 45 minute storm. Looking back it was probably not a smart thing to do. We should have taken better shelter. Boy, that crab was good!
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| Messy paper towels and crab discards mean a successful dinner |
At our campsite later, I noticed that a 12 foot long, 3 inch diameter limb had fallen on our picnic table. We were lucky. Next time I will hopefully use better judgment, but that was some good crab!
Wednesday, June 24, Day 8
Matt left early that morning for a business trip. Michael
and Beatra went to the laundromat to dry their clothing that had gotten wet in
the tent from the rain, and Shannon and Daisy decided that they might as well
go do some laundry as well. That left me and the boys at the campground.
They took me to their secret place in the woods that they called the “Minecraft Shack.” When the others got back, the boys went to the pool and the rest of us went to watch them show their skills.
That evening I started a fire and we all had smores. Come to find out that this was Beatra’s first experience with making and eating smores. She is truly a southern California girl.
She loved them.
Levi explained the fine art of just enough but not to much browning as the key to a great smore. Unless, he said, if you like to burn them all over, and he did.
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| The rule here is that there can be no boy friends or girl friends in the club, only singles. |
They took me to their secret place in the woods that they called the “Minecraft Shack.” When the others got back, the boys went to the pool and the rest of us went to watch them show their skills.
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| Tarzan! Josiah calls this his "happy man" jump. |
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| Cannonball! |
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| We had company when Billy heard we were having smores! |
That evening I started a fire and we all had smores. Come to find out that this was Beatra’s first experience with making and eating smores. She is truly a southern California girl.
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| Michael showed the way. |
She loved them.
Levi explained the fine art of just enough but not to much browning as the key to a great smore. Unless, he said, if you like to burn them all over, and he did.
Thursday, June 25, Day 9
We had to move our truck camper from a full hookup site to
one in the overflow area with just water and electric.
Someone else had already booked our original site. It has happened before and we knew it was a possibility.
I had discovered that my last living aunt, my mother’s sister Charlotte, lives in Wilmington, DE, and rounded up the whole lot to go see her.
It was a pleasant surprise for us to see not only Aunt Charlotte but her daughter Gayle as well.
They were planning a family reunion in late July that Daisy and I will not be able to attend, but Shannon and her family will be there.
I noticed pictures on her wall that I vaguely remembered seeing in my Grandmother Katie’s home when I was a youngster. Aunt Charlotte told me that they were of my great grandmother and two great grandfathers, one paternal and one maternal.
What got my attention was that my mother’s paternal grandmother was full blooded Seminole and her maternal grandmother was ½ Seminole.
This means my grandfather on my mom’s side was ½ Seminole and my grandmother was 1/4 Seminole. Does this mean that my mom was 3/8 Seminole and I am 3/16?
On the way back, we crossed the Delaware Memorial Bridge into New Jersey.
Someone else had already booked our original site. It has happened before and we knew it was a possibility.
I had discovered that my last living aunt, my mother’s sister Charlotte, lives in Wilmington, DE, and rounded up the whole lot to go see her.
It was a pleasant surprise for us to see not only Aunt Charlotte but her daughter Gayle as well.
They were planning a family reunion in late July that Daisy and I will not be able to attend, but Shannon and her family will be there.
I noticed pictures on her wall that I vaguely remembered seeing in my Grandmother Katie’s home when I was a youngster. Aunt Charlotte told me that they were of my great grandmother and two great grandfathers, one paternal and one maternal.
What got my attention was that my mother’s paternal grandmother was full blooded Seminole and her maternal grandmother was ½ Seminole.
This means my grandfather on my mom’s side was ½ Seminole and my grandmother was 1/4 Seminole. Does this mean that my mom was 3/8 Seminole and I am 3/16?
On the way back, we crossed the Delaware Memorial Bridge into New Jersey.
This was a new state for us and Beatra. We stopped at a little farmer’s market and got a “fruits of the woods” pie (apple, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, and rhubarb) and went back across the bridge and had an early dinner at Tasti Thai, one of the boys’ favorite places.
They
always seem to surprise me.
On the way home we had another surprise. Levi lost a tooth.
Boy was he pleased!
Friday, June 26, Day 10
We said our goodbyes to Michael and Beatra. Shannon took
them to the Philly airport and I returned the rental van. We will do this again
next year someplace.
Later on we took a sightseeing trip to the historic town of Chesapeake City, MD.
The 1780 Bayard House on the corner is considered to be the oldest house in the city. It used to be a tavern house in 1911 and was once called the "Hole in the Wall Bar." The back bar wall had a hole in the wall where blacks would stick their hands through in order to be served.
We browsed the shops, purchased a few small items, and had ice cream. Matt returned home in time to join us for a dinner of pasta with a bacon and tomato sauce, one of Shannon's specialties. This was our last night here.
The next day, we would continue our NE states travels. It would be a big day for the boys too. They were going to pick up an 8-week-old cockapoo puppy that the boys had named David. Josiah said he decided to call the puppy David after observing him when they went to pick him out. While he was the smallest of the litter, the puppy fought back against his larger litter mates. It reminded Josiah of David and Goliath. Makes sense to me.
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| My truck really looks good. |
Later on we took a sightseeing trip to the historic town of Chesapeake City, MD.
The 1780 Bayard House on the corner is considered to be the oldest house in the city. It used to be a tavern house in 1911 and was once called the "Hole in the Wall Bar." The back bar wall had a hole in the wall where blacks would stick their hands through in order to be served.
We browsed the shops, purchased a few small items, and had ice cream. Matt returned home in time to join us for a dinner of pasta with a bacon and tomato sauce, one of Shannon's specialties. This was our last night here.
The next day, we would continue our NE states travels. It would be a big day for the boys too. They were going to pick up an 8-week-old cockapoo puppy that the boys had named David. Josiah said he decided to call the puppy David after observing him when they went to pick him out. While he was the smallest of the litter, the puppy fought back against his larger litter mates. It reminded Josiah of David and Goliath. Makes sense to me.
Saturday, June 27, Day 11
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| Child-sized portion |
I made breakfast this morning at 8 am to share. It was creamed chipped beef on toast.
It also has another name but I did not tell the boys that. They would have loved it but their mother was in earshot! This gave us a little more time to spend with them before we said our goodbyes.
We had been here for nearly a week, and it was time to get “on the road again.”
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| I am going to miss these little guys, but we plan to see them again in the fall. |
We left at 10 am, and our next stop would be somewhere on the way to Rhode Island. More adventures, sights, and times with friends await us!
