Marty and Peg, Still On The Road!

Well, it’s August; what can we say.  Friday the 13^th to be exact!  And it is hot!  For this part of the country this has been a very hot summer.  Looking at the forecast thru the middle of next week (8/18) it is still looking like it’s going to be in the 80’s.

 The parts for the coach arrived a few weeks ago.  I immediately put in the bathroom light switch replacement; that took all of about 10 minutes.  I’m still looking for an opportunity to install the 12V solenoid for camera/steps/dash A/C; it’s still in the box.  We will be taking the coach out early next week for a trip to the dump station so it will need to be installed by then….I just need to get the time to do it. 

 As for travel, we did make it down to see Peg’s brothers in Jeffersonville on July 31^st.  It was just for the night and it was good to see the folks again.  That Sunday, as we were heading out to church, Peg’s cousin, Kathy called and asked if we (actually she) wanted to go see a play in Forestburg, which is just outside Monticello, NY.  So, off they went to see “Singing in the Rain” and I spent the day with Kathy’s husband Dick.  Dick and I drive around in his 1957 Pontiac Convertible and ended up at the hunting camp in Lake Huntington.  I did not get back from there until well after 7pm, so it was a late night drive home.  Not too late; it was about 11pm when we got back to West Monroe.   

 I am also on the kick now to get a stereo for the Harley.  Not anything fancy, just something to listen too when we go on longer rides.  We tried the MP3 player and ear buds, but that’s a pain.  I found a place online called www.gooddeals18.com that sells a unit called the Shark.  Actually, they have many different models, and most have decent reviews.  I still have not taken the bait, but I may before the month is out.

 We also got to see some of my family again.  On the weekend of the 7^th, we headed over to my sister Mary’s house for a small gathering.  Two occasions, really; my niece Kathy just returned home from Austrailia where she spent the past month on a church/volunteer mission and our little nephew Jason who turned 8 years old that Friday.

  That next Sunday, after church, Peg and I went on a bike ride to Watkins Glen, which is right at the southern tip of Seneca Lake.  Our friends Don and Cathy, and Dons brother-in-law Andy rode down earlier to go to the NASCAR race, and the plan was to meet them after they got out.  It was a beautiful day for the ride down, and we ended up a place just off SR14 while we waited.  They had a small Jazz band playing out by the water, so Peg and I sat outside until they showed up.  Once they rode in, they had something to drink and we all headed out for the trip home.  Don and Andy wanted to head into Ithaca, NY so we could all go to Five Guys Burgers for dinner.  We all liked that idea, so that is where we ended up.  After we ate, Don checked the weather forecast on his phone (the sky was getting a bit dark) and it was becoming more and more obvious that we would be getting wet.  They decided the best bet was to head up SR13 (which is where we were), catch SR281, then onto I81 in Cortland.  I hate the interstates, but off we went.  I needed gas, so I took the lead and hit the first gas station on the right hand side of the road; which turned out to be about 3 miles up.  This is where it got stupid.  As I filled my tank, I had a back-flow of gas and it got all over the tank, my hands and shirt.  I know he was just being Andy, but he made a smart-ass remark about me spilling it all over.  Well, I snapped back, telling him to “not get started, I was not in the mood” and it all went downhill from there.  He started off about my attitude, and it was all I could do to stay reasonably controlled. Peg started yelling about how we both needed to both grow up and knock it off, and I just concentrated on getting the gas off my bike and myself.  As we pulled out, Andy just took off, and I thought “well this is going to be a fun ride home”.  After about 10 miles up, Andy backs off and pulls up a long side me to tell me that I had a marker light out.  I give him credit for that…I think he felt as stupid as I did.  I just wanted to get home, but just as we hit Cortland they both pull over into the A&W parking lot.  I thought to myself “well, this is going to be awkward”.  I had calmed down, so as I pulled in next to Andy I asked him if we were OK.  I thought we were.  We were all pleasant while we sat outside drinking our shakes, so when we took off from there I thought everything was going to be OK.  Of course, once we go to the I81 entrance ramp, once again Peg and I were left in the dust.  As soon as we were on the highway they were gone.  Even doing 70+ I knew I would never catch up…too much traffic, roads were a little wet….not for me.  So, now we are all in that odd “uncomfortable zone”.                                             

 We also mailed out our paper work for the South Carolina State Fair, where, once again, we will be there to help out Peg’s cousins with their rental business, Rent-A-Ride.  Of course, it all depends on if we are still doing this contracting thing……worse case we will be there for them in the evenings.  I’m also looking forward to the set-up and tear-down; I like that part, mainly because I get to drive the big truck back to North Carolina.  

 Stay cool…….

So, here it is the end of July (almost, it’s the 26^th).  Peg and I are still at it (work-wise), but what can you do?  Anyway, before I get into what’s been happening to us over the past few weeks, let me just say that we now have new pictures of the grandkids on the site; see them at The Grandkids.  We can’t wait to see little Fiona, and of course the whole bunch.

 During the week Peg went to Boston, a group of the guys took the bikes for a ride up to Saranac Lake.  It was a beautiful day, and we had 12 bikes.  About half-way into the trip we stopped at a place called, oh, I can’t remember the name now, for a short break and to get something to drink.  My buddy Don started asking everyone if we saw the giant gorilla in some folks yard a short ways back.  Well, let’s just say that no one remembered seeing anything even remotely resembling a gorilla, so don got razed for that for the rest of the trip.  Keep reading below!   

 After Peg got back we finally made it to Cape Vincent to visit our friends Charlotte and Walt.  It was another beautiful Sunday, and to help my buddy, Don, feel better, we decided to take SR 3 north so we could look for his “gorilla”.  Sure enough, just south of Mexico, NY, there it was.  Sitting off under a tree on the left side of the road was this plaster cast of, what else, a gorilla sitting on the grass.  Just sitting there I can see how most of us (OK, all of us except Don) could miss it.  It was pretty big, though, about 6 feet tall and pretty wide.  How could we miss this!  Anyway, we were a little late getting to the cottage but we made it.  Their daughter and husband, Joanne and Brent were there, as were the two grandkids, Owen and Marissa (mom Michelle was off to see some concert) so we visited with everyone for several hours.  After JoAnne and Brent left, we decided to get some lunch, so we all loaded up into our truck and drove into Chaumont to a restaurant which used to be called “The Duck In”…..I forget what it’s called now.  We headed back after lunch and sat by the lake for a little while longer before we headed back.  We have plans at the end of the month se get together again for dinner, this time near here so our other friends Janie and Larry can meet us.

 On the 18^th we went on a bus-wine tour with another group of folks.  Don and Cathy, of course, and some of the guys I rode to Saranac Lake with.  The limo-bus picked us up at our friends Dan’s house at 1pm, and then got us back just after 5pm.  Everyone brought snacks (some folks did a much better job at that than we did) and we got to drive around Seneca Lake; hitting four wineries.  The first was called Hazlitt, and turned out to be a great.  It was the only stop where we made a purchase, and that was a wine called Red Cat. The second stop was called Red Newt….that one was OK.  The third and most interesting was called the Rasta Ranch.  This place is commonly called the “hippie winery”, where the owner named her daughter Jessie, after the Joni Mitchell song, and her son, Arlo.  It was a memorial to Jerry Garcia and other 1960’s folk legends.  The wine was good too!  The last stop was called Wagner’s, which was also a micro-brewery.  This was another good stop.   

 Peg also found time in her busy schedule to get together with her friends from the old OnBank days.  Peg met with Kathy, Sue, Cindy, Michelle, Betty and Mary Cay.  Dinner at Rico’s in East Syracuse….expensive but fun!

 Last weekend out good friends Ken (Ken has been a close friend of mine for years, and was the best man in our wedding) and Judy drove in from Albany, NY for a visit.  OK, not just to see us, but they timed it for when we were here.  It was actually a late Christmas present for Ken from Judy….a trip to Heids Restaurant and a nostalgic site-seeing trip back to the old neighborhoods.  Ken grew up here, but has been gone for quite some time.  A favorite of his (and mine) is Heids Hotdogs which has been a local landmarks for many, many years.  They stopped by our place last Saturday morning for a visit so they could see the coach, after which we all went out to lunch at a local diner called Good Golly’s.  After lunch they took off to check into their room at the Hampton in Liverpool and start wandering around the area.  We met up with them around 7pm at Heids for dinner.  This is where I need to mention that for the past Friday and this particular Saturday we were experiencing severe down-pours.  Man, did it rain.  It was starting to just slow down after we finished eating, so I offered to follow them back to their hotel so they could drop their car off.  The four of us then headed off to Sweet Inspirations Drive Inn in Fulton, NY for ice cream.  Of course, it started raining again, and Judy was glad to not be behind the wheel…..she hate driving in the rain…especially after dark.  We dropped them off back at the hotel by 10:30pm or so; it was great seeing them again.  We will be making a trip to Albany to see them next month.  I need to remember to bring Ken some Hoffman Hotdogs from Heids!   

 Well, I’ll finish up here with just a short note about a few coach issues we are having.  Nothing major…gives me something to tinker with.  We have two parts on order with Tiffin; a bathroom switch panel and a 12V solenoid for the front of the coach.  The other day Peg went into the bathroom and said the lights won’t come on…turned out to be a faulty switch.  Pretty easy to do….I temporarily wired in a small toggle switch for the time being until the new one gets here this week.  The second issue is a little more annoying.  When we were in West Virginia last month Peg noticed that after she started up the coach the backup camera did not come on.  Also, the steps did not automatically retract.  Shutting it down and restarting it and all was well.  We both hoped it was a one-time glitch.  Nope….after spending a week in Jeffersonville, NY it happened again.  Same thing; we shut it down and restarted and all was well.  OK, now were in West Monroe and a few weeks ago we headed out to the local park to use their dump station.  Same thing…only this time I noticed that the dash A/C also did not come one.  Some quick research and it turns out there is a 12V relay in the front maintenance bay that is sticking.  I found that I could go out and tap it with a key and it switched on.  So, that is also on order.  The next issue is Peg wants to replace one of the valances over the dinette table, but to do that we need to take it down and ship it back to Tiffin for repair. 

 So, we both hope your enjoying your summer…..I know we both are.

Gosh it’s hot in West Monroe, NY!  Yes, here we are again at our friends place just north of Syracuse, NY.  You know, I grew up here (and Peg not so far away) and I don’t remember stringing days and days together where the temps reached 90+ degrees.  I just don’t.  Anyway, here we are and I’m once again way ahead of myself. 

So, back in our last episode we were sitting quietly in our home in lovely Gaffney, SC….hmmmmmmmm…….

With one more day in Gaffney, we decided to head to Spartanburg, SC for dinner at the Red Lobster.  I will tell you that we have had better ideas, as this was not the best dining experience we have had.  First, the little do-dad they give you to tell you your table is ready failed, so after 30 minutes or so we went in to inquire and they informed us that they had called us 15 minutes ago.  We were promptly seated, but it went downhill from there.  We ended up spending 2 hours in the place; service was just terrible.  Anyway, after that little debacle, Peg wanted to go over to the local Office Depot to look at laptops.  She has had her eye on an HP for a month now and they just happened to have it in stock.  So, several hundred dollars later we were on our way back to Gaffney with a new laptop, print cartridges for the printer and leftovers from the Red Lobster.  We decided at the last minute to hit the local Wal-Mart back in Gaffney and fill the truck up with petrol.  I put my card in to turn the pump on and it almost immediately came back and gave me that dreaded message: “SEE ATTENDANT”.  So, me with the pump in hand, Peg walked over to see “THE ATTENDANT” and get the pump turned on.  After about five minutes or so Peg wanders back with a frown and I’m still holding the pump.  She tells me the card was denied.  DENIED??????  Well, I’m not sure if you know how the Discover Card works, but I will say they have a very comprehensive way of watching your spending patterns, and if it goes way out of whack in a certain period of time…WHAM…..the card gets shut down.  Of course as soon as I called the 800-help-me-I’m-stuck number it must recognize the calling number and I was immediately transferred to their fraud division.  Turns out my spending pattern was a little off that day.  I guess my charge at the Lobster in Spartanburg, then a rather large purchase almost immediately for the new laptop, then 30 minutes later we were back at a Wal-Mart in Gaffney…..well, I guess it just sent them over the top.  This had happened before, once a few years ago I had to go to Buffalo and Peg was back in Florida.  Discover Card saw me pick up a rental car in Buffalo, pay for a hotel, and try to buy dinner at an Applebee’s…but just before the last one, they also saw a charge on the same account at a Winn-Dixie grocery store back in Starke, FL.  The girl at Applebee’s was very polite about telling me how sorry she was but I needed either another card or preferably cash.  After that little episode we have been pretty careful about letting Discover know when things are going to get weird for us, but we did not see this one coming.  Anyway, within a minute or so the card was back on, the truck was full and we headed home…..time to leave Gaffney.     

We pulled out of Gaffney, SC on Saturday, June 5^th heading to Natural Bridge, VA.  This was a fairly easy trip of about 280 miles.  The plan was to spend a week at the Natural Bridge KOA where we know two of the folks that work at the park.  Jim and Gail spent almost two years at the KOA in Florida and it was nice to see them again.  They were actually on duty when we pulled in so Gail checked us in and Jim took us to our site.  It was a little tricky getting around as the park is not really made to handle large rigs.  They can do it, but like I said it’s tricky.  Jim and Gail also recommended a cute little restaurant down the road called the Pink Cadillac.  This place was actually a large diner attached to a hotel…quick food, good food, nothing fancy.  It was actually a make-shift Elvis museum, complete with a 1950’s Harley, Elvis photos everywhere and don’t forget the Pink Caddy out front!

My fondest (fondest?) memory of our Natural Bridge stay will be the 2^nd degree burn on my leg from the bike.  We took the truck down to the end of the road so we could unload the Harley (it is easier for the ramp if you are on pavement).  After we unloaded Peg drove the truck back up and I rode the bike.  It was less than 1/8 mile up the road, but that front pipe gets really hot really fast and me, being the dummy I am, had shorts on.  Luckily Gail was a nurse and she gave us some pointers on caring for it.  It might not sound like much but it hurt like, as my mom would say, H-E double hockey sticks!  I have the scar to prove it.

We wandered around a bit that first Sunday and found a lovely church in nearby Lexington.  Lexington is also home of William and Mary College as well as Virginia Military Institute, also known as VMI.  Of course the entire are here in the Blue Ridge Mountain’s is just gorgeous.  During the day we both spent inside (with both A/C units running) on our respective “work duties”, but at night we found time to head off to dinner or, burned leg or not, take a bike ride.  On one night we took the bike out for a ride around the area when we saw a sign saying “Lynchburg, VA – 35 miles”.  I had looked up Harley dealers in the area, and there is one in Lynchburg that closed at 7pm.  Our thought process went something like this: its 5:30pm, Lynchburg is only 35 mile away, they close at 7pm, let’s go for it.  What we did not account for is that 35 miles was a VERY long 35 miles of twisty, turning, hilly roads…..VERY PRETTY…but what we thought would be a quick 35-40 minute trip turned out to be over an hour…and that was just to the other side of the mountain.  Once we made it to Lynchburg it was 6:45pm and we still needed to find the Harley shop, which, as I mentioned before, closes at 7pm.  Well, I broke down (I never do this) and called for directions and we pulled up at about 6:58pm.  They were really nice about it and stayed open for us so we could look around and do some shopping.  They even recommended a restaurant for us called “Country Cookin”.  Yes, no “g”.  Another simple place (actually a chain we found out later) where the food was decent and cheap.  We met a couple inside that, after hearing us talk about looking for another route to come back on, offered us suggestions on how to avoid that twisty, turning road in the dark.  Well, apparently that twisty, turning road we came over on was not all that bad.  You see, we listened to what they suggested, and we both thought we knew what they meant, but somehow we managed to get on the exact opposite road that they were talking about.  This one was the REALLY twisty, turning road..only it was twice as twisting and three times as turning as the other one…which, by the way, was just across the river from where we were earlier.  It was all good, though.  Took us a little longer, but we made it back safely and it really was a pretty ride; even in the dark.  Oh, and my leg still hurts.

We ended up the week and on Saturday, June 12^th we headed north.  We had over 400 miles to get to Jeffersonville, NY, so we decided to make a quick one-night stop in Falling Waters, WV.  This made a trip of about 170 miles and by 2:30pm we were all parked.  It was a small park, just off SR11 about 15 south of the Maryland border.  It was then that I got it in my head that we should head to Hagerstown, MD for a movie.  I had wanted to see the movie “The A-team”, as this was always one of my favorite shows back in the 80’s.  Well, we found the theater, got our tickets, picked up our snacks (you need popcorn for a movie, it’s the law) and settle down for the show.  After about 15 minutes of commercials (Peg hates this) and a set of about eight previews (I love this) and the movie finally starts.  About 15 minutes into it, the screen goes dark and the emergency lights come on.  Apparently they had a major power outage in the mall.  After announcing that they would give us an update in 15 minutes or so, which they did, we were told that the show was cancelled and everyone had to leave the theater and pick up a rain check.  What are we going to do with a rain check for a theater in Hagerstown, MD?  Luckily the rain check was good at any Regal Cinema, and they actually gave us four to make up for the popcorn we had bought.  After that little diversion we stopped off at a store, bought some fried chicken for dinner and headed back home. 

Look at that, it’s June 13^th and we are getting ready for the short (270 miles or so) to Jeffersonville, NY where we would spend the next week.  This morning was also when we first noticed we have an ignition-relay issue on the coach.  Not too serious, but when you start the coach up, several things are supposed to happen.  One being the outside steps should automatically retract and the backup camera monitor should come to life.  I never even thought about the steps when I went out to check the tow lights on the truck, but Peg immediately noticed the camera monitor was not on.  If we looked further, we would have also found that the dash A/C was not working.  We got the truck all set, then on a whim I had Peg shut down the coach.  Once she restarted it, everything was fine.  Was this a one-time glitch (we hoped), but I will mention later it was not!  

We pulled into Jeff around 4pm only to find that a tractor-trailer was parked on the side where we generally park the coach.  Peg called her cousin James who owns the property (and the truck) and calmly said “the keys are in it, just have Marty move it”.  Well, let me tell you, it was like Christmas in July (only it was still June).  I love a challenge….I mean, we have air brakes, the truck has air brakes, and how hard can it be?  As it turned out once I figured out how to release the trailer brakes it was fine.  I did spend a bit of time trying to pull it forward and turning it around in a big circle, but the yard is just not that large.  So, I just ended up pulling it forward then backing it into a spot in the back.  Can I now put “tractor trailer driver” on my resume?  Anyway, while in Jeff we did get to see the family, even thought we both worked during the day.  We made it the White Owl restaurant over in White Lake, PA (just over the border) and also to the Cabin (another restaurant) with Peg’s cousins Jim and Diane.

But the big highlight of our lives while we were in Jeff was our granddaughter was born.  Yes, we now have a granddaughter!  Her name is Fiona Emilce Ferrari.  She was born on June 16^th and weighed in at 8lbs.  We have only seen pictures, but Grandpa and Nana wasted no time shopping for the little girl.  We may have to wait until November to see her, but who knows what can happen this summer?  We will get some more pictures on our photo gallery soon!

So, without further ado, we arrived in West Monroe, NY on the 19^th of June.  Funny thing, but as we were driving up I81, we both kind of looked at each other and said “happy anniversary”.  It’s not like we had forgotten, it’s just been that this past May and June have been a little different for us.  We made a quick stop at Oneida Shores to dump our holding tanks before we pulled into the DeMarzo’s driveway around 4pm. 

So far we have been trying to get used to having an 8-5 schedule again, but at night we generally find time to go out to dinner with friends.  Friday night is a standing engagement for dinner with Don and Cathy.  We’ve been on a few motorcycle rides, but three major events have already taken place.  The first was our adopted niece’s high school graduation on June 25^th with the party on the 26^th.  This was special for us, even though we have watched our own children grow and become adults, we have watched Carolyn grow up as well.  She is off to Drexel University in Philadelphia in the fall.  Next will be a wedding……right Bill?  Oh, Bill is one of my best friends and Carolyn’s dad.

The next was Peg’s birthday trip to Boston.  Our good friends Rainy and Cathy wanted to take Peg to see the Boston Pops on the 4^th of July.  This was one of Peg’s bucket list items (you know, those things that you want to do before you die…sounds morbid, huh?) and knowing I’m not the Boston Pop’s kind of guy, it was a girl’s weekend. 

This is Peg now: On Saturday morning, Marty took our friend Cathy DeMarzo and I down to the Quackenbush home in Clay to begin their weekend romp in Boston.  A little explanation is called for here.  A few years ago, around the time of the release of the film The Bucket List, Rainy and I got into a discussion about what we would like to do before we “kick the bucket” (go see the movie if this is confusing).  Peg casually mentioned that she would like to see the Boston Pops play in Boston on the 4^th of July.  Rainy, gem that she is, took that offhand remark and ran with it – making hotel reservations, calling Cathy, setting things up with Marty – all without telling me.  It was meant to be a surprise to honor my 50^th (ouch) birthday, and boy it was.  We got on the road about 8:30 – Rainy was driving – and after several stops more than we would have made had the men come along, arrived in Boston at about 2:30.  First, a brief stop for lunch, then we hit the Freedom Trail – literally.  Rainy’s son Dan had printed a map of a walking tour of old Boston, and then downloaded an audio accompaniment to his mom’s iPod.  We must have been quite a sight – swapping ear buds and crowding together so we don’t choke each other with the cord.   On to dinner at a fancy seafood restaurant.  The attire was “smart casual.”  We still don’t know what that means, since there were diners clad in tank tops, denim shorts and flip-flops, and they were NOT forced to eat in the kitchen.   The food was good (especially the desserts!), and the company was THE BEST!  When we finished, we decided to take the bus to watch the Pops rehearse.  The subway ride was educational.  Rainy had decided to cede her seat to the next person to board who appeared older than we were.  No one did.  (Maybe we should have gone to Boca Raton.)  As for the rehearsal, all I can say is WOW!  We were way in the back, but we still had an excellent view, and the performance was amazing!!!  It took us over an hour to get out and get back to the hotel, but it was well worth it.

The next morning, we set out with two goals before our fireworks cruise (yes, they even thought of that):  seeing Boston University, where Rainy is currently studying for her Masters in IT, and Harvard University, where none of us is studying for anything.  We started out at Faneuil Hall for breakfast.  Rainy and Cathy received their breakfasts without incident; however, mine got stolen right out from under me by an older “gentleman” further back in the line.  Oh well.  We did a pretty thorough tour of Harvard and Boston University, and even got to take some outside pictures of Fenway Park for Danny and my brother Bob.  All together now: Boo, hiss!  OK, if you don’t know, the Boston Red Sox are the dreaded rivals of the New York Yankees, Danny’s and Bob’s favorite teams.  Lunch was at my new favorite bagel place, Finagle’s Bagels.  Wonder if we can get them to open one up in Syracuse?  We did a quick change back at the hotel, and then walked over to the boat dock to board for the evening’s festivities.  Guess who came to the dock, ready to join the cruise?  My “breakfast thief” and his wife!  Guess who cut to the front of the line and got the best seat on the boat?!?!?!?!? To be fair, there really wasn’t a bad seat on the boat.  The fireworks that Boston put on after the Pops concert – piped in on the boat over a loudspeaker – were only the last in a series of at least six or seven sets of fireworks we could clearly see from our vantage point over the water.  Still, that didn’t keep one of us – I won’t say who –  OK, Cathy – from standing next to the couple in question and making rather pointed remarks about rude people who won’t wait their turn.    We got back to the hotel about 11:30, but weren’t ready to sleep, so we went down to the lounge and closed the place.  After a short night’s rest, we packed up, deposited Rainy at the airport (she was off on a business trip to Indianapolis), and headed home.  All in all, a perfect weekend.

It’s Marty; I’m back.  The third item was our friend Don’s dad and mom moved from North Syracuse to Central Square to be closer to the family.  “Big” Don could no longer handle a two story home, so after 38 years it was time for a change.  With lots of help (and trucks) we did it all in one day.  Of course, if it wasn’t for the fact that most of the boxes were already moved in to the new garage it would have made for a much longer day.  I even had time to fix a few electrical problems.  I still need to go back and install a ceiling fan in the kitchen…that’s a job for next week.

So, here it is, 5pm on July 9, 2010, and it is still HOT.  At noon time today it was 90 degrees again, but they promised a cool-down in the form of a major shower.  We shall see.  Shortly we head out to dinner with Cathy and Don, tomorrow is wash-the-coach-inside-and-out day (and church picnic) and Sunday we are going to Cape Vincent to see our friends Charlotte and Walt.

So, to all our friends in the Syracuse area who read this, please send us a note….we would love to see everyone.

Well, I’ve made it back to lovely Gaffney, SC after my short trip to the bustling metropolis of Buffalo, NY.  The trip in itself was uneventful, and it was great getting the opportunity to see Bill and Rainy and the kids again.  I never did get to see Don and Cathy; they were not home when I stopped by to see them.  That will change at the end of this month when we get back up to New York State for our annual summer routine.  As for this past trip, I logged just 2300 miles on the rental car. 

 So it’s been well over a month now since Peg started her contract, and I am finishing up my 4^th week.  Are we tired yet?  No, not really.  As we are finishing up our month here in Gaffney, SC, the apparent need to “only travel on weekends” is rearing its ugly head.  The other cold reality is we need to be aware, in advance, of where we are heading too.  Before it never mattered, but now we need to be somewhere where we can spend at least a week and have a strong Verizon Cell signal.  Why, you ask?…because that is what we use to communicate via the internet to our respective computer centers.  More about that in a bit.   

 So, it has been an interesting month.  We now know more about the Gaffney, SC area than we ever thought we would.  We have toured around Spartanburg, SC and been north as far as Gastonia, NC just over the SC/NC border.  Our biggest thrills so far this month has been giving lots of money to the Freightliner service center for our annual coach checkup and then some more money to the Camping World Store in Spartanburg for a new Washer/Dryer.  Yes, it was time, the old one was going to take more money than we wanted to spend on a five year old machine, plus this one has a bigger capacity and a five year warranty. 

 Last weekend Peg had her mini-college reunion with the girls from her dorm room floor during her freshman year at Marietta college in Marietta, OH.  One of the girls owns a bed-and-breakfast in Pickens, SC, and that is where everyone gathered.  Not me, I just dropped Peg off.  Apparently it was a big hit for these girls to see Peg ride up on the Harley.  I guess it is just so contrary to the woman she was back in the day and they just could not picture it.  Anyway, they were all waiting for us when we pulled up with cameras a flashing.  It was a great day for a ride, and with the trip to Pickens (about 70 miles one way) I somehow managed to put on an additional 150 miles.  This part of South Carolina can be very pretty…albeit wet at times….it seems to rain a lot.

 Other than that, our days are now spent whiling the hours away at the computer; Peg at the table and me in my chair, with a small make-shift office environment with a printer that we both share, cell phones on a charge and our little Verizon MiFi card for internet access.  Oh, for those who don’t know it, the Verizon MiFi card is a little credit-card size (OK, a little thicker) that allows us to have access to the internet for up to five PC’s.  I don’t believe the word “MiFi” stands for anything, but it allows us to have our very own min-hotspot for internet access.  We have had this little device since last October.  We used it a few times with multiple PC’s, but generally when we were in Starke we used the KOA system.  When we bought it to replace our existing wireless card (single PC), we had no idea how important that little device would become.  It works pretty well with both of us online at one time.  

 So, it’s now Thursday and we are starting to think about where we want to go next week.  We figure it will be north, kind of meandering our way to NY, just not sure yet.  What we do know is that it will need to have a strong Verizon Cell signal!

Well, it was pretty much bound to happen.  Peg and I are off on another phase of our lives that, quite honestly, we both wanted to try again.  So, now you’re wondering…..hmmm?

 Nothing exotic, I assure you.  For some of you, knowing that I had been approached in the past by an old colleague of mine to do some software consulting is not really news.  Over the last nine years I have done a few short assignments that, in all honesty, have allowed us to buy our toys.  However, Peg had also been approached a few times over the past few years and she thought that might be a nice thing to try again.  She has been out of the field (computers) since we left in 2002, and she really wanted to give it another shot.  Well, several “short-term offers” came and went, but she was never selected….mainly because projects would start-up, then the ugly head of cost-saving measures reared its ugly head and Peg was told that they either filled the position internally or simply dropped the request all together.  However, one day in early April, Peg gets a call saying they wanted someone by that Thursday (it was Tuesday), and was she available.  She agreed, but by Friday morning when she did not get a call, we both figured it was the same old story.  But, the phone did ring that afternoon, and Peg was asked if she would be available the following Tuesday.  No interview, just can you start on Tuesday.  A few EMails later she had her paperwork filled out and the necessary credentials that allowed her to get on the system.  It is now closing in on the middle of May and she is still working on her “three week assignment”.  She has been asked to extend her availability thru August, and we both thought that was a good thing to do. 

 OK…..the story does not end there.  You see, back in February I was also approached to do another consulting contract.  For the longest time I did not hear anything, when all of a sudden….that one is also a possibility.  I did get a call in April, asking me if I would be available at the end of the month for a length-yet-to-be-determined contract.  We both agreed that we could pull this off; remembering now; Peg had not been approached yet.  Now, all of a sudden, we are both working again.  It’s short-term stuff, but it is a drastic change from our lives for the past nine years. 

 So, where are we now?  Peg is working remotely from the coach in Gaffney, SC.  We are staying at the KOA here for a month.  My contract started on the 10^th of May, and they wanted me onsite (Buffalo, NY) for the first two weeks.  I rented a car (everyone knows I hate to fly; they don’t let me steer) and headed north.  I’m in Buffalo this week, but will drive to the Syracuse area for the weekend to see Bill, Rainy and the kids.  I will come back here the week of the 16^th, and then head back to Gaffney that Friday, the 21^st.  Most of my work will also be remote, but I am sure I will need to come back to this area at some point.  The next few weeks will be interesting, I’m sure.  Right now Pegs contract is a no-travel position. 

 It’s a drastic life-style change, and neither one of us knows what it’s going to be like to work eight hours a day from the coach.  We do know that our travel days are now limited to the weekends.  We shall see how it goes. 

 Hmmmmmmm……what toys can we buy now?

Our new home (for a while, anyway), Gaffney, SC

 Well, we’ve completed out annual service for the coach, made our appointment for next year and started contemplating on what to do next.  Let’s start with our experiences in Gaffney so far.

 As I may have mentioned we pulled into the Freightliner Service Facility on Saturday afternoon, only to find two other coaches here.  One was a drop-off, and the other was a couple from Georgia who came in for their Friday appointment, only to find that they needed to order a part.  We got parked and started to setup, when another one of those pesky motor home gremlins popped up.  We are now going to refer to the months of April/May 2010 as the gremlin months.

 The first issue was last week when our Washer/Dryer stopped washing and drying.  I have the repair manual, and the diagnostic code (OK, the machine telling me what’s broken) told me it was the on/off switch.  The manufacturer told me that it was more likely the pressure switch.  So, one is ordered, and it shows up the day before we leave, Friday.  Friday night I manage to get the time to install the part, but we still have the same issue.  We decide to let that issue wait.  Next issue: when we plugged in here at Gaffney, we have no power to the coach.  Now, this also happened a few weeks ago in Starke right after I decided to pull out all the house batteries and clean the connections and the area where they sit.  After I reset the outside breaker a few times we had power.  I had just thought it was our inverter (another ingenious motor home item that gives some folks pause) taking its own sweet time to reset after I had all the power disconnected.  Nope…it’s back.  I reset the breaker a few times, and we now have power.  I’m starting to think that this is something I will need to address sooner rather than later. 

 First the washer/dryer, then the power issue.  Turn on the TV, get the Satellite set, and raise the outside antenna (so we can get the local channels)…and…….no channels.  Check it in the bedroom; we get one channel, 3.1.  The one other coach here that has someone with it does not use their outside antenna, so they can’t tell me what I should/or should not receive.  Next I try the internet, and sure enough, I should be getting 20+ channels in this area.  Some more research and I find that in more-rural areas, people are using a slick little device called the “Wingman”, which when attached to your existing antenna; it is supposed to help with the new digital transmissions.  There is a store nearby (Camping World) that has them in stock, so we plan on a trip after church on Sunday.    

 Sunday is here, and off to church we go.  We found a nice little Presbyterian Church right in Gaffney, and for those of you who have visited small local churches, you know that you stick out like a sore thumb.  We met a lot of nice folks who invited us to a “punch-on-the-porch” gathering after the service.  We went along with that, and as I standing there talking with this very gregarious fellow, he just happens to mention that he is the mayor of Gaffney; his name is Henry Jolly.  He then introduced Peg and I to his son (and sons family), one of the local doctors in town.  Real, real nice people.

 OK, off to Camping World in Spartanburg.  We pick up this Wingman thingy, head back to the coach where I immediately get up on the roof and attach it.  Pretty easy, too, took about 5 minutes.  Get back down, play with the antenna a bit, and hey….we have something like 22 channels.  I’m just amazed; did this little device do all that? 

 Monday morning rolls around and they take the coach in for the service.  They had it most of the day, so when we get back it’s almost 4pm.  We get everything set back up, try power to the coach and it worked.  Did that gremlin die?  I’m feeling pretty good now, down to just the washer/dryer, when we put the antenna back up……guess what…no channels…..OK, one, 3.1.  I knew that Wingman device could not be that marvelous.  So, now I’m thinking that maybe it’s the selector control box (another wonderful contraption that lets you decide what you want to see on any of the TV’s (DVD, Cable, etc.).  First, I go up to the roof to check the connections, and as I’m walking across on top, Peg yells up to me that the signal strength started to bounce from 0 to 65, then up to 100.  Hmmmm; loose connection maybe.  Sure enough, the roof connection had water in it (it did pour the night before), and when I blew the water out the signal went back to 100%.  So, now we have local TV stations again.  Now, being all smug with that one, I pull the cover off the EMS and transfer switch (Ok, electrical things), and check that out.  I reset the outside breaker and it is still working, and all my tests looks look.  We shall see.

 So, it’s Wednesday and we decided to stick around Gaffney for a little while.  Peg has her little college reunion at the end of the month so we need to stay pretty close to this area.  We’ve settled into a nice little KOA park off of I85 (very quiet place).  The owners are very friendly, and they know John and Deb from the Starke KOA.  We are just getting settled in here, and so far the power/TV issues are gone….this just leaves me with the washer/dryer.  Maybe tomorrow…..I need to go unload the bike from the truck.

Caution: this is a long post…….

 Like our last post said….and then it was time to leave!  Where has the winter gone?  It’s been a cold winter down here in Florida.  I know nothing like up north, but for this area to have over two weeks in a row of below freezing temperatures, that’s cold!

 So, where do I begin?  I can tell you first off that we are now in Gaffney, SC at the Freightliner factory waiting for our annual service appointment.  We left Starke, FL on Saturday, May 1^st, and managed to drive the entire 420 miles in one day.  For those that know how we travel, that is a long, long day for us.  Our average is about 320 miles, but Peg felt good and did about 120 miles on her own.  So, here we sit in Gaffney, typing away trying to come up with an excuse for a 6 month lag in our travel log.

 No excuses, really, but it was a different kind of winter for us.  Let me tell you about our new adopted daughter.  Yes, she is just the sweetest little thing, a real bundle.  She came to us in a real time of need, and has no family nearby.  She does have a brother who lives in Mississippi, but he was just too far away.  Edi needed surgery last year, and never really recovered.  After the 4^th or 5^th fall, it was time for Edi to admit she could not take care of herself and needed some assistance.  Oh, how silly of me…..I should mention that Edi is 75 years old.    

 Edi had been a neighbor of ours for the past five years while we have been on Site#56 here at the Starke, KOA.  We have known her (and her late husband, Ed) for almost 9 years.  We have gotten to know her quite well, and when she needed help, we felt it was the right thing to do.  We know understand the whopping responsibility parents take when adopting a child…..adopting a 75 year-old adult is not that different, albeit for a shorter period of time…in our case, six months.  One can get to be pretty familiar with all the psychological and physical restrictions placed on a person who is looking at losing their independence.  For the first 4 months it was a constant feeling of “are we doing the right thing” and “is this the best thing for Edi”.  Let’s just say that we jumped in with both feet, got plenty wet, but are better people for it. 

 Edi went the entire gambit of the transition process.  First it was recovering from her latest fall, where she broke her shoulder last December.  After that fall, it took a lot of counseling to see what the next step would be.  She had just completed a month-long stay at a facility called Windsor Manor for rehabilitation, came home, and fell again the very next day.  It was time to start looking at long-term care, and that started to look like going back to Windsor Manor.  Edi is quite the free spirit (at one time Peg told her she was going to get her a cowbell for her neck so we knew where she was all the time) and going to a nursing home was not in her plans.  Giving up her car was also a hard pill to swallow.  The day she fell, her best friend Marilyn came over to talk with her.  Tears were flowing, but Edi decided to call Windsor Manor to see if she could come back.  Edi was placed back in the rehab section, waiting for a room to open up in the long-term section.  Right now it was an insurance/Medicare issue, so at the time that part was taken care of.  The next step was getting Edi to understand this was a long-term solution and she was not coming back to live in the park.  That was another bitter pill to take, and she fought that one diligently.  The next step was “what do we do with all the stuff?”   Edi had a park model at the KOA, full of stuff as well as a storage shed…also full of stuff.  And a cat named Pumkin (yes, Pumkin) and her car.  Finding a home for dear old Pumkin seemed to take the longest. 

 The first step getting the place cleaned up so we could show it, and we put the park model up for sale.  Doing an inventory of the place took a lot of time, mainly due to the fact that it was really a job for one or two people.  As we sorted, counted and packed we also had Pumpkin to look after.  We ended up with over 45 boxes, all neatly packed with contents, box number and what room the stuff came from.  It was time to create an Excel spreadsheet!  After the house was done, it was time to do the same in the shed, and then somehow get all those boxes from the house into this little 5×8 shed.  Somehow we managed; we would look at the shed and just marvel on how well it all fit….can’t move around a lot inside, but it fit.  And everything was on the inventory list, so it was just a matter of finding what you wanted and locating the correct box. 

 The park model was sold to the second person that looked at it, and they took possession on the 12^th of January.  On the 11^th of January we finally got a call that we had an adoptive family for Pumkin, and they came by that afternoon for him.  That was a load off our minds for both of us…..and it was the single most worrisome thing for Peg.  She was, after all, the one that had been taking care of him since November.  Her car was gone by mid-February, and that left the organization of all the years and years of papers that we found.  We got the checkbook balanced, all bills paid, address changes made and it finally looked like Edi was settling into her new home at Windsor Manor.  Edi was still fighting the notion about not coming back to the park, but it was getting more like a weekly thing as opposed to a daily thing.  She was also starting to fit into Windsor Manor…she had all her craft supplies, her sewing machine and knitting stuff and was even going to start teaching a craft class or two.  Then a wonderful thing happened.  A room opened up at a local assisted living center called Parkside.  Edi was accepted, and we now had the task of getting her re-settled there.  But, this was a good move.  Parkside has 13 residents, all with private rooms (painted, not hospital white), private baths and a wonderful lounge area…complete with a 42” LCD TV.  Edi moved into Parkside in March.  We got her set up with her own furniture (chair, dresser, new TV) and it started to look like a nice little apartment.  The staff there is great, the food is really good and she looked like she was really going to enjoy it. 

 Then she fell….again……this time breaking her hip.  So, he we go again….back to the hospital, and then onto Windsor Manor for more rehabilitation.  Edi will be there until the first week of May, and was there when we left Starke.  She was in good spirits and her therapy was going OK.  We continue to talk with her almost daily.  After all, that’s what adopted daughters do! 

 So, that was where we have been…not much time for anything else, really…just ask my friends here in the park.  Peg did manage to get down to the Keys for 6 days with her cousins in February.  She also made time to sing in the Christmas and Easter Cantatas at church.  I did manage a few bike rides, got to go shooting on Wednesday mornings and we both got to see Heather and the family….although not as much as we liked.  We also made a short trip to Raleigh, NC in January to see Bob and Helena.  Oh, and in March (I think) we made another trip to Raleigh to pick up an electric scooter for Uncle Bill in the park.  We also brought back Bob’s blue beast work scooter, which we sold for him once we got back south.

 I will finish this mess with the highlight of the season….if you like the TV show “Cops”.     We had a family come in for a month that seemed a little odd, but aren’t we all.  First of all, it was a 1995 vintage motor home that had seen better days…..like back in the 1990’s.  It was two older women and a 40’ish man.  The older woman was his mom, the other woman his aunt, and they had just sold their home in Gainesville, FL.  They had an older white Mercedes, but on the second day they also showed up with an even older green Cadillac…..this one with no tags (plates).   I saw him one day and asked him what happed to his tag, and he told me that it was stolen the day before….RED FLAG….it was never on the car.  I just happened to mention that he needed to report that, and that the Starke Police does make routine patrols in the park at times.  It wasn’t five minutes and he had both cars pulled out and backed in so you could not see the tag was missing (no front plate here in FL).  But, the real fun began a few weeks ago.  Early one afternoon we were both in the office when the two older woman came in, in tears, talking (actually rambling) about how “Thomas” and they had some fight and they were all worried that he was going to come home and lock himself in the motor home.  They also wanted to talk to some lady with children in the park (we don’t have any families in the park).  We could not get them calmed down; they seemed scarred at the thought of Thomas returning, so it was time to call the police.  I got both women outside on the porch of the office, and right before the police showed up, here comes Thomas.  We had him stop next to the store and asked him if we could help with anything.  The older woman came over to the car and started rambling about wanting to talk to this woman with the kids just as the sheriff and Starke Police showed up.  We walked away and let them handle it.  And then it got funky.  We heard one officer ask for identification, either here or at the station, when this guy just jams on the peddle, takes off into the park, almost knocking down the officers.  Guns get drawn….shouts of STOP…STOP.  They get into their cars and the chase into the park begins.  The white Mercedes turns down one of the roads, gets blocked by one of the police cars, turns around and heads down the two lane road, only to blocked by the other police car……turns and runs smack dab into the side of his own motor home.  The officers are out now, guns drawn, telling him to get out of the car.  He guns the car, this time right at the Starke police officer, hitting his motor home again.  More orders of “Get out of the Car”.  He finally gets out but won’t pay attention to their orders of getting down on the ground…..so here comes the Taser.  They zap this guy twice and he is finally down.  In 60 seconds it is all over.  He gets his wrists strapped, and then they read him his rights….just like on TV.  Then the detective shows up, and then the wrecker to take the car away.  We get to watch them put little white pills into an evidence bag….that was fun.  The next day some family members show up, along with some help from the church, and they explain that this guy has been taking advantage (i.e. stealing) of these older women for years, but because she had raised him, she just lived with the abuse.  He is now in the pokey (as far as we know now), the motor home was taken out that night, and hopefully these women are safe with other family. 

 Bad boys, bad boys, what you gonna do when I come for you….bad boys, bad boys….

 So, from Gaffney, SC…we both hope you had a great winter…..

Our Time and Temperature!

The weather has been good for the most part.  We have seen highs in the 90′s and lows in the 30′s.  Most days we are looking at mid-70′s.  It certainly is better than snow and ice.  All the Christmas decorations are up, and shopping was done with time to spare…..but I am once again getting ahead of myself.

Well, I made it back from my short trip to Texas to pick up Virginia’s truck and trailer.  Total mileage for my driving was just under 1000, and I took two days to do it.  The bus trip was uneventful, meaning for most of the trip I was in a seat by myself.  My GPS did die along the way, and unfortunately she (her name was Louise) was put to rest when I got home.  We have since adopted a new GPS named Dora…she is a Garmin Nuvi 765T.  OK, what about this GPS naming thing all about?  Some folks name their cars, boats have a name and we even have friends that named their RV.  We name out GPS.  OK, the first GPS we had was actually the DeLorme product that ran on the laptop, and we called her Thelma.  You know, from Thelma and Louise?  She had a lovely female voice and the name fit her.  The next one we had was called Harpo, from the Marx brothers.  We named this one Harpo because it did not speak.  Enough said.  Harpo was given to our daughter and son-in-law when they took a trip to Indianapolis, and he was replaced with a Garmin Nuvi 350.  We named her Louise (see Thelma), and she had a cute Austrailian accent.  Thelma just suddenly died on us, so now we have Dora (as in the explorer).  OK, so we’re weird…

Things here in Starke have been quiet…..we are still looking in on our elderly friend, Edi, who is still recuperating from a broken sholder at a local nursing home called Windsor Manor.  We have had the grandkids over once; that was fun…we can’t wait to do that again.  I’m back to shooting once a week, Peg is busy with her exersize class daily, and of course we are still helping out her at the park.  I’ve been fruit picking several times for the local food pantry (Childrens Table), Peg has joined the choir at church and even got to sing in the Christmas cantata.  I even took the video camera to record that little performance, and I need to get a copy mailed out to our friends in NY. 

It is now the day after Christmas, which was pretty subdued for us.  We spent the morning over at Heather and Javi’s with the boys, and once again we probably over did it in the gift department.  Are we glad we did it…of course!  Even with a visit to the nursing home to see Edi, we were back by 4pm.  Peg put in a roast chicken and we had a quiet dinner at home. 

Today we went, against our better judgement, to WalMart…getting there just before 8am.  To our surprise the store was almost deserted…we needed to get one item returned, then picked up next years supply of cards and some new rope lights.   Even with a fifteen minute talk with the nice lady (the greeter named Doris) outside the garden center, we were back at the park by 8:40am.  we stopped in the store, had waffles for breakfast, then came home. 

Just another quiet day here in Starke!

OK, OK…..we know.  It’s been so long since we last posted, we are struggling to pull our notes together to fill in the blanks.

Well, we got back from Ken and Judy’s, and it’s time to get ready for the NASCAR race in Dover, DE.  This will be our second motorcycle trip to a NASCAR race; last year it was Loudon, NH.  We all have fond memories of how wet we got on the trip going out, on the trip back from the race, and, of course, the trip coming home.  But, that is all water (ha!) under the bridge now; let’s go to Dover.  Actually, we will be staying in Rehoboth Beach where we have rented a house for four nights.

But first, I need to do a little coach maintenance.  Earlier I mentioned we had an air leak on the air-step solenoid, and that replacement came in while we were in Albany.  As a refresher, the air-step solenoid supplies air to the air step cover.  The step cover hides the step-well while we are driving, and gives the person in the co-pilot seat a place to put their feet.  Anyway, it was leaking, causing us to lose air (very important on a coach with air brakes) and needed to be replaced.  It was a pretty simple thing to do, two wires and three air connections.  It is in a tight spot, so it takes a small open-end wrench, but it was pretty easy to do.  Once I had it all connected and mounted, Peg fired up the coach and let it air-up (technical term for letting the air supply build up pressure).  That takes several minutes because most of the air had leaked out over the last few weeks due to the failing part.  Once pressure was built up I checked for leaks, tested the step cover, shut it down and check for leaks again.  Looks like its fixed, and I feel better about this already.

It’s now Friday morning, September 25^th, and it’s blue skies and a brisk 50 degrees.  All packed up, fueled up and ready to go.  Chaps and leathers and gloves, Don, Peg and I pulled out to head to the Mobil station on SR49 to meet up with Andy and Debbie.  Cathy had left earlier to take the car down to their daughter in Syracuse, and the plan was that Don would head out ahead of us, pick up Cathy, and then we would all meet down on I81 at the rest stop so we could continue the 380 mile trip to DE.  And that is what we did.  Once we hooked back up, we rode as far as Clarks Summit, PA. We stopped for gas, and then headed across the road to a Friendly’s restaurant for lunch.  It was getting warmer, and we still had bright blue skies ahead of us. We really needed to believe that the weather would cooperate this year.  We picked up I476, the PA turnpike, and we were on our way.  Clear sailing was the name of the game; it was getting warmer, the skies were still blue, it was a beautiful day.  Once we got close to Philadelphia, we hit our first snag….traffic.  We were just shy of about 20 miles to get onto I95 south, when the traffic just stopped.  No accidents, it just seemed to be Friday afternoon, early rush hour traffic.  We figured we lost about 1:30 minutes in that mess, before we picked up any speed.  The traffic continued on I95 for a bit, but it was really starting to break up by then.  We had hoped to be in Rehoboth Beach by 4pm, but it was just around 4:40pm when we hit the DE line.  Around 5:15pm, we rode past the Dover Speedway, and knew it was only about 45 miles away.  It was still a great day and getting warmer by the minute.  It was probably 76 or 77 degrees out now and we loved it.

We made it to the house in Rehoboth Beach around 6pm.  Now this is a house.  We knew when we pulled off on SR1 onto Country Club Road it was going to be a very nice place and we were not disappointed.  We pulled into the driveway, and Don went out back to get the keys and garage door opener where the owner had left them for us.  We pulled in the bikes, shed our leathers and went inside to check out the place.  Three bedrooms, 2 ½ baths, screened back room, Jacuzzi in the master bedroom, 20 foot ceiling, fans in every room, large kitchen, full laundry and all the lines.  This is so much better than a hotel.  The cost was $900 for four nights, which, for 6 people (three hotel rooms) is a great deal.  And it is only 45 miles from the track.

We decided that for the first night we would just ride over to the boardwalk (about three miles) and find a place for pizza.  We ended up at Grottos, which, for me was pretty good.  Peg, Andy and Debbie were not impressed, nor Cathy.  Don ate it all so I don’t think he minded it.  After our pizza, we walked around some, and then headed to a Safeway Grocery store to pick up breakfast supplies.  We headed back to the house, got all settled into our respective rooms and had a quiet night.  Tomorrow we will head to Ocean City, Maryland.  Of course, Sunday is the race.  The race was won by Jimmie Johnson.  Just one note about the race, and I’m sure most NASCAR fans will argues with us on this, but we are both convinced that his real name is Jimmie Johnson Dammit).  It’s just that every time we hear his name used, it’s always something like “It’s that Jimmie Johnson again, Dammit!”  So we are both convinced that that is his real name.      Most of the trip back was great.  The rain which had we been fearing all weekend, was waiting for us in Marathon, NY, with less than 60 miles to go to get home.  It only lasted about 20 minutes.  Unfortunately, it was a very intense, very COLD 40 minutes.  By the time we got back to West Monroe, we were drenched, cold, tired, and immobile (from multiple layers of clothing).  By the time we got all the wet stuff off, we had forgotten why we were doing it.  All in all, however, it was a great adventure.

We took a day after returning from Delaware to recoup and say goodbye (for now) to all our friends at the Bistro, then headed down (with fanfare, courtesy of a spirited sendoff from the Senior Center) to Jeffersonville.  We spent about 5 days there and got to see most of Peg’s relatives, including the famous twins.  (They’re fine.  Thanks for asking.)  We even managed to squeeze in a “thank you” trip to the Ruff Cut – yes, that’s how it’s spelled – for Peg’s cousins Diane and Jim for allowing us to park on their property.  The highlight of our stay in Jeff was watching pegs brothers garage/shed burn to the ground compliments of the Jefferson fire house.  It was a planned (controlled) burn, dictated by bob’s insurance company saying that the 90 year-old structure just had to come down.  Check out the photos in our gallery for that little evening’s adventure.

After that, it was on to Columbia, SC, to the South Carolina State Fair.  We arrived on a Thursday, and got settled in to a spot slightly further away from the railroad tracks than last year.  The next day Cousin Bob (owner of the scooter business) arrived with the equipment and he and Marty headed over to the fairgrounds to set up.  Less than 30 minutes later they were back – the fair told them they could not set up until Monday morning, due to security concerns and an upcoming college football game nearby.  Uh-oh.  One night on our sofa bed turned into three nights on our sofa bed, and the glorious weather we had Friday and Saturday were lost as we tried to figure out how to occupy our time.  Marty and Bob started to set up Sunday afternoon, noting that others had begun to do the same.  Fortunately, they got most of it done then, since IT RAINED VERY HARD ON MONDAY.  Go figure.  Bob left early Monday afternoon, and his wife Helena and her sister Betty arrived Tuesday afternoon, ready to start the fair on Thursday morning.  There was only one problem: We turned on the late local news Tuesday night and learned the fair would be starting Wednesday.  The next day, and not Thursday as we all thought.  We scrambled on Wednesday morning and finally got ourselves ready to go for a 3 PM fair opening.  The weather was not cooperative: That day, and the two days following were cold, windy and rainy.  The temperature remained below normal for the first five days of the fair.  We still managed to have a steady stream of business, however, and everyone was pleased when it was all over.   On the Monday after the fair, after twelve long days of stroller/scooter/wagon/wheel chair hawking, we packed up the truck and the RV.  After moving Peg and the rig to a campground in Swansea (about 30 miles south of Columbia), Marty took the equipment back to Raleigh.  He spent the night there, helped Bob and Helena un-pack in the morning, and brought the empty truck back to Columbia, where Peg picked him up.  That night we celebrated Marty’s birthday a little late at the Road House, a steak house chain, then returned to the campground.  We took two days to decompress, then headed down to Starke, arriving October 30.  The first news we got was unsettling: Edi, our winter neighbor in one of the park models, was recovering from a broken arm.  She was still the same old Edi, joking and making plans for all the things she’d do (pizza party!) when the cast was removed.  Unfortunately, on the morning before she was due to get her arm back, she fell in her bathroom and broke her shoulder.  As of this writing, she was released from the hospital in Gainesville, and was moved to a recuperation center on Thursday, November 12th.

We’re settling in rather quickly.  The first weekend we got to Starke, we went to see Heather, Javi, and the boys.  They were really excited about our new truck and were especially happy that all three boys – with car seats – fit in the back.  This called for a trip to Sweet Tomatoes (a chain of salad bar restaurant and a family favorite).  We had a great time and made tentative plans to assist in the installation of laminate flooring in the playroom (also called “the green room” because of the previous owner’s choice of wall color and carpeting).  Of course, this is a good excuse to break out the power tools.  The following weekend, we went to Gainesville to see our old (okay, long-time) NY friends Mark and Rosemary.  The visit did not end with our normal cutthroat domino game – don’t laugh, it gets brutal – because of a televised Florida Gator football game and a lingering cold that Rosemary is trying to knock out of her system.  As a result, we were back in the RV when received a phone call from a former resident of the park.  She and her husband had moved to Texas, but had since sold their house and were coming back to Starke for the winter.  Jim is disabled, and Virginia was looking for someone to come to Texas and drive their truck and trailer back to Florida.  Marty had sent her an e-mail: “Me!  Me!  I’ll do it!”, and Virginia was calling to see when would be a good time for him to come.  The next thing we knew, it was the next day and Peg was dropping Marty off at the bus station in Gainesville.  We will have more on that trip in our next installment.

So, that concludes our quick and dirty “what we did the last part of the summer”.  Trust us; it was a busy, busy time.

Well, it is getting to the end of our summer, and what better way to experience than an outdoor lobster and clam cookout.  Yes, it’s getting cooler here; most days are only hitting the sixties, but this has been planned for several weeks now.  Our friends Bill and Rainy have a nephew that, as a fund raiser for the boy scouts, was selling whole live lobsters.  I know, I know…most kids sell candy bars or popcorn…but this is Radisson, NY.  Anyway, we all bought a lobster, Peg made dessert and a salad, Cousin Dave and Kristen (OK, not really a cousin) made a tossed salad, Bill and Rainy supplied the clams and Bills sister Katie hosted us.  It was a good way to end the summer with them, and we learned that you can eat lobster and clams outside when it’s only 60 degrees!

The biggest thing weighing on us is getting the tow brackets installed on the new truck.  Earlier this month I pre-wired the truck for the lights, so at least that part was done.  They were ordered a few weeks ago, and finally showed up on the 21^st. The next I got out my tools, expecting a 5-6 hour ordeal.  To our great surprise, the whole deal took just under two hours.  Color me surprised, because this never happens to us…meaning it all worked the very first time with no issues.  The directions were very concise, and the fear that I had about them not fitting the STX trim level is now gone forever.  Now all we need to do is hook the baby up and see how it pulls……but that’s a job for October 1^st.

We also got the new bed pump from Sleep Number folks; that was a pretty easy install.  I was hoping they were going to send us a new model with wireless remotes, but they didn’t….oh well.  We boxed up the bad one and got it mailed the next day, so that’s not hanging over our head any longer.

We also got to do something that we have wanted to do all summer.  That, my friends, was to take a trip in the new truck to see Ken and Judy.  Ken has been a friend of mine for years and years (almost 35 years to be more precise).  Ken and I not only worked together, we also shared an apartment wall when I lived on Taft Road, and was also the best man at our wedding.  Ken lived in Pittsburgh, PA for several years before moving to Arizona.  Several years ago we went to Kingman, AZ to see him, and almost right after that he moved to Roanoke, VA.  So, we went to see him there.  Not soon after the move to VA, he moved to the Albany, NY area with his longtime friend Judy.  What a cute couple they make.  They live in an area called Averill Park, and have a lovely home on two acres.  Ken is in his glory; he now has a work shop, a lawn to mow and a garage to play in.  We got to their place around 6pm, hung out for awhile, and then Ken cooked some wonderful steaks on the grill.  Judy made some awesome side dishes, and we bought a dessert.  We were up to after one in the morning talking, and spent one of the quietest nights in recent memory.  The next morning, Judy had to work (she works from home) so we took Ken out for breakfast at a place called Uncle Marty’s Adirondack Grill.  We went back to visit some more, then headed back to West Monroe.  Tomorrow we leave on the bikes for Rehoboth Beach, DE.  It will be a busy few days……

Until next time;