MATAMERAS,PA

September 20, Saturday: Decided to head to Gettysburg, Pa. for some shut down time. We stayed there three years ago with the Emrich's on our way to their son's wedding. Big campground with lots of walking areas for the dogs.
From Mystic we worked our way up to I84 then headed West across Connecticut. Nice rolling hills with some Fall colors showing. Crossed through New York state which looked pretty much like Connecticut same rollings hills but starting to see bigger mountains. Slight problem, not many campgrounds along this route. Finally found one with an opening in Matameras, Pa. (side-bar...DO NOT RUSH TO MATAMERAS, PA CAMPGROUND) This was literally a bad parking lot. Nice area to walk around campground but grounds where we parked we not kept up. First electrical box did not work. Good thing Larry had a long extension cord to reach the second one. The people next to us really had a hard time. The real irriating! They charged us the same price as a good campground. LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now can I say..........This is camping?????????

Catching up again!!!!!!!!!

1. The tall ship for rent

2. The Charles W. Morgan

3. Old lobster boat

4. Pretty boat

October 23, Thursday As you can see, again, I am slightly behind. However, since we are sitting in the driver's lounge of a transmission shop, I have time to maybe catch up on a few days. Yep, we arrived in Albuquerque,NM with transmission problems. Thank goodness Larry was able to get to here because there really is not that much out here. In fact, the cell phone has not worked for about 5 days. we are having to deadhead home because of renter problems. Not quite the leisure trip back East. .....September 19, Friday: Larry took Sobaka to a very nice Vet here in town to have his stitches removed. She didn't even charge us and said to keep up the good work because he looks very good for his age. We should all be sooooo lucky!!!!!

Off to explore the Mystic Seaport Museum located on the Mystic river. This museum is a little smaller than the Sturbridge Village or Shelburne Museum. Piece of cake it is only 17 acres on the waterfront. While we went through historic houses, old restored ship, shops, and trade buildings, we managed to traverse all and then some of the 17 acres. The have a preservation shipyard where you can walk on the catwalk to watch them work. The shipyard is home to three tall ships of which Joseph Conrad has been restored, the L.A. Dunton is in dry dock now being finished. Plans are in late 2008 to start restoring the Charles W. Morgan. This ship was one of the last wooden whaling ships. Exploring all of these ships was very interesting and realizing the life they used to have. Surprising on the Charles W. Morgan several of the captain's families traveled with them on their voyages. Going down to the belly of the whaling ship was very very tight. Interesting to see how much work they could do in a limited space. There was a restored 1908 steamboat which you could cruise the river. Also, a 3 or 5 day cruise on a 170ft three mast tall ship. All in all a very interesting walk through an old -time seaport village.

Moving on to Connecticut

September 18, Thursday: On the road again traveled to Mystic, Connecticut. This town was noted for being the biggest ship building seaport during 1700 to 1868.
We traveled south on another red road Hwy 131. Now the map does not say this is scenic but we think so. Hwy 131 turns into Hwy12 which parallels I395. We opted to stay on 12 because it was an OK road and much more to look at while driving. Arrived at our campground after "Mildred", our GPS in the RV, got us turned around. Now we have told you how helpful she can be but when she cannot find the address it can get complicated. Not mentioning the colorful language I can use when dealing with her! We finally found the place after a phone call, looking at the map, and finally letting Larry use his sense of direction.
Seaport Campground is very nice and spacious. It has water and electric only. Set up camp, loaded the dogs in the car to drive down to Mystic. We were looking for a vet. Now, I programed "Henrietta" our GPS in the car with the address. Where she took us was a residential house. NOT a good day with GPS! Oh well, our appointment is not until tomorrow we will just play Scarlet O'Hara and worry about tomorrow. Drove down a street which ended at a small little harbor. Several people were parked to watch the sunset so we joined them. Talked to a couple who informed us we were no longer in Mystic but Stonington. Asked them about the vet and found out it was in the town of Pawcatuck. Now I know what some of you are thinking, if I put the correct info into the GPS it might work better. However, I refuse to discuss the matter anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Heading for bed with out the help of GPS!
Good Night!

Old Sturbridge Village

1. Not sure this is Larry's best picture
2. Stagecoach ride in Sturbridge
3. Larry standing over looking the lake at Sturbridge



September 17, Wednesday: We entered the world of 1830 New England. The first "Industrial Revolution". The times are still hard but several things are happening to make life easier. The mass production of cloth makes life a lot easier for the women. Since most still make all the clothes for their family. Printing papers and books makes news travel faster. Some farmers are mass producing cheese and butter for retail sale. All the buildings here are from the New England area and have been moved here to look like a village from 1790 to 1830. Very kid friendly. In fact, they have programs all year for kids from 6 to 17 years of age. Several costumed villagers to answer all our question. One woman we talked to was working in her garden. Another was choosing to spin her own wool to make stockings for her family. Larry had a lengthy conversation with the farmer and shopkeeper. It was a lot of walking since it sat on 220 acres. Good day!


Home to feed and walk dogs then off to a restaurant that has been serving the public since 1771. It is called the Publick House. When we walked into the Tavern the hostess said we could eat in the Tavern or the Old Dining Room. On our way to check out the Dining Room, we met some people who work for the facility. While talking to them about some facts they suggested we check out the rooms for rent. We walked upstairs to narrow twisted hallways. Our kind of place. Decided to eat in the tavern. We tried to order a Long Island Ice Tea but it is against the law to serve it here in Massaschuetts. Go figure! Ordered a good California Merlot to have with our Stuffed Portabello Mushroom. It was stuffed with lobster, crab and cheese. MMMMmmm good. Larry ordered the Lobster Ravioli and I had Chicken Pot Pie. Very New England.


Nice relaxing evening after a very fun day. Tomorrow we are driving to Mystic, Connecticut.


Good Night!

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

1. Lottie doing her stress routine.
2. Sobaka with his cone/ so tired


September 15 & 16, Monday & Tuesday: A little rain on Sunday night but lots of wind. Windy all day on Monday so just hung around the campground got caught up on the blog while Larry was able to watch some football. Ended up staying awake (semi) to watch Sunday Night Football. Not good because it does not come on until 9pm & over around 12pm. Good game though. And oh that's right we're retired we do not have to jump up on Tuesday.


In the afternoon we took a ride down the coast. Again just explored the little towns in the coves. We ended up in New Hampshire in the city of Portsmouth. It has an old section called Strawberry Banke. We had to wait for the drawbridge because a huge freighter was going through. Strawberry Banke is a village that depicts the town during its busy shipping era. We did not plan it well because it was too late to venture into the village.


Tuesday: We are heading to Sturbridge, Massachusetts. AAA says there is a Living History Village of 1830 New England. We haven't done this on our trip yet. We took I95 south through New Hampshire paying $12.00 in tolls before we turned onto I495. Then onto a red road Hwy20, not such a good move too many surprise downhill with stoplights at the bottom. Not Larry's favorite. The map said it was scenic but apparently not our scenic. Sturbridge is in the middle southern part of the state. Our campground is nothing to write home about. Guess they all can't be great, however, they still are charging a high price. It is $48.00 a night. We need to get out of New England it is messing up our budget.


Tomorrow off to the"village".


Good Night!

Getting caught up on the blog

September 13 & 14, Saturday & Sunday: Took off today for Wells, it is just below Kennebunkport. We stayed here over Labor Day week-end. This time we are staying in town. I like this campground better than the last. More trees. After setting up, we took a two mile plus walk down to the waterfront. Our walk took us pass a large marsh land. Not hot but we did forget water for the dogs and us. When we reached the waterfront, Larry went in to get some water for the dogs. When he tried to give Lottie a drink she took a sip and no more. Very unusual for her. Mystery solved......... he had bought Sprite instead of water. Then when he went back and bought water, she wasn't too sure she wanted to trust him again. We all had a good rest and drinks then headed home. The walk was a little longer than we thought but nice. Should have know by the name of the road.....Mile Rd.
Everyone was ready to relax when we return to the rig. I fixed a vegetable soup while we watched the news about Hurricane Ike. We are not moving until Tuesday.

Sunday: Woke up to rain. Doing nothing until we get caught up on the blog. Walk the dogs, Worked on the blog. Watched football.
Good Night!

Oh Yeah! I am up to date!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rockport and Camden, Maine

1. Very impressive bridge
2. The Oreo cows with calves
3. You can see the old bridge behind the new bridge
4. Waterfall in Camden below our cafe




September 11, Thursday: On the road again...........not many miles as we are just heading down the coast about 130 miles. We drove over a very interesting bridge. (see picture) Slow moving but nice ride. Good thing we did not have too far to go. Time wise it was longer than need be. Larry kind of got us in trouble. He saw a good place to eat on the bay missed the parking lot so took the next street. Do you have the picture? Remember with the rig and car we are 62 ft long. After turning down this street, we found out it was a dead end into a parking lot for the ferry which goes to the island in the bay. Now I would like to point out one of the reasons Larry wanted this rig was because he flipped a U-turn when he test drove it. He thought he had enough room but not quite! Not bad...he only missed it by a few inches because of a street sign. Now he has the car at an angle so cannot disconnect; can't back up. Conference time. Looking at the sign which is keeping him from making the turn, I think I can hold it out of the way. Not quite! Suddenly, there are three men there to hold the sign out of the way so he could make the turn. Love these Mainers! The first gentleman even asked these two ladies if they would move their car so Larry could pull into the parking lot. Nice people! After all that we had a nice lunch on the deck facing the bay. I had fish & chips and Larry had a chicken sandwich. Even with Larry's little mishap, we arrived at our campground early enough to enjoy our site. Small campground but nice grounds with lots of trees and walking room for the dogs. One of the first campgrounds with a few West Coast people. Arizona, 2 from Washington, California(besides us)not too many of us traveling.


My biggest regret of the day>>>>>>>I didn't get a picture of Larry flipping that U. Another good RV story.


Good Night!





September 12, Friday: Got a local map of the area, loaded the dogs and headed out to explore another great area on the Maine Coast. On a side road we saw a very small dog in the middle of the street. Now I would like to point out to a few people( mainly my sister-in-law, Sharon and my friend, Pat) that I made it all the way to Maine before I found a lost dog. Larry didn't even question about stopping. He did groan a little. Of course, no one was home but there was a truck with a phone number written on the side door. Called and was able to talk to the owner of the dog. She asked if we could put the dog on the front porch and she would head right home. Larry was very glad it worked out so well. Back to our touring the area. Went by the famous Galloway cows. Actually, the locals call them the Oreo Cows. You know, they do look like Oreo cookies. We went by a beach where you can walk dogs but found out it is only during 8am to 10am. It was 10:30am too late. Lots of old house that have been restored.


We found a parking place in Camden which was not easy since there is an art show this week-end. Very busy harbor here. We took the dogs on a long walk along the marina and a few streets. The dogs got tired so took them back to the car while we went to lunch. Figured they would be all right since it is starting to get cloudy and windy. We found a little grill that has been family owned since 1942. We sat outside on the deck over looking a water fall. We both ordered a hamburger. I Know I know....but oh my gosh... was it ever good! Just after we ate it started raining. Went back to the rig. It rained most of the night not hard but steady. It is suppose to get down to 45 degrees. Fall is in the air. Larry tell me again what the temperature is in California?


Good Night!

Into Acadia National Park

1. A small harbor on the Southwestern side

2. On top of Cadillac Mtn.

3. Bar Harbor from Cadillac Mtn.

4. Bar Harbor on our way down the mountain





September 9 & 10, Tuesday & Wednesday: After we got everything settled this morning, we decided to take a ride around the southwestern side of the island. The island is divided into two driving loops. So loaded the dogs in the car. Sobaka seems to be doing all right. We don't want to walk him too much but a ride in the car should be all right. Nice day but the clouds are coming in. We are suppose to have some more heavy rains sometime tonight. Again saw some very impressive houses and buildings. Pretty coastline and lots of trees. Arrived home just as it started to rain. Or should I say Pour! Fixed something for dinner then just had a quiet evening.









Wednesday: Woke to a gorgeous morning after a lot of rain again. Loaded the dogs to drive and walk around Acadia National Park. Now we have seen some beautiful sites but they seem to just get better. The wind was blowing which kept the temperature down but the views on top of Cadillac Mountain crystal clear. This is the tallest mountain on the Atlantic Coast. I cannot express how wonderful the views were on top but hope some of the pictures give you an idea. We were able to take the dogs on several little walks. It really is nice to be able to take them especially since we really can't leave Sobaka even with the cone on his head. We drove back in to Bar Harbor for lunch. Unfortunately, we picked a restaurant that wouldn't allow the dogs. Don't think they minded staying in the car since they were long overdue for their naps. Larry chose the special which was 3 sliders. One each of lobster, crab, and salmon with french fries. I had a Salmon/ Caesar Wrap. Very Good! On the way home we stopped at the local brewery to do some beer tasting. Well, Larry tasted! Bought a couple of different kinds.




Arrived home to feed dogs and start getting ready to head out tomorrow. We are going back down the coast to Camden. We passed it on our way heading North. It looked like a very cute place to walk around and explore.

Good Night!

Lunch in Bar Harbor

1. Lottie and I waiting for Larry to take his picture. Cute sign!

2. A small harbor before Bar Harbor

3. A street in Bar Harbor

4. Now this looks like New England housing!





September 8, Monday: Dropped Sobaka off for his surgery. I am sure he is thinking this trip is not as fun as it could be. He should be done by 4:30pm so off to wonder the streets of Bar Harbor. Host said it is very dog friendly so Lottie is going to spend the day with us. Parked the car and found a walk which rounds the town. About 1/2 mile or so along the water edge pass a beautiful old hotel. The harbor is very busy with sight seeing boats, whale watching, (thank you, but I'll do that in Hawaii it is warmer)and you can even go out with them to get check the lobster traps. The path ended up at the upper part of town which meant we were able to wonder slowly back towards the wharf for lunch. Lottie did amazingly well. As you know, she is very people friendly but not so dog tolerate. I guess after four months walking by dogs she is really getting better. That and we did not have Sobaka. She does not seem so on guard without him to protect. Did a little window shopping but not much else. Chose a restaurant that Lottie could go to. She even had her own treats and own water bowl. I am sure she is having a better day than Sobaka. Larry had a lobster dinner which included 1/4 lb. of lobster, garlic mashed potatoes, corn bread, and a large ear of fresh corn on the cob. Me? glad you asked... Corn and lobster chowder and baked beans on the side. Life is Good!





Headed home Lottie and I are tired from all the walking and it is warm today. After we were home for a while, Larry went to pick up our little guy. He was so groggy his hind legs were not working too well. He was very hungry since he had not had breakfast. Quick dinner and he was down for the count. Quiet evening.





Good Night!

Bar Harbor, Maine

September 5, 6, & 7, Friday, Saturday, & Sunday: Woke this morning to low tide. People can walk from the campground out to the two islands in the bay. Incredible that the tide recedes that far. Well, today is ..back to the vet day...for Sobaka. His cyst will not heal no matter what we do. Able to get him in but not until 12:30pm so kinda of shoots our day. To make a long story short, the vet thought he could just to a local anesthetic and remove the cyst. Yep! too easy......... it was too deep into his hip. Can't do it to day but can do it on Monday. He did cauterize it so he would leave it alone. A few more people coming in for the week-end. Doesn't surprise us the weather has been so nice. Subject to change when Hurricane Hanna gets here. They are expecting 2-4 inches of rain when she arrives late Saturday night or Sunday morning. While sitting outside we heard a bell. Ok, I heard a ringing sound. It turned out to be a lady who bakes pies and sells them at the campground. Well, I may not be as fond of lobster as Larry but I do like blueberries. We bought a fresh wild blueberry pie still warm and a huge lemon cookie Larry could have with his morning coffee. Pie was $15.00 a little high but oh my gosh it was worth it! Had a piece for dinner.



Saturday: General housekeeping and laundry morning. Received a phone call from the Cole's in Northern Virginia late morning. They were getting pounded with rain and winds. Since it is headed our way they wanted to give us a heads up! We sat outside and enjoyed our view because it sounds like it would not be here later. It actually started raining about 7:30pm. By the time we went to bed it was raining pretty steady.
Forgot to mention, we met a nice couple who live just outside of Portland, Maine. They invited us to their site to have a glass of wine and toast their 40th wedding anniversary. We then invited them to come to our place for dessert, blueberry pie. Donna has been battling cancer for 18 years. Ed says it is getting harder each time it returns. We had a fun time sharing camping stories and they are going to spend their winter in Texas. Again we have to thank our lucky stars for what we have........................



Sunday: 8 inches of rain the camp host told Larry when he took the dogs for their morning walk. A few of the roads were washed out in the campground. Big ruts! They have a tractor which they share between campgrounds so when it is their turn they will grade the roads again. Our site is pretty soggy. Worked on the blog, read, and just lazed today. Unfortunately to wet to sit outside.

Tomorrow taking Sobaka to the vet at 8am then heading to BAAA Habaaaaa with Lottie.

Good Night!

Bar Harbor, Maine

1. Is this a great view! Worth the hassle.
2. Lottie keeping an eye on the seagulls
3. Tide is out
4. The whole view




September 4, Thursday: We are off to the farthest Northeast we are going to go, Bar Harbor and The Acadia National Park. Again we went on Hwy 1 through some great little towns. I guess just like California's Hwy 1 you cannot beat the scenic drive. Really not that hard to drive today. Larry was thinking about coming back this way to walk around some of the towns.


Our campground is across the narrows onto the island. Large campgrounds but again many open sites. Some sites are on the water which is where we want to be. Now this sounds easy, however, it was not. We wanted to park looking at the water but by driving the rig in front facing the water, the electrical hook-ups were on the wrong side. This made it too far to reach with our lines. Great sites for fifth-wheels! Larry was determined it was going to work. After the third time for me to go to the front office, I asked one of the gentlemen host to go help Larry. I did not want to have a ...Man/Woman moment. The camp host said no problem he had an extension chord he would lend us. Yeah! Oh yea, we arrived about 1pm finally parked the rig about 3pm. Good job guys, we are parked about 20ft from the water and no one is parked next to us.


After setting up and taking dogs for a good sniffing walk, we set the chairs in front of the rig to enjoy this spectacular view. I put together some snacks and went back to the relaxing-mode.


I am so relaxed nobody would recognize me.


Good Night!

Freeport, Maine

1. Now this is a boot
2. View from our campsite


September 2, Tuesday: Took our time checking out as we did not have far to travel today. Drove to Freeport by way of Hwy 1. Slow moving driving right up the coastline part of the way. Several seaport towns not sure these roads were build with 40ft RVs in mind. Turned off the hwy headed north on 205 towards the campground. These are the worst roads we have been on. Bob and Dorene, I really understand what you went through in Alaska. We saw a sign that said... Slow Frost Heaves...Oh My Gosh, they felt like the rig was shaking apart. We were barely moving. Then we ran out of pavement onto a dirt road. Did I forget to mention there was not a sign telling us about the end of pavement. Oh, fun, fun, fun. I was starting to think of California again. We still had 1 1/2 miles to the campground but it seemed like an eternity. This road had the washboard effect and let me tell you we felt every bump. Thank goodness when we reached our campground it was a blessing. It was tucked amongst tall trees with large sites. After Labor Day it really slows down so not very many people. Our site is all by itself. Very woodsy. Nice view when we sit out and feed the mosquitoes. Our host says this is the worst year they have had with mosquitoes. Too much rain this year and when it warmed up the mosquitoes came out with a vengeance. The weather station says we are 10 degrees above normal. It has been in the low 80s since we have been in Maine. Good for us and apparently really good for the mosquitoes.



Put on lots of mosquito repellent and sat outside. Getting pretty good at this relaxing stuff.



Good Night!







September 3, Wednesday: The reason we made a stop in Freeport was to go thru the LL Bean Store. We have always like the quality of their clothing and have ordered several things from them. Fun to finally see the store. Guess what? again we found some good quality clothes. Larry only went thru the check line 4 times. I thought I was done shopping then I found a couple of other things for Christmas. You know how that goes. Even if you don't buy anything, it is an amazing store to walk around. Walked around town seems all the major brands have an outlet here. Not being the best shoppers, we didn't leave very much money.



It had warmed up to 84 degrees so headed back on our washboard road to check on dogs. We usually leave the air conditioner on but it was cooler when we left. The inside of the rig was only 73 degrees because of all the trees I guess.



We thought about going out to dinner but the thought of going over that road was not worth it.



Besides time to load up and head out tomorrow for Bar Harbor.



Good Night!

Kennebunkport, Maine

1. Bush compound
2. The Funky Pub
3. We ate where the Bushs ate! They didn't ask us to sign the wall.
4. Cape Porpoise harbor




August 31, Sunday: OK, decided to brave the crowds and head into Kennebunkport. We drove through here about 10 years ago with the Emrichs. Loved it then and love it now. Drove out by the Peninsula to have a look at the Senior Bush compound. Lots of people off the side of the road. If you have never seen it it is really a great looking place to live. After we drove down the road, we headed back into Kennebunkport to walk around and have lunch. Larry was able to get a haircut even though it was Sunday. Found out George Sr. and George W. Bush have had haircuts there. At least that is what "they" say. Larry felt very priviledged. While talking to a local, she suggested driving up to Cape Porpoise to a local's joint for a late lunch. Nice drive and a fun place. Cape Porpoise is a small fishing village so we walked along the pier before heading into the funky pub to eat. Larry had a lobster roll which is advertised everywhere and I had fish & chips. This pub is under the main restaurant. It is decorated with all kinds of baseball memorabilia. When we walked in there were only 4 people when we left around 5pm it was full of locals who had been out on the water. Just our kind of fun place. I do believe we may have been the only tourist.







September 1, Monday: Happy Labor Day! For me this is a sorta sad day because I am not ready for summer to start coming to a close. Apparently Mother Nature agrees; it is beautiful today. Several of the cabins here are having block parties. Took the dogs for a long walk and discovered there is a Community College just down the road from us. Two ponds that have signs saying ice skate at your own risk. Don't plan on being here when the ponds ice over! Small campus but quietly elegant.



Tomorrow going to LL Bean Country!



Good Night!

Maine and Lobster!

August 29, Friday: Several warning signs about moose crossings. As we traveled through New Hampshire we were unable to see too much as the trees are very close to the road. Had a few tow roads because we wanted to get to Maine. Larry decided to stop reading the the cost because anyway he figured it out the toll taker figured more money. Total of all was $12.00. We did make it to Maine in 2 1/2 hours. We have decided these short trips are very nice. The "resort" we booked was $61.00 a night except for holidays then it is $71.00 a night. yep, it is Labor Day Week-end. But it is nice and close to Kennebunkport where we would like to spend some time exploring. Unfortunately, I am not sure the site is good for Larry. There is a 2009 Prevost in the site behind us. Larry has not stopped drooling since he set up.

We sat outside to relax again. Larry kept saying our pace would slow down once we arrived in Maine.

He caught up on our expense sheet:

States visited 18

Campgrounds 39

Diesel tanks 15

Gas tanks 10

MPG in RV 8.3 better now since no big mountains/major HWYS

Miles traveled 6421

Average expenses per day 159.51 (Larry still hoping to hit 150.00) (Good luck!)

Average eating out per day 21.45 (Don't eat out everyday)

I think we should head out for dinner. NOT had hors d ourves with a glass of wine.

Good Night!



August 30, Saturday: Decided with all the traffic in town we would hang out at the campground ground. Very nice place to hang out. Good news Wi-fi and satelite work. Hopefully get caught up on blog. This "resort" has several cabins which you can buy. The starting price is $75.00 with options added. This does not sound too bad except you can only use them from mid-May until mid-October. Many of the owners we talked to come from the Boston area.

Larry didn't lie... we sat outside a relaxed!

Good Night!

Marsh,Billings,,Rockefeller Mansion

1. Marsh, Billings, Rockefeller Mansion

2. Pond at entrance of Quechee Campground



August 27, Wednesday: Drove 6 miles into the town of Woodstock. I know you get tired of me saying ...how adorable these towns are but that is true they are so quaint. Great buildings! We went through Woodstock to find the Marsh, Billings, Rockefeller Mansion. We checked in at the Billings Farm & Museum to buy tickets for the farm and mansion. They are across the street from each other. Of course to get to the Mansion you have to walk up hill......now I am not complaining.........ok a little. Our first view was spectacular! The entire estate was given to the National Park Forestry Department, all 550 acres, in 1992. It was opened to the public in 1998. It was fascinating to us because the Rockefeller just walked out. Leaving it as though they would be back soon. The original owner was Charles Marsh, Sr. who gave it to his son, Charles, Jr. Marsh was one of the earliest people to manage natural resources. The next family was the Billings family. Frederick Billings grew up in the Woodstock area but went to the California Gold Rush and made his fortune as an attorney. Upon returning he bought the Mansion and made many changes to the structure. He also expanded the dairy farm hiring a Scotsman named Aiden. This allowed Billings to concentrate on forest development. Laurence Rockefeller married Billings' granddaughter Mary. Hence the Rockefeller part of the house. Lots of painting from this period. There are several hiking paths but we were unable to use them.




Walked around the dairy farm and saw a Jersey calf that was just two hours old. The 1890 house that the manager and his family lived in. It is a working non-profit organization. Very nice farm.




Now it is lunch time. Off to the Woodstock Inn to eat in the Red Rooster restaurant. Larry had lobster in a lite garlic tomato sauce and I had smoked cheddar, chicken, and roasted red pepper salad. Good! Good!




Found Bev's office to get our syrup. She had talked to her husband, Ted, who was nice enough to invite us out to see his operation of maple syrup. So went back fed and walked the dogs. Then back to follow Bev home. She lives 10 miles out of Woodstock and what a beautiful commute. I can only imagine what the hills look like doing the colors. What a production! It takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup. In a normal season they go through 65-70 chords of wood to cook the sap down. Can only guess at the total man hours. They have tubes tapped into the trees which then connect to tubing that goes into holding tanks. A much bigger operation than the pictures we have seen in the past where you hang a bucket under a hole in a tree. Larry and Ted talked about a lot more than I have put here.




We left their place about 8:30pm. Ted and Bev cannot thank you enough for the personalized tour. Hope to meet up again on the road with your fifth-wheel.




A very busy day!




Good Night!









August 28, Thursday: Quiet day. Doing everyday stuff and trying to recoup from yesterday.




Beautiful weather today for sitting outside and walking.




Moving on towards Maine tomorrow.




Good Night!

Woodstock, Vermont

1. They sold ice cream from this truck when they started.
2. There we are!
3. Ice cream graveyard. flavors that did not survive
4. Campground pond. See the trees reflected in the water? Great photographer? or lucky?




August 26, Tuesday: On our way to Woodstock which is in Eastern Central Vermont, we made a slight detour to Waterbury. Now this is a very important historical site. It is where the Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory resides. Or should I say one of them. We took a 30 minute tour which included a history of the way they started the business. They sold the business in 2001 to a firm out of London. At this facility they make 2 dozen different flavors. We sampled one of the flavors which was meaning made today, Cake Batter. GOOD! The building was brightly decorated with cartoon cows and things. We only bought 3 pints. Not Bad! We walked the dogs up the hill to see the Ice Cream Cemetary. Very sad all of the flavors they have buried. Trivia Question: What state consumes the most ice cream per capita?


After our little break we headed on down Hwy 89. New sign.......Moose Crossing. Larry is pretty sure he would not like to hit a moose going 65mph which is what the speed limit is posted. The wildflowers are all over the sides of the hills. We saw more trees turning today. Locals are saying the fall will come early this year. Who knows the weather has been soooooo crazy this year.


Our campground is just outside of Woodstock called Quechee. Loved that GPS because this one would have been hard to find. Nice woody area with a pond out front. Big pull-throughs. No satelite but we have Wi-Fi and cable. Hopefully, will get a couple more days on the blog.


Set up and off to explore while walking the dogs. Nice place to walk the dogs. The only problem Sobaka and Lottie wanting to go swimming in the pond. Vermont is our favorite state as far as beauty. They do have too many mosquitoes and biting flies. Guess everything can't be perfect. Ran over to New Hampshire for dinner. Of course, we just went 5 miles down the freeway. We found a Mexican restaurant.(found by Henrietta, car GPS) They had sign on the door that said 50% off from 3pm to 6pm if you sat at the bar. Sat at the bar and had good Carnita's. The bartender hit the wrong button and we received a free margarita, too. Life is good!


While we were sitting back at the RV a woman in a car stopped in the space next to us. She and her husband just bought a 5th wheel and were coming to this campground in a few weeks to test it out. Bev left about 2 hours later. She had lots of questions. It was fun. Larry was talking to her about going to a Maple syrup farm. Come to find out her husband, Ted, makes maple syrup. She invited us to come by her work and she would bring us a tin. Can't pass that up.


Trivia Answer: ALASKA


Tomorrow to the Marsh, Billings, Rockefeller National Park and the Billings Farm and Museum.


Good Night!

Shelburne Museum

1. One of the restore caroursel animals
2. Everything in this circus was made by a railroad worker as toys for his kids.
3. Ticonderoga steamship
4. The 3 story round barn




August 24 & 25, Sunday: The main reason we came to Shelburne was to visit the Shelburne Museum. In the AAA book it is a gem item. Also many of the people we have talk to have recommended it to us. This is some museum. It sits on 45 acres. Needless to say we walked all of it but it took us two days. You start at entrance of a huge 3 story red round barn. This building was dismantled and moved to this location by Mrs. Electra Webb. Well, not her personally but she made it possible. After buying your ticket you start by viewing restored carousel animals. They are displayed as works of art and not on the actual carousel. The original pieces are from the 19th century where several carousels used lions, tigers, camels, goats, and etc. to ride on. However, they began to notice the children preferred the horses so they started only making the horses for modern carousels. The next building was built in the shape of a horseshoe. It contains a 500ft long circus parade. All of the pieces are handcrafted from wood. Very impressive! On the opposite wall were many old time circus posters.


We then walked down a path to see the Beach Lodge. I am just going to take a minute to say that most of these buildings were dismantled and rebuilt here on site. Each building is great to look at in itself but each houses different art collections. Let me tell you there are lots of buildings, pathways, and gardens. Now you see why it is on 45 acres. OK back to the Beach Lodge......... this building depicts a hunting lodge so yep...stuffed animals plus furniture from that 1920 period. Then off to the train station with its own locomotive and passage car. By now it is lunch time. Where else to have lunch but at the old farmhouse. Shared a chicken/pecan salad with ice tea.


After lunch we went to the old Ticonderoga steamship. That was very interesting to see the movie on how they brought it from Lake Champlain to its finally resting place. It was only two miles but you can only imagine the work it took. Just to let you know the size, it is 220 ft long, 58 ft wide, and weighs892 tons. It has been completely restored and it is beautiful. Oh yeah, Larry wanted to say, it runs by a single piston---9ft stroke and 53 inch bore. Now I hope that makes sense to some of you but me????????????


The buildings ranged from a simple one room Stone Cottage to Larry's favorite of the day, a townhouse which had a tavern attached. It also had rooms for rent w/meals and at one time used to hold court in one of the back rooms. After talking to the lady here she said the family just changed with what ever was happening at the time. Very entrepreneur!!!!


Well, not too bad AAA said allow 4 hours...........we are leaving after 6 hours and returning tomorrow.





Monday: Off to finish the museum. We think we are about half finished. We started at a "green house" built in the 60s out of shipping containers. Roll-up doors that open both sides to the area outdoors. Very odd! On down the lane to walk through the covered bridge to the 1840 one-room school. Over to the original farmhouse which was on the 45 acres when Electra Webb started this museum. It houses glassware, pewter, trivets, etc. downstairs with a porcelain doll and autorata collection upstairs. Larry's favorite of the day building, was a horseshoe shaped barn. Now one of the interesting facts about this building...........the farmer would not sell it to Electra so she sent "her people" out to copy it exactly like it was built. This building houses the largest collection of horse drawn sleighs. His favorite sleigh was a school bus with a small wood stove to keep the kids warm on their way to school.


The 1871 lighthouse came from Colchester Reef on Lake Champlain. We couldn't imagine raising four kids on this small area. You had to get all your supplies yourself by row boat. This included going across during the winter. Scary!!!!!!!!! We also toured the 1950 house. Fun! Fun! Fun! that is until Larry and I realized that our childhood home was in a museum.


I could go on forever.......oh that's right I have.........Still more buildings we didn't talk about. All we can say is... if you are ever in the area of Shelburne, Vermont...it is well worth seeing.


Also a very huge THANK YOU to Electra Havemeyer Webb for her generosity and foresight.


My favorite...............the Mary Cassatt & other Impressionist exhibit. Mary Cassatt was friends with Electra's mother. I was very pleased to see they had several areas for kids to play outside and also some areas to work on crafts. Nice relieve from looking at other stuff.


Home to walk the dogs .............like we haven't walked enough.


Good Night!

Moving Day Again

1. Figure the first Morgan bred
2. Working two horses at once
3. Foals
4. Original Barn

August 23, Saturday: Took off north on Hwy 30 to the town Weybridge where we stopped at The University of Vermont Morgan Horse Farm. It looks very much like it did when it was built in the 1830. The barn and farmhouse are the original ones. They have about 80 horses which includes studs, mares, and babies. Even though they are affiliated with UV, they are self sustaining. Besides giving tours they sell anywhere from 16 -20 foals each year. Since they do all the training on the grounds and have great bloodlines thru their own stallions and mares, the foals can sell from $3000.00 to $25,000 each. The Morgan Horse is the first American bred horse. Justin Morgan was the gentleman who introduced the breed which is why they are called Morgans. They are one of the most versatile. It was fun to see them. Larry and I feel as though this is turning out to be our horse tour.

Traveling today to the Northwestern part of Vermont was through many rolling hills in a very large valley. Several dairy farms making Larry very happy looking at all the beautiful red barns. Thank goodness he stayed on the road. I was driving the CRV with Lottie. We were having a girl day! Listening to the XM as loud as we wanted except when Larry called on the walkie-talkie to interrupt with something he wanted to point out. When we arrived at our campground it has a 50s style motel in front. Larry said it reminded him of the motels from our childhood. We have Wi-Fi so got caught up a little on the blog and phone calls. Direct-TV does not work because have a beautiful tree right next to us. Ok campground!

We filled up the car and RV today. Gas was $3.79/Diesel was $4.49 cheapest yet!!!!! Very short trip only about 65 miles.

Good Night!

Vermont Country Roads

1. Covered bridge outside of Brandon
2. Different bridge leaning just a little
3. Marble firehouse in Proctor
4. View from Lakeview Pub where we had lunch on the deck




August 22, Friday: Woke to beautiful blue skies. Nice day for our drive. We stopped in Brandon just another cute town on our journey. Oh look! A craft fair in their square so we helped out the locals by buying some things. They had very different items for sale. We ended up buying a small homemade raspberry pie. One booth was selling some unusual jellies which we bought an apple/horseradish combination. Sooooooo good. Also learned that there are four grades of maple syrup. We are now soooo enlighten! Picked up some fresh vegetables as we were leaving. Back to our country roads............we saw several covered bridges. On down the road we came to the town of Proctor. It is known for its marble manufacturing plant. The church, bank, bridge, and firehouse are just a few of the buildings made of marble. Larry very very impressed. Our next stop was to see the little college town of Castleton. Castleton is about 5-6 blocks long. In the middle of town just two blocks for Main is the campus of Castleton State College. Larry thinks this is the smallest town to have a four year college. Freshman were all over the campus for orientation. So eager, it was fun to watch their enthusiasm.


Yesterday's lunch was awful...today's was fabulous!!!!!!!!!!! On Lake Bomossen is a restaurant called The Lakeview Pub and Grill. As usual Larry is interested on how business is fairing. The proprietor says they have been steady for lunch and dinners they are doing well. I know why because the food is to die for and the service is great. They open in the winter on the week-ends. Interesting fact, a few people ride across the lake on their snowmobiles. We had the best calamari we have ever had. We also shared clam chowder and a hamburger. I know I know...a hamburger but it was great!!!!!!!!!!


Today we had some of the best weather. Sure are glad we missed some of the heavy rains they were having. Today's high 81 degrees with low of 64. Even I can handle that.


Walked dogs and enjoyed the evening sitting outside. Talked with our neighbors who are from New Jersey.


Time to head north.


Good night!

Norman Rockwell Museum/ Rutland, Vt.

1. Church steeples in Rutland
2. School dating to 1888 in Sudberry, Vt.
3. Buildings in downtown Rutland


August 21, Thursday: Nice campground but no Wi-Fi or cell phone service. So unable to write on blog. OK, let's go sight-seeing! Started at the Norman Rockwell Museum, Larry and I enjoy looking at his works. Very interesting, they showed a lot of his Saturday Evening Post Covers. He is very famous for these but it was a very small part of his works. He received twice as much money for doing advertisement pieces in many other magazines. We were quite surprised to see how many other front covers he had done. Some other works..movie posters, ads for oil companies, car manufacturers, several food suppliers. The museum also had some of the pictures of the Presidential Candidates in his time. Larry was very impressed with how well he captured facial expressions. The museum, itself, was not very well done but we enjoyed it all the same.


When we finished the museum, we looked for a Mexican restaurant. Apparently, Mexican restaurants are non existent in Vermont. Not good! Taco Bell NOT!!!!!! Well, maybe we should have tried Taco Bell because the restaurant we tried was the worst one on this trip. If this keeps up I just may have to cook. Good Heavens! What is this trip coming to!


Oh, a couple of signs Larry and I have come across: U-Turn $10.00 this one was on a country road. Guess the owner had too many people using his drive-way. Sacrificed Pavement this one was in Rutland put up by the city workers. A piece of the pavement was removed.


Tomorrow we get to explore some back roads.


Good Night!