On the Beach

I finally got to sit on the beach at the ocean here in Old Orchard Beach, Maine. This campground is not very big but it is close enough to the beach to walk and there is a little town like most 'beach tourist' towns where there are stores to buy souvenirs, restaurants, and an amusement park atmosphere to some of it. There is a pier that reminds me of the Cocoa Beach pier and others that have similar atmospheres.

    I have some new neighbors who are from Albany, NY and it is always nice to have folks to talk too while in a campground.

Maine to Canada and back to Maine

On Friday I wound up in Palmyra, ME but for only that one night since I was at a place where I was really alone. Another camper came in late but since they didn't unhitch the truck from the travel trailer, I guess they weren't staying there more than overnight either.
    I headed on Saturday to Canada but did a little touring of Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park first. I got to St. Martins, NB, Canada late afternoon but with the light staying longer (and it was an hour later too), I got all hooked up and even met my next 'door' neighbors (a lovely young couple with a five month old baby and a little dog too). They live in New Brunswick but this is a new travel trailer for them so  'first' outing with it. On Sunday, I walked to the 'Caves' where I could see the tides going out and it was a good 2.5 miles roundtrip of a 'hike' for me. I spent the afternoon with my new friends out in the sun with the wind blowing very hard off the Fundy Bay. Since I had only paid for two nights (original plan was for three), and the hostess was not encouraging me to stay, I left this morning (Monday) and headed back to the USA. I was able to drive without needing the more expensive gasoline in Canada and filled up with room to spare near Calais, ME.
      I drove into Bangor where I did some Target and Walmart shopping (groceries, wine) and a stop in the Verizon store to check my phone battery. I almost got a haircut too, but didn't feel like waiting so I came on to this lovely campground in E. Orland, ME which is woods and lake (can see it from my window but have woods behind the van). I will take photos tomorrow and play with the ones from Canada too. I will stay here until Thursday, for sure.

Sunshine in New Hampshire

I am happy to say the sun came out today. I drove from Austin lake where it rained and since it kept raining, I just kept on going until a campground in Montezuma, NY where I spent the night. The rain let up enough for me to hook up and in the morning after my shower, it was still not raining for me to unhook.
   By the time I got into Pennsylvania, the rain came again (light but annoying) so I drove all the way to this campground in New Hampshire. It was misting when I got here and then was told the bathrooms/showers were not open until Friday! Well, I was glad I had showered in the morning and have a working toilet in my van. I have water, electric and a cable hook up so I've been able to watch TV.
   I convinced the office to give me the combination for the bathroom/shower today so I will be able to shower tomorrow before I leave for Maine. I will 'dump' and it should be a lovely weather day for several to come.

RAIN!

I knew I was lucky so far but the rain has finally got me! I am spending the day 'indoors' here in Lake Austin Campground and my planned walk (exercise) is not happening. I have walked up to the big bathroom twice just for the exercise although I have used my own facilities too. I am hoping the morning will be a little drier for 'unhooking' and getting out on the road again. I am using my little heater off and on today because the damp weather along with temps in the 60's are making it a little chilly in here for me. The 'babbling' creek is behind my van.
    I have started another blog (http://travelpod.com/members/rsherry6) so I am doing stuff in both places for those who are actually reading about my travels. I am trying to include photos but still learning how to do that on both blogs.

Four days later

When I left Breaks Interstate Park, I headed to the New River Gorge where I got to see the bridge which is 686 ft high from the river (New River) below. People are allowed to base jump from this bridge in October (one day) and I can't believe they do it! I then headed to the Gauley Bridge and stopped on the way at Hawks Nest State park (no camping there) for lunch with a wonderful view of the Gauley river below the restaurant. I was heading to a campground which is along the Gauley River but when I got there I saw only one camper and decided this was not the place for me to stop. I went back east and wound up in Battle Run Recreational Area (on Summersville Lake) and was parked right on the lake. I did move for the second night because I knew it was going to rain and I wanted to be close to the bathroom.
    I left the next morning and headed to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory. This is the place where the radio signals are sent out to the galaxy. Did the free tour and it was fascinating. I then headed up to another National Recreation area (Stuart) and stayed the night in the woods. I thought I had no shower there but it turned out the 'big' bathroom (I was close to an 'outhouse' type of toilet) was just down a short hill from me so I was able to shower before leaving this morning.
    Today was another 'tour' of the West Virginia mountains--and I mean windy,narrow and terrible roads around a mountain that my GPS took me on after I decided against another 'planned' campground. I stopped for lunch (Chinese) in New Martinville, WV and then went across the Ohio river and up to Steubenville where I am in a lovely campground on a babbling creek (out my back window) with no cell phone service but free internet. I am living without TV for almost a week now.

   I will stay here until Tuesday (walk and rest tomorrow) and will figure out where I think I'm going next.
   The bridge photo is when they were building it-the one with it behind me is how it looks now

Breaks Interstate Park

Today I am in Breaks Interstate park which is co-run by Virginia and Kentucky. I arrived here yesterday after spending a couple of days at a campground in Tenn. and then with Sue and Jon at Cumberland Falls State park in Kentucky.
   Escaping rain so far, we did have a cold morning and I needed to get another top to keep me warm so when we went to Walmart, I just had to spend money.
   Today I walked/hiked a total of about 4 miles and visited the Lodge and Visitor Center here. The clouds surely look like rain any minute so I am staying 'in' now.

Left Hickory, NC

I left Hickory this morning after a lovely few days with my friends who made me feel 'part of the family' and after my sudden loss on Monday, it was well appreciated.
   I was not happy to throw out all my frozen foods since at some point my refrigerator quit working and I think when I plug into a house, I have to watch for circuit breaker trips. The refrigerator did work after I got going and so I am pretty sure it is not a refrigerator problem. The rest of the cold stuff survived OK.
   This campground is nice and I have free internet and TV (cable) as well as my water and electric. It is hot so my a/c is quite welcome. It is supposed to cool off during the night and be cooler by sunrise. I am not sure what I will do on Saturday and maybe it will be nothing but read, walk - will see how this weather really turns out. I'll be heading to Cumberland Falls State Park on Sunday to meet up with Sue/Jon and since it is a short ride (2.5 hours), I can stop and 'sightsee' if I choose on the way.

Am now petless....

   I left home on Sunday morning with Missy. She didn't seem well, but I thought it wasn't anything serious. We arrived in Georgia and settled into Towns Bluff Park on the Altamaha river. There were only a few trailers there and many are just there without campers in them. On Monday when I thought it might rain and had very little to do, I decided that Missy needed to be seen by a veternarian since she was not eating, drinking or using the litter box. She wasn't even interested in a treat and I noticed her walking was difficult. I got an appointment in Vidalia and it turns out that she was in kidney failure! There was not much of a decision to be made then and so she was put to sleep. I am not sure how I drove back to the campground (30 miles) without crying alot but for dinner after some phone calls, emails, and cleaning out what I could of 'hers' (litter box), I had wine and ice cream for dinner and slept fairly well.
    It was pouring down rain when I left this morning but I got 'unhooked' fairly rapidly and headed to North Carolina. After several hours of driving in the rain, the sun did finally come out and I am at my friend's house (they used to live in Englewood when I did) in Hickory. We have had dinner and I will hang out for a few days before heading towards my rendevous with Sue/Jon in Kentucky. I will probably stay in a campground on the way from here to there (have to be there on Sunday) but have to decide when I leaving here first.