Video test

Just testing the waters for bandwidth. Video of fin whales to follow.

Early days at Woodlands Campground

We arrived in late May to find the spring flowers and  wild flowers getting underway with their blooming. It was very exciting to see these old friends that are missing in Florida. Spring is on of our most favorite time of year. We  stopped at a campground in Maine a few hours drive from Woodlands. We wanted to arrive at Woodlands early in the day. The ground in the campground was covered with wildflowers.

After settling in at Woodlands we drove back to Ellsworth. We had been here three summers before so we had a pretty good idea where we wanted to go. Shopping is good for most things. There are several large chain grocery stores. A long strip of route 3 has just about every kind of store you would want including an L L Bean outlet. More on that in a later blog.

Our favorite non-commercial stop is the Library. What a very nice place. It is large, airy, well stocked and has a most friendly, helpful and polite staff. We each picked up books to read and DVDs to watch. We grabbed a series of the DVDs thinking that the programs would be like Downton Abbey. WRONG! They were quite amateurish with old British humor. We watched a couple of episodes on the first DVD and returned the rest unused.

On the drive back to camp we had a few stops to make. Lou can’t resist popping into Mardens. It is a store that has everything from food to clothes to material to you name it. What makes the magnetism even stronger is that they carry items that are overstock, bankrupt, etc. The prices are good but like all stores of this kind you need to read the labels.

No trip to town can avoid a stop at the roadside plants for sale. This one is very large. It has five long greenhouses and a very large out doors display of flowering plants, herbs, shrubs, vegetables (tomatoes), on and on. Lou has our camp site looking very smart (to use a British phrase).

Just a couple pictures of our site.

 

Remember to click on picture to enlarge and back arrow to return.

Wedding Preparations

The main reason for our swing through Ohio and Pennsylvania on our way to Maine was for our daughter Denise’s marriage to Gerald Lindemuth in Northeast, PA. It was a joyous time for all.

The reception was to be a family style picnic. Due to the weather in that part of the country this time of year it was held in doors. The American Legion Post 105 hall was an excellent place to hold the gathering. It was large, clean and they would cater the party for us. Of the 80 or so family and friends invited more than 60 attended.

The families met on Friday to do some decorating. Here are Gerry, son Connor and mother of the groom Irene. Irene did a wonderful job getting all of the decorations and flowers together. Gerry’s father, Glen, was busy erecting a lighted arch covered with a silver studded mesh. He was so quiet, he did not attract attention and I failed to photograph his work.

Denise’s son Dre’ and daughter Paige were big helps as was Dre’s friend Brandy. Of course Lou was involved with the decorating. A friend of Lou’s designed three style of wrappers for miniature candy bars. The wrappers had wedding scenes, the couples’ names and the date. Lou had the arduous task to wrap and glue the wrappers on over 150 bars. They were well received especially by those with a sweet tooth.

Next came the rehearsal at the Free Methodist Church in Northeast. Pastor John had all in control as we were shown our parts. I had the honor to walk Denise down the aisle and on behalf of Lou and I, give her to Gerry. I didn’t care for the phrase “give her away”. She is still our daughter!

We travelled to Harbor Creek to a Chinese Buffett for a sumptuous meal treated by Glen. There were 20 family, friends and clergy there.

2014 Summer Adventure Begins

I have had a few people ask when I was going to get back to doing our blog so I shall begin. I hope that there is enough interesting activities to keep your interest. At some point I will add in pictures from our 2013 trip to Trinity in northern California. As always, clicking on the pictures will give a larger view.

We ended April and started May by working at the Spring Samboree in Okeechobee. Our friend and wagon master for Yankee RV Tours asked us to fill in for him at his table and present the seminars for the tours and rallies that he offers. He was on a tour during this time slot. The Samboree date had been changed after he had made arrangements. It was a fun and learning experience. We met many of our RVing friends and made some new ones.

Our trip to Ashtabula took 3 nights as we made a side trip to the Tampa/St Pete area the first day. It was a nice ride up with decent travel weather and no major incidents.

We parked in Lou’s sister Barbara’s driveway for three or four nights while we made contact with long time friends. (I was told that I should not call them ‘Old Friends”. ) We visited my sister and has a nice meal with her, Danny and Karen. She lives in some quite posh digs now. I was able to spend some quality time with my grandson Dre’ as I helped him get his learner’s drivers permit. We spent time driving and practicing the maneuverability test. Lou and Barbara did the usual shopping trip$$.

On Thursday we head to Northeast Pennsylvania to begin to get ready for the wedding. There were almost endless grape vineyards. Of course. Lake Erie was in view from the high back roads that we took.

The campground was unique in many ways. I was alone in the coach when I first arrived. (Lou had dropped off with the Honda to go with Denise for manicure and pedicure.) I notice that what from behind looked like a Newfoundland dog. Well it wasn’t! It was a miniature pony! It had free roam of the campground. I did not see anyone following it to clean up after it as they require us to do with Tanzy.

However the best was yet to come as I was visited shortly by a very large Potbelly Pig! It must have weighed 200 pounds, at least. There was yet more free roam animals as two goats grazed on the grass by our rig. Tanzy went wild as you might imagine. Before we left on Sunday we discovered a small flock of turkeys and six donkeys in a penned area not far from us. Their vocalizations were very easy to identify.

End of May pictures

After getting setup, we decided to take a hike up one of the nearby trails. Tanzy’s beagle half really kicks in when we are in the wilderness. Her nose is on the ground and her tail wags 90 miles per hour. She is a good girl and sits on command but we have been unable to get her to pose and look at the camera. That makes this shot special for us.

  

This is the aftermath of our hike. Tanzy fixed her bed on the coach with two pillows and Lou’s rag quilt. Then she had Fluffy to join her to dream of all the creatures that she detected with her overactive nose. Fluffy was her very first stuffed animal when she first joined our family.

A friend of one of the camp workers and spent the winter restoring this trolley car. We all took a ride around the camp ground. He did a very nice job with beautiful wood working.

 

Since Tom was going to be responsible for the patio boats, he thought that a ride was in order. They are 24 foot pontoon boats with big yellow biminis. Yellow is KOA,s color of choice.

 

If you click to enlarge the mountain picture, you can better see the snow on the mountain. There was little snow fall in the 2012-13 winter. That coupled with the picture taken in early June, not much snow is visible.

May 24, Our First Foray into the Forest

After arriving at Trinity Lake KOA we were anxious to see the sites. What are the sites when you are located in the middle of one of the largest wilderness areas on the west coast? Forest, streams, mountains, lakes, flowers and more trees.

Trinity county is one of the largest counties in California. About a third the size of the state of Vermont. There are 13,000 people in 32,000 square miles. It is listed as rural! With more than 2.5 square miles per person I think that rural is a good descriptor. There are no traffic lights in the county. Two east-west roads and only one north-south road. Our KOA is located on state route 3 about 30 miles north of Weaverville in the heart of the Shasta-Trinity-Whiskeytown National Wilderness Area. Don’t let the designation as a state route fool you. Just north of KOA there is a warning that the road is very steep and winding. Vehicles over 32 feet and those pulling trailers are advised not to use the road. It is a very scenic drive but not for those who get squeamish on roads with no guard rail and vey long way down.

Our first adventure was UP a logging road following Swift Creek. These are a few of the pictures that we snapped. Lou with her smart phone and Tom with his trusty Sony camera. (More on that a much later date.)

Our first view of Swift Creek from the trail.

 

Guess who.  A couple of Buckeyes and their dog!

 

 

There were many flowers that caught our eye. These are just a few. The views of Trinity Lake and of the near by mountains were great. The humidity in May was about 10% which made for clear air.

 

More flower and soil pictures.

 

 

This last picture was taken farther up in the mountains where we were unable to hike (getting older isn’t any fun). Of course the picture was taken before the snow had melted. Photographer is unknown.

Visiting friends on the way to Trinity

We took these pictures the end of May before reaching Trinity.

We made this trip with a number of objectives. One was to leave the heat and humidity of south Florida. We also wanted to visit with relatives and friends along our route. We visited Lou’s nephew, Christopher, and his lovely wife, Katie, in Denver. (Pictures in a previous blog.) High school and college friends Al di Vitorio and Dan Shellhamer were our next stops.

Al and Sally live in Camino near Placerville where Al is a surgeon and Sally a nurse. In their already busy lives they make time to operate a wine making operation complete with “cave storage” for aging and a most enjoyable tasting room,

  

We enjoyed the di Vitorio’s hospitality. They couple in their Kitchen. Nice Party!

 

While staying at Al and Sally’s, we took a day trip “up the hill” to Dan Shellhammer’s in New Mexico. His wife, Cathy, was away on a trip. Sorry to have missed her.