Summer 2016 - Cape Cod & Massachusetts

Thursday, July 7^th - Monday, July 11^th

Bay View Campground – Cape Cod

Photo link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/107097369989809012646/6306252091717055233?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPiU85uc_IC9ZA&feat=directlink

Our drive from Rhode Island to Cape Cod was very easy and uneventful; however, it was driving mostly on interstates. The best thing is that it was only about 60 miles and the traffic wasn't bad at all.

After we arrived at Bayview Campground on Cape Cod, we set up our RV and got very comfortable. This park was very nice with every amenity you could imagine and very clean spacious sites. The weather was overcast and gloomy, with little sprinkles here and there, so we decided just to take a scenic drive around parts of the Cape to get our bearings. We drove around the northern part of the Cape towards a town called Sandwich, which is an historical Colonial area. While there we drove to and walked on East Sandwich Beach to check it out. The beaches are very different there, lots of gravel and rocks, but the sand is really nice; it seems to be natural sand not renourished beaches. We also drove around the town of Pocasset, which was near where we were camping. This town is on the south side of the western part of the Cape. All of these areas were beautiful drives through winding rural towns with many small farms. There were several quaint small towns, obviously original Colonial settlements. This is what we pictured as typical New England. However, we again had no idea that Cape Cod would be so rural, with many big pickup trucks like ours driving around the area, we never had a hard time finding diesel fuel.

The next day we decided to drive to the Eastern end of the Cape to a town called Chatham, which is a major fishing harbor. Chatham is the typical New England town as we expected with all the original Cape Cod style homes and quite a few mansion homes along the coast, it was gorgeous.  We walked down to the fish market and the docks to watch the fishing boats come in. There were many seals who waited for handouts from the fisherman. Then we walked around the downtown area of Chatham to check out the shops and restaurants. We found a really nice restaurant that didn't have a huge waiting line and was a pub and grill, with very good food. We had a nice lunch there. We then headed home to get the dogs out for a walk so they could stretch their legs as they have been cooped up in the RV for a couple of days.

The Cape Cod Canal is a very wide sea-level canal extending across the narrow neck that joins Cape Cod to the mainland.  Along the Canal are really nice bike trails on both sides. We took the dogs up there to run along the trail and get rid of some pent-up energy, they really enjoyed it.

We were really wanting to jump on the ferry to Martha's Vineyard, but the next two days the weather was going to be overcast and rainy. So we decided to stay through Monday as the weather forecast was much better and we would take the Martha's Vineyard Ferry then.

The next day we were able to again hook up with some friends, David and Linda, who we had met RVing back in 2013 when we did our first tour around Northern Florida. At that time they had just decided to full-time RV and work on the road. They are currently working at an RV Park in Cape Cod, so we went over to their place and had breakfast with them.  We had a nice time together talking about all of our travels and experiences RVing.

So on Monday we decided to load up and take the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard. We took our bikes so that when we got over to the Vineyard we could ride around the island. The weather was a little overcast but the ferry ride over was really nice and we arrived at the town of Oak Bluffs. While there we rode our bikes around town, checked out a lighthouse and all the old homes and neighborhoods. After strolling around town a while and checking out the little shops we decided we were hungry and found a really nice restaurant right on the bay front where we could sit and look out at the boats while we had our lunch. I had a lobster grilled cheese sandwich!  It was quite good, along with the nice chilled glass of sangria. After lunch, Kurt rode his bike around to the Western end of the island while I relaxed at the docks. The ferry ride back was very enjoyable, and from there we decided to ride our bikes from the ferry dock back to the parking area along a very nice bike trail called Shining Sea. At the end of the day we really enjoyed Martha's Vineyard and the experience of being there.

Tuesday, July 12^th – Wednesday, July 13^th

Boston Minuteman Campground

When we left Cape Cod, we headed to Harvard, Massachusetts. It’s outside of Boston about 45 miles, in a really nice rural area. We met up with some friends, Ken and Noelle, who used to live in Jupiter. Ken worked with Kurt and I at the same company about 15 years ago. We really enjoyed their friendship back then, and since reconnecting, we wanted to visit them at their home in Harvard. It was great to see them again, talk about old times and get caught up on what we are up to these days. We spent two days hanging out with them at their home and exploring the area. It’s so amazing when you haven’t seen friends in a long time and when you do, it’s like nothing has changed, expect maybe some grey hair. They also have a very awesome dog, Nika. We will keep in touch and hope to see them in the future and continue our friendship.

We also went mountain biking one morning at a local town park. The trails were much more difficult than what we are used to; with very steep, rocky and rooty single track. Maybe these trails will help us improve our skills as we continue to ride in New England.

For our next adventure, we will move on to Vermont, where we will spend 3 weeks in 3 different areas. So excited to visit this beautiful state.

Summer 2016 - Connecticut & Rhode Island

Tuesday, June 28^th – Thursday, June 30^th
Madison, CT – Riverdale Farms Campground

Photo link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/107097369989809012646/6304195797987012849?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCMnZoYzE6dHG1wE&feat=directlink

We really didn't want to leave Turkey Swamp in New Jersey. We had great times with good friends. We headed out on the highway towards Connecticut, but in order to get there we had to drive way out west and north around New York City to avoid all the horrible traffic, bridges, tunnels and so forth. It was a long 5 hour drive. We drove mostly on turnpikes and interstates, some parts the roads were good and some parts were not so good. We finally arrived at our campground, Riverdale Farm Campsite, a very nice campground away from the highways and back in a nice wooded area. This campground is just north of Madison Connecticut. After setting up camp we really kicked back and enjoyed happy hour after the arduous drive.

We had researched the area around Madison and Clinton for activities and fun things to do. We did find a nearby mountain biking trail, which we planned to ride and also found out about a tour boat cruise around some islands off the coast of Guilford.

The next day we decided to head down to Hammonassett State Park, which is on the beach. Running along the coastline was a very nice Greenway Trail. We took our bikes there and rode the two and a half miles that currently exist, which mostly went through the state park. We also rode our bikes around the state park which was huge and had probably about 500 campsites. We had wanted to camp there, but they don't allow dogs in the summer as it is a complete boondocking campground. The beaches in the park were really busy and they were very nice; however they cannot compare with our gorgeous water in South Florida.

After visiting the state park we decided to take a scenic drive. We drove around Madison, Clinton and Guilford. These towns are very old with many historic colonial homes and buildings, very beautiful and quaint. It was obvious to us that there's a lot of money in this area, after seeing the huge historic mansions and also all the investment banks around the area. We also drove down to the inlet area of Guilford which is on Long Island Sound. This was our first taste of the old New England style harbors.

The next day we decided that we would take the offshore boat cruise and also go to the mountain biking trails. First we went to the trails and only Kurt rode them, as the internet described the trails as only advanced, but when we got there we found there were all levels of trails and I didn't bring my bike, bummer.

Next, we drove to Branford and the marina where the boat launches for the Thimble Islands tour. The Thimble Islands is an archipelago consisting of small islands in Long Island Sound, located in and around the harbor of Stony Creek in the southeast corner of Branford, Connecticut. The 45 minute cruise traveled around many of the small pink granite bedrock islands. Most of the islands are privately owned with houses built on them. There were a couple of islands that are state owned and have public access. It’s amazing that most of the houses were built in the 1800’s. A few are mansions and some are smaller homes. One island was occupied by the pirate Captain Kidd for many years. Legend says his treasure is hidden on this island.

We only had 3 days in Connecticut, so our activities were limited. We did see a lot and enjoyed our time there. Our next stop will be in Newport, Rhode Island.

 

Friday, July 1^st – Wednesday, July 6^th

Newport, Rhode Island – Meadowlark RV Park

After leaving Connecticut we had about a 55 mile drive to our location here in Rhode Island. We are staying in Middletown Rhode Island on the east side of Newport in a really nice RV campground. The location is very centralized to all the things that we wanted to see in this area. We have friends that are from Rhode Island that advised us of all the wonderful, fun things to do around here.

The first evening we just drove around to get familiar with the area. We purposely booked the 4th of July weekend because of the patriotic celebrations in Bristol Rhode Island. Driving around we looked at all the beautiful beaches, but they still don't have anything on our beaches in southeast Florida. We're just so amazed that everywhere up here in New England they charge to park at the beaches, here they charge $25 on the weekends and $15 during the week. It's a good thing we didn't want to go sit on the beaches with all the holiday crowds. The Newport area is very friendly to road bikers and against my best judgment, one day we did ride a couple of miles down towards the beaches since the traffic was so crazy. Now I know why I mountain bike instead of road bike, I'd much rather deal with trees than with crazy people texting in their cars. In various places around town there are these old, completely painted white bicycles with someone's name on it indicating that they were killed on their bicycle in that spot on the road. However there are still many people riding on the roads even where there's only a one foot wide bike lane. After that two mile ride I promised I would not ride on the roads here again.

On July 3^rd evening we drove the 14-mile ride up to Bristol to watch the fireworks. They were very nice but we still have not found Fourth of July fireworks that are quite as good as the West Palm Beach ones, which are also synchronized with very patriotic music. The next morning I drove up to Bristol for the historic July 4th parade. Kurt is not so fond of parades, so he declined to go with me. One of the best Fourth of July parades I've ever seen, it lasted over 2 hours and was amazing; full of patriotic displays and performances. Bristol was voted the most patriotic Fourth of July celebration in the country. Kurt spent the day riding his bike around the Newport area and hanging out down by the waterfront. Later that evening I decided to stay home and watched the Fourth of July celebrations on television, Macy's New York City fireworks, which were absolutely spectacular with four barges of coordinated fireworks on the East River. Kurt decided he wanted to watch the fireworks in Newport, so he rode his bicycle back down into town and watched the fireworks from the waterfront. He said they were very nice, but still no synchronized music. We were both pretty exhausted at the end of that day after celebrating the Fourth of July.

The next day we decided to go walk the Cliff Walk along the rocky Coast. This public path follows the rocky coast lined with many mansions. We were able to view most of the mansions from the Cliff Walk at various points on the path. These mansions were built in the 1800, during the “Gilded Age’. Parts of the Cliff Walk turned into a rugged rock hopping adventure and other areas were nicely paved and easy. We followed most of the three miles out and then back to our starting point. What a beautiful walk with the view of the ocean, the cliffs, the mansions and the views across the bay.

On our last day, we decided to take a boat tour around the Newport harbor. It was only $10 for the whole day, and you could hop on/off at any of the 5 stops. We were amazed at all the sail boats moored in the harbor, or docked at enormous piers. This area is obviously a great sailing area, home to the original America’s Cup sail boat races. We did get off the boat at Fort Adams to look around the fort built for the War of 1812. The weather was very warm and sunny, so we didn’t stay there too long. We continued around the harbor and ended up at the Newport Shipyards. The tour captain had advised us of a great restaurant in the shipyard where they made great lobster rolls. So we ended our afternoon there chomping on lobsta! After returning to our campsite, we took the dogs for a truck ride around Ocean Avenue and found a small crescent beach where we could let them run around off leash. It was a fine way to spend our last evening in Rhode Island.

Our next adventure will be in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Summer 2016 - Delaware & New Jersey

Summer 2016 – Delaware & New Jersey

Saturday, June 18^th – Wednesday, June 22^nd

Camping at Lums Pond State Park

Photos link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/107097369989809012646/6299820529302221297?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLn86JmOiKS_hwE&feat=directlink

The drive from Maryland to Delaware again took us through many agricultural farmlands. We never knew this part of the country had so many farms. We also drove across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge from Maryland to Delaware. Because of the shipping lanes, this bridge was very high for large ships to pass under, and the toll was $20 (WOW).

We arrived at Lums Pond State Park campground after a nice drive through Delaware. This State Park campground had just been remodeled with full hook-ups for RVs. Also the sites were very large and shady. There is a small lake with trails all around, plus many activities to enjoy. We were surprised to find that some of the trails in the park were for mountain biking. Nothing very advanced, but fun flowy trails. These trails were fun to ride and easy to access right from our campsite.

One day we drove to White Clay Creek State Park, which has highly rated mountain bike trails. We spent a couple of hours riding these forested trails, but then we had to leave as a thunderstorm was approaching. We did enjoy riding the trails and the challenges presented.

Another day we drove over to a small town, White Crystal Beach, on the Chesapeake Bay. The scenery was again very beautiful, with more farms. The little towns in this area were founded back in the colonial days, and very quaint with lots of history.

We also enjoyed simply relaxing at this nice park. After days of running around D.C., this was a nice place to chill. The dogs also enjoyed being outside more and soaking up the sun.

Camping at Turkey Swamp Park, New Jersey

Thursday, June 23rd – Monday, June 27th

The purpose of this stop in New Jersey was primarily to visit some longtime friends. Jay and Chrissie Patel have been friends since the guys worked together at the Space Center back in the early 90’s. They had relocated back to their home state of N.J. They now have two sons, Luke and Jake.

We camped at the closest campground to their home in Middletown, Turkey Swamp Park. Even though it was a 25 mile drive to their place, we went there every day to visit and hang out with them. It had been over 10 years since we had seen them. They have a lovely home with a gorgeous backyard and pool. It was so nice to see them again and get to know their sons. We mostly spent time at their home and with other friends. One evening we went to watch an equestrian event in which Chrissie was competing. She really enjoys riding horses and is continuing to learn more about riding competition. She rides with her sister-in-law who owns the horses.

On Sunday, we all drove over to Sea Bright Beach on the Jersey shore. Wow, the beaches up here are so different from S. Florida. First of all, there is admission to the beaches and then there is paid parking, and they are packed! The locals buy season passes that cover both fees. We met them and some other friends there to hang out and enjoy the ocean and sun. The boys were having so much fun in the water and we enjoyed conversation with everyone. After the beach we all went back to the Patel’s home for a cook out and swim in the pool.

While driving around in the area, we noticed the beautiful greenery and again many farms, mostly horse farms. This area reminds us of Ocala, Florida, with rolling hills, green pastures and very large horse farms. There were also many very large mansions, even in smaller communities. One town, Freehold Township near where we camped, amazed us with the large communities of huge homes, with rolling green yards. We were also told the Bruce Springsteen lives in this town. There’s definitely some big money here. Jay explained that many of these residents commute to NYC or other nearby large cities.  At least the drive was very scenic and we saw many parts of the Jersey countryside.

We truly have enjoyed our time here in N.J. and appreciate the surrounding communities. Our next destination is in Connecticut near the shore and close to Mystic CT. Our next challenge is to drive out and around NYC to try to avoid city traffic, tolls and forbidden bridges for RVs! Wish us luck.

Summer 2016 - Washington D.C.

Summer 2016 – Washington D.C.

Monday, June 13^th – Friday, June 17^th

Touring Washington D.C.

Photos link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/107097369989809012646/6297532418069859937?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLqb5fvIloaGggE&feat=directlink

Washington D.C. was on our bucket list, as Kurt had never visited there. We camped in College Park, MD at Cherry Hill RV Park. This is a very well run, large campground with amenities like I’ve never seen. We never really used the amenities (other than the laundry) as our main goal was to tour D.C.

For four days, we rode the Metro bus to the nearest Metro Rail station. Then we used buses and/or walking in D.C. to visit the places that we wanted to go. The first day we visited mostly the memorials and monuments: Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, World War II Memorial, the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum, and Union Station. The following days we visited Arlington National Cemetery, where we witnessed the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We also saw two funeral processions, with horse draw caisson, military band and 21 gun salute; very moving. We also visited the Washington Memorial, toured the U.S. Capitol (where we learned more history of the building) and visited the National Archives, where we viewed the original U.S Constitution, Bill of Rights and other historical documents. We stood outside the fence of the White House, and also saw the President’s helicopter landing on the south lawn. I spent some time at the Museum of Natural History while Kurt spent more time at the Air & Space Museum. At the end of each day we were exhausted, but thankful of all the special places we visited. We truly enjoyed our visit to the Nation’s Capitol.

Our next stop is in Delaware and a newly remodeled campground at a state park.

Summer 2016 - New England Trip

Wednesday, June 1^st – Tuesday, June 7^th

Leaving Home To Full Time RV

Santos Campground, Ocala & Bay Quarter Shores, Virginia

Photos link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/107097369989809012646/6295406637468474033?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLD3jLr8xeKrwgE&feat=directlink

So we finally did it, our house sold and we were officially out of the house on May 27th. On June 1st we headed north towards New England. Our first stop was in the Ocala area at Santos Campground. We picked up our brand new mountain bikes in Ocala and then had three days of riding there to try them out. What an amazing difference the bikes with new technology makes. We both love our new bikes and we're going to really enjoy them when we get up to the mountains in New England.

Next we stopped by my sister's house in North Carolina for a short two-day visit to see the whole family, including the brand new grandbaby Archer.

From there we headed across the back roads of Virginia ending up at a Bay Quarter Shores on the Northern neck of Virginia, which is situated on the Potomac River. We camped at the campground in this community with some longtime friends, Chris and Bruce Harper.  We both used to work with her in Palm Beach Gardens. They had relocated to Charlottesville Virginia and invited us to meet them at this wonderful community. We spent 5 days there enjoying the river and the great people that were staying here.  We plan on meeting up to camp with them again in the future as Chris is getting ready to retire.

Our next stop is in College Park Maryland. We will base out of an RV park there and spend 5 days touring Washington DC.

Summer 2015 - Wekiwa Springs State Park, Apopka, FL

Thursday, August 13^th – Saturday, August 22^nd

Wekiwa Springs State Park – Apopka, FL & Santos Campground

Picasa picture link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/107097369989809012646/Summer2015WekiwaSpringsStatePark?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOTurcjAxdy0Xw&feat=directlink

The trip south included an overnight stop at an Army Corps campground on Lake Seminole in southwest Georgia. We had planned to stay there three nights, but changed our plans. We decided to go on to Santos Campground (near Ocala), one of our favorite mountain biking venues. We were able to stay there two nights and enjoy mountain biking for two days, riding when it wasn’t raining. After that we headed to Wekiwa Springs S.P., north of Orlando. We enjoyed six days there, working in our activities when it wasn’t raining. The weather actually got nicer as the week went on. We spent some time kayaking the Wekiva River and Rock Springs Run, swimming in the springs, hiking the beautiful trails and also biking some of the trails. This is one of the nicest state parks in Florida. We’ve been a few times and enjoy it so much. We also visited a local bar, Wekiva Island, nearby on the Wekiva River, which we can drive to or paddle our kayaks right up to the dock. It’s also one of our favorite activities when staying at this state park.

From there we headed home… looking forward (not) to 2-3 days of unloading, cleaning, laundry and shopping to get back into our home routine. It will be nice to spend some time with our friends whom we haven’t seen in two months. Time to plan our next trip in October!

Summer 2015 - Westpoint Lake, LaGrange Georgia

Friday, August 7^th – Thursday, August 13^th

R. Shafer Heard Campground – Westpoint Lake, Georgia

Picasa picture link:
https://picasaweb.google.com/109680126152114489330/Summer2015WestpointGeorgia?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCIXKpP39rcL39gE&feat=directlink

Our path south now took us along the west side of Georgia. We had never traveled through this part of the state.  At the recommendation of friends, we stayed at this really nice Army Corps campground. The campground lies on several peninsulas around Westpoint Lake, near LaGrange, Georgia. We had reserved a specific site on the lake, so our rear picture window and front patio area looked out toward the water. We were able to place our kayaks right on the shore at our campsite. We allowed the dogs to roam off leash, as there were no other campers next to us. They loved swimming and playing in the lake.

During our six days there, we paddled around on the lake (particularly at sunset), rode the mountain bike trails and simply relaxed around camp. Kurt kayaked and fished the lake. This is one of the nicest Army Corps campgrounds that we have stayed at. This is on our go back list when traveling through this area.

We did enjoy the mountain bike trails. There were all skill levels, mostly intermediate, but with some difficult black trails. I really enjoyed the Lakeview Trail, which followed the lake shoreline, went back into the forest and offered some really nice flow areas along with some more technical challenges. The views of the lake were very nice. Kurt rode the black trails, and enjoyed some better than others.

We enjoyed our time here, but we continued our journey south towards Florida.