Days 41 & 42: Jersey Shore (10-11 Sep 14)

Left the RV in the campground in PA, and drove the truck 2 hours back east to the Jersey Shore to visit Jen's parents. There was no way in hell Doug was going to drive the Beast in Jersey traffic, so the best option was to just find a place to park it and have Jen drive the truck through the crap. And there was a lot of crap. The entire state of PA is one big construction zone, and Jersey is filled with displaced New Yorkers and senior citizens.  Fun stuff. But it was worth it - we haven't seen Jens parents since last November and they've never met the pups. We spent the day Wednesday visiting and eating Jersey pizza. :)

Thursday morning, we got up early and drove up to the Dog Beach in Asbury Park.  The pups had never seen the ocean before and they loved it!  Even Finn went in, at least when he had to in order to properly herd Sunday.  Sunday was fearless - that little dog jumped over the waves and rode the surf like she grew up doing it. Once, a giant wave crashed over her head and she disappeared under water for a long time - we thought that would be the end of her loving the ocean, but that tough little girl shook off and drove back in!  Spent the rest of the day visiting with Jens parents, and enjoying Dad's homemade Italian sauce and lasagna. I think we both gained 5 pounds on this trip!

Pups at the Jersey Shore:

Days 39 & 40: Driving, driving and more driving. (8-9 Sep 14)

Sadly, it was time to leave NH again early Monday morning. The pups went for one more swim in the Ammonousic River, Jen gazed longingly at the White Mountains, and we loaded up and drove through Vermont, Massachusetts, and to Newburgh, New York for the night. We were so exhausted by then time we got there that we didn't even go brewery hunting.

Tuesday morning, we packed up and headed to Pennsylvania Dutch County, staying just east of Lancaster.  The campground was nice, but our site was a narrow little tree-lined back-in, so parking the Beast was a bitch.  There were some ATV trails behind the campground, so Jen took the pups for a long walk. They must have run 20 miles, chasing the billions of chipmunks and squirrels in those woods.

Day 38: one last NH hike (7 Sep 14)

Drove over to North Conway this morning with the pups. We hiked up Black Cap, with Jen carrying Maggie's ashes to scatter at the top. Of course, it was a Sunday morning, so we encountered tons of people on the trail, but luckily the top wasn't all that crowded. After a few pictures, and taking in the spectacular view, we found a ledge off to the side with a great view of Kearsarge, Mt Washington, and Cathedral Ledge - all of Maggie's old stomping grounds.  Under the watchful eye of Finn and Sunday (who were smart enough to keep a respectable distance) Jen let the ashes go in the breeze.  She swears she could see Maggie bounding through the trees and up over the rock ledges. 

After Jen finished bawling her eyes out, we went back down the mountain, and headed to the Moat, our old stomping grounds (and actually, Maggie's too, since the owner used to let her come in during the week at night!).  The brisket and pork were as good as we remembered, and of course, the beer was fantastic. 

Enjoying our last night in NH before we start the trek back West. Only 15 years, 10 months before we can retire here. (Is it too soon to start counting?)

Day 37: Finn's first NH hike & a new brewery

This morning, Jen went for a short hike up Sugarloaf Mountain in the Zealand Falls area of the White Mountain National Forest.  It was Finn's first hike in NH, and he had a lot of pressure on him to prove himself as a good trail dog. He did fine. :)

Later in the afternoon, we both went into downtown Littleton to check out the new brewery that has opened since we left in 09.  It's in an old converted mill building and has a cute little patio overlooking the Ammonousic River.  Unfortunately, the beer was all old-world style, mostly Belgian, and wheat. Not that it was bad beer, just that neither of us likes Belgian or wheat beers. (yes, it is actually possible that there is a beer out there that we dont like). 

Day 36: the cabin (05 Sep 14)

Went up to see the cabin today - we were both very sad.  The property is very overgrown, weeds and trees everywhere, and Jen's garden is all but gone (except the peony bush).  No damage or anything to the cabin itself, it just made us both sad that we aren't there anymore.  The pups had a great time - just like our others who lived there, they Josh loved running free around the back 40 and hopping through the tick-infested weeds. In a surreal moment, Finn even went out on the front porch and laid down in Sandy's spot, surveying his domain (extra surreal if you know Finn - the damned dog NEVER lays down, especially in the middle of the day). 

We also had a chance to go to town hall and get our registration and plates for the RV and truck, and Jen was able to go to the DMV to get a new license. It was like a Saturday night live skit, trying to explain to the clerk why I have a NH license with an AZ address on it, but that my new address is in Missouri, but she can't mail it there because I don't know the address yet, so she should mail it to Florida, where we have a mail-forwarding service, but wait, they won't forward mail from a state DMV, so send it to New Jersey so my parents can forward it for me. The poor little ladies' brains were hot by the time we were done with that one. Thankfully, the DMV in Twin Mtn, NH is one of the few in the world where you are usually the only customer in the place. Seriously. 

Day 35: NH friends (04 Sep 14)

While Doug and the pups enjoyed a leisurely day of no driving, Jen hiked with North Conway Stephanie, and spent the rest of the day catching up on 4 years of stuff (that's a long time in girl years!!).  On her drive back up to Littleton, Jen raided every road-side farmstand in NH (including the one run by the inmates at the Grafton County Correctional Facility), and got stuck in a true North Country traffic jam, behind a logging truck doing 15 mph. 

Day 34: NEW HAMPSHIRE!!!! (03 Sep 14)

Drove to Littleton, NH this morning.  Damn, it's good to be back.  The campground is right on the Ammonousic River, so the pups are having a great time frolicking around in the cold mountain water. Since NH and VT are so tiny, we saved our "new state ceremony" for today, when we could do them together.

After we got settled, Jen took the truck and drove down to visit her friend Stephanie (a/k/a/ North Conway Stephanie), who now lives in Lyme, NH (near Dartmouth College).  Doug stayed in the campground with the pups and enjoyed not having to drive anywhere!

Day 33: NY to Vermont (02 Sep 14)

Drove from Corning, NY to Brattleboro, VT today. Long drive through lots of traffic and construction, but not quite as painful as we thought it would be. Doug gave up on yelling "MASSHOLE" every time one drove by once we actually entered Massachusetts, but he still growled under his breath a few times. It's very humid here in VT - not the crisp fall air we were hoping for.

After we got settled in the campsite, we went to the local brewery, which was right on the river in the cute little downtown area. Since today was Doug's actual birthday, Jen bribed the server to bring him a cake and make a fuss over him. He was cranky about getting sung to in public, but he got a really good piece of chocolate cake out of it, so all is good.

Sad!

Hard being back at this campground in NH.  3 years ago almost to the week, the pack was here while Jen was deployed.  The pups then enjoyed being back in NH waters.  Now we are here once again, 3 years later, with 2 new pups that are learning the pleasures of NH water.

Day 32: Ithaca is Gorges (01 Sep 14)

No, that's no a typo. Jen used to have a t-shirt that said "Ithaca is Gorges", a reference to the gorgeous gorges and waterfalls that are the hallmark of the landscape here.  Doug has never been here, so Jen was determined to show him around, and not just to breweries!  We started at Treman State Park, probably the most famous of the Ithaca gorges. We were going to stop at Buttermilk Falls too, but apparently this was orientation weekend for all the Connell and Ithaca College students because they were EVERYWHERE.  We skipped the 2nd set of falls and went right to the beer drinking portion of the day.  Both of the actual breweries in town were closed, so we went to a tap room and tried some decent local beers. Jen finally got her Pumpkin Ale, so she has declared fall officially started. 

Later that day, we found a good stream-side trail to walk the pups on, which, of course, they enjoyed. And since tomorrow is Doug's birthday, Jen surprised him with a cake, complete with candles.

Day 31: New York State! (31 Aug 14)

Drove from State College, PA to Watkins Glen, NY today. Not a new state by any stretch of the imagination for either of us (Doug went to school in NY for 2 years, and Jen lived here for 25 years!) but we still had our "new state ceremony" with the RV map. Once we got settled, we drove down to Corning to a brewery (shocking, I know) and had lunch. Not great, but good enough.  It's been raining all day here, so there's not much outdoors to enjoy here.

Day 30: Hiking in Pennsylvania (30 Aug 14)

This morning, we needed a leisurely morning with our coffee in the campground.  Once we recharged, we took the pups for a beautiful 5.5 mile hike in the same forest that we rode in yesterday.  Different area/trails though. The whole hike ran alongside a creek, so there were lots of good smells and squirrels for them to chase.  Fun was had by all.

Day 29: MTB Pennsylvania (29 Aug 14)

Rode at Black Moshannon State Forest today. Nice mix of singletrack and fire roads, mostly in the shade, and a nice little stretch of a rooty trail alongside a bog that evoked memories of NH.  Weather is beautiful - dry, cool, almost fall-like.  We even started the ride in long sleeved shirts. LONG SLEEVES!!!

After the ride, we were very very thirsty, so we explored the State College brewery scene. First one was called Robin Hood, which was conveniently located inside a pizza place (we were very very hungry too!).  Beer wasn't anything to write home about, but it was good enough.  Next, we fought the Friday afternoon college town traffic to get across town, via the center of the Penn State campus, to the next brewery on our list, Ottos.  Huge college crowd and very noisy, so we only had one. They had a local cider on tap, so Jen was happy.

Puppies learn how to eat corn!

Jen raided another farmstand today.  Sunday's a natural. Finn needs some practice. HERE

Somebody's been spending too much time in the car.

Extra BC energy: HERE