Drove to Knoxville TN today. Tennessee is a new state in the RV, so of course there was a brief "new state ceremony". This will be the last "new state" on this trip (unless Jen changes her mind again, which we all know is entirely possible and probably even likely...). Doug made a pilgrimage to Krystal, which is the south's version of White Castle. The pups shared his French fries and now all 3 of them are moaning something about not feeling so good.
Tomorrow we're finally riding. Woohoooo!
This is how Finn rides in the car. Like a giant hand is going to descend from the ceiling and rub his belly. Silly pup.
Left Jen's parents house early Friday morning to drive the 2 1/2 hours back to the RV in Lancaster PA. Did a quick turnaround when we got there and loaded everything back up to continue the drive west. Arrived in Madison, Pennsylvania (40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh) at the end of the day and settled in for the night.
Although we tentatively had our eyes on a few mountain biking trails here, we awoke to pouring rain Saturday morning. Jen found a local gym, while Doug stayed at the RV and used the time to plan out the next few travel days. We used the rest of the day to catch up on housekeeping type stuff like grocery shopping, laundry, and dog baths. Nothing very exciting (or even worth photographing)
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.
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?)
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).
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
