ON THE ROAD - SUMMER 2008

CANADIANS ON THE ROAD IN THE SUMMER
July 17 to August 6 2008

We left Aurora early Thursday morning and headed off to Buffalo and points south. The goal was to reach our trailer in one day or, at least, make it to Hancock, Maryland. My goals tend not to include any stops for food, washroom or store-gazing. Late in the day we made it to one of Hancock's two motels. This one had the office in an old southern home complete with canvas awning protected porch and chairs.
We were the only ones at the motel until we arrived back from supper and watched ten motorcyclists arrive.
Hancock was chosen because it was only forty minutes from where we had stored the trailer in April. We could get up early, get the trailer from Winchester, Virginia and then be in Gettysburg by noon.
Getting back from supper and setting up the computer revealed that I had left the power pack at home.
We decided that we would go shopping before picking up the trailer. Right away I could sense that Friday was not going to be as planned.

Friday morning, coffee in hand, we sat in the porch swing and watched ten motorcycles roar down the driveway. Two cups of coffee and a biscuit later, we followed the path down 322 after the bikes. We passed the restaurant where the bikers had stopped. We settled for breakfast at a diner in West Virginia. As we paid our bill, the ten bikes roared by. In Virginia we drove by the campground looking for our trailer as we kept on heading for the mall. The morning was heating up as we visited stores looking for a power pack. Office Max had what we needed. Back to the Candy Hill Resort. Down the hill to the trailer. Backed the truck up to the hitch; got out; started checking things over. Everything looked fine until I got to the back of the trailer. Unbelievable! It happened to us. After all these years of talking about the infernal Kudzu - it was growing up the back of the trailer!! AND underneath it as well! If we had waited another month before getting the trailer......

( A Side Note: LEXMARK call centers
While at Office Max we noticed that they were having a Lexmark printer workshop. They should have asked me to say a few words. Back in June I bought a Lexmark printer. What followed was three weeks of phone calls to their call centers in India and Canada. These calls lasted hours at a time. They were friendly and concerned about getting the printer working. My frustration increased as they promised to phone back and even swore that they, the worker, would personally see that I was called back. Liars all. It is part of their list of things to say. At the end of three weeks I sent an email to Lexmark regarding my frustration with the call backs. I got an immediate reply. "We are not dealing with you anymore. Take the printer back to the store." In their packaging it was very clearly printed: "DO NOT RETURN TO PLACE OF PURCHASE". Lexmark had kept me on the phone for three weeks - the store had a two week return policy!
In the end it was a problem with my main computer which is now in for repair. The printer works fine on my laptops. The lesson: never trust LEXMARK past one phone call. They need to severely upgrade their service training. )

We cleared all the vines and went over our checklist. Fine. We hitched up and drove out of Candy Hill. At the first intersection I started to adjust my mirrors and realized that I hadn't put on the extended mirrors that we use for pulling the trailer. I turned into the nearby auction yard. We searched and hunted through the trailer for the mirrors; the day was getting hotter. It was to be a ninety minute drive to Gettysburg and it required sacrificing our lunch. Not exactly a total sacrifice. On the front seat was a half bag of popcorn - more like salt with a little corn. The mirrors were where they shouldn't be. On with the mirrors and back out into the traffic following a route layed out by the computer. Resolution: make a map of the location of everything in the trailer.

Computers do not distinguish between the width of modern streets and the narrowness of early American towns. Computers do not allow for the pulling of trailers through early American towns. We explored every picturesque narrow street of Winchester and then ran smack into construction. Cathy hurriedly flipped through the maps and planned a totally new route. After a couple of bad choices we finally reached the Gettysburg Battlefield Resort.

I was outside as Cathy started extending our slideout. I heard a crunch and saw the slideout go back in. There was a pause and then the slideout came out fully. Now crunch sounds are never good. Whether at home, driving or dealing with a trailer, crunch sounds indicate impending unhappiness and the expenditure of money. I forgot about the crunch sound. It was late in the afternoon and ninety-four degrees. We sorted out some things, turned on the air-conditioner and headed into town for supper and groceries.
While putting the groceries away I noticed that the cupboard doors were wonky. Remember that crunching sound? Another repair job!

We visited the battlefields of Gettysburg and the stores of downtown. It is amazing how one gets used to stores, restaurants, and public places being smoke-free. (Ontario is smoke-free.) Walk into a restaurant here, smell smoke, turn around and walk out.

On our third day, the three hour drive to Lehigh Gorge Campground was uneventful - more or less - map reading is not Cathy's strong point. Enough said. The weather is still very hot and humid. This campground is pretty much all shade; a bonus on days like this. The campground is pretty well all seasonal campers. In White Haven, the Ugly Mug restaurant and bar is a great place to eat. We listened to the waitress's plans for the fall. She just graduated high school is headed for a career in medical book-keeping. Hopefully, that will pay more than the $2.83/hr that she is now making. Great library in the town. They have renovated an old pump station. Looks great.
Sometimes, when we travel through West Virginia and Pennsylvania, I wonder about the location of the towns and cities. What was in the mind of the first settler? I often imagine them looking off over the woods and hills saying, " This looks like the steepest and highest hill around; let's build here!"

East Coast Resorts, Parish, New York

Huge resort just north of Syracuse. All sites are huge and well-spaced. Two pools and two clubhouses. Wireless is limited to the clubhouses so, if you plan to use a computer, it needs to be a laptop. If you are so-inclined, Happy Hour is from 4 to 5 with $1.00 drafts.

Five-year-old Sarah stops by with her bike wanting to know if I have a wrench to fix her bike. We discuss her training wheels. She thinks one is not set right. I look things over and disagree with her. She is adamant. I examine things more carefully. She is right and has given me a very clear description of why things are not right. Amazing! I often come across these sparks of knowledge in children her age. I always hope that they will carry that spark into adulthood.
We discuss her birthday and I tell her the special meaning of her name. She loves the repair and peddles off happily down the gravel road. Like the big pick-up trucks, Sarah has dualies!

The weather is iffy here. Foolishly, I left the awning up one evening. After the weather alert buzzer went off at three in the morning, you would have found us outside. Cathy was putting away the lawn chairs while I rolled up the awning. When will we ever learn.
We haven't relaxed too much yet. We have hunted down a source of groceries; painted our flag pole - it's waiting for that brand new Ontario flag; repaired a storage drawer after locating the part at a Lowes; tried out the new parts for the BBQ.
Ahh.. parts for the BBQ.. screwed by Camping World again! Last spring when we were equipping our new trailer, Cathy spotted a BBQ on sale! I questioned the weight but we bought it. As an incentive Camping World gave us a free accessory to go with it. Now, that accessory would only work if you had another accessory; of course, that piece they didn't have in stock. About two months ago I located the needed accessory. Last night was the big trial. The steaks were ready to be slathered with my homemade Southern Comfort BBQ sauce; the potatoes were parboiled and waiting to be turned into tasty morsels. We struggled with our free Camping World gift. There was no way it would fit. We read and re-read the instructions. At one point we happened to look at the picture on the package. It was NOT the same as the part we were holding. They had stuffed the wrong part into the right box. Ugh. Now I am left, again, to run around to find another accessory to match the one I had purchased to match the one I am now throwing out! Follow that? And I forgot to mention that the BBQ will become our home BBQ while we purchase and lighter one for traveling.
Today we will slow down the pace. The main task is to refill our propane tanks.

Our neighbors and the staff are all friendly. Traveling people tend to be friendly. Neighbor Jim thinks we will be sitting around his campfire Friday night and sharing stories. Jim is re-building his house in Cicero and thus he and his wife are camped out here until the job is finished.

Friday night has come and gone. There was a Karaoke most of the evening; down the road a bit was a gospel sing (with five people attending). People everywhere either walking or cuddling up to a campfire. Earlier in the evening we explored the restaurant: drafts are $1. from 4 to 5; and the food - come with an appetite! We both had fish. This was a huge slab of fish. You could have slaw and Mac/Cheese or fries. I had no room for fresh, homemade blueberry pie.

We explored the lake. Nice dark water. The water snake was trying to swallow a rather large fish. He didn't have a hope. We stopped to talk to a couple from Trenton, ON - formerly from Picton, ON. It is always good to be "formerly" from Picton.

Three Weeks Have Passed
Tim and Jeremy have come and gone. Jeremy was always nervous when any kids walked by. He was always afraid that his Grandmother would rush out, grab them and force them to be his friends. Tim wandered around, played basketball, pool and sweated.
In the evening Grandpa and Jeremy would sneak off to the restaurant - Jeremy to eat cheesecake, Grandpa to eat blueberry pie. They were supplementing their diet with a bit of fruit. Grandmother did laundry.
Tim and Jeremy played with Sarah. Grandpa rested. Grandma did laundry.
We visited the Syracuse zoo for Sunset Safari. There was music, food and you got to wander the zoo. We visited the local clinic to have Jeremy's infected toes examined. The staff were very pleasant. Grandpa drove around looking for fresh corn. Grandma did laundry.

This trip has been filled with friendships. Around campfires or just walking down the road, life stories are shared and 'business' cards shared. Gary tells us the repairs being done to his house; Brian comes over to let us know that we are welcome to tap into his satellite internet. Ken and Sandy from Texas share wine and campfires then Ken rushes Sandy to Emergency at the University hospital. That story has not ended. As I write she is still there and Ken has gone in to be with her today.
Sal and Alana say they are from Florida but I know differently. "We have been there 20 years," they say. "Where are you really from?" I ask. "New Jersey" Once again I know that is not the whole truth. I am waiting for Alana to confess. Sure enough she was born and raised in the Bronx. "We don't have accents, do we?" she asks. I smile.
Ed tells me all about his brand new truck and trailer and I help him with his plans to go to Niagara Falls.
Around the campfires we share vital information about trailer makes, bad campgrounds, excellent resorts, gadgets to buy or not to buy, gas prices, education - the list is endless. This is what traveling is about.

On the way back to Aurora, we stop for the night at Rideau Lakes Resort near Kingston. They still have our name on file from years ago but the office air conditioner is broken making it too hot to stand around and talk. Lots of bikini'd females here. I don't how they do it. All summer I have avoided mosquitoes but here they are out in swarms. Yet, these women still walk around. I must research this further.

On our last day we drop the trailer off at the dealer's for greasing and extra stuff. They phone a week later to tell us that the slideout is not fully extending on one side. Hmm.. I wonder why? There goes another $100.

In a few days we will pick up the trailer from Campkins in Myrtle Station. At that point our fall adventure begins!