Chicago Friends and Miller Time – 8/20/14 – 8/26/14

MillerCoors Brewery in Milwaukee, WI

We officially arrived in the Midwest and Central Time Zone and experienced the crazy summer storms. A lot of rain, thunder, lightning and humidity! We had a hard time finding an RV Park in the Chicago area, so opted to stay a bit north near the Wisconsin/Illinois border in Zion at Illinois Beach State Park right on Lake Michigan. The park was about an hour from downtown Chicago, but since we have both been there a few times, we were ok with this. It was nice to just relax and enjoy the park. The weather wasn’t great, but Mike did get some fishing in and there were some bike trails that we took advantage of.

The highlight of the stay was our trip into the big city to see Mike’s golfing buddy, Ron Hansen. He used to live in the Seattle area, but has been in Chicago for about 4 years, and flies back for the guys golf trips. We drove into town on Saturday afternoon to his condo in the River North neighborhood. Wow, both Mike & I just loved his place. It was a very unique, 2-story loft style condo in a 1907 building, renovated in 1997. Exposed beams and ductwork, yet very modern looking with a killer outdoor patio featuring great views. It was in a quiet neighborhood, but within walking distance of bars & restaurants, true city living! His girlfriend, Carolyn, joined us and after a few cocktails on the patio, we headed to Mastro’s Steakhouse for a delicious dinner! Our evening continued at Declan’s and Chicago Blues, before walking back to his place for a nightcap on the patio. Thanks Ron & Carolyn for a great evening showing us “your Chicago” and letting us crash in the guestroom! The next day, Mike & Ron played golf and I had a low-key day. The course was close to where our park was, so Ron came over afterwards to visit and see the MoHo. We had a mellow night getting ready for “moving day” the next morning.

Ron & Mike on the patio at Ron’s Condo. View of the Willis Tower (Sears Tower) in the background

Enjoying Chicago with Ron

We got on the road just in time before a huge storm hit, on our way north to Milwaukee, WI. The trip was just over an hour, so we arrived at the Wisconsin State Fair RV Park in the rain. The park was basically a glorified parking lot, but had all of the amenities we needed including the best wi-fi we have had in a long time, plus the location just couldn’t be beat. We decided to head to “Miller Valley” and the MillerCoors Brewery. We took the hour-long free tour then to the sampling room for Miller Lite, Miller High Life (the champagne of beers) and one of their craft beers, Summer Shandy by Leinenkugel, which I have seen a lot of lately and is very tasty. We hit the gift shop for a few “It’s Miller Time” items, couldn’t resist. We were hungry for dinner, so headed into town for a Guy Fieri Triple D spot, the Comet Café. It was in an eclectic looking little neighborhood and the food was delicious!

MillerCoors Brewery Tour…where’s Laverne?

We were bummed that the Brewers didn’t have a home game while we were there, as Miller Field is one that we would have liked to visit. The rain seemed to have stopped and the sun was starting to peak out, so on our last day we headed into town to explore. We parked near the Public Market in the Historic Third Ward area and headed toward the River Walk. What a cool area with lots of condos, restaurants, shops and outdoor art to look at. The city had a great vibe and seemed to be full of young people, more hipster than I would have thought. We made our way to the Fonz statue for some pics, then headed back to the Public Market. This was a neat spot full of local food, wines, cheeses, meats, deserts, produce, seafood, olive oils, breads, etc all housed in a funky warehouse. We walked through and landed at the Wine Thief for a cold one and to take a load off from the humidity. We headed back to the MoHo and sat outside for a bit to enjoy the sunshine we had been missing. We really enjoyed Milwaukee, a place we would gladly come back to.

Next up is Iowa City, Iowa.

River Walk in Milwaukee

Mike & the Fonz

Ayyyyyyyyy!!

Enjoying a beer in the Public Market, Milwaukee

Trolls and Yoopers! 8/9/14 – 8/18/14

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Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Lake Michigan

We headed out of our park in Detroit around noon, filling our propane tank on our departure. We decided to take the MoHo to the nearby rest stop, as the Pflu’s were arriving around 2:30PM from Seattle, and this was a very easy on/off spot for us to wait for their plane to land and us to head over and pick them up. This seemed to be a popular rest stop, not for the obvious reasons. There was the previously mentioned air show in Detroit this weekend. This rest stop was right in the flight path of the show so several other people had chairs out and were picnicking at the rest stop, watching the show. We just lucked onto it and it made the time go by much quicker. The text came in and Traci headed to the airport to pick up our guests, and returned to the MoHo with Marc and Shelly. Let the fun begin! We quickly hooked up the car, and headed toward Traverse City in the NW area of the lower peninsula of Michigan. The 6-hour trip went quickly, with Marc navigating and Shelly and Traci hanging out in the back chatting. We pulled into the Traverse Bay RV Resort and were immediately impressed with the park. I think our coach actually brought down the average price of the rigs in there; there were some impressive RV’s in this place! We bbq’d some brats and had some beverages and just caught up on life, a nice start to our 9-day visit.

We slept in the next morning and had a nice breakfast before heading out for the day. Our destination was the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, on the east side of Lake Michigan. We stopped at the visitor’s center and got a map of the area. It was a quick drive to the dunes area, along with hundreds of others that day. When we finally got parked, it was sort of odd, a massive wall of sand in Michigan? We watched all the people running down, and climbing around and decided to head up ourselves. Now sand is great on the beach, but hiking up it, not so simple. We all were shocked how difficult it was to move, especially up hill. We finally reached the crest of the hill we could see from the parking lot, only to realize it was just the first of several hills in this massive dune complex. We trudged around for an hour or so, and took several photos, before returning to the car, quite tired and ready for a beverage. Next stop was a little beach up the road and a dip in Lake Michigan. This was the third Great Lake for Traci and I, and it felt great to cool off after our hike in the Dunes. Hungry, we found a little place for linner (late lunch, early dinner), and then down to another beach just at the top end of the National Lakeshore area. We had this place to ourselves, just relaxing on the “ocean” of Lake Michigan, enjoying a beverage, and watching the waves, a pretty awesome day all around!

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Our toe dip in Lake Michigan (3 Great Lakes down!)

Our next day in the Traverse City area, we headed north up the Old Mission Peninsula, all the way to the top and the lighthouse at the northern tip. A quiet sanctuary, with a small beach area and very shallow bay out front of the lighthouse. There were several rock cairns in the bay, and it felt very secluded. We then made our way back down the peninsula, and started our wine tasting in the region. There were about a dozen or so winery’s here, and we stopped at 2-3, although not finding a lot of keepers. We have that Washington wine pallet and it is hard to locate something that we really like. We did find a little restaurant for our lunch, right on the western shoreline, and had a great time looking out at the marina and enjoying a heavy appetizer meal. Having finished our wine tasting, we headed back to the town of Traverse City, and the afternoon turned into a pub-crawl. There were three narrow bars right next to each other, and we made our way to each, chatting with the bartenders and the locals, getting advice for dinner and our upcoming travels. We all wanted pizza, and everyone told us to head to the Filling Station. We sat at the outdoor bar, ordered the pies and it took about 45 minutes, but finally we had our food and headed back to the confines of the MoHo to eat. Another great day there, tomorrow we head to the Upper Peninsula, leaving the land of the Trolls (under the Mackinaw Bridge) and turning into ourselves into Yoopers (Upper Peninsula or U.P.).

Wine Tasting at Chateau Chantal

Shelly & Marc enjoying the marina at the Boathouse Restaurant

We woke to some rain and after getting absolutely soaked packing up the rig and hooking up the car, (worst rain we have ever had to pack up in over 15 months on the road) we started towards the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The trip was to be about 5 hours, 250 miles. As the drive went, it was a bit more challenging than I have had in a while, intermittent rain, with some strong winds, it kept my full attention for sure. The highlight of this drive was the crossing of the Mackinaw Bridge, connecting the two portions of Michigan, and separating Lake Michigan from Lake Huron. After paying the toll to cross the span, we pulled over to the visitor’s center right next to the tollbooth, and parked the MoHo. Knowing our next destination was on Lake Superior, this was the only chance Traci and I would have to step foot in Lake Huron. Windy and cold, we walked the 150 yards down through a maintenance center, to the edge of the lake and dipped our feet in the icy cold Lake Huron, 4 down and one more Great Lake to go! We returned to the MoHo, and made our way to our destination, Munising Tourist Park, on the edge of Lake Superior. We had a great site, backed up to the waters edge. Traci and I had worked tirelessly to get this specific site at this park, as we wanted the Pflu’s to be able to enjoy the lake views we knew it would provide. Exiting the MoHo, and bam, right in our face was the same wind I had battled on the drive. We guessed it was at least an 18-20MPH breeze, right off the lake. Add to it that it was about 60 degrees out, and you can imagine what a shock to all of us how cold it really was. We weren’t expecting this type of weather. We got set up and headed out to the town of Munising and had another linner at a little bar in town. Needing some groceries, we hit the local market, loaded up and returned to the MoHo. The wind had eased a bit, and we did our best to make a fire and stay warm outside for the evening, but the wind did not cooperate.

Lake Huron toe dip (4 of 5 down!); Mackinaw Bridge in the background

Smores at our spot in Munising – Happy Campers!

The next day we tried to reserve a pontoon boat for the afternoon to see the bay and cruise the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The colorful sandstone cliffs are best viewed from the water, so we tried to line up a ride to explore ourselves. There are a couple tour boats that have 250 people on them, not the way we wanted to see the sites, and unfortunately everyone else had not gotten the memo we were in town and all pontoon boats were rented. Plan B. We picked up Pasties, the local specialty of a meat and veggie filled pastry, and drove out to the National Lakeshore. The Pasties were just OK, nothing we needed to try again. The lakeshore was much better. We walked down to the overlook at Miners Castle, and had a nice view of the Pictured Rocks. It would have been better from the waterside, but this view was still pretty spectacular. We drove down the road, stopping at a waterfall area, and then along the northern shoreline of the park. We stopped at a viewpoint along the lake and headed down the beach area. There were tons of smooth little rocks along the shoreline all with great colors from the minerals of the area. Traci and I decided this was the spot for us to set foot into Lake Superior, and with our toes in the water, we had completed the fifth and final Great Lake challenge, something we both had never expected we could do in our lifetime. The water was a chilly 53 degrees at surface and 37 degrees 3 feet below surface! Lake Superior is the largest fresh water lake in the world and is just mammoth! We continued up the road, and our next stop was the Log Slide overlook. Shelly had found this place during some research. On our walk out to the shoreline area, someone said it was worth the journey, but stay up high, it was a long way down. Again, not knowing what we were in for here, we crested the little dune, and wow, what a view! We were probably about 175-200 feet above Lake Superior, and the huge sand dune lead straight down to the waters edge. There were a few brave souls that had run down to the water, only to have to spend the next 20-30 minutes climbing back up the steep dune. We opted to stay on top, took several pictures and enjoyed the view, knowing we did not want to put ourselves through a grueling hike up a dune again. We were now about 10-12 miles from Grand Marais, so we continued east, and found the “little gem” of the Upper Peninsula. A tiny town, with only a couple options for dinner and we landed at the Lake Superior Brewing Company. Tired and hungry, the beer and food was great, just what we needed. We made our way back to the MoHo, about a 75-minute drive, taking the less direct route, staying away from the 198 curves we encountered on our way up. Marc and I made a fire in the windy night while Traci and Shelly watched a movie, and we hit the hay a bit earlier than the previous nights.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Miners Castle

Miners Castle, Lake Superior

Log Slide Overlook, Lake Superior

Log Slide Overlook to Lake Superior. Notice how steep it is!

Log Slide Overlook. Notice how steep it is!

Group shot!

We woke the next morning, hoping our pontoon boat reservation might hold, but again the wind won out. We decided to head to the beach, just northeast of Munising, and hopefully somewhat protected from the wind by a local island. We set up our chairs, opened up the cooler, and relaxed on the breezy, but beautiful beach. We watched the tour boats and kayakers battle the wind, and were thankful we did not head out on the water that day. The views were great, and it was a very quiet relaxing day as the beach wasn’t too crowded. We returned to the MoHo, and the wind was really settling down. Marc and I grilled out on the open fire, Shelly made her artichoke and Parmesan crusted bread appetizer, and we all enjoyed a great meal outside at the picnic table watching a wonderful sunset. A spectacular ending to our time in Munising, so wishing the weather had been better the first two days. This is an amazing part of the U.S. that few people probably get to, but one I would highly recommend.

Group toe dip in Lake Superior! (not warm)

Beautiful sunset on our last night in Munising

Gorgeous sunset over Lake Superior!

Our next destination was Michigamme Shores Campground, about a 90-minute drive west to the town of Champion on Lake Michigamme. We arrived and the day was beautiful. Finally the weather had turned for us! Our site was across the huge sand beach area here, and we set up our chairs and looked out over the lake. Traci, Marc and I headed to the beach for some relaxation, while Shelly stayed back as she was feeling under the weather and napped for a few hours. The lake is a huge reservoir, and was so shallow I walked about 100 yards out into the lake, with the water only coming up to my waist. We tried to get a boat rental here, but everything was already reserved. So we just stayed at the park for the day and relaxed and had leftovers for dinner. It was one of those days we have come to enjoy, as it can be difficult to be “on the go” every day, sometimes we just need a day to chill.

The weather finally cleared on the day we left Munising.

With limited time here, and the weather starting to change again, we decided to drive up the Keweenaw Peninsula area. Along the way, we stopped outside L’Anse and took a little hike to the Canyon Waterfall. It was a small slot canyon, out of some very impressive rock formations, quite peaceful. We kept on going and found our way to the town of Houghton. Upon entering the town, we noticed a little a-frame stand on the side of the road pointing to the right for the “brew fest.” We turned down the road, and on the river below were tons of pop-up tents and people, we had stumbled upon a brewery festival! We parked, and immediately were hit up by a guy for tickets, a local sponsor who gave us a $10 discount, and we headed in. We were given wooden tokens for samples and a little souvenir glass, and it was neat to see this little festival in the middle of nowhere. After a couple hours of sampling the different beers and ciders, we needed some food. We left a little bit before the event ended, and beat the crowds to a local restaurant, and enjoyed a nice meal overlooking the river. We returned to the MoHo and continued our Jeopardy tournament (we watched one episode every night) and got ready to head to our next destination in the morning.

Canyon Waterfall Hike, Keenawa Peninsula

Canyon Waterfall Hike, Keweenaw Peninsula

Shelly and Traci taking a load off

Enjoying the Houghton Brewfest!

Travel day took us down out of Michigan and into Wisconsin, to the Village Inn on the Lake in Two Rivers, about 30 miles SE of Green Bay on Lake Michigan. Along the way, we decided to stop at Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers. Hoping to get in for a 1:30PM tour, we just missed it so had to wait till the 3:00PM. This gave us some time to look at the brand new pro-shop and pick up a few t-shirts. We then wandered around the outside before heading back in to Curley’s for an appy and beverage before the tour started. Bob and Patti, our tour guides, gave us a very thorough 2-hour tour, lots of insight to the history of the Packers, and seeing the stadium from all angles: roof top views, luxury box’s, press box, visitor’s locker room, and of course on the field. We had a great time and were very glad we stopped along the way to take in this great venue. We continued the drive down to Two Rivers, and got the MoHo settled. It was getting late, so we headed into town to find some dinner, and forgot that small town America closes down on Sundays, especially at 8:00PM. Fortunately we found a little joint on the beach in a hotel that was still open and had a decent meal. Back to the MoHo to finish our night, the Pflu’s were leaving us tomorrow for home, sad. It had been a great 9 nights with Marc and Shelly, and we are so glad they made the effort to come out and join us on our journey and experience the MoHo lifestyle. It takes a special group of friends to share 340 square feet for 9 days and nights; it could not have been any better!!

The MoHo at Lambeau Field

Shelly and Marc in the Atrium area

Cheeseheads!

View from the rooftop

Notice the Seahwawks gear!

We walked through the tunnel and onto the field!

For many more pics of our time in Michigan and Green Bay, click HERE

Ball Parks and Big Cities – 8/5/14 – 8/8/14

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Home of the Detroit Tigers

(This post was written by Mike)

We left Syracuse and headed west, next destination was Cleveland. We arrived at the American Wilderness Campground about 40 miles SW of town, and got set up in a nice long open site, just the kind we like. We unloaded the bikes, had them in the car still from last stop, and did a quick tour around the park, and it was huge. There were a couple of lakes; one for fishing, one for swimming, and lots of variety in sites and sizes. We returned to the MoHo, cleaned up and headed to downtown as an Indians baseball game was on tap for the night. We drove around town a bit, and it was nicer than we had expected. We found a fun area, 4^th Street, and had a nice linner (Late lunch, early dinner) at a Mexican joint. After we were done, off to the ballgame, again a huge thanks to our friend Matt W. for getting us tickets! We strolled around the outside as usual looking to get the vibe, and there wasn’t one to be found, very quiet. We got in and wandered the entire area, a newer park, with good views from all angles. Our seats were great, right behind home plate, fun to see the action from that angle. The visiting Red’s won, as I was rooting for them because the Mariners are chasing the last wildcard spot and Cleveland is in the hunt as well. We made our way back to the MoHo and hit the hay, long day, but a very fun one.

Progressive Field, Cleveland

View from our seats – thanks Matt!

The next day we ran some errands, not a lot to report. I did find a Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner, and enjoyed them thoroughly. When we got home, I did get out and do some fishing on the little lake, and was mildly successful; so fun to fish on these private lakes! We chilled at the MoHo, just a real relaxing day.

Strawberry Marg in Cleveland

Thursday, we were off towards Detroit. But our first stop was the local mechanic, Jeff’s Automotive and Towing. I had made an appointment the day before for a much needed oil change. Showed up at 10:00AM and was out by 11:00AM, great service, so wish I could give him more recognition! We made our way to Detroit and the Greenfield RV Park, about 30 miles west of downtown. We got set up and headed to Ann Arbor, home of the dreaded Michigan Wolverine football team. I was expecting something a bit different once we arrived. I had seen and heard so many things about the place, but because the Big House is dug down into the ground, it seemed less imposing from the exterior; I am sure it is much different from the inside. We headed into town and found a couple breweries, stopping at one and bellied up for another linner. This place had a great IPA, but unfortunately they do not bottle it so I could not take any home, just had to get my fill at the bar. We returned to the MoHo Park and wandered around, before having a fire. During our walk, the Air Force Thunderbirds were practicing right over us, there is an air show this weekend in Detroit, just about 3 miles way!

The “Big House”

On our last day we drove into Detroit. Again we had preconceived notions of the town, and initially it was confirmed, a very run down area in need of a lot of work. We somehow made it to the Detroit River waterfront area, and this place has gone through a very nice renovation. The day was perfect, and we ended up walking about 3 miles up and down the riverfront. Next we headed over to see the ballparks, Ford Field for the Lions, and Comerica Park for the Tigers. Neither team was playing, but the exterior of both places was great especially the Tigers stadium. Hungry and thirsty, we found another local brewery for an outdoor beverage and meal before returning to the neighborhood of the RV Park for some cleaning and shopping as we have visitors arriving tomorrow. Marc and Shelly Pflugrath are coming to stay with us for the next 9 nights for our journey through upper Michigan, going to be a blast sharing that time with them!

Detroit River, GM Headquarters in the background

Comerica Park, Detroit

Lake Ontario, Niagara Falls and Lake Erie – 7/23/14 – 8/4/14

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Horseshoe Falls, Niagara Falls from Canadian Side (Maid of the Mist looks like a toy boat)

We had a long drive from Vermont to the Syracuse Camping World for a diagnostic appointment for our side camera that had been damaged. We hoped to get it submitted to our warranty company, then drop the MoHo back off for the work to be done later in the week. It was a bit of a cluster and 2.5 hours later, we hooked back up and drove the 45 minutes to Cherry Grove Campground in Wolcott, NY. It was a smaller park with what seemed like a lot of seasonals who park their rig, then come back to it on the weekends or for vacation. It was Monday, so even though the park was fairly full, no one was there. The owner couldn’t have been nicer and already we had a much better vibe than the last place. One interesting thing that we have never encountered is that they charged $3/day for A/C usage. The park was so reasonably priced, this didn’t bother us, just interesting. It had been a long day, so we just “kenneled” in for the night.

We did a quick drive through Syracuse University

Our pet turtle at the campground

The next day, we set out to explore and check out the Finger Lakes region, which is full of wineries! Who knew? This wasn’t even on our radar as we had mostly picked this stop to get the RV maintenance done. We decided to focus on the west shore of Seneca Lake and just randomly picked our first stop, White Springs, which was a wine/brewery combo. The next stop was at Billsboro, and we had a fantastic young gal helping us who gave us some great recommendations for the rest of the day. We made it to 3 more plus a stop for a delicious lunch. Glenora had great views, Hermann J. Weimer was our favorite and we had a good chat with the very knowledgeable pourer and our last stop, Anthony Road, was just ok. This area is really known for its Rieslings, which is not our favorite, but we did enjoy the drier ones, especially since it was a hot day. We would love to return here when we have more time, as there are more lakes with many more wineries to explore. It kind of had a Lake Chelan feel, but on steroids!

Lake Seneca, Finger Lakes

Doing some damage at Hermann J. Weimer

On our last day, we decided to head to Fair Haven Beach State Park on Lake Ontario. The weather wasn’t great, but our goal is to at least dip our toe into all five of the Great Lakes, so this was our first. We walked around the park area, did our toe-dip, then had a picnic lunch looking out at this huge ocean of a lake. The wind really started to pick up, so we packed up and headed back to the MoHo. We were supposed to drop it off back at Camping World in the morning, but since we had yet to hear back from our warranty company and CW was not responsive, we canceled. We have come to the conclusion that our warranty company is a complete scam as we have never had any luck making contact with them let alone with them approving a claim. This is a long saga that we are both completely irritated with, so our next step is to cancel with them and find another company. We were set to drive to Philadelphia in the morning for our flight to Seattle (see previous blog), so now we had nowhere to leave the MoHo. Mike checked with our campground and they were willing to let us leave it there and plugged in for only $6/day. Awesome!

Lake Ontario

We had an outstanding trip home to Seattle and successfully surprised our friends at the annual Camp Cameron Pool Party. We left the campground in Wolcott on Wed. the 30^th and made the drive to a KOA on Grand Island, NY just 7 miles from Niagara Falls. A friend, Sandy and her husband Gene, who we had met in Everglades City, FL in January were working here for the summer, so we were excited to see them. We got settled and did a much needed grocery run, and prepared for the monsoon weather about to hit. Sandy came over that night and we split a few bottles of wine and had a great time catching up on the past 6 months.

American Falls (left); Horseshoe Falls (right)

Friday, we drove the 7 miles into Niagara Falls and we weren’t sure what to expect. The town itself was very touristy and many of the viewing paths were under construction, but we walked through it and finally got our first glimpse of the American Falls. Wow, impressive! Walked over to Goat Island to see Horseshoe Falls (Canadian Falls) and we felt this was the best view from the American side. We looked down on Cave of the Winds and everyone was getting completely soaked, so we opted out on that. We then walked back to the mainland area for a quick hotdog from one of the many vendors, then ventured over the Rainbow Bridge across the border to the Canadian side. MUCH better views and the area seemed cleaner and so much more inviting. We walked the whole boardwalk all the way down to Horseshoe Falls where we could look straight down on the water coming over, the most impressive view yet. Luckily, it wasn’t too hot or humid and the mist from the Falls felt great. We were going to head back and do the Maid of the Mist, but decided we didn’t want to fight the lines and we were tired after walking over 8 miles. We felt like we saw every possible angle of the Falls (except from the water). This iconic landmark is a must see for everyone and we would highly recommend the Canadian side for the best viewing experience! We were hungry, so headed into Buffalo and the Anchor Bar, birthplace of the chicken wing. This has been on Mike’s list for years! Bellied up to the bar and I got salad/pizza while he had a 20-piece wing order. They were meaty and the right spice, a solid 7.5 out of 10 on his “wing scale.”

American Falls

Looking down on Cave of the Winds (people are in yellow ponchos)

On top of the American Falls

A little misty at Horseshoe Falls

Maid of the Mist

Horseshoe Falls (notice the rainbow)

View looking down Horseshoe Balls - feel the power!

View looking down Horseshoe Falls – feel the power!

Chicken wing hat at the Anchor Bar

Since we had knocked out our must-sees of the area, we weren’t quite sure what to do the next day. Decided to head into the Niagara Falls Wine District. We hit 4 wineries and learned that this area is still developing and working on their niche. We did try some ice wine (I didn’t really care for it) and we were told that the neighbors to the north in Ontario are really the ones doing it right. It is quite an expensive and arduous process to produce and they are still working to master it. We got back to the MoHo and ended up at Sandy and Gene’s RV sitting outside chatting for the next 6+ hours. We ordered pizza and had a great evening and really hope to meet up with them again sometime this winter.

We said our goodbye’s the next morning and got on the road to Erie, PA. We found a great spot right on Lake Erie, Lampe Marina Campground and the price was right at $30/night. We originally were looking for a place closer to Pittsburgh, but we just couldn’t pass up this spot. The big city of Pitt will have to be another trip. This was the most relaxing stay we have had in a long time. We used the bikes everyday and really just enjoyed the setting of the park. In fact, we didn’t spend a penny other than the cost of the park for our 3-day stay, making all meals at the MoHo. There was a long pier out from the marina area where fishing was the main attraction and lots of boat traffic into the bay. We had a big thunder and lightning storm the first night, which was kind of cool, but the rest of the time was nice.

View from our campground (Pesque Isle State Park point in background)

View from our campground, Lake Erie (The tip of Presque Isle State Park in the background)

Our campground sat right on the Lake (Our MoHo is the 2nd from the right)

On our last day, we loaded our bikes in the car and drove 30 min’s to Presque Isle State Park. From the campground, we were only about a 50-yard water crossing, but to get there by land, we had to drive the long way around. The park is a 3,200 acre sandy peninsula on Lake Erie with a 13-mile loop and many hiking trails, fishing spots and sandy beaches. We parked at Beach #8 and set out on the loop on our bikes. It was bit toasty out, but the trail had many shady spots and great viewpoints to check out. We made it out to the point where we could look back and see the MoHo just a short distance away. Back at the car, we loaded the bikes back in, changed into our suits, grabbed the cooler and chairs and walked out to the beach. The sand was dark and a bit gravely, not the white powder you would find at an ocean beach. But, other than that, it seemed like the ocean. It was pretty crowded, but we found a spot, had our lunch and took a dip (#2 down of the 5 Great Lakes!). We hung out for awhile and were both cooked, so packed it up and headed back to the car. Drove back to the MoHo and enjoyed our last night at this park complete with campfire and Mike cooking ribs. Off to the Cleveland area in the morning.

Bike ride in Presque Isle State Park

Cooling off in Lake Erie

Great Lakes factoid: The Great Lakes contain 21% of the world’s surface fresh water and 54% of the world’s liquid fresh water by volume. These lakes are HUGE!

Surprise! 7/24/14 – 7/28/14

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Miller beating the Yakima heat!

Oh, yes we did! We flew back home for the annual Camp Cameron pool party! We could not risk our perfect attendance for this event and what a great opportunity for us to see our friends and family all in one weekend. We hadn’t been home in 10 mo’s! Left the MoHo in Syracuse, NY on Thursday morning and drove 5 hours down to Philly for our flight. This worked out well with our Alaska Airlines companion fare and we were able to drop the Acura at a dealership near the airport for some maintenance work. Got into Seattle at 9pm, my mom picked us up (she knew we were coming) and we stayed with her that night.

We have missed that view from Camp Cameron!

Me and Sunny right after the surprise

Friday morning, we picked up our rental car, a sweet Dodge Challenger, then took care of some appointments. Drove over to Yak and arrived around 2:30pm to an empty Camp Cameron (except for their new puppy, Penny) as they were out golfing. Mitch was the first one home and I wished we had a camera nearby to capture the look on his face. Classic. Sunny’s reaction a bit later was equally good. Actually, we had a similar reaction time after time as everyone arrived, we kind of felt like celebrities! I think deep down many thought there was a chance we would come, but hopefully we did a pretty good job of hiding the secret.

Poolside!

Pool games — made it through!

Chillaxing on “the runway”

It was a great weekend of catching up and spending time with great friends. And as usual, Mitch and Sunny were the perfect hosts! So happy we were able to make the trip. We left on Monday, sad to say goodbye, and headed back over to Seattle. Spent the afternoon and evening with my mom & brother, complete with dinner at our favorite little Mexican restaurant, Tapatio, in Newcastle. We were up and off to the airport at 6:30am on Tuesday morning back to Philly, then the drive up to Syracuse. Our heads hit the pillow about 11pm that night. A whirlwind trip, but so worth it!

Driving away in our sweet Dodge Challenger

Completing our New England loop – 7/13/14 – 7/20/14

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Cornish-Windsor Bridge connecting NH and VT, it is the longest wooden covered bridge in the US (originally built in 1866)

The Newfound RV Park in Bridgewater, New Hampshire was our destination for the next four nights. We didn’t know much about NH, so opted for a fairly central location in the Lakes Region of the state, which is just about in the center. Our RV park was owned by a great couple that couldn’t have been any nicer, Paul checked on us daily. It was a fairly small park, but had everything we needed. After a long drive to get there, we decided to just have a relaxing evening by the campfire.

Enjoying Newfound Campground

We weren’t quite sure what to do for the next day, so we headed out to explore with our maps. We had read about the covered bridges of the area. At one time there were over 10,000 covered bridges in the United States, and today 54 of the remaining 750 are located in New Hampshire. It was like a treasure hunt for us to find them on the map and gave us a chance to really see the area. It was very rural and foresty with lots of lakes and rivers. Each bridge is numbered and typically had a plaque out front giving the history. Most dating back to the 1800’s and unique in their own way, some have been restored and are still in use while others are out of commission. I think we found about 8 of them.

This one is not in use anymore, there was a picnic table in the middle

Driving through the longest wooden bridge in the US (also the longest two-lamed in the world!)

Driving through the longest covered wooden bridge in the US (also the longest two-span covered bridge in the world!)

This one is still used as a railway

This one is still used but with only one lane. Notice the sign/number at the top, No. 67.

Another day we headed north to the White Mountains and Franconia Notch State Park and Flume Gorge. This area is big for skiing in the winter. We hiked up the flume and waterfall area, then around the backside for amazing views of the deep pools. NH is known as the granite state and this was very evident in this area. We saw huge granite boulders and sheer cliffs. I think I saw our old countertops! We also saw 2 more covered bridges. The rain started right as we got back to the car, perfect timing. Headed back to the MoHo for tacos and some itinerary planning. So nice to have a good wifi!

Our hike up Flume Gorge

Sentinel Bridge, a large pine tree (175 ft long, 16 feet around) forms the bottom of the bridge

A HUGE granite boulder

On our last day, it rained in the morning, so we got some to-do’s done around the MoHo. In fact, we didn’t unlock the door and step outside to leave until almost 1pm. Decided to head up north to Weirs Beach on the shores of the largest lake in the state, Lake Winnipesaukee. Walked down the boardwalk and stopped in at a little bar with a deck overlooking the lake, then at one of the many candy stores to get swedish fish. Drove through a few other lake towns, but nothing really inviting to stop at. A pretty sleepy area. We came to the conclusion that since their season is so short, they don’t really invest in a lot of infrastructure for summertime visitors. Seems like a lot of cabins for locals. Overall this stop was a pretty relaxing one and not a lot of must-sees, so we were able to just explore organically. Things seemed pretty spread out so we did do a lot of driving in the car, but I feel like we saw some cool places and got a feel for the area. We opted not to head south to the bigger cities of Concord and Manchester, rather focusing on the Lakes and White Mountain regions. We can’t do it all, so when unsure of an area, we have to just commit to a place and make the most of it rather than second guess ourselves.

Enjoying the lake at Weirs Beach

Thursday, we were on the road to Vermont. We encountered some pretty bad roads, so were a bit spent by the time we arrived at the Lone Pines Campground just NE of Burlington. What a complete opposite experience we had from our last place. The spot they had us in was not ideal, so we asked to move, which usually is not a problem. This is one of the worst customer service displays we have encountered yet. They just didn’t care. Needless to say we didn’t get to move. The park was crowded with a lot of families with young screaming kids. We were very close to the Quebec border, so the majority seemed to be French speaking and not as considerate as we have experienced (sorry for the stereotype, just calling it as we saw it!). There was a Costco nearby which we haven’t seen for awhile, so loaded up on supplies and enjoyed a nice BBQ dinner and red wine to drown out our surroundings.

The next morning, we headed into Burlington to Starbucks, as we needed to use their free wifi since it was not provided at our park. After getting our business out of the way, we walked up and down Church Street, which is a pedestrian mall stretching about 5 blocks. It was very busy and many street performers including a string quartet of young kids. We had lunch at a great spot outside taking it all in. Then, we went down to the waterfront (Lake Champlain) and walked around. The big VT Brewfest was taking place, but was sold out, and tickets were not cheap through scalpers and brokers. We read that it sold out in 11 minutes! VT is a huge beer making state just behind OR and CO, so we were sorry to miss it. But we still managed to sample some local brews at restaurants. Burlington was a great town and a must visit in Vermont.

Lunch on Church Street in Burlington (string quartet playing in background)

The next morning, we got rolling at a decent time and headed north toward the Champlain Islands, a grouping of islands flanked by Lake Champlain on either side with NY to the west and Quebec, Canada to the north. At Grand Isle we stopped at a nice farmer’s market and loaded up on some fresh veggies for din-din. Kept driving and reached the top pretty quickly then did a detour drive around Isla La Motte, the most secluded of the islands. Not a lot going on; mostly private homes/cabins and not a lot of public access to the water. Then, we decided to do another scenic drive between Jefferson and Stowe along Smugglers Notch. This drive went straight up the mountain with very narrow windy roads, then straight down, sometimes only room for one vehicle to pass. There were tons of cars parked along the side, so we figured some good hiking trails, but we weren’t prepared for a hike. We never saw the road to take us to the viewpoint we were hoping for, then all of a sudden we were down in Stowe. A bit disappointing to say the least. It was a beautiful area, surrounded by mountains and trees, but we were hoping to get out to take some pics. Stowe was a neat ski village town with a cute main street area, but there was a boy’s lacrosse tourney in town, so it was packed. We stopped at the Ben & Jerry’s headquarters in Waterbury, but the lines were huge, so we decided not to wait. Plus we were there on a weekend, so they were not actively producing the ice cream. The tour would have been a video rather than real action. We headed back to the MoHo for dinner and a campfire.

Isla La Motte, Lake Champlain and NY behind us

We were excited for our last day in VT! We had discovered another cool festival was happening while we were here. The Vermont Cheese Festival! Since we couldn’t do the beer fest, the cheese fest was right up our alley! It was a bit pricey at $50 each, but we thought why not since we were here and we definitely wanted to sample some VT cheese! It took place at Shelburne Farms, a huge 1,400-acre complex right on Lake Champlain, a great setting. Got a free bag, wine glass, then the sampling began. It was a great mix of cheese, wine, ciders, spirits, chocolates and other local food samples, including a lot of maple flavored items. It got pretty crowded but with some patience we were able to get to all the booths we wanted. We did a good job of loading up our bags with various items and felt like it was a great event and very glad we came. A definite highlight to sample some local specialties, especially cheese! We headed back to the MoHo to watch the final round of the British Open. We had no satellite, but were able to pick up a few channels from our antenna, so were able to watch (live TV is brutal!). We got packed up, as we would be up and out early the next morning for our long drive to Syracuse, NY. I think I enjoyed the area of VT better than NH, but we obviously liked the campground in NH better. Sad that our time in New England has come to an end. Time is flying by!

Vermont Cheese Festival

A lot of cheese!

On the shores of Lake Champlain

Made it to Maine! 7/6/14 – 7/12/14

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The Maine coastline just south of Portland

Our arrival in Maine completed our four corners of the US and our furthest east point! And a bonus is that we got to experience it with our good friend, Bill Greaver. Our first stop was in Portland, actually Scarborough a bit south of Portland, and Bayley’s Campground. This was one of the most “resorty” parks we have stayed at yet, filled with amenities and nightly activities. We got settled and the first order of business was lunch. We ended up at Ken’s, a local joint serving fresh seafood since 1929, which Mike & Billy loved (I had a burger). Back at the campground we headed over to the adult-only pool for happy hour and enjoyed the fun atmosphere with live music. We watched the Mariners back at the MoHo and had a relaxing evening just hanging out.

Mike’s ‘big catch’

The next day we headed out for some sightseeing. We drove up the coast to Cape Elizabeth and the lighthouses, a recommendation from someone we met in Florida. First one we stopped at was Two Lights, located at a dead end road next to the Lobster Shack restaurant. What a view! Further up the coast was Fort Williams and Head Light Lighthouse. The lighthouse was commissioned by George Washington in the late 1700’s and is said to be one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world. The fort was huge and very well maintained – all by volunteers! It was an old military fort and served as a lookout in both WWI and WWII for the American soldiers, designated as the closest port to Europe. We walked around the grounds, then continued further up the coast to South Portland and the Bug Light House (not to be confused with Bud Light). A great viewpoint across to Portland and what I’m sure would be a prime place to watch the fireworks! Finally, we made our way into downtown Portland, parked and walked down the cobblestone streets to Commercial St, which paralleled the waterfront. A bit touristy, but not too crowded. We ended up at the Portland Lobster Company for lunch and Mike finally got his first Maine lobster! It was a cool spot overlooking the harbor. We decided to find some of the local breweries, Rising Tide and Sebago, as this town is known for them! Headed back to the MoHo, Billy & I sat outside while Mike fished until the mosquitos got the best of us. Wingfest for dinner and a movie, then the thunder and lightning showed up. Portland was a great stop and we really enjoyed Bayley’s Campground. Wished we had more time here.

Two Lights Lighthouse, outside of Portland

Head Light Lighthouse, outside of Portland

Mike’s first Maine lobster

Got packed up and on the road by 10am. Mike and I were in our groove and it was fun for Bill to see our procedure and routine. We were headed north for Bar Harbor and decided to take the scenic coast route which was a bit longer, but pretty views over bridges and through little towns. Roads were a bit bumpy at times, but overall worth the extra time for the scenery. Arrived at Narrows Too Campground located in Trenton, just across the bridge from Mt. Desert Island and Bar Harbor (Bah Hah Bah). Actually turned out to be a perfectly located home base for us. We got set up in the humidity (still not used to it), then headed out to explore. First stop was Atlantic Brewing for beer tasting. Blueberries are big around here, so they featured a Blueberry Ale. I didn’t think I would like it, but it was delicious, my new favorite which I drank exclusively while we were there! We then headed to THE lobster joint that was recommended by 2 people – Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound. Basically you go over to the live tanks and pick out what you want and they charge per pound. Either take to go, have them cook to go, or eat there. Mike & Billy proceeded to pick out 4 lobsters, about 2 lbs each, $92 worth. Compared to a sit down restaurant, these lobster pounds are the cheapest way to have fresh lobster. I had a beer and watched them eat about ½ of the first, had a few bites and took pics. I ended up driving back to the MoHo (only 1 mile away) and awaited their pick up call. I would have been sitting there another hour and the mosquitos were out, so I was more than happy to head back. They were both happy campers and will never forget this lobster feast they shared!

Billy & Mike getting ready for their lobster feed!

Notice bud light can for scale

The next morning, we got rolling after Egg McMiller’s and headed out to Acadia National Park. We bought a new yearly pass (ours expired end of May) then got on the 27-mile park loop road. Very scenic outlooks along the way, a mix between green tall trees, rocky cliffs and gorgeous lake/ocean views. Maine is actually a very hilly state, which we haven’t seen in awhile. Stopped at Thundering Hole which is an iconic place where the water can splash 40 ft in the air, but the tide was out so not much action. We took a detour out of the park at the south end to Northeast Harbor and nothing really much to see. Definitely the ‘quiet’ side of the island! This is close to Martha Stewarts home on Seal Harbor, but no sightings. Made our way north and headed up to Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the east coast at 1,530 ft. We wound our way up the hillside and found a parking place then walked the loop out to the viewpoints. Amazing 360 views all around, but very windy! We had our lunch in the car overlooking Bar Harbor, then made our way back to town. Parked and walked down the main street which was so familiar to me as Mom & I had been here on a cruise a few years ago. I loved the town then and was excited to return with Mike. We stopped in at Testa’s for a beer then to Bar Harbor Brewery for tastings. To our surprise, it is affiliated with Atlantic Brewery, so we had the same guy giving us our tastings as we did the day before. We went to another highly recommended spot, Mainley Meats, for dinner with ribs, wings and pulled pork on the menu. Worth the stop for sure. Headed back to the MoHo to watch ‘We are the Millers.’ Hilarious by the way and oh so fitting!

Acadia National Park

View from atop Cadiallac Mountain (I'm holding my hat because it was so windy!)

View from atop Cadillac Mountain (I’m holding my hat because it was so windy!)

Got Billy packed up and we got on the road to Bangor. We took the scenic route and ended up stopping at a bridge in Bucksport that we had crossed on the way into town. The Penobscot Bridge and Observatory is a cable-stay bridge with only one of four bridge observatories in the world. Next to the bridge, was massive Fort Knox, the first and largest granite fort built in Maine. It was built in 1844 to protect the riverway leading to Bangor. We walked through the underground bunkers, batteries and saw a real cannon. This was an unexpected stop, but one we all enjoyed. Made our way into Bangor and the Sea Dog Brewery for lunch (are you sensing a theme?) and sat outside on the deck overlooking the river. The town was setting up for an outdoor concert, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Bad Company. How cool! We made our way to Bill’s hotel and got him all checked in. He was heading back down to Boston for a few days in the morning via bus before flying home to Seattle. We said our goodbyes, kind of sad, then made our way back to Bar Harbor. Got back to the MoHo, did laundry and had a relaxing night. So much fun to have Billy come visit us. I think he enjoyed living our lifestyle for a week and seeing the whole process of what we go through making our way from park to park. We so appreciated him making the effort to plan a trip to see us!

Penobscot Bridge and Fort Knox

Billy & Mike inside Fort Knox, checking out the cannon

Had a glorious morning sleeping in, then I took the car into Ellsworth for a LONG overdue haircut and color, washed and vacuumed the car and did a bit of shopping at the LL Bean Outlet. Nice to have some independent time! Mike did some chores around the MoHo, then we drove into Bar Harbor for the afternoon. We walked around town just taking in the scene and shopped a bit. Town was pretty hopping due to Holland America’s ms Veendam being in port, but even after she sailed away, still a lot of people in town. Bar Harbor is a very cute, resorty town, so I’m sure a popular place for locals to vacation. We headed back to the MoHo and walked down to the beach as the tide was out, then back to BBQ for dinner. A great day!

The Margaret Todd, Bar Harbor

Our last day in Maine. We had a lazy morning and did some cleaning and packing up since we would be getting on the road early the next morning. Headed into town around 3:30 to Geddy’s for an early dinner and to watch the Brazil/Netherlands World Cup game. The food was tasty and they had a fun atmosphere and we thoroughly enjoyed the Netherlands victory! We walked around town a bit, then headed down to the Margaret Todd, a 151 ft 4-masted schooner, for our sunset cruise. They had a BYOB policy, so we brought a nice bottle of white to enjoy. It was a bit crowded and touristy, but still fun. We were under full sail power which was neat, plus it was a beautiful evening to be out on the water. Got back to the dock as the sun was setting and to see the pink full moon rising – very cool! A perfect ending to our time in Maine. Next stop is New Hampshire!

On our sunset cruise – loved the BYOB policy!

Bar Harbor sunset

The moon was amazing – an orange/red color

Don’t miss more pics of Maine HERE! (Click on any photo, then view as a slideshow. May take a bit of time to load due to image size)

Boston pics

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As promised, here are more pics from our Boston and Cape Ann visit.

Click HERE to open photo stream, then click on any photo and scroll through with your arrows. They may take awhile to load as the images are large.

Boston and July 4th celebration! 6/29/14 – 7/5/14

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USS Constitution, Boston

We made our way up from Cape Cod to the Boston area, specifically the Boston Minuteman Campground in Littleton, MA, about 40 miles NW of downtown Boston. (There are no RV parks near the city of Boston – what a chance for someone to invest and open one if they could find a lot big enough within 12-15 miles of town.) The park was nice, very much more of a campground feel, lots of tall trees (blocking our satellite) and hilly with dirt and gravel roadways. They put us into the biggest site in the park, a huge corner location with lots of privacy. A very nice park, with super friendly staff, all really helpful. We stayed in that night and planned our week, knowing it was going to be a busy one.

Hanging out at the Campground

Monday we headed north to the Cape Ann area (the other Cape), about 30-40 miles north of Boston on the coast. I wanted to make sure we got to Gloucester, I had heard of it many times, and have been watching a TV show lately based out of there; Wicked Tuna. We did many of the back roads around the north side of the cape and arrived at our first stop on the journey, Rockport. This was a small town, right on the coast, and in my opinion, one of the neatest little gems we have found on our adventure so far. Maybe I had no expectations, but this town had a beautiful harbor, small little main street and a touristy area called Bearskin Neck with lots of shops, galleries and restaurants. The key here was the smallness, and it was not so over crowded that you could actually get a parking place and see the sites. Traci found a little jewelry store and finally was able to get her Cape Cod bracelet she has been eyeing for a few days. We had a nice lunch, and it was a great stop, not soon forgotten. Next we made our way down the coast to Gloucester. One of the oldest and deepest natural ports in the NE, it was a big little city, and lacked a lot of character because of its size. We wandered around the marina, I was looking for one of the Tuna boats from the TV show, and we actually were able to see one, the harpoon boat Lily. We grabbed a beer at a dockside restaurant and that was about it, sort of a letdown for me as I had higher expectations of this place. We then made our way further down the coast through Manchester and Salem, then back to the MoHo after a long day of driving.

Rockport, Cape Ann

Tuesday it was time to head to the big city. We decided to take the subway, so we headed to the nearest stop, a 50-minute drive from the RV park. Then, it took another 45 minutes to get into the city, and all of a sudden, we had spent the better part of two hours just getting into town! We started our day in Boston Commons, the main park like area in town. We headed out on the Freedom Trail, a route through the city showing off many of the significant historical sites along the way. It was a cooker, temps in the low 80’s and humidity in the 60’s. We found our way to Faneuil Square in the center of town that had an actual replicated bar of the TV series Cheers. There is another location in town that was the actual location, but it is not the same look as what you viewed on the TV show. We walked in and had an icy cold one, and then made it back out to the trail. We wandered through the city hall area where the town had erected a huge outdoor TV for watching the world cup games, exciting. Next we returned to the subway and made our way to the Fenway area, a baseball game was on the schedule for the night for us. But first, we found a local bar next to the stadium and bellied up to watch the US vs. Belgium. When we arrived at 3:00PM local time, the bar was very quiet, maybe 20-25 people. By the time the game started, it was a huge party and there must have been 300 people, all rooting for the USA. We all suffered through the agonizing match, and everyone left disappointed with the result, but many were still upbeat with the success of the team. I was most proud of Deandre Yedlin of the hometown Seattle Sounders and his excellent performance for the squad. We then headed to the ballgame, the Cubs vs. Red Sox. We entered the stadium and immediately there was the reason for everyone coming to Fenway Park, the Green Monster in left field. We made our way all around the park, taking lots of pictures and eventually got to our seats. The day was sweltering, and the warm beers did not help, with our poor seats, we only lasted 5-6 innings and it was time to get out ahead of the crowds as we still had at least a 90 minute trip home. Super glad we were able to see the old stadium, but I do not think I need to make a return trip, just was not one of my favorite ballparks.

Outside of Fenway Park

Our ‘not so great’ seats at Fenway, Section 9

The Green Monster, Fenway

Wednesday we decided to make it to town via a different route, taking the commuter train this time. The station was a lot closer, but also cost $40 round trip for us to both go downtown, making our commute time only about an hour this time – worth it! Again another very warm and humid day, we decided to walk the north side of the Freedom Trail with our main destination the USS Constitution. This mighty sailing vessel was built in the late 1700’s and is still floating, amazing testimony to the designers and builders. We were treated to a talk by a 20-year old US Navy sailor, who was very entertaining, and delivered a great account of the old grandma’s battle history and accomplishments. Next, we walked our way back to town, and completed the rest of the Freedom Trail before grabbing a bite to eat at a great spot in Little Italy and calling it a day. The heat was taking its toll on us and we headed home, luckily catching an express train that only made 2-3 stops instead of the normal 10-12. The weather was changing, and we wanted to get the MoHo ready for the rain.

Aboard the USS Constitution

Traci and Paul Revere

Thursday morning was a busy one. When we made our reservations at the campground a few months back, they didn’t have a site for the whole time we were there, so we knew we were going to have to move the MoHo half way through because others hard already reserved our specific site for that time. We packed everything up and drove the 80 feet to another site and got everything set up again. Looking back, I actually enjoyed the second site a lot more anyway. Next we headed back into Boston, this time driving in. We had reservations in town at a hotel to be able to stay there for the nights of the 3rd and 4th, so as to not have to commute during the 4th and late night fireworks. All was good, until hurricane Arthur decided to move up the east coast and everyone started to adjust plans. On top of it, our great friend Bill was coming to stay with us for awhile and he was enroute to meet us for the fireworks scheduled for the 4th. We got to the hotel and checked in, and it was nice to have so much space, and super high-speed internet for a change. We decided to relax, as now the fireworks show had been moved up to the 3rd in anticipation of Arthur’s arrival, and we knew it was to be a late night. We had a boring meal at the hotel, and then headed out about 7:00PM with our chairs to find a spot on the river to watch the show. We got to the viewing area about 7:45PM, along with the rest of Massachusetts, and finally got through the security line by about 8:45PM and set our chairs up. The Boston Pops and Beach Boys were playing at the Hatch Shell and it was nice that they had speakers set up so all spectators could hear without having to be right at the stage. The fireworks show started at 10:10PM, 20 minutes earlier than planned, I thought I heard them say the weather was coming in? The show was great, about 30 minutes, but it was a lot of standing and waiting, again in the heat and humidity, and then it was over. We headed to the subway to return to the hotel, and 50 yards from the station entrance we felt our first raindrops, they were right on with the forecast. About 5 seconds later, the heavens opened up and in the time it took for us to run to the station entrance we were completely soaked! Traci said “it was like someone just dumped several buckets of water right on us” and it was true, amazing how fast it just drenched us and everyone else. Well, that made for a very sticky, chaotic, and exciting train ride, everyone just literally stuck to each other, about half dry and half of us soaked, very entertaining to say the least. We made it back to the hotel, and Bill was set to arrive in about 1:00AM, so we had already made a plan to meet him in the lobby the next morning.

Awaiting the Fireworks at the Esplanade along the Charles River

We got up and met Billy in the lobby Friday at 9:00AM – so great to see him! (Earlier, we canceled our 2nd night reservation at the hotel since the fireworks were moved up, no reason to spend the extra money). We decided to drive around downtown for a while and go find a breakfast place near Harvard. We ended up at a great little place and devoured our meals, I think we were all a bit hungry. Next, a walking tour of the Harvard Square area, despite the raindrops, it was very neat little part of town. We then made our way back across town to the Harpoon Brewery in “southy” (South Boston) and got there just before the masses. When we left there 45 minutes later there was a 30 minute line to just get in the doors! The real rains of Arthur had now arrived and we could no longer do any outdoor activities. With World Cup games playing, we decided to meet a good friend of Bill’s son, Brian, at a local watering hole and had a nice visit with him. We stopped off for some taco makings and kenneled in back at the MoHo, and watched the Super Bowl all over again – what a way to complete the day!

One of the many, many brick buildings at Harvard

One of the many, many,many brick buildings at Harvard

The campus area was surrounded by gateways into the campus area

The perimeter was surrounded by gateways into the campus area

Saturday we headed north in the car with Bill, he had seen a town on the coast to go explore, Salisbury Beach. We drove in, and it was a typical little East coast beach town, a few restaurants, tourist shops, arcades, etc. We walked a bit, and then landed on the Upper Deck bar, overlooking the ocean with a nice cool breeze. What a spot, perfect little deck, and ice cold ones for us, we never wanted to leave. We all got hungry eventually, so we walked about 50 yards up the beach to the Surf Side restaurant and sat down overlooking the ocean, and ordered some lunch. They had a very good solo musician playing some great tunes and we were in full relaxation mode now, full bellies and great tunes, life was perfect. We returned to the MoHo, made a fire and polished off some vino with Billy, another great day! Sunday brought our end to Boston, and we made our way up to Portland, ME.

Our perfect spot overlooking the beach at the Upper Deck Bar

p.s. We have many more pics to share, but can’t seem to get strong enough wifi to upload them to a photo stream. Will try again from the next location.

“The Cape” 6/25/14 – 6/28/14

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Driving out to Cape Cod felt a bit like driving down to the Keys in Florida. It is an island more or less that has one main road in and out. I had always heard of Cape Cod but was never quite sure where it was. Now I know! It is the very southeastern point of Mass which made for a short drive from Newport, RI for us. Our campground was in the town of Dennis Port on the southern side of the Cape, right on Nantucket Sound. Campers Haven Campground catered more toward its full-time trailer residents than part time visitors like us, but the location just couldn’t be beat. We quickly got settled, then decided to make the drive up to Provincetown (P-town), all the way to the tip of the Cape or Upper Cape as it is called. We parked, then just walked up and down the main avenue, Commercial Street. It was pretty busy with tourists crisscrossing the streets, kids eating ice cream, bicycles whizzing by and musicians playing on street corners. A very cute, liberal little town. Apparently, this is where the Mayflower originally landed before heading to Plymouth. Someone had given us the tip to come here back in Everglades City, FL and we are glad we took them up on it. We made our way back down Hwy 6 to Dennis Port and stopped in at Clancy’s for dinner for a great meal and view and even better service. Back at the MoHo, we took a quick bike ride out to the water, then battened down the hatches for the coming rain.

I LOVED this house, Provincetown, MA

The beach at our MoHo park

Thursday was the U.S. vs. Germany soccer match, so we started the day with breakfast and mimosa’s. It was pouring rain outside, so we didn’t feel too guilty. We lost to Germany, but with the Portugal win vs. Ghana, made it the next round. Pfew! We ended up not leaving the MoHo the whole day. This is a rare occurrence, but with the rain and soccer on, we decided to just have a day to relax. Got a few projects done, caught up on bills, etc. I need to remind myself that we don’t have to be on the go every single day. Felt great to have a day like this!

World Cup command center, watching 2 games at once!

The next day, we decided to make the trip north to Plymouth, located off the Cape closer to Boston. First stop was at the local visitor center and we got a very helpful lady who gave us the lay of the land. It is a fairly small town, with most sights within walking distance. There is a main street at sea level then the town kind of tiers upward, so each street looks out toward the bay. We had a great day exploring including seeing the Mayflower replica and Plymouth Rock. The story goes that the rock signifies the first landing of the pilgrims here in 1620, but I think there are variations of the story and the rock has been moved around a bit. There were many other fee-based exhibits to see here, but we preferred to just walk around and take in the monuments and township. The best view was from the historic cemetery up on Burial Hill where it was clear why this was such a strategic place for the pilgrims to settle. Two long peninsulas on either side protect the bay, with a smaller opening for ships to be able to approach, so they could see ‘em coming! I’m really glad we made the trek up to Plymouth, we almost skipped it.

The Mayflower 2, a replica of the original in Plymouth

This is where Plymouth Rock is located, shadows prevented us from getting a good shot of the rock itself.

Mike out on the breakwater in Plymouth

View from Burial Hill. You can see the peninsulas and the narrow entryway for ships.

View from Burial Hill. You can see the overlapping peninsulas and the narrow entryway for ships.

On our last day, we planned a day trip to Martha’s Vineyard. We had made reservations a few days back on the Hy-Line ferry out of Hyannis Port, about a 15-mile drive from our park. They had all kinds of options, high speed or traditional with trips to Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket or both. We opted for the traditional ferry to the Vineyard only as we didn’t want to be rushed trying to do both islands in one day. If we had more time, we would have planned a separate trip to Nantucket. It was $86 for roundtrip tickets with our bikes which is the least expensive option we could find without having to drive all the way to Woods Hole. We were up early to catch the 9:25 ferry, for an hour and 40 min. crossing. The day could not have been better, as Mike said, it was a “Chamber of Commerce Day.” We found a few seats on the upper deck and enjoyed the crossing through Nantucket Sound. The Vineyard is made up of 6 towns; we landed at Oak Bluffs, which I think is the most touristy of the bunch. We got on our bikes and headed out to Edgartown, about a 5-mile ride, much of it right along the beautiful coastline. I was surprised by how turquoise blue the water was. It was a Saturday, so the beaches were pretty full up. We were both a bit sweaty and fatigued by the time we arrived in Edgartown. We locked up our bikes and decided to get lunch and a refreshment to reward ourselves for the ride :). We then walked around town and stopped in some shops, most of which were pretty high-end expensive. It was then time to make the ride back to Oak Bluffs, where we parked the bikes and explored town a bit. Beautiful homes with amazing views. We had about an hour before the 5:15 ferry departure, so we found a patio bar on the marina and just sat and watched the activity. It appeared that there were either tourists like us, or locals who all owned boats and came in from the Cape for the weekend to stay at their vacation homes. Wish we were on the latter end of that equation! The ferry ride home was gorgeous and we again sat up on the top deck to take it all in. We arrived back in Hyannis around 7pm and found the best little Italian joint for dinner, Four Seasons. It was a great day. I had always dreamed about riding a bike in Martha’s Vineyard. We’d love to come back someday and explore some of the other towns that may not be as commercialized. We ended up riding 14 miles on our bikes, so we both slept well! I realize that for seasoned bike riders this is not far, but we are newbies getting back into bike riding, so it felt like a lot to me. Did you know…Jaws was filmed in Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard?!

Next up, Boston Baby!

Leaving Hyannis Port on the ferry

Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard

Relaxing in Edgartown

Love the houses!

Biking the Vineyard!

Ferry Ride home, “a diary day!”

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