October 4, 2025
Coachella has been put to bed for the season and will wake up from hibernation in the spring. Ruth did much of the winterization process with direction from me. 3 1/2 gallons of the pink stuff pumped through the lifeline of the coach and she has been embalmed to protect all the pipes from bursting due to our cold New England winters.
Surgery for me will be underway in a few weeks and with effort I’m sure I’ll be back to 100% mobility sometime around the holidays. For 2026 we’ve scaled back our travel ambitions and will focus our travels to the New England / New York state area.
September 4, 2025
Concluding 2025 Camping season
Sit back, grab a coffee, tea, wine or beer of your choosing and enjoy our 2025 Adventures on the road.
August 24, 2025
We would have been in VT and riding the bikes on a nice trail overlooking a huge lake viewing into Canada today but instead the coach sits in our driveway here in Connecticut. My mobility is reduced but I am ambulatory so I’m thankful for that. Now comes the task of unloading the coach of everything we stowed for the 2025 season. Leaving food, blankets, pillows, etc., in the coach of the winter is just an invitation for critters to make themselves at home and in the process wrecking the coach. Previous owners parked Coachella in storage area, but that’s not the best thing for a coach unless you plan to inspect it weekly and start the generator. We keep Coachella right at home and nearly everyday take a walk through to make sure everything is intact.
Today will be a warmish day, although the past few days here in Connecicut does not feel like August at all and more like mid-September. Temperatures in the morning are in the 50’s but does warm to the mid-80’s by the afternoon.
The coach will be buttoned up within the next two months but for now it’s time to get the coach unpacked. We have to dump the tanks which we planned to do last week but my back issues got in the way. We’ll flush the tank out while at the dumping station. Sometime next month we will flush out the water lines and pump the pink RV antifreeze through her to ensure a safe winter rest.
This year we will not cover the coach. Mixed feelings about covering. When the wind whips up during the winter the cover thrashes against the sides of the coach badly. I’m sure that is not good for the finish. Since we have a new roof now and the AC is less than 2 hours old, not covering is probably the right decision. Plus, I won’t have to climb on the roof which is great.
August 20, 2025
Camping season 2025 has been cut short for us. Doctor visits and consultations have made the decision for us to cancel the rest of our travels. It is a sad day since we put a lot of effort into making the coach perfect for our next outing. New AC unit and rebuilt leveling system will have to wait until 2026 season to really exercise them.
The next challenge will be winterizing the coach which we will do over the next few weeks. Putting Coachella Birdy away so soon in the season is a bit like closing your pool down with a month still left in the summer season. Oh yeah, we have to close our pool up too while I can still somewhat move around a bit.
August 17, 2025
All the prep work you do is erased when your body revolts. Been having back issues for years and today I culminated with an Ambulance ride to ER. I could not walk. Got heavy duty meds so I can walk now but can not drive. So our VT is cancelled.
August 13, 2025
Prep work continues for our next hopefully trouble free road trip to Newport Vermont. The new Airxcel (Coleman) A/C unit was installed last night. Fairly straight forward installation, the most concerning was getting the old one off the roof and the new one in place. Entire time for the install was a bit under 2 hours. MP RV Pros RV Mobile service was fantastic. A great communicator, verified everything would work before arriving. Two man team kept things safe. Clean working and fast. https://mprvpros.com/about-us-mp-rv-pros-mobile-rv-inspection-and-repair . Highly recommend Mark for any kind of RV work you can’t handle if you life in the Connecticut area.
The new A/C, although the same model and brand as the original, the new unit is so much quieter and efficient. We had a soft start module installed (Coleman) so now the unit can be run off a 15A circuit and is much easier on the generator when we boondock. Very happy with the outcome.
August 10, 2025
Really nice sunny and hot today, in the not too distant future we’ll be seeing sub-freezing day temperatures so enjoy the day! Today I replaced the house disconnect relay. This small device is used to shut off 12VDC to the living area of the RV (basically everything behind the drivers seat). Nothing in the coach will run without 12VDC (except the stove). On our last trip I was having to crawl under the coach and wiggle the wires on the relay so I figured it was time to replace the bugger. When removing the old relay today I noticed the 6AWG wire feeding the house had its ring-lug improperly crimped (from the factory?). This may have been the issue and not a faulty relay. I did install the new relay but tested the old relay and it seems to function perfectly so that will go into the spare parts box.
In the process of installing the new relay I cleaned up all the connections, it looks like they are all original so 13+ years of copper oxidation was removed. Buttoned everything back up and tested and all is working great.
I also purchased some flexible galvanized hose to extend the generator exhaust away from the RV when running the gen. Not sure what was going through Jayco’s design team head when they placed the generator on this model. The generator exhaust exits right under the dinning area. I guess that’s one way your food can put you to sleep.
The A/C unit gets replaced Tuesday. We are installing a soft-start system on the unit which should make life easier on the generator when running the A/C. My next investigation is into the life-cycle of the propane hoses in the RV. Recently two women in Maine were killed when their RV exploded due to a propane leak (actually it looks like someone left a burner in the on position but not lit). In any case I am getting a little concerned about the rubber hoses used to pipe propane to the fridge, furnace, water heater, and stove.
August 7, 2025
Always fun sparking a conversation with fellow RV’ers. Today at Home Depot we had a nice chat with folks (Des & Brenda) and got a quick glimpse of their ’23 Ram Class B RV. Very cozy. Wish you folks the safest travels on your way to Washington state.
August 6, 2025
Another couple weeks and we will be back on the road again, this time to see a friend in upstate Vermont and maybe cross into Canada? The self-design leveling jack system works like a charm; cost was under $50 while Big Foot wanted $935 for a new controller. My design works great and is really quite simple with not much to go wrong. We bit the bullet and purchased a tow mounted bike rack for both the trike and bike. Very heavy duty and is a two person lift to get it on the hitch as well as loading the bikes. No folding bikes and putting in the coach basement. Now we have lots of room in the basement so we moved food and staples that was in the overhead bed area to the basement and there is still tons of room left. We relocated the vacuum to make getting the slide in and out easier. Sanitized the fresh water tank this week, always an easy task. The house battery disconnect relay is on order, the current one is still working and I relocated where it’s mounted so there is no physical interference from the house battery now. The house battery banging up against the relay probably is what was causing the issues. The air conditioner will be replaced sometime around the 15th. Stay tuned for more adventures in a few weeks.
July 23rd, 2025
We left Spacious Skies about 8:30 AM. Very nice stay here but mosquitos bombing was heavy. Nearly no traffic on our 120 mile route back home. Arrived safely at home before 11 AM. The pool looked great, very little dirt at the bottom and sparkling clear. Garden not looking so good, this will be two years straight with a less than fruitfull harvest. Generator was cranked up for 2 hours with a 2kW load. It is running very good. Had to replace a brake light bulb, Mobil/Exxon guy delivering fuel we topped before heading home gave us the heads up. Spent a couple hour on the levelers and spoke to the manufacturer again. My next project is designing and building a manual system. We ordered the parts today.
July 22nd, 2025
Yesterday was perfect weather, sunny but not too hot. Our heavily wooded and shade protected campsite only added to the perfection of having guests over for the afternoon. Brian & Maryrose and Jeff & Chrissy really was a nice visit. Shared family stories, current events, and had a few brews during the conversation. We were fortunate to be located where the local pizza shop delivers to the campground, so we ordered up a couple pies and finished up the day with a few slices and more stories. Thelma & Louise needed to be front and center and sat with us outside while we visited. Chrissy took Louise away for a short walk which I think both really liked.
Festivities wound down close to 6:30PM, we picked up around the site and settled in for a small campfire. The Thermocel really does a great job keeping the mosquitos at bay, but eventually the battery died and needed recharging. I believe the mosquitos heard the device turn off and started their attack shortly before 8PM so into the RV we retired.
Very nice sleeping weather with temperatures this morning hovering around 55 degrees. The coach has some self heating characteristics along with good insulation so inside we were still comfortable at 65 degrees. Today will be a relaxing day since it is our last day camping. Tomorrow we pull up stakes and head home which is a short 2 1/2 hour ride. Depending on the weather today we may head to the pool or just chill out here at the site.
July 21st, 2025
Very tired last night, I broke my 3 to 5 hours drive time yesterday and by 8PM I was exhausted. I am relieved I have a few days rest before the last 120 mile stretch to get home. The weather cooled quite a bit overnight. This morning temperatures were in the lower 60’s. This campground is very quiet and well run. If there were negatives to be said, mosquitos are plentiful. We could not sit outside last night which was ok since it was raining off and on. This morning I grabbed the Termacell and fired it up, and so here I sit blogging next to the mosquito force field. The device works quite well, no bugs around me.
The campground has a very clean shower area and showers are free! I don’t understand campgrounds that will charge $100 per night and feel it’s ok to charge for a 5 minute shower. This campground is the exception and a welcome find.
Ruth and I tried finding a grassy area for Thelma & Louise to do their duty, but this campground is mostly gravel, trees, and pine needles. We did find a spot that has some grass behind site 75, so Thelma thanked us for finding that spot. But last night the dogs didn’t do well and no peeing before bedtime. 4:20AM the pups were barking “get me out, I gotta go!” So we got an early start today.
Today we have company coming early afternoon. Brian & Mary Rose along with Jeff and Chrissy will be stopping by for a visit. I’ll keep the Thermacell chugging along to keep the bugs away.
July 20th, 2025
Had to take a couple day off from the blog, we consumed all of our allotted 50G of cell phone data plan. Today we hit the road very early, 7:30AM! Long drive to Littleton, MA from Bar Harbor. Lots of traffic, mostly on the boarder between Maine and NH. Many, I mean many, total idiot drivers mostly driving their entitled Tesla’s feeling they own the road or young foolish drivers that don’t understand what directional signals are for or merging. Nearly took out a Tesla who thought its’ ok to pass me in the breakdown lane. Glad to be off the road after a six hour trek. We did pull over at a service area to eat a quick salad in the coach, take the pups out, and just de-stress for a little bit.
This campground is very shaded and tight backing in but I’ve become accustom to parking this beast. Sadly, no grassy area for the dogs to go potty. We have the portable AC running to take the humidity out of the coach and is working ok. Once the sun goes down it will get cool and we are to get a bit of rain tonight. Super friendly staff. Will post photos a bit later.
July 18th, 2025
What a difference in weather. Got up this morning and you would think it’s mid-September. Very breezy and chilly but very sunny. Cooked up some home fries this morning. My rendition of home fries includes jalapeños, onions, potatoes and spices. The onions and jalapeños can be overwhelming if cut and cooked in the coach, so outside I went preparing and cooking the food. Eggs we cooked in the coach and proceeded to eat outside enjoying the brisk Maine morning air.
Today the plan is to take the pups for another ride and later head over to the lobster pound with the bikes for a lobster lunch. Crossing Route 3 with the bikes may be challenging but certainly easier than Route 12 in Kitty Hawk.
July 17th, 2025
Nice cooler and overcast day, the perfect day to head to Bar Harbor. So with dogs leading the way we walked to the bus stop at the campground entrance and took the Down East bus to Bar Harbor. It really is a testament to the successful tourism business of Bar Harbor and the entire area. With more than a half-dozen bus routes, from anywhere on Desert Island a person can go anywhere in the area all for no charge! LL Bean donates a ton of money to the bussing company and these guys do a great job, and will even pick up folks anywhere along the route by just waving your hands in the air.
We arrived at the green about 11:30AM and walked directly to Bar Harbor Beerworks just as they opened. We enjoyed a nice sour, burger, fish ‘n chips and fried mozzarella. Afterward we walked to the liquor store and picked up a few beers since we still have a few days left at the campground. Lucky I had a backpack and so we stuffed the beers into the pack and away we went. The pups are people magnets, and all along our walk so many folks were saying “oh, how cute” and many many “oh, can I pet them”. A few times kiddingly I replied “it’s $10 for loving up the pups”.
We got back to the campsite about 1:30PM and the dogs were shot. Thelma & Louise zonked out on the couch (along with me). We chilled for the day mostly in the coach. Our neighbors (from Ohio) had their son’s family over for the day (they live in the area). They stayed quite a while and not to infringe on their family time we hung out inside. One thing you learn about camping, everything is a shared space.
July 16th, 2025
Yesterday we had our lobsah lunch at the Bar Harbor Lobster Pound which is conveniently located across the street from the campground entrance. Gone are the days of a $12 lobster dinner and come to present day price of about $33 for just the lobster or $38 if you want corn and slaw. We opted for just the lobster and were very pleased with the lunch. We’ll be heading back there before our trip is over.
We gave the pups a ride yesterday in the Lectric wagon. Louise, who we thought would not like the ride, loved it but her big sister Thelma barked the entire trip through the campground. Lucky for the campers we did this trip mid-afternoon else Thelma would have woken everyone up if we did the trip at 7AM.
It was a warm one and had to connect up the AC in the coach. Temperatures peaked out at about 97 degrees with very little breeze. The AC was a little help and kept the temp inside the coach to under 85 degrees. Once the sun went down temps moved back into the upper sixties and was a comfortable night sleeping without the AC.
We took the bikes with dogs in tow to Mainely Meat for lunch. What a terrific eatery and dog friendly. We parked the bikes in a car spot and set the alarms and we had a nice lunch. MM was a breakfast, lunch & dinner establishment prior to the pandemic but like so many other businesses the COVID plague really took it’s toll on MM too. Now MM is just lunch and dinner. No longer do they smoke brisket daily and not even sure they smoke their own meat any longer, but the food is really tasty.
After lunch we walked to the heated pool and took a quick dip then retreated back to the campsite. Another warm day with the AC running for a little while but temps were not as warm as yesterday.
here
July 15th, 2025
Yesterday was an overcast day and temperatures only in the low 70’s. Our plans for this trip was to get to downtown Bar Harbor a few times and yesterday seemed like a good day to make the trek with the pups. We hopped on the bus and arrived at the green just before 11AM. One of the local ice cream shops serves up sugar-free of the desired treat so we sat outside CJ’s until they opened. This place is a small mom & pop business and we got to witness a good lesson for today’s youths… you know, the ones where everyone gets a trophy and the “whatever” crowd. The owner was late opening up the shop because the kid that was suppose to open was late and not the first time this week. The kid earns $27 per hour with tips and is not 18 yet (BTW, I was making $2.15 per hour at his age). The owner arrived about 10 past 11AM and proceeded to lecture the kid in front of customers and ended with “get out of here, your fired!” The owner apologized to the customers but also said “I don’t even make $27 per hour and I’m the owner”. So many young adult just have crappy attitudes work, community, society, and good manners.
We enjoyed our ice cream and proceeded to stroll down to a little eatery and grabbed a light lunch. Ruth had duck sausage and I had a crab cake burger, but started off the main course with a local seaweed salad and a beer. Pups enjoyed the place and were loved up by the staff, they seem to be the focal point where ever we were on the street.
We headed back to the campground to relax for the day. The blueberry fields were inviting so I decided to head out and pick another pint of the morsels. Between my picking in the morning and the afternoon harvest, I picked and froze 2 pints of blueberries to enjoy at a later date. By 8PM the dogs were zonked out from all the walking so everyone was in bed by 9PM.
Today we hope to have a lobster lunch at the pound that is across the street from the campground. The pups have been itching to get into the wagon, so take a stroll with the bikes and dogs in tow is also on the agenda.
July 14th, 2025
Well, yesterday the levelers continue to elude us, so the big slide isn’t being deployed. This makes for a bit more cramped living area but still livable. We are super fortunate that the weather hasn’t been really too hot and just running the fans and windows open makes for very comfortable temps in the coach. At night it’s been chilly, chilly enough to wear sweats and shut the windows at night.
We did a short bike ride today, which basically was around the campground. Surprisingly that totaled nearly 1 mile. Ruth’s trike is a bit tricky to ride and since Ruth hasn’t been on the thing since last fall we decided to take it slow and short for the first time. I have a bike and I did two laps with the dog wagon attached. We aren’t too sure how they are going to like the wagon, at each bump the wagon doesn’t bounce around a bit. We’ll probably take them for a spin tomorrow.
We ate an early lunch at Mainely Meat, one of favorite breakfast stops years ago. They have changed a bit over the past 5 years. No long breakfast, just lunch and dinner and they no serve brisket which is a bit let down. Lucky for us the eatery is just a few hundred feet from our campsite. An ice cream shop is next door but they continue not to serve sugar-free ice cream, so we skipped ice cream and will get that in Bar Harbor.
July 13th, 2025
Nice chilly night sleeping, woke up to 60 degree weather. We are here for another week so there may not be daily inputs to the blog but I will try. I did have a vision last night just prior to sleeping. The leveling jacks, when they were turned on, just wanted to retract the jacks. Then I was thinking, “did I set the emergency brake?” That would probably cause the controller to think that the coach was ready to move if the brake wasn’t on. So, once quiet hours expire today at 8AM I will ensure the emergency brake is set and try the levelers again.
July 12th, 2025
Great night sleep, cool night that dropped to the lower 60’s. A very foggy morning but we are in no hurry to get on the road since check in isn’t until 2PM at our Bar Harbor destination. But we did get on the road by 9AM and took a slow approach to Bar Harbor. Nice day for driving, not a lot of traffic and wasn’t real sunny. Stopped off in Ellsworth to pick up some groceries and arrived at the campground by 12:15PM. Nice level spot overlooking Frenchmen’s bay. All set up within 15 minutes only to realize the leveling hydraulic jacks are malfunctioning. We spent about an hour futzing with them and calling mobile RV tech guys but being the weekend we are out of luck until Monday. The down side is the main slide can not be pushed out without the levelers doing their job. The site is perfect with a very large wild blueberry field right behind our spot.
July 11th, 2025
Had a quick breakfast at CB and on the road by 8:15AM. Quick stop at the NH liquor store to save some money and made it to Willows Awake by 12:30PM.
Willows Awake is really an awesome Harvest Host. Tony, the owner, is a very interesting guy and we found out we shared a lot of common work and interests. Tony worked for years in the paper industry and his wife had a career in the semiconductor world (Fairchild). The wines were quite good with the Spring Peeper being one of our favorites. The restaurant had a nice atmosphere about it with what I would call upscale light fair type dining. Ruth had the Hamburger minus the roll and I had the stuffed Jalapeno’s. We did purchase a few bottles of wine along with the tiny sipping glasses (for brandy). The property was quite large with area that support large wedding receptions and other type events. Toby McAllister entertained us starting at 6PM and while only a single person performing, he blended music of Green Day, Blind Mellon, Darius Rucker, Bruce Springsteen, Kris Kristofferson, and many other familiar tunes. Rain greeted us by 7:30PM so Toby moved from outside to under the big tent, so it was like our own concert. What a great day.
July 10th, 2025
Made it to Cracker Barrel safely. Very big accident just 3 miles from our destination so we took back roads and we made it ok. I84 and I90 in the Charlton area have been experiencing many serious accidents.
We had a nice dinner with Dan & Judi which is always fun.
July 9th, 2025
Houston, we have a problem. Murphy struck us with a tripple whammy! First, the battery disconnect solonoid is on its way out. Not an expensive item but without it nothing in the coach functions. Hopefully it doesnt give us trouble. Then checking out the generator and AC, the AC compressor decided to stall causing an over current condition. AC is toast, having a guy to replace this at the end of the month. Gen was running fine, even after the tripped breaker but decided to check it to see if would run our small house portable AC unit we are bringing with us. The gen started surging. It did this last year and a Seafoam treatment fixed the issue. This year it helped but it still surges a little but is making AC voltage (a good thing). Onan generators are great when they run but like an English car that isnt often.
This isnt hampering our exit and hope to be on the road soon.
July 5th, 2025
Beginning the packing process for our departure of July 10th. First stop will be Cracker Barrel followed by a Winery and eventually overlooking Frenchman’s Bay in Bar Harbor…. Ruth is cooking up some eggplant parmesan that we’ll freeze and take with us.
May 19, 2025
Bright and early start and on the road by 6:45 AM. Traffic was very light today and made it home before 9 AM including the tank dump at the Wallingford rest area on I-91 South. Unpacked and all situated by 11AM which gave me time to debug the levelers that gave us issued on Friday. After spending 20 minutes futzing around I concluded there is really nothing wrong with the levelers and everything is working normally. We did have a solar flare last Wednesday and the resulting CME hit the earth Friday so perhaps that was the issue? It’s a stretch, but that’s my explaination for now.
May 18, 2025
Another day at Norbrook. Robin & Andy stopped by as did Aaron and Candi and had a nice visit. A bit overcast most of the day and later in the day rain broke out. Very chilly and windy evening with wind gusts to 35 MPH. The parking area void of everyone but us. Chilled out in the coach for a few hours and then off to slumber land.
May 17, 2025
Arrived at Norbrook Brewery this morning, bright and early and got out favorite spot to park complete with picnic table, grassy area for the pups and secluded. Busy day for bike riders as the lot was filled up by 11AM and all the idiot bikers were out with their kids letting kids ride all over the place. I waited anxiously for one of the little shits to wipe out and skin their knees but no luck. Don’t take this the wrong way, but as my Dad always said “little kids are to be seen and not heard”. I fault the parents for not controlling their children. Later at the brewery another little shit, probably 3 years old, sipping water and spitting it on the ground and splashing people. Eventually the father came over and said “we are policing him, is he splashing you?” Dumb ass, yes. Then another father let their kid, probably 7 years old, walk on the tables where people were eating.
On a much better note we had a great visit with Mike & Ellen. We got to catch up on some crap, some sad some not so sad. It was terrific seeing M & E, enjoying some brews and burgers and nearly hoodwinked by Mike to buy him a red Jeep! Today was the Go Topless event. Very interesting event with a ton of 4-wheelers, mostly Jeeps, at the event. Lots of people and the weather was perfect; Rained in the morning but by 2PM the sun was out and was 80 degrees. Andy and Robin came a bit later and chilled out with us and the pups came down to the bear garden and chilled with us (really they were there for all the affection folks were giving them.
May 16, 2025
Adventuring continues. Off to Big Elm Brewery in Sheffield Massachusetts. We grew up in this area of the Berkshires and BEB is one of our favorite stops with Harvest Host. Very accommodating hosts, very quiet and they have some pretty good beers. This trip started off with some issue, which I guess is normal with a motorhome. One of the leveling jacks hydraulic pump decided to run while we were driving. Not a good thing at all and lucky for us it was trying to retract which it was already fully retracted. Emergency stop at BJ’s followed by another at the Meriden Mall to remedy the issue. In the end I disconnected all cables to the controller and we were on our way. I’ll be debugging the problem when we get home.
Happy Easter!
We are enjoying a quiet Easter at home cleaning up from our three week adventure on the road. Our garage becomes a catch all just prior to leaving on road trips and again when we dock home. Much reorganization needed to be done, moving the snow blower to the back of the garage and bring the lawn mower and rototiller to the front. Pack away the coach cover, reapply the tire covers to the coach and put the eBikes back in the garage. After a few hours work all is back in order.
Our next larger adventure is to Maine for about 10 days but until then we will be perhaps making weekend trips locally and continue destressing life.
April 13, 2025
Nice stay last night at Readington Brewery. Had some Tacos from the food truck and a few beers. The band started at 6 PM but was way too loud for the size of the venue, so we headed back to the coach and chilled. 7 AM start this morning and the weather held off with the sun poking out every so often. All docked at home by 11 AM.
About 2200 miles on this three week trip. No mis-adventures which was nice. Traffic was light each day we travelled. Highlights we meeting up with family and friends along the way.
April 12, 2025
A bit chilly, only 43 outdoors, this morning so the furnace was turned on to get the chill out of the coach. We are next to an Aldi so we will walk there and pick up a dozen eggs before hitting the road in a couple hours. Next stop New Jersey. Another rainy day driving, but fortunate it was only for about 150 miles. Arrived at Redington Brewery / Hop Farm just before 1 PM, set up and grabbed a flight. Good beers and a Mex food truck arrived about 1:30 PM. We headed back to the coach to keep the pups company and cook up a pizza and some stuffed mushrooms. Heading back down to the brewery after a Saturday family call.
April 11, 2025
44 degrees this morning with clearing skies. Cats were making a ruckus this morning at 4 AM and woke the dogs up. So by 5:30 AM breakfast was done, cat box cleaned, first cup of coffee finished and pets fed. We head to PA today, no early start since the brewery doesn’t open until 4 PM.
Nice stay at the Appalachian Brewing Company in Mechanicsburg, PA which is about 15 miles from Harrisburg. Food was good, but typical pub fried food. Beers were ok. Parking was super easy with lots of room to spread out. Very well lite at night. We had one fellow Harvest Host camper join us about 7 PM with their Cougar 5th Wheel. Lee, a friend of Ruth’s from Tai Chi lives in the area (Harrisburg) and drove to meet us. We had a very nice dinner with Lee and got to catch up a bit [Lee, Ruth, and a bunch of other Senior Center Folks have a 4PM Happy Hour call every Friday. Today’s call wasn’t virtual, but live with Lee!].
April 10, 2025
Our last day in the park. Just relaxing today. Yesterday we did take Thelma & Louise for a mile walk through the trails, they loved exploring. This morning at 5 AM some critter had its eyes on us. I could see them glistening about 30 feet from us, probably a fox or racoon. Super quiet here.
Ruth found this footage from the 1920s about the cave: https://digital.tcl.sc.edu/digital/collection/MVTN/id/7440
April 9, 2025
Very chilly night and morning here in the mountains. We had a hard freeze warning and the RV campground owners asked everyone to disconnect their water supply lines. Just before daybreak the temperature was 31 but dropped to 26 degrees by 8:30 AM. Sun is out now and warming things up a bit. Had heaters going all night, coach was a comfy 67 degrees and the floors were nice and warm.
Took a little bike ride this morning exploring this place which I found is very large.
April 8, 2025
After a good night sleep, off to the showers we trekked at 5 AM. Very chilly this morning on the walk to and from. We started the laundry, then showered. All the morning chores and garbage taken care of by 8:30AM so we headed off to the entrance of the park and signed up for the 10 AM Cavern tour with Jay. The buildings, including the registration area, were all build from 1920 through 1927 by the then owner Colonel Brown from Lime Stone from the local quarry. The cave discovery was actually discovered bytwo boys in October 1879, while hunting rabbits on the property of Ruben Zirkle. The boys cornered a rabbit behind an outcropping of limestone rocks and began moving some of the loose stones to flush the rabbit from his hiding place. After doing this they discovered a hole in the ground and ran back to the house to grab some ropes and candles. After going into the hole, the boys found that there were many chambers and rooms. Not long after the discovery, the Zirkles began doing candle lit tours through the cave. In 1919, the cave was bought by Colonel Brown who had the cave fully electrified for the August 1920 grand opening with a lighting design by Phineas Stephens. In 1928 more electric work was done and to this day more than 80% of the wiring is still in use.
Super interesting tour and recommend anyone driving through the area to stop and spend the 90 minutes traversing through the 1 mile lone paths of the cave and enjoying the 55 degree weather set 170 feet underground.
April 7, 2025
Super rainy day to travel today. Had to pull over twice in rest areas and rejuvenate myself. Violated by hours & miles today, generally 3 to 4 hours maximum drive time and 250 miles. Today was just too long on the road. Pulled into Endless Caverns after 5 1/2 hours on the road. This is a very isolated area in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia. The RV park is still in the off season and just opened for the season a week ago, so we have the park nearly to ourselves.
Having a campfire tonight. Strict rules on when fires can be had even with the drenching rain today. So a bit before sunset we started a small but warming campfire, had a little wine and brandy and then called it a night.
April 6, 2025
Got on the road very early today, actually all stuff stowed and on the road by 6:15AM. On the way out of Toccoa we stopped at the local Walmart and picked up a few essentials and then on the way to NC.. Rain started when we leaving Toccoa but soon after the sun started to break through the clouds but never accomplished what it was intending. Overcast most of the day but nice and warm. Made it to the Windsor Run Cellars by about noon. What a fantastic stop over. Super quiet and in Amish Country. We made new friends with the workers here (Lisa, Renee, and Jeff). Not very busy but it is off season still. Got a tour of the distillery and tasted some very nice spirits and wines. Harvest Hosts encourages members to spend at least $30 to $40 which we easily accomplished today.
The cats love the place, super nice fields that they can look out over and the dogs loved the area. Ended up taking the dogs into the establishment and of course they made their presence known.
April 5, 2025
Very relaxing but hot and humid day. Just chilled at the coach for the most part and then a very nice family get together with Alex & Pheonix at their home with their kids and grandkids. Kristen and her daughter stopped in too, so a really nice gathering. Many thanks for the great hospitality.
April 4, 2025
Two days into our stay at the Toccoa RV Park. This park is a little run down and rustic with most of the sites taken up by full time residents (I wouldn’t classify them as full time RV’ers). Traveling the US in an RV has enriched our understanding how people live life and survive. Our stay in Greenville was similar to this RV park with most of their sites taken up by residents or at least transient that needed a place to park and rejuvenate. Back in the 90’s we had a seasonal campsite in the Catskill Mountains and that campsite reminds us of where we are today. People are very friendly and there is a slew of cats running around; some friendly and some obviously feral. Doesn’t look like this RV park enforces the 10 yr rule on age of RVs. That is something that really was a concern when we purchased Coachella Birdy since she is now 13 years old but still looks new.
We had a nice visit with Ruth’s Aunt and Cousin Shelia and Leah. They too commented about this RV park. They said it was worse and they’ve cleaned the park up a bit. Our site is nice and quiet with song birds singing and not much road noise. Our three cats like looking out at the birds and the occasional cat that wonders by. Today we are heading out for lunch with Ruth’s cousin Alex and tomorrow a dinner with more of the family.
April 2, 2025
Getting ready to hit the road for Toccoa, GA. this morning. Nice weather yesterday and this morning. Thelma is feeling much better today. Will post later today more stories from today and photos. Thelma’s stool sample results came in early this morning, no parasites. This is great news. Traveling to so many different places/environments run the risks of picking up a nasty bug but Thelma’s issue was perhaps just stress related. Meds are all doing the right thing.
The John (Jack) Carroll aircraft collection.
Ruth & I planned our trip to see Uncle Jack & Aunt Shelia last fall, sadly John (Jack) passed away in late November. Bitter sweet visit but had a nice time visiting with Shelia, Leah, Alex, Sadie, & Zoe for lunch today. Tomorrow will be dinner with a larger number of the Carroll folks.
April 1, 2025
On the road by 8:15AM, Thelma was ill starting yesterday. This was an easy choice since Hilcrest Animal Hospital was located close by. Bloodwork showed no issues, we will know about the stool sample tomorrow. The vet gave us a couple drugs for Thelma that we will give her for the next week. What a great vet for getting us in on a moments notice and gave us a $50 discount.
March 31, 2025
Very nice sleeping weather last night and the pets didn’t wake us up until 5AM today! Very wet today and rain is in the forecast but the rain is needed. Had our coffee, breakfast, and ready to start the day in Greenville. The downside of travelling with pets; Snickers nocked the cat litter box over…. argh. Clean up time. Next, lets play in the water “Stop playing in the water!”. Oh, and then there is Thelma who never does a naughty indoors. Well today she wasn’t feeling to well after breakfast. She seems fine now but the day will tell.
March 30, 2025
On our way to Greenville, SC. Really no traffic to speak of while trekking the 240 miles or so. Nice flat roads for the most part, majority of the route was RT85 south.. The campground is on the “other side of town”. I’ve been told the area not too far from here is a crime area, but the park is really nice and quiet. Many RV’ers here are full time permanent folks. It truely is a small world; The manager of the site (Paul) is a Ham Radio guy (spotted the antenna by his RV). His call sign is WF1G, the 1 can designate a North East call sign (like mine). Paul is from Waterbury CT and worked at Yale in the IT department. Like I said, a small world.
Jen & Jim popped in for a visit yesterday. We got to break bread with them and play a few board games. Always good to have company. I’m sure well see similar when we trek to Georgia in a few days. It did rain very heavily yesterday and that did help control the wild fires in the are (now 24% contained). The news this morning stated this is the biggest wildfire in the US currently.
March 29, 2025
An early morning start begins with the Cats jumping on us in bed at 4AM, followed by pet breakfast for the the Cats and Dogs the for Ruth & I. Today we had all morning tasks done by 5AM and then started on breakdown of the camp site. Empty Cat box and garbage and walk to the dumpster. Next dumping the black and grey water tanks and stowing that stuff followed by raising the leveling jacks. Then back off the leveling ramps and stowing all the leveling blocks and ramps. Then came disconnecting water and electric lines and stowing this stuff away. Dogs were put in their crate and off we went at 6:15AM!
The road trip to Mabane, NC. was uneventful and really nice roads except for construction for a bit on I-40. We pulled into Bright Penny Brewery at 11:45AM and had ourselves a couple beers and a small “Salt & Sweet” Pizza. Heading back for dinner later since there is a live band.
March 25, 2025 thru March 28, 2025
When we are on the road, sleeping late is not an option. Caramel was crying in my ear at 3:45AM wanting me to get up. 4AM Cats were fed and dogs were out (had to do this before Pitch and Daisy were out). Super quiet here and the views are just awesome. The trek to Kitty Hawk was an easy ride. The bridge / tunnel was pretty easy and traffic was manageable for a week day even thru Virginia Beach. Set up about 200 feet from the ocean, just over the dune. We took the dogs there and they loved it. The camp sites are real tight here. The plan was to use our eBikes but the only place to ride is in the road to get to the bike path which is about a mile away. So eBikes arestaying stowed away. Great weather, 50s in the AM with 60s by mid day. Beach is great and the dogs love running around.
March 24, 2025
Breakfast at 7AM at the Cracker Barrel in Mount Laurel. Rainy morning and rain most of the way to our next destination. Rain makes for long days when driving, the 5 hours on the road felt more like 12 hours. Made our way to The Great Machipongo Clam Shack. We started going to this place probably 15 years ago on our way to the Outer Banks. The owners want to retire, so the place is for sale (only $1.4M). Our final stop today was only about 4 miles from the Clam Shack, so after lunch we headed over and met Federico and told us where to park. We are over looking a large river that dumps into the Chesapeake Bay. We can see the Bay to the left of our coach. Very windy and rainy but should pass by 7PM tonight. Hoping for no winds tomorrow else we will have to wait to cross the Bridge/Tunnel.
March 23,2025
ON road, first leg of trip complete. No issues and a really nice Sunday drive. Had to fill up the gas tank, used 8 gallons over the winter running the generator and engine every so often. Next was a trip to the Gulf station at Exit 9 on I-91 south. My Nigerian friend had never filled an RV before (nor have I)… the blind leading the blind. But we filled it and no explosions!
Making our way down I-91 to I-95, then I-287 and eventually to the NJ Turnpike. Opted not to do the GSP. Overall a nice trip. The Tappan-Zee was the bridge I took quite often but has since been replace by this this.
Not that long ago I actually worked less than 1/2 mile from here at 7000 Atrium Way in Mount Laurel. Many a trips from CT to head to the hub. Don’t miss those days but the area has changed a lot.
We pulled into Cracker Barrel and all the spots for RVs and Busses were taken by the dick wads with with there Mercedes, BMWs, and Audis. So we took up two car parking spots.
Had a nice late lunch, Ruth had a NY Strip and I had the Creole Shrimp and Andouille Sausage over grits. Very filling and soon after we meandered our way back to Coachella Birdy and had a Martini. Nice weather in the mid-50’s. Resting up for our 240 mile or so trip to Virginia.
**** UPDATE – March 10, 2025 ****
The clock is ticking ever closer to our launch later this month. The coach is nearly 100% ready, just have to de-winterize the water lines this week. Temperatures here in Connecticut seemed to have normalized to above freezing temperatures over night so it’s now safe to dump the anti-freeze from the water lines and pressurize the system and look for any potential issues.
Most groceries are stocked minus the perishables. The furnace is operating normally and the refrigerator functions perfectly on propane and AC power. Both slide outs function fine and the leveling jacks are working well.
If we grabbed your attention on how much “fun” traveling the USA in a motorhome can be, even with 3 Cats and 2 Dogs, well stay tuned. 2025 hopes to be another year of adventures in the USA. Spring is just a few short weeks away and we are shaking the snow off ourselves and heading out on the road.
In 2024 our travel plans headed us to the mid-west traveling as far as Devils Tower, Wyoming. The stops along the way were, well, breath taking. The bad lands is certainly on our revisit agenda and the folks along the way were all down to earth ‘normal’ folks. The breweries, wineries, farms, and distilleries we called home for at least one night were very welcoming. The private hosts were also quite interesting with the in Iowa at the RedBrick Farm still is very memorable (https://www.okobojiredbrickfarm.com/). So stay tuned for 2025 adventure is in the final planning stages.
The spring 2025 adventure has nearly started and will be followed by a few New England trips later this summer. Amateur Radio gear is coming along this year and hope to have MARC track us down on our road trip.
So if you enjoyed viewing our daily blogs in 2024 and watching the culmination video that captured all our stays, well then 2025 will be more of the same. This year we hope to have more videos of our stays and we’ll be somewhat mobile on this trip since we now have e-bikes with a trailer to have Thelma and Louise along for the short bike rides we take.
Coachella 