Coachella

June 15, 2026

Keeping busy relaxing, so busy that I didn’t blog on the 14th but catching up on photos and event for the 15th. Today (Monday) was a cooler day and overcast most of the day so no sitting by the pool. We took advantage of the iffy weather and went shopping in Lake George and Bolton. The shopping was mostly drifting through various ‘junk’ shops but Ruth did buy the long awaited leather ‘cowboy’ hat (actually this one is a Bushmen’s hat. In addition to the hat, two small leather purses made it’s way out of the store. Love the smell of leather and the shop where we got the goods was filled with leather jackets, boots, hats, and gloves which were reasonably priced.

Earlier in the morning I decided to take a bike ride to Glens Falls which is about an 8 mile trek. I had to leave a trail of breadcrumbs to find my way back. Although there are exceptional bike routes stretching from Glens Falls to Lake George, none are marked very well. Aside from a short stretch of highway biking, the trek to Glens Falls was a paved dedicated bike route. I returned back to the campsite just before noon but the clouds were rolling in and the shopping suggestion was made.

Before leaving for the shopping spree, Ruth popped a marinated chicken into the crock pot. We arrived back at the camp just in time for the 4PM Cocktail hour and readying dinner. This night it was the camping neighbor feast, so Mike, Ellen, Ruth & I had a very nice dinner with consisted of the crockpot chicken with steamed Broccoli & Cauliflower, and Dill Pickle Pasta Salad. Desert followed which was a low carb ice cream bar. The night capped off with some fun around the campfire. What a great day!

June 13, 2026

Today was another warm day with near perfect sunshine, just a few passing clouds to cover the sun. More or less a relaxing Saturday hanging out at the campsite, taking a trek on the local bike trail and spending time relaxing at one of the pools. The splash pad was so refreshing, while the heated pool temperature felt really nice after getting drenched by the splash pad. The hot tub area was quite large and spending a few minutes in that warmth sure felt nice.

The campground has a restaurant near the pool so grabbing a hot fudge sundae was a nice treat. $17 for two small sundae seemed excesive but what the heck. After baking in the sun at the pool it was time to head back to the campsite and settle in for the day. We had a small campfire and spent time enjoying conversations with Mike & Ellen with the occationally anoying smoke blinding us until the smoke from the fire shifted in a different direction.

June 12, 2026

We departed AW promptly at 9:15AM and arrived at LGRV park at 9:45AM. Very short drive two exists north on I-87 from AW, and oddly not much traffic. Very easy to locate. Check in was 1PM but since no one was at our site (site 47) last night we were allowed to set up camp early, so by 10:15AM we were all set up with electricity, water, sewer, CATV, and the AC running to cool things down.

The campground is huge (I mean huge!). Staying here without bikes or a golf cart would be a mistake. Ruth and I headed out, soon after we settled in and got a shower in, with our bikes and looked around the place. Nice that garbage is picked up at your site each day, but everything at this campground is very pricey. The infrastructure is top notch with solid electrical service at each campsite. Multiple pools, tennis courts, huge dog park, theater, restaurant, etc. So with all the ammenties we understand why the nightly rate is what it is.

We are enjoying our camping stay with long time friends “Mike & Ellen”. M&E arrived about 1PM and was soon set up and enjoying the campground. Their setup procedure is a bit more entailed than ours, with their first step taking the beefy golf cart out of their trunk area.

It was another warm day, with temperature creeping toward 90 and the humidity keeping up with the temperature. So air conditioning was running most of the day in all night, lucky we have full hook up so no need to run the generator.

June 11, 2026

Adirondack Winery is our first stop of this adventure. A very pleasant ride from Connecticut through the Berkshire Hills and into New York. A total trip of about 180 miles with nearly all highway miles. Very little traffic including the dreadded potential backup on I-91 in Meriden Connecticut. Travel time was about 3 1/2 hours and we arrived by 1PM. Our hosts were super friendly and cleared out the parking area for us to park our motorhome. Once we got set up we grabbed the dogs and went down to the winery for a sampling of wines and some flatbreads.

The wines were good, but like Connecticut wines nothing really popped out for us. Of all the wines I enjoyed the Cab the best and a few of the sweeter whites Ruth enjoyed. We did purchase 6 bottles, had two 7 pour flights and a cocktail flight. Couple this with temperatures approaching one-hundred degrees, we headed back to the coach and settled into our air-conditioned oasis. We did have to keep the generator running for about 12 hours so we could run the AC, but at 1AM I woke up and shut it down since the outside temperature dropped to a comfortable 70 degrees.

Tomorrow we are off to LGRV resort. Gave a quick jingle yesterday to them to see when we could check-in. The commute is only about 15 minutes so we will head out before 10AM to see if we can check in early.

June 8, 2026

I called the winery today since we are arriving at a time that is concidered ‘off-season’ for the Lake George area. I wanted to know if their restaurant would be staffed. To my surprise they will staff the kitchen for us since we are Harvest Host guests. We can not say enough positive things about Harvest Host. The membership fee is small and when spread out over a season makes safe boondocking very affordable. By staying with Harvest Host Hosts you get a meal, beverages, and safe harbor camping that is very affordable. So many campgrounds and RV parks costs have become unreasonable and Harvest Hosts make camping affordable again.

June 7, 2026

Stocking up the RV. Fridge is running on AC but will switch to propane later today to ensure proper operation for boondocking. Fresh water tank and water heater sanitized and replenished with fresh water. Generator will get started a bit later this week to ensure all is well with it. Bikes and rack will get loaded just prior to hitting the road. Weather looks good for the NY trip.

May 21, 2026

Owning a motorhome is a bit like owning a boat; keep throwing money at it! On our April and May trips things worked well but we were having some issues;

• low house battery voltages
• shower stall needed re-caulking
• intermittent house water pump operation

The goal was to mow the lawn, but nature decided against that today, and rain continued through the day, which offered us the excuse to address some of the issues.

The house water pump was an easy swap out, but required taking a wall down in the trunk area. After about 90 minutes, all was back in place, and the water pump now works really well. The re-caulking of the shower stall was an hour-long task. I removed all the old caulk and replaced it with 10-year GE silicon. Looks awesome. At the same time, I swapped out the stiff plastic shower hose with a more flexible hose. Finally, after a few tests, it seems the house battery is toast. The battery is a bit over 26 months old, so past it’s warantee period. Ordered up a new house battery and will have it here in a week. I was going to go the LiFePo route, but too many other items needed to be changed out to support this chemistry, so we stayed with the Ld-Acid AGM type battery. If conservative with electricity, this chemistry gives us a bit over 24 hours of off-grid service. Moving to a LiFePo battery would have extended us to 48 hours.

May 20, 2026

Ahhh, last leg of our 15 day adventure. I awoke at 4AM and turned the generator off and shut down the A/C. We slept great with the interior temps hovering around 70 degrees. We were pleasantly surprised when we started the coach and the fuel tank still registered ‘full’. After getting on the road and pulling into Wallingford to dump the tanks and then head home, the fuel gauge measured about 3/4 full. We pulled into home at 11AM. First step was getting the bikes and rack off the coach and then back the coach into it’s driveway slot at home. By noon the coach was unpacked, we showered, and were eating lunch. Tomorrow will be a yard day, the back yard needs mowing but surprisingly the front yard still looks good.

Stay tuned for our June adventures to New York.

May 19, 2026

We have not hit the road for our next stop; Skyline Beer Company. This is a short 65 mile commute and it will be another very hot day. We are not departing this campground until after 9AM so as to not compete with morning commuters. After stopping for fuel and setting up we estimate arival by 1PM or so. The Beer company doesn’t open untiil 4PM so we will be sitting in the parking area until they open most likely with the generator runniing and the A/C on.

We arrived at noon, with temperatures soaring above 100F, not the best stay we have encountered. This was the first time we have had the 4kW generator running for an extended period. Kicked the generator on and left it on all day. Burns fuel at about 1/2 gallon per hour, so electric was costing us about $1 / kW or nearly 6X what electricity at home costs. We had to stay cool though. The RV turns into an oven when the sun beats down on it unobstructed by shade. By 2PM the interior of the coach was a comfortable 77 degree, so we settled in and watched some TV until 4PM when the brewery opened.

I texted an old customer of mine who was a Ham, Beer Brewer, Engineer, and lived in Westfield. I sent the text and then looking at the last time we ‘spoke’ was 2013! So then I got thinking and did some ‘research’. Sadly my friend, who assisted me with brewing some lager beers back in 2013, passed away in 2022. Ruth figured out how to delete my text to him. This a a bit of a sad note for the day but then I recalled the great conversations we had so many years ago.

A brief rain shower sprinkled us with some cooling water but it was short lived. We did enjoy 4 different lagers on tap and had two different types of flatbreads. We ate first then went back and got the pups so we could sit in the beer garden with Thelma & Louise and enjoy another lager. We settled back to the coach by 6PM and chilled out to the hum of the generator and A/C unit keeping us comfortable.

May 18, 2026

Today was a very hot day, especially so for mid-May. By 2PM the temperature was 95 degrees with very little wind. The coach A/C got turned on and within an hour the temps in the coach were 72 degrees. The cats and dogs appreciated the cool down. The afternoon until near sundown was spent in the cool RV and caught up on some television shows we had missed out on since being on the road.

Earlier in the day, Ruth & I practiced our Ukulele songs for the Walliingford Ukulele club. I am progressing but still have a tough time with quick cord changes. Some of the folks in the camping area stretch their necks a bit and listen to us. The nice weather is perfect for outside practice.

Tonight is our last night at this campground. We like it a lot and will return next June.

May 17, 2026

Another perfect weather day! 91 degrees, so warm we had to use the A/C which is weird since just a few days ago we had to run space heaters to keep warm. The pond looked inviting but didn’t have the courage to cool off in the spring fed pond (there were some brave folks swimming).

Paul & Annette picked us up for breakfast and had a really nice breakfast at a small Mom & Pop diner in Bennington. We had to wait 15 minutes to be seated, I guess it’s a popular place. Food was very good and had nice visit and caught up on a bunch of stuff.

We returned to the campsite and relaxed in the afternoon sun. We rustled up some Fettucine & meatballs in a cream sauce for dinner which made enough for dinner tomorrow night. Like every trip we’ve done, we pack way too much food but we eat well and only occationally will cook up burgers and dogs. Mostly we eat like at home. One item missed on this trip was the 2-quart crockpot which we will have to pack with us on our June trip.

May 16, 2026

The stars were out at 4:15AM, so hopefully it will be a sunny and warm day. And it really was a wonderful day. Sunny, warm (80 degrees!), and we actually got a bit of sun. Practiced our Ukulele’s early in the day and had a few spectators walk by. Might have to put a tin cup out in front of our site for donations.

This is a very small campground but does have a swimming pond with dock in the middle of the pond. Surprisingly there were some kids swimming in the spring fed pond. The water had to be damn cold. We walked Thelma & Louise around the campground and stopped at the beach area for them to roll around in the sand. Thelma was really happy with the beach, much so that she got excited and ran from the beach area into the water. Obviously she thought the water was a solid surface. Before she realized what she had done she was paddling herself back to shore. I only wished I had captured the moment by video.

Paul & Annette stopped by to take us to Bennington for lunch/dinner at the Madison Brewery. Really nice food and beers. What a great visit, we had not seen this part of our family for nearly 3 years. Of course a bit of bickering over who was to pay the bill, but Ruth grabbed the bill and paid before Paul or Annette could stop her. Tomorrow, it was settled, that they are picking us up for breakfast and they will pay the tab.

We started a campfire by 7PM and headed back inside the camper by 9:30PM. While the day was nearly perfect with temperatures and weather really nice, Vermont just couldn’t let a day go by without a passing shower. That’s right! At 9:15PM it started to rain…. AGAIN! It has rained on us everyday since May 5th! Thanks Vermont!

We do like this campground. It is small, quiet, and off the beaten path. We will return but will most likely limit our stays to less than 1-week. There really is no grocery store within biking distance and Walmart is about 15 miles away, so we would have to plan accordingly and have all the supplies we need before arriving. On this adventure to Vermont we learned we would stay here again and at Prouty Beach again and would certainly plan for mid to late June for the next Vermont adventure.

May 15, 2026

We departed Sugar Ridge before 8AM, so an early start on the road. We are getting faster setting up and breaking down campsites and today probably was a record. Within 10 minutes we had disconnected water, sewer, electric, unleveled, and removed privacy shield. We each do our part, while non of the chores are difficult it does require a lot of bending down and getting down on the ground and of course the tough part is getting back up!

I-91 in Vermont is just a lot of the same ol scenery. While anticipating seeing a moose or two, none were out for our viewing pleasure. Eventually the 21 exits whizzed by and on to Route 9W we drove eventually hitting Burlington. We did drive by the Vermont Distillery location we stayed at on our first day of the trip (didn’t realize we would do that!). The hills on 9W are steep and long and while nothing like the mountains of Wyoming or South Dakota these Vermont hills gave the Triton V10 a workout.

We made a quick stop at Walmart in Burlington to pick up some needed groceries and then onto to Pine Hollow campground. And like every day of this trip…. it rained! Really tired of the rain and while wet the temperatures did warm up a bit and was actually comfortable even with the dampness.

This campground is very small with only about 50 campsites which are fairly closely arranged. Very quiet campground and a drug free campground (even for legal drugs). In our opinion weed is just too pervasive in society and the second hand smoke is more offensive than that of cigarette smoke. We hope more campgrounds adopt this type of policy.

So, we will be spending the next few days of this adventure basking in the sun (hopefully) and relaxing in the Vermont mountains.

May 14, 2026

Ok, on our second day in a row of rain. Getting pretty tired of this weather pattern but the forecast starting later tomorrow (Friday) calls for clearing and much warmer temps through mid-next week. Camping in a motorhome certainly is much more comfortable than our camping days some 30 years ago. Back then we camped in a Starcraft Popup camper and before than a 10×12 canvas tent! In our motorhome we have nearly all the comforts of home.

Tomorrow we will make a quick grocery shopping stop on our way to our next destination. We have a three plus hour trip tomorrow and will have to gas up along the way. We haven’t put gas in the coach since last week but anticipating $4.50+ per gallon and we’ll need about 30 gallons. If you are wondering what do these motorhomes get for fuel mileage? Typical MPG is about 8 to 11 MPG for us. This 15 day trip we will fill up 4 times.

May 13, 2026

Well, today was a blah day. Blueish skies at 5:30AM but by 9AM the skies were cloudy and by 10:30AM rain had started and according to the weather reports should be rainy for the next couple days. Since it has been partly sunny and breezy since Monday we decided to pull in the slides since they were nice and dry. So we are living in cramped quarters for today and tomorrow due to rain.

Scheduled for today was laundry but due to mid-40F degree temps we decided against that task and will take that up on our next leg that starts Friday. I trekked to the garbage depot this morning but was so reminiscent of our 2024 RV park stay in VA….very hilly! Would we ever stay at this campground again? Probably not! While quiet and clean, the hills are a killer when walking (worse than being at home). Additionally, access to the rail trail is not easy for senior citizens, so we will cross this campground off our “see again list” (we don’t have many: Bar Harbor Campground & Prouty Beach Campground are the only ones on our list).

Today we caught up on movies due to the rain. Watch “Project Hail Mary”, “Couples Weekend”, and the series “Man on Fire”. All good entertainment on a raining camping day. PHM did not need to be 2 1/2 hours long but was entertaining. CW was just OK and MoF was a good series loosely coupled with the movie.

No pix today, just words. Tomorrow is expected to be more of the same from a weather aspect. So tomorrow will be Yahtzee and perhaps a few other games and of course Ukulele practice (like today), but Scrabble is a challenge with Ruth since she plays Words With Friends daily and has a bunch of practice.

May 12, 2026

We arrived at Sugar Ridge RV resort by 10AM yesterday, so early arrival by 3 hours. Nice manager on duty, no charge for early arrival. We got to our site (LT119) and set up. The site is perfectly level so just bringing the leveling jacks to just kiss the ground was all that was needed. Hooked up water/sewer/electricity and by 10:15AM we were in business!

The Lamoille Valley Rail Trail abuts the campground but through a treacherous bunch of gravel paths. This was passable with my bike but Ruth’s trike was a no go. We abandoned our attempt and returned to the campsite. Later I did navigate the rail trail for a bit with the bike and today (Tuesday) we will attempt a different access approach (a safer one).

The camping season is really not in full swing at the moment, so the pool, mini-golf, etc., are not fully open. A large rec hall houses games and such and can only image in full summer that the building is loud and full of screaming rug rats. Now, however, the place is serene with only the wind blowing through the trees and birds chirping being heard.

Last night camping 101 meal consisted of air-fried cod fillets, steamed cauliflower, and seaweed salad. Cooking while camping is a bit of challenge and can be fun if approached with the right attitude. On this trip we brought the air-fryer which makes cooking more flexible. We are still contemplating what camping 101 dinner will bring us tonight.

Ruth spotted a horse in the woods behind our campsite, I’ve yet to see it but we keep an eye out for wildlife. There are bears here with signs posted that all food and garbage must be brought inside your RV each night. The dumpster area is fenced off and has an electrified fence surrounding it. I think they caught one of the rascals and put it on display in the rec room 😉 .

The sun came through the clouds a few times today but mostly it was a cool overcast day. At 9AM the sun was out so we got ready (again) for our attempt to navigate the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail. The ‘safer’ route was no better than the route yesterday. Steep hills required riding the brakes to keep at a safe speed. Eventually we made it to the trail entrance. We traveled to Danville center on the trail and then headed back. The entire trip was a little over 5 miles but the terrain getting on and off the trail from the campground added a lot of grief. We had high expectations of this rail trail and the trail had so many great reviews however for seniors I rate the trail a 2 out of 5 for scenery and access.

May 11, 2026

A bit chilly this morning with temps hovering around 34 degrees. Again, I left the exterior lights on and so the house battery was low this morning. Have to remind myself to shut those lights off!

Lisa opened up the store at 9AM and Ruth & I met Lisa, Karl (husband), and Michael (son) and got a really nice tour of the ‘plant’. Super modern with reverse osmosis to extract water from the sap before the boil down from 1000 of sap to 40 gallons of syrup. This plant produces 70 gallons of syrup per day from February through April with peak years yielding 3500 gallons of sap. This year the run was 2500 gallons, the key to high yields is consistent cold nights and warm days. Over the past 13 years the earliest start date has been February 4th and the last date April 19th. Lisa and Karl spend winters in Florida selling their products at farmers markets and heading back to VT when they’ve sold all their stock with with farmers markets or mail order. Just an amazing business!

May 10, 2026

Ok, arrived to a very quiet Harvest Host that looked apparently closed; Happy Hill Maple Farms. The ‘store’ entry was locked up and no lights on! It was a weird arrival; my phone texted me stating “you’ve arrived”….. how did it know? Anyway, I clicked the green check box to indicate “we have arrived”. I was then greeted by another screen on my phone instructing me that it is entirely self park/self check in. So we parked the coach on the gravel and leveled up and then decided to call the contact number. The person (Lisa) picked up right away and confirmed we were in the right place and she and her husband thought they would be back to VT by the time we arrived but they were still in transit from Florida!

Lisa let us know they would be back late and would open up the store and give us a tour in the morning. We were good with that.

May 9, 2026

The nicest day of our four night stay, we depart tomorrow morning. We will miss Prouty Beach Campground a bunch, by far one of the nicest campgrounds we have stayed at. The weather sort of sucked; Sun, Rain, Wind, Clouds, and even Snow! But today, Saturday, the Sun came out and not a cloud in the sky until about noon. Perfect weather in the upper 50’s, no wind until mid-afternoon. And so, we grabbed the bikes and hit the trail by 10AM. Such a great area for biking and walking with a trail that leads from Newport to 1.5 miles from the Canadian border.

Downtown Newport is busy but we managed to frequent a few of the side streets. We spotted a food truck and decided to grab a bacon egg &Cheese sandwich on waffle! Picked up some hotdog rolls for our clam strip dinner tonight and a small container of half n half for Ruth’s tea. The supermarket was well stocked and housed the VT liquor store as well.

We arrived back from our 15 mile bike ride before 1PM which was fairly good time considering we made stops to the market and to see Chris & Gail one more time. We rested a bit and had some ice tea on the bluff overlooking Lake Memphremagog but then the wind picked up and it started to get chilly. Before we left for our bike ride we met our camping neighbors from Massachusetts (Art & Deb). They too are e-bike riders and later on our ride when we were chatting with Chris & Gail they rode by “howdy neighbors”. Yesterday we chatted with our other neighbors, Tim and Sue Summers from South Carolina and we sparked up a nice conversation.

We put the bikes on the rack today so not to deal with it tomorrow morning. I guess the more we put them on the rack the easier it gets. On our trip up my bike moved quite a bit so we rearranged things a bit and strapped the bikes differently so we are hoping no shifting occurs on our travels tomorrow.

May 8, 2026

A chilly start to the morning and overcast, a good day for a bit of road trip with Chris & Gail. We did take Thelma & Louise to the park store so they could meet Josie (the park manager on duty). She also has a mini Dachshund so we thought it prudent to let her meet our girls. A quick visit and then back to the coach the girls stayed while we did a bit of a road trip to Parker Pie for some pizza and beer and then to Hill Farmstead Brewery for additional libations.

Vermont’s Northern Kingdom is certainly rural and most of the time we were on dirt roads getting to places and smelling the farm “fresh” country air. The pizza at Parker Pie was very good, as good as any pizza from our hometown in Connecticut (I would throw New Haven pizza into that comparison too!). Ruth picked up a few things in the connected country store at Parker Pie and was checked out at the register by a vintage cash register. Next we were off to Hill Farmstead Brewery which was named the worlds best brew in 2017. A wide selection of beers ranging from IPA, Pilsners, Lagers, and Porters could be had and we settled on “Mary”, a German Pilsner.

We trekked back to our campsite after the beer stop but Chris & Gail showed us some of the fantastic sites of the area. Lake Willoughby, the cleanest lake in Vermont and deepest too at 350 feet, was picturesque. We did get to see a campsite we were planning on staying at last year but after seeing how tight the spaces are we are happy we never stayed at that campground.

May 7, 2026

The weather got much better today with the rain stopping by day break so we decided to take the bikes out for a quick spin. Chilly ride but everything seemed to survive the trip and within 2 miles we were ready for our second cup of coffee and then take the pups out for a bit of ride. Within 1-hour the wind picked up and gusted to 40MPH and while 50 degree temperatures and the sun out the wind made our 3 mile ride to Chris & Gail’s house a chilly trek.

The ride wasn’t without issues. About 1/4 mile from Chris & Gail’s house Ruth’s trike quit. The trike weights about 80 pounds with no gear shift so when the electric motor isn’t providing some assist peddling is really tough. Debugging the issue on the trail was tough; the cold and wind made it tough! We were ready to turn back not realizing how close we were to our destination. I then touched the front brake and gave the motor one more try and bingo all was working again. The micro-switch in the brake lever must have been on but that was the fix. We finished the trek to Chris & Gail’s and stopped in for a quick visit (and to warm up).

We headed back to our campsite and were back toasty and warm for lunch with some warm homemade soup. Too chilly and windy to sit outside we hunkered down in the RV and practiced our Ukulele’s and had a round of Scrabble (which Ruth always kicks my butt). Dinner time rolled around and finished the day up with watching Gung Ho!

May 6, 2026

Well, we were expect a chilly night in Vermont but it was surprisingly mild last night. 64 degrees in the RV over night and 52 degrees outside. We did get a few rain showers last night but not enough to have puddles. The location is on RT9 in Vermont and by 9PM only a car or two could be heard every hour or so.

Today we depart on the trek toward Canada; destination Newport, Vermont. Rain is most likely today.

And yes, it rained a bunch! Vermont hills are big and long. The Triton V-10 had it’s work cut out for it today. It reminded us of driving through the mountains of South Dakota whHre 4-way flashers and 45MPH was the norm. But we arrived on time to Prouty Beach Campground and were upgraded to a sight overlooking the massive lake. A bit later today some friends are picking us for cocktails and dinner, it should be fun.

May 5, 2026

We got on the road early today after a quick trip to the dump to rid the house of any garbage in the cans. Had to make a stop at BJs to get fuel, $130 worth! Of course hitting the road in Connecticut doesn’t mean you are traveling fast. 4 miles into our trip we hit construction traffic on the 91/691/15 interchange which added about 30 minutes to the trip. Once past the 91/90 interchange in Massachusetts there really was no traffic at all. Perfect sunny weather to travel. We stopped at the Welcome center in Vermont and checked the place out. Very artistic.

The trek to West Marlboro is very hilly once you get off I91. Lots of slow traffic lanes but the duration of those lanes was much too short. We probably had a bunch of pissed off folks behind us since we are traveling about 40MPH. Pulled into the parking area for the trail head for Hogs Back Mountain and the Vermont Distillery at about noon. Leveled up the coach and were ready to test out the distillery by a little past noon.

We tasted many fine liquors and ended up purchasing a fair amount of ‘stuff’ and stowed it away in the trunk. George the host was awesome and we had two really great (but potent) afternoon cocktails (we went back to the coach to grab a quick bite to eat before drinking the cocktails).

May 2, 2026

A few more days of home rest then back on the road. Cats are getting loaded the day prior and today I pulled coach forward enough to put the Cyclesimplex rack on and the bike and trike. Now all covered in a tarp, chained and alarmed. This will be the first trip with bikes on the rack.

April 25&26, 2026

Departing HRW by 8:15AM and hitting the road through the Berkshire & Taconic Hills was a really nice country ride. No highways and fast speeds, just moving along between 35 to 45 mph. We stopped in Canaan Connecticut to grab a few simple groceries and headed off to Norbrook Farm Brewery. We arrived at about 10:15AM and were greeted by 140 disc golfers. The parking area for RVs was jammed packed with cars and only one spot for us to fit…. next to the huge wood chipper pile. We set up, leveled up, and all set to enjoy the weekend by 10:30AM. By mid to late afternoon all the disc golfers had left and the parking area for RVs included us, a small airstream and on Sunday morning a very small class B parked in the area, so we had a ton of room. Rain came in by mid-day Saturday and rained through the night with temperatures dropping to 40F, so it was a chilly night.

Sunday morning rolled around for us by 5AM, so we started the generator to give the house battery a charge and to use the two 1500W space heaters to warm the place up. By 5:30AM the coach was toasty and breakfast was started. Scrambled eggs, sausage, cottage cheese and garlic bread (left over from home). Used the microwave to heat the sausage up, but between the stove, heaters and all the activity in the coach the temps climbed to 72 degrees by the time breakfast was over.

We spent Saturday afternoon at the brewery with Andy, Robin, Mike & Ellen. Wonderful visit with good beer and the full restaurant of NFB now in full play. In the past year so many improvements have been made to the brewery, well, it stunned us. A new restaurant seating / wine bar area was created from a storage room that the brewery had. The pavilion, which was just breaking ground the last time we came, is now about 80% complete. The pavilion was taken over by the disc golfers on Saturday. The huge fireplace in the pavilion was a welcome stop walking from our camper to the brewery.

Later in the afternoon, A.J. one of the employees of the brewery asked if everything was ok with our coach and where we parked. I responded, “yes, it’s great”. A.J. said, “I just wanted to make sure everything was good since on HH person complained there was no parking”. Lesson learned, the bigger your RV the fewer number of places to park. The RV that guy was towing was a massive 3-axle 5th wheel RV that had to be 45 feet long plus his very large truck pulling the thing. They got to park in the pavilion area, which was probably very convenient for them.

Monday morning was a bit chilly but the warmest of the weekend. While yesterdays temps rose to the mid-70’s the night time temps dropped to mid-40’s. The coach was 52 degrees this morning so decided to start the generator to charge up the battery and run the furnace (which I did in the wrong sequence). Furnace draws significant power from the battery (for the circulating fan), so when I attempted to start the generator it was a no go! Had to start the engine, which charges the house battery too, and then got the generator started. All the nuances of coach life one must remember.

NFB never a bad visit. Great host, great site, good beer, good food.

April 24, 2026

Official season start is today! Skittles, one of our three cats, decided to stay behind. She spotted her siblings getting scooped up and put into crates and ran away and hid somewhere in the house. We search for 30 minutes but eventually gave up and left her behind. Our neighbor texted us a few hours later and said she spotted Skittles basking in the sun drenched window. So she is “Home Alone”.

Blue skies and 60 degree temps made for a pleasant trip to Home Range Winery. We stopped at Long View RV in Windsor Connecticut to fill up the propane tank which is something we do about once per year. We last filled the propane in March 2025 on our way to Georgia.

Peter & Susan at HRW are great hosts but since we’ve stayed here in the past we were aware of their hospitality. A cold spring forced HRW to open a bit later than in past years, so today the winery was closed, however Peter & Susan were great hosts. We toured the property and got to meet Wesley the dog, Goats, Chickens and take in the fresh air.

A chilly evening with no clouds gave way to temperatures hovering around 35 degrees. 4:15AM came early today with the really chilly indoor temperature of the coach at 43 degrees!! We installed a very accurate voltage monitor since the stock meter from the factory is useless. Today, for the first time, we were able to analyze our battery consumption. After 17 hours boondocked ae used 27% of our battery. We do have a generator and solar panels, but only use them if we really have to.

April 12, 2026

Our itinerary for ’26 is as follows:

Two years ago this day was our maiden voyage with Coachella Birdie and we stayed at “Big Elm Brewery” and “Norbrook Farm Brewery” during this two day shake down test. We did this trip without the cats but just with our two dogs. We learned a bunch, like making sure to bring extra water. While at Norbrook we ran out of water. It was bitter cold and snowing in the hills of Colebrook. We were fortunate that the Norbrook owner allowed us access to an outside faucet so we could fill up some 3 gallon jugs to fill the coach with enough water for the night. We were chilly and ran the furnace and generator a few times to stay warm through the night. Taking the dogs out at night made us appreciate the solitude of camping; no sounds and complete darkness.

Last year on this date we were in New Jersey on our last night stay of our southern US trip. On that trip we spent time with family in South Carolina and George and met up with Friends along the way. It was rainy and wet our last night and the fears of getting stuck in the muddy driveway of the establishment brought back memories of getting stuck in a field in April 2024. But we made it home from this trip safe and sound.

And here we are, April 12, 2026 and still stationary at our home in Connecticut. It has been an unseasonably chilly spring, in my opinion, with temperatures last night hovering at 32 degrees! The sun is bright in the sky this morning without any clouds and temperatures are on the rise. I de-winterized the coach two weeks ago since the weather forecasts called for no freezing temperatures. Since de-winterizing we’ve seen 25 degree mornings which prompted me to turn on heaters in the coach to prevent things from freezing.

We will be sanitizing the waterlines, perhaps even today since temps are to be in the low 60’s. We’ve packed most of our clothes we need and have most food loaded for our first trip in less than two weeks. Some final prepping will need to be done like leveling and loading the fridge and letting in run a few days before leaving. Making a stop to fill the propane tank. Rechecking tire pressures and ensuring all the tools are loaded.

April 2026

April is just two days away, and thankfully, the sub-freezing temperatures of winter and early spring are behind us. De-winterization of the coach was completed yesterday, and so far, all the workings of the coach are functioning well.

Our shake-down trip is just a few weeks away, and it will probably still be a little chilly at night. We will have to fill up with propane on our way to our first stop, which is Home Range Winery in Canaan, New York. We stayed with these folks in the fall of ’24. It was frosty the next morning, and I’m sure Aprill will present a similar experience. Peter & Susan, the hosts, were great and presented Thelma & Louise their own little dog toy memento of our stay (a little stuffed lobster and beaver). The ‘beaver’ continues to be one of Thelma’s favorite stuffed toys (although it is looking pretty tattered).

I came across a nice video detailing the winery that was established a few years ago. This video captures the atmosphere of this small, tucked-away winery in Canaan, New York.

Nice video capturing the atmosphere of HRW in Canaan, New York.

As in past years, once on the road, we will have a ‘daily’ blog of our adventures so folks can tag along for the ride. This year will be a mostly New England area adventure year with Thelma, Louise, Caramel, Skittles, and Snickers along for the ride. – R&S

March 2026

Will winter weather ever stop? Very cold New England winter this year and a super snowy February. Just when we thought we were past the snowy weather received three accumulating snowstorms in the past ten days. ARGH!!! But according to the weather channel, the second week of March has sixty-degree weather in our forecast! This will be welcome. Need to dig Coachella Birdy out and get her out for her yearly maintenance.

The scheduled trips this season now include Lake George, New York. We will be camping with close friends at the Lake George RV park. Later in the year, we will be adding Lone Oak Campground to our local trips. This year, as we’ve mentioned, we are sticking close to New England with trips to CT, VT, ME, MA, and NY. Our western trip in ’24 and southern trip in ’25 were exciting, and now it’s time to experience home. We will have a shake-down trip in April to ensure all is running properly before our longer trips.

February 2026

We are getting close to seeing dirt rather than just snow. Temperatures have risen over the past week, and most of the snow on the coach has melted away. Hopefully, I’ll get to move it out so some yearly maintenance can be done.

Wow! Temperatures here in Connecticut have been bone-chilling for the past few weeks. The lowest overnight temp was -5F, temps we have not seen in a number of years. Top that off with 16 inches of snow dropped on us just before the cold snap, and spells lots of snow sticking around for a while and on sunny days just creating a ton of ice all over the place. I make it a habit to start the coach every month to keep the engine battery topped off, and the generator I start and let run for 30 minutes to an hour every week to keep the carb cleaned out. Last week, the temps were so cold the steps wouldn’t work, and the generator would not start. Today, the temps approached 26F by 9:30AM, so I thought I’d give another try starting things up.

I clicked the remote door lock and “no dice.” The engine battery was dead, which explains why the steps would not work last week. I flipped the parallel switch on, which couples the house battery with the engine battery, and with a bit of difficulty, the engine cranked over. I let the engine run for 30 minutes, which helped to bring the inside temperature up to a balmy 50 degrees. The generator took two tries to start, but finally it fired up and ran it for 90 minutes at half load.

Today’s outcome was better than I thought. I was ready to purchase a new motor for the steps, but I just needed to have the battery charged up for the engine (may not be out of the woods with the battery). The battery voltage was 3.3V, so damage may have been done. I was ready to purchase a WEN 4500W portable generator if I couldn’t get the coach generator running, but very happy, no need to spend that money (yet). The coach gen is a Cummings generator and is very finicky; its carburetor is its weak spot.

Two more months of idleness before the season kicks off with us. The coach will be heading to the shop later this month to have the engine starter looked at. With 81k miles and hearing the starter stick sometimes, I think it’s better just to replace the starter than risk being stranded somewhere. Oil change, lube job, and inspection of Ball and U-Joints are on the short list of work to be done. I may have the leveling jacks’ fluid level inspected, but I will have to leave instructions for the garage on that process.

January 2026

2026 rang in, and goodbye to 2025.  It is hard to believe we will be starting our 3^rd season owning a Class C motorhome. 2023 was a short year and was spent mostly getting the RV roadworthy for the long 2024 season.  2024 saw us travel west to Wyoming, and 2025 had our adventures take us south to Georgia.  2026 will keep us close to New England and experiencing our neighboring states.  Coachella has had some extensive updates since taking ownership, including revamped brakes and replacing all hydraulic and cooling lines, new tires,  new roof, new A/C, improved leveling system, remounted water heater, new rear camera, and many other small improvements, including a weekly maintenance regimen for the generator.

This year, we are taking a slower approach, starting the season with the first shake-down trip happening late April.  The plans are 2 or 3 Harvest Home sites: Home Range Winery, Big Elm Brewery, and Norbrook Farm Brewery.  All three of these establishments are within 100 miles of our home and will be post-hard freeze warnings, so running water in the coach will be possible.  Big Elm is a ‘perhaps’ since the business and property are up for sale, so we can’t make any long-range planning.  If Big Elm is a no-go, then we will spend two nights at Norbrook Farm Brewery.

May will be a two-plus week trip on the road on the heels of shake down trip.  We will be mixing some Harvest Host sites with RV / Campground stays.  On the list of stops will be

• Vermont Distillers
• Prouty Beach Campground
• Sugar Ridge RV Village
• Pine Hollow Campground
• Skyline Beer Company

June is unscheduled at the moment, but we are thinking of Skyridge Campground in Torrington, while July is scheduled as;

• Cracker Barrel
• Boothbay Craft Brewery
• Bar Harbor Campground
• Gracepoint Church
• Skyview Minuteman Campground

August too is unscheduled, but perhaps the eastern New York area and October is still open at the moment.

October 2025

2025 is coming to a close, easily felt by the brisk fall mornings and the trees are beginning to drop their leaves. The coach has been put to bed for winter hibernation and will await the spring for yet another year of travels. For 2026 our initial plans were to head south to New Orleans and Texas but some health issues popped up in 2025 and helped to realize how fragile health can be. Being close to home with our local doctors and hospitals prompted us to limit our travels to the Northeast.

Our plans are coming out something like this:

We do have a local week-long stay at Sky Ridge RV park planned for August and several weekend get away trips to our local brew establishments.