We went through the museum afterwards and then walked around downtown. We were not very impressed with the town, but did have an ice cream at an old-fashioned soda fountain store that was pretty neat. We then went to Castle Grisch Winery and did several wine tastings (you have to be sure that you like what you are going to buy, right??). We bought a bottle of red & a bottle of white for our wine rack at home.

Sun., Aug. 29: We walked the Watkins Glen Gorge this morning. It starts at an elevation of 490 ft. and climbs to 1010 ft. and includes 867 stairs. Needless to say we were both sweating – the humidity was something else. Stephen climbed the extra bit called Jacob’s Ladder for an extra 160 stairs. I climbed down from the trail a bit to be able to dunk my feet in the stream. This was a hard, but beautiful walk with several waterfalls. Pets are not allowed on this trail.

After showers & a rest at the trailer, we took the back roads heading to Corning to pick up our bottle & ornament. During this drive we stopped & wandered through an old cemetary with markers from the 1800’s. We also saw several good ol’ boys which brought forth the question. . . "Do we have lots of gas?"

We are quite impressed with our glass blown products. Perhaps a second career when we retire!

Mon., Aug. 30: We packed up last night & it was a good idea since it rained for most of the night and is drizzling and a little foggy this morning. Not a nice day, so good to be travelling although not good for scenery. We are headed to Pine City to have the trailer lights repaired and then on to Albany area.

Camping at Watkins Glenn State Park was $23 U.S. funds per night with electricity plus a 49 reservation fee. This also included entry to the Gorge.

The trailer brake & signal light has been fixed for a cost of $10 U.S. and we are off to Albany at 10:09 am. We are driving on Hwy 88 to Albany and it is in horrible shape – very, very bumpy. We stopped for lunch at a rest stop and are headed off again at 12:40 pm. The weather has improved and is cloudy with sunny periods and the truck temp. reads 80^oF.

We have now decided not to stop in Albany, but rather carry on right to Boston.

BOSTON / CAPE COD

Everything was fine until we got close to Boston and then the traffic was horrendous! Cars were even allowed to drive on the shoulder lane during rush hours! What a trip!!

We found Wompatuk State Park and set up camp around 6:30 pm. It cost $15 U. S. per night with electricity. This is a very nice campground and very few campers.

Tues., Aug. 31: Took our time getting ready this morning – had a shower, dried & curled my hair, shave my legs & did my nails. It felt good to do all the girly stuff.

We headed into Boston around 11:00 am and went to see the U.S.S. Constitution. It is a huge 3 mast sailing ship. We also toured a destroyer (I was bored, but I think Stephen enjoyed it).

We also went to the IMAX theatre at the New England Aquarium and watched a 3D movie – cost was $8.95 U.S. each.

Near the aquarium there was a public washroom. It cost to use it, but if you are there trying it out is a must. It is electric – I made Stephen use it and when he agreed, he made me promise not to use the video camera. Of course once he was inside, the filming began. The doors open & close electronically and the washroom self-cleans when you are finished.

We headed back to the trailer at 5:30 pm. Stephen drove on the shoulder of the road just like the locals. I think it is an unsafe and hazardous idea, especially for him to be doing it!

Thurs., Sept. 2: I am updating the journal today as we sit in a laundromat. Stephen is flabbergasted at what it is costing to do the laundry. So far the washing has cost $8 U.S.

On Thursday we drove along the ocean to Plymouth Rock. We stopped, looked at the rock & both thought "Whoop-dee-doo". I guess the well-protected rock must mean more to our American neighbours. We were expecting something much, much bigger so we weren’t overly impressed. But we took pictures & video and can now say we have been to Plymouth Rock!

We left the Rock and headed to Cape Cod. It was a really nice drive. We went right to the end of the cape to Provincetown. It is a beautiful town. The residents are an interesting lot, to say the least!

We booked a whale watching tour here (once again at seniors’ prices I might add) with the Portuguese Princess Boat Line. It took over an hour to get to where the whales were. The first sighting was a hump back whale. It was magnificent to see these creatures in the ocean & up close. We were amazed at how the boat captain was able to maneuver the boat to the whale so closely and quickly. The next whale spotted was a fin back whale. We had several sightings, but I don’t know how many whales. We got some great pics & videos and really enjoyed our time on the Portuguese Princess. The cost was $24 U.S. each and well worth it.

We headed back to the campground but stopped for supper at Arnold’s. This restaurant was rated #1 clam shack in Boston. We both ordered the clam strip basket which came with fries & coleslaw. Neither of us was impressed. Maybe we expected too much after seeing the long line to get in and the #1 rating!

We have decided to have a ‘rest day’ tomorrow rather than go to Martha’s Vineyard &/or Nantucket. Partly because we need the rest, but mainly because of the cost to get to the islands. Just to get to one island costs $59 U.S. per person! I really wanted to get a Nantucket basket, but I guess my life will have to go on incomplete.

Fri., Sept. 3: As I said earlier we are currently doing laundry. Afterwards I would like to go to a mall that we spotted. It has a Bed, Bath & Beyond, a Baby’s ‘R Us and a K-Mart. I should note here that our daughter & son-in-law have decided we should become grandparents in approx. 5 months.

After the mall we will go back to camp and get the puppies and go to the mountain spring. The brochure said that this spring is good drinking water.

Well, we didn’t get to the spring because we spent too much time & money at the mall. I bought a high chair, playpen & nursery lamp to name a few items.

Sat., Sept. 4: We left for Freeport at about 8:30 am and drove right through. It was not as far as we thought so we didn’t stop for lunch & arrived at the Desert Dunes of Maine campground around 1 pm. It seems to be a nicely kept campground. We grabbed a bit of lunch and headed to Freeport to shop the outlets. Our campsite is in a busy area we were were concerned about the dogs barking and sure enough when we got back, Stephen asked the campers near us & they said the dogs had barked quite a bit but said it didn’t bother them. We’re not happy at all with the shopping here or the campground. We prefer camping in a more natural setting, but if you like your campgrounds well-kept with manicured lawns, hanging flower baskets nailed to the trees, etc. this is a nice clean spot for you, but too "touristy" for us.

We have decided to take a rest day tomorrow & stay with the dogs and since there are no Maine State Parks with electricity we have decided not to go any further into Maine but rather we will back-track and go back to New Hampshire and camp near Kittery which is said to have better outlet shopping.

Sun. Sept. 5: Today was shower & shave day and clean the trailer day. Stephen did a load of laundry since there are machines in the campground. Then we sat outside for the afternoon. I knitted (a blanket for grandbaby on the way) and Stephen read the paper. We will be glad to leave tomorrow. Nice campground, private, but not our style.

Cost for this campground was $29 U.S. per night with electricity & water.

We had lobster for dinner at $5.99 U.S. per pound.

Mon., Sept. 6: We headed to New Hampshire today. The traffic is wicked with people returning home following the long weekend. We had decided to head to Hampton Beach State Park. When we arrived it was basically a parking lot on the ocean beach. There was nobody in the office and a sign posted saying campground full, but there appeared to be several empty sites. A fellow camper arrived and she told us that she had called earlier about bringing her daughter’s dog and was told no dogs allowed, so we left. Went to another State Park north of Hampton only to find out no dogs allowed there either. They gave us a pamphlet on another campground & they charged an extra fee of $3 per day per dog on top of a camping fee of $35!! NO WAY!! She then called Bear State Park even further north and found out they too don’t allow pets. What is it with this state . . . family campgrounds, but families are not allowed pets! We were getting pretty frustrated! We finally found Wakeda Campground. It is great -- $37 per night with full hookup. We booked for 2 nights and they were very good about finding us a spot away from others so the dogs would not disturb others. We went for a walk around the camp and saw several trailers belonging to seasonal campers that were demolished by fallen trees. After talking with a couple of "seasonals" they told us that a microburst had gone through the camp 2 weeks prior. It sounded like a mini-tornado. 27 trailers were crushed! 10 people were injured & one man who has been on life-support for the past 2 weeks was being taken off support tomorrow. What a terrible sight it was!

Tues., Sept. 7: It was a great day today. Beautiful weather again and all the crowds have left. We went to shopping heaven today – Kittery, Maine. Outlet stores galore, but we didn’t get much. I bought a pair of green jeans & a top. Stephen bought 2 pairs of shoes and a shirt. Heading back to the camp we drove along the ocean. Absolutely gorgeous homes both big & small. We stopped and walked in the ocean and I got a rock for my garden.

Wed., Sept. 8: It is overcast and a little drizzly on and off today. We decided it is a good day to go to the greyhound races. On the way we stopped at Walmart. Once again as at K-Mart, we spent a fortune. I got the perfect swing baby gate that I had been looking for & also a pair of the tiniest runners I have seen! Also bought a game for playing at Christmas, toys for puppies, puppy bath wipes, a rug hooking kit for Stephen to do this winter for the baby and Stephen bought some hunting clothes and several other items. We got to the racetrack just in time for the first race of 15 races. We stayed for the afternoon. I only won twice, but Stephen won several times. It was a lot of fun, a great way to spend a rainy afternoon.

We bought 2 lobster on the way home at $4.99 per pound. I ate them both while Stephen had leftover spaghetti!! They were delicious!

Thurs., Sept. 9: Happy Birthday Granny!

The tailend of Hurricane Francis hit last night with torrential downpour. It is still raining a little this morning so we have decided to pack up and move inward. It has been a really nice stay here in this area. The campground was $37 U.S. per night with full hookup.

We will call our Paul & Andrea tonight as Andrea is scheduled for an ultrasound today which may determine the sex of the baby.

We call Andrea and it looks like we will have a grandson in a few months!

Fri., Sept. 10: We had a nice breakfast of sausages & eggs and headed out shopping in North Conway. Now that I know a grandson is on the way I bought 2 outfits for him as well as several other items for us and the kids. About the old saying "Shop ‘til you drop" . . . I dropped early today. We were back to the trailer around 3 pm. We are heading out tomorrow to find a spot closer to Mt. Washington. This park costs $28 U.S. per day plus another $2 per dog per day. We had no choice but to stay here as no other campgrounds would allow dogs or if they did allow dogs we were not permitted to leave them in our trailer while we went shopping! This rally ticked me off! Glad to be out of here.

I just went for a walk along the Saco River at this campground – actually I walked in the Saco River. I have now had my feet in a mountain stream from the Appalachian Mountains, the Atlantic Ocean and a river from the White Mountains.

Weather turned nice & sunny again today, but cooler temps.

Sat., Sept. 11: We got up early & left without breakfast – just anxious to be out of this campground. It was horrible. The sites were so crammed together that with the slide-out out, there was not enough room to put the awning up.

We headed to a National Forest campground only 30 – 40 minutes away and after stopping for coffee & donuts we arrived before 11 am. What a difference – very nice, friendly people, clean & lots of room and all for only $18 U.S., but no hookups. Oh well, we’ll tough it out. We just relaxed at the camp today and it was so great we have decided to stay until probably Tuesday.

We all went into a mountain stream today! It was ice cold and Stephen made me drink some of the water. I did take a sip just to say that I’d done it, but now he wants to fill jugs with it. I put the kibosh on this idea!

Sun., Sept. 12: We slept in today – 8 am!! We had breakfast & then headed to nearby Gorham to get a few groceries & a camping toaster since we are currently without electricity. While in the grocery store, I asked if there was a Walmart or K-Mart near and sure enough there was a Walmart 2 minutes down the road so off we went. I bought more clothes for my grandson-to-be. We got back to the camp & decided to have lunch and a game. Halfway through lunch we realized it was 3 pm. Looks like supper will be skipped or really late tonight. We are planning on driving up Mount Washington tomorrow. The weather was great again today – sunny & temp in the mid to high 70’s.

Mon., Sept. 13: We left to do the Mount Washington AutoRoad at about 8:30 am. It is a beautiful day once again. It was very cold during the night & I wouldn’t get out of bed until Stephen turned the furnace on. The drive on the AutoRoad cost us $25 U.S. and included a CD on the history etc. of the road to listen to on the way up & down, a bumper sticker & a certificate saying we completed the climb to the summit of over 6200 ft. It was absolutely beautiful and the weather couldn’t have been better. The temp. at the summit was 40^oF and very windy. We signed the guestbook at the summit and since today is our daughter-in-law Stephanie’s birthday, I wrote ‘Happy Birthday Stephie’ at the summit of Mount Washington.

We called Stephie to wish her a happy birthday. Tim says all is well at the house.

Tues., Sept. 14: We were on the road at about 8:30 this morning heading for either Grand Isle, Vermont or Saranac Lake, New York. It will depend on the driver. It is another beautiful day. Temperature going through Vermont was low to mid 70’s.

We stopped at a sugar shack store & bought some Vermont syrup at a cost of $10.95 U.S. for 1 quart.

We have decided to carry on to New York via the ferry. The ferry ride to New York was 20 minutes and cost $19.50 U.S. The campground we chose to head to was 40 minutes past Lake Placid. It is called fish Creek Pond State Campground. It is quite busy for this time of year, but very nice. We chose one of the few spots left on the lake. The ducks are so used to people they come looking for food as soon as the see you. We took some bread out & were immediately surrounded by 20 to 30 ducks – some in the water and some came right out on shore to take bread from our hands.

We will decide tomorrow whether to head home or spend another night & go into Lake Placid.

Wed., Sept. 15: We have decided to spend another night. Stephen would really like to go to Lake Placid and see if the Steak & Stinger Restaurant is still up and running. We ate dinner at this restaurant while on our honeymoon (28 years ago) and it holds some great memories.

The campsite cost is $19 U.S. per night with no hookups. We headed into Lake Placid around noon today and I navigated Stephen to where I thought that I remembered the Steak & Stinger being, but we couldn’t find it. We stopped at a Rent-All place and Stephen asked if they had heard of the restaurant. They had & commented that nobody has asked about that restaurant in years. It seems that it burned to the ground several years ago. We were really disappointed to hear this. We wandered around downtown Lake Placid & after hearing that the Steak & Stinger no longer existed, we no longer wanted to eat out, so we went back to the trailer for hamburgers.

I bought Tim, Andrea & Paul each the perfect Christmas decorations. Tim’s was a ‘wine lover’, Andrea’s was a pregnant woman & Paul’s was a Toronto Maple Leafs. I had already bought Stephie a dill pickle ornament in Corning. And of course bought the baby another outfit at the Gap. I have hit some pretty good sales for the little guy.

We are heading home tomorrow. We have had some ups & downs on our trip, but the ups far exceeded the downs. It has been a learning experience and the big thing I learned was that I brought too many clothes but I know nothing will change next time we go.

Thurs., Sept. 16: It is 8 am and we are on the road headed home. Hoping to find just one more K-Mart or Walmart to do some quick shopping! It is again a beautiful, sunny day with not a cloud in the sky!

We stopped to eat our lunch at a very pretty picnic area in Sandfield. A nice spot beside a small river/stream with a little bridge going over the water to the tiniest island I have ever been on . . . just large enough to hold a picnic table! I had to pee so bad that I actually forced myself to use a port-a-potty. Anyone who knows me, knows that it must have been urgent for me to use a non-flush toilet!

On the way through Mindemoya we saw a church auction being set up, so we stopped for a preview of the items. Stephen saw some Moonray solar lights that he just has to have so will return for the auction starting at 6 pm.

When we got back to the trailer the puppies were quiet as mice. They laid down with Stephen for a nap and I took a nice long walk on the beach. Providence Bay has the longest fresh water beach in the world (I think I read that somewhere – whatever, it is really, really long).

It has been a great day weather wise; sunny & breezy. It’s 8:45 pm and Stephen has returned from the auction with his lights, very excited that he got 3 sets for $20.

Thurs., July 28: Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad!!

It is 73^oF today & weatherman is calling for thunderstorm so we decided that it would be a good day to do laundry. Laundry cost for 2 loads was $9 and the towels were not fully dried so I hung them at the trailer.

When the laundry was done it was still nice & sunny so we headed to Mindemoya to pick up bread and coffee and of course visit the award winning 3 Cows & a Cone, a.k.a. Farquhar’s Dairy. Was told by someone on the internet that a must have on Manitoulin Island at this time of year is hawberry ice cream! I had a 2 scoop cone with 1 scoop pistachio almond & 1 scoop hawberry. Stephen had 1 scoop orange pineapple & 1 scoop hawberry. Delicious and now we can say we have had hawberry ice cream!

As I am writing in this journal, Stephen actually has a needle & thread in his hand and seems to know what to do with it! One of the loops ripped on the dining tent and he is repairing it.

Fri., July 29: We did another road trip, this time of the central island.

We saw 2 pairs (4) Sandhill Cranes.

We stopped for lunch at a scenic spot overlooking Gore Bay.

I spotted a baby deer lying in the woods as we were driving. Stephen was amazed that I spotted it since when I told him to stop & back up it was very difficult to see the fawn well into the woods. When the guys hear about this, they will want me to join the hunting camp!

We went to the Farmers’ Market at Gore Bay where we bought a cantaloupe, loaf of butter button bread and a woodcarving.

On the main street we bought 2 fresh trout fillets @ $4.65/lb and a Cajun smoked fillet from a fisherman selling from his truck. A local had told us about him yesterday. We will have the fish for supper tonight.

We also stopped in Kagawong and visited the Bridal Veil Falls. Very pretty spot and a good place for a swim.

Oh, forgot . . . I also bought a small print in Gore Bay as well. It is titled Manitoulin Fences.

We started our road trip about 9:30 am and back to the trailer around 2 pm and once again the puppies were quiet as mice.

Truck temp. read 73^oF today.

I went for an even longer walk on the beach yesterday while Stephen read. The beach was posted unsafe for swimming. The posting signs were neat and I told Stephen they would be funny to hang at the pool at home, so he snuck to the beach around 10 pm and stole a sign! Today all the signs are gone so either the beach is safe again or there are a lot of thieves following in Stephen’s footsteps!

Today all 4 of us walked the boardwalk beside the beach. Tess was pretty tired when we got back.

We just had an afternoon siesta (4:30 – 5:30). Stephen is still snoring, but will wake him soon as I am anxious to try the fish we bought today.

Sat., July 30: We got up around 9 am, got ready & headed to the Farmers’ Market in Mindemoya. It was pretty much the same people who were at the market in Gore Bay. Only 1 or 2 vendors with produce which we found surprising. Mostly people with crafts.

We went on a very short westerly road strip & since there was not much to see or do we headed back to camp to enjoy a relaxing reading day.

We did see one interesting thing right in the middle of nowhere. . . . a shoe tree!

Before getting to camp we stopped at Home Hardware to pick up 2 more melmac coffee mugs. I had bought 4 a couple of days ago & decided we should get 2 more. By the time we left the store we had spent over $80, but some good buys: 10 Huggies Swimmers, $4; Building Block kids’ table, $20; small Tosco binocular set, $44; ball hat & T-shirt, $10; 2 mugs, $4.

Arrived back at campsite to quiet as mice puppies.

Truck temp. today was 72^oF. Another beautiful sunny day.

Sun., July 31: We decided today would be a trailer hangout day and it proved to be a wise decision. There were severe thunder & lightening storms all day. Tomorrow we leave, so the downside is packing screen tent, outdoor carpet, etc. all wet.

When we arrived at the park we certainly weren’t expecting to enjoy our stay, but just the opposite occurred. We had a fantastic site (#13) and on both sides of us were permanent campers who never showed up. The sites are very much like Prov. Park sites, very clean & well-kept.

The unfortunate part about the trip so far is that there has been a total ban on fires since Sturgeon Bay Park. Maybe with all the rain today, it will be lifted.

Mon., Aug. 1: We got up around 7 am, packed up and were on the road by 8:45. Providence Bay Tent & Trailer Park has a pumping service that we had to take advantage of last night. Our water indicator panel showed that the black water was already full so for $9 a truck comes to your site and empties the grey & black tanks. We later learned something must have been wrong because the tank was not near full! It was a very stressful time for me worrying that I would not be able to use my own toilet! But all is well now.

We arrived at SAMUEL de CHAMPLAIN PROV. PARK around 2:30 pm. Our site #10 is really nice and beside the water where the dogs can swim. There are a number of empty sites following the long weekend. I don’t think I will reserve during the week camping next year. This summer every Provincial Park has had empty sites on the weekdays.

NEWS FLASH: We had a call from Andrea to report that Owen has cut his first tooth!

Tues., Aug. 2: We went for a drive to Mattawa today. Truck temp. reads 91^oF.

Mattawa has 15 – 20 huge wooden carved statues around town. We picked up a pamphlet that gave you the name of the person/statue, but didn’t give any information about the person.

We wandered around Mattawa a bit, but it’s really not much of a town. Stephen bought a leather moose-stamped belt and that was it.

We left and drove to a pottery studio on the road leading to Kiosk. I didn’t care much for the pottery. Most of it was bright primary colours. While there we were told about a gorge to check out in the Conservation Area. We decided to do so, but were not expecting a 45 minute hike. I had on sandals (flip-flop type) and a good top and shorts as did Stephen. We were sweating like stuck pigs by the end and I had to pee so bad that watching the running water at the gorge was not too enjoyable! On the way back near the end of the trail we passed 2 police detectives on their way to the cabin on one of the trails.. Apparently some guy had moved into the cabin and was refusing to leave. When we left we saw that the police were blocking the entrance to the Conservation Area so we got in just in time.

Puppies have enjoyed swimming at the camp and Buster is actually getting braver, but today he came back to the trailer and had a bloodsucker on his leg.

I have been picking wild raspberries at the camp and they are delicious.

Wed., Aug. 3: I slept until 10 am today. When we arrived here, the fire ban had been partially lifted. We are allowed to have a fire between 7 & 10 pm and must have a bucket of water beside the fire at all times.

We packed a picnic lunch & took the puppies with us on a Kiosk Road pamphlet guided tour. The pamphlet told you to set the mileage indicator to zero at the beginning of the road and at different km. points throughout the drive there were little blurbs in the pamphlet about what you were seeing. (Bet we know more about the Kiosk area than you do Tim!) The most interesting sight was a huge herd of buffalo.

We stopped for lunch beside a river with rapids. It was a nice spot and the puppies took a dunk.

Truck temp. reads 92^oF.

Thurs., Aug. 4: We left around 10 am heading to Silent Lake Prov. Park. The closer we got towards home, the more we felt like driving right through.

I called the Parks Reservation line and they said if we cancelled before noon we would get half our money refunded which would be $30.50. It was 11:40 am. We decided since the gas to get the extra distance to Silent Lake would cost us more than the $30.50, we’d lose on the reservation, cancel and drive extra to get home today.

It has been a great vacation!! Anxious to see Owen!

TRIP SOUTH, OCT. & NOV. 2007

MARYLAND & WASHINGTON, D.C.

Sunday - As I write this we are driving through Scranton, Pennsylvania. The temperature on the truck reads 60^o F and when we left home at 5 am it was a cool 36 ^o F. The leaves are just beg inning to turn colour here so I think we are a little early for the spectacular fall views.

Well, once again we chose the wrong line at Customs. The last couple of trips to the U.S. we have managed to get into the line with the crotchety old fart Customs Officer. If this fellow had smiled I think his face would have cracked. He took all our chicken!! Apparently now you are not allowed to bring chicken or beef into the U.S. We knew enough not to bring beef so we had pretty well stocked the freezer with chicken and surprise, surprise, you are no longer allowed to bring chicken. He made us pull over and give him all of our chicken which Stephen figures amounted to about 10 lbs. of meat. Other than this the trip so far has been uneventful.

We thought the trip was going too well . . . after 11 hours we arrived at Patapsco Valley State Park near Baltimore only to discover that we had to go under an old stone bridge which signs indicated was 11’ 1" at its lowest point. Our trailer is 12’ high! Since Stephen had his lucky underwear on, we decided to try it. After an 11 hour drive we weren’t about to start looking for somewhere else to stay. I got out of the truck and Stephen moved to the center of the road to be able to go under the bridge at its highest point, the height of which we didn’t know. He inched forward while I watched the top of the trailer. This was not going to work since my height didn’t allow me to see the air conditioner, aerials, vents etc. on top of the trailer. So we switched places. We thought this would be safe as well because I had my underwear on inside out. You all know that if you put your underwear on inside out you should never switch it right side out because that would be bad luck. So since I had accidentally put mine on inside out (at 5 am the brain doesn’t function well) I didn’t switch them because I knew we surely didn’t need any bad luck today. For the 1^st time I drove the trailer. Under the bridge I drove with only about 1" to spare! Once we got into the park & registered we were informed that there is another entrance without a low bridge. . . well thanks for telling us now!! The park is very nice, extremely clean and quiet. Cost of $125 U.S. for 5 nights, electric only. Monday will be a relaxing day with a drive around the area and Tuesday & Wednesday will be touring Washington D.C.

Wednesday Night - After 2 days of touring Washington we have concluded that you would need several more days to see most of the tourist sites. We boarded the train at the West Baltimore train station (which is a story of its own and will be relayed to those at home, but not on the internet!) and at a cost of $14 each to go to Washington, we felt it was certainly worth it. We didn’t have to worry about directions, parking and most of all traffic. When we arrived at Union Station we boarded a double decker tour bus. I had purchased the tickets online thereby saving $8 off the regular price. The tickets cost us $28 each and were good for 2 full days of unlimited riding on the tour bus. We got some great pictures of all the usual buildings and monuments, but the crowning moment and the reason for our trip to D.C. was. . . . . . Archie Bunker’s Chair!! As those close to me know to see Archie’s chair is one of the items on my list of ‘Things to Do Before I Die’. So another one to scratch off the list.

Thursday Morning – We always dread the cell phone ringing, but somehow this morning that pit of the stomach feeling did not hit me at all. Somehow I just knew it was a good call. . . Andrea called to let us know to expect a baby girl in a few months! Now the serious shopping can begin although she had warned me weeks ago that if she is having a girl not to buy frilly, prissy stuff. . . now, does she really think that I will abide by that???

DELAWARE & NEW JERSEY

Saturday - We went for a drive around the area. The small towns are fairly quiet, not a lot of tourists this time of year, so it was pleasant. Was a little disappointed that I was not successful in finding a WiFi hot spot, but will try again. We got a few groceries and a can of pipe tobacco for my Dad. It cost $22.53, a real bargain I’m told since in Canada he pays about $60 or $80 I think (I’m sure he’ll let me know when he reads this), but they only had 1 can. We returned to the trailer and took the dogs to the beach. I had forgotten how they like to lick the sand! It must be the salt I guess. Tomorrow we will spend the day at the beach minus the dogs and Monday we are headed to Atlantic City. We have made reservations for the 9:15 am sailing on the ferry from Lewes to Cape May at a cost of $80. . . . $17 for me; $53 for truck & driver & $10 reservation fee.

Tuesday – We visited Atlantic City yesterday and being the Las Vegas Regular that I am, Atlantic City was a big let down. Casinos were not at all impressive to even look at. We only gambled at Trump Taj Mahal (spelling??) and I did well at first, but then broke my stride by going for a stroll on the boardwalk. By then Stephen has lost all his money so breaking his stride meant nothing at all since he had nothing to gamble with when we returned anyway. I started losing when we returned, but not everything. . . I actually left with money still in my purse.

As stated previously, we found the casinos unimpressive; the Boardwalk boring and unclean; beggars on the Boardwalk did little to help attract a return visit; and the casinos were too far apart. But now we can say we’ve been there and it was a nice day overall with the 1 ½ hour ride on the ferry and the drive. Today is cleaning the trailer and laundry day, then we will pack up tonight since we plan to leave around 5 am for the long drive to Myrtle Beach.

By the way, temperatures remain in the upper 70’s and lower 80’s. Just thought all you Canadians would want to know that!!

SOUTH CAROLINA

Wednesday – We are currently cruising along I95 with the truck temperature reading 85^o F. We left Delaware at 5:15 am and it is now 12:15 pm and we are in North Carolina. It has been a cloudy day with some sunny periods so far. We crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel. Quite a feat of engineering although I was a little worried when we went through the tunnels and I noticed a number of ceramic tiles had fallen from the walls. As we went through Virginia we saw several cotton fields. There were cotton balls all along the side of the highway so Stephen pulled to the shoulder so I could jump out and get me a cotton ball. Don’t ask me what I’m going to do with it though. As soon as we crossed into North Carolina, we began seeing a lot of advertising for Disney tickets. . . we are getting closer to the magic! Today we will have been in 6 states – Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina & exhaustion. We hope to arrive in Myrtle Beach by 4 or 5 pm.

There have been some strange creatures washed up on the beach. Stephen says they are called sea monsters, this knowledge gained from the Discovery Channel. We have had a few problems with some kind of small pod the size of a mini-pea with thorns on that the dogs have been picking up on their feet. For those who know Tess, you can imagine how hard it is removing them from her! They are extremely sharp and even hurt us when we are trying to remove them.

No rain predicted for today, so we are heading out to the trails. Tomorrow we pack up and head to Georgia. Only 5 more days ‘til DISNEYWORLD!!

GEORGIA

The ruins of the Carnegie mansion can be seen on the island. You are not allowed to go into the ruins since the rattlesnakes have taken up residence inside. We went on a Ranger led tour of the island. Our Ranger was Renee Noe who has worked as a Ranger on the island for the past 26 years and had lots of stories to tell. After the tour we did the long hike other all along the beach. We found some nice shells and I even found a starfish (already dead). . . . now my problem is trying to dry the starfish. I’ll have to surf the internet for info. once we find a hot spot.

We had packed a picnic lunch and the weather was perfect so we really had a great day exploring Cumberland Island.

FLORIDA

Friday – It is 9 am and we are finally off to Disneyworld!!!! After we hooked up and I did my usual check of the lights we discovered that the left light was not working. I hope this is not an indication of how the day will go. We are now on the lookout for a new lightbulb as we head to I95 and Disneyworld. This will probably be my last update for awhile since I will be far too involved with the Mouse to write!!

Monday – Quick note (no time to write with Mickey waiting for me): Since we arrived at Disney, there has not been a cloud in the sky!! We’re exhausted; my throat is raw from screaming; my baby toe is blistered; my feet hurt; earliest to bed has been midnight so my eyes are bloodshot. . . I love it!!

Friday – The most depressing day of our journey. . . we left Disneyworld. We headed to the ocean so I felt a bit better knowing that the beach was our next stop. Our next stay was at Sebastican Inlet State Park which is on one of those spits of land known to Florida – ocean, spit of land, water and the main land. The park is very nice and we have much sought after site on the water. We have watched dolphins playing in the water and all sorts of pelicans diving after fish. Stephen is sure that he saw a manatee as well.

I have been soaking up the sun and reading. Right now at 10 am our thermometer in the shade reads about 76^o F. We spent an afternoon at Vero Beach where I finally got to shop at a Beall’s, my favourite Florida store. And what a perfect day to do so. . . they were having a sale on sale items. Everything on sale was an additional 50% off!! There were several sale racks marked down 70% and then there was an additional 50% off! I was in heaven. I was buying baby clothes for a couple of dollars and everything was adorable. They also had great deals on clothes for us as well.

There are several strange trees at this campground and I have yet to discover what they are. They have grape-like fruit hanging from them which the hornets love. Yesterday I got stung. These @#$%@#$% Florida hornets really hurt!!

Tuesday – We are headed to Gamble Rogers State Park in Flagler Beach which is just north of Daytona. Bit of an overcast day today, but the temperature is still a heck of a lot better than home, currently 78^oF. Sebastian Inlet was a great spot with lots to do so we have decided that we will definitely spend time there again next year. I did forget to mention that I saw manatee. I looked out at the water and was sure that I saw one just in front of the trailer so I walked over to the water to have a closer look and sure enough it surfaced again and I had a good look at it 2 or 3 times. Although I have seen them before in zoos, it is quite special to actually see them in the wild. We visited a huge Flea & Farmers’ Market on Sunday where I bought some oranges and Stephen bought another fishing rod. Apparently one is for salt water inlet fishing and this one is for salt water surf fishing.

Saturday - We were not impressed with the Flagler Beach area or Gamble Rogers State Park. It was a very clean, well-kept park, but as they say location, location, location. We were pretty much camped on the shoulder of Highway A1A. The traffic noise was unending. The campground consisted of 2 rows of campsites with the ocean on one side and the highway on the other. The beach was not to my liking either. Sand was a reddish colour and very coarse. The beach had a good deal of seaweed. We have concluded that we will not likely return to the area. Whenever we wanted to do anything, we headed to Daytona so it looks like we will revisit Tomoka State Park when we return to this neck of the woods.

The weather has been great but unfortunately we are now homeward bound to snow, from what our son tells us. Oh well, it had to happen sooner or later. Right now we are cruising along I95 through Georgia. We hope to spend the night at a Flying J in Virginia. Stephen winterized the trailer at the campground just before we left this morning. To ensure that the pipes don’t freeze, this must be done before returning to the freezing weather at home. Also as soon as we get home, we have to completely unload the trailer of anything that may freeze. But there is one good thing about returning home (other than seeing everyone of course) and that is unpacking everything I bought. It ends up being just like Christmas because I have forgotten half of what I bought. Some may say that this is a clear indication that I bought way too much. But I say that the prices were so good it just wouldn’t be right not to save money. . . right ladies???