Check Off Another One!

One of the things Dad and I wanted to experience on this trip was an old fashion thunderstorm.  Well, yesterday we got our wish.  Driving across Missouri and Kansas supplied more than one heavy storm.  It was fun, but I wasn't doing the driving.

Sorry I haven't written in a few days.  We haven't been able to get WIFI for a few nights but tonight we are in Colorado and we even have cable.  We haven't watched T.V. for weeks and it's fun see some of the new shows.
It's supposed to be around freezing tonight, so we are definitely in Colorado.  I've got my hot cup of tea and Dad is watching NCIS.  Life is good.

The entire town of Cooperstown had this type of buildings

Cooperstown was way better than either of us thought it would be.  The museum itself was in an old fashion building in a quaint little town.  We both enjoyed walking around the hall of fame itself for a few hours.  We had lunch in the Doubleday Cafe, and found a couple of shirts for Dad in one of the little shops.  It was a great day.

Dad and the Fogerty display

Dad especially loved the John Fogerty display.  They even played "Centerfield" at the opening program.  The baseball in the movies displays were fantastic as well.  We found the Lincecum Cy Young award display.  It was a great experience.  The whole trip was Linda's idea and as usual she hit a homerun!

We drove to meet Pete and Linda at Niagara falls the next day.  The falls were beautiful.  They were enormous and overwhelming.  We took the Maid of the Mist cruise under the falls and it was incredible.  Even Dad was impressed.  Pete and Linda went over to the Canadian side for a view from there and said it was even better, but the people were 10 deep and the atmosphere was carnivalish.  They came back within a couple of hours and we had dinner together in a nice little restaurant in a town near our RV camp.

Horseshoe Falls from the Maid of the Mist

We split up the day before yesterday and we are heading for Denver and the train shop and they are headed for Oklahoma to visit Linda's son and his family.  We had an incredible time together.  This is one trip we will always remember.

Well, enough for tonight.  Life is good and it's good to be headed back home.

Another great day for the Huffs!

Much love,   Mom

Colors of New England

The colors are everywhere!

If you had told me at the beginning of this trip that the New England states would be one of our favorite places, I would have been quite surprised.  The fall colors have been so much more than we ever thought they could be.  It isn't just the color, it's that fact that you feel totally surrounded by them.  The people here have been really helpful and generous as well.  We spent three nights in Lancaster, New Hampshire.  It was really raining hard when we arrived and we discovered a definite leak in the roof of the motorhome.  We used bowls to catch the drips, but the whole rig felt damp and uncomfortable.  Pete and Linda took a ride up to the Canadian border while Dad and I stayed behind to dry things out and try to figure out how to fix things.  Comfort food always helps.... I fixed a big pot of tortilla soup and we kept the heat going and just cleaned the motorhome.  The rain stopped and so did the dripping.  When we were talking to the owner of the campground the next day, he gave us great directions to see the fall colors and gave us sealant to fix the roof. He scored lots of points with your father and me.  The next morning Dad was on the roof trying not to slip on the ice while he fixed the leaks (we hope).

View from our campground in Lancaster, New Hampshire

After we left left New Hampshire, we took the back roads to South Hero Island.  It is a small island that sits on Lake Champlain, Vermont.  We lucked out again and the setting was very wet, but beautiful.

Lake Champlain from our campground in Vermont

We spent the day touring little towns in the area and going into Stowe, a touristy town.  Too many people and not our favorite place, but then we moved on to the Trapp Lodge just above Stowe.


It is a beautiful lodge built by the Trapp family after they came to America when they had to escape from Austria.  The setting reminds you so much of the setting in the Sound of Music.  After spending a second night in Vermont, we left this morning and are now in camp just 5 miles from Cooperstown, New York.  Dad and I will really explore tomorrow.  Pete and Linda are visiting relatives and we will meet up with them again in a few days at Niagara Falls.

Hope all is well.  Thanks so much for taking care of everything at home.  This is a trip Dad and I will never forget.  Much love..... stay happy and well.

Trapp Lodge in Vermont

Mom

P.S.  For the rest of the day, after Dad sealed the roof and got some of the sticky goo on his fingers, he couldn't even turn the pages of the map without it sticking to him.  It reminded me of Clark Griswald in bed with his wife... "just a  little sap".

Our favorite picture 

New England Oddities

"Mr. Timberland" at Land's End on Bailey Island

Shopping?  Did Mom mention Shopping?  The ladies shopped until after 7:00 p.m.  I, on the other hand, found what I wanted in the first store I entered.  Men like me know what they need, go to the appropriate store, sometimes try on the clothing, buy it and live with it.  Women like your mother will always keep trying on clothes as much as they try on stores.  They might like something in one store, but think there might be something better at another shop.  Hence, the all day shopping.  Let me give you an example:  Your mother wanted a new leather jacket, so we went to an outlet store in Freeport, Maine that specializes in such objects.  The very first jacket she tried on was absolutely perfect in that the color was right, it fit her very well, and it was like 60-70 percent off the MSRP.  I loved it, but no!  It couldn't be THE right one because she hadn't tried every other one on in the store.

Which she did. An hour later guess which one she bought?  Yup, the first one she had tried on, and then only after I threatened to make her drive the motorhome on some narrow back roads.  I walked into Timberland's outlet and snagged boots, pants, and an all-weather jacket.  Walked next door to the Mangy Moose and bought a t-shirt.  My day was done.

Meet "Bob"!

Next, I want to make it clear that I did not approve of Pete naming his lobster Bob.  When he ate that sucker he had juices from the recently deceased crustacean squirting all over the table and me.  Some dude at another table offered to take a picture of the disgusting display but I yelled "no!" and that was that.  I say if you have to have written and picture directions on how to eat your food, choose something easier to eat.

Viewing islands at Acadia National Park

On September 29th the four of us went to the only National Park in the Northeast.  Acadia (no "r") is an island like no other.  It has finger-like projections of land daring the Atlantic Ocean to erode them.  It has at least five light houses, lots of surf, beautiful fall colors, and a jaw-dropping view from Cadillac Mountain.  Part of the view is of world famous Bar Harbor where the beautiful people visit.  We saw as much of the park as we could, took lots of pictures, ate our sandwiches at a roadside picnic area, and beautiful or not, ate dinner on the wharf in Bar Harbor.

Cruise ship in Bar Harbor

Did I forget to mention that both rigs had their oil changed the day before? $132 for an oil change?  Do I have tourist stamped on my forehead?

No neighbors in Newport, Maine

New fundraising idea for Newcastle Lions Club

You want me the drive the motorhome where?

Today (October 1st) we are spending our second night in Lancaster, New Hampshire.  We had loads of fun doing the wash (loads, get it?), shopping for groceries and drying out the rig.  If Clifford was a ship we would have sunk last night.  It absolutely poured and our roof sprang leaks.  Mom is relieved that the ceiling has finally stopped dripping.  I, being the positive type, think it's because it finally stopped raining.  I've got to climb up on the roof tomorrow and use some caulking in strategic places because it is supposed to rain in New York about the time we head for Niagara Falls.  Our traveling buddies took a drive to see moose this afternoon and they failed in their mission.  The locals have all told us this is the best time of year to see the big guys and that would truly be memorable.  Here moosie, moosie....

Where Everybody Knows Your Name!

Old North Church... "one if by land, two if by sea"

Boston has to be one of our favorite locations.  The people were happy and friendly and the city itself seemed well  maintained and intelligent (if a city can be intelligent).  We actually began our trip into Boston the night before when a waitress at a restaurant where we had dinner in New Hampshire gave us lots of good information.  She had lived in Boston in the past and instructed us about the correct subways  to ride and where and when to get on and off.  Her advice was great and after the D. C. subways, it was a piece of cake.

Dad and a destroyer near the U.S.S. Constitution

Dad and I at The Bull and Finch
CHEERS!

We started walking the freedom trail (a red brick path through historic Boston) around noon and ended up at the U.S.S. Constitution around 4:30.  We passed the graveyard where Paul Revere was buried and on past the Old North Church.  There was history all around us.   We had walked about 3 miles to the U.S. Constitution and we were pretty tired so we took a water taxi back to a spot near Boston Commons and then walked on to Cheers.  It was well worth the walk.  Dad and I haven't had that much fun in a long time.  The beer was ice cold and the atmosphere was great!



After a day's rest in camp, we went on the Freeport, Maine.  It was a small New England town with lots and lots of great shopping.  Everything seemed very classy there.  Even the McDonalds was reserved and picturesque.  We probably spent too much money there, but had a great time doing it.  The next day, we took a drive out to the Atlantic coast so that Pete could have a fresh lobster.  We had a ball watching him eat the lobster he named Bob.

Well, that's it for now.  Dad wants to add another blog tonight.  Hope you are all happy and well.

Having fun a McDonalds

Love ya,     Mom