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

Cape Cod, Rhode Island, and BOSTON!

Tacky downtown Provincetown

On Wednesday, September 22nd,  we drove Clifford to a KOA Kampground (yes, that's how they spell it) outside  of Boston.  The next day we took Clyde and drove out to the very tip of Cape Cod to Provincetown.  We had lunch at a restaurant near the water.  The neat thing about Provincetown is this really tall, completely out-of- place, brick tower to celebrate what the locals claim was the first stop by the Pilgrims. The Plymouth Rock story doesn't get mentioned here.  The rest of the town is just a cheap tourist trap.  How disappointing.  Next we had to see the Atlantic Ocean.  Later, we went through Hyannis Port (very upscale) where the Kennedy's hung out.  That evening the four of us drove into Rhode Island for dinner and received a bonus when one of the waitresses was from Boston and wrote out what subway to use and what to see.

Look!  The Atlantic Ocean doesn't waves

I can't wait to tell you about our excursion to Boston, my new favorite city.    

Rest, Relaxation, and a Haircut

After walking so much on Sunday, we cleaned the rig and lazed around Monday.  Tuesday I asked the locals where to go to get a haircut and they gave me directions to a place called Fifi's.  Of course I couldn't find it, so just about the time I was getting really frustrated, I spied an old-fashioned barber pole and thought this might be the place.  It turned out to be a New York version of Paul the Barber's.  The guy was right out of a "B" movie with his accent, stories about the Jets and the Giants, and his local customers.  Turns out his dad cut hair for 60 years and he was on his 20th!  He worked really hard trying to make me somewhat presentable and then wanted only ten bucks!  I gave him a twenty,  big West Coast spender that I am.  I looked like a real tourist in there, but really liked the stories.  I thought Fifi's sounded too much like a poodle parlor anyway....  

Langston outside his shop waiting for another customer!

Finally!

Okay, okay, okay.  It's been nine days since Philly and I feel the need to share some of our adventures and misadventures.  On Sunday, September 19th, mom and I boarded a tour bus bound for New Yawk City.  The very first thing our very humorous and knowledgeable guide told us was New Yorkers don't pronounce their r's.  He immediately taught us three sayings that we needed to know to survive the city.  The first was to just call out, "Yo, Mitch" when we wanted to ask him a question.  The second was "How ya doin'?", followed by "fahgitaboutit."  We actually heard the locals using those phrases.

Lovely lady and the statue ain't bad either

Our first stop was the ferry that took us out to Liberty Island to disembark and view the Statue of Liberty.  What a magnificent lady!  Somehow I don't think the French would build us something like this today.  Next up was Ellis Island where so many of our ancestors arrived from all over the world.  Once there they might have their names shorted or changed by ignorant immigration officials.  After lunch we rode the elevators to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building--what a fantastic view of New York from the observation deck.  We had perfect weather and mom got attacked from behind by King Kong!  I still don't like heights--I kept thinking about having to paint that far up.

Mom did not know King Kong was behind her until the last second

Looking at the Hudson River and downtown New York
from the Empire State Building

We drove by where the Twin Towers used to be and got to see the new construction.  Sobering.  Later we went to Times Square and ate a fantastic New York hot dog from a street vendor.  Burp!  We shopped, we came back to the RV park, we plopped.  We were tired but the tour was really worth it.  I wish we'd had a guide like Mitch on at least one of our 8th grade D.C. trips.