We left St. Augustine, Florida weeks ago and are currently in Rhinebeck, New York. We had an overnight stay at Savannah Lakes RV Resort, which is brand new and I'm guessing will gain popularity as more and more RV'ers seek a park with a ton of resort like amenities. It's a very short drive to Hilton Head or Savannah. Granted, there isn't a lot of food or shopping within a few miles of the park, but there is an excellent Mexican restaurant, Mi Tierrita-Hardeeville, which is very low key and packed with locals. If fine dining is your thing, Mi Tierrita isn't the place. But if you want good inexpensive food and service...
The next day, we headed off to Fayetteville, North Carolina and stayed at Spacious Skies, Sandy Run. From before entering into the park and all through it, sand is everywhere. When we arrived, it had been raining and the sandy road surfaces rutted and caked up on the Puffin & Dually. The facility is quiet and has a lot of permanent sites. The park is under new management and spending money to upgrade the place.
While camping there, we met Mike and Lisa, another couple of full time RV'ers. They're travelling, exploring, tasting, experiencing everything the country has to offer.
They have a YouTube channel called Our Forever Holiday and it is well worth looking in to see their adventures. Along with the other folks we've met along the way, they're fully embracing the lifestyle!
We spent a week there as we slowly wind our way back to New Hampshire. We visited Cape Fear River Trail and took a hike. North Carolina parks are pretty darned good. While visiting, we note that the park is filled with kids playing soccer, joggers of all ages and folks exercising.
We walked the trail for about 5 miles and discovered the railroad tracks and trestle bridge and the views were pretty. We knew we were beside the river, but didn't travel the trail far enough to get a better look. Overall, area residents are lucky to have a place so beautiful and big enough to accommodate large groups.
At the end of the RV park, there was a farm that had horses. A few times after work, Julie walked down to see them, but every time she went, they weren't out. I think she was developing a complex about horses. I can imagine her getting a lecture from Mr. Ed about the difficult lives they lead. Glue factories, race doping, pony rides on a rope in a small ring - she was having nightmares. Oh well, we packed up and as we headed out of the park on our way north, we saw this...
The Kings Dominion
We made our next stop in Doswell, Virginia at a KOA Campground to meet up with Dee & Heather. Dee is Julie's work colleague and heather is Dee's neighbor. We actually met them on our way to Naples and had the opportunity to meet up with them again, this time for a barbecue dinner.
We had a good time and we got to learn about Heather as a special education teacher and the real challenges she confronts in order to give these kids a chance. While Heather takes her work seriously, her sense of humor is fully intact. Dee and Julie talk damned near every day and it's easy to see their relationship is special.
So two times to Doswell, once in a Harvest Host Winery and the other at a KOA Campground. Aside from meeting up with Dee & Heather, Jake's Place is on the outskirts of town we had dinner in. As it was the first time we were there (crowds of people enjoying the tiny downtown area), it was deja vous.
Rules? We don't need no stinkin rules...
We've now made it to Williamsport, Pennsylvania and camped at Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park. They're a chain of RV parks all around the country and are designed for kids. The campground was getting ready for the season, preparing the huge water park and cleaning, pruning and getting guest cottages opened up for what was sure to be a no vacancy situation. We stayed there for a couple of weeks. During the week, the place is deserted. On the weekends, the RV's start rolling in and kids are everywhere! Every RV Parks has its own set of rules. Speed limits in the park. Quiet hours. Trash. Check in/out times. Rig washing. Guests. And while there is a sense of commonality, the real purpose of these rules is to protect campers from injury, have peace and quiet and keeping the place clean. Trash is a serious thing, as leaving a trash bag outside your rig overnight is a no no. And that's because there are animals that will rip open the trash bag looking for food. You wake up the next morning to find your garbage spread out all around your site, the neighbors site and down the street. So yeah, Ranger Smith should be having a fit, because no one follows the rules.
We've been in enough RV parks to know the rules should be followed. That too many people think the rules don't apply to them is frustrating. Especially true when little kids are running around. If you RV, for goodness sakes, at least be mindful that the rules are there to protect you and the other campers.
So much for my soapbox moment.
It's been raining a lot lately. Storms from the south and mid west rumble through one after the other keeping us from playing outside. We're determined to take advantage and the weather be damned, as we head out for a day of sightseeing and wine tasting.
Williamsport is located in the northwest corner of Maryland. Its rolling hills are similar to what we experienced in Woodbine - spectacular views and hiking trails everywhere. We were also close to several neighboring states: Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
The wineries were 1. Two Twisted Posts Winery 2. Breaux Vineyards 3. 868 Estate Vineyards
Two Twisted Posts was our favorite; the reds were my favorite, Julie liked others. Breaux is where we had lunch, but the wine was just okay, even though they had a governors award. The place felt too commercial. We stopped last at 868, walked in, sampled some of the wines, but decided not to stay, as the guy playing guitar walked up to people and got right into their faces...Yikes! The ride was fun as it took us past small towns and rolling hillsides. It's a beautiful area. Watch out Napa Valley, some of these places can give you a run for your money! I can't remember. Did I mention it was raining?
After having a pic-a-nic basket full of fun with Yogi, we headed to White Haven, PA to the Holy Ghost Distillery to spend a night before coming to Rhinebeck. A lot of RV'ers use different GPS systems to guide you safely to your destination. Generally, it takes a bit longer than using the cars GPS, as considerations are made for the length, width, height and weight of your RV. We've met people who ripped off their A/C units, or had to back up and find another safe route because the bridge could not take the weight. We've used RV Life and generally try to use main highways to get to our destination. It's worked well thus far except getting to this distillery first took us to an abandoned gas station. Wait, that can't be right, so we reloaded the destination and it took us four miles down the road to a trailer park. The place was in terrible shape, with a lot of units in serious need of repair, overgrown yards filled with junk and abandoned stirpped cars. We were pretty sure this wasn't a Harvest Host location.
So we went on line, found the address and it took us another 5 or 6 miles east into the Poconos until we found it. The picture below is where we left the Puffin; we were the only ones staying there.
We go to check in, only to find out they weren't expecting us. Seems, I forgot to make the stay request and they had every right to say no, we're sorry, but no overnight for you. But they didn't say that and said, sure, please stay and come visit with us. The Holy Ghost Distillery is well worth visiting if you're in the area. They offer bourbons, single malts, vodkas, flavored spirits of all types (Dark Cherry Bourbon was phenomenal), so we had tasting flights and small plates of food.
While we were the only RV'ers there, it was also a locals hang out. A son brought his mother from about 10 miles away to sample the bourbons; she was an aficionado. The dining options were about 10 miles away and were tucked into resort villages and lake homes off of Lake Harmony. The roads need a lot of TLC, as the bumps and potholes had my kidneys bulging from my left shoulder blade. We made it to Nick's Lake House, which was casual and relaxed. The food was not so good - we must be food snobs.
Anyway, we got up early the next day and headed to my cousins house in Clark's Summit. Anthony and Francine live in a beautiful home. They bought it several years ago and basically rebuilt and rehabbed the bloody thing; Franny is the designer and Tony gets the work done, much of it himself. They collect unusual antiques and have made their home an impressive piece of art.
So Franny is my Uncle Tony's (my dads brother), daughter and in typical Nardozzi fashion, you cannot come for a visit unless we have a meal, A meal is an understatement. Before dinner, there was an antipasto, with a lot of Italian meats, cheesses, olives peppers and bread. Then we sit down for the meal. The abundance of food could have fed eight hungry 16year old boys. Stuffed shells, meatballs, hot and sweet sausages, bread, gravy and salad. My cousin can cook! Who knew?
For me, it was a throwback to the days we would gather in New Rochelle, NY to eat at my grandmother's house. Uncle and Aunts lived within easy walking distance and in any of those houses, you'd be fed until it hurt. That feeling of nostalgia, missing the people and the good times and the meals is alive and well with Fanny and Tony. You might guess there's a bit of love involved.
A bit about Tony. He's a pretty clever guy and has invented some things that you just can't go out and buy. The home is situated on a hillside, where half the house foundation is underground. The basement includes a crawl space that can be accessed, but it's a shallow deep room that's a real pain in the ass to get in and out of. So he fashioned a train track, placed tubs onto the tracks (yes, with wheels), and connected them. The track runs around the crawl space by means of a motor that can go forward and backward. Each tub is marked with its contents and he keeps a master list on the wall of each tub, the tub number and again, the contents. He has room to add more tubs. This thing is so clever, he appeared on TV to highlight what he'd done and people are asking about how to get one. I meant to get a picture of it before leaving, but I was too stuffed to walk down to the basement. When Julie and I finally settle down and move into a house, I plan on returning to steal the train and most assuredly will have something good to eat!
We are now in Rhinebeck and it's raining. Tomorrow night we have dinner plns with my daughter and her beau. More to come soon.
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