Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Decenber 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Nov. 2009
Nov. 15th we went to church this morning, and it was great just to be back with a lot of friends that we made over the past year. We hadn’t realized how much we missed them till we returned today. We also were happy to be in the presence of Pastor Andrew and the sermons that he gives, as he preaches right from the text of the Bible. After church we did a little shopping for some things we needed to get done and we are well on our way to making our home the way we want it. Jon went to connect the DirecTV today with some of the existing cable in the house and he could not get a good signal. We called for a service tech to complete this task, this is the first time that Jon couldn’t get it tuned in. It was another exhausting day as we continued to put the place together. We will sleep well tonight and as always it is a good day in Florida.
Nov. 14th the first think we did this morning was to wash the MH and the toad as they were quite dirty from the journey down. Jon had washed the roof of the MH back in PA and all of the salt residue from ME was on the sides. After the washing, it once again looked like a new rig. We then went shopping to get items for the home and we did very well in our adventure. We are sure you all know how it is when opening up a new home. This is the third day in a row that we put in some long hours, in a few months everything will be to our liking. It was a great day in Florida.
Nov. 13th the dreaded Friday the thirteenth, for us just another day of unloading and getting things in place for the winter months. What we want here and what goes there all day long, but we did have a good time and knew that it is for the future and we will be better off.
Nov, 12th we wanted to get an early start and we were on the road by 7AM; this was after a short visit with Eddie & Debbie over coffee, as we bid them farewell and knew that we would see them for Thanksgiving. We arrived at Adelaide Shores RV Resort a little after 8AM and got to take a look at the park model we agreed to buy. After a look we were overwhelmed at all it had to offer. We made settlement and started to unload the MH. Can you ever believe the stuff you can accumulate over a few years, we could fill up the park model twice and it is three times the size of the MH. We had Dennis, Pat and Kate helping us unload and bring items into the home. After getting all the stuff in the fun part started in which we had to find a place for the items. It was a long and tiring day; I guess we are not fulltimers any more but just part timers. Another good day in the camping world.
Nov. 11th we awoke early and continued with our appointments. We had to be there early in the morning and go back for a follow up in the afternoon. Every think went fine and at 3 PM we left to go to Orlando to meet up with Jon’s sister to deliver a sewing machine and other articles that we transported for her. We had a nice dinner with Eddie, Debbie, Angie, Larry and Gracie, after that we returned to Debbie’s place and had a short visit as we were camping in her driveway. It was a good day and a very stressful one as well.
Nov. 10th as we noted in yesterdays journal we were on the road before 6 am, and once again we realized just how weak our headlights are on the MH. We were grateful that we only had to drive less than ½ hour till sunrise. We stopped for fuel right before we left Ga. and filled up and then drove about 30 miles to Jacksonville were we had some appointments today. We were very lucky that where we are going they had some RV parking and we were early enough to get a spot. After the appointment we learned that we needed to be there the following day, so at that time we called Adelaide Shores and informed them about our delay in getting there. It would be alright and out transactions that were to be done in person on Wednesday could be done by mail on Thursday. We then found a Wal-Mart about seven miles away and set in for the night. This place was very quiet and we got a good night’s sleep. We are so happy that all is working out and that our journey so far has been safe and all things are working out.
Nov. 9th what a great Wal-Mart location in that we had a TV signal and we also had Wi-Fi in the parking lot and it was quite. We continued our journey today and had an uneventful drive, would like to say at this time it is overall the best condition that Rt. 95 is in for the most part. The only major construction was in Ga. And within a year or so we will probably see 6 lanes throughout all of the state. We pulled into another Wal-Mart and in contrast it was a real contrast as the RV’ers that were there were abusing the privilege of the lot. With at least 4 units there with all slides out and on jacks and disconnected from the pull trucks, not only that they had their chairs out in a group sitting in a circle, plus a trucker there had his rig running all night. Around 7:30 another MH pulled in right next to us and started his generator and ran it all night, at about 10:30 because of the fumes from the diesel generator we moved to the rear of the store where we knew we could stay till about 5:30 or so as this was the area of the shop. At about 5:30 am we moved back to our original spot except to the other side and we left out MH run with the exhaust right at their bedroom slide, and as Jon was preparing the car for travel the hood slipped out of his hand and slammed shut and when he pressed the remote to lock the car he held it too long and the horn went off about 4or 5 times.
Nov 8th we awoke and started to finish up what little packing we had to do, and connected the car which we say when connected it is our cargo trailer. After checking that all of our connections were complete and correct we left Lickdale CG a little after 8am. Being on the road for about 10 minutes a car passed us and waved and it was Jon’s sister as they were going to church. When we passed the church we gave a blast on the air horns. Kathleen did a lot of the driving and all day she took us across the state lines, out of PA, through MD and WVA and into VA were Jon took over through most of VA. Kathleen then took over into NC and then Jon finished the first day’s journey to a Wal-Mart in NC where we stopped for the night. We did a little shopping at Wally world, put up the TV antenna and tuned in the NASCAR race and had some TV for the night. We couldn’t sit in the living room/kitchen area of the MH as we are filled up transporting stuff that we cleaned out from Jon’s mother’s apartment, some of it is going to Jon’s sister in Orlando and we are taking the rest with us. It was a very good day and a safe day on the roads, more then we can say for a lot of the deer we saw that were killed on the roads; one looked like a 10 point buck.
SHOCK OF THE DAY: While Jon was pumping diesel fuel and Kathleen was waiting inside the store, an elderly man who could hardly talk and walk bought two packs of cigarettes that cost $12. A younger gal bought two cartons of cigarettes that cost $85. We are so glad we do not smoke!!
Nov.7th well all week we have been busy getting ready to travel south to Fl. for the winter. Kathleen babysat Sammie 5 days this past week and she stayed overnight Friday night, it is such a blessing to have her and she is such a wonderful granddaughter. During the days we went out and did a lot of our winter shopping as we went to a few Amish stories to buy supplies, you can really get great deals on canned and boxed items at a fraction of their normal price. We visited Jon’s mom every day and know in our hearts that she is in a very good nursing home, and that her ailments are not as bad as we originally thought, and she is better now as she cannot live alone any more. We met with some of our friends this past week and the waist line shows it, this too we will have to get over. We see some exercise in the future and trying to eat less. Today we had some of Jon’s mom’s grandchildren go through her apartment and pick out what they wanted, to clean out the apartment. It is a sad day for America today with the passage of the health care bill that just opens up new ways for lawyers to strangle us with bad lawsuits. We are looking forward to going south as it is getting cooler all the time here. Just another great day at being a fulltimer on the road.
Nov. 1st we went to church in the morning and we didn’t stay to socialize as we had to get back and get ready to have a family gathering with Kathleen’s sons and their wives. We had a Lobster dinner at Dave’s place and just had a great time in talking about what happened over the summer and what our future plans are. They were happy for us as we told them about us buying a Park Model in Florida and about our plans on working in Pa. next summer. This way we will be able to spend more time with them throughout the summer. After that we went to see Jon’s mom for a while, then returned home for the rest of the evening. Today we set the clocks back an hour and after the day we had yesterday we needed it. Another great day in the CG.
Monday, October 5, 2009
October, 2009
Oct. 31st we went to a pancake and sausage breakfast this morning as Elmer got us some tickets, it was a benefit for the Lions Club. After that we met with Jon’s brothers and sisters and went through the items at mom’s apartment, since she is in the nursing home she will not need the apartment and we are dividing up her processions to be passed down through the family. Next Saturday the Grandchildren are going in and hopefully take the rest, if not what is left are going to charity. In the late afternoon we had a dinner at a local diner which was set up for some months. This was going to be a get together of all of the children but since all of the events in the past three weeks it put a cloud over the get together. After the meal which was attended by about 40 people we all went to the nursing home and took some pictures with Jon’s mom. The one granddaughter Kelly is a professional photographer and she got us all set up for the photo shoot. After that Debbie & Eddie, along with James and Katie came out to the CG to go the Halloween Hayride. It was a busy day and all in all a good day.
Oct. 26th wow, does time fly and we were so busy over the past two weeks. On the 12th Jon’s mother became quite disoriented and we took her to her Dr. and had some tests done. After two nights at her daughter’s place she went back for a follow up at the Dr’s office and from there she went to the hospital. She was in the hospital for 8 days and then she was placed in a nursing home. We only missed seeing her one day and along with our other visits and appointments time has been a blur. Over the course of two weeks Jon rewired the MH to the car and also removed the starter and had it rebuilt. Kathleen has been very busy with getting the MH ready to travel down south. We have cable here at the CG but a lot of the time it is just an advertisement for DirecTV, so we did hook up our converter box to get over the air digital TV. Also during the last week Kathleen has come down with a cold and that is taking a toll on her and she spent about 2 days just lounging around as we all know how a cold knocks you down. Along with everything else she likes to have her granddaughter at least 4 days a week, and that takes a toll as well. It is still great to be in a CG and enjoying the day.
Oct 12th we arose at 3:45 am in anticipation of getting to PA. We didn’t leave till about 6:30 and we decided to go to Cabela’s first as we were too early to get to the CG. After setting up we went to see Jon’s mother and catch up on the summer and enjoy some time with her. After that we went to Kathleen’s son and visited for a while and we also picked up Sammy as she like’s to be with us and enjoys her friends here at the CG. She will staying for the night and she will be sleeping with Pokot . We did have a good day and we retired quite early.
Oct 11th we were on the road by 7:10 am and did a lot of driving today, we also took a lot of scenic route and did slow down our travel time, along with we did not want to pay to use Interstate 95 in Maine and New Hampshire as these are toll roads and we refuse to pay if we don’t have to. We also drove across Rhode Island into Connecticut on a very scenic route, we were 10 to 14 days too early for the foliage in this area. We made it into New York and pulled into a Wal-Mart for the night. We were on the road for about 11 hours and all driving was safe.Oct.10th we spent the day getting ready to pull out, we had decided to take our time and get everything cleaned up and made ready to travel. We had some wood left over and we had a fire to use it up. At the CG there was an October Fest and we did walk over to the craft tent and looked at the items, nothing that we could use though as it was all cold weather garments and a few wall hangings. We decided that we didn’t want to do any beer tasting as a tasting plastic cup was $25.00 and we felt that it was way out of line. Over the course of the summer we tasted a lot of these brews and to us they are not very good at all. We turned in early so as to get an early start. Another good day in a CG.
Oct. 8th & 9th these were our last two days on work, there was very little business and the days were very boring and long. The bright spot of both days is that we had supper with Elmer & Phyllis. We enjoyed both evenings and had a good time.
Oct 6th we met up with Elmer & Phyllis in the morning and we drove to the south side of the western part of the island and walked to Seal Head Harbor Lighthouse, we actually walked to both sides of this lighthouse and the eastern side is a set of steps leading down to the rock where you must navigate them. You need to be very careful at this point as we see a potential for injury here. From there we took a hike out past an inlet and through the woods, it was a relaxing walk and for a change on this island pretty level. After that we headed to Bar Harbor as they had a Lighthouse boat tour set up, also at that time we were planning on going along but as we went to the ticket counter we discovered that is was sold out. As they went on the boat we took a 2 ½ hour trolley tour and had a nice trip around the park, which was also narrated and we learned a lot more about the island. The timing was good as we both finished with our tours within five minutes of each other. We then went up on Cadillac Mt. for the sunset and it was another great sunset as we took many pictures. After that we came back to the MH and had supper and at that time a great story came up. The high school that we all attended had a great band director and a few weeks ago the school auditorium was dedicated in his name and Elmer played in the ceremony along with about 140 other musicians from days gone by. The band director had retired in 1986 and we don’t know why it took this long to make this dedication. Elmer had been in contact with Harlan Daubert over the years and he a few other members held some early practices, even Mr. Daubert was directing some of them. Elmer went on to say how the practices grew in size as they continued. Elmer told of the careers of some of the students that came out of this fine program and how Mr. Daubert prepared a lot of them for the rest of their lives. We had a great day and finished it up with a great story. Mr. Daubert, your lifelong dedication is an inspiration to many.
Oct 5th we spent most of the morning either cleaning up around the MH or checking all systems for a go on Sunday when we are leaving this place. In the afternoon we headed over to the pier where the lobsterman come in and as we waited about 15 min. we saw one coming in. We asked him if he was selling and for how much and we were told $5.00 each, than we asked if he could do 12 for $50.00 and he said that was no problem and we got the dozen. We then returned to the MH and cooked them all up and vacuum packed and froze them for later enjoyment. In the evening we were invited along with the rest of the employee’s to our owners home for a meal. We had a good time at his home and enjoyed a delicious meal. When we got home Kathleen talked with her sister-in-law and made some plans for the next few days. Another good day on the road.
Oct. 4th we found out a lot of things about our job over the last couple days, as to when the store will be shut for the winter and how the weather is affecting it. We left early on the 3rd and the store was closed on the 4th because of the rain. Since both Ron & Shirley and us were off we got together and played a few games in the afternoon and then went and got a bite to eat. Elmer & Phyllis are on their way here and we will be with them over the course of the next few days. As of now we will be working this Thursday and Friday and Ron & Shirley are working on Saturday & Sunday. If that is the case we will be leaving on Sunday for the journey home, hoping to get there on Monday afternoon. The foliage is really starting to come out here and we hope to be able to get out and see it, we are sure that we see a lot on our way south. Over the course of the last several weeks and days we have a lot of irons in the fire and we cannot report on them at this time, till it comes to fruition, more on that later.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
September 2009
$950.00Painting,Oh,well
Queen Victoria
Sept. 30th on this past Monday we had intended to drive up north to look at the foliage, and as we got out of Ellsworth we saw that it hadn’t happened yet and rather than drive up for no reason we turned around. On the way back into Ellsworth we stopped at the Verizon store as Kathleen wanted to get a new phone. The reason for this is that she had to charge her phone every day, I had the same model as she did but back in the spring I dumped mine in the dish pan and then I went to a back-up. I also had charging problems with that same model as well. Turned out we both got new phones, this time different models, her’s is a little more advanced than mine, as it has a keyboard. We then did some shopping and returned o the MH. Tuesday we didn’t have anything planned so we just worked on the MH, we had some cabinet doors and drawers that to be reglued and secure the bottom tracks. Other than that, it was a lazy day. We got up Wednesday and went into Bar Harbor. After eating breakfast at Two Cats we went down to the pier, as it was the maiden porting for the Queen Victoria. There was a lot of fan fare as bands played, an antique car show on Main St. and entertainers at several places in town. We also did some shopping and enjoyed the festivals. As we walked past an Art Display we saw a painting that was selling for $950.00, and I thought that I could probably paint that with a couple of spray cans of different shades of blue, I really believe I don’t have a eye for art. We stopped in at the shop where we work and visited with our co-workers Ron and Shirley. We have enjoyed working with them and feel privileged to know them. They will be heading to their home in Arkansas after the Bar Harbor gig is finished in a couple of weeks. In the afternoon we went to the docks to buy some lobster and we waited for an hour. No lobstermen showed up so we put that plan on hold (sometimes a plan doesn’t come together). In the evening we turned on the TV to watch the continuing Ken Burns series about the national parks, this is a wonderful and educational series. Just another couple of days enjoying full timing.
Sept 22nd well to catch up in the past week as I have not posted anything. We are still enjoying our time here and in the past couple of weeks we found out about buying lobster on the docks as the lobstermen bring them in. Last week we bought 7 lobster for $25.00 and this week we bought 6 for $25.00, on each occasion we took them home and cooked them up and vacuum sealed them and froze them. Also on each of those days we have a lobster dinner, and they were some of the best, for at this time of the season the shells are getting harder and the lobster is growing into the new shell. As for the frozen meat we are going to have a meal when we get back to PA and share with family and friends. Today we took a bike ride around Jordan Pond and stopped at the restaurant there and had a sort of lunch/dinner, and as always it was great, after that we came home and just chilled out as the weather is definitely getting cooler and we can feel that summer has left us, we did enjoy about 3 weeks of summer. Like to have Al Gore try to explain to us about global warming as we just experienced the shortest, coolest summer we ever had. Just another good day to be in a campground.
Sept.8th we left early this morning to go to Campobello Island in New Brunswick, Can. This was the summer home of former President FDR. His cottage had 18 bedrooms with a total of 34 rooms. Once again it was an elegant place and the up keep is impeccable, we toured this first and after that we set up our tent in the Herring Cove Provincial Park. This is a very nice clean, quiet, well run campground. We had a list of geocaches that we had arranged to take us around the island; we have done this in the past and also again on this trip and it is a great tool to take you to locations that are not on the tourist guide. We just thoroughly enjoyed the rugged coastline and the beauty of the thick forests. We did several geocaches in the forests and were surprised at the softness of the forest floor, it had anywhere from a 1 to 3 inch sponge effect to it. We then had supper at a local restaurant, returned to the campsite and retired for the night.
Sept.6th we left early for work this morning for the express reasons to see the Explorer of the Seas as it was in port for the day. This is one of the largest cruise ships in the world with over 1180 crew and can carry over 3110 guests. We went to the loop road in the park to get a good view. We had a very good day at work and it was quite busy most all day, at the same time we knew that is was close to full moon as we had a lot of customers that just didn’t have a clue. Why is it that Common Sense is a thing of the past, is at times an understatement?
Thursday, August 6, 2009
August 2009
Aug.31st we left this morning for the Millinocket, Me area as this is in the shadow of Mt. Katahdin. It was a pleasant drive up and we had a safe trip. When we went to check in at the CG it was closed for a short time as they went to the Post Office. We then went to do a Geo-cache and came across a great view of Mt. Katahdin across a lake, the mountain was about 25 miles away and is such a impressive sight. Just as we found the geo-cache and were leaving on some loose stones Jon said to be careful not to fall, at that same time Kathleen was falling; luckily only a little bruise and a slightly skinned arm. We got back and checked in to the CG and set up our tent and then proceeded to Baxter State Park. We walked a trail that took us to a lake at the base of the mountain and really got to see it up close. This is the northern most point of the Appalachian Trail. After that we went back into town to get something to eat and a few supplies for the tent. Since we have a summer tent we got a tarp to cover the openings and we heard the temps were going down tonight. Another good day of sightseeing.
Aug. 30th we usually don’t talk too much about work but, today was a really good day as we got to talk with several people that are full timers and or wanabes. Since today was a slow day and a lot of people just came in for information we had time for a chat with several of them. Then there was this one fellow that is the world is only for me and no one else cares, we all know the ones. He had a very high SUV and it was rather hard for the two of us to load a 120 lb. kayak on the top of it which we did and he didn’t even help to tie it down. On the return trip it was only his short wife and the two of us to unload it and we asked the wife where he was, she said that he thought there would help at the shop to unload it, which it is not and that he was at the Golf course. Now the Golf course is less than 5 minutes away and he would have been delayed less than 15 minutes. As well even the wife didn’t know how to open the rear door to get rest of the equipment out. He is just so worried about his wants that no one else mattered, including his wife. After work we got home and did a lot of packing for tomorrow’s trip.
View of the coast.
Aug.19th we put on our hiking boots and along with Jeff & Shirley we hiked to Long Pond, it was a nice day for a walk, not to hot but just right. We stopped and munched on some blueberries along the way. In the afternoon we went on a tour at the Atlantic Brewing Co. We enjoyed this very much and although we didn’t buy any of their beers or ales we did buy some of the mustard that they are involved with making. Later in the afternoon we returned to our site and had a lobster cookout and just really enjoyed the meal, after that we just sat around the campfire and had a good evening. Another good day
Aug 18th as we awoke Jon was feeling great and we went and got some kayaks and went out to Eagle Lake. We probably did a good 5 miles around the lake and had a great time doing it. We were so lucky to see an eagle at the lake and to get within 100 feet of it; we didn’t want to scare it off so we gave him space and didn’t get any closer. After that we went to Beach cliffs for a short hike of about ¼ mile, the views are spectacular. We did spend a short amount of time here as it was up over 90 degrees again today. We decided that a dip in Echo Lake was the thing to do so we went swimming. After cleaning up and eating dinner we went out near Otter Point with some wine, cheese and crackers. Just another great way to end a good day, plus no one felt bad today.
Aug 17th we got up early and after getting ready and waking Jeff & Shirley we went up on Cadillac Mt. to view the sunrise, and a spectacular sight it was and to top it off we were one of the first along with the others on the mountain to see the sunrise this day in the whole United States. After that we had planned to eat at a restaurant in Southwest Harbor, but they were closed and we ate back in our own MH’s. Well we think that summer is here as the temperature went over the 90 degree mark. Jeff, Shirley & Jon had a tee time and played in the heat. On the back nine Shirley was getting to feel poorly as she was experiencing heat exhaustion, she did make it through ok and we finished up with no more problems. Later in the afternoon we all went to the Jordan Pond House for a light dinner and after that we walked some Carriage Trails to a waterfall. After starting our walk in the wrong direction we made a course correction and made it fine from there. During this time Jon was feeling quite poorly and we don’t know if it was the heat from the morning and or something that he ate. After the walk we did go Southwest Harbor to get a Blueberry pie, unfortunately they were sold out. We went back and visited with Jeff & Shirley for a while. It was a good day even at times maybe Jon didn’t think so.
Aug 16th this being the last day of work for this weekend we had a young fellow come in to rent a bike to go to the top of Cadillac Mt. We told him that most all of our customers ride the carriage roads and that since he was from Florida this is higher than any were in FL. Well he did the ride and took a picture up on top of the mountain and forwarded it to us and we are sharing it here. After work we brought one of the company vans back to the park so that it could be inspected the next day, Jon was confronted by the grumpy old man that works at our other store about the call we made for some help. Seems that he was upset by the way we talk, and it doesn’t fit well with him, can’t please everyone so Jon just walked away to defuse the situation. We then went to Jeff & Shirley’s site as they had prepared dinner for us. We enjoyed the visit and had a nice time till the bugs ran us away. Another great day.
Aug 14th as we returned from work we were happy to see that Jeff & Shirley made it here safely and we had dinner together. We threw a few burgers on the grill and started a fire and got down to some needed update on each other. We are deciding what we will be doing the next several days. They will be here for the next week and it is quite ironic that they got here a day after Mike & Sharon and Fox & Linda left. We were friend starved for several weeks we have some good friends here two weeks in a row. We have made friends all over the country but here in Maine it is a different story.
Aug 13th we meet up with Mike & Sharon and Fox & Linda at Grumpy’s in Southwest harbor for breakfast. We had a great time and we just enjoyed each other’s company, after spending time there we went to get ready to go to work, and they took off exploring the west side of the island. We did meet back up with them after work and then we followed them to the cottage that they had rented. We said our good-bys and went home as they were getting ready for the trip back to Pa. and De. It was a much needed friend’s fix as when Larry & Sharon left we don’t know many people at the CG. We do get together with Ron & Shirley but as they work the opposite of us we don’t get to see each other socially. We do try to get together at least once a week.
Aug.11th we got together this morning at 9:45am for a ride on some of the Carriage trails, we had booked this several weeks ago and just thought it would be a great way to be able to get Mike out to the trails. Mike has worked for the last 22 years moving appliances, and at this time he has a lot of trouble just walking a short while and in the next month he is scheduled to have surgery. The Carriage that we were on held 12 people and was pulled by Joey & Rex who weighed in at about 1800 lbs. It was a 2 hour tour and we visited 5 of the bridges in that time. The bridges were built by the Rockefellers in the past 70 to 100 years ago and the beauty and construction is amazing. After that we went to the Jordan Pond House for a light lunch, here again we are so glad that Kathleen made reservations as the place was packed. Upon leaving we went to Thunder Hole and listened to some very small thunder as we might have been a little late and we probably would have needed a rougher sea, for a better effect. We then went to Otter Point and just sort of sat or laid out on the rocks and enjoyed the afternoon. Later we all returned to our campsite and we prepared and ate a lobster feast, beside the lobster we had corn on the cob from PA and cooked small red potatoes, what a meal. We sat around the campfire into the evening and just had another great day.
Aug. 10th we met up with Mike & Sharon, Fox & Linda a little after 8:00 AM as we went out on a Whale watching tour, Glad that we dressed warm for as we got out in the Bay of Maine it got rather cold. It was a rough ride as the seas were a bit higher than was expected and a lot of people on the boat did not have a good experience and probably didn’t care if they saw whales or not. We did get to see 6 different whales and a young lady who was in charge of tracking whales pointed out that we saw one that hadn’t been seen before, whales have different marking on their rear fin that can be used for identification, much like humans have finger prints. We also went to Puffin Islands and got to see about 100 puffins, we always thought that they were bigger than what they really are. Upon returning we went to the Jordan Restaurant in Bar Harbor and had something to eat. After that we did a little grocery shopping and they returned to their cabin to change. We did meet up again on top of Cadillac Mt. to enjoy the views from there; you can never get too much of this. After this we all went back to our campsite and fixed hot dogs and burgers and just spent the rest of the evening enjoying the time. We have good days and sometimes we have even better days.
Aug. 9th we got an early start today for work as we are excited that we have friends coming. Although we worked all day we met them for dinner after work and we just totally enjoyed the evening. It is so much fun on catching up on times that we were apart. We went to Rt.66 for dinner and after that we went to their cabin that they rented outside of Bar Harbor. We didn’t get home till much after 10:00 pm and at that time we were totally exhausted.
Aug 5th after going to the Post Office again we did some hiking in the area, one place that we went was up on the cliffs of Beech Mt; it is such a lovely area and the views are just fantastic from up there. We watched as the people below us were swimming in Echo Lake, we just don’t feel that the water gets warm enough for us to go swimming. We cleaned up our grill as that as well as everything else is getting a severe case of the mold, we completely stripped it down and did a good job of shinning it up. We also made contact with an employer about next summer’s job, more about that in the future as nothing but initial contact was made and anything in the future is several months out. Oh! And by the way we did have a few drops of rain today but not enough to settle the dust. Hey, wait a minute what dust, but it didn’t make it any muddier.
Aug 4th This morning we went into Bar Harbor and took a ride on Oli’s Trolley, it was only the one hour tour but we did get a tour of a lot of the old mansions on the east side of the island. It also took us to the top of Cadillac Mt; we learned a lot of facts about the area on this tour. After we finished the trolley we just walked around Bar Harbor for a while to get to know the area, even though we work here there are a lot of places we didn’t get to see, we are always asked a lot of questions about the area and we don’t have the answers. A lot of the reason for this is the fact that we had so much rain and on our days off we stayed out in the MH. We did some grocery shopping after that as to get stocked up for the next several weeks.
Aug. 3rd we just took it easy today and worked around the MH, trying to get caught up on some of our work and getting ready for our company over the next two weeks. We did some shopping at Wal-Mart, along with going to the Post Office. We went to the Legion for Supper as we usually try to do this once a week. They put on a supper three times a week and we like to get to one of them.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
July 2009
VERY SORRY ABOUT THE LACK OF WRITING IN THE MONTH OF JULY. EARLY IT WAS WRITERS BLOCK AND BEING DEPRESSED ABOUT THE WEATHER AND THEN LOSING THE COMPUTER FOR ABOUT TWO WEEKS.
July 30th Jon had inquired at a local golf course about playing and was told that they had a Thursday morning league there. He went this morning and played with the group and will probably playing the rest of the time we are in the area. Since we don’t start to work till 1 PM he has plenty of time for the morning golf. It is by Somes Sound and there was about 100 yards visibility, so you just hit the ball and went to look for it. We did work this afternoon and the day was pretty good.
July 28th we went out and did a hike up some of the carriage trails to a water fall in the area and along the way we did have some nice overviews, something you don’t get to see on the Carriage Trails. Most of the time on the trails around lakes and through the woods, although you do have great views of the lakes. We did get our rescue disks in the mail and we went to work on the computer, seems like it was an easy repair and we didn’t lose too much of our information. So again it was a good day.
July 27th we went to a Car and Motorcycle Museum that is on the island and they do not have anything that is newer than 1920. What a wonderful collection and so well maintained. After that we went back to the Jordan Pond House as last week Jon bought several items and the clerk hadn’t charged for one. He felt bad about this and paid for the item and was thanked by the clerk and told that not many people would do this. We than went to Wally world and did some shopping and one of the items was Damp Rid to try to contain some of the mold, sure hope that it works. Of course it is raining today.
July 22nd in the late morning we got together with Larry & Sharon and went for lunch at the Jordan Pond House. They are leaving tomorrow and we will sure miss them, as we have had a lot of nice times together. They even wanted to give us a present of their two dogs as they went but we quickly declined that offer, we know that they could not part with those two beauties.
July 21st we arose early as we have a 9:00 am appointment in Bangor which is over an hour away. As we were taking down the window screens we discovered a lot of mold in those areas, so we knew that we had some work to do when we return this afternoon. As we pulled into Webb’s RV in Bangor we met up with Bearlady (Leigh & Lee) and while work was being done on the MH we went out for Breakfast. We had a delightful time as we ate a great breakfast and enjoyed conversing with each other. When we returned they were just finishing up with the recall. When we left there we went to a truck shop to but some fuel filters and antifreeze for the MH. We plan on draining the old diluted anti-freeze with new. Back in May when we had the leak we only put water in at that time. When we returned to the CG we started to clean the MH and used a good bit of Clorox. From setting here under the trees and having so much rain most of the time is sure a breeding ground for mold. Later in the afternoon Larry & Sharon came over and we just sat around and sipped a few.
July 20th it seems like I had a severe case of writers block for a few weeks and just when I thought I would write on the blog the computer went down. I did spend a lot of the day on the phone to try to get the computer working and was told by the techs that we needed to buy several rescue disks to fix the problem. We are also getting the MH ready to move as we are going to Bangor tomorrow to have as recall done on the refer unit. We met up with Larry & Sharon as we went to Cadillac Mt. to take pictures of the sunset.
July 1st a new month and we are hoping for better weather as well. We did get together with Larry & Sharon for the day. First we went out on Frenchman’s Bay on a 4 mast Schooner, Jon did help to raise the sails when we got under way. After that we just enjoyed the peace and calm of a sailing ship, with no engine noise to bother anyone. We got to see some seals and several pods of porpoise enjoying their habitat. We also did a couple of geocaches and then went for lunch. To wrap up the day we went to the Lobster Museum and hatchery, a very interesting time as we got to see a lot of different types of sea animals. We also learned about the perils of lobster netting, from a retired lobsterman. Finally, we went into the hatchery part and saw how they raise lobsters from eggs. On their own when lobsters are laid in the sea less than one tenth of one percent survive and with the eggs raised in the hatchery that goes up to above 45% make it to adulthood. The weather was very good and we saw something strange in the sky, it was round and yellow.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
June 2009
June 23rd Kathleen had an appointment with a local doctor to see about getting help for her back. In the afternoon we had planned on taking a boat ride but, as we watched the weather we decided against it and it was a good decision as we had rain. At Coastal Kayaking we had a pizza party in the evening and we had a nice time there. We also got a chance to meet a lot of our fellow workers. We thought it was rather nice of the owner to do this.
June 22nd as we got started today first we did some errands as we had to get back to the MH by 12:30 to have our windshield repaired, we got a chip in the windshield last week and they made the appointment to have it repaired today. After that we went with Larry & Sharon and visited the Abbe Museum which traces the local native Indian nation. It showed all of the hardships that they endured and how they lived, and how in the last 75 years they made an effort to make stride in maintaining their culture. There are two sites to visit to that are part of the Museum. After that we went to the Jordan Pond House and had a bite to eat, must say when you are in the area this is a must stop.
June 15th today was our first of three days off and we had to go to Augusta VA hospital for more tests for Jon. It was good to have a day off as on Friday when we went to work it was raining so hard that we were told to close up the store at 11:00 am. Saturday was a nice day and we did some rentals, sort of slow right now as it is just getting into the tourist season. Sunday was another rainy day and we did no business, but did give out a lot of information, this day we stayed opened for the entire day and it was quite boring. Back to today; as we made the trip we also stopped in Bangor to have our heater core for the MH repaired, and as luck had it they told us to pick it up on our return trip in the afternoon. It will save us a separate trip up to Bangor as that is about 50 miles one way. We did have a bit of a scare on our return from Augusta to Bangor as we knew we were getting low on gas and when the light came on the next three exits were camping only and had no gas stations. We did make it to a gas station and got $10.00 worth of gas to get back to Bar Harbor where we knew that it was a better price. When we arrived there we saw that they had raised their price .09 cents since the morning. We then went to the second best price station and filled up there and just as we were leaving they were raising their prices. The kicker was when we got home and turned on Fox News (is there anything else) we saw that a barrel of oil dropped $2.00, go figure.
June 9th today we went to Augusta VA Hospital for a problem that Jon has had for about a month now. It was a nice ride as we took Rt’s 1 & 3 across the state, it is nice to travel some of the scenic roads. When we left Bar Harbor it was sunny and about 65 degrees, as we traveled further south the temperature dropped and it started to rain. When we arrived the temperature was 50 degrees and quite chilly as it was raining. We were severely underdressed for the area as we only had shorts and a light shirt on. Once again we have nothing bad to say about the VA and their approach to a traveling couple such as us. Jon did have to register into the system and then went to the emergency room for treatment. Jon had a great Dr. there and it looks like the follow up will be great. We had a rainy ride home and we got back about 8 PM. Even with the rain and the chilly day it was a good day.
June 8th our first day off and we did a few chores around the camper, as Kathleen did some clean-up in the MH and Jon removed the heater core and now has to find someplace to have it repaired. We loaded up the bikes and took a ride on the some of the Carriage Roads in Acadia Park. Such a lovely place and all of the wonderful stone bridges that were built by the Rockefeller’s. They are all built with granite stone and the workmanship is second to none. After that we just drove around a little bit and went to the top on Cadillac Mountain. From there you can see the whole island and the towns on it. Of course we hadn’t taken our camera along so we will have to do it again and take some pictures, the scenery is to nice not to take any.
June 7th this is our last day of work for the week and we look forward to having a few days off. What made it somewhat harder we probably stayed to long at the pot luck last night could have done it in our younger days but as we are getting older we realize we can’t do that anymore. We did have a little incident today as one of the scooters we rent out was damaged, the person driving was okay and it was only damage to the scooter. We just hate to see someone have a problem. We work from 8 am to 6pm and it does make for a long day, but at the same time the job is not that hard and it can easily be handled by two people the majority of the time, at time we do get a run on rentals. As we closed for the day we phoned in a pizza order that is located aside of our main store and we pick it up on the way home. When we got home as we were eating we had to make sure we didn’t fall asleep face first into the pizza. After cleaning up we turned in early and got a much needed good night’s sleep.
June 6th today was our first day to work alone, as most of our training is complete and we will have to figure it out for ourselves. It is not rocket science though and we are pretty confident that we can handle most of it. We know that we made mistakes, Jon more than Kathleen but as we make those mistakes we learn and go on from there. Last night after work we stopped at the local Hannaford store to by some items that we need for tonight’s pot luck. We were invited to this pot luck and at the same time were asked if we knew what a pot luck was, and as Jon replied he didn’t own a CG and not know the meaning of a pot luck, it was all in fun. LOL. As soon as we got home from work today we made our salad and went to the pot luck just as the lobsters were finishing up. What a great feast it was, and wouldn’t you know that one of the campers here at the park in the summer is a Lobsterman and he had brought in the catch today. As a lot of diners know when you go into a place that you pay the Market Price, well what we paid was the dockside price and a better bargain could not be asked for. We shared three lobsters and that for us was plenty, it did fill us up. Some of the campers bought extra and were going to make lobster rolls the following day. We hope that you enjoy the pictures as much as we enjoyed the lobster. We also had steamed corn on the cob as well and all of the trimmings from everyone at the pot luck.
June 2nd & 3rd we continued our training through Tuesday. We are working with another couple that started the same time that we did. We spent a lot of time in the bicycle shop and were taken to their second store which is not open as of yet, and told what was expected of us. We also had a lot of training on the rental of scooters and how we were expected to do this. On Wednesday the four of us where at the new location and just did a good cleanup and got things organized so it would be presentable and easy to work out of. One employee who worked for the company for several years said “This is the cleanest I ever saw the store.” We were given a lot of leeway as how accomplish it, and were told that since they opened this store late last year no one had really done much with it. Previously it was run for the original store by a lot of very young people that would come down for a day or do and not be fully committed to it. We got it straightened out and are looking forward to get it going. Nothing like having a couple of mature workampers to give a little guidance to some of the younger staff members.
June 1st today was our first day of work. It has been 9 months since we last worked and we were looking forward to start. It did bring about new aches and pains but, we are sure they will be short lived. We have to do a lot of standing and we were not used to it. The job is great and the co-workers are just great to work with, we have met most of them and we feel we are in for a fast summer as the time will probably fly by. At the present time we have to drive about 12 miles to get to Bar Harbor and it is such a scenic drive, with all of the quaint New England fishing villages here in the area. We will be working 10 hour days, but it does seem to go by fast. We did have a small booboo today as we left the coffee pot on all day, this is something we will have to change and not let happen again. To any of our friends that come to the area we can help you with the rental of Kayaks, bikes and scooters.
Monday, May 4, 2009
May, 2009
May 28th & 29th on Thursday we did a little sightseeing by going into Acadia NP and went to Thunder Hole, even though we were there at the allotted time it was not a very good showing as the seas were somewhat mild. From there we bypassed Cadillac Mountain as it was fogged in and we will see it at another time. We did go and do some shopping for the pantry and to get some supplies for lunch for next week. Because of the overcast day and pending rain we came home and relaxed for the rest of the day. Sharon did stopover in the evening and told us about Larry and his bout with a sinus infection and that they went to the Dr. and got some medicine. He is in bed and was told to rest for a few days, what a way to spend your days off. On Friday we drove up to Bangor to meet up with the Pages and had a great time, Lee & Leigh are wonderful hosts and we spent some time at their MH and then went out for lunch. As we were in the restaurant the rains started to increase. We drove back to their site and dropped them off, we were going to do some sightseeing but all we would have seen was more rain. On our return trip we had nothing but rain; at a point in time since we had just eaten we stopped at a gas station in any out of the way spot and took a 45 minute snooze. We then continued back stopping at Dunkin Donut’s and got ½ dozen donuts, they were ok but we sure like the Krispy Cream donuts a lot better. After returning the rain did stop and we went out to take a walk around the CG and we met up with another person that we will be working with and their first day is Monday as well as ours.
May 27th after breakfast and cleaning up we went to Bar Harbor, Jon missed a turn off and we did a very scenic route to get there. We stopped in at Coastal Kayaking and Bicycle Rental and introduced ourselves. We met up with several people that we will be working with and did a walk around town. Everyone is very nice and we are looking forward to getting started. This is a very typical New England fishing area and we are totally thrilled to be here for the summer. We then went to Wal-Mart and bought a few items, just as the rains started, the rest of the day were indoor activities only. If any of our blog readers get into this area stop in and see us, we can help get you around the area.
May 26th we woke up this morning and the temperature was 36 degrees, as we looked out we could see the frost on the grass. We went to the dump station, emptied our tanks for the journey today. We did see Paul and we thanked them for the stay and wished them a good summer and also encouraged them to have a good Halloween weekend at the end of the year. Two years ago we gave a little input with the Halloween weekend and they are into it completely. As always we hate to leave for adventures unknown, but that is the spice of traveling and we are looking forward to around the next bend. We went across New Hampshire on good secondary roads and we had a good travel day, we did watch our temperature gauge and we didn’t lose a drop of water the entire trip. Now at a point during the summer, hopefully sooner than later, we will have to remove the heater core and have it repaired. After about a 6 hour trip we got to our summer home at Smuggler’s Den in Southwest Harbor in Maine. We unhooked and set up camp and after a good meal we met up with Larry & Sharon, they are across the street and Larry is working at the same place we will be. We are looking forward to the summer and having a good time.
May 22nd & 23rd arriving here we had some issues with our water leak and the bug problem; also our sunshade fell down from the rough roads that we had encountered. The roads in PA, NY, CT, and lower MA. were terrible with a lot of potholes and poor transfers from road surface to bridges. We did get up Friday to a beautiful new day and we are at the western edge of the White Mountains. The views are just fantastic and being early spring, eveything is so green. As we said, we are mid way up on the western edge of New Hampshire at http://www.scenicviewnh.com/ . We worked here two summers ago and we are so happy to have that wonderful experience. Paul & Carole along with their two daughters and son-in-law keep the place as clean as a pin; they run a great program and are just great people to be around. They make sure that it is kid friendly and give it a family atmosphere. If you are ever in the area we give it a true thumbs up. We did arrive bearing gifts; for the Main man we brought a bottle on Captain Morgan, son-in-law got a case of Yuengling Lager, and for Carole we brought a box of Opera Fudge, now if you are not from Lebanon County, PA you probably never heard of this homemade candy. Do not confuse this with Fudge as it is not and as for the taste when it comes to sweets, it has no rival, far and away the best.
We fixed the problems that we encountered on our trip and did some cleaning on the inside as well. As for the water leak, it is from the heater core that heats the front of the MH while traveling, and also the defrosters. We did a bypass on the water system and corrected the leak, and at a later time over the summer we will remove the core and have it repaired or replaced, seems that we can get to it without too much of a problem. We did get to walk around the CG and renewed a lot of friendships. As a matter of fact we made several rounds and just enjoyed all of the camaraderie. On Saturday night there was a band here and we had a great time, even though we weren’t right at the band site, we were across the road at a campfire. Once again we want to put in a plug for the CG in the White Mountains of New Hampshire http://www.scenicviewnh.com/ and if you are in the area you will enjoy it here. Just another great two days.
May 21st Ah, the day we are looking for, moving day as we start our journey to Bar Harbor. We got a later than expected start as we took our MH in for some work. We had the front wheel oil seal replaced last week and this past Monday we saw that we needed to add some oil to it and that soon after we added the level went down. So we took it back to have redone. We started on our journey at about 10:00 am and it was going fine till we got to Scranton, PA and there in a construction zone was an accident and Rt. 81 was a parking lot. We did manage to get off and proceed through the town to reenter Rt.81 north of the accident. From there as we left Pa. on Rt. 84 just in Port Jarvis, NJ we stopped for fuel, while there we discovered a water leak in the engine coolant system, it was in the front near the heater core. After calling a place and being told that they didn’t have time to do it we decided just to relieve the pressure in the system and go our merry way and keep an eye on the temp gauge. With all of the time lost at several places and events we hit Hartford, Ct. at 5:00 work traffic, took us about 35 minutes to go 3 miles and then just up the road we got into Springfield, Mass. where it took us 25 minutes to go 2 ½ miles. Soon after that while still in Mass. we pulled over to fill the radiator with water, one thing with the MH we have a lot of water on board. We then proceeded into VT. And just as the sun faded over the mountains we got into New Hampshire. We drove the back roads of NH with very poor headlights (the first time we drove the MH at night, and believe us the lights are only for daylight driving) and our windshield full of bug juice which will take a lot of work removing. We arrived at the CG and after setting up Jon went out and talked to some of the campers that we know here. It was a long day and a day to test our patience but we did really well, so after all it was a great day.
May 18th we are nearing the end of our time here in PA. In the last week we have had our MH worked on as well as having the fluid changed in the transmission on the car. Kathleen has been quite busy in fulfilling her Chiropractor appointments. Along with that she is babysitting her granddaughter, and they have been having a great time together. One day last week when she wasn’t going to watch her granddaughter, events changed and she called and asked if she could come out to be with her grandma. Over the past several weeks she stayed overnight several times, she has to do it now as when we come back she will be in kindergarten. Jon has been quite busy as he replaced the boots on the tow bar and generally went over it and brought it back up to specs. One day Kathleen was shopping for food at the local Amish / Mennonite stores also know as chip & dent store, we do a lot of shopping at these stores prior to leaving as we found that their prices are hard to match anywhere. Well when she came home we needed space to store all of the items, we had a space under the table but it didn’t have any shelves so Jon made up some shelves there and we made it a pantry. As we are finishing up we discovered that the problem we had repaired on the MH was not repaired correctly and on the day we are leaving we are taking it back early in the morning to find out what the problem is, and hopefully get it repaired at that time. Over the next few days we have so many meetings with family and friends, and in a sort of nice way we will be happy to get on the road to get some rest. Once we start moving and getting to our work in Maine we hope to be able to make more blog entries.
May 10th “Happy Mother’s Day to all and we wish you a good day. Our plans were to take Jon’s mother to church today but she called early and said that she couldn’t make it. We then went to the church that we usually go to here in PA. We always enjoy going there and it is great meeting all of our friends we have made here. After that we spent time with family and had a great day. Kathleen’s two sons and their wives were there and it just made for a great day and we did a lot of reminiscing and talking about events that are planned for the future. Kathleen’s one son and his family were at Disney World last Oct. and her second son is going in June, and we are planning on going in Dec. So we all had a lot to talk about. We didn’t get home till late in the afternoon and we just snuggled in our MH for the night.
May 6th we are so happy to be back in PA. for our short stay, Kathleen’s granddaughter just loves to spend time here, as she has a lot of friends at the campground especially the play ground area. As we had her the other night she couldn’t wait to sleep with Pokot, that is a wish she has while we are gone. Today was a short time in between rain storms that are in the area, and Jon took advantage of it by playing golf. He played a round with the present owner of the business that he had. They had a great time and got to do a lot of talking about all sorts of subjects. We are happy that they are doing a good job at the Campground, as we know this is not an easy job. As they were finishing up they could feel a new weather front coming in and a few hours later the rains came with at least 1 inch of rain overnight. We have enjoyed visiting with a lot of our family, and this past Monday we were invited to attend a Bible study at Jon’s sister’s place and that was a great time, we will be returning as long as we are in the area. As always; what is better than living in a campground?
May 2nd Just another great day as we had Kathleen’s granddaughter overnight and she was such a fun person to be with. When we get back in the fall she will be going to school and we wouldn’t get to be with her as much. In the afternoon we went to the campground that Jon used to own and spent a lot of time with the campers. It was nice since we renewed friendships and set up some future plans. Seems that a few of them will be going to Disney in the fall and since we are nearby we plan on going there for several nights. Jon was asked about playing a round of golf with the owner and it seems that it will happen in the near future. After we left the campground we stopped for some supper and had a nice drive back home. We are planning on a lot of family time while we are here and our schedule is nearly full, so as always we are enjoying our short visit in the area.