DetheF**kcompressing...

Fish at the Casino in Laughlin, Nevada. THEY won't let you feed them anymore.. sigh..

I'm having a difficult time 'coming down' from the trip. I suppose it's because of the excitement and the length... As Medic said, it's a little like the day after Christmas. Bright girl, Medic.

I decided to NOT come home on a Friday night through the worst traffic in the known world (well, MY world, anywayS), electing to spend the night in Victorville, CA (a move which garnered me a great deal of snickering from people who know Victorville, including me!).



Victorville KOA.

The campground, however, was a nice surprise, all green and quiet (well, as quiet as a campground can be that's about 100 ft from route I-15). Victorville was as expected, only ... well... worse. It's one of those communities that used to be small. It's now overgrown, but the number and size of it's roads has not changed, making it impossible to drive contentedly.

The drive in was better on Saturday, but traffic in this city (Lost Angeles) sucks at any time of the day or night. period.



Arizona or California. Doesn't matter which, it's all the same for about 400 miles.. (actually, this is a lie. This is a GOOD looking part of the road. Mostly it's just scrub and ... more scrub with the occasional scrub to break up the scrub... )

I stopped in Laughlin, Nevada and had fun with the money I won the other day. I spent a couple of hours winning and losing and winning and losing and... well... losing. I had a good time giving it back, and the setting on the Colorado River is pretty. Hot. Pretty hot...



Colorado River at Laughlin. A very tame river by then, but pretty just the same...

And now I'm back and there are no more Cracker Barrels and I'm slowly making my peace with being home again home again. Mom was happy to see me, I think. She hugged me and poked me and smiled, so I guess that means good things. C.J. still won't put me down. She was sleeping on her shelf just now and woke up and saw me and started purring all over again. She sleeps on me at night, usually in an armpit if I sleep on my side, or right under my chin if I'm on my back. It's done wonders for my allergy!



Casino... (doh!)

And to all of you who were so kind to me and so accommodating and so wonderful (besides being beautiful and funny and witty and fine)..

Thank you for sharing yourselves with me...

9,008 miles later....

I'm baaack, but I'm too tired to blog tonight...

I'll talk to y'all tomorrow!

mmm'k?

um.... tomorrow, tomorrow?

m'kay?

I'm Standing on a Corner in Kingman, Arizona...

Wind and water, an amazing combination...


Yeah... I know the song is about Winslow, but I'm not IN Winslow... I have a video, however, of me singing that very song in Winslow Arizona. More than 20 years ago... it was raining, you know me and weather!


The van was covered in Ice this morning. After I got up and dressed, I had to turn the little heater towards all the windows to melt the ice enough so I could see. Then I drove slowly (bridges freeze first, you know) to Cracker Barrel and they had a fire in the fireplace and all was right with the world. It was so cold the water in my water bottle had ice in it, and it's tucked in a pocket in the back of the passenger seat...

brrrr...


I noticed this when I was going to melt the ice on the windshield. Notice how the minor disturbance of puppy and the leaves has affected the ice on the outside of the car... you can almost see the features of the puppy and the colors of the leaves! cool!

It's going to be in the 40's tonight, which is fine with me. I didn't stop, as i thought I might, in Albuquirky because it had the same kind of temperatures as Gallup... I always want to say giddyup after saying Gallup..


oooo....



I forgot to tell y'all. I missed the first casino yesterday until it was too late to turn off the highway, but started paying attention to the signs after that. When I stopped at the next one, I took my obligatory $40 and went in. I always play $1 machines because I lose my money faster that way and I can get on the road quicker. If you've seen the newer machines, they have multiple choices of amounts and are very confusing.. I finally found one I thought was a dollar machine and put in my twenty. It gave me 4 tokens and then wouldn't play anything, although it showed a credit of 20. I called over the little casino lady who told me I was to use the tokens. Four of them.. it still didn't register that it was a FIVE DOLLAR machine. I THINK that the machine made a mistake, because I put 2 coins in and played 2, which should have wiped me out... EITHER I won something small or it started using the 20 credit it still showed. I don't know. The amount went up and down, but thinking I was playing dollars, I didn't pay a great deal of attention. Then I hit a $100 jackpot, which is my clue to cash in. I walked away with $200!! Again.. either a mistake on my part or the machine's, I'll never know, but I ain't complaining...

Then I took my other $20 and put it in a dollar Wheel of Fortune machine and won 50 bucks...

I left..



Some pretty stuff on the roads today.. well, not ON the roads, but just off of them. This part of Arizona is unremarkable, but before Flagstaff there is some real beauty. Flagstaff itself is a marvel, At more than 7,000 ft, it's covered in pine trees and forests. A break from the desert...


Coming into Flagstaff... the green starts and then becomes tallllll trees.


A trucker pulled over INTO me today... ME, the friend to all truckers, who always blinks to tell them when it's safe to pull over and lets them know that I'm not going to do anything stupid... ME... Curious, but I knew he was trouble... he kept pulling up and back on the left and I looked over and, of course, he was ON THE PHONE. There really has to be a law about truckers and cell phones... So, after he damned near ran me off the road (I was truly ready for it, and had my foot hovering over the brake even as he finally passed), I caught up with him and gave him one of those friendly one fingered waves that have become so popular today...

twit...

But I'm in a surprisingly attractive campground in Kingman. Desert campgrounds can go either way, but this one has more trees than the entire city, and is very well kept... and it's not going to be freezing tonight.

I hope..


Remember the movie Starman?




The world's biggest dreamcatcher... it SAID IT WAS!

19 degrees!!!???... Holy Sh.......!

Albuquerque... from the original route 66.. quite the view...

I'm in Gallup, New Mexico. It was a pleasant drive here today, with very little wind, which makes it easier to stay on the road (unlike two big rigs who mixed it up outside of Santa Rosa this morning. I got to Gallup a little earlier than usual, but decided to stop because yesterday was such a long drive. It's been getting colder as I've sat in my little van, and I thought.. "gee.. wonder how cold it's going to get tonight"...

19 degrees..

Damn... I hate it when that happens.



Red rock... I took this without looking (good thing at 75 mph) it's not bad!

The climb is so gradual that I forgot that this part of New Mexico and Arizona hover at around ... oh.. 6,500 to 7,000 feet (Flagstaff is over 7,000... I was going to stay there tomorrow night but NOT ANY MORE)... The good news is that the rain and snow are supposed to stay east of me. Good thing I didn't stay in Albuquirky...

Damn...

I broke out the heating pad, which I will use to heat the bed before I jump in, and leave in case I wake up freezing in the middle of the night. Of course, it might not be as cold as it was in Bucking Fuffalo because it's a dry cold. yeah...

right....

I stayed in this campground at least 20 years ago, back when it was a KOA. It seems a lot of KOA's are switching to be independent, as KOA charges a part of everything they do or make. The KOA in Gallup was a parking lot (it looks new), while this one has some charm. Not a lot of trees, of course, but they've made improvements. I remember going up to the Motel in front and having a drink at the lounge. Gallup was pretty rustic... still is.



View of some incredible sky over the campground in Gallup...

However..

Tomorrow morning, if I go back 4 miles (and I will) I will be able to have breakfast at... wait for it.... CRACKER BARREL!

If I don't freeze first....



For bonho... the gravel in the campground in New Mexico, of course, has red in it...

Children Left Unattended Will be Given an Espresso and a Free Puppy...

This sign was in the Antique shop in Ellsworth, Kansas... I just love it...

I'm in Santa Rosa New Mexico. I've been in 4 states today: Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. This is by far the prettiest, and, although I'm not a fan of the 'desert', this place has a unique beauty. There is lots of water in Santa Rosa. There is a place called the Blue Hole, which is an 80 ft deep artesian spring, that pumps 3,000 gallons of water per minute. It's bell shaped and is a hit with scuba divers. There are lakes abounding, and because of this, it's green in a deserty sort of way. Or deserty in a green sort of way.. whichever. I'm camped on Route 66, much of which I have traveled whenever I could. I mourn the loss of this old highway, and love that it pops up every now and then. Mostly it's route 40.. at 75 MPH.

I passed the biggest cow pen I've ever seen in my life today. It was in the Texas part of the trip, and held at least 10,000 head of cattle. I may never eat beef again... pretty depressing. I hope they don't know...

I was going to go to Flagstaff, Arizona tomorrow, but that's about 450 miles away (funny, it doesn't LOOK that far on the map), and that's too far this late in the trip.. so I don't know where I'm headed. I'll be going in that general direction, of course, but where I'll stop, nobody knows... not even ME!

The view from the campground... mesas, valleys, red rock and all...

Dodge Dodge City...

Nope... I'm not stuttering. As Bette Davis said.. " What.. A .. Dump".



Boot Hill.. There were only something like 13 people ever buried there. The legend is indeed larger than life. It's part of the walled off 'tourist Dodge City' which is about one square block. I asked if it was the REAL boot hill and the little attendant said yes...

Do I look skeptical?

Apparently it was the highest part of the city (and it is, that's for sure) so that's where they buried those about whom no one cared. The 'good' people were carted off to some other big important city to be interred. There is no one buried there now, they were all moved.

The drive here was a lot less stressful than the interstate, specially as it was drizzling and foggy all day.

I didn't expect another Concordia, but I also didn't expect Chicago south. I should have, as Dodge was always a railhead, and that's the way they look. Certainly when they're dying. As opposed to Concordia, the downtown Dodge is... well... dead. Every other storefront is closed, and on some blocks most of them. The outskirts are filled with "Doc Holiday Liquor store" and, across the street, "Wyatt Earp Liquor store".

I did go to the obligatory "Boot Hill" museum, JUST FOR Y'ALL... $6.50 (because I'm old I got a discount). All of the original buildings (except for the jail.. yeah... right.. ) burned in a fire and were replaced with brick. That's what happened in Deadwood, for the most part...



The jail.. two cells... building about as big as a double outhouse... not for me!

So ...

Here's to Dodge City..

or not...




LOOK.. they can't even spell it correctly (grin)..

I (heart) Concordia...

Old wagon in front of the camp ground. Someone made a postcard picture from this, unbeknownst to the owner.

The instructions I was given yesterday by the happy campground owner were just delightful. It got me off the 'duke it out with the big trucks and even worse the small red cars" interstate, and on to route 81. Still a speedy highway and 4 nice lanes and right smack through the little hills and valleys of Kansas ( Nebraska is FLAT Kansas has hills.. go figure). I also planned on not going to Dodge City until tomorrow, so I stopped early. More importantly, I stopped and perused Concordia, Kansas. It's my new WWJD (don't get excited, the J stands for Joyce, my friend in California who keeps insisting that I stop and smell the Concordias). From now on WWJD means SLOW DOWN (grin).

Concordia is the type of community in which I wish I had spent my childhood.. .. ..

just not in Kansas.

Downtown Concordia...

It was the only town of 'size' on 81, and was built around the 1880's or so. The downtown, which is respectable and doesn't appear to be dying, is composed mostly of old brick buildings, some of which have been painted delightful colors.

I love this building...you can see the care taken to enhance the old style. This was an antique shop... closed...

dang...

Out side of the main streets, which are few, are the houses. You can tell how the town developed by the size and location of the houses. Tree lined streets abound. This is true of all towns in the midwest, as they were founded along rivers and streams and places of water... very necessary. I don't know what kind of trees, but the leaves were still green and they were loaded with squirrels (and one very patient cat). On one side of the street, which rose above the other side on a very slight hill, you can tell the houses were built first. They are older, and more ornate. On the other side you can see the smaller more compact houses of later years.

delightful house!!


Coming into town I saw a HUGE structure that had the name of the town and COOP... I can only assume that it was a grain co-op, as there are several humungous towers. Near the 'grain plant' the houses get smaller... meaner.. less cared for.

Bonho... lots of Antique places.. all closed on Sunday.

Dang.

and, about a mile out of town, a WalMart, much to my joy, as I do both my daily shopping and constitutional at the same time. Say what you will, I love WalMart... Sitting in the WalMart parking lot, I made my plans to stop outside of Salina, Kansas in the KOA (wifi) and then, knowing that, went back and spent more time cruising Concordia.

More downtown..

I love the porches. I love the second story houses. I love the leaf filled streets and Halloween decorations. It takes me back to my childhood, which, though golden, was spent on a dead end street (a plus) in a neighborhood with apartments and houses intermingled, with delineated back yards and lines and, even then, the "I own this, this is mine" feeling.

But today, for just a while, I lived in Concordia...

Go Cornhuskers!

The campground tonight is in Nebraska. I don't know the 'city', it's more of a wider spot in the road. There are several big rigs here, and everyone is in watching the Nebraska-Kansas football game. I walked in a while a go and said, "Go Kansas?" and they all laughed. Everyone was wearing red. Nebraska is different from Iowa. I don't know how two states can be so close together and yet so different. It's quieter here, on the roads, and the countryside is flatter yet greener.

It was 28 degrees last night, but no precipitation... so it just seemed colder! It's been 'warmer' all day, and will be tonight. Not a great deal warmer, but not in the 30's... more like 40's... I'll take it. I slept in my sweats last night, but it got very very cold about 5 AM...

Sunset (sort of) at the campground. It's on a 'hill', so you can see forever... and it's all the same in any direction (grin).

Again, y'all are keeping an eye on me. I was headed for the KOA further down the line, when I saw this place from the road. I hurriedly checked the guide and it said it was the 'friendliest campground in Nebraska".. and it is. I stopped early because I needed to do laundry.. those pesky underpinnings... can't live without them. The owner (who winters in Palm Springs) was so nice and gave me the perfect site for me and didn't even charge me full price ( it's a big hookup site). Then he loaned me soap to do the laundry. I gave him one of my ammonites in return, and he was tickled pink... well.. beige at least. THEN he gave me a route home that will take me around the snowstorms that have been dropping in on I-80 and I-70 and closing the roads occasionally.

and it will take me through Dodge City...

yep, Marshall Earp.... we meet again.

I took a couple of detours today. One was to see a little Danish town with a huge windmill, and the other was Walnut, Iowa, which must have had 15 Antique shops... I got the sneezies from all the dust, but it was great fun.

So here I sit, blogging away with my FREE wifi again, and thinking on my good luck.



A house in Newton.. the Antique City place. It is a pretty little town about a mile off the main road, and has a lot of old houses. I like this kind of decoration much better than the blow up pumpkins and stuff... it's such a cute idea!

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr......

rrrrrrrrrrrr....
rrrrr.
rrr.
r

Well, it was 31 degrees when I went to breakfast this morning. Imagine how cold it got last night! I forgot to tell you. Yesterday morning, instead of a chocolate for the little toll person, I brought a cup of HOT Chocolate... she was very pleased (and showed me how cold her fingers were, poor thing!).



Iowa Rest area... I think those are supposed to be ... torches?

It turns out my little heater did not necessarily want to be included in the blog, it was just trying to warn me. As I went to unplug things last night, I noticed that the extension cord near the inside part of the plug was melted. I don't know why, I've only had it for... oh... 25 years and it's probably an indoor cord.. I liked it because it was flat, and went through the window easier... I got a new one today, (it's round but it won't kill me!), but that meant that I had to get up this morning WITHOUT MY LITTLE HEATER! (let's not talk about the possibility of fire ... nope... ain't going there). I woke up at about 6 but it was still dark, so I grabbed my clothes and tucked them in bed with me... but it didn't take me long to get up this morning... brrrrrrrrr....

And Bonho? I slept in my flannel sleeping outfit and TWO pair of socks... regular and little short socks. I never truly got 'warm' last night... I was just shy of comfortable, but I did manage to sleep. OH.. I also had one of my knit hats on, covering my head, my ears, my EYES and part of my nose... brrrr... It has the probability of being as cold or colder tonight. At least I won't set fire to myself...



Barn... nice barn...

Just took a teeny tiny nap. I'm tired. Fighting the wind for the last few days has been exhausting. I remember an old silent movie about the wind. It was probably about the dust storms, but I remember the woman's despair at the constant wind. I have been blown all over the road, and am getting about 3 mpgallon less that usual just keeping in the wind... I won't be going to Oregon this trip. I've been out 4 weeks and I'm about done. My goal was to meet y'all and I did and I'm so happy!

I got lucky again tonight...

no...

not THAT kind of lucky...

Because of the gentle nudging of a couple of friends, I realized I wasn't stopping enough, so I went to the Amana Colonies today. I've been there before, on a long ago trip. I was being chased to camping by one of those.... well... Iowa storms (what IS it with me and weather?), so I stopped early. Someone in the campground asked me if I'd been to the Amana Colonies , so I went. The only thing open that morning was a breakfast house (serving since 1880) and it was the best breakfast ever... even better than.. wait for it... Cracker Barrel (more on that later). This time I just poked around the gifty shops and all, but it was a nice break.. nice enough that I decided to camp in Newton, Iowa and go to the Antique Mall. When I got here, I discovered that this Sunday is a HUGE IOWA RACEWAY race and if I hadn't stopped then, I would still be looking for a place to stay...

So I'm nice and warm with the rapidly setting sun on the van (can't be outside, the gusts of wind are painful!. I didn't go into the Antique place, but I may go back tomorrow and do laundry and do the 'mall'... I'm just too tired today.



The main Amana colony... notice the building in my rear view mirror...

OH... and about the Amana Colonies. The were founded by people who lived much like the Amish (in fact, some of them still dress that way and live simply), but they soon gained fame for their fabulous furniture and... wait for it... microwave ovens!

Oh .. THAT Amana, you say... yep. Just outside the main settlement is this HUMUNGOUS factory.

I like people who can change with the times, yet remain attached to the past. There are several 'parts' to the colonies, with little bunches of neat houses live. All in all, a wonderful scenic drive... and some cool shops!



Another nice barn...

Ok.. back to the Cracker Barrel. I drove BACK to the one listed on my "where to find a really good Cracker Barrel" list. As I walked to my table, two women asked me about my hat ( one of the furry ones). I told them I'd made it, and the younger of the two asked if it was difficult.. I told her no, and she said her mother was getting Chemo and... well.. I gave her the one blue one I had taken with me... cute fuzzy blue.

They bought breakfast for me! Then we met in the gifty shop and talked for about a half an hour. She was a nurse (the third I've met in the last 4 days!!).. we talked about all kinds of things. It was a really nice treat AND breakfast was free!

Now free breakfast at the CB...

sigh...

Doesn't get much better than that!

eep! The sun's going down...



A wall in Newton... I like this...

Oh the Rock Island Line is a Mighty COLD Line...

SNOW!!... It snowed on me all morning long, through all of Indiana. Just when I thought I was through the worst at Bucking Fuffalo, it goes and snows on me. It didn't stick, but every time I drove under a cloud, it snowed... I wouldn't mind that, there is a special charm about snow if you've rarely seen it, but the wind has been pushing me around the highway all day long... FIERCE winds. So strong that, at one point, those highway signs, the temporary ones on wheels, had taken it upon themselves to move out into the slow (ha!) lane of traffic... Quite a surprise to come upon them when you expect nothing stationary on the road... I kept hoping some fast moving truck (stopping time.. oh... 1/2 mile or so) didn't discover them too late. I called the turnpike people, but they had already received a billion phone calls about them...

Of course, they were still there... your toll dollars at work in Indiana..

I'm in Rock Island in a KOA again... with wifi in spite of the fact the guide said it didn't have it... my luck continues! It's going to snow tonight (not stick, they promised), and already I would bet it's in the 30's.. with the wind chill factor. My little van's a rockin' and I'm in here all alone..

Good thing I've got my little heater!

I drove a long time to get to a .. wait for it... CRACKER BARREL today, but it was worth it. In the midwest, a GOOD restaurant is Wendy's.. I kid you not, at least on the highway. The toll roads have the advantage of having almost non existent exits and entrances, which keeps the traffic moving well, but the 'toll plaza' stops only have junk food.

There's another .... wait for it again.. CRACKER BARREL outside of Davenport, so I'm set for tomorrow...

Now, although the picture above looks like the one from yesterday, if you look closely, you will see the fine powder blowing across the highway in little stripes...

yipes!

addendum...

On my website, I put the infamous sleeping/hot weather outfit that I had on the trip in 2002... not to be outdone, my present sleeping outfit has been bargaining for equal space (it promises to keep me warm tonight no matter what!).

So.. without further ado.. the polar bear flannel nightshirt (large and roomy) and the not so matching long pants.. tonight you can imagine that there are socks with this outfit, that's a given..



addendum part deux...

I just took this picture. It's 5:30 out here, and on the long side of that because I gained an hour today. That means it isn't getting dark as early as last night. You can SEE how cold it is. This is one of the unpretty things about the midwest. Not that this picture is without it's own kind of beauty, but it's like this so long out here. Long before snow makes it beautiful, the landscape has this harshness about it caused by bare trees and bitter cold, linked with the dying of summer and fall. Even in winter, there is not as much snow or 'postcard' weather is there is in say... the North east, just this unending shivering darkness.

It was one of the things that drove my ex boss to California...

and keeps him there...



This place, by the way, has the most WONDERFUL showers. Individual rooms, which is always a treat, and lots of hot water and a decent shower head and I could have stayed there all night. sigh... I am, however, longing for a long bath and my kitty and a fire in the fireplace on this cold night (although my teeny tiny heater is doing a bang up job of keeping out the frost).

My heater... everyone wants to get into the act tonight...

Near a Canal... um...Gal!

Short post as this wifi may not last.

I met Canalgal today! Again, what a treat, meeting face to face. She brought me homemade cookies AND some pretzel crisps and some Canal mud.. it's a chocolate thing that I haven't tried yet. From her home town... I'm going to be even bigger when I get home! OH yeah,.. and a sweet little bookmark with baubles on either end, which probably will NOT survive CJ!

We met in the middle, thank goodness, at... get ready for it... CRACKER BARREL... I don't know what I'm going to do when I run out of Cracker Barrels, which could come quite quickly... sigh... She is, like all of us, very smart, and beautiful inside and out. I've realized on this trip the one thing we all have in common (other than our famous beauty)... our wit, humor and brains.

I had a kidlets portion of chicken and dumplins' good and hearty, which, considering the WEATHER, is a good thing. It is supposed to snow up here MAYBE tomorrow night .. I'm hoping to be far away from the lakes at that time, as I'm sure they add to the weather patterns out here.

I'm outside of Toledo, Ohio...

oh ..

joy..

There was an old song a friend of mine wrote..

It started " If you've ever been stuck in Toledo , Ohio, it's like being no where at all"..

then it mentioned the scales, and said.. "so think of Toledo each time you get weighed.. (pause) so wive and wet wive"..

etc...

I'm going to see if I have a picture, but since it POURED most of the day (at one point I couldn't see the road very well), I may not have one..



rain... big truck...

Oh the E-ri-e was a rising..

And the gin was a gettin' low... I scarcely think we’ll get a drink ‘till we get to Buffalo-o-o, ‘till we get to Buffalo.

Old song, beautiful lake. I am amazed, always, by the size of it. I never knew a lake where you couldn't see the other shore. Or more than a bit of this one.

Turns out I was too close to the wifi station, I think... now I'm sitting in the dark in another campslot.... sorry Shrieky

I think I'm getting crooked in my old age.. maybe it's my knee, but most of my pictures need to be straightened! go figure!



I got smart today. I was planning on heading out of New York and as far as Ohio, but it took me forever to get to Bucking Fuffalo! This state is bigger than it appears... so, as I was getting tired and figuring that I would be pulling into a campground around .. oh... 5 or so, up popped this little KOA.. Right across the street from Lake Erie. It has a little stream and when you walk over the teeny tiny bridge, there are willow trees and grape vines. What fun..






So I stayed, and have had a shower and am glad I stopped early. Technically I’m still in NY, but I’m about 10 miles from the Pennsylvania border, so it ALMOST doesn’t count.

grapes and a willow tree...


I’ve been giving little chocolate candies (wrapped, of course) to all the toll booth people across New York. It’s a hoot to see their reactions, but you have to know it makes their day a teeny tiny bit brighter...

Obladee... Oblada!!

One of the little ponds in this very large campground in Verona, NY... there's a casino nearby, hence the popularity of Verona.
I shocked the stuffing out of Obladee today (grin)..

I was driving on I-90 about 10 miles from her house, so I gave her a call... her first words (after the obligatory Hello) were,"What's the weather like out there in California"... I said I had no idea, I was in Worcester! She had no idea I was on a trip, much less close to her..

So I went to see them... her and the kidlets (cute as bugs, all of them)! She's another of us who is just darling, both inside and out, and we talked on and on.

She gave EXCELLENT directions which I totally ignored, hence the 5 phone calls.. (out goes a slight ahem to Rskoo (hee hee)). We had a great short visit and talked as old friends, interrupted only occasionally by a few kids who just HAD to be in the middle of it somewhere... Like I said, they're cute!

She took one of the very few pictures of me that doesn't make me look like an aging harridan, and, if she lets me, I just might put it... naw... never mind (ha!)

So I'm back on the road again heading WEST this time, with no agenda depending on weather and open campgrounds. I'm in Verona, New York (shudder).. the shudder is for New York, not the very pretty campground in which I find myself tonight. It's getting cloudy, however, and I think the sunny weather I brought with me for Massachusetts is not going to last...

Oh well..

I don't mind the rain, only tornados!



me... ain't my little van cute..

and small?

Hmmm...

Is this P.C. or is this not P.C...

Seems like someone would have complained before now (grin)!

I had a delightful morning. I drove around the area and found a great little restaurant. Then I hit the Wal Mart... it's my morning constitutional... walking the WalMart.. WalMart doesn't look like this back home. I won't go into specifics, but suffice it to say it doesn't. I love WalMarts out here.

These ... figures... are very popular here. Many houses have traditional Halloween decorations going up; stuffed scarecrow figures, lots of pumpkins and fall colors. It's fun to see the porches (I want a house with a porch... a big house with an old fashioned porch... sigh..). I've also seen a goodly number of these blow up decorations, which are not nearly as quaint, but seem to be an up and coming thing..

Nuthin' ain't what it useta be... (You have to imagine me saying that with a New England accent... it's a whole lot better with a New England accent).

Why I Love Camping...

This campground is full to the brim. The very nice Boston people across from me have resolved that I will not spend time alone, and have invited me to

a. dinner (American Chop Suey?? is that spaghetti?

b. watch a DVD with them.. probably the new release RV

c. have some beer

and

well, you get the idea.

Three paramedic vans came out today to take away two women. The rumor is carbon monoxide poisoning.,.. I was sent as the official spy to see what it was, as the southies didn't want to interrupt the game...

pays to be very careful..

they're fine, by the way, and the whole campground is probably bringing dinner to them

update... it turns out that Grandma fell and cut her nose, and one of the people who came to help her...

fainted...

Surrounded by Children....

I'm sitting in the campground store, surrounded by children playing pool... one of them, Adam, keeps coming over to try to scare me... he's 4 and I think he's in love... He keeps running over to me and trying to scare me (I always jump.. one must, you know), then bringing me a movie choice (from the rentals) and asking me if I like THIS one.

Makes blogging jussst a tad more difficult (grin).

Yesterday I went to Newbury to visit the old homestead. For those of you who don't know, it's the house built by my great great great...(etc) grandfather in 1653. The back part of the house is the old part. The taller front was added later, and then both halves were occupied by family members who apparently had some sort of dispute, and never spoke to each other...

sounds like relatives to me!



The original house was, if I remember, a mixture of stone and some sort of mortar. The 'clapboard' was added later. There is what can only be an adult cradle upstairs... (shudder)...

Below is an example of a typical New England house ... .they call them 'saltbox' houses. The old salt boxes had that peaked roof look to them.



and...

because it's here..

more color...