OK. OK. I know it's been a while since we posted, but we've been busy. I'll try to remember everything but no guarantees. I'll also break it up into more than one post.
Dale and Karen decided on an outing for the day. We all met in Lockport near the Erie Canal locks and took a tour of some tunnels there. They were dug and used for power in the early days of the industrial revolution. They were built similar to hydro electric power systems of today, but they ran belts and pulleys that did work in the factory instead of generators. It was interesting.
We met at the Wal-Mart parking lot in Lockport and had quite a group. Jen and her three were there as well as Karen, Nate and Noah. They had driven up from Pittsburgh the day before. Dale had just finished his deliveries for the day and met us there too. He was not officially off work yet, but he had a couple hours before he had to return to the warehouse. After the tunnel tour and some hiking along the canal all of us except Dale had a very late lunch at a nearby restaurant. We then all met at Jen and Dale's house in Buffalo for a while. Dom showed Noah and the rest of us some tricks on his skateboard, then Jen and her family left for Franklinville. We headed home soon thereafter.
The next day we drove to Rochester. There were lots of low trees and repaving in Greg and Tina's development, but we made it with no damage. They live in a pretty area on a large lot. We were able to park the trailer and truck in the driveway with room left over. After eating lunch we all (Me, Dianna, Dom, Greg, Tina and Michele) headed down to Lake Canandaigua where we met Dale, Karen, Nate, Noah, Dave and Lisa. We had never met Lisa before and she is a real sweetheart. Dave is a lucky guy.
We rented some kayaks and spent some time on and in the lake. Well, everyone except for Dale and I. We decided we were too old and didn't want to get wet. Dom & Michele had a good water fight with Karen and Noah out on the lake so they all got soaked. We then headed back toward Rochester where we all had pizza for dinner. It was a long day and we said our goodbyes to Dale and his clan. It was great fun spending time with them.
Sunday we went to church and then puttered around the rest of the day. I rotated tires on my trailer and did some work on the brakes. I've been fighting some shorts in the electric brakes on the trailer and it is becoming more problematic all the time. It's about time for a permanent fix.
Monday we left Rochester and began our trip to Boston. It would cost over $70 to take the NY Thruway across the state so we stayed on US highways. It took a lot longer but we saw some interesting small towns and beautiful scenery. Unfortunately we also saw lots of ups and downs and gave the brakes on the truck quite a workout since the brakes on the trailer were cutting out much of the time. It also reduced our MPG quite a lot as well. We stopped for the night in a campground near Albany.
Tuesday we continued our trek to the Minuteman Campground in Littleton, MA. It was our home for the next week. I mentioned in a previous post about the differences between RV parks in most of the country and what are called campgrounds here in the north east. This campground is a perfect example. It is in the dense woods with narrow, winding roads that make getting in and out with a rig of our size a challenge. Most of the people there were on vacation and were from the local area. Most were in small campers or just in tents. Of course our satellite was useless but they did have wireless internet that worked pretty well. They also had cable TV but that didn't do much good since we couldn't record on our DVRs. Unfortunately, this park is one of the few options in the Boston area, but the closest to Boston & Cambridge, so we had to take what was available. Did I mention that it was also the most expensive place we have ever stayed at over $50 per night? They do have a pool which got used a few times by Dom, Carrie and Dianna.
We will tell you about our week in Boston in the next post.
Good to hear from you again. It has been so long that I thought you were in the back woods of Maine hiding. It may be even more problematic finding places for RVs up the coast.
ReplyDeleteWhoa! How did Carrie's name pop in there at the end? I assume you mean Dianna's cousin Carrie, and was she visiting your rig for a while?
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize you spent so much time with the Dale Lafferty clan, even after you moved on to Rochester. But that makes sense since Dave & Lisa live there. What wonderful family times you all have had.
I wonder if you are rethinking your avoidance of the toll thruway. You might have spent $70 on brake pad wear and extra fuel.
I was thinking the same thing about saving on tolls, but spending on gas and brakes (and time), maybe not being worth it. Maybe you would rather pay more than feel like you were being "cheated" by having to pay a toll.
ReplyDeleteI would really have to get much worse fuel economy to make it even close. The total distance is only 250 miles and the cost for the Thruway would have been $70. At best I get about 9 MPG towing. On the route we took we averaged about 7. That means it cost me an extra $23 in fuel to take the scenic route. We are retired so time is not an issue. Brake wear on the truck is also not an issue. I will never have to replace them as long as I own the truck. Saving $47 is important when you are trying to live on SS and protect your nest egg.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the toll for a car would only be about $12. Big difference. I think they should have another category of vehicle instead of just basing the cost on the number of axles. Non commercial RV'ers should not have to pay the same as an 18 wheeler.