October 11-12, 2016 (Tue-Wed) Fallston, MD to Warrenton, VA

We followed our friends to Bob Evan’s Restaurant for breakfast before we left.  Recommend it highly!  Then we drove to Warrenton VA skirting around Baltimore via the backroads (Highway 26 and Highway 15 south from Fredrick, MD).

We were greeted by a chalk writing on the street saying “Rest for the Weary” and “Road Warrior Parking”, which welcomed us and indicated where we should park.  It made us smile.  This was the start of a wonderful visit with family and friends.  Thank you Scottie for arranging it!

Camping:  Scottie and Jay’s, Warrenton, VA
Electricity, showers, laundry and great company!

October 10, 2016 (Mon) Bear, DE to Fallston, MD

We visited our friends.  We were treated to a delicious dinner and conversation with friends then we were returned to our RV for the night.  

Camping:  St. Mark’s Catholic Church
Dry camping.  Very level parking lot.  We are very grateful for their generosity because we could not have parked where we’d planned to park!

October 9, 2016 (Sun) Coopersburg, PA to Bear, DE

Hurricane Matthew combined with a passing cold front brought high winds which made us second guess our plans to go to Delaware until the afternoon upon which we decided to go to Deleware.  We left our friend’s house about 2:30 pm.

We took Hwy 309 to US 202 to US 13 to Hwy 71.  The campground was “wet” from the remnants of the hurricane.

Camping:  Lums Pond State Park, Bear, DE
Electricity, water, sewer, showers, trash

October 7-8, 2016 (Fri-Sat) – Coopersburg, PA

It’s different here.  Life is slower.  Houses have more land.  People are allowed to shoot guns whenever they want.  The sound of gunshots is not unusual.  Definitely not Silicon Valley.

We've had a great time visiting with Terry's old Greentree co-worker and his wife, Dave and Joan, and their dog, Grace.  Spent an evening strolling through old town Bethlehem, PA and enjoyed a nice relaxed sidewalk dinner there.  It was a beautiful day - sunny and warm, and comfortable even into the evening.

Their hospitality has been wonderful.  We had a chance to wash over a month's worth of dirt and bug guts off the RV, do all of our laundry, take showers, get our hair cut, fix a few odds and ends on the RV, and generally relax.

Camping: Pollock’s driveway
Electricity, water, NO SEWER (we are expecting an upgrade next time, Dave!), showers, free WiFi

October 6, 2016 (Thu) – Milford, NJ to Coopersburg, PA

Last night we arrived into Milford by going under a bridge that was 11’ 6” high...  Our RV is 11 feet high!  We drove slowly under it.

Today was supposed to be an hour’s drive either by interstate or by backroads.  In this area, backroads can be dangerous without a GPS that warns you about height, weight and width restrictions.  Nevertheless…Terry insisted that we take the backroads. 

After driving about a half hour, we were about to cross the Riegelsville bridge over the Delaware River into Pennsylvania when we saw the sign “Weight Restriction 3 Tons”…we’re 7 tons!  We quickly veered off and pulled to the side of the road to figure out what to do.  There’s not a lot of turn around areas when you hit one of these spots.

As we were contemplating our options, a local came up and said this was one of 3 bridges in the US with this open plate construction - the Brooklyn Bridge, the Cincinnati Bridge and this Riegelsville Bridge.  Several weeks ago an 18-wheeler ignored the warnings and tried to plow his way across the bridge.  Caused tremendous damage and was punished severely.

She recommended we turn around and follow the road along the river back to Milford, take that bridge across the Delaware River and come back up the other side BUT we’d have to go through “The Narrows” as the locals called it.  It’s about 4 miles of one-lane road and there is a place where cactus grows on the rocks nowhere else on the east coast except this place.  I didn’t see the cactus – I was worried about on-coming traffic, which thankfully never materialized!  All in all, a white-knuckle ride in the RV.

October 5, 2016 (Wed) – Madison, CT to Milford, NJ

Today was a “get to the destination” day as quickly as possible.  We took I-95 from the campground to I-287 which goes around New York City.  We didn’t see an RV from the time we left the campground in Connecticut until way past New York City.  As we drove the interstate, getting closer to NYC, the traffic got thicker.  We were surrounded by 18-wheelers and commuters.

Two hours after we’d left, we noticed that we hadn’t seen an RV in hours. Then we took a “service plaza” exit to switch drivers.  It’s like a rest area with a gas station/mini-mart except this one had two options…”cars” or “buses/trucks”.  Where were we supposed to go?  We opted for the “buses/trucks” and parked between these huge 18-wheelers.

At one point during our trip we almost took a smaller highway, Hwy 15 aka The Merritt Parkway, to avoid traffic and to take it a bit slower BUT just as we were about to take the exit, there was a sign with a list of restrictions (too much for one sign) and the bottom one said, “height restriction 8 feet”!  We’re 11 feet high.  So much for our plan!

Turns out that the Merritt is restricted to passenger vehicles ONLY, with a height limit of 8’, a width limit of 7’6”, and a length limit of 24’ – we are larger in every single dimension.

Starting in upstate New York, we’ve run into problems with bridges with height restrictions, bridges with weight restrictions and places with width restrictions.  It requires the navigator to read all the signs while the driver just keeps it between the lines.  The roads in VT, NH, RI and CT have been narrow on the local highways.  Often the road is not wide enough for an RV or a truck.  They ooze onto the other lane and the other drivers just have to deal with it.

We met Peggy’s cousin Bill, and his son, Bob, and daughter, Laurie, at the Sunset Diner in Green Brook Township, NJ.  Close to Middlesex where Bill lives and with a large parking lot for a surprisingly crowded area.  We had a nice time catching up and sharing a bit of our adventure with them.  Gas in NJ was the cheapest we’ve seen on our trip – under $2.00/gallon in some places.

October 4, 2016 (Tue) – Charlestown, RI to Madison, CT

NEWPORT, RI – there’s a scenic drive around the peninsula which takes you past these huge mansions.  Wow!  They are all huge, beautiful mansions with manicured lawns – an in-your-face type of wealth that we’d seen in the Thousand Islands area of Upstate New York.  Many of these mansions can be toured for about $16 per visit.  We just drove the scenic tour and enjoyed the views.

MYSTIC, CT – This seaport town was known for shipbuilding.  They built very fast ships.  Today, there’s a unique bridge across the river that uses counter weights to lift the bridge for passing boats.

HAMMONDASSET BEACH STATE PARK, CT – This is the largest park we’ve ever seen.  It’s larger than Valley of the Rogue in Oregon.  It has the largest public shoreline of the CT coast.  In the summer, it seems like it would be a zoo with all the people, bees, jellyfish and poison ivy.  In October, it’s very pleasant. 

We enjoyed riding our bikes to explore the campground and park, walking along the beach, and riding on a mile-long stretch of the Greenway Trail bike trail which is supposed to connect several CT cities along the coastline.

October 3, 2016 (Mon) – Sandwich, MA to Charlestown, RI

The RV car battery died yesterday.  We’ve been starting the RV by starting the generator which in turn gives the car battery enough of a boost that we can start the RV.  It’s like a built-in jumper system :-).   So, we decided to replace the battery since there was a Sears Automotive Center right on our route, on a short driving day.  It’s like we planned it this way!

When we can, we take the smaller highways that take you right through Main Street in every small town.  It’s fun to see the towns, what kind of stores they have, etc.  US Highway 2 got us all the way across the US, with a short gap between Michigan and Vermont.  Then we took US Highway 1 south as much as possible. 

We both need haircuts for the wedding.  It’s a scary thought to go cold turkey into an unknown place and ask for a haircut.  We’re hoping to do it soon so any “problems” can grow out before October 22.  The other option is to wait until after the wedding…We could be bushy heads…

Camping:  Charlestown Breachway
Dry camping. Port-o-cans for restrooms.

October 2, 2016 (Sun) – Freeport, ME to Sandwich, MA

Today was a driving day.  No stops except to make lunch or switch drivers.  Terry drove I-93 through Boston – Wow is that a long tunnel under Boston!  Traffic was heavy but lighter than normal because it was Sunday.  This tunnel must go under the entire city!  It’s huge!

We ate out at Flynn’s Irish Pub – great burgers and beer!

Camping:  Scussett Beach State Reservation, Sandwich, MA
20-amp power & water, showers, dump station

October 1, 2016 (Sat) – in Freeport, ME

We rode our electric bikes around the campground and farm.  Terry saw a beautiful, healthy red fox while we were out.  Then we decided to ride 4.4 miles into Freeport to walk around before David came to pick us up.  The road was hilly and the shoulders were not wide but we got there safely and locked our bikes to a fence in a park just on the outskirts of town.

We walked around town, had lunch and shopped at the L.L. Bean store.  L.L. Bean is everywhere here!  This is where they started.  While shopping in the store it started raining.  It slacked off by the time we got back to the bikes, but it was still a messy ride back to the campsite.

About 3:30, David came, picked us up and showed us Portland Head Light house on the way to his place for dinner and to meet their 2 boys, Sam and Marcelle.  After a great dinner, Catherine had to go to work so David and the boys brought us back to the RV where we showed the boys around the place.  They’d never been in an RV before.