We left Maryland Monday, September 18 around 9:30 - about a half an hour later than desired. But, what the heck - we’re retired and in no hurry. So, we just enjoyed the beautiful day and relished being “on the road again.” (Thanks, Willie!)
We arrived at our first night’s stop around 3pm. We were in Matamoras, PA, in the corner of PA, NY, and NJ. We were just a few miles outside of New York. The campground was not a five-star park, but it was home for the night. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a horrible park, it just wasn’t the nicest we’ve stayed in. Of course, on the other side of that coin, it wasn’t the worst, either!
Tuesday started out sunny and very nice. Unfortunately, that didn’t last! The further north we traveled, the more overcast it got. I hate traveling in the rain, but am grateful that it doesn’t bother Randy. (What the heck does bother him, anyway????) We traveled through New York, following the Hudson River. I finally got a picture of the Hudson, but it was quick and through the columns of a bridge.
We continued into Vermont where the trees are already turning colors! It was beautiful in spite of the rain. From Vermont, we headed into Massachusetts where we were going to spend the night. And that’s when the “fun” began! Following our trusty GPS, we were going along our merry, ignorance is bliss, way when I told Randy we missed our turn. (It wasn’t my fault, it came up on us quickly!! Honest!) We found a spot to turn around and headed back to Stark Mountain Road. Well, that should have been our first clue. It’s never a good thing when the road you are supposed to take has the word “mountain” in it, at least not when you are towing a 36’ RV!
Well, the road’s name lived up to itself. This so-called road was unpaved and one lane. And, yes, it did go up a mountain, and then back down again. Needless to say, I was praying my heart out that we wouldn’t meet anyone coming in the opposite direction. God was so good - we only met one vehicle and it was at one of the few places where we could both pull to the side so we could pass one another. Randy, of course, never faltered, he just kept going. We finally got over the mountain and headed toward the campground where we staying Tuesday night . . . at least that’s what we thought . . .
We turned onto the road where the campground was supposed to be. It was a private home and there was a woman leaving. Randy stopped her to ask where the campground was. She told us it was nowhere near where we were. AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! GPS strikes again! However, this woman was an angel sent by God because she not only knew where the campground actually was, but offered to lead us to the main road and then give us directions to the campground from there. Who says God isn’t a hands-on God??? So, the woman did lead us to the main road, and yes, we did get to the campground - finally. You’d think we’d realize by now that we need to check our GPS route with a map. Guess we’re slow learners! :)
It was about 4:15pm when we pulled up to the park office. Normally this would not have been an issue, but of course, this was the night we had plans. We were meet my aunt, my cousin and her husband for dinner - around 5ish! Well, that wasn’t gonna happen. We had to set up and I HAD to get a shower!. I called Bob, my cousin’s husband, to let him know of the situation and he generously offered for he and Wanda, my cousin, to come to the campground and we’d go to dinner from there. That was a great help and gave us plenty of time to get ready.
This was a very special get-together because I hadn’t seen my cousin, Wanda, and my Aunt Helen for over 15 years! My mom had encouraged me to check our itinerary because we were stopping in Massachusetts and Mommy knew that Wanda & Bob and Aunt Helen lived in New Hampshire near the Massachusetts border. Turns out that our campground was only about 10 miles from their town! Isn’t that neat! So, we were able to have dinner together and catch up a little; sharing pictures of kids and grandkids. It was a truly special evening.
Woke up Wednesday morning to beautiful sunshine. After Tuesday’s rain, this was great. We got on the road around 8:30 and headed to Maine! We traveled through New Hampshire and it was just gorgeous. Actually, “gorgeous” doesn’t do the scenery justice. I’m not sure I can express how beautiful it was. We totally enjoyed traveling through New Hampshire and will definitely be back to explore it more thoroughly. I told Randy it was enough to make me want to move here; but only during June, July, August & September! :)
And then we entered Maine. More beautiful scenery. I know, I know!! I’m repeating myself, but if you haven’t seen this area, you can’t imagine the trees, the blue sky, the water. It just makes you grateful that you know the God Who created all of it. We got to our campground without incident. The GPS was right on target AND we made sure of it by double-checking the route with local mapping! :) We set up the RV and tried to set up the satellite for our internet, but that didn’t happen. We worked at it for about an hour, but then we decided to stop for the evening. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get it up and running soon. We are looking forward to exploring on Thursday - Randy really wants to see LL Bean. More pictures coming!
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