Massachusetts to Pennsylvania

Saturday, October 5th
One of our Shortest travel days, and maybe our Worst!

The day started with us leaving the Wompatuck SP near Boston, and on the way out coming across a bicycle event where they had placed an inflatable arch across the road!!  What??  We would not fit under this arch.  This is the road in and out of the park... the park has RV's.  What were they thinking??  One of the event workers stopped us and said "you wont fit under there... you will have to turn around"  Two Words I had for her... DUH  and  NO!  

We were there awhile... so I'll just jump to the resolution.  What we DIDN'T do was take a knife to their inflatable arch so we and other RV's could cross.  What we DID do was back-up with Rangers controlling traffic, and follow the lead of a Ranger to another way out. 
End of that Story... Just the Beginning of the Stress.

Traveling these New England States pulling a fifth-wheel trailer is not our idea of a good time.  It can be beautiful, but the navigating, and constant maneuvering keeps us from viewing much from the road.  We have found roads to be poorly maintained with potholes, low hanging branches, narrow with power poles or mail boxes nearly on the road, signs hidden by bushes, and careless drivers. 

And even the highways, whether they are State highways or Interstates... they just wind around all over the place!  It's not like in the West, where we can pick a route and stay on it. 
I am not criticizing here... this is just the way it is because these States are so much older and so populated!  But it's not what we are used to nor are we comfortable with it.

This was our route on this short 55 mile day.  This isn't the entire 55 mile route, it excludes the side roads... this is JUST the Highways:
     - South on SR-228
     - North on SR-3
     - South on I-93
     - South on I-95
     - South on I-295
     - South on SR-146
Of course this gets further complicated with Fall construction and the dreaded DETOUR signs!

By the time we arrived at our first stop, we were frazzled and cranky.  We needed fuel, and could not find an RV friendly diesel stop.
We ended up staying in the parking lot of Twin River Casino in Rhode Island. 

We didn't play a lot, but we did check it out, and relaxed in our little cozy home... dreading tackling the roads again tomorrow... but hopeful that traffic would be light with it being Sunday.


Sunday, October 6th
Four States in One Day!

I recently posted "3 States in 1 Day" and thought that was good.  But now we beat that!  It sounds impressive... but its not that hard in some places of the United States.

We left the Casino lot around 10:00. 
We drove from Rhode Island to Connecticut to New York to Pennsylvania.

See... here's the proof! 

 It was a rainy day, but not bad.  The day started with our missing the turn for our first highway of the day.  So I did my own "recalculating" and we got turned around and back on our planned route.

 Like I said... we had been unable to find a fuel stop.  So the night before, using my map program and Google Earth, I found a gas station on US-6 with a diesel pump that looked like we could get into.  We did... but not without a lot of contemplating and maneuvering.

So now we had a full tank... that took a lot of the stress off!

Since it was Sunday, which usually means less traffic, we were going to attempt a 300+ mile day to hopefully get us out of the "rat race".
It turned out to be a better drive day, although at first we had our usual road changes, and frustrations with no truck stops, no rest areas, no convenient pull-offs.  Finally... once in New York, there was a Rest Area!

 

I didn't have to beg Jeff NOT to take this exit...

 

I found a Wal-Mart in Wilkes-Barre, PA that we could stay at...

and this turned out to be our best Wal-Mart or Casino boondocking stay yet!

It wasn't just a Wal-Mart... it was a plaza with many stores, and many restaurants. 

We walked across the parking lot to Red Robin and had a wonderful dinner and a few beers with good fun service... for a great price!
Then we walked home and watched the evening football game!
There's just something about knowing you're being self-sufficient.  I love stays like this!


Monday, October 7th
Stormy Weather

The next morning we debated on what to do.  We had dry camped for 2 days and were low on generator fuel and fresh water.  But there were storm warnings in effect.  We don't like to drive in high winds or pouring rain or especially be on an open freeway with a tornado!  And that was the forecast warning for the day.

The weather was calm at the moment, and given our situation, we made the decision to travel.
We hadn't gone far before the storm rolled in.  First the winds that blew us around a bit and some rain... then sheet rain that windshield wipers cant keep up with, and fog.  But we didn't get hit by a tornado!!

With the help of our Guardian Angels, we arrived safely at our destination in Lancaster, PA.
Having missed visiting an Amish community in Ohio, that was our reason for coming to Lancaster.

We selected a site, set up, and stayed put... Except for going out to do laundry.  We were soaked from head to toe from our earlier fuel stop, then selecting and setting up at our site.  So doing laundry was a must... but that was all we were doing.  This was another day that left us a bit frazzled.


Tuesday, October 8th
Amish Dutch Country

We woke up refreshed and ready to see the area.
First stop...  Lancaster Visitor Center.

We sometimes just look around at Visitor Centers, and grab a few brochures that may be helpful, but this place had way too much to figure out things for ourselves.  So we asked one of the men at the counter for some advice.  He took out a map of Lancaster County, and highlighted spots where we may want to stop.  We had told him that we were looking to see the Amish farms, so he pointed out back roads where the Amish live.  He let us know that any of the stores along the main streets were not operated by the Amish... that if the Amish sold any goods there would be a sign at their driveway.  He pointed out one Amish farm where the family had set up a storefront out front of their farm... so that was one definite stop for us.

So with map in hand...  we were off to visit Amish country!

Our first stop on our "tour" was Kitchen Kettle Village in Intercourse, PA.

We really had no interest in this place... to us it was just another tourist trap.

But they had a parking lot, so we could walk down the road a bit...



I'll let the pictures speak for themselves... these are a few of our favorites.

 

 

this young girl sold us the most incredible buttery soft pretzel I've ever had...
I seriously could have eaten a dozen of them.

This is something we don't see at Costco in Oregon!

it seemed like it was Laundry Day at every farm

Coming and Going through the City of Lancaster was a little stressful... really narrow, crowded streets.  But I thought this was interesting.  The buildings, which seemed to be residences, were connected into continuous walls.

Sorry I am so late on my posts.

We are in Kentucky as I complete this post.  Hopefully I can get another post done soon.

 

Thank you for reading... We do appreciate you checking in on us.

BOSTON !!

I have SO much to write about... we've been to 4 States since Boston, but my next post was to be of our trip to Boston!  So I better do that!

We had a great time... and an even greater time, since we experienced it with our friends, Steve and Roberta.  We seem to always join up with them after they have found their way around the area.  How convenient for us, eh?

We met them at Wompatuck State Park,  a bit South of Boston, with a commuter boat dock just a short distance away.  I failed to get any pictures of the campground or our site!  I hate it when I do that!  We got a site next to them... and planned to stay only one night, so we stayed hooked up.  We ran one side of the 5er up on blocks, to level side to side and we raised the front as much as we could while staying hooked up.. but it wasn't good enough.  When we headed for the bedroom, we started to pick up pace with the downhill slope... then we had to grab the counter to pull ourselves back into the kitchen.  It was funny.  Yes we could have unhooked, but why?  Humor!

We set up in a few minutes and were ready to go into Boston.

We boarded the commuter boat, and made our trek into Boston.



 

 

Boston is a Huge, Crowded, Busy CITY!

 



I was saying, right away... I'm SO glad we didn't attempt to drive into the City!!

 

 
The commuter boat brought us to the port in downtown Boston... but now we needed to get around Boston.  So we found the Trolley.  They wanted $31 to take the Trolley all around town.  The entire route is 2 1/2 hours, and you can get off and back on at any of the 19 stops.  Trolleys come every 20 minutes.

 HOWEVER... it was 3:00 and the last boarding onto any trolley was 5:00, so we wouldn't be able to make any stops and re-board a later trolley.  Because of this, the trolley owner offered us tickets for $20, and we accepted. 

 

It was an open air trolley, and because of the hour, there was a lot of traffic congestion, so we moved along slow... which allowed us to get a more up-close feel of the city.



Boston was home to the bar that was the set for the TV show, CHEERS.

I know... there is so much more to Boston.

Something about a "Tea Party" back in 1773 that took place in the Boston Harbor...

 but we were here to go to CHEERS! 

 CHEERS!
 




             Norm!

                     Jeff!

Upstairs was the actual Set from the TV show.  There were plaques embedded in the bar, where each actor sat. 
I was sitting to the right of Frazier's seat.









We had hopped off the Trolley at the closest stop to Cheers on Beacon Street, and walked.  But now we had to find a way to get back to the harbor to catch our boat home.
 


The solution was going to be the Subway...

 
So now we just had to find our way to a Subway station.













 
 

 

 

Would following the red bricks of the "Freedom Trail" get us there?

Probably not.

We found it!  Yippee!  But now how do we buy a ticket?
There is no one "on duty"... the only people to ask are as confused as we are!


We finally figured that out...
but now we had to make sense of their map!  Which subway do we take to get where we want to go??

Got it!!   We're on our way!!

 

We even got off at the right stop!  or I guess we did... we still had to find our way to the harbor!

 

Yet another map to confuse us!

It felt like we were lost... but we did find our way... and in time to catch the last boat ride back Hingham wharf, where Steve's truck was parked.

So that was our trip to Boston!  Brief but Fun!  That's how we like it, when it comes to the City.

Like I said, we have been to 4 States since then...
so check back for from Massachusetts to Pennsylvania!





 

3 States 1 Day

I attempted another way of  posting.  I tried to write about each day, each day.  It didn't quite happen that way, but here goes...

Monday, September 30th

From Maine into New Hampshire, from toll booth to toll booth, we at last arrived in Massachusetts.

Destination... Salisbury Beach State Park

We couldn't wait long after setting up, before we took the bicycles,

 and checked out the parks and beaches.

The River Boat Ramp at Sunset

Tuesday, October 1st,  2013

What an Incredible Day!



Morning Walk on the Atlantic Coast Beach

Jeff said he heard the Ocean during the night... but I guess I slept good.  I didn't hear anything.  But the waves sure were big this morning when I went for a walk.

We're at Salisbury Beach SP in Massachusetts, on the border of New Hampshire.

The Merrimack River joins the Atlantic here at the park, so we can enjoy both!

We put the Kayaks in early this afternoon on the West end of the park, and paddled out toward the Atlantic.  The water got real rough, and we realized the tide was going out... so we headed back (which took awhile).

See my friend?

It was great Kayaking with the Seals... there were about 20 of them.

They were curious, but camera shy it seemed. 

Usually when I pointed the camera they would duck under the water.

 

Here is when we KNEW the Tide had gone out!

Photo on the left is us getting in ON the pavement.

Photo on right is the VIEW of the boat ramp when we got back. 

We stepped out and our feet sunk 6 inches in that gook;  shoes got stuck, almost fell over... hilarious!



We had started the day with a short bicycle ride... and after the kayaking, we considered a ride into the little beach town of Salisbury Beach.  But we opted for taking the truck North, via the beach road, to Portsmouth, NH.

We came upon Hampton Beach along the way... and it just looked too fun not to stop.

So we stopped... and I figured out how to pay for the parking!  (unlike Galveston, TX where we didn't have a clue and got a parking ticket)

 

Then we wandered the shops, and found a place for a beer with a view...

where we met and chatted with a couple from Quebec.

Then it was on to Portsmouth, NH.

We had a few things to get... and New Hampshire has no Sales Tax!

Finally, another State without Sales Tax... there aren't many of us, but we are from one of them.



After shopping, we found the Portsmouth Brewery, where we had a beer and an early dinner.

  Wednesday, 10/2/13

Indian Summer

 

 Shouldn't these people be at work?  I think a lot of locals must have taken a vacation day!

At 11:00 this morning... this was the beach!

 We enjoyed the beach... but for less than an hour, because of the crowd...

 

 ...then rode the bicycles over to the boat dock.

 

 OOPS!

What was this guy thinking?? 

 I don't sail... but shouldn't you bring the sails down before docking?

 

We had a good day... riding the bicycles, and doing projects at our site.

We rode our bicycles into Salisbury Beach, and checked it out.  Such a beautiful day for anything!

Then we rode our bicycles down to "our" beach... where we met a man with a young fawn pug (which caught my attention, and started conversation) and a couple visiting from nearby.  We enjoyed conversation... but most importantly, they set us straight... "it's not Bar Harbor, it's Bah Haabba"  Not sure how to spell that pronunciation, but they don't seem to use "er" around here.  We've only recently found that Eastern accent... I had been surprised that it wasn't in upstate New York or Maine.

We ended the day at the All American Tavern, where we were told they have wonderful food... and they were right!  We both had the best meal we have had in a while.  I had a Teriyaki glazed Salmon with Broccoli Rice Pilaf, and Jeff had Shrimp Broccoli Alfredo.


Thursday, October 3rd

We're on I-95 headed toward Boston.  THIS IS DEFINITELY A DRIVING DAY FOR VALIUM!!  I didn't take one... but should have... and I'm thinking Jeff could use one too!  These people are  CRAZY!!  We've seen and almost been in a few close-calls.  We will be more than happy to safely reach our destination for the night, a little South of Boston.


Friday, October 4th
I'm just now finishing up this post.  We did make it safely to our destination.  We met up with our friends, and we made a trip into Boston.  I will post about Boston next!