Windseeker Travel Log with Joe and Libby

As 2015 draws to a close, and we reflect back on our "excellent adventure," I propose a toast to all the good things that have come our way and all the good times ahead as the Windseeker 2016 Eastern US Tour continues. We hope you will join us for some exciting times in the New Year! Cheers!

As we approach Christmas, we want to wish all our friends out there in the Blogosphere a Merry Christmas and/or a Happy Holiday Season. We created this little Christmas card to extend the holidays greetings to everyone who follows our blog. This is Christmas, Florida Style, where a fan substitutes for a Christmas tree [smile]. Actually we're headed back home to celebrate the holidays with our kids. Corey is staying with a local pet sitter for a week and I'll be back on the 28th... Libby will stay back until after New Years.

Half a century ago, Bob Carns and I shared an apartment while attending the University of Maryland. Bob now lives in Virginia but visits his sister and mother frequently here in Florida. It was Bob who first took me out sailing way back then on the Chesapeake Bay in his dad's sailboat. It is both fun and appropriate to be taking him out sailing here on Lake Monroe as we catch up on the last half century.

Well, gentle reader... if you get tired of sailing talk, I'll share a little more "geezer talk" with you. Geezer Talk is a frequent topic of conversation amongst us senior citizens. One of the downsides of the sailing lifestyle is the constant exposure to the sun, especially here in sunny Florida. Years of skiing, motorcycles, windsurfing and the beach have taken its toll on my fair complexion. For years now I have visited the dermatologist every six months to have precancerous lesions zapped with liquid nitrogen, a procedure which generally prevents these little buggers turning into basal cell carcenoma or worse. My dermatologist here is also recommending Blu-U Light Therapy as an alternative, one which has longer lasting effects and has some positive side benefits. I may give it a try in the spring!

Back out on the lake today from 2-5pm... best winds were 3-4pm with a steady 12-14 mph breeze out of the southeast. Purrrrrfect afternoon sailing with blue skies, white puffy clouds and 80 degree temps. Gotta love winter sailing on Lake Monroe. We had just one other sailboat out and a few fisherman. Libby took the helm a good part of the afternoon, while I took the tiller in the strongest winds between 3 and 4pm. Only one other sailboat out... odd when the marina is FULL of sailboats.

I ordered this sticker from Cafepress.com for the back window on our car... thought it might encourage conversation with other sailors. Yesterday the wind was light so we did other things. Today we went to the gym, then home for a quick lunch and pick up Corey to take him sailing on a moderate 8-10 afternoon. It was light when we got out there a little before 3pm but picked up nicely to a very steady breeze after 4pm. Wind forecasts look good Sat, Sun and Monday as well... we'll probably pick the best two.

With all the news coverage on texting and motor vehicle accidents, discussion of reaction time while driving is a popular subject. Advancing to my 7th decade, I was curious as to how my reaction times had slowed down over the years. A friend sent me this online Reaction Time Test. My very first attempt was as that of a 36 year old, not bad considering I am almost twice that. And after a few tries, I was able to get it down to that of a 23 year old with a reaction time of 334 milliseconds. I made the mistake of encouraging Libby to try it... Her first try was that of a 20 year old, and at the right was her second try! I KNEW I married an alien!

Great sailing the last couple days with consistent winds in the 12-15 range all afternoon. As we approach the winter solstice, the days are getting shorter. Sunset today was 5:27. I captured this photo just after sunset as we were nearing the marina, first mate Libby at the helm!

We haven't had much sailing weather all week, with on and off rainy afternoons and unpredictable winds. We went to the marina Friday and watched the weather for a bit, but discretion, as they say, is the better part of valor and we decided not to go out. Today, Saturday, was the 14th Annual Kettle Cup Regatta hosted by the local Lake Monroe Sailing Association. The event was held under stormy conditions. Many brave sailors went out with winds gusting to almost 30. We watched quietly from shore for a while, often from inside our Suburban during the periodic rain showers. We watched a couple small day sailors go over in the strong gusts. We decided not to venture out today and went to the gym instead. Tomorrow should be better.

It was nice to visit my brother in Venice and spend Thanksgiving with my sister in Ormond/Daytona, but on Monday we drove back to Sanford to get a few minor service issues attended to at the local Tiffin Motorhomes Dealer and then back to our RV Park. We are very glad to be back "home" now at Wekiva Falls RV Park where we will kick back and enjoy the winter sailing season on Lake Monroe until mid March or so. This quiet spacious park is definitely one of our favorite spots, a welcome respite after the chaos over in Daytona.

After we left Venice we headed over to Daytona and Ormond Beach to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with my sister Cecilia and her husband Jim and to 'relax' at the beach. What we did not know is that this weekend is also the annual Turkey Run, with thousands of hot rodders and bikers converging on Daytona. Our stay here at the Sunshine Holiday Resort was not exactly the peaceful quiet RV experience like what we enjoyed over in Venice. Ah well, if you can't beat em, join em. We decided against braving the chaos and stayed back at the RV park Friday where we there's plenty of vehicular art to appreciate. Saturday my brother-in-law has agreed to help me with a little cabinetry modification project on our coach.

We have had a nice week here at the Royal Coachman RV Resort located in Nokomis just north of Venice. We did some bike riding with family members, ate some good food and shared lots of old memories. We enjoyed the facilities including the lovely pool, shuffleboard, mini golf and strolling thru the semi wooded park with the dog. Met lots of nice folks too... this is an excellent option for us when visiting this area.

We had more excellent sailing weather at Lake Monroe on the 15th and 16th... then on the 17th, we pulled up stakes and drove the coach over to Venice on Florida's west coast. My brother Frank, who we visited at Lake George this summer, has a condo here in Venice. We came over for a visit in the spring (the photo at the right is from the spring, but not much has changed). Frank is back down for the fall months so we came back over to spend another week with him. My sister and her husband are also here so we're enjoying another small family reunion here for the week. We are staying at the lovely Royal Coachman RV Resort for the week.

Winds were quiet all week.... no sailing to be had on Lake Monroe until today. Today the wind kicked in again and forecasts for the next ten days suggest more of the same. We sailed today in excellent 10-15 mph winds... mostly in the 12-14 range. It was cooler today and the temps never broke 80 degrees, perfect for us Northwesterners. There were 6-8 other sailboats out on the lake, including the very quick Corsair Trimaran at the right... and everyone was having a great time. We'll head back out tomorrow and again on Monday, because on Tuesday we are headed over to Venice on Florida's west coast to spend a week visiting with my brother who keeps a condo over there, leaving our Anne Marie behind.

The weather has been unseasonably warm thus far this fall. Some days the heat has killed the wind, but we're sailing when we can. We had another day of excellent sailing Sunday Nov 5 with winds 10-14. We could have also sailed the next day but had some other things to attend to. Today by mid afternoon there were some big black rain clouds circling but we went down to the marina and watched the cloud movement for a bit. We decided to slip out for an hour sail in between showers. Here we are heading back to the marina just as a rain shower is moving across the lake. It passed behind us as we pulled into the marina about 5:15.

We drove over to Catalina Yachts and retrieved our sailboat on Friday. Saturday we cleaned her up good and then reloaded all the gear which we had stored temporarily in a storage locker during the repairs. Sunday we rigged and launched her, but the wind faded down early so we just secured her in her slip at Monroe Harbour Marina. Today was unusually warm but the wind was consistent out of the SE starting around 10am. We got out on the lake about 11 and sailed in 10-14 mph winds until 2:00 as the wind began to fade in the afternoon heat. We left Corey back in the air conditioning. He was content to sit and watch the local resident sandhill cranes grazing out his picture window.

We are still waiting for to get our sailboat back so we are finding ways to spend a little time. We looked at a nearby "active adult" community called The Lakes of Mount Dora. We toured the marvelous facilities, looked at some lovely model homes and rode our bicycles all throughout the community. We found this lifestyle very appealing. Lots of great amenities and opportunities for an active lifestyle with lots of like minded people in a beautiful community with lovely single family homes both new and still under construction and some resales as well, many of them waterfront. We have filed this option away for future consideration. Depending on where our boys eventually settle, and how long we continue our RV lifestyle, this is a place we might seriously consider moving to some day. We really liked it a lot.

We are biding our time at Wekiva Falls RV Resort.... catching up on a lot of things including doctor and dental appointments, vet trips, and getting the car and sailboat serviced. All stuff that is hard to do when traveling. On Weds 10/14 we drove the Anne Marie over to Catalina Yachts factory headquarters in Largo, Florida on the west coast. We have a small leak which gets water in the bilges after an afternoon of sailing. Catalina will take care of this for us and we'll hopefully pick her up and put her into Lake Monroe by early November for the winter sailing season.

OK - Timeout for a little "geezer talk". My knees have been giving me a little trouble lately. I had ACL Repair surgery on my left knee 20 years ago and it has done very well. But Osteoarthritis started to creep in and in the late 2000's I had a series of three Euflexxa injections to provide a layer of extra cushion from the bone on bone contact which was causing me a little pain. It worked wonders and lasted much longer than the Doctor even said it might. Time to try it again... this time on both knees. I visited an orthopedist in nearby Lake Mary today for my first treatment. (Followup... I had all three treatments and by Nov 2, my knees are remarkably improved. Medicare will pay for a series of 3 injections twice a year.)

We moved into our permanent campsite at Wekiva, and got set up a couple days ago. We had picked out this premium spot #742 last spring before we left. This is just a lovely park. At the right is our view out the front windshield. A nice big roomy spot with some live oak trees for some shade but not blocking our clear shot at the Dish Network Satellites. The spot comes with a nice cement patio and lots of grass and sandy soil. I expect it may get a few more seasonal residents over the next month but right now in mid October it is very very quiet. For extended stays, I really love the lush surroundings and the true campground feel... much more than the sterile feel of the average high end "RV Resort".

Wekiva Falls in Sorrento, Florida is one of our favorite RV parks. It is truly a tropical paradise, Central Florida's premier RV Resort... and monthly rates here are quite reasonable. Walking the dog or bicycling around the huge park grounds here is a real pleasure.

The weather was mostly clear this morning, so we left Brunswick GA and arrived at Lake Monroe today, our winter destination in Florida. We were here last winter/spring and will be staying at the same Wekiva Falls RV Park and sailing nearby Lake Monroe. Monroe Harbour Marina at Lake Monroe is our all time favorite marina (right). Winters are warm and lake winds are pretty consistent, so it's a perfect spot for spending the winter months.

We left Augusta today and drove half the 400 miles from Augusta to Lake Monroe. Driving in tandem with Libby driving the Burb and towing the boat, 400 miles is just too far for a comfortable day. So we picked a REALLY nice RV Park about halfway down in Brunswick GA... Coastal Georgia RV Resort. I don't give out 10 ratings very easily but on our RV Reviews page, I will definitely give this one a 10. All level pull through concrete pads, asphalt roads and nice grass and shrubs. ZERO gravel, sand or dirt. NICE! We'll see what happens with the rain forecast tomorrow... if it backs off some more we'll probably drive on down tomorrow... or we may just layover an extra day here and relax.

The weather cleared today... it was a warm sunny day and while much of the east side of Columbia SC is like a war zone, inundated with flood waters,, the area of Lexington where our RV Park is located, and where our sailboat was still stored, was spared. So we drove in with the Suburban from Augusta to get it. We were relieved to find the boat high and dry and looking very clean after days of thorough rinsing in rain water. As we left Lexington with our Oregon license plates and headed back to Augusta, I could swear I saw angry picketers yelling 'Yankee go home!'. OK, OK... it does rain a lot in Oregon, but not like this!!!

The epic floods of 2015 have created such a disaster area, we decided we would save our sailing on Lake Murray for another time... hopefully, in the spring. In addition my knee is bothering me so we have decided to head straight for Florida. Since I-95 is closed south of Columbia, today we drove the coach east again as far as Augusta GA, within an hour of Lexington, and found a nice RV park to spend a couple days. We'll slip into Lexington with the car to get the boat and then return to Augusta before heading south using an alternate route.

Well, occasionally in your travels, bad luck catches up with you, I guess, and it did it this time in spades. The Carolinas got hit with a 1000 year flood... the worst in recorded history and then some... and the epicenter was Charleston to Columbia. where more than 24 inches of rain fell within a few short days. Read more about the convergence of weather patterns which created this epic flood situation... it nailed the area we were scheduled to visit. We were glad we had decided to "get outa Dodge" before it hit. We weren't exactly sunbathing in Atlanta but we only had a little rain and were able to do some fun things and visit friends in the area.

We also took a guided tour of CNN Headquarters today. I have certainly watched my share of CNN, the cable news network, although I have drifted away and now refer to it as the Commercial News Network. With more than 30 minutes of commercials in an hour, I find it nauseating to watch. Nevertheless it was an interesting guided tour of the headquarters, showing us the newsroom and various studios where some of their news shows are filmed. That 'stairway to the stars', is actually an escalator which takes you up to the top and then you descend 9 flights during the tour.

The rain held off today here in Atlanta and we ventured into the city to visit the World of Coca-Cola and CNN Headquarters. The World of Coca-Cola is a museum here in Atlanta, Georgia (where the company's headquarters are located) which showcases the history of The Coca-Cola Company and contains various entertainment areas and attractions. It is well done, but more like a one hour infomercial than a museum. It did include a mock mini bottling plant and lots of nostalgia and some historical perspective back to the birth of Coca Cola in the 1800's. And we also got to meet their mascot :-)

Well we no sooner got all set up in Lexington SC, planning to start sailing Lake Murray and Hurricane Joaquin strengthened into a full blown hurricane, predicted to strengthen and to drop well over a foot of rain on the Columbia, SC area with wind gusts to 85 mph. While hurricanes can change course and veer away from the Atlantic coast, and can diminish in strength... they can also veer onland and strengthen, too. We decided we did not want to take the risk. Atlanta, just 3 hours or so to the west, seemed to be well out of the monsoon weather, so we have moved over here until it passes... maybe Monday or Tuesday. We booked into a nice quiet Jellystone Park in Bremen, west of Atlanta. Time for a pizza and beer!

Today we left Asheville and drove the couple hours south to Columbia, South Carolina and Lake Murray where our sailboat, the Anne Marie, is waiting for us after we had it towed here. We stopped through here for several days on our trip north in the spring, and decided then that it might be a good place to come and spend a month and do some sailing on the way back to Florida... still warm enough to sail here in October but not as hot and muggy as Florida this time of year. We have completed the 3500 mile roundtrip in 5 months and now we plan to spend most of October here until moving on to Florida again for the winter months.

The weather has turned pretty rainy but we got a break mid day so we took Corey and took a little drive down along the Rocky Broad River to Chimney Rock village and Lake Lure. Lake Lure is apparently where some of the filming for the movie 'Dirty Dancing' took place although we didn't see any of that. But we did walk along the picturesque "Rocky Broad Riverwalk" on the outskirts of Chimney Rock State Park and walked through the little town before the weather began to drizzle again.

George W. Vanderbilt wanted to build 'a grand home' in the tradition of the French Renaissance chateaus that he visited in Europe with his architect, Richard Morris Hunt. The scale of this chateau staggers the imagination. The exterior makes the other enormous Vanderbilt family summer homes we visited in Newport, R.I. look small. The inside is very grand as well. The regal 3000 SF Banquet Hall (right), with its huge 16th century Flemish tapestries flanking intricately carved thrones, and the massive fireplace at the far end, literally takes your breath way when you walk into the room. Lots more jawdropping Biltmore photos on our gallery page.

Today we toured the extensive gardens around the estate. With 8000 acres on the estate and botanical gardens rivaling the best in the nation, we decided to break up our visit into two days. It's supposed to rain tomorrow so we'll tour the inside of the massive Vanderbilt mansion tomorrow. Here we are in the Italian gardens. We wrapped up the visit to the gardens at the Estate Winery where your admission gets you unlimited free wine tasting. The had 20 different excellent wines to sample and we tried them all! Hic....

After seeing the fabulous summer "cottages" in Newport, R.I. last month, especially those built by the Vanderbilt family, we have stopped in Asheville, NC to visit the Biltmore Estate, America's largest home at 178,926 SF, built by George W. Vanderbilt and completed in 1898. George was younger brother to Cornelius who built the fabulous 135,000 SF "Breakers" mansion we visited in Newport. Those boys did have a penchant for grand homes! We'll be here a week visiting the Biltmore Estate, Lake Lure, the North Carolina Arboretum and more.

We landed in Durham, North Carolina this evening after changing course and going to Richmond, to get a suspicious clunk investigated in the front end suspension. Turned out to be one of the new front jacks installed recently which was for some unknown reason clunking against the frame. Minor issue easily resolved. But with rain in the forecast we decided to shift gears and not head over to Appomattox. Instead we drove south enroute to Asheville, NC, our next stop, and made a quick stop in Durham. We have some friends here and Durham is a fun University town, home to Duke University.

We had a couple warranty items taken care of at Risco RV in Farmingdale, NJ, close to Cream Ridge where we were staying. I would have to rate this place a 10 out of 10 for Tiffin dealer service centers. They did a great job at a fair price, they were done by 1:00 PM and were a pleasure to deal with. From there we headed on to Hagerstown, MD. We've been here before. The Hagerstown City Park is a picturesque collection of man-made lakes, wooded walking trails, picnic facilities, and active recreation facilities, museums and outdoor amphitheater, and is rated the Most Beautiful City Park in America. We agree! We visited here in the spring and took lots more great photos like the one at the right taken today.

After a weekend trip to Brigantine on the Jersey Shore to visit my cousin Paul, I drove to visit my cousin Maria at her elegant old home in the exclusive Merion Station district in Lower Merion Township in what is called Philadelphia Main Line, so named for the former Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad, which in the early 1900's became home to sprawling country estates belonging to Philadelphia's wealthiest families. Maria's mom, my cousin Catherine, came for a visit and the two of them fixed a delicious home cooked Italian dinner for all of us which included Maria's life partner, Michael, and young son Chase who attends the exclusive Waldron Mercy Academy, a private Catholic elementary school just down the street.

After setting up camp in Cream Ridge, I took Libby to the airport so she could fly home to the west coast for a brief visit. Then I drove down to Sewell, NJ for a birthday bash held at my cousin Ralph's beautiful home. The party was for my cousin Ralph's twin grandchildren. They are 4 and cute as a bug's ear! At the right is my cousin Paul Lettieri (his mother and mine were sisters), cousin Ralph Aversa, me and cousin Catherine Aversa Cacia, Ralph's sister (my grandfather's brother was their father). Italians all of them from my mother's side of the family. And then there's me, looking a little like Gulliver here! More photos on our gallery page.

I was born in Philadelphia, and I still have a lot of family in the area, so we wanted to make a stop in the area and visit the relatives, and Timberland Lake Campground northeast of the city was the closest spot to the city which had room for us. This is our camp spot... a nice quiet, shady spot. But of course the tall trees mean no satellite. The place is largely deserted now, at least during the week days... kids are all back in school. The ground is surprisingly sandy here which makes it nice for walking Corey through the lonely forested campground.

I went to Jr High and High School with Bernie Zaccaro until we moved to Bethesda, MD in 1960. My best friend from those days was Ed Escoffier. We have remained good friends all through college, the military, and adult life. We usually find a way to see each other at least every 5 years in spite of the fact that Ed and wife Dee live on Long Island and we have been living on the west coast. It was great to see them again. Here we are walking the dogs at Sagamore Hill Nature Trail on Teddy Roosevelt's old estate, now a national park. They came by to visit us at the Campground for dinner before we leave tomorrow. Good times with old friends.

I had a chance to visit an old friend of mine from early high school years, when my family lived in Malverne, L.I. Bernie Zaccaro lived just down the street from me when I attended the 7th to the 10th grades there. He drove out to to visit us at Battle Row Campground where we are staying... then we drove into Malverne, drove around the old neighborhood including past the house where I lived in the late 50's (right). The neighborhood looks remarkably similar... still a very nice middle class neighborhood with nice and homes and lots of big trees. The house has withstood half a century very well. Great fun to relive all the old memories from so long ago with a very dear friend.

We left the mellow Newport area and jumped into the frying pan as we headed down I-95 through Connecticut - dealing with ever increasing congestion through New Haven, Stamford and into the Bronx. We crossed the Throgs Neck Bridge onto Long Island and made the almost fatal mistake of jumping on the Cross Island Parkway.... from the frying pan into the fire. It said "No trucks" but that has never applied to us before. However, on L.I. no trucks means low bridges and no motor coaches allowed on the parkways. A kind tow truck driver escorted us with lights flashing SLOWLY thru some scary underpasses and onto the L.I. Expressway. OMG! I definitely gained some new grey hairs as some awful RV/bridge images danced through my head, and memories of the 11foot8 bridge website will haunt me for months. Luckily we escaped any major mishap and did not get the hefty ticket we might have, had we been pulled over by NY's finest. We made it through horrendous traffic to Battle Row Campground. Whew! It is time for a few brewskis!

The Elms was our third mansion tour on Bellevue Avenue in Newport. The fabulous 60,000 SF 'summer cottage' was designed by architect Horace Trumbauer for the coal baron Edward Berwind, and was completed in 1901. Its design was copied from a French Chateau. Once again a headset was provided for a marvelous self guided tour at our own pace. Unlike the other two mansions, The Elms was almost lost to posterity and demolished before it was purchased by the Preservation Society of Newport County in 1962. More photos inside and out on our gallery page.

After I graduated from college in the 60's, during the Vietnam War era, I had a choice to either be drafted into the Army or join the Navy. My father was a Naval officer and persuaded me the Navy was a better choice. I got an appointment to Officer Candidate School in Newport, and I went there before being commissioned an Ensign in the US Navy in 1968. I haven't been back since, so it was very interesting to have a chance to visit again. For security reasons we had to have an escort, which worked out great. An affable young officer, Lt Rory Larson, chauffered us in his BMW around the base and the OCS Compound. I got to visit the old dorm halls and classrooms which I remember still, even after almost half a century.

Today we went back into Newport, ran some errands, then went back down to Bellevue Avenue and visited the incredible Marble House Mansion, built by Alva Vanderbilt, wife to William, brother of Cornelius II, who later built The Breakers mansion. The fifty-room Marble House, completed in 1892, cost $11 million to build ($260,000,000 in 2009 dollars) of which $7 million was spent on an incredible 500,000 cubic feet of imported Italian marble. More photos on our gallery page.

Today we drove into Newport across the Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge, reminiscent of the Golden Gate Bridge, into The City by the Sea, beautiful Newport, R.I. We drove around the historic district and past the downtown harbor area, home to the fabled New York Yacht Club, which defined the America's Cup racing for more than a century. Then we went over to Bellevue Street to tour the first of several Mansions of Newport, the fabulous turn of the 20th century Vanderbilt Mansion, The Breakers, so named for its location along the cliffs of Newport with the ocean waves breaking below. Here we are standing by the massive wrought iron gates offering a glimpse of the magnificent mansion inside. More photos on our gallery page.

After leaving the Boston area, we drove a short distance to Newport, Rhode Island area, staying at Wawaloam Campground (right) over in Richmond, R.I. across the harbor. We came to visit the famous "Sailing Capital of the United States", of course, as well as some of the fabled Mansions of Newport, presented by the Preservation Society of Newport County. Built during Newport's Gilded Age, there are eight fabulous homes available for touring which include The Breakers, Marble House, Rosecliff, Chateau-sur-Mer, The Elms, Isaac Bell House, Kingscote, and Chepstow.

Martha's Vineyard - the name conjures up a fabled summer island retreat for the wealthy. We had to squeeze in a quick visit while we were here. Our time was limited, with the dog arrangements, but we caught the noon ferry out of Falmouth Harbor over to the Oak Bluffs ferry landing on "the Vineyard". We didn't have enough time to see much of the island, so we just milled around the tourist town of Oak Bluffs, the harbor and marina, and had clam 'chowdah' at a waterfront restaurant. It was a lovely ferry ride from Falmouth over across Vineyard Sound to the island. At right is the Oak Bluffs park, surrounded by the lovely old Cape Cod Victorians and the beachfront by the ferry landing. More photos on our gallery page.

Cape Cod, or "The Cape", is one of those legendary places in the U.S., and probably epitomizes the New England oceanfront lifestyle. After all the Kennedy's had their summer residence at Hyannis Port, and what could have been more glamorous than hobnobbing with Jackie and JFK in the 60's? But the Cape is many different things... from the glamour of Hyannis Port, to the sleepy little villages like Barnstable and Sandwich on the north shore, to beach towns like Harwich and Chatham on the south shore where this photo was taken. You can see more Cape Cod photos on our gallery page.

We decided to lay low ourselves today... we found Dave's Diner online with 5 stars from Trip Advisor for great breakfasts all day, so we drove over late morning to try it out. We loved the 50's diner decor, very well done in an authentic reproduction from my youth, complete with 50's photos and ads on the walls, and with 50's music lightly playing in the background. We shared a superb Mediterranean omelet and homefries with a side of sausage patties. We gave it 4 thumbs up!

Mr Corey was a little tired after his exciting day at doggy daycare yesterday. All that interaction with all those other dogs can wear a little guy out. They loved him over there... their exact words were, "He is adorable but he's a tough little shit... he doesn't take any guff from other dogs!" LOL! That's our boy! It's called Westitude. We woke up leisurely this morning and suggested a morning walk and were greeted by a couple blinks without lifting the head. I finally encouraged him to arise for a morning 'workout' and this was the result. Sigh... well we understand, we were a little slow ourselves this morning after our big day in Beantown yesterday.

Today we put Corey into doggy daycare for the day and drove into downtown Boston to take a 20 stop Old Town Trolley Tour of the city. Given the horrendous traffic and unbelievable parking problems and fees, this is probably the best way for a short visit to take in the city. We made stops at Faneuil Hall, USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) & Museum, the Old State House (right) site of the Boston Massacre, 'Cheers' for lunch, Skywalk Observatory, and drove past many other historical sites, including Paul Revere's house, Harvard & M.I.T., Beacon Hill, Boston Common and the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum. It made for a long day - we couldn't stop and see everything, as we had to get back to doggy daycare before 6:30. But enough history for one day! More photos for history buffs on our gallery page.

Our first day in the area we spent getting organized in the morning and relaxing after the travails of the last couple days. Then in the afternoon we drove the 15 miles over to the town of Plymouth, Mass, right on Plymouth Harbor and the site of Plymouth Rock Memorial State Park which features the memorial in the photo below celebrating the arrival of the pilgrims in 1620 to form the first English Colony in America... as well as a reproduction of the original Mayflower which brought the pilgrims over from England in 1620. The memorial, of course, contains the actual Plymouth Rock onto which the first pilgrims stepped ashore almost 400 years ago. More photos on our gallery page.

The quick service was done in Amsterdam at Alpin Haus RV, the central NY Tiffin dealer. Quick, efficient and mostly handled on warranty. We were very pleased. We spent the night in their lot and this morning with storms in the area moving east, we delayed our departure to let the worst of it get ahead of us. We took a short drive up to Great Sacandaga Lake. Pretty spot and a lot of sailing goes on there, but we'll stick with the Thousand Islands next year. I got word that our sailboat arrived in South Carolina this afternoon, so that all worked out perfectly and we look forward to sailing Lake Murray in October. We pulled into the Boston/Cape Cod KOA late afternoon and set up camp. We'll cruise over to Plymouth Rock (right) tomorrow and pay our respects to the Pilgrims as we gear up to become New Englanders for a week!

After a great summer in the Thousand Islands, we're moving on. We're making a stopover in Amsterdam, NY for a quick service stop at the Tiffin Dealer there, and then heading for Boston/Cape Cod. We've never been to "the Cape" or to Martha's Vineyard and everyone says they're not to be missed. We'll be in the area for a week just taking in the sites and enjoying some of New England's finest. Stay tuned for lots more photos on the blog and photo gallery.

With a tinge of sadness, it is time to bid a fond farewell to the marvelous magical Thousand Islands. We have enjoyed our 7 weeks here immensely and are already planning to return for the entire season next year. As I have said before, for us, this is the quintessential summer destination. No place else even comes close. We have added an unprecedented 100+ photos to the blog and photo gallery on this incredible region.

I ran an ad on Craigslist and found a nice fellow, Mike, retired army, driving from Clayton, NY down to Georgia in his Ford 3/4 ton pickup who was willing to tow the Catalina down to Columbia SC for us for a reasonable fee. I made arrangements with the campground we'll be staying at to store the boat for us until we get there October 1. This will allow us to travel together for the next 5-6 weeks in the coach, towing the car, as we make our way down to Lake Murray. On long hauls over extended periods, it is just not cost effective for us to drive two vehicles and tow the boat ourselves, if we can find someone to do it for us at about the same cost as our fuel costs for the suburban. Mike picked it up today and we'll head out tomorrow, on our way to Boston and Cape Cod.

Tomorrow we're derigging the boat and getting her road ready. I have arranged for her to be towed to Lake Murray SC while we meander down that way in the Windseeker via Boston, Cape Cod, Rhode Island, Long Island, Philadelphia, Virginia and Asheviille, NC. We plan to arrive in SC on October 1, and sail Lake Murray for a month before we continue on to Florida via Charleston. Today, we enjoyed another superb day of sailing and were treated to a great closeup of this classic Square Rigger, the Fair Jean, motoring back up river (upwind) to her home port of Kingston. Next year we hope to catch her under full sail on her way downwind from Kingston. Sailing here is like living in a fairy tale! We'll definitely be back next year!

We sailed some 20 miles today in excellent winds mostly in the 10-12 and 12-14 range. With a slight SW cant to the wind we made it to Wolfe Island Cut in three tacks and were in Canadian waters in less than an hour and a half. We cruised up the 3 mile reach towards Howe Island again, but this time dropped to a broad reach and sailed right thru the Canadian Middle Channel over above Black Ant Island and then headed north again over past the west end of Bostwick Island in the Admiralty Island Group. We could see down the channel above Mermaid Island to our friends on Sagastaweka Island. If we'd had more time we could have dropped sail and motored the half mile or so down to their dock, but instead we turned and tacked our way back over to the west, dropped down thru the Wolfe Island Cut and did a fast downwind reach back to our marina. An outstanding afternoon, once again.

Definitely one of the benefits of staying at 1000 Islands Campground near Clayton is that it is immediately adjacent to Grass Point State Park, a terrific place to get some exercise for ourselves and Corey. Corey loved this place with all the rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks. Dog Heaven! This beautiful waterfront park is right along the St Lawrence and several islands from the 1000 Island chain are visible in the background. Even the kids' play structures have the 'castles' theme here! Grass Point State Park is also a popular campground, but is open to everyone for a modest day use fee. We had decided to purchase a New York State Parks Empire Passport when we were in Lake George and so we always get in for free. We went over here almost daily... sometimes twice a day!

We wanted to take one last cruise through the breathtaking Thousand Islands off Alexandria Bay before we leave next week to continue our journey. So we boarded the Uncle Sam's Twilight Island Cruise tour aboard one of his smaller cruise ships this evening, and took one last guided tour through the local colorful history of castles, land barons, sunken ships, and bygone eras as we cruised through the nearby islands until sunset.

Today was a warm day and we decided that, with our time drawing to a close here in the Thousand Islands, we wanted to try kayaking at least once at nearby Butterfield Lake. Located about 12 miles from our campground just east of Alexandria Bay, it looked like an excellent place to use our Hobie Outfitter Pedal Kayak when we scouted it a few weeks ago. Butterfield Lake is like the Thousand Islands, just on a smaller scale, but with quite a few small islands of its own, many with houses on them. And in the kayak we could pedal right up to them and around them. We had the lake all to ourselves except for a few fishermen and spent several hours out pedaling around, making for a very pleasant afternoon.

We joined new friends Bill and Penny Stallan for lunch at Clayton's Wood Boat Brewery which sits right across the street from the renowned Antique Boat Museum. After a couple pints of delicious IPA and a dynamite pulled pork sandwich, I noted the wind was blowing hard once again, so we parted company, went back to the bus to let Corey out for a break, and then went sailing until sunset. Another Thousand Island sunset to remember.

Weak NE winds were forecast again today so we took a day trip and drove out to the picturesque Tibbetts Point Lighthouse, in Cape Vincent, NY, which stands right at the very point where the St Lawrence begins its long journey from Lake Ontario heading towards the Atlantic Ocean. We enjoyed a delicious lunch in Cape Vincent and then caught the Horne Ferry across to Wolfe Island where we had an interesting afternoon... More details and photos on our gallery page.

The wind gave us a bit of a break the last couple days. We sailed last on the 6th then the wind shifted around to the north and became light. So today we took the shuttle over from Schermerhorn Landing to Dark Island, where Singer Castle is located. Frederic Gilbert Bourne, millionaire yachtsman and president of Singer Sewing Machine Company at the turn of the last century built this incredible 4-story 28 room medieval style castle from solid granite quarried from nearby Oak Island. He built it originally as a hunting lodge, complete with tunnels, dungeons and hidden passageways. It was later expanded by Bourne's daughter Marjorie and her husband Alexander Thayer for their personal use until the late 1950's. In the early 2000's it was purchased by a group of German businessmen, renovated and opened for public tours. More photos on our gallery page.

Today we visited friends we made recently, Susan Smith and her husband Marceli Wein, at their home on their enchanted Isle, Sagastaweka in the Admiralty Islands, part of the Thousand Islands on the Canadian Side near Gananoque. It is a great experience to spend the summer here in the Thousand Islands, to enjoy the great summer weather, see all the sights, and sail around in our sailboat. But like anywhere, it is the people who make it truly special. And having the opportunity to make new friends and get a taste of their summer island lifestyle was a real highlight of our summer. See more photos on our gallery page.

A water softener is a key appliance when traveling in an expensive motor coach. There are so many systems which use water, like the water pump, washing machine, dishwasher, refrigerator with icemaker, and the very expensive AquaHot Water Heater. Calcium buildup from using the typical hard water we find in most campgrounds across the country will ruin these appliances pretty quickly. I've been using an On-the-go Portable Water Softener for several years but frequent manual regeneration of the media becomes very tedious, so today I completed the installation of my new WaterBoss home quality water softener. See the trick installation I did in one of my sliding 'Joey beds' in the Bus' basement.

Before going out sailing today, we attended the Antique Boat Show in Clayton, the longest running Antique Boat Show in in North America, now in its 51st year. It is sponsored by the the renowned Clayton Antique Boat Museum. People come from all over for this event bringing many gorgeous immaculately restored antique wooden boats, like a number of highly prized Gar Wood boats, among the most sought-after classic boats in the world. That's Her at the right was built right here in Clayton in 1933 by Brainard Robbins and served as a water taxi to the islands in the 40's and 50's. More photos on our gallery page.

While I was dealing with our electrical issues, today Libby took the Cherry Island tour and luncheon cruise with 140 others to visit the fabulous Casa Blanca mansion on Millionaire's Row in Alexandria Bay. Owner Edith Amsterdam has opened Casa Blanca to two public tours every summer for the past three decades to raise money for the Alexandria Bay Township Historical Society to support the society’s Cornwall Brothers Museum. Built in the late 1800s by millionaire industrialist James Pullman and originally known as Melrose Lodge, this beautiful 27-room mansion on Cherry Island in Alexandria Bay is one of the grande dames of the islands here, and has been maintained in mostly original condition, down to the old wooden telephones.

Today was a very windy day. It happens here sometimes... you *can* have too much of a good thing! But this was a problem solver day. We've been having electrical issues since we arrived. The Park Management has had electricians out and they have not resolved the problem. After much research and talking to some very knowledgeable folks, using my multimeter, I determined that one leg of the 50 amp service at this park is faulty, at least in most sites... and especially in ours. Low voltage means power outages and potential damage to expensive RV appliances. Fortunately one park member handed me a catalog showing the TRC Voltage Regulator pictured at the right. This sounds like it could be the answer so I ordered one. I'll post a followup on our photo gallery as to how it works out.

It was a beautiful summer's day, and I wanted to get back over onto the Canadian side of the river again today. So we pretty much followed the same course and procedures as a couple days ago and sailed a close reach right up thru the Wolfe Island Cut again off the east end of the Canadian Wolfe Island and on over to Howe Island close to the Canadian mainland. Once again, there were half a dozen sailboats out on the Canadian side enjoying the afternoon with us. By the time we got back over on the US side in the late afternoon, the wind was lightening up so we wound up motoring the last couple miles into our marina.

We took a break from sailing today and took the shuttle from Alexandria Bay over to the iconic Boldt Castle to take a tour of the fabulous place. Under gradual and painstaking restoration since the 70's by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority, it has become the most famous icon of the 1000 Islands, and is well worth the time to walk all through it. Built by George C. Boldt, millionaire proprietor of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, for his wife Louise on picturesque Heart Island in Alexandria Bay, it was never finished after she died suddenly of consumption in 1904. We toured the castle, the grounds, and the incredible boathouse. More photos on our gallery page.

Today was our first venture into Canadian waters, crossing the international border between the US and Canada in our sailboat. We sailed several tacks heading west on the US side until we got past Blanket Shoals, so we could take a straight shot on a close reach right up thru the Wolfe Island Cut, a clearly marked channel off the east end of the Canadian Wolfe Island. With the west wind we were able to sail right up thru and on over to Howe Island close to the Canadian mainland, about a 3 mile crossing from the Wolfe Island Cut. At the right is a photo of the Wolfe Island lighthouse at the point as we headed back south towards it. We had superb winds all afternoon and covered a record 28 miles in just over 5 hours. We called the CBP 800 # as per the reporting requirements and reported in. All very exciting, eh? I posted more photos and a chart of Canadian waters on the photo gallery.

Early afternoon there were some heavy T-storm clouds headed our way and we thought sailing was going to be a total loss, but it had totally cleared by 4:30. So we went drove down to the marina and went out for an early evening sail and had marvelous steady winds in the 9-12 range. We got back in about 8, and stopped for dinner at the Rondette Diner on the way back to the RV Park. Delicious Philly Cheese Steak and hot turkey sandwiches hit the spot. As we finished, the sun was just setting, so we whipped into Fisher's Landing right next to our park, and I was very lucky to capture this great photo. Ahhh... summer in the Thousand Islands!

We were going to try sailing today, but the wind was kinda gusty with big storm clouds all around, so we adopted a tamer approach to the afternoon and visited the renowned Clayton Antique Boat Museum. They have canoes, skiffs, sailboats and powerboats of all shapes and sizes. I was particularly interested in some of the various antique wooden sailboats they had on display.. At the right is Libby standing next to the 'Zipper', a 41' Classic Style Wooden Yacht by Purdy, in a design from the 30's, which takes visitors on sunset cruises weekly on the St Lawrence.

Another awesome day out on the river cruising the Thousand Islands in our sailboat. On our way back in the late afternoon, this super yacht was bearing down on us. We watched as it cruised by. Sycara IV is a crewed charter yacht, 150' in length and is based in the Marshall Islands. We saw it pull into the city docks in Clayton so after we docked, we drove into downtown and gawked as it sat tied up to the docks. It is actually for sale so if you have a spare 37 million lying around, it could be yours! Or you could just charter it for a mere $225,000 a week!

Today we sailed in the early afternoon in some pretty stiff winds blowing 14-18 at times. We had a ball running Anne Marie through her paces, then came back in early to get ready to take a 3 hour boat tour of the islands off Clayton, around Grindstone and Wellesley Islands and over to Gananoque, Ontario and back. This boat cruised a good part of the time at 15 mph or so, so we covered easily 35 miles, a lot more territory than we could cover in our sailboat. At the right is a tour boat out of Gananoque, passing one of the hundreds of islands we cruised past in this 3 hour tour. I added 10 more photos to the Thousand Islands Tour webpage.

Today there was not much wind, so we opted instead to drive up to Alexandria Bay and take a 2 1/2 hour boat tour of the heart of the Thousand Islands region aboard the Alexandria Belle, a grand Paddlewheeler, one of Uncle Sam's fleet of tour boats. Here we are enjoying our afternoon cruise on a beautiful summer's afternoon, as we cruised around the fantastic Boldt Castle (see photo below) and more than 100 other gorgeous islands in the chain. There are several more photos from this island tour on our gallery page. I have also created a special Thousand Islands Tour webpage exclusively for some of the many photos taken during this 2 hour tour.

Directly across from the Alexandria Bay harbor where we boarded our tour aboard the Alexandria Belle, sits the iconic Boldt Castle, built at the turn of the 20th century by George C. Boldt, millionaire proprietor of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. He built this full size Rhineland castle for his wife in Alexandria Bay, on picturesque Heart Island, but when she died suddenly of consumption in 1904, work was suspended indefinitely. The island was later sold to the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority, and full restoration has been underway now for several decades. Self guided tours of the castle are available, and we'll do that another day.

After another great afternoon of sailing today in 12-15 kt winds, someone tipped me to this article in USA Today: Reader's Choice Poll for the Best U.S. Boat Ride, 2014. Readers picked their top ten favorites... and guess which was NUMBER ONE? The incomparable Thousand Islands. And that's above Alaska's Inside Passage, Colorado River & Grand Canyon, Sunset in the Florida Keys and the Pacific Northwest's own Puget Sound. It certainly gets MY vote! You might also enjoy reading this excerpt from from the May 2010 issue of National Geographic Traveler.

It may sound trite to say "it doesn't get any better than this." But it is a fact. Sailing the St Lawrence is probably the best sailing I have ever done. Today the winds were 12-15, and very steady. No gusts at all. Maybe a mile an hour current or so, nothing to disturb what is really excellent sailing. People have said it is crowded on the water here. They are nuts. Does it *look* crowded??? Very few boats out all afternoon... and we only saw one other sailboat from a distance. We sailed over 17 miles for 3.5 hrs in near perfect conditions... sunshine, blue skies and perfect winds. It does NOT get any better than this!

After a few foulups rigging our sailboat in the heat of the day on Monday, and rain on Tuesday, it was a perfect cool day today to finish the rigging and get her launched at Bayside Marina in Clayton, NY where we will be keeping her for the summer. The winds were in the 10-12 range early but by mid afternoon when we got out sailing, it was a little light. Still, it was a joy to be out sailing amongst the Thousand Islands. A dream come true. It's mostly pretty windy here so we look forward to many great days of sailing this summer. In the photo at the right, out ahead is a classic Thousand Island view... this one of Calumet Island, the former 19th century Castle and summer residence of NY tobacco tycoon Charles G. Emery.

We pulled out of the Association Island KOA Campground on Henderson Bay after spending 4 nights there, and drove one hour north to our 1000 Islands Campground in Alexandria Bay, NY, home for the next 7 weeks. We dropped off the sailboat at the marina a few miles down the road and we'll go back in the morning and get her rigged for sailing the St Lawrence. Then we returned to our campground and got all set up in the coach. We have neighbors around us but most are weekenders, so it will be pretty quiet here during the week, just the way we like it... a welcome relief from the chaos of the KOA.

We had lunch in Clayton at the Koffee Kove restaurant where we sat at an outdoor table and had delicious sandwiches which Corey the Mooch enjoyed as well. Then we drove a few miles up State Route 12 to the 1000 Islands Campground where we'll be staying in the coach. It is almost midway between Clayton and the colorful touristy town of Alexandria Bay. We drove into town there to scout the area a bit as well. We'll catch a river tour from there and go see Boldt Castle among other places. Lots of shops and restaurants to explore for no wind days.

On our first full day here in the Thousand Islands region, we drove into the quaint historic riverfront town of Clayton to check out the Bayside Marina where we will be docking our boat... looks perfect and a good location to slip right out into the river for some excellent sailing.

Well we have been dreaming of this day for several years now and we have finally moved to our premier destination for the year... the Thousand Islands on the St. Lawrence Seaway... located where the St. Lawrence Seaway flows out from the NE corner of Lake Ontario on its way to the Atlantic Ocean some 200+ miles away. The 1000 Islands extends for the first 50 miles, and there are some 1,864 islands total to explore. This is a boater's paradise and one of the world's premier sailing locales. We'll be here for the months of July and August, staying in Clayton, NY. Watch a breathtaking 15 minute aerial tour of this magnificent region.

A nice shot of my lovely first mate relaxing on deck feeling the breeze in her hair as we head toward a distant shore on Lake George on our final day sailing here this summer. Back in the stern, Corey was doing some relaxing of his own. Tomorrow we'll pull the boat out and get her rigged for towing ahead of some storms forecast to move in this weekend. And early next week we head for the Thousand Islands on the St Lawrence Seaway, one of the premier sailing destinations in the US.

Today, Friday, was the perfect day to end our month-long sailing sojourn at Lake George. While the wind did not always cooperate this month, today was ideal... clear, sunny, highs around 80, with a good stiff, steady breeze out of the north all afternoon. Libby, Corey and I sailed out of Frank's cove, Oneida Bay, in the early afternoon and sailed several dozen reaches across the lake and back, working our way up to the town of Hague. It's about 4 miles as the crow flies, but we sailed some 20 miles, tacking back and forth, in the 3+ hours we were out. Directly astern is the magnificent Silver Bay YMCA, an historic lodge and conference center, located immediately south of my brother's property.

We drove down to the south end of Lake George to Lake George Village on Thursday and took a two hour lake cruise on the 'Adirondac'. We chose the 'Adirondac' because they allow dogs onboard. Corey enjoyed himself as usual. One of the more spectacular sites we passed on the cruise was The Sagamore Resort at Bolton Landing. See lots more cruise photos on our gallery page

My brother Frank took us for an evening margarita cruise along the pristine eastern shoreline of gorgeous Lake George in his pontoon boat. Libby and Corey sat up front taking in the scenery. I sat in the stern sipping my margarita and toasting the good life with my brother.

Today we drove up to Burlington, VT about 90 minutes away to check out the city and the beautiful Lake Champlain (right) which it borders on. We had lunch lakeside at the very resorty Splash At the Boathouse Restaurant, took a walk in the lovely waterfront park with the dog, and then drove around the lake to check out a few options for future campgrounds and marinas as possibilities for next summer. We decided that Lone Pine Campground in nearby Colchester, VT would be a wonderful option, and just a couple miles away, the Champlain Marina would be the perfect choice to dock our boat. Definitely some food for thought here.

We found the perfect business opp for Libby here in Ticonderoga, NY... her own bakery! With her love of baked goods and sweet tooth, this should be the perfect work for her... except we might never get her to come home! Of course Mr Muffin, the Cor-meister, would be happy to hang out with her full time and beg for crumbs. Fortunately Libby's Bakery is not for sale.

Brookwood RV Resort in Ticonderoga, NY at the north end of Lake George ranks right up there for Corey as his favorite camping experience of the trip. The Lake George region is loaded with chipmunks or "chippies" as we call them and Corey just loves those things. Westies are just born rodent hunters and these are just his size! He is always on the hunt when we are out walking, and he spends most of his time by the window in the coach watching for them. There is one little chippie that just loves to sit on the rocks of the outdoor firepit just outside the coach and taunt our boy. Dog TV we call it. Here's a link to a funny Youtube video of Corey on duty.

While Libby is on the west coast for son Patrick's OSU graduation ceremony, I stayed back to visit with my brother, and do some sailing with him. I also have to mind the house (coach) and the dog. This morning I took Corey into the town of Ticonderoga, just a few miles from our RV Park, and went for a walk on the LaChute River Walk Trail. The River Walk is a pleasant winding paved trail which runs along the scenic LaChute River and is a great walking trail with your dog, with the hypnotic sounds of the rushing rapids in your ear the whole time. The trail is adjacent to the town's historic Bicenenntial Park which features lots of greenspace and a marvelous waterfall.

My brother Frank has been an avid sailor for the past 20 years and has owned much bigger boats than I and cruised the Caribbean. We're visiting him at his summer cottage at Silver Bay on Lake George, staying at a nearby RV Park in our coach. This is the first time Libby and I have ever been able to go sailing with him. We hope to put in a lot more hours over the course of the next three weeks. Today we had perfect breezes 8-10 and in the late afternoon building to 12-14 at times. This is a beautiful lake to sail.... quiet and serene with pristine natural surroundings.

Today we got the sailboat rigged and launched her at Rogers Rock State Park just a couple miles from the campground where we are staying in the motorhome... Brookwood RV Resort. It was pretty windy so after getting her launched, I sailed her down the lake about 6 miles to my brother's cove, and Libby and Corey drove the car and boat trailer down to his place. It was a windy day with winds 12-15 out of the north, so I just let out the jib and sailed pretty much straight down wind. We had pretty good cell phone reception there, so Libby stood on the point and guided me in when I got down there, since I didn't really know exactly where it was. I had it charted pretty much on my GPS chartplotter, so I was able to get pretty close on my own and then pulled into the hidden cove with Libby's help.

We delayed a day due to regional storm activity and left Ithaca June 2, arriving at Brookwood RV Resort in Ticonderoga, NY today after a quick overnight in the Albany area at a Walmart there. The historic town of Ticonderoga is up at the north end of Lake George. Some 28,000 acres, this long, deep, narrow lake is nicknamed the 'Queen of American Lakes' and offers more than 100 miles of shoreline plus numerous small islands for us to explore with our sailboat, the Anne Marie. My brother Frank, has a place on the lake here just south of Ticonderoga at Silver Bay. We'll be mooring the boat at his place and sailing and hanging out with him and his family for the entire month of June.

Today we drove back over to Watkins Glen for some more of those fabulous bran muffins from the Glen Mountain Bakery to take with us on our continuing travels this next week. We rode the Catharine Valley Trail which runs from Watkins Glen through the town of Mountour Falls and beyond, all along the Barge Canal and Catharine Creek. Very pretty ride on packed crushed gravel with lots of shade and 'Dame's Rocket' (a.k.a. damask violet) wildflowers all along the path. That's my pretty little flower girl riding ahead, "down the primrose path."

Late morning Libby and I took the model sailboats down to the little pond at Pine Creek Campground. After a busy Memorial Day weekend the place is more or less deserted, so we had the pond to ourselves along with pleasant temperatures, sunshine and nice light breeezes to sail in. We enjoyed a couple relaxing hours down there with Corey before coming back up to the coach for lunch.

This afternoon, we drove back into town for another look around at the sights. We stopped at Buttermilk Falls, another of Ithaca's many popular waterfalls. We visited Hector Falls the other day... photos on the photo gallery. Afterwards we drove over to Cornell University and visited their Botanical Gardens, and then stopped off at the Ithaca Beer Company Brewery to sample some local brews. Those photos along with lots of other Ithaca photos are on the photo gallery.

We awoke to a nice windy morning, perfect for kite flying. Some time ago I bought a Quantum Prism Sport Kite. I had almost forgotten we had tucked it into the bowels of the coach for spring use, but Libby remembered and we broke it out today. Pine Creek Campground has a nice open area out in front of our coach for flying it. But the wind was a bit gusty so it was hard to keep it aloft for extended periods. The instructions clearly state it is much more difficult if the winds are not steady. The kite flies high so I pasted a photo of the kite aloft by itself into a photo of me flying it. Lots of fun to be had on future windy days.

Today we dodged a few showers and went for a bicycle ride along the Cayuga Waterfront Trail out of Alan Treman State Park on the west shore of Cayuga Lake (red lines). We gave Corey the morning off and just rode it ourselves, then stopped for a delicious brunch at Kelly's Dock-Side Cafe, then did some grocery shopping before heading back to the coach to do some computer work, and catch a snooze. On Monday, Memorial Day, we pedaled our kayak along the same stretch in Cayuga Inlet. Nobody can say we don't use our toys!

Today we took Corey and drove into Ithaca to Stewart Park which is right there on the south edge of Cayuga Lake and started out from there with Corey in his Doggyride cart and rode the trail around the park, along the waterfront across a couple bridges and down to the Farmer's Market then back. It offers some nice views of Cornell University on the hilltop. Not an important ride but at least we got out and got some exercise. But certainly nothing to compare to the Western Maryland Rail Trail which we rode 10 days ago.

Today we booked passage for a two hour cruise on Seneca Lake aboard the True Love. This is a gorgeous twin masted Schooner which was used in the movie High Society with Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby & Frank Sinatra. The weather was gorgeous, but with a high pressure over the area there was very little wind so unfortunately we spent much of the time with the sails hoisted but under power. Still it was a lovely afternoon and I may try to go out again one day next week when the wind kicks up. Still a bad day sailing is better than a good day at work! More photos on our gallery page.

Today was a varied day - we drove over to the town of Watkins Glen NY, famous for the annual Grand Prix auto race held there each September. It's a cute town located right at the base of the other largest Finger Lake, Seneca Lake. We investigated some RV and sailboat marina options for future reference. We walked about the town a bit and stopped in at the Glen Mountain Bakery where we had some of the best bran muffins I have ever eaten... more on the photo gallery. Then we drove to the city of Corning, home of the Corning Museum of Glass. We wandered around the museum for a couple hours, looking at exotic pieces of glass art and watching some demonstrations of glass blowing and fiber optics. Here's Libby gazing at 2000 different drinking glasses arranged in an artistic display. Hmmm... how many ounces of beer and wine would that be?

We're having a cold snap with unusually chilly weather for late May... today's high never reached the 60's. Too chilly for kayaking. We drove up the east side of nearby Cayuga Lake, which along with Seneca Lake to the west are the two largest of the Finger lakes. There is so much to see and do here. We also drove all around Cornell University's absolutely gorgeous campus here in Ithaca at the south end of Cayuga Lake. We also visited the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, world renowned for their research and, education on birds and biological diversity, and the university's Arboretum at Cornell Plantations. And finished our day at the world famous Moosewood Restaurant. I put some more photos of our day on the gallery page.

A few good humor emails came in and I thought I would share them here. Click on the image at the right to bring up a separate page with several lists of humorous thoughts for the day.

The weather has cleared from yesterday afternoon's thunderstorms, making it a perfect day to drive the easy 220 miles, mostly interstate and 4 lane state highway, from Harrisburg PA to Pinecreek Campground in Newfield, NY. We will be staying right between the two largest Finger Lakes, Cayuga and Seneca. Check the image at the right... plenty of natural splendors to keep us busy in this neck of the woods for a week!!! Should be some great kayaking! We're only here for about ten days, so we are not planning to launch the sailboat... plenty of sailing ahead at Lake George and the Thousand Islands all summer.