Home on the road...Week 1

The idea that we’re living in a tin can on wheels is beginning to take hold. At first, it was like playing house when you were a kid. At some point, you would be going back to the routine you knew so well and the game would be over. But this is our new routine now. You sleep in the same bed every night, but the bed is likely to be in a different place.

Our first night in the campground, we heated up a pre-cooked dinner that came with us from Islesboro. But since we’ve visited with friends every night since then, most of our meals have been out of the home, so we haven’t done much in the way of elaborate meal preparation yet. We have a full refrigerator and have toasted bagels, made coldcut sandwiches and sipped both cold and hot beverages. We have our coffee in bed each morning, just like our Islesboro routine and it’s just as luxurious, but without the water view (except the first night in Eliot…). We haven’t used our shower yet (we HAVE taken showers, just not in Mia! Relax, no BO warnings ) but we do wash up most evenings in our galley bathroom with no difficulties. It’s pretty convenient and comfortable and we’re managing pretty well thus far.

We’ve visited some good friends and seen some good scenery. Some beautiful scenery actually. New Hampshire and Vermont in the fall are spectacular and lots of people pay lots of money for tours of them in BIG buses (which we’ve seen quite a few of). We enjoyed seeing a family of beavers gnawing on apples at sunset and picked raspberries to our hearts (and tummys) content. We visited the St. Gaudens (a famous American sculptor) National Historic Site in NH and the Marsh Billings Rockefeller National Historic site in VT, utilizing our “America the Beautiful” Pass. Both had wonderful history associated with them and magnificent, sculpted grounds. We saw and photographed some charming country Post Offices in Plymouth and Barnard VT. Strolled through the Woodstock Inn in VT, saw where Calvin Coolidge grew up and spent summers while in the White House and we saw the all-too-familiar Appalachian Trail where it crossed Route 4 in Killington VT. We toured the campus of historic Middlebury College, experienced the Americana overload of the Shelburne Museum, tasted Ben & Jerrys top-selling flavor (know what it is?) and took our second ferry ride in Mia across Lake Champlain. Last night, we were on the upper tier of NY state near Watertown in a campground with some “interesting” neighbors (did anyone out there see Deliverance?) and headed for Buffalo today, a hotbed of upstate NY culture?

So far, so good. The tow dolly we picked up in NH has worked as intended and allows us to have a small vehicle (Patty’s Acura Integra) with us for side excursions. Once you get used to having it back there, really isn’t that difficult to maneuver with, although the lanes are pretty narrow with such a wide load. I did have one episode of missing a turn on a country road at day’s end though and we had to take Patty’s car off the dolly to turn around, lacking a large enough turning area. No backing up with a tow dolly…it’s just not possible. Trust me.

That’s it for now…we’re doin’ America! Bob