Orange is not an RV'ers Friend, or, those orange cones are there for a reason!

Today we left the Escapade grounds in Essex Junction, VT to head toward Springfield, MA for the FMCA-Family Motor Coach Association (www.fmca.com) Rally next week. Before we left, we had our motorhome weighed by Smart Weigh (www.escapees.com/smartweigh). Knowing our correct weight and height is important for everything from how much tire pressure we should have to knowing if we're too tall to go under bridges. Believe me, we don't want to get stuck! This is a four corner weigh, which is the most accurate. (We've weighed at truck stops but have never quite trusted the results.) The news was good; we're not carrying too much weight.

Being the shunpiker's that we are (the definition of a shunpicker is one who shuns the turnpikes in favor of traveling the back, more scenic roads) we decided to forgo the interstate as long as we could. This took us along some beautiful scenic roads, but also roads that were narrow. We also went through towns where there was no place for us to pull off. Keep in mind we are 40' long with towing a car so that makes for a total length of 55' or so. If we pull off, we have to be able to turn around in a fairly large parking lot. Lots of times we look and it appears to be OK, and then we get into trouble if the lot is smaller than we think. We lucked out a couple of times today. We finally were able to pull off the road in Chester, VT for lunch and ate at the Country Girl Diner, which is an authentic railroad car diner (built in 1944) that's been around since 1966. The food was good and this is a local gem. I wish we had been there for breakfast, that menu looked good as well.

Which brings me to the orange cones. The reason they are there is that our roads need repair! We've been in 14 states so far this summer and every single one of them has both good and bad roads! Yes, construction is a pain in the butt, but a necessary evil. I know we all hate higher taxes, but someone has to pay to fix our roads. (And yes, even the states that have toll roads have roads that are in bad shape.) When you drive a home down the road, every bump counts. I don't like the road construction anymore than the rest of you, but when you hit a new stretch of pavement after a bumpy road, it is heaven! Rant is over, thank you.

56th Annual Escapade, Essex Junction, VT

Yesterday we had the opening ceremonies for the 56th Annual Escapade in Essex Junction, VT. This is the annual gathering of the Escapees RV Club. Once you start the RV lifestyle, it is advantageous to join RV groups. Memberships offer benefits such as discounts at campgrounds, lower rates on insurance, and benefits such as medical assists (if you get sick, someone will drive your RV home and you will be taken to a hospital) to mention a few. Most clubs also publish RV magazines, which offer a plethora of information on the RV lifestyle.

This Escapade is the fourth RV group gathering we've attended since we started RV'ing. They all have two things in common, education and the chance to make new friends who enjoy the same lifestyle as you. Escapees was started by Joe and Kay Peterson. They are true pioneers of the RV lifestyle. Kay is still an active member of Escapees at age 89!

Addressing attendees at the Opening Ceremony

Tomorrow will bring more seminars. Andy has convinced me to go to Line Dancing in the morning before the seminars start-yes, that will be both of us dancing! :) We have been riding our bikes from the motorhome to the seminars and have been getting some exercise that way.

We thought we had it all figured out....

Wednesday was our last day in the Finger Lakes region of New York. After cleaning the RV (yes, it does get dirty!) we headed off towards Ithaca and found a spot to watch the sunset on Cayuga Lake.
Here are some pictures...

Reflection on the lake 

Ducks on the lake at sunset

Day is done

Before that we were at Taughannock Falls State Park. We entered from a different point so we could hike some different trails. 

Thursday we traveled to Burlington, VT. After staying one night at the Mallets Bay Campground, we headed to the Escapades Rally in Essex Junction, VT - a 20 minute drive. (This is after us driving around for an hour or so to figure out the best way to get there on Thursday night.) The problem? Roads with a weight limit of 24,000 lbs. Also, we wanted to get fuel and and avoid the freeway if we could.

So, we successfully did all of that and arrived and got parked. That's when we realized that we'd left the blocks that we put under the jacks back at the campground. So off we went in the car to retrieve the blocks (these are the same blocks I was gathering up in the pj's a couple of weeks ago). Oh, well, at least we didn't have to go far! 

Model T's

Andy and I were out driving today when we came upon a Model T. Soon we got to an intersection with a gas station and there were 3 more Model T's there. Something must be going on! Sure enough, when we googled it, it turns out the Model T Ford Club International Tour is in the Finger Lakes area this year, the first time the club has been in New York state. About 650 people are expected to come in their antique cars.

Pictures taken at the gas station

To NEW YORK

From Ohio we traveled east to Friendship, NY to the All Adventures Campground. This was a small place (no pool) but we met some very friendly couples and enjoyed visiting with them around the nightly campfires. Only bad thing was a new crop of mosquito bites! Yuck-I swear they bother me more every year. We were for 2 days before traveling to the Finger Lakes Area of New York.

We've been in this area before, and we love it's beauty. The Finger Lakes were formed by a glacier. Seneca Lake is the deepest at 617 feet. The campground is closer to Cayuga Lake, which is 38 miles long and 435 feet deep. There are breathtaking views, as well as wineries every half mile or so. We've been to Syracuse where we visited the Erie Canal Museum. We were also in Ithaca, home of Cornell University and Ithaca College where Andy's sister Martha got her master's degree. We also visited the Farmer's Market there. Another feature of the northeast in general is all of the old buildings we see. This was evident in Syracuse where the Bank of America is an old building juxtaposed against the modern skyscrapers.

Taughannock Falls State Park

This waterfall eventually flows into Cayuga Lake 

Farmer's Market Ithaca NY

Notice the chandelier in the market 

My beautiful flowers from the Farmer's Market

Sunset over Seneca Lake 

We have a few more days to enjoy this area before we head to Vermont and The Escapees Rally. 

Can you say FOOTBALL?

A bunch to catch up on! From Elkhart we traveled east to Canton, OH, where we over nighted in the parking lot of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Of course, we were in line as soon as the doors opened the next morning. One of my favorite players, Brett Favre, is in the 2016 class of people inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Side of the building

My other favorite, #12, Aaron Rodgers

While in Canton, we also visited the First Ladies National Historic Site. Much of the exhibit features First Ladies from Ohio (I think there have been 7 of them). They also rotate certain exhibits. You can see everything from Inaugural dresses to White House china. 

From Canton we headed to Lisbon, OH for a stay at the Lock 30 Woodlands RV Resort. This was a campground off the beaten path (you're driving by corn fields to get there) and once there, you're in a heavily wooded area. The shade was nice (kept the RV cool) but it was somewhat dark and hard to figure out what time of day it was. As always, we did some exploring in the area and came upon the the world's shortest covered bridge. 

This was actually in use at one time!

Which spouse left behind?

We've spent the last couple of days in Elkhart, IN since we had some minor repairs done on the motorhome. We stayed at the Elkhart Campground. We've stayed there before - it's always nice to come back to a campground that is easy to park, the owners are friendly, and you're with like minded people!

We ate at the King Wha Chinese restaurant, which was a recommendation from fellow RV'ers and blogger Nick & Terri. The food was great. On the way out of town we ate at the Essenhaus Dutch Restaurant in Middlebery, which is an Amish restaurant. If you look up comfort food in the dictionary, there's a picture of this restaurant!

Some of you may have wondered just what our home on wheels looks like. This is a picture we took as we got ready to leave the campground. We tow the car so we have "wheels" when we are parked. 

And that spouse? Take a look at the sign--

A good final checklist before departure! 

If you see me in pj's in the parking lot....

It can't be good. We had a long day of driving yesterday from Grand Marais to Madison, WI. Traffic wasn't bad until we were on I-94 in WI and had an hour backup AHEAD of the one lane closure. But we made it to Madison, picked up Andy's meds at CVS, and then had dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant in Madison, Lombardino's. They make the best eggplant parmesan!

So I know you're wondering what I am doing in my pj's in the parking lot. We were at Cracker Barrel for the night (they allow RV's to park free overnight). I had the news on and we heard about the bad storms that ripped through the Twin Cities and were headed our way. I pulled in all the slides but when I heard the updated report about the winds and possible tornadoes, I woke Andy up to move us to a safer part of the parking lot. After Andy looked at the radar reports, we decided to head south and get out of the worst from the storm.

I was picking up the blocks that we had under our jacks. With the slides pulled in, I had no access to clothes. And we were the only ones in the lot. Believe me, these were regular pj's not some sexy nightgown. :)

We drove to Rockford, Illinois. On the way we hit a orange cone which happened to be on the highway. We saw it too late to swerve. Luckily it didn't do any damage underneath. This is why most RV'ers don't drive at night! Soon after we got to Rockford, it started to rain there. We had wind and rain, but no bad trees downed or anything. This morning I checked the Madison news. They had quite a bit of debris on the ground, and certain parts of town lost power. So although it made for a crazy night, it was a good thing we decided to move.

It pays to ask...

We had an easy drive today from Hibbing to Grand Marais. We took the back roads catching up with Highway 61 North in Silver Bay. After checking in, we scoped out our site-something we've learned to do in the car so we can figure out parking the RV ahead of time. Our site was on the smallish side and had low hanging tree branches which would have scratched the RV. So Andy went back to the office and asked if there were any other sites (it is 4th of July weekend, after all). Sure enough, we were able to upgrade from a 30 amp to 50 amp site on the lake side. This is the view front the front window of the RV....

All this for only $20 more. We think it's worth it!