Tag Archives: camping

Retirement Income

Mountain Glen RV Park at Falls Creek Falls

FallsCreekSignAttending the yearly Mountaineer Folk Festival 2016 was a blast this year.? We were able to go with two other couples who are the types of friends that are more like family than just friends.? Two couples went ahead on Thursday morning while some of us had to work most of the day and leave after 2:00 pm.

We arrived last at around 5:30 pm and called Mountain Glen store ahead of time to let them know we were on our way.?? They were more than gracious to assist us in finding the place, and getting us to our site even though technically we were going to arrive after they closed.? We were setup by 6:00 pm and ready to relax and enjoy time with our friends and eat.

The temperatures were perfect with low humidity, the campgrounds were clean, with excellent provisions for washing, restrooms, game room, and other features.? I especially enjoyed the full strength wi-fi that was reachable from any site in the campground.?? I depend on wi-fi for email, TV streaming from Sling-TV, and working remotely ( If Needed ).?? It was certainly the quietest campground I have ever enjoyed.? We almost felt like we needed to whisper when we were outside since it was so quiet we didn’t want to break the silence.? The store was well stocked with the items you would expect such as chips, marshmallows, soft drinks, and other handy items for camping needs.CampGround-viewOfLakeFromStore

We were in the area to enjoy the Falls Creek Falls scenery as well as the annual Mountaineer Folk Festival.? We were amazed at how much it had grown since the last time we were there.? We saw an enormous variety of crafts and old types of skilled artistry such as quilting, sorgum syrup rendering from raw cane, bluegrass music,? black smithing, pork rind frying, alpaca sheering, spinning wheel demonstrations to turn raw wool into yarn / thread. and weaving to make fabrics.??? As much as we enjoyed that, we also spent a good bit of time at the food vendors, for funnel cakes, home-made ice creams, kettle corn, and root-beer floats.?? We may have hit the ice-cream vendor 5-6 times, its hard to remember for sure.?? I’m not sure how we just kept going by that booth ;-).

As for scenery, we saw the 600 + foot waterfalls, the beautiful lake areas for fishing, boating and swimming.? There were deer with fawns out in the open for easy photo opportunities as well as two wild turkeys that were a little shy for the camera but we got a few snapshots anyway.? The colors were beginning to change on the foliage.? Farmland was the most common feature of the area with mostly Mennonite houses and farms with a wonderful bakery with home made jellies and jams, breads, vegetables, fruits, and flowers.? There were also some extremely fine hand crafted swings, chairs, and gliders made from polished cedar wood and stained with a glossy protective surface.

Please see some of the photos that were made below.

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The Check List

2016 Adventure Route
2016 Adventure Route

There were a lot of items on our “bucket list” for this and future trips, and this checked off a bunch of items.? One of the major items was to pick up 8 of the states we had never set foot into together.?? Maine, Connecticut, Delaware, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermont.? I have worked in Boston before but Norma and I have never seen the state from a tourist viewpoint.

New England WHALES

We have had a wonderful time so far, but there is lots more that we want to do.

Next on our check list is a whale watching tour. ?We went to the wharf and bought tickets for Captain John Whale Watching tours which was to last around three hours.

We rode on the boat for about an hour when they sited a school of dolphins following the boat. ?The captain slowed the boat so we could watch them. ?The dolphins put on a show for about 15 minutes, and we then continued on out to sea.

Shortly after this we started seeing spray blow up out of the ocean. ?Some would just slowing swim along side the boat, some would come straight out of the water catching lots of fish as they came up through the ocean waters. ? When they arched their backs and their tales came out of the water that meant they were diving down to catch more food. ?It was kind of funny, but we would be on one side of the boat watching the whales and someone would see one on the other side, so everyone was running from one side of the boat to the other. ?It was a large boat, so thank goodness we couldn’t flip it over. ?We watched them for probably about 45 minutes put on a magnificent show.

We then had to head back to shore which was sad. ?I could have stayed out there for hours watching them.

LIGHTHOUSES

We saw some beautiful lighthouses while we were staying in the New England area. ?We saw Nauset Lighthouse, Cape Cod Lighthouse, and the Portland Headlight.

We were able to drive to all of these, but there were many more that were only available by hike or boat. ?They were all situated on the cliffs next to the ocean. ?Some have had to be moved because the ocean is forcefully taking the beaches and cliffs away. ?To think that years ago this was the only indication to weary sailors that there was land ahead.

There was one we saw while on the whale watch cruise that a man and his wife lived in -YIKES- it was small and about 5 miles from shore.? Now they have been replaced by solar panels and electronics.

COG RAILWAY

We got to the Cog Railway on Mount Washington about 30 minutes before time to board. ?We went to pick up our tickets and found out that it was snowing on top of Mount Washington, so we would only get to go up about half way.

It was a little scary because the train was pulled with cogs up the mountain, and part of the grade was 50 percent. ? It went a whole 5 miles per hour. ?We saw a little red fox going up the mountain. ?When we got about half way up the mountain it started snowing. There was already some snow on the ground. ?They stopped long enough for us to take some pictures and then we made our decent back down the mountain.

We wished we could go all the way to the top, but we had a lot of fun anyway.

MAINE WILDLIFE PARK

We have wanted to see a real moose since we have been here. ?There are moose crossing signs everywhere, but no moose can be found. ?We decided we would just go see the Maine Wildlife Park instead.

There are many Moose Watching tours, but they are expensive and do not guarantee that you will see a moose.

The animals that live at this park have been injured or someone tried to raise them and they became to much to handle so they ended up here.

We were able to see moose, bears, cougars, deer (including a white one), woodchucks (including a white one), a badger, eagles, hawks, owls, and turtles.

This is a very nice place, and they are doing a very good work.

BEACHES

We have driven out to see quite a few beaches since we have been here. ?Some have been around the lighthouses and have been closed because of all the beach erosion. ? They are either very rocky or a gray sand, not like our white sandy beaches along the gulf.

Up until today the beaches have been very empty, but the temperature decided to go into the 80’s today which brought a lot of people out of hibernation.

We visited Old Orchard Beach in Maine today. ?They have ?a really neat pier, which holds shops and restaurants.

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3rd day in Harrisburg

Hershey-Gift-ShopBy now we have pretty much mapped the place out and at least know how to get to Walmart and a few restaurants.? We spent the morning getting ready for the day at Hershey which also has a nice Tanger Outlet shopping center nearby.

We don’t do roller coasters, slingshot rides, and bungee jumping any more so the theme park is out for us until the grandkids get older anyway.? We wanted a quiet tour around the factory and grounds and to learn a bit about how an individual can change the world with his vision of factory made and mass produced chocolate using local milk from dairy farmers and cocoa beans from all over the world.? This guy was a genius and his legacy lives on today with a lot of interest world wide.? There were a lot of non english speaking people at the museum and gift shop.

We made it to Hershey in about 15 minutes of leaving the campgrounds with no traffic delays, and only a couple of traffic lights.? We entered the town of Hershey and noticed that the lamp posts held up a Hershey Kiss shaped light cover on every pole.? The entire town seemed to benefit from the product and marketing genius of this Hershey guy.

We arrived at the parking lot and although it was not empty, it certainly was not full either.? We were able to get a front row spot next to the walkway that was covered by a canopy and walked right into the factory tour and gift shop building.

The tour was a simulated factory with real equipment in motion, but videos and animatronics did all the talking and most of the imagery of product was produced with video overlaying the real conveyors to give the sense of seeing working factory.? The process was described in detail, but the recipe of how much ingredient was somehow left out of the tour.? OH YEA, and the nice thing was that the tour was given while riding through in rotating carts like tea-cups.? It was definitely worth the trip, and there were lots of other events that we could have done, but cost money and seemed to be directed towards families with children.

The gift shop was amazing, and had items that I had never seen before.? They also had a “build your own” candy bar room that was similar to a build-a-bear system except with candy.?? We also were shown an area where you could learn how to taste and discern chocolates like a wine?connoisseur except with exquisite chocolates.? That’s all I need is for Norma to become a chocolate?connoisseur from the choc-o-holic she is now.

When we left the Hershey World building, we found next to the theme park was a Tanger Outlet shopping center.? Well Heaven help me if we don’t stop and get something else for the grand kids.?? That would break their little hearts to not have a new pair of Frozen flip flops or a new Mickey Mouse plate to eat out of.? 😉

We had a great day and the weather was perfect, not hot, a little breeze.? We stopped and purchased fresh “ripe on the vine” strawberries as a recommendation from our friends Jim and Barb, and they are sweet, and delicious.? There was a little pop up summer shower just as we returned to the camp ground but just made for good relaxing nap.

Tomorrow we leave bright and early to head around NY City to reach Plymouth and Cape Cod area to see all the historical items of interest in that area.?? We Might also find a restaurant or two that serves sea food.

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2016 Season Is Here

As warmer weather has been approaching, my desire to get the RV out for a spin has exponentially increased. ?Finally with heavy rain on Tuesday of this week, and again on Thursday, I decided Wednesday would be a good and dry day to rotate the RV to face the open roads and be ready at a moments notice. ? Well, that moment has arrived.

This short but gorgeous weekend has been nothing less than spectacular. ?The weather could not be more perfect, and all our usual camping friends were able to join us. ?Some camped with us and others just joined for a meal and a campfire visit. ? Our children and grand kids also came to visit and roast marshmallows on the campfire. ?I would say I have been blessed with overwhelming abundant joyful life experiences this weekend.

We always enjoy Lake Guntersville State Park in North Alabama because of the breath taking views of mountains and the lake. ?With that scenic view comes natural wildlife as well. ?We have seen abundant deer including a couple of fairly large bucks. ? The grand kids were in awe of the deer that would just stand motionless like a statue and let us?look at them and take photos.

There were also a couple of bald eagles in flight over the lake looking for fish. ?I wish we could have gotten a good photo of them, but the distance and live motion is not conducive to I-Phone snapshots.

We also went for several long walks through the campground and got our fair share of much needed exercise ?after a long winter of snacking too much. ?We were able to walk the entire circumference of the campground and even out into the rustic tent camping area. ?The view of the lake surrounded by wooded mountains that seemed to be waking up from a winter hibernation was peaceful and relaxing. ? The trees are starting to put on new leaves and some flowering plants were beginning to bloom.

The walk that seemed like 6 miles to me and my wife was only 1.5 miles. ?I had to retrace the walk with the car to prove to her that it was 6 miles at least, and I still think something is wrong with her odometer 🙂

Until next trip, here are a few photos of our first of many trips this weekend.

Happy RVing.

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Retirement Income

Another Fun Weekend – Monte Sano State Park

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With sort of a last minute plan, my wife is about to start back to work after the summer break, we decided to go for a long weekend stay at one of our “close to home” favorite state parks in Alabama.

Monte Sano state park has a lot to offer for us.? It is close to our home, and just up the mountain out of Huntsville so there is anything you want to eat if you don’t feel like cooking.?? But far enough away that when it is quiet, it is REALLY QUIET.?? Lots of trees, shade, and the elevation made the temps feel much more like fall than mid-summer.? We had a great time.

Grand daughter seeing her first deer at Monte Sano State Park in Huntsville AL
Grand daughter seeing her first deer at Monte Sano State Park in Huntsville AL

To add to our relaxing and restful trip into nature, we saw several deer wandering around on the mountain, and lots, and lots of squirrels and chipmunks.? The trees and natural brush between sites makes you feel like you are almost alone up on the mountain.

We also had a group of friends go with us which always helps my diet because the ladies like to out-do each other with recipes, and great food.? I love it when they bring everything out and we have our own little buffet.?? Thanks Ladies!

Teebie-birthday-2This trip also offered our son a place to come celebrate his 34th birthday with us, and also our daughter brought the grand kids to celebrate too.? Little grand daughter loved seeing the deer and even got a close up look as they are not very shy, but will run away before we could get close enough to pet them.

 

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