2026-27 Trip to the Southeast, Day 25

Day 25, Wednesday, November 11 - Home, Oswego, NY -  119.9 Miles for the Day, 1,540.8 Miles for the Trip

A thank you to all vets and those currrently in the military!

We had a slow start to the day, deciding to go to I Hop for stuffed French toast for breakfast. Seems they are nice enough to offer a free pancake, eggs & meat breakfast to active military & vets today. I had to pass it up since the plan was for stuffed French toast, but it sure drew a crowd to the local I Hop. We had a 10 minute wait to get a table, but he French toast was worth it.

I headed out when I got back to the house, The neighbor next door to the Guidos is not getting along with them all that well. They usually have a Roto Rooter truck parked where I usually park my trailer but it wasn't there when I arrived yesterday. This morning a small car was parked a foot from the front of my truck even though there was plenty of space ahead of it. All I had to do to leave was back up, but it was a bit silly.

An uneventful drive up I 81 & I 481. I arrived home around 1:00 I spent the rest of the afternoon unpacking the trailer. According to my watch I did 13 flights of stairs. I will probably skip my evening exercises.

The next planned trip will be to the Spring Fling in New Hampshire in May, although if my daughter is up to it, I kept my April reservations at Cherry Hill & if the weather allows, will make a quick trip & visit in April.

Until the next trip - 

2026-27 Trip to the Southeast, Day 24

Day 24, Tuesday, November 10 - The Guidos, Binghamton, NY -  Miles for the Day, 1,420.9 Miles for the Trip

44°F this morning and 48°F for my morning walk.

I decided to stop at the cafe for French toast this morning, but found a sign on the door announcing that starting November 1st the office (and cafe) would be closed Tuesday & Wednesday. Oh well, I still have a freezer full of stuff & I bet mt coffee is better.

I say around and read until 11:00, then did a final dump of the tanks, packed up the trailer, and headed to Binghamton. Evidently there was a multi car crash on I 81 north that closed the northbound lanes between here I Binghamton yesterday, but Google's AI tells me that the road is open this morning. Hope so. The last time I had to cut over to US 11 for a blocked I 81 the back up was hours long.

While there didn't seem to be any back up to clear an accident, there was a 25 minute back up with stop & go driving for a construction section that reduced the road from 2 to 1 lane. I arrived at the Guidos around 2:30.

We sat around for a bit, then I rewired a solar panel I gave Guido. For some reason the original wiring between the two folding 80 watt panels dissolved at the connectors. I suspect it was copper coated aluminum wire. In any case in my collected junk in the trailer I had the wire & connectors to put it back together.

After that it was off to the Little Venice restaurant for dinner. I had chicken parmigiana. I forgot to take a site photo and It was dark when I got back so I didn't get to do one then. If you want to see one, just look at one of the other fall trips since I usually stop there when the Guidos join me.

Until Tomorrow - 

2026-27 Trip to the Southeast, Day 23

Day 23, Monday, November 9 - Jonestown KOA, Jonestown, PA -  134 Miles for the Day, 1,420.9 Miles for the Trip

50°F this morning and 52°F for my morning walk.

I didn't bother trying the Cafe for breakfast since it was officially closed. After breakfast and morning exercises I read for awhile. I didn't want to leave before 11:00 since it was short drive, and the Jonestown KOA has been known to charge extra if you arrive before 1:00. Lots of traffic along the entire trip with most of it in the DC and Baltimore areas. It never got down to stop & go, but slowed down to the 20's a couple of times. I arrived at the Jonestown KOA at 2:00. The good news - they have reopened their cafe (and, are cheaper than Twin Grove). I'm in a full hookup pull through on gravel with a cement pad for the picnic table & a fire ring. They do have cable TV hookups - I have not been reporting on the availability of cable or OTA TV because I don't have a TV. Although I asked for a site close to the bathrooms, site 64 8 sites away. In any case, $60.00 for the night.

Site 64

I checked the internet speeds on AT&T & Verizon. AT&T showed 142.51Mbps down & 19.59Mbps up while Verizon was 86.24Mbps down & 46.99Mbps up. 

After setting up I sat in the trailer reading. Too much wind & at 58°F outside I'd rather be inside. I'll head to the cafe for dinner around 5:00. While they will deliver to the site, the 1/4 mile walk each way will be good for me.

Dinner was a fish sandwich and fries at the Cafe. Not bad, but asking for well done French fries didn't work. If what they gave me were well done, regular must be raw.

Until Tomorrow - 

2026-27 Trip to the Southeast, Day 22

Day 22, Sunday, November 8 - Cherry Hill Campground, College Park, MD, Day 3 -  0 Miles for the Day, 1,286.9 Miles for the Trip

44°F this morning and 48°F for my morning walk.

After my walk & breakfast I did some on line reading, then turned to my Kindle. Current book is 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. 

Around 11:30 I headed to Karin's. Little traffic and arrived a little before noon. We sat around and talked throughout the afternoon. Around 4:00 I headed back to the campground. Heavy traffic with lots of stop & gos at the exits.

Karin & Brian

I stopped at the cafe for another Crispy Chesapeake Chicken sandwich & curly fries dinner, but they were closed. 

Dinner was an Amy's Mushroom Risotto Bowl.

Until Tomorrow - 

2026-27 Trip to the Southeast, Day 21

Day 21, Saturday, November 7 - Cherry Hill Campground, College Park, MD, Day 2 -  0 Miles for the Day, 1,286.9 Miles for the Trip

48°F this morning and 50°F for my morning walk.

After my post last night I headed to the showers in the bathroom next door. The build is just about the same in all three bathroom buildings with about 5 showers, one disabled. Well designed with a large shower with soap dish & a dressing area with 3 double hooks & a bench. A shower curtain between the shower & dressing area. 1" fine spray shower head with adjustable temperature. I took over 2 minutes for the water to get hot and adjustment was difficult because of the limited volume produced by the shower head. Still, once it was hot, plenty of hot water. I rate it an A.

While the interstate traffic ran all night, in the trailer with the windows closed it only sounded like a mild wind. A bit louder in the morning as traffic picked up (although probably louder on a work day), and noticeable as I walked around the campground. I've been here in July & April - November is the least populated I've seen. Entire rows are mostly empty.

I did some reading during the morning, then around 11:30 headed to Karin's for a visit. 

We hung out & talked at Karin's; Brian had band practice in the basement, and Noah made brownies. A little before 4:00 I headed out with a stop to fill the gas tank in the F 150.

Dinner was a Crispy Chesapeake Chicken sandwich & curly fries at the snack bar here at the campground.

Until Tomorrow -