Day 1, Jonestown KOA, Jonestown, PA

Monday October 31, 2016 - Jonestown KOA, Jonestown, PA, 272 Miles, 272 Miles For the Trip

I managed to get out of the house by 8:30 & headed down I 81. I've made this run many times, and as long as it isn't raining hard & the trucks kicking up spray, I stick to the interstate rather than US 11 to make a bit more time. I want to get far enough south that I can keep water in the tanks & pipes as soon as possible.

The drive was through both NY & PA's fall colored hills; very pretty, and the traffic was good enough that you could take the time to look at them. I made a couple of fuel stops; so far I'm averaging 12.7MPG at 62MPH. I'm going to wait until I get out of hill country to determine what speed gives me the best combination of "getting there" and mileage.

I stopped for the afternoon at the Jonestown KOA in Jonestown, PA. I'm in site 45, a full hookup pull through level site (including cable TV) for $47.00. Like all KOA's, more than it should be, but it is a handy distance from Oswego. I bought some Halloween candy - I don't know if there will be any kids trick or treating in the campground since there are only a few RVs here, but it is all candy I like, so no loss!

No other photos - While the colors are nice, the view from I 81 isn't all that picturesque.

Dinner will be something ordered from the campground kitchen. I don't feel like grilling outside (it is 47°F outside at 3:00 & going down) and since they have food available, I'll take advantage.

Until next time -

Getting Ready

Packed & Ready to Go!!

Friday - Sunday, October 28 - 30, 2016 - Getting Ready, Oswego, NY, 0 Miles, 0 Miles For the Trip

It is getting to that time again. Actually, it is a bit past it; it was down to 31°F this morning. I'm staying in Oswego a bit later than last year because the official reopening of Waterman Theatre (the theatre I worked in for 32 years before retiring) is this weekend. It has been closed for two years while Tyler Hall gets a $20 million dollar overhaul. Since the theatre and building opened in 1968, it is about time!

Open houses, tours, and lots of former students & staff here for the celebration. I got a chance to visit with my mentor, John Mincher who is up from Florida for the reopening, and a couple of former students, including Denise Grillo, our sometimes baby sitter & currently doing production props for Hamilton & its tours. We had a great dinner at Alex on the Lake in Oswego.

I'm packing the trailer & truck, using a packing list I made after a couple of trips where I forgot important stuff. Of course I probably left something important off the list, but each time I use it it gets updated, so it can only get better. Since I spent most of the weekend at the theatre & visiting with old friends, I spent most of Sunday finishing packing. I am going to go without my Weight Distribution Hitch for this trip. I took the trailer out with both the truck & it fully packed and drove some bad roads to see how it felt. Not quite as "linked together" as it feels with the WDH, but it saves over 50 lbs of weight on the hitch & makes it much easier to hook up & unhook.

Starting mileage on the truck is 6887. Since the scales are not open at the transfer station, I don't have the final combined trailer & truck weights, but I did get a chance to weigh the truck fully packed last week & it is 20 lbs over what it was for the trip to New England - 5220 vs 5200 lbs. The combined weight is about the same - 8480 lbs, which puts the trailer at around 3260 lbs, a bit heavier than my usual 3010 lbs, but within the trailer's rating.

For those interested in more statistics, since April, 2001 as of the start of this trip I have spent 900 nights in the trailer & towed it 77,303 miles. Since I've ordered a 2017 21' Escape that is due to be picked up in October, 2017, I will be selling the 17B when I return to the east after this winter trip. I don't think I can get away with describing it as "hardly used!"

All packed & ready to go. As you can see in today's photo, the ash trees are done, but the maples along Lakeshore Road still have some color.

The plan is to slowly head to Texas. I'm spending a couple of days at Hungry Mother State Park in Virginia for a "Fiberglass Mini Rally", Nov 3-6. After that I plan to spend a bit of time in the Rio Grand Valley area, attend the Matagorda Madness Rally December 1 - 4th, then head to Big Bend, then on to Arizona & Quartzsite for the heart of winter. I'm also planning some side trips to southern California. Along the way and way back I'll hit a couple of Fiberglass Trailer Rallies, and hope to explore new places. I expect to return to Oswego towards the end of April.

Until next time -

Afternoon Update

The Pot Luck

Just a quick update.  I added photos of the pot luck & the evening campfire to the gathering page.

September 23 - 27 Northeast Gathering at Schodack Island State Park, NY

At the Rally

Saturday was also a quiet day. I walked to the boat ramp (the park is located on an island in the Hudson River) did some reading, and towards the end of the afternoon, baked my traditional rally pot luck contribution, a blueberry pie. Some day I'm going to shock everyone that knows me and make something else, but I still had blueberries in the freezer so that's what I'm making.

We had a group campfire, no S'Mores, but fresh apple cider, cider donuts, and snacks passed around. I headed back to the trailer around 9:30 when my ears started to get numb.

Sunday, 9/25/16 - 

It was a very cool night, at least compared to recent temperatures. At 5:00AM (don't ask how I knew) it was 44°F. Lots of sun, so it warmed up to the 60's fairly quickly. They are predicting scattered frosts tonight with lows in the mid 30's.

We are having the pot luck this afternoon around 4:00. A bit different from the traditional Saturday night meal, but it better fits the schedules of those coming to the rally, and will be more comfortable temperature wise. I walked around the campground taking a couple of photos of the trailers & participants. More photos at the Rally page.

I'll add more photos as the rally progresses.

Day 1, 2016, Sept 23-27 NORTHEAST GATHERING- SCHODACK ISLAND NYSP

Site 35, Schodack Island State Park

A pleasant drive across upstate NY on NY 104, US 5 & US 20.  US 20 was interesting - it goes through the middle of Albany, NY's capital.  In fact, right next to the Erastus Corning Tower, at 590' and 44 floors, it has to be the tallest state office building in the nation.  With the number of NY politicians & officials under indictment, they could probably lop off a few floors!

The Schodack Island State Park looks fairly new.  Electric only sites are $24.00 per night, restrooms with showers are at the start of the loop.  I'm in site 35, on sand, near the end of the loop.  Some train noise (although no horns) and a bit of traffic noise from the 912M bridge over the Hudson.  One bar of AT&T, and a good 3 bar Verizon signal, although very slow for a 4G LTE connection.

There are a couple of other fiberglass trailers here already, but most are expected tomorrow.  Dinner was a salad & Bubba burger.