A Relaxing Day in Southampton

Day 21, Monday, June 30

I was the last one up this morning...the bed was so comfortable and the house was so quiet that I stayed in dreamland WAY past everyone else. It was heavenly!

Curt set up our camper in Ross and Lorna's yard, and when they came in to see how we have it set up, we realized that they are our first "visitors" in the camper on this trip. We all settled in for an hour of storytelling and laughter. It's so fun watching Ross and Curt together...I wish we lived closer so we could all see more of each other.

Midmorning, Curt and Ross left to run some errands, and Lorna and I headed out to do our own. One of the things that I've been concerned about on this whole trip so far is my lack of access to a printer. I'm attending a week long Mandolin camp next week, and I already feel like I may be in over my head with that. I haven't had a way to print off the music that I'm supposed to be practicing ahead of time. Lorna had to go to "The Package Store" today to mail a package, so I took along my iPad and asked John, the proprietor, if I could pay to have him print my music for me. His first question was not "How many pages?" Instead, he asked, "Is it good music?" Of course! Bach, Handel, and some other great composers. 

We chatted as he printed off the MANY pages (almost 50!), and it took a good amount of his time. 

He and his wife Lyn run the store, and I caught a glimpse of their son in uniform, who had just returned from deployment in Malaysia.

When the pages were all printed and I asked John how much I owed him, he said "Just have a good time at music camp. That's all I ask."

What a guy! Thank you so much, John! Because of you, I won't have to go to mandolin camp totally unprepared. That GREATLY eases my mind!

This afternoon, after putting my music notebook together, I began practicing mandolin in earnest while Curt swam, and we continued to spend comfortable visiting time with Ross and Lorna. After dinner, Ray, one of their favorite neighbors, stopped by for a visit. I really like this slower pace of life, being able to relax into long stretches of easy conversation several times a day. I must say, retirement is starting to grow on me!

Tomorrow we plan to go out and about a bit, so I'll try to get some photos of this beautifully picturesque part of New England. Until then, sleep tight!

Addendum...I think you can post comments now....really!

I've  had so many people call or email me saying that they are still unable to place comments on the blog...so I finally researched how to do it. Apparently I had to enable comments from my end. So sorry I put you through all that frustration! 

So will somebody give it another try and see if it works now?

Thank you, dear friends!

Karen

At Last...New England!

Day 20: Sunday, June 28

We were up early this morning to attend church in Stroudsburg, a 25 minute drive from our campsite. We actually made it on time for the 8:30 service, which we thought was a pretty good feat while camping! The Stroudsburg United Methodist Church, right smack in the middle of town on Main Street, is a magnificent and beautifully maintained house of worship. It started in 1788, just 12 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed. That's 226 years ago!

Pastor Bob Shank delivered a great sermon about loving our enemies as well as our neighbors. We really enjoyed being in such a friendly and welcoming church.

We zipped back to camp to pack up for our longer driving day. We've now packed and unpacked enough times that we can put everything in its place fairly quickly before lowering down the top of the pop-up. Here's a photo of the camper just before closing it up. Keep in mind that we wouldn't have NEARLY this much stuff in there for a weekend trip...but since we don't know how long we'll be on the road, we're hauling a lot more than usual:

We got the bicycles back on the trailer. When we started the trip, we couldn't take everything, so Curt opted for the bikes over the spare tire for the trailer. As he's fond of saying, "That's why we pay for AAA!" So we had a special socket welded on for the dual bike rack that our friend Mark Bryan gave us years ago. Thanks, Mark!

Once on the road, we passed pretty quickly from Pennsylvania into New York. 

it was a lovely, green drive along the edge of the Adirondacks...and when we saw the following sign, we kept going straight!

As we crossed the Hudson River, we had to place a phone call to our son Hudson...just for the fun of it!

Once we hit Massachusetts the landscape was even more green (if that's possible!) and more heavily wooded.

Finally we arrived at Ross and Lorna Shirer's lovely home in Southampton, MA. How great to see them again after so long! We counted up...it's been 25 years since these brothers have seen each other. That's FAR too long!

To our surprise and delight, Ross and Lorna's son, Ross III, his wife Tracy, and their 4-year-old daughter Madison were also here to greet us. We spent a relaxing afternoon with the family, visiting, swimming, touring the gardens, cooking and eating together.... There's something really special about kinfolk!

What do you think? Is there any family resemblance between brothers Ross and Curt, and Ross's son, Ross III?

We're so happy to be at one of the major destinations of our trip. This is one of the main reasons we decided to do this. There will be more family members coming over the next few days, and we can't wait to see them all!

Last Day in Stroudsburg

Day 19, Saturday, June 27

Last night the campground was really lively. There's a large group of families here from India, all having such a wonderful time camping together. I found out that they're software engineers who have been brought to the a states by various banks and large corporations. They've been here long enough that they speak English quite well, though heavily accented. I've had several conversations with some of them. 

Their group camping expedition reminded me of the days when we did the same thing. When we lived in Boulder City, Nevada, and our kids were in the 5-15 age group, we belonged to a church that had a lot of young families. One of the dads was very enthusiastic, and a born organizer. Every few months he'd find a wonderful place to camp and would reserve 15-20 campsites. We would round up all the young families we could and would spend the weekend camping together. Each family was in charge of their own breakfasts and lunches, but we all pooled our food resources for dinner each night. I don't know who had the most fun...the kids or the adults. Camping can be a lot of work, but when we went as a group like that, it all seemed so much easier. In the afternoons, there were always adults who volunteered to lead special interest groups for the kids...fishing, hiking, swimming, crafts, etc., and that allowed the parents with infants and very young children to stay in their tents or trailers for afternoon naps. And in a group,that size, if someone forgot some essential piece of camping gear, another family was sure to have an extra. What great memories that made for all of us!

Curt and I started the day this morning with our gourmet breakfasts. For Curt, an egg and his pork fried rice from yesterday's lunch, and for me, a banana and blueberry omelet. Both taste much better than they sound, especially with the appetite that comes from living outdoors!

I don't think I've mentioned that I have an automatic dishwasher in our camping kit. It's the top-of-the-line model. It starts its cycle the moment the meal is finished...it gathers the plates, conveys them into the tent where the sink is, heats the water, washes, dries and even puts the dishes away. There aren't many models like this, and I'm so thankful I've got one!

Here it is in action:

Cycle completed!

Once the dishwasher was finished, Curt and I headed out in the country to visit his friend from childhood, Bob Stofflet and his wife Shirley. We spent a couple of hours reminiscing about life and people they knew 60 years ago... What fun!

Then back into Stroudsburg where we located the house Curt's grandmother used to live in. it was right next door to the fire station, and Curt remembers that on Friday nights the firemen would give all the neighborhood kids rides on the hook and ladder truck. That probably doesn't happen too often nowadays!

When Curt visited his grandmother as a child, he slept in that upstairs bedroom right next to the firehouse. The alarm was on the wall right outside his window. When it went off at night, 20 feet from his head, it scared the poor little guy so much that he wet the bed! (Don't tell him I told you that!)

Lunch at an outdoor cafe, then back to the campground for another swim and shower. 

At the pool Curt and I both got involved in long, interesting conversations. I visited with a woman about my age who is originally from India. She and her family are devout Hare Krishna followers. We both shared why we believed as we did... And neither of us converted the other! I must say, I'm so thankful for the freedom we enjoy in Jesus Christ, rather than the strict vows they have to keep. She said the total adherence to vegetarianism is difficult, but the hardest rule to keep is the 3 hours a day, every day, that she has to spend chanting. They have a type of rosary of 24 beads. With each bead they need to chant, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Then they can push that bead aside and move on to the next. They have to chant the entire   set of 24 beads 16 times each day. Whew! Makes me hoarse just thinking about it! 

Curt had a long visit with a Russian physician...and they covered the ground from parenting to traveling to politics, to GPS's (the physician couldn't fathom why Curt refuses to use one!) Curt would much rather be temporarily misplaced and have to use his map skills, observational skills, and sense of direction than have a canned voice tell him where to go...and his new friend just couldn't imagine it!

Tonight is the last night we'll be camping for about 2 weeks. Tomorrow we'll drive to Massachusetts to stay with Curt's eldest brother, Ross, and his wife, Lorna. We'll be there about a week, and then on to Lubec, Maine, where I'll attend a week-long mandolin camp at SummerKeys. From that point on, we have absolutely no agenda. So what we do and where we go will be just as much a surprise to us as it will be to you!

See you a couple of. States away, northeast of here!

Karen and Curt

Stroudsburg Pennsylvania

Friday, June 26, Day 18

Curt and I plan to be here at the KOA near the Delaware Water Gap until Sunday, when we'll head for his brother's house. So today was really an enjoyable day. After a delicious outdoor breakfast, we headed back into the town of Stroudsburg.

This is a very picturesque town, on the edge of the famous resort areas of the Delaware Water Gap and the Pocono Mountains. Curt spent quite a bit of time in Stroudsburg when he was young. HIs grandmother lived here, as well as Jerry and Marian (whose nickname was Kiss) Stofflet, two of his parents' dearest friends. We were able to find the house the Stofflets used to live in, below.  Marian Stofflet was great friends with the famous composer Hoagy Carmichael (songs like Stardust, Georgia on my Mind, and Heart and Soul) and for a while Hoagy lived upstairs in this house. Curt remembers spending time with him on several occasions...when he was about 5, Curt used to sit on Hoagy's lap on that big front porch, and he remembers Hoagy ruffling up his hair and kidding around with him. What a wonderful memory to treasure!

This is what Hoagy Carmichael looked like as Curt remembers him:

I found a wonderful shop called Mountain Knits and Pearls that has everything needed for two of the things I love to do: knitting and beading. I was in hog heaven and could have spent the whole day there...and I'm sure that to dear, patient Curt it felt like I did! In reality, it was only a little over an hour, but that was plenty of time for me to do some serious damage to my "mad money" stash!

Joanne, the owner, was extremely helpful and patient with me as I asked so many questions and changed my mind on so many decisions. If I ever make it back to Stroudsbutg, PA, I'll plan at LEAST a half a day for this shop alone!

For lunch we found another favorite: Ichiban's fresh sushi restaurant. You know, camping like this isn't half bad! 

We thought the fortunes in our fortune cookies were pretty appropriate for our current adventure:

And believe me, we are being flexible!

Back to camp to hit the pool. Then, as Curt was getting a little fluffy around the ears, I gave him a haircut in our outdoor barber shop.

Tomorrow we'll visit Bobby Stofflet and his wife Shirley. Bobby is a little older than Curt, and the two boys knew each other growing up, since their parents were such good friends. I've heard so much about this wonderful family that I can't wait to meet them.

We're definitely out of the south now. The sticky, muggy feeling is gone from the air, and last night we needed the blanket for the first time. In fact, my feet are cold for the first time on this trip, so that blanket is looking pretty good right now. Good night and God's blessings to all of you!

And Into Pennsylvania

Thursday, June 26, Day 17

Before we left the KOA campground near Hagerstown this morning, I had to get a few shots of their critters. They have a small farm with goats and pigs and lots of chickens right there at the KOA. It brought back memories of Curt's and my homesteading days in Montana in the 70's and 80's. We raised chickens, rabbits, goats, pigs, ducks, geese, and even tried a horse and a steer (those larger two were short-lived with us; we did better with the smaller livestock). But today I got to enjoy the animals without the work. Now THAT was fun!

We never got our own pigs to do this trick, though. Isn't that little pig clever, standing on the big pig's back?!

The goats were more interested in their food than having their picture taken. This one finally got his head out of the hay for a quick instant for me to snap a photo.

And these are the "girls" who provided the freshest eggs we've had in years. Some of them were still warm when I got the carton!

We drove a few hours into Pennsylvania. I think we hit some of the prettiest parts of the state as we cut diagonally across the southeast corner of the State, from west to east. Beautiful green rolling hills, lovely farms, lots of trees and meadows, and very interesting stone houses. What a pretty drive!

One of our goals today was to find Curt's parents', grandparents' and aunt's graves in the Stroudsburg, PA cemetery. Curt had not seen them before. We found them and they had been carefully tended by Curt's sister Patty and her friend Carol. It was a lovely, restful stop.

As we got closer to our destination for the next 3 days, we couldn't believe how much traffic there was in the small town of Stroudsburg and on the freeway. Turns out there was a hazardous waste spill that stopped traffic on the Interstate for hours in both directions, and thousands of cars we're re-routing through the small towns. Fortunately, we weren't in the middle of it...just observing from a different route.

Now we're all settled in a lovely campground in the Delaware Water Gap/Pocono Mountains area of Pennsylvania. We like the area so much that we decided that we'll spend 3 nights here and just take day trips out from our home base. We enjoyed a dip in the beautiful, clean pool before cooking dinner and watching a pretty sunset. Ahhhhh, life on the loose is good!

Two Days Near Hagerstown, Maryland

Days 15 & 16, June 24 and 25

Yesterday we left our nice campsite at the Wildwood KOA near Lynchburg, Virginia. We wanted to get off a little earlier than our usual noon departure, so breakfast was a catch-as-catch-can event. I had one of my nutritional shakes, and Curt decided to fix himself a pimiento cheese sandwich. Unfortunately, the bread had migrated to the bottom of the cooler and was swimming in the melted ice. But, hey, we're camping, so that didn't bother Curt at all. He pressed the water out of the bread (as you can see on the picnic table), slathered on the pimiento cheese spread, and tucked in. What a guy!

MMMMMM..........Good,

About an hour into our trip, we hit our 2000 mile mark. Here's a shot out the car window of the farm we passed near Staunton, Virginia when the 2K rolled around. The Virginia farms were pretty impressive! This is a very small one compared to many we saw.

 

We settled into a campsite at a KOA near Hagerstown, Maryland. What a spot! We're right next to a creek with an unpronounceable name....though it looks like a river to me! Swam in the pool! had our showers! ate dinner! and then drove into town for more groceries? Historic Hagerstown is a pretty unique looking place!

This is the view we had this morning from our campsite as we were doing our morning devotions...and  we were praying for you!

And another view of the creek through our camper window. This is the view we woke up to this morning:

This afternoon I hung around camp to relax and do a little business and creative work, and Curt went out to visit Antietam Battlefield, the site of a pivotal battle during the Civil War. If we could get his iPad to work on the 4G, we could share some of his photos. But for some reason mine is working and his isn't, so that'll have to wait. 

We had a boomer and crasher of a thunderstorm this evening. It lasted over an hour, and we couldn't even talk to each other, as the rain pounded so loudly on the camper roof. But we stayed snug and dry inside, and as the rain subsided, we tried our Netflix video streaming plan for the first time. I know, that's not very camper-like, but it was dark and wet outside and too early for bed... So we pretended we were city folks, and watched a movie.

Tomorrow we plan to pack up camp early, if everything's not too wet, and head northeast. As we go through East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, we plan to visit Curt's parents' graves, and then head on to Delaware Water Gap, in eastern Pennsylvania, near the New Jersey border.

Oh, by the way, I'm re-learning how to speak Southern Mountain. The other day when we asked someone for directions, I couldn't figure out what the man was telling us until I remembered that the word "hill" has 2 syllables in the  South... It's pronounced "hee-yul." Just thought you'd like to know!

Blessings to all!

Karen and Curt

Hanging out Today...Headed to Maryland Tomorrow

Today was a day to relax around camp. We're in such a lovely spot that we were reluctant to move. What a delight! A day of reading, swimming, puttering around and organizing, answering emails, writing letters, and driving VERY few miles (8 to be exact, just to get to the nearest post office). This is a KOA Campground where we're staying, and we think we'll do a lot more of them on the trip. Great amenities, wonderfully clean showers and restrooms, and nice shady campsites (at least here!) Tomorrow, and perhaps the next day, we have reservations at a KOA in Maryland, near the Antietam Civil War Battlefield.

Several of you have asked to see some details of our camping set-up, so I'll show you a few photos of how we live. This first picture is looking straight in the door of our pop-up camper. You can see the tiny fridge in the lower left, where we keep mostly condiments and things we don't need to get to while we're on the road. The 2 burner stovetop is above it, but I rarely use that unless it's raining or I need more cooking area. I prefer to cook outdoors. And there's a little sink to the right with a couple little cabinets beneath and a small furnace (which I don't think we'll need for a while!)

Looking to the left is a double bed (where Curt is right now as I type...but I'll show you the photo I took earlier in the day!) Can you tell we're from Texas?

There's a long bench on the left (where our pillows are). The short bench on the right has another one facing it. Originally a table was fixed between the 2 benches, and it could be lowered to make one continuous surface for an additional bed. We removed the base so we have the space between the benches open, and we use the table outside for a food prep surface.

Now looking at the right (front) of the trailer is the queen bed area. The towing hitch is outside under the bed. On shorter camping trips we often sleep at that end. But we need to haul so much stuff for this extended trip that we took out the mattress and we use the hard surface to store clothes, musical instruments, towels and toiletries, supplies, etc. we call it our "crawl-in" closet, and, as you can see, we'd rather cover it up with the curtains and a couple of my quilts than show you what it looks like behind the curtain!

Here's a long shot of the outdoor cooking set-up. We eat either at the picnic table (if the campground has one), or in our little screen room to the left,

it's a little hard to see, but there's an electric frying pan on the table that's attached to the side of the camper. If we're in a place with electrical hookups, that's how I do most of the cooking. On the far bench of the picnic table is the cooler where we carry the fruits, veggies, meats, ice and dairy products we'll be using within the next couple of days. We only shop for 2-3 days at a time.

At the front end of the camper outside (under the crawl-in closet) we carry 2 action-packers (they're like giant Tupperware containers) full of camping gear we may need on the trip. The white thing you see below is a cover over the propane tanks that fuel the cooking element, fridge, and furnace. The small black box in front of the hitch is the battery.

Under the tarp in the back of the pick-up are 3 more action-packers. These are mine. One for clothes (mostly jackets, boots and cold weather gear), and the other 2 for things to keep me busy and happy and out of trouble on the trip...knitting yarn, music books, reading books, art supplies, scrapbooking supplies, etc.)

On top of the tarp rides Curt's action packer for clothes, and his indoor/outdoor instrument, the washtub bass! We're ready for any instrumental "jam" we might encounter.

I think some of you were looking for more detail on how we have the outdoor cooking area set up. It's  pretty slick, so I'll show you that another time when I can get some good photos of how it all works together. 

In the meantime, Curt looks pretty comfortable in that bed (though he has stacked up the pillows against the lights I have on in the camper). I think I'll take pity on him and cut the lights and join him. He's under there somewhere!

Next time you hear from us, we'll be farther north and east in Maryland!