July 13th-15th - Harpers Ferry and Beyond

We got into the KOA at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia on the 12th. The place was packed and being a typical KOA the roads are narrow and the sites were not made for big rigs. After a lot of maneuvering I was able to get Marge onto our site. It was a nice wide site but the trees, narrow road, and 90 degree turn into the lot made it a challenge. We only had 30 amp electrical service and with the hot day and full park, the electric service was terrible. All afternoon we only had about 109 volts so we couldn't run the AC (again). In the evening as it started to cool off and the load decreased we were able to use it but had to make sure nothing else was on electric so we kept enough voltage to the AC unit.

On the 13th we headed to the Harpers Ferry National Park just up the road from our RV park. We took a free shuttle down to the area they call the "lower end". It is called that because it is the lower end of town down by the river. Due to various floods over the years few businesses are there anymore and the park service has renovated the buildings with exhibits about John Brown and slavery at the time. The exhibits were excellent and although it was hot we enjoyed all of them.

I didn't know that Meriwether Lewis obtained his boat and all of his provisions at Harpers Ferry for his trek across the country.  Here is a sign about it.

For decades Harpers Ferry was quite the industrial area due to the great water power available. At Harpers Ferry the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers meet. Here is a picture of Kellen and me at the intersection.

This spot is out on a point. One river comes in on the left of us and one on the right. Harpers Ferry is known for John Brown's uprising there for the abolition of slavery in 1859. He planned to take over the army arsenal there but didn't get the support he was counting on and was quickly captured at the firehouse where he ended up. Here is a picture of the firehouse.  (It was moved to this spot for us tourists.)

Within a short period of time John Brown was tried for treason and hanged. The rest of his men were hanged over the next several months.  While his revolt was a failure, it gained national attention and precipitated the Civil War.

Harpers Ferry was taken back and forth by the North and the South during the Civil War because of its manufacturing facilities. It ended up being the most devastated city in the war. After the war, due to floods, automobiles, and changing times, the manufacturing jobs all left the area. Here are a couple of pictures of the town, which is built on a steep hillside above the river. Quite interesting how it is laid out and how they dealt with the rocky hillside terrain.

Storer College was founded here with a $10,000 matching grant from a gentlemen. It was the only college in the area which accepted blacks and women. There were a lot of interesting stories about how the college changed the lives of many people. The college was operated by the state until 1955 with great success. The year after the Brown v. Board of Education case made the practice of "separate but equal" educational facilities unconstitutional the state shut it down.

On Sunday the 14th we just hung around the campground and laid in the pool to stay cool. What a change from our time in Newfoundland and Labrador where we were bundled up all the time. About a third of the campers pulled out on Sunday so our electric voltage improved.

Monday morning we packed up early and headed to Sevierville, Tennessee, on our trip home. It was a long day of driving but scenic because I-81 follows the Appalachian Mountains for many miles. Here are a couple of pictures Kelly took through the windshield.

The stop in Sevierville is so Kellen can go to Dollywood. (More rides.) It is the last stop on our trip. We will stay here for three nights at River Plantation RV Park. We have stayed here several times over the years for RV rallies. Here is a picture of our site.

It is a very nice park with a nice pool and lazy river AND GOOD ELECTRICAL POWER. We will take advantage of the pool because it is HOT and HUMID. Tomorrow the day at Dollywood will be a long one for grandma and grandpa. 

Across the road from us in the park is this trailer from the 50s. 

My grandma and grandpa lived in one about five feet longer than it for over ten years in Peoria, Illinois. It was 8 feet wide and 31 feet long. It had the same porthole windows in the doors and wooden screen doors on the inside. Marge is 36 feet long with three slide outs and we still get in each other's way. I can't image how they did it. I do remember when I was about twelve they traded it for a brand new10 feet by 45 feet trailer and my grandma commented that she didn't know what she was going to put in all the cabinets. How times have changed.

July 11th - 12th - Hershey, Pennsylvania

Thursday we arrived at the Hershey Family Campground around noon. While it is billed as a "brand new" campground it is clear that it is an old campground that is being totally redone. The campsites are new but the new buildings and pool are not yet completed. Here is a picture of the current buildings at the entrance. The office is on the right, then the laundromat, then a little house, and then the shower house on the left. They are all really run down and gross. New buildings are under construction on the other end of the park. It will be really nice when finished. We got the "construction rate" of $75.00 per night, the most I have ever paid for a campsite in my life.

The campsites are all new with new utilities, graveled and sodded. What is completed is very nice.

Here is Marge all set up on our site. Even though it is a new campground and most the campsites are on an angle making it easier to back in, it was tight getting Marge on the site with our long truck and trailer. 

Fortunately the new campground had upgraded electric so that we could run the AC because it is hot.

After setting up Marge we drove into Hershey to "Hershey's Chocolate World" to take the Hershey Factory Tour. 

While the "tour" is free there are three "shows" or "activities" you have to pay money for. We opted for two out of the three because the last one was sold out until 6:00 p.m. We didn't want to hang around the store looking at chocolate to buy for two hours. It cost $55.70 for the three of us to see the two shows and they were both totally LAME. If I owned the Hershey company I would be embarrassed to provide these shows for FREE much less charge people for them. With the "tasting" show we each got a small tin of various Hershey chocolate products to taste - $1.00 worth of candy. I'll put the tins to use in the RV or my shop as a reminder of being ripped off. The factory tour isn't a factory tour. It is ride through a mock up of the various processes of making chocolate. It was "ok" but I like real tours. 

Friday we arrived at Hershey Park (the amusement park) around 10:00 a.m. It cost $15.00 to park and then walk for at least a quarter mile to the park entrance. Kellen was excited upon seeing the rides as we approached. We were standing in the line to purchase tickets when two ladies walked up and said "You guys are seniors. We have a ticket we bought for our grandma and she got hurt and couldn't come. You are welcome to have it." With that they gave us an admission ticket worth $32.80. What a great start to the day!!!!

Like most parks they have perfected the art of making you wait in line and not get pissed off about it. For the first ride Kellen was going to have an hour wait. We decided that at that rate he would hardly get to ride many of the rides in a day and we would go nuts waiting for him each time. So we paid an extra $90.00 to get him a "Fast Trak" pass so he could skip to the front of the lines on most rides. It ticked me off that this "extra pass" cost 50% more than the price of his $62.00 admission but we wanted him to enjoy the park so we bought it. We were really glad we did. In the ten hours that we were there he got to ride every Level 4 and 5 ride at least once and a couple several times. Here is a picture of one ride.

He said the rides were much wilder than Six Flags in St. Louis. He had a great time all day. At one point we thought we lost him and contacted security. He had not come out of the ride after almost an hour and a half. About five minutes after we alerted the security he came walking out. He said that without his glasses on he said he didn't see the "Fast Track" lane and had waited in the regular line to get on.

Here he is on a ride that takes you up about 150 feet and drops you several times. He said it was great. I would have lost my lunch.

They sell a refillable drink cup for $16.00. We got one and put it to good use all day. Of course they don't have regular refill stations throughout the park. Isn't that convenient? In each section of the park we had to walk around to find a refill station and wait in line to refill it.

Kellen had a great time and we were all bushed by the time we left the park at 8:00 p.m. We came back, took showers, and hit the sack. 

 

July 10th - A Bad Traveling Day

The 10th was a traveling day from Salisbury, Massachusetts toward Hershey, Pennsylvania.  Everything went fine until we hit New York City on I-95. The interstate was extremely rough, particularly the strips where the road met with overpasses. Those transitions were terrible even after braking as much as I could with the surrounding traffic we were jolted time after time. For long stretches of the highway everything was fine, then in other sections, even though the pavement was smooth, the truck front end was vibrating. At first I attributed it to wear in the pavement. Then WELCOME TO NEW YORK CITY.  Getting close to the George Washington bridge to cross into New Jersey there was a truck accident and it took us over two hours to go less than five miles. Once into New Jersey it was pretty clear that something was wrong with the truck’s front end.

Surprisingly there is not much in the way of truck stops or big cities along I-78 in New Jersey. When she got a signal Kelly got on her phone and found the nearest tire shop. It was a Pepboys in Bridgeport, which was fifteen miles off the interstate. We headed there, doing only 50 mph, a speed at which the front end did not shake too violently. When we arrived I pulled the trailer over on the adjoining street left my flashers on and went inside to seek help. They said they could look at the tires but they did not have a lift heavy enough to check anything else on a one ton truck. I was quite surprised at this. They had ten bays and none geared for large pickup trucks? Anyway, they said I could drop the trailer where it was (even though there were no parking signs) and bring the truck over. Before dropping the trailer I put out my emergency triangles. Luckily it was a street going into a shopping area and not a high traffic area. Here is a picture of Kellen helping with the triangles.

They got someone on the truck fairly quickly. He drove it around and quickly determined that the belts had shifted in both front tires. He showed me the lumps in the tires. With only 22,700 miles on them the Korean tires that came on my RAM had had enough of the rough roads of Newfoundland, Labrador, and everywhere between Missouri and here in New Jersey. They had Cooper Tires in the right size. I have no problem with Cooper tires but I hated that they were already over a year old. I was stuck so I bought them for $419.00..

Now the bad part. Upon mounting the new tires their tire machine gouged both aluminum wheels. The manager was very nice and apologized several times. He offered to have me bring the truck back and they would send the wheels off to be prepared. I told him we were heading back to Missouri and that would not work. He did not know what it would cost to repair the rims because the company would have to look at them to give a price. I was stuck. He offered to take $100.00 off the tire bill. I accepted, having no other option.

We hooked Marge back up and headed down the road with the idea of stopping at the first campground we could find. As I mentioned above, there isn’t much along I-78 and that includes campgrounds. We had driven all day, sat in traffic for hours, got the new tires put on, and were beat. We decided we would drive another two hours into Hershey, Pennsylvania if necessary. A few more miles down the road however we saw a sign for a campground in Jugtown, New Jersey. We pulled off at the exit listed on the sign. Of course when we did, there were no more signs telling us where to go. Kelly quickly got on her phone and got directions, which ended up not being totally accurate. As we were driving along I looked to the left and there was a big building with a sign on it “Jugtown Campground” with some of the letters missing. I was able to turn around up the road and head back..
Here is a picture of the entrance into Jugtown Mountain Campground as it led back through rows of trailers for sale. Not very inviting I must say but we were tired.

I didn’t see any office but to the right where we pulled in the lot there was a trailer sales office so I went in there. Fortunately it was the office for the campground as well, even though there was no sign saying “office” anywhere. It was $50.00 bucks for water and electric and they had sites available. We took one despite its appearance. The lady said I could drive back and take one of six different sites because some were muddy due to all the rain. Not a good omen.

As we approached the area where she told us our site would be I couldn’t tell where to go. A guy was sitting outside so I got out and asked directions from him. He directed me where to drive to get into our site. He said not to take the site next to him, it was a mud hole.  There was no road. I had to pull the trailer onto the grass and through trees to get into the campsite. In fact we ended up taking two sites in length so I wouldn’t have to unhook. Marge was out of level a lot and we tried several times to back her up on blocks to get level but they would just slide in the mud. We were finally able to get up on two small blocks, which helped a little. The trailer was still several inches out of level. Since it was just one night we put up with it. Here is a picture of the campsite on the dry side.

Here is a picture on the other side. The four wheel drive truck helped. I couldn't do anything without getting muddy.

Kelly then opened the door and this is what she found. A Kodak moment after a day from hell.

Due to the rough roads all day a cabinet door had come open and Goldfish had spilled all over the floor along with several other items.

It was 89 degrees inside Marge when we parked. I immediately plugged in the electric. When the AC unit would kick on the voltage would go down to 109 volts. There was nothing else on, I even unplugged the converter to get the volts up but it didn't help. Low voltage is not good for compressors and the AC unit is only a year old.  I didn't want to burn it up so I turned it off and turned on the Fantastic fans and portable fans we carry with us. It was sundown and I was hoping it would cool down quickly. Fifty dollars a night and not enough power to even run the AC for a while. What a crock. Of course, the Wi-fi didn’t work either.

Soon thereafter Kelly then called me into the bedroom and said “look at this”. A picture we have had hanging on the wall for ten years fell down from all the rough roads. Luckily the glass didn’t break. What had happened is that the wire holding it up broke in the middle. Here is a picture. Crazy.

I then got on my phone to call Hershey Camping Resort to get a reservation. I waited on line forever then when someone finally answered I could hear her but she couldn’t hear me. This happened two times. I got Kelly’s phone and had no issue. After finally getting through we could only get a reservation for one night, we wanted at least two nights so Kellen could do the amusement park. I called two other campgrounds in Hershey and got answering machines at both. I finally found another campground a little further away in Elizabethtown. The lady answered and said it was a brand new campground, had spaces with full hookups but the pool wasn’t ready yet. That was fine so I made a reservation for two nights. Surely in a new campground the electric will be better.

 

July 9th - Black Bear Campground

We drove all day from Cutler and reached Black Bear Campground in Salisbury, Massachusetts in the afternoon. This town brought back memories from some fifteen years ago. Kelly, me, and the three girls stayed in Salisbury for a week in the Holiday Rambler pusher back. Alexa was living in Massachusetts at the time and we came up for a visit and had a great time. When we got ready to leave on Friday I found green antifreeze leaking out of the bottom of the radiator.

I had an extended warranty and called the company. They sent out an investigator to make sure I hadn't poked a hole in it. He assured them that it wasn't anything I had done. They okayed the repair. The problem was we were in this small town and the nearest replacement radiator was in Michigan plus I had to find someone who would put it in.  I found a small repair shop about two miles away with the help of the campground owners.

The shop had a lift that I could drive the motorhome up on but it wasn't strong enough to lift it. We decided it should give us enough room to get the radiator out from below and install the new one the same way. Luckily they agreed to do this on a Saturday. I then called about ordering the radiator. I asked if I could drive to get it to save shipping costs and time. They said it would not fit in the Escort so I had to pay $400.00 to have it air shipped to Salisbury overnight. I helped the mechanic all day on Saturday and we got it in. We had planned on leaving early Friday morning and driving all day and all day Saturday so that Erin could get back to St. Louis for a job interview. That schedule was shot.

As soon as the radiator was installed late Saturday afternoon we took off for Missouri. To get Erin home in time for her interview I drove straight back - 23 hours non-stop except for fuel. Kelly and the girls took turns staying up with me to keep me awake. We pulled into the driveway at 7:00 a.m. on Monday and Erin took off for her interview. I went to bed but was up in two hours and went to work to handle a docket. I passed out that night for about twelve hours. Memories.

Black Bear Campground is quite nice and has a laundry. I did laundry while Kellen spent money at the arcade they had on site. Here is a picture of our campsite. It was nice sized and covered in wood chips.

Off the next morning for Hershey, Pennsylvania.

July 6 - 8th - Cutler, Maine and Campabello

The morning of the 6th we arrived in Cutler, Maine to visit friends we met at the RV park in Florida, Norb and Marilyn. Norb is a lobster fisherman and a boatbuilder. He had lots of level area where we could park Marge for a couple of days with electricity and water readily available. Here is a picture of Marge tucked between two of his buildings.

Marilyn's house, where they live, is just down the road toward Norb's wharf. It sits up on top of the hill with a million dollar view. Here are a couple of pictures from her front porch.

Cutler is truly a fishing village with houses scattered on both sides of the road near the fishing wharfs. It has a church but no stores nor any gas stations.  Saturday Norb took us all out on his lobster boat for a ride out to "Seal Island" where hundreds of seals and Puffins hang out. Here are a couple of pictures.

The nearest towns to Cutler with such things as stores, restaurants, and gas stations are sixteen miles in either direction.  One of those towns is Lubec, which is the Easternmost town in the United States. We went there for Mass and then supper on Saturday evening. It was pouring rain when we got there so no pictures that day.

Sunday morning Norb took us out lobster fishing. Here is a picture of Kellen with his boots on ready to go.

As the "stern man" I had to also put on "oil pants" (which were originally oiled pants and are now rubber and are held up with straps over the shoulders like waders), a sweatshirt with rubber sleeves, and rubber gloves. The traps are all tied together a certain distance apart on what is called a "trawl". Norb would reel in the trap in with a winch, pull the trap onto side of the boat, and then I would have to turn the trap around, open it up, pull out the empty bait bag and attach a new bait bag. While I was doing that Norb took out the lobster and threw them into a tub to be measured when all the traps were in and rebaited. Here is a picture of me at work. And I mean work!

I then placed the trap on the table behind me to be pulled back in the water after all traps were aboard, emptied, and rebaited. The trawl Norb pulled in had fifteen traps on it and was about a quarter mile long. When all the traps were emptied and rebaited Norb turned around the boat, threw in the buoy and the boat moved forward under power causing all the traps to be pulled off the table and back out into the sea. Each trap has a little concrete in one end so that it will land on the bottom right side up. I was soaking wet with sweat by the time all fifteen traps had been pulled up, emptied, and rebaited. These guys fish up to 800 traps in one day! I can't imagine. 

Each of the traps we pulled up had some lobster in it and one or two had a crab in it. The lobster are thrown into a catch area until all the traps are rebaited and pulled back overboard. At that point the lobstermen start measuring the catch to make sure they are large enough.  Here is a picture of our catch.

Green rubber bands are put on the lobster claws after they are determined to be large enough. The lobster are measured from their eye socket to the end of their body before the tail. About 80% of what we caught were too small or notched females, all of which had to be thrown back. Norb did all the measuring because even being caught with one undersized lobster would cost him a large fine. The next step was banding the claws of the keepers. Here is Kellen learning how to do that. 

Kellen had never touched a lobster before, or eaten a lobster before, so this was all great fun. Kelly and I banded some lobster as well. On the trip back in Norb let Kellen pilot the boat and showed him how to watch the computer monitor which showed his heading. Here are a couple of pictures.

Here is a picture of Norb's boat anchored in the harbor. I believe he said it is 46 feet long. He said it is fifteen years old and has hours on it equivalent to 1,000,000 miles.

The lobster are unloaded on a platform out in the harbor where Norb has scales to weigh each box of lobster. Each box of lobster must weigh 90 lbs. Here is a picture of Norb with the scales and lobster boxes.

From there the lobster boxes are tied together and pulled with the skiff like a train across the water to the wharf where they are unloaded to be picked up by the buyer. At low tide you have to reach the wharf by a skiff. Here is a picture of Kellen taking it all in next to Norb's skiff.

This area is at the head of the Bay of Fundy so there is a twenty foot difference in the tide twice per day. Here is a picture of the wharf at low tide.

Obviously climbing that ladder up and down and getting the lobster up and down was no picnic so Norb built an elevator. Here is a picture of him on it.

They put a pallet down on the floor of the elevator, load all the lobster crates on it and up it goes. It is really slick and much easier on the help. Norb is quite good at fabricating things. Norb and his son own the wharf so they are able to build things on it to suit their needs. At the street end of the wharf they are currently building a concrete freezer to keep bait. By doing this they can buy larger quantities of bait at a cheaper price. Norb said his bait bill keeps going up and last year it was $80,000. A new lobster boat costs about $500,000, traps are expensive, fishing uses lots of diesel fuel, etc. This is not a business you just get into on a whim. He has been at it for forty years.

Sunday evening we had a lobster feast at Marilyn's house after Norb steamed the lobsters we caught. We ate what we could and he sent the rest with us for later. Here are some pictures. Another first for Kellen. Kelly and I learned the art of getting all the meat out of the lobster.

Monday we took a day trip just twenty miles away to Campobello Island, New Brunswick, where Franklin Roosevelt's summer home is located. When we first got there a "tea" was taking place in another cottage along with a short lecture about Eleanor's life and her work as First Lady.  Here is a picture of us sitting at the tea. Another "first" for Kellen.

We then had a great tour of the Roosevelt cottage.  I cannot believe that I forgot to take an outside picture of it but here are a couple of inside pictures. On the table is FDR's hat and pipe.

This was Eleanor's desk.

The place was heated with wood. Here is one of the seven fireplaces.

This is the sitting area in the living room overlooking the bay. It is where Eleanor had tea every afternoon.

We then drove to one of Norb's favorite restaurants and had a nice fish lunch followed by ice cream. 

After lunch we drove back into the U.S. to Lubec, Maine, to see the West Quoddy Lighthouse. It is on the Easternmost point in the U.S. Here is picture with the Easternmost monument.

For our final evening in the Cutler area we went to a nice restaurant in Lubec overlooking the water. It was a beautiful evening so we had Kellen take a picture of the four of us there.

It was a great ending to a fabulous visit. We cannot thank Norb and Marilyn enough for the great time they showed us. We hope we can return the favor sometime when they venture to the Midwest.

We have lots more pictures we can share in the future with anyone interested. It is a job to pick out just a few for a blog.

Tuesday we drove to Salisbury, Massachusetts, and stayed at the Black Bear Campground and did laundry. A nice campground but a little pricey at $61.00 per night.