The New Year Chanango to Lowville

Got up this morning at 0700 with a heavy heart.  Had a few cups of coffee and started packing around 0800.  Cath took at last minute pressure wash (we called the campground showers that as they are really strong!). All packed and ready to go by 1030.  Could have done it faster, but there was no hurry.  Hit the dump station and was headed home by 1100. Hit a fast food joint for lunch and made it to the house around 1430.  All is well on the home front.

We really liked this state park and will probably return next June.
Will let everyone know when we are traveling again, but probably won't be until mid August.
Thanks for following the blog, we look forward to all your comments.

The New Year Chanango Day 10

SO.... last day.... we have to leave tomorrow. Not good, we could stay here another week, but there is grass to cut, gardens to weed, and tons of other stuff.  I say let it all grow up and take over the house, but Cath has other ideas.
Went to our favorite store as Cath says she has not been sleeping well and purchased a memory foam bed topper.  The damn thing is four inches thick and now our bed is almost to the ceiling, it's like getting into a bunk bed.  I sure hope she sleeps good tonight.
Did a little camp maintenance and had SOS and biscuits for brunch, it was really good!
Did a some fishing and got a few trout to take home.  They are all cleaned, vacuumed, and in the freezer.
Kaylee has been having a good time.  She loves to roll in the leaves.

 We had trout (caught yesterday), parsley-ed potatoes, and salad for dinner.

Here is the last fire of this trip (looks kind of forlorn and lonely to me). 

Will let you all know that we are home and safe tomorrow. 
Gonna crawl up into my new bunk now, hope she sleeps well!   

The New Year Chanango Day 9

Got our trout, so we will be well feed tomorrow. No starving with no strength.

We went for a walk this morning to the golf course on the other side of the lake.  Nice course, I'll play it next year when we come back.
While at the course we picked up a couple of T-shirts.  Mine is dark gray and simply says "Chenango Valley State Park". Cath's says "Camping Chick". CLUCK...cluck!

Had a good afternoon. Cath read and I went fishing. Came back to camp and played some cribbage, she is a cheater!
Bratwurst, baked beans and salad for dinner, with a few taffy for desert.
Will be sorry to see tomorrow as we have to leave Thursday morning.

The New Year Chanango Day 8

As we are retired folks we awoke early...8 am. Finally got it together by 9 am.  We hit the lake (from the shore) and had two bites and one 5 inch trout by 11 am.  So it was a great morning.
Kaylee particularly enjoyed it.

Thankfully today she didn't try to rip my arm out of the socket.  We let her run as there was no one in the area.
Our camp neighbors from last week sent us a pic. Seems they had a bear problem and called NYDEC to help.  Here's a pic of the three cubs they had in a den right behind their house. 

We came back to the camper and had a great brunch.  Pan sausage on the grill, toasted English muffins on the grill, fried eggs, and laughing cow pepper jack cheese sandwiches...LOL..MOOWOW!
After brunch we took a ride to the thriving metropolis of Greene, NY.  There is absolutely nothing there.

After our trip to Greene, NY we went to Coventry, NY to the Candy Shop and Candle Factory.  This place is amazing.  I stayed in the truck with Kaylee and Cath went in.  She came out with some taffy and a few candles, but said I had to go in to see.  There is every kind of candy in the place that you can name.  Everything from our childhood to now. What a HOOT!  This is a must see if you are in Coventry, NY.  LOL!
Picked up some ice and back to the camper.

Shrimp, rice and veggies for dinner.
We plan on trout fishing with the boat tomorrow as the weather will be cooler and we are out of food and need the trout to keep our strength.

The New Year Chanango Day 7

Makes me sad to write Day 7 as that means we only have a few days left.
We went on our walk this morning as the temps later in the day got to near 90.  We walked a trail around the lake.  Kaylee had a good time and got a few minutes off leash.  She is a nut case chasing squirrels and chipmunks.  While Cath and I were pausing to catch our breath I was holding the leash very loosely in my left hand.  Kaylee took this opportunity to bolt after a squirrel.  She damn near ripped my left arm out of the socket and definitely disjointed my middle finger left hand.  Needless to say she will be on an iron hitch from now on.

The above is a pic of the lake.  It is about a mile long and 20 ft at the deepest part I've found.
We had biscuits and apple butter for breakfast, steak sandwiches for lunch, and pork chops and mashed taters for dinner.  I think I'm starving.
Spent the afternoon reading and relaxing in the shade.  Turned the AC on in the camper. Rode our bikes late this afternoon as Kaylee would not come out of an ACed camper into the heat.  Plan is to walk and do a little fishing in the morning and then relax, we are going to get temps in the 90s tomorrow.

The New Year Chanango Day 6

Cath made pancakes and bacon for breakfast. 
We went to get some ice and a few things we thought we needed, but in fact we don't need anything.  All is well.
Spent the afternoon reading and played  "corn hole" with the neighbors.  I know what your thinking, but it is a bean bag game. We had a blast and Cath was the hit of the game, she maybe got her bean bag on the board 4 times in ten games. There were three couples, we took turns playing the winner of the last game.  Cath and I never won a game so we didn't get to many turns.
Cath made a great potato, mushroom, and onion stir fry that I did on the grill, backed up with a seasoned skirt steak and a small salad we had our normal mush for dinner.
Kaylee is getting used to this camp life.  She still does not like the leash, but is getting used to it. Once all the folks leave tonight and tomorrow we can let her run again.

Tomorrow is a walk along the lake and reading, maybe some shore fishing, but won't put the boat back in until Monday when all the crazies are gone.

The New Year Chanango Day 5

We had another laid back day.
Got some water this morning and dumped the gray and black tanks using the new 45 gal Blue Tote.  It worked great and allowed us to dump without moving the camper.  It's worth it's weight in gold (but not when it is full).  It has pneumatic wheels and tows behind the truck to the dump station, very convenient.
Took a few walks and we both read a lot today. 
Late afternoon we went to a local winery as they were having a fest.  Had a few beers and Cath looked at the vendors there.  Nothing we cannot live without. A 7 year old boy befriended us as we had Kaylee along and he loved dogs.  He was with his Grandmother and she basically abandoned him as he was with us.  He asked me if they had soft drinks and I told him to go and ask.  He came back and said he needed a dollar for a drink, so I gave him a buck.  A minute late he was back and said he need three more dollars for his drink.  I told him to go ask his Grandma, as I'm not used to paying $4 for a soda.  He then asked if he could keep the original dollar.  Needless to say the original dollar is in my wallet and he is still thirsty.

There was supposed to be food vendors, but they only had a frozen yogurt truck, so on the way back to camp we googled pizza and found a great place for Stromboli.  We brought it back to camp and heated it up on the green egg (indirect of course).  It was excellent.
Back at camp the campground is now totally full for the weekend.  Last night there were two campers on our loop, tonight there are 50 and almost all are leaving on Sunday.  It will be quiet again.
Here's a pic or two of the Boogey lights, they are a big hit with the neighbors.

The New Year Chanango Day 4

Today was kinda laid back. 
Meet a new camper neighbor and we went fishing this morning. Fishing was good, lots of small rainbows on the hook and a lot of BS in the boat.
Cath spent most of the day reading, she is into a good book.
We drove over to a local winery to check it out as they are having a wine fest tomorrow.  We will go over for dinner and a few glasses of cider as their wine sucks.  LOL. There is supposed to be quite a few vendors at the little fest.  I'm guessing it will be the local Avon chick and maybe some AMSOIL guy.  We will take a few pics and post tomorrow.
Steak, french fries, and salad for dinner tonight (my favorite).  Here's Cath after dinner.

Early to bed as this camping stuff along with retirement is getting to be exhausting.  We wake up in the morning with nothing to do and by the evening we've only got half of that done.

The New Year Chanango Day 3

The day started out great, but was downhill/uphill after that.
SOOO the downhill first:  Left camp this morning to get a new air compressor as the old one burnt up yesterday.  Went to my favorite store (Walmart) (NOT!) and found exactly what I needed.  Got back in the truck and the GD low tire pressure light was on. Goggled the nearest tire shop and we found a nail in the right rear. $15 to plug it and back on the road.
Back at camp all is well. Got the boat up to pressure and had a great lunch courtesy of the chef (that be Cath).
Got the boat in the water and we were off to our new adventure. Boat performed well, but I can't say that for my fishing partner (Cath). She had a few rod & reel miscues.  She blames it on no recent fishing experience.
So here is a pic of Cath and the crazy dog.

Wanted to include a few pics of me driving the boat, Cath said she took a few, but she is also computer impaired along with the fishing problem....LOL. So no pics of me, we will try again tomorrow.  I also wanted to attach a pic of Cath with her trout, but she will not touch a fish!  I'm gonna put one in her bed tomorrow, maybe she will get used to touching a fish.
It's a nice small lake (pond), about 30 ft deep at the the most.  She caught 3 trout and I got one (mine was the biggest), but I let her use the best lure. The lake is spring feed. We were out for about 2 hours, didn't want to get my Honey burnt.
Back at camp.  Spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.
And OH YEAH, showers and a few ABs before dinner. 

The New Year Chanango Day 2

Got up a little late,but Oh well, it's not like we have deadlines to meet.
Walked Kaylee and got a look at the boat ramp.  It's not really a ramp and we will have to carry the boat about 300 ft to get it on the water, but that is doable.
The boat is pretty much ready, but the damn air pump went TU this afternoon.  I'll need to go into town and pick-up a new one in the morning.  Here is a pic of the boat without the motor and such.

We went into Binghamton today to get some of the stuff we forgot.  Very old city, but quaint.
Eating some of Cath's famous filled sugar cookies as I write this, this camping stuff is gonna make us fat...LOL.
All the fishing gear is ready for tomorrow afternoon, hopefully the fish cooperate.
I'll post pics tomorrow from when we are on the water.
BTW: Chicken with herbs for dinner with a great salad.  YUM YUM!

The New Year Chanango Day 1

It's been awhile and the camper is happy (as are we) to get out of winter storage. Had a few mice that think they could move in, but they didn't make it too far.
We spent a few weeks getting the camper ready this spring and did a few improvements. We now have HD TV (satellite and local digital) and Boogey lights. 
http://www.boogeylights.com/led-kits-for-rvs-campers-trailers.html
These are really fun and our fellow campers love them.
Left home this morning for 10 days at Chenango Valley State Park. 
http://nysparks.com/parks/41/details.aspx.
It was only a 112 mile drive and all went well. Arrived about 3 pm and was all setup by 4:30. 

We will be staying here for 10 Days.  There are two lakes, one has been stocked with 10,500 rainbow trout in the last 3 months, hoping we can get a least two of them.  Oh yeah: forgot to mention ...CATH GOT HER FISHIN' LICENSE!

Tomorrow is boat day.  We have a new inflatable 12 ft boat.
http://rubberboats.com/product/new-inflatable-boat-excursion-5.html
We put a 55 pd/thrust Minn Kota electric motor on it with a color LED fish finder.  Can't wait to try it out.  Will post some pics tomorrow.
Had chile dogs for dinner and it hit the spot, the rest of the week is a little more gourmet as Cath is cooking.
Stay tuned for more, the adventure is just starting!