Winter Excursion 9, Day 22

We hung out at camp this morning and after lunch headed to the Kid's house. Nicole is working late and Brian is also. 

I spent the early afternoon washing the truck after 20 days on the road it sure needed it.

While at the Kid's I tried on my Santa suit. 

I will be playing Santa twice at Brian's Club. The suit fits fine, we just need to do a little fixing on the beard, wig, and hat!

After a nice dinner we drove back to camp. It's been a fun day and the weather is perfect!
 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 21

We went to La-Z-Boy this morning to check out what they offer for furniture. When we get home we will need a new living room set, so while traveling we've been checking out what's available. We did find some things we liked.

On the way back to camp we did a little grocery shopping as we are going to the Kid's tomorrow and Cath will be making dinner. 

Our neighbors have a Class A motorhome and also have two Corgis. They are usually gone during the day and we keep seeing one of the Corgis looking out his "Corgi Window".

Cath got these pics of the lanterns our friends gave us back home before ewe left.

One is with a flash and the other with the "night sight".

We spent the early evening outside enjoying the weather. It is cooling down and the humidity is decreasing! Hooray!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 20

We stayed in camp this morning and had our first breakfast on the flattop! It's good to have it back in service again. Did a few more camp chores and then headed to the Kiddos' in the afternoon. 

We got our first look at the house renovation plans the Kid's are planning. We will be looking forward to next year to see the finished result.

Wesley and I did a little drone flying in their front yard.

We need to get to a BIG field so he can fly it without trying to hit houses and trees!

Wes had a basketball game in the evening, so we all piled in the car and had a good time at the game. His team will do well with a little more practice. I was amazed at how good these 11 year old's are!

After dinner Cath and I headed back to camp. As usual it's been a fun day with the Kiddos!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 19

We spent the day in camp. After breakfast we started on camp chores and maintenance. 

We got the outside all set up. Here's our "new this year" camp sign.

The patio is ready for some evening wine tasting!

And the new and improved outside kitchen is ready!

The kitchen did get some use. Here's our country rib we had for dinner.

The night before last we had a great sunset, but I didn't get a pic. I was hoping we would have a repeat this evening. It was a nice one, but not as good as the night before.

Winter Excursion 9, Day 18

We pulled out of our site at 0720, dumped the camper and were on the to our new campground by 0730. We decide that early Sunday morning is the time to travel as there was hardly any traffic. We had no problems on the way and arrived at Foster Creek RV Park in Goose Creek, SC. It's a military campground and we have been here many times. I'll post a pic tomorrow. We did manage to get our favorite site (#12) and will be here for 6 weeks.

We arrived around 1330 and by1500 were all set up when the Kids and Kiddos arrived. It was great as always to see them. Our Granddaughter has grown into a young lady!

We did a big batch of wings and the Kids brought our favorite pizza with them. We spent some time catching up and then watched the football game. Wesley would not miss the game and his team did win.

It was a long day for us and we will sleep like bears tonight!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 17

Did a little shopping this morning in preparation of the Kiddos being in the area. Cookies, snacks, M&Ms, and hot chocolate were all on the list.

We spent the afternoon slowly packing up and plan to leave early tomorrow. We have to have the camper all set up before the Bills/Chiefs game starts as the Kids and Kiddos are coming over for the game, pizza, and wings!

As always we've enjoyed our stay at Cedar Point USFS CG and will be back again I'm sure. 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 16

After listening to the rain last night we slept in a little. After breakfast we jumped in the truck and drone to Moorhead City to visit the Ashley Furniture Store. We found nothing that we liked!

We drove back to camp via the Emerald Isle. This island is wall to wall summer houses, condos, and apartments. I'm sure in the summer it is a zoo, but today it was not crowded at all.

We stopped at Moore's Olde Tyme Barbeque for some Carolina BBQ. The food was good and the lemonade was great!

Back at camp we played some cribbage. Cath crushed me and I spent the rest of the day in a funk!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 15

This morning we did our absolutely, positively, for sure, best thing...LAUNDRY! While at the laundromat we met a lot of our fellow campers. One of them is our next door neighbor. We all got a kick out of all the campers at the laundromat. 

Back at camp we settled in for the afternoon as rain is forecast for the rest of the day and night. We did a little camp maintenance, relaxed, and watched some TV. Cath made a batch of her family's famous homemade Mayo. We haven't had any for awhile. It will be great with crackers and cheese! 

Just a few more days and we get to see the Grandkids! Let the fun begin!

Winter Excursion 9, Day 14

We had a quick breakfast and then left camp to do some food shopping. We stopped at our favorite seafood market and picked up a couple of sea trout. Back at camp two of the fillets got smoked in the Ninja! It took about 3.5 hours.

Back at camp we spent the afternoon enjoying the weather, talking to other campers, smoking fish, and riding the e-bike.

We noticed this tree right across from our site. I guess some previous campers forgot to collect their Halloween decorations!

We had the other sea trout for dinner. It's a "must have" every year when we get to the coast.
 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 13

We left our not so favorite campground around 1000. Did the short (157 Miles) drive to Cedar Point USFS CG in North Carolina. We arrived around 1400.

I dropped Cath off at the Bathhouse and took the camper over to the water point about 100 yards away. There is no water on site here. Cath walked over after a few minutes and then the Camp Host showed up. He asked me what I thought I was doing. I was flabbergasted at first and just answered I was filling the RV with water. He said not that, but you dropped off a cute girl and then drove away! It then dawned on me he was a jokester and was pulling my leg. We yakked with him the whole time we were filling the camper and have been teasing each other since. It will be a fun few days here.

Here's a few pics of the Site #30, our favorite.

Winter Excursion 9, Day 12

Along with our other campground complains from yesterday we have one more to add. There are no dumpsters here, but there are trash cans scattered around the campground. I tried to get rid of a small bag of trash, but all of the trash cans in our area are full and overflowing! I think the park does this to assist in feeding the racoons!

We hung out a camp except for a quick trip to the grocery store.

We were able to get a few TV stations (OTA) and we watched some football in the afternoon. We had football food for dinner, pizza and wings, all on the Ninja!

All is "sort of" well in the Boss Camp, but we will not be unhappy to leave the campground! 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 11

We were taking our time packing up this morning when the neighbor stopped by. Seems these folks are very familiar with Lowville and the surrounding area. They have a camp up Stillwater way! Small world!

The drive to Jordan Lake State Recreation Area and Poplar Point campground was short (180 miles) and uneventful, just the way we want it. We arrived at the campground at 1410 and were told we could not enter until 1500. The person at the gate was not very nice about it either. So we went to a nearby gas station and waited until 1500. We figured since they are enforcing the check in time (which most CGs do not if the site is empty) the site should be nice and clean. We were wrong. The site was full of leaves and trash. The fire pit was full of ashes and trash. The picnic table had food scraps on it. So along with setting up camp we had to clean and blow the site too. We were a little POed! Here's a couple of pics of Site F004 at poplar Point State Park.

Although there is an incline to get into the site the site is actually quite level.

The CG is full and BTW we will not be camping here again! I'll leave a "nice" review after we leave on the park website and "Campground Reviews".

Winter Excursion 9, Day 10

After breakfast we drove over to Wally World for a few essentials (wine & beer)! We did pick up some fruit and veggies also.
We spent the afternoon in camp watching everyone arrive for the weekend. The CG is full with every size rig you can think of from tents to 40 foot Class As!

As is the custom on the last night before a move we went out for dinner. We went to a local joint called The Mason Jar. The food was good and the place was packed. They serve your beer in a Mason Jar, imagine that! However, they don't serve their wine in a small Mason Jar. We asked the waitress and she said she wished they did. Although when Cath ordered a second glass of wine the waitress brought it in a small Mason Jar and filled her wine glass with it.

Winter Excursion 9, Day 9

This morning while writing the blog had these two wander through the campground. 

They were really interested in the grass. Maybe the Host won't have to cut it!

We drove north on the backroads and hollows to Roanoke to visit the Camping World there. We needed a few supplies.

Back at camp we did a few camp chores and watched all the incoming campers. The place is getting full. The Host said we had 17 new campers arrive today and by Friday we would be full.

Winter Excursion 9, Day 8

Before we left for this year's trip I put four new Goodyears on the Trailer. When I was sitting outside this morning I noticed one of the tires looked low. I moved the e-bike away from it and it was low, VERY LOW! Like 0 PSI! I had visions of having to remove the tire and get it fixed, but when I started to remove the TMPS, so I could air up the tire, it was very loose and the air had leaked out of that tire over night. I aired it up and reinstalled the TPMS and it held all day. We dodged a bullet on that one!

Took a bike ride this morning and found out that this lake took a hit during the hurricane this year. They have been removing debris from the lake for weeks. At one point it was totally covered with junk, porches, gazebos, boats, etc. I rode to the end of the park and the Firemen were were burning propane from the tanks that were found floating in the lake. They had any size you could think of. They said they have burned off hundreds of these tanks in the past few weeks!

Cath made a nice cherry pie and we backed it in the Ninja Woodfire. It came out great!

By late this afternoon there were only 3 campers in the CG. Had one or two more arrive, but this place remains almost empty. The Host said it will be full for the weekend.

Winter Excursion 9, Day 7

We left Pine Grove Furnace, SP around 0830. It was a 300 mile drive on RT 81 to Claytor Lake SP, VA. RT 81 was in really good shape for the most part and traffic was light. We arrived at or new CG around 1430 and took our time setting up.

We will be here for four nights. There is only a half dozen other campers here. So far the weather is cooperating, but there is some rain in the forecast.

All is well in the Boss Camp.
  

Winter Excursion 9, Day 6

We left camp and drove back to Hanover to visit the Raymore & Flanigan furniture store. We will need new living room furniture when we get home so we thought we would do a little looking. We will continue to look during our travels on this trip.

Back at camp we started packing up as we are leaving here tomorrow.

Later in the afternoon we drove to our favorite grocery store (Sailor's) in Newville, PA. Stocked up on Pennsylvania stuff like pickled eggs, chip beef, and apple butter. After sailor's we gassed up the truck and hit the local KFC for a takeout dinner.

On the way back to camp we passed this lift factory. Here's a few pics from the truck.

We think they have plenty of inventory and this is only one side of the road the other side had almost as many!

Off to warmer weather and Claytor Lake SP, VA tomorrow.
 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 5

After breakfast we took the short drive to Caledonia State Park. It's between Chambersburg and Gettysburg just off of US RT 30. We had camped there years ago, but it has been renovated since. There are two CGs and one is already closed for the winter, but the other is open until December. We will be staying there in the future as the cell service is better and there are full hook up sites!

Back at camp the weather still remains great, sunny and cool. We had a late lunch of smoked cheese and smoked summer sausage. All the smoking was done on the new Ninja Woodfire

We played some cards in the afternoon. Had a nice dinner and then off to bed. With the time change everything is a little "off".
.

 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 4

We hung out at camp this morning for awhile. Cath got a nice long shower and I yakked with the Camp Host. There is a burn ban in effect, so there are no campfires. We were looking forward to an early evening fire as temps are in the 50s and forecast to go into the 30s tonight.

After lunch we headed to Shippensburg, PA and then to Hanover. We stopped at the Snyder's Pretzel Factory Store and loaded up!

We rode the backroads all afternoon and are enjoying fall all over again. Back home the leaves were gone, but here they are still on the trees.

Our friend Ron (from the FROG rally) stopped by and we spent a few hours catching up with him. He lives in the area and stops by our site every year.

Winter Excursion 9, Day 3

We left Greek Peak CG around 0930. It was a beautiful day for a drive, but it was a little windy. We stopped at Lenox (Bingham's Restaurant) for lunch. Then drove the rest of the way to Pine Grove Furnace CG. I think we've been here 10 times or more. Site #35 feels like home. We took our time setting up. The weather remains perfect.

It felt good to relax and have a few toddies before dinner. We used the new grill for the first time while camping. So far so good, we really enjoy it.

We will be here for four nights. We have very limited cell and internet service here, but late at night or early morning it's OK. 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 2

We both had a great night's sleep after the past few days getting the camper ready, closing up the house, and just plain making sure everything was ready for us to be gone for 10 months! We didn't get up till after 0800!

We spent the day checking out and exploring the area. The local cider joint was nice. It reminded us of Burrville Cider Mill back home. We picked up some cider and some cider donuts!

Picked up a few "damn forgot those items" at the local Wally World.

The highlight of the day was spending the afternoon with our camping friends, Chris & Jean. They have a beautiful house at a great location out in the country. Jean made us some Homemade Lasagna and it was excellent. We will definitely be staying in this area (campground) in the future on our way south for the winter.

Chris and I did a little "drone flying" and I'll post some pics from that this weekend.

The sunset last night was good. Here's a pic.

But the sunset tonight rivaled it. Here's a few more pics.

This one is my favorite!

Had to include this one too!

We will be leaving tomorrow morning for our next few days stop at Pine Grove Furnace one of our go to CGs.
 
 

Winter Excursion 9, Day 1

Well here we go again! This one will be a BIG one. 30 Oct 24 to 18 Aug 25! This trip will include Hosting in Georgia, a Family Reunion in Oregon, and a Cruise to Alaska! 

We left home this morning at 1100 after putting on the finishing touches to close up the house. We took the backroads as the trip today was only 125 miles. It is a beautiful day with temps in the low 70s. 

We stopped at a fairly new campground just outside of Cortland, NY. Greek Peaks is a great CG for an overnight or two. While we were here the place was empty, we were the only campers! Full hookups are nice, pedestals are modern, and cell service is good. We are very happy with this CG and will stay again while traveling south for the winter in the future. 

The camper did well today with it's new roof and new "shoes" (Goodyear Endurance Tires). All systems are "go" except the heater. We fired it up a few weeks ago and it won't even click! We will have it looked at while in the Charleston area as it is under the oven and a bear to get to. I'll let a Mobile Tech have fun with it!

Here's a few pics of the campground. All is well in the Boss Camp.

FROG Rally, Chenango Valley SP, NY Day 8

Our friends all left this morning. We are staying one more night.

After all the goodbyes were said Cath and I headed to the grocery to score a few more packs of scrapple. They have our favorite brand.

Back at camp we hung out and slowly started packing up. In the afternoon when it got hot we cleaned out two of our closets in the camper. After eight years we found things we had forgotten we even had. Things we have not been using found their way to the dumpster!

We had our last campfire and then gave the rest of the wood to a family just down from us.

It's been a fun week, but it's time to go home.

Next Blog Post will be 30 Oct 24.

  

FROG Rally, Chenango Valley SP, NY Day 7

After the Farewell Potluck Breakfast everyone pitched in to tear down the canopies and clean up site #114 where all the potlucks and events were held. We had it all finished by 1000 and the Rally Hosts departed for home. After that probably 70% of the FROGS departed. Our friends are staying until tomorrow and Cath and I will leave on Tuesday.

For the most part we hung out at camp and just relaxed. It's been a few to many late nights in a row. 

We did go out to any early dinner with our friends at "Fat Cowboy BBQ". A good time was had by all.

So here's today's camper story. After we had been here for three days the fresh water tank was empty! We do not have water hookups. I could not fathom that we had used that much water so quick but I just filled the tank again! Today, later in the morning Cath called me into the camper and said the toilet was totally full. I looked and sure enough the water was right up to the flush valve! After a little investigation I noticed the toilet continued to run after a flush. The pedal valve was not totally closing therefore filling the black tank (that's where all our fresh water had been going). I got the "blue tote" out and dumped the black tank. We will just turn off the on board water pump for the next few days when we are not using water. We actually dodged a bullet, the toilet could have overflowed all over the bathroom and camper.YUK!!

FROG Rally, Chenango Valley SP, NY Day 6

There was no potluck breakfast this morning. We had scapple and scrambled eggs at our campsite with our friends Chris & Jean and Bob & Marie. Cath and I had found some Rappa Scrapple at the local food store. We also got some extra to take home.

I went for a really nice e-bike ride with one of the other FROGS. We found a lot of biking trails that I did not know existed even after all the times we've been to this State Park.

There was another potluck for dinner and a campfire at our site after that.

We did a group picture this year. Here's the gang.

Most folks left the campfire around 2200, but a few stayed to yak some more. I finally crawled into bed around midnight. When we get home we will have to catch up on our sleep!

 

FROG Rally, Chenango Valley SP, NY Day 5

The day started with a pancake breakfast at the Rally Host's campsite. After that everyone was on their own to explore the park or Binghamton. 

We spent the day around camp doing a few chores and talking to the other FROGS.

Here's a pic of our site and the new mylar cover for our screen tent. It reflects the sun and keeps the tent about 10 degrees cooler. Our friend Jean (also a FROG) made it for us. She is quite the seamstress!

Dinner today was a potluck at the Rally site. I think we all had a taste of everything. Here's a few pics.

After the potluck everyone was introduced and had to relate a short story about a camping experience. Some of the stories were not so short! Then we had a raffle. Cath and I scored a nice FROG golf umbrella and a cute stuffed frog.

We got back to our site around dusk and sat by the campfire with Chris and Jean until about 2200. Then it was off to bed. It's been a busy, fun day! 

FROG Rally, Chenango Valley SP, NY Day 4

Today was the actual first day of the Rally. We all did registration, picked up our T-shirts, and got our raffle tickets. The Rally traditionally has a "Get Together, Meet N' Greet Campfire" on the first night. The folks that normally host it are not here this year. Ron (the organizer) asked this morning if Cath and I could host it. Of course we said "Yes"! Here's a few pics.

Before the Campfire Jean and Chris, Bob and Marie, and Cath and I had an early dinner at our favorite local brewery. The food was good and the beer was even better. They had a great Hefe Weizen!

We didn't get to bed until almost mid-night. I can't remember the last time I was that late to bed!

FROG Rally, Chenango Valley SP, NY Day 3

Well yesterday was not our last day of rain. We had a good gully washer in the morning, but the rest of the day was nice. In the evening it started again. The NOAA weather radio was blasting severe thunderstorm warnings and flash flooding. We picked up another 2 inches! The good news is that IS the last of the rain for the next 4 or 5 days. The weather for the Rally should be great!

We put up or new screen gazebo. It goes up in minutes. Our friends next door made us a mylar rain cover that also doubles as a sun deflector. It keeps the interior about 10 degrees cooler than outside.

We did a little camp maintenance and then spent the afternoon sitting around yakking and watching other campers arriving. We did have this little Japanese car ride through the campground. 

We had dinner with friends. They made a super good Fish Stew. Here's a pic of the crazies. Notice the wine glass...LOL

It was another fun day, but everyone is looking forward to some nice, un-humid weather.

  

FROG Rally, Chenango Valley SP, NY Day 2

It rained most of the night and into the morning. The park office rain gauge measured 2 inches! Our campsite was soaked this morning, but some sites turned into small ponds.

By mid-morning it had for the most part dried up, but the humidity stayed! I spent the morning getting everything set up. Here's our new campsite sign and the Frog we borrowed from camping host friends in Georgia.

We had FROG friends arrive on both sites that are next to us. One couple hosted in Georgia this past year at Santee SP. The other couple we met at our first Rally (3 years ago).  More friends arrived at other sites and we all spent the afternoon at our site catching up on news and telling lies!

We did run into town for a few things we forgot. On the way back into camp I noticed this fungus. The thing is a foot across!

Cath made Fried Rice and eggrolls for dinner and we cooked it on the flattop. Some of our friends stayed for dinner. After dinner Chris and I left for the fishing hole. Only one trout was caught, but Chris nailed a really nice bass.

Back at camp Cath and I put everything outside away as we have more rain forecast. This should be our last bout of rain for the trip. After tomorrow weather is forecasted to be nice for the rally and the weekend.

All is well in the Boss Camp.