Day 27, August 5, Tuesday, Shartlesville, PA (331 miles)

After 6 days in Massachusetts we departed for a travel day on our way to Harpers Ferry, WV.  We were on the Mass Pike, a toll road, the condition of which was awful.  After 50 miles of bouncing around on the sorry excuse for pavement our front sun shade came crashing down.  Fortunately it did not impair my view much since it was rolled all the way up.  We stopped at a “parking area” (not a “rest stop” since it had no facilities) to figure out a solution.  I left a voicemail and a text for my Tampa RV guy.  I called Tiffin Motorhome and waited on hold for awhile.  The issue was 3 wires connected to the shade which were holding up one end of the shade.  I suspected I had to cut the wires to remove the sun shade but I did not want to leave the privacy shade inoperable if the wires also worked the privacy shade.  The service tech at Tiffin had to put me on hold several times to get an answer about the wires but made a suggestion to zip tie the shade all the way up.  My Tampa RV guy also called and confirmed the zip tie solution and recommended not to cut the wires.  I carry zip ties and tied up the shade with Rosemary’s invaluable assistance.  This will make for an easier fix when we return home and avoid any electrical issues.  The delay was about an hour and we did not get to the campground until 7 pm.  We checked into Appalachian RV Resort (FHU)  in Shartlesville, PA. 

Day 28, August 6, Wednesday, Harpers Ferry, WV (142 miles)

We checked in to the Harpers Ferry / Civil War Battlefields KOA Holiday (FHU) about 1:00.  After lunch we, visited the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park which is right next door to our campground.  We parked at the Visitor Center and took the park bus to the lower town, Harpers Ferry.  Harpers Ferry consists of the historic buildings that are part of the National Park and adjacent other buildings that are private commercial and residential buildings.  The town is located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers and is a very pretty area.  We walked to the overlook of the rivers and crossed the bridge over the Potomac into Maryland.  The bridge happens to be part of the Appalachian Trail.  Walking back to West Virginia, we walked all around the entire town.  We stopped at many of the historic buildings and there was much history to read.  We saw the John Brown Fort which was reconstructed from the original as it was moved several times.  The park buildings close at 5 pm so we did not get to see it all but we will be here tomorrow as well. 

Day 29, August 7, Thursday, Harpers Ferry, WV 

This morning we did the Park’s self-guided battlefield driving tour.  We visited all 5 battlefields and read the plaques describing the history of the area.  The area was strategically valuable given the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers.  The area changed hands between the Union and the Confederacy numerous times.  In the afternoon we went back to the lower town and viewed the John Brown Museum.  The museum did a very detailed job of describing the life of John Brown, the town of Harpers Ferry which housed a Federal Armory and John Brown’s raid in October 1859.  The goal of the attack was to seize the armory to arm enslaved people and spark a rebellion to end slavery.  The attack failed and John Brown was hanged with several others who participated and survived the raid. In his time, John Brown was considered a hero by the  Abolitionists but a terrorist by those supporting slavery.  After the museum, we decided to take another walk to Maryland on the Appalachian Trail bridge across the Potomac.  After the park, we drove from West Virginia through Virginia and into Maryland and back into Virginia to access the Potoma wayside to see a waterfall.  It was not an impressive waterfall.

Day 30, August 8, Friday, Salem, VA (211 miles)

Late start to a travel day.  We arrived at Dixie Caverns just before 5 pm and checked into one of its rv sites (FHU).  Missed the last caverns tour but welcomed a little relaxation.

Day 31, August 9, Saturday, Hendersonville, NC (250 miles)

Departed Salem, VA, and arrived and parked at the house of my sister Staci and brother-in-law Jon about 3:30.  Dinner was chicken on the grill, salad and homemade cornbread.  My niece Avery joined us to dinner.  After dinner was a couple games of cribbage with Avery.

Day 32, August 10, Sunday, Hendersonville, NC 

Lunch at Umi, Japanese Fine Dining, was bento boxes.  The afternoon was spent at Burntshirt Winery.  We enjoyed the beautiful weather on the outdoor covered patio while we sipped on some wine.  I had the Cabernet Sauvignon which was very good.  On the way back home we stopped at El Rio, an ice cream shop where I picked up some mamey pops (my favorite) to take back to Tampa.  Light dinner with cold cuts and bagels.  After dinner was a game of cribbage with Avery.

Day 33, August 11, Monday, Hendersonville, NC 

After lunch, Jon and I went to the Appalachian Pinball Museum on Main Street in downtown Hendersonville while the girls went shopping.  For a flat fee of $13, one can play pinball all day long.  The museum has both contemporary and vintage pinball machines, some dating back to the 1960's.  I lost track of the amount of time we spent there but after we left I did notice my hands hurt from all the flipper pressing.  Back at the house we walked to and along the Ecusta Trail.  We visited the Ecusta Market & Café where I purchased some local chow chow, bread and butter pickles and salsa.  Next stop along the trail was the Trailside Brewing Company.  Jon and I enjoyed the beers (I had the Red Sunset, an amber ale, while Jon had the Nitro Stout) while the 4 of us sat and relaxed the afternoon away.  Dinner at home was BBQ ribs from Hubba Hubba Smokehouse which we picked up the day before.  We bought 3 racks but I got rationed since Jon did not reheat all 3 racks.  I had to settle for 7 ribs but they were so good that no sauce was needed.  My rating is a 9 out of 10.  And best of all, I got another dinner worth of ribs to take with us. 

Day 34, August 12, Tuesday, Brunswick, GA (358 miles)

Travel day.  We said our goodbyes after a great visit with family and checked into Coastal RV Resort (FHU) about 5:30. An after dinner walk around the campground as I got reacquainted with real southeastern humidity.  And I thought Montreal was hot!

Day 35, August 13, Wednesday, Tampa, FL (246 miles)

Travel day to home.

 Day 22, July 31, Thursday, Bellingham, MA 

We drove to our nephew Jamie’s new house about 20 minutes away and met with Kathy and Bob, Rosemary’s sister and our brother-in-law.  We had lunch at the Medway Café were we also met with our sister-in-law, Amy.  Amy recently lost her husband Johnny, Rosemary’s brother.  After lunch, we all visited Johnny’s grave site at Lake Grove Cemetery.  The three girls spent hours talking at the cemetery with a light rain and a cool temperature.  We said our goodbyes to Amy and it was time for dinner.  We had Jamie join us at the Lilac House Chinese Restaurant.  After dinner we returned to Jamie’s house and met Jamie’s fiancée Amy (not our sister-in-law also named Amy).  The engagement began just this past Saturday when Jamie popped the question.  

Day 23, August 1, Friday, Bellingham, MA 

We spent the morning with Kathy and Bob at Jamie’s house.  Jamie joined us in the afternoon and we drove to Mashpee on Cape Cod to visit our nephew Brian, his wife Christy and their two kids, Kaiden and Lana, ages 3 and 1.  Christy cooked a good spaghetti and meatball dinner.  A lot of catching up since we had not seen Brian and Christy since their wedding in 2019.  Also a lot of playing with the kids.  A wonderful day with family.

Day 24, August 2, Saturday, Bellingham, MA 

Rosemary and I drove to Boston today about 47 miles from our campsite.  We parked at a parking garage near Faneuil Hall and Quincy Marketplace and arrived about noon.  The Marketplace was jam packed with people and we quickly decided to move on.  We walked to the North End which includes Little Italy.  Our first stop was to famous Mike’s Pastry.  We tried on a prior visit to Boston to go there but the crowd and line was way too long.  Today the line was only about a dozen people outside the door so we waited.  However, once inside the place was packed but we waited it out and bought a chocolate chip cannoli, an almond croissant, a rainbow cookie and an almond biscotti.  We then walked to Villa Francesca for lunch.  We had eaten there before and had a good experience.  Rosemary and I shared a salad and the chicken parmagiana.  The portions were huge and delicious.  We ate it all and both of us were stuffed.  We continued walking around and found a nice shady bench to eat our cannoli.  The cannoli was very big and I would rank it as the best one I have ever had.  We spent the afternoon walking around Boston including the Boston Commons and Public Gardens.  The weather was great with a high of 72 and we had a very pleasant day.  The only downside was several traffic slowdowns both coming and going.  Dinner in the coach followed by the almond croissant which disappointingly had an apple filling not almond paste.  

Day 25, August 3, Sunday, Bellingham, MA 

We spent today in Rockport, MA, with Kathy, Bob, Jamie and Amy.  Beautiful weather for our walking around the town.  Lunch at The Fish Shack where Rosemary and I had lobster rolls (no mayo but melted butter on the side) which were piled high and delicious.  The lobster rolls looked so good we dug right in and forgot to take a photo which has happened at quite a few meals on this trip.

Day 26, August 4, Monday, Bellingham, MA 

A relaxing day with Kathy and Bob.  The afternoon was spent at the Wrentham Village Premium Outlet Mall.  Jamie and Amy joined us for dinner at 110 Grill.  Alas, after dinner we said our good byes.  We our hopeful that we will see Jamie and Amy soon at their wedding.  The time spent with our family was very precious.

 Day 18, July 27, Sunday, Montreal, Quebec Canada

We decided to not take the car into Montreal and bought a three day pass for the Metro (subway).  To catch the Metro, we drove about 20 minutes to the Longueuil station.  The station brought back memories as we have been there before.  Unlike NY, the Metro is not air conditioned.  Our first stop was the Jean Talon Market, a  huge marketplace with lots of goodies to buy.  However, without our car nearby, we did not buy anything since I did not want to carry it around all day.  We took the Metro to Schwartz’s Deli for smoked meat and then after about a 20 minute walk, we arrived to find a line out the door and around the block.   We changed plans and headed to La Banquise for poutine.  After another long walk, we found another long line.  We changed plans again for Ma Poule Mouillee.  We had been there before (in 2018 ) and had a great meal of poutine.  Their line was shorter and so we decided to wait.  A hot hour later, we finally got inside where we found it hotter than outside.  We ordered the chicken and chorizo poutine in grande size as Rosemary said we will share.  Well, even with the two of us we could not finish it all.  Aaron and I had this dish in 2018 and it was great.  This time, not so much.  Next we walked to Cha Do Raku, a tea shop where Rosemary bought some tea to take home.  Next we wanted to go to Fous Desserts but the web said it was closed so we walked to another patisserie, Hof Kelsten, which the web said was open.  We began a long walk along the pedestrian Rue Mont Royal and happened to find  Gong Cha so we stopped in for boba teas and air conditioning. We then continued on and found the web was wrong and Hof Kelsten was closed.  We turned around and walked back the entire Rue Mont Royal to another patisserie, O Petit Paris.  Success, it was open!  Rats, no more almond croissants.  We had to settle for a chocolate croissant and a kouign aman.  On the way to the Metro, we stopped at St. Viateur Bagel and bought a half dozen sesame bagels.  A light dinner back in the coach was a salad and sesame bagel and a kouign aman for dessert.  An exhausting day!  I don’t remember being this tired when we were here in 2018 or it being this hot.  I blame global warming, not old age!

Day 19, July 28, Monday, Montreal, Quebec Canada

Today we began with a visit to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts via the Metro.  This was Rosemary’s desire to attend an indoor activity to avoid the outdoor heat.  I did not disagree.  Although we were here in 2016, I do not remember the museum being spread out over three buildings, one of which appears very modern.  We could not make heads or tails of the museum map even the English version, so we think we covered it all but who knows. Lots of interesting art and also lots not so interesting.  We departed and took the Metro and a 22 minute walk to Lester’s Deli.  We shared the Smoked Meat Special which was a big sandwich with fries, coleslaw and pickles.  Rosemary had a little meat, a little fries and a little coleslaw.  The rest was mine and it was delicious and plenty filling.  Worth the trip and I am no longer missing Schwartz’s!  Next we walked to Fairmont Bagels where we got a baker’s dozen of 11 sesame and 2 pumpernickel.  Just about right around the corner was Boulangerie Guillaume.  Again no almond croissants so we had to settle for a chocolate croissant again.  Again, a light dinner in the coach of eggs and bagels followed by our pastries.  Tired again but well fed.

Day 20, July 29, Tuesday, Montreal, Quebec Canada

Today we decided to take the car into Montreal.  The Metro seems to have too few lines which makes for more walking in the heat.  We visited the Biodome which is like an indoor zoo but with 5 different ecosystems.  The first zone was the Tropical Rainforest which felt like Florida - so maybe Montreal does not quite have our hometown humidity.  The last zone we visited was the Subpolar Region the entry of which was an ice cave.  We enjoyed the puffins and penguins and stayed awhile to enjoy the cool temperature.  We ate our packed lunch in the car with the a/c running which kept us nice and cool - an advantage with our new tow car (a PHEV).  For those who don’t know yet, in February my old tow car was t-boned and totaled - but I survived with no major injury.  Next we drove to Mont Royal to get a view of the city.  Apparently we ended up on the side away from downtown and did not get to see the downtown.  Next we drove to the Atwater Market.  Much smaller than Jean Talon but has everything you could want.  We bought some lettuce and pasta for dinner and a chocolatine aux amandes (chocolate croissant with almonds) for dessert.  Since Rosemary desired to have eggs again for dinner, the pasta was something just for me - gorgonzola and walnut ravioli - as Rosemary won’t eat gorgonzola.  It was so good it did not need any sauce.  Not too tired today - the car made the difference.

Day 21, July 30, Wednesday, Bellingham, MA (340 miles)

We departed Montreal and this time crossed the border on Highway 225 instead of an Interstate.  A very rural spot and we had no wait for the border guard to greet us.  We provided our passports and both vehicle registrations answered a few simple questions and we were let in.  This is the first time coming back into the US where they did not enter the coach to look for tomatoes and stowaways.  Trump would not be happy that he could not eat our tomatoes - if we only had any!  At lunchtime we were near Montpelier, VT, so we decided to stop at Bragg Sugar Farm about 9 miles outside of the town.  We had stayed there overnight in 2014 and it is the best maple syrup we have found.  We have ordered syrup from them ever since.  After sampling the 4 varieties, today we bought another gallon (very dark robust taste) and saved the shipping cost.  As a courtesy, Bragg gave us a free maple ice cream  which we enjoyed after lunch.  A bit of a long travel day as we checked in to Circle CG Farm Campground (FHU) about 6:30.  Dinner was thanks to Aaron who made our dal and baked our brownies.

 Day 13, July 22, Tuesday, Copake, NY (42 miles)

After needing our a/c since we started the trip, we woke up to a temperature of 63 degrees in the coach.  We departed our campground and stopped for some groceries at Tops Marketplace in Rhinebeck.  Easy drive along 2 lane hilly roads to Waubeeka Family Campground (FHU but wifi is terrible).  We drove the car into Great Barrington, MA, to meet Beth and Joachim for dinner at Xicoh Ten Catl, authentic Mexican cuisine.  I had the Especial Mole Poblano (chicken in mole) which was good.  (However, our son Aaron makes a better mole sauce).  Rosemary had the Molcajete - chicken frajitas, rice, beans, mixed greens, guacamole and crema frecsa.  Unfortunately for Rosemary, the mixed greens turned out to be green peppers and lots of them.  After dinner we went to Soco Creamery where we had goat cheese ice cream with pistachios, cherries and chocolate which was quite good.  After much conversation, we were asked to leave as it was 10:00 closing time.  We said goodbye until tomorrow and took a 25 minute drive back to the coach.

Day 14, July 23, Wednesday, Copake, NY 

We met Rosemary’s sister, Beth, in Great Barrington and ate lunch at GB Eats.  Then we all went back to the coach for the afternoon. After lots more chatting, we returned to Great Barrington for dinner at the Barrington Brewery and Restaurant. I had a Turkey Reuben accompanied by a Barrington Brown Ale.  Good sandwich and good beer.  We said our goodbyes to Beth and returned to the coach.

Day 15, July 24, Thursday, Ticonderoga, NY (143 miles)

We slept late and just made our 11:00 check out from the campground.  Today’s drive was over many hills and winding roads which made for slow going.  We checked into the Brookwood RV Resort (FHU) about 3:30.  After hooking up, we drove the car to Fort Ticonderoga and arrived there at 4:15.  The Fort closes at 5:00 but the tickets are good for 2 days.  We walked around the Fort and visited the Fort Museum.  I am looking forward to our full day at the Fort tomorrow. 

Day 16, July 25, Friday, Ticonderoga, NY 

We arrived at Fort Ticonderoga in the morning and began with the Continent Guided Tour which explained the history of the Fort and its strategic location on Lake Champlain.  The lake connects via water to Canada to the north and New York City to the south.  The Fort changed hands numerous times between the French, the British and the Americans.  And in 1775, it became the first American victory in the Revolutionary War.  Among the tours were the musket firing demonstration, the King’s Gardens and the cannon firing demonstration.  Lunch at the café was good.  Next we drove to Mount Defiance.  At an elevation of 840 feet, it towers over Lake Champlain and the Fort.  Indeed the British used it to haul up cannons to attack the Fort but the Americans fled and survived to join the fight and win at Saratoga.