Oct 8, 2018 - Travel to Oneonta, New York

Our departure was delayed as we had to have a tire checked. When Roland was checking air pressure last night, he realized a truck tire was unusually low. Although it held air overnight, we decided to err on the side of caution. He found a tire center nearby. Sure enough, it had a small screw in it. It was 11 before we left the campground. Well...our journey is coming to a close. We only have travel days ahead of us. Traveling south from Colchester, VT (north of Burlington) to NY is not on interstate after the first hour. We chose to travel...

Oct 7, 2018 - Jury Duty, New York Promotions, Class Reunion, Custody Hearing (Disco Balls), Winter Work in the Keys is Possible

In my haste to get caught up on our travels with the last travel blog I forgot to consult a note on my phone and several other memory tools I use to help me remember things that happened during our travels. So, here are some things I may have forgotten to mention. At the first restaurant we ate at in Galveston (which I included the newspaper article about), Margie asked for some Bar-B-Que sauce and was told it would cost $1.59. A dollar and fifty nine cents just for BBQ sauce to put on her food. She decided it wasn’t worth it. The car we...

Oct 7, 2018 - Newark, NY for the summer

We arrived at our New York home base, which is at our son, Ralph and daughter-in-law, Becky’s home in Newark, NY, ready to settle down for the summer months on our personal site on their property. We’ve been RVing for forty years and the days of moving every two to three weeks are getting to be too much for these old bones. In our senior years we have essentially shifted from the exploring style of travel to the more common “Snow Bird” style; a few months in New York in the summer months and a few months in the southern warm climate. This...

Oct 1, 2018 - New York

Josh, Melissa and Kathy met us for our 4-hour NYC tour provided by Tour by Locals. Our driver, Raul, picked us up on time but said our guide went to the same address in Brooklyn! The two had worked together for years so Raul entertained/informed us in general for about an hour until we picked up Ibraham, a Muslim from Senegal. Ibraham was a character from the moment we met him. He joked with Raul and had clever insights into each of us very quickly. Has been in the US for 17 years, a tour guide for 8 and speaks 5 languages. We have had...

Sep 30, 2018 - Newburgh to Manhattan, NY

I woke up to shower at 6:00 am to find no water in the entire camp! We were on the road by 9:30 and at our parking garage at 127 Perry (near 11th Avenue) by 12:30. Great garage in a residential area on the lower westside. Tried Uber but ultimately a taxi to our Airnbn at 763 2nd Avenue (between 40th and 41st). Ok, private, clean bath but grungy around walls etc. The other Kwellers were coming from Queens, needed to settle into their Spring Hills Suites Hotel and had work to do. Bob and I tried to get tickets for Come From Away but no go....

Sep 29, 2018 - Newburgh, NY

Nice morning! Lots of kids in camp but we are able to take advantage of most of the amenities which are quite good. We drove to downtown Newburgh which is very blighted but is the home to the Washington Headquarters for more than a year (4/1782-8/1783) during the Revolutionary War. Until I read a book about Washington, I had not realized that albeit the Revolutionary War was over 7 years long, they took off for the winter and the officers were joined by their families! By this time the colonies had taken the British in Yorktown and were...

Sep 28, 2018 - Rhinebeck to Newburgh, NY

Rained all night and until 9:00 when I got Bob up! We drove down the Taconic Parkway to Hwy 84 and 9W south to West Point. As mentioned before (!), the last time we were here there was a government shut down and all we could visit was the museum. 5 years later they have a fabulous Frederick Malek Center with many exhibits on the lives the cadets, Line of Grey honors, war history etc. We took a 1 ¼ hour bus/walking tour with an excellent guide. He provided so much information of which we were not aware that I hope I can remember 10%! Thomas...

Sep 27, 2018 - Rhinebeck, NY

Sunshine this morning and temps in the 60’s. A nice fall day. Today we are going to the FDR Home and Presidential Library and the Vanderbilt Mansion which were closed due to government shutdown in 2013 when we were last in Hyde Park. We had an 11:00 hour tour with a Ranger who was a real hoot! Franklin’s father, James, bought the 110-acre property in 1867 for $40,000. It included a house and working farm overlooking the Hudson River. Franklin ultimately expanded the holdings to nearly 1,500 acres and planted over 500,000 trees now run by...

Sep 26, 2018 - Lenox, MA to Rhinebeck, NY

We had dinner at the Sloane Tavern, Cranwell Spa and Golf Resort. The dinner was not very special (Bob had a hot dog and I had a vegetable fritto misto) but the place was very interesting. In the early 1900’s Lenox became known as the “Inland Newport” where millionaires spent summers including John Sloane of W & J Sloane (relative of the Vanderbilts) . In 1893 he bought the Tudor-style cottage (cottage defined as a secondary residence with a minimum of 30 rooms and 20 acres) for $50,000. Frederick Olmstead (landscape architect of Central...

Sep 25, 2018 - Accurate forecast of heavy rain

As predicted, we got up to heavy rain, so another relaxing morning. We went to our Peekskill coffee shop for crepes and coffee and back home to dry out. I'm sure nobody needs to see photos of rain, so my last two are of Adriana's basement full of jewels. They are all for sale so if you see a piece you fancy, let me know. Collecting is Adriana's passion and many a Sunday she spends at flea markets so, besides the jewellery, which she also fixes if stones and the like are missing, she also likes to buy furniture, paintings, ornaments...

Sep 24, 2018 - Southwick Beach

We got up early on Monday and heeded west from Amherst to the eastern shore of Lake Ontario. Our favorite campsite at Southwick Beach State Park is along the dunes and we have great view of the lake. It was calm when we arrived and the weather was warm (70 F). Rain and thunder was forecast for the next days, so we walked down the beach to a trail we have often taken. However the bridge to this trail was shattered and we could not go very far. Dinner was the traditional Hegedorn's Porterhouse steak, with a baked potato and Herman's...

Sep 24, 2018 - Whitney gallery of American art and Grand Central Station

In rather autumnal weather I went to the Whitney gallery of American art which is right next door to the end of the Highline on 14th. It's a modern building with two terraces on different floors from where you can get views towards the Hudson and the opposite bank, Manhattan skyscrapers and people on the Highline. I was mainly interested in their permanent exhibition which holds well-known artists like Edward Hopper and Charles Demuth and spent most of my time there. I had considered going back to the Met to see the drawings of Delacroix...