May 19, 2013 - A Piece of the Delaware Water Gap

On this drizzly day, I decided to find the WalMart in Matamoras and then do some exploring if possible. While it is tricky to get from Port Jervis to Matamoras, it takes only one-half hour to get to WalMart, so that’s not bad. I bought supplies and am ready for company to come and eat! At the northeastern edge of the park is a house that used to be owned and lived in by Charles S. Peirce (yep, I spelled that right). He was a famous philosopher, physicist, and mathmetician at the turn of the 19th to 20th century. His wife took a simple farm...

May 17, 2013 - New Stanton PA

Today started pretty early as we had a 10:00 tour about 40 minutes from the campground at Falling Water. We left here at about 10 minutes till 9:00 just to allow plenty of time. It worked out pretty well because we got to Falling Water at 9:30 which gave us enough time to park, check in and wander through the gift shop. Falling Water was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Kaufman family. The Kaufman’s were a rich Pittsburgh family that hired FLW to design their summer home near Mill Run PA in 1935. The construction took about 3 years...

May 16, 2013 - Day 4 class in the AM, hike in the PM

After all that Zane Grey information, Law Enforcement came by and gave us driver training for government vehicles. The big thing about that was what to do if we get into any kind of accident with the vehicle. We didn't have to drive the car around and prove we could drive! After lunch, the four of us (John, Emily, Brittany, and me) went on a hike up the Tusten Mountain. It is a loop trail and climbs, although not as bad as Jensen's Ledges. We also cheated by driving right to the sign-in register, thereby saving us a long walk from Ten Mile...

May 16, 2013 - New Stanton PA

Greetings from New Stanton PA, about 40 miles SE of Pittsburgh. While I didn’t envision us being here at this point in the trip, there is a method to our madness; and madness it just might be. We have decided to head toward Holland MI to…drum roll please…look at a potential new-to-us motorhome. A new house on wheels was not on our list of things to do, but I stumbled onto this one online and it has some features and floor space that we have talked about so we – after a lot of back and forth, hemming and hawing, flipping and flopping and...

May 16, 2013 - New Stanton, Day 2

We ran our errands today, although they cost more than we thought they would. We are smack in between several toll roads. All of the stores we needed were 5 miles up on one of them. It cost us $1.80 each way just to get to the stores. GEEZ, LOUISE! We also got a brief nap in, which was very nice. When we walk the dogs along the creek, we can see all the frogs jumping into the water. They must spend their days sunning on the banks of it. They drive the dogs nuts when they jump. We don't dare let the dogs in the water, because we don't know...

May 15, 2013 - New Stanton, PA

We monitored the weather as we drove into PA today. There is a 50% chance of storms tonight, possibly severe, and another chance tomorrow. The MD area may also be getting severe weather, so we decided to hunker down here for two nights, and drive to our Maryland destination on Friday. Yes, I love storms, but not at night when I can't see what's going on. Hey Santa, I'd like a mobile Doppler for Christmas! As soon as we crossed the state line into PA, we found that all the drivers behave the same way: They come to a full stop on the entrance...

May 15, 2013 - Preparations for departure

We have finished loading up and hooking up the tow car and will be heading out in the morning to Fredericton, NB. Everyone has been chomping at the bit. It is late at night, and I should be turning in soon but it is hard. Vicky has had about 4-5 cups of tea since supper as her way of calming her nerves. Vicky and I have this last minute feeling of anxiety as we move into something totally outside of our comfort zone. But our thrill of getting started over compensates. She has taken up Knitting.. I am trying to determine what my emotional...

May 13, 2013 - Day 1 on the job

This morning I drove about 16 miles up 97 and through Narrowsburg to Beach Lake, PA and the headquarters for the Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River. A couple of interns and I met with the Superintendent and Chief Rangers in the park to learn of its history, mission, and methods of operation. It was a very good way to meet supervisors in the park and have them meet us. After classes were done for the day, I took pictures and stopped at a few choice spots on the way back home. I found the library in Narrowsburg and a small grocery...

May 6, 2013 - March weather - Boris stands ready

We have been eagerly waiting for the weather to break and get out of the house. We have been planning our Loop around the United States for several months now and as it approaches, we are getting very excited.

Apr 29, 2013 - Gettysburg, PA

Raining today...sprinkled all day off and on! Ugh. I made us a big breakfast and did three loads of laundry (all of it). We finally decided to go out and about this afternoon. We went in and out of a lot of shops and bought a few things in the Herb Peddler, and some cigars at the smoke shop. We went to dinner at the Dobbin House Tavern, an authentic , colonial tavern in the oldest building in Gettysburg built in 1776. The house also played a part in the underground railroad, hiding runaway slaves. Candlelit elegance, delicious food, and...

Apr 28, 2013 - Gettysburg, PA

We went to 8:00 am Mass at the Historical Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church. The first church was built in 1831, and the church as we see it today, was dedicated by St. John Neumann, July 1853. It served as a field hospital during the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863. The Sisters of Charity cared for the wounded and dying soldiers of both armies, it is said that all the pews, aisles and sanctuary were filled with the wounded. After mass we went to breakfast at Cafe' Saint-Amand; Rick had the Deufs Florentine-poached eggs laid atop...

Apr 27, 2013 - Gettysburg, PA

This morning we got on the road about 9:00. I will give you the story of our toll roads first! When we got through Ohio, we owed $39.00! Then when we got into PA, we payed $15.00 for the first three exits...then we get another ticket and we will have to pay when we decide to get off...decisions...decisions. Now we are going through some mountains, Allegheny and the Appalachians, so deciding to stay on the turnpike was avoiding going over the peaks and instead going tunnels, very nice roads, and not that much traffic. So we stayed on until...