Home Sweet Home

(Lynda) After almost four weeks and almost 2000 miles we finally arrived home.  As usual we were a little nervous about looking inside the house as in the past we have been invaded by mice, chipmunks and squirrels in our absence.  This time everything looked as though we'd just been away for a couple of days.  I had left everything clean and tidy so there wasn't even any dust anywhere. It looked great and we felt good to be back, although David is already planning the next trip!

(David)  Coming home was a mixed bag for me until we got there.  Lynda backed me into the campers parking spot next to the garage with experienced signals from so many past such movements.  We had become a "Traveling Team" and could effortlessly set up our rolling home in a heartbeat.  She even took driving lessons on this trip in Florida and will practice more in the future.  Our new coach that we researched and had built to our specs was a success.  We both had some anxious thoughts about coming back to a house that was empty through a snowy New Hampshire winter.  One that had the heat shut off and was closed up tight since November.  To our great satisfaction, on this sunny warm day, our 200 year old New England farm house was just as we left it and we both felt so glad to be in it again.  By the end of the day we had the water on, unloaded food and other needs and were sitting back watching TV.  It had been a wonderful trip and we are now tossing around future travel this summer with happy expectations.  Life is Good!

Running Bear Campground, Ascutney, Vermont

(Lynda) Our journey was coming to an end - final port of call was close to David and Melony's place in Claremont, New Hampshire.  As luck would have it we arrived on a Saturday, so that they we able to come and visit us along with the two grandchildren, little Davey and six month old Delilah.  It was a lovely sunny day and they all looked well.  Delilah had changed the most as she was a new born baby when we last saw her.  Little Davey is a a guitar fanatic just like his Daddy and Grandpa.  Wherever he goes a guitar goes along too! It was so cute seeing him playing with the two older Davids. He has all the moves and shows great promise!  We enjoyed Chinese food together and it was a great visit.

(David)  Yes it was great to see my Son and my grandchildren.  The hard part with taking off for the winter is leaving them.  But Little Davey took to me right away and it was great.  The campground is only 10 mins from their home so it worked out really nice.  We left early the next morning and only had 90 miles to get to our house.  Not a heck of a lot considering the miles we put on so far.  I'm kind of glad to get home for a bit, but would like to take off soon.

Brookside Campground, Catskill, NY

We arrived at the campground in pouring rain and our whole drive had been that way. We were so happy to be able to set up easily in our motor home, so much better than the fifth wheel, and so fast.  With a flick of a couple of switches, plug in electric, connect to the water and we were ready.  Home is always the same place, just the back yard changes!  Sometimes we wake up in the morning and look out the window wondering, "Where are we now?" The campground itself was a bit run-down and untidy and we thought to ourselves how nice it would be if we could own it!  There was a view of one of the Catskill Mountains and it really had great potential. 

Dennis and Martha's home in South Amboy NJ

(David)  We traveled from my niece Jill and Sister Jackie's homes to a dear friend of mine who I worked with at The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.  Dennis and I have know each other for many years and it's always great to get together.  He and his wife Martha welcomed us to their home, although we ended up greeting them with a bottle of wine in the Magic Bus parked in front of their house. We chatted for several hours catching up on things that happened to us in the gap between the last visit.  We later went out for an enjoyable dinner at a Japanese steak house rounding off a pleasant stay.  Too bad we had little time as both of them had to work the next day and we left early.  They promised to come up and visit us this summer and we will look forward to that.

South New Jersey

(Lynda) It was great seeing family again.  David's sister, Jackie, lives here and also his nieces, Jill and Jackie. It was a special treat seeing Dodi, who lives in DC and who we hadn't seen for several years.  She was with daughter Tiffany, and fiance, Larry.  They're getting married in the Fall and we wish them every happiness.  We spent four days here with lots of good food, drink and hospitality as well as much reminiscing.  Michael took us to the Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, just a few miles from their house.  It was a treat seeing all the different birds in such a pristine setting.   In the distance we could see the high rise buildings and casinos as well as the wind turbines of Atlantic City.  Jill and Michael, whose driveway we take over, are the best hosts!

(David) My Sister Jackie lives in a town called Port Republic.  It is a small historic comunity that is just lovely.  She has restored a 200 year old house and made it into a beautiful home surrounded by a wonderful garden.  Behind her house she has many bird feeders and gets a multitude of different birds including wild turkeys.  Much credit must be given her for doing all this almost single handed.

Cape Henlopen, Delaware

After leaving Onancock we headed north towards Lewes, where we were to take a ferry across to Cape May, New Jersey the following day.  We had decided to stay a night in a campground so that we could dump our waste tanks.  We stayed at a state Campground at Cape Henlopen, which turned out to be another natural area preserved for the common people.  It was in a large state park with miles of shoreline, all undeveloped apart from an old fort which had been built during World War II.  Barracks and guns and also observation towers still remained and are in the process of being restored.  At the end of the war the land was given to the state.  We enjoyed walking the trails, but were not that impressed with the campground which cost $32 per night with only water and little privacy plus a dog barking half the night!  We also discovered the historical area of Lewes which was delightful with beautiful houses, some large, and some that almost looked like dolls' houses.  The weather had become decidedly cooler here and we wore long trousers for the first time in months.

May 11th

We took the ferry across to Cape May.  What a difference to the first ferry crossing in North Carolina.  We did not take out our chairs to sit on the deck, but at least the sea was calm and in 1 1/4 hours we were in New Jersey.  An hour later we arrived at David's niece's house.  We have stayed at Jill and Michael's house at least once a year for the last eight years and were always made very welcome.  

Onancock, Virginia

(Lynda) We arrived at Bill & Mary's house to a scurry of activity.  Sarah, Mary's niece, who lives with them when she isn't at college, was preparing a big feast, along with Mary, for her Grandpa's birthday.  We had no idea so felt a bit embarrassed arriving in the middle of a family event.  As usual this thought was dismissed by them, and we were welcomed as family members and later had a wonderful birthday dinner together.  We were very impressed by Sarah's culinary talents.  Our evening ended with a chat around the fire circle in the back yard, the first of the year for Bill and Mary.

During the night the skies opened and there was thunder, lightening, and lots of rain for most of the night.  Mary and I had been invited the next day by her mother, Fran, to a tea party held by the woman's club to benefit the local library.  Talk about genteel!  There wasn't a tea-bag in sight and an assortment of delicacies, including a cream tea, served on pretty plates and china cups. Most of the ladies were dressed in their Sunday best and smart hats, whereas I turned up looking like a Key flea (No-name pub shirt and shabby sandals).  In spite of this I was made very welcome and really enjoyed the experience.  Oh, I mustn't forget the gorgeous floral arrangements in the church.

While we were tea-partying, the boys had gone kayaking. I had noticed the sky getting darker and darker so called David who assured me that all was wonderful....

(David)  Well at the moment I was on the cell to Lynda it was wonderful, BUT, we paddled on and started hitting an extreme wind.  The water was turning into a washing machine.  What we had were opposing forces with a strong wind hitting the tide.  Bill and I paddled hard to get across one area and got a good work out.  The area is just beautiful though.  The town, the water, everything.  Aside from the rain we enjoyed the visit and are on our way to a state park near the Cape May NJ ferry from here.