09/07 - 09/14 CPP Hudson Islanders

 

A perfect week on tap for the Hudson Islanders

Thanks to John Cheris, we've captured the excitement of Hudson Islanders rushing to get to their next rally.  

Those that made it were assigned their sites:

Our visit and second rally at CPP proved to be another success. The week prior to the rally, the threat of Henri by-passed me. This time Ida threatened but became a heavy rain storm that by-passed as well. The turn out was terrific as shown by the occupied sites shown above. It was good to see folks that did not make any of our previous get-togethers.

An ample supply

Because I spent all of my time at our gathering place (Tony/Doreen's site 38), all memories become a blur of relaxation nicely coated with a tinge of enjoyment just by having the camaraderie of other people in weather that was almost perfect. Be it for meals at the Meet & Greet, the Pot Luck Supper, evening campfires, afternoon G&T toasts or morning coffee with the very few who did not cringe at the 7:30 or 8:00 am meeting time, I didn't bother to remember it all.  It was a very nice "go with the flow, come what may" week. I decided to simply collect my photos for the remembrances in the years to come. Each will trigger the moment for me. It was more fun yakking and solving the problems of the world and not taking notes then rushing back to transcribe events later in the evening. I usually returned to my RV after 11:00 pm to turn on my laptop for what I usually do. After that, eyes permitting, I read till around 1:30-2:00 am. With that in mind, the "events" that stick out became categories. Thursday was Pizza Night. Five pizzas from the Paradise Restaurant enjoyed.

Meet & Greet - Friday 

Pot Luck - Saturday 

Limoncello Larry

Paladin tending the fire

Larry's Italian heritage and talent for home-made goodies such as capicola, wine, grappa (or as some describe it, "jet fuel") and limoncello has given members much to enjoy. This year, he added home made orangelo to the list. As a casual observer, I discovered a little known and undocumented characteristic of limoncello. It instills in those who enjoyed the drink (and who will remain nameless), with thinking they have the ability to sing. Yes, it gives them the ability to sing...loud and clear. Add a campfire, Tony's Bluetooth speaker, his collection of unending saved music of every genre know to man including favorites such as the themes from "Have Gun Will Travel" and "Rawhide" (which some of us have heard ad nauseum) and you have entertainment that will easily push root canal up to the top of your "to do" list. 

Visitors Amy and Evan

Visitors Pat and James

(Spoiler alert)
That's Jack hiding behind the cord

Martine and Dr. Sam

The 3 Merzkateers
Walter, Fred and Ray

Ray's pulled pork for the pot luck dinner

Another campfire taste treat that everyone on the planet has probably enjoyed at some time in their lives is placing a foil wrapped, butter wiped potato into the bed of glowing red coals of a campfire. The image I'm sure conjures wonderful memories. Well, another nameless person tried it, poked it enough with a knife to determine it was not yet done. This time after 1½ hours the result was a charcoal briquette that yielded two forkfuls of delicious potato. 

Beatrice and Bob's Carli.
A beautiful but very shy Shiba inu mix

From John/Martine's garden

Remember the taste difference of
a tomato from the garden vs. from
the super market?

One of the many wonderful aspects of camping with others is the knowledge, experience, talent and generosity of those with whom you associate. I had noticed one of my rear tires looked a little low. I casually mentioned this about wine o'clock one day sitting around chatting and said I had to put the gauge to it and add air from the compressor I had in my Caddy. Sunday I ran up to Fishkill to visit my mother for the afternoon. Without my knowledge or asking, the tire elf descended on my Winnie and found all tires were at 41 lbs of pressure when they should have been 61 lbs; a possible dangerous driving situation if gone unchecked. Jack and Ray even hopped into their car and drove around on a Sunday looking for an automotive parts dealer that had valve extenders that I should add to my rear duallies. They'll enable me to add air to the inner tire as well without having to take the rim and hub off the wheel. I'm ordering them on line. Thank you, gentlemen. And thank you John D for capturing the moment.

Tony, the Tire Elf

See if you can identify the Supervisor, the
Foreman and the Worker.

When you have the knowledge and the tools
you need, there's no job that has to be done
by someone else. How many time have I said,
"Tony to the rescue. Thank you, Tony."

There was one BIG problem with our stay. 

Bug zappers were out in abundance. Many developed
tennis elbow from incorrect forward and backhand swinging. 
Gnats, mosquitos, no-see-ums, flies and yellow jackets
were in abundance. Perhaps in the comments you'll read who
got the most kills.

As I've mentioned in previous blogs, the blink factor has taken its toll; you know, "blink blink and it's over." The week has flown by and with it come the bittersweet thoughts that I'm down to my last five adventures. Whoever can make it as Hudson Islanders will meet in Greenfield Park, NY, about 75 miles northwest of CPP at Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park at Birchwood Acres.

Meanwhile, I'm writing this blog sitting outside on a picnic table in Contoocook, NH, located in the Manchester, Concord area of the state. I'm here three days before heading another 3½ hours into Maine for my week long stay in Searsport. My next blog will tell you all about it. My radar app shows a nasty looking line of thunderstorms approaching and will be here in about an hour.

Till whenever, take care and stay safe. BTW, for those who take the time to comment (thank you), you should visit the blog again. I found out that when I respond to your comment, you don't get a notification to read what I wrote.