10/01 - 10/08 Jellystone Park at Birchwood Acres

The Last Hurrah

91 miles - 2¼ hours via route 17

A beautiful sky traveling over the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge

A pleasant drive with little traffic

Sites are spacious and very spread out with concrete patios.

Water/electric/sewer connections are placed to the very

rear of the site Sewer connection not always lower than

your discharge connection.

Site 519 - Roberta

Site 521 - Tony/Doreen

Site 523 - Johnny

Site 525 - Charlie

"How bravely Autumn paints upon the sky

The gorgeous fame of Summer which is fled!

Hues of all flowers that in their ashes lie,

Trophied in that fair light whereon they fed..."

From 'Sonnet: Written in a Volume of Shakespeare"

by English poet Thomas Hood (1799-1845)

It's jacket/sweatshirt time. A high of 66 and a low of 45 is all we're going to squeeze out of this, my last week of camping. Include a chance of rain each day and you've got camping on a different level. Some love it, some are ready to head south. Then there's me! I've always marveled at what Mother Nature has to offer each day. My feeling is, if I'm alive and well to witness it, I care less what kind of day it is. T'aint nuttin' anyone's gonna do about it, so sit back, go with the flow and enjoy it.

Then there's a very small but audible babbling brook along the back perimeter of all the sites on my side. I'm in the site where it all empties into a sewer grate. If my windows were able to be left open at the sound would be wonderful.

We each contributed to make sure we had enough.
Thank you, Johnny for picking them up.

With only three of us in attendance the first night, the usual duties of others (Jack, Tony, Larry) had to be taken on by each one of us. I replaced Jack with setting up the campfire; very difficult: paper, kindling, logs.

Johnny replaced Tony as....

...fire starter.

Roberta replaced Larry providing the "firewater,"
though not as potent as Larry's homemade delicacies.

No matter. We were warmed twice.
Real honey liquor infused with Kentucky straight Bourbon whiskey

Now's the time to put the steak on the attached
grill while the wrapped and buttered potatoes
are laid on the coals. That didn't happen but
isn't it nice to think about?

It's Halloween Weekend here at Jellystone with a big influx of 5th wheelers coming in for the weekend. Kids, bikes and noisy barking dogs all set to enjoy trick or treating, parades and scary presentations by staff of the campground. Yup and there's that one, you know the one, that little one who screams at almost anything and who has a pitch so high she'd shatter crystal. But she's having fun and that's what it's all about. As they're all young families, you know they'll be gone by Sunday noon because of the "W" thing mommy and daddy have. That includes Johnny who will leave Sunday morning before Tony and Doreen arrive Sunday afternoon after spending time at their grandson's soccer tournament in Jersey.

We set the bait (and filled it a second time)....

...and they arrived.

Our own private contest was to guess how
many little people would be stopping by.

Roberta and I were way too low with numbers under 40.

Johnny was the best at 100 and thankfully,
he had purchased enough candy to handle them all.

We were impressed at how may "older" kids actually
said "Thank you" without being reminded by their mother.

This is John, the landscaper, in the site opposite. He was right in there with
his three kids chalking up the road (that's a Mickey Mouse outline he's working
on and....

...rigging up a couple of "tow vehicles" to parade the kids around the campground.

Disney fans for sure

That evening's meal was special. Roberta prepared a HUGE casserole dish of lasagna which could have served the campground. Along with her sausage and Johnny's salad, we feasted and will enjoy with Tony and Doreen probably for the rest of the week. Oh, did I mention there was cherry pineapple dump cake with whipped cream for dessert? No? Then I won't.

Magnificent!

The following day, Sunday, as expected, our section emptied out and Roberta and I awaited the arrival of the remaining members of this week's group.

Tony & Doreen arrived Sunday afternoon. The
after dinner fire terrific as usual.
We finished the lasagna, a bottle of red and...

...enjoyed the blueberry torte Doreen
brought.

We had terrific campfires each night to ward of the dampness
and chill of the night. Timing was perfect. We said
our good-nights around 10:00 pm and once inside
my RV, the rains came and continued into the next day.

By weeks end, we burned it all. Yes,
even the large crab apple log from
Tony's backyard. In the morning,
all ashes.

With not-so-nice weather; a rainy, drizzly, chilly day outside for the next two days, we were driven indoors to the cozy comfort of Tony/Doreen's Class A rig, spacious and comfortable. To complete game play, they forced me into their beloved games. FIVE of them to be exact. Ugh....Ever hear of Mexican Train? It's Dominoes in disguise with rules that dwarf the Congressional Record. Anyway, proud to say as a first timer I showed superior tactics and strategies and came in fourth place. Tony came in a dismal next to last; Roberta, second from last and Doreen a more respectable third from last. They were good sports.

Pegs and Jokers

Quirkle

Rummy Cubes

Sequence

I did some "sprucing up" thanks to Roberta and her "just happened to have some" remnants that she cut to size and placed on my entry steps. Colors matched quite nicely as well. House batteries located under the top step are still accessible. Thank you, Roberta.

Bubba Burgers one night and
corn chips, refried beans, melted cheese and
salsa another night. Thank you Roberta.

Thursday morning breakfast. Doreen's three
cheese, onion and potato frittata... 

with my English muffins and crispy bacon.
Terrific way to finish off the week. Tomorrow?
Pack it up and hit the road by noon.

My stats for the 2021 season:

Campgrounds Visited - 8

Days RVing - 88

Miles Traveled - 2,510

Gallons of Fuel Used - 194

Average Diesel Price per Gallon - $3.162

Amount Spent on Fuel - $617.58

Average Miles per Gallon - 13

And so ends my eighth RV season. It's been terrific and I have these blogs/diaries/journals, whatever you'd like to call them, to remind me of the places, people and experiences I've enjoyed alone and in groups. For others, I have my "wish list" itinerary for 2022. All campgrounds are reserved and paid for. The one-nighters require full payment, the long stays have deposits. I hope to enjoy it as well. 

WINTER 2022

SUMMER 2022

Thanks for joining me this RV season. See you in January of 2022 for Season Nine and remember,

09/25 - 10/01 - Croton Point Park

 

Rix comes to say good-bye.

Anticipating the early morning rain, I packed everything away leaving only the electrical connection to be pulled the next morning. As I sat relaxing, who should appear at my door but my next door friend; my friend forever, Rix. Silent and untethered, he wandered to my site obviously looking for a treat (which he received). His owner was right there soon after to bring him back "home." I never heard him bark; he's an amazing dog.

 

I left Searsport, Maine at 8:00 am relieved that the skies were grey, overcast and dismal. The pitter patter of rain about 5 am gave me some worry as to what kind of driving conditions I would encounter on my trip to Brattleboro, Vermont. Fortunately, the rain stopped after twenty minutes. My arrival at the Brattleboro KOA at 2:00 pm ended the six hour, 280 mile drive. A stop for brunch and TWO stops for fuel added to the time. I keep gas credit cards for all the major distributors not knowing which I'll encounter in my travels. At the pump, it was nice reading that my "reward" was a reduction in the price per gallon of 10¢. Overall, the journey was dreary, dismal, and drizzly with overcast skies. Speeds were kept to speed limits but the drive through Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, as always, was scenic and pleasant. Many times the roadway followed the curved path of the Connecticut River rapidly flowing like a creek or small mountain stream running parallel to the highway. Today, I saw the first signs of leaf changing colors which are about to claim its season.

C-34 was to be my little corner of the world for tonight

A tent was set up in the lean-to behind
me; the couple's unoccupied
parking spot is to the right.

Tomorrow I'll return to Croton Point Park three hours and 181 miles away and busy myself back at my apartment to catch up with laundry and printing. Just two weeks left of my RV season.  I stopped at the Flamingo Diner in Brattleboro for a real breakfast that held me over nicely till dinner around 6:00 pm. 

Compared to the day before, the ride to CPP was near perfect (except for I-84 through Connecticut). I'm talking about the day, not the traffic. Sunshine all the way with the temperature at 75° when I arrived at CPP at 1:30. I relieved Vicki and George on site 50 of my caddie and headed back to my apartment and accomplished my tasks...one of which was to check my weight. Since my last 'weigh-in', I lost another 1.1 lbs. bringing the total to 33. With my remaining time at CPP, I tried to squeeze as much in as I could; a visit with my mom in Fishkill, shopping, a doctor's appointment and dining with friends and neighbors.

Monday - I took friends, Jaycee and Pete to Dee Dee's Diner in Ossining. Beside the delicious specials of the day, their menu is as extensive as I've ever seen for a diner. If you're into diners, do check out the variety of choices on their website. Come June and September of next year, I'll be suggesting the Hudson Islands enjoy a breakfast, lunch or dinner at this restaurant less than five miles away.

A special appetizer

Tuesday - was neighbor Jack's long awaited promised sushi dinner at Sakura Garden in Hasting, NY. . After numerous cancellations, I was able to squeeze the trip into my schedule. As always, a trip and a special sushi roll at Sakura is always worth the wait. Jack enjoyed the Hastings Roll: Shrimp tempura and lobster salad topped with spicy tuna and avocado with four kinds of tobiko. For me, I was once again eager to see what Evan, one of the three sushi chefs, would "create" for me off the menu. He's been doing this for me for years and has never duplicated the combination of flavors of this edible art. This night a video would be worth a few words. For sure, it was topped with mango.

     

Wednesday - Another squeezed in promised dinner...yes again sushi and again at Sakura but this time, a different theme. I treated three neighbors, Diane, Elaine and Diane to a "thank you" dinner at Sakura. Be it driving me back and forth to pick up or drop off Winnie from storage in Cross River, NY, or hosting dinner get-togethers in their apartments to picking up my mail and watering my plant while traveling, these ladies extended themselves thus making my life easier with less worry. As they'll tell you, "That's what neighbors are for." All sushi lovers, a dining experience at my favorite sushi restaurant was my way of thanking them and wishing Diane W a Pre-Happy Birthday October 1st.  

l. to r. Diane F, Elaine, Diane W, and Lucky Me
Note Evan's "creation" for me in the foreground

Edible Art we enjoyed

Diane F's Sushi Deluxe

Charlie's Evan Roll

Diane W's Hastings Roll

Green Tea, Mango and Vanilla Mochi
for dessert to end our great evening.

And it all comes to an end....for this week anyway. The last hurrah awaits me as I pack it all up and take off Friday morning, October 1st. Happy Birthday, Diane. My last blog for the 2021 will be written in Greenfield Park, NY. No one knows where the heck this place is. It's a hamlet in Ulster County about 75 miles from CPP and should take me about 90 minutes to get there. Ellenville, New Paltz and Saugerties are more familiar name in the area you may recognize. To the best of my knowledge, I'll be joined by nine other members of the Hudson Islanders for our last rally of the season.

I'll probably include my Winter Itinerary for 2022 which is set in stone as deposits have been paid on long term stays and full payments paid for the many overnight stays as I travel south through Florida and back home by way of Texas. I'm looking forward to that adventure.  So stay tuned for the Last Hurrah. Till then take care, stay well and be happy.