FTJ, Entry 10: Do We Build an Ark Yet?

We are in Burlington, VT, right alongside Lake Champlain at the North Beach Campground. So far, no rain, but we are bracing for flood conditions. The town looks really lively and the lake is just breathtaking. 

Just had a visit from the Mobile RV repair truck to help us set up our TV for antenna use (no cable hookup here). Beau is elated to see some channels popping up, in that he is not a movie person and I do not think he wanted to play a game or watch a DVD with me. What a poop!

Speaking of poop, Beau managed to step in some Buddy buds outside and tracked them in on the new carpet! Oh Noooooo!  What a mess. The carpet ain't new anymore....

No more tonight - just some photos. 

Publish Post

First, SuperBuddy playing in the RV.

A self portrait on the road (silly!).

Lake Champlain and silliness again...

 

Lake Champlain again

 More of Lake Champlain 

 

FTJ, Entry 9: How Cheesy!

Yesterday, our friends Nancey and Alan took us on a great drive that included a stop for a cheese tasting at Sugarbush Farms. Being a cheese freak, I was in heaven! And here is a lovely photo to commemorate the experience -- I am so proud. Sigh -- there are no goofballs like old goofballs.

We saw beautiful horses and wonderful picture postcard views (some photos below), and all in all had a super day, including a wonderful lunch at Simon Pearce overlooking the waterfalls. And yes, we broke the law again by sneaking little Buddy into the restaurant!

Another great time with Nancey and Alan, and now we are off to Burlington. The rain has stopped for now, but I hear it will start in earnest again tomorrow.

Tanks, Panky

FTJ, Entry 8: Of Foliage and Friends in Quechee, Vermont

Vermont is gorgeous, even in the rain. The foliage is not quite at peak stage, but the mountain vistas of muted autumn colors are still breathtaking.

And Quechee Gorge is astounding!

Beau has such terrific friends -- whom I of course have adopted as my own. Take Nancey and Alan Coppotelli, Beau's good friends and former clients, who took time off to come up to their beautiful Quechee vacation home and meet us while we were here! Do you believe that?

They have given us a tour and wined and dined us -- great homemade gumbo, Nancey! They even let us do our laundry at their house. What wonderful people. We ate and drank too much, of course, and had a lot of laughs last night. Today they are taking us to the picturesque town of Woodstock (in the rain) after treating us to lunch at Simon Pearce, a well known Quechee restaurant -- we can't talk them into letting us pay because they have gobs of gift certificates! 

Simon Pearce is also a glass-blowing center, so I am sure we will be sorry we no longer have a house to fill with glassware. Oh well, it will be nice to look.

A super looking couple, aren't they?  Thanks, Nancey and Alan! You are the greatest and we are so grateful for your hospitality, thoughtfulness, and generosity.

But Beau and I had better start an exercise regime very, very soon.

Tanks, Panky

FTJ, Entry 7: MA-ss Confusion with Hairpins

Traveling from the Cape to Vermont was an adventure. Several times. First, we got  lost on the way because (sorry, Massachusetts natives) the signage for the state's roadways are sometimes less than helpful. Plus, with 11 tons of vehicle, it is tough to turn on a dime when you see a road sign at the last second.

And speaking of turning on a dime, Beau is one for two. When we stopped at a gas station, he had to wedge the RV ("The Beast") -- with the tow vehicle behind us -- into a pretty confined area, then maneuver to get out because of the small space. I was nervous, but breathed a sigh of relief when I saw we could drive down to a mall parking lot from the gas station exit. But then, out of nowhere, Beau decides to pull a U-turn. A hairpin turn out of the gas station!!! WHAT? I gasped and said (shrieked), "Beau, we are not going to make it," but followed that up quickly with "By God, you made it," as I saw we had cleared the curb on the opposite side and were now headed out to the highway. Unfortunately, as I started slugging a Diet Coke, he cracked me up by smugly saying, "Visually, I knew I could get around." Don't know why it struck me so funny, but I sprayed my Diet Coke out my nose and onto our brand new carpet.

The next hairpin, not so precise. The toad's front wheel got all scraped and gouged by the large concrete curb we had to go over to make the turn. The adventure continues.

Dinner on a Mountaintop
Last night, Beau's old high school friend and Nomads bandmate Thom Serrani and his wife Beth invited us for a fabulous home-cooked dinner. They have a charming home on a hilltop just outside downtown Ludlow, VT, and we were so touched and grateful for their hospitality. What wonderful hosts! The dinner was cooked in their Tuscan oven imported from Italy. Very impressive -- and delicious. 

Reminiscing about their "rocker" glory days, Thom reminded Beau --  who's forgotten more about this era than he remembers -- that their Nomads were the headline band at a 1966 event hosted by New York DJ "Dandy Dan Daniels" at the old Italian Center in Stamford, CT, on what was then South Street, now Washington Blvd. Among the participants was the later VERY famous Tony Orlando, who at that time was a one-hit wonder from back in 1961. And here Beau had forgotten about it completely! It's pitiful!!

(For those of you who may not know or remember, Thom was a four-term mayor of Stamford.)

This photo of Thom and Beau is not the greatest, but as usual I forgot our camera. Had to use the phone camera.

Tanks, Panky

FTJ, Entry 6: Lawbreakers Go to Provincetown

Last night Beau and I broke the law. At least I think we did. We snuck Buddy into the movies. He has a shoulder bag he jumps into and he only barked once, in line for the tickets. I coughed to help cover the noise then sidled over to the Ladies room to wait in hiding until Beau had our tickets in hand. Whew! We figured at that point that we had it made.

But then -- surprise! Not your normal movie theater in Falmouth. Oh no, it is a movie theater "pub" -- tables and chairs in front of the big screen and a waitress to take your popcorn or dinner order! We figured we were sunk, but Buddy was as good as gold. We put the carrier on the floor and he laid down. He stirred once and made an effort to get out of the bag, but I shoved his little head down. He sighed and then laid back down in silence.

The movie-- "The Town" -- was great! And we broke the law without any consequences. Take that, Paris Hilton...

The Firemaker.

Today, we drove out to the National Seashore and Provincetown. I am SO converted. Not sure why we didn't like the Cape earlier. Now, we both love it!

Buddy was hysterical on the fishing docks at Provincetown -- the gaps between the planks made him nervous and he was not good on the leash. The minute we put down his carrier, he jumped up and did a half-gainer into the bag!

Beau seemed fond of the P-town store sign shown at the bottom. Wonder why...

Tanks, Panky

FTJ, Entry 5: Making it to Chatham

We finally made it out a ways on the Cape! Got as far as Chatham. Loved the story of the Coast Guard rescue of 1952.

Not going to bore you too much with prose. Here are some photos:

Beau at the Cape Cod Canal

Me at the JFK Memorial






Beau at the Korean War memorial








Beau and I at the Chatham Bars.






What a beautiful part of the world... We are loving it!

Tanks, Panky

FTJ, Entry 4: The Old Guy Relaxes...Not

So we couldn't wait to get to a place and just kick back and enjoy our newfound freedom from the daily drudgery. Ah, sounds wonderful, doesn't it? We are here in Falmouth, MA, at a gorgeous RV park, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and Beau is...replacing a water filter under the kitchen sink.

The man never sits down! Granted, it does take him about an hour to set up once we arrive at our campsite -- the process, which is too "technical" for me to help with (my way of saying "hell no, I'm not touching that sewer hose!") -- involves a lot of bending, tugging, pulling, grunting, and tightening, as well as copious amounts of swearing and complaining.

Anyway, once that is over, we are supposed to relax. For instance, today we had planned to just drive east out on the Cape.

You make plans, Beau laughs.

No, we (he) decided to bag the leisurely drive and instead spend a bunch of money at the RV store -- including buying a new water filter. And this is how Beau spent his afternoon (Buddy supervised). Live Slow? When does that start? At least there was no plumber's crack to contend with....

(We finally got a digital camera -- better images are coming.)

Tanks, Panky

P.S. You probably noticed I have abbreviated the title of my blog; anything to cut down typing--my carpal tunnel is killing me!

Full-timing Journal, Entry 3: From Clinton to the Cape

We had a lovely two-night stay in Clinton, CT. After previous disasters with the black water hose popping off (that was the first "dumping" experience), this time that part of the setting up went quite smoothly for Beau.

However, we learned a few new things -- like don't turn on the water pump when connected to the water line at the campsite. (Hope we didn't burn it out.) Or don't go out for a jaunt in the car and forget that you were filling the fresh water tank! Oh well, a little mud puddle (lake) under the RV is not the worst disaster.

So we had Beau's son Christopher and his wife Bailey and little son Kyle, plus our pals Robert and Barbara Karp for a cookout - our first one as RVers. A fun time! Kyle wanted the RV ignition key so he could drive "the bus" (he is 2 and a half). Sad to see them go home....

After dark, we enjoyed the camp fire and the stars and were entertained by an impromptu fire juggler from a neighboring site. Hopefully, Barbara got a photo!

Today, we said a painful goodbye to the Karps, departed in a cloud of donkey dust, and a few hours later arrived (with no mishaps) at the Cape Cod Camp Resort in Falmouth, MA. We are in the WOODS, people. YIKES. Will keep you up to date!!

I know, I know, we need some new photos. But I wanted to show Buddy in "travel mode." Our camera broke; we'll try to remember to go out and buy a new one tomorrow.

Tanks, Panky

Full-timing Journal, Entry 2: Away we go...to the driveway

After we told people we were retiring (early) and going full-timing in a motorhome, they all said, "You must write a blog!" 

Oh boy.

Blogging has never been particularly appealing to me. Someone with painfully low self-esteem is not thrilled at the idea of writing about herself, nor does she believe that anyone would want to read about her or her new life, regardless of how exciting said life might seem to others.

Moreover, I am also not that keen about the prospect of continuing to do something -- writing -- that I have been doing professionally for the past 35 years. Writing is too hard! Writing well is excruciatingly painful! Nooooo! Not again!

But now that I've started this, I realize that the writing doesn't have to be high-toned, award-winning prose, or even my best effort. It just has to let people know what we are doing and where we are in our cross-country trek. And this trip is not just about me -- it is about me and my husband Beau and our little dog Buddy -- the latter two characters serving to deflect attention from...well, me.

So anyway, where we are so far (Day 2) is not very far--from our prior home, that is. We are, as our hostess Barbara Karp says, "The People Living in My Driveway." In other words, we are currently parked in our very good friends', well, yes, driveway, in Stamford, CT.

Tomorrow we head out for a short jaunt to Clinton, CT - our first stop on this new cross country adventure. Baby steps, my friends.

We already had one or two rather comical mishaps prior to this tiny leg of the journey. I'll bore you with those stories some other time. (Soon we will liven this up with some cool travel photos, I hope.)

Alternatively, have pity on me and tell me to stop these missives now.

Tanks, Panky

Full-timing Journal, Entry 1: Post-middle-age Crazy

People say that my husband Beau and I are impulsive. HA! I have never understood that characterization. Big deal, we bought a house in Florida at the height of the real estate market after one short trip to Punta Gorda/Port Charlotte. So, we were already supporting two houses. We were going to sell them and move to Florida with a bunch of cash, of course!

OK, things did not work out that way. But we ended up selling one house in Connecticut, then another--oh, but we bought yet another one in between after seeing it for 20 minutes. But we had a plan--really.

We hadn't discussed said plan, but I am sure we had one.

To make a long story short-ish, we lived in one home in Connecticut and supported one unused canalfront home in Florida for several years. Then for financial reasons we put the Florida home on the market during the housing implosion-- and sold it after two years for @@#$#@@!! less than we paid. Suffice it to say we took a bath on that transaction. But was this due to impulsiveness? Bah.

Then, after much prolonged deliberation (I can hear our friends snickering at this already), we decided to sell this last home, retire from our jobs, and go "on the road" in an RV full time. After making this momentous decision, we thought this transition would be a long process--in this economy, selling a house can take a year or more.

Nope. The house went on the market on a Tuesday and we had a full-price offer on Friday. "It's the big one, Elizabeth!" (If you do not recognize the latter quote, then you are too young to care -- so don't even Google it.)

Anyhoo, we bought a used RV in record time (no no, not an impulsive decision at all), and a tow vehicle (known as a "toad" to those in the know) to go with it. And as I write this, we are 8 days from our closing and the beginning of our travel adventure. We are not ready, but here we go!

We're nucking futs.

Tanks, Panky