Planning The Winter Trip

As the trees lose their leaves here in Vermont, we start thinking about heading out once again this winter to the Southwest. So it's time to crank up Google and Mapquest and lay out some options.

This year, I want to head toward Pensacola first to revisit the place I started my flight training decades ago. The Naval Air Museum, which I visited briefly many years ago, is high on our list of must-see places. I was in the NAS Cubi Point Officers' Club in the Philippines during several Vietnam deployments and the Cafe at the museum has a replica of the bar and many of the hundreds of squadron plaques.

The start of the trip, now planned for early January, is probably the toughest part of the journey. Not only will the Airstream be winterized with anti-freeze in the systems, the weather is often dicey. There are some high spots on I-88 between Albany and Binghamton and the stretches of I-81 until you drop into the Harrisburg area can get a lot of wind and snow. We're planning to watch for a weather opening and drive to Harrisburg the first day -- perhaps the longest drive.

Right now, I've got stops planned at state parks at Warrior's Path State Park in Tennessee and Oak Mountain State Park in Alabama. We're planning to stay for a while at Fort Pickens campground on the Gulf Islands National Seashore. Weather and conditions permitting, we'll use that as a base for visiting Pensacola sites. With a wood fire going behind me, it's kind of nice to think about -- three months from now.

Boondocking in an oak grove

The hurricane flamed out and our trip to Massachusetts was easy -- light traffic and Will Lange's CD of wonderful Vermont stories. We wedged the Airstream into our parking spot at Jennifer's and got out the solar panel - why I'm not sure. We get a random ray or two now and then through the leaves but it's moral support, electrically speaking.

It was great seeing Rich and Bronson from Ohio as well as Mac, Jen, and Ben . Yesterday we had a big reunion with Jack and Susan Russell and their kids and grandkids. Perfect weather and dear friends we don't see often enough.

I've been doing some birding here, seeing a lot of warblers which are still tough to ID, especially with a Viszla pulling on the leash. Saw six flickers today high in a tree eating some sort of fruit.

I also had an encounter with a grumpy old guy on a back road here in Merrimac -- a place I'd seen some birds while running yesterday. This morning, I drove the truck down there, parked it beside the narrow road, and was watching some chestnut-sided warblers when the door to the nearby house opened and an old guy stood there staring at me. I said, "Hi, I'm doing a little birding" and got no reply. I kept scanning the trees when I soon heard a pellet gun type noise, cocking and firing. I just kept birding and didn't hear any pellets my way but just figured he was being a jerk. I was very tempted to tell him so and still marvel at my restraint. I finished up and as I returned to the truck, I glanced up and saw the air rifle at his side. It took real will power not to flip him the bird as I drove off but I don't need more dents in the Ford.

Jennifer, who runs on that route, decided to call the police and report the incident. As she says, "It bothers me when someone's first instinct when angry is to go for a gun."

So in addition to catbirds, warblers, flickers, cardinals, I've found a red-neck flatlander. May add it to my life list.

Waiting Out Earl

We were planning to take the Airstream to MA yesterday to see Rich and Bronson who just flew in from Ohio. The prospects of camping in the oak forest at Jennifer's -- known for dropping branches in windstorms -- was not appealing even if Earl stays out by Cape Cod. Forty to fifty miles an hour winds tonight still could make the aluminum habitat interesting -- so we'll wait a day.

We've charged the battery, filled up the propane, loaded some fresh water, and put the brand new foam mattresses on the beds. I'll hook up tonight and we'll be off first thing in the morning -- along with many others delaying their trips because of the hurricane. Better safe than sorry.

Here are the grandsons [Bronson (left) Mac (right)] that we can't wait to see tomorrow.

Trip to Jennifer's

We took the Airstream down to Merrimac, MA for a three day visit to see Jennifer, Ben, and Mac and to help a bit with painting the house. It's been a while since we've hooked up and moved so it was a good summer excursion. Leaving on a Monday and returning later in the week avoids some of the weekend travel -- the trips down and back on I-89 were pretty uneventful.

The parking site at Jen's is tricky to get into. You have to stop on a busy road, back in with about a 90 degree turn and then navigate a ways down a narrow driveway before angling off into the woods where we've cleared out a spot to set up. I had just stopped and started to back up when a car came -- so I pulled ahead to let him pass. I then started the tough process when Mary's voice was replaced by a guy's, who gave me pretty detailed instructions. "Got a boulder here, pull ahead and cut it more. No, the other way." He guided me down and into the spot and it turned out, it was the guy who had passed in the car. When I thanked him and complimented him on staying in view in my mirrors and giving great directions, he told me that he had worked for carnivals for years and backed up all sorts of trucks. He saved my bacon -- I'd probably still be there fighting with the stonewall and the oak trees.

The visit was wonderful. Got a lot of work done but also had time with our grandson and just hung out some with the family. The weather was very sunny and warm but the oak trees blocked nearly all the solar rays where the Airstream was situated. I had to monitor electrical usage closely but was able to run the overhead fan to cool things off at night.

We've pretty much decided to forget trying to camp at campgrounds during the summer -- too crowded and too much hassle. For example, the big state park at Salisbury, where we stayed last October, is completely filled every day until Labor Day. We'll wait until then for Vermont parks as well. In the meantime, it's nice to use the 'Stream as a bedroom for family visits -- both here and away. Here we are back home.

Searching For Muffler Men

"In 1984, a ten-year-old boy encountered a mysterious 20-foot-tall fiberglass statue named Louie in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Eight years later, he spotted an identical statue in Tucson. A third sighting outside a run-down convenience store in California made it a trend. Thus began a scavenger hunt to discover the origins of Louie and his brethren. Only one rule applied: No searching for them on the Internet! Read More"

Author Gabriel Aldaz is an email acquaintance of mine. I've followed with interest the development and publication of his book and blogged about it last year. You can now order it here from Amazon.

Lake Carmi State Park

We just spent several days at Lake Carmi State Park in northern Vermont and got to experience summer camping - with all the warts as well as the positives. We had reserved site 16, one of the nicest ones along the lake, and found it a challenge to enter with our 25' Airstream. We ended up heading down the one-way road the wrong way so that we could angle into the lot.

The weather was muggy and the first day/night was pretty noisy and smoky. Of course, everyone has to have a fire and the combination of charcoal lighter and wood smoke and country music made me wonder why folks bother to come to a beautiful site -- but to each his own.

The lake is shallow and has a mucky bottom so the swimming areas are great for kids but not much for adults who swim. This was the first days after school let out so kids were everywhere -- and enjoying themselves. It's a good park for kids -- very light traffic and safe swimming sans lifeguards.

Vermont state parks are not set up for rvs with lots of leanto sites and many tent arrangements. There were a few dozen rigs but many of the sites could handle only small units. No Vermont parks have hookups. In the case of Lake Carmi, even the dump station seems like an afterthought. It's on the right side of the road which means, when leaving, you have to turn around and back up to use it.

There were a number of sites with a conglomeration of tents and popups and three of four carloads of people -- generating a lot of noise and seemingly there for the summer. It was a lot different from camping in the winter in warmer climes where you tend to get quieter couples (such as us.) The kids amused themselves at night by shiny flashlights on our silver Airstream, stirring up the dog big time. It reminded us of the stuff we'd be likely to do when we were kids.

The birding was great -- lots of yellow warblers, American redstarts, and other warblers. The park has some lovely features and has one pet-free camping area (what's up with that?) and many forested sites that are hardly used and thus pretty private.

We plan to go back -- probably in the Fall after school starts. With less activity, it will be a great place to kayak and bird.

photo courtesy of Vermont State Parks

Renovation Project About There

After pulling off the mouse fur, ripping up the carpet, removing the couch for recovering, cleaning off the glue from the walls, polishing the interior wall (for what seemed like ages, and cleaning up all the dirt and powder from polishing, I have spent the last week laying the new floor, installing the fittings for the curtains, installing the couch and side table, and hanging the curtains. The project is nearly done -- and looks pretty nice. Here's a shot of the couch area:
We hooked up a flat screen TV to replace the decade-old unit that came with the Airstream.


Now it's time to hook up and head out for a short stay up at Lake Carmi State Park this weekend.