After our visit to the Air Force Museum in Dayton, OH we drove to Delaware, a suburb of Columbus and had a few days with Bill Taylor. Unfortunately Bill was still busy with his job on campus at Oderbien College so we only had evenings to spend together. It was still a good visit.
On Friday we started driving to Canfield, OH to see my friend Chuck and his lovely wife Susan. About 30 miles short of our destination a inside rear tire blew up. I got off of the Interstate and called my insurance company for roadside assistance. I was told that my policy did not cover tire damage or changing. I won't go into details, but i found a small garage who would install the spare and I was on the road again. I took the time while getting the tire fixed to review my camping options. I chose and drove to a Corps of Engineer lake and campground just 12 miles from Chuck & Susan's home. The fee for 3 days RV parking was only $30 with my Golden Eagle Pass. It was a nice place.
I went to Chuck's for dinner and we had a very nice visit. Saturday Chuck picked me up at the park and we drove to Cleveland and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. WOW! What a great place. We had a great time seeing the exhibits, hearing the music and watching movies. If you like music of the Rock & Roll genre you must see this place. I went to their home again on Sunday for another of Chuck's great meals and plenty of sharing of times present and past.
Monday Molly and I drove down to West Virginia where I found a nice RV park outside of Charleston. Molly and I relaxed and Tuesday we made it easily to Blacksburg where we were graciously invited to stay at Joanne and John Anderson's lovely house. We put the motorhome in their drive and Molly and I were given a spacious guest room to share. I had a party to go to that night at Marge & Travis' home where we celebrated Robert Stewart's 90th birthday. John & Joanne cared for Molly while I was gone. She enjoyed the stay with them and their lab, Kent.
Wednesday, after a sushi lunch with Scott Chandler, I got the tire replaced and remounted on the motorhome, spent time with John & Joanne and then went to another party. Kimberle hosted a party for a great bunch of people I worked with at Virginia Tech. Over the last 16 years we always get together at least once or twice a year to share stories and catch up on our respective activities. It is always great fun. Thursday afternoon I met with Karen, Barbara and Don Michelsen to discuss me taking Karen's dog, Digit, with Molly & I on our trip west. Karen will be moving to Albuquerque, NM. She will be working toward her Phd at U of NM. Later that evening Sandy joined John, Joanne and I for dinner. I got Swordfish steaks and grilled them with fresh pineapple. What a nice treat.
Friday morning I left Blacksburg for Rochester, NY. It was a long and hot ride, but we got to Allison & Andre's home at about 8 pm. All three of us, Molly, Digit and me, were glad that the trip was over. Digit helped with the navigation and occasionally took a quick nap. This is the longest single day of driving ever for us in the motorhome. Nearly 12 hours. I did stop several times so we all could walk around and do our respective nature calls. The girls, Olivia and Claire were so excited to see the girls, Molly & Digit, I hardly got a hello. I did fix a stiff drink for me and enjoyed resting in the beautifully landscaped backyard with Allison and Andre. Ahhhhh! Relaxing!
The reason for a one shot trip here is that Andre & I had planned a day at the car races at Watkins Glen on Saturday. Curtis, a friend of Andre's came along and drove us to the track. We left in the morning about 9 am for the 2 hour drive south to the raceway. We got there for the start of the 6 hour endurance race for specially prepared sports cars. We walked the perimeter of the 3 plus mile long course, catching the action at different corners and straights along the way, then watched the finish from the grandstands at the start-finish line. We all got a little too much sun.
Afterward, Curtis went home and Andre and I went to a nearby house where a friend of Andre's was jamming with other musicians - mostly bluegrass and folk. It was a good time and meeting the family and friends was quite nice. We had a big bonfire and finally the event broke about 2 am. Andre and I spent the night in the motorhome and drove back to Rochester in the morning. This was a good chance for Andre and I to just do "guy stuff" together, I liked that.
We got to the house about 9 am Sunday, changed clothes packed some stuff and took off for Ontario Lake and the Seabreeze amusement park with the whole family, except the dogs. We rode the roller coasters, then went to the waterpark and went crazy going down the water slides. What a great time we had. Olivia, age 9 and Claire, age 6, were unstoppable on these things which wore us out, especially me. After lunch the girls wanted to do the roller coasters again and other rides. Allison and I begged off from a couple of them, but Andre and girls kept going until around 6 when we headed home. We were all exhausted and after a little ice cream and shower I was in bed shortly after the girls and sound asleep before 9pm. Yep, I'm not a kid anymore.
Monday I spent time doing a few things with the motorhome while everyone else was either at work or school. At 6 pm Andre, the girls and I went to a softball game which Andre helps coach and Olivia is one of the star players, she got three hits. Their team won, though we do not make an issue of this since they are all working hard and having fun. Tuesday was spent around the house playing with the dogs, going out to lunch, over to Claire's school for an 'exhibition performance' that her first grade class put on, then over to Olivia's softball game. Allison works fulltime and takes classes at night, the girls have piano lessons, softball or lacrosse, swimming later in the summer, plus these special school events that happen nearly every week. This family's schedule is exhausting for me just to hear about it let alone attempt to live. But hey, they are young.
Below are a few photos of some of the sites we enjoyed while in New York.
Wednesday I got the motorhome air conditioner fixed. This wasn't needed in the desert of Arizona, but with the humidity in the east we need to have cooler air when driving. I also had the rig checked out and the oil changed. Wednesday afternoon we all went to a school event for Claire's 1st grade class. This was a presentation of their exploration of the history of Rochesterville, NY in the 1800's. They performed dancing, singing and explained about some of the people who settled this area. It was very entertaining. I have included a photo of Claire and some of the class members. After we went to another of Olivia's softball games, where her team won again.
On Thursday afternoon Allison, Andre, the girls and I went to a fun center where we played miniature gold, played arcade games and rode go-karts. This was a good time for us all. We went out for dinner and then to Olivia's 3rd grade class school presentation of the settling of Rochester. Again there was singing and dancing and sharing of the life and times of the era. All of the students were in costumes of the times and the presentation was very enjoyable.
After a good night of sleep we were all off to respective jobs, school, and travels. Molly, Digit and I took a side trip by Buffalo to Niagra Falls. I am glad that I made the trip, but it wasn't THAT spectacular. Back on the road, we headed west and stopped for the night at a rest stop in Indiana. The next morning we got as far as due south of Chicago on I-80, before we had another tire blow out. This saga will continue in the next installment.
Bye for now.
Bruce, Molly and Digit
Link back to my "Bruce The Nomad" page.