St. Louis was HOT. Really hot, but we made the best of it.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, it would be easy to surmise that our life in the camper is all “popcorn and crackerjacks”, and that every venture works out great.  Yeah, not so.  And one of the biggest factors for us to deal with when we were in St. Louis, MO, was the weather.  And much like the rest of the country it was hot! Damn hot.  And when your life is spent living in a metal clad storage container with a king size bed, it can get even hotter.  Such was the case on our way to St Louis.

Our first boondocking was a “roasting” experience.  The term boondocking refers to staying for a night or two without using any resources from outside the camper.  No electricity to plug into, no municipal water supply, we are completely self-sufficient.  And our camper is well equipped to boondock for many nights.  We have a generator to power equipment, we have solar panels to keep the batteries charged and the lights on during the day, and we can carry 80 gallons of fresh water, for showers and preparing food, as well as another 5 gallons of water for drinking.  But what I didn’t know, I didn’t know - was that extreme heat can be a real problem for boondocking. 

And there we were, at a lovely Walmart parking lot in Terre Haute, IN just off interstate 70, on our way to St. Louis, MO.  The planning for this first boondocking stay had been done months earlier, as our trip had us passing through Indiana and Illinois on our way to Missouri. We were in a well-lit, flat parking lot, way out in the south-east corner with some grass in the parking lot median strip.  An easy location, we could even hear the frogs in the nearby stream.  All was well until the mercury hit 105 degrees.  We had no shade, we were in a dark black parking lot, and we just baked inside the camper.  We tried to cool down the camper by running the generator and turning on the AC.  We have two, and now I know why.  But we cannot run two AC units on generator power (another important tidbit of information), so we tried using only one AC unit, but it was just too hot.

What do you do when it’s 4:00 pm, its 105 degrees outside, and you’re temporarily situated in a rather large mall parking lot?  You go shopping in stores with abundant air conditioning. We strolled, quite leisurely, up and down the aisles, basically just wasting time, but staying cool. Besides a Walmart Supercenter store, there was a Kohls, a Panera Bread restaurant, and a shoe retailer, and we loitered as long as we could in the hopes that the setting sun would allow us to cool off the camper.  But it did not.  It was a very hot night, and it was difficult to sleep. I believe we had even gone back into the Walmart sometime around 7:30 pm or so, found a bench near the Prescription refill section, sat down for a spell, and played video games for an hour before returning to the camper after dark. (we called this the “Bundy” method for staying cool in reference to the TV series “Married with Children”.  Google it if you’re not familiar).  We survived. We showered the next morning, had some coffee, cleaned ourselves up, and set off for St Charles, MO, just outside of St. Louis.  Although it was hot in St. Louis, we were able to plug into “shore power”, at 100% capacity and were therefore able to run both AC units, and all was well.  Lesson learned.

In many ways our stay in St. Louis was really a mixed bag.  We had some one of a kind great experiences, and then there were the everyday kind of experiences that you really wish you would really not ever like to experience again.  Yet of course we will.   Let me take you, my fine reader, on the see-saw of life.

Absolutely, the most memorable happening was getting to St Louis and immediately being able to purchase tickets for Kansas as part of their 50^th anniversary tour, at the Fabulous Fox Theater.  The renovated theater only holds 4,500 people so this was a very intimate affair.  To be honest, Judy & I only knew like 5 of the most popular songs, but there were 4 original band members on the stage (not for the entire concert), and these guys were in the 70’s.  We bought the tickets at the box office, then scouted out a restaurant for dinner, and returned a day later for a wonderful night’s entertainment.

Absolutely the worst is seeing the “check engine” light come on again, for the third time this trip, which means that there is something wrong with the “Beast” and it needs to go to the dealership for repair.  Again!  And this time we were kind of stranded in or around our camper and vicinity for a couple of days.  Our camper is a hefty 16,500 pounds when fully loaded and the “Beast” absolutely needs to be in optimal working conditions.  “Check Engine” lights and reduced engine power means immediate attention is required.

Absolutely the best major city park I have ever visited is Forest Park in St Louis.  It’s a park that has miles of walking trails, at least 2 public golf courses, gardens, and a half dozen really good museums, which are totally free to visit.  Forest Park was the area used in the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, and this is an enormous park consisting of over 1,300 acres (Central Park in NY is only 840 acres).  We spent many days at the park walking the trails and gardens and going to the museums.  The Art Museum and the Missouri History Museum got much of our attention and were great attractions.

Absolutely sucks to get sick no matter where you are.  After flying back from visiting Judy’s parents in Florida, Steven caught a good head cold and was in the camper being sick for 2½ days.  Seems it’s not possible to avoid getting a cold, even in retirement, and the only perk is that Steven finally has an unlimited number of paid sick days (LOL).

How lucky we were to find one of those more “urban campsites”.  This was a new experience.  The site was almost entirely paved, with little grass patches, there were no fire rings at any of the campsites, and campsite fires were not permitted.  On the other hand, we were a mile’s walking distance from downtown St. Charles, which is northwest from St. Louis, and just across the Missouri River.  So when the truck was in for repair and we had no vehicle, we were still able to shop, find a restaurant, and otherwise experience an active urban area.

We were very disappointed that we were not able to use the tickets that we purchased to see the St. Louis Arch.  We now have “rain checks” to come back and experience the Arch at some time in the next year.  The tickets we bought in advance with the expectation that we would be able to go the Arch had to be cancelled unexpectedly when the “Beast” needed immediate mechanical repair.  Damn it!

Of course, as we pulled out of St. Louis, the weather started to turn more favorable as the heat wave finally broke in the Midwest.  And the next boondocking experience in a Walmart parking lot in Cedar Rapids, Iowa was way more pleasant, included a comfortable night’s rest, and a stop at the Dunkin’ Donuts which was walking distance from our camper.  We were heading north to Minnesota to find cooler weather on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River.   So, join with us as we continue our journey as we tell… the Rest of the Story..

The state of Ohio continued to impress us as we visited both Columbus & Dayton in the south.

Having lived my entire life, all 59 years on the east coast, even through college, I would have to say that I have a decidedly east coast understanding of the rest of the United States.  Not trying to make any excuses, but how could I not.  That being said, Judy and I both agree that there is a lot to learn about the rest of these United States and we are well on our way to acquiring a greater insight of the mid-west.

After departing the Cuyahoga Valley, we headed due south to Springfield, OH which sits just about ½ way between Columbus, and Dayton, OH.  From this location we were able to explore two more Ohio cities. 

Our first stop was the Columbus Zoo.  We spent the better part of the day (6+ hours) wandering through the 6 different and distinct areas of the Zoo.  We did our homework before departing and found out that the zoo allows their patrons to bring in coolers and picnic lunches and doesn’t require that all food and drink be purchased on premises.  Knowing how big the zoo was we packed accordingly and brought along a soft-sided cooler where we kept plenty of water and drinks.  Worked out fabulously.  Here was a day where we logged almost 20,000 steps, and I think Judy’s Apple watch indicated that we walked more than 7 miles that day.  We have been to several zoos, and although we are obviously a bit partial to those zoos that have free admission, (hello, we’re still Jewish, so that’s never going to change), the Columbus Zoo is a great zoo, with the friendliest & most helpful employees, and one we would say is well worth the price of admission.

Dayton, Ohio is an absolutely fantastic city to visit.  I have no qualms or reservations about making such a statement (and no, I haven’t started working for the Dayton Ohio tourist authority either). First, it’s the birthplace of aviation, as this is where the Wright Brothers had their bicycle shop, and where much of the designing, building, and testing of their original airplane, the 1903 Wright flyer, happened.  True, the first flight took place in Kitty Hawk, South Carolina, but most of Wilber and Orville Wrights’ lives centered around Dayton.  While we’re on the subject, let’s talk about the myriad of industries that were developed in Dayton, OH.  How about National Cash Register (NCR).  I had no idea that NCR was basically the first and dominant cash register company for the better part of 100 years.  Oh, and then there’s that little company called AC-Delco.  Guess what DELCO stands for?  How about the “Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co.”  Without some of the discoveries made at Delco, we would not have electronic starters or the proper timing on the spark plug ignitions in cars. There were hundreds of advancements made in the early 1900s by the brilliant engineers and inventors of Delco.  Ohh, and then there’s that little company that goes by the name of Frigidaire, also incorporated in Dayton.  Are you kidding me, does anybody want to hear about how refrigerators and air conditioners were developed?  Yeah, not here, go read about it for yourself.

We visited two outstanding museums.  As far as we’re concerned the following are “must sees” in Dayton. Judy and I will be returning, at some time in the future, so that we may visit again because there was just so much to see, but so much more that we wanted to see.  

• Carillon Historical Park, which is a Dayton historical experience that we will not forget.  A park, spread over 65 acres, incorporated privately in 1942 by Edward  & Edith Deeds.  This park contains a Carillon bell tower that looks like this.  There is an entire building dedicated to the Wright Brothers complete with a bicycle shop, and the Wright Flyer III.  Just reading about the “Deeds” contributions was eye-opening.  

• National Museum of the United States Air Force has over 1 million square feet of space, consists of 5 building the size of 4 football fields each, and contains every conceivable type of flying machine.  Even ballistic missiles.  WWI,  WWII,  Asia Pacific, Cold War, and presidential planes were all part of the exhibits.  I have never been to a museum that includes the “needed” walking times between buildings and exhibits displayed on maps and directions.  Wow!  That about sums up our reaction, and we had to return for a second day, which included another picnic lunch so that we never had to leave the museum grounds.

We were also exposed to the sometimes “explosive weather” of the mid-west.  Picture this if you can.  We planned and spent what we expected to be a lovely day at Buck Creek State Park which included walking trails, and a rather large public beach on a good-sized lake.  We packed for both a 5-mile hike, which would be followed by a picnic at the beach.  The hike along the lake’s edge was great, and we turned our attention to cooling off down by the lake.  There were scattered thunderstorms in the forecast for later in the day, and I was looking at my phone app that provided weather radar, and although there were thunderstorms in the area, none were within 50 miles of our location. The beach was full, and then there’s a sudden crack of lightning and a tremendous boom of thunder.  There are 3 huge rain drops and the skies just open up with rain.  Apparently, the next pop-up thunderstorm was to appear directly overhead, and we were just pinned under our beach umbrella as heavy rain pelted us, and the thunder and lightning just rolled on through.  And then came the ¼” to ½” hail.  It was unbelievable, as the hail felt like it was being shot out of an elephant gun.  No less than 5 minutes from sunny and warm to the gates of hell.  And the beach was littered with people running for cover, making the dash back to the concrete bath house shelter, or their vehicles.  Eventually were able to gather up our belongings and limp our way back to the “Beast” where we loaded our waterlogged belongings into the back and drove back to our campsite where we started the process of drying out.  That was a new and different experience.

So, if you missed it in this blog post, I just lost my decidedly east coast understanding of the rest of the United States.  Never too old to admit that I lived a sheltered, liberal life on the east coast with scarcely an understanding about what the Midwest is all about.  But we are just beginning our exploration and have so much farther to roam and wander.  And maybe that’s exactly what retirement should be all about.  Judy and I spent 30+ years of our lives focused on raising a family and supporting our careers, so that now, in retirement, we should remove ourselves from what we know, and find all those things that we know nothing about.  So join with us as we continue to explore & discover more about ourselves and these United States, as we tell… the Rest of the Story.

Exploring Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Cleveland, & Akron from our campsite in Streetsboro, Ohio.

We left Erie, PA on a sunny yet hazy day, destined for some KOA in Streetsboro, OH.  A place that meant nothing to us back in February when this stop was booked.  There were three very important factors involved in the selection at the time:

1. Needed to be close to Cleveland, OH.
2. Needed to be a “pull through site”, which means this was the first time all trip I was not backing the caravan into a driveway or camp-site location.
3. The KOA membership had been “given” to me by the RV Dealer / Jayco as part of my purchase, and I was going to get some type of discount for being a member.

And we were able to book online and get instant confirmation, making the whole process easier for planning.  Because we were nothing if not “planners”.

To be honest, we couldn’t have picked a better spot to spend 7 days, pulling in on a Thursday and staying the full week.  Wow, did we get lucky!!  Little did I know that I had pitched a tent, 35 minutes from downtown Cleveland, and 20 minutes from Akron, smack dab in the middle of the Cuyahoga Valley.  There was hiking, a train ride, a food tour of the Ohio City section of Cleveland.  We were busy making tracks every day, and really stretching our walking legs (over 10,000 steps every day – as many as 20,000 a couple of days).

Highlights from Cleveland:

• A food walking tour of the old section of Cleveland called Ohio City which is a recognized neighborhood on the west side of Cleveland.  The area has seen a resurgence in the last 15 years or so and is now home to many fine restaurants, some of which we had the pleasure of walking to and then sitting down for a tasting.  We ate perogies at “Hecks Café”, sampled tacos at a Mexican fusion restaurant called “Avo Modern Mexican”, and finished up with ice cream made on premise at “Michaels Ice Cream”.  There were a couple of other stops along the way, and we were so full after, that we walked ½ way across the “Hope” bridge across the Cuyahoga River. (Named after a Cleveland native Harry Hope, a stone mason who helped sculpt the guardian statues on the bridge pillars and the father of Bob Hope).

But the best part of the walking tour was our firsthand view of The West Side Market, which was the first stop on the tour along with a sampling of a Bratwurst from the original Market Garden Brew House.

The West Side Market is the oldest operating indoor/outdoor market space in Cleveland, Ohio.  It is located at the corner of West 25th Street and Lorain Avenue in the Ohio City neighborhood. The building is exceptional looking, and is on the National Register of Historic Places, is and currently being renovated.

• We took an entire day to visit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and we could have used another ½ day to see even more of the museum.  There is plenty of information on-line about this museum so I’m not going to waste your time here with a description other than to say that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame brought back a lot of memories and was an extraordinary day of reconnecting to our musical memories.

Highlights from Akron:

• Went to a show at the Akron Civic Center called “Dixie’s Tupperware Party”, (you can watch portions of the show on YouTube) which was billed as “Adult Oriented" Tupperware Party.  First, this was a really entertaining show.  Second, “Dixie” was really selling Tupperware and was the #1 Tupperware salesperson for many years. And when the show concluded “Dixie” was taking orders at the back of the performance hall.  (People were lining up to buy Tupperware - for real).  And here is the kicker on all this, which is a fact not discovered until much, much, much later.  “Dixie Longate” is the drag persona of American actor, writer, comedian, and drag performer Kris Andersson who, since 2007, has been performing a solo act called Dixie's Tupperware Party.  Holy crap! It took weeks for Judy and me to figure that one out. In Akron no less!

• Rode the Cuyahoga Train from Akron to Peninsula Depot, which is at Lock #29 on the Erie & Ohio River canal system.  This canal system was developed by the State of Ohio in the late 1820 & 30’s and helped make Ohio an economic powerhouse by moving people and goods from Lake Erie all the way through Columbus and on to the Ohio River.  A total length of like 308 miles and an extensive lock system of over 140 changes in elevation designed to negotiate the hilly terrain of northeastern Ohio.  The train follows the Cuyahoga River, and we learned a lot about the canal system, the locks, and the towpaths that follow the canals.

And since we’re talking about the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, let me just say that that there is entirely too much to take in in only a few days.  We spent an afternoon at the Erie & Ohio River Canal Discovery Center, which is where I learned so much about the early days of the canals.  Much of the towpath where the mules walked were preserved as walking and cycling trails.  We also made time to take a couple of hikes through the Cuyahoga Valley.  To get a feel for the hiking in the valley, we started on an easier trail called the Oak Hill Trail, but soon thereafter it morphed into the 5-mile-long Plateau Trail.  A couple of days later we hiked Tree Farm Trail after exploring Horseshoe Pond.

We had lots of fun exploring the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Cleveland, & Akron from our campsite in Streetsboro, Ohio. The excursions & tours were all so different and varied that we got a good feel for the area.  All good things come to an end, and after a week we were packing up and hitting the road again, headed towards Columbus & Dayton, Ohio.  Who knows what experiences we will we encounter and share with you, our readers, in the upcoming weeks, as we tell… the Rest of the Story.

And away we go!

“You don't have to get it perfect; you just have to get it going,” would best describe our first week.  There were a couple of hiccups in our launching, but all in all, as I sit in a camping chair drinking Seltzer, here in a KOA in Streetsboro, OH, outside the camper, as the sun fades to the west, there is no doubt we have arrived.  As serene as the current setting affords, it didn’t start out that way. 

Hell no, we almost failed to launch.  And I mean that quite sincerely. 

We spent the better part of two weeks prior to July 4^th packing, organizing, and loading the caravan.  By the way, packing the RV also meant turning on the refrigerator / freezer, getting it sufficiently cold enough so that we could load meats, chicken, vegetables, fruit, a full selection of refrigerated items as well as Judy’s favorite ice cream sandwiches from Friendly’s.  Every last detail was planned and by Thursday night we had pulled in all the slide extensions, charged up all the batteries, and settled in for one last night before we set off on our inaugural trip.  Next morning, I jumped into the fully fueled “Beast” in preparation for backing into the 5^th wheel hitch.  Yeah.., what greets my eyes on the heads up display from the truck computer is the g-d damn “Check Engine Light”.  The truck diagnostic system is flashing a warning about a problem with the diesel exhaust fluid.  Which I know cannot be true, because I had just added more fluid 3 days prior.  To be blunt, we were going nowhere, because the truck needed to go to the repair shop.  And that’s exactly what we did.

We are very lucky to have a good friend at an excellent repair shop in Norwood, MA and we texted Brandon with our issue, and were instructed to limp the truck into the shop, as soon as possible.

The “Beast” was the first vehicle on the lift when the shop opened at 8:00 am, and within the first 30 minutes, the issue had been diagnosed and the parts were on order.  It was just a bad sensor.  Judy and I went to breakfast.  If we could not depart for Syracuse, NY by 12:00 noon, departure would need to be delayed, and plan B involved getting up really early and departing a day later.  Fortunately, we had some good karma, as Brandon called us at 10:30.  The “Beast” would be ready to go.  After a significant amount of final “running around” we were on the road by 12:30.  We launched 4 hours late, but we launched.

Our first stop was in a driveway in Fayetteville, NY.  We basically boondocked in a big driveway, long enough to support our 52 foot long caravan, but a driveway nonetheless.  We had such a great time visiting with my first cousin Beth, her husband Rick, and the boys Eric & Jack.  We packed so much activity into just 2 days.  Steven played 9 holes of golf with the boys, as Judy and Beth wandered around the center of town. We visited the following museums and areas of interest while in the Fayetteville / Syracuse region.

• The Stickley Brothers Furniture Museum, which is in the second floor of the Fayetteville, NY town library.  If you are not aware of Stickley furniture, then you should do some research.  These guys John George L. & JG Stickley furniture have been around since 1904, and a Stickley Brothers Mission dining room suite won grand prize at the 1904 St Louis World’s Fair.  Their furniture is still being manufactured and sold today.

·       All Things OZ: The Frank Baum & All Things OZ historical museum.  This is the group that puts on Oz-Stravaganza usually in late May each year, in Chittenango, NY.  Chittenango is the birthplace of author L. Frank Baum, whose works include "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz."

• Matilda Joslyn Gage House in Fayetteville, NY.  Matilda Josyln Gage was a fascinating woman, and a progressive visionary of women’s rights and human liberation and the movements of which she was a part.  She was part of an abolition movement that publicly defied 19th century laws that forced complicity with slavery and a suffrage movement that demanded women have the right to vote.  She also happened to be the mother-in-law of L. Frank Baum, and it is known that she suggested that L. Frank Baum write down and publish his stories about OZ. (I believe there were 12 original books written about OZ, and the movie the Wizard of OZ in just an adaptation of a single book.

We had cookouts for dinner and ate at the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in downtown Syracuse, and they had some of the best smoked meets including St. Louis ribs, & brisket I’ve ever had.  Monday morning had us packing up the camper for our next move to Erie, PA.  Yeah.., not so fantastic!  Somehow I missed the weather forecast for Monday morning and although we were able to get up and walk in the morning without any rain, by the time I got around to closing up the coach and attaching to the truck, it was pouring rain, with thunder and lightning.  A great learning experience as the conditions for closing the camper made the whole process much more difficult.  We were absolutely drenched by the time we got into the “Beast” and headed out.  Lesson learned!  Pay attention to weather on travel days, and pull in some of the extensions, and hook up the truck if the weather looks bad.

Off we went to Erie, PA for 4 days on Lake Erie.  Presque Isle State Park was the featured attraction. A naturally occurring peninsula on Lake Erie, and our first day found us on a tour boat called Lady Kate leaving from Misery Bay, out through the channel, and around the peninsula into Lake Erie proper.  It was a lovely sunny day and the 2 hour boat ride was exquisite.  Gave us a real sense of the Lake as well as the history of the area.  If you are not familiar with the war of 1812, well much of it took place in the Great Lakes and the surrounding cities between Buffalo, NY and Detroit.  The most famous battle took place at the battle of Lake Erie, between a very young navel Captain Oliver Hazard Perry, who’s famous for saying, “Do not give up the ship” & “We have met the enemy and they are ours”.   Just a fascinating battle, and a real history lesson. 

Next day, we were off to the Erie Maritime Museum.  A great little museum, that also highlights the war of 1812.  However, the focus of this museum was the two masted square rigged Brig war ship called the Niagara.  Oliver Hazard Perry’s original flag ship was the Lawrence, which was so heavily damaged that Perry transferred his command to the Niagara and promptly broke through the enemy lines firing cannons on both sides of the ship, to end the battle in an hour.  Just fascinating history.  We toured an exact “sea-worthy” replica of the ship including an inside visit which was very claustrophobic.  If you were shorter than 4’11 you could stand up on the lower deck, anything taller and you had to stoop or crouch.  Honestly, not like I’m that old, but staying hunched over like that for 20 minutes or so was really quite tough on the back.  Was a great tour, and the ship is still active as a training vessel by the US Navy.

After a short but memorable visit to Erie, PA, we packed up to leave and travel to Streetsboro, OH, in the heart Cuyahoga Valley, 20 miles south of Cleveland, OH.  But you’ll have to wait to read our next post as we tell… the Rest of the Story.

Use caution when discussing which way you like your Pineapples!

 

Ohh, to go back to my younger days, when life was simpler, and I was just a bit more naive.  Back to a time where I was blissfully unaware of how much could be assumed about Judy & my lifestyle based on which way our pineapples stood.  Are you thoroughly lost?  Yeah, well so was I, but hang in there, this is going to take some setting up.

Judy & I did not just “jump into” the RV lifestyle.  We did our research. Night after night reading blogs, watching videos, visiting RV showrooms, and talking to experts.  In January 2020, just before Covid, we even attended an RV expo in Boston at the Convention Center.  We’re talking about years of research.  Then about 6 months ago, I was reading one of my favorite blogs, RV BLOGGER (Home – RVBlogger), and as I had been at the site numerous times before, I was scanning the list of blog archive articles when I stumbled upon this gem of an article:

I’ll save you the google search.  Basically, displaying an upside-down pineapple on your RV, specifically around the entry door, indicates that the couple inside the RV are swingers, and they may be looking for other swingers to “join” in the festivities.  I immediately called this blog article to Judy’s attention, and we spent the next 20 minutes reading through it.  We were enlightened and did some further research where we found out that we need to be more cognizant of RV parks that cater to different types of patrons. We now know there are “clothing optional”, “swinger” and even “adults only” RV parks interspersed across the country.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the idea that these parks exist, I just want to know before I book us into one.  Duly noted!

I was given a pair of upside pineapple glassware as a retirement gift, which are pictured above. The glassware was purchased on purpose as a useful & humorous gift.  It goes like this.  After reading the article, I decided I needed to enlighten other camping / RV enthusiasts.  I was working in a new sales branch in Fall River, MA, where one such enthusiast was located, and in the middle of the sales floor, I blurted out, “Hey Pat, do you know what the upside-down pineapple means when displayed on a camper?”  This line of questioning garnered a lot of attention and for the next 10 minutes, 6 or so people were involved in an animated upside-down pineapple discussion.  It was all very funny.  

Time passes, and my commute to Fall River for extended day training sessions were coming to a close.  I was instructed to not bring a bologna & cheese sandwich on my last day visit, and instead I was treated to lunch.  It was at this point I received a gift bag in which there were two upside-down pineapple drink glasses.  A very funny and thoughtful gift, as a thank you & retirement send off.  Judy immediately placed the glasses in the RV, they would be accompanying us on our April “shakedown trip” to Cap May, NJ. 

Weeks later it was said camping trip and we set up at a lovely RV campsite in Cape May Courthouse, NJ. We are there two weeks into the camping season, the weather is getting warmer, but we are still visiting this area in the “pre-season”.  The RV campground is virtually empty with only a couple of seasonal occupants there opening their campsites.  It’s quiet and many of the venues, restaurants, and even shopping areas are closed, to be opening in another couple of weeks.

After setting up and doing some sightseeing for a couple of days, there appears, just a campsite away, a new camper, with, what appears to be another husband and wife couple.  It’s a sunny pleasant day and I’m a friendly guy, so I offer up a greeting to our new neighbors.  And what do you know, Bill (as I come to find out his name) is also a friendly guy, so what do you think happens next when two friendly guys with new campers meet at a campsite early in the camping season?  You guessed it, what occurred after that was a 40 minute get to know you conversation that included formal introduction, geographical origins, news of our newest RV and camping acquisitions, as well as occupational information.  And what do you know, spouse Kim (as we come to learn her name) is a retired NJ school teacher.   What are the odds of that?  The conversations flowed fast a furious for a while, and soon we were getting tours of each other’s campers.  What we witnessed on that day was a budding “bromance” between two newly outfitted camping couples. 

The rumors are true, you meet really nice people that sometimes surprisingly look like you in the mirror.  Add the fact that the date was April 20^th, (i.e. 4-20) and you can almost see the sparklers appearing, as we truly met a very generous & charismatic couple, and I even lent Bill a ½” socket driver so he could attach the new sway bar hitch to his vehicle.  For the next couple of days, we sought them out, bumped into them regularly, and had cocktails together. Come to find out that Kim and Bill visit Cape May pretty regularly and arrangements are made to have a last dinner together before we each head out to our next stop.  We had a lovely dinner at a nice restaurant, and after dinner we invited Bill and Kim back to our Couples Coach to have a nightcap.  It’s about 9:30 and we’re sitting around having a last drink, listening to music, and just talking at a frenetic pace. 

I’m not sure exactly what we were talking about, but I suspect there was some conversation about outfitting RV’s with the essential equipment, when all of a sudden Judy decides that this is the appropriate time to introduce Bill & Kim to our collection of upside-down pineapple glasses.  Judy heads directly for the cabinet across the room.  She hasn’t made it to the cabinet yet, but I’m thinking, right then and there, WHOA, that’s probably not a great idea.  Judy wanted to show our guests our recent gift of those unique upside-down pineapple glasses, whilst missing just a couple of important social constructs that screamed to me that it probably wasn’t a great idea to introduce the topic of upside-down pineapples to a couple that we had known for barely 96 hours. No, no, mistake! An uncomfortable situation looming.

Although there was clearly a 4-20 connection between Bill and me, we all of a sudden found ourselves in that uncomfortable place of addressing the sexual preferences of the over 50 crowd.  This wasn’t supposed to be a “Tinder for RV’ers” encounter.  And there’s Judy holding an upside-down glass exclaiming, “Look what Steven got for a gift, aren’t these funny (upside-down pineapple) glasses?”

I try to say, as soon as Judy is finished, “We don’t mean anything by this, she (Judy) is just showing you how cute they are.”  Kim replies in a very hesitant tone, “Ahh is there something you’re trying to tell us?” Evidently, Kim understands the association between upside-down pineapples and swingers.  Bill is blissfully unaware of exactly what has just transpired.  No, no I assure both Kim and Bill that we were not sending any additional messages that truly Judy was showing off the unique glassware without any additional subliminal messages.  You could see the visible relief in Kim’s face, as Judy starts backpedaling once she realizes the can of worms she has just opened.  Once we had assured them that we were not swapping partners for the evening, we all had a good laugh, and they were really great sports about the faux pas.  An evening that will not soon be forgotten, and I’m sure Kim & Bill have told this story as well and now it has been preserved for eternity as we tell… the Rest of the Story.

A tour of the Industrial Mid-West. Not the most romantic starting point.

So, you think it’s easy, don’t you?  All the pieces are in place to start a new and exciting semi-nomadic life.  We have dipped our toes into the RV lifestyle, and we want more.  So much more that we have pledged to join the ranks of RV nirvana and committed to the idea of becoming citizens of these United States.  Glorious! ?

Where in the hell are we going to go? There’s a lot of stuff to see and it’s a bit overwhelming.  No, no, for this trip we needed to dig deep and come up with something truly exciting and unique.  We needed to think outside the box, to harness that creative energy, and stretch our imagination.  We needed a great idea, and I had it!

“We would visit my brother Paul, and sister-in-law Jen, who lived in St Louis, Missouri!” 

Yeah, honestly not the spark I was looking for, but it would do.  I say, “If all fails, go visit somebody.”  Start there and let the RV-Life trip planning tool do the rest.  We are scheduled to leave just after the July 4^th holiday and, if all goes well, return the 3^rd week in September.  So here goes:

• First stop, Syracuse, NY.  More precisely we are staying in the driveway of my cousin Beth.  Honestly, this is just one step from camping in my own back yard.  

• On to Erie, PA, to Lampe Marina Campground, right out on the Presque Bay peninsula of Lake Erie.  

• Then our first stop at a KOA, about 40 minutes outside of Clevland, OH.  We already have our tickets at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  

• Next stop is Charlston, OH, halfway between Columbus OH & Dayton, OH.  We plan on stretching our walking legs as we tour the Columbus Zoo, at 580 acres and more than 7000 animals, the largest zoo in America.  In Dayton, OH we will visit the National Museum of the United States Air Force.  

• After being on the road just about a month, we will stop for two weeks in St. Louis, MO. And visit with my ever re-locating brother & sister-in-law, Paul and Jen.

OK, so I admit it, not the most glamorous, romantic, or even nostalgic first month.  There’s no sunny beach, picturesque ocean front, sparkling lakeside, or tall pine tree forest campground detailed in the above itinerary.  But come on, the zoos, museums, arcades, walking trails, and attractions associated with the Midwest are interesting & noteworthy.  Nay, nay I say, maybe not the most stylish, but much better than working!  Throw in family, some golf, a couple of Walmart parking lots, and we’re off to a great start.

Wait, wait, stop, timeout!  This just in, Paul & Jen are moving to Pennsylvania, near Harrisburg.  Paul’s taken a new job in PA, and the company is moving them both as soon as possible.  So, by the time July 4^th rolls around, there will be no brother & sister-in-law to visit.  Nope, by August 1^st, at best, all we’ll be able to do is drive by the empty, and for sale house.  Something tells me, Judy and I will just have to make the best of it.  Haven’t figured out exactly what we’re going to do for 14 days in St. Louis / St. Charles, MO.  Anybody got any suggestions?

• We head north from St. Louis, on to Wabasha, MN on the banks of the Mississippi River.  We will actually be camping riverside in this park.

• From MN, we turn our “home on wheels” due east as we make a bee line run to Suamico, WI – which is just a 15-minute drive north of Green Bay, WI, the heart of “Cheese Head” country, and, of course, there’s another zoo to visit.

• Pack your bags as the next stop sees us driving north along Lake Michigan up into the Michigan Upper Peninsula.  Over the 8-mile Mackinaw suspension bridge into Mackinaw City.   We’ll probably take the ferry to Mackinaw Island.  The second US national park after Yellowstone.

• We will head due south toward Detroit, MI.  Notice I said towards Detroit, yeah, we’re not visiting Detroit.  Instead, we will be staying in Kimball, MI, 5 miles outside of Port Huron, and directly across the border from Port Edward, Ontario, Canada.  

And that, my friends, is what we have for booked stays and already scheduled attractions.  We are currently investigating the possibilities of these final stops on our trip.  

     >   On over to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, just south of Toronto, Canada.

     >   Then onto Kingston, Ontario, Canada. 

     >   Our final stop will inevitably have to be Burlington, VT, to visit with our son Josh.

Back to Massachusetts, around the 3^rd week of September.  All told, the trip statistics are impressive: 

                 ü       There are 12 stops             ü      More than 53 hours of travel time

ü     Over 3,350 miles         ü     Nine States          ü    Two countries

Look at the map!  What an extraordinary first expedition.  What started as a small spark of an idea to go and visit family in St. Louis, Missouri, and our inaugural trip has morphed into an extraordinary tour of the Industrial Midwest and Great Lakes region of both US and Canada.  And we still have much to investigate and book.  So stay with us as we continue our planning, as we tell… the Rest of the Story.

 

Are you sure you want to do this?

I think the following captioned picture pretty much sums up all our feelings on that infamous retirement plan.

The concept of retiring, let alone deciding to retire early, before the age of 60, is a lofty goal. Following through on such a pronouncement is even more complicated.  We started the retirement-planning process early, as we found the prospect of retiring too late to really be able to enjoy ourselves objectionable.  Luckily, we were of the same mindset and Judy was quite open to the idea of early retirement. Let’s think, for a moment, about some of the pitfalls of retiring at the same time, as a couple, moving into a 380 square foot house on wheels, and roaming the highways and byways of America.  What could go wrong?  Errr,,, what could go right might be a better question. 

Top three troubling issues that come to mind when contemplating early retirement:

·         Can we afford it?

·         Will we get bored?

·         Can we live with each other full time?  (I can just hear some of you groaning, lol)

In August of 2018 we started to explore the RV lifestyle. We rented a 25-foot-long drivable class C RV, got a 45-minute tutorial of the most important issues like flushing the toilet, making sure the RV was level, and connecting to water, sewer and electric.  We were also warned that bridges under 12’ 6” were to be avoided at all costs.   With a handful of additional instructions as well as a toll-free number to call if we had any problems, we loaded this camper with kitchenware, clothes, food, and all the equipment we thought we would need for a weeks’ worth of camping and set off on our first RV adventure to Buffalo & Niagara Falls, NY.   Our first overnight stop was in the Lee, Massachusetts service area on the Mass. Turnpike.  It was exhilarating.  The morning saw us having brewed coffee and toasted bagels before we gassed up and headed off to our NY destination.  Was a great first experience, we learned a lot, and agreed that this was a lifestyle that could be both challenging and enjoyable.

In August of 2019 we were at it again, but this time we were more adventurous and more daring.  Our 2019 trip was a 12-day tour deforce of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia, Canada.  This trip saw us renting a 31-foot-long Class C RV complete with an outdoor kitchen and TV.  We drove over 1,400 miles on this trip, crossed the 8-mile-long Confederation Bridge going to PEI, and even placed the RV on a ferry between the ports of Digby, Nova Scotia and St. Johns, New Brunswick.  Watching the astronomically low tides at the Bay of Fundy, walking a mile out into the bay at low tide, and roaming the pristine and solitary beaches of Cavandish Park just south of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, were spectacular.  After this trip, we were hooked!  The biggest takeaway from this second excursion was that we needed more time at these destinations.  That the sightseeing and exploring that we squeezed into 3 days should have been expanded to a weeks’ worth of time, if not more.

We had another robust trip planned for August of 2020, but like most people, August 2020 was the summer of the Covid pandemic.  We were still able to RV but had to truncate the trip to 5 days in Lake George, NY.  Was a tough year to experiment and explore as many attractions were closed.  It was on this trip that we realized the importance of having some type of independent transportation.  Covid had made moving around Lake George difficult.  We had depended on UBER car services during previous trips, but there were no UBER drivers during Covid.  To make matters worse, Lake George had a robust system of trollies, and there was even a trolley stop designated at our campground, but in the year of Covid, said trolley service was spotty and undependable at best. 

One of our more memorable experiences on this trip was being picked up by a local woman who had observed Judy and me from across the street, as we stood in the pouring rain for 45 minutes waiting for a trolley to take us to see a museum in town.  This woman had yelled across the street to us as we waited, and felt bad enough for our plight that she literally jumped into her car, made an illegal U-turn across a major thoroughfare, and picked us up off the side of the road. A stranger, with no mask on, whisked us down to the museum parking lot. We didn’t know whether to be unbelievably grateful or incredibly horrified.  Life was very different during Covid.

Honestly, and I know I speak for Judy when I say that “living with each other full time in a 380 square foot house on wheels” is the least of our concerns.  Judy and I genuinely share a vision of what we both want our years in retirement to look like.  It has been that way for most of our 40 years together.  And we recognize how lucky we are, whilst working to continue to grow together so that we can tell… the Rest of the Story.