A Reward

I am giving myself time to write today as a reward for having met some deadlines.  I am in the process of writing a thesis to culminate my latest graduate school experience.  The thesis is on travel, but I am writing with guidelines and deadlines rather than the free-flowing personal nature of my blog posts.  So, my treat to myself is to allow myself the time to blog.  Who knew that when I started on this blogging journey that it would become so important to me?  A year ago the thought of putting myself out here in cyberspace was unthinkable.  Graduate school has had its benefits!

It is too cold to go out in the RV.  This past week the Northeast has been gripped in bitter cold with the night lows in the single digits.  The upcoming week should be better but still hovering around freezing during the day and nights in the teens and twenties.  I long for warmth!

Johnnie and I plan to retire in southern Arizona in a few years.  To begin our transformation into Arizonans, we subscribe to Arizona Highways.  This month’s edition arrived on the coldest day this past week.  After taking off my coat and getting a cup of hot tea, I read the issue from cover to cover in one sitting.  I had to transport myself to that warmth, even if only in my imagination.

Today, we will watch the Eagles play the Cardinals in Arizona, wishing we were in the stands, or at least in the state.  This morning’s Philadelphia Inquirer had an article on Quarterback Donovan McNabb who resides in Arizona.  Other transplants from this area were interviewed in the article and in other articles about people going to the game.   Oh to be warm again . . . .

This time of year I am usually counting the days until our Spring RV trip, but grad school will prevent my usual two weeks off to travel.  I know that I cannot get my work done and travel across the country.  I know that I need to be near home so that I can focus on my writing which given the dates of Spring Break this year (April 10 – 20) is too close to the final due date of the thesis:  April 28th.  I know all of this in my head, but my heart wants to be elsewhere.  I will get over this, but I doubt that I will do it graciously.

So, I read the travel section of the Sunday papers and dream of warmer places — San Diego, this week.  I haven’t been to San Diego but it is now on my list of future destinations.

Johnnie and I have discovered two places that we want to return to — Assateague Island National Seashore and Elk Neck State Park, both in Maryland.  If it ever warms up, both of these are close to home, Assateague 3 hours, Elk Neck under 2 hours.  It takes us nearly an hour and a half to get to our beloved Belleplain State Park and almost two to get to Cape May.   Delaware is inbetween NJ and MD, so we probably need to investigate areas in Delaware to add to our local list.

Then there is still much of NJ to explore from the standpoint of side trips.  Perhaps by my next post, I will have visited something new.

Not abandoned, just busy

It has been almost six weeks since my last post.  I have not abandoned this blog.  I have been busy with work, graduate school, and at one point a sick grandson.  The weather has been weird — warm for a day or two during the week, then cold on the weekends.  Not just cold, but frigid.  In New Jersey, there are few, if any, campgrounds with hookups that are open year-round.  We would have to go nearly four hours to find a place with hookups and lately that has not been far enough to find moderate weather.  We are homebound.

My antidote to being homebound is to plan a trip.  Johnnie had to submit his desired vacation weeks for 2009.  Graduate school will prevent a Spring trip this year.  (The last time we did not take a Spring trip was in 2005 but we needed the time for a trip to Haifa, Israel in November of that year.)  I graduate in May, so Johnnie submitted a request for the next week.  We will watch the weather to see if this week will be a return trip to Nova Scotia with possibly a side-trip to Newfoundland or a return trip to Sugarloaf Key, Florida.  I don’t mind not knowing where we are going; I just need to know that we are going.  In 152 days.  Life is so much more manageable to me if I can count down to the next vacation.

October in Belleplain State Forest

I love October in Belleplain State Forest (NJ).  The maples, elms, oaks, sassafrases and hickories (among other trees) change colors.  There is always some reds, last year there were amazing shades of red.  This year the maples turned red, but orange seems to be the dominant color.  the temperature must not have dropped to the necessary degree to signal the production of red in the leaves (see my post, My Favorite Campground in New Jersey:  Belleplain State Forest). 

I visited Belleplain at the beginning of the month.  Many of the leaves had not turned yet, except one maple near the lake.  I went out early in the day and took pictures of the reflection on the lake from different locations. 

 

 

Red at the park

Another view of the red

On this particular trip, I camped for most of it by myself.  I have never camped by myself.  Yes, I was in my wonderful motorhome with most of the conveniences of home, but I was dry camping, meaning I had no hook ups to water, electricity or sewer.  With Johnnie, my husband, usually with me, I don’t have to pay attention to water usage, the charging of the inverter so that there is ample power to run the furnace if needed, or running the generator to charge the inverter or to use the microwave or the coffeemaker.  This was the first time that I cooked in our motorhome.  And I did cook using the stove, not just heat or cook meals in the microwave.  It was an exhilarating experience.

What I loved most was that I found my rhythm.  I am in graduate school and needed to write while I was away.  I knew that I wanted photograph the leaves and walk on the nature trail.  Since I had our dinghy with me, I also wanted to take trips to Moores Beach and Reeds Beach which are both on the Delaware Bay and, if time and weather allowed, a trip to Cape May Point State Park.  I found that I was up each morning shortly after sunrise which was a treat since my work week 5:30 am is in the dark.  I started the generator then made coffee, followed by cooking oatmeal for breakfast.  I worked for a few hours and then dressed.  After getting dressed, I snacked on fruit and then went outside.  After an hour or two, I came back to the RV to make lunch.  Cleaning up after lunch, I went on my trip.  Moores Beach was a bit too isolated for me and I did not feel safe by myself amidst the six-foot tall marsh grass surrounding me.  If I had visited the place previously, I might have felt safer, but this was all new territory for me.  I’ll visit again with Johnnie.  When I walked the nature trails and was within the Lake Nummy Recreation area, I felt safe because I know this area like the back of my hand and I know the rangers patrol on a regular basis.  I always wave to the rangers and make eye contact so that they are aware of my presence.  Most of the week there were only two other sites in my camping area that were occupied, so I really was alone. 

I discovered that one of my favorite times of the day was the hour before sunset.  I made a cup of tea and drank it at the picnic table on my site.  Woodpeckers and blue jays were out at this time and I was able to learn a lot about them.  The blue jays were trying to get the woodpeckers to move by flying close by the woodpeckers so that they would fly to another tree.  The woodpeckers would sit on the branches and call.  I had never identified the call as the woodpecker.  When they make the call, their body feathers ruffle and the body trembles.  Unfortunately in the receding light, I could not get a clear picture of the woodpeckers.  They blended into the light and the pine trees. 

Once the sun set, I made dinner and settled in for the evening.  Park rules stipulate that generators can be run between 6 am and 10 pm.  Sometime after 8 pm I would run the generator for an hour so that I charged the inverter.  The furnace was set at a comfortable 69 degrees.  Each night the furnace would come on in the pre-dawn hours when the temperature dropped the lowest.  One night the furnace came on a few times during the night.  I was grateful for my comforter and for the furnace.

I loved my time alone and I enjoyed my reunion with Johnnie when he came for final few days.  One day had been rainy so I had not had a chance to get to Reeds Beach or Cape May Point State Park before his visit.  We did visit both places.  Reeds Beach is a tiny little waterfron community with beach houses.  One road goes through the community.  On the Saturday that we visited, the weather was warm and sunny, so people were visiting for the weekend.  We went to the pier and watched boats come up the Delaware Bay.  We had packed a picnic lunch that we ate at Cape May Point State Park before returning to Belleplain.

Birds on the pilings at Reeds Beach

 

View from the pier

 

The road into Reeds Beach

Our camping season is coming to an end.  The weather will get too cold for dry camping and almost all of the campgrounds in our area close from November to April.  I look forward to the first warm weekend in spring when we return to Belleplain.

August Trip: Destination 4: Acadia National Park, Maine — and more photos

One of the places that we visited was Somes Sound which is the only fjord on the east coast.  When I think of fjords, the example in geography was from Norway, not the east coast of the US.  From the view point, I could see that Somes Sound was a long cut into the island.  The rest I had to trust was there. 

Somes Sound

 

Somes Sound Information Marker

Somes Sound

Another view

We did not have time to explore more of the quiet side (Western side) of Mount Desert Island.  That will have to wait for the next trip.

The drive home was long (10 1/2 hours straight through) and uneventful.  Next time, we will break it up into two days.  It’s just that you seem so close to home so you keep going, but 10+ hours is grueling. 

We don’t have another trip planned yet as we settle back into the daily routines of work.  But, the days are getting shorter, the nights are getting cooler, and the mornings are crisp.  Fall.  Perfect tent camping weather.  Perfect RVing weather.  I think I hear Belleplain State Forest calling . . .

August Trip: Destination 4 — Acadia National Park, Maine

One month ago, Johnnie and I were at our fourth major destination, Acadia National Park, Maine, USA.  Coming back into the US was just as easy as leaving it.  The Customs Agent said “Welcome home” to us.  Johnnie and I have traveled outside of the country before — 2 trips to the Bahamas and a 10-day pilgrimage to Haifa, Israel — and I’m sure we were welcomed back into the country, but this time it just had a different ring. 

We stayed at Narrows, Too campground in Trenton, Maine.  Our site faced the water.  Actually faced is not the correct word. It felt like we were on the water.  When there was water.  Twice a day there was lots of water in front of us and twice a day there was mud and rocks in front of us.

Our site on the water

 

Our site (viewed from the opposite shore) when the tide was out

 

It was a full moon when we were there and the moon shone so brightly on the water that Johnnie was able to get a clear picture of the moonlight on the water from the front window of the RV.

Moonlight on the water

 

Moonlight on the water -- another view

Acadia National Park was beautiful.  We drove through the park and stopped at various outlooks to take pictures. 

View from an outlook at Acadia National Park

Frenchman

 We drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain, the first place to get sunlight within the US each day.  Since we were only visiting once, we did not take any of the hikes or ride on the miles of carriage trails on our bikes.  Acadia is definitely a place to revisit.

View from Cadillac Mountain

August Trip — Destination 3: Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia and the Cabot Trail

Nova Scotia is beautiful.  From the moment that we crossed into Nova Scotia and the Welcome to Nova Scotia sign and the welcome center, Nova Scotia regaled us with its beauty. 

Welcome to Nova Scotia Sign

 

Lighthouse at the Welcome Center

We stayed at the North Sydney/Cabot Trail KOA in New Harris.  The KOA is at the base of Kelly Mountain (you climb 240 meters in 7 km to get over the mountain, according to the road signs) and just before the bridge over the Bras d’Or Lake and Boularderie Island.  The sites are terraced and we were on the top level in a back-in site so that the view out of our front window was the Bras d’Or Lake.

Our Campsite

Stopped at the base of Kelly Mountain

The view from our front window

The owners of the KOA, the Christophers, were very friendly and knowledgeable.  Mrs. Christopher gave us many specific places to visit along the Cabot Trail and Mr. Christopher gave good suggestions for places to eat.  The other campers were extremely friendly, one family in particular from Ontario who visit this area often.  They personally recommended places and suggested that next time we spend at least two weeks, if not a month to get to some of the nearby locations, such as taking the ferry to Newfoundland or the ferry to Prince Edward Island or the Confederation Bridge.  It was also nice to have a day or two of sunshine!  (As I write this post, Hurricane Hanna is dropping lots of rain on New Jersey and the rain is reminding me of our trip, especially the two days in Montreal when we could not really go anywhere because it was so wet!)

Just a note:  I had gotten used to seeing signs in French or even French and English, but I was very surprised to see signs in Gaelic on Cape Breton Island.  Very interesting!

The highlight of our time on Cape Breton Island was driving the Cabot Trail, a 185-mile loop around the island.  We stopped often to take pictures at the various lookout points.  Waterfalls were the greatest surprise.  It had stormed the night before so we did not see any whales or seals off of the coast.  And, as usual, no moose were to be seen, though we did hear a tale of a moose sighting from a couple from Pitman, NJ when we stopped for lunch. (Yes, we went all the way to Nova Scotia to meet people who live about 30 miles from us.)  They had seen one the night before.  It just appeared in the road, similar to our encounter with the black bear in Kouchibouguac National Park.  Johnnie and I were just not meant to see a moose on this trip!

Here are a few pictures from the Cabot Trail:

Medium-size Waterfall onto the Beach

Waterfall in the middle of the forest

August Trip — Destination 2: Kouchibouguac National Park in New Brunswick, Canada

Kouchibouguac National Park was great!  From an RV standpoint, it was phenomenal.  The sites in the South Kouchibouguac Campground were long enough to back in our 40-foot motorhome, have space to park our Jeep and plenty of room to spare.

Our campsite at Kouchibouguac National Park

We spent four days at the Park and barely scratched the surface of all there was to do and see.  Partly, because it rained.  Did I mention that during much of our time in Canada it rained?  One day during our stay it stormed so bad off and on all day that we stayed inside all day.  Luckily, the temperature was not too hot and we didn’t need to run the air conditioners all day.  Kouchibouguac has a few sites that have electric but most of the campground has no services — boondocking or dry camping.  Generators are allowed but only between the hours of 10 am and 6 pm.  Personally, I think that 6 pm is too early during the summer months because it is still light outside and animals and birds would not be disturbed.  But other campers might be.  Especially those without generators. 

We did get to see some wildlife while at Kouchibouguac.  One day as we were driving through the park, a black bear croseed the road in front of us.  Johnnie and I were stunned.  While stunned, we did not have a camera within reach.  So no picture is forthcoming.  One of the rangers told us that it was a mother bear and her cub.  He had seen them, too.  We didn’t see the cub, he must have crossed the road before we got there.

Another wildlife incident involved an osprey and a bald eagle.  We were at Kelly’s Beach, a waterfront area where people can go swimming.  We were walking on the boardwalk to the beach area.  We had just turned to go back to the car when I spotted the osprey flying with a fish in its claws.  A bald eagle came out of nowhere and knocked the fish out of the osprey’s claws.  Then the eagle caught the fish and flew back to its nest.  The eagle mugged the osprey!  It was an amazing thing to watch.  The two photos below are the best that we could do with our camera.  I am looking to see if there is a way to zoom into the picture so that the eagle can be cleary seen.

Eagle with the stolen fish

 

The eagle flying back to its nest.

 

There are over 30 miles of biking trails within the park and there are walking trails that do not allow bikes.  Sometimes they run parallel.  I was able to ride part of the biking trail and I walked an accompanying part.  There were boardwalks in sections and in other places there were lookouts or viewing platforms with picnic tables built in.  There were plenty of picnic tables throughout the park.  Kouchibouguac is really made for relaxing.

Johnnie on one of the observation platforms with built-in picnic tables

Bridge on the walking path

There are beautiful waterways throughout the part.  In some of the smaller waterways, the water looks like NJ cedar water.

Water at Kelly

Water that looks like cedar water

One thing really intrigued me.  There were pine trees that appeared to have Spanish moss or some other related moss hanging from their branches.  I thought Spanish moss needed heat and humidity like Louisiana and Florida.  But maybe the moss needs the humidity and not the heat.  I didn’t have time to find the answer to this question.

Moss hanging on the branches

I wish that we had spent more time at Kouchibouguac, especially if we had had sun.  It was one of the highlights of our trip.  We realized that it is closer that Key West, Florida where we have gone for two spring vacations.  The only trouble is that the window of visiting Kouchibouguac is from May to September when there is no snow.  I am sure that we will visit again.

An arctic tern on the boardwalk to Kelly

August Trip — Destination 1: Niagara Falls, Ontario Pt. 5 More Photos from Niagara Falls

Johnnie and I both take photos when we travel, but we have different approaches to the camera.  Johnnie likes to organize and compartmentalize the photos onto specific cards and to take only a certain number of photos.  I take whatever catches my eye on whatever card is in the camera and download what I want later.  This really speaks to the different ways in which we handle life and is a testament to our ability to compromise for the past 30 years.

One way that I thought to resolve our camera issue was to buy a separate camera for myself.  But I bought us a really good camera in 2005 that I love, a Panasonic DMC-FZ5, and it is the closest to a digital SLR that you can get.  The next step would be to buy a digital SLR.  I realized, however, that we focus on different things when we take photos.  Johnnie specializes in scenery and landscape, taking incrdible photos that could be posters or postcards.  He also will take close ups of animals that I won’t take because I don’t get as close to the animals as he does to get the incredible close ups.  I made two of his close ups from our trip to Yellowstone into poster-size prints that are framed and hanging in our living room.  I like to take close ups of flora.  So, I have decided to overall focus on the macro capabilities of the camera.  I think I am getting pretty good at these types of pictures.

So here are some photos of mine of the plants at The Floral Clock:

Plants at the Floral Clock

 

Plants at the Floral Clock

 

Plants at the Floral Clock

 

Plants at the Floral Clock

 

Plants at the Floral Clock

 

Fish in the pond at the Floral Clock

August Trip — Destination 1: Niagara Falls, Ontario Pt. 4 Niagara Falls

The American Falls and the Canadian Horseshoe Falls are impressive.  All of that surging water!  All of that power!  On our tour, we visited the Falls, took the Journey Behind the Falls, went to the Niagara Flower Clock, the whirlpool, had lunch at a restaurant, and rode The Maid of the Mist.  There were only 22 people in our group and we had a very knowledgeable driver/tour guide.  Niagara Falls is one of those wonders that everyone should see at least once.

Water leading up to the Falls

 

View from a tunnel behind Horseshoe Falls

 

View of the side of the Falls from the observation deck in Journey Behind the Falls

 

Whirlpool on the Niagara River downstream from the Falls

 

The Floral Clock

 

View from The Maid of the Mist

View of the American Falls from The Maid of the Mist

August Trip — Destination 1: Niagara Falls, Ontario Pt. 3 Niagara Parkway

On the same day that Johnnie and I visited Welland Locks, we drove the southern portion of the Niagara Parkway from Niagara Falls to Fort Erie.  The Niagara Falls area was very crowded, but we got a good view of the Falls.  We were just going for a ride and a quick view since we were taking the tour in the morning that included the portion of the Niagara Parkway within the city of Niagara Falls, so we did not bring our camera.  Mistake. 

At this end of the Parkway, the Niagara River gets wide and looks like a lazy river, no apparent evidence of the Falls that lie downstream.  We could see across to the USA side and there was little activity on the river.  The ride on this end of the Parkway is worth it just to see the houses.  The houses range from small, old homes to mansions.  No matter the size, they all have the Niagara River as their front view. 

On our last day in Niagara Falls, we drove the upper end of the Parkway starting in Niagara-on-the-Lake.  Friends had recommended Niagara-on-the-Lake as a place that we would enjoy.  There are wineries in the area with tours and tasting.  Neither Johnnie nor I drink, so this was not appealing to us.  The town itself was quaint with lots of shops.  I am not a shopper and nothing really caught my eye to make us stop.  There are lots of restaurants but the place was crowded.   It reminded me of Haddonfield, NJ.  So, very nice to drive through and so was the rest of the Parkway to Niagara Falls.

Parallel to the Niagara Parkway in most places is the Niagara Recreation Trail.  It is 35 miles in its entirety and nicely maintained.  We walked a very small portion of it.  It would have been great for our bikes, but again the weather was uncertain so we had not brought the bikes with us.  Another thing to do on a return trip. Pictures from the Niagara Falls section of the Trail and Parkway will be in the next post.