July 2003
Happy Birthday, U.S.A.
Summer finally has arrived!   We had started June with plenty of cold and wet weather - wondering if the weatherman had forgotten to put summer on his list.  Well, the last of June and the first of July proved otherwise.  Suddenly, the temperatures were hovering near 100* with humidity to match.  We had arrived at the Thousand Trails in Port Republic, New Jersey on Sunday, June 29.  On Monday we drove the 15 miles into Atlantic City and spent quite a bit of time (unprofitable!!) in the Harrah's casino.  About the time we decided to head for the Boardwalk, a few showers began...so we headed back home.
On Tuesday, July 1, we went to visit Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, driving the car into Philadelphia - about an hour drive.  We went to the new visitors center at the Independence National Historic Park where we watched two videos about the early times in Philadelphia.  There we were able to get tickets to tour Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Pavilion, both of which are under pretty good security.  We were entertained on the streets by various characters in period costumes reenacting the excitement of the times.  The new  National Constitution Center didn't open until the 4th of July, so we were able to visit that only by way of the many live television broadcasts during the holiday weekend.  The drive into and back from the city was fairly easy and uncomplicated via the Garden State Parkway.   But, we celebrated the birth of the U.S.A. from the point where it all began.....quite impressive.   Wednesday was an R&R day at the park.
A drive along the "Ocean Road" was our next adventure.  It took us most of the day on Thursday to drive the fifty miles down and back to Cape May from the park.  Along the way we stopped and walked out to the beach in several places.  We drove through the many many streets of vacation rental homes and saw the people enjoying their balconies, the boardwalk and spots on the beach.  In Cape May we stopped at the Cape May Point State Park and learned that the buildings there had been built during WWII as an observation and defense point.  But, so much erosion has occurred that the bunker is now out in the middle of water.  Nearby we also saw the remains of a concrete ship that was abandoned after several trans-Atlantic trips as impractical...I wonder why?  The crowds along the beach were a little sparse as the day had started out gloomy and rainy, but in spite of the fact that in this part of the country you must pay to use the beach, the rest of the weekend they were quite crowded. All in all - an enjoyable day along the shore!
The 4th of July fireworks from Tuckerton, NJ lit up the sky for us...from our vantage spot in a grocery store parking lot, where the Thousand Trails Park manager had suggested we go to watch.  It was a pretty decent show and we enjoyed the live broadcasts from Philadelphia and Boston on TV when we returned.  Unfortunately, Atlantic City no longer has fireworks displays due to accidents in previous years.
On the 5th we returned to Tuckerton, NJ and spent the afternoon at the Seaport Museum.  The Museum has been open only a few years and is still in a "growing" stage, but is well worth a visit.  It is a "living" museum consisting of various little old refurbished buildings built along the waterfront and connected by a boardwalk.  Each of the buildings has a volunteer docent to explain wonderful displays of the original uses of the building and in some, demonstrate.  There are woodcarvers, boatbuilders, blacksmith, and various clammers and fishermen.  A lighthouse has been reconstructed similar to one that fell into the sea in the early 1900's and it allows a great view of the area from the top.
The Tuckerton Seaport Museum viewed from the top of the lighthouse.
The Liberty Bell and Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA.
With a forecast for sunny weather, we made a return trip to Atlantic City on Monday, July 7.  The "hoopla" from the holiday weekend opening of the new Borgata casino had died down and we were able to walk through and gawk at the hand-blown glass chandeliers and the computerized slot machines (no coins) and see the "air curtains" in action at the tables (frankly it was still a little smokey).  We also visited Trump's Taj Mahal, The Sands and a few other casinos.  We walked quite a way up and down the Boardwalk having fun doing some "people watching" and seeing the ocean and beach.  We felt sorry for the "jitney drivers"...guys pushing the little 2-passenger carts by running along the boardwalk in the 95* heat.  Thanks to Mary, this trip was a little more profitable than our day at the casinos the week before!
As we were pulling out of the Thousand Trails Preserve on Tuesday morning with the Bounder, we noticed a man on the porch waving at us.  Seems he was trying to tell us that we had a flat tire on the front left wheel.  A new adventure for us!   While Mary went to call AAA Tom decided that he would use our compressor to try and put air in the tire to minimize damage to the belts in the tire.  He also unloaded all the "stuff" in the basement storage bin that was in front of our spare tire.  In spite of our request to AAA that the repair truck needed to have an air-impact wrench on board, the service that arrived was a 20-ish young man with a "normal" tire iron, dressed like he was headed to the beach for a volleyball game, whose first comment was "Gee, I've never seen one this big!"  After he and Tom discussed the situation and looked over the tire, it was decided that we would drive the rig to the truck repair shop.  The tire was loosing air very slowly and we drove "back roads" carefully following the tow truck.  At the shop, with our jacks extended and without removing the tire, several guys looked the tire over inch by inch and could see no damage.  Then they put the soap solution on it and discovered that the valve stem was leaking and loose.  So, we tightened it up, put more air in the tire, and were ready to hit the road again.  We were quite lucky!!!  And only about an hour behind our projected time schedule.
As we headed north towards New York State, we tried to avoid heavy traffic and toll roads.  So, we had a scenic drive through the "countryside."  Everything was so green and hilly and it was a nice drive.  We did have to use the toll road closer to Albany, NY as it was difficult to be sure we would have roads clear enough for our size rig.  We arrived early evening at the the "Frosty Acres Resort" near Schenectady.  From here we took trips to visit the Firefighters Museum of America in Hudson, NY, and to "Lindenwald", the estate of President Martin Van Buren near Kinderhook, NY.  In Schenectady itself we enjoyed seeing the influence of its Dutch heritage in architecture and street names.  On Saturday morning Mary's cousin Janne and her husband, Stan Mathes, came to visit us at the campground.  We had a great visit and lunch and suddenly the day was gone.  So, we moved on to Janne and Stan's house for a tasty dinner and more visiting.  It was fun to catch up on each other's families.  We had visited Janne's mother Kay Pontius on Friday at the Ellis Center where she now lives.
The Atlantic City Boardwalk, with a "jitney" approaching on the left.
Mary with Kay Pontius in Schenectady, NY.
Janne and Stan Mathes in Scotia, NY.
To see more of our July adventures, click on "Forward" at the top of this page.
July 2003
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To see more of our July adventures, click on  "Forward"  or  "Back"  at the top of this page.
We left Frosty Acres on Monday morning, July 14 and once again enjoyed a drive "cross country" avoiding the toll roads.  Being on the edge of the Catskills, Adirondacks and Berkshire Mountains, we had great views as we rolled up and down and around the hills heading East towards the Buffalo area.  We stopped in the late afternoon in Batavia, NY at a Wal-Mart where the manager assured us we were welcome to spend the night.  After paying for our "free" camping by doing some shopping in the Wal-Mart, we went for a walk to nearby plazas and found a nice place for dinner.  Returning to the Bounder we took a side trip to the "Batavia Downs" racetrack to see if anything was going on.  It turned out to be the "opening night" of the season of harness racing.  So, we found a seat in the grandstand and watched the races till we decided it was getting dark and we had a healthy walk back to the RV....where we had been joined by several other RVs.
Late Tuesday morning we drove on to the south side of Buffalo to the Ralph Wilson Stadium (home of the Buffalo Bills) where we checked in at registration for the Family Motor Coach Association International Convention.  After unhooking the car and getting our information packet we were told to "follow the leader" to our parking area.  We ended up being parked at the Erie County Fairgrounds which was the actual site of the convention.  We had expected to have been parked at the stadium as they were expecting about 5000 coaches at the convention and the fairgrounds spaces would be for vendors, officers and handicapped people.  We "lucked out."  The convention did not officially start until Thursday, so we had the rest of Tuesday and Wednesday to get our bearings and go through the program and decide which seminars and vendors we especially wanted to visit.  We had decided only several weeks ago to attend the convention and made no plans to try to meet up with anyone that we might know that was attending.  Purely by chance, we were parked only several coaches away from Bob and Jean Evans, friends from the "Buckeye Bounders."  Two other Bounder friends from Ohio, Forrest Martin and Jacques Everhart, were parked at the stadium with one of the official FMCA Chapter groups.  Ed and Sue Sims from the Buckeye Bounders arrived on Thursday.  We also ran into Bob and Dianne Metevia and Bob and Carolyn Buell from the Michigan-O-Bounders.  At one of the seminars, Mary found herself sitting next to a lady who had been in her golf class in Arizona last winter and at another, the couple that had been parked next to us in Schenectady..........a "small world" among the 9000 attendees at the convention!
Activities at the FMCA Convention were scheduled Thursday through Sunday from 7am to 10pm non-stop.  There were so many to choose from that it was hard to pick and choose, and mealtimes had to be carefully considered if we wanted anything to eat.  Free meals provided by Fleetwood (maker of our coach) and Freightliner (chassis provider for many of the Fleetwood coaches) helped us decide when and where to eat several times.  The two of us rarely attended seminars together and then were able to share what we learned later.  And of course, what we learned at the seminars gave us topics for lively discussions when we got together with our Bounder friends at meal and entertainment times.  There were three huge buildings of vendors as well as quite a few outdoor displays and several hundred new coaches to tour, so those were a big draw for us as well.  We were pleased that the vendors at this convention were more RV related overall than at some of the other rallies we have attended.  We gathered a few free gifts and food as well as spent a few dollars here and there at the displays.  Tom was given a stuffed tiger by the developers of Tiger Run RV Resort in Breckenridge (Summit County, Colorado) after he identified himself as the father of Reid, the writer at the Summit Daily News.  He found that it attracted quite a bit of attention as he carried it around!   Evening entertainment ranged from square dancing to "big band" dancing,  a 60's show by some "Doo-Wop" groups, a performance by the Osmond Brothers and a barbershop chorus.  The weather for the week was cool to almost cold at night and sunny and 70's in the daytime - almost perfect for a week without any hookups.  We did run our generator about an hour in the morning and sometimes in the evening.  And we did have a little rain, especially on Saturday (during our seminar on how to put out fires!)  We had never attended a rally this big and were very pleased at the great organization by those in charge.  Overall - a fantastic week!!!
Monday, Monday!   Time to hit the road again.  But, we didn't have far to go...only about 50 miles to a campground near Falconer, NY.  It rained all day and the campground was not the greatest we'd ever stayed at...but it was one of our discount places and it was acceptable for one night.  That evening we drove to the nearby Chautauqua Institution.  The Institution is a gated community on Lake Chautauqua that was begun in the 1800's as a summer resort and educational retreat.  There are numerous lectures, classes and performances every day.  There is limited vehicle traffic on the grounds - most people walk or ride bikes wherever they wish to go.  Everyone must purchase a pass to enter the grounds and most of the events are included in the pass admission.  There are hotels, bed-and-breakfasts, homes which rent rooms during the nine week "season," as well as private homes.  Our old neighbors/friends from Maumee, Tom and Suzi Maurer spend their summers here with Suzi's mother and other family. (We visited Tom, Suzi and her mother, too, in Naples, Florida a winter or two ago.)  We had a fantastic visit with them over dinner at their home, and then attended the evening program at the amphitheater with them...a performance by the Student Orchestra and the Student Ballet Company.  Tom Ridge, head of Homeland Security had been the speaker earlier in the day.  We can see why Tom, Suzi and many others enjoy the summers there.
Considering the rain and mud, we decided to move on once again on Tuesday.  This time we went to the Thousand Trails Preserve, Kenisee Lake, south of Ashtabula, OH.  This is our "home park" for Thousand Trails, but we had never been there.  It is one of the smaller TT parks, but we were able to find a site along one of the fishing ponds and in shady area facing north...quite pleasant.  From this park we would be able to explore things in the northeast corner of Ohio, where we haven't been more than long enough to drive through on the interstate.
Ed and Sue Sims, of Mt. Vernon, OH with Tom at the FMCA International Rally near Buffalo, NY.
Bob and Jean Evans of Kinsman, OH.
Jay, Merrill and Wayne Osmond performing at the grandstand at the Erie County Fairgrounds.
The "Pizza Picnic" sponsored by the Freightliner Chassis company and chapter of FMCA.
Tom and Suzi Maurer and Suzi's mom Marge Sterritte of Chautauqua, NY and Naples, FL.
July 2003
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To see more of our July adventures, click on  "Back"  at the top of this page.
We stayed at the Kenisee Lake Thousand Trails Preserve from Tuesday, July 22 to Thursday, July 31.  Some of the days we just stuck close to home, doing laundry, housekeeping, catching up on mail and paperwork and attending the weekly "manager's meeting" and a huge surprise birthday party for one of the workcampers here at the preserve.  Other days we became tourists and tried to see some of the "highlights" of northeast Ohio.  Our frustrations in our visits here were that many of the places we drove to are open only on weekends (we just can't be everywhere on Saturday or Sunday), and secondly that no photos were allowed.  Some Lake Erie and Marine Museums and Underground Railroad stations were among the closed places we passed.   We also had some weather problems...it was overcast and cool for much of our stay here.  We had some heavy rains at times, but the areas surrounding us in Ohio, PA and NY were troubled with heavy flooding.  The rivers and streams near us were definitely high and moving fast.
The town closest to the preserve is Jefferson, OH.  There we visited the library and used their computers to check e-mail and surf a little on the internet.  We also visited the "Depot Village" where the old train station has been maintained along with a few other old buildings and on weekends they have real train rides out into the country and back. We passed on the ride.  But, we did enjoy a long visit to the "Victorian Perambulator Museum."  Identical twin sisters, now retired school teachers, started collecting wicker baby carriages, marionettes and dolls many years ago.  Their father also had started a collection of large wooden painted horses similar to carousel horses.  Their collection now fills a large house and they give a narrated private tour to those who come.  (Their mother mans the admission desk and gift shop.)  Their latest and prized acquisition is a carriage built for then princesses Margaret and Elizabeth when they were under 10 years old.
A little farther from home, we drove past many grape vineyards and stopped at several wineries.  Some were much more intimate and on a smaller scale than others.  Some are combined with cafes, restaurants and/or a "bed and breakfast."  The owner of the Buccia Vineyard in Conneaut sat down with us over about a dozen bottles of his wine on his quaint outdoor patio and told us how he left the "rat race of corporate America" to become a winemaker. We tasted lots of good wine!  We also stopped several places along the Lake Erie shoreline.  In the easternmost places the water was more blue and there were quite a few swimmers.  Getting closer to Cleveland there were signs posted saying that the bacteria levels were too high for swimming.  We were able to see several lighthouses, but they were not open to visitors.  Also in Conneaut we visited the Historical Railroad Museum...another restored depot but this one was filled with much memorabilia and has a coal-fired locomotive that we were able to climb into.  We're glad we never had to work at that job!
We're doing the westward migration in reverse!  In Salt Lake City in 2001, we visited the Mormon museums and centers.  In 2002 we stopped in Independence, Missouri, where we learned about the Mormon's reasons for going on to Utah.  This week we visited Kirtland, OH where the Mormons had established a settlement before going to Missouri.  The Temple that they built was the largest building in northern Ohio at the time.  It is three stories with classrooms on the third floor and huge meeting rooms on the first and second floors.  There were supposedly 900 people in the first floor room at the dedication service in 1836.
Also near Kirtland we stopped at the Lake Farmpark.  This is part of the Lake County Metropark System, and it is a fabulous place!  The park focuses on farm animals, how they are cared for and what their uses are.  Mary got to milk a dairy cow at a milking demonstration.  They have almost every farm animal you can think of and have frequent demonstrations during the day.  They also have a few gardens and crop displays.  We wished we had the granddaughters with us at this place!
We added another Presidential estate to our list of "been there" by stopping at "Lawnfield," the home of the 20th President, James a. Garfield in Mentor.  Garfield had been in government for almost 20 years before he bought the farm in 1876 and rebuilt the house there, just as he was nominated and then elected President in 1880.  Unfortunately, he was assassinated shortly thereafter and was President only 200 days , so he was never able to really enjoy his beautiful home and farm.  However, his family retained the home until the 1930's and his wife added a beautiful wing to the home to house Garfield's Presidential library and make space for the extended family that lived with her.  It was the first Presidential Library - but Garfield's important papers are now housed at the Library of Congress in Washington.  And although the farm is now only 8 acres, down from 157, it has been carefully restored and is a great place to visit.
The lighthouses at.....
Conneaut, OH
Ashtabula, OH
Fairport Harbor, OH
In town at Fairport Harbor
Tom with the coal-fired locomotive in Conneaut, OH.
The Kirtland Temple
"Lawnfield," the home of James A. Garfield, 20th President of the US.
Mary milking a cow at the Lake Farmpark in Kirtland, OH.
Even though we'd lived in Ohio for many years, we'd never made the trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.  So, we finally made the trip - and spent about five hours in the museum, a fantastic building on the Cleveland waterfront next to the Science Center and near the Browns stadium.  Tom's comment was that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame isn't much different than an oversized Hard Rock Cafe (but without good food selections).  It has a huge collection of memorablia belonging to many groups and artists dating back many years.  We especially enjoyed the videos and films of performances back in history.  The current featured artist is "U2" - not our favorite, but we did watch some of his concert footage.  And we took our turn at the computerized "juke boxes" and listened to a few of the 25,000 choices.  In the lobby of the hall there was a "dance party" going on...trying to set a record for the Guiness Book for the longest dance party session.  They were into hour 11 of hopefully 80+ when we left.  We'll have to watch for the results.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH.
The last day of the month of July....the summer is going fast!  For our last adventure of the month we drove the Bounder from Thousand Trails near Jefferson, OH, through Cleveland, to Avon Lake, OH.  We parked in front of the home of our old freinds and neighbors from Maumee, Ken and Gail Anderson.  We had a delightful dinner and fantastic visit with Ken and Gail and son Nathan.  It always feels good to catch up on all the family's doings and share adventures of our grandchildren.  Next month will be spent mostly in the Ohio area.
Ken and Gail Anderson in Avon Lake, OH.