My last writing was back in April. We just passed 100 days of covid quarantine - the Governor is beginning to reopen the state and for the past couple of weeks we have gotten out just a little bit more. We are keeping 'contact tracing' logs and wearing our masks in public. We have seen very few of our friends and have watched a bit more television that what we used to do. I have learned to make Udon noodles from scratch -flour, water and a pinch of salt... not too difficult, and Carol has discovered the world of online exercise classes. I have completely rebuilt my garage workshop, taking down the inside wall coverings, adding a few outlets and insulating. I built new tables and cabinets for my tools and now have a proper and fitting place to chop off more fingers. I Am trying to learn the lap steel guitar with little success and just generally hanging around neglecting things that shouldn't be neglected.
Carol on the other hand, seems busier than ever and the yard now looks like a small National Park. Her gardens are beautiful. We continue to walk each day and have hiked 85 days out of the past 100. Some days the weather didn't cooperate and some days we didn't cooperate but we did get in 85 hikes averaging about 2.2 miles overall, some hikes of a mile some over 5 miles but out in the woods with Carol and Harper is s fine place to be. Three weekends ago we made reservations at a Harvest Host site and a Boondockers Welcome home. We took the Doodle out camping the first time since returning from our Florida trip. It is an interesting exercise trying to have a 'normal' weekend away in these infested times.
Our Harvest Host was the Red Apple Farm in central Massachusetts, only about an hour and a half from home . We found a great place to hike along a river with a stair step cascade of waterfalls. We had a nice wilderness experience hiking to the bottom and back. A note tacked to the trailhead post said bears had been spotted along the trail, but we have a 7 pound chiweenie, so no worries. I am guessing we will return to this spot again for more hiking in the area. The Red Apple Farm was very accommodating. We found a nice level place to park in a field near the raspberry bushes and purchased a mixed fruit and berry pie and some apple cider donuts. To our surprise we got some free donuts as it was 'National Donut Day' - who knew. That evening we sat around chatting watching the sunset. Carol did some yoga and I did some sketching of the farm.
We did not get the earliest start the next day, lazy bums, but once moving we headed over to Amherst, Massachusetts, found a great sandwich shop..ordered online parked out front to await our pickup time. I donned my mask and popped into the shop, got our bag and returned to the Doodle with hardly seeing anyone - the bag was waiting for me on a table. We moved the doodle to a park and watched people moving around in the rain as we had wonderful sandwiches. We made it to Pelham, MA to our Boondockers hosts home and got set up on a great concrete pad next to the barn.
Our hosts, Chris and Lyn were fantastic and we ended up having supper on their patio, sharing RV travel stories among other things - keeping our distance of course. Harper and their chihuahua puppy tolerated each other but will likely not be life long friends. We returned home the next day refreshed and renewed - it is very good to get out of your routine.
LATER:
Today as I am writing this, I am sitting outside the Doodle in the shade under the awning at Lum's Pond Site Park in Delaware - site number 31. We drove down yesterday with Megan and the kids. It is about a six hour drive to Landenberg, PA where we have friends, Megan's best friend to be precise, and had a great afternoon in the pool and Megan's friend Kelli made us a fantastic supper. It is always good to catch up with friends. Carol and I took off a little after noon today, leaving Megan, Grace and Ben to visit with Kelli and Bianca. We checked into the State Park around 1:30 and got things set up - it was time for a pump out, as the Doodle was still mostly winterized, at least in the holding tanks. So she is happy now and all systems are working just fine, Carol is napping, catching up on much needed sleep, and I am click clacking away on my keyboard. After Carols nap we hiked part way around the pond, it was a great spot to be camped as we were right next to the pond and the trail that goes around it. We hiked about two and a half miles of the 7 mile trail as it was getting on toward evening and we needed to cook up some supper. Another perfect day camping. Life doesn't get much better that this.
The next day, after a hearty breakfast on the griddle, we spent some time hanging around the campground and hiking a bit. We then went off for a bicycle ride with little Harper hanging out in a 'doggie back pack' on my chest as we rode. We headed for the C&D Canal about a mile away. The C&D (Chesapeake & Delaware Canal connects Delaware Bay with the Chesapeake Bay - it's about 18 miles long) holds a lot of fond memories as we have transited this canal many time by boat in out boating adventures. There was a great bile trail running along the canal and we ended up at a marina a few mils down the way where we had snacks and drinks and chatted with a couple of boaters. Harper seems to love riding along seeing the sights - it must be like floating for her.
We also discovered a restaurant along the way which had outdoor seating, so we made plans to go there for supper that evening. Back at camp Carol had another afternoon nap and I fussed about with stuff, later we went on a short hike before heading down to the restaurant, Grain H2O along the canal. We had our masks on and I have to admit that we had a small bit of anxiety as this was our first foray out into the world since the covid stuff started. The tables were well spaced and the wait staff all had masks on and we were outside so we felt relative safe. The food was delicious, I had a burger that was outstanding. Well, Harper and I shared that burger, you know how it is...
Another evening stroll once back in camp and we settled in for the evening. We got quite a few channels over the air on the tv and were able to find some to have on for a while as a few thunderstorms were in the area. It was a slow start the next morning, checkout time was 11:00 so there was no rush. I made a good breakfast and we always have plenty of hot coffee. One last hike along the pond and then we packed things up and headed down the road. We wanted to visit Chesapeake City as we have moored there several times in a little public basin for boating travelers. We remembered that there was a great little ice cream shop... We parked the Doodle on a side street and began to explore.
The town seems to have flourished since we were last here with lots of quaint little shops and places to poke your head in and out of. Carol and Harper and I found the Ice Cream shop, right on the water near the dock where we had tied up so many times in the past. We just love this town. We hit the road again to head back to Kelli's house but with a few stops along the way. This is a great area for farm stands.
Back at Kelli's we spent another afternoon at the pool. Kelli just had a salt water pool installed and it is awesome. She also has a very nice flat spot in her driveway which was a perfect place for the Doodle to sit, and we even had electricity..such luxury. Kelly also has two great doge Elsa and Olaf, and Harper soon became great friends with both. It was a lot of fun just watching them all play and run and chase all over the yard as Harper is just a peanut compared to these two. Harper slept well every night as she was exhausted from a day of har play. After swimming and getting too much sun, Kelli made a fantastic supper once again (thanks Kelli) and the evening turned into a great game of Wizard, one of our favorite card games.
Saturday morning Carol and I took a hike along the Christina River in the Far Hill Nature Preserve. Harper had a great time playing in the river as she is growing more accustom to being in the water, thanks to Kelli's pool. Returning to the house it was time for another swim in the pool. Kelli had a few friends over (socially distancing of course) and we had a great cookout and poolside fun all afternoon, and the evening dissolved into yet another Wizard game. Unfortunate all good things come to an end and Sunday morning came two swiftly. Time to head home.
One of the great things about traveling in an RV is the convenience of never having to use public facilities, especially in this Covid world we live in. I did have to pump in some fuel a couple of times but no close interaction with anyone, and the EZPass made paying tolls a no touch operation. We made it home safe and sound and completely without incident - it was a much needed break for everyone. Meg and Grace and Ben all had a great visit and Carol and I even got in a couple of day in the woods. A perfect trip. Adventure plans for this summer are still up in the air as who knows what will be open and how safe it will be to travel. Time will tell and I will post here from time to time as things develop or not. Here's hoping that everyone out there is keeping safe and has a Covid free life.
Below is a gallery of photos from our travels. Click on any image for a larger view. Images have captions if you roll over them.
