RV Travel in North America: September 2019

This is the 1st day of our honeymoon adventure. Starting Gettysburg Pennsylvania, the mural on the wall of a grocery store was the first attraction on the Lincoln Highway and we decide to have lunch at the Chinese restaurant in the same shopping plaza. Great way to start a road trip!

Round barn attraction but was closed when we're arrived. It is also a fruit market surrounded by orchards.

Learning how to use the document downloaded from the Lincoln Highway National Foundation and it follows as a Google map but it doesn’t announce as you get to an item in you have to zoom in zoom out made it a little bit challenging but it’s been interesting we missed a few items to some of the items as we’re sitting there on the side of the road where the item is marked and I cannot find it now I don’t think Google missed it and then I found out later because I zoomed out and it was on the next street over so I am just learning how to use the program and we’re going to get more out of this as the trip progresses

Mural on Lincoln Bowling Alley

We stopped for the night in a quiet place behind a small office building near Chambersburg, PA. It’s a very pretty place here, really nice and quiet. We brought with us our beautiful wedding bouquet and put it up in our RV. It’s the 1st day of our honeymoon travel. I am so, so, so very happy! See you tomorrow 😊

Starting overnight in a parking lot with bright stars overhead, cool breeze through the windows was a welcoming respite from the summer heat. The old road was much slower than expected, windy hills steep climbs at slower speeds than were ate accustomed to we DE scuffed to Gerry on the Pennsylvania turnpike until we're free of the mountains. Along the way we followed the gps for our final destination and somehow ended up very looking way from the Lincoln Highway.

RIALTA RALLY, Heartland of Indiana

We spent three days at the Indiana Heartland Rally, in a very nice campground in the middle of endless corn and soybeans fields. We met a lot of very nice and interesting people from various states (there was a couple from Canada too), different backgrounds, ages, interests, who all enjoy exploring life and traveling in their Rialta's! There were maybe about 20-25 Rialta’s there – what a pretty view! We toured each other's campers, saw all kinds of smart and useful modifications people made, and shared “tips and tricks.” The organizers did a great job thinking about ways to bring us together and have fun. We had a nice taco bar and potluck dinner and spent our evenings around the campfire. There were several very talented guitar players among us! I got to listen to a “true gem” of American country music: a gentleman with the deep southern accent (I have never heard such an accent “live” before, only something kind of like that in the movies), who learned to play guitar by ear, without knowing how to read sheet music, and he played the guitar and sang some gospel and other songs so beautifully! Two of our friends, whom we met before, played their guitars and sang very nicely too! We chatted with other fellow RVr’s about travels, interests, families, experiences – all kinds of very interesting conversations. The place where our RV was parked was very pretty:

Touring each other's RV and sharing ideas for upgrades and improvements I fell in love with the kitchen counter extension. I got dimensions and pictures to help me construct one for our RV and as soon as I find the material that I want we will make one.

Hitzer Woodstoves, Berne, IN

Small family owned started in 1975. 4 Amish families together create wood and anthracite coal burning stoves. Both radiant freestanding and inserts. The grandson of the founder provided a great tour showing his knowledge of every step odd the process. Original sheet metal press, punch machines and shears was the mainstay until very recently a laser cutting machine was purchased. Keeping the original equipment and doing smaller orders keeps the skills up to date. Production runs from 1000 to 2500 units per year, manufactured year-round.

Swiss Heritage Village and Museum, , Berne, IN

Tour consists of farm buildings with history of early Swiss settlers.

Museum had map of route from Ellis Island to Bernie, IN four early settlers, clothing, books, household furnishing demonstrating fine wood craftsmanship. Print shop equipment, shoemaker, U.S. Mail horse drawn cart, musical instruments, Nobel Prize winner Richard Schrock for chemistry efficiency more environmentally production for pharmaceutical, fuels, synthetic fibers.

We're staying for the night in Berne, IN. It's a small, pretty, friendly town with an extensive Amish community. We saw several buggies while driving around on the country roads. One buggy was full of kids who were looking at our RV with lots of interest. Two worlds meet each other on a small country road: RV travelers out to explore the country and enjoying every new site and experience we encounter; and the kids from a very traditional community that is tightly knit around long-lasting traditions, keeping the way of life that's not open to a lot of new things. We looked at each other with great interest, smiled and waved, and went on to our very different adventures.

We stopped by a woodwork workshop and store, saw some very nicely crafted items, including large, beautiful rocking chairs and small toys and household items. We bought two very cool towel holders, made of two pieces of wood with a small glass ball between them. The wood gets attached to the wall with a piece of sticky paper, similar to that in Command products, and you just slide the towel between those two pieces of wood. To take it out, you gently pull the towel sideways. Very cool!

We also had some really, really good ice cream! I’d say it's the beast ice cream I've had in a very long time. The store is run by a very nice couple who are in their 70s, raised 7 kids, but showing no signs of stopping and made great ice cream! If you happen to be in Berne, IN, you have to stop by this little store called Dee-Zerts.

This small town had a small park with no signs prohibiting overnight parking, so we decided to give it a try and luckily, we're not disturbed. Several Amish buggy’s rode by with father's taking their children somewhere and they stared at us rather than us staring at them! It really seems that the two cultures co-exist quit well here. The morning sunrise while doing yoga was absolutely beautiful over the soybean field alongside the park! This has been one of the most restful sleeps I have had this whole trip.

Rialta Friends Rally Elkhart, IN old friends and new friends meet for a fun week of social time! Georgia hosted this Rally, and we had a wonderful time. Tanya worked in the mornings, and we specialize and played tourist in the afternoons.

Tom held an hour event to collaborate with others on internet tools for traveling. Sharing tips on how to find interesting things to see we all learned different websites and apps that allow us to get the most out of offer travels.

Duane as always provided technical advice and mouse repairs as needed to a few rigs.

Dinner out night we volunteered to carry others in or RV, 2 couples who had met while doing the gram American Tour which is by boat travel up the East coast, Hudson River, locks and canals to Great Lakes, down the Mississippi and around Florida. What a trip! Back in my early Navy days I had thought to live in a sailboat, of course a trip like that would have been perfect!

Happy hour of course is always a special time and strong friendships were developed. Elkhart has many factory tours and the one we enjoyed the most was the RV museum. Even had Mae West’s RV! Pretty cool stuff.

We left a few days early to head toward Upper Peninsula Michigan for it had long been on Tom's bucket list. On the way we stop to see Gerald Ford Museum, on the way back we will stop and see his presidential library near Detroit.

Ford had a trying time in the beginning of his administration, deciding to pardon former president Nixon because it would be better for the country to get behind the concerns of Watergate and restore confidence in the government. A very seasoned politician he did a great job restoring faith in the government.

It's so wonderful to see sports of color as we drive north toward the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Meeting another Rialta in Mackinaw, MI to see the ice breaker ship discovered that they did not know about the Rialta IO group. Of course, we're shared all about it and since they are headed south also shared that they could meet others still at the Elkhart Rally. I hope they get to stop and meet other Rialta members.

Camping overnight at a casino in UP we had a very relaxing night, cool weather, quiet night is the best sleeping weather. Heading for a Walmart so we could get a jacket for Tanya and ended up with 2 jackets! Great we are beginning to set up her wardrobe for the 2^nd home.

Tanya's favorite thing about boondocking is taking a shower outside, stopping at a pullout near Whitefish Point she indulges J the Tahquamenon Falls both upper and lower were well maintained and an easy walk. The largest waterfalls in North America following Niagara Falls it was nice to stop here.

Visiting Whitefish Point Lighthouse and they were closed when we got there. Discovering that the former crew quarters were rented like a hotel we decided to stay in their parking lot for the night. Nice to watch sunset and then sunrise from Lake Superior beach!

A young lady arrived packed spotting scope and long lens camera and headed toward the beach. She is a paid bird migration counter! I followed her down the beach and she shared allot of things about bird watching. I had always had an interest but never pursued it, now with my newfound knowledge I will try to do a little more bird watching.

Heading over to Grand Maria, MI were truly going boondocking. Sand and gravel roads for 60 miles! Most of the road was 2 lanes wide but some portions were single lane and on one sandy hill we got stuck! No shovel, what to use? The brand-new soup ladle made an excellent choice! Another road turned narrow, and the trees grew close to the road, a new wrap on the RV and I cringed as we continued. What an adventure!

We stayed 2 days in Munising, MI on the UP Michigan at a casino that provided free electric. The weather was cool so the need for electric was not strong, but we had also picked up a induction hot plate that we wanted to try out. Tanya cooked a pot of beans for several hours and it worked great. The other part we picked up was the LP had safety valve for the refrigerator, now the intermittent problem with the refrigerator had been fully solved! Tanya also had a large amount of work to do so the down days were ok for her to so that she did not miss out on the traveling.

A couple of down days from driving was nice, riding the bikes around town, hiking some of the trails in the Pictured Rocks National Shoreline was beautiful! We did not see all if the area for we vowed to return another year and stay for the whole foliage season. If we didn't have the Rialta Rally in Vermont to go to we would have definitely stayed here for another 3 weeks to see the full foliage. That were scattered trees with great color already, but we knew it was too far away from full color for the time we had before being in VT.

Michigan is a beautiful state, I really do see why many people live it here. Allot of forests, lakes and wonderful people. Everyone we met here was open and genuinely. It was a pleasure chasing with strangers everywhere we went.

Stopping at Fanchers Upholstery in southern MI we were able to get the material for window shades. I had used this material years before on a Class A RV and it most definitely blocks the heat coming in the windows, knowing we will be in the southwest next spring and summer it was a good find.

Touring Rutherford Hayes Presidential Library and home museum was ok, nowhere as good as FDR presidential library in NY but interesting. 2 lane roads in OH

We stopped by the Historic Lyme Village, it turned out to be closed for tours but there was a lot of people there who gathered for a large function. The small visitors center was open, and we looked up information about local events. It turned out that there was a North Coast Oktoberfest in Sandusky, OH that day, so we went there. It was a blast, not very crowded, great entertainment by Bavarian Club. They performed several dances, including the traditional Bavarian Schuhplattler dance and also a dance that was imitating a log cutting competition. The performers brought real logs, saws, and axes, and had a real competition going on the stage! We really enjoyed it. Tanya tried cheese curds, I had a beer or two odd course and tried a brat taco. What a truly melting-pot-American dish! A taco with a bratwurst and sauerkraut :)

After the Oktoberfest, we rode our bikes along the waterfront, it was allot of fun too. For the night, we stayed in a Walmart on the peninsula. It very close to the lake and right next to a small airport, a lot of open space and a nice cool breeze. It was really nice as we slept. In the morning, we watched several small planed taking off – probably sightseeing too! And we are about to take off for another day of our adventure!

We had so looked forward to a tour of a potato chip factory and were a little disappointed to learn that Google Maps does not keep up to date for the factory was sold 7 years ago and the new owners do not offer tours. We did learn though that similar to the chocolate factory they produce the same chips for several different companies. Do you recognize any of these brands? seems to me that the potato chip is the same, but the recipe is different, so purchase the flavors you want in the cheapest brand and you get the same thing!

The next stop was also very interesting. Eden, NY home of the original Kazoo! Built in 1907 using electricity from Niagara Falls the original equipment is still being used today. A not-for-profit company now owns it and utilizes handicap employees to manufacture the Kazoos the same way they have always been made! What a great tour!

Visiting Niagara Falls this time as newlyweds we choose to park in RV parking and use the bikes to ride around and see the sights. Very nice day to be here, sunny, and just a hint of color in the trees. The spray from the falls was quite chilly and we did not stay very long up close. Choosing not to tour the town for it was quite a drive to the next destination it was a good stop overall.

Canandaigua, NY we arrive too late to tour and Walmart was posted no overnight parking so looking around thought to try a gym parking lot. 24-hour gym was expected to have visitors at any time, and it worked out well for a overnight stay. I had learned that hotels also do not monitor their parking loss and different vehicles every day, so no one knows you are there. I call it stealth camping!

Next day laundry and replace the no slip on the RV running boards before going to Grainger Homestead and Carriage Museum. Beautiful home built by a major landowner and lawyer, they had 90 carriages including sleighs. I am unfamiliar with sleighs and theirs were beautiful, well maintained. The family history was very interesting the docents very knowledgeable and fun to talk to.

Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion also in Canandaigua had impressive grounds with many gardens designed for different locations around the world must really be beautiful during the spring. The goose was very impressive, and the wood finishing was spectacular. What will stay in my memory is the music box with many combos, 2 drums, chimes. Fascinating! There was a sign that spoke of the combs made in Porter, VT and thought to be the best in the world. Perhaps we can find them when we reach VT.

Watkins Glen, NY we stayed at the Lodge, the short but very steep hill made Tanya gasps, but our trusty Rialta pulled right on up the hill. I had thoughts of last year in Astoria, OR when I blew the differential on the steep hill. Fortunately, this one was very short unlike Astoria.

The State Park here has a waterfall that has 197 steps to reach the top. The bartender at the Lodge told us that as a young man he earned tip money ferrying people to the top. Now the state had a shuttle to take you up and then you can walk down. The brochure at the park stated there were 800 steps in the whole park! I followed the Gorge Trail and there were allot of steps, the trail climbs 500 feet in 1.1 miles. A very, very beautiful Gorge cutting through shale. This is definitely a place worth stopping, you can take the shuttle to the top and thanks the trail going downhill if you like.

I saw the same people who we met at Sonnenburg historical house the day before, chasing with them they are done with their trip and headed to their daughters in New Jersey. Oh well, would have been nice to caravan for a while.

Deciding to continue on to Fort Drum to check the wheel bearings we lay over in a Walmart where it rained most if the night, nice to relax and enjoy the rain and not be driving.

Spending the day working on the RV at the base auto skills shop we changed the driver's side wheel bearings. Not an easy task and the proper tools were not available but got it accomplished in 6 hours. Following this the beating temperatures were not right so with advice from my friend Duane I well- be replacing them again when we return from this trip.

We left Fort Drum on Saturday morning and headed out to Adirondacks. There was a light rain in the forest half of the day, so we just keep on driving, looking around at the leaves. Even though it was cloudy, with a light mist, the leaves were still very pretty. As we were driving, Tom spotted a boat launch with “overnight parking" sign, and we made a turn to explore that parking space. It turned out to be a nice gravel covered parking area near a Cranberry Lake boat launch. We walked toward the lake and enjoyed the view. The night rest was wonderful, a perfect “sleeping weather,” light wind and occasional light rain, fresh air, not too cold.

Sunday morning, we decided to drive to the Whiteface Mountain. We went there two years ago and climbed all the way to the top where you could see all the surrounding forest, concerned about the Rialta being able to make the very steep climb to the top of White Mountain instead we continued driving just enjoying the scenery.

On Sunday afternoon we found the most amazing place for an overnight stop – Durant Lake boat launch, near Blue Mountain Lake. That's where Tom- stayed with his CPA kayak group when they kayaked around the Adirondacks a couple of years ago.

A boat launch with a picnic table invited us to stay overnight. Talking to some fishermen they thought the ranger would probably not stop by so we decided to stay there. This spur and of course others nearby were found on Compendium website. I highly recommend this website id you live boondocking.

I (Tom) am ready for some real meat so tonight my honey is preparing sweet sausage with potatoes and onions. Mmmmmm I'm in heaven tonight, a great view of the Lake and foliage and a great meal. Some lucky girl will get lucky tonight! Oops she is now my wife, so she is especially lucky too! Ok, honestly my honey does always take very good of me. I often cook to take care of her, so it is special when a vegetarian (my honey) takes care if me and cooks a meat dish for me. My friend Georgia’s would appreciate this acknowledgment.

Looking out over the lake with some of the trees in foliage color while sitting at the picnicking table my honey comes over and whispers in my ear to tell me dinner is ready……

The morning was quite cold, the window coverings we had made worked great to keep the RV warm. We made them using the same reflective bubble wrap everyone else uses and covered them with a material with aluminum woven through it, this is the same material that cooking hot pads are made of. Very very good insulation! Attached to the windows with command hooks and lowered behind the seats when not in use. The very large window in back is covered the same and stored behind the seats as well. I firmly believe that all extreme temperatures will be better using this insulation.

Traveling east we begin to follow the Hudson River from its origin in the Adirondacks, logging off the forest was very predominant in early 1900. Fort Ticonderoga was closed for maintenance, and we stayed over in a Walmart. Morning shower and breakfast in a really cool local restraint located in downtown Ticonderoga we're some really great pictures of old household items, cute waitress signs too!

Through this entire travel Tanya continues to work remotely. Usually in the RV as I drive along to the next destination and occasionally taking a break outside. Here she is saying what a wonderful opportunity to work and travel at the same time – “SEE MY OFFICE!”

Crown Point state historic site has a good self-guided walking tour. All that remains of the fort is mounds of dirt and 2 large barracks one for officers and one for enlisted men. It is very clear why this location was used for control for the waterway narrows to ¼ mile. Also, several flocks of migrating water birds (I am not familiar with types of birds) we're resting in the water. An entire flock took off at once and it was an amazing sight to see.

Lake Champlain Marine Museum was as interesting now as it was many years ago when I visited, Tanya got to tour as well and really loved the feel of the floating boat dock and the replica Philadelphia II, one of the gun boats used during the revolutionary war and commanded by Benedict Arnold. The docent has worked here 28 years and still loves his job!

The entire story of how important the waterway from New York city up the Hudson River, up Lake George, up Lake Champlain, up the Sorrel or Richelieu River to the Saint Lawrence River and Montreal, Canada. Water was the trade route in these times and important control of the waterway controls the inhabitants.

We stop at Ben and Jerrys Ice Cream Factory for a quick tour of the ice cream making process. The tour was short but fun and we of course had to get a pint to share. On the way to the campground for the Rialta RV Rally we finished the pint 😊

Rialta’s RV Rally, Braintree, VT October 4-6 2019

Arriving a late in the day spent the night in a warm coach for the temperature has dropped significantly. The other Rialta’s began arriving on Friday and it was so great meeting up with old friends and making new friends.

First nights get together was snacks and social with a game to help us introduce ourselves to others. The Rally is very short, just the weekend and Tanya and I spent 4 days in the campground just talking to people and sharing ideas about Rialta’s. One day for a few hours I got out and went with Nancy and Pat to see some covered bridges, wow there are so many around here!

Social hour was well attended each night.

Following the Rally, we head toward home. Stopping to see the Harley Factory in York, PA and Turkey Hill ice cream factory.

The Harley Davidson Factory Tour was a really great tour. A very modern factory with computer guided laser welding machines, 300 Ton punch presses they manufacture 228,000 bikes a year. No bike is started in production until an order is placed. The assembly line does multiple models at the same time, not a separate line for each model.