Reunion and Reminiscing

May 9-12, 2019

Traveling from NJ to southern NY is something we’ve done many times, it was almost like coming home. Dave was born and grew up in Beacon NY, I moved to Wappingers Falls NY in 1971. We called this area home for a long time, until 1993 when we moved to VT. Our 197-mile ride was through familiar areas though it gets crazier every time we drive it, last time was in the fall of 2012. I knew we were getting close when we crossed the Beacon Newburg Bridge, I sent my BFF this picture and she knew we were almost there.

There’s not much in this area in the way of campgrounds so we chose Sylvan Lake Park. We both have memories of going there as kids and teenagers, Dave used to get swimming lessons as a kid and I used to go as a teenager to swim and hang out with friends. The campground is made up of mostly seasonals but they do have a few transient spots. While not our typical kind of park it served us well for our stay and the bonus was we were only 5 miles from my BFF, Rene.

After getting set up we headed over to see Rene and her husband Ed, a long-awaited and highly anticipated visit. Being on the road has meant leaving behind those we love dearly, here in NY and in VT. I first met Rene in 9^th grade and a friendship was forged that has survived the test of time, we graduated from high school 41 years ago. After moving to VT every trip to NY included a visit with her, in later years she and her family made visits to VT at least annually. The last time we saw them was in VT when they brought their new RV to Maplewoods Campground.

That evening we had a small reunion with our group of friends from our NY days. We’ve lost one friend already, one was sick, some have moved too far away to make attending feasible and some couples have divorced. It was so great to see this group of friends that for years was so tight-knit. Unfortunately over the years with some of us moving away or divorcing the group doesn’t get together like they used to. But this evening was all about celebrating and reconnecting. 

Larry & Rene toast to our friends Mark & Nancy in IL

Jackie is one of our most ardent followers

Dave and Larry

Faye & Larry

Rene, Faye, Larry & Barb

Barb & Peter

Rene & Ed

2019 The Bowling Team (minus Beth-she was sick)

1991 The Bowling Team

Rene had suggested Sloop Brewery @ the Factory. The factory is one of the buildings in the old IBM complex where Dave used to work. The building is actually one he worked in, under the glass top of the bar were computer parts from the days when IBM used the building.  The beer was good, per Dave, and they had a small menu with some interesting choices which were good, too busy talking to get any pictures of the beer or food. 

The next day was all about the girls. Rene & I used to meet up in Lake George NY for a girls weekend or when she came to visit in VT we’d get a girls day, this one was long overdue. She showed up with fresh NY bagels, heavenly we do miss a good bagel. Afterward, we headed out with a few quests in mind. The first one, a visit to the local park that was named after her father, Father Ferrara. Over the years he’s been very active in his local town, so much so he now has his own park.

The next quest was to find a screen saver and cover for my new Kindle, the battery decided to die in my old one, picked up my new one at Rene’s house. Though we searched high and low, we only halfway succeeded in our quest, a cover was to be found but know screen saver, that’ll have to wait till we get to VT.

By this time we knew it was safe to embark on our next quest, a visit to the high school we graduated from. School was done for the day so we were able to wander the halls for a walk down memory lane and to see the additions to the old place. So many changes but yet enough of the old to still provoke memories walking the halls for years.

We ended our day with dinner, at a local Italian place, with our husbands. Anthony’s\Pizza Village in Hopewell still has some great food. It’s a NY thing, they know their pizza, and their cannoli filling is heavenly. Too busy enjoying to get any pictures. 

The next day, Saturday, Rene and Ed were busy attending a wedding so we entertained ourselves. We took a walk around the campground;

Did some site seeing, checked out our old houses;

The house I grew up in, we had our wedding reception there

Our first apartment, top floor left

Our first house

Our last NY house, up the steep drive

Wasn't paved when we owned it

Drove the main street of Dave’s hometown, Beacon NY;

And paid our respects to Dave’s parents.

Finished our day with another visit to Anthony’s\Pizza Village where a veal parmigiana dinner was in order, my favorite meal.

Sunday, Mother’s Day, started with phone calls, to my mom and from our sons. Off to lunch with Rene and Ed, then a visit with Rene’s parents. I’ve known them since I was a teenager, so nice to see them again.

A nice visit with Rene & Ed’s son Tyler who now towers over us all.

Off to Sloops Brewery @ The Factory for one last taste and meal. Then it was time for the last tearful goodbye, tomorrow we head to CT.  

Until next time…

DE & NJ Off The Map

May 5-8, 2019

After a week in Washington DC I knew we’d need a place to decompress. A noneventful ride, around Baltimore and into Delaware, led us to Lums Pond State Park in Bear, DE. If you are traveling with propane, either on or off, through Baltimore, you cannot go thru the tunnels so you have to take a bypass. We chose to take I695 on the east side of the city and over the Francis Scott Key Bridge. On Sunday morning it was a pleasant drive with little traffic. 102 miles and we were pulling into the campground.

Lums Pond has 70+ sites that are all full hookups, their website says they can hold 40’ RVs, some sites will better than others so look closely when making reservations. Our site, 24, was plenty long enough but with the services, more towards the front of the site we couldn’t go all the way back in the site, no problem as there was plenty space to park the truck next to the RV.

While in DC we learned our friends Alex and Paul also had reservations at Lums Pond, the fun times continued.

We got Alex and Paul out hiking to a tri-state corner marker. The NJ & DE sides have no access but we could go in thru the PA side. A beautiful hike in the rolling hills with a fern strewn floor and variety of forest canopy. I was able to get a PA geocache while at the tri-state marker.

We found out blogger/fulltime friends Susan and Bob were also staying at Lums Pond. Talk about synchronicity!! We caught up with them on a hike around Lums Pond. Found my DE geocache while on the hike. Safe travels this summer!! Maybe we'll cross paths again. 

We enjoyed a few meals at Stewart’s Brewery, of course, Dave enjoyed a few beers. Thanks, Alex and Paul!! 

Lums Pond was just what we needed to decompress after DC. We had a great time with Alex and Paul so it's a sad day when we part ways. We know we'll see them in AZ this winter but hopefully, our trails will cross sooner. Safe travels guys!!

On the 8^th we moved north 40 miles to the Philadelphia South\Clarksboro KOA inClarksboro NJ. We’ve spent time in NJ over the years but never in the RV, so we had to spend the night there to get it off of our state map. An older KOA and the sites are close together but we ended up with an end site so had a bit of room. The roads in the park are narrow but with care can be navigated them with no issues. Since we know at the next stop we’ll be really busy I went ahead and got the laundry caught up and then we went out for a quick ride to find a nearby geocache.

Until next time...