Econolodge - New Brunswick, NJ

The day started like any other, a drive along gorgeous tree lined roads through the Green Mountains, with babbling brooks, covered bridges and quaint little villages.  Lunch at some lake in Northern New York...a quiet drive along the New York State Thruway, with the Hudson River on the left and the Catskills on the right.   But we all know what is just ahead.  By 4:00, everything we have come to love about RVing came to a grinding halt...we entered New Jersey.  With rush hour looming up, Deb wanted a plan...not some half baked...we'll know it when we see it plan...a real plan.  We pull off the Interstate, and I google "pet friendly hotel Morristown nj". I get a hit, Best Western... Key it into my trusty GPS... 11.4 miles....awesome... Pull in and go to register (complimentary red wine while checking in) but no dogs allowed.  WHAT?!?  Deb is checking the DMV website for a new vanity plate - IH8NJ

So finally, she just sat quietly while I searched for one of those two star, pet friendly hotels....we ended up at Econolodge.  Deb says all you really need is clean and comfortable.. I said, "well, one out of two isn't bad."

Quechee State Park -.Quechee, VT

Instead of heading south, we head west to New Hamphire.  I don't think we had ever been inland in Maine, we have always driven along the coast.  Each little town had that down east charm, you could have cast "Murder, She wrote" in any of them!  We ended up sending Nathan his birthday card, that we forgot to give him, from Naples....because we are going to Naples, Italy, in a month.  In hindsite, I guess it was a little cheesy, but at least we got the card mailed.

Well, our family meeting in North Conway got canned, so we headed south.  Our reservation for the night was too far away, so a quick replan left us at Quechee Gorge (about ten miles from where I lived in Vermont for awhile).  No utilities, just the smell of a pine forest.  So we parked the RV, built a small log home, and lived happily ever after.  Then I woke up.

Here's the problem.  We have commitments, so there is only one more night before we have to be home.  Going to Pennsylvania is too far, so it's gotta be New Jersey.  For some reason, New Jersey hates dogs.  There are no state campgrounds in Northern or Central New Jersey that allow dogs.  KOA hates New Jersey.  There are no KOA's in Northern or Central New Jersey.  Deb suggests a Pet Friendly motel... Okay, we gotta plan...

Paradise Park Resort - Old Orchard Beach, ME

Last year we asked Sie, my mother-in-law, what she wanted for her 80th birthday.  After awhile she decided - world peace or an end to hunger.  Apparently, she forgotten that we gave her that on her 75th.  So Deb's sister, Michelle and her husband Bob, kicked in, and we gave her a week at Paradise Park in a Old Orchard Beach, on the condition that we could throw a party for her.  So with two days of revelry including a BBQ feast, two campfires, breakfast at JJ's, and a chance for Lou, my father-in-law to go out on a fishing boat and watch other people catch fish, we caught up on all the family business.

As much as we try to disavow it...we are type "A" people.  There is always a plan. Our plan was to go south, visit an old friend, go to Bennington, VT, fly fish, on to Locust Lake in Pennsylvania and home.  NOPE....NOT GONNA HAPPEN

Surrey Lane - Pelham, NH

It's always a joy to stop at Surrey Lane (my sister-in-law's house). We drove from Rhode Island expecting rush hour traffic delays, but there were none. We expected flight delays for the kids coming into Manchester Airport, but there were none. So we got to Surrey Lane three hours before check-in but they were very accommodating. Pizza by the pool, drinks by the fire pit...even a good discussion about pigs and fainting goats.  Tomorrow...we fill the RV with stuff for the Birthday Party.

Burlingame State Park - Charlestown, RI

A full day of driving through New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.  Not really the image that you think of when RVing across America, but all the accidents were on the other side of the road. We calculated that we only lost one and a half hours to traffic.  The raw fact remains that we didn't get to our site until after five...a real RV nono!

Rhode Island was suppose to be our final state to visit of the lower 48.  We ended up missing Michigan, this summer, because of the storm closed roads.  Now technically, since we bought the RV on the Northern Peninsula of Michigan, we have been there.  Next year, we will get to Michigan, for a real visit.

Burlingame State Park is huge, very well maintained, but strict...NO ALCOHOL...ZERO TOLERANCE subject to arrest and imprisonment...that's what the sign said.  Picnic tables have the site number painted on... Driveways have huge boulders on the side to keep you in your spot.  Also it was NO utilities.  Well, we don't need no stinkin' power (and we can drink our wine out of a coffee mug).

Went to bed early so we could miss the traffic heading to Manchester Airport in New Hampshire to meet the kids' flight.  We were out of there by 7:00 or so.

Locust Lake, Barnsville, PA

It's our first day out.  It takes about two hours to get the RV ready.  Even with several overlapping, and extremely comprehensive checklists, there is always anxiety about missing something...well, this time we missed an entire checklist. We realize we need a checklist of checklists! (No biggie, it was just the stuff we were suppose to bring to the birthday party that has been in the planning pipeline for a year - our kids are hardy...they didn't need bed sheets anyway...the rest of the stuff we'll steal when we are at my sister-in-law's house.

Traveling through Washington and Baltimore are never all that much fun and when you throw in construction, it gets a little unnerving.  Add to the mix some major potholes and you have an RV that is "shaken not stirred."  The final touch of the day was a misplaced State Park.  After driving a few miles, we ended up doubling back on some horrific road, with nasty turns.  Of course, if we had known where the park was, we could have just driven on the nice roads...but then where would the adventure be....

Locust Lake is a pleasant state park...but they have no comprehension of level...we used all our blocks and never got close to level....I hear that sleeping with your head below your feet is good for you...That must be what keeps us young!