Issue #11 -- April 24-28, 2017 - Pennsylvania & Connecticut

We left Virginia's beautiful State on April 24th and headed to Pennsylvania.  We booked two nights at the Allentown KOA.  The park is open seasonally.  It is small, but clean and the staff is very friendly. T-Bear was very excited.  This traveling thing is new to him.

Allentown, Pennsylvania was originally named Northhamptontown by it's founder, Chief Justice of Colonial Pennsylvania's Supreme Court, William Allen. Allen drew up plans for the rural village in 1762,  Despite its formal name, most called it "Allen's Town."  Because of its location along the Lehigh River, Allen hoped the town would turn into a commercial center.  River trade was impractical because of the low water level most of the year.
In 1838, the city officially adopted the name Allentown.  There is a lot of history to Allentown, to learn more just click on the link. As we travel through some of the Eastern small towns, it's tough to see how depressed they have become. The buildings and warehouses that used to be home to thriving American businesses, are now just abandoned buildings.  It's very sad, and yet to read a little of the history helps you see the towns as they once were with their beautiful architecture and hard American workers.

A couple of the Top 10 Things to Do in Allentown are: attend a baseball game at Coca-Cola Park and tour the America on Wheels Museum. We didn't have time for a baseball game, but we did find time to tour the car museum, America on Wheels Museum. If you're in the area, it's well worth your time.

      Always time to PLAY!

      They even allow the boys to play!











My favorite area of the museum was the collection of restored kid's peddle cars.

I think this was David's favorite part of the museum, MUSCLE CARS! (Or as David says, "Big kid's fast peddle cars").

Back on The Road:
After two nights in Allentown, we were back on the road and heading to Connecticut.
If you ever plan to visit Connecticut you should be forewarned, this is not an RV friendly state. You can find a few places to camp, however, they are most likely not with FULL hook-ups. So that means they'll have water, electric and gray water only.  You can not get sewer hook-ups. You'll have to pay extra for the "Honey Wagon" to come and pump you out. This can be a little expensive if you plan to stay very long.
Our goal, in traveling to Connecticut, was to visit our daughter and grand-kids. We traveled on April 26th, which was also our anniversary. We were able to locate a Cabela's in East Hartford.
Cabela's are always a nice place to stay a night or two as they have an area just for RV's.  They have put a lot of thought into RV's stopping at their stores. Most have a nice area for you to kennel your dogs while you shop.  Some stores even have corrals for a horse.  There is also an RV dump and water area, (if you have a Cabela's credit card, there is no fee, otherwise the cost is $5.00).  We have found that most Cabela's also have their own restaurant, which came in handy, as I already said it was our anniversary.  Happy Anniversary, with many more to come!














Our second night we were able to visit our daughter, Melissa and two of her children.  Our granddaughter Kate's birthday was Saturday, April 29th and she turned six. Our grandson, Jacob is now three.  We went to Bertucci's, for supper, which is in Avon, CT. You know your grand-kids are growing up when they don't want to go to Friendly's Restaurant for their birthday dinner with Oma & Opa. We all enjoyed our dinner, but the real fun kicked in when we got home.  Kate was very excited to show us her desk, where she does her homework and her bedroom.  I almost forgot the best room of all, she and Jacob had to take Oma & Opa to see the basement, that was really cool and spooky.

Kate made sure her Mom took a photo the next morning, so Oma & Opa could see her in her new clothes and the necklace Oma gave her.
Happy Birthday Kate!








David's Buddy Stops:

2015 - Wisconsin

Wisconsin 2015

COMING UP NEXT:

Maine, we finally arrive!

Issue #10 -- Heading to the Eastern Shores

It's April 11th and time to leave Texas and head to the Eastern Shores. This is our continuing travels to our summer location in Maine.
Once we left Lake Texoma, in North Texas, we headed to Louisiana and spent the night at Antique Village RV Park in Simsboro, LA.  This is a small park, but lovely.  We had a pull-thru site with a view of the pond.

We spent April 12th on the road traveling through Louisiana and Mississippi and finally over-nighting at a Super Wal-Mart in Pell City, Alabama. We don't usually stay at Wal-Marts, but there wasn't a Cabela's and the campgrounds were too far off the beaten path.

April 13th was a long driving day.  David and I took turns trading off with the driving effort.  We were able to get through Alabama and all the way to Statesboro, Georgia.  In Georgia we stayed at Parkwood RV & Cottages Park.  The park is not too big, but the sites are pull through and well groomed. Our plan is to stay five nights to give us time to visit with my sister and also visit the Savannah area. Originally I was hoping to visit with my nephew and his wife, both are in the Army and currently stationed at Fort Stewart in Georgia.  However, due to their training schedules, we weren't able to see them this trip, although we do plan to return in November.

We were able to spend some time with my sister, Linda, I haven't seen her for such a long time.  We started our visit with "FOOD."  She directed us to a really nice Mexican food restaurant, and the food was great, El Sombreros
The next day we are going for pedicures and manicures. It's always a relaxing time for me.



Savannah, Georgia


Saturday April 15th, we spent touring Savannah with my sister, Linda.  David & I have been here before and did the trolley tour.  It's like the best way to get around.  We took the trolley that allows you to get on and off at stops along the route throughout the day.

Savannah is full of old America charm! The sights are both beautiful and relaxing.  Enjoy the day in the town square type parks or at the shopping venues.  At the shopping venues you'll find lots of shopping, good food and usually some live entertainment.  We shopped at the world famous Byrd's Cookie Company, you can't get in and out without buying some of the best cookies on the East coast.  We bought several bags of their Scotch Oatmeal Cookie. They're great with a cup of coffee or some hot tea.

Our stay in Georgia was wonderful, but the goal is to continue up the coast, toward our summer "nest," in Maine.  We left Georgia on April 18th and stopped overnight at the Fayetteville RV Resort.  The property was very well kept and everyone was friendly.

You know when you're in VIRGINIA! 

Williamsburg, Virginia

We stopped in Williamsburg for a three day, two night stay.  Our friends Don & Jane Lockhart were already at the Thousand Trails Williamsburg RV Camping Park.  We were able to enjoy a lovely dinner with them at Fat Tuna Grill, an excellent choice by Don & Jane.

Let's Eat!

The next day David & I did the self tour of Colonial Williamsburg. Parking was very easy, you just drive to the Williamsburg Visitor center, park and inside the visitor center you can select the type of tour that interests you and catch the bus at the center.  The bus will take you to the Colonial Williamsburg grounds and also return you to the visitor center when you are ready.  Great set-up!

After leaving Williamsburg, Virginia we headed to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, so cool!

Crossing and traveling through the Bay Bridge Tunnel in our motorhome was an experience.  You actually travel through two tunnels. It was a beautiful route to the Eastern Shore area of Virginia and Maryland.  If you have propane, you can be heavily fined for driving your motorhome through the Bay Bridge and Tunnels (according to current law), but in recent years the port authority just stops you and asks that the propane tanks are shut off. (It will probably be that way until the next major terrorist attack on America, when they will tighten up enforcement of the law, again). This is one of the reasons we went all electric with our new motorhome.

We ended our stay in Virginia spending a few nights at the Thousand Trails Virginia Landing campground.

The campground is a little ways off the freeway, but well worth it, as it's a nice relaxing place to stay, with the Atlantic Ocean a hundred feet away from our front door.  It could be a good place to spend a week when we head down the coast, in the Fall.

We enjoyed the view and a nice Sunday afternoon drive.

David's Buddy Stops:

Coming up:

Our next Blog we continue our journey to Maine.