Posted by: sunnyharvy | July 16, 2012

On the road again…finally

Day one of our adventure was spent mostly at home since our well pump broke 2 days ago and we couldn’t get a crew over to fix it until this morning. Luckily we found some really good guys (Tom Peters Plumbing) and they got it done by lunch time.

We didn’t want to bet on being able to leave today (because we believe in Murphy’s Law), so we left all the final preparations and packing until we knew the problem was rectified. Once the crew was paid and on their way, we got to work and were finally ready to hit the road at 7 pm. Fortunately, we had planned just a 1.5 hour drive to visit with our friends Buzz and Marnie in Marlborough, Massachusetts. 

Even getting just that far made us feel like we had finally embarked on this long anticipated vacation adventure. We took them up on the offer to sleep in their guest room since it was a very hot and humid evening. We were both so exhausted that we fell asleep early and slept soundly.

 Hazy, HOT & humid. 75 miles

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Posted by: sunnyharvy | October 24, 2011

Fall Weekend in Connecticut

To celebrate the season, we spent the weekend peddling and paddling in scenic Connecticut. We loaded up haRVy with the “bare essentials” on Friday night and headed out for Colchester mid-morning on Saturday. Our destination was a portion of the Air Line Rail Trail, which is a 22 mail rail trail in Eastern Connecticut on the former tracks of the New Haven, Middletown & Willimantic Railroad.

Atop Historic Lyman Viaduct

We’d been wanting to explore this trail for some time and everything came together for an exceptionally beautiful ride through some brilliant fall foliage on a cool, crisp afternoon. The trail environment is diverse with forest, streams (sometimes on both sides of the trail) and wetlands. On the portion we traveled it traverses two large viaducts with great views. The Lyman Viaduct, which towers 137 feet high over Dickinson’s Creek wa built in 1873 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. There was also a beautiful old brownstone arch bridge dated 1887.

After our ride we drove to Sharon’s farm in Canterbury where we camped out overnight. We enjoyed a beautiful starry sky through haRVy’s skylight as well as the sounds of squealing pigs and howling coyotes.

On Sunday we were awakened by roosters. After a leisurely breakfast and a walk around the farm we paddled the Quinebaug River with Sharon and her friend John. The river was running rather rapidly, so we decided to leave the camera onshore (no photos…sorry). It was beautiful paddle enjoyed by all with a few thrills but (luckily) no spills.

After our paddle, we did our part to support local business by enjoying homemade apple crisp and ice cream at Canterbury Cones. They were getting ready to close for the season, so we just couldn’t resist this last chance opportunity.

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Posted in Air Line Rail Trail, Quinebaug River

Posted by: sunnyharvy | September 9, 2011

Couldn’t Stay Away from the ADK

Today was the loveliest weather day we’ve experienced in over a week. Although a good portion of it was spent driving, we made the most of the sunshine and pleasant temperatures.
After a quick pump out, we reluctantly left Letchworth SP around 11:30 heading in the direction of home. We had no definite destination in mind, planning instead to see where we were when we got tired of driving. We drove through more rolling farm land before stopping for lunch at “Sweet Sue’s.” We had barely entered the New York Thruway (boring) when Al began researching campgrounds on our new “Camp & RV” iPad app. Apparently, he couldn’t stand the thought of driving right past the Adirondacks (one of our most favorite destinations) without stopping, so he found a nice little private campground just at the southern park boundary.
We got settled in about 5 o’clock and took a walk around the shady grounds. There is also mining for “Herkimer Diamonds” here, which is mildly amusing. Why anyone would want to spend time picking and chipping at rocks in search of nearly worthless quartz crystals is beyond me, but several folks seemed to be enjoying the activity in the late afternoon sun. The warm weather held so we were finally able to fire up the outdoor grill on which I cooked marinated chicken, green beans, and corn. Al is doing the dishes as I write this entry.
Throughout the day we discussed the possibility of driving straight home, but we are glad to have another night aboard haRVy before returning to the reality of work and household chores. This has been a great week for camping with all three campgrounds practically empty.
We should be back home late tomorrow afternoon after a very satisfying vacation that felt like much more than the 12 days it entailed.
Stay tuned for our next adventure!

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Posted by: sunnyharvy | September 8, 2011

Exhilerated & Exhausted

Today we were determined to see the sights here in Letchworth State Park no matter what the weather brought and we really lucked out. While rain threatened nearly all day, it never fell with any force and the worst we had to contend with was some steady drizzle and not even much of that. As things turned out, it was a great day for lots of hiking and waterfall watching and this is exactly what we did. From Middle Falls, to Upper Falls, and finally Lower Falls, we’ve now seen them all!
Middle Falls Right Next to the Glen Iris Inn Shown Below

At Upper Falls

Lower Falls

We also toured the Letchworth Museum and the Seneca Indian Council House. We took a break to enjoy a lovely lunch at the Glen Iris Inn, formerly William Pryor Letchworth’s estate. He bought the place and 1,000 surrounding acres in 1859. Nearly 50 years later he deeded his estate to the State of New York.
If you have never visited this park, often referred to as the “Grand Canyon of the East,” put it on your list as it is definitely worth the trip!
From the brochure (because I could not say it better): Letchworth State Park comprises 14,350 acres of scenic magnificence along the Genesee River. The precipitous walls of the Genesee Gorge, the river winding below, the plunge and spray of dramatic waterfalls and the lush forest all contribute to make the park one of the most notable examples of waterfall and gorge scenery in the eastern United States.
We returned to our campsited at the end of the day totally exhausted after hours of walking and climing hundreds of stairs. Of course, we also took hundreds of photographs and dozens of video clips. If you want to see more than what is posted here, visit my Facebook page.

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Posted by: sunnyharvy | September 7, 2011

Dodging more Flood Waters

Labor Day was rainy so we hung out to visit with MaryEllen and do laundry. That evening the Mazzeo family had another dinner gathering to which we were warmly welcomed. We met a few more family members and ate more delicious food.

Me & MaryEllen at Dave’s Lake House
Tuesday morning MaryEllen packed up to fly home to SoCal while we also prepared to hit the road again. After a quick visit to Wegman’s market to provision we were off in a westerly direction through beautiful farmland and vineyard country. We stopped to grab coffee at Blanche’s bakery and coffee shop in Lodi. Blanche herself prepared a new pot of decaf for us while we had a little chat about how slammed her little café had been over the Labor Day weekend. Blanche appeared to be in her 80’s, but she was still able to multi-task efficiently as she accepted a delivery, made our coffee, and cooked a BLT for a regular customer all at once. Her energy was amazing and inspiring.
We proceeded to enjoy more beautiful old barns, far reaching green fields, and rolling hills. We drove through Mennonite communities where colorful laundry hung on incredibly long, high lines while a few families braved the road in their black horse drawn buggies.
We arrived at Watkins Glen State Park just in time to pack a picnic lunch for a 3-hour hike up the gorge (glen). What an incredible place that is. Within two miles, the glen’s stream descends 400 feet past 200-foot cliffs, generating 19 waterfalls along its course. Engineers and masons have carved a slate walkway and stairs that wind over and under the cascades. It was an exhilarating experience.

Our final destination for the day was Letchworth State Park that features a much larger and deeper gorge which we will explore soon.

Today it is raining again so we had a lazy morning viewing our videos and photographs from Watkins Glen on our TV after a delicious pancake breakfast served with New York State maple syrup purchased a few days ago in the Catskills.
This afternoon we had a tour of the Mt. Morris dam and the visitor center there. Hoping for better weather tomorrow so we can do some hiking and see the sites here in this magnificent park.
We are not complaining about the weather here. The areas a bit further east, which we left behind yesterday, are experiencing much heavier rain and some severe flooding.

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Posted in Watkins Glen State Park

Posted by: sunnyharvy | September 5, 2011

Westy Owners to the Rescue

Not only did the WestyFest provide lots of good information, ideas, and comraderie, but those comrads came to our rescue when needed.

Last night’s potluck dinner was truly a feast. Tables were set-up on the Simak’s deck as the sun was setting. Everyone contributed something delicious, from Jeff’s grilled chicken kabobs and Kathy’s smoked turkey to Jack’s mac ‘N cheese, several assorted side dishes, 4 pies, and an endless supply of homemade cookies, everyone got more than their fill. Much amiable conversation ensued for hours afterwards.

Today we spent a leisurely morning looking at more of the Westy’s that arrived late and meeting their owners. We then prepared to head back to Auburn to visit with MaryEllen for a couple more days. We headed to the nearby waterfalls in “downtown” Holley where we took a nice walk up to the top of the falls and along the Erie Canal.

From top of falls – see haRVY?

We then drove east along the canal a bit before stopping for a canalside picnic lunch. We were then going to get back on the highway to Auburn, but that intention was thwarted when haRVy did not start.

This “Start Error” had ocurred once before, so we were not immediately over concerned. We thought it would reset after 10 or 15 minutes. Unfortunately, our various attempts to fix the problem failed. I called AAA to find out that my towing coverage does not include RV’s. Al called Geico to be similarly disappointed, even though he was quite sure he had requested the additional RV towing coverage. We then called back to the WestyFest to see if any of the other owners knew how to handle this problem. Turns out none of them had ever seen this problem before, but three fellow Westy owners made the 45-minute drive over to see if they could help. They tried all the tricks they could think of. When none got haRVy started again, they diligently searched online with their smart phones. These efforts finally produced the winning combination of disconnecting the positive side of the battery while the ignition key was engaged. Somehow this reset the computer and we were able to restart the engine. Hurray!

Our heroes at work

They followed us to the local Dodge dealer where we turned off the engine to see if the problem was resolved and voila – it restarted! We were finally back on our way after a 5 hour lunch break with the knowledge of what to do if the problem occurs again.

A big THANK YOU goes out to Jeff, Dick, & Bill. We deeply appreciate their help and support.

So, we are now happy to be once again parked in Dave Mazzeo’s lakeshore driveway where we will spend the next two nights.

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Posted in Westfalia Start Error, WestyFest IV

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