Tuesday, August 30, 2011

The hurricane and beyond

By Saturday afternoon, it appeared as though hurricane Irene was going to make a mess out of much of the northern east coast and then move inland into New Hampshire, Vermont and eastern New York, leaving coastal Maine largely alone. As such we decided that rather than run West, right into the storm, we would move to or new campground - Saltwater Campground - about 14 miles to the South in Cushing, Me. Saltwater Campground is largely treeless, which reduces the chance of damage to the coach. We arrived at Saltwater Campground around 12:30 pm and got set up in our new site. There were about 15 other coaches and 5th wheels in the park and everyone was preparing for the storm. With everything done that could be done, we headed into town to relax on the Rockland harbor at a new place we found called Archer's.

Sunday morning arrived with the storm still heading our way, but with a much reduced intensity. We were getting bursts of rain, sometimes heavy, most of Saturday night, but not accompanied by a lot of wind. As the day progressed, we continue to watch The Weather Channel and receive their sensationalistic reports with growing disdain. By the end of this ordeal I had decided to avoid television coverage of future storms and rely instead on the Internet coverage provided by NOAA. Their coverage is concise and to the point and as time would tell, very accurate.

Sunday evening arrived with little change - a few rain squalls and light wind gusts - so we headed into town to Archer's to join the Leaches and a sizeable number of others. We had a great evening, and Archer's provided free appetizers in the form of Haddock bites and Haddock cakes - delicious! The weather continued to remain benign and the locals assured us that this event would be no worse than the Nor'easters they put up with every year. We were not so sure, but their assurances were helpful to settle Suzanne's jangled nerves.

Back at the coach, the NOAA forecast was telling us that overnight, Irene would bring us winds of 30 to 45 MPH with gusts to 55 mph. I pulled in the big driver's side slide and the bedroom slide that were facing the likely source of the winds, and we hunkered down for the night. The wind and rain continued all night, but never became as intense as even NOAA predicted, let alone what The Weather Channel lead everyone to expect.

Monday morning arrived to relatively light winds and rain, but the promise that the worst was over. But unfortunately the worst was just starting for those in New Hampshire, Vermont and eastern New York. There, as you have seen and heard, the heavy rains produced massive flooding and destruction. Thank goodness we decided to stay in Maine and not run for Vermont or New York!

With the worst over and the sun shining, we set out all the outside furniture and barbecue and got the coach in "ship-shape." Then we headed back to Camden Hills Campground to see how our friends had fared. As it tuned out, they had a few fallen branches, but no damage to their rigs, much to our relief. From there we went back to Graffam's, this time for a haddock roll - excellent!

After lunch, we met Bob and Sheila at the Jameson Point. Suz and Sheila went shopping in town and Bob and I took the 1 mile (each way) walk on the Rockland breakwater to the Rockland light house. The breakwater took 18 years to complete between 1881 and 1899 and is constructed of huge granite blocks, which were quarried right outside of town. The Bodwell Granite Company used around 700,000 tons of granite for the project, which cost more than three quarters of a million dollars.

As the work progressed, a small moveable beacon was moved farther out each time the breakwater was extended. The light was relocated four times between 1888 and 1895. Charles Ames served as the light's attendant for some years at $25 per month. He also struck a metal triangle when a fog signal was called for. Finally, in 1902, a permanent lighthouse was built at the breakwater's end by the W.H. Glover Company of Rockland after a Congressional appropriation of $30,000 (about the cost of a mid-size car today!).

When we finished the walk, Bob and I toured the beautiful Samoset Resort, which lies on the hill just above the breakwater. It is a very nice resort with a beautiful 18 hole golf course with some holes on the cliffs above the ocean.

Later, we met Suz and Sheila and headed back to our coach to relax and enjoy the great view of the St. George penisula and the St. George River from our campsite. Around 4, we headed into Thomaston (about 2 miles) to find Billy's, an Irish pub of some renown in the area. Of course we succeeded and enjoyed a great afternoon talking to Billy and learning of his history and stories of the area.The pub is located in the old Grange hall in Thomaston, where Bob Leach use to go for Thursday night dances as a youth. Billy's has been open for five years now and appears to be going over quite well.

Tuesday, I worked on this posting for the blog, then we went to lunch at the Thomaston Cafe, then headed over to the Owls Head Transportation Museum to look at the great collection of antique cars and planes. I have lots of pictures, but can't put them all in the blog, so I have selected a few to give you an idea of how great this little museum is. For one, there is a private collection of 23 MGs and micro cars. The MGs range from a 1931 M University Foursome Folding Head Coupe, to a 1950s MG TD Mark II. But the best, in my view, was a 1938 MG SA Touring. Another of my favorites was the 1938 Duesenberg Model J. For those not familiar with the Duesenberg, it is still considered, if not the, then one of the greatest cars ever built. In the 1930s it set the world land speed record of 156 mph on the salt flats.

The museum also has quite a few airplanes ranging from a replica of the Wright brothers plane that flew at Kittyhawk, NC, to an early Curtiss plane, to bi-planes and one tri-plane.

Later in the afternoon, we headed over to Archers on the Rockland harbor for happy hour, then home. All-in-all a great day!

On Wednesday, we did some shopping and worked around the coach. Later in the evening, the Leaches came over and we cooked up some burgers and enjoyed a relaxing evening looking at the St. George River and the beautiful sunset. Until, that is, the mosquitoes arrived en masse. Voracious little buggers! Not the end to a perfect day we had hoped for, but great nonetheless. Until the next time, Cheers!

John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog

Friday, August 26, 2011

Even more Maine

Thursday, we started to get serious about our hurricane preparations. I got started early, cooking some stew meat, cutting up vegetables and loading the slow cooker for a several future dinners. Then it was off to the grocery store for last minute items before the rush of locals hit the road. I also filled the car with gas. Later, Suz and I headed to The Helm restaurant on US1 for lunch then visited the local Maine Sport store, kind of a mini-Bass Pro Shop. Both of us needed semi-winter jackets and we found what we were looking for. The rest of the afternoon we worked around the coach, doing wash and generally getting ready to pull up stakes should the weather demand such. Around 4, I headed down to Rockland to meet Bob Leach at The Waterworks. Returning home, the beef stew was done and dinner was served - delicious!

We watched the The Weather Channel most of the evening trying to figure out where Irene was going to go and how strong she would be when she reached Maine. I worse came to worse, we were prepared to leave Maine Friday and head toward New York, but it appeared as though Irene's path was moving a bit West and we would be heading right into the path if we left.

Friday was a beautiful day, and Irene seems to be heading further West. The hurricane is also forecast to be no more than a tropical depression by the time it hits Maine. As such, we decided to stay in Maine with an option to move to Augusta to get away from the coast. without a doubt we will move from the Camden Hills RV Resort before the storm hits due to the number of trees in the park. At the very least, we will move to our next stop, Saltwater Campground, which is way above sea level and has no trees close to the RV sites. Saturday will tell the tale.

Late in the morning, Suz, Dixie and I took a drive down route 131 to the tip of the St. George Peninsula. We passed through the picturesque villages of Tennants Harbor and would up in the lobster fishing village of Port Clyde, where we visited the Marshall Point lighthouse. Heading back North, we stopped at Doug's Seafood for a giant lobster roll, then it was up route 73 to Owls Head and Rockland.

We now know that Dixie gets car sick, so we headed back to the coach to drop her off before heading back to Owls Head to see its lighthouse, then meet Bob and Sheila at The Waterworks for happy hour. . Then it was be home again for the rest of the tortellini or beef stew, or both, and another dose of The Weather Channel. As an aside, have you ever noticed how The Weather Channel loves to sensationalize weather events. They are in their glory reporting all the minute details of hurricanes or other storms over and over again. A bit tiresome in my opinion.

Saturday arrived to a foggy day, but no wind. It is eerily quiet as we wait for the onset of the hurricane. The latest word is that it has landed in North Carolina as a category 1, giving us some hope that it will be a moderate windstorm by the time it hits upper New England. Time will tell. At this time, we plan to stay in the area, moving to our new campground sometime this afternoon. Of course we will keep watching The Weather Channel. Until the next posting, Cheers!

John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog

Monday, August 22, 2011

More Mid-Coast Maine

Saturday, I finished the wet bay job and then Suz and I headed for the Owls Head Transportation Museum for the 34th annual antique and classic car auction. They had around 120 fine old cars and trucks, not of the quality that you would find at Carlyle or Pebble Beach, but nice none-the-less. Unfortunately for the sellers, the bidders were sitting on their wallets. Some nice cars had to be passed because the auctioneer couldn't get the bids up even close to the reserve. Others, that had no reserve, went for what I thought were extremely low prices.

One I was particularly taken by was a 1953 Chevrolet pickup that had been meticulously restored to the tune of $40,000. It was a beauty but the auctioneer couldn't raise anything over $22,500. The car was passed without a sale. There was also a nice 55 Ford Fairlane V-8 two-door hardtop in aqua and white. A great looking car with low mileage. The auctioneer couldn't get a bid over $10,000. Obviously it didn't sell. Shaking my head, we left about 4 and headed for the Time Out Pub for a beer, then over to The Landings for a couple more before heading to Amato's for some pasta to take home for dinner. I don't know if you are familiar with Amato's, but it is a chain that sells take-out pasta that is excellent. We bought linguini with meat sauce, meat balls and sausage - a huge portion. The bill was $20 and we had enough pasta and meat for dinner for two nights!

On Sunday, I decided that the coach needed a wash job and got out all the tools. Quite a job to say the least! I was looking forward to a lobster roll for lunch as a reward, but Graffam's was closed, so I had to settle for a chicken sandwich from MacDonald's - what a letdown! Later in the day, we met Bob and Sheila in Rockland at The Landings, then we moved to The Waterworks in another part of town, then home for the rest of the pasta!

Given that I had just washed the coach, we had a huge rainstorm Sunday night. It lasted all night with heavy winds that brought down a couple of trees in the campground. Luckily, none hit our coach. I don't know if you have ever tried to sleep in a motorhome or travel trailer in a heavy rainstorm - doesn't lead to a good nights rest!

Monday morning, I met Bob for breakfast at the Rockport Diner. As before, the food was great and the price was very reasonable. Later, I cleaned up the outside of the coach where the mud had splashed, then Suz and I headed to Graffam's for a lobster roll! After lunch, we went into Camden and strolled the main street and the harbor. From there we headed to Camden Hills State Park, where you can get a great view of Camden harbor and most of Penobscot Bay.



Tuesday, we did chores around the coach then headed off to WalMart and Shaws for supplies. Later in the day, we headed for Camden to wander the streets and have happy hour on the back deck of the Camden Deli. A great view of the harbor and the Megunticook River that flows right under the building. Back home, we heated up some tortellini that we had purchased at Shaws and had a great meal.

On Wednesday, we ordered five lobster from Oyster River Lobster for the dinner with Bob and Sheila Leach, cleaned the coach and headed back to Graffam's for a lobster roll. As usual, the lobster roll was great.

During the day, we watched The Weather Channel to see where the hurricane is heading - right for us! If this continues, we plan to pull up stakes and head inland on Saturday. Probably stay a night or so in a WalMart parking lot away from trees. Once the weather passes, we will be back on the coast at our next stop, Saltwater Campground in Cushing, Me.But more on that later as well as a report on the lobster dinner.

In the evening, Bob and Sheila arrived at the coach and we enjoyed happy hour. Then, Bob and I headed over to Oyster River Lobster to pick up the five lobster we had ordered earlier in the day. We got three 1.5 pound lobster and two 2 pound lobsters. They had been cooked when we arrived and were still hot. Suz and Sheila got the potatoes, corn and melted butter ready and we sat down to a feast of fresh lobster. What a treat!

After dinner, we cleaned up the remains of the lobster and put it all in one garbage bag and hauled it off to the dumpster. You really don't want lobster waste lying around the coach! As the sun set, Bob and Sheila headed for home and Suz and I celebrated another great day in Maine. Until the next post, Cheers!

John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog


Friday, August 19, 2011

Camden, Rockport and Rockland, Maine

The trip from Raymond, NH to Camden, ME was easy and short (155 miles). We arrived at the Camden Hills RV Resort at 12:00 and checked in. Our site is nice, among a group of RV's and 5th wheels, and the people are very nice. We got set up, but no satellite reception - trees again. However, unlike Pine Acres in Raymond, Camden Hills offers cable. Life is good!

Once settled in, we contacted Bob and Sheila Leach, who are vacationing in Owls Head, which is just South of Rockland, which is just South of Rockport, which is just South of Camden where we are. They invited us over for dinner with Bob's two sons, who are in for a visit, and other friends. Bob grew up in Rockland and has relatives and friends galore in the area. We arrived at Bob and Sheila's around 5 pm after a bit of a chore finding the house. But with Bob's help on the cell phone, we managed to find the place.

It is an old cottage with a terrific view of Owls Head harbor. We enjoyed a sumptuous meal and more than a few beers, great conversation with Bob, Sheila, their sons and friends, plus Bob's brother Lou and his wife Agnes who dropped by after dinner. A great eveing, but I worried about finding our way home in the dark! We left around 8:45 and, with good luck, retraced our steps and found our way back to the coach by 9:15 or so. Dixie was happy to see us!

On Thursday, I left the coach early, with a map, and toured the area, determined to get my bearings so as not to get lost again! I vitied Camden, a quaint seaside town just North of our campground. There is a nice harbor, lots of shops and restaurants and a waterfall where the Megunticook River emerges from between the buildings!

Later, I picked up Suz and we followed our neighbor to the Graffam Brothers roadside stand in Rockport where they sell the best lobster and crab rolls I have ever had, all for $7.99 and $6.99 respectively! We then took a run out to Oyster River Lobster (out hwy. 90 just past our campground) and had a look at the tanks of lobster for $4.99 for a 1 1/4 lb. lobster, $5.99 for a 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pound lobster and $6.99 for one that is 2 pounds or more! Granted the lobster are not "hard shell" at the moment because they have just shed their shells, but even so, great prices! We will be picking some up for an outdoor feast with Bob and Sheila later in the stay.

Thursday evening, we got together with the Leaches and shared happy hour on the Rockland harbor at the Time Out Pub.
. We had dinner later at The Bricks Restaurant just across the street from the pub. The pizza was wonderful!

Friday, I got up late and rushed to finish my work on time. After taking Dixie for her walk, I headed down to the Rockport Diner for breakfast - really good! then I toured Rockport proper and learned about the Rockport lime kilns. There is a lot of limestone in the area, and during the 19th century, it was mined and hauled to the port by narrow gauge rail where it was dumped into huge kilns and turned into lime for building purposes. It was then put into barrels and onto ships for transport to Boston and New York. A fire in 1907 destroyed the kilns and the advent of cement put an end to the lucrative lime business. The kilns are now a national historical site.

In the afternoon, Suz, Dixie and I headed over to Graffam's roadside stand and picked up a lobster roll and a crab roll for lunch. We then went down to the port to show Suz the kilns and watch the workers unload the day's catch of lobster into the waiting Oyster River Lobster truck.

After lunch, I decided to tackle a newly arisen problem - a serious leak in the black tank flush system. After tearing the wet bay apart, I discovered that the leak was somewhere in the hose that goes from the wet bay to the other side of the coach then into the black tank. So, off comes the panel on the other side of the coach to expose the other end of the hose. I thought I could detach both ends of the hose, pull it out and replace with a new one. Unfortunately, the hose has a bind somewhere in the middle of its run and cannot be pulled out from either side. The only solution - other than to have them repair it at Red Bay in October - was to go to Home Depot and buy 20 feet of heavy plastic hose and run an alternate line from the wet bay to the black tank entry point. I was able to fish the new hose from one side to the other by sliding it through an opening between the fresh water tank and the black and gray water tanks above it. I know this is more information than you want to know, but it was a challenge and I just had to share it with you!

Before I could finish the job, we had to leave for Bob and Sheila's and then go over to Bob's friends, Larry Bird and his friend Bobbi. Larry has a nice house on a point overlooking Rockland harbor. It was a beautiful evening and Larry was the perfect host. We sat on his deck for a couple of hours watching the boats pass by and enjoying the magnificent scenery. Later in the evening, a schooner with its load of tourists pulled into the bay and anchored just off Larry's house. Other, smaller boats followed suit and soon there were several sailboats anchored in the bay. As the sun disappeared, the fog started to roll in and it was time for us to head home (about a 30 minute drive). What an enjoyable afternoon.

Tomorrow, I will finish the wet bay job, then we plan to go to the car museum in Owls Head where they are having an antique car auction. Should be fun. More on that later. Cheers for now!

John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog

Monday, August 15, 2011

Pine Acres - Raymond, NH

We arrived in Raymond, NH after a few hours of winding through the mountains of Vermont and New Hampshire. It was a leisurely trip with a lot of great scenery. We followed US 4 for the most part, passing through Rutland and Killington, Vermont. At the Vermont - New Hampshire border, we picked up I89 South. From there it was onto I93 for a short while until we hit US 101 around Manchester and headed East to Raymond - a thriving metropolis it is not.

We arrived at Pine Acres campground just after noon and were assigned our site. They didn't call it Pine Acres for nothing! We are located in the middle of Sherwood Forest! No chance for any satellite connection, and no cable or WiFi. Thus, we have been stuck with local TV coverage off our antenna for the past week. I am suffering withdrawal not having CNBC and ESPN, and Suzanne is going crazy without CNN. Our salvation is happy hour when we can go to one of the local sports bars and get the latest market and sports news. Luckily, my Verizon HTC Incredible smart phone has good connection and I can do my work every morning and kind of keep up on the financial news during the day.

The campground is like most of the Morgan campgrounds - mostly seasonal rentals with travel trailers and 5th wheels. Our site is quite nice, but we happen to be located on a corner site on the main road into and out of the campground - the traffic is intense to say the least, especially on the weekend! And the number of kids is quite something. The park is very popular with families since it has a beach on the Lamprey River, a skate board park, and a water park with two water slides. Since the campground is so large and spread out, they also rent golf carts and the seasonals have their own carts. So with the kids riding bikes, scooters, skate boards, and the kids and adults driving all manner of hopped up golf carts (more about this later), plus the cars and trucks, it is a busy intersection that we occupy!

All this having been said, we got set up on Sunday and searched the local area for a sports bar. We found a bar/restaurant in Raymond, not far from the campground, and had our first happy hour with the locals. Supreme Pizza and Teddy's Lounge is not a bad spot , and the locals are friendly. We have found that you can learn a great deal about the area from talking to the locals in a pub.

On Monday we headed East to Hampton to see the beach and have lunch at one of the several highly rated restaurants. The beach was very crowded for a Monday, so no lunch at the beach. Instead, we headed back into Hampton proper and found Lamies Old Salt restaurant and bar. What a great place! The hotel/restaurant is quite old as you can see, and the dining area is well restored. We had a fine lunch, with enough food to take home for a second meal. After lunch we headed North to see a bit of Portsmouth, a very attractive and historic town. With so much to see, we decided to return later in the week for a better look.

On Tuesday, I headed South to Derry to have some blood work done. Nothing special, just something my cardiologist wanted. Later that morning, Suz and I headed East to the town of Exeter, another historic town in the area. the town is situated on the Exeter River, which becomes the Squamscott river below the dam on the Exeter. Don't ask me why. The river hosted the first grist mill in the area in 1640!
The town also is the site of the Folsom Tavern, which was one of the sites where the Declaration of Independence was drafted. Also in Exeter is Phillips Exeter Academy, a very prestigious (and large) boarding school where the rich and famous send their children for "proper training." It was established in 1781 and, as found in Wikipedia, is "noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking questions and creating discussions." Many notables have graduated from the school to say the least.

While in Exteter, we found a great soup and sandwich cafe called The Green Bean.
Suz and I really enjoyed the fare and the great view of the Exeter River from the cafe window. .

We found Exeter so enjoyable that we returned on Wednesday and Thursday for lunch and to explore some more. On Wednesday, we tried another soup and sandwich cafe on the river, the Loaf and Ladle. It was not nearly as good as The Green Bean, so we went back to The Green Bean on Thursday for another great lunch. Of course, on most nights we headed back to either Teddy's or to Legends, found in the local bowling alley in Raymond.

Friday, we toured the local WalMart and Lowe's, plus a bunch of other shops to stock up the coach, then it was back to the coach to wait for the influx of seasonals into the campground - and influx there was! As it happens, Saturday was the day when the local golf cart builder was sponsoring golf cart drag racing on the campground baseball field. In came the souped up golf carts on trailers from as far as Rhode Island. Some of the carts had snowmobile engines (without mufflers) that were very fast (and noisy), to say the least. All Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, these carts were "testing" up and down the campground roads. What a treat! We were happy to get out of the campground Saturday afternoon before the 4:30 drag races. I haven't a clue who won, but there were several different classes being contested.

Saturday evening, we met Rocco and Mercine Adinolfi at The Old Salt in Hampton for a great visit and a wonderful meal of seafood. None of us could finish our meal, which meant Sunday dinner was taken care of. Sunday, we watched as the seasonals and visitors with the souped up golf carts departed. Ah, the quiet was wonderful! Unfortunately, as the seasonals left, the rain moved in. It rained continuously both Sunday night and Monday. So on Monday, we decided to head into Portsmouth to have Dixie groomed at the local Petco; John shorn at the local Super Clips; and have a look at The Country Club of New England, which was opened in 2003, designed by Arnold palmer and constructed by our friend Ty Haubert. What a beautiful layout!

After dropping Dixie off, much to her dismay, Suz and I headed into Portsmouth in the rain to find a spot for lunch. What we found was The Old Ferry Landing at 10 Ceres Street. It is a small restaurant, but the view was great (despite the rain), and the food was wonderful. Suz and I split a lobster roll and a cup of chowder, which was all we could eat. We picked up Dixie, much to her relief and returned to the campground. what a task in the driving rain on I95 and US101. Not far, but not fun.

Today is the day for cleaning the coach in preparation for our departure tomorrow. Our next stop will be Camden, Maine where we will see Bob and Sheila Leach and feast on lobster to our heart's content! Until then, Cheers!

John, Suz and Dixie the (well groomed) Wonderdog

Friday, August 5, 2011

More Saratoga and Lake George

Thursday, I did some work around the coach and then after lunch Suz and I headed to Saratoga to visit the many mineral springs that dot the town. There are 14 mineral springs in Saratoga. The first four discovered are right in the downtown area in what is now Congress Park. As it happens, there is also a carousel in the park, and Suzanne had never ridden on one - well, that would never do! So we paid the $1 each and took a ride. From there, we visited the first four springs. the first was Congress Spring - the original. The water definitely has a mineral taste and is supposed to cure a range of maladies. The Hawthorne Spring has a very definite mineral taste and is highly carbonated as well. Tastes like mineral soda water.

Since Suzanne's foot is still acting up (the blisters) we decided that four mineral springs were enough and headed back to the coach. Around 3:30 we headed back to Saratoga for happy hour. We tried two different pubs on Phila Street; Peabody's Sports Bar & Grill, the original sports bar in Saratoga and not really that nice; and The Irish Times, which is very nice and has a great Irish menu to boot - including corn beef and cabbage and "bangers and mash." Charlie Belton would love the place!

On Friday, I decided to take an early trip to Saratoga to visit the race track. So after walking Dixie, I headed out about 7:00 am for the track. They serve a great buffet breakfast on "The Porch" at the track between 7:30 am and 9:00 am, and there is free track-side parking if you leave before 10:00 am. The breakfast was excellent. Later, I took the free "backstretch" tour, which lasted 45 minutes and gives you a first-hand look at what goes on behind the scenes at a race track. There are 1800 race horses at Saratoga. The race season lasts 6 weeks, between July 22 and Labor Day and the races run every day except Tuesday. the tour informed us of the difference between "horses" and "ponies" (not at all related to age). Ponies are the horses that lead the race horses onto the track. They are very stable and unflappable. It is their job to keep the high strung race horses from getting out of control before a race. We also were informed of all the jobs performed by the myriad handlers of the horses, and were told how the horses are trained to accept the starting gate and how it operates. All very interesting. I think a day at the track would be quite enjoyable.

In the afternoon, Suz and I headed North to Lake George for a cruise on the lake. On the way, we passed through Glens Falls for a look and got lost for a short time on all the back roads. Ultimately, we found our way back to Route 9 and Lake George. We took the 3 pm one hour cruise in the Horicon ("silver waters" in Iroquois). The captain is an archaeologist and passed on a wealth of information about the lake (32 miles long, 196 feet deep at its deepest spot and totally spring fed) and its geology (it was formed in the last ice age). Then it was on to history and the role played by thelake and its forts in the French and Indian War and the American Revolution. At the end of the cruise, Suz and I headed back to Saratoga and The Irish Times for happy hour. Then it was home to barbecue a steak and relax.

Saturday is being spent getting the coach in order for our departure tomorrow and the trip to Pine Acres Campground in Raymond, NH. Until then, Cheers!

John, Suz and Dixie the Wonderdog