New York and Pennsylvania
12 September 2023
281 miles
We were out of the VRBO before 11:00 this morning and on the road for our nearly 5-hour drive to New York. All was pretty calm – we did have rain in the southern part of Maine but once we got into Massachusetts, the weather improved – so much so that by the time we got to New York, the sun was shining, and the temperature was in the upper 70s. We stopped at the Price Chopper to get salmon and vegetables for dinner, and then made our way to Getaway.
The tiny cabins are impressive! Very nice bed, table for two, sink, two burner stove top, toilet, shower, and fridge. An amazing use of space!
We enjoyed a nice campfire over dinner. The site asks that you extinguish fires by 10:00 PM, the beginning of quiet hours. We complied and listened to a ball game for about an hour before crawling into the very comfy bed.
13 September 2023
176 miles
We left our tiny cabin just before 11:00 this morning (after scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast). We made good time and pulled into Ithaca (home of Cornell University) at 3:30. We found our way to Wegmans (incredible grocery store) and bought shrimp and vegetables for dinner as well as a sandwich and a poke bowl. It was only about 10 more miles to the Taughannock Falls State Park. We checked in, unloaded a few items at our site, and went back to the office for firewood (three bundles for two nights).
Once we got back to camp, we devoured our shared sandwich (turkey and avocado), and proceeded to set up our tent, camp stove, and our recently filled water jug.
Markus got our fire going since it was almost 5:00 by this point. We are trying our sleeping pads for the first time tonight; they have to inflate for at least 30 minutes. The weather was cool in the evening, so we were really glad to have the fire going. We went to bed a little after 10:00 and had a good night’s sleep with no rain! I was so happy about that!
Interestingly, we had some unique fellow campers. The man beside us was on a bicycle with large saddlebags. He has a good-sized tent (and presumably a sleeping bag). I felt bad that he didn’t have a fire since I’m sure he couldn’t pedal up to the campground with a bundle of firewood! The guy across the lane from us is also on his own. He had a truck with a small tent – he had a fire! It’s been remarkable how many solo travelers we have seen – both male and female. I’m not sure that I would have the gumption to travel on my own like that.
I forgot to add that we stopped by the overlook at the falls. It was very pretty, and I took several pictures, although the light wasn’t ideal late in the day.
Footnote: Throughout our travels, we have seen so many barns that are falling down, we have lost count. It seems such a shame. This has been common across New Hampshire, Maine, New York, and Pennsylvania.
14 September 2023
90 miles
We puttered around the campsite this morning, and finally got out to drive along the lake around 11:30. We drove up to the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, which has a really nice wildlife drive. It took about 30 minutes and we saw a lot of different birds and one deer – a young buck with about four points (as close as we could tell). There are loads of eagles’ nests in the area, but we didn’t catch sight of any of our national birds.
On the way back south, we stopped at Buttonwood Grove Vineyards, and the Thirsty Owl for wine tastings. The wines were pretty good, but the countryside was the real highlight. The lake views were beautiful.
After our tastings, we drove back to Ithaca to pick up lunch for tomorrow’s drive. We shared a sandwich and got our tent set up. We slept well last night with the new sleeping pads, and we are hopeful for a repeat tonight. In addition to comfort, another advantage to the pads is that the air provides a layer of insulation, and they are much warmer than sleeping only on the tent mattress. The temperature felt pretty cool, and we put on our base layers for the second night in a row. Between that and the fire we were toasty!
15 September 2023
230 miles
We were up and at ‘em this morning, but it was still 11:00 when we had everything packed up and completed our ablutions. Our route took us through some pretty rural areas before we got to I-90. The sun was shining, and it was a pretty drive. Incidentally, we had a really comfortable night last night – both warm and dry with our new sleeping pads.
We stopped at one of the new and improved service areas on the New York Thruway (quite nice) and got to the hotel in Erie around 3:30. Fortunately, there was a room available for check-in; we are on the club floor, so we have access to the lounge for snacks and drinks (non-alcoholic). We spent the rest of the evening surfing, and watching NASCAR. We went to the lounge for dinner – stuffed shells and salad – then back to our room to read and watch college football until bedtime.
Footnote: We got treated to a fireworks show tonight. The Seawolves (AA minor league baseball) have them every Friday night that they play at home. How fun is that?!! 😊
16 September 2023
21 miles
After breakfast in the lounge and a luxuriously hot shower (which flooded the bathroom due to the shower door track not being properly caulked), we checked out of the Sheraton at 11:00. Our room was nice – on the club level with a pretty view of the harbor. It was also recently updated and had a worktable in the corner that both Mark and I could comfortably sit at and still look out at the marina.
Anyway, after checkout, we drove 0.2 miles down the bayfront to the Maritime Museum and the US Brig Niagara. The tour of the Niagara (guided) was really interesting. I grew up knowing the name “Commodore Perry,” but had no idea of the history, or of his significance in the war of 1812. Very enlightening!
We stopped at Wegmans for groceries for the next few days – breakfast, lunch, and dinner – and were at Virginia’s Beach Campground just before 3:00. We got to our campsite, ate charcuterie for a late lunch, and then chicken potstickers for an appetizer before dinner. Tonight’s dinner is a repeat of two nights ago, shrimp scampi with rice and vegetables. We also have garlic bread!
Footnote: In the campground, the tent sites are on top of a very steep hill, which makes it seem like a little enclave – separate from the RVs down below. Ours is one of only two tent sites with a lake view, and ours is definitely the best!
17 September 2023
45 miles
We slept in this morning, so decided on a quick breakfast of cereal (Honey Nut Cheerios). I also had a cup of hot chocolate since it was only 56° at 10:00. We took our time getting ready and washing up and left Virginia’s Beach Campground just before 1:00. We headed to the Seawolves baseball game in downtown Erie. The first pitch was at 1:35 and we just missed it by the time we parked. However, as luck would have it, someone had graciously left some extra game vouchers at the ticket office and we didn’t have to pay for admission, which was normally $18 per person. We were off to a good start!
We had lower box seats on the first base side, in the first section beyond the visitors’ dugout. We were in row D, and on the aisle – honestly, they were season-ticket quality seats! The stadium, which seats 6,000, is really nice for a AA team (Detroit affiliate). We shared a jumbo hotdog, a sausage, and a Yingling draft beer – traditional ballpark fare! Today was the last regular season game for the team. They are in the playoffs and play the first game (away) on Tuesday, when there will be a watch party at the stadium. The opposing team today was the Richmond (Virginia) Flying Squirrels – I’m not sure how I would feel about playing for a team with that mascot. Anyway, the Seawolves lost the game 2-1. ☹
We stopped at Giant Eagle on the way back to the campground, but they had no firewood, so we had to go to Lowe’s. We also stopped at Sheetz for ice. It was almost 5:30 when we got back and ate a shrimp appetizer, as Markus got the fire going. We went down to the boat ramp to watch the sunset, and the seawall was still warm from the sun. It felt so nice to sit on it and watch the sun sink below the horizon. Dinner was salmon with black pepper sauce and mushrooms over rice. We do eat well!
Footnote 1: We made a reservation at Clarion River Suites for tomorrow night, and as we were on our way back from the ball game, we had a call from the manager. She said that she had just seen our reservation come through and was calling in case we had any questions. She also said that the room wasn’t rented on Sunday night so we should feel free to check in whenever we arrived.
Footnote 2: All of our fellow tent campers are gone tonight; we have the whole level to ourselves.
Footnote 3: The wind really kicked up after sunset, and we burned through our firewood (no pun intended), including two large pieces foraged from nearby campsites.
18 September 2023
105 miles
We were up at 8:30 this morning, made coffee, and got the campsite torn down and stowed. We decided to skip our oatmeal for breakfast and instead planned to stop at Chick-fil-A on the way to I-90. Unfortunately, our GPS routed us in the opposite direction, and we had to substitute a granola bar for the intended breakfast chicken sandwich.
Our journey took us through Leeper on State Road 36 and we took a small detour to see if we could find Uncle Herb‘s cabin. I am sure we were on the right track, but there was a sign at the end of the lane that said it was a private road and it was posted “no trespassing.” As such, we didn’t turn down it. The more I thought about it afterward, I am nearly certain that the same sign – or similar – was there 40+ years ago. I am going to look it up on Google maps to see if the A-frame is still there.
After that diversion, we arrived at the suites without further delay. We had the access code to get in and we cooked a hamburger for lunch. We also cooked a second hamburger to have for dinner. After washing the dishes (no dishwasher), we drove into Cook Forest State Park. The drive along the river was quite pretty. The park is remarkably quiet, and we saw very few other people or vehicles.
We had to drive back to Leeper for gas. The crossroads (routes 36 and 66) look nearly identical to my memory of it from 45 years ago. The Sawmill Restaurant is on one corner, the gas station is on one corner, the Red and White grocery store is on one corner, and the country store (permanently closed) is on the fourth corner.
With a full tank of gas in the truck, we returned to the park. We parked at the fire tower and walked up to Seneca point; we opted not to climb the tower. Then we drove the forest road for a couple of miles and stopped at one of the picnic areas to take some pictures along the Clarion River. Lastly, we stopped at the Cooksburg Café for ice cream and quickly browsed the dry good store (mostly kitschy gifts). The ice cream was delicious, by the way.
We returned to the suites and met our upstairs neighbors. It appeared that they were the only other guests. The suites are a little older – and dated – but very comfortable with a full kitchen and Wi-Fi. The river view is beautiful!
Footnote 1: We saw several (6–7) dead deer today. Surprisingly, these are the first dead deer we have seen in all of our rural travels.
Footnote 2: There were no campers left at Virginia’s Beach this morning. When we left it was still windy – with whitecaps on the lake.
19 – 30 September 2023
Journal on pause
Sarah and Will’s wedding was beautiful, and the reception was enjoyed by all. Ed danced with Wendy; it was so sweet – it brought tears to my eyes.
