The shuttle makes its way from the truck/bus lot to the RV lot

I wrestled the laptop away from Annie to write this next post. I wish the reference to the sun was indeed the warm and bright ball up in the sky with me basking beneath it, but that is not the case. The sun is Mohegan Sun (which has the potential to be on par with the real deal) our boondocking spot of choice for two nights to celebrate my birthday. Not that I didn’t greatly enjoy visiting the nearby RV supply store or spending quality time at Lowe’s, it’s just that dinner at Ballo’s topped off by free canolis scored a wee tad higher on the “how I’d like to spend my birthday” scale.

Cheers!

Mohegan Sun has two free oversize lots; one for trucks and tour buses and the other for RVs. They aren’t very level but we managed not to topple over the edge that looks out over the Thames River. You must complete a form to get your permit for an initial 7 night stay which can be extended once. The security guys are so eager for something to do that you are barely into the lot when one stops by. They are very nice and swing through often to be sure all is well. The free property shuttle bus makes the rounds every 15 mins; no sense waiting to throw your money away, so get right in there!

The waitstaff gets “RESPECTed” at Johnny Rockets

We chose the Cape (no, not Cape Hatteras, or Cape Lookout, but the Cape of all Capes) for a simulated getaway that would have the feel of “away” at only 120 miles and was a place we hadn’t visited in quite some time (by land). Our week at the low-key Dunroamin’ RV Park was mostly about getting to know our new home, ordering like drunken sailors from Amazon and restocking our pantry…with a dash of sightseeing tossed in for good measure.

An odd feeling to look down at the canal we transited less than two months before

This young guy was a hoot as he led us through how to make a glass-blown ornament at the Sandwich Glass Museum

One of the many beautiful displays of blown and cut glass

A huge display showed the river (blue) that eventually became today’s canal (dark). The yellow shows the first attempt.

We stopped at the Cape Cod Canal Visitor Center, housed in a former Coast Guard boat house and learned more than we could ever remember about the canal and its history.

Our big day out took us east along Rte 28 from Sandwich to Chatham where we worked our way back as far as Hyannis before jumping up to Rte 6 and Sandy Neck Beach for a taste of a north-side rocky beach.

Chatham lighthouse- note the light got caught in the act

Chatham Beach looking out toward the surf-lined tricky entrance to the small harbor

The local vessels navigate with ease

Hundreds of dead horseshoe crabs lined the south shore beaches

Mother Nature creates spooky sand at Sandy Neck Beach

Our day out took us past the Cape Cod Mall and the plethora of shopping centers nearby. Our eagle-sharp eyes spotted a Not Your Average Joe’s in the mall and after noting a Pier 1, Kohl’s and Home Goods we decided to return the next afternoon for a healthy dose of home-stuff shopping culminating with dinner at Joe’s. Not only are the drinks and entrees delicious but the bread with cheese/garlic/EVOO is a meal in itself. So we had seconds, and when we had our remains boxed up (oh that sounds weird) our waiter insisted on giving us an entire fresh serving of bread and dipping oil. We ate like kings for days. 🙂

At the end of the month our firmly entrenched in Vermont son drove down for a few days to check out the new ride/home/escape vehicle and spend time with us and friends. We quickly put him to work helping clear out the second storage unit we’d rented for one month.

The perfect plate frame for Benj; excellent choice Lily

The door stuck so every time we had to take a hammer to it

Did you know that October is “get serious” month? No? Guess it falls to us to lead the way then. Work (for Russ), projects and more projects as we slowly give Anne those promised spa treatments with a few extras to make living aboard more pleasant.

I believe we’ve been introduced; Annie’s my name and plundering’s my game- oh, no? Guess that was my prior life; this one is traveling the high ways not the high seas! My little buddy, Ms Bonny is such a tag-a-long, always following like she wants to get high from my exhaust or something. But she’s no problem really and hasn’t broken away yet to take off on her own.
Life with my new owners began Sept 8 at McGeorge’s Rolling Hills RV in Ashland, VA about 20 miles north of Richmond. I was a bit miffed when they left me on the lot for, get this, TWO whole months once they decided in June that I was the “one”. In fact I showed my displeasure by messing up the generator and a few other things on pickup day; nothing serious but a lady deserves respect. But we are getting to know each other and while the spa treatments are lengthy and numerous I think some time will pass before anyone will notice the difference!
My new owners- have you met them? Russ and Lori; former full-time catamaran cruisers and can you imagine only moving at 8mph, how did they ever get anywhere? I move along quite nicely at 65mph but they seem to prefer 62mph on the highways and I hear them talking about traveling roads like Rte 66 and not interstates. Fine by me; more scenic and less stress. I think too, less of those camera-toll things and the booths where you have to hand over wads of cash before you can continue on. I don’t like those. I suppose I should feel a kinship; pirates of the highways you know.

first you hook the black bars then the blue… or was it the red???

On claiming day surgery was scheduled immediately so that toad, Bonny, could join the caravan. Isn’t that an odd word- toad? Like towed, only toad, but meaning a dinghy. She’s nice though I guess but small like a toad.:-). We’ll become good friends I’m sure, as long as she knows her place… behind me!

What is wrong with this photo? Nose to nose we are.

Tuesday afternoon we hit the road; all of 30 miles worth. Russ and Lori had gotten the quick walk-through and took so many notes on how to use the tow package and all my lovely bells and whistles inside and out; they seemed overwhelmed at first. I could tell they didn’t trust me and needed to stay close to “home” in case of troubles.
The campground (CG for short) was a few miles off I95 near Fredericksburg and Lori was gripping the handle bar by her seat so tight I was happy the trip was only 45 mins. Russ seems to know what he’s doing and drives well but we’ll see how he does when the roads get tight and the construction cones close in!

The KOA check-in person was friendly and she took us to our pull-through spot (Anne sometimes has to follow others but she won’t tell you that). First step is the leveling process which I do with one touch of the “auto level” button. The new toys came out; water hose (that no kink kind), bright red sewer hose (like you are going to feel cheery about dumping!) and the awnings and compartment doors opened up. All seemed to work well, even that first black water tank dump bore no resemblance to the funny scene in “RV”.

Ok, let ‘er rip!

We moved further the next two days; about four hours each day which seems to be a long enough day but not so long that Lori’s hand becomes permanently attached to that handle. Poor thing; she’ll relax eventually. My 90 gal diesel tank had that empty feel so we found a Love’s truck stop. We use an app called “Allstays” to hunt down rest and fuel stops as well as RV campgrounds and free stops such as a Wal-Mart or Cracker Barrel parking lot. This time though we just saw the sign and took the exit.

Follow that fuel tanker!

Not sure how I felt with all those massive tractor trailers, but I got lots of Love … and Russ got oodles of trucker advice. All the guys (there were 8 lanes) wore leather gloves and headsets; kinda exciting seeing all those truckers in one place… maybe we will watch “Duel” soon.
The night’s anchorage was a short drive after fueling up and we got in, settled and out the next morning without trouble. Bonny stays attached when we have a one night pull-through; good that we don’t have to worry about her wandering off.

So this was in PA not too far from Allentown and the last leg of our “bring her home” trip (Russ & Lori make a certain face when they say that) would take us over the Tappan Zee Bridge to I95 North, ending up at Hammonasset State Park. My first toll station and whew I was ready. We all watched and read the signs; ok no EZ Pass for us and trucks and trailers keep right; uhh I guess that’s us. Can’t hurt to keep right. Lanes 1- 10- what’s that all about? Same deal? Oh and then we need to keep left after the toll; sure we can do that!! Sweet; we’re there and pull up to the nice lady who asks for $27!!! Whoa baby, looks like Bonny is the cheap date at $3 and I am Empress expensive. I’m with them; we won’t do this again.
As expected, I95 sucked big time, especially when we arrived in Madison and looked at poor Bonny. Her bonnet was dotted with pieces of tar; someone will have fun getting all that off. Our spot at the CG was wide and easy to pull in to. We’ll hang out here for a while before taking a run out to the Cape.

Lori Chimes in: I like this off-season time; easy to get a site and no battles for laundry. Scooting around in Bonny is great too without all the summer traffic. The interstates are no fun; they are all about getting there and not enjoying the trip. Although highways and secondary roads make the trip longer, we plan to use them a lot but not exclusively.  Fall is upon us, the colorful and crunchy leaves are a sight we haven’t seen much of in the past four years. This is the latest we’ve been in CT since heading south in Ortolan on 10-10-10.