We had a great weekend and hope you did too. Saturday we attended a tail gate party on the campus of Michigan State University. I have several nephews who attend there so my whole family (sisters and brother) and their children gathered for a fun get-together.

My brother, Don, with Ron              My baby sister, Beth, with me.

Nearly everything and everyone was decked out in green even baby Will. 

Marty and Bryan are the same couple who have the big house we parked at in DeWitt just before coming north. How about this cottage and the view from the upstairs (loft) window.

Ryan, Bryan and Bob                              Ron and daughter Marty
Activities at the lake include boating, jet skiing, eating and visiting. Marty always has a house full and this weekend was no exception.

Ron and his youngest son, David.                              Ron's youngest daughter Susanne with her fiancé Thorston.

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New Mystery Picture
Where were we when we took these pictures? 

We had a short drive to Pittock Conservation area in Woodstock, Ontario and that was an enjoyable stay. Once there and set up, we went into town and did some grocery shopping. I love to shop in Canadian stores. It is fun to buy things we don't have in the states like tarts and English candies. We just bought a tiny bit of those goodies, because we are still Weight Watching.  It is really a bargain to shop in Canada and camping was inexpensive too. The Canadian price for water and electric was $25.00 but it translated to $15.00 American. Such a deal. 

We are in a Good Neighbor (coast to coast) park north of Gasport and we are going out to stop at some of the many vegetable stands we passed on our way here. The produce here is wonderful at this time of year.

Getting email may be sporadic for a few days. We are going to a state park and they don't have modem hook ups.

Looking for a motorhome?

We loved our visit to Letchworth State Park near Perry, New York. This park is so beautiful as are the nearby towns that I am working on a separate article to link to the Places page. I will have it done in a few days but I wanted to let you know where we are and where we have been. Camping in most state parks is a treat because the sites are generally large and the setting is beautiful. Letchworth is no exception. All of the 270 sites are so large that you hardly know there are other campers nearby. Although the park campground only has electric sites, water was nearby and they have a dump. We spent a lot of time talking to our neighbors, Royetta and Charlie from Ontario and they were saying that they can't figure out why most of their friends with big rigs like ours feel they need to have full hookups in commercial campgrounds instead of enjoying the state parks. 

We have traveled in this part of New York before (1989 and 1992), but that was before we were writing that much so we wanted to do some of it again and share it with you. As we were traveling along US 20 when we left Letchworth, I was writing on the laptop. Here is what we saw and thought.

U.S 20 is a treat for the eyes. Gently rolling hills with big farms are punctuated now and then with towns which have wide streets and a friendly look. We see people talking with one another on main street and waving at each other. The houses are generally big and set back quite a ways from the street. The lots are big also. Most of the houses are two story and have a style that says, New England. Some of the houses look like big farm houses others have a Victorian or Greek look. Many of the houses have cupolas, and fancy work I call "gingerbread."  Every town has one or more big church with a steeple reaching to the sky. They are generally brick or white. 

The hills are steeper now at West Bloomfield. This is the Finger Lakes area. Big finger shaped lakes created by glaciers way back in the ice age. Occasionally we see old gas stations long out of business or tiny little motels of the sort famous when America really began traveling at the end of WW II.

Ron worries a bit about the overpasses. They are not very tall here in the east. Our rule is to travel the red roads (not the pink ones) because the US Routes are built to certain specifications. As we were traveling along US 20 we came to a sign saying clearance 10' 6" two miles ahead. Ron got quite excited since we are 12' 3" tall. Thankfully US 20 turned and the sign stated that vehicles taller than 10' 6" should follow route 20. As we come up to overpasses, they all look so short, but he breathes a little easier when he sees the actual height of 13 or 14 feet. 

The houses in Skeaneateles are the prettiest anywhere. They are big and well kept. One big one right on the lake had a "for sale" sign so I told Ron that I want it. He just laughed. Oh it was so very nice. 
After Skeaneateles, the road turned very hilly with steep grades. We remembered that 10 years ago with the Mallard, we had to un hook the car in order to make it up the hills easier. Twice now the Dream has shifted down to second gear which is very unusual. Good thing we have the engine brake. We have gone from vegetable farms to apple orchards. Pumpkins are listed as for sale also. This is sure beautiful country. 

We pulled over on main street in Calzonia to have lunch. Very charming town. More big houses. 

We stayed at the West Canada Creek RV Park in Poland, New York, on the edge of the Adirondack mountains because we happened to notice a town named Hoffmeister near by. The campground was very nice, but rather expensive ($29.00 with discount). It was billed as having  "big rig" sites and the sites were nice, but I thought their charge of $1.50 to use their modem (each time) was excessive. Most campgrounds offer a modem for no extra charge or perhaps a fifty cent charge at most. Because I had been without cell phone coverage (and unable to get on line) I gave in and spent the money. Then when I forgot to upload the map, I had to pay a second time to get back on line.

We made a circle drive that day and found a treasure on the way home. At Sailsbury Center (at the junction of 29A and 29) we stopped at the Covered Bridge Diner and had lunch. Their prices were from another era. Our good sized roast beef sandwich on rye was only $2.25. Coffee was fifty cents so our total bill with tip came to just over $7.00. We could have added a piece of home made pie for only $1.50 but we were full after the sandwich. Hamburgs there were only $1.50. 

Tonight (Wednesday) we ate at the Dog Team Tavern which is just down the road from our campground. It was another unique experience. When we entered this sprawling building which was a tea house in the early 30s and has been a restaurant since the 40s we were greeted by a hostess who was standing next to a large chalk and poster board which was leaning against a table. It listed more than a dozen entrees and included prices. We must have looked a bit puzzled because we were asked if we had ever been there before. When we told her we hadn't, she went on to explain that meals are served family style and we have to order there before we are even seated. She took our order (which seamed strange) then we were asked to sit on one of the couches until we were called. A short time later we were ushered to a small table which was set with everything including  cups of the tomato-broccoli soup that we had chosen; the soups were hot and delicious. We had only just began to eat when our server brought over huge sticky rolls, fresh bread, and a small ferris wheel of extra treats was wheeled over to stand beside our table. On the wheel were such things as horseradish spiced cottage cheese, sweet and sour sauerkraut, spiced beets with onion, corn relish, apple butter, and bean salad. A nice salad came next followed by our entrees. Ron ordered grilled scrod which he said was terrific and I ordered my favorite, scallops. When the our meals were delivered all that was on the plate was the meat; our server dished up all of the mashed potatoes and vegetable (brussel sprouts) we would want. The food was excellent and the experience charming. Since we are on vacation (we really are) we plan to experience more dinners like this.

We went for a short bike ride today and will do another tomorrow. Yesterday, on one of our drives we ended up at Ben and Jerry's (between Burlington and Montpelier). We didn't take the tour as we had done that 13 years ago but we did buy just a tiny bit of their ice cream. Yummy!!! Good thing we are exercising. 

We leave Danville tomorrow to head south to Dorset for our final five days in Vermont. I am working on a large story which I will add to the Places section. Here's a tiny sample of some of the things we have enjoyed so far.

There are lots of covered bridges in Vermont, but more unusual is the covered bridge on the right. It is the only covered railroad bridge still in use in Vermont.

Churches, libraries, and houses make each town charming.