Back on the Home Front

We did get home without incident (Yes!) last Wednesday, and have been so busy ever since!  All you fellow RVer's know how crazy it can be when you 1st get back home after 2 weeks of adventure!  We emptied all the perishable items, toiletries, clothes, all food, etc. since we wouldn't be back in Willie until we leave for Florida in January!  Takes time to get everything out of there!!

Then Thursday was our 43rd wedding anniversary, so we wanted to enjoy the day!  We did go to the Social Security Office (not that it is fun!), but wanted to check on the status of Ken's request and make certain he had done all the online application properly.  In the evening we went to ViVa in Wyomissing for our special dinner.  Can't believe we have been married so long and we still really like each other!  Jamie and Dane, our youngest daughter and her husband, had us to their house on Friday for an anniversary dinner and just a fun evening sitting on their patio enjoying chatting around their fire pit. 

Samantha and Katelyn stayed overnight with us on Saturday - Lanie and Bob went to their alma mater, Shippensburg for a football game.  We had such a fun time with them.  They are almost 4 and 18 months, so they kept us busy. 

Yesterday was an exciting day on the east coast and it did affect our area.  Fortunately, we escaped the devastation of Hurricane Sandy.  We had some heavy rains and strong winds, but no real problems.  Ken was concerned about "Willie" being safe, but no damage to the 5th wheel occurred.  We feel extremely fortunate, especially when you see the massive devastation in NY and along the shores of New Jersey and Delaware!

We are happy to be home and spending time with our daughters and their families and my parents.  But, I can't quite imagine not being in Willie until January.  Rving is in our Blood!!!!!

Last Full Day in the Poconos!

Our last day in the Poconos was somewhat of a "wash out".  It was very dreary and damp when we got up and then the showers began.  They were somewhat off and on so Ken was able to pack up some of the outside things.  Wanted to get as much put away as possible since showers are also predicted for tomorrow!  We worked together to wipe off the awning in between the showers.  We actually saw some sunshine for just alittle.  I did clean-up inside and made some additional jewelry pieces.

I talked to Lanie and Jamie today and both are happy we will be around from now until we leave for Florida in Jan.  So nice to be wanted and missed when we are traveling.

We plan on leaving tomorrow morning probably by 10.  Can't believe we will not be sleeping in Willie again until January, but happy to be spending time at home with family and friends.

Beautiful Day in the Poconos!

The day started abit chilly - in the 40's, but warmed up quickly reaching the upper 60's.  Ken and I left the CG around 11 to head to the Mt. Tammany Trail on the NJ side of the Water Gap.  We had hiked some of this trail earlier but did not get to the lookout of the Water Gap that is used on all the brochures for this area.  We had to see it!  Today we could easily find a place to park and then hike the trail up to the lookout.  What a gorgous view!  It really is breathtaking. 

What a gorgeous tree, but most of the brilliant tree colors were at
their peak on Friday and Saturday!

This is the view of the Delaware Water Gap seen
on most of the brochures!

Hard to tell how high above the water
we really hiked, but it was quite a way!

From there we headed to back to Dingmans Ferry Trailhead to walk back to Silver Thread and Dingmans Falls Again to enjoy the 2 1/2 mile hike and see these beautiful areas!  We weren't disappointed!  This time we hiked the stairs to the top of Dingmans Falls to get a view from above them.  Hard to imagine all the water that goes over those rocks.  So powerful!

Silver Thread Falls - the 2nd largest in PA

Climbing up the steps and trail to the top of
Dingmans Falls

This section of the falls is not visible from below.  It is
behind the largest part of Dingmans Falls!

The view after hiking to the top of the falls!

Back to Willie by 5 to slowly pack up a view things for our departure on Wed. morning, make dinner, and then have a relaxing evening.  Today was special.

Today we also made the decision of NOT heading to Florida in November as we had anticipated.  We had planned to go for about 3 weeks and leave Willie there until our return in Jan.  But, we really didn't want to leave family and numerous activiies going on during that time.  We have been blessed to spend lots of nights in Willie in 2012 (129, but who's counting) and enjoyed many of them with special friends.  Now it is time to be home for awhile!  We will look forward to 8 weeks in Florida starting around the 20th of January!  Still Celebrating Life Daily!!!!

Good-bye to the Martins!

Saturday night the 4 of us played cards till 12:30 AM and then we headed outside to look for the display of shooting stars that was to happen in the nighttime sky from midnight til dawn5:00.  There were supposed to be about 25 to 50 per hour, but we were disappointed.  Only Fred and Doloris witnessed 1.  So much for staying up late!

So, we were very slow at "rising" Sunday morning.  Fred and Doloris were leaving today and it is their last camping adventure for this season.  A sad day for them and us, for we had such a good time together.  But, they slept in their trailer 43 nights this year, doubling last year's camping record.  They are also looking to purchase a larger rig so this could be the last year for their Surveyor.  Time will tell.  Fred winterized before heading home and Doloris did some "housecleaning" so Ken and I cooked breakfast in Willie for the 4 of us - blueberry pancakes, sausage and fresh fruit.  We all contributed food to the meal.

Ken and I left the CG and headed out River Road to drive around and look for beautiful trees and mountains.  We were very successful!  We had planned to do a hike at one of best vista trails, but it is amazing how crowded the Delaware Water Gap gets this time of year on weekends.  We couldn't find a place to park at any of the parking areas.  So we checked out the old General Store in Shawnee NJ on our way back. 

We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon inside Willie, but did take a walk late afternoon when we had a lot more sunshine.  It was rather cool and cloudy until then.  Seems quiet at the CG when our camping friends leave!

Spent about an hour sitting by our neighboring campers fire enjoying some conversation about camping adventures!  Frank and Doreen Clark are from NJ and enjoy RVing at least every month. 

We spent the evening watching football, making jewelry, and reading.  Life is good!

Special Day with Friends!

First of all, last evening was a perfect night!  It was mild, no wind and the perfect night for sitting around the campfire and enjoying s'mores.  We called it a night around 10:30 and by 11 it was very windy and raining.  Only lasted a short time but how fortunate to have such a wonderful time sitting around the campfire with friends enjoying the evening!

This morning we loaded up all 4 bikes, our packed lunches and were on our way to Jim Thorpe in Diesel to meet up with Sam and Kathy for a bike ride on the Lehigh Gorge Rails Trail.  We met them at 10:30 and headed out!  So glad the Frankhousers decided to drive from home to meet us there.  The 6 of us had so much fun.  We rode 18 miles today.  Went out 7 miles on the trail and what spectacular scenery.  The leaves were gorgeous, especially the reflection of the colors in the Lehigh River. 

 Ken also placed a quarter and nickel on the railroad track as the train was approaching.  He enjoys having the flattened coins as a memory of the day.  This is probably our favorite biking trail.  Follows along the Lehigh River and the train track with the scenic train ride available from the station in Jim Thorpe.  The trail is very level, well-maintained, and cindered.  We headed back to the cars where we ate our packed lunches and then rode 2 miles into Jim Thorpe to enjoy the Harvest Festival and walking the downtown area.  Said our goodbyes to Sam and Kathy and were on our way back to the CG by 5:00.  Took quite awhile to get out of the Jim Thorpe area - so much traffic.  A day to remember!

Where Ken placed the coins on the track.  Luckily
the train didn't derail!!

Nice level trail surrounded by beautifully colored
mountains!

Friends having a great time together!  Ken set his camera
on the train tracks and it automatically took our picture!

What magnificent colors!

More beautiful colors on our ride into Jim Thorpe!

A view of the gorge area.  The Lehigh River
had a strong current!



Off and On Rainy Day

We really had a lot of rain during the night and early this morning!  Fred said there was even some lightning - Ken and I missed that!!!! 

All of us had a leisure morning - I made some earrings and Ken did some reading.  Got together with Martin's around lunchtime.  It had gotten rather mild, but not too much sunshine.  So we played dominos and cards sitting around the picnic table under our canopy.  It was a fun time.  Did take 2 walks around the CG and saw 2 more deer (Who knows, maybe the same ones!).  Many rigs pulled into the CG today - a Halloween celebration weekend, plus the beautiful fall foliage is a "drawing card".

Doloris is providing supper but the men did start a campfire so we can make s'mores later.  Probably more game playing too!

Tomorrow we are hoping to drive to Jim Thorpe to ride bike on the Lehigh Valley Gorge Trail and go into town to Harvest Days!  We really love that area!

Partly Cloudy, but Mild Day!

Nice to have the Martins back camping with us.  Rather leisure morning as far as wake up time, but then we got busy.  Ken and I have been having some issues with our electric since we arrived and needed to change to 30 amp service instead of 50 since it appeared that the 50 amp hook-up at our site was not working properly.  We think it is a problem with the CG and not Willie, but to be certain, we decided to move to a different site.  (There are plenty available!).  So with the Martins help, we move over 3 sites where we know the CG recently replaced the breakers.  Hopefully our problem will be solved.  Time will tell!

After breakfast, the 4 of us headed to hike from the Smithfield Beach Trailhead to the Riverview Trailhead that is within viewing distance of the Delaware River.  The trail was level and well-maintained and several times we stopped to take a little detour down to the river.  It was close to 60 today, but abit breezy with only a little sunshine.  A great day for a hike!!!  The leaves and mountainside are getting very colorful.  We saw 3 ring necked pheasants and 4 hen pheasants.  We saw evidence of a bear being on the trail probably within the last 24 hours, but no bear sighting.  After walking alittle over 5 miles, we headed back to the CG to enjoy Happy Hour.  The men built a fire for cooking dinner and then we took a walk around the CG looking for deer.  Fred continue searching when the rest of us return to our campfire, and he saw 2.  We gave up too quickly.

Cooked dinner over the fire and then we will play some games including cards.  Another enjoyable day in the life of the Happy Campers!

Aren't the leaves beautiful???

One branch with many different colored leaves!

What a beautiful hiking trail!

The Happy Campers again!

The grow leaves BIG in this area!

A nice view of the Delaware River!

Another great view of the trail!!!

A Beautiful Day in the Poconos

It was a cold morning when we got up, only 36, but it warmed up quickly and offered plenty of sunshine!  We left the CG and headed to a nearby jewelry store that had so much "stuff" it was overwhelming.  I left buying nothing - Ken was impressed!

Then we headed to the Dunnfield Area parking lot in New Jersey to hike to see the great view of the Delaware Water Gap.  It has a lookout area that is used for many of their brochures.  The 1st 1/2 mile was on the Appalachian Trail and then we got on the Blue blazed Trail that goes up the mountain for 2 1/2 miles with a climb of 1250 feet.  The 1st 1/2 mile was easy and so picturesque following the stream and lots of small waterfalls.  Then the rocky hike began.  It was up and up and up and both of us were huffing and puffing, but the view was so worth it!  We planned to come back on the red trail, but 3 different parties who had come up that path said it was so steep and lots of boulders and loose stones.  They all recommended we go back the way we had come!  So, that is what we did!  We hiked at least 5 1/2 miles and were happy when we got back!

Ken built a fire for cooking our meat and we spent time sitting around the fire after dinner.  Got a call from the Martins and they are on their way back hoping to arrive around 9. And the fun continues!!!

Saw this beautiful bluebird from the window of Willie
while eating breakfast!

The leaves are really starting to change colors!

Shelly, our granddaughters friend, went on our hike today!
He loved sitting on the bridge overlooking the waterfalls!

The mountain climber standing between the 2 waterfalls!

Isn't it a beautiful trail!

It doesn't look that steep on this photo,
but it really was quite a hike!

Quite a sight to behold!

We finally reached the top of the mountain!

 

What a view of the Delaware Water Gap from high above!!

Total Relaxation Day!

Okay, we really were rather lazy today!  We read in bed till 10:30, probably the longest we have been in bed for years.  It was a cold morning with strong wind gusts, so we knew it wasn't a day to be in a hurry to do anything.  We had breakfast for lunch!  Ken spent a lot of time reading and I worked on making more pendants and earrings. 

Around 3:30 we actually ventured outside to take a walk around the CG.  It is amazing how much color is starting to appear on the leaves.  This weekend should be the peak time for the leaves.  You can almost see the changes each day! Put supper in the oven (too windy and cool for a fire) and then took another walk to look for deer.  We saw 10 deer in the back part of the CG.  Amazing!!!

After dishes we played some cards and watched the Presidential Debate!  Hoping to do some hiking tomorrow!  Should be abit warmer and less windy!

 

 

Some Relaxing Time in the Poconos

Saturday evening was spent mostly indoors, due to some cooler temperatures.  None of us were hungry, so we made hot dogs over an open fire, but ate indoors.  Then the games began and the men had a winning night!

Yesterday, Sunday, was a very overcast and cold morning, so the 4 of us had breakfast in Willie followed by more game playing.  I made some chili for all of us for lunch - seemed like a "soup type" day.  Then the sun came out and it got into the upper 60's.  Felt great and the shuffleboard courts were calling our names.  We ended in a 1/1 tie that will be broken next weekend when the Martins return.  They were on their way back home by 4:45.

Ken and I took a walk around the CG and saw 5 deer, including a buck.  Around 6 we got a call from Doloris - they were on their way back to the CG because Fred had forgotten his work cell phone.  They had left their camper here since they are returning for this coming long weekend.  Ken and I called them back and said we would meet them.  We were happy to do it and it probably saved them about an hour of driving time.  Looking forward to their return for more happy camping adventures.  I spent the evening jewelry making and Ken read.

Today, Monday, we woke to some cool weather again and a prediction of rain later this morning or early afternoon.  So we decided to drive to Bushkill Access area and hike the trail along the Delaware River.  We hiked about 4 miles and got back to the truck just as the first raindrops started to fall.  What timing!  Plan to spend the rest of the day reading, playing games, working on our computers, and making jewelry!  Somebody has to do it!!!!!

View from Willie's Window!

We think they leaves will be at their peak this weekend!

A beautiful day for shuffleboard and the courts are in good shape!

A portion of the trail from Bushkill Access Area

The trail looked beautiful through the pine tree grove!