What Else Do You Need - Niskayuna, NY

Howdy from NY. I know it's been awhile since I last did a blog entry so I'll start with a quick update.

Saturday was spent doing a bit of driving as we checked out Stacy's wedding spot with things a lot greener and prettier that last time we visited last fall. Then I spent the remainder of the afternoon putting together my new BBQ grill. Thanks kids for the Fathers Day gift $$ for the grill - it works great and I'm looking forward to using it again this weekend. Sunday was spent taking care of a few small chores around the house - and then driving back here to NY. Monday thru Wednesday - try to earn my wages. That's it - now I'm caught up!!

Work has been pretty good so far. It's a typical nuclear decommissioning project. Lots of regulations to satisfy, lots of planning, scheduling, budgeting, training -- and then some real work gets done. Then we do it all over again the next day. The project staff I'm working with are some very sharp people with a great work ethic - so that part makes it fun and interesting to do. So now the tough question to answer - what exactly is it you do Mike?

I always have a tough time with that one - but I'll try. On this job I am filling a Project Manager role which basically means I have a specific scope of work to accomplish - in this case remove some old radioactive waste from 7 old stainless steel in-ground tanks, solidify the liquid like waste, and ship it to Nevada to a licensed facility for burial. I have a subcontracted company to work with to get the job done and I need to coordinate their work around all the other work being done on the project. Oh yeah - and I need to keep the client happy (the US Department of Energy), the State of NY happy, and try to accomplish all this within the budget provided and without delaying the overall project schedule. No problem - what else do you need done!

So tomorrow is day 4 of my 4-day work week and then Friday I'll head back home for a long holiday weekend. I'm not really looking forward to driving on the New England freeways on this busy holiday weekend ... but I am looking forward to being home ... so let's hope we all get along and drive safely and patiently this weekend.

Be safe - and enjoy the celebration of our independence as a country that believes in liberty and justice for all.

Home For The Weekend - Topsham, ME

Well I survived 4 days in a row at work and celebrated by driving the 300 miles or so from NY to Maine yesterday. A 300 mile drive seems pretty normal anymore - and a lot easier in the Vue than in the Winne. Actually I was not the only one on the road. Son Brian drove up from Jersey yesterday to attend his 20 year HS Reunion. He says he can't believe it's been 20 years! We can't believe he's 38!

Mikee made it home around 2 PM, visited with Peggy for awhile before she was off to a birthday party for a friend and then I mowed the lawn in between having to give the LM a tuneup. Brian showed up around 6 PM so we met Stacy for dinner at a local restaurant. It was great visiting with them both!!

Today Brian will be off playing/visiting with his HS buddies and Peg and I are contemplating a drive in the country - maybe we'll check out the contemplated site for the Maine Event next month and the wedding location. Perhaps we'll even sneak in a shopping trip for a new BBQ Grill - I need to spend my Fathers Day Gift Card from my kids!

BTW - Nan finished her last radiation treatment on Thursday and is back home recuperating. The Docs think she made it through the treatments very well and we all have high hopes for a good prognosis when she gets re-scanned in about 4 weeks. Thanks to all for your thoughts and prayers.

It looks like we're in for a beautiful summer Saturday in Maine!

Work Day One - Niskayuna, NY

In spite of having to make the trip from Maine to NY without my navigator and favorite traveling companion - I did manage to make it safely - arriving yesterday around 3 PM. Once again the Winne performed flawlessly and the trip went without incident.

So I went through the normal rig setup routine, made my normal after setup martini, sat in my chair ... and then what?? Where was Peggy doing her normal setup stuff? Oh yeah - I left her 300 miles away so I have to do "her" stuff too. Worse than that - I had to make myself dinner - with pots and pans and everything! Don't get too excited ... I warmed up some beans and grilled some hot dogs. So far so good.

Today it was Day 1 of Back To Work. For those of my retired friends who have forgot the routine - here's how it goes:

1. Alarm goes off waay to early
2. Get up and make coffee
3. Take a shower
4. Shave
5. Wake Up
6. Get dressed
7. Have some breakfast
8. Fill travel mug with coffee
9. Get in car and drive to work

OK - I finally find the right entry gate. Drive up and show my drivers license to the security guy armed with an assault rifle and sidearm. Whoa - back in the real world now! Thank goodness my name was on the approved access list. I have no idea what would have happened otherwise!

Other than that - normal work stuff. The good news is that there is a lot to learn and a short time to get up to speed. I like it that way - nothing worse than trying to look busy. They tell me that me that my work schedule is up to me so I'm thinking of working a nominal 4 day, 10 hour a day work week and making the drive home most weekends. That may have to change based on how the project progresses - but that's my plan for now.

So far - so good. One day down and they haven't fired me yet!

Happy Dad's Day - Topsham, ME

This will be just a short entry to wish all the Dads out there a Happy Fathers Day as today is a travel day - at least it is for me. I reckon all the stuff that needed to get done before I hit the road for NY got done.

I got my annual physical exam on Friday and was declared one year older, Peggy and Stacy spent the afternoon/evening on Friday shopping for whatever-they-shopped-for, and yesterday was the big wedding shower for Stacy. It sounds like they all had a good time at the shower and Stacy received lots of "stuff." I'm not sure that she and Kaj needed a lot more "stuff" - but they got it anyway. Four (4) weeks to go and my baby will be a married lady ... another milestone.

OK - time to finish loading the Winne and head on down the road to become a geographical bachelor for a few days. Stay tuned to find out how spoiled Mikee manages to survive without Peggy's assistance.

Shopping In The Rain - Topsham, Maine

So - what do you do on a rainy day in Maine in the summer? Why go shopping of course! Everyone out there knows how much I enjoy "shopping" - but this trip was unavoidable. I start work on Monday and even though I don't need to "dress up" for this job - my usual "retired look" was probably going to be inappropriate. So off we went.

First stop - Sears. Anybody remember when Sears was Sears & Roebuck and you bought as much out of the catalog as you did in the retail store? You could buy just about anything through the catalog - even a whole house back before my time. Besides needing the regular stuff like pants and shirts - for this job I may find myself in the field periodically so I need some hard toe boots. Did you know that Sears sells boots under the Craftsman name? Neither did I ... but now I own some.

A shopping trip in the rain in the summer in Maine would not be complete without a trip to Freeport to visit LL Bean. So off we went again. As we approached the LL retail store I noticed something a bit odd. A rather large black car was backed up to near the main entry door by the large LL Bean boot where all the LL Tourists get their picture taken. And who do you guess was shuffling with his cane to enter that car? Well it was President George Herbert Walker Bush himself!! See ... I told you everybody in Maine goes shopping on a rainy day in the summah! I reckon things were getting a bit boring down there at Walker Point in Kennebunkport.

So we said our goodbyes to President Bush, finished our shopping trip, and made our way back home for lunch. I was pretty well spent from my traumatic shopping experience but Peggy was still chomping at the bit for more - so off she went. It seems Stacy has a wedding shower on Saturday and we needed to spend more money. Me ... I stayed home and waited for the rain to stop and then did a few more - "get the Winne ready chores."

So - now I get to kick back and root the Boston Celtics on to their second NBA Championship in the last 3 years. Yup - I know ... if the Lakers win it will be their second in a row. All I gotta say is

Beat LA ... Beat LA ... Beat LA!!!!!!

Small World - Topsham, ME

Yeah - I know - what in the heck has Mikee been up to with this new Blog format? Well I got to playing around with some changes last night - and I'm still playing ... so more changes may appear over the next several days. Can't seem to leave well enough alone!

Not too much real exciting happening around here. I did manage to take my lawnmower for a walk around the yard yesterday and Peggy made it to WalMart for her favorite grocery (and other stuff) shopping. I let her go by herself and I think I may be paying for it now. She spent about a half a month's grocery budget on one trip! But she tells me she had to shop for two households - hers and mine as we need to stock the cupboards here as well as in the Winne. I suppose she is right (as usual).

While we were gone to California we got some new neighbors 2 houses down. Imagine our surprise as we drove down the street and noticed a 5th Wheel and Medium Duty Truck sitting in their driveway. As we were unloading the Winne that afternoon our new neighbor Steven came over to introduce himself and and to let us know that he and his wife Louise were also members of the Escapees RV Club. As we were busy unloading - we didn't have long to talk then - but Peggy and I went over to introduce ourselves yesterday. Steven and Louise have been full-time RVers since his retirement in 1994 and have haunted many of the same places we have visited over the past few years. They have spent time at the Escapees Rainbow Plantation in Alabama and they have an RV lot at the Escapees Saguaro RV Resort in Benson, AZ where they intend to spend their winters. How about that for a small world!

OK - time to get busy around here again. I need to finish up my "household chores" so I can move on to my "get me and the Winne ready to leave" chores.

Have a great day.

Gettin Back to Normal - Topsham, ME

I've been reading the blogs of my RVing friends who are hanging out in the southern states sweltering in the 90 plus degree weather and high humidity. Fortunately (for me anyway) it has been relatively cool here in Maine with high temps right around 70 degrees. It is supposed to get up into the 80s later this week but not much higher. I do remember how we all were complaining about the cold temperatures in Alabama in February and March so I suppose this is payback time!

We have been busy since we returned home getting things back to "normal" - whatever that is?! I have been concentrating on getting vehicle maintenance done and Peggy has been helping get the rig cleaned and stocked for its use as my bachelor pad in NY. I was fairly successful in getting the Maine State Vehicle Inspections complete. The Vue passed with no issues but the truck has some serious rusty brake lines that need replacing. The truck is a 2003 model and only has about 60,000 miles on it but it has to suffer through Maine winters and all the salt they use to keep the road surfaces safe to drive. The salt coupled with the lousy material they tend to make brake lines out of these days allows for some serious corrosion. Although I tend to do my own vehicle maintenance - after taking a look at how those lines are run and still remembering the "fun" I had replacing brake lines and fuel lines on my son's car a few years ago - I have decided to let the pros handle this job. So today the truck goes in to get new brake lines.

Yesterday Peggy and I went over to Auburn to see Eric and Jen's new house. Well - the house is close to 90 years old - but it's new to Eric and Jen and is now theirs (and the bank's). The kids just finished moving their stuff into the house and now they get to figure out where everything goes and get used to living in new surroundings.

OK - it's time to get moving around here and get a few more items checked off the "Ta Do" list. I may even mow the lawn - haven't done that since last September I think!!!

We're Baack - Topsham, ME

Home Again ...

We made the final leg of the trip home yesterday driving through Massachusetts along the Mass Turnpike and then up I-495 to Portsmouth and then into Maine. We pulled into Topsham around 2 PM and got the necessities unloaded. Stacy came over around 5 PM and joined us for dinner at Captain Mikes Seafood Restaurant. Peggy had her usual baked scallops but this time added a piece of baked haddock - I had my usual lobster stew and then lobster pie ... yup it's good to be back in Maine!

Then it was back to the house to settle in for a night of watching the Celtics take on those evil Lakers from Los Angeles. Oops - I forgot - no cable TV hooked up yet (we have to wait for the technician to show up on Monday)! No worries - run some coax cable from the Winne into the house and use the antenna on the Winne to feed the house TV - Voila!!! And guess what - the good guys won!

Today, after sleeping in till almost 9AM! (I really like my Maine bed), I finished going through the mail that had collected these last few months and then got started on my chores. Job #1 - register the motorhome since it was already over a week late. It's always painful paying that Maine excise tax - almost $600 for the privilege of owning the Winne and living in Maine!

Then it was time for Winne's bath. She was pretty filthy after driving 3,600 miles - over the high Sierras, through the deserts of Nevada and Utah, through the snows of Wyoming and Montana, across the great plains of North Dakota and Minnesota, through the farmlands of Wisconsin and Michigan - and finally through Canada and New England!! Like I said - she was filthy.

Tomorrow I get started on the small vehicles. Both need to undergo their annual Maine State Safety Inspections - a devious plot passed by the Maine State Legislature to raise money for the government and stimulate the economy of unscrupulous auto repair facilities. I can't wait to hear what these highly trained and certified mechanics have to say needs fixing in order to earn the coveted inspection sticker.

After getting the vehicles to satisfy the State of Maine - then I get to complete their periodic maintenance like changing the oil, installing new filters - you know the routine. For better or worse ... I am the head mechanic around here and it's time for him to earn his keep!

So - "We're Baack" - Now The Fun Begins!

Heading Home - Schaghticoke, NY

If all goes well today this will be our last travel day on our latest on-the-road adventure. We have about 300 miles to home and we are both looking forward to being there for awhile.

We made the drive from Byron to here north of the Albany-Schenectady area on Wednesday and pulled in to the Deer Run RV Resort in Schaghticoke, NY. We wanted to check this place out as a possible long-term spot for the Winne when I return in about 10 days to start work. The Deer Run Resort is a very large park with mostly seasonal RVs set in a nice wooded area just east of Clifton Park, NY (Exit 9 on the Northway). They did have a few seasonal spots remaining and Peggy and I did a walkabout to check them out - settling on a relatively large space in what looks to be a relatively quiet area. The quiet part remains to be seen when the kiddies start arriving in a few weeks. The park only has 30 Amp power but that should suffice. It's a good thing the Winne has the Electrical Management System that controls various loads to keep usage under 30 Amps when plugged in to a 30 Amp supply. As long as the A/C keeps working - I'll be fine. I don't do humidity well! So anyway - we went ahead and took the seasonal site starting on the 20th. The price won't be too bad and will be well under the Per Diem rate I will be paid for living expenses - leaving plenty left over for food and travel back and forth to Maine periodically.

Yesterday I went over to visit the folks I will be working with on the project and got a tour of the facility and a briefing on what they need. The work should be interesting and will certainly keep me occupied for awhile!

So that's about it for now from the Empire State. Time to get moving and head for Maine. I feel a trip to Captain Mike's for dinner coming on!

Back In The USA! - Byron, NY

Hooray! they let us back into the good ol US of A!!

We drove the few hundred miles across Ontario to Niagara Falls on a lovely - partly cloudy day with a high right around 70 degrees. We crossed the border at the Niagara River over the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge. Once again - the crossing was pretty simple ... pull up to the booth - hand over the passports - "yup - we're the only ones inside" - "nope - we didn't buy anything in Canada" - "Have a nice day." Nothing to it.

So then we drove across the Throughway for about 50 miles to just west of Rochester where we stopped at WalMart for some provisions to keep us fed during these last few days of the trip and then settled in at a nice RV Park here near Byron, NY. 

Tomorrow we'll drive on to Schenectady and find a place for Mikee to hang out for a few months.

Our son Eric and his wife Jen made the big step today as they completed all the paperwork and became first time homeowners! We are really excited for them and wish them all the best! Just as many of our full-timing friends are really glad to step away from their "stix & brix" - others - just getting started with their adult lives are glad to step into their first. I suppose that's the way it's supposed to be.

Internatinal Travelers - Wyoming, ON

Here we are - international travelers. We made it down the left index finger of Michigan and shot across the thumb to cross the US-Canadian border at Port Huron. The border crossing went pretty easy - you pay $9.00 on the US side to cross the bridge and then you show the Border Officer your passports on the Canadian side and answer a couple of questions - and you're done. Pretty easy. Of course - then you have to remember to stay within the speed limit in km/hr! Actually the Winne is quite happy at 100 km/hr.

We called it quits for the day shortly after crossing the border and pulled in to a decent Motel/RV Park about 25 miles from the border in Wyoming, Ontario. Tomorrow we plan on driving through Ontario, crossing the border again at Niagara Falls, and then driving a bit along the New York Throughway until we feel ready to call it a day. We plan on being in the Albany/Schenectady area on Tuesday and Wednesday to scope out the area a bit, check out a place to park the Winne for a few months, and talk to some folks I'll be working with in a few weeks.

We're almost home - and then the work starts! I figure I'll have about a week to get the Winne ready to head back to NY, get the truck ready to be towed to NY, do a few chores around the house, and then make my way to NY to earn some more gas money. Oh yeah - and Peggy gets to acclimate herself to living in a house with no wheels.

It certainly will be an interesting few months!!!!

I normally publish our trip statistics after we have returned home from a trip but this time I think I'll start a little early since I think I'm going to be a bit busy when we get home. So here are a few (with some estimates thrown in);

Nights On-The-Road: 64
Nights On-The-Road in 2010: 139 (Out of 161 = 86%)
Total Trip Miles: 7,547 (2009 Trip was 8,221)
Miles East-To-West: 3,700
Miles West-To-East: 3,847
Total Winne Miles in 2010: 13,450
Total Winne Miles: 71,969
New States This Trip: 5 (MT, ND, WI, MN, MI)
Total States Traveled: 47 (Missing HI, AK, WA)

Avg Fuel Price For Trip: $2.80
Avg Winne Fuel Mileage: 7.2 MPG
Avg Fuel Mileage East-To-West: 7.0 MPG
Avg Fuel Mileage West-To-East: 7.4 MPG (Shows ya which way the wind tends to blow)

Birds Committing Suicide on the front of the Winne - 3 (All in Michigan - what's up with that?)

Finding Jane - Harrisville, MI

After a rainy evening and a great night's sleep - we woke up late, and got even a later start to our day.

Fortunately the sun was trying to shine as we drove a bit north of Harrisville to Sturgeon Point to visit the Bailey Schoolhouse (built in 1907) - one of the last one-room schoolhouses still standing in Michigan ... of course we had to be careful where we walked!

While we were at the Schoolhouse - I found my seat ...

Then we walked over to the big attraction - the Sturgeon Point Lighthouse - built sometime in the mid 1800s.

After spending about an hour playing tourist - guess what? Yup - Mikee was hungry so we found a local establishment and had a couple of pretty good sandwiches. Then it was off to search for Evringhams. We started at the local library which had a whole room set aside to do genealogical research! Unfortunately we only had about 45 minutes since today was Saturday and the library closed at 3:00 PM! So - we searched through some books and looked at microfilmed copies of the local paper which has been in business since 1877. Fortunately the local genealogical society has put most of their records on the internet and I had already seen most of the info we found in our quick search. I know I could spend several hours here but since we need to get on our way tomorrow - it will have to wait until the next trip. I did get a hint on which cemetery any relatives of mine may have been buried - so we drove south of town to Springport Cemetery.

After driving into the cemetery we found the section that looked like it had the oldest headstones and got out to wander around and see what we could find. It didn't take long and lo and behold - I found where my Great Great Grandmother Jane Evingham is buried! Her headstone was really weather-worn and had been broken and repaired at one point - but it was definitely hers!!!! She is buried right next to a couple of her grandchildren.

Wow - that was really cool to find her resting place! We also found some of my Great Grandmothers relatives (the Griswold's). I knew when we decided to stop here that we wouldn't have enough time to really get into some serious research but now we know where to start when we come back to "get serious." I am really a very very amateur when it comes to genealogy - but I gotta admit - it's kinda fun!

It's raining again this evening and it looks like we are in store for more tomorrow. As long as it's going to rain - we might as well make some miles east. So tomorrow we plan on heading south around the southern tip of Lake Huron and then across Ontario towards London - and then on to NY on Monday. It ought to be an interesting day since it will be our first trip to Canada, first border crossing, and first use of our Passports we got several years ago. I understand that using our Verizon Mobile Internet will be out of the question since the international roaming charges are outrageous. So unless the campground where we stop has its own WiFi - it might be a couple days till our next update.

Look Out New England - were on our way!

Slight Change In Plans - Harrisville, MI

We finished our travel day yesterday by making it to Harris, MI in the Upper Peninsula. We drove pretty much all the way across upper Wisconsin along Route 8 and the drive was very nice - although the slightly less than 300 miles we drove took a little longer than usual as the speed limit along this route was usually 55 MPH.

We stopped for the evening at the Island Resort & Casino in Harris, MI - which also includes a pretty nice and modern RV park for $15 a night. A very good deal considering the lack of RV park selections in this part of the world! Since we got such a good deal - and since I have been hankering for a nice steak - and since Peggy really didn't want to cook ... we decided to have dinner at the swanky restaurant in the Casino/Hotel. The dinner was very good and we finished off our early evening with a walk back to the RV Park for after dinner relaxation and NBA watching. My Celtics got whupped in game 1 of the finals - but we'll move on to game 2 with high hopes.

Michigan makes our 47th state visited in the Winne! We have been across the Columbia River from Washington - but not quite across the border. So we'll have to pick up that one on a future trip.

The original plan for today was to drive about 150 miles or so to the Mackinaw Bridge area between the UP and lower Michigan where we would spend a day checking out the area including Mackinac Island. But as can happen on trips like this - we changed our mind when we realized it was going to rain all day (and possibly more tomorrow) and we decided to continue on to our next planned destination in Harrisville, MI on the shores of Lake Huron. We'll have to add visiting Mackinac on a future itinerary (maybe when we drive out to Washington State!) Our decision made for a loong day again - but we made it without problem here to Harrisville State Park around 4 PM.

This part of Michigan - along its Eastern shore - is very rural, very wooded, and extremely picturesque. So except for that - why would we make Harrisville our next destination? As it turns out - when I was doing some genealogical research a few years back I found out that my Great Grandparents on my Dad's side were married here in Harrisville in 1880 after both emigrated here from western NY with their respective parents. In those days Harrisville was home to a thriving logging industry as they were busy clearcutting this area (albeit with hand powered saws and horse drawn machinery) and shipping the milled lumber by ship throughout the Great Lakes ports. My Great Grandparents moved on to the pacific northwest after a few years here in Michigan - but I thought it might be fun to see what, if any, remnants of their existence here may remain! So tomorrow we plan on sleeping in and then visiting some local spots where we might learn a thing or two about the Evringham's of Harrisville - circa 1880.

We are staying in a state park here in Harrisville that is really very pretty - right on the lake and in a wooded setting. The campground here has facilities for just about any kind of camping setup one might have - including big RVs needing 50 Amp power. As long as you don't need water or sewer hookups and don't mind spending $25 a night for the camping spot and then an additional $8 a night for having a motorized RV and then - oh yeah - another $4 a night for the second "towed" vehicle. Oh well - like I said - it is a pretty spot.

Beautiful Day - St Croix, WI

"Oh What A Beautiful Morning - Oh What A Beautiful Day"

I feel a song coming on!

Well it is a beautiful morning here at Interstate State Park in the Dalles of Wisconsin along the St. Croix River. This will be another short entry as we have more miles to cover today over red, maybe orange, roads.

I didn't take the time to post some pictures of North Dakota yesterday - so I'll put in a couple here - including one of our crowded campground at Buffalo River State Park.

Yesterday we had a leisurely drive from Fargo, ND to just east of Minneapolis/St. Paul - on the Wisconsin/Minnesota border. Another nice day - mid 70s for a high and lots of geen grassy hills and blue lakes for scenery. Minnesota truly is the land of 10,000 lakes!

Today we hope to make it to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan but that's a lot of miles over red roads so we'll see how it goes.

We hope everybody is having a great day!

Another Day - Another State - Buffalo River State Park, MN

We had an uneventful day today as we traveled the width of North Dakota along I-94 and ended our travels here at Minnesota's Buffalo River State Park - just east of Fargo, ND. Our big event for the day was changing from Mountain Time to Central Time just east of Dickinson.

Just because it was uneventful doesn't mean it wasn't a pleasant day as we drove pretty much due east for 300 or so miles enjoying the rolling hills and huge farms of the northern plains.

Tomorrow we will head southeast to Minneapolis where we will cross the Mississippi River and then head east across Wisconsin for a ways. From this point on we will be traveling on "red roads" (non-interstate highways) through Wisconsin and into the upper penninsula of Michigan. More miles - more new sights - the adventure continues.

Today also starts Nan's 4th (and hopefully last) 3-day session of chemotherapy. Hang in there Nan - we're still pulling for you - even if we are some 2,000 miles away.