Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Home Again Home Again...



Me and Shirin

Sept 12


Shelburne Falls was a very cute tiny town. Shirin lives out in the country about 5 miles away and she met us there. We were a little worried about parking the RV but found an empty side street with plenty of room. We ate lunch at a middle eastern food truck, sitting at a picnic table outside. It was pretty good, including the piece of baklava Shirin and I had for dessert!


We hadn’t seen each other since September of 2018, when I flew back to Boston to go to the memorial for her son Sam, that had died from a brain tumor in the spring. He was only two years older than Sarah, so very sad. She is doing very well, however. She’s always been good at finding the positive in almost any situation. I’m glad we took the time to stop and visit, even though it added an hour to our drive. We said goodbye and hugged each other hard. I hope its not so long until we see each other again.


We got to the RV park around 4, set up camp, and then headed over to Eugenie’s house. I had her address, from Christmas cards I guess, but we had never been to this house before, a little bungalow with a beautiful backyard. She had fixed some very nice snacks, and then a beautiful salad with chicken and orzo for dinner. We sat around, drinking wine and talking. The dogs were very good, although we didn’t take any chances and still made Cosmo wear his belly band.


After dinner we took the dogs and went for a walk around the neighborhood. There is a nearby music venue in an old house on a big hill overlooking the Hudson. It was dusk and there were bats flying about. Just beautiful.


The Hudson at Dusk



Pretty soon after that we headed back to the RV. I was exhausted, slept hard, and moved slowly this morning, before I went for a run around the campground. It’s an interesting place. It has Airstreams and glamping tents you can rent, as well as traditional RV campsites. When we got here I discovered that for an extra $25 a night we could have a site with a deck so I talked Lee into upgrading for one of those.


Sept 13


We headed back to Euge and Ken’s after lunch yesterday. They gave us a tour of their little town and we got a coffee on the Main Street, and then headed over to Olney house, a beautiful Art Deco mansion on a hill overlooking the Hudson with grounds full of flowers and rolling hills. We spent some time there admiring the house and walking around the gardens. There were some large silk hangings that were very interesting.


Me and Eugenie

Silk Hanging at Olney House

Kenny

Butterfly Silk Hanging



After that we went to The Point and sat outside along the Hudson having some cocktails and enjoying the beautiful weather. Later we went back to the RV and they came over. Euge brought dinner, beef burgundy, burrata, bread and a cobbler for dessert. We provided wine and ice cream and a campfire.


It was a great visit. We always seem to pick up our friendship wherever we left off, no matter how long it has been. This morning we are on the road again, retracing our steps back home. 


Sept 14


A relatively short drive yesterday, 4 hours. We stayed in Byron, NY last night. Ate Beyond burgers at the picnic table, sat outside until it started to rain. It was a light rain, nbd.


We took it easy this morning, an easy drive again, and we don’t particularly like the campground where we are staying tonight so we’re in no hurry to get there. I did a fartlek run this morning. Warmup, then 6 x 2 minutes hard with a 1:30 recovery jog between each one. These types of runs are fun,  don’t ask me why.


Sept 15


We’ll be home in just a few days, I’m ready. Want to visit my flowers, see the grands, do laundry, haha. 


Harper has decided that the stove AND the fan AND the air conditioner in the RV all indicate grave danger.  Unlike the house there is no place to escape so she’s either underneath the table or in the farthest corner of the bed, panting and shivering. I swear she is going to give herself a heart attack. I think before our next trip I’m going to invest in a thunder shirt for her. We’d have to remember to put it on before we turn on one of her triggers but I don’t know what else to do. It’s that or Prozac, poor thing.


Nuclear Reactor



It was warm and humid last night. We ran the aircon for awhile and then opened the windows. I was hot and slept with only a sheet until early morning. No showers this am, we’ll take them tonight. We have a longer drive today, 5+ hours, plus we have to get up early tomorrow to make it to the ferry on time. We were on the road by 8:30, very good for us!


Sept 16


We made it to Vacation Station RV park in Ludington Michigan by 3:30 pm yesterday. I took the dogs on a good long walk around this very nice park and then set up a chair outside to enjoy the nice cooler weather and give poor Harper a break from her fears. We ate dinner outside as well, took our evening showers, and I was in bed by 8. I slept well, pretty tired from the previous night’s fitful sleep.


I set my alarm for 5:30 and it was a struggle to get up when it went off. We were ready to go by 7:45 and at the boat by 8. I took the dogs on one more walk before they were trapped in the car for close to 5 hours. Cosmo managed to get burrs in his paws and grit in his underbelly on a 5 minute walk. Talented.


We boarded the boat and watched them load the last of the cars, the vehicles with pets, a tour bus and a semi. We weren’t the last vehicle loaded this time, but pretty close. 


Ludington Lighthouse



Sept 19


We got home on the 17th, emptied the RV, ate carryout sushi and fell asleep in exhaustion. The next day I did laundry and ran, easy 4 along Smithtown Road. Its great to be home! Today I finished weeding the yard and ran a “lactic threshold” run, 3x1 mile @ HMP. At first my toe was okay but toward the end it wasn’t too happy. Its ok again this afternoon though. 


I’ve gotta say, I’m  pretty tired after that trip. I’m going to make sure we keep our driving days short on the way to Cally this winter, and figure in a few rest days on the way out and back too. At first I thought we'd just stay in the RV when we were out there, but its really impossible to find anywhere nice to stay that’s close to San Francisco, so instead we’re going to park at a State Park near Half Moon Bay and spend sometime with Dan and Kelsey, probably get a Kimpton for a couple days, maybe do something else too. Gotta figure out what works with 3 dogs!


We’ve talked a lot about how long we will be able to continue to do this. We think maybe 5 years. Next summer we’d like to go to Banff, the summer after that to Toronto and Vermont. We’ll see how Cally goes, if we think we can do it twice. We want to get away from Minnesota winter, but that’s a long long drive.


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