Week 1 – Alexandria to Penn Yan

WEEK 1

John and I highly underestimated the amount of time it would take to pack up the RV and wrap up things at work to prepare to hit the road.  We missed our original goal of April 1^st and used our whole first week of sabbatical to finish getting everything in order to leave for the year.  This included flying my mom up from Texas at the last minute for moral and packing support while John was able to finish up some RV work installing the solar panels and batteries and getting one of our neighbors to fix the generator.  On the morning we left, we were also able to finally rent out our condo to our friend from church Shonda and one of her childhood friends.  This process was stressful but as one of our neighbors reminded me mid-week; our adventure had already begun and I needed to try to enjoy the journey…this is so true even for everyday life, and I too often allow myself to get wrapped up in my own manufactured stress and miss the joy of the little wonders.  As I’m writing this post I am also remembering a couple blessings my grandparents gave to me.  My grandparents on my Mother’s side traveled the US in an RV and even a sail boat for a season of their life, and my Grandmother on my Dad’s side kept travel journals when her and my grandfather road tripped and traveled their way around the world in their later years.  A true sense of adventure, friendship and community were expressed in her writings and have inspired me and the legacy of exploring and living life to the fullest is definitely in my roots.  We are so grateful for all the generosity that was shown to us as we prepared for this adventure and wanted to use this blog to keep connected with our family and friends along the way.  Hopefully this inspires others to take the plunge into whatever your heart desires however that looks for you individually.

Day one Sat 04/08

We hit the road at 3:00pm from our home in Alexandria, Virginia towards Maryland for a not too far from home test run. We parked in Cunningham Falls State Park just north of Gambrill State Park where we ran the Catocktin 50K last June.  Our campsite was located in the William Houck Area on the Addison loop site #1.  It was COLD that night and I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to survive Maine much less Canada further north…in all our flurry we had also forgotten to stock up on food for anything but specifically dinner for the night so PB&J it was… we did raid our wine fridge before we left though so we enjoyed a nice celebratory bottle of Turley Zin to keep us warm.

Day two Sun 04/09

We woke up and scavenged for breakfast…I found homemade granola and coconut water.  After we packed up we headed straight for Walmart to stock up on our way to Pennsylvania.  The Pennsylvania back roads through Amish country were quite windy and bumpy and poor Buster kitty had his first panic attack…heavy panting…so I held him most of the trip until we made it to our home for the night at Fowlers Hollow State Park.  For our first real camp dinner John made his awesome sloppy chicks (vegan sloppy joe’s) and we enjoyed a good fire.  Buster also took his first steps outside the RV while on leash and harness.  

Day three Mon 04/10

The next day we woke up and took a short hike from the campground to test out our trail legs.  I hibernate in the winter and we had not been on the trails since new year’s so we decided to take it a bit slow.  This hike lead to 4 bars of cell service at the top so we reconnected to the world and hiked back to camp to pack up and head on to our next stop.  We decided to go to Worlds End State Park and when we pulled up the signs read closed for the season…sure enough they did not open for another week, so off we went to find cell service and a home for the night.  Luckily (with the help of the lucky 3 legged pig the Cray’s gave us), we found the Riverside Acres RV campground on the Susquehanna River that took walk ups so we called it home for the night.  We cooked hobo packets for dinner using the camp cookbook our old neighbor Bradley and his girlfriend (recently changed to wife status) Megan gave us.

Day four Tues 04/11

We woke up to find the 4 legged kids already up and at’em in the captain and co captain seats, clearly feeling more comfortable with the RV life and sharing a small space if they can both find the sunny spot to chill.   We were able to take a shower in the campground restrooms and hit the road early toward the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania in Leonard Harrison State Park.  We arrived at the campground that has been open for the season for exactly one weekend and…the water is not working, so we got a discount for the night and made the most of it. We decided to take a quick hike on the Overlook Trail before the sky opened up but we still got caught in the rain.  After the hike, the animals and I took the opportunity to rest in the RV for a bit before dinner while John fixed the generator exhaust pipe.  I have a feeling rainy days will force us to relax a bit for which I am eternally grateful!  

Day five Wed 04/12

We woke up and hiked to the bottom of Pine Creek Gorge, an 800 foot deep glacial flood water carved canyon, to the Pine Creek Trail, an old 62 mile railtrail, that ran along the bottom of the valley and then back up Turkey Path.  The waterfalls down to the bottom were breathtaking and so was the hike back up all those stairs.  As soon as we were back at camp and packed up we heard the water was working again…Apparently the guy who opened up for the season didn’t turn a valve all the way…so we filled up the RV water tank and were on our way.  Today our destination was Allegheny National Forest and Red Bridge Camping Area.  This camping spot was the best yet on the Allegheny Reservoir.  So far we have had the campgrounds to ourselves.  It was super cold again at night so we snuggled in and enjoyed some reading inside instead of a campfire. 

Day six Thurs 04/13

This morning John decided to turn on the propane furnace to warm up the rig while we were getting ready…this would have come in handy a few nights ago if I knew we had one…after breakfast we hiked the North County Trail and Cooper had so much fun he split his back paw pad open.  After the hike back at camp, John replaced the RV waste valve assembly so we could finally use the facilities fully and be able to go “off grid” which we would find very useful as most New York campgrounds are closed this time of year.  We stayed 2 nights in Allegheny so this was a nice treat to relax, read and rest.  Tonight, we made salmon patties for dinner.  This was the first multiple dish dinner so it was a bit hard to navigate in the small space and made clean up lengthy with the small sink and trying to conserve water.  

Day seven Fri 04/14

Today was Good Friday. Before we hit the road again John got the hot water heater working so we were looking forward to using that off grid.  After we left the campground we stopped at the ranger station to use internet and figure out where we were headed. While parked, the engine started to smoke…we have a small radiator fluid leak and it was dripping on the engine…luckily this prompted John to take it easy driving and we decided to try to make it to the closest Walmart and go from there.  We stopped in Warren, PA and the smoke had disappeared.  Next stop Wegmans in Jamestown NY.  We made sandwiches in the RV for lunch to let the animals chill out a bit in between driving.  From there we had found a Harvest Host site on Lake Erie called Merrit Winery on the Lake Erie Wine Trail.  Apparently, this wine region is the largest grape growing region east of the Rockies…In New York wineries can also sell beer which is different than Virginia wineries.  When we arrived, we were instructed to park the rig next to the slush truck…this winery started the wine slush trend in this area.  As part of the Harvest Host membership, farms, wineries and breweries offer an RV parking spot on their properties for free, with the general expectation that you will be a patron of the facility.  We purchased their cabernet sauvignon, one of their driest wines as most were sweet.  In the tasting room, Ivory shared some local pointers on things to do in the area and some family stories  of adventure travels of the past.  She shared her families foraging fun and I reminisced about the time I would spend as a kid in the country with my Aunt Dee Dee. We breathed in the country farm air as we walked through the vineyard with cooper then hit the sack.

Day eight Sat 04/15

This morning we woke up and decided to check out a local breakfast spot, Aunt Millie’s, for a good old country breakfast.  I learned that pancakes with strawberries meant strawberries in sugary syrup so from now on I will ask if they are fresh.  After breakfast, we were off to Buffalo.  The day before I had spent a few hours researching community organizations in the area to volunteer for Easter weekend and unfortunately was unable to connect with any.  This was discouraging as I thought for sure that would be plentiful in the city.  As we approached the city John and I were amazed at the abandoned industry facilities and essentially wasteland in what otherwise would have been beautiful along Lake Erie.  We did take a short detour to drive around the Fredrick Law Olmsted Parks on the east side of the city.  By now it started to rain and we were on our way to Niagara Falls.  When we arrived, we had to find special RV parking a bit of a walk from the falls, but you could hear and see the mist and water rushing even 1K away.  We hung out in the RV for a bit to let the rain mostly pass.  Cooper is a lucky dog as he was able to walk around the falls with us.  It was pretty humbling and a bit unsettling to see and hear the mighty power of the water.  We could not imagine being there during peak season.  After the falls, we were off to our next Harvest Host spot for the night at Partyka Farms, a family owned fruit farm in Kendall New York.  Lora was very hospitable and showed us our parking spot for the night and told me about the farm and their farm to table restaurant in the next town over.  She also explained that usually guests are able to park in the orchard but a week and a half ago there was one foot of snow on the ground so it was a bit muddy to navigate the dirt roads.  We checked out the farm market store and got some local honey and ice cream.  Before sunset we took a walk around the farm with Cooper soaking up the last rays of the day as the long shadows of evening cast across the 900 acre farm.

Day 9 Sun 04/16

Today was Easter Sunday.  He has risen.  This morning we woke up and took our first RV shower…unfortunately, the hot water takes a bit to heat up and the lines still smell like bleach so my shower was quick and COLD.  For Easter Sunday church service, we decided to look up one of the many Arc churches across the US (our home church in Alexandria, Metro Church, is a sister church) and found Epic Church in Rochester NY.  Pastor Dan Cymbal gave a good message on how Easter is about Hope.  After service, they gave away the Steven Furtick book Seven-Mile Miracle to first time guests so we added it to our collection.  We were able to share a lovely conversation with the Pastor and his wife before we hit the road again.    This network of churches will be such a blessing as we are away from our church community that we have grown to love back home.  After church we tried to fill up the propane tank at a Uhaul shop but they were not able to because of a faulty old original auto stop valve…another stop at Wegmans and we were off for the Finger Lakes.  Our Harvest Host home for the night was Climbing Bines Hop Farm and Brewery located on the west side of Lake Seneca just south of Geneva.  The drive to the brewery was through a quick storm cell, so the winds were howling and the rain was coming down and we found a few leaks in the RV along the way.  Luckily they stopped when we stopped driving 50 mph in the rain.  After the rain cleared we were thirsty for a beverage.  The brewery was open but was preparing for a staff BBQ that evening so we just joined the family fun.  The family was very hospitable and Cooper found two new golden doodle friends to tag along wit.

So far, the trip has been successful, and we are settling into the RV life figuring out the quirks and trying to find a new routine.  Everything is mostly up and running now on the RV.  Trying to find campgrounds available this early in the season is proving to be challenging but luckily there is this thing called internet and we can use various resources to find what we need on the road.  We are not sure the year off has sunk in yet and the first week went by quickly so I am looking forward to finding the balance between being on the move and exploring the communities we go to…  I am also hopeful that we will connect with communities that we can serve soon.

This map below indicates our route this week from Alexandria VA to Penn Yan, NY