Thursday, July 25, 2019

Wompatuck State Park, Hingham, Ma

Thursday: (07/25) We had some interesting weather while we were staying near Hartford, Ct. in East Hampton. I had and am having some dental work done there, a nice root canal. I had it done Tuesday and have to return next Monday and Thursday. Because of the dental work we didn't go on to Cape Cod as planned, which was a good thing because they had a tornado and up to 110 winds. We took a day thip that day and were driving down by the Long Island Sound when we had a deluge for about 30 minutes and then heavy rain all the way home. When I finally knew what appointments were needed to finish the dental work, we adjusted our reservation here at Wompatuck State Park yesterday and headed out of town today. We had already been here three times as long as planned. However not getting to go to Cape Cod turned out for the better. We'll drive the Jeep back the 120 miles to Hartford for the dental appointments. That way we can use the days in between to tour around the Boston area and even drive down to Cape Cod from here tomorrow. Another dalaying factor was that our propane input valve stuck open when it was filled so we now have a full propane tank with the propane dealers safety valve attached. What is interesting is that getting it fixed is near impossible. Easy to fix if the tank is empty, but it is now full and should last a couple of months. No one can suck it dry, bleed or burn it off. Most RV shops can replace the valve but not until it's empty. Propane service company's don't do anything. Since we can't get it fixed, we are now using propane generously but that doesn't mean as much when we don't want to run the furnace. And then there is the cost of the propane at $50 for this last fillup. Really hate to waste it..

We drove through three states today. Connecticut, Rhode Island and into Massachusetts. Only 127 miles. We stopped before going in to the park for lunch at Applebee’s. We settled in and I relaxed while Lou and Dawn explored the campground. French Onion soup and Toast for dinner. The weather is nice enough tonight that we aren’t running the AC for the first time in a couple of weeks.
(GPS: 42.203578, -70.854756)

Friday: (07/26) Pancakes and ham for breakfast. We headed off about 0915 to Provincetown on Cape Cod about 102 miles from camp. We explored highway 6A, the business road going down and took highway 6, the main road coming back. Lunch at Jack’s Outback Restaurant in Yarmouth Port, MA. A nice restaurant with two big yellow golden retriever dogs as greeters. The name doesn’t come from Australia but likely from the difficult to find location down a narrow driveway. After that start of ur tour of Cape Cod we visited a few lighthouses, points of interest and viewpoints. Nice clear day with dark blue ocean and blue clear sky. We topped off our quick tour with dinner at Savory & the Sweet Escape. Great sandwiches and wraps. We got home after 2100.
 

 

 



 

 

 


Saturday: (07/27) Lou made a mushroom omelet for breakfast. We drove up to Boston to the Samuel Adams Brewery for a tour. Interesting tour and great beer to sample ut not a real factory tour. This site is their development brewery now. All the production brewing is done at other locations. We had a nice lunch at a nearby Mexican restaurant, Chilacates. We also took a short walk in the Harvard Arboretum before heading home. Lou made roast chicken with baked potatoes for dinner.
 

 

Sunday: (07/28) Granola for breakfast.We prepared to roll. About 1100 we rolled over to the dump to do our tank duty. We then checked in to this same park into a different site. We weren’t able to get a site that had available dates for our entire stay. We settled in and this time set up our bug tent for this extended stay. Little relaxing. Later in the afternoon we drove over to Costco and Walmart to do our shopping. Wieners with cabbage and onions for dinner.

Monday: (07/29) Leftover chicken and chips casserole for breakfast. Lou and I were off early at 0715 toward Hartford, Ct. I had an Endodontic appointment for a root canal there at 1115. We arrived at 1010. A quick early lunch at a nearby Subway sandwich shop before my appointment. One never can tell when one will want to eat again. All went well and now is ready for the dentist to do the permanent filling. We headed home after a stop. Lou visited a Savers while i got an oil change in the Jeep. We stopped for dinner on the way home at 4 G's Restaurant & Pizza in Dayville, Ct. We were home sometime after 1900. We had some rain just before getting home but it was mostly just a hot day.

Tuesday: (07/30) I had leftover pizza for breakfast. The pizza I got yesterday was some of the best I’ve eaten. A relaxing day at home today. More leftover pizza for lunch. Lou made chicken potato salad for dinner. I just relaxed. Lou was sewing and Dawn writing today.

Wednesday: (07/31) I prepared corned beef hash and eggs for breakfast this morning. We relaxed much of the morning. Later we headed out for a drive East of here to the coast visiting Hull, Hingham, Cohasset, Egypt, and Scituate. We had lunch at Jakes in Hull. We finished the otherwise nice day with severe thunderstorm warnings and some heavy rain. Back home we had chicken potato salad for dinner.
 

Thursday: (08/01) Leftover corned beef hash for breakfast. Lou and I were off again to East hampton to my dentist appointment. Over 120 miles. We stopped for an early lunch at McDonalds before my 1110 appointment. The dentist did a permanent filling on my rooted canal tooth and another filling for good measure and we were off a little after 1200. We stopped in North Scituat, RI for a late lunch at Cindy’s Restaurant. We made it back to Weymouth, Ma to the Post Office to pick up our mail delivery. Later Lou stopped by Urgent Care to have her ears looked with no help provided. We had PBJ toast for dinner.

Friday: (08/02) Lou fixed a nice breakfast before we headed off to a day in Boston. We parked downtown right in front of the library for the day. Lou and Dawn checked out the library and we all toured the building. I spent most of my time in the cafe with a chai tea and cookie listening to and watching the WGBH morning talk show. They have a remote studio in the cafe which is in the library. There was also a good bluegrass group, Vinegar Flies, playing in the courtyard of the library. We also walked through the Boston Public Garden and Boston Commons and checked out a farmers market and visited the Boston Public Market. For dinner we stopped at one of the oldest taverns in the country, The Green Dragon Tavern that opened in 1654 and was where Paul Revere hung out and some battle plans for the war of Independence were made. On the walk back to our car, we stopped in at the original Cheers bar inspiration, the former Bull And Finch Tavern.
 

 


Saturday: (08/03) Lou made an asparagus omelet for breakfast. We headed off to Downtown Boston after showers. I dropped Lou off at the hospital to have here ear looked at. I then dropped Dawn off at Brookline Booksellers store and she traded some books and browsed. I relaxed, walked the neighborhood and visited the bank, When Lou was finished we picked here up and went to the Old North Church for a look. We had lunch nearby at Theo’s Cozy Corner Restaurant. Really nice lunch beef quesadilla for me, potato salad for Dawn, and Clam chowder for Lou. We returned home a little earlier with a stop at Walmart on the way. Dawn made gazpacho soup for dinner.

Sunday: (08/04) Started the day checking availability at Winter Island Park in Salem and they had three days available so we shortened our stay here one day so we’ll be there 8/7-8/10 now. I then called for a reservation in Bar Harbor, Maine at Hadley Point RV Park for our visit to Acadia NP. We got 6 days there. That may be our furthest East and North for this trip. With those tasks complete and our Northeast plans better set, we had leftover asparagus omelet. We drove back to Boston to see the Tea Party ships in the bay and visit Paul Revere’s home. We also enjoyed the Saint Agrippina's Feast and a parade. We also took a lot of unplanned tours because, for some reason, none of our GPS guidance systems were working well. They continually put us in the wrong lanes, and wrong road and often wanted us to go the wrong direction on one way streets. It was really peculiar since we rely on them and they almost always get us to where we want to go. Here in Boston they have worked well, until today. Hopefully tomorrow is another day. We had a nice lunch at Tatta Cafe, a North African cafe. A nice chili size for dinner tonight.
 

 

 

Saturday, July 13, 2019

Nelson's Family Campground, East Hampton, CT

Saturday: (07/13) We drove down to the Nelson’s Family Campground to see what it looks like. We liked it so we rented a space for the next six nights using our Passport America membership discount so 5 nights are half price. That definitely pays off the membership cost. We shopped around some on the way home looking for a protective screen for my phone and a new computer for Dawn. Lou made sausage eggs and potatoes for breakfast. Brunch at the Spicy Green Bean Restaurant. Leftover mac and cheese with wiener for dinner.
(GPS: 41.609983, -72.514198)

Sunday: (07/14) We relaxed at home all day. Chatted with neighbors. Learned of a big event at the campsite across from us last night. We heard nothing so this is all hearsay. Our neighbor campers in two spaces across from us had a fight that ended up involving the police, an arrest, a broken arm and an eviction. I did do a small mod to the kitchen sink cabinet by moving the lower cabinet door such that it will clear the slide when it is in. This will give us access to our pan drawer. Later I’ll add a spacer in the middle of the cabinet doors to fill the 1.25 inch space that exists after the relocation. Breakfast sandwiches from the RV park snack bar. A chili size for lunch. Chicken and gravy on toast.

Monday: (07/15) We returned to the Mark Twain Museum where Dawn had an appointment to look at their archives. Lou and I mailed some boxes and explored downtown and went shopping/looking. We accidentally ended up at the shopping center where the Far East restaurant was located near noon, Such good fortune. After lunch we returned to the museum to meet Dawn and we all went next door to the Harriet Beecher Stowe House. It was more of an author tour than a house tour but quite interesting. We then looked at a few thrift stores and did some grocery shopping before heading home. Granola for breakfast. Lunch at the Far East Buffet again. Lou made some sauerkraut with potatoes and sausages in the slow cooker for dinner..
 

Tuesday: (07/16) We slowly got away this morning. I spent some time finding a campsite near Cape Cod. Then we drove down to Gillette Castle State Park. Real nice. William Gillette was not related to the razor folks. He was a famous actor that adapted the Sherlock Holmes Novel into a play. In doing so, he dressed Holmes in his famous hat and coat and added the pipe and hypodermic use. He also created the line “its elementary Doctor Watson.” He was also a tinkerer and inventor. His castle was very interesting because he disliked metal showing so the latches and light switches and almost everything was made of wood inside his stone castle. We didn’t have time to walk the path of his three mile railroad which is now a trail. I mentioned to Lou that I’d had a toothache for a while and she had me see a dentist. I called for an appointment before we left the park and had an appointment for 1715 today. I may need a root canal but need to see a specialist. I hope to get an appointment that fits our travels. I got an email this afternoon advising my phone protection screens arrived at the Amazon locker near me so we picked them up. Lou fried the leftover sauerkraut potatoes and sausage with eggs for breakfast. Lunch was the park cafe. Mac and cheese with broccoli for dinner.
 

 

 

 

Wednesday: (07/17) We drove over to Middletown to check on the location of the dentist I’m seeing on Friday. We then went to Bristol, Ct to see the New England Carousel Museum. There are scads of animal figures from carousels and other things related. Even a small carousel to ride. The building also includes the History Of Fire Museum and a Greek Museum. The fire museum is very interesting as well. The Greek museum wasn’t much, yet. Granola for breakfast. Lunch at the Monterey Mexican Restaurant in Bristol, Ct. Dinner at a shopping mall in Meridan, Ct on the way home.
 

 

 

 

 


Thursday: (07/18) Granola and avocado with sausage for breakfast. We extended our stay here at Nelson’s RV Park but had to change from site B6 to site B2. So I decided to dump our holding tanks and fill our LPG tank when I moved. The LPG fill didn’t go well. The safety valve in our tank failed open so they had to leave their safety valve on our tank. Get something like that fixed is a problem.. I think I found an RV service site, Freedom RV, in Lebanon, Ct that knew what I was talking about but can’t work on a full tank. I just paid $50 to fill our so it’s to the brim now. We could go by a fire department and bleed it off but I think we’ll just use it up and find someone to fix it then. Won’t be for over a month. I paid $30 for their safety valve so now I’m OK but they need to get another before they can fill another RV. As long as this heat wave remains our only use is the range top, the fridge, and hot water. We could minimise all. Lou and I did the laundry then had guacamole and chips for dinner. After dinner, I drove Dawn to the Mark Twain House and Museum for her writers meeting. I relaxed and computed in the car. (New site GPS: 41.609741, -72.515055)

Friday: (07/19) Granola for breakfast with my anti inflammation pill for the last day. Lou made sausage gravy over toast for the real breakfast. We headed off to Middletown for my dental appointment with the Endodontist. My root is dead so I’m scheduled for a root canal next Tuesday in West Hartford. These Endodontists are real travelers. They seem to work four days and have four offices and work different days at each like musical offices. After the appointment we drove down to Essex to ride the Essex Steam Train and River Boat. But first we had lunch at Porky Pete’s BBQ. The train ride is a real steam train along the Connecticut River with a river boat ride on the river in between the run. Our hot and humid weekend is really a strain. We had spaghetti squash with sausage and onions for dinner.
 

 

 

 


Saturday: (07/20) Lou made a nice bacon and eggs with potatoes for breakfast. We drove up to Storrs, Connecticut to the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry. There were lots of puppets, some displays on making puppets and a theater. We watched a puppet show about Cinderella, The museum is part of a Barnes and Noble bookstore which is associated with the University of Connecticut. We had lunch at the Dog Lane Cafe in Storrs. We drove around the campus a little and stopped at the Dairy Barn Creamery. It’s part of the University and makes all their own ice creams. Really nice on this hot and humid day. Spaghetti dinner at the RV park.
 


Sunday: (07/21) Lou and I went shopping for a hose for the gray water s=discharge. This campground has a gray water sump for each site but all black water goes to the park sanitary dump. This nicely allows long showers in the campsite and the black tank can last us a week. However, unlike our previous site, this site needs a longer hose than the 10’ grey water hose I have, I got a 15’ hose so now I have a variety of options. Both were needed here. We also did some grocery shopping. I grabbed some chicken strips for bunch. Dawn made gazpacho soup for dinner. I napped in the afternoon. In the evening I watched some Youtube and installed the protection screen on my phone.

Monday: (07/22) Granola and a banana for breakfast. We had a slow morning but eventually hit the road South toward the beach. On the way, we stopped at my dentist’s office and I scheduled an appointment for the post root canal filling. We then continued down highway 9 to Old Saybrook, We stopped for lunch at the Mystic Market Kitchen. I had a Porketta panini (roast pork with sauteed onions and peppers, and cheese.) We followed the coast by Long Island Sound and stopped at a couple of thrift stores and a couple of antique stores along with a few street walks. Just before we stopped at a Walmart in Guiford we had a deluge of rain. We had to wait a while in the car before we dared to go out in just heavy rain to enter the store. We took Highway 17 to 66 to get hoe and had heavy rain all the way. Earlier in the afternoon the “Severe Storm and Flash Flood warnings” started on our phones and Jeep screen. We were home a little after 2000 and had leftover spaghetti for dinner.

Tuesday: (07/23) A relaxing morning. Granola for breakfast. We had lunch at our favorite Chinese buffet, the Far East Buffet, on our way to my dental appointment. I had a root canal done and we then went shopping on our way home. Leftovers for dinner.

Wednesday: (07/24) We spent the day at home. We decided to leave here and head toward Boston and just return here for my two dental appointments next week. I made the changes to our reservation there at Wompatuck State Park then canceled our stay here for tomorrow evening. Dawn and I then took a swim. We mostly relaxed today except that I dumped the RV tanks and Lou did the laundry. Granola for breakfast. Leftover noodles for lunch. Lou made a chick and chips casserole for dinner.