Danbury, Connecticut (GA514)

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 5,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

I’m currently in my 23rd year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click Here

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The motorhome is parked at Mary’s home in Murphys, California. I’m planning to depart November 26th.

 

 

 

 

Since my RVing life is changing (see above), I’m starting to re-visit previously visited places. So rather than constantly re-blogging past entries, I’ve decided to do something different.

  In 2011-2013, Mary and I did a 682 day, 12,679 miles in the motorhome and 8,000 miles in the Bronco, circumnavigation of the United States, which I called The Great Adventure. I called it so because other than my oldest granddaughter’s high school graduation in June in Connecticut, I didn’t know where we would be going or when we would be there!

So, unless I do something really different and unusual warranting a new blog entry, I’ll be posting entries from that trip.

This entry was posted June 7, 2013…

 

 

 

 

The motorhome is parked at the Connecticut Welcome Center. I’ll depart later this morning and arrive at my son’s home later this afternoon.

 

 

Mary is in Las Vegas, Nevada for her grandson’s high school graduation. Today’s forecast is for 107 degrees, the next two days is 109 and 105. Glad I’m not there!

 

 

Yesterday I drove the motorhome the about 80 miles from Oakland, New Jersey to Danbury, Connecticut. I thought I would enjoy a nice back-country road drive by starting out on U.S. Highway 202. After only a few miles I encountered this bridge with an opening of 9’7″…the motorhome height is 11’2″…no way Jose’!…

 

 

 

 

 

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having no other choice I took a left turn hoping to find a way around it, I went only a short way only to encounter a bridge at 11’0″…Hmmm. Low bridges are a problem in this part of the world!

 

 

 

 

 

So I back-tracked about three miles and much to my dismay ended up on Interstate Highway 287 North. I was amazed at the poor condition of the roadway. Many potholes and poor patch jobs made for a bone-jarring ride in many places. Just because you are on an Interstate Highway does not mean clear sailing. It took me about 30 minutes to get through this slow-up…

 

 

 

 

 

Caused by an accident on the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge which crosses the Hudson River. I could not determine the problem, but the opposite direction traffic was completely blocked and backed-up for more than five miles…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, I arrived at the Welcome Center where I spent the night…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and the usual dinette window shot…

 

 

Enjoying not having to drive on Interstate Highways is another joy of the full-timing lifestyle!

 

 

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Connecticut. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

 

 

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

 

 

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

 

 

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! MARY WROTE A MANY GREAT BLOGS…SO WHENEVER SHE PUBLISHED A BLOG POSTING THE SAME DAY THAT I DID…YOU WILL BE ABLE TO READ HER BLOG BY CLICKING THE BELOW LINK! DO IT NOW!

Mary did not post this date.

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the photos!

Forecast for today is rain and 57 degrees. No complaint about the rain, it’ really needed here in California.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 700 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://get.google.com/albumarchive/110455945462646142273?source=pwa

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet 2018

Danbury, Connecticut

The motorhome is parked at the Connecticut Welcome Center. I’ll depart later this morning and arrive at my son’s home later this afternoon.

Mary is in Las Vegas, Nevada for her grandson’s high school graduation. Today’s forecast is for 107 degrees, the next two days is 109 and 105. Glad I’m not there!

Yesterday I drove the motorhome the about 80 miles from Oakland, New Jersey to Danbury, Connecticut. I thought I would enjoy a nice back-country road drive by starting out on U.S. Highway 202. After only a few miles I encountered this bridge with an opening of 9’7″…the motorhome height is 11’2″…no way Jose’!…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Having no other choice I took a left turn hoping to find a way around it, I went only a short way only to encounter a bridge at 11’0″…Hmmm. Low bridges are a problem in this part of the world!

So I back-tracked about three miles and much to my dismay ended up on Interstate Highway 287 North. I was amazed at the poor condition of the roadway. Many potholes and poor patch jobs made for a bone-jarring ride in many places. Just because you are on an Interstate Highway does not mean clear sailing. It took me about 30 minutes to get through this slow-up…

Caused by an accident on the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge which crosses the Hudson River. I could not determine the problem, but the opposite direction traffic was completely blocked and backed-up for more than five miles…

Finally, I arrived at the Welcome Center where I spent the night…

and the usual dinette window shot…

Enjoying not having to drive on Interstate Highways is another joy of the full-timing lifestyle!

The red dot on the below map shows our approximate location in the State of Connecticut. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2013
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

HUGGING LAKE ERIE

We arrived late in the day at Ashtabula on the 18th, with the heat. It wasn’t a friendly area of the city and we didn’t see anything of the town, just tucked into the motor home and read and did paperwork, made a few phone calls until bedtime.
In the morning we lit out for Sandusky, staying away from the interstates, following Highway 6, 2, and 24, hugging Lake Erie. Having grown up on the Great Lakes, in the Upper peninsula of Michigan, I’m familiar with them but had not traveled anywhere near the south side of Lake Erie.
First, though, we threaded our way through Cleveland. An appealing place, with a pretty skyline and home of the Cleveland Browns.

A bit of Cleveland skyline through the window.

Got a passing shot at the Cleveland Browns Stadium.

Our first good glimpse of the lake, with a barely visible lighthouse out on a point.
Leaving Cleveland, I took a number of photos of the blue, beauty.

Below, the Huron River dumps into the Lake.

The drive was quite scenic, unhurried and uneventful.

I got a skewed picture of this old building where the owner has nicely allowed an old painted ad to remain. Its says, Honest Scrap. Below, that, 5 cents. Could be a pack of cigs. Our computers no longer contain a cents sign. Not much use for it.

An asphalt parking lot in front of a grocery store had nary a tree, but sported instead some electrical assistance with a generating windmill. I spotted three stand alones in as many days. I wish more businesses would to that.

Our last stop of the day, Sandusky. The American Legion Post 83 put us up for the night in their back lot. A huge place-the third largest in the U.S. It had a great restaurant and we enjoyed a nice dinner and good draft beer. We are on our way to visit friends of Jim’s on the Detroit River for a few days.

HEADED FOR WEST POINT

Yesterday morning, we left Ivoryton after a bon voyage barbeque with Jim’s family the evening before. Parting is always a bit sad and remembered fun. I enjoyed getting to know Jim’s family, especially paling around with granddaughters, of which  I have none. (I do have delightful grandsons, though.)

Jaime loves her Pepe and decided she would block him from leaving as he was hooking up. What a personality! Of course, father Jim went along with her protest and pretended to drag her away

Down the road through beautiful countryside, across the Hudson River, we stopped at Newburgh, NY. Jim and Ginnie Palumbo, friends from New Jersey, drove up to spend the afternoon with us. Our intention was to tour West Point together, but Jimmy P. ruptured his achiles tendon and wound up in a cast.

Instead, we settled instead for dinner at Castigliones, a recommended Italian restaurant near the American Legion where we are parked.

The guys both ordered spaghetti and meatballs. Look at the size of those meatballs!
Jim and Ginnie are very dear to us and have promised to visit us in California.

Jimmy P. was once a truck driver and almost never gets chauffeured by his wife. I shouldn’t publish this picture but we all chuckled at Ginnie’s parking job, but I firmly believe it was the distraction of having a side seat driver!
Next up, West Point.

RURAL NEW YORK AND HERSHEY’S CHOCOLATE WORLD

Yesterday was a travel day, driving the back roads of New York State and Connecticut as we press East. On the way we passed one of the power plants that kept partner Jim here for many years.

Haze or smog covered, we are unsure. It sits on the Eastern shore of the Hudson River near Peekskill, N.Y. The road brought us within touring distance of  West Point, but the internet informed us West Point doesn’t open for tours this early in the season. Its always good to check before you go. It came as a surprise that  Bear Mountain State Park was closed to us because the road cannot accommodate motor homes. Even so, NY City so dominates your vision of New York its easy to forget that the back country in many places is rural and green with rivers and pleasant small towns. We enjoyed the slower paced drive away from the interstates.

We visited Hershey’s Chocolate Factory in Hershey, PA. earlier in the month, thinking to see how chocolate was made. Instead we found a Disney-like grounds with all kinds of attractions; a rose garden; 3-D Movies; trolley Rides; and, in short, a wonderland for kids. In one attraction, kids, or adults for that matter, can put on the aprons and make their own cookies with all the sprinkles, choco bits and candy decos. Fun for sure.

We rode little cars through a fake factory that took us from where the cacao beans are grown to the final mixing and packaging of the candy bars and other products. Very swift and simple; about five minutes; probably perfect for kids attention span, and of course, the wonderful lure of chocolate treats.

In the picture, it actually looks like real, liquid chocolate, but its  painted to appear that way. The kids probably don’t notice or care. There is no one to answer questions you might have. They have an extensive gift shop with some fun products and unlikely ones as well and mountains of candy.

As we drove through town, and  if you don’t read the visitor center brochures carefully, you can think that every attraction in Hershey, PA. is funded by the Hershey Company.  Many of them are. Hershey’s has done very well by the town named for Milton Hershey, who was born here. He funded the zoo and other community projects, but his greatest contribution, with all that sweet money, is the wonderful school he started for impoverished children..

Milton Hershey and his wife could have no children. He built a school which started out as a kindergarten through 6th grade with housing and travel expenses for poor kids from all over. When he died, he left his entire fortune in a trust fund for that school. Now the school goes from kindergarten through college. It includes a medical college, lighted tennis courts, an olympic sized track, swimming pool, a visual arts center and agriculture and environmental studies center. The grounds are extensive and beautifully manicured with spacious individual houses for poor students. An amazing place. In fact the Founders Hall Rotunda has a 74 foot high ceiling, the 2nd largest in the world. He was a generous benefactor and his trust fund continues to support this marvelous place.  He, of course, didn’t live to see this Founders Hall. As long as we keep buying Hershey products, this school will continue to serve a grateful public.