Happy New Year!

It seems like yesterday we were ringing in a new century and here we are a decade later ready to ring in 2011. While 2010 wasn't my best year, it wasn't my worst either. I was hospitilized on three different occasions, lost my job and lost a dear friend. On the upswing, I was able to travel and make some new friends and deepen relationships with old friends. It's been a year of changes in our house. Our daughter decided to leave the nest and so did we. In just over two weeks we will begin a new chapter in our lives. We will be living our dream of RVing around the country. For years we had talked about it, researched it, even went to a four day conference about "Life on Wheels" where we gained valuable information. With all the changes in benefits our govenor was making this past year, Lenny decided it was time to retire. He was hoping to wait until he was 55, but we figured out that we can afford to live our dream now. Life is not guaranteed and we have seen many friends and family members lives cut short so now is the time for us. We are busy saying our farewells to our friends and family here and looking forward to saying our hello's to friends and family on our travels. 2010 ended with the Boxing Day Blizzard which has put us behind schedule a little in our packing but hey, we've still got two weeks. Oh no, TWO WEEKS!!! Gotta run, enjoy the slide show of "2010 - A Year in Pictures". Here's to a Healthy, Happy and Prosperous New Year! Thanks for travelling along with us on The Thomas' Trails...till next year.

We're Running Away!!!

We're finally running away!!!

For years now, Lenny and I have dreamed and planned of travelling in a motorhome and enjoying our "golden years". That time is now. I lost my job in July and have not been able to find any work. Our beloved govenor started changing the rules for government employees which would have a severe impact on Lenny's retirement if he decided to wait until he became 55, so in a few short weeks we will be on the road following a perpetual spring. When it gets too cold, we will drive south...when it gets too hot, we will head north. Thankfully, as things stand, his pension will cover our expenses with enough to put some in the savings each month so we only have to work, when and if we want. When I think about it, we are both way to young to never work again. Lenny will be 52 this Sunday and I am still in my mid-fourty's. While we will miss our family and friends, we intend to keep in touch thru our blog, phone calls and e-mail. This new chapter in our lives is exciting and scarey at the same time. Exciting that we will be meeting new people and experiencing local cultures throughout this country and scarey in the fact that we will be together 24/7 365 days a year! Twenty-four years ago we started our journey together and because our wedding party was so large, we rented a motorhome to transport us from house to church to pictures to reception. I wonder if that was an omen of things to come. We are looking forward to renewing old friendships and forming new friendships during our travels. If you want to meet up with us along the way, just send me an email at jmthomas29@gmail.com and we'll let you know when we plan on being in your area. This coming year is taking us from NJ south to FL where we plan on staying for the winter. Then it's up to GA for a motorhome rally, then off to Alabama, Mississippi and New Orleans. Sometime in April we will start to meander our way north to TN, then visit friends in NC. The end of May brings us to Vermont for a meeting and June will have us celebrating 25 years of marriage. For that we will be staying closer to family for a month. Then in July, it's back up to VT for a motorhome rally. In August, we will be in WI, then further west to see Mt. Rushmore and Yellowstone Park. In Sept, there is another motorhome rally we want to attend in Ohio and in Nov., a get together in Branson, MO, so as you can see, we won't be "ideling" in any one state. While all our plans are set in Jell-o, these are some of the events we really want to get to this coming year. We won't be posting too many more blogs before then, but once we are on the road, I plan on updating here a couple times a week, if not daily. Thanks for coming along on The Thomas' Trails...until next time

Jan & Len

Northeast Coaches for Christ 2010 Autumn Rally



Hickories Park Campground



It was voted the 2009 "coolest small town of America" but this weekend was down right COLD!!! Brrrrrrr! Turn up the heat, get out your woolies cold. The start of the weekend was rainy as well, which made the cold go right through your bones. Now, I ask you, for those of you who RV and have gone to a rally, what would a weekend rally be with no rain? Right? Enjoyable. Well, we made due with the weather God gave us and it turned out great. Northeast Coaches for Christ is a small group of Christian campers who usually meet at larger rallies and I thought it would be nice for us to all meet for a weekend on our own. Len and I had missed the area rally in July as well as a rally Labor Day weekend where we meet. Most of the members are in New York state, so that is why we went there. Hickories Park is a beautiful city run park with a campground and we were parked behind a bandshell off by ourselves. The bandshell was great, it provided a shelter from the wind on Saturday. Friday night was cold and rainy, so another couple and ourselves went to the Blue Dolphin Diner a few miles away. Ed and Lori are very familiar with the area, so we went with them. It's great to get together in smaller groups where you can get to know people better. Saturday morning brought sunshine but it was still cold. We had a pancake breakfast planned which was delicious. There was pancakes, sausage, coffee, orange juice. Thanks to Lenny's cooking. It was alot of fun sitting around talking with all the others there. After breakfast we enjoyed some singing snd a short devotional and communion. We sat around, ate some more (homemade chili, yum) and talked until we had a brief business meeting that afternoon followed by a potlock dinner. One thing about Christians and campers...we love to eat. We had hamburgers, cooked to order...thanks Ed, we had baked beans, macaroni and cheese, zucchini and tomato casserole,  pickled cucumbers, and homemade apple cake for dessert. I'm sure I've left out some of the fare, but it was all so good. It had been a long day and was getting colder once the sun had set, so we all retreated to our warm campers for the evening.





Lenny cooking away

Sunday morning we had some great donuts, fresh fruit, coffee, juice, etc. Then we sat around and shared what God has done in our lives. Soon it was time to pack up and head home again. What a truly blessed weekend we had. I can't wait until the spring to get together again as a group.

Thanks for travelling along with us on...The Thomas' Trails. Until next time...

The Coolest Small Town In America

Owego, NY was voted "The coolest small town in America" in 2009. This was where we would hold our autumn rally for Northeast Coaches for Christ. Never having been to the Finger Lakes region of NY, Lenny and I decided to go up there early and check things out. It's not that far from us, but we still decided to leave Wednesday afternoon. Lenny's sister lives right off of I-81, so we stopped there for a great dinner. Thanks Lisa for the invitation and great food. We drove a little further and spent the night at a Flying J rest stop. One of the "perks" of travelling in our home on wheels is we can stop anywhere and still have all the comforts of home. We've stayed at truck stops before, but this night we would not get any sleep. They were fixing the parking lot and decided they needed to rip up the macadam right by our coach. The next morning we continued on our way, stopping at the NY Welcome Center. What a view. It was spectacular, to see the fog dividing the top of the mountains from the base. Looking out we could see the Susquehanna River. The fall colors were not as vibrant as we would have liked, but still it was as if we were standing on top of the world. We wanted to beat the rain, so we continued on to the campground. Hickories Park Campground is a city run campground in Owego, NY. It is a beautiful park and at $21 per night for water and electric hook-ups, we will definitely return there.

Thursday was a dreary rainy day and Friday wasn't looking much better, but we decided to do a little sightseeing anyway. Our first stop was Evergreen Cemetery. I had done a little research before our trip and discovered some interesting facts about this place. Established inn 1851, it was placed on a hill overlooking the town of Owego and the Susquehanna River Valley. At the top of the hill, an Indian maiden Sa-sa-na Loft is buried. You can read more about her here. There is also a section dedicated to 80 men who fought in the Civil War, as well as politicians from the area who are buried here.

With the rally not beginning until Friday evening, we decided to drive north to Ithaca, NY to view some of the waterfalls of the area as well as Cayuga Lake, the longest of the Finger Lakes. As we drove north we noticed some eclectic art work in a yard. I just had to take a few pictures. We followed the GPS directions to Robert H. Treman State Park. There are a number of waterfalls in the park and while we saw three of them, we did not hike two miles to view Lucifer Falls because of the weather. OK, we're a bit out of shape as well, but the weather was the main reason. We continued our drive around Ithaca and went to the Allan H. Treman State Marine Park. At this point in the day, the weather was really bad and the rain was pouring down, so I could not get as many pictures as I would have liked. Still, it was a nice drive with beautiful scenery.

 

Friday afternoon we headed back to the campground to find that the wind had been brutal and our awning had a three inch tear at one end, so up the awning went. We live and learn. Next on our agenda would be the rally...but more on that in my next post.

Thanks for travelling along with us on The Thomas' Trails...till next time.

Gettysburg, PA 2010



Our 4am alarm clock!





Seminary Ridge



Gen. Robert E Lee



Flooded River behind campground





David Wills House

  

With the remnants of Nicole heading up the Eastern Seaboard, we decided to leave a day early for Gettysburg, get settled in and begin our touristy stuff once the weather cleared. We stayed at Outdoor World's Gettysburg Farm in Dover, PA. The is a beautiful campground.. Last year we stayed here with my cousin Lori and her family. The sites are all a nice size and we had full hook-ups. Across from us was the corral where they had a bull, three horses and a donkey. From a distance, and without the aid of my glasses I might add, I thought the bull was a cow and kept calling it Bessie. I hope I didn't give it a complex. They also have a petting zoo there for the children and children at heart. The petting zoo has goats, sheep, cows, horses, donkeys. There are also fowl roaming the farm and campground and let me tell you, if we were there one more day and that rooster started up again, I think Lenny would have shot him and that would have been our dinner. I'm only kidding, we all know Lenny wouldn't hurt a fly (even though there were several that got in the camper that he tried to swat). Thursday, our friends Bev and Lou arrived from New Jersey. We were thankful they made it there without any major issues. Driving in all that rain and wind is no fun especially in a motor home. Because it is off season, they were able to get the site next to us which made things alot easier. Friday morning the sun came out and it warmed up nicely so we all drove in to Gettysburg, PA. If you are a history buff or civil war fanatic, YOU WILL LOVE GETTYSBURG! We went to the new Visitor's Center where Bev was able to get some helpful information on finding out where her ancestors who fought in the war might be buried. We drove around to see some of the monuments and had a nice lunch. When we headed back to our campground, we took some pictures of the farmland and the high waters in the area. We had heard on the news that York county was hit pretty hard. A weather radio is going to be our next investment because we learned that we had been under a tornado watch Thursday night, but only when it was about to expire. As much as I love extreme weather, I like to be prepared for these events. Friday night got very cold and out came the quilt and the electric heater to keep me toasty warm. Saturday we awoke to another beautiful day and back we drove to Gettysburg. They had a farmer's market set up in Lincoln Square with all sorts of fresh veggies and home made items. I bought some fresh baked cinnamon raisin bread and a spinach garlic bread which were both delicious. Then we went into the David Wills house where President Lincoln stayed the night before he gave the Gettysburg Address. We enjoyed a picnic lunch at the Visitor's Center amidst all the wild flowers. This time we purchased an auto tour that narrated what we were seeing. This is a must purchase when you are down here. We bought the one with all the battle sounds. The tour is about 1 1/2 to 2 hours long depending on how often and how long you stop for. I would say it took us about 2 1/2 hours because I wanted lots of pictures and at one point, there were some re-enactors that had set up camp. That was cool. Little Round Top was the bloodiest battle of Gettysburg. They say that because so many men died and were wounded that the river turned red from all the blood that flowed into it. It is a very moving experience to stand on that hallowed ground where so many men fought. Words cannot say enough for all the emotions and thoughts that your mind goes through. We had done so much walking and climbing that day that it was time for a treat so on the way back to our motor homes, we stopped at Dairy Queen for some blizzards. Later on, back at the campground, Bev made a delicious dinner of Chicken Florentine. All of us were tired from the days events so it was early to bed that night. Len and were going to stay until Monday, however, after looking at the weather we decided to leave on Sunday because more rain was coming in. I'm glad we came home a day early because I hate driving in rain and so does Len. To view all our pictures click here. Thanks for travelling along with us on...The Thomas' Trails.

Valley of Death

Lincoln Square Farmer's Market

The Biggest RV Show in the East

September 16, 2010 Len and I drove out to the Lancaster area of PA for the biggest RV show in the east. Yes, this was the weekend we have all been waiting for. This was the weekend Len and I were hoping to be on TV. The producers decided to choose other couples. Oh well, their loss. I want to thank everyone who in one way or another helped us to record and put together our little video for them. Thanks to Ann Marie for video taping us, to Steve for loaning us his video camera and for putting the pieces together and to our friends at the campground who drove by while we were recording and made us laugh. Maybe next year we'll get to be on TV. Anyway, it rained the whole way out to the campground. As usual, Lenny was driving the RV while I followed behind in the car with the dog by my side. We had to take Shiloh with us because my brother, who usually watches him for us, was still in the hospital. We stopped at Cabella's on Rt 78 to stretch our legs and let the dog take care of business. That's when I led the way to the campground. OK, we did stop for dinner at Golden Corral, which was yummy. It was getting very dark by that time and I'm not used to the GPS and was in unfamiliar territory. Well, leave it to me to miss the turn off. The GPS (Molly) was telling me to make the next legal U-turn. Sure, I'm being followed by a 32 foot RV on a two lane back road, barely able to see because of the rain, then I see it. A sign for a B&B. They must have a lot big enough to turn an RV around in...right??? WRONG! To top it all off, the Verizon guys who always follow you, they were gone, no where to be found. NO SIGNAL, NO LIGHTS, RAIN POURING DOWN. I was able to turn the car around, but then had to guide Lenny 50-75 feet back so he could make numerous K-turns so we could get back on track. Well, we finally make it to the campground and must now find a campsite. In the dark, in the rain but at least the Verizon guys were following us. After pointing out numerous sights around the campground to Lenny, he took the lead and picked out a sight he thought was level. Put it in park and lets get to bed. We were both tired and it was dark and wet out. The next day was going to be a relaxing, touristy kind of day. Friday morning brought with it sun, warmth and the RV show. Oh yea, the gun range too. We didn't know that there was a gun range near-by. From sun up to sun down we heard the shots being fired. It was a nice drive to Hershey Park. We stopped for a Nathan's hot dog for lunch. We sat outside at one of  the picnic tables. When we arrived at the show, we went to the vendors area to see some friends we haven't seen in a few years. Nick and Terry Russell full-time in their RV and publish the Gypsy Journal. A bi-monthly publication of their travels. We first met them at a Life on Wheels seminar where Nick was teaching about living on the road.  We wanted to say hi and see where his seminar was being held. This time he was speaking about "Highway History and Back road Mystery" the same title to one of his books. Lenny was sure to purchase one of his books "Meandering Down the Highway" and a T-Shirt. Like always, Nick was funny and informative. Follow Nicks blog and be sure to check out Bad Nick as well. I'm sure you'll enjoy both. I didn't take any pictures at the RV show but did take some of the country side. Hope you enjoy the pics. Thanks for travelling along with us on The Thomas Trails....

Our Favorite Campground...this year



Deanna (we're her favorite campers)



Sherman, Raini, Tina, Robin

While we had plans to go to a few different places this year, health concerns kept us closer to home. Still needing and wanting to get away as much as possible, we decided to utilize our campground membership to its fullest. Only one and one half hours away was Timothy Lake South campground. It is a beautiful campground located in the eastern Poconos in PA. We spent numerous weekends and longer stays on different sights. Our favorites were along the back of the campground, nice level sights, open and pretty large for a camping sight. When it wasn't too crowded we would have nightly visits from the deer. When we had Shiloh with us, he would want to play with them. Silly dog! The staff there was just as friendly, always making us feel at home and accomodating our needs. Like when the battery died on our motorhome and we thought it might be the alternator, they allowed us to leave it on the sight for a couple of days until we returned to fix the problem. The problem was Len had left a light on and it drained the battery, so a few times of charging it and all was well. It makes me sad that we were unable to return the last few weekends of summer to bid farewell to our new friends. Tina, the manager, we found out knows my brother-in-laws family...talk about a small world. Raini and Ron (not pictured) are a full-timing couple from Florida. Why they call her Raini when she has such a sunny personality, I don't know. They would make sure the park was always neat and clean, good job guys. Ron would make sure the water temp of the pool was always 84 degrees, well most of the time it felt like it anyway. Sherman was the young man who helped with grounds keeping. He is going into the Air Force Reserve so Thank you Sherman for serving our country. Deanna is another high schooler who always had a smile on her face when we would check-in. She is looking forward to becoming a Physicians Asst. when she finishes her schooling. Good Luck Deanna and yes, I'll start wearing sunscreen next year...well maybe. LOL. Thanks for travelling along with us on The Thomas Trails....



Happy 24th Anniversary

It's amazing how time flies by so quickly. It seemed as if it were only yesterday that Lenny and I pledged our love to each other, for better for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. This anniversary will go down in history as one of the "poorer" ones. Me being on temporary disability for the past six weeks and our hot water tank giving up the ghost, not to mention the dinner we went to that night, but I'll explain that later. So here we are 24 years later sitting at the campground waiting for the repair man. Luke is a very knowledgeable RV Tech who thought he would be in and out quickly, replacing our hot water tank. NOPE! Oh replacing the water tank was no problem, it was the plastic connections which after 15 years had cracked. He graciously and patiently rebuilt that whole thing-a-majig. I was very impressed with his knowledge and patience. Patience is a virtue not seen very much anymore. He arrived later in the morning and got right to work. He brought his dad along for the trip (he was coming from about an hour away) and it was wonderful chatting with him about his RV trips. If you are ever in the eastern part of PA and need someone to fix your camper, give him a call. His rates are reasonable and he comes to you. I would highly recommend Luke to anyone. RV parts are very expensive. A little six gallon water tank costs almost $550 and that's without tax and labor! When he took it out, it looked like a beer keg. When that project was complete and our coach put back together it was off to the pool for a few relaxing hours before we would meet some friends for dinner. Now that's a whole other story.

We have been friends with Dave and Crystal for over 15 years and their anniversary is two days before ours. That Monday we asked if they would like to join us for an anniversary dinner at "The Big A". We were given a coupon for $50 but you had to spend $100 and we never spend that much for just the two of us. We met around 6 that night and did something we normally don't do. We ordered more than normal. Oh, the appetizers looked so good. Lenny had the Baked Crab and Spinach Au Gratin, I had the Tuscan Steak Crostini, our friends ordered the Bruschetta and salad. The appetizers alone could have been a meal, but we had to spend $100 so on to the main course. Our friends both ordered the Sauerbratan, which they said was almost as good as homemade. Lenny ordered the Chicken Atlantis which was mouth watering. I enjoyed the Cold Water Salmon Filet in a garlic teriyaki glaze. Oh the food, so delicious, delectable, so much. But hey, we were celebrating. Dave and Crystal were married 29 years and we were celebrating 24 years and did I mention we had to spend $100? So, on to dessert. After all, what's a party without cake? We laughed that night  until our bellies ached. So much fun was being had by all. Then it hit like a left hook out of nowhere. She approached the table smiling and handed Lenny "THE BILL".  I have never seen Lenny's mouth drop open like that. Now mind you, I don't mind paying for good food, especially when you get so much. The issue was we were planning on spending around $50 per couple. He commented that maybe with my heart condition he should not have shown me "THE BILL". Too late for that. I passed it on to Crystal and Dave who said good thing we have plastic. All in all, the consensus is we would definitely go back. If only for a special occasion. The final cost you ask, was only $250 before the coupon, but the food is definitely worth it.

When all was said and done we had spent almost $1,000 that day so yes, for richer or poorer it was still a Happy Anniversary.

Vacation 2010

It's finally here. That time off that you work hard for all year long and this time was no different. Our vacation plans had changed due to my health. I didn't want to travel too far from my doctors so we decided that instead of going to Vermont we would stay locally. We parked our coach at Timothy Lake South campground in the Pocono Mountains of PA. Ten days of relaxation, doing what we want, when we want. It started out great...or did it. It didn't take long to get Aggie all hooked up and level. Then we heard it. Len thought I was running the water inside to get the air out of the lines, I thought he was running water outside for whatever reason. Both of us were wrong. Our motorhome is 15 years old and over time things need to be replaced. This was one of those times. The hot water tank had given up the ghost, it had heated its last shower, it had warmed the last bit of water to wash the dishes. I was not about to camp for 10 days without hot water, so off to the camp office to see if they could recommend an RV technician who was willing to travel to us and fix it. Thank God we found one, but more of that in another post. I still had to go five more days without hot water.

Liz relaxing after a day at the pool

The day after we arrived, a very dear friend of ours came to join us for the day with her daughter. It was wonderful. The weather was so hot that we just hung out at the pool like bums. Our friends were having so much fun we invited them to spend the night so we could do the same thing again the next day. Yep, hang out at the pool like bums. I did warn them that our couch is VERY uncomfortable and that we wake up VERY EARLY (I know Liz likes to sleep late). Still, they wanted to stay. OK, we still had no hot water so off to the bath house for our showers. The next day proved to be just as hot so the pool was very refreshing.

At the campground our site was along a deer trail and we had visitors day and night. The first night one kept coming toward me and all I wanted was a close-up shot. She, however, wanted food and must have thought I had some to give her. Here is shot of some of visitors while we were sitting at the fire.

More exciting news of our vacation to come. Until then...thanks for travelling along with us on The Thomas' Trails.

Happy Graduation Rachel 6/19/10

Where does the time go? It seems like only yesterday that Rachel joined our extended family and here she was graduating high school. They say "Time Flies When You're Having Fun." And we were having fun. We decided to make it a weekend trip and took the motorhome. Life is good when you travel in a rolling home. All the modern conveniences right at your fingertips. That weekend we purchesed our first DSLR camera. A Cannon Rebel. It worked really well even though I could only figure out the automatic portion of it. So many videos to watch to learn how to operate this camera to its maximum.

We stayed at Scotrun Campground, an Outdoor World property located near The Crossings in PA. It's a smaller campground but half-way between our house and my sister-in-laws. They have a beautiful swimming pool area but the water is COLD! I think that is because it is spring fed water and they don't heat it.

On Saturday we drove up to the Scranton area for our neices graduation party. The sun was out in full force and it was HOT! My sister-in-law, Lisa, is not the best at giving directions so needless to say we passed up the turn for the park. After turning around, we almost missed it again. Things can get so confusing out in the country. We finally arrived and what an adorable city park. They had a pavillion with picnic tables and a charcoal grill next to a babbling brook, swingsets and a jungle gym for the kids to play on. The best part was all the good food. Len was the "unofficial" griller and I was the photographer. It was a great day and Rachel received many gifts and lots of greenbacks.

Rachel, you have grown up to be a beautiful young lady. May your future be as bright as you are. Happy Graduation.

Lenny and his mom

Charlie, Lisa and Rachel

Thanks for travelling along with us on The Thomas' Trails...

GO FAST! GO FAST! GO FAST! TURN LEFT!!!

Dover Downs Nascar: The Monster Mile : Three Decades of Speed

Ok, so we all have a lapse in judgement once in a while, right? Well, mine was an EXPENSIVE one. Lenny loves his NASCAR races, I don't. Every year for the last few years, he would bid me farewell and drive off in our motorhome to the Poconos race in PA. There he would meet up with his friend Dave and they would spend five long days camping and watching live NASCAR events. You must love the sport to dry camp for that long in June. Well, last year he and Dave decided that they were growing tired of the Pocono race and wanted to see a different track. I had at one time expressed an interest in seeing a truck race, so he asked if I wanted to go to Dover, DE where Dave and his wife Crystal and the two of us could take in three races. A truck race, another race and the cup race on Sunday. "Sure I'll go, if Crystal wants to go," I told Lenny (and here is my lapse of judgement), I forgot that Crystal LOVES Nascar as well. OK, maybe not as much as the guys, but none the less, she enjoys it. So here we were planning our weekend to Dover. The four of us met up on Thursday in Delaware and drove to Dover Air Force Base. Dave is retired Air Force so he was able to get us on the base campground. The sites were great. Lightly wooded, large, full hook-ups and most important, LEVEL. I wasn't feeling that great the entire weekend, but gave it a shot. We got to the track on Friday much to early for the truck race but were able to park close to venue. Lenny thought it best if I got to my seat and just stayed there. I didn't know it at the time, but I had a 100% blockage in an artery that would be opened up upon my return home. Well, the track is like a fishbowl. In full sun, there I sat for hours waiting for the truck race to start. It was loud and hot. I never made it to see the race. Before it began, I excused myself and went to sit in shade and nap in the car while everyone else stayed. After that I vowed to never go back. My girlfriend, Crystal, didn't enjoy sitting in the sun that long either so we decided to give our tickets for the rest of the weekend to the military. Saturday, we dropped the guys off at the track and did what girls do best...shop, after all Deleware is tax free. Sunday we let the guys take the car and we stayed back at the motorhome and just chatted away the day. So much to catch up with now that we live in different states and hadn't seen each other in months. It was a wonderful weekend. Oh, by the way, did I mention the campground was at the end of the runway and the military doesn't believe in quiet hours. I'm glad these men practice day and night in all conditions to keep our country safe and free even if it means hearing a C-10 land at 3 o'clock in the morning. Well, thanks for travelling along with us on The Thomas Trails...until next time.

Camping in the Catskills

When Lenny and I first bought our motorhome, we joined an international organization for motorhome owners. FMCA (Family Motor Coach Association) is a great way to meet other people who enjoy camping and other hobbies that you share. Within that organization are sub-chapters. One that we belong to is the Northeast Coaches for Christ. It is a group that gets together during the area rally and provides daily devotions for those interested. Why they elected me president last year who knows??? Did they realize I can be really crazy? Well, I wanted the group to get together more than just once a year, so I organized a weekend we could all get together. At least those that were in the area. Four families were scheduled to join us, but due to unforseen circumstances two had to back out. We still had a great time. Lenny and I took Friday off from our jobs to make the two hour drive to Round Top, NY. The beautiful scenery as we drove north was breath-taking to say the least. It was like a painted backdrop looking at the mountains. And the clouds looked like they had been outlined in a darker gray. Shortly after we arrived at the campground, Karen and Ed pulled in. To say we had a great weekend would be an understatement. Even though there were only two of us we had a blast. Karen and Ed have alot more experience than we do when it comes to camping. By Saturday night we were cooking over a campfire. Ed pulled out his cast iron dutch oven and made salt potatoes. I had never heard of them, must be a regional thing. I had speared a white hot dog and was roasting it over open flames. Boy does food taste different when you cook like that. We had a wonderful time sharing and getting to know each other better. We all can't wait for the next Coaches for Christ outing in the fall.

See you in the fall!