Tuesday, September 28, 2010

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....