Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Shelburne, Vermont
Getting off to an early start we had a few ideas of places to visit, but of course, they are only plans until they happen or don’t.
How could we not go to the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory? The weather even cooperated by raining while we drove and after we were inside, but not when we had to be outdoors. The place is quite a bit of fun, with lots of activities for children. The tour was short but very entertaining. On our way out some of the bears jumped on my walker and told us they really wanted to see California, so we made arrangement to give them a ride. Some of you may get to meet them when we get back.
Next on our list was a maritime museum at Basin Harbor on Lake Champlain.. It was a long drive thru some real rural areas, and when we got there it was a closed. Seems like they only open Wednesday thru Sunday and we arrived on Tuesday. We thought about boon-docking there for the night, but then decided it wasn’t worth it, so we moved on.
Next on our list was Fort Ticonderoga. I like historical stuff, especial our country’s – and once with the Boy Scouts while camping at Lake George we visited the fort. Unfortunately, I was not paying attention to the roads, and depending too much on my GPS. Had I looked at a map more closely and reviewed my GPS trip plan, I would have noticed my GPS had a mind of its own and was taking a screwy route which involved a ferry ride. WE decided after we were already way off route to abort that plan and just make distance south. We wound up in Bennington at a Wal-Mart and spent the night.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
We have finally given up on the possibility of getting an oil and lube at a Wal-Mart in the east, so we found a local shop here in Bennington and got the job done. It was fast and simple and not very expensive and they were even nice enough to replace one of my wipers (which I had bought previously) at no charge. Turns out it was a good idea, because on our way to Cooperstown, the expected and predicted heavy rain storm hit with a vengeance. Fortunately by the time we arrived at Cooperstown, it had run its course. At first we tried to drive thru town to find a parking place but the streets were packed and no place for us, especially in heavy traffic. We backtracked 3 miles out of town to a free parking lot that has a trolley shuttle that runs every twenty minutes and it took us directly to the front door of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The 3 story building was not very large by museum standards, but quite a bit of history and nostalgia was packed into every square foot of its floor space. A short movie in a small theatre made to resemble an old-time ball park gets everyone in the mood for the many exhibits to come. One floor is just dedicated to the multitude of records that have been set and broken by ball players since the beginning of the game, while another wing is dedicated to those talented enough to qualify and be chosen for the actual BASEBALL HALL OF FAME. I liked the exhibits that displayed the early days – the uniforms, baseballs and bats and the rest of the equipment as it changed thru the century to evolve into its modern day forms.
Peter, being new to the game, was interested in the mechanics and rules of the game. He really enjoyed the part about hitting a homerun and getting to run the bases, however he thought a nice variation would be to pee on each base instead of tagging it. I explained to him that would probably set baseball back a few years, and he shouldn’t mention it again.
The HALL OF FAME BUILDING is just a start for the town of Coopers. If you’re not a baseball fan – stay away!!!. In each and every establishment – if it ain't selling baseball memorabilia, T-shirts or souvenirs, it’s selling baseball artwork, baseball jewelry or even baseball food. Yep, we had a late lunch at the Doubleday Café and you can imagine what the menu items were.
We strolled the streets, window shopped, and finally tired, using our remaining strength to get to the trolley stop. We had already scoped out the nearest Wal-Mart and arrived before sundown. There were a few other RVs in a corner of the parking lot so we chose a spot nearby and settled in.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
One of the parks in our AOR Membership was in East Otto, just south of Buffalo, NY., in the Allegany Mountains.
We are always skeptical about the validity of the grandiose descriptions in the brochures, so when we arrived at the Allegany Mountain Resort, we were really impressed. The grounds are built around a beautiful lake and there are trees and grass everywhere. In addition, our site is just a short walk to the pool, lakeside and the restaurant. The Poolside Café is open all day and serves all the basics including fresh made pizzas that are pretty good. We will not starve here.
The weather has been pretty warm to hot, with high humidity. Even the heavy rain last night did not cool off the area much and tomorrow the predication is for the 90’s. Peter was watching me shaving with my electric razor and wanted to know if I would take a little off the top of his coat to cool him off. I refused for his own good. Plan B is for him to sleep under The Beast to stay out of the sun.
We spend a lot of time sitting by the lake watching people throw lines in the water but have yet to see one come out with anything alive and scaly on them. Under a group of trees along the lakeside we found a shady spot with a reliable breeze, so we sit and read and listen to the radio (when we can tune in a station). We haven’t found a book that Peter likes yet (do they make books out of meat?).
Met a couple our age from Canada that pulled into the space along side us for a few days and had interesting conversations about our different cultures.
Other than that, we did very little and enjoyed every moment.
Plans
We are now planning on visiting The Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the Presidential Libraries of Truman and Eisenhower.
We were thinking of going to Grace land and the Clinton Library but that’s seemed like a lot of white trash in large proportions.
We also heard that the Clinton Presidential Library was having staff problems and long lines.
Apparently, the state of Arkansas has a law that all museums must have assisting personal available for handicapped visitors. The problem is that most of the visitors are illiterate and the state is running out of 5th grade teachers to read the exhibits to them.
Shelburne, Vermont
Getting off to an early start we had a few ideas of places to visit, but of course, they are only plans until they happen or don’t.
How could we not go to the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory? The weather even cooperated by raining while we drove and after we were inside, but not when we had to be outdoors. The place is quite a bit of fun, with lots of activities for children. The tour was short but very entertaining. On our way out some of the bears jumped on my walker and told us they really wanted to see California, so we made arrangement to give them a ride. Some of you may get to meet them when we get back.
Next on our list was a maritime museum at Basin Harbor on Lake Champlain.. It was a long drive thru some real rural areas, and when we got there it was a closed. Seems like they only open Wednesday thru Sunday and we arrived on Tuesday. We thought about boon-docking there for the night, but then decided it wasn’t worth it, so we moved on.
Next on our list was Fort Ticonderoga. I like historical stuff, especial our country’s – and once with the Boy Scouts while camping at Lake George we visited the fort. Unfortunately, I was not paying attention to the roads, and depending too much on my GPS. Had I looked at a map more closely and reviewed my GPS trip plan, I would have noticed my GPS had a mind of its own and was taking a screwy route which involved a ferry ride. WE decided after we were already way off route to abort that plan and just make distance south. We wound up in Bennington at a Wal-Mart and spent the night.
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
We have finally given up on the possibility of getting an oil and lube at a Wal-Mart in the east, so we found a local shop here in Bennington and got the job done. It was fast and simple and not very expensive and they were even nice enough to replace one of my wipers (which I had bought previously) at no charge. Turns out it was a good idea, because on our way to Cooperstown, the expected and predicted heavy rain storm hit with a vengeance. Fortunately by the time we arrived at Cooperstown, it had run its course. At first we tried to drive thru town to find a parking place but the streets were packed and no place for us, especially in heavy traffic. We backtracked 3 miles out of town to a free parking lot that has a trolley shuttle that runs every twenty minutes and it took us directly to the front door of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The 3 story building was not very large by museum standards, but quite a bit of history and nostalgia was packed into every square foot of its floor space. A short movie in a small theatre made to resemble an old-time ball park gets everyone in the mood for the many exhibits to come. One floor is just dedicated to the multitude of records that have been set and broken by ball players since the beginning of the game, while another wing is dedicated to those talented enough to qualify and be chosen for the actual BASEBALL HALL OF FAME. I liked the exhibits that displayed the early days – the uniforms, baseballs and bats and the rest of the equipment as it changed thru the century to evolve into its modern day forms.
Peter, being new to the game, was interested in the mechanics and rules of the game. He really enjoyed the part about hitting a homerun and getting to run the bases, however he thought a nice variation would be to pee on each base instead of tagging it. I explained to him that would probably set baseball back a few years, and he shouldn’t mention it again.
The HALL OF FAME BUILDING is just a start for the town of Coopers. If you’re not a baseball fan – stay away!!!. In each and every establishment – if it ain't selling baseball memorabilia, T-shirts or souvenirs, it’s selling baseball artwork, baseball jewelry or even baseball food. Yep, we had a late lunch at the Doubleday Café and you can imagine what the menu items were.
We strolled the streets, window shopped, and finally tired, using our remaining strength to get to the trolley stop. We had already scoped out the nearest Wal-Mart and arrived before sundown. There were a few other RVs in a corner of the parking lot so we chose a spot nearby and settled in.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
One of the parks in our AOR Membership was in East Otto, just south of Buffalo, NY., in the Allegany Mountains.
We are always skeptical about the validity of the grandiose descriptions in the brochures, so when we arrived at the Allegany Mountain Resort, we were really impressed. The grounds are built around a beautiful lake and there are trees and grass everywhere. In addition, our site is just a short walk to the pool, lakeside and the restaurant. The Poolside Café is open all day and serves all the basics including fresh made pizzas that are pretty good. We will not starve here.
The weather has been pretty warm to hot, with high humidity. Even the heavy rain last night did not cool off the area much and tomorrow the predication is for the 90’s. Peter was watching me shaving with my electric razor and wanted to know if I would take a little off the top of his coat to cool him off. I refused for his own good. Plan B is for him to sleep under The Beast to stay out of the sun.
We spend a lot of time sitting by the lake watching people throw lines in the water but have yet to see one come out with anything alive and scaly on them. Under a group of trees along the lakeside we found a shady spot with a reliable breeze, so we sit and read and listen to the radio (when we can tune in a station). We haven’t found a book that Peter likes yet (do they make books out of meat?).
Met a couple our age from Canada that pulled into the space along side us for a few days and had interesting conversations about our different cultures.
Other than that, we did very little and enjoyed every moment.
Plans
We are now planning on visiting The Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the Presidential Libraries of Truman and Eisenhower.
We were thinking of going to Grace land and the Clinton Library but that’s seemed like a lot of white trash in large proportions.
We also heard that the Clinton Presidential Library was having staff problems and long lines.
Apparently, the state of Arkansas has a law that all museums must have assisting personal available for handicapped visitors. The problem is that most of the visitors are illiterate and the state is running out of 5th grade teachers to read the exhibits to them.
posted by The Highway Guys @ 7:39 PM
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