Summer 2016

It’s summer again and time for our annual trip to Vermont. At first Gene thought that he would be going to Plymouth, MA, to teach knots to the Mayflower crew, but that was put off. He still decided to go to MA to have the Roadtrek weighed on all four corners by a safety group that attends large rallies and does that. So that sort of set our schedule. Actually, we didn’t know if that would be possible until the day after we left.

Jean had a doctor’s appointment in late morning on Tuesday, 2 August, so we didn’t get away until 4:00pm. In order to avoid the interstate as long as possible, we decided to begin by going up the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive. We got to Loft Mountain, the first campground on the Skyline, a little before sundown. We drove in and picked the first open camping space that looked level. After making out the envelope and putting in our money, Gene got out to walk it back to the entrance. At the same time a juvenile black bear walked out from behind the motorhome and ambled across the road and into the woods on the other side.

Gene checked his email and found that the chance to get the rig weighed would be Friday morning. We could make it if we hustled (not our preferred mode of travel), but we would need to backtrack off the Skyline Drive and run interstates the whole way. Next morning we left relatively early (for us), but it was heavy fog. We drove in fog and occasional rain the 25 miles back the way we came. When we got onto the freeway and into clear weather, Jean pointed out that we were now an hour and a half from home.

We went bombing up I-81, dodging trucks most of the day. Along the way, Jean studied the maps and worked out the fastest way to get to Agawam, MA. She also went online on the phone and found us campgrounds.

Long story short, we drove hard and long but made it on time. The campgrounds she found were quiet, woodsy, and pleasant. They also had no cell service --- usually a plus, though it meant finding places along the way to continue communications with the people were were supposed to meet. We made our appointment and got the information we were seeking; so all worked out well.

About 12:45, after weighing, we headed out for Burlington, VT. We decided to stay off the interstates, and so headed west on MA 57, which turned out to be slow and mostly rough. Also sometimes hard to find. I think the state thinks that these tertiary roads are only used by locals, with local knowledge, so they don’t waste much money on signs.

Eventually we made it to US 7, running up the western side of Massachusetts and Vermont. This was a smoother, faster road and was quite pleasant to drive. We basically drove most of the north-south width of both states. We arrived at Gene’s son, Alan’s, house about 7:15. That gave us plenty of time to sit on the deck with a glass of wine and talk while we contemplated the view of the lake and the New York shoreline. After a delicious dinner we moved indoors for more conversation until bed time.

More in a few days.

 

Morning coffee in our favorite place in Vermont