Robert Moses State Park, Massena, NY.... Update

Well....we found out why we are the only ones spending the night in this beautiful State Park.

A little after 10 pm last night, we heard this "buzzard" sound (like a basketball horn) and couldn't figure out what it was. Then a "police siren" went off. I am begging Andy NOT to open the door, but he does, in his red flannel PJ's and there is a State Park Ranger out there. He says to Andy, "Watcha doin'?" Of course Andy replies, "Er, camping." The Ranger proceeds to tell us this campground is closed, bathroom facilities are locked and we need to move over to the next campground. Now its 1030 pm, we are in our PJ's and its raining and a gusty wind blowing outside. And pitch dark!! What a sight seeing Andy pleading with him to let us stay until morning, standing there in those flannels. The Ranger asked us where we were from and then responded, "Hey, you have good hockey there, U of M."
He let us stay for the night!

Alexandria Bay, NY

Boldt Castle.

The rain and wind has not let up, for this reason, we slept in until 9:30! Hard to believe? Andy is just getting over a cold that he has given to me now. I guess we both needed the extra rest. During our last journey out west, we were averaging driving 400 miles a day. This time we both decided to take our time. Now we are averaging only 150 miles each day! But what is the rush? We stop when we want. Get up when we want.

We are driving the scenic route along the St Lawrence River. Stopped at Alexandria Bay, just northeast of the river entering in Lake Ontario, by the 1000 Islands. On Heart Island is a Rhineland style castle built in the early 1900's by the millionaire proprietor of the world-famous Waldorf-Astoria in New York City, George C. Boldt. He built this grandiose structure as a summer home to display his love for his wife. It is a 120-room castle, complete with tunnels, a powerhouse, Italian gardens, a drawbridge, a dovecote, inside pool, and even a yacht house for the family's 3 yachts and houseboat. After four years of building and over $2.5 million invested, Mrs Boldt died suddenly and all construction stopped. The structure was never completely finished or ever lived in. Mr Boldt never returned to the island. For 73 years, the castle remained vacant, left to the mercy of the wind, rain, ice, snow and vandals. The Thousand Island Bridge Authority assumed ownership in 1977 and has since invested millions of dollars into rehabilitation of this stunning structure. The entire castle is open to the public (of course for an entrance fee). These pictures are only a few that I took.

The one photo is our campsite right on the St Lawrence River. We have our own beach access with a beautiful view of the sunset (!no sun today!) but most importantly, we have the entire State Park to ourselves! There are no other campers here, just tons of deer and wild turkeys. This is the perk of traveling off season in the middle of the week. The State Park runs adjacent to the Eisenhower Locks and overview of the giant cargo ships traveling between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes. We are hoping to see some ships tomorrow. Still too wet and windy to watch for them tonight.

A Wash Out at Niagara

We left late on Sunday morning. It took us more time to winterize the cabin then we had expected and delayed us about a couple of hours. We had hoped to make it to Niagara Falls before dark but had to stop for the night about 26 kilometers west in St Catherine's.....Canada's wine country. Actually the campground was in the middle of a vineyard!

It rained all night, real hard with high winds. The good thing, the RV doesn't leak! That is the most rain we have ever experienced on this journey. The bad thing, we couldn't see the Falls when we drove through Niagara. It was very misty and the rain was even heavier. Neither one of us felt like getting cold and wet looking at falls that we have seen in another life time! So we continued east through up state New York along SR 104, which is a two lane paved highway passing through some quaint very small towns, mostly farm land. The tree colors look to be about 30% turned. We plan to continue up I-81 along the northern boarder following the St Lawrence Seaway and Thousand Islands. Hopefully will be into Vermont tomorrow. And we are hoping for no rain. Hard to take pictures or even stop along the way. It is very cool, damp, and dreary. The forecast does predict more rain for the next few days. But that won't dampen our spirit!

The Journey continues....

Getting ready to start our next leg of this amazing journey.
Arrived home from Europe and spent some time with my son and his family (and our wonderful grandson, Ricardo) and then with Verna (Andy's wonderful mom). We really missed family and what use to be home. It meant alot to us to reconnect with them before we pack up and leave again.
Our plan is to be on the road early Sunday morning. We first need to restock the RV, find our packed cold weather clothes, cut the grass and then winterize the cabin. I am finding this being on the road constantly takes some planning and organizing. But again, we feel so blessed we are able to even do this! We actually missed RV living. Although our living arrangement in Europe were real cramped quarters, even more so then our camper. Hard to believe.
We will be heading out through Canada by way of Niagara Falls to up state New York, Northern Vermont and New Hampshire, making our way down thru Bar Harbor, Maine. Looking forward to seeing some beautiful fall colors and out run the snow and cold weather. I hope to post some great photos early next week!

Paris, France

Paris was quiet overwhelming! The language, at times, was an issue. France is everything people say: dirty, rude people, very crowded. The landmarks are wonderful, though. The Eiffel Tower we could have just sat and stared at it all day. Actually, we went back there three different times, and I must have over 100 photos from every angle, day and night! We took the elevator to the summit (very top) on a overcast day. The photo of the Arc de Triomphe was taken from the Eiffel summit showing the 14 roads leading to it! What a traffic congestion. Of course the Musee du Louvre is massive and we spent several hours there trying to find the famous art pieces it is known for; like the Mona Lisa (very small) and Venus de Milo (Aphrodite). The sculptor, A. Rodin, most famous piece "The Thinker" was a surprise for us, situated in a beautiful landscaped garden next to the Hotel Biron. A very peaceful area, away from the hustle of the Paris streets.

We did all the other tourist site seeing like the Pere LaChaise cemetary to see Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde and Chopin grave. Interesting how many others did the same. The grave of Jim Morrison was surrounded by about 15-20 young people, all non Americans. Were the Doors that popular? And how do these kids know their music? Andy and I were the oldest ones there! He does have a very modest headstone that could be overlooked, except for the guards standing by and the gate around it. Another site, to just take pictures, was Moulin Rouge, where the French Cancan became famous along with Cabaret nudity. They offer dinner shows, but we passed.

The highlight of our trip was going out to Normandy (you had to be there to appreciate the difficult of this adventure we incurred). The Beaches are not really advertised. Unless you book with a private tour company for $300.00 a piece! We did alot of asking on how to get there on our own, with many different routes, and ways, given to us. In the end, it took 2 metros within Paris itself, 2 trains (one to the city of Caen and the other to Bayeux), and one taxi ride (bartering a fare in French!) because the buses were not running this day. All this with five other strangers to reach the US military cemetery and Omaha Beach....and it took the entire day! The "friends" we accumulated along this journey to Normandy was an older couple from Cleveland, Ohio, an Aussie lad in his late teens, and two young male Swiss Alp backpackers from Georgia. We spent the entire day with them and never exchanged names. The cemetery is breath taking! Overwhelming! There are 9,387 perfectly aligned white marble crosses or the Star of David marking the graves and then another 1,557 in the Garden of the Missing. We could only walk and walk through aisle after aisle of headstones and only imagine that day. A short walk at the beach along the English Channel was very quiet and somber for us. We are both glad we made the effort to travel out there. It was so worth it.

Oxford

The first thing in the morning we went to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guards. There is a lot of pomp and circumstance, very ceremonial, but something of a must see when in London. We kept missing it as it only takes place on even days during this time of year. We had front row seats because we arrived early. The Queen has a great marching band that actually played "Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson and the crowd applauded.

Feeling adventurous after mastering the tube, we decided to take a train to Oxford for the day. Oxford is 56 miles northwest of London. The train got us there in one hours and was a very comfortable ride. Many people use these trains for pleasure and business to get into London. The City of Oxford is large and spread out. It has 150,000 residents and most of them ride bikes. Oxford University is the focal point. It is the oldest university in the English speaking world dating back to 1249. The University is not one campus but is made up of 39 independent colleges are scattered throughout the City. We were able to see about 25 of the colleges. Some have courtyards inside of their building structures for the students to relax in. We did see the Bodleian Library, which is the heart of the University. This is where they filmed some of the first Harry Potter film. Some of the famous graduates from the various colleges include: T.S. Eliot, Kris Kristofferson, Oscar Wilde, Dudley Moore, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, John Locke and many more. The excursion turned out to be another enjoyable afternoon. The closest thing that you could compare the university to is the Quad at U of M and that doesn't do it justice.

Tomorrow we are off to Paris and will post a blog when we get back with many new adventures and pictures. Remember, there we will not know the language, stay tuned.

Stonehenge and Bath

We took a "coach on the motorway" to visit Windsor Castle, Stonehenge and Bath.

The City of Windsor and the Royal Windsor Castle is surrounded by cobblestone streets in 17th century style. It is one of the oldest and largest castles in the world. The Queen was not there either, must be in her summer home in Wales. We walked over the Thames River to the City of Eton where we enjoyed watching street performers dressed in jester clothing as they danced and clogged to music. Entertaining. Then onto Stonehenge which is situated on Salisbury Hill where 40 tone rocks stand alone for the past 5,000 years. Very mysterious. No one knows how or why they are located there. There are several burial mounds around the landscape where some of the leaders are believed to be buried. Truly an amazing site.

Next we went to Bath standing on the slopes of the river Avon. The city is known mostly for the Roman Baths, spas from ancient worlds that where hidden for view until 1870. These are thermal spring waters that gush from the earth below. The Georgian architecture of the city is stunning, with the narrow streets and alley ways. Getting out of London and seeing the country side was well worth the 12 hours that comprised the trip. Once again a long and exhausting day.

London, England, UK

Hello from across the pond. After a long (8 hr) bumpy, sleepless overnight flight, luggage arrived promptly. No questions at customs, just well wishes for a "good holiday". And our driver was waiting with a sign that said "Andrew Land". So much for being special! We are experiencing true British style living - we are staying right on a busy street in an old Victorian town house converted into a 50 room hotel. Very European style - not your standard hotel chain accommodations. The area is the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea in the Earl Court area of London. Upscale and young residential district. The tube is right around the corner making the 10 minute ride to London fast and easy. Well our first encounter with the tube wasn't easy! The tube has about 10 lines and each going N/S or E/W. Andy and I get on after buying our passes then realize we needed to go in the opposite direction. The next stop was the end of the line. We get off and read the map again and decide the same train needs to go back so we get back on. Andy gets impatient because the train is not moving and gets off to look and the signs again, the door closes and I'm still on the train..... alone. 50 minutes later (yes 50 minutes!) I'm still standing on the platform waiting for him. That was the start of our first day in London - and we know the language!!!! Can't wait for Paris.

Took a walking tour of the Royal area which included Buckingham Palace (Queen Mum was not home), we walked down the street to Prince Charles house instead and he was not home. Then to 10 Downing St. (home of the PM) which is now closed off and guarded by bobbies with machine guns. Took in the sites of Westminster Abbey, Clock Tower (AKA Big Ben) and Parliament. The last 3 buildings are massive and very ornate with Gothic architecture. Many English kings have been crowned, work and played and even have been entombed here. Dating back to 1066.

The Thames River is right there and we took a ride on it down to the Tower Bridge, which many tourist refer to as London Bridge. Also saw the Tower of London. After 6 hrs of walking and sore feet, we had old fashion fish and chips at a traditional pub. We did all this with a map and camera in our hands trying to fit in as locals.

We 're Home!

Today we crossed the state line to beautiful Michigan!

Headed straight to the cottage to unload and clean RV, do load after load of laundry, quick visit with family, and then re-pack for our trip to Europe.

For those of you who don't know, Andy and I booked a 12 day trip to London and Paris way before we put our house up for sale. We never thought the house would sell so fast and we tried to reschedule the trip or cancel it without losing any money...shucks, no luck. Darn we HAVE to go to Europe! We leave early next Wednesday September 9th.

Because of the hassle of taking our laptop and cost of international Internet, we will be interrupting our blog for the time we are gone. We hope to be up and running around September 25th when we get back "on the road again" out east. Thanks for following us thru this journey and we hope you continue on the next "leg" when we head to Canada and up state New York to the New England states for the fall colors and then down the coast.