Wednesday - Ricketts Glen and the Benton town

After our night in the Walmart parking lot (a first for Bill and me), we headed for Benton PA and Rickets Glen. 

Got the camper set up and made a fire so we could have mountain pie pizzas, and s'mores. Played Polish Golf and then Nate and Bill went fishing (maybe dinner tomorrow night?)

Andrea felt the need to rake the area. Then she had to take a break in Nate's hammock. 

The boys just returned from their fishing trip. Look what Nate caught. Bill says it's because he was his good luck charm!

Tuesday - 911 Memorial and STOMP

We didn't need to rush around too much in the morning since our tickets for the 911 Memorial were for a 2:00 tour BUT we had to navigate the subway. It wasn't hard getting into the city from Jersey City. We rode the PATH train right in to the World Trade Center. But we had time to kill so we decided to navigate the subway to show the kids China Town and Little Italy. 

Fulton Center Station. 

As our guide spoke and told of the happenings on September 11, 20001, she brought back memories of where we were when the terrorists attacked. She helped us feel what it may have been like to be near or in the twin towers as the planes hit. The museum exhibits also told very poignant stories in voices and photos. 

The one thing that hit me hard was the fact that the reason we were able to stay in touch with what was happening was because the one tower was the communication. It was the one with the antenna on top. Even after the tower was hit, people stayed at their job, keeping communications flowing. How hard that must have been to know you probably wouldn't make it out alive. 

Part of the communications antenna. 



The survival stairway that brought some people to safety. 

This mosaic is to represent how blue the sky was that day and that we should never forget those that lost their lives. 

Photo of the twin towers before 9/11

Steel beams that buckled under the intense heat. 

Since we were going to a play in the evening, decided to stay in the city for dinner so we had to navigate the subway once again. This time, it seemed harder to get where we wanted to go but we made it to the theatre in time to have drinks before we went into the theater. 

We decided we were not mentally capable of navigating the subway back so we took an Uner. My first experience and it was good. He knew his way around and told us about his family. He even told us that he had taken 2 college students to Penn. Tate one time !  Wow that would be a long Uber ride!

We decided to checkout of the campground and drive to a Walmart for the night. Made it about 11:30 p.m.  LONG day. Good night

Headed to NYC with the Camper

You might not believe it, but we are going to camp just outside of NYC in Jersey City at Liberty Harbor Campground. We've camped there twice before and really like it. We can see the Statue of Liberty from the campground and we can take the PATH train right into the city. 

Walked around a little to get our bearings. We know where we pick up the Ferry to get to Ellis Island tomowwow for our tour and we walked from the Grove Street station back to our campground. And look what we found on our walk ... a Krispy Kreme Factory. 

Camping in Pennsylvania

Poe Valley was our next camping spot in June. Very remove but a gorgeous park. Very well maintained and friendly staff. The mountain laurel was blooming to add to the beauty. Lindsay Zubler drove up for the day. We did some hiking and took her to see the beautiful visas overlooking Coburn. 

Lenny and Reuben had fun hiking and kayaking, well maybe Reuben didn't have as much fun as Lenny kayaking. He lays on a pillow in the bottom of the kayak and sleeps!

On to Black Moshannon State Park where we met up with Bonnie and Carl Pillar. Hiked and kayaked and went to church at the amphitheater in the park. 

It was fun catching up with Bonnie and Carl around the campfire. 

Camping Adventures in 2017

We started off 2017 camping in St Louis MO for the Wrestling Nationals. Then we went south looking for sun and warmth. 

We found sun and warmth in Alabama. We stayed at Devil's Den SP for a night and then headed in down to Hot Springs and stayed in the State Park there for several days. Loved it. 

Time to keep heading south. This time we stayed at Lake Chicot State Park. We kayaked among the bald cypress. That was a treat. 

Headed north, we drove on the Natchez Trace Trail. Both beautiful and educational. 

Next we headed to Shiloh and visited the Vicksburg National Military Park and battlefield which was very interesting. 

Day 1 September 29

After driving in rain all day, it's heartening to see a little bit of blue skies. 

Our first night stay us in New Lisbon, just over the Indiana border. 

We have one side with lakefront and the other side is fields. 

While we were taking the dogs on a walk around the lake, Bill found his resting place 

And finally, our fire.