After a wonderful summer in the Hamptons, I hooked up Scout and headed southwest. What is the best way to exit Long Island trailer in tow? Years ago, Mom and Erv traveled cross country in an RV, after they arrived to visit me in Washington, D.C. their next stop was Robin’s Westhampton, NY home. I came along for the ride and as we crossed the Verrazzano Bridge onto the Long Island Expressway it occurred to us we should have left the RV parked outside of DC and driven my Chevy Lumina, instead of inflecting the harrowing drive on Erv. Mom and I thought he might have a heart attack navigating the RV across Brooklyn. Not an easy drive in a car, so an RV is really crazy.
It has been my desired escape route to go north to Orient Point and take the ferry to New London, CT or west to the Port Jefferson ferry across the Long Island Sound to Bridgeport, CT bypassing New York City and surroundings. At the last minute I choose and alternate route north of NYC via the Troges Neck Bridge onto the Cross Bronx Expressway – I won’t be doing that again. When a ferry is available – take the ferry.
Avoiding multi-lane expressways (incorrectly named), because there seems nothing express about them. I ended up in Pennsylvania with no campground nearby after dark. I stayed in a Walmart parking lot, something I pledged never to do.
Why I like FACEBOOK
As I traveled west to my campground destination of Blackwater State Park, West Virginia at a truck stop I glanced at Facebook and saw my friend Karen was visiting the Flight 93 Memorial in Stoystown, PA. The beauty of retirement RV travel is your ability to change or add a destination as you please. So, two hours out of my way seemed like a good idea, and it was.
A Common field one day, a field of honor forever
The Memorial is a somber commemorative of 40 souls who fought terrorist on 9/11 and died saving others. If you are anywhere near this sacred and hallowed ground you should visit, if only to give them respect and acknowledgement they deserve. I will want to come back for a longer visit.
I needed to press on so as not to arrive at the campground after dark, so onward to Blackwater Falls in Davis, WV, a beautiful drive to see the fall colors.
Unfortunately, upon arrival and hook-up, my mysterious power problem persisted. While plugged into 30 AMP, the lights came on, but the outlets and microwave were not functioning. Instead of staying for 3 days as planned, I packed up and left the following morning for the Airstream dealer in Ashland, VA, 200 miles east. I was so looking forward to returning to my vagabound life.
Leaving Scout has allowed me to hang with friends Liz and Tim, and Maggie gets to be with her BFF Lola and 
daily trips to the Congressional Cemetery. I hope to catch-up with all my working former colleagues in Washington, D.C. while waiting for an Airstream diagnosis.
This morning when I was checking out Facebook, I saw my college housemate Lauren was in D.C. for lobby visits, unfortunately she boarded a flight last night for Tacoma. Darn! But other friends know my location and have reached out for visits, so Facebook is a great way to stay in touch, but not a place to make informed political decisions. I post lots of my political opinions there, but ignore the ads, as we all should.
I am in D.C. for at least a week, so let me know if you want to get together!
Allison, we’re heading to Coastal GA RV Park on I-95 in Brunswick for 2 weeks: 11/16 to 12/1, when we head to St. Augustine. If you’re headed south while we’re there, stop for a few nights and we’ll play golf. My sister lives on St. Simons Island nearby and Jeckyll has golf for us…her Sea Island courses are too $$$ for me.