Thursday, October 04, 2018

ROCHESTER NEW HAMPSHIRE TO SPENCERPORT NEW YORK:: ‘IT WAS A 10 HOUR DRIVING DAY AND ‘OH MY SHATTERED NERVES’

DSC_0028
We had a good Wifi connection in the Rochester New Hampshire Lowes parking lot but it wouldn’t let me open my own blog site.  Got a ‘Malware’ message and I figure that is because of all the spammers who have imbedded their money grubbing commercial crap in our comment section over the years.  And with over 3,800 posts published now it’s impossible to root out all the crummy spam.
DSC_0013DSC_0001
THIS IS MUCH OF WHAT THIS MORNINGS ROADS LOOKED LIKE ONLY WITH A LOT MORE TWISTS IN THEM
DSC_0019
Compared to a couple weeks ago in northern New Brunswick our weather has sure warmed up nicely.  No need to run our rear furnace any more.
DSC_0020
DSC_0024

Quiet night in Lowe’s parking lot.  We had the big wheels back on the road by 7:15 a.m. headed West on highway 202.  And so began a long nerve wracking 10 hour day on the roads of New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York States.  We started off in the local morning rural rush with lines of cars racing from one little town to the other on tiny narrow winding roads with dips and gullies, hills and grades.  On and on it went for 185 miles until we reached Albany New York.  On the gas, off the gas, on the brakes, off the brakes.  Confusing and conflicting directions and missed turns.  I don’t know how many construction zones and small towns with narrow streets with barely enough room to squeeze through oncoming traffic and parked cars we went through.  Wilmington Vermont on the eastern edge of the Green Mountain National Forest comes to mind.  If there was one small town there had to be a thousand.  Doing this 185 mile stretch would be challenging enough in a car let alone a great big honking 37 foot Class A Motorhome.  Boy oh boy did we ever make some mistakes on this trip and I thought if we ever make it home again I’m just gonna go in the house, flop myself into my overstuffed comfy recliner and pull a big blanket over my head for the next weeks!!

DSC_0022DSC_0030
We were never so glad to reach a 4 lane highway as we were when we climbed aboard Interstate 90, the New York State Throughway north of Albany NY about 1 p.m. earlier this afternoon.  It’s a toll road and we knew it would cost us but figured it was a small price to pay just to get off those narrow winding roads through New Hampshire, Vermont, and Eastern New York.  One of those 8% downgrades even had a ‘runaway ramp’.  But, there was an upside to today’s drive too.
DSC_0034DSC_0009DSC_0035
Despite today’s mainly dull and overcast skies the scenery was beautiful.  We really, really, really, liked Vermont especially and both agreed we’d like to come back some day to see it properly in all it’s splendor.  Most of my attention today was focused on the twists and turns ahead but what I did see was spectacular and had the Sun been out it would have been doubly spectacular.  I also caught glimpses of many great photos but of course was unable to stop or pull over with a large Motorhome.  The few photos I did take today were taken on the fly from the drivers seat so they’re not the best.
DSC_0023DSC_0032
We were able to make up some time on I-90 but after all the winding roads I was sooooo tired.  Neither one of us wanted to spend another night on the road so we pulled out all the stops, navigated around Rochester New York, and finally made it to Kelly’s Mom’s place in Spencerport about 5:15.  It was a big surprise for her Mom because she hadn’t expected us to roll in until sometime in November.  Well we hadn’t either but the whole trip just kinda fell apart on us so we’re anxious to get home.  Of course once we’re home I’m sure I will have a lot more to say about these past 3 weeks but for now we’ll just leave it where it is.  Yes, this trip sure highlighted the writing on the wall for us……….
DSC_0051DSC_0002-001

AT KELLY’S MOM’S HOUSE

DSC_0003-001

It’s great to be here in Spencerport for a few days and I’m hoping I can once again get these shattered nerves of mine back into some semblance of calm civility and routine normalcy.  Hate to admit it but I think my long distance RV traveling days are over.  And by golly this time that just might be alright too finally…………….
DSC_0029
GROANER’S CORNER:((  Signs of our Times::
- Your co-worker has 8 body piercings and none are visible.
- You make over $300,000 and still can't afford a house.
- You take a bus and are shocked at two people carrying on a conversation in English.
- Your child's 3rd-grade teacher has purple hair, a nose ring, and is named Breeze.
- You can't remember...is pot illegal?
- A really great parking space can totally move you to tears.
- Your car insurance costs as much as your house payment.
- Your hairdresser is straight, your plumber is gay, the woman who delivers your mail is into S & M, and your Mary Kay rep is a guy in drag.
- You can't remember...is pot illegal?
- It's barely sprinkling rain and there's a report on every news station about "STORM WATCH."
- You pass an elementary school playground and the children are all busy with their smart phones.
- It's barely sprinkling rain outside, so you leave for work an hour early to avoid all the weather-related accidents.
- Both you AND your dog have therapists.
- You can't remember...... is pot illegal???????
-----------------------------
Mary: My daughter believes in preventative medicine, doctor. Doctor: Oh, really? Mary: Yes, she tries to prevent me from making her take it!
=================

11 comments:

  1. So sorry things didn’t work out as you hoped. Getting older isn’t always easy we’ve discovered.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lovely photos today and happy you made it to Spencerport and Kelly's Mom. We hung the keys up after 10 plus years and 89,000 miles of motorhome travels (plus side trips in the tow car). There just comes a time when you know it is time. Safe travels back to Bayfield.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Too bad things did not work our and the weather did not co-operate. I loved the scenery in Main , Vermont, NewHampshire and eastern New York. Our favourite route to the Maritimes, usually pulling a tent trailer.
    Now at Kelly's mom's you can regroup and relax for a bit before you make the final leg home.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful scenery. We don't do long trips anymore. PERIOD.

    ReplyDelete
  5. WOW! You are both awfully brave to even consider negotiating the smaller roads in a bus. I was a lot more comfortable with our travels this year when we decided to invest in the RV GPS which allows us to punch in our bus coordinates and from then on, it will never take us onto roads which would be difficult for us to navigate or fit. It was peace of mind for both of us.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful Scenery in the few pictures you got yesterday.
    We are trying to plan our stops to avoid long days on the road. Like yourself we find the more hours we spend on the road in a day wears us down. Even though we enjoy the scenery if we have to make time we head straight for the Interstates.
    Be Safe and Enjoy your Rest.

    It's about time.

    ReplyDelete
  7. My diesel pusher has not even been started for way over a year or so. Just can't seem to convince myself to put it up for sale. I sure would like to hit the road again but my wife doesn't want to.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I imagine you would have stayed in several places for a few days if the weather had cooperated, and maybe not been so exhausting. You sure saw many beautiful places in your quick trip though - thank you for sharing it with us!! Vermont is in my top five favorite places. The two weeks we spent there two years ago only touched on the natural and historical beauty. And it's not too far from home for you!! Glad you've come to a decision that feels right for your future. It will be fun to see winter in Ontario this year (at least for me)!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Beautiful photos of the fall colours,too bad you didn't have better weather earlier.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Our trip east this year has also convinced us that we won't be doing this again. We will be staying in the west and traveling between Arizona and Montana. The roads here in Virginia are just like what you drove. They would be fine as a one way road but trying to get an RV past on-coming traffic has about done us in. But it really is beautiful country in Vermont and New Hampshire. We don't have any fall colors down here yet.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Glad you got to a place where you can relax and recover!

    ReplyDelete