June 23, 2008 - Brattleboro, VT

Don't forget to check out our itinerary at:

Bounder Across America Itinerary

If today is Monday - then this must be Brattleboro!!

Today we left New York State, and we are spending an unplanned night at an RV park in Brattleboro, VT. Last night we 'boondocked' at a Wal-Mart in Kingston, NY, and decided that rather than do the same tonight in Bennington, VT, it was time to get back on the internet. Although we enjoyed the week in New York, we were somewhat 'disconnected' except for the crucial occasional access provided by our daughter Lisa and Donna's cousin Kristine (and the odd Starbucks!).

More about Vermont later, but first - it's time for an update on the New York portion of our trip.
Thursday afternoon we took the subway from up north in Washington Heights, back down to Penn Station and rode the Long Island RR back to Long Beach - and then did nothing much more than rest our feet after a few days of trekking across the big city. All we can say is - 'Thank God for Nike and New Balance!' Our new walking shoes really came in handy.

Friday we caught up with some housekeeping tasks such as grocery shopping and laundry, and then headed down to the Long Beach boardwalk for some sun and relaxation. But first we had to find the house where Glen's sister Karen lived, adjacent to the beach, back in the mid-60s. Way back then Glen spent the memorable part of a Summer visiting Karen and riding back and forth into Manhattan on the Long Island Railroad.

(The time spent on Long Island near Long Beach - and in Manhattan - was one big nostalgia trip for Glen. Although numerous business trips brought him to New York over the years of his career, this was the first time he returned to Long Beach in 45 years. Much has changed. Memories of a sleepy beach town with sandy streets leading to the water have been replaced with the modern reality of a gentrified neighborhood that few average persons could now afford.)

Friday, Lisa took the train out to Long Island, and that evening we went over to Donna's cousin Kristine's house to have an enjoyable dinner with her, her husband Kevin, her daughter Alma and Alma's children, Theo and Alexandra. Then, on Saturday we all visited a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) co-op that Kristine and Kevin participate in. In the evening we enjoyed a potluck dinner hosted by the co-op - right out in the fields that the organization farms. A folk group provided music; and it felt a bit like we'd returned to the 'sixties' and communal living. It was a great time - and a great meal!

Sunday morning, bright and early, we packed up the RV and headed off Long Island, across the Throgg's Neck Bridge, and through The Bronx toward upstate New York. Due to a bit of impromptu trip re-planning, we ended up seeing a lot more of The Bronx than we had ever planned. Lesson learned? Go with the original plan, and don't try to update it in real time! Although we're sure that The Bronx is a wonderful burrough, its narrow streets were never meant to handle the Bounder 'behemoth'!

(Just a side note here. Although our children bought us a fabulous GPS system for the trip, we learned when we first entered New York city that there are a few optional settings that we needed to pay closer attention to. For example: the GPS routed us on the fastest route - for an automobile, that is. However, this route involves driving the many New York 'parkways' that were constructed to handle automobile traffic only. A 12 foot high motorhome can do some serious damage attempting to navigate through a tunnel that's only 7'10" high!!!)

After our night of boondocking, that brings us up to today.
We left Kingston, NY, and we were soon in the Green Mountains (that's a proper name... not a color!) of Vermont. The day was misty and cool at altitude, and the views were beautiful. This was the first time in this state for both Donna and Glen, and now we're sorry we didn't plan more time. The towns are classic 'New England', and the scenery is a close match for the quaint towns. However, expressways are few and far between in Vermont, and so average speeds, driving up and down the many hills and around the numerous curves and through those quaint small towns really slows the speed and tires the driver. But all in all, it's well worth the time and effort.

Tomorrow we head into New Hampshire, to the the town of New London, for a visit with our friend Janet from England. She's just returned to the U.S. with her daughter Lora for her annual visit at the family 'homestead', and so the timing was perfect for us. Our 'Bounder Across America' tour needed only a few hundred extra miles to renew our long-standing friendship.

Now - as a bonus - Donna has created another of her photo extravaganzas on Picasa, covering our time spent in New York. You can view this album by going to this link:

New York, NY & Long Island, NY June, 2008

We hope you have enjoyed this visit to our blog, and we further hope that you will drop us a 'comment' when you stop by, so we'll know you've been here.

Donna & Glen