It has been a busy week for us again. Busy... and very enjoyable.
You may remember that when we last posted to our blog we had stopped for the day in Brattlsboro, VT after driving clear across the state. (Although that might seem like a lot of driving, when you are in the southern portion of the state, it's very narrow. So the entire drive is less than 100 miles... and we made the drive twice - once on our way to New London, NH, and then again as we returned for the lengthy crossing of New York at its 'up-state' widest.)
After leaving Brattlesboro (and an exceptionally neat and well-maintained KOA campground) behind on Tuesday, we ventured into New Hampshire - heading toward New London. Unlike the previous day, we were able to travel entirely on expressway roads. Although we both prefer the 'blue highways' (the smaller roads on any US map) - with the Bounder, the four, six and even eight lane interstate highways are definitely the better choice. Even with greater traffic, it's easier to drive the straighter, less hilly and multi-lane roads, where we can stay in the right lane and don't have to worry about slowing down the impatient drivers, who often will risk life and limb attempting to pass our nearly seventy foot long caravan of motorhome and dolly-loaded car.
Like Vermont, New Hampshire is an assortment of green wooded land and hills; all beautifully uncrowded with vestiges of civilization. We were impressed to notice that neither state allows billboards alongside the highways. We have generally been surprised to see that in Maryland, Vermont and also New Hampshire (even thought they are among the earliest parts of our country to be settled by colonists) there seems to be little crowding, and a greater respect for open space then in some of the other states. Cities, in general, seem to be a more manageable size, and the smaller towns have mostly managed to maintain the quaint charm that is equated with New England. Even New York, where other than the large eastern commercial city of New York and the 'rust-belt' industrial cities (now longer so industrial) of the western part of the state, still has a huge center-of-the-state that is dotted with smaller towns.
(OK. Enough philosophizing. Now back to our visit with old friends in New Hampshire)
We were greeted (in a drizzling rain) by our friend Janet as she stood waving at the entrance to her driveway in New London, NH. It's been years since we've seen her and her daughter Lora, and we were delighted to be able to schedule this short visit as part of the Bounder Across America tour.
Janet's family is from the U.S., but after marrying a Brit, she moved to England more than twenty years ago. We met her when we were living in the London area, and have maintained the friendship over the years. Each year, with her daughter Lora, she is able to return to New London for a month or two, and they both continue to be active members of this small and quaint New England village.
Tuesday evening we enjoyed a great meal together (at a pub-like tavern) with Janet, Lora and Lora's friend Lindsey. New London is noted for it's summer-stock theatre, The Barn, and Lora and Lindsey were both excitedly preparing for auditions for a show to come later in the season. (Last year Lora won the role of Dorothy in The Barn's children's theatre production of 'The Wizard of Oz'.)
You may remember that when we last posted to our blog we had stopped for the day in Brattlsboro, VT after driving clear across the state. (Although that might seem like a lot of driving, when you are in the southern portion of the state, it's very narrow. So the entire drive is less than 100 miles... and we made the drive twice - once on our way to New London, NH, and then again as we returned for the lengthy crossing of New York at its 'up-state' widest.)
After leaving Brattlesboro (and an exceptionally neat and well-maintained KOA campground) behind on Tuesday, we ventured into New Hampshire - heading toward New London. Unlike the previous day, we were able to travel entirely on expressway roads. Although we both prefer the 'blue highways' (the smaller roads on any US map) - with the Bounder, the four, six and even eight lane interstate highways are definitely the better choice. Even with greater traffic, it's easier to drive the straighter, less hilly and multi-lane roads, where we can stay in the right lane and don't have to worry about slowing down the impatient drivers, who often will risk life and limb attempting to pass our nearly seventy foot long caravan of motorhome and dolly-loaded car.
Like Vermont, New Hampshire is an assortment of green wooded land and hills; all beautifully uncrowded with vestiges of civilization. We were impressed to notice that neither state allows billboards alongside the highways. We have generally been surprised to see that in Maryland, Vermont and also New Hampshire (even thought they are among the earliest parts of our country to be settled by colonists) there seems to be little crowding, and a greater respect for open space then in some of the other states. Cities, in general, seem to be a more manageable size, and the smaller towns have mostly managed to maintain the quaint charm that is equated with New England. Even New York, where other than the large eastern commercial city of New York and the 'rust-belt' industrial cities (now longer so industrial) of the western part of the state, still has a huge center-of-the-state that is dotted with smaller towns.
(OK. Enough philosophizing. Now back to our visit with old friends in New Hampshire)
We were greeted (in a drizzling rain) by our friend Janet as she stood waving at the entrance to her driveway in New London, NH. It's been years since we've seen her and her daughter Lora, and we were delighted to be able to schedule this short visit as part of the Bounder Across America tour.
Janet's family is from the U.S., but after marrying a Brit, she moved to England more than twenty years ago. We met her when we were living in the London area, and have maintained the friendship over the years. Each year, with her daughter Lora, she is able to return to New London for a month or two, and they both continue to be active members of this small and quaint New England village.
Tuesday evening we enjoyed a great meal together (at a pub-like tavern) with Janet, Lora and Lora's friend Lindsey. New London is noted for it's summer-stock theatre, The Barn, and Lora and Lindsey were both excitedly preparing for auditions for a show to come later in the season. (Last year Lora won the role of Dorothy in The Barn's children's theatre production of 'The Wizard of Oz'.)
Wednesday Glen spent mostly under the Bounder. Unfortunately, when backing the motorhome up into the drive at the more than 200 year old homestead (Janet's family home was built in 1796), Glen failed to account for the way the Bounder would react to the combination of a high crown in the road and the steep hill on which the drive is located. The Bounder, with a very long tail behind the rear wheels, dug into the hill like a shovel, and managed to remove the exhaust from the far-back located generator. Although no visible external damage was done, parts of the generator exhaust were left at the bottom of the drive. There was enough left so that Glen was able to piece together the remains to jury-rig something that (in his opinion) is probably a better fit than the original!! Perhaps it is only his vivid imagination, but Glen believes the motorhome now vibrates less when the generator is running than it did previously.
Wednesday evening, after Janet amazed us with a fantastic home-cooked Chinese dinner, we were all able to attend The Barn's current production - 'Godspell'. What fun! And what nostalgia. Glen and Donna were introduced to this show more than twenty years ago when Lisa, our daughter, appeared in a youth group production. Although the show at The Barn was wonderful, Donna and Glen have such fond memories of the earlier production that they couldn't help but think of the two productions as comparable.
(Just a bit of a side-note here about Janet and her family. Her parents and grandparents were remarkably colorful folks, and Donna and Glen enjoyed learning more about them on this visit. Janet's mom and dad were newly married and living in Hong Kong when World War Two broke out. Both were interned - mom for less than a year, but dad until the war was over. After the war they went on to live an amazing life, highlighted with a number of round-the-world cruises that have left their mark in the New Hampshire house - with numerous pieces of art and artifact still remaining. They, as well as Janet's grandparents, left multiple diaries of their interesting lives; and Donna and Glen were given a pair of CDs containing copies of these transcribed volumes. We are anxious to spend some time, after the Bounder Across America tour slows town, and read more about these interesting people.)
Thursday morning Janet was again at the end of the drive, waving 'good-bye', and watching to be sure that we didn't leave any more parts of the motorhome behind - on the ground.
We then made what will probably be the longest single-day drive of our journey. About 350 miles across up-state New York. For anyone who thinks of 'New York' as only the city, the rest of the state is a revelation. Much of our drive was through the Mohawk river valley - beautiful and scenic. In the evening we stopped at a Wal-Mart in Auburn, NY for another night of boondocking.
Friday morning we made a leisurely start, as we had not too many miles to cover. By early afternoon we were comfortably hooked up at our Niagara Falls campground, and devoted the rest of the day to catching up on basic housekeeping tasks, such as doing the laundry and making small repairs (window shades, loose moldings, etc.)
Now, after a good night's sleep, we're ready to venture out (in light rain) to see the falls for the first time this trip. More on that in the next blog posting, but for now, why don't you click on the following link and view Donna's Picasa photo album covering our drives through Vermont, New Hampshire and New York, as well as our stay in New London.
Friday morning we made a leisurely start, as we had not too many miles to cover. By early afternoon we were comfortably hooked up at our Niagara Falls campground, and devoted the rest of the day to catching up on basic housekeeping tasks, such as doing the laundry and making small repairs (window shades, loose moldings, etc.)
Now, after a good night's sleep, we're ready to venture out (in light rain) to see the falls for the first time this trip. More on that in the next blog posting, but for now, why don't you click on the following link and view Donna's Picasa photo album covering our drives through Vermont, New Hampshire and New York, as well as our stay in New London.
When you stop here, leave us a comment so we know you've been here.
Donna & Glen
