Up and off to the last campground for mam and dad today, this time we headed back into Pennsylvania for their last two nights; we are going to be in the Pocono Mountains for the next few days. The drive was fine, not too long, but things went a bit wrong at the campsite. Mam and dad decided that the last two nights they are going to spend in a rental unit so we got that taken care off when we first arrived; can say I blame them really since it’s supposed to get down to 28 degrees tonight. Then we started to set up the trailer and had a little trouble unhitching the stupid thing as the site we chose was not very even and the trailer ended up rolling off the blocks it was on. I really hate it when that happens. Even though it is usually an easy fix it still freaks me out and Mike and I end up arguing and I usually tell him I want to go back to San Diego – well that’s what happened today anyway. We got it all straight finally, although we can’t open the awning all the way cos I backed him into the space too close to a tree; of course it must be my fault even though he told me he would back himself in without my help! He’s at least happy that there are very few people here and no kids so no trick or treaters – he can be a grump sometimes.
Mam and dads place is nice, and super warm, they should definitely be comfy tonight. In fact they’ll probably be too hot tonight and will want to spend tomorrow night in the tent – I’m going to say no.

Mike: Nothing changes! Man make fire, sit in cave and listen to woman complain!

We did exactly nothing today other than sit around and watch the birds at the feeder – they are very cheeky and super greedy. Mike and dad got take out pizza for lunch and gathered branches to have another fire, and that was about the extent of their efforts. It was a good job we didn’t go too far as mam had a funny head and had to lie down for a while, those are quite scary when they happen.
Mike lit another fire tonight, bigger than last night, and mam and I ate dinner around it. We didn’t stay outside too long, as it was colder than last night.

Mike: Ug! Man make fire and sit around cave!

Everyone woke up happy this morning. We drove to Kingston today intending to take a walk along the Hudson River, but when we got there we couldn’t take Tal-y as no dogs allowed and besides it was bloody freezing. We looked at the river and then went for lunch. We ate at the Mexican place that we walked out off last time we were here, and it wasn’t a much better experience this time as the food wasn’t great and the chick that waited on us seemed to be too self important to be our waitress. At least the food filled the gap. We did some shopping this afternoon, mam bought a bird book to try and identify the birds around the trailer, and we bought some wood so we can have a fire since dad and Mike couldn’t scavenge enough from around the campground this morning.
When we got home Mike got the fire ready; what is it about men and fire?, while I made dinner. Some of us (the ladies) ate dinner around the fire which was actually quite difficult since it was dark and I couldn’t see what was on my plate, while some others chose to eat in the trailer in the light and warm, wusses. It started to rain a little but we toughed it out and just huddled closer to the fire. We even ate marshmallows charred, I mean toasted over the fire, but since I didn’t have any stakes we had to use chopsticks – heck we managed just fine.
The fire was lovely, it nice just to sit and watch it burn, although Tal-y wasn’t too fussy about it. It was lovely and warm, at least until it burned down, and then I could feel the cold more than before – at least I don’t have to sleep in a tent! For the rest of the night we all smelled slightly smoke dried, and it doesn’t seem to be going away.

Mike: Ug! Man make fire!

I don’t think mam and dad are enjoying the tent at the moment since they got up this morning and everything was damp. It did rain yesterday and last night but it has before now. I think the trouble is that it’s a lot warmer here than it was when it rained in Niagara so the condensation builds up inside the tent – that’s my theory anyway. Dad wasn’t too happy when he came in the trailer this morning while he was standing making tea, hopefully it’ll be better here in Accord and we won’t have any more rain while they are here.
Packing up wasn’t the most fun as everything was wet from the rain, the tent, the mat, everything. We got it done though and got on the road. We came into Accord a much different way than the last time we were here and ended up going through some state park that had super steep, super bendy roads; sometimes I think Nell takes the scariest route just to mess with my head!
Anyway we got here and it was nice and sunny and fairly warm so we spread the bedding over the tables, put up the tent and left all the windows open to air it our while we went to have pizza for lunch. When we got back everything was much drier and all aired, which should make tonight much better for them as it’s cooler and we are not expecting rain.
Oh, I found a tick on my leg tonight, and when Mike squished it a whole bunch of my blood came out!

Mike: Its very disconcerting to wake up in the morning, in the dark, with a man standing in the middle of the trailer staring into space!

Since mam and dad are feeling a little homesick we thought we take them to Wales for a visit. Turns out that the Wales here is nothing like my Wales, it was basically just a wide spot in the road, but it made them feel a bit closer to home!
Since we are so close to the Connecticut border we took a drive into that state, turns out it’s pretty much the same as this Massachusetts really. They did have a nice veterans memorial park that we walked the dog in. Mike decided it would be okay to let her off the leash since there was nobody around, and as soon as I did she took off after some distant squirrel. It took a lot of yelling on everyones part but she did eventually come back; I wonder whether she came in response to us calling or simply because she was ready to come back?
We had a nice sit outside the trailer when we got home as there seems to be a warm spell happening, it’s been almost 70 degrees today and yesterday.

Mike: I couldn’t find the Garn!

Needed to find a Bank of America today for mam and dad to get some cash out, and they don’t have to pay fees at B of A.. We looked in Nell and headed to the one she came up with which turned out to be at the toll road services so instead of paying the cash point fee we paid the toll instead, and then dad couldn’t get money out for some reason anyway. Since we were already on the toll road we headed a little further east to a fabric store to try to find something I might like to have a quilt made out off – for when Mike buys me my cute little house in Ecuador. I didn’t find anything I liked in either store we went to, but I’ll keep looking. We drove around Sturbridge and ate good Thai food for lunch and that was about the extent of what we did today – there’s really not too much excitement in this area, unless you count Mike’s drag queen impression that is.

Mike: His debit card was expired and to top that off he forgot his credit card when he left for the US!
He had that all worked out, it reminds me of another Webb!

Today started off okay and then just went dramatically downhill from there. After washing last nights dinner dishes at an outside sink we got packed up and showered and ready to take off. Then Mike and I had a huge fight, and I mean huge, about which route we were going to take today. I wanted to head straight to Sturbridge and to get there in about 3 hours, while he wanted to detour though Vermont and get there in about 4 ¼ hours. We ended up going straight there but Mike barely spoke the whole time, and in hindsight an extra hour or so in the car would probably have been better than fighting about something so dumb, especially in front of my parents. Definitely not one of our finer moments!
We got to Sturbridge and got set up and then put up the tent only to have to do it again as the frame was all twisted and so the outer shell wouldn’t fit properly. Then, to top it all off, Mike broke off one of his front teeth – it looks like we’ll be heading to Ecuador sooner than planned to visit the dentist.
Basically a crappy day all round, tomorrow has to be better.

Mike: Ah! Peace and quiet!

We moved again today and got up extra early as we had a long, long drive today. The drive time was over 5 hours and it takes longer with the stops along the way but Mike couldn’t find anything that was midway between Niagara and Sturbridge which is where we are heading, as most campgrounds have closed for the winter. The drive was ok although I’m glad we don’t have to do that very often, and we got to Autumn Moon campground late this afternoon. Even though we are only staying here tonight we decided to put the tent up as I think mam spent the whole night last time they stayed in the trailer hanging on the end of the bed trying not to fall on the floor. We really are roughing it tonight as we don’t have any water. The staff at the site turned it off last week to prevent the pipes breaking due to the cold weather, so tonight we have to manage with just the water in the tank. At least they have nice clean warm bathrooms and since there’s only one other trailer here we won’t have to fight to get in them. The manager here has a huge malamute, maybe he’ll lend him to us and he can keep them warm in the tent tonight.

Mike: No problem! Its called camping!

We headed into Lockport this morning but stopped at Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. It wasn’t the greatest we’ve ever eaten and Mike got into it with the woman who was serving us, she had so much attitude cos we didn’t really understand the menu. After Mike told her that he didn’t appreciate her attitude she was all nice and smiley but it’s a bit late by that point really – bloody New Yorker!
There wasn’t a whole lot going on in Lockport but we did get to check out locks 34 and 35, which are the ones that lift and lower the boats up the 50 feet difference in the Erie Canal. Afterwards we did a little food shopping since with two more people and the cold weather we are eating a lot more food than usual.
Later this evening we headed back to Niagara Falls State Park to check out the falls at dusk from the American side. It was a lovely sight as the sun was setting and the sky was all pink and purple. Mam, dad, and Mike all got to go out onto the observation deck and view the falls while I stayed in the park with Tal-y and chased the thousands of squirrels that were scurrying around there.
We got a little lost on the way back as it gets super dark once the sun goes down as there are no street lights, but we finally made it home for the night.

Mike: Piece of cake. The only one lost was my navigator!

Well they seem to have done ok last night and came in quite happy this morning. The tent stood up to the wind and didn’t leak other than a few drops on the floor, which was probably off their shoes. After having breakfast and walking Tal-y we set off for Niagara Falls, the Canadian side. The rain had stopped by the time we got up this morning and the day was nice and clear if still a bit windy. We drove toward Niagara State Park on the American side and then crossed over the Rainbow Bridge to get into Canada. The customs lines were really short and it took us no time at all to get there; there is something to be said for visiting at this time of the year, particularly when the weather cooperates. The trip across the bridge was definitely worth it as the view of the falls from the Canadian side is so much more spectacular than from the American side since the Canadians have a complete face on view of the Horseshoe, American, and Bridal Falls – they are absolutely beautiful.
We parked the car and walked down towards the falls; it took us a little while to find somewhere to get tickets as a lot of the tourist centers had already closed for the winter. We got the package ticket and the first thing we did was The Journey Behind the Falls. For this we took an elevator down 100ft or so and then walked through a tunnel that had been made behind the Horseshoe Falls. It was amazing to see the force of the water up close but it wasn’t quite what I had imagined and it was not as up close and personal an experience as I was expecting. Still cool though and we got to see the Horseshoe Falls power from only a few feet away. The sheer volume of water going over the falls, and the power with which it does is absolutely amazing; the force of nature is awesome.
Afterwards we went to watch the 4D movie called Niagara’s Fury. It started off pretty lamely with some cartoon info about how the falls were formed (it didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me to be honest), then we all went into another theatre area and the 4D part happened. It was understandable why they gave us ponchos to watch the movie cos we all got quite soaked. It was cool though and really well done – much better than the movie we got to watch on the American side.
Since Mike had rerouted our trip the Maid of the Mist boats were still running today so mam and dad got to experience that, and I’m glad they did cos that’s definitely the best way to experience the falls. We all got into our lovely blue ponchos and headed for the boats. We didn’t have to wait hardly anytime and the boat rise into the falls was just as amazing an experience the second time as it was the first time, and this time we were right at the front of the boat. The view was fantastic, and we got to see the falls a lot clearer this time even when we were right up against them since there was a lot less spray in the air; maybe because it was a lot colder than when we were here in early September.
After having lunch at some jungle café that had moving elephants and other animals (weird) we took the shuttle a few miles to check out the white water walk. It had started raining by the time we got there and we got a little wet but no big deal. Mam and dad stayed in the covered part and Mike and I walked the boardwalk to check out the rapids. They are super scary, I can’t understand why anyone would want to ride them. In fact people have to get special permission to ride these rapids from both the Americans and Canadians as they are a category 6 and way too dangerous for almost everyone to attempt riding.
After all this we headed back to the trailer. It was an excellent day and I think mam and dad enjoyed the whole experience like I did.

Mike: Magnificent, The Canadian side is much better and not so trashy!