Back up our 30 foot, 15,000 pounds home into the proper spot.
Set the emergency brake.
Make sure the area is clear for the slide out.
Plug in the shore line to juice up the electric.
Attach the water connection.
Pull out the awning / porch cover.
Unlock and pull off the bicycles.
Put the table cloth on the picnic table.
Find some flowers for the table and set with the fine china…or plastic plates from Tesco.
After Cooperstown we were up at Niagara Falls. Hmmm. After all was said and done – this committee says: Yes! Keep Niagara it on the list of places to go. Just don’t stay at Jellystone RV Park…way too depressing. Why I thought I should trust Yogi Bear – an animated character known for stealing picnic baskets in the 1960’s – over a state park is beyond me
And if you want to go to Niagara, start saving your money now because folks…Niagara Falls is a Disneyland Attraction. But some things you just have to do. I mean, Maid of the Mist. Say no more. Once you see the falls you want to go near them, in them, under them and the boat ride is the closest you can do it without risking your life. Why people want to keep throwing themselves down the falls in boats and barrels I don’t understand – The Maid was enough for me. They do throw in plastic recyclable rain coats with your 14.95 ticket price – which we are now saving to make a re-appearance for Halloween.
But then there was Niagara’s Fury. So get this…we had just been on Maid of the Mist. We had just walked along and then rode a boat through the real Niagara Falls. So why did we then need to pay an additional 14 bucks to go inside and watch a “4D movie “ about what was outside and we had just been in? Humans. I just don’t get us.
Side note: We were in Niagara, Ontario, Canada. We had read the views were better and the schlock not as great. Let me tell you, schlock is alive and well in Ontario. Good news: our kids never asked for anything in the gift shops. This budget thing is working. They know how much we have to spend a day and putting Josh in charge of keeping us to the daily budget was brilliant! Bad News: I have to keep to it as well. No pedicures for me ladies and gentlemen and looks like I am going natural on the hair colour as well. Those pretend natural highlights are no longer pretend, nor particularly highlightable either I might add.
And then we drove to our friend’s house outside Pittsburgh. Wow. An oasis of calm and beauty. I have known Patty for the past 4 years or so and really got to know her when we shared a room in Paris for a couple of nights. Nothing like talking in the dark before you fall asleep and going through nighttime ablutions to bond with another person.
She and her husband and 4 kids moved back to the US about 8 months ago and it was so great to spend time with friends who have been through the same issues around re-entry to the US, coming to grips with the fact we aren’t Faux Europeans anymore and all the rest. Plus, they are so fun and welcoming and gracious and engaging and have a beautiful guest room, bountiful organic garden and washer and dryer and they SHARE! Our kids basically ran out of the RV and disappeared for the next 36 hours.
Patty and I talked about writing. And the importance of when you are a writer, you need to write. Goal: 1000 words a day. This is word 654.
And now we are in Ohio. We were hoping for Indiana but got sucked into Target, the grocery store and then sidelined by an hour of road works outside of Wheeling, West Virginia. Ohio looks good. Hoping all 4 of us will do a bike ride down along the lake today. The weather is holding. Kids are still happy doing chores. Looking forward to fresh tomatos from Patty and Harris’s garden for lunch.
Tomorrow: St. Louis
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