My friend Gretchen and I signed up for this Habitat build a few months ago.   We were both listed as team leaders, but Gretchen had never lead before.   She’s done many global village builds, mostly in Africa. We agreed that she would be the actual team leader and I would be there to offer assistance if needed.   I planned on enjoying this build as just another builder.   Our home for the two weeks would be a campground for the Seventh Day Adventist.   It was a really nice open field with electricity and water.   I think I got a bad electric pole because the power kept going out for the 30amp plug.   I finally just plugged into the 20 amp hookup and did just fine. I arrived a few days early because the campground in Connecticut was booked for the holiday weekend.   By Sunday the rest of the team arrived and I could tell right   away we had a good crew.   John and Teresa were from Kentucky and had been to the build in West Liberty.   They got there about 2 weeks after I left in the sp

I spent a week in East Hampton Connecticut and counted Rhode Island on my map of places I’ve been since it was such a small state and so close.   It didn’t make sense to switch campgrounds.   For such small states, both sure had lots of green space.   I found a great hiking trail very near the campground and decided to take little Beefcake along for the ride.   I have a pouch that hangs in front of me so he can see where he’s going.   I can’t believe how much he loves riding in it.   I thought he settled down and just went to sleep, but people tell me his eyes are wide open and he’s looking around.   There was supposed to be a waterfall that according to the guide was worth leaving the trail for.   Well, I left the trail and crossed several streams before the trail disappeared with no waterfall to be found.   I did see a really cool owl though.   It was sitting in a tree right by the trail and was pretty tolerant of me standing there taking pictures of it. I took a little day tr

It was a long 9 hour drive from Toms River to Shelburne NH.   Last year I bounced all over the country, but this year I’ve been trying to stay in one general area (the North East) and make shorter trips.   So far I’ve done pretty well, but this was a long, uneventful day.   The trip is broken up by the all too frequent fuel stops.   Now that my truck is broken in, my gas mileage has gone from about 9 MPG to almost 12 MPG when pulling.   The biggest jump is of course when I’m not pulling.   That went from 10 to almost 19 on a really good day. Now that makes me very happy!!   The diesel prices up here are all over the place.   In NH, they must have lower gas taxes because it’s pretty cheap at 3.75ish.   Most other places have been closer to 4.25 and I’ve even paid more.   I find that when I’m driving down the highway, I like to fill up when my truck gets to ½ a tank.   Notice I said ‘like to’ not ‘I do’.   Sometimes I don’t like the prices, or to be honest, I just don’t feel like sto

It was good to be back in Toms River for 2 more weeks of Sandy repair work for Habitat.   It was a nice feeling to be greeted by my old neighbors and the staff as I pulled into the campground.   I was lucky that 2 of the couples on my team had been there previously, so everyone was familiar with the set up.   The 3 rd couple was new to Habitat and couldn’t come till the 2 nd week.   They were a bit younger than the average Care-A-Vanner and were still working for a living.   They brought along their 2 teenage boys.   The affiliate wasn’t quite as organized as the first time. The Executive Director was out of town and the volunteer coordinator was back home tying up loose ends.   During our first trip, Daryl was a Habitat disaster corp volunteer sent to help out for a month.   He did such a great job he was offered a full time position.   The first problem was the campground not knowing we were coming when I called to confirm our reservation.   This didn’t surprise me, since the sam