I was excited to get to Indiana for several reasons.   1. It’s the RV capital of the country, with plants of almost every major RV manufacturer in the US.   Who wouldn’t want to come here?   2.   I like being in the first group of Care-A-Vanners to visit an affiliate, and 3. I would be meeting up with several different groups of friends. When I was in Ohio, I was trying to get together with some past Habitat friends, as well as some friends from Michigan from my military days.   Most didn’t work out for various reasons, but I was really happy that my good friend Jeannie and her husband Jeff could come for the last weekend.   She was one of my best friends while in Alpena, and I hadn’t met her husband yet, so I was really looking forward to her visit. She had to work on Friday, so they didn’t get in till late.   I was having a hard time staying awake, so I was relieved when they finally got there.   After helping guide them into the site, no...

My next stop was Ohio, but I wanted to stop by Letchworth State Park in New York, which was advertised as some of the most magnificent scenery in the United States.   It comprises 14,350 acres along the Genesee River. Within the park, the river roars over three major waterfalls, one of which is 107 feet high. The cliffs, created by the river's path over thousands of years, approach 600 feet. I had heard this was the Grand Canyon of the East.   While it was a great park, I don’t know about Grand Canyon…   I arrived too late in the day on Sunday to really do any exploring.   Monday morning I got up early, excited to do some hiking.   But alas, it was cold and drizzling.   I waited a few hours, but it just got worse, so I thought what the heck, I’m headed out.   I decided to drive as much as possible and not hike the whole thing.   The park was really beautiful and low and behold the rain stopped as I reached the first waterfall.   I was ...

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. ...

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 t...

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 l...

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 reservati...

When I arrived at the campground in Eliot Maine, I was a little concerned.   I had to drive down a narrow, curvy dirt road into the woods.   There were signs pointing me in this direction and the camp host assured me they had sites I could fit into, so it had to be OK, right?   I finally arrived in a clearing, sort of.   I stopped at the sign that said no RV’s over 30ft past this sign.   When she showed me the site she originally had me in, I thought not even within the realm of possibility!   It was much too narrow; I have slide outs on both sides and I’m almost 15 foot wide.   She did have another site available which was much bigger.   There were 3 young guys standing around and they helped guide me around the trees.   I thought all 3 lived in the RV across the way, but later found out one lived there and one lived in a camp with 3 tents right next to me and the 3 rd lived in the tent next to him.     The campground was ...