November 5, 2004 –

The weather for the next couple of days is predicted to be rain with winds gust up to 100 – 120 km per hour. Took the Suzuki across the tall bridge to Portsmouth – and just about got blown off the road. Decided to stay close to home – do some grocery shopping and local exploring. While we were running around – the wind blew the Port-A-Bote up to the point where it snapped the wiring harness for the lights. It took some looking around to find some of the broken pieces so that they could be spliced in (due to the nearest auto supply store being up the valley about 25 miles).

We spent the afternoon doing homework catch up – and researching where we would be going and staying next. The options of campgrounds that are open at this time of year are very limited – so we may end up in a parking lot – if things do not work out. We will have to see what tomorrow’s weather brings and make a decision from there.

Had some really great halibut from a little fish shop on the highway – and played some cards and listened to the winds blow. It is starting to clear off – and getting cooler out there – so although it may cold enough – hopefully the snow will hold off. If the wind calms down tomorrow we can hopefully head out on the road again.

November 6, 2004 –

Although the snow fell just to the north of us – and the high winds caused numerous power outages – we were fine and awoke to a relatively clear day. We had to negotiate our way around a down tree hanging over the power line on the road out of the campground. We followed the coast through New Hampshire – and were waived over at one point by an older lady in a bikini shirt – for a senior citizen’s yard sale. Although it took us a couple of tries to find a parking spot – we pulled in and she was as pleased as could be – about getting us to come in – and was bragging to our her friends. The kids had a great time poking the things on sale and ended up getting some small Christmas lights and a video – before proceeding down the road.

Pulled into Salem Massachusetts at about 10:30 in the morning – but took us about half an hour to find a place to park. The town has some very narrow and windy streets that make driving the RV through it a real challenge – but were eventually able to locate a spot across from the city common’s park.

First stop was the Salem Witch’s Museum – to get some history on the witch trials from the 1692.   The trials resulted in 22 people being put to death and many more imprisoned and loosing everything as a result of these trials. There were no witches burnt at the stake or water tests used in Salem – however some of their instruments of torture / death were even more cruel. The museum did a good job of presenting the information in a historic context – along with some dramatizations. Afterwards they did comparisons to the McCarthy era – and other phobic reactions.

We walked through some of the other parts of Salem – and into the National Park for some further information on the area. Got direction from the park ranger as to which way we should go to get to Plymouth. The way he recommended was far different than we were considering – as he said the fastest and shortest route was on an interstate straight through the middle of Boston. Although we were still questioning this wisdom – we felt that he would know best of all and so therefore followed this route. – It may indeed be shorter – if it had not been for a 3/4 of an hour of a traffic jam at 2:00 pm on a Saturday afternoon – that lasted over a both a bridge and through the tunnel. (The boys thought that we were going to go through most of Boston without ever touching the real ground). The other complication was that we were running short of gas and there were limited access to the interstate – and we were finally able to chug into a gas station – but not before we got stuck turning around and having to remove the toad to make the corner.

Once we got gas we were back on the road and following it to a KOA campground just outside of Plymouth. Along the way we passed by small acreages with large homes – and old stone fences. There also appeared to be numerous family or long gone community cemeteries visible every so often. The area also had a large cranberry industry – which I guess is only appropriate given that Turkey is so much a part of the commercial side of the “first” Thanksgiving that was supposed to occur nearby. We also passed a wild turkey on the side of the road – so we must be getting close to the place. If I was him I would make myself scarce as he is likely to end up on a platter in a couple of weeks.

November 7, 2004 –

Leaving the RV behind in the campground – we traveled the 20 miles into Plymouth. First stop was the Plimouth Plantation – and historic recreation of the pilgrims’ settlement and the neighbouring native homestead. We were one of the first people in this morning – and although it was very expensive ($72) for the family – it was worth it. The people in period costume – were wonderful – in terms of history and information. The duties that they were doing were realistic – i.e. re-mudding the hearth – collecting manure for the gardens, etc. About half of the pilgrims that landed the first year – made it through the winter – and only because they discovered the food cache in the “abandoned” native village that they had chosen as a village site. They arrived late in the year – and stayed on board the Mayflower while building the common house through the winter. Most of the people were able to get off the ship by early March of the following year.

In 2000 the Plimouth Plantation staff and the local natives did a historical re-enactment of the first “thanksgiving” to try and correct many of the misconceptions and myths around Thanksgiving. Most of these myths had to do with educational and marketing strategies that tried to present the virtues of the pilgrims as something that all people should strive for. These were often taught in school and used to show other “immigrants” as to the values of the new country. The truth had more to do with the local natives showing up in force to the settlement – and there being a meeting between the new governor and the native leader over a three day period. During that time there were some sharing of foods – as was part of the native tradition – and some games – but not a large feast – and not with all the people sitting down together. The current thought is that there would be some limited interaction – but the natives and pilgrims were more likely to keep to themselves. There was some indication that there may have been some interaction around sporting games – but again this would be limited. The term thanksgiving – was coined as a footnote in one of the letter sent back by Winslow – but there were only a couple sentences that referred to the meeting.

Plymouth has now become the centre of two major events on Thanksgiving. The first is the Pilgrims Progress (which started in about 1921 for the 300th anniversary of the landing) and is a re-enactment of the pilgrims procession of walking to the church. The second is a national day of mourning (started in 1970 by aboriginal leaders) to bring awareness to the plight of first nations people – and to change the perception of how the native people were treated in the “Thanksgiving” story.

After completing our tour of the plantation – it was on to downtown Plymouth to see the Mayflower II and Plymouth Rock. It was a warm afternoon and the area was busy with cars and motorcycles traveling up and down the small town that had many shops and antique stores. Finally found a parking spot – while Deb read some background information on the Plymouth Rock. The rock at one time cracked – and the upper half of the rock split off. It was moved to a variety of locations – and housed and carried for in by different historical societies before being given back to the State. The rock was then re-joined with the bottom half which was still at the waterfront – the 1620 date etched into it and a big portico cover build over it. Well … when we appeared at the “rock” it was a big disappointment. It was only about 6 feet long – did not appear to be anything special – and like all symbolic things – has developed an aura that it is supposed to be lucky if you throw money at it. We had to walk away – as we found all this reverence to a piece of ordinary rock very comical – where others didn’t.

We headed onto the Mayflower II – which is a reproduction of the original Mayflower – built in England and recreated the original journey from Plymouth England to Plymouth Mass. The ship is far smaller than you would expect – and it would have been very uncomfortable for the 102 pilgrims – and 15 crew members to travel for 2 1/2 months in. It is little wonder that sickness spread easily. The other thing that was remarkable it that it was considered a big merchant ship for it’s time and many of the ships that would have been used to colonize the Virginias were smaller by at least a third.

We finished off our day by taking a quick drive down to Cape Cod. Although we did not get the opportunity to run all the way down (due to darkness) – we figured that it would take you at least a week and a half to go into every antique store, art gallery, restaurant, and gift shop along the way. Almost every house along the roadway is a shop of one type or another. I think that the boy’s Aunt Joan would have been in her glory here – and it took a lot of restraint on Pat’s part not to buy much when we did stop. Mickey and Keelan say Uncle Ross is sure lucky it’s too far to mail tacky gifts… Off the main traffic roads – are some wonderfully big homes – complete with wonderful ocean views, large private gardens – and big privacy fences and security gates. Really a different world…
November 8, 2004 –

Today was a travel day – however we were not exactly sure of where we going to go. We had met a couple traveling from Alaska (Tam and Hans) who were also home schooling their kids. They identified a campground in New Jersey – right at the ferry landing – going to Staten Island. It is supposed to be a concrete lot at $60 per night – however the advantage is that they are close to everything that you may want to see in New York City. We, on the other hand, were looking at a little campground just a few miles away from the Catskill Mountains – and although it will probably be a bit colder – it would have the advantage in regard to being less hectic.

After heading out and doing a number of interstates and driving through Providence, Rhode Island … we came to the conclusion that what we really wanted was some time to relax – therefore the Catskills won out. Maybe we just aren’t cut out for all of this urban metropolis stuff – and would rather have somewhat of a quieter pace. We will therefore be by-passing New York and spending more time in Washington DC.

Traveled through Massachusetts, Rhode Island, skirted north of Hartford Connecticut – and into New York state. The campground is one of the RPI chain and as a member – we get in at the reduced rate. It is located in Accord, New York and is called the Rondout Valley Resort. We have booked in for two nights at this point – with full cable hook-up for a grand total of $20. The campground is for the most part empty – and the kids had fun riding their bikes around the park. The only down side is that the weather has taken a turn for the worst – and there is a big cold front coming in – and we should be well below freezing tonight. We even encountered a few snow flakes on the way up to the Catskills. Although we have clothes for this weather – we still do not want to see it come. Oh well – if we are going to be snow bound for a while – I can think of worst places to be – we just may have to spend a couple of extra days.

November 9, 2004 –

We took a short trip this morning into the Catskill Mountains and resort area. Many of the areas seem to have taken a real turn for the worse – and are not the big resort and get away destination for NYC that they used to be. A number of the big resorts and camps in the area are closed and look like they have been for some time.

There does however seem to be resurgence in retirement communities – and health related clinics, – which offer specialized medical diagnostic services – and treatments – which are well advertised. Also some mid level manufacturing companies (pharmaceuticals, insurance, furniture manufactures, etc) – have started to move into the area to take advantage of reduced property costs (compared to NYC) and the more rural lifestyle. There is also a large children’s development centre – with full range schools for both gifted as well as special needs students. Even seemed to be some interesting employment opportunities should we have wanted to pursue it.

There still seem to be some grand old homes available here – that would need a bit of work to restore to their previous glory – however may be worth it. The town just down the road (Marbletown) – is the site of an old quarry – and had many large stone houses in it. Some are spectacular – others are empty – and are all over grown.

In the afternoon, Deb and the boys stayed at the RV while Pat went out on a bit of a quest. It may not mean much to many people anymore – but the significance of being within 30 miles of Bethel, New York was too good to pass up. This was the location of the farm that in 1969 was the site of Woodstock Concert. After some looking Pat was able to find the site – and although there are no signs from the road – there was a plaque at the location of the stage. The tall pole that was visible in the famous crowd picture – still remains – and there are some small monuments left by a number of the anniversary / reunion shows. Pat even found a little store that sold a considerable amount of Woodstock memorabilia – and talked to the old “hippie” that ran it – but resisted in buying anything. Finding the location was more than enough – however I am sure that the kids would not have been as thrilled.

November 10, 2004 –

Last night it reached record lows in many of the areas around us – but still not any snow at the campground – but there was snow on the cars coming in from the Catskills.

We decided that we would spend another day in this location – and use it as a work catch-up day. The boys did school work – while Dad did some work on the motor home and toad.

In the afternoon – we went for a bike ride around a trail leaving from the campground. The trail was somewhat tough going in spots – given the 6 inches of leaves on the ground, large hidden boulders – and puddles. Afterwards mom and the boys played mini-golf (a whole 50 cents each) – while dad went into Kingston to pick up some supplies – including two pounds of shrimp.

They are predicting it will be another cool night – but not as bad as last night. The plan is that we will leave early tomorrow – and will travel to Front Royal Virginia – near Washington, DC. This is another RPI resort – and have booked into it for several days in order to allow for more time for sightseeing.

November 11, 2004 –

We were up early today as we needed to put a far number of miles behind us in order to get to Front Royal. Left New York State and traveled through Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia and into Virginia. Being Remembrance (Veterans) Day – many of the small towns we traveled through were getting ready for their local parades. We had originally thought about trying to make Arlington Cemetery for the US Veterans Day memorial – but on further consideration – it was just too far. Therefore we had to settle for a two hour stop over at Hershey Museum and Theme Park in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The kids seemed to like this better and even got to pack their own Hershey kisses and got Photo ID as a plant worker. The down side is that it did not have the great deal on seconds that the Hershey factory did in Smith Falls – therefore we only bought a small amount (prices were no better than they were in most stores).

Into Front Royal – which is just outside of the Shenandoah National Park. We are starting to encounter more campgrounds that are open – so this should make things easier in planning our travels. The campground that we are booked into is down a windy narrow road – but has a great club house complete with big screen TV, hot tub – large lounge area, etc. – all for $8.00 per night.

However – the local legend on how Front Royal got its name did cause us some concern. It seems that in the Colonial days, an oak tree was known as the “royal” tree of England. While a local drill sergeant was trying to teach the local militia, military commands and manoeuvres. Apparently the local boys were raw recruits and were very slow learners. Finally the drill sergeant became so exasperated by the clumsy efforts of the men and their failure to follow his commands – he finally shouted at them to stand in “Front of the Royal Oak”. In the crowd watching was a Mr. Forsythe – a professional soldier – who thought the command was so funny – that he continued to pass on the story. The notoriety stuck and Front Royal was the resulting shortened derivation.

We will see what tomorrow brings…