Pennsylvania to Ohio

Hello everyone?  Or at least to whomever is actually taking the time to read these Blogs of our travels.  Today was a much nicer day to drive.  Less stress is good!  It was sunny with some clouds and thankfully no rain whatsoever.  I hear on the news that south of us, are having torrential rains and flash floods.  We are keeping an eye on the Weather Channel and planning our trip to avoid the rain as much as we can. 

Pennsylvania is a very wide State.  Much wider than north tip of West Virginia, which took us about 45 minutes to cross!  I cannot say enough about how beautiful the north east part of Pennsylvania was with its beautiful Fall colours (yeah by now I sound like a broken record!)  The dark grey highway is like a ribbon winding through the yellows, orange and reds of the trees.  You think that you have seen it all until you go around the next bend in the road!  Every turn is more beautiful than the last.  As we moved west, the colours diminished to the point of very little colour change whatsoever.  The trees appear to be the same type, but I suppose the weather affects the change in the colours.  While "zipping" down the highway today, I took these photos, that still do not do justice to the actual colors, but using your wild imaginations (that I know you have), I am sure that you can "picture" it!

The campsite that we stayed in last night was beautifully quiet, which is what we really wanted after our hectic day.  After setting up our "site" we did our usual "brisk walk" around the campground.  To check things out and to get some exercise.  There were many permanent sites set up for the "season" and some of the owners get quite decorative with their patio ornaments.  We say bears and raccoons hanging from patios or trees.  It is kind of cute, but as it had been raining so heavily, we pretty much had the campground to ourselves, other than the hosts.  The campsites where nestled in the trees, which in the summer would provide shade and protection from the sun.  Unfortunately for this time of year and with all the rain, it was rather damp, but definitely not dreary!  The ground was covered with a layer of leaves that had fallen from the trees.

 

 

Ray and I have specific jobs on this journey.  He does the driving,,,, thank goodness for that!  I originally was going to do some of the driving, but last night I told him that I will not drive.  It is crazy down here!!  My wonderful husband deserves a medal, or at least a cocktail or two at the end of the driving day.

 

My job is that of navigator and concierge.  With the help of our GPS and a good old fashioned map, getting us to where we have planned to go and finding us a place to camp for the night, which is totally different and more difficult than finding a B&B or a hotel room!  Navigation sounds quite simple.  At the start of each day, Ray says what highway he would like to take and to what destination.  I input everything into the GPS.  I travel with the map book, GPS and my camera on my lap.  Sometimes the highway that started out as Hwy 70 turns into Hwy 470 etc,,,, which does not always show on the map, but on the signs on the highway.  This causes me to react sometimes in a somewhat rather "immediate" way.  Today I had put everything into the GPS and I "vaguely knew that we had about 40 miles before the highway made a "veer" to the right.  Soooo I thought that I would have a quick game of solitaire on my iPad.  For some stupid reason I happened to glance up and saw a sign that said what I thought was our turn off, and quickly said we have to turn off here!!! ,,,,,,welllllll,,,,we had been travelling on a toll highway that you pay for when you leave the highway.  Well my ummmm "mix up" caused us to leave the toll highway and pay $8.70 and then we had to get back on the highway.  Sounds like nothing, but what should have cost us $15.75 ended up costing $20.80   So my job is somewhat important as long as I pay attention to the signs and listen to the GPS.  Every time I see a Starbucks, that means a coffee break is in order, no matter where we are!!!  I tell Ray that it is time "he" takes a break.  He does usually agree!

 

I also have a huge book (the size of the old Vancouver phone books for any of you who actually remember those things)  that has campgrounds all across North America, that I am constantly referring to in an attempt to find a camping spot.  I do not even look at this book until around 1:00 when I can foresee how long Ray really wants to drive.  I have decided that we need a new truck, one that has an office in the back seat for me to set up in!

 

Anyway, our trip is really going along great.  I am looking forward to going to the hot air balloon festival in Albuquerque New Mexico which starts next week.  Hopefully I can keep Ray there long enough to see some of it!

 



No matter how our trip goes and no matter what we see or do not see, we are having a blast!  Tonight we are kicking back with our cocktails and me doing my nails!  By the way, we are the only Canadians in this campground tonight!!

Keep following for more adventures, on our not so Bogus Adventure!

Miss everyone!
Lori and Ray

PS:  I burned a banana tonight (don't ask!)