Picking up where we left off in our last post, we left Kingston New York and made our way towards Pennsylvania. We followed
US Route 209 the entire way to East Stroudsburg PA. We traversed through numerous small towns, over several hills, past picturesque farms, and even the Delaware Water Gap National Preserve. After about 4 to 5 hours of traveling, we saw a sign for a KOA campground. We pulled a u-turn in a decent sized gravel
parking lot and ended up talking to a fine local businessman named Ron who had a combination hot dog stand / tourist information booth. We ended up ordering one of his famous hot dogs and chatted with him for almost an hour. It was getting to mid afternoon, so we said our goodbyes to Ron and went to register at the campground. Turns out that KOA was on Sleepy Hollow Lane - what better place to spend a night just before
Halloween? Our plan was to camp for free at a Wal-Mart. However, we felt led that night as well as the next morning to stay at this particular site, which was the Delaware Water Gap / Poconos Mountain campground. Donna and J (that's his real name) were the managing couple there. They checked us in, answered our questions, and supplied even more information about a new way of life for us. What started as a simple conversation about what type of journey we were on, led to all kinds of open doors that we hadn't seen or even considered going through. The conversation was helped along by some of the looks we got upon arrival. It was 37 degrees when we departed Kingston NY - by the time we arrived at the campground, the sun started coming out and was warming things up nicely. Dave was still in his warm leather coat. Jill was dressed in her winter coat, hat, gloves and boots! Donna and J probably thought we were from Florida and horribly lost!
We settled into our campsite and hooked up our electric. We were psyched that everything still worked - from the lights,
to the fridge, and all the outlets. The last time all this was checked was when we purchased the Nomad almost two months earlier. We enjoyed a hot meal on our picnic table and even played a round of mini-golf in our t-shirts! By now, the temperature had risen 10 degrees in 30 minutes and was now 62 degrees! By the way, the golf game was a tie: 27 to 27.We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast the next morning along with a hot shower. It also gave us a chance to do some laundry and get caught up on several other things. For the first time since we left Maine, the day woke up on the wrong side of the weather map - it was cloudy, fog, and some occasional light showers. We left the campground by 11:30am, said goodbye to the staff at the campground (thanks guys, you were great!) and headed southwest once again down Route 209. Our Nomad RV showed a great deal of spirit today
We finally stopped at a Dunkin' Doughnuts in Pottsville PA to stretch and to refuel on some much needed coffee. Jill experienced her first French Vanilla coffee. While it was too hot to drink at first, it was enjoyable for another half hour through the rugged terrain.
We finally landed in Elizabethville, PA at another Super Wal-Mart. Amazingly, this town only has a population of 1500, LOTS of corn fields with enormous farms surrounding this shopping complex. Just before entering the parking lot, we crested a hill and there it was - like an oasis in a desert. All these stores were quite literally in the middle of nowhere! We had vistas of hills in peak foliage, barn silos, corn fields, and vegetable stands. We'll be here until Saturday morning as it is supposed to rain quite heavily tonight as well as for at least half the day tomorrow (Friday, Nov 1st). We'll be heading to Dave's sisters (Sandy) place Saturday morning for a weekend visit.
Then it's onward - south and east - and no more hills!!
Until next time,
The Happy Campers,
Jill & Dave
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