Well we got back to the apartment in Rochester in plenty of time to go to an annual meeting, attend a funeral, have a dinner and a coffee and oh yes start the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival on Friday. We were just south of Burlington VT for the duration of their jazz festival, but the presence of family and pre wedding events precluded our even getting to hear a snippet on the street.

The ride home through the Adirondacks on route 8 was beautiful and, for the most part uneventful. GWhiz did try to show us a new kind of issue, but master RV tech Paul solved the problem in no time. We stopped for lunch in a roadside pullout we have used before just outside Speculator (that is indeed a town in NY). I went to use the facilities and the water pump would not activate. Since this is relay operated and can be activated from 4 different switches I assumed Carol had managed to try to activate it from the kitchen switch at the exact moment I had tried. Wrong. She was indeed trying and continued to try as I came to to see what was up. First thought “oh darn, (or something like that) we must have blown a fuse, it was working 30 minutes ago.” Quickly searched the easy to reach fuse blocks and found no pump fuse. We were well off the road so I pulled out the driver side bedroom slide to get to the fuse block with most of the house fuses. There I found the pump fuse. No matter how I tested it, it was good. Darn! Time to actually look at the pump, which meant going out in the subsiding drizzle. It was not on fire or anything so I knelt down with my trusty Volt/Ohm meter in hand remembering how little I actually know about that stuff. I uncapped the hot wire connection and determined that there was 12.7 volts DC from the connection to chassis ground. I followed some wires from the front of the pump to the back where the relay that operated it seemed to be. As I traced the wires one of them came loose in my hand. Ah Ha! found where it went, plugged it back in and tried the pump switch. It lit up and the pump pressurized the line. We were back in business. I think writing about it took longer than doing it. The roads in New York are dreadful. I 88 may be the worst highway I have driven outside of the New York City area (we took that on the way too Vermont). The mountain roads were pretty bad too. I sure hope that is all that has shaken loose.

The coach is in storage. I will go out and pet it once a week and start the generator once a month. There is other cleaning and work to be done once we settle into a routine. The apartment is all back together with the pictures back up on their hooks and the clutter of life covering many surfaces. We are looking forward to an active summer which I will document here as we go along.

It was yesterday, after the Chocolate Factory and Shelburne Farms where some of us milked a cow and others sampled cheese and someone picked p and petted chickens, and goats and lambs, and after we went to the party house by the lake and some got wet and some had a bit too much to drink and others of us had wonderful Halibut and King Crab Legs brought from Alaska by the bride’s father and so it went through seven days of preparation (well 6 1/2 days).

The rains ceased, the grounds dried out and the temperature settled into the 70’s and the entire party gathered, finally in Bostwick Garden in Shelburne Museum to witness the marriage ceremony between Daisy and Steven, or was that Sam? yes the groom’s father, who was officiating, did manage to name his youngest son instead of his eldest son as the groom, oops! He corrected himself immediately to the laughter of some and the consternation of others. I would regale you with pictures, but we will wait for the “official” pictures to follow soon. Besides Google has changed the way it handles pictures and my phone pictures are not transferring yet, in a way I can see. Oh look here are the Bride and Groom! (and someone’s leg).

There were a myriad of little girls in beautiful dresses with flowers trapped between two layers of fabric and many little boys – and some not so little boys who played around the garden or stood and watched in wonderment.

After the ceremony, as the bridal party and family paused for pictures we were free to wander the grounds some more until the steam whistle on the Ticonderoga blew, closing the museum and opening the decks of the beached stern wheeler for the wedding reception. We wandered through the collection of Modern Art while waiting and once again we were impressed with what the Shelburne Museum has to offer beyond the wonderful historical museum of farm equipment in the Round Barn and Circus equipment in the Circus Barn and so much more. All of the this is within a short walk of Shelburne Village so our observant son and grandson were able to walk to the festivities even though it was Shabbat.

The party was grand, the food was excellent and the entire staff of the museum seemed to be determined to do everything within their power to make things run smoothly. Whenever my aunt and uncle – he celebrated his 90th birthday two weeks before – wanted to change venue there was a staff driven golf cart waiting to provide transportation and the rest of us were treated like royalty as well. Kudos to Shelburne Museum. Take this as a an shameless unsolicited plug, don’t miss this museum if you are anywhere in the northeast. For Rvers, Shelburne Camping Area is very well situated. It is an old campground and the spaces are well sized. It offers little other than full hookups in a great location, and some mud if should happen to rain for 40 days and 40 nights. Not far away is Heart of the Village B&B which our eldest found to be fine and very well located.

Our boys gathered on the motorhome after the grounds closed at 10 pm to partake in some Lagavulin which was found hiding there. Then all retired to be ready for post wedding brunch at my sister’s house, yum! They have now all scattered to their intended destinations and Carol and I are alone for the moment. This won’t last long! We are heading into Rochester in the morning, intending to arrive late afternoon. We have already planned a whirlwind of activity with Jazz Fest starting on Friday Night.

Watch for my posts from Xerox Rochester International Jazz Fest starting on Friday June 19.

Whew! we kept on the move from Winchester, Candy Hill RV to Yogi Shangri-la on the Creek in Milton PA where Dan, Malena and the Alex and Corey joined us. They were pulling their new trailer for their first extended camping trip. We established a 9 AM departure for Sunday morning and actually were on the road at 9:15. The day was very long as we were going through to Shelburne Vermont, 430 miles. We expected to drive for about 8 hours and the total time on the road was about 10 hours including fuel and food stops. Long hauling for us. The boys rode with us after I dug out seat belts for the couches. this gave them room to move about and not be on top of each other. they read, talked and played games and even slept part of the way. It is was a delight for us to have them with us and Dan and Malena had plenty of time together without them, something as we remember, is not always easy to get.

We are set up in Shelburne Camping on route 7 in Shelburne on adjacent sites. With six of us we are moving around in two vehicles. We visited my sister and brother-in-law first thing and had a lovely dinner at their home on Tuesday night. Yechiel will be arriving from the west coast Thursday afternoon with Avi.

On Tuesday we went to Lake Champlain Chocolate for a tour and tasting along with the Bride and Groom and a couple from New Zealand, Kate and EJ. We were doubtful about a chocolate factory tour, but found it very interesting and the tasting certainly enhanced the experience. Naturally we bought some 🙂 Lunch next door was also fun and the hot chocolate drink was a fine enhancement for our lunch. Others enjoyed the chocolate maple porter. The list of events leading up to the wedding on Saturday are extensive and I will not reproduce the entire list here. Suffice it to say we will be dining “pot luck” with the growing wedding party for the next two nights and then a big bash on Friday night followed by the BIG BASH on Saturday with the the reception being held “on board” the Ticonderoga paddle wheel beached in Shelburne Museum.

I ought to mention, it has been raining since we arrived. Mild and gentle rains and torrential downpours and everything in between. I have felt like I was growing webs between my toes. As I am writing the sun is shining and there is a promise of decent weather for the day, if the forecasters are to be believed.

In the midst of the revelry we had a phone call that a dear friend, Donna Rosenthal, had died. this has put a bit of a damper on things for Carol who grew up in the same block with Donna and for me as I have known her almost as long. We visited her in Brooklyn just last Fall and Carol has exchanged email recently.

We all know what happens when we wash the car, it rains. Washing the motorhome has similar, but far more drastic results. Not only did it rain, it poured and the wind howled and we pulled in the slides to reduce our exposure to the wind. Haven’t done that before. Somehow the next morning the coach still was no where near as dirty as before I cleaned it. Of course 500 miles later in continuous drizzle the coach is pretty dirty, groan!

So what have we done in this time. Carol and I sat in class with Mike Cody of Freightliner customer Support for two solid days from 8 AM until 4:40 or 5:30 PM. We learned how to use the transmission and engine brake far more efficiently. We learned the service interval for every item that Freightliner supplied on the chassis, this is a very long list. We learned how the air system works and the exhaust system too, with the DEF and particulate filter system. I think I even understand how the exhaust from these modern diesel engines is cleaner than the air they take in. Ultimately it is water and nitrogen. They have arranged the service intervals so that an annual service can cover all the needs whether they are on a one year cycle or a five year cycle or some other annual cycle. I think the only thing that needs to be considered on a 6 month cycle is the coolant and I can check that with a dip stick and a color chart.

The morning following class Carol and I woke up in the Freightliner RV parking area where our coach had been parked after service. We gradually prepared to get underway with a plan that was subject to change. We thought we would drive the Blue Ridge Parkway as far Charlottesville and then decide what to do. As we climbed p to the Parkway at Blowing Rock we found ourselves climbing into fog. The Parkway was shrouded in fog and at times it was so dense Carol, who was at the wheel, could not see the passenger side mirror. This was becoming a tiring challenge and there was no purpose as there was no visibility. Eventually we dropped down into the Shenandoah Valley where the air was clearer and the rain was light. We found our way to Galax  and not wanting to spend our night in a very busy and noisy WalMart lot we found a campground, Lakeside RV, just outside town that had plenty of nice pull through spots and not much business midweek in early June. It turns out they belong to the same group as Yogi Shangri la on the Creek, in Milton PA, where we will be tomorrow night. They are both great for families with children, not so much for us when it is just us, the amenities do not meet our needs.

We had planned to meet David and Terry someplace as we passed near Leesburg. So we stopped at Candy Hill RV in Winchester VA only an hour from them. David suggested we try to find a restaurant in Winchester so using TripAdvisor I found One Block West just a couple of miles from the RV park. This lovely restaurant uses local fresh produce and meats to produce a lovely varied menu that changes with what they can find in the markets from day to day. We arrived at 7 and eventually decided to let the staff go home at 10. We enjoyed the food the setting and catching up with each other after not having been together for more than 6 months.

By the time you read this we will most likely be getting on the road to Milton PA where we will stay 2 nights. Dan and family will join us there on Saturday night for the longish drive to Shelburne VT.