Category Archives: Paul Goldberg Blog

On the Road, Paul Goldberg Blog

On the Move

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Our next stop after the winery was 3 nights at Tom Sawyer RV Park on the banks of the Mississippi. They claim that they are so close to the river they are sometimes IN the river. Not so much now. With drought north of Memphis the river is much less mighty than we have seen in the past. This link  will take you to two pictures of the river taken from the same place. The first was taken in May 2022 and the second was taken this month (November 2022). 

Our trip continued on I 30, I know we don’t love interstates, but we really want to get back to Jojoba Hills this year. Because we now limit travel time to about 4 hours we are stopping at new places. Last  night we chose a Boondockers Welcome place that is very highly regarded by many visitors. I still have to write a review, but WOW. Lots of room for RVs of any size and full or partial hookups available for most. The couple are older than us but are leading a very active life. The forecast included a serious threat of tornados and they warned that they might come knocking at the door at any time to come into the sheltered part of the house to wait it out. The knock came at about 7:30 as we were preparing dinner. We sat in a row with them and 4 other RVers who came in to shelter. We were listening to the TV in the other room warning that it was close, then the TV quit and lights flickered! Using our phones we could see the track as it passed 3 miles to our north! In the morning Ginny told us that one of their neighbors, just 3 miles away, had had their property destroyed. We were grateful to have escaped unscathed. 

We rolled on along I30 through the middle of Dallas, losing no more than 10 minutes to traffic slow downs. The alternative was at least an hour longer and many miles of expensive diesel. We have traversed Dallas at worse times and our experience has been similar, lots of traffic, a period of 20 mph backup and no significant loss of time. I will admit to some scathed nerves. A bit over 4 hours brought us to Coffee Creek RV Park. It seems to be a mix of longer term RVers, workers and transients like ourselves. We are just a couple of miles off I 20. Road noise? What road noise? 

Tomorrow our plan is to stop at Monahans Sandhills State Park along I 20. This is one of our favorites camping in what looks like ocean sand dunes where the ocean (Permian) left eons ago. From there on to Las Cruces NM. We won’t be staying at Siesta RV. When I called I was told the park had been sold and the new owner was looking to fill it with monthlies. I won’t miss the cramped worn out site #13 we usually stay in. We will miss the location within walking distance of Mesilla and  the shops and restaurants we enjoy. We’ll just have to drive from Hacienda RV, a couple of miles further.

 After a four night stay we will take three overnights to get to Jojoba Hills, unless we get crazy and do it in two – not likely.

On the Road, Paul Goldberg Blog

I’ve Been Busy

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That is as good an excuse as any for my failure to keep this blog up to date. Somehow we managed to pick up the car on Friday afternoon and get the coach loaded and ready to roll on Saturday morning, once Carol’s doctor gave us the go ahead to leave town for the winter. As I write we are in Red Bay Alabama around the corner from the factory where GeeWhiz was built. Our sole reason for coming this year was to have the stove cover repaired and the counters polished like factory new by the man who does that all day long in the factory!

We arrived at Malena and Dan’s in Dyke VA midafternoon and soon were set up in the driveway for our stay. We celebrated my 80th the next day with lamb chops! and Red Breast Irish Whiskey. It was a great celebration and Alexander was there for the event. For the most part they were working during the day and we went about our own lives until dinner time. Of course I helped feed the horses, well I observed and stayed out of the way mostly. I swear Galopin and Tivoly are twice as big as the Iceland horses we saw. On Friday Dan took Carol and me on a wonderful walk on a trial off the Blue Ridge Parkway. As is true of almost all BRP trails it is “upside down”. It starts out with a long descent and finishes by climbing back to the trailhead. We made it!

Travel from there started out by backing out of the long not completely straight driveway we had driven in on. With Carol at the wheel and me talking on the handsfree cellphones (for the first time) this was accomplished easily. Once hooked up, we had an uneventful drive with a stop for fuel and arriving for a pleasant stay at Fort Chiswell RV Park. I cannot believe we haven’t stayed there before. However it is less than four hours drive and we used to travel for six hours in our youth. Another 4 hour day found us at Mama Gerties Campground outside of Asheville. Imagine taking a cliff and carving roads and level campsites on the side of the cliff. We had been there before but it seems steeper than memory. We were in G2 on that trip so more than 10 years ago. 

Our friends Leigh and Patrick moved to Asheville within the year and have bought a lovely house with glorious views.We had dinner out with Leigh on Tuesday night and with both of them at their home Wednesday night. it was a lovely visit and it gave us time to wander a bit in Asheville. We wandered around in Blue Spiral Gallery, as we do every time we are there and across the street to the Mast Store where Carol found something to buy. 

Early Thursday morning (for us) we set out for a two day run to Red Bay. Since the drive is about 10 hours we planned an overnight at a Harvest Host Winery we had visited before, Del Monaco Winery outside Nashville. Plenty of parking away from the winery itself which was good since they had a large crush of guests for a college reunion arriving about 5. By 9 PM they were all gone and it was peaceful for the night.

Now I must really start preparing my Treasurer’s Report for September 30.

In Rochester, Paul Goldberg Blog

The Best Laid Plans

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Another way of saying that is “Man Plans, G-d Laughs” or “On to Plan C?” Originally we planned to leave on October 10. Then the car was creased in a parking lot while we were enjoying a meal. That pushed us back to the 11th, still doable. Then Carol’s doctor wanted one more test, now scheduled for the 13th, so we planned on departing on the 14th or 15th. Just spoke to the collision shop and the new bumper has not come in. Once they get it they need two days, the earliest would be Friday the 14th, the earliest we can leave would be the 15th which would get us to C’ville just in time for my 80th birthday on the 17th. I’m not betting on it. I’m pretty sure we will be there for Carol’s on Nov 2. I really want to get out of Rochester before any hard freezes so I don’t have to winterize the coach.

We have plenty to do here so boredom won’t be an issue. We have been moving stuff into the coach the past couple of days. I just hope we don’t need any of it in the coming week. 

Rohma and Josh have spent time with us each weekend and it has been a delight. This past Saturday they prepared dinner in advance of going to the RPO for a wonderful concert together. See Carol’s FaceBook post for more details. https://www.facebook.com/anncarol.goldberg

I’m keeping up with my responsibilities at Jojoba Hills by email and zoom and the occasional phone call.. Its fun being 3 hours ahead of everyone until they start replying late into the evening their time. I never get to see those messages until the morning. I must admit I am really impatient to see the redone Friendship Hall Annex and our site, not to mention  our friends, but it will all have to wait until we can leave here.

In Rochester, opinion, Paul Goldberg Blog

Looking Back; Looking Ahead

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As I sat in our usual seats in the sanctuary at Temple B’rith Kodesh I knew many people were missing. Many have died with the passage of years. Many have moved on, especially the children of our friends who filled the space in their teens and early 20’s. We used to arrive early to be sure of the aisle seats four rows back on the right aisle.  We needed most of the row starting with my parents then us and our children followed by aunts and cousins. 20 years ago I moved to the aisle seat after my Dad’s passing.  Today there was one other couple sitting in that row with us and three or four other couples from “those days” in the section, none of us under 70.

Although I was not directly thinking about the changing demographics of our community or the impact of covid on attendance, it was apparent. I remember a time when we had four generations in our family called to the bimah, from my mother to our grandson. Our children and grandchildren have moved away or to other times of their lives and we are left as the remnant of family continuing a membership that dates back to 1948. We will certainly be the last to maintain that string. 

In a moment of foolishness I have agreed to read from the Torah for tomorrow’s service. It is daunting since I have not undertaken this honor since Corey’s bar mitzvah seven years ago. I consider it practice for my own “second bar mitzvah” which I intend to celebrate on my 83rd birthday, 3 years from now. Life expectancy according to a passage I cannot cite is 3 score years and 10 or by reason of strength 4 score years. 

We are looking forward to a better year than last for the world and for us. In the short term we look forward to driving to Hamilton ON to visit Carol’s Aunt Dorothy, the baby of her generation at only 99, before making preparations to drive across the country in GeeWhiz leaving in the second week of October. I look forward to resuming my in person treasury responsibilities and exploring new friendships in Jojoba Hills SKP Resort as well as renewing longer term friendships which have been limited to social media and zoom calls since May. 

It is harder to look beyond a year as we used to. We are more aware of the passage of time and the state of our own health as we make plans. The world seems a more risky place to venture, between extreme weather events and extreme political events. Carol and I have noted that often places we have visited recently have become powder kegs within a year after our departure The most recent example being Ethiopia. I have often said I would not let threats of terrorism determine my travel plans. I will let acts of terrorism and war deter me from visiting.  We have no current plans but we are considering some small ship adventures in areas that are somewhat remote to the ongoing active fighting and massive storms. 

I am hopeful about the future of our grandsons as they pursue education and careers and maybe someday even present us with a great grandchild- no pressure – careers first. 

Now I must review Bereshit in preparation for tomorrow and go blow shofar one more time!

In Rochester, Paul Goldberg Blog

This and That

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I may have a rant or two coming in this or future posts, but if I don’t start writing I may have a hard time getting started again until we are on the road with road stories to tell. We do plan to be heading out in GeeWhiz on or about October 11. Why so specific? Well a couple of weeks ago a clod in a white Jeep Gladiator pulled out of the parking space next to our Jeep and didn’t quite make it out without clipping the left front corner. I’m quite sure he meant well, but he never left any information like his name or license number, just some white paint and a bent bumper. I am told that the car will be ready on October 10. In the meantime we are driving around with various bits displaced from there normal locations until October 3. No rant here, just normal incivility in today’s society.

Fringe Festival is on in Rochester this week and next. For those who immerse in it, it is longer and more varied than Jazz Fest. Carol tells me we are attending a smattering of Fringe events. I expect that will give me more to write about after we have attended.

We actually went to a movie, in a theater! We saw Top Gun: Maverick in a nearly empty theater with the cushiest theater seating I can remember experiencing at a Tinseltown. In short, we enjoyed the experience and the movie and especially the ice cream at Hedonist on the way home. Good treats of all kinds. I didn’t get popcorn for the movie, the line was too long and slow 🙁 

We are planning a day trip to Canada with a stop at the border to update our Nexus Cards on September 28.  We will visit family, especially Aunt Dorothy who turned 99 this summer. Great genes! 

In the midst of all this the High Holydays are approaching more quickly than expected as usual. I have a couple of assignments that I need to prepare for. More on that after the fact. 

A Rant: I probably spend more time than is healthy on social media. RVillage.com is devoted to RVers. A member asked what the problem is with the South entrance to an Elks Lodge. A variety of respondents said “Use the North Entrance” The questioner said, “but what’s the problem with the South entrance”. The responses replied just use the North entrance it is easier. One even posted a Google Earth image of the lot showing the two entrances. The questioner was not satisfied. I wanted to respond. “The South entrance has alligators and deep ditches” but refrained from such snark. I didn’t even post “You have been told that the correct entrance is the North, if you must try the South go ahead and expect to pay for damage to your coach and the grounds”. When we are going someplace in the motorhome and have directions from another RVer we don’t go looking for alternatives just because we want to know. 

Paul Goldberg Blog

Back in Rochester

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We arrived back almost on schedule with an almost uneventful pair of flights. We got up early, after less than 5 hours sleep, to catch a shuttle to the terminal  only to find that the driver had never showed up. Quickly got a Lyft to the terminal and as we prepared to hustle we learned that our flight was delayed 35 minutes which gave us just the window we needed to get some breakfast on the way to the gate. As we were sitting waiting for the food Delta dinged my phone and we learned we had just lost part of that time. We chowed quickly than realized we had a looong walk to gate B48 at the very end of the finger. We made it easily if somewhat breathlessly and got to the gate as they were boarding Comfort+ passengers which was what I had booked – more legroom and guaranteed space for a carryon. We actually arrived just about on the scheduled time. 

The Rochester Monroe County International Airport has a longer name than befits its traffic. Three CRJ’s landed at the same time and the staff were overwhelmed, for at least 10 minutes. The worst part of the adventure was waiting for a cab. There was no line, there were no cabs! I realized that we had not traveled through this airport in a long time. It was not just the Covid halt, when we have flown out of the country it has been from the West Coast, even Kansas one time and Charlottesville as well. 

We made some wonderful new travel friends on this trip. Some are near our California home. Others, in Florida, it is unlikely we will see, unless they come out of that state. It’s not the politics, although it could be, but we find the lack of mountains and high humidity with large crowds of people to be daunting. Cobbs Hill in Rochester is higher than the highest elevation Florida and it is just a bump high enough to host broadcast antennas. 

As the trip was winding down and others kept asking what our next trip was going to be, we realized we had no immediate answer. For the first time since we started traveling with OAT we left on a trip without having planned the next trip. We are talking, but have not made any decisions. All you readers may be the first to know.

Our current plan is to stay in Rochester until about October 9. We will travel to Ontario to see family near the end of September.  We have an appointment to renew our Nexus passes in Niagara Falls on September 27. 

If you are resident in Rochester, or passing near by, we would love to get together. 

Iceland, Paul Goldberg Blog

Iceland – The last days

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It is now the 12th day of our trip. 11th day actually touring. We have continued to see awe inspiring landscape and meet wonderful people, many of whom are actually Icelandic. The number of tourists is amazing. 

Some must sees that we have done include the Blue Lagoon and the Reykjavik Art Museum near our hotel. I will not provide a detailed explanation of the Blue Lagoon other than to say it is the result of recent human action and it is truly amazing. I have no pictures but visualize with me changing into a bathing suit in a warm sheltered facility and walking out into 50 degree F with wind blowing over 20 mph and rain coming sideways.  Then slip into the warm water at 100 degrees F loaded with silicate. The expanse of the lagoon is great enough that in unsheltered places the chop can rise to almost a foot. Around the sides are a station dispensing silicate masks for face, a bar with offerings from tea to beer and wine. There is a water fall, a steam room and a sauna. We sampled all of the above. Carol chose not to enter the lagoon and this was wise as the wind and water would likely have toppled her. 

We also went to Flyover Iceland which is a simulated flight over most of the major geological features of the country. The experience is a blend of ultra large bowl screen with seats that move and water spray and various scents as appropriate. It is very immersive and we needed a few minutes to reorient after we exited. It was particularly exciting because it gave us a very different view of places we had visited over the previous 10 days. I would recommend it to anyone in Reykjavik with an hour to spare. Note! although the web site only offers one price, at the counter they have a steep discount for seniors. It was from $40 to $27! 

Some fun stuff: The license plate on our bus:

The bathroom really was small 

The text says “We know the bathroom is rather small, but the good news is that the acoustics make it perfect for singing in the shower. After you’ve practiced and finished your business, come perform for us in the lobby and then we’ll sing you our favorite Icelandic tune.” This bathroom is not as big as our motorhome bathroom and it has a shower. Tight quarters but otherwise comfortable.

We are just back from our farewell dinner and have said farewell to our tour leader Frida and many of our group who will depart early in the morning. Several we will see in the lobby as they depart for the airport around noon. Our departure is 4:30 (1630) from the hotel. We will transit JFK with a night in a hotel there with an early departure for Rochester.

Do visit Iceland if you haven’t done so yet. 

Iceland, Paul Goldberg Blog

Iceland Days 6 and 7

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We had been looking forward to meeting the Icelandic Horses since booking this trip. We had two experiences with them on day 6. First at a small farm run by Magnus where we got to visit some of his 65 horses and had our introduction to Five Gaited horses.

Gaits

Also I had the opportunity to sit on a horse. Unlike my time on Galopan I really didn’t need the mounting block, these horses are short.

These horses are really small. The girl is 10.

Magnus also is a singer composer and entertained us with several songs including “Creme Cheese Cake” for which he is famous, in Iceland at any rate.

Carol dancing to Magnus’ performance

From there we went to another horse farm where we we were to spend the night. Included in the display of the horses ability we were to plant trees for an OAT project as part of the farms extensive government subsidized tree planting. The climb to the land where we were to plant was substantial and a car was provided for those unable to make it. I have no pictures of the climb, all my energy went into the climb and Carol stayed right me all the way to the top! Our new friends were thrilled to see her spunk and I was in tears. To celebrate I bought a round for the group at Happy hour. 

I do have video of the horses performing, but I am too tired to edit and post tonight. Well here is one video of the special walking gait

Today, Day 7 was a long drive to Akureryri with a couple of stops along the way. The most interesting were the Herring Museum and Folk Music Center in Siglufjorour (that is spelled correctly). Herring was the gold of this coast  until it left. and the museum is fascinating and the guide, Daniel, was excellent. I really wanted at least another hour there but we needed to get back on the bus to make our dinner schedule.

Iceland, Paul Goldberg Blog

Iceland Day 3 and 4

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Yesterday We set off for Borganes in the Northwest of Iceland.  There were famous waterfalls and a wool dyer to see. The next stop was to see the “original” Geysir. It is so called because it appears to be the first one called a geyser and all the others have been named for it, albeit with a slightly different spelling .The original large geyser is no longer performing. 

Geysir The original
Smaller active geyser

The most impressive  geological feature was the rift where the North American Tectonic Plate and Eurasian Tectonic plates are pulling away from each other. The movement is in less than inches per year, but the forces are tremendous and the land is scarified for miles and miles with cracks running north and east through out.

Plates Pulling apart 1
Plates Pulling apart 2

There were more falls, and raging rivers as we came to the seat of Iceland government from the late 900’s. I will not recap the last 2000 years of Icelandic history although it is the form of a saga and about as long. Many people died mostly by the hand of others except for those who fell into rivers and lakes. 

After a night in Borganes at the aptly named B59 Hotel (it is located  at 59 Borganes Street) we set out to see goats on the only exclusive goat farm in Iceland where they are preserving the breed of Icelandic goats. The ones that are  not shy will attempt to climb on your shoulder, from behind – or in one case from in front of me.  Here is one confronting Carol in her new bright red poncho.

Carol in her new poncho with goat

Neither of us prepared adequately for the wind and rain we have encountered. I now have a new very expensive raincoat which may make an appearance in a later blog. 

We went to see a couple of more falls. I took too many pictures that look like everyone else’ picture from the falls. Then we went to a Greenhouse/Restaurant. We had a wonderful presentation on growing vegetables in a greenhouse with light for 9 months of the years and unlimited flowing HOT water. There is enough that when the sun goes behind the mountain for the winter they flood the greenhouse with hot water to 2 feet down to sterilize the soil for the coming season. All this water is geothermal and is piped in from the nearby hot water sources. They have to drill for cold water separately. The lunch in the restaurant was three different soups, Carrot, Tomato and Mushroom.  YUM

Back to the hotel for a free afternoon with dinner on our own.

Iceland, none, Paul Goldberg Blog

Days One and Two

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Our flights were relatively uneventful. The plan was less than wonderful since it left us at JFK with all our luggage from about 11 AM until 4:30 PM. Because we had booked Delta separately from Iceland Air They would not check our luggage through. Once we picked up our bags at Delta Baggage Claim we were out of Security and had to wait for Icelandic to open check in to get back to “airside”. There are no reasonable options for food or comfort at any of the terminals before clearing security. As we stared at Dunkin’ having had breakfast at Dunkin’ in Rochester I remembered that the Saarinen TWA terminal had been salvaged and made over into a hotel which certainly would have food options. BINGO! in addition to a highly regarded restaurant (pricey in any event) there is a food court with tables and chairs that used to sit on our Sandringham patio after serving as our dinner set on Warder Dr. The food was reasonable and the comfortable lounge looking out the window at the Super Constellation that has been parked there made for a pleasant waiting area. I will admit that the third recycle of the 50’s and 60’s music at high volume eventually became overwhelming. 

We arrived at the Reykjavik Airport about on time and were picked up by an OAT guide (not ours) for transfer to  to the Selfoss Hotel where we met the early arrivals and those who had arrived with us. By 5 PM we had our entire party – minus one couple – for the usual OAT greeting and plan for the 13 days and the next day. 

Day 2 we visited two water falls, one of which those of us who were willing and able got to walk behind.

SeljalandsF0ss
Behind the Falls

From there we had lunch and a bit of shopping in preparation for a hike to a glacier. We were prepared for rain, we thought, and we understood there would be some wind, this being Iceland. We were not prepared for 20 mile per hour winds with rain and at one point hail. I have no pictures. We crossed the front of the glacier headed for the toe over glacial sand and water flows bridged by plank bridges seemingly moved into place for our trek. It was only 15 minutes to our destination and another 15 minutes returning with maybe 10 minutes staring at the huge wall of the glacier itself. I have no pictures, my gloves were wet through as were my pants and water resistant shoes. Somehow the old rain jacket I was wearing over a warm comfortable water resistant jacket staved off the worst of the water. on my chest and arms. I do have a picture of the “Super Jeep” Really a highly modified Sprinter capable of carrying our entire party of 15 plus guide over the glacier itself.

Super Jeep

Day Three is coming up soon. We are moving North and West from Selfoss.