September 2010 - Pennsylvania.

Friday September 17th 2010 - 292010 - 8.45 am.

I had our little camper all packed up Thursday ready to get on the road Friday morning after breakfast.  Thanks, very much to Andrew and Val at Neustadt Springs Brewery, who kindly gave Mike the day off . 

 If you enjoy a good craft beer go to Neustadt Springs Brewery - well worth the trip. 

Check it out at:  http://www.neustadtsprings.com/.  

Left Durham about 8.45 in the sunshine, although a little cool.  

Roads were not too busy, so it was an easy drive.

Crossed the Sky way Bridge and as you can see there were Lakers and sailboats out in the sunshine.

Once again crossing the border was easy, and not at all busy.  The customs officer did ask the reason for our trip and was pleased with our answer.

"To celebrate our 45th Wedding Anniversary"

At that he said " you two have a great and safe trip, Happy Anniversary"   How nice is that?

We took the New York Thruway to Fredonia to get our usual camping "staples" of food and booze.  Met a nice couple there who were interested in knowing a bit about our little camper as they were thinking of getting one themselves.

Still a little cool, but not cold and still sunny.

From there we had an easy drive to Waterford PA.  We did stop at the Welcome Centre for info on the area.  Arrived at Sparrow Pond Camp at 4.00 p.m.   292433

It appeared that the rain was a head of us most of the way from the border.  When we stopped at Fredonia it was quite damp, but no rain then, the same at the Welcome Centre and the camp.  May be we should have bought a lottery ticket!

Sat outside with a snack before we headed off exploring the site.   Very comfortable place.   Quite damp on the trails due to a huge storm they had the previous day.  The hiking was not as good as we are used to, but no problem there as we had planned a tip to the Erie Zoo on Saturday.

This is to be a different type of camping weekend for us, as we usually get set up and just hike tails and stay at the camp until ready to head back home.  This time we have found quite a few tourist things to check out.  All around 6 - 12 miles from the camp.     

In the evening we just sat around the fire and planned what we would be doing  tomorrow.

Saturday September 18th 2010  - 292433

Our 45th Wedding Anniversary - and "they" said it wouldn't last.

Brilliant sunshine, but a cool breeze, which should be really good weather for the Zoo.   We had text messages from Natalie and Vince, which was nice.

Left camp at 11.00 a.m. and arrived at the Zoo at 11.15 a.m.   We had not been to a Zoo in years, so we were really looking forward to it.  And we were not at all disappointed.  It turned out to be a great Zoo.

      

Tiger Cub born May 11th 201

I did meet a nice man who wanted to take me to The Empire State Building.

 What a Guy!

Naturally we did take a whole lot more pictures,   It was approximately 2 miles around the zoo and we know we did it all and may be more.   The weather was perfect for walking around, nice sunny and a slight

breeze.   It was a very busy zoo. 

From there we headed through the downtown area, which really was not at all busy.  Very tidy looking downtown. 

Then on to the The Erie Maritime Museum and the home of the U.S. Brig Niagara., which is the Official Flagship of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.  Now a floating museum.   Then we just stayed around the lake and pier area for while , which was great fun.  Although a little blustery.  As you will see.Now our stomachs were telling us it really must be lunch time, and a very late lunch at that.  So we wandered over to The Smugglers Wharf for a glass of wine and Clam Chowder.  All we can say about that was "WOW" delicious.  Great place, very friendly and excellent service.Very enjoyable lunch.

While we were eating lunch three police cruisers slowly drove by and headed along the tiny lane next to the Smugglers Wharf right next to the dock.  When we left the Smugglers the cruisers had a van surrounded - no possible way of escape for those people.   No idea what was going on as Mike had left the scanner in the camper when we left for lunch, and we returned there was no mention on it about the dock area.

Next stop for us was to do a bit of shopping at Mill Creek Mall.   We had been to that mall before and it is a really good mall to wander around.  When all shopping complete for today, it was time to go back to camp.  6.00 p.m.  292480.  

Time for a relaxing drink and a great Anniversary Dinner, which I really enjoyed as I did not have to cook. Hiker Mike cooked for me.

Cheers, Happy Anniversary!

The rest of the evening was spent sitting around the fire and talking about what a fun day we had.

Guess it is worth doing 45 years to life!!!!

Sunday September 19th - 292480 - 10.30 a.m.

Not a bad morning, cloudy and not as cool as yesterday's start to the day.  Decided to move on to Cook's Forest State Park for today and tomorrow.   All ready to leave at 10.30 a.m. 

We travelled all two lane roads through small towns and villages, all extremely pretty.   A lot of the roads were lined with very large proud Golden Rod plants.   We took so many pictures.

           

 

Once we got into Cooksburg we had a problem locating the park entrance which was tucked along a tiny side road.   Slightly different set up to what we used to, but well worth it when we got all set up. 292619

2 p.m.

We used to rent a log cabin in Cooksburg in the 1980's.   It is still as scenic as it was way back then.   

Had a leisurely lunch .   Got texts from Vince and Natalie - always nice.

There were lots of chipmunks running around everywhere,

 It clouded over late afternoon so we lit the fire early.  It was a nice evening just relaxing.   We could hear owls, but could not see them.   Once again another great day.

Monday September 20th 2010 - 292619 - 10.45 a.m.

Fantastic morning, bright and sunny and the chipmunks were really enjoying it.  Decided we would do a bit more shopping before hiking some of the trails.  Headed into Clarion.

It was a very picturesque drive, but as it turned out it was a wasted shopping day. 

 The ride was well worth it though, through small villages, hills and dales.

       

Still nice and warm and sunny when we returned to camp so hiked some of the trails.  Didn't do any of the long trails this time, but do hope to return to do some of those.  The forest trails are quite dense,  Saw usual chipmunks, but didn't see or hear any birds.

Back at camp we lit the fire and just relaxed for the rest of the evening, deciding on the route back to Durham, and then managed to tell all kinds of silly stories.          

             

Tuesday September 21st 2010 - 292757 - 10.30 a.m.

Another brilliant sunny warm day.  Too bad we have to head home now.   All packed and ready to leave about 10.30 a.m. 

Really good ride through Leeper, north to Warren, then to Jamestown N.Y.  All along the Allegheny river, forest and mountains.          

Stopped in Dunkirk for lunch before getting to Buffalo to cross the border.

                                         

Took 1 minute to cross the border, very good. 

Then we just drove straight through to Durham, via Neustadt.  Not quite PA scenery, but still very pretty.  Good to be home - as always.    Got home at 7.00 p.m.   283277    ( Another 792 miles).

Really great trip and a perfect way to celebrate.

Wonder where we will go next.

Oh yes, for those of you who have been following this - the soup can is still in place and working very well.