The Time In Between...

October 29, 2015

Our early departure from Geneva Point Center on September 8 created a block of time which we had no definite plans for, except a family wedding on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts scheduled for October 10^th. We were planning on ending our year with a stint at an Amazon.com warehouse as part of their Camperforce for the holiday rush. In between we wanted to spend time with family and just catch our breath after a hectic summer. First stop was a grand-daughter fix in Maryland. That same week I took my Mom to her 70^th and Final high school reunion. I had a reunion there with my Aunt Ruth and cousin Gary whom I hadn't seen in decades. We were the designated drivers for our Moms!

Mom and Aunt Ruth

Shopping for Adventure

 I spent the rest of the week getting my 86 year old Mom settled in a new assisted living apartment, while catching up on other chores and visiting family. At that point we decided we needed a small vacation and took off for Confluence, PA and an Army Corps campground below the Youghiogheny Dam. It was situated along the Great Allegheny Passage rail trail, so Greg did lots of biking, and I did a little! Mostly we just sat still and enjoyed having no job and no agenda.

The Army Corps knows how to build nice RV sites!

The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) bike trail

The Youghiogheny River near Confluence, PA

Rail Trailside mural

The bike bridge to greater metropolitan Confluence

Kathleen and her faithful steed...

We found that we were close to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater house, so we took a tour of this amazing architectural treasure.

The most famous house in the US

There must be 10 million photos of Fallingwater from this exact spot.

The creek flowing under the house - during low water

The main floor

After a week we returned to Maryland our daughter's house to host my summer assistant at Geneva Point Center, Ollie. He was rolling through Washington, DC on his month-long journey around the country. We toured him through Baltimore and put him on the train bound for Philadelphia. We were hoping to take our daughter and grand-daughter to the beach for a few days after that, but a tropical storm rolled in and canceled our plans. We rode out the weather, did more visiting and eventually relocated to my cousin's house in the countryside. The wedding was coming up and we needed to leave the RV in Maryland while we drove north.

Greg and Ollie looking over Baltimore's Inner Harbor

At Pennsylvania Station in Baltimore

Rich was a great host, and we had a few cool evenings to sit outside in his lovely yard and enjoy dinner. Then we packed up the silver egg and drove to Connecticut. We had planned to spend a few days at Greg's brother Rob's house, but they wound up leaving the next morning to arrive early on Nantucket to help prepare for the wedding. We had arranged a rendezvous with Ollie who was coming out on the train from New York and two days later flying back home to Scotland.

Enjoying one of the last warmish evenings at Rich's

 In the meantime we had been hatching plans for the next few work camping experiences and putting in applications. Our phone interview with Amazon took place at Rob's and the next day we were offered jobs in Jeffersonville, Indiana to start either 10/27 or 11/10. Our start date was contingent on how soon they received our drug tests and background checks. We hauled Ollie off with us to get our testing done, (first time experience for me!), then toured Greg's childhood neighborhood, and had a celebratory lunch.


The next day we said a sad goodbye to our Scottish “cousin” Ollie, and dropped him off for his flight home from JFK Airport. We are planning a happy reunion with him some future day in Glasgow. It was enjoyable to have a few last days with him to unwind and discuss our Geneva Point experiences after a month away from there.

One last selfie with Ollie

Friday we packed up for the wedding and drove the 4 ½ hours to the Hyannis ferry. We opted for the one-hour fast ferry to be sure to arrive for the 5:30 rehearsal dinner. After checking into our cute Safe Harbor Guesthouse, we started the whirlwind of activities. The weekend went fast, the weather cooperated, even if it was rather cold and windy for the beach ceremony, and we enjoyed wandering around Nantucket. Sunday found us heading back to Cape Cod on a jam-packed slow ferry with all the customers from two sailings of the fast ferry piled on with us. The fast ferry had broken down and there were many people needing to leave the island that day. We lucked into seats with two nephews and their families, so we had enjoyable company for the crossing. We were lucky to see a humpback whale surface right next to the ferry as we crossed! Greg's sharp eyes noticed a spout ahead of us and alerted us in time to rush to the railing.

Safe Harbor Guest House - a very comfortable retreat

The "Fast" Ferry - when it runs

A few modest yachts docked at Straight Wharf

A bamboo bike - if you park it all day, it takes root!

Quaint Nantucket street scene

 

Niece Katie's wedding on Wauwinet Beach

 

Looking back at Brant Point on the slow ferry

We spent a night to ourselves at Rob's and then drove back to Rich's for two more nights before we drove back with the RV for a few more days visit with family. A couple nights with the daughter, a few nights at Greenbelt National Park (our respite so we don't take advantage of everyone's hospitality and have some time to ourselves), a few nights dry camping in my Mother's retirement community parking lot, and then a few nights in Northern Virginia with my best friend and her husband, and we finally decided to start west to prepare for our Amazon adventure.

Meatballs at Ikea after we got chased out of Greenbelt National Park due to a suspicious package! Not as good as fish & chips...

Heading to the park for a stroller hike...

Kathleen and Sue pretending not to be at a winery

Sue and Kathleen went to Disney on Ice. Free tickets!

Our paperwork came through Amazon corporate too late to start on 10/27, so we begin 11/10. That meant taking another vacation before starting, but not wanting to travel too far afield. We left Northern Virginia on Sunday, October 25 and started driving due west through West Virginia with the intent of trying to stay north of the remnants of Hurricane Patricia. After two dry days on the road, our second and third nights found us holed up at a Flying J Truck Stop just south of Cincinnati, Ohio. We traveled along the Ohio River from Parkersburg, West Virginia, a lovely scenic drive, and chose this truck stop on top of a ridge in case of flooding.

US 50 in West Virginia - The colors varied with elevation as we crossed the Appalachians

Yesterday the rain slowed down and we were able to drive the 200+ miles south through Kentucky and just over the Tennessee border. Last night we spent in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area., in a lovely quiet, treed campground. We'll stay here until we feel the urge to move on and start to head north and a little west to reach Jeffersonville, IN by the 8^th. It is located just across the river from Louisville, KY. In the meantime, hiking, biking and exploring this beautiful Cumberland Plateau area of Appalachia should keep us busy and give us some exercise to prepare us for Amazon, (I hope!). Then it will be time to finally settle down and do some work!