Covered Bridge at the Winery

Day 37 - Saturday, August 20, 2022 - Part I

Main Street Moonshine, Schuykill Haven, Pennsylvania

A chilly 65 degrees at daylight around 5:45, we let the sun warm us up a bit before beginning our morning walk.  Herb stands near the edge of a hill leading up from the shelf Sweet Georgia Brown is parked on, as we start to walk down by the winery tasting room to explore more of the grounds.  Soon we will leave for our next destination, the Harvest Host Main Street Moonshine Restaurant.

On the side of the tasting room we find containers of wine, which are dated.  I suppose they are aging.  The next thing I want to see is the vineyard that we passed coming in yesterday.  The vines are covered with a netting that probably protects the grapes from bugs and birds.

Continuing our walk around a large pond, we can see the sitting areas down the hill below the tasting room.  At first glance it looks like someone decided not to drink their bottle of red wine, but I zoomed in to see that it is empty.  So are the glasses from the flight and the white wine bottle.

The path leads to a foot bridge across a miniature raidroad track, and a sign that warns guests not to touch the train.  Apparently, there was at one time a small train, as well as a passenger train around the park.  A facade of the train depot leads out into another area of the park.

Herb finds the covered bridge and points to the inside, showing that it is now a building used for events.  Last night it was used as additional seating for the wine tasting.

Willie of Sweet Georgia Brown,

   and of Walldog and Willie

   Saturday, August 20, 2022

Perseverance in Connecticut

Day 36 - Friday, August 19, 2022

Worthington Vineyard and Winery, Somers, CT

At 61 degrees when we wake, we are pleased to say we slept without the air conditioner on last night.  Skies are overcast and the 68% precipitation predicted will cause folks in the drought plagued area to do their happy dance.  

Herb turns on the diesel heat and 110 heat for me early.  The light rain soon stops  and we now welcome the sunshine, which warms to 65 degrees.

Highway 1 is the road we take coming out of Duval's RV Park, and it is very, very busy with traffic speeding along at 70 mph.  Sweet Georgia Brown will stop at the stop sign before turning left toward our next destination, so Herb and Doug think the best thing to do is get out EARLY before traffic builds.  Doug jokes, "You picked a fine time to leave me, Lucille!"

Eight o'clock in the morning sounds like cruel and unusual punishment to me, as I like getting on the road around 10am.  However, I take a couple of photos around the RV park before shedding a tear to leave.  I think the puppy dog kicking over his watering can is cute, and I love the steps on decks built beside the RVs that stay parked here as vacation homes -- they look like drawer pulls.

7:45 am sees us leaving the exit to Duval's RV Park, and onto Hwy 1, also known as the Blue Star Memorial Highway, and we are fifteen minutes ahead of our schedule. Driving through Ogunquit and York for the last time (this year), I take a photo of some buildings that we have passed day after day when going to the beaches.

I love the name of the river Piscataqua, that separates the state of Maine from the state of New Hampshire, and wonder who named it and why.  There's so much history to be learned.  When we cross the river, we are welcomed by New Hampshire.

Soon the state of Massachusetts welcomes us as we pass the reddish-brown metal sculpture of a dog that was created in 2006 by local metal sculptor, Dale Rogers of Haverhill MA.  I wondered about the significance, and learned that Rogers had said, "When you create pieces that make people question why, it builds a long lasting impression."

The state of Connecticut welcomes us with lots of curvy roads, steep hills and warnings to slow down, slow down.

Worthington Vineyard and Winery is our destination today and in spite of the slow downs with construction and a one lane road, we arrive at 11:45 after only a four hour drive.  This is a Harvest Host member, which means they provide an area to park free with no hookups, and ask that we make a purchase at their facility.  

When we check in, our host tells us to park up the hill on the grass, and Herb finds a mostly level spot that Sweet Georgia Brown can become perfectly level on.  With no electricity furnished by Harvest Host, our generator provides power in the now 86 degree heat.

The wine tasting begins around 5:30 and we are curious to see what kind of wines they have.   We passed a vineyard on the way in and have a lot of questions about the operation.  Who could not love a grapevine, especially if it has grapes on it?   I see a blue grape, with a green and purple yet to ripen.

The tasting room has comfortable seating, sofas, tables and even a fireplace for those cool winter evenings.  We choose a table near a back door that leads onto a patio, then down the stairs to several sitting areas in the yard.

We are given a choice of purchasing a flight of different wines, but seeing that many are on the sweet side, we decide on just getting a bottle of the driest red they have.  We meet Michelle and Bill from Connecticut, who tell us they have moved to Florida but are back to take their daughter to a college in Maine.  They have just finished their flight.

We think our choice, named Perseverance, is quite nice.  "What's in a name?  A dry red wine by any other name would taste as dry."  (Slightly plagiarized from Shakespeare)

Willie of Sweet Georgia Brown,

   and of Walldog and Willie

   Friday, August 19, 2022

The Flame Hot Rod

Days 34 & 35 - Wednesday & Thursday, August 17 & 18, 2022

Duval's RV Park, Wells, Maine

This area of Maine has been having a drought for several weeks and the grass that is not watered daily is turning brown.  Folks are praying for rain, so when we see the morning clouds, we are very hopeful.  My Dark Sky app shows at 6:42 am that rain is predicted for 8:30a, and there is a high surf advisory, so that's a good sign for a front coming through -- and hopefully it will bring much needed rain.

A chilly 66 degrees encourages me to wear my warmups for our walk that we will hurry up and do before the rain.

For the first time on the same local path we always walk in the morning I hear a wind chime -- possibly because of the windy conditions -- and it is a familiar sound. It takes us a minute to recognize it, and Herb says excitedly, "That is the sound of the bell buoy at Bar Harbor!"  Yes, I agree, because we have the same chime at our home in Silverlake.  You can zoom the photo to see the triangular shape with its striker hanging from a large limb of what I think is a lovely willow tree.  

I had told Paula that I admired their little hot-rod car and would like to photograph it, so she promised to alert me the next time they headed out for a drive.  It is the cutest thing ever!   Here they come!

I notice something hanging on the hood of the car and ask if they are Mardi Gras beads.  "Yes," Paula says.  She and Doug are such fun people.

Herb asks a lot of questions about their engine, and shares with them that in his younger days he built a 'rail' race car 'from the ground up,' as he tells me.  Seeing that they are blocking the road, Doug backs up into a parking place to continue their conversation.

I see the leaves on a tree outside the fence turning the autumn colors of various shades of reds and oranges, and ask Paula what kind of tree it is.  She said Doug believes it is always the first to usher in the fall season each year.  It could be a maple.

Dusk is a particularly pretty time of day here, when all the night lights begin to come on -- some twinkle.

Paula and Doug are the best, most helpful, RV park hosts we have ever had!  And the most fun-loving!

Willie of Sweet Georgia Brown,

   and of Walldog and Willie

   Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Herb Versus the Lobster!

 Days 32 & 33 - Monday and Tuesday, August 15 and 16, 2022

Duval's RV Park, Wells, Maine

Today is another chilly morning at 60 degrees, and I think to myself, "Is it time to go South?"  It does warm up a little after the sun gets a bit higher in the sky, and on our morning walk we see a truck parked at a residence that boasts a sign, "Maine Diner - Breakfast all Day."  We decide that today is the day to go to there for lunch. When we arrive we see people hanging around outside.  

And when we get to the front door we are greeted by a hostess who offers us a device that will vibrate when seating is available.  She tells us that there is a 25 minute wait, and a quick peek into the restaurant shows guests sitting next to each other on bar stools and at tables crowded into a small room.  No social distancing.  We are disappointed but thank the lady kindly as we tell her we won't be able to wait that long, and go back to the motor home, where lunch is ready much sooner.

It was such a good idea and we had been looking forward to it.

On Tuesday it is even cooler with 58 degrees when we wake up, and it is not daylight yet.  I have to remind myself that it is August and the days are getting shorter, so sunrise is not as early.  The high temperature for today is predicted to be only 76 degrees.  Yep, that is one thing we are enjoying here in Wells, Maine.

Another thing we enjoy is the lobster, and we find some at a local grocery store.  Herb steams them for tonight's dinner.  He puts them in a shallow bowl of ice water to stop the cooking and to enable him to handle them.

Then opens them to remove the meat.

As a popular restaurant advertises, " We are eatin' good in the neighborhood!"

Willie of Sweet Georgia Brown,

   and of Walldog and Willie

   Monday and Tuesday, August 15 and 16, 2022

What I Love about Boston....

Day 31 - Sunday, August 14, 2022

Duval's RV Park, Wells, Maine

Having stayed overnight with Patrice and Neel, Herb and I wake to the aroma of fresh brewed coffee that Neel has made, and by 7 am he and Patrice take us on about an hour walk through Mary O'Malley State Park.  Being former boaters, we especially like hiking through Common Cove Marina on Admiral's Hill.  We look at all the boats tied at the dock, but do not find any Ranger Tugs, the brand that we had.

There's a beach area leading to a path through the park, and we see that the leaves of some of the trees are already beginning to show their orange and salmon Autumn colors.

What a treat to see along the walking trail a sculpture of fish on the lamp pole, and I wonder if each fish is a light bulb to glow at dusk.

Lunch is a special treat, as we dine at The Parish Cafe & Bar in Back Bay, Boston.  Neel is the General Manager and has the day off to visit with Herb and me.  We are seated outside on the patio under a large umbrella, where we enjoy a pleasant cool temperature and draft beer.  

Patrice calls to my attention that the menu inside the restaurant is written on a chalkboard by Joe, the bartender.  I also see a notice on another board announcing a 10 K run that he also wrote in beautiful script.

Speaking of menus, it is so hard to choose, because everything looks like it would be delicious, but it is recommended that we have the Zuni Roll, consisting of smoked turkey, crisp bacon, scallions, dill havarti cheese, cranberry chipotle sauce, sour cream and served on a toasted flour tortilla, along with a side of potato salad.  The menu tells us it was created by Chef Norma Gillespie, a chef here some years ago.  It is yummy!!!

It is good to be with family!

Willie of Sweet Georgia Brown,

   and of Walldog and Willie

   Sunday, August 14, 2022