Museum of the US Air Force, Niagara Falls, and on to Acadia National Park, Sept-Oct 2017

This was a 6 week trip in our Scamp, listed chronologically. 1 Sept, Blue Heron Corps of Engineers (COE) campground, KY site 43. Didn't get to enjoy this campground much, as we were just using it for an overnight spot between point A and point B. 2-4 Sept, Wright-Patterson FAMCAMP site 51. Campsite in better shape than before, nice and clean. This is a campground open to military right on the Air Force base. The host is really involved in creating a great atmosphere and they had a BBQ open to all the campers while we were there. The Museum of the Air Force is located next to this base, with 4 huge hangars full of all types of aircraft. It could take several days to look at every airplane and read all the histories. I highly recommend this free museum. 5 Sept, Shenango Rec area, PA. This was First come, first served (FCFS) campground. Reservations ended Labor day and CG closes next week! Nice campground and a good location for an overnight. 6-11 Sept, Letchworth state park NY fall gathering. Site 208. Letchworth is a beautiful state park with lots of hiking and a good waterfall. We had a group get-together of friends with fiberglass campers. Lots of good hiking available here. 11-15 Sept, Willow Bay NF site 62. Very nice site with good view of water. Friends John and Sta met us here and then my Sister Ann and Joe met us the last 2 nights. Used solar on this side of loop since we have it. Electric available on the other side of the road but we had a great lake view from our site. Visited the local area including a tour of the not to be missed ZIPPO museum, and the Eldred WWII museum in Eldred. This campground is also close to the Kinzua bridge state park, which features an old railroad bridge that was half destroyed by a tornado, but has been left as a great viewing platform for the valley below. 15-18 Sept, Niagara rally at Riverside campground on the Canadian side. Another annual gathering of fiberglass campers. Of course we had to visit Niagara Falls and take a ride on the sightseeing boat "Horatio Hornblower". I like viewing the falls from the Canadian side, because you are looking at the more scenic USA side which is not as commercialized as the Canadian side. The boat prices are less right now due to the favorable exchange rate. 18-19 Sept, Verona Beach state park, NY. Nice campground with beautiful sunset. Would have stayed longer but we had a schedule to keep at Acadia. 19-21 Sept, Rogers Rock state park, NY. This was a nice campground. Since we had an extra night here, we kayaked on lake George. The water was crystal clear! We were able to modify our travel route the next day to visit my cousin Jimmy up in Burlington, VT. 21-22 Sept, Lafayette campground at Franconia Notch SP, PA. FCFS and hiked the Franconia Notch gorge after we left. The gorge is worth paying the fee to hike. 22-24 Sept, Drove the Kancamagus hwy to Covered Bridge CG site 35. Colors not peaked yet. We could probably have fit across the covered bridge, but the height restriction is based on the lower heights on the edges rather than the higher middle height. Drove the long way around and came back the long way. Pretty little park. We took a scenic drive and drove our cars (without campers) up the Mount Washington road, not for the squeamish or faint-hearted! 24-26 Sept, Acadia NP, Seawall CG site 31. Enjoyed Seawall. Visited Bar Harbor night of the 25th, had lobster at restaurant. Marilyn had symptoms of potential stroke morning of 26th, took her to MDI clinic after 3rd episode. Clinic used ambulance to MDI hospital. MDI hospital sent her to Bangor hospital in ambulance with suspected seizures. 26-28 Sept. Camped 3 nights in the Eastern Maine Regional Medical Center parking lot. Glad I had some water and solar power for the camper. The hospital was very good about letting us keep the camper in the parking lot. It meant I could get some much needed sleep and still be nearby to visit Marilyn. 28-29 Sept, Finally made it to Blackwoods for the last 1 night of our 4 night reservation. We had called the first night and receptionist said our sites were safe because we paid for them, but when we arrived 3 days later the ranger said not true! Our site was still available but Ann and Joe had to use a different site, which was fortunately nearby. 29 Sept - 3 Oct, Schoodic Woods CG at Acadia NP. Beautiful campground with electric and good wifi. Site 30 was convenient to rest room (no showers). We enjoyed the quiet side of Acadia and did some hiking here. Met a couple (Morgan and Teri) with a Scamp 19'. 3-4 Oct, Harold Parker state forest, Andover MA. We chose to just show up, due to requirement for 2 nights if reserving. HUGE campsites! Electric and water but did not use water since outlet was too far from where we were camping. Stopped to see cousin Skip on way out next morning. 4-6 Oct, Melville campground RI. Private CG, well maintained. Site 117. We toured Newport RI and found out that PT boats were built nearby, and JFK trained here before becoming famous in the PT-109. 6-7 Oct, Gateway NP CG, Floyd Bennett Field NY. Sites on old aircraft parking ramp. No hookups but water available. Showers. They have a nice museum here with restored aircraft. Good place to visit if you're an aviation buff, but it requires a horrendous drive through Brooklyn streets to get there, and ours was during Friday rush hour on 3 day weekend. The turnpike would have been great but towed vehicles are not allowed to use it! We stopped in Mystic, CT and ate at Mystic pizza on way to this campground. 7-11 Oct. Stayed at my Sister Ann and Joe’s house in DE 11-12 Oct Stayed at our son Greg and Ela’s house in VA.