Fall 2020 in Covidland

Social Distance Camping at its best!! (9/17/20-9/20/20)

Even though COVID-19 put a kink in everyone’s travel plans (as well as daily lives), we were able to squeeze in a few short RV trips this summer.  September 17-20, we went back to Highland Campground in the Poconos and had the exact same site as when we were there with Kim, Danni, Doug and Grace in August.  We were joined by 2 other RVs and 4 dogs!  The weather was wonderful and the company superb!  It was good to expand our COVID bubble to include the Wetherbees and McGraths. 

The first full day, Rob started a fire in the morning and we pretty much didn’t move from that spot all day.  We chatted, played games and… of course had an adult beverage or 2, or 3…

The second full day, we felt we needed to leave the campground and did some hiking in Lackawanna State Park, which was beautiful.  Walking with our pup was challenging, to say the least but totally worth the effort.  The lake was blue and the sky was spotted with white puffy clouds, a gorgeous day!  It was cool enough to need a jacket for most of the walk, my kind of weather. 

On the way back to the campground we stumbled across McGraths Pub in Dalton, PA.  We just had to stop and have some apps and a beverage before heading to the campground for dinner. Of course we were outdoor dining and the pups hung with us as we dined. 

Saturday evening was our last themed dinner, Japanese style camping (if that’s a thing).  Pot stickers; stir fry with sticky rice and Saki with Japanese sponge cake for dessert. Oh, this is truly GLAMPING in style.  The evening was concluded with some serenading by Paul and Rob.  Music, Friends (or Family), Camping and a Fire… it doesn’t get much better than this!

Going North for some Stellar Leaf Peeping! (10/15/20-10/22/20)

We had so much fun with the Wetherbees and McGraths, we decided to do it again… in the Finger Lakes, in October.  We usually gather for the Beer Festival in Watkins Glen but couldn’t see ourselves doing that in a crowded venue.  We found a great campground on the north end of Seneca Lake called Waterloo Harbor Campground (in Waterloo, NY).  It is right by Seneca River and a well maintained campground… one of the few open so late in the season around there.

We were camped on the outside edge of the campgrounds next to the tenting area but it was too cold to tent camp so we had the open field to let the dogs run around.  Great sites!

The first day we went into Geneva, NY and visited Belhurst Castle and Winery overlooking Seneca Lake.  The original castle now houses a restaurant, which was closed, but the winery was open J  We walked around the grounds for a bit, admiring the view and the Castle until it was our turn to do some tasting.  They did a great job making us feel comfortable with their COVID safety measures and enjoyed the wines.  They also have a brewery and made cider, which I had to take home for later tasting 😉

On the way back to the campground we stopped in Geneva and had lunch at Beef and Brew for some famous “Beef on Weck” which is a delicious roasted beef sandwich on a Kummelweck Roll.  WOW, you have to try one!  It was amazing… it helps that we were very hungry too!  They had tons of beers on tap and we had the whole restaurant to ourselves. 

The second full day there, we were walking Harley by the river and got surprised by a kayak race.  It was pretty cool to see the multiperson kayaks gliding along the river, headed toward Seneca Lake.  After the race started and the kayaks were out of sight, it was time to gear up for the day’s activities.  We visited friends of the McGraths that have a vacation home along the lake.  We spend a bit of time on the shore looking for Lucky Stones (a stone that has a hole worn through them by the movement of the water).  It was mesmerizing and relaxing. 

We then headed out to do some beer and wine tasting so we could land at Two Goats Brewery for some food.  We also tried Brothers Winery and Brewery… War Horse Brewery was delightful and did a great job at social distancing the customers. 

Sunday came and we had to part with our friends (they had to work and we did not!).  We took our time and stopped at Curtiss Museum on the way to Wellsboro, PA.  The ride was lovely and the fall colors were everywhere.  I have to say, I am not a big museum person, but it was really interesting to see how Curtiss changed the transportation industry.  Paul enjoyed it thoroughly!

Our next stop was Canyon Country Campground which was very close to the Grand Canyon of PA and Leonard Harrison State Park.  Karl, a friend that grew up in Wellsboro, offered to take us on a 4-wheeling tour of the area Monday morning, before the rains came.  He took us to Tiadaghton which was a town along the Pine Creek Gorge.  Tiadaghton was developed when there was a need for oversight along the railroad which followed the gorge.  It was great to hear some of the history of the area and how Karl grew up in the wilds of Wellsboro. 

It rained most of Monday and Tuesday.  We played games and did a puzzle in a few hours and did a little walk with Harley at Leonard Harrison State Park.  We could see the fall colors and Pine Creek while we were sandwiched between the cloud layers.  One minute we could see and literally, the next we could not.  It gave us some perspective of the beauty in the area. 

Our last day, Wednesday, it didn’t rain and we were able to do some of the Rail Trail along Pine Creek.  It was peaceful, not crowded and such a joy to bicycle ride in the cooler weather with all the fall colors around us.  We actually rode to Tiadaghton, where Karl took us on Monday, and even though the grade of the trail was minimal, we could really feel the difference going uphill, back to the starting point. 

This ended the 2020 season of RVing and even though we didn’t get to do our 3 month adventure in the spring, we were able to get out, controlling our environment, and get away and grab some change of scenery and some peace.