Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety-Jig

Three hours after returning the RV, we were home for good. Mick and Sue invited us over for a swim and the girls hunted for the last few raspberries of the season.

We were really looking forward to a good long sleep in our own beds, but a little sad that the trip had ended so quickly. There was lots to look forward to for the rest of the summer: Soccer camp, horseback riding camp, Sarsaparilla Camp, some time at Old Orchard Beach, and the anticipation of 4th grade. Before any of that, though, would be the twins' birthday party in two days.

Nine years' old. Whoa....

Raspberries poolside at the McAlpines

Better Than We Found It

We had to be on the road to Danbury, CT by 7 AM so that we would be sure to have the RV returned before the 11 AM deadline. With all of the problems we had, I wanted to make sure that we were in the best bargaining position possible—and incurring a late fee was probably not the best way to start up. While waiting for the kids to wake up (they were SUPER excited for 6+ hours of driving for no real purpose) I took a few photos of the (clean and empty) RV to post here. I realized that I hadn't given you blog readers a tour of our rolling castle. This is where we lived for the last 20 days—but it was never, ever, this clean!

Forward half

Amaya's loft above the cab

Rear half

"Master Bedroom"

The Poop Nazi's Throne

Fridge, tiny shower, and bedroom

The rental agents were apologetic about the problems we encountered with our RV and they told us whom to contact to ask for reimbursement for our "lost" time due to repair issues. They did return our deposit without any problem (I had double-flushed the holding tanks) and reimbursed us for the fans that we bought to help us sleep at night. Just to stir the pot a bit, I asked how they were going to get the air conditioner fixed within two hours—when the next renters would show up. I had to bite my tongue when they said that they were expecting a shipment of a new AC unit at any moment...

Dinosaur Day

We were all pretty bummed that we had reached the last day of our RV adventure, but we were determined to make it a good day. We buttoned up the RV after a late breakfast and decided to hang out at the Canandaigua campground pool until a little after noon. Another session of Daddy pool dancing was just what the doctor ordered before our long drive home.

Mama Sandwich

...and the Grand Finale!

Just as were trying to decide where to stop for lunch, we received an email from Jay Thoman (Rochester native) with the timely information that the original Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is in Syracuse. We set our course for BBQ!

It's a Droopy Day. Hoo-Ray

It was so bright (and hot!) outside entering the restaurant was like stepping into a root cellar. After about twenty minutes, our eyes adjusted enough to the dark that we could make out the cool murals and photos on the walls. I'm a fan.

Amaya was strangely disturbed by the graffiti, but she recovered.

I've heard that there now is a Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Troy, NY, but we've never been. I think we've got a destination for our next road trip! Maybe then, we could partake of the beer, too...

Keiko the Bar-B-Que Velociraptor

We stopped by LL Bean's in Albany to pick up a few gifts for our neighbors who had been looking after our chickens. We had also been planning to see Harry Potter 7.2 at the movie theater, but Keiko got scared at the last minute and said that she didn't want to go. (Of course, two days later she went to watch it with a friend and had no problems...) Instead, we did something equally entertaining: shopped for girls shorts at the Justice store. I guess our fun vacation really had come to an end.

We rolled into our driveway in Williamstown at about 10 PM. The girls were thrilled to see their cats (Maine Coon cats named Minnie, Chloe, and Woofie) and were so wound up that they didn't get to bed until about midnight. Rachelle and I wanted nothing more than to go to sleep too, but we were saddled with the task of cleaning the RV that night to have it sparkling and ready to return first thing the next morning. Unpacking was a lot faster than packing, of course, but we quickly learned that heat wave we had been experiencing for the last few weeks had extended all the way to Massachusetts. We were a good team, though, despite the sweat and exhaustion, and whipped it into shape. We were home.

Falls Trolley Folly

Leaving Pittsburgh, with two days to drive home, we had initially planned a relatively direct route  through Scranton. Woo hoo. Isn't that where The Office is set? When Googlemaps showed that it really wouldn't add much time to head north to Niagra Falls first and then shoot across the New York Thruway, we kept driving north. Yelp led us to an awesome lunch stop in Erie called Pie in the Sky where we sat in a cool booth that was almost completely enclosed. It wasn't too long before we were at Niagra Falls. I've seen the falls many times and Rachelle and I had stayed overnight on the Canadian side during our transcontinental drive back in the summer of 1995.

Maid of the Mist

I don't think that Keiko and Amaya were expecting much, but they were awed by the falls. After about 5 minutes, though, they were ready to leave.  I wanted to see the American falls, which looked to be just a few hundred yards away, but knee was really acting up so much that I could barely walk. I convinced the family to join me guided trolley tour. It looked like we'd be able to get off at the first stop (without paying) and then walk back to the car. After waiting about 20 minutes in the heat for the trolley to show up, we boarded—but then it proceeded in the opposite direction...

Horseshoe Falls

Needless to say, the family was not very happy about this turn of events. We were in a packed trolley in 90° heat, going in the wrong direction, and the narration consisted mainly of announcements of the next parking lot stop. I hate to say it, but I think Keiko had the right idea.

Keiko takes advantage of Dad's "educational experience"

Well, one stop shy of a full 30-minute circuit on the trolley, we jumped off and checked out the American falls. After multiple apologies for making them endure the trolley ride, the girls agreed to take one more photo with Dad. It all turned out OK in the end.

A matter of inches...

On the road again, we drove the last few hours of our trip to Canandaigua, NY to a KOA campground where I had stayed several times during my Camp Billings roadtrips. Looking for Buffalo wings and beer, we found a college bar called Lovin' Cup near the Rochester Institute of Technology. The place was packed. Students playing a Frisbee game in the beer garden, a live jazz trio playing inside, and a fondue appetizer ended the day in a fun way. Only one more day left on our roadtrip.  Sigh.