The Countdown Has Begun!

Well we've completed the last leg of our planned bus relocation.

In order to begin the next phase of our continuing adventures (more at the end

of this post) , we needed to move the bus to someplace near New York City.

So...  we left Old Federal Campground (#1 on the map)...

Our first stop for one night was "Pedro's" Campground at

South of the Border.  (#2 on the map)

Anyone who has made the drive between the Northeast and Florida knows

about SOTB.   Its a whole complex of shops, arcades, rides, restaurants and

firework shops that harkens back to the 1950's.

Long a cheesy, must stop landmark...  somehow, like that Energizer Bunny...

South of the Border seems to continue chugging along.

South of the Border SC

We were surprisingly pleased with the RV Park.

Certainly worn and in need of some work, but it was basically clean, quiet,

and more than suitable for an overnight stop.

Easy on and off of I-95 with Full Hookups. 

South of the Border Campground

After our one-night stop, on Saturday morning we continued another 160 miles

to our stop (#3)  Cedar Point Campground in Croatan National Forest in NC.

Cedar Point Campground

With 50 amp service (needed here in the summer) this campground is

close to the beaches and packed in summer.

During the shoulder season it was reasonably quiet.

Its a nice campground and was located well for our final visits to our

Dr's and Dentists for annual/semi annual checkups.

We had a long pull-thru and I was able to get the 110 and 119 satellites

so we were able to get Dish TV - just not in HD since I could not get the 129

due to the trees.

If I put out my portable I would have been able to pick up all three birds, but we

decided to "rough it" this week.

Our site # 25

On downside of this location is the proximity to the Marine Base at Camp Lejune.

Our old house was about 30 miles away and the explosions from the base would sometimes

rattle our windows.    Here we were only a few miles - so they really shook the bus at times.

Needless to say the dogs were not happy.

I decided to invest in a couple of "Thunderhirts" and can happily say that they made

a big difference.

They are like a big hug to the dogs and as anyone knows..

Hugs feel good!

Lucy models her Thundershirt

In preparation for our next adventure...  I needed to get some sort of pen

for the dogs.   The one below we got from Chewys and is portable so that it will

travel nicely with us.

While in the area we visited with our former neighbors.

We had a nice dinner at our next door neighbors, got to meet the nice lady who

purchased our home, and Kate even took a tour.

One night we visited our friends Fabian and Silvana who live on the beach.

Fabian is a chef, owns a local restaurant, and his meals always are super!

They have a great view from their place.

Their son and daughter are just delightful youngsters.

They have two large Labradoodles.

After 10 nights our business was concluded and time to move on to our final stop.

Below - we cross the 23 mile long Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.

We spent 3 nights at Kiptopeake State Park (#5 on the map) which is

located at the extreme southern end of the "Eastern Shore" of Va and

just a few miles from the northern terminus of the CBBT

It has full hookups and is on the shore of Chesapeake Bay.

View from Campground Amphitheater

While there we drove a few miles north to Cape Charles, Va.

I know that my father was born here... but not much more than that.

Sign on the waterfront in Cape Charles

Cape Charles Harbor Breakwater

Cape Charles began life as a town at the end of the railway where goods were loaded

onto barges to be transported across the bay to the Norfolk/Hampton Roads area.

Old homes along the waterfront in Cape Charles

The town has the feel of a city trying to re-invent itself.

The main street was a mix of shops, restaurants, and buildings under refurbishment.

Neptune stands guard at the beach

In a nod to its nautical location, the town water tower looks

like a lighthouse.

The fields of Canola were in bloom and the yellow flowers stretching for miles were stunning.

Our next and final stop (for the bus)  in our trip east is the Pine Cone Resort

in Freehold, NJ.

We've never stayed somewhere with a 5 rating on RV Park Reviews and I was quite

hesitant to stay here but there is not much in the area so we decided to take a chance.

It turns out to be just fine.

Its in need of some repair and investment, but for our purposes its quite suitable.

The staff was friendly, our site is semi full hookup (we get pumped out once a week)

In the rain I imagine it can get a bit muddy but its sand so should drain quickly.

While here in NJ we had to travel up to Albany, NY for some work related activities.

We had our usual bi-annual Audit by Berkshire Hathaway.

One again we passed with flying colors!

This will be my final audit however as I told my bosses that I am going

to retire at the end of this year.

We stayed with our good friends Matt & Julie at their lovely home in

Bolton Landing NY which is perched on a hillside overlooking Lake George.

Matt has a place up in the woods that he is turning into a "Man Camp"

Removing trees, creating a pond, etc  requires man sized toys and the garage there has these two

items plus a portable wood mill where he can create his own lumber from his trees.

The view from the back of his lot which I think is about 9 acres.

SO WHAT IS NEXT?

Ok enough teases.. 

JUST 10 DAYS FROM TODAY!

We will be leaving the bus here at the Pine Cone storage area for 5 months.

On Thursday May 17th we are boarding the Queen Mary 2  (with the Doodles)

and will be traveling by sea to Europe where we will spend the Summer and part of the Fall

traveling thru France, Italy, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Belgium, Scotland, and England.

The QM2 has kennels on board and the dogs will remain in that area (outside area too)

for the duration of the voyage, and we will visit with them every day.

We are renting Air BnB's, some Castles, and  a hotel here and there.

We are going to be saying at an eclectic mix of places ranging in style

from cottages on farms, to Castles, to flats above a pub in London.

Some places will be a few days and some several weeks.

Its going to be the adventure of a lifetime.

We'll return to the states on the QM2 on October 18, arriving back in NYC on Oct 25.

Then we pick the bus back up - and work our way back to Arizona

where we'll move into our new house which is currently under construction.

Then at the end of this year (Feb 1st) I will retire!

It should be a great trip and another banner year with a lot of interesting posts, 

so keep following along and thanks for your comments.

It's great to hear from all of you!