I'm playing some catch-up again.
We left you last as we had just boarded the Queen Mary2 for our crossing to New York.
Our first morning at sea dawned clear and calm. We rushed up to the kennels at 0800 to break the dogs out of jail, and they were extremely happy to see us.
We've done this rodeo enough times now to fall right into our routine.
Breakfast at 0700 at the buffet
Kennels 0800-12noon
12-3 free time
3-6 Kennels
630p to 730p cocktails and starters in Queens Grill Resturant.
730 - 830 kennels - tuck the dogs in for the night
830p back to Queens Grill for Dinner.
It is quite a lot of running around between our kennel duty and meal times. Frankly, we both got to the point where we just couldn't handle the food anymore... no matter how good it is.
The maitre d and waitstaff are like crack dealers... "Have some of this... try some of that... how about I make this tableside for you tonight...
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| Osso Bucco for dinner |
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| Lamb Chops for dinner |
I did have one excellent Vegetarian dinner one night. Kung Pao Califlower. It was off the charts! I need to try and make it. Topped with lightly pickled julienne vegetables. Serious yum yum!
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| Kun Pao Cauliflower |
Then there was formal night. We had shipped our nice clothes over, and it was waiting for us in our stateroom. So we had to do at least one night. The second formal night we played hookie and stayed casual and went to the buffet instead for a lighter dinner for a change.
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| Cherries Jubilee made tableside |
Lots of time was spent (like always) in the kennels hanging out with the dogs and other owners.
We had a great bunch of people and dogs, so the dogs got to play loose off of the leash.
The days are long. I say that "each day goes slow but the week goes fast."
It was a pretty rough crossing. At times the wind on the deck was approaching 70mph adding in the ships forward motion. We had to leash the dogs just to keep them from getting blown away.
Mid week we had a nice enough day to do the normal photo shoot.
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| Olliver (L) and John (R) the Kennelmaster and assistant |
We've made the crossing several times with Oliver and John. Both are perfectly suited for the job and a joy to work with.
One interesting point was during Covid, when the ship was anchored for over a year, a skeleton crew of about 120 people remained onboard to keep the ship in working order. Things like running all the faucets and appliances needed to take place. John was one of those 120 and had some great stories about what it was like.
The ship was darkened to save energy and it was real spooky. Crew would hide on each other and jump out at the right moment to spook each other.
The night before arrival all the luggage is packed up and placed outside before retiring for the night.
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| Kate on Photoday with Paul McCartney |
The night before arrival all the luggage is packed up and placed outside before retiring for the night.
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| Our luggage outside our stateroom |
Arrival in NYC is about 5am. We pass under the Verazzano and by the Statue of Liberty, and are tied up at the terminal before daybreak.
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| Staten Island Ferry passes by the Statue of Liberty |
Around 8a we were released from the kennels and proceed as a group to disembark.
By our 2nd morning on the ship, I had a scratchy throat and knew that I was coming down with something.
Off the ship, I left Kate, the dogs, and the luggage at the terminal, and shared an Uber with a fellow Kennelmate to Enterprise to pick up our rental.
I had a large Jeep Grand Wagoneer. I pickup of my precious cargo and proceeded to make the 3+ hr drive up to Northern NY. On the way we detoured to Oakland, NJ to stop at our favorite bagel shop to pick up some of those round beauties.
The dogs were so excited to get off the ship. I know they could sense that life was going to return back to normal... (them spending all their time with us)
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| The dogs slept all the way north |
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| Back in the bus.... they quickly fell into PartyBus Mode |
By our 2nd morning on the ship, I had a scratchy throat and knew that I was coming down with something.
Long story short... by the 2nd morning in NY I was at an Urgent Care facility being diagnosed with Pneumonia. Kate followed a few days behind me.
The 10 days that we spent in our old stomping grounds were mostly spent on our back. All our plans were eventually cancelled and we got to do almost nothing while there. A full course of 2 types of antibiotics had us recovering from the worst of it quickly, but we were still under the weather for a couple of weeks and are only feeling somewhat normal now. (Still have a lingering cough)
On October 13 we packed up and finally got the bus back on the road. It had spent 7 months in Saratoga Springs, NY
Our next stop for 6 nights was Artillery Ridge RV Park in Gettysburg, Pa. We enjoy spending time there but again... due to our recuperation we had to cancel visits with friends. We finally were able to get our Covid Boosters and Flu shots, and on our last day there we felt good enought to walk around the battlefield a bit with the dogs as it was a warm sunny day.
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| Southbound on the NYS Thruway |
Our next stop for 6 nights was Artillery Ridge RV Park in Gettysburg, Pa. We enjoy spending time there but again... due to our recuperation we had to cancel visits with friends. We finally were able to get our Covid Boosters and Flu shots, and on our last day there we felt good enought to walk around the battlefield a bit with the dogs as it was a warm sunny day.
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| Artillery Ridge RV Park Site 406 |
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| The pups at the Pennsylvania Monument Gettysburg |
We've now moved further south and currently I write from Shenandoah River State Park. We enjoy this campground and at this time of year it is well positioned to enjoy all that the fall season offers up in this neck of the woods.
Our nearby town is Front Royal, Va which has a small but quaint main st.
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| Main St Front Royal |
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| Main St Front Royal |
We also took a ride up to Winchester to visit an Apple Orchard. We stocked up on 4 types of Apples plus they actually had some fresh picked corn. The corn was so good we drove back yesterday (45 min each way) to get some more.
Today we took a ride up onto Skyline Drive. Running for 105 miles along the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains, it is scenic any time of year but fall brings out the best IMO.
This year has been very dry along the east coast and as a result the colors are a bit muted but still pretty.
2 years ago we were here and the colors were just off the charts.
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| Shenandoah River SP site #1 |
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| Shenandoah River SP site #1 |
We are here until Monday, at which point we move to Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield (near Richmond) Va. It's another fall favorite of ours. After that we have a few days in NC near our old home, then off to SC for maintenance at Freightliner in Gaffney before we start slowly working our way west.
We have a wedding to attend in Austin Texas mid November after which we'll make the final push to Arizona.
January we are already back on the road for our usual winter time get togethers. Sadly our Canadian friends are all (understandably) not coming down to the US this winter for the second year in a row, so our winter get togethers will be missing a core component.
See you down the road.
