We're Really Doing This

   A friend posted this on fb the other day, and I have nearly memorized it since we've been here:

A Vagabond Song

There is something in the autumn that is native to my blood --

Touch of manner, hint of mood;
And my heart is like a rhyme,
With the yellow and the purple and the crimson keeping time.

The scarlet of the maples can shake me like a cry
Of bugles going by.
And my lonely spirit thrills
To see the frosty asters like a smoke upon the hills.

There is something in October sets the gypsy blood astir;
We must rise and follow her,
When from every hill of flame
She calls and calls each vagabond by name. 

--Bliss Carman

    The drive up here was nerve wracking, but I expected that. The Magic School Bus (TMSB) has everything we need and runs great, but she is over 20 years old. Debt would have been a deal breaker for the trip, so we bought what we could pay cash for. The steering is that loose, old kind of steering that has a little "give" in it. Add a tow vehicle, and every gust of wind and semi that blows by makes you fishtail a little. Not fun, but the kids were fantastic; even you-know-who was patient and traveled surprisingly well. The first day we only drove about six hours, stopping in Erie, Pennsylvania at a rest stop for the night. It was loud next to the highway and cold (we opted not to repair our broken generator after the surprise towing thing, and there are no electric hook ups there), so I barely slept. We got up the next morning, ate some breakfast and took off driving again. I had originally planned to break it up into 3 days of driving, about 5 hours a day, but since the boys had been sick, we were a day behind schedule, so we drove the other 9 hours in one day. I will NEVER do that again. I was right in thinking that 5 hours is enough sitting for the kids and enough stress from wrestling TMSB for me. It was a loooong day. Plus, about halfway through Upstate New York, I tried to start my Honda, and the battery had died. You see, you have to put your car in neutral and turn the key to auxiliary while you are towing, and you have a light system that makes the blinker on your car work when you use the blinker of the RV. I had started the car a couple of times along the way, but it still died. The blinkers were still working, so I figured that the wiring for the light system was wired to the RV battery, but I wasn't sure. Maybe the battery still had a tiny bit of juice still in it, and it would die completely while I was driving. Also, it was stuck in neutral. I wasn't sure if that was because of the battery, or if I had jacked up my transmission (which can happen when you tow 4 wheels down). I was scared and wanted to cry and go home. Instead I called the shop who installed my towing stuff, and asked them if my lights were wired to the car or TMSB. They told me TMSB, so since my blinkers were working, and I was way closer to New Hampshire than Kentucky, we pressed on, and I decided to deal with whatever was going on with the car when I got to NH. 

     I can not stress enough how glad I am that we came to this campground first. The owners have  been nothing but helpful to us. We showed up at midnight, and they were there to greet us with a smile and helped us get situated on our site, which they had upgraded for free because they thought it would be easier with the kids. Then the next day, they showed up with a truck to jump our Honda, which thankfully started right up no problem and immediately shifted into gear.

     I wish I could have enjoyed the drive more; it was a lovely route along Lake Erie, through Pennsylvania,  a breathtaking Upstate New York, and Massachusetts. Who knew all those hills and trees were NY too. I was really surprised by how beautiful it was. 

I was also surprised that I had to pay $80 in tolls. By the time I got to Massachusetts, I was like, "Um, you're going to have to bill me,  because I am out of cash." (I'm not lying. I really did this. Don't judge. The guy was like, "blink-blink." I just blinked back until he said okay.) I wish we had had time to stop and really enjoy Lake Erie, and it was hard to pass by Niagara Falls without stopping, but we just can't see and do everything. Not on this trip anyway. ;-)

     This week we are recuperating from the drive, getting settled, and learning a little about New England as a region. Will post about New Hampshire soon. It is every bit as beautiful as I imagined.