Departing Wyoming Farms in Maryland was a lot easier than arriving there. I had a full tank of gas and was ready to head to the Catskills. The benefits of a recent massage were quickly undone. The Delaware Memorial bridge was a bit of a white-knuckle event and I got a lot of practice merging in and out of traffic and changing lanes. Surprisingly the part that I hated least was joining the truckers in the trucker lanes of the New Jersey Turnpike. And of course I enjoy getting to know the gas station attendants that pump your gas and the amazing rest plazas with RV parking.
I travel with dueling navigational systems. I have Maps from my iPhone displayed and sitting on the dashboard I have a Garmin RV 890 MT-S. My phone does a better job with routes and looking out for traffic and issues. The Garmin is designed for RVs with my RV dimensions programed into it, it lets me know about sharp curves, low clearance on bridges, and steep grades, and picks the best routes with those things in mind. I also spend time looking over maps and knowing my route ahead of time and sometimes overruling both. As I neared the RV park there was a very strong disagreement. I ended up listening to the Garmin but should have listened to my intuition and my phone. The end result was that I was far down a dead end road having the Garmin tell me that the campsite was down there through those woods. The road came to an abrupt end and it was a combination of thick woods, soft sand, and a steep drop-off that made it a very tight space to work with. The end did L-out a little so I had some room to work with. I took a deep breath and began. While it felt like an eternity and there were some breaks where I debated just sitting there and crying, I think it was around 30 back and forth attempts, over 20 times getting out of my truck to look around, and around 40 minutes to finally get myself pointing the other direction. I found the correct road and arrived and setup at the New York City North / Newburgh KOA Holiday. I really earned the Delaware, New Jersey, and New York stickers that got added. While I can comment that the KOA was well designed with plenty of spacing and trees between sites, I never spent the night there so can’t provide a recommendation on it. I sent a text to my friends that I was running late and please have alcohol on hand for my arrival.
The next couple of days were exactly what I needed after that drive. I arrived at my friend’s gorgeous lake house in the Catskills and there were wonderful cocktails and a yummy dinner that waited for me. We were also joined by another friend. I met both of them at the Leadership Coaching program in Georgetown and can assert that there is nothing better than being in a relaxing setting in the company of two amazing coaches and friends. Went out on the lake, did a little planting, stocked up on the best New York bagels thanks to Monticello Bagel Bakery (make sure you get the chicken salad), enjoyed oversized ice cream at Quickway Twin Cone, and learned how to play pickleball. Thanks to our pickleball companions that helped teach me how to play and all the trash talk and banter. I hope Austin has a place to play because I will be back and next time don’t take it easy on me.
1 Comment
Nina · June 11, 2021 at 4:50 pm
To say the least, that was a little daunting. Being that far down a lonely dead end road would have been enough, but pulling a camper and having to turn it around… KUDOS!
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