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| June 8 – 12, 2018 |
My
summer RV camping season officially began with a short 5-night trip to the Catskill Adventure RV Campground in the Wurtsboro, NY area. For me, it was the second trip in as many years to this campground. The RV group I joined two seasons ago, the Hudson Islanders, are frequent visitors and have held many of their rallies here. It was good to see friends I've made once again, both old and new. The event was well planned and relaxing. CLICK HERE to see the September, 2017 blog I wrote about the rally held last year. It has more photos and details that I will have this year. It was, after all, my first experience. It would be nice to see some of the members not present this year in shots from last year. To avoid the repetition, this blog will have some photo highlights for this year.
The weather was sunny, breezy and warm with daytime temps in the mid 70’s and no signs or forecasts for rain. The evenings required jackets or sweatshirts making the campfires all the more pleasant. Setting up Friday afternoon was routine, the site level and spacious. The biggest downside for me was the lack of cell phone service and I refused to pay for Internet service. Using my hotspot was impossible so phone calls and my daily Internet routines were interrupted but after the initial withdrawal symptoms, it was what it was and I got over it.
Saturday and Sunday morning breakfasts served in the campground restaurant consisted of eggs, bacon, sausage patties, pierogies, roasted and hash brown potatoes, biscuits, French toast, coffee and juices. Saturday night's dinner began with a salad followed by a done-to-your-liking steak, a huge baked potato with sour cream/butter, a variety of steamed vegetables and dinner rolls. The dessert of apple or strawberry rhubarb (before they ran out) pie with a scoop of ice cream finished off the meal. You brought your own beverage. Barry, the owner, and his staff once again provided great meals which were all included in the cost of our stay.
The weather was sunny, breezy and warm with daytime temps in the mid 70’s and no signs or forecasts for rain. The evenings required jackets or sweatshirts making the campfires all the more pleasant. Setting up Friday afternoon was routine, the site level and spacious. The biggest downside for me was the lack of cell phone service and I refused to pay for Internet service. Using my hotspot was impossible so phone calls and my daily Internet routines were interrupted but after the initial withdrawal symptoms, it was what it was and I got over it.
Saturday and Sunday morning breakfasts served in the campground restaurant consisted of eggs, bacon, sausage patties, pierogies, roasted and hash brown potatoes, biscuits, French toast, coffee and juices. Saturday night's dinner began with a salad followed by a done-to-your-liking steak, a huge baked potato with sour cream/butter, a variety of steamed vegetables and dinner rolls. The dessert of apple or strawberry rhubarb (before they ran out) pie with a scoop of ice cream finished off the meal. You brought your own beverage. Barry, the owner, and his staff once again provided great meals which were all included in the cost of our stay.
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| Congratulations John & Carole Celebrating their 55th anniversary |
The business of the club was taken care of after Saturday morning breakfast. Tony, Doreen, John, Roberta and Ray introduced new and welcomed returning old members, the financial status of the club was given, upcoming rallies described and a 50-50 raffle was held. The raffle had a nice twist—there were to be two winners: Mike and yours truly were the two winners. The next order of business was to do nothing; an exhausting task that involved chatting and catching up with other members, hearing about the trips others have taken that will now be added to one's bucket list, kids, grand kids, other family members and the upcoming rallies for the club as well as what awaits us when we return to our own realities to mention a few.
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| Tony with new member, Larry, from Stormville, NY. Welcome Larry, a generous and talented gentleman as you'll read below. |
The
best part of the day was night. With night or early evening, the Firestarter
Jack Show began. Fire building provided brief moments of entertainment. If you don't know how to do it, here's how:
The laughs and discussions continued into the night with Jack keeping vigil to make sure the warmth of the fire kept us cozy. At dinner, new member, Larry, shared one of his homemade bottles of red wine and his homemade prosciutto and capicola, the traditional Italian and Corsican pork cold cut. In addition to providing wood for the fire, one night he shared his homemade grappa. Outstanding. Grappa is made by distilling the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems left over from wine making after pressing the grapes; originally made to prevent waste. Powerful stuff; smooth and flavorful, perfect for warming the innards on the chilly nights. The next night he shared his homemade limoncello, the Italian lemon-flavored liqueur. Yes, also powerful stuff; smooth and delicious. I hope you noticed the operative word, "homemade." What a talent. I sat close enough to him around the fire circle to learn the stories about how each are made; fascinating, informative and just plain amazing. Then, as if these "homemade" treats weren't enough, Martine, on my last night with just six of us remaining, brings her homemade Apple Cordial Liqueur.
The laughs and discussions continued into the night with Jack keeping vigil to make sure the warmth of the fire kept us cozy. At dinner, new member, Larry, shared one of his homemade bottles of red wine and his homemade prosciutto and capicola, the traditional Italian and Corsican pork cold cut. In addition to providing wood for the fire, one night he shared his homemade grappa. Outstanding. Grappa is made by distilling the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems left over from wine making after pressing the grapes; originally made to prevent waste. Powerful stuff; smooth and flavorful, perfect for warming the innards on the chilly nights. The next night he shared his homemade limoncello, the Italian lemon-flavored liqueur. Yes, also powerful stuff; smooth and delicious. I hope you noticed the operative word, "homemade." What a talent. I sat close enough to him around the fire circle to learn the stories about how each are made; fascinating, informative and just plain amazing. Then, as if these "homemade" treats weren't enough, Martine, on my last night with just six of us remaining, brings her homemade Apple Cordial Liqueur.
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| The Apple Cordial Liqueur |
2 cups chopped apple
1 cup brandy (vodka)
½ cup raspberry rum
½ cup brown sugar
1 pack of vanilla sugar
1 tbs of cinnamon powder
½ tsp of pumpkin pie spice
As a PS for those clicking teeth at all the "boozing" that went on, know that all samples were served in a pill cup. It is for us to know how many "pills" we enjoyed.
As with all tabs now found above and to the right of the blog text, I invite readers to check the "My Visitors" tab. It's been updated and the following folks have made it onto the Wall of Flame just by taking the "tour" and visiting Winnie II this past weekend. Thank you.
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| Larry Stormville, NY |
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| Roberta Slate Hill, NY |
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| Sonia & Jim Somers, NY |
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| Jack & Noreen Hopewell Jct, NY |
Thanks for stopping by and reading my blog. The next one will be from Alexandria Bay, NY and the 1000 Islands Campground, June 30th to July 7th.