On our way across country from Atlanta, GA to Williams, AZ, we made several stops. One of which was to spend a couple days in Oklahoma City, visiting with my oldest daughter, Laura.
We stayed at the Oklahoma City East KOA. Check out this amazing site! We were so impressed by how beautiful this little campground was- and how well kept! Frankly, if it wasn’t for the scary tornado potential in the area, we would consider working here.
But there is the tornado thing and the fact that we really don’t have a basement. And I’m sure that is something that I just have to get over now that I live in a virtual tin can, but at the moment I am good with heading west.
Anyway…
The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge
My daughter took us on a tour of the area, including a drive out to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, roughly 100 miles south of Oklahoma City. It is the oldest managed wildlife facility in the United States.
The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge was important in saving the American buffalo from extinction. In 1907 the American Bison Society transported 15 buffalo, from the New York Zoological Park to the refuge. At that time, buffalo had been extinct on the southern Great Plains for over 30 years.
The buffalo herd now numbers about 650 on the refuge!
One “rule of thumb” when you are around wild animals. If you hold up your thumb in front of them, and you can still see them, you are too close.
And as you can tell from the photo, wild animals come in all forms!
Scary.
Mount Scott
Our tour of the mountains included a trip to the summit of Mount Scott which offers amazing views of the Oklahoma countryside.
And of course a visit to Meer’s Restaurant- a popular place in the area famous for it’s giant Meer’s Burgers. Because we had to eat, right?
Here is a short video of our visit! To see is in large screen, click here.
Dave has always been a fan of gadgets. He loves perusing the internet for handy-dandy tools and extras that would make our life even easier here in this big metal can we call our home. Usually, I don’t understand the issue, but go along with it to keep him happy.
One irritating thing about the hubby is he’s always right. LOL! Anyway, here is our top ten list of gadgets we simply can’t do without!
Did I mention that I’m terminally behind in posts? We have been in Florida for nearly a month and I’m still writing about the trip down!
We took a month to get from Bar Harbor to St. Petersburg, FL and during that time we did a lot of relaxing, visited tourist attractions, and even attended my daughter’s wedding.
After leaving the New England Coast in mid October, we headed to New Jersey.
New Jersey? You bet! Most folks think New Jersey is just an extension of New York City with nothing but pavement, traffic and congestion. And I’m here to tell you that most of New Jersey is nothing like that.
We were headed to Lake Hopatcong, NJ, where Dave grew up. The plan was to visit friends and check out the area. He hadn’t been back in years!
We parked the RV at Panther Lake Camping Resort. It is a 160 acre camping retreat located next to a scenic 45 acre lake in Andover, New Jersey. Loved the beautiful trees and the nice grassy lots! The RV park was just a short driving distance to our destination, Lake Hopatcong.
Lake Hopatcong is the largest freshwater body in New Jersey. Located 30 miles from the Delaware River and 40 miles from New York City, it is a mostly residential lake whose few public access points include Hopatcong State Park and Lee’s County Park Marina.
Most of the shoreline is privately owned by individual lakefront residents, homeowner or community associations, or restaurants and marinas.
Wildlife along the shore was plentiful. In fact the deer were a tad too friendly for my taste. They did not have any fear of humans and would pretty much come right up to you.
They sure were beautiful, though.
Here we were able to meet up with Dave’s childhood friend, Daniel. He and his family still live right here where they grew up. They hadn’t see each other in over 30 years. It was a fun reunion!
We went out to dinner with Daniel and his family where we all insisted on sitting outside along the water, bundled up in our sweaters.
Because when you are in such a pretty area, you really need to enjoy it. Right?
It was a lot of fun meeting this amazing family, and we do hope to visit with them again in the future!
As for the town of Hopatcong and the area around it really seemed to stand still in time. According to Dave, this ice cream stand was a regular destination of his as a child. He says it looks just the same. Home of the Skyscraper, Cliff’s Ice Cream is a regular tourist attraction.
Of course, we had to stop and get a bit of ice cream. Sometimes I have to sacrifice for the benefit of the website. Right?
And I’m here to tell you that New Jersey is a beautiful place in the fall! Check out this fabulous pumpkin and gourd display!
The Lake Hopatcong area is home to many U-pick farms. And many of them are open year round! Depending upon the season, you can find all types of fruits, vegetables and flowers available.
We spent quite a bit of time at several of the farms in the Andover area, picking large black berries, cucumbers, green peppers, and fresh corn.
Just look at this bounty! You can’t find fresher corn that that! And if you are looking for a great way to make it and some yummy berry cobbler on the grill, be sure to check out my 3 Berry Cobbler and Grilled Corn on the Cob recipes!
Faith says we need to get back on the road now. Note the gapped teeth in the front. We call her our little hillbilly.
Anyway, we headed south from New Jersey after a fun visit. Our next long-term destination would be Tybee Island, Georgia, for a brief reprieve before we attended my daughter’s wedding in Atlanta.
It is so hard to accurately describe how beautiful it is here in Bar Harbor, Maine. Over the past five and a half months, I’ve done my best to document some of the sights and sounds of the area. We have made so many wonderful friends here at the Bar Harbor KOA and will miss every one of them.
Here is a compilation of some of the highlights of our time here along with my friends and coworkers who made the time that much more enjoyable.
We are smack in the middle of the busy summer season here at the Bar Harbor Oceanside KOA. With 50 to 70 check-ins a day, Dave and I have found ourselves working long hours. Granted, it will slow down in about a month, but in the meantime, our schedules are pretty busy.
We eat when we find a moment… and some meals are just plain peanut butter and jelly.
Work Kamping this time of year means dealing with crowds, tired campers, children on sugar highs, problems with guests not getting along, occasional backed up toilets, and all around craziness. I work the office and it seems that everyone shows up all at once and dealing with 10 checkins at a time, with RVs lined up as far as you can see, can be quite intimidating.
Dave and I both work hard to keep the guests happy. Sometimes it is as simple as helping their children learn how to use the rental bikes, or directing a guest to our favorite restaurant. Sometimes it is much more difficult than that. There are some folks that just won’t ever be happy. We just do our best.
Working long shifts means that I often end up working in the evenings and early morning on my websites. Of course, there are worse things than sitting by a campfire and writing on my website.
The dogs have been doing well. Of course one main thing we had to all adjust to was the fact that we have to regularly take them for walks rather than just put them in the backyard. Yep, living full time in a RV means that you are quite familiar with everyone’s daily routine.
Sometimes a little too familiar.
So I learned something new this week. Never wrap the leash around your finger. You see, when a 20 lb. Chihuahua/Pug happens to notice a squirrel in the distance and accelerates from zero to fifty in less than two seconds flat, the finger has a bit of problem keeping up with it.
I ended up with a badly dislocated finger, and torn tendons. Oh, and my wedding rings didn’t fair very well either. Someday when I can get a ring back on my finger, I’ll have a jeweler reassemble them.
Let’s just say I finally got a day off. LOL!
Work Kamping isn’t for everyone, and there is definitely a lot of work involved. But, there are good things too! Like getting off after a long tiring day and being stopped by the Lobster Guy on site who just so happens to have a couple lobster dinners ready for you!
(Ignore the dirty dishes in the photo- dirty dishes are a common occurrence during the busy season! ) LOL!
There are the times we get to enjoy a good dinner at one of the fabulous restaurants in the area with our friends and coworkers!
…trying out new and delicious meals. (Crab Cakes courtesy of The Burning Tree Restaurant in Bar Harbor).
…and the fun of exploring this beautiful area of the world!
This season at Bar Harbor KOA has been very exciting for us. It is our first taste of working at a campground. While not everything runs as smoothy as we would like, we wouldn’t trade this experience for the world.
The beautiful sights of Mount Desert Island are something we will remember always. Last week, we took a break on one of our days off and hiked one of the trails along the shoreline of Acadia National Park.
Rock Climbing? Well, maybe that is something we just pretend to do.
The vistas are amazing here. And the journey to get here is worth the effort.
We are half way through our Work Kamping experience here and will be moving on in October to our next destination. Where that is, we currently do not know.
One of the hardest part of our life transition was leaving our family behind. Talking to them regularly on the phone is great, but we do miss seeing them in person. They were curious about our adventure and wanted to come visit. So this past week, we were delighted to host my daughter, mother, sister, sister-in-law and sister’s mother-in-law.
It was so much fun to see them again! Of course, we had to show them around! Our first stop was the top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park. Cadillac Mountain at 1,530 feet, it is the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard. A perfect place to show them some of the beautiful sights of the coast of Maine!
My daughter will be getting married in November, and we had lots of catching up to do. I will be creating some of her wedding decor, so be sure to stay tuned to my other website, Suzy’s Sitcom for the latest wedding craft project!
Of course, she shares my sense of humor. There are many reasons why we call this the Sitcom!
We then took them to Hadley Point where we went mussel fishing at low tide. The Georgia brigade purchased boots just for this! Mussels can be found attached to the rocks under the seaweed when the tide goes out. This particular area has thousands of them.
We let them sit in cold water and corn meal overnight to get most of the sand out of them, and then boiled them in wine, chicken stock and garlic. Yumm!
Of course, you cannot go to Maine without a taste of lobster! The campground that we work at, Bar Harbor Oceanside KOA, has their very own lobster man! He serves fresh lobster dinners every evening from his tent in the middle of the campground.
We then sat around a campfire and enjoyed another beautiful sunset. (Note the bottle of bug spray near my feet). My boss likes to say that there isn’t a single mosquito in Maine. They are all married with large families…
Proper s’more techniques were taught.
…and her last night there, we decided to go with my daughter to see the sunrise from the top of Cadillac Mountain.
As you can see, the hubby isn’t very good about sharing blankets. And I have a very scary looking face at 4:00 AM.
It was freezing! In July!
But very much worth it! What a beautiful sight! The sun begins to rise in Bar Harbor about 4:00 AM. And as you can see, we weren’t the only crazy people there checking out the view.
We had so much fun with the family here and were able to show them just a bit of the sights and experiences of this beautiful part of the country.
Our new lifestyle is exciting and we very much love our decision to take a chance and start traveling, but seeing the family again will be one of the highlights of our summer.
Believe it or not, my RV does actually come with a stove and oven, but I love any excuse to cook on the grill. It is that added smokey flavor makes things taste wonderful.
Oh and there is the fact that the husband insists on being the one to cook on the grill. Who is going to argue with that?
Mix together all marinade ingredients with a whisk.
Place the marinade and the chicken breasts in a large zip lock bag and refrigerate overnight.
Once the chicken has marinated, it is ready to grill!
While the chicken is cooking, cut up the lettuce and tomatoes. Half the avocados and remove the seed. Brush the cut edge of each avocado with olive oil.
When the chicken is ready to pull off the grill, add the avocados face down on the grill. Cook for 5 minutes.
Grilled avocados have an added smokey flavor and taste great on a bed of chopped lettuce and tomatoes, topped with taco sauce, shredded cheese and sour cream. Add a side of refried beans to your grilled avocado and Mexican Chicken, and you have a great festive meal!
Mexican Grilled Chicken and Avocados
Recipe Type: Mexican style dinner
Author: Suzy Myers
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2 servings
A spicy Mexican combo made special with the grill!
Ingredients
2 Chicken breasts
2 Avocados from Mexico
Olive Oil
Shredded lettuce
Tomatoes (chopped)
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Old El Paso Mild Thick and Chunky Salsa (need a coupon?)
Old El Paso Traditional Refried Beans (need another coupon?)
[b]Marinade[/b]
8 scallions (chopped)
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. chipotle powder
1 tsp. paprika
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
Instructions
Mix together all marinade ingredients with a whisk.
Place the marinade and the chicken breasts in a large zip lock bag and refrigerate overnight.
Once marinated, place chicken on heated grill to cook.
While the chicken is cooking, cut up the lettuce and tomatoes. Half the avocados and remove the seed. Brush the cut edge of each avocado with olive oil.
When the chicken is ready to pull off the grill, add the avocados face down on the grill. Cook for 5 minutes.
Grilled avocados have an added smokey flavor and taste great on a bed of chopped lettuce and tomatoes, topped with Old El Paso taco sauce, shredded cheese and sour cream. Add a side of Old El Paso refried beans to your Grilled Avocado and Mexican Chicken, and you have a great festive Cinco de Mayo meal!
We have been in Bar Harbor for two months now, working on the campgrounds. The weather has been very different from what we are used to, with many blustery, windy days. At one point, I wondered when it would actually green up!
And then suddenly the trees grew leaves and summer happened. Well, at least Maine’s version of summer. It is still chilly at night, but we now are having beautiful days in the 70’s . Apparently the trees need to work fast because they only have a few months to be green!
With a few nice days of warm sun, we emerged from our work schedule and RV to create a nice front yard to enjoy. It is truly beautiful here and we wanted a nice place to sit and enjoy it!
This is work camper row. We all have designated spots behind the cabins. They aren’t as green and scenic as the rest of the park, but we made do with what we had to work with and really do like our neighbors.
The work camping thing? Well, it has definitely gotten more intense. We are now working close to 40 hours a week and have gotten to the point where we definitely look forward to our days off.
We’ve had a few coworkers quit and move on already. Seems that work camping is not for everyone. Dealing with customer service and often physical labor can be difficult at times. We have our bad days too, but fortunately for us, the good days outweigh the bad. We have met lots of fun campers in the past few weeks- many from Georgia!
And now that the weather seems to be cooperating, we are spending more time outside in the evening, enjoying our newly decorated front yard and the beautiful park.
I put together a fun project last week. This one involves a wooden plaque, sharpie pens and chalkboard paint! Inspired by the area, I drew up of the local sea life and created a fun chalkboard. You can find the free pattern here!
On the tourist level, we’ve been to Cadillac Mountain several times now. Cadillac Mountain is located in the nearby Acadia National Park and at 1,530 feet, it is the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard.
You can travel to the top of Cadillac Mountain several different ways. You can drive to the top in your vehicle, take several different hiking trails, or enjoy a trolley tour of the mountain.
Oli’s Trolley
We checked out Oli’s Trolley simply because they not only take you around the area, but offer a fully narrated tour about the area’s history, historic sites, mansions, and the summit of Cadillac Mountain.
This area has an interesting history behind it, and we definitely recommend a ride on the trolley to learn more about it. Amongst many other things, we learned about the great fire of 1947 that nearly destroyed all of Bar Harbor. You can still see stone foundations of mansions that used to be amongst the trees on the hillsides of the town.
The area is also the home of the Rockefellers and Martha Stewart! We are told that you can take boat tours into the harbor where you can see their homes.
As for Cadillac Mountain, there are various hiking trails to the summit, some more challenging than others. There is also a paved road to the top.
From the summit, you can see most of Mount Desert Island. On a clear day, it is a beautiful site to see! The photo above shows the town of Bar Harbor in the distance below.
In this photo you can see Bar Island. When this photo was taken, the tide was out and you can see a sand bar that goes from the island to the town of Bar Harbor. Folks like to hike or even drive their cars across that bar of sand during low tide to explore the island.
Timing is crucial as it is not unusual for folks to find themselves stranded on the island during high tide. For a tidy sum, boaters will rescue those that do not want to wait another 8 hours for low tide.
Oh, and the little guy in the photo? That is a very ingenious seagull. He figured out that if he stands there looking all sweet, folks will feed him snack food. He waited patiently for us to find something in the car for him, and then went to the car behind us to see what they had.
An interesting fact about Cadillac Mountain is that it is the first place to view the sunrise in the United States from October 7 through March 6.
Want to view a sunrise from Cadillac Mountain?
You have to get up mighty early. The sun is up by 4:00 AM right now! Check the time for sunrise and give yourself plenty of time to get up the mountain. It takes about 20 minutes from the village of Bar Harbor or 30 minutes from the KOA campground.
Dress warm! It is always windy on top of Cadillac and particularly chilly even in the middle of summer.
For more comfort, consider bringing blankets and chairs.
Bring some coffee or tea in a thermos to keep warm. Or plan for a nice breakfast in downtown Bar Harbor afterwards.
Us? Well we do not do mornings well. We may decide before the summer is out to check out a sunrise. I mean, we need to try everything, right? But in the meantime, we did drive up to the top last week to see a sunset. The sun sets about 8:00 PM right now and that worked out well for us.
My camera doesn’t do it justice, but here is a brief look at that beautiful sunset.
Sunsets are beautiful here both on Cadillac Mountain and at the campgrounds. I think that they will be one of the many things I will look back on fondly when we do eventually move on.
Spring has finally come to our part of Maine! The grass suddenly greened up, the weather has warmed up a bit, and the dandelions are in full bloom!
Back in Georgia, the schools have let out for summer and I’m sure it is very hot and humid there. While we are totally not missing that, it is a bit strange to be celebrating spring weather when it is nearly June.
The park is starting to fill up. We had a big crowd over the Memorial Day weekend and our first taste of how busy it will get as the weather warms up here.
When Dave and I lived and worked in Atlanta, we carpooled every day- an hour and a half each way in heavy traffic.
We still carpool, but this is our new ride! Cute, right? Takes us about 5 whole minutes to get to work and the traffic? Other than an occasional seagull or goose, it is nonexistent!
We get two days off a week and plan to use them to explore the area. The Bar Harbor Oceanside KOA is located on Mount Desert Island. It is a huge island with lots of areas to explore including a Acadia National Park, tons of hiking trails, lots of coastal towns, lobster fishing, beautiful mountains, and even a lighthouse or two!
This past weekend, we took a trip down to Southwest Harbor, Bass Harbor, and the Bass Harbor Lighthouse. Southwest Harbor is the largest town on the southwestern quiet side of the island. The town has some great shops, galleries and restaurants worth checking out more thoroughly in the near future.
As we entered Southwest Harbor, we stopped to admire the amazing views. You can see the open ocean here, dotted with various small islands. And just check out the rocks! I had immediate plans of gathering a bunch and creating a whole new batch of Painted Paisley Stones!
…and apparently they knew I was coming. It appears that I may not be the only one who loves a pretty rock.
Our next stop was the lighthouse. My ultimate goal on this trip is to visit every lighthouse in the area, and with nearly 60 lighthouses on the Maine coast, I have my work cut out for me!
Built in 1858, Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse is the only lighthouse located on Mount Desert Island. There are not currently tours available for this lighthouse as it is maintained by a private family, but you can take the walkway right up next to the tower and lighthouse viewing area where you can see a panoramic view of the harbor and the islands in the distance.
To the left side of the lighthouse is a path that leads to the rocks below where you can capture some amazing photos of the cliff and lighthouse. Here I am in my KOA yellow parka checking out the view before I carefully picked my way down.
We sat here for quite some time enjoying the view and keeping an eye out for seals along the shore. I hope to come back here soon around sunset and get some more beautiful photos.
The little town of Bass Harbor is not only picturesque, but is known as one of the most lucrative lobster-producing ports in the state. The town also has terminals for two different ferries which can take you to more of the surrounding islands.
We plan on taking some of the ferries in the near future and will let you know more about them then.
But for now, we have work to do back at the Oceanside KOA. And a few beautiful sunsets to enjoy there!
I get asked often how our dogs have taken to traveling. Because we are full timers, we had to work up a routine for them that keeps them happy, entertained and healthy, while at the same time allowing us to do what we want to do.
For those that do not travel full time, traveling with your pet is becoming more and more common. After all, if you are like us, you just may consider your pet one of the family.
This is the first time Ralph and Faith had ever seen a beach. They were a bit confused at the time as to what this might be, but warmed up to it quickly when they both discovered that there were fish in the water.
Finding a pet friendly beach can be difficult and I have to say that we visited quite a few before we found one that we could bring the dogs to. It is important to always follow the rules of the area so that you don’t ruin it for others. Faith and Ralph loved the opportunity to see this beach in Carabelle, FL, and hopefully many other dogs will too!
Here are 14 traveling tips that we learned along the way:
Consider the trip from your pet’s point of view. Will they actually enjoy the trip or will they be cooped up the whole time? If you do not think you will have the opportunity to spend time with them, then maybe this particular trip might not be the best one for them. Don’t take them just because you can.
Does your pet suffer from motion sickness, or get ill when routines are disrupted? This should be considered. Are they just going to be miserable?
Does your pet have issues with other people or animals? Socializing an animal can be as simple as taking them to the dog park now and then and getting them used to the fact that there are more people in their world than just you. Our dogs were not socialized before our first trip, but we have been surprised at how quickly they have adjusted to a new world around them. Just be sure to be aware when new people come up on you and allow your dog to get used to the idea of other folks wanting to pet them.
The health of your pet is a huge consideration especially when traveling. Be sure that all vaccinations are up to date, and that you carry the shot records with you. For airline travel, health certifications are required. Be aware that there are germs and parasites in other areas of the country that your pet may not encounter in your own yard. Personally, I like to be sure they are both up to date on flea meds too. Certain areas of the country have larger numbers of ticks and mosquitoes which may be a threat to your dog’s health.
When traveling, a crate is a good place for your pet when riding in a car or RV. It is actually safer for both of you. It prevents your pet from becoming a projectile if you have to stop fast, reducing the chance of injury to both you and your pet.
Be sure that your pet has ID tags with your phone number on them and a sturdy leash and collar. Consider a permanent form of identification such as a microchip.
Never leave your pet in a parked car, especially if it is warm out. It takes no time at all for the inside of a car to heat up and become very dangerous to a small pet. That said, keep in mind that a RV is basically a vehicle. The same rules apply!
Going out in a boat? Don’t forget flotation vests for your dog. Sure he can swim, but there is the possibility of drowning even for the best of swimmers.
Does your pet have a favorite blanket or toy? Be sure to bring it along! Sometimes just having something familiar nearby is enough to calm any fears.
Take a lot of breaks while on the road. We try to stop every few hours to walk our dogs. Usually, we hit a rest stop and find the dog walk area. It is good for everyone to get out and take a small walk and the dogs love to get the exercise.
Be sure to provide plenty of water during your trip, but limit the food while traveling. You never know when a bout of car sickness might pop up, so hold off on feeding too much until you get where you are going. If the animal is prone to nervous stomach, you may want to stick to bland food until they calm down a bit once you arrive.
Be a good pet owner. Follow the rules of the area. Do not take your dog where he is not allowed, and pick up after them.
Dogs love healthy routines. Once you are at your destination, provide regular walks, access to fresh water, and regular companionship.
Include activities in your trip that are pet friendly such as hiking or maybe an off-leash dog park. Check the available local activities in areas that you will be visiting to ensure that they do allow pets.
Having your pet along on your trip will be very enjoyable as long as you prepare them for it, and allow them to enjoy the ride! And if you never know, they just might show you something you might have missed along the way!