Ray & Kathy Dyer – President and Secretary

The end of the year is closing in on us. Kathy & I hope your travels this year have been rewarding. Time flies when you are having fun and now the days are getting shorter instead of longer.

I’ve stated before, the weather systems moving across the country seem intense this year. We thought that maybe the northeast would be calmer. As it turned out, not quite so. Everything started out calmly and cool, but we had some excitement along the way. Most of the places we stayed were fine, but a few were less than desirable. We stayed at the following places:

• Hagerstown KOA, Maryland: Watch out for the narrow bridge with a sharp turn into the RV park if you follow the GPS.
• DuBois / Treasure Lake KOA, DuBois, Pennsylvania: Went to Punxsutawney and they had fiberglass groundhogs.
• Daisy Barn Campground, Wilson, New York: Great, right on Lake Ontario. Delightful find. Stayed over the 4^th of July and several days. The weather was great, able to see Toronto across the Lake Ontario. Had fireworks, wine tasting and very friendly campers.  Sites were large and utilities were good. Went to see the Erie Canal, Niagara Falls & Old Fort.
• Lake Onieda Harvest Host, New York: Interesting stay with a small lake near Lake Onieda. Ran the generator two days straight because of the heat.
• Lake George, New York: Nothing of note.
• Moose River Campground, Saint Johnsbury, Vermont: River flooded.  Did not get flooded but did relocate to drier site. Took the Cog Train to the top of Mount Washington State Park in the clouds.
• Augusta Gardiner KOA, Richmond, Maine: Went to Old Fort Western in Augusta, Maine.
• Houlton KOA, Maine: Drove into Woodstock, Canada. This is where I-95 starts/ends.
• Holden Family, Maine: Toured the Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor.
• Winding River, New Hampshire: Sites were tight, fit us fine, but a larger coach would have problems. Walked around Exeter – cute town.
• Leyden Farm Vineyard, Rhode Island: Harvest winery. Enjoyed our stay. Several sites available and no restrictions on generators. Good wine.
• Mystic KOA, Connecticut: Saw the 1840 Stonington Light House.
• Round Pond, West Point Military Family Camp, New York: No sewer. Limited sites all back in. Nice and secluded. I do not think anything over 37 feet would fit. Going in and out steep 8% grades and tight curves. Single lane in places. Went to the West Point Museum and Washington’s Revolutionary War Headquarters.
• Originally planned on New Jersey, but with Hurricane Debbie coming in we diverted west to Williamsport/Nittany Mtn KOA, Pennsylvania: Large campground. Thought we could outsmart Debbie, but the system caught us. In the heavy rain our tent collapsed.
• Elizabethtown/Hershey KOA, Pennsylvania: Our last stay until the Region 5 rally. Detours to get to the RV camp. More expensive than most but is at Hershey – a destination site.

Christmas at the Beach, December 9-13 wraps up the year. Note that this rally has increased in length to 4 days.  It is still at Ocean Lakes in Myrtle Beach. This year the host will be Gene & Grace Failmezger from the South Carolina Palmetto Pals with co-hosts John & Joan Bower from the North Carolina Tarheels.

Everyone, please drive safely and have an enjoyable 2024 on the road. We can be reached at rodyer1@gmail.com, 804-691-3309 or dyerkj@gmail.com, 804-691-9419.