“Stuck on you, I’ve got this feeling down deep in my soul that I just can’t lose – guess I’m on my way…”

As promised, our last day traveling will end this season’s blogging adventures.
We decided to sleep in Sunday morning, as we were up really late just enjoying the quiet. Seriously, it was so peaceful. So, we didn’t jump up with the alarm. Oh yes – we almost always set an alarm when we are away. And there are a few lucky days – like Sunday – when I can choose to ignore it! We cleaned up and closed up the motor home, as we don’t know the next time we will be camping. We left around 12:30, and headed to the Delaware Water Gap Trolley Company.

We have found that the Trolley tours offered all over the country are usually a great way to really see the highlights of an area in a short amount of time, for a fair price. Today, we experienced the 1 hour trolley tour of the Delaware Water Gap Area. The trolley was filled to capacity, and although there was no air conditioning, today was quite breezy and comfortable. The tour showed us historical and geographical sites, and Jose, the guide, shared many interesting stories of the area. It seems Jackie Gleason and Art Carney often vacationed in the Gap area. In addition to being informative, it was necessary to us, as our RV would NOT have done well with the narrow, winding, VERTICAL road ways. We finished the tour, and stopped at a fresh vegetable stand around the corner. Then, we had the lunch I had packed, and headed on home.

It’s always depressing and exhausting to pull up in front of our house at the end of a trip. I never want our camping trips to end; I love them. However, I put on my “big girl panties (!)”, and forged ahead. And, at this point, the laundry is done and folded. The clothing and toiletries that we need are back in the house. The only thing we have to organize and empty is the fridge and the cabinets. I will get to that this week. We are leaving some clothes and linens in the RV, so it is all set for when we travel. We also left our kitchen utensils and pots and pans, and our paper goods. It always makes things easier when we don’t have to start from scratch.

And so, sadly, another season of blogging seems to end here. Thank you so much for reading along, and commenting, answering, questioning and interacting with me this summer. This blog is so meaningful to me – I don’t think I can even explain its importance. As today’s blog title says, I am “stuck” on all of you. Have a great rest of the summer, and enjoy the upcoming change of seasons. I will catch you again. I would like to end with the remaining lyrics of the title song, made famous by Lionel Richie, for they say it all:
“Stuck on you, I’ve got this feeling down deep in my soul that I just can’t lose –
Guess I’m on my way,
Needed a friend, and the way I feel now I guess I’ll be with you till the end –
Guess I’m on my way….
I’m mighty glad you stayed.”

With love,
Marla and Rich

Our trolley.

The. Gap.

Overlooking the Gap.
See ya soon!

“…From the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans, white with foam….”

When last we left you, it was Wednesday, August the 13th. So let’s go back in time, so I can finish my tale, and bring you up to the present. As I am getting older (!!), it is sometimes just too late to blog at night – and we are in just too much of a hurry to get somewhere the next morning.

Thursday the 14th was our beach day. We packed up our snacks and clothes, and sunscreened up, and headed out to Atlantic City. It’s about a 30 minute drive from Ocean View to the Boardwalk, and we had a pleasant drive, without any problems. We parked at the Tropicana, and headed onto the beach. It was the FREE beach. It was the beach that is unlike so many other New Jersey pay-to-get-on beaches, and it is beautiful and clean. It was the perfect beach day. The sun was shining brightly, there was a cool ocean breeze, the sand was hot and the water was cold.

We were meeting friends there – 3 generations of friends with our 3 generations of family! We hugged and kissed Bobbie and Joel, Leslie and David, and Rosalee and Sammy. And it was fantastic – as all 3 generations had someone THEIR OWN AGE! Bobbie and Joel have been close friends of the Zirin family for about 35 years. It was just luck that we were all in South Jersey on the same day, at the same time. We have seen Leslie and David a few times this year, and were trying to find a way to connect once again before the end of the summer. In addition, this time the youngest generation got a chance to bond! Mikaela, Sammy and Rosalee kept each other company in the waves, the sand castle building activities, and more. It was truly a spectacular few hours.
As the time was getting later, we said goodbye and headed back. Mikaela and her super good sport Grandma went to the pool (at Mikaela’s request) – which meant Rich and I didn’t have to go! We had another delicious dinner that night, with another beautiful campfire – with more uninvited skunks to end the evening.

Friday morning we packed up, cleaned up, took one final bike ride, and headed out. It is always sad to leave Ocean View; we always have such a nice time when we camp there. We were treated to a nice, old fashioned breakfast out (thanks, Grandma!), and we made a last pit stop at “The Marketplace at Teaberry”. It’s a flee market type place where there are all sorts of magical finds. Everyone found something to bring home, with the exception of Mikaela. Decision making may NOT be her finest quality, if you know what I mean. So, amidst tens of offers and suggestions of gifts from all three of the rest of us…she declined comment. Whatever – we were more disappointed than she. We did buy her some beach themed souvenirs earlier in the week from Sea Isle, so all was well. After goodbyes to Grandma as she headed on her own trip home, we made our way home in the early afternoon, and thankfully sailed right up the oh-so-unpredictable Garden State Parkway. Our entire trip home was 2 hours, door to door. It really was a great vacation. For those of you on the fence, Ocean View is a fabulous place to camp – in a cabin, tent, or a motor home.

The following week was spent organizing, cleaning up, doing laundry and getting ready for…another camping trip! This weekend, we are at the Mountain Vista Campground, up in the Poconos. It’s about an hour and a half from home, and literally down the road from Otter Lake – where we began this summer’s camping adventures. Mikaela is away this week, and our moms are at home relaxing, so they’re not with us. BUT, friends Michael and Roz had been planning with Rich to figure out a way to join us for a camping expedition. So, they stayed nearby, and we’ve spent the last two days having a blast. Their two older children are away at USY Encampment with Mikaela, but lucky Isaac got to share in our expedition. We left Highland Park Friday afternoon, and followed Mike and Roz up to Bushkill Falls. The weather was cloudy and cool, making the “hike” around the falls very comfortable. It is a beautiful park, and there are four different trails to use, ranging from easy to long and more difficult. Thankfully, we were able to talk Isaac out of taking the most strenuous trail, and spent about an hour climbing down and up MANY steps to see the falls from many different viewpoints. I am not complaining at all about the climb; I did really well (as long as we stopped rather frequently so I could gasp for air after any steep vertical upward climb!) It did appear that no one in our party minded my oxygen breaks, as they got to take a rest as well. I highly recommend seeing the Falls, if you are in the area.

Our campground was nearby, and we arrived pretty quickly. We set up as Roz and Mike checked in to their place. We came together again a short while later, and had a delicious shish kabob dinner prepared by Mike and Roz, some homemade salads, great company, good conversation, and some excellent beverages! We enjoyed a raging campfire until it was very late, and very dark. The predicted showers began after we went to bed, and continued well into the day. And that brings us up to the present time. Saturday is our Sabbath, and we spend it just relaxing. We had a quiet breakfast, read a bit, and listened to the non stop rain. It wasn’t pouring, just raining steadily. And it was cool enough for a sweatshirt – which is a welcomed change after the very hot days we experienced earlier in the summer. Roz and Mike and Isaac met up with us in the late morning, and it was just so relaxing sitting around and talking, and sharing stories. I had prepared a crock pot chicken stew on Friday afternoon (Rich’s recipe), and it turned out to be the PERFECT lunch for a cool, rainy day like today. We had salads and seasoned rice to accompany the stew – and it was a home run meal!

Luckily, the rain ended, and we were able to take a walk and enjoy some of the amenities of the campground. The last time we camped at Mountain Vista, it was September of 2009. We stole an early autumn weekend away – and it rained from the moment we hit Pennsylvania, until SUNDAY MORNING! Other than a 5 minute break on Saturday afternoon – during which we were caught outside in a downpour – we never saw anything. So, our weather record at this campground is not very good. Thankfully, we finally saw some of what it has to offer. Mountain Vista is true to its name – mountainous. I DEFINITELY could not bike ride anywhere here at all. The walk was slow, but VERTICAL. There are many RV sites and tent sites, as well as cabins. The site we are currently in is enormous. It’s one of the nicest sites we have seen all summer. It’s also right next to the entrance, so we didn’t get to see a lot when we arrived. The walk gave us a really good feel for the park. Mountain Vista is wooded, with gravel ground cover. There are many, many trees, providing shade from the sun and a bit of shelter from the rain. Behind the main office, we found a large cement patio. The staff was setting up for an awesome dj dance and Karioke night. (We took a rain check!) There was a beautiful fire pit filled with a roaring fire, and comfortable Adirondack chairs encircling the fire. This was an awesome place to relax for awhile. The campground is filled with activities and things to see and do. We do plan on returning in the future. Perhaps the third time, we will be able to avoid the rain!

Around 9 pm, we all drove into town to get a small bite to eat. Afterwards, Mike, Roz and Isaac dropped us off and headed off on the rest of their weekend adventures. It was so much fun to be here with friends! Rich built another beautiful campfire, which might turn out to be the last one of this season. And we are doing what we love to do best – sitting and enjoying the flames of our fire, while blogging and checking the Internet. As the fire dies down, reduced to orange glowing burning embers, we realize how dark and silent it is. I mean, it is pitch black dark, and there’s not a sound to be heard. The burning and crackling of the fire is the only noise to be heard. The air is crisp and cool, and it is heavenly. When we first went camping 5 years ago, we experienced complete night darkness in the Badlands in South Dakota. We also learned about the “light pollution” we have to deal with on the east coast. I am happy to report that there was little to no light pollution tonight. It was very, very beautiful.
I am having trouble getting an Internet connection, so this will post sometime on Sunday. There is no trivia question; I am all out of ideas. The last two questions went unanswered anyway, so my readers might be trivia’d out! The first answer as to who was performing at Caesar’s in Atlantic City last week was, of course, the ever wonderful Donny and Marie Osmond. Shame on you all for not getting that! And the last trivia answer was Minnie Ripperton. She sang the title song to the last blog post. Minnie Ripperton was Maya Rudolf’s mother, and an amazing, amazing singer who died in her way too young in the late 70’s or early 80’s.
I hope to be able to write an ending post for this season tomorrow evening. Catch you then. In the meantime, enjoy the pictures of Bushkill Falls.

“It’s so nice to see old friends, ‘Cause we’ve all gotten very much higher…”

When we last left each other, it was a drenched Tuesday evening. Thankfully, Wednesday morning was dry, sunny and beautiful. We began the day with a Zirin family bike ride. I took Rich and Mikaela to all the places I visited Tuesday morning. It was an EXCELLENT family moment! Connie stayed back at the site, reading outside, and enjoying the quiet!
There are so many beautiful places to visit in the Ocean View area, that we didn’t know where to go first. The funny thing is, the campground itself provides enough activities and beautiful spaces, that you really don’t need to leave to have a good time. But, we wanted to go back to some of the places we found so special two years ago. We finally agreed that today’s trip would take us to Cape May. Mikaela happened to be on her phone with an old USY friend from Staten Island, and incredibly, she was spending the week in Sea Isle City. Since her family was going to Cape May also, we made plans to meet up. The reunion was excellent; the girls then had over an hour to hang out together. Rich, Connie and I wandered and explored the interesting little shops in the Cape May outdoor mall. We weren’t really there to buy anything in particular, just to spend the day outdoors in the beautiful weather. An hour later we all met up. The girls said goodbye, but, knowing they’d see each other next week at USY Encampment, it was an easy parting of the ways. We went to take a look at the Cape May Lighthouse, and the World War II tower, and finally Sunset Beach. Cape May is just beautiful and quiet and carefree. We got to put our toes in the very cold Atlantic Ocean, and just enjoy a beautiful day. To complete the trip, we enjoyed a delicious fish dinner, leaving Cape May tired, happy, and stuffed.
Back at camp, Rich made our first bonfire. We had the obligatory s’mores as well. The temperature dropped substantially, so the fire felt great. Rich enjoyed keeping the fire burning, Connie enjoyed the mezmerizing effect that campfires can have, I enjoyed blogging with my laptop, and Mikaela, other than the s’mores, enjoyed her cell phone! We had been watching the news so much, and the unfolding story of Robin Williams’ death was so sad and overwhelming, that it felt good to be disconnected from reality, and just “plug” into nature. We were enjoying the campfire tremendously, until 2 guests – with white stripes – decided they liked the looks of our little party. And, since skunks are NOT REALLY Rich’s favorite animal…we called it a night. There were no spraying incidents at all – and we wanted to keep it that way. All in all, Wednesday was just great. You know, a family can spend every day together, and not really ever connect. And then, there are days like this one, where every minute was family-infused, and a blessing as well.
Yesterday’s trivia was answered by NO ONE – so you have 24 more hours. Today’s trivia: Who sang the title song of today’s blog? I can only think of 1 person I know who would know that…and she’s one of my favorite natural blonds. That’s all I’ll say. Catch ya tomorrow.

“Here comes the rain again, falling on my head like a memory, falling on my head like a new emotion…

It felt really good blogging again last night! I would LOVE to do this daily; unfortunately, life as a middle school teacher prohibits me from doing so. There just are not enough hours in the day. However, if there are any readers out there who can help me MAKE A LIVING from blogging daily…HAVE AT IT!! I love writing.
Let’s get the trivia stuff out of the way first. Yesterday’s answer was “Matchmaker, Matchmaker”. Oldest daughter Rebekah was the first one with the right answer…so she wins….nothing!!! But I CAN tell you, she was excited to win. Today’s trivia will come at the end of today’s entry.
So, back to our vacation tales. Today’s entry is about Tuesday’s adventures. Bright and early Tuesday morning, Rich, Connie and Mikaela took off for the local golf course. It was a three generational golf bonding experience. Fun, fun, fun! I passed on the sports excitement… graciously, of course. You see, golf, to me, is a waste of my time. I have terrible “hand-eye coordination” – which translates into terrible “club-tiny white ball coordination”. Any and every golf “lesson” that Rich has tried to give me has ended in exasporation and disgust for BOTH parties. And so, he golfs, and I do anything else. There was an article the other day explaining that sharing hobbies is vital to a good relationship. We share many hobbies – camping, music, theatre, gardening, walking, and more. We even share the same profession. We do NOT share golf. And PERSONALLY, I am fine with that. Connie, Rich and Mikaela, however, had a good time. Connie walked the course while Rich and Mikaela played golf. That’s pretty fantastic exercise. Rich and Mikaela were paired with a twosome who were very nice – and a good time was had by all. I, on the other hand, biked 6 miles around the campground. It’s a very flat, very large campground, and biking is heaven. I don’t do hills at all – they AREN’T enjoyable! Between the inability to breathe, and the lack of power in my legs, and the BURNING in my thighs…no thank you. But, I was able to avoid every incline and still have a long and incredibly enjoyable ride.
The weather forecast was drenching rain most of the day – so we really lucked out with a basically dry morning. We grabbed lunch and decided to try our luck at a walk along the Promenade in Sea Isle City. We should have known things wouldn’t end well when it started to drizzle as we GOT INTO the car. Sea Isle is 5 minutes from here – and it’s a beautiful and interesting little piece of heaven hidden in South Jersey. In place of a boardwalk, there’s a “Promenade” – a paved walkway. In place of games and arcades, there are quaint shops. And, as always, there are lots and lots of food “opportunities”. As we approached the Promenade, the rain became a bit more steady. Connie was well equipped with an umbrella, or even two (mine were in the RV!), and we were good. We went into our favorite beachy souvenir store, and purchased things for our backyard. Mikaela found a nice skirt in a nearby dress shop, and everyone was happy…until we looked out the door. The predictions were right…it was pouring! We giggled our way through the puddles and back to our car, and made it back to the campground and into our RV – where we stayed for the next 18 hours!
The rain was un-believable. We made a delicious dinner, watched TV, played a killer scrabble game, cleaned up, organized the refrigerator, and anything else BUT venture outside. By the way, do you KNOW what rain sounds like on the roof of a motorhome? It sounds LOUD!! We kept turning the TV up in order to hear it over the rain! Personally speaking, I do like to fall asleep to the sound of rain outside…but this was ridiculous. I am thankful that we didn’t lose power or cable or internet. (That would really bring the rustic camping experience to a SCREECHING halt, huh???!!!)
I will leave off here, and pick up tomorrow with Wednesday’s antics. Here’s my trivia question: Without ANY research, who is currently performing at Caesars in Atlantic City? Answer tomorrow. Have a great day!

Angry ocean today.

“Slow down, you move too fast. You got to make the morning last…”

Hi again! Hello from Ocean View Campground, in Ocean View, New Jersey. This is our regular “go-to” campground – and it is once again, just as lovely as in the past. So let me catch you up on what’s been going on.
When last we “spoke” (!), we were in Ohio, and heading back home. That next travel day, we made pretty good time getting back to Jersey. The trip was uneventful through Pennsylvania – and never ending as well! The weather was great, UNTIL we hit Jersey. And then – DOWNPOUR! DELUGE! TORRENTIAL STORMS! It was fun. We got Mom home, and settled, and all was well. She was very happy to have gone on our adventure, and to have visited with the Memphis Kabat Krew. She was ALSO quite happy to be home. We arrived back at our front door at about 7 pm or so – which was pretty early. All was fine – until we noticed a hideous smell, which, all the facebook readers will remember turned out to be…a decaying, dead animal. Enough said.
In the ensuing weeks, I spent 10 days teaching at “Comedy Camp”, caught up with family and friends, and most importantly welcomed my daughter home from Israel. We decided to take a few days and get away – and that brings me to the present.
This past Sunday, we spent the entire evening repacking and reorganizing the RV, to prepare for this week. Thankfully, the basics were still in place: linens, paper goods, dry goods, cleaners, etc. We had to fill in perishables, clothes, etc. It’s like opening a beach house, I guess. It just takes a long time. In addition, we had to make sure that Mikaela’s “room” was set up. She sleeps in the “loft” above the cab. Honestly, I don’t know how she doesn’t have claustrophobia. It’s very long, and wide, but pretty shallow. She’s okay – as long as she doesn’t sit up fast! On Monday, we continued the packing, and finished straightening up the house. If anyone breaks into our house while we’re gone (G-d forbid!) – it is in the CLEANEST CONDITION we have ever left it! We made our way down the ever wonderful Garden State Parkway around noon, and not surprising to anyone I’m sure, we hit bumper-to-bumper traffic. There was no construction, no accident, no detour – and yet, a 30 minute jam up. Ya gotta love Jersey! We met my mother-in-law Connie at a rest stop, and she followed us all the way down. We gave her the BEST birthday present you could want: US ON A CAMPING TRIP!!! We decided 2014 would be the year of the camping grandmas!
As we entered the campground, we were reminded of the older women who yell at all the incoming vehicles to “SLOW DOWN”! In fact, these women inspired our blog title today! We registered and found our site. It wasn’t long before we set everything up, made a delicious barbeque dinner with a big salad, turkey burgers and hot dogs, and fresh corn on the cob. Yummy! We rushed the clean up, put on sweatshirts, and headed on down to Wildwood.
The Boardwalk is, unto itself, an American tradition. It’s a plethora of different cultures, ages and backgrounds, who come in all different shapes and sizes. It appeared to me that most of those walking the boards with us were families. In reality, it’s a nice, fun, and POTENTIALLY inexpensive way to spend a summer evening. The ocean breeze was incredible, and we had a really nice time. In addition, we racked up 2 miles of good, clean walking exercise. In past years, Rich and I walked the entire length both ways – thereby doing 4 miles. (Hey, I got an A in Math back in the day!) And, in July of 2012, we did that 4 mile walk during the day, in 100 degree heat. So we burned calories like crazy. Monday evening, we walked from one end to the other. When we reached the end, however, I cried uncle. I did not have the energy to make the return trip. It’s very possible that Rich, Mikaela and Connie could have done the walk without any issue. But I was done. Luckily, my exhaustion allowed us to all to take part in even MORE of the Wildwood experience…the TRAM CAR! There is a mulit-car train that carries “weary vacationers” from one end of the boardwalk to the other. For a mere $3.00, you can catch a seat and make life much easier by riding down the boards. It won’t get you there any FASTER – as it stops every 20 seconds or so to pick up or drop off passengers. However, the tram must notify those on the Boardwalk that it is approaching. There is no horn; there is merely the following announcement: “Watch the tram car please!” That message is heard OVER AND OVER AND OVER again. There are T shirts for sale with that message! There were tourists holding signs up with that message! It just replays in your head, over and over, like a bad dream! And to think, because of my exhaustion, we were part of it!
We drove back to Ocean View and headed to bed. It was a very full, long day. Everyone got comfy in their own spaces, and the air conditioning didn’t hurt, I can assure you. I’m going to stop here, and pick up with my story tomorrow night. After all, I owe you a couple of posts! Oh – before I forget: the trivia Q and A. My last question was: How many time zones are there in the world? The answers varied – but they were all correct, as I found that the question has more than one correct answer. There are 24 main time zones, but there are several “sub” time zones as well, so…whatever answer you wrote was correct! And there were several of you. Now, here comes today’s question. It was announced that, sadly, Robin Williams passed away Monday morning. It truly is a tragedy. From the movie “Mrs. Doubtfire”, what song does Robin sing with Harvey Fierstein sing during his makeup transformation? Answer, and my next post, tomorrow. Have a good one.

Some more s’mores??