“…Come on let’s sweat, baby, let the music take control – let the rhythm move you….sweat, sweat…”

C & C Music Factory sang the title song above in 1990 -but they didn’t know anything about real sweat back then! Try packing up an RV in an East Coast heatwave. Now that’s sweat! We are officially on our summer trip! We’re “in a New York State of Mind, and leaving Corona behind”. That’s what our shirts say anyway! Thanks ‘Sassy Tees by Melissa’! If you ever need custom made shirts…Melissa’s your girl! Yup, we are leaving Corona behind. Not literally, of course, but figuratively. We are leaving the Quarantine of 2020, and we are finding normalcy again. The one or two places we stopped into today had a mask mandate – but they stated that if we were vaccinated, the mask wasn’t necessary. We still keep them with us at all times – just in case.

Our 2021 Summer takes us to many places in Upstate New York. It’s close, it’s pretty, and it’s new to us. We are starting off in the Greenfield Park/ Wawarsing/Ellenville/Woodridge/South Fallsburg/Catskill Mountains area! We left home in the early afternoon, and took a 90 minute drive to a nearby Avis car rental place. As we left with a really nice rental car, we had a hard time getting out of Middletown, NY. Every street we were supposed to turn on was closed for construction or paving. Sounds like Highland Park! We finally got out of town on our fourth set of directions, and drove straight to the campground – about 30 minutes away. Again, no real big deal. We are really in the countryside – and it feels nice. We found our campsite and set up, to the tune of thunder and the sound of weather alerts of impending storms. As of this writing, it’s just raining. I’m hoping it will bring some relief to the ridiculous temps we have been experiencing. Thank goodness we have air conditioning in our motorhome. I would rather be sitting outside typing – but between the rain, the heat, and the bugs, I will pass tonight.

So, as usual, Rich set up everything outside, and I set us up inside – and then we split the responsibilities for dinner. And it was delicious. I would just like bonus points for not stopping at any of the MANY ice cream places on the way up here!

I took a video tour of the inside of the RV before we left, and posted it to Facebook. It seems many people are curious about the inside of a motorhome! I am glad it was informative and entertaining. RVing may be the coolest thing we do – and we love it. We would love more of our friends to take the plunge (or at least a rental trial) and come with us.

The last trivia question last week was answered correctly by Phil and Ellen. The Garden State Parkway runs from Exit 0 (yes, zero) up to exit 172. There’s a stark difference between the way Jersey looks down at exit 0 – in Cape May (where we’ve spent many weeks of the summer) and the way Jersey looks up at exit 172. On today’s trip we could have taken the GSP all the way to 172 – but our GPS chose a different route (it was probably a minute shorter).

This week’s trivia question has to do with a local attraction. A few minutes down the road from us is a hotel known as “Honors Haven”. Question: WHAT was the PREVIOUS name of this property? Extra credit: What was the name of the neighboring property? NO GOOGLING! Answer will be in tomorrow’s blog.

Here’s a real giggle, but mainly for my Clifton High Class of 77 classmates. In our senior year, many many moons ago, we had a vice principal by the name of Severin Palydowicz. He was a young-ish man, and pretty handsome (for a vice principal). Our particular year, a scandal arose, and there were many questions as to whether this administrator was involved. I don’t want to get into the particulars, because in our country one is innocent until proven guilty. But…..the only thing I will say is that, in recognition of that scandal, our class song was “Take the Money and Run” by The Steve Miller Band! Okay, why am I telling you this? Because, as we are driving up Route 17, on our way here, a HUGE billboard appeared on the side of the road advertising: “DR. SEVERIN PALYDOWICZ”!!! I hadn’t seen that name in forever – and I almost forced Rich to stop the RV!!! It was so surreal! After doing some snooping on line – and with the help of “the Ukrainian Review from 1972” – https://www.ukrweekly.com/archive/1972/The_Ukrainian_Weekly_1972-04.pdf – I was able to put the pieces of the puzzle together. I really do think this doctor is my former Vice Principal’s grandson. Honestly, I’ve had a smile on my face since seeing the billboard! And, hey, if I need a good eye doctor, Tri State Eye has my guy!!!!

Ok, the rain seems to have stopped, which is a good sign. We have the windows open, and the breeze is beautiful. The temps have dropped thirty degrees in the past 2 hours. Loving that. We are going to get ourselves together for our excursions tomorrow, and touch base with the other Z’s. Catch you tomorrow. Have a good night. Thanks for reading along.

Marla and Rich

Evening 1. Feeling good.

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  Our Summer 2021 Shirts

“…Music makes pictures, and often tells stories, all of it magic, and all of it true…”

I figured I would go with another John Denver song, as nothing else came to mind. There was a musician playing guitar and singing this evening lake side – and the songs brought back many memories. He covered songs made popular in the last 40 years. So this song works for today.

Here’s the current picture: it’s 1:30 in the morning, and I’m sitting in the dark, next to a dog. 1:30 is not a real big deal for me usually – but tonight, I would rather be sleeping. Something has got our puppy spooked – not really sure what it is. She was fine last night and most of today – adjusting well to our temporary new ‘home’. But all of a sudden, around 8 p.m., she started barking (not her general behavior) – and she’s been really anxious ever since. So, I am sitting next to her, reassuring her that everything is okay. She jumps up every few minutes, out of a deep sleep, and looks upset. Not really sure what’s going on – but I am anxious to get her back on track. And yes, I know she’s Rich’s dog. But, he took her out to walk 95% of the time today – and he has to drive home in the morning. So, he needs his sleep. (You know how it is…with old folk… 🙂 )

Today was one of those days where you didn’t go too far from home base, as the skies opened frequently. In spite of the weather, it was a pretty nice day. I was never as aware of campground dog owners and dogs as I was today – when we became official campers with a dog. Roxy was impossible to control on the twenty or more walks we took – she was crazy curious and excited. We stopped to meet a few of the many other dogs whose paths we crossed – with some of those meetings more successful than others. It’s even harder to socialize a canine than a kid! Her favorite part of camping are the endless sticks, rocks and roots she can drag and pull and bite and chew and spit out. It’s funny – that’s her favorite part of Highland Park, also!

Here’s a funny story for my Clifton/Passaic New Jersey friends. On one of our earlier walks today, we passed by a permanent site – quite beautiful – that grabbed my eye. The sign hanging on the front says “Exit 153B”. Anyone from New Jersey knows that you identify your hometown by its exit off the Garden State Parkway. Clifton, my home town, is exit 153B. I was really intrigued by the sign. Later in the day, we walked by again. This time, a man was inside, washing dishes. I waved hi, and pointed, and yelled, “I love your sign!” He smiled, and told us to wait a second, and he and his wife came running outside. Apparently, the sign was the husband’s idea, and he JUST put it up. The wife thought it was ridiculous – and so I scored brownie points for the husband by recognizing the sign! They were such nice people. We got to talking, and learned they were from Totowa (also 153B). Camping can bring such nice connections, in such easy ways. That’s one of my most favorite parts of the camping experience.

The very talented musician who was playing live acoustic music at the lake this evening was Carlos Morales. We are just across from the lake – and really enjoyed listening to him. We didn’t have to move our chairs anywhere – our campsite was a great location. All we needed to do was sit outside, and take it all in.

We will probably be out of here on the early side tomorrow morning, as Rich has golf plans for Father’s Day. We spent time tonight packing things away. We had healthy, delicious food in our comfortable little abode this weekend, but clean up from 3 plus Roxy still takes a bit of time. With all hands on deck, it’s much easier.

One interesting turn of events, that became more and more clear as the day progressed, is that Z number 3 is not very thrilled with camping anymore. Although it wasn’t actually stated, one could surmise (if one had half a brain and was semi-conscious) that she might actually despise this camping…stuff. Let’s be clear: she came camping for her DAD, because it is Father’s Day Weekend (actually stated aloud). We planned the menu around her likes, brought snacks that she likes, gave her the freedom to determine her own schedule, asked but didn’t make a fuss when she wouldn’t set foot outside, etc, etc, etc. We took 1 walk as a family – and that was it. So, the message was made loud and clear….next time, we will be Z3 only if the dog joins us. It’s a bit upsetting, to be honest, but it is what it is. I’d rather have her happy in a different zip code, than miserable with us. I could have won an award earlier today for the amount of time I bit my tongue. Of course, I blew it this evening when this all came to a head – but what’s a good weekend away without at least 60 minutes of drama?

Yesterday’s trivia answer was “Annie” – the name of John Denver’s first wife. Friends Phil and Lisa got the right answer at the exact same time, so we’ll call that a draw. And thanks to Bobbie, Maureen, and Lew for reading along! Today’s trivia: What are the numbers of the most northern and most soutern Garden State Parkway exits? Answer when I next write (probably the end of the month!). I am going to be reading up on my New York State trivia for questions this summer – so be ready!

Alright, it looks like the dog’s asleep – so I’m going to try to get some rest now, too. Wishing a Happy Father’s Day weekend to all. Be well.

Marla, Rich…and the other Z’s

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  The beautiful lake at Ocean View.

“…Hey it’s good, to be back “home” again. Sometimes this old farm, feels like a long lost friend…”

Quick post before sundown.  More tomorrow night.

So, it does feel like home here. Hello again from Ocean View Resort!  The sun is shining, the birds are singing…and the Zirins are camping. Thank you, 2021!

We are out on our Father’s Day weekend trip, which generally introduces us to what’s wrong with the motor home this year! It’s all expected, so, we will take things in stride.

We left home about 1:30, got gas at a WaWa on the way, and immediately hit traffic. Ya gotta love Jersey – shore traffic on a Friday at 2 p.m.  Half of the Z4 (yup – 4) don’t travel well, so it was 2+ hours of anxiety – even with Bonine and Dramamine. So, the traveling sitch looked like this: Rich drove, Mikaela sat in my seat, and I sat on the couch, comforting the dog.

We were passing exit 82 on the Garden State Parkway, with our destination off exit 17. In doing Parkway exit math, I calculated that our destination was…just too damn far! Then, I started to ponder my life. Here I am, 61 and a half years old, with a bad back, bad knees, bad feet, arthritis, migraines, fibromyalgia….and some other stuff I’m sure. And I am sitting on the couch of my motor home, comforting 33 pounds of dog – with my body twisted so SHE stays comfortable. My 22 year old is fast asleep in my comfy seat – and I’m not. But – the kid didn’t get sick, the dog didn’t get sick, and we got here in 1 piece. So, we’ll thank G-d for that!

Our immediate plans include keeping the dog calm (!!), making dinner, indulging in some liquid self care, and relaxing. It is currently so cool and breezy – this is PERFECT camping weather. Our camping site is exactly where we wanted – on the main road and yet a bit secluded from the people passing by. Roxy is out of her mind…new places do this to her. It’s one of the man

Today’s blog title is from a John Denver song entitled “Back Home Again”.  That’s how Ocean View feels to us. And it’s nice – especially without masks.

Trivia question: What was John Denver’s first wife’s first name? Answer tomorrow night. Shabbat Shalom to all who celebrate. Have a good night y’all.

Marla, Rich, Mikaela and the barking non mini non doodle.

She relaxed for a hot minute.

OVR

Literally how we rolled.