The Poconos and arriving in New Jersey

On the 11th we returned to Hubbard and the parts from Alabama arrived and a short while later the tech, Dave, installed them and everything was a go.  We left Hubbard around 12:30 and resumed our Eastern trip, crossing Pennsylvania's rolling green terrain.  We arrived at Four Seasons Campground in Scotrun, in the middle of The Poconos around 6:00pm.  We were greeted and welcomed by owners who had been waiting for us.  They expressed their concern about our delay and were very gracious in refunded our money for the missed nights which is against their stated policy.  I met both ladies who I had talked to on the phone when I made the reservation and called about our delay.  They too were concerned about our problems and were also anxious to share about their experiences as Workampers as well as about the Poconos and other travel experiences.  BTW, Workampers is an organization that places interested campers as hosts, techs, maintenance people etc. in campgrounds around the country.

We spent our day in the Poconos by heading to the Delaware Water Gap and taking a trolley ride, coming back to Scotrun and having lunch at the Barley Creek Brewing Co., visiting the Cherry Valley Vineyards and finishing up at the Poconos Cheesecake Factory.  The trolley ride started out in the town of Delaware Gap meandering around the old, and I mean old, digs of the likes of former homes of Don Ameche, etc.  It concluded along the Delaware River with views of the Gap and an explanation of how it was created by a glacier before even Don Ameche's time.

Barley Creek Brewing Co. (how come we end up in breweries so often?) was okay.  The Golden Ale was not great but the blue cheese bacon burger was awesome, too bad we shared it!  Cherry Valley Vineyards seemed to specialize in dessert wines of which I am not a fan. The dry wines were limited with only the Proprietor's Red making a good impression.

The Pocono Cheesecake Factory, where we anticipated sitting down with a cup of coffee turned out to be a bakery with no seating so we enjoyed our cheesecake back home (in the RV) with our own coffee.  The cheesecake was very good, with Helga having hers with cherry topping and mine with truffle.  Yes, I know, what about your diet, George?  Actually hanging in there but do have to get back to a regular exercise routine too!

On Sunday, the 13th we left Pennsylvania and crossed the Delaware into New Jersey.  We arrived at Laurel Pond Resort in Cream Ridge during the noon hour.  We had an idea of what to expect, not from the beautiful web page, but from a review online we were warned that it might not quite be what was pictured.  First, as we drove in from the highway, it was apparent that it was not going to be real spiffy, with weeds poking through the gravel driveway.  I stopped to motor home and walked to apparently was the office although no signs making it clear.  The door was locked with a sign showing two phone numbers to call posted.  I called both numbers but no answer so I left a message.  About twenty minutes later someone showed up and I registered and she took us to our site.  As a resident (lot owner) said later on, "Welcome to the jungle!"  Well, it's not that bad, especially now that they are trimming the shrubs around our site (pictures later!)  When we parked I started the trimming process!  Without any damage to the motor home!

After we got settled and contacted Stephanie, she, Kevin and Erin, after stopping for groceries, came over and Kevin barbecued steaks and we had a good time touching base after not seeing them since last November at Disney World.

The next day we went to see Erin perform as the Moon in a play about the Solar System in her second grade classroom.  She was great, of course!  And yes, she is the tallest in her class.  Not a surprise with two tall parents.  But, boy did it get warm in there with all the parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles!  Later we watched Erin in her swimming class, what a fish we have for a granddaughter!  We then drove to Princeton for dinner at Teresa's which was a very popular place serving pasta dishes.

Yesterday we got caught up with our bill paying, laundry and grocery shopping along with a great meal at Java Moon in Jackson.  Today, while I'm doing some things around the motor home and having some work done on the AquaHot system (hot water and space heating) Helga and Stephanie are out shopping.

Our plans are to be here for a month so it will be more like being at home rather than on the road.  I'll post if there something I think worthwhile going on, otherwise I'll restart when we start heading to Maine.