Days 2-4

Here we are on day 5.  We have just spent the night in a field near the vegetable farm that Ruth Blackwell, formerly of Cabot, works on.  Nice to meet up with a familiar face and get some good vegetables.  It's becoming quite clear that we are spoiled with our freezers full of good meat and vegetables, the cupboard full of canned foods and fresh garden food all summer.   Getting good food along the way is a challenge.


We spent two nights in Thousand Island Park - helping Tom close up the camp.  All the camps put large pieces if fitted canvas over all their porches - first and second story to try to keep out the weather during the winter.  They are fitted over locks that keep them tight and in place.  Tom left on Monday and Sam and I stayed another night.  It was a great place to start the trip.

Before the canvas and after.  A piece went over the door too, with zippered slots for the railings. 

More pictures from TIP.  There is lots of gingerbread on the fronts of the houses.

The second largest white oak (known!) in NY is just up the street from the cottage.

We weren't able to get oil from Hackers, it was in 30 gallon tubs uncovered - not suitable.  So over the bridge we went to the mainland and headed west again, along the seaway trail.  We stopped in Clayton NY, home of Thousand Islands Dressing.  I hadn't even thought about salad dressing till we got there.  I always pictures tropical islands.  Continuing west we saw a sign for Old MacDonald's farm advertising over 1000 animals so had to go.  A huge dairy farm - we were too late for the barn tours but had a nice visit with the owner and spent a lot of time with the animals you can pat.  Llamas, a camel, alpacas, and emu, donkeys, horses (all sizes), poultry (all kinds), sheep, goats (many), rabbits, cats, a 17 year old cow, reindeer and puppies.  They have a corn maze, pumpkins for sale, the typical farm visiting set up for city folk.  But they also milk 700 cows and farm 4000 acres.  I said, 'we have 12'.  Blank look.  Cows, I said.  She finally got it and we had a good laugh.  She recommended a place to stay the night so off we went.

More farms along the way but still not a lot.  Lots of piles of huge rectangular hay bales out in the weather.  Lots of flocks of starlings.

So off we went to Association Island - in Henderson, NY.  Way out on the tip of a point of land - an RV park and resort.  They were closing down for the winter so it was empty other than the manager and a couple other RVs.  It has parking for 285 RVs.  Sewer, power, water.  A marina.  A pool, indoor game room facility, programs.  None of which were available since they were closing up.  They didn't want to let us stay with no bathrooms.  I help up the plastic bucket I'd brought for just such an emergency.  Blank looks again.  Does a whole generation not know about chamber pots?  So they let us stay and it was beautiful.  Watched the sun set over lake Ontario and rise over the beginning of the St. Lawrence.

Yesterday was another beautiful weather day and we moved along slowly.  We went to, can't remember the full name at the moment, Cliff Bluffs Park, something like that.  An amazing land formation on the edge of the lake.  I'll try to post pictures soon - I need to load them on the computer first.  The cliffs have eroded in a way that reminds me of the west.  Huge spires of sediment studded with smooth round stones and big gullies washed from the tree edge on the top down to the water.  The shore was all stony, smooth, gray, purple, greenish stones.  The water laps as if it's the ocean but never changes, no tide.

We passed acres and acres of apple orchards yesterday afternoon.  Big piles of apple boxes, some full, some waiting.  Migrant workers with apple bags.  Roadside apple and fruit stands regularly.  

So now I've used my allotted time at the Newark Public Library and it's time to hit the road and move on.

We were able to buy, 1.00 a gallon, veg. oil, all filtered, this AM from a friend of Ruth's.  So we have a full tank.  Will have to buy diesel at some point but haven't since we left Montpelier

We've just crossed the Erie Canal for the first time and plan to go have a look and find some locks.  We'll follow it west.