Bloomsburg Fair and Connecticut

To finish out our camping for the year, we had two trips planned after we left Branson. One was our annual trip to the Bloomsburg Fair in Pa, and the other was to visit two of our granddaughters at the University of New Haven in Connecticut. Following is an account of those trips.

Barb and I, along with best friends, Ann and Bruce, went to the Bloomsburg Fair for a day every year for over thirty years. In 2003, we both got motorhomes and started camping near the fair, spending 3-4 days there. We had a great time camping and going to the Fair and soon we had 8-10 campers of family and friends joining us as we got the word out. It quickly became an annual camping/Fair event and we had a blast around the evening campfires. Last year the fair was cancelled due to flooding and we were really looking forward to this years event.

However, it was not to be the same. Our friend Bruce passed from brain cancer almost two years ago and another of the 'older' couples decided not to go. That left Barb and I, one other older couple and the younger folks. 'Conversation' around the campfires was dominated by the younger folks sharing their 'finds' on their iPhones, iPads and smart whatevers. Gone are the days when hours of bantering, joking and kidding with each other kept us ALL laughing and having fun till late into the night.

Also, the Fair had changed quite a bit over the last 3-4 years and had become mainly a giant food court. Gone were the craft and 'junk' vendors that always had good bargains and interesting new items, and were replaced by the latest 'deep-fried' craze. We all know how much we older folks need that stuff. ;)

Anyway, Barb and I decided this will probably be our last Bloomsburg Fair and we're turning it over to the 'Kids'. It's been a fun 30+ years!

Here are a few pics from the Fair and campground.

Our campsite at J&D Campground. We have a block of adjoining campsites for our group.



It is quite a large fairground with big name entertainment

Here's some of the handiwork of the locals in the Arts and Crafts building.

This is one of Barb's favorites.

Note the FLOOD LEVEL sign from last year's flood.

Later that night around the campfire,we celebrated Barb's birthday.

WOW!!! ('nuff said) ;)

We were at the fair four days and came home on September 23. We didn't unpack too much since we would be leaving again on the 5th of October for New Haven, Connecticut.

NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT

October 5 to 12

We have two granddaughters at the University of New Haven. Alyssa is a sophomore studying to be a forensic scientist and Ana is a freshman in the pre-med program and studying to become a pediatrician. Both are members of the CHARGER marching band. We had not seen them since we left for Branson the end of June, so we were really anxious to not only see them, but to see them in the band as well. We first got to see them as they walked to the field for practice Friday afternoon. It was a great reunion.



It's Saturday....time for college football.

Here they are in uniform before the game.

Alyssa (Lyssie), Ana (Annie) and Lyssie's boyfriend, Tony.

The CHARGER band during the game.

Halftime...what we've been waiting for. The CHARGER band.  (BTW, notice the score)

That's Annie in the middle playing the mellophone

Now you can see her face.

That's Lyssie in the middle with her trumpet.

Doin' their thing...a very entertaining show!

Hey cuz....fancy meeting you here.

Blow me away!!!

Looks like they're having fun.....

We had a great time at the game.

 We didn't see much of the girls on Sunday so they could catch up with their homework. They didn't have classes Monday or Tuesday for Fall break, so we planned on heading up to Mystic Aquarium for the day.

Here they are at the Baluga tank.

then over to check on the penguins....

Here they are in the submersible 'ALVIN' of Woods Hole fame. Tight fit!

On the way back to New Haven, we stopped for some beach time. It was rather cool and overcast, but anytime at the beach is good time.

We headed back to New Haven and Barb cooked a fine dinner in the motorhome. We chatted and had fun till we took the kids back to their rooms late that night.

The girls were planning on coming home the following Friday, the 12th, so on Tuesday we headed up to the Mohegan Sun Casino for a couple days to see if we could recoup our expenses for this trip. We stayed at the casino campground (no hookups).

Beautiful view of the casino on the Thames River near Norwich Connecticut

Directly across the river from us is the Norwich State Hospital built in 1904 for the insane and is currently in the process of being torn down.

This is one of about 30 buildings on the property to be demolished. Of course, there are NO TRESPASSING signs and fence everywhere. I call it 'spooky place', especially after I Googled 'Norwich State Hospital' and read some of the horror stories and saw some of the pictures of this place. It was officially closed in 1996. The TV show, Ghost Hunters, visited this place in 2010 and supposedly detected paranormal activity.

After two days at the casino and NOT being able to recoup our expenses, we headed back to New Haven to pick the girls up to take them home on Friday after classes. We had an uneventful trip home and the girls had a joyous reunion with family and friends.

We had a great time, too!!!

Branson Wrap-up

Well, an exciting chapter has come to an end in our lives. We left Branson and the Dewey Short Visitor Center Thursday evening, August 30 with mixed emotions. We were anxious to get back home to our family after being away from them for two months, yet we will surely miss the wonderful people we worked with and met during our two month volunteer stint in Branson. This was our first experience as workcampers and we enjoyed it immensely, so much so that we volunteered to come back next year. We love the Branson area and the friendly, courteous, patriotic and God loving folks who live there.

A refreshing trait of the folks there is they don't use profanity. I don't recall hearing a single word of it from the locals during our stay, with one 'exception'. I was in a gas station and some young folks were having a heated discussion about their cell phone plans. One young man used the word 'freakin' to describe his plan and immediately caught himself and turned to me and apologized for 'swearing'. Refreshing indeed! As I've said before, it would be a fine place to live and raise a family.

We were privileged to work with three other couples, Becky and Dave, Bob and Terri, and Lynn and Barry, all from Texas. They taught us how to tolerate the heat there in Branson; learn to go quickly from your air conditioned camper to your air conditioned car before you work up a sweat. ;) ;) Seriously, we had a great time with them and hope to meet up again. We wish them the very best in their future endeavors.

The last two days we worked were Wednesday and Thursday, August 29 and 30. I took pictures of some of the good folks we were privileged to work with during our two months. These are not all the people we worked with, but they are the ones who were there on our last two days.

This is Gala, our creative and hard-working director who handles the day-to-day operations of the visitor center, and our 'boss'. (I use that word with great affection) We certainly enjoyed working with her and wish her the best.

This is Morgan, who is director of special events at the visitor center and does a wonderful job promoting the visitor center to all visitors, both kids and adults.

This is Sherryl, (with Barb) who helps us to keep things running smoothly in the visitor center, gives tours of the dam when necessary, and provided Barb with a supply of tasty, fresh veggies.

This is Charlie, one of the tour guides and trolley drivers for the Table Rock Dam tours. Though he works for 'Ride the Ducks', he is one of the best ambassadors for the Dewey Short Visitor Center and Branson.

Here's Charlie at work

This is Alfred, one of two hard working janitors who keep the visitor center looking like new. As you can see, we have to protect ourselves from his 'enthusiasm' sometimes.

This is Beth, the other hard-working janitor and friend. Good luck with future endeavors, Beth.

Here's Bob and Dave, fellow volunteers, trying to figure out why there are no visitors. (Hint: Try unlocking the doors....duh)

And here we are in front of the hand painted map.

One final look at the entrance to our workplace for two months........see you next year!

After leaving Branson Thursday evening, we found our way to Flippin, Arkansas where we spent the night. Friday we made our way to Jackson, Tennessee where we met up with internet friends Betty and Noel. We enjoyed conversation and a good meal with them before calling it a day.

Saturday we continued South and East to Jacksonville, Alabama to spend a few days with good, good friends Carl and Mary. As usual, we had a great time visiting with them and their wonderful family.

Tuesday morning we left Jacksonville heading for very special friends, Janie and Jim, in North Carolina. We spent a couple days reminiscing and catching up with family news and especially enjoyed Janie's homemade biscuits in the morning. ;)

Friday afternoon we said our goodbys and started the last leg of our trip back home to Pennsylvania. Originally we had planned to stop overnight and finish the journey Saturday morning. However, I felt good as night fell and continued the 543 mile drive till we got home at 1:00am Saturday morning. I'm sure the anxiety of getting home helped keep me going, and it was well worth the effort.

Barb fell in love with her washer, dryer and dishwasher and I got to know real work again as we were faced with the chores of keeping up a home. Though, I must say, the kids did a fantastic job caring for our place while we were gone. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

Well, that about brings us up to date for now, and we're looking forward to new adventures next year. Till then, be kind, be safe, and see you down the road.

Ron & Barb

Strawberry Shortcake

On Sunday evening of our last weekend at the Dewey Short Visitor Center, Barb invited our fellow volunteers over for a strawberry shortcake social, our last chance for a get-together. We reminisced about the good times we had over the past two months and vowed to keep in touch. We certainly enjoyed knowing and working with them during the hottest summer on record in Branson and look forward to seeing them all again.

The shortcake

The gals

The guys

Ron & Barb

Dogwood Canyon

Last Wednesday we took a trip to Dogwood Canyon Nature Park, built by the founder of Bass Pro Shops. It's a beautiful 23,000 acre park set in a canyon (duh) that borders Missouri and Arkansas. They offer two hour tram rides through the park, which we took. Following are a few of the beautiful sights throughout the park.

The first of many bridges we crossed.

This is a chapel along the way where weddings and other special events are held.

This is the view out the back of the chapel.

This is a herd of elk they keep in the park.

They sure are friendly......

As well as Bison.

They also keep a few Texas longhorns.

We cross this covered brdge as we leave the trail.

It was a fun and beautiful trip through the canyon.

Ron & Barb