, 
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS
                   SAM?


    HAPPY 4th of JULY


Well did all of you think I got lost? It seems that when one camps deep in the woods the "free WIFI" is so slow, even opening email is a problem. We are now settled in Maine with great connectivity. So let's get you caught up.

Let me tell you what happened when we got gas in PA at a truck stop. Filling up the RV works a little different than filling a car. We have a 100 gallon gas tank to fill with diesel. The routine is Mom goes inside the Truck Stop to have the pump turned on while Dad fills the tank. Then Mom comes out after paying, gets in, locks the door and we are ready to rock and roll. This whole time I sit behind the driver's seat supervising everything. I have a lot of truck drivers say hi and laugh when they walk by. I think they think I am driving. (I'm not old enough to drive.) After filling the tank, Dad sometimes goes to the back of the RV to the bathroom.

This particular day Dad walks around the back of the RV while Mom walks around the front. She gets in and thinks he is in the back and locks the door but Dad is NOT IN THE RV! He comes up and tries to open the door but it is locked and he somehow thinks I have locked the door with his keys inside. He walks around the RV thinking he has to CLIMB in a window. Good thing Mom saw him outside and opened the door. (How could I lock a door?)

This was the start of a weird day.

We traveled on to a campground deep in the woods of the Hudson Valley in NY. Normally directions to the RV Park are marked with several signs leading you to the campground. Thank Heaven for map quest and GPS, they helped us finally get there. In addition it seems the RV Park has moved the office and we even  have to ask directions to find it. The park grass needed cut, the staff was not friendly and there were RV's that looked abandoned and parked for who knows how long. Not a nice park. Only staying one night for sure!

Things go "south" from there. We are sitting inside when there is a knock at the door. I go crazy barking at the "Trick or Treat" youngsters of preteen to teenagers. They have make up on their faces and are wanting candy. Dad, after a frustrating day, tells them to move along or he'll call the police. Come to find out, the unfriendly staff failed to tell us about this activity. Needless to say we have a very restless night since we are sure we are going to be egged!

Sometime in the middle of the night we hear a bus arrive and when we get up in the morning their are people sleeping in cars. Mom took me to the dog park early and as we passed some tents there was a man smoking a corn cob pipe. (Is that a banjo playing in the distance?) We were out of there by 7:30 am!

Our trip to Mass. was, thankfully uneventful. I have more to tell you later in my next blog.
Love, Sam and Mom, Judy and Dad, Chris