Last weekend we had our “shakedown cruise” for the season in the A-liner. Two new additions (mods) were well tested and proved to be just great. First was the futon frame that I made for the bed so that it could be pulled up into a couch during the day. This worked out just fine and was very comfortable. The only small glitch to is that the little prop legs on each side that hold it up do not swing into place freely and have to be persuaded down by hand. No big deal really.

The next addition was an idea that Pat found on another A-Liner blog site. It is an “Over-the-toilet” rack that we have shortened to fit into the space over the stove to hold daily-sue items such as coffee, tea, sugar, cups etc. When on the road we simply take these items off the shelves, stow them in boxes, and put the boxes between the shelves where the rack is put on the floor under the front table. It worked out just fine and is one of the handiest adaptations that we have made so far.

We camped at Sampson State Park on the East side of Seneca Lake in NY. A nice State camp ground, and a huge lake right there. Learned that for old fogies like us it is WAY better to do our camping during the week days rather than at the weekends. Thursday and Friday nights were pretty quiet, though there was considerable more noise on Friday than on Thursday, but by Friday afternoon most of the campers of our age group (60+) were heading out due to the expected noise that the younger group would make.

We were woken up early each morning by the #$%^*$#%#@ crows! There is a healthy and boisterous group that must be employed by NY State as clean up detail, judging by the efficiency with which they patrol every unattended camp site for scraps.

Here is one of our favorite additions to the A-Liner…..a hanging lamp. We saw some really nice lamps in a bar in Old Forge, NY, when we were camping there during the fall of 2013 and thought that one of those would look and work great in the camper. However, we could not find one anywhere. We bided our time, knowing that we would eventually find the right light, then out of the blue one day we found it at Home Depot. At least we think it is the perfect light for our camper. I did a little more wiring and added a toggle switch at the front of the sink and it was done. It ruins on the 12V side of the system and takes a regular large base screw-in bulb, but in 12 V and 40 watts. It gives tons of light for cooking, entertaining, reading etc, but when we are just sitting talking or relaxing, we still use the smaller ceiling lights.

Summer of 2015 is finally here!

Wednesday 7/1/15

What a long, long, winter we had! But we are now into summer and the Aliner is all prepped and ready to camp. Finally have the clearance from the Dr. for Pat to travel after rotator cuff surgery so we are now planning some trips. The big addition to the camper this spring was the Futon frame that we made. So far, testing only in the driveway, it seems to work just fine. It pulls up into the couch configuration with a nylon strap attached to the top center and a small prop leg at each side drops down into a slotted base to hold the back in position. Putting it back down into the bed configuration is achieved by pushing the props back out of their notches with a short dowel. Not the best arrangement, but it works and gives us much better use of that area as a couch, especially when we have company to visit.

A winter cover for our Aliner
we have had so many problems with reoccurring leaks that we decided we just could not chance leaving the camper uncovered for the whole winter. After looking around at various off-the-shelf covers we decided to try getting one made. We went to Marcellus Canvas Repair on Paul Street in Marcellus NY, and had one made to fit the camper. Pat Reap did a super job of making it, and did so at what we think is a very reasonable price. So now it is sitting in the side yard, getting covered in snow, but at least sure not to leak.   Roll on next spring!

October 4th at Letchworth State Park.
Known as the Grand Canyon of the East This beautiful state park has so much to offer for campers, hikers, cyclists and photographers. South East of Rochester near the town of Carlisle this is truly an amazing place. We camped there in a very comfortable 30 amp campsite with clean and well maintained bathrooms near by. Though the hot shower was not very hot.
The awning is conspicuously absent at this campsite....this was the week before we bought it.......  but the weather was warm and fine for the two days that we were there and the awning was not needed. Now however, I will not leave home without it, its just so much better having thepicnic table and outside cooking area covered.

Nick's Lake State Park
what a lovely place!  Our friends J&D joined us here for 3 nights over the Columbus Day weekend. Nick's Lake is a smallish lake, located just a short way outside Old Forge in the Adirondack Park. The campground is a typical NY state camp, well appointed with good sites and reasonable spacing. We were on no-power sites so relied on our on-board systems. This was the first time that we had used the furnace all night, but we found that the down comforter over our memory foam mattress was sufficient that we only needed the furnace set to low, and were very comfortable. We did find, however, that the fridge goes super efficient when run on gas. With it set at 5 on the first night it froze most of the food! eventually we had it down to 2 and it was still very cold.
Picks in Old Forge:  if you have 2 cars and kayaks or canoes, take one car to the North end of North Street and launch there while leaving the other car in the parking lot at mountain Man Sports in town. You then have a nice 3-3.5 hour paddle down the Moose river back to Old Forge. BUT, there is a portage of about 3 block or so (seemed longer :)  ) in the middle of this run that can be quite a work out. If you have kayak wheels, take them along. there are some very pretty sandbars on which you can haul out for rest stops along the way though. Nick's Lake itself is worth some paddling time too, especially at sunset.
On this trip we added a canopy to our inventory. Its just a cheap ($50) one from Walmart, but we really appreciated being able to cook under that when we got light rain, and being able to leave our chairs out and not have them wet with dew.  I also appreciate not having pine needles in my scrambled eggs! Two 7 x 9 tarps bungie corded around the sides made a very cozy wind break also.
As usual we got a lot of passers by stopping to ask about the Aliner, especially seeing there were two in a row this time.

Goldenrod Campground
For our first outing in the spring this year we had planned to go to Letchworth State Park, NY, a bit South West of Rochester. When we called they said that they had plenty of room and to " come on out". However, when we got there the inn was full, so to speak. The offered us a camping guide and map and suggested that the nearest campground to them was Goldenrod Campground. We headed over to Goldenrod, a little further on in the town of Carlisle. The sign for the camp was not encouraging, nor was their entrance. Pat was a bit unsure of towing the Aliner over a one land bridge with no railing of any sort. The drive was rough, the owner's house looked rough and we sere not at all sure if we would stay. But we followed the owner to look at some campsites. As soon as we turned the corner past the house we found an absolutely gorgeous 50 acres of well mowed paths and campsites among clumps of mature trees. Most of the sites had water and 20 amp hookups, and there were only three other campers in the park. A further bonus was (is) a totally beautiful trout stream that is well stocked and winds through the property. The bathrooms were rustic, but were functional and clean with plenty of hot water. We spent a quiet and most enjoyable night there and hope to go back again in the future. The owner and his family were helpful and friendly and the price was just $20. In the morning we awoke to the sounds of birds, not other campers or traffic, and watched a Great Blue Heron fishing along the stream bank. All in all it was a thoroughly enjoyable stay.