Camping!!!

“To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug.”                                                              

Helen Keller


Day #8
Pennsylvania to New Jersey to New York to Massachusetts to New Hampshire

Okay, we've almost arrived!  Last night we'd met our Fairfield Inn quota, and so stayed at a lovely boutique hotel in the arts district in Philly.  I didn't have much of an appreciation for it for several hours after arrival because I was so exhausted from driving, stressed from the traffic and driving through the city (a series of crowded one-way streets).  But once my blood pressure normalized, and we found some decent food, I had an appreciation of the nice room, the Frette sheets, and the rain shower head.

This morning we wandered around Philadelphia - a really pretty city (and the weather was perfect).  We walked around and saw the sights until we got to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.  I know security is a concern, but just couldn't see waiting in line for 2 hours to walk past the bell (when you can see it from the outside through the glass), or get a ticket to go into Independence Hall 4 hours later (no fast pass here).  Seems like there must be a better way.  Still, the history on every corner gives me goosebumps.

We got on the road for the final leg of the journey, but took a less direct route because I'm not interested in the stress of driving in or around a big city (NYC) for a long, long time (or at least until we go to Boston in 1 1/2 weeks :).  More beautiful country driving north in New York and through some beautiful parts of New Jersey (who knew?).  This short drive fed into two of my obsessions:  1) we went through Hopewell, where Anne Morrow and Charles Lindbergh lived when their baby was kidnapped, and 2) I waved and blew kisses at my "friends" Theresa, Caroline, Melissa, Jacqueline, ... in Franklin Lakes (for those of you who are missing out on great television, these are the Real Housewives of New Jersey).

So close to my RHNJ!

As we neared New Hampshire, we started looking for a place to stay.  Ding, ding, ding... CAMPING!  We immediately went online to find a campground and look at the weather.  Great campground/50% chance of thunderstorms.  What the heck -- we were in.  We drove to this campground in Pawtuckaway, NH, and set up camp.  We had to laugh when comparing the last 2 nights:  Boutique hotel vs. tent, gourmet food vs. hot dogs on a long fork, rain shower head in the giant shower vs. projected real rain showers, Frette sheets on the bed vs. -- oh wait, we did have 600 thread count sheets on the air mattress!!  Looking forward to a great time camping and praying for no rain!

Thank God for the headlamp!

One of the best dinners we've had on the trip!