Packed and off! (Day 1 of big trip)

After slowly packing for something like two weeks, with piles of stuff and lists all over the place, we finally got everything into the car.

It looks bad, but consider everything we have:
Clothes for weather ranging from snow to summer
A Weber Q barbeque grille
Port-a-potty (in a closed box)
The 10x10 screen room
Two mountain bikes (the kayaks and paddles are on the van's Thule roof rack)
Equipment for biking, hiking, and kayaking

And in the end, there actually remained a bare spot of carpet on the floor. (Well, there was - we've covered it with stuff by now.)



And the obligatory start-of-trip odometer shot (note how we're thoroughly out of warranty on the van):


We drove to my parents in Pennsylvania, but didn’t camp in their driveway. On the way, we stopped for Portuguese food on the outskirts of East Stroudsburg. We’ve passed by it before, and thought it to be an unlikely place for such a restrauant, but finally stopped. Glad we did - it was really good.

Tom’s Diet Tip of the Day: When asked if you want a “half-portion” or a “full-portion,” get the half portion. I’ve got the full portion - and have enough pork and potatoes for three days. (It’s in the trailer frig.)

I would have taken a picture of the place - but when we left, it was pouring rain, so we made a mad dash to the van. The sudden downpour had dumped a lot of water - there were several inches of flood water in places. We drove though it slowly and got to my parents fine.

I've mentioned before how everyone in the campground watches (there isn't much else to do) as you back into a spot. I couldn't even back into my parent's driveway without their neighbor having a stare. Oh well - at least I didn't back over the mailbox.

Tom