Category Archives: MA camping

‘Nother Cold Rainy Trip to MA

Yesterday, after an early morning lending committee meeting at the community land trust, I came home to finish packing and hook up the Airstream for a trip to Massachusetts. It’s our grandson’s tenth birthday and our daughter’s was the day before.

I had tried to take a short nap after an early lunch since we had a long trip ahead but all I could do was think of the trick of getting backed into Jen’s driveway off a relatively busy road. It’s more than a 90 degree turn and rather tricky — and having several cars waiting in line and watching is never helpful. I decided to get up and get going.

The light rain started just as I got ready to maneuver the truck to hook up. It’s been a while and I was taking my time but with several layers and a raincoat, finished up relatively dry. Still always get grease on my hands from either the ball or the sway bars.

We got the gear and the dog loaded and negotiated our steep driveway. At the bottom, the rear bumper always gets hung up and scraps dirt for a bit — adding a few swear words to the start of the trip.

The drive down was rather easy — traffic light but steady — with some low clouds and fog hanging over the high parts of I-89. The weather got better into New Hampshire, as did the foliage. The photo was taken at the Sutton, NH rest area.

With five miles go go, I started visualizing the backup process — where I would stop the truck, which way the wheel went first, etc. I briefed Mary on her role as observer, director, traffic cop but we both decided to stay cool. Well, either I’m getting better, or getting lucky, but the trailer was angled in off the road right away, letting traffic move — and with just a little geeing & hawing, I got the Airstream situated in the wooded parking place. Voila.

So, we’ve got the catalytic heater going and the inside temperature is manageable. I’ve got a little water in the system but I’m not using it. I’ll winterize either this weekend or next trip down. We are going to leave the Airstream here in MA since we have several trips more in the coming months.

Off To Massachusetts

Having worked some on installing the solar controller and wiring up the solar panel, I tested it yesterday and it was great to see the meter registering 3 to 4 amps as the sun came out from behind the clouds. For now, I’m planning to use the panel up against a sawhorse, positioned to catch the sun — and not mount it on the roof. Several friends (and my brother) set it up that way and like the versatility.

We packed up and headed out today — still winterized — to visit our daughter and family in Merrimac, MA. We’ve set up a nice little parking area off their long driveway so Penny (the Vizsla) and I boondock out there. It saves a lot of hassle since Jen has an old cat and Penny is terrible with felines.

The trip down was uneventful — aside from the fact that our running lights still do not work. It was rainy and foggy the first hour and while not dark enough to require lights — they would have helped from a safety factor. Next week’s project.

The site here, as you can see in the photo, is pretty wooded so the use of solar is going to be iffy. Right now, the leaves are not out so there’s hope — but the forecast is for rain. I’m on a limited electrical budget and monitoring the battery with the new controller. I ran the old furnace with the blower for just a bit and saw an immediate drain. Fortunately, the catalytic heater is cranking and should take the chill off. Penny plants herself about a foot from it.

Being further south, the birds are more plentiful and active. On a walk with the dog just before dark, I saw about a dozen or more species including a lovely pileated woodpecker. Hope to do some serious birding tomorrow or Saturday at Plum Island.

Back Home


Yesterday, we said our goodbyes and hitched up the Airstream, taking our time to make sure things were done correctly. I found that the threaded bar holding the two propane tanks in place was snapped — another good thing to fix before heading SW. I was able to tie it down for the trip home and will now deal with rusted nuts and cold metal.

The traffic on a Tuesday after Thanksgiving was light and the roads were dry — although we were worrying some about the Vermont forecast of snow showers. The route out of Merrimac is quite winding and relatively narrow, and after a five-mile detour around an accident, we were heading Northwest toward I-93. No other travel trailers heading north on December 1st although we saw a few rigs headed in the opposite direction.

Pulling the Airstream, we have to plan our coffee stops a little more — remembering places where there is adequate parking and turn-around room. We made our normal pit stops and after an uneventful trip (always nice), we were headed through Montpelier, wondering about the state of our driveway. It has a tough turn entrance, is steep, and is usually icy from frozen ground water. Well, we found it relatively dry and had no trouble getting up it, backing the Airstream into its resting space (where it will sit until we dig it out in mid-January), and unpacking.

It was a nice trip — a turkey trot, a wonderful Thanksgiving, lots of family time, and a great birthday celebration for a dear friend. We debugged a few more Airstream problems and had good traveling up and back. A nice last shakedown before snow hits.