A work assignment takes us to Long Island, this time to the eastern part. It is a night and day difference between the eastern rural-ish and the western densely populated area from our first trip back in February.
The location for work is in Calverton so this means taking the ferry from New London CT is the best travel route for us. And it might be the best route if we have to go back to Long Island.
On the map I put a green marker where we stay night one, at a Harvest Hosts; the star marker is where we stay on night two, a Hipcamp find, a rustic campground.
Our departure from home was 7:15 am to get the Cross Sound Ferry from New London at 1pm. The ferry arrives in Orient NY in approximately an hour and twenty minutes. We had smooth sailing, and we were off of the ferry and on the island by 2:30pm. The ride home on Friday afternoon once off of the ferry was much longer due to late afternoon commuter and weekend traffic. Ah, the northeast never disappoints.
Once on the island we see farms, wineries, and open space; what a delight. Our first stop is a waterfront restaurant, Waypoint, for a cocktail and appetizer before heading to our Harvest Hosts location for the night.
Frank was the bartender and we enjoyed chatting with him about the area and his "story". He is a Turkish software engineer that does part-time bartending for the social aspect. Covid lockdown made him, and millions of others, stir crazy being isolated working from home, and still working from home. Bartending gets him out of the city into the outdoors chatting with lots of people. We love sitting at the bar, we always meet new people.
We pass several wineries on our way to the garden center / wholesale nursery where will stay overnight and we wonder why none of those wineries are Harvest Hosts. Maybe they don't want RVers. The garden center does not disappoint. We get a shady spot on the grass which is perfect since the temperature is nearly 90 degrees and we are boondocking (no electricity to run AC unless we use the generator).
Willy is finally getting it. He wants to get outside and actually walked around! He has also turned into a monster at the door so we have to use the broom as a barricade when at the door so he won't run out.
Plants at the garden center are well cared for. There are many lovely plants and fresh cut flowers to choose from. I choose a wind chime as my purchase to support the business as members of HH are supposed to do.
Now on to the work assignment. Whiskey has a wood grinder to inspect; it caught fire.
Time for lunch after work at On The Docks. Look at the slice of grapefruit on the Paloma! Yum! Peach mojito is the other cocktail.
After a stop at a farm stand, we head to the campground where we will spend the night. As we enter the campground, we start to question our choice. The sign says tent camping only, but the Hipcamp listing allows for RVs. Fingers crossed that all is legit. It looks a bit dicey. Watch the video for a better understanding.
(Tent camping isn't our thing; we like comfort, having our bathroom and kitchen, and electricity is a bonus.)
Driving slowly, we approach the "campsites" and figure out where to park. I had been messaging the host / owner about where to park because it really isn't clear. We are used to structured campgrounds with rules. There appears to be no rules here. Cool, but maybe not cool. 🤔
Let's continue...since there are no rules, we park in an area that really isn't a "campsite" oriented in a way that we don't have to face the tent community set up nearby. There are no people there but there is stuff to suggest that the "tent people" will be back.
Once we park and set up, we are "happy" with our spot, as long as no other tent campers show up and set up near us. We like the open space and less people. I can't explain it; other RVers probably know what I mean.
We do see the tent campers. They appear to be construction workers, perhaps in the area for a limited time. Not sure. But they came in, had showers in the fenced in shower area, fired up the grill, and had some cold drinks. They were quiet and hopefully weren't bothered by our generator.
You can see that we are parked in an area with no other campers near us. It was quiet.
Located on the Peconic River there is a "bridge" to get over the swamp to the trail at the river's edge. Thankfully the planks are rugged enough to hold my weight LOL.
Boondocking is tough in the hot and humid weather with intense sun. We hoped the breeze would keep us cool, but once the temperature inside the mobile condo almost reached 90 degrees, we had to get the generator cranked up to get the AC going. We ran the generator for a few hours to bring the inside temperature down to 74 degrees. Then we had to turn it off because the noise of it will be louder as the night goes on.
A small inverter runs one fan in our bed area. Two D battery operated fans run as well. The two fans each run on six D-size batteries. Fortunately, the fans ran all night. But it really wasn't enough to keep us cool. I was wondering if the tent campers were cooler. I doubt it; the humidity was so high.
The following morning brings rain. That's ok, we're on our way back home and we won't be outside. When we get to the ferry Whiskey gets his laptop out and gets set up to start his paperwork.
The mobile condo / office is an efficient way to work on the road. We are mixing work with personal time as each assignment brings a different destination which is an opportunity to see new places and take new routes.
After a long ride home which of course was heavy with Friday afternoon commuter and weekend travelers, we get home, dump our tanks*, unpack and then settle in.
*As we pull into our driveway we park. Using a sewer clean-out that we had installed near our driveway, Whiskey uses two connected hoses to reach our RV and he dumps the tanks into the sewer line. We are on Town sewer. This is a good tip for other RVers on Town sewer.
Our goal is to always arrive home while it is light and not too late so that we can get the rig unpacked and things put away at home. Then we can relax for the evening. On this occasion, take out pizza in the Barn Lounge is the best way to wrap up the three-day trip. We are thankful for safe travels and sunshine.
Video of our trip.
While we didn't get to visit any wineries on this trip, I include information about the wineries in the resources below. Most look very appealing. If we have to go back to Long Island for work, I will certainly plan to visit at least one winery. Unfortunately, none of them are Harvest Hosts at this time.
Since our trip we have had LOTS of rain at home. The lake level has risen again and is currently seven inches above normal. This means our boats are still trapped in Back Bay because we can't fit under the Main Street bridge to get out on the big lake; it is too much effort to trailer a boat around to the boat launch. But we are thinking of trailering it go to another lake.
Until next time, live life to the fullest!
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