Final Destination- Unadilla, NY

Unadilla KOA campground

Undadilla (or "You and a Gorilla," as Staff calls it) was actually not our final destination, but it was the place where the Kramer men where meeting for their motor-cross race reunion.  The last city was Mt. Kisco, NY, where Staff's brother lives

Unadilla Motor-cross

Holden and Keith

But let's start with Unadilla. As usual, we were traveling in the dead of night planning to arrive at KOA Unadilla Campground sometime after midnight.  Stafford tends to drive until the gas tank is down to its last 30 miles or so. Although I'm not like my mother, who likes to fill up when the tank reaches 1/2 full, I will say that on long road trips, I like to fill up when there's about a 1/4 tank remaining.

Nonetheless Staff was driving, so we were on fumes and desperately looking for a gas station. (I was desperate. He was calm.) We had just passed the last medium-sized city.  The next city had a Mobil station, but when we pulled up it was closed.  We were now down to about 17 miles left in the tank.  We had a discussion about whether to camp out in front of the gas pump and sleep in the camper until morning, or try our luck and keep going.  We kept going.

The next exit had a Citgo sign.  I was resigned to sleeping in the parking lot if it was closed.  Heck, I'd already slept in Walmart's parking lot.  I was used to waking up and looking out at customers from the trailer window in my nightie. Of course I should have known that in the Kramer universe, things always work out. Naturally, it was open. A lady with missing teeth behind the counter wearing a stained torn uniform shirt tried to sell me the cheaper on-sale bottled water, saying, "We have to watch every penny these days." Alright, I get it. Our trailer almost running out of gas and my worry about camping in a parking lot was a high-class problem. A little perspective is always a good thing.

If I may digress for a moment about the Kramer luck...seriously, things really do work out in Stafford's universe.  I've learned not to sweat things too much after witnessing this luck in action over the years.  He says it's just his non-freakout approach to life, but I think it's something in the stars or a blessing of sorts.  In fact, a friend who studies astrology says it's probably because his Saturn is in alignment with the moon at a certain time and Venus crosses Jupiter then.  Exactly my thought.  Never being able to remember the astrological explanation, Staff just says his luck is due to having a moon up his ass.

So we filled up the tank, took doggies out for a potty break, and headed to Unadilla. The signs for KOA campground from the highway all the way down many curves and turns were plentiful and accurate.  This is key when driving late at night in unfamiliar territory. We guessed our fall-asleep time to be around 4:00 a.m.

We slept the sleep of the dead, not waking until about noon. Staff left immediately to meet his dad and brother at the race, while I stayed behind with doggies. At this point in our travels, doggies had become much better about hanging out in the trailer alone.  So I had no problem with solo-parenting.  I was able to walk all 3 around the campground, 2 attached by leashes and 1 by belt around my waist.  Bet you can guess who required the waist leash? One hint- it wasn't Cloud or Yuki.  Finny has to be in front and pulls fiercely with every bit of his 60 pounds. We were the object of lots of stares, oo's and ah's about their white fluffiness.  Little kids always want to pet them. While I love that, trying not to get tangled among the children and samoyeds is bit like being a puppeteer - it takes practice.

After doggies got their exercise, I needed a little alone time by the pool. Gazing up at the tall trees with their leaves quivering in the breeze and azure sky, I saw a bald eagle circling above.  It was all I could do to not jump up and run around the campground shouting, "BALD EAGLE!  LOOK UP!"  People there probably would've reacted like Staff did about the meteor shower. No big deal. Seen 'em before.

Another walk with doggies, a little computer time, and Staff was back.  Famished, we drove into town.  Unadilla is a sleepy old town that appears to have been deserted when the economy went bad.  Charming homes from the early 1900's lined the street but looked like they were in need of some serious love.  Staff had asked a guy back at KOA where to eat in town, and he said some "real New Yorkers (from the city)" opened an Italian restaurant.  It was here that I ate the best meal of my life. Ever. Seriuosly. I was moaning. I had chicken lightly breaded over pasta with broccoli and garlic. My meal was called "Frank."  All of the dishes were named after Italian men.  Except Staff's.  His was just called "ravioli."  I will never forget Frank. My mouth waters just thinking about it.

After another tomb-like sleep, we drove to Mt. Kisco, a hilly charming suburb in Westchester County, just north of NYC. Stafford's brother and girlfriend, Holden and Laura, kindly invited us to park the trailer in the driveway while we visited.  Their adorable 9 year-old, Kyah, also welcomed us with a jump into our arms and a huge hug.

I fell in love with Laura's kitchen and garden design.  Cool blues, tans and browns all made for a very calming effect.  Kind of like Laura herself.  She's studying massage therapy, and I think she'll be great at giving off relaxing vibes. Her "natural garden" in front included tall grasses, purple, brown and green plants. Nothing really flowery, just earth tones.  And, I love this, a statue of the Buddha sitting cross-legged in meditation among the shrubs.

I loved Mt. Kisco, and again wondered what the teachers were paid there.  That area is surrounded by mountains, or at least very steep hills.  You could see mist settling between the valleys of the mountains  while walking around the neighborhood.

We said a quick "hello" to Keith, Staff's dad, and he was off to see his old hang-outs in NYC.  Later on that day Holden and Laura took us out in their boat on the Hudson.  Once again, leaving doggies was easy-peasy.  They were so chill in the trailer by now, they were like, "Don't make too much ruckus when you leave.  Dude, we're trying to sleep."

A quick but dramatic thunderstorm arrived exactly at the moment that we got in the boat. So we spent a few minutes under the tarp until it passed. When we peeked out from underneath, the sun was bursting through the storm clouds, and there was a rainbow, too.  I took about 100 photos. 

Post-thunderstorm on the Hudson River

Holden and Laura

Uncle Staff and Kyah

Boat mechanics

They swam in the brackish Hudson waters, but we were too chilled to go for a dip.  They had parked the boat just outside a beach swimming area. It was very peaceful and a great way to escape city stress.  I could see why you would want to do that as often as you could. 

Holden and Kyah

Afterward we met up with Staff's friends from school, Marlene and Ernest. It was fun listening to all of them reminisce with their heavy NY accents. I'm sure my Fargo accent was entertaining, too, though I was pretty mute.  I loved learning another side of my husband and seeing him through their eyes.

The next day it was time to start our journey home.  Laura graciously invited me to her yoga class.  I thought it was a good way to start a 12-hour car ride.  Actually, the class was kind of really hard. Let's just say, I was out of my league.  I had new respect for Laura.

I could talk more about our ride home, but we took the straightest route home.  No Lake Erie this time.  The best part was Pennsylvania.  Miles of green rolling hills and mountains.  I didn't want to sleep and miss any part of it.

Oh, yes, and doggies were great.  Slept most of the way home. When we finally got home, 2 days later, Finny ran around in circles and everyone celebrated by going potty on the 7-inch uncut grass. It was good to be back.