OMG … So we left Cleveland at 10:45 pm.  The drive to Chicago was 5 hours.  I was counting off the hours.  Each hour was a new goal attained.  I was determined to make it to Chicago before rush hour.  We are planning to stay at a parking lot which allows RV and Big Semi Trucks to park right in the downtown core area, but I didnt want to get in around the Chicago rush hour (which I presume starts around 6 am).  So we pushed thru only stopping once for a potty break and once for gas.  Ben later told me he did fall asleep and was concerned that I was going to also.  But I was tired on the trip but did not once close my eyes, if I had I would have pulled ver imediately.  We got into Chicago around 4:30 am and Ben skillfully directed us around Chicago to find the parking area.  We immediately parked and went right to sleep.

We slept for about 6 hours and then cleaned up and headed to the Chicago White sox vs the Toronto Bluejays in US Cellular Field.  It was about a 1 mile walk to the stadium.  We had pretty good seats in the left outfield.

This was the first game I got to hear the Canadian National Anthem.  I love that song.  Ben and I werent really to talkative at the game I think we were both still really tired from the drive the night before.  The Home team – Chicago White sox won and we walked back to the RV and took a nap.  Ben went into the city to meet up with an old high school buddy who now lives in Chicago and I stayed home to catch up from this rigorous pace.

Today was the shortest drive between parks on this trip.  Pittsburgh to Cleveland.  Its just a 2 hours drive.  But knowing the next nights drive is going to be a monster, we got some extra sleep at Pittsburgh and took our time.  We got into cleveland around 1:30 pm.  Ben called around and found a Walmart just 4 miles from the stadium.  So we steered that way.  After parking and checking with the store to make sure we could park overnight we headed into the city.  We were gonna hit the rock n roll hall of fame before the game at 7 pm.  We took a bus into town and got in about 2 pm and went to the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame.  I had been there before and so I wanted to see Bens reaction to some of the Exhibits and displays.

At 5:00 pm it was time to head to the game because it is Carlos Santana Bobble Head night.  So a quick 1 mile walk up 9th avenue to the stadium and we were holding our bobble head dolls and watching batting practice.  It would be a miracle for us to get a ball with all of he 7 year olds running around in front of us, but miracles do happen.  So we get to our seats.  These are by far the best seats we have had for a game yet.  4 rows back at the 3rd base line.

We sat right next to a guy who was a Huge Pirates fan and knew alot about baseball.  We Really enjoyed talking with him and his girlfriend.  We were mainly concerned about the fact that every home team we had watched so far had lost.  But our streak was broken as the Pittsburgh pirates rallies in the 8th inning to beat the San Diego Padres.  We got out of the stadium and Ben performed his constant miracle of the trip which was calling Uber and getting us back to our motorhome for next to nothing.  The trip back to our motorhome at Walmart, which was 4 miles was $10.  Ben has been requesting rides from Uber.  It has been GREAT and saving us tons of $$$$.  In DC a Cab ride would have easily cost over $ 50 was only $ 14.  So we are back to our Motorhome around 10:45 pm.  now comes the toughest drive of the trip.  Our goal tonight is to get into Chicago before rush hour, 5 hours of drive time.  Our parking spot is right in the heart of Chicago….. We plan to drive all night to get into Chicago by 5 am at the latest to avoid rush hour.  Here we go…..

We had some maintence to do on the motorhome before we left.  Empty the black ànd gray water and fill up the fresh water.  So we did our maintenec grab coffee and muffins at dunkin donuts and filled up ànd we were on our way to Pittsburgh.  It was also about a 4 hour drivebut we weren’t sur3 where we were gonna park in Pittsburgh.  We got to about 20 minutes out and Benfound a Wàlmart within a bus ride of the stadium.  We got there and hit the store for supplies and to make sure it was OK to stay overnight in their parking lot.  It was OK, so we caught the bus for downtown Pittsburgh.  We got into town round 4 pm and Ben has been to Pittsburgh before andknew of a great place to eat.  We ordered our sandwich and beers.  The sandwiches came and they looked delious so wedug in.  After we had eaten most of our sandwiches we realized that I had gotten his sandwich as nd he got mine.  I guess traveling does take a toll.  I’m sure it had nothing to do with the beers.

We got to the stadium early ànd they were having batting practice.  We hung in the outfield to see if we could catch a ball.  No such luck.  So wè went to our seat and as soon aß the game started itbegan to rain. After about an hour delay the game started again. It continued to rain on and off all night.  The game finally ended at midnight.  We took install the way back tó Wàlmart.  The ride costaboutas much as the bus fare would have been…cheap.. Anyway we only have a 2 hour drive tomorrow, so the plan is to get some extra rest….

Here are some pics of downtown pittsburgh. Looks alot l8ke home.

Well its time to leave New York city and off to our next destination ..WashingtonDC for a game of the Washington Nationals against the Cinncinati Reds. We got up and on the road early.  We were on the road before 8 am for the 4 hours drive to Cherry Hill Rv park about an hour north of dc by bus.  We pulled into the Rv park around noon and got right into DC by 1:30 pm.  We didn’t expect to get into DC so early so we didn’t make any plans.  So we just walked around looking at stuff. 

The lines were long at the museums and there were lots of tourists around.  We probably walked 5+ miles.  Ben got a recommendation from a friend as to where to go for beers before the ballgame so we  tried to walk there but finally gave up and caught a cab.  It was in the 80’s and very humid.  We were tired.  This bar called bluejacket and it had about 30 different micro brews.  We tried a couple and had some horsedovers and then went to the game.  We had great seats.  Right at 3rdbase 4 rows back. No sooner after the game started it started to rain.  After about an hour of a rain delay and for the game was under way again.  So after the game we caught the bus back part of the way to the campground and then took uber the rest of the way. It was along day and we were best … Off to Pittsburgh tomorrow
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Well today is the Day !!!  Ben gets to go see his favorite team the NY Yankees.  We get up and go into the city looking for bagels before the 1:05 game time.  The closest we could come is a breakfast Emphanada.  We caught the # 4 train to Hoboken with plenty of time to spare before the game.   We went right to the souvenir shop looking for an authentic NY Yankees baseball cap.  We found just the right one.  Its the one with the flat bill on the cap.  There was some argument about what the bill of the cap should look like.  I am a curved bill and Ben is a flat bill cap guy.  So we then looked at Jersey and the steep price made us rethink the jersey.  We got to our seats.  Ben was afraid that the seats he got were not gonna be that good.  They were GREAT seats.  The game began with Tampa Bay scoring 4 runs in the top of the first inning.  The game didnt get much better from then on.  The Yankees seemed to be off their game today.  The final 8 to 1.  Kind of a disappointment but Ben got to see his favorite team, not a complete disapointment. 

We finished the day walking thru the financial district and having dinner in chinatown.  Then off to Surf city ( the closest sports bar to the RV park) to watch the final of the womans soccer match.  Well at least something went right today (the USA womans team won).  Laundry night and time for bed.  We have a 4 hour drive and hoping to get an early start……

Well we had Breakfast with Midge and filled up the tank and she lead up out of Woburn.  It was a great way to finish off a wonderful time in Boston with Midge.

We were 4 hours out of New York City.  Well actually we are staying in an RV park just 2 train stops from New York City.  We got in around 4 pm and showered and took off to see the city.

We took the ferry over to Manhattan island and we were dropped off right at the base of the new “Freedom” Tower.  There are several memorials around the new tower and a museum.  We toured the memorials but skipped the museum.  It was feeding time.  So we went up to Little Italy for Pizza.  And as you may or may not know if you give Marty pizza hes gonna want Gelato.  So we ate diner and desert and headed back across the Hudson via train and watched the fireworks sitting in front of our RV with neighbors ( Bill and Louise) and talked and watched the fireworks from Ellis Island and from Manhattan.

So its time for bed .. Yankees game and time to do wash tomorrow.

The day plans were to have breakfast at Midges and then off to Boston and then to Fenway park for the game at 7 pm.  We had a wonderful breakfast at Midges house, then off to tour Boston for the day.  The city was packed with tourist but we made our way around Boston commons and Beacon Hill.

Of course we had to stop into Cheers for a quick visit.  It was Great, we walked in and everybody knew our names.

Then to lunch at the Green Dragon Tavern where Ben and I had our first Lobster Rolls.  They were really good.  We then went around to several other sites and decided to take a scenic tour bus around to view the major sites of the city.  It was a Great tour and we finished up just in time to catch the train to Fenway park.  We got to Fenway park and the line to get in was HUGE.  They were really checking people carefully because of the heightened alert.  So we still had an hour to kill so we decided to go and find a place for some refreshments and wait for the lines to go down.  WELL we scored big time, it was like the Baseball gods were shining down on us.  We stumbled upon a hole in the wall bar which was not crowded at all.  We got a nice booth right in the middle of the room.

They were playing some great old rock and roll and the best thing was that when we got done the entrance to Fenway park was right out the back of this bar – NO LINE – Unbelieveable.  You will notice that I didnt mention the name of the bar.  Thats because Midge asked me not to.  We dont want the word to get around about this hole in the wall bar and then the next time we go it will be pack also.

Anyway after a couple of rounds and Midge taking a trivia quiz on a local news channel we finally walked right into the stadium.  It was a GREAT game til the 10th inning when the Astros scored 4 runs in the top of the inning and people started to file out.  The evening ended with Fireworks over fenway park and home.  We finally got home around 1:30 AM Big Day.  Tomorrow we say THANK YOU and  goodbye to Midge and its off to New York City.

The object of the day is to get to Boston by 4 pm.  I got an early start and was going from small towns on Rte 1 to more small towns.  These are some to quaintest little small towns.  With their beautiful old houses and historic statues.

  Finallly I am getting to Portland Maine ( the other Portland).  I am dead tired and the eye lids are getting heavy so I go into Portland Maine and drive around looking for a parking lot to pull into and sleep awhile.  I wound up in the downtown core area. 

I must say that Portland Maine is a BEAUTIFUL town.  It has several lakes or waterways right in the dowotwn area with walking and bike paths around them. 

Anyway I get turned around and cant find a place to pull over so I dedcided to go ahead and head down the road and pull over at the first rest stop.  About 2 miles south of Portland ME I run into a toll booth.  I give the lady at the booth the money and she gives me change.  Then she preceeds to start in discussing the RV and asking questions about where I got it and how much and it looks like fun and this goes on for 2 or 3 mintues.  All the while I now have 15 cars behind me.  So finally I say well I probably ott to head down the road.   I think she would have kept talking for a while longer.

So another 20 miles down the road I pull into the rest stop and grab 3 hours of sleep, get cleaned up and its an hour and a half to Midges.  I roll in about 5:30 pm.  Midge Shaughnessy is a long time family friend of the Sherlock Clan.  

Midge had gotten 2 tickets to go see  Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys in concert in Boston.

  We went to the concert and left just a little early to go pick up Ben atg the airport around 10:30 pm.  I tworked out perfectly and the concert was GREAT!!!!

We got back and sat around talking then hit the ay in prep for a big day tomorrow.  The gangs all here.  Let the games begin…

I knew that the day after I picked up the RV was going to be a big holiday in Canada and that everything was going to be closed.  So thats why I stocked up the day before and I figured I would spend this day getting out of Canada.  I woke up at 3 am and started to drive to the canada/us border.  Not much to see from the Highway and not very many towns along the way.  I got to the border around noon.  The border guard asked ALOT of questions and came inside the RV to look around.  It probably looked pretty suspicious a single guy in this big 30 ft RV.

Anyway I got the OK to pass and entered the US into Maine.   After about 30 minutes of driving in these cute little towns in Maine I saw the sign which read we had reached the 45th parallel.  I couldnt believe it.  I had always thought Maine was way up north, but here we were equidistant from Salem Oregon.  Te influence of the proximity to the ocean is very obvious.  Big piles of Lobster traps around here and there.  Every restaurant offering Lobster rolls or some kind of seafood.  I even saw McDonalds advertising a Lobster Roll for $7.99.  I wanted to do some driving around to see some of what Maine is all about so I took Highway 1 along the coast and drove around thru the small towns.  I stumble upon Arcadia National Park.

I decided I would try to find a campground in the park and spend the night.  This is a big wildlife area with several different park areas on serveral different islands off the coast of Maine.  I finally get to the RV park I was going to stay at and they want $ 55 for one night.  It seemed a little rich for just 8 hours of sleeping time so I chose the parking lot at the local IGA store to spend the night.

Tomorrow, off to visit with Midge and pick up Ben.

I still hadn’t confirmed that I could pick up the RV at 9 am yet.  The standard time for pic up is from 1 pm to 4 pm, but if you call them they can usually have it ready early.  I decided to just start the process to get to the pick up place and then just wait at the pick spot if its not yet ready.  So I catch a bus into Halifax and transfer to another bus to Sackville, then transfer to another bus to Lower Sackkville and then from there catch a cab for the last 4 miles to the pick up spot.  I saved $ 25 by thaing the buses instead of a cab from the airport.  Not sure it was worth it…

So The RV is ready I sign all the papers and the process of stocking the RV begins.  I had done some research and found out that Walmart was the only store around which carried all the things we would need.  So I follow my Garmin into Halifax and stop at the walmart.  It was EXTREMELY busy.  June 30th is the day before July 1st which in Canada is called Canada Day.  July 1st is the Canadian verison of our 4th of July.  So everyone is stocking up for the big holiday tomorrow.  So I decided to just grab a few things and hit subway for some sandwiches and get out of town.  I drove to the next big town called Trura and find a parking lot with a Walmart and a Dollarrama right next to one another, an RVers stock heaven.  I began the process of buying sleeping bags, food, kitchen items, and personal hygen products.  Everything we could possibly need for the next 2 weeks.  So its 5:30 pm and I had checked with an employee at the walmart ad they said it was OK to just park in their lot overnight.  So I hit the hay for some needed sleep and the observation deck arrangements were not the most comfortable.  Rv acqusition complete now to get to Boston.