The 4th of July - QC82-01

July 3, 2008 (Thu) Home to Prattsburg, NY (337/337) - Packing for a weekend trip is a lot different than for a 3 month trip and in many ways more difficult. Instead of trying to decide what to bring we struggle with what not to bring. And loading up Q is more helter-skelter. But we got it done and and we hit the road at about 8:20 (sunny 78°) heading north on the Garden State Parkway. Rather than continue all the way to the New York State Thruway, as Hildene insisted we do, we turned off on US-17. We wanted to make stops for goodies at Trader Joe's and a folding stool at Campmor in Paramus. Although not strictly necessary, we stopped for gas just before leaving New Jersey. We payed $3.95/gal rather than the $4.34 at most stations in New York.

Lunch was the new spicy chicken wrap from Wendy's. We got two each thinking they'd be rather small. Actually one each would have been plenty. They were quite good for fast food. Another stop at the new Walmart Supercenter in Elmira yielded a new supply of hot mayonnaise, not readily available in our area, and hot Cajun mix, only available from Walmart, not the crackers and soda that was the reason for our stop.

As we got back onto US-17 the sky darkened and soon after the rain came - as if dumped from a large bucket - so heavy that pulling off onto the shoulder to wait it out became a consideration. We trudged on and were met by Mike and Dorcas (Mark's sister) at the bottom of their new long driveway. The rain had stopped by then. The evening was family chat and bed was welcome at 10:00.

July 4, 2008 (Fri) Prattsburg, NY (2) - When we packed yesterday we thought we wouldn't need our chilly (not cold) weather blanket for this short trip so we took it into the house. We shouldn't have! It got down to 50° which was a challenge for the blankets we did have. We survived though and the sun warmed things up when it appeared over the tree to the East. After breakfast we took our chairs down to the pond and read for a couple of hour as everyone else came to life and began moving around.

When we finally, and reluctantly, dragged ourselves away from our peaceful pond side retreat we found our nephews and grand nephews gathered on the lawn and around the picnic table on the camp's large deck building and testing rockets. They had devised a competition to launch a can of beer into "space" and retrieve in drinkable condition. The event is still pending.

Our "campsite" is a wide space about half way up the hill to Dorcas and Mike's camp and somewhat distant from the other campers. It is mowed and almost level in one place - level being relative because Q's starboard wheels are up on blocks higher than they or any of his wheels have ever been. Even so we still have a slight starboard list. Other guests include Dorcas and Mike's sons and their families - one quite large, and some friends of theirs and no less than six dogs. Later in the day Dave, our daughter Jennifer and Shane came and pitched their tent overlooking the pond.

It was fun watching all the "kids", ranging in age from 4 (our grand son Shane) to the early 20's, interact. Activities, other than the rocket competition, involved swimming, paddle boating, fishing (with a small plastic spiderman as bait), softball, lawn darts, frisbee and, of course, eating. The adults often joined in - especially the eating.

The evening was heralded by a beautiful sunset which was followed by the sliver of a new moon. After dark we sat on the deck and watched the younger kids down by the campfire make fiery drawings in the air with sparklers while real fireworks decorated the skyline over the distance hills.

July 5, 2008 (Sat) Prattsburg, NY (3) - It wasn't so cold sleeping last night. In fact we were almost too warm even though the temperature outside was only 2 degrees warmer. We'd discovered that the down comforter we carry for really cold (well below freezing) nights was up in Q's attic (the pod) and brought it down and into service.

At about 11:00am we all gathered at a safe distance from the launch pad to watch the rockets go up. The rule was that we were to have overhead protection in case one went astray so some lined the railing under the covered part of the deck while others staked claims under the high deck itself. Before each launch we watched in excited anticipation as the crew prepared the rocket for its flight. When they stepped back from the pad, the chatter in the crowd would die away and we'd all joined in the final count down .... Five, four, three, two, one.

The first rocket was constructed from a round cardboard mailing tube. A nosecone containing a plastic parachute topped the majestic cylinder. In the hold was a can of cold beer. The engines hissed, smoke covered the launch pad and the rocket began to rise. It reached an altitude of about ten feet, turned and headed straight toward its designer/builder before crashing harmlessly into the ground.

The second rocket was made from a 1/2 gallon plastic soda bottle filled (more or less) with water. A bicycle pump forced air into the rocket which, in turn, forced the propellant (water) out. After some effort from the launch foreman - to push the plunger down - the rocket lifted off its pad spewing water, soared three feet into space and plunged to the ground.

The third rocket was the can of beer itself with an empty can attached to the bottom to house the rocket engines. Fins and nosecone had been constructed from other emptied and disassembled beer cans. It too lifted from the launch pad with a hiss and a cloud of smoke and sailed maybe fifteen feet into the air before turning and heading for the launch crew.

The fourth rocket never left the launch pad. It got hung up on the guide rod and spun wildly around it until fizzling out.

Q044431 Dorcas and Mike's summer camp (x3)
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July 6, 2008 (Sun) Prattsburg, NY to Home (327/664 miles) - Breakfast of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon was provided by our hosts, Mike and Dorcas. Although we had a more than 6 hour trip ahead of us, we took our time getting off because we didn't want the weekend to be over. But, at last, it was time (77° sunny). Coming down off the leveling blocks was a bit of an adventure. One of them kicked up underneath producing a loud bang. We were sure the damage was major but we could find nothing - not even a dent.

We had thought we would be reporting an uneventful trip but, alas, it was not to be. Instead of staying on US-17 to return the way we'd come up, we turned south on I-81 in Binghamton, NY. We could stop at the Flying J in Montrose, PA to dump Q's holding tanks. Continuing south we soon ran into traffic, not stopped but almost. We decided to get off and take some back roads to get around it. The problem was that our last minute decision didn't give us time to adequately plan a detour and we guessed wrong at the end of the ramp. By the time we discovered that we should have turned the other way we didn't want to turn back. Instead we decided to let Hildene have her way - except that she kept trying to get us to turn onto dirt roads which we declined more than a few times. It turned out that dirt or gravel roads was about the only way back to civilization - we were really out in the boonies by then. It's amazing how many "unimproved" roads there are in that part of Pennsylvania - and how very narrow some of them are. By surrendering completely to Hildene's guidance we finally make it to I-80 where we could turn east toward New York City and home. An estimated 6 hour trip took us over 8 hours!

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