I was born and raised in Syracuse NY.  I went to school at Syracuse public schools.  I explored as much then as I do now. Even as a 10yr old I wanted to know where each and every road went. And I’m not talking about my back yard, I mean each and every road I could reach with my bicycle in a day.  When I got to 16 and learned to drive, I continued that same desire until I went away to college.  And then it started all over again!

In 1969 a Clint Eastwood movie came out about 2 gold rush “miners”.  It stared Clint Eastwood as a city slicker looking to make a fortune, and Lee Marvin as a crusty old gold miner who was always drunk.  They partnered up and its an amazingly funny movie.  Lee Marvin got a top ten hit song from the movie, and Clint shows he can play the sensitive caring part in a movie.   Anyway,  the song touched me a way few songs have since.   The song Lee Marvin “Sings” (or grunts the words to) is called “I was Born Under a Wandering Star”.   If your unfamiliar with the song I’ll add the lyrics to the end of this post.  I know them by heart, and they come up out of the depths of my brain frequently.  A brain worm song that seems to control my desires and directions.

But back to Syracuse. I married a local girl who’s family lived just outside of Syracuse.  She enjoyed traveling around with me (probably it was a novelty).  We actually got married because I took a job in Albany, NY and since it was 150miles away and and long distance relationship have never worked out for me, I said to her “You can come live with me if you want”.  She looked at me and said her parents would never let her  live with someone she wasn’t married to. 

I knew  her father and that did seem like him.  So I said, Ok.   And I felt a little sad about leaving her behind.   Then later that day, or maybe that week, we went over to her parents for dinner and she announced we were getting married.  There wasn’t any chance for a correction, and I was looking turning 30 in the face, so I just let it go and in 7 months I was married.

We lived in “the NY Capital District” for a couple years. Explored a lot of Vermont while there.  Then moved down to the Hudson Valley just 40 miles north of NY city.  Explored NY, CT, NJ and of course the Hudson valley and Highlands.  But the “Biological clock” was ticking so we moved back to Syracuse and suddenly there was a little creature that seemed to like to eat, sleep, and poop.  Well actually there were 2, just one was covered with a lot more black  hair than the other.  See I figured out if my wife was going to have a baby,  I was going to have a puppy.  Our first and greatest German Shepherd(But that’s a story for another time).

Well, being a “family man” meant I needed a better job.  So we took a job in Corning, NY.  I was a wet behind the ears Safety Manager with the word of the Law behind my demands that people not get hurt at work.  So after deciding on getting #2 son, and buying our first house,  my boss terminated me for interfering with production. And so we moved to the mountains of the NY Adirondacks soon after son #2 was born out into the light.  This was an awesome time.  We thought nothing of driving from one end of the state to the other for hiking, camping, or eating out in the ADK.

The kids got into school and we soon decided for a better education and for grand parent support we needed to be back in Syracuse.  So we set down stakes in Fayetteville, just outside of Syracuse, for 20yrs.  I got hives several times thinking about traveling.  I had to buy an Aliner to satisfy the itch, and the rest is YouTube history.  So to return back into NY for 5 weeks of exploring old haunts and camping places was a real treat.  While things have grown up (including my sons) most things are still as enjoyable, if not better, than they were before.  No the grand parents are not there anymore. My Mom is the only one left and she is in Florida (Heavens(Hells?) Waiting Room).

I’ve heard and read that “You Can’t Go Back Home”, and maybe that refers to “Time & Place”.  Which is of course true.  But its a very comfortable thing to feel like you are “Back home”.  I love where I live now, though I doubt I will ever feel as part of NC as I did in NY.  And with all that said, and all that history, my inner being still urns for new places, new discoveries, and the open road. 

Last Week we stayed at Green Lakes State Park just outside of Syracuse in Fayetteville, NY.  It is bordered by one of the best bicycling roads in CNY, Rt-5.  Flat, Wide, Not very curvy, and at least 1 ice cream stand every 5 miles! On the other side is the Old Erie Canal, which has been paved for much of its length and so it is also a great bicycling route. Totally flat and no cars!  I used to go out  Rt-5 for 10miles, then return on the Erie Canal for another 10 miles.

I lived exactly 1 mile from the canal and 1.2miles from the State Park.  Green Lakes has grown like a pre-teen going on to 19.  They have bought up so much land around them, and developed super biking trails, and hiking trails. They have an entirely new full hookup RV Camping Area (too much like a parking lot for me), and 2 very nice new bath house in the camping areas, and 2 gigantic bath houses on the beach.  Our week there was rainy and the camp sites were very muddy.  They don’t pave or gravel the sites, so they are really quite muddy when wet.  A Patio Mat is essential.

Anyway, this is getting long and boring. Check out the videos, I believe there are 3 on Green Lakes over the last 7 years.  And look around the rest of this website.  I have a few Affiliate links if you feel like buying some RV Essentials.  I get roughly 3-5% if you use my link.  Amazon tossed me off their affiliate program.  So the Amazon links are just for good products for your convenience.  My affiliate links may include a discount.  Also of course, there is the $Make a donation$ link at the top of the page.  The reason for that is if you use the YouTube “$Thanks” button they slice off a good size commission for themselves(30-40%).  If you use the $Make a Donation$  link I get all but 15-25cents Paypal charges as a processing fee.

Stay Safe,  Stay Happy!
Rick &Akela
GoingNoWhereFast