Off the Grid in Maryland

Maryland and the Kaplans

Tuesday July 29th started out good, we had NO idea just how rotten this day was going to turn out to be. We got up and finished getting ready to travel. We met another full time couple that are from Florida, and had a nice, but brief chat with them. We dumped our tanks, loaded up the cruiser, and started on our way. We heard of the Kaplans via boondockerswelcome.com, and were looking forward to meeting them and camping on their property. They live in Woodsboro, Maryland. That also meant another state sticker on our map!!! The drive there was mostly on country highways and back roads. We knew we wanted to fill up with gas before getting there so we wouldn't have any problems running the geni for a week. When I spotted a gas station in Keymar, MD we pulled in and filled up. We were feeling pretty good. Our grey and black tanks were empty, and our fresh water and gas tanks were full. It was a bit of a challenge to get out of the gas station, but Eddie handled it like a pro. 

Taneytown

The route took us right thru Taneytown, MD, but we were there in no time. Woodsboro is only about 40 minutes from Gettysburg. As we turned onto Buffington Road, we ohed and awed at how pretty it is. Just as we came around a bend, we saw a Doe crossing the road. Eddie slowed way down to a crawl, and we got out our camera's to snap some pictures. She went up the bank on the other side, and stopped. It looked as though she was posing. We were thrilled. Then at the same time, we both saw why she had stopped. A very young fawn was coming out of the woods to also cross the road. Mommy and baby had been down at the creek getting a drink. We were completely stopped by this time, and got pictures of the baby. It was a totally cool moment!!!

Mama deer posing, or we thought she was.

here comes the baby

Just a bit up the road, I saw a mail box with the address we were looking for, but the GPS said we had about 30 yards to go, so we kept going. When we got to what the GPS thought was correct, we KNEW it wasn't. Unfortunately there was no cell service. Eddie got out and climbed up a hill to see if he could get service. When he came down, he said that Scott, our host, was going to drive down to see just where we were. He had to load up his dog first due to her not being well. I was so thankful that there wasn't any traffic on the road, because we had it totally blocked. When Scott got there, he gave us directions that would take us in a big circle so we would circle back onto Buffington Road and pull into the right place. He had to hurry off to the vets. I felt bad about that. As you all know, I think of my pet as part of the family, and could imagine the stress he was under. So we went around and got back to where we needed to be. As we turned into Scott & Tracey's property, I saw a nice flat and green spot that looked just perfect for us to camp on. Eddie said that he understood that we were to keep going, and stay to the left. This is were it all started to go down hill!!!!!!! I have replayed and replayed that over in my head, and if only I had insisted we park and wait for Scott and Tracey to get home, we would have saved ourselves some grief!!!! But onward we went. The road turned from gravel to blacktop, so I was encouraged. That only lasted until we came to bridge number one!!!! Okay, for those of you who don't know, I am NOT a big fan of bridges!!!! And this was a VERY poor excuse for a bridge. It looked very rickety and not at all safe. We made it across, and came to the second one that if possible, looked even WORSE!!!! Tracey did tell me later that both of them are quite safe and sturdy. After the "twin terror's", we came around a bend and saw their house. Now I was positive we were in the wrong place. We pulled a bit ahead and stopped. Once I got my heart back beating, I told Eddie we somehow needed to get back down the hill to where we first came in, but there really wasn't anywhere to turn around. He decided to walk up the rest of the hill and scope it out. When he came back down, he announced that he had found the spot he was SURE that Scott had been speaking about. I knew better, but what were we to do at that point. He did state that there wasn't any room for the dolly, so we dropped the cruiser and unhooked the dolly. There was a small semi flat spot that we parked it on. Eddie then said he would pull Freeda up, and park her. I was to stay with the cruiser, and he would radio me when parked to come up. This spot that he was going to park in was a tight fit, and on quite a slope. I was convinced that it was Scott and Tracey's parking area, but Eddie told me I was wrong!!!!! Off he went, and I sat in the cruiser praying that all would go well. That's about when I heard the CRASH!!!!!! I got on the radio and asked him thu my tears what the heck happened. He said he didn't know, and I informed him that he hit something. Apparently a tree jumped right out of nowhere and smacked Freeda on the back side!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! To say I was upset is a gross understatement!!!!
The tree was okay, and only the bracket on a solar light was broken. I know Eddie is capable of fixing it, but I was mortified that the first impression Scott and Tracey was to have of us was us parking in the WRONG spot, and damaging their property!!!!!!!!

Freeda's first owie

This breaks my heart

Poor Freeda!!!!

OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At least the tree is okay

Broken solar light

The only thing to do was to wait for someone to get home, and explain what had happened. Eddie tried to level us out, but the slope was to steep, so we were leaning pretty badly. We attempted to start the geni, but it just wouldn't go on. We thought that maybe it was because we were leaning so much, and for it to work, it needs to be level. At least that was our theory. Somehow Tracey was able to call me even though I only had one dot of service. She said she would be home soon, and I told her I had a story to tell her. Reader, you may think that our bad day ends there, but oh no it doesn't, there is more!!!!! I had only ever spoken to Tracey on the phone, no face to face as of yet. So when her and her daughter pulled in, I went out to introduce myself and apologize for well..... EVERYTHING!!!!!! Tracey was so, SO very understanding and gracious about it all. She is a wonder!!!! After Eddie, Tracey, and I discussed the situation, we figured that there was about two hours of daylight left, and that was plenty of time to get us turned around and down the hill to WHERE I WANTED TO STOP IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!! We moved all of the little cars out of the way, donned safety vest, and radioed up. With both Tracey and I spotting, we figured we would have us out lickity split. Nope didn't happen!!!! Eddie pulled up, backed up, pulled up, backed up. He tried to inch us out of there. The thing was that there was a little tree that we kept getting hung up on. Not the same tree as before, this one was another one. After about two hours of trying and trying, Tracey called a time out. She pulled out a chain saw and had Eddie cut the tree down!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So we ( and by we, I mean EDDIE) backed into one tree, and ended up cutting down another one. But it worked, and we were able to get Freeda out of Scott and Tracey's driveway and down the hill. We left the dolly to deal with later. We were all tired and it was now dark out. Tracey came down with us to make TOTALLY sure we parked in the right area. Once that was established, I drove her back up to her house. When I got back, all either one of us wanted was a shower and to go to bed. We tried to start the geni again, but no go!!! There was a nice breeze coming in, and my backup battery for my Cpap was fully charged, so we just went straight to bed. What a day it had been!!!!!!!! It was, and is a HUGE learning experience for both of us. I need to listen to my inner voice, and Eddie needs to listen to my outter voice!!!!!
The next day, July 30th, we went on a quest for a laundry mat. With no sewer hook up in Gettysburg, laundry had piled up. We headed for Frederick and found a nice clean little laundry mat, and got it all done. 

getting laundry done

Right next door was a little mom and pop place called Cafe Bueno. I got a sandwich and Eddie got tacos with rice & beans. Everything was REALLY yummy!!!! With a bite to eat, and laundry done, we were feeling a bit better. When we got back to Freeda, Eddie put the wood blocks, and jack pads down. I put out the slides and lowered the jacks. We were settling in. Tracey had mentioned the evening before that Scott is a mechanic, and she would ask him to take a look at our geni. Scott, Tracey and their daughter, Arianna stopped by that evening. We don't know what he did, and even Scott wasn't sure what happened, but he got the geni running!!!!!! Tracey noticed that we were parked right on a patch of poison ivy. Of course we were. It was dark the night before when we parked, so we had not noticed it then. And Murphy's law seems to prevail in our lives. Tracey said we could move about 100 yards back where there wasn't any poison ivy, and Eddie found that we would be able to get satellite reception. After the Kaplan's left, we talked about it, and decided to go ahead and move. It didn't take us long, and to be on the safe side we kept the geni running. We were pretty happy with that. Things were certainly looking up!!!!
Thursday we had phone business to take care of, so we drove into Woodsboro. We parked in the parking lot of a volunteer fire department where there was good reception. Right across the street was a real neat looking old house. We found out later from Tracey that George Washington stayed there. The history here is so deep and awesome.

house that George Washington stayed at

Woodsboro, Maryland

After our phone errands were completed, we headed back to our little abode.The issue with the geni not starting seemed to be gone, so we had turned it off while we were out. The smell from the exhaust was bothering me, and had given me a bad headache. Eddie said he didn't smell anything, but I sure did.

Freeda in Maryland

Our camp site at the Kaplan's

Because of the fumes, we tried to not run the geni. We also wanted to watch our fuel consumption. Yes we had a full tank, but that needed to last us all week, and get us back to Gettysburg. We hadn't run or used the geni for this long before, so we were not sure just how much fuel it would or could burn. 
Friday night we slept in the living room. Eddie wanted to sleep on the floor, so I got the couch. It was a tad cooler out there, and I was able to plug in my cpap into the auxiliary outlet in the dash. I wasn't able to charge the back up battery due to us not running the geni. Our carbon monoxide alarm in the bedroom kept going off, so we felt safer with it off, and in the living room with all of the windows open. It was awful hot out, and very hard to sleep. 
Saturday Eddie crawled under the rig to check out the geni. We were tired of the fumes and I FINALLY convinced him that this was NOT normal. Sure enough he found a problem. The fuel filter was leaking, and leaking BAD. Scott, Tracey and Arianna were driving by, and they stopped. Scott asked if the geni stopped running, and Eddie told him about the leak. He said he knew what we needed and would pick one up for us while they were out. Once again Scott and Tracey came to our rescue!!!! Eddie and I played Trivial Pursuit to pass the time. When the Kaplan's got back, they had the part. It cost only $4.23, and Scott had it all in and going in no time at all. YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!!! We were able to close up and turn on the A/C to be able to get some sleep in comfort.
Sunday, Tracey & Arianna came down for a visit and art lesson. They brought us waffles, bacon, syrup and blueberries!!!! How so VERY sweet and kind of them. It was all so yummy, and VERY appreciated!!!!! I tell you, Tracey is one of the kindest and most thoughtful woman you will ever meet. In fact, all of the Kaplan's have been OUTSTANDING!!!!!! We were and are truly blessed and lucky to have made their acquaintance. We feel as though we now have a family in Maryland. Tracey offered us use of their Internet, so after the art lesson, we packed up our computers and went up to their house. They have several dogs, and I inquired after Juliette, the one that was ill, sadly Tracey informed me that Juliette was no longer with us. I felt HORRIBLE!!!!! Losing a fur baby is never easy. They still have Milton, Kei, Martha & Lila. Kinda funny. I had an uncle Milton, and have a nephew Kei, and a niece Martha!!!! What are the odds??? After checking and sending some emails, we dove into a game of Mexican train. Tracey and Arianna had never played before, but they caught on real fast!!!! Scott wasn't feeling well, so he didn't join us. Arianna even went out and caught us with a lot of points. Stinker girl!!!!!! 

Arianna winning at Mexican train

We had such a good time. Arianna made us little pizza's for lunch. They were super yummy!!!!! By the time the day was winding down, the weather started up. There was rain, thunder and lighting. We figured it was time to head down the hill and home. It was such a fun wonderful day. When we got home, it was REALLY raining and we had to trudge thru ankle deep water to get in. Little Suzy was pretty happy to see us. She had been in the dark with the storm raging around her. We settled in for the night. Eddie watched some football, and I played Tetris on my DS. It was a good end to a good day.
During the night, I got hot. We both had been very conservative on the water, but I just HAD to take a cool shower. I also closed up the widows and turned on the A/C. That helped, and I was able to drift off to sleep. That was until the alarm went off again!!!!! It was 3am. We turned off the A/C and geni and opened up the windows. We moved into the living room to spend the rest of the night out there again. Eddie got up early Monday morning to see what was wrong now. He discovered that now the oil filter is leaking!!!!!! If it wasn't for bad luck, we wouldn't have any luck at all. We only have one more day, and will be back in Gettysburg, so we thought we could hold out. Eddie went back to our parking lot in Woodsboro to make phone calls and do some business. I stayed home and cleaned. I kept the geni off until later in the day. I turned it on to be able to make us some dinner. We left all of the windows (except the two closest to the geni exhaust pipe) for ventilation. Tracey stopped by on her way home from work. She invited us up to the house the next night to play games. Can't wait!!!
Tuesday, August 5th. This is was our last full day in Maryland. It had been a hard week for us, but also a wonderful one. Our time with the Kaplan's will always be a highlight of our travels. Tracey stopped in on her way home from work. She asked us to also come up for dinner. She also offered us use of her shower. We had been SO good about watching our water usage, so the thought of a nice long shower was a welcome one. We loaded up what we would need and headed up the hill. Tracey made Fajita's and Eddie made guacamole for dinner. It was SO, SO good!!!!! We had ice cream for desert. Scott and Eddie moved the dolly down the hill while Tracey and I cleaned up from dinner. We played 10 days in the U.S. and had another fun, entertaining, wonderful night with our new friends. 

Terrific Tracey and Awesome Arianna!!!!!

Eddie and I both took refreshing showers and put on our PJ's. We were sitting around visiting when Arianna and the dogs heard thunder. The day had been so nice earlier, we had driven up with the top down. Tracey looked out, and sure enough, it was RAINING!!!! Eddie ran out to put the top up, but he reported that the cruiser had gotten pretty wet inside!!!! That was our cue to go. We said good bye, and promised to keep in touch. Again when we got home, it was pretty wet. Tomorrow is a travel day, so we called it a night and went to bed.
Wednesday morning Tracey and Arianna stopped by to get hugs and say our last good byes. We both will miss them a lot!!!!!!  We felt as though we had known them longer than just a week. I personally feel a closeness to Tracey and Arianna that I can not explain. They are just so incredible, and I feel blessed to have met them and to have been able to spend the time with them that I did!!!!! We were sad to see them go. 
Our water was low, so we opted to wait until we got to Gettysburg to shower. I wasn't feeling well at all, and it took all I had to not get sick. We got back to Gettysburg with no problems or issues. It felt soooooooo good to see this place. We even got a site with full hook ups!!!!!! GLORY HALLELUJAH!!!! As we were setting up, the couple two sites down noticed our Washington State plates. The wife, Sally said she grew up in Washington. I asked her where and she said "Blaine" BLAINE!!!!!! I told her we formally lived in Point Roberts. She was so surprised!!! What are the odds. She had not been there in a while. Her brother still lives there. She graduated from Blaine high school in the early 1960's. What a small world. We continued on setting up. I got pretty sick a bit later, but once that was out of my system, I felt a LOT better!!!! Eddie worked on the outside, and I SCRUBBED the inside. The floor was a muddy mess from the night before. When Eddie took the garbage to the dumpster, he picked up some ice at the store, so I was able to make some ice tea. I also got laundry started and took a VERY nice long refreshing shower. Eddie took one as well. He said his hair felt like wire, and he felt like a grizzly bear, all scruffy. It felt like heaven. the rig was clean, we were clean, and no worries about fumes. We settled in and rested for the rest of the day.
Well folks, that is our Maryland story. We hope to be able to visit Maryland again to see more and hopefully NOT have so many issues. We chalk it up to RV life and adventures on the road. We wouldn't want life to get boring would we now!!!!! This is where we will leave you for now. Please take time to smell the roses and enjoy those around you. Love and best wishes to each and everyone of you!!!!!
Best, Eddie, Darlanne & Suzy.