Visiting the Wicked Witch of the East (WWTE) In New York State

Heading into Pennsylvania from Ohio, I rode shotgun with Mom in the Rambling RV Rat Pack Rubicon following behind Dad, Big Boomer and Suite Retreat since we cannot legally double-tow in this part of the country.  We traversed the scenic hills of the Allegheny Mountains, but going through Pittsburgh was the pits!  Heavy traffic, construction, and an accident made for a slow commute along our entire route, turning a 3.25 driving day into a 5-hour stress-fest.

 

This serene photo was taken well before hitting Pittsburgh.

But Stem-to-Table Farm in Center Hall, Pennsylvania, our Harvest Hosts for the evening, was the perfect place to relax.   The long driveway loops you around the barn, where there is plenty of room for set-up and wonderful country views.  Their country store has tasty meats, eggs, and syrup to buy—our kind of place!  

 

We settled in, then went to explore the surrounding area.  I offered my greetings to Belle, the Big Brown Bovine, another Roadside America attraction.  We also did a 5-mile hike along the canyon gorge at Spring Creek.  It was a pretty area, the trail was not heavily traveled, and, despite recent rainstorms, there were no mosquitos bothering us.

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A very cool round red barn.

God's Country.

Belle, the Big Brown Bovine, a Roadside America attraction.

Hiking along Spring Creek.

We left Stem-to-Table the next morning, backtracking along the same local roads we took for arrival because all the alternate routes had weight limits that Big Boomer/Suite Retreat would surely exceed.   We drove through gorgeous areas, but I’ve got no photos to share.  The need to drive the jeep separately ties up my staff photographer (i.e., Mom).

 

Welcome to New York State, where plastic grocery bags, mini bottles of toiletries supplied by hotels, and double towing the Jeep are outlawed.  After getting off I-81, we traveled on US-13.  This was a scenic but long route through small, rural towns and villages that got very stressful as we went through the city of Ithica (founded in 1790 and incorporated in 1888), with its abundance of traffic lights, roads in disrepair, and constant speed limit changes.

 

We arrived at Tilden Farm in Vernon, New York.  We discovered this Hip Camp gem in 2021 when we needed to stay in the area an extra night and The Village RV Park in Oneida, New York, could not extend our reservation.  We learned upon arrival this year that Tilden Farm is now with Harvest Hosts, too!

 

The property has been in the Brewer family since 1798! So, I am thrilled Ken and his family have found a way to keep the farm going.   He has made several camping improvements since our stay in 2021, adding sites with electric and water hookups, bathrooms on premises, and a dump station.  He has created walking trails along the cattle pastures and has designed a course for mountain biking/hiking within the woods (Mom was thrilled to have these at her disposal).  He has quality meats for purchase, too, which we indulged in even though we were not staying through Harvest Hosts.

What brings us to this area of New York?  It is the land where my Auntie Laurie lives.   We have a love/hate relationship—I hate to love her and she loves to hate me.  Hence, my referring to her as Wicked Witch of the East (WWTE).  

See how she tries to ignore me!  But even WWTE can't resist this Rambling RV Rat's adorableness!

We came specifically to celebrate a milestone in WWTE’s life (retirement) by treating her and a few close friends who are like family to dinner at a place of Aunt Laurie’s choice.  She selected the Black Stallion Restaurant in Vernon, New York, with Italian-American cuisine.  I was pleasantly surprised by the tasty Italian dishes, from the seafood antipasto to the stuffed hot peppers special-of-the day, from the chicken saltimbocca to the veal parmigiana, all were freshly made and good-sized servings that produced to-go boxes for all of us to enjoy another night’s dinner.  By request from Aunt Laurie, we topped it off with one of Mom’s homemade devil’s food cakes and assorted baked goods.

 

Aunt Laurie seemed unimpressed with my gift of a self portrait made with Lake Superior rocks.  She doesn't appreciate my artistic creations.

Rather than buy Aunt Laurie real flowers (she doesn't like to part with them, even when dead!), I bought her this paper floral arrangement that she can keep for posterity.

Now that WWTE is retired, I figured her flying monkeys may need to find some new employment.

No need to worry about that--I put them onto a new career path!

We did several fun things during our visit.  One day we all went blueberry picking at North Star Farms.

On another evening Aunt Laurie surprised my parents with tickets to join her and Rob at Vernon Downs Race Track for dinner and a concert by the hair band Night Ranger, who performed at a fundraiser for the local food pantry (notice she did not include yours truly, Rambling RV Rat, in this rendezvous).   Fortunately, it did not rain, which it did for most days of our visit.

 

We enjoyed an afternoon/early evening at Aunt Laurie’s “home away from home”:  Turning Stone Resort, operated by the Oneida Indian Nation.   The casino in St. Ignace, Michigan, is in infancy compared to this joint.  Turning Stone consists of every amenity imaginable:  hotel and lodge accommodations, restaurants galore, retail shops, concert venues, golf courses, and a casino with slots, table games, bingo/keno, and sports betting.

Aunt Laurie is one of Turning Stone's VIPs, having an affinity for playing the slots in her spare time. (Thankfully, she hasn't had as much spare time as she would like.  Otherwise, I’d be dialing 1-800-GAM-PROB).  As a VIP, she receives “free play”, comped rooms and meals, and a variety of retail gifts (from cutlery to purses, from pillows to cooking pots, from candles to dishes—forget visiting the department store, you can go to Aunt Laurie’s house to shop).

 

We planned to have dinner at the Resort’s Upstate Tavern with Aunt Laurie and our friend Rosemary.  We were seated, reviewed the menu, and had just placed our order when the skies outside turned ominous.  We heard some thunder, the lights began to flicker, and poof—we were sitting in the dark, with no power in the restaurant!  We learned a tornado touched down in Rome, New York, about 20 miles away.  The generators took their time firing up, and in these times of everything electronic/digital, it took over an hour for us to get our dinner.  But it was tasty and worth the wait.

 

Unfortunately, that storm wreaked havoc at our RV at Tilden Farm.   We returned home to no power in the rig, the slide topper torn off, and Starlink flipped over.  Dad was quick to remedy the first two issues.  But even after doing the usual trouble-shooting, Starlink was down for the count.  We are blessed that Starlink would send us a new unit, free of charge, upon receipt of the old one.  However, we would not be stationary anywhere long enough to accommodate the shipping schedule until late August!  This Rambling RV Rat went on a rant.  Without Starlink, my efforts to stay current with my blog were stymied!  I consoled myself by eating a bag of cheese puffs and repeating the mantra, que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be.

 

Ironically, that same day we learned from friends and neighbors that winds from Hurricane Beryl toppled the old oak tree that stood on our long-term leased lot in Rainbow’s End in Livingston, Texas.  Good thing we are traveling, otherwise Big Boomer would have been damaged severely since the tree fell right where he would be parked.  

 

Aunt Laurie doesn’t cook much, but she and Mom spent all day together making an Italian dish called pizzagaina.  Traditionally made at Easter, it is a scrumptious pizza dough (Mom made that from scratch the day before), stuffed with basket cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, ricotta, eggs, parsley, and dry meats (Aunt Laurie uses soppressata and pepperoni), baked to golden brown.  (I am salivating even as I write this!)

 

Mom cooked dinner that night for us all, making some of Aunt Laurie’s favorites:  steaks cooked medium rare, shrimp barbequed in garlic/butter sauce, twice baked potatoes, salad greens, broccoli, and cauliflower.  Afterwards, we spent an evening at the lounge of Vernon Downs Casino.  A multi-generational band, consisting of several fathers and sons, were playing.  Their repertoire was that of a wedding band from the 1980s (“Celebration”, “Dancing Queen”, “Sweet Caroline”, “Ladies Night”).

 

It was time to say good-bye to Aunt Laurie.

I wish I could say our visit went without any arguments (that would be a phenomenon of unparalleled proportion!)   When tempers flare among these Italian sisters, you get a blazing five-alarm fire.  But grudges are never held, communication is never cut off (you wish you could get the silent treatment from them), and the good times always prevail.

I got myself checked in here for a few days now that our visit with Aunt Laurie, WWTE is over.