Anxious to continue our journey towards Maine we were on the road early. As usual, coffee was on the agenda. Happily, we came upon Java Love Roastery and Cafe in White Lake, New York. The friendly barista hooked us up with our favorite half caffs and told us to check out the craft beer when she heard we were headed toward Vermont. I knew Vermont was known for maple syrup and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream but I had no idea about the beer. The front porch was so nice, we sat for a few minutes to enjoy our coffee.

This was our first time driving through New York State and it was beautiful. We try to stay off the major highways and travel on the country roads. It takes a little longer but it is always worth it. I love seeing the different house styles and the small towns.

Lunch was barbecue rib hoagies from Speedway when we stopped for gas. Surprisingly tasty and a steal at 2 for $3. I added a couple Gatorades and the total was under $6.

Time to find a place to stay again. Freecampsites.net came to the rescue again and we found a place called Somerset Airfield. According to the description, it was near water and had outhouses. When we got there, a number of the sites were taken but we found one we liked. It was an easy hike to the stream for water and had plenty of sun for charging our solar panels. Not much phone or internet signal, but you can’t have everything.

The location was nice and the price was right so we decided to stay two nights. It seemed like a good time to try out the new tent we brought. We usually use a small half dome one from REI but for this trip, we bought a larger one from Napier that would be roomier for longer stays and rainy days. Set up took awhile and it was surprisingly hot for early June in Vermont but finally we got it up. It attaches to the car so we can access our fridge without going outside and has an attached screen room. The screen room turned out to be a godsend because the bugs were merciless!

That night we tried out the air mattress my lovely sister, Tracy, and her husband, Fraser, gave us instead of our usual thin sleeping pads. It was awesome until it deflated halfway through the night and we were actually sleeping on the cold ground! Luckily, we could reach right into the car and pull out a sleeping bag which helped.

Our second day at Somerset was even hotter than the first so we mostly lazed around in our screen room avoiding the bugs. We had been debating the wisdom of the new tent because of the space it takes in the Jeep but I think we are sold now. The hot sun did a great job heating up the water in our solar shower so we were able to get cleaned up which is always nice. The bugs seemed to like us even better after that unfortunately!

Some fellow campers were kind enough to drop off some firewood they had leftover on their way out so we were able to start a fire once the day cooled down a bit. It kept the flies away and let us heat up some delicious African food we had in the fridge. Before going to sleep that night we made sure to pump plenty of air into the mattress. That made for a much more comfortable night sleep. Thanks Tracy and Fraser!