June 3, 2014
So Tuesday we left the campground and drove to Sylvan Beach,
New York. We had been here two years ago
and wanted to return to see more lighthouses in the area. We decided to stay at a different RV park
this time, as the one we had stayed at before did not have wi-fi and the
current park advertised wi-fi service.
So we got set up and decided we would spend the day catching up on blog
entries, and low and behold, the wi-fi is not located around the park, it is
located in a pavilion in the middle of the park. So we gathered all our information and
peripherals and headed to the pavilion.
Needless to say, the wi-fi is the pits.
Very slow and very sporadic at that.
It took us forever to upload the last blog. So we stopped what we were doing and went to
town to dinner. On our way back there
was a bad wreck which occurred in front of us on the bridge over the canal,
which takes us back to the RV park.
After waiting three hours, we finally were told of an alternate route
back to the RV park and arrived back at the Turtle at midnight. It was just one of those days…….nothing too
exciting to write about so we decided to use this opportunity to share with you
what we learned about New England…..
1.
It seems as if every other person owns a snow
plow
2.
Everyone has either a bike rack or a kayak rack (or
both) on their vehicles
3.
Windmills everywhere – and we are not talking
about wind turbines….
4.
Lighted Candles in house windows
5.
No one knows how to merge onto a highway.
6.
All the cross streets have signs with the name
of the street on them, except the one you are driving on!
7.
Unusual road signs abound: (As in we never see
these in Texas!)
a.
Moose Crossing
b.
Snowmobile Crossing
c.
Goose Crossing
d.
Horse and Buggy on Road
e.
Cow crossing (really)
f.
Watch out for Snow Plows
8.
There are many variations on New England speech/accents
depending on what state you are in.
9.
Heat wave in New England is 55 degrees or higher
(flip-flops, tanks tops and bikinis – oh yeah!)
10.
Boston Red Sox fans are serious!
11.
Ranger
Ice Hockey Fans are even more serious!!!!
12.
New England is beautiful and for the most part, so
are the people who live there!
In all seriousness, there is an interesting story behind the
candles in the windows and the windmills.
The symbolic importance of having a lighted candle in the
window has different meanings in different cultures. Placed at Christmas time, it symbolizes the
star of Bethlehem Other meanings
include welcoming home a wayward child, (like a lighthouse light helps steer
the ships away from danger). In colonial times, placing a burning candle in
one’s window evoked the warmth of home and family. The candle was often placed in the window
when a member of the family was away. It
also signified good news or was used as a beacon to weary travelers. Mostly, the candles were seen as a sign of
welcome to others. Today, the burning
candles are replaced by electric/battery operated candles.
The windmills are a Dutch transplant dating back to when the
city of New York was still called New Amsterdam, and owned by the Dutch. The windmills were used primarily at sawmills
– a very sophisticated operation at the time.
A series of wooden gears would work a shaft hooked up to saws. The windmills also served as an emergency
broadcast system for boat pilots on the East River.
So there you have it…….for what it is worth…….
And here are the pictures…………………….
Snowmobile Sign
Windmill
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