New Year new attitude

I can't believe it's been this long since I have visited my site. But I'm back and hope to visit and post more often.
The job is going well and shifts are still difficult but I'm still employed that's all I'm going to say about that.
Deb and I have talked about what to do about our camping, with the rise in fuel cost and working two weekends a month we toyed with the idea of selling our 5th wheel and truck, taking a year off or buy a motor home. So what we decided was to keep things the way they are, budget fuel into our trips and make the best of it.
So with that our summer vacation (June) is planned with a return trip to Williamsburg VA for 4 nights and then 3 nights in Washington DC.
So that is a brief update and it won't be long now that we de-winterize.

Warm Heart

I was thumbing through some old photos from my webshots albums tonight and came across this one, it really warms my heart and makes me feel pretty lucky!

July Ramblings

Well we haven't camped since our Maine vacation, mainly due to my schedule at work. There has been a lot of overtime and yes I have sucked it up and will continue for a while.

As far as work goes I have been accepted into the operations team of the Utilities dept permanently which in my opinion is safer than being in maintenance, I feel that there will be future cutbacks and typically maintenance gets hit first, that is not saying that operations will be left untouched, it just make take longer.

I'm not fooling myself in believing that I will reach my full retirement with Pfizer, I just need to hit the next milestone of 50 years old, which if past severance packages continue and include a 5 yr addition to age or service would qualify me for free medical for life and a discounted early retirement, (very important in my case).

I will continue to go to work and do the best job possible but the feelings I have towards the company have changed so much, they preach respect and value for people but all I see is corporate irresponsibility and the almighty dollar. while I know education is important, Pfizer manufacturing was a place where someone could go with a high school diploma, a good work ethic and make a decent living for his family, now it is all about degrees, there are many colleagues of mine that have give 20 t0 30 years of their lives to this company, very few of these colleagues will or have been able to transition to the research operation and those that have are engineers, managers and directors, What does that tell the average Joe? and Research is not the crystal palace everyone makes it out to be, they are in the process of cutting their own underlings and contracting out those services you can only wonder when you will be next. Because your not considered talented or creative and you don't have that parchment paper.

So my goal right now is to make as much as possible and set Deb and I up so if and when the time comes for me to part company we will be prepared for it and treat it as a new chapter in out life instead of the end of the world, which is what I thought this time last year, Right now I am one of the lucky ones, I found a different job and will be here longer than a lot of my co-workers, but I think of them a lot and think how unfair all this is.

The next outing with the camper will be to Stonington High school for the relay for life Aug 4th, hopefully the weather will be better than last year.

Diane is in Oregon with her nieces and we are taking good care of her pooch Annie, not quite use to the 5 am kisses or the 11pm "I want to play not sleep" she is doing fine thou and we look forward to Diane's return, and speaking of her return she will be starting her own new adventure as a homeowner, before she left Diane purchased a condo, a 2 bedroom town house hopefully I can do a couple projects before she comes home.

That's about it for now, keep plugging away, keep a positive attitude and don't let the bumps in the road give you a flat tire!

Freeport Days 6 & 7

Sorry its taken so long for us to post this final vacation blog. You know how it is. You get back home and its back to reality. Our final days at Winslow Memorial Park in Freeport were wonderful. Thanks again to Tom G. for suggesting this great campground. It's located right on the Casco Bay and it is just beautiful. Again we had a site on the water and it was really nice.

There's not too much to report on activities for these last two days. We basically spent our time just relaxing, chillin, enjoying Mother Nature at her finest. Of course we did find time for some ladder golf, some sequence, some soduko and some reading. We did take a trek into Freeport but as neither Deb or I are real big shoppers we didn't spend much time there. Even LL Bean didn't really impress us! Its gotten just way too big!

It was great fun blogging! Thanks to everyone for sharing our vacation with us.
Deb & John

Bar Harbor day 5

Well today was our last day full day in Bar Harbor before we head to Freeport tomorrow. First on the agenda was a canoe trip on long lake (pond whatever), we rented the canoe for 4 hrs figuring that would be plenty of time, Deb made some bologna sandwiches and we headed off. We encountered quite a head wind as we made our way to a section of Arcadia where we would go ashore to have our lunch, little did we know we were on the menu, mosquito's.... hundreds....thousands....ok more than a few. We gobbled our sandwich and headed back out to some calmer waters it was nice but we forgot how much work it was, we returned the canoe after 2 and half hours and were whooped.

On the way back to the campground we stopped at the Atlantic brewing company for a beer tasting a real highlight for me, we tasted seven beers and two sodas, (very small samples) Even brought some home to share.

After going to the grocery store to restock and and refuel the truck I took Deb to the pool, unfortunately with the canoeing and the pool she got sun burnt so she is not feeling very well right now, we are listening to the Sox play and she is cuddled up under two blankets on the couch.
We have had an awesome time, this will be the last blog until we get home on Friday because I don't think there is WIFI in Freeport where were heading tomorrow.

I hope everyone who has read our blog has enjoyed it, I know we have enjoyed sharing it with you!

Don't forget you can see all of our photos from this trip on our webshots album, just click the link on the right labeled our photo album.

John & Deb

Bar Harbor Day 4

I decided to give John a night off so it's Deb posting the blog tonight. Day 4 and I am pooped! What a day we had today...




We started the morning with a rise and shine wake up at 3:30 am. Yup, 3:30! You know John, he didn't want to take any chance that we miss the sunrise at Cadillac Mountain so he had us up extra early. We packed some juice and a yogurt and headed out. We arrived at the summit sometime just after 4:00 and we were actually the third car there. By the time the sun rose we had been joined by atleast another dozen cars...It was really windy on the mountain (about 40-50mph winds) so we watched from the comforts of the big Silverado HD. It was beautiful...came up right on time, 4:48 am. It was amazing how once it came over the horizon it rose up quite quickly. I loved it. I had never seen the sunrise and I must say it was well worth the early morning.



We returned to the campground for a little nap and then we were off to a daylong excursion. We explored the western side of Mt. Desert Island. It is really beautiful! Unspoiled nature at its finest. We came across a few deer but I've yet to see my Maine Moose! Do they really exist?? Maybe tomorrow! We hiked a couple of short trails and were really enjoying ourselves...then my miserable allergies kicked in. Some claritin and benadryl later and they are still kicking my butt!! I'm hoping the benadryl starts to work any minute now.


We finished our outing today with a lovely dinner in downtown Bar Harbor. Of course how could I pass us Lobster again? So I didn't. But actually, two lobster dinners in less than 4 days and I'm kinda lobstered out! Hoping for some fresh steamers tomorrow. John had the prime rib and for dessert we shared a wonderful blueberry-apple crisp. It was nice!

We're back at the campground now and John is chilling out listening to the Red Sox. So far not so good, Shilling's letting the Braves get ahead of us! Its gonna be a relaxing evening and then up early tomorrow for some more great adventures. Hope everyone is well! Talk to you all tomorrow night! Deb

Bar Harbor day 3

Wow day three already. Today was awesome it its own right! One of the most laid back days I've had in a long, long time. We started the morning with a very nice pancake breakfast provided by the campground. Free for Dads and only $3.00 for everyone else. The price was right!

We putz around the campsite for while and then decided to head to the campground pool. It is actually located about a mile down the street at the sister KOA here in Bar Harbor. I know what you're thinking...swimming, in June, in Maine...are you nuts?? Well, actually the pool is heated and was very clean. To make it even better, yes, Deb and I were the only nuts in it! I managed to dunk my body for approximately 2.5 minutes and then I was out to delve into some important reading. (the most current issue of Trailer Life Magazine) Deb managed to stay in the pool for around a half an hour. She loves the water. Of course this was the opportune time for her to remind me that she really, really misses our pool and that our next home will have to have one.

We came back to the campground in time to listen to the Red Sox game. Go SOX! It was nice that they won...a sweep of the GIANTS...how sweet it is. About this time a pretty cool thunderstorm came rolling in...sounded like a good excuse to take a little snoodle with my honey. So that's exactly what we did. Dinner was hot dogs and chili and some nice red wine. Now we're out by the fire listening to another storm that is coming up the coast. So far thunder and lightning but no more rain...

Tomorrow am we're off to the summit of Cadillac Mountain to watch the sunrise...4:48 am. Deb is really anxious to see this. If all goes as planned we will also watch the sunset from there tomorrow as well.

We are having a wonderful time. We miss everyone but must admit it is good to "get away from the world" for a while. Diane, we love you so much...and are so proud of you! Do what you need to do to get things done but please don't stress out too much. Everything will be fine!

Bar Harbor day 2

Day 2 brought a new day, we woke up early and decided it was best to buy a new tire, I stopped at the campground office and asked where I could purchase a tire....... the little old lady was quick to respond " at a tire store"...well here's my sign....lol.. we dropped the tire off and went and had a nice breakfast, when we were done with breakfast we picked up the tire and headed back to the campground, dropped off our tire and picked up our bikes and headed off for a day of sightseeing.

We drove into Bar Harbor to check things out, a quaint little place but what we rally wanted to do was bike ride so off we went to Arcadia to ride some of the carriage roads, we found a nice trail around Eagle lake about a 5.8 mile ride, little did I know I took us in the wrong direction ooops my bad but figuired out after only one mile, turn around go back ok so it turned into a 7.8 mile bike ride, our butts are sore tonight!
After our Bike ride we drove to the top of Cadillac mountain a very nice ride and spectacular views, it was a nice clear day. after that it was decided that we would have an early dinner down at the harbor, Deb had a lobsta and I had pork chops and scallops yummy!
Stopped at the grocery store on the way back to the campground where I got to listen to the end of the Red Sox game (thank you XM radio) and Deb is taking a well deserved nap!
The agenda for tonight is to play sequence and sudoku.

Oh did you know if you click the pictures you can see them full size? you can also see all of our photos on our webshots album, just click on our photo album to the right.
Having a great time!

Bar Harbor Day 1

With work life finally settled, we've made our way on our first major camping adventure of the year. The picture above is a view of the Western Bay in Bar Harbor, ME right from our campsite. When I made the reservations in February I hoped for a beautiful spot and suffice to say I have not been disappointed. Although we've not had a chance to venture out beyond the campground yet, what we've seen is spectacular. We arrived a little later than planned due to some unexpected "bumps" in our trip here.


Yesterday, we were traveling North on Interstate 95 through the beautiful state of Maine, and everything seemed to be going smoothly. Deb and I were enjoying a leisurely drive filled with anticipation for the week ahead of us. Somewhere outside of Lewiston we heard a semi let loose it's mighty "honk" to us. I thought that maybe the driver thought we had drifted toward his lane so we just moved over slightly and continued on our way. Not long after that the semi eased on passed us but not without flipping us the bird first. Deb asked me why he would of done that and I explained to her that sometimes these big rig drivers have a little hard on for the little guy towing a camper so we let it go at that. Perhaps another 5 miles or so down the road...and there was really very little traffic on it...we passed by a motorcyclist. Deb commented that he was waving his hand in the air. Wasn't that nice of him? Letting us know that we could move back over to the right lane. At least that's what we thought. A few minutes later, I noticed a pickup truck coming up behind me. He had some emergency flashing headlights built in the truck and he was using them. My first thought was, "what the hell, why would am I being pulled over?" "Undercover cop?" If only the case. I eased the trailer over to the very small shoulder of 95 and of course Deb is giving me the 3rd degree about why am I doing this?


It turns out it was a good samaritan wanting to let me know that I was pelting the motorcyclist and anyone else in our way with rubber. Yes, one of the tires on the 5th wheel had blown and me and the Blackknight (Silverdo HD, what a fine tow vehicle) didn't even know it. I went to check on the tire and all that remained was a little white rim with some shredded up sidewall.

Needless to say, a fine, "can't get there from here" tow truck driver that AAA dispatched to us, helped us change the tire and put us back on our way. Not without the need of Deb's advice, of course. The tow truck driver was having quite the trouble lifting the camper, which of course was still attached to the truck. He was using an undersized manual jack which was sinking into the hot pavement. Then there's Deb, wanting to tell the macho men how to do it and naturally we wouldn't listen for the moment that is, I'm helping this typical "Maineiac" and we're not getting too far. Finally we listened to Deb's suggestion. Using the rear stabilizer jack on the trailer and inserting one of my fine aluminum diamond pad plates under the jack we were able to get the camper lifted enough to change the tire. And Deb is once again the proud peacock! Of course, we lost almost 2 hours in the process.

Now you would think it should be smooth sailing from there, right? I mean, what else could go wrong? As we entered Ellsworth, just outside of Bar Harbor, Deb gave me the little test. Jokingly she asked me if I brought my insulin. I looked at her with a blank stare. You guessed it, my insulin is in the refrigerator at home. After many phone calls to Caremark and our pharmacy back home and two stops at pharmacy's here in Maine we were finally able to fill my prescription at the "local" Rite-Aid.


Once we were settled into our site at the campground, we dined on fabulous grilled cheese and soup and of course a Sam Adams. All while enjoying the spectacular sunset!! The adventure continues...

Ok...new Post

So it's been a while and the camping season has started, our 1st and only trip so far was to Ross Hill in Lisbon, it was with a group that calls themselves the Nor'easter's or Nor'eaters. a co-worker belongs to the group and I was off for the weekend so we decided why not.... you know what? we had a great time and met some really nice people, we have now joined the cult, I mean group and plan on attending the fall rally in New Hampshire Columbus day weekend.



As far as the employment end of things I really like the job I'm doing in the utilities dept as an operator, so much so I applied for permanent position on the "watch" I interviewed last week and I think it looks pretty good, so as long as ole Charlie Pfizer decides to keep us around to keep the lights on I should have a good shot at making retirement.



Oh and maybe you should meet the newest member to the house hold....Annie....

Here she is with Taffy in the back yard, Annie is Diane's new puppy.


Our next camping trip will be middle of June, Deb and I will be going to Bar Harbor Maine for 5 nights and then Winslow park in Freeport for two nights, hope to have lots of pictures and plenty to talk about.

April 4th

Can you believe we are into April already? I went to the Dr's yesterday and had my A1C number taken for my Diabetes I knew it was going to be good since I had really good readings the past three months but I didn't know how good, in December it was 7.4 and yesterday 5.7 an incredible turn around, now what caused this turn around? the new job? no stress? eating better more than likely a combination of the three. it's been such a long time that I felt this good and I really think I am happier.
Well on Friday Deb, Diane and I will be trekking to PA to pick up a new member to the house hold, her name is Annie and is 8 weeks old, a real cutie by the way did I mention she is a puppy? a cockapoo just like Taffy. Annie will be Diane's pup and will move on with Diane when they can find a nice Condo to purchase, Diane is really excited and I know she will do a good job in raising Annie, hopefully Taffy will welcome Annie into her house, I'll post some pictures when we get her. and before we know it there will be some weekend camping trips to talk about.

March 2007

Well, it's March and I still am working shifts in the utilities dept which I find is not a bad thing. In fact it has been a real eye opener, I'm more relaxed and over all feel good, my body has even responded well with less fatigue and lower glucose readings, I'm looking forward to my Dr's appointment in April to see what my A1C number will be.
The job of planner/scheduler in the Research dept has been re posted to allow folks that were affected by the Jan 22nd announcement of additional closures the opportunity to apply, the posting is up foe 5 days, I'm thinking I should know something one way or another by the end of April.
The camping season is closing in on us and I vow to make it a better one than last year, last year I was in a funk because of the possibility of losing my job, now I know change is not a bad thing as long as I have the love of my family.
I made a reservation for a June camping trip to Bar Harbor Maine for 4 nights and then we will go to Freeport Maine for another two nights before heading home.
The camper has been moved from it's winter parking spot to it's summer spot for better access (will now be able to open the slide) some things that need to be done before the first trip will be to replace the gutter spouts with new and install a small water accumulator, I also ordered an 22 gal tote for dumping gray water, I want to replace the plastic wheels with pneumatic ones. oh and it also really needs a bath, and of course the truck needs a wash and wax now that warmer weather is here. that's it for now.

It's time

Time for what? Time for a post, I just got done reading an entry on my son's blog riwineguy, I find his posts very entertaining and I also left him a comment that may get some rebuttal, something like "well at least I post dad where are yours lately?" so I figure why not jot a few things down, plus I know my daughter keeps checking to see if there happens to be an update.
I did delete some posts that pertained to a few job interviews and the results of not getting the positions, as I looked back it was something I really didn't want to dwell on and it was like a lost summer. So where am I now? I took a position in our utility dept as a maintenance technician trainee starting in early January, part of my training is to train as an operator for 6 months and become qualified as a 3rd class operator so for 6 months I am working shifts, 12 hr shifts, 4:30 am to 4:30 pm and then the night shift 4:30 pm to 4:30 am. One of the benefits is that there is a stretch of 7 days off, I haven't gotten to that stretch yet but it's coming fast and I'm looking forward to it, what it boils down to is working 14 days a month, two weekends off and no lines at the stores during the week.
The training is going well and while I didn't get a warm reception when I first arrived (because the people I work with felt someone else should have gotten the job) they are warming up to me, I think partly because of my wiliness to learn and the fact that I'm keeping busy on completing my requirements and not just going along for the ride.
I still am in the running for the planner scheduler position in lab services and the posting finally came down, I think they are just waiting for the new CEO's re-structuring announcement on Jan 22nd, which could bring another round of cutbacks and layoffs, it certainly isn't the same company that I signed on with 26 years ago, but then again there aren't many companies that have stayed the same.
So, what happens if I am offered the position in research? It will be another decision that will have to weighed, I really kind of like what I'm doing now and learning all aspects of the operations of the powerhouse, the problem is I don't know how what the future is for the dept and what the companies vision for the dept is.
It has been quite an adjustment for the family and their support is very much appreciated, I didn't know a dog (taffy) could sleep so much, she sleeps with Deb all night and then sleeps with me when I get home from nights...Truly a dogs life is not so bad.

I look forward to 2007, watching both my children follow their dreams, I now see them going on their own vacations and making adult decisions, it makes me proud to see their accomplishments and know that they are having a positive effect on the future tomorrows children. (for those who don't know Diane and Jack are both elementary school teachers)

And I also have a wonderful wife, words cannot express how lucky I am.

A bump in the road

June 20th, a day I think I'll remember for a long time. After working for my company for 25+ years they announced that the plant will be closing and no longer manufacturing, needless to say I have been on a emotional rollercoaster, sometimes up and sometimes down. While we have been on a few trips this summer no where's near as many as last year camping has lost some of it's zest, while camping I have spent more time thinking and worrying about what will happen and where we will be. That has taken a lot of the fun out of it, so we have spent more time around the house catching up on some of yard work and enjoying each other's company, I thank my wife Debbie for her upbeat attitude constantly telling me we will be alright, we have cried and we have laughed over the past 3 months, we have contemplated moving and staying, looking at pro's and con's of each.
My one goal is to seek employment and stay with my company here in Groton, next week is a big week for us, two interviews with our research division, Time will tell how this bump in the road affects our ride in life....... I thank God for the support of my wife and family.

So this blog was about camping and while I haven't posted much about that I do hope to update this as much as possible with what goes on in our life and if you like to read about wine please check out my son's blog http://riwineguy.blogspot.com/ good reading and he know's his stuff.

Vacation Time

Were heading out this afternoon, although it looks like a gloomy week ahead of us. Not going to far, We will be going to Nomandy Farms in Foxboro MA until Friday and then back to our nice state park Rocky Neck in Niantic CT for the July 4th holiday and returning home July 7th.

Egret 2

We had a very quiet weekend, just Deb and I. We went on a couple of nice bike rides, spent a couple of hours down by the beach, however the sun did not co-operate but it gave us a chance to try out our new beach chairs, I really like them!
And Saturday early evening after our nap with had a pleasant surprise, Joan and Pete stopped by and visited, which was really nice.
The site we were on was Egret 2, very nice and private definitely will be back to this one!

Relay For life 6/3/2006

This weekend was the relay for life, our team was called AnnGeri in honor of Debs mom Ann who died of brain cancer and my mom who died of breast and lung cancer, we pulled our camper in Friday night the day before the walk helped set some things up and retired for the night.

The rains came Friday and night and did not let up until the relay was over Sunday morning but the walk went on with a tribute to the survivors.

We had some real troopers helping us with our walk,

Our survivor...Poppy!

It was a real trip getting the camper out after the deluge of rain, another memory and a lesson learned, it will be the last time I pull into a field for camping!.

It was for a great cause and I got to spend some great time with my kids Diane, Johnny and my daughter in-law Katie.

Memorial Day 2006

We went to Rocky Neck State Park (again) staying on Egret 8, we like Egret because it is a back loop and not as much traffic as the others. I called Deb Thursday and told her I was going out that night and I had taken Friday off, why not jump start the weekend off early? it was so nice setting up and no one else in the park, literally there was on 3 sites occupied.








We woke up Friday morning to some special guest....Turkeys! so cool to see them out and about.


Friday was spent going to the grocery store getting all the fixens for the weekend, then I had a Dr's appointment came back and watch the rest of the campers file in.




Saturday was French Toast and sausage and then a nice bike ride, actually three bike rides for the day, my favorite was when Deb went down to the beach with Pete and I, Pete took a nice picture for us! you know if you click the picture it comes up full size?











Sunday was the family picnic and MargretsB-day (i'm sure I spelt her name wrong...shoot me..lol) The picnic did not go off with out incident, Margaret (how's that?) was involve in a pedestrian/bicycle accident....long story short she went to the hospital and got checked out bruises and cuts and returned before dark for presents and cake. want the whole story?...call Pete.
So who was there? Joan and Jim, Poppy and Pat, Diane, Mac, Joey, Lisa, Margaret, Moria, Martin, Stacy and kids, Joan's sister.....can't remember her name....damn!.. Joan and Pete, Carrie and Bill, Karen, Billy and Michelle, Austin, Bailey, Taylor and Michael. I think I got everyone.

It really was a nice weekend, next weekend we are going to take the camper up to Fitch high school for the relay for life walk, kind of like a home base for our team. 24 hours to benifit Cancer research.

You can also check out all our pictures at Webshots, just click the link on the right called "Our Photo Album"

Rocky Neck 5/20/06

Once again we ventured to Rocky Neck, a blustery weekend it was and even a couple of rain showers, and don't ask we didn't find the pot of gold.
We stayed on Egret 4 again and this time Joan and Pete joined us, the regulars Diane, Poppy and Pat came for a burger and a fire, only the brave few would not relent to mother nature.

And the rest you ask? where could they be?

There they are!

We will be here next weekend for Memorial Day, hopefully Katie and Johnny will stop by when we have our annual picnic on Sunday.

Wine Spoof

Another rainy weekend so what better thing to do than to take a few minutes and update my blog, were hoping the outlook for next weekend will be better and another camping trip to Rocky Neck will await us. But for now I will have a little fun with my buddie riwineguy.

The newest bottle has arrived. I am debating whether or not to share this glorious news already. But seeing as it is raining, I'll share. First, the story. I had been craving this bottle since its release back in October. It is the one wine I plan on maintaining a vertical(same wine, consecutive vintages) of for hours to come. I know it was available at local shops, but declined purchase because of the cost ($6.99), I figured I'd save up the cash by not buying beer a week. Then, Wine Spectator names it Wine of the Year! The wine sells like hot cakes at every store in the area and the world. I kept my eyes peeled, but it seemed that everywhere was sold out. Until last Sunday when I stumbled across it in Better Value. Sure enough wine.com, who was out of the wine two weeks ago, and still didn't have any left. I checked with my Taffy for approval of the purchase, even though its my beer money paying for it. Once she said yes, I ran back to the store, Now about the wine (insert drumroll here....)! A bottle of 1984 David Tower Cranberry Apple, This wine is the flagship of all Massachusetts wine and the Commonweath Winery. It is the wine that has pushed cranberries from its New England throne. Oh baby am I pleased! This one will age quite nicely in the garage.
The anticipation was to great I had to uncork this baby, I knew from the moment I put the cork screw in and the cork split into a million pieces it was going to be special, the first taste was bitter and went down with a mild burning sensation, my lips puckered and my eyes rolled, my first reaction was to spit however I swished and swallowed, sadly the remainder of the bottle saw it's way to the back yard where the grass eventually turned brown. Truly a remarkable and rememorable experience.
Till next time, arivaderchi!


Johnny, I love you