Normandy Farms (Aug. 20)
We visited Normandy Farms in May because it was ideally located between Boston, Providence and Worcester, making it easy to visit daughter Elisabeth (Boston), graduating nephew Erik (Worcester) and Providence (just to see it). At the time, we thought it would be fun to try out its many resort features, but we did not have time. However, heading back east to Cape Cod, we decided to try it out again. Because I posted pictures back in May, I do not have any pictures of the campground this time around.
In May, Normandy Farms had a lot of space. About half the approximately 400 sites were filled, but it is such a large campground that it seemed almost empty. Although the office and store were very busy, the facilities were not. In August, the campground was absolutely full. Kids, dogs and bicycles were everywhere. The campground does not allow golf carts – if it did, the traffic would be endless.
There are 4 swimming pools, one of which is indoors, a gym, jacuzzi and sauna, as well as common areas and separate lounges for families and adults only. There are sports fields of many types, frisbee golf, and even a bicycle park and gaga arena. (Gaga is a form of all against all dodgeball developed in Israel, that we used to play in summer camp.) There is a huge dog park and a fishing pond. Everything was teeming with people. As well, there were organized activities from interval training “boot camp” at 8 a.m. to movies ending at 9 p.m. A lot of the activities were child-oriented, but there were also plenty of activities for adults.
Chuck did not really take advantage of all this but I did. I started each morning with an hour of yoga. Both teachers were great. At home I do about 40 minutes of calisthenics each day with stretches before and after. In the RV, there is no room to exercise, and limited room to stretch, so I have relied on our hiking, biking and kayaking for exercise. However, I have been feeling a need to stretch out. Yoga is not my favorite type of exercise (I like to get my pulse going) but stretching was great. I also discovered a couple of places were I had some cramped muscles – working this out has made me feel so much better.
The exercise room is right beside the indoor pool and jacuzzi. I developed a routine yoga, jacuzzi, swim, jacuzzi, shower. On Monday, I really did swim. The pool was empty for almost 30 minutes and I swam laps. On Tuesday, I had a very small swim, because I wanted to try Tai Chi which was held outdoors by the pond. The teacher was very good, and I can see why this is touted as a way to improve balance. But for me it is too slow. I might get back to Tai Chi when I am older and less fit.
On Wednesday, there was a “Pound” class right after yoga. This is a new type of exercise class that uses some of the moves from Japanese drumming. It was great fun. I had planned to stay for only 30 minutes, because I was afraid of overdoing it. But it was so much fun that I could not leave. I might splurge and join a gym when we get home if it is offered somewhere in State College. If you are not familiar with Pound classes, here is a short Youtube example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFWGbFy-Bss.
On Thursday, there was some confusion about whether there would or would not be Zumba. As a result, I had completed my jacuzzi, swim, jacuzzi, shower routine, only to find that Zumba was on. It was also a very good class. The teacher stacked all the music with no breaks, so it was also very intense. On Friday, I did get to do the basic yoga, jacuzzi, shower, but since we needed to pack and go there was no time for anything else, not even the swim.
Based on my ability to keep with all these classes, I concluded that our hiking, biking and kayaking (along with dog walks) is keeping me in shape. So I just need to find some way to add stretches.
Speaking of dog walks, Rumple seems to be slowing down. We have not done any long hikes recently, but he often wants to return to the RV as soon as he has fulfilled his bathroom needs. This is not too surprising, given his age, but it has cut into my own walking and bird watching. He is still in remarkably good shape for 15, although we did have a scare recently when a spasm left him unable to walk for a few minutes. Once he recovered he was back to normal though. He was happy to use the huge off-leash dog park at Normandy Farms, although often he did not want to walk to it.
Monday was eclipse day. We did not expect to see anything, given that it was only about 60% at peak in the area. However, we took a bicycle ride around the perimeter of the campground, and just after maximum someone offered us a view through a pair of eclipse glasses. Although it was cloudy, we could very clearly see the crescent sun. (Later I saw a photo taken by my friend Jean through a colander, which showed the crescent through every hole. Very cool!)
Monday was also the first of Elisabeth’s 2 Ph.D. qualifying exams. After the eclipse, we packed some things we were bringing her into the car and headed into Boston to take her and boyfriend Joey out to dinner.
Our first stop was a yarn shop, as I had promised to knit her a poncho. After much consultation with the salesperson, we decided to reconsider, and so I continue to work on hats and scarves for the homeless.
As it was a bit early for dinner, we started off with cocktails, and then moved to a Turkish restaurant for a tapas-type dinner, which was excellent. Of course, Turkish food already had mezzes’, which are snack-size servings, so making them a bit bigger so they can be shared by the table is an easy extension.
Since we were not yet totally stuffed (by which I mean that some of us could still walk) we moved on to an ice cream place for dessert. Much as we would have liked to party the night away, Elisabeth had to prepare for another exam on Friday, so we took her back home so she could get some sleep.
Tuesday we both worked. In anticipation of being at Normandy Farms with less sightseeing on the schedule, I had agreed to write some recommendation letters. However, a couple of research projects came in unexpectedly, and my monthly article is always due at the end of the month. So I definitely needed time to just work. However, my grocery shopping quest took me to a pretty big plaza near Gillette Stadium, so I also took some time to look for yarn and shoes. In short, my afternoon was spent working and shopping while Chuck’s was spent just hanging out at the RV.
Although I kept up with the Pound class on Wednesday morning, I was very tired afterwards. Chuck still wanted to just hang out at the RV, so our only activity was a round of frisbee golf, with Rumple our semi-willing partner. For some reason, I never really learned to throw a frisbee, so it was a very one-sided game. Most of the targets were par 3 or par 4. Chuck mostly met par. I mostly took 6 – 8 throws, some of which were pretty embarrassing (although at least they all went forward).
On Wednesday evening I dragged Chuck to a dance party at the Recreation Hall. To his relief, no-one on the dance floor was over the age of 12, so we went quietly back to the RV to read and/or work.
On Thursday we decided to go for a short hike around a cranberry bog. This turned out to be behind the shopping plaza. The hike itself was pleasant, but … short. There were a lot of turtles and small fish in the wild part of the bog, and some interpretive signs about how cranberries are grown. This is probably the best time of year to visit the bog,
as the berries are almost ripe and can be seen on the bushes. Interesting fact: this particular bog had been a catfish farm before being converted to cranberry cultivation. The nature area and signage were co-sponsored by the shopping center, Bass (a big fishing gear store) and OceanSpray (the big cranberry juice company).
Chuck has started on a quest for a new kayak, and wanted to visit the Bass Pro store after the walk. This is a huge outdoor goods store – with some focus on fishing gear. This store is so elaborate, I was sure it must be the flagship of the chain, but according to the internet, it is not.
I thought we were going to have to take turns going in, as it was too hot to leave Rumple in the car. However, they welcome dogs in the store and handed me a dog biscuit and a poop bag as I entered. (Thank goodness I did not need the latter.) Inside, they have a mock-ups of hunting lodges, dioramas with real stuffed animals, and even a mock-up of a whale, hanging from the ceiling. It is very over-the-top. What they did not have was a good selection of kayaks.
Back at Normandy Farms, although our feeders were ignored by most of the local birds, we did manage to attract a hummingbird. (No idea who the passerby is – but this is the best photo I have of the bird.
6:00 – 8:00 was designated as Happy Hour, so after dinner we headed to the Adult Lounge with a bottle of soda. Sure enough, there was a duo playing 60s and 70s music, cocktails, and quite a lot of people. Although it was our intention to socialize, it was a bit intimidating, as people were seated at tables and we had not really met anyone. About half way through the evening a woman who recognized Chuck through Rumple and me through yoga came up to chat. Otherwise, we played a couple of games of checkers and enjoyed some classic songs life Surfing USA and American Pie. The crowd was happy to sing along. I have to hand it to my generation – we have done a great job of keeping our music alive.
Speaking of music, Chuck is taking his guitar playing very seriously and practicing daily. I have to admit that for me, it has fallen by the wayside as I have been busy with work. Chuck is hoping to get some pointers from his sister’s boyfriend Ed who will be camping with us next week. I expect that my playing will not be up to par (although perhaps not as bad as my frisbee golf score).