Clarksboro, New Jersey, Monday, June 9

Today we head for New Jersey. When we reach the Patapsco River tunnel, a toll road, we are informed that we cannot go into the tunnel because of the propane tanks. We have to pay the toll, exit the freeway and go to the Francis Scott Key Bridge to get over the river. This will be nicer because of the view. The attendant in the toll booth says that after we exit to make 2 right turns then a left, just follow the blue signs to the bridge. OK, 2 right turns, but we don't have a street name for the left turn and cannot find any signs for the bridge. We are in an industrial area and stop at one of the businesses to ask for directions. The women in the office are very helpful and write down the directions. The streets are confusing and we have missed a street some where, so we stop again for assistance. We manage to find the street we need this time and notice little signs at the side of the street with blue circle containing a white arrow, but no wording to indicate where the signs lead. Anyway, the detour to the bridge is really something and we finally reach the bridge. What a beautiful sight! This IS much better than going through a tunnel. At least we don't have to pay the toll for the bridge, we show the attendant out receipt from the tunnel access and she gets approval for us to go through on that toll.

The tolls are really something, and are higher than we were expecting. It has cost us $27.00 in tolls today.

The Patapsco River leading to the Chesapeake Bay.

We don't know what this is, but it is pretty. We are still in Maryland, but the state border with New Jersey is coming up soon.

The Delaware River. The state border is in the middle of the river.

The bridge over the Delaware River and into New Jersey.

WE made it! It was pretty scary back there when we seemed to be unable to find out way to the Key Bridge.

The Welcome Center in New Jersey. Let's make sure we get a state map so we can see where we are. We never got a map of Maryland, we thought we could depend on the TomTom GPS system. We now know that the routs in the GPS systems are for cars, not RV's or trucks hauling flammable substances. It is not fun driving narrow streets while pulling a travel trailer.

It is another hot, hot and humid day and the Bear refuses to come out in this weather. It is much too uncomfortable for a being with fur such as his. Maybe he will be willing to venture out when we reach the Timberlane Camp Ground in Clarksboro, NJ.

When we find our space we discover this family still parked there. The check out time for this place is 12 pm, an hour later than all of the other parks where we've stayed. They are preparing to leave and are worried about making us wait. We strike up a conversation and find out that this is a family doing a reality show about their life on the road. The Discovery Chanel will be airing this show in the fall, if not on Discovery Chanel then on one of it's family of chanels. They are the "The Loud Family, Living Their Dream" and are very happy to pose with the Bear for this photo. They are traveling our country and figure it will take 2 1/2 years. The Evans family have a huge fifth wheel rig and the camera man is filming as the dad backs it out of the space. They have a guest book for those they meet along their way and will be sending out group e-mails to all those who have signed it. We look forward to receiving updates on their "adventure".

Pond in the Timberlane RV Park/Camp Ground. There is an island in the center where the duck feeders and shelters are located. I'll dub the island "Duck Island". We hear the pond is stocked with bass, and upon reading the park brochure we discover that it is a catch and release pond.

Bridge to Duck Island.

More residents of the RV park/camp ground.

The RV park has WiFi, but has been having difficulty with it today, probably due to the heat since their air conditioner hasn't been working well. We can't get onto the 'net and will be behind on entries again. Oh well, we knew there would be times that we wouldn't have Internet access.