THE ADVENTURES OF PLATY AND THE GANG Elephants & the New England Trail 2024

(click on pictures for a larger view)

A group of us (Noel & Laurie, Jim & Cheri, and us) made the trip to Solomon's Castle  for Lunch and a tour. Everyone had a good time and ate too much.

Lions and Tigers

A group of us went to the Octagon Wildlife Sanctuary.

 Luckily no one was injured or eaten. 
Afterward we all had lunch at The Cracker Shack Cafe.

Washing Elephants 

Judy decided that we needed to wash an elephant because we had never done it before.  We had to get reservations months ahead and it's not cheap.  The first task was to prepare their breakfast.

I think it liked her earring.  

She got to wash the butt end and I got the front.  I think we did a good job but when they returned it back outside the first thing it did was throw dirt all over it's back.  What a waste!!!  

Back to the New England Trail

Judy decided she wanted to continue her hike on the New England Trail. She had started it in 2022 but was unable to finish it at that time. You can see those adventures HERE.

The trip took 4 days of driving and we arrived at our destination campground on 6/2. It's Little City Campground in Higganum, CT. Out in the middle of nowhere but is very quiet.  Very few people during the week.

Judy started hiking on 6/3. It was a 4.3 mile section she had skipped in 2022. she expected to complete it in 2 hours but took 3. It was pretty difficult over a couple of mountains.

On this day she had a choice of taking the longer less steep route or the shorter steeper route.  Guess which one she took???   When she came out look at the blood running down her leg.

We had planned on traveling for a couple of months to visit a few places and escape the Florida heat but Bob's back started acting up so we decided to return home.  By the time we reached Florida his back was so bad that he couldn't walk. So it was to the ER.  After x-rays, CT scans and MRIs it was decided it was degenerative discs, a bulging disk and artritis of the hip. He was referred to 2 specialists but couldn't get an appointment for 2-3 months. After 2 weeks the pain went away.

We decided that the 8 days of driving all day probably aggrevated an existing problem. 

As an alternative way to get to Connecticut we decided to fly and rent a car. So here we are on our 4th trip so Judy can continue the trail. First by RV, next by Amtrak Auto trail, then by RV and finally this one by air.

On Sept.6th she was on the trail again!! The first day she crossed Beseck Mountain and the Powder Hill ski area.

She finished the day in the parking lot of New Guida's Restaurant. It is famous for it's  hot dogs so we had to try them.  They weren't that good though!!