We were extra excited to be on our way to our next destination because we would be seeing and staying with our very close friends from New York City, Brad and Tony. Tim and Brad sang together in the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus for over 15 years. Tim and Brad hit it off almost immediately after Brad joined the chorus and Tim moved to the Bass section of the chorus. Tim and Brad made a point of sitting together at rehearsals; and to the dismay of the conductor, making jokes with each other and gossiping throughout rehearsal. After Tim and Brad introduced Pat and Tony to each other, we all became fast friends. Brad and Tony own an apartment in Manhattan, but also have a lake house on Great Sacandaga Lake in upstate New York. When we lived in New York City, we traveled on a few occasions to Brad and Tony’s lake house to spend a long weekend. This time, we would be parking the RV at Northampton Beach Campground, which is located on the same lake (it is actually reachable by boat from Brad and Tony’s lake house). We would be splitting our visit with two nights in the RV and two nights at Brad and Tony’s lake house.
Our drive from Jones Pond in western New York took us south to the Southern Tier Expressway, and briefly into Pennsylvania along I-86, before heading back north again toward I-88, and then north on NY State Highway 30 to Mayfield (we avoid toll roads when we drive). It started raining about a third of the way into the trip from western New York to upstate New York. We made stops at Walmart for groceries and at a gas station to fill up on gas.
The drive was about 6 hours, with stops, but we finally arrived at our destination: Northampton Beach Campground. Northampton Beach is the eighth state park we have stayed in since we started full-time RV traveling. Our RV site was dirt/grass with a picnic table and a very nice brick firepit. The RV site backed up to Great Sacandaga Lake and was nestled under and next to trees, so we couldn’t get a signal on our Starlink. The RV site was large and there was plenty of distance between us and our neighbors on either side. Northampton Beach RV sites have no hookups though, so we needed to run our generator to run air conditioning and to keep the battery charged. We also needed to use our freshwater tank for basic water needs and the nearby shower facility for showers. There was a dump station located at the campground to dump our tanks upon exiting. 
We spent our first evening at Northampton Beach in the RV. We were only allowed to run the generator between the hours of 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. By the time we arrived at Northampton Beach and leveled the RV it was about 6:30 p.m., so we only had a half hour to run the generator and the air conditioning that evening. It was a little warm trying to sleep through the night, but we made it to the morning when we were able to start the generator at 9:00 a.m.
Later that morning, on the 4th of July, Brad and Tony came to the campground to pick us up for an Independence Day party at the home of their friends, Bruce and Jay. First, we gave Brad and Tony a tour of the RV and answered the many questions they had about RV life. After the tour, we went to the home of Bruce and Jay for the party. We had the traditional burgers and hot dogs and enjoyed the sunny (and hot) weather. We met a lot of people at the party, but particularly hit it off with Amy and Patricia (she goes by Pat but for purposes of our blog we will call her Patricia so as not to confuse her with our Pat), who we planned to meet up with the following day.
Later that afternoon, we went to Brad and Tony’s lake house because we would be staying there that evening. First, we went by the RV to run the generator a bit and check on the status of the house batteries, which were low (it seems the batteries are not holding a charge as well as before we ran them down in Chicago). Once at Brad and Tony’s, none of us were that hungry because of all we had to eat at the party; so, we had some cheese and crackers, fruit, and wine, and headed down to Brad and Tony’s boat on the lake to watch the evening fireworks. One of Brad and Tony’s neighbors is trained in handling the biggest and brightest fireworks, so he puts on a show for the neighbors each 4th of July. The firework show was spectacular! Very professionally done, and LOUD, since we were very close. 
After the fireworks, we retreated to Brad and Tony’s home and chatted for hours about our parents, work, retirement, New York City, the chorus, people in the chorus, and many other subjects.
The next morning, Tony had to work but Brad took us to check on the RV battery, which was running low again, so we ran the generator for a bit to charge up the battery. We also set the Automatic Generator Start to come on in the afternoon to charge up the battery when we wouldn’t be around.
Around noon, Brad took us out on the boat to a restaurant on the lake where we could have lunch. Brad’s friends, Art and Kenny, came along with us and we enjoyed laughing and chatting with our new friends, who also knew people in the chorus. We had lunch at Sports Island Pub on the lake; Pat had a French Dip sandwich and Tim had the Cardon Bleu sandwich, which were delicious. After lunch, we rode the boat back to Brad and Tony’s. 
Later that afternoon, we, along with Brad and Tony, met Amy and Patricia for happy hour at the club they all belong to, called The Eccentric Club. 
The club was founded in 1882 and is strictly a social club. The club has been housed in the same building in downtown Gloversville, New York, since 1908. The club only started welcoming women about 20 years ago, and Patricia was one of the first female members. Brad and Tony most recently joined when the club started outreach to recruit “younger” members. We thoroughly enjoyed our happy hour drinks with Amy, Patricia, Brad, and Tony. Then, we headed to dinner at a restaurant called Sam's Seafood and Steakhouse; Tim had the surf and turf (sirloin steak and crab legs) while Pat had the crab-stuffed halibut. 
We all had some really deep conversations about sexual identity and loved ones. We don’t know how it was possible, but we liked Amy and Patricia even more after that dinner. We hope to see them again sometime. We spent the evening at Brad and Tony’s lake house.
The next day was our last full day at Northampton Beach. Brad and Tony took us back to the RV, where we grilled burgers and had fries. After dinner, they took us to their favorite place for ice cream, called Zippy’s Ice Cream. Oh, so good. Sadly, we had to say our goodbyes afterward, as we would be staying in the RV at the campground that evening since we were leaving early the next morning. It was difficult to say goodbye, because we don’t know when we will see Brad and Tony again, but we made a vow to work on meeting up somewhere within the next year.
Sleeping in the RV that evening was even warmer, and the house batteries were draining quickly. Tim got up early in the morning and found the house batteries to be nearly dead, so he tried to start the RV engine to charge up the house batteries. For some reason, the RV engine would not start at first (we think Tim accidentally flooded the engine), but we did get it started about 30 minutes later and left the engine running until we left the campground. Onward to see more old friends in Massachusetts!
Review of Northampton Beach Campground
Northampton Beach Campground is in the state park run by New York State and is located on the northwest corner of Great Sacandaga Lake in Mayfield, New York. The lake was created by impoundment during the 1920's. The reservoir regulates the flow of the Hudson and Sacandaga Rivers, providing a conservation pool of water, minimizing floods, providing flow at drought stages, and affording recreational boating and fishing opportunities.
The campground has 223 campsites available for RVs or tents. Campsites include those that are completely secluded within tall white pines and northern hardwoods, and those that are on the open shoreline. All campsites have a picnic table area and a very nice firepit. The campsites do not have any hookups. There are bathroom/shower facilities, but these tended to be a bit dirty during our stay, given that everyone must use these facilities for their shower (and maybe bathroom) needs.
Additional amenities include a beach on the lake, a boat launch, and fishing; and rowboat, canoe, and kayak rentals are available. There is also mini golf and an ice cream parlor about a 5-minute walk from the entrance to the campground.
On the plus side, the campsites are spacious and beautiful. On the downside, there are no hookups, so campers must rely on generators (or solar panels) and use the restroom/shower facilities provided for showers, which tended to be a bit dirty but were located near to our campsite. We feel like this campground could rival the best state parks we have visited with a few changes and upgrades but after the difficulties we had with our house battery, we vowed never to stay at a place again that did not at least allow more generator use time. So, we would not likely return to Northampton Beach Campground.
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