A Very Long Day on the Road

Whew! After getting on the road at 7:30 this morning, we finally reached our first night's stop around 4:45 this afternoon. UGH! Such a long day on the road and in the rain, no less. Oh, well. That's the way it goes sometimes. And, when you're traveling with your best friend, it really isn't so bad! :) Mushy, I know.

Spending tonight in Bernardston, MA (the same campground we stayed at on our second night on the road - Bob & Wanda, we're sorry we didn't call.) Will spend the next two nights in Pennsylvania, Monday night in Ohio and on Tuesday, we'll roll into Crittenden, KY. Can't wait to see our friends, Ray & Judy!!

Tried to post some pictures from our trip today, but was unable to do so for some reason. (Computers have a mind of their own, I just know it!) The trees are turning and are beautiful. Unfortunately, due to the rain, the colors don't show as well as in the pictures they looked in real life. All of the pictures are posted on our Webshots site, so please take a look and enjoy. Until the next time . . .

Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor

What a great day we had today!! Once again, the weather was absolutely gorgeous - sunny, slight breeze and 60s. Couldn't ask for better. We headed to Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor. They are found on Mount Desert Island which sits between Frenchman Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The island was so named because its discoverer thought the baretopped mountains looked like desert.

Acadia National Park is only a little more than an hour from our park. We knew that there was much more to see than we could do in a day, so we elected to drive up Cadillac Mountain before taking any of the free (yes, free!) shuttle buses the park provides to the other areas of the park. There are no shuttles to the mountain and we really wanted to see that. We were NOT disappointed! The mountain is over 1500 feet above sea level and is named for the Frenchman who was granted possession of this area by King Louis XIV in the 1600s. This same guy later founded Detroit; hence the name of the automobile!

Took lots of pictures, only some of which are posted here. Be sure to go to our Webshots page at http://community.webshots.com/user/guiler85/0 to see the rest of them. The pictures really don't do the view justice, but I did the best I could. The area was carved out by glaciers lots of years ago and it never ceases to amaze me what God and His nature can do. Enjoy!

We took so long on Cadillac Mountain that it was time to get some lunch and check out Bar Harbor. The park shuttles run out of Bar Harbor and we figured we catch at least one, but it didn't happen. By the time we had lunch and walked around Bar Harbor, we'd run out of time! Oh, well, we figure we'll just have to come back. There's too much left to see not to!

Bar Harbor is another quaint Maine town. (Do I repeat that phrase too often? Sorry, but it's appropriate.) We could not believe the number of people visiting!! It's Wednesday and aren't most people supposed to be working???? We did see a couple of cruise ships out in the harbor, so that accounted for all of those folks, I guess.

We had not yet sampled the local cuisine, so we decided today was a good time to do so. We had a great lunch; Randy had the scallops and I had a bowl of lobster bisque. YUMMMMMMYYYYYY! The bisque was so good and Randy said his scallops were great. He said that you could tell they were fresh - tasted very different from home. Once we'd finished lunch, we knew we had to walk around town just to exercise some of it off! :)

We went in many of the shops and enjoyed the view of the harbor. I could have just sat and watched the people, ships, and water all day. It was beautiful. Unfortunately, it was time to go home - Blackie was waiting.

Tomorrow is another "off" day. We're going to try, once again, to get our internet satellite up and just enjoy the campground and the people. Friday, we take off early 'cause we've got a long driving day ahead of us. Probably won't have much to share over the weekend as we'll be traveling each day until Tuesday, when we get to Kentucky.

Until we "talk" again, take care of one another. Please keep in touch, we love to hear from everyone. Love and hugs to all.

The Easternmost Point in the United States

We woke up this morning to beautiful sunshine!! YAY! Since our road trip today was only going to be 2.5 hours to the next campground, we took a quick trip to West Quoddy Head Light Station. This is the easternmost point in the United States.

On the way to West Quoddy, we stopped in Perry, Maine. Perry has the distinction of being at the 45th parallel, which is exactly halfway between the Equator and the North Pole. Perry is such a small town to have such a big claim to fame!

West Quoddy Head Light Station was just gorgeous. Seeing it in the morning was especially nice because the sun was shining on the ocean and was breathtaking. It was quite humbling to look on God's creation. The ocean, shoreline and sunshine combined made us just stand and gawk. It was great!

After experiencing all that beauty, we headed back to the campground so we could get on the road. Having such a short trip was a nice change. We got to Hermon, just west of Bangor, about 1:30 this afternoon. This is a very nice park - clean, easy to get in the site, and nice folks.

Looking forward to seeing Acadia National Park on Wednesday. Tomorrow is a "work" day - cleaning, laundry, etc. Take care of each other! Keep in touch.

A Rainy, Cold Day

Today didn't turn out the way we'd hoped. We woke up to a very gray sky, but hoped that it would clear up. It didn't. It just got nastier as the day went on. So, needless to say, we didn't get out to West Quoddy Head State Park. I am very disappointed. But, tomorrow is supposed to be nicer, so we think we'll take a couple of hours first thing in the morning and head over there before we leave for Bangor.

We did get a nice surprise this evening when the rain stopped. There was a gorgeous rainbow! We saw both ends of it. Very cool. Thought you might like to see it, too.

Visit to St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada

Despite a not-so-great weather forecast, we decided to head north. Canada is just 15 to 20 miles from our campground and we were told there is a quaint town called St. Andrews that would be fun to visit. So, off we went. But, as you all know by now, we enjoy the journey as much (or sometimes more!) as the destination. And today was no different.

Once again we traveled along Route 1 and found several reasons to stop along the way. We first came upon a rest area from which we could see Canada across the river. Since it was overcast, the picture isn’t as pretty as it could be, but it still amazes me that I was looking at another country just miles away! I know - I am easily amazed.

From the rest area, we continued along Route 1 and passed the international historic site of St. Croix Island. This was the first settlement in the “New World” north of Florida and was founded in 1604. Unfortunately, the settlement didn‘t last because of the extremely harsh weather. It sits midway between the US and Canada in the St. Croix River. The St. Croix River empties in the Passamaquoddy Bay in Canada.

We came to one of 12 milestones that mark the distance between Robbinston (where we are staying) and Calais, the town just before the Canadian border. What’s so special about a milestone? We certainly see these every day, right? Well, not like these! These 12 milestones are more than 130 years old! There were set out by a Calais lumberman, James Shepherd Pike, who owned a summer home in Robbinston. He also owned champion pacing horses and he liked to time them as he traveled between his homes. So he calculated each mile from Robbinston and placed a stone there until he reached Calais. Each stone had the distance in miles chiselled into its face. Pretty neat, huh?

In a county whose land mass is as large as the state of Connecticut, Calais is the largest town with a population of about 3400 folks. I guess when you have towns like Robbinston whose population is just 525, Calais is a big town! We found some really neat architecture here as well as a Wal Mart! Thank God - how can you get along without a Wal Mart!! And, yes, we did stop in - had to get some milk and tea bags!

The Canadian border came next. We had a bit of a wait as the border guards check each vehicle’s passengers for ID. They ask why you’re coming into the country. They did let us in. From the border we had about a 30 minute ride to get to St. Andrews. Once there, we walked down the wharf and took pictures of Passamaquoddy Bay on which St. Andrews sits. It was founded by the British in 1783. This is another quaint town that seems to thrive on its tourism. Lots of whale watching tour companies, local restaurants, shops filled with local art, and of course, gift shops!

The rain decided it had held off long enough, so we figured it was time to start back to the campground. It’s not fun walking in the chilly, September rain. We crossed back into the United States without incident. Our border welcome sign isn’t near as nice as Canada’s though! It was good to be back on American soil and not have to think in kilometers!

Hope you enjoyed this little history lesson. :) I really like learning about the places we visit. But, as I told Randy today, no matter where we’ve been, all of the towns and people are familiar in that they are working hard and trying to live life as they think they should. We are all very similar in that.

We plan to go to Lubec tomorrow to see West Quoddy Head Lighthouse. Hope the weather is better!

Robbinston, ME at the Canadian border!!

Before I get to our day’s travel, please be sure to look at our other postings below. I had to post all today because we’re having trouble with our internet connection. Luckily, our current campground has WiFi and I can get online occasionally. Now for our day . . .

We decided to travel along US Route 1 all the way to our new destination, Robbinston. Route 1 follows along the Maine coast and we figured it would be a beautiful trip. We weren’t wrong! We were either riding right along the ocean, catching glimpses of the ocean and/or its bays, or going through quaint, small towns. It has been a lovely day. The weather cooperated and, although a bit chilly & breezy, it was sunny and blue skies all the way. I feel like I keep repeating myself when I tell you how beautiful this area is. But, I can’t help it - everywhere we look are more gorgeous views. I wish I could share them all with you. Just know that I continue to praise God for his creation and thank Him for being able to enjoy it.

We are near Lubec, ME which boasts the easternmost point of the United States. There’s a lighthouse there, West Quoddy. We plan to see that this weekend. We’re also going to go into Canada, St. Stephen to be exact. Another neat thing we’re going to get a picture of this weekend is in Perry. Perry has the distinction of being exactly halfway between the equator and the North Pole! Apparently, there is a marker there stating this fact. So, expect a picture! Really looking forward to this weekend and seeing all of these landmarks.

Will report back as soon as possible! In the meantime, take care of each other.

Freeport & Popham Beach, Maine

Randy really wanted to see LL Bean since its home is Freeport. So, off we went Thursday morning to see the beginnings of LL Bean. Well, I have to say I was disappointed. I expected to find an older building where the store got its start. Instead, we found this huge complex (3 buildings!!) in the midst of other “outlet” shopping. Granted, the outlet shopping is in downtown Freeport and the stores are housed in many quaint buildings, but it was still outlet shopping, i.e, Bath & Body Works, Nautica, Carters, etc., you get what I mean. But, we did browse through the retail LL Bean store and it is HUGE - 3 floors. The other 2 LL Bean buildings housed a bike & ski shop and a hunting & fishing store. We also browsed through Moose Mania Emporium and Cool as a Moose. Both of these stores had some Maine “atmosphere” with neat knickknacks and the requisite t-shirts.

From the outlet shopping we headed to South Freeport because I wanted to see some fishermen and South Freeport sits right on the water. It was beautiful looking out from the wharf and seeing all of the many boats there are. Got some good pictures and headed for home.

On the way home, we stopped at this old General Store near our campground just to see what they had. While there, one of the local mailmen was in the store and told us we really needed to go to Popham Beach, just down the road. So, off we went and we’re so glad we did! Again, gorgeous beach scenery.

At the end of the road in Popham Beach was Fort Popham, a nice surprise. This fort was built to protect this area of Maine, but was never quite finished. It actually was garrisoned during three wars; the Civil War, the Spanish American War and World War I. It had to be a very lonely place because there isn’t much else around there. It sits at the mouth of Kennebec River where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean. An absolutely beautiful place, but sure wouldn’t want to be there in the winter! It was very breezy the day we were there and the temperature was barely 60 degrees, so it was a little chilly. I can’t imagine being there in the dead of winter.

From Maryland to Maine

Traveling by motor vehicle is NEVER dull! This is a long posting, so grab a cup of coffee, tea or a glass of wine. Got lots to share with you!

We left Maryland Monday, September 18 around 9:30 - about a half an hour later than desired. But, what the heck - we’re retired and in no hurry. So, we just enjoyed the beautiful day and relished being “on the road again.” (Thanks, Willie!)

We arrived at our first night’s stop around 3pm. We were in Matamoras, PA, in the corner of PA, NY, and NJ. We were just a few miles outside of New York. The campground was not a five-star park, but it was home for the night. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a horrible park, it just wasn’t the nicest we’ve stayed in. Of course, on the other side of that coin, it wasn’t the worst, either!

Tuesday started out sunny and very nice. Unfortunately, that didn’t last! The further north we traveled, the more overcast it got. I hate traveling in the rain, but am grateful that it doesn’t bother Randy. (What the heck does bother him, anyway????) We traveled through New York, following the Hudson River. I finally got a picture of the Hudson, but it was quick and through the columns of a bridge. We continued into Vermont where the trees are already turning colors! It was beautiful in spite of the rain. From Vermont, we headed into Massachusetts where we were going to spend the night. And that’s when the “fun” began!

Following our trusty GPS, we were going along our merry, ignorance is bliss, way when I told Randy we missed our turn. (It wasn’t my fault, it came up on us quickly!! Honest!) We found a spot to turn around and headed back to Stark Mountain Road. Well, that should have been our first clue. It’s never a good thing when the road you are supposed to take has the word “mountain” in it, at least not when you are towing a 36’ RV!

Well, the road’s name lived up to itself. This so-called road was unpaved and one lane. And, yes, it did go up a mountain, and then back down again. Needless to say, I was praying my heart out that we wouldn’t meet anyone coming in the opposite direction. God was so good - we only met one vehicle and it was at one of the few places where we could both pull to the side so we could pass one another. Randy, of course, never faltered, he just kept going. We finally got over the mountain and headed toward the campground where we staying Tuesday night . . . at least that’s what we thought . . .

We turned onto the road where the campground was supposed to be. It was a private home and there was a woman leaving. Randy stopped her to ask where the campground was. She told us it was nowhere near where we were. AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! GPS strikes again! However, this woman was an angel sent by God because she not only knew where the campground actually was, but offered to lead us to the main road and then give us directions to the campground from there. Who says God isn’t a hands-on God??? So, the woman did lead us to the main road, and yes, we did get to the campground - finally. You’d think we’d realize by now that we need to check our GPS route with a map. Guess we’re slow learners! :)

It was about 4:15pm when we pulled up to the park office. Normally this would not have been an issue, but of course, this was the night we had plans. We were meet my aunt, my cousin and her husband for dinner - around 5ish! Well, that wasn’t gonna happen. We had to set up and I HAD to get a shower!. I called Bob, my cousin’s husband, to let him know of the situation and he generously offered for he and Wanda, my cousin, to come to the campground and we’d go to dinner from there. That was a great help and gave us plenty of time to get ready.

This was a very special get-together because I hadn’t seen my cousin, Wanda, and my Aunt Helen for over 15 years! My mom had encouraged me to check our itinerary because we were stopping in Massachusetts and Mommy knew that Wanda & Bob and Aunt Helen lived in New Hampshire near the Massachusetts border. Turns out that our campground was only about 10 miles from their town! Isn’t that neat! So, we were able to have dinner together and catch up a little; sharing pictures of kids and grandkids. It was a truly special evening.

Woke up Wednesday morning to beautiful sunshine. After Tuesday’s rain, this was great. We got on the road around 8:30 and headed to Maine! We traveled through New Hampshire and it was just gorgeous. Actually, “gorgeous” doesn’t do the scenery justice. I’m not sure I can express how beautiful it was. We totally enjoyed traveling through New Hampshire and will definitely be back to explore it more thoroughly. I told Randy it was enough to make me want to move here; but only during June, July, August & September! :)

And then we entered Maine. More beautiful scenery. I know, I know!! I’m repeating myself, but if you haven’t seen this area, you can’t imagine the trees, the blue sky, the water. It just makes you grateful that you know the God Who created all of it.

We got to our campground without incident. The GPS was right on target AND we made sure of it by double-checking the route with local mapping! :) We set up the RV and tried to set up the satellite for our internet, but that didn’t happen. We worked at it for about an hour, but then we decided to stop for the evening. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get it up and running soon. We are looking forward to exploring on Thursday - Randy really wants to see LL Bean. More pictures coming!

Another Long Weekend & A Bday Celebration

Another Labor Day weekend has passed and it was full, as usual. Randy & I finished our workamping stint for the summer. YAY!! It felt very good to turn in the keys - we are ready to be done. We are now looking forward to our upcoming two month jaunt.

But, first, we had a family get-together at my sister & bro-in-law's house last Sunday. It was not only Labor Day weekend, we also celebrated my nephew, Joe, coming home for a visit. Joe is currently living in Los Angeles, pursuing a music career. We had not seen him for almost a year and it was great to see him and hug him. He had not seen Reagan since she was about 2 months old, so it was fun watching them get reacquainted. As usual, Reagan was her social self and took to "Uncle" Joe very quickly. It was a great day of family time.

Tomorrow is Lindsay's birthday, but we celebrated today. Lins and I had a girls day out at the spa. Boy, was that nice! We had lunch, a massage and a facial. It was great. Then we all went out to dinner. Another great day.

It's hard to believe we are leaving in less than two weeks! So much to do over the next few days. Lots of people to see; need to celebrate Reagan's first birthday; and then, we hit the road. Gonna be busy!

Take care, everyone. Please keep in touch. I'll be posting to the blog more often once we get on the road.