Maine!

We departed camp at Woodstock CT at a leisurely hour and continued north and east on I-84 into Massachusetts and onto the Massachusetts turnpike.  We had intended to take the outer loop, I-495, around Boston, but I was cut off trying to enter the ramp and was unable to take that exit.  We continued on the Mass Turnpike, as Dorcas screamed for me to take the next ramp and go back.  Dorcas was adamant that she didn't want to go into the heart of Boston. But there was no next ramp, so we had no choice but to continue, and then take 1-95 north out of Boston.  We had expected congestion and delays, but it was actually pretty smooth sailing.  The only downside was that there was an extra toll plaza or two.  I think the distance was about the same.

The Big Blunder

We safely escaped Boston and cut through a corner of New Hampshire for about 12 miles.  In Portsmouth NH we topped off with some relatively cheap  diesel.  At $2.98/gal it will likely be the cheapest fuel we will see for the next 6 weeks or more.  Shortly thereafter we crossed into Maine.

A quick stop at the Maine rest stop

We arrived in Freeport ME about 2:00 on Monday May 18.  Online research revealed free overnight RV parking in Freeport in a public lot on Depot Street only 2 blocks from the L.L. Bean campus.  We hoped it wasn't full and our good living paid off; there were only two other RVs in the lot  There were 4 lanes for RVs but within each lane it was nose-to-tail parking.  I could see right away it might be easy to get blocked in.  We picked a lane on the left edge of the lot and pulled up behind a Class B van conversion.  After a short while the van left, and we were able to pull up to the head of the lane, facilitating a clean getaway when it came time to leave.  The weather has been cool and wet since arriving in New England, so we bundled up and went shopping.

Our first stop was at the L.L. Bean outlet store where we shopped for a while.  We have most everything we need nowadays, but we found a few items that called to us.

With the numerous stores and warehouses around town operated by L.L. Bean, there were a lot of company delivery trucks and maintenance vehicles darting around town.

We spotted the Boot Mobile at the L.L. Bean headquarters campus.  We actually saw at least two different ones.   I think it was size 156EE.

The L.L. Bean campus is currently undergoing a massive renovation project, scheduled for completion in the fall of 2026.  A re-boot, if you will.  The L.L.Bean Flagship Re-Boot  The original flagship store was closed, but there were four satellite stores selling various wares.   The outerwear and apparel goods were being sold in a huge tent named Camp L.L. Bean.  See map below:

Parts of original flagship store and construction zone

Interior of the Hunting & Fishing Store

Rods galore

A tent sale, if you will

Boats galore

Cold, windy, wet weather is conducive to buying comfort clothing, so we dropped a few coins at the stores. We departed Freeport about 2:00 PM on Tuesday May 20 after parking for almost the full 24-hour limit..  

After a sprint of only 109 miles we arrived at Pumpkin Patch RV Resort, just south of Bangor ME, our home for the next 3 nights.  A number of our Newmar caravan members are gathering here too, preparing to cross the Canadian border.  I spent some time catching up on this journal while Dorcas got our paperwork in order and inventoried our alcoholic beverage stores.

Site #15 at Pumpkin Patch

I mostly hung out at camp, but while shopping in Bangor, Dorcas visited the Stephen King home.  King no longer lives here and the home now is the headquarters to The Stephen & Tabitha King Foundation. 

We will be at Pumpkin Patch for 3 nights then cross the border and meet our caravan in St. John NB.

The Drive Through Hell

We visited the main LL Bean store this morning for one last round. We could have walked around the store for hours, even if we didn't buy anything. There's just so much interesting stuff. Then we went down the street to the LL Bean outlet to see if we could find some more can't-live-without-that deals. We did.

At about noon we finally left Freeport in a pouring rain. Our plan was to detour through Milford, CT to meet Dorcas' friend Sylvia and her sister Liz for dinner. This took us through some of the more populous corridors in the northeast. After we got into Massachusetts, we experienced a series of unfortunate traffic episodes. You would expect the traffic in the commuting zones around Boston and New York City to be congested on a Friday during rush hour, but I think this was way beyond the norm. We heard truckers using words on the CB that embarrassed even other truckers. First, we had intended to avoid the Mass Turnpike by taking I-290, but there was a flashing message saying that I-290 was blocked by an accident, "SEEK ALT ROUTE". OK, we'll take the turnpike and pay the toll. When entering the Mass Turnpike from I-485, there was a solid wall of cars being funneled down through the toll plaza where you pick up an entry ticket. We were forced through a gate for EasyPass vehicles, and consequently didn't pick up an entry ticket. This caused us to pay a much higher toll when we checked out at the other end. Bummer. I did subsequently learn that a 33,000 pound motorhome driven by an irate driver with an attitude, can basically go anywhere he wants to. Kinda like Dale Sr. back when he went around and around on Sunday afternoons. After clearing that mess, we came to a standstill on I-91 south of Hartford. Some semi-trucks got into it, got sideways and spilled some fuel. All lanes were blocked in both directions. We actually came along just about the time things started moving, but it was 5 mph for about 1.5 hours. We finally arrived in Milford where Sylvia and Liz treated us to dinner at Stonebridge Restaurant. It was an excellent meal and a wonderful end to what had otherwise been a very stressful day. We left Milford about 10:00 and planned to pull off in an hour or two. The shortest route was I-95 through NYC, but the way our day had gone, we had no intention of going any closer to the city. Plan B was to cut cross country to I-84 at Danbury. Back roads, late evening, no problem, right? Wrong. On route 25 about 5 miles before intersecting I-84, we came up on an accident between two cars that had occurred only minutes before. The cars were still steaming and smoking and folks were calling the police. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured. Unfortunately, the road was totally blocked and we could not back up or turn around. So we turned off the engine and sat. It took almost 2 hours for the police, FD and the tow truck guy to get things cleared up. By this time it was tomorrow. We drove another two hours and pulled off at a rest area on I-84 near Middletown, NY. Surprisingly, we slept rather well. I was just glad this slab of highway was behind us.

Photo of the Week

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.....

OK, she didn't really live in a shoe. She lived in a luxury motor coach.

But what kind of story would that make ...?

Leaving Acadia NP, Arriving Bean Town (Freeport, not Boston)

We had planned to get moving early and make a dash for Freeport and LL Bean. However, the weather had cleared and it was a beautiful day. We had not been to the top of Cadillac Mountain this trip, so we decided to spend a little more time on the island before heading south. There were a ton of people on the summit, thanks to the cruise ships, but it was worth it. The views were stunning. Later we walked on the waterfront at Bar Harbor for a while. We finally got on the road and enjoyed the fall foliage down scenic US 1. I have come to the conclusion that the porcupine is to Maine as the 'possum is to the southeast and the armadillo is to the southwest. The roadkill of choice. There was one on the side of the road about every other mile. When we arrived at Freeport in late afternoon, it had started to rain heavily (great shopping weather--Dorcas). We visited the North Face and Patagonia outlets and then went to LL Bean. This is my fourth trip to LL Bean since 1986 and it is bigger every time. The first time I went it was all in one HUGE store. Now it is in four HUGE stores. There is the "Flagship" store, the Hunting and Fishing store, the Bike, Boat and Ski store and the Outlet store. We shopped until after midnight and spent the night in their parking lot. We were actually very frugal. We only bought a handful of sale items.

Acadia Park Loop Road

We had planned to bike another day, but it was overcast and dreary. We just weren't in the mood. We went into Bar Harbor with the intentions of eating a seafood brunch at the Thirsty Whale. The librarians had turned us on to the Whale. It turns out that there were two large cruise ships anchored in Bar Harbor. When one cruise ship is in, it doubles the population of Bar Harbor. When two ships are in, you guessed it: quadrupled. We couldn't get a table at the Thirsty Whale; we couldn't even get in the restroom. We decided to drive the Park Loop Road instead. The good news is that cruise ship passengers don't have cars to drive on the Park Loop Road. The bad news is that the cruise lines charter buses to take then around the island. You couldn't cross the road without getting run over by tour bus. All of the most popular features, such as Thunder Hole were clogged up with tourists, so we spent a lot of time walking on the rocks near the water and poking into the tide pools. Dorcas was fascinated by what she called "skunk ducks". The skunk ducks were black and white, with a skunk-like pattern, and would flock in rafts just off the rocks. In short order, we figured out they were Eider ducks. After our Park Loop Road tour we ended up back at the Thirsty Whale for a late lunch/early dinner. This time the place was nearly empty, and we enjoyed lobster rolls, fish sandwiches and clam chowder. We came back to camp and enjoyed some of our free fire wood.

Biking Acadia

Acadia has many wonderful features, but perhaps the most unique are the carriage trails. John D. Rockefeller built the carriage trails and their stone bridges prior to giving the land to the park. Today they are used primarily for biking and walking. One of our objectives for this trip was to spend some time biking on the carriage trails. I had convinced Dorcas that the trails were flat, but it turns out that they are hillier than I had remembered. Nothing terribly steep, but definitely rolling terrain. Today was a great day for biking: sunny and clear, with temperatures in the 50s. We put in at Jordan Pond, headed north on the Around-Mountain trail, went by Aunt Betty's Pond, around Eagle Lake, and south back by Bubble Pond. When he came to Day Mountain I coerced Dorcas into going up. Day Mountain is the only summit with a carriage trail to the top. While it is only just under 600', it does offer good views of the island. When we returned to Jordan Pond, we had biked almost 17 miles. After biking we went into Bar Harbor to check our e-mail. We have had great success in New England accessing the internet at public libraries, and Bar Harbor was no exception. In fact, Bar Harbor's Jesup Memorial Library is the most impressive library we have been in. The exterior is brick with intricate carved stone highlights. Inside it is an open space with two levels of balconied book stacks along the outer walls with oak and walnut paneling. Very majestic. The librarians at New England libraries have been very friendly and accommodating, Additionally, they have been a font of information about the locale.

Touring Acadia National Park

It rained a bit last night and it was a good morning to sleep in. Eventually we got up and cooked pancakes and sausage. It was overcast and cool, so we weren't anxious to start biking too early. We decided to go out on a wood scavenging run, thinking that since many folks are going home, maybe they would leave their firewood. We had picked up a few pieces near our site in A loop, when a guy pulls up in a van and asks if we want some kindling. Sure! Thanks! He was a contractor and had a large box of wood scraps that he gave us. He said they were closing B loop today for the season, and everyone is checking out there. He had just left there and said folks had left a lot of wood on the sites. We got in the car and drove to B loop and hit the jackpot. We found a ton of dried split wood. We filled up the back of the Honda, went home and dumped it, and returned for another load. We have enough wood now to last a week or more. After lunch we drove to Ship Harbor for a ranger-led walk along the coast to explore the tide pools. Big fun! Then we drove to Bass Harbor to see perhaps the most famous lighthouse in Maine. Normally one must shoot into the sun when photographing Bass Harbor Head Light, but today was cloudy, and we could take pictures without looking into the sun.

Acadia National Park

Today we drove a whopping 30 miles to Acadia National Park. We had planned to stay at Blackwoods Campground, one of two campgrounds in the park. The other, Seawall CG, is closed for the season. However, when we drove onto the island, we saw a sign that said Blackwoods CG was full. Dang. Normally on a Sunday, campgrounds begin to empty out, but this is a holiday weekend. It was early yet, about 10:00, so maybe there would be spaces later. We went to the visitor's center and it was a zoo; you could barely get in the door. Screw this, let's see the park! We avoided the Park Loop Road as a route to Blackwoods CG, because there are four bridges on that route between 10' and 12' high. Faithful readers will remember that our coach soars to 12' 1". We took route 3 to the CG. When we arrived at Blackwoods, the ranger said they were just finishing their morning sweep to see what was available. She was certain that sites were available, but was concerned about the size of our coach.. They have a size limit of 35' long and 11'8" tall. Our coach is a 33' model, but she said we were almost 35' long. I didn't quibble, because we did fit in the 35' lines they have on the pavement at the check-in station. They apparently rigorously enforce the length rule, but not the height rule. I told her our height was 12'1", and she said they only prune trees to 11'8", but she would let us in if we wanted to risk hitting or brushing tree limbs. Cool! By this time, they had completed their sweep and she offered us two sites that she thought would suit us. Most of the sites in Blackwoods are pretty small, but there are two rows with pull-throughs designed for trailers and motorhomes. We walked in to check out the sites to make sure we could get through without hitting any vertical or horizontal obstructions. A-48 was perfect, so we took it. We will probably stay until Thursday before leaving and turning south. We spent the rest of the day driving around the eastern section of Mount Desert Island. We went to Seal Harbor, Northeast Harbor and back up to Bar Harbor. We looped back to the visitor's center about 4:00, and it was nearly deserted by then, so we watched the park orientation video and talked to a ranger about some things we wanted to do. There are many things to do at Acadia, but I was particularly looking forward to riding our bikes on the carriage trails. After dinner we attended the very last campfire program of the season: "All Things Furry" about mammals in the park. The ranger was very entertaining and it was a fun program.

A Visit With a Friend

Dorcas here, filling in for the “vacationing” Myron…Today we woke to a beautiful clear day with promises of mild temperatures in the mid to upper sixties. We had made plans to visit with a good friend of mine, Margaret, from North Carolina who now lives in Maine. We were meeting for lunch in Belfast, about 40 miles down the coast from Ellsworth. Since it is Columbus Day weekend all the small towns were having celebrations. We checked out a Flea Market, several yard sales and some retail stores having sales. We also enjoyed the sights of a scarecrow competition (scary); the sounds of a German brass band (lovely); and the smells of sausages and onions being cooked for a Boy Scout fundraiser (yummy). We took several opportunities along the way to walk down to the waterfront and view the number of boats of all sizes moored in the bays.

At Bucksport we crossed a newly opened bridge with an observation tower The Penobscot Narrows Bridge. This is one of only three such Bridge Observatories in the world. We didn’t take the tour today since there were lots of tourists and decided to wait until a weekday.

In Belfast we parked a few blocks from our meeting place, the Belfast Coop Store, in order to walk around town. We arrived at our lunch spot just as Margaret arrived. I had not seen Margaret for about 8 or 10 years. Of course, neither of us has changed a bit in all the years and we both look great! It was wonderful to see her and be able to catch up on her travels, our travels and future plans. Margaret is thinking about adopting a small pup and we told her about Izaak and how much we miss him and how we have to pet other peoples’ dogs to get our “fix”. In fact, this morning I got to visit with our neighbors’ Siamese cat that looks very much like Yum Yum with a similar personality. She was great.

After a lovely lunch we said our goodbyes to Margaret with hugs and kisses. Before leaving town, Myron and I walked a nice footbridge across Penobscot Bay. Afterwards we headed back to camp with a stop by the LL Bean outlet just to make sure we hadn’t missed something when we were there yesterday.

Movin' on to Maine

This morning we left New Hampshire and drove about 200 miles east across Maine. It was an extremely pleasant drive, as the leaves are near peak in this part of the country. We resisted the temptation to visit Stephen King's house when we passed through Bangor. We also resisted the urge to visit the Old Town Canoe factory in Old Town (been there). We are camped at Hospitality Woods RV Park in Ellsworth, ME. We will stay here two nights and move a short distance to Acadia National Park on Sunday. This evening we did some grocery shopping and went to the L.L. Bean outlet store in town.