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Sorry about the delay in new posts but our Sprint card has been roaming out here and we have used up our minutes with Sprint until 8/13.

The CG has WIFI here but we have to pay for it (NOT!).  I am up in the lodge where they do have a free hookup but not good enough for pictures to be uploaded.  So you will have to wait until a later date.

Tomorrow we leave for St. Martins, New Brunswick and they have free WIFI.  Hopefully it will be good enough to do some updating.  Until then...

Bar Harbor, ME Tuesday and Wednesday

We are now in Bar Harbor (pronounced BAH-HA-BA, if you live here!).  Arrived on Monday afternoon after a great ride on Route 1 (I think most states have a Route 1 – it is the scenic route).  We went thru a number of small towns along the shore.

This bridge was different in that you could go up in the tower on the left for and scenic view of the area (we did not do it).  Also, the supports for this bridge are in the middle, not on the outer edges.  So there is only one lane going each way.

There was a battle here in 1779 in which the colonials failed to hold.

The British came up this river from the Atlantic.

We found our CG and got set up.  Some CG’s (including this one) have some sites that are backwards.  Usually the CG electric, water and sewer hookups are on the same side of the trailer as our hookups.  Unfortunately, that is not the case here, as this picture shows.  But we do have a nice area on the other side.

After getting setup here, we decided to drive into the town of Bar Harbor and have some pizza (had seafood the last two days so needed something different).  As in most Eastern towns, the streets are narrow and tight.  We were able to get around and found the pizza place, but no parking for a BIG F350 long bed truck!!  So we had to park about 6 blocks away.  Good exercise, I guess because the pizza was great.  Might have to go back there again before we leave.

On  Tuesday we started looking at all the information the CG had given us when we checked in.  They had said that we had homework!  And they were right!  The first thing we realized was that there are free (yes, I said FREE) buses running throughout the island.  And they stop here at our CG.

Here is a map of the island.

There are 7 different bus routes with connections at various stops so it is easy to get around.

So, on Tuesday afternoon, we took the bus into town and walked the streets (along with about 5,000 other people!).

Walked down to the waterfront.

There are many islands in this bay, some of which you can get to by ferry or by mail boat.

Had soft serve blueberry ice cream – blueberries are THE fruit here in Maine.  Judy had a cup of black raspberry ice cream with fudge swirl and little pieces of chocolate with raspberry flavoring inside.  Yummy!

On Wednesday we again took the bus – our destination was Jordan Pond.  But we stopped numerous times along the way.  Our driver was very informative – said that about 3 million people visit the island from June thru Oct.  And he was right – we went by the beach and cars were lined up everywhere.  

This was another shot of the Atlantic along the way.

There is also a riding stable on the island.  You can bring your own horse or ride one of theirs.  Or you can get a carriage ride here as well.

The ride to Jordan Pond should have taken about 45 minutes but it was well over an hour by the time we got there.  Jordan Pond is famous for two reasons – 1) the pond/lake is where all the water comes from for the  island, 

and 2) (and the main reason) they have a restaurant there that makes popovers.  They are great.  In the middle of the afternoon we had to wait about 20 minutes to get a table.  We each ordered a sandwich and drinks, and, with our meal, we each got a fresh/hot popover with butter and strawberry jam.


This was an interesting tree just outside the restaurant.

The only downside to riding the buses (for us anyway) is the number of people out there with their dogs!  And they are welcome in most places.  We saw a couple of people with BIG dogs wanting to get on our bus. Our bus driver was somewhat hesitant to let them on because we already had a big dog in the back.  Fortunately the people decided to wait for the next bus.

All in all, this is a very pleasant area to travel around.

PS - Don't know why I am getting a white background?  I am copying from WORD and sometimes it's OK and other time it is not.

Portland, ME

Last Friday we made it to Maine.  Left our CG in Monson, MA. about 10 AM and got to Portland, ME around 2PM.

Only got one picture of the CG and it is actually of the 36 acre lake with a mile of sandy beach.  Very nice setting.

We met up with Ray and Karen Cowan who are also Hitchhiker owners.  They are at this CG because it is a square dancing weekend for them.  We visited with them after we got set up and then went over to the pavilion in the evening to watch them for awhile.

On Saturday we went with Ray and Karen and some friends of theirs (Art and Ruth) to the 47th annual crabfest festival in Yarmouth, about 25 minutes away.  It is a huge event with carnival rides, arts and crafts, food, etc.  It was a beautiful day and was very crowded.

Here we are waiting for the bus to take us back to our cars.  Art and Ruth are on the left, I am in the middle, and Ray and Karen are on the right.

Ray took this picture so that you would know that Judy was also along!!

We found a place to eat lunch - The Muddy Rudder - and then they went back to the CG for some more square dancing.  Judy and I drove to Freeport and went thru the LLBean store and then walked the main street (which is made up of alot of outlet stores like VanHeusen, Banana Republic, Gap, etc.).

When we got back the to the CG, they had just finished dancing so they came over and we sat outside and visited.  In the evening there was more square dancing.  The dancing group was much bigger tonight.  I guess alot of locals came.

On Sunday we had coffee with Ray and Karen and then said our goodbyes as they were leaving to go back home to Loudon, NH.  We had some lunch and then drove into Portland to see some sights.

We signed up for a 90-minute boat ride around the harbor but had an hour wait so we went out on the dock of the Portland Lobster Co. ( a popular outdoor restaurant.  They served Shipyard beer which was very good.

These pictures were on the wall.

On the pier near where our boat was docked are these pieces of concrete, apparently from the Berlin wall.

We found our boat--

Not sure why this was important, but the guide mentioned that this sail boat was being pushed by the small boat in the back!

Of course, if you are in a port, you will see lighthouses!  The lighthouses in Portland date back to the late 1700's.

Here is an interesting fact - this oil tanker is unloading its cargo into a pipeline that goes from here to Montreal.  It is supplying them with the oil because their port freezes in the winter whereas Portland does not.

There are several old forts in the harbor, again, built in the late 1700's to fight off the British if they should come this way.  Interestingly, there never was a cannon fired so I guess they did their job!

This island also had a fort with towers to watch for enemy ships.

According to the guide, this is Portland's version of a geo-pet!

While we were in the bay, the captain got word that a diving boat was radioing for assistance as they had not heard from their diver in over an hour and could we help look for an orange buoy, which we did.  We saw markers, but they were for the lobster pots.  After helping in the search for about 20 minutes, we left the area and did some more sightseeing.  (Before our tour was over we did hear that the diver had been found.  He was exhausted but was OK).

What seaport does not have seals??

We really enjoyed the tour although it was windy and cold at times.

We were hungry when we got back so we walked over to the Portland Lobster Restaurant again and ordered some seafood (of course!).  While we waited they gave us a 'lobster' that would buzz and light up when our order was ready!

Food was great.  We got back to the CG about 7 PM and enjoyed the rest of the evening outside.

Today, Monday, we leave for Bar Harbor, about 185 miles away.  We plan to drive up I-295 and then head over to the shore and follow Route 1, a more scenic route.  There are some small towns along the way (Rockland for one) that are supposed to be very nice.

Will report more later...

Last Day in Massachusetts

Well, today is our last day here with Larry, Jacky, and Hannah.  Can't believe that the time has gone so fast.

We have had a great time.  I did MORE tree trimming and did some weeding in their backyard.

Before I trimmed those two trees in the front, you could not see their house!

The ice storm that went thru here back on Oct 31st, did a lot of damage to trees.  Here are some at their house:

This tree should have taken out his fence, but, as it fell, a huge branch on this side of the fence hit the ground first and stopped it.  Right now what you see is that he has propped it up with another log and then chopped the overhang off.

At the Loose Goose, Larry's office is downstairs.  One wall has never been finished off (concrete wall and studs) so we got some drywall and put it up on Sunday.  It is now painted and looks great.   The ceiling had never been painted so I did that as well.  Looks much brighter and nicer now.

We have been to the ' famous' Cindy's for dinner and ice cream cones once already but tonight we are going again.  The food is good but the cones are HUGE!  (Did I say HUGE??).  I get a small and it is more than enough.

Judy's peppermint cone:

Hannah's 'baby size' cone:

Jacky's 'baby size' cone:

My 'small' cone (half eaten):

And Larry's 'small' cone:

Last Saturday we drove down to Old Saybrook, CT for the day to visit with Jacky's parents, Mike and Nancy.  They just bought a house there back in January and it's only a couple of blocks from Long Island Sound.  We went to the beach and had a picnic and then on the beach/went swimming in the water.  Beautiful day.  Sorry, but we didn't even take one picture!




Tomorrow we leave for Portland, ME to spend the weekend there.  I am in contact with a fellow Hitchhiker from Loudon, NH and they wanted to meet up somewhere, if possible.  Turns out that they are square dancers and their group (about 21 trailers) will be at Wassamki Springs CG just outside Portland for the weekend and will be performing there.  So we made a reservation there and will get together with them.

Then on Monday we will travel up to Bar Harbor, ME and plan to spend a week there.  I guess there is lots to see and do - Arcadia National Park, lighthouses, whales, fishing (maybe), eating lobster, etc.!!!

While we are there, we will start to plan our trip up into Canada and Nova Scotia in more detail.  Right now about all we know is that we are headed that way!  Everyone we have talked to has mentioned "The Bay of Fundy."

The Bay of Fundy tides are the highest tides in the world and occur near Wolfville, Nova Scotia.  There are normally two high tides and two low tides within a 24-hour period.  In the Bay of Fundy proper tides can reach a height of 11 ft. while tides near the head of the Bay can rise and fall 43 ft on average and can reach an unbelievable 53 ft during the springtime.

It also delivers the most promising location for Nova Scotia whale watching.  the whale population is over 300 and there are eight different species of whales, so it should be very interesting!

We'll keep you posted...