Bucksport

Saturday, 8/16

Balsam Cove Campground

As we are due to leave Orland, Maine in the morning, we took a good part of the day investigating
places to stay in Canada. Gary’s desire is to go to Halifax and I want to go to Prince Edward Island.
Gary also checked to make sure our Brake Buddy,auxiliary braking system for the tow car, was working
properly. We don’t use it anymore, but Canada requires it. We notified our credit card companies of our
intent to leave the country and checked with Sprint about international rates. Looks like we are going
to Canada! Gary was put off by all the border crossing horror stories he read on line, but we decided to go
anyway. We might have to dump the dog food.
We went for a short drive to Bucksport, a quaint little town on the Penobscot Bay. We drove over the
Penobscot Narrows Bridge, missing the last car up to the observatory by 10 minutes.

Pensobscotl Narrows Bridge

We had lobster for
dinner. Yummy!

loving that Maine lobster!

Acadia NP and Ellsworth

Friday, 8/15
We returned to Acadia National Park to finish up the driving tour.

Acadia National Park

The park was even more
crowded with cars and bikers galore. We couldn’t find a parking place at Jordan Pond so continued
on to Cadillac Mountain, the highest point in the park, giving fantastic views atop the pink granite mountain.

High atop Cadillac Mtn.

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Somes Sound nearly bisects the island.

Marina

We drove on the west shore to Bass Harbor Lighthouse at the
southern tip.

Lighthouse

Back off the island to Ellsworth. We walked Historic Downtown enjoying the peaceful
Union River, the charming City Hall, and picturesque City Library.

Ellsworth Library

A beautiful town!

EIllsworth house

Basalm Cove Campground

After a rainy windy night, we woke up to gray misty skies. We have reservations about 20 miles west of Elsworth, where we are currently camped. Passport America 50% discounts are only for a few days at each camp, so we are moving. We first stopped at the new Walmart for necessities, noticing several rigs were “boon docking” in the parking lot.
We were quickly settled in our new space. There is Toddy “Pond” here, 100 feet deep and 10 miles long. Lots of canoes, kayaks, and boats in the sites.

Balsam Cove dock

There is a little restaurant on the weekends selling burgers and ice cream, etc. I think we might try the blueberry pancakes in the morning. The young lady who checked us in was quite excited about their Halloween in August celebration this weekend. Prizes are given for the best costume and decorated site. I doubt we will be participating!. Gary went for a run and Cammy and I walked enjoying the patchy sunlit day. Cool weather still prevails but that’s ok with me.

Toddy Pond

Walmart even had some October Fest beer in stock. We settled for a bottle of wine. No alcohol can cross the border. We are still planning on going to Nova Scotia next week.
My sister Jan asked if we were just one step ahead of disaster on this trip:Tornados in Texas, Tour bus accident in Times Square, and flooding in Long Island. We are counting our blessings for sure to have escaped unscathed. Keep praying for our protection. We appreciate it!

Car Repair and a Concert

Gary was up early this morning, Wednesday, taking the PT Cruiser in for an oil change while Cammy and I slept in. I was so glad that we put a blanket on the bed as last night was chilly. We actually ran the heater this morning! We then took the PT Cruiser in to Bangor, 26 miles north, to a radiator repair shop. Based on Gary’s detailed description, the owner quickly diagnosed the problem and fixed it while we waited in the adjoining coffee house. He came in at one point and picked up a guitar after handing a harmonica to a guy eating a sandwich at an adjoining table and they played “Margaritaville” and a song by Ellis Paul, who we didn’t know. A Woodie Guthrie type that was born nearby. After 3 songs, he told us our car was done! The bill was very reasonable and he didn’t charge for the serenade! Life in a small town is pretty good! Rain fell as we drove home so we scrapped sight seeing plans and just relaxed for the afternoon and listened to the rain fall on the roof of the coach. Had a nice chat with Becky. There are a few problems with their house closing this weekend. Hopefully, all will be resolved. Addison loved her first day of preschool but, Kenzie did not.
I think I need to shop for groceries. I just heard Gary shooting whipped cream into his mouth. Some boys never grow up!

Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park

I have wanted to visit here for some time and was not disappointed. Although, the park is small and infiltrated with towns and commercialism, it is a beautiful place. Once the summer playground of the rich and famous, Mount Desert Island was discovered by Samuel Champlain in the 1600’s. The French settled here trapping, fishing, and farming. A disputed territory by the French and British, English colonists finally took root here in 1761. By the 1800’s huge hotels and “summer cottages” enhanced the tourist trade. A movement began to preserve the beauty of the island and land was donated to the federal government to establish the park. Established in 1919, Acadia was the first National Park east of the Mississippi.
We started our tour of the Park with a quick trip to the small Hulls Cove Visitors Center, where we purchased the magnet for our fridge and a CD Audio Tour. With Cammy in the back seat, we proceeded to enjoy the narrated tour of the park loop. We stopped and enjoyed the overlooks at Frenchman Bay.

My new summer cottage overlooking Frenchman Bay

With lobster trap buoys bobbing and Egg Rock Lighthouse in the distance, it was breath taking.

Egg Rock Lighthouse

We enjoyed Sieur-de-Monts with its natural spring, nature center and flower gardens. Not much blooming this time of year, but, they did have a nice selection of ferns.

Sieur-de-Monts

We enjoyed Beaver Pond with a large beaver dam but no visable beavers. Sand Beach was packed with sunbathers and Blackwoods Campground was full. We turned for home when the PT Cruiser started overheating. We will have to wait to finish the tour. Back home, Gary determined that the fan isn’t running for the air conditioner, so we will probably need to take it in for repairs.
Weather today was sunny and moderate. Had to put a blanket on the bed last night as it is cooling down this far north. It was a very good day.

Massachusetts to Maine

We had received several good places to explore along the coast of Massachusetts from Jeff and Janet but decided we didn’t want to battle the crowds. So, instead, we drove north on the turnpike and paid the tolls ($20) crossing through the southern tip of New Hampshire and into Maine. The road was good and scenic. We pushed through to the section of the state called Downeast. We found a nice RV park in Ellsworth which is north of Acadia National Park, on my bucket list. There are several scenic drives that originate from here to lighthouses, Frenchman Bay, New Brunswick, and so on. The couple in the rig next to us have been here 3 weeks and are still exploring. So, I am very excited. Can’t wait to taste the lobster!

New England Charm

Boston Minuteman Campground

Sunday, we needed to vacate our campsite and move to another. We waited around until 11 am when our new spot became available. This is a busy campground. It is one of the nicest we have been in this trip, heavily wooded, nice and clean, family owned, and level spots. We met a couple from Virginia who recently became full time RVers. We swapped stories and they told us how much they liked the Rand McNally RV GPS. Our friends, purchased one, but it quickly broke, so we chose another brand. Looks like we need to invest in this kind. It might keep us out of trouble!

Jeff and Janet

Janet and Jeff and their dog, Bea, came over this afternoon. We walked and talked and then went to a local Mexican restaurant. Good food! Great company! Their work week loomed ahead, so they left before dark. We spent the rest of the evening catching up on paper work and planning our next move.
We’ll keep you posted!

Our Day from Hell

Sorry about the strongly worded title, but, Friday was a terrible, horrible, very bad day. We left Long Island in the late morning, heading for Hartford, Connecticut. About a 2 1/2 hour drive, or so we thought. Our new GPS kept trying to turn us onto one-way streets-THE WRONG WAY! And under bridges too low, or back into the Holland Tunnel, where we couldn’t go. Not finding any place to pull over and regroup, we kept making turns hoping for the best. Didn’t get it. We ended up driving in 4 different Burroughs: Queens, Bronx, Manhattan, and Brooklyn. Yep, imagine us driving in Manhattan on Friday afternoon. Boy, did we get some strange looks. We finally made it into Connecticut about 5 pm. It was a relief to sit still in the traffic jam for awhile. We left the interstate slog and decided to take the parkway to a rest area. Sign as we join the parkway: No vehicles over 8 ft. We quickly pulled over and contemplated the bridge ahead of us, noticing that only cars were passing by. No trucks. Not wanting to compound our OOPS! Gary calls 911 and explains. They send a nice State Trooper who assures us that we can safely pass the 4 bridges ahead until we can exit the parkway and reenter the Interstate, which we did. We were so glad to get back on and pay those tolls! Slept in the rest area. Exhausted but safe. Thank you Jesus for your protection!

Trains and subway

Waiting on a train.

On Thursday we took the Long Island Railroad into Penn Station and then the subway to the 911 Memorial. It was a pleasant ride and we arrived on a sunny day with some clouds and an occasional breeze that kept temperatures pleasant. We were able to see the Freedom Tower several blocks ahead as we walked along the roadway amidst the construction of the new subway station and several office buildings. Once on the plaza, the many swamp white oak trees provided shade and the sound of the water falling from the two memorial pools was cooling. There were many people but all were respectful and quiet. The two pools are set in the footprints of the original Twin Towers. Thirty-foot waterfalls-the largest in North America-cascade into the pools, each then descending into a center void. The falling water seems to echo the dying screams of the 3,000 victims whose names are inscribed in bronze parapets around the pools.

911 Memorial Pool

There is one Callery pear tree planted here. The sole tree survivor of Ground Zero, it was an 8 foot stump found in the wreckage. It was nursed back to health and is now a thriving 30 foot tree. The museum opened a few months ago and the entrance line was long and slow moving. I was glad for an excuse not to go and relive the sad tales over again.

Freedom Tower and Survivor Tree

After lunch, we visited Wall Street. Right across from the J.P. Morgan building is a statue of George Washington on the site where he was sworn in as our first President. Capitalism and Democracy? I also managed to work in a little shopping.

Shopping at Tiffany’s!

Tired after a long day, we gratefully sat down in our train only to hear the announcement that they were combining trains and we needed to jump on the train across the track. We all did squeeze into the already crowded cars for the smooth ride back to Long Island. After being cooped up in the Motor Home for 9 hours, Cammy was very happy to see us!

Battle Row Campground
Old Bethpage, Long Island

New York City

Armed with our new GPS we left Princeton, New Jersey for Long Island, New York. We tried to avoid tolls which only gave us narrow, tight roads through questionable neighborhoods. Gary finally agreed to rejoin the interstate and pay the tolls. Ouch! $113 before the day was finished. And, we got to the Holland Tunnel only to be told we couldn’t pass through because of our propane tank.

No RV’s Allowed!

Turned around and took a 25 mile detour to the George Washington Bridge that got us onto Long Island. So many more detours to find a road that had bridges high enough for us to go under. At the end of the day, we pulled into a small county park filled with large grassy sites. And it is warm and sunny.
Tuesday, we took the car into NYC. Gary had a blast driving in all the heavy traffic, dodging cabs and tour buses, honking at double parked cars. Cammy and I just gritted our teeth.

Driving in NYC!

We walked in Central Park, enjoying the softball games, droves of people in the swimming pool, dogs being walked, and joggers getting their exercise.

Central Park pool

Next, we drove down 5th Ave, saw Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Freedom Tower, and even crossed Delancy (one of my favorite movies). We saw the news vans outside Mount Sinai Hospital waiting for news on the ebola patient. Glad to hear he wasn’t infected.

Ebola vigil

Best, was the last stop at Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. It was dark, balmy, filled with people and dogs, musicians playing, the fountain gushing, and the Arch gleaming brightly. Magical!

Washington Arch

Well, the phone call to the Grandgirls was a close second. Love to hear those voices! Things are moving along with the house sale. Lots to do before they move Labor Day.
Today, Wednesday was laundry day. We dropped it off and got it back wash, dried, and expertly folded. What a treat! A first for me! Meanwhile, we all exercised, bathed and groomed Cammy, and cleaned up the coach. We all are feeling better tonight, I think.