Wandering America
September 2009
| A Day Visit to Vermont Before leaving the Adirondacks of New York we made a day trip to visit our friends, Allan and Jeanne Webster, who are Camp Hosting at Gifford Woods State Park in Killington, Vermont. What a beautiful area located in the Green Mountains of Vermont.     They were excited about giving us a tour of the campground and proud of the contributions that they have made over the summer (they have been fixing up and repainting all of the lean-tos). It is a nice little park with no hook up sites that is primarily designed for tenters and/or pop-up campers, however, there are a couple of sites that could accommodate larger rigs (dry camping, of course). The Appalachian Trail runs right through the middle of the park so we were able to "hike the AT"; for a few feet of it anyhow. After sharing a lunch with them we went for a drive around the local area stopping at Thundering Brook Falls where we interfaced with the Appalachian Trail once more.    From there we drove over to the boat launching area at Kent Pond where there were a flock of ducks toddling around the parking area. We got to play with them for a little while; here are some pictures of me trying to "get my ducks in a row"!    On The Road Again Wow, it seems like an eternity but here we are on the road again traveling like it was meant to be for fulltimers. On the Tuesday after Labor Day we drove from Lake George Escape RV Resort to Seven Maples Campground in Hancock, New Hampshire and, just as last year, we marveled at the peace and quiet. At LGE it is like "camping" on Main Street USA with traffic flowing past our site at speeds of thirty MPH at all hours of the day and night. Seven Maples, on the other hand, is sooooo quiet that you can actually hear yourself breath - aaaah, that's more like it.  We visited the grand-kids (and Marc and Amie) for a few hours that evening and then returned to the campground to suck up some more of that peace and quiet. The next morning found us on the road again heading for the Great State of Maine - "The Way Life Should Be!" Visiting the Harpswell Maine Area It was around 1 o'clock when we arrived at Blueberry Pond Campground in Pownell, Maine on Wednesday; another peaceful campground. We give this campground the "It Factor" (for us anyway). It's small, it's nice and clean, it's secluded, it's in Maine, it's Passport America, it's close to good shopping, and the owners are great folks. The sites are level with full hook-ups (30 amp electric) and little to no traffic in the campground. Our friends Chuck and Jan, who are, also, our neighbors at Rainbow Plantation, have workamped there for the two summers past (not this summer) and it would be awfully easy for us to "sign up". However, we don't want to tie up that many months ever again. Mike and Peggy Evringham live about 15 miles from the campground and had invited us for a "travel day" dinner. Peggy fed us very well with baked southern fried chicken, smashed 'taters, "con" on the cob, a garden salad, and brownies topped with ice cream - yum, yum. On Thursday Mike, Peggy, Judy, and I went sightseeing along the coastline known as Harpswell which took us to Land's End on Bailey Island. There is a gift shop there (Land's End Gift Shop) but that is certainly not the main attraction for us. It is the photo opportunities along the way as well as around the point. These first four shots are taken at Mackerel Cove which is on Bailey Island.     It was high tide when we arrived at Land's End on Bailey Island which presented some really nice water action along the rock lined shore but, try as I might, I still couldn't capture a picture worthy of the actual beauty. But, first here are some photos of the Gift Shop and the Fisherman's Memorial at Land's End.    Then it was off to the beach to climb on the rocks, play tag with the waves, and make some pictures. Here is a picture of Judy and Peggy just "hanging around" on the rocks.  Now here are the rest of the pictures around the point at Land's End - we just love the rocky coast line of Maine. Notice the "shack" sitting up on the ledges overlooking the ocean - some people just have it rough. The lobster boat is making its way through an area between Bailey Island and some shoals - it wouldn't have been able to go through there if it was low tide.     Mainers have a unique sense of humor and attempt to do things quite out of the ordinary. Here is a photo of a Mainer's idea of a classic hood ornament for his "kah". It's amazing that he was able to train this seagull to go along with the concept! ;-)  Actually, this seagull was making its way from car top to car top in the parking lot at Land's End Gift Shop. It probably was looking for some warmth although it wasn't a particularly cold day. On our way back to Brunswick we captured a few more "typical" Maine scenes.    We ended our sightseeing with a trip to Fat Boys Drive-In for some Frappes. Fat Boy's is a 50's/60's place where "kah hops" still serve you right at your "kah window". Frappes are super thick milk shakes that you can actually hold upside down with nothing running out when they are first served. I always get a coffee frappe with extra syrup - "It's oh so good!" Judy likes the chocolate/black raspberry frappe and was glad that they still had it on the menu. Two of our children (Marc and Mary) worked at Fat Boy's when we lived in Maine.   Friday was grocery shopping day at Wally World. We, also, stopped at Gilmore's Seafood in Bath, Maine for some fresh Haddock and Maine scallops (excellent prices for fresh seafood). Later in the afternoon we drove into Freeport and did our obligatory visit to L. L. Bean's and our walk about the town. We made a fish "chowdah" and a scallop casserole for our former Pastor and his wife (Sandy and Bev). They arrived at our house around 6 o'clock and we started with some hors d'oevers of cheese, crackers, and prosciutto panino. The fish chowdah was "to die for" but Judy asked me to loose the recipe for the scallop casserole. I should have known better, scallops are best just stir fried or broiled with a little butter (real butter) or lightly breaded and deep fried - needless to say, that recipe is history!!! We had a wonderful time catching up with Bev and Sandy; it was so good to see them again. Saturday was another sightseeing day for Judy and I this time going down the "west finger" of Harpswell to the cottage of some old Patterson family friends (Ronny and Vi). This was a nostalgia day for me as dad, mom, Mike, and I would spend several weekends each summer at this cottage where we would go boating and fishing in Harpswell Sound and Cundy Harbor. We were sadden to learn that Ronny passed away last summer while at the cottage. The cottage is located in South Harpswell and overlooks Harpswell Sound. It is directly across the sound from the cribstone bridge that connects Orrs and Bailey Islands. Lots and lots of memories here.    Later that afternoon we stopped by Mike and Peggy's to go to Captain Mike's for some more seafood. Judy and I had the fried clam dinners and they were delicious (just love those fried clams). After dinner we headed back to Blueberry Pond for the rest of the evening. Sunday we attended church at Freeport Baptist Church where we worshiped when we lived in Maine. Sandy was right on form as always; after the service he invited Judy and I to join he and Bev for a "quick lunch". Yeah, right!!! If you call a roasted chicken, potatoes, couscous, coleslaw, and a corn dish a "quick lunch". We ate and visited some more, it sure was nice to see Sandy and Bev again and get to spend some time with them. Revisiting My Home Town On Monday morning we got underway again heading for Belfast, my home town. It was a two hour trip ending in "my" old driveway. After jockeying the rig into the driveway and getting set up we went for a walk around the town (about 3 and 1/2 miles). The old town looked just great with the houses all fixed up and painted. It's now a charming New England town (actually city) worth visiting. When I grew up here it was a working town with several factories that essentially made the harbor unusable. Now the harbor is all cleaned up and thriving with activity. The old homestead looks great, my brother has done a lot of work on it and it's in great shape. Mike and Shauna have done an excellent job decorating the interior and restoring the house to the period in which it was built (late 1890's). Mike has upgraded all the windows with the old style two over one panes and added antique shutters. Each room has been restored to the period from the floors to the ceilings. The old homestead never looked better.  We spent our first week in Belfast just taking it easy and doing some visiting of relatives. It was another nostalgic time for me seeing all the old sites of my youth. We did several walks around the neighborhood and downtown (walking is the best way to really see things) just to visit my old childhood haunts. Here are a couple of photographs of Penobscot Bay taken from the City Park.   Mike and Shauna returned home on Saturday evening and we got to spend the next week with them. We made a trip to Camden where we had a couple of hats embroidered with the Wandering America logo.  Camden has always been a "cute" little tourist's village on the Maine coast. The harbor is protected by land around three sides with lots of sailing vessels moored throughout making it a tremendous photo opportunity.   On our return trip to Camden to pick up our hats we were fortunate to get a picture of the Victory Chimes sailing vessel as she was making her way along the Lincolnville Beach coast line.  Maine is known for it's county fairs held throughout the state starting in July and ending with the Fryeburg Fair in early October. Mike, Shauna, Judy and I decided to take a drive over to the Farmington County Fair for the day. We visited a number of exhibits plus a couple of museums that were on the fairgrounds. One thing that is absolutely necessary to have at a county fair (left over from our earlier life) is french fries with vinegar - yum, yum. So that was one of our first endeavors upon arriving.   Along with the carnival portion of the fair there is always the 4-H exhibits and exhibitions. We watched some of the animal judging and then toured the displays in the exhibition hall. It's amazing how talented some children are - the paintings below were done by a nine year old and a six year old.    Harness racing is one of the main stays of any county fair in Maine so we watched the "ponies run" for a little while before heading home. Judy should have placed a bet on this race; her horse won.  Our best friends (Mike and mine) were William and Peter whose parents had a one hundred acre dairy farm right inside the city limits of Belfast. It made for a good life for us; we grew up on a farm in the city. That is, we had country living but could still be downtown on our bicycles within five minutes - really unique, huh? Anyhow, William and his wife Kym stopped by one evening to pick us up to go out to dinner. We went to Angler's restaurant in Searsport, Maine where Judy got the fried clam dinner and I got the fried oyster dinner (you just know that we swapped off portions of clams and oysters). The fried clams were some of the best that I have ever eaten but, we get better (fresher) oysters in Alabama. It was great spending some time with William and Kym, we just don't do it often enough. It was said of William and me, while we were growing up, that if you saw one of us you just knew the other one was close at hand. William and I did just about everything together right through high school.  Mike and I spent one afternoon out searching for some possible tree stand locations. October 1st starts the bow hunting season in Maine and my brother will be standing in a tree somewhere in the woods long before "first light". While we were out and about we took a drive up onto Oak Hill which has nice views out across Penobscot Bay with Camden Hills in the background. The leaves were just beginning to turn so there was a little bit of color here and there.   We certainly enjoyed Maine and had plenty of seafood to last us until we get back again. It was nice to have two weeks to spend just reminiscing and revisiting my past. We look forward to returning again next year with our oldest grand daughter who will be traveling with us for a while. Christmas in September Each year we like to return to New Hampshire to do our Christmas shopping for the New Hampshire bunch. It saves on sales tax and shipping costs which can add up to quite a bit of money. We were very successful this year getting everything that we wanted in one trip to Keene. Of course, while we are here we, also, get to have a seriously needed grand kid fix. Briana was turning 11 so we got to spend her birthday with her, something that we had never done before. Briana wants to do some traveling with Grandpa and Grandma so we will be returning next summer to take her "Downeast". That will include Acadia National Park as well as points east along the coast of Maine. We'll be doing some internet searches seeking out areas of interest for an almost twelve year old grand daughter. Lola is two and exceptionally good at it. She absolutely gives her mom and dad a run for their money. We are so pleased to see this since Marc was the one that gave us a run for our money (and our grey hair). Ya just gotta love it when a plan comes together. "What goes around, comes around!" :-) Rocco (a.k.a. Rock) is growing like a weed. At four months he is already into 9 month old sized clothes. He's definitely not fat, just plain big at 24" long and 17 pounds. He doesn't do much, just lays around and eats. He's not up to getting into any mischief at this age. We did go to Shannon's (Amie's mom) for dinner on our last evening in New Hampshire. She has a really neat apartment in a converted old factory that sits right next to the Contoocook River. It was a fun evening and a great ending to our stay in New Hampshire. Sightseeing the Cape We ended the month arriving at my Aunt Marge's house on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Next month we will be doing some sightseeing around southern Massachusetts and the Cape as well as heading back to Michigan to visit family before turning south to find warmer weather. |