Sept. 25 Oh, Canada

Sept. 25

We took off for Canada this morning! A large part of the road was under construction which made for a rather tense situation, especially in the towns. The first part of the trip was glorious with color. The road through upper Maine was so scenic. There was a beautiful winding river along the road, the leaves are turning now and many are in full color. They’ve told us that by the time we get to Vermont, the color should be at peak.
We had no problems at customs. I’ve heard that sometimes it can be pretty harrowing; cars may be searched, people questioned at length and even detained if they are suspicious. I told Joe not to frown and squint his eyes like he does sometimes when he’s trying to see something, for fear they may interpret him as hostile.

Last night there was an optional dinner at a restaurant in Old Town Quebec. Since we had spent our 30th anniversary at Quebec, we decided to split from the group and go to the same restaurant where we ate 13 years ago. It was a sweet outdoor café and we had a wonderful meal. There was a saxophone player performing on the sidewalk right next to the café. It felt just like what I think Paris would feel like. We then walked down several levels of streets to the hotel we stayed in those many years ago. We took some pictures of the outside, but did not go in to see if our “old” room was vacant (for pictures of course). Door to Auberge Saint Antoinne where we stayed on our 30th anniversary.

Sept. 26 Today we had a bus tour of Old Town Quebec and the countryside. Our tour guide was a local French C+anadian and he was wonderful. He gave us so much history and insights into the establishment and development of Quebec. In the countryside, we saw the Montmorency Falls, had lunch overlooking the Saint Lawrence River and then went to a family owned cooper shop.



Saint Anne's Basilica


The man who started the business designed and made the solid copper doors of Saint Anne’s basilica. We visited Saint Annes and it was a sight to behold. The tour lasted all day but it was the highlight of our trip – so far.
The guide told us about the many advantages of living in Quebec, like socialized education, medicine and insurance. A nice house close to the river can be had for about $200,00. and their environment is one of the best in the world. Sounded pretty good to me, then he mentioned the average winter snowfall here is 10-20 feet. “Good feeling gone.”



We have one more day and night here before we head back to the states to New Hampshire.

Sept. 23-24 Bar Harbor

Sept. 22-23 Bar Harbor My Oh My – We have seen some of the most beautiful places on this earth. I’ve not been able to post lately because we’ve been going so much and at times have had no internet connection. Right this min. we’re in Quebec, Canada but I’ll back up and mention a few of the other things we’ve done.
While in Bar Harbor (pronounced Ba Haba) , we rode out to see the highlights of Acadia National Park and the sites around the Bar Harbor area. We went to Scoodic Point look out to see the ocean view and experience the lava rocks along the point. Although it’s been a little foggy these days, it was so beautiful to watch the boats, the waves and the sea gulls.
On the 23rd, we all went to breakfast at a restaurant right on the water. Had blueberry pancakes, (blueberries are abundant here), sausage and bacon.

We drove to Cadillac Mountain, which is a little over 1,500 ft, the highest mountain on the east coast line. It was an extremely curvy road but well worth the drive. There was a big cruise ship in the water with a small sail boat next to it. They looked like little toys from where we were. Beginning to see some spotty color on the trees – a sign of good things to come.

We went to a restaurant in the park and had seafood chowder (pronounced chowda) and “real” popovers with jam. Again, had a fantastic view overlooking a large lake.

Rode through the quaint town of Bar Harbor.

Sept. 24, Caravaned to Palmyra, ME. I must say the experience of caravaning has been a challenge for me. Depending on the traffic, it can sometimes be very tense keeping up with the group. Thanks to our wonderful GPS, Wanda Woman, we’ve not gotten lost – yet. The night before a travel day the wagomaster has a meeting with us and reviews the route for the next day. This tour has been a great investment. We’ve already gotten more than our money’s worth and the two couples heading up this trip have worked hard to provide us with a good travel experience. They are likeable people and ever so patient with us. We never would have known how to find the interesting places they’ve taken us and we haven’t been rushed.
. About 10 of the ladies wanted to learn to hula, so we had our first lesson tonight. We had a great time and they laughed and giggled the whole time. They are anxious to continue but so far we just haven’t had the time.
Tonight the wagonmaster had a hot dog supper for us with all the trimmings and prepared us for our venture through Canadian customs

Sept. 21 Camden, ME

Sept. 21 Today we loaded up in cars and went to Camden, ME. It's another quaint, beautiful coastal town. On the way to Camden, we drove through Thomaston and went in the Maine State Prison Showroom. (No, it wasn't to visit any of our wayward relatives.) The actual prison was closed and relocated, but the program of training prisoners in the areas of agriculture and woodworking still remains active. The showroom had handcrafted products including furniture, bookcases, model ships, and various other items. The quality and craftsmanship of these items was amazing. This building is part of the prison where the movie "The Shawshank Redemption" was filmed.

Drove up into Camden State Park where we had an amazing view from the top of the mountain overlooking the Camden harbor. The weather has been just perfect for these outings. It's overcast but no rain.

On our way to another scenic route we stopped at a little village that had a Narrow Gauge Railroad. We rode the train around this area and visited the restored historical buildings of this 1847 town.

We then rode over to East Boothbay for a 12-mile scenic drive. It was even more beautiful than what we've already seen. It's looked like something from a picture book. The houses are various styles from cottage to Victorian to Alpine. It was the most perfect little coastal town I've ever seen. Pictures just can't do this place justice.

Sept. 20 Harbor Cruise, etc.

Me, Paula, Shirley and David ready for that lobster.

David and ShirleyBoothbay Harbor from our boat.



Church across from the bay
Capt'n Joe headng out to sea.


Sept. 20 We all went to a lobster supper last night and it was super fun and very good food. Today we went on the "Captain Fish" cruise boat for a two hour tour of the Harbor. Had lunch and shopped the quaint little town of Boothbay.

Sept.19 Boothbay Harbor, ME

Sept. 18 Pictures of our last day/night at Wassamki Springs. We played bingo with the locals and met this sweet lady who works at the campground during summers and winters in Florida. The moose head between us was not road kill. There are supoose to be plenty of them around here but haven't seen one on the road, thank goodness.

Sept. 19 We met up with the tour group yesterday, did some shopping at Walmart and went to supper with everyone at Ruby Tuesday's. Most of the other rigs are BIG ones. You can see little Chuckie, standing proud between the big-un's. We drove through Bellgrade Lakes which is a gorgeous area outside Augusta. This picture does not do it justice. This is where parts of "On Golden Pond" were filmed.

The folks are easy to get along with and from very interesting backgrounds. We drove a short distance over to Boothbay Harbor today and will be here 3 days. Tonight we go to eat lobster - yuuuuummm! Tomorow we go on a boat cruise around the harbor, then we're off to see Camden ME, drive up Cadillac Mnt., visit the Maine Prison where the inmates make fabulous handcrafted things like boats, etc. One of the couples has been taking us with them in their car. Other activities for tomorrow are the Maine Maritime Museum, LLBean Store in Freeport and a drive up to Ocean Point in East Boothbay.

Sept. 17 Wassamki Springs, ME

Sept. 17 Wed., I think. We've been here for two days and we've needed every min. of that time. As you can see in the pictures, this is a very pretty place. The people are friendly, it's quiet except for the occassional jets overhead from Portland and the weather is fabulous. Joe has had a chance to get his housework done while I give my driving arms a rest. Actually, I have cooked a pot of soup, helped with the laundry and cleaned up the rig. We filled the propane tank yesterday. We're going to need that for the heater. It's cold at night up here. Sleeping like a baby.

Sept. 15 On to Maine

Sept. 15 Left Shenandoah Valley at 10:30 after a final gathering with LD folks. They really helped us plot our trip and locate campgrounds between here and Maine. Stopped at a Cracker Barrel around 11:30 for "brunch" and then headed on up I81 north. Stopped for the night at Lickdale PA, a pretty nice place with a country store and ice cream parlor. Now you're talkin'! Picture at right.

Still lots of truckers to deal with but no major problems. We listen to the CB to find out about problems on the road or police near by. One thing I won't get on this trip is a speeding ticket. I'm too scared to speed! Sometimes they (truckers) get into various "other" discussions and we turn it off. I have found they are usually very courteous to an RV and will let us in on merges better than cars do. Today was a short day, about 5 hours of driving. We have plenty of time, so there's no need to push it.

This is new geography for us. We've never been this far north in Chuckie. Everyone has assured me that, with the exception of Hartford, Conn., this route is pretty easy. Once I get us to Maine, the wagonmaster does all the route planning and campground reservations. We stopped at Milford PA to check out a campground, but decided it was too early to stop.

We headed on thru New Jersey and New York on I84

to Southbury Conn. Found a beautiful State Park,

Kettletown, that I had looked up prior to leaving home. No hookups, but that's OK. We have battery power and our own water. That's the beauty of this rig, its totally independent when necessary. Picture at right. There's a gorgeous lake here and we got a site with a fairly good view. Plan to battle Hartford in the morning and head to Littleton, Mass. for tomorrow night.

Sept. 16 The Pocono Mountains were super and the Hudson River Valley was post card perfect. Didn't stop for photos - too much traffic to pull off. Didn't need air conditioning all day.

Left Kettletown at (9AM). We've decided to hit Hartford early and drive on to Scarborough Maine instead of stopping at Littleton. We really need two days in one place to get laundry, house cleaning and tank refills before beginning our 23 day tour. All but one of the campgrounds on the tour will have hook-ups so water and elec. will be provided.

6PM We made it through Hartford without a glitch. "Wanda Woman" (GPS) and "Truck Driven Woman" at the wheel - piece a' cake. We're at Wassamki Springs Campground in Scarborough, ME for two days. We're only an hour away from our destination, Augusta ME. Nice break.