Acadia National Park, ME, Day 2

View From Cadillac Mountain

Tuesday, July 26, 2016, Blackwoods Campground, Acadia National Park, ME, Day 2 - 0 Miles, 604.8 Miles for the Trip

Quite a bit of rain overnight. While Don & Anne in their Scamp & me in my Escape made out fine, Pete & Tina got a bit wet in the tent. Just enough to remind me why I switched to a trailer!

We made pancakes & bacon for breakfast, then hung around the campground for awhile. The plan was to hit Thunder Hole when the tide was right, but while we got there on time, the ocean was so calm that there wasn't much happening (other than a chance to do a lot of people watching.)

After Thunder Hole we drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain. The view was great, although it was a bit hazy. I took a few photos & made a panorama. On the way back to the campground we picked up some firewood so we could make S'Mores after dinner. More photos as well as a larger version of today's photo at today's LakeshoreImages page.

Dinner was grilled sausage or brats, mashed potatoes, and a tortellini salad.

Until next time -

Acadia National Park, Day 1

The Shore at Bar Harbor

Monday, July 25, 2016, Blackwoods Campground, Acadia National Park, ME 30.8 Miles, 604.8 Miles for the Trip

The reason we stayed at Lamoine State Park (other than I like the park) is that it is close to Acadia. Our plan was to get an early start, arriving during the morning so we could be sure of getting campsites together. It didn't quite work.

National Parks all have their way of dealing with sites. Some take reservations, some don't. For those that don't, finding any site can be interesting. I've had people come up to me at 7:00AM asking if I'm leaving & when. The trading that goes on would make Wall Street look tame.

For those that take reservations, some tell you at the time you make your reservations what site you will be in. At Arcadia, they take reservations, but you don't find out where you will be until you get there. As I said (well, typed) earlier, we arrived at 11:00AM thinking that would provide time for those leaving to pack up but be early enough to find our site if we had to do it on our own. The problem? While they do assign sites at the entrance station, they don't start doing it until 12:00. So, we hung around trying to stay out of traffic patterns until noon, at which time we had to drive all the way out of the park to come back & get in line. The did assign us two sites next door to each other since both reservations were under my name. They also require you to hang your National Park Pass on the mirror post - only one other park I've been to requires that.

I'm in site 32, a relatively easy back in site, Don is in site 33, a really tough back in site (did I tell you he really hates backing up?) In any case he got the Scamp in place. Pete & Tina are in site 37, a long walk up the road. The bathrooms are fairly close by, although the info on the park stated there were showers - not in our bathroom. There is a hand pump between Don & Pete's sites, but after 20 or so pumps, nothing came out. There is water in the bathrooms.  We did find pay showers just outside the campground entrance.

My site is one of the few in the park that has open sun. Great for the solar panels, however there is no Verizon or AT&T service, even with the outside antenna & amplifier. At least I can run the fan full speed without worrying about dragging down the batteries.

We are here for 3 days, so we can relax rather than packing up each morning.

Not sure when I'll post this as I said earlier, there is no cell service in the campground. I did find one WiFi network, but it was password protected, and I suspect they don't have a newtork connection either. If we go out shopping later, I'll haul the laptop & Jetpack along.

It is Tuesday, and I finally have a chance to post.  I'll probably have to wait until tomorrow to post today's journey.  Confusing?  Oh well...

Well, we went out, but I didn't take the laptop so the page will have to wait until tomorrow. We hit the Blowhole at the wrong time - probably better called wimper hole. The rest of the photos are at today's (well, yesterday's) LakeshoreImages page.

Until next time -

Lobster Dinner at Lamoine State Park, ME

Our First Lobster Dinner

Sunday, July 24, 2016, Lamoine State Park, ME 160.5 Miles, 574 Miles for the Trip

While the mileage was on the low side, we didn't hit Lamoine State Park until close to 4:00PM. The closer we got to the coast, the more crowded the roads. I'm in site 24, Don & Anne in 23, and Don's brother Pete & his wife Tina are in site 22. $37.70 for a dry site is a bit on the expensive side, but that is what happens in "VacationLand"! The last time I was here was on the trip to Nova Scotia.

Pete & Tina were planning on traveling in a large van, but it got sick on the first day, so they went back and got their car. They are now in a tent.

Since we are on the coast of Maine, the plan is to order some steamed lobsters delivered to our campsites for dinner. Not bad for $41.00 for 5 lobsters. I don't have a pot big enough to cook 5 of them so we can't do it ourselves. We will add some other things to the meal, along with a bottle of Wellesley Islamd 1000 Islands White Wine.  Site photos are at today's LakeshoreImages page.

The lobsters arrived & we had a great dinner:

Until next time -

Stony Brook Recreation, Hanover, ME

Champlain Memorial Lighthouse

Saturday, July 23, 2016, Stony Brook Recreation, Hanover, ME 189.4 Miles, 413.5 Miles for the Trip

Another early morning - I just can't get in the "vacation" mode, and sleep in. In any case, I sat around listening to NPR, had a yogurt for breakfast, made a pot of coffee, and slowly got the trailer ready to move. We did stop by the lighthouse for a picture on the way out of the campground.

Most of the day was spent crossing Vermont, New Hampshire and a bit of Maine on US 2. I did much of this section during my trip to Nova Scotia two years ago and don't remember US 2 being in as bad shape. Lots of patched road with lumps & bumps, but they are rebuilding some of the bridges - automatic stop lights to make use of one lane for both directions. We hit quite a bit of rain along the way. Unfortunately, my attempts at fixing the leak in the ARE topper were unsuccessful. I suspect if is leaking at the front of one of the side windows since I pretty much caulked or backer rodded the edges of the joint between the shell and the truck sides. I'll keep working at it, but I have to say that I have not been impressed by the ARE quality. Leaks, fiberglass shards on the inside, and at the top front, a window that isn't - there is a piece of smoked plastic that looks like a window from the outside, but a hole through the shell was never cut. Probably just as well, it would probably leak.

We pulled into Stony Brook Recreation campground around 3:30. The site map shows sites 5 & 6 (I'm in 6) next to each other. Only problem is the horse shoe pits, shuffle boards, etc are between the sites, so we are a long way apart. On top of that, I paid for an electric & water site, but the only electric & water is connected by sharing the pedestal at site 4, too far away for a 30' cord (and there is only one 30 amp receptacle (which is being used by the occupants of site 4) - I'm connected to a 15 amp receptacle with an adapter, my 30' cord & a 25' extension cord. Good thing it is raining & I don't need the air conditioner. I have to say this is not my favorite campground of this (or, probably any) trip. The site photos are at today's LakeshoreImages post.

Enough griping for the day; I'm probably whining because of the rain...

Since it is still raining, dinner will probably be Chimichangas nuked in Don & Anne's microwave. Even if it stops raining, the trees will keep dripping so we will want to stay inside.

Until next time -

Crown Point Campground, Crown Point, NY

Don & Anne Are Next Door

Friday, July 22, 2016, Crown Point Campground, Crown Point, NY, 224.1 Miles, 224.1 Miles for the Trip

I was up early - around 6:00AM, but still decided to skip my jog this morning - hey, I'm starting a vacation today. I puttered around with last minute packing, breakfast, etc and hit the road at 8:00AM. A pleasant drive through the Adirondacks much on NY 28, then US 9 and Bridge Road into the park. I arrived around 1:15 & set up in site 35, a dry site on grass. There is a grill & picnic table, but that is about it. The bathrooms are not too far away, and has a shower, which will be appreciated since it was 95°F when I got here, and hit 99°F by the end of the day. Now, at 7:40 it is still 87°F both in & out of the trailer.

Don & Anne arrived around 3:45, and we sat around sampling some 1000 Islands Blueberry wine. A bit sweet for me, but Anne liked it. We hung out until dinner, which was Bubba burgers & Bush Bourbon Beans.

The Champlain Memorial Lighthouse is in the park - I walked down to the lake to take a photo, and will drive to it for a better one tomorrow on the way out of the park. I also took a photo of some nice clouds over the lake. The rest of the photos are at today's LakeshoreImages page.

Until next time -