What Have We Done This Last Month? Oh....been in 5 States, traveled well over 1600 miles, took hundreds of pictures AND waited out a hurricane!

Just to set everyone's mind at ease - we weathered Hurricane Irene just fine here in Bangor, Maine. We arrived in Bangor on August 21st after traveling from “Downeast Maine” (at a campground just south of the Maine/Canada border near the town of Robbinston, Maine) and we both realized that our pace of traveling was starting to catch up to our "old" bodies. We felt like we had the RVer's equivalent of jet lag.

We left our MMAP project at Miracle Mountain Ranch in Pennsylvania on July 26^th and have clocked in over 1600 miles, been in five states, stayed at 9 different campgrounds, taken hundreds of pictures and seen countless sights……wheeew….we needed to catch our breath!

After leaving Pennsylvania, we stopped off in Cooperstown, New York (home of the Baseball Hall of Fame) for 3 days, on to the Thousand Island region of New York on the St. Lawrence Seaway ( a place where Jim spent summers as a child) for 4 days. We then spent 9 days in Vermont and on to New Hampshire for 4 days. We came into Maine on August 14th, stayed at a campground near Bar Harbor for 4 days then moved on to Robbinston for 3 days and were planning on stopping at Bangor for 5 days before heading south to Kennebunkport, right on the coast of Maine.

However, "Irene" changed our minds! So we canceled the reservations at Kennebunkport and stayed on in Bangor to wait her out. By the time she hit here on Sunday she was just a tropical storm and all we experienced was some heavy rain for about 15 hours, wind gusts around 60 mph, and a power outage from 4pm until 11pm.  This was a view out of our door looking through the rain at the neighbor's rig and the RVpark beyond~

The only damage in the RV park was this tree the uprooted. Fortunately it was away from the RV sites and did no damage.

 By the next day the skies were bright blue and the temperature was a mild 75. The rest of the week is supposed to be gorgeous. The area here was (as those of you who keep up with the news know) very fortunate in comparison to other places in the hurricane's path. We are scheduled to head down to the Boston area on the 30th, but will call ahead to see if that campground is up and running. In the meantime - we'd like to give you a partial update on our experiences this past month.

The Maine term “downeast” refers generally to the less populated southeast part of the state from around Penobscot Bay east to Lubec (the most eastern place in the US just across a bridge from Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada), and north from the tip of Acadia National Park (and islands south of that) to points approximately 160 miles north, somewhere near the small town of Danforth, Maine. It seems a strange terminology to us. We’re not sure why locals just don’t say “southeast Maine” – but there is a lot of “Maine Speak” that fascinates us. 

 

For example, if you’re getting away and heading inland to a rustic pond or lakeside retreat you’re not just going camping – you’re “goin’ upta camp.” Such as our first Maine stop at Balsam Cove Campground on Toddy Pond near Orland, ME. 

Or if you think the lobster dinner you just ate was exceedingly tasty, it’s not just a good meal….it’s “a wicked good suppah”. (“Wicked good” seems to describe a lot of things one likes a lot.)

 

And, by the way, lobsters are referred to as “bugs” (as in “How about havin’ some boiled bugs for dinnah?”) 

Here's Jim havin' one of those famous "lobstah dinnahs" - a fresh caught 2 pound lobster, fried clams, mussels, boiled red potatoes, corn on the cob, topped off with a piece of fresh Maine wild blueberry pie! OH MY!!

A boiled bug....Yum!

We also found out that we are not just travelers from another state – but rather PFA’s (People from away) – also “flatlandahs” or “outta-statas”. A local Maine funnyman, Tim Sample puts it like this: “Mainers are simply holding on tenaciously to the one thing that cannot be acquired with all the wealth, power, education, begging, wishing, hoping and arm twisting: A Maine birth certificate.”

However, some locals think our dog, Zoe is “cunnin” (cute or adorable), and so far I’ve not been accused of “talkin’ the paint off a barn wall” (meaning: being a chatterbox), nor has Jim been told he is “numma than a hake”. (“Numb” means someone is dumb or dim; and a hake is a ground fish that is much maligned worldwide for being slow and stupid.) I suppose we’re doin’ just fine for a couple ‘a outta-statas” who spend a lotta time “goin’ upta camp”. [By the way, nobody in Main says “A’yuh.”]

 An interesting sign seen along the road. Anybody know what it means?

(The answer will be at the end of the blog update.)

Before our readers claim that I am “talkin’ the paint off the barn wall”, let me get on with pictures and descriptions of the "Maine part" of our travel adventures. (That's a Maine joke folks!)

Because we've covered so much ground in the last month, we don't want to overwhelm our readers, so we'll limit this update to just the things we have seen and done in Maine in the last 15-16 days. In a week or so we hope to add another update that should catch you up to our sightseeing during the time we were on project in Pennsylvania in June and July,  then on to all the rest of our adventures after leaving the project until we arrived in Maine.

SO MUCH IN THE PAST MONTH…….So, hold on…..here we go…….

MAINE: It's a big place with so much to see, and we only had an opportunity to experience just a bit of the state along the eastern coast. What we did see, however reminded us a lot of the green and water views of Washington state.

Our first stop was in Orland at Balsam Cove Campground. It is a great campground that sits right on Toddy Pond, a very serene lake with a 10 miles shoreline. This location was perfect to take a couple of day trips to the town of Bar Harbor and to Acadia National Park, less than an hour away.

Bar Harbor

Bar Harbor is a famous summer colony of Maine and home to the largest parts of Acadia National Park, including Cadillac Mountain the highest point within 25 miles of the coastline of the Eastern United States. The native tribes seasonally fished, hunted and gathered berries, clams, and other shellfish in the area. It was first settled by white men in 1763. The first hotel was established in 1855. By 1880, there were 30 hotels, with tourists arriving by train and ferry to the Gilded Age resort that would rival Newport, Rhode Island. Many of the rich and famous built palatial summer houses here. Now, Bar Harbor is a destination for tourists from all over the world. Cruise ships are in the harbor from May through October.

Our first meal with lobster was this lunch of a salad wedge and a yummy cup of corn chowder with big chunks of lobster.

Views of the harbor

We saw lots of roadside signs in Vermont and New Hampshire advising to "Beware of Moose" but we didn't come in to contact with one until we arrived in Maine. This was him!

Lobster Boy!

It sure was tempting to "treat" ourselves to this fresh wild blueberry pie and blueberry muffins cooling in the open window of the local bakery!

But we were good kids and stopped into the shop to pay for a piece of the pie.

Acadia National Park
Acadia National Park was originally created as Lafayette National Park in 1919, the first National Park East of the Mississippi, but was renamed Acadia in 1929. In total, it consists of more than 47,000 acres (73 square miles) which includes mountains, an ocean shoreline, woodlands, and lakes.

On Cadillac Mountain in Acadia, overlooking the town of Bar Harbor with a view of a cruise ship in port.

Huge homes sit along the coast within the park boundry

From Orland we traveled 115 or so miles "downeast" to Robbinston, almost midway between Calais and Eastport, Maine.

Hilltop Campground in Robbinston is well named. On a clear day it provides a view down the hill to Passamaquoddy Bay and across the water to St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada

On the drive from Robbinston down to Eastport, we passed by this interesting sight.

We never quite figured out what the "artist" was trying to convey.

But the dressed up stick figures were quite interesting.

Eastport is located about 15 miles southeast of Robbinston and is the easternmost city in the continental United States (although nearby Lubec is the easternmost municipality). Eastport is also a port of entry with an international ferry crossing to Deer Island, New Brunswick during the summer months.

It was here we located the fantastic "lobstah dinnah", but also got a couple of photos around the village. This statue stands at the town harbor.This 12 foot tall fisherman was built as a prop for the Hollywood/FOX shooting of Murder in Small Town X in 2000. Many call it the "Easternmost Goofy Statue" but we found it quite charming.

It was an overcast day on the water. Even though the skies had cleared out farther away from the water, the town never saw sun that day. You can almost hear the fog horn when you look at this picture.

We also came across these musicians giving a free concert at the water's edge. They were entertaining a small gathering of the townfolk with traditional seafaring songs and old ballads.

The second day in Robbinston, we took a drive down to Lubec, Maine and crossed over the bridge into New Brunswick, Canada to Campobello Island to visit the summer cottage of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. 

For many years, Roosevelt summered on Campobello Island in New Brunswick's Bay of Fundy. As an adult, he shared with his family the same active pursuits he enjoyed on the island as child. Although he visited less frequently after contracting polio, Campobello remained important to FDR.

The magnificent 34-room residence is today the centerpiece of Roosevelt-Campobello International Park, preserved as a memorial and as a symbol of the close friendship between Canada and the United States. Owned, funded, staffed, and administered by the peoples of both Canada and the United States, Roosevelt Campobello International Park is enjoyed by tens of thousands of visitors each year.

Although grander than any "cottage" any common person would ever have, we were nonetheless surprised at how simple and unpretentious it was for a President of the United States.

Another day of driving north out of Robbinston toward Calais, Maine we came across this small international historic site.

Saint Croix Island is the 1604 site of the first French attempt to colonize the territory they called l'Acadie and the location of one of the earliest European settlements in North America. Members of a French expedition led by Pierre Dugua, intending to colonize North America, settled the island in 1604. Seventy-nine members of the expedition, including Samuel Champlain, passed the severe winter of 1604-1605 on the island. Thirty-five settlers died, apparently of scurvy, and were buried in a small cemetery on Saint Croix Island. In spring 1605 the survivors left the island and founded the settlement of Port Royal, Nova Scotia. Saint Croix Island was settled by Huguenots (French Protestants) and Catholics, a rare example of religious tolerance between these two groups. The island is protected today as part of Saint Croix Island International Historic Site.

The actual island sits in the middle of the channel between the US and Canada.

The short trail from the road to the beach offered many displays telling about the history of St. Croix.

Near each display was a bronze life-sized figure that gave the information a much more realistic feel.

BANGOR

We stayed at the Pumpkin Patch RV Resort in Hermon, Maine (about 10 miles from Bangor). It is, by far one of the best RV campgrounds we have stayed at.

Prior to the rains from Irene setting in, we did have a couple of days of good weather that we used to catch up on laundry, shopping and other errands. But we did take one day to drive about 45 minutes south to the coast to visit the towns of Belfast and Camden.

BELFAST

Although Belfast has a small downtown section with shops, it is not as upscale and touristy as Camden

CAMDEN

This view of Camden harbor reminds me very much of looking down at Gig Harbor, Washington.
The only thing missing is a view of Mt. Rainier!

Looking up from the harbor, is a view of the town library - one of the Carnegie libraries that you see all over the northeast.

Even mid week, the town was full of tourists

Typical New England church

There were about a half dozen sailing vessels that were taking tourists for a 30-40 minute ride around the harbor and a short jaunt out into Penobscot Bay

The harbor was also full of several large craft of the obviously "rich and famous". (Notice the little dingy along side this yacht? That one might be within our budget! We are, as they say, the "poor and nameless".)

 

But money can't buy happiness - and we are, without a doubt, among the happiest of people! Even with the delay of sitting out a hurricane, we continue to feel so blessed that we are able to experience these travel adventures....and doubly blessed that God continues to take care of us. We also continue to think about all of you and pray for each one of you often.

The answer to the picture: Rinkles (or correctly - winkles) and whelks are univalves with ribbed spiral shells, similar in appearance to a snail. The meat is juicy with a strong flavor and chewy texture. To prepare them, you steam for 5 minutes and serve with lemon juice, salt & pepper or with the traditional malt vinegar and a winkle picker. (What the heck is a winkle picker???) Winkles have a much darker shell than whelks and are smaller (approx 3 cm). A whelk is approx 12 cm. [Aren't you glad you learned this little bit of useless trivia!] And no...we did not eat any....nor do we think we want to.

Until next update - Have a wicked good day!