New England Fall Trip - Sept 25 - 30, 2007

September 30 (Sunday) was another driving day. We drove 260 miles from Houlton, Maine to Amherst, NS, Canada. The temperature dropped down into the 30's last night. When we woke up this morning one of our camping neighbors at the Houlton Wal-Mart was a guy on a motorcycle in a tent. He wasn't a young guy either... I told Ralph he could start taking his tent and sleeping bag with him. We left Houlton at 8:30 and had entered Canada at 8:50. The agent at the border came into the steps of the motor home and asked how much alcohol and tobacco we had and if we had any weapons (guns, pepper spray or knives). He also wanted to know how we knew the Lillicos. He questioned Ralph about his military service in Canada. Ralph "did good" this time... we didn't get detained like the last we did time going from Niagara Falls into Toronto when Ralph answered the questions about weapons... "I have nothing except my pocket knife." This led to a complete search of our rental car and my purse which was all we had in the car. I told him to answer a "yes or no" question with yes or no... don't try to be smart!

New Brunswick was pretty but very little traffic...saw one bear (dead on the side of the highway). Arrived in Nova Scotia around 1:00 pm and checked into Loch Lomond RV Park... nice park with a very strong Wi-Fi signal.

After getting settled and lunch, we drove to Prince Edward Island. Our main objective was to see the "Anne of Green Gables" house (the house Lucy Maud Montgomery based her story on). She grew up nearby. We were told at the information center that the house was open until 5:30... we arrived at 5:05 and they had closed at 5:00. Not to be outdone, we went in the exit and walked around the grounds and took pictures. The only things we didn't get to do there was see the inside of the house and buy the book at their gift shop.

I had read in Frommer's about Prince Edward Island's "Famous Lobster Suppers" at Fisherman's Wharf. Now I have not only read about them, but have experienced them also. The lobster was very good and they had a salad bar that was 60 feet long! Everything you could imagine was on this bar, including mussels. Our server was a very interesting young lady, she was working on her second degree at the University of PEI. She gave us a lot of Canadian geographical information... Canada has 10 provinces and 3 territories. I only knew about 2 territories - Yukon and Northwest. I think number 3 came from taking part of the Northwest territory. I don't know the name of the 3rd... another research project (in case I every get on Jeopardy). An added plus about this supper was that Jan and I were able to purchase the "Anne of Green Gables" book at their gift shop. This side trip to PEI was another 176 miles.

Update on my question about the three native fruits in North America: I have two winners... Emily answered it first and Loran came in second. They both were correct with Concord Grapes and Blueberries in addition to the Cranberries that I had given. I know they can't wait for their chocolate moose.

September 29 (Saturday) was a driving day. We drove 225 miles from Freeport, Main to Houlton, Maine just across the new Brunswick, Canadian border. We'll go into Canada tomorrow. It was a beautiful drive with very little traffic. After we arrived at the Wal-Mart in Houlton, Jan wanted to see the end of US 1 and get her picture made there as she had her picture made in Key West at the beginning of US 1 less than a month ago. We drove to Fort Kent, Maine to the end of US 1 and back to Houlton (another 190 plus miles; however, we did this in the car). We called this our "Moose Hunting Trip" as moose season has just opened. We saw no moose standing but did see two...one hanging from a wench and one in the back of a pickup truck. Ralph took a picture of the one in the back of the truck. The fellow that killed it said it probably would weigh 800 pounds dressed.

September 28 (Friday) events included breakfast at Isabella's in Freeport, Maine. Jim always talks to the "locals" before we go in to see what they tell us. The advertisement on the marque said "Isabella's as seen on TV" which we didn't understand...it might have been featured in a sitcom. After breakfast, off to LL Bean and would you believe we didn't buy anything; however, Jan and I hit Crabtree and Evelyn's and Dooney and Bourke. There are lots of high end shopping outlets here and I did have a bag (with a bag in it) when I came out of DB. We've decided that LL Bean owns Freeport and controls everything in it, included the arches of McDonalds. McDonalds is in an historic building and the arches are on a sign like one you see in front of a church. Freeport is very welcoming to campers and motor homes as they have a huge lot for parking. There were probably 20 or more motor homes/campers here last night. LL Bean had a concert at their outdoor theatre tonight and the entertainers were the Gatlin Brothers. We could hear it from the motor home. The motor home next to us was a couple with five children (all home schooled) from Pennsylvania. They are a gospel music group and he is a Baptist preacher. Ralph invited him to stay on our lot in Townsend if they ever get to East Tennessee.

September 27 (Thursday) Today was another beautiful day. We left Cape Cod and all of it's riches and alternative life styles behind and headed toward Plymouth. Plymouth Rock is on the sand but has a open rail around it. It is only 1/3 of its original size and I told Jan they will probably enclosed it completely before long... like they did the Liberty Bell. The first time we both saw the Liberty Bell it was out in the open and last Fall when we were in Philadelphia, security was tight to get into the building. The Mayflower II (replica of the Mayflower) is also at Plymouth and this is it's 50th birthday. Anyone who is 50 this year gets in free. We were wanting to see some cranberry bogs... and were told at the visitor center there are some near Plymouth and there is a Winery there also with most of it being made with the cranberries. There are three fruits the are native to the United States and the Cranberry is one... the first person to e-mail me with the other two (remmam@bellsouth.net) will get a chocolate moose from Len Libby's (more about Len Libby's later). Back to our Winery adventure... we drove into their drive way and almost immediately we had doubts about how were were going to get out. When you travel with a motor home towing a car, there is NO BACKING UP. You always, always plan your exit before you enter. The lady in the winery said she wondered where we were going when we came in there, even she didn't think we could make the loop... there was a circle driveway but it looked very narrow. Ralph and Jim started out walking the driveway loop, while Jan and I sampled about 6 kinds of cranberry wine. They came back from their 1/2 mile hike and said they thought we could get out, which we did without any problem. Once "on the road again" those of us that had requested the winery stop were almost afraid to suggest anything else. We got around Boston without any traffic problems...we took the outer loop and it was a beautiful drive into New Hampshire and Maine with Freeport (the home of LL Bean) being our destination. We're boon docking in the LL Bean parking lot tonight with several other motorhomes. The couple next to us is returning from Nova Scotia... we're hoping to get some tips from them tomorrow about where to stay, etc. The leaves have started changing and it is not dry here like it has been at home. So much for tonight...as my battery is beginning to run down and I don't want to start the generator this late. Jan and I are going to hit LL Bean early tomorrow. They are open 24/7 and I believe 365 days a year. (216 miles)

September 26 (Wednesday) Martha's Vineyard was on our agenda today... had to drive to Woods Hole, Cape Cod to catch the ferry. It took 45 minutes to get to the island and then we took a tour. Our tour guide, Bruce, was like a bus driver, tour guide, stand up comedian all in one. Three things you do not see on the island are high rise buildings, traffic lights, and franchises (i.e. Wal-Marts, McDonalds, Burger Kings, etc). Bruce said that Dairy Queen is there and has been there since the early 60s, also, Stop and Shop (a grocery chain) which bought out A&P years ago. McDonalds had been trying for over 5 years to get on the island but the people have been successful is keeping them out and the logo they used for their bumper sticker was "Keep Mac off of Martha." My brother might have liked to turn it around when we were growing up at home to "Keep Martha off of Mac" as I was the oldest and assumed the role of boss in our family. All in all, Martha's Vineyard is a very pretty, laid back island.

September 25 (Tuesday) Cape Cod (from one end to the other and back) was our goal today. If you look at a map of Cape Cod, it looks like a foot (a jester's foot with the turned up toe). We started at the back of the ankle, went down and around the heel, across the bottom of the foot to the toe and then across the top back up to the front of the ankle. It took 10 hours. The Cape has several lighthouses which I will post when I can get time to get my pictures organized. We had an early dinner in Provincetown at the Lobster Pot...very good food! Jan is waiting to get to Maine before she tries lobster. Some of their Lobster look like they weighed 5 pounds.... largest lobsters I've ever seen. Jim tried to buy some from a guy on the pier but he said he couldn't sell to us, he had to go through a fish broker. Provincetown probably has more alternative lifestyle people living there than any other place I've been other than San Francisco. Ralph kept going around asking "where are all of the cowboys?" You'll have to ask him about this when you see him in person as I can't put it in my writings. It is interesting to watch people and try to decide if they are men or women!!!!!

New England Fall Trip - Sept 16 - 24, 2007

September 24: Hating to leave the lovely area of Mystic, CT, we headed up US Hwy 1... destination Cape Cod. We stopped off at Newport, RI. Jim wanted to see the Newport Yacht Club...lots of big, expensive boats and the scenery looks like a post card. We ate lunch at the Red Parrott and then walked around in the historic area. Arriving in Cade Cod, we checked into the Bay View Campground, Bourne, MA. Drove 97 miles today. Tomorrow we're going to explore the Cape and take the ferry to Martha's Vineyard. The is the first time I've really had a strong W-Fi signal in the motorhome.

Septembe 23: Mystic, CT is a very unique place... very easy to get around in and very pretty scenery. Ralph bought a "Marine Corps do-rag" at the Army Navy Store. We had lunch at Mystic Pizza... the pizza that made Julia Robert's first movie "Mystic Pizza" famous. The pizza was very good. After lunch we stopped at the historic seaport and Ralph got an extra treat... an antique car show was there and they had several antique motorcycles. The homes across from the seaport are unbelieveable... lot's of old and famous money in this area. Dinner was at Seahorse Seafood Restaurant and Ralph had his first (of many, I'm sure) New England Lobster... I have some before and after pictures of the lobster. Thanks to Jan's and Ralph's lobster bibs, we each now have a glass that says, "Stolen From Seahorse Restaurant, Noank, CT."

September 22: Left NJ this morning and noticed that we (and one truck driver) had the parking lot to ourselves. This was not a super Walmart so everything was quiet after 11:00 p.m Traffic was heavy once we got to Northern Jersey... and it took over two hours to cross the George Washington Bridge form NJ into NY... WE SURVIVED! The biggest problem was 14 lanes of traffic coming from paying the toll going into FOUR lanes of traffic across the bridge. Ralph would make a good NYC taxi driver; however, he has NOT learned how to blow his horn yet! We arrived in Mystic, CT (216 miles) around 4 00 p.m. and checked into Seaport Campground.. really nice with large sites. The people behind us were from California...originally from Tennessee, he from Nashville and she from Rockwood. After talking to her, I found out she knew Joy Simmons Lee (my roommate 47 years ago at Carson-Newman). It's a small world.

September 21: Left Chesapeake at 8:30 a.m. ... destination Cinniminson, NJ (274 miles today) to have dinner with my cousin Wink McCarter and his wife Jane. By-passed Washington, DC and Baltimore; however, we went right through the middle of Philadelphia. Ralph is getting pretty good at city driving. We "checked in" to our Walmart Campground before going the two miles to the McCarter home. Jan had a wonderful dinner and Jim told her he wished he had brought a doggie bag. They are going on a cruise September 27th, crusing up the Eastern coast, with Nova Scotia being one of their stops. My cousin, Barbara and her husband, Cholie, came over and visited with us while we were there. I had not seen Barbara in about 14 years when we all met in DC for a long week-end.

September 20: We went to Yorktown. This is where the British (Cornwallis) surrendered to General George Washington at the last major battle of the Revolutionary War.

September 19: We met Jim and Jan yesterday at a rest area on I-95 arriving 15 minutes apart... pretty good timing with them coming from St. Petersburg and us from Maryville! (324 miles driven yesterday). Thousand Trails Chesapeake Bay Preserve is a great preserve, very flat and right on the water...the Piankatank River and the good thing about this park is that I get Wi-Fi in the motorhome. We spent all day Wednesday at Colonial Williamsburg. I learned some trivia that might help sometime if I ever get on Jeopardy.

September 17: We left home on Sunday, Sept 16. The weather was cool and sunny. Arrived at the Forest Lake Thousand Trails Preserves (248 miles) around 2:00 p.m. This is one of our Thousand Trails home park and it's a very nice park. It's between Mocksville and Lexington, NC. The plan is to meet the Lillico's (Jim and Jan) somewhere on I-95 (they're in Florence, SC tonight at Walmart... you've not camped until you camp at Walmart). We've seen several couples that were in Orlando this past winter. More will follow when we get to Chesapeake Bay, VA. For those of you who don't know the Lillicos... they're our friends (originally from Pittsburgh) now living in Seminole, Florida (near the St. Pete/Clearwater area). We met them in Townsend as they also have a lot in Sundown. This is the second motorhoming trip we've taken with them. We spent two weeks with them in Hershey and Philadelphis, PA and New York City last fall.