Maine

Before leaving California on July 30, 2013, we had been a little worried about the weather on the east coast and being this far north into October.  But the weather has been spectacular.  Cool nights, warm days and lots of sunshine.  It just can't get better than this!  The coast of Maine is absolutely beautiful if you like quaint little villages, spectacular fall colors, and not a lot of tourists (comparatively speaking) because it's after Labor Day.  I don't think I would have the same opinion if I was here during the height of the summer season.  There are hundreds, if not thousands, of resorts, B & B's, cottages and motels and they all seem to be surviving. Trying to drive through those quaint little villages with hordes of tourists could take forever!  

Our first stop was on the southern coast of Maine, in the town of Wells which was founded in 1643, which is not unique because I think every town we drove through was founded in the 1600's or 1700's.   From here we visited Kennebunkport, Orgunquit, and Freeport, the home of LL Bean and points in between.  But we missed Lenny, the 1700 pound, life-size chocolate moose, in Scarborough.  We passed him on our way to see something else and thought we'd be coming back the same way.  Alas, our route changed and we didn't make it back.  

Marginal Way Walk, Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine

A make-believe lighthouse

Marginal Way Walk, Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine

A beautiful sailing day, Orgunquit, Maine

Marginal Way Walk, Perkins Cove, Ogunquit, Maine

Cape Neddick Light aka Nubble Light, York, Maine, est. in 1879 - Southernmost of Maine's lighthouses

One of many old churches we've seen in the northeast

Portland Head Light, the oldest lighthouse in Maine went into operation on January 10, 1791.  Fort Williams Park, Cape Elizabeth, Maine

Ram Island Ledge Light, est. 1905, Casco Bay, Maine, as seen from Portland Head Light

The flag flying over Fort Williams

Fort Williams was a military installation begun in1873 and guarded the entrance to Casco Bay. It was an active military base until 1964. 

Cape Elizabeth Light aka Two Lights, est. 1828.  Originally, there were two lights but the west light was discontinued in 1855.

Just a house in Kennebunkport

And more houses in Kennebunkport

Kennebunkport, Maine

Kennebunkport

Kennebunkport

St. Ann's Episcopal Church, building began in 1887 and the church was consecrated in August, 1892.  It has been used as a summer chapel since that time.  Kennebunkport, Maine

Lutheran Church, Kennebunkport

First Families Museum at White Columns, a Greek Revival home built in 1853.  It has exhibitions covering two centuries of Kennebunkport history, mostly things donated by the Bush family.  It is staffed mostly by volunteers and a paid historian who gave us an excellent tour.  She told us a story about one of the volunteers that was quite humorous.  It seems that one day a well-dressed lady came in wearing a summer hat and dark glasses, with a young child in tow, followed by a couple of men in business suits.  Seeing the donation box, the lady dropped a $20 bill into it and then wanted to enter the museum.  The volunteer told her it would be $7 to enter the museum.  The lady said she just put $20 into the donation box but the volunteer was adamant that anyone wanting to enter "her museum" had to pay the $7 entry fee.  So, out comes another $7, (children get in free) and the lady entered the museum.  Now, the men in suits had not said a word up to this time but after the visitors had left the room, they asked the volunteer if she had any idea who the lady was.  When she said "no", they told her it was Laura Bush.  The poor volunteer about died!!!

Village Baptist Church, Kennebunkport 

Bush compound on Walker's Point, Kennebunkport

The Bush compound was purchased by President George H. W. Bush's great-grandfather, David Davis Walker, and Walker's, son George H. Walker, in the late 19th century.  Although it has remained in the family, it was not handed down from one generation to the next.  You can't see the wind turbine, but #41 had it installed so he could be 'greener' than Al Gore!

Bush compound, Walker's Point, Kennebunkport

My first lobstah dinner at Mike's Clam Shack, Wells, Maine.  I had never had a whole lobster before, let alone two!  The only kind I had ever eaten was 'lazy man's' lobster, a tail that had been removed from the shell.  So, how does one eat a whole lobster?  Fortunately, the hostess was there to give me a lesson on how to eat it!  Ooooh, it was soooo good!!!  Can't wait for the next one.

Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, on the way to Moody Beach, Wells, Maine

The morning we left Wells, we encountered a little fog but it didn't last.

 Our destination on Sunday, September 29, 2013, was Narrows Too RV Park in Bar Harbor, Maine.  Acadia National Park is located in Bar Harbor and ever since I got my first LL Bean catalog, I had wanted to go there.  LL Bean did a lot of their photo shoots at the park and the pictures were always beautiful.  Usually when we arrive at an RV park, we get set up and then just 'hang out' for the rest of the day if we're staying more than a day.  Sightseeing begins the next day.  But, this particular day, our plans changed.  As we were checking in, we were told that if we wanted to see Acadia, we should see it that day and/or Monday because the government was probably closing down on Tuesday, October 1, because Congress had not passed a budget and most likely wouldn't do it on Monday.  I would have been very disappointed to have come this far and not been able to see it.  By the way, Acadia National Park is on a somewhat small island, Mt. Desert Island, so we were able to drive all around it.  I just can't describe how beautiful it was.

The view from our motorhome at Too Narrows RV Park

Sunset at the RV park

Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park

Acadia National Park

Emerald Princess at anchor in Frenchman Bay, Bar Harbor, Maine

From the top of Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine

Along Hwy. 3, Bar Harbor, Maine

Along the Shore Walk, Bar Harbor, Maine

This message went up on October 1, after Congress failed to pass a budget.

Along Hwy. 230, Trenton, Maine, on a morning walk

Near Bass Harbor Light, Mt. Desert Island

Along Hwy. 230, Trenton, Maine

Along Hwy. 230, Trenton, Maine

Taken from Thurston's Lobster Pound which is where we had lunch (more lobster!) , Bernard, Maine

Bass Harbor Light, built in 1858

Somesville, Mt. Desert Island, Maine

Somesville, Mt. Desert Island, Maine

Somesville, Mt. Desert Island, Maine

Northeast Harbor, Mt. Desert Island, Maine

Next stop:  Gorham, New Hampshire, in the White Mountains

Massachusetts with a side trip to Connecticut

Our stay in Sturbridge, Massachusetts started with a side-trip to a Southbridge tire shop to buy four more new tires for the motorhome.  Two tires had been replaced in Syracuse, New York.  Our plan was to replace two rear tires that had a wear problem and leave the other four until a much later date.  The new tires were to go on the front which meant they had to move the two existing front tires to the rear.  To make a long story short, the front tires were damaged when they were removed so now we still had two bad tires.  We never knew it could be so difficult to buy new tires.  Tire shops could get the tires but couldn't get us in for two weeks and since we weren't staying in any one place for two weeks we couldn't get them replaced until we got to Sturbridge and a shop in a nearby town could do it.  Now we have all new tires, at least we don't have to think about it for a long, long time.

The sign should say "Massachusetts Welcomes You and Your Money!"

Southbridge Town Hall, built in 1888

Southbridge Fire Department, Massachusetts, built in 1899

Church in Southbridge, Massachusetts

OLD STURBRIDGE VILLAGE, MASSACHUSETTS

An 1830's New England Village

Meetinghouse built in 1832 in Sturbridge, moved to its current location in 1947  

Pottery kiln, this is actually a reproduction

School - Kids went to school 5 1/2 days a week, there were no grades or graduation, they started school at about 4 years of age, students went to school until their parents thought they had learned enough or their help was needed at home

Quinebaug River

Dummerston Bridge over Quinebaug River, was built around 1870 in Vermont, it was dismantled and moved to Old Sturbridge Village in 1952.

The Towne House, built in 1796 in Charlton, Massachusetts

MYSTIC, CONNECTICUT

While staying at Sturbridge, Massachusetts, we drove to Mystic, Connecticut, and then to Rhode Island.  We only went a short distance into Rhode Island so we missed all the spectacular mansions in Newport, but that was okay.  We probably will not drive to the east coast again so we want to see all that we can while we're here so the miles just keep adding up!   That's one thing about the east coast, the states are small so it doesn't take much time at all to drive from one to another.  

The Charles W. Morgan, the last wooden whaling ship in the world, was launched on July 21, 1841 and has survived Confederate raiders, fires, storms, sailing around Cape Horn and even a hurricane.

Figureheads from old ships

Anything with the name 'Denison' is worth photographing only because that's my maiden name!

Our only picture taken in Rhode Island!

BACK TO BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

Boston is about 60 miles or so from Sturbridge and after talking to some locals about traffic and parking in Boston, we decided to take the commuter train from Worcester to Boston.  The train begins and ends in Worcester so we were among the first passengers on and didn't have to worry about seats.  It was a very pleasant ride and after a day of sightseeing in Boston, we were very happy to board the train back to Worcester and leave the driving to someone else.  At the train station in Boston there are a number of trolley companies offering tours so we hopped on a trolley and were off to see the sights.  

We got off the trolley at Cheers, which is in the Beacon Hill neighborhood, and while the outside looked just like it did on the 1980's TV sitcom, the interior wasn't anything like the TV show.  They did have a 'set' bar upstairs that slightly resembled the television program but it was still fun to be there.  After lunch, we ditched the trolley and walked along Beacon Hill back to the downtown area following the Freedom Trail.  

The place was packed and it was noisy but lunch was good

Humph!  They didn't know my name!  Oh, well, it was still fun to have a beer and lunch at Cheers!

Old State House, built in 1713, served as the seat of Colonial and State governments.  It is also the site of the Boston Massacre in 1770 when British soldiers fired into a crowd of Bostonians killing five people.

Fanueil Hall, built in 1742, was an old market building and meeting place where Samuel Adams and others gave speeches encouraging independence from Great Britain.  The statue of Samuel Adams is said to be as he appeared after demanding of the Governor the British troops be removed from Boston after the Boston Massacre.

Paul Revere's house (the smaller wood-sided building)

St. Stephen's Church was a Unitarian Church when Charles Bulfinch designed it in 1804 but 58 years later it was given a Catholic identity when the North End was mostly Irish.  Charles Bulfinch, 1763 to 1844,  was an early American architect who designed a number of buildings in Boston.

The Old North Church, built in 1722, is Boston's oldest church building.  The church was memorialized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere", at the beginning of the American Revolution on April  18, 1775.

Bunker Hill Monument, dedicated in 1843, is 221-feet tall.  It commemorates the American Revolution's first major battle.

Boston skyline

One of the ferry terminals

Boston skyline

Another view of Fanueil Hall

Massachusetts State House, completed in 1798, designed by Charles Bulfinch

Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge over the Charles River, opened in 2003 

We saw quite a few of these bumper protectors in Boston and New York.  When cars park on the street there may be only inches between cars.  We often wondered how people parked their cars in so little space.  I guess you back up until you hit the car behind you, that's why you need bumper pads. What they really need is side thrusters!!!

Time to continue north so it's goodbye Massachusetts, hello Maine!