Cruising New England

Sorry it has been so long since the last post, but many of the campgrounds along the way are encased in trees allowing no satellite signal to get in or out. After leaving Pennsylvania, we clipped the northwest corner of New York State while on I-84. The run through this state was short lived, but what we saw was beautiful. The highways were well maintained and subtle changes in the trees and terrain let you know that you are getting further north. The next state was Conneticutt, the scenery was nice, but a lot of work could be done to the roads, particularly those bridge seams. I thought I was going to loose my front end just going over many of the bridges, especially through Hartford. The one thing I noticed driving up north is that there is no shortage of toll roads.

While individual sections are inexpensive, they add up after a while. Bring plenty of change. After CT came MA ad NH, both went by pretty quick and before we new it we were in Maine.

Our goal for the first New England stop was Boothbay, ME. We pulled it out of a hat as we had no prior knowledge of where to go. Proved to be a great choice. A little seaside town that regardless of the effect of tourism has retained much of its local charm. This is where we would start our gorging on lobster. The prices of this fabulous "bug" are about 1/3 to 1/2 the cost back in the south. And they really no how to prepare them.

Our first foray is to a recommended downtown restaurant that has a bit of local fame, Kaler's. Here we would start off with a couple local favs, fried lobster (Christa had this) and Mary's Lobster Pie (my choice). Both proved to be deliscious, we would visit Kaler's again before leaving.

At the camp site we were staying at, Little Ponderosa Campground north of Boothbay, we were next to a large inlet so, I had to break out the kayak. A beautiful setting, but pretty tame, I had an enjoyable paddle for a couple of hours before heading back to the RV and our next round of lobster feasting. A word here about the campground we stayed at. Little Ponderosa was a rustic and popular little park, we could only get 30 amp power and a 2 night stay, but this was OK. We made the best of our stay and would stay here again though the park down the road looked a bit more condusive to our use of a satellite.

For lunch we returned to Kaler's for a couple of the famous Lobster Rolls the region is famed for making. True to form the rolls were packed with whole lobster chunks very tasty. Mom had an ordwer of fried clams that looked worth stealing a couple (they were).

After a day of touring the city and doing quite a bit of shopping we finished the day off -of course- with lobster. This time the real thing, whole steamed lobster. We looked around at several temping locations before settling on Brown's Wharf. A view of the harbor, great atmosphere, and friendly staff we were totally satisfied.

The order placed, all we can do is wait for our meal to arrive.

Finally, what we have been waiting for- the real deal. Maine lobster at it's best, a side of cole slaw and a little bread make a total meal.

After a bit of dessert in the form of a fresh blueberry crisp and a scoop of ice cream we found ourselves in a totally satisfied state. After the meal we stopped by the outside pens where the lobsters are kept. Here one of the cooks takes the time to show us one of the "Hard Shell" giants they regularly serve up.

The next day we had to continue on the road. I have to admit, I would have liked to spend more time here. A very enjoyable place to visit. But our fate is to the road.

At the time of this writing we are camped in Houlton, ME, just off I-95 about 4 miles short of the Canadian border. This is a small town and is mostly a transition type of town found on the border. Clean and well maintained the town served up a surprise for us this weekend. As it turns out this weekend they celebrated their 200th birthday. What a treat, we were witness to a great small town parade and fireworks that evening.

Also present were civil war reinactments with union troop encampments.

The whole town turned out to make this a special weekend for all and we were lucky enough to participate. The campground we're at, My Brother's Place, is a fantastic park. With full hook-ups and well kept grassy sites, this is truly one of the nicest parks we have come across. Definately a keeper. All in all, a great border town to stop in a nd stock up in just before moving on into Canada.

Tomorrow we are back on the road again heading into Brunswick. Stick around, the main destination is just ahead another 2 or 3 days.