Retirement Travels: Heading To Maine

Sun, Jul 14

I do not like traveling in the Eastern US......

As compared to the Western US!

After having traveled in the Western US for the past 3 years, I find travel in the East miserable. There are too many big cities with terrible traffic congestion. And we aren't even driving the motorhome yet. We've got to figure on extra travel time when we get in the motorhome so that we can dodge the big cities by at least 50-75 miles.

We left Beaufort this morning and took Anna and Evan back to Cary, stopped a few minutes there, and then headed North. We were doing pretty well until we got around Washington DC (why anyone would want to live there is beyond me). I had thought that on Sunday afternoon the traffic would be tolerable. Wrong! Bumper to bumper from Richmond to Washington. And for no reason at all, every 3-5 miles all traffic would come to a stop, then start moving at 70 mph for a while, then come to another stop. It just made no sense.

And there is a lot of road construction (always is). Somehow or another, following the Garmin GPS, we ended up going through the middle of Washington DC. And then it spit us out on the road to Baltimore, when we were supposed to be a hundred miles further West. I still don't know how we did it. But tonight, we found a clean, inexpensive motel somewhere North of Baltimore and I think I've learned my lesson - never depend on the GPS in big cities. It don't work!!

We have about a 3 hour drive to Scranton, PA tomorrow to get to the motorhome. Then we have to start mapping out a route to Holden Maine that will avoid all big cities.

Mon, July 15

We arrived at the motorhome around noon. It took about 1 1/2 hours to get it ready to go. Everything worked perfectly and we were on the road by 1:30.

We spent a few minute planning where to go. We definitely do not want to get too far East because then we start getting near New York City and Boston - definitely something to avoid.

We plot a rough course North, then Northeast and it looks like we'll avoid a lot of interstate driving. The interstates are in bad shape, and they really make for a rough ride in the motorhome.

We found a nice sounding name for an RV park - Riverside - and picked that as the destination. It turns out that this was an excellent decision. We are near Bainbridge, NY parked beside the Susquehanna River. An absolutely perfect choice for us to get our wits about us and settle into the RV life for a month or so.

The park is owned/run by a retired guy named Dave. There is also a small motel on the property. Dave and I have enjoyed an afternoon swapping stories. I've learned a lot about this area. It is home to the General Clinton Regatta. It is a 70 mile canoe race down the river and terminates near hear. It is supposedly one of the premier canoe races in the country. I can understand why when I look out at this relatively fast running peaceful river.

We've settled into RV living very quickly. It's nice to come on board and have everything you need waiting for you. We did have to stop at a Walmart on the way here to stock up on some basic food items, but otherwise, it's like being back home.

Tomorrow we're off to New Hampshire (or is it Vermont?). These states are so small, it's hard to keep up with which one we're in.

Tues, Jul 16

Some days just happen!

The unexpected parts of travel are always the best. And today, there were some unexpecteds.

After breakfast this morning, we took a few minutes to plan a little ahead for today's travel. We have three days to get to Holden, Maine and its about 8 – 10 hours of driving. Today we picked a place about 150 miles in the right direction (North and East), with the goal to stay away from big towns and interstates. We picked a private RV Park in the middle of the Green Mountains of Vermont.

It was a very nice drive. There are actually some mountains in Vermont. I guess I knew that, but it was still a bit of a surprise.

Horseshoe Acres RV Park is quite a nice place in the middle of nowhere. It looks like about 60% of the 200+ spaces are seasonal. People come here to stay for the summer. And there is no Internet service – zero. This is only about the second time while in the United States that we've been totally without any service – the other was in Northwest Colorado.

While checking in, I asked the clerk what we might consider for the afternoon. We were here by 2 pm and thought it would be interesting to see what there is to see. She recommended a little town about 5 miles away, suggesting that there is a old fashioned general store in town that is a tourist attraction. She also mentioned that there was a live performance theater.

We set out around 3:30 for the 5 mile drive to Weston, Vermont. After we got there, we were still looking for the place. We thought we had missed it or misunderstood the directions the clerk gave us. It's a few buildings and houses (all nice), but that's it.

We found the general store and it is much like the Mast General Stores that are in Western North Carolina.

We shopped a while and then decided to check and see if there is indeed a theater. There is and they have a show tonight. We decided to have dinner at one of the three restaurants in town and go to the show. It's our wedding anniversary tomorrow and we thought this would be a nice way to celebrate.

The dinner was fabulous. After ice cream we went back to the theater for the show. Mind you this is Tuesday night in the middle of nowhere. The population of Weston is about 500 people. We expected a few people at the performance, but the entire place with 200+ seats was filled. Wow! That was a surprise.

Weston, Vermont (population 500) Playhouse

We settled into our seats for “Next to Normal”. A few minutes before the show was to begin, a couple sat down beside us. Turns out he is the Managing Director of the place.

The performance was incredible. Broadway quality actors and actresses, a live orchestra, beautiful set, lighting that beat anything we've ever seen.

Between snippets of conversation with our seat mates, we learned that the Weston Playhouse attracts world class performers and brings in sell-out audiences nearly every night during their 3 month summer season. This area attracts a lot of second home owners from Boston and New York, and they provide the basis for having such an incredible theater located in the boondocks of the Vermont mountains.

We could not have planned, or even dreamed of planning, for such a great day.

Wed, July 17

Our 47th Wedding Anniversary!

That's hard to believe that Clara has put up with me that long! Quite a lady!

We left Horseshoe Acres early today (we didn't have Internet service so I couldn't read the paper - on line - as I do every morning, thus the early start.)

Pretty soon we blink and we're going through New Hampshire.

Than a few minutes later we're into Maine. It seems that these states are the size of good sized county in NC,

We settle into a nice little park, Pleasant River Campground near Bethel, Maine. I set Clara up in her swinging hammock and I head to their pool for some swimming.

This evening we went to Rooster's Roadhouse Restaurant (at the recommendation of the campground owners) for an excellent dinner.

Tomorrow we reach our first destination of this trip, Holden, Maine and join up with the Pimentel's.

We are spending our 47th Wedding Anniversary a little different from our wedding day.

Thurs, Jul 18

We've arrived at our first destination for this trip - Holden, Maine.

We are here to help Tony and Jill Pimentel celebrate the life of Jill's mother, Margaret, who passed away a few months ago. They will be holding a memorial service for her tomorrow in Ellsworth where she worked as Register of Deeds for decades.

All of their children (Heidi, Chris, and Greg) and some grandchildren are here and we are reacquainting ourselves with them.

We first met Tony and Jill in Blytheville, Ark in the 1960's when we were neighbors. Tony was a Radar Navigator on the B-52 and I was a Pilot, although we weren't on the same crew. We've maintained a close relationship since then. Their daughter, Heidi, and Slade are the same age and spent a lot of time together - when they were in diapers.

We had a leisurely drive to Holden RV Park, settled in, and then went over to Jill's home. We had visited here several years back and fell in love with their place. They are at the end of a peninsula on Phillips Lake, a beautiful lake in the hills about 50 miles from the coast.

After all the hugs and hellos, Greg, Farrell (Heidi's husband), Nash (their son) and I went kayaking on the lake.