What would have been day 12 of our trip - Tuesday, May 28. It was a good day to recover from the trip and unpack/clean gear. We are planning a weekend camping trip in just three weeks so some supplies have been left upstairs instead of being taken to the storage in the basement. We decided to take our gift card to Red Lobster and have lobster to celebrate 30 years together.
It was delicious, of course - thanks to our two wonderful sons who had planned this while Scott was home. We had a good time of enjoying dinner and reminiscing about 30 years ago. A great way to spend the day.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Now 11 days in New England, actually now it's Canada on day 11. Monday, May 27
Woke up in beautiful Ivy Lea, Ontario at the great KOA we'd stayed at the night before. We still didn't know if we'd be able to change our reservation, but we enjoyed our evening and even considered staying the extra night but soon decided we just wanted to get home. We both cleaned up and by then the office was open, so while Steve was breaking down camp I went to check on our status.
Thankfully I walked out of the office with a smile. Our reservation was cheerfully changed, no problem, such a refreshing change from our previous campground! If we're ever back in this area, you know where we'll stay! Their trip advisor review was much more positive, too.
Also got the answer for the deserted campground. They run a spring special where guests pay for six weekends and are allowed to leave their units on site during the weeks. It was Monday morning and a regular work day in Ontario, so most everyone had gone home the day before.
Got back onto the 401 and headed for home. We got through Toronto mid-day without too much trouble. Though in the US it was Memorial Day, in Toronto it was just another workday, as I stated before. So our timing was good. Had decided to stop at the next service center once we were out of the Toronto area, to have a picnic lunch and hopefully find a cache. Well, that next service center was the one center that was closed for reconstruction....
We decided to stop in Cambridge and had shakes from Wendy's along with our sandwiches. Then we went over to the local WalMart as I wanted to buy some caramel chocolate chip rice cakes, which aren't sold in the US. Oh yeah, Kinder Eggs too. This wasn't the best week to do that, though, as WalMart had their rice cakes on sale for $1 a package. Great price but there were only two packs of caramel chocolate chip left. Bought a few other flavors to try them, at that price. Wish I'd bought more of the tomato herb flavor, they were great!
On to the border, the Blue Water Bridge at Sarnia, Ontario/Port Huron, Michigan. I had wanted to stop at the duty-free shop to buy some maple candy but the traffic prevented us from getting through. There was one wait to pay bridge toll, then another wait after crossing the bridge to go through US Customs. We probably took 45 minutes to cross that bridge.
Once back in Michigan, it was starting to get rainy again. With only light rain at the time, I requested one last cache stop, especially since I hadn't found an Ontario cache on this trip. We stopped at a rest area just east of Lansing where there was a challenge cache that I hadn't found. Two other caches in the rest area made for a bonus!
Home - finally - at about 8 pm. Max, when brought into the house, ran like a blue streak up and down the length of the house, then rolled around on his back and you could just tell he was glad to be home! 11 days on leash and harness were the most he's ever had to put up with. So were we. A good trip which could have been better in better weather. But we still got to see lots and spend time together to celebrate our anniversary.
Thankfully I walked out of the office with a smile. Our reservation was cheerfully changed, no problem, such a refreshing change from our previous campground! If we're ever back in this area, you know where we'll stay! Their trip advisor review was much more positive, too.
Also got the answer for the deserted campground. They run a spring special where guests pay for six weekends and are allowed to leave their units on site during the weeks. It was Monday morning and a regular work day in Ontario, so most everyone had gone home the day before.
Got back onto the 401 and headed for home. We got through Toronto mid-day without too much trouble. Though in the US it was Memorial Day, in Toronto it was just another workday, as I stated before. So our timing was good. Had decided to stop at the next service center once we were out of the Toronto area, to have a picnic lunch and hopefully find a cache. Well, that next service center was the one center that was closed for reconstruction....
We decided to stop in Cambridge and had shakes from Wendy's along with our sandwiches. Then we went over to the local WalMart as I wanted to buy some caramel chocolate chip rice cakes, which aren't sold in the US. Oh yeah, Kinder Eggs too. This wasn't the best week to do that, though, as WalMart had their rice cakes on sale for $1 a package. Great price but there were only two packs of caramel chocolate chip left. Bought a few other flavors to try them, at that price. Wish I'd bought more of the tomato herb flavor, they were great!
On to the border, the Blue Water Bridge at Sarnia, Ontario/Port Huron, Michigan. I had wanted to stop at the duty-free shop to buy some maple candy but the traffic prevented us from getting through. There was one wait to pay bridge toll, then another wait after crossing the bridge to go through US Customs. We probably took 45 minutes to cross that bridge.
Once back in Michigan, it was starting to get rainy again. With only light rain at the time, I requested one last cache stop, especially since I hadn't found an Ontario cache on this trip. We stopped at a rest area just east of Lansing where there was a challenge cache that I hadn't found. Two other caches in the rest area made for a bonus!
Home - finally - at about 8 pm. Max, when brought into the house, ran like a blue streak up and down the length of the house, then rolled around on his back and you could just tell he was glad to be home! 11 days on leash and harness were the most he's ever had to put up with. So were we. A good trip which could have been better in better weather. But we still got to see lots and spend time together to celebrate our anniversary.
12 days in New England - Day 10 - Sunday, May 26
Now 11 days.
At 4 am we both happened to be awake. Not uncomfortably cold because we were snuggled in our warm sleeping bags, but the condensation dripping off the interior tent poles, as well as the wind and rain, caused me to look at Steve and tell him, "if you agree I don't have any problem with starting for home in the morning." He definitely agreed. We got back to sleep for a few more hours, then woke up to cold and wind but surprisingly no rain.
We didn't really have enough access to weather to determine whether this was a temporary thing or we were out of the worst of it. We decided to stick with our 4 am plan and started breaking down camp. It was easier to break camp down because of the rain stoppage, and the wind was drying the tent off pretty quickly. Got things taken care of, then stopped at the office to get a refund for our gate pass (it had required a $10 deposit, and then we never used it as the gate was up every time we came into the campground.) The deposit refund was no problem, but we asked for and did NOT receive a refund of our unused day of camping. Sorry, no refunds. Well that certainly affected my trip advisor review! We had decided though that refund or not we were still going. Mentally, it helped that we had received that third night free back in Maine. Our only other worry was whether or not our reservation for tomorrow night in Ontario would be honored a day early, or would we be charged for tonight and not refunded for tomorrow night. Tried getting ahold of the campground first by tracfone (that didn't work because it was a Canada call, I guess.) Then, once we were in Conway, went into McDonald's after breakfast to try to use Skype on the wifi. That didn't work either. So just had to take our chances.
As I said, we stopped in one of the Conways for a hot breakfast. Needed that after the cold night. Thankfully it was warm enough, but not too warm, for Max to wait in the car one more time. Our breakfast spot was called the Blueberry Muffin, and served the most delicious muffins - nice and warm. Steve ordered pancakes, and the pancakes were as big if not bigger than a dinner plate, and two came with the order. He couldn't finish them which is saying a lot for the size of those cakes. Could also be the eggs & grits he ate as well. I had eggs, potatoes, and the muffin, of which I saved most of and had later in the day as a snack, it was that big.
Since we'd made a circle the day before, we decided to cut through the middle road between the Kanc and the north road, through Crawford Notch. Saw some nice scenery, even saw Mt. Washington from the other side. We found out that, if we'd been about a half hour north, we would have had SNOW instead of rain as we soon saw evidence of recent snow. This is May 26, for cryin' out loud!
Stopped a few times for pictures but all too soon we reached the interstate and headed northwest out of New Hampshire into Vermont.
Vermont would be a short visit. We would have liked to spend some more time there, but time was not our friend when planning. Weather being what it was, we went on with our original plan. We did make a stop for gas and also a stop for a cache (of course!) at a travel bug hotel near St. Johnsbury.
Soon enough, I think around an hours worth of traveling if that, we arrived at the border of Quebec. I'd never been to Quebec, not sure if Steve had either, so a new adventure for us. After clearing Canadian customs, we headed north on their expressway. We made one stop, at an information centre, for the obligatory cache. Good thing it was fairly easy because the entire description was in French. It was pretty neat seeing not only the French language road signs but billboards and other things as well. We made several stops looking for a place to purchase souvenirs but weren't successful. Once we stopped at a little grocery store, and I walked past a sample booth which was giving beer samples. I paused just to look, and the woman smiled and said "Bonjour." Ahh, almost felt like I was in France. As close as I'm going to get for a while anyway.
Soon enough we hit Montreal, and glad it was Sunday without nearly the amount of traffic. Another memorable "French" moment came when we passed a Kentucky Fried Chicken. But it wasn't named that. It was a "PFK" not a "KFC." I know chicken is poulet in French, and the K probably stood for Kentucky. Not quite sure about the F.
After driving along the St. Lawrence River for a while, we were finally into Ontario. Interesting to drive into Ontario without having to clear Canadian Customs! We didn't have too far left to drive before heading for Ivy Lea, in the Thousand Islands, and the KOA that was there with our reservation for tomorrow night.
We pulled into a very quiet campground that looked almost full. Stopping at the office only to discover that it had closed at 7 pm. I think it was around 7:30 pm by then. There were instructions for how to night register and what sites were open. I picked a site, then instead of putting payment in the envelope, wrote a note explaining our situation. We set up camp and, after having some Face Time with my mom who happened to catch me online with the excellent internet signal, decided to go into town to get something to eat as we didn't want to haul out the cooking gear.
Got to Gananoque and found a pizza place. Steve decided that he would rather have Subway from across the street. I went into the pizza place only to find out they were closing soon and didn't have any slices left to sell, only whole pizza. Since I didn't think I could eat a whole pizza myself, I went across the street and ordered a sandwich from Subway as well. We took the sandwiches back to the campground and sat at the picnic table to eat.
We soon realized we were in a very quiet campground. Nobody was walking around, sitting at their campers (mostly RVs and trailers near us.) Really sort of creepy. We did eventually see a few people at the restroom but they sure weren't staying near our site. We reminisced about a story that my stepfather, Phil, had written many years ago called "Alone" where all of a sudden most everyone in the world disappeared. Made for fun conversation to speculate anyway.
We were tired, but glad to be in better, though still a bit cooler than normal, weather. Steve went to bed while I stayed up for a while, catching up on my geocache logging and other internet. Slept better and drier, too!
At 4 am we both happened to be awake. Not uncomfortably cold because we were snuggled in our warm sleeping bags, but the condensation dripping off the interior tent poles, as well as the wind and rain, caused me to look at Steve and tell him, "if you agree I don't have any problem with starting for home in the morning." He definitely agreed. We got back to sleep for a few more hours, then woke up to cold and wind but surprisingly no rain.
We didn't really have enough access to weather to determine whether this was a temporary thing or we were out of the worst of it. We decided to stick with our 4 am plan and started breaking down camp. It was easier to break camp down because of the rain stoppage, and the wind was drying the tent off pretty quickly. Got things taken care of, then stopped at the office to get a refund for our gate pass (it had required a $10 deposit, and then we never used it as the gate was up every time we came into the campground.) The deposit refund was no problem, but we asked for and did NOT receive a refund of our unused day of camping. Sorry, no refunds. Well that certainly affected my trip advisor review! We had decided though that refund or not we were still going. Mentally, it helped that we had received that third night free back in Maine. Our only other worry was whether or not our reservation for tomorrow night in Ontario would be honored a day early, or would we be charged for tonight and not refunded for tomorrow night. Tried getting ahold of the campground first by tracfone (that didn't work because it was a Canada call, I guess.) Then, once we were in Conway, went into McDonald's after breakfast to try to use Skype on the wifi. That didn't work either. So just had to take our chances.
As I said, we stopped in one of the Conways for a hot breakfast. Needed that after the cold night. Thankfully it was warm enough, but not too warm, for Max to wait in the car one more time. Our breakfast spot was called the Blueberry Muffin, and served the most delicious muffins - nice and warm. Steve ordered pancakes, and the pancakes were as big if not bigger than a dinner plate, and two came with the order. He couldn't finish them which is saying a lot for the size of those cakes. Could also be the eggs & grits he ate as well. I had eggs, potatoes, and the muffin, of which I saved most of and had later in the day as a snack, it was that big.
Since we'd made a circle the day before, we decided to cut through the middle road between the Kanc and the north road, through Crawford Notch. Saw some nice scenery, even saw Mt. Washington from the other side. We found out that, if we'd been about a half hour north, we would have had SNOW instead of rain as we soon saw evidence of recent snow. This is May 26, for cryin' out loud!
Stopped a few times for pictures but all too soon we reached the interstate and headed northwest out of New Hampshire into Vermont.
Vermont would be a short visit. We would have liked to spend some more time there, but time was not our friend when planning. Weather being what it was, we went on with our original plan. We did make a stop for gas and also a stop for a cache (of course!) at a travel bug hotel near St. Johnsbury.
Soon enough, I think around an hours worth of traveling if that, we arrived at the border of Quebec. I'd never been to Quebec, not sure if Steve had either, so a new adventure for us. After clearing Canadian customs, we headed north on their expressway. We made one stop, at an information centre, for the obligatory cache. Good thing it was fairly easy because the entire description was in French. It was pretty neat seeing not only the French language road signs but billboards and other things as well. We made several stops looking for a place to purchase souvenirs but weren't successful. Once we stopped at a little grocery store, and I walked past a sample booth which was giving beer samples. I paused just to look, and the woman smiled and said "Bonjour." Ahh, almost felt like I was in France. As close as I'm going to get for a while anyway.
Soon enough we hit Montreal, and glad it was Sunday without nearly the amount of traffic. Another memorable "French" moment came when we passed a Kentucky Fried Chicken. But it wasn't named that. It was a "PFK" not a "KFC." I know chicken is poulet in French, and the K probably stood for Kentucky. Not quite sure about the F.
After driving along the St. Lawrence River for a while, we were finally into Ontario. Interesting to drive into Ontario without having to clear Canadian Customs! We didn't have too far left to drive before heading for Ivy Lea, in the Thousand Islands, and the KOA that was there with our reservation for tomorrow night.
We pulled into a very quiet campground that looked almost full. Stopping at the office only to discover that it had closed at 7 pm. I think it was around 7:30 pm by then. There were instructions for how to night register and what sites were open. I picked a site, then instead of putting payment in the envelope, wrote a note explaining our situation. We set up camp and, after having some Face Time with my mom who happened to catch me online with the excellent internet signal, decided to go into town to get something to eat as we didn't want to haul out the cooking gear.
Got to Gananoque and found a pizza place. Steve decided that he would rather have Subway from across the street. I went into the pizza place only to find out they were closing soon and didn't have any slices left to sell, only whole pizza. Since I didn't think I could eat a whole pizza myself, I went across the street and ordered a sandwich from Subway as well. We took the sandwiches back to the campground and sat at the picnic table to eat.
We soon realized we were in a very quiet campground. Nobody was walking around, sitting at their campers (mostly RVs and trailers near us.) Really sort of creepy. We did eventually see a few people at the restroom but they sure weren't staying near our site. We reminisced about a story that my stepfather, Phil, had written many years ago called "Alone" where all of a sudden most everyone in the world disappeared. Made for fun conversation to speculate anyway.
We were tired, but glad to be in better, though still a bit cooler than normal, weather. Steve went to bed while I stayed up for a while, catching up on my geocache logging and other internet. Slept better and drier, too!
Friday, June 7, 2013
12 Days in New England - Day 9 - Saturday, May 25
Woke up to RAIN. And not a warm rain, either. This was not a good thing. When faced with two choices: sit around in your tiny camper with little entertainment (we did bring computer with some movies on it) or go out and see things as best we could, we went out and saw things as best we could.
Headed down the Kancamagus Highway, highly recommended as a scenic drive in the White Mountains. It would be an awesome ride on the motorcycle, and very beautiful in good weather. We did get to see some very nice sights. Which would have been better in good weather. Made several stops at waterfalls and gorges. Max stayed in the car for those as we were close by. We got to Sabbaday Falls, which required a .2 mile hike to see, and decided to take Max as it would be a longer stop. It was raining during that walk, and while we were protected with umbrellas poor Max was pretty wet by the time we got back to the car. The picture you see of him in the car on my FB page is after that hike. Not sure he'll ever forgive us for that! The falls were beautiful even in the rain, and I found a cache as well as completed an earthcache for the falls.
We soon were passing some hairpin curves and up through a mountain pass. Pretty views though foggy/misty. We soon found ourselves in Lincoln at the other end of the Kanc (as the locals call it.)
We stopped at the local McDonald's for wifi to check the weather and something warm to drink. Ate sandwiches and drank our McD's hot chocolate with wifi still being received in the car. The weather didn't show any signs of letting up, unfortunately.
We decided to look for a souvenir shop for Steve and found a complex called Clark's Trading Post. It was not only a hokey gift shop but a bear show, railroad ride, and other touristy entertainment, all at a charge except for the gift shop. Steve went in to shop while Max and I walked across the road and grabbed a cache. Then I went in, and was in maple heaven. Walked out of there with Maple Cotton Candy (which I'd always wanted to try) and several types of maple candy. Wish I'd bought more for souvenirs but I anticipated getting some in Canada so didn't.
We decided to drive around in a big circle and see what we could, ending up back at the campground. We saw some pretty views but nothing much we could stop at that didn't come with a hefty admission charge. We discussed the Mount Washington Auto Road, the highest mountain in the area, one of the highest in the east. The cost for us and the car would have been $32, which Steve was balking at. Was a bit high, I'll admit. But the decision was taken out of our hands as the auto road was closed due to icing conditions.
Stopped at the Pinkham Notch Visitors Center, not really much but an Appalachian Trail service area for hikers. There was a cache there, though...
Got into one of the Conways and we stopped at a grocery store for some fresh food. Well ok sorta fresh anyway. Ended up deciding on shrimp scampi, which came frozen but could be cooked on the stove. Paired that with a Caesar salad and had one of the better meals of the trip, even in the weather.
A cold night coming. Not looking forward to sleeping through it.
Headed down the Kancamagus Highway, highly recommended as a scenic drive in the White Mountains. It would be an awesome ride on the motorcycle, and very beautiful in good weather. We did get to see some very nice sights. Which would have been better in good weather. Made several stops at waterfalls and gorges. Max stayed in the car for those as we were close by. We got to Sabbaday Falls, which required a .2 mile hike to see, and decided to take Max as it would be a longer stop. It was raining during that walk, and while we were protected with umbrellas poor Max was pretty wet by the time we got back to the car. The picture you see of him in the car on my FB page is after that hike. Not sure he'll ever forgive us for that! The falls were beautiful even in the rain, and I found a cache as well as completed an earthcache for the falls.
We soon were passing some hairpin curves and up through a mountain pass. Pretty views though foggy/misty. We soon found ourselves in Lincoln at the other end of the Kanc (as the locals call it.)
We stopped at the local McDonald's for wifi to check the weather and something warm to drink. Ate sandwiches and drank our McD's hot chocolate with wifi still being received in the car. The weather didn't show any signs of letting up, unfortunately.
We decided to look for a souvenir shop for Steve and found a complex called Clark's Trading Post. It was not only a hokey gift shop but a bear show, railroad ride, and other touristy entertainment, all at a charge except for the gift shop. Steve went in to shop while Max and I walked across the road and grabbed a cache. Then I went in, and was in maple heaven. Walked out of there with Maple Cotton Candy (which I'd always wanted to try) and several types of maple candy. Wish I'd bought more for souvenirs but I anticipated getting some in Canada so didn't.
We decided to drive around in a big circle and see what we could, ending up back at the campground. We saw some pretty views but nothing much we could stop at that didn't come with a hefty admission charge. We discussed the Mount Washington Auto Road, the highest mountain in the area, one of the highest in the east. The cost for us and the car would have been $32, which Steve was balking at. Was a bit high, I'll admit. But the decision was taken out of our hands as the auto road was closed due to icing conditions.
Stopped at the Pinkham Notch Visitors Center, not really much but an Appalachian Trail service area for hikers. There was a cache there, though...
Got into one of the Conways and we stopped at a grocery store for some fresh food. Well ok sorta fresh anyway. Ended up deciding on shrimp scampi, which came frozen but could be cooked on the stove. Paired that with a Caesar salad and had one of the better meals of the trip, even in the weather.
A cold night coming. Not looking forward to sleeping through it.
12 days in New England - Day 8 - Friday, May 24
Continued from last post...
After being up and about at 4ish, I knew this was not going to be a good start to our day. Sure enough, by the time we got up, it was still raining and we knew we'd have to pack up a wet tent. Our bags and air mattresses were getting wet around the edges where they'd come up against the tent as well. Not fun. We decided to just pack it up and move on out without breakfast, so we could stop for a hot breakfast along the way.
Did just that. Had to fold up the camper with a wet tent, got loaded up, and headed out. Ended up at Denny's in Ellsworth for breakfast, blueberry pancakes for both of us which tasted pretty good. Max in the car again, thankfully it was not too hot or cold for him to wait. We're pretty watchful about that.
Headed back up to Bangor, then over to Augusta where we got off onto secondary roads to make our way over to New Hampshire. The rain had pretty much stopped, thankfully, though it was still damp and cold. We stopped at the Maine visitor center in Fryeburg, almost to the border, so I could get one last Maine cache and drop off a few more travel bugs. Then a hop, skip, and a jump and we were in New Hampshire. Soon arrived in Conway. There was Conway, North Conway, Conway Center, and I think one more Conway. We found that a lot, three or four variations in the same town name, all grouped close together. Our campground was a few miles out of town, between Conway and another town named Albany. Pine Knoll Campground. Found it without too much trouble and found our site. It was a cluster of four tent sites in the middle of a sea of permanent campsites (so it seemed anyway) - trailers and a few RV's, many with permanent additions. The campground seemed to be about 75% seasonal sites, and since it was now Memorial Day weekend, most were there and having a great time. Seems like most were from Massachusetts. There were two bathhouses, one not too far away and another was a longer walk. The closer bathhouse didn't have the shower turned on (why not, it was Memorial Day weekend after all) and Steve reported that there was never soap in the restrooms. Overall quality was even less than at Hadley's Point. Definitely needed some upkeep. Advertised wifi was very poor quality. I barely got a signal once that first night but never was able to grab a signal again during our stay. Steve was concerned about buried electrical cables that weren't buried, were popping up out of the ground. Easily tripped over and perhaps pulled out. He was not impressed.
We set up in dry conditions - no rain, somewhat cool but a nice breeze which allowed us to dry most everything out before night. We had a broccoli/chicken/pasta/cheese dish for dinner (boxed meal with canned chicken) which was my backup meal for the trip. Need to get to a grocery store tomorrow for some fresh food!
Walked around a bit after dinner and found the other bathhouse. The restrooms were a bit better quality, we noted the presence of the showers - the sign said they were co-ed. Never did explore that more thoroughly. Too far to walk so just cleaned up at the closer bathhouse.
Made it a pretty early night. Sunrise comes early!
After being up and about at 4ish, I knew this was not going to be a good start to our day. Sure enough, by the time we got up, it was still raining and we knew we'd have to pack up a wet tent. Our bags and air mattresses were getting wet around the edges where they'd come up against the tent as well. Not fun. We decided to just pack it up and move on out without breakfast, so we could stop for a hot breakfast along the way.
Did just that. Had to fold up the camper with a wet tent, got loaded up, and headed out. Ended up at Denny's in Ellsworth for breakfast, blueberry pancakes for both of us which tasted pretty good. Max in the car again, thankfully it was not too hot or cold for him to wait. We're pretty watchful about that.
Headed back up to Bangor, then over to Augusta where we got off onto secondary roads to make our way over to New Hampshire. The rain had pretty much stopped, thankfully, though it was still damp and cold. We stopped at the Maine visitor center in Fryeburg, almost to the border, so I could get one last Maine cache and drop off a few more travel bugs. Then a hop, skip, and a jump and we were in New Hampshire. Soon arrived in Conway. There was Conway, North Conway, Conway Center, and I think one more Conway. We found that a lot, three or four variations in the same town name, all grouped close together. Our campground was a few miles out of town, between Conway and another town named Albany. Pine Knoll Campground. Found it without too much trouble and found our site. It was a cluster of four tent sites in the middle of a sea of permanent campsites (so it seemed anyway) - trailers and a few RV's, many with permanent additions. The campground seemed to be about 75% seasonal sites, and since it was now Memorial Day weekend, most were there and having a great time. Seems like most were from Massachusetts. There were two bathhouses, one not too far away and another was a longer walk. The closer bathhouse didn't have the shower turned on (why not, it was Memorial Day weekend after all) and Steve reported that there was never soap in the restrooms. Overall quality was even less than at Hadley's Point. Definitely needed some upkeep. Advertised wifi was very poor quality. I barely got a signal once that first night but never was able to grab a signal again during our stay. Steve was concerned about buried electrical cables that weren't buried, were popping up out of the ground. Easily tripped over and perhaps pulled out. He was not impressed.
We set up in dry conditions - no rain, somewhat cool but a nice breeze which allowed us to dry most everything out before night. We had a broccoli/chicken/pasta/cheese dish for dinner (boxed meal with canned chicken) which was my backup meal for the trip. Need to get to a grocery store tomorrow for some fresh food!
Walked around a bit after dinner and found the other bathhouse. The restrooms were a bit better quality, we noted the presence of the showers - the sign said they were co-ed. Never did explore that more thoroughly. Too far to walk so just cleaned up at the closer bathhouse.
Made it a pretty early night. Sunrise comes early!
12 days in New England - Day 7 - Thursday, May 23
Weather just about the same as yesterday. Cool, damp, no hard rain though. We'd seen Acadia yesterday and the views didn't show any promise of improving, so set off in an easterly direction on US 1 to see more of the coastline. Some pretty views along the way, notably the falls at Machias. Our short-term destination was Lubec, home of the Quoddy Head Lighthouse, the easternmost point in the United States. It was a nice lighthouse, very scenic and very deserted. The visitors center doesn't open until (you guessed it) Memorial Day weekend. So we took a walk around the grounds, took some pictures, and headed back to the car. Our maps (and my prior research) told us that we were just a few short miles from Campobello Island, New Brunswick, where FDR had spent many summers as a boy and a young man. We had our passports, so why not? Crossed the bridge, went through Canadian customs, and were soon on the island. Of course I had done my homework and wanted to get a cache or two on the island. We headed down a dirt road to Raccoon Beach where a cache awaited. After finding the cache, we walked down the stairs to the beach, which was very rocky with some interesting rocks. I chose one to bring home, and later discovered Steve had done the same. After coming back to the car, discovered there was another cache .2 down the trail called Coopers Camp cache. Now we're the Coopers, and we are camping, so sounded like a good plan. Steve didn't want to hike, so moved the car to the trailhead and took a short nap while I loaded up with the pepper spray (not sure just how handy that would have been had I encountered wildlife) and took off down the trail. I was rewarded with some beautiful coastline views of the Bay of Fundy, but not with the cache. I had given myself a 15 minute time limit to Steve, and had limited time. With less than 100 feet to go, I needed to go into the heavily wooded area and just couldn't find any kind of opening at all. So reluctantly I started back, made it only 5 minutes late, and we moved on. We were looking for any type of souvenir place for Steve, and thought we were following the main road around the island. It soon proved not to be, so we turned around. We saw where we made our mistake, but Steve just wanted to go on to the FDR cottage, which I'd told him about, then start back to the campground. I think we would have found businesses had we gone down the other road. Oh well.
We went to the cottage area, and - yep - not open until this weekend. As in tomorrow. We walked around the outside, peered in a few windows, and walked down to the dock. Found a cache there, was a bit of a challenge but finally got it. Pulled it out of its hiding place and was signing the log when a group of people came down the hill. Caught red-handed, or "muggled" as in geo-words. Had nothing to lose so I told them what I was doing. None had ever heard of it or were that interested in taking anything, so all was well. I was the first to find it this year, and a travel bug had been in the cache since last fall. So good that I was there.
Headed back over the bridge, cleared US customs, then started on the drive back to Bar Harbor. Once we were back, I started dinner while Steve worked on something. Can't remember what. Anyway, my plan was to try the campfire pizza recipe I'd seen shortly before the trip. Involved a tube of pizza dough, sauce on it, cheese & toppings, then roll it all up in foil and place on the campfire. After the recommended time, it was partly still uncooked dough and partly burned. Epic fail. So plan B was to head into town, we stopped at a Wendy's in the nearby town of Ellsworth and had dinner there as we didn't see either of the pizza places that Siri had given me information on.
When we returned, Steve took down the screen house since it was dry, and I did a load of laundry since we had lots of wet and dirty towels and such. Only did the one load, not all of our stuff, since one load, to wash and dry, cost us almost $5. We had enough clean clothing to last us the rest of the trip. More wifi, checking the forecast for New Hampshire which didn't look too promising, and then to bed.
Max woke us up at about 4 in the morning to go outside. By this time we had a steady rain and going out in it was about the last thing I wanted to do. But Max had not yet, on the trip anyway, expressed a need to go out in the middle of the night. So we knew it was needed. Let him do his thing, then took him into the bathroom so I could do my thing (since I was up) and back to the tent. This was technically the start of Day 8 so I will continue in my next post....
We went to the cottage area, and - yep - not open until this weekend. As in tomorrow. We walked around the outside, peered in a few windows, and walked down to the dock. Found a cache there, was a bit of a challenge but finally got it. Pulled it out of its hiding place and was signing the log when a group of people came down the hill. Caught red-handed, or "muggled" as in geo-words. Had nothing to lose so I told them what I was doing. None had ever heard of it or were that interested in taking anything, so all was well. I was the first to find it this year, and a travel bug had been in the cache since last fall. So good that I was there.
Headed back over the bridge, cleared US customs, then started on the drive back to Bar Harbor. Once we were back, I started dinner while Steve worked on something. Can't remember what. Anyway, my plan was to try the campfire pizza recipe I'd seen shortly before the trip. Involved a tube of pizza dough, sauce on it, cheese & toppings, then roll it all up in foil and place on the campfire. After the recommended time, it was partly still uncooked dough and partly burned. Epic fail. So plan B was to head into town, we stopped at a Wendy's in the nearby town of Ellsworth and had dinner there as we didn't see either of the pizza places that Siri had given me information on.
When we returned, Steve took down the screen house since it was dry, and I did a load of laundry since we had lots of wet and dirty towels and such. Only did the one load, not all of our stuff, since one load, to wash and dry, cost us almost $5. We had enough clean clothing to last us the rest of the trip. More wifi, checking the forecast for New Hampshire which didn't look too promising, and then to bed.
Max woke us up at about 4 in the morning to go outside. By this time we had a steady rain and going out in it was about the last thing I wanted to do. But Max had not yet, on the trip anyway, expressed a need to go out in the middle of the night. So we knew it was needed. Let him do his thing, then took him into the bathroom so I could do my thing (since I was up) and back to the tent. This was technically the start of Day 8 so I will continue in my next post....
Thursday, June 6, 2013
12 Days in New England - Day 6 - Wednesday, May 22
Woke up to cloudy, misty, light rain weather. Glad we had put the screen house up when we arrived. After breakfast, made the decision to go to Acadia National Park anyway. Let's see whatever we can see, even though the views may not be as nice as they would be in good weather. Make the best of what you have.
Stopped at a small gas station/store just before the park entrance to gas up, and also bought coffee/hot chocolate to warm us up as we started our day. Then made a stop at the visitors center to get a map, park pass, and just generally get our bearings. Dogs not allowed inside so we took turns looking and staying with Max. $10 for a pass which was good for seven days, that will be $20 later in the season so good to go now in that regard. In just two short years Steve will be eligible for a Golden Age passport which, for $10, will allow him (and I assume whoever is in the car with him, aka ME) unlimited access to any national park for the rest of his life. That will be a good deal.
Out to the park. We were planning to follow the Park Loop Road, which is a one-way road, 27 miles I believe, around the coastline of Mount Desert Island, where the park is located. We missed one turn and actually started down the back portion, which is not one way. Our first clue should have been that we found the turn for the Cadillac Mountain Road, which we shouldn't have come to until almost the end of the trip. We took the road up to the top of the mountain, the "highest" mountain on the east coast coastline, and were rewarded with a view of...nothing. It was foggy and windy at the summit, no view whatsoever but we can say we made it to the top. Did a little gift shopping in the small store there, took a few pictures of the "view", gathered info for a virtual cache, and headed back down.
Kept going down the road and soon came to Bubble Pond. A beautiful little pond which would, of course, been more beautiful with better weather. We also were able to view a small part of one of the carriage roads and the associated bridge. The carriage roads were put in by the wealthy summer residents many many years ago, before automobiles. They are very popular for biking and hiking now. With our limited time we weren't able to take advantage of them.
Moving on, we saw some beautiful little waterfalls alongside the road, ponds, wooded areas, and just general beauty. Ended up at the Jordan Pond area by which time we realized we weren't on the area of the road we thought we were. We turned around, went back up the road, really didn't take us too long with no stopping, and found our mistake. Soon we were on the Park Loop road for real this time.
First stop was Sand Beach. If you wanted to you could swim there, but I'd imagine even on a warm day that water would be COLD! The sign said no dogs but given the weather we weren't worried about swimmers and carried him anyway so no worries. Beautiful views! Also worth recalling, don't remember the exact name of the area, but there was a path down to the rocks, no access to the water but the views of ocean and rocky cliffs were stunning, even in the sub-par weather. Max, by the way, has been a trooper so far today. He is managing steps like a pro, thanks to "big brother" Scott teaching him to master the basement steps while he was home on leave in April. Max is still not too geeked about riding in the car but he is enjoying the change of scenery, I think.
We stopped at Thunder Hole, which is an area that the ocean has carved out a cave where water goes in and comes out with a dramatic splash and a BOOM! Got some great pictures and just watched the power of nature for a while.
Several other beautiful scenic stops later, we were at the base of the loop (where we'd turned around before) and chose to go on a different road, which turned out to be Sargent Rd. No, we weren't home. But the same name, how cool. Sargent Rd. followed the Somes Fjord, which is the only fjord in the United States. Very nice views, and of course I managed to find a cache along the way. Once back at the main road, we followed a few more roads around, saw some more sights, and then headed back toward the campground area.
We had decided that tonight would be our lobster night. We wanted to visit a lobster pound for dinner while in Maine, and one with outdoor seating so Max could be with us. The last part didn't work out because of the weather, so we decided to leave Max in the car as the weather was misty rain and not too hot to leave him inside the car nor too cold.
We came inside and Steve ordered a full lobster. Since I had been urged to have a lobster roll while on the trip, that's what I ordered. I knew, anyway, that we had a Red Lobster gift card waiting for us at home. The lobster was good, according to Steve. The lobster roll tasted good but certainly wasn't what I expected. I didn't know that lobster rolls come COLD. Basically it's lobster salad on little more than a toasted hot dog bun. Like I said, it tasted good but certainly wasn't what I expected. Not having much knowledge, I didn't say anything at the lobster pound, but looked it up later and sure enough, they are supposed to be cold. Live and learn.
Back to the campground after stopping for one last cache, then to bed for Steve and to the laundry room for wifi for me.
Stopped at a small gas station/store just before the park entrance to gas up, and also bought coffee/hot chocolate to warm us up as we started our day. Then made a stop at the visitors center to get a map, park pass, and just generally get our bearings. Dogs not allowed inside so we took turns looking and staying with Max. $10 for a pass which was good for seven days, that will be $20 later in the season so good to go now in that regard. In just two short years Steve will be eligible for a Golden Age passport which, for $10, will allow him (and I assume whoever is in the car with him, aka ME) unlimited access to any national park for the rest of his life. That will be a good deal.
Out to the park. We were planning to follow the Park Loop Road, which is a one-way road, 27 miles I believe, around the coastline of Mount Desert Island, where the park is located. We missed one turn and actually started down the back portion, which is not one way. Our first clue should have been that we found the turn for the Cadillac Mountain Road, which we shouldn't have come to until almost the end of the trip. We took the road up to the top of the mountain, the "highest" mountain on the east coast coastline, and were rewarded with a view of...nothing. It was foggy and windy at the summit, no view whatsoever but we can say we made it to the top. Did a little gift shopping in the small store there, took a few pictures of the "view", gathered info for a virtual cache, and headed back down.
Kept going down the road and soon came to Bubble Pond. A beautiful little pond which would, of course, been more beautiful with better weather. We also were able to view a small part of one of the carriage roads and the associated bridge. The carriage roads were put in by the wealthy summer residents many many years ago, before automobiles. They are very popular for biking and hiking now. With our limited time we weren't able to take advantage of them.
Moving on, we saw some beautiful little waterfalls alongside the road, ponds, wooded areas, and just general beauty. Ended up at the Jordan Pond area by which time we realized we weren't on the area of the road we thought we were. We turned around, went back up the road, really didn't take us too long with no stopping, and found our mistake. Soon we were on the Park Loop road for real this time.
First stop was Sand Beach. If you wanted to you could swim there, but I'd imagine even on a warm day that water would be COLD! The sign said no dogs but given the weather we weren't worried about swimmers and carried him anyway so no worries. Beautiful views! Also worth recalling, don't remember the exact name of the area, but there was a path down to the rocks, no access to the water but the views of ocean and rocky cliffs were stunning, even in the sub-par weather. Max, by the way, has been a trooper so far today. He is managing steps like a pro, thanks to "big brother" Scott teaching him to master the basement steps while he was home on leave in April. Max is still not too geeked about riding in the car but he is enjoying the change of scenery, I think.
We stopped at Thunder Hole, which is an area that the ocean has carved out a cave where water goes in and comes out with a dramatic splash and a BOOM! Got some great pictures and just watched the power of nature for a while.
Several other beautiful scenic stops later, we were at the base of the loop (where we'd turned around before) and chose to go on a different road, which turned out to be Sargent Rd. No, we weren't home. But the same name, how cool. Sargent Rd. followed the Somes Fjord, which is the only fjord in the United States. Very nice views, and of course I managed to find a cache along the way. Once back at the main road, we followed a few more roads around, saw some more sights, and then headed back toward the campground area.
We had decided that tonight would be our lobster night. We wanted to visit a lobster pound for dinner while in Maine, and one with outdoor seating so Max could be with us. The last part didn't work out because of the weather, so we decided to leave Max in the car as the weather was misty rain and not too hot to leave him inside the car nor too cold.
We came inside and Steve ordered a full lobster. Since I had been urged to have a lobster roll while on the trip, that's what I ordered. I knew, anyway, that we had a Red Lobster gift card waiting for us at home. The lobster was good, according to Steve. The lobster roll tasted good but certainly wasn't what I expected. I didn't know that lobster rolls come COLD. Basically it's lobster salad on little more than a toasted hot dog bun. Like I said, it tasted good but certainly wasn't what I expected. Not having much knowledge, I didn't say anything at the lobster pound, but looked it up later and sure enough, they are supposed to be cold. Live and learn.
Back to the campground after stopping for one last cache, then to bed for Steve and to the laundry room for wifi for me.
12 days in New England - Day 5 - Tuesday, May 21
Massachusetts to Maine.
Woke up, packed up camp. We'll be sorry to leave this wonderful little piece of God's creation. Drove out of the Forest for the last time and made a gas stop in Plymouth. We headed north, driving around Boston. Would have dearly loved to spend some time there, but when planning a trip with three destinations, sacrifices must be made. I can someday see a city trip to New York City and Boston in my future.
Got to the New Hampshire border. New Hampshire has all of 17 miles of coastline, and I-95 turns into a toll road the entire 17 miles. Cost us $2.25 to go those 17 miles. Light rain had started somewhere around Boston, and followed us much of the rest of the day.
We made it into Maine, and chose to follow US 1 for the scenery and to avoid the Maine Turnpike. I had told Steve that I wanted to make a stop "to see the world." Yes, it involved caching. We stopped at Yarmouth, Maine, at DeLorme World Headquarters. DeLorme is one of the largest map makers in the world, and they have created "Eartha", an incredibly large globe taking up all of their lobby. There is a virtual cache around Eartha, as well as another cache called DeLorme Coin Vault. Took credit for both, and also bought an Eartha geocoin. Makes for a nice souvenir.
We were hoping for some Wi-Fi to check the radar on weather.com, and noticed that the nearby visitors center had free wifi. Coincidentally, it also had a cache. Cache and wifi, what more could you want. Radar wasn't too promising but it is what it is, weather wise. Can't change it and we are a two day trip from home.
We continued on our way and finally made it to Bangor, where we turned southeast and headed for Bar Harbor. We arrived at our campground, Hadley's Point, and set up camp. Nice campground though not very full as the "season" doesn't start until Memorial Day weekend. Since it wasn't the season yet, we received the spring special, which was stay two nights, get the third free. That would become even more important later in the trip.
We had been spoiled by that new bathhouse in Massachusetts. These bathrooms were more typical campground style. Flush toilets, running water, nothing fancy. Showers were separate, and cost 50 cents for 7 minutes. Free wifi but it didn't always reach to our campsite, so I spent the later evenings here in the laundry room checking email and facebook and posting cache logs.
We had hamburgers for dinner tonight, the second half of the package of 4 that I'd bought in Plymouth. Paired with couscous, a nice dinner. Steve to bed fairly early (sun set even earlier than in Mass.) and I was off to the laundry room for internet after making sure Max was settled in with Steve.
Woke up, packed up camp. We'll be sorry to leave this wonderful little piece of God's creation. Drove out of the Forest for the last time and made a gas stop in Plymouth. We headed north, driving around Boston. Would have dearly loved to spend some time there, but when planning a trip with three destinations, sacrifices must be made. I can someday see a city trip to New York City and Boston in my future.
Got to the New Hampshire border. New Hampshire has all of 17 miles of coastline, and I-95 turns into a toll road the entire 17 miles. Cost us $2.25 to go those 17 miles. Light rain had started somewhere around Boston, and followed us much of the rest of the day.
We made it into Maine, and chose to follow US 1 for the scenery and to avoid the Maine Turnpike. I had told Steve that I wanted to make a stop "to see the world." Yes, it involved caching. We stopped at Yarmouth, Maine, at DeLorme World Headquarters. DeLorme is one of the largest map makers in the world, and they have created "Eartha", an incredibly large globe taking up all of their lobby. There is a virtual cache around Eartha, as well as another cache called DeLorme Coin Vault. Took credit for both, and also bought an Eartha geocoin. Makes for a nice souvenir.
We were hoping for some Wi-Fi to check the radar on weather.com, and noticed that the nearby visitors center had free wifi. Coincidentally, it also had a cache. Cache and wifi, what more could you want. Radar wasn't too promising but it is what it is, weather wise. Can't change it and we are a two day trip from home.
We continued on our way and finally made it to Bangor, where we turned southeast and headed for Bar Harbor. We arrived at our campground, Hadley's Point, and set up camp. Nice campground though not very full as the "season" doesn't start until Memorial Day weekend. Since it wasn't the season yet, we received the spring special, which was stay two nights, get the third free. That would become even more important later in the trip.
We had been spoiled by that new bathhouse in Massachusetts. These bathrooms were more typical campground style. Flush toilets, running water, nothing fancy. Showers were separate, and cost 50 cents for 7 minutes. Free wifi but it didn't always reach to our campsite, so I spent the later evenings here in the laundry room checking email and facebook and posting cache logs.
We had hamburgers for dinner tonight, the second half of the package of 4 that I'd bought in Plymouth. Paired with couscous, a nice dinner. Steve to bed fairly early (sun set even earlier than in Mass.) and I was off to the laundry room for internet after making sure Max was settled in with Steve.
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
12 days in New England - Day 4 (Monday, May 20)
A nice morning, the rain is gone for now. A bit chilly though, wore long sleeves but changed to short sleeves by the time we left the campsite. Wish I'd changed into shorts as well.
We made our way north out of the campground and headed toward Plymouth. Even more than Cape Cod, my reason for wanting to visit this area due to my nine Mayflower ancestors. Plimoth Plantation was a major mental debate for me. Cost, plus what to do with Max contributed to my decision to forego the plantation. Maybe another time.
We arrived in Plymouth and soon found a free parking space downtown. I would imagine in a few weeks that would have been a much tougher task. We were almost right next to a statue of William Bradford and visited that first. Then walked down the street to see THE rock. Plymouth Rock. I must say I was duly unimpressed. It's just a rock with "1620" on it. They're not even sure it was actually where the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth. Anyway, to protect this rock they built a huge portico and you stand around it and look down at the rock on the beach below. You aren't even allowed to touch the rock. It's good to think about what it represents, but it wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it would be. Believe it or not, I was so geeked about seeing the rock and being in Plymouth that I didn't even take the GPSr out of the car.
On to our second disappointment. The replica of the Mayflower. It wasn't there. It was in drydock and will be back in June. Doesn't help us now. Oh well. One more reason to someday come back. We walked around the waterfront area for a while, did a little souvenir shopping, then climbed up to a small park where we found a crypt representing those who died during the first year. They were all buried together and corn planted over the graves as the Pilgrims didn't want the Indians to know just how many had died. Several of my ancestors were listed. There were also statues of a Pilgrim Mother and Massasoit during this part of our walk.
We then walked a few more blocks to visit the Jabez Howland house. This is the only surviving house in Plymouth where Pilgrims actually lived - the Pilgrims being my ancestors John & Elizabeth Howland, in their son Jabez's house. Unfortunately, the house wasn't yet open for the season so we had to be content with looking around the outside.
We walked back to the car, and headed toward the Monument to the Forefathers. This was one HUGE statue, dedicated to the memory of the Forefathers. It was bigger than lifesize, probably by two-three times. I think that it is one of the largest statues of stone anywhere. We pulled up just ahead of a tour bus so had to share the monument with many others. No worries, there was plenty of room. This time I did remember my GPS and there was a two-part cache at the monument which required me to gather some information, do some math, then find the final. I had to go into the nearby woods to look for it, and had some trouble but finally found it.
We moved on and decided to stop at Burial Hill. This proved to be the highlight of the day for me. We had read that there were several interesting monuments so decided to just wander a bit. First, we found the monument to Thomas Cushman and his wife, my ancestor Mary Allerton Cushman. Continuing our wandering, I noticed a more modern monument, erected to the memory of the children of John and Elizabeth Howland. Hmmm - there are TWO of my ancestors as I'm descended from the Howlands through two of their daughters. Started looking at the other markers in the immediate area and was rewarded with the marker for John Howland himself. Wow. Just wow.
We walked around a bit more and found William Bradford's monument, and a few other interesting ones. Getting hungry, and seeing others just enjoying the cemetery, we decided to take the chance and ate our sandwich picnic in the cemetery. Chose a respectful place, not on any graves, and cleaned up thoroughly afterwards. While we were eating I realized that there was a virtual cache in the cemetery. I went back to gather the needed information, from a monument to a shipwreck. Unfortunately, it was very hard to read the weathered inscriptions and I had to finally do internet research at home to get the information needed to log the cache.
After this we had seen much of what we had intended to see, of the places we could go with Max anyway. It would have been nice to visit some of the museums but I had had a good day of seeing places where my ancestors had been or were memorialized. Time for a little housekeeping. We went to one of the shopping areas at the edge of town for two reasons: groceries and a coat for Max. We had noticed he was getting cold at night, so decided to look for a coat for him to wear at night. We found a nice fleece coat at Petco on clearance for $4.00. Proved to be a wise choice as it didn't get warmer, just colder, as the trip went on.
We went to a nearby WalMart for some groceries, then headed back to the campground and enjoyed some relaxing time in our chairs, enjoying the lake view. Turned out to be the only time we got our chairs out on the trip.
Since some kind soul had left a large pile of firewood next to our fire ring, I made a fire and prepared foil dinners for our dinner, as well as roasted corn on the cob. The hamburger and potatoes turned out pretty good. I didn't have the corn placed quite as well, and we basically had about an ear and a halfs worth. Oh, fresh strawberries as well. Probably one of the better dinners of the trip. Dishes were fairly easy, I just walked everything down to the dishwashing station and had plenty of hot water with very little effort.
While I did the dishes, Steve decided to take the screen house down as we were leaving the next morning and the screen house was dry. The forecast called for the possibility of rain so didn't want to take any chances. Bed fairly early at 9 pm-ish. I did read from my iPod for a while though. Sunset comes about an hour earlier here, and sunrise as well.
We made our way north out of the campground and headed toward Plymouth. Even more than Cape Cod, my reason for wanting to visit this area due to my nine Mayflower ancestors. Plimoth Plantation was a major mental debate for me. Cost, plus what to do with Max contributed to my decision to forego the plantation. Maybe another time.
We arrived in Plymouth and soon found a free parking space downtown. I would imagine in a few weeks that would have been a much tougher task. We were almost right next to a statue of William Bradford and visited that first. Then walked down the street to see THE rock. Plymouth Rock. I must say I was duly unimpressed. It's just a rock with "1620" on it. They're not even sure it was actually where the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth. Anyway, to protect this rock they built a huge portico and you stand around it and look down at the rock on the beach below. You aren't even allowed to touch the rock. It's good to think about what it represents, but it wasn't as big of a deal as I thought it would be. Believe it or not, I was so geeked about seeing the rock and being in Plymouth that I didn't even take the GPSr out of the car.
On to our second disappointment. The replica of the Mayflower. It wasn't there. It was in drydock and will be back in June. Doesn't help us now. Oh well. One more reason to someday come back. We walked around the waterfront area for a while, did a little souvenir shopping, then climbed up to a small park where we found a crypt representing those who died during the first year. They were all buried together and corn planted over the graves as the Pilgrims didn't want the Indians to know just how many had died. Several of my ancestors were listed. There were also statues of a Pilgrim Mother and Massasoit during this part of our walk.
We then walked a few more blocks to visit the Jabez Howland house. This is the only surviving house in Plymouth where Pilgrims actually lived - the Pilgrims being my ancestors John & Elizabeth Howland, in their son Jabez's house. Unfortunately, the house wasn't yet open for the season so we had to be content with looking around the outside.
We walked back to the car, and headed toward the Monument to the Forefathers. This was one HUGE statue, dedicated to the memory of the Forefathers. It was bigger than lifesize, probably by two-three times. I think that it is one of the largest statues of stone anywhere. We pulled up just ahead of a tour bus so had to share the monument with many others. No worries, there was plenty of room. This time I did remember my GPS and there was a two-part cache at the monument which required me to gather some information, do some math, then find the final. I had to go into the nearby woods to look for it, and had some trouble but finally found it.
We moved on and decided to stop at Burial Hill. This proved to be the highlight of the day for me. We had read that there were several interesting monuments so decided to just wander a bit. First, we found the monument to Thomas Cushman and his wife, my ancestor Mary Allerton Cushman. Continuing our wandering, I noticed a more modern monument, erected to the memory of the children of John and Elizabeth Howland. Hmmm - there are TWO of my ancestors as I'm descended from the Howlands through two of their daughters. Started looking at the other markers in the immediate area and was rewarded with the marker for John Howland himself. Wow. Just wow.
We walked around a bit more and found William Bradford's monument, and a few other interesting ones. Getting hungry, and seeing others just enjoying the cemetery, we decided to take the chance and ate our sandwich picnic in the cemetery. Chose a respectful place, not on any graves, and cleaned up thoroughly afterwards. While we were eating I realized that there was a virtual cache in the cemetery. I went back to gather the needed information, from a monument to a shipwreck. Unfortunately, it was very hard to read the weathered inscriptions and I had to finally do internet research at home to get the information needed to log the cache.
After this we had seen much of what we had intended to see, of the places we could go with Max anyway. It would have been nice to visit some of the museums but I had had a good day of seeing places where my ancestors had been or were memorialized. Time for a little housekeeping. We went to one of the shopping areas at the edge of town for two reasons: groceries and a coat for Max. We had noticed he was getting cold at night, so decided to look for a coat for him to wear at night. We found a nice fleece coat at Petco on clearance for $4.00. Proved to be a wise choice as it didn't get warmer, just colder, as the trip went on.
We went to a nearby WalMart for some groceries, then headed back to the campground and enjoyed some relaxing time in our chairs, enjoying the lake view. Turned out to be the only time we got our chairs out on the trip.
Since some kind soul had left a large pile of firewood next to our fire ring, I made a fire and prepared foil dinners for our dinner, as well as roasted corn on the cob. The hamburger and potatoes turned out pretty good. I didn't have the corn placed quite as well, and we basically had about an ear and a halfs worth. Oh, fresh strawberries as well. Probably one of the better dinners of the trip. Dishes were fairly easy, I just walked everything down to the dishwashing station and had plenty of hot water with very little effort.
While I did the dishes, Steve decided to take the screen house down as we were leaving the next morning and the screen house was dry. The forecast called for the possibility of rain so didn't want to take any chances. Bed fairly early at 9 pm-ish. I did read from my iPod for a while though. Sunset comes about an hour earlier here, and sunrise as well.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
12 days in New England - Sunday, May 19
Day 3 started out slowly. We took our time getting up - after all, we are on vacation. Once Max and I were up, we went for a walk around the campground. It was a beautiful morning! After getting ready, we drove to Cape Cod. First stop was the Salt Pond Visitor Center where we got our bearings about the area, then we drove down the road to Coast Guard Beach. It was hard to find a parking spot, I can only imagine what it's like in summer! We took Max to the beach for his first look at the Atlantic Ocean. He didn't get to swim because Steve didn't want a wet dog in the car. Took some pictures and I picked up a perfect skipping stone. Went on to see the Nauset Lighthouse close by, then drove on down the road, stopping at several interesting sights, then ended up in Provincetown to see the Pilgrim Monument. As we suspected, dogs were not allowed, so Steve walked Max to a nearby park while I climbed the tower (one admission was given with the $10 parking fee.) I made it to the top with minimal rest stops, too. Interesting to see all the cornerstones inside which were engraved with the names of towns that helped contribute funds to build the monument. A great view from the top, too. Oh, and there was a micro cache outside the entrance.
Went into the museum briefly after my climb so that I could see the Pilgrim areas of the museum. The Pilgrim Monument commemorates the fact that the Pilgrims first landed at Provincetown before deciding to move on to Plymouth. There were some artifacts and artists renderings of what it was like during that time.
After I was done, met Steve and Max at the park and we walked around Provincetown for a while. Found another micro cache at a little park at the water's edge, went into some gift shops, and got to do some people watching too. Lots of same sex couples, this must be a favorite place.
Headed back toward the campground, stopped at a few more light houses and areas along the way. Cape Cod is beautiful, wish we'd had more time to spend there. Rain clouds were beginning to gather by the time we were back at the western part of the Cape, but we still stopped long enough to drop a few more trackables off at the Cape Cod TB Hotel. Back to the campsite and we decided we should probably put our screen tent up for shelter from the rain. Of course, Steve had never put it up at home to get familiar with it, so it was a struggle to figure it out. Finally got 'er done and just in time as it did start raining in earnest. Used the Coleman stove to cook some spaghetti. Only trouble was that it didn't quite cook enough and cooled off quickly. Probably the worst meal of the trip that we tried eating (there was the campfire pizza, but that story will be for another day.)
A bit earlier to bed than the night before as it was raining.
Went into the museum briefly after my climb so that I could see the Pilgrim areas of the museum. The Pilgrim Monument commemorates the fact that the Pilgrims first landed at Provincetown before deciding to move on to Plymouth. There were some artifacts and artists renderings of what it was like during that time.
After I was done, met Steve and Max at the park and we walked around Provincetown for a while. Found another micro cache at a little park at the water's edge, went into some gift shops, and got to do some people watching too. Lots of same sex couples, this must be a favorite place.
Headed back toward the campground, stopped at a few more light houses and areas along the way. Cape Cod is beautiful, wish we'd had more time to spend there. Rain clouds were beginning to gather by the time we were back at the western part of the Cape, but we still stopped long enough to drop a few more trackables off at the Cape Cod TB Hotel. Back to the campsite and we decided we should probably put our screen tent up for shelter from the rain. Of course, Steve had never put it up at home to get familiar with it, so it was a struggle to figure it out. Finally got 'er done and just in time as it did start raining in earnest. Used the Coleman stove to cook some spaghetti. Only trouble was that it didn't quite cook enough and cooled off quickly. Probably the worst meal of the trip that we tried eating (there was the campfire pizza, but that story will be for another day.)
A bit earlier to bed than the night before as it was raining.
12 days in New England - Day 2 - May 18
Day 2 found us waking up to a beautiful Pennsylvania morning. Steve slept for a bit longer than me, so after I cleaned up, took Max for a walk just a very short distance down the road and we found a cache there. It was part of a series for the county, would have been nice to get more of them but we had another full day of driving ahead of us.
After our usual cereal breakfast, we packed up and were on the road around 9:30 am. We saw lots of nice Pennsylvania mountains, even though we picked up some light rain from time to time. We stopped at a WalMart somewhere along the way and picked up a USB to car charger for the iPod, serving spoons that we didn't have, some non-Michigan deposit pop, and a few miscellaneous items.
We made it into New York then immediately took the first exit, as that took us down into the very tip of New Jersey, so that I could get a cache in New Jersey. Thankfully, the cache I found was called "Bovine Royalty" and was located at a Dairy Queen! We ended up eating lunch there as well as blizzards for dessert after I made the quick find. Next, we went back into New York, and stopped at the NEXT exit to get a New York cache, at a travel bug hotel. Tall grass at the cache had me wondering about ticks, and sure enough there was one crawling on my shirt a short time later. Glad Max stayed in the car for that one! Crossed the Hudson River, which cost us a $2.50 toll, and Max received his second dog biscuit from the toll collector.
Connecticut was a bit of a navigational challenge, as there didn't seem to be a direct east-west interstate except along the coastline. We managed to get through just fine, and stopped at a Park and Ride lot which was next to a hiking trail so that I could get a CT cache. Max walked with me, bet it felt good for him to stretch his legs, too. Finally made it to Rhode Island, and we stopped just inside the border next to a small historic cemetery for my RI cache.
Didn't take long before we made it to Massachusetts! Our home for the next three nights would be the Myles Standish State Forest. This was our bargain stop at only $14 per night. No electricity but the price was right. We entered the park through the south entrance, and had to drive (seems like) about 10 miles to get to our campground area which was at the north end. Curlew Pond, which was really a lake, was a beautiful place to camp. It was getting dark so I started the charcoal picnic pan which we'd brought and cooked the chicken that I'd had marinating in teriyaki sauce. Also cooked pineapple slices with the chicken. We ate in the dark but it was a good meal.
We were very pleased to find that we were just a few sites down from an ultra-modern bathhouse, just opened up a few weeks ago. Touchless sinks and dispensers, one of those ultra-powerful hand dryers, automatic flush toilets, very nice showers, and even an outdoor dishwashing station that came with hot water. After checking out one of the other bathrooms in the other direction, we were VERY thankful to be where we were.
No wifi, no electricity, so just read a book on my iPod to get to sleep.
After our usual cereal breakfast, we packed up and were on the road around 9:30 am. We saw lots of nice Pennsylvania mountains, even though we picked up some light rain from time to time. We stopped at a WalMart somewhere along the way and picked up a USB to car charger for the iPod, serving spoons that we didn't have, some non-Michigan deposit pop, and a few miscellaneous items.
We made it into New York then immediately took the first exit, as that took us down into the very tip of New Jersey, so that I could get a cache in New Jersey. Thankfully, the cache I found was called "Bovine Royalty" and was located at a Dairy Queen! We ended up eating lunch there as well as blizzards for dessert after I made the quick find. Next, we went back into New York, and stopped at the NEXT exit to get a New York cache, at a travel bug hotel. Tall grass at the cache had me wondering about ticks, and sure enough there was one crawling on my shirt a short time later. Glad Max stayed in the car for that one! Crossed the Hudson River, which cost us a $2.50 toll, and Max received his second dog biscuit from the toll collector.
Connecticut was a bit of a navigational challenge, as there didn't seem to be a direct east-west interstate except along the coastline. We managed to get through just fine, and stopped at a Park and Ride lot which was next to a hiking trail so that I could get a CT cache. Max walked with me, bet it felt good for him to stretch his legs, too. Finally made it to Rhode Island, and we stopped just inside the border next to a small historic cemetery for my RI cache.
Didn't take long before we made it to Massachusetts! Our home for the next three nights would be the Myles Standish State Forest. This was our bargain stop at only $14 per night. No electricity but the price was right. We entered the park through the south entrance, and had to drive (seems like) about 10 miles to get to our campground area which was at the north end. Curlew Pond, which was really a lake, was a beautiful place to camp. It was getting dark so I started the charcoal picnic pan which we'd brought and cooked the chicken that I'd had marinating in teriyaki sauce. Also cooked pineapple slices with the chicken. We ate in the dark but it was a good meal.
We were very pleased to find that we were just a few sites down from an ultra-modern bathhouse, just opened up a few weeks ago. Touchless sinks and dispensers, one of those ultra-powerful hand dryers, automatic flush toilets, very nice showers, and even an outdoor dishwashing station that came with hot water. After checking out one of the other bathrooms in the other direction, we were VERY thankful to be where we were.
No wifi, no electricity, so just read a book on my iPod to get to sleep.
12 days in New England - Day 1 (May 17, 2013)
Due to popular demand, and after a fairly long hiatus (has it really been last September since I last blogged?) my viewing public will be treated to "12 days in New England" through RedhedMary's eyes. We decided to take a trip to celebrate our 30th anniversary, and it evolved into three nights each in Cape Cod, Maine, and New Hampshire, with travel time in between. With Steve not working, it also became a camping trip to cut down expenses a little.
Here is the saga of Day 1:
Everything was loaded up the night before both in the car (taking the '11 brown Outback) and the little camper, except for a few last minute things and the cooler.
Let me tell you about the little camper: it's made to pull behind a motorcycle, and my mom & Phil bought it about 15 years ago to pull behind their small car. They later upgraded to a hard sided camper and gifted us with the little camper. I've also been referring to it as "tent in a box" since it is basically a tent on an approx. 6 x 8 ft. mattress platform, with a small "basement" area (all tent) under the front for storage. There is also storage under the platform, which can be accessed whether or not the tent is up.
Ok, back to Day 1. We finished the last minute loading, and left at about 10:00 a.m. Not even to Lowell, and we couldn't remember whether or not we closed the garage door. D'oh! Back home to check - we had, of course, closed the garage door. New start at about 10:15 a.m.
I-96 down to US 23, through Ann Arbor and Toledo, then on to some Ohio highways to get over to the Akron area. We stopped for lunch at a "quaint" little roadside area on Ohio 13 which had flush urinals but pit toilets for the ladies. Go figure. While Steve was in the restroom, Max and I headed for the cache that was in the rest area. First find of the trip, and the only Ohio find of the trip as well. A nice picnic lunch and then on we went.
Went through Akron and we were able to see (from the interstate) the main Goodyear plant where Steve had done an internship while in college. Kept on going - soon made it into Pennsylvania. The interstate was getting more scenic - and we were getting ready to stop. Finally made it to our first campground, stop for the night, at Clearfield, Pennsylvania. The campsite turned out to be mainly an RV park - we were put into a pull through site near many RVs, made us feel pretty small. Very friendly owners, they even gave Max a dog biscuit when we checked in. (Max isn't into hard biscuits, picky little thing that he is, but it was a nice gesture nonetheless.)
Set up camp and cooked our first dinner of the trip. Hamburgers and mashed potatoes on the Coleman stove. It was soon dark, we would find darkness came earlier and earlier the further east we were. Since the campground had wifi, I was able to catch up on my email and facebook in the camper since we had brought an electrical cord that let me charge the iPod.
Max slept between us, on his dog bed. There was just enough room for him there. We kept him attached to the cable which gave him plenty of freedom inside the camper but would keep him from running off if he did somehow get outside. He was content to stay with us though, so the cable wasn't really needed but we used it anyway.
Here is the saga of Day 1:
Everything was loaded up the night before both in the car (taking the '11 brown Outback) and the little camper, except for a few last minute things and the cooler.
Let me tell you about the little camper: it's made to pull behind a motorcycle, and my mom & Phil bought it about 15 years ago to pull behind their small car. They later upgraded to a hard sided camper and gifted us with the little camper. I've also been referring to it as "tent in a box" since it is basically a tent on an approx. 6 x 8 ft. mattress platform, with a small "basement" area (all tent) under the front for storage. There is also storage under the platform, which can be accessed whether or not the tent is up.
Ok, back to Day 1. We finished the last minute loading, and left at about 10:00 a.m. Not even to Lowell, and we couldn't remember whether or not we closed the garage door. D'oh! Back home to check - we had, of course, closed the garage door. New start at about 10:15 a.m.
I-96 down to US 23, through Ann Arbor and Toledo, then on to some Ohio highways to get over to the Akron area. We stopped for lunch at a "quaint" little roadside area on Ohio 13 which had flush urinals but pit toilets for the ladies. Go figure. While Steve was in the restroom, Max and I headed for the cache that was in the rest area. First find of the trip, and the only Ohio find of the trip as well. A nice picnic lunch and then on we went.
Went through Akron and we were able to see (from the interstate) the main Goodyear plant where Steve had done an internship while in college. Kept on going - soon made it into Pennsylvania. The interstate was getting more scenic - and we were getting ready to stop. Finally made it to our first campground, stop for the night, at Clearfield, Pennsylvania. The campsite turned out to be mainly an RV park - we were put into a pull through site near many RVs, made us feel pretty small. Very friendly owners, they even gave Max a dog biscuit when we checked in. (Max isn't into hard biscuits, picky little thing that he is, but it was a nice gesture nonetheless.)
Set up camp and cooked our first dinner of the trip. Hamburgers and mashed potatoes on the Coleman stove. It was soon dark, we would find darkness came earlier and earlier the further east we were. Since the campground had wifi, I was able to catch up on my email and facebook in the camper since we had brought an electrical cord that let me charge the iPod.
Max slept between us, on his dog bed. There was just enough room for him there. We kept him attached to the cable which gave him plenty of freedom inside the camper but would keep him from running off if he did somehow get outside. He was content to stay with us though, so the cable wasn't really needed but we used it anyway.
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