Day 13 - Saco

We travelled South again to Saco this morning, stopping in on the way to the Main Wildlife Preserve. Here are a couple of photos we took whilst we were there.

These are some American Deer and if you read all the warnings around the enclosure, their saliva has caused alergic reactions to several adults and children... so I guess this works like a peanut alergy... you don't eat their saliva?!?!



This is a Bobcat... which aren't as big as I was expecting. To put it into perspective, they are quite a lot larger than a standard cat and probably about the size of a medium dog. Now, by medium dog, I mean one of those sensible sized ones that can walk on its own and keep pace with its owner, not one that has to be carried in a handbag!



This is also a bobcat... this one was as big as I was expecting!



Finally this is an American Turkey... We shouted "Thanks Giving" at it and it ran off!



After the Wildlife place, we drove the rest of the way down to Saco. For those that remember our last trip, Saco was the first campground we stayed at when we got the RV last time. It was quite interesting to see how much of the area we still remembered. There used to be a carport just next to the campground that we turned around it, but this is now a Nissan Car dealership. I did check and the tree I almost took out the last time we were here is still standing which brought back some fond memories of our last holiday.

Day 12 - Freeport

Today we drove down the coastline to Freeport (still in Maine) we had the fun of driving along about 6 miles of single lane motorway whilst they resurfaced the entire thing.

Freeport has a large shopping district where there are Outlets of several major chains. We even found "The British Store" which stocked everything quintessentially British which is quite interesting when you are surrounded by Americans looking at stuff we would consider common place.

The temperature is on the up here at the moment, it reached around 95 degrees (about 35 on the Celcius scale) whilst we were walking around and then went insanely humid just prior to another lightning storm. We saw quite a bit of fork lightning as we drove back to the campground.

Oh and Caz got ID'd at the local supermarket when she tried to buy alcohol.. (he he)

In the UK we tend to adopt a "Think 21" or "Think 25" policy whereas over here it's a "Think 40" or "Think 45" policy, so as long as you look under 40 you get ID'd. So in many respects, it's a good thing that Caz got ID'd... unfortunately when I tried to buy alcohol the time before, I DIDN'T get ID'd :o( So now I am going to have a beer or two and sulk about the fact that I obviously look over 40!

Day 11 - Acadia - The Last Day

This is was our last day in Acadia, tomorrow morning we are heading South towards Freeport and Portland. We started the day at a lobster hatchery where they are trying to increase the population of lobsters for farming purposes. The vast majority of the hatcherys were goverment run and the recent economic problems have caused most of them to close, but there is one in Bar Harbor that is still open.

It was quite interesting to see the different stages of a lobsters growth, they start off life smaller than the eye can see and are highly canabalistic at this point. They also look a lot like a shrimp and its not for several weeks before they start to develop to actually look like lobsters as we know them.

They showed us a video of how they release them back into the wild when they are sufficiently grown. This is when they are about 25 mm long and they release 70,000 or so back into the sea. Of this only around 30 to 40 % will survive to become fully grown lobsters. Whilst this doesn't sound a lot, if the process was to happen naturally, they only expect around a 10th of 1% to survive and to accomodate the current requirements for lobsters, they need hatcheries to do this.

We rounded the day off with some Pirate themed putt-putt golf and almost got sun burn again due to the heat, but a healthy does of sun-tan lotion stopped that from happening!



The weather finally changed last night, we had a mighty thunderstorm which knocked out the power to then entire area last night and has left a goodly portion of the campsite flooded.. it's a good job we are moving on this morning!

Day 10 - Acadia - Whale Watching

Today we went Whale watching or at least we tried to... we reached the sea front only to find the dreaded Maine fog had reached land.



It's no wonder this fog inspired such films as Stephen King's "The Mist" and err... The Fog, we thought it might be about time to jump ship as we passed a suitably spooky ship on leaving harbour. In fact they offered us the option of getting a full refund as the fog would seriously affect the ability to see any Whales...



... but we stuck with it and were suitably rewarded on reaching the Gulf of Maine (close to the Canadian Border) when these Fin Tales popped up to say hello...



We also had a couple of curious Sea Lions come over to find out what we were doing.

Day 9 - Acadia National Park - By Night

We returned to the top of Mount Cadillac at sunset to get a few more photos.

Day 9 - Acadia National Park - Lunch

Hmmm Early Bird Lobster Special..

Day 9 - Acadia National Park - By Day

We spent a lot of today exploring the one way round trip road on the island. There are plenty of places designed to allow you to stop and take photos and the entire place is controlled by the Park Rangers who look after the upkeep of the roads and walkways ($10 admission fee for 7 days).

This first one is on a place called Sandy Beach, one of only a couple of life guard on duty beaches which is completely sandy. We were warned that the water was still quite cold, but you never believe these things until you try for yourself. Needless t say... its damn cold!



This next one is at a place called Jordan Park. They have 3 carparks and we had to try all of them before we found a space. They have a little restaurant so we stopped in and skipped straight to desert. Brownie's and Blueberry Ice-cream for Caz and Blueberry Pie for me. I guess I should point out that Blueberries grow wild in Acadia and you can buy just about anything that is made from blueberries!



Finally we made it to the top of Mount Cadillac named for Antoine Laumet de La Mothe
who discovered Acadia and founded Detroit amongst other things. The peak is about 1500 feet above sea level and the views on a clear day are stunning. The first picture here shows the Town of Bar Harbour and Bar Island which you can walk to at Low Tide... you get wet feet if you try and walk there during High Tide.

Day 8 - Bar Harbour

We made it to Bar Harbour, a place we wanted to visit last time, but decided against due to time restrictions as its a fair distance up the North East Coast line. There is a little island called Mt Desert which is connected to the mainland via a bridge. This is home to Acadia National Park and if you ever get the chance you should visit it, it has some absolutely lovely views and scenic areas to walk around.

Oh and our lodge has a Gas BBQ. We had some Hot dogs on it today to give it a test run, but now I am off to the store to buy me some Meat and beer!

Day 8 - The Drive to Maine

Today we headed East again, towards Maine. On the way, we stopped in at 47 West Broadway in Bangor for Tea and a Short Story, unfortunately Mr King was not in residence, so we took a couple of picys and headed on to Bar Harbour.

Day 7 - Cannon Mountain

The last remaining clouds cleared today and we took a Cable Car to the top of Cannon Mountain (4200 ft above sea Level). It's principly a Ski Resort area, but you can't beat the views from this height, although I think something is lost in a photo as they don't really capture the moment.

As you can see, the viewing distace was phenomenal and in the second photo, on the horizon, there is an area of the mountain about a 1/3 from the left side that looks like it has been scooped out (I did mark the photo, but you might have to click on it to enlarge the photo to see it). Just the other side of this is Canada.

Day 6 - New Hampshire - Flume Gorge

The rain stopped sometime during the night and this morning was glorious weather again. We headed over to Flume Gorge where they have a 3 or 4 mile round loop that takes you around the park area and up the sides of a couple of waterfalls. The entire area was created in the aftermath of the last ice age when the region was covered snow and ice which cracked up the land as it melted and refroze. This eroded the softer soil leaving the the harder granite to make the gorge and waterfalls... anyway, enough of a geography lesson.

All in all it was a nice round trip, there was sufficient wind to keep the bugs away and I got to play with some of the features of my camera to take these photos.

Day 5 - New Hampshire

It rained! Not a lot else I can say really...

Day 4 - Ben and Jerry's

About another 2 hours drive north west took us to the Ben and Jerrys factory tour, its well worth a visit for the endless cow related puns, the history of how they got started and the audience participation... Many of you will know how much I "love" audience participation. That aside, we got some free samples and I got into an argument with the tour guide over why Vanilla was the best flavour! Not sure I am allowed back anymore...

Day 3 - Vermont

We travelled North-West today through the forests of New Hampshire and into Vermont. Vermont is famed (amongst other things) for her covered bridges, the one here is reported to be the longest in the US. The exact reason why they built covered bridges seems to be lost to the mists of time, but there are several perfectly good explanations that they are happy to tell you, so take your pick!

1) To keep you dry during the rain
2) To make the horses feel more safe when travelling over rushing water
3) To make the bridges last longer in the Vermont Weather
4) To stop the bridges getting covered in snow.

We stopped off in a couple of places to admire the sceneary and took a stroll down to see the Queechee Gorge (I think that's how you spelt it!) but we did little else today due to the long drive, especially when our Sat Nav packed up about half way through when it no longer recognised any road maps in the United States and we didn't have any paper maps to fall back on... which was Fun!

We finally pitched up in our tent and collapse for the night!

Day 2 - Cape Cod

We managed to find a 50's diner for breakfast this morning. Very friendly people, plenty with plenty of coffee and corned beef hash.. yummers!

After breakfast, we drove down to Cape Code, its a lovely ocean front area just south of Boston. From a historical note, it was the first place the Pilgrims landed when they arrived, but after around 5 days and several attacks, they moved north before finally landing at Plymouth (and Pilgrims Rock). We spent the day wandering around the Pilgrim monument they have here along with large displays to arctic exploring and whaling along with spending time on the seafront. This is another one of those places that has 100's of identical stores that sell overpriced merchandise... oh and cocktails... 1000's and 1000's of cocktail bars. Time for a Mojito I think :o)

One piece of advice if you ever decide to visit Cape Cod. Don't go on Memorial Day weekend! On the drive back, we were essentially following the Evacuation route, but as you can see from the photo, I would not like to be evacuating if there was a real emergency! I think 4 hours later, we were about 20 miles further down the road and longing for the convenience of that toilet in our RV again.

Day 1 - Our first Campsite

So here we are in the Cape Cod KOA (Kampsites of America). No that's not a typo, they have this thing about using a "K" for camping at this particular chain of campgrounds. We will be mainly staying in these log cabin type buildings with a couple of days interspersed in a tent. The cabins are fairly basic, there is a bed with indoor lighting and a small fan. The cabins get incredibly hot during the day and there is a small window at the back and the door at the front which does not provide that good a means of cooling them down.

Anyway, tomorrow we are off to Cape Cod.

Day 1 - The Arrival

So here we are back in the states! It's a year on and our Visa's are still valid. we've made it through customs and found our hire car. Not quite the size of our previous vehicle, but comfortable none-the-less. It's a damn site easier to drive this thing through the streets of Boston than the RV, but then again you can't compare with the convenience of having your own toilet in your vehicle. Pros and Cons I suppose. Oh well! Today we are headed South to an area just below Boston called Cape Cod.