We arrived in Meredith on Thursday to a cool but sunny day.  We had seen a forecast that said the weather was not anticipated to be good for several days so we decided we needed to check out the town right away.  We found a charming town on a lake and probably a high traffic summer vacation area.  Jim took some pictures for you to see.

Lake Winnipesaukee

Hotel on Lake Winnipesaukee, NH

Downtown Meredith, NH

It was a smart decision to check out the town when we arrived on Thursday because it rained all day yesterday (Friday).  We spent the day hanging around our RV until around 3 pm when “cabin fever” set in.  We decided it was time to go out in spite of the rain and went to Duncan Donuts for coffee and free WiFi.We are hoping today, Saturday, the rain will let up enough to see some sights.

The forecast for today was cloudy and rainy so we intentionally saved this trip for today.  Today is our trip to L. L. Bean.  Like so many people, we have bought things online from them or visited local retail stores, but we have never seen the place where it started 100 years ago.  It was only about 30 miles from where we are staying and an easy drive on Interstate Hwy to Freeport.  Once you get off the hwy, there are lots of signs to direct you to the “village”, and a village it is.  There are multiple buildings housing their various  products.  There are separate buildings for Retail, Home, Fishing and Hunting, Bike Boat and Ski, and an Outlet Store within an entire outlet mall of other stores.  Then of course, there is a Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Shop.

We walked the village and gave appropriate attention to several of the stores remembering we were still on our Advil regiment from the day before and retreated with our treasures, knowing we were leaving Maine having seen all we had on our “bucket list”.

The Maine coast is definitely a popular destination for many people and with good reason.  There are many wonderful things to see and experience along the coast.  Today, however, we decided to explore a different part of Maine.  Instead of going east again, we went west towards the mountains to a small town named Bethel that is advertised as “Maine’s most beautiful mountain village”.  This small town borders the White Mountain National Forest and appears to offer recreational opportunities in every season.  We decided to test the advertisement.

Road to Bethel, ME

Bethel is about a 2 hour drive on small roads through small towns but we felt the ride was well worth it.  The town has all sorts of recreational activities during each of the seasons including Nordic Skiing in the winter (actually the ski and snowshoeing capital of Maine) and lots of outdoor activities in the spring and summer.  In the fall their trees put on a splendid show of color and they have several festival weekends.  Our timing wasn’t right for any of the activities but it was great for the leaves and taking in the natural sights available all.

Our first stop was the Artists’ Covered Bridge.  This bridge was built in 1872 and has the distinction of being the most photographed and painted covered bridge in Maine.

View from Covered Bridge

From there we drove to the Step Falls Preserve and walked about ¾ of a mile through a rocky wooded trail to the top of the 250 foot water fall with breathtaking views.  It is one of the highest falls in Maine.

Falls @ Step Preserve

Thank goodness I had “the country boy” with me to show me how to follow the trail or I would still be trying to find my way out.  On the way up, there was a huge tree that had fallen on the trail so I proceeded to climb over it, using up quite a bit of energy I might add.

Why don’t you use the trail?

On the way down, we met a young family headed up to the falls and when I started to show off how a woman of my age was agile enough to get over this huge tree, they pointed out a trail that goes around the tree.  Duh!

The next stop was into Grafton Notch State Park.  There are several trails and falls in the Park but we were advised to be sure to see at least two of the spots; Screw Auger Falls Gorge and Moose Cave Gorge.  Screw Auger Falls Gorge was by far my favorite.  The gorge is one of the narrowest in the State, being only 9.8 feet wide but it contains several waterfall cascades with a total drop of 23 feet.  Over the years, the water has created this gorge by eroding the rock to form the falls.  You need to know we did some fancy rock climbing to get these pictures.

Screw Auger Falls Gorge

The final stop was Moose Cave.  This was a short but step filled trail leading to a cave created by granite boulder falling in a fault zone.  The sign warns you not to get too close to the edge so you don’t fall in like the victim for whom the cave was named.

Moose Cave

As we travelled west, it was obvious the trees were turning quicker in the mountain areas than on the coast, although we had already commented that the leaves were turned more after the rain over the weekend.

Turning leaves in western Maine

By the time we finished these three nature walks, my knees were screaming my age and I knew it was going to be another Advil night. On the way back home, we noticed this huge crank telephone standing in a square.  When we stopped and looked at the plaque we saw it commemorated this town’s use of the crank phone until 1981.

We hope you enjoy the pictures and a less travelled part of Maine.  On Thursday we will be moving to New Hampshire.

What  a fun day!  We started with a drive to Pemaquid Point to see the lighthouse that is pictured on the Maine quarter produced by the US Mint.

Pemaquid Lighthouse – Pemaquid Point, ME

The lighthouse was originally commissioned in 1826 by John Quincy Adams.  It is not a tall lighthouse like Ponce Inlet in Daytona, but sits high on a bank over looking Booth Bay.  This is one of the lighthouses you can actually climb to the top so, of course, we took the winding staircase to the top and got some beautiful pictures.

View from Pemaquid Lighthouse

After two days of cloudy/rainy weather the sky was filled with soft fluffy clouds that accentuated the blue sky.  We even walked on the extensive granite-like rocks in front of the buildings.

MG walking on the rocks in front of the lighthouse

We left Pemaquid Point and drove back to Booth Bay Harbor.

Tour Boat at Booth Bay Harbor

We were there on Friday and it was crowded with people visiting for the weekend or on bus tours.  Everywhere you looked there were throngs of people filling all the shops and restaurants.  Today was a totally different story.  There was no car traffic to speak of; so limited, in fact, you could walk in the streets without fear of being hit or obstructing the flow.  We were taking the 1 o’clock boat tour around the bay passing by three of the seven lighthouses in the bay, one of which is the Permaquid Lighthouse so we could see it from the water’s side.  It was already 12:15 when we got to Booth Bay and we were hungry so after buying our tickets we asked about a quick place to get a bite.  We were directed to a deli and what a find it turned out to be.  This was the last day this deli was opened for the season so everything was half priced.  They had a specialty sandwich made on thick- cut homemade bread that made the sandwich (no exaggeration) three to four inches high.  The bread was fresh and the sandwich was wonderful, or maybe we were just hungry.

The boat tour lasted about two and half hours passing the Ram Island lighthouse, the Burnt Island lighthouse and then Pemaquid.

Ram Island Lighthouse in Booth Bay Harbor

Pemaquid Point Lighthouse from boat

Burnt Island Lighthouse

I never realized there were so many small islands in Booth Bay and many of them are owned by individuals who use them as summer retreats.  Each of them has water and electricity out to the islands which I understand was accomplished by around the mid 1970’s.  One island has a huge mansion and an eight story observation tower constructed on it.  It was originally built by the creator of Alka Seltzer, Dr. Miles from Miles laboratories.  If you are interested, there are summer homes on islands available to rent for you and your family.  One in particular has eight bedrooms and four bathrooms and can be enjoyed for only $30,000 per week designed to accommodate up to 10.

Home on Private Island

One the way back into the harbor we got a bonus added to the tour that is not usually there.  For those of us who can remember the Brando/Bogart version of Mutiny on the Bounty, we saw the actual ship used in that movie.  It was built for that movie and is a replica of the ships of that day.  We were told it was, and may still be the most expensive prop built for a movie.  It has recently been used in all three of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies as well.  It was going to be demolished after the Bounty movie, but Brando couldn’t see that happening and bought it.

Bounty in Dry Dock – Booth Bay Harbor

It is currently owned by someone who lives on Long Island.  It is brought here for repairs and maintenance because of the experience of the shipbuilders in this area.

After getting off our tour boat, we walked across the foot bridge to the other side and watched a lobster boat come in with its catch and the process of sizing and weighing the catch for payment.  Jim took some great pictures.

Lobsters being on loaded at dock from local fisherman

One of the larger Lobsters caught

We walked around and looked in the shops and then went for dinner.  We did the lobster dinner again.  We are getting pretty good at breaking them apart and getting all the meat.  It’s probably the only food you can eat making such a mess and not be considered ill-mannered.

A truly wonderful touch of Maine day.

It’s been three days since we’ve posted anything on the blog but there wasn’t much to talk about.  As the comedic song writer from the 60’s, Shel Silverstein said, “After you’ve been eating steak for a long time, beans taste fine.”  We just needed to be laid back and normal for a while.  Even adventure gets to be mundane if you have them all the time.

We moved to a small RV park near Augusta, Maine on Thursday.  There are only 15 sites in the park and at the end of October the owners will be closing it down and going to Clermont, Florida for the Winter.  I can’t say I blame them.  Since we moved here, its been overcast or rainy and never over 65 degrees.  You can tell immediately we are tourist because we are wearing jackets and the locals are still running around in shorts and tank tops.

We went to Booth Bay Harbor and Bath on Friday just to get a sense of what was there.  Of course, we found a great restaurant and ate there.  The chefs in this area sure do know how to make incredible chowder and they can make lobster “anything”.  Jim had lobster quesadilla which is a new one on me, but he said it was really good.  We lined up a lighthouse boat tour for sometime this week.  We are hoping to see the sun sometime before we move on.

I was originally going to call this post, “A Night of Terror” or “The Night from Hell” but reconsidered in the light of day when things didn’t seem so scary.

Last night was a horrible night for me.  That storm that came from the mid-west with all the rain and wind came through Maine last night.  Lest you think I am faint of heart, let me explain. Each of the three slideouts on the RV have a canopy over the top to keep leaves and dirt from coming into the RV when the slides are in.  These covers sit about four inches above the top of the slide outs.  When the wind began last night, the wind would catch the canopies and make a horrible sound like they were being ripped off.  In case you haven’t heard, the wind was consistently at around 25 mph with gusts up to 38 mph.  Inside the RV, this sounded like we were being blown apart.  The wind gusts would also cause some creaking and movement. At 1 o’clock in the morning and I was wide awake hearing all this racket and wondering when we were going to be blown over or blown apart.  Jim slept soundly.  I got out of bed thinking maybe it wouldn’t sound as bad in the living room.  Not true.  Out there it sounded like the world was coming to an end.  I started to think about tornadoes and how they often come out of these storms so I checked the sky looking for funnel clouds.  I told myself I was being silly and to go back to bed. I tried sleeping again but no luck.  Tossing and turning was all I could accomplish for about an hour.  I got up again.  This time I checked Weather.com to see what it said.  Sure enough there was a severe wind advisory until 11 am.  I read all the tips of what to do during one of these, but there was no information about being inside an RV.  I went back to bed and still Jim was sleeping soundly.  We are going to die and he doesn’t even know it!  I thought about it for a while then decided he needed to know too.  I gently woke him up and asked him what we should do.  His response was, “There’s nothing you can do.  Go back to sleep”.  Within seconds he was sleeping soundly again.  Lucky for him I don’t believe in physical violence or it might have gotten ugly.   Then the rains began drowning out  some of the wind noise.  Somewhere around 3:30 am I finally fell asleep not because I felt safer, but because I was too tired to care.

The morning came way too soon, but with enough caffeine stimulant, the lack of sleep seemed irrelevant.  It continued to rain until around 11:30 am and after lunch we decided to make the best of our last day.  We went back to Acadia with no real mission in mind.

High Tide at Thunder Hole in Acadia National Park

Spent some time investigating some of the stores in Ellsworth and finished the day with a wonderful dinner at the Union River Lobster Pot. Continue reading →

Today was a day of checking out the “off the beaten path” things we wanted to see before we move on farther south.  The weather was only going to hold for a little while, so we started early.  First stop was the Southwest Harbor

Southwest Harbor, ME

with more harbor sights and photos, and then on to the second lighthouse in Acadia. On the way, we saw a house with geraniums planted all around on the fence which was spectacular.

Geraniums along road to Bass Harbor

We noticed that many of the bridges have flower boxes on the railings which is really nice.

Friendly Deer by the road on way to Bass Harbor Lighthouse

The Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse is really hard to get to.  You go down lots of wooden stairs, then steps made from natural rock, followed by climbing through the coastal rock to get to an angle to see just the tip of the light.  Nevertheless, we were there with a handful of other undaunted tourists and got a good picture.

Bass Harbor Lighthouse

Now it was lunch and time to visit a local lobster pound to pick out a lobster, watch them cook and chow down.  Probably the sweetest lobster I have ever eaten.  I usually try to avoid lobster but this was a “must do” since we were in the area.  I found out that lobster, without the butter, is one of the best foods you can eat filled with vitamins and nutrients and low in calories, no cholesterol, and no fat.

Our Lobsters just came out of the boiling pot

After lunch we went to Bucksport for a sight you cannot take in anywhere else in the world.  Crossing the Penobscot River is the newest cable bridge in the country and the only one with an observation room at the top of one of the two tall towers at each end.

The new replaced the old Bridge

View from Bridge Observatory  of Penobscot River and town of Bucksport, ME

There is another one in Thailand, but this bridge is the tallest in the world.  Picture a cable bridge with a Washington Monument at either end.  The observation room is 420 feet high and gives you a true panoramic view of the area.

Also located on the same property is the “other” Fort Knox.

Parade ground view of Ft Knox

General Knox has two forts named after him; the famous one in Kentucky and this one in Maine.  The local people have done a good job of preserving and restoring it as a historical site.  For this kind of project you need money and they have found interesting ways to raise some.  I saw posters advertising a Ghost Walk through the fort and also they do a haunted house for Halloween right in the fort.  Clever!

As you can see from the pictures, the weather was deteriorating so we decided to head back and settle in for the night.  The forecast is for wind and rain for tonight and tomorrow morning.  Our activities for the day may be limited based on the weather.

We started the day with 38 degree temperatures but prospects for a bright sunny day.  Acadia National Park has a main road for vehicles that circles the park with parking at many of the most visited locations.  The roads are OK but to get a closer look, we decided to take advantage of the Carriage Roads specifically designed for horses, bicycles, and pedestrian traffic.

MG on Carriage Trail

There are 45 miles of carriage roads in the park that were a gift from John D. Rockefeller Jr. and family.  The roads were originally designed as a way for people to see the natural beauty of the park without having to be concerned with the automobiles. Riding their horses or riding in horse-drawn carriages was the vehicle of choice for which they were built.  Most of the grades up and down are gradual to accommodate the carriages.  The only problem is, to keep them gradual, they must extend a long way.  Each hill we rode on had to be a minimum of a half mile long.  The first hill we encountered was a little bit of a shock to me because just when it looked like you have reached the top of the hill, it would turn and there would be more hill.  I found myself huffing and puffing like a train, all the while saying, “I think I can.  I think I can.”  These endless hills were a real challenge and I wanted to talk to the people who had said they weren’t that bad.  The roads are actually made of three layers of rock covered with sand and gravel.  I read in one of the brochures that most of the accidents in Acadia happen on bicycles and decided that was probably why.  It was hard to look around at the scenery because I wanted to keep my eyes on the road.  Besides, punctuating the road were these fresh little “packages”recently left by horses.  You don’t want to run into one of those either!  Since there were only “fresh” piles and none appeared more than one day old, I can only surmise they actually hire someone to clean that up each day.  I’d hate to have to write that job description.

We parked at Bubble Pond which is actually two round hills they call the “bubbles” and rode to  Jordan Pond where there is a restaurant.

View of Jordan’s Pond from our table at restaurant

The restaurant was originally opened in the late 1800s which Rockefeller bought from the owners around 1945 and gave to the park.  Their noted for their homemade popovers and  homemade ice cream.  We opted for a table outside and found a lovely area filled with tables looking over Bubble Pond and the twin peaks.

The food was really good and the homemade strawberry jam made the popovers.

After lunch we got back on the bikes to ride to Eagle Lake.

Eagle Lake from Carriage Road

Again dealing with the long torturous hills.  Suddenly I looked down and realized my gear on the left side was at the highest level and I was killing myself going up these hills for no reason.  Oh well!  Another Advil day.

While we were riding I noticed something else.  Although some of the roads we drove on yesterday looked like the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, I don’t believe the color in the fall could ever be as dramatic because there is a high percentage of evergreen trees on these mountains.  Much more than I ever saw in North Carolina.

By the end of the day, we had ridden over 11 miles and seen a lot of beautiful lakes, ponds and mountains.  Although 11 miles doesn’t sound like a lot, you have to remember I did more then half the HARD way.