Leaving Vermont, we spent a night in New Hampshire and we’re back on the road again! We’re taking our time….but let’s get to Maine!
“Bienvenue” is French for “Welcome”! We finally got to Montpelier, VT. (We had planned to be through here a week ago, see our last blog post about God’s detour) We’re enjoying the scenery, crossing the rivers, and seeing lots of “timbers” along the way.
We stayed one night in New Hampshire at Timberland Campground – a great place!
And we made it to Maine! Crossing the country from the bottom of SW California to the tip of NE Maine continues to be a great journey. We saw lots of logging trucks on the way hauling timbers – this is obviously a thriving industry in Maine! We’re making lots of memories on this 50th year of marriage excursion.
We stopped and had a quiet, peaceful, and restful picnic on the bank of Kennebec River. Kayakers were on the water making it look so inviting. We’ve learned there is a lot of history here – it’s fun to imagine what life would have been like back in the day!
The business of ice cutting and harvesting was a booming one on the Kennebec River. In fact, according to Maine History Online, the worth of Maine’s ice business at its peak in the late 1880s and 90s was more than California’s gold production!
After settling in at our campsite for the next few days, we set out to find a “lobstah” roll! Our first stop was a lobster pound just down the street from our campground. We stared at the menu…a lobster roll at market price was $32.00! (and the fries were an extra $5.00!) Yikes! But hey, let’s enjoy, right?! We were served cold chunks of lobster meat mixed in mayonnaise on a bun, that’s a lobster roll – and it was very good. We split one between us and glad we did as there was so much meat.
Then on to Bar Harbor. What a beautiful and colorful area! We enjoyed a great view of the harbor and this thriving fishing city. One of the main lobster harvesting areas of Maine.
As you look across the harbor, there are thousands of colorful buoys floating out there. Each design is unique to the fisherman that owns them. Under each one is a large lobster trap. These are often checked every other day for a harvest and then re-baited with dried salted herring or haddock, tuna, and mackerel. There could be anywhere from one to twelve lobsters in one trap when they pull them up. It takes lobsters an average of 5 to 7 years to grow to legal size. Any lobster that is smaller in carapace (shell) length than 3-1/4″ must be returned unharmed to the sea. A lobster that weighs 3 pounds is an estimated 15-20 years old! There’s a reason we associate Maine with lobsters—the state has led American lobster landings for over 3 decades. Massachusetts is the second leading producer. Together, these two states produce 93 percent of the total U.S. harvest!
Our first night in Maine just had to be a romantic sunset over the harbor, and God didn’t disappoint! We drove to Seal Cove, a parking space was “just waiting for us”. After we walked along the shore for a little way a sitting bench was “just waiting for us”. (The message on the bench says, “we’re not here for a long time, we’re here for a good time”) We thanked God out loud and chuckled at His exuberant abundant love for us [John 10:10] – fifty years of blessings wrapped up in a sunset adventure!
The next day we returned and drove around Acadia National Park, “the Crown Jewel of the North Atlantic Coast” This is one of the top 10 most-visited national parks in the United States. Visitors can enjoy 27 miles of historic motor roads and 158 miles of hiking trails! We highly recommend this National Park – definitely a bucket list item!
But, trying to pace ourselves – after all, Lorree is still recovering from surgery!
We ended up back in town at the public Bar Harbor Pier parking lot – full of vehicles, but again there was a spot “just for us” when we arrived! Lorree was able to take a brief nap while Dennis scouted out the harbor, the kayaks, some yachts and an ice cream place!
We were parked next to “Kisses” the yacht of former owner of the Philadelphia Eagles – Norman Braman -(lot’s of money around here!) The ice cream was great and we both enjoyed the rest.
For the evening, we booked a Schooner Sunset Sail on board a 4-masted schooner, the Margaret Todd. We rested up and got ready for a romantic peaceful sail!
So fun! We enjoyed a light hearted sail with a boat load of people. We were entertained as they had guests help hoist the sails and enjoyed live music with Jack as he roamed the ship. When they shut off the engines and we just sailed with the wind it was SO relaxing, peaceful, and quiet, and the sunset was amazing! It was good for the soul!
Our last day of R&R after Lorree’s surgery was spent reading in the RV and relaxing at the pool at our campsite. We soaked up some sunshine, and cooled off from the warm day. This was a great three day stop for us and helped Lorree get her “mojo” back. We had a great adventure here and made lots of memories that we hadn’t planned on – thank you God!
Next, we’ll head north tomorrow to our originally planned SOWER Project and meet our other SOWER friends already at work. We’re looking forward to our next adventure!