Monday, September 25, 2023

Maine plus....

Maine was excellent place to visit but alas, there is no evidence of Big Foot in Maine as the costs are too high and my research has shown that Big Foot is quite frugal. That being said, it was a beautiful area and I had a very good time. I was able to enjoy tropical weather along with lobster and that was not something most people who visit Maine in September get to say. 

My first visit was to the Lobster Lady for their renowned lobster roll. Since it was before the hurricane and after Labor Day, it was not very busy. The lobster roll was excellent and really one of the best ones I have ever had. Thankfully it was also one of the most expensive.   
Not busy at all, The threat of a hurricane apparently scared off tourists. Not my first hurricane on this adventure so I was not deterred. 



The campground was right on the coast so we took a walk down to the beach everyday. I really lucked out as there were also a lot of cancellations at the campground due to the threat of a hurricane. This was clearly a mistake as RVs are well built and can handle hurricane force winds as that is what happens when we drive down the road. Mobile homes on the other hand are not really mobile and they taunt the winds which is why they are always at risk. Plus we were on non wet side of the hurricane winds so every knows dry winds aren't as bad as wet winds (think fart vs shart).
View of a tropical storm nee hurricane. Technically the winds were coming from a different direction and the pictures in that direction are smeared with rain.

As it turns out, I didn't die in the storm. Most of the worst of went north of us and it was just a quiet but shaking day in the trailer. I was able to convince the dogs to actually go outside to do their business despite the rain and wind. 

The next day I headed into Ellsworth after going to take a hike. I needed to wash the truck at the same time so it was a two-fer visit. Fogtown Brewing Company was really nice and had outdoor drinking and an outdoor pizza oven. I didn't have any pizza but I may have sampled a beer. If you are concerned about the risk of drinking and driving, it was $9.00 for a single beer which means that there was no way that I would have more than one. I acknowledge that it was better than most quarter tappers from my college days but it was no better than the $5 or $6 craft beers that I can get elsewhere in this country. This is yet another sign that Big Foot would not be here - beer costs too much.
Pretty tap room and cool place to visit. Not really worth the money but hey - you do you.

Since I was in the area, I also decided to check out Acadia National Park. It was as beautiful as advertised and pictures cannot do it justice. I took a few pictures but imagine something more incredible than these photos and it won't even be close. I would say this was definitely better than work.
The ocean lapping the shore. The road is right near here so it was a quick walk to enjoy the view. 
Panoramic view from the top of Cadillac summit.


To celebrate visiting the park, I decided to stop at one of the roadside lobster stands. I successfully picked a hole in the wall place and had a delightful lobster. It was also tragically overpriced but at least I did my part to support an over played out tourist thing - eating lobster in Maine.
The lobster tasted good but I would not rank it as the best lobster ever. It was the last of the lobster on the visit so it is note worthy on that account. And yes there is a beer in that red solo cup from a local brewery. I don't recall the name but it was a dark ale of some sort (red or brown). 


I continued the adventures and I was able to convince the dogs to eventually go down to the beach.. Ozzy was prepared to attack everything and rule his kingdom but alas, it was not to be.
On the beach. I took pictures of both dogs but only Ozzy was kind enough to pose.

I found a good hiking spot which went through the wetlands and woods to the oceanfront. It was an awesome walk and I was able to find a great piece of land to settle on. The neighbors were quiet and the view would be relaxing. I am not sure it is for sale but really it had a lot going for it. I will have to investigate this further.
Nice place to put my yurt. Getting to it might get a little wet.

As we finished up our Maine visit, we reflected on what we discovered. A wonderful state that Big Foot would never hang out in for long but may visit for short periods. The sunsets were fantastic from the campground and I cannot begin to describe the colors as it was stunning. I even saw a double rainbow but of course I didn't take a picture as I didn't want to make y'all jealous of my life.
Sunset. Can't say anything beyond that.

After we enjoyed Maine, we headed south on our tour of the east coast. Next stop on the adventure was Massachusetts. We stayed at a lovely Harvest Host - the American Heritage Museum. This was actually a surprise as I had extremely low expectations and only visited it out of a sense of obligation to the host. The museum has artifacts from various wars from the revolutionary war on. The WW1 exhibit was incredible as they had a trench as part of it so you could get the experience of how crappy that war actually was. In addition they had a lot of tanks including a fully restored German Panther from WW2. These pieces of equipment are huge and I could not imagine climbing into one much less facing one in combat.
German Panther. This was recovered from a river in Poland and completely restored including the coating to prevent magnetic mines.
This is a German Sonderkraftfahrzeug. That apparently means special motor vehicle. The foot wells are shoulder height so better have good knees to get up there. This particular vehicle was seen in the movie The Dirty Dozen driven by Lee Marvin.  

As much fun as Massachusetts was, it was time to move onto Rhode Island. It was a quick visit as it is a tiny state but it still counted. I had another Harvest Host stay, this time at a Harley dealership. Neither I nor Big Foot ride motorcycles, but it was still an enjoyable visit. There was tons of green space and the place cleared out at 5pm so it was a quiet night. I did pick up a jacket for my bottled beer in case it was warm as I didn't have one. I also priced a new Harley in case I wanted a different platform for my adventures. At $36k, it is highly unlikely I will be buying a new bike in Rhode Island but it is an intriguing idea.
Interestingly, my nephew, J, used to go to a summer camp not far from here. Of course nothing is far from anything in RI as it really is a small state. No, seriously, it is tiny - like Lucy. 

As I wrapped up RI and headed to Connecticut to visit my my brother and his wife (J&K). I also completed staying in my 33rd state as part of this adventure. It is obviously an unsustainable rate as that is a lot of movement plus there are only 48 easily RV-able states and of the two left only 1 is RV-able  with my RV. I have now slept in 47 states and on this east coast trip I will stay in two more that I have never slept in. That would leave Alaska as the last frontier. I have not decided how or when that adventure will happen, but it will happen.

Until next time,

Thor



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