Moving on to Connecticut

September 18, Thursday: On the road again traveled to Mystic, Connecticut. This town was noted for being the biggest ship building seaport during 1700 to 1868.
We traveled south on another red road Hwy 131. Now the map does not say this is scenic but we think so. Hwy 131 turns into Hwy12 which parallels I395. We opted to stay on 12 because it was an OK road and much more to look at while driving. Arrived at our campground after "Mildred", our GPS in the RV, got us turned around. Now we have told you how helpful she can be but when she cannot find the address it can get complicated. Not mentioning the colorful language I can use when dealing with her! We finally found the place after a phone call, looking at the map, and finally letting Larry use his sense of direction.
Seaport Campground is very nice and spacious. It has water and electric only. Set up camp, loaded the dogs in the car to drive down to Mystic. We were looking for a vet. Now, I programed "Henrietta" our GPS in the car with the address. Where she took us was a residential house. NOT a good day with GPS! Oh well, our appointment is not until tomorrow we will just play Scarlet O'Hara and worry about tomorrow. Drove down a street which ended at a small little harbor. Several people were parked to watch the sunset so we joined them. Talked to a couple who informed us we were no longer in Mystic but Stonington. Asked them about the vet and found out it was in the town of Pawcatuck. Now I know what some of you are thinking, if I put the correct info into the GPS it might work better. However, I refuse to discuss the matter anymore!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Heading for bed with out the help of GPS!
Good Night!

Old Sturbridge Village

1. Not sure this is Larry's best picture
2. Stagecoach ride in Sturbridge
3. Larry standing over looking the lake at Sturbridge



September 17, Wednesday: We entered the world of 1830 New England. The first "Industrial Revolution". The times are still hard but several things are happening to make life easier. The mass production of cloth makes life a lot easier for the women. Since most still make all the clothes for their family. Printing papers and books makes news travel faster. Some farmers are mass producing cheese and butter for retail sale. All the buildings here are from the New England area and have been moved here to look like a village from 1790 to 1830. Very kid friendly. In fact, they have programs all year for kids from 6 to 17 years of age. Several costumed villagers to answer all our question. One woman we talked to was working in her garden. Another was choosing to spin her own wool to make stockings for her family. Larry had a lengthy conversation with the farmer and shopkeeper. It was a lot of walking since it sat on 220 acres. Good day!


Home to feed and walk dogs then off to a restaurant that has been serving the public since 1771. It is called the Publick House. When we walked into the Tavern the hostess said we could eat in the Tavern or the Old Dining Room. On our way to check out the Dining Room, we met some people who work for the facility. While talking to them about some facts they suggested we check out the rooms for rent. We walked upstairs to narrow twisted hallways. Our kind of place. Decided to eat in the tavern. We tried to order a Long Island Ice Tea but it is against the law to serve it here in Massaschuetts. Go figure! Ordered a good California Merlot to have with our Stuffed Portabello Mushroom. It was stuffed with lobster, crab and cheese. MMMMmmm good. Larry ordered the Lobster Ravioli and I had Chicken Pot Pie. Very New England.


Nice relaxing evening after a very fun day. Tomorrow we are driving to Mystic, Connecticut.


Good Night!

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

1. Lottie doing her stress routine.
2. Sobaka with his cone/ so tired


September 15 & 16, Monday & Tuesday: A little rain on Sunday night but lots of wind. Windy all day on Monday so just hung around the campground got caught up on the blog while Larry was able to watch some football. Ended up staying awake (semi) to watch Sunday Night Football. Not good because it does not come on until 9pm & over around 12pm. Good game though. And oh that's right we're retired we do not have to jump up on Tuesday.


In the afternoon we took a ride down the coast. Again just explored the little towns in the coves. We ended up in New Hampshire in the city of Portsmouth. It has an old section called Strawberry Banke. We had to wait for the drawbridge because a huge freighter was going through. Strawberry Banke is a village that depicts the town during its busy shipping era. We did not plan it well because it was too late to venture into the village.


Tuesday: We are heading to Sturbridge, Massachusetts. AAA says there is a Living History Village of 1830 New England. We haven't done this on our trip yet. We took I95 south through New Hampshire paying $12.00 in tolls before we turned onto I495. Then onto a red road Hwy20, not such a good move too many surprise downhill with stoplights at the bottom. Not Larry's favorite. The map said it was scenic but apparently not our scenic. Sturbridge is in the middle southern part of the state. Our campground is nothing to write home about. Guess they all can't be great, however, they still are charging a high price. It is $48.00 a night. We need to get out of New England it is messing up our budget.


Tomorrow off to the"village".


Good Night!

Getting caught up on the blog

September 13 & 14, Saturday & Sunday: Took off today for Wells, it is just below Kennebunkport. We stayed here over Labor Day week-end. This time we are staying in town. I like this campground better than the last. More trees. After setting up, we took a two mile plus walk down to the waterfront. Our walk took us pass a large marsh land. Not hot but we did forget water for the dogs and us. When we reached the waterfront, Larry went in to get some water for the dogs. When he tried to give Lottie a drink she took a sip and no more. Very unusual for her. Mystery solved......... he had bought Sprite instead of water. Then when he went back and bought water, she wasn't too sure she wanted to trust him again. We all had a good rest and drinks then headed home. The walk was a little longer than we thought but nice. Should have know by the name of the road.....Mile Rd.
Everyone was ready to relax when we return to the rig. I fixed a vegetable soup while we watched the news about Hurricane Ike. We are not moving until Tuesday.

Sunday: Woke up to rain. Doing nothing until we get caught up on the blog. Walk the dogs, Worked on the blog. Watched football.
Good Night!

Oh Yeah! I am up to date!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rockport and Camden, Maine

1. Very impressive bridge
2. The Oreo cows with calves
3. You can see the old bridge behind the new bridge
4. Waterfall in Camden below our cafe




September 11, Thursday: On the road again...........not many miles as we are just heading down the coast about 130 miles. We drove over a very interesting bridge. (see picture) Slow moving but nice ride. Good thing we did not have too far to go. Time wise it was longer than need be. Larry kind of got us in trouble. He saw a good place to eat on the bay missed the parking lot so took the next street. Do you have the picture? Remember with the rig and car we are 62 ft long. After turning down this street, we found out it was a dead end into a parking lot for the ferry which goes to the island in the bay. Now I would like to point out one of the reasons Larry wanted this rig was because he flipped a U-turn when he test drove it. He thought he had enough room but not quite! Not bad...he only missed it by a few inches because of a street sign. Now he has the car at an angle so cannot disconnect; can't back up. Conference time. Looking at the sign which is keeping him from making the turn, I think I can hold it out of the way. Not quite! Suddenly, there are three men there to hold the sign out of the way so he could make the turn. Love these Mainers! The first gentleman even asked these two ladies if they would move their car so Larry could pull into the parking lot. Nice people! After all that we had a nice lunch on the deck facing the bay. I had fish & chips and Larry had a chicken sandwich. Even with Larry's little mishap, we arrived at our campground early enough to enjoy our site. Small campground but nice grounds with lots of trees and walking room for the dogs. One of the first campgrounds with a few West Coast people. Arizona, 2 from Washington, California(besides us)not too many of us traveling.


My biggest regret of the day>>>>>>>I didn't get a picture of Larry flipping that U. Another good RV story.


Good Night!





September 12, Friday: Got a local map of the area, loaded the dogs and headed out to explore another great area on the Maine Coast. On a side road we saw a very small dog in the middle of the street. Now I would like to point out to a few people( mainly my sister-in-law, Sharon and my friend, Pat) that I made it all the way to Maine before I found a lost dog. Larry didn't even question about stopping. He did groan a little. Of course, no one was home but there was a truck with a phone number written on the side door. Called and was able to talk to the owner of the dog. She asked if we could put the dog on the front porch and she would head right home. Larry was very glad it worked out so well. Back to our touring the area. Went by the famous Galloway cows. Actually, the locals call them the Oreo Cows. You know, they do look like Oreo cookies. We went by a beach where you can walk dogs but found out it is only during 8am to 10am. It was 10:30am too late. Lots of old house that have been restored.


We found a parking place in Camden which was not easy since there is an art show this week-end. Very busy harbor here. We took the dogs on a long walk along the marina and a few streets. The dogs got tired so took them back to the car while we went to lunch. Figured they would be all right since it is starting to get cloudy and windy. We found a little grill that has been family owned since 1942. We sat outside on the deck over looking a water fall. We both ordered a hamburger. I Know I know....but oh my gosh... was it ever good! Just after we ate it started raining. Went back to the rig. It rained most of the night not hard but steady. It is suppose to get down to 45 degrees. Fall is in the air. Larry tell me again what the temperature is in California?


Good Night!

Into Acadia National Park

1. A small harbor on the Southwestern side

2. On top of Cadillac Mtn.

3. Bar Harbor from Cadillac Mtn.

4. Bar Harbor on our way down the mountain





September 9 & 10, Tuesday & Wednesday: After we got everything settled this morning, we decided to take a ride around the southwestern side of the island. The island is divided into two driving loops. So loaded the dogs in the car. Sobaka seems to be doing all right. We don't want to walk him too much but a ride in the car should be all right. Nice day but the clouds are coming in. We are suppose to have some more heavy rains sometime tonight. Again saw some very impressive houses and buildings. Pretty coastline and lots of trees. Arrived home just as it started to rain. Or should I say Pour! Fixed something for dinner then just had a quiet evening.









Wednesday: Woke to a gorgeous morning after a lot of rain again. Loaded the dogs to drive and walk around Acadia National Park. Now we have seen some beautiful sites but they seem to just get better. The wind was blowing which kept the temperature down but the views on top of Cadillac Mountain crystal clear. This is the tallest mountain on the Atlantic Coast. I cannot express how wonderful the views were on top but hope some of the pictures give you an idea. We were able to take the dogs on several little walks. It really is nice to be able to take them especially since we really can't leave Sobaka even with the cone on his head. We drove back in to Bar Harbor for lunch. Unfortunately, we picked a restaurant that wouldn't allow the dogs. Don't think they minded staying in the car since they were long overdue for their naps. Larry chose the special which was 3 sliders. One each of lobster, crab, and salmon with french fries. I had a Salmon/ Caesar Wrap. Very Good! On the way home we stopped at the local brewery to do some beer tasting. Well, Larry tasted! Bought a couple of different kinds.




Arrived home to feed dogs and start getting ready to head out tomorrow. We are going back down the coast to Camden. We passed it on our way heading North. It looked like a very cute place to walk around and explore.

Good Night!

Lunch in Bar Harbor

1. Lottie and I waiting for Larry to take his picture. Cute sign!

2. A small harbor before Bar Harbor

3. A street in Bar Harbor

4. Now this looks like New England housing!





September 8, Monday: Dropped Sobaka off for his surgery. I am sure he is thinking this trip is not as fun as it could be. He should be done by 4:30pm so off to wonder the streets of Bar Harbor. Host said it is very dog friendly so Lottie is going to spend the day with us. Parked the car and found a walk which rounds the town. About 1/2 mile or so along the water edge pass a beautiful old hotel. The harbor is very busy with sight seeing boats, whale watching, (thank you, but I'll do that in Hawaii it is warmer)and you can even go out with them to get check the lobster traps. The path ended up at the upper part of town which meant we were able to wonder slowly back towards the wharf for lunch. Lottie did amazingly well. As you know, she is very people friendly but not so dog tolerate. I guess after four months walking by dogs she is really getting better. That and we did not have Sobaka. She does not seem so on guard without him to protect. Did a little window shopping but not much else. Chose a restaurant that Lottie could go to. She even had her own treats and own water bowl. I am sure she is having a better day than Sobaka. Larry had a lobster dinner which included 1/4 lb. of lobster, garlic mashed potatoes, corn bread, and a large ear of fresh corn on the cob. Me? glad you asked... Corn and lobster chowder and baked beans on the side. Life is Good!





Headed home Lottie and I are tired from all the walking and it is warm today. After we were home for a while, Larry went to pick up our little guy. He was so groggy his hind legs were not working too well. He was very hungry since he had not had breakfast. Quick dinner and he was down for the count. Quiet evening.





Good Night!