The Other Portland and Cape Elizabeth

Thursday was a great day! We drove south from Freeport to Portland, Maine and then southeast to Cape Elizabeth which has three lighthouses.

View west toward the eastern Portland

It was a short drive south from Freeport, so we ran some errands in the big city.  One of those was to Best Buy to purchase a new Nikon camera body for Pamela.  She had dropped her Nikon camera last winter which froze the mirror and had it fixed in Oregon, but the same problem began happening in Canada, NUTS!.  We will have it repaired again, once we get home, but she upgraded to a new more advanced camera body Nikon 7200, which has more features, such as higher 24 mega-pixels, shooting in JPEG and RAW at same time (for better editing later), two SD card slots, custom scene modes, 2 movie settings, a retouch menu, and WiFi (to send photos to another device such as phone). Her existing lenses still fit, though.

Pamela's New Camera - Nikon D7200

We then visited Cape Elizabeth and Portland Head Lighthouse for the first time.  We had a very good day with sunshine and temperatures in the upper seventies.  The lighthouse was incredibly scenic, and guides shipping into heavily used Casco Bay and the Port of Portland.  It was the first lighthouse authorized in the new nation by President George Washington and lit in 1790.  The height of the beacon was changed several times from first order lens (over 7 feet tall), then downgraded to a fourth order light (3 feet tall) and building lowered in height as the Lighthouse Board changed the light's designation.  However, every time they downgraded the size of light and lowered the light, there would be a shipwreck and they would then they would raise the height of building and enlarge the order of the light, as least four times.

Portland Head Lighthouse on Cape Elizabeth

There was a huge military presence in the area during World War II with Coast Artillery emplacements for 12 inch guns, submarine pens and a very large military infrastructure.  Shortly after the was, the residents raised the funds to purchase the entire area and make it a large natural park. Before we left Portland Head, we had gelato ice cream from a local vendor in preparation for our lunch visit to (what else) Two Lights Lobster Restaurant at the tip of Cape Elizabeth.  

A Lobster Roll This Time for Neil and clam chowder for Pamela

The other impressive ship we saw at Portland Head was "The Cat" a large, catamaran ferry can take you from Portland to Nova Scotia in only five and a half hours.  It looks like a fun way to make the trip up into the Maritime Provinces of Canada.  If Alaska had these big ferries, they probably would not have to tie up due to bad weather, but they must be very expensive to operate.  Like driving a massive Class A RV.  

The CAT High Speed Catamaran Ferry

Before we left Portland area, we checked at an auto parts store for a Subaru part.  Neil has been dealing with CEL (check engine light) due to an emissions imbalance.  The culprit might be the Mass Air Flow (MAF) sensor, so we had it replaced.  It was a very simple change out that Neil did in about one minute.  He travels with a OBDII code reader so he can read and clear any engine code.  We shall see if this solves the emission related error messages.

Isn't This Exciting?  A Mass Air Flow Sensor!

We got back to the campground in time to put things away for Friday's travels, and Neil decided to change the water filters on our dual-stage RV water filter system.  We have a sediment filter which is the first filter element to take out sand and other particulates, and then it flows into the activated carbon filter system for better taste.  Neil built this after seeing cousin Gordon Kelly's system, and it has been working great for several RV's for several years.  He did lose a couple of filters when they froze and split one winter, but that lesson has been learned.

Our Two Stage Water Filter

Old and New Water Filters

We traveled north on Friday to Mount Desert Island near Bar Harbor, Maine.  Many thanks for visiting.  Let us know if you are still listening,

Neil and Pamela

Let There Be Lighthouses--And Lobster

Today was a good day--our first full day in Maine.  Due to the high 80's temperature, we drove north up Highway 1 to get close to the water for coolness and visit some lighthouses new to us. We continue to Camden; one of our favorite Maine communities.  We are impressed with the width and signage on Hwy 1, wish it was that good on the west coast Hwy 1. We saw lots of lovely country and historic houses and towns. They proudly declare when the towns were founded, most along the coast in the 1780's and 1790's. We enjoyed had two meals of lobster (Neil did), so we are racking up "Lobster Points" in case anyone is keeping score.

Doubling Point Light Near Bath

This light has a restored wooden walkway out to it as it overlooks the channel coming into Bath, which is a huge ship building port.  This small lighthouse is a good example of the work that volunteer lighthouse societies have done to keep these treasures around. They even brought in a crane to lift it, while the foundation was replaced with granite blocks. Which is another surprise, for those who have not visited New England--all the curbs in towns are made of granite, even where they curve at intersections. You don't want to drive over one of those, cutting a corner too tight.

Our first lighthouse was the Doubling Point light, just north of Bath, Maine.  It was a circuitous route to get there on some gravel roads, but it is a very quiet and beautiful location near the entrance to Bath and the Bath Iron Works.  They have been building ships there for hundreds of years, and they have built several naval destroyer class ships during World War II and since.  Today, there was one of the funny looking new Navy ships in front of the shipyards today. We thought it looked liked a Civil War early iron-clad ship.

Bath Iron Works from Doubling Point Light

After we got back to Hwy 1, we headed north along a very scenic part of highway with glimpses of narrow bays through the trees.  Then, what did our wondering eyes see as we came around a corner, but the largest freakiest lobster of all at "A Taste of Maine". After one look, Neil knew we had to stop for lunch!

How to Cook One This Big?  Start with A Really Large Fire

It was a massive inflatable lobster thoroughly anchored to the roof of the building. It was rather eerie  to watch its antenna moving about in the breeze. We enjoyed lunch watching the bay, inside where it was air-conditioned.  Neil had the "Lazy Lobster" which meant he did not need to do any of the work to shell it, and Pamela had a lobster and crab salad.  Both were very yummy.

Pamela's Lobster and Crab Salad

Neil's Lazy Lobster

We rolled ourselves out of "A Taste of Maine" and visited a few other harbors and a lighthouse down a private road on our way to Camden.  We stopped at high tide to enjoy the view in Southport of the boats in a harbor and homes along the bay.

Then it was north to Camden, which is a pretty and a busy harbor and downtown tourist area.  The harbor was full of big and little boats of all kinds--including a huge yacht that kind of took away from the scenic beauty of the area.  But if we had a boat like that, this is the kind of place we would take it. They are getting ready for the big windjammer festival over Labor Day weekend.

Camden Harbor

We walked around downtown marveling at how many ways you can market Maine items for sale. We took photos of steeple churches and did a little bit of shopping.  Neil found a T-Shirt for his brother Bruce, but decided that all he had to do was post a picture of it in the blog to bring back memories and not have to buy the shirt!

This One's for You, Bruce!

We drove south towards Freeport racing the sunset (7:20 pm) and rolled into town as the GPS flipped to night time. Enjoyed dinner at the Jameson Tavern across from L.L Bean.  Captain Jameson and his wife ran it as Jameson’s Tavern from 1801 until 1828. During this time Freeport was a strategic stagecoach town located between Portland and the towns to the north and ‘downeast.’ Such luminaries as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, as well as the 14th President Franklin Pierce stopped here on their way to through. It was here in the tavern that the final papers were signed, giving Maine her independence from Massachusetts and giving Jameson Tavern and the town of Freeport their claim to ‘the Birthplace of Maine.’ 

We have eaten here in past visits and remember the awesome way they cooked scallops. We had a had a great seafood dinner there of scallops, lobster, crab and shrimp.  Anyone seeing a pattern yet?  After dinner, we strolled through L. L. Bean again and looked at some neat camping equipment that we convinced ourselves don't really need.  It is open 24/7/365 days a year, so you can really skip the crowds by visiting late.

By our keen observation so far, we have decided moose are extinct in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.  We look forward to being proven wrong in DAYLIGHT, but this is our considered opinion, as we have not seen any so far.  So--we took a picture of these extinct creatures in the window of L.L. Bean tonight to let you know what they look like. Now, we have seen moose -- cut-outs in front of stores, painted on wood at the entrance to our campgrounds, two Bullwinkle's Moose Pizza restaurants (which reminded us of Juneau), iron moose in front yards as sculpture, even moose painted on large rocks, but no live moose. And, coming home tonight in the dark for the first time in our 29 days, we decided, we did NOT want to meet one on the road!

Real or Extinct?

Tomorrow we plan to head south to Portland to see some more lighthouses and historic sites round Cape Elizabeth and Portland Head.  As we work on this blog tonight, we are hearing rain on the roof of the RV--it sounds pretty nice.  Today was warm and humid, but it should be a lot cooler tomorrow and into the weekend.  

Neil and Pamela

Maine-ly HOT!

It was a short driving day today (two hours) from eastern New Hampshire east into Freeport, Maine.  It is unseasonably hot here (sound familiar to anyone?) with Freeport temperature hitting 90 degrees and high humidity, when we got arrived.  We were hoping for sunny and 75 degrees.  Reminded us of our years in Washington DC in late August---which we escaped by coming to Maine.

L.L. Bean Main Store As Seen From Linda L. Bean's Restaurant

We got checked into the KOA campground near Durham, Maine; a little bit northwest of Freeport.  Freeport of course, is the home to L.L. Bean. Flagship store has enlarged and discovered L.L Bean's granddaughter has opened a restaurant across the street. So, we had lunch at Linda Bean's restaurant.  Yes, we both had lobster--in fact, we had lobster, huge bacon-wrapped scallops, and clam chowder just to make a good start of Maine seafood.

Bacon Wrapped Scallops--Yummy

Neil's First Lobster--The First of Many

After lunch, we spent some time in the Bean's stores.  They have several buildings, including the main store (which has no door locks as it is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year), a home store, a bike, ski and paddle store, and a hunting and fishing store.  Pamela was able to find several items, including the best Balsam Fir needles for pillows, but Neil was able to resist temptation--this time.  They have sections for just about everything; including a large archery department with shooting range.  Skyler Finney would like archery store, and the others would appeal to most of our relatives.

Pamela with the L. L. Bean Bootmobile

L.L. Bean's Archery Department

Pamela also found her British food and gifts store, so she was a happy shopper, which means more tea and yummies to store. We then drove further east, down to the Freeport boat harbor to take a look the Atlantic ocean, where we saw many lobster and pleasure boats, including a lot of sailboats and a HUGE yacht.  That would be an interesting way to see Maine.

Looking east in the Freeport Boat Harbor

On our way back to the campground, we saw a huge Indian Chief sculpture advertising native American goods, but it  doesn't look like a Maine Indian to us, more Plains tribe.  We also stopped at a grocery store and Neil saw the fresh lobster sign below.

Live Lobster in the Grocery Store

Neil still hasn't done the research on how to cook lobster on a BBQ grill, without boiling it, so we didn't take one back to the RV.  When we got back to our traveling home of a one month, we added New Hampshire and Maine to our map. 

Two More States:  New Hampshire and Maine

We hung out inside where it was 73 degrees to the 88 outside. Did watch the sun set as Neil cooked steak for dinner. At least we have large trees for shade and rest of week is cooler. Tomorrow we will do some more exploring here in southern Maine.  Stay tuned,

Neil and Pamela

A Few Days in New HAMM Sure--As They Say It

Greetings from the Live Free or Die state, New Hampshire.  We had a pleasant drive here from Vermont on Saturday, and came over the "notch" and down into the White Mountains valley.  Traffic was pretty heavy with all of the north-easterners heavily enjoying their national forest and other recreation sites.  It has been warm for here in the mid-80's, so every access point to rivers, streams and lakes were packed with cars and the waterways themselves were full of people on tubes or just laying in the waters to cool off.

VT to NH Route in Blue

Coming down highway 302, we decided to take a short cut called West Side Road to avoid the shopping area of town.  It wasn't much shorter and was also jammed with people.  Fortunately, the speed limit was just about what we could do on the poor roads, so it worked out OK. 

We are camped south of Conway near a town called Tamworth at a large wooded KOA campground.  Fairly quiet until the dogs in the park begin to "talk" to one another.  Since we got into camp in mid-afternoon, we decided to find an Urgent Care clinic to have Neil's stitches removed.  We checked Google and decided the one in Laconia looked good, as there was none near us. 

Neil is Now Stitch Free!

So---we took a thirty-five mile trip and had the stitches removed at a nice clinic.  Neil is happy to have them out and working to soften the scar tissue.  At least it is healed well enough for Neil to begin to use the swimming pools again (as he did tonight).  On the way back to the campground, we bought groceries and stopped at the Yankee Smokehouse for dinner where we saw lots of pigs.  Stuffed and otherwise.

This is for YOU, Jim Hauck

On Sunday, we went into Conway for Sunday brunch at Peaches, where Pamela had her first lobster of the trip with Lobster Eggs Benedict - Yummy!  We drove through the crowds shopping, as this is the only sales tax free state on the east coast and Conway has made the most of it with both outlet stores and one-of-a-kind shops. We picked up our tickets for the Conway Scenic Railroad trip on Monday.  Pamela remembered a favorite one-of-a-kind store from when we were stationed in Washington DC and came to New England every autumn.  Zeb's General Store is unique, as it is reminiscent of general stores from 100 years ago. You can find every kind of pickled vegetable imaginable, homemade soap, tea, candy, at least 15 varieties of maple syrup (including bourbon flavored), many flavors of popcorn (including whole ears to pop--not sure how that works) and old-fashioned soft drinks. We picked up some gifts and an old fashioned root beer for Neil.  Then, we visited a Home Depot and a very small Camping World for some needed RV items--guess whose list that was?  One of those items is shown below--any guesses on what it is for?

What Is This Used For?

Our New Hampshire Campsite in the Trees

On Monday (today) we took the Conway Scenic Railroad trip from Conway Station up the valley to Crawford's Notch Station and back.  We got to the depot this morning around 1015 for a 1100 departure north up the valley.  We were a little bit disappointed in the trip, as we were expecting a lot more scenery on a scenic railroad.  It is a comfortable train and well run with narration, but the route was 85 percent covered by trees very close to the tracks, and seldom any views through them.  Now, you know we love trees, but we were hoping for more vistas across the valley.  We did have a few near the top, but the trip up was a bit of a disappointment from other historic train trips we have taken in Skagway, Alaska and Durango, Colorado.

Conway Scenic Railroad Station Depot

Crawfords Notch Train Depot

The trip back down was a lot more interesting, but for scenic reasons.  Our dining car companions were an east Indian man who works for the World Bank in Washington, DC and his daughter who is going to university in Germany, studying sustainable development.  We had thoughtful discussions about world banking situations and the health of the US dollar (good), sustainable development in Europe (people more committed than many in USA or India).  We visited with them throughout lunch and all the way down to the Conway Depot. Always fascinated by viewpoints from other cultures.

Train Turnaround at Crawfords Notch

Yesterday, was also niece Shannon's birthday--we wish her joy and fun adventures for the coming year.  Tomorrow, we have a short trip to the state of Maine, where we stay at Freeport--home of LL Bean.  We also learned from another couple that the mail boat out of Casco Bay in Portland is a great boat ride for only about $15 each.  We will check it out on our way.  Tomorrow, Neil begins his "lobster a day" diet--it may be lobster chowder, salad or full blown full-on lobster dinners, but he is going to make an attempt.  He is even researching how to cook a lobster on a BBQ grill.  All suggestions appreciated.

We hope all is well wherever you are,

Neil and Pamela

Many Bridges in Two Countries and Two States

Today was a winding series of roads making it feel like a long day. We left Canada coming south into New York at Cornwall Crossing the St. Lawrence river with two bridges. At least we could pay the bridge toll in US currency, as we packed the Canadian currency last night.

Northern Bridge across St. Lawrence River into USA

For a while, we wondered if we were going to be able to get out of Canada.  Our Garmin GPS, who is affectionately called "Esmeralda" seemed to want to take us east to Montreal, in spite of the many course changes.  As we were pulling into the US Customs Border Crossing, she was saying "make a U-turn".  Fortunately, ignored her and used Google Maps to actually make it across the border.

Border crossing into USA

Border crossing went quickly, with standard questions of how long were we in Canada, what did we buy (cookies, gifts, tea and one bottle of good McCallans Scotch Amber) and what was in the car we were towing. Were there any people in the car?  We told him it was too full as there were two electric bicycles in there. He laughed and said have a good day. We had a good six days in Canada, but glad to be back home in the USA, where we don't have to interpret signs in French. 

New York and Vermont country-side with many farms

The 150 miles on the US side of the border was quite pastoral with many farms and tiny hamlets.
While the roads were in great shape, we do keep wondering why people build their homes so close to the highway. We saw plenty of corn fields, about ready to harvest and farmers harvesting hay.

One of the many small hamlets, each with at least two churches

We crossed Lake Champlain, but very near the top, thanks to the Truckers Atlas, which Tom and Cindy Harrington recommended. It is laminated and shows all the roads safe for trucks and RV's, especially bridges. This has really helped us choose safe routes, especially bridges. While there are two bridges across the long Lake Champlain, only the northern route can handle our weight. This route was actually three bridges, across a series of islands.

Bridge leaving Rouses Point from the east

We saw many boats enjoying the water and met numerous RV's going away for the weekend. It was rural area the entire way from the time we crossed the border through northern New York into northern Vermont, with no towns beyond 1,000 in size.

Lake Champlain near Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge

Tonight we added two states for new York and Vermont. We also drew on the province of Quebec, which is quite large. We did discover that our last fifty miles in Canada were in Upper Canada. This made no sense to us, since we were so close to the USA border. Wikipedia again answered our question. After two uprising in what is now Quebec and Ontario in the 1830's, the two provinces were established, making the divide on what is the upper St. Lawrence river. So, Quebec is Lower Canada, since it is downriver and closer to the Atlantic ocean, even though it is north of Ontario.

Neil pointing to Quebec and new states of New York and Vermont

Tonight we are in Colchester, Vermont; just north of Burlington alongside Lake Champlain. Looking forward to tomorrow to tasting Vermont maple syrup, the tour of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and other New England specialties.

Best Wishes,

Neil and Pamela

Ottawa by Double Decker

Today dawned sunny with promises of clear air and temperatures in the 70's.  We decided to drive into Ottawa and take a Grayline Tour of Ottawa in a double-decker bus.  After much searching for an underground parking area (more about this later) we found the tour bus kiosk.  We decided against the amphibious tours due to the recent sinking in Missouri and elsewhere.

This is NOT What Our Tour Vehicle Looked Like!

It turned out that the bus we were expecting from the website was not quite what we got.  Instead of a double decker, London-style bus, we got a funky cut-down bus with a lower upper deck arrangement that bounced and rattled pretty badly on the old Ottawa roads and crossings. It bounced so much on our 90 minute tour, that Pamela's FitBit watch thought she had walked 7,000 steps! Our surprise was the bi-lingual nature of the tour, which sounds OK, until you realize that you only are able to understand half of what was being said, and the guide (who was pretty good) would only be spending half her time sharing information and stories with us.  It sure takes a lot more words to say in French what we say in English!

Parliament Buildings from Quebec Side of Ottawa River

The tour covered a lot of Ottawa attractions, including another trip across the river into Quebec where we saw their large block square Holocaust memorial, made in the shape of a star of David from the air.  While we learned several interesting facts, like their Parliament was meeting in the historic nearby train station, while renovations were made on their main building. Can you imagine our Congress meeting in the Union Train station in DC?  Don't think so!

Got to see the horses that the Royal Mounties use for their famous show, that tours both Canada and the USA. We have seen the show once, we think in Whitehorse, Yukon. The horses undergo three years of training before they can be used in the traveling show.

Royal Canadian Mounties

Rideau Canal that extends for 10 miles

 We decided to stay on the bus for the entire round trip to hear everything. History about the Rideau Canal being the longest skating ring in the western hemisphere was interesting, but not enough to bring us back in January! The bus brought us back to the heart of the city near Parliament and the Fairmont Chateau Laurier Hotel.  We really like the Fairmont Empress in Victoria and Chateau Lake Louise, and this one was not as impressive, either outside nor inside.  It is an elegant hotel, on the banks of the Ottawa River, and when built was the tallest and most impressive building around, but today does not have the ambiance to measure up to other Fairmont hotels we have seen.

Rideau Canal locks next to Fairmont Laurier

We took a quick look in the hotel, bought some tea (of course) and then had a very pleasant dinner at an Irish Pub right across from the towering government buildings.  Parliament has been described as "Westminster meets Hogwarts" because of the towers and steep roofs.

Irish Pub Interior

After our lamb (for Neil) and Shepherd's Pie (for Pamela) dinner, we should have had a short walk to the parking garage...should have.  We could not find the building that we came out of when we left the underground parking garage.  Pamela took photos of our row, our floor number and even the elevator area, but we both forgot to grab a photo of the entrance to the art center building. A trip around a block or two or three and we finally saw the performing arts building. We had just come out a lower level. Once we were reunited with the Toad (Subaru Forester towed vehicle), it took us two tries and a helpful Canadian to find the EXIT out! Sometimes you ignore your phone directions, as we were in rush hour traffic and knew that we wanted to get on Banks Street and STAY on it.  All of the main highways were packed, and after a couple of turns and an illegal U-turn, we got on Banks and stayed on it all the way back to the RV park. The bicycles have their own set of green, yellow and red lights and get go go about 10 seconds before cars do.

Fortunately, tomorrow we just keep heading south on Banks and into New York state on our way to Colchester, Vermont.

Wish us luck on our fourth week of this adventure, please!

Neil and Pamela

Ottawa and Quebec, Eh? Twenty-First Day of Trip

Well, this is three weeks that went by pretty fast. Today is day twenty-one of our 80 days around the country. Neil was in shorts the entire trip until today as it cooled off to 68 degrees with very clean air.  We appreciate the rain and freshness, all the more since we know that back home in Oregon the air quality has been very poor.   Last night, it rained hard here at the campsite, and Neil got up to quickly take in the awning. But, as we ventured downtown, we only had a few sprinkles for our first trip into Ottawa.

We are certainly glad that we were not driving a big pickup into downtown--the streets are narrow in places and Canadian drivers are...shall we say a bit aggressive?

Supreme Court of Canada

We drove down town past a number of government buildings downtown on the river. At least one guidebook said the buildings are Greek Revival or Westminster meets Hogwarts (Harry Potter)! They are quite decorative. We drove past the Parliament, the Mint, the massive Fairmont Chateau Laurier, which is considerably larger than the Fairmont Empress in Victoria, BC. We hope to visit several of these tomorrow.  The hotel is a sister property to the Chateau Lake Louise and the Empress, in which we have enjoyed stays.

Canadian Mint

We found an interesting part of town called Bytown, which is what Ottawa was originally called. The historic town took its name from John By who, as a Colonel in the British Royal Engineers, was instrumental in the construction of the Rideau canal  We enjoyed walking through the streets by unique small shops, stopped at a tea store for Pamela to stock up on Assam and Jasmine tea, and had lunch at a unique place called Zac's.

We Are Not Mad...We Did Not Stop at This Tea Party

But We Did at This Tea Store

One wall of Pamela's Tea Store Choices

Zac's was an odd combination of decor and food, which reminded us of the movie "Romancing the Stone" as you could eat on the bus or next to it, which is what we chose. The music was South American and the alcoholic drinks has names of cities from below the equator as well. We enjoyed excellent tomato corn tortilla soup and BLT (on GF bread) for Pamela and hamburger with onion rings for Neil.

Indoor of Zac's

We then walked to the Notre-Dame Cathedral nearby and went inside. The Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica is a Roman Catholic minor basilica in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada located in the Lower Town neighborhood. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1990.

Note the Tin Clad Steeples - Very Shiny

The steeples are covered with tin, which is typical for French-Canadian churches, and house a peal of bells. The exterior is fairly reserved, but the interior is far more ornate, designed by Georges Buillon. The interior of the church is brightly painted and decorated with numerous carved features, exquisite stained glass windows depicting the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus. There are 30 statues of the major figures from the Old and New Testament in the choir area, carved by Louis-Philippe Hébert.  At the head of the choir, the Holy Family is completed with saints John the Baptist and Patrick, the patron saints of French and Irish Catholics.

Notre-Dame Cathedral Interior

From right - Adam, Noah, Joseph, Moses, and Jeremiah

Before returning to the RV park, we crossed north over the Ottawa River into Quebec, so we can add it to our province "life list".   It was a short drive as we were confused by the fact that all of the road signs are in FRENCH ONLY.  We are lucky we did not end up in Montreal!   It also made up our mind as to where we will re-enter the US--it will NOT be Quebec where we can't read the road signs.

Mai Oui We Went to Quebec, Eh?

After a few extra miles on wrong highways, we found our way out of "Frenchy Town" as the RV park owner here calls it and back to the RV before the start of their rush hour, which begins by 3 pm.

Best wishes,

Neil and Pamela