Revolution, Little Women & Big Ships

For the last two days we have gone back in time, learning more about history: how the United States of America can into existence, the rise of several famous authors in the mid-1800's from Concord, Massachusetts and the sacrifice of so many in World War II on large ships that we may continue to enjoy the beauty and freedoms we have across this great county.

We began at Minuteman National Historic Park visitor Center, in the middle of the route from Concord to Boston. This was the strangest looking NPS visitor center we have ever seen and the most complicated visual presentation we have seen, using video, audio, map lights to show troop movements, lights in the Old North church and artifacts.

Visitor Center Done in Colonial Burnt Wood Style

While the Visitor Center was small, the story of the first shots heard round the world extends along the historic road from Boston in the east to Concord twenty-five miles to the west. This is the route the British soldiers marched through the night in April 19, 1775 to capture the arms, powder and cannon the colonists had stored in Concord. 

Paul Revere and Two Riders Rousing the Militia

Paul had men watching which direction the British would take west and to hang lanterns to show the route, so he and others could warn the people along the way. Hence, the famous line in Longfellow's poem of "one if by land, two if by sea."  The soldier crossed the harbor by boat, giving Paul Revere time to cross to Charlestown and ride to wake militia across the small hamlets. 

At the North Bridge near Concord the Colonial Militia Stopped the British

Minuteman Statue at North bridge

We talked to the Park Service staff at the bridge, who explained the "hill" had no trees on it, nor many around the stream we see today. The colonists had cut most of them either to build homes, fences or heat their homes in the long winters of the area. The militia kept arriving and chased the English soldiers all the 25 miles back to Boston, following them from the trees and brush along the road, picking them off all along the way. We were amazed at the thousands of militia who came out, effectively beginning the Revolutionary War.

Orchard House, Home to the Alcott's for 20 Years

Today, we jumped forward in time to the mid-1800's when we visited the historic home of Louisa May Alcott and her family. This is the home, in Concord, where she wrote "Little Women" and its sequel and several other stories, from her upstairs bedroom on right. Her father was a well-known educator, who first instituted recess and raising your hand to ask a question. Louisa and her sisters had a progressive education for their time, learning from Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau who lived nearby. We had an excellent tour guide.

Louisa May Alcott's Bedroom

We were surprised that 80% of the house furnishings actually belonged to the Alcotts. We were amazed that Louisa typically wrote for 14 hours a day, in between household chores. Her dad built her the white half-round desk and when she sold her first book, she bought the the maple desk in the corner. Because her right hand and thumb would become numb from writing, she taught herself to write with her left hand, so she could alternate hands. We found her tiny cramped handwriting, VERY hard to read! Her goal when she began writing was to help her mother and sisters, due to her father more concerned about philosophy than food. We did not know she served as a nurse in the Civil War, where she contracted typhoid pneumonia that was treated with mercury. This treatment, prematurely aged her and she died at age 55 in 1888 after publishing over 30 books, short stories and thrillers under a different name. It was a fascinating look at life in the 1800's in Massachusetts. 

After Orchard House, we drove south to Falls River to Battleship Cove and the museum ships that are moored there.  The biggest ship is the battleship Massachusetts.  It was one of the big ships that helped win World War II.  We were able to roam through most of the ship and see several exhibits on different campaigns and war related activities.

Battleship Massachusetts and Other War Ships

We were also able to see two original PT boats and several exhibits on the patrol torpedo boats.  They also had a WWII era submarine, and a destroyer named for Joe Kennedy, Jr. on display, but we did not take the time to visit those.  Neil saw the sailor bunks and remembered when he and his two brothers slept in those when his Dad was stationed in New Orleans.  He even had a bulletin board with chores for the three of us.  Not exactly his fondest memories.

Neil Slept on One of These "Racks" Three High with His Brothers

The old teak decks of the battleship have seen much better days, but Neil remembers when his father salvaged a bunch of teak from a battleship that was being scrapped in Seattle when he was there with his buoy tender in the Coast Guard.  e wore out a lot of planer blades on Coast Guard bases in later years.  He built a very nice corner gun cabinet out of the teak and had one of the brass "tompions" from one of the five inch guns as a decoration on the top.  Neil's brother Bruce has this beauty.

These Teak Decks Have Seen Better Days

These Brass Covers or Plugs Went Over the Muzzles of Naval Guns

All in all, it was a good and varied couple of days of history from three different centuries.  Tomorrow, we head south and west a bit towards the Hudson River Valley and some attractions there.  

As we close, we will mention that we will not miss Massachusetts roads or their drivers.  The on and off ramps on the highways are very short,  which gives you very little time to merge back on the highways or to exit off them.  To make matters worse, the drivers are very aggressive and cut you off with wild abandon.  And lastly, we noticed tonight that a lot of drivers don't bother to turn on their headlights at dusk.  Maybe New York will be better?  Probably not.  It is sure nice to have a small and nimble car like our Subaru Forester to make these side trips.  It would be impossible in the RV and more difficult in a large truck. 

Best wishes,

Neil and Pamela

Last Days in Maine

Well, our week in Maine has finally come to an end.  We were very fortunate to have warm breezes and no rain during our stay. We had both busy and relaxing days.  Since we have enjoyed visiting Mount Desert Island many times before, we had the luxury of revisiting favorite places and choosing some new adventures to experience this trip.  We have created many new memories, which is really special. In addition to this blog, Pamela is creating a digital photo book of our "80 Days Around the USA" RV trip, so we will remember all of our adventures.

Margaret Todd Coming Into Port

During our last two days on the island, we did a bit more exploration of the "Quiet Side" in Southwest Harbor, and Bass Harbor.  We also returned to Bar Harbor for two more awesome meals and in general enjoyed our last days of summer.  Here are some images from Wednesday & Thursday.

We Did Not Try the Lobster Ice Cream, But There Was Some!

Lobster English-Style Lunch at the Bar Harbor Inn

We enjoyed an amazing lunch on the waterfront watching the Margaret Todd arrive and the Crystal Harmony, a medium-sized cruise ship depart in late afternoon for points south. Pamela calls this an English style salad, due to the haricots (green beans), new red potatoes and marinated artichokes under the lobster and field greens. She remembers eating several variations of this in the U.K. The autumn season of New England cruising has begun and will last through mid-October. We hope to take one of these autumn color trips next fall from Montreal to Boston for our 35 anniversary. 

Downtown Southwest Harbor

Even the Quiet Side Has Culture--Good Food and Drink

We picked up some wine and whiskey cheese for picnics down the road and left MDI on Thursday driving south to Old Orchard Beach, Maine.  We have heard a lot about the history of this area, the seven miles of sandy beach and the historic pier.  So, after setting up camp, we drove three miles into Old Orchard Beach and discovered that most of the pier area was dirty and run down.  Almost everything was closed, from the Amusement Park to pier restaurants, probably because it was after Labor Day, but we did not see anything that encouraged us enough to consider returning.

Old Orchard Beach Pier

Seven Miles of Beach at Old Orchard

We returned to camp to enjoy leftovers in the RV, including last lobster meal for Neil and chowder for Pamela. Finished editing our photos from the wonderful week on the island before bed.

Campground at Old Orchard Beach, Maine

We traveled just two hours into in Massachusetts (there is a good reason they call it Mass or MA, especially on road signs) near Concord and Lexington, more about that later.  Along the way we came upon this road sign that we have never seen before.

 A big thanks to Sandy Rust for the heads up about toll roads in the eastern USA. In the last two days we have spent almost forty dollars on freeway tolls, just to travel less than 300 miles!

Thanks for tuning in,

Neil and Pamela

A Day on the Water in Maine

Tuesday was a busy day for us as we had to get up early (for us) and drive over to Bar Harbor to board the M/V Acadia Explorer for a three hour lighthouse tour.  It was a new high speed catamaran (31 mph according to Neil's navigation app on his phone) that carried us to some waters south of Mt Desert Island to see several island lighthouses that we had not seen. 

Our Lighthouse Tour Route

We were really blessed weather wise, as Monday was a very foggy day and  we would have seen very little.  The boat had a good naturalist, who was not only provided us history of the lighthouses, but shared history of Acadia National Park and the seaside "cottages"--some worth over $5 million that we could see from the boat.  

After leaving Bar Harbor, we hugged the southern shore along the eastern side of Mount Desert and passed several massive summer homes.  We found out that the term "cottages" applies to all sized structures, from two room cabins to great mansions owned by the Rockefellers, Pulitzer and others.

Pulitzer "cottage"

Pulitzer came here to escape the heat of New York and for the quiet. He hated loud noises and not only built the house to be quiet, but had a tower built that was insulated with steel wool and double-panes of windows. When the Coast Guard built the fog horn about 200 yards off shore, he convinced them to turn the direction of it, as the horn made too much noise when he was living here! The other great story was about Martha Stewart's large "cottage" on a bluff. The naturalist told us, with tongue in cheek, that she has the staff clean the rose-colored granite lining the driveway in the spring, pick up all the pine cones in autumn to use in decoration projects, and trap the squirrels in spring to give them a bath. We all got a good laugh from the story!

The Bar Harbor Inn with the five-masted Margaret Rose in front

As we left Bar Harbor, we cruised past the historic Bar Harbor Inn, one of the first built in the 1890's and added onto several times, so that there are close to 500 rooms today. In front is the beautiful schooner that we cruised on for a sunset tip ten years ago, on our last visit to Maine.

Our first lighthouse was Bear Island, which is just off southern Mount Desert Island. As with all lighthouses today, they are automated with solar power in most cases. The Coast Guard still maintains them to provide safety for boats and ships, while volunteer organizations take care of the grounds on many of these islands, mowing the grass, maintaining trails and picking up the garbage that washes ashore every year.

Bear Island Lighthouse

We then headed east farther out into the Atlantic and about 20 minutes south to Great Duck Island.

Great Duck Island Lighthouse

On the way back towards Mount Desert, we passed the Cranberry Islands and a U.S. Lifesaving Station located there.  The Lifesaving Service helped the people from shipwrecks along the coast and saved thousands of lives.  They became part of the U.S. Coast Guard in 1915 when it merged with the Revenue Cutter Service.  The U.S. Coast Guard history goes back to 1790 and was created by Alexander Hamilton when he was Secretary of Treasury and created the Revenue Cutter Service.

Cranberry Island U.S. Lifesaving Service Station

From there, we headed northeast to to Schoodic Peninsula northeast of Mt. Desert Island toward Winter Harbor.  We saw the Winter Harbor Lighthouse and also Egg Rock Lighthouse in this area before returning to Bar Harbor. We also learned that several of the houses at these islands can be rented for the week, though not cheap---$2000 to $4,000 a week!

Winter Harbor Lighthouse

Egg Rock Lighthouse was fairly unique in that the light is part of the keepers quarters.  The U.S. Lighthouse Service usually separated these structures for fire and family reasons, but the small footprint of the island made them change the formula.  We noticed this in Alaska north of Juneau at Eldred Rock Lighthouse, for the same reasons. On Egg Rock, it was so stony that lobster men would drop off soil as they came by so the lighthouse keepers wife could slowly create a a vegetable garden.

We returned to Bar Harbor in early afternoon, just in time for a very nice lunch at an Irish Pub where Pamela had some clam chowder she loved so much she got one to go and just had it for dinner tonight.  Neil had...wait for it...lobster in a Caesar salad.

It was a great day on the island and we returned to the KOA RV park on the northwest side of the island in time to watch another beautiful sunset and for Pamela to get her feet wet in the Atlantic.

Pamela's Wet Feet at Sunset

We hope all of you tuning in are doing well,

Neil and Pamela

Lobsters and Lighthouses

This blog post is for Labor Day (Monday).  We started a leisurely drive on the east side of the island along the Acadia Park Loop Road with stops at Thunder Hole and several of the overlooks.  These narrow one-way park roads and the carriage roads were established by John D. Rockefeller as part of the several different family estates on Mount Desert Island.  Along the edges of the road are large two-foot square granite boulders, known as Rockefeller's teeth.

The island became popular in the 1880's by painters of the Hudson River School, including Thomas Cole and Frederic Church, inspiring patrons and friends to flock here. These were the "rusticators." Undaunted by crude accommodations and simple food, they sought out local fishermen and farmers to put them up for a modest fee. Summer after summer, the they returned to renew friendships with local islanders and, most of all, to savor the fresh salt air, beautiful scenery, and relaxed pace.

Bass Harbor Head Light in the Sunny Fog

Mount Desert island became a retreat for prominent people of the times. The Rockefellers, Morgans, Fords, Vanderbilts, Carnegies, and Astors chose to spend their summers here. Not content with the simple lodgings then available, these families transformed the landscape of Mount Desert Island with elegant estates, euphemistically called "cottages."  Their contributions of money and land created the start of what is now Acadia National Park. It was a very nice drive, but still very busy, because there are still a lot of visitors to the island for the day, as it was a three cruise ship day in Bar Harbor, and we saw buses and vans everywhere we went.

Two of the three cruise ship in Bar Harbor

We were going to stop at Jordan Pond for a bite of lunch, but there were cars and buses everywhere.  So we decided that it would be a good time to visit the west side of the island.  We made tracks for Beal's Lobster Pier (www.bealslobster.com) in Southwest Harbor.  It was time for Neil's daily fix of lobster, and he got a big one.  At Beal's, you can pick out the size of lobster you want.  Most lobsters you get are on the smaller side; about 1 1/4 pounds, but they had bigger "Jumbo" lobsters, up to 4 pounds. Neil picked out a 2.3 pound lobster and it was just about right.  We learned that lobster fishers can only keep males between 1-1/4 and four pounds, so Neil's wasn't a monster, but plenty big enough for lunch.

A Bit of Lobster - Nearly Three Pounds

And Into the Steamer He Goes

Here We Go!

The Aftermath - All Gone But the Shells

We then drove out to Bass Harbor Head, but it was a little bit foggy and pictures were not the best.  To get a picture of the light, you have to climb down several flights of stairs and scramble on the rocks to get a low angle up at the light.  We then drove up to very scenic Bass Harbor and back to the campground, where we watched the fog roll in again

Lobster boat and traps

This has been another good day in the neighborhood.

Neil and Pamela

A "Make and Mend" Day In Camp

Back in the old days of sail, the sailors would sometimes have a "make and mend" day when they would repair equipment, clothing and work on items to keep things "ship shape".  That was what today was for us.  Since it is Sunday of Labor Day weekend, we chose to stay in camp and work on some items.

For Pamela this was figuring out the WiFi to send photos from camera to phone, editing photos, reading and taking a nap. Neil finally figured out the WiFi for each of our cameras. The only problem with new camera is taking more photos in several modes, so now they have to be edited.

For Neil, that was installing the last two tire pressure monitoring sensors on the outside rear dual tires.  He had to remove the wheel covers to access the valve stems, but finally got them installed--only one month and 3400 miles later!  It feels good to have it done and to know that the TPMS will alert us to loss of pressure or increase in temperature for the six RV tires and the four Subaru tires.

This Is What Our Tire Tracker System Looks Like

Neil also took care of a door rattle in the entry screen door that has been bugging him, so now it is oh so quiet.  He attempted to fix the switch on the bath fan to give it more speeds, but that fix did not work.  Either it is a bad switch, or it needs to be re-wired.  Now, it has two speeds; gale force and hurricane--we were hoping for gentle breeze on the low end.  Maybe later I can consult my on-call electrician (Seth?).

Neil talked to his brother Bruce today, who informed him that his Lobster-a-Day Diet did not allow for "carry over points", like when you have a lobster salad and a lobster dinner in the same day.  He says that you cannot carry points over from a "two-fer" day to the next day.  I guess that means that I will have lobster mac and cheese with the hamburger steaks that I will BBQ tonight.  Such sacrifices must be made!

RV Sewer Hose Hold Down Weights

A couple of readers asked what the device I posted about some time ago was, and I guess it is time for an answer.  It is a RV sewer hose hold-down to keep the sewer hose inserted into the sewer drain at RV parks.  Several parks across Canada and Maine did not have the threaded sewer hose pipes that allows you to screw in the hose to make a secure and mostly air-tight seal.  It is never a good thing when a sewer hose comes loose, when it if full of black water effluent!

Speaking of nasty stuff, we also discovered on this trip that we needed another "just in case" piece of equipment for the RV.  It turns out that our black water gate valve is not shutting all of the way, and that allows the really nasty stuff to seep out of the pipe and down to the hose.  It made for a really bad situation at end of days we drove the RV, as Neil had to drain the seepage once we hooked up hoses at a new RV park.  If we were home, it would be an easy (if messy) job to replace or clean out the gate valve, but when on the road, not so much.  Neil found a twist on gate valve that has solved the problem, for now.  It essentially adds a final gate valve before the sewer hose.  We are happy to have it in place now and will keep it handy after we get the valve repaired.  Of course it HAD to be the black water valve--not the grey water valve.  Murphy's Law at work.

People with RV's Will Understand Why THIS is A Lifesaver

We will close with a couple of photos Neil took at Southwest Harbor Coast Guard Base, where his Dad was commanding officer for several years.  There is a good reason why the USCG are called the Life Savers.

We hope that you can have your own "make and mend" day soon, and appreciate your tuning in.

Neil and Pamela

Mount Desert Island Rovings

We arrived at our KOA campground on the northwest side of the island yesterday in early afternoon.  We have a ocean view campsite to the west over the water here on Mount Desert Island.  We are at the northern end of the island (where the heart is on the map below).

Mount Desert Island

View of beach in front of campsite

We got set up and decided to drive into Bar Harbor for dinner.  We walked through downtown toward the harbor, and enjoyed a marvelous dinner at Galyn's Restaurant (upstairs with view of the harbor).  Neil had prime rib (with lobster tail) and Pamela also had prime rib, both of which were tender and quite yummy.  Bar Harbor reminded us of Juneau during summer cruise ship season.  There was a lot of people walking the streets, and the businesses were very tourist oriented.  There was even a Holland America cruise ship (the Veendam) in port, luckily leaving as we were enjoying dinner.

Another Fine Dinner in Bar Harbor

After dinner, we walked around town  and looked into a few shops enjoying the view of the harbor.  Pamela found an awesome tea shop with both tea, bone china cups and several gift ideas. After a bit of shopping, we followed advice and found Mt. Desert Island ice cream shop, which makes some interesting flavors, such as Callabaut dark chocolate, Butterbeer (Harry Potter inspired of butter, Butterscotch, & root beer), Bay of Figs, and Lemon Poppyseed. We ate the first two.

Another Big Yacht in Bar Harbor

Today, we explored the southwest part of the island, where Neil has fond memories.  Neil lived in Southwest Harbor when his father was base commander at the US Coast Guard Base there.  We drove past the Hinckley Yacht Boat Yard and the old wooden boat house were he worked one summer.  Today, they build both sailing boats and jet-propelled sport boats. Not only did Neil find the home they lived in in the lat 1960's,  we found the Beal Lobster Pound next to the Coast Guard dock. Neil's dad always brought home lobster at least once a week from here and it has expanded the size of public tables for restaurant. We will be going there for lunch one day while here. 

We followed winding road around the south end of island to Northeast Harbor, which is really on the south side of the island.  We have noticed on our drive there are more chain hotels (such as Marriott, Wyndham and Super 8) since we last visited about 15 years ago, They are built in New England style and every place on island is full this weekend. It was a very pleasant drive opening new vistas and bringing back memories of past trips here, when we worked in Washington DC and came to escape the summer heat. We wound up back at Bar Harbor and had a late lunch outside overlooking the harbor as excursion boats returned from trips, one of which we will take on Tuesday.

Northeast Harbor Harbor

We arrived back to the campground in time to join a number of other campers at the shore-side viewing area with our adult beverages to watch the sunset gently set across the inlet over the beach.  It was a lovely sunset, but we miss our friends and family who are in Waldport, Oregon at the family camp out this weekend.

Tonight's Sunset from Our Campground

Glad We Did Not Park Here!

One of the wooden sailing boats at Bar Harbor

More adventures tomorrow. Though Pamela did much research before we left home and we always stop at local visitor centers for more ideas on local sights and activities, we have learned to check the weather and wait until we get up to decide what to see and do that day.  Best wishes,

Neil and Pamela