Bar Harbor, Maine

Downtown Bar Harbor is located on Mount Desert Island between Acadia National Park and the Atlantic Ocean.  It has the charm of a small Maine fishing village with its quaint shops and lots of places to eat inside and out.

                                      

Most everyone is eating lobster.

A lobster dinner costs about $15.    

    

                                                                   

        At Agamont Park you can sit and watch people or observe the boats in Frenchman's Bay.  At the town pier you can purchase tickets for a variety of boat tours.      

Many cruise ships bring visitors to Bar Harbor to view the fall foliage.

One day when we were driving around the island we stopped to watch a lobster boat.

Acadia National Park (part 1)

Maine's South Coast

Kennebunkport, ME


I was surprised by all the beautiful flowers.
There were window boxes everywhere.

LOTS of walking  and shopping.
       
             LOTS of places to eat.









                                                                     

                                                       We had dinner at





This was the view from our table.

Seafood Pasta

Baked Haddock

Red Apple Campground

I post campground photos to help us remember the correct location of each campground and give others good locations for the area.  This campground reminded me of the Florida campgrounds.  There were many park models and trailers here that are permanent and used as summer homes.   We talked to the man next to us and he will be headed to St. Pete October 1.   The staff here was very helpful.  In fact, they made us a reservation at the restaurant requesting for us the window table.   OR if you don't feel like going out you can have a lobster dinner delivered to your campsite.  Everything was very neat and clean.

Cape Neddick Lighthouse  (Nubble Light)

is located on a small, rocky island.  It was illuminated for the first time in 1879.  We could only view the lighthouse from the parking lot.  Visitors are not allowed on the island.

The shore is all large rocks here but just down the road are sandy beaches.  There are more rocky shores than beaches.   The beaches are courser sand than we see at the Gulf coast.  The beaches are dog friendly!

There were no shells to be found but while taking a walk on the beach you can pick up interesting rocks.  Most are very smooth.

There are many homes and cottages up and down the coast.   They are in all sizes and colors.

It was a delightful afternoon just driving through the small communities near Kennebunkport.

Freeport and L.L.Bean

One afternoon we drove to Freeport to shop at the L.L.Bean flagship store.
We saw their boot car on the interstate.

Leaf Peeping

The leaves are just beginning to change in this area of Maine.

Now we are headed to Bar Harbor and Acadia.

Boston and More

We arrived on Wednesday at Minuteman Campground outside of Boston.  
http://minutemancampground.com/amenities/


I am amazed At how they were
able to squeeze
                     
 
us in among 
the trees.  
There are 
really a lot
of trees here.

The air smells fresh and the fall crispness is in the air.  THIS is camping.

Ziggy isn't enjoying the fire

 because he's begging for a bite.

Boston 

We were off to catch the subway into Boston!   We left after what we thought would be rush hour.  I think all hours here are rush hours and heavy traffic.  The traffic was heavy but moved smoothly until we got to the roundabout ( called rotary here).   There were 2 lanes of traffic merging into a roundabout from 4 directions.  I do not have words to describe this craziness!!!

We rode the subway into Boston then we spent the day touring Boston by "on and off" trolley.  We walked the "Freedom Trail" and took a boat tour of the Boston Harbor.

Our focus for the day was the historical sites of Boston.   It is amazing how buildings so old sit among towering sky scrapers.  Boston has done a wonderful job of preserving buildings that have importance in our nation's beginning.

                                                                

"Old Ironsides"
I enjoyed the harbor tour the most.

Quincy Market was used as a "farmers' market" in earlier years.  The stalls here now house food vendors.  We walked through the Market to decide what to eat for lunch.  There were so many different food smells that by the time we got to the end of the market, I was no longer hungry. sorry no photo

This is Faneuil Hall where our founding fathers met to discuss issues that formed our nation.

Minuteman National Park

www.nps.gov/mima/‎

This park begins in Lexington and follows the road taken described in The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere to Concord to warn that the British were marching to Concord to search for ammunition stockpiles.  The video in the Visitor Center was excellent.  I wished that Carson was with us because he could relate to the history he has studied. 

In Concord, we visited the Old North Bridge where "the shot that was heard around the world" was fired.

“By the rude bridge that arched the flood,

Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,

                                                 Here once the embattled farmers stood,                                                                      
                                               And fired the shot heard ’round the world”

Literature of the day 

seems to be how we remember

the history of the Revolutionary War.

The historians tell a different story.

There were actually shots fired in 

Lexington as the Redcoats marched

to Concord.   

To see photo of house and info go to 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Old_Manse

This was a day of reflection about how my country began and where the country is now.

         Apples and Peaches, YUM

               http://doeorchards.wordpress.com/

The trees were loaded and there were families picking apples on this beautiful, sunny day. I think Ashley would have enjoyed being here.  Several kinds of apples were available but my favorite was the      honeycrisp.                                                                                          Larry's favorite was the apple pie I made for dessert.                                  

Peaches were also available for purchase.  I haven't tried them yet they need to ripen a bit more.

                                 

Lowell National Historical Park

www.nps.gov/lowe/

This National Park is in downtown Lowell, a mill town.   This park is dedicated to the industrial revolution that took place in America.  Boarding houses were established for the "mill girls" that came from rural areas to work.   One of the most interesting parts of the exhibit was how Jefferson and Hamilton disagreed in the role government should play in the development of industry.  They actually seemed to work things out and respect each others views.  

The park is located in the buildings that were the mills and boarding houses of Lowell.

We did not have time to take the boat tour that explains the canal system that was built to provide the power to the looms.

We enjoyed the park as well as the Jazz Festival in the Commons.

A Day of Rest

  Today is a day of much needed rest and relaxation.  It is raining and predicted to rain all day.  I am thankful for the beautiful weather we have experienced so far on this trip.  I am also thankful for a rainy day to help with the relaxation.   

New England ---- Here We Come!

On Sunday evening, we stopped at Natural Bridge, VA, to camp for the night.  You can tell we are in the mountains.   They made the  campsites level but walking Ziggy was a workout.

When the MH came in next to us we were looking at his roof.

On Monday evening we stopped at Pine Grove, PA.   It seemed like we have been on an up hill climb most of the day.   The scenery has been beautiful.  I did not realize that PA grew so much corn.

On Tuesday, we traveled from Pine Grave, PA to Middletown, NY.

  Again today it seemed like the road climbed up hill all day.  The landscape was rural.  The trees are showing a few signs of fall; however, the photos don’t show the true colors.

There are goldenrods in bloom everywhere along the side of the interstate.  I cannot recall ever seeing such large patches of goldenrod when traveling in the fall.  

I think this is golden rod.

We are stopping for the night at New York City/Newburg KOA. 

I’m not sure why they call this KOA "New York City", unless it is all the Lady Liberty statues they have in the park.  We are 75 miles north of NYC.



This is another campground with lots of fun activities for the kids.  There are many Kamping Kabins in the woods.  It would be an ok place to stop for the night if the internet worked. :-(
We drove to the shopping area near the interstate for a few things.  It seems I packed food for several meals so we could have dinner in the MH.  However, it seems I forgot one or two things to be able to pull together a whole meal.   I think I may have to start making lists and checking them twice.

This morning (Wednesday), Ziggy and I had a brisk 39 degree walk through the campground.  Ziggy wasn’t too excited at first.  He is getting lazy and old like his parents, and he really doesn’t like cold weather.

This campgound is located in the Hudson River Valley.  There are several farming areas nearby with fresh fruit and vegetable markets. 

Today should be a short driving day to the Boston area.  Short drive was WRONG!  What we thought to be 4 hours took 6.

http://www.twingrove.com/