Dexter to Acadia National Park

Day 5: Sunday – July 18^th, 2010 – Dexter, ME to Acadia National Park

The night passed comfortably at The Brewster Inn. We were greeted for breakfast this morning with – wait for it – blueberry French toast casserole. A potentially incredibly good dish neither of us had even conceived of was served to us two mornings in a row. Then we remembered that the owners of the B&B were English. The casserole lived up to their nationality. At least we know that it can be made wonderfully.

Dexter is located two hours to the north of Acadia and the longest part of the journey was getting gas at the local Valero. Turns out the owner was inciting a gas war and undercutting all of the other stations by at least 10 cents per gallon. The line was at least 3 deep on every pump, but we waited the 20 minutes to get our 10 gallons of gas for a $1.00 less. Note to self – 20 more minutes anywhere other than a gas station is usually worth $1.00.

Since we were camping for two nights straight, we stopped in Bangor at a Dollar Tree and a Wal-Mart to pick up food. We then stopped at a roadside lobster roll hut just outside Acadia for a little lunch (I had the fried shrimp roll, Tara had the crab roll). We crossed over onto Mount Desert Island around 1, drove through Bar Harbor (Baa Haabaa, for those wondering how the Downeasterns pronounce it) and arrived at our Blackwoods Campground site A130 a little before 2. Set up went smoothly and by 3 we were off to explore the Park.

One interesting thing about Acadia is what it isn’t, which is isolated. Throughout the island of Mount Desert there are dozens of small towns, with tiny downtown centers, gas stations, convenience stores, and homes of all sizes all over the island. We drove through one of the larger small towns, Northeast Harbor, marveling at the largess of the homes, and then along Sergeant Drive on the eastern edge of Somes Sound, awestruck by the craggy cliffs, finally stopping to take a picture or two. Winding our way down from the road to the cliffs we stumbled upon an untouched wild blueberry patch and enjoyed a large handful of the slightly sweet, slightly tart natural product of Maine. Returning to the car we picked up firewood that many of the locals were selling from their driveway (using the honor system no less), and headed to Otter Point to walk along the Ocean Path hiking trail. The complete Ocean Path Trail is 4 miles long stretching from Sand Beach (water temperature of 55) to Otter Point. We opted to walk 30 minutes one way before returning to the car. The sights were incredible as high tide approached, pounding the cliffs and washing up on beaches made up solely of granite stones ranging in size, shape, and smoothness of golf balls to rugby balls.

We returned to our campsite at 5:30, started the fire, sliced the chicken and vegetables, and cooked it all up in aluminum foil. For dessert we had the classic camping dessert, S’Mores. Sleep however did not come easily that night, not because of our slightly sloped location, nor from neglecting to camp in over a year, but due simply to a loud and rude group of individuals somewhere on the grounds that kept their party going well past 11.

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Sanford to Dexter, ME

Saturday, July 17^th, 2010 – Day 4: Sanford, ME to Dexter, ME

On the day that we decided to take this trip to Maine, I sat down and wrote a quick note to Mrs. Sullivan, my second grade teacher when I lived in South Berwick, ME. She still teaches and lives in Maine, and we had remained occasional pen pals ever since I moved. I asked in my letter if she had any time for a quick visit and she responded with an enthusiastic phone call on the day she received the letter. So on this Saturday morning, Tara and I made the 25 minute drive to South Berwick from Sanford, passed by the Central School where I attended 1^st and 2^nd grades, drove through the “Old Mill” neighborhood of my youth, and arrived at Mrs. Sullivan’s house 10 minutes early for brunch. She cooked an outstanding blueberry French toast casserole, and over food and coffee we shared our respective stories for over two hours.

Following brunch, we chartered a circuitous route to Dexter, ME through Rockland, ME. Rockland was the home of my Great-Uncle Gus and Aunt Kath, and my family would visit from time to time in my youth, exploring their expansive house, helping to pull weeds in the garden, and playing a little golf. Along the way, we stopped first for a little lunch on a wharf in Wiscasset (crab roll for Tara and a lightly fried haddock sandwich for me), and then at a few of the innumerable antique stores that dot Route 1. At one of these stores we heard tale of a mythical antique store called Elmer’s Barn that is said to have 4 stories and barely enough room to walkthrough, and might be located on Route 17 somewhere between Union and the Atlantic Ocean. We decided not to look for it this day as it was nearing 3 in the afternoon, but kept it as a possible quest after Acadia.

The drive to Dexter was pleasant and easy along the two way roads and over the hills as we reached deeper into the woods of Maine. On the first day of the trip I had received a call from Mark, the proprietor of The Brewster Inn, during which he confirmed our reservations at his Bed and Breakfast and we established an estimated time of arrival. What struck me most about this conversation was Mark’s extreme and indescribable accent that I then attributed to all Northern Maine-iacs (Maine-ians? Maine-ites? Mainers?). It was with some relief upon entry to The Brewster Inn to find that Mark is from England and he has a slight lisp and tongue thrust on his S’s. Suddenly his accent made perfect sense. After taking our bags to the room, Mark directed us to Angler’s restaurant for our first true seafood dinner of the trip (Tara enjoyed a 1 ½ pound lobster and I had broiled haddock and scallops), for a fair in-land price (about $5 less per plate than on the coast). Following a brief walk around the Inn upon our return, we retired to our comfortable, cool, and quiet room.

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Hancock, NH to Sanford, ME

Friday, July 16^th, 2010 – Day 3: Hancock, NH to Sanford, ME

Despite the rough start, the remainder of the morning went swimmingly. The breakfast was outstanding and provided a surprising number of choices. We were used to having one main dish to enjoy, but at the Hancock Inn there were at least 5 main choices, plus muffins, granola, yogurt, fresh fruit and coffee. Needless to say that by the time our main dish was ready (an omelet for me and blueberry pancakes with sausage for Tara) we were nearly full. Robert, the proprietor, patiently answered all of our questions about the Inn and activities to do in the area over breakfast. When we had had enough food, Robert asked Tara if he could feed George the Parrot her left over sausage. Having never seen a meat eating parrot, we were amazed that George took to the patty immediately and whistled out thanks.

We left the Hancock Inn around 10, giving a farewell pet to Bailey, the Inn’s “guard” dog, and made our way north through Concord to Canterbury, NH and the Shaker Village that had been preserved. The Shakers were an interesting offshoot of the Quaker persuasion of Christianity. They embraced technology, including having the first motor vehicle in the state of New Hampshire, yet demanded chastity above everything. Even married couples that joined the church lived in separate homes and were forbidden to fornicate. It does not seem surprising that this sect has nearly died out, claiming only 3 living followers in the northern parts of Maine. The village displayed the inventiveness of the Shakers, highlighting their contributions to medicine (early adoption of soap), washing machines (they invented a commercial washer that was used by hotels across the northeast), furniture, and brooms (they created the flat broom). Cleanliness was also one of their primary tenants. We spent almost two hours at the village looking around and trapped in a longer than necessary walking tour.

From the Shaker Village, we traveled west on Rt. 4 to Portsmouth, NH, discovering the remains of Pease Air Force Base where my father was stationed from 1983 – 1985. Pease AFB was closed a number of years ago and converted into an international trading post. We then took Rt. 1 north into Maine. Having never been to this state I asked Tara what she was expecting to see and she described a tranquil scene of a lighthouse on a cliff over pounding surf with fog rolling in. With this in mind our first stop was the Cape Neddick "Nubble" Lighthouse near York Beach, where her vision was fulfilled sans fog. After snapping a dozen pictures we walked across the parking lot to split our first Lobster Roll of the trip at Fox’s Lobster House. A Lobster Roll is basically a toasted hot dog bun filled with chunks of lobster meat lightly coated with mayonnaise on a leaf of lettuce. They are excellent little sandwiches that are often overpriced this close to a scenic landmark.

We continued along Rt. 1, stopping at York Beach proper to walk around and for me to reminisce. This was the beach that my family would frequent during the summer with some of the other families from the squadron. I pointed out the places where my friends and I would crab hunt during low tide, where we would get an ice cream cone at the end of the day, and the salt water taffy shop that had the taffy stretchers in the window. With the afternoon drawing to a close, we made our way due north to Sanford, ME and the Oakwood Inn Town Motel. We quickly dropped off our bags in the room with a ¾ bath (stand up shower) and headed into Portland, ME, 45 minutes away to meet up with my sister Jenny. Jenny was in Maine with her boyfriend Pat attending one of his fraternity brother’s wedding. We met them at the Eastland Park Hotel on the corner of High and Congress Street, and took the courtesy van to a restaurant near the waterfront called Bull Feeney. We spent an enjoyable dinner with Jenny, Pat and two other young couples. As they were heading out to further explore the nightlife that Portland had to offer, Tara and I hailed a cab back to our car and returned to our Motel by 10:30, well past our standard bedtime.

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Utica, NY to Hancock, NH

Thursday, July 15^th, 2010 – Day 2: Whitesboro, NY to Hancock, NH

We left Whitesboro at 10:00 and headed first to Saratoga Springs, NY. When Tara and I started dating in 2008, our first ever road trip was to Saratoga Springs to stay in the Diamond Jim Brady Room at the Batcheller Mansion Inn Bed and Breakfast for a long weekend. We arrived in town around noon and drove around a bit, marveling at the huge homes and estates throughout the town. After a short search for a parking spot in the crowded vacation destination, we walked along the main drag and decided to eat at the Circus Café. We enjoyed our brief excursion down memory lane and continued our drive to New Hampshire. Along the way we encountered one of the craziest roads ever, County Road – 61 (CR-61) in eastern New York. It really was not one road, as you would turn onto other connecting roads ever mile to follow the CR-61 signs. It was beautiful though, winding through pastures and farmlands.

The Northeast is wonderful for one’s sense of fulfillment, as it takes a relatively short time to drive through the various states. Vermont was next on the list and we made it a point to avoid any semblance of a highway as we crossed the Green Mountain State. We did stop at two antique stores and the famous Vermont Country Store: purveyors of all things antiquated and odd, such as Life Buoy soap, Moxie soda, the Kissing Bridge, and the widest selection of Vermont cheeses you could imagine. Before we knew it we crossed the Connecticut River and were in New Hampshire, though the road that we were on failed to announce our arrival.

We arrived at the oldest continuously operating Inn in New Hampshire, dating back to 1789, The Hancock Inn in Hancock, NH at 6:00 and checked into our room. The proprietor of the Bed and Breakfast said that since the Inn was not fully booked he upgraded us to a larger room. We thought that this was mighty swell of him, until the morning. After unloading our bags we walked down to the local pond and through a cemetery behind the church/town hall. When we started our walk we saw that there was a little folk band called the Bradford Bog People setting up in the town center and a few people on lawn chairs ready to enjoy the concert. When we returned to Main Street, the crowd had grown to about 100 people. An ice cream truck and the town’s sheriff were also there as the folk band played their tunes and the children ran around the gazebo and climbed on the town statue. We returned to the Inn in time for our dinner reservations and enjoyed a great meal of herb crusted cod for me and chicken with lobster ravioli for Tara. We retired to our larger room and realized that we had failed to bring a fan with us on the trip. We have grown accustomed the past few years of sleeping with a fan on, in part to drown out the noise of the city, but also to keep the air moving. We thought since our room had two air conditioner outlets there would be enough movement, but at 11:00 the air stopped and the room became stifling. We were also contending with the church bells next door marking every hour (We thought this was quaint at 7 o’clock during our walk, but not as much at midnight). Needless to say that when the road construction started at 7:30 in the morning outside our larger room’s window, we were rudely awoken from a rather poor night’s sleep and wondered what our night might have been like in our original, smaller room in the back of the establishment.

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New York City to Utica

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010 - Day 1: New York City to Utica, NY

The drive to Utica is pretty standard and something that we have done a number of times. We picked up bagels and coffee before leaving the city at 8:30, and then made a quick stop in Hackensack, NJ to get some camping and traveling supplies from our storage unit. Once we left New Jersey we took 87 north to I-90 W. We reached my parents house in Whitesboro, NY at 12:30, had a quick sandwich, and started sifting through the camping supplies. By 1:30, we had the tent set up to air out in the backyard along with all of the sleeping bags, and we left the house with a list of supplies that we needed. We found most of the items at a Dollar Tree, most of the rest at a Wal-Mart, but still had one elusive item to retrieve. Our tent's rain fly is supposed to have two flexible rods that form a brim over the entrance and back window of the tent. Last summer, one of the rods split and we have been looking for a replacement. So we headed to Herb Philipson's Army and Navy Store. Tara asked the sales clerk if they had some replacements or a kit to fix our current rod. The guy took our broken rod and said that he would check in the back. He emerged 5 minutes later with the exact rod we needed and simply gave it to us for no charge. Pleased with the price, we took the rod and headed to a mysterious store on the other side of the shopping center called Ollie's Bargain Outlet. Turns out it is very similar to a National Wholesale Liquidators, which means you never know what treasure you might find. The item of the day was Boo Berry Cereal, one of my favorites, and I grabbed two boxes for $1.49 each. I might go back for more upon our return.

We spent the remainder of a warm and lazy afternoon organizing the supplies and cooked some steaks, chicken, and grilled veggies for dinner. My dad, Tara and I went to B & F Milk Center for a refreshing ice cream treat before retiring to the basement cave for an incredible night’s sleep. The trip will truly begin tomorrow.

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Mini Road Trip 2010 Edition

Good day happy travelers. Tara and I are hitting the road once again tomorrow for 12 days. Our primary goal is to camp for two nights in Acadia National Park near Bar Harbor, Maine. The rest of the time we will be exploring quaint towns, antique malls, seashores, lobster huts, lighthouses, and anything else that catches our eye. The impetus for this trip is Tara's desire to see the easternmost state of the union, a place that she has yet to visit, and the fact that we found ourselves with nothing to do until the weekend of July 24th. Originally we were going to use this time to search for a new dwelling in the NYC area. That search ended successfully on the first day, yesterday, when we signed a lease at a condominium unit in Englewood, NJ. So we decided to road trip a little, and whats a road trip without a blog? The rough outline of our trip is as follows:

July 14th - NYC to Utica, NY - We will stay with my parents and collect all of the camping supplies that we left with them last year.

July 15th - Utica, NY to Hancock, NH

July 16th - Hancock, NH to Sanford, ME

July 17th - Sanford, ME to Bar Harbor/Bangor, ME area

July 18th and 19th - Camp out in Acadia National Park

July 20th - July 23rd - TBD Maine to Utica, NY (Mom's Birthday is on the 24th)

July 25th - Utica, NY to NYC

And the Story Continues

Ten months of marital bliss have passed. Tara and I are as happy as can be, so we have decided to add some frustration to our lives. We recently purchased 3.2 acres of land in the Texas Hill Country, southwest of Austin. You can follow our progress at http://ewingwienershomestory.blogspot.com/.