We got up and drove to the Acadia NP Visitor’s Center so we could ride our bikes on the carriage roads. Carriage roads are smooth, dirt roads that were built by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. so people could hike or ride horse-drawn carriages to enjoy the area. There are 49 miles of roads with 17 unique stone bridges along these roads. Motorized vehicles, even electric bikes, are not allowed so we left our batteries in the RV. We rode about 4 miles on the carriage roads around Witch’s Hole Pond. We had to get off and walk up hills a few times, but not many.
It’s the end of September with most campgrounds in the New England area closing on Columbus Day yet we are still having trouble finding a site on the weekends without reservations! It’s also difficult to find a campground anywhere near a bigger city, such as Portland, ME. We ended up camping near Freeport, ME – about 15 miles from our real destination in Portland.
Our primary reason for stopping here was to re-connect with Terry’s old college roommate, David, who happened to be the reason we first met and was the best man at our wedding.
We arrived in Freeport in the late afternoon. David came by and picked us up in his pickup with 2 kayaks on top and a couch sticking out of the bed of his pickup. He took us to downtown Portland in the old district where we met Catherine, his wife, for dinner at Scales, a seafood restaurant. Afterwards he drove us back “home” to the RV.
We also learned that L.L. Bean started here in Freeport, Maine. They are EVERYWHERE here. Their main store is open 24/7, 365 days a year. They don’t have locks on the doors because they don’t close. They also subsidize the free shuttle buses we rode in Acadia National Park.
Camping: Recompence Shore Campground at Wolfe’s Neck Farm, Freeport, ME
Electric & water, outhouse, showers at office, dump station at office, Verizon cell/data, free WiFi.