September 30, 2016 – Acadia National Park to Freeport, ME

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.

September 29, 2016 – exploring Acadia NP

We tried to take the bikes on the shuttle but they do not allow electric bikes because of their weight and the batteries.  The bike racks can handle a maximum of 30 lbs.  If we’d taken the batteries off and left them behind, the bikes could have been loaded on the bus bike rack.

The next bus came in an hour so we put the bikes away and prepared to hike.  We took the shuttle to Otter Cliff and walked along the trail to Sand Beach.  Then we took the shuttle to Jordan Pond to hike around the pond. This 3.4 mile hike surprised us.  We were under the impression it was an easy stroll around the pond after which we were going to reward ourselves with famous popovers and coffee at the Jordan Pond House Restaurant. 

The trail on one side of the pond is a wide, flat easy trail.  When you get to the other end of the pond, the trail changes to granite boulders along the shoreline for about ¼ mile.  After that the trail is made of wooden planks which go for what seems like forever but it’s really about a mile.  When you feel like the planks are high enough to make you dizzy, you’re about at the end of them.  Not a leisurely stroll around the pond!  It took us much longer than expected to finish the loop. 

We barely finished in time to make our 4:30 reservation at the Jordon Pond House Restaurant to have their popovers and organic coffee.  Delicious!

September 28, 2016 – exploring Acadia NP

The free Acadia shuttle picked us up at the campground where we took it to the visitor’s center then onto Bar Harbor.  At Bar Harbor, we took the 4-mast schooner, the Margaret Todd, on a 2-hour ranger led tour of the bay and learned things about lobster fishing and how the park was created which we might not have found out on our own.

Cathy and Maarten, our friends from the Bay Area who moved to Reno (see the June 30 journal entry), were in Bar Harbor so we met them for dinner at a great restaurant in town.  After dinner they drove us back to our campground instead of waiting for the shuttle bus.  Very nice visit and very nice to get back quickly since we were both wiped from the day.

September 27, 2016 – Shelbourne, NH to Treton, ME

Drove all day.  Got in before dark. 

As we came out of the mountains, there’s more people and more traffic.  Even in the Acadia National Park area, there are more people than we expected considering it’s near the end of the season.  We stayed outside the park because all campground sites were booked.

There are free shuttles that not only go around the park but stop at nearby campgrounds and go through Bar Harbor so people can leave their cars outside the park.  We picked a nearby campground that was along the shuttle route so we could leave the RV and still see the park.  Bicycling on the roads and highways wasn’t really an option.

Walked to Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound for dinner to find out what a Lobster Pound was. 

WHAT’S A LOBSTER POUND?  A lobster pound is a place that sells live or cooked lobster by the pound.  First, you tell them what size lobster you want (small, medium, large).  They pick a live lobster that size, weigh it, give it a number and put it in a net bag (if you want it cooked).  They take the bag and place it in a barrel of boiling water for 20-22 minutes.  When it’s done, they serve it to you in a roasting pan with whatever sides you’d ordered.  It’s up to you to crack, clean and eat the lobster.  It was fun and interesting.  Neither of us think we like lobster enough to do it often.

Camping:  Narrows Too Campground, Trenton, ME
Electric & water, showers, dump, laundry, WiFi, shuttle stop to Acadia NP, Verizon cell/data

September 26, 2016 – Shelbourne, VT to Shelbourne, NH

TRADER JOE’S!  We were in need of chips and Burlington’s is the first Trader Joe’s along our trip since we left California!  They had one bag of Multigrain tortilla chips so we bought them.  They’ll have another shipment in a few days.

GRANITE QUARRIES – Barre, VT
We stopped to take a tour of the Rock of Ages Granite Quarry.  While waiting for our tour, we walked over to the “finishing” building where they were doing the finish work on several different monuments and tombstones.  On the bus tour they took us up to the top of a huge pit where the cut off blocks of granite.  The pit was several stories high with water in the bottom of it.  They were about to blow up/clear an area but our tour could not wait for it to happen.   Our tour guide showed several pieces of granite, including explaining why their granite was perfect for monuments (fine grained) but not appropriate for countertops where you would want larger patterns in the stone.

MAPLE GROVE FARMS – St. Johnsbury, VT
We spent too much time at the granite quarry and just got into the maple syrup shop to get re-supplied with maple syrup before they closed!  We didin’t have time to go through their maple sugar museum.  Bummer.  We should have blown off the granite quarry.  20-20 hindsight.

HIGHWAY 2 – through VT and NH
We continue to come back to this highway.  It takes you through the small towns and country sides.  It gives you a feel for what the area is all about.  We highly recommend it!

To avoid construction delays on Hwy 2 where it crosses into New Hampshire, Terry redirected us across the river in a nearby town. To our surprise it was a covered bridge over the Connecticut River, so we entered New Hampshire via covered bridge!   The leaves are changing faster here.  It’ll be gorgeous in a week – maybe even tomorrow!

Peter called and told us that the first Presidential Debates were taking place tonight.  We are streaming them because there are NO TV channels available.  Terry’s making brownies while we are listening to these debates.

Camping:  Timberland Campground, Shelbourne, NH
20-amp electricity, water, showers, dump, WiFi, Verizon cell/data

September 25, 2016 – Wellesley Island State Park, NY to Shelbourne, VT

Before we left, we let Lynne and Marv Freeman try out our electric bikes.  They are sold and wanted more info.

We hit mountains today for the first time in weeks/states.  We entered the Adirondack Mountains of New York.  We haven’t encountered mountains since we crossed the northern Rockies of far western Montana when we crossed over the Continental Divide that brought us into the Great Plains.  The mountains of Montana were rounded and seemed to lull you to sleep as you crossed over them.  They weren’t the sharp, pointed mountains of the Sierra.

As we crossed New York, the leaves were starting to change.   We’re a week ahead of the gorgeous fall color.

We arrived in Vermont by ferry from Essex, NY.  It was so appropriate!  Vermont has a different feel about it.  Why not start off in a different way!

As we drove into Shelbourne, VT, we found a pizza joint that had an entirely different procedure for food!  We were told to select our pizza, self order, get our own plates and silverware.  Then, if we wanted beer, we needed to go to the brewery next door to get a growler or growlette!  I asked what those were and was told that a growlette was 2 pints and a growler was 4 pints!  The pizza and beer were excellent!

Camping:  Shelbourne Camping Area, Shelbourne, VT
Electricity & water, showers, laundry, WiFi, Verizon cell/data

September 23, 2016 at Wellesley Island SP, NY

Rainy day.  Relaxed.  Rode bikes around the campground in the afternoon and visited the Boy Scout Jamboree area.  Hiked to see the Pot Holes - a geologic feature that is pretty unimpressive.  Had ice cream at the camp store.  Took sunset pictures.  Met Philip Ashwood who likes taking sunset pictures even more than Terry!