GOODBYE BLACKWOODS....HELLO BAR HARBOR CAMPGROUND!!!

As I said before, we were lucky to get 4 days in a row at the same site in Blackwoods. Day 5 our luck ran out....so we had to find another "home".

 

A bit more expensive, but we have water, electric and free wi-fi

 

 

 

 

 

Our spot is close to the front, nice and private, clean and quiet....we are content

 

 

 

plus, there is a neat Indian Statue!

We take advantage of the free bus service whenever we can. You get picked up right in front of the campground, they are on time and, did I mention, it's FREE!!!

Our next culinary adventure is the lunch at Jordan Pond House.

 

 

I had a bowl of lobster stew, paul got the fish special with lobster sauce

 

 

 

 

A bowl is almost too much....but it has to hold me for a year.

 

 

oh, and popovers!

 

 

 

served with fresh butter and strawberry jam.......heavenly.

Sometimes I think this travel blog is turning into a food blog, but honestly, we have been sight seeing and good eating all across America and that has been part of the fun, hope you think so too.

Tally Ho,

Cathy

Taken from the bus, neither picture is very good...but you get the idea.

A WALK IN THE WOODS

Our first four days in Bar Harbor were spent in the Acadia NP campground of Blackwoods. We were very lucky to get those four days. From our camp site we could take an easy 10 Minute walk to the ocean.

 

Of course Fiona has to get acquainted with the area....the morning was perfect, sunny and mild.

 

 

 

 

There's been some wild things here, Fiona knows it for sure!

 

A tent camp site, so many trees, just lovely.

 

 

These signs are posted all over to help remind us to be careful.

 

 

 

All this beauty

 

 

So peaceful...

 

 

The beauty is overwhelming. We weep.

 

 

 

 

Ahead, through the trees we see...THE OCEAN  Actually, we hear it before we see it...

 

 

 

We sit and enjoy the moment. Praising God for His creation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope to upload a brief video here but so far, it is very slow, so might not work.

Not going to work....sorry.

No matter, it was a wonderful walk...

Tally ho,

Cathy

Hanging with the Main-e-acs

Acadia National Park is one of the most popular and busiest vacation spots on the East Coast. The park has just two campgrounds (although there are many private parks on Mount Desert Island (MDI)....you should make a reservation waaaay in advance if you want to assure yourself a place to stay. WE DIDN'T. Until about a week before we were headed up. We got 3 nights with the promise we could check back daily for cancellations. This is fine with us, we are flexible, right? RIGHT. Blackwoods Campground is beautiful....our spot #82 was a pull through....no electric water or sewer, but for $10.00 a night, we were thrilled.

 

Our very nice spot

 

 

 

There's been a lot of rain, but it is still so pretty. This is the entry gate to Blackwoods.

 

 

free transportation all over the island on these buses powered by propane!

 

 

The sun came out and our solar worked like a champ. We spent four days AND nights here and our battery remained fully charged. Hooray!!!

 

 

 

Our first day we went into Bar Harbor for...

 

 

 

....this lobster Cobb salad....

 

 

 

...and this burger. We remembered from last year and we were not disappointed!

I re- visited the tea shop....got more good tea, a teapot and a cozy!

Bar Harbor has to be one of the most picturesque places in America.

 

This is where we ate

 

 

The flowers were gorgeous

 

 

lots and lots of good places to eat...and drink😊;-)

 

 

Bar Harbor Episcopal Church, bell tower, cemetery and Civil War Monument...love the stone wall in the left foreground.

Tomorrow, we take you on a walk to the rocky coast of Maine. YOU WILL LOVE IT!

Tally-ho,

Cathy

 

ITS HOT OUT THERE!

We are laying low in Beantown.... so very hot. Today it got to103°..... in Boston! That is really rare. We know just enough to realize going into town would be tragic....the heat.....the crowds....the sights we have already seen and enjoyed ... we decide to stay close to home and keep cool. Remember, we are NOT on vacation, our time is wide open... no "return" limits on us, no sir. So, we read, we eat, we nap....Paul does his walk. That is what we do. We have reservations at Blackwoods campground in Acadia NP for next Monday through Wednesday so we will leave here on Monday, the temps in Maine are much more comfortable and since we will be dry camping (primitive) we would enjoy cooler temps for sure.

 

 

I posted this photo on FB, but thought I would share here too just to show you that we are not roughing it. We enjoy our afternoon tea break as often as we can.

Gotta scoot....time for tea!

Tally ho,

Cathy

New England

Took us more than an hour and two harrowing attempts at tunnels (Holland AND Lincoln) plus being turned away at the Geo. Washington bridge....propane is a "no no"..... finally on our way north. Humarock, MA was our destination. A short trip, we thought, but with Friday traffic, not so short. Should have taken 4 hours, but actually took almost 7! Did I mention how much we hate I.93 AND I  95 ??? Traffic was awful. GPS did not give us complete directions and it had been over 25 years since we had visited the area...much had changed! We could not get an RV spot, but we did reserve a spot in the overflow. No water, no electric and no sewer. The view was semi nice if you got past the very large and overflowing trash dumpster. Fourth Cliff is an Air Force recreation and famcamp site. When we were stationed at Hanscom back in the 80's we tent camped here many times.

 

View of the inlet and some of the RV Sites we did not get.

 

 

That's our MiniPearl hiding behind the makeshift privacy screen...see the dumpster?

 

 

 

EROSION has ruined the area. The beach is closed and cannot be reached from the facility. We used to use those rickety steps to get down, now they don't even reach the hillside, they stop a couple of feet from land. So sad to see. The beach is rocky and the water is cold. Not like NC at all.

 

 

Still, beauty abounds!

 

New England has her charms.

 

 

 

We enjoyed our time at Fourth Cliff

 

 

Awesome hydrangeas everywhere, the colors more vivid than I have ever seen. Maybe all the rain???

Our next stop is Boston, again...

 

Tally ho,

Cathy

 

 

WE "heart" NYC

I realize some of you are Disney fans, some of you love Hawaii...(Karen and Joe love both)....some folks are Carolina Beach addicts and Topsail fanatics....no one really likes Myrtle Beach (heh, heh, heh) ! But us...well, we are over-the-moon in love with NYC! Our first family visit was way back in the very early eighties. We drove from Syracuse to Poughkeepsie and took the train into Grand Central. These were Pre-Giuliani days...the city was a mess. Times Square was just awful...one porno shop,  strip club,  x rated theatre after another....we still had a great time...the kids really enjoyed it too....we did the U.N. and Staten Island ferry, Macy's, and oh yes, our first Thanksgiving Day Parade!
Since then, we have been back many many times, perhaps 35-40 visits and I never think, "well, I've seen it all now".

 

Today started out overcast. We took the ferry from Liberty Harbor across the Hudson river to the Wall Street port. Even gloomy is impressive here.

 

 

The ferry takes less than 10 minutes and cost us $6.50 each. A real bargain. The tall building is the new All Nations building on the site of the World Trade Center Towers. It is a beautiful building.

 

 

So, we get off the ferry and neither of us has any idea where the heck we are or how to get to where we need to be...I stop to take the above photo of the bike rentals...heard these are big in Europe, so cool we have them here too...well, a nice lady asks if we are lost?.... what do we say? "oh, no, thanks anyway."  We want so badly to be cool New Yorkers....and what do you know???? Right next to these bikes is a "YOU ARE HERE" map, we are saved!!! We find the subway, buy our Metro card (they now cost a dollar...bummer). We head way uptown...finally. Get off the Metro at 103rd and wander around once again....but, hooray! We finally find

 

 

At just $6.00 a piece, this gem of a museum was a bargain.

 

 

We had an early lunch in the café....delish! Paul looks unhappy here because he spilled some tomato sauce on his favorite shirt...the pizza was killer tho!

We visited several exhibits. A great one on the new small dwellings they are designing for folks who want to live in NYC, but not pay millions...The tinyhome movement has always been fascinating to me...there's lots of videos on YouTube so this was neat to see. We also saw a photo history of Manhattan and area and learned much more about this city's history. Spent about 3 hours there and we were beginning to fade...and we had a long trip back to Liberty Harbor.

We got lucky as the M4 bus stopped right in front of the museum and was not crowded so we hopped on and rode all the way down 5th avenue from 103rd to 32nd...passing lots of NYC icons on our way. Caught the Path to New Jersey, got off and asked a friendly postman which way????? He kindly gave us good directions and soon.....but wait....is that a real Mexican restaurant on the corner????? Yep, and now I am hungry...so we go in...

 

 

Killer hot sauce and chips....and way cute place

 

 

The end of a perfect day!

Tally ho,

Cathy

 

 

 

 

 

CAMPING IN THE BIG APPLE

 

The office

 

 

The view...if you look real close, you can see the Statue of Liberty right in the center!

 

 

Camping....Jersey-style

 

 

MiniPearl and Paul with Jersey skyline in the back

 

We had a 6 hour drive to get here, but traffic was minimal, roads were in good shape and the GPS took us around DC! Tolls cost big time when you are pulling a trailer....Arrived at Liberty Harbor RV Park at 4:45PM and by 6 we were all set up, we didn't un-hitch the car since we will not be using it. Think we decided to take in the Museum of the city of New York and maybe walk the High line...will let you know. We can take the Liberty Harbor Ferry right to Wall Street from just outside our door! Or, walk several blocks to the Path Station...

I fixed breakfast for dinner tonight, we walked around the RV Park, then to sleep by 10...big day in the city.

 

Tally ho,

Cathy

 

ROUND TWO

We are heading out on our second year of adventure, I should say "traveling adventure" since I believe you can find adventure anywhere...you just have to LOOK! We are leaving a whole month later than we left last year, so that has an impact on our plans. We want to make it to Glacier and we will have to hurry a bit in order to avoid early cold temps and ....snow! So, we will not be able to make the trip to the Vintage Fiberglass Rally in Nova Scotia...really hate that as the folks we met last year were all so kind and friendly, we were looking forward to seeing everyone again...hopefully next year for sure.
We spent a lot of time going through our belongings once again evaluating their worth...I am proud to report we pared down a whole lot. It was very evident to us what we use often as opposed to what we seldom or never used...we left that behind this year.
Tonight we are at Fort A P Hill a bit north of Richmond. Tomorrow we head to Jersey City. We are staying two nights right on the Hudson River across from Manhattan. It is the closest RV Park to NYC! I heard about this place from a lady I met in a campground in AZ. It is a bit pricey, as RV Parks go...but way cheaper than any hotel in Jersey or Manhattan. We plan to walk the Highline and visit the museum of New York City. Maybe catch a show...or the ballet...who knows??? Anything is possible in the city!

 

Do we look like we are having fun???

Well...we are!

Tally ho,

Cathy