Maritime - Week Four

Sunday, June 26, 2005 - Day 22

New York City - Day 4

Our last day in New York.  Just as we begin to figure out how to get around, we find its our last day in New York.  We didn't have any tours scheduled for today, so it was just do what we could find to do.  We caught the subway to 33rd and Broadway Ave, and decided to just walk around that area.  We got there about 11, had breakfast at a Bagel Shop and just wandered a bit.

As we wandered over to Fifth Ave, the police had put up barricades along the curb.  Wondering what was happening, we asked a policeman if someone important was in town.  He laughed and said: "No, there's going to be a parade, starting about 12".  Okay, that sounded pretty interesting, so we hung around, got a shady spot to stand, and waited.  As we waited a guy told us what the parade was about...  Gays & Lesbians!! ( and all sorts of other weirdo's ). One of the participants was Chuck Shumer, one of the Senator's from New York.  We didn't see Hillary!  After it started, we hung around for an hour or so, then went to Starbuck's for a snack, and decided to take the tour of the Empire State Building, just a block away.  Believe me, that was much more interesting that the parade.

The Empire State Building was built in 1931, in just 14 months, and was the tallest building in NYC when completed.  It held that distinction for 40 years, until 1971, when the world trade center twin towers were completed.  Of course, with the collapse of the WTC towers, it again is the tallest building in NYC.

The observation deck in at floor 86, 1250 feet about street level, with TV & Radio towers extending another 200+ feet. When the new WTC building is completed, it will be 1776 feet tall, far surpassing the Empire State Building.

We returned to the coach about 5, and did a few housekeeping chores to get ready to leave in the morning.  We discussed exactly where we are headed, not exactly sure how much progress we will make, but maybe to Kennebunkport, Maine.  We still hope to be in New Brunswick by July 1, but not sure we will be.

Monday, June 27, 2005 - Day 23

Kennebunkport, Maine

Traveling today from NYC to Kennebunkport, Maine (hopefully).  We actually were about to get a fairly early start, but things started going downhill.  Just as we were getting unhooked and things stowed, we noticed a flat tire on the passenger side Tag Axle. OOPS!  But Good Sam Emergency Road Service came to the rescue.  We called and ERS folks dispatched a repair truck to our rescue. 

We carry a spare tire, but not mounted on a wheel, so we figured they would have to remove the flat (tire & wheel), take to the shop to mount the spare, come back and re-install the wheel and spare tire.  ERS will only pay for the service call and mounting of the spare at wherever you are.  As it turned out, the guy removed the tire from the wheel without taking off the wheel, found a nail in the tire, and patched the tire, and remounted it on the wheel.  The guys name was Theodore.  He was from Dominican Republic, having been here only 5 years.  He was hard to understand, but was really a nice guy.  He only charged $26.50 to fix the flat, so I tipped him $15.00.

Well for all the good things Mr. Delorme has done for us, he threw us a curve ball today.  He routed us on a couple of parkways, which when we approached turned out to be for Cars Only.  Getting around the obstacle was extremely difficult, because every time I tried to re-route, Mr. Delorme tried to put us right back on the Cars Only Parkway.  What a mess.

I finally found a way to get on US 1, which eventually got us back on I-95, quite a bit longer than what Mr. Delorme had routed, but at least it was the same highway until we were only 5 miles from our intended campground.  Needless to say, we did make it, and only about 4 hours late, 3 of which were because of the flat tire.

No pictures from today, but I will try to get yesterday's pictures up tonight or Tuesday morning,

Tuesday, June 28, 2005 - Day 24

Kennebunkport, Maine

We are all settled in here at the Red Apple Campground, and really nice place just a few miles from Kennebunkport, Maine.  We left this morning and drove into Kennebunkport, and had breakfast at the Kennebunkport Inn, an old house built in 1890's that has been restored and had rooms added on.  The dining room was very nice, and the breakfast was excellent.  The best corned beef hash I have ever had anywhere, and cooked to perfection.  (Maybe Wade will send one of his cooks up here for training. LOL ) 

We then drove around the town a bit, and headed out toward Walker Point, and rather long point extending out into the ocean, which is the 'sometimes' residence of George Herbert Walker Bush.  We learned from the Campground owner that if the Texas Flag was flying, then Bush Senior was here.  The guy also told us that George was here, and that Bill Clinton was to be here today to play golf with Bush.

There is a pull-out for folks to stop with an excellent view of the compound, but unfortunately it was very foggy this morning and barely visible.  We did have a good view of his boat however.  We went back mid-afternoon hoping the fog had lifted, but it was not to be.  Maybe tomorrow.

We drove around several other close-by beach / tourist areas and lots of folks were out on the beach, regardless of the fog.  It was low tide, and the water was so far away, it could hardly been seen for the fog.  There was fog only at the shoreline, so driving was no problem.  At one place we visited there was a boat tour available to a local lighthouse, the most photographed lighthouse in the country.  Because of the fog we declined taking the boat tour, but did drive to a point where we could see... barely.  At the left is a picture of the lighthouse, and you can see just how foggy it was.

Tomorrow we will try again at some of the most interesting spots, and maybe drive over to Freeport to L.L. Bean's Flagship store.  Thursday we are going to Acadia National Park for 3 days before entering Canada on Sunday or Monday of next week.

Wednesday, June 29, 2005 - Day 25

Kennebunkport, Maine

Well, we left the campground this morning about 9, and drove over to Freeport, Maine, the home of the LLBean Flagship store.  Actually there was 2 separate stores, with one dedicated to hunting and fishing, and the main store to every thing else.  The stores face each other across a courtyard and there is plenty parking. We did make a couple of minor purchases, but nothing of any significance.  The village part of Freeport is only about 3 or 4 blocks long, and is apparently very controlled architecturally.

The thing that really surprised us was all the other factory stores along Main Street, all in old building that had been restored.  And I mean some really nice stores too.  Of course there was a Starbucks there, but I managed to miss this one.  And down the street was a McDonalds.  I have seen some unusual McDonalds, but this one probably was the most unusual. We did look around in a few more shops, and Donna bought a candle in the Yankee Candle Shop.

On the way over we took the freeway for all but the first 3 or 4 miles, but on the way back we stayed with the Historic US 1, the highway that starts in Florida and goes all the way to Canada.  US 1 went through a lot of smaller towns, and even right through the middle of Portland, a pretty good size city. In one of the towns we ran across a chocolate factory where we had heard they had a 1700 lb chocolate moose on display, yes, moose, not mousse.

After we got back to Kennebunkport, we had lunch at a Seafood Place that Dave, the campground owner had told us about.  Was really good!  We both had the lunch special 'Fish Fry', which turned out to be fried Pollock.  Never heard of it, but it was really good.

Then we drove back by Walker Point, to see if visibility was any better.  It did seem a tiny bit better; we could see the Texas Flag was gone, so we knew Bush 41 was gone. I still tried to get a couple of pictures, but it started raining, so they didn't turn out much better.  The first picture is of the main house, which sits near the very point of Walker Point.

There are several other large buildings on the property, including the two house on the left and the 'apartment style' building shown on the right.

Thursday, June 30, 2005 - Day 26

Houlton, Maine

Today we had intended to be at Narrows Too campground just outside the entrance to Acadia National Park.  We called ahead and made reservations because July 4 weekend is coming up, and it might be hard to find a space.  We specified that we HAD to have an open space with no trees in order to use the satellite.  The space they put us in had too many close-by trees, so they moved us to one that was acceptable.  But, just as we got set up and satisfied, the lady from the office came down and said the space we were in had been specifically reserved for one of a group that had to be together.  After much discussion, they decided to refund our payment, and let us be on our way.

Actually, we weren't disappointed and this was probably a silver lining, because the area was still fogged in and cloudy, and would have made for less than the best experience, particularly from a photographic standpoint.  So on down the road we went, actually up the road ( I-95 ), all the way to Houlton, Maine, the jumping off place for the Maritimes.  We are only a few mile from the border, and maybe 75 miles from our next overnight stop, Fredericton, NB.

We probably lost 3 to 4 hours with the delay at Acadia, but we got here in plenty time to enjoy the nice weather.  Oh, I didn't mention.  As I write this I am at the picnic table outside, its 69 degrees, with a slight breeze.  Donna is inside cooking dinner with all the windows open, and no A/C.  I may even go put on a light jacket.   EAT YOUR HEART OUT, MY FAVORITE EAST TEXANS !!!

Anyway, our plans all along have been to be in the Maritimes by July 1, and looks like we are gonna nail it right on the head.  Did you ever wonder if there is a July 4th in Canada.  Well let me tell you -- Yes there is.. they just don't celebrate it.  The do, however, celebrate 'Canada Day' on July 1, which is similar in meaning to our July 4 celebrations. 

Friday, July 1, 2004 - Day 27

Fredericton, New Brunswick

Donna had a couple of errands to run this morning, to Wal-Mart and a grocery store.  She also needed a prescription filled, and had to go back to pick it up.  We left the campground at about 10:30, with about 10 miles to go to the border.  The border was not very busy, only 4 or 5 cars in line, but we had to go to the RV line, which was empty.  We stopped, and a young man came out, asked a few questions, and sent us on our way.

Yesterday afternoon, when we checked in the owner of the campground wanted to make sure we were only staying one night, saying he had a caravan group coming in the next day.  After we parked, we noticed the car parked with the coach next to us had a sign on the side for Adventure Caravans.  We figured it was the Wagonmaster for the caravan. 

We saw a lady heading to the coach, we spoke, she came over and got to talking to us.  She and her husband run the tour, and have been doing it for five years.  We talked for a long time, and she gave us some really great tips about places to go, things to see, and things to do.  We really do thank you, Ellie.  Hope you read this.

Our first stop in NB, was at King's Landing Historical Settlement, a presentation of life in the 19th century. Among all the restored houses and barns there was also an operating Grist Mill and Saw Mill, both operating from water wheels. The purpose of King's Landing is to represent life in the central St. John's River Valley throughout the 19th Century.

We then drove the few miles to our campground, Hartt Island Park, not really on an island, but the island itself is just about 100 yds from where we are parked.  Since it's Canada Day week-end, the campground is full, with only a boondock (no hook-ups) site available.  But actually its a really good site, right on the water looking at St. John's River.

Then we drove into city center of Fredericton, to observe the festivities for Canada Day.  Quite a few people, and a few weirdos, in the Garrison Park area, with lots of vendors and a few rides.  We strolled around the area for an hour or so, then came back to the park to grill a couple of steaks.

We have met several fellow campers and everyone is really friendly and out going.

Saturday, July 2, 2005 - Day 28

Fredericton, NB

This morning we drove back into City Centre (Canadian spelling) to view some of the historical buildings and view Changing of the Guard Ceremony at Officer's Square.  Officer's Square in directly in front of the museum, that was the Officer's Quarters.  

It was the center of military activity when Fredericton was garrisoned by the British Army from 1785 to 1869, and by the Canadian Army from 1883 to 1914. 

The group marched into the square, presented themselves for inspection by a citizen, unveiled the garrison flag and the Canadian Flag.

   At left is the City Hall which also serves as a Visitor's Center, a beautiful old building.

At the right is the Justice Building.

 We also visited the Christ Church Cathedral, considered to be the first Cathedral in North America (1845 - 1853) to adhere to the exacting standards of the mid-19th century gothic Revival in church architecture.  Modeled after the medieval parish church of St. Mary's at Snettisham, England, built according to the express wishes of Bishop John Medley, and designed by Frank Wills and William Butterfield, the Cathedral was declared a National Historic Site in 1983.

As we strolled through the Farmers Market, open only on Saturdays, we ran across the guy to the left strumming and singing..  Singing "Bimbo, Bimbo".  My Lufkin friends will remember this song was made famous, at least in East Texas, by Bobby Byrd of Lufkin. The guy did not know of Bobby's version, but thought it had been recorded by Jim Reeves. I am not sure who did it first, but this guy's version, was the same as Bobby's, as I remember it.  I suppose Bobby would be pleased to learn 'his' song has made it all the way to Fredericton, New Brunswick.

We left Fredericton about 7 or so, and made the 75 miles drive to Saint Johns, where the Saint John River empties into the Bay of Fundy and the Atlantic Ocean.  We are in Rockwood Park, with fog and smog as thick as black-eyed pea juice.  The camp host said it was fog, but from the mountains coming in we could see the smoke-stacks of several paper or pulp mills.  Guess we will know more tomorrow.

Oh, and by the way, it's 56 degrees right now, too.