Biking, hiking, hooray

 shrimp, veggies, feta cheese and cous cous.

 real authentic cobble stones on beach.

 artist on the trail at Thunder Hole

 our interpretor

 water lilies at Eagle Lake

 popovers at Iced Cappuccino for "tea"

Beautiful weather and eventful day of biking from Bar Harbor on the carriage road to Jordan Pond. Stopped for "tea" there, including popovers and Iced Cappuccino. Then a stroll around Jordan Pond including picking fresh Maine blueberries.  Sunset church service at Cadillac Mountain (otherwise, it won't feel like Sunday).

Finally to Acadia.

Definition of "Recompence": to give something back for a service; an equivalent or return for something done, suffered, or given. Ex. "recompense for injuries or suffering".

Friday,  july 29^th

We packed up at  “Recompence” Campground in Freeport, drove on through BoothsBay, made a short stop to do some laundry and get some groceries. Each New England village can be described as more quaint than the last one.  Proceeded on to Bar Harbor along Route 1 with many beautiful ocean views. We arrived in Acadia National Park just in time to set up camp, eat a stir-fried shrimp and vegetable dinner with pine nut cous-cous and fresh Maine raspberries. Poor Neleh eats the same dinner every night, but never complains.

We have a lovely campsite, but we need to go outside the park for showers ($2 for 4 minutes; 4$ for 8 minutes).   That is a challenge!

Thoughts from The Message:

“My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all of heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit – not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength- that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all Christians the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. God can do anything, you know- far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams. He does it not by pushing up around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us”. Ephesians 3: 14-20.

Views from my kayak in Freeport Maine

Up early (as usual) and out in the kayaks in Casco Bay.  We spent a few hours exploring the coast with views of an Osprey sanctuary and a group of seals. I was able to capture a few pictures. Stopped over on an island for snacks and then headed back before the tide went out and we would have to carry kayaks through the mud.

 Best investment for the trip: Starbucks instant!

 My therapist and personal trainer.

Keith getting ready to launch the kayaks

 Cool Kayak Launching pad.

 Ready set go!

Mother Osprey in the trees.

 Had lunch, showered and then into Freeport for an afternoon of LL Bean shopping. Such a great place, but we did little damage with spending....just a lot of looking. When we got home for our excursion, a squirrel had burrowed into our protected food (plastic crate and all) and enjoyed himself on some snacks. He wasn't too healthy, because all he ate was white bread hot dog rolls and plastic. I think he will definitely be sick tonight, but it gave us a good laugh.
Had an evening meal of Lobster rolls at Linda Beans, then back to the campsite for a quick walk to the bay and a campfire. A picture perfect day!

 Robinson Crusoe on an island.

 Island where we stopped for a snack.

 An airplane spying on us (or else it was George Bush and fam)

 My current novel. That is me on the cover:)

 Lobster Rolls for dinner.

 Man against Wild. A squirrel ate through our plastic crate. This morning when we got up, a raccoon had opened our cooler, but didn't eat any of the healthy contents (only fruit and vegs).

The Start

A covered bridge in beautiful Woodstock Vermont.

I've noticed that the library seems to be the center of many New England towns.

A gorgeous resort in the center of town. Many pictures of the Rockefellers were inside. Their mansion was only a few miles away.

Quechee Gorge. Beautiful (but rainy)

Sunrise in Maine (5:45am).

Our rainy campsite at Salty Acres Campground in Kennebunkport Maine.

Early morning on the beach in Kennebunkport.

Very cool city signs.

So many beautiful churches.

Monday, July 25^th

Left H’burg around 8am and drove straight through until 6PM.  Arrived at Moreau State Park, north of Saratoga Springs, NY.  Drove through downpours of rain much of the day, but thankfully the rain stopped long enough to set up the camper.  Campsite was lovely and nestled among many pine trees. We walked the dog the next morning to the beach and then pulled out with the destination of Kennebunkport.

Tuesday, July 26^th

Lovely day of driving with short bursts of rain.  Beautiful countryside and quaint New England villages. We drove through Woodstock, Vermont, which was voted “the prettiest town in USA”. We agreed. It was close to the Rockefeller Mansion (which we didn’t tour). We ate lunch at the park in the center of town despite some raindrops, then walked Neleh through town and a covered bridge.  Visited an old time General Store that was really fun and quite historic. Then, on the road again past Quechee Gap and more beautiful views of New England. Finally we arrived in Kennebunkport around 6pm in the HEAVY  downpour of rain. We camped in Salty Acres Campground (which we definitely do NOT recommend).  The bathrooms were filthy, muddy, and the sinks were outside. Nothing like brushing your teeth beside a balding Frenchman who is shaving his head. Glad we didn’t stay any longer, but it was a lovely setting.

Many French Canadians camping with us. We felt like a minority. Many children were trying to ask me questions about the dog and the camper, but we couldn’t communicate.  We ate a very cold dinner in the camper due to the rain.  I was making grilled pizza, but Keith ate it without being cooked.

Woke up at 5:30 am (starving!) in time to see the beautiful sunrise in Maine. I convinced Keith to drive into Kennebunkport at 6am to walk along the beach with Neleh and grab some quite breakfast. Thank goodness for the new instant Starbucks coffee. We are loving it while camping.  A very lovely morning. We understand that the Bush’s summer home was nearby, but we didn’t see it (or any of the Bushes), but we definitely understand why they chose this lovely New England coastal town as their place of solitude.

We proceeded along the coast of Maine on Route 1 through Brunswick and Freeport, home of LL Bean.  Freeport is a marvelous place that reminded us of Banff Canada with many shops and restaurants.

We were planning to drive to Orr Island Campground today, but arrived there and found out that they only permit seasonal campers on permanent sites. But, the proprietor gave us some advice on another campground back in Freeport called Recompence Campgrounds. It is only 5 miles from Freeport and quite a hippie place (which I LOVE!). We have a wonderful campsite on a wooded lot with easy access to kayak launch and a sustainable community farm. 

We had veggie burgers, zucchini pancakes and salad for dinner. We plan to kayak in the morning and then go into Freeport tomorrow to check out the LL Bean Outlets.

We are having a wonderful time despite some cloudy and rainy days. The Aliner hasn’t leaked a drop.