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.