Our RV Adventures

Today was another travel day.

We left Pumpkin Patch RV Park a little before 11 am and headed northeast on I-95 to Houlton, ME,  located right on the Canadian border.

But before we got on the Interstate, we stopped off at a truck stop to top off our propane tank.

The last time we filled up with propane was in Whitehorse, BC,  last October on our way back from Alaska.  In warm weather the only thing we normally use propane for is to power the frig while we’re on the road, and for hot water when we boondock. 

But since we just dropped below 1/2 tank last week,  I wanted to be sure we had plenty of propane before heading into Canada and colder weather, since we do use it for the two gas heaters in our coach.  And it’s supposed to get colder very soon.

Tomorrow night it’s supposed to 46, and the night after, 40 degrees.  We have two electric floor heaters, but sometimes we still need the coach heaters.

We pulled into My Brother’s Place RV Park about 1:45 pm, and got set up.  An hour or so later we headed out to drive around the area and grab a late lunch.

After dropping off some mail at the Post Office,  we stopped off at a couple of parts places to pick up a spare fuel filter and engine belt before we cross the border.  It can sometimes be hard to get parts over there.

Before heading back to the coach we stopped for dinner at the local truck stop, since we were looking for a place that served breakfast all day.  Jan had some great blueberry pancakes, and I had a meatlover’s omlet.  All really good.

The park here is pretty nice, with big pull-thru sites and plenty of space between each coach.

My Brother's Place

Tomorrow I’m going to fix some stuff around the coach and kind of take it easy.  Jan’s just gonna take it easy.

More tomorrow…

Today we made the 50 mile trip down to the Bar Harbor area to see some of Maine’s Atlantic coast.   The drive was pretty uneventful, except for a 25 minute wait right outside of Ellsworth for road work.  Luckily, by the time we came home they were finished for the day.

Right after we got into the Bar Harbor area,  we stopped for lunch at a small seafood place called Gateway Diner and had lobster rolls and sweet potato fries, and then split a pumpkin crumb pie with ice cream.  Great food, but unfortunately for me, the place also had a gift shop with a lot of moose stuff.

Mucho $$$$ later,  we stopped at the Bar Harbor Visitor’s Center right down the street to check out a tip that the lady at the diner mentioned about a loop road through Acadia National Park.

Getting directions, we headed out around the loop.

The first place we stopped was a scenic viewpoint overlooking Frenchman Bay, and this was just the start of a lot of beautiful scenery.

Frenchman Bay

The dock area on the right side of the picture is Bar Harbor.

The next stop was Sand Beach.

Sand Beach

Although the beach was closed today, apparently people really swim her, even though the water temp usually doesn’t get much out of the 50’s.

And some of the other views in the area are amazing.

Sand Beach 2

Sand Beach 3

Sand Beach 4

Sand Beach 5

Leaving the Sand Beach area,  we drove down to a spot that unfortunately has been in the news lately.

The area is called Thunder Hole because of the noise of the waves when the right conditions makes the sounds reverberate and sound like thunder.

The area is also popular because you can go out on a rock that juts out into the Atlantic ocean and stand where the waves come in over your feet when the tide is right.

Thunder Hole

Thunder Hole 2

This point is where about 20 people were smashed by a 25 foot wave caused by a combination of high tide and Hurricane Bill.  11 people were hospitalized with broken bones,  and 3 people,  a 7 year old girl,  her father, and an unrelated 12 year old girl,  were swept out to sea in the 55 degree water.

The 12 year old girl and the father were pulled from the water by the Coast Guard, but his 7 year old daughter was later found dead.

When we were there, the area was still closed off, but a ranger said the waves have to get over the top of the handrail before it’s closed off.

Leaving the area,  we drove further around the loop to more fantastic scenery.

Thunder Hole 3

Thunder Hole 4

Thunder Hole 5

Thunder Hole 6

Thunder Hole 7

Thunder Hole 8

Toward the end of the 27 miles we passed the Jordan Pond Inn,  a restaurant we had been told about and thought we would later have dinner there.

Leaving the loop,  we headed over to Bar Harbor to look around.  The first thing Jan found,  wouldn’t you know it,  was a couple of moose stuff gift shops.

She really wanted this one, but we couldn’t figure out how to get it in the rig.

Wicker Moose

So she settled for trying on the latest in moose wear.

Moose Hat

Walking down the hill we were able to look out over Bar Harbor itself.

Bar Harbor

And of course the many flower beds everywhere.

Bar Harbor Flower

One of the ships I noticed in the harbor was a beautiful 4 masted schooner called the “Margaret Todd”.

Margaret Todd

And rather than being an old ship, she’s only about 10 years. She was launched in 1998 and built to give Windjammer cruises to the tourists.

Here’s what she looks like under full sail.

MTodd

Before heading back over to Jordan Pond Inn for dinner,  we drove down to the end of Bridge St. to take a look.

Bar Island

When it’s low tide,  a sandbar is revealed that extends over to Bar Island in the distance,  allowing people to walk over to the island.  Unfortunately,  at high tide it just looks like a boat launch ramp.  Timing is everything!

Our dinner at Jordan Pond Inn was fantastic and we had a great meal.  The restaurant was really something,

Jordan Pond Inn

and the scenery was something else.

The view from the outside dining are is of an island called “The Bubbles”

The Bubbles

Of course, the locals call it by another ‘B’ word,  but I’ll leave it as an excercise  for the reader to figure out what the word is.

After a really great day, we finally headed home about 7 pm.  Luckily, the morning’s road work was over, so we were home in about an hour.

Today is our last day here in Bangor.  Tomorrow we head about 130 miles northeast to Houlton, ME,  which is about 2 miles from the Canadian border.

We’ll stay there for three or four days,  cleaning up some loose ends before we head over the border.

More later…