Summer 2010 Northeast Trip – THE FINAL LEG

We just completed our Canadian journey when we sent our last blog, and we were getting ready to return to the USA in Maine. Rain started as we pulled out of Hopewell Cape, New Brunswick, and stayed with us until the sun greeted us at the USA (Calais-Ferry Point) border in Maine.

Our first stop back in the USA was
Mount Desert Island, Bar Harbor (pronounced Bah Hahbah) and Acadia National Park. We had almost picture perfect weather with a strong ocean breeze and high temperatures in the 70‘s. We toured all of Bar Harbor and most of Acadia National Park. We ate some great seafood, more than our share of lobster (lobstah), and blueberry everything – from pancakes to pies… yum, yum!

We spent two days in the Portland Maine area to see lighthouses suggested by Kurt, one of my friends from high school. There were six lighthouses in the area, of which we were able to see three. We also drove to Freeport to see the LL Bean flagship store and village.

Massachusetts weather greeted us with sunshine and continued cool temperatures just as we experienced further north. Our stop was in Eastham in the center of Cape Cod. This was only the second stop on our summer trip that provided us the time and terrain to break out the bikes. The Cape Cod Bike Trail was only 100 feet from our coach. The scenic Cape Cod National Seashore occupies most of the upper cape. We explored most of the coast from Eastham to the north end of the cape.

We took a high-speed ferry from Hyannis to Martha’s Vineyard on our last full day on the cape. While touring the vineyard, we saw homes belonging to James Taylor, Carly Simon, Diana Ross, Dan Ackroyd, Bob Villa (This Old House), the Jackie Kennedy Onasis compound, the crash site of John Kennedy Jr., and the beach where Jaws was filmed. Many other properties on the island could not be seen due to their seclusion. Before leaving Cape Cod we took our designer dog, Brewster, to the town of Brewster. We thought it was only right. We toured the production line at the Cape Cod Potato Chip Company on our way off the cape.

Our trip to Rhode Island was short and uneventful. Our campground left a lot to be desired, but the nearby town of North Scituate was nice. We even found a street named Fanning Lane. This stop provided us a chance to catch up on several items, including having Brewster groomed. We left Rhode Island early to spend an extra day in Connecticut. We had
a great time in historic Mystic where we ate at Mystic Pizza, toured Mystic Seaport, and the visited the village of Stonington where we located the house of Captain Edmund Fanning. We also had the opportunity to take a tour of the atomic submarine Nautilus at the US Naval Submarine Base in New London.

The drive through Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey was character building to say the least. We had to pick our route carefully due to vehicle size and weight restrictions. We planned our travel for a Sunday, and the traffic was still worse than Toronto. We had an interesting moment on I-95 in New York when at 55mph we were suddenly faced with a bridge clearance of 12’10”, the exact height of our motorcoach. I edged-out an 18-wheeler for the high spot under the bridge and then I had Anna run to the back to get me a clean pair of boxers. I will NEVER drive a 41 foot motorcoach through this traffic corridor again.

Until we arrived in New Jersey, we had only two days during our two-month journey that were above 80 degrees. Our stop in New Jersey was adjacent to we spent our day visiting the historic district in Philadelphia. We were able to visit Independence Hall, view the Liberty Bell and tour the National Constitution Center. We’re proud to be American.

We made a short uneventful stop in Lincoln Delaware for a night to cool off and enjoy a seafood dinner at Rehoboth Beach. After seven weeks of travel in cool weather, the heat was shocking. The heat continued the next day as we traveled back into North Carolina for our final leg home. What a summer.We will keep you posted with updates and photos as we continue our travels down the highway. Wish you could be here with us.

Next… Clemson Football

Click Here to view additional photos related to this blog.

As always, we hope to see you down the road…